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| GUSH KATIF |
JOIN ORANGE SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA - JULY 15, 16
Posted by Dovid Ben Chaim, June 30, 2005. |
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This is not a game, this is not a drill. We are AGAIN fighting an enemy who thinks "the problem" is the presence of Jews and eliminating that "problem" is the "solution." Whether you live in Gush Katif or Beverly Hills, there is no choice but to defeat such an enemy - if you value your Jewish skin and that of your children. The dam may be in Israel, but if it does not hold the flood waters will eventually rise worldwide, drowning Jew and gentile alike. Synagogues across the USA will be participating in ORANGE SHABBAT in AMERICA'S SYNAGOGUES, Friday night, July 15 and Shabbat morning, July 16, organized by Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI. Congregants of all synagogues will be invited to participate in Friday night meals, at a nominal cost, where they will meet and greet each other in a unified effort to oppose the PM Sharon expulsion plan. Speakers will explain the facts of Sharon's plan to transfer approximately 10,000 Jews from their homes and lands in Gush Katif/Gaza and N. Samaria. Prayers will be said, songs will be sung, and awareness of the critical nature of the situation in Israel, as well as America, will be strengthened. Shabbat morning, July 16, it is hoped that rabbis will devote their sermons to the crisis, and may invite guest speakers to speak at various times during the day, and in the evening. Again, prayers for the beleaguered citizens of Israel will be said. It is hoped that millions of prayers ascending to heaven at the same time will cause a cancellation of the immoral, illegal, cruel and destructive Sharon expulsion plan. Please plan to be part of the ORANGE SHABBAT. Call AFSI, 212-828-2424 with questions. Consult our website, www.afsi.org for information that may be helpful to you. Let us know your plans for ORANGE SHABBAT. We will publicize them, thereby encouraging other synagogues to join in this nationwide effort. This will be the kick-off weekend before the Tuesday, July 19 Worldwide Solidarity Rally for Gush Katif/Gaza, N. Samaria, and all of Israel. In New York, the rally will take place in front of the Israeli Consulate on Second Ave. between 42nd & 43rd Streets, from 12-2 PM. Parallel events will take place in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and throughout the world. Plan to be part of this entire demonstration of solidarity with the threatened citizens of Israel. Contact your local AFSI representative to plan for a rally in your community. AFSI's website, http://www.afsi.org, will supply you with needed information. And remember, our brothers and sisters in Gush Katif are fighting on the front lines and they need our help, our encouragement and financial support. Visit http://shop.katif.net/ and order the same orange t-shirts, stickers and flags these brave fighters are wearing themselves! AFSI, Americans For A Safe Israel
Blessed are You, G-d, who gives Your People Israel a mighty arm and the will to use it. Be strong! Be strong! May we all be strengthened! WE ARE TAKING IT ALL BACK AND KEEPING IT!
Contact Dovid Ben Chaim at chazakchazakchazak@myway.com
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| GUSH KATIF |
NEW ISRAELI POLL: SUPPORT FOR DISENGAGEMENT PLAN DROPS
Posted by Bryna Berch, June 30, 2005. |
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According to Wednesday's poll carried out by the Midgam polling company, support for the Disengagement Plan among Jews in Israel has dropped to 48 percent. A different June 17th telephone poll published in the daily Maariv newspaper showed 54 percent of Israel's Jews supporting the plan. The Midgam company is affiliated with the Harris Interactive polling company based in the US. The new poll was commissioned by anti-disengagement Likud loyalists. In light of the fact that the results were relatively pleasing to those who commissioned it, pollster Mano Geva stated that the poll had been carried out according to the highest accepted professional standards. Together with the drop in support for the plan, the poll showed a steep rise to 41 percent among Israeli Jews who oppose the plan. Eleven percent remain undecided. |
A poll released on Wednesday shows that support for Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon's Disengagement Plan among Jews in Israel is on a
downward slide.
| GUSH KATIF |
NEW POLL: AMERICANS OPPOSE GAZA PLAN, PALESTINIAN STATE
Posted by Zionist Organization of America, June 30, 2005. |
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New Poll: Americans Oppose Gaza Plan, Palestinian State, Aid To
Palestinians And Dealing With Hamas; While Supporting Jerusalem For
Israel And Sanctions Against Saudi Arabia
New York - A major new national poll has found that 63% of Americans oppose Israel's Gaza Withdrawal Plan; 80% oppose US aid to Palestinians; 61% oppose dealing with even elected or appointed Hamas members; while 63% support Jerusalem remaining under Israeli sovereignty; and 58% support economic sanctions against Saudi Arabia. By a margin of 2 to 1, Americans believe the Gaza Plan rewards terrorism, by a margin of 3 to 1, Americans believe a Palestinian State''s goal would be the destruction of Israel; by a margin of 2 1/2 to 1, believe a Palestinian State would be a terrorist state; and by a margin of 10 to 1, do not believe Saudi Arabia is a reliable ally in the US war against radical Islamic terrorism. The poll was commissioned by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the oldest pro-Israel group in the US. It was carried out by McLaughlin & Associates, a major national polling company, on June 26-27, 2005. The poll questioned a scientific sample of 1,000 Americans from throughout the US. The poll findings: By 63% to 16%, Americans oppose "Israel's unilateraql withdrawal from a section of Gaza and Northern Samaria" and "forcing 10,000 Israeli Jews from their homes and businesses." By 50% to 28%, Americans believe that "this Gaza Plan sends a message that Arab terrorism is being rewarded." By 63% to 5%, Americans say that "Jerusalem should remain under Israeli sovereignty - not Palestinian sovereignty." By 80% to 12%, Americans oppose "the continuation of $350 million in US aid to Palestinian Arabs." By 58% to 21%, Americans believe "the goal of a Palestinian Arab State would be to destroy Israel - not to live in peace with it." By 53% to 21%, Americans believe "a Palestinian State would be a terrorist state - not a peaceful democracy." By 61% to 28%, Americans believe that "if Hamas members are elected or appointed to official positions in the Palestinian Arab government, US officials should not meet or negotiate with them." By 78% to 8%, Americans say that "Saudi Arabia is not a reliable or trustworthy ally in the war against radical Islamic terrorism." By 58% to 28%, Americans support "economic sanctions against Saudi Arabia until they stop supporting and funding terrorists and radical Islamic education that teaches hatred against the US and Israel." ZOA President Morton A. Klein said: "This national poll exposes the myth that Americans support the Gaza/Northern Samaria Withdrawal/Expulsion Plan. Americans realize that it's a bad deal for Israel to make these major concessions without getting anything in return. They also understand that this rewards the Hamas and Fatah suicide bombing terrorists whose counterparts are killing Americans every day in Iraq. This Plan harms the US war against radical Islamic terrorism by sending a message that terrorism pays and pays well. "We hope that President Bush and Condoleezza Rice will soon see the danger to America in this Plan. Palestinian chief Abbas' recent invitation to terror chiefs to move from Syria to Gaza after Israel leaves should alone end all discussion of the wisdom of this evacuation plan by Israel. When Israel leaves Gaza, the Arab terrorists will surely take over. "This national poll clearly shows the antagonism that US citizens have to giving their hard-earned dollars in the form of $350 million of US aid to what Americans clearly see as a terrorist regime called the Palestinian Authority (PA). It is remarkable to see that average Americans understand that any Palestinian State that may evolve will be committed to Israel's destruction - not to living in peace with Israel. I wish more US Congressmembers and President Bush realized this instead of praising Palestinian chief Abbas as a peace-maker and promoting the establishment of yet another terrorist state in the region. It is high time that US aid to the Palestinian Arabs be conditional on the PA's fulfilling all of their written twelve-year old obligations including the disarming and dismantling of terror groups, ending incitement against Israel and Jews, arresting terrorists, closing bomb factories, and stopping the smuggling of weapons and missiles from Sinai into Gaza. "And while Europe is planning to negotiate with the terror group Hamas and the US is considering what to do if Hamas gains in power in the Palestinian Authority, it is refreshing to see that US citizens clearly understand that America should never negotiate with as venal a terror group as Hamas. "It is also refreshing to see virtually unanimous support among Americans for Israel to maintain sovereignty over Jerusalem. Jerusalem has never been the capitol of any country except Israel. When Jordan controlled it, no Arab leader visited Jerusalem - yet Arabs would not let any Jew visit Judaism's holy city. Jerusalem is mentioned in the Jewish holy books 700 times - in the Islamic Koran - not once. Americans understand all this - it is time President Bush moves the US Embassy to Israel's capital, Jerusalem, as US law requires. Bush's refusal to move the Embassy sends a clear message that Islamic terrorism impacts US policy on Jerusalem and stops the President from fulfilling US law. "This poll also makes clear that Americans will never forget that 15 of the 19 Islamic terrorists who blew up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, murdering 3000 Americans, were from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has not yet arrested anyone in connection with 9-11. Americans are becoming more aware that Saudi Arabia is the leading source of terrorism and extremist Whabbi hate education in mosques around the world. In fact, a series of reports from counter-terrorism think tanks found that 55% of Iraq's anti-American suicide bombers were Saudis. That's why Americans are supporting sanctions against Saudi Arabia until they change. "We urge Members of Congress and President Bush to work to pass the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act which will demands action by Saudi Arabia through the threat of sanctions. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Cong. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) are the lead sponsors in the Senate and the House respectively. There are already 10 co-sponsors in the Senate and 35 in the House. We urge that Congress heed the will of the people and pass this important legislation. "In conclusion, the responses to these poll questions make it crystal clear that Americans are fervent supporters of the people of Israel, understand the terrorist nature of Abbas' Palestinian Arab regime, and the promotion of violence and hatred by Hamas and Saudi Arabia. President Bush should be more bold in his support of the democratic state of Israel and more bold in his pressure against the anti-peace dictatorships in the Arab world." The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver. |
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REMEMBER THE SCUDS
Posted by Louis Rene Beres, June 30, 2005. |
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After more than a year in captivity, Saddam Hussein will be brought to trial by early autumn. The principle account to be settled is, of course, between the Iraqi people and a tyrant who massacred and oppressed them. But Saddam's crimes were not limited to Iraq. The United States, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and perhaps even Iran might be expected to demand that Saddam's international crimes be considered by the Iraqi Special Tribunal. Whenever Saddam's international crimes are addressed, it is critical that Israel insist on being among the plaintiffs. During the 1991 Iraq war, Saddam was responsible for 39 missile attacks against Israel, which was not a party to the conflict. Accordingly, the Jewish state has a distinct legal right to participate in the Iraqi Special Tribunal, and its exclusion would violate one of the world's most elementary principles of justice. The principle of nullum crimen sine poena (no crime without a punishment) is as central to national systems of law as it is to their international counterpart. Stemming from at least three separate passages of the Hebrew Bible, the Lex Talionis or 'Law of exact retaliation' was integral to the precedent-setting Nuremberg Trial after World War II. Indeed, in 1946, when the Special Military Tribunal justified its sentencing on arguments for retributive justice, it strongly reaffirmed this binding principle. In its precise words: 'Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment.' On January 18, 1991, Saddam Hussein's government launched eight Scud missiles directly at civilian targets in Tel Aviv. This attack was followed for more than a month by 31 additional missiles fired at Israeli noncombatants. Baghdad's last missile attack against Israel took place on February 25, 1991. In compliance with US and allied expectations, Israel never fired back. SADDAM'S SCUDS managed to kill only one Israeli directly. Twelve additional deaths resulted indirectly from missile attacks. Nearly 200 people were wounded. Also, 4,393 buildings were damaged, 3,991 apartments and residential buildings, 331 public institutions, 17 educational institutions and 54 businesses. This accounting does not include the incalculable costs of equipping every Israeli with gas masks, of the need for every Israeli family to prepare sealed rooms, of the national disruption caused by multiple alerts and of lost business and tourism. To be sure, it could have been much worse. But the tactical failures of Saddam's primitive missiles do not provide an exculpatory argument for Saddam under international law. Every state has an 'inherent' right of self-defense. Participating in the prosecution of Saddam Hussein for aggression against Israel would be an expression of this right. According to Emmerich de Vattel's classic 1758 text The Law of Nations, 'The right to punish injustice is derived from the right of self-protection.' Moreover, the right of self-defense in international law is drawn from Natural Law or Higher Law, and can therefore never be subordinated to particular international agreements or even to pragmatic considerations of geopolitics. Not only does Israel have an incontestable right to join in Saddam's trial, but there is a corresponding obligation upon all other states to ensure such participation. As Blackstone observed in his famous Commentaries, international law exists to provide a code 'for the eternal and immutable laws of good and evil.' Each state is therefore bound 'to aid and enforce the law of nations, as part of the common law, by inflicting an adequate punishment upon offenses against the universal law...' In practical terms, Israel should now prepare a formal criminal complaint against Saddam, and file the relevant documents with the Iraqi Special Tribunal. If the Iraqi court refuses to honor its international obligations in Israel's case, Jerusalem should request that the UN General Assembly seek an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice regarding Israel's charges against Iraq. It is unclear whether other aggrieved nations, such as Saudi Arabia, which also suffered from Scud attacks during the 1991, will seek redress from the Iraqi Special Tribunal. In any event, from the standpoint of international law, Israel's right to participate in Louis Rene Beres is a professor of international law in the department of political science at Purdue University. |
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THE RIPPLE EFFECT
Posted by Arlene Peck, June 30, 2005. |
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Penelope Knight has been writing me marvelous e-mails that I think should be read by everyone and I encouraged her to do so. This is what she sent me. She can be contacted at penelopeknight@wiktel.com Every day I received numerous email updates from various networks. Very interesting. Very informative. Yet very discouraging for a sole Christian voice. There are a lot of us non-church associated Christians who are Pro-Israel out here. I find them one by one, at grocery stores, laundromats, garage sales. It is not only possible but simple to bring up the Bible, Israel then, Israel today in conversations. Why not? Do we all want to hear only of illnesses and visits? Of children's latest victories in school tests or sports? Why not Israel? Just because of geography must we confine our minds and interests to our town, our small counties? I say not. The anti-Israel sentiment of today is directly related to the Bible, past and future prophesies. We non-affiliated Christian folk do believe in the Bible, but have turned away from organized churches due to our differences of opinion. In my opinion divesting of investments in Israel by the Anglicans, the Presbyterians, et al, is a huge problem and in that alone I find agreement among my fellow Christians. And so starts the conversation... one person at a time. I saw a Christian Republican become President by promising an ethical, moral White House and administration; implicit within these promises was a Biblical background and base. But with the evils of power and money this president has turned his back on his Christian upbringing, cursing Israel with pressure to give away its God promised Land. What is truly behind this catering to the Saudis? What is truly behind the attempt to democratize the entire earth? Personally I do not believe that many entire cultures are 'ready' for 'democracy'. Having lived among the tribes in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon indigenous people, I cannot foresee a time when democracy will be the rule of law and politics. So too, I believe, cultures based on extreme Islamic belief systems are not ready to elect presidents who are not radical muslims. Taking stone age mentality into the chad and computer chip present is a little beyond the abilities of our president, in spite of his exuberance. I begin to believe our president is not only not that naive, but has a nefarious background with oil barons and is using catch words ('democracy') to hide his subterfuge. Alas, I voted for him. And it is not just an American anti-Semitic, anti-Bible phenomena. The email updates show that the earth's cancer of anti-Semitism that went into a slight remission after the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed, has returned in full force. The media with few exceptions promotes lies and half truths, governments turn their eyes away from a multitude of attacks on Jews, political parties, lobbyists and public relation firms fueled by arab oil money twist world opinion against the Jews. And I wonder. Who am I to sit here at my computer, my heart breaking for the Jews in Israel who are being forcibly removed from G-d's given Land by world pressure, thinking I can make a difference? I cannot. The brick wall of millions of Israel's enemies is insurmountable by a sole mind. Or so I worry. However I do believe in G-d's power and history has proven miracles do in fact occur. I with my piddling efforts to inform my "one and all" on email lists, or in casual conversations where ever I am, all of these travesties can do nothing. But with G-d's leading you all, we all can be instrumental - in some way, no matter how small - in stemming this horrible evil against G-d's chosen people. We must bless Israel and not partake in the curse. I pray you join me. Inform others. Let each person do their "little something". The Bible says "knock and the door will be opened". Knock. Action. We must do the knocking and let G-d do the opening. G-d will create the ripple effect. And always Pray for Israel, for the Jews both in Israel and internationally. Arlene Peck is an internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess. She can be reached at: bestredhead@earthlink.net and www.arlenepeck.com |
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TORONTO GROUP LAUNCHES ANTI-DISENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN
Posted by Izzy Kaplan, June 30, 2005. |
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A group of Toronto natives are banding together to launch an information campaign that highlights the downfalls of Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. "The idea is to present a balanced perspective on the consequences of this very critical decision taken by the Israeli government to expel Jews from their homes," explains Izzy Greenberg, the Editor of Exodus Magazine and one of those involved in the campaign. "I don't think we should just be going along with this. I think we should be asking: Why this is happening" Why is the Israeli government doing this now? What is the likely fallout of this course of actions? What is the potential precedent that is being set here? We need to be asking these questions, and people need to voice their opinions and concerns... We are all responsible for each other's welfare and the land of Israel belongs to every Jew." With a series of newspaper ads, posters and an informative newsletter titled "Deconstructing the Disengagement," along with a website (www.itsourland.com), the group hopes to get people thinking about the disengagement. A web log (or blog) linked to the website offers people the opportunity to have their say. The Toronto group hopes that, in addition to supporting the residents of Gaza, the waves generated by this campaign will spread to other cities in North America, and eventually to the Israeli public and the government itself. For more information, call 416.256.2858 x26 or visit www.itsourland.com. |
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WHEN KIDS BLOW THEMSELVES UP
Posted by Palestinian Media Watch, June 30, 2005. |
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This article was written by Joel Mowbray and appeared in The Examiner on June 28, 2005. When we think of Palestinian terrorism, often forgotten are its other victims. For most, it is an unintentional oversight; for terror's apologists, it is an absolute necessity. For terror's avowed supporters, however, the other victims are not considered victims at all; they are thought of as heroes. Speaking at a conference on Islam and Democracy in April, journalist Anisa Mehdi suggested that the only reason we consider Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah terrorists is because Americans aren't "pro-Palestinian." She added that if we were, we would call them "Palestinian partisans," not terrorists. After her speech, I asked Mehdi what she would call a 12-year-old strapping on a bomb and killing a dozen civilians in a cafe. As she sat stunned by the question, the luncheon's other speaker, Abdullah Schleifer (executive producer of the documentary "Control Room"), leapt to the podium and said, "Of course it is. And in fact, it's terrorism against the 12-year-old." Although 12-year-olds are on the young end of children converted into suicide bombers, the terrorism perpetrated by the likes of Hamas and Islamic Jihad against young Palestinians is real - and growing. Roughly one month after this luncheon, Israeli soldiers at the Hawara checkpoint in Nablus stopped two teenagers attempting to smuggle explosives under their clothes. One was 15, the other 14. When interviewed by NBC News' Martin Fletcher, the 15-year-old, Mohammed Mustafa al-Nadi, said that he was recruited to "kill the Jews" by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which was formerly under the thumb of Yasser Arafat. The boy said he only agreed to become a suicide bomber after being asked five times. Young Mohammed is, sadly, more the rule than the exception. Already this year, more than 50 Palestinians under the age of 18 have been apprehended attempting to smuggle bombs into Israel, and at least six have been under 16. Additionally, it was announced this week that Israel's Shin Bet security force arrested a terror cell just outside of Nablus last month and four of the eight taken into custody were 15 or 16 years old. Just more than a year ago, the entire world witnessed a frightened 15-year-old at the Hawara checkpoint who decided he couldn't go through with blowing himself up. Israeli soldiers cleared the area, used a robot to remove the bomb strapped to his chest and then safely detonated it. Talking to the BBC a few months later from his jail cell, Hussam Abdo said that although he was glad to be alive and wouldn't tell his friends to become suicide bombers, he nonetheless still viewed the act he failed to commit as a glorious one. He said blowing yourself up in order to kill Jews is "better than being a singer or a footballer. It's better than everything." In an earlier interview with an Israeli newspaper, Hussam revealed where his mind had become so twisted: in Palestinian school. The 15-year-old said that "paradise" was "a river of honey, a river of wine and 72 virgins. Since I have been studying Quran I know about the sweet life that waits there." As easy as it would be to chalk up the recruitment of children to the evil deeds of terrorists, both Mohammed's and Hussam's experiences demonstrate that the terrorists had help. The kids, like many others their age, are primed for jihad long before they have the mental capacity to fully comprehend what they're being spoon-fed. The indoctrination that nearly claimed Hussam's life permeates Palestinian society, from government-controlled media to the culture at large that exalts suicide bombers as "martyrs" or "shahids." Because of the invaluable Palestinian Media Watch, we know that glorification of suicide bombing - even to small children - continues to this day on Palestinian television, from talking puppets that extol the virtues of violence to preteen girls telling an adult that "martyrdom" is the greatest success one could ever achieve. Even at a grassroots level, suicide bombings enjoy popular support. Sports teams, schools and streets are named after terrorists, and many families of suicide bombers claim that they enjoy immediately increased standing in the community. Arafat is largely responsible for poisoning the well, but his death alone does not remove the poison. His successor and longtime right-hand man, Mahmoud Abbas, in fact, has yet to take a significant step in that direction. But even once he does, wholesale change can't happen overnight. In the meantime, more children will be sent off to kill - and die. Children who lack any rational conception of death, who are coaxed into evil with the false promise of paradise. These are the other victims of Palestinian terrorism, and they should never be forgotten. Itamar Marcus is director of PMW - Palestinian Media Watch - (http://www.pmw.org.il). PMW is based in Jerusalem. |
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STRATEGIC LESSONS FROM THE BOYCOTT FIGHT
Posted by Gerald M. Steinberg, June 30, 2005. |
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This was in the Canadian Jewish News today.
At the end of April, the governing council of Britain's Association of University Teachers, with more than 40,000 members, voted to boycott two of Israel's major universities - Bar Ilan and Haifa. This was the culmination of a three-year campaign by a small group of obsessed and radical anti-Israel activists and the broader demonization of Israel that is prevalent in England, particularly on university campuses. After an initial effort to boycott all Israeli universities bogged down, and in what was to be the first stage of a process, Bar Ilan and Haifa were singled out as being the most vulnerable. But this transparent strategy failed, Bar Ilan and Haifa universities proved to be highly resilient, and a massive campaign reversed the outcome in less than six weeks. As a result, a new vote was called, and the boycott was rescinded by a large majority of the AUT council, without conditions. In the process, its promoters were widely ridiculed, with pictures of one of them, Susan Blackwell (a professor of English of little note at the University of Birmingham), wrapped in a Palestinian flag providing the dominant theme. This was an important and rare victory in the political war designed to undermine the legitimacy of Israel, and its details, as well as its lessons, deserve careful attention. First, the implications of this academic boycott were recognized - this was not a minor incident that would soon "blow over," but rather it was part of a concerted strategy and required a major effort to reverse the outcome. It was important to exact a high cost from those who supported the boycott, both actively and passively, in order to deter similar efforts in the future. In the process, the opponents threatened lawsuits against any academic engaging in a boycott, and were very active in writing letters and op-ed articles. For once, Israel's attackers, who have had the public relations arena largely to themselves for decades, were placed on the defensive. This mobilization also highlighted the major ethical implications of the effort to violate free speech in pursuit of an ideological agenda. Bar Ilan University's campaign for academic freedom emphasized that the open exchange of ideas and search for knowledge - without political, religious, or other boundaries - has been a central pillar of civilized society for centuries. The violation of this core principle in the pursuit of the anti-Israel obsession on many college campuses was correctly understood to be a danger that went far beyond the threat to Israel. At the same time, it was also necessary to defeat efforts to justify an academic boycott by calling Israel the new "apartheid state," similar to South Africa, where various sanctions were employed. Indeed, the "apartheid" strategy against Israel, including the use of boycotts, was proclaimed in public at the UN's conference against racism, held in Durban, South Africa, in September 2001. This orgy of hatred was the result of the combined efforts of many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN groups that exploit human rights and humanitarian claims to promote the destruction of Israel. The Durban agenda - created by NGOs funded by the Ford Foundation, the governments of Canada (through CIDA) and Europe, and other sources - continues to promote a variety of anti-Israel boycotts. In the process, the heads of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Christian Aid, etc., use their money and media access to paint highly distorted images of Israeli "human rights violations," and to promote boycotts. However, by directly confronting this great lie of Israel as a "racist state," rational people without an ideological chip on their shoulders were able to recognize the inherent immorality of this claim. The success of this two-track strategy - combining the emphasis on academic freedom and the rejection of efforts to demonize Israel - is an important lesson for future battles in this deadly political war. Despite the difficult conditions, we have shown the ability to mobilize massively and quickly to defeat such efforts. Indeed, this political victory is no less important than any victory on the military battlefield. Prof Gerald Steinberg directs the Program on Conflict Management at Bar Ilan University and is the editor or www.ngo-monitor.org |
| GUSH KATIF |
WHAT ABOUT JEWISH BLOOD?
Posted by Yehudit Tayar, June 30, 2005. |
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[Editor's note: Mrs Tayar is commenting on the fact that the Rabbinate was blamed for not properly educating the youth, who were arrested for civil disobedience in Gush Katif. young Israelis.] Was the same accusation directed against the educational facilities in Tel Aviv, Netanya, or other parts of Israel where young people go out and murder, rape and are involved in other acts of violence? Was Limor Livnat as Minister of Education brought to the television to explain how the Board of Education had failed and accused of not knowing how to educate our youth? Or is it only Rabbis who are put in the hot seat? The truth of the matter is that we can be proud of our youth who are actively involved in youth movements, volunteer in social programs and elite units in the army. When did we see such a reaction before when Jewish blood was spilled? Did we hear any reaction from the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, or for that matter from the media following the brutal double murder of two Jewish boys only a few days ago? We, the Jewish residents of Katif and the Shomron have lived in the shadow of thousands of missile and shooting attacks, along with the waves of injustice and apathy of a government which is directing the Israeli Defense Forces not to initiate any action that could perhaps save Jewish lives. Even when the terrorists were seen by helicopter pilots or ground forces they were refused the green light to attack those murderers of innocent people. There was a feeling amongst the bomber squads in World War Two that were hitting targets in Germany or other occupied countries while fighting the Nazis, that it was all so far away from them. So sterile - just little puffs of cloud-like umbrellas in the distance under them so that they did not even feel that they were dealing with real people. Sharon and Mofaz are up there in the clouds on their own mission. Unattached to the reality of the painful, bloody reality of our lives they allow perpetual murders, not a one time atrocity but daily planned atrocities. They are in a hurry to complete the deportation of men, women and children from Katif and Shomron, and this only as a first step. They are training and trying to brainwash our sons and daughters who are serving in the security forces to numb themselves to illegal, immoral orders. They are preparing the soldiers and security forces of Israel to obey disgusting orders to force innocent people out of their homes, communities and cemeteries for no understandable or justifiable reason except to cover up the corruption of the Prime Minister and his illegal activities. They are ignoring the dangers from the terror organizations that are waiting for the chance to move their mechanisms of terror into the areas ethnically cleansed from Jews, in order to murder more innocent people. They are ignoring the damage to the fiber of our country by forcing a split in the people of Israel, one which is doubtful we would ever recover from. They are ignoring the warnings of heads of the security and former top officers who were thrown out for being honest about the dangers of this immoral, unjust and dangerous plan. This government and the media are too busy with us those they call extremists, whom they claim are a danger to the country. Today when Sharon ordered the capture and incarceration of those immoral fanatics who would stone an injured human (even if he was trying to injure or kill innocent people when he got hurt), what Sharon forgot is the honest truth. Sharon may be seated in the sterile heights of power up there in the government but he is not only culpable for every Jewish life lost, he is just as guilty as the criminals who threw the rocks yesterday at a man when he was down. Sharon and Mofaz along with all of the weak, immoral, and corrupt members of this pathetic government should and hopefully will eventually be brought to justice in court and they certainly will be brought to the historic justice that none can escape, especially when they endanger the Jewish homeland and the Jewish people. Mrs. Tayar lives with her family in the Shomron and is a veteran spokesperson for the Settlement Movement |
| GUSH KATIF |
EXPULSION HAS BEGUN: GUSH KATIF HOTEL FORCIBLY EVACUATED
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, June 30, 2005. |
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This is pretty much what has been expected. This is also exactly how Sharon plans on destroying the Jews of Gush Katif. Total disregard for law, Israeli or International, maximum brutality and either dumping the victims into concentration camps or in the middle of nowhere. BTW, that trick of dumping victims in the middle of nowhere, Sharon learned from the East Germans. Before the Berlin Wall was erected, the Communist goon squads use to board the trains heading to the West and freedom, stop the train between cites and eject anyone (into the middle of nowhere) who looked like they were trying to leave East Germany. I wonder what other goodies he intends to copy from them? Aside from getting his goon squads into the right mood for their main job, the primary point to this Pogrom is to terrorize all the Jews of Yeshah not just those in Gush Katif. As has been said all along, Sharon is not bluffing. He fully intends to exterminate the Jewish communities in Yeshah and is only starting with Gaza. No amount of passive resistance will stop him. He is more than willing to allow the country to come to a stand-still as a result of massive demonstrations but his mercenaries and goons will move full seed ahead and destroy Gush Katif. Then he will turn them on the protesters with a vengeance. This is a news item from Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com. It is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=84929 The photos come from the Israel Reporter website (http://www.IsraelReporter.com). The publisher, Shlomo Wollins, lives in Gush Katif. In a relatively quick but violent action, police and army forces completed the evacuation of the Maoz HaYam Hotel in Gush Katif this afternoon. It took less than two hours for hundreds of policemen to forcibly evacuate approximately 150-200 residents of the hotel this afternoon. Televised pictures showed young crying girls wearing orange shirts being dragged away by four and five Border Guard policemen. Some girls were seen with their hands self-bound with orange ribbons. The residents, who have been there between a few days and a year, were dragged onto waiting buses. One woman who was forcibly evacuated spoke with Arutz-7, and said, "They took us by bus to a place around 40 minutes away - and they just dropped us off! In the middle of nowhere, they told us to get back ourselves!" She said that she was able to hitch a ride back to Gush Katif, and because of her ID card showing that she is an official resident of the area, was allowed in. "Even more of a scandal than just dropping us off in the middle of nowhere," the woman said, "is the fact that this morning the army did not allow the supermarket truck to make deliveries of milk to our children. My children are starving! If the army would have prevented Arab children from getting milk, what a stink there would be!" The local police commander confirmed that the closure on Gush Katif is only temporary, and "specifically for the purpose of ridding the area of these extremists in the hotel." Journalists on the scene were skeptical of this claim. "We'll see if that's what will really happen," said one. "Don't forget that today is the last day of school, and if they open Gush Katif, many people will start streaming in." A compromise proposal is that Gush Katif residents would be allowed to travel freely, but that checkpoints at the entrance to Gush Katif would carefully screen incoming traffic. Nadia Matar, of Women in Green, who now lives in Gush Katif, had strong accusations against the Yesha Council and other officials today: "This was a disgusting deal they made, to go along with the army plans to temporarily close off the area in order to clear the area of so-called extremists. This hotel was to be a critical location both for us and for the army during the coming weeks - and this deal enabled them to take it over." Despite her fury, she said, "We will continue the struggle. True, we won't be able to go back to the hotel, as the army will have taken it over, but we'll work from other places." One young man who was dragged onto a bus, who has been living in the hotel for over a year, spoke to reporters from the bus. "We have been on a bus for over an hour, but no one has told us where we're going," he said. "The police and security forces came in and beat us for no reason," the young man said. "People here are really hurt. I told them that we live in the hotel legally; we're on the other side of the hotel, not in the part that's so famous. We are here with all the right permits. But still, we said that we would go out peacefully - and yet they took us away with great force, and hurt us. Now we're on the bus, and have been here for over an hour, no one is telling us where we're going, we haven't been able to see a medic or get something to drink." The man, speaking with Voice of Israel Radio, said that he, his brother and several friends from Gush Katif have been living in the hotel for several months. Other long-time Gush Katif residents have been living in the hotel for several months as well. Another of those residents later told Arutz-7 that in fact, he and
his friends have been allowed to remain. He said that the above-quoted
man was arrested "by mistake," and had already returned home to the
hotel.
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.
