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THE WESTERN WALL
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, November 15, 2005. |
Mordechai Ben-Menachem is a Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva. Contact him at quality@acm.org |
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THE STRANGE CASE OF CUT DOWN OLIVE TREES THAT WERE NOT CUT DOWN
Posted by David Meir-Levi, November 30, 2005. |
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In December, "Spotlight on the Middle East" will air a program devoted to "Pallywood" (the palestinian authority version of Hollywood), where pure fiction and professional actors combine to create faux-news that the western world thinks is real. Israel is accused, demonized, condemned in every "pallywood" scene. Israeli soldiers (actually PA actors in Israeli uniforms) are "caught" on film by French and PA cameramen as they perpetrate "horrific human rights violations" against poor palestinians. and western viewers think that the staged events are real news because our western journalists, photojournalists, and editors never bother (or care?) to check the sources. The airing schedule for our december show will be available in a few days; meanwhile, read the article below. "Pallywood" is not just the domain of the PA. PeaceNow seems to have bought into it as well. The endless stories of the horror of IDF annihilation of whole olive groves....may be more of "Pallywood" (at least in some, many?, cases) as properly pruned and tended trees provide fodder for the mendacious cameramen who use the pruned trees as props for anti-israel accusations. It is really hard for us (at least me) to come to grips with the bona fide evidence (as summarized in our TV show and exemplified below) that news from PA sources, even via respected western journalists, may be all or in part just pure fiction. This was written by Hillel Fendel, Senior Editor at Arutz-Sheva, www.IsraelNN.com. It is called "Tree-Cutting "Libel" - Once Again, Jews Stand Accused." It appeared on November 28,2005. Once again, reports that Jewish settlers cut down Arab-owned olive trees are suspected to be a "left-wing provocation" against the Jews of Judea and Samaria. It was widely reported Sunday, in the name of Arab sources in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, that Jewish settlers from the Shomron had chopped down 200 olive trees owned by Arabs. The Ynet site, for instance, wrote, "Palestinian sources reported that settlers from an outpost near Elon Moreh had cut down" the trees. The reports were immediately followed by condemnations of the Jewish population in the Shomron and Israel's rule there. The extremist left-wing organization "Peace Now" released a statement saying that the incident was a direct result of the lack of law enforcement in the areas and the continuing "problem of the [Jewish] outposts." However, the Yesha Council looked into the matter and said that though "we condemn all violence, including harming Palestinian property," it had found that the incident was apparently a provocation staged by extreme left-wing activists who "wish to sully their Jewish brothers, while at the same time extending their hand to terrorists." The residents of Elon Moreh, in a statement, "wish to emphasize that we have no connection with this incident, which is based on the testimony of a single Arab." A widely-published AP photo of an Arab woman weeping and embracing an allegedly chopped-down tree (similar photos were taken by Reuters, AFP, and others] shows that the trunk is intact, and that only the top branches are cut off - as if it had been purposely pruned. In fact, the Haifa-based Land of Israel Task Force says that this is exactly what happened. "The left-wingers and Arabs pulled the same trick last year," Task Force head Aviad Visuly said, "and using the same method." Photos of the trees show that the branches were sawed off in a manner that is beneficial to the trees. "Why would vandals bother sawing off each individual branch? Wouldn't they just cut down the trunk?" The branches begin growing back 2-3 months after they are cut, and grow to full size within two years. "In the meanwhile," Visuly said, "the orchard owners receive stipends from the Saudis, via the PA." Visuly said that left-wing activists look for trees that have been pruned, and then blame the Jews for cutting them. "They have even admitted to the police that they do this," he said, "such as in the case of Ein Avus near Hawara [south of Shechem]. In that incident, they blamed the people of [nearby] Yitzhar, because Yitzhar was a convenient media target. Two Jews were arrested for five days and were then released with no charges whatsoever. Today, it's convenient for them to accuse the people of Elon Moreh. If the police had an investigator who was half-fair, he would throw the case out." Two years ago, a similar story on Arutz-7 began as follows: "It led to anti-settler headlines, international embarrassment for the State of Israel, condemnations, and apologetics - and yet it all may have been one big bluff, or worse." At the time, international media reported as fact that Jews had destroyed the Arab trees, and President Katzav and Prime Minister Sharon issued statements implying that the Jews were responsible. Even the Yesha Council said that the tree-cutting had "defamed the entire sector of Jews living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza." What went under-reported was that the police began to suspect that left-wing Israelis and Arabs were behind the incident. The police even asked Rabbi Arik Asherman of the Reform Movement and an Arab who filed charges against Jewish Yesha residents to submit to lie-detector tests - but it was reported at the time that the two had refused. A Jewish National Fund expert brought in by the police concluded that no lasting damage was done to the trees, and that the tree-cutters did not "cut down" the trees, but rather "pruned" them. David Meir-Levi is an American-born Israeli, currently living in Palo Alto. His expertise is in Near Eastern studies and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is Director of Peace and Education at Israel Peace Initiative (www.ipi-usa.org). Contact him at david_meirlevi@hotmail.com |
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A LIFE AND DEATH MESSAGE
Posted by Ken Heller, November 30, 2005. |
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The author of this article is Chinese-American General Dr. Vernon Chong, surgeon, Headquarters US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, now a retired Air Force surgeon. Professor Paul Eidelberg (eidelberg@foundation1.org), who is President of the Foundation For Constitutional Democracy, wrote this about Chong's article: The primary weakness of Israel's political, judicial, and intellectual elites is that they cannot take Islam's religious commitment to Israel's destruction seriously. This is why I am forwarding the message below. When reading this message, think of Sharon and Peres and the one hundred and more other Knesset members that belong to the "cult of peace." Think of the suicidal rulings of Chief Justice Aharon Barak that favor Arab terrorists. Think of the legions of academics that do not see that Israel's Arab enemies are, in certain respects, worse than Nazis, hence, that to negotiate with the former is no less reckless than it was to negotiate with the latter. And while reading the message below, think of all the newspaper editors and journalists that supported the "Disengagement Plan". Clearly, Israel is being undermined by what Lenin called "useful idiots". This War Is For Real! To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII). The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means. First, let's examine a few basics: 1. When did the threat to us start? Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far as the United States is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the following attacks on us: * Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979; (Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide). 2. Why were we attacked? Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms... 3. Who were the attackers? In each case, the attacks on the US were carried out by Muslims. 4. What is the Muslim population of the World? 25%. 5. Isn't the Muslim Religion peaceful? Hopefully, but that is really not material. There is no doubt that the predominately Christian population of Germany was peaceful, but under the dictatorial leadership of Hitler (who was also Christian), that made no difference. You either went along with the administration or you were eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million Christians killed by the Nazis for political reasons... Thus, almost the same number of Christians were killed by the Nazis, as the six million holocaust Jews who were killed by them, and we seldom heard of anything other than the Jewish atrocities. Although Hitler kept the world focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing anyone who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of taking over the world - German, Christian or any others. Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the world on the US, but kill all in the way -- their own people or the Spanish, French or anyone else. The point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many peaceful Muslims there may be, they are no protection for us from the terrorist Muslim leaders and what they are fanatically bent on doing -- by their own pronouncements -- killing all of us "infidels. " I don't blame the peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut up or die? 6. So who are we at war with? There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other
than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid
verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win
if you don't clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.
So with that background, now to the two major questions: 1. Can we lose this war? If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions. We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question - What does losing mean? It would appear that a great many of us think that losing the war means hanging our heads, bringing the troops home and going on about our business, like post Vietnam. This is as far from the truth as one can get. What losing really means is: We would no longer be the premier country in the world. The attacks will not subside, but rather will steadily increase. Remember, they want us dead, not just quiet... The plan was clearly, for terrorist to attack us, until we were neutered and submissive to them. We would of course have no future support from other nations, for fear of reprisals and for the reason that they would see, we are impotent and cannot help them. They will pick off the other non-Muslim nations, one at a time. It will be increasingly easier for them. They already hold Spain hostage. It doesn't matter whether it was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything else they want Spain to do will be done. Spain is finished. The next will probably be France. Our one hope on France is that they might see the light and realize that if we don't win, they are finished too, in that they can't resist the Muslim terrorists without us. However, it may already be too late for France. France is already 20% Muslim and fading fast! If we lose the war, our production, income, exports and way of life will all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us, if they were threatened by the Muslims If we can't stop the Muslims, how could anyone else? The Muslims fully know what is riding on this war, and therefore are completely committed to winning, at any cost. We better know it too and be likewise committed to winning at any cost. Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing? Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put 100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to win So, how can we lose the war? Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by "imploding." That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their purpose, and really digging in and lending full support to the war effort. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win! (Emphasis added.) Let me give you a few examples of how we simply don't comprehend the life and death seriousness of this situation. President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. Although all of the terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim men between 17 and 40 years of age, Secretary Mineta refuses to allow profiling. Does that sound like we are taking this thing seriously? This is war! For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of the civil rights we have become accustomed to. We had better be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose all of them permanently. And don't worry that it is a slippery slope. We gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII, and immediately restored them after the victory and in fact added many more since then. Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton before him? No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our Political Correctness and all of our civil rights during this conflict and have a clean, lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to war. Get them out of your head. Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war and/or the Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us lose. I hasten to add that this isn't because they are disloyal. It is because they just don't recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and weakening. It concerns our friends, and it does great damage to our cause. Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the politicians and media regarding the treatment of some prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies best what I am saying. We have recently had an issue, involving the treatment of a few Muslim prisoners of war, by a small group of our military police. These are the type prisoners who just a few months ago were throwing their own people off buildings, cutting off their hands, cutting out their tongues and otherwise murdering their own people just for disagreeing with Saddam Hussein. And just a few years ago these same type prisoners chemically killed 400,000 of their own people for the same reason. They are also the same type enemy fighters, who recently were burning Americans, and dragging their charred corpses through the streets of Iraq. And still more recently, the same type enemy that was and is providing videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading of American prisoners they held. Compare this with some of our press and politicians, who for several days have thought and talked about nothing else but the "humiliating" of some Muslim prisoners -- not burning them, not dragging their charred corpses through the streets, not beheading them, but "humiliating" them. Can this be for real? To bring our country to a virtual political standstill over this prisoner issue makes us look like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned -- totally oblivious to what is going on in the real world. Neither we, nor any other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say, this does not mean that some of our politicians or media people are disloyal. It simply means that they are absolutely oblivious to the magnitude, of the situation we are in and into which the Muslim terrorists have been pushing us, for many years. Remember, the Muslim terrorists stated goal is to kill all infidels! That translates into ALL non-Muslims -- not just in the United States , but throughout the world. We are the last bastion of defense. We have been criticized for many years as being 'arrogant. ' That charge is valid in at least one respect. We are arrogant in that we believe that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we can win the hearts and minds of all those who attack us, and that with both hands tied behind our back, we can defeat anything bad in the world! We can't! If we don't recognize this, our nation as we know it will not survive, and no other free country in the world will survive if we are defeated. And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout the world that allow freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equal rights for anyone -- let alone everyone, equal status or any status for women, or that have been productive in one single way that contributes to the good of the world?. If we don't win this war right now, keep a close eye on how the Muslims take over France in the next 5 years or less. They will continue to increase the Muslim population of France and continue to encroach little by little, on the established French traditions. Doesn't that sound eerily familiar? Democracies don't have their freedoms taken away from them by some external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by politically correct piece. And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown, worldwide, that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even to themselves, once they are in power. They have universally shown that when they have taken over, they then start brutally killing each other over who will be the few who control the masses. Will we ever stop hearing from the politically correct, about the "peaceful Muslims"? ? Patrick Henry --"Those that beat their swords into plowshares will do the plowing for those that don't"!! Ken Heller is a pro-Israel activist and a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of Americans For A Safe Israel. He can be reached at kayjayphilly@yahoo.com |
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DOES NO ONE CARE?
