These are two more of Fred Reisenberg's imaginative graphic artworks. Contact him at fred343@gmail.com

Motion everywhere

Driving in the Rain

HOW MUCH DOES WEAPONIZATION MATTER? JUDGING IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM Posted by Bryna Berch, December 31, 2007.

This was written by Patrick Clawson and it was published December 4, 2007. Patrick Clawson is The Washington Institute's deputy director for research and the author of several books on Iran.

The just-released National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), "Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities," is about weaponization, not the enrichment and fuel cycle issues that have been the focus of multiple UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board resolutions regarding Iran's nuclear program. The NIE only suggests that Tehran has changed its sequence -- something that does not slow the country's progress toward a nuclear weapon by a single day. Therefore, it is not clear how this report affects the current thrust of U.S. policy: to stem Iran's nuclear fuel cycle capabilities. Is Iran Aiming to Make a Nuclear Weapon? The NIE states, "We assess with high confidence that Iran has the scientific, technical, and industrial capacity eventually to produce nuclear weapons if it decides to do so." The key word in that sentence is "eventually," because the most vital question worrying Iran's neighbors and the international community is when Iran will be able to produce its first nuclear weapon. The estimate says nothing about how the reported halt of Iran's nuclear weapons program affects that date. One estimate of how long it would take Iran to produce nuclear weapons once its openly acknowledged fuel-cycle facilities are completed is "a few months." That estimate -- from the Nobel Peace Prize-winning director of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei -- suggests that the existence of a weapons program is not important until Iran is close to producing fissile material. Making fissile material is difficult -- making a bomb is not necessarily as hard. Although constructing a nuclear warhead for a missile is tricky, making a bulky, heavy nuclear device that can fit into a ship container or a truck -- similar to the truck Iran's proxies used to bomb the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 -- is rather easy. That is why the forty-year effort to verify and enforce the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has been based on controlling the production of fissile material. The NIE states that Iran is making a headlong rush to produce enriched uranium -- an attitude that does not support Tehran's claims of a strictly peaceful nuclear program. Indeed, the NIE's information about Iran's enrichment program is inconsistent with any claim that the regime has abandoned its interest in nuclear weapons. In fact, the new report barely changes the 2005 estimate about when Iran might obtain sufficient fissile material for a bomb. In that earlier report, the intelligence community concluded that the prospect of Iran making a nuclear weapon "is unlikely before early-to-mid next decade." In the current report, more details are provided, but the message is much the same: "We judge with moderate confidence Iran probably would be technically capable of producing enough HEU [highly enriched uranium] for a weapon sometime during the 2010-2015 time frame." The only caveat is from the State Department's intelligence arm, which "judges that Iran is unlikely to achieve this capability before 2013." How Much Confidence Is in Order? The U.S. intelligence community has a poor track record regarding nuclear weapons programs, making incorrect judgments on some of the most important proliferation cases. Most infamously, it badly misjudged not only what Iraq was doing, but also how confident the intelligence community could be about Baghdad's efforts on that front (e.g., former CIA director George Tenet's "slam dunk" remark). And although less noted, the intelligence community long underestimated the progress Libya and North Korea were making before it successfully caught both regimes red-handed -- a delay that brought scathing remarks from the Commission on WMD Proliferation. The intelligence community also failed to spot India's nuclear test preparations in 1998, and its confidence that South Africa was not working on nuclear weapons was proven wrong (though it should be noted that U.S. intelligence eventually decided the latter had produced a weapon, long before Pretoria acknowledged it). There is a pattern here. A charitable interpretation would be that nuclear programs are difficult to assess. A less charitable interpretation would be that the United States has not figured out a fully accurate way to judge progress in such programs. Part of the problem is imperfect information, but there is also the inherent difficulty of interpreting intentions and future actions. No matter how good the data, it does not tell us the "why" or the "what next." Indeed, the U.S. intelligence community's track record on Iran suggests that its knowledge has been imperfect. As the new NIE points out, the 2005 estimate assessed "with high confidence that Iran currently is determined to develop nuclear weapons," whereas the new estimate is that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in fall 2003 -- well before the 2005 estimate came out. Since the intelligence community decided it was wrong in 2005, one might think that U.S. intelligence agencies would be more cautious about what they now know. It is possible that the new information is the last word on the subject, but it is vital to remember that deciding whether or not Iran is "determined" is a matter of interpretation, not just information. The contrast between the NIE and the recent IAEA report is also sharp. In the latter report, the IAEA was extremely careful to highlight what it does not know. The concluding paragraph warned that the agency "is not in a position to provide credible assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran." Does Pressure on Iran Work? The clear sense from the new NIE is that pressure on Iran works. In the estimate's words, "Our assessment that the [nuclear weapons] program probably was halted primarily in response to international pressure suggests Iran may be more vulnerable to influence on the issue than we judged previously." A longtime theme of The Washington Institute's work has been Iran's vulnerability to influence on the nuclear issue, so it would be comforting to think that the NIE is correct. Yet, the NIE provides little reason to come to that conclusion. The alternative, more cynical interpretation of what it describes is that Iran understood that suspending its nuclear weapons program would have no effect on its progress toward nuclear weapons, yet would reduce the risk that IAEA inspectors would discover Iran's true intentions. The NIE provides no reason to favor its optimistic interpretation over this pessimistic view. In other words, the NIE displays undue confidence that the U.S. intelligence community knows not just what happened, but the reasons why. The new estimate is sure to have considerable political impact. Before deciding on what the NIE means for policy, one should first be sure what it says. The reality is that the estimate says little about whether Iran still aims to produce nuclear weapons or when it might do so. The NIE's information supports the theory that Iran has simply changed the sequencing of its nuclear weapons effort -- not necessarily the theory that Iran is no longer pursuing nuclear weapons. To Go To Top

IRAN'S SECRET SYRIAN PLAN Posted by Koira, December 31, 2007.

This was written by Olivier Guitta and it appeared in Middle East Times November 19, 2007. Olivier Guitta is a foreign affairs and counterterrorism consultant based in Washington, D.C. He speaks four languages, including Arabic; he has long experience in international banking and portfolio management; he has a solid reputation for significant articles in serious journals and newspapers; and he is a contributing editor for the prestigious counterterrorism blog: http://www.counterterrorism.org. He is the founder of the foreign affairs and counterterrorism newsletter The Croissant available by subscription at http://www.thecroissant.com

Israel has been providing intelligence and satellite images to the U.S. about a secret Syrian nuclear program for several months, according to media reports. Discussions between Israel and the United States took place last summer regarding a possible strike. But when Israel found the matter so pressing that when they realized the U.S. was not ready to act, on September 6 they attacked a Syrian nuclear site. Hence the question: what is Syria really up to or, more to the point, what is Iran up to? First, let's start with an underreported explosion that occurred in a Syrian military base outside Aleppo on July 26. Jane's Defense Weekly reported, citing Syrian defense sources, as saying the explosion took place during a test to fit a "Scud C" missile with a mustard-gas warhead. It quoted the sources as saying the explosion occurred when fuel caught fire in the missile production laboratory. But there might be another explanation. Kuwait's Al Seyassah newspaper recently reported that a Shiite Lebanese religious cleric claimed the Iranians were allegedly supervising a chemical weapons manufacturing program and that tens of Iranian experts and engineers died as a result of that explosion. He also said Israelis attacked the base. He added that Western officials told him they received proof from Israel on the Syrian chemical weapons program. Even if Israel's involvement is not proven, what remains sure is that it must be very happy that a chemical weapons facility in Syria has been partly destroyed. Now regarding the September 6 strike; while we may never know what really occurred, what remains sure is that the situation is direr than one could imagine, and that most likely, Israel did not just bomb a nuclear site in the early stages. Indeed, the silence of the international community and especially the Arab world after the attack is a first, and it shows the gravity of what happened. Even though Syria and its Iranian sponsor are detested, and in the case of Iran feared, in the Muslim world, the fact that there was no condemnation of Israel at the U.N. could be interpreted as a tacit relief that Israel acted. Another proof of what transpired came from ranking Republicans on the House Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Peter Hoekstra, who were briefed on the Israeli strike and sworn to secrecy. They wrote an op-ed in the October 20 Wall Street Journal clearly underlining the seriousness of the situation regarding both the North Korean and Iranian involvement in the Syrian arms program. Finally, the fact that the Bush administration (including President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and most notably Defense Secretary Robert Gates) has been ramping up the rhetoric and taking action against Iran (including the latest sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards) in the past week, might also be linked to what really happened in Syria. The Syrian story is far from over: in fact, on October 23, Al Seyassah ran a story about potential new secret nuclear sites in Syria. According to Western sources cited by the paper, it is possible that Syria is developing other nuclear sites with the help of North Korea, Iran and Iraqi experts, the latter who fled their country at the start of the Iraq war in 2003. In fact, observation satellites have allegedly located in Syria at least two other sites similar to the one destroyed by Israel last month. Iran's handwriting is all over the wall from the chemical to the nuclear arms program in Syria. Indeed, in research conducted last year as part of an article published in Washington's The Examiner, this reporter delved into Syrian's secret nuclear program, making the point that Syria might actually be "Plan B" for Iran. By helping develop nuclear sites in Syria, strikes on Iran might turn out to be useless. This was a smart strategy until Israel bombed the Syrian nuclear site on September 6 and made the world notice. Contact Koira by email at koira@dbmail.com To Go To Top

U.S. INTEL POSSIBLY DUPED BY IRAN Posted by Kenneth R. Timmerman, December 31, 2007.

The NEI concluded that Iran is not building a bomb. This is based presumably on hard data on physical happenings and on estimates of intent. This article deals with both aspects -- part 1 looks at the estimators and their reliability; part 2 estimates how peaceful is Iran's intent. The first part appeared December 4, 2007 in NewsMax (http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/iran_nukes/2007/12/04/54359.html). Part 2 appeared December 07, 2007 in The Washington Times.

Part 1. The Authors Of The NIE A highly controversial, 150 page National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear programs was coordinated and written by former State Department political and intelligence analysts -- not by more seasoned members of the U.S. intelligence community, Newsmax has learned. Its most dramatic conclusion -- that Iran shut down its nuclear weapons program in 2003 in response to international pressure -- is based on a single, unvetted source who provided information to a foreign intelligence service and has not been interviewed directly by the United States. Newsmax sources in Tehran believe that Washington has fallen for "a deliberate disinformation campaign" cooked up by the Revolutionary Guards, who laundered fake information and fed it to the United States through Revolutionary Guards intelligence officers posing as senior diplomats in Europe. Dangerous Game The National Intelligence Council, which produced the NIE, is chaired by Thomas Fingar, "a State Department intelligence analyst with no known overseas experience who briefly headed the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research," I wrote in my book "Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender." Fingar was a key partner of Senate Democrats in their successful effort to derail the confirmation of John Bolton in the spring of 2005 to become the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations. As the head of the NIC, Fingar has gone out of his way to fire analysts "who asked the wrong questions," and who challenged the politically-correct views held by Fingar and his former State Department colleagues, as revealed in "Shadow Warriors." In March 2007, Fingar fired his top Cuba and Venezuela analyst, Norman Bailey, after he warned of the growing alliance between Castro and Chavez. Bailey's departure from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) was applauded by the Cuban government news service Granma, who called Bailey "a patent relic of the Reagan regime." And Fingar was just one of a coterie of State Department officials brought over to ODNI by the first director, career State Department official John Negroponte. Collaborating with Fingar on the Iran estimate, released on Monday, were Kenneth Brill, the director of the National Counterproliferation Center, and Vann H. Van Diepen, the National Intelligence officer for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Proliferation. "Van Diepen was an enormous problem," a former colleague of his from the State Department told me when I was fact gathering for "Shadow Warriors." "He was insubordinate, hated WMD sanctions, and strived not to implement them," even though it was his specific responsibility at State to do so, the former colleague told me. Kenneth Brill, also a career foreign service officer, had been the U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna in 2003-2004 before he was forced into retirement. "Shadow Warrior" reports, "While in Vienna, Brill consistently failed to confront Iran once its clandestine nuclear weapons program was exposed in February 2003, and had to be woken up with the bureaucratic equivalent of a cattle prod to deliver a single speech condemning Iran's eighteen year history of nuclear cheating." Negroponte rehabilitated Brill and brought the man who single-handedly failed to object to Iran's nuclear weapons program and put him in charge of counter-proliferation efforts for the entire intelligence community. Christian Westermann, another favorite of Senate Democrats in the Bolton confirmation hearings, was among the career State Department analysts tapped by Fingar and Brill. As a State Department intelligence analyst, Westermann had missed the signs of biological weapons development in Cuba, and played into the hands of Castro apologist Sen. Christopher Dodd, D, Conn., by continuing to use impeached intelligence reports on Cuba that had been written by self-avowed Cuban spy, Ana Belen Montes. "After failing to recognize the signs of biological weapons development in Cuba and Cuba's cooperation with Iran, Westermann was promoted to become national intelligence officer for biological weapons," I wrote. "Let's hope a walk-in defector from Iranian intelligence doesn't tell us that Iran has given biological weapons to terrorists to attack new York or Chicago," I added, "because Westermann will certainly object that the source of that information was not reliable -- at least, until Americans start dying." It now appears that this is very similar to what happened while the intelligence community was preparing the Iran NIE. The Defector My former colleague from the Washington Times, Bill Gertz, suggests in today's print edition of the paper that Revolutionary Guards Gen. Alireza Asgari, who defected while in Turkey in February, was the human source whose information led to the NIE"s conclusion that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. But intelligence sources in Europe told Newsmax in late September that Asgari's debriefings on Iran's nuclear weapons programs were "so dramatic" that they caused French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his foreign minister to speak out publicly about the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Sarkozy stunned his countrymen when he told an annual conference of French ambassadors on Aug. 27, 2007, that Iran faced a stark choice between shutting down its nuclear program, or tougher international sanctions and ultimately, war. "This approach is the only one that allows us to escape from a catastrophic alternative: an Iranian bomb, or the bombing of Iran," Sarkozy said. Three weeks later, Foreign Minister Bernard Koucher warned in a televised interview that the world's major powers needed to toughen sanctions on Iran to prevent Tehran from getting the bomb and to prevent war. "We must prepare for the worst," Kouchner said. "The worst, sir, is war." Those comments were prompted by reports that were given to the French president about Iran's nuclear weapons program derived from debriefings of the defector, Gen. Ashgari, a Newsmax intelligence source in Europe said. Ashgari is the highest-level Iranian official to have defected to the West since the Islamic revolution of 1979. His defection set off a panic in Tehran. As a senior member of the general staff of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, Asgari had access to highly-classified intelligence information, as well as strategic planning documents, as I reported at the time. A damage assessment then underway in Tehran was expected to "take months" to complete, so extensive was Asgari's access to Iran's nuclear and intelligence secrets. Asgari had detailed knowledge of Iranian Revolutionary Guards units operating in Iraq and Lebanon because he had trained some of them. He also knew some of the secrets of Iran's nuclear weapons program, because he had been a top procurement officer and a deputy minister of defense in charge of logistics. But Asgari never had responsibility for nuclear weapons development, and probably did not have access to information about the status of the secret programs being run by the Revolutionary Guards, Iranian sources tell Newsmax. In an effort to cover up the failure of Iranian counter-intelligence to prevent Asgari's defection, a Persian language Web site run by the former Revolutioanry Guards Comdr. Gen. Mohsen Rezai claimed in March that Asgari was on a CIA "hit list" of 20 former Revolutionary Guards officers and had been assassinated. The Senate intelligence committee will be briefed today on the NIE, and the House committee on Wednesday. But already, the declassified summary has Republicans grumbling on Capitol Hill. "We want to know why we should believe this," one congressional Republican told Newsmax. "This is such a departure from the past and there are so many unanswered questions." While the intelligence community is supposed to report just the facts and its assessment of those facts and their reliability to policy-makers, this NIE clear advocates policy positions. "Our assessment that the program probably was halted primarily in response to international pressure suggests Iran may be more vulnerable to influence on the issue that we judged previously," the NIC wrote in the declassified "Key Judgments" of the NIE. The NIE opined that the new assessment leads to the policy conclusion that the United States should offer "some combination of threats of intensified international scrutiny and pressures, along with opportunites," in order to lock in Iranian good behavior. This carrot and stick approach has been the State Department's preferred policy for the past 27 years, and has only strengthened the resolve of Iran's leaders to continue defying the United States. "Those [countries that] assume that decaying methods such as psychological war, political propaganda and the so-called economic sanctions would work and prevent Iran's fast drive toward progress are mistaken," Ahmadinejad said in Tehran in September at a military parade. By "progress" Ahmadinejad was referring to Iran's recently-declared success at enriching uranium. Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees "have been running around with big smiles on their faces," a Republican source tells Newsmax. Republicans on the committees intend to ask for more information on the sourcing of this latest NIE during closed door briefings today and tomorrow.   Part 2: Iran's Nuclear Deceptions Somehow, this music is familiar. The Islamic Republic of Iran, once thought to be working on nuclear weapons, has seen the folly of its ways. Without saying a word to anyone, it has canceled clandestine work on the bomb, but our sharp intelligence warriors learned all about it and have now warned the White House and Democrats in Congress: Iran is no longer a threat. The world can sleep soundly at night. Behold, it's Peace in Our Time. The truth, of course, is far more nuanced. What the latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran actually said for the first time in an official, United States government document released to the public, is that Iran was actively pursuing nuclear weapons in 2003. The NIE also said Iran continues to enrich uranium and will have enough highly enriched material to make its first bomb by the end of 2009. Or by 2013. Or perhaps 2015. It all depends, we are told, on just how much progress the Iranians have made in this part of their program. That uncertainty -- which is absolutely critical -- concerns the one part of Iran's nuclear programs that is open and has been declared (since 2003) to the International Atomic Energy Agency. If the U.S. intelligence community can't give us a reliable estimate on the status of that declared program, how can they state with "high confidence" that Tehran halted a clandestine nuclear weapons effort in fall 2003? If Iran actually stopped something, we don't know what it is. Because, of course, what they stopped was covert and has never been declared or inspected. But we do know quite a lot. We know, for example, that Iran announced last week the successful test of a new, multistage, solid-fuel missile, the Ashoura. This new missile is said to have a range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles), and brings most of Europe into range of Iran. Why is this new missile important? For one simple reason, according to Israeli missile expert, Uzi Rubin. "A solid-propellant, multistage missile is the big milestone on the way to developing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile," he said at a conference hosted Tuesday by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. If the Iranians can make the Ashoura fly, "they will have achieved the capability" of launching ICBMs at Europe or the United States. Why would Iran want to develop an ICBM without a nuclear warhead? That question was not addressed in the National Intelligence Estimate, according to the declassified summary released Monday. There are many additional questions raised by the NIE that should give us pause. Here are just two: (1) The information that Iran stopped some unspecified nuclear weapons work in autumn 2003 seems based on a single, unvetted source -- an Iranian defector who provided information to a foreign intelligence service. What confidence do our intelligence analysts have in this defector? With the CIA's miserable track record in dealing with Iranian defectors, I suspect I know the answer. (2) What about the possibility of strategic deception? We are told the National Intelligence Council considered this possibility, and ultimately rejected it. And yet, Iranian and Russian intelligence services have a deep, longstanding relationship. Let's not forget that the Soviets invented the entire art form of maskirovka as a means of gaining strategic surprise. Iran's new nuclear "negotiator," Saeed Jalali, recently told the European Union's Javier Solana that Iran now intended to "go back to Square One" in its nuclear negotiations with the West. This was before release of the NIE. Was it just a coincidence that Mr. Jalali then flew to Moscow on Dec. 3, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and top national security adviser, Valentin Sobolov? My Iranian sources tell me there was a great deal of gloating behind those closed doors in Moscow about how the Iranians had managed to put one over on us. President Bush had it just right at his press conference Tuesday. Setting aside the questions raised by the accuracy of the NIE, the one thing everyone agrees on is this: Iran continues to enrich uranium, and that gives Iran the capability to make weapons should they so choose. What we can't do today any better than we could two years ago -- or ever -- is read into their minds to discern intent. And yet, this is precisely where the NIE falls down. It attempts to ascribe peaceful intentions to Iran's leaders -- intentions that fly in the face of their words, their actions, and their proven capabilities. Kenneth R. Timmerman was nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize along with John Bolton for his work on Iran. He is Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, and author of Countdown to Crisis: the Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran (Crown Forum: 2005). To Go To Top

WHO NEEDS ISRAEL? -- WISHING FOR A CHANGE OF COURSE IN 2008 Posted by UCI, December 31, 2007.

This was written by Pat Boone. Pat Boone, descendant of the legendary pioneer Daniel Boone, has been a top-selling recording artist, the star of his own hit TV series, a movie star, a Broadway headliner, and a best-selling author in a career that has spanned half a century. During the classic rock & roll era of the 1950s, he sold more records than any artist except Elvis Presley.

A Wish for 2008 Many Western and European political leaders having heard the deprecations and the determination to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, from the likes of Palestinian Yasser Arafat, Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and so many other power brokers in the region have come dangerously close to deciding that little Israel is the "thorn in the side" of world order. The next logical thought is: "Who needs Israel? Let her be erased, her people dispersed (or whatever), and the Middle East can settle comfortably into a harmonious Islamic community of states. Problem solved!" What folly. What suicidal blindness... [We hope and pray that during 2008 President Bush and Condoleezza Rice will experience a change of heart. That their drive down the treacherous Roadmap will come to a screeching halt and that they will change course from this path toward disaster. That they will consider Israel's many accomplishments:] Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population, can make claim to an astounding number of society's advances in almost every direction! Intel's new multi-core processor was completely developed at facilities in Israel . And our ubiquitous cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in the little land. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology was pioneered in Israel . AirTrain JFK, the 8.1-mile light rail labyrinth that connects JFK Airport to NYC's mass transit is protected by the Israeli-developed Nextiva surveillance system. Bill Gates calls Israel "a major player in the high-tech world"; most of Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel; the Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel; both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the U.S. in Israel; and, with more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of high-tech companies in the world apart from the Silicon Valley. Get this: Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S. , over 70 in Japan , and less than 60 in Germany . With over 25 percent of its workforce employed in technical professions, Israel places first in this category as well! It goes on and on. The Weizmann Institute of Science has been voted "the best university in the world for life scientists to conduct research." Israeli researchers have: Discovered the molecular trigger that causes psoriasis. Developed the Ex-Press shunt to provide relief for glaucoma sufferers. Unveiled a blood test that diagnoses heart attacks ... by telephone! Found a combination of electrical stimulation and chemotherapy that makes cancerous metastases disappear and developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer! Designed the first flight system to protect passenger and freighter aircraft against missile attack. Developed the first ingestible video camera so small it fits inside a pill used to view the small intestine from the inside, enabling doctors to diagnose cancer and digestive disorders! Perfected a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with congestive heart failure, synchronizing the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors. These are only a few of Israel 's recent contributions to the welfare of the world. There are just too many to list here. Water shortage, global warming, space travel, anti-virus, anti-smallpox, blood pressure, solar power, paralysis, diabetes, data storage these and hundreds more are being addressed by Israel's scientists. They're pioneering in DNA research, using tiny strands to create human transistors that can literally build themselves and playing an important role in identifying a defective gene that causes a rare and usually fatal disease in Arab infants! Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin; It has the largest number of startup companies globally, second only to the U.S.; it is No. 2 in the world for venture capital funds, financing all these advances; its $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined; and Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. And while it maintains, by far, the highest average living standards and per-capita income, exceeding even those of the UK , Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth, relative to its population. It is truly an unparalleled marvel of our time. ...the very idea of eradicating or even displacing Israel from its historic home is suicidal to the rest of the world, not just her Arabic neighbors. ... imagine what our world would be like if Israel 's enemies held sway. Would you rather live in Iran , Iraq , Syria or Afghanistan? [under Sharia law] Or in Israel? [Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy and Joyful 2008, during which time the world may hopefully grow to appreciate the extraordinary contributions of a country that most nations would like to see destroyed in the name of Islamofascism. Where will we be if the culture of death prevails and Israel and Western Civilization are annihilated? We hope that in 2008 the goals and aspirations of the radical Islamists will be defeated and a new age of democracy and enlightenment will reign on our imperiled planet.] UCI -- The Unity Coalition for Israel (http://www.israelunitycoalition.org) -- is "the largest worldwide coalition of Jewish and Christian organizations, with more than 200 groups representing millions of people dedicated to Israel. Though we have many different backgrounds, we have one common goal: A Safe and Secure Israel." "Israel is not just a Jewish issue. Millions of Christians resolutely endorse the principle of peace with security for the state of Israel. Because we work closely together and speak with a united voice, our message is being heard!" To Go To Top

TURKS & KURDS; OLMERT OPENING YESHA TO ATTACK!; "RIFTS" WITH THE U.S. Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 31, 2007.

WHAT ABOUT ILLEGAL P.A. WEAPONS? The P.A. and Israel signed agreements on which weapons are permitted to the P.A. forces and how many troops, and that beyond that, terrorists must be disarmed and illegal weapons destroyed or shipped out. The P.A. has violated those terms. IMRA asked the government of Israel what is its policy on that. After all, the P.A. maintains that by registering terrorist militiamen within P.A. forces, it has disbanded terrorist militias. The government replied that its policy on recruitment is that the P.A. see to it that its recruits favor peace. (We know the P.A. propagandizes in favor of war.) It did not address the size of P.A. forces. The government said its policy is that the P.A. destroy or ship out illegal heavy weapons (12/18). The P.A. has been known to confiscate heavy illegal weapons held by others, but that only adds to its own armory for war on Israel. Accordingly, I asked Dr. Lerner of IMRA that beyond proposing that the P.A. destroy or ship out illegal heavy weapons, what does Israel do to make sure that the P.A. does. He said, "Zip." In other words, the government of Israel utters empty policy pieties. It does not enforce the policy. It does not admit that it does not enforce the policy and that the P.A. violates the policy. As a result, more Israelis will get killed. People don't know the half of how bad jihad is and how anti-Israel the government of Israel is, because the government is in a sort of clandestine collusion with is Arab enemies and its State Dept. adversaries. TURKS & KURDS The Kurdish rebels are not fighting out of Islamist motives (for Turkey is Islamist), but for nationalist motives tinged with Maoism. They are like the Pol Pot terrorists, having murdered tens of thousands of fellow Kurds who might oppose them. They are not entitled to anything. The Kurdish sector of Iraq harbors the terrorists. Judging by the terrorists' methods, the Kurdish regime trains them against Turkey. Turkey has every right to pursue them across the border of Iraq that the Kurdish sector lets the terrorists pass through. Pres. Bush finally has cooperated with Turkey in its military action against the terrorists. Unfortunately, the State Dept. is interfering and is reducing the credibility of his war on terrorism. It is urging compromise by Turkey, with concessions to the Kurds in Turkey, in return for Iraqi Kurds denying the terrorists sanctuary. The Iraqi Kurds, however, repeatedly promise to cooperate, but renege. The State Dept. is pursuing the same policy of accepting false promises from terrorists and their facilitators in return for good faith concessions from the victims, as it did with Arafat and Israel (Michael Rubin, Middle East Forum, 12/18). P.A. FAILS LATEST TEST Abbas has deployed his forces in several P.A. cities. As in all the years since 1994, when the P.A. was set up, P.A. police have not moved against terrorist organizations and sometimes moved with them against Israelis (IMRA, 12/17 from Caroline Glick). The US had asked Israel to withdraw from some P.A. cities so Abbas could show that he is a partner for peace by cracking down on terrorism. This is another of the many tests, all of which the P.A. has failed. OLMERT OPENING YESHA UP TO ATTACK! "Over the past two months, while arming the PA security forces, the government has been instructing the IDF to place new draconian limitations on the ability of the Israeli communities to protect themselves from attack. In two weeks, the Defense Ministry will disband the civilian units comprised of residents of the most threatened Israeli communities. Since they were established two years ago, these units have borne the brunt of responsibility for defending their communities. Next month too, new regulations will make it more difficult for Israelis to receive weapons permits to participate in guard duty in their communities." The Olmert regime is following the same anti-Zionist course that Sharon did in Gaza. First, "the Sharon government scaled back IDF counter-terror operations. They also curtailed the ability of the Israeli residents of Gaza to defend themselves. In so doing, the Sharon government both enabled an increase in terror and successfully portrayed the Israeli residents -- shorn of their defensive capabilities -- as a security burden. These twin policies secured the support of Israel's governing leftist elites in the media...In repeating the Sharon government's policies towards the Palestinians (s.b. Palestinian Arabs, as contrasted with Palestinian Jews) and the Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria, the Olmert government is similarly receiving the backing of the media." Olmert is endangering national security (Op. Cit.). Olmert doesn't seem to care, so long as he destroys the settlements. WHO ARE THE MUSLIM TERRORISTS? A study found a much higher percent of educated, non-poor, employed, young, and single men among terrorists than in the population at large (IMRA, 12/18). WHAT MAKES FOR VICTORY & DEFEAT? Israelis knew that their government would not abandon them on the battlefield. This boosted their morale. They attributed many victories against great odds to that solidarity. Unfortunately, the government has ended that solidarity. Instead, it abandons soldiers and sells the enemy arms that experience finds get turned on Israelis, in the name of friendship with the implacable P.A.. In the same manner, it abandoned Jonathan Pollard for a false friendship with the US. (Friendship that is one way is not friendship for Israel.) By abandoning its honor, Israel incurs contempt (IMRA, 12/18). ISRAEL'S REPUTATION PERSISTS People still think of the old Israel, which was resolute about defending itself from the Arabs, and the old sabras, who were tough. An aunt of Daniel Pipes, a fine lady, told me that we don't have to worry about Israel, it takes care of itself. I replied that Israel has become cowardly, the government, that is. It is appeasement-minded. It asks US permission when to attack, where to put roadblocks, whether it may keep certain towns it built in the Jewish homeland, which weapons it may sell where, and to certify that the enemy is adhering to armistices. That is not sovereignty. The secular sabras have gone soft; religious youth now form the backbone of the Army. How long will Israel's reputation for courageous and independent defense persist, now that it increasingly makes its defense dependent upon Egypt, the P.A., the UNO, and the US, none of which is pro-Israel? How long will it be respected? When will Americans decide it isn't worth supporting? 'RIFTS" WITH THE U.S. The government of Israel said it would allow building in Judea-Samaria on areas within built-up areas but not past the built-up areas even within municipal boundaries. Critics say this would cause a rift with the US. They don't understand. Everything in Israel's interest causes a rift with the State Dept.. The State Dept. is anti-Zionist and represents the Arabs, who put many retired US diplomats on its payroll or pay a ex-President lavishly for pro forma speeches. The notion of causing a rift is as specious as worrying about settlements endangering the peace process -- as much a fraud as is the notion of the US being a "friend" of Israel. (By US, here, I mean the Executive branch. Congress and the American people do favor Israel, but are ineffective.) Yes, the State Dept. doesn't want Israel to build any housing in the Territories. That is because it wants Israel to give up all of the Territories and more. The rift exists, but by not recognizing it, the appeasement-minded government of Israel lets the US blackmail it into continuous concessions to its other enemies. I fear that the US will demand, and the Olmert regime would be happy oblige, or at least the leftist Attorney-General holding open the possibility of indicting Olmert would see to it that he obliges, in ceding the vacant land beyond the built-up areas. That would leave no buffer zone for detecting terrorists and allow terrorists easy access for attacking people in the built-up areas. Judging by the way the fence lets Muslims close to Jewish communities, making opportunity for terrorists to murder Jews is Israeli policy. MIGRATION & TERRORIST MATH I once pointed out that the successful daily slaying of a few terrorists is less than the natural increase in the jihadist population, and therefore is inadequate. One answer is not only a major offensive but also policies to keep Muslims from immigrating and to get encourage them to emigrate. Hence the world favors building a P.A. economy. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: SETTING PRIORITIES Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 31, 2007.

That is what I've had to do in recent days, my friends. I have refrained from taking the time to post because I have beeen at work on a major report on Fatah, and determined that this had to come first. Documenting the fact that Fatah is neither moderate nor a viable partner for peace, it has been timed for the arrival here of President Bush. Once it is up on a website (it also is being printed hard-copy), I will share a link so all may see it. For now, I would like to include at the bottom of this posting one particular piece of information included in the report that is very pertinent to Fatah's true intentions. You will not see this in any media -- it was acquired via someone doing private translating from PA radio. Even without the body of my report, it tells the story that must be told. ~~~~~~~~~~ And so I return to the on-going news, at least beginning to deal with the morass of information that flows to us. I do this mindful of the fact that tonight New Year's Eve is celebrated in the N. America and elsewhere (while in the main ignored here), and that many of you may be away from your computers. And I do it with wishes to all for a good 2008. Wishes? My most fervent prayers, actually. ~~~~~~~~~~ Two beautiful young men -- David Rubin and Achikam Amichai -- from Kiryat Arba (a Jewish community adjacent to Hevron) were killed by terrorists on Friday, as they hiked in a secluded area west of Hevron. The two, who were friends, were both on leave from an elite IDF unit; Achikam was the son and grandson of rabbis. The incredible, sinful human waste of this! They were buried Saturday night on Har Hertzel (the military cemetery) in Jerusalem. ~~~~~~~~~~ According to Khaled Abu Toameh of the Post, some of those responsible for these terrorist murders are connected to Fatah. On Saturday, the IDF arrested terrorists suspected of being involved; they are associated with a militia called the Yasser Arafat Groups -- including the leader of the group in Hevron, Ahmed Abu Sittah. Please note this from Abu Toameh, as well: "Fatah activists said the attack may be linked to the faction's preparations to celebrate its 43rd anniversary this week. The attackers, they explained, were apparently hoping to send a message to the Palestinian public that, contrary to claims by Hamas, Fatah has not abandoned the path of armed struggle." Our peace partners. ~~~~~~~~~~ All of this mightily embarrassed PA officials, and PA prime minister Salaam Fayyad went out of his way to express condolences, and to assure everyone that PA security is doing everything possible to investigate and apprehend those involved. There was some announcement about the PA returning to Israel the guns of the young victims, which had been taken from them. That smacked to me of the sort of typically empty gestures that the PA advances, in lieu of genuine efforts, to show they're "doing something." My report is full of documentation of such gestures, so I'm particularly cynical. I even have a quote from Barry Rubin that "The PA has never really punished anyone for murdering or trying to kill an Israeli..." ~~~~~~~~~~ And sure enough, by Sunday, the PA was saying that the Hevron murders were "criminally motivated." It was suggested that the attack was the result of a "dispute" between arms dealers, the implication being that the two young Israeli soldiers had gone hiking to sell arms. The PA security forces in Hevron -- ignoring the fact that Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad had all claimed credit for the attack -- said there was no evidence of any reason for the attack other than that arms dispute. Could make one gag. ~~~~~~~~~~ And there's more: On Saturday PA Interior Minister Abdel Razzak al-Yahya announced that Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades had ceased to exist. Another effort to show that the PA security was handling matters and had eliminated a Fatah branch that was terrorist. Well, this didn't sit too well with Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades. First they distributed thousands of leaflets saying they were continuing the armed struggle. And then, yesterday, they called for the elimination of Fayyad, a "collaborator" with the US and Israel. ~~~~~~~~~~ This dovetails so neatly with what I wrote in my report that I must refer to it here: The prevailing thesis among those who adhere to wishful thinking (and they are legion!) is that Fatah is a moderate foil to Hamas and thus must be strengthened. What I am arguing is that the presence of Hamas as both a political and military strength has shifted the entire Palestinian dialogue to the right -- forced it to be even more radical and even less conciliatory. Even if -- and I'm not saying it is so, because I don't believe it -- Abbas and Fayyad were sincere moderates, they are beholden to the street and to the other members of their party. And Hamas thinking -- which calls moderation weakness -- has affected all of this. Hamas implies that anyone who doesn't continue the "armed resistance" is a traitor. Who wants to be labeled a traitor? I suggest that in this climate, true negotiations, which require compromise and conciliation, are not remotely possible. ~~~~~~~~~~ The PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki has announced that PA security forces have arrested a Hamas cell that was planning a suicide attack; he said they had a videotape of one of the members of the cell detailing their plans. "We confiscated huge amounts of mercury (used in detonators) in Nablus," he elaborated. However, the videotape wasn't shown, Malki wouldn't answer reporters' questions, and no names of those arrested were provided. These guys have no shame. Of course the fact that Bush is coming next week and the PA has to show it is doing its part for security has nothing to do with this. The IDF -- which has excellent intelligence in the area -- says it has no knowledge of this incident. ~~~~~~~~~~ This past week, the IDF picked up 6.5 tons of potassium nitrate, a banned explosive material, as it was being smuggled through a checkpoint in sacks that identified it as sugar from the EU. Note: this was stopped at a checkpoint. Six tons would have made a lot of Kassams and bombs. ~~~~~~~~~~ Abbas spoke in Ramallah today during celebrations marking Fatah's 43rd anniversary. He said the PA would never cede a single inch in negotiations with regard to Jerusalem. And he made conciliatory gestures to Hamas: he called for "dialogue, dialogue, dialogue," and held out the hope of reconciliation (based still on Hamas relinquishing its control over Gaza). ~~~~~~~~~~ "Friday sermons delivered at the Al Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount are broadcast on PA radio. On Friday, December 28, 2007 (just one month after Annapolis), Sheikh Mohammed Hussein delivered the sermon. It included the following fabrications and incitement to violence: "Al Aksa Mosque has become the target of Israeli settlers. They have become accustomed to entering Al Aksa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli security forces. This refutes Israeli claims to protecting our holy places. "The Israeli authorities are not satisfied with the excavations already performed... [In addition] they have been digging tunnels under Al Aksa Mosque's foundations and walls, allowing the herds of settlers to enter its squares and gates in their plan to turn the holy city of Jerusalem into a Jewish one. "I'd like to warn against the criminal Israeli plans for the holy city. We have confirmed that there is a real danger to Jerusalem. The Arab nation should not stand [with] hands folded when it comes to Jerusalem. "Jerusalem stands for the Islamic history and doctrine that establishes an inseparable relationship between Muslims and Jerusalem. Allah chose us, a nation religiously and historically connected with this land, to be faithful guards to the holy places in Palestine. This obligation drove Prophet Mohammed's followers to arrive here, in Palestine, and spread the Islamic religion. This is the holy land of Allah, and Muslims are only the guardians of these holy places. "The Israelis aren't interested only in Al Aksa Mosque but want the whole city of Jerusalem to become Jewish. They have confiscated the Jerusalemite's lands, built new settlements in and around the city to isolate it from its Arab surroundings, and have expanded settlements." "The Palestinians are the defenders of this land. We should face up to our responsibilities and fulfill our duty. Our sacrifices are many; the number of martyrs and wounded is growing. [We see] the destruction of the Palestinian life and infrastructure, the arrests of Palestinians by the Israeli forces. All this will not deter us from fulfilling our duties. On the contrary, they serve as evidence to our willingness to sacrifice for our goals." Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

AN ISRAELI REACTION TO STUDY ON MILITARY RAPE Posted by Naomi Ragen, December 31, 2007.

I thought I'd share this letter that I received from Yael Pedhatzur, an Israeli who lived in the States for a number of years and has now returned. She wrote this following my last message concerning the Hebrew University study that showed one of the reasons for the lack of IDF rapes was racism. It is harsh, but I wonder what your reactions will be. By the way, I have zero political ambitions. [Editor's Note: See also Plaut's article below.]

Dear Naomi, Since returning to Israel after 6 years abroad I find myself wondering about the country I call home. I am hard wired to be an Israeli & consider this the only country I could ever really live in. I have lived in the US for 14 years of my life, have citizenship, speak the language, still came back to live here and raise my children here. All served in the IDF all doing well. Then I left again to live in China, an experience put of a fairy tale. AMAZING!!!! But home is only here -- right? So we came back to give our youngest child the chance to finish High School in Israel. The kid is very happy, I would be too. School is like a summer camp and social life for kids here is fantastic. An anomaly I must say given the news, the daily disgust with what we hear & see and are helpless to change. I, Yael, brought up in the Conservative movement and imbued with the Zionist ideals in-utero, have begun to believe that Neturei Karta were right. The Jews are simply not ready to govern themselves and have their own country. Otherwise how do you explain the self destructive, self hating behavior that takes place here on an hourly basis? The dishonesty, the corruption, the discrimination, the rudeness and stupidity? The greatest miracle of the 20th century is the creation of the state of Israel & the redemption of the Jewish people, the second one will be if we survive another decade in this country as an independent entity. There is no leadership no leader. The "great white hope" of Israeli society, the first generation born into an independent state (my generation) is less competent and far more lacking in skills that the founding fathers/mothers of this country. They are self serving and ignorant. I am worried, unhappy and so disappointed. I am not surprised by the latest travesty you have just sent us, it is just another nail driven through my heart. I tell you frankly that only Hashgacha Eliona [G-d's intervention] will save us from this insanity. Have you ever thought of entering politics here? You have my family's vote. With sincere appreciation, Yael Yael Pedhatzur P.O.Box 4024 Omer, Israel Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and journalist who lives in Jerusalem. She can be contacted at www.naomiragen.com, where you can subscribe to her newsletter. To Go To Top

KNESSET VOTES TO INVESTIGATE HANDLING POLLARD CASE BY STATE COMPTROLLER Posted by Justice For Jonathan Pollard, December 31, 2007.

Responding to the news that the Knesset State Control Committee voted unanimously today to empower State Comptroller Judge Micha Lindenstrauss to investigate the Government's 23 year failure to secure Jonathan Pollard's release, Esther Pollard gave the following statement to Galei Tzahal (IDF) Radio : There is a time to investigate and there is a time to act expeditously to save a life. After 23 years in prison in harsh conditions Jonathan's life is literally hanging in the balance. Every day he struggles to survive in spite of his failing health; in spite of the harsh conditions he is held in; and in spite of the violent, anti-Semitic environment . In a very few days from now, President George Bush will arrive in Israel. Now is the time for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to ask President Bush to make a gesture to Israel. One gesture, one prisoner, Jonathan Pollard, home, now. Jonathan has served more than 5 times the ususal sentence for the offense he committed, including 7 years in solitary confinement. Israel has already paid the full price for Jonathan at Wye (the release of 750 terrorist with blood on their hands). With the visit of President George Bush to Israel next week, now is the right moment to collect his release. The time to save Jonathan's life is now. To bring him home safe and sound. When Jonathan is home and out of harm's way, there will be ample time to investigate. See Also: The Wye Double-Cross Page www.jonathanpollard.org/wye.htm Audio: Esther Pollard's Interview Re: Knesset Vote to Empower Investigation -- Galei Tzhal (To be posted to the web as soon as the sound file is available.) Reach Justice for Jonathan Pollard by sending an email to justice4jp@gmail.com To Go To Top

HOBSON'S CHOICES DEFINE OUR PERILOUSLY EMERGING NEW MILLENNIUM Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, December 30, 2007.

How can the seeds of peace flourish in the world, especially in the unstable Middle East, when secular moderate leaders continue to be assassinated, the latest former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, along with at least twenty others in range of an exploding twisted human, aided and abetted by an astonishing lack of security in the radical Islamic fundamentalist breeding ground of Pakistan, a powder keg with many fuses? Its sheriff Pervez Musharraf, in the mold of Casablanca's Inspector Louis Renault, will no doubt round up the usual suspects with no intention of solving the crime, knowing any true investigation indeed could lead to a few murky motives, some of which could even reside on his own less than savory doorstep. Furthermore, could the twisted human homicide/suicide bomber that whacked Ms. Bhutto and proximate victims be a cum laude graduate of one of the fine Saudi financed Wahhabi universities strewn about the landscape of sheriff Musharraf's wild west of the East, where no non-jihad junkie might travel safely unless he or she astutely be donned in say de rigueur U.S. manufactured Dragon Skin body armor, the kind our fair intrepid upper class fatalistic lady Bhutto should have been wearing, if indeed that badland's sheriff deigned to provide her with the necessary permit to do so? Surely, in them there hills or pot holed bustling urban streets of rag tag Pakistan, teeming with 160 million Muslims of all sorts, one does not poke one's head and torso outside of a stage coach, limo, or Bradley nee Sherman tank without the necessary protection buffering all vital parts, unless of course one is possessed by a death wish dwarfing that of the late daredevil Evel Knievel. Then again, at least Ms. Bhuttos' twisted assassin was not attired in a Dr. Strangelove nuclear vest, cut from cloth woven by Pakistan's yet idolized 'father of nukes' primo physicist Abdul Qadeer Khan, instiller of pride within a humiliated underdeveloped nation of too many losers, abutting an also nuclear in-your-face much larger mostly Hindu on and off adversary India currently kicking economic butt unlike Musharraf's scruffy multitudes. As an aside of worldly importance, just because the 'hero of the critical masses' Khan presumably (ha! ha!) conned the 'always vigilant' Musharraf into believing he would not disseminate his nuclear knowledge to the world, and he did, does not mean the regime's 'rock star' equivalent should be tossed in the slammer. Right!?! The badland's sheriff with an uncanny survival instinct as well as friends in high as well as low places knows just how and how not to handle such matters. Speaking of friends in high places, how come a presumably 'war on terror' obsessed Bush Administration still powwows with such an obvious rogue like Pervez, the cagey Muslim cat with at least nine lives? Perhaps for the same reason the U.S. Prez and his crew still remain bosom buddies with the terrible turbaned Wahhabi financing Saudis; sometimes you've gotta lie down with dogs and hope you don't get up with fleas! Speaking of dogs and fleas, how come America's elected high muckamucks still slobber over that Hamas alternative and unrepentant Holocaust revisionist Fatah Big Kahuna Mahmoud Abbas; early 1980's author of an abomination comparing Jews to Nazis, suggesting the swastika set might not have used gas chambers, minimizing the number of Jews tortured and incinerated during century twenty's most calculating mechanized horrific genocide; yet rightly condemn all other Holocaust revisionists? Oh yeah, sometimes even a superpower has gotta do what a superpower has gotta do, and hope there's plenty of Raid in the house just in case you know what starts itching on a presumed thick skin. And why not be one of almost ninety donor nations pledging 7.4 billion to the Holocaust revisionist smoothie, dressed to the nines unlike his late four decade mentor Yassar 'Allah forbid peace with Israel or I might lose my power and wealth' Arafat, that ever popular, especially to his U.N. groupies, Arab intifada indulger always bedecked in anti-Armani terrorist attire with a dirty shmata festooning his forehead? Could ninety in fact mostly non-Muslim nations be wrong, noting that 80% of the pledge money is promised by that majority of 'infidel' entities, using the vernacular of many Palestinian recipients? Furthermore, would it be presumptuous to ask if those ninety mostly non-Muslim nations intend to merely sweep Abbas' Holocaust revisionist philosophy, attesting to his current biased agenda, under the rugs of any future Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiating tables, thus allowing his unfettered anti-Semitic mindset to postulate the terms of all peace proposals to be foisted at Israel, without themselves being well stocked with Raid or some other flea repellent (my apologies to such blood sucking insects for comparing them to a lowlife thinking creature whose potential for harm is so much greater than theirs)? Yet, that is the way of today's world, full of perceived Hobson's choices, yet choices that would more than likely contribute substantially to the dysfunction of a perilously emerging new Millennium. There has got to be a better way! Lawrence Uniglicht is a career civil servant. He advocates for the State of Israel with an American perspective. He writes, "Advocating for the disrespected underdog has been my passion, no doubt Israel falls into that category." Contact him by email at larose@snip.net To Go To Top

A WASTE OF MONEY: ARAFAT'S RAT-HOLE IS ALIVE & OPERATING Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 30, 2007.

It has been reported by DEBKAfile that Fatah leaders are conspiring to unseat Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority and to pre-empt his control of the donated (pledged) $7.5 Billion from the donor nations. Why would anyone be surprised as the rats originally assembled by Arafat scrap over who is going to get their share of the Billions? Recall the prior Billions donated by the Europeans and Uncle Sucker Sam to the Palestinian enterprise. Every nation knew that the money was plunging down that Palestinian rat-hole and coming out in Swiss bank accounts. I suppose Salam Fayyad accounting and pay out wasn't sufficiently generous in his last payout. In fact, he used $58 Million in U.S. cash to pay the salaries of Abbas' Force 17 and, somehow, checks also wound up going to Hamas. (Shucks...Just another one of those unavoidable mistakes.) He said it was merely "an accounting mistake". Now there is some big cash to plunder and the rats are gathering for their share as happened when Yassir Arafat was King Rat. So now Bush and the Europeans stand and gawk with a stupid look on their faces as they throw away their tax-payers' money on the insatiable Terrorists' appetites for paychecks and arms. Could we all possibly be that stupid or is it just a scheme of Bush, Rice and Baker to please the Saudis? But, not to worry. Abbas' lieutenants in Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades or Force 17 will, at the very least, end up with elegant apartments and cash reserves in Switzerland. The West has been bribing the Palestinian Muslim Arabs as a permanent charity obligation so all they have to do is to conduct Terror and collect charity checks. Billions and billions of dollars that could have gone to real charity around the world only goes to a people whose work ethic is teaching their children to become Shahids or Shahadas (boy and girl suicide martyrs). I wonder how much of the $7.4 Billion will be used to train and obtain weapons of Mass Destruction to be set off in America, England, France or wherever Islamists need to show their strength. I wonder if, after training by the American CIA and after the Palestinians achieve the skill level of Al Qaeda and blow up our cities will we convene a Nuremberg Tribunal and sentence those who gave them money to kill us? Did you ever think that America and the European Union would invest their tax-payers' dollars and euros in a global enterprise of developing Terror so Muslims could create an Islamic Caliphate to rule the world. It's understandable that Arab pagans believe in suicide to launch them to Islamic Paradise but, why would Americans and Europeans volunteer to be sacrificial victims in order to fulfill the beliefs of the Mullahs and Ayatollahs? Is the untimely death of Benazir Bhutto at the hands of Islamists sufficient lesson? I doubt it. Will the increased firing of missiles and rockets into Israel teach a lesson that Islamo-fascism cannot be appeased? Will sucking up to the Saudis' temper their hatred of the West, of all infidels, of all non-Muslims? I doubt it Will the Saudi plan for the U.S. to open diplomatic relations with Iran stop their determined Nuclear Development? I doubt it. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

DEFEATING TERROR....SUPPORTING TERROR Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 30, 2007.

President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have encouraged most (not all) governments to "fight Terrorists". The U.S. Government, under Bush, was to lead the way for fighting Global Terror wherever it occurred. Bush poured Billions into Iraq to encourage the Iraqi government to fight both the Shiite and Sunni Terrorists. And more Billions into Afghanistan. Regrettably, Iraq's leaders failed to do so and the war rages on. Bush spent more Billions encouraging Pervez Musharraf, the leader of Pakistan to fight the Terrorists there and, he too, achieved only modest success. He refused to allow U.S. strikes on the Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda who find refuge on the Pakistani-Afghani border. As in Iraq and Pakistan, it is believed the leaders have close ties to the Terrorists and refuse an all-out fight. In Afghanistan, here too Bush and NATO are fighting the Taliban -- funded primarily by the Bush Administration. The Taliban are now re-grouping and Afghanistan's government under President Hamid Karzi seems to have divided loyalties when it comes to fighting Terror. Bush, Rice and Baker do everything they can to keep the Saudi royal family in power despite the fact that the Saudis fund many Terrorist movements and teach their children the Wahhabi way of hating non-Muslims. The Bush regime has demonstrated their willingness to fund the fight against Global Terror in Africa, South America -- with one exception -- Israel. Here the Bush Administration and the European Union fund Terror against Israel. The Jewish State of Israel, at one time, was self-sufficient in fighting Palestinian Terrorists and winning wars initiated by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Losing wars against a tiny nation of Jews wounded their vaunted Muslim pride as "great Muslim warriors". Therefore, we saw a flip-flop by several U.S. Presidents and the Arabist U.S. State Department to rescue that vaunted pride so it could continue their religious uprising in the name of Islam. Instead of fighting and funding the fight against Terror launched on Israel, America began to fund the Terrorist nations and the Terrorists themselves. America paid Billions of American tax-payers' dollars into Arafat's PLO and the pockets of his high command -- and continues to do so. At the same time, American Presidents like George Herbert Walker Bush and his ever hostile to Israel companion, James Baker III began the process of subverting and restraining Israel's fight against Arab Terror. Rabin, Peres, Barak and then entrapping Ariel Sharon and easily recruiting Ehud Olmert. They were assigned the distasteful role of "Quislings". All over the world President Bush was encouraging other nations to fight Terror but, around Israel, he was encouraging and paying the Terrorists to expand their attacks. Now American forces arm and train Palestinian Terrorists to shoot, set explosives, fire missiles and teach all the skills necessary to overthrow the Government of Israel. We all know that oil and cash flow is the great motivator. Thus we see the Bush Administration and the Europeans pledge $7.5 Billion to pay the Palestinian army of Terrorists who will and have turned on their benefactors. It would take a crowbar to disengage their lips from the oil spigot of the Royal Saudi family and the feeding trough of the Palestinian Fatah. Imagine, the only country holding its own against expanding Islamic Jihad is to be subverted by the Bush Administration. Is this the legacy of the Bush family and their cohorts "I defeated Israel" carved on stone? Every country that you have attempted to encourage and fund to defeat Muslim Terror has failed. The only country and ally who has been effective in countering Islam's march to a Global Islamic Caliphate you treat as an enemy. Condi Rice has been heard to scream at Israel's leaders in the King David Hotel if they did not bow to her demands for obedience. If Israel dares to move against Hamas in force, the threats for Israel to show "restraint" come pouring in. As the Palestinian Arab Muslims, both Fatah and Hamas, build their forces with U.S. assistance and that of Egypt, Syria, Iran, only Israeli forces are kept on a short leash held by Rice, Baker and Bush. Do you really think the Arabs, once so close to the German Nazis will stop their march to occupy the West, will cease their march because you threw Israel to them -- like a bone? Betraying an ally puts the mark of Cain on America's forehead, making all America an unwitting partner in the Administration's crime against the Jewish nation. You President Bush, along with your talking head, Condi Rice, will visit Israel around January 9th. You bring with you a veritable army to protect you -- not from the Jews but, from the Muslims whom you are funding. You know that the Muslim Palestinians of Fatah, Hamas, the proxies of Syria and Iran -- like Hezb'Allah -- would try anything to assassinate you as they just did with Benazir Bhutto. Why not appeal to their conscience and tell them how much you have done for them. No doubt, they will stand down any plans to assassinate you...don't you think? I guess you will have to rely upon the only security you can trust...Israeli Intelligence. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

LIBERATION, NOT OCCUPATION Posted by Fred Reifenberg, December 30, 2007.

What always amazes me is that writers like this were no where to be found, after the socalled peace process began. I've always said that the problems we now face could, and should, have been solved as early as 1994, by sending those cutthroat terrorists our left brought here, packing, when they made agreements, that were worthless, and made in 'BAD FAITH". This was written by Asher Zelig Fried and it appeared December 28, 2007 in Arutz-Sheva

Israel stands accused of conducting a brutal military occupation of Arab lands inhabited by an indigenous, peace-seeking Arab population. Repeatedly, in newscasts and the press, Israel is characterized as harshly subjugating another people. These accusations are dangerous, a pervasive lie, and an existential threat to Israel. They are a classic manifestation of a much utilized propaganda tactic known as "The Big Lie." Accusations resulting from this falsehood exceed all bounds of truth and continue relentlessly. Incredibly, many are now accepted as "articles of faith" by increasing numbers of those who heretofore viewed Israel favorably. These accusations have become the common ground that transforms casual supporters of Israel into vocal Israel-bashers, and the glue that today binds every manner of Israel's enemies. Israel's "occupation" of the disputed areas began subsequent to its 1967 victory in the Six Day War, when Jewish settlement of Judea and Samaria began in earnest. Initial Arab reactions were positive, as working relationships were maintained between Jewish communities and their Arab neighbors. Jews would regularly visit Arab towns and employ local townspeople. The Arab standard of living improved significantly as its per capita income increased exponentially. Local roads were modernized, water supplies increased, electricity and telephone communications were developed, and a new tourism industry flourished. With rare exception, there were no road-blocks, lock-downs, or curfews, as Arabs worked and shopped in Haifa and Tel Aviv, and Jews shopped in Ramallah and in local Arab villages. With the benefits of Arab and Jew living side-by-side and in relative peace apparent through the 1970s and 1980s, there nevertheless were Arab rumblings about Jewish settlement in the land. It received, however, minimal attention; it was perceived to be the sentiment of relatively few Arab dissidents. The improving economic conditions of the local population and its benefits were deemed far more important than the negative potential of a renewal of friction. These relationships, built over a period of 25 years, were dramatically and irretrievably altered with the signing of the Oslo Accords of 1993. The Accords created an entirely new narrative. The status of Jewish residents changed abruptly from neighbor to occupier, even in their own homes and communities. Arab extremists, emboldened by Oslo's promise of an independent Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, demanded removal of all Jewish communities in areas they now claimed as exclusively their own. In 1994, Israel granted the Palestinian National Authority autonomous control of the major Arab cities in Judea and Samaria, and of the surrounding areas. The PNA's corrupt rule and suppression of all opposition resulted in a GDP in 2003 one-tenth of what it had been in 1992. The then-newly-returned Yasser Arafat and his murderous henchmen spread their reign of terror and hostility, while their propagandists introduced a new rallying call, "End the Occupation." Israel's political Left, in support of Oslo, immediately joined the fray. Incredibly, no one questioned the incongruity of Jews branded occupiers of Judea, the province named for its Jewish residents. No one thought it odd that Jews were now accused of occupying Jerusalem, known historically as "the city of the Jew." Far more vociferous then even the Arab propagandists, the Israeli Left immediately embraced the Arab narrative and intensified their onslaught. They too adopted "End the Occupation" as their rallying call, with which they then pervaded Israeli TV, radio, newspapers, film, literature and the universities. Today, the very words of seditious Israeli university professors, who denigrate Israel in the most perverse manner, are quoted by Israel's enemies across the globe. Perhaps the greatest irony is that The Big Lie as a tool of propaganda was first introduced by Adolf Hitler in his 1925 autobiography Mein Kampf. He states that for the Big Lie to be effective, it "must be so colossal that no one would believe that someone could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously." He further posits that "in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily." This tactic was utilized by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda, who understood that for the lie to be effective, it must not only be colossal, but also must contain at least a kernel of truth, and be repeated with great frequency. The Arab propagandists, and now enemies of Israel worldwide, have learned well from their murderous Nazi predecessors. Accusations of occupation by Israel's leftist press, and by Israel's detractors following their lead, are repeated regularly and without respite. The necessary kernel of truth is evident: Israel does, in fact, occupy Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem; much the same way that it occupies Tel Aviv and Haifa, and in much the same the way the United States occupies Miami and Los Angeles with their minority Latino populations, and the same way Canada occupies Quebec, with its minority French population. Jews were sovereign in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, and the lands west of the Jordan River for a thousand years, while Arabs were never sovereign in these lands. It was not until the late 19th and early 20th century that the overwhelming majority of Arabs living west of the Jordan River migrated to the area. The land then was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Subsequently, until the founding of the Jewish State, it was under British control. With Israel's victory in the Six Day War and subsequent control of these areas, Jordan disavowed any further claim to it. The merit of Israel's claim thus far exceeds any other. By what standard are Jews "occupiers" for striving to settle these areas? By what justification should this land, Israel's ancient heartland, be exclusively Arab and forbidden to Jews? Branding Israel an "occupier" is designed to engender overwhelming negative reaction to Israel and ultimately to delegitimize her. It places Israel, via comparison, alongside murderous military occupations. Israel's "occupation" is thus similar to Nazi Germany's occupation of eastern Europe, or Japan's occupation of China, or the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Europe, all of which resulted in millions murdered and enslaved. Perpetrated by cruel and despotic dictators, these occupations were militarily invasions of sovereign countries for the purpose of murder, mayhem and subjugating the citizenry. Israel's "occupation," by contrast, is led by Jewish families building new communities, schools, and houses of worship. These families have built the area's infrastructure anew and desire only to live in peace with all residents of the area. Comparing such families settling their ancestral homeland to murderous Nazi, Japanese and Soviet armies is more than a lie; it's obscene. In the final analysis, the lie of Israel as Occupier was created by the Oslo Accords. The Accords transformed Jewish families settling Israel's heartland into pariahs in the eyes of much of the world, and confusion as to where in Israel Jews would be permitted to live. Israel's friends began to wonder why Israel would surrender its heritage to an enemy sworn to destroy it. Most horrifically, Oslo brought about a reign of terror resulting in death and disfigurement to thousands of innocent Jewish men, women and children. The most difficult issue facing Israel today is that of a hostile minority population, resentful of and refusing to live in peace with the ruling Jewish majority. Believing the surrender of Israel's heartland will bring peace is delusional. The issue will be resolved only when Israel's minority population recognizes the myriad advantages of living together peacefully with the Jewish majority. Israel needs new leadership with a new vision, one that is ready to proclaim Jewish sovereignty over all of Jerusalem and over Israel's historic heartland. Contact Fred Reifenberg by email at freify@netvision.net.il To Go To Top

6.5 TONS OF POTASSIUM NITRATE DISCOVERED IN SUGAR BAGS MARKED: EU ASSISTANCE Posted by Bryna Berch, December 30, 2007.

A IDF spokesman announced they'd discovered 6.5 Tons of Potassium Nitrate in Sugar Bags Marked as EU Assistance. They discovered them at a checkpoint. This comes by way of IMRA -- Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il The pix come from the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Group (http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/eng/eng_n/ct_301207e.htm) Potassium nitrate camouflaged as sugar sent as European Union aid to the Palestinian Authority (IDF spokesman, December 29, 2007). Sacks of potassium nitrate (IDF spokesman, December 29, 2007). Some points of interest: First: the discovery was made "a few weeks ago". Maybe around the time of the Annapolis festivities and nobody wanted to dissipate the pretense that the meeting was going to make the Arabs peace-loving. Even now, the idiot Israelis aren't acting outraged at this threat to their citizen's safety -- wouldn't want to hurt EU's feelings. Second: look at how many sacks there were and they look pretty big. This wasn't a 2-bit 5-minute operation. So how did so much nitrate get into so many bags without knowledge of the "humitarians" shipping the sugar to Hamas-controlled Gaza? Answer. It didn't. Some EU employees are actively helping the Arab terrorists and, of course, EU is funding these terrorists. The IDF is polite and says the terror org "exploited" the humanitarians. Maybe. Or maybe the EU was a consenting delinquent. It's pretty clever putting the potassium nitrate in the sugar, ahead of time. It and sugar are basic ingredients for making explosives. They'd be nicely mixed by the time they reached the bomb makers. Who knew the scatty labile "Palestinians" were so efficient.

Now released for publication: In a joint IDF and ISA operation several weeks ago, a truck was caught at one of the crossing points in Judea and Samaria carrying approximately 6.5 tons of Potassium Nitrate. The Potassium Nitrate was disguised in sugar bags, and was intended for use by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Potassium Nitrate is a banned substance in the Gaza Strip and the Judea and Samaria region due to its use by terrorists for the manufacturing of explosives and Qassam rockets. The terror organizations disguised the Potassium Nitrate in sugar bags that were marked as being part of the humanitarian aid provided by the European Union. This is another example of how the terror organizations exploit the humanitarian aid that is delivered to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip with Israel's approval. Contact Avodah by email at avodah15@aol.com To Go To Top

WARRIORS OF OUR LAND Posted by David Wilder, December 29, 2007.

[BACKGROUND: see below.] This morning I was told an amazing story, which I'd never heard before. I was sitting with my good friend and teacher, Rabbi Yisrael Shlissel, the dean of the Ohr Shlomo Study Hall located in Tel Rumeida. I had just related to him one on a list of horror items concerning Friday's battle, when two young Kiryat Arba men were killed by Arab terrorists. On this morning's news the Arabs claimed that Achikam Amichai and David Rubin were not killed by terrorists. Rather the incident was criminally motivated. The terrorist spokesman said that it was a drug deal gone bad and they started shooting at each other. As a result of these charges, on Friday night, following the beginning of the Jewish Shabbat -- Sabbath, police invaded the morgue in Kiryat Arba, stripped the two dead men, photographed them and took their fingerprints, in order to check out any past 'criminal' or 'drug-related' past. It's enough to turn ones stomach. When I finished telling Rabbi Shlissel about this, he told me his story. The Rabbi is, by the way, the son-in-law of murdered Rabbi Shlomo Ra'anan, who was stabbed to death in his Tel Rumeida home by an Arab terrorist over nine years ago. Rabbi Shlissel told me that following the week of mourning for his father-in-law, the police requested that the murdered Rabbi's widow, Chaya Ra'anan, accompany them to the police station in order to answer a few questions. She had been present at the time of the murder and tried to save her husband, to no avail. She agreed and sat down with an investigator at the local police headquarters. When their line of questioning became clear, she abruptly got up and walked out. The police officer interrogating her suspected her of having murdered her husband and then setting up her home, (including igniting a firebomb in order to burn down their caravan home), to make it 'look like' a terror attack. So much for our wonderful Israeli police, who suspect terror-attack victims of murder, and strip and fingerprint murdered Israelis because of terrorist's charges. Difficult to believe. But the stories are true. This is the country we live in. This is very similar to charges made by IDF officers, who have said, between the lines, that the two men and young woman with them shouldn't have been where they were, or that they should have first received an OK from the army. Had they done so, they'd still be alive. May so, but who would have been killed in their place? And why should Jews living in Eretz Yisrael have to get permission to hike in our own land? The so-called leaders of our country are attempting to close us into a ghetto, or perhaps something smaller than a ghetto. They'd prefer to lock us in and throw away the key. This is 'living?' This is 'being a free people in our Land?' as we recite in the Israeli national anthem, HaTikvah. Clearly the Israeli government has drawn the borders for the yet-to-be-born 'palestinian state,' G-d forbid. Anyone driving into Judea, from Jerusalem in the north, or via the Transjudea highway from the west, has to pass though a 'border-checkpoint,' all ready to begin checking passports and stopping 'unwanteds' from entering 'palestine,' G-d help us. The new Fatah-terrorist prime minister was quoted as saying that the killings 'pain' the palestinians. Of course the killings 'pain' them. It 'pains' them that only two people were killed, and not more. After all, there were three Jews present at the site; why wasn't the third person done away with too?   NOT TOO LONG AGO I wrote that America is our enemy. This riled up and even offended a few people. Perhaps I should have been more specific. Not all the American people are our enemy. But this American administration? What can you do? I cannot retract the truth. There are three forces working against Israel today, two from the outside and one from the inside. From the outside there is Yishmael, today represented by the Arab world, represented by the Fuhrer of Iran, the demon of Al-Qaeda, and our peace partners across the road, which are the most sophisticated of the groups. The first two don't hide behind niceties. They say straight out: We are going to erase the Jews from the map. The third group prefers the Trojan horse method, as admitted by 'international statesman' Feisal el Husseini, just prior to this death, and backed up by one of his successors, Sari Nussebah, who recently declared that Jews have no place in Jerusalem, Hebron or even Jaffa. The second group, is Asav, (Esau), which is today represented by 'the Western World,' namely, Europe, the UN and on top of it all, the United States. When the Secretary of State of the greatest power in the world compares the 'plight' of the palestinians to the discrimination against blacks in the United States, when the American ambassador to Israel meets with the president of the Israeli supreme court to 'talk about the occupied territories,' when the President of the United States is adamant about creating a new terror state in the world prior to exiting the White House at whatever price, the agenda is clear. Bush isn't coming to Israel in a couple of weeks to vacation in the Eilat sun. He's coming over to exert as much pressure as he possibly can to receive more and more Israeli concessions, in an attempt to force the 'piece-process' down our collective throats. Israel will have a hard time saying no; Bush is putting too much prestige on the line for Israeli leaders to be able to ignore or refuse his demands. Bush is, today, leading the frontal attack against Israel, using not nuclear bombs, rather statesmanship as his primary weapon. This is, perhaps, even more dangerous than a nuclear bomb; with such a bomb you know what you're up against; with statesmanship you can only guess at the significance and implications of the intended results. If this isn't an enemy, I don't know what is. However, there is a third force pushing Israel into a corner. That force is, of course, ourselves. No, not all of us. But those people who are supposed to be 'leading' the people, are in fact leading, but in the wrong direction. Rather than portraying strength, courage and wisdom, they are rendering versions of the exact opposite. Israeli leadership has, for a number of years, been leading our people and our country down a dead end lane, a suicide path, which brought us to Oslo, Hebron, Wye and now Annapolis, the supreme betrayal of all that the authentic Israel stands for. Achikam Amichai and David Rubin were warriors. Both served in elite units, one naval and the other air force. They were trained to protect their country, to defend their people, to do whatever necessary to defeat the enemy. They faced a surprise attack, but did not despair. At least two of the terrorists attacking them were killed; perhaps also a third one also. During the battle they fell, but they saved the life of a young woman who was with them. Had they not fought back, had they died without a fight, she too, almost certainly, would have been killed. They knew the odds were against them, but you do not give up without a fight. Their love for their land, for their people, for their beliefs, their courage, their very lives, is the quintessential Jew in Israel: this is true leadership; this is the way a Jew should live today. We may have lost two of the best, but we have, staring us in the eyes, the Jewish Israeli of the future. Not Olmert, Peres, Livni, not Mazuz, Beinish, or Barak, rather people like Achikam and David, they are our future. Achikam means, my brother has risen; David, the eternal King of Israel. Achikam is a brother to all of us, he rose above the everyday drudgery of life, to give his life for his people, for his land, for his G-d. David exemplified the bravery of his namesake. May their lives and their memories be a blessing upon us all; may we learn from their lives and continue on the path that they laid out before us. With blessings from Hebron. David Wilder is spokesman of The Jewish Community of Hebron. You can contribute directly to The Jewish Community of Hebron, POB10, Kiryat Arba-Hebron 90100, hebron@hebron.org.il, 972-2-9965333 or write to The Hebron Fund, 1760 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, hebronfund@aol.com To Go To Top

SDEROT ABANDONED Posted by Koira, December 29, 2007.

This was written by Myles Kantor and it appeared 17 December 2007 in www.FrontPageMagazine.com (www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=E76D9AB3-495E-4004-B8D1- 85E0473039CB)

Generations ago, Arabs used knives and bullets to murder Jews in Israel. Today they prefer bombs and rockets. While all of Israel faces menaces like Iranian nuclear aggression and Syrian gangsterism, many Israeli areas are relatively tranquil. As Charles Bukowski once wrote in a poem, it's not war all the time. Unless you live in Sderot. The words "Sderot" and "Qassams" go hand in hand, and with good reason. It is an atrocious reality that Sderot-an Israeli city no less than Tel Aviv or Tiberias-is a place where citizens of Israel have suffered thousands of rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip. In November 2006, one of these Qassams murdered Yaakov Yaakobov, a husband and father of two sons. In a demonstration of Muslim solidarity, another Qassam murdered Muslim Fatima Slutsker as she crossed a street in November 2006. Israel under Ariel Sharon may have "disengaged" from Gaza, but Gaza has not disengaged from Israel. With death never far from their minds, residents of Sderot do not lead normal lives. Longtime Sderot resident Haim Kuznits has remarked, "When we take our son to school we are afraid of what might happen. We call it our Russian roulette." With comfortable detachment from life in Sderot, perpetual Israeli politician Shimon Peres trivialized the attacks last year as "Qassams shmassams." After yet another Qassam attack, Sderot's mayor resigned on December 12. Eli Moyal had been mayor since 1999. "Perhaps this will get the government to undertake action for the sake of the residents' lives," Moyal commented, disgusted with the Israeli state's failure to protect Israelis in Sderot. Municipal policy has also endangered Israeli lives in Sderot. Consider the case of Dr. Boris Singer, who suffered extensive shrapnel damage from a Qassam in 2006 and almost died. At the time of the attack, he was in a legal battle against a regulation that prohibited the construction of shelters in homes. When you have to break the law to protect your family, your society has some serious problems. Another distressing aspect of Sderot's bombardment is how it reenacts a form of aggression Israel endured after 1948. When Israel attained national liberation in 1948, the Arab world did not suddenly accept Jewish sovereignty and move on. Prior to Israel's 1956 war with Egypt, it faced a continuous, demoralizing, lethal threat in the form of Arab infiltration. From 1948 to 1956, infiltrators killed nearly 300 Israelis and wounded between 500 and 1000. (To put this in demographic context, Israel's population in 1956 was less than two million.) Infiltrators also inflicted massive economic damage through theft and sabotage. Prime Minister David Ben Gurion called this a "guerrilla war" against Israel supported by Arab states. Sderot was founded in 1951. In December of that year, a report about a community west of Jerusalem called Mishmar Ayalon noted, "In the evenings the women are afraid to remain in their homes, and they gather together with their children in a number of houses in the center of the settlement." In 1953, residents of Mishmar Ayalon continued "to join 4-5 families in one room [at night], so that there's a feeling of security." Constant aggression by infiltrators caused other communities to be abandoned. Historian Benny Morris notes in Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001: Some half dozen moshavim [cooperative agricultural communities composed of individual farms], populated by new immigrants mainly from Muslim countries, were completely deserted during this period [1950-1953], and more than a dozen others suffered major population depletion. In large measure this was due to depredations by infiltrators. The departure of some families inevitably increased the guard-duty burden of the males who remained, further undermining the settlers' staying power. In the early 1950s, Israel did not have the military sophistication and power it has today; but it still responded to the attacks. Writing about this period in The Sword and the Olive: A Critical History of the Israeli Defense Force, military historian Martin van Creveld observes, "[N]o state can tolerate a situation whereby its borders are violated hundreds of times a year by thousands of people, particularly if some are armed and attack property and citizens." In 2007, Israel's borders have been violated thousands of times in Sderot; and Jews die or escape death with maimed bodies and traumatized souls. Why is this happening? Demography might provide a despicable explanation. Sderot's population largely consists of Moroccan and Russian Jews. It is not an affluent city. One wonders: If Hamas and Islamic Jihad were firing Qassams into wealthier cities like Rishon LeZion and Herzliya (named after the very European Zionist, Theodor Herzl), would the Israeli government be as derelict? Or would the government use its vast military resources to stop the aggression? Israel's Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty states, "All persons are entitled to protection of their life, body, and dignity." In Sderot, the Israeli government has abandoned its primary duty of protection. Every Qassam that hits Sderot is an indictment of that government. Contact Koira by email at koira@dbmail.com To Go To Top

JOHN BOLTON: STATE DEPARTMENT LEFTISTS HAVE DEFEATED BUSH Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 28, 2007.

Washington is always on the look out for moles who subvert Government policies. They say if you wish to hide, do it in plain sight. Perhaps the biggest of moles would be the gigantic U.S. State Department, representing themselves and using U.S. Intelligence as a cover. It is often seen where State Department diplomats stationed in Europe or the Muslim and Arab nations adopt the views of their hospitable host government. Often when they retire they even take employment as foreign agents for the foreign governments in which they previously served. The recent NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) Report by America's 16 separate Intelligence Agencies demonstrates the power of what can only be called a "Shadow Government" subverting America's elected government. We see the State Department acting the role of a giant mole, serving other vested interests. Clearly, Congress has abdicated its role of "oversight" rather than challenge the authority of a non-elected institution which is supposed to serve the Government's Executive Branch. As you read and digest the following essay by Kenneth Timmerman about John Bolton's opinion, you may, no doubt, conclude that Government Policy has been deliberately subverted. It appeared in Newsmax yesterday and it is entitled "John Bolton: State Department Leftists Have Defeated Bush."

"I think we are very close to a decision point," John Bolton says. "And if the choice is between nuclear Iran and use of force, I think we have to look at the use of force." Resistance by partisan "shadow warriors" at the Department of State has limited the president's options and is bringing us dangerously close to a military showdown with Iran, former Bush administration official John Bolton told Newsmax in an exclusive interview. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice initially had planned to provide significant aid to the pro-democracy movement in Iran, as a means of giving the president more policy options, Bolton said. But resistance by the State Department bureaucracy crippled the programs and rendered them ineffective. "[T]he outcome has been no overt program of support for democracy and no clandestine program to overthrow the regime," Bolton said. "This is a classic case study why diplomacy is not cost-free. If we had been working on regime change effectively over the last four or more years, we would be in a lot different position today," he added. The State Department emphasis on European-led negotiations has allowed Iran to buy time and to perfect the technology it needs to make nuclear weapons, Bolton argued. Even if President Bush decided to reinvigorate the pro-democracy programs tomorrow, Bolton believes we probably don't have enough time for them to be effective before the Iranians get the bomb. "I think we are very close to a decision point," Bolton told Newsmax. "And if the choice is between nuclear Iran and use of force, I think we have to look at the use of force." Bolton said that the CIA shared the State Department's opposition to doing anything overtly or covertly to undermine the Iranian regime, and faulted Secretary of State Rice for getting "co-opted" by the bureaucracy. "Secretary Rice has adopted the prevailing view within the bureaucracy, which have been reflected in our deference to the Europeans and the exclusively diplomatic approach for four years," he said. This approach is particularly dangerous because the U.S. intelligence community has almost always been wrong in its estimates of when Iran could acquire nuclear weapons capability, Bolton said. One of reason for the inability to get Iran right is an unwillingness to talk to Iranian defectors. "Since World War II, the Intelligence community has disliked exiles and dissidents, claiming they are unreliable because they have a political agenda. This is just self-blindness," he said. As a result of such prejudices, "[o]ur lack of reliable intelligence inside Iran is substantial... Every day the military option is postponed makes it riskier that we will actually use force but fail to achieve our objectives." Bolton worries that bad intelligence, coupled to wishful thinking by bureaucrats who tend to downplay the threat, could lead to strategic surprise by Iran or North Korea. "I personally do not believe in just-in-time non-proliferation," he said. Bolton has long been an advocate of muscular diplomacy. When he served as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and Non-proliferation during the early years of the Bush administration, he frequently crossed swords with arms control advocates who were viscerally opposed to imposing sanctions on proliferators. In his recent book, Surrender is Not an Option, Bolton names one such official, Vann Van Diepen, who refused to act on direct orders to apply non-proliferation sanctions. As Newsmax revealed on December 4, Van Diepen was one of three former State Department officials who authored the much-disputed recent National Intelligence Estimate on Iran. The arms controllers are also trying to rewrite history on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Bolton warned. During negotiations in 2002, the North Korean government admitted that in addition to its plutonium production reactor at Yongbyon, it also had a clandestine uranium enrichment program. For once, Bolton said, "all of the intelligence community agreed that North Korea had embarked on procurement for a uranium enrichment program." And yet today, the arms controllers are trying to walk back that conclusion and "rewrite history" in order to cover-up North Korea's lies and dissembling, Bolton said. Bolton also was critical of the Bush White House for not doing more to name and retain strong conservatives in the administration. When his nomination to become the permanent U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was submitted to the Senate, for example, the administration ran a confirmation battle, whereas the Democrats engaged in a full-fledged political campaign. "Given that, the outcome was predictable," Bolton said. The consequences of allowing the shadow warriors run the government instead of Bush loyalists have been dramatic, since they have succeeded in "turning the President's policy in effect in a 180-degree U-turn" in North Korea and other areas, Bolton said. Bolton said he planned to continue "hawking" his book until Christmas, then would take off January while he mulled future opportunities. He said he eventually planned to join one of the Republican presidential campaigns, but hadn't yet chosen his candidate. Excerpts from the interview: NEWSMAX: Do you think we are heading for war with Iran. JOHN BOLTON: I think there is little doubt that Iran has mastered the Science and technology it needs to enrich uranium. That means that the time and the manner in which it acquires a nuclear weapons capability is entirely within its discretion. It's only a matter of resources, and with oil at 90 dollars a barrel plus, Iran doesn't lack for resources. That means that if the president follows through on his view that Iranian nuclear weapons are unacceptable then we are at a decision point very quickly on whether to use military force. My preference would be regime change in Iran. I think there is a real possibility that the different democratic regime would make the decision that pursuing nuclear weapons is not really in Iran's interest. But that's nothing you can turn on or off like a light switch. So because of the wasted time allowing the Europeans to try to negotiate Iran out of nuclear weapons, I think our options are very few. And if the choice is between nuclear Iran and use of force, I think we have to look at the use of force. NEWSMAX: Why do we have so few options now? BOLTON: Because by deferring to the EU 3 these last four plus, almost five years. we have limited our ability to do other things to see if we can get effective sanctions at the Security Council. I don't think sanctions are going to have a chance of being effective any longer. Especially not UN sanctions. And this long period of time has put Iran in a much more favorable position. It's a classic case study why diplomacy is not cost-free. If we had been working on regime change effectively over the last four or more years we would be in a lot different position today. It's not just the nuclear program. It's Iran's support for terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Gaza strip, including their activity particularly against our forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. So if steps are not taken soon, Iran and other nations in the region will draw the conclusion that we are not serious about stopping Iran's nuclear program, we are not serious about stopping Iranian support for terrorism and they will draw the appropriate conclusions, all of which will be negative to American interest. NEWSMAX: Why hasn't [Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice] done anything to help the pro-freedom movement in Iran? Why has the $75 million program to help the pro-democracy movement had so little impact? BOLTON: I think there is enormous bureaucratic opposition to doing anything overtly or covertly from both the State and CIA bureaucracies. And as on so many other issues, I think, Secretary Rice has adopted the prevailing view within the bureaucracy, which have been reflected in our deference to the Europeans and exclusively diplomatic approach for four years. NEWSMAX: Do you think she is convinced we can do nothing to help the pro democracy movement? After all this was her program. BOLTON: This is completely inexplicable to me. On the overt side she announced it with great fanfare, but as we can see with the recent resignation of the head of the program at the State Department, it has gone nowhere. The argument that identifying Iranian Diaspora groups as being linked to our program makes it disadvantageous for them is belied by the statements of many of these groups who say 'we need the help and we're pleased to have it.' But the outcome has been no overt program of support for democracy and no clandestine program to overthrow the regime. So in effect, we have been doing nothing for getting on to five years now except deferring to the Europeans NEWSMAX: So this leaves us basically with war, or a nuclear armed Iran-- BOLTON? --Or regime change, if we have the time. The problem is we likely do not have the amount of time that would be required. If we only had been more active over the past several years we might not be faced with the unhappy alternative of having to use force. NEWSMAX: How do you see this scenario developing? How do we get to the point of using military force? What happens next? BOLTON: I think we are very close to a decision point. There are all kinds of estimates of when Iran will actually have a nuclear capability. They are all based on assumptions. So if some of those assumptions turn out to be wrong, the Iranians can have the weapons capability much earlier than the estimates would lead you to believe. I personally do not believe in just in-time non-proliferation. There's too much of a risk there that intelligence and analysis can be wrong by understating the threat as well as by overstating the threat. Moreover the Iranians are obviously aware of the risk they run and I think every day that goes by gives them more of an opportunity to harden their existing facilities such as at Natanz, the uranium enrichment facility, or to build completely alternative facilities of which we have no knowledge. Our lack of reliable intelligence inside Iran is substantial. That doesn't make me feel better; it makes me more nervous. Time is working against us. Every day the military option is postponed makes it riskier that we will actually use force but fail to achieve our objectives. NEWSMAX: I've [Kenneth Timmerman] just written a book called Shadow Warriors that talks about people in the CIA and the State Department who have attempted to undermine the president's policies. Do you think the $75 million that Condi announced to help the pro-freedom movement in Iran was undermined by people who don't agree with the policy? BOLTON: I don't think there is any doubt of it. There are many people at the State Department who simply don't like the concept of regime change whether done through pro-democracy groups or done clandestinely. They especially don't like a program that could be said to undercut the European efforts of diplomacy. I think the failure of the $75 million program sends an enormous signal through out the bureaucracy that resistance can work. This is going to have negative consequences not just for the situation in Iran but for a range of other policy issues around the world. NEWSMAX: So the "Shadow Warriors" won this round? BOLTON: I think there is no doubt about it. I don't profess to know everything that went on, but you can tell when the director of the program resigns and basically says, 'I can't make it work,' that there is obviously something badly wrong. NEWSMAX: How is this Administration's track record on hiring and keeping conservatives in key positions? BOLTON: I think it is unfortunately not very good. I talk about this in my book, about what happens when Presidential personnel doesn't focus on the very difficult circumstances appointees face within the State department, which is one of the savi-est bureaucracies in Washington experts in co-opting, seducing or subverting political appointees who try to pursue policies it disagrees with. And I think in this Administration, it has had considerable success. I use the example of North Korea, and what's happened to our policy there. What has happened since I wrote the book is an even more graphic example of the bureaucracy in effect turning the President's policy in effect in a 180 degree U-turn. NEWSMAX: Do you think the North Korean have agreed to talk and to shut down the reactor because they have sold off the critical elements? BOLTON: I think they are doing the same thing they did under the [1994] Agreed Framework. I think they have been planning to cheat on their declaration and their program and hope they get away with it, which they will if we don't have an adequate verification program. And I think this facility [in Syria] that the Israelis bombed on September 6 is an indication of yet another alternative, which is either to clone the Yongbyon reactor or out-source some of the nuclear weapons program. How better to hide your North Korean program than to build it in Syria where nobody is looking! Just this morning there was a story that it may be harder to shut done Yongbyon than people thought. Now this will extend into the next year, which I think is part of North Korea's pattern of slow-rolling the program. But which also shows something which I and others have been saying for some time, which is that Yongbyon is at or beyond its useful life. Part of the reason they have difficulties extracting the fuel rods that are in there now is that the whole facility is in terrible repair, which means they agreeing to freeze it or even to dismantle it is not such a big concession from the North Koreans. They may already have been able to extract as much plutonium as they were going to be able to. Shutting down a broken facility is hardly a sign of good faith. NEWSMAX: There is a lot of dispute about North Korea's uranium program. You write in your book that the North Koreans talked to our delegation in 2002 about the uranium enrichment program. Do you think that is what they transferred to Syria? BOLTON: It's hard to say what they've transferred. There was no sign of radiation escaping after the Israeli attack [on Syria], which seems to indicate that they proceeded before there was any actual enriched uranium or even unenriched uranium there. Otherwise you would see likely release of radiation. In my book, I go through this business of what Jim Kelly confronted the North Koreans with in 2002, and what the North Koreans said in response. There was no ambiguity in 2002 about the intelligence. In fact, what happened was that in the early summer 2002, for a change, all of the intelligence community agreed that North Korea had embarked on procurement for a uranium enrichment program. That was what was significant. That after years of disagreement within the intelligence community, they had reached consensus. And there was no dispute at that time. Nor is there really dispute about the North Korean reaction to Kelly's trip, that they admitted they had a uranium enrichment program. It's not just my book. Read Jack Prichard's book, published by Brookings. He says there was no ambiguity, and he was there! I think this is significant, because people are now trying to rewrite history, to help excuse why the North Koreans are not dissembling when they say they have no enrichment program. They are trying to lay the groundwork that there never was a program, so when the North Koreans say they don't have one it's not another example of dissembling. NEWSMAX: Would their uranium enrichment program have come from Pakistan, or would they have had access earlier to the technology? BOLTON: My guess is in part they had some technology from [Pakistan's Dr.] AQ Khan. But I think it was more of them acting as a general contractor building their own program, using AQ Khan for pieces of it, as opposed to Libya, who said to AQ Khan, you are the general contractor, you create the program for us. NEWSMAX: It really astounds me the lack of information on the Iranian nuclear program, and the unwillingness of the Intelligence community to talk to Iranians, even to Iranian exiles. BOLTON: Since World War II, the Intelligence community has disliked exiles and dissidents, claiming they are unreliable because they have a political agenda. This is just self-blindness. Not only has our human intelligence capability declined dramatically over the last several decades, there doesn't seem to be much inclination to want to build it back up. Look at Joe Wilson: the best our intelligence community can do is send a former ambassador to Niger to have tea with officials that say, 'so, what's up on the uranium front?' That's our intelligence community? Forget everything else about Valerie Plame. That whole story is unbelievable! Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

BHUTTO'S ASSASSINATION IS A POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HONOR KILLING Posted by Phyllis Chesler, December 28, 2007.

In a sense, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a political and cultural version of an honor killing. Bhutto was the first woman Prime Minister of a Muslim nation and she symbolized an unacceptably Western form of female ambition and achievement. She had attended Harvard/Radcliffe and Oxford. She spoke English -- perhaps more fluently than she spoke her native Sindi or Urdu. She once dressed as Western women do. Indeed, many Muslim women from wealthy families, including educators and feminists, have done so for a long time. They cannot do so now. I am suggesting that, as a member of the Ummah (or larger Muslim collectivity), Islamist fanatics decided that Bhutto was unacceptably and publicly too-Western, and they sentenced her to death for this sin. Pakistan is known for its many bloody honor murders and other atrocities. In 1999, in Lahore, Pakistan, Samia Imran was shot dead in her feminist lawyer's office by a man whom her parents had hired to kill her. Her crime? Daring to seek a divorce. In 2001, in Gujar Khan, Pakistan, Zahida Perveen's husband attacked her, gouged out both her eyes, her nose, and her ears. He wrongly suspected her of adultery. His male relatives honored him for doing so. (A team of American doctors subsequently fitted Zahida with glass eyes and prostheses for her ears and nose). In 2002, a tribal council in the Punjab, in Pakistan, sentenced eighteen year-old Mukhtaran Bibi to be gang-raped as a punishment for something her twelve year-old brother had allegedly done: Walking with a girl from a higher-status tribe. (Actually, he had been sexually abused by Mastoi men who sought to cover up their crime in this way). Mukhtaran Bibi's father was forced to witness her gang-rape, after which she was driven naked through the streets. Amazingly, the gang-rapists were eventually arrested and convicted. Mukhtaran Bibi was given round-the-clock government protection. The rapists have vowed to kill her anyway. Did Benazir Bhutto think that her membership in a historic dynasty would protect her from the war against women that jihadists are currently waging? Did she think that the government could actually protect her from such woman-haters who would vote al-Qaeda into power if they had the chance? (The fact that she was a political threat both to Musharraf and to the Taliban and that she might have functioned as a bridge to America and potentially to Israel did not endear her to those who killed her. The fact that she had planned to recognize Israel and had already asked for Mossad protection, could indeed have been the final nail in her coffin. Bhutto was one of the "moderate" Muslims for whom the West yearns. Muslim fanatics murdered her in cold blood and they did so in an exquisitely planned and choreographed way. Their willingness to die in order to kill, terrorize, and impose their ideology upon others is precisely what keeps other "moderate" Muslims silent. How far are the representatives of freedom, modernity, and human rights willing to go to end such terrorism? If we are not ready to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to free humanity from the plague of fundamentalist Islam, then we must be prepared to convert, veil, submit -- or die. Dr. Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at City University of New York. She is an author and lecturer and s co-founder of the still ongoing Association for Women in Psychology (1969). Visit her website at http://pajamasmedia.com/xpress/phyllischesler/ To Go To Top

WHEN POLLS ARE USEFUL; CLUSTER BOMB MIS-REPORTING; GOV'T. EXCUSES FOR NON-DEFENSE Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 28, 2007.

EGYPTIANS HELP ARMS SMUGGLING Prominent MK Shteinitz accuses the government of Israel of appeasing Egypt by withholding from the US film showing Egyptian soldiers helping smuggle arms into Gaza. These arms are more lethal. Shteinitz supposes that Congress would not like to find out that Israel kept it uninformed. Foreign Min. Livni is afraid of risking ties with Egypt (NY Sun, 12/26, p.1). What ties? The arms would magnify IDF casualties in its anticipated major sweep into Gaza. This would mesh with Egypt's suspected policy of draining Israeli resources in anticipation of eventual renewal of war with it. People think that Egypt made peace with Israel when it signed a non-aggression pace with it. They take things on face value, and are unaware of how Islam works. Islam doesn't make peace. It suspends belligerency, biding its time until likelier to conquer. It signed the treaty in order to get the Sinai from Israel. As soon as it got the territory, it violated the treaty in many ways. It stopped trade. It allows smuggling that it easily could stop. (The appeasement-minded Israeli government won't acknowledge how easily Egypt could halt smuggling in that terrain.) It then claims it needs a large number of heavily armed troops to stop the smuggling, which is just an excuse to remilitarize the Sinai. Its military doctrine and training are for invading Israel. Wasn't it very foolish to withdraw from the Gaza border, leaving it to Egypt's to guard? WHEN POLLS ARE USEFUL A poll found four times as many Israeli Arabs prefer to retain Israeli citizenship as to live in Israel with P.A. citizenship or to live in the P.A. (IMRA, 12/26). Such polls are useful in gauging the feasibility of keeping Israel and the Territories a Jewish country by giving P.A. or Jordanian citizenship to its Arabs. Arabs won't accept the proposals. The proposals sound democratic, but offering voting rights in another country is not democratic. Why should an Arab want citizenship to an area that doesn't affect his life? Why should he give up the over-generous welfare benefits enjoyed by remaining in the sucker State of Israel. Isn't that sweet irony for him -- the Jews he hates pay support for him. A further consideration is that life in an Arab state is oppressive. My notion of justice is to get the Muslims and Russian antisemites out, to ensure national survival, and then run the Jewish state as a democracy. The Israeli Left has gotten democracy out, so it can bring gentiles in and with the help of the Far Leftist Supreme Court, make it not a Jewish state. QUARTET IGNORING TERRORISM Earlier, the Quartet called for the P.A. to end terrorism at the outset. Half a year later, in December, it just called for significant steps (IMRA, 12/17). EXPLOITING CHURCH FOR JIHAD The Christian population of Bethlehem is "ever-shrinking." No explanation was given for that. An explanation was given for the increase in Christian pilgrimage -- a lull in the war. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, is a Palestinian Arab. Celebrating Christmas, he appealed for independence for Arabs around there. He said the Holy Land "is a land of war and conflict, and a land of humiliation of one people at the hand of another." (NY Times, 12/25, A13.) His people are not a nationality, needing a state. The way the article was written, readers might conclude that war is shrinking the Christian population, too. That would be mistaken. The true explanation is that Muslim oppression is forcing Christians to leave. If the Times made that explanation, it would undermine its case for granting sovereignty to the Muslims and its case for granting it at the expense of the Jewish people, whom it blames for woes caused by jihad. Why is a Church leader campaigning for a political position? Why is he advancing the position of the Muslims, who have been robbing and murdering his followers, against the Jews, who are tolerant of them? Is he a dhimmi Christian, someone who doesn't care what happens to his followers so long as the Jews get hurt, or a Muslim who infiltrated the Church to advance jihad? The Chief Rabbi could say the same thing about war and humiliation. The difference is that he would be right. The His Jewish people want peace; the Muslims want war and started and maintain it. The Muslims bomb Israel every day, stone Israelis often, and call them execrable names on the air, in the textbooks, and at the mosques. The Muslims humiliate the Jews, objecting to every fulfillment of normal government, such as building houses within their capital. Shouldn't the Times cite some background that would bring some of these things out, instead of leaving only the biased Arab assertions for their readers? After all, the Times feels free to insert background when it wishes to. Problem is, what it calls background often is slanted opinion presented as factual. CLUSTER BOMB MIS-REPORTING Israel decided not to prosecute the IDF for using cluster bombs during the war against Hizbullah in Lebanon. Their usage had been criticized by human rights organizations, some of which were quoted. Cluster bombs are not prohibited. (At least the Times admits that.) They are criticized because, on scattering, they may strike unintended targets and, after battle, may explode as civilians pass. IDF investigators found that its cluster bombs were fired at open and uninhabited areas. Hizbullah used them, too, but in civilian Israeli areas. Then why criticize Israel and why not criticize Hizbullah? (Isabel Kershner, NY Times, 12/25, A4). Is that balanced reporting or balance by the human rights organizations? Why didn't the Times let readers understand that Israeli cluster bombs explode promptly and don't trap civilians later, it's the US models that do, and US aid requires Israel to buy much of its munitions from the US. Why isn't the US criticized for not buying Israel's, instead? GOV'T. EXCUSES FOR NON-DEFENSE Israelis demand defense against rocket attacks. Their government offers "lame excuses," writes former Defense Min. Moshe Arens. In response to a court suit requesting armor-plating of roofs, etc., the government claimed it wasn't required to secure the citizenry. Some of its excuses are, "there is no magic solution," or there is no "bang, and it's over." (Vague and so what!) The chief-of-staff expressed the solution, known by all non-Cabinet member Israelis. He said the only enduring solution is to move IDF forces into Gaza sufficient to force the rocket crews out of range. Against that solution, the government offers a lying excuse: "...'even when the IDF was in Gaza, Qassam rockets were raining down on Israel.'" In other words, what is the use of sending the IDF into Gaza, when our past experience has shown that this was not effective." Truth is, for some years, the IDF patrolled parts of Gaza. From those parts, no rockets were launched. When the IDF left Gaza altogether, rockets were launched from there. Now the government has a new excuse, cost-benefit analysis. It claims it would cost more to invade than to absorb the bombardment. How does the government measure the trauma to bombarded citizens and the abandonment of Israeli cities? Why is national defense a matter of cost? Since the IDF already has spent most of what an invasion would cost on its build-up, and since it has overwhelming superiority, why would the cost be prohibitive? Delaying increases the eventual cost, and even the government admits that eventually it would have to permit the offensive. The government says that every day of bombardment increases the likelihood of its offensive. Daily reiteration of that vague threat does not impress the enemy. It just makes fools of the government. The government's final excuse is that it wouldn't know how to extricate its forces. That is the kind of thinking that led to the acknowledged failures in the recent Lebanon war (IMRA, 12/17). It is a poor excuse, but I don't see the connection with Lebanon. The focus should be on ending the attacks and daunting jihadists, not on withdrawal. Withdrawal leads to worse jihad. A Zionist solution would be the opposite of withdrawal. It would reclaim the area for the Jewish people and get the jihadists to withdraw. A bit of that and the jihadists would find that the more they fight, the more ground they lose faster. On the other hand, I would reclaim the Territories regardless, and get relatively secure borders As a systems analyst, I did dozens of cost-benefit analyses. I distinguished between tangible, measurable costs and intangible advantages and disadvantages. I can see that the government is attempting to quantify qualitative phenomenon. Its studies therefore are specious and, since open to judgment by dishonest people with vested interests, manipulated. The first duty of a government is to protect its people. If Israel were democratic, the people would be able to dismiss this government, which fails in its primary duty. This government acts as if its primary duty is to promote P.A. sovereignty and prosperity. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

TWO KIRYAT ARBA MEN KILLED BY TERRORISTS OUTSIDE HEBRON Posted by Jewish Community of Hebron, December 28, 2007.

Shortly after 12:00 this afternoon Arab terrorists, shooting from a jeep, shot and killed to young Israel men, both in their twenties, between the communities of Telem and Adura. The two men, both serving in the IDF, were hiking with a young woman. At the time of the shooting she managed to hide, thereby saving her life. The exact site of the attack is a wadi, leading to a spring, near Telem. Telem is a small community located adjacent to the transJudea highway, about 10 kilometers west of Hebron. The identities of the two men have not yet been made public. The funerals will be at Har Hertzel at 9:00 PM Saturday night. Details of the attack: Two men from Kiryat Arba, soldiers serving in an elite unit, on vacation, were hiking near a stream near Telem. A vehicle, with four terrorists, began shooting at them. The soldiers fired back, killing one terrorist at the scene and critically wounding another. The other two were slightly wounded and managed to escape. Both men were killed and their weapons stolen. The critically wounded terrorist died in a Hebron hospital. Their blood-stained terrorist's car was found, but the other two terrorists have not yet been found. A woman with the two men who hid during the attack made contact with the authorities, who then began searching for them. She was taken to hospital in shock. A Hebron spokesman issued the following statement: It's started again. Israeli concessions lead down only one road: Killing. Only a few weeks ago Ido Zoldan was shoot down near Kedumim. Now two young men, both serving their country in an elite army unit, are dead, having been betrayed by their country, by their leaders, by the Prime Minister and Defense Minister. The concessions Israel is making, the refusal to build in Judea and Samaria, the willingness to abandon more of our sacred Land, the determination to expel more Jews from their homes, the willingness of the Prime Minister to 'make difficult sacrifies for peace' is the perfect recipe for Arab terrorists: we will get whatever we want, so let's kill some more Jews -- what difference does it make. Olmert won't allow Jewish blood to stand in the way of 'peace.' After all, Israel has all but decided to release terrorists with 'blood on their hands' as a 'gesture' to Abu Mazan and his 'moderate' colleagues. So again, why not kill Jews? What have they got to lose? The injustices facing Jews, such as the determination to again expel Jews from a building legally purchased in Hebron, is a clear message to the terrorists: Israel is willing to go the whole way, giving whatever the terrorists demand in return for... more dead Jews.   THE OLMERT GOVERNMENT MUST GO. Olmert, Barak, and Livni are leading Israel down a path of bloodbath, a path of communal suicide, a path of injustice, a path leading to grief, a path leading to extended war. The time has come to replace these traitors with leaders of faith, leaders who believe in G-d, who believe in our right to our land, in our right to live in true peace, without continued concessions to evil. www.hebron.com/english/images/article_comment.gifcomments You can contribute directly to The Jewish Community of Hebron, POB10, Kiryat Arba-Hebron 90100, hebron@hebron.org.il, 972-2-9965333 or write to The Hebron Fund, 1760 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, hebronfund@aol.com To Go To Top

HOW THE NEWS IS MADE Posted by Barry Rubin, December 28, 2007.