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THE UNMASKING OF ARIEL SHARON - CONTINUED
Posted by Ruth Matar, June 30, 2005. |
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Dear Friends, I am writing this on Thursday morning, 9:00 AM, Israeli Time. I have just received a phone call from my daughter-in-law and co-Chair of Women in Green, Nadia Matar, who currently resides in Gush Katif with her children. She told me that the elite police-patrol unit (YASSAM), known for their brutality towards Jews, is on the way to the Palm Beach Hotel (renamed Maoz HaYam - The Seaside Fortress) to forcibly evacuate its residents. This includes, of course, Nadia Matar, since she is the hotel owner's Legal Representative and Hotel Manager. How can Sharon forcibly evacuate the residents of the privately owned hotel and its legal Representative and Manager, Nadia Matar? It should be made clear that the army has previously tried to negotiate a deal with the owner to let them establish an army base in his hotel in order to facilitate the evacuation of Gush Katif. The owner firmly resisted the government's financial overtures. Last week I wrote my Letter from Jerusalem on the incontrovertible truth that Sharon has betrayed his own nation, Israel, in order to avoid a criminal indictment for corruption for himself and his two sons. Most of my email correspondents were shocked but supportive. However, a few people just could not stomach the truth about Ariel Sharon. "How can you say this about Ariel Sharon, the hero of so many Israeli wars"? My answer is: He fooled so many of us, including, I'm sorry to say, the Women in Green. On a personal level, he was always chummy and successfully pretended that we were comrades in arms, fighting for the same cause of an undivided Jerusalem and the whole of the Land of Israel. However, there was one person who read Ariel Sharon correctly. Eric H. Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism. In this connection, early this morning, we received a fax from an American attorney, Lionel Alan Marks (fax: 011-972-212-943-3495; telephone: 011-972-212-943-3400). Attorney Lionel Marks writes in his Cover Letter the following comments: "Please read the most remarkable and prescient article in the Reform Judaism magazine on Ariel Sharon. Written in 1990 by Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, the article reveals the controversial and erratic military and political background of Sharon. Quoting two remarkable prescient conclusions in the article:'As an opportunist who has exchanged one set of principles for another many times before, he will not hesitate to betray his right-wing constituency if this is required to bring him success.' This article is called "Israel's False Messiah" and it was written by Eric H. Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism. Ariel Sharon is a maverick who continues to defy the conventions of Israeli political life. No other Israeli leader has been so thoroughly disgraced and discredited, nor returned so quickly to political prominence and respectability. Forced to step down as defense minister in 1983 for "indirect responsibility" for the massacre of hundreds of women and children in Sabra and Shatilla during the Lebanon War, General Sharon is today a serious contender for prime minister of Israel. Sharon's downfall is easy enough to trace. Appointed defense minister by Menahem Begin in 1981, he immediately began preparing for a general war in Lebanon, determined to dislodge the Syrians and Palestinians and install a pro-Israel Christian government. Knowing that neither the Israeli government nor the public would approve such a scheme, he kept his intentions secret, obscuring from the cabinet the true extent of the war. On August 12, 1982, however, he was stripped of the authority to command the Air Force, which he had ordered to strike at Beirut without government approval or Prime Minister Begin's knowledge. Those who hail Ariel Sharon as Israel's most brilliant military commander reflect a popular mythology that ignores historical fact. While "Arik" Sharon has had his successes, a review of his years in the military reveals an uneven record and a tendency to disobey orders. He has shown indifference to civilian casualties and escalated military actions beyond the intentions of his superiors. Indeed, the fiasco of the Lebanon War should properly be seen as the logical outcome of Ariel Sharon's military career rather than as an aberration. As a young man, Sharon was asked to lead a special commando unit, Unit 101. In what was to be a limited retaliatory raid on the Jordanian village of Qibiya in 1953, Sharon's men demolished 42 houses and killed 69 civilians, half of them women and children. This incident, a source of controversy still, caused an international uproar and much anguish and soul-searching within Israel. In the Sinai Campaign of 1956, Sharon disobeyed specific orders not to send men Into the Mitla Pass. Uzi Benziman, a respected Israeli journalist and the author of the definitive biography of Sharon, has chronicled the details of the battle, in which Sharon's paratroopers suffered 38 men killed and 110 wounded in an ambush. The incident led to bitter criticism of Sharon after the war by paratroop officers and the high command, almost ending his military career. During the Yom Kippur War, Sharon, with a bandage on his forehead, led his troops across the Suez Canal. In the opinion of many experts, the much publicized crossing was poorly conducted and costly in lives. Benziman has noted that Sharon's battle tactics were opposed by many of his own officers, and that he was severely criticized for not extending assistance to the beleaguered units of General Avraham Adan. Sharon's political career is no less controversial. Viewed today as an answering nationalist, he has in fact demonstrated extraordinary political opportunism. Before retiring from the army in 1973, he negotiated simultaneously with both Menahem Begin and Labor kingmaker Pinhas Sapir. After joining Begin and helping him establish the right-wing Likud Party, Sharon crossed party lines in 1976 and became personal advisor to Labor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Following his decision to form his own party list, he sought the support of Israel's leading doves, including Yossi Sarid, the Knesset's most prominent left-wing member. Prior to the 1977 elections, he called on Israel to negotiate with the PLO, expressed a willingness to meet with Yasir Arafat, and agreed to a formulation permitting Arab sovereignty over the territories. In light of his uneven past, how is one to explain Sharon's rapid rehabilitation and sudden emergence as the leading figure of Israel's right wing? While there is no simple answer, a number of factors have apparently contributed to his current political prominence. First, he is a charismatic figure possessing leadership qualities unusual among Israel politicians of either the right or left. Daring in his thinking, original in outlook, and hardworking, he has a straightforward, confident manner which radiates strength and draws people to him. Second, he is very skilful in his dealings with the press. Sharon was the first army commander in Israel to cultivate the media, which explains his exaggerated reputation as a military hero. Beginning in the 1950s, even his most ordinary military actions were reported in the newspapers as if they were strokes of genius. Third, his accomplishments on the battlefield, while less dazzling than commonly thought, are nonetheless impressive. Sharon's finest hour came during the Six Day War as commander of a division in the Sinai, where his courage and tactical skill won the gratitude and respect of many Israelis who tend to forgive his shortcomings. Fourth, and by far most important, Sharon is a deft exploiter of the security situation in Israel. For twenty years he has played on the fears of the Israeli public, continually insisting that the very survival of the state is in jeopardy and engaging in heated public feuds with Yitzhak Rabin, Menahem Begin, Ezer Weizmann, and Moshe Arens. As a military man, Sharon's claims are always received with a certain sympathy, especially when public insecurities run high. Sharon then becomes the rallying point for public discontent. Since the outbreak of the Intifada in late 1987, he has stepped up his criticism of the leadership of both Likud and Labor, attacking their incompetence and proclaiming that he alone can end the uprising and bring peace. Could Sharon actually become prime minister? When Likud last chose a party leader in 1984, Sharon received roughly 40% of the Central Committee's votes. When the party selects a successor to Shamir before the next election, scheduled for 1992, most observers believe that Sharon will not have sufficient support. Still, a Sharon victory cannot be ruled out if the security situation and the political atmosphere continue to worsen. How dangerous would Sharon be as prime minister of Israel? According to virtually every sober assessment, he would be very dangerous indeed. In 1977 Menahem Begin stated that Sharon was capable of surrounding the Knesset with tanks. While Yitzhak Rabin was prime minister, Sharon presented him with a plan for restructuring the government that included a provision proclaiming a state of emergency "in order to contend with the political blockade that has been imposed upon Israel." The plan was not adopted, but the ambiguity of the phrase would have allowed a state of emergency to be proclaimed on virtually any pretext. Elements of both Labor and Likud have frequently questioned Sharon's commitment to democracy, a concern which has been deepened by his demagogic tendency to present himself to voters as a "strong man" capable of saving the people from weak and treacherous leaders. Israeli diplomats recall that, during his tenure as defense minister, Israel's relations with the United States and the Pentagon reached an all-time low. Today, there is little support for his belief that massive force and large-scale deportations would end the intifada, and most experts dismiss as naïve his view that Palestinians will accept Israeli rule in the West Bank should King Hussein fall and a Palestinian state be established in Jordan. There are those, however, who would welcome Sharon as prime minister, and they are not limited to the right wing. They argue that only a tough, unifying leader like Sharon, a man with nationalist credentials and a military background, can make peace with the Arabs. They also contend that, unlike many other politicians on the right, Sharon will not be weighed down by the ideology he now espouses or the political solutions he advocates. As an opportunist who has exchanged one set of principles for another many times before, he will not hesitate to betray his right-wing constituency if this is required to bring him success. Still, those who are counting on Sharon to be a moderate and flexible prime minister are taking an enormous gamble. Sharon's career and reputation are rooted in confrontational politics and the use of power. While it is possible that he would abandon these instincts to search for peace, it is more likely that he will lead Israel into a war with its Arab neighbors. *** The following indictment of Ariel Sharon is connected with his own autobiography, Warrior. In this book, Ariel Sharon describes how he, as a young man, wanted to join the elite fighting force, the Palmach, which had been organized in 1941. The following is a verbatim excerpt, pages 35-36:. "But it turned out that my father had other ideas. One day as we were working together in the orange groves, I glanced up and saw him looking at me, his face framed by the branches of a tree. With an expression full of concern he said, 'Arik, I want to tell you, anything you decide to do with your life is all right with me. But you have to promise me one thing. Never, never participate in turning Jews over to non-Jews. You must promise me that you will never do that.' Ariel Sharon in his autobiography says that he understood his father's feelings exactly and accepted them. This turns out to be additional self-serving lies on Sharon's part. During the period of the "Saison" in the mid-1940's, Sharon and other left-wing Haganah activists often beat up Nationalists ETSEL (Another name for Menachem Begin's Irgun Group), and LECHI activists. Ben-Ami Zamir, who today is a member of the Likud Party Bureau, yesterday gave the following harrowing account to Arutz Sheva: "I was given the mission of establishing an Etzel cell in our moshavah [townlet] of Magdiel, and I did so. I gathered some youths in our cafe, and I would often give shelter to Etzel men who needed to hide from the British police. Everyone knew everyone, and it was known that I was an Etzel man, as were all my neighbors; residents of the surrounding moshavim were rival Haganah people." Zamir said that a fight ensued, and "for ten minutes, they destroyed everything they could... The next morning, I went to the Sharon home... His mother came out, saw me all bandaged up and immediately realized what was going on. I asked where Arik was, and she said he wasn't home. I said that if I would see him, I would get him. Later people in Kfar Malal told me that he was afraid to go home. We didn't see him again in Magdiel." Zamir said that this was not the only violent incident against Etzel people in which Sharon was involved. He noted specifically the case of someone named Hayuma, who died six months ago, whose arm was broken by Sharon's gang. Zamir's story was publicized 15 years ago by Yediot Acharonot reporter Shlomo Nakdimon. That article also quoted similar testimony by Etzel member Daniel Basamnik. "Sharon threatened to sue [following Nakdimon's article]," Zamir told Arutz-7's Cohen, "but for his own reasons decided not to." In 1983, Ariel Sharon rushed to sue Time Magazine for remarks that they published with regard to Sharon's part in the Lebanon War!) It is, therefore, extremely interesting that Ariel Sharon threatened to sue Yediot Acharonot and its reporter Shlomo Nakdimon, but never instituted such a suit. This story, if untrue, is certainly defamatory! On June 28, Arutz Sheva republished the same interview with Ben-Ami Zamir. Again, Ariel Sharon did not rush to sue Arutz Sheva. Also, how come Ariel Sharon does not sue the authors of the book Boomerang, Raviv Drucker of Channel 10 TV, and Ofer Shelach of Yediot Aharonot newspaper for the accusations they make against him, both in writing and on Channel Two television? How come he does not sue Carolyn Glick for her article: "Our World: A Coward For Prime Minister," published in the Jerusalem Post on June 20? And finally, how come Sharon does not sue me, the writer of last week's Letter from Jerusalem, "The Unmasking Of Ariel Sharon"? Is Ariel Sharon no longer concerned about defamation of his own name? Sharon is sitting tight and his bureau is keeping numb. MK Handel, who spoke up before Shelach and Druker did, has long since volunteered to wave his Knesset immunity so that Sharon can take him to court, but Sharon has not picked up the gauntlet. WHAT IS ARIEL SHARON AFRAID OF? That the judgment may be that these statements are the unvarnished truth, rather than libel? Dear Friends, I implore you: disseminate this article to your utmost ability. Send it to your legal representatives. Send it to your local newspaper. Speak about it in your synagogues and churches. Discuss it with your family and friends. This is not an article that you can afford to put aside as interesting, but of no concern to you. We desperately need new elections in Israel. If Ariel Sharon succeeds to continue in his evil, dangerous and dictatorial path, the very future of Israel as a Jewish democratic State is in danger. In addition, virtually all the senior army personnel warn that after, G-d Forbid, a successful Disengagement-Deportation of the Jews in Gush Katif and northern Samaria takes place, Israel will face a major Arab attack. With Blessings and Love for Israel,
P.S. Don't forget to print out this article and send it to President George W. Bush. I cannot believe that President George W. Bush will want to go down in history as the American President who collaborated with Ariel Sharon in his crimes against the Jewish People. Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org |
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TAKING TRUTH ABOUT JIHAD TERRORISM TO THE PEOPLE
Posted by Jeffrey Epstein, June 30, 2005. |
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This was written by Robert Spencer and is archived on http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=7928 Mr. Spencer is director of Jihad Watch and author of "Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West" (Regnery) and "Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith" (Encounter); and editor of "The Myth of Islamic Tolerance" (Prometheus). "The only person who matters is Allah - and the only question he will ask me is 'How many infidels did you kill?'" These are the words of Marwan Abu Ubeida, the subject of a Time magazine piece entitled "Inside the Mind of an Iraqi Suicide Bomber." It is gratifying to see Time being willing to make this trip inside Marwan's mind, since most mainstream media outlets have been singularly uninterested in the thought processes of jihad terrorists. But even Time doesn't explore the implications of Marwan's words. And this is no trivial omission: jihadists from Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to Marwan Abu Ubeida have consistently made clear that today's jihadists are working from mainstream traditions and numerous Qur'anic exhortations, and that by means of these traditions and teachings they are able to gain recruits among Muslims worldwide - as well as to hold the sympathy of others whom they do not recruit. This explains why there has been no widespread, sustained, or sincere Muslim outcry against the jihad terrorist enterprise in general. Marwan makes it clear: "The jihadis are more religious people. You ask them anything - anything - and they can instantly quote a relevant section from the Qur'an." He is chillingly forthright: "Yes, I am a terrorist. Write that down: I admit I am a terrorist. [The Qur'an] says it is the duty of Muslims to bring terror to the enemy, so being a terrorist makes me a good Muslim." He invoked Qur'an 8:60: "Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the enemy of Allah and your enemy." The jihad ideology Marwan reflects is rooted in the Qur'an and Islamic tradition. The longer we postpone confronting that fact, the worse the problem will grow. Yet both liberal and conservative media analysts do not want to face this. They think that by speaking about the Islamic roots of jihad violence they will undercut moderate Muslims. But in fact, no reform in Islam can ever take place without an acknowledgment of what needs to be reformed. The near-universal refusal to provide that acknowledgment is just one reason why that reform is virtually certain not to be forthcoming. The contemporary problem of global Islamic terrorism will never be solved unless people are willing to speak forthrightly about the nature of the challenge we face and work to find positive solutions. Ignoring or distorting the true nature and source of the problem will only postpone the crisis, and make its ultimate resolution more difficult. The media is failing the American public on this issue. But the truth will out, if in other venues. It's time for the direct approach. One organization is taking the truth about jihad terrorism directly to the people: The People's Truth Forum. On September 21 I will be participating in a symposium on terror, sponsored by the Forum, entitled, "The Radical Islamist Threat to World Peace and National Security." This symposium will challenge media bias head-on by exploring forthrightly such unexamined dogmas as the idea that regionalized economic conditions and American injustices are the real cause of terrorism, not any imperative derived from Islamic theology. We will explore the mindset of people like Marwan Abu Ubeida who think that terror is commanded by God, providing a profile of the slaughterers of innocents that is urgently needed - and has not been provided by the media in almost four years since 9/11. Other speakers include the renowned terrorism expert Harvey Kushner, author of Holy War on the Home Front; Brigitte Gabriel, a former anchor for world news in the Middle East and a prominent Arab-American journalist; and Judith Jacobson, vice-president of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) and the coordinator of the Columbia University SPME chapter. This promises to be one of the few places in modern-day America where you will be able to hear the truth about what we're up against. Get more information about how you can attend at http://www.peoplestruthforum.com/. [Editor's note: see below for information about the symposium. ] Jeffrey Epstein is spokesman for the Symposium. Contact him at 860 537 0211 or by email at staff@peoplestruthforum.com |
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A GENTLEMAN AND FOLLOWING ORDERS
Posted by Batya Medad, June 30, 2005. |
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Two images are chasing around in my brain competing to see who will be the first on the page. It's hard to decide, and I don't want to delay one in favor of the other, so they will be combined. In actuality, they are related. In the more than half a century since World War II ended, philosophers, politicians, religious leaders and educators have condemned the German rationale, excuse for murdering Jews and others during the Holocaust. The German people explained that they were "just following orders." Being part of the post-war baby boom it was almost a mantra, a negative one for us. It was made very clear to us that we must develop strong consciences and never, ever do something immoral, no matter who was telling us. "Just following orders" was considered the lowest level a person could go. This makes the present situation wherein Israeli soldiers and police are beating up Jews, dragging them from homes and demonstrations, as if they were dangerous criminals. The scenes on the TV of four five even six big burly police and soldiers, dressed in riot gear, grabbing a single teenager, both girls and boys, pushing mothers who are holding babies, as the victims all cry out in pain... You wouldn't want to see, but everyone should, because no description, even from the most gifted writer can convey the sick brutality. For months the press has been full of condemnation towards anyone who dares to refuse orders or encourage soldiers and police to refuse orders. We are told that the "state" is supreme, and if something is voted for in Parliament, then it is to be obeyed without question. That's why good Germans killed Jews. They didn't want to get into trouble; they didn't want to lose their jobs. Just like Bibi Netanyahu's reason for staying in the government. He's just following orders unlike two young soldiers Avi Beiber and Chaim Attar who are in military prison for refusing to participate in the uprooting of Jews from Gush Katif. And the gentleman I'm referring to was always a gentleman even kissing ladies' hands, like in the old European royal courts. He's the same gentleman who was civil to those who tried to murder him and his followers. He was always well-mannered to those who turned in fellow Jews to the British. He was also polite when after decades in the opposition he became Prime Minister and didn't replace political appointees of the old rule with the new. Yes, I'm referring to Menachem Begin, a charming sensitive man who never deserved the description "terrorist." Today's disgraceful action against fellow Jews is a continuation of the sezon, when the Hagana and the Jewish Agency turned Etzel and Lechi, aka, the Stern Gang fighters over to the British and the murderous attack on the Altalena, a ship that arrived in Israel soon after the declaration of the state. It was sent by the Etzel and loaded with arms and volunteers to liberate the Old City of Jerusalem. Instead of finding a way to work with Menachem Begin, who headed the Etzel, Ben Gurion decided to attack the ship. The result was many Jews were killed, the weapons sank with the ship, and Jerusalem was divided until the 1967 Six Days War. As the newly established Jewish state and army concentrated on becoming a state "like any other," the leader of the opposition, being a gentleman didn't demand apologies and re-education. The history curriculum glossed over it, and there was no national cheshbon nefesh, introspection or "accounting of the soul." That is why today it is so easy for a segment of the Israeli population to attack fellow Jews. They got away with it decades ago and have no idea of the immorality. No matter what the outcome, we have a duty, what Menachem Begin should have done in the early years of the state. We must keep reminding our fellow Jews of the immorality of their actions. We must awaken their consciences until they do tshuva, repent and understand the seriousness of their sin. Only after tshuva can we all unify into one strong people, G-d willing. Shabbat Shalom U'Mivorach! This is Musing #128. 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 is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/07/gentleman-and-following-orders.html |
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WHAT IS FITTING JUSTICE? WHAT BUSH DOCTRINE? P.A. BASHES BUSH, BUSH
BOLSTERS P.A.; PAX VS PACTS
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, June 30, 2005. |
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Untutored people who assume competence to interpret the Bible without expert help mistakenly take literally the "eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth" doctrine of the Bible. What the Bible really means is that "punishment should fit the crime." How? It is tempting to suggest unusual but colorful means of punishment. The US Constitution forbids "cruel and unusual" punishment. The injunction against "unusual" punishment seems to forbid a punishment at one time that would seem reasonable at an earlier time, or vice versa. Israeli penalties are peculiar. Under the Israeli justice system, the judges are ideologues. They persecute Jews and Judaism. They under-penalize Arab attempted-murderers. Pressured by the US, Israel subverts its rationale for anti-terrorism, by freeing terrorists, half of whom promptly try again to murder more Israelis. The sophistry by which the government first denies that it would release dangerous terrorists and then does, is contemptible. Every time terrorists are caught at checkpoints smuggling bombs, an IDF communiqué states that the bombs were "detonated in a controlled manner." That is, they were blown up in a lead box or an open field. I think that is too easy on the terrorists. If "eye-for-an-eye" were intended almost literally, then the smuggler should be blown up with it. I would settle for bringing his bombs to his house, evacuating his relatives, and then detonating the bombs "in a controlled manner." WHAT BUSH DOCTRINE? "Commentary" took up Norman Podhoretz' defense of the Bush Doctrine against terrorism. My letter pointed out that what Pres. Bush said is amply contradicted by his pursuing the same old policy with the P.A.: (1) Give it aid regardless of its failure to crack down on terrorism; (2) Demand concessions from Israel; (3) Pursue statehood for those undeserving Arabs. Mr. Podhoretz' reply was disappointingly stubborn for someone of demonstrable brilliance. He ignored the last point, as if he endorses its unfair anti-Zionism. He said he would continue to believe in Bush's fealty to the Bush Doctrine until Bush violates the Road Map by turning to its phase 3, final negotiations, without having gotten the P.A. to fulfill its anti-terrorist obligations under phases 1 and 2. As evidence in favor of Bush, he cites Bush's continued exhortation to the Arabs to cease terrorism. Podhoretz refuses to acknowledge that the exhortation is so soft as to be lip service. Truth is not a Bush virtue. If Bush were sincere, he would demand the crackdown now. Podhoretz excuses that shortcoming by accepting the excuse that the US and Israel is giving Abbas the political strength to crack down. It's recycling the same old excuse that was phony with Arafat. Worse, as my letter stated, Abbas declares his refusal to crack down. Time to give up hope for him, and certainly to stop making checkpoint concessions that enable his minions to murder more Jews. When an uninformed friend of mine reiterated the security rational for Sharon's abandonment plan, that it would leave Israel tighter defensive lines, I excused his ignorance of military matters and of how the Arabs fight. But Podhoretz, made the same statement, despite the Israeli defense establishment consensus warning against the increased terrorism that the abandonment would lead to. Defense is not a static matter of staying behind a certain line, especially not in Israeli military doctrine. The IDF prefers to take the offensive, and to take it in enemy territory. That keeps Israeli civilian casualties down and allows some leeway for mistakes. The Arabs have been moving rockets as close to Israeli cities as they could. Abandonment would enable them to move them along the whole length of Gaza without IDF interference. Casualties would soar. Everything Bush and Rice do reinforces the thrust of a policy of sacrificing Israel to the Arabs. KORAN DESECRATION IN ISRAEL During a prison inspection, a female Muslim Arab terrorist took some pages torn out of the Koran and threw them into the toilet (IMRA, 6/19). Why? BUSH-BASHING IN THE P.A. Abbas controls the P.A. government, including the TV stations and the mosque preachers, whose salaries he pays. His official TV interviewed a leader of Hamas, who accused Bush several times of leading a Christian Crusade against Islam. The preachers' anti-American sermons were broadcast over P.A. TV and radio (IMRA, 6/19). Ironically, Bush is appeasing P.A. jihad. REASON TO DOUBT ABBAS The "Jordan Times" reassures those who are worried about Europe's tentative relations with Hamas. After all, it argues, Abbas is in constant negotiation with Hamas to bring it into the P.A. mainstream. IMRA finds that all the more reason to doubt the Abbas. The "Times" rationalizes that it may be fruitful to have Hamas help find a political solution to the Arab-Israel conflict. IMRA observes that Hamas is not dedicated to finding a peaceful solution (IMRA, 6/19). Hamas is dedicated to ending the conflict by destroying Israel. What P.A. "mainstream?" It all is extremist. Why is Abbas trying to integrate Hamas into the P.A. government? To maintain power, to keep his life, and to forge unity against Israel. SHARON'S VIEW OF "DISENGAGEMENT" VS. IMRA'S PM Sharon greeted Sec. Rice with, among other drafts of hot air, "The State of Israel is on the threshold of an historic process. Today, one can already see the fruits of disengagement and I am certain that our diplomatic, security and economic situations will further improve as a result of the disengagement." Sharon looks forward to the Road Map, provided the P.A. disarms the terrorists, etc.. (But the P.A. acts in bad faith, not to.) IMRA describes those "fruits": "Israeli-American relations at the point of disaster over military sales and Secretary Rice demands Israel release more terrorists and ease security restrictions so that more Israelis can 'die to please America'), Palestinians (Arabs) exploiting the 'break' to prepare for the next war of attrition (as they openly warn that the terror option is alive and well), Egypt continuing to allow weapons to flow - as it waits for Israel to forfeit the demilitarization of the border area in desperation, and the world already asks 'what have you done for the peace process lately'- but if Mr. Sharon's speechwriters want to say the sun is shinning when we are enveloped in darkness - its shining.'" (IMRA, 6/19.) ISRAELIS DEMONSTRATE FOR FREEING OF POLLARD "It is absurd and intolerably evil that Rice is demanding the release of even more murderers and terrorists while the US remains totally unresponsive to the people of Israel who want Jonathan Pollard home. Unlike the terrorists the US wants freed, Pollard is in his 20th year in an American prison for saving Israeli lives." One of the picket signs read, "US hypocrisy." In one of the last batches released, thanks to US demands, was a man just caught with explosives again (IMRA, 6/19). CONFUSING PACTS WITH PEACE The increasing fighting between P.A. Arabs and Israel leads some to worry that it is closing an "historic window of opportunity for peace." (NY Sun, 6/21, p.7 from A.P.) The Associated Press is stuck in the old notion that jihadist diplomacy is a peace process. It was one thing for the West to imagine that Oslo was an "historic window of opportunity for peace." The Oslo Accords were signed, but the Arabs never kept them. The Arabs made war. It is another thing, after a dozen years of P.A. violations of Olso, to keep on imagining that negotiations with these Arabs may bring peace. The Arabs still are preparing for war. They did not abandon their war culture. They continue inculcating in their youth bigotry and dreams of committing violence. It is telling that those who suppose that negotiations will bring peace, cite no evidence of the Arabs coming around to valuing peace. Neither do they evince understanding of Arab culture, which is belligerent. ISRAELIS TO TURN OTHER CHEEK Reporters learned, what is an old practice that the current Israeli regime does not plan to respond to run of the mill terrorist attacks but only to extraordinary ones, ones that kill a large number of people in one fell swoop. The government also does not expect the P.A. to respond to Arab terrorist attacks against Israel unless they are those extraordinary ones. IMRA notes cynically that the terrorists could kill a few Israelis a day, without repercussion. Over a period of time, it would amount to more than a single larger bombing (IMRA, 6/21). The government often has failed to protect its people since Oslo started. It is preoccupied with a phony peace process, while the Arabs make war. Israel should finish the war, before supposing there might be peace. How peaceful is an enemy obviously trying to kill you? ANOTHER PERESISM Although Peres wants to make Israel dependent upon Egypt to stop the smuggling of arms into the P.A., he allows for failure - he "already proclaims that he doesn't expect the Egyptians to 'completely' stop the smuggling." "Since Peres already explained recently that guns and assault rifles don't matter, it would appear that he would not be troubled by the ongoing smuggling of guns, rifles and ammunition. Add on to this the recent remarks by Dov Weissglass that Qassams don't really matter and we are already at the point that the Egyptians can smuggle guns, rifles, ammunition and Qassam rockets and that would be acceptable. Back on 8 May 2001 Matan Vilnai explained on Israel Radio that Israel should not be concerned if the Palestinians have Strella anti-aircraft missiles since "they do not endanger people - just aircraft". So what exactly would the Sharon-Peres government consider to be too much smuggling if the border is solely under Egyptian control?" (IMRA, 6/20.) Peres' perennial optimism saves, temporarily, having to take unpleasant action. When Egypt increases the smuggling, Peres would say about Egypt what they all say about the P.A.: "It should try harder to stop terrorism." That is lip service that anyone of average intelligence ought to see through. Few people see through it. Are they all below average intelligence? No, but I think that they don't use their intelligence. 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 ricshulman@aol.com. |
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ROADSIDE ETIQUETTE
Posted by Yuval Zaliouk, June 30, 2005. |
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My friend Barbara writes: I highly recommend Ellen's wonderful new book for insights into what has transpired in Israel that has unfortunately brought it to this tumultuous, critical and frightening point in its history. Barbara I add to it that with glee in her voice, Linda Gradstein of NPR, reported from Jerusalem this morning. She, like many other in the biased media, kept calling those who demonstrate "settlers" instead of, for instance, Israelis who oppose the eviction of Jews from their homes and businesses, which is actually the case. Many of those who demonstrate by blocking roads are NOT, repeat, NOT settlers but Israelis from the center of Israel. These Israelis are demonstrating, while the so called settlers are diligently working their lands and businesses. I know, I've been there!!! It is time we stop calling them settlers. Almost every parent and grandparent of Israelis on the liberal left were also "settlers." Are Americans still being called "settlers"? I am disgusted, and so should you be. Now, please go read the following article. Your Truth Provider,
This is called "Roadside Etiquette" and was written by Ellen W. Horowitz. "The government must take 'every measure' necessary to end acts of violence and road blocking by 'rampaging' right-wing extremists... under no circumstances can we allow a lawless gang to try to take control of life in Israel," he [Sharon] said. "The country's citizens must understand this danger, and every measure must be taken to end this rampaging." (Haaretz, June 30) I find the above statement beyond odd, considering the man who uttered it essentially gave carte blanche for lawless Arab butchers to rampage in our streets and destroy and disrupt our lives with their savage attacks for more than four years. How curious that the nation's leader, who was so complacent and at a loss for words and actions during such complete upheaval, has suddenly found the means to articulate and express his wrath (too bad that his own people are the target). In the last 10 days we've lost five of our people to Arab terrorist outrages, and the Premier has remained remarkably silent. How disgraceful that the Prime Minister has reduced a vital concern over security, land, homes, livelihood and our future, to one of mere image. He told Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, "What is happening before our eyes isn't a struggle for the Gaza pullout but for the image of the country." How insane that a country which has "proudly" institutionalized the public sector strike as a means to effect economic and social change, now rejects our right to use it when it comes to protecting our lives and land. How many times have our daily routines been disrupted by the chaotic actions of the Histradrut and their electricity, phone, transportation, teachers, airport, agricultural and postal services strikes? As burdensome as those activities can be, do government officials commonly refer to those workers as "rampaging, lawless gangs"? How overturned is the thinking of Ariel Sharon when, in reference to a purported assault by settlers, he attempts to pander to international opinion by saying, "The wounding of the Palestinian boy is a barbaric, wild and heartless act." Ironically even Israel's arch nemesis, the international media, gave a more accurate account of the assault. On USA Today it was reported that, "an Associated Press reporter saw a group of settlers beat a Palestinian, leaving the man lying motionless on the ground. Moments later, the man was seen getting to his feet." Israel Radio reports that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will establish limits for public anti-pullout demonstrations. But how can we possibly accept or adhere to limits dictated to us by a legislature which has turned justice, morality, and the rule of law on its head? The very people who are on the streets protesting are the citizens who more than anything crave law, order, justice and peace. How can we play by rules that are abominable and the antithesis of everything that's right and true - It's as if we live in Sodom - and, in a sense, maybe we do. As I write this, the fourth annual Gay Pride Parade is taking place in Jerusalem. This year's theme is "love without borders". It was a Jerusalem court which overturned a ban on the event. Thank G-d that there are far more than minyans of righteous people living in our cities. Many of them can be found on the streets and, like Mordechai, they're crying "a loud and bitter cry". So let me save Attorney General Mazuz the time and effort, by declaring what's not permissible: 1) intentionally endangering or harming a fellow Jew.
Yuval Zaliouk writes the Truth Provider columns. To subscribe, send an email to ynz@netvision.net.il |
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Posted by Jerome S. Kaufman, June 30, 2005. |
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that the Quartet for Middle East peace, which includes the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, should work to bring the three major regional actors -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, into the efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Are you kidding me - "resolve the conflict?!! Do you mean destroy Israel by including her mortal enemies in the discussion! How would we like calling in Nazi Germany as a mediator in our war against Japan in WWII? Oh, I forgot, America first destroys her enemies and then dictates the peace to whomever is left. And that works! Why is not Israel given the same privilege Or would the American government prefer to create yet another Arab terrorist nation dedicated to eliminating us both? Still highly recommended is the article WW IV by Norman Podhoretz, Commentary Magazine, September, 2004, for an honest assessment of the current reality. Jerome S. Kaufman is National Secretary of the Zionist Organization of America. and host of the Israel Commentary website (http://www.israel-commentary.org). |
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CREATIVE HARASSMENT USING THE FAX MACHINE
Posted by Moshe Burt, June 30, 2005. |
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I have learned that when one dials a fax number to send a fax and doesn't send or if there is a malfunction in the faxing process, the incoming fax line is tied up until it goes through a certain re-calibration process. Therefore, a group following one after the other could tie up fax machines simply by dialing the fax # and hanging up. Then the next person follows what the first person did on the list and so on and so on ... In short, a group of people could immobilize every gov't fax machine and fax line. Ariel Sharon 5664838 Prime Minister's office
Deputy Ministers Eli Aflalo Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade, and Employment
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Moshe Burt is founder of the Sefer Torah Recycling Network. |
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THE COVENANT OF DEATH
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, June 30, 2005. |
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This was written by Professor Paul Eidelberg, a political scientist, author and lecturer and founder and President, Foundation for Constitutional Democracy. His previous book, "Jewish Statesmanship: Lest Israel Fall", provides the philosophical and institutional foundations for reconstructing the State of Israel. It has been translated into Hebrew and Russian. His most recent book is: "A Jewish Philosophy of History." He is president of Yamin Israel and a member of the Board of Directors of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies. He can be reached by email at eidelberg@foundation1.org I never cease to be astonished by the folly-ridden arrogance of Israeli Prime Ministers. These scorners of the Torah act as if they own the Land of Israel, and they believe they can barter away parts of this land for "peace" with Israel's enemies. Consider Ariel Sharon. In September 2000, he walked on the Temple Mount and proclaimed his belief in "peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs." Immediately thereafter, the Arabs commenced a full-scale terrorist war against the Jews. A few months later, in his campaign for the premiership, Mr. Sharon pledged he will bring "peace and security" to Israel. Why not a pledge like this: "I will crush our enemies!" Or this: "I will uphold the rights of the Jewish people!" Is it not obvious that words like "peaceful coexistence" ignore the simple fact that the Arabs hate Jews, love war, and are not interested in "peaceful coexistence"? Is it not obvious that to achieve "peace and security' the Arabs must first be conquered? Clearly, Mr. Sharon does not take the religion of these Arabs seriously (or does he believe he's the man to overcome their 1,400-year contempt for Jews?). Of course, as a secularist, he does not take seriously the religion of his own people, else he would not be so avidly willing to surrender their land to Jew-killers. Instead of upholding the rights of his people he demoralizes them by saying, "We must make painful sacrifices." Who is this self-effacing "we"? Is he speaking for the Jewish people or for Jews like Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin who do not even believe in the concept of the Jewish people, let alone have the guts to stand up for their God-given rights? Would Peres and Beilin suffer pain if countless Jews were uprooted from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza? Judging from their words and deeds, the expulsion of these Jews would bring a smile to their lips. As for the Prime Minister, since this land does not belong to him, giving this land to Israel's enemies makes him a thief as well as a fool. And this is not all. Yielding this land to Israel's enemies constitutes, prima facie, a violation of Israel's Penal Law on treason! I cite only one category of acts prohibited by this law: acts which give assistance to an "enemy" in war against Israel, which the law specifically includes a terrorist organization. The punishment prescribed for such acts is death or imprisonment for life. Since Israel does not otherwise have capital punishment, the law on treason emphasizes the profound importance of Eretz Israel to the Jewish people. They know this is God's Chosen Land. They know they have a special mission which can only be fulfilled on this Land. Countless Christians know this. They can't understand how Israel's Prime Minister could surrender any part of this holy land. They know he's not religious, but they do not see how his surrendering land to Israel's enemies will bring "peace and security" to his people. For 2,000 years the Jewish People, while scattered throughout the earth, never surrendered their title to this Land. Indeed, what sustained them through all their sufferings were these words of the Torah: "If your outcasts be at the far ends of the heavens, from there will the Lord your God gather you, and from there will He fetch you; and the Lord your God will bring you back to the Land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it." (Deut. 30:4-5). The Jews should therefore assemble in front of the Knesset and proclaim, loudly and incessantly, that the Land of Israel - including Gaza and Judea and Samaria - belongs eternally to the Jewish People. Let it be known to all the world that no transient Prime Minister, no transient government, no transient Knesset - and certainly no "Quartet" - has any right, legal or moral, to surrender any part of this Holy Land to any foreign entity. But know also this: The agreements Israeli Prime Ministers have made with the PLO-Palestinian Authority will eventually collapse like a house of cards. Only fools, liars, and scorners of the Torah say otherwise. The prophet Isaiah in 28:14-18 describes them as the "ballad-mongers" of Jerusalem. These soothsayers, he warns, have made a "covenant with death." They obscure the true nature of this covenant with fine-sounding words like "peace and security." But the prophet exposes what is hidden in their souls: "We have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood have we hid ourselves." Hence the prophet warns that the duplicity of these "ballad-mongers" of Jerusalem will not prevent disaster. Indeed, he prophesies: "Your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand ..." Isaiah's prophecy should be dinned into the ears of Israel's Prime Minister, and his words should strike the eyes of every politician. 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. |
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PA ARABS READYING FOR COMBAT
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, June 30, 2005. |
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This is a news item from Arutz-7 - www.IsraelNationalNews.com IDF intelligence sources have learned that the Arabs of Judea/Samaria are at the height of general preparations for the battles widely expected to follow the planned expulsion/abandonment of Gaza. The reports say that food and medicine - and weapons - are being stockpiled in villages and cities throughout the PA- controlled areas in Judea and Samaria. The Arabs expect the increased terror and other attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers to lead to army-imposed closures and encirclements around the cities and centers of combat. This stockpiling is of special concern, army elements say, because it is reminiscent of the measures the Arabs took before they initiated the Oslo War in late 2000. Among the arms being amassed are light weapons, mortar shells, rockets and more. Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen reports that the security establishment is particularly concerned that the shift of the center of fighting from Gaza to Judea/Samaria (Yesha) is more dangerous from several standpoints. The Arab and Jewish populations in Yesha are physically much closer to each other than in Gaza, placing the Jews in greater danger. In addition, the Arabs have greater accessibility to the roadways on which Jewish citizens drive to and from their communities. In addition to conventional threats on Jewish traffic, the threat of Arab rockets, including accurate anti-tank rockets, is also being taken into account. Such weapons could also endanger reinforced vehicles. Also of concern is the fact that the soft sandy earth of Gush Katif absorbed much of the impact of terrorist-fired rockets, while rockets that hit the hard rocky land of Yesha could be more dangerous. Rocks could be splintered and fire off their own shrapnel, multiplying the effect of the missiles. IDF officers have informed security coordinators in many Yesha communities that they must begin preparing the residents and emergency teams for the coming offensive. To this end, Yesha civilian security officers will tour Gush Katif today, to learn the threats faced by the residents there over the past several years and the means with which they dealt with them. Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org |
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OPEN LETTER TO SECRETARY OF STATE RICE
Posted by Jacob Gurewich, June 29, 2005. |
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Neither shall the Arabians pitch tent there, and neither shall they make their fold there. (Isaiah XIII) In 1945, I was exiled from the Land of Israel after narrowly escaping being hanged by the evil British regime, at the time they ruled Palestina - so-named by the Roman brutal heathens who invaded the Land of Israel - enslaved and exiled most of its population. Yes, I battled the evil British Empire - the world's champion of slavery - for blockading the shores of the Land of Israel and preventing Jewish refugees from reaching their homeland. I battled the evil British for sinking ships with men, women, and children aboard, innocent people who had barely escaped extermination by the Germans. One third of the Jewish Nation was brutally slaughtered in 33 death camps. Yes, I battled the evil regime for torturing, killing, and hanging my fellow freedom fighters. In World War I, the British gained control over the Land of Israel from the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which already harbored a mixed multitude of jobless Arabs from all over the 22 Arab countries. The British continued to allow Arabs to infiltrate the Land of Israel, and in fact, took to calling them :Palestinians." Dear Madam: There was never ever a Palestinian tribe or people; a Palestinian region or a Palestinian country in the Land of Israel, ever. The British encouraged and supported thugs in their region of terror against the Jews in the Land of Israel, because petroleum was more important than Jewish blood. The British viciously violated the decree of the League of Nations and spitefully split off 77 percent of the Land of Israel. They anointed a Bedouin to become "king" of Transjordan to watch over the oil pipeline from Iraq to Haifa. To add insult to injury, in 1948, they joined the Arabs and fought against the fledgling re-established Jewish State in the War of Liberation, as depicted in my books, The Enemy Within (ISBN: 0966639820) and Fear Factors: Israel's Solo Victory Over the Forces of Evil (ISBN: 0966639839). The British were kicked out of the Land of Israel, just as George Washington tossed them out of America in 1776, when they tried to annex the New World (America) to the British enslaved colonies like Jamaica. In 1655, the British took over Jamaica from Christopher Columbus and exterminated more than 300,000 natives in the process. Jamaica was one of the evil British Empire's busiest slave markets in the world. Only in 1962, 16 years after World War II, Jamaica gained its independence. But by then, the British had plagued the country with racial and class warfare. When the British retreated from all their oppressed and exploited colonies, the left chaos and bloodshed in their wake to this day. Let's not forget that the Unites States, which saved England, France and Europe from being annihilated by Hitler, sacrificed more than 500.000 of its sons in the process. And it was with countless American taxpayers' funds that America restored the European economy with the U.S. Marshal Recovery Plan. Ironically, today, especially France and other Europeans are spitting in the plate from which they eat. So hearken, world leaders, and hearken well. Hearken the corrupt U.N., E.U. - the descendants of Hitler - and even our pseudo-ally, the United States of America: In light of the terrible Holocaust, when most of you, directly and indirectly, collaborated with the Hitlerite Germans and exterminated a whole Jewish generation, the cream of the Jewish Nation in the European Diaspora: There shall be no more Catholic Church Inquisitions, and death Camps, nor homicidal Arab Moslem death-encampments in the Land of Israel, nor doomed-to-failure roadmaps of marionettes, dreaming of an Arab state in the Land of Israel. Our own Road Map - not hostile strangers' maps reeking with petroleum - will flourish in the Land of Israel, in technology, medicine, industry, agriculture, in Nature, Justice & Science, and in many other fields. Israel's forces shall be on the alert and will not rely on miracles from outer space. And the sound of joy and delight will be heard throughout the entire Land of Israel, in the flourished settlements and cities throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza, from the Golan Heights in the north along the Jordan River as thou comest to the Gulf of Eilat unto the Red Sea in the south, From the sweet water of the River Jordan in the east through the beautiful, abundant hills and mountains of fruits and sweet wine, to the lightly salted shining water of the Mediterranean Sea in the west, in the Jerusalem of Light - the capital of the Land of Israel of 3000 years. The Arabs' murderous aim is not to live in peace with Israel - they aspire to annihilate the Land of Israel. So, in plain English: Jewish settlements shall never be uprooted from the land, and the world shall never see an Arab state within the Land of Israel. Respectfully,
Jacob Gurewich is author of The Enemy Within and Fear Factors. Contact him by email at jacob@jackgur.com or go to his website: www.jackgur.com |
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ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE "DISENGAGEMENT
Posted by Dr. Ron Breiman, June 29, 2005. |
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At the plenary session of the Caesarea Conference, organized by the Israel Democracy Institute, there was presented a report compiled by a group under the direction of Prof. Daniel Tzidon. The principal recommendation of the report: "The whole world has come to understand that the disengagement is a fact, and it is thus impossible to cancel it," because "the cost of not carrying it out will be ten times the cost of going ahead with it. In his address to the conference, the chairman of Professors for a Strong Israel attacked each of the claims of this report. It is clear that the report was politically motivated, with the single goal of carrying out "disengagement" at any price. Among Dr. Breiman's arguments: - Must the "disengagement" be carried out at any price, including killing of Jewish citizens by the IDF, just because "the whole world" expects it? Dr. Ron Breiman is Chairman of PSI. Reach him by phone at 050-551 8940 |
| GUSH KATIF |
SHARON'S INSTANT CARAVAN SLUMS
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, June 29, 2005. |
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Don't be misled by the seeming generosity of Prime Minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon in providing caravans (house trailers) to the settlers he is uprooting as temporary homes to replace the beautiful, red roofed homes they built, owned and lived their lives. Trusting Sharon is like petting a rattle snake, especially when it come to his keeping his word. He never has. These caravans are liveable but it's like living in a cement shack with plumbing - something like a white-washed cave. There is no cut-off date when the settlers can move out of Sharon's instant slums into real houses. Israel is in deep debt due to Sharon's mismanagement of every phase of Israel's economy. So, when it comes to building replacement homes, there is unlikely to be any money. There is no money or time to build a serious community with real houses, real green-houses, schools, synagogues, businesses which they are being forced to leave behind. Sharon knows that he will be long gone from his high office when the cash register rings empty. Living in a cement trailer home is no bargain, - unless you are the one selling the idea to the public. It's doable but not pleasant or homey. Would Sharon, his Cabinet or the Knesset members consider living in a cement cave...I don't think so. Sharon implies that "it is only temporary" and "we're doing those (ungrateful) settlers a big favor by giving their families someplace to live" (while we destroy their homes or give them to the Arab Muslim Palestinians who have been terrorizing the Jews.) Sharon implies that, it is only a "temporary misery" but somehow I feel it will be like the slums they call refugee camps the Arab countries keep their so-called "Palestinians" in. This will be Sharon and Bush's legacy. This, of course, is nothing compared to the Bush-Sharon future plan to duplicate the Gaza/Gush Katif experiment in Judea and Samaria. The removal of 9,000 men, women and children, all living in cement and plastic trailer/caravans will not compare to forcing out 250,000 Jews in the West Bank. Nothing like having a tyrant for a leader and submissive to an Arabist family in America. And then there is the Sharon-imposed deadlines: The only families who will even get a trailer/caravan are those who leave their homes on 48 hours notice after the "Disengagement" - Evacuation-Eviction-Uprooting begins. Families which number more than 6 will get a 90 square foot trailer; families which are fewer than 6 get a 60 square foot trailer - about the size of your average dining room for the whole family. Only the weakest families will move into the temporary site. Please read the following analysis by Nir Hasson in "Ha'aretz, June 28, 2005: This is only a brief description of the "misery index". Sharon has additionally ordered the Police and Army to start savage behavior in order to intimidate the settlers. We have already seen Police arresting protestors with some being dragged into Police cars and beaten so badly that they had to be taken to the hospital for serious injuries. Then, the records at the hospital are suddenly "lost". Arrests are being made of teenagers, both boys and girls - some as young as 12 years and they are kept in prison by order of Court Judges. [Recall the Judiciary of Adolph Hitler, accepting the new Nuremberg Laws so they could relieve the Jews of their property, jobs, and money before they transported them to camps.] A message to this tyrannical Israeli government: One day there will be convened a "Peoples' Court" who will investigate, indict and imprison all those who used their temporary powers of office to harass the Jews in YESHA (Judea, Samaria and Gaza). Add to that the penalty for those who will cause the likely murders of Jewish men, women and children by the mix of Arab Muslim Terrorists who are already in the seven cities given over to hostile Arab Palestinians by this incompetent and corrupt Israeli government. We can add to that the Mujahaddin (Terrorists for Islam) who will migrate en masse into Gaza from Iraq and/or Syria after Sharon "ethnically cleanses" it of Jews - makes it Judenrein - and other West Bank cities who will launch a full scale war that will make the so-called "insurgency" in Iraq look like a picnic. All of this is coming - courtesy of the Arik Sharon government. Comments by E. Winston [IMRA: From the start it was assumed by the Sharon team that only a small minority of Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip would have to be evacuated by security forces. But with time running out this is far from the case. And to add to the problems, while the Sharon team succeeded in passing legislation that provides for prison terms for those who opt to passively sit in their homes when the security forces come to remove them, this is the very image (residents going limp as they are dragged from their homes) that is considered by the general public to be perfectly acceptable behavior. So the silk glove comes off. Ironically, while at the same time that the Sharon team threatens to deny access to the Nitzanim project to those who don't abandon their pride and leave without a final protest, they are also revealing the "warts" in the Nitzanim project.] "Nitzanim trailer allocation comes with conditions" By Nir Hasson, Haaretz, 28 June 2005 The government will issue an announcement in the next few days stating that Gush Katif residents who want temporary or permanent housing in the Nitzanim area must sign a document at the Disengagement Administration (Sela), pledging to vacate their homes 48 hours after the disengagement begins. Only settlers who agree to vacate their homes voluntarily will be eligible for trailers in the temporary neighborhood in Nitzan. Furthermore, only a family of six or more will receive a trailer measuring 90 square meters; other families will have to make do with a 60-meter trailer. Another prerequisite for receiving temporary housing is to submit a compensation request to Sela by July 20. Settler leaders say the government is depriving citizens of their right to protest being evacuated from their homes. According to the document being formulated, residents who want to live in the temporary community will have to forgo their right to rent payment: a resident who changes his mind after the evacuation and wants to move from the trailer to a rented apartment will be fined an amount equivalent to three months' rent. Trailers will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis, so late registrants will not be able to get one. Meanwhile, settlers are discovering that the temporary housing in Nitzan will entail pretty rough living conditions. "This trailer is the size of my dining room," said G., a prospective resident who visited the trailer park yesterday. With just two children, he will be getting the smaller-sized trailer. Moreover, the distribution of trailers will apparently not take into account the settlements from which residents originate, thus depriving residents of their central demand to keep their communities together. "Only the weakest families will move to the temporary site and the rest will disperse. The place will have a bad image and that will have an adverse effect on residents' desire to return to the area for permanent residency," one official involved in the matter predicted yesterday. The next phase of the Nitzanim plan, to build permanent communities in the dunes area, is dependent on at least 200 families signing up. Sela announced in response that "the document is still being drafted, and it is impossible to know what will be the exact wording of its various clauses." Sela confirmed that the small trailers are intended for households with fewer than six members.