Posted by Naomi Ragen, November 30, 2005. |
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Friends, This e-mail pains me deeply to write, as I know it will pain all of you to read. Not only are the refugees from Gaza not being helped by the authorities , they are being tortured. Outlandish red tape (produce 29 years of electric bills!, prove your son actually grew up in your home!) is keeping many of them from receiving any compensation. The majority are unemployed. These people went from large, flourishing families in beautiful homes with thriving businesses to unemployed, homeless refugees. Families are being destroyed. Children are turning to drugs, parents are having heart attacks. And some teenagers have even been hospitalized in closed mental institutions. You won't believe your eyes when you read the memo below, compiled by volunteers of All4Israel, a little, all-volunteer group that is working hard to allieviate some of the misery, work that should have been borne by our government and our major Jewish organizations and their well-paid directors. SELA, with Mr. Yonatan Bassie at its head, who has personally profited by the disengagement (he owns farms that are now selling vegetables once exclusively grown in Gush Katif, he sold land to the government to house the refugees...) has been largely responsible all of this needless suffering. Every single one of those incompetents should be fired. For shame, for shame for shame, for shame. I can't believe my government has turned its own people out of their homes and has made no provision for them. People who were the bravest of us all, who suffered the most during the Intifada. Who lost so many parents, children, rabbis. These beautiful, brave families, that no Arab terrorist onslaught could destroy, are being destroyed by their own callous government. And no one cares. If you are a donor to any Jewish organization, please call them and ask why no emergency funds have been set up to help the Gaza refugees. Where are our priorities? Zalman Indig (who kindly helped me take online donations for Rachel S., every penny of which he wired directly to Israel) is the head of All4Israel. Below, he shares information gathered by his volunteers in Israel. Every blessing, Naomi Hi Zalman We had a meeting last night, We made calls to the head organizers of the Yishuvim to find out what is going on online. They spoke on the speaker phone and it was very sad for all of us. The lists are pilling up, the stories are unbelievable. None of the large organizations we know of have helped them out. They received from them sweaters and sweats, food packages or stoves but not real money. They are offered short term loans, but they are afraid to take them because they don't know when they'll be getting their compensation. Here is a story you will love. One family has lived there for 29 years. They have asked them to produce 29 years back electricity bills. Who keeps such records? The family replied that the first few years they had generators anyway and the Electrical company doesn't keep such records. SO for now their compensation is tied up. One family has a soldier in the army. They had to supply proof that he was still living at home even though he was a soldier or he would not be included in the family compensation, so they had to bring photos of him with the family, in the house in uniform!!! Should I go on? Any way I received this list, I thought maybe you can do something, be discreet with the list of course. Regards Some bios: Family 1 - 6 children - husband died less than two months ago of sudden unpredicted heart attack. Two children elementary school age + soldier son-IDF service, others older recently began work very part time. Family faces many difficulties related to what happened Family 2 -7 children - two in Yeshiva high school, one in Midrasha, two married. unemployed Family 3 -11 children -one in Yeshiva HS + four in higher education institutes. Wife very recently began teaching part-time Family 4 -7 children - one in elementary school, one in Yeshiva H.S., Four in universities, one in IDF service/ Husband is blind and wife very ill with Lupus disease. Family 5 -6 children -two in elementary school, one in yeshiva H.S., one in Midrasha , one in college , one in national service.- recently began working part-time Family 6 - 3 children in kindergarten and nurseries. Unemployed - seeking opportunity to rebuild farm business, organized temporary morning Kollel for unemployed men. Family 7 - 3 children - one in elementary school, one in yeshiva H.S., one in IDF service. Husband suffers from limiting heart disease, wife from other health problems Family 8 - 3 children - serious health problems -unemployed Family 9 - one parent family - two in IDF service - -three in Universities, God willing will have expense of wedding for daughter in month of Adar. Unemployed. Family 10 - one-parent family -two young children -- mother studying in Higher education. unemployed. Family 11 - 6 children - two in elementary school--one in high school.. unemployed (wife may start working next week part-time). Family 12 + 5 children - one in Kindergarten, one in elementary school, one in Yeshiva High school , two in IDF service, unemployed Family 13 - one parent family - + 8 children - one in Yeshiva H.S. - one in Yeshiva Gevoha, 5 in universities.- unemployed To help these families, please visit & put "For families of Gush Katif" in the comments field. http://www.all4israel.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Category&catId=54>
Or mail your checks to:
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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THE ECONOMIST RANKS MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES ON FREEDOM
Posted by Max Yas, November 30, 2005. |
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The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world's foremost provider of country, industry and management analysis. Founded in 1946 when a director of intelligence was appointed to serve The Economist, the Economist Intelligence Unit is now a leading research and advisory firm with more than 40 offices worldwide. For nearly 60 years, the Economist Intelligence Unit has delivered vital business intelligence to influential decision-makers around the globe. (source Google) If you are tired of the tsunami of anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations to the neglect of the real issues that deserve priority attention, such as genocide in Darfur, the occupation of Tibet and the 25 ungoing insurgencies on this planet, please read this letter and forward it to your friends. Shalom from Max Democracy is making inroads in the Middle-East. A survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked 19 Middle-East states plus the Palestinian Authority, based on the following criteria: Election of head of government
Surprise! Surprise! The "apartheid" State of Israel, MADE IT TO THE TOP OF THE LIST! Scored on a ten-point scale, 10 being the highest, these were the results. Israel: 8.20
This was reported by the BBC, despite their long established pro-Palestinian bias. Unbelievably Libya, at the bottom of the scale, was named the head of the UN Human Right Commission! Why so much negative concentration on Israel? Why are some Protestant churches divesting from Israel? Why is the Green Party in Great Britain following their example? The only plausible answer is: Zionism does not lead to antisemitism -- antisemitism leads to anti-Zionism. Open-minded people need not be overly concerned about divestment.
Israel's annual GDP has grown in the past 58 years from under US$ nine
million to over US$ 21 billion and investments in Israel are growing
by leaps and bounds!.
Sitting at the bottom of the table, Libya has long had a reputation as one of the world's worst violators of human rights. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's government has also long restricted freedom of expression and independent political activity. Saudi Arabia held its first ever exercise in democracy in February 2005 when it held municipal elections, but remains an absolute monarchy that has resisted pressure for reform. Syria, meanwhile, is renowned for its authoritarian rule even though there has been a degree of liberalisation under President Bashar al-Assad. Progress Though there are few surprises at the bottom of the table, the top five may raise eyebrows. It contains three of the most volatile parts of the region: Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Iraq. BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says there is certainly a new mood in the region, but progress has been uneven. Information just received One example of how the well oiled multi-billion dollar P.R. Machine creates "facts" and sympathy for the Palestinian cause. Sadly some naive innocents fall for it: In December, "Spotlight on the Middle East" will air a program devoted to "Pallywood" (the Palestinian Authority version of Hollywood), where pure fiction and professional actors combine to create faux-news that the western world thinks is real. Israel is accused, demonised, condemned in every "Pallywood" scene. Israeli soldiers (actually PA actors in Israeli uniforms) are "caught" on film by French and PA cameramen as they perpetrate "horrific human rights violations" against poor Palestinians, and western viewers think that the staged events are real news because our western journalists, photojournalists, and editors never bother (or care?) to check the sources. Contact Max Yas at maxyas@victoria.tc.ca |
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A SECULARIST IRAN AGAINST MULLAHS' TERROR
Posted by Student Movement for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI), November 30, 2005. |
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This is an English translation of an article that appeared in the Italian "L'Opinione" today. It is called "A secularist Iran against Mullahs' terror," and is an interview by Stefania Lapenna with Aryo Pirouznia, Coordinator of the Student Movement for Democracy in Iran. The echo of Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitic statements still resounds in the international arena. And of course they have to. The new in this entire scenario, however, is the Mullahs' new target: Italy. Indeed, 15 thousand people demonstrating in front of the Islamic Republic's embassy in Rome, for the right of Israel to exist and for the freedom of the Iranian people, sufficed to provoke the Mullahs' angry reaction, who mobilized its usual professionals in front of the Italian embassy, carrying out banners with the face of the late Edoardo Agnelli. Even that effort to bring in as many fanatics as possible, resulted into a fiasco, for only about 80 or less people participated. What about the rest of the population? To know more, we asked Aryo Pirouznia, coordinator of the "Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran" (SMCCDI) and chairman of the newly-founded "Iran National Secular Party" (INSP) Aryo, welcome again. First of all, tell us shortly about the new movement, the Iran National Secular Party. Firstly, I thank you for this opportunity and the possibility to be able to bring some clarifications on what's the Iranian situation and what might be some of the future's perspective. Secondly, The INSP is a new born foundation in exile and has been founded on what SMCCDI brought in Iran's political debate and all its rich experiences. The pillars of the INSP are Secular-Democracy and the Iranism thought, which SMCCDI has promoted for several years and are now rallying millions of Iranians, especially students, the Iranian youth and women. Everyday there are more Iranians who are rallying around such positive, progressist and humanistic foundation which is the best anti-dote to the Islamist ideology and its backwardism, intolerance, believe and gender discrimination, fascism, fanatism and wage of hate and terror. INSP is an entity which should be able, as a political party, to help implementing the well known Secular-Democracy and the Iranism aspirations of millions of Iranians in the years and decades to come. Is it tied to any political ideology or orientation or is it independent? The INSP is based on Iranians popular aspirations and it is totally independent from any ideological or foreign source. The Movement has been founded to help Iran's journey in our alas very late but so needed enlightment period and to contribute in building an Iran for all Iranians, no matter of their believe, race or gender, want to live in a free country and to renew with the civilized world and to contribute to the mankind's peace and prosperity. Some other main goals of the Movement, which were introduced by SMCCDI, are the Separation of State and Religion, Separation of Power, Equality in Law, Right of Property, Meritocracy, Representative Government and Free Market. What is your approach with Islam? We should know that the Iranians of today are one of the most secularist and democracy thirsty people of the planet. They are renewing with Iranism principles instead of Islamism. They're valuing more historic figures like Cyrus the Great than Mahomet the Islamic prophet. The digital technology and the spread of satellite TVs and radio networks that broadcast to the millions of Iranians in Iran, contribute to most of the changes. What's your opinion about the recent demonstration held in Rome in front of the Islamic Republic's embassy, to protest Ahmadinejad's statements? That was an unprecedented and positive move. It took everybody including the Islamic republic's leadership in a total surprise. Many including the clerics and their Islamist technocrats, portrayed