Ring, ring, goes the telephone. And of course I answer it. The voice on the other end says that he is "Joseph" of Reuters. I get many calls from journalists and wire services but never has someone I don't know introduced himself by first name only. Since he has an obvious Arabic accent it is quite clear that he thinks I am either so biased as to care what his family name is or so stupid not to guess why he isn't giving it. So the effect is to achieve the exact opposite of what he wants. It puts me on my guard. Next he tells me that he is working on a story about how Israel is strangling the Palestinian economy. In such circumstances, I have taken to arguing back with correspondents. By framing the story that way, I explain, Reuters is building in a bias. After all, the story should be: What's wrong with the Palestinian economy, how to fix it, and will the massive infusion of aid--$7.4 billion just promised for three years by mostly Western donors--help? Aren't wire services, and the media in general, supposed to be somewhat balanced? They ask an open question, collect viewpoints, and let the reader conclude what the factors are, or at least wait until they have gathered some evidence. This is supposed to be especially true of wire services, which supply newspapers and other media with the basic facts on which they can build their own stories. What is going on here, then, is not reporting but propaganda.   CLEARLY UNNERVED, HE promises to quote me accurately. And he does keep that promise fully, sort of. But the outcome is quite predictable. And here is the dramatic headline of the resulting story: "Analysis-Aid can't save Palestinian economy in Israeli grip." No doubt is to be left that it is Israel's fault that the Palestinian economy is in shambles. And so pervasive is this evil that even the whole world cannot save them. So after that $7.4 billion is all gone with no result everyone will know who to blame, right? Before continuing let's note the problem with this analysis on two levels. First, Israeli closures and control on movement are the result of Palestinian terrorist attacks, coupled with the unwillingness and inability of the two Palestinian governments (Palestinian Authority-Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip) to stop them. No attacks; no closures. And this is absolutely clear. If attacks were to stop, so would Israeli restrictions. But if Israel removed all roadblocks and closures, the attacks would continue. This makes obvious the principal, fundamental cause of the problem and what needs to change in order to fix it. In other words: if Palestinian terrorism stops, Israeli restrictive measures will end and the Palestinian economy has a chance to develop. But if Israeli restrictive measures end, Palestinian terrorism would continue and thus the Palestinian economy would not develop because Israel would put back on the restrictions eventually and also, of course, no one will invest in the middle of a war. Is that clear and logical? Obviously, not so for Western leaders and much of the news media. Second, even if all Israeli action were to disappear, the Palestinian economy would still be in trouble. There are a number of reasons for this which are all well-known and were vividly seen in the 1990s, at a time when there was massive aid and a low level of Israeli security operations. These factors include: huge corruption which siphons off money; the lack of a clear legal framework for investment and commerce; the incompetence of the Palestinian regime; internal anarchy and violence by gangs with political cover; and an ongoing war against Israel.   NATURALLY, IF YOU pump $7.8 billion over three years into a society of under 1.5 million people on the West Bank -- around $1,600 a year for every individual person there -- it is going to have a positive economic effect. Since current Palestinian per capita income is $1,200 a year it would more than double it. In 1992, the figure was around $2,000. This represents, for all practical purposes, an increase of 400 percent over the aid being supplied two years ago. But most of the money is merely budget support for the Palestinian Authority, meaning it will pay salaries for the bloated government bureaucracy. At the end of that time the funds will be gone with no effect. Yet the December 20, 2007, story by Reuters and two similar articles by the Associated Press (for my detailed analysis of the latter see http://gloria.idc.ac.il/articles/2007/rubin/12_09.html) simply omit all this information and put all the blame for problems on Israel. In this case, though, slanting is not enough, however, and the Reuters report must stoop to outright dishonesty. It states: "The $7.4 billion pledged exceeds the sum [Palestinian Prime Minister Salam]] Fayyad had asked for in his three-year economic plan, but is less than the $8.4 billion that the World Bank reckons Israeli curbs on movement have cost Palestinians in lost income over the past five years."   THIS IS A LIE and clearly a deliberate one. In fact, the World Bank annual reports are entitled "Intifada, Closures and Palestinian Economic Crisis." They make the very simple point that the intifada -- an armed Palestinian war on Israel -- leads to closures and thus the combination brings on a crisis. The reports are quite careful in pointing out all the factors that led to the Palestinian economic decline. They do not say the losses were strictly due to Israeli curbs on movement. On the contrary, the 2003 report for example, written at the height of the violence, says the closures and movement restrictions are pretty insignificant. (see it at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/ Resources/wbgaza-4yrassessment.pdf). This specific example of dishonesty matters because the approach we see here -- predetermining the story, ignoring most of the factors involved, blaming Israel--sets a pattern for a whole raft-full of stories: --Why is there no peace? Israel doesn't give enough concessions. Often there is no mention of Palestinian hardline positions, behavior in not keeping commitment, terrorism as a key element in the failure to achieve peace. Most important of all, there is endless talk about what Israel can or should give for peace but far less about what the Palestinians must give: end of conflict, full recognition of Israel, return of refugees to a Palestinian state, a real end to incitement and terrorism. --Why is there suffering in Gaza? Israel's restrictions. Far less mention of Hamas hard line, openly genocidal stance, constant aid to terrorist attacks and rocket firing, refusal to meet even minimal international requirements. Incidentally, the same article tells us -- again only providing evidence on one side--that pressure on Hamas by sanctions is not working and thus should be ended. --Why are Palestinians, to quote the Reuters story, "Deprived of dignity"? No mention of a corrupt government and gangs of gunmen who couldn't care less about their well-being, and a strategy that starts unwinnable wars. Naturally, it is all Israel's fault once again. It is bad enough that this kind of coverage is shaping the way that many in the West see the Middle East. What is really horrible is that these articles are being deliberately written to do so. Barry Rubin is Director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Interdisciplinary Center university. His latest book, The Truth about Syria was published by Palgrave-Macmillan in May 2007. Prof. Rubin's columns can be read online. To Go To Top

JIHADISTS IN PRESIDENT BUSH'S SECURITY CONVOY FOR MIDDLE EAST VISIT Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 28, 2007.

He is going to accomplish 'what' with this visit? Is this part of his Messiah complex, that he will now descend into hell and preach to the demons? Oh well, maybe those who wish to see him gone will have their wish fulfilled... Whose flaming idea was this ????... Cancel this outrages idea !! This was written by Robert Spencer and it appeared yesterday on Dhimmi Watch http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019334.php

Just when you think things can't possibly get more absurd: "Terrorists' new mission: Protect President Bush," by Aaron Klein for WorldNetDaily.com: JERUSALEM -- Members of the most active West Bank terror organization are set to participate in security forces being deployed to protect President Bush during his visit to the Palestinian territories next month, WND has learned. Bush is due in the region Jan. 9 as part of a follow-up to last month's U.S.-led Israeli-Palestinian Annapolis summit. During his trip, the American president is scheduled to hold talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem, and meet quickly with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. According to Israeli security officials coordinating deployments of forces with the PA for Bush's Ramallah visit, members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's declared military wing, have been called upon by the PA to participate in the protection of Bush's convoy and in securing the parameter during the meeting with Abbas. The Brigades is listed as a terror organization by the U.S. State Department. The group took credit along with the Islamic Jihad terror organization for every suicide bombing in Israel between 2005 and 2006, and is responsible for thousands of shootings and rocket firings. Statistically, the Al Aqsa Brigades perpetuated more terrorism from the West Bank than Hamas, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. Many Brigades members, including the group's chiefs, serve openly in Fatah's Force 17 presidential guard units and the Palestinian Preventative Security Services; thousands of Force 17 and Preventative officers are slated to secure Ramallah during Bush's visit there. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

CHRISTIAN ARABS SWEPT UNDER THE ANNAPOLIS CARPET Posted by Yoram Ettinger, December 28, 2007.

Christian Arabs shrank from a sizeable 15% minority to a 1.5% splinter group in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. "Bethlehem will become a town of churches devoid of Christians, if you transfer the area to the Palestinian Authority," said the late Mayor of Bethlehem, Elias Freij, to the late Prime Minister Rabin, begging him -- in 1993 -- not to transfer the area to PLO control. Below you'll find the 210th issue of Straight from the Jerusalem Cloakroom on the plight of Christian Arabs in Abu Mazen-controlled territory (please see Cloakrooms # 117 and 120 for more information on the subject, THE ETTINGER REPORT at http://yoramettinger.newsnet.co.il). Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Year! May we remember that this week's portion of the Torah (Exodus) constitutes the foundation of the special ties between the USA and the Jewish State. Exodus inspired the Pilgrims and the Founding Fathers, who rebelled against British monarchy ("modern day Pharaoh"), crossed the Atlantic Ocean ("modern day Red Sea"), arrived in America ("modern day Promised Land -- Zion"), established the Federalist system ("modern day Covenant") and considered the Parting of the Sea as the official seal of the USA, Yoram

1. "Bethlehem will become a town of churches devoid of Christians, if you transfer the area to the Palestinian Authority," predicted the late Mayor of Bethlehem, Elias Freij, pleading -- in 1993 -- not to transfer the area to PLO control. The heads of Bethlehem and Beit Jallah monasteries begged the US and Israel -- in 1993 -- to refrain from transferring the area to the Palestinian Authority. Their request was denied, in order to advance the Oslo Process... 2. Christian Arabs shrank from a sizeable 15% minority to a 1.5% splinter group in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Their plight has intensified since the 1993 establishment of the Palestinian Authority, which has supported/tolerated physical, social, economic, legal and political harassment/terrorism against Christian minorities. 3. There are more Christian refugees from Beit Jallah (contiguous to Bethlehem) in Belize, Central America, than Christians left in Beit Jallah. There are more Christian refugees from Ramallah in Michigan and in South America than Christians remaining in Ramallah. Bethlehem was transformed from a Christian -- to a more than 80% Muslim -- majority. 4. Islam considers Christian minorities as "Dhimmis" guilty of rejecting Muhammad, tolerated as long as they are submissive, inferior to Muslims, handy scapegoats, and therefore subjected to legalized persecution. Legalized persecution has been employed -- since the 7th century -- in order to assert Islam over other peoples, most of whom have either vanished or severely shrunk. A Muslim who converts is subject to capital punishment. 5. As befits Dhimmis -- Churches, convents, monasteries, Christian cemeteries, schools, homes, land and Christian women in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are subject to desecration, destruction, burning, confiscation, intimidation, rape and harassment. Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity was hijacked, in April-May 2002, by 200 Palestinian terrorists, fleeing the IDF. Nuns and priests were held hostages and the church was looted. Abu Mazen pressured Israel to allow the return of the hijackers -- who were previously deported by Israel -- to his territory. 6. "After we do away with the Saturday People, we shall take care of the Sunday People" has been a regular feature during anti-Israel PLO/PA rallies. 7. During 1970-1982, PLO terrorism in Lebanon accelerated the flight of Lebanese Christians, reducing them from the ruling sector to a precipitously dwindling minority. In 2007, The Palestinian Authority-supported/tolerated oppression has intensified the flight of Christians from Judea, Samaria and Gaza. 8. Institutionalized oppression of Christians in the Palestinian Authority -- along with unprecedented terrorism and hate education -- has been the most authentic reflection of Abu Mazen's and Hamas' approach toward tolerance and peaceful-coexistence. 9. Egregious violations of human rights, by all Arab regimes, have been a core cause for the lack of inter-Arab peace during the last 1,400 years. 10. A great deal of suspension of disbelief underlines the assumption that peaceful-coexistence could be achieved with a regime (the PLO/Palestinian Authority), which is the role-model of human rights violations, hate-education, conventional terrorism, hijacking, homicide bombing, abrogation of commitments and oppression of Christian minorities. 11. A great deal of self-destructive instinct is required, in order to assume that rewarding such a rogue regime with an independent (Palestinian) state -- cushioned with annual foreign aid since 1994 -- would serve as water and not as fuel on the fire of anti-Western terrorism and Mid East turbulence. 12. Yet, Washington's suspension of disbelief has swept Christians' predicament under the Annapolis Carpet, sacrificing religious and civic liberties of Christians in Gaza, Judea & Samaria on the altar of wishful-thinking and political-correctness (the Oslo-Annapolis process). 13. However, the exercise of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, free election and other civil liberties constitutes a prerequisite for a genuine -- rather than a false provisional -- peace. 14. President Bush (Sept. 20, 2001, Joint Session of Congress): "They [the Taliban] want to drive Christians and Jews out of vast regions of Asia and Africa...What is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight." 15. Ignoring the plight of Christian minorities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and overlooking the oppressive nature of the Palestinian Authority (Abu Mazen since 1993 and Hamas since 2006) for the sake of the "Peace Process" guarantees repeated failure, a setback to peace and a boost to radicalism and terrorism at the expense of vital US values and national security interests. Ambassador Yoram Ettinger is a consultant on US-Israel relations as well as the Chairman of Special Projects at the Ariel Center for Policy Research. Formerly the Minister for Congressional Affairs to Israel's Embassy in Washington, DC, Ettinger also served as Consul General of Israel to the Southwestern US. He is a former editor of Contemporary Mideast Backgrounder, and is the author of the Jerusalem Cloakroom series of reports. Contact him at yoramtex@netvision.net.il To Go To Top

THE PALESTINIAN ECONOMY IN SHAMBLES Posted by Daniel Pipes, December 28, 2007.

Western financial aid to the Palestinians has, I showed last week, the perverse and counterintuitive effect of increasing their rate of homicides, including terrorist ones. This week, I offer two pieces of perhaps even stranger news about the many billions of dollars and record-shattering per-capita donations from the West: First, these have rendered the Palestinians poorer. Second, Palestinian impoverishment is a long-term positive development. To begin, some basic facts about the Palestinian economy, drawing on a fine survey by Ziv Hellman, "Terminal Situation," in the Dec. 24 issue of Jerusalem Report: Palestinian per year per-capita income has contracted by about 40 percent since its US$2,000 peak in 1992 (before the Oslo process began) to less than $1,200 now. Per-capita Israeli income, 10 times greater than the Palestinians' in 1967 is now 23 times greater. Deep poverty has increased in Gaza from 22 percent of the population in 1998 to nearly 35 percent in 2006; it would be about 67 percent if not for remittances and food aid. Direct foreign investment barely exists, while local capital mostly gets sent abroad or is invested in real estate or short-term trading. The Palestinian Authority economy, Hellman writes, "is largely based on monopolies in various industries granted by PA officials in exchange for kickbacks." The PA's payroll is so bloated that the cost of wages alone exceeds all revenues. A dysfunctional judicial system in the PA means armed gangs usually decide commercial disputes. Unsurprisingly, Hellman characterizes the Palestinian economy as "in shambles." Such shambles should come as no surprise, for as the late Lord Bauer and others have noted, foreign aid does not work. It corrupts and distorts an economy; and the greater the amounts involved, the greater the damage. One telling detail: at times during Yasir Arafat's reign, a third of the Palestinian Authority's budget went for "expenses of the President's office," without further explanation, auditing, or accounting. The World Bank objected, but the Israeli government and the European Union endorsed this corrupt arrangement, so it remained in place. The Paris conference for the "Palestinian state" raised US$7.4 billion in pledges on Dec. 17, 2007. Indeed, the Palestinian Authority offers a textbook example of how to ruin an economy by smothering it under well-intentioned but misguided donations. The $7.4 billion recently pledged to it for the 2008-10 period will further exacerbate the damage. Paradoxically, this error might help resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. To see why, consider the two models, hardship v. exhilaration, that explain Palestinian extremism and violence. The hardship model, subscribed to by all Western states, attributes Palestinian actions to poverty, isolation, Israeli roadblocks, the lack of a state, etc. Mahmoud Abbas, the PA leader, summed up this viewpoint at the Annapolis conference in November: "the absence of hope and overwhelming despair feed extremism." Eliminate those hardships and Palestinians, supposedly, would turn their attention to such constructive concerns as economic development and democracy. Trouble is, that change never comes. The exhilaration model turns the Abbas logic on its head: the absence of despair and overwhelming hope, in fact, feed extremism. For Palestinians, hope derives from a perception of Israeli weakness, implying an optimism and excitement that the Jewish state can be eliminated. Conversely, when Palestinians cannot see a way forward against Israel, they devote themselves to the more mundane tasks of earning a living and educating their children. Note that the Palestinian economy peaked in 1992, just as, post-Soviet Union and post-Kuwait war, hopes bottomed out to eliminate Israel. Exhilaration, not hardship, accounts for bellicose Palestinian behavior. Accordingly, whatever reduces Palestinian confidence is a good thing. A failed economy depresses the Palestinians' mood, not to speak of their military and other capabilities, and so brings resolution closer. Palestinians must experience the bitter crucible of defeat before they will drop their foul goal of eliminating their Israeli neighbor and begin to build their own economy, polity, society, and culture. No short-cut to this happy outcome exists. Who truly cares for Palestinians must want their despair to come quickly, so that a skilled and dignified people can move beyond its current barbarism and built something decent. The huge and wasted outpouring of Western financial aid, ironically, brings on that despair in two ways: by encouraging terrorism and by distorting the economy, both of which imply economic decline. Rarely has the law of unintended consequences worked so imaginatively. Dr. Daniel Pipes is director of Middle East Forum -- meqmef@aol.com. His articles are archived on his website: http://www.danielpipes.org/. This article is archived at http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5300. Its title when published in the Jerusalem Post was "Turing Abbas's logic on its head." To Go To Top

INVESTIGATE THIS! Posted by Steven Plaut, December 27, 2007.

President Pervez Musharraf has just announced that he will be investigating thoroughly who was behind the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. This is a very important and very impressive development. We thought this should be added to several other important investigations that should be immediately initiated: A. Abu Mazen should set up a commission to see if there are any Holocaust Deniers among Palestinians. B. The Hamas should set up a commission to see if there are any terrorists operating out of Gaza or shooting al-Qassam rockets into Israel. C. Ehud Olmert should set up an investigation to see who was responsible for Israel's total failure in the war against Hizbollah in the summer of 2006. D. Ilan Pappe can set up an investigation to see if any academics lied about Israelis supposedly conducting massacres of Arabs. E. Ben Gurion University can investigate if there are any Israeli schools that have trashed academic standards for the purpose of hiring and promoting anti-Israel leftist extremists. F. Haaretz can investigate if there are any treasonous journalists employed in the Israeli media. G. Bill Clinton can investigate if there is any hanky-panky taking place in America. H. Norman Finkelstein can investigate whether there are any Neo-Nazi pseudo-scholars who have been serving as professors in the Chicago area. I. Counterpunch magazine can investigate whether there are any pro-terror Stalinists in America. J. Michael Lerner can investigate to see if there are any frauds impersonating Rabbis walking around. K. Barry Chamish can investigate to see if there are any mentally ill people in the "911 Truth" cult of conspiracy theorists. L. Reform "Rabbi" Eric Yoffe can investigate whether there are any American Jews endangering and undermining Israel. M. Arthur Waskow can investigate if there are any Jews who smoke dope. Steven Plaut is a professor at Haifa University. His book "The Scout" is available at Amazon.com. He can be contacted at stevenplaut@yahoo.com. This essay appeared in Arutz-Sheva (www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/2501). To Go To Top

DANIEL LEVY FACT-CHECKED; OLMERT HELPS P.A. AGAINST ISRAEL; DOUBLE STANDARD & PRISONER RELEASE Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 27, 2007.

What you need to do is find out the fair market value for your house.

DANIEL LEVY FACT-CHECKED Mr. Levy purports to be a scholarly and serious leftist commentator on the Arab-Israel conflict. His commentaries are sought by liberal media. Recently he debated over the Internet with David Frum. Reviewing the debate, Noah Pollack writing in National Review Online found Levy anything but factual. Levy bolsters his case with digression and irrelevant points, facts out of sequence, and fabricated facts. 1. Definitive studies, including detailed admissions by Arafat's aides, prove that Arafat orchestrated an Intifada, using MK Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount as a pretext. Mr. Frum asserted that Arafat is responsible for the uprising. Levy denied it by claiming that the Mitchell Commission exonerated Arafat. Mr. Pollack points out that the Commission had no responsibility nor competence to assess responsibility, and admitted it. Its job was to suggest what to do next. Therefore, Levy's argument was unethical. 2. Trying to make Israel seem unreceptive to peace, Levy denied that the Khartoum Conference statement of "No!" to peace, recognition, and negotiation with Israel was intransigent. He claimed that it was a form of negotiation. Pollack points out that before the conference, Israel offered Egypt the Sinai and Syria the Golan, if they made peace and demilitarized those areas. Israel was receptive to peace. Egypt and Syria were offered what they ostensibly wanted. They replied needlessly and coldly with three Noes." Their real motive was that they want to conquer Israel. Polllack was dissembling, again. 3. Levy denied that the Arabs started the 1967 war, blaming Israel for its preemptive strike. He ignored Frum's reply, that the strike came after Egypt violated the armistice that ended the prior war. One violation was to blockade an Israeli port, a traditional act of war! Another was Syrian shelling of Israel. A third was Egypt's mobilization at the border, coupled with threats to invade. Finally, "Levy: [Angrily] But when you violate international law every day, that's fine. When you put a civilian settler population in occupied territory, that's fine." Problem with that retort is that before the 1967 war, there were no Israeli civilians there! Is Levy serious or a crackpot? 4. Levy finds suicide bombings are understandable in context. (No war crime is "understandable.") He fabricates a context that first Israel assassinated Arabs. Levy's false claims all go in one direction, against Israel. Indications are, his dissembling is deliberate, his scholarship poor and tendentious (MEF, 12/17). ARAB-ISRAEL STRUGGLE IN ISRAEL An Israeli-Arab lawyer urges Arab couples to apply for housing in Jewish villages. He openly suggests this to take over those villages and then the State. The lawyer claims that the land in those places once was Arab. (So what! That is a rationalization, though under Islamic doctrine, Muslims feel entitled to control any area over which they ever exercised control. While claiming the right to integrate into Jewish towns, the Muslims rejected Jewish application to purchases houses in an Arab city. That of course is not tolerant.) A moshav movement leader responded, "The trend, in which Arabs try to enter small Jewish villages, is dangerous. 'The key to coexistence in Israel is separation between the populations in the small communities.'" Although the Muslims have been attacking the Jewish religious and national character of Israeli towns and villages, the Jews have hardly responded. The media lulls Jewish emotions by crediting the Muslim claim to merely want to raise their standard of living. Radical Muslims, however, are organizing their people to take the country away from the Jews (Arutz-7, 12/16). The answer is not separation but Muslim emigration. OLMERT HELPS P.A. AGANST ISRAEL "Speaking in Jerusalem Monday morning while Livni and officials from 70 other countries were gathering in Paris to raise support for the Abbas government, (MK) Shteinitz said: "It's time to stop turning the other cheek to the Palestinians. They incite the whole world against Jewish construction in Jerusalem [most recently in Har Homa -- ed.], while at the same time Israel helps them develop their institutions in Jerusalem and raise contributions all over the world. We should stop singing the praises of Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] and [PA prime minister] Salem Fayyad who slander Israel all over the world and refuse to recognize us as a Jewish state." (Arutz-7, 12/17.) PUTIN NATIONALIZING RUSSIAN INDUSTRY He abused corrupt tax laws to wrest natural resources away from Yeltsin-era owners and foreign stockholders, without compensation. British Petroleum had a $20 stake in oil development, but threatening it with charges, Putin got it to take less than $1 billion for it. His favored oligarch defrauds companies abroad of their assets and perhaps adds money-laundering and murder to bribery. Having just consolidated his power, Putin is setting up a fraudulent agency to "buy" other private companies for the State. Only those who retain his favor may keep control over their companies. The US and Britain are encouraging Russian investment, but that means fraud (Rachel Ehrenfeld, 12/17). ARAB-ISRAEL STRUGGLE IN ISRAEL An Israeli-Arab lawyer urges Arab couples to apply for housing in Jewish villages. He openly suggests this to take over those villages and then the State. The lawyer claims that the land in those places once was Arab. (So what! That is a rationalization, though under Islamic doctrine, Muslims feel entitled to control any area over which they ever exercised control. While claiming the right to integrate into Jewish towns, the Muslims rejected Jewish application to purchases houses in an Arab city. That of course is not tolerant.) A moshav movement leader responded, "The trend, in which Arabs try to enter small Jewish villages, is dangerous. 'The key to coexistence in Israel is separation between the populations in the small communities.'" Although the Muslims have been attacking the Jewish religious and national character of Israeli towns and villages, the Jews have hardly responded. The media lulls Jewish emotions by crediting the Muslim claim to merely want to raise their standard of living. Radical Muslims, however, are organizing their people to take the country away from the Jews (Arutz-7, 12/16). The answer is not separation but Muslim emigration. OLMERT HELPS P.A. AGANST ISRAEL "Speaking in Jerusalem Monday morning while Livni and officials from 70 other countries were gathering in Paris to raise support for the Abbas government, (MK) Shteinitz said: "It's time to stop turning the other cheek to the Palestinians. They incite the whole world against Jewish construction in Jerusalem [most recently in Har Homa -- ed.], while at the same time Israel helps them develop their institutions in Jerusalem and raise contributions all over the world. We should stop singing the praises of Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] and [PA prime minister] Salem Fayyad who slander Israel all over the world and refuse to recognize us as a Jewish state." (Arutz-7, 12/17.) PUTIN NATIONALIZING RUSSIAN INDUSTRY He abused corrupt tax laws to wrest natural resources away from Yeltsin-era owners and foreign stockholders, without compensation. British Petroleum had a $20 stake in oil development, but threatening it with charges, Putin got it to take less than $1 billion for it. His favored oligarch defrauds companies abroad of their assets and perhaps adds money-laundering and murder to bribery. Having just consolidated his power, Putin is setting up a fraudulent agency to "buy" other private companies for the State. Only those who retain his favor may keep control over their companies. The US and Britain are encouraging Russian investment, but that means fraud (Rachel Ehrenfeld, 12/17). Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

WHEN WILL WE WAKE UP? Posted by Gary Bauer, December 27, 2007.

The brutal assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto today is a tragic loss for Pakistan and the world. For me, it also has a personal dimension. I had the privilege of meeting Ms. Bhutto this year in Kiev, Ukraine at an international summit of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders. I was inspired by her courage and determination to confront the dark forces of Islamofascism that threaten her country, the Middle East and the world. Sadly, those forces have taken her life and at least a dozen more in this latest attempt to kill any hope of freedom in the Muslim world. Bhutto survived a previous assassination attempt in October involving coordinated bombings that killed more than 150 people and wounded hundreds more. She did not falter from her cause; she pressed on. According to press reports, a baby was turned into a human bomb in that failed attempt. The child was strapped with explosives and passed person-to-person through the crowd in the hopes that Bhutto would hug the baby, which is what any decent person would do. But Bhutto's enemies, our enemies, freedom's enemies exploit our sensitivities and turn babies into bombs. This is the evil Bhutto was confronting. Her voice has been silenced. The rest of the civilized world must take up her cause. We cannot ignore it. We cannot compromise with it. We must defeat it or it will defeat us. It is difficult for the civilized mind to comprehend the extent to which the Islamic world is immersed in a culture of death, but children are not born jihadists. Allah's martyrs must be carefully cultivated. The seeds of extremism are planted at an early age and nurtured throughout childhood. Like the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany, many Muslim children today are routinely indoctrinated to hate Christians and Jews. Like the SS soldiers who swore to die for their fuhrer, Palestinain children are told that killing the infidel and dying while doing so is the ultimate form of service to Allah. How else can one explain the children's show on Hamas television that once featured Farfur, a Mickey Mouse character who was martyred by the "killers of children"? Farfur has since been replaced by Nahoul the bee, who wants to "continue the path of Farfur … the path of martyrdom, the path of the jihad warrior." In a recent show, Nahoul grieves for the loss of his martyred brothers, who were, of course, killed "at the hands of the Zionist Jews." A young girl consoles Nahoul by telling the bee, "Don't be sad, Nahoul. We can all be sacrificed for the sake of the homeland." What a reassuring thought! Such extremism is reinforced throughout daily life by the strictures and fatwas of Sharia law. Consider, for example, this recent comment by Hojatolislam Gholam Reza Hassani, a senior Iranian cleric, regarding women who do not wear the hijab: "Women who do not respect the hijab and their husbands deserve to die. I do not understand how these women who do not respect the hijab, 28 years after the birth of the Islamic Republic, are still alive. These women and their husbands and their fathers must die." Notice that the bloodlust is not satisfied with the death of the offending person, but extends to two others as well! This, my friends, is why I use the term "Islamofascism." Because for many Islamists, the state and Islam are inseparable, they are one and the same. They seek to control all aspects of your life, and they are driven to violent extremes by a fanatical hatred of the infidel and anything un-Islamic. Like Hitler's Nazism, Islamofascism is obsessed with anti-Semitism and is so convinced of its own supremacy and of the inferiority of others that it exhorts its adherence to "kill the infidel" or die as martyrs trying. It is a death-worshipping totalitarian ideology. Unfortunately, I fear this movement is much bigger than we realize. A recent poll conducted of our "friends," the Saudis, found that 36% supported Saudi citizens fighting against U.S. troops in Iraq; 13% justified homicide bombings; 49% want the U.S. to reduce its influence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (abandon Israel); 12% of Saudis have a favorable opinion of President Bush, while 15% of Saudis have a favorable opinion of Osama bin Laden. And most disturbing of all, "By 51 percent to 30 percent, most said they favor Arabs fighting Israel until the Jewish state no longer exists, rather than a peace treaty recognizing Israel and an independent Palestine." If 51% of Saudis actually admit to supporting genocide, or the elimination of the Jewish state, I have to believe the figure is in reality much higher. Meanwhile, Iran's Ahmadinejad, who has vowed to "wipe Israel off the map," is pursuing nuclear technology. Will we again trust the promises of a madman? When will we wake up? Gary Bauer is President of American Values, which is based in Arlington VA. To Go To Top

BREAKING NEWS: BENAZIR BHUTTO, EX-PM OF PAKISTAN MURDERED IN AN ASSASSINATION Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 27, 2007.

Benazir Bhutto, ex PM of Pakistan, murdered in an assassination The bomb carried by a suicide bomber exploded at the exit of a meeting organized in the suburbs of Islamabad, the Pakistani Capital. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

ISRAEL: NO MORE "ANTI-ARAB DISCRIMINATION" AT AIRPORT Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 27, 2007.

EL AL stood for "Every Landing Always Late" but at least their security precautions were effective.... Reliable and that's why we liked them, and why we felt more save than on other flights.... Now comes along idiot Dhimmi Shaul Mofaz and his boss, the arch-Dhimmi Ehud Olmert to impose political correctness on Ben Gurion Airport. Israelis will not only lose out ... but Foreigners who for many reasons of safety trusted EL AL .... and Israel. This change of security now, following the political correct, will as well effect their feeling about security in Israel in general.... The Dhimmis in Israel have lost their grip on reality ????? This is by Robert Spencer and is from Dhimmi Watch http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/019324.php

Israel: No more "anti-Arab discrimination" at airport Imagine the conversation among the Israeli authorities: Who cares if we get blown up? At least we won't be discriminating! "Mofaz: No More Anti-Arab Discrimination at Airport," from Israel National News (IsraelNN.com) Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz will eliminate the criterion of nationality from airport security checks, thus making these checks "less racist" and more Arab-friendly, IDF Radio reported. In a reply to a High Court petition against supposed anti-Arab discrimination at Ben Gurion Airport, the Transportation Ministry will present a new set of criteria for security checks, which will include age, occupation and military service. It will soon be brought before the Attorney General for review. A law abiding Arab should not be treated differently from a Jew, Mofaz said. "Why should the Director of the Nahariya Hospital, an Arab Israeli, who saves lives every day, be delayed at the security check more than anyone else?", Mofaz told IDF Radio. Certainly. Good point, Mofaz. But if you are planning to pretend that Muslims and Jews are equally likely to commit acts of terror against Israelis, you will be wasting time and resources. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

JUST WHAT IS NEEDED FOR ISRAEL TO SURVIVE Posted by Chaim Grosz, December 27, 2007.

I will begin with, at this time to the best of my knowledge, I am counted amongst the very few or even the only last actual survivor of the World war Two Nazi Concentration Camps (plural). I was born in Debrecen Hungary on January 17, 1944. and in the early spring when I was an infant of 4 months, I together with my Mother, Father and all their 8 other children were forcibly deported in box cars built for animals that had a coating of chlorine on the floor. Our trials and tribulations are not germane to this document, what is, is we as a family are the only family that were taken to be murdered by the Nazi's only because we were born to a race known as Jews, we were not singled out for wanton slaughter because of our beliefs, nor because of any acts we did, but only for the accident of our parents being Jewish. Being Jewish I was educated in Jewish theory and theology with an emphasis on Judaic History and the value and meaning of prayer. The reality of the human species being different from all other living animals land, sea, birds, insects bacteria is but one tiny bone. That bone is the only bone in the entire world of a multitude of differing species that floats in the throat of only the Human Body and is not connected to any other bone whatsoever. It by nature is very fragile and is broken very easily, so upon examination of any cadaver, if that bone is broken the cause of death is ruled strangulation, but of what value is the knowledge of unique element, it is the only method that humans have the power of communication through differing languages and expression by speech. The Jewish religion as well as all other religions have their unique methods of seeking forgiveness by their God. Jews have a special day set aside in which their believers seek through prayers to be forgiven by God for their sins and trespasses, it is known as Yom Kippur, it is celebrated not by feasting as are all other holidays, but in inner reflection and fasting. This unique holiday services begins with the opening prayer, not of repenting of a the persons sins, but of a very special prayer known as Kol Nidray, the chapter of such prayer is repeated three times and the Ark containing the Torah Scrolls are open. The entire chapter of Kol Nidray is simply a request to have all utterances that may have an element containing a promises annulled, no more and no less in fact it is not even a prayer to God it is only a request.. Just what is this request so special that it is used as the opening ceremony to have the right to approach God and seek his forgiveness for all of other sins. As explained above the unique element of a Human is the power of speech, that power is not controlled by any other skeletal structure in the human body, that element actually elevates the Human above all other life forms, it is described in the Bible as being made in the image of God. What it does posses is the power of negotiating, the power of communicating, but most important is the power of having others rely upon your commitments. The Torah (Bible) has many admonitions of misusing that ability, in the Ten Commandments it is contained in the prohibition of, bearing false witness, it is also contained in the commandment of "the utterances of your mouth must be kept" it further states God says "I would rather that you never make any promises or commitments even for your intention of doing good, then utter those promises and not fulfill them, I will bring just one more example out of hundreds, if a person commits perjury in any Court Proceeding his entire testimony is thrown out and is unusable. So we deduct that the power of words should not be taken lightly, nor should they be used spuriously, as once they are disregarded by the person uttering them he looses all the value he may have had. There is no excuse not to fulfill them once a person has made a commitment, in a stretch a single time may be excused as an aberration, but repeated threats, even if that person may not have the actual power to fulfill them is not only degrading himself but also emboldens his opposition to disregard him as a total non entity. To the sorrow of the Jewish nation it is currently being governed by a cabal of non entities, persons that have no voice or credibility, is more interested in appeasing foreign leaders because they provide them with certain weaponry and financial assistance, but if looked at from a distance the weapons and assistance are being given to their enemies at least five fold and the costs of such miserly assistance is so prohibitive for the proper governing of Israel. It is common knowledge that Peres and others of the current government officials has been or still is receiving large sums of graft to tow the line of their diabolical intention of some how overpowering Israel's will to survive. Just look at the entire Israeli communities bordering a declared enemy entity who are under constant bombardment, what is most interesting is the idiotic reasoning given why Israel is powerless to stop the incessant unrelenting acts of war waged against their citizens, it is against international law, the Israeli supreme court has yet to rule on the impact it would have on the population that lends its total support for such unwarranted acts of war, what is most telling about I consider a failed leadership is when a large barrage of rockets are fired at the Civilian cities is the "Just wait" we will soon use our armed forces and put a stop to such violence. Israel your life span as a free independent Jewish nation is being squandered away at a pace that is just gaining momentum daily and very soon it would become irreversible and even if the citizens of Israel wake up from their hypnotic sleep to stop the current trend would take many Jewish lives and the enmity of the entire world including a deluded American administration. But not to do anything is as unacceptable as well as, as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west your fate will be unavoidable, unless you take matters into your own hands, stop standing on ceremony, stop following the edicts of foreign enacted so called "International Laws" that are only enforceable against Israel. It is customary that the last words a condemned person hears is from his executioner, May God have Mercy on your Soul, that is because mankind does not posses such mercy. May the Israeli citizens have the courage to rid themselves of all the current false leaders and be governed by fearless true leaders. To Go To Top

JNF REJECTS RELIGIOUS APPLICANT Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, December 27, 2007.

This is the same bunch that refuses to help communities over the "green line," promotes the gifting of Jewish land to Arabs and has been embroiled in major financial scandals around the world. This is from Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNationalNews.com).

(IsraelNN.com) A 34-year-old woman who applied to work at the Jewish National Fund as an assistant to the spokeswoman was rejected because she was unwilling to work on Shabbat. The woman has filed a complaint, saying, "I do not understand how a thing like this could happen, especially in a government agency that pretends to represent the Jewish people." JNF spokeswoman Orit Hadad said she did not see the requirement to work on Shabbat as a problem. Hadad said that Shabbat is a particularly busy day for her because of the many JNF events and tours taking place on Saturdays, and said she had told the manpower company that sent the religious applicant to send someone who could help her on evenings and on Shabbat. However, according to Yediot Acharonot, the JNF never applied for a permit to employ Jews on Shabbat, as required by the "Work Hours and Rest Law." Because the JNF lacks a permit, Hadad's request may have been illegal. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

"I IMPLORE YOU"... ISRAEL WANTS "TO BE RAPED" Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 27, 2007.

This article was written by Isi Leibler and it archived at http://www.leibler.com/pf.php?id=287

In the course of a visit to Israel by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, approximately 20 heads of the most senior Israeli think tanks and media leaders were invited by the American Ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, to a dinner at his private residence to receive a confidential briefing from the Secretary of State. The event took place on September 10. A bizarre exchange took place at this gathering between one of the participants and the Secretary of State. It was initially broadcast on Israel TV Channel 2 by Ehud Yaari, one of Israel's most highly respected commentators, who had not attended the dinner but had verified the details with colleagues whod were present. The public did not appreciate the seriousness of the incident because Yaari failed to disclose that the person involved was none other than Haaretz editor David Landau. I have independently verified details of what transpired and in response to questioning by Yaari and in an interview with Gary Rosenblatt, the editor of the New York Jewish Week, Landau himself confirmed the veracity of the events outlined below. (see Haaretz editor urged Rice to 'Rape' Israel) Following the briefing, Mr. Landau, who was seated adjacent to the Secretary of State, turned to Secretary Rice, and as he said to the Jewish Week, "I told [Rice] that it had always been my wet dream to address the Secretary of State" on how to act in relation to Israel. Landau opened his remarks by referring to Israel as a "failed state" politically. He said that the only way Israel could be saved would be if the United States were to impose a settlement. Landau told Rice "I implore you" to intervene and added that the Government of Israel wanted "to be raped". Condoleezza Rice responded that whilst she appreciated the dilemmas facing Israel, the United States would never impose its views on the Jewish state in such a manner. Landau told the Jewish Week that the Secretary of State was completely unfazed by his remarks. For the US Secretary of State to partake in such an exchange with the editor of a major Israeli newspaper is mind boggling. Whilst Ms. Rice rejected Landau's entreaties for the United States to force Israel to act in what he perceived to be Israel's best interest, there is little doubt that his remarks would have subsequently been widely aired in US State Department circles. Anyone familiar with Israel's diplomatic history will be aware that the worst fear of government after government was the prospect of the United States alone or in conjunction with another power, seeking to impose a settlement which would be to Israel's political detriment or compromise its vital security interests. By any benchmark, Landau's behavior as an Israeli citizen would be deemed unacceptable. But it is surely unconscionable that the editor of one of Israel's most influential newspapers, which also appears in an English and global internet version, could urge an American Secretary of State to "rape" his own government. If ever there was a crossing of every red line in terms of propriety, national integrity, and civic responsibility, this extraordinary intervention tops the bill. This is surely not behaviour befitting the editor of a major newspaper. Could one possibly visualize the head of a major European media outlet behaving in such a manner in relation to his country? What is even more outrageous is that far from displaying remorse at his behaviour, Landau told the Jewish Week that "he had no regrets and that, on the contrary he was pleased, adding that he was later congratulated by several professors in the room who felt 'I articulated what many Israelis feel'." On November 6, I wrote an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post sharply condemning Landau for what I considered to be a basic violation of the Israeli Press Council's code of ethics (see Shame on Haaretz). I related specifically to statements in which Mr. Landau had boasted that in order to promote the so called "peace agenda", he had deliberately exploited his editorial authority to "soft pedal" acts of corruption by senior political leaders including Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Olmert. Landau had also reiterated that he intended pursuing the same course of action in the future. I also noted that Mr. Landau had instructed his staff not to respond to requests for corrections of demonstrable falsehoods published in his paper, if the source of the complaint was CAMERA, the American Jewish media watchdog organization that footnotes all its criticisms. Mr. Landau justified this on the grounds that CAMERA was a "McCarthyite" organization. Although the Israel Press Council intervention on such issues is rare, I understand that it is investigating these apparent breaches of their code of ethics. However this latest incident goes far beyond journalistic ethics. It involves a profound moral issue which touches upon the core of our dignity and self respect as a nation and cannot simply be dismissed as another example of post Zionism or infantile radicalism. Whereas left and right wing groups, to their discredit, have previously appealed to international public opinion to support their views against the policies of particular governments, there is a quantum leap from such action to a senior Israeli media personality appealing for intervention directly to a Secretary of State. Of course, Landau is entitled to his personal opinions. But it is surely a staggering act of reckless arrogance and a reflection of utter contempt for the democratic process when the editor of Haaretz newspaper at such a venue to have passionately conveyed such views to the American Secretary of State at this most sensitive diplomatic juncture. I have no doubt that the vast majority of Israelis across the entire political spectrum would condemn his action as irresponsible and immoral. Mr. Landau should apologize or resign. [UPDATE: www.nysun.com/article/68612: The editor in chief of Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper, David Landau, confirmed yesterday that he has pleaded with Secretary of State Rice to "rape" Israel and its neighbors into resolving their problems. [...] Even as a Jerusalem Post cub reporter in the 1970s, he said, he had pleaded with the then-undersecretary of state, Joseph Cisco, to "squeeze" Israel and the rest of the Middle East's warring parties, so they could achieve peace. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

HACKING, TERRORISM, LITIGIOUSNESS COSTS; DUMBO-GRAPHIC ARGUMENT; ISRAELI POLICE DISCRIMINATION Posted by Richard Shulman, December 26, 2007.

WAR RISKS & HIGH GAS PRICES For a lift home, we entered a garage. Almost all its cars were vans, about half again as big as the last car I had owned. The scene was bizarre. It also was disgusting. The selfish people who own those cars waste scarce gasoline and foul the air, but complain about the high price of gasoline and of medical treatment that their over-consumption and over-pollution raise. Many of them also complain about the cost of fighting jihad, financed largely by rising gasoline prices and by immigrant jihadists allowed to stay, thanks to the liberal-business-immigrant lobby that many of the complainers probably support. WHY PEOPLE ARE NOT INFORMED People mostly depend upon television news rather than newspaper reporting. A producer of network news programs told me of the changes she has see in what sort of news is presented. Formerly, the news presenters did some of the active reporting and story writing. Now the presenters merely have to look presentable. They mispronounce words in such a way as to indicate that they don't understand them. They depend upon the script, so they are thinking of their next question, without listening to the guest, whose answer to the first question may also answer the next one that the interviewer asks nevertheless. More important, the broadcasts have reversed the ratio of several times as much hard news as soft news. Advertisers and corporate owners censor reporting. No wonder people are not informed! That is, they are not informed about the major issues of the day. HACKING, TERRORISM, LITIGIOUSNESS COSTS Besides official cyber warfare, hackers destroy or degrade corporate and government records. Restoration and defense is expensive. Terrorism, of course, is requiring costly defenses and delays, largely because we don't take the offensive. Thus the people whose pressure keeps the government from pursuing other Islamo-fascists and N. Korea, and complain about the expense of fighting in Iraq, keep us diverting funds to defenses probably largely futile. Litigiousness is destroying whole companies and industries and inducing others to establish costly record-keeping to prove they followed customary protocol. Thus doctors practice defensive medicine, with its side-effects, raising medical costs. When you change telephone service with Verizon, you must wait for "third-party verification." Most corporate calls now are recorded. The extra procedures produce errors. What formerly took a few minutes now takes an hour. One's leisure is eroded, one's patience frazzled. We brought down crime rates, but are paying heavily to protect against crime and greed. S. ARABIA TO BUILD P.A. HOUSING S. Arabians have $200 million for building private housing in the Judea-Samaria part of the P.A. (IMRA, 12/16). There no official protests against that, only against 300 apartments for Jews in Jerusalem. I protest, because I want the Muslims out of the Land of Israel. The last thing Israel needs is a strong P.A. economy. THE DEMOGRAPHIC ARGUMENT PM Olmert claims that he was convinced to support expelling the Jews from Gaza because of the Left's demographic argument. That argument holds that the Arabs reproduce faster than the Jews, and if allegedly democratic Israel retains the Territories, it would have to give the Arabs citizenship and they would take over the country (with you know what results). The argument is spurious. If the argument were valid, then it could be said that having divested itself of Gaza, the argument largely is spent. The Left's real aim is to deprive the Jewish people of whatever the Arabs claim and to counter-act the Isr If the Left believed the demographic argument, themselves, they would do something about it. They would have more children, not just one or two, and would foster policies that encourage Jews to have more children instead of its coalition voting down income tax subsidies for large families. They would not enshrine democracy as the supreme value over Jewishness (except that Israel has half the form and even less the substance of democracy, as many of my articles have shown), and would offer the Arabs Jordanian citizenship. The demographic argument has an ethical component, that it is isn't just to rule over people without political rights. If ethics is a consideration, isn't it unethical to uproot tens of thousands of Jews from the Territories, as the leftist regime plans to do? ROLE OF ABBAS Abbas is supposed to be the head of Fatah. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades section of Fatah pledged loyalty to him as its undisputed leader. That section commits terrorism. If it answers to him, then he must have remained a terrorist. Although Israel is rebuilding the P.A. forces it had destroyed, signs abound that Fatah is getting ready to merge with Hamas (Arutz-7, 12/16). Is Abbas really in control of Fatah? If the two terrorist groups merge, then the US and Israel will have built up a terrorist force, for sure. In any case, the fact is, the two groups are considering merger and Egypt and S. Arabia keep urging their coalition. If Fatah were better than Hamas, as the US and Israel pretend, it wouldn't even consider merger. POLICE DISCRIMINATION Dozens of Israeli right-wingers infiltrated the striking teachers' demonstrations, in order to gather evidence that the police discriminate against right-wingers (patriots). With the teachers, they did the same road-blocking, tire-burning, and demonstrating in front of officials' houses as at right-wing protests. They weren't arrested when thought to be teachers, for the same activities they were arrested for when known to be Jewish nationalists. When arrested at their next Jewish nationalist demonstration, they will challenge this discrimination and the police definition of the law (IMRA, 12/16). They were imaginative, although in that mixed up land of discrimination against Jews, the police are likely to arrest them and not the teachers. However, years ago, the police had condoned student and violent Arab demonstrations. The right-wingers could bring suit to pardon right-wingers for their non-violent protests and to dismiss police who let the students and Arabs go. The Likud dissident, who was convicted of road-blocking, did raise the issue. The courts dismissed his argument. In a dictatorship such as Israel, the courts usually are part of the system of ideological control, and do not recognize law and logic based on law. The Israeli courts are a self-perpetuating body of leftists who base their rulings on ideological and personal preferences without regard to law, precedent, and separation of powers, so as to commit injustice and discrimination. I disapprove of the tactics mentioned. My personal view on discrimination is that the complaints of students and teachers do not justify those tactics that don't just express their views but interfere with other people. The right-wing complaints, however, are trying to save the Jewish state and their people, and would justify much harsher methods. They couldn't manage it under dictatorial control, but they would be justified in killing the police hired from Turkey and Russia to be brutal to the Jewish settlers whom they hate for being Jews. Israel should bring to trial and execution Sharon, Olmert, and Peres, who hired those anti-Zionist police and whose other policies aim, intentionally or (probably in Olmert's case) not intentionally, to destroy Jewish sovereignty. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

WHAT WOULD JESUS, THE JEW, DO? Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 26, 2007.

Why not ask an observant Torah-learned Jew? Most, if not all, Christians have forgotten that Jesus was born a Jew, taught Torah Law and lived as a Jew all his life. In the time of such prophets, charismatic prophets roamed the land preaching Torah Law. That was, of course, in line with G-d's mandate of the Covenant for Jews to be "A Light Unto The Nations". The Jews discharged that obligation by bringing pagans to one G-d and away from human sacrifice and the worship of many gods, invented by humans. This was true for Christians and Muslims, as they -- in time -- accepted one G-d. The idea of one invisible G-d took thousands of years to be accepted by most of humankind. It did not matter to Torah-observant Jews that bits and pieces of Torah laws were adopted by new religions, as the long trek to the universal Law was begun. Torah Jews mostly ignored the lure of later religions which offered Jews a special dispensation if they adopted these new religions. For instance, in the 7th Century Mohammed offered a relaxation of Jewish Kosher laws wherein under his leadership of Islam, Jews could eat camel meat which was not Kosher. The German Luther offered the Jews his leadership into medieval Christianity and all the benefits enjoyed by Christians of the time. That offer encapsulated the cessation of persecution of the Jews by the new church of the Lutherans. When the Jews said NO to both and that they would continue with the laws of Torah, without changing a jot or tittle according to G-d's Commandments, the hatred and cruelty of the non-Jewish world worsened. To this day, persecution of Jews ebbs and flows, condemning its practitioners to a life of cruel retribution. Murdering the people of the Covenant, G-d's messengers, must have terrible consequences. In this season of Christmas, we see people celebrating the birth of a Jew, while ignoring his Jewishness in word and deed. We see the Muslim nations in the name of Mohammed and Allah making every attempt to annihilate the Jewish nation. We see a Christian President join with them for whatever earthly benefits he and the multi-national oil industry hope to accrue from a terrible betrayal. The Jews consider themselves the children of the one G-d. Among the Jews no one man has ever claimed or dared to claim they were gods. There was a vestige of pagan ritual which the Prophets and Patriarchs would consider the worst kind of blasphemy. While Noah, Abraham, Moses were privileged to speak with G-d, none had the temerity to call himself an earthly G-d. These were the foibles of priest cults in Rome, Egypt, Greece, Persia and other pagan cultures and religions. The Jews had agreed to a path set by one G-d and did not waver. I watch with some amazement the political hucksters wrap themselves in holy ritual, claiming a special relationship with a Jew named Jesus. They say they know what a Jew (Jesus) would do. Given that virtually none of them studied what Jesus studied, what they really preached as a Torah observant Jew, how can they know what Jesus as Jew would do or say? I have often wondered why Christians have not followed the Torah practices of a Jew whose people had made a Covenant with G-d agreeing to follow His laws. Making up new laws, new interpretations when the Covenant demands that not a letter, jot or tittle may be changed. The Jews have knowingly and unknowingly discharged their obligation to become a "Light Unto the Nations". Regrettably, being the messenger has brought the Jews intolerance, bigotry -- even murder for their efforts. But, still the Jews trek on into history, hoping the lesson of the One G-d will fully take hold in time. What would Jesus, the Jew do? Ask a Torah Jew and receive a reply in the original text which has not changed since Moses received the Law from G-d on Mt. Sinai. G-d gave His Law to the Jewish people for eternity because they agreed to accept what G-d commanded. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

HEVRON PEACE HOUSE OWNER CONFIRMS HE HAS PROOF OF SALE Posted by Hana Levi Julian, December 26, 2007.

(IsraelNN.com) The man who purchased the Hevron Peace House from its Arab owner lost his patience with government claims that its residents are living there illegally, and spoke out this week to confirm that the sale was conducted legally. The buyer is a religious United States Jew of Syrian descent whose ancestors were thrown out of Hevron by the Arab pogrom of 1929. "B"'s great-grandfather and other relatives who were in Hevron at the time of the attacks managed to escape without injury, he said. Having paid $700,000 for the building in a legitimate transaction, he expressed outrage with "Israeli democracy" that the government is relating to the Jewish presence in his building as an "invasion." "We have given the government videotapes and pictures proving that the building was purchased honestly," he emphasized, videotapes in which the former owner is seen receiving money, counting it, and then signing documents granting the rights to the building to the buyer. The process of selling and buying the 4,000 sq. meter structure, took several years to conclude, said Jewish community spokesman David Wilder in a statement after the purchase in March 2007. The Peace House, as it has been renamed, overlooks the road between Hevron and Kiryat Arba, The Jordanian businessman who owned the building risked his life in the expensive transaction without realizing it, explained Wilder, because he thought the building was being sold to another Arab. "B." also said he never dealt with the seller. "We had people working for us to handle that," he told Ha'aretz this week. "But I have pictures and video footage that prove everything in legitimate. The Israeli authorities also have the material. They know it's all kosher." The sale itself was conducted through a third party office in Jordan, said Wilder, who added that selling Arab property to a Jew is a capital crime punishable by death in the Palestinian Authority. Wilder cited an interview by a CNN journalist in Hevron in which an Arab woman said she wanted proof of the sale in order to put the former owner on trial. Another Arab resident of the city told an IDF Army Radio reporter at the time, "If the Jews really did buy it, all the more power to them. But we will find the seller and chop him up into tiny pieces." A year ago, added Wilder in the March statement, an Arab who sold his house to Jews was murdered by Fatah gunmen in Jericho who called him a traitor. Twenty Jewish families now live in the building which "B" purchased, and plan to stay despite efforts by Palestinian Authority Arabs and by the Israeli government to drive them out. Hana Levi Julian is a writer for Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNN.com). This article is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124711 To Go To Top

HAARETZ AND MORTON A. KLEIN Posted by Marc Caroff, December 26, 2007.

Below are three in a series question posed by Shmuel Rosner of Haaretz to Morton A. Klein, President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), and Mr. Klein's answers. These are part of a week-long series of questions and answers, between that newspaper and Morton Klein, which may be found on www.Haaretz.com under the section called "Rosner's Domain.

[A question asked by a reader:] I wanted to say that your ideas do not represent those of most Israelis and Jewish Americans. How can you claim to be the leader of Zionist Americans when your beliefs are so much to the right of the Jewish community? It is untrue that most Israelis and Jewish Americans do not share ZOA's views. Numerous poll results demonstrate this clearly: Jewish American views: The 2007 American Jewish Committee poll showed that 55 percent of American Jews don't believe that current negotiations can lead to peace, only 36 percent are hopeful. It showed 58 percent of American Jews reject Israeli concessions on Jerusalem, even in context of permanent peace; only 36 percent support the idea. It showed 81 percent of American Jews agree that "The goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel." Also, less than half (46 percent) support the creation of a Palestinian state. A March 2007 McLaughlin and Associates poll shows that non-Jewish Americans as well, by a margin of 5 to 1, oppose Israel land concession to the Palestinian Arabs and by 2 to 1, believe that a Palestinian state will be a terrorist state, not a peaceful democracy. Israeli views: An October 2007 Brains' Trust (Maagar Mochot) Research Institute poll shows 53 percent of Israelis oppose U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority (PA), only 16 percent support it. An October 2007 Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Evens Program in Mediation and Conflict Resolution of Tel Aviv University poll has shown that a clear majority of Jewish Israelis -- 59 percent to 33 percent -- oppose, even in return for a peace agreement, Israel handing over to the PA various Arab neighborhoods in the eastern half of Jerusalem. A May 2007 Dahaf Institute poll for the Knesset Channel found 68 percent of Israelis oppose withdrawing from the Golan Heights and that 53 percent oppose withdrawals from Judea and Samaria, in both cases, even in return for a "real peace." A March 2007 INSS (previously Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies) poll showed that 72 percent of Israelis oppose uprooting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and 71 percent believe that the Palestinian Arabs' goal is destroying Israel, not a peaceful Palestinian state alongside Israel. It also showed only 28 percent of Israelis support the 'land for peace' formula, 58 percent oppose it. All these majority positions are also the positions supported by ZOA. It's also interesting to note that ZOA supported adherence to the Oslo agreements more than the "mainstream" Jewish and left-wing groups. We insisted on the PA's fulfillment of their obligations to prevent terrorism, arrest terrorists, confiscate illegal weapons and end incitement, while the others ignored these obligations and pushed for Israeli concessions no matter what the Palestinians did. The ZOA gained credibility and a significant following because, among major groups, we alone were correct in warning that the Oslo agreements, trusting Arafat and retreating from Gaza would lead to disaster. The U.S. and Israel should have made it clear that there would be no concessions to the PA unless it honored these agreements. In fact, ZOA positions are more representative of Israeli and American Jewish views than virtually all other American Jewish organizations. The question should be asked, "Why are the other major American Jewish organizations taking positions at odds with the views of the majority of Israeli and American Jews?" Dear Mort You want us to "look at the history of the Palestinian Arabs" -- but what's more important is to look at their future. What is your vision for Israel and the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza? If separation between Israelis and Palestinians is needed, as most observers believe -- how would you try to achieve such separation? Best S.R. Firstly, it must be understood that Israel has already given away 42% of Judea and Samaria and 100% of Gaza, where 99% of Palestinian Arabs live. The only reason there are Israeli soldiers, roadblocks and checkpoints in Judea and Samaria is because terrorism and planning of terrorist attacks continues. When there is no more Arab terrorism there will be no more Israeli soldiers, roadblocks and checkpoints. Additionally, if anything was learned from the Oslo Accords, it's that land and other concessions to the Palestinian Arabs only cause more terrorism and more demands. We also reject the racist notion that, while one million Arabs can live among six million Jews, no Jew should be allowed to live among one and half million Arabs in Judea and Samaria. If, in fact, it's not safe for a Jew to live there, what kind of a peace between Arab and Jew does that presage? Nonetheless, a policy of separation will be worthless unless the Palestinian Arab culture that promotes hatred and murder of Israelis and Jews in their TV, radio, school books, newspapers, official speeches, sermons and children's camps is transformed. In addition, the PA must change the names of the streets, schools and sports teams honoring terrorists. Moreover, the PA must actively promote the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state and condemn murdering innocent Jews as an obscenity. The PA must also finally begin to arrest terrorists, confiscate illegal weapons and outlaw terrorist groups. In fact, all of this is required by the Oslo agreements, the Roadmap and the Annapolis Joint Declaration. Otherwise, separation would simply set the stage for more cross-border terrorism and missile attacks against Israel. The Gaza withdrawal/separation is a perfect example of separation leading to greater disaster. After World War II, the US and its allies understood the need to transform the culture and policy of its defeated enemies. Before the US allowed post-war Germany to fully govern itself, they made sure that schools and media promoted the understanding that Nazism was an abomination that only leads to disaster for themselves and the world and that no Nazi could participate in the new government. Soon after this goal was achieved, you had few Germans who would even admit to having been Nazis and Germans became part of peace-loving society. In the PA areas, we must create a new environment where no Arab will support terrorism or praise suicide bombers or call for Israel's destruction, where no PA media, schools or music videos teach children to aspire to death for Allah show mothers joyous at their children's death for Allah, teaches Israelis murder and rape Palestinians, that Israelis poison, cause cancer and AIDS among Arabs, that Israelis are evil and treacherous, that Zionism is racist, and that the Holocaust is a Jewish lie. No wonder Arabs believe it's a mitzvah to kill Jews and destroy Israel. As columnist George F. Will said, we must "deNazify" the Palestinian culture. When that happens, it will be as safe for a Jew to walk in Ramallah as it is for an Arab today to walk in Tel Aviv. When that occurs, separation will no longer be an issue. Dear Mr. Klein, A couple of weeks you said that "The goal of the Palestinian Authority is not to set up a state, but to work for the destruction of the Jewish state." Can you prove it? Best, S.R. The Palestinian Authority (PA) is ruled by Fatah, the terrorist movement co-founded by Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, and whose Fatah Constitution to this day calls for Israel's elimination (Article 12) and the use of terrorism as an indispensible element in the struggle to achieve that goal (Article 19). Fatah's own Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is a recognized terrorist group, one of whose leaders, Abu Ahmed, said last year that "There is no change in our official position. Fatah as a movement never recognized Israel." Indeed, Abbas, president of the PA, himself said as much in Arabic in a TV interview in October 2006: 'It is not required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel.' If Abbas were committed to peace with Israel, why did he endorse the 'Prisoners Plan,' produced by jailed terrorists, and the Mecca Agreement with Hamas, both of which reject Israel's existence while promoting terrorism? If Abbas were committed to peace with Israel, why is Israel not shown on any map or school atlas in the PA territories? Only 'Palestine' is listed. Why does PA TV, to this day, regularly show all of Israel painted in the colors of the Palestinian flag? This 'Palestine'-only message is repeated throughout their culture in school books, crossword puzzles, school and street names and children's programs -- just as their songs, textbooks and media regularly refer to Haifa, Tiberias and Beersheba as 'Palestine.' Just after the Annapolis summit, PA radio presented Hitler heroically, calling his victories in 1940 'his golden year,' while his defeat and death were coined, 'his bitter end,' and no mention was made of the Holocaust. If Arabs repeatedly praise Hitler, as they do, can it be seriously argued that that they truly accept the existence of a Jewish state? Abbas has regularly stated that Israel is the 'Zionist enemy,' that 'Allah loves the martyr,' that 'we must unite the Hamas and Fatah blood in the struggle against Israel,' and that we 'will continue in the path of the late President Arafat until we fulfill his dreams.' He insists that the 'issue of refugees is non-negotiable,' which makes further clear his desire to end Israel as Jewish state by promoting a massive influx of Arabs. Abbas himself refused President Bush's request at the 2005 Aqaba summit to announce his acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state; a refusal he and other senior PA officials made explicit again in the weeks preceding the recent Annapolis summit. An October 2006 poll showed that two-thirds of Palestinians supported Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel, while a February 2007 poll shows that 75% of Palestinian Arabs do not think that Israel has a right to exist -- and Abbas is doing everything he can to fulfill that dream. Look at the history of the Palestinian Arabs -- lack of Palestinian statehood has never been the issue: the Palestinians have turned down statehood on every occasion it was offered to them -- 1937, 1947, and 2000 -- because in all three cases, it would have encompassed accepting the existence of a neighboring Jewish state. Marc Caroff is president of the Brandeis District of ZOA. Contact him at saba333@verizon.net To Go To Top

THE BUSH METAMORPHOSIS Posted by Evelyn Hayes, December 26, 2007.

This is by Bill Mehlman and it appeared today on the Docstalk website http://docstalk.blogspot.com/2007/12/bush-metamorphosis.html Bill Mehlman represents Americans For A Safe Israel in Israel and is co-editor of the Jerusalem-based internet magazine ZionNet (www.zionnet.net)

Jerusalem -- Both during and long after his January 9th first visit to Israel since taking up residence in theWhite House, President Bush must be made to realize that the dimensions of Israel's pre-1967 midsection that so shocked Governor Bush are precisely those to which Israel would be forced to revert under the "peace process" launched at Annapolis. Governor Bush had no trouble assessing the existential threat such a reversion would pose for the Jewish state. Describing the impact of that helicopter tour he took in the company of then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, Ron Suskind in his book, The Price of Loyalty, quotes the Texas governor as saying " It looks real bad down there. I think it's time to pull out of that situation." With the memory of what he saw still fresh, the newly minted President Bush, in his first meeting with his National Security Council on January 30, 2001 asserted (according to notes taken by Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill) that "we're going to tilt back toward Israel." O'Neill reports Secretary of State Colin Powell responding that it would be dangerous if Sharon and the IDF were given a free hand. To which Bush is quoted as having retorted: "Maybe that's the best way to get things back in balance. Sometimes a show of force can really clarify things." More than a drawl With a lot more of Texas still in him that just a drawl, Bush wasn't above "clarifying things," including telling the pro-Arab State Department where to get off. This was a George W. Bush still determined to make good on his campaign pledge to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, a president who elected to surround himself with pro-Israel neocons like Richard Perle, Doug Feith, Paul Wolfowitz and Scooter Libby, a defense secretary who routinely referred to Judea, Samaria and Gaza as the "so-called occupied territories" and a vice president who thought Arafat "should be killed." George Bush, circa January 2008, bears little resemblance to the original product. The brain trust that esteemed the added value a strong, defensible Israel brought to America's valiant struggle against radical Islam is long gone, replaced by the likes of Richard Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, whose skewed perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict has cast a lengthening shadow over White House policy-making. Viewed as a sounding board for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Haas, who formerly headed State's Division of Policy Planning, expressed his displeasure with what he deemed the too general and congenial nature of the president's speech at Annapolis. "Bush's speech," he averred, "failed to give Mahmoud Abbas an argument he could take back to the Palestinian people and say 'this is why negotiations offer the more promising route and this is why you should not put your hope in violence.'" "More promising?" Under what circumstances does Mr. Haas suggest the United States should regard terrorist violence in any degree against a democratic friend and ally as "promising?" Total freeze Haas's three-step formula for kick-starting the post-Annapolis "process" includes the halting of all further Israeli settlement beyond the 1949 Armistice lines; the removal of all Israeli roadblocks in Judea and Samaria, and a reconstituted Palestinian Authority security force (presumably incorporating under its expanded umbrella the gunmen of Fatah, Tanzim and the Martyrs Brigades). His anti-Jewish settlement plank found special resonance with Saeb Erekat, the PA's star negotiator and emissary to the Western media. "We demand a freeze on all settlement activity," said man who told the world at Annapolis that the words "Jewish state" would never issue from his lips. And a "freeze," he added, must include not only new settlement construction but construction in existing settlements. "Either it's a 100 percent settlement freeze," he barked, "or no settlement freeze. There is nothing in the middle." To which Mr. Haas added: "The Arab world and the Palestinians will be willing to work with us and accept our role if we act credibly," i.e, serve them Israel's head at the next Ramadan festival. President Bush's response to all this has been pathetic. "I'll make sure, as will the secretary of state, that when they get stuck, we'll help them get unstuck," was the most profound thing he had to say at the conclusion of the Annapolis conclave. Condoleezza Rice has not nearly been as reticent. The President, she has made clear, wasn't coming to Israel for another helicopter ride, but to "signal support for the bilateral process between the parties and to continue, in a hands-on way, to encourage them to move forward." Anybody vaguely familiar with the context and syntax of Middle Eastern "peace" negotiations over the last 40 years knows that "hands-on" and "move forward" are code words describing pressure on Israel for unilateral concessions. Secretary Rice abandoned the code words for blunter language a bit further on in noting that Bush's January trip would include other stops in the region aimed at rallying broader Arab backing for the Annapolis initiative, "The Palestinians can't make these tough choices without Arab support," she asserted. Har Homa lecture Did Madam Rice mean to imply that the PA's acceptance of Israel's surrender of 95 percent of Judea and Samaria plus eastern Jerusalem amounted to a "tough choice," moreover one that required broad "Arab support?" Or was the secretary tiptoeing, ever so delicately, around the possibility that the Olmert government, for all its fecklessness, might, in return for this outrageous act, demand of Mahmoud Abbas the public recognition of Israel as a Jewish state? Indeed, it may have been in an attempt to make that bitter pill more palatable that she lashed out at Israel's refusal to veto the construction of additional sorely needed apartments in Har Homa, a neighborhood plainly within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries. Treating that simple fact as though it were a non sequitur, she went off on a tangent about the "obligation to be very careful about activities that undermine confidence. This is a time to build confidence between the parties," she declared, "and something like the Har Homa activity undermines confidence." If the addition of an apartment block in a demarcated and developed neighborhood in Jerusalem "undermines confidence" in the "process," what might be said of a soon to be unveiled poster marking the 43rd anniversary of Fatah, a wholly owned terrorist subsidiary of the PA. Already on view at several Fatah-affiliated web sites, it features a map of Israel draped in a Palestinian keffiah, with Arafat's picture supporting an automatic rifle symbolizing the continued "armed struggle" against the "Zionist entity." Secretary Rice, at this writing, has yet to utter a word of condemnation of this belligerent affront by an organ of a Palestinian Authority ostensibly committed to an independent "Palestine" alongside, not in place of, Israel. It may be that she simply regards the "undermining of confidence" in the "process" an exclusive Israeli preserve. Perhaps the former governor of Texas would be good enough to shed some "hands-on" light on the subject before he leaves here. Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

PEELING THE INTELLIGENCE ONION BACK ANOTHER LAYER Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 26, 2007.

As you read the following, know that there is another "layer of onion" to peel back. (This is an expression in Intelligence, in deciding which layer of exposure is the probable truth.) As former head of Israeli Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. (res.) Aharon Ze'evi Farkash lectured on Tuesday December 18th on the DIS-information of the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) Report. While he speaks of what was seemingly a "coup d'etat" against the Bush Administration by what most believe was inspired by the State Department via plants in the 16 U.S. Intelligence organizations, it may be worse. IF there was a deliberate plan to scuttle a Bush attack against Iran's nuclear sites, there may be yet another "layer". Suppose the plan was to leave the State of Israel totally exposed to a strike by Iran with a nuclear device. That would then allow Israel to be the bait for a counter-strike by American forces. Of course, Israel would cease to exist as a functioning nation which would not affect American commercial interests. In fact, for the Arabists in the State Department and on the Hill, an Israel which ceased to exist as an irritant to Muslim Arab nations would solve a major U.S./State Department problem. Luring Iran into a first strike would fit with the NIE Report and their goals. After sacrificing Israel, a counter-strike by American forces would seem logical and heroic. It would make U.S. intercession blameless for hitting an Arab Muslim state. The U.S. under Bush needs an excuse to hit a most dangerous Muslim Arab country who would threaten the entire oil region of the Middle East. This includes Saudi Arabia, all the Gulf States, Iraq and the "winner" of the Nuclear Exchange would literally take control of the oil in the region. The NIE Report was a brilliant "coup" of DIS-information that put a protective screen around the Bush Administration until Iran takes its Nuclear shot. Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his gang of incompetents were used like a $2 street walker with not a clue of how cheaply they were bought. All Intelligence Agencies the world over knew that Iran was furiously building Nuclear facilities scattered all over Iran (so they would be less vulnerable to attack that would successfully eliminate their Nuclear Weapons' Capability). All Intelligence Agencies also knew that they had not stopped despite the 2003 much publicized shut down. They simply moved on to their next phase of production -- having completed their first. When Israeli Intelligence went to their counter-parts in America, England, France, etc. with proof, they were told: "Oh, we already know that and it's old stuff." Since when does so called "old stuff" become irrelevant particularly when it's a process of Nuclear Weapons' development? As you read the Farkash analysis, think about the next layer of Intelligence, awaiting full exposure, namely: to use Israel as the irresistibly tempting bait. This was posted by Schapira@aol.com, "Truth for Peace: NEWS" It is called "Ex-IDF Military Intelligence Chief: NIE will enable Iran to get nuke." It was written by Jerusalem Post staff and appeared in The Jerusalem Post Dec. 19, 2007.

Iran's covert nuclear weapons program is continuing, and the American intelligence community's mis-assessment of it has opened the door for Iran to achieve its nuclear ambitions, the former head of IDF Military Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash, warned bitterly on Tuesday. Speaking at a Hebrew University seminar, before an audience that included members of the Supreme Court, leading politicians, foreign ambassadors, senior members of the Israeli intelligence community and numerous other notables, Ze'evi-Farkash unleashed the angriest and most detailed assault by an Israeli expert to date on the American National Intelligence Estimate of Iran's purportedly "halted" nuclear weapons program. Noting that he had headed Military Intelligence at the time of the ostensible Iranian "halt" in 2003, Ze'evi-Farkash said he had gone back to his papers for reference to the starkly differing Israeli and American intelligence estimates. He then proceeded to talk the audience through Israel's assessment of the Iranian program, even offering rare details of how some information had been obtained by Israel and how Israel then sought to persuade the international community of its importance. He said Iran became aware in August 2002 that the US, UK, Germany, France and Israel "had strong information that under its broad civilian cover Iran was conducting a clandestine nuclear program." This program, he said, covered all aspects of nuclear weapons development and delivery, and was conducted under the auspices of the Iranian Defense Ministry and Atomic Energy Agency. Missile development, uranium enrichment, plutonium production and other activities were pursued at several sites, including R&D centers in Teheran itself. The work was conducted under cover names, including a Program for the Cultivation of the Desert. Recognizing that the international community had discovered the covert program, Ze'evi-Farkash said, the Iranians set about hiding its traces, but then resumed their activities. For instance, he said, weapons system development at the Lavizan site, identified by Iranian opposition groups, was halted and moved elsewhere, and all traces of activity were removed. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency sought permission to visit the site in 2002, and were finally granted that permission in 2003. "We took satellite pictures [of Lavizan] in 2002 and in March 2003," Ze'evi-Farkash said. "In March 2003 Lavizan disappeared. We saw a garden and a soccer field. They dug down more than two meters" to remove traces of the activity there. The former Military Intelligence chief then detailed the extent of Iranian missile development, noting that the Shihab-3, with a range of 1,500 kilometers and the capacity to carry a 700-kilogram warhead, was already operational. "We saw [such] missiles, in Iranian maneuvers, pointed at Tel Aviv and at Riyadh," he said. Ze'evi-Farkash cited longer-range missiles, with larger potential warheads, also in development, gradually bringing Europe into range and even, by 2010, the east coast of the United States. Listing specific criticisms of the NIE report, he said flatly that, in contrast to its headline-making opening assertion, "the Iranian clandestine military program is continuing." The NIE's "distinction between military and civilian programs is artificial," he added, since enrichment of uranium -- which all agree Iran is doing -- "is critical to both." He stressed that the surface-to-surface missile program is continuing, adding, "No other country would invest so many billions of dollars in surface-to-surface missile programs without nuclear military intentions." Ze'evi-Farkash said that when Israel prepared its assessment of the acute danger posed by this Iranian program in 2003 to 2004, he was dispatched, along with the head of the Mossad, "to explain our knowledge" in Europe. He met with the political leaders of Italy, the UK, France, Germany and the Czech Republic, among others, he said, and came back to the prime minister with two messages. First, European leaders asked him why Israel thought they needed to be worried by an Iranian nuclear weapons threat since they had lived under such a threat in the Cold War. And second, they told him that, if Iran did get the bomb, they were confident Israel and the United States "will solve the problem. This was the message, and I believe this is still the message." Outlining the dire immediate consequences of the NIE's publication, he noted that its sanguine assessment had not been contradicted around the world, that Russia had announced it would complete work on the Iranian Bushehr reactor, that China had signed an economic agreement with Iran relating to energy that had been on hold for six months, that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had received a personal invitation to Mecca from Saudi King Abdullah, that Egypt last week sent its deputy foreign minister to Iran on the first official visit since 1979, and that Ahmadinejad might himself be invited to Egypt. His conclusion, he said, was that the NIE had removed any military option for the Bush administration in thwarting Iran, weakened international support for tougher sanctions, and reduced the likelihood of Turkey and moderate Sunni nations building a coalition against Teheran. In short, "ironically," he said, the NIE "opens the way for Iran to achieve its military nuclear ambitions." Ze'evi-Farkash was speaking at the Shasha Center for Strategic Studies' seminar on "The Interface between Law, Intelligence and Terror." Speaking to The Jerusalem Post after his address, Ze'evi-Farkash fumed that the NIE's report was "political" -- designed to deprive President George W. Bush of the justification for military intervention. "America can't act," he said, "and it's much harder for Israel to act as long as the US is in Iraq" -- since Israeli action would be seen as having tacit American support. And he said the blow to the sanctions effort was devastating, precisely when it seemed that sanctions were going to have a real impact. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

MOVIE: IMAGINARY WITNESS Posted by Marion D.S. Dreyfus, December 26, 2007.

In "Imaginary witness" the documentarians have produced a technically sophisticated, visually imaginative, scholarly documentary that manages in the space of 100 minutes or so to investigate the belief system and history of the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of Hollywood, the development of the anti-Semitic meme conflict (more accurately, the age-old revivified hate-Jews bloodlust conflict) and the aftermath of the hitlerian anschluss. The documentary's enormous achievement is in bringing all this together to show incontrovertibly the total misunderstanding of the US role that shaped the policy follies of the West in general and the U.S. and England in particular. The potentially deadly results are summed up in the foreboding title. "Imaginary Witness." They marinated in their lassitude juice. They were pathetic witnesses of no value whatsoever, until it was far, far too late. This viewer, considering herself knowledgeable, learnt that the Hollywood of the late 1930s and 40s were gingerly on the side of the Germans so as not to antagonize their film-going publics. Those who declared alarm over the rise of death camps and rumblings with statistics of dead and collected Jews were treated like prior versions of Kucinich-nutter Smurfs. Even flanks of bearded, congregational rabbis. Narrated authoritatively by Gene Hackman, this film culls thousands of newsreels, films, TV serials, broadcasts and archival footage of Hollywood greats past and present to assemble a damning stab of shame at the lacklustre, not to say supine, reaction of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Congress, and the public in general to the obscene plight of Europe's Jews. The standout reference I expected to see, the 9-hour documentary "Shoah," was entirely absent. I puzzled why. "Shoah" was not a Hollywood product, however: Produced by Claude Lanzmann in France and Poland, it fell outside the bounds of the archival deconstructions in "Imaginary." Again and again through the lenser, the lucid and scalpel-sharp commentary and analysis by Fordham Law Professor Thane Rosenbaum, a personal favorite of mine from numerous symposia and film festivals he has helmed a few blocks from my home, himself the child of Survivors, pierced the stygian black and white captures of sorrow and pity. Featured throughout are film luminaries such as Charlie Chaplin ("The Great Dictator") and Stephen Speilberg ("Schindler's List"), and the thoughtful exegeses of other great analysts and scriveners who sat in on the writing of the plays, or screenplays, film or parody. Painful irony of the tacit cooperation accorded hitler when he requested that all Jewish members of crews working in the European field be fired, and all were, was that every single one of the executives so doing were themselves emigres from Europe. All Jews. "The Pawnbroker," "I was a Nazi Spy," "The Pianist," "Anne Frank," "Judgment at Nurenberg," "To Have and Have Not" and on and on. Not so many. But each adding to the canon of documenting the unheard of and unthinkable. Until very late in the game, all US films that dealt with the Jewish question were all in 'gentleman's agreement' code. Not one even mentioned the word "Jew" at all. Instead, the Power Lunchers That Be in filmland called the subjects of their risky A- and B-list films "non-Aryans." Don't hurt the feelings of the Germans. Watch those European filmgoing audiences. Globalize the suffering of Anne Frank so she is not too "ethnic." This is not a rehash of other omnibus films on WWII. Much that is exposed is first-time compilation. It captured only seven people in the audience at the public showing at the International Film Centre in NYC, one person having the temerity to chew popcorn. But this is a film that will command its enduring, if deathly silent, audience. And that email that's circulating, about how Ike wanted to capture and document the release of the death-camps, so "no one would forget what occurred there," in 50 or 60 years? Turns out it's that rarity today: It's actually true. He sent in a flotilla of Hollywood cameramen to record what they saw. Marion Dreyfus is a writer and travelor; she has taught English in China on the university level. She can be contacted at dreyfusmarion@hotmail.com To Go To Top

SHTETL DIPLOMACY VS. STEROIDS DIPLOMACY Posted by Michael Freund, December 26, 2007.

With time running out on the Bush Administration's term of office, pressure is growing on the Israeli government to make dangerous concessions to the Palestinians that threaten the country's national interests. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has chosen to react by embracing "shtetl diplomacy" -- which is when the Jewish state reverts back to the age of Jewish powerlessness in 19th century Eastern Europe rather than standing up for itself as it should. But as I argue in the column below from the Jerusalem Post www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517207721&pagename= JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull), what is needed now is not "shtetl diplomacy" but something a little more forceful and assertive. Comments and feedback may be sent to: letters@jpost.com or to me directly. thanks, Michael Freund At last, here's some good news to cheer us all up: tourism to Israel is on the upswing. And oddly enough, this is thanks in no small measure to the United States government. The Tourism Ministry announced last week that in the first 11 months of the year, the number of visitors to the Jewish state soared to 2.1 million, a rise of 24% over 2006. And while the press release didn't specify just how many of those pilgrims came bearing US diplomatic passports, it is clear from the headlines over the past few months that the number is anything but small. Indeed, it seems that just about everyone in Washington, perhaps with the exception of the White House gardener, has been here for a stay, including Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, Middle East envoy Gen. (ret.) Jim Jones and officials from the Department of Homeland Security. But of course the hands-down winner of the most frequent-flyer miles over the Atlantic is none other than Condoleezza Rice herself. The Secretary of State has raided the mini-bar at Israeli hotels on seven occasions since the start of the year, including four stopovers since August. That's more visits to Israel than most American Jews make in a lifetime. And now, President Bush himself is slated to come here in two weeks. As much as some might like to think that this flurry of sightseeing is related to the quality of Israeli hotels and their facilities, the reality of course is quite different. The comings and goings are undoubtedly connected to the attempts to revive the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, as Washington races against the clock to forge an agreement before the end of George W. Bush's term of office. But while the dollars injected into the local economy by these visits are most certainly welcome, we can not overlook the heavy price-tag that comes along with them, as American officials will be pushing Israel to make dangerous concessions. The Jewish state has already been put on the defensive over housing construction in Jerusalem, and media reports in recent days indicate that Washington is pressing for the IDF to dismantle Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria in advance of Bush's trip. This is only the beginning, and given the government's propensity to capitulate, we can expect much worse in the coming months. To some extent, all this back-and-forth trekking by American officials brings to mind Henry Kissinger's "shuttle diplomacy" after the Yom Kippur War, when he sought to bring about the signing of an interim agreement between Israel and Egypt.   BUT IN fact what we are witnessing now is something much worse. It is what I refer to as "shtetl diplomacy," which is when the sovereign government of the State of Israel reverts back to the age of Jewish powerlessness in 19th century Eastern Europe and acts accordingly. Instead of doing what is in Israel's best interests, such as strengthening the Jewish presence in Jerusalem and putting an end to Palestinian rocket attacks on Sderot and the Negev, the government turns to Washington for its marching orders. The result is that our government seems to show more concern for what the US State Department thinks than what the Israeli public deserves. This hyper-sensitivity to the sentiments of others, even when it comes at the expense of our national security, was on clear display last week. As the Post reported, Israel has refrained from sharing videotapes with the US Congress which prove that Cairo is assisting Hamas with arms smuggling in order "to avoid infuriating the Egyptians." That's right. We're so afraid of what Hosni Mubarak might think, that we don't want to risk offending him, even if he continues to brazenly arm our enemies. And as if that weren't absurd enough, Israel also retreated last week from plans to revive a Jewish neighborhood in northern Jerusalem. Less than 24 hours after Haaretz revealed the Housing Ministry's proposal to build thousands of apartments in Atarot, Minister Ze'ev Boim was quick to back-track, with his spokesman admitting the idea had been shelved because of the "peace process." The Olmert government seems to have forgotten that a sovereign state is not supposed to behave like a submissive serf, but rather like a proud and independent entity. And that is why it is time to try something radically different. Instead of "shuttle diplomacy" or "shtetl diplomacy," neither of which has worked very well, let's take a page out of the sports sections of American newspapers and give "steroids diplomacy" a try. As a report issued two weeks ago by former US senator George Mitchell revealed, American baseball players have produced record-breaking results over the past decade thanks in no small measure to the illicit substances, which enhanced their strength and improved their feats. Scrawny players were transformed into muscle-bound hulks, while meek performers became fearless competitors on the field of play. Doesn't that sound exactly like what Israel's negotiators so desperately need? Sure, steroids are illegal, but then again, matters of legality have never been this government's strongest point. Perhaps a little injection of some "Jewish growth hormone," along with an added dose of national pride, would finally do the trick, and help our government to protect the nation's interests rather than forgo them. Given the way in which they have been conducting themselves of late, a bit of "steroids diplomacy" might just give our feeble leaders the boost they need to stop retreating and to start fighting for what is rightfully ours. Michael Freund served as an adviser to former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. This article appeared yesterday in Jewish World Review www.israelunitycoalition.org/news/article.php?id=2143wish To Go To Top

WHAT DIPLOMATIC THAW?; GLOBAL HYPOCRISY & JIHADIST CRUELTY; IF YOU READ THE NY TIMES Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 25, 2007.

JIHADISTS SPURN PEACE NOW Spain sponsored a Madrid conference of Arabs and Jewish leftists, ostensibly to promote peace. The conference dissolved amid acrimony by the Arabs and some of their far leftist Jewish allies. The Arab-dominated Baladi Party in Israel rejected discussions with Peace Now and the Labor Party, claiming that they are not in the peace camp. It stated that they serve in the Israeli reserves, so they are part of the "occupation." (IMRA, 12/16.) Serves Peace Now right! Peace Now and the Labor Party fostered concession to the Arabs and dangerous ones at that. Nevertheless, the jihadists do not accept the offerings as a sign of good faith nor the friendship of the Left as genuine. The jihadists want complete surrender. They want Israel to dissolve itself. They do not accept Labor's position that if it gives up the Territories, each people can have a state west of the Jordan River. (There already is a Palestinian Arab state east of the Jordan River. Nobody explains why they need another one west of it, leaving Israel with indefensible borders. My explanation is that: (1) Some are deluded into imagining that the jihadists may be reasonable; and (2) Others want to leave Israel with indefensible borders. ISLAMIC SCHOLAR BARRED FROM THE U.S. A judge upheld the federal ban on admission of Islamic Scholar Tariq Ramadan, because he donated to an organization later classified as a terrorist organization. The ACLU had brought the judicial appeal on the grounds that he didn't know the charities were terrorist. ACLU claims that the actual reason was that he criticized US policy (Tatyana Gershkovich, NY Sun, 12/21, p.4). The article didn't state the basis for ACLU's suspicion. Criticism of government policy in the US seems quite free, to me. I'm suspicious of the allegation that the donor didn't know the charities transfer the funds to terrorists. I think most donors know, especially Islamic scholars. By now, after all the publicity given to prosecution of such charities, it behooves donors to check before writing a check. DIPLOMATIC THAW? "In a move widely interpreted as a step toward a diplomatic thaw with the West, Syria sent its deputy foreign minister to the international gathering last month at Annapolis, Md.." (Benny Avni, NY Sun, 12/21, p.6). Mr. Avni ought to have derided the widespread impression of détente with Syria. Syria attended in order to gain concessions from the West, to present its demands, and to throw off the easily deceived West. Western diplomats and commentators like to perceive enemy diplomatic moves as conciliatory when they are adversarial. This is another aspect of policy based on fantasy. The fantasy inhibits us from confronting the enemy while the balance of power is on our side. ENEMY TECHNOLOGICAL PROWESS Iran claims it is built advanced radar systems (IMRA, 12/15). Sometimes Iran exaggerates its capabilities. Exaggerated or not, Iran is developing more of its own, modern weapons systems. The West hardly cares. It is too busy selling technology to its enemies and enabling them to manufacture them. Strategically, that enables them better to fight us or to commit other aggression. It also ends futures sales and invites eventual competition for sales. US universities, facing a declining enrollment, encourage foreign students without regard to the country and ideology they serve and the courses offered. Having a shortage of native engineers, the US needs foreign ones who will serve us and not jihad. Ones who would be willing to stay here and contribute to our industry should be exempt from immigration restrictions. Meanwhile, Russia is going to build nuclear plants for Egypt, which will sign up under the supervision of the uncaring Intl. Atomic Energy Agency. Egypt will call it "civilian nuclear development," just as Iran deceitfully did. Egypt is semi-Islamist. France is going to build nuclear plants for Libya, a rogue state pretending not to be. Russia and France are engaging in the sort of nuclear proliferation we condemned Pakistan for. They are dooming us, unless we defeat Islam fast. An American friend who lives half the year in France finds the French admiring ofPres. Sarkozy, who has made unexpected reforms cleverly. But could there be greater fools than those who offer nuclear technology to Libya, Egypt, and Iran? Can there be greater fools than those who rebuke Pres. Bush for having tried to stop at least some of this rather than talking with them while their development proceeds? What fools the CIA, which pulls our punches but failed to detect Pakistan's a-bomb development? ISLAMIST VICIOUSNESS & GLOBAL HYPOCRISY Another Israeli toddler was wounded by a rocket from Gaza, fired at her city, in what is a war crime. The jihadists deliberately murder Jewish children. The "international community," that liberals say the US should consult more, expresses no indignation at the jihadists. When in self-defense, however, Israel is said (often falsely) to have killed an Arab child, the world's media and leaders (and craven Jewish leaders) hastily condemn Israel without investigating. Global hypocrisy matches Islamist cruelty. CHINA'S SEXISM China may be ending its policy on adoption. Up to now, at least, the Chinese were giving away their female babies en masse. The sexism in that couldn't be more blatant. One would expect certain organizations to condemn the Chinese for that, if not for its mass-murder of tens of millions. Humanitarian organizations seem to condemn mostly Israel and the US, and usually for minor or non-existent deeds. IF YOU READ THE NY TIMES The Times editorial of 12/19 found the political and territorial challenges to P.A. and Israeli peace negotiators daunting and the economic obstacles to a viable P.A. state at least surmountable if donors break precedent and meet their pledges to the P.A.. The Annapolis conference enjoyed some success because of those pledges, Tony Blair's coordination in behalf of Palestinian Arab economic development, and the "Bush administration's overdue attention to peacemaking." Unfortunately, the editorial predictably intones, the P.A. economy is grim, because of "Israel's crushing counterattacks and economic blockades." At least foreign aid is not suspended for the P..A. moderates in Abbas' part of the P.A.. The people of Gaza should be subsidized, too, but not by giving the funds to the Hamas regime there. Abbas needs money for development, but donations mostly pay regime expenses. The editorial puts the onus on Israel to remove the barricades and let more goods in. Then there is Steven Erlanger's contention that "Despite the lethality and accuracy of the Israeli air strikes, Israel finds itself with no effective military answer to the problem of rockets from Gaza." "But the rockets continue to make daily life in Sderot miserable, with frequent sirens, crowded shelters, frightened children, considerable danger, trauma and stress". Residents can't sell out and they don't trust government assurances. The government is reluctant to order a large-scale counter-attack while the US is sponsoring "peace talks." Besides, such raids have caused significant civilian casualties and were of short-term utility. Unfortunately, the rocket attacks discourage Israel from making "a political deal for a Palestinian (Arab) state." The IDF would like to invade and destroy the growing terrorist forces, but don't know what to do afterwards. MY COMMENTS This is one of the few times that the newspaper acknowledges the plight of bombarded Israelis. It rarely gives readers grounds for sympathizing with Israelis. Even here, it blames P.A. economic problems on Israeli security measures, and not on the P.A. failure to secure the border and indeed failure to stop promoting terrorism. Neither does it point out that P.A. rulers steal most of the foreign aid or divert it to jihad and shake down businessmen instead of encouraging them. Why should Israel let more goods into the P.A., so the P.A. can support more terrorism? The paper falsely credits Abbas with being a moderate, but he gets terrorists released and pays them. It misleads readers in describing the aid as going to maintain the government, without noting that half the government employees are terrorist activists, called security forces. The editor depicts the negotiations as peacemaking, although they really are jihadists' war making. Abbas has no interest in peace, and has proved it by his actions and inactions. The goal of a P.A. state still is not shown justified. On the one hand, the newspaper calls Israeli counter-attacks "crushing." On the other hand it calls them inadequate to squelch rocket attacks and therefore needing a major (crushing) counter-attack. I think the Times tries to engender sympathy for the Muslims by exaggerating Israel's minor counter-attacks, which catch just a few terrorists each day. If the government of Israel were honest and sensible, it would denounce US promotion of negotiations with jihadists not as "overdue" but as the folly that the US says it would be for it the US to negotiate with Iraqi jihadists. Israel also should point out the evil of P.A. culture and the right of Israel to defend itself despite ensuing civilian casualties among that evil people. (Half a million residents of Gaza, one-third of the city, gathered in a rally of support for Hamas, which declared its policy not to recognize Israel but to destroy it, kill its Jews or at least its soldiers, and flood it with Muslims (Arutz-7, 12/16). The vicious Muslims would murder any Jews that Hamas didn't.) Why let the terrorists get away with stationing themselves among civilians, which is a war crime? The responsibility for civilian casualties is the terrorists'. The Times is pretending to be humanitarian, but since it does not call for the P.A. to end terrorism before negotiations and before receiving US aid, its humanitarianism may be seen as a cloak for its anti-Zionist opposition to Israeli self-defense. In other words, the Times condones Muslim Arab war crimes against Jews but not against Darfur blacks. In suggesting that Israel wouldn't know what to do with Gaza, the Times ignores the Jewish nationalist view that Israel should keep Gaza. It ignores my view that Israel should let the P.A. economy collapse, so the Muslims have to move away, and Israel annexes the vacant and vacated land. Then Israel would have secure borders, not have the expense of fighting terrorism, and war would be less likely. The US would have one less jihadist entity to contend with. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

NEW MOVIE: FAREWELL ISRAEL: BUSH, IRAN AND THE REVOLT OF ISLAM Posted by Steven Plaut, December 25, 2007.