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 IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis - by email at
http://www.imra.org.il
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| GUSH KATIF |
DEFIANT DANCING
Posted by IsrAlert, June 29, 2005. |
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This was written by Andrea Simantov and it appeared in Orange County Jewish Life, in San Diego, California (http://ocjewishlife.com/stories/july05_andrea.html). The last time I visited America was eighteen months ago. I remember the date of the flight, the time I landed, and the name of the car-service chauffeur: Ronald. While I often have trouble remembering where I last put my cell phone, the name of my daughter's math tutor, and what time my Sabbath afternoon study group has scheduled to learn in a particular week, I'll always remember the circumstances of my last visit to America. (Recently I forgot to put on my skirt before a meeting in another part of the city. Very tired from a previous night on the town, I was driving along a major highway when, looking down, I noticed that I was only wearing my slip -- a torn, never-go-out-in-ripped-underwear-mother-warning sort of slip. Naturally, I called the other meeting participants and told them to get started without me.) I traveled to America during the intermediate days of Sukkoth because my father had, not unexpectedly, died. But because I was a daughter who thought her father omnipotent, I had neither bags packed nor instructions to leave for the care of my little ones. A friend drove me to the airport where I was assigned a seat with no prior reservation. In my pocketbook was a toothbrush and change of underwear. My baby brother, also middle-aged and religious, sighed often during the shiva period because the conversations kept turning toward the terrible security situation in Israel, i.e., Intifada. It hurt him, greatly, to hear me responding to questions about bombings, protecting children, and my personal take on the ceaseless violence. In his most gentle manner, he said to me, more than once but never in front of others, "We're sitting shiva. This is about Daddy." Duly chastised, I did my best to comply with the Laws of Mourning and Honoring the Dead. The only time I lost it was when a cousin, well intentioned and Torah-observant, asked me, "How can you live there?" Too stunned by the insensitivity of such a question, still smarting from my brother's admonishment, and anguished by the loss of my father, I could think of no appropriate response. But all good questions -- sensitive, tactless, or merely inquisitive -- deserve an answer and, only eighteen months later, I'd like to offer the following: It's wedding season in Israel, and that's good news for me, because I earn my living preparing brides for their wedding day. (And you thought I was getting rich writing these articles!) It is holy, glorious work, an honorable profession in which I get to share the most important day of a young woman's life. Never leaving her side until she's dressed, adorned, veiled, and holding her bouquet, the few hours before she stands beneath the chuppah are fraught with emotion and shared intimacies. Most of my brides are young and English speaking. This makes sense, since my signature style is certainly more "Western" than is generally found in Israel. Recently I had the great privilege of preparing two sisters for their respective weddings. Shira is a natural beauty: young, blond, tall, and clear-skinned. She reminds me of herbal shampoos, tulips, tofu, and sunshine. She was a stunning bride. Shira's sister, Avigail, is also beautiful, but it is hard to see the familial relationship. Fifteen years older, she looks tired. It isn't easy getting married at thirty-six. It wasn't easy raising six children by herself these last four and a half years. It isn't easy being the widowed-embodiment of the Intifada. Avigail's husband, Gavriel Biton, was a dedicated schoolteacher in the Gush Katif. In November of 2001, the thirty-five-year-old was murdered along with another teacher, Miriam Amitai, when a roadside bomb ripped through the school bus in which they traveled. In all, nine died, most of them children. Three children from the same family -- the Cohens -- miraculously didn't die. They merely lost their legs. Weeks before the simcha, I had the privilege of meeting Avigail's new chattan (groom), Amnon. I was stunned to learn that he had never been married before! His open face and matching personality begged me to ask him, "Nu, Amnon? Why after all this time are you finally marrying? Why Avigail?" His first answer was jovial. "I was looking for a woman with seven children but was forced to settle!" After we both stopped laughing, he offered, earnestly, "My friends all said that I was too picky. But who can explain love? The minute I met her I knew that God hadn't forgotten me." It seemed that all of Kfar Darom was at the wedding, including Gavriel's bereaved parents. In fact, it seemed that all of Am Yisroel was at that wedding. Defiant. Celebrating love. Celebrating hope. Celebrating life. Last month, on a breezy evening in June I had the incredible merit of being a guest at an equally life-affirming wedding. The stunning bride was the daughter of good friends, a charming girl whose delicate beauty causes passers-by to gasp. In storybook fashion, Yael Katz could have married any one of a number of boys, hailing as she does from such a fine, admirable family. She happened to have fallen in love with a young man called Yitzchak. Yitzchak Applebaum. There was a solemnity to the celebrations at the magnificent hotel ceremony where Yael and Yitzchak affirmed their commitment to one-another. Yitzchak's widowed mother should have been standing alongside a living husband on that Wednesday night in June. She should have been surrounded by more living children. But as everyone assembled was painfully aware, her husband David and precious daughter, Navah, had been murdered a year earlier on the eve of Navah's wedding, blown to bits as they shared a Daddy/Daughter cup of cocoa in a local cafe. Dr. David Applebaum was larger than life in his dedication to the land of Israel and all its inhabitants. The purpose of this article isn't to apprise readers of that which is readily available on any Internet search-engine. Six hundred celebrants were at the Avigail Biton's wedding. Six hundred foot stomping, flag-waving, circle-dancing men and women displaying through shouts, tears, and joyous movement that life continues. In swelling defiance of those who would abort our hopes, dash our commitment, squelch the dreams of our children; six hundred revelers danced out the answer: We live! Yael Katz-Applebaum's cousins and new female relatives performed a beautiful, choreographed dance for her before the end of the evening. As the women stood about in a large circle watching the exquisite routine, one couldn't help but gaze at the face of Debra Applebaum, Yitzchak's mom and David's widow. Her young, girl-like countenance was almost unbearable to witness as I could only imagine the thoughts that must plague her every moment. "Why isn't Navah here? Why isn't Navah dancing?" could only have been one of the sentiments she experienced. Certainly, everyone around me was thinking these thoughts. Debra is stoic and beautiful, thrust into a limelight she neither invited nor relishes. We celebrate. We mourn. We boldly hold onto that which would be wrested from our communal grasp by those who say it isn't ours. Biton/Applebaum/you/me. We dance the dance of the defiance. If, as the saying goes, Jews always answer a question with a question, I humbly suggest that six hundred and fifty guests at one wedding, six hundred at another, answered the question posed by my well-intentioned cousin during my father's shiva. "How can you live there?" My answer would simply have to be, "How can I not live here?" Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com |
| GUSH KATIF |
AVI BIEBER: THE BRAVE AND RIGHTEOUS AMERICAN-JEWISH HERO
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, June 29, 2005. |
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Corporal Avi Bieber and his unit were not informed that they were being deployed to remove Jews. Avi Bieber, a 19 year old new immigrant to Israel from New Jersey, went into shock when he saw his commanders beating Jews. I recall the vivid films taken by the Nazis of jack-booted Nazi soldiers beating Jews. Other Nazi soldiers were standing around, laughing and feeling superior. Avi Bieber did the right thing as Israelis commanders show they have forgotten that they were once Jews dedicated to protecting Jews and the Jewish nation. The Jewish General Staff and those commanders who "follow orders" will no doubt claim diminished responsibility at their inevitable trials. Israel's Prime Minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon calls the settler refuseniks "a wild minority" but it was this beast of a man who came to attack them. Sharon gave the orders and he must be held responsible. This is called "Senior Gaza commander: IDF will not tolerate refusal" and was written by Amos Harel, Nir Hasson and Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service. It appeared yesterday in Haaretz (www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=592846). A U.S.-born soldier who refused to take part in an Israel Defense Forces operation to demolish vacant buildings near a Gaza Strip settlement will face a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday headed by Gaza Division commander Colonel David Menachem. A senior IDF commander said the army will not tolerate the phenomenon of refusal. The military advocate general on Monday rejected the request by Combat Engineers Corporal Avi Bieber to be tried in a military court but ruled that the officer to head his disciplinary hearing will be a more senior division commander rather than a brigade commander. This appears to be the route the IDF will take when it comes to additional refuseniks in the future. Right-wing groups that are encouraging soldiers to refuse to participate in disengagement operations would like to see such cases heard by a military tribunal, due to the public nature of such debates. However, IDF sources said Monday that military tribunals will be employed only in extraordinary cases. The IDF, meanwhile, began investing much effort Monday in staving the momentum Bieber's highly publicized actions provided valuable material to the anti-pullout movements. Military sources admitted that the footage from Gush Katif had made a big impression and had provided the pullout opponents with a new symbol for their struggle. Speaking last night at a press conference, the commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi, denied media reports that additional soldiers from Bieber's battalion had threatened to disobey orders the next time around. "There's no need to hold one's breath every time there is a refusal," he said. "Refusals have been and will be. It is not a phenomenon - not now, and not in the future; and one must keep things in proportion. Refusal appears to be an expression of the conflict among the nation. "The soldier admonished his commanders and urged resistance to the evacuation," Kochavi continued. "He was arrested and will be dealt with in the manner in which the IDF deals with such instances. The IDF will not tolerate such behavior under any circumstances. The soldier will be tried and receive the worthy judgment... The evacuation is not the private affair of the IDF and the police. It is the affair of the entire nation of Israel and all the camps - and of the leaders in particular." Bieber defended his action as that of a conscientious objector, saying that his family "didn't come to the country to expel Jews from their homes." Fistfights and shoving matches developed when anti-disengagement protesters swarmed to the site, 11 abandoned beachfront cottages in an military-administered area beside the Gaza Strip settlement of Shirat Hayam. When the scuffles began, Bieber, 19, refused to participate in the demolition of the homes, defining himself as a "conscientious objector." According to Bieber, whose weapon was confiscated and who is expected to be brought up on charges for refusing an order, "Some nine years ago, as a child, I immigrated to Israel with my family from the United States. We didn't come to the country to expel Jews from their homes. "I didn't enlist in the IDF in order to destroy communities or prepare the ground for the destruction of communities. I enlisted in the IDF to defend the state, and this action is not the role of the IDF." His father, Rafael Bieber, said Monday his telephone was constantly ringing with callers praising his son's actions. "Many people from all over the country have telephoned me to say that what he did was a good thing, that he had spoken from his heart, and that many people felt the same way." "I received a call from someone in Brooklyn, New York, who told me that everyone there is with us," Bieber said, adding that the caller told him that footage of his son had appeared on television channels 2, 4 and 7 in New York City. According to Bieber, politics was not behind his son's actions, but rather concern for the demonstrators. "He's a human being. He saw that his commanders were beating Jews, and he'd never seen anything like that in his life. He did not do this because of politics. He did it because he is sensitive, and because he cares, just like you would care if you saw someone beating someone else." It remained unclear if the army intended to bring his son to trial, he said. 'My heart broke' Speaking to Haaretz after the incident, Avi Bieber said he and some of his fellow soldiers were initially unaware of why they had been taken to the site, adding that he had not planned to refuse to participate in the operation. "It wasn't something I planned because I had no idea what I was going into, but when I saw what was happening, when I saw how they were beating dedicated Jews, my heart broke, and my conscience said to me, 'Avi, this isn't Jewish justice. You are not going to participate in such a thing.' "I am proud of what I did," Bieber continued. "I don't think I am a criminal and that I deserve to go to jail; but if they decide to send me to jail, I won't regret it. I did the right thing." Bieber's parents, Michelle and Rafael, said they were proud of their son. "Our boy showed the entire country just how much he loves the State of Israel," Michelle Bieber said. "We raised him to love the country and we hope that others will follow in his footsteps." Bieber's mother said she did not believe her son had been influenced by the rulings of various rabbis. "It was his conscience that told him that this purposeless evacuation, which is taking place without a public mandate, and contrary to everything Prime Minister [Ariel] Sharon spoke about before the elections, is flawed from a value and moral perspective. It was his conscience that told him that we came to the Land of Israel to settle it, and not to prevent Jews from settling it or to deport Jews from it." The Bieber family immigrated to Israel from the United States in 1996, settling initially in Efrat, in Gush Etzion. The family subsequently moved to the Tekoa settlement in the eastern part of Gush Etzion. "Avi Bieber ... and many, many others have caught on to what the media are trying to blur and conceal: We are talking about people of conscience who cannot live with this transfer, just like other people of conscience cannot live, and rightly so, with the deportation of Arabs," commented one of Biber's friends from Tekoa. "This is a red line that Avi Bieber was unwilling to cross. From his point of view, there is a limit to obedience, even if yesterday was just a prelude and promo for the real thing." 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). [Editor's note: the photo is not part of the submitted article.] |
AP photo/Baz Ratner
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EU PAYS "PROTECTION"
Posted by David Frankfurter, June 29, 2005. |
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Dear Friends, For those of you who have written to me asking "why?" about European willingness to continue funding Palestinian corruption and violence, EU Parliamentary President, Josep Borrell Fontelles, gave the answer today in an interview with the Jerusalem Post. The EU, which provides the Palestinian Authority with half of the $1 billion in European aid, is not an altruistic player in the Middle East, said Borrell. With its growing Muslim population, Europe is finding that violence in the Middle East leads to unrest within its own borders, he said. In other words, the EU pays billions of dollars in protection money to the Palestinians in order to ensure that they don't incite the local Muslim population in Europe. No wonder they don't care about the lack of proper controls. The only thing surprising is that Borrell was candid (or stupid) enough to say it publicly. Best Regards,
To subscribe to David Frankfurter's 'letter from Israel', email him at david.frankfurter@iname.com. Or go to http://www.livejournal.com/users/dfrankfurter/ |
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WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Posted by Alan B. Katz, June 29, 2005. |
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"Some rise by sin; others by virtue fall." -- Measure for
Measure
From at least as far back as the legend of King Midas, we have been warned, "Be careful what you ask for. You may get it." Time and again, we have failed to heed the Greek chorus and we could almost hear them laughing in the background, "We told you so." It is entirely likely that we are now at another such moment in history. The American President is embarked upon a noble crusade: democratization. The Palestinian Arabs may again go to the polls; this time to elect parliamentary and municipal representatives. We have encouraged this. Representative government is as mother's milk to Americans. The problem is that democratic elections are not necessarily significative of a democracy. Reliable polls indicate that Hamas and Hizbollah will emerge victorious in many of those free elections. Even if they fail to garnish a majority, it is likely they will be elected in so large a number that Mr. Abbas and Fatah may very well be forced to give them "a seat at the table" and perhaps even a place in a coalition government. Should that happen, Israel will be forced on the horns of a dilemma. It will be demanded that Israel negotiate its future with a democratically elected government comprised largely of people who remain dedicated to her destruction. The historical Arab demand that the Jewish state die by murder or suicide will no longer involve a choice. While we are celebrating - perhaps prematurely - democracy's victories in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, it would be wise to understand exactly what democratic elections may bring us. Mahmoud Abbas, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, did not just spring from a shell like Venus. The man has a past. He has a history. Hailed by the West as a "moderate," he was for decades the advisor and confidante of the late Mr. Arafat, and the architect of the Palestinian war plan. There is simply no evidence that Mr. Mazen has undergone a Sadat-like metamorphosis. Rather, there is good reason to question whether Mr. Mazen even wants a two-state peace. Although Mr. Mazen has had months - and much foreign aid - to make changes, he refuses to tackle the sine qua non for advancing the peace process: destruction of the terrorist network. Since the momentous meeting at Sharm el-Sheik, Hamas, Hizbollah, etc. operate openly and in defiance of his supposed authority and continue to attack Israel. While almost all attacks have been prevented by the IDF and the security fence, the so-called PA security forces have sat on their hands as arms are smuggled into, manufactured in and carried through the streets of Gaza right under their noses. Hamas, Hizbollah, and Islamic Jihad know they are free to act as they wish as long as they don't completely muck up the current cease-fire. They are free to catch their breath and re-arm. Sadly, we have President Mazen, who has repeatedly stated that he will neither let PA police fire on Palestinians nor will he disarm the terrorists, to thank for this state of affairs. Abu Mazen's plan to deal with the terrorists and released prisoners is ingenious in its simplicity: welcome them into the Palestinian security forces, make them promise in writing not to kill Israelis, and then re-arm them. Co-opt the killers rather than confront them. Has crime ever been solved by giving the criminals a badge and a gum? Not content to place the foxes in charge of the chicken coop, Abu Mazen intends to place the foxes directly in the chicken coop. What about the weapons leaking daily through the Egyptian border and manufactured in Gaza? President Mazen has that figured out: after the elections, all terrorists will be incorporated into the Palestinian political system and will have no need for terrorism, weaponry or murderous organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. All weapons, he expects, will be turned in to the state. "When a militia turns into a political party," President Mazen recently opined, "I believe the issue of a need for arms becomes irrelevant." "There will be," he declares, "one authority, one law and one legal gun." (It has a familiar ring to it, no? "Eine volk, eine deutchland, eine fuhrer!") As though the way to fight crime is to give guns and badges to the criminals. Hamas promptly issued statements that its participation in elections "does not mean it is on the way to becoming a political party" and that it will never disarm. In the meantime, mortars continue to be fired at Israeli settlements in and out of Gaza, and teen-age homicide-bombers are sent daily on their missions of death ... all under the watchful eyes of the PA security forces. A salutary beginning for a criminal democracy. Meanwhile, Palestinians are growing disenchanted with Fatah corruption and wildfire anarchy. With Hamas filling the municipal, economic and educational vacuum, its candidates are running strong everywhere. As all this unfolds, Abu Mazen's hold on the Palestinian body politic deteriorates. If peace is to have even a scintilla of hope, the Palestinian president must take on the terrorists. He must do something to assert his authority and credibility just as Ben-Gurion did when he ordered the sinking of the Altalena. If Mazen fails to sink his Altalena, i.e., exorcize the terrorists, he will fall by the wayside as so much background noise. Almost seventy years ago, on October 5, 1938, upon Neville Chamberlain's return from Munich, the great Churchill addressed the House of Commons. His words now, as then, should unnerve our complacency. He declared the Munich agreement "a total and unmitigated defeat... The utmost he [Chamberlain] has been able to gain for Czechoslovakia in the matters which were in dispute has been that the German dictator, instead of snatching the victuals from the table, has been content to have them served to him course by course." Churchill's ability to distinguish between reality and wishful thinking was more inimical to Hitler's reich than the short distance between Dover and Calais. Today Israel is being force fed a Palestinian state in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. As Abu Mazen continues his plan for the piecemeal destruction of Israel - and Hamas prepares to initiate its velvet coup d'etat - Israel must resist the temptation and pressure to negotiate for its life with those who insist on her death. There is no reason to believe that today's Palestinians are less dedicated to Israel's destruction than they were five years ago. The PA's utter failure to deal with the terrorists in a meaningful way cannot be swept under the rug. Appeasement of the Palestinians is regarded as weakness. There is no easy way out of this, and the only way out requires complete destruction of the terrorists. We should recall yet another of Churchill's observations: "Mr. Chamberlain's government was given to chose between war and shame. It has chosen shame, It will surely have war." Terrorists have no place in civilized society. Not even if they are freely elected. Listen carefully now. Do you hear the Greeks? Alan B. Katz can be contacted by email at abk@hkrealty.com |
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COWARDS, USEFUL IDIOTS, OR TRAITORS?
Posted by Professor Paul Eidelberg, June 29, 2005. |
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Last week, Caroline Glick, the Jerusalem Post's most penetrating and persistent critic of Ariel Sharon and his retreat from Gaza plan, headlined her article A Coward For Prime Minister! What applies to Mr. Sharon surely applies to his cabinet ministers as well as to most members the Knesset, which, after all, voted in favor of Israel's retreat from Gaza. However, inasmuch as Mr. Sharon campaigned against that left-wing policy in the January 2003 Knesset election, and further, since the parties that opposed retreat from Gaza won 84 (or 70%) of the Knesset's 120 seats in that election, the term "coward" does not adequately describe the character of Ariel Sharon, his cabinet ministers, and the Jewish MKs that voted for his retreat plan (known officially by such euphemisms as "evacuation" or "disengagement"). Given this state of affairs, how shall we characterize Israel's ruling elites? It seems they have learned nothing from the Oslo debacle, that is, from 12 years of terrorist attacks resulting in 10,000 Jewish casualties. Despite this record of Arab violence and villainy, Israel's ruling elites are now anxious to expel Gaza's 8,500 Jewish residents and give this land, as well as other parts of Eretz Israel, to the implacable enemies of the Jewish people. Shall we call Israel's ruling elites "traitors," or do they exemplify what Lenin called "useful idiots" - his term for the cultural elites of the West who subsidized the industrialization of the Soviet Union (just as Israel and the West have subsidized the Palestinian Authority)? Let us consider some incontrovertible facts. Islamic hatred of Jews is enjoined and sanctified in the daily prayers of the faithful. Consistent therewith, Arab massacres of Jews punctuate the last fourteen centuries. But let us consult recent events. Even before Israel gained control of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza in 1967, hundreds of Jews were murdered by Arab terrorists operating from these areas. Arab violence against Jewish men, women, and children did not cease in the intervening years. Since Oslo, hardly a day passes that Arabs do not either maim or murder Jews. Meanwhile the media of the PLO-Palestinian Authority constantly call for Israel's destruction. To these well-known facts add the following. The vast majority of Israel's own Arab citizens reject Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. They not only identify with the PLO-Palestinians, Israel's enemies, but they aid and participate in terrorist attacks against Jews. Hence there is nothing in empirical reality that justifies the government's appeasement of Israel's enemies: surrendering Jewish land, releasing and even arming Arab terrorists, while disarming the Jews by intoning the mantra of peace. Lest some people mention Israel's 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, let me remind them of certain facts: (1) Egypt has long been smuggling arms to terrorist groups in Gaza; (2) Egypt's state-controlled media continue to transmit the most virulent anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda; (3) Egypt "has been training for war against Israel for the past 10 years" along the border - to quote Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Sharon has invited Egypt to deploy 750-800 mechanized infantry forces to the Philadelphi Route, which links Gaza to the Sinai, to prevent - you guessed it - terrorist attacks against Israel! And if this were not enough, it appears that Sharon, or at least Vice Premier Shimon Peres, does not oppose Egypt's remilitarization of the Sinai, contrary to the 1979 peace treaty! In view of the preceding, which term best describes Israel's ruling elites: "cowards," "useful idiots," or "traitors"? Professor Paul Eidelberg is a political scientist, author and lecturer and founder and President, Foundation for Constitutional Democracy. His previous book, "Jewish Statesmanship: Lest Israel Fall", provides the philosophical and institutional foundations for reconstructing the State of Israel. It has been translated into Hebrew and Russian. His most recent book is: "A Jewish Philosophy of History." He is president of Yamin Israel and a member of the Board of Directors of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies. He can be reached by email at eidelberg@foundation1.org |
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ONE-SIDED "HONEST BROKER"; SAUDIS SACRED COWS NO MORE?; RICE PRAISES TERRORIST P.A. AS ANTI-TERRORIST
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, June 29, 2005. |
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ONE-SIDED U.S. The US constantly makes specific demands of Israel. It does not make demands of the P.A.. Although it urges the P.A. to disarm the terrorists, it lets it off the hook every time with the soft landing of, "It should try harder." It even praises the P.A. for an anti-terrorism not performed. Sec. Rice has come to Israel demanding that Israel make life easier for its Arab enemy by removing roadblocks. She keeps referring to the need to turn the P.A. into a democracy, living "side-by-side with Israel." Roadblock removal has no relevance to democracy. It is pertinent to facilitating the P.A. war on Israel, waged because the Arabs don't want Israel to live side-by-side with it. Checkpoint removal lets more terrorists through to attack Israelis. Therefore, Israeli compliance with Rice's demands is called by Dr. Aaron Lerner "dying to please Rice." A legitimate Israeli government would be striving to secure its own people. It would say to Rice publicly if saying it privately does not work, "You are strongly demanding that we make life easier for the P.A. in ways that make terrorism easier for it. The whole Arab population of the P.A. hates us infidels and supports terrorism against us, but we should make life easier for those undeserving fanatics? You are not demanding that they make life easier for us, whom they are trying to murder. You recite, "they should try harder against terrorism," while they incite for terrorism. They recruit terrorists and you subsidize the P.A.. Therefore, what you ask of them appears as lip service. We cannot accept your demand that we remove checkpoints, when such removal is inevitably followed by terrorists passing through and attacking us. Do you really want us to suffer casualties? Is that what the US war on terrorism comes down to -- subsidizing and running interference for terrorists? You talk about Palestinian Arabs making peace, when nothing they do shows any change in their culture of intolerance and belligerence. You are deluding yourself. We will not be deluded." The State of Israel does not explain the issues frankly, neither to the US nor to its own people. Not to indulge myself in name-calling but to be descriptive, the Israeli government is deluded, deceptive, corrupted, self-hating, and treasonous. The P.A. is part of an Islamic jihad against the West. Therefore, the US should be anti-P.A.. Since the P.A. started a war on Israel, the US should be making demands of the aggressor P.A. and not of Israel. When the problem is Muslim aggression, the US proposal, which is appeasement of the aggressors, is counter-productive if not counter-intuitive. Sec. Rice lectures the Arabs on democracy, but does not, herself, help it, if she even knows what it is. I think the US is proclaiming a democratic sweep through the Mideast, because it makes US policy seem valid. Thus the US subsidizes the Islamic, terrorist government of the P.A. and calls its phony elections democratic. Rice seems to have a shallow concept of democracy, as involving just elections. Democracy is a cultural phenomenon, a free way of doing things without excessive government interference and with accountability over governmental representatives. WHEN PERCEPTION IS IMPORTANT Most P.A. Arabs perceive Sharon's abandonment plan as a victory for terrorism. And of course it is. If the Arabs had been relatively peaceful, Israel probably would not be abandoning territory to them. On the other hand, if they had restrained themselves and abided by the Oslo accords, by now Peres would have arranged with them to take over all of Yesha. How significant is the Arab perception? In thinking terrorism vindicated as successful, they are encouraged to continue terrorism. After all, they seek other territory as well. Sharon's plan not only confirms the efficacy of terrorism, it mindlessly facilitates terrorism. Thus it provides both motive and means for terrorism. It is the plan that should be abandoned, not the territory. SAUDIS SACRED COWS NO MORE? A US Senate bill could lead to sanctions being imposed upon S. Arabia. The bill insists that S. Arabia comply with Security Council Resolution 1373, forbidding countries from harboring terrorist financiers and planners. According to the bill, S. Arabia has filed to arrest countrymen who have donated for terrorism. (Accounts of such donations by leading families are legion.) Sanctions would halt the flow of US arms to its leading customer (IMRA, 6/16). If the bill continues the Presidential privilege of waiving sanctions, they will be waived. For that reason, some Members of Congress are fed up with inserting waivers in bills. About time! ISRAELI HOSPITALS PLANNING FOR UPSURGE AFTER ABANDONMENT Some hospitals in the southern part of Israel are expanding their emergency facilities and canceling late summer vacations, in anticipation of increased casualties from terrorism. They expect the terrorists, unhindered by the IDF, which would have departed, to move their rocket launchers adjacent to Israel (Arutz-7, 6/16). ISRAELI INVENTS WAY TO DIVE WITHOUT OXYGEN TANKS A portable motor pressurizes seawater to extract oxygen. Divers would no longer have to worry about empty air tanks or the tendency to float upward prematurely or to sink (Arutz-7, 6/16). ISRAEL'S MEDIA COVERS UP FOR SHARON That new book about Sharon's trading the Territories for non-prosecution of his sons and himself for the Greek Island corruption is not getting much publicity in Israel, although it is a sensational scoop. The major newspapers are covering up for Sharon. They don't want him arrested, they want him to complete his leftist policy of abandonment. The newspapers have proved themselves advocacy journalists, acting in behalf of leftist ideology. Except for the Golani Brigade, which refuses to take part in forcing Jews out of their homes, the Army's silence makes it no more honorable. The Supreme Court and the Attorney-General do their part to protect Sharon and his abandonment plan. Israel needs a revolution to sweep those corrupt, undemocratic, anti-Jewish elements out of office. Will the foreign media cover up, too? (Winston Mid East Analysis, 6/17.) PERES IS A DANGER TO ISRAELIS VPM Peres suggested giving the P.A. more rifles. He claimed they do not endanger Israelis. In response, IMRA listed some of the many Israelis murdered by armed P.A. Arabs (IMRA, 6/17). Peres had given the P.A. police rifles; the police shot Israelis. It was predictable and predicted. MORE U.S. DEMANDS OF ISRAEL Israel released hundreds of dangerous terrorists, to please the US. It further risked its security by removing some checkpoints that would keep those terrorists from getting at Israelis. Sec. Rice now demands that the US further ease restrictions on the P.A. Arabs and release more prisoners. PM Sharon's staff had asserted that the US would make no further demands (IMRA, 6/17). Is that staff naïve or deceptive? Demands upon Israel by the anti-Zionist State Dept. are insatiable. Sharon's other assertions of what his abandonment plan would get from the US - recognition of large settlement blocs and financial aid in implementing the plan - also were wrong. WHAT DOES POWER DO TO REVOLUTIONARIES? The West is deluding itself again that power would moderate Hamas. The West had expected power would do that with the Taliban. Instead, the Taliban imposed a reactionary reign of terror. What did those religious fanatics care about medical services, economic development, etc.! The West is judging Hamas the same way, on the basis of how a Western party would behave. The real world does not work that way. "Europeans, in particular, place themselves at the vanguard of a universal process in which religion, ideology and nationalism have lost their power of persuasion. In the place of these dark forces of primitive human nature, Europeans see pragmatism, tolerance, reconciliation and compromise as being on the ascendant. So to gain aid, access and weapons, "revolutionary" leaders tell Westerners what they want to hear - that they, too, share these goals." This is the same delusion behind Oslo (except for those who knew that the Arabs would use Oslo against Israel). Europe stuck with Arafat despite all the evidence and experience that he did not want to build something for his people but tear down what the Jews had built for theirs. All that the West did was enable terrorism to escalate (IMRA, 6/20 from Gerald Steinberg of Jer. Post). RICE PRAISES P.A. "ANTI-TERRORISM" AS TERRORISTS ATTACK During Sec. Rice's visit, terrorist attacks on Israelis continued apace. P.A. officials reiterated their refusal to disarm and arrest the terrorists. She praised the P.A.'s non-existent anti-terrorism and Abbas a "man of peace" (Arutz-7, 6/19). That "man of peace" lauds slain terrorists as martyrs. Her own anti-terrorism must be non-existent, too, for she keeps demanding the release of terrorists and the closing of checkpoints that might bar their access to Israelis. What she is calling for is the murder of Israelis and the staged destruction of Israel. What an evil emissary Pres. Bush has sent over there! What good is her vaunted intelligence, put to such a wrongful and foolish policy? TERRORISM IN SYRIA So far, it is not known what ideology is behind the terrorism now in Syria. The domestic terrorism that befell N. Africa and erupted in S. Arabia and Kuwait was Islamist. Islamists use religion as a cover for sadism. Terrorists were apprehended in Syria reportedly before they set off a bomb that they had wrapped around a baby. The baby was their camouflage. When US or Israeli forces accidentally kill a baby, the Arabs protest indignantly, because they know that Westerners may have consciences. (Sorry, lost source.) CONTINUED ARAB FALSE REPORTING From Egypt, Graham Usher described the goal of the small group of Jews who visited the Temple Mt. as to enter the mosque there. That is false. Those Jews were on the Mount because of its sacredness to Jews, not out of hostility towards Muslims. Although Jews did not try to enter the mosque, hundreds of Arabs threw stones at them (IMRA, lost date) It's the old tactic of fomenting riots against Jews by falsely accusing them of rioting against the Arabs. We in the West would consider that tactic unethical, unworthy of a righteous religion, if we considered it at all. Problem in the West is that the media screens out evidence against the Arabs, allows false claims against the Jews that lead to attempts at mass-murder of them, but considers its culture as ethical humanist. P.S.: Jews are tolerant and rarely riot. 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 ricshulman@aol.com. |
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ISRAELI HIGH COURT: STATE INTEREST CAN OVERRIDE HUMAN RIGHTS
Posted by Yrachmiel Elias, June 29, 2005. |
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This comes from Ya'akov-Perez Golbert, Professor of Law (retired). Professor Golbert lives in Jerusalem. The High Court of Justice recently held that the Sharon Plan for the expulsion of Jews from all of the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in northern Samaria does indeed violate the human rights of the residents whom the government plans to uproot. Notwithstanding that, the court went on to uphold the legality of the plan because state interest can override human rights. That is already a shocking holding, given the zeal with which the Supreme Court has guarded the human rights of Arabs under Israeli rule, even interposing itself into the conduct of military operations. That, however, is not the most shocking aspect of the decision. How does the court decide whether the state interest is important enough to vitiate the human rights of those prejudiced by pursuit of the policy? Did the court make the government explain its policy and defend its importance, to the extent that the court should allow the denial of basic human rights? Not at all. The court noted that spokesmen for the government assured the court that the state interest was indeed important enough to override human rights of the citizens prejudiced by the government's pursuit of that interest. This is a ruling suited to the most brutal dictatorship. It says that the legal system will not look into the actions of the government if the government affirms that its assessment is justified. That, of course, is what the High Court of Justice was created to do. Its function and raison d'etre is to judge actions or inaction by government officials and to compel action in conformity with law. If it is not going to do that, but rather be a rubber stamp to give an aura of legality to any act of government, then it is less than useless. It serves a positively destructive and evil purpose. It serves as a front for arbitrary and corrupt totalitarianism. From the self-styled defenders of human rights in Israel and abroad we hear silence, which we must understand as acquiescence, if not approval. That silence declares, loud and clear, that the end justifies the means. That silence proves that there is not a single human rights organization in Israel. There are only political interest groups that use human rights concepts as a bludgeon. That is true also of the Attorney General, the Minister of Justice, the Knesset, especially the Law Committee, and the media. They all forfeit the right even to speak of human rights. In fact, they have perverted the very foundations of law and have lost their legitimacy to interpret and enforce the laws. They should all fold their tents and leave the public arena and the sooner the better. Until they leave, however, or are chased out in disgrace, there are some questions which every soldier and every police officer deserves that the government and the IDF answer. The Treaty of San Remo, July 1922, which formalized the League of Nations Mandate, recognized the right of the Jewish people to live in all parts of the Mandate of Palestine, in which the Gaza District and Samaria were clearly included. The judgments at Nuremberg spoke of the arbitrary expulsion of civilian populations from their homes as a crime against humanity. Every recruit is taught that he is obligated by Israeli law to refuse to carry out a patently illegal order. This is consistent with the Nuremberg precedents. Crimes against humanity cannot be sanctified by national laws or national courts. What assurance can you give that the orders to expel the civilian population from Gush Katif and the four Jewish villages of northern Samaria are not illegal orders? What assurances can you give that soldiers and police officers who participate in the expulsion of the Jewish population from Gush Katif and the four Jewish villages of northern Samaria will not be arrested in Europe or elsewhere on warrants sworn out by those who are to be expelled for crimes against humanity? Can you give assurances that if soldiers and police officers are arrested and charged with crimes against humanity they will be defended by the Israeli government? Soldiers, ask your commander. Parents, ask your son's commander. Ask the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice, the Members of Knesset, especially the Law Committee, and the media. Ask the "human rights" organizations why they sit silent in the face of this threatened expulsion. Write to them, all of them. Call them on the telephone. Do it frequently until you receive answers. Do not carry out any orders related to expulsion until you receive clear and satisfactory answers. Carrying out such orders might be a crime under Israeli law and under international law. Demand answers. Yrachmiel Elias and Jack Golbert are cofounders of Netzah Yisrael (www.netzahyisrael.org). |
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SUPREME COURT RULING ON EMINENT DOMAIN: PARALLELS TO THE GAZA PULLOUT - AND DIFFERENCES
Posted by Marion D.S. Dreyfus, June 29, 2005. |
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The Supreme Court came out with a ruling in late June that is highly unpopular. It permits the state - or any well-heeled pol or pottage-seller - to wrest away one's property for a price. Whether the homeowner agrees or not. Can we not posit a similar reaction to the forthcoming Israeli Gaza/North Samaria pullout, called the Disengagement. Many are up in arms over the implications in both situations, and there are numerous parallels. Discussing the Supreme Court ruling, even Jay Leno on the ruling date, that very night, indicated a supposed 94% population concurrence against the Supremes' odd ruling. Such an agreement level, however supportive it seems, appears unlikely. Most Americans - especially those questioned by Leno's intrepid team of investigators - can't name the Vice President, or their nearest neighboring state, let alone feel competent to tell anyone about a Supreme Court ruling, either positive or negative. (Leno's 'survey' must have been extremely forgiving, or the choices very few.) Nonetheless, the citizens of Israel are unlike the dumber sorts in the broad "flyover" (what lefty lawyer Ron Kubey calls "Whitelandia") reaches of the USA, so their response, which has been growing ever more vociferous and more united against the current prospect of departure from Gaza and North Samaria, cannot be said to be in agreement with the reigning Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. I write with a heavy heart. Where once it was a point of distinctive merit that I was privileged to interview Sharon, "the Lion," some 10 years ago, now I view that time as through an inverted prism--it appears very small and very far away. Both in time and political temperature. On Friday, 24 June, after a simple demolition of the legal and historical rationales for the day's ruling that governments have free reign to appropriate private property, Clarence Thomas looked down the road at real-world effects: "The consequences of today's decision are not difficult to predict, and promise to be harmful. So-called "urban renewal" programs provide some compensation for the properties they take, but no compensation is possible for the subjective value of these lands to the individuals displaced and the indignity inflicted by uprooting them from their homes. Allowing the government to take property solely for public purposes is bad enough, but extending the concept of public purpose to encompass any economically beneficial goal guarantees that these losses will fall disproportionately on poor communities. Those communities are not only systematically less likely to put their lands to the highest and best social use, but are also the least politically powerful. If ever there were justification for intrusive judicial review of constitutional provisions that protect "discrete and insular minorities," United States v. Carolene Products Co., 304 U.S. 144, 152, n. 4 (1938), surely that principle would apply with great force to the powerless groups and individuals the Public Use Clause protects. The deferential standard this Court has adopted for the Public Use Clause is therefore deeply perverse. It encourages "those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms" to victimize the weak. Ante, at 11 (O'Connor, J., dissenting). It remains to be seen what the ultimate reaction of the American polity will be to this unpopular and strained decision on eminent domain, just as how the Israeli citizenry ultimately behave--or misbehave-- in the face of what appears to be a corrupt hand-wash between the none-too-fastidious Israeli judiciary and the tainted Sharon family, whose legal wrangles over campaign financing and borrowing have been an ongoing sore with the Sharon sons and pere for years. The difference between the two difficult circumstances is that to the polity in the US, a home or a grab of several houses in a neighborhood is harsh and dismaying for those sustaining the investment loss. One stands to lose one's home and hearth, no matter how humble. This goes against the very tenets of citizenship. In the event, attendant compensation supposedly, to some extent, mitigate the loss, should such 'public usage' takeovers transpire. One difference between the US conundrum and the Israeli enraging Disengagement is that most, if not all, of the urban renewal or public use properties will of necessity occur in disadvantaged neighborhoods, where homeowners or proprietors are too financially strapped or naive to put up much of a fight. In Israel, where some 8,500 persons stand to be evicted from their longtime homes in Gaza and North Samaria, the situation is direr and different. In Israel, the land expropriated and crudely stripped of its historic Hebrew residents is critical to bulwarking the country against attack. Gaza is, of course, critical in several ways. It is critical in the minds of Israelis, as their land, by right and aggressor battles defended against and won. Sharon's decree, as the words of Clarence Thomas indicate in regard to the Supreme Court ruling, is also deeply perverse. It encourages, even rewards, the very people who ought not benefit from the sweat of the Jewish people, to disproportionately and for no reason reap land and goods they have by no means earned: the aggressor Arabs under Mahmoud Abbas. Can anyone with more than room-temperature IQ envision the corruption-pocked PA Arabs ceasing forthwith their fervent and everlasting attacks and attempts at destruction of the state of Israel and her inhabitants? Is the DNA yet created that could convert such a blood-hungry thugocracy from their nefarious off-label jobs and career destruction goals? And Gaza is critical to the hearts of Jews, as the chip-chipping away of the Israel landmass (the US- and UN-sanctioned 'whittle process' of decades) is shrunk yet another time. Good-bye harmony. Hello, brag rights to the terrorists and street demagogues who will waste no time usurping credit where none is due. Those to be evicted in Gaza and Samaria are not eager to move, to accept cash in lieu of living uninterruptedly in homes they have built up over 40 years, raising children and grandchildren. Make no mistake: The loss of morale is as high-profile a lesion as is the loss of land. In this case, as the Arafatian wanna-be's who shepherd the Palestinian Authority have repeatedly failed to live up to even the most basic tenets of the dismantle-Zion document mysteriously known as the Roadmap. It is a Roadmap that directs chivvied resident-transients to self-destruct to their own pennies thrown dancing onto the grate. In psychotherapy, extinguishing a negative behavior is accomplished in two alternative ways: (1) Non-reward for continuance of the action that annoys; and (2) by praising compliance with newly modeled behavior more in line with the hoped-for comportment. The Arabs under Abu Mazen (no less than under the late, unlamented Arafat), have complied with neither. No surprise. Does anyone imagine that the unmitigated death-dealing, ammo-smuggling, tunnel-building and rocket-attacks barbarism that have been a continuous ignominious constituent of the PA during the past five years, despite the security fence and Israel's vigilant IDF, who abort 90% of would-be attacks from the education-, and sanity-impaired Mahmoudian minions, will be extinguished? Marion Dreyfus taught at Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuchang, Wuhan PRC 430064 |
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PM SPEAKS OUT SEEKING TO DELEGITIMIZE GAZA RESIDENTS
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, June 29, 2005. |
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This is a news item from Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=84787). The translation of Sharon's squawking is: "I am losing, I am
desperate, I will do ANYTHING to stay in power including ordering the
mass murder of unarmed and peaceful demonstrators."
(IsraelNN.com) Aware of the waning support for the Gaza/Shomron Disengagement Plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has increased his de-legitimization efforts, seeking to depict Gush Katif residents and opponents to his expulsion plan as those who oppose peace.
Mr. Sharon warned of the "extremists" who seek to destroy the army and do not feel compelled to obey the laws of the country, stressing his plan will move ahead on schedule despite any and all attempts to stop him.
Mr. Sharon called on law-enforcement agencies to take off the gloves
and begin treating law-breakers with a hard-hand, calling for
increased enforcement and taking whatever steps necessary to prevent
future road-closure protests against the expulsion plan. 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.
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| GUSH KATIF |
DISENGAGEMENT MINISTER GILADI HAS FINANCIAL STAKE IN PALESTINIAN ECONOMY IN GAZA
Posted by Menahem Kovacs, June 29, 2005. |
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GUSH KATIF and HaSHOMRON! Pray and Work to Save these integral parts of G-d's Holy Land and Holy People. Say NO to the creation of Palestine: every inch of Israel is a spiritual & security necessity Go look at www.katifund.org www.english.katif.net This news item was written by David Bedein and appeared on http://israelvisit.co.il/cgi-bin/friendly.pl?url=Jun-27-05!BusinessEthics. David Bedein is Bureau Chief of the Israel Resource News Agency (http://IsraelBehindTheNews.com). The Israeli official in charge of the forcible removal of Israeli Jews from Katif District in Gaza maintains a personal financial interest in the Palestinian development enterprises in Gaza that would replace the Jewish communities of Katif. Eival Giladi maintains a personal business stake in the Palestinian economy, with an obvious conflict of interest that may interfere with his performance as an official of the office of the Prime Minister of Israel As head of the coordination and strategy team in the Prime Minister's Office, HaArtez on June 4th, 2005 described Giladi as "one of the architects of the disengagement plan. Giladi is the thinking man in the Sharon administration, the behind-the-scenes advisor to the advisor and ultimate mystery emissary, Dov Weissglass" Giladi, meanwhile, has found a way to supplement the meager income of an Israeli civil servant. Giladi has been named as the pioneer of a business venture for Palestinians in Gaza: The Portland Trust. Giladi has been placed in charge of the Portland Trust's $500 million business development fund, which would help Palestinians moved 150,000 housing units in place of the Katif homes and farms that Giladi is about to destroy. Katif farming communities produce $62 million in export of food products for the state of Israel per annum. In other words, Giladi maintains a clear personal and financial business stake in the decimation of the thriving Jewish communities of Katif. It will be instructive to see if the Israeli Attorney General, the Israel State Comptroller and the Israel Civil Service Commission take any action to question the role of Eival Giladi in the planning and the execution of the Prime Minister's policy, which has been described as a "disengagement plan". Israel's mainstream media outlets have publicized Giladi's direct personal financial stake in this process.None of the media in Israel have called into question the clear conflict of interest. How can this be allowed to happen? Dr. Menachem Kovacs is Director, Jewish Roots Center Education and Research on Torah and the Social Sciences. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology Montgomery College Maryland. Contact him by email at takovacs@comcast.net |
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HAMAS ANNOUNCES THE FORMING OF "MURABITUN" BRIGADES
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, June 29, 2005. |
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[Shaik Nazim] "We must bring the sultanate of satan down and ask Allah
to send us an umbrella, to send us one of His miraculous servants. We
need such a miraculous person to bring down technology. It is against
humanity. It is killing every value of humanity. If not, humanity
cannot be saved." ... "Another world war will maybe come before the
21st Century." ... "This world is approaching Armageddon. Everything
will be destroyed."
"Murabitun" -- the term means religious volunteers -- are special brigades, originally formed in Spain during the Moslem occupation of that country, formed for the specific purpose of killing squads with the mandate to "collect spoils". Hamas has announced the formation of these special brigades in the Gaza area to act during the Gazan transfer of Jews from their land. Each squad consists of four to five persons. All are heavily armed and go about constantly masked. None of them are meant to survive the effort, but intend to join Allah during Sharon's planned retreat, to ensure maximization of damage to those retreating and the troops involved. Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org |
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BARBARIC? YOU BETCHA!