as "reformers" were believing that a country such as Italy (which has the best commercial relations with Iran) will never react and will always keep the silence in front of Islamic regime's mis-deeds. This was without understanding the change of parameters in geopolicy and especially the fed up of Italian people who still remember the dark record of fascism and intolerance. Have the Iranians inside Iran learned about this rally? And if so, what have been their reactions? My countrymen learned about this unprecedented rally mainly via a special live program of the abroad based Satellite TV network named NITV. We contacted the management of this network and gave the necessary elements while coordinating the internet download of the live program broadcasted by RAI 2. NITV was able to offer a very informative program from an Iranian opposition -- to the Islamic regime -- point of view and analysis while re-transmitting live footages shown by RAI and analysis made by Italian commentators, journalists, activists and politicians who were translated simultaneously by an NITV translator. The result was an overwhelming welcoming by millions of Iranians especially by understanding that the majority of slogans were in favor of freedom of Iranians and in condemnation of the Islamic regime for its human rights abuses and illegitimacy. The regime has protested against the rally and even summoned the Italian ambassador in Tehran. How do you think the Italian government should behave in these cases? I think that the Italian Government should maintain its new policy of firmty and while praising this unprecedented stand I would like also to thank the Italian Ambassador in Tehran for his courage. The Islamic regime should understand that Italy is no more the silent witness of the clerics crimes, some made on Italian soil, or its wage of hate. The unpopular Iranian regime must understand that Italy is a Democracy respectuous of its people's will and right of expression and it should not try to prescribe its dictatorial methods for Italy. Do you think the U.N. will finally impose sanctions against the Islamic Republic for its nuclear program and human rights record? I only hope so as I prefer to watch at this time. The UN, due to its structures, has not been a real help to Iranians so far. There are UN members that are the closest collaborators of the Islamic regime and other that fear that sanctions against the Islamic regime can create precedents for their own inculpation late on the very same grounds. The problem of the UN is very deep and it goes to the way of its composition and administration. Just to remind you that Iran was in 1948 the signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many other conventions. In our days everybody know that thousands have been executed, tortured, imprisoned, stoned or lashed in Iran under various false labels and hence, the Islamic republic is still usurping Iranian Nation's Chair at the UN and is continuing its barbarian rule in total impunity. What's your take about the U.N.'s policy? Shouldn't a real United Nations -- Not a United Regimes' Structure - expel the Islamic regime's envoy from such administration and to keep the Iranian Nation's chair vacant till the nomination of a real Iranian People's Ambassador after the downfall of the current regime? Shouldn't the countries which are at each time abstaining from voting against the Islamic regime or worst those who vote contrary to condemnation of the regime think "what about Iranians?" "Why not backing Iranians in their aspiration of a total change and to bet on them for any long lasting business opportunity?" I let your readers to be judge. I let the conscience of the Mankind to judge about my countrymen's outcry. To help itself, the World should help Iranians to reach their goal and to speed up the implosion of the regime by clear messages of support for Iranians. I thank you and L' Opinione's management for such opportunity. I thank Italy's deep conscience. Contact the Student Movement for Democracy in Iran at peyk@daneshjoo.org |
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POLICE STATE, BUSINESS AS USUAL
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 30, 2005. |
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This is from today's Arutz-Sheva - www.IsraelNN.com. (www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=93984) "Police Still Ignoring Court Appeal to Free Youth from Jail" (IsraelNN.com) Youth jailed for anti-expulsion protests still are in jail despite recommendations from a court judge three weeks ago that they be freed. One of the youths, a 16-year-old boy from Samaria, was arrested five months ago on suspicion of blocking traffic on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv during an anti-expulsion protest. He also was charged with attacking a policeman and interfering with police duties. No witnesses were brought at a court hearing and the main evidence against him was that he sat on the side of the highway. President of Juvenile Court Abraham Sheinfeld asked the police department to drop charges that the youth attacked and interfered with police. Lawyers for the youth said police have ignored the judge's requests and have not answered letters and phone calls. 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. Contact him at zelasko@actcom.co.il |
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JUST WONDERING
Posted by Batya Medad, November 30, 2005. |
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I'm just wondering. Does anyone know if Arik Sharon is a card player? We know that Sharansky plays chess, which is a very different type of game. What do the other politicians do to keep their minds sharp or entertain themselves? And please don't say the obvious that they don't have any minds to sharpen. Seriously. Sharon is like one those circus entertainers, talking fast while shuffling the deck accordion-style, pocketing cards and pulling them out from his sleeves while our eyes are being distracted by his three ring circus. Does anyone really know what's going on? There are some really amazing things happening in the political spheres here in Israel. Some of it is actually "Moshiach-like." At least from how I see it. I've never voted for a religious party, because I don't believe that they should exist. I think that religious needs show be guarded by all. Religious and Chareidi education shouldn't be dominated by politicians of special-interest parties. And if there was an "Anglo" party of English-speaking Israelis, I wouldn't vote for it either. Immigrant needs should be the concern of all. And ditto for a party claiming to represent the yishuvim. I'm an Israeli and I expect, demand that the entire country, the entire population support settlement. All this separation, special interest groups as political parties is bad for Israeli society. So now since Sharon has decided to establish a brand new party, suddenly there's more change in the Israeli political scene than most countries see in fifty years. One of the greatest things is that the religious parties are starting to re-evaluate. Not only is the NRP, National Religious Party, (Mafdal), negotiating with the NU, National Union, but even some of the Chareidim are waking up and talking about a united block with the right wing parties. We mustn't be afraid of change. Haven't we been complaining about Israeli politics for years? Hasn't it gotten harder and harder to decide for whom to vote? The previous situation was horrendous, right? That's why they were able to implement Disengagement. Everyone agrees. So change is necessary, and apparently Sharon is our tool. Nobody would have the guts for all this, if Sharon hadn't messed up the deck and thrown the cards all over the floor. Now we have no choice. In my house we have lots of books, so the idea of painting the livingroom is overwhelming, so when just after our daughter go engaged a wall of shelves tumbled, books and all, we had no choice. And not only did we have the room painted, I bought a gorgeous new wall unit. Honestly, I should have redecorated that room years before, but it took those falling shelves and books to make me do it. Ariel Sharon has done some terrible things to our country since becoming Prime Minister. Each of his "successes" has made him more confident to do worse and worse. I think it's wonderful that he has created Kadima, his new political party. It has forced us all to look at Israeli politics and government differently. We now have a real opportunity to change, to make things better. This is our chance to deal a new hand, a winning one. Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il This article is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/11/just-wondering.html |
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ADOPTING A GUSH KATIF FAMILY
Posted by Naomi Ragen, November 30, 2005. |
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Dear Friends, I woke up this morning with the following idea on how to help the precious families of Gush Katif. I would like to discuss it with all of you. What if synagogue congregations, and(why not?) pro-Israel Christian congregations all over the world adopt one family from Gush Katif and become responsible for their needs until they are back on their feet. This would include writing and speaking to family members either personally, or through a volunteer interpreter. It would include having the entire congregation write letters on behalf of the family to the Israeli bureaucrats. It would include being active in pursuing the Israeli politicians overseeing this (remember, this is an election year. Politicians are fundraising among the Jews of the world. You have leverage). It would involve sending care packages of clothing. And yes, cash. But it wouldn't be overwhelming, because it would be one family helped by hundreds of families. I would prepare an application and put it on my website for any congregation interested in participating. You could fill it out and e-mail it to me, and I would then ask local volunteers to find suitable families interested in participating. If we can make a "shidduch" between the congregations and the families that will lead to each congregation (and thousands and thousands of people all over the world) being intimately involved with the difficulties each family faces materially, politically and bureacratically, so that the powers that be will not be able to claim that all is well, that alone will be worthwhile. This is a way to give immediate help, to personalize and publicize the plight of families. If you think your congregation would participate, please let me know. Naomi 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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MUSSOLINI DESCENDANTS SUE MK PORUSH FOR DICTATOR DEFAMATION
Posted by Marlene Young, November 30, 2005. |
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[Editor's note: This is related to the next blog-ed down.]
Rome, Italy,
The Benito Mussolini Fammily Association has announced that they are dispatching their lawyers to the Rabbinic court of Fredonia to issue an injunction against MK Meir Porush for "degrading the name of Benito Mussolini by comparing the legacy of our beloved leader to that of Ariel Sharon". Contact Marlene Young at marleneyoung1@yahoo.com |
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MK MEIR PORUSH: SHARON REMINDS ME OF ITALIAN DICTATOR MUSSOLINI
Posted by Marlene Young, November 30, 2005. |
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Sharon is a dictator. Why is MK Porush the only one saying it out loud? Sharon just left Likud in the dust like so much trash, that just a few months ago he was insisting everyone must bow to and not challenge so that the Expulsion could go through, and everyone bowed, so as not to break the Likud. Now, he left to form his own party that is based on deals to give Sharon absolute power with only serfs and sycophants he rewards with jobs, appointments and threats. The new party Kadima is a mix of Labor, Meretz, and other Radical Leftists and Likud turncoats. And for a real final stab at Democracy he left a whole bunch of loyalists in Likud as spies and spoilers! And not even so much as a peep from those who know better? This is by Zvi Zrahiya (zviz@haaretz.co.il) and it appeared in Haaretz (www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/652144.html). MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) compared Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. In a Knesset hearing regarding the state of Israel's religious councils, Porush criticized the prime minister and his son, Omri, whom he claims interfered in appointments to the councils. During his speech, Porush said, "Sharon greatly reminds me of the Italian Benito Mussolini. Mussolini also left one party and established his own. He also served as prime minister until he founded a dictatorship and became a duce. Sharon is already talking about a presidential regime in order to do whatever he feels like with the state. Duce Sharon." Deputy defense minister Ze'ev Boim (Kadima), who represented the government in the hearing, hastened to request that Porush rescind his comments. "I think that these are inappropriate things to say in the Knesset," said Boim, to which Porush responded, "You should be ashamed that so many call the state of Israel 'Corruptistan.' This is much more grave." Boim responded that, considering Mussolini was an "ally of Hitler, this is unacceptable. I think you should retract your statement. It is shameful for an MK to compare any Israeli prime minister or leader with Mussolini." However, Porush would not capitulate, and repeated his claim.