This is from Newsletter of Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) www.afsi.org/OUTPOST/2007/Outpost_2007_12.pdf

Farewell Israel: Bush, Iran and The Revolt of Islam, Written and Directed by Joel Gilbert Reviewed by Rael Jean Isaac Joel Gilbert has pulled off a remarkable tour de force: in "Farewell Israel" he has produced a technically sophisticated, visually imaginative, scholarly documentary that manages in the space of 145 minutes to investigate the belief system and history of Islam, the development of the Arab-Israel conflict (more accurately the Muslim-Jewish conflict) and the aftermath of 9/11. The documentary's enormous achievement is in bringing all this together to show incontrovertibly the total misunderstanding of Islam that shapes the policy follies of the West in general and the U.S. and Israel in particular. The potentially deadly results are summed up in the foreboding title.Farewell Israel. Following a striking opening in which Iran's Ahmadinejad calls for "Death to Israel," the first half of the documentary offers a crash course on Islam, which Gilbert makes visually interesting through the skilful use of Islamic art, maps and graphics. (Himself a musician, Gilbert also makes good use of an original score.) This first section is centered visually by a mosque, with doors which Gilbert opens to reveal facets of Islamic doctrine and history. While lengthy and dense with information, this part of the documentary is essential to understanding more recent events. For example, Gilbert shows how Mohammad's conflicts with the Jewish tribes of the Arabian peninsula formed the basis for the development of Islam's relationship with both Jews and Christians, both tolerated in an inferior dhimmi status to a superior Islam. Gilbert describes the amazingly rapid conquests of Islam (within a century its empire grew to be larger than the Roman empire at its height) which fortified Believers in their sense of Islam's superiority, the Golden Age of Islamic cultural achievements, and the crushing blow to Believers when the West, thanks to its growing technological edge, first turned back Islam from its European conquests and eventually assumed imperial control of much of the Islamic heartland. Given the framework of Islamic beliefs, all of this was difficult to understand and impossible for Muslims to accept. The feeling grew that Islam had lost its way and would have to turn inward, that in the phrase that has become famous, "Islam is the solution!" Gilbert depicts the rise of Zionism and shows how the establishment of Israel and the military victory over the combined Arab states by the despised Jews posed an unbearable challenge to Islam that had to be reversed at all costs. By conveying the tremendous shock posed to Islamic beliefs, which were scrupulously laid out in the first part of the documentary, Gilbert is able to make the viewer understand Islamic attitudes and assertions that otherwise seem wildly overstated and hard to credit seriously. For example, Egypt's Nasser is shown declaring that Israel is the greatest crime in the history of mankind, while Muslim religious leaders fulminate that Israel must be destroyed lest Zionism succeed in replacing Islam and destroying Islamic identity. But the key theme of this film is the lethal misunderstanding of the Islamic world view and its goals which bedevils Israeli policies as well as those of the United States. One of my favorite passages in the film, because it typifies the theme so perfectly, is the juxtaposition of a huge peace rally in Israel, with blue and white balloons flying and Israeli singer Miri Aloni belting out Shir Lashalom (Song to the Peace) with Arafat's urging his people to fight on. The camera goes back and forth, interlarding snippets from the Israeli rally with Arafat's incitement. The singer thrusts the microphone first before Peres, then Rabin, standing on the platform with her, who join in singing "Don't just say the day will arrive, cheer only for peace" while Arafat shouts "Fight, fight, fight" and "Jihad, jihad, jihad" and "We will march to Jerusalem." In another fine section, Gilbert examines Sadat's strategy in coming to Jerusalem in 1977, the performance that so bedazzled the Jews and indeed the entire world. We see him address the Knesset and Gilbert shows how Sadat's words had different meanings than the way they were understood by his audience. (This too is an important underlying theme of the documentary.the way in which the same words, including "peace," "freedom," "tyranny" are understood differently by Islam and the West.) Sadat keeps saying that peace must be based on "justice" (Gilbert notes that he uses the word fifteen times in that one speech) and defines justice (if only his listeners had paid more attention) as Israel's disappearance. "Justice," says Sadat, requires Israel to give up all the territories taken in the 1967 conflict and the return of Palestinian Arab refugees. Sadat also proclaims that Jewish independence in Palestine is illegitimate in its totality ("the land did not belong to you"). As Gilbert notes, the "peace and justice" which Sadat offers Israel in that famous speech is really only dhimmi rights in a Muslim Palestine. And so, at the end of the Camp David negotiations, when we see Begin declaring "peace now celebrates a great victory" we can understand how Sadat saw the situation in a wholly different way. Islam had taken a major step in reducing Israel's territory on the path to her elimination. Gilbert has assembled some wonderful historical footage. As Nazism gathered force, we see Vladimir Jabotinsky testifying on behalf of Jewish statehood before the British Royal Commission in 1936, delivering those famous lines in which he compared the claims of the Arabs and Jews to Palestine to the claims of appetite as against the claims of starvation. And, we see Chaim Weizmann and David Ben Gurion testifying with surprisingly little conviction to that same commission, the first saying Jewish statehood might have to be put off for "hundreds of years." We also see the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini (Arafat's uncle and Adolph Eichmann's close friend) inspecting the Bosnian Moslem troops he had mobilized in Hitler's service. Coming closer to the present, Gilbert shows how Arafat (banished to Tunisia, discredited and defeated in the wake of the first Gulf war when the PLO sided with Saddam) was rescued from oblivion by Israel's Labor government. In another visual gem, Gilbert shows Peres, in the aftermath of Oslo, echoing Sadat's demands for Israeli withdrawals one by one, this time as Israeli policy. Israel, Gilbert notes, was now in agreement with Sadat's diplomatic strategy "of stages" against her, believing this would bring peace! And Gilbert produces some fantastic recent footage of a hapless Peres falling asleep as he is asked about Iran's intentions and coming to consciousness looking as lost and foolish as he -- and the government he represents -- has come to be. Gilbert rightly sums up the Netanyahu years with a single pithy sentence: promising to revoke the Oslo Accords, he simply continued them at a slower pace and having accomplished nothing was replaced by Labor. Where does the peace process come into all this? Nowhere at all. Gilbert demonstrates conclusively that there is, and can be, no peace process that leaves Israel standing as a Jewish sovereign state. Gilbert shows how after 300 years of decline Islam is undergoing a revival, and central to that revival is the rock-solid determination that the land occupied by Israel be returned to Dar al-Islam, the territory of Islam. Gilbert says "Islam must reacquire Palestine to redeem itself from Westernization on the path to successful Islamic revival." But it is not only Israel that misreads Islam. Gilbert takes us into the aftermath of 9/11 in which he argues that President Bush fell into the Islamist trap. In a sobering, if indirect slap at the "Bush doctrine," i.e. bringing democracy to the Middle East -- and the doctrine's neoconservative supporters -- Gilbert argues that given the current "Revolt of Islam" genuinely free elections will only bring Islamists to power. This is precisely what happened in the Palestinian elections which the Bush administration insisted be held. With his talent for unearthing the perfect film clip, Gilbert shows Chamberlain on his return from Munich in 1938, but rather than seeing him pronounce the famous sentence promising "peace in our time," we see England's Prime Minister say that after his meeting with Herr Hitler he feels satisfied that "each of us fully understands what is in the mind of the other." What better way of making the point that Bush has as much insight into Islam (the religion of peace!) as Chamberlain had into the mind of Herr Hitler? Gilbert makes no bones that Israel.and the Jews of the world not far behind.will bear the most lethal consequences of Islam's obsession with destroying Israel on the path to Islamic revival. But he offers scant comfort to the West. The documentary concludes with Gilbert's warning that the loss of Israel will erode, not enhance, the West's security, for the goal of the revived Islamist movement that we see enunciated by Ahmadinejad -- bringing the whole world to Islam -- will now only be pressed the harder. I have one small cavil and that concerns the documentary's subtitle "Bush, Iran and the Revolt of Islam." In terms of accurately reflecting what the film is about, a better subtitle would focus on the West's misunderstanding of Islam. Most documentaries are specially suited to a particular audience, but in this case the audience should rightfully be huge. For starters, every single reader of Outpost should see and see again this documentary, for there is no way to fully absorb it in one viewing. (This much is easily accomplished by ordering the DVD from AFSI.) It should be required viewing for every politician and bureaucrat, beginning with the President and his Secretary of State. It should be seen by every American who thinks Islam is similar to Christianity or Judaism. It should be seen by everyone who believes there is such a thing as a Middle East peace process. Perhaps most important of all, every Israeli needs to see this documentary (which means the narration must be translated into Hebrew). Farewell Israel cannot fail to wake up at least some people from the delusional somnolent state into which most of the population has lapsed. But perhaps the last word belongs to a viewer from San Diego who wrote into the documentary's website: "Where it should go is on national TV and replayed at least three times a week for a year." MA'ARIV December 14, 2007 Khalas Yisrael ( the end of Israel ) An imitator of Bob Dylan, who is also a friend of Tsakhi Ha'Negbi, produced an Apocalyptic-right-wing movie that describes the expected destruction of Israel. By Ron Maiberg With the assumption that this is the last year of a Republican in the white house, it would be advisable that Israel should enjoy a few last moments of charity. In the coming years it will be difficult to produce movies like "Farewell Israel -- |Bush, Iran, and the Islamic Uprising". This documentary DVD that went public two weeks ago and caught my eye on the internet is something that independent producers in free countries don't produce anymore. The viewer is left at the end of 145 long and exhausting minutes with the feeling of having seen either a propaganda piece aimed at a very particular audience, or a movie for internal use of one of the western espionage organizations that was not destroyed and had fallen into "the wrong hands". In contrast to the Bush's disconcerting flip flop on Iran's nuclear program in view of the upcoming elections, "Farewell Israel" has no uncertainties and reservations in it's description of the apocalyptic reality -- using cinematic techniques that were thought to have died with Lenny Riefenstahl. Islamic intention to cause great harm to the west and to destroy Israel is rooted in the definition of Islam's existence. When I asked Joel Gilbert, the director of the movie, whether he means total physical destruction, he answered that from Islam's point of view the Jews in Israel can find a way to continue to exist as they were always meant to exist -- under the rule of Islam and its total hegemony in the region. Israelis are very familiar with what this movie promotes -- in one version or another -- from their earliest history and from their first encounters in elementary school. What stirs a heavy feeling of concern are the purposeful hands that sculpted this movie, the money that funded it and the complete embrace of the Israeli right -- of course, a legitimate endeavor. It's even difficult to translate the title into Hebrew. Farewell is more Shalom than Lehitra'ot; and Shalom is a questionable word in this context. It's one of those cases where we "pay" for the double-meaning of the word "Shalom". I asked Gilbert why does such a pro-Israeli movie "dress-itself-up" with such a provocative name like "Bye Bye Israel," and Gilbert said, "things have more than one meaning and there are pros and cons on each side" ... could be. But there is nothing ambiguous in the DVD-cover image of the Arab fighter in a kefiyah holding a loaded Kalashnikov. The movie leads us, throughout the 145 minutes of didactic, monotonous, decisive and assertive statements, to the inevitable conclusion: Khalas Israel. Unless Israel wakes up, together with the sleepy West, to the recognition that this is what Islam commands according to its sources, its Holy Scriptures and its prophets: Conquer the Jews. Gilbert, who started the distribution of the DVD two weeks ago and is negotiating with TV networks to show on TV, is -- among other things -- the leader of an impersonation of Bob Dylan musical group. This is the type of band that presents an evening of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix songs as impersonators. This "schtik" has been running for about ten years by now, with Gilbert as Bob Dylan. He appeared all over the world already. The band is called "Highway 61 Revisited". Through the years, it was joined by Scarlet Rivera, Rob Stoner and Bruce Longhorn -- musicians that played with Dylan. They also composed the soundtrack for the movie. Gilbert has never gained Dylan's personal recognition, but the two hold similar political opinions. It is easy to see how this movie can become a hit with the Israel supporting Christian right. Gilbert claims he produced this movie by himself. However, this is quite an expensive production, with respectable quality, animation, and archival material which in itself costs (in general) thousands of dollars per minute of broad time. For those of us born into this bubbling "publishing world" stew, Gilbert is one more violin out of tune in the philharmonic. The problem is that Gilbert's professional credentials are quite meager for carrying such a heavy intellectual load. He helped research a book on Jabotinsky for Shmuel Katz; he learned about Islam from Eli Keddouri; he wrote a book that is a basis for a movie; and he is a friend of Tsakhi Ha'Negbi. Not exactly Dan Meridor, lacking self restraint. Katz and Ge'ulah Cohen are mentioned in the movie without relation to the context. Gilbert's major villains are the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, that according to Gilbert is among those who brought about the Holocaust, the deceased Anwar Sadat that took everything while giving nothing and was murdered by "Believers", and obviously, Achmadinejad, and in a way that is not at all amusing, Shimon Peres and Yitzak Rabin (we had an unconvincing conversation on the subject). Peres is presented by Gilbert yawning and waking up from a deep sleep in order to answer a question. The murder of Rabin is mentioned as a footnote in history. This is a season in which the shelves of Israel and the Middle East fill up with a multitude of books and movies such that the natural inclination is to ignore them. Many of these products are "suicide bombs" -- they explode in the bag on the way home. Steven Plaut is a professor at Haifa University. His book "The Scout" is available at Amazon.com. He can be contacted at stevenplaut@yahoo.com. To Go To Top

PALESTINIAN MOBILE TRAINING TEAM Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 25, 2007.

The following is an extremely disturbing piece of information. The U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement has contracts with DynCorp International to train Palestinians, supposedly in police work. No doubt, this is another Rice-Bush gesture to Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) who himself received a degree at the Soviet Patrice Lumumba University in Terror. His thesis was the denial of the Holocaust. Let us examine the U.S. State Department program in training Terrorists through the CIA. Recall that we trained Osama Bin Laden and with him his Al Qaeda Terrorists. We taught them the art of firing Stinger Missiles many of which went from Afghanistan to the Terrorist markets in Iraq, Iran and any Terrorist group with the money to buy them. With every missile, M16 and Semtex (plastic explosives) came the training the CIA provided so profusely. After the Afghanis won and threw the great Big Bear, the Soviet Union, out of Afghanistan, the "Mujahideen" (fighters for Islam) went back to their countries of origin to train other cells. Some also went to Europe, America and hibernated as sleeper cells. Remember 9/11? So, our America's CIA trained our enemies to kill us -- although that was not their intent. That's called "Blowback" or the "Laws of unintended Consequences". We sent CIA specialists to the Palestinians to train them, theoretically, to fight Terrorists. (Stop laughing and pay attention.) We taught Arafat's Terrorists and now we are teaching Abu Mazen's Fatah Terrorists who will soon pass their experience on to Hamas and, of course, Syria and Iran. Most of the arms supplied to Fatah's Abu Mazen were taken into the Hamas armory when Hamas beat Fatah in their mini Civil War in Gaza. That includes training and equipment manuals and, of course, all the training given to the Muslim Arab Palestinians by the CIA. [See below] We trained them in using sniper rifles, night-scopes, electronic intercepts and many of the things for which American Special Ops Forces train and are expecting. Of course, the Pals used their American training to snipe at Israelis, killing babies like 10 month old Shalhevet Pass in her father's arms. They also implemented their American-taught know-how to intercept Israeli communications to set up ambushes. Now, understand that the use of weapons, avoidance of arrest for Terror and all the things we taught Bin Laden and Al Qaeda were now put to use against us. Think about what we have taught Iraqi Forces. The Iraqi police are an extreme danger to our own soldiers as they collect pay checks for daytime enforcement alongside our soldiers and, at night, they switch over to militias and ambush U.S. Forces. Of course, every trick we taught the Iraqis went directly to Iran, Syria, Hezb'Allah, Hamas and all the other Terrorist groups in the network. Someday, we may have to fight the Iraqi Shi'ites, allied with Iranian Shi'ites. They will have been well-trained by American institutions to kill Americans. Good luck Bush and Rice. We kept Yassir Arafat on an American payrolls on the off-chance he could assist our Intelligence Agencies in defeating Terrorists or, at least, warning us when an operation was going down. After spending Billions of dollars, we ended up with nothing but an enlarged Terrorist mechanism which unified the various Terrorist groups into a more efficient group of killers. In brief, we have trained at least as many Terrorists as the Soviets in their time and now, once again, under Putin's return to the KGB ways. Once again Bush and Rice arms, trains and funds the Muslim Arab Palestinians to kill with more efficiency. How will they explain their out-of-control Frankenstein when it moves against Saudi Arabia with help from Iran and Syria? If they don't blow up the oil pumping networks, they may assassinate the Royal Saudi family and take over Saudi Arabia. (You do recall how Arafat and his Palestinian Muslim Arabs assisted Saddam Hussein to invade Kuwait and loot $80 Billion in cash and gold. Ask James Baker III who denied giving the green light through then American Ambassador April Glaspie. The money was to keep Saddam in paid up military equipment to continue his war with Iran. There was no attempt at an investigation as to whether Arafat was instructed to assist Saddam by those who were his paymasters. This is an ugly, dark secret that, once exposed, will shame decent Americans and possibly put some high-ranking Americans on trial and, if convicted, in jail. Yes, indeed, we Americans have trained and paid a lot of Muslim Terrorists to become better Terrorists. The problem, of course, is that they come back -- in disguise as our friends and bite us in the ass. On 9/11 4 American planes were hijacked, flown into the 2 Twin Towers of the World Trade Center by 15 Saudis and 4 Egyptians -- were sleeper cells here in America. They took flying lessons here. That was the first blow of consequence -- with more to come. So, read the following and think deeply what Bush and Rice have approved under the misleading title of training Muslim Arab Palestinian law enforcement. [AD IN THE BOSTON GLOBE BY DYNCORP INTL]: @import "http://boston.com/jobs/i/bwks_main_mon.css"; PALESTINIAN MOBILE TRAINING TEAM Company: DynCorp International Location: US-CA-Palestine Salary/Wage: $108,000.00 -- $130,000.00 USD /year Status: Full Time, Temporary/Contract/Project Job Category: Law Enforcement/Security Srvs Job Description PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY SECURITY SECTOR TRANSFORMATION U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs The Palestinian Mobile Training Team (MTT) International Trainers will be assigned to instruct and mentor specific classes during an established instruction period and will be deployed to various training sites in accordance with INL direction and maintain a presence at said sites for the duration of the training or INL edict. Training sites will be located among West Bank, Jerusalem, Jordan, and Egypt facilities. The Palestinian Mobile Training Team (MTT) trainers will consist of a mix of male and female instructors with requisite management, strategic planning, and tactical experience, with particular attention given to crowd control, high risk arrest, human rights, and all skills below in the required qualifications. The MTT trainers may consist of both U.S. and non-U.S. nationalities. Duties of the International Trainers will include: Train Presidential Guards and National Security Force elements in basic policing and basic instructor courses, as developed by INL Ability to possess U.S. or acceptable Foreign Passport Medically cleared for service Contact InformationCompany: DynCorp International Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

A MOSLEM'S PRAYER FOR ISRAEL Posted by Asher Eder, December 25, 2007.

Shalom. You may like to read -- and take to heart -- the below prayer of a Muslim friend of Israel: the Sheikh Professor Palazzi. He is Imam of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Muslim Community.

From: Istituto Culturale della Comunita' Islamica Italiana To: islaminst@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 4:50 PM Subject: [Islamic Institute] My Prayer for the Jewish People "As a Zionist Muslim clergyman I can't keep silent." "The nightmare of Oslo returned and became even darker in Annapolis." "The territories of Judea and Samaria are the home Allah granted to the Jewish people." As a Zionist Muslim clergyman and a friend of the Jewish people, I cannot keep silent. I feel a moral urge to declare that the nations of the world are once again preparing bad days for the Jewish people. A US Administration, which pays lip service to a supposed "war on terror," is ready to bow to Saudi-funded Islamist terror and to accept the Saudi diktat compelling Jews to withdraw from the Land of Israel. The Jewish people is at risk of getting restricted by order of its American "friends," ever closer to what Abba Eban used to call "the Auschwitz borders." People are rarely satisfied with their politicians, and the case of contemporary Israelis is no different. Most of them feel betrayed by both leftist politicians who try to introduce surrender to Abu Mazen as a "step toward peace," and by reputed nationalist politicians who declare they oppose Jewish deportation from Judea and Samaria, but who do not move a inch to prevent it. The more time passes, the more moral leadership of the Jewish people at home is restricted to a powerless minority. The nightmare of Oslo returned and became even darker in Annapolis. That was the reason for the recent creation in Jerusalem of the New Jewish Congress, a federation of different authentic Zionist groups and organizations, blessed by the New Sanhedrin and by the most authoritative Israeli rabbis, and supported by 30% of concerned secular Israelis. I regretted being unable to attend the founding session, held in Jerusalem, Israel, on November 27, but I was thankful to Allah the Most High for giving me the opportunity to thank Prof. Hillel Weiss for the honor of the invitation and to send the participants my greetings. I was glad to have been given the opportunity to reiterate that the territories of Judea and Samaria are the home Allah granted to the Jewish people, and that any attempt to steal them from their legitimate owners is a declaration of war against a Divine decree. In my humble view, each of my Jewish brothers and sisters is morally obligated to struggle for the integrity of the Land of Israel, in order to ease the task of the Jewish people to be a "light unto the nations" and to pave the way for Redemption. The oil lobbies are imposing the follow-up of Oslo, and compelling the whole civilized world to bow to a leader of kleptocracy like Abu Mazen and to again fund his anti-Jewish terror. In these tragic days, my heart is with the Jews in Israel, with all those Jewish families at risk of deportation from Judea and Samaria to appease oil-sultans and their Western counterparts. I pray that hardship is overcome and defeated by a new Jewish leadership, which will prove that the Zionist dream is still alive. The dream of the Jewish people to live in peace and security in the Land of Israel was not crushed by strong governments in the past, and will not be crushed even today, despite the attempts of Arab dictators, the American politicians who cave in to their demands, and the corrupt Israeli politicians who bowed down in submission in Annapolis. One might easily envision that the nightmare that began in Oslo will now reach its most terrific level, with a possible ascendancy of Hamas gangsters over the areas to be vacated by Israel, including even Jerusalem. President George Bush claims he reads the Bible daily, but seems to forget that it is written there that the Land of Israel is G-d's gift to the Children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was not given to anyone else, including the descendants of Ishmael, since they received plenty of territory in other locations. Even so, whoever attempts to steal any of the Divine inheritance of the Jewish people declares war not only on a particular nation, but on G-d and His decree. As long as the US stood up for the rights of Israel in her land, Allah rewarded them with a flow of abundance and blessings, while the Soviet Empire -- which denied the national rights of the Jewish people -- was canceled from maps. Now, the risk is that the US Administration wants to emulate the Soviet Union. I pray for a new US Administration, more respectful of the rights of the Jewish people over its land. Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community http://www.amislam.com mailto:islam.inst@alice.it Contact Asher Eder at avrason@netvision.net.il To Go To Top

TELL GEORGE W. BUSH AND THE ENTIRE WORLD THAT WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER OUR HOMELAND Posted by Jake Levi, December 25, 2007.

This comes from Ruth and Nadia Matar, cofounders of Women in Green.

Dear Friends of Israel, We cannot allow the Israeli government to maintain the illusion that it is acting in the interests of the Jewish People. The Olmert government no longer even feels obliged to safeguard the lives and property of its own Jewish citizens. The population of Sderot and the Western Negev remains under constant missile attack, and the Jews expelled from Gush Katif continue to languish in refugee camps. How does the government respond? It releases from prison Arab terrorists to continue their 'War against the Jews'. It arms them and grants them international legitimacy! In addition, the government plans to abandon to the Arab enemy large parts of Biblical Israel, i.e. Judea and Samaria and parts of Jerusalem. Most unbelievably, it persecutes those Jews who try to oppose these policies. Following the crime of the Gush Katif expulsion and its aftermath, an array of extra-parliamentary groups have joined together with the understanding that the focus of the struggle must be the Land of Israel and our G-d given right to our Homeland. It is clear to us that if the government succeeds in its strategic goal of breaking the settlement enterprise, both its spirit and its physical hold on the land, it will succeed in all its goals: in creating a 'Palestinian' state and in turning Israel into 'a state of all its citizens' ­ plans that will spell the destruction of Israel. For the last two years we have been acting ceaselessly to thwart the government's plans by creating new settlements and strengthening existing ones. In the process, we are empowering the youth and a new generation of leadership and fostering a spirit of determined opposition in Israel, that will not be cowed by government threats or violence. With George W. Bush's planned visit to Israel in January, in which he will pressure the Olmert government to stop building the Land of Israel and even to divide it, it is essential that we broadcast to the entire world the message of Jewish steadfastness and loyalty to the entire Land of Israel. We must disregard any pressures that are brought upon us, whether from abroad or from our own government. YOUR HELP IS ESSENTIAL FOR US TO SUCCEED. TUESDAY, JANUARY 8th, 2008, IS PROBABLY THE DAY OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S VISIT TO JERUSALEM. ON THAT DAY WE WILL START A MASS PUBLIC BUILDING CAMPAIGN FOCUSING ON JUDEA AND SAMARIA. WE WILL MEET AT THE ENTRANCE TO HAR CHOMA, IN JERUSALEM, at 5:00 p.m. (By the way, for your information,the real name of Har Choma is Chomat Shmuel). At this strategic and currently in the news location, public figures, rabbis and activists will declare that "THERE IS NO LAND OF ISRAEL WITHOUT JERUSALEM AND THERE IS NO JERUSALEM WITHOUT THE LAND OF ISRAEL. THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL ARE SOVEREIGN IN THEIR LAND AND THEIR CAPITAL -- WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD, SETTLE AND EXPAND." At the end of the short speeches, trucks filled with building materials will lead the convoy of supporters to destinations all over Judea and Samaria to continue building and strengthening the Jewish presence there. HELP US SAVE THE LAND OF ISRAEL BY SPONSORING A TRUCK FILLED WITH BUILDING MATERIALS! (We currently have families and individuals manning the new hilltop settlements we have set up this past Hanukka living in very harsh conditions. We also have more families ready to settle additional hilltops. The cinder blocks, cement mixers, generators, tools, mixing troughs, sacks of sand, gravel, cement, tin sheeting for roofing, sewage pipes, chemical toilets, water pipes, doors, windows, wood planks, iron netting for pouring cement, buckets, and other building materials that will be on the trucks, will enable us to build them all proper shelter.) THE TOTAL COST PER TRUCK IS $5,000. If we can raise the funds for 10 trucks, it will make an impression. IF WE CAN FUND EVEN MORE TRUCKS, IT WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO BROADCAST TO THE WORLD OUR MESSAGE THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE WILL NEVER ABANDON ZION. The trucks will be decorated with signs announcing the name of the supporters both here in Israel and abroad who are sponsoring the building campaign, emphasizing that the Jews living in Israel's Biblical heartland have the support of friends from all over the world. There is very little time left to organize this big event. We call upon all of you to donate generously. Please forward this email to family members, friends, community email lists, and whoever else might be willing to help. It is of utmost importance that a large crowd join the gathering in Chomat Shmuel (Har Choma). We trust you to help this important endeavor by spreading the word. Please send your donations to: Women in Green, POB 1269, Efrat, 90435 PLEASE EARMARK YOUR CHECK "BUILDING ISRAEL" For tax deductible dollar donations, please write your check to: CENTRAL FUND OF ISRAEL EARMARKED- WOMEN IN GREEN ­BUILDING ISRAEL And send it to: POB 1269, EFRAT 90435, ISRAEL Organized by: Loyalists of Eretz Yisrael -- Youth for Eretz Yisrael ­ Women in Green -- Chomesh Techilla -- The Committee to Save the People and the Land -- Komemiyut -- Meginei Eretz -- Mattot Arim -- Staff of the Land of Israel -- Virashtem Otah -- the Action Committees -- The committee for the expansion of Chomat Shmuel (Har Choma) et al. With Love of Israel, Ruth and Nadia Matar Women in Green Contact Jake Levi at jlevi_us@yahoo.com To Go To Top

CAN ISRAEL TRUST ANYONE TO ASSURE THEIR SURVIVAL? Posted by Chaim Grosz, December 25, 2007.

In most of the worlds media and many Israeli newspapers, all territories beyond the 1967 cease fire line established in 1949 is considered by them as "Occupied lands" and thus it falls under the International rules of captured lands of a sovereign nation and the international rights afforded to the populations living there. If this fact is acknowledged by the Government of Israel, and that it is righteous claim and for any hope for a peaceful resolution of the Arab Israeli conflict the so called "occupied territories" must be vacated and revert back to the Arab Nations, Is not only unrealistic but it goes against all historic and reasonable rules for conflict resolution, to maintain such position and give it any political viability, simply is a declaration of surrendering to a hate induced ideology, in the misguided notion that by, such surrender it will some how eliminate the openly declared goal of the Arab (and other countries in world) desire to the eradication of a Jewish Israel and have such country become an additional Islamic governed entity. The lofty ideas of a two state solution as being a viable alternative, is just as unrealistic in today's environment as it was just prior to the 1967 war, just what indication have the Arabs provided that such relinquishing of land, will produce a peaceful Middle East, does the continued slaughter between the differing Moslem sects in Gaza, Iraq, Sudan, engender (provide) any hope, can we find comfort by the continual supplies from Iran and Syria to any terrorist group willing to perpetrate daily assaults against Israel, or to both sides of the Iraq civil war by one Islamic sect fighting against a differing Islamic sect. That open support is supplied to encourage them to fight the Big Devil namely Christian ideological countries, the United States, England, France, Italy, will that support cease if Israel will surrender and go back behind the "1967" cease fire lines, or will then the demand be the original demarcation lines drawn by the UN in 1947, and then the conflict will cease, is the Islamic fundamentalists continual attempt to overthrow their Islamic current governments that gives a sense of hope. The one unifying element that all Arabs agree with is their unabashed hatred against the United States of America, because they are not, or do not, do the bidding of the Arabs in helping them to destroy Israel, non of the forgoing invokes any hope. The reality of this conflict is not about land or the rights of the Arabs that were made into "refugees" and remained so for 60 years by a conflict that was initiated by them for the sole purpose of completing the unfinished slaughter of Jews by the Nazi's. By turning the calendar back to pre 1967 will finally satisfy the Arabs and then they will allow the Jews to live in peace is buying the propaganda constantly espoused by the Arabs, have the Arabs ever attempted to tackle and contain Arab terrorists from attacking Israel or other western countries, or even have they ever even committed themselves to stop the vile hate filled slanderous weekly Sermons in their Mosques' or changed their school books to even show Israel on their maps, does any of the above give hope to Israel. . The reality is that The Arab mentality never was nor will it be in the foreseeable future able, to refrain from violence to obtain what they perceive is rightfully theirs, to prove my point is the method and curriculum utilized in their educational systems, which is to encourage hate, violence, glorifying suicide to accomplish their goals, from kindergarten through higher university learning. If by any chance any understanding should be considered it must also include also a binding enforceable agreement with all the established Arab regimes they are the true culprits that are fueling the conflict, how many agreements were threatened to become voided that were made between Israel and other Arab Countries when Israel responds to Palestinian terrorists, all we hear from the Arabs when Israel responds to their attacks all agreements made by the Arabs are nullified if Israel does not stop immediately. Their stated goal now is "We will demand the 1967 borders as a recognized non negotiated pre condition by Israel." In understanding the Islamic religious theory, that they can never surrender, as such is contrary to the will of GOD it brings into sharp focus the intractable demand by any Moslem country or by any leader chosen by a Moslem majority, that every inch of territory lost from the so called cease fire lines existing prior to 1967 must revert back to be under Islamic rule, it is irrelevant under what name or country such lands are called, that is why there was no demand for a separate Palestinian state between 1948 and 1967 as long as the dominant government authority has its basis in Islam. Jerusalem was ruled by Jordan Gaza by Egypt so the newly envisioned contemplated state to be known as Palestine is only a ploy by the Islamic collective to prove their superiority, that Islam being eternal and can never be defeated, as with time, all Islamic losses will be rectified, all it would require is a constant terrorizing. To accede to such demand and believe for even a moment that the 1967 cease fire lines will produce a written, binding, and ever lasting enforceable peace treaty, is an illusion because according to Islamic theology, even the pre 1967 lands must also revert back to be ruled under Islam. To accede to such demand and believe for even a moment that the 1967 cease fire lines will produce a cessation of the continual viperous venom espoused by the Islamic religious leaders in their weekly sermons, is also an illusion., as such sermons geared to incite their parishioners against their host country, and not only Israel. To accede to such demand and believe for even a moment that the 1967 cease fire lines will produce a different curriculum and or a change of teaching material or books being taught in the Islamic learning centers, is also an illusion. To accede to such demand is a sure fire way to have a never ending continual agitation of inciting the Islamic masses to never surrender and continue their Jihad against the weak western nations and Israel. We cannot forget that this conflict is not about land or any of its resources, it is a ideological conflict that would take a new generation of people educated in not having the basic element of hate as the basic staple in their educational systems. Islam is very aware that to attain victory all they really need is ONE yes only ONE victory and Israel will truly cease to be under a Jewish Government for the unforeseen future. Will that be the final death blow to the Jewish nation NO as Jews have suffered greater calamities then a political loss of being self governing, but what such calamity will produce is a world reverting back into the dark ages where hate and intolerance will be the norm of society, that best case scenario of course is, if we contemplate or even believe that the world and its various governments as we know them today are still around, and have not been immolated into a nuclear wasteland, with small pockets of sickly surviving humans. To Go To Top

NEW JEWISH CONGRESS WARNS GOV'T OVER TEMPLE MOUNT Posted by Avodah, December 25, 2007.

This is a news item from Arutz-Sheva (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/138701).

(IsraelNN.com) The New Jewish Congress, a union of Jewish movements, sent a public letter to the government Tuesday warning that the continuation of the government's present policy regarding the Temple Mount would lead to an uncontrollable "severe downspin" in the security and political situation, threatening "the very existence of the people of Israel and the Jewish state." The letter refers specifically to the government's decision to allow Hamas to broadcast incitement from the Temple Mount on the Jewish fast day of Tevet Tenth. "During the course of this horrible broadcast, incitement to violence and calls of death to Jews emanated from the Temple Mount, location of the Holy Temple," the group noted, "[and] on this important day on the Jewish calendar, the Temple Mount was closed to Jews. We view these events as a horrific failure of this government." The Jewish people should have access to pray on the Temple Mount on certain days on the Jewish calendar, the group added. These include the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Israel, the eve of Passover, Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the first day of Chanukah, the Three Fast Days of the 10th of Tevet, the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av, Israel Independence Day and Jerusalem Day, and the Hakhel Ceremony at the conclusion of the Sabbatical Year. The letter ends with a warning note: "If you do not accept our appeal and demand, we shall understand that the chasm separating the Jewish people -- the Jewish people whose values have remained unchanged since time immemorial -- and the current composition of the Government of Israel, as reflected by its policies -- is immeasurably widening and deepening with each passing day. The Government of Israel is essentially responsible for any political or military repercussions." Contact Avodah by email at avodah15@aol.com To Go To Top

ISRAEL RIGHTLY REJECTS HAMAS' OVERTURE FOR A TRUCE Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, December 24, 2007.

Good for Olmert! Israel's Prime Minister has ruffled the feathers of U.S. Secretary of State and erstwhile Chevron exec Condi Rice, unsuccessfully attempting to con the Israeli leader into rolling over for Fatah's Big Kahuna Mahmoud Abbas, less known for his never renounced Holocaust revisionist thesis comparing Zionists to Nazis, a fact deftly swept under the negotiating table. Ceding the farm to the contemptible weasel Abbas, who only differs from Hamas' Jew-hating mover and shaker Ismail Haniya in tactics, apparently is Condi's dream, willing to sacrifice the Jewish homeland's best interests for another trophy to add to a most imposing collection, somewhat tarnished by heretofore failures as a political high muckamuck. 'Not so fast' implies a more seasoned prime minister, undoubtedly perturbed, for one, by a U.S. intelligence report effectively giving the green light for Iran to continue spinning nuclear centrifuges. "Peace for our time" at the expense of Judea, Samaria, the eastern sector of Jerusalem, and if that's not enough a 'right of return' for descendants of 1948 Arabs, bizarrely humiliating themselves by adopting the shameful status of refugee, just won't cut it, even if that means Condi will deprived of Israel's head over her mantelpiece, suggests Ehud the wiser. Prime Minister Olmert and his cabinet now intelligently reject missile-launching Hamas' self-serving overture to lay down arms for awhile, no doubt more than a bit concerned scores of its top terrorists are biting the dust, targeted by a battle hardened IDF, not so good for Condi's peace process, no doubt very good for Israel's reputation as a revived heavyweight fighter willing to kick hostile Arab butt. An ever-getting-tougher Olmert asserts, "counterterrorist operations will continue as they have for months." Furthermore, and this really rankles 'Zoning Commissioner' Rice, the Israeli government had requested bids earlier in December for the construction of 307 apartments in Har Homa, an area justifiably annexed to Jerusalem in 1967, compliments of Israel's intrepid victory over Arab's intent on annihilating the Jewish State. A livid Condi tremulously pontificates, the construction would "not help build confidence" for peace talks (and her legacy no doubt). Israel, additionally, will not concede her right to continue building in major settlement blocs such as Maale Adumim. Ahmed Qureia, chief negotiator for coach Abbas' Palestinian Carpetbaggers, a team of morphed Jordanians attempting to acquire sovereignty on Israeli turf, concludes the negotiations would therefore have "no meaning" if Israel continues 'settlement' activities. Hmmm! Is this the same former so-called Palestinian Prime Manipulator (some might use the term Minister) Qureia whose family-owned Al-Quds Cement Company mixed cement for Israel's security wall, ever necessary to thwart homicide/suicide bombers from entering Israel, its trucks caught on film by Israeli news cameras, while he simultaneously sanctimoniously denounced Israel for that very project which surely added shekels to his bank account? One might wonder if indeed the 'honorable' chief negotiator's family submitted or will submit bids for construction contracts related to the 'settlement' activities Qureia so self-righteously condemns, after all 'business is business'. One might further wonder if 'Zoning Commissioner' Rice would be appalled if she bothered to examine the background of some of the characters she is dealing with on the Palestinian side of the negotiating table. Then again, perhaps she sets the bar so low for these anti-Semitic understudies of the master conman Yassar Arafat, hypocrites and even Holocaust revisionists are perfectly acceptable. Hopefully, Olmert realizes the troops he commands must now deliver a knockout punch to terrorist elements in Gaza, must not halt their momentum by agreeing to a timeout, and must not be held hostage to a peace process foisted upon their nation by a presumed formidable ally perhaps obsessed with a personal agenda. Let us also hope Olmert realizes the nation his party was elected to serve has absolutely nothing to gain from that peace process, targeted to produce a soul-selling covenant mandating Israel cede land and just maybe it's heritage, transparently disguised in the deceptive phrase 'right of return', for a promise of peace that will not be worth the paper it is printed on. Secretary of State Rice, as well as her boss, will just have to look elsewhere to salvage their reputations! Lawrence Uniglicht is a career civil servant. He advocates for the State of Israel with an American perspective. He writes, "Advocating for the disrespected underdog has been my passion, no doubt Israel falls into that category." Contact him by email at larose@snip.net To Go To Top

THE BASIS FOR APPEASEMENT; HOW ABBAS COULD SHOW PEACEFUL INTENT; RICE'S ONE-SIDEDNESS Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 24, 2007.

THE BASIS FOR APPEASEMENT Appeasement is based on the false assumption that if the totalitarians are willing to negotiate, then they are rational, won't try to conquer us, and would be willing to come to terms. Appeasement of totalitarians is policy determined by refusal to recognize enemy ideology or ignorance of it. Although Islamist ideology is widespread and Islamic ideology is close to it, Western policy makers assume that Islam is moderate and most Muslim follow a moderate view. They further assume that Muslims have similar values to Westerners and that they make their own policy on the basis of what would benefit their countries. Truth is, Islam holds religious goals the primary ones (and sokme of our politicians and officials base policy upon their own financial needs and various biases and idelogies). Worse, Iranian leaders believe that if they can bring on armageddon (i.e., nuclear war), they bring their final judgment and victory close. Many American political figures think that if they find the right combination of offers and penalties, Iran will stand down. So strong is appeasement (and political correctness and multi-culturalism) in the US government (which Democrats think is anti-appeasement), that the FBI will not have its counter-terrorism agents study the Koran to understand the foe and to figure out counter-measures. The FBI undergoes sensitivity training by the very Islamists of the type it investigates. US prison guards at Guantanamo wear gloves when handling prisoners' Korans. They wouldn't do that if they acted consistently with their professed belief that Islamists represent only a small fraction of the Muslim faithful. "More disturbingly, in their rush to placate this irrelevant tiny minority of jihadists, Israeli, US and European officials willingly trounce their core values of the rule of law and freedom of expression. In Israel, Israeli Jews who build homes without permits are prosecuted to the full limit of the law and ejected from their homes. Israeli Arabs who have built entire towns illegally are ignored by authorities in the interest of avoiding diplomatic consequences or stirring up passions." (What does that say about foreign diplomats, including the US and therefore of US friendship for Israel? As for the illegal Arab towns, Israel provides services to them and legalizes them.) "In the US, one can stand outside the White House and burn the American flag without fear of criminal charge. But if a person draws a pig on a copy of the Koran in a public library, he is liable to find himself under arrest for committing a hate crime. And in Europe, you can participate in a demonstration invoking Islam as you call for the destruction of Britain or Holland or Demark without fear of legal action, but if you publish a caricature of Muhammad in your newspaper, you may find yourself the subject of a criminal probe and forced into hiding for promoting racism." In Israel, the Army stated bluntly that in order to check the growing destructive power of Gaza rocketry and protect hundreds of thousands of Israelis, it would have to take Gaza back. The government won't do it, preferring to believe that if it offers peace, the P.A. Arabs will prefer it, for that is the rational thing to do. (Nothing the P.A. does, except for a bit of lip service, substantiates that belief. Everything it does substantiates that it puts jihad first. Its whole culture and people think that way. That's why the notion of civilian casualties to be prevented among them is flawed. It also explains why they sign peace agreements but do not keep them. They sign agreements, but their culture of religious imperialism does not mellow. Foreign Min. Livni (responsible for major foreign policy blunders in the Lebanon War) rejects the Army's demand, although the result is more civilian casualties now and more military casualties later. She worries that a major counter-offensive would impede the "peace process." Worse, Fatah threatened to join Hamas in resisting the counter-offensive, the same Fatah that the world is arming and training. There is no peace process but an appeasement process, of which her refusal to let the Army defend the country is an example. (If the Muslims wanted peace, which Islam doesn't, they wouldn't make war and wouldn't refuse to make peace if Israel fought back harder. There is a general double standard in favor of Islam. They can make war without disturbing negotiations, but we cannot fight back without disturbing negotiations. Shouldn't we question their intention towards us?) Israel's policy of appeasement is not rational. Israel's governing party was founded on the notion (that Peres and Beilin expressed) that territory has no defensive (national, economic, or environmental) value, so let's give much of it away and hope that the Muslims then won't bother with Israel (IMRA,12/15 from Caroline Glick). That's like saying let people who hate you bring troops into your treasury and take four-fifths of your bullion and hope they won't take the last fifth, too. Too bad that Pres. Bush gave into the rationalizer-appeasers and that he shares Sec. Rice's religious animadversion towards Jewish sovereignty! P.A. POLICE UNREFORMED Foreign aid was supposed to be predicated upon reform of the P.A. police. The P.A. admits that its police still are not reformed. Many commit crimes and are corrupt (IMRA, 12/13). But the aid still is pledged. A DECENT MUSLIM In my city, New York, some youths attacked some Jewish youths -- a hate crime. A young Muslim helped defend them (IMRA, 12/13). SUGGESTION TO SHOW ABBAS MEANS PEACE Let Abbas, Rice, and Olmert meet at Siderot and condemn the rocket bombardment of the civilians there! "If America, Israel and its Fatah 'peace partner' cannot stand together in opposing that -- cannot visit together the site of rocket attacks that make a mockery of Palestinian (Arab) readiness for a state -- then there is no real 'peace process,' merely an elaborate farce with a 'partner' that opposes terror only rhetorically in occasional speeches in English." (Rick Richman, NY Sun, 12/19, Op.-Ed.) This is the first time I've read of someone else calling for good faith from the Arab and American sides. CHILDREN'S BROADCAST BY HAMAS. An Arab child first asserted various blood libels against Israel, and then another recited a poem that asserted, "We will wipe out the people of Zion, and will not leave a single one of them." (Arutz-7, 12/14.) Do they deserve a state? IRAN 'S FUEL INDUSTRY GROWING Many countries are either investing in Iran's fuel sources or buying their output. The UAE needs Iran's' higher quality natural gas for its power plants. (Greenhouse, here comes Earth!) US sanctions are falling by the wayside (IMRA, 12/14). MAJOR MILITARY OPERATION NOT ENOUGH Min Ayalon said that a large-scale IDF attack on Gaza should try to strengthen moderates there, meaning Fatah (extremists) who declare that they would defend Hamas. Why strengthen Fatah that wants to kill Israelis? The Olmert regime probably would withdraw the troops as soon as it could claim a significant weakening of Hamas. It is not likely to purge all members of terrorist organizations. In any case, Israel should plan to stay and run Gaza, preventing further terrorism, which otherwise would grow back (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 12/15). ISRAEL'S CHIEF-OF-STAFF UNREALISTIC His prepared a speech stated that although his limited attacks on Gaza terrorists did not terminate the launching of rockets against Israel, it did produced a marked reduction in them. Then the terrorists fired 15 rockets in a single day. Nevertheless, Gen. Ashkenazi delivered the speech as prepared, though it was refuted by reality (IMRA, 12/12). He is looking too hard to find some redeeming quality in the government's failure to order a massive offensive. ISRAEL ALLOWS GENERATORS INTO GAZA Israel has just allowed the 13th electric generator into Gaza (IMRA, 12/12). This permission contradicts the government's stated intent of cutting off at least some electricity to Gaza to impede the Islamist war effort against Israel. IRAN BUILDS SUPER-COMPUTER It built it from multiple AMDs. The manufacturer of AMDs claims not to have authorized shipment of any to Iran (IKMRA, 12/12). It should be clear by now that it is not possible to stop a major or wealthy country's technical development for long. If the country is a rogue state, then we should help overthrow its regime or make war on it, if it menaces our security. Wouldn't it be nicer if other countries did not have designs on us or thought their mission was to dominate others! They leave us no choice. The US did have a choice not to enter WWI. KING ABDULLAH WANTS NATO FORCES IN P.A. He asked for it on the basis of NATO forces having played a constructive role in Lebanon (IMRA, 12/12). What constructive role? The UNO peace keepers collaborated with Hizbullah's kidnapping of Israeli soldiers that triggered the war. Then when the lethargic Olmert regime finally was defeating Hizbullah, NATO troops came in and Israel had to desist. Under the blind eyes of NATO, Hizbullah has rebuilt its forces. It is ready to make war, again. Is that what King Abdullah wants? He's another of the make-believe diplomats. SEC. RICE'S ONE-SIDEDNESS She demanded that Israel release hundreds of convicted terrorists, but did not demand that the Arabs release any nor that the US release Pollard. She insists that Israel has to prove its goodwill, not the Muslims who preach and practice jihad (IMRA, 12/13). Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

O LITTLE LIES OF BETHLEHEM Posted by Evelyn Hayes, December 24, 2007.

This was written by Aaron Klein and it appeared in World Net Daily (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59352).

Ah, Christmas in Bethlehem. Manger Square is ablaze with colorful lights. The weather is usually a bit chilly. Aggressive merchants bombard passersby with "special sales" on all kinds of cedar wood statues and religious carvings. And like clockwork, the mainstream media descend upon this city every year to ignore rampant Muslim intimidation of Christians and instead blast Israel -- often with completely inaccurate information -- for ruining Christmas and for the drastic decline of Christianity in one of the holiest cities for that religion. Take a widely circulated piece by Associated Press writers Dion Nissenbaum and Cliff Churgin. Mimicking the same article the AP puts out every December just before Christmas, the piece, published last week, cites Bethlehem's dwindling Christian population and paints a picture that squarely blames Israel. "For generations, the Holy Land Arts Museum (in Bethlehem) has been selling olivewood manger scenes to thousands of pilgrims wanting souvenirs from the biblical birthplace of Jesus," starts the piece. "Gone is the olivewood stable shielding the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In its place, looming over the angelic family, are an Israeli watchtower and three towering sections of an adjoining wall." Outright lying, the AP piece stated Bethlehem "remains largely isolated from the outside world by Israel's 25-foot-tall concrete walls, part of Israel's separation barrier." The piece implied the wall caused the crash of Bethlehem's economy and prompted Christians to flee. Similar articles were churned out by Reuters, the BBC online and scores of local newspapers. ABC News, for example, chimes in: "The (Israeli) wall has cast a shadow over this famous West Bank town." Now let's get our facts straight. Bethlehem is not surrounded by any wall. Israel built a fence, in 2002, in the area where northern Bethlehem interfaces with Jerusalem. A tiny segment of that barrier, facing a major Israeli roadway, is a concrete wall that Israel says is meant to prevent gunmen from shooting at Israeli motorists. The fence was constructed after the outbreak of the Palestinian inifada, or terror war, launched after late PLO Leader Yasser Arafat turned down an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state, returning to the Middle East to liberate Palestine with violence. Scores of deadly suicide bombings and shooting attacks against Israelis were planned in Bethlehem and carried out by Bethlehem-area terrorists, including Eita and his ilk. At one point during the period of just 30 days in 2002, at least 14 shootings were perpetuated by Bethlehem cells of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists, killing two Israelis and wounding six. Many times Muslim gunmen in the Bethlehem area reportedly took positions in civilian homes in the hilltops of Christian Beit Jala, which straddles Bethlehem. Beit Jala afforded the terrorists a clear firing line at southern sections of Jerusalem and at a major Israeli highway down below, drawing Israeli military raids and the eventual building of the security barrier there. Is this barrier causing Bethlehem's Christians to flee, as the mainstream media claim? Simple demographic facts will answer this question. Israel built the barrier five years ago. But Bethlehem's Christian population started to drastically decline in 1995, the very year Arafat's Palestinian Authority took over the holy Christian city in line with the U.S.-backed Oslo Accords. Bethlehem consisted of upwards of 80 percent Christians when Israel was founded in 1948, but since Arafat got his grimy hands on it, the city's Christian population dove to its current 23 percent. And that statistic is considered generous since it includes the satellite towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Some estimates place Bethlehem's actual Christian population as low as 12 percent, with hundreds of Christians emigrating per year. As soon as he took over Bethlehem, Arafat unilaterally fired the city's Christian politicians and replaced them with Muslim cronies. He appointed a Muslim governor, Muhammed Rashad A-Jabar and deposed of Bethlehem's city council, which had nine Christians and two Muslims, reducing the number of Christians councilors to a 50-50 split. Arafat then converted a Greek Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus, into his official Bethlehem residence. Suddenly, after the Palestinians gained the territory, reports of Christian intimidation by Muslims began to surface. Christian leaders and residents told me they face an atmosphere of regular hostility. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spokes of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were ransacked and Christian homes attacked. They said in the past, Palestinian gunmen fired at Israelis from Christian hilltop communities, drawing Israeli anti-terror raids to their towns. In 2002, dozens of terrorists holed up inside the Church of the Nativity for 39 days while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation. Israel surrounded the church area but refused to storm the structure. Gunmen inside included wanted senior Hamas, Tanzim and Brigades terrorists reportedly involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks. More than 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church after Israeli hostage negotiators failed to secure their release. Some Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs. "There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the [Muslim] mafia," said Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station. "It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem. They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses, and he runs away," Qumsiyeh told WND, speaking from his hilltop television station during a recent interview. Qumsiyeh himself said he was targeted by Islamic gangs. He said his home was firebombed after he returned from a trip abroad during which he gave public speeches outlining the plight of Bethlehem's Christian population. One Christian Bethlehem resident told WND her friend recently fled Bethlehem after being accused by Muslims of selling property to Jews, a crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities. The resident said a good deal of the intimidation comes from gunmen associated with PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization. A February Jerusalem Post article cited the case of Faud and Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was stolen by local Muslims and when they tried to do something about it, Faud was beaten by gunmen. One religious novelty-store owner I met recently told me Muslim gangs regularly deface Christian property. "We are harassed, but you wouldn't know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims. This is why Christians are running away." What? Muslim persecution is driving the Christians out of Bethlehem? One would never know that from the Christmas coverage/annual Israel bash-fest by my "colleagues" in the media. Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

THE LEADER ISRAEL NEEDS AND DESERVES Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 24, 2007.

This is from yesterday's Dhimmi Watch (http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/019293.php) and was posted by Hugh Fitzgerald.

"The Israelis now living in the territories of the future Palestinian state should return to living within the borders of the state of Israel. No Jew in the world, now or in the future, as a result of this document, will have the right to return, to live, or to demand to live in Hebron, in East Jerusalem, or anywhere in the Palestinian state." --Sari Nusseibeh What makes this outrageous but perfectly believable remark, by a so-called "Palestinian," of such note is that the utterer is one Sari Nusseibeh. Nusseibeh is supposedly the most "moderate" and "reasonable" of "Palestinians" -- because he is "Oxford-educated" (the epithet is Homeric, in Nusseibeh's case) and scion of one of those Arab families of Jerusalem. Left-wing Israelis, Peace-Nowists, and so on, have always loved Sari Nusseibeh. His declaration that part of the original territory specifically allocated to Mandatory Palestine, which was specifically set up for the creation of the Jewish National Home, will someday soon be off-limits to Jews, is unacceptable. But will those Israelis and American Jews who fell all over themselves singing the praises of Sari Nusseibeh now see that all such hopes were false, that in the end (just as in Iraq) whenever Infidels put their hopes on this or that individual those hopes will be dashed? It is Islam that matters. Nusseibeh is simply being a good and dutiful Muslim. And thank god he has fully revealed himself right now, and not after the idiotic Israelis (surely there is a limit, even for Olmert, Livni, and the unbelievable Haim Ramon) give away more and more of what they have no right to give away. The Nusseibehs are not as prominent as the Khalidis, the Nashashibis, and slightly lower down on the phylogenetic scale, the Husseinis, the leading Arab families of Jerusalem -- the ones whom many of the British in the Mandatory Authority found so attractive because they were so obsequious, in contradistinction to those noisy, un-obsequious East European Jews -- who were, in addition, devoid of the local color that those Arabs in their keffiyehs or burnooses offered in such abundance. Of course, there were a few who sided, correctly, with the Jews. There were a few who remained immune to antisemitism because they knew the history of the West. They knew what the Jews had meant to Western civilization -- and they knew their Bible. These men included Colonel John Henry Patterson, who early on helped train the Palestine Legion, and Colonel Meinertzhagen, who was an intelligence officer on General Allenby's staff, and Captain Orde Wingate, who was forced to leave Mandatory Palestine because he had the poor taste to actually train Jews in the art of self-defense when they were being attacked constantly by marauding Arabs in the 1930s. And then back in London there was the inimitable Wyndham Deedes, and in Parliament there was Josiah Wedgewood, and Winston Churchill, who yelled to high heaven about the "betrayal" of the Jews by the British government, not least when the White Paper of 1939, limiting Jewish immigration to 15,000 a year for five years (at a time of the greatest peril) was proposed. These people were not the kind to be impressed by those Arab notables. Nor, if they were alive today, would they be taken in by the likes of "Oxford-educated" Sari Nusseibeh, or for that matter by Tariq Ramadan. Even the most "moderate" and outwardly acceptable of Slow Jihadists, the kind who can smile, who can speak nearly-native English, turn out, in the end, to be loyal to Islam. They turn out to be loyal to the demand that, little by little, the Infidel nation-state must be destroyed. If the Israelis lose military control of the "West Bank," lose control, that is, of the traditional invasion route from the East, they will be unable to defend themselves. That's it. And if they lose control of the aquifers, the Muslims can interfere with, divert, or even poison the water on which Israelis depend. They must throw out the haim-ramons and the ehud-olmerts, and vote in those who know what the legal, historic, and moral claims of Israel are, and will state them firmly instead of fearfully worrying about offending the people who, in Egypt and among the "Palestinians," would gladly see them dead and their country destroyed, never to be rebuilt again. They will never repeat the mistake the Israeli government recently made in preventing the tapes showing the Egyptians helping Hamas from being shown to members of the American Congress. And the big subject that no one will touch, the subject of Islam, and the Hate Whose Name We Dare Not Speak (that is, Islam's general hatred for Infidels, as well as antisemitism), must be talked about -- to save Israel, and to save, as well, the rest of the threatened Infidel world. The first Israeli leader to talk about the Jihad against Israel, and about the attempt to disguise that Jihad, so far quite successful, as a "nationalist" struggle by the recently-invented "Palestinian people," is the one who will help save the people and state of Israel. And they deserve such a leader. They do not deserve what they currently have for "leaders" or, as they say so often in America today, "people taking a leadership role." Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

STUDY SHOWS ISRAEL'S IMAGE GOT WORSE AFTER DISENGAGEMENT Posted by Avodah, December 24, 2007.

This was written by Gil Ronen and it appeared in Arutz-Sheva (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124680).

(IsraelNN.com) A Hebrew University study showed that Israel's image in American and British media got worse after the pullout from Gaza and the destruction of the Jewish communities there (the Disengagement). The researchers followed the way the mainstream American and British media reported on Israel and the formal announcements made by the governments of both countries. The study dealt with a nine-month period, beginning three months before the Disengagement and ending with the elections in the Palestinian Authority. Israel's image was at its positive peak during the month of the Disengagement. During that period, the Foreign Ministry's messages managed to resonate with the U.S. and U.K.'s media and their governments. However, immediately afterwards, the PA's messages took the prominent lead once more. Dr. Raanan Gissin, who was Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's strategic and media advisor during the Disengagement, told Maariv/NRG: "The failure was not in the Disengagement itself but in the way it was presented in th Immediately after the Disengagement, the PA's messages took the prominent lead once more. e media. The Palestinians always knew how to pull out the 'Muhammad a-Durah camera' at the right moment, whereas we had a problem getting the messages across." Making peace with the Americans "The Disengagement plan may have failed vis-á-vis the Palestinians but it succeeded in putting the Quartet and the Americans at our side," Gissin explained. "[Ariel] Sharon used to say about the Disengagement that if he wasn't making peace with the Palestinians here, at least he was making peace with the Americans," the former Prime Minister's long-time aide said. The study's author, Dr. Tamir Shefer, told NRG: "What we saw is that during the implementation of the Disengagement, when Israel was carrying out an initiative, it was presented well. As far as the world is concerned, what we see in the findings is that as long as we continue to 'sit' in Judea and Samaria and seal the Gaza borders, we continue to be presented in a negative light." When asked how he explained the decline in Israel's image after a supposedly "good deed" like the Disengagement, Shefer said he did not have a total explanation for this. Israel is now presented as a Goliath, he said, more than before the Disengagement. "Maybe the very fact that we carried out a retreat and supposedly showed the world that we were capable of retreating raised the bar of demands from us," he conjectured. The Gush Katif Settlers' Committee responded to the research by saying: "As the days and months go by, the extent of the mistake that the Israeli government made by expelling its citizens from Gaza becomes clear. Last week we learned that the nation's coffers became about NIS one billion poorer. Today we find out that even the attempt to improve the country's image at the expense of the lives of the residents of Gush Katif failed." Contact Avodah by email at avodah15@aol.com To Go To Top

IS THERE A BOTTOM? Posted by Dr. Steve Carol, December 23, 2007.

As the Olmert government continues its obsession to basically ignore continued Arab rocket attacks on Israeli towns and citizens, to surrender additional territory including Jerusalem, and do the work of previous Arab/Muslim conquerors and uproot Jews from the Land of Israel even before the Arabs achieve victory -- news continues to flow in which raises the question again and again "Is there a bottom to the pit of depravity to which the current Israeli government will sink?" In late breaking news, the Israeli government has now allowed Arab propaganda to be broadcast from the Temple Mount, this while it bans Jewish opposition radio (Arutz 7) from broadcasting from Israel. In 1988 Arutz 7 began broadcasting from the ship, MV Hatzvi, off Israel's coast in international waters. The Israeli government tolerating no opposing viewpoints to its version of the news, seized and closed down Arutz 7's broadcasting ship in 1998 to prevent an alternative Jewish radio news source. It is the double-standard at work. Thus while Israeli Jews are not able to listen to opposing Jewish viewpoints, the Israeli government aids and abets the Arabs in disseminating Arab propaganda to both Palestinian and Israeli Arabs, from the heart of Jerusalem. To add insult to injury: Member of the Israeli Knesset, Yossi Beilin, Chairman of the leftist Meretz Party, the architect of the Oslo process, now publicly regrets that the Zionist Jews did not accept Uganda, rather than the Land of Israel in which to re-establish the Jewish state. Bellin, who violated Israeli law and in effect committed treason by negotiating with a known terrorist organization -- the PLO -- says that his grandfather, a prominent early Zionist leader, made the mistake in not accepting the British offer of Uganda. If we cannot achieve peace with the Palestinians, Beilin has repeated many times, there is no future for the state of Israel. He assumes that peace is in Israel's hands to make, and writes as if the attainment of peace, not the re-establishment of a state for the Jews, was the primary goal of Zionism. MK Bellin, like his mentor Shimon Peres sees no value in history, overlooking the record that the "Uganda Plan" proposed in 1903 was in fact located on the Mau Plateau in what is today Kenya. This region historically came to be known as the "White Highlands." It was precisely there that the Mau Mau Uprising of independence-seeking Africans took place 1952-1960 resulting in the explusion of the British from Kenya. But why let a little history get in the way of a leftist agenda? But wait there is more -- just when you thought you have heard it all, as the Israeli government pursues its national self-destruction course, comes the "piece d'resistance" as just reported in the Israeli press today. The Israeli Sociological Society has announced its 2007 award for excellence bestowing it upon Tal Nitzan, a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at the Hebrew University. She received this award for her Master's thesis. The thesis has been published as a bound booklet by the Shine Center for Social Studies of the Hebrew University. nd what you may ask is this thesis about? It stipulates that the Israel Defense Forces (the IDF) is racist because its soldiers do not rape Arab women. It concludes that the IDF has so dehumanized the Palestinian Arabs that they are not seen fit to rape. Further it postulates that the IDF does not rape Arab women out of the "patriotic duty" to prevent an Arab population increase! Aside from supporting the long-standing Arab propaganda that the IDF engages in rape of Arab women, as part of the incitement of the Arab masses against the Jews, the real message conveyed is, that no matter what they do, Jews are immoral. "Jews cannot be moral, therefore they must be racist." Is there no limit to the perversion being advocated? One should note that the news story included one public reaction calling for the reporter to be fired from his job for relaying this story. A classic case of "shoot the messenger." Much of Israel is still in denial -- and we are not speaking of the river in Egypt! This line of thought is the product of the Israeli socialist-oriented, leftist bent, government educational system that has now inculcated at least two generations of Israeli youth. Americans should take note, as this same type of anti-nationalist, anti-patriotism, "America is to blame for all the world's ills" mentality is being taught to our young students in many universities across the United States today. Such universities should not be supported. What can be done in this case? American supporters of the Hebrew University should protest by e-mail, fax, letter and phone call. If this is what the Hebrew University encourages, they should withhold donations until such "aiding the enemy" type material ceases to be encouraged. To reply to my own question at the start of this article, in keeping with this holiday season, and to paraphrase a famous newspaper column question ("Is There a Santa Claus?" -- an editorial in the September 21, 1897 edition of the New York Sun) -- My question was: "Is there a bottom?" My response is "No, there is NO BOTTOM!" Dr. Steve Carol is Professor of History (retired), Middle East consultant for Salem Radio Network News and Associate Producer and Historian of Middle East Radio Forum (www.middleeastradioforum.org). To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: FATAH Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 22, 2007.

In case there was even the slightest doubt in anyone's mind -- in case anyone might have wondered if maybe, just maybe, Fatah was moderating -- allow me to provide this information: In commemoration of its 43rd anniversary, which Fatah is about to celebrate, it has commissioned a new poster design. It represents all of Israel draped with a Palestine kafiyeh scarf, and includes a drawing of a rifle alongside to represent the "armed struggle." Is it necessary to say more? ~~~~~~~~~~ Returning to the issue of continued Israeli building outside the Green Line... According to Army Radio, the 2008 budget has allocations for over 1,000 new apartments -- 500 in Har Homa in addition to the 340 already publicized, and 240 in Ma'aleh Adumim. Ma'aleh Adumim, which is right outside of Jerusalem to the east, is a municipality that has grown considerably in recent years. There were plans to make it contiguous with Jerusalem via construction in an area that was dubbed E1, but political considerations have put that on hold, unfortunately. The radio cited someone from the Ministry of Housing as saying that work would be done at a time that was less likely to cause international protest. (Olmert has already halted a tender for another 100 apartments to go up now in Har Homa.) ~~~~~~~~~~ All of this followed an about-face by Construction and Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim, who said last Wednesday that -- because of a housing shortage in Jerusalem -- a preliminary investigation was underway regarding the possibility of building a new neighborhood in Atarot, a neighborhood at the northern edge of eastern Jerusalem, near Arab villages. But after a protest from Olmert's office, Boim said we had no plans to build a Jewish neighborhood there. However, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Yehoshua Pollack -- who chairs the city's Local Planning and Construction Committee -- said there were long-term plans under deliberation that included building 10,000 apartments on the northern outskirts of the city, as well as additional apartments in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, Ramot, Gilo, and Givat Hamatos neighborhoods. The housing shortage in Jerusalem has been exacerbated in part by the purchase of apartments by those who are not resident in Israel and come just part of the time. A plan to build westward was vetoed because of forest and park land that would have been destroyed. Secretary Rice called the decision not to build at Atarot (which I'm not clear is a final decision) a "good step." Generally speaking, anything she approves of doesn't sit well with me. ~~~~~~~~~~ Peace Now is under investigation for masking the sources of its funding for "reconnaissance" work against Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria. Allegedly, the group used a front organization to receive funds for its work, so that money was able to come in, undetected, from the British government, which donated more that 500,000 shekels, Norway, which gave 800,000 shekels, and the European Union, which donated 451,000 shekels earmarked for Peace Now's ongoing "settlement hunting" activity. Dearly would I love to see this group put out of business. They play fast and loose with the facts when they make claims about Jews having built on Arab-owned land. More than once those claims have been quite vigorously refuted with documentation. In the past there has been unease that the group may have been involved with "photography of sensitive areas" on behalf of foreign governments, in the pursuit of this work, which, if it were proven to be so, would constitute espionage. ~~~~~~~~~~ Along with all of the rumors about a Hamas hudna, comes talk now of renewed negotiations regarding Shalit's release that Hamas is said to be launching with Israel via the Egyptians. I'm not holding my breath. Especially as Hamas says a condition for Shalit's release is the release of 1,400 Hamas prisoners held in Israel. Al-Quds paper says that Hamas's Mashaal will be in Cairo today to work on release of Shalit as part of a larger deal that would involve release of prisoners and a hudna. I shudder at this prospect. I have no confirmation on this end and we can only wait and see. The paper said negotiations made considerable progress when an Israeli envoy visited Cairo three days ago. Just days ago, former head of Shin Bet, MK Ami Ayalon, said that we cannot rescue Shalit because of an "intelligence failure." It is my assumption that this is the result of not having a presence inside of Gaza. Defense Minister Barak, irked by this, suggested that it's best to keep such comments to a minimum. I concur. ~~~~~~~~~~ Bruce Reidel, a former CIA official and advisor to presidents, has given an interview to Newsweek magazine in which he says he is convinced Israel will attack Iran. He visited here in November and spoke with Mossad and Israeli defense officials; he came away convinced then that Israel would act. Since then the NIE report has been released, which makes this an even greater possibility. Says Newsweek: "a rising tide of opinion in Israel's intelligence and national-security circles believes that the NIE does signal American retreat-and, more profoundly, renewed Israeli isolation over what is deemed an existential threat out of Tehran." David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, who was also cited, believes Israel was encouraged by the lack of international reaction to their strike on what is presumed to have been a reactor in Syria. He suggests that Israel's pre-emptive action might not be a traditional strike, but rather "sabotage of equipment." The article suggests that the Arab states are sufficiently terrified of a nuclear Iran so that they might look the other way at an Israeli action. ~~~~~~~~~~ I find it interesting that the Newsweek piece also says that the issue of Iran and the NIE report is one reason for Bush's scheduled trip here in January. He apparently wants to provide reassurance, as he's concerned that this report may have the effect of stalling the "peace process." It is strictly my own thought -- I cite no one else on this -- but I have wondered whether such things as Olmert's refusal to back down on building in Har Homa, the stiffening of his back in certain regards, is tied to his disillusionment with Bush with regard to Iran, the feeling that the US has let us down. ~~~~~~~~~~ An improved Kassam rocket launched by Islamic Jihad has landed near the industrial park in Ashkelon. Three other rockets fell in the Negev today. There have been announcements about the development of the "Iron Dome" -- a defense system that would protect us against Kassams, Katyushas and Grad missiles -- which would be fully operational in 2-1/2 years. I still feel strongly that while this defense may be necessary it should not be viewed as a substitute for taking out the terrorists who would launch the rockets and their capacity to do so. One must ask, as well, what happens in the next 2-1/2 years, as the rocket range improves? And then there is the question of cost effectiveness: Kassams are cheap to manufacture and the system that would take them out much more expensive. If stockpiled Kassams (stockpiled without interference, say, if there is a hudna) are launched in great numbers all at once, what would be required of that system to protect Israelis? Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

HEBREW U. AWARDS RESEARCH PRIZE TO ESSAY CLAIMING JEWS ARE RACISTS FOR NOT RAPING ARAB WOMEN Posted by Steven Plaut, December 22, 2007.

I wish I were making this up as some sort of a pre-Purim joke. But it seems that the latest anti-Israel outrage coming out of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is its awarding a prize to a graduate student for an essay in which the student claims that Israel is abusing and oppressing Palestinians by not raping their women. Really. (See http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124674 ) Had it not been awarded a prize by a panel of the Hebrew University's distinguished professors, the whole matter could be dismissed as just another idiotic essay by a moonbat grad student, not something worthy of any attention being paid to it. But according to news reports, the essay in question has now been published by the Hebrew University's "Shaine Center," at the enthusiastic recommendation of a Hebrew University professors' committee headed by Dr. Zali Gurevitch. The latter is a leftist anthropologist who taught for several years at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Don't worry, I never heard of it either. His web page is here: http://sociology.huji.ac.il/2006/staff/gurevich/ Gurevich runs the Shaine Center, which awarded the prize. His fellow perps in this atrocity are listed here: http://www.huji.ac.il/dataj/controller/ihoker/ MOP-DEPARTMENT_DESCRIPTION_LINK?department_no=01080. I wonder if the Shaine family know what is being done with their contributions to the university! The essay indicting Israeli soldiers for not raping Palestinian women was the product of the crayon of a MA student named Tal Nitzan. Tal is a she. Her main theme is that the "lack of IDF rapes of Palestinian women is designed to serve a political purpose." The "political purpose" is that Israel fears the Palestinians demographically and so IDF soldiers do not rape the women to avoid creating new Palestinians and little intifaders. Here is Nitzan at her finest: "In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it can be seen that the lack of military rape merely strengthens the ethnic boundaries and clarifies the inter-ethnic differences -- just as organized military rape would have done." Israeli racism has resulted in suppressed Jewish-male sexual desire for Palestinian women, just another manifestation of Zionist racism. Since the absence of rape of Arab women by Israeli soldiers has no parallel in any other human army in wartime anytime in history, the only conclusion must be that Jewish soldiers are far more racist and intolerant than the others. Now Nitzan and her guru Gurevitch rule out automatically all other alternative explanations for why Israeli troops do not rape Arab women. The possibility that Israeli troops are simply civilized humans is ruled out as an imponderable. Ditto for the possibility that Jewish ethics serve to deter such abuse of Arab women. Instead, Nitzan claims that Arab women in Judea and Samaria are not raped by IDF soldiers because the women are "de-humanized" in the soldiers' eyes. I guess that means they are not rape worthy. You know, unlike Shulamit Aloni, Yael Dayan, and Tamar Gozansky. How did Nitzan reach these cosmic conclusions? By conducting "interviews" with 25 soldiers. That is what the Hebrew University has sunk to -- regarding 25 interviews as research comprising a MA thesis. I am willing to bet a year's salary that not a single one of those soldiers said that he was foregoing raping Arab women because he was afraid it would spawn little Palestinian intifada terrorists. So essentially Nitzan is saying that the proof that Israeli soldiers are brutal oppressive stormtroopers is in the fact that they do NOT mistreat and sexually abuse Palestinian women, not even the Palestinian terrorist women apprehended after trying to murder Jews. And as if this were not enough, let us note that not a single one of the many radical feminist mini-organizations that plague Israel had a single moo to utter about this obviously anti-woman "research" paper inflicted upon the world by the Hebrew University. According to her own thesis logic, if little Tal herself were to be raped by Hamas terrorists, I guess this would pretty much prove that they are egalitarian and progressive seekers of peace and justice. Makor Rishon, a rightwing Hebrew weekly (www.makorrishon.co.il) broke the story of this Hebrew University "research" proving that Rape Refusal by Israeli soldiers serves to prove how racist they are. (Story is here in Hebrew: http://www.makor1.co.il/makor/Article.faces;jsessionid= 3edb07f230d5f5a01550e08a443fa0499601e2456c9c. e34Mc3aTbNiTby0LaxmNbxqRchmMe0? articleId=27530&channel=1&subchannel=2 ) Meanwhile, if you would like to let the heads of the University know how the award of such a prize for such an essay by the Hebrew U will affect your inclination to send them financial support, then by all means contact them at: Hebrew University: 1. President of the University: Title : Prof. First Name: Menachem Family name: Magidor Department: President of the HebrewUniversity Primary Email address: hupres@cc.huji.ac.il Second Email address (extra): menachem@math.huji.ac.il Email address (extra): Menachem.Magidor@huji.ac.il Telephone: 02-6584143 02-5881905 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 91905 Tel. 02-5882111 Fax. 02-5811023 2. Rector of the University: Title : Prof. First Name: Haim Family name: Rabinowitch Department: Rector of the HebrewUniversity Primary Email address: rabin@agri.huji.ac.il Second Email address (extra): rector@savion.huji.ac.il Email address (extra): Haim.Rabinowitch@huji.ac.il Telephone: 02-5882920 Telephone (extra): 02-5882919 Hebrew University "Friends of" Offices: http://www.huji.ac.il/huji/eng/friends_e.htm Steven Plaut is a professor at Haifa University. His book "The Scout" is available at Amazon.com. He can be contacted at stevenplaut@yahoo.com. To Go To Top

JEWS MUST KEEP THE FAITH Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, December 22, 2007.

Jews have been hated for centuries, made scapegoats for centuries, been persecuted for centuries. Why?!? Perhaps Jews, and by extension their homeland Israel, represent mankind's conscience. Man, indeed predatory man, has evolved into the dominant creature on this planet, replete with a multitude of other evolving species, not by being nice, but by being aggressive, by being super intelligent in relative terms, by using his wit in effect being jungle smart, by killing and possibly 'eating' his competition, by being in fact the 'fittest' creature. Man, we note, also weeds out the weakest members of his own species. Surely, the most power crazed, ruthless, biologically the 'fittest' men by genetic make-up, as well as perhaps their descendants, rule. Man, with vestiges of such evolution firmly imbedded in a still evolving brain, is not willing to reverse the tenet 'survival of the fittest', thus many members of his species cannot stand observing a collective conscience, notably manifested in the Jewish faith, staring them in the face, telling them to be nice. It is that simple! This, of course, is at a subconscious level, but nevertheless manifests in chronic anti-Semitic behavior within many ethnic tribes, some much more afflicted than others. No doubt, most other faiths assert moral imperatives, yet it is the apparent legacy of the Jewish faith to exceed others in gnawing at the soul of predatory man, ever disturbing his comfort level. Ironically, the 'hated' Jew, an emotion shared by many, is expected to live by a higher standard than others, thus when missiles are fired at Israeli civilians from Gaza, the world would likely jump down the attacked state's throat if the IDF entered the belligerent enclave en masse. How dare Israel defend herself like any other nation might do under such circumstances! The world's 'conscience' must always respond in a measured way, albeit the United States for one used a 'shock and awe' strategy on Afghanistan for presumably harboring the mastermind of the devastating attack on its Twin Towers, and most of the world rightly understood and applauded that effort. When Israel built a security wall to indeed successfully thwart homicide/suicide bombers from entering the Jewish homeland, the International Court of Justice at The Hague as well as much of the world excoriated those Jews, valuing Arab inconvenience over the lives of Jewish citizens. How dare Israel defend herself like any other nation might do under such circumstances! Might those nations and institutions, subconsciously or consciously intent on eliminating a people whose principled humane faith ever reminds them of their own often unacceptable behavior, hope Jews, and by extension Israel, self destruct by the weight of their own morality? Certainly, the collective natural instincts of tribal mankind resist purging a dark side, molded over eons, being responsible for the preeminent position that species now holds. Forced to evolve on a planet bearing finite resources, teeming with competing species, it is quite understandable why much of mankind clings to a heretofore 'successful' aggressive nature, why ethnic tribes fight wars, why the strongest at times cruelest members, who are the 'fittest' as defined by earthly standards, generally call the shots. Jews collectively are an enlightened sect of humanity, out of place in such an amoral jungle, forced to continually fight for survival, sharpening their wits and inherent intelligence in the process, yet remain prone to bouts of self-flagellation, possessed by a morality many of the movers and shakers of other tribes, as well as their minions, recognize deep within their guts but alas are unwilling to accept. Furthermore, Jewish Israelis are labeled occupiers of implicitly abused Palestinians by much of the world, bizarrely including much of the naïve Jewish world, simply because the IDF must patrol Judea and Samaria to protect the physical well-being of Jewish residents of those enclaves, as well as indirectly protect moderate Arabs who if such troops left would in time be threatened by violent jihadists if they did not toe the sharia line. So twisting the truth, making Jewish Israelis look bad, morphing a moral state into a pariah state, heaping shame on a collectively moral people, in effect lets the world off the hook, its Jewish conscience buried within the bowels of misperception, ever tainted by the stacked charges brought against it. Jews collectively, imbued throughout the centuries by a rich moral faith, must not succumb to the chronic mistreatment foisted upon them by hate-filled members of the human species, indeed throwbacks to a savage amoral 'dog eat dog' era. Furthermore, it is essential that Jews understand they are a chosen people; chosen to continue bearing the contempt of slowly evolving mankind for now yet someday chosen to be a role model for having those same humane character traits much of today's world is unwilling to acknowledge. This may be difficult to envision, but the grand scheme of things continues to unfold over a multitude of centuries. Jews must keep the faith! Lawrence Uniglicht is a career civil servant. He advocates for the State of Israel with an American perspective. He writes, "Advocating for the disrespected underdog has been my passion, no doubt Israel falls into that category." Contact him by email at larose@snip.net To Go To Top

THEN AND NOW Posted by Naomi Ragen, December 22, 2007.

Where, Mr. Olmert, is that wonderful concern for the lives of the children of Sderot? Is there any question that taking over the rocket-launching sites of Gaza will stop the attacks and save lives? But here too, there is a change. "If it saves only one life," was the mantra that allowed Israel to uproot and destroy whole Jewish communities. Where is that mantra now when we must uproot and destroy the terrorists in Gaza who have moved into the rubble of Jewish homes to threaten the lives of our children? What is at question here is the backbone of a nation and its will to survive. Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and journalist who lives in Jerusalem. She can be contacted at www.naomiragen.com, where you can subscribe to her newsletter. To Go To Top

THE REAL QUESTION IS -- HOW LONG IS YOUR DRIVEWAY? Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, December 22, 2007.

President Bush is planning a trip to Israel and elsewhere next month. It will be his first visit to Israel as president. He'll undoubtedly try to further squeeze Jews into believing that he knows Arabs better than they do, and that his Annapolis summit--where Jews were forced to enter via the servants' door so as not to offend their alleged Arab peace partners--is their best hope for peace. Four Aprils ago, Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, made a very hard decision. After decades of supporting Israel's presence in disputed territories Israel wound up with as a result of fighting a defensive war for its life in June 1967, the Old Warrior decided that the costs outweighed the gains of keeping Jews in Gaza. While it is true that, despite fluctuating numbers, Jews had lived in Gaza for millennia; that, since the days of the Pharaohs, Gaza had been used as an invasion route into Israel by those aiming to subjugate it; that Gaza had become a hotbed for terrorists aiming to destroy Israel; that Jewish communities set up in Gaza were not on Arab-owned land; etc. and so forth; it is also true that many--if not most--Israelis were looking for a way out of Gaza if proper conditions presented themselves. As we are currently witnessing, with the post-Annapolis 2007, largely one-sided concrete expectations placed just on Israel's shoulders, Israel had long been under pressure to take some steps to revive the all-but-dead, roadmap with Arabs in 2004 as well. Lacking any Anwar Sadat or King Hussein-type to deal with among Palestinian Arabs (i.e. Arab leaders willing to allow for a viable Jewish Israel still existing on the morrow after a peace treaty is signed), Arik decided to make a unilateral move to break the stalemate while also supposedly enhancing Israel's overall security position. The latter assertion was/is hotly debated. Many of us feared that this would just bring Arab terror closer to Israel proper. With thousands of rockets and mortars landing in Israeli communities like Sderot after the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, we were, of course, correct in our concerns. But The General most probably had something else up his sleeve and knew how he'd deal with further aggression from a Judenrein Arab Gaza. Unfortunately, Arik is no longer of this world, in a deep coma after he suffered a stroke almost two years ago. But, in April 2004, Sharon came up with his Gaza withdrawal plan. In addition to the removal of Gaza's 8,000 Jews, some Jewish communities in Samaria (the northern West Bank,) were also placed on the eviction notice. The world had been clamoring for such Israeli moves for decades. Those who had conquered lands hundreds or thousands of miles away from home in the name of their own nations' security somehow couldn't figure out the life-threatening problems Israel constantly faced due to armistice lines imposed upon it in 1949 by the United Nations. As is well known by now, those lines made Israel a mere 9 to 16 miles wide at its strategic waist, where most of the nation's population and industry are located. Most people travel farther than that just to go shopping or to work. Israel was never meant to be a 9-mile wide rump state...but that's how it was left when the lines were drawn in '49 marking the point where the Jews finally turned back the 1948 invasion of a half dozen Arab armies supplied to the teeth with weaponry left over by the Allies from World War II and led, in Transjordan, by British officers. The UN got involved only later on--to limit Arab losses, not to prevent their initial, blatant aggression. This behavior would be repeated in subsequent decades as well. Arab settlers from elsewhere in the region then poured into these disputed territories. As leading international legal scholars like Eugene Rostow explain, the latter had largely been unapportioned state lands belonging to the original Mandate, open to settlement by Arabs, Jews, and others as well. After 1949, however, only Arabs were able to move here in the aftermath of Arab Transjordan's internationally unrecognized land grab. As needs to be repeatedly pointed out since Arabs and their supporters repeatedly pretend otherwise, purely Arab Transjordan, comprising all the land on the east bank of the River, had already been created by the British in 1922 from almost 80% of the original 1920 borders of the Mandate of Palestine. Jewish communities dating back from Biblical times in Judea and Samaria -- the "West Bank" -- had been massacred by Arabs in the 1920s and 1930s. The debate today is thus over the birth of the Arabs' second state in "Palestine"-- not their first state -- and 22 Arab states in all. During this same time period, the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission documented massive waves of Arabs (scores of thousands in just a few months alone) pouring into the Mandate from Syria, Egypt, North Africa, and elsewhere. Many more Arabs entered under cover of darkness and were simply never recorded--more "native Palestinians." Thanks to the Jews, the Mandate was economically booming, drawing Arabs in from the entire region. And while the following has also been repeated ad nauseam, it must be stated yet again for similar reasons ... In the aftermath of the latest attempt on Israel's life in 1967, the architects of famed UN Security Council Resolution 242 (Britain's Lord Caradon, Rostow, etc.) carefully worded the final, accepted draft so that Israel would not be expected to return to pre-'67, suicidal armistice lines. Indeed, the resolution called for the creation of "secure and recognized borders" to replace those lines. The bulk of Israel's official settlements have thus been placed with such a strategic territorial compromise in mind. While some will have to go as a trade off for a real peace agreement (no Arab "hudna" ceasefires), others will have to stay. There is an indisputable set of basic facts regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict... If there will ever be peace between Arab and Jew, Arabs will have to give up their eternal plans for Israel's destruction. Had they done this, Arabs could have had their second state in Palestine decades ago. Fair and just plans were presented--and rejected -- over the decades by the Arabs themselves ... certainly far more than Arabs have ever offered to any of their own national competitors. Just ask black Africans in the Sudan, Kurds in Iraq and Syria, Berbers in North Africa, and so forth. The reality is that Arabs still want that additional state to exist in place of, not along side of, the Jewish one. Hence their continued post-Annapolis rejection of a lone Jewish state while demanding a 22-member Arab League. Enter George W. Bush... Standing near Sharon, at an April 2004 news conference being watched on television all over the world, an American President--the first since Truman in 1948--finally took a political stance that might even yet lead to peace if he only regains the courage today he displayed back then. Or if his successor does. Bush stated, before millions watching him, the two key ingredients for such a recipe: Israel should not be expected to return to the indefensible armistice lines of 1949 (and he called them just that, not "borders"), and real and fudged Arab refugees would have to go to the proposed new Arab state, not overwhelm the Jews in Israel itself. Recall that half of Israel's Jews were refugees from Arab/Muslim lands. Einstein was not needed to figure out this recipe. And that brings us back to the President's upcoming visit to Israel ... You see, Bush had indeed visited Israel before, but while serving as governor of Texas. Here is an excerpt from a December 3, 1998 press release from his office quoting him ... I was able to learn a lot about the security needs of our strong friend and ally, Israel. It's hard to believe as a Texan how small Israel is, I mean, we're used to huge spaces. I just got off the campaign where I spent nearly everyday in a King Air trying to get from one stop to the other. Had I gotten on that same King Air and I took off out of Jerusalem it would have been no time before I'd be in either Jordan or in Syria. It's a small country and it was important for our Israeli host to remind our delegation of how really small it was so I got on a helicopter one day and flew with the foreign minister Ariel Sharon to see first hand how small the population was between, what has been over the course of history, enemy lines and population centers. We went to the Golan Heights where I was able to hear a general brief us on what the war was like to take the Golan Heights and then how important the Golan Heights are to the security of the people living in northern Israel. It was on this same helicopter flight that, according to his press secretary, Ari Fleischer, Bush also commented, regarding the tiny strategic waist of Israel, "In Texas, we have driveways longer than that." When arriving in Israel this time, as leader of a nation three thousand miles wide and separated from its main enemies by two vast oceans, Mr. Bush may want to pay his old comatose friend a visit. With all of his human flaws and faults, Ariel Sharon was/is a true hero of Israel reborn--a source of fear for those who planned and attempted Israel's destruction non-stop. That's the real reason his enemies hate him so much. I'm convinced that Arik had lines in the sand beyond which he would not cave ... despite all the pressure from his American friends, Condi's tantrums, and so forth. On the other hand, the entire Jew of the Nations is now at risk given the nature of the current crew running Israel's show. They've replaced lines in the sand with heads in the sand. Annapolis and its aftermath will likely expose Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport, Jerusalem, and so forth with the same fate Sderot is now facing ... .and probably worse. Forcing suicidal concessions upon Israel in light of the rejectionist good cop/bad cop enemies it still faces--despite all of the State Department whitewashing being done on Abbas and his latter day Fatah Arafatians' behalf--will only backfire on America itself in the long run. The quarrel between Hamas and Fatah is more about who will ultimately control the billions of dollars in aid and weaponry "Palestine" will receive rather than over any acceptance of their Jewish neighbor. Arafat's Swiss bank accounts are legendary ... When visiting an Israel next month which can fit thirty-four times into his own home state of Texas, it would be proper for the President to keep all of this in mind. Gerald A. Honigman, a Florida educator, has created and conducted counter-Arab propaganda programs for college youth, has lectured on numerous campuses and other platforms, and has publicly debated Arab spokesmen. His articles and op-eds have been published in both the print media and on websites. Contact him at honigman6@msn.com or go to his website: http://geraldahonigman.com/blog.php To Go To Top

MAARIV TAKES ON THE "FASCIST LEFT" Posted by Steven Plaut, December 22, 2007.

This past Friday was something of a milestone. For the first time a mainstream Israeli journalist referred to the radical Left as the "Fascist Left." Let me explain. First, Israeli Hebrew journalism is by and large the occupied territory of the Israeli Far Left, and under its hegemony. (The electronic media are not much better.) Haaretz is somewhat to the Left of the communist party, routinely runs Op-Eds calling for Israel's annihilation, and the Haaretz idea of "journalistic pluralism" makes Pravda under Brezhnev look like a fountain of democratic enlightenment. Yediot Ahronot is not as extreme as Haaretz, but is almost as homogeneously and uniformly Left. Maariv is the only Hebrew daily with any semblance of pluralism and even it is more Left than Right. Nevertheless, one can find on its pages Nadav Haetzni, by far the best columnist in Israel, and he is well to the Right, plus some others who refuse to toe the political correctness line. Maariv also is quite willing to bash the Left for its anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and Maariv editors do not spare ammo when it comes to shooting at the "Post-Zionists" and the "New Historians." The most militant of the Maariv bashers of the anti-Israel Israeli Left are Ben-Dror Yemini and Prof. Amnon Rubinstein, both of them left of center but strongly pro-Israel and Zionists. In his column on Friday, Yemini (whose family came from Yemen) denounces a "conference" held in Spain under the official auspices of the Spanish government, in which only leftists were invited, to search for "peace solutions" to the Middle East conflict. Except admission to the conference was reserved mainly for those who endorsed the "Palestinian Right of Return" and also who endorse the replacement of Israel by a "bi-national state," meaning a Rwandan-style country in which the Arab majority would quickly eliminate the "problem" of the Jewish minority in a new Final Solution. Israeli and Palestinian leftists, who found the ground rules of the "debate" acceptable, participated. See this. The conference was largely the initiative of one Ofer Bronstein, an Israeli leftist who is currently promoting the division of Jerusalem but used to organize pilgrimages of leftist "rabbis" to kiss Arafat's -- er -- hand. Bornstein is associated with the anti-Israel extremist and ex-Nazi Uri Avnery. Yemini wonders why the media refer to such an atrocity as a "peace conference." I just say DUH. Yemini also thinks there exists an insane Left and a sane Left, and in the latter he includes "Peace Now." I do not agree that there exists a sane Left. Yemini thinks there exists a "war between Lefts." I think there exists a war by the Left against Jews. Be that as it may, Yemini concludes, "The battle against the fascist Left is not yet lost.. Not that the fascist Left will disappear any time soon." I do not share his optimism. But it really made my week that a serious respectable mainstream journalist in Israel is willing to declare that the Leftist Emperor is Naked, and the anti-Israel Left is nothing more than a Fascist Left. Steven Plaut is a professor at Haifa University. His book "The Scout" is available at Amazon.com. He can be contacted at stevenplaut@yahoo.com. To Go To Top

THE PLIGHT OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS Posted by Simon McIlwaine, December 21, 2007.

And for all the critics who say Israel is responsible for the diminishing number of Christians in the territories, let them ask themselves why there aren't an equal proportion of diminishing Muslims in those same territories... (From www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=14725) A leading Israeli human rights lawyer on Monday criticized Western governments and the mainstream media for largely ignoring the systematic persecution of Palestinian Arab Christians by their Muslim neighbors and rulers. Speaking at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs where he is a scholar in residence, Justus Weiner presented yet more evidence of the harassment, discrimination, intimidation, religious intolerance and physical violence Palestinian Christians in Judea and Samaria (the so-called "West Bank") are regularly subjected to. Weiner presented several specific cases of recent intimidation, physical abuse and murder of Palestinian Christians, but said those were merely the tip of the iceberg. Most of the Palestinian Christians affected by this persecution dare not open their mouths, and when they do are careful not to further upset the waters. If the situation continues, Weiner warned that in another decade there will be but a handful of Arab Christians remaining in the Holy Land. Already, the once Christian-dominated town of Bethlehem now has a population that is less than 20 percent Christian. Most of the Christian exodus from Jesus' birthplace has come after Israel handed control of Bethlehem over to the Palestinian Authority. The answer, said Weiner, is for Western "Christian" governments, the mainstream international media and human rights organizations to intervene and demand the Palestinian Authority begin protecting the rights of Christians living in areas under its control. But international concern for Palestinian Arab Christians dried up with the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1995 out of a desire to not paint that regime in a bad light and risk scuttling the process of extracting territorial and security concessions from Israel in return for "peace." Simon McIlwaine is with Anglican Friends of Israel (www.anglicanfriendsofisrael.com). Contact him at Simon.McIlwaine@ormerods.co.uk To Go To Top

MAIN POINTS ABOUT PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD Posted by KAE, December 21, 2007.

This is from the December 18, 2007 Associated Press http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=8804889

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: The Israeli military has targeted the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. Here are some facts about the group: SIZE: About 15,000 armed militants in Gaza, much smaller than Islamic militant Hamas. WEAPONS: Assault rifles, heavy machine guns, explosives, land mines, homemade rockets, some Katyusha rockets. IDEOLOGY: Strict Islam, rejection of existence of Israel, refusal to compromise with Jewish state. TACTICS: Armed attacks against Israeli targets inside Israel, including suicide bombings and almost daily rocket barrages from Gaza. Unlike Hamas, it has no social wing and only limited political activity. ORGANIZATION: Gaza leadership takes instructions from exiled leaders based in Syria. Funding from Iran and Syria. HISTORY: Founded in 1979 by Fathi Shikaki as offshoot of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Shikaki was killed in 1995 in Malta in attack widely attributed to Israel. Current Damascus-based leader is Ramadan Shalah. Contact KAE at kew1@dbmail.com To Go To Top

PEACE NOW SUSPECTED OF FINANCIAL SCAM Posted by Ezra HaLevi and Gil Ronen, December 21, 2007.

(IsraelNN.com) Peace Now is suspected of setting up a financial scam to mask the European sources of its funding for its reconnaissance work against Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria. The Administrator General suspects Peace Now of operating a front organization for improper collection of funds, according to a report on Channel 2 TV by reporter Amit Segal. According to information obtained by the Administrator, the group used a non-profit organization (amuta) called Sha'al, which supposedly dealt with educational matters, to receive and disburse millions of shekels over a period of many years. Some of the organization's donors were exposed in the course of the inquiry. They include the British government, which donated more that 500,000 shekels, Norway (800,000 shekels) and the European Union, which donated 451,000 shekels earmarked for Peace Now's ongoing "settlement hunting" activity: the documentation of construction activity by Jews in Judea and Samaria. It is not clear whether Segal's report was the result of a new investigative web site dedicated to researching and documenting the group's misdeeds. The Administrator General summoned 'Peace Now' to a hearing and instructed them to reply to the allegations by December 31. Peace Now Calls on US to Talk to Iran Americans for Peace Now, the Israeli leftist group's fundraising arm that also engages in anti-Israel lobbying in the United States, urged US President George W. Bush "to open serious, determined and unconditional diplomacy with Iran," according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Franklin Fisher and Debra DeLee, Chairman and President respectively of the group, sent a letter to Bush arguing that it is in the "best interests of both the US and Israel [to engage in] direct, sustained, and unconditional US-led diplomacy and engagement with Iran to resolve issues surrounding Iran's nuclear program." "The letter reflects Americans for Peace Now's longstanding contention that a U.S. policy toward Iran consisting of sanctions and threats of force is insufficient and potentially harmful to the interests of both the United States and Israel," JTA reported. The letter was sent to all members of the House and Senate, as well as all the US presidential candidates. Ezra HaLevi is senior news editor of Arutz-Sheva and Gil Ronen writes for Arutz-Sheva. This article is archived at www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124639 To Go To Top

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR $8.6 BILLION IN PALESTINIAN AID Posted by Bryna Berch, December 21, 2007.

This was written by Greg Sheridan and it is called "Peace impossible without will". It appeared yesterday in The Australian http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/ 0%2c25197%2c22950637-7583%2c00.html

AND so international donors have pledged $8.6 billion in aid to the Palestinian Authority. This eye-popping amount of money will continue the Palestinians' status as the highest per capita aid recipients in the world. Not that I'm suggesting Palestinians don't have it tough, even if most of their suffering is caused by the appalling decisions of their corrupt, incompetent and extremist leadership. The aid pledged in Paris may nonetheless do some good. It may stabilise living standards on the West Bank. And by exacerbating the contrast between a more prosperous West Bank, controlled by the secular Fatah, and an increasingly poverty-stricken Gaza Strip, controlled by the religious extremists, Hamas, it may strengthen Fatah against Hamas. Assuming all this works out perfectly, at the very best we might get a slightly improved status quo. The chances of a long-term peace agreement, I would say, are almost nil. I have just returned from three weeks in Israel. I spent quite a bit of time on the West Bank. I would say the situation is on a hair trigger and we are as far from peace as ever. The Annapolis peace process, instituted by the Americans, is essentially a kind of make-believe. Its genuine strategic purpose is to stabilise the West Bank and keep Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in power by giving him international status and some money. However, the Americans seem to have got carried away with their rhetoric and are in danger of once more vastly inflating expectations beyond their power to deliver. This has many times in the past been extremely dangerous in the Middle East. It seems that every two-term American president feels a desperate need in his last year to solve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Bill Clinton was at it in his last 24 hours in office. Ronald Reagan had a plan in his last year. By trying so hard to get an agreement to bolster the legacy of a presidency in its dying days, the Americans often scramble and improvise, take foolish risks and by their own political desperation convince all parties that maximum results are possible. The result is frequently disastrous. There are two short-term factors that will tend to keep a lid on the conflict, and one that will tend to make it explode, but all the long-term trends are unhelpful. The Israelis will want to keep things as quiet as possible until at least after George W. Bush makes his first visit to Israel as President in early January. Given the closeness of the US-Israel alliance, presidential visits are remarkably rare. The Israelis won't want it cancelled. Second, Abbas's position is pathetically weak. Hamas won the elections in Gaza but it has also won many municipal elections on the West Bank. Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority was infamously corrupt even by Middle East standards. Fatah is a busted flush of ageing cronies and local war lords. It has not produced a new generation of leaders and it has very little support among the Palestinian people. It is difficult to gauge Palestinian public opinion, but perhaps a third seriously support the religious agenda of Hamas. Among the remaining two thirds, the corruption of Fatah is a byword. No one believes Fatah could remain in power even in the West Bank without the heavy presence of the Israeli Defence Force, constantly arresting and suppressing the worst extremists, who in this context are also Fatah's enemies. Remove the Israelis and the estimates of how long Fatah would remain in power range from two weeks to two hours.[emphasis added.] The short-term trend that could cause a blow-up any day is the Qassam rockets being fired daily from Gaza at Israeli civilians in Sderot and increasingly near the sizeable Israeli city of Ashkelon, with its vital and vulnerable power station. Every day half a dozen of these rockets are fired. On one day when I was there recently 20 were fired. These are not fired at military targets. Their intent is to murder civilians. Luckily, these rockets are crude, short-range and inaccurate. But they are becoming longer-range as outsiders, especially Iran, provide weaponry. Eventually one of these rockets will hit a school bus or a classroom and kill 20 Israeli children. When that happens the Israeli political process will demand a huge operation in Gaza to clean out the rocket factories. No Israeli wants to go back to Gaza. But they will if necessary and such an operation would be bloody and terrible. Many people would die. Amid all the criticism Israel would face, one question would be unanswerable: which democratic country would not respond if its civilians were being daily fired upon by rockets? There is no moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorism and Israeli military action. The Israelis do not aim at civilians and would stop all military action tomorrow if the terrorism stopped. This is where the long-term trends come in, all of which, as I say, are dolorous. The Annapolis negotiations are all about territory: where will the borders of a new Palestinian state lie, what is the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank? These are entirely secondary questions. If the Israelis actually had a peace partner in the Palestinians I have no doubt they would be extremely generous about territory. But there is not the slightest indication that they have such a partner. While I was in Israel a young Israeli father, in his 20s, was shot and killed in his car by two Palestinian terrorists. He was shot for no more substantial reason than that he happened to be driving along while the terrorists were waiting by the side of the road. And the identity of the terrorists? They were policemen in the PA. Allegedly, and this is very convenient, they did not use weapons provided by the international community as part of its plan to bolster the PA. The question is whether the PA can ever get to a stage where it can govern Palestinian society, and whether the PA has any genuine interest in peace. Until very recently PA school text books contained traditional anti-Semitic propaganda against the Jews. Due to international pressure that has largely been removed. But still the text books, and the Palestinian media, are full of incitement to terrorism and no suggestion that Israel will be a peace partner, or even a state Palestinians will have to live with. Instead maps of Palestine are routinely printed which simply erase Israel altogether. This means the peace talks, and the media commentary around it, are rigged against Israel because they don't discuss the one real obstacle to peace: the refusal of the Palestinian leadership, and much of the Middle East Islamic leadership, to genuinely accept Israel's right to exist. To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: FOCUS ON GAZA Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 21, 2007.

There has been, in the last few days, greatly increased IDF action in Gaza. Not that major incursion, but military maneuvers that take out terrorists and in some cases their launchers. Since last Sunday, 20 gunmen have been killed. What is the result? The answer is complex. Actually, there are conflicting answers depending on whom you listen to and when. ~~~~~~~~~~ That it is having some result is clear, because there has been overtures by Hamas for a hudna. The bid came from Ismail Haniyeh; some reports indicated this was via Egypt, while others say it came when an Israeli journalist was contacted. The "deal" as reported would be a cessation of Kassam attacks if Israel stopped its attacks inside of Gaza. So, they're hurting and Hamas people are running frightened that they'll be next. Of this there is no question. But it is not enough. Everyone who reads my material knows how strongly I always oppose a hudna -- which is merely a temporary respite that allows them to regroup and strengthen. This certainly applies now. There were some rumors that Olmert might be considering this, but his office denies it. In fact, spokesman Mark Regev says there was no official offer and Hamas is playing games. The official Israeli position is that Hamas must renounce violence. What was interesting is that there was a role reversal this week, with the more "hawkish" member of Kadima, Shaul Mofaz, saying there was no harm in dealing with Hamas to stop the rocket fire, and leftist Haim Ramon saying that a temporary ceasefire would allow Hamas to strengthen itself, which is exactly right. ~~~~~~~~~~ IDF officers -- unnamed -- are quoted today as saying that there was no need for a hudna anyway, because "Once the border isn't threatened and the Kassam rockets stop, we won't have any reason to act." I read this and wondered if military men really said this. For there is every reason to continue to act as long as that build-up of weapons persists, even if launching of rockets temporarily halts. In fact, the entire focus of a message from "a senior IDF officer" in this regard seemed terribly shortsighted: "What we're seeing in Gaza is not ordinary day-to-day security maintenance, it's combat...every operation we carry out carries with it a message that ultimately will bring genuine results." Depends on what he means by "genuine results." That the terrorists may, for a while, stop launching rockets? Perhaps. That smuggling of weapons from Egypt, and training of the Hamas army, and improving the range of capability of weapons will stop? Not a snow ball's chance in hell. This statement smacks of the political. "We have our orders and we operate by those guidelines," said an IDF source, "and those orders are to thwart terror attacks; to strike down anyone firing Kassams or mortars and keep the terror organizations away from the border fence. There aren't any magic solutions, only grueling operations..." ~~~~~~~~~~ As it is, the rockets haven't stopped yet anyway. One landed near an army base and another near a school this week. Chief IDF Intelligence Officer Brig.-Gen.Yuval Halamish speaking yesterday at a conference delivered a more honest military appraisal: that the IDF's activity against camouflaged Kassam launchers is "difficult and nearly impossible." Some of the successes have been merely luck, as it's like "looking for a needle in a haystack." What is more, rockets can now be fired automatically by electronic systems, so that "nowadays rockets can be fired automatically by electronic systems. "By the time the rocket is making its way towards Israel, the terrorist is already sipping coffee someplace far away." ~~~~~~~~~~ Egypt's role in permitting the continued smuggling of weapons into Gaza has been a part of recent news focus. There are several facets to this situation. I've read that the Egyptians would rather have the weapons in Gaza than in their country, and that they feel that, if they cannot defeat the terrorists, it's better to cooperate with them. There are undoubtedly other reasons as well as to why they're not clamping down on the smuggling. Recently the IDF made videotapes allegedly of Egyptian police helping Hamas smugglers. The tape was sent to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, but has only been shown to administration officials and not to Congress. Although it was reportedly the intention of Israeli security officials that appropriate members of Congress see it, as appropriations are done via Congress and some funds to Egypt might be blocked, Israeli diplomatic personnel have blocked this so as to not thoroughly enrage Egypt. Are we the only ones to be enraged? If this report is true, it gives very serious pause. But what else is new? ~~~~~~~~~~ As to doing that major operation into Gaza, here's a new and different take: A "senior Israeli diplomatic official" now says that we can negotiate with Abbas but will make no progress because he cannot make concessions as long as Hamas controls Gaza. That Hamas is setting the political agenda for the Palestinians is unquestionably true -- the entire political climate has become more intransigent, more belligerent since Hamas has become involved. But this was true before Hamas took Gaza. It has been true since Hamas entered the political fray almost two years ago, and was certainly true when the unity government was negotiated at Mecca earlier in the year and Abbas caved to Hamas demands. Any softening by Abbas is represented as siding with the enemy. Would this change if Hamas no longer controlled Gaza unilaterally? They still control the PA legislature and have a huge following among the people. They are still strong -- and represent a real threat -- in Judea and Samaria. Nor is there reason to think that Fatah itself is in favor of significant concessions with Israel. There are major figures inside of this party who oppose negotiations with us. What is more, I have reported earlier on the assessment of political analysts that the last thing Abbas can do is "ride into Gaza on an Israeli tank." He would be seen as a collaborator with the enemy and not well received. Abbas -- in deference to this wide-spread attitude -- has already said that Fatah would fight with Hamas in Gaza if we were to do a major military operation there. Besides which, there is the suspicion in Israeli circles that even if we took out Hamas in Gaza, Abbas would not have the strength to take over there anyway. So, we've got a situation that is complex, confused, and convoluted. If we do go into Gaza, it cannot be for the sake of "peace" negotiations with Abbas, or to strengthen him, but rather to military defeat an enemy that threatens us. Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

US AMBASSADOR JONES WANTS TO TEACH ISRAELIS PEACE; ARABS ACT OUT THEIR HATRED OF NON-MUSLIMS Posted by Bryna Berch, December 21, 2007.