Posted by Arlene Peck, June 28, 2005. |
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Lovely. Those wonderful folks in Iran that gave us hi-jacking, hostage taking, and progression to beheadings have finally learned to vote. And, what a surprise! Seven years after being privy to a watered down version of western democracy, they have a new election! And, what does this so-called peaceful culture do? Well, a resounding 62% of them went to the polls to vote in a new terrorist-inspired, Islamic fundamentalist government to lead them further into the dark ages! How soon will the beheadings resume, the rape rooms reintroduced and and "honor killings" of women regain their former stature? How long before we again confront the danger of their escalated forays into the modern world. How calm should we remain as these primitives advance into the realm of nuclear weapons capability? I wonder how stupid can my American government be? I truly do. George W. is touting our 'success' in that other crazed bastion of barbaric mentality, Iraq. He is thrilled and delighted that they, also, are now experiencing the joy of a democracy. He wants us to be in the "hearts and minds of the Iraqis". He desires the Love! Is there anyone out there who cares? And, if so, why? To tell the truth, I care why people in my country just aren't getting it! Where are the demands from the American public, demanding answers on why the Iraqis aren't helping their own? Why are we expected to be the ones to 'save' them from their own people? Vaguely I remember that their rich oil supplies were going to be the ticket to finance this rebuilding. Whatever happened to that? Israel is forced to open the jails and let out thousands of terrorists, most of whom will soon be back on the street killing and maiming even greater numbers of their Jewish targets. I wonder why has such a demand not been made of Abbas about the hundreds of prisoners awaiting execution in his dungeons on charges of "collaboration" with Israel? The onus to make "peace gestures" rests solely on Israel. However, when it comes to Israel, I wonder about a lot of things. Like, for instance, why is Sharon taking orders to open the jails and let thousands of these caged wild animals loose on the Israeli population every time he is told to? I question, just a little bit, how the issue of Jonathon Pollard never seems to enter his mind when speaking with King George about one of their early prison releases. Isn't twenty years enough? Apparently not. From the moment Ms. Rice switched places with Powell, she not only continued the pressuring of Israel, she turned the flame a little higher. Witness the constant press conferences where she calls for more release of prisoners or demands that Israel must 'end the occupation' and "withdraw from Arab/PA lands." Imagine the reaction if demands were made to end the "occupation" by European,African, and Asian colonists and restore native "rights" after generations of ethnic cleansing, expulsions, discrimination and persecution? What if the native peoples demanded 75% of their lands back to establish a "viable" Indian-Nation State with its own President and Congress? Or, right in Bush's backyard, so he can demonstrate how committed he is to this sort of policy, he turn over Crawford, Texas to his good Mexican buddy, Fox, because that prime real estate really belonged to them? No, I didn't think so. But somehow, it's an entirely reasonable demand to place on Israel. The Iranian vote perfectly demonstrated the mentality we are confronting. This is a country and culture that has no desire, or conception of what the basic premise of democracy is. Despite the media spin from the press and the garbage that is promoted by our Arabist State Dept, this culture wants to kill us. Actually, their murderous intent is not just leveled at "us". Anyone who comes into their focus, as they peer out at us murderously from the 11th Century, who isn't one of them, is a justifiable target. They don't care if your Buddhist, Christian, Jewish or an Atheist. If your not one of them then you should be dead. They live for death! Everyone's! If you doubt this, read their sacred texts. And, folks, frankly, I don't believe that we should be negotiating or teaching them anything. Let them find their 72 virgins with our help and blessings! Personally, I think there was a typo in the Koran and they meant to say 72-year-old virgin. Worse, although our born-again Christian president is touting the terror state west of the Jordan River that he and Sharon have cooked up, I'm not real sure that they can even claim the credit for the Frankenstein they've got simmering. Do any of you remember the Crown Prince 2002 Peace Plan that Bush's good friend and "Uncle Abdullah " presented? Maybe you didn't because you were too busy watching them hold hands and almost kiss? Anyway, that allowed us to be privy to Bush and company's 'trial balloon about a "contiguous" Palestinian state, which would bring joy and happiness to the world. Then, before you could blink, they began to hold press conferences casually mentioning that the Administration supports co-opting Hamas into the political dialogue! Hamas! Not enough? Well, amazingly enough, when Arafat s replacement, Mahmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen, ( why can't they just have one name?) was told that any territory Israel retains beyone the 1949 Armistice Lines must be approved by the Palestinians. I haven't seen too much of that. Amazing how our government's memory dims when it comes to remembering the help the United States has received from Israel. The information exchanges over battle and counter-terrorism tactics that contributed enormously to reduced American losses in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, which keep us safer on the home front. Does anyone remember that Israel is responsible for 600 improvments in the F-16 fighter jet plane's systems, modifications worth billions of dollars that saved us dozens of research and development years? I didn't think so. Who ever reads about the cooperation between drug syndicates and terrorist networks? Especially Hamas and Hezbollah who conduct significant fundraising activities in much of South America, including Ecuador, which has tremendous Islamic populations. Where have you last read about that? Everyone talks about how the American arms guarantees Israel's existence, but, who remembers that Israel also give U.S. military industries a competitive edge and boost the American military production with jobs and improving America's national security. Hey, we don't even want to know how the surpurb Israeli technnology also boosts American civilian and agricultural industries. Who acknowledges that while they plot the carve up? Even our civilian planes are much safer because of the contribution made by the Israeli intelligence to America, which, by the way, is greater than that provided by all NATO countries combined. Naw, not worth mentioning. Let's talk about how Israel must be chopped up like a tossed salad to keep 'peace'in the region. Actually I'd rather talk about how Congressional leaders, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld are aware of Israel's unique contribution to U.S. Interest. Anyone want to question why Sharon and his inept leadership don't use the leverage that they have in demanding that Israel's impressive contribution to American lifestyles be more acknowledged and appreciated? Tell me one, ONE productive thing that the Islamic nation has done for the world! On an almost daily basis I read about the bloody and fatal attacks in Israel on civilians by these same terrorists who are killing our soldiers in Iraq with their bombs - something that these cowards do so well. Hey, but what do I know? I'm just an American who sits in Southern California wondering why there hasn't been at least an independent emergency referendum by the general population in Israel. Again, why is Israel listening to anything from the United States? From anyone for that matter. Remember a year or so ago when every press conference from Bush & Company deplored the 'fence', the great impediment of peace? Now, that every evening news broadcast allows us to see the very same terrorists bombing attacks, which Israel endured from these same savages, killing our soldiers, it's another story. Thank G-d the inept leaders of Israel didn't listen and continued to build the security fence. Now, because of that fence, it's becoming rarer that they are able to slip in and kill. Especially, with pourous borders both here, and in Iraq, it's open season. They've even become so frustrated, in places like Arizona that the local citizens have banded together and formed "the Minutemen" to slow the flow into our country. I don't know one person here who doesn't wish we had that same fence. Listen to George's advice? You'd have to have a death wish. Which reminds me of Sharon and his continuing policy in Gaza. Personally, I'm all for transfer! And folks, I don't mean moving the Jews out of the Jewish State! When you have a cancer, you cut it out! What I find interesting is that it's these sorts of comments that always get the attention but, nobody ever seems to remember the Bush administration's long-standing insistence on a Palestinian leadership untainted by violence and free from corruption before he's going to take seriously any real talk of "Palestinian" statehood? Now, I have never thought our President, George W to be the brightest bulb in the barrel. But, I don't believe that even HE believes the Saudi assurances, that by forcing Israel's withdrawal to the 1949 lines, the Arabs will be deprived of any Israeli provocation and everybody can then live happily after. Of course, the way the Saudis and Bush and company, not to forget Israel's good friend, the European Union, would like it were if the only scenario would be for the roadmap to have the Jews of what was once a Jewish state be driving on Arafat Boulevard after the dissolution of the State of Israel. Two states.. yeah, right! Arlene Peck is an internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess. She can be reached at: bestredhead@earthlink.net and www.arlenepeck.com |
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THE HAJ TO SLOAN-KETTERING AND HADASSAH HOSPITAL
Posted by Irwin N. Graulich, June 28, 2005. |
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Everyone and everything eventually gets sick. It is actually a good thing, because it reminds us to take care of ourselves and appreciate our good health when we have it. People, religions and ideologies all have their illnesses aka fanaticisms. Jews who are sick may be overly obsessed with drinking kosher seltzer, eating specially checked vegetables or being blind observers of virtually all 613 commandments without any real understanding. On average, once every 50 years there is a lone, evil nut with a skullcap who murders a prime minister or shoots innocent people. Christians have their meshuganahs (crazies), who may blow up an abortion clinic or become a David Duke. And there are those secular fanatics who would allow a human baby to die rather than kill a pig for its heart valve. However, these are all aberrations, rare cases to say the least...that is, except for Islam. The Islamic world has a cancer that has spread throughout its body politic, affecting many millions in its path. Their illness represents a serious percentage of adherents located throughout the world. Unless Muslims begin to recognize the problem and go for aggressive chemotherapy and radiation, they truly risk an unwanted massive radiation treatment from an unexpected source. How did these evil "cells" begin to metastasize? Before displaying an antisemitic, anti-Americian streak, there was a certain romanticism with much of Arab and Muslim cultures. Lawrence of Arabia was a hero to all of us. It is Islamic society under the influence and rule of the Koran that has become the trigger mechanism for the tumors to grow. Conquering the infidel, being the strongest religion in the world, honor and saving face are the most important values within a Muslim society. Thus, an extreme sensitivity has developed for anything critical of Arab-Muslim culture. The Jews will never, ever be forgiven for getting their original land back and defeating the 5 strongest Arab/Muslim nations in the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973. Talk about being humiliated. To rub Islamic noses into the sand further, this tiny, weak group of Holocaust surviving Zionists built the most successful technological country and strongest military force in the history of the Middle East...and so, every Muslim nation "covets Israel," an emotional jealousy so dangerous, that it actually is forbidden by The Ten Commandments. To complicate the entire matter, American Christians, using Judeo-Christian values created the ultimate paradise on earth, and the supreme powerhouse of all time. How can another religion that considers itself superior to all, ultimately live with that reality? America and Israel make every single Arab/Muslim country look bad; that is the problem in a nutshell. Muslim leadership understands that the only way to defeat the truth is through the propaganda of repeated exaggeration and outright lies. Saddam's "mother of all battles" was truly a cakewalk. There have been greater battles fought in gang wars on the streets of Brooklyn. Yet the rhetoric in the Arab/Muslim press was astounding through its depiction of the ferocity of the fighting during the Gulf War, the Iraqi invasion of 2003 and Egypt's supposed victory over Israel in 1973, where there is even a museum in Cairo today portraying this fictional nonsense. Since Islamists have come to the inevitable realization that they have no chance of winning a real war, they are attempting to win Jospeh Goebbels style, through rhetoric and hyperbole in the press. The two recent humiliating routes of the strongest Arab/Muslim nation--Iraq, and the capture of their modern day Saladin, Saddam Hussein, was a rather painful experience to the masses, even though he mass-murdered fellow Muslims. Now, the Arab/Muslim street praises suicide bombers as brave and strong freedom fighters. The truth is these heroic (sic) murderers are not able to reach Jews or Christians, so they wind up blowing up their own innocents. By substituting words for actions, the Muslim leadership and press falsely glamorize the evildoers to the uneducated masses, who need to hang on to their dreams of power and world domination. One of the most important concepts regarding government is the separation of church and state, meaning that the Koran/Muslim ideal can never successfully govern a society under its present terms. The only successful Muslims who are truly free today are ruled by Christians in America or Jews in Israel. By living in other societies, Muslims realize that these countries want all of their citizens to succeed in life and practice their religious or non-religious beliefs freely. This concept is an affront to "Islam," a word meaning surrender to God, which for the most part, does not permit other religions to exist in their midst. Why were they afraid to permit American soldiers to have Christmas trees in their Saudi Arabian desert tents? When the religion you cherish fails you by continuously displaying a flawed approach, the human being will defend it by blaming others for political, economic and quality of life problems. "Everything is falling apart around me because of colonialism, Zionism, imperialism, the occupation, American hegemony and other convenient excuses." To make things even easier for the Islamic world, these ideas are supported by Western leftists with Marxist ideas that help reinforce the blame game of Muslim intellectuals and their obedient press. The Osama's of the world actually believe that they will return to a more glorious past where they can confront the world on their own terms. The only two things standing in their way are America and Israel, two quite immovable objects. To call America or Israel an occupier, when one looks carefully at the reasons for going into Iraq, Gaza or the West Bank, is akin to blaming the doctor for the cancer, simply because you walked into his office. These types of lies are among the root causes of world evil today. Unfortunately, decency is irrelevant throughout the Muslim world. What is most relevant is Muslim and non-Muslim. Doesn't Ted Kennedy or Shimon Peres ever get it? Irwin N. Graulich is a motivational speaker on politics, ethics, religion and Judaism. He is also president of a marketing, branding and communications firm in New York City. He can be reached at irwin.graulich@verizon.net |
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BUSH'S EGGS IN ISRAEL'S BASKET
Posted by Beth Goodtree, June 28, 2005. |
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As an American, I find it appalling, frightening even, that much of our foreign policy is totally dependent upon the cooperation of one country. As a Jew I find it even more appalling that my people are being singled out, due to their religion, as the sacrificial lamb on my own president's plate of global domination. President Bush has taken his presidency to new heights of depravity. Once 9-11 happened, he took it as a mandate that he was also the Supreme Emperor of Israel. Ariel Sharon would be allowed to maintain leadership on the local level, but when it came to Israel's national and foreign affairs, Bush determined how Israel would act. This begs the question: Who elected Bush Prime Minister of Israel? Due to the actions of President Bush, his lackey, Arab-kissing State Department and the frightened, indecisive, allegedly corrupt government of Ariel Sharon, Americans and Israelis have been hoodwinked into believing that they have no choices. On the surface, it also appears that Bush's America calls all the shots on the international scene. Unfortunately for us all, this scenario is a glass house built on an active fault zone. The Israelis are the losers as well as the average American citizen. Here's how it has played out for the past umpteen years: It actually started with Bush the First. In 1991 the Gulf war was raging and Israel was getting mercilessly scudded by Saddam. Falsely thinking that the US was indeed a friend of Israel, Israel agreed to let the scuds rain down upon her citizens without retaliation on the promise that the US would protect her. While the US eventually stopped Saddam and his scuds, the US proved she was no friend of Israel by leaving Saddam in place. The US was right there in Baghdad and could have plucked Saddam off of one of his multitudes of solid gold toilet seats while he was relieving himself. But Bush the First chose to leave this anti-Semitic mass-murdering tyrant in place. This alone should have alerted Israel that the US, or at least the Bush dynasty and their State Department toadies, were no true friends. Saddam, of course, was funding the murderous and genocidally-bent Arabs occupying Jewish Palestine. And he continued to fund them for 12 more years, even offering a reward for a Jew-kill count. Following the Gulf War, came the Oslo 'Peace' Accord Initiative. This misbegotten effort essentially said that murder, war and genocide in the name of religion and 'Arab unity' are perfectly acceptable and thus subject to negotiation. Israel's leaders went along with this faulty premise due, in part, to American coercion. Thus they bought for Israel and its people more death in 10 years than in the entire preceding 45 years altogether. At the time of Oslo, America was attempting to mend fences with the Arab/Muslim world. Being the savior of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had actually brought down the wrath of these people upon America. Never mind that those naysayers were to be next on Saddam's plate if it hadn't been for Judeo-Christian America saving their collective Muslim nether regions. After they were safe, they accused the US of disrespect and interference. And as usual, they used oil blackmail to force concessions out of the American government. And their oil blackmail included Europe as one of the victims. Verily cannily, the Arab/Muslim world also threatened to punish America's ally -- Europe - if America did not bow to their every burp and fart. America's response was to throw them the Israel bone. This brought about Oslo. However, Israel did not have to cooperate. It never occurred to her leadership that to say no to America's unreasonable demands would not be the worst thing in the world. What would Israel lose? Some loan guarantees? Some foreign aid that was less than that being given in total to Israel's enemies? Being asked yet again to have scud missiles rain down upon civilian homes unanswered? At the time of Oslo, if the Israeli leaders had had the backbone, they could have forced America to dance to their tune in return for Israeli cooperation. Even back then, almost all of America's foreign policy was dependent upon Israeli cooperation. It laid out like this: America and most of her allies are dependent on Arab/Muslim oil. It is vital to their economies. And ultimately, a country's strength derives from its economy. Meanwhile, the Arab/Muslim world has been calling for the destruction of Israel and the entire Jewish people since 1948. If Israel had said 'no,' the oil-consuming western world would have been in a panic. The Arab/Muslim world has always predicated its cooperation in supplying oil at an almost bearable price on the world's condemnation of Israel. The Arab/Muslim world has made it clear that to not condemn Israel and work towards its destruction means the oil flow stops. All along, Israel has been living in a prolonged state of unfounded fear. If Israel had said no to complying with western demands to commit suicide, the western world would not have attacked Israel. And if they cut off Israel's loan guarantees and the small amount of foreign aid she receives, Israel would have survived. In fact, Israel would have been weaned from her dependence upon her US pimp. However, the western world would have done at least two things: try to come up with a more reasonable deal for Israel and find alternative energy sources and solutions to the Arab/Muslim oil death grip we've been in. So now, eleven years later, America has been at it again. In response to 9-11, it took Bush the Second less than two weeks to do the unthinkable: declare that a vast enclave of terrorist, murderous and genocidally-bent monsters deserved their own country, cut out of the heart of America's ally, Israel. Bush did this for two reasons. He and his family have close financial ties to the founding fathers of Muslim terror -- the Saudis. And he also wanted Arab cooperation in going after the perpetrator of 9-11, that master of Muslim horror - Osama bin Laden. Israel could still have said 'no' and forced Bush to look for alternative solutions that didn't make Israel and the Jews sacrificial lambs on the altar of oil and 'the war on terror.' But Israel didn't. And now Israel has one last opportunity. Bush's ill-planned and ill-fought war against Saddam is turning into a disaster for him. Bush's allies are rightfully angered at the way he continues to handle a war with no end in sight. Meanwhile, the Arab/Muslim world wants all non-Arabs/non-Muslims off their soil. And they have put the heat on the western world by raising the price of oil to bloodsucking rates as a way of applying indirect pressure regarding their goal of the destruction of Israel. What they have essentially told Bush is this: use your power and influence to destroy Israel through diplomatic channels and we will cooperate on Iraq and keep the oil flowing to you and your European allies (as well as the oil profits to your personal pocket). So Bush is again sacrificing Israel. And this time it will be the deathblow. Bush has decided that Israel must amputate the heart of the Hebrew people, known as Jewish land since biblical times, and turn it over to her tormentors and murderers. On the surface, this scenario looks like a lose-lose situation for western oil consumers as well as for Israel. But it doesn't have to be. As everyone knows, if you give in to a blackmailer, they will continue to blackmail you. Bush's capitulation to Arab/Muslim whims will keep the western world in the stranglehold of a religion-cum-cult whose goal is the domination, conversion and subjugation of the world. But he seems not to care. In his most recent speech regarding energy, Bush emphasized sticking with a hydrocarbon economy, giving only a few last words towards developing alternative energy sources. But then, Bush's family fortune and power are directly tied to a hydrocarbon economy. Bush is not concerned about the western world or the average oil-consuming, sitting-duck-for-terrorism targets like you and me. He cares only about the power and wealth he and his cronies can amass. And as a Replacement Theology Methodist, he fantasizes about the day that Israel -- living proof that his bible-altering pseudo-Christianity is apostate -- will cease to exist. Meanwhile, Israel is the key to all of Bush's leadership policies. Bush has based his whole foreign policy, from dealing with the Europeans, to dealing with China, to dealing with the Arab/Muslim world on Israel. Like a house of cards, it is all based upon Israeli capitulation. He has also founded his entire economic policies on Israeli cooperation. This is because as long as the oil flows, America's businesses, manufacturing, shipping and transportation continue to work. This was a really dumb move on Bush's part, but can play out well for Israel as well as the average consumer. All Israel has to do is say 'NO!" "NO!' to humiliating concessions. 'No!' to giving up her rightful and aboriginal homeland. Bush's schemings and machinations will crumble like a pile of dehydrated camel dung in a stiff breeze. And what's the worst that could happen to Israel? The US has already cut off much of her cooperation with Israel, punishing her for trading with China. The US has given Egypt fighter planes and arms that can be used to attack Israel, in direct violation of both the Egypt-Israel Peace Agreement, as well as the US-Israel Memorandum of Agreement guaranteeing that the US would not let Egypt arm itself to the point where it could launch an attack against Israel. So Israel has nothing to lose. Instead all Israel has to say to the US is 'NO!" All of Bush's maneuverings and machinations immediately would fall apart. His 'friendly' Arab nations would withdraw their help from him, the European countries and others would back off assisting him with Iraq and Afghanistan, the oil producers would do something outrageous and Bush would be in deep trouble. At this point, Israel could extract from Bush just about anything she wanted in return for her cooperation. So why doesn't Israel do this? My guess is fear. Time to get over it. Unfortunately, most of today's Israeli leaders don't have the foresight, guts or honesty and integrity to do such a thing. But there seems to be one who does. In studying Moshe Feiglin's positions on everything from foreign relations to domestic affairs, he looks like an uncompromised leader with real solutions for all Jews, not merely religious ones. Feiglin also adheres to Hillel's famous teaching when it comes to Israel: "If I am not for myself, then who will be, and if not now when?" Beth Goodtree is an award-winning writer who lives in the NYC metro area. She writes political commentary/analysis, and the occasional science and humor articles. Or visit her website: http://hometown.aol.com/bgoodtree/ |
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HELP SECURE THE FUTURE OF JEWISH WORLD REVIEW (JWR)
Posted by Manuel Vider, June 28, 2005. |
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The following is a message from Binyamin L. Jolkovsky, Editor in Chief of JWR. The website address is http://www.jewishworldreview.com Dearest readers: They say that every cloud has a silver lining. What I've leaned about my readers in recent days when we were having problems distributing the JWR newsletter is that there are A LOT of folks who care about our site in general and myself in particular. When the daily update temporarily stopped, I was deluged with notes inquiring about my health. (Thank Heaven, it's much better than it was two years ago when I was hospitalized with cardiac problems, but not what it should be for a 37 year-old). Others told me that their "day just wasn't the same" without their JWR fix and how ours is "the one e-mail read no matter what." All of this, of course, is flattering - touching, actually. I'm going to try to be as diplomatic as possible here. So PLEASE excuse me if this comes out wrong. ARE WE DOING SOMETHING WRONG? JWR has hundreds of thousands of readers every month. In fact, our numbers continue to grow. But for the last two months, I've inserted appeal ads in every article and on our Front Page - and only several hundred readers have responded. To those of you who have expressed your kindness, I'm SINCERELY grateful. But for the life of me, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I do know what I'm doing right, as does anybody who reads JWR regularly. It's not the least bit of an exaggeration to say that JWR is constantly improving. I follow reader responses VERY carefully and am always on the lookout for new talent that will inspire, inform and entertain. We've also been phasing in a technology upgrade. What many of you may not know is that JWR is still essentially a one-man-show. There is no zillion dollar corporation publishing this site. What even fewer of you know is that my wonderful wife, who has stood behind me in keeping JWR alive, has been unemployed now for a half-year. (She was a veep in the computer department at Prudential Securities, which was merged with another company. New York Metro area job leads, anybody?). I absolutely refuse to give up! But with few donations and no income coming in, well - you do the math. Maybe I should be following folks advice to spend our limited funds in hiring a professional marketer to produce some super slick letter. Call me naive, but I'm certain that I can count on you. If you are gaining from this site and can, PLEASE help now. You can make a tax deductible charitable contribution of ANY amount through our secure online form or by making out a check and mailing it to the Keren Yehoshua V'Yisroel foundation at the address below. Some readers suggested that we create a system where a monthly donation - even as little as $1 - could be automatically deducted from a credit card or checking account. To do so, please click here. Checks should be sent to: Keren Yehoshua V'Yisroel foundation
Tax ID: 22-3209160 Please note on the "memo line" it is for the Internet educational project. In SINCERE gratitude and friendship,
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3- AND 5-YEAR OLDS HELD IN POLICE CUSTODY FOR 20 HOURS
Posted by Hillel Fendel, June 28, 2005. |
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"The police are trying to scare anti-expulsion protestors that their parents will be arrested, but they won't scare us." So says a woman whose husband was arrested - along with their two toddlers. Ruth Sariel, a mother of ten from Elon Moreh, told Arutz-7 today of the police "harassment" against her and her family that has been ongoing for three months. The latest incident was the "arrest" of her two youngest children, aged 3 and 5, together with their father. She told Arutz-7, "Two of our teenaged daughters have a court date in two weeks' time because of the road-blockings of a few weeks ago. Last night, when only my husband and the two little ones were home, the police came and said that we hadn't responded to a summons, and therefore they were arresting him. When he said that there was no one to watch the two little ones, they ignored him, and actually piled up all three of them into the paddy wagon and took them to the police station in Ariel." The two children slept on their father's lap. "I called the police," Ruth said, "and demanded that the children be brought back immediately. The police refused, and even threatened to give the children to a family that would take them in. They also threatened my husband that he would be under arrest until July 18, the date of the court hearing." This morning, as well, her demands to return the children and police threats in response continued, while in the meantime, the three "criminals" were taken to the Rishon LeTzion police station. Finally, this afternoon, the police agreed to bring them back to Ariel, and after more cajoling, all the way back to Elon Moreh. The police originally charged the mother with "taking advantage" of her children to besmirch the police. Meanwhile, the Sariels' 18-year-old son Baruch was in the same police station in Ariel - unaware that his father and little brothers were being held by the police. "How Baruch got there is another whole story," Ruth said. "It's hard for me to keep track of all the arrests." When she finally was able to get the story in order, she related that Baruch had been arrested a while ago for his role in resisting the destruction of the Gilad Outpost, and then later for taking part in the road-blockings. He was held for a week, then released, then held and released again - until last Wednesday, when two policemen arrived at the house, without a warrant, to arrest him. "When I would not let them arrest him without a warrant," Ruth continued, "they said that it was back at the police station in Ariel - but they didn't produce it. Instead, without warning, eight Yasamnikim [special forces] burst into the house and proceeded to carry out the arrest forcibly. I demanded that they leave my house, that they were there unlawfully, but they told me to shut up and the like. I called Honenu, and in accordance with their instructions, my daughter asked each one to identify himself; none of them were wearing ID tags, and some refused to tell her their names. Afterwards, I even lay down on the ground in front of the jeep, but they pulled me away. Baruch has been in prison since then, and will be until his hearing next week... He's not easily broken by these things." As an aside, Ruth mentioned that her daughter had been placed in jail for two days for "attacking a police officer." Ruth said, "I asked her if that's what happened, and she said, sarcastically, 'Sure, I beat up a police officer. What really happened is that the policewoman choked me around my neck, and so instinctively you fight back - and then right away they slap you with 'attacking a police officer.'" "It's clear that the police are trying to scare us, and especially our family," Ruth said. "They don't like the fact that we are opposing this uprooting plan from Gush Katif and northern Shomron - but it won't scare us." Additional reports of police harassment have also arrived at the Arutz-7 newsroom. Three youths under arrest on suspicion of planning to spread nails and spikes on roads in opposition to the disengagement plan say they are being severely mistreated. In a court hearing last night in which their custody was extended, they told their family members that they were placed on chairs for a week without being able to get up and had their hands tied continually. They were interrogated by the GSS, instead of by the police, and one of them submitted a complaint that he was beaten during the interrogation. In Maasiyahu Prison in Ramle, where some 20-25 youths still remain after being arrested six weeks ago, reports of jailers' sympathy for and admiration of the youths' idealism are being replaced by reports of cruel and harsh treatment. One boy is reported to have been hit for putting his feet on a chair. Another one is reported to have been beaten by the prison commander after he obeyed an instruction to stop singing - but not an order to stop smiling. Asked where "public pressure" can be applied regarding the mis-treatment of the youths, a person familiar with the story suggested the following: * The Prime Minister's Office - "webmaster@pmo.gov.il", fax number 02-670-5475 (+9722-670-5475, from outside Israel) * Public Security Ministry Gideon Ezra - sar@mops.gov.il, fax 02-530-8039 (+9722-530-8039, from outside Israel) * Knesset Law Committee Chairman MK Michael Eitan - email address: "meitan@knesset.gov.il" Hillel Fendel is editor of Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNationalNews.com), where this article appeared today. |
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CORPORAL BIEBER FACES NEARLY TWO MONTHS IN PRISON
Posted by Hillel Fendel, June 28, 2005. |
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Corp. Avi Bieber, who has received calls of support nationwide for being the "first disengagement refuser," is to be tried in Be'er Sheva today by the deputy commander of the Gaza region.
Bieber was arrested on Sunday after refusing to participate in the violent suppression of protestors seeking to prevent the IDF from demolishing abandoned structures near the Gush Katif community of Shirat HaYam. The army felt that the structures were to be used to house opponents of the expulsion/retreat plan. As Biber was being led away from the scene, a reporter asked him what was going on. "They're beating up Jews, that's what's going on," he said, visibly upset. "It's not right. It's not right and it's not just." Bieber had requested to be tried before a military tribunal, which would have enabled him to have legal defense. His lawyer, Shai Galili, said he was not allowed to view any of the material beforehand, nor speak with any witnesses to the event. The 19-year-old, who immigrated with his family from the U.S. at the age of 10, and who was described by his relatives as "quiet" until this week, is being charged on two counts, each of which carries a possible 28-day sentence: refusing orders and unbecoming behavior. The army has threatened to make an example out of him, with senior officers speaking of the need to deal harshly with disengagement-refusers. "When he spoke to us last night," Avi's father Ralph said today, "he told us that we should hold our heads up high and be proud of him, and that he's willing to pay the price for what he did... We really are very proud of him." Over 50 people gathered this morning outside the IDF Gaza headquarters, where it was originally thought Bieber would be tried, to support Corp. Bieber. The supporters cheered loudly for him, until police forcibly broke up the demonstration, arresting one activist in the process. The trial was then moved, however, to an IDF base in Be'er Sheva. When this news was learned, anti-expulsion activists quickly lined the road, holding orange signs in support of the teenager-turned-hero. Ralph Bieber said that he has received calls of support from all over the country. "The phone hasn't stopped ringing since Sunday," he said. "The first act of destruction in Gush Katif saw the first cracks appear in the anti-Zionist uprooting mechanism," said a statement from the "Jewish Heart" organization, which provides legal assistance to soldiers who choose to refuse to participate in the Disengagement Plan. Twelve other soldiers in Bieber's unit said afterwards that they would not participate in any further missions of this sort. "No one told us in advance that this was our mission," one of them told the Hebrew news site Ynet. "The soldiers are talking among themselves and saying that we were basically tricked..." The soldier said that the 12 were tried by the Battalion Commander. "We didn't exactly refuse orders," he said, "but just said that if there is another one like this, we simply won't do it... Two of the soldiers were crying with tears in their eyes [during the destruction]... They told us to stand with guns around our neck, with cartridges in our weapons; we're used to standing against Arabs like that, not against Jews." The Orange Cell of Haifa University and Technion students announced its support of the soldiers "refusing to take part in the crimes against the Jewish Nation and and the fulfillment of blatantly illegal orders... We call upon all IDF soldiers to learn from them and follow their path. Only in this way we will restore the IDF to its mission of being the people's army and not that of the Sharon family." Just this morning, Itzik Kleinman, a soldier in the IDF Technology and Logistics Branch was sentenced to 14 days in prison for expressing anti-disengagement views on a television program. Atty. Galili, representing Kleinman, said he would appeal the sentence. Hillel Fendel is editor of Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNationalNews.com), where this article appeared today. |
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SHARON'S REAL HISTORY
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, June 28, 2005. |
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We can only wonder what other surprises will pop out from Sharon's sordid past. I for one have always wondered what the real reason was for his sudden release of the Egyptian Army he captured. Considering his history of corruption, I think the question should no longer be "why" but "how much." This is called "Sharon Beat Up Etzel Fighters" and is from today's Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=84755 First-Hand Testimony: "Sharon would go around with his shovel-handle against us," says Ben-Ami Zamir, who says Sharon struck him in his head - putting in a different light Sharon's warnings about "civil war." Just two months ago, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told NBC that Israel is on the brink of a civil-war disaster. "The tension here, the atmosphere here looks like the eve of the civil war," he said. "All my life I was defending the lives of Jews. Now, for the first time, security steps are taken to protect me from Jews." Revelations by a former Etzel [nationalist army organization] member show that this is not quite true. Ben-Ami Zamir says that Sharon was involved in violence against nationalist Jews during pre-State days, and was forced to run away to protect himself. The NBC interview promoted the perception that "Jewish settlers" are the main threat to stability in the Middle East. "Israelis are bracing for a violent summer," the narrator opened, "but it's not the Palestinians they are worried about - it's the Jewish settlers." Knesset Members from both left and right said that Sharon's remarks about a "civil war" atmosphere and his need for protection from Jews are incendiary and provocative. Extreme left-wing MK Zahava Gal'on (Meretz/Yahad) accused Sharon of "making cheap and provocative use of threats of civil war." Former Justice Minister Tommy Lapid of the left-wing Shinui Party said, "Remarks like these by the Prime Minister cause more extremism and tension, instead of calming things down. I don't think that such dangers exist." MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union), a resident of Gush Katif and one of Sharon's most bitter opponents, said, "Sharon is a liar. He knows that the only one who can lead to a civil war is he himself." Hendel's words received strong backing this week - from a man who himself suffered from Sharon's ideological-based violence. It occurred during the period known as the Saison of the mid-1940's, when left-wing Haganah activists pursued and beat up nationalist Etzel and Lechi activists, and others even turned them over to the hated ruling British forces. Speaking with Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen, Ben-Ami Zamir, who is today a member of the Likud Party Bureau, gave the following harrowing account: "I was given the mission of establishing an Etzel cell in our moshavah [townlet] of Magdiel, and I did so. I gathered some youths in our cafe, and I would often give shelter to Etzel men who needed to hide from the British police. Everyone knew everyone, and it was known that I was an Etzel man, as were all my neighbors; residents of the surrounding moshavim were rival Haganah people." One of these towns was Kfar Malal, home to young Ariel "Arik" Sharon. "One Motzaei Shabbat [Saturday night], a truck arrived at the cafe, and out of it jumped a group of uniformed Haganah men, led by Ariel Sharon holding a hoe-handle. We knew him in the area as someone who always holds a hoe-handle to catch Etzel and Lechi people. They tried to break into the cafe, which was still closed because of the Sabbath. I came close to him, and he said, 'Give me some soda,' and pointed to a box of drinks on the ground. I bent down to the bottles, and then he picked up his arm and smashed me with all his might with the hoe-handle. My head was covered in blood, which dripped down all over me." Zamir said that a fight ensued, and "for ten minutes, they destroyed everything they could... The next morning, I went to the Sharon home... His mother came out, saw me all bandaged up and immediately realized what was going on. I asked where Arik was, and she said he wasn't home. I said that if I would see him, I would get him. Later people in Kfar Malal told me that he was afraid to go home. We didn't see him again in Magdiel." Zamir said that this was not the only violent incident against Etzel people in which Sharon was involved. He noted specifically the case of someone named Hayuma, who died six months ago, whose arm was broken by Sharon's gang. Zamir's story was publicized 15 years ago by Yediot Acharonot reporter Shlomo Nakdimon. That article also quoted similar testimony by Etzel member Daniel Basamnik. "Sharon threatened to sue [following Nakdimon's article]," Zamir told Arutz-7's Cohen, "but for his own reasons decided not to." Not long ago, Zamir met Sharon at a Likud gathering at the party's headquarters in Metzudat Ze'ev. "Sharon passed me," Zamir said, "and I told him that he would be remembered in history as a traitor. I said that apparently only when a shell lands in his own farm, will he understand what he's doing." Cohen said that no response to his inquiries on these accusations had been received from the Prime Minister's Bureau by press time. Just today, Mr. Sharon issued a call against violence in response to threats received by Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz. "Everything must be done to stop the violence of a small minority of the settlers," he said today. Apparently unaware of the old/new accusations against him, Sharon said that the Land of Israel faithful living in the Maoz HaYam Hotel in Gush Katif are "vocal and dangerous," as well as "law-breaking." 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. |
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POWER AND INFLUENCE
Posted by Batya Medad, June 28, 2005. |
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When I was growing up, the feeling was that if you wanted to "change the world," have power and influence, you'd go into politics. President Kennedy's motivating speeches are quoted to this day. Fortunately or unfortunately, things have changed. This week an enormous tragedy, a terror attack that challenges the imagination, was, thank the Good Lord, prevented. An Arab, one of the lucky ones from Gaza, a patient in the Israeli hospital, Soroka, prepared for her check-up by strapping explosives to her body. The same body that Israeli doctors had labored to heal was going to be used as a murder weapon to murder her doctors, nurses, and fellow patients and to destroy part of the hospital itself. The Soroka Hospital, in the Southern city of Beersheba, treats both Jewish and Arab patients, and its staff is also integrated. One of the Arab doctors who works there wrote a very moving article against such terror in the hospital he considers a home. This horrendous, unthinkable for normal minds, plan was barely mentioned in the international press. Via the Internet, I'm in touch with concerned people of all religions, and we are all surprised and disappointed by the lack of press coverage. The media has no problems magnifying and saturating the airwaves with anything that may be considered a fault of Israel, but to expose the immoral Arab terror is considered so much less important. Everyone remembers the little Arab boy photographed next to his father in the crossfire of Arab and Israeli bullets. Israel was roundly condemned all over the world press and diplomatic world for his death, though extensive ballistic tests proved beyond a doubt that Arabs killed him. If there was a "clarification" it was hidden in the back pages and certainly the TV and radio didn't publicize corrections. My family has had a lot of experience with the international media as residents of Shiloh. Journalists call us with requests that sound like they're ordering from a Chinese restaurant. "Can you find us an American immigrant living in the Hebron area and a native Israeli near Tel Aviv'" When queried about the stereotypes, we've been told that the editor ordered a specific article, and the reporter has to find people "to fit the bill." Meaning that the true situation, like a "native Israeli" descended from Jewish residents murdered in the Hebron Massacre of 1929 and an American immigrant living near Tel Aviv wouldn't convey the message the editor desires. Truth is what the editors want it to be. Apparently this phenomena isn't exclusive to Israel. Here in Israel we're constantly warned of the dangers of "the extreme right wing," and any Arab injured is described as "innocent of guilt," a phrase never used to describe Jewish victims of Arab terror. Yesterday's simple 15 minute Stop a Moment to Think Again Protest was heralded with warnings from the media that the demonstration was irresponsible and will certainly cause death. Tens of thousands of vehicles and at least 200,000 pedestrians lined various roads throughout the country in one of the simplest and calmest demonstrations imaginable. I participated in Jerusalem standing near the Israeli Supreme Court with hundreds of others of all ages and backgrounds. Almost everyone wore something orange and some waved Israeli flags. Passing cars tapped out the "we support you" beep. And then after a short time, as planned, we all returned to our everyday lives. Last but most important. The big mystery: why in the world did Arik Sharon declare the Disengagement policy? According to a recently published book, Boomerang, it was Ariel Sharon's attempt to escape punishment for corruption. In addition more and more proof of media manipulation have been revealed. A decision was made by the Israeli media to "coddle and protect" Ariel Sharon in order to promote Disengagement. Instead of honestly reporting the news, the media campaigns for its favorite issues, trying to influence the trusting public and in some cases, even orchestrates events to suit its agenda. The Arutz 7 station was closed down and is now only available via phone and internet. It was closed down in order to prevent the public from hearing the truth. Today, thank G-d, some of us at least have the option of the internet and blogs as an alternative news media. So if you want to change the world, forget politics. True power is in front of the camera and tapping the keys. It's up to all of us to tell the truth and not to believe everything we see and hear. Remember the old saying: "Everything's true in the newspaper, except for the things you know about personally." This is Musing #127. 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 is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/06/power-and-influence.htm |
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THE CONFLICT AND THE POLITICALLY CORRECT; ENERGY SWINDLE; ISRAEL
TIES ITSELF IN LEGAL KNOTS
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, June 28, 2005. |
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THE CONFLICT AND THE POLITICALLY CORRECT
A Jewish reader of mine joined an Internet discussion group comprised almost entirely of Roman Catholics. He submitted my article describing Islam's political manifestations. They found it offensive, especially the admonition to fellow Jews not to let Arabs come up behind them. Most of the group thinks Islam is a peaceful religion. One who disagrees nevertheless suggests that Israel negotiate a resolution with the Arabs. After all, he supposes, Israel cannot keep resisting forever, as by demolishing terrorists' houses. Such action reduces its credibility. My reader asked how to reply, especially on what Islam wants from the rest of the world. That is a difficult task. What standing have I with people who read only one article of mine? I sent him several pertinent editorials and news briefs that cite sources. Those are only a few of about 14,000 pages that I have written on the Arab-Israel conflict, in the past decade. On what basis do I presume to advise others? Many writers are presumptuous, exercising their legal right to communicate their lack of knowledge. I started with the approximately half a million pages I read on the subject, from scholarly works and the regular print media, when I set up a library for a Zionist organization. To read is not necessarily to absorb, and to absorb is not necessarily to digest. I am going to make some assertions about how I go about it; my regular readers can judge for themselves. I do digest the material, and expose false propaganda, because I dislike seeing the public under-informed and misinformed about public issues, especially this one of great import. Just as the public was caught unprepared for the Nazi and Communist menaces, they were unprepared for the contemporary totalitarian menace, Islamism. I have lived through all those phases. Advocating Zionism, I reject "advocacy journalism," whereby the writer editorializes, censors, and dissembles in news items. When I come across an invalid argument by my own "side," I expose it as false, too. Academic integrity is one of the ways I try to differentiate myself from the other side. Readers would not stay with a dissident, if he forfeits trust. I do strain belief with my iconoclastic approach. I think for myself. Now, what do I tell a Catholic group? Although in boyhood I had been beaten up and regularly pursued by a couple of Catholics, in my youth I quit two organizations when I found them irrelevantly antagonistic towards Catholicism. One group was the American Humanist Association, the other, Americans United for Separation of Church From State. I consult a knowledgeable Christian, to make sure I don't misrepresent the Christian view. So far, so good. The problem with introducing a discordant view into the forum is that it gages dissent against a syndrome of beliefs based on well-meaning assumptions about other cultures and religions that I see are not based on fact. In Western society, people are not educated about major trends, but adopt politically correct ideological positions, often contrary to practical experience. They are too rigidly liberal or conservative, rather than pragmatic and ethical, to re-evaluate their notions. When it comes to Islam, Westerners who have not studied its history and who depend on skimpy news that often is biased against Israel or is appeasement-minded, suppose it is just like their own religions. They ethno-centrically assume that other cultures have values and thought processes like their own. Being a monotheistic faith like their own, wouldn't Islam have become a religion of peace? It didn't. It never had a Reformation. It falsely tells them it wants peace, just as did Hitler and Stalin. Appeasement failed with the Nazis and Communists, and it failed with the Arabs. Let us not be naive and wax indignant against someone like me, who calls Islam a war society. That is a matter of fact and not debatable, though people argue against it anyway. Probably those people do not read translations of the mosque sermons broadcast over Saudi and Palestinian Authority (P.A.) TV, constantly calling for the murder of Christians, Jews, and Americans. The P.A. curriculum and media is filled with defamation and incitement to violence. Islam's primary tenets emphasize subduing all other faiths and humiliating Christians and Jews. Islam originally spread by means of a judicious combination of war and diplomacy. It established a huge empire. The Arabs dream of regaining lost glory. Their religion divides the planet into two spheres, the world of Islam and the world of war. Informed Westerners can see that there is Islamic jihad all over the world, including the US. Do I have to name the many countries in which Islamic insurgents are fighting to take over? In some countries it has advanced into active combat. In the US it does more recruiting and fundraising. No, Islam is not a religion of peace. One hears about moderate Muslims, but few speak out against jihad and the means it uses: war, terrorism, torture, and deceit. For death in jihad, Islam promises Heaven. Best-sellers among the Muslim Arabs are Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and the forged "Protocols of the Elders of Zion." Bigotry is "in." Muslims have been pressuring Christians out of the Mideast for centuries. In Egypt, Muslims capture and forcibly convert Christian girls. In Fatah land, they beat up Christian worshippers and extort from Christian storekeepers. Deceit is a tactic approved by the Arabs, as it was by the equally fanatical Communists and Nazis. If one follows the Arabs' assertions, one can see a pattern of false propaganda. Christians ought to challenge the Arab claim that there never was a Jewish temple on the Mount, for events there are important in the Christian Testament. Christians ought to challenge the claim by the Palestinian Arabs that Jesus was a "Palestinian." The Gospel truth is that Jesus was a rabbi. Arabs were not around there, at that time. There was no "Palestinian" nation then or now. Until the Palestine Mandate, there was no actual territory of Palestine since ancient Roman times. In the Mandate there were Palestinian Arabs and Palestinian Jews, but no Palestinian nation. One of the members of the forum urges Israel to negotiate another Palestinian Arab state. (Jordan emerged from the Palestine Mandate and is Arab.) He wrote that Israel cannot keep resisting, as by demolishing terrorists' houses and undermining its own "moral credibility." Since those Arabs are not a separate nation, why grant them sovereignty, especially over traditionally Jewish territory? Since those Arabs are waging holy war, the Arab-Israel conflict is not about nationality or territory, but about religion. Islam deems Jewish sovereignty around there an affront to its hegemony. The PLO plan is to conquer all of Israel, starting by getting the strategic Territories of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. PLO statehood would stimulate war! Therefore, suggestions that the conflict can be negotiated to a conclusion are erroneous. Jihad doesn't stop until stymied or victorious. Since jihad is being waged against so many countries, it would be foolish for Israel to give the jihadists a victory. Such a victory would bring the Muslim Arabs to the second half of their saying, "After Saturday's people, Sunday's people." Exhortation to negotiate is a Western means of problem solving. Arabs operate differently. Arabs negotiate much like the Nazis and Communists did, to gain an advantage for the next war. Once the Arabs absorb Israeli concessions, they violate the agreement and suggest more negotiations and more enemy concessions. That has been the case with the armistices, treaties, and accords. The strongest proof of the futility of negotiating with the Palestinian Arabs is that, a dozen years after the initial Oslo accords, the PLO and Palestinian Authority still have not disarmed the illegal militias and in fact have boosted, praised, and incited terrorism. We want a peace process, but prior negotiations enabled thousands of terrorist assaults on Israel. Israel must continue resisting. Yes, the world criticizes Israel whatever defensive measures it takes, and hardly criticizes the Arabs, whatever war crimes they commit, such as targeting civilians, torturing prisoners, attacking ambulances or ferrying arms in them, fighting from behind their own people's civilians whom they thereby put at risk, and recruiting children. As for my admonition to Israelis not to turn one's back toward an Arab, how it must shock the uninformed! Unfortunately, numerous Israelis learned the wisdom of it the hard way. I have read many news briefs of Jewish Israelis who long had employed Arabs or had been friends with them. Suddenly radicalized, Arabs have stabbed those employers and friends in the back. ISRAEL TIES ITSELF IN LEGAL KNOTS Israel intends to pay P.A. Arabs at least $50 million to demolish the 1,200 houses Jews built in the area PM Sharon is abandoning. This is referred to a "creating a job program" for the Arabs. Why demolish them? The P.A. claims it doesn't want that type of house for its people. The Washington Post explains, "Under international law, Israel was required to return the property as it had been when it seized it during the 1967 war, which would have meant costly and time-consuming cleanup and left Israeli soldiers vulnerable to attack for months." (Glenn Kessler, NY Sun, 6/20, p.6.) Israel has no obligation to help the antisemitic Arabs. What good are the peace agreements that the PLO/P.A. signed with Israel, if when Israel is sacrificing a portion of its homeland and a major investment, by turning the area over to the Arabs, they would be attacking Israelis preparing for that appeasement? How vicious the Arabs! I think that the P.A. is afraid of the negative publicity from hordes of its people looting and gutting the houses. It would show what kind of people Arabs are. So far, the P.A. has gotten away with all sorts of war crimes, insults against Christianity and other bigotry, and corruption. Scenes of massive mob-looting and attacks when Israel is doing what the P.A. and most the rest of the world demanded, would be too dramatic for continued pretense that the Arabs just want peace. It is humiliating for the Jewish people to read that some folks take pride in Israel making jobs for the Arabs out of destroying a major Zionist enterprise. The murderers of Israelis inherit the land! It stings hardly less that Israel will beg other countries for the funds to do so. One wishes Israel would smash the armed forces that intend to keep attacking it. If international law were as the Washington Post put it, it would be asinine. Israel did what the Arabs had been unable to do. Israel made the parts of Gaza in which it settled bloom. What law demands that Israel destroy houses and other things, to restore the area to desert? Obviously the law was meant to prevent a conqueror from despoiling a settled area, not unsettle an area to its spoiled condition. Although Israel was a conqueror, however, this international law does not apply to it. It is the law for occupiers. Israel is not an occupier in Judea, Samaria, Gaza. To be an occupier, one has to take over part of a sovereign state. The Territories were not sovereign. They had been seized by invading Arab states, which had no legitimate status there. Their legal status remains that of were unallocated parts of the Palestine Mandate for a Jewish national home. Israel is the most legitimate heir of that Mandate. It need not withdraw. It is a mark of Israel's timidity that it allows such improper legal claims to be made against it. Allowing them undermines Israel's case in the public arena and ties it up in unwarranted financial obligations. ENERGY SWINDLE When the price of oil rose, new wells were drilled but not publicized. The industry pretended that there is a shortage, so as to maintain rising prices and to make nature reserves accessible for extraction and to remove other environmental restrictions. Actually there is a glut. That does not mean that conservation is unnecessary. Excess consumption eventually is not sustainable. Neither is the pollution. Meanwhile, consumers are being cheated. CIVIL WARS IN IRAQ? A couple of reports may be flashes in the pan, but they pose interesting possibilities for Iraq. One is that the Shiites are becoming impatient at the constant Sunni attacks against them. The other is that the Sunni Iraqi insurgents have become impatient with the Islamist human-bombing of ordinary Iraqis. In both cases, there would be civil war. Seeing the start of a barrage, US troops thought it was intended against them. Instead, they found the two strands of the insurgency fighting amongst themselves. The Baathist Sunni insurgents do not want the kind of society that the foreign Islamists seek. The native rebels seek accommodation with their government. Meanwhile, Shiites clashed with Sunnis in mixed neighborhoods. Young Shiite clerics have decided to lead massacres of Sunnis, to prevent themselves from being overrun. If this continues, US policy will have unraveled. The Shiite Grand Ayatollah used his authority to try to accommodate the Sunnis, instead of continuing the age-old policy of revenge for Saddam's persecution of Shiites. If the ethnic strife continues, it will have been in vain. If, however, the Baathists fully break off from the Islamists, and accept the Shiite invitation to a secure place in Iraq, then the ethnic strife may cease. Ethnic unity would isolate the Islamists. This would permit a US success. INTERNAL P.A. VIOLENCE Abbas rarely asserts his authority. Although he runs a dictatorship, he does not use the media to gain support for the regime. Non-political murder is on the upswing in the P.A.. It is shaking the legitimacy of the regime. When Abbas had been Prime Minister under Arafat, he blamed Arafat for not supporting him. He has nobody else to blame for his current foundering (IMRA, 6/16 from Michael Widlanski). He IS different from Arafat - he lacks ability to lead.. P.A. officials have been unable to stem the rivalry between the current, ruling generation of Fatah leaders, and the younger one, impatient for power now. The factions have engaged in gun battles, which the P.A. police have stayed out of. The fate of Fatah depends on the fate of the P.A.. The P.A., however, may be headed for collapse this year. Many P.A. officials already have fled (as the Arab upper class did from Israel on its own, when foreseeing imminent war). Others have made arrangements to find a haven abroad, on short notice (IMRA, 6/16). Will the flight change the demographic balance? What effect is the US training of P.A. police having? What is the current and prospective effect of planned Israeli withdrawal? What does this indicate about US policy favoring the P.A. as if it already were democratic? U.S. DEMANDING UNO REFORM? The House voted to halve US subsidy of the UNO if it fails to reform. But if it fails to reform, why pay at all? Rep. Lantos failed to amend the bill so as to leave the decision up to the Sec. of State. As another Representative put it, "We have had enough waivers, enough resolutions, enough statements. It's time we had some teeth in reform." As an editor put it, "Why would Mr. Lantos think that if the Congress wanted to get tough with the UN, it would hand the decision on whether to get tough over to a State Department that has been opposing the idea of getting tough all along?" (NY Sun, 6/20.) 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 ricshulman@aol.com. |
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THE LAST CONCERT
Posted by Rachel Saperstein, June 28, 2005. |
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The Gush Katif Orchestra had just played its final notes at the end-year concert in the Community Center in Neve Dekalim when Naomi Eldar - tall, elegant, smiling Naomi - trembled with emotion as she spoke to the audience of children and parents. "Is this to be our last concert?" she tearfully asked. I had been sitting in the audience watching Sophia, the energetic orchestra conductor, put her baby, the Gush Katif Orchestra, through its last number, a lively Chassidic melody. The percussionists were in full gear as the accordions were belting out the tune. Children, youth, adults, accompanied by our music teachers, had joined together to make music, and to bring music not only to the people of Gush Katif but to audiences throughout Israel. During the worst of the intifadeh, with bombs and shootings taking place in Gush Katif, our orchestra went out to all parts of Israel to entertain and to give courage to the people cowering under daily terrorist attacks. I am especially fond of the Gush Katif music program. As a teenager I had played the flute and now I had, as an "older" person, the chance to play it again. Imagine being 57 and tackling an instrument untouched for forty years. My teacher Alex, an immigrant from Russia as are all the music teachers, brought back both the pleasure and the discipline of playing an instrument. I often played along with the children, standing with pride as I played a trio for flutes. Some of the adults smiled as I was called up to play my solo at the recitals. But watching my happy face they too signed up to study their own childhood instruments or to begin to learn a new instrument. And that's what I did as well. At age 60 I began to learn the keyboard. I was totally uncoordinated but my teacher, Marc, put me through the difficult paces of learning a new instrument. The music teachers live in Ashkelon and Beersheba. Twice a week they make their way to Gush Katif and back in bulletproof vans. Through the most difficult periods, with their families frantically calling them every hour, with news reports of incessant terrorist attacks, they came. Their devotion to their students, and especially their love of Gush Katif, was expressed in the most ardent Zionist way - they put their bodies, their music and their skills on the line to be with us. The music teachers gave us light when the world around us seemed so dark. During the most difficult nights of terror, listening to mortars and rockets falling all around us, I played my flute. Many times my good neighbor, Roxanne Chemla, an accomplished pianist, accompanied me. Together we gave small concerts. Playing kept us focused on the music and not on the deadly sounds we heard outside our homes. Is this the Last Concert? Naomi Eldar, Ita Freiman and the entire dedicated staff of our Community Center wished me a happy summer. My teachers gave me material to practice and I was reminded I should now sign up for music lessons for September before all the slots would be filled. And so I did. May we make music together in Gush Katif for many years to come. Rachel Saperstein and her husband Moshe live in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Gaza, Israel. She is a teacher at the Neve Dekalim ulpana and a spokeswoman for the Katif Regional Council. |
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WILL APPEASEMENT BRING PEACE TO ISRAEL?