Contact Marlene Young at marleneyoung1@yahoo.com
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NO DNA TESTS FOR HOLOCAUST VICTIM REMAINS IN STUTTGART
Posted by ZAKA, November 30, 2005. |
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Genetic tissues and DNA tests will not be held from the remains of Holocaust victims, recently discovered in a mass grave in the southern German city of Stuttgart. This decision was made by Ulrich Goll, justice minister of the German province of Baden-Wurtemmberg, where the mass grave was discovered. The German decision was made following a request by Rabbi Yehuda Meshi Zahav, director of ZAKA. Rabbi Meshi Zahav stated that the organization is against taking DNA samples from skeletons as this would constitute a violation of the honor of the dead, Taking DNA samples from the skeletons involves crumbling bones onto dust. Meshi Zahav Said, ZAKA appealed to the Rabbinical Center of Europe and the Stuttgart chief rabbi, as well as the German president's office.
You can donate to ZAKA -- which has been right there in Israel to
help, rescue and clean up at every terrorist attack -- at ZAKA Rescue
and Recovery, 5023-16th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11204, www.zakausa.org,
1-877-ZAKA-911. They also assisted after the flood in New Orleans. |
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JUST RELEASED: HUMAN RIGHTS OF CHRISTIANS IN PALESTINIAN SOCIETY
Posted by JCPA, November 30, 2005. |
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Announcing the publication of Justus Reid Weiner's Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society. On the heels of the Gaza disengagement, which was intended to enable the Palestinian Authority to improve the lives of its people, few journalists have reported on the acutely trying times facing the Christians residing in areas "governed" by the Palestinian Authority. In his book, Professor Weiner, Scholar-in-Residence at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, provides an in-depth look at the nearly uninterrupted persecution of Christians throughout the decade since the Oslo peace process began. Living amidst a xenophobic Muslim population plagued by endemic violence bordering on anarchy, the Christians have shrunk to less than 1.7 percent of the population in the Palestinian areas. "Tens of thousands have abandoned their holy sites and ancestral properties to live abroad, while those who remain do so as a beleaguered and dwindling minority," Weiner writes. "Their plight is, in part, attributable to the adoption of Muslim religious law (Sharia) in the Constitution of the Palestinian Authority. Moreover, the Christians have been abandoned by their religious leaders who, instead of protecting them, have chosen to curry favor with the Palestinian leadership." Professor Weiner's book reveals and analyzes why this persecution - largely ignored by the international community, the media, and even prominent human rights organizations - has metastasized to the extent that it threatens the very existence of this 2000-year-old community. Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society is available online without charge at: http://www.jcpa.org/text/Christian-Persecution-Weiner.pdf (1.4M PDF file). This 55-page monograph is also available from www.amazon.com ($15). In Israel, it is available from the Jerusalem Center (NIS 45 + NIS 15 shipping and handling) and may be ordered by fax or email. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 13 Tel-Hai St., Jerusalem, Israel; Tel. 972-2-561-9281, Fax. 972-2-561-9112, Email: jcpa@netvision.net.il. Website: www.jcpa.org. |
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CHANGE THE SYSTEMS? MAYBE?
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 30, 2005. |
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On the surface this seems like a sincere attempt to come to grips with the chaos in Israeli politics. On the surface. However a look below the surface turns up an interesting fact. All those involved in this effort to restructure Israel are members of the ruling elite. (See the membership list of the CECI to appreciate what direction their new constitution might take. http://www.ceci.org.il/eng/we_members.asp ) We can safely assume that whatever system they come to will be geared to guarantee their continued control over the political and economic system of Israel. What we really have here is something more along the lines of a corporate shakeup than a serious reform movement. The powers that be are just too nervous about loosing control. With all the chaos there might accidentally be real change. The only one that I have come across that has a reasonable, consistent and practical solution to the present Israeli political structure is Professor Eidelberg. Let's hope that he will soon be in a position to initiate the fundamental changes we need to avoid total anarchy in Israel. This is called "Winds of political change in Israel" and was written by Adi Sterenberg, who is the director of the Citizens' Empowerment Center in Israel (CECI). It appeared as an Opinion piece in Arutz-Sheva, November 27, 2005 (www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Views%5El215& enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat= object&enVersion=0&enZone=Views). Statistics don't lie. In 57 years of existence, there have been 30 governments in Israel, an average of about a new government every two years. That says everything. What we learn from this is that no matter who the next prime minister is - Ariel Sharon, Amir Peretz, Bibi Netanyahu - and no matter what type of coalition is formed, it's not likely to survive more than two years. Why? Because the parliamentary system in Israel is unworkable. It was established 100 years for a population of 600,000. Now there are more than ten times that number of citizens, and it simply doesn't work any more. To provide an analogy, if you have a hundred-year-old car, maybe it's time to look at the engine to see if it needs changing. As director of the Citizens' Empowerment Center in Israel (CECI), we recognized that the Israeli political system is broken, and needs to be urgently fixed. To that mind, we have spearheaded the formation of the Presidential Commission for Examination of the Structure of the Government In September, President Moshe Katsav convened 70 leading Israelis in the academic, political and judicial fields to examine alternatives to Israel's government structure and system of elections. With Hebrew University President Menachem Magidor as its chairperson, the committee - whose members read like a who's who of Israeli politics and academia - has pledged to conduct its research within a year, and present its finding to Katsav. The committee - split into several sub-groups - is currently studying and researching the different structures of governments and electoral systems in democratic countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. According to CECI's founder Isaac Parviz Nazarian, "Our goal is to come up with a system to fit the character of the Israeli citizen." Why is this initiative so timely and so urgent? Because due to the current instability brought on by the political system, Israeli society is suffering and slowly eroding. Recently, I recently attended the General Assembly in Toronto and told the people that came to the CECI booth that Jerusalem is a perfect example of this erosion. Israel's capital is totally different today than it was 20 years ago under Teddy Kollek. Jerusalem is the poorest city in Israel, its facilities are falling apart, and there are problems between the religious and the secular as well as between Jews and Arabs. Why? A great deal of the problem has to do with the fact that the government ministers in charge of the city who could implement changes and improvements are replaced before they can get anything done. The presidential committee has some supporters in high places. After announcing his decision to leave the Likud last week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told reporters, "there needs to be a change in the system of government. I recommend that you pay attention to the work that being done under the initiative of President Katsav who appointed a group of serious people to examine way to change the system in Israel. I've discussed this with the president and I absolutely think there needs to be change. "As you can see, there's no possibility to lead, you're always running into difficulties that are unsolvable and I think that it absolutely requires taking care of... If we want to accomplish things, then the system has to change." What the prime minister was proposing is not switching the current governing system for a specific alternative - but to look at all the options - the presidential system, the half-presidential system like in France, the parliamentary system - and choosing what is best for us. What Sharon is saying is that there needs to be some stability - you can't start the day with 81 coalition members and find yourself at the end of the day with 61. In the United States, there are plenty of problems with the political system, but whether or not you like President Bush, you know that he will be in charge for the next four years, barring disaster. Most of our sub-committees have met a number of times and are preparing their examination results. In a few months, we'll be giving our report to the president with our recommendations, options and alternatives, and he has pledged to pass the results on to the Knesset. Leading up to election day on March 28th, we're going to approach each party and ask them to include a plank in their party platform that pledges to take an examination of the Israeli political structure seriously. During an election period, the general public will be more open to listen to politicians calling for change. With new elections being called, it only means that the results of the committee are more urgently needed than ever. Our system of 30 governments in 57 years cannot continue unabated. A stronger Israeli political system will mean a stronger, and more stable Israel. 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. Contact him at zelasko@actcom.co.il |
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UK CHARITY FUNDING DIVERTED TO HAMAS
Posted by NGO Monitor, November 30, 2005. |
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SUMMARY: The arrest of convicted Hamas activist and alleged fundraiser Ahmad Saltana (a.k.a. Abu Asama) has focused attention on several organizations in Europe that allegedly pose as charities in order to bankroll terrorist activities. The organizations reportedly implicated in this illegal activity include the UK-based charities Human Appeal International and Interpal. The arrest of convicted Hamas activist and alleged fundraiser Ahmad Saltana (a.k.a. Abu Asama) (see Eric Silver, "Charity cash for Palestinian poor was siphoned to suicide bombers," The Independent, November 28, 2005) has focused attention on several organizations in Europe that allegedly pose as charities in order to bankroll terrorist activities. The organizations reportedly implicated in this illegal activity include the UK-based charities Human Appeal International and Interpal, as well as the Charitable Committee for Supporting Palestine (CBSP) in France, the Charitable Association for Supporting Palestinian People (ABSPP) in Italy and the Al-Aqsa Foundation in various parts of Europe. All form part of the Charity Coalition which allegedly funnels monies raised to Saltana, who in turn distributes the funds to terrorist organizations. Human Appeal International (HAI) is a UK-registered charity established in 1991, and is currently involved in providing relief for the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. HAI operates in 17 regions (including such terrorist "hot-spots" as Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Authority), with a stated mission "to promote human co-operation through programmes aimed at aiding and relieving the suffering of victims of poverty, social injustice and natural disasters." Unlike other organizations, the language in the HAI website section on "Palestine" is devoid of incitement. The appeal claims that donations are applied towards providing nourishment, scarcely hinting at any association with terrorist groups, only stating as part of their mandate to "Co-operate and co-ordinate with other relief organisations working in the same field to increase the benefits for the recipients of our help." The second UK-based charity allegedly diverting funds to terrorist cells is Interpal (also known as the Palestinian Relief & Development Fund), which justifies itself as "a non-political, non-profit making British charity that focuses solely on the provision of relief and development aid to the poor and needy of Palestine". The Interpal logo features the entire map of Israel, symbolically delegitimizing Israel's existence and claiming the entire territory for the Palestinians, thereby indicating the goal of destroying Israel. Much like Human Appeal International, Interpal texts refer to a conflict resulting in a humanitarian crisis, but stop short of attributing culpability to any party (Israel, the Palestinian Authority, or terrorist factions). Also like HAI, "INTERPAL's stated official policy is to deal with like-minded charities both in Britain and abroad in order to further its aims and objectives to provide relief and development aid to the people of Palestine." The organization claims "that it only deals with bona fide organizations -- to ensure the proper charitable use of funds as specified." Interpal also claims to be "bound by a moral obligation to ensure that the funds are used for charitable purposes", and while the organization asserts that all partner