The two items below are from the Daily Alert, which is sponsored by Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and prepared by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). To subscribe to their free daily alerts, send an email to daily@www.dailyalert.jcpa.org

The US Ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, is under the illusion that it's Israel that needs to be converted to wanting peace, not the Arabs. This is an item from today's Daily Alert Constructing the Defenses of Peace http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/936896.html by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones More needs to be done to expand and strengthen support from civil society for an ultimate resolution of the conflict. Peace education must be a key element of this effort. The U.S. Embassy in Israel has been partnering with many Israeli grassroots organizations and schools to conduct peace education programs. We work closely with groups and institutions that teach respect for democratic values and diversity, provide students with solid citizenship skills, tackle conflict resolution, develop language skills and foster knowledge of and respect for others. (Ha'aretz) Jones is clearly working on the wrong group. The Israelis are so desperate for peace, their Gov't is goofy enough to give up their inheritance -- Biblical Israel and some of Jerusalem -- for an insincere promise of peace. He isn't targeting the Arabs to teach them to want peace despite how actively the Arabs work to make sure everyone understands they want to kill off Israel, not make peace with it. They don't much like any Westerner, even those who are very pro-Arab. Banksy is a British street artist who favors the Arabs and got a lot of attention last week for creating and hanging anti-Jewish murals in Bethlehem (See below.) This is another item from today's Daily Alert. Palestinians Vandalize Mural by British Artist www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2230787,00.html by Rebecca Harrison (Guardian-UK) Bethlehem residents have painted over a satirical mural by the graffiti artist Banksy that was meant to highlight their plight. The British artist had painted six images around the town to help drum up tourism before Christmas. To Go To Top

WHY SHOULD ISRAEL BE JEWISH Posted by Chaim Grosz, December 21, 2007.

On 5/9/06 I wrote, and it is true today: The State of Israel was established utilizing a uniquely Yiddish word, "chutzpah,"[1] without which Israel could never have succeeded in overcoming the world's apathy towards the Jews. Israel was established after World War II for the purpose of providing a safe haven for the unwanted surviving Jewish refugees surviving every attempt to slaughter them in the Nazi concentration camps. It was not established for the purpose of creating an autocratic, religiously homogonous state, and the founders never envisioned or proclaimed itself as a faith based country but never denied that it is a Jewish State primarily established for the protection and preservation of the worlds Jews. Judaism has always been based upon an ancient religious belief that has special and unique religious observances. The Israeli government realized from the outset that it must give special recognition to Judaism and its unique rituals in order for Israel to have a viable future. The founders recognized this phenomenon and wove the special circumstances into the fabric of the Israeli Declaration of Independence by referring to God as the "Rock," which is recited in King David's Psalm, Ha Tzir Tuomim Puolo. Paraphrasing, it means, just as a rock is everlasting, so is God constantly striving to work on behalf of the Jewish Nation. The current dispute dividing Israeli society is the debate related to what is needed to ensure the viability and future survival of Israel. One theory is of a religious nature. Israel was inherited by the Jews upon a divine decree, and thus should not and cannot relinquish any area currently under Israeli control. The other theory does not accept the religious version and proffers that without Israel being accepted as a nation amongst all other nations, it will be in constant conflict. Therefore, the land and its recognized borders which comprise Israel is of no special importance as long as Israel in whatever state is allowed to live in peace. I think that Israel must have the type of leadership that evinces true chutzpah, and as reflected in the likes of prime ministers David Ben Gurion, Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Rabin. All of the foregoing never wavered from their oath to preserve and protect the State of Israel, from its internal and external enemies. None of them acted capriciously. They did not surrender anything of value without first obtaining something of equal or greater value in return. Prime Minister Begin turned over the entire Sinai to Egypt, and received in exchange a peace treaty. Prime Minister Rabin signed the Oslo Agreement, and received in exchange eight years of a marked reduction of violence. The current Israeli administration should ask itself if it really believes that the arbitrary convergence plan would produce any measure of value to Israel. Where is the quid pro quo? The Islamic world supported the defeated Arab armies by aligning themselves with the famous "Three Nos." They demanded the total destruction of Israel, not just withdrawal to the pre-1967 cease fire lines. The arbitrary pull out from Lebanon, which the UN proclaimed was in accordance with their resolution, only resulted in the Iranian led Hezbollah occupying land abutting Israel's northern border. The most recent vacating of the Gaza Strip resulted in a daily barrage of rockets launched from the vacated territory. Israel needs leaders with the unique trait of having Jewish chutzpah. There is a saying attributed to a Kabbalist: just before Moses, our Teacher, was about to pass away, he was shown not only the entire land of Israel, but was also shown all the future Israeli leaders as well as all of the future Israeli criminals. We can understand why he was shown the leaders, but of what importance was it to show him the criminals? The answer is that at times, the criminals of certain future generations will be the chosen leaders. What has been published in Israeli newspapers is that the first directive issued by the newly appointed defense minister is to use the IDF as a battering ram to appease the Moslem enemy by creating a deep division among Israelis. Instead, the focus should be on how to reorganize the IDF, which is primarily a people's army, into a force whose primary goal is to protect and defend Israel. The most disturbing aspect of this decree is that it comes from the top -- the office of the Prime Minister. I guess the Kabbalist vision included to our sorrow for this generation whose leadership was elected by a minority of Israelis citizens. That same leadership ascended to power through the mechanism of political skullduggery, and are ignoring the reasons for the establishment of Israel. Israel also has the Samson Option.[2] As things are going now, Israel will have to choose one of the two options very soon unless it removes the curse genetically inbred into the Jewish psyche, of showing pity to those that are their sworn enemies, only wishing to kill all the Jews. The curse was introduced by the first Jewish King, King Saul -- having pity for their enemies in the hopes of their enemies responding likewise. Footnotes [1] Merriam-Webster's On-Line Dictionary defines chutzpah as supreme self-confidence, nerve, gall, temerity. The etymology is Yiddish. [2] As found in Wikipedia, the Samson Option is a term used to describe Israel's alleged deterrence strategy of massive retaliation with nuclear weapons as a "last resort" against nations whose military attacks threaten its existence, and possibly against other targets as well. To Go To Top

AS GROMYKO ONCE SAID: ZIONISM IS THE NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE Posted by Ricky Lomey, December 21, 2007.

This was written by Gary Selikow, who lives in Johannesburg.

In 1948 Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet representative at the United Nations, reffering to the Arab attack on the fledgling Israel expressed surprise that the Arabs States "have resorted to such action as sending their troops into Palestine and carrying out military actions aimed at the supression of the national liberation movement" i.e Israel. Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people. This is a truth serum to the venomous rantings of Ronnie Kasrils and his ilk, who try to demonize and delegitimize Israel and her people (in order to prepare the world for the genocide of Israel's people), coming from Kasril's own ideological mentors and former masters. The fact that the Soviet Union would later be the incubation house for all the vile anti-Israel propaganda now espoused by the international left, cannot erase this admission. The Soviets had voted for the state of Israel in the United Nations, hoping to dislodge Britain from the Middle East. She also couinted on the Jews, from whom Karl Marx originated, to join the Communist orbit. But just as the Jews 2000 years earlier had refused to follow Jesus, and just as 1300 years earlier had refused to follow Mohammed, so they refused to follow Marx. And just as the Vatican in the Middle Ages had turned against the Jews for the refusal to follow the Christian line, just as Mohammed turned against the Jews for the refusal to follow the Mohammedan line, and then Martin Luther had turned against the Jews for refusing to be lured with sweet words into becoming Christians, all with genocidal results, so the Kremlin in the Modern Age turned on the Jews for refusing to follow the Communist line. Egypt and Syria offered the Soviets the Middle East foothold Israel denied them, and the Soviets gratefully armed the Egyptians and Syrians with the technology of death. It was in the Soviet centers of agitprop that the evil network of lies that Zionism is 'racism', 'apartheid, 'colonialism', 'imperialism' and 'Fascism' were incubated and exported. Eventually, after the Six Day War, they have become the staple diet of the international left. Ronnie Kasrils learned his anti-Israel agitprop and hate against Israel and it's people, in the Soviet Union. But let us not forget the original admission of the Communists before Israel refused to become their satellite. Gary Selikow Contact Ricky Lomey by email at rickyl@iafrica.com To Go To Top

RICE THE BIGOT; U.S. HELPING TURKEY AGAINST TERRORISTS; DIPLOMATS TALK, P.A. ARMS Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 21, 2007.

RICE THE BIGOT "Condoleezza Rice has got some nerve. First, the US Secretary of State had the hutzpa to compare Israel's treatment of Palestinians to that meted out to US blacks during the bad old days of the segregationist South." At Annapolis, she said that having been "a black child in the South, being told she could not use certain water fountains or eat in certain restaurants, she also understood the feelings and emotions of the Palestinians (Arab jihadists in and near Israel)," their "feeling of humiliation and powerlessness." She is wrong. "...American blacks were victims of violence and hate, while Palestinians are its proficient practitioners..." "Moreover, Rice's comparison between Israeli security measures and America's Jim Crow laws is both intellectually dishonest and morally obscene. There is no similarity whatsoever between Israel establishing a checkpoint aimed at catching Palestinian suicide bombers and the state of Georgia's 1960s era prohibition against serving blacks and whites in the same restaurant." "...for all of her ostensible sensitivity to questions of discrimination, Rice did not hesitate to engage in some bigotry of her own last week when it came to the issue of building new homes for Jews in Jerusalem." After Israel announced the approval of tenders for the construction of 307 housing units in the capital's Har Homa neighborhood, Her Excellency went into what can only be described as a tizzy." She protested to Israel and said that such building "doesn't help build confidence." "'...this doesn't help to build confidence?' And what, Madam Secretary, of the constant Palestinian rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns and cities? Do they 'help to build confidence'? Or how about the daily incitement to violence on official Palestinian radio and television? Or the murder last month of 29-year old Ido Zoldan by members of Mahmoud Abbas' own Palestinian police force? Strangely enough, not one of these odious deeds merited a public comment from Rice about their impact on the 'building of confidence' between the two sides." "But what was still more troubling about her statement on Har Homa is that it lends credence to the discriminatory notion that certain places should be off-limits to Jews simply because they are Jews." (IMRA, 12/12 from Michael Freund.) At the Annapolis conference she arranged, Arab delegates entered through the front door, whereas Israeli leaders had to enter through the servants' entrance. The Arabs refused to shake hands with the Israelis (NY Sun, 12/19, p.5). She must believe in apartheid, after all. What an arrogant hypocrite! HOW ISRAEL & THE P.A. BEHAVE IN UNO Israel offered a resolution that the UNO passed with a high majority. That is unusual. What is usual is for Israel's enemies to offer unfair resolutions against Israel, that pass with a high majority and to block resolutions that are fair. The Israeli resolution was for developed countries, itself included, to make available to developing countries their agricultural technology. The idea is to help poorer countries grow more food. The P.A. delegate criticized the resolution as "trying to score political points." Apparently his sour grapes objection was only because the resolution came from Israel. IMRA noted that such criticism hardly reflected the supposed moderation of the P.A. government (IMRA, 12/12). Israel had given the P.A. a successful hothouse agricultural industry, but the Arab vandalized and neglected it. Israel likes to lend its agricultural expertise to other countries, including Arab ones. It has helped Egypt grow crops in the desert. I wouldn't do that for enemies. Fawning over Islamic enemies engenders contempt and increases the likelihood of war. ARAB ASSOCIATION ACCUSES IDF OF WAR CRIMES The Arab Association for Human Rights complained that during the Lebanon War, the IDF set up installations too close to Arab villages in the Galilee, with the result that errant Hizbullah shells sometimes struck the villages. The association explained that the rules of war require an army to avoid civilian areas when it can. The IDF replied that it placed installations where it thought it was needed to defend the country, including Israeli Arab communities (IMRA, 12/12). The Association has chutzpah to complain about placement of Israeli forces, when all the Arab forces start from civilian areas and attack civilian areas. U.S. NOW HELPING TURKEY AGAINST TERRORISM The US has been giving Turkey intelligence needed for pursuing Kurdish rebels based in Iraq, and has been coordinating the effort with Iraq (Elena Becatoros, NY Sun, 12/19, p.6). Glad the US finally got its priorities straight: (1) Anti-terrorist; (2) Helping ally victims; and (3) Protecting Iraq's territorial integrity against Turkey's legal pursuit of terrorists. JEWISH CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISRAEL Accusing the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) of ignoring multiple abuses of authority against Jews in the Territories, and of taking up only Arab complaints, right-wing Jews have formed their own human rights organization, Human Rights in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (HRJSG). Here are HRJSG's complaints. 1. After having forced Jewish residents out of Gaza and northern Samaria, the government made few arrangements to resettle them and pitifully inadequate at that. The government suppressed peaceful protest (by inhumane means). 2. Law enforcement protects Arab farmers from potential attacks by Jews, but does not protect Jewish farmers from actual and systematic attacks by Arabs (and their leftist Jewish and foreign allies). 3. The government fails to return to the rightful heirs property that Hebron Arabs despoiled them of in 1929, and makes sure to keep Arab tenants in place, though the rightful owners want to move in or sell (IMRA, 12/11). That's just a partial summary. The government made false promises, cheated people, over-charged and double-charged them, and failed properly to compensate the people it was ruining and in whom it was engendering social problems. The government evacuation was a success from the point of view of Jew-haters, but a failure from the point of view of those who care about peace and human rights. DIPLOMATS TALK ABOUT A DEMILITARIZED STATE Diplomats try to reassure people that a sovereign P.A. would not endanger Israel, because it would have eradicated terrorism and may even be demilitarized. You should not be taken in by false assurances. The P.A. would be heavily militarized -- well armed and well fortified. Fortification is going on now. Israel will have lost the ability to subdue aggression from it swiftly and with minimal casualties, a criterion that the IDF established (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 12/13). There is no cultural, legal, and military movement against terrorism in the P.A., but there is such a movement for it. The West and Israel keep on negotiating more and more towards setting up a P.A. state, although the P.A. never has met its commitments and gives no indication of intending to. Once sovereign, prior commitments do not bind it at all, not that Islam takes commitments to infidels seriously. Its doctrine is to use whatever duplicity in diplomacy facilitates eventual military triumph. The diplomats are trying to deceive people. The "peace process" is a hoax based on US anti-Zionism and appeasement. Look ahead! It would end in Holocaust. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

ISRAEL AND ARAB RECOGNITION Posted by Kaustav Chakrabarti, December 21, 2007.

Israel doesn't have to go down on its knees to gain Arab recognition. If the Arabs are asking for that, they have asked too much. Israel as a sovereign and independent country is here to stay, whether any one likes or not. If the Arabs have any self-respect, they should respect the rights and identities of others to exist in a largely multicultural world. Much of what the Arabs boast of their civilization, have been derived mostly from conquered peoples like the Egyptians, Syrians and Persians. The latter taught the Arabs everything from Art to Administration. Much of the misery that the Arabs claim to have emanated from the creation of Israel is their own doing. If they (the Arabs) had responsible and honest leaders, things would have been different. They would have looked for solutions from within instead of making Israel the mother of woes in a largely turbulent and authoritarian Middle East. The existence of Israel as the sole democracy in the region is an eye-sore to most of the regimes in the vicinity. As the domestic problems in the countries could not be resolved even after years of independence, so the brunt of the mistakes committed by the regimes concerned had to ascribe to "Zionist" conspiracy, even to the point of quoting from falsified literature like The Protocols. Why should Israel, after all, be made to pay for others' follies and denied its legitimate existence? Contact Kaustav Chakrabarti by email kaustav12000@yahoo.co.in To Go To Top

KITES AND OTHER CULTURAL BAGGAGE: WHAT MUSLIM IMMIGRANTS PACK Posted by Phyllis Chesler, December 20, 2007.

Last night I finally saw the film based on Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner. I loved it -- yes, even if it captures a pre-Taliban country more mythical than real. Nevertheless, the musical soundtrack, the recitation of classical poetry, the innocent kite-flying competitions in Kabul, (not to mention Homayoun Ershadi who strongly resembles Marcello Mastroianni), all comprise utterly charming scenes and play characters carefully chosen and calibrated to help us distinguish between sophisticated and westernized Afghans who are non-violent, (I know many), and the barbarians amongst them. I think that the film is also brave. First, it depicts a tall, thin, slightly effeminate, incredibly brutal pederast ("Assef") who, although he is an Afghan through and through, reminds one of none other than Osama bin Laden. Both figures walk languidly; both teach "harsh" lessons. The film also shows us how the Taliban publicly stone a sobbing woman in a pink burqa to death and how they kidnap or purchase Afghan orphans, mainly girls, but sometimes also boys, as "dancing" sex-objects. True, as shown, wealthy and western-educated Afghans did have private, gender-integrated dancing parties in the 1970s in Kabul -- but the nature of Afghan society is better represented in both the novel and the film in how they depict Afghan marriage and family customs in America. Even those immigrants who live in San Francisco guard their women, expect would-be suitors to ask a father for his daughter's hand in marriage. (The film has a wonderful Afghan Wedding scene every bit the equal of any Bollywood Indian Wedding.) And, Afghan immigrants continue to live with or geographically near to their parents and to center their adult social lives together with them. Not a bad idea at all. Ah, but now I come to the hard part. Daily, I receive news of Islamic gender and religious apartheid, both in the Islamic East and as it has steadily penetrated the West. I write about this at length in my latest book The Death of Feminism. But, the same continent (North America) and culture (the West) which is so proud of its multi-cultural sensitivity and tolerance -- and whose people have embraced books such as The Kite Runner and Reading Lolita in Tehran, are all more eager to embrace the immigrant "Other," (which is commendably open-hearted), and reluctant to take into account the cultural "baggage" that most immigrants bring with them into their new lives. Although fewer immigrants arrive in the West from Iran or Saudi Arabia, these two countries have exported their versions of Islam to Muslims in very effective ways. For example, in the last month: IRAN A top Muslim cleric, Hojatolislam Gholam Reza Hassani said that Muslim women who do not wear the hijab "should die." He went further: "These women and their husbands and their fathers must die." The use of the word "women" has just been banned from Iranian state TV. They have begun using the word "family" instead. In recent weeks, Iran's Center for the Participation of Women changed its name to the Centre for Family Matters. Two Kurdish women's rights activists, Ronak Safazadeh and Hana Abdi, were just arrested in Teheran and charged as "terrorists." These two feminists were collecting "a million signatures for equality" but have, instead, been charged with a car bomb. PAKISTAN Seventy one percent of the men polled in Pakistan "justify beating women." The survey documents that 80% of Pakistani women are the "victims of domestic violence." The report claims that "Women in Pakistan face death by shooting, burning, or killing with axes" in shame and honor murders. Also, a former Muslim in Pakistan who converted to Christianity has been receiving "death threats from his Muslim siblings" and is now in hiding together with his wife, their four daughters and son. IRAQ Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women in the southern city of Basra because their dress "violated Islamic teachings." Maj General Jalil Khalaf said: "The women of Basra are being horrifically murdered and then dumped in the garbage with notes saying they were killed for un-Islamic behavior." SAUDI ARABIA The parents of a nineteen year-old Saudi girl chained her by the feet in order to prevent her from meeting her fiancée whom her family would not accept. Saudi women are not allowed to drive or change the color of their clothing or shake a man's hand (which some mullahs view as "adultery of the hand.") She cannot marry without permission, retain custody of her children after a divorce, or "annoy" her husband. She is also forbidden to "speak in public." A popular Saudi television preacher has stated that "a girl who is not beaten from an early age grows up to be a rebellious woman, difficult to control" and that "a woman who leaves her home without a veil is like a woman who goes out naked." Those who emigrate into the West from these countries take these attitudes and customs along with them. So far, the West has been slow in noting or in trying to prevent what for us are crimes. On the other hand, the West has also offered refuge to and published the work of Islamic dissidents; appointed and elected pro-woman and anti-violence Muslims to public office; offered police protection and shelter to those in flight from Islamist violence in the West. Thus, also in the last month: BRITAIN The daughter of an imam who herself has converted to Christianity, is under serious police protection after receiving death threats from her family. She has, so far, had to move 45 times since she converted 15 years ago. She did so after she ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage. Waris Dirie, who herself underwent female genital mutilation in her native Somalia has, together with Corinna Milborn, published a new book in Britain. They estimate that 500,000 girls and women have been genitally mutilated in Europe -- even though it is illegal to do so. Dirie considers the "difficulties of bringing such cases to court, the culture of silence that keeps affected women quiet, and the muddled association of circumcision with Islam." NORWAY Norwegian author, Tor Erling Staff has published a book in which he calls for "reduced sentences for honor murders." In his view, such Muslim men who kill are "betrayed by Norwegian society. They come from places where equality is an unknown concept. Where the thought of equality is a humiliation. Suddenly they land here, in the middle of equality paradise. It is clear there is stress..." HOLLAND Dutch Minister of Integration, Ella Vogellar, admitted that the emancipation of immigrant women is expected to lead to more cases of honor related violence. A special task force has received about 470 such cases this year. Men are also the victims, either because they are homosexuals or because they try to help their sisters. Not everyone is keeping their heads firmly down. In Amsterdam, Ehsan Jami, the founder of the Committee for Former Muslims is about to release a film about The Life of Mohammed. He says: "I show how violent and tyrannical Mohammed was. This man murdered three Jewish tribes, killed people who left the faith, and married a 6 year-old girl with whom he had sex when she was 9." Jami remains under heavy police protection and has offered EUR 50,000 to "anyone who can refute these facts." Too many people in the West are misguided and believe that telling the truth about Islam is "Islamophobic" or simply dangerous. May we all begin to have the courage of Ehsan Jami (or Khaled Hosseini) because we are going to need it. Comments (11) Dr. Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at City University of New York. She is an author and lecturer and s co-founder of the still ongoing Association for Women in Psychology (1969). Visit her website at http://pajamasmedia.com/xpress/phyllischesler/ To Go To Top

ZOA SLAMS US GOVT ON UC IRVINE CAMPUS ANTI SEMITISM Posted by Yardena, December 20, 2007.

shalom in case you want to voice your outrage to U.S. government's Office for Civil Rights here is the contact: Fax: (214) 661-9587, California Office for Civil Rights/San Francisco U.S. Department of Education 50 Beale Street, Suite 7200 San Francisco, CA 94105 ... www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/howto.html Haaretz Service and The Associated Press The article below appeared in Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/936677.html

The Zionist Organization of America condemned the U.S. government's Office for Civil Rights on Wednesday for failing to protect Jewish students it says have been subject to a series of anti-Semitic provocations on the campus of the University of California, Irvine. The ZOA alleged that Muslim students on campus have given anti-Semitic speeches, distributed Judeophobic literature, and used intimidation tactics against Jewish students. The university's failure to take disciplinary action constitutes discrimination against Jewish students, the ZOA charges. The Office of Civil Rights, which operates under the auspices of the Department of Education, said in a report released last week that some Muslim student activities were offensive to Jewish students. But the report concludes the speeches, marches and other activities were based on opposition to Israeli policies, not the national origin of Jewish students. "In its decision, OCR disregarded the fact that a Holocaust memorial was destroyed; that swastikas repeatedly defaced property on the campus; that a rock was thrown at a Jewish student; and that other Jewish students were harassed and verbally threatened with such statements as 'slaughter the Jews,' 'dirty Jew,' 'go back to Russia,' 'burn in hell,' and 'f_ _king Jew,'" the ZOA said in a press release. In October 2004, the ZOA filed a complaint against the university under a federal statute which requires any body which receives government funding, including colleges and universities, make every effort to purge all forms of discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity from its programs and activities. "OCR has sent a devastating message to Jews -- that we don't care about your legitimate fears or your psychological and physical well-being," said ZOA chief Morton Klein, who called the decision "a disgrace." Contact Yardena by email at yardena3@aol.com To Go To Top

MEMO TO HIS HOLINESS: CATHOLIC LEADER PUBLICLY REJECTS JEWISH STATE OF ISRAEL Posted by David Meir-Levi, December 20, 2007.

TO: His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (benedettoxvi@vatican.va) FROM: David Meir-Levi, Menlo Park, CA USA RE: Michael Sabbah You are a friend of the Jewish nation. You have renounced anti-Semitism. You continue in the tradition of your predecessors and support Nostra Aetate, which has righteously atoned for centuries of Christian persecution of Jews, persecution which ultimately led to the Holocaust. And, as the man who wears the shoes of the fisherman, as Jesus' Vicar on earth, you have the power to take constructive and therapeutic action against evil. With that power comes the responsibility to take action against evil. So I am bringing to your attention the matter of Michael Sabbah, the anti-Israel, Vatican Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; because he is your employee, yet he violates both sacred Scripture and Vatican policy. Michael Sabbah has a long history of vilification of the State of Israel. He has sided with radical Palestinians against Israel. He has also failed to denounce evil Palestinian terrorism, and he actively and enthusiastically spreads their false propaganda and victimology. He is an enemy of Jews, and Israel, analogous to the Croat Catholic priests who aided the Nazis in WW2, analogous to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who joined the Nazis as they slaughtered Jews and Serbs in Bosnia. As such, and in light of Nostra Aetate and the Vatican policy toward the modern state of Israel, he is your enemy as well. Sabbah's behavior is not only egregious, it is also evil. He knows the history of the Middle East conflict. He knows that Israel sits on less than 20% of the lands of British Mandatory Palestine, the rest being Jordan. He knows that this conflict is not about land, but about Israel's very existence in an area of hostile and intolerant Muslims, many of whom seek its utter and complete destruction and the genocide of its Jews. Yet he mouths the propaganda lies of genocidal Arab leaders, and thus is complicit with their genocidal intentions. Genocide is evil. Complicity with evil is evil. He also knows that Israel's being a Jewish State is as historically and morally valid as the Vatican being a Catholic entity, or Arabia being a Muslim state, or the Islamic Republic of Iran, or the Muslim state of Pakistan. Please read Sister Lautt's press release below. Recall as well Leviticus 19:16 -- do not stand idly by when thy brethren are in mortal danger. Recall Romans 11:16 ff -- for if the first fruit is holy, the root is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fairness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you." Sabbah's support for Arab genocidal terrorism against Israel thrusts every Jew in the world into mortal danger. We Jews are the root of which St. Paul spoke. You are accountable for your employee's misdeeds and evil behavior. You will be accountable as well for the damage and death that his evil words and deeds may cause. You have the power to set right the wrongs of Sabbah's Latin Patriarchate. How long will you keep silent about Sabbah's evil behavior? Silence in the face of evil is complicity. David Meir-Levi Menlo Park, CA USA Below is a release from Religion News Service

December 20, 2007 Contact: Sr. Ruth Lautt, O.P., Esq. (212) 870-2320 New York, New York Fair Witness Is Dismayed By Latin Patriarch's Statement Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East is dismayed by remarks by Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah in Jerusalem rejecting Israel's Jewish identity and stating that a Jewish state was discriminatory. "We must be careful to distinguish between the Jewish people and the Jewish religion. Presumably His Beatitude supports the creation of a state for the Palestinian people. Why would he deny this same fundamental right to the Jewish people? " asks Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College. Sr. Ruth Lautt, Fair Witness National Director, points out "Jews, like any other people, defined in terms of a shared ethnicity, language, history, culture and/or religion, have the right to constitute an autonomous, sovereign political community. We have been very concerned about recent attacks on the legitimacy of a Jewish state. It is dismaying to see Patriarch Sabbah jump on this bandwagon and take the position that a Jewish state is somehow inherently discriminatory." Fr. James Loughran, S.A., Director of the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute adds "When the modern Jewish state was created in 1948 there was a recognition that Jews were entitled to a homeland. To now attack that Jewish homeland as per se 'discriminatory' seems itself motivated by discriminatory intent. Especially in light of the fact that Israel is known to respect freedom of all religions." "That a religion is part of Israel's identity does not make it unique among the nations," says Rev. Chilton. "As examples: Denmark's constitution stipulates a national church that is supported by the state; Queen Elizabeth II is the supreme governor of the Church of England; The special status of the church in Greece is acknowledged in the constitution, which declares the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ the 'prevailing religion'; The constitution of the Palestinian Authority states that 'Islam is the official religion in Palestine.' Why is the Jewish state singled out as discriminatory if a religious identity is intertwined with its national identity?" "Sabbah's statement seems out of line with official Catholic Church policy," added Fr. Loughran. "The 1993 Fundamental Agreement by which the Vatican officially recognized the State of Israel made repeated reference to 'Jews' and 'the Jewish people,' clearly acknowledging the Jewish identity of Israel." David Meir-Levi is an American-born Israeli, currently living in Palo Alto. His expertise is in Near Eastern studies and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is Director of Peace and Education at Israel Peace Initiative (www.ipi-usa.org). Contact him at david_meirlevi@hotmail.com To Go To Top

PAT BOONE IN ISRAEL Posted by Simon McIlwaine, December 20, 2007.

This was written by Pat Boone and it appeared October 27, 2007 in World Net Daily www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58360

www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58360 Pat Boone, descendant of the legendary pioneer Daniel Boone, has been a top-selling recording artist, the star of his own hit TV series, a movie star, a Broadway headliner, and a best-selling author in a career that has spanned half a century. During the classic rock & roll era of the 1950s, he sold more records than any artist except Elvis Presley. To learn more about Pat, please visit his website.

As you read these words, I'm in Israel. My wife, sister, brother and his wife, two of our granddaughters, a host of friends and their friends * all 38 of us have literally walked into the pages of the Bible. This is perhaps my 12th trip (I've lost count), but the impact, the emotional and spiritual shivers I always experience, have never lessened. It's one thing to read the whole Bible cover to cover, as I do every year, but actually to walk around on the very sites of the events described so accurately in that book is truly soul shaking. We'll stand, physically, where David picked out the stone with which he felled the giant Goliath; we'll climb up the rocky ravine to the cave of Ein Gedi, where David hid from King Saul; we'll look out over the vast plain of Megiddo, where the cataclysmic battle of Armageddon will take place; we'll buy sodas at Jericho, still inhabited, though without the wall that used to surround it; we'll look up at Mount Nebo, from which Moses gazed at the Promised Land he'd never enter; we'll read aloud the Sermon on the Mount in the natural hillside amphitheater where Jesus first spoke those words; some of our group will be baptized in the Jordan River, close to the place where Jesus Himself was baptized by John the Baptist; we'll visit the hill called Golgotha, the "place of the skull" where He was crucified between two thieves -- and we'll also spend time looking into the hole in the wall where His body was laid and celebrate the fact that it's empty, as it has been since the stone rolled away at dawn on the third day. All these things, and hundreds more, actually happened in Israel, just as the Bible recounts. And one of the most amazing things is the seemingly impossible promise God made to Abraham, an unknown sheep-herding nomad from Ur of the Chaldeans, and repeated to Isaac and Jacob: "In your seed (through your descendents) all the nations of the earth will be blessed." How could this possibly be? But it has literally happened, and extravagantly! I've written here before about the innumerable contributions Israelis have made to the world, in virtually every category -- literature, chemistry, medicine, physics, economics, every science and technology, Internet and communication, and efforts for world peace. Twenty-one perceont of all Nobel Prize winners worldwide have been Jews! The list of achievements and astounding contributions is endless. Every day, virtually every person in the civilized world benefits from these contributions, in areas relating to food, medicine, overall health, knowledge, security, great literature (including of course the Bible) and music -- almost everything that we think of as "quality of life." It has long been established, and is obvious on its face, that in every nation motivated and influenced by Judeo/Christian principles, the population has prospered and the culture flourished. The reverse is also true: Societies and cultures that have rejected and even opposed those principles have lagged behind, even drastically suffered in all the same areas and quality of life. And the pace has greatly quickened in the last several decades. Consider: Israel is the 100th-smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population -- but its $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined. It also has the fourth-largest air force in the world (after the U.S., Russia and China), with over 250 F-16s and very powerful weapons -- to defend itself against the announced and very serious threats of some of those same neighbors. Out of its own necessity, but also to help all peaceful societies, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look to Israel for advice and technology in handling airborne security threats. Fly anywhere safely lately? Thank Israel. (My family and I do that every day, sometimes every hour, here in Israel.) Look further: Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to its population in the world; she produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin -- 109 per 1,000 people -- as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed. With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and startups, Israel has the highest concentration of high-tech companies in the world -- apart from the Silicon Valley, USA. How does this matter to you and me, and every other citizen in the world of the 21st century? The cell phone was developed in Israel by Israelis with Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel. Most of Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel. The Pentium MMX chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel, and both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel. Voice-mail technology and AOL's Instant Messenger were developed by young Israelis. Medical technologies, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and treatments that offer healing in almost every area of disease and disability are just too many to list here. But let's note that when Stephen Hawking, generally considered to be the most brilliant thinker on the planet, visited Israel recently, he shared his deep musings with scientists, students and even the prime minister. But the world's most renowned victim of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, also learned something: Due to the Israeli ALS Association's advanced work in both embryonic and adult stem cell research, as well as its proven track record with neuro-degenerative diseases, the Israeli research community is well on its way to finding a treatment for this fatal disease affecting 30,000 Americans and tens of thousands worldwide! Israel's Givun-Imaging has developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill; it's used to view the small intestine from the inside, to detect cancer and digestive disorders. And other Israeli researchers have developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood -- an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. There's also a revolutionary new acne treatment, the Clear Light device, that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct -- without damaging surrounding skin or tissue. An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale, fully functional solar electricity generating plant, in Southern California's Mojave Desert. What does that portend for an energy-guzzling, oil-stained world? Truly, the accomplishments -- too numerous and complex to list here -- are staggering; I've only scratched the surface, and I've already noted the pace is accelerating exponentially. Israel is just getting started. Proportionately, no other country in the world can match her creativity and her massive contributions to the world's standard of living -- not even the United States. And I haven't even mentioned that the three largest religious faiths in the world are expecting the appearance soon of a Messiah -- a Savior to all mankind, at least to those who will acknowledge and receive Him -- in ultimate fulfillment of the incredible promise made to Abraham, "Through your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed." In this game we play on earth, called life, though many players have contributed great things, the MVP -- the Most Valuable Player -- has been clearly revealed. It is Israel. Simon McIlwaine is with Anglican Friends of Israel (www.anglicanfriendsofisrael.com). Contact him at Simon.McIlwaine@ormerods.co.uk To Go To Top

QUIET D.C. COUP SPELLS BIG TROUBLE IN WAR ON TERROR -- FOR AMERICA AND ISRAEL Posted by Michael Freund, December 20, 2007.

In recent weeks, US foreign policy has undergone a sharp turnaround, as Washington increasingly has abandoned its principled stances of the past seven years on just about every major foreign policy issue, and has begun to mimic the previous administration. Will the real George W. please stand up? After seven years of fearlessly confronting evil, both rhetorically and militarily, the Bush administration in Washington seems to have faded away, replaced instead by a meek shadow of its former self. Firm resolve has given way to disappointing frailty, as the shape and direction of US foreign policy increasingly resembles something taken straight out of Bill Clinton's playbook. Across the board, on nearly every major issue of the day, from Iran to Syria to North Korea, the Bush administration is in retreat, abandoning the principled stands of yesteryear and replacing them with the unscrupulous and inexplicable policies now being pursued by the Department of State. The turnabout is breathtaking in its scope, rivaled only perhaps by Britney Spears' rapid descent from pop superstar to tabloid curiosity. But unlike the blonde starlet's fate, this is something that actually matters. Take, for example, the donor conference held in Paris this week, where the nations of the world unashamedly gathered to prop up the corrupt, incompetent and ineffectual Palestinian regime headed by Mahmoud Abbas. Leading the charge, the US pledged more than $550 million in aid to the Palestinians in 2008. But while American diplomats were busy filling out checks to Abbas, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza continued to target Israeli civilians. On Sunday, they fired a rocket which struck an Israeli home in Kibbutz Zikim and wounded a 2-year old child. Needless to say, neither the toddler nor his parents will be receiving any Western assistance. Watching the news on television, I thought back to a bright summer day five years ago, on June 1, 2002, when a man named George W. Bush gave a stirring speech to the graduating class at the West Point military academy. In clear and unequivocal terms, the president said, "All nations that decide for aggression and terror will pay a price... We will lift this dark threat from our country and from the world." Then I thought to myself: just what "price" have the Palestinians been made to pay for using violence and terror against the Jewish state? Instead of paying a price, they are being rewarded for their actions with American largesse and support. Isn't that exactly what Bill Clinton sought to do when he convened the Camp David talks at the end of his presidency?   THEN THERE is North Korea. On December 1, Bush took the unusual step of sending a personal letter to Pyongyang's thug-in-chief Kim Jong Il, essentially pleading with him to tell the truth and to disclose all of his country's nuclear programs by the end of the year. In exchange, the archaic Stalinist regime can expect to receive American recognition and, of course, large infusions of aid. So once again I turned to Bush's 2002 speech, and there it was in black-and-white: "We cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. We cannot put our faith in the word of tyrants, who solemnly sign non-proliferation treaties, and then systemically break them." Yet that is precisely what Bush seems ready to do. He is putting his faith in Kim Jong-Il's promises, just as Clinton did when he signed a similar deal with Pyongyang in October 1994 which later proved worthless. And what of the regimes in Iran and Syria, which have aided and abetted insurgents in Iraq in their efforts to kill American servicemen? In both instances, the Bush administration has adopted a policy of diplomacy and talk, rather than action. Indeed, Damascus was even invited to take part in the Annapolis conference, granting further legitimacy to Syrian President Bashar Assad and his repressive regime. Who said that killers of Americans have anything to fear? What a sharp contrast to that speech five summers ago, when the president enunciated a clear moral vision underlying his policy, which came to be known as the Bush Doctrine. He said at the time, "There can be no neutrality between justice and cruelty, between the innocent and the guilty. We are in a conflict between good and evil, and America will call evil by its name. By confronting evil and lawless regimes, we do not create a problem, we reveal a problem. And we will lead the world in opposing it." Sadly, Washington now seems all too ready to yield on matters of principle. Or, as former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton told the German magazine Der Spiegel this week, American foreign policy "is in free fall. The president is acting against his own judgment and instincts under the influence of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice." The result has effectively been a quiet coup, as George W. Clinton replaces Bush. And that spells trouble, big trouble, in the War on Terror -- not only for Israel, but for America too. It is not that the Bush Doctrine is dead -- it most certainly isn't. But the way things are going of late, it sure seems to be in need of resuscitation. Michael Freund served as an adviser to former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. This article appeared yesterday in Jewish World Review www.israelunitycoalition.org/news/article.php?id=2143wish To Go To Top

BEWARE THE ENLIGHTENED OCTOPUS Posted by Moshe Feiglin, December 20, 2007.

Israel's enlightened dictatorship is like an octopus, winding its tentacles around every display of Jewish values. One of this week's most obvious victims of the enlightened octopus is the Jewish family. As a dictatorship gains strength, it will necessarily fight against the traditional family structure -- and yes, against the Jews. The basic loyalty that exists in the family unit is a thorn in the side of the despot who wants to control all loyalty and to be the one and only authority. Recent history shows that both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany attempted to decimate the family unit. (The story of the legendary 13 year old Communist, Pavlik Morozov, who informed on his father to the Soviet authorities and became a national icon, is a chilling example of how a dictatorship replaces natural family loyalty with loyalty to the ruling despot). A genuine dictatorship will eventually also conclude that the Jews must be destroyed. For as long as there is one Jew left in the world, there is still someone who will bear witness to the true Controller of the world, the Holy One, Blessed Be He. The genuine dictator will do his utmost to get rid of the witnesses. Hitler, may his name be blotted out, was more successful than other dictators, but he was not the only one who tried. It was only by Heavenly mercy that Stalin died just before his plan to destroy the millions of Jews in the Soviet empire was activated. Today, it is not politically correct to destroy nations or families -- at least not overtly. But the forces that seek to position man above G-d are alive and well. They do not kill; they speak of peace, the welfare of children and human rights. They do not destroy the family unit; they expand the concept. The whole world is one big family. They are not destroying the Jewish nation; they are improving it and broadening its horizons. Now the Jewish nation is "Israeli". Even Azmi Basharah can join and even French President Sarkozy can make aliyah as a Jew. Today, the enlightened octopus is sophisticated. All it needs to do is to blur distinctions and merge everything together into one bewildered ball of confusion. Support Manhigut Yehudit Today Now is the time! Your donation can turn the State of the Jews into the Jewish State. Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) is a group of people inside the Likud party who want to see Israel adopt a more Jewish character. Moshe Feiglin, its cofounder, has emphatically said he does not want a theocracy, but he does want a State based on Jewish values. The Manhigut Yehudit website address is http://www.manhigut.org. To learn more about Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) and to read their plan for Israel's future, visit www.jewishisrael.org. Or contact Shmuel Sackett, International Director (516) 330-4922 (cell) To Go To Top

STATE DEPT: NO SYSTEM FOR JUDGING ROADMAP COMPLIANCE. ISRAEL CAN DEFEND ITSELF BUT ... Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 20, 2007.

State Department: no system for judging roadmap compliance, Israel can defend itself from rocket attacks but... "Certainly, Israel has a right to defend itself, but we also want to make sure that, as always, any actions Israel takes it's cognizant to the potential consequences of those actions." = Israel doesn't has to allow its citizens to be killed unnecessarily -- but hey, if stopping Palestinians from killing Israelis might hurt the "peace process" then that's an altogether different matter. What would the United States say if another country were to state that "Certainly, the United States has a right to defend itself, but we also want to make sure that, as always, any actions America takes it's cognizant to the potential consequences of those actions."? Below is the Daily Press Briefing by Tom Casey, Deputy State Department Spokesman, in Washington, DC, December 19, 2007. www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2007/dec/97857.htm

... QUESTION: On another subject, has the U.S. set up a specific system to monitor and judge whether the Israelis and the Palestinians are sticking to their commitments under the roadmap and various other -- MR. CASEY: Well, I think the roadmap is fairly self-explanatory. Certainly, we're going to be working with them closely. We have a number of people there working on various aspects related to that, from Tony Blair, who is of course working on Palestinian institution building, to General Jones who will be looking at some of the security structures. But I couldn't tell you, Sue, that there is someone sitting out there with a specific report card or check box that's -- QUESTION: Like a red, yellow and a green card? MR. CASEY: Yeah, I don't think -- I don't think we have that kind of system in place. QUESTION: Speaking of General Jones, what are his plans, you know, travel? MR. CASEY: That's a good question, Matt. You know, I don't think we've ever gotten an update on him. We'll try and get something for you guys a little later. QUESTION: He's still there, though, right? MR. CASEY: As far as I know, yeah. QUESTION: On the same subject, does the United States regard the Israeli military actions in Gaza as consistent with the spirit of and intent of Annapolis? MR. CASEY: Well, again, James, I think we're all aware of the problems that exist in Gaza, particularly the continued rocket attacks on Israel. Certainly, Israel has a right to defend itself, but we also want to make sure that, as always, any actions Israel takes it's cognizant to the potential consequences of those actions. ... Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

JOHN BOLTON AND HIS UPPER WEST SIDE 'PRESS CONFERENCE' Posted by KAE, December 20, 2007.

This was written by Jack Kemp and it appeared December 15, 2007 in the American Thinker (www.americanthinker.com/2007/12/john_bolton_and_his_upper_west.html). Jack Kemp is not the politican of the same name.

Last Thursday night, former UN Ambassador John Bolton went to the Barnes & Noble store at Lincoln Center, on Manhattan's Upper West Side, ostensibly to promote his new book about his experiences at the UN, Surrender is not an Option. When he reached the podium, he made some brief remarks about the book's objective of explaining how diplomatic decisions are made and, if understood by Americans, have us "going after them (the UN) with pitchforks." He then stated he would not speak directly about the content of his book, but preferred that those in attendance buy it. Mr. Bolton then threw the forum open for over an hour of questions, an impromptu true press conference for the public. A cameraman from France also filmed the event for a documentary.Bolton What was next discussed was a good deal more substantive than most of the presidential debates this season. The largely -- though not exclusively -- conservative questioners put CNN/YouTube to shame. Mr. Bolton replied to all questions offered. Not surprisingly, one of the early questions was whether the US should form a League of Democratic Nations to replace the UN. After Mr. Bolton commented that "Walking across First Avenue (to the UN), you enter the Twilight Zone," he cited Former President Aznar of Spain's idea of making NATO into a global organization, admitting Israel and other democratic countries. This was followed by a question about the Annapolis Conference, recently completed. Former Ambassador Bolton called the conference "bad timing" because both the current Israeli and Palestinian Authority governments are both weak. Vigorous diplomacy can't overcome an unfavorable general geopolitical situation, he added. Someone asked Mr. Bolton whom he preferred in the 2008 elections. He refused to get involved, other than to quip "the Republican." Then came a classic liberal questioner who criticized the Bush Administration's policy in Iraq for not making the US any friends in the Middle East and around the world. The questioner even added a comment about President Bush's "swagger," for good measure. He calmly replied to this critic that the attacks on 9/11 were planned years before the first day President Bush took office, while he was "just swaggering around Texas." Former Ambassador Bolton then criticized another Utopian myth: that if we could just solve the Arab-Israeli problem, the world would be a lot calmer. Mr. Bolton then said that even if Israel were to (my comment: God Forbid) disappear, the various Sunni and Shiite groups would be attacking one another. At this point, Mr. Bolton did respond to the crowd with a bit of a lecture/mini-policy statement. He stated that the main issue for US foreign policy is how to protect ourselves and our allies -- and that we haven't pursued a sufficiently strong response. He also said that Iran should be "down on their knees thanking us" for removing the dual threats to their country of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, but have persisted in opposing the US. Someone else asked Mr. Bolton a question about the US's approval in the world under President Bush's policies. He shot back with a history lesson. Mr. Bolton informed the questioner that after World War II, polls in Gaullist France showed a majority of the French with very anti-American feelings -- and this shortly after the US liberated their country and during the years of the Marshal Plan. Jumping ahead to a remark made by an audience member at the very end of the presentation, a Holocaust survivor, he warned those in the audience about being overly concerned about what others think of you and how that attitude blinds you from understanding those who would do you harm. Not surprisingly, an audience member asked what Ambassador Bolton thought of the NIE report on Iran's nuclear capabilities and intentions. Mr. Bolton first replied that the questioner should read Henry Kissinger's op-ed in the Washington Post, which he considered even better than his own previous op-ed in the same paper. Besides his general objections, Mr. Bolton stated specifically that Iran has 3000 centrifuges and wants to acquire 50,000 centrifuges. He also stated that the next US President should not release such internal government papers, that the intelligence community was engaging directly in political policy advocacy, if not policy-making. An audience member asked what should be the proper size and composition of the UN Security Council. Ambassador Bolton started with another history lesson, stating that the world is very different from what it was in 1945, that, even then, Franklin Roosevelt didn't think France should have been among the original permanent members, but Britain and the Soviet Union insisted on it. Mr. Bolton mentioned that Brazil should be on the Security Council, but the Spanish-speaking countries of South America would and can block such a move. Mr. Bolton also said that Japan should be on the Security Council, but China would veto such a move. Asked to comment on the new Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Mr. Bolton said he was a long time US choice for the position. Even though he doesn't agree with the US on every matter, Mr. Bolton said he respected his judgment and fairness. He stated that the reason that many of the European nations supported the measures proposed in Bali was that they could meet the carbon limits because of their widespread use of nuclear reactors, that the protocol carbon limits would not hurt their growth as they would the United States. The next topic brought up by an audience member was negotiating with North Korea. Mr. Bolton made the analogy that our dealings with North Korea have been like the naive Charlie Brown dealing with Lucy and the football, where she promises not to move it away before he goes to kick it, yet she breaks her promise every time. Mr. Bolton further stated that the US has insulted Japan by not considering the kidnapping of some of their citizens by North Korea to be a significant human rights violation worthy of a US official protest. The subject of Darfur was then brought up by a questioner. Mr. Bolton replied that Darfur is a demonstration of the UN's ineffectiveness, as was the "Teddy Bear" Incident. He also stated that the Sudan's ability to successfully "stand down" the UN, to frustrate any attempt at changing what goes on there, is further testimony to the ineffectiveness of the UN. In fact, Mr. Bolton told about New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's attempt to get a copy of the UN's floor plans to aid the fire department, as every other office building has handed over such plans. It took months of diplomacy to get them. Ambassador Bolton had to raise the issue in a Security Council meeting. When the other parties learned this, they understood they also would be burned if a fire were allowed to spread for lack of information for New York's firefighters. That brought pressure to finally release the floor plans. As is, the roadway entrance to the UN is not strong enough to accommodate current heavy New York fire trucks. Mr. Bolton then stated that the problem is so bad that Mayor Bloomberg is considering suspending tours for New York school children. An earlier reference Mr. Bolton made to the "UN as Twilight Zone" is quite fitting. Mr. Bolton said the 2008 Presidential Election is very important and he doesn't agree with those who would ask the US has to pass John Kerry's "Global Test" for its' policies, especially after what he has seen at the UN -- and that the US should have no qualms about being an advocate for its' own policies over any "global consensus." It was quite an evening with a man not ashamed to be an American advocate Contact KAE at kew1@dbmail.com To Go To Top

DEATH PENALTY; JIHAD IN HISTORY; IS HAMAS-FATAH RIVALRY SERIOUS?; US FAILURE IN LEBANON Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 20, 2007.

DEATH PENALTY People are confused about the sanctity of life. Accustomed to objecting to needless wars and executions as a form of political oppression, they have become pacifist and against capital punishment under all conditions. To them it is a moral position. To me, when it is carried to excess, it is an immoral position. The flaw in capital punishment is irreversibility and fallibility. In the US, whose system of justice is superior to that of many other cultures, too many errors occur. Lives are, or could be, taken wrongfully. That does not mean that nobody ever should be executed. The problem with repeal of capital punishment is early release of some convicts who pretend to reform, in order to secure release and prey upon more victims. Indeed, the US, under pressure from people who are too softhearted towards evildoers for our own good, has been releasing dangerous terrorists from Guantanamo prison. Israel releases Arab terrorists, some hundreds of whom have resumed terrorism and claimed new victims. The new casualties are as much victims of the government that released the terrorists as they are of the freed convicts. How much thought did the people who released the convicts give to the sanctity of future victims' lives? I think that terrorists captured in battle should be executed. Terrorists who turn themselves in should be imprisoned unless needed to be executed to get their accomplices on the outside to desist. War against terrorism, as war against piracy, is positive, especially in our times, when casualties are so much lower. One hears great laments about casualties in the Iraq war and about Muslims struck by Israel. People add up the Iraq casualties and blame the US for them all. They particularly complain about the number of US casualties. The US is not to blame for casualties by terrorists; the terrorists are to blame. The US should not be blamed for casualties among terrorists, but should be credited for them as a public service. The US casualties are relatively small compared to past wars. I regret the need for any, but am grateful for their sacrifice, for it saves masses of us from Islamism. I think most of the laments are hypocritical. For example, the loudest complaints in the Islamic jihad against Israel are for Muslims, who as terrorists and terrorist supporters, deserve no sympathy. One hears almost no sympathy expressed for Israeli casualties, all being victims of Islamic aggression and many being victims of war crimes. In December, an Israeli air strike that killed a terrorist commander in Gaza brought out several hundred of his followers in angry protest. Why didn't the Israeli Air Force swoop down and kill a couple of hundred in one attack, instead of the three it usually accomplishes? Does it not care to win? Evidence supports that view. Is it afraid it might kill some bystanders? Then it doesn't understand the rules of war. In that excessive concern for the evil Palestinian Arab people, who overwhelmingly support terrorism and willingly assist it, Israel lets the war be prolonged and therefore more deadly. If Israel loses, its millions of Jews would be murdered. How humanitarian is that? JIHAD IN HISTORY "The Arab and Islamic conquests were not unlike tribal raids against distant, unprotected peoples, but on a much larger scale. One of the main characteristics of the Arab empire was the enslavement of conquered peoples.[9] During conquest, men were commonly slaughtered while women and children were taken in slavery. Muslim invaders spared men who willingly converted but still enslaved their wives and children. In conquered regions, Muslim troops often took children from parents while along the periphery, it was normal to raid for slaves." "Bostom and other scholars provide historical accounts of such jihad.[10] One Greek Christian account describes the Arab invasion of Egypt as "merciless and brutal." Not only did the Muslim invaders slay the commander of the Byzantine troops and his companions, but they also put to the sword all who surrendered including old men, babes, or women.[11] Similar slaughters occurred across Palestine and Cyprus. Muslim troops were particularly brutal toward non-Muslim religious institutions. During the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, many Christian monks were put to death. One Muslim historian estimated that Arab armies destroyed 30,000 churches throughout Egypt, Syria, and other central lands.[12] An Armenian historian reported that, following a rebellion in 703, General Muhammad bin Marwan invaded the province, massacring and enslaving the populace. He wrote a letter to the nobility, giving guarantees of safety in return for surrender. They surrendered, at which point the Arab invaders shut them in churches and burned them alive.[13]" "While writers today depict the Muslim civilization in medieval Spain as tolerant, a Grenadan Muslim general from the late thirteenth century wrote that "it is permissible to set fire to the lands of the enemy, his stores of grain, his beasts of burden, if it is not possible for the Muslims to take possession of them." He further advised razing cities and doing everything to ruin non-Muslims.[14] Muslim generals instituted similar practices in Afghanistan and India." "In eleventh-century Al-Andalus, for example, Abu Ishaq, a well-known Arab poet and jurist of the day, expressed outrage at the presence of a Jewish minister in the court of the ruler of Granada. He argued that the Muslim leaders should "[p]ut [the Jews] back where they belong and reduce them to the lowest of the low ... Do not consider it a breach of faith to kill them." Soon after his call, local residents slaughtered approximately 5,000 Grenadan Jews.[16] Such sentiments were not exceptions limited in time and scope. Egyptian president Anwar Sadat spoke in closely parallel terms to Abu Ishaq's when, on April 25, 1972, he declared, '[The Jews] shall return and be as the Qur'an said of them: 'condemned to humiliation and misery.' ... We shall send them back to their former status.'"[17] What motivates Arab Muslims? Tribal culture and Islam pits them against non-Arabs and infidels. Their sense of honor cannot accept defeat. They don't give up and make peace; they have contempt for the Palestinian Arabs, who keep losing. They don't think like Westerners, who prefer to live better by trading with aliens (MEFNews, 12/10). BRITISH INTELLIGENCE DISPUTES U.S. INTELLIGENCE Britain is annoyed that the US assesses Iran as not having a nuclear weapons program. This makes sanctions more difficult to impose and an eventual military sanction more likely to be needed. It thinks that Israel would undertake the bombing. British intelligence agrees with Israeli intelligence that Iran probably has resumed its weapons program and in any case is dangerously near completion of a weapon if it hadn't yet resumed the program. The British suppose that the Iranians, realizing that their telephones were tapped, made statements to mislead the interceptors, with results seen. They think it is easy to mislead American intelligence officials. (So do I.) They worry that the report tipped off Iran about some of the US methods (IMRA, 12/9). TERRORISTS DENY USING HUMAN SHIELDS Terrorists in Gaza deny using human shields. They counter-complain that Israel fires upon houses near the Gaza-Israel border, harming civilians (IMRA, 12/9). Israeli forces fire at rocket launch crews. Sometimes their artillery strikes nearby houses. If the terrorists aren't using residents of those houses as human shields, why do they launch rockets from between such houses instead of in unoccupied areas? COMPETITION FOR JEWS Pres. Putin wants to bring back educated emigrants. Their flight impugns his country's prestige. He would like to be able to claim that Russia attracts Jews. He has appointed a former KGB spy to head the program in Israel (IMRA, 12/10). I wish he would attract back the hundreds of thousands of gentiles, many of whom are antisemitic, but leave my fellow Jews alone. HOW SERIOUS IS HAMAS-FATAH RIVALRY? Egypt and S. Arabia keep striving for reconciliation negotiations between Hamas and Fatah. The goal is a unity government (Arutz-7, 12/10). Hamas offered to form a unity government with Fatah, leaving security forces under Abbas' governance (IMRA, 12/11). Apparently Egypt and S. Arabia are not anti-terrorist, and Fatah is not sufficiently different from Hamas for the US to keep pouring armaments into its hands. Abbas can't govern Fatah; how would he handle those Hamas men in the forces? This is a Hamas ploy to get into position to take over Judea-Samaria. ASSURANCES OVER RUSSIAN SUPPLY TO IRAN Russia and Iran both reassured the world that Russia's shipment of enriched uranium to it would not be used to develop weapons. Russia's assurance was that the material would be under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the organization that was unable to detect clandestine nuclear development, including Iran's. The assurance by Iran, a country that for decades lied successfully about its nuclear program, was its promise not to use the enriched uranium for military purposes. Feel reassured? How can the newspapers report, with a straight face, those promises from rogue states? ISRAELI BUILDING IN CONTESTED AREAS The rest of the world is ganging up on Israel, again, now that Israel indicated it was going to build more houses in an area the P.A. claims as part of its immediate demands upon Israel. The world's excuse is that this would put off the Arabs and stall negotiations. Indeed, it might. But the Arab complaint would be unjustified and indicates a shallow interest in coming to mutual terms. Nobody seems to care how unjustified the Arabs are. Justice isn't their concern. Quiet is. So is, I believe, the destruction of Jewish sovereignty. That's what the world protest really is about. To the Muslim Arabs, there always is something to protest about. Nothing is good enough for them except total surrender to them. Making continuous demands is part of their negotiating strategy, and their negotiating strategy is part of jihad. Thus, they negotiate to gain a favorable position when they resume the war, whereas their victims think they can negotiate to make peace. Their victims may be more decent but they aren't as clever. The cleverer party is the one that takes the trouble to study the enemy and exploit his weakness. IT'S NOT JUST ANOTHER COLD WAR Pres. Putin has appointed KGB colleagues to many business and governmental posts all over Russia. He is running more than just a Bolshevik state but a gangster state. SYRIA TAKING OVER LEBANON, AGAIN Syria has gotten its stooges and allies in Lebanon into position to dominate. For this we can thank the Olmert regime's lethargic prosecution of the war and the West's acceptance of a UNO cease fire and foreign peace keepers, instead of letting Israel destroy Hizbullah. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

CLASS CONTENT Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, December 20, 2007.

There are a few groups around that exist to monitor the content of the Arab education systems both in the PLO controlled areas and in Arab countries. They all report that hatred of Jews is routinely and consistently taught. I wonder what a similar survey of Israel's Government schools would show? For years the pejorative "draft dodger" in Israel has always meant "Haredi Yeshivah Student." Whenever things got a bit dull or slow politically in Israel, the politicos on the Left and occasionally on the Right would pound the tables denouncing "draft dodgers." This was done to remind the constituents that the politicians were all still alive and greatly needed to protected them from this terrible phenomena. The fact that these "draft dodgers" were doing no more than utilizing their legal rights was always lost in the fascistic militarism of the screed. Furthermore, the amount of actual draft dodging (the illegal avoidance of mandatory military service) in Israel is minuscule. After filtering though all the hate rhetoric, we find out that at most 3% are real, honest-to-goodness draft dodgers. For that you need a special education program? So you can be sure that the primary content of this "education" campaign will be to indoctrinate Israeli youth with hatred of the Haredim. You want to bet that no human rights group in or out of Israel will pickup and denounce this? This from today's Arutz Sheva http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/138449. It is called "Mandatory High School Classes to Combat Draft-Dodging".

(IsraelNN.com) The curriculum in 500 high schools has been changed to include a mandatory program aimed at ending draft-dodging. The program, created by a team from the IDF and Education and Defense Ministries, is set up to encourage enlistment especially in combat units through development of a stronger Zionist identity and sense of community among Israeli teens. Next year the program is expected to expand into additional high schools. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

ISRAELI BANKS -- NOT SUPERMEN Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, December 20, 2007.

For those of you who have told me that the banks are too powerful to pressure, read: www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000288223&fid=1725 [Editor's note, see below.]

Merrill Lynch: 2008 will be tough year for Israeli banks Only Discount Bank wins a "Buy" rating, while Hapoalim is licking is MBS wounds and Leumi is waiting for its white knight. Erez Wollberg and Globes' correspondent 19 Dec 07 12:26 Merrill Lynch says that 2008 will be a "tough year for Israeli banks" in a new report on banks in emerging European markets. The investment bank says that while it is optimistic in general about several key markets, "we nevertheless think it is appropriate to sound an overall note of caution as we step into 2008. In particular, debt markets are indicating rising risk premiums." Merrill Lynch argues that while Israel is "Struggling to find its own identity, somewhere between developed and emerging country, Israeli banks will fight increasing competition by non-banks and lowly regulated insurance companies and an inflexible cost-heavy labor system. They also face an uphill battle with the regulator." Merrill Lynch does not expect the banks' return on equity to improve in 2008, compared with 2007. Merrill Lynch gives a "Neutral" rating for the banking sector, and gives a "Buy" recommendation for only one bank -- Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT). Bank Hapoalim (LSE: BKHD; TASE: POLI), Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF) and Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) all win "Neutral" recommendation Merrill Lynch is upbeat about the Israeli economy in general, with GDP in excess of 4% for the sixth consecutive year, an increase in credit demand with an improvement in asset quality as corporate profits remain at near record-high levels, and strong consumer demand. The Israeli capital market will also be strong. However, "2008 will be the banking sector's first year without any management fees whatsoever. Distribution fees will barely cover half [of the shortfall], and pension fees and insurance product revenues are not likely to start contributing notably before 2009. Traditional consumer fees will also come under pressure thanks to the new Bank of Israel fee regulation, which will reduce revenues by an estimated NIS 700 million per annum." Merrill Lynch warns that the salaries, the "long lamented problem of the Israeli banking sector is not likely to see a revolution shape-up in 2008. Rather, we expect most of the banks will make small inroads into the overall wage agreements, thinning out the old automatic pilots and seniority upgrades, thereby building a viable and sustainable basis for more significant changes in future years. A best case scenario, in our view, would be cost containment in 2008, following the 2% decline in 2007. Yet, keep in mind that the entry into new business segments (pension and insurance advisory) usually demands more recruitment and new employees, while letting go of the old(er) generation has proven to be not such a simple thing in Israel." Merrill Lynch gives "Neutral" recommendations for Bank Hapoalim is "still licking its wounds from its $4.5 billion mortgage-backed exposure, is likely to significantly accelerate its overseas expansion strategy, and we expect the bank is likely to invest some $1 billion in acquisitions abroad." Bank Leumi "will remain on the privatization 'slate', patiently waiting for a white knight." Mizrahi Bank "will continue to improve its customer mix, but will find it difficult to fully implement its retail oriented strategy with consumer competition intensifying." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

PTOOIE ON CARTER'S JEWISH BOOT-LICKERS Posted by Paul Lademain, December 20, 2007.

We are the NON-evangelical Christians for Zion. We stand by the Patriots of Israel. We oppose Americans who take loans, gifts, spiffs, and speaker's fees, from the UAE and the Saudis. Their numbers include US State Dept officials, Colin Powell, most X-POTUS from Carter on down. Carter has earned the most shame, having become a shameless propagandist for oil-soiled interests. Question for YOU: do you "stand in solidarity" with this wanna-be fascista and the Saudis who float him? X-POTUS Carter (thru his NGOs and presidential library) was the first to take HUGE mega-million $ handouts from the Saudis. Carter and Yasser Arafat and Arafat's paid propagandist, Hanan Ashwari (who called herself "doctor" and invited the US media (CNN, for but one) to portray her as a physician when in fact the woman had only a Ph.D. in literature from the U. of VA) created the notion that nomadic arab Islamics can be transformed into something they never were, are, or should be: "Palestinians" -- which magic act is particularly disgusting when one realizes that Carter had to know, being as he is a Baptist, that the first Palestinians were and still are the Jews and the Hebrew Peoples. That greedy Polish sausage, Peres, who publicly fondled and embraced Yasser whilst Yasser was butchering Jewish babies is even more to be detested ... and you can bet that the Saudis despise him for being a traitor to his own tribe even as they stuff his purse with riyals and flatter the greasy old sausage to his face. After the first couple of million bucks to his presidential library, Carter supported these nouveau-palis as if they were "his people" ... entirely ignoring the fact that his sponsors, the Saudis, had their eyes on stealing the entire region that was, until Carter came along, known as "Jewish Palestine." Surely Carter must know some geography, so one must assume he understands that if the Saudis can wipe out Israel and create their nominee to steal their lands, then the cunning, nouveau-enriched Saudis will have cleared themselves a path for an easy conquest of Europe... first Spain, then Portugal will fall, France will blabber and collapse, Belgium and the Swiss will be banker to the oil-stained fascistas, Italy will fight, etc. etc. Carter's recent book, a reprehensible screed supporting the imperialist ambitions of "his Islamic people" slimed Israel and endangered all Israelis, including Israeli Muslims who are loyal to Israel. And how can anyone forget Hillary Clinton slobbering all over Suha Arafat -- kissing her ugly face whilst Suha's husband-in-name-only murdered Israeli women and children -- Jew and Muslim alike. And so the Clintons gave this thieving butcher millions more, which the thief packed away with the billions he'd already squirreled away in his secret bank accounts. But the worst of this lot are the Jews who betrayed their nation by aiding and abetting this butcher and who helped him advance the schemes of the arab invaders. Is your outfit numbered amongst them? Were you, too, swilling Yasser's bloody funds? Now look at what "Carter's people" are doing to rewrite history about Hitler; article to be found on today's www.arutzsheva.com (www.IsraelNationalNews.com). It is entitled "Hitler a Hero on Palestinian Authority Radio" and was written by Ezra HaLevi, a staff writer for Arutz-Sheva.

Hitler and Husseini A Palestinian Authority radio contest featured a laudatory biography of Adolf Hitler replete with his military victories, heroism and no mention of the Holocaust. "His golden year was 1940, when his armies invaded Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Holland, and Belgium and defeated France...By mid 1942, his country controlled the largest land area in Europe...He refused to surrender and continued to fight for two more years, but, his bitter end came in the spring of 1945 when he took his own life...Who is he?" was the question broadcast as a Voice of Palestine radio contest on November 27. The question was part of the official Palestinian Authority-run radio's Ramadan quiz -- rebroadcast this past week, and documented by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). The broadcast presents Hitler heroically, detailing his two Medals of Honor in World War I, his rise to power, his launching of World War II and specifies country after country that he conquered. "Not surprisingly, though citing his victories and 'bitter' fall in great detail, the Holocaust is not mentioned," the latest PMW report states. "This is consistent with Palestinian education in general which erases the Holocaust from history." A recent PMW report on the new 12th grade PA history schoolbook showed that many pages were dedicated to the history of World War II and even to Nazi racism, but neither Jews nor the Holocaust were mentioned. According to the PMW report, "[I]t is important to understand that the revulsion of Hitler expected in the West is not true in Palestinian society. Palestinians can be found who are named "Hitler" as a first name: Hitler Salah [Al Hayat Al Jadida (Fatah), Sept. 28, 2005], Hitler Abu-Alrab [Al Hayat Al Jadida (Fatah), Jan. 27, 2005], Hitler Mahmud Abu-Libda [Al Hayat Al Jadida (Fatah), Dec.18, 2000.] Articles have appeared in both Fatah and Hamas newspapers which demonstrate Hitler's admired status." The Voice of Palestine contest offered a prize of 600 shekels to the person who guessed Hitler's name. Contact Paul Lademain at lademain@verizon.net To Go To Top

WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE... Posted by Batya Medad, December 20, 2007.

I always get a kick out of these great moralists who would never take their own medicine. The latest is that Catholic, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the Holy Land's top Roman Catholic clergyman, who said: "If there's a state of one religion, other religions are naturally discriminated against." Is he dismantling the Vatican? One thing for sure is that he blames Israel and the Jews for everything and re-writes history by claiming that Christianity and Islam have equal footing with Judaism in the Holy Land. "Minor" historical facts, such as chronology and that his Jesus was actually Jewish, are conveniently ignored. Another of my favorites is US President George Bush, who keeps lecturing and threatening Israel about how to react to terrorism. Israeli civilians are under a constant barrage of Arab missiles and threats of destruction, but we're instructed to "turn the other cheek" and suffer, while Bush and his Condeleezza Rice keep shtupping the terrorists with more money. The very existence of the United States has never been threatened, and as horrific as "9-11" was, proportionally it wasn't as dangerous to that country's stability and public safety as the Arab terrorism we've been suffering from. If there was moral honesty in this world, 9-11 would have made America more sympathetic to the plight of Israelis. Instead the opposite happened. We've been chastised for defending ourselves while the Americans killed thousands and thousands of innocent civilians who lived thousands of miles away from the United States. America and its allies took over Iraq by force, killing over two thousand civilians in order to give Saddam Hussein a fair trial. I'm sure you can add further examples of moral hypocrisy. Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il This article is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2007/12/whats-good-for-goose.html To Go To Top

BANKROLLING THE ENEMY Posted by Daniel Pipes, December 19, 2007.

This appeared yesterday in the National Post.

'the supply of terrorist activity by any country is positively correlated with the amount of foreign aid received by that country" -- i.e., the more foreign aid, the more terrorism.' Lavishing funds on Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to achieve peace has been a mainstay of Western, including Israeli, policy since Hamas seized Gaza in June. But this open spigot has counterproductive results and urgently must be stopped. Some background: Paul Morro of the Congressional Research Service reports that, in 2006, the European Union and its member states gave US$815 million to the Palestinian Authority, while the United States sent it $468 million. When other donors are included, the total receipts come to about $1.5 billion.... President George W. Bush requested a $410-million supplement in October, beyond a $77-million donation earlier in the year. And the European Union reportedly has funneled nearly $2.5-billion to the Palestinians this year. Yesterday, Abbas collected pledges of US$7.4-billion in aid for 2008-10 at the "Donors' Conference for the Palestinian Authority" attended by over 90 states in Paris. Using the best population estimate of 1.35 million Palestinians on the West Bank, this comes to a staggering amount of money: per capita, over US$1,827 per year, more than what an Egyptian earns annually. Well, it's a bargain if it works, right? A few billion to end a dangerous, century-old conflict -- it's actually a steal. But innovative research by Steven Stotsky, a research analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) finds that an influx of money to the Palestinians has had the opposite effect historically. Relying on World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other official statistics, Stotsky compares two figures since 1999: budgetary support aid provided annually to the Palestinian Authority and the number of Palestinian homicides annually (including both criminal and terrorist activities, and both Israeli and Palestinian victims). Graphed together, the two figures show an uncanny fit, with the homicides rising and falling in almost perfect correlation to aid received in the previous year. In brief, each $1.25 million or so of budgetary support aid translates into a death within the year. As Stotsky notes, "These statistics do not mean that foreign aid causes violence; but they do raise questions about the effectiveness of using foreign donations to promote moderation and combat terrorism." The Palestinian record fits a broader pattern, as noted by Jean-Paul Azam and Alexandra Delacroix in a 2006 article, Aid and the Delegated Fight Against Terrorism. They found "a robust empirical result showing that the supply of terrorist activity by any country is positively correlated with the amount of foreign aid received by that country" -- i.e., the more foreign aid, the more terrorism. If these studies run exactly counter to the conventional supposition that poverty, unemployment, repression, "occupation," and malaise drive Palestinians to lethal violence, they do confirm my long-standing argument about Palestinian exhilaration being the problem. The better funded Palestinians are, the stronger they become, and the more inspired to take up arms. A topsy-turvy understanding of war economics has prevailed in Israel since the Oslo negotiations began in 1993. Rather than deprive their Palestinian enemies of resources, Israelis have been following Shimon Peres's mystical musings, and especially his 1993 tome, The New Middle East, to empower them economically. As I wrote in 2001, this "is tantamount to sending the enemy resources while fighting is still under way -- not a hugely bright idea." Rather than further funding Palestinian bellicosity, Western states, starting with Israel, should cut off all funds to the Palestinian Authority. Dr. Daniel Pipes is director of Middle East Forum -- meqmef@aol.com. His articles are archived on his website: http://www.danielpipes.org/ To Go To Top

THE FLY WHO VISITED THE PRIME MINISTER'S RESIDENCE Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 19, 2007.

The following is a horror story, told with pointed humor, but it's absolutely true. We have been writing the facts of this story for some 30 years but, Nadia Matar of Women in Green says it better. Contact Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green) at wfit2@womeningreen.org and visit their website: http://www.womeningreen.org

I dreamed a dream. I dreamed about a fly who understood human speech. In my dream I see the fly coming through a window into the Prime Minister's residence, where it encounters Ehud Olmert and his guest, President Shimon Peres. This is the conversation between those two Israeli leaders: Shimon Peres: Listen, Ehud, Abu Mazen will be arriving here shortly with Condoleezza Rice, and they expect you to explain to them how to solve the problem of the settlers. They want to hear a detailed program of how we will throw the 250,000 settlers from their homes, in order to transfer them from the territories to little Israel. Have you prepared such a program? Ehud Olmert: Shimon, listen, we have a problem. Only Ariel Sharon was capable of carrying out a program of loading settlers on trucks and expelling them, as he did in Yamit and later in Gush Katif and northern Samaria. I don't have Sharon's strength, charisma, and backing to carry out such a plan. So what do you suggest? What should I do? Shimon Peres: My dear friend, I have an idea. The fly sees how Shimon Peres draws close to Olmert and whispers into his ear at length, at length. Olmert listens, internalizes, and smiles, satisfied. Shimon Peres leaves the room, Abu Mazen and Condoleezza Rice enter. Abu Mazen approaches Olmert and says: Ehud, let's get right down to business. The only obstacle in the way of establishing a Palestinian state is the settlement enterprise. As long as there are settlers in the territories, we will not be able to establish our state. You promised us a plan for their removal. What is it? Ehud Olmert: My dear Abu, due to various circumstances, we cannot repeat the scenario of Sharon's disengagement. This simply won't work. And so, the plan is that we will create a situation in which the settlers will leave of their own free will. Abu Mazen: Dir balak [a common curse in Arabic], what a lot of nonsense. You know very well that most of the settlers are idealists, they love what they call their land, and it doesn't matter how much money you offer, they will never leave. Ehud Olmert:: But if we cause them to leave.... Let me explain the details of the plan. The architects of the plan are Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin, who have already been hard at work on it for a long time: we intend to transfer to you as the head of the Palestinian Authority, dozens of armored cars, thousands of rifles, and two million bullets. We will explain to Israel's citizens that you need this weaponry in order to contend with the enemies of the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli citizens will assume that we mean the members of Hamas. But you and I know that it is the settlers who are both your and our enemies. They are in your way because they are an obstacle to the Palestinian state. They bother us, because they and their camp represent the Jews who cleave to the values of Zionism and their Jewish heritage. Once and for all, we must finish what we began with the Altalena, and ensure that this camp will never again take power. The elimination of the settlement enterprise will be such a great blow for them that they will never be able to recover from it. With our weapons you will be able to launch numerous terror attacks against the settlers and against the IDF soldiers who serve in the territories. Day after day we will hear the news about terror victims and funerals -- and so we will create a situation in which the settlers' lives will turn into a hell on earth. At the same time, the Four Mothers' movement will come to life and demand that the IDF be removed from the territories. The Israeli media, that is mobilized on behalf of the establishment of a Palestinian state, will do its part, as usual, and so, I hope, after a few months, most of the settlers will leave the hell we will make for them, of their own free will. We will know how to deal with the hard core that will remain under any conditions, with determination, and without sensitivity. Abu Mazen: Wow, Ehud, you little genius! Now I understand why you agreed to release hundreds of our soldiers whom you had imprisoned. In this way, they will have another chance to carry out their mission: to kill Jews! However, the settlers have guns. Don't you think that they will oppose us and fight back? Ehud Olmert:: Don't worry. We thought about this, too. In about two months, in the beginning of February, a direct order will be issued to all the settlers who have been given blue documents (those who have been given permission to bear weapons in their settlement for guarding) that they have to return their permits. This will greatly reduce the number of settlers permitted to bear arms, and so you will be able to act almost unhindered. So that the settlers won't understand that this is a death trap, we have decided to give those with yellow documents permission to bear their weapons. Those settlers will be permitted to take their weapon and go anywhere with it. But the number of yellow document holders is minuscule, and so you don't have anything to worry about. I am certain that you will be able to take care of them. But my dear Abu Mazen, before you become too enthusiastic -- there is a condition and limitation to this entire plan. Abu Mazen: And what is that? Ehud Olmert::That this time, you will use the weapons we give you only against settlers and soldiers in the territories. And, of course, against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, because we realize that you also want Jerusalem, as well. But don't repeat the mistake you made in the past, when you began to murder us Israelis in Tel Aviv. You remember what happened in the nineties. Peres and Rabin signed the Oslo Accords. They brought Arafat and his gang, and gave them weapons for the clear purpose that this weaponry would be directed exclusively against the settlers, so that they would leave the territories. But Arafat's people were too happy and excited, and they began to use the weapons against the inhabitants of Gush Dan as well. This greatly annoyed Peres and Rabin. What, just like that, to murder the inhabitants of Gush Dan? That's going too far! And so we were forced to set aside the Oslo Accords. Now we are giving you another chance. This time, you will honor the understanding between us: you are receiving weapons on condition that they will be directed only against settlers and soldiers in the territories and in Jerusalem. If, Heaven forbid, you dare to touch a single hair of a single Tel Avivian -- we will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Right, Ms. Condoleezza Rice? You, too, agree to this plan? Condoleezza Rice: Yes, sir! Very good! I like it! Ehud Olmert: Obviously, the details of this plan cannot leave this room. Because unfortunately, according to all the polls, a majority of the Israeli public vehemently opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state. So I must take a different tack in order to lull the public. For example, I will soon have to allow the IDF to enter Gaza, in order to pretend that I am fighting terror. Don't worry. We won't kill more than a few low-level Kassam launch teams and then we will leave. This will divert the public's attention from our plan in the territories. And so I beg you: don't leak what was spoken here. If the contents of our meeting are leaked to the public, the settler community and their many supporters in Israel are still liable to rise up, storm the barricades, and bring down the government -- which will stop the establishment of the Palestinian state. Condoleezza: Don't worry! There's no one in the room with us, except a little fly.... Condoleezza Rice and Abu Mazen shake Olmert's hand and leave the room. The fly follows them. In the corridor Condoleezza tells Abu Mazen: Great! Olmert is acting just as we expected. We will use him to establish your Palestinian state with Jerusalem as your capital. When this is accomplished, we will move on to Phase Two of our plan: the elimination of the State of Israel. I recommend beginning Phase Two with Kassam launches at the Ben-Gurion airport. You will be able to launch the Kassams from the ruins of the settlements, just as you are doing now in Gaza. This stage will come in the future. Clearly, we must be patient. Today, we must focus on the war against the Zionist entity, within the '48 borders, as well. Don't forget to monetarily reward the 25 Arab families from Um-El-Faham that want to build houses within the Jewish settlement of Mei-Ami. They, too, are taking action for the elimination of the State of Israel as a Jewish state, and we must reward them, just the same as we reward the Kassam launch teams. Abu Mazen hugs Condoleezza, smiles, and goes out to his automobile. The fly follows him to the car. From his car, Abu Mazen: calls someone, and says: Osama ... everything is going according to plan. Condoleezza is putting pressure on Olmert, and the plan for the elimination of Israel is being implemented. She thinks that she will thereby save the United States from the Islamic jihad. As if the elimination of Israel will satisfy us! She isn't any smarter than Olmert. Go for it -- you can begin to plan our intifada in Europe and the United States. They will yet long for 9/11! Allah Akhbar! Abu Mazen closes his cell phone, brushes away the fly, and crushes it against the window. He starts his car and drives away. I woke up, and I turned on the radio. The Israel Radio News announced that the Olmert government plans to give the Palestinian Authority 50 armored cars, thousands of rifles, and two million bullets.... Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

AMERICA MISSES THE BIGGER PICTURE; SCAMMING ISRAEL ON SMUGGLING; US WORKING AGAINST ISRAEL Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 19, 2007.

JIHAD WINNING IN PHILIPPINES Muslim separatists have been fighting against Philippine sovereignty in Mindanao for many years. They demand autonomy; the government finally acquiesced. Now they are contending over the completeness of the arrangement and compliance with it. I perceive this as a victory for Islamism. It's their usual way: convert and immigrate, to get a foothold, then fight to take over. AMERICA MISSES THE BIGGER PICTURE Some hawks understand the bigger picture about global jihad. Most Americans don't understand how Islam promotes religious imperialism. When the US smashed Saddam, Muslim rulers drew back from active and open support for jihad and somewhat into ostensible cooperation with the US war on Islamo-fascism, lest the same fate befall themselves. Then Democrats led national public opinion against similar moves elsewhere. They pressured the Bush Administration to resort to time-wasting negotiation, while the Islamists' friends on the Security Council blocked various sanctions. (Nothing disgusting that the UNO does disgusts liberals except, for some, its antisemitism.) As a result, the Islamists became bolder in Iran, Syria, and elsewhere. As for the Sunni alliance against Iran that the State Dept. hoped for but should not have expected, it has failed to materialize. The Gulf states are involved with some appeasement of Iran. Jihad has gained force and morale by the US appeasement of Arab states, taking the form of helping the P.A. Arabs against Israel. STANDARDS & COMPARISONS ON NUCLEAR CAPABILITY The US wants not to keep Islamist Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The US does not demand that Israel give up any it may have. Certain Muslims call that a double standard. It is not a double standard. Rather, those Muslims are making a simplistic comparison that omits the significant factors. Israel does not commit aggression, whereas jihadists do and Iran threatens it with nuclear weapons. Hence Iran's nuclear capability would be a menace and Israel's is not. FANTASY ABOUT P.A. FIGHTING TERRORISM SOME DAY Unlike his protégé, Abbas, Arafat was in more than nominal control of the P.A. His forces were uncontested there. Nevertheless, he, being a terrorist did not crush Hamas. Why should Israel and the US expect Abbas, who has little power or inclination, to do it? TIMES COVERAGE MISLEADING "Militants" in Gaza fired a rocket that wounded an Israeli toddler. Gaza rockets are home-made. Meanwhile, the P.A. is asking for billions more in foreign aid. Israel's Foreign Min. Livni commented favorably that it is significantly in Israel's interest for the P.A. economy to develop and in the P.A.'s interest to fight terrorism. MK Beilin suggests agreeing to a cease-fire with Hamas, because, he thinks, Israel has no military way of stopping Hamas from launching rockets. Egypt arranged with Hamas for pilgrims to leave Gaza (Isabel Kershner, NY Times, 12/17, A11). Still calling terrorists who attack civilians "militants?" Calling the increasingly improved and imported rockets "home-made" understates the growing menace. Why no report on the result of previous foreign aid? Mostly stolen or diverted to war. Min. Livni's remarks don't comprehend jihad. The P.A. exists to promote jihad, which uses terrorism. Therefore, it does not consider fighting terrorism to be in its interest. It is in Israel's interest to defeat the P.A. both to end terrorism and to regain that part of its homeland that the P.A. controls. Beilin, it is not noted, is a defeatist. The IDF could destroy Hamas, but a ceasefire would let Hamas build up. It could monitor and even clear the border with Gaza, to prevent smuggling. Not mentioned was that Egypt let alleged pilgrims through, in violation of its agreement that Israel would vet them for terrorism. U.S. & EGYPT SCAMMING ISRAEL ON SMUGGLING The US engineers are seeking at the Gaza border of Egypt technical means to prevent arms smuggling through tunnels: (1) A canal to flood the tunnels; (2) Providing Egypt with technology to detect tunnels; and (3) Drive piles into the ground, to block tunnels. Israel considered removing the houses at the border, through which hidden tunnels emerge. It decided that such demolition would violate international law. Dr. Aaron Lerner notes avoidance of a simple and swift solution: demolish the houses at sovereign Egypt's side of the border, compensating residents sufficiently. Then no smuggling could go on unobserved. He thinks that the US and Egypt are going through the motions of anti-smuggling efforts, rather than making real efforts (IMRA, 12/16). I am equally suspicious of anti-Zionist Egypt and Rice. Dr. Lerner also had pointed out that the approaches to the border are so few and open, that if Egypt wanted to, it could stop the smugglers. Egypt, however, allows smuggling so as to weaken Israel and to maintain good relations with the Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas. Egypt also allows terrorists to pass through the gates! International law is complicated, but the anti-Zionist government and Supreme Court of Israel generally interpret it against Israel, when it is not. I think that eminent domain permits removal of houses on the Gaza side of the border. ACRI IS RACIST This is taken verbatim but not in toto from Prof. Steven Plaut. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is a far leftist propaganda group (see http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/2143 ) that cares nothing about civil rights, especially about civil rights for Jews. Its president, writer Sami Michael, has endorsed Palestinian terrorist attacks on Jews. It is uninterested in freedom of speech. When a leftwing fascist in Israel filed a SLAPP harassment suit against me to suppress my freedom of speech, I asked the ACRI to support me in fighting it off and it refused (see http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/3469 ). It only believes in freedom of speech for leftists. For background on ACRI and its political bias, see the report in NGO Monitor on it here: www.ngo-monitor.org/article/association_for_civil_rights_in_israel_acri. The president of ACRI, Sami Michael, best known for romanticizing communism, was cited in Haaretz (Oct 21, 2004) as justifying Palestinian terror attacks against Jewish Israelis. Here are his words as quoted by Haaretz: Michael understands the Hamas members who are fighting these Jews, who stuck a wedge down their throats. In an interview published in the latest issue of New Horizons, a monthly on society and the state published by the Berl Katznelson Foundation, Michael rejects the definition of Hamas fighters as "terrorists." "Imagine the feeling if I woke up tomorrow and saw this neighborhood, which we inhabit, forcibly conquered by the Syrians, and they established settlements here, and in order to go to the bus station, I needed permission from the Syrian army. How would I feel?" the author from Haifa asked. "If I fight them, I will be considered a terrorist. Why am I a terrorist? Why do we call Hezbollah or Hamasniks terrorists? Why? Because he fights on his own territory? Suddenly, aliens, occupiers, land on him and tell him: "Your house is ours. It's his land, he and his forefathers were born here, and the settlers say: We will never leave ... How would you respond to this?" This week the headlines in Israel are filled with a news story that the ACRI has discovered a skyrocketing rate of "racism" among Jews against Arabs. See this story: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3480345,00.html and this http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/932384.html (My comment: He is wrong about who were the original inhabitants of the Land of Israel, and is wrong about what is terrorism. Terrorism is not a question of who one fights but how one fights. Terrorists violate the laws of war, picking on civilians, using treachery, and murdering prisoners.) The first point is that nothing coming from the ACRI is credible and everything should be dismissed as advocacy statistics. The ACRI is not a reliable source about anything. The second point is that the same survey supposedly collected for ACRI asked no questions about Arab racism against Jews. How curious. The third point is that many of the questions supposedly indicating growing Jewish "racism" have nothing at all to do with racism or bigotry. The ACRI claims to discern an increase of 26% in anti-Arab "incidents" in Israel, although offers no evidence that any of these incidents are really racist. It claims a 100% increase in anti-Arab "hatred" among Jews. It does not say how it measures this. From the Haaretz report on the report, evidently ACRI measures it based on the proportion of Jews who want to condition welfare benefits, social perqs (like tuition vouchers), and income subsidies on army service. That would be racist, says the ACRI. Never mind that every other nation on earth gives its army vets perqs, no one is stopping any Arabs from serving in the Israeli army, and in any case it would "penalize" ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students no less than Arabs! The ACRI also finds evidence of "racism" in the structural reforms that Israel's Minister of Justice is pursuing. It would be "racist," believes the ACRI, for an elected cabinet minister to prevent unelected judges from just making up laws and "rights" as they go along in court. Of course, the Left, including the ACRI, also opposes equality for Arabs, such as in the fact that they oppose conscription or national service for them. In any case, the wording of the question does not seem to mean only legal equality or equality of opportunities, but could also be interpreted as speaking of equality of results (such as in income homogeneity), that beloved cause of the Left opposed by everyone else. 55% of Jews endorse subsidizing Arabs who want to emigrate from Israel, which is racist says the ACRI study. Except that 100% of the Israeli Labor Party supports subsidizing Jews to move out of the West Bank, which is not racist. 78% of Israeli Jews oppose including the Arab anti-Semitic and fascist parties in the Knesset in the government coalition, which the ACRI also thinks is racist. I happen to think that the remaining 22% who do NOT oppose such a coalition are racists. Other evidence of racism in the report? It turns out Arabs are searched for weapons and explosives at airports more so than Jews. The ACRI would prefer a "non-racist non-discriminator" set of security procedures that results in terrorist atrocities. And what is NOT racism, may we ask the ACRI? Answer -- the call over the weekend at the congress of the predominantly Arab HADASH Stalinist party, declaring that Israel's Jewishness is like a sword upon the necks of Arabs. (Haaretz Dec 8, 07) ARAB STATES SWITCHING TO HAMAS? The P.A. and Israel arranged for 2,000 pilgrims from Gaza to travel to S. Arabia's holy sites coming out of Israel and into Jordan. S. Arabia, however, held up the pilgrims' visas, while arranging with Egypt and Hamas to let out 2,000 pilgrims from Gaza from Egypt. The P.A. regime keenly feels the slight, which undermines Abbas' authority (IMRA, 12/7). The article speculates why Egypt and S. Arabia did this. I won't. U.S. WORKING AGAINST ISRAEL The lead sentence of the intelligence report on Iran claims that Iran stopped working on nuclear weapons. The rest of the report refutes that. One refutation is that Iran continues its civilian development, which intelligence officials know prepares for military development. Another is that Iran has bought subs modified to launch nuclear weapons of the type it was suspected of developing. There are others, too, already covered here. As for the value of US intelligence, it was caught by surprise yet again about foreign nuclear development when Israel bombed Syria's nuclear bomb factory. Now the US has hobbled Israel's intelligence capability by vetoing Israel's launching of an intelligence satellite for India. If Israel were to bomb Iran's facilities, it would be painted as alarmist, since it would contravene the US intelligence report's summary statement. Therefore, it is not likely to take military action. (My newspaper gave no explanation for the veto.) The State Dept. deceived Israel. It gave Israel the impression that the Annapolis conference would establish a Sunni alliance against Iran, so Israel made far-reaching concessions at Annapolis. There is no Sunni alliance against Iran, just an Islamic alliance against Israel. Far from wanting to help Israel, the US extracted those dangerous concessions, still complains about Israeli apartment building -- and only Israeli apartment building -- in Jerusalem, and then backs away from confronting Iran in such a way as to embarrass Israel and hamper its mission if it did. Israel still deludes itself that it has good relations with the US government. Actually, those relations are in crisis. The US is working for the destruction of Israel. (Yes, think of all the US objections to Israeli defense against terrorism and its arming of terrorists against Israel. Remember the traditional State Dept. anti-Zionism.) Authors of the report are known for their anti-Bush policy. They estimated correctly that Pres. Bush also would not contravene the report's summary statement. It also is possible that they did not provide him with the contra-indicators to the report's summary statement (IMRA, 12/7 from Caroline Glick). Are the people too stupid to understand a clear and emotional explanation of the report's mendacity? Or are politicians too timid to explain it? Let them debunk it! Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

QASSAM -- A CRIME AGAINST PEACE Posted by Avodah, December 19, 2007.

This was written December 17, 2007 by Guy Senbel for Guysen International News.

This week, we wish to draw our readers' attention to the ongoing rain of Qassams and mortar shells fired on the western Negev and its painful consequences on the men, women and children wounded or treated for shock, the desperate local leaders and confused national leaders. This week, the crime against peace bears a name: Qassam. This promised peace, sworn and dreamed of and even signed at times is in despair over the fired missiles -- missiles too often described as homemade rockets. The Qassam is a weapon used against civilians in times of war -- a cowardly and despicable war of attrition which is wearing down even the most optimistic. This week, in Sderot, Alumin, Nahal Oz, Nir Am, Erez, night and day, in the streets and in the fields, when children are leaving school, when the market is bustling, at an unfair hour, Qassams hit by the dozens again and again. Qassam, the expression of a blurred vengeance, generates odd rebellions. That of Eli Moyal, Mayor of a besieged Sderot who decided to resign in protest against those in the government who still denying him protected buildings -- bombproof buildings. Promise, pressure, promise again that those crimes against civil peace, against the peace of the brave, will soon end. Defense Minister Ehud Barak found the right words to convince Moyal that it was "impertinent" to resign at such a time. For his part, the mayor of Ashkelon refuses to give in to terrorists and calls on Ehud Olmert to "silence Ismail Hanyeh and his men, and not only with words." Let us add that Hamas does not have the monopoly of crime against peace. Thursday Dec. 13, the "Mujahideen Brigades" -- an armed group close to Mahmud Abbas' Fatah, claimed responsibility for the Qassam attack in which a woman was seriously injured. In this context, only two weeks after the Annapolis conference, a mirage, the first round of talks between Israelis and Palestinians on Wednesday December 12 was rather dull. This meeting, whose aim was to compose the various teams in charge of negotiations and modalities of peace, turned into an exchange of claims: Palestinians asked for the evacuation of all settlements while Israelis demanded the end of the barrage of missiles from Gaza and attacks elsewhere. For in the East, violence is also hitting. In Judea and Samaria, tensions run high and violence seems to have hit a new peak. Not one day goes by without the terror of Palestinian attacks. Hence the harsh words spoken by IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi -- words that are starting to ring true: "We can't win terror by ceding to others control over our territories." On Monday Dec. 17, 80 delegations are to gather at the "Donors' Conference" whose aim is to provide financial and political support to the Palestinian Authority and allow it to equip itself with real structures for a viable state.... The international conference will be held in Paris and will be opened by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The popular politician -- a popularity apparently unharmed by the prolonged visit in Paris of Libyan leader Mohamer Khadafi who made many statements of repentance by condemning the Al-Qaida terror attacks in Algeria, might say that the firing of Qassam rockets must stop, simply because they constitute a crime against peace. The Donors' Conference may be an opportunity to express hope that one of these days, soon, Gilad Shalit IDF soldier, who is both Israeli and French, will be free again. Tonight, we are thinking of Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, held hostage by Hamas and Hezbollah for the past 539 days. Contact Avodah by email at avodah15@aol.com To Go To Top

THE CHRISTMAS LIBEL AGAINST ISRAEL Posted by Simon McIlwaine, December 19, 2007.

This was written by Melanie Phillips and is archived at www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/409306/the-christmas-libel.thtml

For graphic evidence of the way bigotry destroys rationality, the annual hate-fest against Israel over the plight of Bethlehem's Arab Christians is a jaw-dropping example. As in previous years, Israel is being blamed for the fact that the Bethlehem Christians have been all but driven out. As in previous years the Church of England leads the charge, with clerics and activists blaming their parlous position on the 'wall', the checkpoints and the economic hardship -- which are all put down to Israel's apparent malevolence, with no acknowledgement whatever of the terror mounted against Israel by Bethlehem's citizens, or the terror mounted against the town's Christians by the ruling Muslim Arabs. This year the campaign has been enlivened by the graffiti artist Banksy, who has been illuminating the security barrier (but not the debate) with scenes of Israeli 'repression', thus bestowing an aesthetic and even cultish patina upon this Big Lie. Last year, churches up and down Britain replaced their traditional manger scenes with the propaganda of hatred -- collages about the security barrier suggesting that the Palestinians were effectively playing the part of Christ in being crucified all over again. Now this disgusting development has been taken one stage further. A group called the Amos Trust is selling nativity sets with a wall down the middle cutting off the wise men from the manger. The Amos Trust¹s website markets the display as A nativity set with a difference...poignant, ironic and made in Bethlehem. It might have been more poignant, and rather more true to life, had the model come with a detachable suicide bomber. For the only reason the Palestinians are suffering from the security barrier is that it was erected solely to stop them from murdering any more Israelis. If they abandoned their terrorism, the barrier would immediately come down. Such moral blindness apart, it is truly remarkable that these mindless bigots never pause to ask themselves the obvious question. If it really is Israel that is driving out Bethlehem's Christians, then why isn't it equally driving out Bethlehem's Muslims? Same Israeli 'occupying' forces; same separation barrier; same hardship, brutality, economic sanctions etc. Are we to assume, perhaps, that Israel has a particular problem with Christians, rather than the Muslims or Arabs in general, that the rest of the world has somehow missed? (In which case, might they not also scratch their heads at the fact that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians have thrived and multiplied, rising in number from 34,000 in 1948 to nearly 130,000 in 2005?) Might there not be the teensiest, weensiest morsel of a clue in the fact that, whereas a few years ago Bethlehem was mainly Christian, now it is 80 per cent Muslim? Might the fact that such a dramatic change occurred simultaneously with Bethlehem coming under Muslim control after Oslo (thus making all those responsible for that satirically named 'peace process' accessories to the persecution of Bethlehem's Christians) just possibly have something to do with it? But no, of course none of these upstanding church people and the myriad others who have absorbed the Big Lie would even consider such questions -- because they are the same people who resolutely ignore the evidence of Muslim persecution of Christians not only in the Palestinian territories but around the world. As Abraham Miller reported recently in FrontPageMagazine: In the West Bank town of Taibe marauding Muslims burned, looted and beat Christian residents in the name of a Muslim family's 'honor,' a family whose father had brutally beaten his daughter to death for wanting to marry a Christian. The violent Muslim mob burned a statue of the Virgin Mary and shouted, 'Burn the Crusaders!' PA fire and security forces took their time arriving on the scene, appearing hours later. In the end, the mob was almost immediately released from jail. Meanwhile, the Christian fiancée of the murdered woman was arrested and beaten while incarcerated. The lesson-that of the mob being released while an innocent Christian languished in jail-was not lost on the Christian community of the West Bank! There are, thankfully, decent Christians who do realise the truth of all this. The Church's grotesque scapegoating of the Jews prompted this open letter last year to the Archbishop of Canterbury from Mark Rogers of Anglican Friends of Israel: I have read the article in 'The Tablet' in which you speak about people leaving Bethlehem in large numbers and then ask the question: "I would like to know how much it matters to the Israeli Government to have Christian communities in the Holy Land. Are they an embarrassment or are they part of a solution? That's a question." No doubt the Israelis have already given you their answer, perhaps informing you that the Christian Arab population within the pre 1967 borders of Israel has grown from approximately 34,000 in 1948 to nearly 130,000 in 2005. Ironically this is the only part of the Middle East where the Christian population is growing. You should really have asked the Palestinian Authority how much it matters to them that there are Christian communities in their territory.The main reason for the departure of Christians from PA administered territories is the religious persecution, murder and land grabs which stems from the increased Islamisation of the region. This is the result of the PA adopting Muslim religious law in the territories in contrast to Israel which safeguards the religious freedom of its citizens. You have nothing to say about the likes of George Rabie, featured in a recent article in the Mail on Sunday who is a taxi driver from Bethlehem and was beaten up by Muslims using his cab when they discovered he is a Christian. He said 'Every day, I experience discrimination. It is a type of racism. We are a minority so we are an easier target. Many extremists from the villages are coming into Bethlehem.' Nor have you championed the cause of those who have been subjected to forced marriages of Christian women to Muslim men, received death threats for distributing the Bible to willing Muslims, or been intimidated into wearing traditional ultra-modest Islamic clothing. Nor have you written about the churches which have been firebombed by Muslim extremists protesting against the remarks of the Pope (most recently in Nablus, Tubas, and Gaza). Nor about the situation in which Christian Arabs have found their land expropriated by Muslims or been forced to pay bribes to win the freedom of family members jailed on trumped-up charges. All of this is the main reason why Christian Arabs have been selling or abandoning homes and businesses, seeking to escape the chaos and corruption of the PA and move to Israel, Europe, South America, North America, or wherever they can get a visa. Why do you have nothing to say about any of this in The Tablet or other public media? Of course you do not need to answer. We all know. No one in public life dares to make any comment even mildly critical of Islamic behaviour. On the other hand Israeli Jews are an easy target Earlier this month, Khaled Abu Toameh in the Jerusalem Post reported frfom his sources yet another attack upon a Christian in Gaza: They said four masked gunmen tried to kidnap Nabil Fuad Ayad, who works as a guard at a local church. Nabil's cousin, Rami, was kidnapped and murdered two months ago by the same group, the sources said. The sources identified the gunmen as members of the radical Islamic Salafi movement. The Salafis, who have become very active in the Gaza Strip in recent months, are totally opposed to common Western concepts like economics, constitutions and political parties. They refer to the 2,500 Christians in the Gaza Strip as Crusaders and have vowed to drive them out of the area. Christians living in the Gaza Strip told the Post that they were very worried about the increased attacks on members of their community and religious institutions. 'The latest incident is aimed at sending a message to all the Christians here that we must leave,' said a Christian leader. 'Radical Islamic groups are waging a campaign to get rid of us and no one seems to care.' More recently, the distinguished international human rights lawyer Justice Reid Weiner, who has written a monograph on the plight of Christians in the Palestinian areas, told a conference about the real cause of their suffering. The Jersualem Post reported: He cited Muslim harassment and persecution as the main cause of the acute 'human rights crisis' facing Christian Arabs and predicted that unless governments or institutions step in to remedy the situation -- such as with job opportunities -- there will be no more Christian communities living in the Palestinians territories within 15 years with only a few Western Christians and top clergymen left in the area. 'Christian leaders are being forced to abandon their followers to the forces of radical Islam', Weiner said. Weiner argued there was a 180 degree difference" between the public statements coming out of the mainstream Christian leadership in the Holy Land -- who "sing the PA's tune" and blame Israel for all the Christian Arabs' ills -- and people's experience on the ground. 'The truth is beginning to come out he said. The question is what is being done with the truth.' His comments come just months after a prominent Christian activist Rami Khader Ayyad 32 was killed in Gaza. 'For too long the plight of Christian Arabs has been put on the back-burner or ignored altogether;. said Rev. Malcolm Hedding, executive director of the International Christian Embassy, a Jerusalem-based evangelical organization. The Evangelical leader, who has drawn the wrath of Catholic leaders in the Holy Land for his strong support for Israel, said that 'power politics' has prevented the major Christian leaders in the Holy Land from speaking out on this issue.'There is a one-sided debate in which Israel is responsible for everything he said. The Christian world needs to stand up and speak out about this.' But it is not. On this, the true cause of Christian persecution, it is silent. Instead it scapegoats the Jews. At this particular time of year, the historical resonance is deafening. Simon McIlwaine is with Anglican Friends of Israel (www.anglicanfriendsofisrael.com). Contact him at Simon.McIlwaine@ormerods.co.uk To Go To Top

ARABS DESECRATE GRAVE OF BIBLICAL PRIME MINISTER JOSHUA Posted by Ezra HaLevi, December 19, 2007.