Posted by Marcel Cousineau, June 28, 2005. |
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The Prime Minister of Israel knows much about the subject on endangering Israel as he accuses those who oppose his suicidal plans. He warned Mr. Bush in 2002 that he would not allow Israel to become the tool of appeasment as Czechslovakia was fed to the Third Reich by Britan for the cause of 'peace in our time.' Sharon changed his mind after his visit to Washington and went along with the Bush Road Map that now endangers Israel's existence. What happened? Now the Prime Minister follows any and every demand from Washington without question. He has for all practical purposes surrendered Israel sovereignty to Amwerica's interests and their failed peace plan. As an Israeli University Professor wrote me last week, 'He is the most powerful man on earth.' This is Israel problem in a nutshell: they have forgotten the One who is more powerful than Mr. Bush and have chosen to obey the dictates of one over the other. Even after all the lies and betrayal, Israel will not loosen it's grip from this false Idol which promises peace. This is a grave error on Israel's part which will be extremely costly. Israel will not have peace, but it will have the same destruction and war that Neville Chamberlain's appeasment brought to the world not too long ago. Even Abba Eban knew enough to warn us about the Aushwitz borders. Sharon endangers Israel's existence by appeasing and emboldening the Islamic jihadists, and the few who speak out know this. Under the fascist umbrella law of incitement he silences his opponents and crushes them. Did they drug him - some kind of mind control? Do they have compromixing photos of Sharon to bribe him with? Why does Sharon bring Israel to the brink, not of peace, but destruction and refuse to communicate with those he serves as Prime Minister. He is the Bully Bulldozer Dictator who serves U.S. interests and not Israel's. This is treason. Why did he go back on his appeasment warning to Mr. Bush ? All of Israel Prime Minister after Yitzak Shamir have sold out Israel to U.S. interests, teaching the wise that politicians will not save Israel. Israel's only hope is the direct intervention from her God. Contact Marcel Cousineau by email at up2zionsg8@yahoo.com. |
| GUSH KATIF |
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF "DISENGAGEMENT"
Posted by Moshe and Rachel Saperstein, June 28, 2005. |
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This was written by Dr. Moshe Dann In order to gain greater control of Israel's economy, Israel's oligarchy (cf. www.dandb.co.il for example) are using the Sharon/Peres "disengagement" plan of retreat from Yesha (traditionally part of the Left's agenda and the basis of the Oslo Accords.) to their advantage. These ruling elites realized that Israel would have to pay for deporting Jews and confiscating their property in Gaza and northern Samaria. Lacking sufficient funds in the budget, however, the government would be forced to sell off their interests in companies - at a substantial discount. These are the plums that the elite coveted; "disengagement" was the excuse. And it was convenient because it coincides with the Left's antipathy towards "settlers," with free-market economics, and post/anti-Zionism. Although Jewish property in the Gaza Strip may be potentially worth billions of dollars their owners are being offered a small fraction of its real value in compensation. This is a direct subsidy to terrorists. But it's not just about homes, veggies and flowers. Terrorist organizations have spent billions trying to defeat the IDF and destroy Jewish communities throughout Israel. Forcing Israel to retreat from Gaza and Northern Samaria under fire while abandoning Jewish property - without having to give up anything (including terrorism) -- proves the success of their strategy. Although nearly all military experts now agree that "disengagement" is a strategic mistake, will increase the danger to Israel's security and encourage future terrorism the government continues. A major reason behind the process is economic. FM Netanyahu is the 'bag man' for Sharon/Peres' policy of expropriation and deportation. "Privatization" (selling off government-owned and/or controlled industries and banks which receive special privileges) has merits, but in Israel it concentrates greater economic power in the hands of the oligarchic ruling elite. Government interests in banks and companies are being sold at discounts to fund the retreat from Yesha, the interests of the elite and a growing police state. Capital market reforms are not accompanied by a more efficient and conducive system that will encourage businessmen and investors, and one that will provide greater competition. Major obstacles, like Israel's monopolistic banking structures remain unchanged. Subsidies and tax "incentives" to businesses, Channel One and the "politically correct," moreover continue while ministerial budgets are cut. For example, 700 million NIS was cut from the education ministry budget, which meant firing 5,000 teachers. The same amount was given to (Shinui) to obtain their support for retreat plan. Most of this money will be used to support various Shinui political interests; nearly half is intended for certain profligate universities which serve the interests of the elite. This is at the expense of public education and colleges. The rest will be spent on "cultural" activities - again supporting the interests of Israel's Left-wing elite. No money is intended to help the working and non-working poor, nor the basic public education and health systems which trap the poor in cycles of poverty, dependency and oppression. "Disengagement" is also about who controls land, Israel's most important tangible asset, the basis of sovereignty (political power) and the most constant and important measure of wealth and economic/political power. The settlement movement represents a powerful centrifugal force in Israeli society because of its independence and idealism. It created decentralized loci of power with a more religious and Zionist ideology than the Left and the ruling elites, challenging the hegemony of Israel's social, political, economic and cultural (anti-religious) Establishment. The problem was how to eliminate settlements within a nominally democratic system. The first step was the Oslo Accords which helped establish a terror-based Palestinian state; the next is a retreat from all or most of Yesha and building a barrier/fence basically along the 1949 armistice lines. With the media, court and police systems under their control, the next step required the destruction of the Likud which provides political support for the settlement movement and stands in the way of the Left's re-gaining full power Restricting land use by Jews was the job of the Israel Lands Authority (a function of the Prime Minister's office) which exercises a virtual monopoly -- controlling 93% of Israeli land -- and is dominated by the agricultural lobby and the political echelons. (The JNF also holds significant amounts of land.) When Jews moved to newly available land (in Yesha) after 1967 they created a new source of wealth and to an extent political independence. The more they expanded, the greater their threat to the ILA's control of land and eventually the entire system. By restricting the sale and distribution of land the ILA manipulates prices to maintain artificially high levels and prevent the expansion of Jewish communities. At the time of the Oslo Accords the settlement movement was on its way to creating the three important mechanisms of independence: free, open communication (Arutz 7, Radio West, etc), economic self-sufficiency and political strength. Eventually, with cheaper land available, heavy industry would have moved into Yesha and then de facto annexation would be complete. Oslo pre-empted this development just at the time when the settlement movement was at its peak and had achieved 'critical mass,' and when "Palestinian nationalism" and its supporters were weakest. Oslo tried to reverse the process. "Disengagement" is really another form of that failed "peace process," while widening conflicting cultural divisions. Settlements also represent a paradigm of everything that post-Zionists oppose. As they see it, Arabs want to destroy Israel from without; "settlers" and religious Jews want to destroy Israel from within. More important is how easily the ruling elite are able to take advantage of these forces to serve their interests. Through their control of the means of communication (TV, radio and newspapers) the oligarchy can essentially brainwash the public. Because Israel's political, economic and judicial systems have no accountability, democratic institutions are undermined and manipulated by political and economic interests. It's not only the failure of a leader or political party; the system itself exploits us. Abandoning authentic Zionism, genuine democracy and Jewish values in favor of post-Zionist Israelism is part of a process of assimilation and internationalism. The New Middle East that promised peace delivered terrorism and the deportation of Jews. "Land for Peace" didn't work, so Israel offers 'Land for Nothing." It is a policy rooted in fear, failure and defeatism PM Sharon's announcement that "the dream (settlement in Yesha) is over represents a capitulation to and legitimization of terrorism. It means not only that we cannot win our war against that enemy, but that we should not win. Israel's existence is threatened not only by Arab terrorism, but by venality and dishonesty. That explains why a nation diseased with corruption and bribery cannot defend itself effectively. Moshe Saperstein and his wife Rachel live in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, in the Gaza Strip. He is a Jerusalem Diarist, one of the group of Israelis who are recording their experiences living in Israel. He lost an arm while fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He was again wounded in a February 2002 incident when he drove his car into a terrorist who had just shot and killed a young mother traveling in the car in front of him. He writes frequently of his physical and emotional struggles. His wife, Rachel (aka. La Passionara, La P.) works at the Girls High School in Neve Dekalim and published a booklet last year for families dealing with terror victims. |
| GUSH KATIF |
SOLDIERS IN ANTI-SETTLER OPERATION WILL REFUSE ORDERS
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, June 28, 2005. |
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This was written by Aaron Klein, who is WorldNetDaily's Jerusalem bureau chief, whose past interview subjects have included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Shlomo Ben Ami and leaders of the Taliban. JERUSALEM - A group of Israeli soldiers who said they were misled into carrying out an anti-settler operation in Gaza yesterday [Editor's note: see below ] are being reprimanded for refusing to take part in the upcoming Gaza evacuation, relatives of the soldiers told WND. The 12 soldiers say they were misled by their commander yesterday into participating in an operation in which the Israeli Defense Forces bulldozed 11 abandoned homes and buildings along the Gaza beachfront and clashed violently with Jewish teenagers. One soldier, Avi Beiber, would not even help in yesterday's mission. The IDF said it decided to remove the abandoned structures because it was worried Jewish activists would take up residence in the homes, located near a Jewish community, in an effort to stop the Gaza evacuation Aug. 15. The 12 soldiers said they were only told they were needed for an unidentified operation and to bring their weapons and protective gear, Raphael Beiber, Avi's father, told WND. He said details of the operation were withheld from the troops. When the soldiers arrived, Beiber said, they were informed their mission was to protect bulldozers preparing to raze the abandoned structures. But just as the operation began, dozens of local Jewish youth streamed to the site in an attempt to stop the bulldozing. The soldiers, except for Avi, immediately clashed with the youth. Avi quickly told his commander he could not participate and yelled at the other soldiers, "A Jew doesn't evacuate a Jew." Haggai Huberman, an eye witness, described the scene to the Israeli media: "A large group of youths managed to lie down in front of one of the bulldozers, and when it stopped, others climbed atop it. ... Youths behind it, in front of it and on top of it. After a few minutes, the police and soldiers started evacuating, using great force. "[The youth] climbed on the bulldozer and started dragging the youths down with force, with an exchange of punches, pushes and curses. The youths were crying out, 'Refuse orders! This is not your job! You are soldiers, you should be protecting us, not evacuating us!' "The force used by the soldiers was so great, and sometimes so brutal and unreasonable, that some of the youths were hurt and required medical care. One youth suffered a strong blow to his shoulder, several of them fainted and stretchers gradually began to arrive on the scene, evacuating them for medical treatment." Beiber told WND, "When my son Avi saw what was happening, when he saw his fellow soldiers and officers beating up Jewish kids, he was sickened and he told his superiors he would not participate. He was asked to turn in his weapon and he was loaded on a Jeep and escorted out of there." The 12 other soldiers, who did participate, now say they will not take part in the upcoming Gaza evacuation. "It felt disgusting to have to restrain Jewish teenagers. They were good guys who came because they just don't want to be kicked out of their homes," said one soldier, who gave a statement to WND through his mother because he currently is restrained from talking to the media. The soldier said, "They kept the mission quiet from us. I feel like I was lied to. Most of my friends have been stationed in Gush Katif for a few months. We don't want to be involved in the [Gaza evacuation.]" The soldiers told their commander they want to be excused from any future anti-settler missions and are being reprimanded for their decision. Avi Beiber remains on duty in Gaza and soon will be tried for his refusal. The IDF is worried refusal of orders may become more widespread as the Gaza withdrawal draws closer. Last week hundreds of soldiers and reserve officers assembled in Jerusalem to announce they will refuse to participate in the evacuation. In perhaps the most high-profile refusal case so far, the enlisted son of the police chief responsible for overseeing the withdrawal told WorldNetDaily in March he thinks the Gaza evacuation is "wrong," and he will not participate if his unit is ordered to take part. Raphel Beiber said, "I brought my son up to be a proud Jew. To love his country. Yesterday, he did the right thing." 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. |
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LOSE THE PREDICTABILITY
Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, June 27, 2005. |
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Two more sets of Israeli parents buried their kids the other day. Israel has been under increasing pressure from its American friends to ease the unfortunately necessary restrictions it had placed--checkpoints and such--to keep the rabid animals at bay. It did, and--to no surprise--five hitchhiking Jewish students were shot at from a passing car which had gotten through as a result. Two teenage boys were wantonly slaughtered, others wounded...the murderers escaping back to hide amongst their supporters from whence they came. They will, undoubtedly, be treated as heroes for their exploit. These are the folks with whom Jews are told they will have "peace" with...if only they will just keep on unilaterally giving up a little bit more, and more, and more, and more... I assume that their alleged "peace partner," President Mahmoud Abbas, will use his own police force to track down the killers. I also assume that I will win the Florida lottery this weekend...about the same odds. Moving on to the related bigger picture, here we are, on the eve of Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza--a move that will, undoubtedly, be perceived by most Arabs as a victory in their destruction in stages scenario for Israel. And what, may we ask, have been the dominant Arab responses to this controversial move? Well, for starters, we have the sweet-talking (but still rejectionist) Abbas and fellow Arafatian camp which wants "quiet," at least for the time being, so that diplomacy-- i.e. international pressure--can continue to turn the screws on Israel, forcing it to forsake the promises of Resolution 242 after the '67 War that it would, at long last, be able to shed its 1949 U.N.-imposed, 9-mile wide armistice line existence for secure and recognized borders. The first step in the Arabs' decades' old destruction in stages scenario is to get Israel back to its vulnerable '49 armistice lines so that it could more easily be cut in half. And then we have the more honest Hamas and Islamic Jihad camp which openly states that it will never accept an Israel in the neighborhood, regardless of its size, withdrawal from disputed lands, and so forth. These folks have continued to launch attacks, to Abbas' dismay (bad timing), despite Israel's preparations to uproot thousands of Jews from strategically important, non-Arab lands in Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Gaza has been used as an invasion route into Israel since the days of the Pharaohs. Hamas and Islamic Jihadists have even been threatening to resume full-scale violence (translate that to more blown up buses, restaurants, and such) if Israel takes action to try to stop them from killing Jews. A pretty good deal if you can get it: Murder your enemies and demand that they let you do so at no cost. Down right laughable, if asked of anyone else...but this what the world expects Jews to have to put up with. So, that brings me to my main thought... How did Israel allow itself to get cornered this way? I'm fully aware of the very real pressure from even its "friends," but Jews didn't wait 2,000 years for the resurrection of their state and their dignity to allow this to occur...no matter who is turning the screws. Even more sickening, how could Arab butchers of babes and other innocents--whom Israel could fry en masse whenever it chose--be allowed to even feel that they had the power to issue such threats, demands, and such? Some very bad mistakes have been made by Israeli policy makers--again acknowledging outside pressure--which have brought us to this point. Given this, let's take a look at a few suggestions. But first, let's backtrack a bit to set the stage... I remember one random bus bombing in particular. This one happened a day before Israel was to be "brought to court" to defend itself for building a fence designed to keep Arabs from disemboweling its kids. More recently, after the death of Arafat, on Mahmoud Abbas' watch, a half dozen more Jews were slaughtered and others severely wounded for helping Arabs find a way to feed their families in Gaza. All were incinerated and maimed innocents, whose only crime was existence in a land where their ancestors have lived for over three thousand years. And the murders were followed by the usual hollow condemnations by the alleged "good half" of the Arafatian / Hamas-Islamic Jihad good cop / bad cop team. Not that Abbas, Qurei', & Co. really object, but it's "bad publicity" for their cause. They too call for Israel's destruction, but by "more acceptable" means. So, even with the Egyptian ghoul (aka Arafat) out of the picture, his legacy still works the strings. Yet that legacy predated him as well. Arabs have long declared the region to be "purely Arab patrimony," despite scores of millions of non-Arabs living there. The latter consented to forced Arabization or were killed. I believe it was Martin Niemoller, a German theologian, who wrote something like the following: First they came for the Communists, and I did nothing. Then they came for the Jews, and I remained silent. And by the time they came for me, there was no one left to protest. Coincidentally, a bit further back on August 19, 2003, another Arab bought his ticket to "paradise" and its seventy or so virgins by blowing Jews apart on yet another bus almost at the same time that a colleague was doing likewise to United Nations workers in Iraq. Now, what was the lesson from Reverend Niemoller's remarks again? This is the same U.N. that, at best, has seen a "moral equivalence" between Jewish babes and grandmothers being deliberately and wantonly slaughtered, and Israeli steps taken to try to stop that slaughter. Before the recent drop in violence due to the cease fire of sorts (Arabs have still continued to launch rockets, mortars, and attack Jews both in the territories and in Israel proper) after Abbas' election, some of the latest Arab suicide bombers claimed they did this to avenge Israel's killing of armed Hamas fighters in Gaza. Again, they expect to be able to murder Jews at no cost to themselves. Given all the above, I've come to at least one firm conclusion: Israel has become far too predictable. The Old Warrior himself has been caving in to constant pressure coming at him from all over, and especially from his so-called friends--the same ones who would have leveled the source of these repeated atrocities had it been done to their own peoples. Among many examples, recent events in Fallujah, sites along the Syrian-Iraqi border, and in Afghanistan come to mind. Arabs, who refuse to dismantle their terrorist infrastructures and who still do not accept the permanency of a Jewish State, also demand that Israel stand by and do nothing while Jews continue to get butchered. This is the "moderate" Palestinian Arab leader's position as well as Hamas'. They can't seem to figure out why Israel must have such things as a security fence or real borders instead of armistice lines which made it a miniscule rump state and constant temptation to those aiming to destroy it. As if the answer wasn't obvious. How many other nations would tolerate such horror without exacting just and devastating retribution? Again, think about the daisy cutter and bunker-buster bombs and such America used against our own enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq, as just a few recent examples. A good part of the problem is, you see, that despite all that the Arabs say, they know that the Jews will try their best to just kill the rats in their dens. They'll go house to house, endangering their own sons, and try to target the exact murderers and plotters as best as possible. That's what had been happening in Gaza and elsewhere, yet such operations only became the Arabs' excuse for the next atrocities. And even the American State Department spoke of these events in terms of an allegedly morally equivalent cycle of violence. The Geneva Conventions make perfectly clear that militants are not permitted to use their own non-combatants as human shields, that those non-combatants do not prevent an army from pursuing terrorists, and that any harm occurring to the civilian population as a consequence falls on the heads of the cowards using their own people this way. But you'd never know this by listening to the accounts in the press or given too often even by the Foggy Folks. Given all of the above, there is, again, only one conclusion: Israel has indeed become too darned predictable. Arabs know that their own wives and children will not be deliberately targeted on buses, in restaurants, shopping centers, in their homes, or wherever. Jews won't stop Arab cars and murder mothers and children in cold blood. So, what I will state next, I regret, but will say anyway. By many predictions, a new intifada will break out after Israel withdraws from Gaza and the four Samarian locals in order to force a total withdrawal from all the disputed, non-apportioned territories of the West Bank. If this indeed occurs, it will be time, given the Arab track record of rejectionism and barbarity, for them to reap what they have sown. The time will have come for massive Israeli retaliation. Jews have bent over backwards to accommodate the birth of the Arabs' 22nd state--a likely terrorist one, at that, in their very backyard--and second, not first, Arab one in the original April 25, 1920 borders of the Mandate of Palestine. Jordan was created in 1922 on the lion's share, some 80% of the entire territory. Arabs rejected the '47 partition plan which would have added about half of the 20% left--for a total of 90% of "Palestine." The microscopic state of the Jews was reborn on less than one fourth of one per cent of the region's territory...so the conflict never was about land, but about anyone else besides Arabs--Kurds, Berbers, Black African Sudanese, Jews, Copts, or whoever--searching for their piece of the justice pie. Given the persistent Arab rejection and barbarity, a new game plan must finally be adopted. It's long past due for Israel to do whatever is necessary to protect its citizens as best as possible, regardless of how much support and aid the U.S. may decide to suspend. And many a red-blooded American citizen will convey the proper message to the politicians if Foggy Bottom and other Arabists are allowed to have their way with Israel over this. Poll after poll among Arabs have shown that even if Israel withdrew to its 9-mile wide existence imposed after the 1948 fighting (having been invaded by surrounding Arab countries immediately upon its rebirth)--something UN Resolution #242 expressly does not require it to do--Arabs would still reject its right to exist. So who's kidding whom here? And Israel's "friends" know this as well. It's time for Arabs to know that Israel will tell the hypocrites around the rest of the world (much of which has also had plenty of Jewish blood on its hands) that it doesn't care what they think and act to protect its own people--as any other nation would--as best as it can. And, forgive me, but it's also time for Israel to not worry about being too precise in its targeting...for it's time that Arabs fully understand that if they harbor and support terrorists as heroes, they'll share in their fate. President George W. Bush said almost those exact words regarding America's own fight not long ago. By the way, not all of the casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting from American air strikes and such, have been enemy combatants...that's for sure. When dealing with their own "problems"--a la Assad's "Hama Solution" in Syria (in which ten times more people were killed in a month than Israel killed in over two years of intifada), King Hussein's Black September in Jordan, Saddam's murder of scores of thousands of Kurds over the decades in Iraq (5,000 in one day just Halabja alone), the slaughter of Black Africans in the Sudan, and so forth--Arabs have killed multitudes by poison gas, bombs, and artillery from afar. And all without a peep out of the United Nations. And no hearing before an international court of justice, either. It's time for Israel to make it clear that it will use its own air force, tanks, and such--the way America and others have--to target the rats' dens instead of risking the lives of its own nineteen-year-old infantrymen by futilely trying to do the job as "morally correct" as possible. This has gained it nothing among the world's hypocrites and cost it the lives of more of its own soldiers instead. Israel is fighting a war it didn't want. It has repeatedly offered more than fair compromises to its enemies, certainly far more than Arabs have ever offered to any of their own national competitors. But nothing short of its own suicide will satisfy most Arabs. Indeed, Abbas, himself, still calls for this, demanding that Israel allow itself to be swamped by millions of real and fudged Arab refugees. Arabs don't worry about "ethical choices" when butchering and disemboweling Jews. On the contrary, the more innocent the victim, the more preferred he or she is for shock value as a target. Arabs have videotaped themselves playing with heads and other body parts of Jewish victims and have created museums honoring their barbarity. If ever an enemy deserved its comeuppance, it is Israel's. Given these harsh realities, if Arabs cease to halt their still continuing attacks on Jews, then it's time that they receive massive doses of at least modified versions of their own medicine. While I don't advocate stooping to their level by blowing up Arab buses, restaurants, schools, and such, any building, town, or whatever harboring murderers and their collaborators must be recognized for what the Geneva Conventions say it is: A fair military target...Like those that just got leveled by America along the Syrian-Iraqi border and such. Listen to Article #51/7: "The presence of the civilian population shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attack..." Article #58b: The parties to the conflict shall...avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas." Article #51/2: The civilian population...shall not be the object of attack. Acts of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited...Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Arabs typically target Israeli civilians. And those famous funeral processions showing hundreds of the dead butcher's colleagues firing weapons into the air? As I've written elsewhere, it's time that Israel sees them for what they are...one big, legitimate military target. It's time for Israel to stop letting Arabs dictate how the game will be played. If mothers and infants are fair game for Arabs, then what are the murderers' collaborators for Israel? Keep in mind that Mahmoud Abbas himself was recently carried on the shoulders of the same folks who committed the latest atrocities...and promised them protection from Israeli retaliation to top it off. Among other things, he's incorporating them into his own military. When that next predictable Arab atrocity is committed against Jews, it will be time for Israel to send the press packing, tell the UN to drop dead, build the security fence as quickly and as strongly as possible with an adequate buffer regardless of what anybody says (permitted by U.N. #242)--so it doesn't have its absurd suicidal 9-mile wide existence again--and ask its friends in the United States to stop having one set of standards for themselves and another one for Jews in their sole, tiny state. When we thought we knew where Saddam was dining, we bombed the restaurant to smithereens, innocent diners present and all. Get the picture? And the more unpredictable the Israeli response to Arab barbarity, the better. I wish it had not come to this. I still wish that there will be another way. I hope predictions about a new intifada will prove to be wrong. But, if those predictions are correct, and volumes of Arabs start dying relatively randomly (Arabs outnumber Jews 60 to one...they know this...so do the math) as Jews have been doing, perhaps they'll then be less likely to treat their own terrorists as heroes. To date, legions of them normally parade through the streets as soon as they hear of the latest atrocities, their "victories." While this approach may also not be the solution, Israel has tried everything else (including insanely offering up 97% of the disputed territories, half of Jerusalem, and the like) except consenting to its own demise, and nothing else worked either. Keep in mind that only after Egypt suffered immense casualties and destruction, after decades of trying to destroy Israel, did it make peace--as cold and questionable as that peace is today. There probably is a lesson here for the good cops and bad cops of the PA, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad-types as well. But Israel, unfortunately, will have to be a much better teacher than it has been up until now. It's time for Israel to lose its predictability and for Arabs to get a mega-taste of what they've been dishing out. And it's time for Israel to draw its own lines in the sand and let all know--regardless of the repercussions--that justice demands that it accept no less. 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. |
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DEAL CLOSE ON EGYPTIAN TROOPS' DEPLOYMENT ALONG RAFAH BORDER
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, June 27, 2005. |
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There is more to Prime Minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon's acceptance of Egyptian forces in the de-miitarized Sinai. In the following article Amos Harel speaks about Yuval Steinitz, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee who expresses concern about the Egyptian Deployment from Karem Shalom to Eilat. In the past, I have written about the Egyptian desire for a land route around the Gulf of Aqaba, which means going around Eilat for the purpose of occupying Saudi Arabia should it be threatened. Here you will finds the finger-prints of the Bush Dynasty and the pro-Arab State Department. The concept is for Egypt to take over the Saudi oil fields and pump as much oil as possible. The Saudis are already pumping at maximum but, prices for crude oil and refined products are still rising. (Just hit $60 per barrel of crude and going up.) Nevertheless, President Bush and his oil henchmen are still following an old plan toi put Egypt in charge of the Saudi oil fields with the vast army the U.S. has gifted to the Egyptians ($60 Billion of American taxpayers' dollars to date!) Bush needs Israel to allow the Egyptians land passage around the Gulf of Aqaba since Egypt does not have the sea-lift capabilities to move their armed forces and supplies across this waterway along with their heavy armor and battalions of soldiers. In past articles I point out what would happen to Israel should Egypt occupy Saudi Arabia: 1. Egypt's armaments added to the Saudis would double the advanced U.S. armaments now held by the Saudis. 2. Egypt, already a military colossus thanks to American weapons' systems, would then be facing Israel from the South and East - with an occupied airfield at Tabruk. 3. When Egypt completes its cycle into an Islamic 'Jihadist' State under the control of the Muslim Brotherhood, Israel will cease to exist - unless she pre-empts (the aggressive nations facing her with overwhelming forces) by using a nuclear response 4. There is every indication that Sharon has been recruitd for this concept - which, in effect, makes him a traitor to the Jewish nation. This article was written by Amos Harel and appeared in Ha'aretz 6/23/05. It is archived at www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=591251 Israel and Egypt are close to agreeing on the deployment of 800 Egyptian policemen along the western side of the Philadelphi route on the Rafah border. On the other hand, it looks like Israel is retracting for now the idea of expanding the deployment to the border segment between Kerem Shalom in the north and Eilat in the south. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who had previously expressed support for the deployment of between 3,000 and 5,000 Egyptian policemen along the more southern segment, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this week that the deployment would be restricted at this point to 800 policemen across from Rafah. The Egyptian policemen, who are slated to deploy in the region close to the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip, are meant to assist in combating weapons smuggling into the territories. Deploying these policemen will speed up an Israeli decision on clearing the route of Israel Defense Forces troops, thereby making the Gaza pullout complete. The chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz (Likud), who is leading opposition to the agreement, says that Sharon's announcement is not enough. Steinitz is worried that Sharon backed down only because of political pressure brought to bear at this point, and that he will try to expand the deployment a year from now. Steinitz, who considers the deployment from Kerem Shalom to Eilat to be the primary danger, also objects to deploying Egyptian policemen opposite Rafah. He recently adopted an opinion by the committee's legal adviser that the police deployment requires Knesset approval as it entails reopening the security appendix to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, which stipulates a demilitarized area will be maintained along the border. The matter was recently given to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz for his consideration but Mazuz has not net rendered his opinion. However, he advised Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz not to sign an agreement with Egypt on deploying the policemen before the legal issue at stake is discussed. 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). |
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RICE: USA WILL ACCEPT A DEMOCRATICALLY-ELECTED HAMAS
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, June 27, 2005. |
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My comment is based on an interview with Secretary of State Rice on CNN by John King. It can be read at Independent Media Review Analysis (IMRA) http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=25723 Rice said that US will respect elections if Hamas wins. Secretary Rice, for all her abilities to articulate and dance around a subject, has shown herself to be nothing more than a talking head for President Bush and the pro-Arab U.S. State Department. That translates into rationalizing away the Terror that afflicts Israel by that black plague called radical "Islam" which is circling the globe. Rice tells us that, if Hamas is elected, she will treat it as a legitimate democratic entity, regardless of its on-going practices of Terror. Clearly, the Bush-Rice team would accept Adolph Hitler, given that he too was elected to office. The twisted pathetic logic of the Bush Administration is a sickening spectacle - as it pleads and snivels before the Muslim 'Jihadists', backed by the Saudi monarchy ... all "good friends" of the Bush Dynasty. Our sophomoric President, guided by his father and James Baker, seems to be following the diktats of the "New World Order" gang - even as it collapses upon itself all over the world. 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). |
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MURDERED IN THE NAME OF FAMILY HONOUR
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, June 27, 2005. |
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These are the people whom us Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, acting as the dishonest mouthpiced for a dishonorable president, George W. Bush, have taken under their wings. We all knew that Palestinians and Muslims, in general, followed this primitive doctrine. But the Bush family and administration have accepted this conduct in deference to the Wahhabi-driven society of Saudi Arabia and 'jihadists', in general. Killing young girls to preserve the family honor is quibbling with the fact that there is no honor among arab muslims when it come to their testicle-driven society. The tragedy deepens when an American president and his mouthpiece shames all Americans by accepting the various tenets of terror in order to appease the ramplage of islamic 'jihadists' - be they Saudis, Egyptians, Syrians, Afghan tAliban or Palestinians, our american president has found poitical and oil-bearing sleeping partners. Have you no shame, Mr. President? Below, Chris McGreal writing in Ramallah reports on a rise in killings of Palestinian women. Faten Habash's father wept as he assured his daughter there would be no more beatings, no more threats to her life and that she was free to marry the man she loved, even if he was a Muslim. All he asked was that Faten return home. Hassan Habash even gave his word to an emissary from a Bedouin tribe traditionally brought in to mediate in matters of family honour, a commitment regarded as sacrosanct in Palestinian society. But the next weekend, as Faten watched a Boy Scouts parade from the balcony of her Ramallah home, the 22-year-old Christian Palestinian was dragged into the living room and bludgeoned to death with an iron bar. Her father was arrested for the murder. "He gave me his word she would not be harmed," said Ibrahim Abu Dahouq, the Bedouin mediator. "He was crying and begging her to come home. They were even telling me that for their daughter to leave their house as a bride would be an honour for them. We never believed that love would lead to death in this ugly way." Two days later, another ritual of killing unfolded a few miles away in Jerusalem. Maher Shakirat summoned three of his sisters to discuss a family uproar after one of them, Rudaina, was thrown out by her husband for an alleged affair. Maher listened to Rudaina's denials, and her sisters' pleas that they were not covering up the affair. Then he forced the three women to drink bleach before strangling Rudaina, who was eight months pregnant. The other sisters tried to flee but Maher caught and strangled Amani, 20. The third, Leila, escaped but was badly injured by the bleach. Maher, a bus driver in his 30s, is in hiding but his parents were arrested for allegedly ordering the murders and his wife was detained as an accomplice. As he was taken into custody, Rudaina's father, Amin, was asked why his daughters were killed. "Because they dishonoured the family," he said. "A married woman who goes with another man isn't good." The murders of Faten Habash and the Shakirat sisters last month were the latest in a series of brutal "honour killings" that have shaken the Palestinian community over recent weeks. The deaths have prompted demands for a change to laws inherited from the days of Jordanian rule that deem all women to be "minors" under the authority of male relatives and that provide a maximum of six months in prison for killings in defence of "family honour." But those calls have met with resistance in parliament where religious Palestinian MPs argue that reform will lead to a collapse in the moral fabric of society. According to the Palestinian women's affairs ministry, 20 girls and women were murdered in honour killings last year and about 50 committed suicide - often under coercion - for "shaming" the family through sex outside marriage, refusing an arranged marriage or seeking a divorce. Another 15 women survived attempts to kill them. The ministry says that dozens of other killings are covered up each year. "We had one woman of 26 who was certified as dying of old age," said Maha Abu Dayyeh Shamas, director of the Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling. "Putting 'falling into well' on the death certificate is very common. We find that the women were strangled and then dumped in the well." Faten Habash's murder was unusual because she came from the Christian minority in the Palestinian territories. Her desire to marry a young Muslim, Samer Hamis, so infuriated her family that the couple decided to elope to Jordan. Faten's father enlisted the family priest to stop his daughter on the grounds that, even though she was 22, all women are legally regarded as minors under the authority of their male relatives. The Palestinian authorities returned Faten to her home where she was beaten and her pelvis broken as she was either thrown from a window or jumped trying to escape. She spent six weeks in hospital. She sought protection under an ancient Bedouin formula for resolving disputes, known as Tanebeh. Abu Dahouq, a lawyer for the Dawakuk tribe, negotiated with the Habash family. Mr Dahouq said: "Faten believed she had received a guarantee of security." Two days later she was murdered. "This family had no honour, no manners, no ethics," he said. "And the girl was as honourable as could be. All she wanted to do was marry this man she loved. I think the people in her church also have responsibility for this killing. They told this family that their daughter brought shame, so that makes them part of the crime." The family priest, Father Ibrahim Hijazin, declined to talk about Faten's killing other than to say he called the Palestinian authorities to prevent her from reaching Jordan. But he says other families would have reacted as hers did. "There is no interfaith marriage among Arabs. Catholics here are Christian by faith and Muslim by culture, and in this community it is forbidden for Christians to marry Muslims. It's not good. It's a tribal mentality. I don't accept it, but it is the culture," he said. After Faten's murder, several hundred Palestinian women held a vigil in Ramallah to demand an end to honour killings. The Palestinian women's affairs minister, Zuhaira Kamal, called for a change to the law to allow women over 18 to marry without the consent of a male relative and reform of the old Jordanian legislation that frees the killers after a few months. But MPs have resisted the move. "They're very traditional there," said Mrs Abu Dayyeh Shamas. "They say these are our traditions, that a man who is in a moment of anger is driven to do these things. It gives a message to the community that you can kill without punishment. We have a lot of complaints from women that their husbands are having affairs. We ask these MPs if they think these women should be allowed to kill their husbands. They can't answer that question." Although honour killings have a long history in Palestinian society, women's rights groups say the rise in these murders cannot be separated from the resurgent violence of the past four years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Things are breaking down because of the changing relationship between men and women. Increased numbers of women are the main source of income while her husband sits around. That is the kiss of death for that family," said Mrs Abu Dayyeh Shamas. "Men feel they have lost their dignity and that they can somehow restore it by upholding the family's honour. We've noticed recent cases are much more violent in nature; attempts to kill, rape, incest. There is an incredible amount of incest." Amira Abu Hanhan Qaoud murdered her daughter, Rafayda, because she became pregnant after being raped by two of her brothers. "My daughter fell over and broke her knee. I took her to hospital and there the doctor told me she was pregnant. So I killed her. It's as simple as that," said Mrs Qaoud on her doorstep in Ramallah. Mrs Qaoud waited until the baby was born and given up for adoption. Then she presented her 22 year-old daughter with a razor blade and told her to slash her wrists. She refused so her mother pulled a plastic bag over her head, sliced her wrists and beat her head with a stick. The brothers were sentenced to 10 years for the rape. Mrs Qaoud spent two years in prison for killing her daughter. She has purged her home of all pictures of her older children, and declines to discuss the killing, saying all she wants is to forget about it. The repercussions of Faten Habash's murder are still being felt; the man she loved is in protective custody after threats from the Habash family. The Bedouin mediator says the Habashes have dishonoured his tribe by breaching the pledge that Faten would not be harmed. "The crime is not against the girl, the crime is against our family," said Mr Abu Dahouq. "Since they have broken their word, we have the right to retaliate. There will be a reaction for betraying their religion and betraying us." 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). |
| GUSH KATIF |
STILL A SLIVER OF HOPE
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, June 27, 2005. |
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This article was written by Israel Harel and appeared in Ha'aretz 6/23/05. It is archived at www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=591220 Harel makes a good case for broadening the appeal against Sharon & his government to bring in more people outside of YESHA. I have no doubt that a strong legal case can be made against Sharon and his government. The list of documented failure would be large & shocking. Sharon has failed on almost every front to take care of the nation: From security, economy, schooling, health care, the environment, care for the poor - including bribery, corruption, secret deals, political appointments, firing of honest government officials (including Cabinet Ministers & military officers). I am certain an impressive list could be complied that reaches the average citizen well beyond YESHA. A Haaretz editorial and an Uzi Benziman opinion piece ("The street has been left to the right," June 14, and "Where are the blue ribbons?" June 15) expressed concern about the color orange that rules the street. And you asked: Where is the blue response? It is slow in coming indeed; and from the point of view of the supporters of the uprooting, the latest surveys do not offer encouragement. But the updated observer has to come to the conclusion that, stemming perhaps from the return of the terror, there has been an erosion in the support for the disengagement. It is still too early to define it as a profound change in positions, in the wake of which, if nurtured by supplementary action, the real floodgates will open - leaving the Knesset, and then the government, no choice but to take heed of the public's revolutionary shift in opinion. Indeed, it is highly likely that if the orange movement had operated in keeping with a strategy that addresses the public in general and not only, or primarily, the religious public, we may already have been at the start of the wished-for turnaround. Many of those who supported the disengagement yesterday are today voicing serious doubts as to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's true motives and the prices - strategic, ideological and human - that we are going to pay. With the terror continuing, coupled with threats that if Sharon is slow in implementing additional withdrawals, the terror of the past years will be just a preface to the true war of terror, it is natural for people to be changing their positions. However, there is a difference between dropping one's support and joining the resistance. But this, precisely, is the objective - to cause this public, which is not necessarily party to the Yesha ideology but is ready to be swayed by political, ethical and security arguments, to actively join the camp of the opponents; namely, to demand, before it is too late, that the uprooting legislation be annuled. Many claim that in recent weeks, they have sensed the turnaround is "in the air." Perhaps this is so. The team back at the ranch is also concerned. But this sense could fade if the directors of the campaign fail to reinforce the lack of faith of the doubters in Sharon, the man, and fail to boost recognition of the security dangers of the uprooting. A different, diametric sentiment drummed up by the propaganda machine of "Team Omri" will then be released into the public atmosphere, and could restore support for Sharon. After all, he holds all the cards, including cooperation with a significant number of the influential media figures who see themselves as soldiers of the sacred mission. Blocking roads and other such "dedicated" antics will not open the floodgates, which is the only thing at this late hour that can prevent the historic mistake of the uprooting. On the other hand, attacks on Arabs or acts of vandalism are actions that arouse among the public the sense of "My soul, come not into their council; Mine honor, be not united with their assembly" (Genesis 49:6). And in order to turn the winds of doubt into a sweeping resistance movement, there is also need for - aside from ideology and strategy - a leadership in which the public at large, and not only the religious public, has faith. And this leadership cannot be made up only of Yesha people, who are perceived, sometimes justifiably so, as people who are concerned primarily with saving the settlement enterprise, while the national-strategic considerations in general remain secondary, both in terms of their worldview and in terms of the objectives of their struggle. Today, less than 60 days before the first policemen report to Gush Katif and begin to tear the settlers from their homes, their lands and their communities, there remains a sliver of hope that the evil decree can be prevented. And neither an angel nor a seraph, as some believe, will bring the turnaround. It will be implemented, if at all, by flesh-and-blood people. These must take action, in the few days that remain, primarily among those whose doubts and opposition regarding the destructive move can be reflected upward - the public at large. If the elected officials sense that this is the will of the voters, perhaps - just perhaps - the issue of the uprooting will return to sthe Knesset and the decree will be annuled. The path of force, in any event, is absolutely improper. 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). |
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REPORT: U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDS TERRORISM-PROMOTION
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, June 27, 2005. |
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This was written by Eli Lake and appeared in The Sun on June 24, 2005. It is archived at http://www.nysun.com/article/15996 WASHINGTON - An Israeli watchdog group alleges that American aid to Palestinian universities and cities promotes terrorism. A report to be released Friday by Palestinian Media Watch singles out the U.S. Agency for International Development, contending that it has ignored new congressional restrictions that the group helped craft last year on aid money. Specifically, the report points to American development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza that funds universities with student chapters of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which have funded roadwork for streets renamed to commemorate suicide bombers and television programming that encourages hatred of Jews. A USAID spokeswoman yesterday said that procedures are in place to make sure that in-kind donations to Palestinian institutions are not diverted to terrorism. But the report has already drawn attention from Capitol Hill, where Palestinian Media Watch's director, Itamar Marcus, is scheduled to testify Friday before the House International Relations Committee on his findings. When asked for a comment on the report yesterday, Rep. Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat who drafted the tighter restrictions last year from her post in the House Appropriations Committee, said USAID must respond to Palestinian Media Watch's allegations. "I am very disturbed by the findings of this report, particularly the widespread nature of the alleged violations," she said. "I will ask USAID to provide Congress with a detailed response to these findings immediately. This report cannot go unanswered by the leadership of USAID." The Bush administration broke a long-standing taboo last month when the president announced $50 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, meant to help the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, prepare for Israel's scheduled withdrawal of settlers next month from Gaza. In February, the State Department announced a new package of $350 million in American aid to Palestinian nongovernmental organizations. Mr. Marcus's report is particularly critical of USAID: "Governmental and non-governmental organizations in the Palestinian Authority continue to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. Agency for International Development, some of which is going directly to frameworks that sponsor branches of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations," the report's executive summary says. A spokeswoman for USAID, Heather Layman, said in an e-mail response for comment, "USAID provides 'in-kind' assistance to some Palestinian Authority agencies - for example, technical assistance, training, office equipment, medical supplies, and the construction of infrastructure facilities, such as water wells, pipelines, and schools. All of this in-kind assistance is targeted to specific development objectives, and is carefully monitored to ensure that no assistance is diverted to other uses." In her e-mail, Ms. Layman said that USAID has a careful vetting process to ensure that none of its subcontractors are connected with terrorist organizations. She said that employees and grant recipients must sign agreements stating as much. Mr. Marcus, who served during the Oslo negotiations with a team of Israelis who prodded Yasser Arafat to end incitement of terror, said that major gaps in USAID's vetting process allow funds to go to organizations that promote and honor terrorism. "If they think they can pour millions into Palestinian universities while turning a blind eye to the Hamas branches on those universities, they are making a mockery of the United States anti-terror policy,"he said."The problem is that Palestinian children, all they see, is the honoring of these suicide bombers." Mr. Marcus's report garners most of its evidence from Palestinian press reports. Nonetheless, these open sources are revealing. In the last year, USAID gave $41 million to Palestinian universities, including five with prominent Hamas and Islamic Jihad chapters that receive money due to their standing as student organizations. The report details how sports clubs are named after suicide bombers and assassinated leaders of Hamas. Streets in Gaza and West Bank towns have been renamed for these so-called martyrs, as have schools. For example, in February the 14-year-old winner of a marathon sponsored by Mr. Abbas came from a learning center named after Salah Khalaf, the head of Black September, the terrorist organization responsible for murdering 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The report cites a March 29, 2005, article in al-Hayat wherein the dean of faculty at al-Najah University is described as opening an exhibition dubbed the "bridge of the shahids," a reference to martyrs. Less than two weeks later, on April 10, the Hamas chapter of the university invited a member of the terrorist organization's political bureau, Mahmoud Ghazel, to a mass assembly. Last year, al-Najah commemorated in a display on campus the Sbarro Pizzeria bombing from 2001 that killed 15 Israelis. The exhibition featured replicas of body parts on the walls. Mr. Abbas has earned respect and confidence from the White House and European leaders for criticizing suicide bombing and the violent tactics of the Intifadah. However, Israelis have complained recently that he has failed to dismantle Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The presence of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on campus is important, the report says, because many suicide bombers - such as the woman this week who had strapped dynamite to her body as she was taken to an Israeli university for surgery - are university students. A former senior adviser on Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to three presidents, Aaron Miller, yesterday said that Palestinian universities have chapters of terrorist organizations like other Palestinian political parties. But he also said that American policy has an obligation not to fund any programs that promote terror. "We cannot give money that is being channeled directly or that is associated with promoting violence," he said. "There are all kinds of derivative implications of providing this to the Palestinian Authority. A lot of the incitement has been toned down, but it has not been eliminated." Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org |
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WHY ARE ISRAELIS "TERRORISTS," BUT THE PO' VICIOUS PALESTINIANS ARE "GUNMEN" OR 'MILITANT'?