agencies receiving funding from Interpal are required to submit comprehensive documentation, including receipts and reports, no such evidence is presented on its website. The only indication that Interpal's activities might extend beyond relief work is the following statement: "Although the humanitarian needs of the refugee population is at the forefront of the Palestinian problem, the work of international NGOs is not confined to providing services and opportunities for refugees." However, Interpal's reported direct involvement in terror has been thoroughly demonstrated. Three days after the August 19, 2003 bombing of the No.2 Egged bus in Jerusalem, the United States government froze Interpal's US assets and classified the organization as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), together with several other Hamas front organizations and senior Hamas officials (including Yassin and Rantisi). The following summary was provided by the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence of the US Treasury Department: Interpal, headquartered in the UK, has been a principal charity utilized to hide the flow of money to HAMAS. Reporting indicates it is the conduit through which money flows to HAMAS from other charities, e.g., the Al Aqsa Foundation, and that it oversees the activities of other charities. For example, the Sanabil Association for Relief and Development represents Interpal in Lebanon. Reporting also indicates that Interpal is the fundraising coordinator of HAMAS, a coordination point for other HAMAS-affiliated charities. This role is of the type that includes supervising activities of charities, developing new charities in targeted areas, instructing how funds should be transferred from one charity to another, and even determining public relations policy. The British authorities, conversely, have neither frozen the assets of Interpal and HAI, nor in any way impeded their fundraising activities. Instead they were invited to a seminar in March 2005 hosted by the Department for International Development (DFID) for Islamic charities, which, according to International Development Minister Gareth Thomas, served as "a constructive and valuable part in building on and improving our partnership with these organisations". Meanwhile, the UK Charity Commission ceased its latest investigation of Interpal, citing a lack of evidence: "The American authorities were unable to provide evidence to support their allegations so the Commission has unfrozen the charity's bank accounts and closed its inquiry." (Dominic Casciani, "Islamic charity cleared of Hamas link", BBC News, September 24, 2005) In other cases, the Charity Commission has also failed to act, despite clear evidence of incitement and NGO violation of mission statements. Interpal launched a lawsuit in March 2004 against the Board of Deputies of British Jews over a report, released following the US executive decree, which highlighted the organization's involvement with terrorist groups. Bound by the findings of the Charity Commission, the Board of Deputies was forced to retract its statements. These activities form a part of a wider pattern, and, as noted in documents on the NGO Monitor website, the Charity Commission has consistently failed to take action in the face of evidence that NGOs are violating their mandates by contributing to incitement and violence. As NGO Monitor noted in its submission to the European Commission's committee considering guidelines for funding non-profits, "there is considerable evidence that 'non-profit organisations have been exploited for the financing of terrorism and for other kind of criminal abuse'." This case provides additional evidence of the abuse of their humanitarian status. NGO Monitor is published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs/ Institute for Contemporary Affairs founded jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation The original at http://www.ngo-monitor.org/ has live links to additional material. Gerald M. Steinberg is editor of NGO Monitor and director of the Program on Conflict Management at Bar-Ilan University. Gerald M. Steinberg is editor of NGO Monitor and director of the Program on Conflict Management at Bar-Ilan University. |
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INTEL, YORK CAPITAL, KODAK AND OTHER GIANTS EXPRESS CONFIDENCE IN ISRAEL
Posted by Yoram Ettinger, November 30, 2005. |
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This is "Straight >From The Jerusalem Boardroom #99." Israel's economy has grown in the last 58 years from a $50MN annual GDP to a $120BN high-tech driven annual GDP. Israel's economy is dominated, increasingly, by knowhow and export (rather than labor and domestic) intensive industries, which has made the economy less vulnerable to security and political predicaments and much more Wall Street -- rather than Gaza Strip -- impacted. Should you wish to examine previous issues, please visit http://yoramettinger.newsnet.co.il. Enjoy it, Yoram 1. The Knesset approved a $525MN grant to INTEL for its $4.5BN new (7th) plant in Israel. Intel expands its existing plant in Kiryat Gat via a $600MN investment. Intel employs in Israel as many persons as it does in the Silicon Valley - about 7,000 (Globes, Nov. 29). 2. The NY-based $7BN YORK CAPITAL hedge fund has acquired Bank Leumi's "Psagot" (investment fund management company, which manages $6.5BN in assets) for $290MN. In June 2005, York acquired a controlling interest in Israel's Gilat Satellites for $80MN (The Marker, Nov. 28). 3. MARKSTON investment fund has acquired Bank Leumi's pension funds for $100MN, as a follow up to its October, 2005 acquisition of Bank Hapoalim's investment fund management company for $200MN, and simultaneously with its current negotiation for the acquisition of Bank Hapoalim's pension fund, estimated at $150MN (The Marker, Nov. 27-28. 4. KODAK is hiring 100 more R&D and manufacturing persons to its Israel plant (in addition to the current 1,000 employees), expecting a 6% growth there. $45MN were invested in its Israel plant (acquired for $980MN in 2005), which has been responsible fro 50% of Kodak's global growth (Globes, Nov. 23). 5. SIGMA BIOTECHNOLOGY and NDS have announced a $30MN investment EACH in the expansion of their Jerusalem plant, which will require 200 additional employees (Yedioth Achronot, Nov. 23). 6. AUSTRIA's 4BN Euro WIENER INSURANCE has acquired 40% of Israel's Carden Investment for 113 Euro (Globes, Nov. 17). 5. "The London Economist": Israel's annual GDP is expected to reach $132BN ($18,200 per capita) in 2006, compared with $105BN ($15,600 per capita) in 2003. While Israel's per capita GDP is substantially lower than Norway's ($70,400), Switzerland ($53,400), the US ($44,200), England ($38,900) and New Zealand ($26,000), one should note that the number of children per woman is substantially higher in Israel (4 per Moslem and 2.8 per Jewish women) than in most developed countries (2 and less than two per woman). (Globes Nov. 24). 6. Israel's industrial exports to the US (excluding diamonds) has risen by 13% - to $5.5BN - during Jan.-Sept. 2005. High tech and pharmaceuticals exports rose by 18% and 59% respectively (Globes Nov. 28). 7. MOTOROLA VENTURES is investing $2.5MN in CopperGate's round of $14.5MN (Globes, Nov. 24). Britain's ALTA BARKLEY joined a $10.5MN 3rd round of private placement by Israel's Mempile (Globes 16). MOTOROLA VENTURES led ($5MN) a $10MN 4th round by Israel's BroadLight (Nov. 18). CHARLES RIVER VENTURES (8th investment in Israel ) and SEQUOIA PARTNERS invested $7MN in a first round by Israel's C-Right (Globes, Nov. 21). 8. Israel's Nice has acquired the Swiss FAST VIDEO SECURITY for $21MN (Globes Nov. 18). Ambassador Yoram Ettinger is a consultant on US-Israel relations as well as the Chairman of Special Projects at the Ariel Center for Policy Research. Formerly the Minister for Congressional Affairs to Israel's Embassy in Washington, DC, Ettinger also served as Consul General of Israel to the Southwestern US. He is a former editor of Contemporary Mideast Backgrounder, and is the author of the Jerusalem Cloakroom series of reports. Contact him at yoramtex@netvision.net.il |
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MAZEL TOV, NITZANA! PLO LOSES LAST APPEAL
Posted by Naomi Ragen, November 30, 2005. |
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Friends, Many of you may know the name Nitsana Darshan-Leitner from my columns. The activist lawyer (who just had triplets!) doesn't do anything in a small way. When she represented the Ungar family, she managed together with her American co-counsel to get a $116 million dollar judgement against the PLO for the murder of this lovely young couple, which left their toddler and little baby orphans. Only miraculously did the children themselves survive the attack. The lawyer for the Hamas and PLO was none other than Ramsey Clark (good luck Saddam, now that he's taken on your case!) Recently, Clark went to the U.S. Supreme court trying to get this overturned. Today, he lost. The Supreme Court refused to hear this case. The money will go to the two little orphans, being raised by their grandparents. Now, if Nitsana can just sue the PLO for every single murder it's committed, Suha will have to move out of the Ritz. And maybe, just maybe, they won't be able to afford more terror attacks against young parents and their babies. Below, articles about the case. Efrat and Yaron Ungar were 25 years old when they were killed in June 1996 while driving home from a wedding. In the drive-by shooting near Beit Shemesh, their car was splayed with bullets which hit the car seat, but miraculously missed their baby. Blond-haired Yishai and his brother are being raised by their grandparents. Three Hamas militants were convicted in the double murder, but the family decided to sue for damages. "This was my first anti-terror case," said Darshan-Leitner. The family of Yaron Ungar, U.S. citizens, sought $250 million in damages. The case was tried in a Rhode Island Court with a co-counsel from the United States. The court's legal jurisdiction for the U.S. trial is based on the U.S. Anti-Terrorist Act passed in 1991, which grants American citizens the right to sue in district courts for acts of international terrorism. Another act, passed in 1996, allows for suits against sponsors of terrorism. Both acts were partly triggered by the murder of wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer, who was shot and thrown overboard the Achille Lauro in 1985. (That case was settled out of court after 12 years.) Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General, tried to get his clients - Hamas, the PLO and the Palestinian Authority - off the hook on a plea of sovereign immunity. In a landmark ruling, in November 2002, the Rhode Island judge rejected their claim. "It was decided that the defendants have to answer under oath in court," said Darshan-Leitner. The activist lawyer is also going after the European Union, which has been handing more than $10 million a month to the PA; more than $1.5 billion since 1994. Many in Israel accuse the PA of using the money to support the PLO's Fatah Tanzim and al-Aqsa Martyr Brigade terrorist groups. Contact the Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center at info@insraellawcenter.org "Supreme Court Passes Up PLO Case," by The Associated Press, http://www.nytimes.com/, November 28, 2005. WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to overturn a $116 million judgment against the Palestine Liberation Organization in the deaths of a Jewish couple near the West Bank. The PLO, and its governmental entity, had been sued in federal court in Rhode Island over the 1996 drive-by shooting of Yaron Ungar, an American citizen, and his Israeli wife, Efrat, as the couple returned home from a wedding. The family's relatives argued that the PLO and Palestinian Authority provided a safe haven and operational base for the Islamic militant group Hamas, which was responsible for the attack. A judge issued a default judgment after the PLO did not respond to requests for depositions from Yasser Arafat and others. Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the lawyer for the PLO, told justices in the appeal last month that Ungar relatives have "commenced sweeping national and international efforts" to collect the millions of dollars, including an attempt to seize Palestine's U.N. Mission building in New York. Clark said U.S. courts "'are marching off to the conflicts of the Middle East and elsewhere carrying with them the integrity of the U.S. judiciary and risking the foreign perception that U.S. courts will extend their jurisdiction globally deciding the most sensitive political questions affecting the foreign policies of the U.S. and other nations as they go." The case is Palestine Liberation Organization v. Ungar, 05-510. 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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REFORMS SEEK TO CULL 'DIET OF HATE' FROM ISLAMIC SCHOOL BOOKS
Posted by David Meir-Levi, November 30, 2005. |