Jewish worshippers Tuesday were stunned to find Arabs had desecrated the graves of the Biblical Joshua, Caleb and Nun (Joshua's father). Joshua served as the Jewish Nation's Prime Minister from the year 2488 until 2516 on the Hebrew calendar (1272 BCE -- 1300 BCE). Members of the One Shechem organization that organizes visits to the graves arrived in the village of Timnat (Kifl) Haress, near Ariel in Samaria, to prepare for a special prayer gathering, discovered that Arab vandals had desecrated the village's Jewish tombs. The tombs of Yehoshua (Joshua) ben Nun, Nun, and Calev (Caleb) ben Yefuneh were covered with garbage and feces -- both human and animal, and anti-Semitic and Nazi slogans and symbols had been painted in the area. Nevertheless, worshippers gathered at the tombs Tuesday night for special prayers on the tenth of Tevet, the day Kaddish and other prayers are recited for those whose date of death is unknown, such as Calev ben Yefuneh. Organizers had cleaned up the damage and attendees reported a positive experience. The prayers were also to mark the end of the 30-day increased-stricture mourning period for murdered Jewish father Ido Zoldan of Kedumim, by a Palestinian Authority police officer. Organizers reported that a wide array of Jews -- hareidi, national religious and traditional -- took part in the visit and prayers. They also praised the cooperation of security forces, particularly the Efraim Division of the IDF. The One Shechem organization issued a call to the public to do everything in their power to preserve the holy sites in Samaria, including Joseph's Tomb in Shechem and to fight for the right of Jews to visit and worship there freely. Ezra HaLevi is a writer for Arutz Sheva -- www.IsraelNationalNews.com To Go To Top

THE WAR ON ZIONISM Posted by Ted Belman, December 18, 2007.

Post Annapolis, the Palestinian Authority made it crystal clear that it will never recognize Israel as a "Jewish state". Furthermore, it made it crystal clear that it will not compromise on Jerusalem making it a capital offense to do so. Yet negotiations continue. Either Olmert doesn't believe the PA or what is more likely, he will still cut a deal where Israel is denied that recognition and will divide Jerusalem according to Arab demands. Do not think for a moment that these entrenched Arab positions are negotiable. They aren't and never have been. Ever since Theodor Herzl wrote The Jewish State in 1896, the Arabs, with one exception, Faisal ibn Hussein, have opposed it. Bat Ye'or wrote in her monumental study, The Dhimmi, In the historical Arab context, Israel represents the successful national liberation of a dhimmi civilization. On a territory formerly Arabized by the jihad and the dhimma, a pre-Islamic language, culture, topographical geography (biblical towns), and national institutions have been restored to life. This reversed the process of centuries in which the cultural, social and political structures of the indigenous Jewish population of Palestine were destroyed. In 1974, Abu Iyad, second-in-command to Arafat in the Fatah hierarchy, announced: "We intend to struggle so that our Palestinian homeland does not become a new Andalusia." The comparison of Andalusia to Palestine was not fortuitous since both countries were Arabized, and then de-Arabized by a pre-Arabic culture. Once a region has been conquered for Islam, it is always Islamic and must be re-conquered from the infidel, regardless of the passage of time. This is the core of the conflict. Palestine "must be re-conquered from the infidel, regardless of the passage of time". Thus Israel must be destroyed. In pursuance of this goal, the Arabs rejected the Partition Plan and the creation of Israel, they went to war numerous times to destroy Israel, they rejected Res 242 and shortly thereafter they decided at the Khartoum Conference to have "no recognition, no negotiations, no peace" with Israel. In 1968, the Arab states founded the PLO with a Charter that specifically calls for "the liquidation of the Zionist presence." Shortly thereafter, the PLO was taken over by Arafat's Nazi trained Fatah, whose Charter was and is similar. Its goals, Article (12) Complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence. Article (13) Establishing an independent democratic state with complete sovereignty on all Palestinian lands, and Jerusalem is its capital city, and protecting the citizens' legal and equal rights without any racial or religious discrimination. Nothing could be clearer. It refers to "all Palestinian lands". Then in 1975 with Soviet support the UN General Assembly passed the infamous resolution (3379), "Zionism is Racism", by a vote of 75 to 32 with 35 abstentions with the operative words, DETERMINES that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination. Though the US, lead by the great Ambassador Patrick Moynihan, vehemently objected, a month later it did not veto a proposal to seat the PLO as observers in the UN Security Council. No non-state had ever been accorded such recognition. According to the website Anti-Zionism, The Cold War Soviet Union doctrine of Zionology was sponsored by the Department of propaganda of the Communist Party and by the KGB. It stated that Zionism was a form of Racism and Similar to Nazism. As communism was against Racism, and Zionism was largely formed under strong leftist and socialist influences this presented some difficulties for the Soviet Union. They solved this by misrepresenting Zionism, and focussing on its links with America. Much anti-Zionist propaganda was produced by the Soviet Union, much of it was antisemitic and in cases Nazi propaganda and old Tsarist antisemitic material was reproduced. The UN also started producing anti-Zionist propaganda. Using resolution 3379 as a moral basis, UN educational publications spread anti-Zionist dogma throughout the world. In 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the UN General Assembly revoked resolution 3379, admitting it had been mistaken to label Zionism as racism. The motion to revoke 3379 ( General Assembly Resolution 4686) is one of the shortest in history and passed with 111 for and only 25 against. Nevertheless, this odious charge persists like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In the negotiations prior to the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Fatah Charter became an obstacle. Arafat agreed to amend it. This was a precondition. Yet no such amendment was effected necessitating this letter from Arafat to President Clinton in 1998. In the mutual recognition letters between myself and the late Prime Minister Itzhaq Rabbin of September 9/10, 1993, the PLO committed to recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security, to accept UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides. The PLO also agreed to secure the necessary changes in the Palestinian Covenant to reflect these commitments. Accordingly, the P.N.C. was held in Gaza city between 22-25 of April 1996, and in an extraordinary session decided that the "Palestine National Charter is hereby amended by cancelling the articles that are contrary to the letters exchanged between the P.L.O and the Government of Israel on 9/10 September 1993″. Yet the Charter is still not amended. More recently Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl, penned an essay, Anti-Zionism is Racism in which he wrote, "anti-Zionism is a form of racism more dangerous than classical anti-Semitism". Could be. In the run up to Annapolis, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced H.Res.758 jointly with Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV). This resolution calls on PA and Mahmoud Abbas, also chairman of his Fatah Party, to officially renounce ten articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel's destruction and acts of terrorism against the Jews. The Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued a statement to the effect that if Abbas is serious about making peace with Israel, he must officially and publicly amend the Fatah charter as a "confidence-building measure which would help to create a better environment to achieve progress in the peace talks." While AIPAC supports the Blunt resolution, it also supports increasing aid to the PA without regard to the Charter. Having it both ways I guess. Doesn't it know, you can't suck and blow at the same time. The Donor's Conference in Paris pledged $7.4 billion to the PA for the next three years. No one demanded that the Charter be amended, that terror stop or that there be accountability for the funds. And everyone knows that Fatah is about to reconcile with Hamas on Hamas' terms. And what are those terms? First of all, the Hamas Charter is virulently anti-Semitic and uncompromising in its goal of ridding Palestine of the Jews. It declares that "all Palestine is Islamic trust land, can never be surrendered to non-Muslims and is an integral part of Muslim world." " initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion;" On Dec 7th, Ismail Haniyeh speaking for Hamas said "We will never recognise the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem," Everyone is determined to ignore this, or worse, to live with it. At Annapolis, Bush said "The United States will help Palestinian leaders build these free institutions. And the United States will keep its commitment to the security of Israel as a Jewish state and homeland for the Jewish people." Yet Tony Blair, who recently visited Israel, refused to answer a question directed at him about PLO/PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' recently reiterated refusal to recognize Israel as a JEWISH state. This cannot be ignored by Israel, yet it is. Normally this refusal on the part of the PA should be a deal breaker but negotiations continue. The same goes for Jerusalem. This is very ominous. But the bottom line is that the Arabs want Palestine to replace Israel. This goal is reiterated by all boycott movements, by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and Muslim Student Association (MSA), by Iran when it calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map", by the PA which publishes books with maps showing Palestine in place of Israel, by Hamas and by many UN agencies and NGO's. And they are not alone. The idea of a Jewish state is considered by the Jewish left as an anachronism, retrograd and even racist. The endorsement of the two-state solution is a sham for western consumption. The demand for a "just solution to the Palestinian Refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194″, otherwise known as the right of return, vitiates any recognition of the two-state solution because it effectively is intended to destroy the state of Israel. The enemies of Israel recently coined two new terms, "Zion-Cons" and "Zionofascism". You can imagine why. The war on Zionism continues. Ted Belman is a Canadian lawyer and editor of the IsraPundit.com website, an activist pro-Israel website. Contact him at tedbel@rogers.com To Go To Top

ILLEGITIMATE & MURDEROUS "PALESTINIANS" REWARDED; LEGITIMATE PEACEFUL KURDS AREN'T Posted by American, December 18, 2007.

As the world's about to give yet another state [Jordan ain't enough?] for the [group of immigrant Arabs into Israel that call themselves as] "Palestinians", that have never behaved and do not merely fight for a 'homeland' which Israel was never theirs anyhow, but have their goal of eliminating Israel, ethnic cleansing and racist genocide, the poor Kurds still sink under oppression by Turkey, by Arab racism in: Syria, Iraq, and by Islamic fascists regime of Iran. Let's make it clear, even if there will be a "Palestine" state, it will never change the factual history, that a group of immigrants came into the land of the Jews and hijacked the world comunity via terrorism and Arab oil power to give them yet a second 'Palestine' state (after Jordan).

"Hiding Arab Racism", May 1, 2005 By Adel Makhoul THE KURDS REAL PEOPLE, WITH REAL ASPIRATION OF A HOMELAND -- THE LEGITIMATE VICTIMS OF OPPRESSION & ARAB RACISM This book, like Culture and Imperialism, is essentially about Western prejudice against Islam. Said condemns intellectuals in the West who in his eyes are "agents of exploitation". Yet Said himself is an agent of racism: Arab Racism. A Pan Arabist, he always supported Arab unity and "Islam" at the expense of non-Arab and non-Moslem peoples. Said directs and manipulates the Western taste for self criticim, and all that does is deflect the world's attention from Arab and Moslem attrocities committed against Christians, Kurds, Jews, Israelis, Coptic Christians, non-Arab Sudanese, etc. Thus, reading Said, you would never realize that Sadam Hussein's poisoning of the Kurds has never been condemned by one Arab intellectual or leader. This is because a racist prevalent attitude in the Arab mind is that the entire Middle East should be Arab. This also explains the attitude towards Israel, a country that is predominantly non-Moslem and speaks a Middle Eastern language other than Arabic. The pity is that Said himself is a Christian, yet he never spoke on behalf of Coptic Christians in Egypt, or the right of Christians to practice their faith in Saudi Arabia and probably other places in the Arab World. He is facilitating the overall aim of PanArab Nationalists by distracting the West from what is happening in the Arab world. For a better understanding of relations between the West and Islam, I recommend books by Bernard Lewis, such as "The Moslem Discovery of Europe" and the "Jews of Islam". I also recommend books by the Egyptian scholar and Jewish refugee Yael Bat Yeor, such as "The Dhimmi". http://www.amazon.com/review/R1FZS0RYTC94JP Idea Portal: Kurds under oppression in Iran, Kurds under oppression in Iran. You can easily find more than ten top film festivals around the world from Italy to Chicago... http://shauheen.ngareh.com/archives/000146.html The Unknown Oppression of the Kurds, The Unknown Oppression of the Kurds .... Iran had used the Kurdish parties of northern Iraq during its war with Iraq. So, all these countries benefit from ... http://web.mit.edu/thistle/www/v12/2/kurds.html Kurdish Oppression in Turkey Goes On; Short-Lived Republic -- New ...Kurdish Oppression in Turkey Goes On; Short-Lived Republic ... The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad in northern Iran survived only from December 1945 to December ... http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEED61539F934A35757C0A967958260 What Really has happened in Halabja and The Racism of so-called Arab Intellectuals towards Kurds and the Kurdistan: The case of Mr. Mohammed Al Obaidi ... http://home.cogeco.ca/~kurdistan5/3-1-05-opinion-hadi-halabja-arabs-racism.html He Has Gassed His Own People "Saddam Hussein is a man who is willing to gas his own people, willing to use ... and Iran--were responsible perhaps for the gassing of civilian Kurds. ... http://hnn.us/articles/862.html Iran: Kurdish journalists face executionT his case provides yet another example of the current climate of severe oppression in the Kurdish region of Iran. Mr Butimar wrote articles for agricultural ... http://www.indexonline.org/en/news/articles/2007/3/ iran-kurdish-journalists-face-execution.shtml Kurds in Syria is between 2 to 2.5 million. ... murder, torture, discrimination and terror to keep the Kurds under control. ... http://home.cogeco.ca/~kurdistan2/ 14-3-04-opinion-badrakhan-freedom-for-kurds-w-kurdistan.html Stop the Syrian Violence against the Kurds in Syria -- Reform Party ...The Kurds are for the Autonomy within Syria framework, is explained by the ... Islamic Barbarism, colonialism and national oppression, our people call on ... www.reformsyria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=296&Itemid=67 Second- Citizens... For Many, Not Citizens at All Erasing Ethnic Identity. Syrian Kurds were banned from giving their children names reflecting their ethnic identity. Pary Karadaghi, Director of Kurdish Human Rights Watch in Washington, says one of the most basic ways of showing Kurdish identity was taken away. "The campaign of 'Arabization' actually replaced the Kurdish names," she says. "People could not have Kurdish names on cities, buildings [and] businesses. Children's names could not be Kurdish." Syria's Kurds struggled for years to survive despite government oppression on many fronts. They closely watched their Iraqi counterparts, who achieved a measure of autonomy in the 1990s, and pressed Damascus for their own rights. Their demands were ignored or sometimes met with waves of repression. http://www.khrw.org/advocate/2005/syrias_kurds_struggle_for_rights.htm _____________ THE FAKE 'NATION' CALLED: "PALESTINIANS" THE ILLEGAL GROUP SINCE THEY DEFIED UN'S PARTITION PLAN IN 1948 WITH GENOCIDAL GOALS ROOTS Who Are the Palestinians "Hiding Arab Racism", May 1, 2005 By Adel Makhoul THE KURDS REAL PEOPLE, WITH REAL ASPIRATION OF A HOMELAND -- THE LEGITIMATE VICTIMS OF OPPRESSION & ARAB RACISM This book, like Culture and Imperialism, is essentially about Western prejudice against Islam. Said condemns intellectuals in the West who in his eyes are "agents of exploitation". Yet Said himself is an agent of racism: Arab Racism. A Pan Arabist, he always supported Arab unity and "Islam" at the expense of non-Arab and non-Moslem peoples. Said directs and manipulates the Western taste for self criticim, and all that does is deflect the world's attention from Arab and Moslem attrocities committed against Christians, Kurds, Jews, Israelis, Coptic Christians, non-Arab Sudanese, etc. Thus, reading Said, you would never realize that Sadam Hussein's poisoning of the Kurds has never been condemned by one Arab intellectual or leader. This is because a racist prevalent attitude in the Arab mind is that the entire Middle East should be Arab. This also explains the attitude towards Israel, a country that is predominantly non-Moslem and speaks a Middle Eastern language other than Arabic. The pity is that Said himself is a Christian, yet he never spoke on behalf of Coptic Christians in Egypt, or the right of Christians to practice their faith in Saudi Arabia and probably other places in the Arab World. He is facilitating the overall aim of PanArab Nationalists by distracting the West from what is happening in the Arab world. For a better understanding of relations between the West and Islam, I recommend books by Bernard Lewis, such as "The Moslem Discovery of Europe" and the "Jews of Islam". I also recommend books by the Egyptian scholar and Jewish refugee Yael Bat Yeor, such as "The Dhimmi". http://www.amazon.com/review/R1FZS0RYTC94JP Idea Portal: Kurds under oppression in Iran, Kurds under oppression in Iran. You can easily find more than ten top film festivals around the world from Italy to Chicago... http://shauheen.ngareh.com/archives/000146.html The Unknown Oppression of the Kurds, The Unknown Oppression of the Kurds .... Iran had used the Kurdish parties of northern Iraq during its war with Iraq. So, all these countries benefit from ... http://web.mit.edu/thistle/www/v12/2/kurds.html Kurdish Oppression in Turkey Goes On; Short-Lived Republic -- New ...Kurdish Oppression in Turkey Goes On; Short-Lived Republic ... The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad in northern Iran survived only from December 1945 to December ... http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEED61539F934A35757C0A967958260 What Really has happened in Halabja and The Racism of so-called Arab Intellectuals towards Kurds and the Kurdistan: The case of Mr. Mohammed Al Obaidi ... http://home.cogeco.ca/~kurdistan5/3-1-05-opinion-hadi-halabja-arabs-racism.html He Has Gassed His Own People "Saddam Hussein is a man who is willing to gas his own people, willing to use ... and Iran--were responsible perhaps for the gassing of civilian Kurds. ... http://hnn.us/articles/862.html Iran: Kurdish journalists face executionT his case provides yet another example of the current climate of severe oppression in the Kurdish region of Iran. Mr Butimar wrote articles for agricultural ... http://www.indexonline.org/en/news/articles/2007/3/ iran-kurdish-journalists-face-execution.shtml Kurds in Syria is between 2 to 2.5 million. ... murder, torture, discrimination and terror to keep the Kurds under control. ... http://home.cogeco.ca/~kurdistan2/ 14-3-04-opinion-badrakhan-freedom-for-kurds-w-kurdistan.html Stop the Syrian Violence against the Kurds in Syria -- Reform Party ...The Kurds are for the Autonomy within Syria framework, is explained by the ... Islamic Barbarism, colonialism and national oppression, our people call on ... www.reformsyria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=296&Itemid=67 Second- Citizens... For Many, Not Citizens at All Erasing Ethnic Identity. Syrian Kurds were banned from giving their children names reflecting their ethnic identity. Pary Karadaghi, Director of Kurdish Human Rights Watch in Washington, says one of the most basic ways of showing Kurdish identity was taken away. "The campaign of 'Arabization' actually replaced the Kurdish names," she says. "People could not have Kurdish names on cities, buildings [and] businesses. Children's names could not be Kurdish." Syria's Kurds struggled for years to survive despite government oppression on many fronts. They closely watched their Iraqi counterparts, who achieved a measure of autonomy in the 1990s, and pressed Damascus for their own rights. Their demands were ignored or sometimes met with waves of repression. http://www.khrw.org/advocate/2005/syrias_kurds_struggle_for_rights.htm _____________ THE FAKE 'NATION' CALLED: "PALESTINIANS" THE ILLEGAL GROUP SINCE THEY DEFIED UN'S PARTITION PLAN IN 1948 WITH GENOCIDAL GOALS ROOTS Who Are the Palestinians? At DePaul, Don't Ask and Don't Tell September 1, 2005 Historically, Palestinian Arabs were not a distinct nationality. Though not all Muslims are terrorists, most major international terrorism today is committed by Muslims. http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=22&x_article=1028 Never forget this one point: There is no such thing as a Palestinian People, there is no Palestinian entity ... http://www.peacefaq.com/palestinians.html What is a Palestinian? Arabs have been flocking to Israel ever since it was created and even before, coinciding with the wave of Jewish immigration into Palestine prior to 1948. ... http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=22564 Illegal Arab immigration into "Palestine" -- part of Oslo -- The Arab Legion never allowed a census of Palestinian refugees. .... Israel doesn't enforce immigration laws (and other laws) in Arab communities. ... http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/immigration-oslo.html How the Israel-Palestine Problem Came to Pass Trying to force Britain to convert Palestine immediately into an Arab state, ... Jewish immigration into Palestine was going to be limited to a total of ... http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/02/how_the_israelpale Contact American by email at american1627@yahoo.com To Go To Top

PERSECUTION OF MARK STEYN BY CANADA'S THOUGHT POLICE Posted by Simon McIlwaine, December 18, 2007.

This appeared December 16, 2007 in the New York Post www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url= http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162007/postopinion/ editorials/canadas_thought_police_72483.htm

Celebrated author Mark Steyn has been summoned to appear before two Canadian judicial panels on charges linked to his book "America Alone." The book, a No. 1 bestseller in Canada, argues that Western nations are succumbing to an Islamist imperialist threat. The fact that charges based on it are proceeding apace proves his point. Steyn, who won the 2006 Eric Breindel Journalism Award (co-sponsored by The Post and its parent, News Corp), writes for dozens of publications on several continents. After the Canadian general-interest magazine Maclean's reprinted a chapter from the book, five Muslim law-school students, acting through the auspices of the Canadian Islamic Congress, demanded that the magazine be punished for spreading "hatred and contempt" for Muslims. The plaintiffs allege that Maclean's advocated, among other things, the notion that Islamic culture is incompatible with Canada's liberalized, Western civilization. They insist such a notion is untrue and, in effect, want opinions like that banned from publication. Two separate panels, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Human Rights Commission, have agreed to hear the case. These bodies are empowered to hear and rule on cases of purported "hate speech." Of course, a ban on opinions -- even disagreeable ones -- is the very antithesis of the Western tradition of free speech and freedom of the press. Indeed, this whole process of dragging Steyn and the magazine before two separate human-rights bodies for the "crime" of expressing an opinion is a good illustration of precisely what he was talking about. If Maclean's, Canada's top-selling magazine, is found "guilty," it could face financial or other penalties. And the affair could have a devastating impact on opinion journalism in Canada generally. As it happens, Canadian human-rights commissions have already come down hard on those whose writings they dislike, like critics of gay rights. Nor should Americans dismiss this campaign against Steyn and Maclean's as merely another Canadian eccentricity. Speech cops in America, too, are forever attempting similar efforts -- most visibly, on college campuses. In fact, New York City itself has a human-rights panel that tries to stamp out anything deemed too politically incorrect. Since 9/11, Americans have been alert to the threat of terror from radical Islamists. But there's been all too little concern for a creeping accommodation of radical Islamist tenets, like curbs on critical opinions. That needs to change. Simon McIlwaine is with Anglican Friends of Israel (www.anglicanfriendsofisrael.com). Contact him at Simon.McIlwaine@ormerods.co.uk To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: BREATHLESS Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 18, 2007.

That's pretty much the state to which I am reduced by current international happenings: It's hard to take a good breath in the face of all that's occurring. My friend Jack, who reads my postings, had what I thought was an excellent suggestion: "...for all those countries overly anxious to throw away their billions of dollars: Open several thousand accounts in banks in the Cayman Islands, line up all the names of every 'Palestinian' leader, assign him an account number and deposit a certain amount in accordance with his importance. Then send each of those people his number. It saves the donating countries of pretending to overlook how the funds are spent..." This makes about as much sense as anything that's transpiring right now. And I am grateful to him for lightening up (albeit with a vision that reflects reality) what is a dangerously insane situation. ~~~~~~~~~~ Khaled Abu Toameh has an analysis in today's Post -- with the self-evident title "Influx of international funds no guarantee for bolstering moderates" -- that takes a look at the situation that was generated in Paris yesterday. Beginning with a brief history of the incredible graft that occurred when Arafat was in charge, he makes observations that are of critical significance. In the early days of the PA the assumption was made that economic prosperity would boost moderates (sound familiar?). The international assistance, however, "went into secret bank accounts or to build big villas for senior PA officials. " And yet... "The international community that was pouring money on the PA did not seem to care about the stories of financial corruption and embezzlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "Nor did the donors pay attention to the fact that Arafat was inciting his people not only against Israel, but also against the same 'infidels' who were signing the checks." And the question that has to be asked is, Why the hell not? What obtuseness, what political correctness or anti-Israel bias or feelings of misplace guilt allowed several Western nations to keep pouring funds into an entity that was wasting and misusing them? And why, at the end of the day, is the international community willing to do precisely the same now? PA prime minister Salaam Fayyad has submitted a financial plan of sorts, but based on past performance of the PA, there is no reason to put faith in it. Abu Toameh writes that Fayyad is surrounded by many of those who in the past hindered reform schemes. "This money is mainly designed to keep Fatah in power and prevent Hamas from taking over the West Bank. "And unless the PA changes its rhetoric and starts promoting peace and coexistence with Israel, the millions of dollars are not going to create a new generation of moderate Palestinians." ~~~~~~~~~~ Needless to say, the reality of a PA that has begun to start "promoting peace and coexistence with Israel" is not emerging, in spite of the hoopla regarding Annapolis. In fact, according to today's Post, Olmert is "dismayed" by Abbas's failure to convey certain instructions to his negotiators. Seems that in private certain matters were discussed between Olmert and Abbas, but that Abbas has "not passed to his negotiating team the same pliable positions" he had expressed in discussion with Olmert. So, the next question is, When the hell is Israel going to learn that there is no negotiating partner? What obtuseness permits our government to continue in its self-destructive behavior? The international community may lose billions of dollars -- we have a great deal more at risk. Olmert and Abbas had sat down several times and, according to this article, had put together a paper that was supposed to form the basis for negotiations. (A paper that was all too secret for my liking, but that's another story.) But, while Abbas failed to follow through, Olmert instructed his team to try to wrap up an agreement as soon as possible. I read this and I want to go out on the street and howl. As soon as possible? Without testing Palestinian intentions and viability? Without taking one step at a time, carefully? The reason given is because Olmert felt that this would show the Palestinian population that there is a reward for fighting terrorism. So, the international community is seeking to buy moderation with money, and Olmert is doing the same with a state. Just as the international community doesn't acknowledge that money has been showered on the PA before without resultant moderation, so have we offered the PA a state before (in 2000) without a modicum of success -- the 2nd intifada being the result instead. ~~~~~~~~~~ What makes this all more incredible is that according to an unnamed gov't official, while Fayyad submitted an economic reform plan to the international community, Israel has not yet seen a security plan, and "he hoped Fayyad would present one. The main issue is security. If they build credible security forces, the whole process will change." So the PA isn't really even trying. But I have demonstrated time and again that Israel intelligence does not believe the PA remotely capable of putting together an uncorrupted, viable, effective security force. ~~~~~~~~~~ The good news, such as it exists, is this: the gov't is not caving on our right to continue to build inside of existing settlements, not just in Har Homa but in Judea and Samaria. In fact, I almost fell over when I read this statement by a "senior Israeli official" cited in Haaretz: "We don't need American approval if we are doing something that we think, as a sovereign state, we should do." Ah, that they would say this more often! "We told the Americans and the Palestinians that in those places, within the built-up line, Israel will continue to build, because there is no other way." The Israeli position then is that there will likely be retention of major settlements and that in any event this is to be decided via negotiations. "If Har Homa will not be part of Israel, it doesn't matter if Har Homa is 5,000 units or 6,000 units, Har Homa will be dismantled." The official said that the Israeli understanding of a settlement freeze was not building new settlements or extending the borders of existing ones. "It doesn't mean people cannot go and live in existing settlements. Where there are vacant places, vacant apartments, people can go and live there with their families. If somebody bought an empty lot in one of the settlements 10 years ago and he owns it, and he decides now in the year 2007...to build on it, the government of Israel cannot do anything about it." But, true to form, Abbas declared again today that settlement expansion --presumably defined by him as including building inside existing lines -- is a threat to peace talks. Since it represents "a real obstacle," it must stop. And Minister Haim Ramom -- who would do best to stop talking -- added another dimension. Yes, he said, we will keep major settlements, but in exchange for land inside of Israel, and we should tell the Palestinians now which land we'll be giving them. Is this official gov't policy? Can't be sure. But if it is, it returns us to the totally unacceptable notion that everything outside of the Green Line is actually Palestinian, so that we can retain part of that area only by giving something else. ~~~~~~~~~~ The senior Israeli official said one other thing worthy of note here: "Before Palestine will be established, Gaza will have to comply with the rules that exist in the first phase of the road map." That first phase of the road map requires dismantling of terrorist infrastructure. First, this makes a mockery of Abbas's demands: You're telling us to comply, it says, but look how far away you are. And then, if Israel refuses -- really refuses -- to allow formation of a state until that condition has been met in Gaza, we're talking about something that's in the far distant future only. The problem, as I've frequently indicated, is that establishing the parameters of a state in negotiations and then refusing to allow it to become a reality because terrorism hasn't been dismantled 1) invites severe international pressure for us to continue regardless, and 2) raises Palestinian expectations so that when they see the state is not forthcoming they will resort to violence, which is typical of how they function. This means that this scenario may actually increase terrorism rather than motivating its elimination. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Berkley Electronic Press has published an important paper by Claude Berrebi called "Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy," which reports on research regarding the relationship between Palestinian terrorist activity, and education and standard of living. What it does, actually, is put the lie decisively to a very common myth: that terrorists are poor and uneducated. What the study found, first, was that 31% of the Palestinians, compared to only 16 % of the terrorists, were characterized as poor. Second, 96% of terrorists have at least a high school education and 65% have some kind of higher education, compared to 51% and 15%, respectively, in the Palestinian population of same age, sex and religion. Terrorists are more likely to be from urban areas -- 54% -- compared to Palestinians in general -- 34%, and terrorists are more likely to live in Gaza. Among the terrorists, 94% had some sort of employment, while among Palestinians generally, only 69% have employment. Terrorists are younger than the general population -- 94% below the age of 34 as compared to 72%. And terrorists are less likely to be married. ~~~~~~~~~~ While Israel is not doing a major ground incursion into Gaza, the IDF is stepping up its activity. Last night and early this morning there were a series of actions that killed 10 Islamic Jihad operatives. The first air strike killed Islamic Jihad commander Majed Harazin, who was in charge of rocket squads, along with two others. In the second strike, Karim al-Dahdouh, a master rocket maker was eliminated when his car was hit. By this morning, Tarek Abu-Ra'ali, senior IJ commander in Jenin was apparently also killed. Said Olmert today: "We will continue to search for the terrorist leaders. Everybody who is responsible for the Kassam rocket fire against the Gaza periphery and Sderot -- we will get to them. The terrorist organizations are feeling that..." Needless to say, Islamic Jihad is vowing revenge -- "a wave of martyrdom operations." ~~~~~~~~~~ Today two Hamas operatives were also killed. ~~~~~~~~~~ As good as the elimination of Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorists is, Moshe Arens, writing in Haaretz today, lambastes the Israeli government for not doing that major operation. He takes apart the "lame excuses" and the "inane slogans." "...the only way to stop the rockets from coming down on the heads of the population living near the Gaza Strip is for the IDF to move in and move the rockets out of range." Indeed. He then challenges a lie of the government, that: "even when the IDF was in Gaza, Kassam rockets were raining down on Israel." What the gov't neglects to mention, when stating this is that "the IDF left most of the Gaza Strip in the wake of the Oslo agreements, almost 15 years ago, and that from the limited areas in which the IDF was present prior to the disengagement, no rockets were fired against Israel. There is no reason to expect that rockets will be launched from areas which the IDF controls." This is a fact of considerable significance. "What's more, the launching of rockets against Israel has increased drastically since the disengagement." Arens, who has served over the years in various Israeli governments as ambassador to the US, foreign minister and defense minister, and is today Chairman of the International Board of Governors of Ariel University in Samaria, minces no words. How refreshing it is. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935116.html ~~~~~~~~~~ As you may recall, I reported just days ago that the terrorists who murdered Israeli Ido Zoldan were members of the PA security forces. Now it has been revealed that they used weapons that had been permitted by Israel to be brought in from Jordan to "bolster" the PA security forces. Since Hamas took over Gaza, Israel has allowed several shipments of Kalashnikov rifles and bullets to move into Palestinians areas of Judea and Samaria from Jordan. Precisely how sick and stupid do things have to get before a halt is called? ~~~~~~~~~~ Sources connected to the Winograd Committee, which is due to release final conclusions with regard to how the war with Lebanon was fought last year, now say that final report will be delayed for "technical reasons." Give me a break! It was supposed to come out in December, now it is expected in mid-January. The "technical reasons" are undoubtedly the arrival here of President Bush and a desire to not weaken or embarrass Olmert at this time. Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

PALESTINIAN TERRORIST BILLION DOLLAR GIVEWAY OUTRAGE! Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 18, 2007.

This is from the Sultan Knish website (sultanknish.blogspot.com).

All it took was a peace conference and the nations of the world are ready to shower Abbas' government and the Palestinian Arabs with billions of dollars again. Neither a record of 15 years of lies, broken promises and terrorism nor a still ongoing campaign of terrorism has dampened their enthusiasm in the least. As of now the United States has committed 555 million dollars, over half a billion dollars, the European Union has kicked in 650 million dollars and France alone will be giving 300 million dollars and so will Germany and England. This of course is not nearly enough for the PA which has its hand held out to the tune of 5.6 billion dollars. Considering that the PA barely has any infrastructure, gets its power from Israel and has lost control and responsibility for the 1.5 million Arabs in Gaza leaving it with only half the population-- what exactly does Abbas need all that money for? In 2007 the Palestinian Authority took home nearly 1.5 billion dollars from the EU. In 2007 the White House earmarked 150 million dollars in direct cash for Abbas as part of a 512 million dollar aid package. The PA's population has now shrunk by half yet its budgetary demand have only increased. Where is all that money going? It's telling to look at the 2007 budget justification. The budget justification said the $150 million cash transfer would help the Palestinian government avert "an immediate fiscal crisis," while $130 million more in project assistance would help create "immediate employment opportunities" An additional $40 million would be devoted to improving the administration of Palestinian ministries, $10 million would be used to provide security for experts overseeing the project assistance, $25 million is aimed at narcotics enforcement, and $25 million would be devoted to training Palestinian forces loyal to Abbas. Also, $20 million would be used to make "immediate improvements" in delivering health care at government clinics. The remaining $35 million would help refugees. Weed out the rhetoric and the lion's share of the money is going into the same old money pit, the PA Ministries, a nepotistic network of family organizations and militias that do absolutely nothing but employ a staggering number of people. 150 million is just being given away as a blank check. Another 130 million is going into "job creation" and like all the billions advanced toward job creation is simply going to go toward Fatah's payments to the huge number of people it keeps on its payroll, including the militias attacking Israel and killing Israeli citizens. Another 40 million is being given away to the ministries directly to "improve their administration". 10 million will cover security for the American experts who will take a tour of the area because Abbas in reality controls nothing, including Fatah militias. Back in 2006 I wrote in "Where is the Palestinian Money Really Going" "Since the Palestinian government was never providing much in the way of services to begin with, actual services like electricity and water all coming from the Israeli side, the real issue is the 165,000 government workers. But why does the PA which has little in the way of an infrastructure need 165,000 government workers? Even the largest estimates of the Palestinian population clock in at around 3 million. That's one government worker per 18 Palestinians. 42.9 percent or 1.06 million of the overall population is under 14 and so wouldn't hold down government jobs either. An additional 73,000 is over 65. Of the remainder in the 15-64 year category 676,427 are male and 644,347 female. The female half can be eliminated as women generally don't hold down jobs in the PA. That means the actual ratio of Palestinian adult men is 676,427 to government workers at 165,000. In other words every 1 in 4 or 25 percent of Palestinian men would be government employees. On wages subsidized by America and Europe. With the loss of Gaza, the PA's numbers have only gotten worse. Even after the Hamas takeover of Gaza, the PA's government employees figure was still set at 165,000 as of July 2nd 2007. The PA's own website however pegs the number at 200,000 back in 2006. What that means now is that it's no longer 1 in 4 Palestinian men who are government employees. It's now as much as 1 in 2 or 50 percent of the adult Palestinian men who are government employees. If you can factor that in, it means that every other Palestinian male works for the PA. Obviously something is seriously wrong here. The 165,000 number is both inflated and so is the payroll for the PA. But in fact the The bulk of aid to the PA goes to fund government employees, many of whom likely don't even exist. Where the money is really going is anyone's guess, but much of it does indeed go to salaries just not of civil service workers, but of the terrorist and thug militias that make up the real backbone of the PA. Much of that money goes into foreign bank accounts for leading PA figures and funds their lavish mansions and luxury automobiles. The Washington Post lists the 5.6 billion giveaway as follows; "Seventy percent of the aid is to go for budget support, including $120 million a month to pay wages for the bloated public sector, and 30 percent is to be spent on development projects." In other words the PA salaries are listed at 120 million dollars a month! Even if we assume that this only covers the 165,000 government employees, that's 727 dollars per employee. That is of course not the average monthly salary for a PA government employee which is somewhere in the range of 300 dollars. In fact the Guardian has claimed that 60 percent of the PA is living on a pound a day. That obviously does not include PA employees. The PA "security forces" themselves range in the tens of thousands. The bulk of the PA's employees are really terrorists drawn from the Fatah and even the Hamas ranks. Local militias who enforce PA rule outside its base of power and Fatah loyalists in Gaza still being paid. The money being sent to the PA really consists of salary checks for an army of murderous thugs responsible for the ongoing reign of terror against both Israelis and Arabs. The 5.6 billion covers the massive bribes and the graft that has enriched the PA leadership all throughout the years even as the PA's infrastructure has collapsed. The one true employer in the West Bank is the Palestinian Authority itself funded by foreign aid, followed closely by international relief organizations such as the UNRWA which alone employs thousands of Palestinian employees and has virtually no actual outside UNRWA employees there anymore. Whatever remains of the Palestinian economy is parasitic on these. Like the Palestinian state, the Palestinian economy is a corrupt and bloody fiction. Its real economy is underground, it is rooted in drugs and weapons smuggling and theft, particularly car theft from Israel. While the international community pledges billions to keep on paying the terrorists to stay loyal to Abbas, that same community is insisting that Israel dismantle the checkpoints that keep those same terrorists from murdering Israelis. Having rearmed Fatah's terrorists with assault rifles and ammunition, poured billions into their war chest, the world is now eagerly demanding that Israel lower the gates so they can put their new toys to use. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

ISRAEL SENDS US VIDEOS OF EGYPT HELPING HAMAS Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 18, 2007.

Until Rice certifies or deems? This will go down as one of the all-time-great, self-nullifying, Congressional resolutions, along with the one about moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. As usual Jitzaa is paid So....Egypt will supply Hamas and let it stay in power, Egypt fears the Muslim Brotherhood and Mubarak and son fear assassination. Hamas will overpower Fatah or they will radicalize each other, either way Israel is their target. The common bond is death to the Jews. The US and Israel must wake up and see the reality, but as usual they will NOT until it is too late.... The Peace Treaty is constantly broken. This is called "Israel sends US videos of Egypt helping Hamas" and it was written by Yaakov Katz, Herb Keinon and Hilary Leila Krieger. It appeared today in the Jerusalem Post www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847366227&pagename= JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israel is sending video tapes showing Egyptian policemen assisting Palestinian terrorists along the Egypt-Gaza border to the United States Congress as part of an effort to influence the legislative body into clamping pressure on Cairo to stop weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip. The video footage -- which shows Egyptian security forces assisting Hamas terrorists cross illegally into Gaza -- is being transferred to Congress through diplomatic channels and is intended for senior congressmen and senators who can have an effect on the House foreign aid appropriations process. Israel believes this can be an effective way of pressuring Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak into clamping down on Hamas smuggling activities. The House and Senate agreed late Sunday on a 2008 foreign aid bill that would hold back $100 million in military aid for Egypt, out of a $1.3 billion allocation, unless US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice certifies that concerns about smuggling weapons into Gaza and human rights abuses have been addressed. It is the first time that Egyptian military aid, supplied since the Camp David Accords, would potentially be restricted. However, the newly agreed bill weakens language in an earlier House bill, which would have held back $200m. without certification. In addition, it added a provision allowing the restriction to be waived -- and the aid to flow as usual -- if Rice deems that holding back the aid to Egypt would endanger US national security interests. RELATED * 'Mubarak prefers that weapons go to Gaza instead of Cairo' Ideally, Israel would hope to see as much as $1b. in US aid being conditioned on a far more robust Egyptian antiterrorism effort at the Gaza border, but it recognizes that this is highly improbable. Officials in Washington could not confirm that the Israeli videotapes had been received, but assessments were that damning video footage of Egyptian Border Police involvement in the Gaza smuggling industry would badly damage Egypt's already tarnished image. That, however, might not be enough to force any change in aid arrangements, which face opposition by Egypt, a key US ally and some congressmen who worry reducing aid will damage the strategic US-Egypt-Israel relationship, among other concerns. A delegation of American military Engineers recently toured the Egyptian side of the Philadelphi Corridor and was shown a number of tunnels that the Egyptians tried to portray as being too small to smuggle weapons through. The delegation was not convinced by the Egyptians and demanded that Cairo take more decisive action against the smuggling industry. According to recent assessments, since Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June, the terrorist group has smuggled into Gaza 100 tons of explosives, millions of bullets, hundreds of antitank missiles and even a small number of Katyusha rockets. The new version of the 2008 foreign aid bill is likely to be approved by Congress in the coming days. However, US President George W. Bush has threatened to veto the measure for various reasons, including its language on family planning. The bill also contains $2.4b. in military aid to Israel and several sources of funds for Palestinians, including money for economic assistance and UNWRA. Congress showed some willingness to buck the administration's request of funds for the Palestinian Authority, reducing a $150m. direct funding request to $100m., according to Congressional staff. If Bush vetoes the bill, funding would presumably be maintained at 2007 levels for the time being. In that case, any restriction on Egyptian military aid would be a moot point in the immediate future. Israel, according to sources familiar with Israeli efforts to get Egypt to take more action along the border, has "definitely become more aggressive" on the issue in recent weeks. Israeli government officials explained that stepped-up Israeli action vis-a-vis the Americans on the smuggling issue coincides with a feeling in Jerusalem that Egypt is trying to "get closer" to Hamas. The assessment in Jerusalem is that this stems from the proximity of Hamas to Egypt and from the fact that Hamas, rather than losing its grip on Gaza, is actually consolidating its control. Egypt sees it as in its interest, according to this thinking, to ensure smooth relations with Hamas, something an active fight against arms smuggling could do. Likewise, the official said, Egypt is interested in seeing Hamas come back under the Palestinian Authority umbrella, and is playing a middleman role in trying to bring this about. An active campaign against the smuggling could interfere with that ability. "The Egyptians don't want to push too hard against Hamas, so they don't start pushing back," one official said. The official said that Egypt "does not want to get its hands too dirty" and would rather the Palestinians themselves deal with the arms-smuggling issue. One reason Cairo is interested in Hamas' re-incorporation into the PA is the belief that this could lower the level of violence. According to this thinking, a lower level of violence will lead to less arms smuggling, and as a result less will be asked of Egypt. Israel, by contrast, has made plain to PA President Mahmoud Abbas that the new Annapolis diplomatic process will be terminated if internal Palestinian negotiations on reincorporating Hamas into the PA are even attempted, much less concluded. Last week, Israel filed an official complaint with Cairo after Egypt unilaterally opened the Rafah Crossing and allowed Palestinians who claimed to be traveling to Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage to leave the Gaza Strip. Israel has received intelligence indicating that among the 1,700 pilgrims are a significant number of Palestinian terrorists who apparently traveled to Iran and Lebanon for training. In recent years, hundreds of Hamas terrorists have traveled abroad to Iran and Lebanon for military training. In response to the increasing number of violations, the Foreign Ministry filed a harsh complaint with Cairo and senior defense officials, including Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry Diplomatic-Security Branch, were scheduled to travel to Egypt for talks about the recent events. Editor's Note -- UPDATE: From Jerusalem Post, December 22, 2007, article by Herb Keinon and Yaakov Katz entitled "Why the US hasn't seen smuggling tapes". Despite efforts by the country's top security echelon to share with Congress videotapes of Egypt assisting Hamas in arms smuggling, the footage has been shown only to some administration officials and never made it to Congress, to avoid infuriating the Egyptians, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The decision to send the tapes to the Israeli Embassy in Washington was made by Israel's top defense echelon to influence the appropriations process in Congress ahead of a decision to withhold part of the foreign aid granted to Egypt. That the tape was not shown to Congress reflects a desire by Israel's political and diplomatic echelon not to escalate tension with Cairo by becoming directly involved in lobbying against Egypt in Congress. Of course, the smuggled weapons will be used against Israeli citizens but they don't count. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

IRAN'S SWEET OIL IS THE REASON FOR THE PHONY N.I.E. INTEL REPORT Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 18, 2007.

Following Bush's definitive speech about Iran shortly after the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate), the following is relevant about Muslim "Jihadists" (fighters for Islam) and the threat they pose. The Iranians Islamists were enemies before; they are enemies today and they will be enemies to all civilizations in the future. The same can be said for the Muslim Arab Palestinians as their Terror bombings continue with no end in sight. Did you get that, Condi? You have seemingly become the best ally Palestinian Terrorists ever had. The legacy you see for yourself and President Bush is pretty much carved in the stone you chiseled and hammered. Bashing Israel with your hammer of the State Department has, indeed, carved a tombstone IF you can only make Israel a corpse. Yes indeed, Condi, you and Bush will be remembered because you have carved your own history in stone. A glaring part of that history is ignoring the fact that there is not one Arab/Islamic nation whom you tried to appease that is a reliable friend and ally, including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, et al. So, where are we now? We are roughly in the same position where the diplomats and pacifists stood as Germany prepared for their Global War and the ascendency of their 1000 Year Reich. We in America were in an isolationist position and, until Pearl Harbor, we did not enter the War because it was too easy not to. So we paid for our isolationism at Pearl Harbor. Once again we stand still as a deadly enemy (Iran) builds its Nuclear capabilities much the same as did Hitler's Germany and Japan's military. While Hitler built his Air Force and Armored Forces, the Europeans and Americans could barely spare a glance at this growing threat. Here again our Intelligence failed us, as did our diplomats who artfully closed their eyes. The American diplomats were actively engaged in "peace" negotiations with Japan while Japan struck at Pearl Harbor. Surely, even you, as a shallow diplomat can see the parallel of Annapolis with you forcing useless negotiations on Israel and America as the Islamists engage in ceaseless war. Today, once again, our diplomats and Intelligence seem anxious to avoid dealing unequivocally with Iran's Nuclear threat while we are yet able to. Instead, the Terrorist nations of Iran, Syria and the "Jihadists" (fighters for Islam) around the world are being served by the State Department and manipulated Intelligence to go along with the diplomats' planning. The phony NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) Report, was designed to stop President Bush from facing down Iran at this critical time while Iran continues to build its Nuclear Weapons' capability. Again, American unwillingness to face enemies who would destroy our civilization will be a costly decision. As Hitler moved to his 1000 Year Reich, now we similarly see an Islamic Global "Jihad" moving toward the world's Muslims' desired Global Caliphate in order to control the Planet Earth in the name of Allah. Clearly, we have not yet learned from History as the diplomats, Intelligence Agencies and multi-national oil corporations maneuver the U.S. Government to avoid facing down Iran while there is still time. We fought terrible wars and lost thousands of our best young people because we waited too long in the past. Diplomacy could be great -- if only our enemies didn't view it as useless babble and a sign of our weakness. Somehow, our diplomats are always out of the line of fire when their weakness brings on our enemies' wars against us. Neville Chamberlain, as a diplomat, had a large faithful following of appeasers when he assured the British government and the world that he had negotiated with Adolph Hitler and brought "Peace In Our Time". The Arabist State Department, in collusion with high ranking officers in America's Intelligence and certain influential Washington personalities are once again assuring us they are bringing us a "Peace Package". The problem is that the "Jihadists" for Islam are bringing us a different message, which we don't want to hear. Are these pacifists merely engaged in treason or are they simply misguided diplomats who will become the pallbearers of our whole civilization? I would like to think these are merely incompetents who should have never made it into a position where their advice would make such a dangerous difference. Vital, close-up intelligence provided by Israelis who have great expertise on Iran, told America that Iran was/is deep into Nuclear Weapons' Development. They also told their American counterparts that Iran's alleged stoppage of Nuclear Weapons' Development in 2003 was both a sham and that Iran's Nuclear Weapons' program re-started in earnest by early 2005. We didn't want to listen and besides there was a "Shadow Government" operating openly in Washington that has their sights set on Iran's massive sweet oil reserves and their Nuclear Development be damned. In Israel, PM Ehud Olmert just ordered his Cabinet to "tone" down its disagreement with America's NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) Report. This poor, bumbling fool seems more concerned with the Bush-Rice "good will" than preserving his own nation and people from a Nuclear attack by Iran. Clearly, President Bush, Secretary Rice and former Secretary Baker are more anxious to maintain the Palestinian Terrorist capability as America pledges $555 millions of American tax-payers' money plus an additional $150 million dollars directly to Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah. The E.U. at the donors conference in France pledged $750 million as a down payment on the $5.5 Billion dollars Abbas has demanded of them. Remember when Nikita Khrushchev said to John F. Kennedy: "We will sell you the rope you use to hang yourselves with!"? (1) America went on to financially assist Russia in its recovery, much the same as America, the donor nations and even Israel is giving financial and materiel aid to the Palestinian Arab Muslims. Both have been vicious enemies of America as American tax-payers' pay for their military growth. As Bush plunges America's economy into a deepening recession, he has enough money to take away from the poor, elderly, ill and children to finance Palestinian Terror while appeasing the Saudis who refuse to use their trillions to assist their "Palestinian Brothers". Is there a forensic accountant out there who could give us an accurate compilation of what has already been paid out to the Muslim Arab Palestinians to date and the sources? While most of Africa is starving, the West has only priorities for the Arab Muslims whose needs are to grow greater armies, acquire more weapons and launch more wars. None of the billions upon billions went to build the infrastructure for a peaceful society but, rather to enlarge bank accounts of its leaders of Terror. Some of the billions created and continues to teach Muslim Arab Palestinian children from the age of 3 to hate and kill Jews. Then they bleat and howl that their people are starving, demanding that the West (not the oil rich Arabs) support their fast breeding masses from whom the controlling bureaucracies withheld donor funds. How did our so-called advanced civilization grow so stupid as to waste our treasure upon a society dedicated to Terror and eventual conquest of our own civilization? ### 1. "Beware Muslim Bait & Switch" by Emanuel A. Winston September 13, 2004 www.mail-archive.com/osint@yahoogroups.com/msg00253.html In closing, after I completed this article, I received an Email by Professor Daniel Pipes which bears on the above article. His title is: "Palestinian Authority's tax-payer funded open spigot must be closed now". Pipes shows 2 powerful graphs which illustrate "the more foreign aid, the more terrorism." Pipes concludes: "Rather than further funding Palestinian bellicosity, Western states, starting with Israel, should cut off all funds to the Palestinian Authority." (2) 2. "Palestinian Authority's Tax-Payer Funded Open Spigot Must Be Closed Now" by Professor Daniel Pipes Dec. 18, 2007 www.jewishworldreview.com/1207/pipes121807.php3?printer_friendly Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

RICE ALWAYS REBUKING ISRAEL; ISRAELI REGIME HELPS TERRORISM; HAMAS BECOMING STRATEGIC THREAT Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 18, 2007.

GOVERNMENT. UGH! Government traditionally is the enemy of the people. Socialists and liberals thought they could utilize governing authority to help the people. This has not worked out well. In the US, many agencies set up to institute reform or protect consumers, workers, etc., have come under control of big business. Agriculture policy subsidizes agribusiness and spraying of harmful chemicals. The Food and Drug Administration works too much for the drug companies and against nutritional supplementation. Osha neglects some dire hazards and makes onerous work rules about petty ones that would better be left to common sense. The Commerce or Treasury Departments interfere with business. The Education Dept. mostly wastes money. The State Dept. and intelligence agencies largely fail in their missions, when they even define them in the US interests rather than run them as rogue operations for countries whose payrolls they hope to join upon retirement. That is just a sampling. I am gaining respect for a measure of libertarianism. I have lost patience with our politicians who think that every public controversy must be resolved by public subsidy or regulation. The problem is that the presidential election campaign now seems to run for an incumbent's whole term. Candidates constantly think up new measures. Few people check how badly their earlier measures turned out. TWO STATES FOR WHAT PURPOSE? At a rally for Israel's largely Arab-constituted Communist Party, a Muslim leader said he favors a two-state "solution," but that Israel should not be a Jewish state. Statehood shouldn't be based on "race," he said. Most Arabs and Jews are of the same race, Caucasian. He means they shouldn't be based on ethnicity. He did not rebuke Arab states and the P.A. for subjugating or oppressing other ethnic groups and religions, some even banning Jews. That's what you call hypocrisy. Nobody has given a good reason for setting up a second Palestinian Arab state when the Palestinian Arabs are not even a separate people from the other Arabs and the Palestinian Arabs in Jordan possess 79% of the Jewish homeland without Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. SEC. RICE EVER REBUKING ISRAEL Sec. Rice called Israel's authorizing more construction within its capital "unhelpful" to the "peace process." (There is no peace process and anyway, appeasement does not bring peace, doesn't she know?) She does not call Arab building unhelpful, though it be done for strategic advantage. Neither does she rebuke the P.A. Arabs for promoting rather than crushing terrorism. All she comments about that is to say the P.A. should "do more" against terrorism, when it does nothing against terrorism and much for it. The US rarely has a decent Secretary of State but often a biased one. U.S. WANTS TO STUDY ISRAELI BUILDING PLANS The US asked to see Israel's plans for building 300 more apartments (equivalent to three 13-story buildings) in Jerusalem's Har Homa section, which the US deems a settlement. Israel differentiates annexed areas of Jerusalem from non-annexed areas of Judea-Samaria (IMRA, 12/7). The US wants to study the plans so it can oppose them. Israel should refuse to comply. It must learn to tell the US to run its own country, not Israel. This is an arrogance that somehow escapes notice by the many critics of US interference with other countries. Israel repeatedly sets itself up for future controversy with the US by acceding to vague and unjustified State Dept. demands whose meaning they later dispute. ISRAELI GOVERNMENT FOR TERRORISM Israel lets the raw materials for rockets be shipped into Gaza and furnishes the electricity needed to fabricate the rockets. Justice for Pollard states that the electricity is free (but I heard that the utility company charges the P.A. for it). The government would rather that terrorists fire rockets at Israelis than that Israel withhold raw materials and electricity and be accused (falsely) of punishing "innocent civilians." By the same token, the government would rather that Jonathan Pollard die in a US prison for a minor offense than be released, embarrassing Israeli officials and perhaps suing them. PM Olmert frees hundreds of terrorist prisoners but fails to ask Pres. Bush to free Pollard. Peres travels all over without raising the question about Pollard (IMRA, 12/7). BOMB & KNIVES STOPPED AT CHECKPOINT An Arab carrying a bomb and two knives was caught at a checkpoint near Nablus. Imagine if the checkpoint had been dismantled, at US demand, because the Arabs claim it humiliates them! (IMRA, 12/8). Their society is set up to promote terrorism. They make checkpoints required and they deserve any humiliation. HAMAS SEEKS CEASEFIRE WITH ISRAEL Afraid of a major Israeli attack, Hamas is seeking a ceasefire with Israel, in order to be able to continue its military buildup against Israel, undisturbed (IMRA, 12/9). That is an old Islamic ruse. It should be rejected and specifically denounced as an old jihadist ruse. It's time the world learned about jihadist deceit. PAPAL VALUES The Pope's message stressed upholding families. He thinks this requires universal health care and nuclear disarmament. He criticized the US for over-consuming resources, thereby contributing to global warming. He recommended that international agencies take custody over the planet's resources (Nicholas Wapshott, NY Sun, 12/13, p.6). The goals are noble, the criticism unfair, the recommendations impractical. International agencies are not angelic. They bicker, bureaucratize, and favor evil regimes. The US does over-consume resources. So do the great industrial sectors of China and India. So do Japanese lumber companies and countries that subsidize over-fishing. So do subsistence farmers, whose goats erode meadows and whose wood-chopping erodes woods and mountains. So do Arabs who over-populate arid areas and extract too much water from aquifers. This is a global problem for which the US bears some responsibility but should not be made a scapegoat that lets other guilty parties off the hook. Health care is too expense the Western way, which is to make people sick and get expensive medicine that sets them up for other illness. We need to return to good (organic and unrefined) food, water, and supplements and switch to holistic medicine, which is much cheaper and safer. Also needed are hospital reform (such as sanitation and computerized records) and a reduction in bureaucracy. Then take up who should be helped to medical care, which would be needed less often. HAMAS UPGRADING ROCKET POTENTIAL Egypt has let into Gaza Iranian experts in rocketry. Hamas has improved the ability to store rockets and is close to improving their range. Hamas could accumulate large numbers and fire large salvos when desired (IMRA, 12/7). This is a strategic menace. Again, what is Israel waiting for, a massive bombardment? Yes. Its excuse may be that it can't stand up to criticism of self-defense unless its justification is obvious. This assumes that it is unable to explain what isn't obvious. This is a reflection of its incompetence and the world's bias. A friend told me that Israel "was criticized" for attacking Lebanon. I replied by whom, the usual enemies and critics of Israel? Is Israel then to let its soldiers be kidnapped and murdered with impunity, and Hizbullah to build up forces on its border for what it declares would be genocide? She should know that the Arabs have made many attacks that Israeli did not retaliate against. Is it right for her fellow Jews to murdered, and wrong for Israel to try to stop the murderers? Does she respect a "world" that criticizes Israel and not the aggressors? The US criticized Israel's first bombing of an Arab nuclear reactor. That spared US forces in the first Gulf War. The criticism of Israel is not rational. She should disregard it and her sources, NPR and the NY Times. ANTI-ISRAEL AMERICA Pres. Bush deferred for another half-year the Congressional requirement to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Pres. Bush said he remained "committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem." The US joined the EU and the UNO in denouncing Israel for issuing building tenders for 300 apartments in Jerusalem. Israeli officials called it "unrealistic" to expect them to forego building in an area Israel annexed after the Six Day War and before current negotiations (Benny Avni, NY Sun, 12/13, p.6). The US, EU, and UNO do not denounce the Muslims for construction thousands of buildings, many illegal. Their one-sided denunciation of Israel should be called hypocritical and themselves shamed for its injustice. It is outrageous of the US, but it is not unrealistic to make demands of an appeasement-minded and anti-Zionist Israeli regime that has made foolish and counter-productive concessions and even more dangerous offers of concessions. The morally weak and anti-Zionist Israeli regimes make vague promises to the hostile State Dept., and then are criticized when they feel too much domestic pressure to keep those promises. That shifts the controversy from the gall of the State Dept. to the veracity of Israel. It gives the State Dept. an excuse to be indignant towards Israel, whereas the State Dept. officials should be purged for helping jihadist enemies of the US. Pres. Bush, like Pres. Clinton, has illegally deferred embassy relocation for two terms. That contradicts Bush's claim of commitment to relocation. It confirms accusations that the State Dept. and the Presidents nominally in charge of it seek to wrest Jerusalem from Israeli sovereignty, as the State Dept. originally had hoped to do. Let's stop hearing the absurd assertion that Clinton and Bush have been friends of Israel. In helping jihadists against Israel, they haven't even been friends of the US! Republican and Democratic Presidents come and go, but the anti-Zionist State Dept. remains. A TEST OF RICE'S POLICY ASSUMPTIONS In one day, Israeli police discovered the identities of the three P.A. policemen who murdered an Israeli in Judea-Samaria. They caught two of them. If Abbas' P.A. were for peace and anti-terrorist, it would have prosecuted severely the third one. Instead, it put him under police protection from Israel. Its forces would be clearing out terrorists instead of distributing to the black market the ammunition the US sent it and threatening to join Hamas if Israel attacks Gaza to clear out its terrorists (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 12/6). How was Israel able to solve the case so fast? Was it because the secret service was collaborating with the assassins to liquidate a prominent opponent of the regime? Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL AND JONATHAN POLLARD Posted by Anthony Rose, December 17, 2007.

BS"D A new campaign is under way: SEND THE US AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL HOME UNTIL JONATHAN POLLARD IS HOME. A fax was sent to him last week stating that this campaign would begin, if Jonathan Pollard wasn't home in time for Shabbat. Everywhere Richard Jones,current US Ambasssador to Israel goes, the name of Jonathan Pollard will follow him. Anyone interested in helping the campaign,please send an e-mail to rosesam@zahav.net.il. Contact Anthony Rose by email at rosesam@zahav.net.il To Go To Top

ANTI-SEMITISM IS A RESULT OF IDENTITY THEFT AS WELL AS IDENTITY SACRIFICE Posted by Evelyn Hayes, December 17, 2007.

Anti-Semitism is created when there is a void. Allow me to identify that void. That void is Asserting and Protecting our Identity as Jews. When one fails to assert or protect their identity properly, one becomes an easy target for identity theft. The Palestinians, have recognized this void and have taken the golden opportunity to steal our identity. They claim that Israel is occupying their Land promised by Allah. It is their Land exclusively. It is a holy War, Jihad to destroy the Jews. We are G-d's chosen people, chosen to keep His commandments and to live in the Land of Israel where the Commandments can best reach their potential. Through keeping the commandments of the H-ly Torah, we become a vessel to receive all of G-d's blessings. The nations of the world will be blessed since we are the conduit of blessings to mankind. Therefore, the leaders of our generation, the Rabbis of our generation, must not be afraid to state openly that the Land of Israel is the inheritance of the Nation of Israel exclusively. The entire world belongs to the Creator of the World. The Nation of Israel by keeping the commandments of the Torah in the Land of Israel, will infuse the entire Land and subsequently the entire world with holiness. Failure to do so results in a void, in a chillul Hashem which is the meaning of anti-Semitism. (anti shem which refers to a nullification of G-d's name). We fool ourselves in believing that we can fight anti-Semitism in any other way other than to assert our true identity. Our identity and purpose and mission is defined in the Bible and spelled out in the Covenant between G-d and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to their seed. It is an everlasting Covenant for all generations. Malcolm Hoenein and his organization the Conference of Presidents, are excellent in tracking anti-Semitism throughout the world. Unfortunately, they are blind to the fact that a Two State Solution, the Roadmap Plan following in the footsteps of Camp David and Oslo is the actual CAUSE of anti-Semitism.. Malcolm Hoenlein said that Oslo is an agreement that can not revoked. Yet any agreement is null and void if its foundation is based on a false premise. G-d's Torah on the other hand can never be revoked. As I mentioned, Malcolm Hoenlein and the Conference of Presidents do a wonderful job tracking all the incidents of anti-Semitism throughout the world. Over the past few years they themselves recognize a significant increase in the rise of anti-Semitism. Simultaneously, Malcolm Hoenlein and many of the Jewish organizations he represents, actively engage in activity that promotes and gives rise and perpetuates anti-Semitism! You are shocked no doubt! What is their specific activity that has brought a rise anti-Semitism? The answer is that they are actively engaged in negotiating the rights to the Land of Israel away to our enemies. This is in direct conflict with G-d's Covenant. G-d clearly gives exclusive rights to the Land of Israel to the Nation of Israel. The borders are clearly delineated. Malcolm Hoenlein may give the impression that this is a racist concept in today's modern world. The Jews are above racism he will argue. Us Jews do not act like our enemies. We do not stoop to their level. We treat all of humanity equally and humanely so we will give our Palestinian neighbors a fair share as long as there is reciprocity. Mr. Hoenlein, that is not what the Torah says. The Torah says that the borders of Israel are exclusively for the Nation of Israel. The borders of Israel are clearly delineated in the Torah. The Torah is real and relevant and Malcolm Hoenlein's perception is not real or relevant even though he will convince others to believe that he knows how we must face and how to deal in the "real" world and work with reality. He will portray our position as being against progress for true and everlasting peace and goodwill with our neighbors. So I beseech my dear Friends to call upon Malcolm Hoenlein and specifically JMINTHEAM nachum@wfmu.org, and all the wonderful Young Israels under the leadership of Rabbi Pesach Lerner plerner@youngisrael.org such as the Young Israel of Midwood, Rabbi Shulman rabbi@yimidwood.org and the Young Israel of the West Side, Rabbi Dovid Cohen cohen.dovid@gmail.com who so proudly hosts Malcolm Hoenlein (see this coming Shabbos Scholar in Residence December 21st) to look inward. Why can't they see that they too are giving Malcolm Hoenlein a forum to promote the Two State Solution, Roadmap Plan. True you may argue that Malcolm Hoenlein promotes an undivided Jerusalem and is promoting the United Coalition for an Undivided Jerusalem including all of the mainstream Jewish organizations under this banner. To this argument let me bring a Mishneh in Yuma Perek Gimel Mishneh Aleph. Translation is Artscroll Mishneh Series. Here, the Mishneh returns to the original topic of the tractate which is the order of the Yom Kippur Service. 1.The administrator said to them [to the assembled Kohanim]; 'Go out and see, if the time for slaughtering has arrived.' If it had arrived, the one who sees [it] says 'Barkai.' Mattisya ben Shmuel says[He was the administrator of the lots, as mentioned in Shekalim 5:1;]; 'The whole of the east has lit up.' "As far as Hebron" and he says, 'Yes!' 2.Why was this necessary? Because one time the moon's light rose and they thought that the east had lit up, so they slaughtered the daily sacrifice, and then [had to] take it out to the place of burning. There was a specially designated viewing station in the Temple where an observer went up to see whether day had dawned. In the Temple service, any slaughter performed at night is invalid, Day is reckoned from dawn -- i.e. when the first shimmer of light is observed on the eastern horizon. The people in the Temple asked the observer "As far as Hebron?" i.e. Did you see the sky lit up as far as Hebron?' (Rambam, Rav) Yerushalmi (2:1) says that they mentioned Hebron in order to allude to the merit of the Patriarchs who were buried there. When I read these Mishnayos it made me so happy to see that the slaughtering of the sacrifices in the temple could not begin until the sky lit up as far as Hebron. In fact once there was a mistake and the light of the moon was mistaken for light of daybreak and they slaughtered too early and it was invalid and had to be thrown away and burnt. It came to mind that we too can mistake the light of Galus (exile, night) for the real morning light and our sacrifices will be for naught. For the real thing we need to see till Hebron. So when we speak of an undivided Jerusalem, for real service of the Temple, we must speak of an undivided Jerusalem extending till Hebron. Of course if we are merely speaking about a museum representing Jerusalem, Hebron is not that important. We are not striving to restore Jerusalem to the way it was but merely as a zecher LeChurban. A remembrance. Once there was a beautiful house of charity. They had parties for combating Lung Cancer, and the Heart Association and Special Olympics and Meir Panim and Multiple Sclerosis to name a few. They sent relief to all natural disasters all over the world. There was a homeless beggar outside this house that was clearly criminal. The owner of the house fed him and let him in the house on those cold nights. After all he liked the reputation of being charitable and was going to show the world that he was not cruel or inhumane to let that poor beggar suffer outside. So he let the beggar into the basement. After a while the beggar trashed the basement. The owner tried to explain to him that he took him off the streets and it wasn't nice of the beggar to trash the basement. The beggar seemed indifferent and grew stronger day by day from the good food and shelter. The beggar told him it's not fair that he, the owner, has this beautiful house and that the beggar was only stuck in the basement. The beggar demanded the upstairs as well. The beggar brought lots of friends into the house now. The owner was intimidated. He tried to negotiate with the new guests. He told them that he absolutely refuses to give them the kitchen. In this kitchen they had prepared the most beautiful parties for all these charitable causes. A fight broke out between the beggar and his "friends". Some felt that the previous occupier of the house should have absolutely no rights to the kitchen. The others argued that of course they would never allow the previous occupier to cook in the kitchen but they would agree to letting them have some access. In basic principle the interlopers agreed. The former occupier had to eventually leave. Allowing the museum of the kitchen was simply a tactic to easily take over the upstairs. Temporarily they would allow him to have a museum of the kitchen. It would give him the allusion of being in control. Cooking of course is out of the question. Of course after they take over the entire upstairs, they'll have an easier time to get rid of the occupiers from kitchen as well. By now I hope you have seen the analogy. Where did the owner go wrong? He should have banished the criminal beggar at the very start from coming in close proximity to his beautiful house. He should have scared the heck out of him and if that didn't work should have gone one step further. The house was a place of charity and peace. By bringing in the criminal beggar he put the prosperity and peace of his house in danger. Not only that, he let down and actually abandoned all the worthy organizations that can no longer be helped by this wonderful house. He refused to assert his rightful ownership of his house and as a result, due to his own self righteousness and other vices destroyed all that he had. and ruined the goodness that he was capable of providing and actually did provide. Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD READY TO SEND 10,000 MEN TO "PALESTINE" Posted by Koira, December 17, 2007.

http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD178607 Muslim Brotherhood Leader Sheikh Mahdi 'Akef: We Are Ready to Send 10,000 Men to Palestine, But Egyptian Government Should Arm Them; There's No Such Thing as Al-Qaeda -- The Americans Made It Up Special Dispatch-Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project, #1786 The following are excerpts from an interview with Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt leader Sheikh Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef, which aired on Al-Hiwar TV on November 30, 2007. To view the clip of this interview, visit: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1627.htm. To view MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 409 "Public Debate on the Political Platform of the Planned Muslim Brotherhood Party in Egypt," visit: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=egypt&ID=IA40907. To view the Muslim Brotherhood MEMRI TV page, visit: www.memritv.org/subject/en/345.htm. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

The following is the Al-Hiwar interview: Interviewer: "During the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, you said that the Muslim Brotherhood was prepared to arm 10,000 young men, and to send them to Lebanon in order to support the resistance. Does thisapply to Palestine too?" 'Akef: "This applies to any country under occupation. One of the principles of the Muslim Brotherhood is to rid the Arab and Islamic nation of any foreign rule. The Muslim Brotherhood must support all the forces of resistance in the Arab and Islamic world." Interviewer: "From where will they get the weapons?" 'Akef: "I don't know. I was talking about men, not weapons. I said we would recruit 10,000 men..." Interviewer: "Armed men..." 'Akef: "No, you added the word 'armed.' The government must arm these people. When I fought in Palestine, the government knew about it. The government trained and armed us. As you well know, the military commanders worked with the Muslim Brotherhood. When we fought the English in 1951 in the [Suez] Canal, the government knew about it. We would undergo weapons training within [Al-Azhar] University." [...] 'Akef: "In no country and under no circumstances is it possible to launch resistance unless the government approves of it. Otherwise, we would be fighting the government, which is not our policy." [...] Interviewer: "There are Sunnis, members of Al-Qaeda, who kill civilians in the name of Islam. There are Shi'ites who kill Sunnis in the name of Islam..." 'Akef: "All these things are American Zionist tricks. The Shi'ites attack one another, the Sunnis attack one another, and the Sh'iites attack the Sunnis. But the Muslim Brotherhood has a principle, which I declared from day one: The Shi'ites and Sunnis are brothers." [...] 'Akef: "I'd like to go back to the issue of Al-Qaeda. There is no such thing as Al-Qaeda. This is an American invention, so that they will have something to fight for..." Interviewer: "What about Osama bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri, and the Islamic State of Iraq?" 'Akef: "When one man, or two or three, fight this tyrannical global superpower -- is it worth anything?" Interviewer: "Thousands have carried out attacks in the Iraq in the name of Al-Qaeda..." 'Akef: "That is a lie. Who says so?" Interviewer: "They do." 'Akef: "No, the Americans and their collaborators say this." Interviewer: "But they claim responsibility for these attacks..." 'Akef: "Al-Qaeda has an ideology, which makes them..." Interviewer: "You described it once as a perverted ideology." 'Akef: "Of course it is. It is a perverted ideology, which employs methods that do not please Allah. How can I kill a Muslim when this is forbidden?" Contact Koira by email at koira@dbmail.com To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: INSUFFERABLE Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 17, 2007.

It's not unexpected, none of it. But this makes it no less tolerable. The happenings at the "donor" meeting of 90 nations and agencies in Paris. The international community is rushing to bankroll the PA. Abbas was looking for $5.6 billion over three years, but the nations and organizations of the world are so eager to be on board that they've pledged $7.4 billion (though there's no guarantee it will all materialize); for the year 2008, the US has pledged $550 million and Europe and the Japanese $800 million. Condoleezza Rice participated, undoubtedly with great relish. She urged generous support, saying, "The Palestinian Authority is experiencing a serious budgetary crisis. This conference is literally the government's last hope to avoid bankruptcy." How does one avoid becoming infuriated in the face of this? There was -- as was entirely predictable -- no demand for accountability. The PA is rife with corruption and mismanagement. But let's hear those pledges for funds to save the Palestinians from themselves. One example of mismanagement will suffice here: The PA payroll is severely bloated. Tens of thousands of people beyond what had been stipulated at Oslo were put on the rolls of the security forces by Arafat; there were was supposed to be 30,000 in these forces and ended up 80,000. This offering of "proteczia," this bribery, was his style. As one Palestinian explained, "Arafat wanted to provide jobs for as many Palestinians as possible...The international community was anyway paying the salaries." But since Abbas replaced Arafat this hasn't changed. In fact, now PA authorities are afraid to let all of the excess people go, because once unemployed they will be disgruntled and might end up with Hamas. So the international community will pay a bloated payroll. The majority (70%) of the funds will go for expenses such as this, not for development at all. What is more -- guaranteed -- some of those payroll funds will end up in the hands of terrorists, because terrorists have been put on the PA payroll. A good number of them don't even show up for work. ~~~~~~~~~~ And corruption? As Ephraim Inbar put it in July: "...billions of euros transferred to the PA have been squandered and misused. The PA...[is] quite ingenious in siphoning parts of the aid to those members least in need of outside support." Abbas even received a letter recently from an anti-corruption "young Turk" of the Fatah party who's in prison. He, backed by hundreds of others, implored Abbas to get his own house in order before negotiating with Israel. But never mind...rush to help the poor Palestinians. Don't ask them hard questions, that wouldn't be politically correct. ~~~~~~~~~~ One of the most serious mistakes being make here is the assumption that pouring money into Palestinian coffers will promote civil reform -- that it will "fix" things. The hard reality is that over the last several years the Palestinians have received per capita more money in international support than any other people. By the light of this reasoning, they should be doing marvelously well now. But as it is, they have no civil infrastructure in place. ~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, we are being told that the reason the Palestinians haven't thrived and made something of themselves is because of the "occupation," which is nonsense. After Oslo we pulled out of Palestinian population centers; they were free to develop in a host of ways, but did not. ~~~~~~~~~~ And today there was the despicable arrogance of Abbas, who plays his role so well. Said he: "I'll be eager to implement all our commitments under the road map, and I expect the Israeli side to do the same, comprehensively, and without excuses, by us or by them. "I expect them to stop all settlement activities, without exceptions." How noble this sounds. But Abbas is afraid to leave Ramallah for fear of physical harm. His security officers have admitted that the forces are incompetent and have no orders to go after gunmen associated with Fatah. Abbas cannot honor his commitment under the roadmap to eliminate terrorist infrastructure. But he makes demands of us. ~~~~~~~~~~ Abbas is quoted as having said today that he won't negotiate with Hamas, but what I'm reading is that he won't negotiate "based on a fait accompli," which I take to mean their takeover of Gaza. He's been saying this all along, and Hamas has been signaling willingness to undo part of that takeover. I see Abbas's statement today as a ploy to satisfy donors and no more. Several times already I've relayed credible reports indicating that Fatah is talking with Hamas with an eye to reconciliation. Abbas also alluded to the dire conditions in Gaza (which he said was headed for "catastrophe"); he made a bid for international support for Gaza, which would mean reducing the isolation of Hamas. (Cynic that I am, in my head I can hear Abbas advising the Hamas leaders, "Keep a low profile here and I'll see if I can get something for you, too.) ~~~~~~~~~~ John Bolton gave an interview on Arutz Sheva radio today. He said that the NIE report was more political than intelligence-based, and was meant only to undercut President Bush's policies on Iran. Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

THE REVERSIBLE, CUSTOMIZED, MISSIONARY-IZED TIMNA TABERNACLE (THANKS JNF) Posted by Ellen W. Horowitz, December 17, 2007.

Some of you may have been to Park Timna in the Southern Arava. The project, sponsored by Keren Kayemet (JNF), has quite a lot to offer. One of the featured attractions -- which appears on the Timna Park website -- is a guided tour of the reconstruction of the Tabernacle, where -- for an additional cost -- you can learn about the roots of the Israelites in the desert. http://redseadesert.com/html/006timnafamilies.html It seems that quite a few Torah observant Jews (including Yeshiva and school groups) as well as Bible-believing Christians have been there and done that. It seems that more than a few secular Jews have been taken on a magical missionary tour off the beaten track. One alert Israeli forwarded a complaint to Jerusalem Councilwoman Mina Fenton, after he brought his family to the exhibit and discovered that Christian missionaries were the official tour guides (he became suspect when a overly dressed and zealous female worker seemed to indicate that the model Tabernacle was an authentic holy structure). And so I decided to investigate... The model of the Tabernacle was designed in Germany by divinity school students per the specifications outlined in Exodus and Leviticus. The Europeans designers did not try to incorporate rabbinical interpretations. "As a basic method to such questions, the right idea is to stay strict to the facts. Stick to what you know. All the other ideas and interpretations are fine, but it should be clear that they are not from the original data." http://bcisrael.com/id13.html It was purchased by representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention -- in cooperation with Michael Lavie, a secular kibbutznik and the Director of the Timna National Park. Herbby Geer, the Southern Baptist Convention representative who facilitated the Timna Tabernacle deal said, ³When Jews tour the tabernacle, it stimulates their interest and encourages them to go back to the Old Testament for more research and study. That¹s very exciting for us because we believe that as people seek the Lord He'll reveal Himself to them." -- ... and Geer noted that "there is a messianic movement [in Israel]... but it's still a very, very small percentage." http://www.thealabamabaptist.org/ip_template.asp?upid=3587 [Note: since that article was written in 2004 the Messianic Jewish population in Israel has more than doubled from 7000 adherents to more than 15,000] Geer's feeling are echoed by a number of blogs written by Christian visitors, tour guides and Messianic Jewish volunteers who work at the site. The following is a sample: Our purpose for visiting Eilat for four weeks was to work on a nearby project known as the Tabernacle. Out in the desert very near where the children of Israel would have passed on their way out of Egypt, a full scale Tabernacle has been set up for people to tour. When the Jewish people see the replica they tend to identify with a part of their history and worship in a new way. We worked on many maintenance projects around the Tabernacle and Josh even gave a few tours. In Eilat, we also worked in cooperation with some missionaries and participated in a very strong and active congregation of believers. http://www.pvcplans.com/ISRAEL.HTM In 2006, Herbby Geer and his wife Anne -- the representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention -- who brought the Tabernacle to Israel were denied visa renewals by the Ministry of Interior. "Israel Has Denied Renewal Of Baptist Visas" http://www.persecutionblog.com/2006/02/israel_has_deni.html You can read more about the missionary intentions of the Baptist Convention at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/sept99/baptists09.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/AntiSemi/6741.htm After reading a particularly Christian slant on the Tabernacle, which was fed to Israelis working at the Timna site -- along with a copy of the New Testament and picture of Jesus -- I gave the Timna Park office a call and spoke to the secretary Deborah. I told her that I had heard rumors that the Tabernacle tours were being conducted by Messianic Jews. She asked me to hold for a minute ( a rather loud and lengthy exchange of words ensued before Deborah returned to the phone). Deborah told me that the Tabernacle tours are conducted by Jews, but that they believe in Jesus. Per my request, she gave me the name of the organization and amuta in charge of the Tabernacle, as well the phone number of one of the current Tabernacle tour guides. She made it clear that Timna Park is under the auspices of Keren Kayemet (JNF), but the Tabernacle display is a private endeavor and costs an additional NIS 15/person to enter -- on top of the park entry fee. I then called the Tabernacle tour guide -- who made it clear that Park Timna officials make the arrangements for all Tabernacle tours (you follow me?) She told me that the Tabernacle display was built by a European Christian Bible School and then sold to the group which currently runs the operation. She told me that Messianic Jews, Southern Baptists and other non-Jews are involved in the administration (she said that she herself is not Jewish). She told me that she gives Jewish groups a lecture straight from Sefer Shmot, and that she gives Christian groups a spin according to their beliefs. This customized approach to Jewish history is backed up by the Israir Airlines site... A fairly new feature at Timna Park is a re-creation of the Old Testament Tabernacle that the Children of Israel carried during their 40-year sojourn in the desert, after having departed from Egypt. Built by a group of German theology students to the original measurements as they appear in the Book of Exodus, the Tabernacle, located adjacent to Solomon¹s Pillars, is an attraction for both Christian and Jewish groups and individuals, with tours and explanations adapted to the beliefs and cultural contexts of the specific visitors. http://www.israirairlines.com/guide.asp?id=265&menu_id=246 But I wonder what happens when a mixed group of Jews and Christians shows up... Strange place that Timna Park... "Mysterious Religious Ceremony At Solomon's Pillars" http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3454241,00.html Note: JNF (The Jewish National Fund) and the Israel Antiquities Authority are actively meeting with Evangelical leaders to launch a number of Biblical theme Park projects throughout Israel. Ellen Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights, Israel with her husband and six children. She is a painter and columnist for Israelnationalnews.com. email: ellen@artfromzion.com To Go To Top

U.S. CONSIDERING TIME CONSUMING UNPROVEN PLANS TO BLOCK SMUGGLING TO GAZA INSTEAD OF SIMPLE IMMEDIATE SOLUTION Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 17, 2007.

It would take a team of contractors a few days to bulldoze a deep no man's zone that would make the tunnel length required for smuggling open the border incredibly expensive and also so technically difficult that it would require a readily observable level of activity. The workability of the program is a function of the size of the bags of cash that are handed out to the people being evacuated from the area (money that actually reaches the evacuees). It is a simple solution. Doesn't cost an incredible amount of money. And it is intuitive. But is has two big problems: #1 It can be done quickly. #2 It works. Two strikes against it as far as Egypt is concerned. That's because -- oops -- they have a vested interest in keeping the smuggling tunnels open (weaken Israel, maintain relations with Hamas, etc.). But what of the U.S. team? Are they just going through the motions? The article below is entitled "U.S. weighs plan to help Egypt block arms smuggling to Gaza." It is by Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent. It appeared today and is archived at www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935133.html

The Americans plan to send a delegation of officers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and engineers from the Department of Defense to Sinai in the near future to conduct an initial feasibility study and discuss the issue with the Egyptians. The recommendation to send the delegation came from two senior administration officials who visited Israel and Egypt a few weeks ago to investigate Israel's claim that the Egyptians were not doing enough to stop weapons-smuggling into Gaza. The two, Robert Danin of the State Department and Mark Kimmitt of the Defense Department, went to Sinai to examine Egypt's handling of the problem first-hand. In their report, the two proposed several possible solutions to the problem. The first was to give the Egyptians sophisticated tunnel-detection and demolition equipment that would aid them in locating and destroying the smuggling channels. The second was to dig a deep canal the entire length of the Gaza-Egypt border, filled with water, thereby making it much harder to tunnel under the line. The third was to create an obstacle along the border comprised of piles driven deep into the earth. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had also proposed the canal idea to the Egyptians about six months ago. Her idea was for a joint venture between Israel, Egypt, the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority. Prior to Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in August 2005, when Israel controlled the Gaza-Egypt border, the Israel Defense Forces also used various methods to try and shut down the tunnels. One involved building a 10-meter-deep wall along part of the border. The army also deployed engineering units with specialized equipment along the border to detect and destroy the tunnels; five soldiers from this unit were killed in May 2004 when an antitank missile hit their armored jeep. The IDF also considered destroying hundreds of houses in the border town of Rafah in order to make room for a canal on the Gazan side of the border, but Israeli legal officials concluded that such widespread house demolitions would be a violation of international law. The army also considered installing special sensors -- "geophones" -- that could detect movement in the earth and thereby identify tunnel digging. Danin and Kimmitt also recommended setting up a trilateral security commission, composed of Israeli, Egyptian and American representatives, that would deal with all the issues related to the Gaza-Egypt border -- weapons smuggling, border crossings by terrorists, border control and so forth. Israel, however, opposes such a commission. "The Egyptians aren't doing enough against the tunnels, and the responsibility is theirs," explained a government source. "A trilateral commission would create a situation in which Israel was also responsible." Israeli officials believe that while understanding of the problem caused by weapons smuggling is growing inside the U.S. administration, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her aides support the Egyptian position -- which is that Israel must agree to amend the 1978 peace treaty, so as to allow more Egyptian soldiers to be stationed along the border. Egypt wants to double its current force of 750 soldiers, to 1,500, but Israel opposes this. Egyptian defense sources told Agence France-Presse on Sunday that they had uncovered two weapons-smuggling tunnels that had apparently been used in the past, but did not find any weapons in them. The report said that Egyptian forces are destroying the tunnels, but did not mention any arrests having been made. On a related issue, Israel lodged a protest with the U.S. last week, over what it termed Egyptian and Saudi aid to Hamas in allowing Palestinian pilgrims to leave Gaza to participate in the hajj to Mecca. Senior Foreign Ministry officials met with one of Rice's deputies, David Welch, and told him that Israel does not understand why the Egyptians enabled the pilgrims to leave, which helped Hamas and weakened PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Livni, who is currently in Paris to attend a conference of donor nations to the PA, is expected to raise this issue in her meeting Monday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Related articles: # Egypt: IDF soldiers are aiding arms smuggling to Gaza Strip # Rice: U.S. to check Israeli claims Egypt-Gaza smuggling persists # IDF: 7 arms smuggling tunnels found under Gaza-Egypt border # Dichter: Egypt capable of halting Gaza arms smuggling within day Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

A MODEST PROPOSAL -- HOW TO STOP THE GOV'T DESTROYING ISRAEL Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, December 17, 2007.

It seems that the consensus of all the experts is that we are in for another major betrayal by the Powers That Be. There is to be a new Sharon style Pogrom expelling 300,000 Jews from what is left of Yeshah, Jerusalem is to be divided or internationalized and the Arabs are to be given yet another large chunk of Israel to control and use to destroy what little is left over of the State of Israel. So, what to do? We have tried demonstrations. We have tried elections. We have tried behind the scenes pressure and deals. None of it has had the slightest effect and did not prevent the expulsion of a single Jew from his home nor increased the safety of those Jews still allowed to live in their homes. So why should any of that work now? The time has come to use a serious weapon. One that will force the situation. The time has come to use money. My modest proposal is that we withdraw as much cash as is possible from Israeli banks. Also, if you have Israeli bonds, cash them in. It would also be helpful to stop using credit cards and pay for everything in cash as well. I was recently told that if as little as 1% of bank assets were withdrawn, this would send the system into chaos. I further suggest that at the time of withdrawal, the bank manager be given a letter explaining that you are removing your money in protest of the Oslo treason and will not return your cash until such time as it is officially ended, the Palestinian Authority is null and void and Yeshah is officially annexed to the State of Israel. As I said, a modest proposal. This approach has four major virtues: It is totally legal. It is nonviolent. It does not require any fancy organizations. It will work! I have attempted to anticipate and answer some questions about this idea. I am sure there are many others but I do not promise that I will have the answers or answers that will satisfy you. Q: I have outstanding checks and bills to pay. How can I possibly do this? A: It is your money that should be withdrawn, not your common sense. Of course you must pay your bills and keep your business and other activities functional. No one is asking you to commit financial suicide. However, every Agurah above that, take it out of the system and put it in a shoe box under your bed. Q: But won't this seriously hurt the economy? Is it really the right thing to do? Isn't this anti-democratic? A: Yes it will. When the Histadrut calls a general strike, the economy is hurt. When the dock workers staged a strike a number of years ago, it wrecked the economy for nearly a year. When for over fifty years the Government subsidized the Kibbutzim with Billions of dollars in free hand outs and communist protection laws, the economy was crippled. In short, there have been no lack of self serving, greedy people willing to use all sorts of "anti-democratic" means and cause all sorts of serious damage to our economy so long as they personally benefited. So what is wrong in doing this with the intention of saving the country? Will placing ALL of Israel's industrial, transportation, energy and population within easy range of Arab mortars and cheap, home made missiles be good for the economy? Will the Arab murderers ask the Jews to vote and approve before they open up on us with their guns and artillery? Q: I will lose a lot of money if I do this. Most of this money is either for my retirement or for my children's future. Is it really fair to jeopardizes the future to make a political point? A: I suppose that if you really believe we and our children will have much of a future here after the Government expels nearly 300,000 Jews from their homes and gives them over to Arab murderers then by all means hang on to your interest payments and coupons. However, if you suspect living in a beat up caravan and not having any means to support your family (as happened to the victims of the Sharon Pogrom) or that having a Kassam crashing through your roof (as is happening in Sderot and the Negev today) might ruin the tranquility of your retirement or annoy your children, consider my proposal. This is not about making a political point, it is using a powerful weapon to archive victory. Q: Isn't it pointless to try? As soon as this would start to be effective, the Government would outlaw it. A: No it is not pointless. In fact this has a very sharp and deadly point. One that will accomplish what all the demonstrations and elections have not: Force the end of Oslo and the annexation of Yeshah. Furthermore, they can not outlaw people removing their own money from a bank without causing a serious crisis and jeopardizing Israel's international financial status. Q: If I do this, I will have a very large amount of cash around. Won't that make me the target of thieves? It will turn me into a nervous wreck, I just can't take the risk. A: It is perfectly legal and not too difficult to transfer you money to a foreign bank. Any lawyer or CPA involved with corporate law should be able to advise you how to do this and where it is the safest. You don't really have to put it all in a shoe box. Fire Olmert (pronounced all-merde) today! Have a nice day Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

ETHNIC MAKE-UP OF THE "PALESTINIANS" Posted by Evelyn Hayes, December 17, 2007.

*Extracts from: **"Bosnia -- Motherland of "Palestinians" by Manfred R. Lehmann and *"*Palestinians 'Peoplehood' Based on a Big Lie" by Eli E. Hertz. *Arab Palestinian nationality (which was officially forged in 1964) is an entity defined by its opposition to Zionism (the Jewish national liberation movement) and not by its national aspirations.* Like a mantra, Arabs repeatedly claim that the Palestinians are a native people of Israel. The concept of a 'Stateless Palestinian people' is not based on fact. It is a fabrication! The following is a chronology of an ethnic make up of so-called Palestinians and their origins. *During **Ottoman Empire**.* Until the Jews began returning to the Land of Israel in increasing numbers from the late 19th century, the area called Palestine was a God-forsaken backwash that was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. 1880-84 Turkish government settles Muslim Circassian refugees in the Golan to ward off Bedouin robbers. Other settlers in the area include Sudanese, Algerians, Kurds... In 1878, an Ottoman law granted lands in Palestine to the Moslem refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Carmel region, in the Galilee and in the Plain of Sharon and in Caesarea. The refugees were further attracted by l2-year tax exemptions and exemption from military service. The same colonization policy was also directed toward Moslem refugees from Russia -- particularly from the Crimea and the Caucasus. They were Circassians, Cherkesians and Turkmenians -- leading to their settling in Abu Gosh, near Jerusalem and in the Golan Heights. Refugees from Algeria and Egypt were also settled in Jaffa, Gaza, Jericho and the Golan. *British Mandate: 1917-1947 * 1923 Having discovered the Golan lacks oil but that the Mosul area in northern Syria is rich in oil, the British cede the Golan to France in exchange for Mosul. At the same time the Trans-Jordan was ceded from Palestinian mandate as well and Egypt was given control of Sinai, British and France gain control of Suetz canal. (82% of Jewish land was sacrificed in the process!) In 1934 alone, 30,000 Syrian Arabs from the Hauran moved across the northern frontier into Mandate Palestine, attracted by work in and around the newly built British port and the construction of other infrastructure projects. They even dubbed Haifa *Um el-Amal *('the city of work'). The Ottoman Turks' census (1882) recorded only 141,000 Muslims in the Palestinian. The British census in 1922 reported 650,000 Muslims. *Food for Thought.** **by Steven Shamrak** * *Israel** is the front line of defence of Western democracy. By helping to destroy **Israel**,** Jew-haters and Jewish self-haters are bringing closer the creation of the world Caliphate. After that, they will have only one option; covert to Islam!* *PM's Office Complicit in **Temple** **Mount** Destruction.* Well-known archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar sees the recent revelation of First Temple artifacts on the Temple Mount as "criminal behaviour", charging that this is due to "a direct order from the Prime Minister's Office" to ignore the Islamic Waqf's violations of antiquities preservation laws. (At the time when Arabs have been destroying the holiest Jewish place, in order to deny archaeological finding that prove Jewish claim to Palestine, Jewish traitors are selling out the future of Jewish people.) *Abbas: Either Rice Delivers or I quit.* If efforts by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to convene a 'successful' Arab-Israeli conference in Annapolis next month fail to achieve results satisfactory to the 'Palestinians', PLO/PA terror chief Mahmoud Abbas will resign. (So what, let him go! Like Arafat, he just playing the deadly game of terror. Kassam and Katusha rockets are still landing in Israel. Terrorism is the ruling power in Gaza and the West Bank!) "Don't Divide Jerusalem!" What about Eretz-Israel? More than half of Knesset Members, including thirteen members of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's own Kadima party, have signed a petition against plans to hand over parts of Jerusalem to the PA. Yoram Marciano -- the only Labor MK joined. The prime minister asserted earlier this month that he does not need the Knesset's approval to reach a joint declaration with Mahmoud Abbas, even the one that might include an agreement to hand over parts of Jerusalem to the PA. (Tie time for 'petitions' has long gone! If Israel is still democracy, the Knesset or people of Israel must remove this traitorous government and its supporters from political power and never let them back. We must not divide Jerusalem, and start working on the re-unification of Eretz-Israel!) *All of **Israel** is '**Palestine**'.* While Mahmoud Abbas declares his demand for "only" all 6,205 kilometers of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, his official TV station shows a PA flag covering all of Israel. "The picture painted for the Palestinian population, both verbally and visually, is of a world without Israel," PMW writes. "This uniform message of a world without Israel is repeated in school books, children's programs, crossword puzzles, video clips, formal symbols, school and street names, etc." *Jewish Contribution to Humanity:* *Rony Brauman* (a secular French Jew) and *Bernard Kouchner* (Jewish father, the foreign minister in current Sarkozy's government) are founders of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders). *Position of Muslim Brotherhood still the Same.* Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, said last week that the group would never recognize Israel. "There is nothing in our lexicon called 'Israel,'" Akef said, "the only thing we recognize are Zionist gangs who conquered Arab land." Israeli Jews will only be allowed to live as part of a Muslim "Palestine". (For the record, both Fatah and Hamas are franchises of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.)** *Pretend Disunity.* In the last three months, Hamas has added 200 tons of explosives to its arsenal, most of it from the Palestinian Authority. (Fatah and Hamas, although have different religious and political platform, are totally united and co-operating on one issue ñ the destruction of Israel!) *United by Hate.* Police in Samaria have arrested two people, a Jewish leftist and an Arab, for trying to set on fire fields at the Jewish Gilad Farm. The Leftist Jews often cause damage throughout Judea and Samaria and then file complaints with the police that Jewish farmers attacked them and caused cause damage. *Revoke Citizenship.** *MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) has created a proposed law according to which the court system, and not the Interior Ministry, would be authorized to revoke citizenship. Erdan has also proposed that participation in terrorist activities be considered sufficient cause for a court to revoke citizenship. (Obtaining or granting Israeli citizenship by breaking the Law of Return, like many non-Jews from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia have done, must also be included in the new law!) *No Hidden Agenda -- Clear Declaration of Intent!* IsraelNN.com Sheikh Kamal Khatib, the second in command to Islamic Movement head Sheikh Ra'ed Salah, declared that he hopes to see Muslim law (Sharia) in Israel. He explained that Israel would soon be replaced by an Arab state run by Muslim law as part of a greater Islamic Caliphate. "We are on the threshold of a new stage. The future belongs to Islam and the Muslims." Khatib, who holds Israeli citizenship, called on Israeli Muslims to avoid cooperation with Israeli officials and to form alternate Muslim organizations to take over the government's role. He criticized Muslim Members of Knesset, and called on them to quit. (The enemies of Israel are not shy in declaring their plans for Israel. Why are Jews not ready and still afraid to declare and pursue their rightful claim to all Jewish ancestral land, and free it from Arab occupation? Our enemies would not hesitate for a second. They would kill or throw out all Jews, if they were in our position of military dominance! Do we really have to wait for this, like we did in the United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia and Germany?) Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

SOME ISRAELIS ARE SANE; GOVERNMENT BY FANTASY Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 17, 2007.