Posted by Marion D.S. Dreyfus, June 27, 2005. |
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To the Washington Post: Scott Wilson's "As Pullout Nears, Israeli Settlers Moving In to Build a Community" (June 26, 2005) describes the Palestinians who murdered an Israeli civilian in cold blood are merely "gunmen" (paragraph 15 -- yet again the Post buries news of Palestinians killing Israeli innocents!). The Palestinians, apparently, can never be called "terrorists." Mr. Wilson does not flinch from using the phrase "terrorist organization" referring to an infinitesimally insignificant Israeli movement that preaches rhetoric, although the Israeli group referred to does not go around blowing up school buses and pizzerias the way the Palestinian "militant" groups do to Israeli children. They don't even carry or own guns. Can you point to a single member, from 7 to 70, of Hamas and Hezb'ollah, al Aksa or Islamic Jihad under the Holocaust denier, Mahmoud Abbas (war name: Abu Mazen), who does not own guns, bullets, bomb belts or rocket equipment in some part of his homey group? The Post carefully and reliably elides application of the US Government's appellation of terrorists as applied to Palestinian Arabs. Why? Why ridiculously characterize a banned splinter of a splinter group as 'terrorist' when they pose no problem--and never have? Nor have they bombed women and children, destroyed discos and pizzerias, ruining lives of people they have maimed advertently in filthy rat-poisonm-soaked bolts and projecties aimed to hurt a maximum of innocents. It is a good thing there are now so many news sources to consult for truth in journalism, because your reportage is, regrettably, as egregious as the negative real terrorist news often stinted as you fail to report with any fidelity or accuracy. You do a massive disservice to Israel, whose valiant efforts at restraint in the face of news provocation and armamentaria of blood goes unacknowledged in your pages--but to what end? You foment misunderstanding, bile and vindictiveness that has no place in the news. Neutral reportage would be welcome in your pages, now so utterly lacking. And you do a disservice to the standards of journalism, which is a constant thorn in the side of well-meaning professors of media the world over, as well as to news audiences who foolishly rely on your warped dish. We are grateful to the 'zines and blogs, to the radio and to fairer and more truthful papers for our view on the news, though you are discounted almost reflexively. How do you look at yourselves in the mirror when you hold that razor to your throats every morning? Marion Dreyfus taught at Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuchang, Wuhan PRC 430064 |
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POLLSTER DENIES ISRAELIS CHOICE; HIZBULLAH EXCUSE; WASH POST BIAS
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, June 27, 2005. |
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ISRAELI GOVERNMENT PLEASED WITH ABANDONMENT PROGRESS The Sharon regime expressed satisfaction with the progress it has made in providing refugee camps for the thousands of Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria (Arutz-7, 6/14). Zionism was supposed to end Displaced Person status for the Jewish people. Now we have a Jewish state that is proud to be thrusting Jews into such a status. ISRAEL WARNS NEGEV TOWNS ABOUT PLAN'S DANGER TO THEM While PM Sharon claims that his abandonment plan would "'improve Israel's security," a Education Ministry and Home Front Command pamphlet indicates "the precise opposite." The pamphlet warns about increased attempts at terrorism. Certain towns face "sniper fire, terrorist infiltrations over and under ground, Kassam rockets, and mortar shells." "The residents will be advised to ensure that their doors and windows are always locked, to carry their personal weapons at all times, to map out a place in their homes from where to shoot in the event of a terrorist infiltration, and the like. To plan for an incident of light-weapons fire at a school, the teachers must practice this drill." (Arutz-7, 6/14.) Sharon calls his plan one of disengagement. It sounds more like a plan for increased military engagement. Considering the Arabs' dedication to jihad and their lack of scruples or humaneness, it seems likely that they would fire all they've got. SHARON LOGIC PM Sharon told an assemblage that the abandonment plan already has benefited Israel, even before being implemented. He attributed to it part of the improvement in Israel's economy! (IMRA, 6/16.) Some logic! Based on the items above, you can see that actually, the plan is costing the Israeli economy greatly, and the prospect is for more war. POLLSTER REFUSED TO GIVE ISRAELIS A FULL CHOICE A prominent pollster found recently that approval for PM Sharon's abandonment plan had fallen to a bare majority. She offered a choice between abandonment and the status quo, with the abandonment being sold falsely as a means of separating the Jews from the Arabs, whereas it would facilitate terrorism. Israelis certainly want separation. When she was asked to offer a choice between expelling the Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria and expelling the Arabs, she refused. "I refuse to hold a poll like that which might show a majority of Israelis prefer the expulsion of the Arabs." (Voice of Judea, 6/13.) Apparently for ideological reasons, she is not giving Israelis a full choice. Her polling is not honest, not when depicting Israelis as favoring a plan that they really do not. HIZBULLAH SEEKING EXCUSES TO STAY ARMED Hizbullah is reiterating old demands that Israel give over seven villages to Lebanon. The area was made part of the Palestine Mandate before Israeli statehood, by agreement between Britain and France, which held a Mandate over Lebanon. Raising this old demand may be an excuse for keeping its militia, in the absence of any Israeli occupation of Lebanon, when Lebanese are demanding the militia's disbandment. INDIGNATION SELECTIVE Stories about alleged and actual rough treatment of Korans by US interrogators drew international demonstrations. By contrast, the dictator of Zimbabwe, while demolishing numerous houses of a population largely opposed to him, also had a mosque destroyed. This destruction drew no protest (Prof. Steven Plaut, 6/15). WHY THE IRAQ WAR? Some Democrats held an inquiry. A former CIA analyst told them the US made war on Iraq so that the US and Israel could dominate the Mideast. Leading Democrats called it antisemitic nonsense (Eli Lake, NY Sun, 6/20, p. 5). If true, wouldn't the US make the Arabs get out of Yesha instead of Israelis? FALSE BASIS FOR FOREIGN AID TO THE P.A. Calling Abbas a paragon of peace, Canadian PM Martin wants to continue donating hundreds of millions of dollars to the P.A. But Abbas has reiterated his decision to not disarm Arab terrorists. He still allows promotion of hatred and incitement to violence against Jews. Asked "Alistair Gordon, President, Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD), If Abbas wanted peace, wouldn't he have have used the foreign aid donated for P.A. education to replace the textbooks "that dehumanize Jews and glorify suicide bombing?" "The CCD is calling on Paul Martin to stop sending Canadian tax dollars to fund Palestinian (Arab) violence and Jew-hatred until Abbas take concrete steps to disarm terrorists and remove incitement from Palestinian schools and media." "Now that it is clear that Mahmoud Abbas lied to Prime Minister Martin about disarming the terrorists and removing incitement from Palestinian schools, will the promised funding be withdrawn?" added Gordon (IMRA, 6/13). Canada has hundreds of millions for those murderous jihdist minions, whose fellow ideologues are demanding that Canada give them privileges over Christianity, but not enough money for prompt medical appointments in its own dominions. ARAB MURDER OF INNOCENTS This year, Hamas admitted that a man it had executed for "collaborating" with Israel had not done so. Now Fatah admitted that its men had raided a P.A. prison as the IDF was attacking, and took out nine innocent prisoners accused of "collaboration." It shot the nine, in front of cheering crowds. Fatah blames this lawlessness on Israeli counter-attacks (IMRA, 6/12). Fatah's own members are lawless. Their breaking into a prison to execute people is not Israel's fault. Arabs particularly hate to admit faults, so they blame someone else. P.A. lawlessness originated from Arafat's defying the courts and legislature, not having a body of law, and allowing armed men to act as they wish, while he diverted funds from the regular forces to them. Abbas is carrying on that policy and condones Hamas. Hamas has sex police on the prowl, as have the Saudis and the Taliban (IMRA, 6/13). ANOTHER ISRAELI POLICE STATE TACTIC PLANNED "A week before the planned expulsion of thousands of Gush Katif Jews, a special military police unit will seek out leading residents and arrest them in the middle of the night. A military source has informed Arutz-7 that the army and police thus hope to weaken morale in Katif, as well as weaken the opposition to the uprooting." (6/19.) WASHINGTON POST BIAS "As you recall, a few days ago the PLO once again demonstrated its commitment to peace and tranquility and democratization by executing a group of Palestinians (Arabs) it accused of 'collaborating with Israel.' All those Moonbats who love to wail about imaginary abuses of the human rights of Arabs by Israel had nothing to say about this latest atrocity against innocent Arab civilians." "Now never mind that the whole Oslo peace process was supposedly about how the PLO had agreed to collaborate with Israel to suppress terrorism and calm the region. Even officials for the PLO themselves admitted that the executed people were actually all innocent. They were executed by the P.A. after Mahmoud Abbas gave his approval. But none of that matters for the Washington Post." "The Washington Post used an AP report on the story, but changed the language to make it look like Israel was to blame for the atrocity! The 'Post' then went on to bemoan Israel's assassination of a leading Islamist terrorist last week, but neglected to mention the sorts of atrocities the perp had already committed and was still planning." The catalyst for formation of an independent watchdog over the Post "was The Washington Post's false reporting of a massacre in Jenin by the Israeli Defense Forces following the Passover bombings in April, 2002. Palestinians, aided by reporters looking for ...indeed hoping for ... a story of mass atrocities committed by Israel's military, fabricated a web of lies. Not only did all of these false news articles prove to have been lies, but the truth that eventually seeped out was that Israel's defense forces went out of their way to spare civilian lives at a substantial cost of an excessive loss of their own lives. The 'Post' never effectively apologized, and it never adequately reported the humanitarian measures actually taken by the IDF to avoid excessive loss of Palestinian civilian lives." (Prof. Steven Plaut, 6/15.) Advocacy journalism's arrogance. ISRAEL REMOVED HALF THE CHECKPOINTS, IMPROVED THE REST (Arabs used to complain about waiting at checkpoints in the hot sun.) In the past two years, Israel has put roofs over checkpoints, and built bathrooms, water fountains, and clinics there. A specially trained unit was formed to expedite passage. Its members study spoken Arabic and meet with humanitarian organizations. Staff is equipped with better detectors and computerization. In the past four years, Israelis suffered 20,000 Arab terrorist attacks, a thousand deaths, and thousands more wounded. Checkpoints thwarted 2000 known planned attacks (IMRA, 6/15). ESTABLISHMENT REPORTERS TRACK SHARON'S MOTIVE Two Establishment (leftist) reporters jointly investigated the motive behind Sharon's abandonment plan. They concluded that it really is to avoid criminal prosecution for corruption. They think that after the abandonment, he is likely to be indicted, anyway. Many MKs and security officials realize the plan is disastrous, but either voted for it, because of their own venality, or declined to resign in order to warn the public about it. The Attorney-General colluded with Sharon by allowing the government to use high-handed methods against protestors. The media collaborated by failing to expose the poor logic behind the plan (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 6/15). Expecting indictment anyway, why not move to a non-extraditing country instead of sacrificing his own for just a respite? 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 ricshulman@aol.com. |
| GUSH KATIF |
DIFFICULT SCENES IN GUSH KATIF: THE EXPULSION BEGINS
Posted by Bryna Berch, June 27, 2005. |
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For years there have been abandonned buildings in the territories. Near Shilo in Samaria, for example, Arabs snipers would occupy an empty house overlooking Route 60, the main road. They shot and killed Jews driving by. In one 'incident' they killed the mother and father and were rushing in to kill the babies in the back seat when they were driven off by soldiers who arrived in time. For years, the residents begged the courts to allow the house to be demolished. But nothing happened. But when it comes to making sure Jews won't occupy empty houses in the territories, it takes no time at all to demolish them. I guess Ariel the Demented thinks that the Israeli citizens who live in the territories are more of a danger to Israel that the Arabs who prey upon them. This is a news item from today's Arutz-7 (www.IsraelNationalNews.com). No fewer than 20 people were hurt yesterday in what some see as the first step of the implementation of the Gush Katif withdrawal/expulsion. "What will be during the real thing?" many are asking. Shortly after noon, army forces swooped down on an area adjacent to the beachfront Shirat HaYam community in Gush Katif, and began bulldozing a line of 11 abandoned structures. The army later confirmed that it had "security assessments and information indicating the intent of extremists to use the structures... to construct an outpost prior to the disengagement. According to IDF assessments, the construction of this outpost could have led to possible confrontations." The confrontations were not avoided, however. In addition to the injuries, several people were arrested, including one soldier who vocally refused to take part in the demolition. His father later explained, "This was not an ideological refusal, but rather he saw soldiers hitting civilians and he simply said, 'I cannot take part in this, I don't want to be here.'" "The view northward from Shirat HaYam was heart-wrenching," wrote Haggai Huberman, who was there, in the HaTzofeh newspaper today. "The line of brown houses, old vacation houses for Egyptian army officers before the Six Day War, one after the other became piles of ruins. The army bulldozer bit into them mercilessly. It wasn't hard; these houses had long ago begun to crumble... One bang by the bulldozer in the corner of each building, and a pile of broken stones was left behind." Just to the south, similar structures have been refurbished by volunteers over the past several weeks, and four families - including that of Noam Livnat, the Education Minister's brother - now live there. Many local Gush Katif youths streamed to the site as soon as they heard of the impending destruction. Police and army forces attempted unsuccessfully to prevent their arrival, closing off the road southward from the Maoz HaYam Hotel. The youths, however, severely hampered the bulldozers' work, but did not stop it. "At one point," Huberman wrote, "a large group of youths managed to lie down in front of one of the bulldozers, and when it stopped, others climbed atop it... Youths behind it, in front of it and on top of it. After a few minutes, the police and soldiers started evacuating, using great force. They climbed on the bulldozer and started dragging the youths down with force, with an exchange of punches, pushes and curses... The youths were crying out, 'Refuse orders! This is not your job! You are soldiers, you should be protecting us, not evacuating us!' The force used by the soldiers was so great, and sometimes so brutal and unreasonable, that some of the youths were hurt and required medical care. One youth suffered a strong blow to his shoulder, several of them fainted, and stretchers gradually began to arrive on the scene, evacuating them for medical treatment." The army, police, anti-expulsion camp and of course the media are engaged in reviewing the day's events and attempting to draw the appropriate conclusions for the future. An Army Radio commentator said that the army did not score a public relations success yesterday, implying that the violence and soldier's refusal will encourage further opposition to the plan. A resident of Shirat HaYam told Arutz-7 that the army showed that it could quickly and effectively carry out its demolition mission, and that "this is not encouraging for our efforts." After the soldiers left, several Jewish residents camped out in another abandoned structure across the road from the destruction. In Gush Etzion, as well, in solidarity with the residents in Gush Katif, several people took over an abandoned structure and said they would not leave. At one point during yesterday's confrontation, four soldiers stormed towards one youth on the bulldozer, dragged him away, held him by his limbs, ran towards a jeep and threw him in. The jeep then took off in a mad dash towards an unknown location. Somewhere else on the scene, a female officer started pounding on the head of one of the youths, while he responded in kind. He, too, was arrested. The bulldozer, protected by two lines of police and soldiers, finally left the scene. Witnessing the row of ruins and what went into creating them, Huberman concluded, "all those present - citizens, soldier, police and reporters - could not help but be party to the same similar thought: If this if what happens during an attempt to destroy abandoned, uninhabited buildings, with no advance warning to the residents, what will happen when the army tries to erase dozens of populated homes in the communities, when everyone is prepared in advance?" |
| GUSH KATIF |
EITHER WE ARE PART OF THE CURE - OR PART OF THE CAUSE!
Posted by Yrachmiel Elias, June 27, 2005. |
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Our brothers in Israel need our help at this time. The plan for unilaterally expelling the Jews from their homes in Gush Katif was defeated in the last Israeli election. Despite that fact, Ariel Sharon is moving ahead to forcefully remove Jews from their homes in Gush Katif and in four towns in the northern Shomron. This will lead to increase terrorist activity, NOT to the people of Katif, but to all people in Israel. Jewish teenagers are sitting in jail for nonviolent civil disobedience while Arab terrorists are set free. We must let the Israeli government know that what they are doing is wrong. This is very simple to do! Call the Israeli embassy or your local consulate and tell them what you think. Call them as often as you can. Call them back and ask them to let Ariel Sharon know that what he is doing is wrong. Call them again to find out if they have canceled the expulsion plan. Have your friends, neighbors and relatives give them a call. Keep calling until this madness is stopped. Be polite but persistent. Imagine what will happen if every Jew that cares calls. Their phones will be rendered useless. This tactic was very effective in our fight for Soviet Jewry. They had to change phone numbers. Our message was received loud and clear! Below are important numbers to call. Surely it is a lot easier for us to call from our homes and work places than it is for good Jews in Israel to sit in jail for trying to stop this madness. Abraham Lincoln said: "It is a sin to be silent when it is your duty to protest."
Embassy of Israel Consular Section
Atlanta: 1100 Spring Street, 440, Atlanta, GA 30309-2823, (404) 875-7851, Fax: (404) 874-5364 Boston: 1020 Statler Office Building, 20 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116, (617) 542-0041, Fax: (617) 338-4995 Chicago: 111 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 1308, Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 565-3300, Fax: (312) 565-3871 Houston: 24 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1500, Houston, TX 77046, (713) 627-3780, Fax: (713) 627-0149 Los Angeles: 6380 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1700, Los Angeles, CA 90048, (323) 852-5500, Fax: (323) 852-5555 Miami: 100 N. Biscayne Boulevard, #1800, Miami, FL 33132, (305) 358-8111, Fax: (305) 371-5034 New York: 800 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017, (212) 499-5430, Fax: (212) 499-5435 Philadelphia: 230 South 15th Street, 8th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102, (215) 546-5556, Fax: (215) 545-3986 San Francisco: 456 Montgomery St., Suite 2100, San Francisco, CA 94104, (415) 398-8885, Fax: (415) 398-8589 Ottawa: 50 O'Connor Street, Suite 1005, Ottawa, Ontario KIP GL2, Canada, (613) 567-6450, Fax: (613) 237-8865 Montreal: 1155 Boul, Rene Levesque Quest, Montreal, Quebec H3B 4S6, Canada, (514) 393-9372, Fax: (514) 393-8795 Toronto: 180 Bloor Street, West, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2VG, Canada, (416) 640-8500, Fax: (416) 640-8855 Washington, DC: 3514 International Drive, NW, Washington, DC 20008, (202)364-5676, Fax: (202) 364-5423 Deputy Chief of Mission
Tel: (202) 364-5578 Fax: (202) 364-5560 Public and Interreligious Affairs
Congressional Affairs
Political Department
Press Office
Consular Section and Visas
Cultural Affairs
Defense and Armed Forces Attache
Economic Affairs
Police Liaison Office
Agriculture & Scientific Affairs
Foreign Defense Assistance & Exports (SIBAT)
Consular Department (passports, visas..)
Media & Public Affairs Department
Cultural Department
Academic Affairs Department
Administration (Human Resources)
Economic Mission
General Comments
More contact info can be obtained from the following Web site:
Yrachmiel Elias and Jack Golbert are cofounders of Netzah Yisrael
(www.netzahyisrael.org).
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COLLISION COURSE
Posted by David Wilder, June 27, 2005. |
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Help Gush Katif: http://www.katifund.org
Shalom. What can I say? The last few days have been very difficult. Friday afternoon Yechiel and Chava Levi were in Ashdod, paying a condolence call to friends in mourning. At first, when they received word of a terror attack outside Beit Hagai, the community where they live, Chava started saying Psalms. A little while later they received word that their seventeen year old son had been injured and that they should drive to Sha'ari Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem. But their first-born son, AviChai, wasn't there. There was no need to take him to the hospital. Shot in the head, AviChai Levi was killed almost instantly. Yechiel, who works as a treasurer for the Hebron Municipal Council, and Chava, had no choice but to return home and inform their other four children that their oldest brother was no longer. The kids all sat in AviChai's room when their parents returned home, looking around but not seeing, not believing. On AviChai's desk is a clock with a picture of him in the middle, a picture taken four years ago at his Bar Mitzvah. A beautiful, smiling youth, full of life, full of energy, full of happiness. One of AviChai's brothers, parting from him at the funeral, said that when he received word of his brother's death he stopped the clock. It was as if time had stopped. Later, he dusted the clock and started it again. Life must go on. AviChai was on his way to Beer Sheva, where he was a counselor for a religious youth group, Bnei Akiva. He had, in his pocket, a piece of paper with the words "We have love and it will be victorious" printed on it. He also had, on his wrist, an orange band with the words, "Yehudi lo megaresh Yehudi" - "Jews don't expel Jews," embedded on it. His father, Yechiel told me that AviChai was buried with the band still on his arm. "He'll be the first one in heaven with an orange arm band," Yechiel said. [Editor's note: For a picture of AviChai, see below.] Thousands escorted AviChai, and his friend Aviad Montzur, also killed by the terrorist's bullets, to their final resting place on the Mount of Olives. The funeral processions passed the Prime Minister's house in Jerusalem, demanding an end to the madness. Signs of the times: Last week an Israeli newspaper, citing high-level security sources, revealed that during the first weeks of the 'expulsion,' Ma'arat HaMachpela would be closed to all visitors. Why? Because this holy site is a 'source of friction' between Jews and Arabs and leaving it open would only exasperate the situation. My guess is that this is not the real reason. 'Big Brother' is aware of the power of prayer and especially worship at such a sacred site. ('Big Brother' probably also knows that the Patriarchs and Matriarchs are against the expulsion-abandonment plan.) That's why they don't want Jews there. They're afraid our prayer might actually take hold. (I wonder what they'll do about the 'Kotel' - the Western Wall. Will they close that to Jewish worshipers too?) There's probably another reason, as well. They'll need the border police, who usually provide security at the Ma'ara, in Gush Katif or the northern Shomron. Another sign: A few days ago a journalist called me for a reaction to the IDF's closing of a base here in Hebron. I didn't know what he was talking about. After a quick check, I understood, only too well. The eastern side of Hebron is bordered by a hill called 'Jabal Jaawar,' which overlooks the entire city. A number of years ago, following a major deterioration of security and deadly terror, the army opened a base on that hill, one of the most strategic points in Hebron. Last week they closed the base and pulled out. Well, not entirely. They're leaving a guard tower and a few soldiers there, a token Israeli presence. There is no doubt that the closing of the Jabal Jaawar army base, together with an 'easing' of travel restrictions and the lifting of roadblocks, are a direct result of Sharon's meetings with Rice and Abu Mazen. They also, without a doubt, facilitated Friday afternoon's terror attack. We have numerous meetings with IDF officers, dealing with security, and other matters. The lowest high-level officer we usually meet with is the "Mahat," commander of the Judea division, which includes Hebron. This officer always holds the rank of colonel. The present Mahat, Colonel Motti Baruch, has told us (and others) that he believes in 'normalization' of life in Hebron. The 'normalization' he speaks of, of course, is 'normalization' for the Arabs, not for the Jews. Lifting roadblocks, allowing Arabs to renovate and move into buildings vacant for decades, easing travel restrictions, closing down strategic bases - all pieces in the puzzle of 'normalization.' Actually, it's not fair to place all the blame on Col. Baruch. It's true, he may be actualizing his own political outlook via an IDF uniform, but this is the true face of today's Israeli army. Everyone's doing it, so why not him too. The fact that Jewish blood is spilled doesn't really bother them. To the contrary, they hope the killing will expedite our exit from these areas. In fact, there was not any official government reaction to Friday's killings. When suggested that the Israeli retreat from Bethlehem be postponed as a result of the killing, another minister exclaimed: "What, and let the terrorists decide what we do?" On the other hand, INN reported: "The Defense Minister that decided to take down lookouts and checkpoints now wants to hand over Bethlehem and Kalkilya to the Palestinian Authority - this will lead, within a short time, to a terror attack in Jerusalem," predicted IDF Colonel (Res.) Moshe Hagar." At sixteen year old Aviad Mantzur's funeral, his father Neryia told the mourners, 'Aviad called me on his cell phone and said, "Dad, they're shooting at me. SAVE US!"' Those where Aviad's last words. The terrifying sounds that were then broadcast from his cell phone included shooting, screams, and... Nothing. Aviad's legs were literally blown off his body. Four tourniquets didn't help. The bleeding didn't stop. Neryia Montzur listened to his son dying. Last week Israel suffered the worst train accident in its history. Hundreds were wounded, in addition to those killed. The accident occurred when a speeding train plunged into a truck stopped on the tracks. The engineer saw the truck and sounded his horn several times, in a futile attempt to warn the truck driver of the impending crash. To no avail. It's difficult to fathom that the truck driver wasn't aware of the train. But it seems that he didn't make any attempt to move. The engineer made one last-minute attempt to prevent the inevitable. He braked, hard. He also hit a switch immediately shutting down all the train's engines. And then, BOOM! The fact that he braked softened the blow a little - maybe that saved several lives. The fact that he shut down the train's engines saved many lives - that act prevented fire and explosion. During those last few moments he saw, all too vividly, the collision course, but there wasn't too much he could do about it. Impact was only seconds away. He did what he could, but was unable to prevent the crash. Israel too is on a collision course. Ariel Sharon, Shaul Mufaz and others are recklessly engineering Israel down a one-way track, the wrong way. Not into a truck parked on the tracks, rather into a train speeding in the other direction. Attempts to 'achieve peace' by chopping up and abandoning our land, while expelling our citizens is a sure recipe for disaster, the likes of which we have not yet begun to experience. And no, I haven't forgotten the years of the 'Oslo War.' That was nothing compared to what we are about to experience. The explosion, when the two engines plow into each other, will be earth shattering. And we're getting very close to the point of 'no return.' At yesterday's funeral, I asked some of the journalists whether they've reorganized 'funeral squads' to take turns going to such funerals. It's clear that this is just the beginning. And I'm more than a little concerned. Sitting and waiting for terror to strike, when you know it's right around the corner, it's not a pleasant sensation. However, the problem is multiplied when you realize that the terror is multifaceted. From one side, the Arabs have no intentions of letting up - why should they? On the other side, the Israeli government, using the police, prosecution and courts, will use 'legal' terror against all those trying to brake the train running amuck. We are going to get hit from all sides. And I'm not one hundred percent sure that someone, (singular or plural) isn't going to strike back. The frustration level may reach such intolerable levels that some kind of reactive detonation is unavoidable. It would be preferable to brake the train and change direction before it's too late. 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
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HRW TARGETS ISRAEL AGAIN: AN ANALYSIS OF "FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE WRONGDOING"
Posted by Bryna Berchuck, June 27, 2005. |
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The author chooses to remain anonymous.
Ignoring the controversy regarding its agenda and political
campaigning, (see below ),
Human Rights Watch issued a 128 page report on June 22, 2005, entitled
"Promoting Impunity: The Israeli Military's Failure to Investigate
Wrongdoing". This document, accompanied by a carefully orchestrated
press conference at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem (the base
of Palestinian media operations), illustrates the defects, including
lack of credibility and context, and the exploitation of the language
of international law, that have characterized the activities of HRW's
Middle East division for many years.
Evidence of the Political Agenda
Many aspects of this report illustrate the centrality of HRW's political agenda, including the title, which, instead of demonstrating a detached presentation of the issue, uses the condemnatory language of an ideological campaign. Furthermore, in the area of "military wrongdoing", HRW has singled out two democracies involved in defending against terror campaigns -- Israel and the US - for reports on this very complex topic.
Like similar HRW campaigns and publications dealing with the Middle East, this document overlooks the non-conventional environment of the protracted terror war. In the days before this report was launched, a Palestinian woman carrying an explosive belt was intercepted at a checkpoint on her way to treatment at an Israeli hospital, but this reality was not deemed worth mentioning by HRW's Middle East division. In these circumstances, in which a wrong security decision could lead to the deaths of many civilians, tragic mistakes are inevitable. While democracies, including Israel, are not perfect, and some violations of human rights occur, in this report, HRW has joined various political groups in attempting to paint honest mistakes as deliberate policy.
Similarly, HRW continues its practice of exploiting the rhetoric of international law for political attacks. For example, the authors of this report claim that "International humanitarian law (IHL) requires that armed forces distinguish at all times between combatants and noncombatants, and absolutely prohibits any deliberate killing of civilians. It also requires that armed forces observe the principles of military necessity and proportionality." (p. 6) But it is clear that in terrorist warfare, these distinctions are deliberately blurred, and such claims are highly misleading.
HRW's Credibility Gap
HRW's previous reports on Israel have been consistently flawed by a lack of credibility, and this is also the case here. Most of the evidence presented by HRW comes from Palestinian "eyewitnesses", politicized NGOs such as the Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI), the Palestinian Red Crescent, B'tselem, etc. For example, in footnote 8, HRW bases various claims of civilian Palestinian casualties on the highly problematic and politically motivated assertions by these groups, ignoring the obstacles to accurate assessments. As was clearly illustrated in the false tales of the 2002 Jenin "massacre", Palestinians frequently inflate such claims, deliberately blur the distinction between terrorists and civilians, and refuse to cooperate in professional investigations, while not allowing autopsies. Many of the casualties cited in this report are likely to have been involved in terrorism, or were the result of Palestinian fire. Similarly, the moral responsibility of the Palestinian Authority in allowing civilians to be used as cover by terrorists is again ignored by HRW.
The report includes frequent complaints that HRW requests for
information and cooperation from the IDF went unanswered, ignoring the
fact that HRW is viewed as a hostile political organization that lacks
any credibility. The expectation that the government of Israel would
cooperate under these conditions was clearly uninformed.
The credibility of HRW's highly politicized Middle East Division is
further reduced by the uncritical acceptance of reports by
journalists, whose own biases and lack of professional standards has
been frequently noted. Thus, the report's version of one incident
involving the deaths of Palestinians cited an "experienced journalist"
who made the unfounded observation that "Such a swift acknowledgement
by the military of improper behavior in the fatal shooting of
Palestinians is rare." (p. 2) The journalist, whose entirely
subjective opinion is cited as authoritative, also has a well-known
political bias.
In addition, HRW's report claims that "Public accountability is the best defense against indifference, incompetence and collusion. Without this, Israel's system will not be credible" (p.116). Let us consider the credibility of the HRW report when held to this standard. For example, an unsourced footnote on p. 65-66 asserts that the "largest military operation since the 1982 invasion of Lebanon...included indiscriminate and excessive use of force, unlawful killing of civilians, use of Palestinians as human shields, and detention of at least 4,500 Palestinian men and boys, many of whom reported ill treatment during arrest and interrogation." In this and other examples, there is no accountability in such a broad claim, included in a footnote and without supporting evidence, as though it were undisputed fact.
Erasing the Context of Terrorism
As noted, this and other HRW reports alleging human rights violations by the governments of Israel and the US, consistently erase the context of terrorism. In this case, HRW claims that "Almost all of the cases of death and serious injury investigated in this report occurred in circumstances that cannot fairly be characterized as situations of armed conflict". (p. 3) Given the intensity of the terror campaign, this claim is hardly credible, and is another example of the way in which HRW systematically ignores its own singular report of November 2002 on Palestinian terror.
This fictitious context is found in the allegation that the IDF fails to send investigators to Palestinian areas to gather testimonies, and the claim that "Victims and their representatives have little practical access to the investigation process". (p. 7) On this basis, HRW jumps to the conclusion that "The most significant factor underlying impunity is the reluctance of the JAG's office to investigate incidents, even when witnesses are accessible and the breach of international law is clear." (p. 7) As in past reports, this example ignores the fact that IDF investigators cannot enter a village and question its citizens as if Jenin and Gaza City were located in Switzerland or California. If IDF investigators were to attempt to interview Palestinians in this context, the violence could escalate and lead to many more deaths.
Political Rhetoric instead of Dispassionate Analysis
The manipulative language consistently employed by HRW is designed
to make an objectively weak case subjectively and emotionally
compelling. For example, the report criticizes IDF investigations as
"characterized by inaction and cover-up" (p 4) and claims that "the
[IDF legal] system does not provide justice or truth. (p 7) In one of
the cases discussed in this report, HRW failed to note the use of a
polygraph test when an officer was suspected of lying. While the use
of such devices is highly problematic, a judicial system that uses
polygraph tests in cases of questionable behavior can hardly be
"characterized by inaction and cover-up" (p.4)
The absence of context is repeated in the recommendations for dealing with military investigations in a terror war, as provided by HRW's Middle East "experts". In its guidelines for the Israeli soldiers who are under fire, the members of this NGO proclaim: "If lethal force is used in situations of armed hostilities, Israeli forces must distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants, never direct attacks at a civilian population or individual civilians, and refrain from attacks that indiscriminately harm civilians." (p. 9). This recommendation fails to mention that in a terror situation, in which combatants are not uniformed, such distinctions are often impossible, and would lead to large loss of life among Israelis. The IDF soldiers cannot possibly be more careful about the loss of Palestinian lives than their own. People who suggest such an attitude are guilty of holding a double standard in regards to Israel. Similarly, the authors suggest that Israel should reform its military justice system to follow Britain, Canada and Belgium, as if the situations and threats were even remotely comparable.
In summary, this report highlights the gap between the claim that "The hallmark and pride of Human Rights Watch is the even-handedness and accuracy of our reporting" and the consistent failure to live up to this promise. HRW's own reporting "system" is far from credible.
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MADRASSA EDUCATION - AN ANACHRONISM OR A VICTIM OF EXPLOITATION
Posted by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, June 27, 2005. |
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There have been some disturbing and gruesome news in Bangladesh media in the last couple of days about some Madrassa teachers cutting of ears of students, killing & raping students etc. In all the cases the students are victim of the sodomite or mentally disturbed teachers whose deed in anyway cannot be called Islamic. These incidents caught media attention quickly as Madrassas have a bad reputation being a breeding ground for extremists. And the Islamic parties surprisingly kept mum about their atrocities, which give an impression to people that they are shielding them. However these incidents should be viewed on the whole perspective rather than some small information. Madrassa refers to an Islamic school for Muslims, just as parochial schools for Catholics or yeshivas for Jews. All of these institutions are responsible for general education, but also have the purpose of teaching children about religion, in the case of Madrasas, Islam. At least four million poor children (many of them are orphans) are studying in more than 50,000 of these religious schools across Bangladesh. The Madrassas offer a 16-year course divided into three levels. The primary level known as Forkania Madrassa teaches the Koran, Arabic, Bengali and Mathematics. Students, who pass exams here, graduate to the Hafizia Madrassa. The Kowmi Madrassa is the final level that issues degrees claimed as equivalents of a Masters level. Such degrees are provided by over 3,000 such Madrassas. There have been much debate on the unstructured and obsolete curriculum of Madrassas with superstitious concepts and antiquated social values; which produces students, who cannot even read or write properly in their own mother tongue Bengali let alone English. Science, Geography, Physics and other modern subjects are conspicuous by their absence, with most students encouraged only to memorize the Koran. The degrees issued by such schools are practically useless outside the seminary circuit. The job industries have a reservation about these certificates for obvious reasons and the students cannot get admission in modern educational institutions even if given the chance as they are easily beaten in competition from students of other traditional institutions. So it becomes a vicious cycle where graduates only option is to return to the Madrassas, as teachers or else become clerics in mosques, which only offers a poor compensation package. The highest-degree holders set up their own ventures and only a handful can get important government posts. It creates a sense of insecurity among those students and they usually loathe the students of the traditional education system. That's where politics come in. Almost all these Madrassas' funding derives from donations and religious grants. Besides, principals of these Madrassas privately arrange grants from Middle Eastern countries. And many extremist elements are exploiting the students' and institution's poverty for their own interest. A large number of Kowmi Madrassas are controlled by the Islami Oikyo Jote (IOJ), a radical Islamic party that is a partner of the ruling coalition. They are keen to preach their version of Islamic zealot to the students. Besides, banned Islamic groups also target students of these Madrassas as their recruits. According to records of police intelligence in Bangladesh, members of "Al-Haramine" organization use the kindergarten Madrassa as camouflage. They regularly communicate with various underground-armed groups in the country and even recruit locals and send them to Palestine as guerilla fighters. Each recruit gets US$ 1500-2000 as an up front payment for their 'new job'. Later family members or legal representatives or spouses of these guerilla fighters will receive US$ 150-200 per month as salary. If any of them were killed during the war, their family would get US$ 5,000 as compensation. For above reasons the Madrassa students are encouraged to get involved in these organizations out of poverty even more than the religious zealots, which are fed up by the politically motivated teachers. But it would be unwise to undermine Madrassas' contribution in the society. Many Madrassas have been virtually acting as orphanages for the poor. If there was a uniform syllabus, computer education and vocational training it would establish a centralized link between Madrassa and modern education, thus making these large numbers of students really educated and established in the society. The Mullahs are much criticized for their bigotries, which actually are based on their poor education. In fact if the Madrassas curriculum were modernized, the students would easily blend in the society with logical thinking and respect, which in turn would only benefit and strengthen Islam. And the poor students would be free from exploitation and resentment from various quarters. At the Little Green Footballs website this news was highlighted and there were many negative remarks against Madrassa and Islam (http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=12693#comments). But I think it's a mistake to take a single incident and indict an entire culture or religion for it. "Because we have been conditioned to hate and think the worst about other cultures, or certain other cultures" - as one of the commenter said there. We are doing injustice to the Madrassa students by not condemning the atrocities against them and not bettering their conditions regarding education and establishment. The government has a great role to play for modernizing & updating Madrassa education. The writer is a journalist, columnist, author, amd editor of "Weekly Blitz". Email him at salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com |
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MORE ON CHILD RAPE VICTIM
Posted by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, June 27, 2005. |
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Read initial story below.