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Some of you may recall the emails of a few years ago about the Palestinian Authority curriculum as a repository for Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred. For those who believed (or still believe) Nathan Brown's misleading monograph that the PA curricula were just an expression of "Palestinian Nationalism", normal for an emerging country, please read the article below. This is an Associated Press article, reviewing briefly the curricula of Moslem schools in many parts of the Moslem world. PA anti-Israel and pro-Jihad/pro-martyrdom material pervasive in its curricula is of a piece with the broad Arab and non-Arab textbooks in much of the Moslem world where critics find "a diet of hate" with textbook and curricular emphases on: Islam is superior to all other religions and is destined to replace all other religions in the world (an assertion found in the Qur'an and later Moslem religious sources - such replacement being brought about via Jihad) Other faiths threaten islam (ironic considering that almost all terrorists in the world today are Moslem, and considering that in the non-Moslem world Islam and Moslems practice their faith unobstructed, while in much of the Moslem world non-Moslems pratice their faith at the risk of their lives. But the assertion that Islam is under attack is very important because such threat to Islam justifies the most virulent and lethal type of jihad -- and defense of Islam justifies the murder of non-combatants per Qur'anic verses, making Moslem terrorism OK as long as Islam is "under attack") The need for jihad (per above: the terror war against the West and against all other religions must be portrayed as really a defensive war since these other religions and civilizations threaten Islam, and being a 'defensive war' the murder of non-combatants is OK -- not OK in an offensive war per Qur'an) Stereotypes about Israel and Israelis ranging from negative to outright baleful hatred (thus justifying the long-standing Arab/Moslem commitment to the eradication of Israel and its Jews) Note too the paragraph on Israeli curricula and some stereotyping of Arabs in negative terms. The assertion that Israeli textbooks indicate that Palestinians show no willingness to respond to Israel's offers of peace is of special interest, since it is included as part of the critique of Israeli textbooks....but the critics fail to note that the assertion is historically correct. The critics also fail to note that even the most extreme negative representations of Arabs or Palestinians in Israeli texts are in no way comparable to the hate-filled rhetoric and the diatribe of genocide that pervades some of the Arab texts re Israel and its Jews. On the brighter side, there is clearly some movement in parts of the Arab/Moslem world to bring about textbook reform. I wonder why they waited 1,350 years to do so. David ml PS. to my knowledge, this article has not yet appeared in mainstream press. Let me know if you find it anywhere where most people are likely to read it. It's called "Reforms seek to cull 'diet of hate' from Islamic school books," and is by Brian Murphy of the Associated Press. It appeared yesterday. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Page after page, the self-appointed hate hunters underline passages in Pakistani schoolbooks. They flag hard-edged Muslim views toward other faiths, such as those describing past efforts by Hindus and Christians to "erase" Muslims. They note sections that speak of martyrdom, and the duty to battle perceived religious enemies. "We are fighting for the future of Islam. Children are sometimes being force-fed a diet of hate, anger and intolerance," said Ahmad Salim, leader of a campaign to push Pakistan's education establishment to remove what activists consider extreme language and images from the curriculum. Salim's group, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, issued a report two years ago calling for broad revisions. Next month, it plans to release an updated review of all Pakistan's textbooks that reprimands authorities for failing to make serious changes. It will be the latest example of widening appeals for textbook reform across the Islamic world. Barely a whisper just a few years ago, the demands have begun to draw attention at the highest levels. Educators and activists argue that current battles against Islamic extremism are only superficial without deep revisions of schoolbooks -- similar to efforts to purge Balkan lessons of ethnic slurs following the wars of the 1990s. In Jordan -- the target of triple suicide blasts Nov. 9 claimed by al-Qaida -- another overhaul is expected in next year's textbooks; part of a process that includes making clear distinctions between terrorism and what that nation sees as legitimate struggles, such as the Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Even Saudi Arabia has started to rewrite its highly conservative lessons after worries they were encouraging homegrown radicals. Much of the concern among reformers is how students learn about jihad, or holy war -- a concept that encompasses all acts on behalf of Islam. It's clear the phrases in some textbooks pay homage -- directly or indirectly -- to violent actions. "Recognize the importance of jihad in every sphere of life," say the curriculum guidelines for Pakistan's elementary schools. Critics claim the message is often interpreted in malignant ways: strong denunciations of Pakistan's historical Hindu rivals in India or sympathy for Islamic guerrillas in Kashmir and elsewhere. In the Palestinian seventh grade Arabic language book, a 1930s protest poem called "The Martyr" includes the lines: "And the flow of blood gladdens my soul.... And who asks for a noble death, here it is." The Palestinian's 11th grade "Islamic Culture" book has dozens of appeals for Islamic solidarity to confront "enemies" such as Israel, its allies and Western culture. "The Islamic nation needs to spread the spirit of jihad and the love of self-sacrifice (martyrdom) among its sons," reads one passage. Fifth graders read: "The martyrs kiss it (the Palestinian flag) with their blood." Nearly every section of the Palestinian textbooks touches on the intifada. "Peace with Israel is not mentioned at all," according to a report by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, an Israeli-American group that examines school books throughout the Middle East. "There is an incredible glorification of jihad (as holy war) throughout the entire Palestinian school curriculum," said Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, a Jerusalem-based group that monitors Palestinian broadcasts and publications. Israeli textbooks have undergone extensive reforms in the past decade to remove the most overt anti-Arab bias, but Arabs are still widely portrayed as opposed to gestures for peace. Meanwhile, books used by Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews often give negative impressions of Arabs as shifty and violent. In Saudi Arabia -- the guardian of Islam's holiest sites -- textbooks reflect the kingdom's two main pillars: commitment to spread Islam and to follow its austere interpretation of the faith, known as Wahhabism. This puritanical brand of Islam has provided theological footing for the faith's most extreme edges, including al-Qaida and other terrorist cells. The Saudi lessons also spill far beyond its borders since the government funds hundreds of schools around the world. The Saudi schoolbooks have been modified in the past two years to soften the descriptions of non-Muslims, other cultures and different branches of Islam, though critics say it still has a way to go. Pressure for change came from two directions. The West, led by the United States, began serious demands for textbook reforms after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. But the overseers of Saudi education -- heavily influenced by Wahhabi clerics and scholars -- got serious about changes only after the nation's royal leaders stepped in. Muslim militants, apparently inspired by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, launched attacks on Saudi soil in May 2003 and rattled the kingdom's pro-Western leaders. In a speech last year, then-Saudi education minister Mohammed al-Rasheed told teachers and administrators to "stay away from extremism and fanaticism." A recent U.S. State Department report on global religious freedom noted Saudi Arabia has "removed some disparaging references to other religious traditions" from schoolbooks, but the kingdom was still listed among the most restrictive religious settings. The Saudi curriculum frames the world along rigid lines. Religious studies note Islam's historical bonds with Christianity and Judaism, but declare that only Muslims practice the true faith and "other religions destroy their followers." Saudi seventh graders also read that Judaism is a "corrupted religion." Lessons portray the Muslim world as under constant threat. In ninth grade, geography studies describe centuries of "malice and hatred" toward Muslims, from the Crusades to contemporary conflicts in Kashmir, Chechnya and the intifada. Such phrases were taught in Saudi classes as recently as the 2003-04 school year, according to international monitors. It's unclear whether they will be removed in the ongoing revisions. "The recent changes in the Saudi textbooks do not offer any real improvement in the level of hatred that the schoolchildren are taught," said Logan Barclift, an analyst at the Institute for Gulf Affairs, a Washington-based group that monitors politics and education in the Gulf. "As long as this continues, it will be much harder for a more tolerant view of Islam to take hold in the Arab world." Right now, Saudi education is directed by some of the most conservative forces in the kingdom. One petition, signed by some judges and clerics last year, denounced the reforms as American pressure and aimed to take "the kingdom along the path of infidels." Jordan has conducted one of the most sweeping revisions of its schoolbooks, which were also used by Palestinian children until the 1990s and had contained some of the most direct praise for martyrdom on behalf of Islam. "We want to instill in (students) positive values of accepting the 'other' and coexisting with other societies," said Jordan's education minister, Khaled Touqan. "It's true that in today's world, the reality may be far off." A look at textbooks in Islamic countries and elsewhere PAKISTAN: A 2003 study by an independent watchdog group listed dozens of examples in textbooks that it said denigrated non-Muslims -- particularly Hindus in neighboring India -- and left students receptive to "sectarianism and religious intolerance." Pakistani officials have since streamlined portions of the Islamic education material and removed some of harshest phrases, but reforms have been limited, activists claim. An updated report by the monitoring group is expected in December. EGYPT: Education minister Kamel Bahaeddin promised last year to remove textbook phrases deemed intolerant or militant. He also pledged to dismiss any teacher encouraging extremist views. Critics say the curriculum has seen few significant changes, including continued use of Quranic references to justify violence against "infidels." But the books also point out the historic bonds between Islam, Christianity and Judaism and pay special attention to Coptic Christians, who comprise about 10 percent of the population. All proposed reforms must be cleared by clerics at Al-Azhar University, the center of Sunni Muslim scholarship, which greatly influences Egyptian education. IRAQ: The new textbooks stress democracy as the foundation of civil society and remove the Saddam Hussein-era glorification of Iraq as the leading light of pan-Arab nationalism. Also presented is a more balanced view of the 1980-88 war with Iran and the later confrontations, including Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, that led to military showdowns with the West and Arab allies, according to the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. GULF STATES: The Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation group led by heavyweight Saudi Arabia, has been gradually cutting references that could be considered as slurs against non-Muslims or encouraging extremism. Some members, such as Kuwait, have moved faster with the reforms than other GCC states. The Saudi Education Ministry quoted Abdulilah Al-Mosarraf, director of planning and evaluation at the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States, as saying the revisions are "intended to meet the challenges of the new world order and (are) unrelated to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." SYRIA: Christians and Jews are often described as sharing religious foundations with Islam. Israel and Israeli Jews, however, are dealt with harshly in the lessons. Israel is described as a country run by "Zionist gangs which threaten our very existence" by occupying the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. "It is therefore the duty of every Muslim to unite in one rank to take back his land and honor by every means possible," said a ninth-grade text, according to a report by Joshua Landis, a University of Oklahoma history professor who has conducted extensive studies of Syrian education. ISRAEL: Israeli schoolbooks have undergone sweeping revisions since the 1990s to remove anti-Arab bias and present a more balanced view of Palestinian views and aspirations. But Palestinians are still generally portrayed as unwilling to make the concessions needed for peace. Palestinians also claim that Israeli curriculum ignores Palestinian history before the arrival of the first Jewish immigrants in present-day Israel. Schoolbooks used by ultra-Orthodox groups often reinforce negative stereotypes about Arabs, according to independent monitors. One story tells of God offering the Commandments to Arabs, but they reject them because of the injunction against stealing. "We do not want the Torah," the story goes. "We are used to stealing things from other people." UNITED STATES: American Muslims started building Islamic schools in the 1970s to preserve religious practices and cultural identity. Several of the estimated 400 full-time Muslims schools have been led by teachers from other countries. Some liberal parents have expressed concern that schools could promote traditions that clash with a democratic society, such as relegating women to subordinate roles. The debate has taken on additional urgency as major U.S. Muslim organizations seek to protect young Muslims from any radical interpretations of their faith. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad in Islamabad, Diana Elias in Kuwait City and Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report. David Meir-Levi is an American-born Israeli, currently living in Palo Alto. He lectures in English, Hebrew, and Spanish; his expertise is in Near Eastern studies and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is Director of Peace and Education at Israel Peace Initiative (www.ipi-usa.org). Contact David Meir-Levi at david_meirlevi@hotmail.com |