REASON FOR OPPOSING NEGOTIATIONS WITH ABBAS? Israel's former Army chief Mofaz advised PM Olmert not to negotiate a deal with Abbas. The reason? Abbas lacks the power to make a deal (IMRA, 12/6). That's his reason? I think it would be worse if Abbas had the power to make a deal. The problem is that the proposed deals offer Jewish territory in return for likelier war. If Abbas had real power, that war would be harsher. SOME ISRAELIS ARE SANE "Hamas is responsible for the violence that comes out of Gaza, whereas we see the legitimate Palestinian (Arab terrorist) government of Abbas and Fayyad as a true peace partner," said a spokesman for PM Olmert. Many Israelis recognize the familiar pattern of negotiations bringing out Muslim violence (Benny Avni, NY Sun, 12/13, p.6). It is a pattern, because the Vietnamese Communists taught Arafat to "fight, talk; fight, talk" The warfare exerts pressure on enemy negotiators to make concessions, and the concessions exert pressure on the enemy military. This is jihadist negotiation in bad faith. It also shows that even if Abbas had good faith, he would be incapable of making peace when his people continue making war. Were the Israeli government sane, it would consider the jihadist tactic unacceptable. It would withdraw not from territory, which withdrawal would give a victory to jihad and cause its own, eventual demise, but it would withdraw from negotiation. It would turn to winning the war instead of pleading for peace to empty ears. Alternatively, it could execute a score of convicted terrorists in retaliation for acts of aggression. Abbas is not acting in good faith. He has gall to claim to speak for his people, whereas the Fatah organization he nominally heads does not heed the orders he tells us he gives them. He may be following the tactics of his mentor, who told the West he opposed terrorism in favor of his peace agreement, but financed terrorism (by sending funds via Abbas). When addressing his people, he praises terrorism, in violation of the signed agreements. Some "peace partner!" And when addressing the world, he makes the same Israel-destroying demands that Hamas makes. The West doesn't see him for what he is, because it really is anti-Zionist more than it wishes to preserve itself from jihad. Israeli officials lie when saying that P.A. violence is restricted to Gaza. In Judea, Muslims shoot, stab, and stone Israelis and attempt more. If the IDF didn't have roadblocks and roving patrols, rockets would fly from there, too. No thanks to Abbas. GRAMMAR AVOIDS MISUNDERSTANDINGS Informality risks becoming slovenliness. Publishers spend less money proofreading while relaxing the rules of grammar. Major corporations have been sending letters written in jargon, meaning is obscure. Newspapers make substantive statements long-winded by inserting irrelevant biographical sketches. They put phrases in the wrong order and omit helpful punctuation, leading to some confusion unless one reads slowly, like a semi-literate. Here is an example from the 12/5 NY Sun. Israel has procured advanced fighter planes and submarines capable of launching missiles from America since at least the 1980s largely as a military response to the threat of an Iranian atomic bomb. No, the missiles are not to be launched from America. The procurement was from America. A simple, though not the best, redraft would be, "Largely due to the threat of an Iranian atomic bomb, the US has provided Israel, since at least the 1980s, advanced fighter planes and submarines capable of launching missiles. THE LOGIC OF ISRAEL'S DEFENSE MINISTER Defense Min. Barak said that the IDF is preparing for a major offensive into Gaza, but is not eager to launch it. First it will exhaust other possibilities. He referred to the frequent missions at which the IDF kills or captures small numbers of terrorists or destroys a terrorist facility. Despite those raids, he admitted, Hamas grows stronger militarily. (He failed to admit what critics have charged, that Hamas is using the relative respite to grow very much stronger, enough to inflict heavier and heavier casualties, the longer he waits). Since Hamas is growing much stronger despite the current level of raids, it is criminal negligence to put off the major offensive. Barak must be lying about his motive to put it off. Perhaps he is afraid that a big offensive would confirm the failure of his government's policy in evacuating from Gaza. Perhaps he fears that it would roil the appeasement process that his government continues to throw good money after. Meanwhile, the Muslims bombard Israel almost with impunity. GOVERNMENT BY WISHFUL THINKING Reality is harsh. Facing it means confronting evil and making difficult decisions. The US and Israel pretend that Abbas wants to make peace. The US pretends, contrary to the evidence, that Iran no longer is working to build nuclear weapons. Presidents pretend they have a waiver to defer moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. Candidates assume that they can raise taxes without harming the economy and solve problems by spending more money on what already has not worked. This is government by fantasy. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

70 NATIONS AT DAY-LONG CONFERENCE FOR PALESTINIAN STATE Posted by Hillel Fendel, December 16, 2007.

Representatives of some 70 nations and another 20 international delegations will convene in Paris on Monday in a one-day "Conference of Donors for a Palestinian State." The goal is to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, or more, on behalf of a Palestinian state adjoining, crowding -- and threatening -- the State of Israel. The event is being held as a continuation of sorts of last month's Annapolis Summit, at which Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed to begin final-status talks. The agreement flew in the face of the U.S.-sponsored Road Map plan, which specified that the PA must stop anti-Israel terrorism from within the areas under its control before final-status talks could begin. Among the international representatives taking part in the Monday conference in Paris are UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Quartet Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair, who recently stepped down as Britain's Prime Minister, will co-chair the event. Participating organizations include the European Commission, the Arab League, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and European and Arab financial funds. All 27 members of the European Union will be represented, as will be Middle East countries, the Group of Eight industrialized nations, Brazil, China, India and Norway. Houses for Arabs -- But Not for Jews PA chairman Mahmud Abbas, who also heads the Fatah terrorist organization, is seeking $5.6 billion dollars over the coming three years for various needs of a state-in-the-making. Among them are thousands of Arab housing units to be built throughout Judea and Samaria -- to which Israel has already reportedly agreed. At the same time, Israel has imposed a ban -- under American pressure -- on Jewish construction in these areas. The PA is asking for money for development projects for education, health, business, and more. Some 30-40% of the projects are to be in Hamas-controlled Gaza, with guarantees to ensure that the funds do not reach Hamas. Such guarantees have been only partially effective in the past. Analysts expect a common thread to run through many of the speeches at the conference: Pressure and demands upon Israel to remove security checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. This, despite the fact that they actually aid the PA in fulfilling its commitment to fight terrorism; Israeli soldiers frequently detect would-be terrorists who attempt to smuggle weapons or explosives into Israel via the checkpoints. The Dangers of a Palestinian State Though it is the position of world opinion, the Bush Administration and Prime Minister Olmert's government that a Palestinian state is necessary, many analysts feel otherwise. Objections include military, religious and political considerations. Even Shimon Peres, in his book, "Tomorrow is Now," resounding opposed a Palestinian state, writing, "During a war, the borders of the Palestinian state will serve as an ideal springboard for mobile forces to immediately breach Israeli defenses towards the infrastructure vital to Israel's existence, to limit the freedom of action of the Israeli Air Force in Israeli skies, and to shed the population's blood through 'masses of artillery positions' proximity to the border. In the absence of defensible borders, Israel will be annihilated in a war." Yitzchak Rabin wrote in his memoirs, "Palestine will rise upon the ruins of the State of Israel." Shmuel Katz, co-founder of the Herut Party with Menachem Begin and an MK of the First Knesset, wrote, "If the Arabs were given a state in a part of Palestine, they would surely accept it as the next of the 'phases' for attaining the rest of the country -- which they have been forecasting for years. It would inevitably make a serious contribution to the grievous weakening of Israel, strategically and politically. It is illusory in the extreme -- and shockingly misleading -- to suggest that it will bring peace." Comment on This Story Hillel Fendel is Senior News Editor at Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNationalNews.com) To Go To Top

HOMESH PIONEERS: SECURITY FORCES TOOK OUR FOOD Posted by Gil Ronen, December 16, 2007.

IDF soldiers and police tried to evict Jewish pioneers from Homesh after the start of the Jewish Sabbath Friday evening, and again immediately upon the Sabbath's end Saturday night. The eviction attempts on Friday ended at around 7 p.m., almost two hours after the Sabbath began. The Homesh First organizers claimed that security forces used a new weapon against them: hunger. The organizers said that when the soldiers realized their attempt to evict the pioneers had failed, their commanders gave orders to confiscate all of the food that had been intended for the Sabbath meals, leaving dozens of people with almost no food. A few minutes after the Sabbath ended, security forces again tried to clear the Jews from the hilltop. Four people were arrested and taken away. Eviction on Sabbath The Homesh First leadership said that most of the recent evictions were carried out on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. "We know with certainty that there are explicit orders to evict the people of Homesh on the Sabbath and holidays," they stated. During the shiva (seven-day mourning period) for Ido Zoldan, an order was given to evict the pioneers at the onset of Sabbath. "It is scandalous that the security forces confiscate food," the Homesh First group said. "We blame the various parties for not making their voices heard, and the Chief Military Rabbi, who has done nothing to put an end to this phenomenon." IDF: We Had no Choice Sources in Central Command told Arutz Sheva Saturday night that the IDF had no choice but to evict the residents because of the fact that there are security alerts in the area, and also because they had entered a closed military area. The sources said that the pioneers usually climb to Homesh about 30 minutes before the Sabbath begins, and that is why the evictions take place on Saturday. Regarding the confiscation of food, the sources said the soldiers had not intended to take the food specifically, but had been after the pioneers' "general equipment" due to the fact that it was forbidden to stay there. The IDF spokesman said Saturday night: "The security forces arrived yesterday to evacuate the citizens, and since [the pioneers] scattered, the forces took the equipment that they left behind." Gil Ronen writes for Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNationalNews.com). To Go To Top

THE LEMMING Posted by Sergio Tessa (HaDaR), December 16, 2007.

This was written by Rabbi Meir Kahane, Zt"l, Spring, 1984

The lemming is a small animal, about the size of a rat. The lemming is a strange animal with a very strange custom. The lemming, every few years, gathers together with a great many other lemmings, and they all march together- to the sea. The lemming and all the other lemmings march shoulder to shoulder and when they reach the sea they do a very strange thing: They jump in and drown. The lemming is a very strange animal and no one can understand it. There are various categories of lemmings and last Saturday night, the Hebrew lemmings gathered in Jerusalem. There were several thousand of them, small creatures, the stature of rodents. And they marched. Sholder to sholder down the road of madness, inexorably moving to the sea of destruction. The march of the lemmings, "Suicide Now". The Hebrew lemming is a strange animal, undoubtedly the most irrational of all. Psychologists and sociologists and anthropologists and biologists and students of irrational behavior from far and wide gathered to study the march of the Hebrew lemmings. "Peace Now" was what they carried as their slogan as they marched to the Sea of Suicide to partake of the most permanent of peace. "Leave Lebanon" was etched on their banners as they marched in preparation of leaving the world. "Stop Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories", they proclaimed as they began their uprooting of their settlement on this earth. The Hebrew lemming is a strange animal and it is said that no one understand it. That is not really true. I understand the small Hebrew lemming, the stature of a rodent, who seeks to leap into the sea to die. And if sociologists and psychologists and anthropologists and biologists and students of irrational behavior will gather together, I will describe for you what makes the Hebrew lemmings run -- to commit suicide. The issue is not and never was "Lebanon". The issue was never "Occupied territories of 1967". What strikes terror into the hearts of the Hebrew lemmings of the stature of the rodent, is an immense cancer called guilt, that grows inside of them until it gives them no rest. The lemming of guilt is the Hebrew-speaking rodent who is haunted by the thought that he is not only an oppressor and aggressor in the "occupied lands of 1967" but he is also a thief and a robber of people he calls "Palestinians", and really has no right to come from Russia or Poland or Galicia or England or Canada or Argentina or the United States to create a "Jewish state" on lands that were owned by others. But since the lemming is the size of a rat, who lacks the courage to honestly follow up his convictions, stand up before the "Palestinian" and say: "I am a thief and hereby return my Kibbutz to you" -- he must, instead, fight all the harder for the poor "Palestinian" in Judea, Samaria, Gaza, Lebanon. His weakness and inability to give up his houses in Kibbutz Mishmar Ha'Emek or the artist's colony of Ein Hod or the tennis courts of Ramat Hasharon or villa in Savyon, drives the Hebrew lemming into even greater depression of guilt and self-hate. His need to prostate himself before the poor Arab of any other area except his own house, becames an allconsuming, obsessive one. And, of course, the guilt goes much further. The Hebrew lemming, who is a small animal about the size of a rat, deeply despises with a psychopatic passion everything that smacks of Judaism and the curse of fate that made him Jewish. In his little heart the Jewish lemming knows that Judaism's values are at odds with everything that he wishes his life to consist of. The separateness and exclusivity of Judaism vis-a- vis other peoples is anathema to his universalistic desire to intermarry, assimilate, amalgamate with all the goym and thus find love and escape in their midst. The concept of Chosenness repels him, for he seeks anything that will enable him to eliminate the barriers between Jews and others. The holiness that decrees discipline and sanctity and abstinence and personal limitations are all diametrically opposed to his materialistic need for total freedom, anarchy, limitless right to license. He sees in Judaism racism, primitiveness, parochialism, concepts that he abhors because he seeks to be a universal rodent. And faced with his Judaism, he is faced, too, with the fact that he is a Jew. This is the horror that he cannot abide. From guilt emerges self hate, black and ugly self hate. The lemming cannot exist with self-hate. No one can survive with terrible malignancy growing within him. The Hebrew lemming must escape. His escape is through the sea. The Sea of Suicide. Suicide Now. Let the state that he feels to be a robber state, go under. Let the people and faith that he feels to be reactionary and facist and abominable, cease to exist. "Let my soul perish with the Philistines!" The cry of the Hebrew lemmings of Suicide Now. The tragic story of the Hebrew lemmings. But, if it must be, it would be sufficient if they leaped into the sea themselves. The real tragedy is that while ordinary lemmings take the plunge themselves, the Hebrew ones seek to take all of us with them. And that cannot be. That is why the lemmings of Israel must be fought. Because they have become more than an interesting zoological phenomenon. They threaten the existence of normal, healthy, true Jews who are not small animals the size of a rodent. Sergio Tessa can be reached at Hadar-Israel@verizon.net. To Go To Top

RECLAIMING BIBLICAL JERUSALEM -- EVIDENCE OF KING DAVID'S PALACE UNEARTHED IN JERUSALEM Posted by Avodah, December 16, 2007.

This was written by Rachel Ginsberg and is entitled, "World of Archeology is rocked by evidence of King David's palace unearthed in Jerusalem." It appeared on the Aish website: www.aish.com/jewishissues/jerusalem/Reclaiming_Biblical_Jerusalem.asp

How Jewish is Jerusalem? You might think that's a silly question, but in the world of academia, revisionist history and even biblical archaeology, scholars have cast the shadow of doubt over Judaism's intrinsic connection to Jerusalem. The Moslem Waqf, the religious authority that administers the Temple Mount -- the site of Judaism's First and Second Temples -- has been claiming for years that there was never a temple there. But the idea that Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and Jerusalem its holy capital has been under attack from far more reputable sources in recent decades as well. For a growing number of academics and intellectuals, King David and his united kingdom of Judah and Israel, which has served for 3,000 years as an integral symbol of the Jewish nation, is simply a piece of fiction. The biblical account of history has been dismissed as unreliable by a cadre of scholars, some of whom have an overtly political agenda, arguing that the traditional account was resurrected by the Zionists to justify dispossessing Palestinian Arabs. The most outspoken of these is Keith Whitelam of the Copenhagen School which promotes an agenda of "biblical minimalism," whose best-known work is The Invention of Ancient Israel: The Silencing of Palestinian History. Even in Israel, this new school has found its voice. Israel Finkelstein, chairman of Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology, began championing a theory several years ago that the biblical accounts of Jerusalem as the seat of a powerful, unified monarchy under the rule of David and Solomon are essentially false. The scientific methods for his assumptions, called a "lower dating" which essentially pushes archaeological evidence into a later century and thus erases all evidence of a Davidic monarchy, were laughed off by traditional archaeologists. But his book, The Bible Unearthed, wound up on the New York Times' best-seller list and he became the darling of a sympathetic media. He concluded that David and Solomon, if they existed at all, were merely "hill-country chieftains" and Jerusalem a poor, small tribal village. He claims that the myth of King David was the creation of a cult of priests trying to create for themselves a glorious history. Looking in the Wrong Place But the debunkers of Jewish biblical history got some bad news recently, when a spunky, dedicated archaeologist began her latest dig. Dr. Eilat Mazar, world authority on Jerusalem's past, has taken King David out of the pages of the Bible and put him back into living history. Mazar's latest excavation in the City of David, in the southern shadow of the Temple Mount, has shaken up the archaeological world. For lying undisturbed for over 3,000 years is a massive building which Mazar believes is King David's palace. For Mazar, 48, one of the world's leading authorities on the archaeology of ancient Jerusalem and head archaeologist of the Shalem Center Institute of Archaeology, the discovery was the culmination of years of effort and solid speculation. From the time she was a teenager, she had her nose in archaeology literature, and worked closely with her grandfather, renowned archaeologist Benjamin Mazar, who conducted the southern wall excavations next to the Western Wall. She holds a doctorate in archaeology from Hebrew University, is author of The Complete Guide to the Temple Mount Excavations, and in the 1970s and '80s worked on the digs supervised by Yigal Shilo in the City of David. The significant discoveries made then, including a huge wall called the "stepped-stone structure" -- which Shilo believed was a retaining wall for David's royal palace or part of the Jebusite fortress he conquered -- ignited Mazar to continue to look for the prize: David's palace itself. Some biblical scholars gave up looking for the palace because, according to Mazar, they were looking in the wrong place. Scholars searched for remains of the palace within the walls of the ancient Jebusite city that David conquered and called Ir David (City of David). This city, while heavily fortified with both natural and man-made boundaries, was also very small, just nine acres in size. When no evidence of such a majestic palace as the Bible describes was found there, the next step was to claim that David's monarchy never really existed. But Mazar always suspected that the palace was outside the original city, and cites the Bible to prove it. When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed, they went on the attack to apprehend him. This occurred after he conquered the Fortress of Zion, which was the actual nucleus of the city, and built his palace. The Bible says that David heard about it and "descended to the fortress," (2-Samuel 5:17), implying that he went down from his palace, which was higher up on the mountain than the citadel/city. Mazar told Aish.com: "I always asked myself: Down from where? It must have been from his palace on top of the hill, outside the original Jebusite city." Mazar says she was confident in her assessment of where the palace would be. What she discovered was a section of massive wall running about 100 feet from west to east along the length of the excavation (underneath what until this summer was the Ir David Visitors Center), and ending with a right-angle corner that turns south and implies a very large building. Scientist, Not Philosopher Within the dirt fill between the stones were found pottery shards dating to the 11th century BCE, the time when David established his monarchy. Based on biblical text and historic evidence, Mazar assumed that David would have built his palace outside the walls of the fortified but cramped Jebusite city which existed up to 2,000 years before; and in fact, the structure is built on the summit of the mountain, directly on bedrock along the city's northern edge, with no archaeological layers beneath it -- a sign that the structure constituted a new, northward expansion of the city's northern limit. What most amazed Mazar was how close the building is to the surface -- just one to two meters underground. "The cynics kept saying, 'there will be so many layers, so many remnants of other cultures, it's not worth digging, it's too far down.' I was shocked at how easy it was to uncover it, and how well-preserved it was, as if it were just waiting 3,000 years for us to find it," Mazar said. Mazar snickers at the idea that she is some sort of divine emissary revealing the eternity of David's kingdom. "I am a scientist, not a philosopher. My focus is on how magnificent and enduring these complex structures are, that they were preserved and protected for so many generations. In truth, when I began to excavate, I had to be prepared for any result. I even had to be prepared to accept Finkelstein's hypothesis if that's what the facts indicated. Still, I am a Jew and an Israeli, and I feel great joy when the details on the ground match the descriptions in the Bible. Today it's become fashionable to say there was no David, no Solomon, no Temple, no prophets. But suddenly the facts on the ground are speaking, and those outspoken voices are stammering." Biblical References The City of David is essentially the ancient nucleus of Jerusalem, located just south of the mountain on which the Holy Temples stood. From here the rest of the city as we know it grew and developed over the course of history. According to tradition, the first significant event that occurred there was the meeting between Abraham and Malki-tzedek, King of Shalem. King David, divinely directed, chose this city as the capital of his united kingdom. And the more archaeologists uncover and identify, the easier it is becoming to form a complete picture of the people who lived there -- with the pivotal Jewish history of the First Temple period, described in the Prophets, played out in its structures and installations. The Bible says that King David brought God's Tabernacle to its final home in this original Jerusalem, expanded the city, and made it the spiritual and economic capital of the world at that time. According to Jewish tradition, he fulfilled God's master plan for a spiritual monarchy that would endure until the final Redemption. "The construction that we found was a complicated and intricate engineering operation that must have required immense resources, and the dating matches," says Mazar. "This is the kind of step one would expect of a new ruler who wants to turn the city he conquered into his permanent residence, and who has an exceptional vision of the future development of the city." According to the Bible, David's palace was constructed by Hiram, King of Tyre, the contemporary Phoenician ruler and his ally against the Philistines. Mazar, an expert in Phoenician construction from her excavations at Achziv on Israel's northern coast, attests that this building bears the mark of Phoenician construction, not likely to be found otherwise in the Judean hills. In fact, quite a bit about David's palace is known from the Bible itself. It was a "house of cedars" built by Phoenician builders (2-Samuel 5:11 and 1-Chronicles 14:1) who used the cedars of Lebanon and developed a distinct style of stone masonry. Remains of pillars and decorative stone capitals in this particular style were discovered at the site years before, which was one clue Mazar used to look for the palace. The Clay Disc Yehuchal Ben Shelemiah's "bulla" Mazar believes that the palace was used for Jewish monarchs until the destruction of the First Temple 450 years later. To indicate this, she speaks excitedly about a tiny clay item she found at the site (found on the 17th of Tammuz, the fast day commemorating the siege of Jerusalem before its destruction). It is called a "bulla," a clay disc, inscribed in ancient Hebrew script with the name of the sender as a "return address," used to seal papyrus scroll "mail." The bulla bears the name of Yehuchal Ben Shelemiah, * who is mentioned in Chapters 37 and 38 of the Book of Jeremiah. Yehuchal was one of two emissaries dispatched by King Tzidkiyahu to Jeremiah, asking him to pray for the people during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. In an about-face, Chapter 38 tells that Yehuchal was one of four ministers who asked the king to kill Jeremiah, claiming that he was demoralizing the besieged nation with his prophecies of doom and destruction. The bulla found on the site of the palace indicates that the building was used by the king, or at least by his ministers, until the destruction of Jerusalem soon afterwards. (In fact, a nearby cistern uncovered in what might have been a king's courtyard is speculated to perhaps be the pit Jeremiah was lowered into, as recorded in Jeremiah 38:6). "For me, finding the bulla was tremendous," says Mazar. "Yehuchal was no longer just some name in a biblical account that I might not even have been sure was true. He was a real person. We now have his business card. The account is a real account. It is very rare to find such precise evidence for a narrative in the Bible." Mazar took the bulla home to examine and decipher. With the help of a needle and magnifying glass, she cleaned off the grains of dust until the ancient inscription was revealed. Together with her boys, aged 14, 13, and 11, they managed to decipher the ancient Hebrew script. Mazar's late husband, also an archaeologist, had published material on bullas, and the boys made use of their father's articles which explained how to properly examine and decipher the clay. Mazar is heady, not with personal glory or the fame that has followed her since the discovery, but with what she considers validation of the Bible she so loves and respects. "Today the scholarly approach to Tanach [the Bible] is that it's not true unless you can prove it true. Maybe we should do a little reverse. Why don't we say it's true unless we can prove otherwise?" Too Biblical? More than ten years ago, Mazar proposed a solid thesis as to the location of the palace, and argued her position in a piece published in Biblical Archaeological Review. After years of digging in the City of David under her professional mentor Yigal Shilo before he passed away, and based on finds several decades ago by British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, she knew she was in the right place. David's palace was the topic of her last conversation with her famous grandfather, biblical archaeology Professor Binyamin Mazar, before he died ten years ago. He told her, "Kenyon found the protoaeolic capitals (of the decorative Phoenician stone-work), so go and find where she found them, and start there." Despite her sound hypothesis and impeccable credentials, she couldn't find any financial backers, as if no one in the academic world really wanted to find David's palace. It would just be too politically complicated. It's no wonder, when even mainstream archaeologists are inclined to play down finds which might be considered too highly charged with biblical or historical accuracy. An example is Adam Zertal, who in 1983 discovered an enormous sacrificial altar on Mount Eval, on the very mountain where Joshua was described in the Bible as having built an altar after the Jews crossed the Jordan River. The altar he found contained tools dating to the 12th century BCE, the time the Jewish people entered the Land, and its construction matched the descriptions of Joshua's altar in both biblical and rabbinic texts. But instead of the expected excitement accompanying such a monumental find, Zertal's academic colleagues ignored him and his discovery. The more vocal accused Zertal, a secular Jew raised on a kibbutz, of being politically motivated to support Jewish settlements in the area around Shechem (Nablus), where Mount Eval is located. Despite the seeming indifference from the academic world, Mazar's proposal finally found a sponsor in the Shalem Center, an academic center in Jerusalem that recently established an institute for archaeological studies, and was funded by Roger Hertog, an American Jewish investment banker who told the New York Times that he fronted the dig because he wants to encourage scientific support for the Bible as a reflection of Jewish history. David Hazony, editor-in-chief of Azure, a journal published by the Center, is excited about Mazar's results. "We don't want to see this shunted to the side like Zertal's discovery," he told Aish.com. "The message he got from his colleagues was, 'It's bad for business to find things from the Bible these days. It makes us look like unsophisticated messianic fanatics.' Unfortunately, academia has done much to undermine the Jews' capacity to say where they come from and what their past is all about. We want to create an environment where serious scholars can pursue their research without feeling intimidated." Bulldozer on the Mount But as fast as new Jewish artifacts are being unearthed, Mazar is concerned that a great number are being destroyed. As spokesperson for the Committee Against the Desecration of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, Mazar has for the past six years tried to alert the world to the vandalism being perpetrated by the Muslim Waqf, who have their own agenda of destroying remnants of proof of Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem, and who consistently deny that there ever was a First or Second Temple. According to agreements made between the Israeli government and the Waqf, to whom the Israelis handed control of the Temple Mount in 1967, the Arabs are not permitted to carry out independent works on the Mount without permission from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Over the years, however, there have been indications of the Waqf breaking this status quo, such as when they sealed up the ancient Hulda Gates entrance to the Temple Mount on the southern wall and buried the adjoining steps and ancient tiling, and the sealing of an underground water cistern that some rabbis thought would lead to the Temple foundations. The greatest breech was discovered in 1999, when the Waqf bulldozed and then paved over close to 6,000 square meters of the ancient Temple Mount surface. Temple Mount artifacts were ripped from the Mount and secretly dumped in several places throughout Jerusalem, mostly in the Kidron Valley east of the Old City and also in the city dump. Over 100 truckloads of Temple Mount rubble, soil and artifacts were clandestinely removed. Tzachi Zweig, then an archaeology master's student at Bar Ilan University, blew the whistle on the Waqf when he discovered Temple artifacts in junk heaps around Jerusalem, and then presented some of the artifacts he unearthed at an archaeology conference at the university. Under the supervision of his mentor, Professor Gabriel Barkay, dozens of truckloads of the "garbage" were moved to a special site near Mount Scopus, where until today teams of archaeologists and volunteers continue to find massive amounts of valuable, significant artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods. Antiquities in Israel has long been a politically contentious topic, with all its religious and nationalistic overtones. The jury is still out on where all this activity will lead. But one thing is certain: Mazar's discovery has rocked the archeological world. As Hazony wrote in Azure: "Is this absolute proof? No. But it is enough to shift the burden of proof... The normally reserved Amihai Mazar of Hebrew University, one of the most esteemed scholars in the field of biblical archaeology and author of the standard textbook, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 BCE, has described the discovery as 'something of a miracle'." "In the end," says Mazar, "the integrity of the land and its history will prevail. And I'm grateful to have a small part in it." Footnote: *And Yehuchal's "business card" is actually one of several that have been discovered in the last decade, which give further testimony to the veracity of the biblical account of the king's court activities prior to Jerusalem's destruction. In another excavation site, thought to be the remains of a public building, over 50 bullas were discovered under the charred layers of destruction. King Nebuchadnezzar's fires razed the city, but those same fires solidified the clay seals like a kiln, preserving them in good condition and fully legible. They bear dozens of Hebrew names, two of them belonging to characters in the Bible who were contemporaries of Yehuchal. One of those is Gemaryahu Ben Shafan, one of King Yehoyakim's scribes, in whose chamber Baruch Ben Neria read Jeremiah's words of rebuke and repentance (Jeremiah 36:10). Another name is Azaryahu Ben Hilkiyahu, a member of the family of high priests who officiated before Jerusalem's destruction (Chronicles I, 9:10). Contact Avodah by email at avodah15@aol.com To Go To Top

THE "SHADOW GOVERNMENT" PROTECTS IRAN Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, December 16, 2007.

For years the U.S. State Department has assumed the role of an un-elected "Shadow Government" who creates and imposes America's foreign policy as it deems wise. Some power brokers use this "house" of unchecked and unaccountable policy makers as the instrument to alter or subvert any and all Presidential Administrations and the American Congress. Those who use it do so "under-the-radar" but there are those in Congress and the White House who know full well but, who choose to remain silent. One is reminded of J. Edgar Hoover's reign over the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) who amassed files on everyone in government and simply blackmailed them to do his bidding. Hoover wanted to be the power behind the throne and his control over the FBI invested him with that power. The same is true of the U.S. State Department which never has to stand for election and which stays in power throughout every Administration, thus becoming a veritable "Shadow Government". No doubt, people like the former Secretary of State James Baker III, former President George Herbert Walker Bush and hundreds of others in the 16 or so Intelligence Agencies could speak volumes about such a subversion of America's Democracy if called by subpoena to testify. The recent NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) report on Iran's supposed stand-down of its nuclear weapons' development in 2002 and its work to achieve a nuclear bomb is a case in point. Everyday more is leaking out about those who assembled the NIE report and their political policies. England, France and Israel are fuming mad about what is clearly DIS-information intended to eviscerate Administration policy to defang Iran's nuclear policy and progress toward early nuclear weapons. Apparently this group of "Shadow Government" moles who came out of the State Department and embedded themselves in some of the Intelligence agencies had a plan to let Iran off the hook. First, they knowingly allowed themselves to be misled with intercepted phone discussions by Iranian military and scientists. All Iranians knew that American Intel was listening in to every word. Thus the conversations were choreographed to speak about the false "stand-down" and difficulties they were experiencing. Those who were compiling the NIE Report had to know that their taps and intercepts were useless. But, they pretended this was accurate and valuable (new) information. (That was one way to keep their jobs.) In effect, they became collaborators with Iran's disinformation scam. They played with the language of the NIE Report where, on one hand, they were emphatic about Iran's stand-down and, on the other, they were still investigating, thereby protecting their own rear ends. Besides those tasked to concoct the Report, there were others, much higher up, who wanted Iran to be taken off the agenda for sanctions or reprisals. After all, there were Iran's vast sweet oil deposits to be secured, making their Nuclear Weapons' program a secondary issue. As they say: "Sorry, Charlie, Business is Business!" So, the "Shadow Government" through the State Department and moles in the Intelligence branches went into high gear. They had one goal, namely to make Iran look clean, cooperative and ready for business. Never mind that better intelligence showed that Iran was still going strong and, in short order, would have Nuclear warheads on very long-range missiles. If Congress had any testosterone left they would have grilled those who assembled this phony Report and then back-tracked to the power brokers who assigned the mission. John Bolton, America's former Ambassador to the U.N., should be named as a special prosecutor to dig out the inevitable moles all the way to the top. This includes U.S. State Department officials tied to the Multi-national oil companies, the money brokers -- both in the U.S. and abroad who would be beneficiaries of future Iranian deals. Always FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL! Should Iran complete its Nuclear Development, they will have absolute control over the entire Middle East. That includes Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Oil States and the entire region. But, it won't matter to the power brokers who brought it about because they will have acquired Billions to Trillions of dollars in profits by that time. Sounds like high profit treason to me! Given the irreversible ideology of the Ayatollahs, the Mullahs, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, all the nations of the world will be under the Doom's Day countdown. Unless they submitted to Iran's threat, any city in the world could be made radio-active in a blink. They really don't need missiles, just proxies like Al Qaeda, Hezb'Allah, Hamas among others, to simply carry a small or even large Nuclear Weapon into a city or harbor with a BOOM! Guess who will be the first to deny complicity! The State Department, those who pulled together the disinformation about Iran's fake "Stand-down", the Oil Company executives and, of course, those in Washington who set it all in motion. Incidentally, the same masters of our global destiny have shielded Syria for years. They shouldn't be hard to track down, given the trail they've left behind them. One more thing: Although the "Deep Thinkers" -- not usually so easily fooled -- having been pumping out questions on what we all see as a phony disinformation the NIE Report the Media has been burying the questions as fast as they can. Perhaps you have noticed how this issue has faded from the news so quickly, with Congress more interested in the destroyed tapes of an interrogation or a baseball drug scandal. Why has the NIE Report faded into obscurity? Who noted the pretense of Iran's cessation of its Nuclear Weapons' development program in 2003 and no information of its resumption in 2005? Where is the vital investigation of those who ordered up the Report and the plans to reconnect with Iran for profitable oil leases? Where is the investigation by Congress of the U.S. State Department and their transfer of personnel into some of America's 16 Intelligence Agencies with an assignment to subvert any action designed to stop Iran's Nuclear Weapons' program? Who would be likely to have arranged this NIE Report? Who didn't want Iran attacked -- except by diplomacy? Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, with his old partner James Baker III in deep cover, Admiral Michael Mullen and Admiral William Fallon, Commander of the U.S. Central Command are all members of the Pentagon's anti-war group who did not want to face off with Iran, according to a TIME MAGAZINE article of Wednesday December 12th. Besides those who actually drafted the NIE Report, with the State Department's connivance, most certainly you would find the dovish Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. This "Shadow Government" of many vested interests that blend together, has certainly come out of the closet. Now we await President Bush's decision to cave in or take Iran out. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinston.interaccess.com To Go To Top

ABBAS LEADS FATAH -- TO TERRORISM Posted by Hillel Fendel, December 16, 2007.

Though the world views Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas as a "moderate," the terrorist group Al-Agsa Martyrs Brigades declared this past Thursday that it follows his exclusive leadership of Mahmoud Abbas -- even as it continues terrorist attacks against Israel. Just a month ago, reports Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman, a special Israeli Border Guard force arrested in Jericho a member of an Al-Aqsa terror ring, Mamdouh Fahoud, for his involvement in shooting attacks against IDF soldiers. A week later, the IDF stopped three terrorists who were about to infiltrate Netiv HaAsarah, a Jewish town just north of Gaza. Two terrorists were killed, and the third escaped; PA sources reported that they were members of Fatah's military wing, the Al-Agsa Martyrs Brigades. Three weeks ago, the IDF arrested Nasser Alharaz, the Al-Aqsa spokesman -- one of those who was supposed to be pardoned by Israel in exchange for his abandonment of terrorism. He did not do so. Fatah terrorists in general have continued to perpetrate terrorism against Israel. Palestinian Authority policemen belonging to Fatah committed the roadside murder of Ido Zoldan a month ago near Kedumim. Fatah has been behind many other attacks as well. Despite this, Huberman reports, Israel has been building the PA army anew -- just five years after the IDF nearly totally dismantled it during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. The government has ordered the army to give the PA increasingly more security responsibility in cities and towns throughout Judea and Samaria. Just as in the early years of the Oslo Accords, some 20,000 PA security personnel from various organizations -- including General Security, General Intelligence, Preventative Intelligence, PA Police, and more -- are now active throughout Judea and Samaria. Uniformed and armed PA police are once again operating openly in nearly all PA-controlled cities: Ramallah, Jenin, Tul Karem, Kalkilye, Bethlehem, Hevron, and Jericho. The main training base for the PA forces is in Jericho. At the same time, increasingly more evidence is being amassed that Fatah and Hamas are soon likely to re-merge. Though Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has threatened that Israel will greet such a move by calling off the talks with the PA, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not said as much. Opposition to Palestinian State The talks in question, jump-started last month in Annapolis, are designed to reach a final-status in which a new Arab state, Palestine, is formed in the Land of Israel. Opposition to such a state has been steadily rising among American Jewry, according to the American Jewish Committee's just-released 2007 Survey of Jewish Public Opinion. The most recent findings show that only 46% support creation of a Palestinian state "in the current situation," compared to 54% in 2006 and 56% the year before that. /font> Hillel Fendel is Senior News Editor for Israel National News. To Go To Top

THREE "NOS" TO BEIT HASHALOM Posted by Hebron Jewish Community, December 16, 2007.

This was written by Herbert Zweibon, Chairman of Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI) and it appeared in the December 2007 OUTPOST (http://mideastoutpost.com/)

After years of negotiations and careful legal process, the Jewish community of Hebron closed on the purchase of Beit HaShalom, a large four story building between Kiryat Arba and Hebron, and families began moving in at the end of March. Eight families, including many children (the youngest at this writing a few days old, the grandchild of longtime leader in the Hebron community David Wilder) are now in residence. The Israeli military commander of the Hebron region has been supportive, saying this was a highly strategic location, so much so that he is using its roof as a lookout post to monitor the surrounding area. Unfortunately the story does not end here. When the identity of one of the Arabs involved in the transaction came to light, in danger of being tortured and murdered by fellow Arabs, he denounced the sale documents as forgeries. (He shrugged off film of himself counting the money he'd received for the building.) The Israeli Supreme Court ordered an investigation and the police found the papers in order, the purchase legal. Not satisfied the highly politicized Supreme Court ordered a second investigation, with the police ordered to present their findings within 45 days. But the police repeatedly asked for extensions (probably because they could find nothing wrong). With winter approaching this has meant severe hardship for the families in the building, which is little more than a shell. Without a special permit from the Defense Ministry or the quasi-military Israeli Civil Administration which is under its jurisdiction, they are forbidden to make any changes during "the investigation." The Hebron community leadership applied for a permit on humanitarian grounds to install windows, put in electric lines for heat and tar the badly leaking roof. The request reached Defense Minister Barak who said no to all three. This decision was appealed to the Civil Administration military panel -- again the same response, no, no, no. What is going on here? David Wilder points out that the Israeli courts have ruled that the government must allow illegal Bedouin settlements in the Negev proper infrastructure on humanitarian grounds. Why the rank discrimination against Jews? The surface reasons are obvious enough. The Olmert government makes no secret that it wants to make the home of the patriarchs an all-Arab city. When in 1979 Jews moved into the abandoned Beit Hadassah building it was against the wish of the Israeli government and subsequent governments have also been hostile. If the Israeli government callously expelled 8,000 Jews from their communities in Gaza, despite the fact they had built their model communities at the urging of successive Labor and Likud governments, how can the relatively small number of Jews in Hebron expect sensitivity to their needs? But there are more fundamental reasons. Yossi ben Aharon, who served as chief of staff to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, recently described the transmutation of the terrible hostility toward the Irgun that during Israel's War of Independence led to Jews firing on fellow Jews on the Altalena into today's hatred of "settlers," especially religious Jews in Judea, Samaria and (until their expulsion) Gaza. Once again it is a one-sided hatred, motivated this time by an irrational projection of blame for Arab (and Moslem) hostility on Jews living outside the 1949 Green (armistice) Line. It is this mindset of much of the secular public that has allowed the Olmert government to behave ruthlessly to the eight families of Beit HaShalom -- and to pursue the morally and strategically insane policies leading it on a Roadmap to Nowhere. Now the Jews of Beit HaShalom face expulsion. Ignoring that the case is before the Supreme Court (i.e. the rule of law), Olmert arbitrarily revoked the purchase and according to PA officials has "guaranteed" them that evicting the Jewish families from Beit HaShalom tops his agenda. You can contribute directly to The Jewish Community of Hebron, POB10, Kiryat Arba-Hebron 90100, hebron@hebron.org.il, 972-2-9965333 or write to The Hebron Fund, 1760 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, hebronfund@aol.com To Go To Top

ISRAELI ACADEMICS WHO HELP THE WORLDWIDE JIHAD Posted by Israel Academia Monitor, December 16, 2007.

ARE YOU A DONOR TO ISRAELI UNIVERSITIES? Learn about what is happening on Israeli campuses. Be informed about what is being done with your gifts and generosity. Bear in mind and speak about anti-Israel Israeli academics when you are in touch with University officials http://Israel-Academia-Monitor.com

Oren Yiftachel, Orli Fridman and Norma Musih are three Israeli academics who serve as examples of how Israel's universities can produce the most deceptive of anti-Israel academics who would seek the dismantling of the Jewish state. These three are part of "the team" that helps make up the Institute for Comparative Conflict Studies (IFCCS). What is the IFCCS? On the surface, the IFCCS sounds like an educational organization designed by academics to mitigate war and peacefully resolve disputes between parties in conflict. A verbose description of the "Institute" states, it " is a new initiative of a group of scholars and activists who came together to explore various forms of transformative education. Building on critical theories of social analysis, the Institute aims to become a space in which people can engage the dynamics of conflict in a comparative framework. While most scholars tend to exceptionalize the conflicts they study, our aim is to work within a comparative framework that highlights broader dynamics of societies in conflict. To this end, our programs are focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and on the conflicts in the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. The members of our team bring both a personal and professional commitment to these conflicts, making the Institute a new venue to explore issues of power, collective action, and individual agency" (sic). Translated, the above really says the IFCCS is a consortium of Israeli and Arab scholars and activists who want people to think they are working in peace to resolve a conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis, but doing so by alluding to the successes of the Muslims in Kosovo against the Serbs, so they can draw parallels to help dismantle Israel to create a Muslim dominated Palestine and perhaps draw in international military intervention to do so. Why Kosovo? Kosovo was in fact an enormous success in the worldwide jihad and the future Islamization of Europe. Through manipulations of media, and tales of genocide against Muslims that ultimately proved to be fabricated, militant Islamists were able to successfully break away a substantial part of Christian Serbia to create a new Islamic state at the entrance to Europe. Today, Kosovo exists as a country with an Islamic majority, but the chief exports are drugs and the slave trade. Kosovo could not have existed without NATO's military support against the Serbs who were accused of genocide, but were actually victims of Muslim atrocities. But the narrative still persists of Muslims persecuted and massacred by Serbian forces despite refutations even supplied by communist-inspired groups. Also little known, is the part Saudi funding and foreign intrigue played in the conflict; the Saudis provided mercenaries who fought against Serbian forces in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and paid for a good part of the war. If one reads between the lines, the IFCCS has as its purpose the goal of linking the success in Kosovo to the necessary outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Similar propaganda techniques can be applied in portraying Israel as victimizer of the Arabs and possibly even inspire calling in NATO troops. In order to achieve this process in the IFCCS, some Israeli academics were hired and will be used to lend credibility to the attempt. Israeli academics are in wide use by anti-Israel and anti-American Islamic groups funded by Saudi, UAE and other Arab oil money in the current worldwide jihad. After all, the theory goes, if an Israeli with a PhD from Israel or who teaches in the American University system supports the eradication of a Jewish state in the Middle East for an Arab dominated one, enough of the Jewish Diaspora might fall in line to support the same goals, since such academics must be really, really smart. Middle East Studies departments in the United States, frequently funded by the Gulf Sheiks, particularly the Saudis and UAE, do employ a good number of Jewish professors -- as long as they lecture against Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. That funding translates into lucrative jobs for Israeli academics who will be anti-Israel under the guise of scholasticism. Oren Yiftachel, one of the IFCCS Israeli academics is a perfect example. Few people who rely on mainstream media know that Yiftachel, a professor of Geography at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and who earned his PhD through a combined program at the University of Perth in Australia and the Technion in Haifa with a degree in urban planning, was the perfect such Israeli academic to be hired previously by the Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) at UC Berkeley that was set up by Saudi Prince Bandar. The CMES at UC Berkeley had a reputation for being stridently anti-Israel and even anti-Semitic and anti-US in its teachings, with one Arab professor from there even calling for an intifada in America. One wealthy Jewish donor to the University disgusted by all the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric, the Helen Diller Foundation, donated five million dollars to set up a Jewish Studies department within the CMES. The Arab head of the department gladly took the five million dollars, then hired every anti-Zionist Israeli academic he could find with the money. Oren Yiftachel was one of them. While a visiting professor at UC Berkeley, Yiftachel, who was one of the supporters of the Geneva Accords set up in defiance of the Israeli foreign ministry, and made it a point to speak at symposiums on campus for Jewish students in Hillel that ultimately suggested compromises by Israel on the nation's security while getting nothing in return from the Arabs. His courses that are supposed to be in urban planning actually blame Israel for the Israel-Palestinian conflict in sophistic terms. His lectures are laced with the verbiage of the Arab irredentist' movement with words such as "resistance," and speak of an "ethnocracy" by the Jews in Israel. In other words, this Urban Planning Professor uses his academic field as a bully pulpit to blame Israel for the attacks against it by the Arabs. He claims his courses are for purposes of reconciliation, but somehow he has nothing to say about the ethnocentrism of the Arabs in the region who he continually portrays as the victims of what he calls "Judaization." If one were to disregard the entire Middle East's attempts to deny the Jews of Israel their own small plot of land as not also being "ethnocentrism" of another sort, and only regard Jewish self-determination as such, then Yiftachel is the man. Amusingly enough, Yiftachel also suggests in his lectures that he speaks against repression of Mizrahim, or Jews from Arab lands, by the Ashkenazim or European Jews, while conveniently ignoring it is the Mizrahi Jewish community in Israel that is the most conservative in dealing with Arab attempts to wipe out the Jewish state, those Jews having actually lived in Arab dominated countries. It is in fact, the European Jewry class in Israel that produces the majority of communists and other acolytes weaned on Marxist theory (A European adventure) and who give a voice to the likes of Yiftachel. Orli Fridman, listed as another "team" member at IFCCS, leaves no question about her opposition to Israel's existence by her support of Women in Black and other radical leftist, pro-communist and pro-Palestinian organizations in Israel such as Machsom Watch. An employee at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, Virginia, she spends part of her time as counselor at the Seeds for Peace Camp run in part by the US State Department. Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf, two co-founders of the International Solidarity Movement also worked for the same entity. A good description of Seeds for Peace is as a place where confused, liberal Jews get together with Arabs not at all unsure about their claims of victimization by Israel and the need for an Arab-dominated Palestine. By the end of a camp session in the USA or Jerusalem, the Arabs have a fresh new supply of "useful idiot" Jews ready to do stupid things just like their Jewish counselors do. For example, Orli Fridman signed a petition demanding that Israel demolish its security fence even though it has dramatically lowered the number of Arab suicide bombers and terrorists who murder Jews and other Israeli citizens. Regarding Kosovo, she insists the faked atrocities against Muslims were real and condemns Serbian disinterest in them probably due to real atrocities the Serbs received from the Muslims fighting for Kosovo. Although born in Israel, Fridman received her PhD from George Mason University, the recent host of the national campaign of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation with a satellite campus in one of the Gulf Sheikdoms. Fridman holds a BA in Hebrew and Middle East Studies from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. On the Board of Directors of IFCCS is Norma Musih, is a PhD candidate in Critique and Cultural Studies at Bar-Ilan University who is an administrative director at Zochrot, "an Israeli NGO that works to raise awareness of the Nakba, the Palestinian catasrophe of 1948." In other words, she heads a non-profit that has the sole responsibility within Israel of convincing everyone, including the Israeli-Arab population that Israel's creation was nothing less than a catastrophe and that the right of return for the ancestors of Arabs who lived in 1948 Palestine must occur. The fact is that this would flood Israel with five million Arabs and thus dismantle the state is irrelevant. Zochrot is also linked to the International Solidarity Movement. Each of these Israeli academics has found a niche within the IFCCS to lend credibility to a program that claims to be seeking conflict resolution but in fact is part of the worldwide jihad. Middle East Studies programs in America that brought them to their current positions in IFCCS were in fact funded also by the Saudis just as Albanian Muslims were. The saddest fact is that these "scholars" were able to garner their degrees in part at Israeli universities, in their home country that they seek to have the same fate as the Serbs had in Bosnia. For more information on Anti-Israel Israeli academics, go to www.israel-academia-monitor.com Contact Israel Academia Monitor by email at mail@israel-academia-monitor.com To Go To Top

EXPOSED: U.S. FUNDED HAMAS UNIVERSITY Posted by Barbara Sommer, December 16, 2007.

This was written by Aaron Klein and it appeared today in WND http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59230 Another one of the Bush Administration "pearls"... HIS embassy IN TEL AVIV -- which he REFUSED 13 TIMES TO MOVE TO JERUSALEM -- helped in this...

Audit reveals funds sent to school terrorists boast is used for jihad JERUSALEM -- An audit has revealed the U.S. government authorized nearly $1 million in aid to a Hamas-controlled university senior terror leaders told WND is openly utilized by Hamas to recruit fighters, manufacture explosives and train on campus grounds for attacks. The audit concluded the American tax dollars were provided to Gaza's Islamic University between 2002 and 2006. It stated officials from both the U.S. Agency for International Development in Tel Aviv, which initiated the fund request, and the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, which conducted an investigation, found no "derogatory information" on the university. Also in March 2007 State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told WND U.S. officials concluded after a review Islamic University does not supports terrorist activities. But Israeli and Palestinian security officials and Palestinian terrorist leaders themselves scoffed at the State Department claims. An Israeli security official took offense with McCormack's statement. "It's the height of absurdity to hear Hamas' Islamic University is not involved in terrorism," the official said. Islamic University was founded by Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by Israel in 2004. Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniya sits on the college board, which was raided in January by Palestinian security forces who seized rocket-propelled grenades and rockets. Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' so-called military wing, told WND Islamic University is regularly used by Hamas to support "resistance activities." "It is no secret that we utilize all tools at our disposal, including our fighters at Islamic University in preparations to fight the Zionists," said Abu Abdullah of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared "resistance" department. Muhammad Abdel-Al, spokesman of the Popular Resistance Committees, a Hamas-affiliated terror group, told WND Islamic University is "extremely important" for recruitment of militants. He said several members of his group study chemistry at the university to aid in the manufacture of explosives and suicide belts. The Committees is responsible for hundreds of rocket attacks from Gaza aimed at nearby Jewish cities. According to Israeli and Palestinian intelligence officials Islamic University's main campus in Gaza City has been used by Hamas' so-called military wing to recruit terrorists and suicide bombers. The officials told WND chemistry labs were used to manufacture and improve explosives for Hamas-affiliated militias. Reuven Erlich, director of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center and Israel's Center for Special Studies, told WND his organization analyzed material captured in previous Israeli raids of Islamic University, which yielded mass quantities of weaponry and Hamas incitement material supporting terrorist attacks. Officials from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party last February claimed they captured seven Iranian military trainers -- including a general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards -- inside Gaza City's Islamic University, which they said was being utilized as a Hamas military training ground. The Fatah officials said they also found some 1,000 Qassam rockets, rocket-propelled grenades and equipment to manufacture the rockets inside the university. They previously suspected kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was being held for a time on the university grounds. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) asked USAID's inspector general to conduct the audits following media reports detailing the funding to Islamic University. He told the Chicago Tribune the U.S. government's failure to detect terrorist ties at the school suggested "either incompetence or a complete breakdown of the vetting system as run by the State Department." U.S. law prohibits transactions with terrorists or their supporters. The audit initiated by Kirk concluded the U.S. government lacks adequate controls to stop foreign aid from being provided to terrorists. One of the follow-up audits reportedly concluded USAID "did not always follow applicable federal laws" when approving aid to the university. While the USAID audit in question focused on Islamic University, WND previously broke the story the U.S. is also funding another terror-saturated university. USAID the past two years has reportedly provided $4 million to Arkan, a Palestinian program that funds law schools at several universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including Al-Najah University. The Arkan program is entirely funded by USAID. Israeli security officials say Al-Najah University is one of the most important recruitment grounds for West Bank terror organizations. The Israeli Defense Forces a number of times has raided the college and arrested terror suspects. At least 15 Palestinians who carried out suicide bombings the past six years attended the school. Senior members of the Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror groups are openly enrolled at Al-Najah, WND has learned. One senior leader of the Brigades, the declared military wing of Abbas' Fatah party, told WND many Brigades leaders study at the university, which he described as a "recruitment center for jihad." The senior leader said he is studying sports education. A leader of the Islamic Jihad terror organization said he is studying chemistry to enhance his terror group's bomb-making capabilities. He said others in the chemistry department manufacture explosives for Palestinian groups. Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken joint 2006 bombing in Tel Aviv last April that killed eight Israelis and American teenager Daniel Wultz. According to the U.S. Foreign Operations Bill of 2006, it is illegal to fund universities which the Secretary of State "knows or has reason to believe advocates, plans, sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in, terrorist activity." USAID has a history of funding anti-American Palestinian projects. WND first reported a northern West Bank street funded by USAID was renamed for Saddam after his execution. Zacharias Zubeidi, leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Yaabid, told WND the city changed the name on the U.S.-funded street to show "Saddam Hussein is still alive." "We will honor his memory until the American and Zionist occupation is driven from our land," Zubeidi said. WND reported USAID also reconstructed roads and municipalities in areas in the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas. In a WND interview, Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar thanked USAID for its efforts. According to Palestinian Media Watch translations, after USAID funded road projects in the West Bank city of Jenin in 2004, a central street there was named after the first Iraqi suicide bomber, who killed four American soldiers in Fallujah. The mayor of Jenin reportedly participated in an anti-American dedication ceremony in which speakers blessed the "resistance of the residents of Fallujah" Also, a USAID-funded Palestinian sports center was named after Salef Khalef, operational head of the Black September terror organization, which was behind the killing of two U.S. diplomats in Sudan in 1973 and the massacre one year earlier of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich. Contact Barbara Sommer by email at sommer_1_98@worldnet.at.net To Go To Top

CNN'S SHIHAB RATTANSI CALLS GENOCIDAL "PALESTINIAN" TERRORISTS HAMAS "POLITICAL MOVEMENT" Posted by American, December 16, 2007.

In the December 15, 2007 Headlines news, the CNN's anchor Shihab Rattansi (http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/rattansi.shihab.html) interpreted [as opposed to real reporting] the tenths of thousands mainstream guilty Palestinian Arabs in the pro-Hamas rally, where they chanted support for the pro-mass-murder party, with typical of that death cult vocabulary, words like "Hamas isn't afraid of death". Worst did he do, as so outrageously he didn't stop there, he dared used what the bloody terrorists themselves "claim" in their propaganda, he added the dreadful words: "...the political movement Hamas, the uprising against the Israeli occupation". What "occupation" is Hamas against, even if one would buy the notion that the 1967 borders are considered "occupied territories" (though there was never a "Palestine" Arab sovereign nation, si "who" exactly is Israel supposedly "occupying", but let's assume that Pallywood term just for the sake of the argument, since the "Palestinians" have alraeady won in their propagnada to establish the 1967 added territories as "occupation"), since they want all of the land (just before they finalize their Caliphate global domination ultimate goal). This line of propaganda "reporting" is not only pure pro terror propaganda, but it's also dangerous for all of the west, Islamists see us all as one, and swallowing -justifying one Jihadi card is the same as swallowing-justifying Al Qaeda, Taliban or other Islamic fascists' cards. By this line of "politicizing" fascistic genocide CNN is supporting bloody Hamas, as in: Hamas Spokesman: Genocide of Jews remains Hamas goal (04/07) http://pmw.org.il/bulletins_apr2007.htm#b120407 Hamas vows to 'drink' Jewish blood, See terrorist group's video with messages ... group would drink the blood of Jews until they "leave the Muslim countries. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48844 Hamas -- in their own words. Many people (myself included) have wondered about the nature of Hamas, ... and so will continue to fight as long as Spain remains outside of the Caliphate. ... http://www.command-post.org/oped/2_archives/001786.html Gaza Coup: Islamization is coming On the other hand, Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman of Hamas in Gaza, declared cheerfully in ... their main issue is the creation of an Islamic Caliphate system. ... http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000599.htm Palestinians back caliphate over politics -- Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/27/wpal127.xml Hamas reiterates goal of world domination by Islam -- annihilation ...The PA sources further asserted that senior Fatah and Hamas terrorist leaders, as well as senior security officials from Egypt and Israel, know many details ... http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2790 Wanted: a caliphate http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo= 661486&contrassID=2&subContrassID=15&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y The official said Hamas seeks to create an "Islamic caliphate" in Gaza... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56174 Contact American by email at american1627@yahoo.com To Go To Top

BUSH AND ISRAEL BASHED IN PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, December 16, 2007.

Israel must disseminate her perspectives concerning Iran worldwide, emphasizing the fact that its president asserts the Jewish homeland "should be wiped off the map", thus would have every justification to conclude a nuclear Iran would surely be a threat to her survival. An article appears within the opinion pages of the 12/16/2007 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled 'Is Bush stopped in his tracks on Iran?', written by Chris Hedges, replete with a litany skewed rationales bashing not only President Bush but Israel, especially Prime Minister Olmert, for apparently supporting, if one reads between the lines perhaps seducing, the president of today's superpower nation "to use cooked and fabricated intelligence to whip the country into war frenzy." Thankfully, per Hedges, "Director of Central Intelligence Gen. Michael V. Hayden and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have turned out to be formidable foes to the Bush agenda of preemptive war in the Middle East." Furthermore, per Hedges, "Adm. William Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. George Casey, the Army's new chief of staff, are openly opposed to a war with Iran." This opinion piece, much like all biased agenda driven commentaries, conveniently fails to mention the legitimate concerns of those being skewered, in this case for one fails to mention the aforementioned rhetoric of Mahmoud AhMADinejad, which could logically be interpreted as a declaration of war against Israel. Hedges blathers on that "Olmert insists Bush is on board, even if top generals and intelligence officials are not." The article gets worse, citing Israel's "disastrous bombing campaign against Lebanon last year", Israeli "air strikes against a Syrian facility that it said was meant to develop nuclear material", and further slimes the Jewish state spewing "Israel has quarantined the 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and imposed draconian cuts in electricity and fuel", the author perhaps forgetting to mention the murderous continuous missile launchings aimed at Israeli soil from that 'quarantined' territory, as if such behavior is not just cause for Israel's indeed measured response. The tone of the opinion piece, of course, is meant to depict the Bush Administration and Israel's government as loose cannons, unwilling to make nice nice with their Middle East adversaries, instead obsessed with in the writer's opinion military solutions. No doubt, supporters of Israel must refute the contentions of biased seemingly 'know nothing' authors such as Hedges, most desirably with a media blitz of their own delineating the justifiable concerns of the besieged Jewish state. Furthermore, does Chris Hedges truly believe the recent U.S. intelligence assessment in effect giving Iran the green light to continue spinning its nuclear centrifuges, would have been released to the worldwide presses if the White House truly wanted to put the kabash on it? Since when do U.S. military high muckamucks as well as directors of intelligence agencies and secretaries of defense not support the policies of their civilian commander and chief? Who is in charge here? The United States is not a 'banana republic' nor prone to policy coups, especially against an executive branch truly calling the shots. Is Hedges that naiiuml;ve, indeed a 'know nothing' author, or is there a somewhat hidden contemptuous agenda to dupe his audience into believing that Israel has the clout to manipulate U.S. foreign policy in line with her own best interests, and in this instance being thwarted by a host of rebellious patriotic 'white knights'? Come on! He evens quotes a retired Middle East CIA specialist Ray Close who apparently believes the sky is falling, asserting Bush and his crew are "Convinced that they have been viciously sabotaged by a partisan anti-Bush intelligence community, and desperate to justify the basic philosophy and doctrine that underlies their specific policies, these people are painfully wounded and thus in a dangerous frame of mind." 'Chicken Little' Close warns that these implicit loose cannons in the White House could provoke an incident, pounce upon it, and in fact do the nastiest of deeds. He argues in Hedges words "Any action by Iran deemed by the Bush White House to be hostile to the United States or Israel could ... be instantly seized upon by the president to carry out air strikes against Iran. This could ignite a deadly chain reaction." Note how Hedges injects Israel into the paraphrasing of the retired CIA specialist's contention. Whether Close mentioned Israel or not in his dire less than thoughtful assessment is irrelevant. Any reader scanning the opinion piece is further reinforced to draw the conclusion that Israel and by inference Jews manipulate U.S. foreign policy. A prescient observer of foreign policy must realize the Bush Administration has likely cut a deal with Iran, possibly through King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia caught holding hands with AhMADinejad at the recent Doha conference, noting the Persian Shiite regime has drastically cut back sending weapons, explosives, money, and insurgents into Iraq, further noting Iran oil ministers, no matter what they say in public, are less likely to exchange OPEC oil for petroeuros, extending a desperately needed reprieve to the battered U.S. petrodollar at least for now. Bush's bombastic rhetoric concerning the dangers of Iran is most likely meant to soothe his bewildered base, yet Hedges would never concede that possibility lest his Israel bashing agenda is dealt a severe blow. Who on the Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board reviewed this opinion piece anyway? Lawrence Uniglicht is a career civil servant. He advocates for the State of Israel with an American perspective. He writes, "Advocating for the disrespected underdog has been my passion, no doubt Israel falls into that category." Contact him by email at larose@snip.net To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: AND SO IT GOES Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 16, 2007.

A two year old was injured today by shrapnel from a Kassam that landed near the family home in Kibbutz Zikkim, near Gaza. The child's mother, who is pregnant, was also taken to the hospital to be treated for shock. How long will stories like this be "routine"? How did we come to the place in which such stories COULD be considered routine? ~~~~~~~~~~ Lenny Ben-David, who served as deputy chief of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington some years ago, has written an instructive piece, with historic perspective, on the strategic value of Har Homa. Ben-David anticipates that the verbal harangue about new housing in Har Homa will be followed by attacks, as the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo was attacked previously. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847346884&pagename= JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter ~~~~~~~~~~ A mission of (mostly military) Israeli intelligence personnel was dispatched last week to the US to convince authorities that Iran is indeed engaged in developing military nuclear capacity. As the meeting, which is about to conclude, has been off the record, details have not been revealed, but it seems certain that Israeli intelligence data was shared. ~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Livni is in Paris for that meeting of PA donors. Her message: We're for a strong PA (which means, give them the money), but not at the expense of Israeli security. Well, there seems to be a bit of a conflict there. Once again, there is a failure to say that money should be withheld until the PA proves itself. Livni did say that movement towards a state will be fostered if terrorism is halted. And she indicated that our building some homes in Har Homa would not be a stumbling block to anyone really interested in achieving peace. Rest assured, we have not heard the last about the "settlement" of Har Homa. ~~~~~~~~~~ I know that John Bolton, former US ambassador to the UN, was one of the really good guys: He sees clearly and speaks the truth. And on a regular basis he confirms my impression. Now in an interview Bolton has given to Der Spiegel in Germany, he has said: "His foreign policy is in free fall. The president is acting against his own judgment and instincts [and is] under the influence of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...[He] does not supervise her enough. That is a mistake." ~~~~~~~~~~ Hamas celebrated its 20th anniversary with rallies in Gaza yesterday and, according to a Palestinian news agency, reiterated its refusal to recognize Israel. Hamas leader Usama Al-Mazini said that Gilad Shalit would not be released until all Palestinian prisoners were released. Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

STUDY: WEST BANK POLLUTION THREATENING ISRAELI GROUNDWATER Posted by Yoram Shifftan, December 16, 2007.

This was written by Zafrir Rinat and it appeared in Haaretz (www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934768.html). This article about the contamination of undeground water in Israel as result of the contamination of streams in the "west bank", a topic Martin Sherman has extensively written about.

For several years now, a white river has run through the Hebron Hills. The color comes from pollution -- waste from a sawmill near Hebron. And according to a recent Israeli-Palestinian study, pollution from this river and others like it is threatening the groundwater inside Israel, and is impeding attempts to rehabilitate Israel's rivers. Israel has tried to deal with the problem by collecting and purifying the waste at the Green Line, the boundary between Israel and the West Bank. But that is insufficient, because much pollution enters the groundwater in the West Bank and spreads to Israel underground. The two-year study was conducted by the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University and the Palestinian Water and Environmental Development Organization. It focused on the Alexander River, which runs from Nablus to the Mediterranean north of Netanya, and the Basor River, which runs from near Hebron to the Gaza Strip. Major investments have been made in rehabilitating both rivers in recent years, including by establishing waste treatment plants along them. However, the study found, the Basor is now full of both municipal waste and toxins emitted by the stone- and leather-working industries around Hebron. It estimated that anywhere from 45 to 90 percent of the pollution seeps into the ground before the river reaches the Israeli treatment plant, thereby endangering the groundwater. Moreover, some of this underground waste then reenters the river downstream of the treatment plant. The study found that faulty sewage systems in Israel also pollute the river. While the Alexander River has improved substantially, the study said, it still is being polluted by municipal waste and the olive oil industries around Nablus and Tul Karm, as well as various sources within Israel, such as fertilizer and insecticides from nearby farms. In this case, too, about half of the pollution on the Palestinian side seeps into the groundwater before reaching the Green Line. Amos Brandeis, chief planner of the project to rehabilitate the Alexander, noted that the German government plans to build waste treatment plants for Nablus and Tul Karm, but they will not be operational for several years. He also noted that the amount of municipal waste on the Palestinian side has grown, due to population growth and because many more houses have been connected to the sewage system in recent years -- and this system flows directly into the river, rather than to a treatment plant. Hydrologists Lior Assaf and Hila Ackerman of the Arava Institute said that more could also be done on the Israeli side -- for instance, said Assaf, "planting buffer zones of vegetation along the river banks, which would help prevent pollution from entering the river." Professor Alon Tal of the Blaustein Institute, in his summary of the research, noted that Israelis and Palestinians had managed to work together to reduce pollution despite the political tensions. "Nevertheless, what has been done to date is only the first stage," he wrote. To Go To Top

SURVIVOR, GULF STYLE Posted by Barry Rubin, December 16, 2007.

Let's say you rule an Arab state in the Persian Gulf--Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, or the United Arab Emirates. How does the world look to you right now? Remember, of course, that what you think is not necessarily what you say. Unfortunately, there are many Western observers who don't seem to understand this simple point. Publicly, Gulf leaders complain about the United States and the alleged Israeli threat, flaunting their dedication to the Arab cause, passionate commitment to the Palestinians, and beliefs in Muslim solidarity even toward neighboring Iran. Privately, it's something altogether different. Porfirio Diaz, Mexico's nineteenth-century dictator, once supposedly lamented, "Poor Mexico, so far from God, and so close to the United States." The Gulf monarchs feel themselves very close to God indeed but they are far from the United States and extremely near Iran, Syria, revolutionary Islamists, and bloodthirsty terrorists. A lot of their own people think the same way as those difficult folks, in part because--though of course this is not the only reason--their leaders have promoted or tolerated many of those same ideas. But again, Iran is very near and the Gulf Arabs know how ruthless and ambitious its leaders happen to be. They don't share Western illusions in this regard. Consequently, they are terrified that Iran will get nuclear weapons. After all, who would be more threatened by that outcome than themselves? Yet they are equally scared that open and energetic support for stopping Tehran's nuclear ambitions will be punished by Iran someday. After all, can they really depend on the United States? They complain publicly when it is tough and privately fear its being soft. Horrified by the prospect of America attacking Iran, fright at it not doing so drives them toward appeasement. In theory, they are all for a broad front to stop the spread of radical Islamism, yet rarely will they lift a finger to do much for that cause. And their own constant anti-American criticism and opposition to Western policies also undermine attempts to defend them. As a result, they give Washington little help, thus undermining any chance to build an anti-Iran coalition. This also applies to Iraq, where publicly Gulf Arabs usually urge American withdrawal while privately viewing such an event with horror. Much of the violence in Iraq, of course, is paid for and implemented by Saudis, ensuring instability in that country. They carry out the anti-Iran struggle by helping usually pro-bin Ladin Sunni kill supposedly pro-Tehran Shia. On this front, at least, they are battling Iran but, ironically, in a way that also fights against the United States. And what of the Arab-Israeli conflict, supposedly their overwhelming preoccupation. In general, their approach--at least behind the scenes--is cynical. A Saudi official opening a secret conversation with an Israeli counterpart some years ago said something like, "The Palestinians must have a state. Jerusalem must be liberated. OK, that's out of the way so let's talk." Of course, the Gulf Arab rulers know how passionately--partly due to their own propaganda--their masses would be infuriated at peace, and how greatly their political rivals would take advantage of any real moderation to brand them as traitors. There is in Gulf ruling circles, especially and perhaps primarily in Saudi Arabia, genuine hatred, bizarre ideas, and terrified fear of Jews. Yet this is equaled by tremendous disinterest in really helping Palestinians. During the 1990s, American officials went to the Gulf to beg, in vain, for financial aid to the Palestinian Authority. It is not that concern over the Arab-Israeli conflict is phony so much as this issue's priority is ridiculously exaggerated by observers from the standpoint of Gulf Arab regimes. In a real sense, the attitude toward the conflict is to tell the West: it's your problem, not our problem. The Saudis might show up at the Madrid conference in 1991 or the Annapolis meeting in 2007 but that's about the extent of their effort. Or at most they will simply give the Palestinians and Syrians veto power, saying that when those two decide the conflict is over the Arab states will accept that decision. As in other cases, the Gulf Arabs want the United States to make problems go away with no risk or sacrifice on their part. They then blame the West for not doing so, a campaign that often finds lots of people in that region foolish enough to believe this propaganda What most Gulf Arabs want, though, is neither jihad nor an Islamist empire but simply security for themselves. By cheering on and often subsidizing jihad--at least outside their own countries--they hope to buy themselves immunity from the radicals' violence and revolutionary instability. They seek Western protection and practice appeasement simultaneously as parts of a single coherent policy. The goal is material well-being for themselves and peace at home. Gulf Arab regimes applauded and subsidized the radical Nasserists and Baathists for decades convinced that the West they maligned would save them whenever needed. They were proved right. In the 1980s, the United States led a coalition to stave off Iran and convoy their oil tankers; in 1991, an American-organized alliance drove Iraq out of Kuwait. History, they hope, will repeat itself. The problem with this approach is that their policy denies peace, progress, and stability for others, in fact often makes bloodshed and conflict inevitable in large parts of the Middle East. And, irony of ironies, the same strategy they are pursuing might end by blowing up their own houses. Barry Rubin is Director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Interdisciplinary Center university. His latest book, The Truth about Syria was published by Palgrave-Macmillan in May 2007. Prof. Rubin's columns can be read online. To Go To Top

THE STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE OF HAR HOMA Posted by Avodah, December 16, 2007.

This is by Lenny Ben-David and it appeared yesterday in The Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid= 1196847346884&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull) The author served as Israel's deputy chief of mission in Washington. Today he is an international consultant. He blogs at iconsultorg.blogspot.com

Seven years ago enemy snipers attacked southern Jerusalem. The stage is now being set for a repeat performance. Last month the Ministry of Housing issued a tender for the construction of some 300 apartment units in the Har Homa neighborhood of Jerusalem. Immediately, Palestinian spokesmen screamed bloody murder: Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the housing starts as "raised fists" against the peace process. "We loudly ask the US administration to act as the judge and compel Israel to implement its commitments which the Road Map plan specified," Erekat told the Voice of Palestine. "If Israel went on, this will destroy all the efforts that aim at launching a meaningful peace process leading to ending the Israeli occupation which started in the 1967," he continued. No one was surprised when Erekat's complaint was quickly echoed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, "The United Nations' position on the illegality of settlements is well known. The Americans must pressure the Israeli government to stop settlement activities." The real surprise came when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined the chorus and expressed her opposition. She told a news conference and Foreign Minister Livni, "We're in a time when the goal is to build maximum confidence between the parties and this doesn't help to build confidence. There should not be anything which might prejudge final-status negotiations." One British newspaper described her comments as, "delivering what for the Bush administration is rare criticism of Israel over its settlements policy." The de-legitimization of Jerusalem's new (post-1967) neighborhoods and the diplomatic attack on their expansion appear to have begun anew. The last time we saw such an assault was in 2000, and it was accompanied by deadly gunfire, as well. During the first two years of the second intifada, more than 400 shooting attacks were unleashed on the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo and its 40,000 residents from the nearby Arab town of Beit Jala. Although the town was predominantly Christian, Beit Jala was infiltrated by Fatah's Tanzim gunmen who shot at Gilo, hoping for Israeli retaliation against the local residents. Gilo residents began to evacuate. Belatedly the Israeli government provided cement barriers and bullet-proof glass to protect the Jerusalem neighborhood's residents.   IGNORING the fact that the neighborhood consisted of major apartment complexes, schools and shopping centers, much of the world press condoned the attacks on the "Israeli settlement," as if it were some temporary military camp. The British press was quick to claim that Gilo was "illegal under international law." Reuters' correspondent Christine Hauser tried to show that it was the Arab town of Beit Jala under Israeli attack by describing the piles of brass bullet shells collected by the Palestinian locals, not realizing that spent casings are found at the source of the shooting, not the target. The media distortion was so great that in 2001 CNN issued a memorandum to its staff stating that "We refer to Gilo as a 'Jewish neighborhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem'... We don't refer to it as a settlement." Har Homa, established in 1997, is another Jewish neighborhood on Jerusalem's southern flanks. With an estimated 6,000 residents, the suburb is a strategic impediment to Palestinian attempts to link up northern Bethlehem with Jerusalem. Google Earth's maps of the area show Har Homa about a kilometer from the Palestinian Authority-controlled town of Bethlehem. Just north of Har Homa are several Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, and the Old City of Jerusalem lies just 5.5 kilometers beyond. No wonder Palestinians are launching an attack on the building of a measly 300 apartments. The city of Jerusalem is ringed by neighborhoods built after 1967. They house about one-third of Jerusalem's burgeoning population, and they also serve to protect the city. The neighborhood of Ramot serves as a buffer to the north; Mount Scopus, French Hill, Ramat Eshkol, and Sanhedria protect Jerusalem's east; and Gilo and Har Homa serve as a buffer to the south. Somewhere in the Palestinian Authority's security forces, or Fatah's al-Aksa Brigade, or Hamas, or Islamic Jihad, military commanders are planning their attack on Har Homa, probably from neighboring Bethlehem. Snipers, mortars and Kassam rockets will be the order of battle. And if a "fire-when-ready" order from the UN, Europeans or Americans was ever necessary, it was just delivered. Contact Avodah by email at avodah@aol.com To Go To Top

VOTERS SIMPLY DON'T BELIEVE THE NIE FINDING REGARDING IRAN'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM Posted by Tbe Israel Project, December 15, 2007.

The most surprising poll finding was pretty straightforward -- voters simply don't believe the NIE finding regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program," http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=diJPK7OPInLRJ9J&s= diLTK4MLKlKVJ4MCKmG&m=cnLKLQMpGbLPH

Americans Do Not Believe U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) Finding That Iran Has Ended Its Nuclear Weapons Program 64 percent believe the NIE findings will make us less safe because it might lead to reduced pressure on Iran 69 percent of U.S. likely voters think the Iranian nuclear weapons program is still underway; 69 percent think that the international community should try to prevent Iran from further civilian nuclear research; 76 percent of likely voters approve of expanded United Nations economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran; By a 62 to 9 margin, likely voters support Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians. Washington, D.C. -- A new bipartisan poll (Word Document : http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=dsJPK8OJIgLXJfJ&s= diLTK4MLKlKVJ4MCKmG&m=cnLKLQMpGbLPH) commissioned by The Israel Project (TIP) shows Americans do not believe the NIE and worry it will make the U.S. less safe. The survey shows that while 75 percent of likely voters had heard a "great deal" or "some" about the NIE report, only 27 percent believed its assessment that Iran's nuclear program ended in 2003. In contrast, 69 percent believe that the nuclear weapons program is still underway. Additionally, 64 percent fear America "will be less safe" based on this estimate "because it might lead to reduced pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear capacity for good." Only 27 percent thought "we are more safe" after the estimate "because it shows the threat from Iran is not as imminent as had been believed." "The most surprising poll finding was pretty straightforward -- voters simply don't believe the NIE finding regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program," said Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies. "Americans believe Iran's weapons program has not been shelved and many still consider the country to be an imminent threat to the U.S." There is a clear sense that despite the NIE report, Americans remain very concerned about Iran and want to expand sanctions and other peaceful efforts to curtail the threat. Fully 85 percent of those polled consider Iran a serious threat, including 44 percent who consider it an immediate threat to the United States. "The public views Iran as a threat and even after the NIE, they strongly support intensifying sanctions and diplomatic measures," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project. "This is good news as there is still time to use the power of the purse for peace," said Mizrahi, whose organization has provided infomation on economic ways to help prevent war : http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=diIQJ0OEKeJOKcL&s= diLTK4MLKlKVJ4MCKmG&m=cnLKLQMpGbLPH More than three fourths of likely voters approve of "expanded United Nations economic and diplomatic actions" to deal with Iran and 85 percent approve of "support of opposition groups in Iran that are working for democracy and human rights." Americans are uncomfortable even with Iran's supposed civilian nuclear research program. When asked, "Do you think Iran should be allowed to continue its civilian nuclear research program or should the international community try to prevent Iran from further nuclear research," 69 percent agreed with the latter. When asked to assume that the NIE was accurate and that Iran had ended its nuclear weapons program in 2003, Americans cite "international economic sanctions" (41 percent) and "international diplomatic pressure" (22 percent) as the principal factors in Iran ending its program. Only 5 percent said "Iran decided it no longer wanted or needed nuclear weapons." Asked about the motivation of the earlier NIE reports that concluded that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, a majority (61 percent) believe those "were based on the intelligence agencies' best judgments at the time" while only 28 percent believed that the earlier NIE assessments were "deliberate misrepresentations of the available information." Still, they do not trust the current NIE, instead preferring to believe British intelligence findings (67 percent) that Iran's "nuclear weapons program continues."   SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL in the conflict with the Palestinians remains extremely high with 62 percent of Americans considering themselves supporters of Israel and only 9 percent supporters of the Palestinians. Further, by a similar margin (61 to 10), Americans believe the U.S. should support Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians. This is in stark contrast to 2002, when fully 68 percent of Americans thought the U.S. should take neither side in the conflict. "We see that Americans consistently support Israel because they understand that Israel, like America, is a modern democracy with freedom of religion, free speech and the right to vote for all citizens, Christians, Muslims and Jews," said Mizrahi. Most Americans want a peaceful, two-state solution to the conflict. Although just 39 percent had heard a "great deal" or "some" about the Annapolis peace talks, a wide majority of 81 percent believe that "the goal of peace talks in the Middle East should be both a Palestinian state and peace and security in recognized borders for Israel and the Palestinians." This is in contrast to only 12 percent who believe "the goal of peace talks in the Middle East should solely be the creation of a Palestinian state." A big obstacle, however, remains Palestinian terrorism. Fully 70 percent of respondents agree that "Palestinian acts of terrorism are unacceptable, no matter the conditions in which they live." Even though 60 percent were largely unaware of the "2,000 rockets that have been shot into Israel from Gaza, a Palestinian territory," 63 percent agree that "Israel's actions toward the Palestinians are understandable given the security threat they face," while only 29 percent believe them to be an overreaction. "Can you imagine if everyday sitting in school, sitting in your living room, driving to the grocery store terrorists' rockets were targeting your neighborhood? The threat under which Israelis living near the border of Gaza face is unimaginable. It is encouraging to see that Americans understand that Israel must defend these innocent civilians. Sadly, however, most Americans are still unaware that more than 2000 rockets have hit Israel this year alone. This is especially troubling because these rockets are coming from a territory that Israel gave up two years ago in hopes of jumpstarting the road towards a two-state solution," added Mizrahi. Nevertheless, most do not see a direct tie between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and international terrorism. By a 55 to 43 margin, a majority of Americans believe "a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would not have much of an impact on terrorism around the world." The poll of 800 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted by telephone December 10-12, 2007 for The Israel Project by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percent. For more information, contact The Israel Project (http://www.theisraelproject.org/) Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi can be reached at jenniferm@theisraelproject.org To Go To Top

FOREIGN MINISTER LIVNI CAN BEFRIEND CONDI RICE IF SHE WISHES, BUT NOT AT ISRAEL'S EXPENSE Posted by Koira, December 15, 2007.

This was written by Uzi Landau and published in YNET News, 13 December 2007

Every time I encounter a media report about the wonderful friendship between our Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, I recall a conversation between the leaders of Israel and France. David Ben Gurion spoke about "France, our friend and ally," while Charles de Gaulle replied "France has no friends or enemies. France has interests." Does Livni understand that? Let's start from Annapolis, at the closed-door forum of senior representatives at the conference. At its conclusion, Rice spoke about knowing what it's like not to be permitted to walk on certain roads or pass through a junction because one is a Palestinian. She said she understands the humiliation and helplessness. The conclusion stemming from the memories of discrimination of a black child in the era of racism in America was clear: In the Middle East Israelis are the bad guys, while Palestinians are the innocent victim. Yet Livni remained silent. A month earlier, in Jerusalem, Rice compared the Palestinian struggle to the Afro-Americans struggle for civil rights, while comparing Mahmoud Abbas to a moderate leader committed to peace like Martin Luther King! Yet Livni remained silent.   LET'S GO BACK TO 2003. President Bush proposed the Road Map. The plan undermined Israeli interests and the government found it difficult to support it. Livni came up with 14 reservations. Government members supported it and emphasized: The reservations constitute an inseparable part and required condition for implementing the Road Map. The Americans disregarded the reservations and turned to the United Nations Security Council, which passed the document without them In light of the friendship between the ministers, we hoped the process would not be repeated. We were proven wrong. Two days after Annapolis, without consulting Israel, again the Americans attempted to pass the conference's "declaration of intent" as a Security Council resolution. The prime minister thwarted this American attempt, but where was Livni? She knew about it yet didn't report it, or worse, didn't know at all? What does Israel gain from the friendship if Condi does not bother to coordinate such move with Tzipi? Yet Livni remained silent. At Annapolis, the zenith of her achievements, Livni placed Israel and Palestinian terrorism on the same moral plain when she drafted, along with Abbas and Condoleezza, the conference's "declaration of intent" that demands the parties confront terror and incitement, whether it is Israeli or Palestinian. The document, just like the conference, focused on Palestinian interests: Establishment of a Palestinian state; discussion of all core issues such as the entry of refugees into Israel, which no Israeli government before was willing to even discuss; renunciation of our position and agreement to a timetable for completing negotiations, while completely ignoring the 14 reservations attached to the Road Map. Meanwhile, by agreeing that the Americans would be the arbitrator on disagreements between us and the Palestinians, the US took away Israel's ability to make decisions on matters essential to its security. No mention of Israeli rights or interests   THE US ADMINISTRATION, which turns a blind eye to the incitement at Palestinian schools, and which is subordinated to the instructions of the secretary of state who sees Abbas as Martin Luther King, will be the one to decide whether the Palestinians are the inciters, or perhaps Israel is the one doing the incitement. The "judge" appointed by Condi, General James Jones, is known for his chilly attitude towards us and for his connections to US economic interests in Arab states. Meanwhile, there was no mention of Israeli rights or interests. Even the order of actions, which was explicitly determined in the Road Map -- dismantling terror infrastructure as a condition to any progress, completely disappeared. In fact, Israel is the one that now needs to prove its peace intentions are serious by removing outposts and freezing settlements. There was neither mention of Bush's pledge regarding settlement blocs staying under Israeli sovereignty which Olmert viewed as a historical achievement, nor of defensible borders for Israel. And again, just like in Oslo, we agreed to give them guns, they are already receiving armored vehicles, the Americans already pledged to train their security forces, and we already know they will be granted billions of dollars. And one note: Ahead of the conference, Condi demanded, as a gesture, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Livni, instead of demanding the release of one prisoner in exchange -- Jonathan Pollard -- remained silent. While Tzipi gazes at Condi as if she was a smitten high school student, Rice, a distinguished political science student, internalized de Gaulle's doctrine: National leaders have no "friends." They have interests. As Bush's emissary in his last term in office, she wishes to leave her mark. She is already slamming Israel over continued construction in Jerusalem's Har Homa neighborhood. Her interest is clear, and she exploits the friendship to promote it. Livni has the right to befriend whoever she wishes, but the State of Israel urgently needs a foreign minister who would represent its interests. Contact Koira by email at koira@dbmail.com To Go To Top

DEPKAfile: ANEMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN; BARAK CRITICIZES BUSH HANDLING OF IRAN; GAZAN MISSILES HIT SOUTHERN ISRAEL Posted by Paolo Porsia, December 15, 2007.

DEBKAfile reports: US and UN draft anemic sanctions against Iran -- in contrast to "harsh sanctions" promised Israel 11 Dec.: The original ban on UN members' supply, sale or transfer of arms to Iran has made way for a diluted call for "restraint" and "vigilance". DEBKAfile's sources report that the sanctions text as drafted by the five UN Security Council members and Germany no longer present a deterrent to Iran carrying on flouting UN resolutions on its nuclear activities. DEBKAfile's sources report that nothing is left of the tough international sanctions promised Israeli leaders by the US and EU. This already insipid draft is expected to be watered down further before it comes to the vote later this month, reflecting the new US intelligence assessment purporting that Iran gave up nuclear weapons development in 2003. DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources report that the sanctions called for against al Qods Brigades are impossible to execute because this arcane 15,000-strong body operates completely underground, below any international financial radar. Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak sharply criticizes Bush handling of Iran's nuclear weapons program DEBKAfile's sources report: After years of waiting for the US-led "international community" to deal with Iran's nuclear aspirations, a senior Israeli official has finally spoken out, saying the US government had not done what was necessary for building an international coalition capable of twisting Iran's arm on its nuclear plans. Now, said the Israeli defense minister, it is too late for Bush and arresting Iran's nuclear progress will have to wait for the next president. IDF Chief of staff Lt. Gen Gaby Ashkenazi said if the international community cannot stop Iran's nuclearization, the Israeli military must be prepared "for any scenario" -- the first time a high Israeli military officer has suggested IDF action against Iran. Former US Central Intelligence Agency deputy director John McLaughlin poured scorn on the National Intelligence Estimate which found that Iran had put its nuclear weapons program on ice in 2003. DEBKAfile adds: Unlike Barak, prime minister Ehud Olmert is in lockstep with president Bush and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice on Iran and the Palestinian and Syrian issues, despite complaints that their policies are deleterious for Israel's national and security interests. DEBKAfile Exclusive: Additional southern Israeli towns told to get set to face Gaza bombardment in absence of appropriate military action 8 Dec.: Hamas and Jihad Islami have extended the missile range from Gaza to as far afield as the towns of Ashkelon, Netivot and Ofakim and blocs of smaller locations such as Magen, Miftahim, Kerem Shalom, Habsor, Gevulot, Tzeelim and Urim. Another 175,000 inhabitants are now within Palestinian sights. On Dec. 6, deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai warned the local authorities to get set form bombardment. He did not speak of a military response or how their citizens were to be protected from this new peril. DEBKAfile's sources reveal that prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak and chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi have agreed that the IDF will continue to defer a major military operation for wiping out the Hamas war machine in Gaza. Its long postponement has left the Islamist terrorists free to greatly enhance their capabilities. Even fired from Gaza City, their missiles can still reach a broad swathe of southern Israeli civilian locations. Liquidating this new capability would necessitate Israel's conquest of Gaza's largest town. Defense officials disclosed on Dec. 7, that Hamas now has long-term storage facilities for up to 100 Qassam missiles, which enables them to fire multiple bursts at Israeli targets, like the Hizballah's blitz of northern Israel during the war last year. Officers in the IDF cannot explain why no orders have come down to smash them. Hamas has further set up special units of fighters clad in the same uniforms and camouflage gear as Israeli troops, armed with the same M-16 rifles and driving vehicles painted in IDF colors, ready for cross-border terrorist attacks. Contact Paolo Porsia at avengerita@aim.com To Go To Top