Dear Brothers, Sisters, and Friend: Yesterday morning I spoke to Mr. Lutfuzzaman Babar, State Minister for Home Affairs regarding taking action against the rapist madrassa teacher and other people in the madrassa and the community who are extending support to the criminal by pronouncing the family as 'JEW'. The minister listened to my request and assured of taking stern measures. Meanwhile, it is reported that the notorious madrassa teachers, in conniviance with some locals are putting pressure on the father of the victim child to withdraw the case. They are even threatening the father of the child that if he did not comply with their instructions, he might lose his job in Bangladesh Army. The criminals are even threatening to evict the family of the child, if the rapist madrassa teacher was not released immidiately. At this point, I contacted a few correspondents of foreign news agencies in Bangladesh like Mr. Farid Ahmed of Associated Press, Dhaka office of Reuters, Dhaka office of BBC, Correspondent of Voice of America in Dhaka etc, and requested them to bring the matter to the attention of the international community. But, surprisingly, they declined in doing so, saying, their initiative would annoy the local 'fundamentalist forces'. They even suggested I stay calm. After hearing the news of threat to the child's father and threat to evict their family, I again contacted the Home Minister this morning and narrated the whole matter. The minister was also very angry to know what is happening and reassured stern actions. I have seen Mr. Lutfuzzaman Babar to be the only person in the government who has taken the matter very seriously. May I request you all to write a petition to the Secretary General of the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemning the incident of rape of an innocent child and demand trial of the culprit and his collaborators immediately. The writer is a journalist, columnist, author, amd editor of "Weekly Blitz". Email him at salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com |
| GUSH KATIF |
COME VACATION IN GUSH KATIF
Reposted by Arieh Zaritsky, June 27, 2005. |
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Susie Dym, spokesperson Mattot Arim sddym@bezeqint.net, suggests: "From August onward -- please vacation in Israel. And please, do not make reservations in hotels in Israel. COME TO GUSH KATIF." HAVE A VACATION ON THE MEDITERRANIAN. GUSH KATIF IS BEAUTIFUL. GUSH KATIF IS CHOCK FULL OF WONDERFUL PEOPLE, WHO GROW SOUL-SATISFYING VEGETABLES YOU MIGHT EVEN FIND YOURSELF IN THE CENTER OF A HISTORICAL EVENT. THINK OF WHAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TELL YOUR GRANDCHILDREN. Vacationing in GUSH KATIF will save you a lot of money, which you can use to buy a digital camera to take with you to Gush Katif. PS. Our Hebrew language one-page brochure explains exactly how to get
to Gush Katif when necessary, by car, bus and train. We would
love to send you copies of this brochure to give out to "our" public
-- any right-minded person/people. Email me
at sddym@bezeqint.net
Dr. Arieh Zaretsky is at Ben Gurion University.
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TRAINING WITH NACHAL HAREIDI: PHOTO ESSAY
Posted by IsrAlert, June 26, 2005. | ||||||
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The Nachal Hareidi unit, made up of hareidi-religious yeshiva students
and new immigrants, trains in the beautiful wilderness of Israel's
Jordan Valley.
Isralert.com source: www.IsraelNationalNews.com, Arutz Sheva. Photos are courtesy of the IDF.
Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com |
| GUSH KATIF |
AS GOES GAZA, SO GOES ISRAEL
Posted by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman, June 26, 2005. |
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Rabbi Melman's great grandfather was a Palestinian.
The logic of expulsion of the Jewish communities of Gaza is premised on the numerical imbalance of the respective Jewish and Arab demographics. How could a small Jewish population hope to thrive in the long term against an overwhelming majority vowed to her destruction? Such insufferable arrogance to presume a right to thrive against an ocean of hate, poverty and barbarism. And yet, isn't that very same logic, but applied rather to the State of Israel vis a vis her enemies, now reversed on its head, the stuff of stubborn pride which animates her purpose and fuels her resolve to survive against all odds? By the same 100 to 1 ratios, the Jews of Israel as a whole and the Jews of Gaza specifically, face enemies who are no less determined to win in the end. If the Jews of Gaza have no right to live there because of their numerically disadvantageous population ratios vis a vis the Arabs of Gaza, then by what right does the Jewish state have to persevere in her struggle against the greater Arab world as a whole? To Arab ears there is much poetry in the epic of Jewish surrender. A quid without a pro, a transaction sans negotiation and mutuality violates every rule of the shuk, shatters every Levantine cultural standard, and so further solidifies in every Arab mind that the Jew is a cultural interloper and an abhorrent stranger in their midst. As well the Jewish state. And then there are the laws of inertia and momentum. These laws maintain their veracity no less in the political sphere as well as in the realm of physics. Expectations of ongoing Israeli retreat to antebellum borders will echo from every world capital, rigorous semantic nuances of resolution 242 be damned, shredded, and tossed out to sea as so much flotsam on the waves of history. Seen as victory for the forces of terror, the retreat will be seen only as surrender, as a new wave of terror will commence. Now having achieved quasi statehood, any retaliation against Gaza now will carry greater and greater diplomatic consequences. Reprisal will be seen as provocation. And will be condemned by all. Not to retaliate will further demoralize the secular Israeli, whose only desire is to be loved by the world. Painfully more and more territory will be surrendered if only to stop the pain, but it will only encourage more of the same. Israelis will continue to take short vacations, never to return. Aliyah will dry up, as no one would voluntarily move to a country committed to its own destruction. Ethnic cleansing, a principle held in utter abhorrence internationally for all peoples except when applied to Jews, once affirmed by Israel herself will set into motion a veritable cascade of demands that will achieve no point of satiety. Once Israel herself seeks to justify the expulsion of her own people on the basis of demographic imbalance, her whole raison d'etre to exist at all loses all its justification, nuances of Balfour be damned. Perfect is the enemy of the good. Israel cannot be perfect as no nation ever can be. But survival is a choice. In the Talmud there is a parable of two men lost in the desert with but one pitcher of water between them. If they share the pitcher both would probably die. If the one who has it in his possession keeps it, he will probably live. The Talmud argues for life, as difficult as the price may be to bear. Similarly, Israel's territorial integrity is analogous to the pitcher of water. To surrender more and more territory to enemies vowed to destroy her is to worship at the altar of world opinion. Not only would Israel not survive, but any so-called (second Arab) State of Palestine will not survive either, for even the secular Israeli will at some point come to his senses and realize that the world will not rescue him, let alone love him. Thankfully ethnic cleansing has now been affirmed by the world's highest authorities as the means to bring peace to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Which is worse from a moral standpoint? Expelling your enemy or eventually killing him? Expelling two million Arabs or eventually killing them- and more? With gratitude Israel should embrace this affirmation of ethnic cleansing and make the painful choice. To expel and relocate the Jewish people of Gaza will cost billions of dollars. For a few billion more they could do the same for all the Arabs in her midst who vow her total destruction. Her territorial integrity will remain intact. Her strategic depth will remain intact. The Auschwitz borders of '67 will forever be a temptation for war. As America's elites and future leadership turn against Israel, having been fed a university diet of anti-Israel venom for a generation if not more, America's willingness to support even Israel's future survival is not guaranteed. Survival is a choice. As painful as those choices are, and as difficult the diplomatic fallout will surely be, the time of reckoning is now at hand. The world will eventually get over it. And even if it doesn't, so what? The Torah says "choose life." All the rest is commentary. Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com |
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LEFTISTS AGAINST THE GAZA WITHDRAWAL
Posted by Naomi Ragen, June 26, 2005. |
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The western media's coverage of Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza is demonstrating, once again, how prejudicial and slanted much of the reporting from the Middle East is. Viewers and readers in north America, Europe and elsewhere have been left with the impression that the only people opposing withdrawal from Gaza (which is scheduled to begin on August 15, 2005) fit the stereotypical mold of an orthodox religious settler which the media have created for themselves over many years. These prejudices in turn have led many in the media to unfairly represent the arguments as to why a majority of Israelis now tell pollsters they oppose the disengagement, and why even those of us who are on balance for it have grave reservations about it. THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE BBC IN A WORLD OF THEIR OWN For example, New York Times correspondent Christine Hauser yesterday (Sunday) wrote about the dilemmas of disengagement by interviewing Michael Frier "a 24-year old religious student." In her article, she observed that "Some of the men carry M-16's or handguns." The version of the article on the New York Times website was accompanied by a picture of a man with a skullcap and an M-16. BBC online has been running a three-part series in which its correspondent Richard Miron has been spending a week in Jewish settlements in Gaza. He has been meeting with "some of the most hard-line members of the settler movement." In the first of these dispatches Miron calls the second day a "well-armed family occasion" and goes on to say that "Some of the men carry guns; pistols sitting snugly in their belts or automatic rifles slung loosely over their backs." FORMER LABOR CABINET MINISTERS, ARMY CHIEFS AND MOSSAD HEADS SPEAK OUT Due to this obsession by the western media to give the impression that the only people expressing opposition to disengagement are the most right wing and religious of settlers, many important voices in Israeli society have been completely shut out of the international media coverage. To balance this coverage, I attach below remarks by some important voices on the Israeli left and center that are against the disengagement. Their opposition to the plan stems from their fear that it will bring on a new wave of violence and that a withdrawal from Gaza will not guarantee long-term stability or peace. There is a fuller version of these quotes below, but in summary: Former Labor Party Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, has warned of "catastrophe" and says the withdrawal plan "is liable to bring a renewal of violence [that] is liable to bring down the moderate Palestinian leadership... A retreat from Gaza with nothing in return and with no agreement will strengthen Hamas." Former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, who is on the left-wing of the Labor Party, says: "A unilateral retreat perpetuates Israel's image as a country that runs away under pressure... In Fatah and Hamas, they will assume that they must prepare for their third intifada - this time in [Judea and Samaria]... If we continue these unilateral steps, we will find ourselves establishing an enemy Palestinian state." Former General Security Service chief Ami Ayalon says: "The captain of the disengagement can be compared to the captain of a ship who takes it from port to a very stormy sea, without knowing at all where he wants to lead it... There is a high chance that shortly after the disengagement, the violence will be renewed. 2006 is liable to be a year of another round of violence." Ayalon added that the retreat from the northern Gaza communities - Dugit, Elei Sinai and Nisanit - is a "grave error. It has no demographic or security justification, and the price that it is liable to exact from us is not justified." Former Mossad head Ephraim HaLevy says: "After the disengagement, Israel will face a diplomatic crisis the likes of which we have not known for years." Former Mossad head Shabtai Shavit says: "Immediately after the disengagement, Israel will find itself on a crash path with the United States." Others who have expressed strong concern about disengagement including former Air Force Commander Gen. Eitan Ben-Eliyahu, former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Uzi Dayan, and former IDF Chief of Intelligence Gen. Shlomo Gazit. I also attach below an article from yesterday's New York Times (reprinted in today's International Herald Tribune) by Israeli Housing Minister Isaac Herzog, explaining why he supports disengagement but why it is much more painful and difficult than many people in Europe and America might realize. (The article again, however, gives the impression that only extreme rightists oppose the disengagement.) BUILDING A SEA BARRIER To illustrate how Israel is attempting to safeguard its security following the Gaza withdrawal, I also attach below an article from the Jerusalem Post reporting that the Israel navy has started building an underwater barrier leading out to sea from the north Gaza shore. In the past there have been many attempted terror attacks on Israel from the sea. (The last major attempted attack by sea was last November.) A highly vigilant Israeli radar and surveillance outposts have foiled most of them, but occasionally attackers have got through. For example, in 1979, the Palestinian Liberation Front (part of the PLO) murdered three Israeli civilians by infiltrating Israeli waters from Lebanon and breaking into an apartment in the northern Israel town of Nahariya. FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER PLANNED TO BLOW UP HOSPITAL TODAY The third article below reports on the capture this morning of a 21-year-old female Palestinian suicide bomber at the Erez crossing. She said she planned to blow up a hospital in southern Israel. This follows the arrest of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy at the Hawara checkpoint on Sunday. He was carrying five pipe bombs hidden in tubes of silicone alongside nails and bolts. In the last two days Palestinian terrorists have murdered two Israelis. Sergeant Avi Karouchi was killed in Gaza yesterday and this morning Yevgeny Rider was killed in an ambush near Tulkarm as he drove from his home. Even though a large contingent of additional foreign media is in the region accompanying Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, virtually none have mentioned these Israeli deaths in their reports. It is not the first time terrorists have abused medical requests to enter Israel. In one recent thwarted attack, a terrorist pretended to have cancer to gain entry to an Israeli hospital. ANOTHER MOSLEM DEPUTY ISRAELI MINISTER It was announced today that Member of Knesset Majalli Whbee has been asked to serve as Deputy Education Minister. Majalli Whbee is an Israeli Moslem Druze and is another example of how virtually anyone can succeed in Israeli society should they try. No doubt those in the West who are obsessed with the idea of an "apartheid Israel" are not interested in this. -- Tom Gross ISRAELI LEFTISTS AGAINST DISENGAGEMENT [This selection of quotes from some Israelis on the political left who have voiced concern about disengagement was assembled by a subscriber to this list who works at Israel National News.] Former Labor Party Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, currently not a Knesset Member but leader of the left-wing Yahad/Meretz Party: "If the disengagement does not lead to an immediate permanent status arrangement, it will bring a catastrophe upon both Israelis and Palestinians... It is liable to bring a renewal of violence [that] is liable to bring down the moderate Palestinian leadership... "There is a concrete danger that following the disengagement, the violence will greatly increase in [Judea and Samaria] in order to achieve the same thing [i.e., withdrawal] as was achieved in Gaza... A retreat from Gaza with nothing in return and with no agreement will strengthen Hamas." *** Former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, who is on the left-wing of the Labor Party: "A unilateral retreat perpetuates Israel's image as a country that runs away under pressure... In Fatah and Hamas, they will assume that they must prepare for their third intifada - this time in [Judea and Samaria / the West Bank]... If we continue these unilateral steps, we will find ourselves establishing an enemy Palestinian state." *** Former General Security Service chief Ami Ayalon: "The captain of the disengagement can be compared to the captain of a ship who takes it from port to a very stormy sea, without knowing at all where he wants to lead it. And possibly even worse: He knows where he wants to lead it, but is hiding the information from his crew..." "Retreat without getting anything in return is liable to be interpreted by some of the Palestinians as surrender. The plan is likely to strengthen extremist forces in the Palestinians society... There is a high chance that shortly after the disengagement, the violence will be renewed. 2006 is liable to be a year of another round of violence." Ayalon said that the retreat from the northern Gaza communities - Dugit, Elei Sinai and Nisanit - is a "grave error. It has no demographic or security justification, and the price that it is liable to exact from us is not justified." *** Former Air Force Commander Gen. Eitan Ben-Eliyahu: "There is no chance that the disengagement will guarantee long-term stability. The plan as it stands can only lead to a renewal of terrorism... If there is no quick progress from the disengagement to a comprehensive retreat, [this will lead to] the one-state solution - bringing to an end of the Zionist dream, and the Jewish State will be lost." *** Former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Uzi Dayan: "Retreat from Nisanit, Dugit and Elei Sinai is a double mistake: Security-wise, it unnecessarily brings the Kassam rocket threat closer to Ashkelon, and diplomatically, it creates a dangerous precedent of unilateral withdrawal to the 1967 lines, which strengthens the PA demands to return to the June 4, 1967 lines." *** Former IDF Chief of Intelligence Gen. Shlomo Gazit: "It is reasonable to assume that within a short time, we will face mortar shelling and Kassams from [Samaria and Judea]. These rockets and shells will hit Kfar Saba and maybe even reach Netanya." *** Former Mossad head Ephraim HaLevy: "After the disengagement, Israel will face a diplomatic crisis the likes of which we have not known for years." *** Former Mossad head Shabtai Shavit: "The disengagement plan sabotages itself, creating a situation of instability. The plan does not create the necessary minimum of balance that would enable long-term coexistence... Immediately after the disengagement, Israel will find itself on a crash path with the United States." *** In addition to these statements of serious concern about the Gaza/Northern Samaria Evacuation Plan, it is also troubling to learn that Jibril Rajoub, Palestinian Authority Security Chief and former head of its secret police, said that while the present "period of calm" would remain in effect at least until Israel withdraws from Gaza, after this withdrawal "We will have to re-evaluate the situation... the period of quiet will not last longer than the scheduled withdrawal from Gaza unless it is actively renewed by the various organizations." MOVING FORWARD BY FALLING BACK by Isaac Herzog, The New York Times, June 20, 2005 JERUSALEM I recently received a letter from a former high school teacher of mine in Tel Aviv. He was liberated from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by a British Army unit in which my father served. Now, he was criticizing me for working on the government's plan to withdraw from 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank. "How dare you pull Jews out of their homes?" he wrote. "This is just like what the Nazis did to us!" Unfortunately, I am no longer surprised when a Jew compares me and other Israeli officials to Nazis. It has become part of the rhetoric of those who oppose withdrawal, including the tiny minority who threaten violent resistance. But my old teacher was not threatening me; he was crying out as if in the middle of a nightmare. My father, Chaim Herzog, eventually became president of Israel, and my teacher could not understand how his liberator's son could displace other Jews. Seen from America and Europe, the evacuation of some 8,000 Jews from their homes may seem simple. I have heard it compared to moving residents to make room for a railroad or highway. But, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has no doubt seen during her Middle East visit, what is happening here is a deeper psychological drama. It brings out fears that are never far from the surface; memories of the displacement and murder of innocent Jews not only during the Holocaust but also in Islamic countries after Israel's founding. And memories of wars Israel did not start, and of terrorist attacks that we fear will never stop. What to do with Jewish settlers' homes in the Gaza Strip after withdrawal, as well as factories and greenhouses, has occupied Israelis for some time. Those in favor of destroying the houses did not want to see Hamas gunmen making victory signs for CNN and Al Jazeera as they walked triumphantly into buildings left behind by Jews. Others, myself included, have favored leaving everything except synagogues and graveyards untouched, thinking that destroying the houses would send a message of destruction rather than peace; we feared it might also be costly and could endanger Israeli soldiers' lives. But every member of the government understands the painful symbolism involved in displacing Jews, and also the public's concern that Gaza will turn into Hamastan, a region controlled by terrorists. Yet despite their memories and fears, most Israelis back the plan to withdraw. They know that Israel must take risks like this to set secure national borders, to ensure the future of a Jewish democratic state. They are reassured because Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the founder of the settlement movement, thinks the withdrawal is necessary. And they are ready to give the Palestinians' prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, a chance to show he can be a partner for peace. Another promising sign is that while the settlers' leaders are telling their followers not to cooperate with the government, every day more and more settlers are coming to my ministry to find out how we can help them find new homes and rebuild their lives. I hope that our Palestinian neighbors understand what we are going through. They should realize that this withdrawal is not a sign of weakness (as Hamas wants them to believe) but of strength and self-confidence. Israel clearly has other ways to answer terrorism - as shown by our forceful response to the intifada - but we have no other way to end the occupation except to separate from the Palestinians. This withdrawal should be the first step toward a broader, negotiated two-state solution. To get there, the Palestinian leaders must ensure that terrorists do not disrupt the withdrawal and do not take over the land Israel leaves behind. The Palestinians should also understand the feelings of Israelis like my high school teacher. Abbas can help now by telling his people, loudly and clearly, that Israel's withdrawal will not represent a victory for armed struggle; it will be a victory for the silent majorities on both sides who don't want their grandchildren to have the kinds of traumatic memories that haunt Israelis and Palestinians today. (Isaac Herzog is Israel's minister of construction and housing.) ISRAEL TO BUILD TERROR BARRIER IN THE SEA "Navy builds terror barrier off Gaza" by Arieh O'Sullivan, The Jerusalem Post, June 17, 2005. www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=111888 8337362 In a move designed to better isolate Israel from potential terrorist infiltration from the Gaza Strip, the navy has started building an underwater barrier leading out to sea from the north Gaza shore. The barrier, which essentially extends the northern security road separating Gaza from Israel into the Mediterranean, is primarily aimed at thwarting Palestinian terrorists swimming up to the Israeli coast. It consists in its first 150 meters of cement pilings burrowed into the sandy bottom. Beyond that, the barrier will extend for a further 800 meters, in the form of a 1.8-meter-deep fence floating beneath the surface. It is understood that one of the navy's perceived imperatives for the new barrier is the loss of surveillance systems at the Tel Ridan base on the beach south of Gaza City when the IDF pulls out of Gaza this summer. Still, the barrier is not expected to be completed before August 15, when disengagement is set to begin. It is not yet clear whether the navy intends to demarcate the territorial waters with buoys, as it did with Lebanon. Off the coast of Rosh Hanikra, there are seven linked buoys reaching out 4,200 meters from the coast. In similar moves to better seal off Gaza, the Navy is also refurbishing its observation and radar station at the Erez border crossing, and is adding an antenna tower there similar to the 85-meter structure at its base in Rosh Hanikra. Palestinian terrorists have made attempts to swim to the Israeli coast in the past, and have been foiled mainly because they were spotted by radar and surveillance outposts onshore in the Gaza area. The new barrier is intended to foil potential efforts in which swimmers go beyond such surveillance capacities. The barrier would also back up naval patrols intercepting small vessels carrying terrorists. Last November, a heavily armed Palestinian terrorist dressed in a wetsuit tried to swim in from the sea to attack a Jewish settlement in the northern Gaza Strip. Navy surveillance ground forces spotted him and shot him dead 400 meters from the beach. He had on him a bomb, an AK-47, four grenades, five ammunition clips, a knife and a rubber dinghy. In essence, it is understood, the sea barrier represents an extension of the Gaza security fence that has proven highly effective in preventing suicide bombers infiltrating into Israel. FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER PLANNED TO BLOW UP HOSPITAL Female bomber nabbed: Palestinian woman tells interrogators she intended to blow up at southern hospital By Hanan Greenberg By Ynetnews June 20, 2005 www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3101498,00.html GAZA - Major attack thwarted: A 21-year-old would-be suicide bomber was detained by security forces at Gaza's Erez crossing Monday morning. Gaza resident Wafa Samir Ibraim Bas, 21 was carrying more than 10 kilograms (more than 22 pounds) of explosives and was picked up thanks to electronic anti-terror means utilized at the crossing. Army officials said the woman surrendered only after attempting to detonate the charge at the crossing itself. The woman was scheduled to arrive at Soroka hospital in the Southern town of Be'er Sheva for some tests Monday, and was hoping to take advantage of the medical appointment to carry out a suicide attack. During her interrogation, the would-be bomber said she was sent by the Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigades. The group sought to utilize the humanitarian permits issued to the woman and instructed her to carry out the attack at the hospital, she said. The Erez crossing was closed Friday, and again Monday, as a result of terror warnings. Notably, security authorities received a warning regarding the planned attack several days ago, prompting the crossing's closure on several occasions. Sappers later blew up the explosives in a controlled detonation and authorities later reopened the crossing. IDF official Avi Levy told Ynet that despite the incident, the army is "making a distinction between terror groups who want to carry attacks and Palestinian civilians who want to make a living." Although women generally refrained from taking part in terror attacks at first, their role has been increasing over time. In 2004, more then 50 women were involved in carrying out attacks. Meanwhile, security forces have foiled 45 terror plots involving women during the more than four years of the intifada, while eight attacks were carried out. A Shin Bet report prepared to summarize four years of fighting noted
terror groups are exploiting the inherent advantages in using women
to perpetrate terror attacks.
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.
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WHERE IS THE SHAME?
Posted by Naomi Ragen, June 26, 2005. |
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This was written by Boaz Gaon and appeared in Ma'ariv, June 25, 2005. It was translated from the Hebrew by Justice4JP. Read the original Hebrew at www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART/949/891.html It is an interview with Jonathan Pollard in North Carolina, June 24, 2005. For a split second in mid-April it seemed as if the chances of Jonathan Pollard shedding the chains he has been dragging clattering across the cold floors since 1985 - ever since he was forcefully evicted from the Israeli embassy in Washington - had suddenly increased. This occurred when Sharon, his face still tanned from the Texas sun, removed his stubborn beige flak jacket (which he wore while building the settlements and which he now wears to dismantle them) and boldly announced that he had instructed Israel's Ambassador to the US, Danny Ayalon, to pack a little bag and go visit Pollard. All this, before Bush even ordered Israel to turn off the water. The historic visit of the ambassador to Pollard took place last month. "An honest man sent to do a dishonest job", said Pollard, who involuntarily got woven into the crossfire of an image war between public personalities (Ayalon and FM Shalom) which was raging above his head. Ayalon, it seems, was sent out as a trial balloon to gauge the reaction of the corps of Pollard activists to rumors of Pollard's release as the prize for the Gaza disengagement. This, incidentally, is the same corps of activists most opposed to the disengagement plan. The idea, the inflated news headlines cooked up by the electronic media almost instantly about a 'deal' between Bush (who would pay Sharon with Pollard) and Sharon (who would pay with Gaza) disappeared almost as quickly as the overblown trial balloon which flew off into the clouds and disappeared. It ended badly. At the visit, Pollard reports, Ayalon was embarrassed and kept repeating over and over again a prepared statement, devoid of content, which had been scripted for him in advance. Pollard said that the Ambassador could not look him in the eyes. His justified request that his status as a "shevui" (prisoner) be implemented by the State which has recognized him as an agent, received the insulting response, "Israel wishes you well." The cries of disappointment from the visit room overflowed to the media waiting outside, and caused Ayalon to flee from the CNN reporter (the only English language reporter in the pack) who was left scratching his head in surprise over the Ambassador's refusal to share with America the details of this supposedly historic visit. (By the way: media was barred from actual attendance at the prison meeting, not by order of the prison, but by order of PM Sharon's office.) From an observer's point of view, it seemed as if Ayalon wanted to hurry back to the shelter of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. The same Embassy which, on direct orders from Jerusalem, threw Jonathan Pollard out exactly 20 years ago. One supposes that upon reaching the Embassy, Ayalon called Sharon and reported, 'Mission accomplished'. FLUSHING AN AGENT DOWN THE DRAIN A month later, Jonathan Pollard sat in the same visit room, across from the same vending machines, his wife Esther by his side, and under the same watchful eyes of the NSA monitor ("Nick") who had come from Washington that morning. This was not Pollard's first interview, nor his second or third since his arrest, but this was perhaps the harshest, most bridge-burning interview Pollard has ever given. Yes of course, it concerns one who once supported his release and who now, in Pollard's opinion, " has no interest in bringing me home alive." We are talking about Arik the "dictator" Sharon, the boss of Dubi "Rasputin" Weissglass, the initiators of the "diabolical" disengagement plan, the heads of the " American colony" and of the "perverted version of Disneyland" otherwise known as the Israeli political establishment, which has "no red lines" and "no true North"; where everything goes, even the abandonment of an agent and "flushing him down the drain." "I want to begin," says Pollard, smoothing out the printed sheet in front of him "with a question to set the tone and the framework for everything I will say today." And the question is this (Pollard switches to Hebrew): "Ayfoh ha'boosha?" (Where is the sense of shame?) [J4JP Note: Pollard then laid the groundwork for the rest of the interview with the following 3 points: 1) I am an Israeli agent who has been in the service of the State for 22 years: 2 years of active duty, and 20 years in prison on her behalf. 2) My activities on behalf of Israel; the risk I took for her; the sacrifices that I have made for her were all directed at safeguarding the Land and assuring the security of the People. 3) The very nature of my service to the security of the State of Israel is, by definition, diametrically the opposite of an evil plan - the Heetnatkoot(disengagement) - which aims to expel Jews from the Land, and sacrifice our national security to serve a corrupt, self-interested, personal political agenda.] "I want to ask the Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz, Ayfoh ha'boosha? (Where is your sense of shame?) I heard on the radio that he met with Condoleezza Rice and agreed to release hundreds of security prisoners at her request. What about this prisoner! (Pollard uses his thumb to point to himself.) Whom Israel and the Minister of Defense have forgotten long ago. Even though I am still here, and America still has its boot on my neck. Ayfoh ha'boosha? Where is his sense of shame?" "Next. In recent weeks I have received hundreds of letters from people in Israel who identify themselves as belonging to the left; most of the writers are non- religious. They all mention a new book by the name of "Boomerang" which just came out in Israel. These people write to tell me: now, suddenly we understand what you have been talking about all of these years! About the corruption in government. The moral corruption, the spiritual corruption, and the disengagement of the State of Israel from all that is moral and true and just. "Suddenly people are beginning to understand how it happened that Israel has flushed me down the drain, and the role played by this Israeli Rasputin, Dubi Weissglass, author of this evil plan, this diabolical plan called 'the disengagement plan', whose goal it is to sacrifice Israel's national security to serve the interests of a corrupt, self-indulgent, self-centered regime, and devoted to advancing his own personal political agenda. This sheds light on the true nature of the relationship between Israel and America, not as a relationship between equal allies, but between an Imperialist power and a satellite colony..." "I would like," continues Pollard, as his face flushes with anger, "to dispel a wicked rumor, once and for all, which Sharon and his sycophants have been spreading about me for some time. There is not and never was any deal for my release in connection with the disengagement plan. Utter nonsense! I am being used as nothing more than a carrot on a stick which Sharon and his people are holding out to the Israeli public to make them think that perhaps such a deal has been made behind the scenes. "It is simply a lie! If the Prime Minister would invest a fraction of the effort in securing my release that he invests in keeping his sons out of prison, I would have been home long ago. But there is a difference between Sharon's sons and this son (pointing to himself) who sacrificed all that he had for the benefit of Israel, which is now burying him alive in prison! "I know that people may not believe me. I know that there will still be those who continue to believe that some sort of secret deal was made. Let me explain why that is not so. There are a number of things which must be done before a country seeks the release of an agent from prison. Such as, for example, to secure the cooperation of the agent, so he will not say or do anything counterproductive, either during the process or after he is released. During the time of Yitzhak Rabin, for example, Rabin sent a secret messenger to me with a document for me to sign detailing what I could and could not do upon release; I signed. "The same thing occurred with Bibi. We had excellent relations with him; he treated us with respect and did not mock us or treat us with contempt. (B.G: unlike with Sharon) "When we knew what Bibi was planning to do, we warned him to have a backup plan for when the Americans reneged. We told him that the Americans would promise my release to get what they want and at the last minute, they would renege. "This was told to him at a private meeting, face to face. He laughed and said he knows the Americans very well. Sharon is no Rabin, and he is no Bibi. He is just the opposite. Which brings me to Barghouti." A MAN WITHOUT HONOR "Barghouti is coming out", said Pollard. "How do we know? We were told." Who told you? Pollard throws a quick glance in Esther's direction. "Okay. Olmert told us." [J4JP corrects this misquote:: Jonathan actually said that a close associate of theirs had been informed by Olmert.] Specifically, Olmert said that Israel is grooming Barghouti and preparing him to be the next leader of the Palestinians. What is more, we were told that Barghouti intended to run for President of the PA against Abu Mazen, but Elliot Abrams, during his visit to Israel, met with Barghouti's people. He gave them ironclad American promises regarding Barghouti, which induced Barghouti to drop out of the elections. "This is the way one goes about preparing someone for release. That is the point. The meeting with Barghouti was done in secret; promises were made to him; he was asked to keep a low profile. None of these things have happened in my case, in spite of all of the spin by Sharon's people." In response Ehud Olmert told Ma'ariv: "I never spoke with Pollard, not about Barghouti or anything else. I also never spoke with his wife, nor have I met with her or spoken with her about any other subject. I have no idea how they came up with this story." [Justice4JP Responds: It is true that Olmert did not speak directly with Jonathan, but to a very close contact of the Pollards. In the coming months, watch the headlines for Barghouti. It will soon become apparent who is telling the truth. See Also: Yediot (Hebrew): Government Officials Recommend: Free Barghouti http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2005/061005a.htm] Now back to Pollard in prison. "I have been told: only Sharon can free you. Just like Nixon was the only one who could make peace with China. This would be true if we were a normal country. But Israel is not a normal country. Israel is a country that is ruled by a corrupt, twisted, sick, self-centered political establishment - in short: a perverted version of Disneyland." "Let me tell you something. Not long after Bush was elected in 2000, someone close to the President contacted my wife. (B G: this person had a certain share in helping Bush to become elected.) They told her that a request for my release by a religious figure, with the initiative coming from Jerusalem would be looked upon favorably. "Esther flew to Israel at once to meet with HaRav Mordecai Eliyahu, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, to put the initiative together. She detailed the plan to Prime Minister Sharon at a meeting attended by HaRav Eliyahu, my attorney Larry Dub, the late Rechavam Ze'evi, and the Prime Minister. Sharon asked for the name of our contact in Washington, the initiator of the plan, and he was told. He did not respond, he just continued to write things. Everyone thought that he must be writing important notes. But my wife got a little closer and had a look at his notes. "Do you want to know what he was writing? Nothing! He was doodling the whole time we were sitting there! Sometime later Gandhi (Ze'evi) spoke with Sharon. He called us and said that he was ashamed of the Prime Minister's response. We asked why. He said: "The Prime Minister said that the only way he would bring Pollard home is in a coffin." QUESTION: Over the years you have implied that Sharon may be abandoning you because he does not want the level of his involvement in your operation to be revealed. Among other things, the head of LAKAM the bureau you worked for, was Rafi Eitan, who was known as Sharon's dirty tricks man. Is there anything to this? "Sharon is a man who has shown himself to be completely indifferent to the casualties of war which fall around him as he pursues his goals. Contrary to the myth of his bravery as a general, the fact is that his political career was built upon blood, and it means nothing to this dictator. What we are talking about is a fatal character flaw. Sharon is a man without honor. It is impossible to embarrass a man without honor. "Moreover, I was asked by Rafi, at a meeting which took place in Paris, to collect political information for Sharon to help advance his career. Behind the back of Rafi, others who were sitting at the table signaled me, shaking their heads and silently indicating "No, no!" I, of course, refused. Is Sharon afraid that I will reveal the names of those he asked me to spy on for him? Is he afraid that it will be revealed to what lengths he was willing to go to advance his own political interests, at the expense of a young and dedicated agent? Perhaps. But you will have to ask him. All I am asking is: Ayfoh ha'boosha? (Where is his sense of shame?)" QUESTION: One of the things you need is a truthful affidavit from your former handler, Aviam Sella who claimed in 1987 that he did not run you, and that he had been nothing more than a first contact, a position which even Israel has retreated from since then. Have you asked Sella directly? "No. No." said Pollard, and he cast a glance in the direction of Nick, the NSA monitor. "Look, he can't do it without the permission and direction of the Government of Israel." "He prefers to remain silent," said Esther Pollard, "to receive his Israeli Government pension and keep his mouth shut." [Justice4JP Note : While it is true that Sella may prefer to remain silent and collect his government pension, the involvement of the Israeli government is absolutely necessary. Without Israel's permission and direct involvement in this process to resolve Jonathan's case, a new affidavit would be useless.] AGONIZING EVERY NIGHT IN MY PRISON CELL QUESTION: When was the last time you had any contact with Rafi Eitan, also known as "Rafi the stinker"? Pollard laughs bitterly. "A few years ago, I saw a copy of the New York Times. On the front page was a photograph of Rafi Eitan who had received some sort of American prize for the creative management of his tropical fruit plantation in Cuba. In the photo he was wearing a straw hat and sipping an exotic tropical cocktail, and it said that he cries every night over Pollard. He cries every night? I agonize every night in my cell while he is drinking cocktails in Cuba! That's all I have to say about Eitan." QUESTION: How did you feel when you heard that Elchanan Tannenbaum, (the dubious character whom Sharon sold to the Israeli public as a hero in peril whose teeth had been pulled out with a pliers), was returned to Israel in such a perfect state of health as to be enviable? "That was beautiful. Sharon's whole tactical process, I mean. When I saw pictures of Tannenbaum on TV I said to myself, 'Wow! Hezbullah's dentists really did a great job of restoring his teeth. They should move to Beverly Hills; they would make lots of money.' "If you want a serious response: the Tannebaum deal was a classic case of a corrupt deal between two corrupt organizations: Hezbullah on the one hand, and Arik Sharon and company on the other. Between a vendor who was trying to sell treif meat as if it were kosher, and a buyer who was trying to convince the people of Israel that the meat was kosher even when he knew full well it was treif (unfit for consumption)." QUESTION: Recently the former Ambassador to the United States, Itamar Rabinovitch, stated that the case of Larry Franklin (the "Pentagon mole" who was indicted recently on charges of supplying classified information to a foreign nation, meaning Israel) as well as the security tensions with the US, which have been caused by the arms deal with China, ruin your chances for release. Your response? "When Mr. Rabinovitch was here in Washington, I very much wanted to meet with him. But he did not come to see me, and he never expressed any special interest in my case. And now suddenly out of nowhere he is making statements about me. Doesn't that seem a little strange to you? The explanation is simple: the State of Israel is preparing the ground for the release of Barghouti. The closer the date of his release comes, the more you will start to hear other 'learned' opinions about 'why it is impossible to free Pollard'. This time it is because of China. Next time it may be because of Franklin, and so on. From a strategic standpoint there is a certain beauty to this rouse. The problem is that one needs to wear a gas mask so as not to be choked by the stench of the lies." [J4JP Note: Israeli media routinely allows the right of response to anyone mentioned in an interview. The responses of Prime Minister Sharon's office below run the gamut from laughable to simply not credible. For further information, there are links to supplemental reading material in the "See Also" list which follows below.] The Prime Minister's media advisor responded to Ma'ariv: "From the time that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was elected, he has worked to free Jonathan Pollard. After the visit of Prime Minister Sharon to President Bush's ranch in Texas this year, he instructed the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Danny Ayalon, to visit Pollard in prison - a step which has never before been taken by any other Prime Minister in the past. As well, there is a committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary, Israel Maimon as well as representatives of the relevant Government offices, which deals with the issue." Regarding Pollard's statement that he is being used by Sharon and his people in order to advance the disengagement plan by softening opposition to it, Sharon's media advisor stated: "That never was and never will be. The name of Pollard was never linked to the disengagement plan with the intention of winning over those who oppose the plan." About the appellations "dictator", "Rasputin" and the mention of Sharon's son's (being kept out of prison by their father's massive efforts), the Prime Minister's media advisor responded: "These things are not worthy of response." Regarding Pollard's quote of Rechavam Ze'evi: "Not true; utter falsehood. The Prime Minister never said anything like that or in that style." Regarding raising the subject (of Pollard) in talks between Sharon and Bush this year: "The subject comes up with the American government during every trip that the Prime Minister makes to the United States including his most recent visit." This week, in response to a question in the Defense and Foreign Relations Committee, Prime Minister Sharon said the following about the Pollard issue: "The way to solve this problem is not with slogans, or media releases, but by a discrete route - and that is how we are working." An official in the Prime Minister's office said that he cannot understand what would motivate anyone to question the Prime Minister's treatment of the issue, as if he had no interest in freeing Pollard. After all, there is no dispute, said the same official, that if Pollard were released, it would only enhance the standing of the Prime Minister. See Also: Text: Jonathan Pollard's Letter to Sharon Responding to P.M.'s Declaration: Israel Making All Efforts To Free Pollard http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2004/092704.htm Jonathan Pollard's Letter Responding to PM Sharon's Declaration that Israel Cannot Ask US for Pollard Because "Beggars Cannot Make Noise" http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2003/100203.htm Text: Jonathan Pollard's 20th Anniversary Speech: Don't Trade Me for Barghouti http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2004/112104.htm Crazy Rhythm And All That Jazz: How Pollard Got Left Holding the Bag [Background on the Aviam Sella False Affidavit] http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2004/043004a.htm Response to "Hope of Pollard's Release In Return for Disengagement" - Yediot 04/15/05 http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2005/041505.htm Sharon and Katsav Refuse to Help - HaTzofeh Feature Article http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2001/060101.htm Jonathan Pollard: "TAKE ME OUT OF THE BOR!" - Yediot Feature Interview by Shimon Shiffer, http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2004/050904.htm Yediot (Hebrew): Government Officials Recommend: Free Barghouti http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2005/061005a.htm (English translation, coming soon!) 'Crisis with U.S. Hinders Pollard's Pardon'? http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2005/061505.htm Column One: Pollard's Freedom and Our Freedom - by Caroline Glick http://www.jonathanpollard.org/2005/042205.htm Spotlight on Jonathan Pollard: by Caroline Glick
A Makor Rishon Special Feature in 3 parts:
The Wye Double-Cross Page
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. |
| GUSH KATIF |
CORRUPTION CAN'T WAIT
Posted by Moshe and Rachel Saperstein, June 26, 2005. |
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A month ago, Amnon Abramovitz, a senior commentator in Channel 2 TV Israeli news, called upon all his colleagues to protect Sharon like a citron ("Etrog"). "We know Sharon and his sons are involved in criminal affairs but today a few months before the 'Historic Disengagement' plan we should support all his activities and ignore undemocratic decisions or behavior, support closing of inquiry files and allow systematic damage of the settler's human rights." Last Sunday in a special editorial, Yoel Marcus, one of the senior "Haaretz" writers, announced that "Corruption can wait". As Sharon is fulfilling our dreams of gettingrid from the Jewish communities in Gush Katif and North of Samaria, we must postpone all negative information and reporting against the new tyrant. In reaction, Nadav Shraga, a honest reporter (probably the only..) from Haaretz, published last weekend an article under the name "Corruption can't wait". Enjoy the article and remember we have no doubt that in the end every one will know the truth!! The timing of the public debate over corruption is no coincidence. It is directly connected to the upcoming implementation of the disengagement plan. Corruption wasn't born yesterday, and every now and then, as Yoel Marcus rightly pointed out in this newspaper on Friday, there are historic developments that are of such vital importance that the state must concentrate on them at the expense of other issues, no matter how important they may be. The disengagement plan is not such a development. More and more security experts now believe that it is a sure recipe for disaster. It is defective, both from the moral point of view and from the point of view of democratic conduct, but the question of whether or not it is "good for the Jews" is a matter for another discussion. Even those who believe that this is a marvelous plan cannot postpone clarification of the corruption allegations until after the disengagement until one central issue first becomes clear: Was the plan born in honesty and good faith, or was it the product of extraneous and improper considerations? Two respected media personalities, Raviv Drucker and Ofer Shelah, believe that the plan was adopted by Ariel Sharon and his advisors on the assumption that it would lead to the burial of the allegations against the prime minister and his family. In their book, "Boomerang," they describe the events that preceded the decision to uproot the settlements of Gush Katif and northern Samaria. The book attempts to substantiate the claim that was first made months ago by MK Zvi Hendel and journalist Hagai Huberman that "the depth of the uprooting is as the depth of the investigation." On page 365, they write: "Even his most intimate confidants ... are convinced that the disengagement plan would never have been born if Sharon didn't need to turn the spotlights away from the investigations against him and his sons." On page 367, they attribute the following remark to Dov Weissglas: "You must make a dramatic move that will cause everything to be forgotten." In a Channel 2 interview with Nissim Mishal, Shelah and Drucker made the point even more explicit, saying that the investigations had a decisive impact on the birth of the plan or, in other words, the disengagement was meant to help Sharon escape indictment. This is so frightening a possibility that it is difficult to describe it in words. Is it possible that the prime minister, contrary to his natural security and moral inclinations, decided to adopt a plan to uproot 10,000 people from their homes in order to escape an indictment? Did Sharon chose disengagement - despite the fact that he believed, at least at the start, that it was a bad and dangerous plan - in order to save his skin and his seat? Let us posit for a moment that a similar claim had been raised from a different direction, against a defense minister who was involved in a police investigation. Let us assume that that the minister was accused of planning a large-scale military action, not because he felt it was necessary but because someone in his close circle advised him to "do something dramatic that will cause everything to be forgotten." Would not those opposed to the move demand that his motives be investigated and its implementation delayed, without any connection to whether or not he was right? One of the two then: If the allegations are true - and there is no proof yet they are - Sharon must face trial. If they are baseless, Sharon must take the two journalists to court and prove that he is right. When Time magazine published baseless reports that the classified part of the Kahan Commission report about Sabra and Chatila contained information that Sharon had urged the militias to take revenge against the Palestinians for the murder of Bashir Gemayal, he took Time to court and won. Now, in the face of another serious accusation, Sharon is sitting tight and his bureau is keeping mum. MK Hendel, who spoke up before Shelah and Drucker did, has long since volunteered to waive his Knesset immunity so that Sharon can take him to court, but Sharon has not picked up the gauntlet. In the Bar-On-Hebron affair eight years ago, the attorney general and the police looked into suspicions - raised by Channel 1's Ayala Hasson - that Bar-On had been chosen for the attorney general post because of pressure from then-MK Aryeh Deri, who was under criminal investigation at the time. Hasson reported that Deri allegedly had received a promise from Bar-On to help him reach a plea-bargain arrangement. According to the allegations, Deri then threatened to use his political power to undermine the Hebron Agreement if Bar-On was not appointed. The accusations being raised now, even if they are circumstantial, are at least as grave. They need to be examined by the police and the attorney general. The question that must be answered, even before the disengagement, is whether the disengagement plan stemmed from extraneous motives. If, Heaven forbid, this is indeed so - and both supporters and opponents of disengagement must hope that it is not - the uprooting must be stopped and the investigations must be resumed. Moshe Saperstein and his wife Rachel live in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, in the Gaza Strip. He is a Jerusalem Diarist, one of the group of Israelis who are recording their experiences living in Israel. He lost an arm while fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He was again wounded in a February 2002 incident when he drove his car into a terrorist who had just shot and killed a young mother traveling in the car in front of him. He writes frequently of his physical and emotional struggles. His wife, Rachel (aka. La Passionara, La P.) works at the Girls High School in Neve Dekalim and published a booklet last year for families dealing with terror victims. |
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OPRAH OFFENDED BY EXCLUSION BUT NOT BY THE PLO
Posted by Join the Boycott, June 26, 2005. |
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Oprah Winfrey will boycott Hermes in Paris for not allowing her in after hours, but she sympathizes with the PLO who want to exclude Jews from their own land. Join the Oprah Boycott. For details see http://www.geocities.com/truthmasters/jointheboycott.htm |
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IF THE MAJOR MEDIA DON'T REPORT IT, DOES IT MEAN THE TERRORISTS HAVE
DECLARED PEACE?