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CONFRONTING SPAIN'S BURIED JEWISH PAST
Posted by Michael Freund, November 30, 2005. |
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Following is an article of mine from the Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475651929&pagename= JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull) about the rich Jewish history of Palma de Majorca off the coast of Spain, and the failure of Spanish and Majorcan society to come to terms with what they did to the Jewish people during the time of the Inquisition. Comments may be sent to: letters@jpost.com or to me directly at msfreund@netvision.net.il Nestled along the water, bordered by tree-lined avenues and trendy shops, the old city of Palma de Majorca seems an unlikely place to discover an ongoing affront to Jewish history and faith. The popular resort town, located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain, has a number of architectural and historical treasures, which dot the landscape and serve as reminders of its vibrant past. Signs and information abound regarding the charming museums and courtyards, ancient churches, Roman ruins and arcades that offer visitors an alluring array of sights to see and experiences to enjoy. With over 20 million people per year passing through the city's international airport, local authorities are keen to preserve and even flaunt the various sites which the town has to offer, no doubt aware of their value in attracting globe-trotting tourists. There is, however, one glaring exception to this rule. In what seems like an almost willful attempt to overlook the past, hardly any effort is made to recall the city's once-thriving Jewish life, which is believed to date back as far as the 5th century CE. One could easily spend hours wandering through the narrow medieval streets, where everything from the Roman era to the Arab conquest to the Spanish monarchy enjoys its rightful place on the map, and still not encounter a single reference to the Jewish presence that once existed here. There are no signs to indicate where the town's ancient synagogues once stood, no markers to show where the Jews here once lived, nor any memorials to recall how they were victimized and killed. It is difficult not to escape the conclusion that this "oversight" is no mere coincidence. Given the manner in which Majorca's Jews were so cruelly persecuted over the centuries, it is hardly surprising that the city would prefer not to draw attention to this dark chapter in its history. As far back as 1305, anti-Jewish riots took place in Palma, and four years later, the island's first blood-libel occurred when several Jews were falsely accused of murdering a Christian child. In July 1391, a pogrom targeted Palma's Jews, hundreds of whom were massacred, and in 1435, nearly sixty years before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the city's entire Jewish community was forced to convert to Catholicism. The Jewish converts, however, were never accepted by their Christian neighbors, who looked down on them and referred to them as Chuetas or as "New Christians", a practice that continues even today. The Spanish Inquisition was especially active in Majorca, hunting down the Chuetas and their descendants for centuries. In 1675 and 1691, hundreds of years after their ancestors had been forced to convert, large numbers of Chuetas were executed by the Inquisition for secretly practicing Judaism. In one instance, in January 1675, a 17-year old boy who refused to renounce his belief in the G-d of Israel was burned alive in Palma by church authorities in front of a cheering crowd of 30,000 spectators. And, as late as 1856, riots erupted in Palma when several Chuetas sought to join an exclusive private club, which outraged local residents. But Palma's old city, and the site of its ancient Jewish quarter, contain not a clue, nor even a hint, regarding any of this, as though the locals prefer to live in denial rather than confront their past. A visit to the English-language website of the Palma municipality would seem to confirm this, where a search results in a brief, solitary mention of the city's Jewish quarter. Ironically enough, the only visible ancient Jewish artifact remaining in Palma can be found in a church. At the entrance to the towering La Seu cathedral stands a small glass enclosure containing two Rimonim, the decorative silver ornaments known as finials that are placed on the wooden staves of a Torah scroll. The Hebrew lettering on them is clearly visible, and the sign next to the glass says "Rimonim" in Latin letters. After gazing at them briefly, I approach two church workers and ask why the Rimonim have not been returned to Palma's Jewish community. After all, there is no doubt that they are Jewish ritual objects, and they have no place sitting behind a glass case in a church. My question is greeted with derision, which is then further compounded by the smug answer that, "we will be happy to trade them with you for something of value", as though the very idea of making a gesture of reconciliation to the island's Jews is somehow unacceptable. The church, it seems, would prefer to keep the Rimonim on display, as a type of morbid trophy to celebrate its destruction of Palma's Jews centuries ago, rather than to try to heal the wounds of the past. But what local church and city officials in Palma fail to realize is that those wounds can not be swept under the carpet or ignored. It is time for Majorca in particular, and for Spain in general, to come to terms more openly and honestly with what they did to the Jewish people. To be fair, there are Spanish cities, such as Girona, where the Jewish past is celebrated and preserved. But the fact remains that Spain does not have a national memorial to the victims of the Inquisition or the expulsion, and in places such as Palma, the Jewish presence is entirely overlooked. Indeed, Spanish schoolchildren barely learn more than the sketchiest of details about the darkest chapters in their nation's history, when the oppression of Jews was state policy. In Palma, a local group, called Llegat Jueu, and comprised largely of Chuetas, is trying to change this, working tirelessly to preserve the city's ancient Jewish legacy. They have even launched a new scholarly journal, Segell, to generate greater interest in the area's Jewish history and roots. A prominent Majorcan journalist, Miguel Segura, has bravely written articles and books highlighting his Chueta Jewish identity and challenging society to do away with lingering feelings of bigotry and intolerance against Jews and their descendants. But Spanish society itself needs to do more, much more, to confront these issues head on. Centuries may have passed since Spain's Jews were driven into exile or forced to convert, but when it comes to matters of historical truth and justice, there can be no such thing as a statute of limitations. Michael Freund is founder and Chairman of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), a Jerusalem-based group that reaches out and assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people. |
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PRIORITIES OF THE USA
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 30, 2005. |
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Interesting how the humanitarians in the US State Department are so concerned about the persecution (?) of sexual degenerates in an Arab country but so unconcerned by the persecution (and on occasion execution) of religious minorities, open slavery, the treatment of women as chattel, the suppression of basic civil and political right and so much more. I guess it is just human nature to feel more sympathy for your own kind. This comes from BBC NEWS: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/ middle_east/4482892.stm) It's called "US condemns UAE gay men arrests." The US has condemned the arrests of 26 gay men during a raid on a party at a hotel in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month. Washington also warned the UAE that any attempt to administer hormone or psychological treatment would break international law. Police launched on Tuesday disciplinary proceedings against an officer who published photos taken during the raid, but did not respond to the criticism. Homosexuality is illegal in the UAE. Police arrested 22 UAE men, one Indian, and three Arabs from neighbouring states at a hotel in Ghantut in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday. The authorities said 12 of the men had been dressed in women's clothes and make-up in preparation for a gay wedding. Hormone therapy A police spokesman said the foreigners were likely to be deported, while the Emirati men could be given hormone therapy if they consent. The BBC's Gulf correspondent, Julia Wheeler, says there is a suggestion that agreeing to such treatment could be used as a bargaining tool for a reduction in an individual's sentence. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said his government condemned both the arrests and government-ordered hormone and psychological treatment. "We call on the government of the United Arab Emirates to immediately stop any ordered hormone and psychological treatment and to comply with the standards of international law," he said. In the UAE there have been a number of cases of arrests of homosexuals in recent years, and a nightclub in Dubai was closed down for allowing an openly gay night to be held on its premises, our correspondent says. One religious scholar has now called on parents to be vigilant of what he called "deviant" behaviour in their children. Policeman disciplined Images of the suspects taken by a policeman on his mobile phone appeared in local newspapers shortly after the arrests. Lt Col Najm Abdullah al-Sayar said the police had launched disciplinary proceedings against the policeman. "[The officer] photographed the young men with his mobile phone while they were being arrested and distributed the pictures," he said. "He has infringed on the privacy of the people involved in the case and this is something that goes against the proper conduct of the police force. He is under investigation and may ultimately be expelled from the force." 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. Contact him at zelasko@actcom.co.il |
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THE ISRAEL ACADEMIA MONITOR
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, November 29, 2005. |
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In recent years the activities of Israeli academic extremists have drawn increasing attention and are the subject of increasing public concern. Scores of Israeli academic radicals are today active in abetting anti-Israel activities around the world, such as the recent campaign to impose an academic boycott on Israel. They are frequently the initiators of anti-Israel petition drives, "divestment" campaigns, and they turn out large numbers of anti-Israel propaganda articles in magazines and web sites, including some that are openly anti-Semitic. The critical role of Israeli academic extremists in the recent boycott attempts by professors in the U.K. and by several church groups has served to raise alarms in Israel and in the overseas Jewish communities about the activities of these people. Israeli mainstream media are increasingly taking a journalistic interest in what these people do and in the enormous damages they cause. At Israel Academia Monitor our purpose is to expose and monitor the political activities of Israeli academic extremists. We seek to bring information to light, mainly from the articles and statements of the extremists themselves, on and off Israeli campuses. Anti-Israel and occasionally anti-Jewish articles by these people appear in numerous publications around the world, including on the Internet. We archive and report about these. Some of these articles openly endorse and promote international boycotts of Israel in general and boycotts of Israeli universities in particular. Others include open endorsements of anti-Israel violence, terrorism, and recruitment of support for Israelis collaborating with anti-Israel organizations. Still others promote insurrection and mutiny by Israeli soldiers. We at Israel Academia Monitor believe in free speech and academic freedom. We also believe in the right of donors, alumni, students, journalists, taxpayers, and others to know about the political activities of Israel's tenured radicals, people whose salaries come from the public fiscal trough. Israeli universities are public taxpayer-financed institutions and owe the members of the public accountability. By publishing this information, we are aware that some, including donors to Israeli universities, will find this information disturbing, possibly shocking. We want to make it clear that we are not calling for an end to support of and donations to Israeli academic institutions. We do think that donors should be aware of how their funds are spent and how their generosity is used and sometimes misused. As part of our work, we monitor and publicize abuses and misbehavior, taken from each Israeli campus. We invite our readers to read for themselves the statements of Israeli academic extremists in their original form and to draw their own conclusions. We seek to serve as a data base and media resource for journalists and others interested in these matters. Mr. Mordechai Ben-Menachem