SAVE ISRAEL NOW Posted by Bill Jones, December 15, 2007

Dear Friends of the Bible I have included in my pro-Bible analysis; many Koran-verses, that exemplify how Islam destroys the Bible, morphs Abraham & Jesus into Muslims, then rants to "Kill the Jew". This is very important in analysis of terrorism, in terms of explaining why Islam hates. Could you please have the below Koran-verses, translated into Hebrew, so the leftist-Jews in the Knesset know, who they are drinking tea with. Could you please distribute the analysis in Hebrew; to villages of Judea and Samaria and the Galilee-Golan and United Jerusalem. could you take this analysis in Hebrew, and write letters to Knesset members and newspapers and Israeli organizations, and blog-sites. ASAP & NOW to ensure that the farce of Annopolis isn't Israel's destruction, otherwise, one day, there will be no Israel I have included a bibliography of source websites, that translate the Koran into English and categorize by subject. The best one is www.prophetofdoom.net. The Koran-verses should also be translated into Spanish & Russian, so the Russia & Venezuela, can truly understand, what their Muslim pals are. To win more Christian support for Israel, & as a reaction against rampant leftistism, and as a critical and necessary analysis to the true origins of terrorism, I have some urgent suggestions. Please analyze these issues for Israel, sharing the analysis with the villages and kibbutz and moshav farms of the Galilee-Golan and Judea and Samaria, and United Jerusalem and Israel and the world ASAP (before Ehud Olmert does anything else to destroy the Bible) [ Could you also start a web-site "Save Israel Now", with a complete consolidated list of Jewish charities & groups & ways to help David's Kingdom. ] Save the Bible Now. Peace = Giving Land to Jews = restoring David's kingdom Now = telling Syria to go to hell = all Samara & Judea & Golan for Israel If the leftist-Jews in the Knesset, where even remotely aware of theses issues, they wouldn't be left. But most importantly, it will help many of your beloved residents, the opportunity to emphatically express their views with some more facts, that one never gleams from the Anti-Israel BBC. Then you, and your residents will have the opportunity, to write letters to the leftists, with the simplest of questions Why must Israel shrink, in order to accommodate Muslims, who morph Abraham and Jesus into fraudulent Muslims. And it will be a moment in history, to witness the leftist's response or lack or response. And a moment to be vindicated, and a moment to warn. Maps comparing Israel and the world www.iris.org.il (www.iris.org.il/sizemaps.htm) & www.science.co.il (www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict.asp) [ www.science.co.il also list many great charities and groups of Israel. someone should log into wikipedia & link each Israeli group to their Israeli location @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Israel ] if you would like more awareness about your community groups, then add them to www.science.co.il & log into wikipedia, adding them to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Israel ~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.icejusa.org is a Christian group dedicated to David's kingdom. please share the analysis with the local and national groups, and Local & Regional Councils, of Israel, To save as much of the Bible-land, before leftist politicians again, shrink Israel, into a vulnerable position, in which the Bible, has less land for security, less land for archeology and less land for future development. How can Israel be The Bible, if her Bible-land is given away. If Israel again gives away land, when she needs land, she has no future. Israel needs land for security, for archeology, and for future growth and development. The world needs a Jewish nation. The world needs a Bible. Israel needs more land. The jackass world doesn't even know how many Muslim countries there are on map. The idiots at CNN don't have the IQ to compute all the kilometers of Islam, in the Middle east, Africa and Asia. Israel must never again give away land for "peace". If Islam wants peace, if Syria wants peace, they will leave Israel alone. There is nothing to negotiate. Israel must not make any concessions. Tell Syria to leave Israel alone. (Islam has more than 99% of the Middle East, much of Africa and much of Asia. The average person is unable to name every Muslim country on a map "and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh: ........... of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with the open land about it, and Ashtaroth with the open land about it" 1 Chronicles 6:56 "The Gershonites received the following: From the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Golan in Bashan and also Ashtaroth, together with their pasturelands" 1 Chronicles 6:71 (Christian version) all of the Golan-Galilee belongs to David's kingdom. If David were on earth, he'd rebuild his Temple on the Temple Mount. If David were on earth, he would NEVER give away Bible-land. He would never compromise Jerusalem, nor the Golan-Galilee, nor any part of Judea and Samaria, including Hebron, our 2nd Holiest City. ( Joshua, 14, 15, 16, 7, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 ) Israel needs land for security, for future archeology and for growth and development & immigration. Quote the Psalms, Create Bible Maps of the 12 Tribes, Remind the world, Israel is The Bible. Israel, is Jacob's Name. David is also a Zionist. When will Israel be David ? why do we have a Bible, if we aren't courageous enough to live it ? David would also deport the Muslims of Israel, to Saudi Arabia. Israel doesn't need a 5th Column, dedicated to making Israel, another Muslim, country, via demographics. The Muslims of Israel don't pay taxes often, they don't serve in military, they spread Holocaust denial And they support the continued Nazism of Amin al-Husayni. Failure to do this, means in another 50 or 100 so years the Jews will be become the minority, soon. When Jews are a minority in a Muslim country, the result is, .... dead Jews. Saving Bible-Israel is moral. Watching Israel become a Muslim country is immoral. Saving Bible-Israel is moral. Forcing Israel to be burdened with a 5th column, is a crime. Remind the youthful secular Jews, that being David and strong in Zion, is also their responsibility. You need to find strategies, to make David-Zionism, youthful, and exciting and cool. If they have energy to go disco-dancing, then they have energy to help the brave Jews in Hebron and Sderot. Challenge the youth. Ask them .....who is tuff enough to be Moses. ....Just Do it. Remind Christians that David wants his Temple and Kingdom restored. Remind Christians that morphing Jesus & Abraham into bogus-Muslims is a sick crime, that destroys the Judeo-Christian traditions. David, after the 1967 war, would have evicted the Muslims. He would never concede Bible-land. He would never have a 2-state solution of Bible and the Philistinians. Palestine is the name of the Jewish homeland. Hadrian the Sadist-Roman, in the 2nd century, renames the Bible to Palestine as a cruel insult, to mock Jews and praise the Philistines. The suffering Palestinians are only the Jews. The Muslims that destroy the Bible, are the Philistinians. Yes, they steal your country. Yes, they steal your names. Yes they steal Abraham. yes they steal the Gospels too. What haven't they stolen. Their only religion, is what they steal from Jews and Christians. Then they accuse the Jews of being the scum. Tell Christians to stop giving money to Islam. Jesus and Abraham don't want to be Muslims. Frank Graham, son of Billy Graham, denounced Islam for their plagiarism of the Gospels and Bible. And now CNN doesn't interview him anymore. Stop the Liberal Leftist Conspiracy !!!!!!!!! Liberate Abraham and Jesus and Hebron and Jerusalem. Let Abraham be a Jew. Let Jesus be a Jew. Let Hebron be the Bible, Judaism's 2nd Holiest City. Let Jerusalem be the Bible, David's City. Rebuild his temple Now. Quote the Psalms. "Muhammad reiterated principles which mankind had already conceived in earlier centuries and many places. "Confucius, Buddha, Zoroaster, Socrates, Moses, and Jesus had said similar things. Many of the duties and rites of Islam are continuous practices which the pagan Arabs had adopted from the Jews." -- Words of Ali Dashti Jihad, and terrorism began 1400 years ago. When Islam needed a policy to fight the Byzantine-Christians and Zoroaster-Persians, who were bifurcated and fighting each other. Islam of Saudi Arabia, heavily influenced by the local Christians, simply took the Bible and Gospels and morphed everyone into a bogus Muslim. Armed with a new religion, they took over the Middle East. One small glitch. Abraham, John the Baptist and Jesus and Mary, in the Koran, are morphed into fraudulent Muslims. Since Abraham, John the Baptist and Jesus and Mary are Jews, they can not also be Muslims. This is mutually-exclusive. A Zero-Sum-Game. Since such insanity of plagiarizing from the Gospels & Bible, and morphing Jews, into Muslims, can not be reconciled, Islam reacts, by extremism of terrorism. Remind the World; that morphing Abraham and Jesus and John and Mary, into fraudulent Muslims, is an antithesis to morality. It is irreconcilable. (Islam did this intentionally) Explain to Christianity; that the "wondrous" Koran, simply morphs Jesus into a fraudulent Muslim, and deletes his crucifixion. (which for Christians are concepts of salvation and atonement) Islam's only religion, is their capability of plagiarizing and morphing the Old & New Testament into Muslims. This is insane, and quite pathetic. If Christians were more aware that Jesus has been morphed into a Muslim, they'd scream. And they would/will more support Israel. Israel can't survive, without Christian support. Christianity and Judaism can't survive if the Judeo-Christian leftists morph the Bible and Gospels into bogus-Muslims. Abraham is a Jew. Abraham does not want to be a Muslim in the Koran. Jesus is a Jew. He does not want to be morphed into a Muslim in the Koran. (Isa in the Koran) Ask Christians, how does it feel, knowing Jesus has been morphed into a Muslim. Ask Them. Ask the leftists Jews, why do they morph Abraham into a Muslim, & shrink the Bible (tiny-Israel) (Islam has more than 99 % of the Middle east) (Peace should be Islam giving lands to the Jews) Ask leftist Christians why do they morph Jesus into a Muslim, & shrink the Tiny-Bible (Israel) Remind them, Jesus is an Israeli. Israel is the Bible. Israel is their heritage. However most Christians don't know, that the Koran morphs Jesus and Abraham into bogus-Muslims, in the Koran. And the (anti-Israel) BBC and CNN are certainly silent on the subject. Technically, when Christians support Islam, they are destroying Christianity, and morphing Jesus into a Muslim. they are engaging in self-destruction. Create a Map of the world, show every Muslim country of Asia, Middle east and Africa. Compute the kilometers. Compare that in size to Israel. The crime, is not, being another religion. The crime is, declaring connections, to former religions, one has no connection to, and engaging in the crime of dispossession. Islam has no connection to the Bible. They morph Abraham into a bogus-Muslim, and dispossess the Jews from the Bible. Islam has no connection to the Gospels. They morph Jesus into a bogus-Muslim, and dispossess Christians from the Gospels. How can anyone trust Muslims, knowing they morph our religions into bogus-Muslims. The source of terrorism is simple. Islam represents the dispossession of Abraham and Jesus' Judaism, and hence they are fraudulently morphed into Muslims, in the Koran. Such insanity can not be reconciled. (Islam did this intentionally) www.pmw.org.il & www.memri.org translate the Arabic of Nazism in Islam. (the continuation of the Nazism of Amin al-Husayni) -- The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism: Adolf Hitler and Haj Amin al-Husseini by Chuck Morse The Third Reich and the Arab East, by Lukasz Hirszowicz Mufti of Jerusalem, by Moshe Perlman The Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin el-Husseini, and His Diplomatic Activity during World War II, by Daniel Carpi The Mufti and The Fuehrer, by Joseph B. Schechtman Hitler, the Allies, and the Jews, by Shlomo Aronson Hitler's Mufti, Not Hitler's Pope, by Rabbi David G. Dalin August 9, 2005, www.frontpagemag.com author of The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII and His Secret War Against Nazi Germany post WW II, Europe and the allies needed Petroleum, they didn't want to "upset" Islam. Islam never confronted their Nazism and participation in the Holocaust. The result, is that Islam became even more radicalized. Radical Islam is the legacy of Amin al-Husayni Amin al-Husayni = Father of Radical Islam. For Israel, the Holocaust continues. This is the root-cause of terrorism. For Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, terrorism is now a reality will only continue to harm all non-Muslims. In terms of explaining to the Christian and Jewish world, that the Koran plagiarized from the Bible and Gospels, and simply morphs Jesus and Abraham into a bogus-Muslims, Such articles can be found at www.answering-islam.org and at www.prophetofdoom.net. www.faithfreedom.org and & http://jihadwatch.org (Robert Spencer) and www.worldnetdaily.com (great articles about the myths of Islam) & www.islamreview.com, and www.historyofjihad.com and www.thereligionofpeace.com www.islamundressed.com and www.islam-watch.org www.militantislammonitor.org www.islamistwatch.org & www.islamreview.com & www.geraldahonigman.com This is the sura you want to quote "Ibrahim (Abraham) was not a Jew nor a Christian but he was an upright man, a Muslim..." Qur'an 3.67 Mohamed, morphs Abraham into a bogus Muslim, hence everyone after Abraham is a fraudulent Muslim. Hence Jesus has been morphed into a bogus-Muslim This is also the root-cause of terrorism. Islam destroys Christianity and Judaism, then Islam kills Jews. Islam has no organic indigenous religion. they simply plagiarize from the Gospels and Bible, morphing Gospel-Jews and Bible-Jews into bogus-Muslims. This is sick, pathetic and insane. This is why Muslims react with terrorism. Buddhists don't morph Jews into Muslims. Dr. Abbas Sadeghian, a Neuropsychologist and a Muslim; has written about Mohammed's epilepsy in "Sword and Seizure: Muhammad's Epilepsy and Creation of Islam". " He says Muhammad had suffered from "complex partial seizures," which are displayed through "excessive sweating and light trembling, olfactory, auditory and visual hallucinations, epigastric sensations (bad taste), excessive perspiration and hyper-religiosity." " www.epilepsy.com "And when Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundations of the House: Our Lord! accept from us; surely Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing" Koran 2.127 The meteorite in Mecca was a shrine long before Islam, but in the Koran, Abraham and Ishmael built it. "There was a Christian who embraced Islam and read Surat-al-Baqara (2rd sura/soorah chapter of Koran) and Al-Imran (3rd sura/chapter of Koran) and he used to write (the revelations) for the Prophet. Later on he returned to Christianity again and he used to say: "Muhammad knows nothing but what I have written for him." Then Allah caused him to die,...." Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 814 "Christians and Jews who disbelieve in Muhammad will go to hell" Al-Bayyinah 98.6 "Based on Koranic Verses, Interpretations, and Traditions, Muslim Clerics State: The Jews Are the Descendants of Apes, Pigs, And Other Animals. It (the Syrian Anti-Semitic Ramadan Series) also depicts the notorious blood libel -- Jews slaughtering a Christian child to use his blood for Passover matzos." aired on Al-Mamnou & Al-Manar www.imra.org.il & www.memritv.org "Though the Qur'an came long after the Bible, Muslims do not hesitate to claim that their version of some events central to Judaism and Christianity is the correct one. Thus, Abraham lived in Mecca according to the Qur'an, and Jesus was never crucified" Dr. Daniel Pipes "The Jews have no rights at all in the Holy Land" Dr. Tawfik Hamid quoting Islam. "The Hour will not arrive until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims will kill them until the Jew will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rock and the tree will say: O Muslim, O servant of God, there is a Jew behind me -- come and kill him!" article 7 of Hamas Charter (Fatah and PLO and Abu Masen, also deny the Holocaust, and have the same-cause of harming/shrinking/destroying Israel) "While Arafat has repeatedly declared the First and Second Jewish Temples never existed -- being in his words "a Zionist myth," his people have been busy destroying with bulldozers archeological remains of these very temples, mimicking the destruction of the Buddhist statutes in Bamiyan by the Taliban Islamists in Afghanistan. The Afghani and Palestinian Islamists follow the old Islamic tradition of destroying temples and relics of other religions, replacing them with Islamic religious symbols, generally mosques. They did this centuries ago to hundreds of Hindu and Buddhist temples on the Indian subcontinent; they did this to the grand Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople and to tens of ancient Eastern Orthodox churches in Kosovo. Actually, Muslims religiously emulate Mohammad s celebrated conversion of the pagan Kaaba in Mecca into the center of Islamic worship." Dr. Michael Anbar "The claiming of Jewish Holy Sites, like Joseph's Tomb, has been a successful gambit by Arafat. His efforts are consistent with the goals of many nations to remove the thought and presence of the Jews from the Land of Israel. Separating the Jews from our historical touchstones of religious sites (especially, the Tombs of the Patriarchs, Rachel and Joseph) and the memory of our glorious past is intended to weaken our resolve to stay." Emanuel A. Winston, www.freerepublic.com "Having conquered and forcibly Arabized millions of non-Arab peoples and their lands in creating most of the twenty-two states they now possess on millions of square miles of territory, at no time did Arabs ever consider that anyone else but themselves had any political rights in the region" Gerald A. Honigman "Because the Palestinians have been encouraged to believe that murdering innocent Israeli civilians is a legitimate tactic for advancing their cause, the whole world now suffers from a plague of terrorism, from Nairobi to New York, from Moscow to Madrid, from Bali to Beslan, a plague of terror which has been authored and perfected by the Palestinians for the last half century" Brigitte Gabriel "As the world recoils from international terror, the PLO takes pride in the fact that it has been the source of world terror, and that terrorists around the world have copied their tactics and techniques. It has already been noted by terror analysts that much of world terror was started by the Palestinian terrorists, and then copied by other terrorists in their own countries for their own purposes. Whereas the world views this with contempt, the PLO's Fatah faction acknowledges this and even takes pride in it." Palestinian Media Watch "Palestinianism condenses jihadist values. It promotes the destruction of Israel, the denial of Hebrew biblical history and hence Christianity. It preaches Islamic replacement theology and the Arabization and Islamization of the Holy Land's biblical archeology. Arafat, its leader, was the bin Laden of a seduced Europe, which applauded his policy of spectacular terrorism. It is Arafat who initiated in 1968 air piracy against Jews, hostage ransoming, suicide bombings, random killings of civilians and the destruction of urban areas as in Lebanon. In short, the current global terror campaign was successfully introduced first by Arafat against Jews and Israelis, as well as Lebanese Christians. More than Hitler before him, Arafat became the most popular hero in Europe, cradle of Palestinianism,.... Palestinianism as an ideology bringing together Europe and the Arab countries on the ashes of Israel was conceived and planned in Europe with unofficial Gaullist benediction, and Arafat was its embodiment." Bat Ye'or "Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax (dhimini tax) in acknowledgment of superiority (megalomania) and they are in a state of subjection." Koran 9.29 [ Mohammed The Profit ] the non-Muslim dhimini is subjugated and called the Kuffir. (also spelled Kuffar) All Jews, all Christians, all Zoroastrians, all Buddhists, all Hindus are inferior. Islam represents the super-secessionism of all former religions, and the abrogation and cancellation of all former religions. "In the next fifty years, we (Muslims) will capture the Western world for Islam. We have the men to do it, we have the money to do it, (financial aide, petroleum profits) and above all, we are already doing it." a quote from Muslims, how they will turn Europe into Islam, when Turkey, if Turkey joins the EU Pastor David Pawson from "The Challenges of Islam to Christianity" TV lecture he explains how Islam uses petro-money to purchase real-estate in London, and finance Jihad and nuclear-proliferation. He explains Christians go bankrupt, "winning" the transient "hearts and minds" of Muslims, who morph Jesus and Abraham into Muslims. He explains Muslims are flooding into Europe, and only 50 years of Muslim mass-immigration, has alerted England to the fear of UK becoming a Muslim country, in the future. unless Europe wakes up the threat of Islam, and doesn't allow Turkey EU membership. He explains stop giving any money to Islam. If Islam wants money, they will get it from Islam. Then Islam has less money for terrorism-expenditure. Then Christians can focus their money on helping fellow Christians and Israel and poor Hindus and poor Buddhists. Christianity will only survive, if it adapts this policy and stops Muslim-immigration. Otherwise, one day, Islam will be the only religion on the planet (getting off the Oil addiction, will also bankrupt the Jihad, ....finally) "...now I want to introduce you to a concept in the Koran, the concept of truce or Hudna. That concept is that when you are not in a position to fight & win, you make a truce. You may sign a peace treaty. You may make a compromise for the time being. But all such treaties & truces are temporary, and as soon as you are strong enough to defeat militarily, you must tear up the peace treaty and regard the (past) truce as obsolete. & win the battle. The relevance of that are peace treaties that were signed at Oslo & other desperations for a peace treaty in the Middle East. We westerners think that the signing of a peace treaty is something that could bring permanent peace. No no. it's a compromise, until they feel strong enough to go back to Jihad. and we must be under no illusions. Of the present wars in our world, there are 30 conflicts of the military kind going on at this moment. 28 of them are Islam related. Last year 2001 there were 300 suicide bombers in 14 countries. I am giving you these figures because you may have only heard of handful but these are the facts. Militancy is characteristic of a great deal of Islam. but we hear from the minorities that it's peace loving. and in the minorities it is. but that is not necessarily a permanent attitude." Pastor David Pawson from "The Challenges of Islam to Christianity" TV lecture "Islam permits Muslims to lie anytime that they perceive that their own well-being, or that of Islam, is threatened. In the sphere of international politics, the question is: Can Muslim countries be trusted to keep their end of the agreements that they sign with non-Muslim nations? It is a known Islamic practice, that when Muslims are weak they can agree with most anything. Once they become strong, then they negate what they formerly vowed." Abdullah Al Araby of www.islamreview.com author of Islam Unveiled "Allah's Apostle said........I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand." Abu Huraira added: Allah's Apostle has left the world and now you, people, are bringing out those treasures (i.e. the Prophet did not benefit by them)." Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220 "Allah's Apostle said, "You (Muslims) will fight the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him." Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 176 Mohammed said, "Kill any Jew that falls into your power." Tabari 7.97 "The Jews were made to come down, and Allah's Messenger imprisoned them. Then the Prophet went out into the marketplace of Medina, and he had trenches dug in it. He sent for the Jewish men and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were brought out to him in batches. They numbered 800 to 900 boys and men." Ishaq 464 Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar "Allah said, 'A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion." Ishaq:327 "When the Apostle looked down on Khaybar he told his Companions, 'O Allah, Lord of the heavens and what they overshadow, and Lord of the Devils and what into error they throw, and Lord of the winds and what they winnow, we ask Thee for the booty of this town and its people. We take refuge in Thee from its evil and the evil of its people. Forward in the name of Allah.' He used to say this of every town he raided." Ishaq 510 "Our onslaught will not be a weak faltering affair. We shall fight as long as we live. We will fight until you turn to Islam, humbly seeking refuge. We will fight not caring whom we meet. We will fight whether we destroy ancient holdings or newly gotten gains. We have mutilated every opponent. We have driven them violently before us at the command of Allah and Islam. We will fight until our religion is established. And we will plunder them, for they must suffer disgrace." Ishaq 587 Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar "All Religions Other Than Islam Are Heresy Saudi Religious Council "They are the people of the Sabbath, (Jews & Christians) whose young people God turned into apes, and whose old people God turned into swine to punish them. As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the keepers of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christian infidels of the communion of Jesus." "cut off the root of the unbelievers" (non-Muslims) Quran 8.7 "O you who believe! (Muslims) do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." Quran 5.51 "And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa (Jesus) son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure. Nay! Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah is Mighty, Wise. Koran 4.157-158 (this is deleting Jesus' crucifixion) Islam understands, that the almost-sacrifice of Isaac in Jerusalem, is part of the origins of Judaism. Hence it is transferred to Ishmael and Saudi Arabia, building the meteorite (Kabba) Islam, understands that the sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus, is how Christians express salvation and atonement, hence the crucifixion is deleted. Islam understands the Promised Land, Promised to Isaac and Jacob and Moses and David are the Bible's Covenant, sacred to Jews. Hence in bogus-peace, Islam takes from the Jews, ..... the only thing they are. The Jews are the Bible and the Covenant Holy Land. Islam steals your identity. Islam understand the Trinity is sacred to Christians, hence one-third of it, is transferred to Islam. (the Paraclete) One small glitch. Islam has no connection to the Bible. Islam has no connection to the Gospels. They simply rewrite both, morphing Bible-Jews and Gospel-Jews, into bogus-Muslims And transfer the concepts to Islam. The Koran mentions Jesus (Isa) often, but wikipedia and leftistism-journalism is pathetically negligent. They should say, that yes, the Koran plagiarizes from Bible and Gospels, but morphing Abraham and Jesus into bogus-Muslims, is an antithesis to morality and truth. "solidarity" to Islam's lies, only empowers Islam's lies. The crime, is not, being another religion. The crime is, declaring connections, to former religions, one has no connection to, and engaging in the crime of dispossession. Islam has no connection to the Bible. They morph Abraham into a bogus-Muslim, and dispossess the Jews from the Bible. Islam has no connection to the Gospels. They morph Jesus into a bogus-Muslim, and dispossess Christians from the Gospels. Ask the leftist Jews, why do they shrink Israel, and morph Abraham into a Muslim. Ask the leftist Christians, why do they shrink Israel, the country their Jesus was from, and why do they morph him into a Muslim. Remind the leftist-Jews, that Islam has more than 99% of the Middle east, and much of Asia and Africa, and hundreds of synagogues were destroyed or converted into mosques, and how many millions of Jews have Muslims murdered in 1400 years. Remind the leftist-Christians that most Middle East churches were converted into mosques including the Church of Saint Mary of Justinian, on The Temple Mount [//www.eretzyisroel.org, & www.palestinefacts.org & /www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict.asp ] And that once there were Christians thru out the Middle east, but they were forced to convert, or evicted or murdered. Remind Christians, when they assist Islam, they are "officiating" that Jesus is a Muslim. www.prophetofdoom.net does a good job, at analyzing the Koran, and categorizing it by subject. The web-site should be translated into many languages. "Jews are the monkeys and pigs who should be annihilated" Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais 'Islamic Personality Of the Year' 2005 awarded by DIHQA "The Jewish people ought to be exterminated root and branch. Then the plague of pests would have disappeared in Poland at one stroke" Der Stürmer, Nazi newspaper "Nader Al-Tamini said in a television debate on the Qatari Arabic cable news channel Al-Jazeera that there can be no peace with the Jews because they suck and use the blood of Arabs on the holidays of Passover and Purim" "the official Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram published a full-page article by columnist Adel Hamooda titled, "A Jewish Matzoh Made from Arab Blood." 1st grade Islam "every religion, other than Islam is false" 5th grade Islam: "It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in God and His Prophet, or someone who fights the religion of Islam" 8th grade Islam: "They are the people of the Sabbath, (Jews & Christians) whose young people God turned into apes, and whose old people God turned into swine to punish them. As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the keepers of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christian infidels of the communion of Jesus." (from the translations of www.pmw.org.il & www.memri.org & Freedom House) "By 670, the Arabs had taken Tunisia, and by 675, they had completed construction of Kairouan, the city that would become the Arab base in North Africa. Kairouan would also become the third holiest city in Islam in the medieval period, after Mecca and Medina, because of its importance as the centre of the Islamic faith in the Maghrib" The Islamic World to 1600; Umayyad Territorial Expansion www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/caliphate/umTerritory.html { make PDF copies of the website quotes, because once you quote it, they will delete it. } "One of the fundamentals of Faith in Islam, which is known as an essential part of the religion and upon which all Muslims have agreed, is that there is no true religion on the earth except Islam, and that it is the Final Religion which abrogated all previous religions and creeds. Therefore, no other religion remains on earth by which Allah can be worshipped except Islam." The Presidency of Islamic Research and Ifta -- Riyadh; www.islaam.com Islam represents the supersessionism of Jesus. Islam represents the cancellation and abrogation of all previous religions. Islam is "superior" to Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity. Christians and Jews who disbelieve in Muhammad will go to hell" Al-Bayyinah 98.6 "O God, destroy the infidels { all non-Muslims are The Infidel Kafir/Kuffaar/Kaafir } and polytheists, thine enemies, the enemies of the religion. O God, make their children orphans, and defile their abodes, and cause their feet to slip, and give them and their families, and their households and their women and their children and their relations by marriage and their brothers and their friends and their possessions and their race and their wealth and their lands as booty to the Muslims: O Lord of the beings of the whole world." 19th Jihad poetry for kids translated by Edward William Lane "So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good." Qur'an 8.69 "King Faysal of Saudi Arabia waved away any Jewish connection: "The Wailing Wall is a structure they weep against, and they have no historic right to it. Another wall can be built for them to weep against." article about Jerusalem, by Sara Yoheved Rigler www.aish.com/jewishissues/jerusalem "Let it be clear: the Wailing Wall is not a holy place of the Jews" Sheik Ikrama Sabri of the Palestine Authority "the city of Jerusalem has no real significance to Jews" Yasser Arafat www.worldnetdaily.com "The Israeli enemy does not belong to the region. It does not belong to the region's history, geography or faith." Mahmoud al-Zahar www.geraldahonigman.com "when my grandfather left Europe, in 1935 There was a graffiti, Jews Go to Palestine" Now when I visit Europe The graffiti says "Jews Get out of Palestine" What short memories, these Europeans have" www.israel-wat.com "the Jewish people must obtain human blood so that their clerics can prepare the holiday pastries. In other words, the practice cannot be carried out as required if human blood is not spilled!! Before I go into the details, I would like to clarify that the Jews' spilling human blood to prepare pastry for their holidays is a well-established fact, historically and legally, all throughout history" Middle East Media Research Institute, www.imra.org.il & www.memritv.org (Blood-Libel is alive and well in Syria, but the "polite" BBC is silent when interviewing the Syria dictator) "it (Terrorism) has nothing to do with land, it has nothing to do with the quote 'occupation' of Palestine...... Jihad is a long thing that has been going on in the Middle East" Walid Shoebat "The Arabs have taken into their own hands, the FINAL SOLUTION of the Jewish problem. The problem will be solved only in blood and fire. The Jews will be driven out." Arab High Committee 3 years after the Holocaust "Since we cannot defeat Israel in war; we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine, and establish sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel." Yasser Arafat "The Koran claims that the biblical G-d wanted to get rid of his first believers -- Jews and Christians. For the Muslims, it is a horror to see the Jewish nation come back as a sovereign people and it stirs up the denial of the Bible in the heart of the Koran." Dr. Daniel Sibony "Jewish prophets, like Catholic saints, are not honored in the Qur'an; they are expropriated. They become Muslims." A Frenchman for Israel by Nidra Poller Britain's role in bringing in illegal Arabs and keeping out Jews, trying to create an artificial Arab majority in Palestine 1920-1948 & The Moslem Claim to Jerusalem is False by Dr. Manfred R. Lehmann & Joseph E. Katz & Jan Willem van der Hoeven at www.eretzyisroel.org Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director International Christian Zionist Center www.eretzyisroel.org, & www.palestinefacts.org & /www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict.asp 100 years ago, there were few Muslims in the Holy Land. Some came to make money, from the Zion-Pioneers. Some came to ensure Jews have no nation. England flooded the area with Muslims and prevented Holocaust survivors from entering (white paper policy) "From Time Immemorial, by Joan Peters" Even Anti-Semites admit, 100 years ago, there were few Muslims, in the Holy Land. Notice how Islam ignores human-rights abuses in Muslim countries. But with insane obsession, 24/7 will only strategize, how to shrink Israel. Notice how in Sudan, Muslims are murdering non-Muslims right Now. Notice how Islam is silent, and offers no money. Notice how Jimmy Carter is silent. But with insane obsession, 24/7 will only strategize, how to shrink Israel. Without land, for development, parks and making babies, Israel, the Bible, has no future. Islam has more than 99% of Middle East plus much of Asia and Africa. Evicting the Muslims, is moral. They are there because Great Britain needed petroleum, and Muslim support, when they took over the Ottoman empire. Israel doesn't have to be burdened with England's immorality, especially when it threatens the Bible's survival. This is what David would do. He would evict the 5th Column to Saudi Arabia. They represent the Nazism of Amin al-Husayni (Islam never repudiated Nazism) Israel evicting the Neo-Nazi Muslims is moral. Israel allowing Muslims to Muslimize her, for a Middle East of 100% Islam, is immoral. "That world view involves a denial of a basic, fundamental truth: When you empower terrorists, terrorists are empowered." Caroline B. Glick "There's not a single verse in the Koran talking about peace with a non-Muslim, with the Jews and the Christians. Islam means submission. Islam means surrender. It means you surrender and accept Islamic hegemony over yourselves" Cal Thomas, August 2006 www.townhall.com "We hate Israel and we want to destroy it. If not us, then our children will destroy it. All the Arabs that want peace with Israel are traitors. Long live Hizbullah and we're going to war to conquer the Golan Heights as a first step towards destroying Israel." Bashar Al-Assad "The future generations in the Arab world will find a way to defeat Israel" Bashar Al-Assad "Both the Europeans and the Americans, hoping to pacify the Arab oil nations, forced Israel to give up the fruits of their victories after each war. The so-called 'even-handed' brokers of these "Retreats for Peace" always assured Israel that the hostile Arabs would be mollified by Israel's gestures. But, they never were." Emanuel A. Winston "Given that Islam's founder was a military leader who personally conducted terror attacks on caravans, led offensive battles against communities in order to steal and subjugate, who took slaves, broke truces, supervised the execution of captives, advocated the murder of Jews, and even advised his warriors on how best to rape women captured in battle, it is a wonder that there isn't more violence than we see today. .....Muhammad's legacy was an ideology that commands its followers to fight those outside the faith until they either convert to Islam or accept complete subjugation to Islamic rule. There simply is no such thing as an innocent infidel" www.thereligionofpeace.com "You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely 'anti-Zionist.' And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God's green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--this is God's own truth. Antisemitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind. In this we are in full agreement. So know also this: anti-Zionist is inherently antisemitic, and ever will be so. Why is this? You know that Zionism is nothing less than the dream and ideal of the Jewish people returning to live in their own land. The Jewish people, the Scriptures tell us, once enjoyed a flourishing Commonwealth in the Holy Land. From this they were expelled by the Roman tyrant, the same Romans who cruelly murdered Our Lord. Driven from their homeland, their nation in ashes, forced to wander the globe, the Jewish people time and again suffered the lash of whichever tyrant happened to rule over them." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "No nation has ever done more harm to Israel. None has matched it in debasing and humiliating us. None has been able to reduce us as they have.... We have borne their imposed degradation, their lies, their absurdities, which are beyond human power to bear.... We have done as our sages of blessed memory have instructed us, bearing the lies and absurdities of Ishmael In spite of all this, we are not spared from the ferocity of their wickedness and their outbursts at any time. On the contrary, the more we suffer and choose to conciliate them, the more they choose to act belligerently toward us." Moses Maimonides 12th century Rabbi, physician, philosopher p.s. could you also coordinate efforts at saving Joshua's Tomb near Ariel, Rachel's Tomb, biblical Shiloh, biblical Jericho, Mount Sartaba, and Herodion, and Hebron and Sussyia, our Bible sites. www.rachelstomb.org, & www.jewishjericho.org.il & www.susya.org.il and www.hebron.com and www.shechem.org & www.onejerusalem.org Save the Bible Now. Contact Bill Jones at billjones822@earthlink.net To Go To Top

REJECT FAUX PEACE ON ARAB TERMS Posted by Ted Belman, December 15, 2007.

There is no duty to accept peace on Arab terms. Salon recently published a review by Gregory Levey, of the efforts of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem under the title, The right wing's Jerusalem gambit and sub-titled, "A new coalition of religious hard-liners with ties to President Bush seeks to scuttle any plans for dividing Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians." I was very much involved in the activities of the CCJ and can attest that this review was accurate but Levey made gratuitous remarks that I thought showed a shallow understanding of the process. That a successful peace deal would necessitate some sharing of Jerusalem is at this point essentially a given in the eyes of most political leaders. While this is undoubtedly true, he argues, The new coalition of religious groups seeks to use the incendiary Jerusalem question to scuttle any of the progress promised by Annapolis. The issue of Jerusalem is an issue in and of itself. It isn't an issue for an ulterior purpose as suggested, though many of us, me included will oppose any peace process that is intended to end in the Saudi Plan. He accuses the CCJ of having the "strength and potential to be a real obstacle to peace in the year to come." as if there was any chance of this happening and ends with, The Annapolis conference may have been a start, but it has also unleashed a zealotry on U.S. shores that may once again help demonstrate how nearly impossible achieving Middle East peace could really be. Not one word about New PA Law: Negotiating Jerusalem is an Act of Treason which makes it a capital crime to even discuss Jerusalem. This is the blindness of the left. It demands Israel make peace on Arab terms without regard for whether the "peace" will be reliable or fair or respectful of Israel's rights. Rightwingers otherwise know as zealots, are not allowed to negotiate for what they consider theirs. Rightwingers do not reject peace. They just reject faux peace on Arab terms. Ted Belman is a Canadian lawyer and editor of the IsraPundit.com website, an activist pro-Israel website. Contact him at tedbel@rogers.com To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: HAR HOMA Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 15, 2007.

Motzei Shabbat (after Shabbat) The plans to build further units in Har Homa -- they would not extend Har Homa, but would be built inside the area already established -- were laid a full ten years ago, even though the tender for the building was just put out now. The tender was routine, because decisions had previously been made -- it wasn't run by high gov't officials. It is unlikely that Israel will back down on this (hope not!) even though there is a furor. But the furor is worse than irksome -- it's enraging. As I've written, the meeting of potential donors for the PA will take place this coming week in Paris, and Abbas will be requesting $5.6 (sometimes I read $5.8) billion dollars. But according to a draft of Abbas's speech acquired by Haaretz, Abbas intends to demand at the conference that Israel stop all building over the Green Line because this area belongs to the PA. First, an economic conference is the wrong place to raise this issue. The Palestinians use any forum they can get, but their achieving economic reform and viability really does not depend on their acquisition of the Har Homa neighborhood, even though this is how they will represent it. And then, there is the assumption that it's a done deal, a given: that we will be turning over to them half of Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria. Hey! Isn't that what negotiations are supposed to determine? What concerns me the most, however, is a statement from an unnamed Israeli gov't official cited in Arutz Sheva: "This affair has sabotaged negotiations and cast a shadow on the international donor states meeting next week. Because of a miserably timed, rash bureaucratic decision, we must prove anew that we are serious." Bells go off in my head with this. So, we won't stop the building in Har Homa but we'll make some other new concession to "prove anew" our sincerity. "Sabotage negotiations": The Palestinians are saying (as they always say such things to gain leverage) that they won't continue negotiations unless we stop the plans to build. WE are the ones doing them a favor, if we are discussing the possibility of giving them a state (G-d forbid!). Why do we have to prove anything more? Why is the onus not on them to prove that they deserve this state? Why are they not running to be conciliatory so that they can have it? As I've pointed out numerous times before, this whole scenario is upside down and backwards. You don't go into negotiations on the defensive, but from strength. ~~~~~~~~~~ Much more significant with regard to that meeting is whether the PA has gotten its act together in a manner that makes it possible to achieve economic development. Of course this is not the case, but Khaled Abu Toameh wrote a stunning article in the Post on Friday about the PA's lack of preparedness. Not only did PA officials admit that they have a long way to go with regard to reforming their security services, PA Civil Police commander Gen. Kamal al-Sheikh revealed that more that 600 Fatah policemen defected to Hamas last June and helped them take control of Gaza. But it was a small percentage of the 13,000 Fatah forces that were in Gaza, he insisted, playing down the significance of this. PA officials also acknowledged that the US-backed plan to put PA police in charge of keeping law and order, which began with the 300 police sent into Nablus (Shechem) has failed to achieve most of its goals because of the incompetency of the forces. One officer confessed (and I've reported on this before) that the operation hasn't targeted gunmen connected to Fatah (in the main, Al Aksa Brigades). "These gunmen are continuing to operate freely in the refugee camps near Nablus and Tulkarem. We arrested citizens who stole olive oil three years ago and or fired into the air during weddings two years ago....We still have many officers who are involved in various crimes and corruption. We are still far from talking about real reforms in the security establishment." I hope everyone is paying close attention to this, as news sometimes exaggerates the "success" of PA operations. What was unsettling was that this PA officer said, "In the coming days we will launch a similar security operation in Bethlehem. But the real test will be in Hebron and Jenin, as well as in the refugee camps, where Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah militiamen call the shots." Bethlehem? Hebron? Jenin? Has this been promised to them by Olmert already? Does it not depend on the success of the operation in Nablus? Most infuriating is that the PA security officers Abu Toameh spoke with indicated that in spite their lack of success in their security operations, they expect the donors in Paris to approve their request of $5.6 billion anyway. And, you know what? They probably will. No accountability. No demanding that they make the mark before more is given to them. Pour on the money anyway. ~~~~~~~~~~ The only good thing I can say about the security situation is that on Thursday, during a meeting with Quarter envoy Tony Blair, PA prime minister Salaam Fayyad complained that Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak wouldn't agree to remove roadblocks in Judea and Samaria. Barak leaves a lot to be desired, but he knows full well what would happen if those roadblocks came down. ~~~~~~~~~~ Well, after meeting with Defense Minister Barak on Thursday night, Sderot Mayor Moyal agreed to stay in office after all. Barak specifically asked him to rescind his resignation and has promised some sort of special attention to Sderot's needs for protection. The problem is that we should not be talking just about doing things like reinforcing buildings there -- we should be acting to stop the attacks. On Thursday, a Kassam hit a home in Sderot and a woman was injured. ~~~~~~~~~~ This should be of particular interest to America citizens: After a report in The Washington Times about United States Aid for International Development (USAID) financing of Islamic University in Gaza, Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL), a member of the House Appropriations Committee) asked USAID to do an audit of its aid to the university. From 2002 to 2006, USAID had given Islamic University close to $1 million. During this time period USAID had conducted several inquiries into their funding of this institution and each time had concluded that there was no reason to curtail funding; Islamic University, for its part, consistently maintained that they did not support terrorism. In response to the Kirk query, the inspector general of USAID checked on the matter and concluded that funding of the university did not represent a departure from US policy that forbad funding organizations associated with Hamas. Kirk last Tuesday gave an interview in which he said that the failure of USAID to detect the university's ties with terrorism represented "either incompetence or a complete breakdown of the vetting system as run by the State Department." (USAID, which is semi-autonomous, runs out of the State Department.) Ismail Haniyeh sits on the board of trustees of the university, and PA security forces seized rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles during a raid of the university last January. Kirk's interest in the matter have spurred follow-up audits, which had concluded that USAID has funded terror-linked groups on at least two occasions, and that USAID "did not always follow applicable federal laws" when providing funds to the university. Shocked? Please know that lots more US tax money than you'd like to think ends up in the hands of terrorists. Mark Kirk is one of my heroes now. ~~~~~~~~~~ At a ceremony initiating joint industrial projects with Iran, Syrian President Bashar Assad let it be known that his country's participation in Annapolis in no way represented a weakening of ties with Iran: "I confirm, on this occasion, that relations will not be shaken for any reason or under any circumstance." Let's hear it for Rice's plan to bring Syria to Annapolis in order to achieve steps toward moderation. Iran has now invested about $2 billion in Syrian industries such as automobiles, cement, and power generation, and in agriculture. ~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. Reuven Koret, publisher of Israel Insider has written a superb open letter to Secretary Rice: "Applying Jim Crow to Israel." He calls her on the very mistaken analogy she drew between her childhood, during which she suffered as a black person, and the suffering of Palestinians today. And he castigates her in no uncertain terms for the hypocrisy of drawing upon her experience and its lessons of equality for all, yet acceding to outrageous Arab demands that Israelis at Annapolis be treated in a demeaning fashion. >It's worth a read: http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12434.htm Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com

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BRUSSELS COURT REMOVES CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS OUT OF RESPECT FOR MUSLIMS Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 15, 2007.

This was posted by Robert Spencer December 14, 2007 http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/019153.php

Brussels Court removes Christmas decorations out of respect for Muslims Dutch-language article, "Kerstversiering Brussels Justitiepaleis verwijderd voor moslims," here (thanks to Rudi). Here is my own rough translation of the Babel Fish mess. Corrections welcome: Christmas decorations have been removed from two offices at the entrance of the Brussels Court of Justice a few hours after they were installed. "We took them away so as not to scandalize anybody. We have to be neutral for the Muslims..."

ISRAEL LIVES Posted by Janet Lehr, December 15, 2007.

Russia seeks to reclaim their emigrants, eternal meanings from the life of Joseph, Big spending Saudi's get their rayah's worth; SDEROT is crying out for our help GILDED LIONS AND JEWELED HORSES: THE SYNAGOGUE TO THE CAROUSEL, on view at the American Folk Art Museum, 45 West 53 St., New York, from October 2, 2007, through March 23, 2008. A little -- known aspect of American carousel history and its connection to Jewish visual culture through the artwork of immigrant artisans who were inspired by their memories of the symbols and forms they left behind. Some of the same Jewish artisans who arrived in America at the turn of the twentieth century and carved for their local synagogues also found work carving horses and other animals for the flourishing carousel industry. Inspired by the majestic Torah arks, gravestone carvings, and papercuts from their homelands in Eastern and Central Europe, they helped transform carousel art into a powerful sculptural expression of dynamic and animated forms. Although fanciful carousel animals have long been exhibited in museums, the religious carvings by these artisans have primarily been appreciated within the setting of the synagogue. Until now, the important historical and aesthetic link between the synagogue and the carousel has never been documented. Murray Zimiles Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel, Jewish Carving Traditions Brandeis University Press 2007 Murray Zimiles is a professor at SUNY Purchase isbn # 1-58465-637I-9 $35. REPORTS FROM THE ANNAPOLIS SUMMIT ARE BEGINNING TO COME IN They clearly indicate the unwillingness of Arab representatives to accord respect to the Israeli delegates. Israeli delegates were literally treated as Dhimmis -- 1-Forced to enter by a service entrance and 2-Arabs would not shake their hands and 3-Arab delegates refused to wear the earphones provided for translations thereby rudely ignoring PM Olmert's speech. To add insult to injury, 4-The behavior of the Arab delegates was not addressed during the Summit or publicized afterwards. Vent your disgust and dismay to: Knesset Members pm_eng@pmo.gov.il mgafni@knesset.gov.il; shmuelh@knesset.gov.il; ycohen@knesset.gov.il; mporush@knesset.gov.il; aravitz@knesse t.gov.il; aatias@ knesset.gov.il; dazulay@knesset.gov.il; eamsalem@knesset.gov.il; slomob@knesset.gov.il; yvaknin@knesset.gov.il; nzeev@knesset.gov.il; eyishay@knesset.gov.il; amncohen@knesset.gov.il; izchakec@knesset.gov.il; amichaeli@knesset.gov.il; ymargi@knesset.gov.il; mnahari@knesset.gov.il; iaharon@knesset.gov.il; rilatov@knesset.gov.il; etertman@knesset.gov.il; slandver@knesset.gov.il; amiller@knesset.gov.il; smiseznikov@knesset.gov.il; lshemtov@knesset.gov.il; meitan@knesset.gov.il; gerdan@knesset.gov.il; mcachlon@knesset.gov.il; llivnat@knesset.gov.il; bnetanyahu@knesset.gov.il; gsaar@knesset.gov.il; rrivlin@knesset.gov.il; ysteinitz@knesset.gov.il; hkatz@knesset.gov.il; zorlev@knesset.gov.il; efye@knesset.gov.il; belon@knesset.gov.il; egabai@knesset.gov.il; zhendel@knesset.gov.il; ithakl@knesset.gov.il; nslomianski@knesset.gov.il; zelkin@knesset.gov.il; adotan@knesset.gov.il; yhasson@knesset.gov.il; davidt@knesset.gov.il; oschneller@knesset.gov.il; msharoni@knesset.gov.il; ymarziano@knesset.gov.il; msolodkin@knesset.gov.il; Important American voices: president@whitehouse.gov; comments@whitehouse.gov; Vice.President@whitehouse.gov; First.Lady@whitehouse.gov; http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html (Bloomberg hopes to be running for President and is very 'peace now' at any price) Jewish Organization Leaders many of whom support PM Olmert's policies kae1@015.net.il; agoldberg@israelcc.org; rkorycan@israelcc.org; jeisner@israelcc.org; zgelman@israelcc.org; ereshef@israelcc.org; pbaim@aish.com; emathias@aish.com; pbrodsky@aepi.org; 'alipnick@aipac.org'; Mike_Sachs@aipac.org; hkohr@aipac.org; jblock@aipac.org; bjaffee@aipac.org; jkessler@aipac.org; dgreenwald@aipac.org; lslawsky@aipac.org; dginsberg@aipac.org; nagelz@ajc.org; gratner@ajcongress.org; ataylor@ajcongress.org; mgbard@aol.com; nsAPN@earthlink.net; glevin@adl.org; jc@bluestarpr.com; leisen@schusterman.org; deborah_camera@yahoo.com; nl@davidproject.org; im@davidproject.org; efm@davidproject.org; aberkowitz@hamagshimim.org; spultman@hamagshimim.org; Shaliach Merv Atar matar@hamagshimim.org; bextein@aol.com; iwagner@hillel.org; ahoffman@hillel.org; jfinkelstein@hillel.org; ilyas@jazo.org.il; laurak@theisraelproject.org; osp@aabgu.org; quest@telavivuniv.org; hebrewu@hebrewu.com; info@mail.uhaifa.org; rlerner@thejcpa.org; rkahn@jnf.org; iglasser@jnf.org; moline@uscj.org; adelberg@uscj.org; sharon@mwio.org; laura@mwio.org; info@standwithus.com; campus@standwithus.com; dani@standwithus.com; ihaber@hillel.org director@upzshalom.org; info@ujc.org; nessa@yavneholami.org; jsager@zoa.org; academic@israelemb.org; academicaff@atlanta.mfa.gov.il; academic@boston.mfa.gov.il; academic@chicago.mfa.gov.il; academic@houston.mfa.gov.il; academic@philadelphia.mfa.gov.il; academic@miami.mfa.gov.il; academic@sanfrancisco.mfa.gov.il; info@ottawa.mfa.gov.il; epress@chicago.mfa.gov.il; israelac@speakeasy.net; culture@toronto.mfa.gov.il; ljaniak@jcrcboston.org; adinas@cjp.org; newmanec@aol.com; howarda@pobox.upenn.edu; mbregman@pobox.openn.edu; judy@iccgw.org; jeffrey@ochillel.org; campusinitiative@juf.org; campusinitiative@juf.org; newwirth@ajc.org; campusinitiative@juf.org; judy@iccgw.org; howarda@pobox.upenn.edu; newmanec@aol.com; carolyn@conferenceofpresidents.org; Jewish Presses Jerome Lippman lijeworld@aol.com; MCALLENDER@BRONXMEDIA.COM; ctigay@jta.org; markh@aflwebprinting.com; JewishStd@aol.com; JewishStd2@aol.com; jwishtimes@aol.com; asilowcarroll@njjewishnews.com; sitzkowitz@njjewishnews.com; mleitzes@njjewishnews.com; editorial@njjewishnews.com; ad@njjewishnews.com; hkessler@jfedsnj.org; rkeats1@aol.com; levanab@aol.com; Rcumins@aol.com; Eema1957@aol.com; friedmanj@aol.com; EBKAHN@aol.com; robinl@optonline.net; Helem407@aol.com; achim@uahc.org; shafran@amechad.com; rwolf@shaare-zedek.org; Info@jdcny.org; martha@ats.org; adlmedia@adl.org; miriam@jcca.org; Hillary.Kessler-Godin@claimscon.org; sstein@elalusa.com; Goldberg@forward.com; atigay@aol.com; publisher@hamodia.com; jtaNY@aol.com; ja@ou.org; niv@advn.com; sshtull@jhom.com; jholiday@optonline.net; communications@jnf.org; lilithmag@aol.com; Judith@naamat.org; mailbox@ncjw.org; NFJC@jewishculture.org; NFJC@jewishculture.org; nmarketing@optonline.net; steiners@ou.org; editor@thegolem.com; paz@golem.tv; jpeditor@aol.com; editor@jewishweek.org; rich@jewishweek.org; news@jewishworldnews.org; TReporter@aol.com; JOCNY@aol.com; dasher@waort.org; rockujarep@aol.com; glenn.rosenkrantz@ujc.org; info@uscj.org; EGrotta@urj.org; nmargolis@wjchronicle.com; editor@wjchronicle.com; OutlookRJK@aol.com; OutlookRJK@aol.com; civiamclean@juno.com; Kaplan@wexner.org; Rachel@JewishMatch.com; ferrara@ymail.yu.edu; hshulman@ymail.yu.edu; seb17@aol.com; conbenesch@aol.com; Chanbillet@hotmail.com; imB@15MinutesMagazine.com; mjjordan23@earthlink.net; esther.kustanowitz@gmail.com; marcuspr@nyc.rr.com; Marthamend@aol.com; Anne.Pinzow@jewishfocus.com; mollyres@aol.com; hzs8@aol.com; JBSwriter@aol.com; teklaszymanski@hotmail.com; mweinberg@distinguishedtourist.com; paula_maggio@jewishakron.org; rcertner@cjn.org; cdettelbach@cjn.org; jwoomer@cjn.org; jdery@cjn.org; editorial@cjn.org; admin@cjn.org; publisher@insight.rr.com; ojc@insight.rr.com; MWeiss@JFGD.net; MWeiss@JFGD.net; info@thenewstandard.com; meira@jewishtoledo.org; fshwriter@aol.com; leke0212@aol.com; paul@jewishreview.org; cross@commnewspapers.com; msimon@bartash.com; communityreview@desupernet.net; Carolyn@jflv.org; news@pittchron.com; jexponent@aol.com; rfsugarman@juno.com; achanin@aol.com; donnadvorak@comcast.net; mfrentrop@earthlink.net; ethelhof@aol.com; bonnie.squires@verizon.net; JRubin@JFRI.ORG; mediabuy@aol.com; LEAHLFC@aol.com; hebwat@aol.com; judy@jewishnashville.org; carrie@jewishnashville.org; editor@jhvonline.com; markjfsa@aol.com; news@texasjewishpost.com; nancyrg@sbcglobal.net; news@ujft.org; editor@jtnews.net; donna@ghostwriteronline.com; MilwaukeeJ@aol.com; editor@deepsouthjewishvoice.com; te11d@hiwaay.net; publisher@jewishaz.com; amyleder@aol.com; marc@jweekly.com; nora@jweekly.com; info@jweekly.com; jchron@surfside.net; jcn@jfgsj.org; editor@jewishjournal.com; bsomers@mff.org; jmschwarz@sdjewishtimes.com; msirota@sdjewishtimes.com; editor@sdjewishjournal.com; avra@wiesenthal.com; magazine@tikkun.org; SFish1998@aol.com; steve@greenberg-art.com; aprubin@earthlink.net; prannabelle@aol.com; tomtu@pacbell.net; Julman77@hotmail.com; mbd@cjnews.com; jewishfp@telus.net; editor@jewishbulletin.ca; email@ijn.com; editorial@jewishledger.com; mperl@sbcglobal.net; mperl@sbcglobal.net; tracysullivan@jewishledger.com; howardblas@hotmail.com; lynn.edelman@shalomdel.org; ijm@bnaibrith.org; astrunk@bbyo.org; jerubin@hillel.org; jwi@jwi.org; editor@momentmag.com; rneedler@aipac.org; mail@rabinowitz.com; info@religionnews.com; info@religionnews.com; jcolbert@jinsa.org; cwaldman@jwv.org; aberger@ushmm.org; wjweek@aol.com; sivanR@aol.com; heritagefl@aol.com; jmoed@tribune.com; jewishpress@aol.com; slevene@atljewishtimes.com; jgreen@atljewishtimes.com; editor@jewsweek.com; newsroom@chicagojewishnews.com; chicagojewishstar@comcast.net; jufnews@juf.org; Magendavidadom@hotmail.com; silfed@simokyfed.com; rebecca@worldjewishdigest.com.com; radiogumbo@aol.com; gwinston@interaccess.com; mediaconf@jazo.org.il; STLOUISLGT@aol.com; nancy@netvision.net.il; media@actcom.co.il; Lspltd@012.net.il; ruth@ruthfrank.com; Liat-r@jerusalem-foundation.org; spearson@shalem.org.il; mediaconf@jazo.org.il; dardasht@barak-online.net; smile@goldenlightimages.com; info@impmedia.co.il; meyers@netvision.net.il; esterly613@hotmail.com; apsinger@netvision.net.il; rhellman@sunpublications.com; jfed@iglou.com; mjackman@mjfreelancer.com; jewishnews@jewishnola.com; margolis@maine.rr.com; michael@babaganewz.com; CEO@jflmedia.com; mark@babaganewz.com; Sue@babaganewz.com; information@jewishtimes.com; shalom@shalomusaradio.com; claradan@aol.com; irifkin@verizon.net; CEO@jflmedia.com; sberrin@jflmedia.com; pt@bikher.org; editorial@thejewishadvocate.com; publisher@jewishjournal.org; YosefA@aol.com; rsklar@thejewishnews.com; WJNA2@aol.com; mordecaisp@aol.com; dsugerman@attbi.com; gfelsen@mspcommunications.com; Loumur70@aol.com; apolin@stllight.org; stlouislight@stllight.org; ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; ozmom@cox.net; caorzes@cox.net; lvjewishreporter@aol.com; caorzes@cox.net; Susan Rosenbluth, susan@jewishvoiceandopinion.com; MCALLENDER@BRONXMEDIA.COM; ctigay@jta.org; markh@aflwebprinting.com; JewishStd@aol.com; JewishStd2@aol.com; jwishtimes@aol.com; asilowcarroll@njjewishnews.com; sitzkowitz@njjewishnews.com; mleitzes@njjewishnews.com; editorial@njjewishnews.com; ad@njjewishnews.com; hkessler@jfedsnj.org; rkeats1@aol.com; levanab@aol.com; Rcumins@aol.com; Eema1957@aol.com; friedmanj@aol.com; EBKAHN@aol.com; robinl@optonline.net; Helem407@aol.com; achim@uahc.org; shafran@amechad.com; rwolf@shaare-zedek.org; Info@jdcny.org; martha@ats.org; adlmedia@adl.org; miriam@jcca.org; Hillary.Kessler-Godin@claimscon.org; sstein@elalusa.com; Goldberg@forward.com; atigay@aol.com; publisher@hamodia.com; jtaNY@aol.com; ja@ou.org; niv@advn.com; sshtull@jhom.com; jholiday@optonline.net; communications@jnf.org; lilithmag@aol.com; Judith@naamat.org; mailbox@ncjw.org; NFJC@jewishculture.org; NFJC@jewishculture.org; nmarketing@optonline.net; steiners@ou.org; editor@thegolem.com; paz@golem.tv; jpeditor@aol.com; editor@jewishweek.org; rich@jewishweek.org; news@jewishworldnews.org; TReporter@aol.com; JOCNY@aol.com; dasher@waort.org; rockujarep@aol.com; glenn.rosenkrantz@ujc.org; info@uscj.org; EGrotta@urj.org; nmargolis@wjchronicle.com; editor@wjchronicle.com; OutlookRJK@aol.com; OutlookRJK@aol.com; civiamclean@juno.com; Kaplan@wexner.org; Rachel@JewishMatch.com; ferrara@ymail.yu.edu; hshulman@ymail.yu.edu; seb17@aol.com; conbenesch@aol.com; Chanbillet@hotmail.com; imB@15MinutesMagazine.com; mjjordan23@earthlink.net; esther.kustanowitz@gmail.com; marcuspr@nyc.rr.com; Marthamend@aol.com; Anne.Pinzow@jewishfocus.com; mollyres@aol.com; hzs8@aol.com; JBSwriter@aol.com; teklaszymanski@hotmail.com; mweinberg@distinguishedtourist.com; paula_maggio@jewishakron.org; rcertner@cjn.org; cdettelbach@cjn.org; jwoomer@cjn.org; jdery@cjn.org; editorial@cjn.org; admin@cjn.org; publisher@insight.rr.com; ojc@insight.rr.com; MWeiss@JFGD.net; MWeiss@JFGD.net; info@thenewstandard.com; meira@jewishtoledo.org; fshwriter@aol.com; leke0212@aol.com; paul@jewishreview.org; cross@commnewspapers.com; msimon@bartash.com; communityreview@desupernet.net; Carolyn@jflv.org; news@pittchron.com; jexponent@aol.com; rfsugarman@juno.com; achanin@aol.com; donnadvorak@comcast.net; mfrentrop@earthlink.net; ethelhof@aol.com; bonnie.squires@verizon.net; JRubin@JFRI.ORG; mediabuy@aol.com; LEAHLFC@aol.com; hebwat@aol.com; judy@jewishnashville.org; carrie@jewishnashville.org; editor@jhvonline.com; markjfsa@aol.com; news@texasjewishpost.com; nancyrg@sbcglobal.net; news@ujft.org; editor@jtnews.net; donna@ghostwriteronline.com; MilwaukeeJ@aol.com; editor@deepsouthjewishvoice.com; te11d@hiwaay.net; publisher@jewishaz.com; amyleder@aol.com; marc@jweekly.com; nora@jweekly.com; info@jweekly.com; jchron@surfside.net; jcn@jfgsj.org; editor@jewishjournal.com; bsomers@mff.org; jmschwarz@sdjewishtimes.com; msirota@sdjewishtimes.com; editor@sdjewishjournal.com; avra@wiesenthal.com; magazine@tikkun.org; SFish1998@aol.com; steve@greenberg-art.com; aprubin@earthlink.net; prannabelle@aol.com; tomtu@pacbell.net; Julman77@hotmail.com; mbd@cjnews.com; jewishfp@telus.net; editor@jewishbulletin.ca; email@ijn.com; editorial@jewishledger.com; mperl@sbcglobal.net; mperl@sbcglobal.net; tracysullivan@jewishledger.com; howardblas@hotmail.com; lynn.edelman@shalomdel.org; ijm@bnaibrith.org; astrunk@bbyo.org; jerubin@hillel.org; jwi@jwi.org; editor@momentmag.com; rneedler@aipac.org; mail@rabinowitz.com; info@religionnews.com; info@religionnews.com; jcolbert@jinsa.org; cwaldman@jwv.org; aberger@ushmm.org; wjweek@aol.com; sivanR@aol.com; ; heritagefl@aol.com; jmoed@tribune.com; jewishpress@aol.com; slevene@atljewishtimes.com; jgreen@atljewishtimes.com; editor@jewsweek.com; info@chicagojewishnews.com; chicagojewishstar@comcast.net; jufnews@juf.org; Magendavidadom@hotmail.com; silfed@simokyfed.com; rebecca@worldjewishdigest.com.com; radiogumbo@aol.com; gwinston@interaccess.com; mediaconf@jazo.org.il; STLOUISLGT@aol.com; nancy@netvision.net.il; media@actcom.co.il; Lspltd@012.net.il; ruth@ruthfrank.com; Liat-r@jerusalem-foundation.org; spearson@shalem.org.il; mediaconf@jazo.org.il; dardasht@barak-online.net; smile@goldenlightimages.com; info@impmedia.co.il; meyers@netvision.net.il; esterly613@hotmail.com; apsinger@netvision.net.il; rhellman@sunpublications.com; jfed@iglou.com; mjackman@mjfreelancer.com; jewishnews@jewishnola.com; margolis@maine.rr.com; michael@babaganewz.com; CEO@jflmedia.com; mark@babaganewz.com; Sue@babaganewz.com; information@jewishtimes.com; shalom@shalomusaradio.com; claradan@aol.com; irifkin@verizon.net; CEO@jflmedia.com; sberrin@jflmedia.com; pt@bikher.org; editorial@thejewishadvocate.com; publisher@jewishjournal.org; YosefA@aol.com; rsklar@thejewishnews.com; WJNA2@aol.com; mordecaisp@aol.com; dsugerman@attbi.com; gfelsen@mspcommunications.com; Loumur70@aol.com; apolin@stllight.org; stlouislight@stllight.org; ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; ozmom@cox.net; caorzes@cox.net; lvjewishreporter@aol.com; House of Representatives (I would appreciate a complete up to date list) Neil.Abercrombie@mail.house.gov; Anibal@mail.house.gov; gary_ackerman@mail.house.gov; jay.inslee@mail.house.gov; rick.larsen@mail.house.gov; brian.baird@mail.house.gov; adam.smith@mail.house.gov; senator@boxer.senate.gov; http://woolsey.house.gov/emailform.asp; George.Miller@mail.house.gov; Nancy Pelosi AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov.; barbara.lee@mail.house.gov; budmail@mail.house.gov; budmail@mail.house.gov; snyder.congress@mail.house.gov; faleomavaega@mail.house.gov; democratic.caucus@mail.house.gov; lynn.woolsey@mail.house.gov; samfarr@mail.house.gov; brad.sherman@mail.house.gov; Howard.Berman@mail.house.gov; arcoiris@mail.house.gov; talk2geb@mail.house.gov; loretta@mail.house.gov; degette@mail.house.gov; bozrah@mail.house.gov; thurman@mail.house.gov; john.lewis@mail.house.gov; guamtodc@mail.house.gov; neil.abercrombie@mail.house.gov; rep.boswell.ia03@mail.house.gov; sidney.yates@mail.house.gov; lane.evans@mail.house.gov; tim.roemer@mail.house.gov; in09.wyr@housemail.house.gov; jim.mcgovern@mail.house.gov; mtmeehan@mail.house.gov; william.delahunt@mail.house.gov; rep.tomallen@mail.house.gov; stupak@mail.house.gov; dkildee@mail.house.gov; slevin@mail.house.gov; john.conyers@mail.house.gov; tell.bill@mail.house.gov; tocollin.peterson@mail.house.gov; thompsonms2nd@mail.house.gov; gene.taylor@mail.house.gov; bob.etheridge@mail.house.gov; david.price@mail.house.gov; CongMcIntyre@mail.house.gov; nc12.public@mail.house.gov; Rep.Earl.Pomeroy@mail.house.gov; rob.andrews@mail.house.gov; bill.pascrell@mail.house.gov; steven.rothman@mail.house.gov; thomas.manton@mail.house.gov; jerrold.nadler@mail.house.gov; rep.carolyn.maloney@mail.house.gov; rangel@mail.house.gov; jserrano@mail.house.gov; mike.mcnulty@mail.house.gov; mhinchey@mail.house.gov; ted.strickland@mail.house.gov; rep.kaptur@mail.house.gov; sherrod@mail.house.gov; telljim@mail.house.gov; write.earl@mail.house.gov; peter.defazio@mail.house.gov; paul.kanjorski@mail.house.gov; rep.doyle@mail.house.gov; robert.weygand@mail.house.gov; jclyburn@mail.house.gov; bart.gordon@mail.house.gov; john.tanner@mail.house.gov; hford@hr.house.gov; max.sandlin@mail.house.gov; rmhall@mail.house.gov; nick.lampson@mail.house.gov; lloyd.doggett@mail.house.gov; Rep.Hinojosa@mail.house.gov; silvestre.reyes@mail.house.gov; tx18@lee.house.gov; texas17@mail.house.gov; rep.e.b.johnson@mail.house.gov; ninthnet@mail.house.gov; adam.smith@mail.house.gov; ron.kind@mail.house.gov; telltom@mail.house.gov; nrahall@mail.house.gov; Senate (I would appreciate a complete up to date list) John_McCain@McCain.senate.gov; senator@akaka.senate.gov; senator@biden.senate.gov; senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov; senator@breaux.senate.gov; senator_byrd@byrd.senate.gov; senator_carnahan@carnahan.senate.gov; senator@clinton.senate.gov; senator@conrad.senate.gov; senator@dodd.senate.gov; senator@dorgan.senate.gov; dick@durbin.senate.gov; russell_feingold@feingold.senate.gov; bob_graham@graham.senate.gov; tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov; vermont@jeffords.senate.gov; tim@johnson.senate.gov; senator@kennedy.senate.gov; john_kerry@kerry.senate.gov; senator_kohl@kohl.senate.gov; senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov; senator@levin.senate.gov; blanche_lincoln@lincoln.senate.gov; senator@mikulski.senate.gov; senator_murray@murray.senate.gov; senator@billnelson.senate.gov; jack@reed.senate.gov; senator@rockefeller.senate.gov; senator@schumer.senate.gov; senator@stabenow.senate.gov; senator_torricelli@torricelli.senate.gov; FORWARD ISRAEL LIVES TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS 1>Our destiny -- This weeks Drasha by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc. is an important teaching experience for us in the present. It illuminated important lessons from the life of Joseph. Jewish history is long and much of it has been anticipated in or related to the words of our Torah, the most amazing document of mankind. If you are interested in this weekly Drasha, you can receive the best of Drasha in book form. Purchase Parsha Parables -- from the Project Genesis bookstore -- https://wwws.capalon.com/secure/jif/rmk.php3/ RMK-PPAR.html?E+torahbooks 2> Vying for the Russian immigrant -- Israel woes Russians Jews in Russia while the Russians have stepped up their efforts to bring those who emigrated (fled) to Israel back to Russia. According to Israel Absorption Ministry statistics, more than 100,000 Jews who came to Israel from the CIS have returned to Russia and Ukraine, and an estimated 70,000 Israelis are currently living in Moscow. It was decided that, in light of the competition for Russians, the program approved by the cabinet yesterday to bring back Israelis living abroad would be marketed as early as next week in Russian and tailored to Russian employment needs. 3>There are 17 federally funded centers on American college campuses devoted solely to Middle Eastern studies centers and another 30 to 40 that do not receive federal aid, according to Amy Newhall, executive director of the Middle East Studies Association at the University of Arizona. Not counting several positions at Georgetown University, she estimated at least 10 chaired professorships currently funded by Saudis at major universities. John Esposito is present day Islam's most pro-active US academic. Mr Esposito, "more than any other academic, contributed to American complacency prior to 9/11," Martin Kramer, a fellow at the Olin Institute at Harvard, wrote in a Jan. 2, 2006, commentary on his blog, sandbox.blog-city.com. "[He has] proved that he's still a magnet for Arab and Muslim money," Mr. Kramer wrote. "Prince Alwaleed apparently decided that while Esposito's reputation may be dented, the professor still has some value in him." A month before the $20 million dollar gifts to Georgetown and Harvard were publicly announced, Mr. Esposito was one of four persons flanking Prince Alwaleed before a photographer at the George V hotel in Paris. It was there that the prince told Georgetown officials of their $20 million windfall -- and that Mr. Esposito would oversee how the money was spent. "There's a possibility these campuses aren't getting gifts, they're getting investments," Clifford May, President of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Mr. Esposito declined to be interviewed for this article but did defend himself in several e-mails. "Two of my books, including 'Unholy War,' were among the eight books recommended by [U.S. Army] Lt. Gen. John Vines to his senior staff when he took over command in Iraq," he wrote. "[My article] 'What Makes a Muslim Radical' in Foreign Policy received the most hits of any of its publications, more that 100,000 in the year it was published." This subtle form of radicalization, like welcoming members of CAIR to symposiums, should be avoided. Mr. Esposito said the number of programs sponsored by his center went from 27 last year to 22 this semester alone. The first of three new faculty, Ibrahim Kalin, a scholar on Sufiism and Islamic philosophy, is slated to come on board next fall. The Israel on Campus Coalition, a group of Jewish organizations, released a study earlier this year saying out of about 4,000 American institutions of higher learning, only nine have Israel studies centers, nine have Israel studies chairs, and 16 have visiting professors teaching about Israel. "In terms of Islamic institutions, the result is some 210 Islamic centers wholly or partly financed by Saudi Arabia, more than 1,500 mosques and 202 colleges and almost 2,000 schools for educating Muslim children in non-Islamic countries in Europe, North and South America, Australia and Asia," the paper reported. Mr. Kramer, also the author of "Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America," says American universities have allowed themselves to be purveyors of Saudi influence and opinion. "Universities generate ideas, and [Prince Alwaleed] regards one idea -- the 'clash of civilizations" -- as positively dangerous to Arabs and Muslims," he wrote on his Web site, martinkramer.org. "So he has embarked on a grand giving spree, to create academic 'bridges" between Islam and the West, and specifically between the Arab world and the United States. Prince Alwaleed, 52, -- who slipped from the fifth richest person in 2005 to the 13th this year, according to Forbes magazine -- is best known to some Americans as the man who offered $10 million to the victims of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. That money was rejected by Rudolph W. Giuliani, then the mayor, after the prince scolded the U.S. for favoring Israelis over Palestinians. Prince Alwaleed found more welcoming recipients in academia. 4> Sderot and the entire Western Negev is being targeted unmercifully since the Annapolis conference. The Sderot Media Center needs equipment to record the effects of these daily bombings. Many have asked: What can I do? Below is a list of necessary items. Choose among them, send your money via check or wire as a tax deduction to the address below and they will order and pay for the equipment. As duties on these articles are very high, we are looking for a stream of visitors to Israel to carry the items with them-Pick up in Israel will be arranged. Intensive news coverage is imperative. What is happening now is like the proverbial 'shot fired in a forrest'. The world neither hears nor sees the effects of these daily rocket attacks and so the government of Israel, can continue to ignore this atrocity and the world remains silent and complicit while each pretends to support the Kafka-esque 'peace process'. 1>PARSHAS VAYIGASH 5758 Destiny Today Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky The plot thickens. At the end of last week's portion, Yoseph accused the brothers of stealing his magic goblet. Yehuda, in charge of the troupe, denies even the remotest possibility that any one of the brothers could be a thief. So confident was Yehuda that he pre-ordained the would-be thief to a death penalty and offered the remaining group of nine brothers as slaves were if the egregious accusations proved correct. Unfortunately, Yehuda was unaware of Yoseph's precontrived ruse of planting the goblet in Benjamin's sack. This week's portion begins as Yoseph wants to keep Binyamin, and only Binyamin, as a slave, something that Yehuda will battle to the very end to prevent. Yoseph and his brothers confront each other. In a mixed array of rage, fury, and emotional pleas, Yehuda bargains with Yoseph. Almost threatening war over the matter, Yehuda explains that "Benjamin cannot be taken as a slave as he has left an old father who awaits his return. If he will not return to his father, the old man will die of grief and aggravation. After all, he already lost one son to a terrible accident." After seeing the concern that Yehuda has for his younger brother, Yoseph makes the startling revelation. "I am Joseph Is my father still alive?" (Genesis 45:3) Yoseph then forgives the brothers and tells them that his episode was divinely preordained. It set the path as a lifeline from the ensuing famine. He then sends his brothers back to Canaan to bring his father, but before doing so he presents each of them with a set of clothes. However, Yoseph gives his youngest brother Benjamin five sets of clothing and three hundred pieces of silver (Genesis 45:22). The Talmud (Megillah 16b) asks a very poignant question. How is it that Yoseph, a victim of jealousy, provoked his brothers by favoring Benyamin? Didn't jealousy spur the hatred that led to the original calamity? Why didn't he learn from past experience, not to show favoritism? The Talmud explains that Yoseph was very calculated in his actions. He was alluding to a similar event that would occur in the future. After being saved from the gallows, Mordechai, a descendent of Benyamin, miraculously rose to power and prestige. He was gifted with five changes of clothing as he left the palace of Achashveirosh. Benjamin's five changes of clothing were symbolic of a future sartorial gift that Benyamin's descendent would one day receive. Some commentaries ask a powerful question. Obviously, Yoseph did not explain the deep meaning of his actions to his brothers. What then was gained by favoring Benjamin in front of them? Would the symbolic reference negate any ill feeling? Would some mysterious token resolve a problem that may have been simmering? Why does Yoseph, in the midst of the turmoil of his startling revelation, decide to make a ceremonial gift that favors one brother over the rest, in order to foreshadow an event destined to occur in more than 1,000 years in the future? Could he have not saved symbolism for a more complacent setting? Rabbi Paysach Krohn tells this beautiful tale in his latest work, Along the Magid's Journey: In 1939, the Nazi Gestapo shut down Rabbi Moshe Schneider's yeshiva in Frankfurt, Germany. With tremendous effort and support from the English community, he was able to relocate the school to England. Survival during that horrific period was both a tremendous spiritual and physical challenge but two boys in the Yeshiva helped meet that challenge. They both were named Moshe. One Moshe would rise in the early hours of the morning and pick up leftover bread from a generous bakery. Carrying the bags of bread and leftover rolls while walking through the bitter cold was not easy, but Moshe never missed his duties. In fact, he often took the place of other boys who were supposed to do the chore. The other Moshe also woke up early. He led a special learning session before dawn. He encouraged his friends to make the extra effort -- which they religiously did. After years of uninterrupted efforts, one day the boys got public recognition. Rabbi Schneider blessed them in front of the entire school. "Moshe who shleps the bread is not only schlepping today's bread. One day, he will help distribute bread for thousands of people. And the Moshe who is concerned with spirituality of others will continue to do so in years to come," announced the Rosh Yeshiva. "Their actions today are only seeds of the future." His words proved true. Moshe, the bread-shlepper, became Moshe (Paul) Reichman, one of our generation's most benevolent philanthropists. Moshe, the young teacher, became Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, Rav in Johannesburg, South Africa and Har Nof, Israel, an author of prestigious books on Jewish Law, and a teacher of thousands. Perhaps Yoseph is telling us the secret of our people. Moments earlier Benyamin stood in shackles. He was accused of stealing a magic goblet and was humiliatingly sentenced with life-long enslavement to Pharaoh. Moments later he was not only liberated, but identified with honor and integrity as the blood brother, from both mother and father, of the most powerful man in the world. Yoseph gives the former slave-to-be a special a five-fold gift as an announcement to the world. With Benyamin, he declares the destiny of his people. Yoseph declares through Binyamin that today's events are our manifest destiny. Due to the courageous actions of Yehuda, Binyamin, the slave-to-be, walked away triumphantly, not with one change of clothing but with five. This was not a symbolism for thousands of years to come, but rather a symbolism of the ever-present character of the Jewish people. The events of Benyamin in Egypt manifested themselves in almost direct comparison and beautiful symmetry with events that occurred centuries later in Persia. Mordechai the Yehudi, a descendant of Benjamin and by many accounts Yehuda, stood his ground under the greatest threats of death and humiliation. He defied the prophets of doom and walked away with glory and splendor. Yoseph's message was no riddle, it was no illusion, and it was no mystical prophecy. It was our destiny. Courage in the trying times yields greatness. It was not a message only for the future. It was a message of the future -- for today. That was a message all the brothers could appreciate -- at that moment. It is a message we too, can appreciate --right now. 2>THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN TEL AVIV IS OPERATING A BRANCH OF A GOVERNMENT BODY, UNDER THE GUISE OF A CULTURAL CENTER, WHOSE GOAL IS TO PERSUADE RUSSIAN EMIGRANTS TO RETURN, ACCORDING TO ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE SOURCES. RUSSIA WORKING TO GET ITS EMIGRANTS BACK Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz 07:24 10/12/2007 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/932737.html The Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv is operating a branch of a government body, under the guise of a cultural center, whose goal is to persuade Russian emigrants to return, according to Israeli intelligence sources. The cultural center, which opened about two months ago, is headed by a Russian intellectual, who the intelligence sources believe worked for the Soviet secret service, the KGB. Senior government officials have reportedly expressed concerns recently over the development of "competition" between Russia and Israel over where former Russians choose to reside. The Russian Embassy was unavailable for comment on Sunday. The intelligence bodies are certain that the Russian cultural center that opened two months ago on Geula Street in Tel Aviv is a cover for the local branch of the Sons of the Homeland movement, established by Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring back Russians who emigrated to Israel. More than three million Russian-speaking Jews are living on five continents. Just over one-third live in Israel. They mostly came in the large wave of immigration that took place after the former Soviet Union opened its gates. After Putin was elected in 2000, he established the Sons of the Homeland to maintain communication between Russia and its emigres, and eventually Putin charged the group with bringing back as many Russians as possible, with an emphasis on those in skilled professions. The high level of education among many of the Jewish emigres and the fact that they are concentrated in large communities have made them a desirable target for the organization. Putin's goal is not only economic; the millions who have left Russia since the fall of communism are a blow to national pride. Putin also wants to counter the image of Russian anti-Semitism, by showing the country as a place that attracts Jews. A number of groups, like the Russian-Speakers Congress, are considered fronts for the Sons of the Homeland. The cultural center opened following an agreement between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Putin, which also authorized several Israeli cultural centers to operate in Russia. During last week's general elections in Russia, the cultural center held activities in 60 towns in Israel to encourage Russians to register and vote, and collected their contact details. Meanwhile, some Israelis have reported received tempting job offers in Russia. "I was offered a job in a research institute in Moscow for $15,000 a year," said a leading academic in her field, who has been in contact with the cultural center. She mentioned additional incentives, such as an apartment. The cultural center is headed by Dr. Alexander Kryukov, a leading Russian expert on Israeli culture with extensive connections in Israel, who has also translated a number of books from Hebrew into Russian. When the Russian government last year announced his appointment as a diplomat in the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv, the Shin Bet security service tried to prevent him from receiving a visa, citing his past as a KGB spy. However, Russia insisted, and Israel acquiesced in order to avoid a diplomatic incident. Israel and Russia are not the only countries seeking to court as many Russian Jews as possible; Germany is also encouraging Russian Jews to settle there by giving individual grants and special funding to communities to assist in settling the newcomers. According to government officials in Berlin, the arrival of some 200,000 former citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States is an opportunity to rebuild the great pre-Holocaust Jewish community. Canada and Australia also have programs to encourage Russians with professions in demand to immigrate. According to Absorption Ministry statistics, more than 100,000 Jews who came to Israel from the CIS have returned to Russia and Ukraine, and an estimated 70,000 Israelis are currently living in Moscow. It was decided that, in light of the competition for Russians, the program approved by the cabinet yesterday to bring back Israelis living abroad would be marketed as early as next week in Russian and tailored to Russian employment needs. The Russian cultural center activity gives the government organization Nativ, in charge of contacts with the Jews of the former Soviet Union and under the aegis of Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a reason to undergo a controversial expansion to other countries with large groups of Russian Jews. 3>SAUDIS GIVE BIG TO U.S. COLLEGES December 10, 2007 Julia Duin http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= /20071210/SPECIAL/112100027/1002 Two years ago this month, a Saudi prince caused a media splash -- and raised eyebrows -- when he donated $20 million each to Georgetown and Harvard universities to fund Islamic studies. Although few details have been released about how the money has been spent, at Georgetown, the money helped pay for a recent symposium on Islamic-Western relations held in the university's Copley Formal Lounge. The event attracted about 120 persons: students, Catholic priests, men in business suits and several women in colorful head scarves who all came to hear religion experts from several American universities, as well as from Bosnia, Ireland and Malaysia. A member of the Norwegian royal family said he flew in just for the event. "I just came here to learn the language scholars are using about these things," Prince Haakon of Norway said. Some call the Saudi gift Arab generosity and gratitude for the years American universities have educated the elite of the Arab world. Others say the sheer size of the donations amounts to buying influence and creating bastions of noncritical pro-Islamic scholarship within academia. "There's a possibility these campuses aren't getting gifts, they're getting investments," said Clifford May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. "Departments on Middle Eastern studies tend to be dominated by professors tuned to the concerns of Arab and Muslim rulers. It's very difficult for scholars who don't follow this line to get jobs and tenure on college campuses. "The relationship between these departments and the money that pours in is hard to establish, but like campaign finance reform, sometimes money is a bribe. Sometimes it's a tip." The $40 million gift from the Saudi donor, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, was the latest in a tradition that started in the 1970s -- Muslim donors pumping millions of dollars into American universities to fund Islamic studies, hire faculty specialists in Islam and fund books and seminars on the world's second-largest religion. Friends in the right places This summer, Harvard appointed its Islamic history professor, Roy Mottahedeh, to head its Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program. Harvard is hiring the first of four endowed chairs in the program and is using some of the $20 million to preserve a collection of Islamic documents. On Nov. 3, the university hosted its first Islamic studies conference -- named after Prince Alwaleed -- on "Interpreting the Islamic Tradition in the Contemporary World." Harvard would not provide additional details about the disbursement of the funds, nor would Mr. Mottahedeh respond to numerous requests for an interview. At Georgetown, the money was funneled toward its Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which was quickly renamed the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. The center, part of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, trains many of America"s diplomats. The Alwaleed Center is tucked away in a small suite of offices in the Bunn Intercultural Center. Its reception area is decorated with blue and white Pakistani tile, a framed page from the Koran and mother-of-pearl depictions of a menorah, the Nativity and the Dome of the Rock. The center's aim, according to its mission statement, is to "improve relations between the Muslim world and the West and enhance understanding of Muslims in the West." The center's director, John Esposito, a prolific writer and praised by many as being a national authority on the religion, was severely criticized by several scholars for downplaying the threat of Islamic terrorism in the 1990s when he was a foreign affairs analyst for the State Department. Mr. Esposito, "more than any other academic, contributed to American complacency prior to 9/11," Martin Kramer, a fellow at the Olin Institute at Harvard, wrote in a Jan. 2, 2006, commentary on his blog, sandbox.blog-city.com. "[He has] proved that he's still a magnet for Arab and Muslim money," Mr. Kramer wrote. "Prince Alwaleed apparently decided that while Esposito's reputation may be dented, the professor still has some value in him." Mr. Esposito declined to be interviewed for this article but did defend himself in several e-mails. "Two of my books, including 'Unholy War,' were among the eight books recommended by [U.S. Army] Lt. Gen. John Vines to his senior staff when he took over command in Iraq," he wrote. "[My article] 'What Makes a Muslim Radical' in Foreign Policy received the most hits of any of its publications, more that 100,000 in the year it was published." Mr. Esposito (note:a Jewish name, incidentally) said the number of programs sponsored by his center went from 27 last year to 22 this semester alone. The first of three new faculty, Ibrahim Kalin, a scholar on Sufiism and Islamic philosophy, is slated to come on board next fall. A month before the gift was publicly announced, Mr. Esposito was one of four persons flanking Prince Alwaleed before a photographer at the George V hotel in Paris. It was then that the prince told Georgetown officials of their $20 million windfall -- and that Mr. Esposito would oversee how the money was spent. Spreading the wealth Winfield Myers, director of Campus Watch, a watchdog group under the aegis of the Middle East Forum think tank, said it's too early to tell whether the prince is getting his money's worth. One sign of success is if a university can place its recent doctoral graduates in positions of influence. "The prince knew very well Georgetown's in a milieu filled with lobbyists and opinion makers; thus any program of his will exert more influence there than at a university not in a power center like Washington," Mr. Meyers said. "The grant also gave Esposito a much bigger microphone. When you've got a $20 million institute, that amplifies your voice considerably." The Saudi Embassy's press office did not respond to requests for comment on this article, and a spokeswoman for Prince Alwaleed said he was "too busy" to respond. According to one Saudi press organization, the grants are meant to promote understanding and change America's perceptions of Islam in the most fertile place, the university campus. "The tendency, in some quarters, to identify Islam with fanaticism or even terrorism persists and has not been completely erased from the popular mind in the West," observed a commentator in a March 1, 2002, article in Ain al-Yaqeen, a weekly controlled by the Saudi royal family. To that end, it continued, the late Saudi King Fahd paid for a "number of academic chairs in some of the most respected universities in the developed world." The practice started around 1976, when the Saudi government established a King Faisal Chair in Islamic Studies for $1 million at the University of Southern California. In 1979, Saudi Aramco World magazine published a list of recent Middle Eastern gifts, including $200,000 from the Saudis to Duke University for a program in Islamic and Arabian development studies; $750,000 from the Libyan government for a chair of Arab culture at Georgetown University; and $250,000 from the United Arab Emirates for a visiting professorship of Arab history, also at Georgetown. In 1986, Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi donated $5 million toward a sports center to be named after him at American University. Since then, grants for endowed chairs in Islamic studies and Middle Eastern studies centers have popped up at the University of California/Santa Barbara; Columbia University; Rice University; University of Arkansas; University of California in Los Angeles; and the University of California/Berkeley, among many others. "Arab studies at Berkeley were totally revitalized by this money," said Emily Gottreich, vice chairman for UC/Berkeley's Center for Middle Eastern Studies. "We redefined what Arab studies is." In 1998, the Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Foundation announced a $5 million gift to fund visiting professors and scholars, research and outreach funds and new quarters for Berkeley's Arab and Islamic Studies Center. "Our post-docs have gone on to important tenure-track academic jobs," Ms. Gottreich said, listing 11 institutions, including Oxford, DePaul, Fordham and Harvard universities. "There's a market out there for PhDs with expertise in the Middle East." Occasionally, universities have been embarrassed by offers and declined such gifts. In July 2000, the Harvard Divinity School accepted $2.5 million from the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, to endow an academic chair in Islamic Religious Studies. However, Rachel Fish, a divinity student, began a protest, accusing the sheik of funding an anti-Semitic think tank in his capital, Abu Dhabi. Harvard officials said they would reconsider accepting the gift. In 2004, the sheik withdrew the funds. Funding points of view The idea of giving endowed chairs to advance a point of view is not exclusive to wealthy Arabs. Claremont University recently announced a new chair in Mormon studies, funded by $1 million in donations mostly from Mormons. In June, Brandeis University announced a $15 million gift from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation for Israeli studies to counter what university president Jehuda Reinharz called an "astounding ignorance" of Israeli affairs, even among American Jews. The Israel on Campus Coalition, a group of Jewish organizations, released a study earlier this year saying out of about 4,000 American institutions of higher learning, only nine have Israel studies centers, nine have Israel studies chairs, and 16 have visiting professors teaching about Israel. There are 17 federally funded centers on American college campuses devoted solely to Middle Eastern studies centers and another 30 to 40 that do not receive federal aid, according to Amy Newhall, executive director of the Middle East Studies Association at the University of Arizona. Not counting several positions at Georgetown University, she estimated at least 10 chaired professorships currently funded by Saudis at major universities. "With all the talk of the Israel lobby, no one talks about the Saudi lobby," Mr. Meyers said. "There is no counterweight to Saudi influence in American higher education." Indeed, Ain-al-Yaqeen reported that King Fahd has spent "billions of Saudi riyals," around the world. "In terms of Islamic institutions, the result is some 210 Islamic centers wholly or partly financed by Saudi Arabia, more than 1,500 mosques and 202 colleges and almost 2,000 schools for educating Muslim children in non-Islamic countries in Europe, North and South America, Australia and Asia," the paper reported. The billionaire prince Mr. Kramer, also the author of "Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America," says American universities have allowed themselves to be purveyors of Saudi influence and opinion. "Universities generate ideas, and [Prince Alwaleed] regards one idea -- the 'clash of civilizations" -- as positively dangerous to Arabs and Muslims," he wrote on his Web site, martinkramer.org. "So he has embarked on a grand giving spree, to create academic 'bridges" between Islam and the West, and specifically between the Arab world and the United States ... "The mind boggles at the possibilities, when you think of the purchasing power of the world's fifth-richest man," Mr. Kramer continued. "Of course, this is why we can't ever expect to get the straight story on Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism and oil from people who operate within Middle Eastern studies. If you want a fabulously wealthy Saudi royal to drop out of the sky in his private jet and leave a few million, you had better watch what you say -- which means you had better say nothing." Prince Alwaleed, 52, -- who slipped from the fifth richest person in 2005 to the 13th this year, according to Forbes magazine -- is best known to some Americans as the man who offered $10 million to the victims of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. That money was rejected by Rudolph W. Giuliani, then the mayor, after the prince scolded the U.S. for favoring Israelis over Palestinians. Prince Alwaleed found more welcoming recipients in academia. In 2002, he donated $500,000 to the George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship Fund, established by the Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. In 2006, he donated $10 million to the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He defends such gifts in interviews, saying that he has financed study programs about American culture overseas, including a $10 million gift to found a Center for American Studies at American University in Cairo and $5.2 million for a similar center at American University in Beirut. Prince Alwaleed's Cairo and Beirut projects explain American culture, but according to their Web sites, offer no courses in Christianity -- America's majority religion. Meanwhile, typical courses at the Georgetown center are "Islamic Theological Development" and "Islamic Religious Thought and Practice." Zuhdi Jasser, a Phoenix physician and a Muslim who is chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, says Islamic governments are looking for a free pass. "Islamists such as the radical fundamentalists seen with the Saudi Wahhabis exploit American universal tolerance to provide a vehicle for the dissemination of their propaganda free of critique," he said in an e-mail. "It is important to emphasize -- 'free of critique' ... it is the tolerance which permits that. "But I would hope that we correct our response not by changing our tolerance but by intensely critiquing political Islam and its incompatibility with our pluralistic democracy. America"s laboratory of freedom and liberty should not change." 4> SDEROT MEDIA CENTER IMMEDIATE NEEDS VIDEO CAMERAS: 1. Mfr # HVRA1E B&H # SOHVRA1P -- Sony HVR-A1E -- (2500$) 2. Mfr # DSRPD170P B&H # SODSRPD170P -- Sony DSR-PD170P -- (3500$) EDITING MACHINES: 1. Mfr # Z0ED00050 B&H # APMBP24S17Z -- MACBOOK PRO -- (3800$) 2. Mfr # Z0D800MZ0 B&H # APMP3C -- MAC PRO -- (4450$) Mfr# M9178LLA B&H# APCD23Q -- Flat Panel LCD Editing Monitor ($ 879.00) LAPTOP: Mfr # LIVEBOOK-L7 B&H # RALBL7 -- ($2,399.95) (PROJECTOR) Mfr # PT-LB51U B&H # PAPTLB51U -- PANASONIC -- ($699.00) ACCESSORIES: VIDEO SD MONITOR: Mfr # TM-H1700GU • B&H # JVTMH1700GU -- JVC -- $659.95 VOICEOVER: Mfr # 9900-55898-00 B&H # DIMB2MQ -- MBOX PROTOOLS $249.00 FIELD MICROPHONE: Mfr # MKH416-P48U3 B&H # SEMKH416P48 -- $1,099.95 (Boom) Mfr # 111LTE1 B&H# AZ111LTE1 -- $251.95 -- (wireless) Mfr # WMS-PRO B&H # AZWMSPRO -- $144.95 (hand mic) CAMERA LIGHTING: Mfr # LUXKIT B&H # BELCLK -- $479.95 SOUND RECORDING: Mfr # MIXPRE B&H # SOMIXPRE -- $665.00 HEADPHONES: Mfr # MDRV6 B&H # SOMDRV6 -- SONY -- $69.95 STORAGE: Mfr # T01W750 B&H # MAOT3FW8UD75 -- MAXTOR -- $263.95 TOTAL $22,112.60 DONATION TO SDEROT -- 501(C)3 Check payee: Bank Transfer to: Center for Near East Policy Research Union Bank of Israel, Ltd In Memo Line Write: Main Branch-Jerusalem Donation for Sderot Trauma Victims Swift Code: Unbkilit 13-051 Mail to: Acct. Number: 28142/45 POB 1783, Attn: Lawyer Trust Acct of Jacob P. Golbert Brookline, Mass. 02446-0014. Confirm orders to Noam Bedein: SDEROTMEDIA@AOL.COM Let him know whether to expect check or wire payment Janet Lehr is editor/publisher of a daily e-mail called "Israel Lives." She can be contacted at janetlehr@veredart.com To Go To Top

MEANING OF SYRIAN BOMBING IN LEBANON; STOOGE SENTENCED; US AND ISRAELI POLICY COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE Posted by Richard H. SHulman, December 14, 2007.

REPORT ON IRAN (CON'T.) Whereas the US report indicates "high confidence" that Iran had discontinued its nuclear weapons development, it expresses only "moderate confidence" that Iran has not resumed it. The assessment depends on guessing Iran's intent and procedures. Guessing! Iran is fabricating a small reactor of the type that N. Korea had used to develop plutonium clandestinely. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms Iran's claims to have constructed 3,000 centrifuges. That is enough to build a bomb a year. To prevent the first one from being manufactured, Iran would have to be stopped next calendar year. Israel's survival depends on it (IMRA, 12/5 from Jer. Center for Public Affairs & Wechsler Family Foundation). Too much credence is placed in the US report. Pres. Bush should know better than to accept any part of it, though he still doesn't trust Iran. MEANING OF SYRIAN BOMBING IN LEBANON The victim was the general likely to have succeeded to the Lebanese Army's top post, if its commander were elected president. The Army has been neutral towards Hamas, but the victim was a Maronite who led a major military campaign against other Islamists sponsored by Syria, last summer. Syria denounced the bombing and blamed Israel. The State Dept. found Syria's denunciation "positive" but not as positive as action would be (NY Sun, 12/13, p.6). The Muslims denounce Israel for everything. Is that "positive?" But the victim was in Syria's way, not Israel's. Syria has been having assassinated enough Lebanese politicians so that the anti-Syria coalition cannot dominate the government, as the electorate intended it to. For Syria to blame Israel is hypocritical. For the State Dept. to praise Syria's denunciation of the assassination it probably engineered shows the mendaciousness of diplomacy that many Americans think can solve age-old problems. WHAT ONE CAN EXPECT FROM TONY BLAIR Tony Blair, now representing the Quartet, acknowledged that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza has become a "nightmare" for Israelis, but nevertheless urges Israeli withdrawal from Judea-Samaria (Arutz-7, 12/5). He must want Israel to have nightmares. After the first evacuation boosted the P.A. Muslims' war making against Israel, does he think a second evacuation would have the opposite effect? Hasn't anybody told him that the Muslims want to destroy Israel? U.S. & ISRAELI PERSPECTIVE ON NUCLEAR IRAN Both countries' intelligence agencies believe that Iran had a nuclear arms program. Both believe that it suspended it in 2003. Both believe that its civilian program makes Iran more capable of producing a bomb. Israel thinks that Iran has resumed its weapons development. The two countries' agencies disagree on when Iran could have a bomb ready. Israel thinks it would be much sooner than do the US agencies, because it is nearing a critical technical stage. The two countries' agencies have a different outlook. The US ones feel that they over-estimated Saddam's capability (I don't). They are afraid of raising what would be seen as a false alarm. The Israeli ones under-estimated their enemies' capability. For example, they didn't hear of Libya's program until Libya publicly renounced it. (But Ghadaffi recently announced development of a civilian one. "Civilian?") Israel is afraid of failing to raise the alarm (IMRA, 12/5). Again, this shows that intelligence reports are not factual like cost-analysis. They should not be taken as dictum. STOOGE SENTENCED A terrorist murderer of an Israeli Cabinet Minister was sentenced to prison. The human shields from ISM and from the Israeli Left, who protected him from being apprehended by Israeli security personnel, were not. They should have been (Prof. Steven Plaut, 12/5). Barry Chamish asks why that particular Cabinet Minister and why at that time? The timing was most convenient for PM Sharon, whose government the Cabinet Minister had announced he was about to bring down. Did a rogue secret service clique prepare the Arab assassins? Same for a former Israeli Ambassador to France, about to return to Israel after having discovered damning evidence of French collaboration with Shimon Peres in the assassination of Rabin. Dissidents: Act, don't forewarn! SHOOTOUT IN JUDEA-SAMARIA As Israeli forces were arresting terrorists in Ramallah, another group of men opened fire on the troops. The troops returned fire, hitting their assailants. The assailants turned out to be P.A. police (IMRA, 12/5). The P.A. police comprise mostly terrorists, largely armed by Israel and the US, "to strengthen Abbas." That is how they use their strength. Does Abbas approve? P.A. DEMANDS ISRAEL NOT IMPRISON TERRORISTS Not only has Abbas and other P.A. officials demanded that Israel release all imprisoned terrorists. It also demands amnesty for those captured during this period of negotiations, for attacks both before and during the negotiations. That is, it demands that Israel agree to release newly captured terrorists as soon as an agreement is signed, or it won't sign one. (Worthless signature.) This practically means that Israel not capture terrorists. The P.A. argues that the attacks are against "occupation," not negotiations (Arutz-7, 12/4). Hamas argues that it is attacking to prevent negotiations. There is no "occupation," and the P.A. has signed agreements not to attack Israel. Organized Muslims have been attacking the Zionists for about 87 years. Jihad and imperialism have nothing to do with "occupation." The gist of the demand is that the Muslims may make war on the Jews and the Jews are not supposed to stop them. Arutz-7 put it that the Olmert regime "executed" the release of hundreds of convicted Muslim Arab terrorists. I want the news to be that Israel released hundreds of executed terrorists or that the Olmert regime was convicted of pro-terrorism. SHELL SHOCK There was another report of a rocket causing not only physical damage but also emotional. The explosions cause people to be treated for shock (IMRA, 12/5). I can understand someone getting frightened. I have no experience being attacked with explosives to understand how it puts someone into a state of shock. I wish the reporters occasionally would explain more about the victims' symptoms and the method of treatment. Could something be done to prepare people so that their symptoms would be lesser? AL-QAEDA ATTACK ON UNO IN ALGERIA "It is thought that Al Qaeda is determined to show that it can continue to successfully destroy Western targets despite the setbacks it has suffered in Iraq since the success of the American military surge." Abbas and representatives of the Arab League denounced the attack (Nicholas Wapshott, NY Sun, 12/12, p.6). Who considers the largely Muslim-dominated and anti-American UNO "Western?" Why should Al-Qaeda defeat in Iraq mean defeat elsewhere, unless the war is brought to it elsewhere? The prospective US victory in Iraq is not sufficiently secured to encourage non-Iraqi Muslims to crack down on Al-Qaeda. When the US overthrew Saddam, the Islamists lay low. When the US seemed defeatist, it rose up again. IRAN RESUMED NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT Israel's Defense Min. Barak agrees with the US report that Iran halted development of nuclear weapons, but thinks it then resumed (IMRA, 12/4). He said that intelligence assessments are opinion, with which other people may differ (Arutz-7, 12/4). MUSLIM PERSECUTION OF ARAB CHRISTIANS P.A. Muslims systematically persecute Christians. The Christian Arab population in the P.A. has fallen from about 20% to 1.5%. It likely will disappear in a few more years, except for a few clerical officials. Western Christians have not stood up even verbally for their co-religionists (IMRA, IMRA, 12/4 from Jer. Post). This lack of faithfulness to their own martyred faithful, by a religion developed out of martyrdom, reflects fear and perhaps a political and anti-Zionist agenda. I don't know, but if the Muslims can't make peace with fellow Arabs, how can they with Israel? ISRAEL KEEPS ABBAS IN OFFICE They say Abbas is in power in Judea-Samaria. What power? He has no party nor militia, being only titular head in anarchy. He is dependent upon Israel to arrest Hamas terrorists. Funds pour into Hamas there. The mosques function better than his regime. Hamas is training troops and building bunkers there. The formerly extravagant price of bullets has fallen greatly, as police supplies (from Israel, the US, etc.) get diverted to Hamas. If not for Israeli troops, Hamas could sweep him aside. In that case, there is no point to Israeli negotiations to recognize a Fatah regime and transfer territory to Abbas. The territory and its lavishly-supplied Western arms would fall to Hamas (IMRA, 12/4). Releasing Fatah terrorists does not uphold Abbas's regime. Reform could. Abbas has lost his own people's support beyond what foreign aid could restore. Judea-Samaria would become a terrorist front same as Gaza, with daily bombardment of all of Israel's cities. Israel would become untenable. Now that is no "secure borders!" ON P.A. POLICE MURDER OF ISRAELI When three members of Abbas' forces murdered an Israeli, PM Olmert withheld the news from the public until after he had released hundreds of terrorists, most of whom join Abbas' forces and receive arms from Israel and the US, among others. The Israeli media hardly reported the incident and mostly ignored the murderer's affiliation with the P.A. police. The government claimed it withheld the news until all three had been captured. Others claim it wanted to protect appeasement at Annapolis (Op. Cit.). Notice that US and Israeli policies are anti-Israel. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

DECLARATION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE: PLEASE SIGN PETITION Posted by Crystal, December 14, 2007.

Click here., read it, sign and pass it on. Let every Jew, every pro-Israel friend take part.

B"H This world of falsehood, "alma d'shikra" as is called in the Zohar, is fooled into believing that Israel is in a "peace process," and that the sacrifice of land to establish an Arab Palestinian State in the territories liberated in 1967 will bring about peace, prosperity, and progress to all. Those of us who are not fooled must reply clearly and with a strong voice. What the Bush and Olmert administrations are doing is most harmful, and in the name of peace, they are setting us in the path to permanent war. Every concerned Jew is invited to read the present Declaration of the Jewish People, to sign it, and to comment on it. Click here, read it, sign it, and pass it on. Let every Jew alive today take part. Contact Crystal at k_hallal@yahoo.com To Go To Top

SYRIANTOXICATION: AN INFANTILE MALADY Posted by Barry Rubin, December 14, 2007.

A strange malady has apparently descended on part of Israel's, much of America's, and most of Europe's elite. Let's call it Syriantoxication, the belief that there is a real chance to make peace with Syria and--in its extreme version--that Lebanon should be sacrificed for that goal. To call this wishful thinking is understatement. Why is this happening? Few Israelis believe that negotiations with Palestinians will lead anywhere. Those on the right think it's dangerous, those in the center believe it can be done without harm and for limited benefit, those on the left doubt it will work but wishful thinking compels them to hope even without conviction. There is, however, a group on the moderate left which thinks it must offer an alternative peace process. If the Palestinians will not do anything, they suggest, it's better to put the priority on Syria. Much of this comes from Labor Party circles and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In part, Barak seems concerned that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's concessions to the Palestinians could hurt security interests; in part, he wants to undermine Olmert in order to replace him. Talk-with-Syria enthusiasts argue that country is a greater potential security threat to Israel than Palestinian terrorist attacks. Also, Syria sponsors Hizballah and can influence whether or not Israel is attacked from Lebanon. And if Syria could be won away from its alliance with Iran that would be a strategic victory in weakening the region's radical forces. There are, however, terrible dangers with this approach. It will in fact strengthen Syria and might doom Lebanon's independence. Not the least of the arguments against this strategy is that there's no real evidence in its favor. People blather on about Syria wanting peace or being ready to distance itself from Tehran without the slightest facts or even a serious analysis for thinking it accurate. About the only point made is that it is "objectively" in Syria's interest to work with the United States, reform its economy, abandon the Arab-Israeli conflict, and such things. The problem is that Syria's regime doesn't see things that way, as is shown by its defining self-interest, the requirements of regime survival, and what Syrian leaders and their flunkies actually say in Arabic. Space doesn't permit full discussion of these points but they are explained in depth in my book, The Truth About Syria, and previous articles such as "Syria Hooks the West". Claims made often verge on the pitiful. For example, dozens of observers insisted that Syria's presence at the Annapolis summit showed that it was splitting away from Iran, which opposed the meeting. They forget that Syria participated in a nine-year-long peace process that Iran opposed--including direct negotiations with Israel--without damaging in the slightest the Iran-Syria axis. Second, this kind of talk destroys years of effort to isolate and pressure Syria. The tough strategy is not some silly stubborn refusal to chat with Damascus but designed to deter the regime from adventurism, shore up Arab states' opposition to it, and encourage Lebanese forces battling against again becoming a puppet of the dictator next door. It's also appropriate to remember that Syria is the main sponsor of Iraqi terrorists killing civilians and U.S. troops there; the principal backer of Hamas and Islamic Jihad which kill Israelis and try to destroy any possibility of Palestinian moderation; and murdering Lebanese politicians in a concerted campaign to seize control of that country. These actions are not against the interests of the Syrian regime--they are in full accord with them. An emboldened Damascus is going to be even more aggressive. Falling into the trap of stopping pressure, flattering the regime, and offering it concessions has precisely that effect. While these aspects of Syriantoxication are wrong and dangerous, there's a further symptom that is shameful. Some now talk of sacrificing Lebanon as a supposed way to appease Syria in the vain hope that it will then rein in Hizballah. It is immoral to turn over the Lebanese majority, which is bravely resisting Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah domination to a corrupt, oppressive regime. It's also stupid. Talk about selling out Lebanon demoralizes the current government's supporters who are right now trying to resist a Syrian-imposed puppet president who will quickly bring a Damascus-dominated new government. Here's how a Lebanese supporter of the current government put it: "The message the Americans are sending to the region is that what succeeds is terror, bombings and a total disregard for democracy," Can any sane person really believe that a Hizballah-dominated Lebanon is going to be more peaceful toward Israel? Will Syria be satisfied with swallowing just one neighbor, so that being bought off with Beirut becomes its "last territorial claim" in the Middle East (a quote appropriately borrowed from the betrayal of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany in 1938)? Obviously, turning Lebanon into a full-scale Syrian satellite would only be the prelude to strengthening Hamas and, once that gain is consolidated, heading south again. The border's relative quiet at some points in the past is not a precedent. Hizballah was much weaker then and did not control Lebanon; Syria's ally, Iran, was relatively weaker than it is today; and cautious Hafiz al-Asad was president of Syria then, not the risk-loving Bashar al-Asad. Consider the accurate assessment of a Lebanese moderate: "Only a moderate Lebanese government, reinforced with Western help, that frustrates Syrian and Hizballah ambitions can keep the area from becoming even more unstable or violent. If Syria, Iran, and Hizballah take over Lebanon, watch out!" Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and co-author of "Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography" and "Hating America: A History" (Oxford University Press, August 2007). His latest book is The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). Prof. Rubin's columns can now be read online at http://gloria.idc.ac.il/columns/column.html. Contact him at profbarryrubin@yahoo.com To Go To Top

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE 'ISRAELI ARAB ["PALESTINIAN"] CONFLICT' Posted by American, December 14, 2007.