Posted by Bryna Berch, June 26, 2005. |
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This is a round-up of the most recent terrorist actions - most of which are unreported in the major media. The media are philosophers of the Bishop Berkeley school. He said that if a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, it doesn't make a sound; in fact, in his insulated thinking, the tree doesn't exist. The media's variation is: if they haven't reported it, there's been no terror attack; the Arabs have stopped their game plan to destroy Israel. Problem is: real people have died. But maybe in the world of PR, if they can make people believe terror attacks have diminished, it's as good as the real thing. This is a news item from today's Arutz-7 (www.IsraelNationalNews.com). Terrorists continue to attack Israelis, even as two victims of Friday's murderous shooting are being brought to their final rest. An Arab man stabbed an Israeli Border Guardsman in his neck shortly after noon today in eastern Jerusalem. The attack occurred near Damascus Gate, and the victim was treated on the spot by an emergency medical crew... An IDF unit found and safely detonated a 40-kg. (88-lb.) explosive device just north of the Kisufim Crossing into Gush Katif. Roadside bombs of this nature have killed many Israeli soldiers and civilians... Two mortar shells were fired at N'vei Dekalim over the night... An IDF force noticed a terrorist cell preparing to fire anti-tank rockets at the Jewish community of Ganei Tal. The soldiers fired only deterrent fire, however, with no intention to hit, and the terrorists in fact escaped... In another incident today, an anti-tank rocket was fired at an IDF vehicle near N'vei Dekalim; no one was hurt... In what is merely the latest incident of teenagers being recruited for Palestinian terrorism, a 14-year-old was detected today trying to carry a gun through the Kalandia Checkpoint, north of Jerusalem. The boy was taken for questioning... Israel's security forces are on the track of those who perpetrated the murderous attack on Friday, working on the operative assumption that they were of the Islamic Jihad. The army has also begun replacing checkpoints on roads in Judea and Samaria. Of 300 such checkpoints, both mobile and permanent, no fewer than 280 were removed in the past few weeks, in the framework of "gestures" and "restriction-easings" towards the Palestinian Authority. Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, quoted in an Arab newspaper in Lebanon, warned that if Israel goes after terrorist leaders, the diplomatic process will end immediately. Abu Udai, a leading terrorist of the Jenin branch of Fatah's military arm, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, threatened that "suicide bombers will shake the heart of Israel and Tel Aviv" if Israel does not stop arresting terrorists. Following Friday's murderous attack, an Arab-owned store in Hevron was burnt this morning, and a local Arab reported that a "Jewish settler" beat him up. A mortar shell was fired last night at northern Gaza... Snipers fired at IDF outposts on the Israeli-Egyptian border last night, and at other outposts in Gush Katif over the Sabbath... In under-reported Jerusalem violence of last week, Arabs hurled nine firebombs on two consecutive evenings at Yeshivat Beit Orot. The local emergency force of the yeshiva caught two of the attackers on the first night, but the next night, the attackers were able to escape. No one was hurt in the attacks. |
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THE RETURN OF THE KAPOS
Posted by Marcel Cousineau, June 26, 2005. |
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Sunday June 26, 2005: the modern day Kapos of Israel arrested one of their own for speaking four words that threaten their evil plans. Speaking, even when it is not under the Fascist umbrella of 'incitement', is not permissable in Israel. The intimidation and fear tactics are improving against those unwilling to bow to the image, the imaginations of peace created in the minds of devils. The Image they refuse to bow to is the vision of the man of peace for his Palestinian State on expropriated Jewish land. They will not go willingly or silently. Soon U.S. Army General Ward will lead the charge against these 'extremist Jews' opposed to the peace of the Fourth Reich and who have the audacity to build homes on their land. They are considered the enemies of peace by the followers of Satan and his Road Map for Israel. The Islamic terrorists are encouraged and emboldened by their every word and act. You have to be under the spell of hell, not to see this. The New Jewish Kapo's work well and obediently for their masters in Washington. Kapo General Shimon Peres wants more weapons for the Palestinian Terrorist Authority. They are not killing enough Jews as of yet. (Exerpt from Haaretz) "Israel Radio reported that one of the soldiers, a member of the Engineering Corps, was arrested after shouting "Jews don't expel Jews" during the incident." Contact Marcel Cousineau by email at up2zionsg8@yahoo.com. |
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DISENGAGEMENT DISSENTERS SUBJECTED TO WORSENING PRISON CONDITIONS
Posted by Herb Sunshine, June 26, 2005. |
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Worsening of the prison conditions for the Jewish kids/adults still
jailed in the "anti-disengagement wing" of Masiyahu prison: Some very
disturbing news appeared in one of the mailings that the authorities,
due to their anger at their own inability to break the spirit of the
(mostly young) detainees, are acting to deliberately worsen their
conditions. Some of the steps taken include: limiting their time
outside their cells to 1-2 hours (during which they have to bathe,
make phone calls, etc.), cancellation of the "Beit Midrash Masiyahu",
a Torah study group for the prisoners, cancelling their right to pray
in a minyan except for Mon., Thurs. and Shabbat, and about 2 weeks ago
a group of young girls beings sent to a dungeon-like room in
isolation, and even sending to isolation those who complain about the
worsening conditions, and in general the increasingly brutal way the
authorities speak to the prisoners.
All of this, of course, in addition to not allowing the high school kids in Masiyahu to take their Bagrut exams. Two of the detainees are not even allowed to make calls home or to get visits from family. In another incident, the prison authorities entered the cell of a prisoner who has been there for about 2 months already, and using the excuse that they're conducting a "search", took away all of his Torah study material. In spite of all this abuse, the prisoners are doing their utmost to maintain their high morale and spirit. In addition to coming to the weekly Melave Malka across from Masiyahu to give support, the recommendation is to call the prison authorities and complain about the treatment these prisoners are receiving, especially as they have not been accused of anything (innocent till proven guilty) and that you will be publicizing this scandal and atrocity to the press and to any other outside source if the conditions are not corrected immediately. Recommended to make your points aggressively for 2-3 minutes (preferably in Hebrew). Complain also about the lack of freedom of religion (right to pray in a minyan, etc.). The idea is to get hundreds of people making phone calls to Masiyahu every day. Just be prepared to get hung up on. Don't answer any questions re your name, address etc. - just launch into immediately into your tirade. Recently the prison changed its phone numbers first publicized in the Hadoar Hakatom newsletter, due to the immense number of public pressure phone calls there as a result. Following is a list of the new phone numbers: FAX: 08-9776351 RECORDED MESSAGE: 08-9776716 LIST OF EXENSIONS Direct line - secretary - 08-9776700 secretary - 1 officer in charge of prisoners - 2 social worker - 3 officer in charge of education - 4 Personnel dept. - 5 registration officer - 6 officer in charge of release - 7 switchboard - 8 Please note the new phone number for the switchboard of "Honenu", the volunteer group of lawyers defending disengagement opponents - 159 950 4020. Herbert B. Sunshine is Professor of Law (US). He and his wife Miki live in Jerusalem. |
| GUSH KATIF |
OLEG CARTOON: STALIN AND SHARON
Posted by Women in Green, June 25, 2005. |
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Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org |
| GUSH KATIF |
NEW VICTIMS OF DISENGAGEMENT TERROR; POLICE AGENTS OR SINCERE OPPONENTS
TO DISENGAGEMENT?
Posted by Voice of Judea, June 25, 2005. |
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1. One dead, two injured - more disengagement peace After a week of bloody and fatal attacks in Israel, the Arabs have again launched an attack, this time, in the Southern Hevron Hills, near Beit Hagai. Avichai Levi, 17, was murdered in the attack, after Arab terrorists opened fire on a group of Jewish youth, standing near the bus stop. Several others were wounded in the attack. Another Jew was injured by an Arab sniper in the Shomron, near Haras village. Voice of Judea Commentary: Disengage by removing the hostile Arabs and not by expulsion of Jews. Stop the terror disengagement now! Vote in an independent emergency referendum. Throw our enemies out or our brothers vote now at http://www.mishal.org 2. Pollard lashes into PM Sharon In an interview published in Ma'ariv, June 24, 2005, Pollard lambasted Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government. Here are some choice excerpts: If the Prime Minister would invest in my case a fraction of what he has done to protect his sons from serving time in prison, I would be free long ago." Voice of Judea Commentary: Batia Medad wrote a powerful article that appears on Arutz Sheva.com. She addresses the Pollard issue in her article: Jonathan Pollard has been jailed for twenty years under the most severe conditions for following the terms of American-Israeli defense treaties, which the United States blatantly ignored. There is no precedent for such punishment. The documents he passed to Israel concerned her defense needs, which were included in treaties between the two countries. Not even the most serious espionage by spies from the USSR, during the Communist regime, received such severe punishment. Doesn't it make you wonder whom America considers friend and foe? 3. Labor corruption reaches all-time-record The Likud is smiling as more reports unravel the unprecedented extent of fraud and forgery in Labor party registration ballot forms. Labor is postponing their primaries until after the police and internal investigations are completed. Observers note that as many as 43 percent of the ballots may have been forged. 4. Right-wing extremists, police provocations or mainstream legal protest? It is hard for the average Israeli to make heads-or-tails of the news reports coming out of Maoz HaYam - the hotel compound in Gush Katif. The police claim that right-wing extremists in the compound attacked local Arabs and that the Jews might upset the delicate balance in the area, if they are not arrested or at least expelled from the Gaza Strip, prior to the disengagement. Two different messages seem to be emerging from the compound, said to be housing some 200 people. On the one hand, Nadia Matar and Jewish Gazan officials are claiming that the hotel inhabitants will do nothing more than legal and peaceful opposition to government eviction orders. However Itamar Ben Gvir and other former Kach activists there are threatening fierce resistance to any attempt at evicting them or other Jews from Gaza. Nadia Matar concludes a recent op-ed by writing: The use of force and violence, attacks against leading members of the government, shooting at soldiers and the like will only cause us harm. Sharon and Peres know this, and so they are undoubtedly cooking something up along these lines. Similarly, at a recent Bayit Leumi conference, Moshe Feiglin and Bayit Leumi leaders urged the jubilant crowd to be careful not to use any form of violence in the struggle to stop the surrender of Gaza and Northern Shomron, lest this hurt the image of the anti-disengagement camp. Organizers repeated that any protester who uses violence will be classified as a police informant provocateur. Voice of Judea Commentary: Listen closely! The use of violence or the use of more extreme tactics does not necessarily hurt the cause of those who use violence. The use of more extreme tactics does not make someone an informant or a provocateur either. After all, the Yesha Council, feels that Feiglin and Matar are hurting the cause by toting a harder line than that of the official "settlement" movement. If the rightwing moderates of the various persuasions truly believe their own rhetoric - which the disengagement will lead to, G-d forbid, thousands of attacks and fatalities, then why would they be so unsympathetic to some people who threaten the use of force to try and prevent that horror? If it is a question of tactics and an issue of what will be more effective, then who is to say that the fear of a bloodbath in the hotel would not serve as an effective deterrent to prevent the eviction? And who is to say that the average Israeli is not moved and shaken by the threat of violence? Maybe the simple guy in the street sees people willing to use force to stop the disengagement and says, "Hey maybe we need to rethink this, it may lead to bloodshed these people are serious, this is a serious issue." Let us remember that the left threatened armed resistance and civil war in the past, when the issue of Arab transfer was raised. For this reason, that suggestion has always been considered beyond the pale and unrealistic. If the extent of the struggle to stop Jewish expulsions stops at peaceful and passive civil disobedience, then this might explain why it is considered a practical, democratic decision to expel Jews from their homes. Yesha is entitled to lead a passive struggle with "pareve" messages. Manhigut Yehudit, Nadia Matar and Bayit Leumi are entitled to believe that "roadblocks" and peaceful civil disobedience are the way. And others are entitled to believe that they must make a more serious front to challenge the government. This does not make any of the above camps traitors, informants or enemies! 5. Dogs To The Rescue Of Jews In Gaza? In a moving letter sent from a woman living in "Shirat HaYam, Gaza, a woman resident thanks a Jewish canine unit for sending dogs to protect her vulnerable village. To HELP THE HAGEDUD HAIVRI SAVE LIVES IN ISRAEL. HELP THEM BUY, BREED AND TRAIN SPECIAL DOGS TO SNIFF OUT TERRORISTS. HELP THEM SUSTAIN THEIR VOLUNTEER HANDLERS AND COURSES. SEND A GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION TO
Arabs are stepping up attacks. Help save Jewish lives! 1000 DOLLARS SPONSORS A HANDLER AND DOG TRAINING AND GUARDING FOR ONE MONTH IN A VULNERABLE JEWISH TOWN. VISIT www.defendisrael.net Subscribe to Voice of Judea emails by sending an email request to jsid@dorsai.org |
Avichai Levi (Arutz-7)
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THE NATION DENIES FREE SPEECH FOR DERSHOWITZ
Posted by Steven Plaut, June 25, 2005. |
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This is called "The Nation Seeks to Deny Dershowitz Free Speech." The original is archived at http://moonbatcentral.com/wordpress/?p=601 It is always a matter of great amusement to see Far-Leftist moonbats, those who support all the anti-American dictatorships on the planet, whine about the "suppression of free speech" whenever a non-leftist criticizes them. And it is particularly amusing to see the The Nation whine when Alan Dershowitz dares to utilize his own freedom of speech. Jon Wiener, writing in this week's issue of The Nation, can't control his bladder due to his outrage over the fact that Dersh wrote to the Governor of California, yep - to the Ahnold Himself - to suggest that the state-owned and state-financed publication house of the University of California NOT publish a book by Norman Finkelstein. Finkelstein is an anti-Semitic crackpot who has been described by the Anti-Defamation League as a Holocaust Denier. Employed by DePaul University as an assistant professor in political science, Finkelstein regards Holocaust Denier and neonazi David Irving to be a great historian. Yes, that is the same DePaul University that fired Professor Thomas Klocek for daring to defend Israel in front of some campus jihadniks. Finkelstein, when he is not bashing and libeling author/philosopher Elie Wiesel and other people for daring to be survivors of the same Holocaust that his mentor David Irving claims never took place, saves special spleen for attacking Dershowitz for daring to support Israel. Finkelstein wants Israel to be destroyed so that the world can have a second Holocaust of the Jews that Finkelstein can claim never took place. The distinguished historian Omer Bartov from Brown University compared Finkelstein's scribblings to the old czarist forgery "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". Our guess is that "The Nation" interpreted that as a compliment for Finkelstein. The Ahnold's people turned Dersh down. Now while we suppose that even crackpots like Finkelstein are entitled to the protections of free speech, we see no reason why the innocent taxpayers of California should be raped into paying for the proliferation of Finkelstein's filth. Finkelstein can get all the "free speech" he wants on the pages of "The Nation" and "Counterpunch," as well as the many neonazi web sites who adore him. Dershowitz has invested considerable energy in exposing Finkelstein as a neonazi buffoon. The main reason for Dershowitz's letter to the Governor seems to be that Finkelstein libels him in the "book" in question. Finkelstein has been claiming that Dershowitz plagiarized some material from another writer, Joan Peters's From Time Immemorial. He did not. Wiener writes in The Nation: "The body of Beyond Chutzpah shows Finkelstein to be an indefatigable researcher with a forensic ability to take apart other people's arguments. The core of the book challenges Dershowitz's defense of Israel's human rights record by citing the findings of mainstream groups, including Amnesty International, the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem and Human Rights Watch." In other words, Finkelstein quotes from other discredited Bash-Israel propagandists to prove his "case" against Israel and against Dershowitz. Why not quote from Ward Churchill and Noam Chomsky to prove that America is the aggressor against Islamic terrorists? The main claim of Wiener and Finkelstein against Israel? "Since then Israel has killed three Palestinians for every Israeli killed." Of course, since the Americans killed far more Germans and Japanese in World War II than the numbers of Americans killed by those two countries, then the dimwitted duo no doubt regard the Americans as the real oppressors and criminals in THAT war! "The Nation" had earlier run a sycophatic piece praising Finkelstein's scribblings and comparing Finkelstein ethically to the Prophets of the Bible, written by an anti-Semitic lecturer from Ben Gurion University in Israel named Neve Gordon. Wiener tries to justify his endorsement of Finkelstein by repeating endorsements of him by extremist anti-Israel self-hating Jewish leftists, as if such endorsements strengthe Wiener's case rather than in fact helping prove how anti-Semitic Finkelstein is. Wiener also repeats some fabricated citations that have been falsely attributed to historian Raul Hilberg, as if he endorses Finkelstein's writings, and also some actual citations taken out of context in which Hilberg expresses some limited agreement with some minor points that Finkelstein has made. This sort of selective citation to make it seem that Hilberg endorses Finkelstein's Holocaust Denial would get Wiener an F in any serious history course. It is all well and good that "The Nation" wishes to defend the free speech of Holocaust Deniers and promote their point of view in the magazine, but why are they not willing to extend that same right of free speech to Dershowitz and allow him to express his opinion to the Governor of California? 2. "Trent University's Self-Hating Moonbat" is archived at http://moonbatcentral.com/wordpress/?p=596 We figured it was only natural for the Cockburn team to have recruited Michael Neumann as a Counterpunch Cockroach. Neumann is one of the worst bashers of Israel in Canadian "academics" and he is a devoted member of the Cockburn Cult, which believes that just because some people think that all Jews should be murdered is no reason to label them anti-Semites. Neumann dutifully turns out pro-anti-Semitism pieces that have appeared in Counterpunch. Like the Cockburns, he regards Americans and Israelis as barbarians. His most memorable comment was: "I think we should almost never take antisemitism seriously, and maybe we should have some fun with it." This was followed by: "Israel has committed war crimes. It has implicated Jews generally in these crimes, and Jews generally have hastened to implicate themselves. This has provoked hatred against Jews. Why not? Some of this hatred is racist, some isn't, but who cares? Why should we pay any attention to this issue at all?" Ernst Zundel seems to have an academic follower north of the border! The Canadian Jewish Congress wrote a letter of complaint to Neumann's employer, Trent University, about his naked anti-Semitism. As the matter attracted greater attention, Neumann repudiated the statement (without denying its authenticity), then apologized to the CJC. Neumann proudly proclaims himself a follower of the Swedish nazi who sometimes calls himself "Israel Shamir". Neumann is a Jew-hating professor of Jewish extraction, just what the Cockburns love. He teaches "philosophy" at Trent University in Canada. He is also a close associate of "Rabbi" Moonbat, Mikey Lerner, the editor of Tikkun magazine. We keep expecting the Tikkun people to discovery one of these days that socialism does not work and so to change the name of their trashy little magazine to "Tycoon" instead. Anyways, Neumann's new contribution to the Moonbatmosphere is a piece this weekend in Counterpunch in which he bemoans the failues of the Left. We thought his most laughable line was this: "Since the 1960s, most of the silliness and snobbishness of the left has vanished: nowadays leftists tend to avoid jargon and don't carry on like a Che Guevara Mini-Me." We suspect he is talking about a Left in some parallel galaxy. He does accidentally get a couple of things right: "Given its current message, the left has no plausible way to address these patriots: in fact the left's message gives them reason to support the war effort." We agree entirely. Last year Jonathan Kay from Canada's National Post did a superb job of "outing" the jihadnik from Trent. Here are a few citations: Since the Al-Aqsa intifada broke out in 2000, hard-left academics and activists have sometimes blurred the distinction between hatred of Israeli policies and hatred of Jews. To excuse suicide bombings as a legitimate option of the "oppressed" (so long as the victims are Jewish), to recycle the lies of Jenin and other modern-day blood libels, to demonize Israel as "genocidal" while ignoring the far worse calamities in Chechnya, Sudan, Algeria and elsewhere - all these tactics reflect a mindset that many Jews find indistinguishable from plain bigotry. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. |
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MADRASSA TEACHER CALLS CHILD RAPE VICTIM A JEW
Posted by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, June 25, 2005. |
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My Dear Friend, Brothers And Sisters! I am extremely shocked and annoyed to send you all the following news, which appeared in local daily today. Please read this news and kindly let me know your reactions. Moreover, as peace-loving person, please spread this news to others, so that the world will know the 'world' we are living in here. Please excuse me for being so much emotional and angry. Yours ... Shoaib The Madrassa Teachers Committee in Banshkhali, Chittagong, eastern port city in Bangladesh, made nasty attempt to save rapist madrassa teacher Abdus Sattar. Principal of the madrassa, Mufti Feroze declared the victim's family as 'Jews', reports vernacular national daily Shamakal. In this connection Public Prosecutor (PP) of Women & Children Repression Court, Mohammad Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan expressed his anger saying that, "rapist remains Muslim while the rape victim innocent child's family became Jews by the fatwa of the radical clerics". Rapist Moulvi Abdus Sattar surrendered before the court on Thursday. His bail prayer was rejected by Hassan Shahid Dawood, judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal No. 1, and send the Moulvi to jail. On 18th June, first year (preliminary) pupil of 'Jami'a Millia Azizia Quasemul Ulum & Orphanage' was victim of barbaric sexual abuse by it's teacher Abdus Sattar. Mother of the child, being panicked observing continuous bleeding of her daughter, took her to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for a check-up. Doctors at CMH, after check-ups, informed the mother "your daughter has been raped". The victim's father, a member of the armed formes, on receiving urgent phone call from CMH, rushed for Chittagong from Dhaka cantonment. Next day, the mother of the victim took the child to the madrassa along with other local people for the child to identify the rapist. The victim showed the Moulana (teacher) pointing her finger towards him. The father of the victim immediately fainted and collapsed on the bed in for the teacher. Principal of the madrassa, Mufti Feroze told everyone present, "lets see what happened". Taking his chance, rapist Abdus Sattar fled the place. In the evening, a public meeting was organized by the madrassa committee. In the meeting, all the teachers of the committee said - "it is all a conspiracy against Islam by the Jews. This family is Jew, and they are liars". Father of the victim child burst in tears and prayed 'Let me speak! My daughter is like your daughter too. Please do not label any false blame on us to give chance to the culprit to escape the charges". Madrassa authority mislead the masses. As revenge they also expelled two brothers of the victim, student of the same madrassa namely Rokonuddin and Tamim. The local civil and police administration are seen reluctant to take actions as the family of the victim were termed as Jews by the radical clerics. The writer is a journalist, columnist, author, amd editor of "Weekly Blitz". Email him at salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com |
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IRRELEVANT VISIONS
Posted by Yrachmiel Elias, June 25, 2005. |
Professor Ya'acov (Jack) Golbert writes about Caroline Glick's
article, which appeared today in the Jerusalem Post:
This is truly one of her best and one of her most important. Please read it carefully and think what it means. The Israeli government is baring the country's throat to the Arabs. If Glick understands that, be sure that the generals in the government also understand it. They are not stupid. They are evil. Israel is desperately in need of regime change. Help us bring this system down and institute a democracy! During his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Rice that the PA had ceased all incitement activities against Israel. Yet on the same day that they met, the PA's official news service WAFA "reported" that Israelis were sending hordes of wild pigs to Palestinian villages around Hawarah village in the Nablus district to attack them and destroy their fields. The PA's official news service even interviewed Hawarah Mayor Mansour Dmaidi, who backed these ludicrous and incendiary statements. It is not surprising that Abbas brazenly lied to Rice about PA-sponsored incitement against Israel. After all, he lied to her about everything else. Most importantly, Abbas told Rice that he is opposed to terrorism. And yet, Abbas fervently supports terrorism. Abbas complained to Rice - as he complains to anyone who will listen - that Israel's actions to defend its citizens against terrorism make it impossible for him to fight terrorists. This is a logically unsupportable statement. If Abbas opposes terrorism, then he should support Israel's counterterrorist operations. Aside from this, the prescriptions for Israeli action which Abbas sets forth on a daily basis are all aimed at strengthening rather than weakening terrorists. These steps include the release of terrorists from Israeli jails; the elimination of roadblocks meant to intercept terrorists on their way to bombing missions, as happened yet again this week at Hawarah; the re-arming of the Palestinian security services to which he is systematically enlisting terrorists; and a cessation of counterterror operations against all terrorists - to name just a few. There are two theories running now about the proper interpretation of Abbas's actions. The first is that Abbas is too weak to do anything to end terrorism and has consequently decided to embrace the various groups in the hope that in so doing, they will not assassinate him. The other is that Abbas feigns weakness in order to justify his lack of action against the terrorists who he, like Arafat before him, supports. In either case, the fact remains, due to weakness or guile, through word and deed Abbas has made it absolutely clear that he has no interest in doing anything against terrorists. The US, like Israel, has taken great pains to distinguish Abbas's party, Fatah, from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We are told that Fatah is secular and pro-peace with Israel, while Hamas and Islamic Jihad are Islamist and wish to destroy Israel. And yet, the day after Rice left Israel, IDF troops intercepted 21-year-old Wafa Samir Ibrahim at Erez checkpoint in Gaza en route to carrying out a suicide bombing at Soroka Hospital, where she was scheduled to receive treatment for burns she had sustained while cooking last year. Interviewed that evening by Channel 10, Ibrahim announced proudly that she belonged to Fatah and that she wanted to follow the will of Allah by killing Israeli medical personnel and patients. When the Israeli interviewer asked her how she could want to carry out a suicide bombing when Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) has stated that he opposes them, she looked at him blankly and said, "Abu Mazen opposes them? I haven't heard Abu Mazen say that." And yet, rather than withdraw US support for Abbas as a result of his blatant failure to deliver on even the smallest American expectation from him, during her visit over the weekend, Rice simply shored up US support for him. Rice supports continued Israeli security "gestures" to Abbas, like the release of further prisoners. This, even as the night before she arrived, the IDF arrested Rami Muhammad Hassan Kandil in Jenin. Kandil, a member of Islamic Jihad who was among the 900 terrorists recently released from prison by Israel in order to "strengthen" Abbas, was planning to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel. Rice also supports the transfer of security authority over additional cities to the PA even as Nablus, Tulkarm and Jericho have been used as safe havens, weapons development camps and terror training centers by Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad cells from the moment the IDF relinquished control over them to PA security forces. As the armed attack on PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei by Fatah gunmen in Nablus Wednesday showed, Abbas's claim to have disarmed the terrorists is just another lie. The reason for Rice's insistent support for Abbas is clear. The US, in committing itself to President George W. Bush's "vision" of the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and perhaps Jerusalem, has mortgaged its entire Middle East policy to a "solution" of the Palestinian conflict with Israel that has no relation whatsoever to the realities on the ground. The reality on the ground is that Palestinian society is unified by a dedication to the destruction of Israel, not the establishment of a Palestinian state. Abbas is a reflection of his society. In backing Abbas, the US is not shoring up a weak leader who wants a different future for the Palestinians. The US is backing one Palestinian terrorist organization - Fatah - against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Yet since Fatah coexists harmoniously with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, by backing Fatah, the US is effectively backing all Palestinian terror groups. That is, the US commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as quickly as possible simply blocks its path from developing any strategy for actually addressing the true reality on the ground. And at the same time, by calling for Israeli "confidence-building measures" to strengthen Abbas, the US is effectively weakening its ally. ONE CANNOT be too harsh with the Americans for acting on their delusions since the policies of Israel's own government are even more hallucinatory - and dangerous. This week it was announced that during his visit with Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, Vice Premier Shimon Peres reached an agreement on the deployment of 750-800 Egyptian mechanized infantry forces to the Philadelphi Route, which links Gaza to the Sinai. We were told that Israel has not agreed to the Egyptian demand to deploy a force of 5,000 soldiers along Israel's border with Egypt from Kerem Shalom to Eilat. Nor has it agreed to Egypt's demand to be allowed to deploy attack helicopters, arm its infantry forces with antitank missiles and heavy guns or anchor missile boats at El-Arish. Thursday morning a senior diplomatic source told Israel Radio that the decision not to accede to Egypt's demands is not due to the government's objection to the cancellation of the agreement to demilitarize the Sinai, which was signed together with the peace treaty in 1979. Rather, the government wants to avoid acceding to the Knesset's demand that any substantive change to the 1979 treaty - and a cancellation of the demilitarization agreement certainly constitutes a "substantive" change - must first receive Knesset approval. The prime minister knows that there is no way that he would receive majority support for enabling the deployment of the Egyptian military, which Yuval Steinitz, the chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, notes "has been training for war against Israel for the past 10 years" along the border. And so, in a bid to prevent Knesset oversight, Peres and Sharon have limited their agreement with Mubarak to the Gaza-Sinai border - although according to the committee's legal adviser, this too is a substantive change in the agreement. Yet, a senior security source close to the discussions with the Egyptians told me that in fact, Peres did not reject Mubarak's demands. He accepted them. According to the source, "Peres explained to Mubarak that the Knesset won't approve the agreement now, but that next year, after the withdrawal from Gaza, if Egypt renews its demand, Israel will accept it." In responding to Rice's demands that it coordinate the withdrawal with the Palestinians, Israel has gone back on its previous demand to retain control of the international crossing points to Gaza. Gaza's land passage to Egypt - from which 90 percent of the arms smuggled into the PA emanate - will be controlled by the Egyptians and the Palestinians. The Palestinians will be allowed to build and control a seaport and reopen their airport in Gaza. In addition, Israel has agreed to link Judea and Gaza with either a railroad or a dedicated highway and to ease restrictions on Palestinian entry into Israel. In transferring control over the international borders to the Palestinians, the government, in time of war, is effectively enabling - indeed inviting - the rapid transformation of the Gaza Strip into a center of global terrorism. In agreeing to link Judea and Gaza, Israel is building the Palestinians' supply lines from a post-withdrawal, arms-flooded Gaza to their new center of effort in Judea and Samaria. In empowering the Egyptians, Israel has agreed to enable the largest, strongest and most overtly hostile Arab military force to perch itself on its border. The collapse of Israeli defense rationality inherent in these moves can only be described as horrific. In acting thus, Israel is behaving similarly to the Bush administration. If Palestinian statehood is Washington's irrelevant solution to the irrelevant problem of lack of Palestinian sovereignty, empowering a hostile Egypt and transferring Gaza to Abbas is Israel's irrelevant solution to the irrelevant problem of what Vice Premier Ehud Olmert referred to in an interview with The Jerusalem Post Thursday as the "lack of political progress" toward peace. The "lack of political progress" toward peace is irrelevant because the Palestinians are still actively involved in fighting a terror war against Israel. If either Washington or Jerusalem were willing to base their policies on reality rather than "visions," they would both come up with multiple options for fighting Palestinian terrorism and transforming Palestinian society. In so doing both would be making a great contribution to the cause of democracy and counterterrorism throughout the Arab world. But since both are committed to "solutions" that have no connection to the real world, the steps they adopt to achieve their goals are both counter-productive and dangerous. Yrachmiel Elias and Jack Golbert are cofounders of Netzah Yisrael (www.netzahyisrael.org). |
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A LETTER AND RESPONSUM FROM RAV MORDECHAI ELIYAHU TO THE RESIDENTS OF YESHA
Posted by Evelyn Hayes, June 24, 2005. |
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A Letter to the Residents of Yesha
To our brethren residing in Yesha - valiant heroes who obey His word, actively settling the expanses of the land of our forefathers in Gush Katif - may your welfare forever flourish! My aim in this letter is to support you in the face of the terrible moral injustice in the intention to evacuate settlements and expel Jews from their homes - this shall not happen! There is no more moral act that the renaissance enterprise of the nation that has returned to its land after a lengthy exile, where you fulfill the positive commandment of settling the land of Israel, and there is no greater moral injustice than the attempt to torture your souls with threats of expulsion and abandonment of the land of your forefathers. By virtue of the same moral basis, we must not create disunity amongst the public and the heroes of our army; we do not believe in refusing orders on principle. The soldiers who will be told to carry out the crime, will answer: "I cannot." And if they are forced to do so, they shall sit on the floor and weep with the family that others wish to expel from their home. It is our obligation to protest against this terrible moral injustice. And to those who block the roads - this should be done only on condition that alternative routes exist. We shall not block a road when there is no alternative route, and we shall not thereby, G-d forbid, come to endanger human life. He Who knows all the generations from the start, Who answered Avraham, our forefather, at Mount Moriah - He will answer us, and bring our merit to light, and no-one will halt the Divine path of the endeavor of the national awakening of the nation of Israel that has returned to its land. 9th Sivan 5765
The Rabbis of Gush Katif and others G-d be with you, Re: Response to your questions At the meeting which took place today, you posed some practical questions. Most of the questions concerned the letter that I sent last week. The following are the questions and the answers: Is the [Jewish] settlement of [the areas of] Gush Katif and the northern Shomron included in the commandment of settling Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel)? Settlement in Gush Katif and in the northern Shomron falls into the realm of the commandment of settling the land in a most glorious manner and according to Torah law itself. It is these inhabitants whom the prophet Yirmiyahu [Jeremiah] describes in the following verses: "Go and call out to Jerusalem, saying, So says God: I remember in your favor the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, when you walked after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel is holy to G-d; the first fruits of His produce. All that devour him [Israel] shall be held guilty, evil shall come upon them, says G-d." Land that was not inhabited at all - you inhabited. You planted and sowed. Happy are you! When the Rav declares, and writes, "It shall not be!" - is this a prayer or the reality? "It shall not be!" is both a prayer and the reality. We pray that this evil intention shall be nullified, and we are certain that the prayer will help and that the government's evil decision will be cancelled. We must reinforce our prayers to the Creator of the universe as strongly as we can, that He should cancel this sinful act of expelling Jews from holy ground. I have been asked whether one may rely upon what the Rav [Rav Mordechai Eliyahu] has said, and move to Gush Katif? The move of any family to Gush Katif strengthens both the residents and the faith in G-d's promise to our holy forefathers, "I shall give this land to your descendants". It benefits Am Yisrael in real terms. People in Gush Katif are building homes, out of faith. Many farmers are planting trees and sowing seeds in hothouses, with the harvest due to take place after the date set by the government for the evacuation of Gush Katif. We have been asked by residents whether they should continue investing money in building, sowing and planting. Yes. Certainly. There is great value in these actions, which express faith in the Creator of the universe. I have already said several times - and I repeat here - that I promise to come and attend the redemption of the fruits and grapes of the fourth year, with G-d's help. "For G-d will not abandon His nation, nor shall He leave His inheritance." (Tehillim 94) Should a farmer prepare himself an alternative source of livelihood based on one's obligation to invest personal effort for the sake of one's sustenance? A person fulfills his obligation towards his household concerning sustenance by investing in settlement and agriculture in Gush Katif. Sustenance is in the hands of the blessed G-d. Involvement in alternative sources of livelihood may weaken the spirit and harm the farmer's resilience, the resilience of the community as a whole, and also, thereby, their livelihood. Those who support the expulsion interpreted the Rav's words, as broadcast on television, to mean that people should prepare themselves practically, and pack their belongings, for "the lot has fallen", and "the decree has been decreed". Is this what the Rav meant? No "lot has fallen", and no "decree has been decreed". I repeat that we believe with complete faith that the prayer of each one of us - and certainly of all of us together - will cancel the government's evil decree. Therefore, people should neither pack up nor perform any act that weakens the settlement or the residents, who have faced thousands of explosions that have been fired at them with great courage; who have courageously faced people trying to weaken them - thank G-d, without success. Thank G-d we are meriting to see the miracles that the Holy One performs for us; the Holy One loves us with an eternal love, and He protects us like an eagle protects its young. An officer in the permanent forces, or a policeman who makes his living from that [occupation] - must he resign from the I.D.F. or the police force in order to avoid carrying out the prohibited act? "It shall not be" - this is a prayer and the reality. This is the principle according to which life should be conducted. It is impossible to win out of despair. "Retreat brings defeat". Therefore, the personnel of the security forces need not resign in advance for fear that the expulsion will be carried out. They should inform their commanding officers that they are unable to expel Jews, and request exemption from training drills leading up to the expulsion. Is it permissible for volunteers in the civil defense, etc., to aid the expulsion, either directly or indirectly? There is definitely no license at all to volunteer to participate in this criminal deed, which is also prohibited by the Torah. A soldier in the reserves who is called up for reserve service, and who - by mobilizing - contributes to and advances, directly or indirectly, the expulsion order: is he obligated to try and obtain an exemption from reserve duty? I will answer you although I believe that it will not happen, with G-d's help. As to the question itself: since in any case many people are exempted from reserve duty owing to reasons that are unimportant, it is certain that in order to prevent such a criminal deed he must request an exemption from reserve duty and not aid either directly or indirectly. If his request is denied and he is threatened with imprisonment, must he participate in the expulsion order? We have said already that this is a biblical prohibition. Therefore the soldier must tell his commanding officer, "I am not refusing orders, but I cannot carry out this order." And if he sits in jail because of this statement - it is [counted as] a merit to him, and he is fortunate for being caught for observing the words of the Torah. What, then, does the Rav mean when he says not to refuse orders on principle? We do not wish to take apart the army that protects the lives of [the country's] inhabitants and citizens. Therefore, we do not declare our refusal to obey orders. We simply stand helplessly and say, "We can't do it." If a soldier in the regular forces receives an order to remove a Jew from his home, what should he do? The soldier must say, "I can't". If they force him to perform this forbidden act, he should go into the family's home, sit on the floor, weep together with them, and [thereby] avoid transgressing the prohibition by "sitting by and not performing it". I was asked by the owner of a civilian company whether he could sign a deal involving works related to the expulsion. It is forbidden to try to profit from the distress of others. One who does this will not see any yield! Is it proper not to contract the services of a company that is participating in the expulsion of Jews? One should not aid people who are committing a transgression. Is protest in the form of blocking roads, as undertaken by port workers, taxi drivers, and others, also permissible against the expulsion of Jews We must increase "causeless love", not "causeless hatred". On the other hand, there is an obligation to protest against the proposed expulsion. Therefore I repeat what I published in the letter: "It is permissible to block roads only where there is an alternative route". Should action be taken against a resident who has signed a contract with the "Expulsion Authority"? Action should be taken for the unity of the camp. [.] He should be persuaded with pleasantness, to bring him back to the general camp. In summary: everything should be done for the sake of the unity of Am Yisrael. Let us continue to pray that the decree of expulsion be annulled. In any event, we must avoid using force or lifting a hand against each other - neither against a soldier, nor against a resident. I conclude with a blessing for the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Amos: "I shall bring back the captivity of My nation, Israel, and they
shall rebuild desolate cities and inhabit them, and they shall plant
vineyards and drink their wine, and plant gardents and eat their
fruit. And I shall plant them upon their land and they shall not be
plucked any more from their land which I have given to them, says the
Lord your G-d". So may it be His will, Amen.
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.
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IMPACT US POLICY. HELP PASS THE SAUDI ARABIA ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2005
Posted by Unity Coalition for Israel, June 24, 2005. |
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This URGENT ACTION ALERT supports an extremely important legislative bill sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter, with six other Senators as co-sponsors. Called the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005 - S. 1171 is probably the most significant bill on terrorism yet and deserves to receive unanimous endorsement from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it now resides. To quote the Weekly Standard of June 7th, "The bill's text stands as an indictment of Saudi Arabia, an inventory of evidence against the role of its rulers in enabling terrorism. The Council on Foreign Relations concluded almost three years ago that Saudi Arabia is the main source of al-Qaeda backing and that Saudi officials have refused to take serious action to end it. David Aufhauser, former general counsel of the Treasury Department, called the Saudi state the "epicenter" of global terror financing. The Saudis have also subsidized half the annual budget of Hamas. The bill provides for sanctions, including a bar on exporting special military technology to the kingdom and restriction on travel by Saudi diplomats in the U.S." Your response to this ACTION ALERT will request that your Senator sign on to this critically urgent bill. URGENT ACTION ALERT to Impact US Policy CLICK HERE to send the following message to your Senators, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President Bush, Prime Minister Sharon. Please change the wording if you would like to personalize it. It is much more effective if you paraphrase the letter, using your own wording. If your Senator has already co-sponsored the Bill, please add a "thank you" note to your message expressing your appreciation. Dear Senator, SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION "The Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005" by Stephen Schwartz. On June 7, Sen. Arlen Specter introduced the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005 - S. 1171, with cosponsors Sens. Evan Bayh, Susan Collins, Tim Johnson, Patty Murray, Russ Feingold, and Ron Wyden. New cosponsors are Sens. Jon Corzine, Frank Lautenberg, and Debbie Stabenow. The bill's text stands as an indictment of Saudi Arabia, an inventory of evidence against the role of its rulers in enabling terrorism. The Council on Foreign Relations concluded almost three years ago that Saudi Arabia is the main source of al-Qaeda backing and that Saudi officials have refused to take serious action to end it. David Aufhauser, former general counsel of the Treasury Department, called the Saudi state the "epicenter" of global terror financing. The Saudis have also subsidized half the annual budget of Hamas. The bill provides for sanctions, including a bar on exporting special military technology to the kingdom and restriction on travel by Saudi diplomats in the U.S. (Weekly Standard)
CLICK HERE to read the full text of S. 1171, sponsored by Sen.
Arlen Specter (R-PA) and co-sponsored by Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Susan
Collins (R-ME), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Patty Murray (D-WA), Russ Feingold
(D-WI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
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!"
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| GUSH KATIF |
TRANSLATION OF ATTORNEY GENERAL MAZUZ'S WARNING OF TOTAL ANARCHY
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, June 25, 2005. |
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This is a news item from Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com. It is archived at www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=84497 It is really important to translate this into standard language. Mazuz: "I am scared stiff. There is a very good chance all Hell is going to break loose in the near future and I am a very big target for revenge for a lot of potentially dangerous people. Not to mention that there is a good chance that the bigger crooks will use me as a scapegoat. Therefor, I had better start making nice, convincing conciliatory noises very fast." (IsraelNN.com) Attorney General Menachem Mazuz warns of total anarchy as a result of the implementation of the Gaza/Shomron Disengagement Plan. In an interview with the weekly Makor Rishon newspaper, Mazuz expresses his fears of disorder reaching uncontrollable proportions. Mazuz added that he understands the feeling of Yesha (Judea, Samaria & Gaza) residents, "whose entire world is being destroyed," adding one cannot expect their opposition to be limited to symbolic ineffective actions. The attorney general adds he is certain that the opposition will reach difficult stages, and this is unavoidable, and therefore he will exhibit understanding and tolerance wherever and whenever possible. The attorney general rejected allegations that his appointment was to "safeguard" Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's standing and to ensure the disengagement is carried out. 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. |
| GUSH KATIF |
TERROR AND MURDER IN THE SOUTH HEBRON HILLS
Posted by Hebron Community, June 24, 2005. |