1) When was the Arab immigration to [the historic Jewish land of] Israel -"Palestine" boosted? A When they wanted to see Jewish holy sites. B When [anti French and anti British] Arab nationalism spread across the middle east. C When the Zionists Jews came and cultivated the deserted land. 2) What's [Arab "Palestinian" highest "national" icon] Yasser Arafat's country of origin? A Israel ["Palestine"]. B Jordan. C Egypt. 3) Why were there --initially-- more Arab immigrants ["residents"] than Jewish immigrants (Arab majority)? A Because Jews didn't attempt to enter. B Arabs were 'invited" to come. C Because the British restricted only Jewish immigration, to appease the Arabs 4) Why did (some) Arabs leave "Palestine" Israel in 1948? A Because the Zionists "told" them to. B Because the UN told them to. C Because the Arab leaders ordered them to evacuate [their reasoning: to facilitate annihilation plans] while they attempt to 'throw the Jews in the sea'. 5) What has been the term "Palestine" always referred to? A a country. B a flag. C an area, always known to be historical Israel. 6) What was Arabs' reaction to UN's partition plan for a two state solution and have their conduct since then ever been legal? A they embraced the UN. B they ignored and didn't react at all. C they refused, objected to the plan and illegally started attacking the newly reinstated state of Israel. 7) How many Jewish refugees were chased out from Arab Muslim countries after Israel was re-established? A 300,000 B 500,000 C Between 800,000 & 900,000 8) When did Arabs, Muslims start attacking Jews in the holy land? A In the 1940's B In the 1930's C In the 1920's 9) Why did Arabs attack Jews so many years [even] prior to the re-establishment of Jews' homeland? A Because of losing sports games to the Jews. B Because of the "occupation" by... the British... C Because they were led by such racist leaders like Haj Amin Al-Husseini the Mufti, that so shamelessly kissed Adolf Hitler's ass (while Hitler played the Arabs to his anti Jewish agenda). 10) What is synonymous with the Arab Muslim leader the Mufti? A Spirituality. B Peaceful religion. C [Christian] Armenian genocide 1915, Hebron massacre 1929, pact with Adolf Hitler, Farhud massacre in Baghdad 1941, SS Bosnian Muslim brigade's crimes on Serb Christians 1943. 11) What did/do Arabs call to any lost [armed] battle to the Zionists? A Loss. B Mistake. C A "massacre". 12) When did that so called "occupation" occur and why? A In the 1948, during the war of independence. B In the 1950's, as part of an "expansion". C In the 1967 war when Israel decided it 'had enough' of constant Arab unprovoked attacks on its innocent citizens, the Goliath combined nations of Arabs, as always, lost the war to little tiny Israel -- "David", by all legal means it was not a "theft". 13) Why did/does Israel continue to 'hold' the territories captured in 1967? A Power hungry. B "oil"... C 1) Historic rights, it was always pertaining to the Jews. 2) Because of security, buffer zone. 14) What has been Israelis' experience in giving gestures to the Arabs so far? A Arabs behave better. B No change. C Arabs, Muslims become more radical, more violent [example: Hamas rose right after the Gaza give away] as they see Israel's kindness as weakness. 15) When did these Arabs, (mostly) sons and grandsons of immigrants start to call themselves as "Palestinians"? A In the 1940's. B In the 1950's. C In the 1960's. 16) What did/do all Arab-Muslim leaders & "fighters" openly plan to do to the Jews in their many wars? A To occupy them. B To oppress them. C [To "throw them all into the sea". or a modern version of:"wiping off map", or "drinking the blood of the Jews" -- aka] Genocide. 17) Who started to give equality for minorities, including voting rights for [Arab] women in the middle east? A Jordan. B UAE C Israel. 18) Where in the middle east, does it exist a 100% complete freedom of speech, freedom of the press? A "Palestinian" authority. B Egypt. C Israel. 19) Do Arabs, Muslims participate in Israel's pluralistic democracy, Are there Arabs in the Israeli democratic government? A No, there is "apartheid". B No non-Zionists allowed. C Yes, in fact Arabs, Muslims are elected to high offices in the Israeli government. 20) In disputes between Arabs & Jews, Who does Israeli democratic court favor? A The Israeli Jews. B No preference. C They overwhelmingly favor the Arabs, especially in land issues [Arabs, Muslims are often first class citizens]. 21) At any tense time, who is barred from the Temple mount by the Israeli government? A The Muslims. B Both, the Jews and the Muslims. C Only Jews are barred [Arabs, Muslims are often first class citizens]. 22) What's the "race" or "skin tone" of Israeli society? A White. B Black. C Cosmopolitan, multi-racial, Israel has all shades, races and colors, from the whitest of "white", to the darkest of "black" and anything in between [including Vietnamese refugees and refugees of the genocide in Sudan by cruel racist Arab Janjaveeds]. 23) What's the nature of the state of Israel? A Religious. B Moderate religious. C Secular democracy. 24) How many faiths, religions are active in Israel? A Judaism only. B Judaism & Christianity only. C Cosmopolitan, there are 13 faiths being practiced in Israel's democracy, including majority -- Judaism, Christianity, 20% Islam, Bahai, etc. 25) Are there any Jews, or Jews allowed to reside in "Palestinian" controlled "Palestine"? A yes. B yes, but in limited numbers. C not at all, its what is called racist "Judenrein -- Palestine", AKA ethnic cleansed, only Arabs allowed. 26) What's the status of [the minority] Arab Christians' rights and lives under "Palestinian" rule? A Better than ever. B No change. C Always deteriorating. 27) Who is being treated in Israeli hospitals & at Israeli medical facilities? A Jews and Arabs. B Jews and Arabs & visitors. C Jews and Arabs, including "Palestinian" Arabs, and international patients especially humanitarian treatment for some of underdeveloped countries. 28) Is [Israel's army:] IDF's work only protecting Israeli lives? A it's all about "occupation". B Protection but also "occupation". C mainly defending Israelis' lives, but also providing humanitarian aid all over the world [includes Muslim countries that had natural disasters]. 29) What are Islamic "Palestinians" plans with radical liberal westerners that act for their behalf or [at least] apologetic to their [so called] "cause"? A Hugs & kisses. B Gift cards. C a reminder: pacifist Daniel Pearl beheading in Pakistan, killing of activist Tom Fox in Iraq, lefty Kibbutz "Netzer" slaughter by Fatah. 30) Do [most] ultra orthodox religious Jews serve in Israeli army, and are their children also targets by "Palestinian" Muslim genocide bombings & other attacks? A they are on the frontline of combat units. B they serve in the army and bear arms like everybody else. C they do NOT serve in the IDF, Yet, their children are as much a target by 'Palestinian' terrorists. 31) When "Palestinians" talk about "occupation" what do they mean? A Territories captured in the 1967 war. B The arrests of terrorists. C Israel 'proper' -- Tel Aviv, Haifa, etc. 32) What areas have been rattled by "Palestinian" Arabs violence? A only "Palestinian" held areas. B only Israeli areas. C Israel, "Palestinian" held areas, Jordan ("Black September"), Lebanon (past & present). 33) Is the Jewish capital, biblical holy city of Jerusalem mentioned in the Muslim Quran? A sure, as many times as it is mentioned in the Jewish/Christian Bible. B at least once... C not at all, the only reference the Islamic religion has of it is Muhammad said he had a dream of it... 34) What's the common denominator with oppressing, massacring Kurds, oppressing the Berbers, slavery, oppression and genocide in Sudan, Chad, Mauritania, Saddam's war on the Persians, etc. and the Arab war on Israel? A Arab unity. B unrelated stories. C Arab [supremacy, Arabization and Arab] racism. 35) What's the common denominator with bombings in New York, Bali Indonesia, Madrid Spain, London UK, Israel, India, Thailand, Paris France, Lebanon etc.? A "Freedom fighting". B Unrelated stories. C Islamic Jihad -- intolerance for non Muslims. 36) What's the common denominator with oppressing minorities -- dhimmis in the Islamic world, persecuting Christians [including by Islamic "Palestinians"], and other non Muslim minorities in the Islamic world, and radicals' war on all non-Muslims or even on those 'not Muslims enough' [terror bombings on their own people like: in Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, etc.]? A Muslim "victim-hood". B Unrelated stories. C Islamic Fascism. 37) Why did/do Arab Muslim leaders prevent Arab "Palestinians" advancing in life? A Arab unity. B Unrelated stories. C It serves them as a "good" unifying [as there's never really positive-unity in the Arab world] card & and a fabulous diversion whenever their population tries to cry out against the terrible oppression and crimes in the entire Arab Muslim world on their own people. 38) Why do Arab Muslim ["Palestinian" & Hezbollah] terrorists use their own women and children as human shields when carrying out shootings, and terror attacks? A their children ask for it. B They are "warrior heroes". C 1) (Cowardice) they know Israel is humane and is prevented from acting. 2) they hate their children in 'Jihadi love'. 3) Because [it's only] they [who] seek Arab women/children's deaths to demonetize Israel. 39) What are the statistic characteristics of casualties of the Arab Islamic Intifadas? A both sides have lost mainly unarmed civilians B most Arab deaths are non terrorists. C Most of the casualties on the Israeli side are innocent unarmed civilians, whereas on the Arab "Palestinian" side most are armed [or assisting to] combatants. 40) What are checkpoints, and for what purpose do they exist? A "Brutal Occupation" B a garage that checks up your car. C Security checking points that reviews passers by [a checkpoint in the airport should give you an idea], especially in areas known to be terror hubs. 41) Should some ambulances and some of those women that appear to be "pregnant" be checked up in known dangerous terror areas as well, and why? A no, they are all "innocent Palestinians". B just ask them if they are terrorists... C "Palestinian" Islamists have been known to use ambulances, kids, women truly or falsely pregnant, to carry explosives and other assisting terror activities. 42) Why did Arab Christians massacre Muslim "Palestinians" in Sabra Shatila in 1982? A because they felt like it. B because of Reagan, Sharon, the weather... C as a result of Syrian occupiers & Muslim "Palestinians" massacring Arab Christians in Damour Lebanon 1976. 43) Was there ever [in history] such a state called "Palestine", or Was there ever an Arab sovereign State in Israel/Palestine? A Yes, sure, under the Ottoman empire. B Yes, sure, under the British empire. C No, Never! 44) Who has changed the Jewish area of Israel into "Palestine"? A The Greeks. B When the Dutch brutally enslaved the people of Congo. C The Romans. 45) How many Arab states are there [already]? A 10. B 20. C 22. 46) Is there any difference between a Jordanian Arab, a "Palestinian" Arab and an Israeli Arab [both residents of different sides of the defense barrier-wall]? A Sure, in the skin tone. B Sure, in the [so called] "culture". C Not at all. 47) Are the Arabs, the "native indigenous" people of the countries such as: Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, etc.? A Yes, they were there for thousands of years... B Most of them are indigenous. C No, the indigenous are the Berbers in N. Africa, and the Nubians in Egypt... 48) Who's famously quoted as saying: "Next to the Jews we hate the [Arab-] Palestinians the most"? A Hitler. B KKK leader. C most powerful Arab, king Fahd. 49) Does the Islamic [Hitler] Ahmadinejad of Iran have any "borders and territorial" issues with Israel & Is he genuinely confused about the Holocaust [though Iranians know all too well the massive influx of survivors that have escaped it and entered seeking asylum in Iran]? A sure, Iran borders with Israel... B he "aches' for the Arab "Palestinians", though he oppresses, persecutes [all the minorities in Iran, Azeris, Kurds, Turkomans, Baluchis, Baha'i, and kills Ahwazi] Arabs. C he is an example of pure Islamic bigotry. 50) A word, an image a story out of a "Palestinian" source is...? A credible. B like any other source. C never credible, very possibly to be turned out to be another edited image [Pallywod]. 51) Is there ever a balanced report in [any of] the Arab media as in Israeli media that shows always a variety of opinions? A there's always Israel's view presented as well. B both sides are presented equally. C nothing but the Arab view exclusively is presented, always. 52) The Arab street gets angered by...? A what Israel does. B what Israel does not. C what and how the Arab media reports, it incites, inflates emotions, often via graphic photos of dead Arabs, without explaining that it is for the most part due to terrorists' cynical tactics. 53) When you see the US, white house foreign policy so pro "Palestinian" by Bush, like pushing only the Israeli side to give concessions of their own vital land for security, and releasing more dangerous terrorists, What goes through your mind? A "Zionist lobby". B Chinese lobby. C Appeasing the giant [Arab lobby] Islamic: Saudi, Gulf states, Arabian oil tycoons. 54) When you see the past & present constant obsession by the UN with all kind of [obscure and] bigoted heavy-handed "resolutions" on Israel, Israel being so horrifically demonetize in the international press, the racist boycotting campaigns, etc. What goes through your mind? A "Israeli lobby". B Pharmaceutical lobby. C The Goliath Islamo Arab [lobby mafia] power, control, grip on the world, via intimidations, and terrorizing international organizations and country leaders, the factor of 'angry violent Arab street' in Europe, using Arab world's market, and oil as 'weapons' as well. 55) Who pulls the strings in major US' foreign policy like on: Iraq, and on [Islamic oppressive republic of] Iran? A "Christian lobby". B "Kurdish lobby". C Arab Gulf States. 56) Are there any Arabs, Muslims countries recipients of US foreign aid? A no, only Israel gets aid B everyone gets aid. C Islamic Pakistan, Arab Egypt and Arab Jordan receive billions of dollars in aids, recently, the Arab "Palestinians" get aid as well. 57) What was the first things "Palestinian" Islamic Hamas & its supporters did when winning Gaza [after super kind Israel gave the violent "Palestinians" the gift of Gaza land]? A offering an olive branch. B changed its fascist charter. C reiterating its goal to eliminate [all of] Israel, terrorizing Christians, forcing them to convert to Islam, attacking their schools, organizations [like YMCA] & media. 58) What do Hamas & Hezbollah want/seek? A nice villa with a view of the ocean. B sports cars. C ethnic cleansing of Jews, suppressing or eliminating all non-Muslims [especially Christians], establishing an Islamic oppressive theocracy, ultimately Hamas' goal is: Global Domination -- Islamic repressive Caliphate. 59) What portion of the 'Palestinian' population in Gaza is behind the genocidal Hamas? A a third. B a half. C an overwhelming majority. 60) Is the support for massacres, racism of denying Israel's right to exist & genocide bombings only by a minority among 'Palestinian" Arabs? A by a tiny fringy minority, (most "Palestinians" are "innocent"). B by a considerable minority. C by its [guilty] mainstream. 61) Is "Palestinian" leadership of "moderate" Fatah free of extremism, terrorism? A it's truly moderate. B it's somehow moderate. C PA official media & education network is still glorifying mass murder as "martyrs heroes", encourages ethnic cleansing, Abass [Abu Mazen] is a racist Holocaust "denier", Fatah still has the murderous 'Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade' terror group under its wings 62) Who's at fault for Arab "Palestinian" misery? A the "Zionists". B the west. C 1) Their mainstream that has always selected self destructive choices, terrible corruptive leaders over change, war over peace, more extremism over positive respond to Israel's peaceful gestures, "indulgence" in the Jihad death cult over advancement, and twisted around teachings over real education. 2) The Arab leaders that have been preventing any improvement, to continue to use them as a football against Israel. 63) What is the average "Palestinian" Muslim child being taught to aspire to be? A a doctor. B an actor. C a mass murderer "martyr". 64) How loving are [so many] "Palestinian" mothers for their children? A just like any other mother in the world. B more than any other mother. C instilling venomous hate into their children, pushing them to the suicidal cult, to be used as human bombs & willing to sell them to the devil of Islamic Jihadi martyrdom [often for monetary payment from oil rich Arabs], "Peace will come when the Arabs start loving their children more than they hate us", Golda Meir. 65) Who indoctrinates its children to fascist hatred and to view others as animals [apes & pigs]? A the Quakers. B the Amish. C the "Palestinians" & other Islamic clerics. 66) What's Israel's fighting for? A just land. B "power". C survival against Genocide! The answer in each case is "C". Contact the poster at American1627@yahoo.com To Go To Top

PALESTINIAN STATE CONFLICTS WITH NEED FOR "CAPABILITY TO SUBDUE THE ENEMY SWIFTLY" Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 14, 2007.

This was written by Dr. Aaron Lerner. Dr. Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis), can be contacted at imra@netvision.net.il and visit the website at http://www.imra.org.il

"You cannot defeat a terror organization without eventually taking control of the territory. The only reason we have been successful in Judea and Samaria is because we control the area." Chief of Staff Lit.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi 12 December 2007 "There is no substitute for the capability to subdue the enemy swiftly." Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, 11 December 2007 When Mr. Olmert spoke of the need to be able "to subdue the enemy swiftly" at the Institute for National Security Studies Conference it was within the context of the question of how to allocate the budget between reinforcing the home front and enhancing Israel's offensive capabilities. A lean defense budget isn't the only thing that can impair Israel's "capability to subdue the enemy swiftly." The creation of a terror state in the West Bank to complement the one well along the way in the Gaza Strip could have a dramatic impact on Israel's "capability to subdue the enemy swiftly." All the talk about a peaceful demilitarized Palestinian state is just that. Talk. The best lawyers in the world can write the most "iron clad" agreement backed by the most impressive unprecedented international guarantees and the most moving signing ceremony in modern history on the White House lawn but at the end of the day it is inevitable that a sovereign Palestinian state will be neither "peaceful" nor truly "demilitarized". Instead Israel will find itself facing a Palestinian entity strategically located in its very heart that is armed to the teeth, fortified with bunkers, tunnel networks and other military structures -- all embedded within a civilian population -- so that subduing them in a conflict that might include the participation of various third parties would take a tremendous amount of time. "There is no substitute for the capability to subdue the enemy swiftly." Indeed. And we simply cannot afford to severely impair that capability with the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state in Israel's heartland. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

THE PERSECUTION OF DAVID OHANA BY BEN GURION UNIVERSITY Posted by Steven Plaut, December 14, 2007.

1. The Persecution of David Ohana by Ben Gurion University AH, Ben Gurion University. The Bir Zeit of the Negev. The school in which turning out leftist NewSpeak counts as "research" and "scholarship" and where one can get tenure for mass producing anti-Israel hate propaganda The university that has never initiated any disciplinary actions against Neve Gordon, Oren Yiftachel, Lev Grinberg, or its legions of campus fulltime anti-Israel propagandists, even when they are involved in criminality. But Ben Gurion University has long had it in for writer and Moroccan-born historian David Ohana. Left of center, Ohana. who teaches in the Jewish history department at Ben Gurion University. is just not Left enough for many in the Ivory Kremlin (see his ideas at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=533082). Starting in 2005, Ohana was accused of sexual harassment by five women (including secretaries and cleaning staff) at the university. They said he had said graphic things to them about sex. One said he gave her a kiss. Except the facts were not so clear. A number of faculty members at BGU came out in SUPPORT of Ohana, signing a petition demanding he NOT be disciplined, many claiming he was being harassed by the women because one of them had had a work conflict with Ohana about something unrelated to sex, who had then recruited her friends to "get him." (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/911615.html). BGU is so politically correct and intolerant of political incorrectness that it is hard to believe that any of its professors would stick their necks out to defend someone accused of harassing women unless they were convinced he was truly innocent. Sexual harassment on most PC campuses is a modern-day Inquisition, where the faculty member is guilty until he can be proven innocent, and faculty members are well aware of the perils of even being accused. (This is not to make light of ACTUAL sexual harassment on campus, just pointing out that false accusations of such can be used maliciously and vindictively to ruin careers.) While most professors at BGU taking a stand on the matter BACKED Ohana, a minority, led by Neve Gordon and some radical feminists, demanded Ohana's head. Remember, this is the same university in which the only non-Lefist member of the political science department was fired for refusing to stick to the official anti-Israel political line there! Ohana in Haaretz accused his campus accusers of "political persecution" (June 29, 2006). Meanwhile, the BGU disciplinary committee chewed on the case for more than 6 months, unsure of what to make of all the evidence. Obviously, it was hardly cut and dry against Ohana. Numerous faculty members testified in Ohana's behalf. Eventually the disciplinary committee (on October 10, 2007), which consisted of three professors (two of them women), found Ohana INNOCENT! They said that in some cases the accusations were simply false, the women accusing Ohana deemed liars by the judges (http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/911856.html), while in others they thought Ohana deserved the benefit of the doubt. That meant the judges did not approve of some of his behavior but saw insufficient evidence against him to convict him of harassment. Naturally the political correctness stromtroopers at BGU and elsewhere hit the ceiling. The very same people who spent months demanding that Far-Leftist Haim "Divide-Jerusalem-Now" Ramon be cleared and returned to his nice warm cabinet seat after HE was convicted in a real court of law for sexual harassment were outraged that David Ohana was being allowed to walk with his head still attached. So a few days after he was cleared, Ohana was "convicted" by his campus crusaders of "unbecoming conduct," meaning exercising his freedom of speech in a manner that included some expressions of poor taste. Both the President and Rector of BGU, people who long endorsed Neve Gordon's attempt to use the Israeli court system to suppress freedom of speech, backed the "conviction" of Ohana. This week, Haaretz (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934067.html) reports that the same BGU campus authorities that did nothing when Neve Gordon was arrested for interfering with the IDF's anti-terror operations have decided to dock Ohana of three months pay. This for being INNOCENT of sexual harassment!! They also issued a strong reprimand of him that will effectively prevent him forever from holding senior campus administrative or leadership positions.   2. http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/ wednesday/chi-usaid12dec12,0,5032787.story Audit finds U.S. funded university linked to terrorism By Jim Tankersley Washington Bureau December 12, 2007 WASHINGTON U.S. government officials authorized giving nearly $1 million in foreign aid to a Palestinian university with links to the terrorist group Hamas, despite vetting the school eight times for ties to terrorism, according to a government audit. The audit concluded that the vetting process, initiated by the U.S. Agency for International Development and conducted by the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, found no "derogatory information" on the Islamic University in Gaza between 2002 and 2006 -- even after Hamas claimed a parliamentary majority in Palestinian elections in 2006. Several times, university officials certified that they provided no material support for terrorism. A companion audit found that USAID's operations in Gaza and the West Bank have largely implemented policies to keep future aid out of terrorist hands. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) asked USAID's inspector general to conduct the audits after a Washington Times report detailed some of the aid payments to Islamic University earlier this year. He said in an interview Tuesday that the failure to detect terrorist ties at the school suggested "either incompetence or a complete breakdown of the vetting system as run by the State Department." The U.S. designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997. Hamas' prime minister sits on the Islamic University's board of trustees. In January, Palestinian security forces seized assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades during a raid of the university. U.S. law prohibits transactions with terrorists or their supporters. A USAID audit last month, also requested by Kirk, concluded the government has inadequate controls in place to stop foreign aid from flowing to terrorists -- and that USAID had funded terrorist-linked groups on at least two occasions. One of the follow-up audits concludes that USAID "did not always follow applicable federal laws" when approving aid to the University. That includes several occasions where grant recipients did not receive a notice detailing their responsibility to avoid using aid dollars to support terrorism. Most of those occasions came between 2003 and 2005, before USAID implemented new anti-terrorist funding policies, the audit concluded. In an appendix to the audit, USAID officials disputed any implication that they violated laws. The number of times the university was vetted -- and the lack of any red flags -- along with the university's anti-terrorism certifications "indicate compliance with the law," West Bank and Gaza Mission Director Howard Sumka wrote. Steven Plaut is a professor at Haifa University. His book "The Scout" is available at Amazon.com. He can be contacted at stevenplaut@yahoo.com. To Go To Top

ISRAEL MUST ACT IN ITS OWN BEST INTERESTS Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, December 13, 2007.

The Bush Administration has in effect withdrawn its support of Israel! So-called moderate Arab states, as a result of the recently released indeed deceptive U.S. intelligence assessment inferring by the tone of its opening 'revelation' that the world should close its eyes and allow Iran to continue spinning its nuclear centrifuges, now make nice nice with all those Islamic extremists comprehending that Arab unity uber alas is the way to defeat not only Israel but the 'paper tiger' West. There is absolutely no way such a report could have been promulgated without tacit approval by the White House! Alas, what should the Jewish homeland do, left to twist in the desert wind while AhMADinejad gets his weapons of mass destruction in order? First, call off all talks with Holocaust revisionist Mahmoud Abbas. Israel owes nothing whatsoever to Bush or his Secretary of State Condi Rice, both way more interested in building legacies than the best interests of Israel. Next, Israeli leaders should begin wooing Asian nations farther to the East, especially China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and the subcontinent of India, up and coming economic superstars of the planet. Jewish brainpower is an extremely desirable commodity, thus a quid pro quo of tangible products of that brainpower for a military commercial alliance with practical loyal Orientals and Indians, suggesting 'leave the Jews alone' or else, would be quite suitable. Any Muslim Middle East juggernaut would be dwarfed by a far superior non-Muslim Asian juggernaut. Those nations farther to the East, especially India, a predominantly Hindu nation, certainly can bond with Israel, having the kindred misfortune of dealing with Muslim homicide/suicide bombers on a regular basis. Furthermore, Shanghai, currently China's largest city, saved tens of thousands of Jewish lives during The Holocaust, welcoming those fortunate enough to escape the fate of six million others, butchered by Nazi psychopaths, while a number of Western movers and shakers, cognizant of the ongoing slaughter, shamefully did nothing! None of this, however, means the United States has permanently broken a six decade special relationship with the Jewish homeland. Administrations come and go. Today's tough talking Bush Administration is no stranger to using then discarding friends when that suits its needs. Still, there are no guarantees that tomorrow's elected U.S. politicos will realign a foreign policy becoming ever more out of whack with global reality. Therefore, Israel should not keep all its eggs in one basket, allowing a few to roll eastward and mingle with those new modernizing muscle bound kids on the block albeit steeped in centuries of tradition and wisdom. It is noteworthy that until recently U.S. Vice President Cheney's former (some might say current) firm Halliburton, a mega multi-facetted corporation possessing numerous mostly no-bid U.S. government contracts especially in Iraq, steered by CEO Cheney until he became second (some might say first) in command at the White House, fulfilled contractual obligations with 'axis of evil' oil-rich Iran, while he vigorously supported Israel, at least rhetorically. Might a prescient observer further contemplate that Madam Secretary Rice was an erstwhile top executive with Chevron, having had an oil tanker named after her, and most essentially, that the Bush family has partnered with the OPEC heavyweight House of Saud since the early 1900s, then wonder if oil uber alas might be the overall philosophy of today's U.S. leaders to perhaps the detriment of oil bereft nation's such as Israel? No doubt, industrial nations farther to the East need reliable energy sources as much as Western industrial nations to fuel their surging economies. Yet, robust national economies are imperiled if their primary energy sources, such as oil, are supplied by regimes that breed and finance terrorist cadres obsessed with the notion of planetary dominance. Terrorist cadres in the form of Islamic jihadists, bred and financed by Middle East oil suppliers, tolerate no other philosophies, consider all those not like them to be infidels, and could someday attempt to cut off oil supplies to Eastern and Western industrial nations in their quest for world dominance. Far East nations as well as India, not wedded to long standing partnerships with terrorist underwriting OPEC regimes such as Saudi Arabia, perhaps more wary of Iran's nuclear ambitions, could very well develop a symbiotic alliance with the Jewish homeland, perhaps embarking on research projects to develop climate friendly alternative sources of energy. It is in Israel's vital interests to nurture such relationships. The sooner, the better! Lawrence Uniglicht is a career civil servant. He advocates for the State of Israel with an American perspective. He writes, "Advocating for the disrespected underdog has been my passion, no doubt Israel falls into that category." Contact him by email at larose@snip.net To Go To Top

MONSEY SHUL'S BIG MITZVAH Posted by Lee Caplan, December 13, 2007.

Mindy writes: The following was sent to me by my cousin in Monsey. Here is an opportunity to try and help save a little boy and sixty others with a rare disease. Tizku lemitzvos.

My grandson has a terrible cancer called Neuroblastoma with a poor prognosis. He is only 5 years old and his name is Zev Wolff from Woodmere Long Island. Sloan Kettering hospital has developed a drug that can give most kids a chance to beat this cancer but unfortunately, Zev, and 60 other children like him, can't take this drug because it's made from mice cells. His immune system quickly identifies the mice cells as a foreign body and kills the drug before it gets a chance to kill the cancer. My family needs to privately raise $3 million dollars to pay a biotech company to humanize the drug. Sloan Kettering won't give money since the humanized version of the drug will only help 60 kids, Sloan needs to spend their development money on this unique drug where they will have the most impact and that is on the hundreds of other kids where the mice cells work. So far we have raised almost 1 million dollars. We need to raise another $2 million. Our plan is to have as many friends as we can reach out to as many friends as they can and raise the money that way. I want to know if you could commit to recruiting ten friends to ask them to raise $1,000 from among their friends. All they have to do is call ten friends and ask for $100 each. That way your efforts alone will bring in $10,000. At that rate we can easily raise the remaining $2 million dollars. If you have more questions, I can send you a question & answer page. Checks should be made out to ZEV'S FUND and mailed to me: HANNAH BERMAN 521 CHURCH AVENUE WOODMERE, NY 11598-2803 Tel: 516-295-5664 Contact Lee Caplan at leescaplan@yahoo.com To Go To Top

THE LIBERAL DEHUMANIZATION OF WOMEN WITHIN ISLAM Posted by Koira, December 13, 2007.

This is from the Sultan Knish website (sultanknish.blogspot.com/2007/12/liberal-discrimination-toward-women-in.html)

Sometimes there is an article that frames a topic in a crystal clear lens. Barbara Kay's piece in the National Post does that when it comes to the dehumanization inherent in the liberal silence on the abuse of women by non-western cultures (http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/ archive/2007/12/12/barbara-kay-how-canada-let-aqsa-down.aspx) referring to a caste in which an Australian judge freed the rapists of a 10 year old girl. How could any woman get it so wrong? It's like this: Indoctrinated in multicultural feminism, Judge Bradley is a moral and cultural relativist. Any sexual aggression against her own daughter would be anathema, but the cultural values of the Other are sacrosanct, and must be respected. Thus, that judge didn't see a 10-year old girl. She didn't see an individual. She saw aboriginal Others engaged in behaviours particular to their culture, and she assumed it would be wrong to impose her standards on them. Liberalism's Fear of its Own Racism Liberalism's greatest problem in dealing with Islam is a fear of its own racism. That racism leads to the constant campaign by liberals against any criticism of Islam, after all just as the greatest puritans are also the greatest perverts, the greatest campaigners against bigotry also tend to be the biggest bigots. Hypocrisy and self-hatred are the driving mechanisms of true fanaticism. But the rotten heart of liberalism is its own racism and its own dehumanization of individual members of minority groups. As Barbara Kay rightly writes, the judge did not see a 10 year old girl, she saw a member of another culture. She did not see a little girl to be compassionate too, she saw an alien creature. Liberals insist they want us to relate to Muslims as individuals, yet when Muslims do emerge as individuals and leave behind their beliefs, the way Wafa Sultan or Hirsi Ali have, liberals are desperate to look away because of their terror of individualism. When one of the Others takes on an identity is the exact moment they choose to look away. The Status of Women Within Group Rights And that is at the heart of the problem we face. The clash between individual rights and group rights. Individual rights are premised on the sacrosanct status of My body, My Home, My Property. Group rights are based instead on the sacrosanct status of the group's needs and identity. And the thing about group rights, is that the bigger group always wins. Think of liberalism as a collection of Russian dolls that fit one inside the other. To liberals, a woman has rights as a member of the larger group of 'women' but a Pakistani-Canadian woman falls into a larger group that of a Muslim-Minority-Woman and as Muslims are the larger group, they take precedence over her identity as a woman. So too similarly class trumped the rights of women in the 30's and 40's and race trumped the rights of women in the 60's and 70's. Like Jews and Gays, Liberals pretends to care about Women's Rights but primarily when it allows them to combat Conservatives. When it comes to staking out a claim for rights within Liberalism's Utopian Big Tent of Multiculturalism, they all get thrown under the wheels of the rainbow bus. Group Rights vs Individual Rights Liberalism's emphasis on Group Rights over Individual Rights has created a dehumanization of the individual and replaced civil rights with a caste system in which the group you belong to determines your rights. It also determines what moral values, if any, apply to you. The Dehumanization of the Individual has paved the way for Islam's Long March through Western Civilization. When liberals create legal ghettos for Muslims, remaining silent on the abuse of women and children and even legitimizing those abuses as 'civil rights', what they are really creating are sanctuary zones for the spread of radical Islam across North America and Europe. When the Hijab and even the Burka are treated as something positive that we must strive to understand. When the Islamic support of terrorism is treated as a grievance requiring understanding. When the hatred and bigotry inherent in the contact between Muslims and non-Muslims is either ignored or whitewashed, the way is paved for those sanctuary zones to spill over into armed warfare against the rest of society. That has already happened in France and Sweden and will continue happening all across Europe. contact Koira by email at koira@dbmail.com To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: WHEN DOES IT GET BETTER? Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 13, 2007.

"The resignation of Sderot's mayor constitutes a great victory for the Palestinian resistance. This is a political victory, a victory for morale, it adds to the humiliation we are heaping upon the Zionist army in the field. The man who threatened to wipe Beit Hanoun off the map and called upon the Israeli military to do just that was himself wiped off the Israeli public map today" crowed Muhammad Abd al-'Al, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, yesterday, in a statement to YNet. It's painful, and hard to refute. And I hold the gov't of Israel directly responsible. Al-'Al said the aim of the rockets was not so much to inflict physical harm as to destroy Israeli morale. He claims that the rockets that were fired yesterday are part of the new arsenal of weapons that has been acquired. ~~~~~~~~~~ Responding to the situation, Russian billionaire Arkadi Gaydamak has now said he will invest 90 million shekels in fortifying homes in Sderot; secure rooms will be provided in 600 homes. Gaydamak has been involved before in assistance to the people of Sderot, and there has been the likely well-founded observation that there is a bit that is politically self-serving in his generosity. But, at this point, so what, if he helps the people badly in need of assistance. What actually happened previously was that he served in some degree as a spur to the gov't, embarrassing them into doing more. Hopefully this may happen again -- a total of 1,200 homes need to be secured. ~~~~~~~~~~ The US Congressional Research Service, which provides independent analysis to Congress, cites "reputable sources" with regard to the likelihood that North Korea may have given arms and possibly training to Hezbollah. The Service refers to Paris Intelligence Online, a French Internet publication specializing in political and economic intelligence, which in September 2006 had published details of an extensive North Korean program to give arms and training to Hezbollah. The program was initiated in the 1980s, when Hezbollah members traveled to North Korea for training; after 2000, North Koreans were dispatched to Lebanon to train Hezbollah members in the building of bunkers. Paris Intelligence Online said this training "significantly improved Hezbollah's ability to fight the Israelis" during the war last year. Additionally the Congressional Research Service cited a report indicating that Mosad intelligence believes that "vital missile components" used by Hezbollah came from North Korea. ~~~~~~~~~~ I offer here from international sources examples of the bias against Israel -- the assumption that Israel is always responsible: First, the World Bank. It has approved the PA economic reform plan that requires an infusion of $5.8 billion from 2008-2010. I wrote about this yesterday, explaining that the PA has promised economic reform for 13 years now, but has never delivered, instead refusing to staunch corruption or assume genuine fiscal responsibility. But does the World Bank address corruption, the issue of a bloated payroll, the hand-out mentality, etc. etc.? Not on your life. What does the World Bank say? The money will not stem economic decline...unless Israel also eases Palestinian movement and trade. Then there's Tony Blair. Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday, he said that Israel faced a "nightmare" after pulling out of Gaza. He understands this better now than he did when he was British prime minister, and he realizes that Israel would hesitate to pull out of the West Bank now. But does he follow by saying that we should sit tight while work is done to make the PA stronger from a security perspective? Of course not! He says in spite of our anxieties we should move towards pulling out anyway. And there's the EU, naturally. On Tuesday they issued a statement noting "with concern" Israeli plans for construction "in the Har Homa settlement [settlement??] in east Jerusalem. The EU considers that this initiative might undermine ongoing efforts in the search for peace..." Did you read an expression of concern about the launching of rockets at the civilians in Sderot undermining the search for peace? I sure didn't. ~~~~~~~~~~ There are few institutions more biased against Israel than the UN. Yesterday I wrote about the good feeling in the Israeli mission to the UN regarding the very first Israeli inspired resolution not involving the Holocaust or the Arab-Israel conflict to pass in that body, and pointed out that the Arabs -- and in particular the PA mission -- remained hostile. But it turns out there's more to be said on this matter: Richard Schifter, former deputy US representative in the UN Security Council, writing in the Post, has expressed the opinion that the UN has not become less anti-Israel, but rather that a good face is being put on matters by the Israeli mission, which has learned to better navigate the system. Schifter's litany of UN anti-Israel measures is blood-curdling: "The UN General Assembly continues to pay more attention to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict than to any other country-specific issue. The world's worst atrocities and humanitarian crises are ignored, but time is always available for Israel-bashing...the UN's Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Human Rights Practices filed a 27-page report castigating Israel and focusing special attention on the security barrier. 'More than ever,' the report claims, 'it appeared to the Committee members that the construction of the separation wall violated every single human right of the Palestinians.'" Perhaps most incredible: "The General Assembly also had before it a report from the secretary-general which purported to be evenhanded but was studded with comments slanted against Israel. Thus, Prime Minister Sharon's 'political courage' and the PA's 'responsible behavior' were lauded, but that was followed by the complaint that Israel had withdrawn from Gaza without demolishing the synagogues of Gush Katif. 'The buildings were thus passed unexpectedly to the Palestinian Authority, which was not in a position to protect them,' said the report." http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309585843&pagename= JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter ~~~~~~~~~~ In my last posting I quoted Chief of Staff Ashkenazi, with regard to the fact that a ground incursion into Gaza would be necessary to stop the terrorism. Seems Defense Minister Barak spoke at the same conference where Ashkenazi made his comments. Regrettably, Barak spoke not as a military man, but rather as a politician, calling the situation in Sderot "difficult and complicated." The "complication," of course, is negotiations with the PA. "We know that this is a mission we haven't accomplished yet, and the road ahead is still very long. This is a solution that requires sound judgment and responsibility, the situation isn't simple and I hope it will not come to a point where we are forced to do that which, for now, we do not want to do." ~~~~~~~~~~ Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has recently made comments about the need for NATO involvement in Gaza if we are to make major concessions, and this philosophy has been seconded by Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beitenu). But this is a recipe for disaster. For this robs Israel of the right to defend herself and avoids the issue of making the PA responsible for security in its territory. For a cogent analysis of the pitfalls, see Dr.Aaron Lerner: http://www.israpundit.com/2007/?p=6739 ~~~~~~~~~~ In an interview yesterday, Sec. of State Rice said that President Bush will be taking a much more active role: "...he very much wants to signal support for the bilateral process between the parties and to continue in a hands-on way to encourage them to move forward." Oh joy. ~~~~~~~~~~ There are many topics that I would like to share with my readers, but that keep getting tabled because of more urgent matters. Let me make room for some of them here. I begin with an issue that, in its larger implications, is of considerable significance: Most of you have read about the British school teacher working in Khartoum, Sudan, who allowed her seven year old students to call their Teddy bear Muhammad. When she was arrested for allowing "insult" to the name of the Prophet, mobs outside the jail called for her execution. She was released only after two Muslim British peers flew to Sudan to intervene. This is a ghastly scenario, and one that is not unfamiliar. Remember the riots over cartoons. What caught my attention, however, is the way the teacher, Lillian Gibbons, described as a kindly woman, responded after she was released and on her way home. If it was me, I think I would have lambasted that country to the moon and back. But that is not politic. No criticism is politic. What she said was: "I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone. I am sorry if I caused any distress." She didn't even remark on HER distress, which undoubtedly was considerable. One of the Muslim peers, a Lord Ahmed, commented, "We hope that British aid to Sudan continues and that relations between our two countries will not be damaged by this incident -- in fact, this should be a way to strengthen relations." This is nauseating. Have the British no dignity these days, do they see fit only to grovel? One article I read described this as cultural jihad, and it rings true. Everyone is afraid to offend the Muslims, no matter how they behave. And this portends a very dangerous state of affairs. ~~~~~~~~~~ Ruth Wisse has written an article in the Harvard Crimson called "How Much Land is Enough." She makes several excellent points but I wish to quote just one here: The ratio of Arab to Jewish land in the Middle East is 640:1. Makes one sit up and take notice. ~~~~~~~~~~ Seven years ago, there was a horrible lynching of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah, when they ended up there by mistake. Most of you surely remember this chilling event, with a lyncher raising bloodied hands from a window of the police station in a sign of victory. Well, it has taken seven years, but the last of those involved has been caught. This is first, a matter of justice and retribution. But it also a form of deterrent -- that those conducting themselves with such inhumanity know we'll get them. Catching them is part of the Israeli code. The terrorist, Hayman Zaban, by the way, is with Tanzim, which is part of Fatah. ~~~~~~~~~~ According to the Palestinian Maan news agency, the PA wants to provide one time payments of $5,000 to the families of Palestinians who have served in Israeli prisons for 20 years or more. Those who are imprisoned for lengthy periods have usually killed Israelis. ~~~~~~~~~~ A few days ago, Defense Minister Ehud Barak came up with an idea to entice settlers into leaving by offering them money, so they wouldn't have to be forced out. What he had in mind were the 70,000 settlers on the far side of the security fence. Well, a poll subsequently taken shows that 76% of the settlers wouldn't leave because of money. ~~~~~~~~~~ This last item might be called a joke, but it tells us some painful things about where American Jewry is coming from. Just a few weeks ago, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations announced that Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr. have agreed to head a committee organizing events to celebrate Israel's 60th. Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chair of the organization, called this a "great honor." My response: You have GOT to be kidding. Bill Clinton is at least perceived as a friend of Israel. But in fact he did Israel considerable damage, first by courting Arafat in a way that absolved him of responsibility for his behavior (setting a precedent that lives to this day) and then by pushing Israeli concessions in a last minute rush to achieve "peace" while he was office, even as he knew that the Palestinians wouldn't honor their commitments (a la Bush Jr. now). This is something Clinton's special envoy, Dennis Ross, later admitted. And Bush Sr.? He was never a friend to Israel in any respect. His cadre of advisers, starting with James Baker, was decidedly and rudely anti-Israel. There was no one else available? Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

BLAIR REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE 'JEWISH STATE' Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, December 13, 2007.

This is a news item from Israel Today http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=14792

International peace envoy and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday refused to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state while addressing a gathering of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. During the session, right-wing Israeli lawmaker and committee member Limor Livnat asked Blair if he supported Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Blair's refusal to answer the question reportedly infuriated committee members. Blair went on to say that if he was an Israeli lawmaker today, he too would be wary of surrendering more land to the Palestinian Arabs after Israel's attempt to peacefully hand over the Gaza Strip in 2005 resulted in the establishment of a heavily-armed Hamas-controlled terrorist haven from which daily artillery attacks are launched on Israel. Nevertheless, the former British leader said Israel has no choice but to move ahead with the land concessions he and the rest of the international community insist are the only path to peace. Blair has been staying in the region as official envoy for the Middle East Quartet, an international conglomerate consisting of the United States, European Union, Russia and the UN. His focus since arriving has been bolstering the Palestinian economy in the belief that a higher standard of living will erase the Arab Muslims' religious desire to wrest control of lands their religion once controlled. Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com To Go To Top

REPENT, THE END IS NEAR; UNRWA DEVELOPS DEPENDENCY; FOREIGN MIN. LIVNI'S SURREALISM Posted by Richard H Shulman, December 13, 2007.

OLMERT'S THIRD PRISONER RELEASE This time, he released 429 terrorists, reputedly to earn goodwill from the P.A. and to boost Abbas' stature in it. Instead, the P.A. gave it little publicity and P.A. officials were unappreciative of the number released and critical of the selection of whom to release. Abbas lost face (sorry, lost source). No publicity, no goodwill, and no boost in stature. As always. Yet it goes on. REPENT, THE END IS NEAR Report omissions: (1) How one can determine that the cited evidence was not planted; (2) Why, if Iran suspended its military program, Iran has continued to enrich uranium, develop missiles for carrying nuclear weapons, and resist inspection; (3) Why would it take Iran a long time to complete a bomb, if it resumed building one? Will the agencies ever admit their estimate was wrong? The report served its purpose. Neither the US nor Israel will stop Iran. If Iran gets the bomb, it would provide a nuclear umbrella for its proxies to attack Israel. (Hence, Iran will build the bomb.) Israel would more likely need to take preemptive action. It also is less likely to concede territory (Hillel Halkin, NY Sun, 12/11, Op.-Ed.). Mr. Halkin regrets what he considers a reduced likelihood of territorial concessions. If that is likely, it is the only good thing about the report. However, Israel's leaders are so treasonous, and the US leaders so foolishly anti-Zionist, that negotiations to make territorial concessions continue. As an aside, the continuance of negotiations refutes Israeli coalition members who thought that if the conference weren't successful, they wouldn't have to worry about dangerous concessions. Someone pointed out that the report claims that Iran suspended its program because it feared economic sanctions. It follows logically that sanctions should be kept and expanded, to keep Iran in line. Unfortunately, not only is no military action being taken against Iran, but the economic sanctions will not be expanded if even kept. Why does anyone believe the CIA, notoriously incorrect and political? Democrats often rail against the CIA. Why in this instance, do they accept the CIA finding, a finding replete with self-contradiction and ambiguity? Because it serves their wishful thinking. They want to think that Pres. Bush is wrong, and that they can stop national defense in favor of taxing and spending on constituents or lobbies. POPE URGES NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT (NY Sun, 12/12, p.6.) A noble sentiment. Problem is, countries would say they have no nuclear and other WMDs, but cheat. Then they can conquer those who didn't. S. ARABIA'S OPPOSITE POSITIONS S. Arabia may fear Iran's Shiite rulers, but it unites with Tehran as a prime sponsor of the Palestinian Arab terrorist organization Hamas. Saudis supply preachers, ideology, and funds. Iran supplies arms and raining. Similarly, Qatar hosts the US Central Command while its government-owned Al-Jazeera breathes the fires of anti-Americanism, Islamofascism, and antisemitism 24/7 to the whole region and the world." Yussef Ibrahim, NY Sun, 12/6,p.7). The US would be wise to have sufficient force at its bases there to repel terrorists and Qatari forces. UNRWA DEVELOPS DEPENDENCY The main UNO refugee agency has handled many times the number of non-Palestinian Arab refugees as UNRWA does of Palestinian Arab refugees, and for a fraction of the cost. The main agency helps people improve their status and stop being refugees in a short time. UNRWA helps keep them in refugee status for generations, while building up its own bureaucracy in the process. UNRWA provides subsistence aid and modest education. It should provide marketable skills and confidence to move out of the refugee camps and make their own way in the world. It should help improve their economy and build civic organizations. (The Arab states conspire to keep the refugee families frustrated, as a way to keep them eager for war on Israel [and because Arab states are have an apartheid policy about conferring citizenship on outsider groups, even fellow Muslim Arabs]). Run mostly by Palestinian Arabs, including terrorists, UNRWA conducts an ideological war on Israel. Israel does not much respond to UNRWA's abuses. Israel tries to work within the UNO that nevertheless discriminates direly against it (Assaf Romirovsky in MEF News, 12/3). FOREIGN MIN. LIVNI'S SURREALISM She said that Israel is not limited in its fight against terrorism. She said this as the Gazan Arabs bombard Israel every day, yet Israel makes little effort to root out the terrorists, and after so many arms smuggling tunnels have been dug, that smugglers complain about declining profits per tunnel (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 12/3). Min. Livni makes statements as stupid as Olmert's, Peres', and Rice's. What leadership! Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

THE MEANING OF THE AMERICAN NIE ON IRAN Posted by Eugene Narrett, December 12, 2007.

During the first week of December 2007, the American intelligence community released an NIE ("National Intelligence Estimate") that Iran had stopped its nuclear program in 2003, four and half years ago. This "shoddy, politicized, outrageous parody...piece of propaganda" contradicted the May 2005 reports by more than a dozen intelligence agencies and the UN, a frequent apologist and protector of Iran that it was indeed pushing ahead with its weapons' program [1]. What's the reason for this obvious intrusion of politics into an already dangerous game of chicken? Whence does it come? What will happen, who will lose, who will 'win'? It is simple to explain and understand this radical and timely reversal of opinion which flies in the face of numerous condemnations and repeated deadlines for compliance issued by the UN and varied high officials from every geopolitical bloc. Iran already has been encouraged to proceed with its programs and to attack or provoke preemption from Israel which has been told to go it alone. At the Conference at Annapolis numerous 'moderate' and 'allied' Islamic states again denied that Israel, in any borders, could be a Jewish State and emphasized this by again refusing to sit next to Jews. Israel received not even the vague assurance of "peace" as at past confabs but that at some point, Mr. Bush said "security" would arise from those trained to preclude it. Again Israel was ordered to destroy Jewish homes and expel Jews from the Jewish heartland, the middle of the Jewish National Home [2]. This is called withdrawal or "a gesture for peace." In this context, the political function of this "intelligence estimate" serves the outcome scripted for the Jewish National Home by John Dove and the increasingly dominant pro-Arab faction of the Round Table since 1920. The message is blunt: because the world is now on notice that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program, Israel will have to absorb a first strike from Iran or other sources. If it preempts, it will be blamed for being a paranoid warmonger and its role confirmed as the main cause of "the cycle of violence in the region." The tangible form the ensuing storm of Jew-hatred whipped up by mass media will be that Israel hasten to "make more painful concessions," expel more Jews and totally renounce Jewish sovereignty over more parts of the Promised Land. This was the message of the partition resolution (not a law) of November 1947; the message of the Round Table meeting of spring 1939 (and the excuse for effectively banning Jewish immigration to Israel during the holocaust); the message of all the British-prompted pogroms of the 1920s and '30s; the message of the severing of the Gilead ("Transjordan") from the Jewish National Home in 1922. The situation also reminds one of 1973: because Iran is now said officially to not have a nuclear weapons program [sic], Israel's counter-strike to any significant attack will be greeted by more than usually virulent condemnations of Israeli aggression and demands that Israel "make more painful concessions." Please note that no matter what the scenario and no matter where and when a Conference to advance regional "Peace" is held, no matter how much genocide is preached from mosques or embedded in school texts [3] the outcome already is scripted: Israel will have to make more painful concessions of the Promised Land from which any and all Jews will have to be physically expelled. Elsewhere in the world it's called "ethnic cleansing." When it comes to Jews in the Jewish heartland, it's fronted by a Secretary of State who claims to be inspired by pain at segregation: but clearly not at making Jews homeless and, like a Medieval inquisitor blaming them for all the region, and world's problems. Strip away the political verbiage and diplomatic mumbo-jumbo and we're back in the Middle Ages, the inquisition and expulsions from 1183 (France) to the 20th century displacement and destruction of Jewish populations. This is the meaning of the NIE on Iran: it is war by other means, a war on the Jews which as we have shown is a war on Judaism by all those groups from Aquarian New Age types to the Vatican which, like the Arab League must be exulting that Jews are about to be expelled from Judea and Samaria leaving it, according to Department of Defense analyses, defenseless [4]. "Jews out!" The only just and safe alternative is for Jews to settle all their inheritance and ancient land: maximize strategic depth; minimize population density, develop the land, and live sovereign. "Live free or die": they must have borrowed that motto from Hanukkah. Footnotes 1. Comments by Daniel Pipes in a column of December 12, 2007. 2. Lord Arthur Balfour reiterated for the record in a letter to the London Times, December 20, 1929 that "the British Empire and all the powers with whom it has been closely associated [inter alia, in the League of Nations] have solemnly declared their intention of again rendering Palestine the National Home of the Jewish people." That is, that the entire area of the Mandate (today's "Jordan" and Israel west of the Jordan River) as intended to be the Jewish National Home not just some of it as the Arab Federation backers sought to re-define it. See Samuel Katz, Lone Wolf: a Biography of Zev Jabotinsky (NY 1996), 1515. These forces have never let the matter rest and continue to compress and partition Israel. It's their scripted outcome, the synthesis of the dialectic attrition they created and have nurtured by the pro and pan-Arab policies to this day. 3. See www.pmw.org.il Palestine Media Watch that details the content of school texts. 4. Report by Joint Chiefs of Staff produced in shortly after June 1967 war, pried loose by FOI and published by the Wall Street Journal in 1983. See map in Journal of 'Palestine' Studies, page 126. The top brass noted that Israel needed at a minimum to retain the entire "Gaza strip," at least the western 80% of Judea and Samaria, more of the Golan Heights than is now in Israel, the east central and southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. en, WW III: the War on the Jews (2007) Professor Eugene Narrett is the author of hundreds of articles, columns and reviews on politics, American culture and the arts. He writes often on subjects relating to Israel and Judaism. His new book is WW III: the War on the Jews and the Rise of the World Security State, (www.lightcatcherbooks.com 2007). Contact him by email at culturtalk@aol.com and visit his website at www.israelendtimes.com To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: PATHETIC Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 12, 2007.

Pathetic isn't even a strong enough word. Disgusting? Sickening? I am referring to the situation in which we find ourselves, in good part by virtue of the decisions of our government. Consider: Today the Security Cabinet recommended that a major military operation into Gaza not be held. The reason given is because there is evidence that the limited forays and targeted killings by the IDF in Gaza are having an effect. Figures were provided: 115 forays into Gaza in the course of 2007 with 270 Palestinian terrorists killed. Lately Barak has permitted forays that were more "proactive" in nature, it was said. In fact, just yesterday there was a major (limited) action utilizing bulldozers and tanks, one kilometer into southern Gaza -- between Khan Yunis and Rafah, that killed 10 and wounded more. This was supposed to reduce the launching of rockets at us. But the REAL reason that we're not having that major operation is because it will kill the "peace talks." Fatah has already said that if we go in they'll fight in Gaza alongside Hamas. So that would be the end of that. Rice would be very unhappy -- unhappy with us. ~~~~~~~~~~ Besides which, data on a reduction of Kassams shot at us or on the relatively small numbers killed are beside the point -- a tiny band-aid on a gaping wound. For there is continual stockpiling of increasingly sophisticated weapons brought in from Egypt, which are stored in bunkers; there is improvement in the Kassams so they may be stored longer and soon will put 250,000 people and sensitive sites in Ashkelon within range; and there is training by the Iranians of a Hamas army of some 15,000 -- already divided into specialized divisions. What is a limited foray and the murder of 10 people in the face of this? What does it matter if they stop shooting Kassams completely for the moment? For shame! That this would be ignored, especially after our experience with Hezbollah and the intelligence about what we're going to be facing with Gaza. We have been warned by defense officials that delay in acting against this threat is dangerous. ~~~~~~~~~~ And what is reaction to this decision? Does Rice praise us for forbearance in the face of danger for the sake of peace? Of course not. She's too busy saying that we're putting the "peace process" at risk by planning construction of 300 housing units in Jerusalem within municipal boundaries. And the Palestinians? They said they wanted the talks, to start in Jerusalem today on procedural matters, to be "low key" with no photo ops, in protest of our operations in Gaza. Not in protest, if truth be told, but because it serves them badly in the Palestinian street to be seen with Israelis. Keep it out of people's minds as much as possible. Please understand what this means: Even if Fatah were moderate (which they are not), it is the Hamas agenda that rules the day. Hamas has been pressuring Fatah not to sit at the table with us. There is, of course, not the slightest PA nod towards our forbearance, never mind an expression of appreciation for it so that the talks could go on. Nor is there the remotest acknowledgement that it's wrong to propel rockets at our civilians and that we must protect ourselves. It's all our fault, you see. ~~~~~~~~~~ I ask you, is this not a ludicrous and untenable situation? It could be seen coming from a mile away. How can there be negotiations when Abbas is tied to Hamas in Gaza (having negotiations with Hamas, actually) and shows them allegiance, but doesn't control them, while Hamas is launching Kassams now and looking to do worse? It's impossible and schizoid. At a bare minimum, we should have insisted that there could be no negotiations until the PA (our ostensible "negotiating partner") was in control of Gaza as well as Judea and Samaria (which they don't really control either now). ~~~~~~~~~~ And what happened today? Twenty Kassams were lobbed into Sderot this morning in the course of less than four hours. Boy, our limited operations really stopped them. Four people were wounded; one rocket landed on the main street of the city. In response, Sderot mayor, Eli Moyal, resigned without having given advance warning, saying on Israel Radio this morning that he could no longer endure being responsible in the situation that Sderot is dealing with: "This role is too big for any person ... I do not want to stay in office until the day 20 children die in Sderot...I don't want to make the decision to open schools tomorrow because a Kassam might land there and I'll be blamed for opening the school." The members of the government have abysmally failed to protect the people of Sderot. They should all hang their heads in shame, but they're too obtuse; you wouldn't believe the comments from Olmert regarding the fact that the gov't doesn't have to do more and that the people have to learn to live with it. These are Israeli citizens, living constantly at risk inside of Israel. The High Court of Justice, in response to a petition by the residents of Sderot, has just censured the government for failing to provide the populace of that city with adequate protection. ~~~~~~~~~~ And following the rocket attack on Sderot today, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that the possibility of a large scale attack was growing, as this situation couldn't be tolerated for much longer. In fact, at the Conference on Security Challenges at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, he said more: "It is not possible to defeat a terrorist organization without having control on the ground. The results in the West Bank in the past two years have been impressive, because of our control on the ground level. "We will eventually need to have [such] control [in Gaza], operations-wise and intelligence-wise...We will not be able to win only by air strikes and ground fire." Well, mazel tov! This is telling it true. And it remains true even if the rocket launching temporarily stop. But the politicos and not the defense establishment call the shots. ~~~~~~~~~~ With regard to Iran, Ashkenazi said: "The international community needs to stop Iran. But we in the IDF need to prepare for every option in case this does not succeed...We need to be capable of quickly defeating our enemies in any conflict. We need to have the ability to fight at the same time in different fronts and at different levels." In the future, he indicated, we would need to deal with "faraway threats" and had to upgrade our long range capabilities. Thank G-d someone has his eyes open. ~~~~~~~~~~ As to that negotiating session, it did happen. This was in spite of PA threats to not attend because we were sabotaging the "peace." But it was held in secret, instead of at the King David Hotel as had been announced, with a planned launching ceremony to proceed the meeting. Livni said that security must come first and registered protest at the fact that members of Fatah recently killed Israeli Ido Zoldan in a drive-by shooting in Samaria. This, to my mind, was sufficient reason in and of itself to cancel talks. If Abbas cannot control members of Fatah, then what? And the Palestinians registered complaint about the housing units in Har Homa. The parties have agreed to convene again next week in Paris, where the donors to the PA will be meeting. ~~~~~~~~~~ That conference in Paris is where the PA intends to make its request for $5.8 billion (this is not a typo), through 2010. Barry Rubin takes a hard look at this in his latest piece, "You Owe Us Bigtime." It's a joke, he says, because the Palestinians promise "fiscal reform.": "Reform promises have been made and broken for more than 13 years. It is hard to remember the PA has existed that long with so little positive achievement. If Palestinians have such a bad economy it is not due to the 'occupation' or to Israel but to their own leaders' greed, incompetence, failure to end violence, inability to present an attractive investment climate, and unwillingness to impose stability on their own lands." Rubin says this is a major story because the US and the Europeans are basing their policy on the expectation that pouring more money into the PA can lead to diplomatic progress. But the Palestinians have never remotely demonstrated any fiscal responsibility. The PA has not even instituted a comprehensive tax system, because "It has acted as if it is the job of foreigners, which mostly means the West, to pay its bills. This is not psychologically healthy..." The PA has welfare mentality. [Note: just one more piece of evidence that the idea of establishing a Palestinian state is ridiculous.] Rubin is deeply concerned that the media misrepresent the situation, implying that Israel is responsible for the PA's fiscal situation. Particularly worthy of mention is that donors cut off funds two months BEFORE Hamas took Gaza -- it wasn't done because of political reasons but rather because of corruption. See the entire piece at: http://gloria.idc.ac.il/articles/2007/rubin/12_09.html ~~~~~~~~~~ For evidence of what a distorted and unfair world Israel must contend with, we don't need to look further than this: A resolution generated by Israel that doesn't involve either the Holocaust or the Israeli-Arab conflict has passed the General Assembly of the UN for the very first time. This was a socio-economic resolution that aims to encourage states and organizations to develop improved agricultural technology and plant species for the good of humanity, especially in developing countries. Said Israel's Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, "This first historic resolution, which Israel initiated and presented, was accepted in the UN and constitutes recognition of Israeli excellence and its contribution to the world...Israel plans to continue presenting initiatives and resolutions that will give expression to its uniqueness, creativity, and modernity, and to demonstrate that we are a society like all others in the UN, which works and contributes on a whole slew of issues apart from the Arab-Israeli conflict." Well, that's beautiful. The fact is that we are a fantastic nation that is focused on doing international good and has enormous scientific expertise that can benefit others, it's time the world knew it. But why the hell should it have taken almost 60 years to recognize this? And consider this: All 19 Arab nations present abstained from voting on this. The PA envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said Israel was "trying to score political points." When it was raised in committee he had rejected a move to have the motion presented by the chair as a consensus resolution. According to him, this motion only emphasized "the divisions between Israel and the Arab countries." How destructive is hatred! Where we have the capacity to do good, the Arab world rejects what we offer. This, it should especially be noted, is the paradigm of how the PA responds to us. ~~~~~~~~~~ Before closing, one more mention of Arab antipathy towards us (and regrettable compliance with it): I had written earlier about the fact that Rice had the Israeli delegation to Annapolis enter through a service door because the Saudis didn't want to accidentally bump into an Israeli. That sort of apartheid practiced by the US is totally unacceptable. But what bothered me a great deal, as well, was that the Israeli delegation cooperated with this (although much was written later about a Livni outburst at the Arabs, who wouldn't talk with her or shake hands). If I were Livni, I would like to think that if Rice had asked that of me I would have refused, saying that if we can't go in the same door, there is nothing to discuss, and I would have then told the press so and gone home with dignity. What I found sad -- the word "pathetic" again occurs to me -- is that later Olmert made a big deal about the fact that the Saudi delegation applauded his talk. Wow! Well, I've been following reports by journalists who were present in Annapolis and watching closing. And what I'm reading -- Nachum Barnea, respected Israel journalist, writing in Yediot Ahronot, is being widely cited -- is that the Saudis didn't wear their earphones and thus didn't hear what Olmert said, and didn't really applaud him but only pretended to, bringing their palms close but not allowing them to touch. Great world, isn't it? Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top

WHY EVERYONE HATES THE SETTLERS Posted by Avodah, December 12, 2007.

Ever wonder why the whole world goes crazy when a handful of Israeli teenagers put up a cluster of shacks on a barren hillside in Judea and Samaria? Why should it bother a Frenchman in Paris, a Swede in Stockholm, or a Russian in Moscow? Why should Jews living on the mountains of Biblical Israel make the President of the United States and officials in the State Department pull out their hair? We are dedicating this blog to the speedy recovery of Rabbi Moshe Levinger (Rav Moshe ben Tirtza) who suffered a stroke last week, after working days and nights to organize this week's aliyah to eight new hilltop outposts. Rav Levinger, the father of renewed Jewish settlement in the city of Hevron, was one of the principle leaders of Gush Emunim and the settlement movement for the last thirty years. In an interview just before his stroke, Rabbi Levinger explained that the continuing settlement of Eretz Yisrael was the most important mitzvah of our generation. "Rabbi Moshe Harlop was one of the closest students of Rabbi Kook. In his book, "Maayanei HaYeshua," he explains that if you want to know the most important mitzvah for Am Yisrael in any generation, it is the mitzvah that the nations of the world most oppose. In the time of the Hashmoneans, the Greeks made their most forceful decrees against the mitzvot that most highlighted the Jews as a unique holy nation -- the commandments of Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh, and Brit Milah." This was because the Greeks wanted to impose their unholy Hellenist culture over all of the world. Because their culture celebrated human intellect, physical beauty and hedonist pleasure, they could not tolerate the existence of Judaism which brings G-d into every aspect of life, the spiritual and the physical as well. So they tried to stamp out the commandments that sanctify time and the human body, symbolized by the brit milah. The Greeks wanted to keep the gods in heaven and not be beholden to any holy, all-powerful Divinity here on earth. "Rabbi Harlop writes that in the time of the footsteps of Mashiach, the mitzvah that the nations of the world most oppose is the mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel. This is because in the time of Mashiach all holiness comes to the world through the settlement of the Land of Israel." This is because the greatest sanctification of G-d in our time occurs when Jews return to settle the Biblical hilltops of Israel in fulfillment of Divine prophecy. The nations of the world don't care if Jews build kosher neighborhoods in Monsey, New York or Antwerpen. Jews can keep even Shabbat in Cairo and Teheran. But when a handful of Jews erect a rickety caravan on the hillsides overlooking Shilo, Elon Moreh, or Beit-El, it is an international scandal. "And you shall know that I am the L-rd when I shall bring you back to the Land of Israel." This is because the Jewish prophets said this would happen, that Jews would return to these same Biblical hillsides, and its coming to pass means that there is a G-d in the world, an active, living Ruler of heaven and earth, who chose the Nation of Israel to be His messenger to teach the world His commandments and ways. Of course, the nations of the world rise up in protest. It is OK for them to pay lip service to G-d when He is restricted to heaven. But, like the Greeks before them, they don't want to be bound by His laws here on earth. In their collective conscience, if you get rid of the Jewish settlers, you get rid of G-d. By taking the Land of Israel away from the Jews, the infidels can prove that G-d doesn't really exist and that the Torah isn't true. Then they can go about their stealing and murdering and fornicating in peace, without having to worry about Divine retribution. So in the words of Rabbi Levinger and Rabbi Harlop, "It isn't a wonder that all the nations of the world want to hinder the resettlement of Israel by the Jews. They place all of their weight and power precisely on this matter." And this is the reason, Rabbi Levinger says, that we must continue to build on every barren hilltop. Because the salvation of the world depends upon it. This is how G-d's Presence returns to the world. Through the resettlement of Israel, G-d makes Himself known and returns to being the #1 superpower reigning over all of the nations. May it be soon. And may Rabbi Levinger have a complete and speedy recovery, and return to leading the way up the hillsides of our beloved Land. Contact Avodah by email at avodah15@aol.com To Go To Top

ANNAPOLIS ASKS WRONG QUESTION Posted by Koira, December 12, 2007.

This is by Joshua Katzen. It appeared in The Jewish Advocate, 6 December 2007. Joshua Katzen is a guest contributor for this week's Paradigm Shift column

The Annapolis Conference, which was convened to address the lack of peace between Arabs and Israelis, was based on the premise that the cause of the Arab war against the Israelis is the lack of a Palestinian state on land captured by Israel in 1967 and that the solution for this problem is a "two-state solution" -- the creation of a Palestinian state on some part of that land. At Annapolis, the "peace process" was seen as a series of negotiations between Arabs and Jews over how much land will be given to the Palestinians by Israel: what will be the contours of the Palestinian state and of Israel, what will be the security modalities, etc. This "land for peace" formula, reflexively repeated by many -- including significant portions of the leadership of the Boston Jewish community -- may be a solution to the problem of no Palestinian state, but it's not a solution to the problem of no peace. The reason there is violence between Arabs and Jews is not the lack of a Palestinian state but the Arab refusal to accept the existence of an independent Jewish state. The Arabs have opposed and attacked the enterprise of a Jewish state for over 100 years: before Israel existed; in 1948, when a tiny Israel was declared; prior to the 1967 war in which Israel obtained the disputed territories; after Israel gave the Palestinians the major population centers of Judea and Samaria and Gaza in the 1990s under Oslo; after Israel left Lebanon in 2000; after Israel offered the Palestinians a state in more than 90 percent of Judea and Samaria in 2000; and after Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians in 2004. If the cause of Arab violence against Israel were really the lack of a Palestinian state, and if "land for peace" were the solution, repeated surrender by Israel of land would have resulted in less Arab violence. Instead, Arab hostility has steadily increased. More Jewish civilians were killed by Arab terrorists during the years of the Oslo process than during the previous decades. As Israel has made additional land concessions, Arab violence has escalated from conventional warfare against Israeli soldiers to attempts to inflict massive Jewish civilian casualties via suicide bombers and missile attacks. The Palestinians teach their children to hate Jews and to fight until all of Israel is "liberated." They officially oppose the existence of Israel as a Jewish state nd insist that hundreds of thousands of Arabs be allowed to overrun Israel as immigrants. These are not the acts of people who are looking for a territorial compromise. Annapolis got it wrong: the lack of peace is not a border dispute, and the creation of a Palestinian state is not a solution. So long as the cause is not accurately described, people will come up with the wrong remedies. There is no peace between Arabs and Israelis because of one thing only: Arab racism. Until that is recognized, diplomats in Annapolis can discuss the "two-state solution" all they want, but they will not come up with a solution to the real problem. As they say in computer science, "Garbage in, garbage out." Contact Koira by email at koira@dbmail.com To Go To Top

THE CONDOLEEZZA STORY Posted by Bryna Berch, December 12, 2007.

This was written by Emmanuel Sivan, November 23, 2007. It appeared in Haaretz (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=927235). So this is a toke, in over her head. A bully when she can pull it off and a gofer otherwise.

I first heard about Condoleezza Rice in 1993. My teacher and mentor, Gabriel Almond, a key figure at Stanford University, was then vigorously working to get her appointed provost (the university's vice president for academic affairs). Asked if this wasn't an exaggerated promotion for a relatively unknown political science lecturer of 39, he replied, in Yiddish: "She is certainly not a great luminary, but her story is the American story." Her father was a black clergyman from Alabama, who instilled in her values of nonviolence, hard work and culture (she excelled in piano and Russian). From a private high school she proceeded to a prestigious college, and from there to doctoral studies on the Soviet arms race. "And she is also a Republican," he added. "That will enhance Stanford's public image, and in fact our image in our own eyes." Rice got the appointment and acquired national visibility. Almond later told me that he and his colleagues were disappointed with her performance. They discovered that her intellectual world was narrow, and that her management style was characterized by authoritarianism and arrogance. However, her status among the American public grew. The media inflated her close personal relations with the first President Bush and his wife, which were formed during her middle-level service on the National Security Council from 1989 to 1991. "Kissinger in a skirt," she was dubbed. When the current President Bush was elected, he appointed her his national security adviser. Thus, from the rarefied and protected atmosphere of Stanford and the house of the elder Bush, Rice found herself in the top ranks of a national strategy establishment inhabited by scheming backstabbers like Dick Cheney, the vice president. Her first test was September 11, the need to formulate a strategy against Al-Qaida and the slide to war in Iraq. Rice showed herself in all her intellectual frailty and character weakness, behaving as no more than a proficient technician. She had no cohesive worldview about international relations or the modes of action required by the state. Cheney had a cohesive worldview, and with it and his personal charisma he won Bush's heart. Rice raised no questions; for example, about the lack of a connection between the struggle against terrorism and the old-new perception of Saddam Hussein as an enemy. After all, there was no evidence of a connection between Al-Qaida and Iraq (a fact that was well known from the outset), and this had nothing to do with Iraq's supposed possession of nonconventional weapons. Lacking an intellectual compass, Rice drifted with the prevailing winds and became, effectively, the minister of information for the war in Iraq. The obsequious media made her think she could be the Republican candidate for president in 2008, and, accordingly, that it would be useful for her to accept the post of secretary of state. She followed Colin Powell, who concluded his term of office in 2005, after understanding that he had been misleading and misled on the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In time, Rice realized that Iraq was a bleeding quagmire that would not cover her in glory. She desperately needed an achievement, and so turned to the never-ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is the real story of Annapolis: a story of fierce personal emotions, disappointment, affront and desperation. But what action did Rice set in motion, and to what end? The action is not based on an American assessment that the conflict is ripe for resolution and/or that there are leaders in the region capable of deciding. In Annapolis we will see no more than an extravagant media gimmick; an orchestrated performance whose Middle Eastern actors are taking part in it halfheartedly because "the president expects it." Rice, the proprietor, is pushing, because less than a year remains until the elections, and the two Middle Eastern players are lazy and weak. Weak but wily, so they will know how to finesse the conference, as they have already begun to show. So no one need worry, we are not about to see a conference of breakthrough or painful concessions, only a parody of Camp David 2000. To Go To Top

"RACISM" AND LEFTIST SEDITION IN ISRAEL Posted by Steven Plaut, December 12, 2007.

Far Left Group 'Documents' Israeli Racism The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is a far leftist propaganda group that has just released a report allegedly documenting a skyrocketing rate of "racism" among Israeli Jews against Arabs, in addition to discovering that Israel is a generally oppressive society. The first point to be made is that nothing coming from ACRI is credible and everything from it should be dismissed as misleading and skewed. ACRI is not a reliable source about anything. The second point is that the same survey supposedly collected for ACRI asked no questions about Arab racism against Jews. How curious. The third point is that none of the questions supposedly indicating growing Jewish "racism" have anything at all to do with racism or bigotry. ACRI claims to discern an increase of 26% in anti-Arab "incidents" in Israel, although it offers no evidence that any of these "incidents" are really racist. It claims a 100% increase in anti-Arab "hatred" among Jews but does not say how it measures this "hatred." From the mediareports about the study, ACRI evidently measures this alleged racism based on the proportion of Jews who want to condition welfare benefits, social perks (like tuition vouchers), and income subsidies on army service. This is racist, insists the ACRI. Never mind that every other nation on earth gives its army vets such benefits, or that no one is stopping any Arabs from serving in the Israeli army and getting the same veteran benefits, or that in any case such a policy would "penalize" Orthodox yeshiva students no less than Arabs. Many of the indicators of "oppression" used in the ACRI study are meaningless, political biased, and have even less to do with ethnic disparities. For example, the report bewails a drop in the number of hospital beds in Israel per 1,000 population (still among the world's highest rates), a drop having nothing to do with racism and everything to do with fiscal cuts and budgetary constraints. ACRI also finds evidence of "oppression" in the structural reforms that Israel's minister of justice is pursuing. It would be "repressive," believes ACRI, for an elected cabinet minister to prevent unelected judges from just making up laws and "rights" as they go along in court. The report cries crocodile tears about the hiring of workers via employment agencies rather than as direct employees of companies and business. But there is nothing at all "oppressive" in this; in fact, it's downright beneficial, as thousands of unemployed people are able to find jobs through manpower agencies. The ACRI study finds that fully half the Jewish public takes a negative view of exact equality between Jews and Arabs. This is amusing, of course, because the left opposes exact equality for Arabs when it comes to things like conscription or national service for Arabs. In any case, the wording of the question could be interpreted to mean not legal equality or equal opportunity but equality of results (such as in income homogeneity), a cause beloved by the left and opposed by everyone else. Fifty-five percent of Jews endorse subsidizing Arabs who want to emigrate from Israel, finds the ACRI report, which labels such sentiment racist. Except that 100% of the Israeli Labor Party and the left supports subsidizing Jews to move out of the West Bank, which evidently is not racist. Here's yet another example of Jewish anti-Arab racism in the ACRI report: It turns out Arabs are searched for weapons and explosives at airports more so than Jews. ACRI would prefer a "non-racist non-discriminator" set of security procedures. In short, the ACRI report is a very useful tool for identifying what is not racism, though it will be picked up by every anti-Semitic organization and website on earth to prove that Israel is an "apartheid entity." Steven Plaut is a professor at Haifa University. His book "The Scout" is available at Amazon.com. He can be contacted at stevenplaut@yahoo.com. To Go To Top

THE TWO FACES OF ABBAS; RACIST VIEW OF JEWS; LAURA BUSH AND SAUDI WOMEN; ISRAELI SOCIETAL BREAKDOWN? Posted by Richard H. Shulman, December 12, 2007.

THE RISING PRICE OF DELAYING OFFENSE Israeli leaders long threatened a major offensive into Gaza against the daily firing of rockets into Israel and to eradicate the terrorist build-up there. (The generals warned of the need for such an offensive, and the political leaders blustered to avoid acting.) Hamas was not idle. It studied the military situation. It got trained. It organized. It brought in heavier arms. It thus neutralized some of the tactical advantages enjoyed by the small forces of Israeli raiders. The raiders dash in and out through only a few, predictable routes, without overwhelming firepower, these days. They run into ambushes in both directions. The enemy knows how to fight them. The IDF usually prevails, but it takes more casualties, now. That is the price, so far, of delaying the major offense that would crush the enemy. Like inflation, the price keeps rising, until it becomes a deterrent (IMRA, 10/30). It is like a patient delaying dental treatment for fear of drilling (nearly painless, these days, however), although further deterioration would be more painful and costly. The principle of civilian control over the military normally is sensible. In Israel, however, civilian control means control for politics, ideology, ignorance, corruption, and cowardice. Unfortunately, that corruption and ideology is being injected into the security forces. They are being used as much against the Jewish people as against the aggressors. When released to combat, how good will they be? THE TWO FACES OF ABBAS When Abbas faces west, he declares the intent of the proposed conference with Israel to be a two-state solution. When Abbas faces east, his TV repeatedly broadcasts a video promising to "liberate" every Israeli city from the Jews. This (Islamic) deception was practiced by Arafat, whom Abbas served for decades. Trusting Arafat's promises to Israel, and not believing his promises to his people, Israel put him into position to have thousands of Israelis killed and wounded (Palestinian Media Watch in Arutz-7, 10/30.) An honest, intelligent, and patriotic Israeli regime would not repeat the mistake. THE LOOPHOLE IN THE ENERGY WEAPON Israel has an energy weapons of its own. It supplies power and other utilities to Gaza. The Cabinet voted a limited cut-off of power, in reaction to Gazan rocket attacks on Israel. Arutz-7 informs us that the Cabinet left final decision up to the Attorney-General. He suspended the cut-off. (Sure, he's anti-Zionist and pro-Arab, didn't they know?) IRAQI THEATER OF WAR Opponents of the war in Iraq object to its being in Iraq. In fighting a world war, if one is fighting effectively, and we are chewing up the Islamists, it doesn't matter much in which theater we fight. If not in Iraq, it would be somewhere else. What matters is the effect on the overall war. The military goals of a war are to destroy enemy forces and to destroy their originating facility. The war in Iraq meets the first or immediate goal. It does not meet the second or long-range goal. Islamism still originates from S. Arabia and Iran and still has major trunks in the West. We in the West are obliged to flush out the Islamists and, I believe, the Muslims, so they cannot subvert us. Accompanying tasks would be to flush the Arabists out of the State Dept., the FBI (whose leaders confuse them with moderates), and the universities, especially of the Middle Eastern Studies centers. A related task is to develop energy independence. Must Americans pamper themselves by driving for recreation in millions of motor boats and snowmobiles whose fuel pays the Saudis to indoctrinate and arm their men to kill ours? Just because the Iraq war does not meet the second goal does not mean we should forsake it. A forfeiture in that war would free enemy troops, gain them new and enthusiastic recruits, and plague us somewhere else. The enemy would consolidate its power. The problem with American thinking is thinking small. We should not have to choose between fronts. Not a country as big and as rich as ours. Honey, we shrank our army. Time to restore it so we can fight on multiple fronts and end this threat to civilization. Journalist Youssef Ibrahim suggested something I thought of in the 1973 fake oil embargo. He suggests we take over S. Arabia. Their oil would pay for our defense against their fascist ideology and stop paying for their ideology's attack on civilization. Beware, however, of easy access to oil. Easy access and cheapness or subsidy breeds profligacy and shortage. We need to stop squandering energy and gather more of our own. RACIST VIEW OF JEWISH PEOPLE "ElParedon" is the screen name of one devoted to impugning the Jewish people and their state. He attributes to us Jews a mythical power to dominate almost everywhere and to repress opposition. Somehow, we can't stop him. In his quest, academic integrity is not his forte. Neither is refinement of language. He discovered (and quotes obvious alarmists who exaggerated) that Jews were influential in the Russian Revolution. He claims they constituted 50% of Soviet leadership. Would he ascribe to the Jews a high percentage of known leadership in fields of accomplishment and benefit to mankind, as in medicine? Or is his study only one-way? Trouble is, the people he cites as Jews may have been of Jewish origin, but no longer were Jews. He calls Karl Marx Jewish because his parents were Jews. (Marx was not alive in 1917.) But Marx's father converted himself and son, who hated the Jewish people. Leon Trotsky was deracinated, too. These were people who discarded their Jewishness and even turned on their former people. I think it is racist to count them as Jews, because being Jews is not genetic. He puts it as genetic and by association. Thus he adds Lenin to the roster because he reputedly had a Jewish grandparent and he married a Jew. What did the Bolsheviks do for Jews but persecute them and oppose Zionism? Many of the socialists from whom the Bolsheviks broke off, called Mensheviks, were Jews, too. Is that supposed to be a black mark against Jewry? The Bolsheviks murdered the Mensheviks, because the Mensheviks believed in democracy, as do Americans. Then those Mensheviks were good people. Even many of the old Bolsheviks had no idea Lenin would go so far and Stalin even further. Stalin purged many of them, because they did not support his extremist policies, the ones we object to. Stalin died as he had begun what was going to be a Soviet Holocaust. ElParedon claims that his discovery about Jews among the Bolsheviks long has been suppressed. Nonsense! It long has been known and discussed, though not particularly publicized because it is irrelevant. He puts a paranoid interpretation upon it. This is part of his conspiracy mind-set -- that the Jews control and manipulate. The Jews sure don't do a good job of control! When antisemites are in an anti-capitalist mode, they identify many Jews among the capitalists. Then they blame capitalism's faults on "the Jews." IRAQI THEATER OF WAR Opponents of the war in Iraq object to its being in Iraq. In fighting a world war, if one is fighting effectively, and we are chewing up the Islamists, it doesn't matter much in which theater we fight. If not in Iraq, it would be somewhere else. What matters is the effect on the overall war. The military goals of a war are to destroy enemy forces and to destroy their originating facility. The war in Iraq meets the first or immediate goal. It does not meet the second or long-range goal. Islamism still originates from S. Arabia and Iran and still has major trunks in the West. We in the West are obliged to flush out the Islamists and, I believe, the Muslims, so they cannot subvert us. Accompanying tasks would be to flush the Arabists out of the State Dept., the FBI (whose leaders confuse them with moderates), and the universities, especially of the Middle Eastern Studies centers. A related task is to develop energy independence. Must Americans pamper themselves by driving for recreation in millions of motor boats and snowmobiles whose fuel pays the Saudis to indoctrinate and arm their men to kill ours? Just because the Iraq war does not meet the second goal does not mean we should forsake it. A forfeiture in that war would free enemy troops, gain them new and enthusiastic recruits, and plague us somewhere else. The enemy would consolidate its power. The problem with American thinking is thinking small. We should not have to choose between fronts. Not a country as big and as rich as ours. Honey, we shrank our army. Time to restore it so we can fight on multiple fronts and end this threat to civilization. Journalist Youssef Ibrahim suggested something I thought of in the 1973 fake oil embargo. He suggests we take over S. Arabia. Their oil would pay for our defense against their fascist ideology and stop paying for their ideology's attack on civilization. Beware, however, of easy access to oil. Easy access and cheapness or subsidy breeds profligacy and shortage. We need to stop squandering energy and gather more of our own. RACIST VIEW OF JEWISH PEOPLE "ElParedon" is the screen name of one devoted to impugning the Jewish people and their state. He attributes to us Jews a mythical power to dominate almost everywhere and to repress opposition. Somehow, we can't stop him. In his quest, academic integrity is not his forte. Neither is refinement of language. He discovered (and quotes obvious alarmists who exaggerated) that Jews were influential in the Russian Revolution. He claims they constituted 50% of Soviet leadership. Would he ascribe to the Jews a high percentage of known leadership in fields of accomplishment and benefit to mankind, as in medicine? Or is his study only one-way? Trouble is, the people he cites as Jews may have been of Jewish origin, but no longer were Jews. He calls Karl Marx Jewish because his parents were Jews. (Marx was not alive in 1917.) But Marx's father converted himself and son, who hated the Jewish people. Leon Trotsky was deracinated, too. These were people who discarded their Jewishness and even turned on their former people. I think it is racist to count them as Jews, because being Jews is not genetic. He puts it as genetic and by association. Thus he adds Lenin to the roster because he reputedly had a Jewish grandparent and he married a Jew. What did the Bolsheviks do for Jews but persecute them and oppose Zionism? Many of the socialists from whom the Bolsheviks broke off, called Mensheviks, were Jews, too. Is that supposed to be a black mark against Jewry? The Bolsheviks murdered the Mensheviks, because the Mensheviks believed in democracy, as do Americans. Then those Mensheviks were good people. Even many of the old Bolsheviks had no idea Lenin would go so far and Stalin even further. Stalin purged many of them, because they did not support his extremist policies, the ones we object to. Stalin died as he had begun what was going to be a Soviet Holocaust. ElParedon claims that his discovery about Jews among the Bolsheviks long has been suppressed. Nonsense! It long has been known and discussed, though not particularly publicized because it is irrelevant. He puts a paranoid interpretation upon it. This is part of his conspiracy mind-set -- that the Jews control and manipulate. The Jews sure don't do a good job of control! When antisemites are in an anti-capitalist mode, they identify many Jews among the capitalists. Then they blame capitalism's faults on "the Jews." ANTI-ZIONIST ECO-TERRORISTS One morning, the Jewish residents of Dolev, north of Jerusalem in the Benjamin sector of the Territories, found a synagogue burned down (for the third time), another 10,000 grave vines destroyed, and expensive irrigation equipment damaged. They further saw a group of Arabs and foreign activists from the (terrorist auxiliaries known as ISM) International Solidarity Movement heading towards another Jewish agricultural plot. They called police, who caught three of the political vandals in the act. Their group was found to have committed at least one other such crime. The government of Israel, however, focused on the Arab olive harvest and keeping Jews away from it, lest they and the Arabs clash. It was under cover of the harvest that ISM struck against Jews. This time they attacked vines and equipment. Next time, they may attack people, if not stopped (Arutz-7, 10/28). The government doesn't send in enough troops to protect Israelis. Neither does it let the farmers handle this, themselves. The government punishes Jews who defend themselves. It sides with the Arab aggressors against the Jews. This is the same government whose officials keep talking about how sacred law and order is. But the government doesn't follow the law against Arab malefacgtors and doesn't keep order. ISRAELI SOCIETAL BREAKDOWN? Every weekend, Jewish Israeli children, lay in the street or are brought into hospital drunk tanks. They drink, rape, and stab. Parents finally are expressing shock, although many of them condone their 10-year-olds drinking. The situation is exacerbated and more noticeable during the teachers' strike, leaving youths on their own. The outcry focuses on parental negligence and television sensuality and gratuitous violence (Arfutz-7, 10/31). I think that additional foci should be public school failure to discipline students, the constant state of war instead of defeating and crushing enemies, and the decline in adherence to Judaism and Zionism. Jewish religious youths rarely get into these states. They have purpose. Youth needs purpose and constructive outlets for their energy. DRUG USE GROWING AMONG ARABS The call has gone out for Arab governments to cooperate against this growing scourge that does not respect national borders (IMRA, 10/30). How sad! It reflects a growing breakdown both of traditional and modern societies. People have lost their way. If only the Arabs realized we all have more in common, but their religion separates them from us; ours would not separate us from them. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com To Go To Top

SDEROT MAYOR RESIGNS IN PROTEST OVER KASSAMS Posted by Hillel Fendel, December 12, 2007.

Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal responded to the heavy barrage of rockets on his city by announcing his resignation on live prime-time radio. more Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal responded to the barrage of rockets on his city Wednesday morning by announcing his resignation in a live prime-time interview on public Voice of Israel radio. "I don't want to be around when a rocket hits a kindergarten and kills 20 children," he said with great emotion. "I have been losing sleep over such a scenario for years." The resignation was spurred on by the security cabinet's decision just beforehand not to carry out a major offensive in Gaza to halt the Kassam rockets fired by Hamas terrorists. Voice of Israel quickly dialed Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai for his reaction to Moyal's dramatic announcement. Vilnai explained that Israel has fought and continues to fight against the terrorist threat from Gaza. "The army has greatly reduced the number of Kassams being fired from Gaza, though not enough," Vilnai said. Moyal, asked for his reaction to Vilnai's words, said, "I am no longer the mayor, so I need not respond." Moyal has been the mayor of Sderot for just over nine years, and the city has been battered by an estimated 6,300 rockets over the past six years. The residents' ongoing suffering began when Sderot was first shelled with mortars by Arab terrorists from Gaza in April 2001, and the first Kassam rocket hit the city less than a year later. A Sderot woman responded to Moyal's resignation by saying, "I congratulate him for his courage and for taking responsibility, and I hope that the nation's leaders will also take responsibility. If they don't know what to do, then let them give the reins over to those who do know how to give the proper response. Yesterday, we gave them a little blow [with a small-scale military offensive into Gaza -- ed.], and they retaliated with a barrage of Kassams; we need to strike them so hard that they won't have the ability to retaliate against us." "I call upon the Prime Minister," she continued, "to take responsibility for at least something in this country; he doesn't take responsibility for the Second Lebanon War, nor for education, nor for what is going on here on the border of Gaza." Another woman said that Moyal should not resign: "If he quits, then why should we remain here in this city?" MK Effie Eitam (National Union) called upon Ministers Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu -- Israel Our Home) and Eli Yishai (Shas) to follow Mayor Moyal's example and lead their parties out of the government. "The government's helplessness is the result of the Annapolis conference and the negotiations with [Fatah chief] Mahmoud Abbas," Eitam said. "Moyal took a courageous and responsible step, but for Lieberman and Shas to ignore this option of resigning would be the epitome of obtuseness and detachment from the voters and from the residents of Sderot." Tourism Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch of the Yisrael Beiteinu said his party was not yet ready to quit the government, and called upon Moyal to retract his resignation. "Now is not the time for a mayor to break down and quit," Aharonovitch said. Comment on This Story Hillel Fendel is Senior News Editor for Israel National News. To Go To Top

CONDI RICE HANGS A "NO JEWS ALLOWED" SIGN Posted by Michael Freund, December 12, 2007.

Condoleezza Rice has done it again -- laying bare the hypocrisy behind the US State Department's approach to Middle East peacemaking. First, she compared Israel's policy toward the Palestinians to America's 1960s treatment of blacks in the South. Then, the Secretary of State came out in favor of segregation for Jews by denouncing Israel's plan to build a few hundred new apartments in Jerusalem. As I argue in the column below from the Jerusalem Post, Rice's position is not only intellectually spurious, but it is morally untenable and unfair, and it constitutes little more than just another archaic form of bigotry. You can't post a "No Jews Allowed" sign, Ms. Rice, and expect us to view it any differently. Comments and feedback may be sent to: letters@jpost.com or to me directly.

Condoleezza Rice has got some nerve. First, the US Secretary of State had the hutzpa to compare Israel's treatment of Palestinians to that meted out to US blacks during the bad old days of the segregationist South. Speaking at a private session at the close of the Annapolis conference, America's top diplomat said that having grown up "as a black child in the South, being told she could not use certain water fountains or eat in certain restaurants, she also understood the feelings and emotions of the Palestinians." "I know what it is like to hear that you cannot go on a road or through a checkpoint because you are Palestinian," the Washington Post (November 29) quoted her as saying. "I understand the feeling of humiliation and powerlessness," she added. Needless to say, the fact that American blacks were victims of violence and hate, while Palestinians are its proficient practitioners, seems to have escaped the secretary of state's attention. Moreover, Rice's comparison between Israeli security measures and America's Jim Crow laws is both intellectually dishonest and morally obscene. There is no similarity whatsoever between Israel establishing a checkpoint aimed at catching Palestinian suicide bombers and the state of Georgia's 1960s era prohibition against serving blacks and whites in the same restaurant. To suggest otherwise is insulting and offensive, and Rice should know better. After all, by her logic, would Hamas terrorist-in-chief Ismail Haniyeh qualify as a Palestinian Rosa Parks? And yet, for all of her ostensible sensitivity to questions of discrimination, Rice did not hesitate to engage in some bigotry of her own last week when it came to the issue of building new homes for Jews in Jerusalem. After Israel announced the approval of tenders for the construction of 307 housing units in the capital's Har Homa neighborhood, Her Excellency went into what can only be described as a tizzy. Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, Rice told reporters that she had raised the issue of Har Homa with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni -- not once, but twice! "I did, in fact, bring up Har Homa, both earlier in a phone call and then today in our meeting," Rice said. "I've made very clear about seeking clarification on precisely what this means. I've made clear that we're in a time when the goal is to build maximum confidence between the parties and this doesn't help to build confidence," she proclaimed. CONFIDENCE? Did she say "this doesn't help to build confidence?" And what, Madam Secretary, of the constant Palestinian rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns and cities? Do they "help to build confidence"? Or how about the daily incitement to violence on official Palestinian radio and television? Or the murder last month of 29-year old Ido Zoldan by members of Mahmoud Abbas' own Palestinian police force? Strangely enough, not one of these odious deeds merited a public comment from Rice about their impact on the "building of confidence" between the two sides. And yet, when Israel decides to build some new apartments in an already-existing section of Jerusalem, Rice suddenly finds her voice? Who does she think she is kidding? But what was still more troubling about her statement on Har Homa is that it lends credence to the discriminatory notion that certain places should be off-limits to Jews simply because they are Jews. Rice herself was born in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Ironically enough, just 105 miles north of her birthplace lies a town named Jerusalem, Alabama. Were the Secretary of State to suggest that the right of Jews to live and build in Jerusalem, Alabama, should be restricted in any way, she would immediately be denounced as a racist and an anti-Semite, and rightly so. Yet when she suggests that Jews should not be permitted to build freely in Jerusalem, Israel because they are Jews, it is inexplicably described as being a "confidence-building measure." Call it what you will, Ms. Rice, but your opposition to Jewish housing construction in Jerusalem is nothing more than an archaic form of bigotry. You can't post a "No Jews Allowed" sign, and expect us to view it any differently. To suggest that Jews or any other ethnic group should not be allowed to live and build freely in a certain area because of who they are is something that went out of fashion in the United States four decades ago, and I can't think of a good reason to begin applying it here in Jerusalem today. The secretary of state knows full well that civil rights for Jews, like any universal human right, cannot be restricted in time or place. They must be applicable regardless of where a person chooses to live. This is especially true when it comes to Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the Jewish people. Our connection to the Holy City stretches back more than three millennia. Indeed, over 1,500 years before the advent of Islam, Jews were living, working and praying in Jerusalem. Now, following in our ancestors' footsteps, we have returned to reclaim what is rightfully ours. So step aside, Ms. Rice, and please do not try to interfere. Like it or not, nothing can stop this historical process from unfolding. To Go To Top

MORE HATE IN ISRAEL Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, December 12, 2007.

The closer the Torah haters come to their inevitable extinction, the more irrational and violent they will become. Having lived within the psychotic fantasy world of their own imagination for so many decades, they can no longer deal with reality. Arabs murderers with Jewish blood on their hands are their best friends, while Torah Jews seeking to preserve both the unique, historical identity and lives of these degenerates are their worst enemies. However, that is what Hanukkah is all about. The most difficult battle was not with the Greeks, it was with the Jewish traitors who incited the Greeks against the Torah. Initially the Greeks had a live and let live attitude towards the Jews as they did to all other conquered peoples. It was only after the Torah hating Jews of the time continuously slandering their own people and vigorously lobbing the Greeks to abolish uniquely Jews practices that the Greeks did so. Nothing new under the sun. This is by Aaron Klein and is from today WND's Jerusalem Bureau and is entitled "Jewish grinch robs town's Hanukkah. Secular leader smashes menorah, blasts 'infiltration' of observant Jews". (www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59154).

JERUSALEM -- The residents of one secular Israeli town here were shocked today to discover a menorah lit last night by a rabbi in a public ceremony was smashed to pieces by the community's Jewish leader in protest of observant Judaism. "He who disrupted the joy of the children and caused anguish to many of the residents here when he destroyed our menorah reminded us of the dark period of the Gestapo who found a Hanukkah Menorah hidden away in the Warsaw Ghetto and cracked the skull of a Jew with it," said Etai Rappaport, a resident of Afek, a northern Israeli communal town or kibbutz. Rappaport yesterday invited Moshe Shmuel Oirechman, a rabbi and emissary for the Chabad Lubavitch worldwide Jewish outreach movement, to light the menorah in his town of Afek for several religious Jewish families. Afek is a kibbutz, an Israeli collective community funded by secular Jews prior to and in the years following the establishment of Israel in 1948. Kibbutz communities were set up to adhere to social libertarian principals of communal living and farming, but currently many here are privatized and resemble regular communities. Some kibbutz towns have significant religious communities. This morning, Rappaport and other locals found their public menorah shattered to pieces. Tvzi Assaf, head of the kibbutz, took credit for the attack on Hanukkah, telling residents he was protesting any public display of religious Judaism in the mostly secular Israeli community. Assaf was quoting telling town residents he was afraid of an "infiltration" of religious Jews into his community or that local secular Jews would become more observant. Rappaport said he was stunned: "I am ashamed that there are such people living in the same Kibbutz as my family. I also don't know what to tell my young son when he will ask me 'where is the menorah?' Rappaport told Shturem.net, a Chabad news site that first reported on the incident. Rappaport said he found it "astounding" Assaf would consider the lighting of the menorah an act of religious Judaism. The Menorah is kindled for each of the eight days of Hanukkah, a festival to commemorate the Jewish Maccobean victory over the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century B.C. and the rededication thereafter of the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. While other Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur or Sukkot are considered religious, Hanukkah is regarded more as a nationalist holiday celebrated by both secular and religious Jews. Tonight is the last night of Hanukkah. "Since when does a Menorah make one religious?" asked Rappaport. "I wonder what Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, would have to say about that. He encouraged the educational system to celebrate Hanukkah saying it symbolizes the courage of the Maccabbeas. It's interesting to note that Ben-Gurion, who was known not to have a particular liking for religious Jews, declared that he considers Hanukkah as the most important holiday among the Jewish holidays." Oirechman, who lit the menorah last night, said the destruction of the menorah highlighted the growing tensions between secular and religious kibbutz members. According to Israeli media reports here, the past few years have witnessed a growing trend of religious observance among the children and grandchildren of secular kibbutz founders. Oirechman said it was not his place to fuel tensions in Israel by protesting the menorah destruction. "I was shocked and angry about the entire thing. But I think the best way to counter what happened is with love and by continuing to spread light by teaching goodness and Torah values. Eventually our light will dispel the darkness," he said. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

A JEW CONTINUES THE FIGHT FOR HIS HOME Posted by Ya'aqov Ben-Yehudah, December 12, 2007.

Yitzhaq Hershkovitz who has been fighting to regain control of his house from Arab squatters in "East" Jerusalem, continues his fight tomorrow in front of the High Court in Jerusalem. Please show your support by attending the hearing, which will take place in Court Room Dalet at 2:00 PM. Thanks to Ariel Bereny at "Jewish Yisrael" for the update This was posted on my website:http://esseragaroth.blogspot.com/2007/07/jew-fights-for-his-home.html

Giv'ath Elnaqam 4I had the honor of meeting Yitzhaq Hershkovitz on Shabbath, as he was in Tapu'ah, a couple of friends from Jerusalem and Qiriyath Arba. At dinner on Giv'ath Elnaqam 4 he gave a D'var Torah, in which he concluded that one should be cautious in choosing friends, as it can very difficult to know who your friends are and who your enemies are, in this day and age. After a 15-year fight, Mr. Hershkovitz finally obtained a court order to have the squatters removed. Yet, the police has not been helpful in enforcing the evacuation. One of the issues was that the Arabs were keeping their goats hidden inside the house, which apparently is against the zoning regulations. However, every time the police arrived to execute the order, or rather do a pre-execution investigation, the goats are taken outside through the back an and hidden somehow. There is now a stay on the eviction order. Fortunately, he has been getting some support from friends, including the Defense-training and Torah-study, IBF Canine Unit, based in K'far Tapu'ah. I'll try to find out more information about what can be done to assist and support him. Contact the poster by email at yaaqov.ben.yehudah@gmail.com To Go To Top

FROM ISRAEL: POLITICS Posted by Arlene Kushner, December 11, 2007.

A change of pace: we will look first, briefly, at some political happenings here in Israel: A new party, Hatikvah (the hope), has been formally registered. At its head will be MK Aryeh Eldad, who is still with National Union (Moledet branch) now but will move over. The party will be a nationalist party that is inclusive and hopes to attract secular people as well as religious. Eldad himself is traditional in his orientation but is not perceived by the public as "religious," which means he may appeal to a greater number of voters than an overtly religious group such as National Union. Eldad's hope at this juncture is to do well enough in the next elections to become part of the coalition that will likely be headed by Likud, pulling that coalition to the right and helping to keep it honest. Eldad, a physician, it should be noted, has a reputation for integrity. ~~~~~~~~~~ It seems that Shaul Mofaz -- former defense minister in Likud and now transportation minister in Kadima -- is launching a challenge to Olmert for the leadership of Kadima. He has in recent weeks consistently come out with positions that are critical of Olmert: He says that so many prisoners should not have been released, that Olmert is "letting Hamas into the heart of Jerusalem," that Olmert shouldn't negotiate core issues with Abbas when he is weak, etc. While I was never a big fan of Mofaz when he was transportation minister (and his bolt to Kadima bespoke a significant lack of integrity, as he had previously pledged to stay with Likud when Sharon split the party), everything is relative: compared to Tzipi Livni as a replacement for Olmert, Mofaz doesn't look so bad. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Labor Party is in disarray. It was in bad shape when Amir Peretz left the leadership position; Ehud Barak was supposed to consolidate forces and strengthen the party when he came in. But there is currently great discontent with him, so that the party is in a weak position. Labor MKs are fearful that Kadima has now assumed the mantle of "the peace party," and I laugh when I read that Barak -- who offered Arafat an enormous amount in 2000 -- is now being accused by the party's left wing of being "more right wing" than Netanyahu. ~~~~~~~~~~ I've written, with fury and with pain, many times about the left wing bias of the law enforcement and court systems in this country, which work very decidedly against "settlers." Well now there is a group called Human Rights in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, which has just issued a paper to mark International Human Rights Week. The paper outlines several areas in which the rights of settlers and their supporters were violated. Attorney Orit Struck serves as spokeswoman for the group. A major focus of the group is the severe injustice done to the residents of Gush Katif, who were pulled from their homes and not provided with proper assistance. But here I present, from the paper, yet another glaring example of a way in which the government is causing "systematic and continuous harm" to Jews within Israel: In 1929, after an Arab pogrom in which dozens of Jews of the community of Hevron were killed, the British forced the Jewish survivors to leave the area. Those Jews retained ownership of property in Hevron. The Israeli Custodian of Abandoned Property, however, now declines to act to return this property to the Jewish families that own it, instead acting on behalf of the Arabs who rent the property. I will note that to return the property to the Jews would be to strengthen the Jewish presence in Hevron, which the government studiously avoids doing. Doesn't fit the political goals, private human rights be damned. ~~~~~~~~~~ According to Asharq Alawsat, a London-based paper, Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas in Damascus, is said to be ready to return control of government institutions in Gaza to the PA. Meanwhile sources from both sides confirm that secret talks have been held in a number of venues in order to help Hamas and Fatah resolve their differences. The PA is furious about an invitation -- including a visit with the royal family -- that the Saudis extended to a senior Hamas delegation right after Annapolis. Anyone with half a brain (which actually lets out a lot of people) knows that Saudi Arabia promotes Hamas: they hosted the negotiations that resulted in the Mecca agreement, forcing Abbas to bow to Hamas stipulations all the way. Said one PA official: "Hamas is doing its utmost to undermine the authority of President Mahmoud Abbas. The timing of the visit -- two weeks after the Annapolis peace conference -- is also interesting. Hamas was strongly opposed to the conference and continues to issue threats to torpedo any peace process with Israel." Bush and Rice, ludicrously, counted it a "diplomatic coup" that Saudi Arabia came to the conference, thereby presumably placing itself in the "moderate camp" that supported "peace." Yea, right. ~~~~~~~~~~ I continue to monitor closely the rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas -- which was clearly coming after Annapolis and which the Saudis are now fostering -- and what it will mean for "peace negotiations." I have waxed cynical in the extreme, with good reason. One would expect that if Fatah joined again with Hamas, which is against peace with Israel, the US and Israel would wash their respective hands of dealings with the PA. That is, after all, what they have said they would do. My fear is that the reverse might happen: That the parties will be so "eager" to push negotiations, that Hamas might be declared as having moderated by virtue of having joined with a "peaceful" Fatah. It will depend, I imagine, on what sort of arrangement is established. When I begin to read about new elections (which will be hailed as democratic process), I become increasingly uneasy. ~~~~~~~~~~ Now I must return, once again, to Iran. Mohammad Mohaddessin, a spokesman for the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an opposition group seeking the overthrow of the regime in Tehran, came out with a statement today, in response to the US intelligence report saying that Iran stopped development of nuclear weapons in 2003: "We announce vehemently that the clerical regime is currently continuing its drive to obtain nuclear weapons. The clerical regime leaks false information and intelligence to Western intelligence services, through double agents." Mohaddessin said that Iran did shut down a weapons production center in Tehran in 2003 under international pressure, but shifted it to other sites and resumed work in 2004. "These centers are working just now for producing nuclear bombs. This is contrary to the United States' National Intelligence Estimate." Mohaddessin said the information came from sources inside Iran; sources were checked within the last week to confirm that the nuclear development was still going on. Four years ago NCRI disclosed information about hidden nuclear sites in Iran that uncovered long-standing covert operations. ~~~~~~~~~~ And lastly, I cite President Bush. After meeting with the Italian president today, he met with the press and said: "Iran is dangerous. We believe Iran had a secret military weapons program, and Iran must explain to the world why they had such a program." I confess, I am still scratching my head over this convoluted and nonsensical statement. Note the past tense: "Iran had..." So, if Iran doesn't have it anymore, why does it have to explain anything? (As if it would be inclined to in any event.) Seems as if Bush is trying to play both ends at the same time -- he wants to sound tough, but is backing off from challenging Iran now. This is pathetic and sickening from the president who declared a war on terror. Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info To Go To Top