Mordechai Ben-Menachem is a Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva. Contact him at quality@acm.org |
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AN ARAB'S INSIGHT INTO THE ARAB WORLD
Posted by David Meir-Levi, November 29, 2005. |
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For those who cringe and wring their hands in embarrassed frustration over the horrible things that our people are doing to their people at Guantanamo and in Iraq: We are the object of calumny, threats, and massive ferocious demonstrations (where dozens are trampled to death) all over the Moslem world because there is a report (unsubstantiated as yet) that a soldier at Guantanamo mis-handled a Qur'an. They blow up their own mosques even as these are full of their own people worshipping, and copies of the Qur'an.....and no one objects. We are the object of calumny, threats, and demonstrations, accusations that we are the worst of mankind, worse than the NAZIs, because we used intimidation techniques involving humiliation and threats of torture and intimidation via large dogs (some wearing muzzles)....at Abu Ghuraib. They have a 1,000 year old tradition of bona fide torture and beheading and throat-cutting and mutilating and descrating corpses, including impalement and acid baths, with documented victims of Saddam Hussein numbering in the thousands (not to mention the well known Syrian torture technique known as "el-'Abd el-Aswad" = the black slave -- let me know if you want details of that one, not fit for a general email, or the treatment of black slaves in Sudan and Mauritania)...and narry a peep is heard from any human rights spokesperson. Per Brigitte Gabriel's comments below, we are setting ourselves up for defeat when we buy into the Islamofascist industry of propaganda that seeks to demonize us for defending ourselves against their onslaught. But this is not a new problem. "Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged" (Abraham Lincoln) David Meir-Levi PS. this does not mean that it is ok to be like them. Rather, it is incumbent upon us to see: a.) the difference between what they are saying about us and the reality of what we are doing compared to what they are doing b.) the goal of their propaganda about us, which is to justify their assault on us with lies and decontextualizations and disinformation. This article is something that everyone who ever criticizes our handling of enemy combatants at Gitmo should read. However, DO NOT watch the torture link if you are easily offended or have a weak stomach. Time Magazine is publishing a shocking interview with an Iraqi suicide bomber. It's mind-boggling to understand, but just like WWII when America came to understand and accept the barbarism of the Nazis and Japs, so must Americans come to grips with our current enemy, the Islamic militants and how they view America. To help explain this, consider Brigitte Gabriel, a native of the Arab world, and the former news anchor of World News for Middle East Television. Now a Contributing Editor for FamilySecurityMatters.com, Gabriel wants viewers and listeners to know the truth about what the Arab World thinks of Senator Durbin's remarks, the alleged so-called "abuses" at Gitmo (a joke she calls it). As a child, Gabriel's own home was destroyed by radical Islamists because she was a Christian. She spent 2 1/2 months in the hospital and then lived under-ground for 7 years with no electricity and little food. THEN she rose to become a news anchor, and later moved to the US where she's a true American success story - own business, husband, two kids, etc. This excellent OpEd by Brigitte is called "What The Arab World Thinks." Torture is accepted and even expected in the Arab world. Yes, I know what you're thinking-that's not politically correct in most mainstream media. And you know some nice Arabs who have immigrated to America. But it's the truth in the Arab world. Might makes right. Real men don't eat quiche. They prove their manhood by the way they treat their enemy. After all it's what Muhammad did to the unbelievers - Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians in the Quoran - the 'holy book' allegedly mishandled in Guantanamo prison. Arab Muslim men gain honor by shaming, belittling, abusing and torturing their enemy in the most horrific ways. Just look at how the Palestinians treat so-called collaborators by disemboweling them and hanging them upside down in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Look at the terrorist torture chambers that the coalition forces recently uncovered in Iraq. When people refer to the prisons of Saddam Hussein and his regime
they think he is the extreme exception. Not so! The truth is his
torture tactics are quite the norm in the Arab world. If you want to
see torture that is beyond what any Westerner can ever imagine please
go to ( http://www.masada2000.org/impalement.asx
They smirk because they believe that Americans have demonstrated
how stupid and weak they are by caving in to stories about
maltreatment of Guantanamo detainees. They are watching our critics in
this country and counting on them to embolden the radical Islamic
cause and weaken our resolve.
Actually, Gitmo is a joke as far as the Arabs are concerned. Prison?
You call that a prison? Let me tell you what some of the prisoners
call Guantanamo, "Al muntazah al-dini lilmujaheden al Muslimin,"
The Religious Resort for Islamic Militants.
[Note: It strikes me as tragically ironic that when my friends and
colleagues were imprisoned and tortured in North Vietnam's horrific
confinement facilities (some for over 7 years), no one in America
except their families complained. Where was the "Oh my God look what
is happening to our prisoners" crowd then? Certainly not the press,
who believed Jane Fonda when she said they were well treated;
certainly not the Johnson administration, who directly told the
families of our prisoners to 'be quiet' and not raise the awareness
of their husbands, fathers, and sons, and certainly not the GD
ACLU!). ~~ JCM]
They are given three halal meals a day in accordance to their
religious dictates. How many kosher prisons are there in the Arabic
world? None. Jews captured in the Arab world are butchered like those
obscene pictures taken in Ramallah during the frenzied slaughter of
two Israeli reservists who got lost. Remember the Palestinian man
holding his red, Jewish blood dripping hands, high above his head in
victory?
Remember Nick Berg's head being held high also?
Most of these detainees never had three meals a day in their
entire life. They are gaining weight, and are living in what they
refer to in Arabic as "Al-Jannah," paradise. They have radio,
television, soccer games, air-conditioning, clean clothes, servants,
meaning American GIs, who wait on them hand and foot. They have
Islamic chaplains and handed Qu'rans, the social hate guide against
Infidels, by people so concerned as not to offend that they wear latex
gloves and carry the book with two hands.
Many Muslims in the Middle East would gladly give up their
poverty, dictatorial governments, corrupt leaders and social bondage
to enjoy the relative luxuries Guantanamo offers. They have free
medical care, better than millions of uninsured Americans and our
military men and women serving on the jihadists' battlefield. Some of
them who couldn't afford to see an optometrist now have glasses and
can see and read their Qu'ran. Others who never had the opportunity to
see a dentist now have a free dental plan. It has become such a joke;
we even stop interrogations to let them take prayer breaks demanded by
their religion.
As an Arab, I can tell you that Illinois Democratic Senator Richard Durbin is aiding and abetting the goals and strategy of Islamic jihadists who have declared war on the United States. Where was Durbin's comparison to the Nazis when we found the torture chambers in Iraq? Where was Durbin's comparison to Soviet gulags when we found the hundreds of thousands of bodies in Saddam's mass graves?
Where was Durbin's head when he compared prisoners captured on the field of battle to the internment of Japanese American civilians during WWII? OK, apologize to unarmed citizens, not fighters with weapons in their hands. Where was Durbin when he compared Gitmo and Abu Ghraib to the industry of death that murdered 6 million Jewish men, women and children during WWII? If anything his heart and mind were in the jihadists terrorists' camp. If you see what story is being downloaded and shared by viewers of the al Jazeera web site you will find the story on Durbin's comments the winner.
If I were an Islamic terrorist I would be thanking Durbin and forwarding his views to all my fellow fanatics. His reckless comments fuel the fanatic frenzied jihadists, motivating them to blow themselves up in the midst of innocent civilians, savagely cut the heads of helpless hostages and devote themselves to killing the infidel who could be your neighbor stationed in Iraq. Just like the Quran says they should.
Dick Durbin is an unwitting champion of Islamic radical
fundamentalists. His comments should be known from this day forward
as a " Durbinization" of the facts. To demonize something grossly out
of proportion to what the enemy is doing is to Durbinize. Gitmo and
Abu Ghraib have been Durbinized and the Arab world loves it. They
laugh at Durbin because he's supporting their belief in the
destruction of our country and civilization.
The shame is Durbin doesn't have a clue as to what he's done. As far
as he's concerned, he did the right thing for the Islamic radical
detainees living high on the proverbial hog in Gitmo. What he really
did was made them laugh; laugh at us for being fools and not real
men. Now it's time to see if the voters in Illinois and his fellow
members of Congress are men and women enough to tell the Moslem world
Durbin isn't our real man.
David Meir-Levi is an American-born Israeli, currently living in Palo Alto. He lectures in English, Hebrew, and Spanish; his expertise is in Near Eastern studies and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is Director of Peace and Education at Israel Peace Initiative (www.ipi-usa.org). Contact David Meir-Levi at david_meirlevi@hotmail.com |
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CHALABI, AUTHENTIC IRAQI?; ARABS FIGHTING OVER JEWS' LAND; PREDICTED & UNPREDICTED
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, November 29, 2005. |
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THE MORE IMRA ANALYSES THE AGREEMENT IMRA continues to analyze the Gaza border agreement. One provision specifies how many trucks the inspection system can handle. When a new scanner is installed, more trucks would be let through. Nullifying serious inspection, however, is a provision for Israel to expedite the whole P.A. crop. More trucks than can be inspected, would pass. Worse, this arrangement is stated as the model for Judea-Samaria. Incidentally, when Israel introduced scanners that would enable people to pass more swiftly and conveniently, the P.A. objected. The P.A. called the scanners carcinogens. Actually, the scanners emit less radiation than cellular telephones. Such scanners are in use all over the world, but Israel's proposal to use them was called a plot (11/20). CHALABI OF IRAQ Before the Iraq war, Chalabi returned to Iraq to help prepare it for the freedom he saw coming. He fell out of favor with the US Administration, when he opposed it by demanding immediate sovereignty and democratic elections leading to self-rule and by defending de-Baathification against US efforts to scuttle it. When his commission investigated oil-for-food, he opposed US efforts to internationalize responsibility for Iraq. National Security Advisor Rice called his opposition to the US-sponsored Fallujah Brigade "unhelpful" (but the Brigade collapsed and largely joined the jihadists.) "Soon afterward, she directed her staff to outline ways to "marginalize" Chalabi. There followed espionage and counterfeiting charges -- the former never seriously pursued by the FBI and the latter thrown out of an Iraqi court." The US thought his contacts in Iraq were meager and unreliable. It expected him to fade away without its patronage. The US view was confirmed by the polls it took. Iraqis, however, react to polls differently from Americans, who were misled. Iraqis like his nationalism and independence. Being authentic, and with deep roots in Iraq, Chalabi rose to become deputy Prime Minister, without US patronage. Family history and prestige matters much to Iraqis. Chalabi's grandfather built a town later incorporated into Baghdad. His father was President of the monarchial Senate and revitalized a shrine. The State Dept. turned against him because of his independent opposition to it. The CIA analysts misunderstood and under-estimated him, because they are youths hired directly from college, without experience and unfamiliar with the cultures with which they deal. They were suspicious of him because he had so many contacts! They also mistrusted him for spending time in Iran (MEFNews, 11/20 from Michael Rubin of National Review, 11/29). Ridiculous charges were brought against him in Jordan. Note the imperious US manner: "marginalize him!" He was right on those matters. He also is accused of giving the US poor intelligence, but Mr. Rubin did not comment about that. (Nevertheless, we do not really know what apparently pro-Western natives might do.) WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE EXPELLEE'S LAND? The P.A. promised to build extensive public housing in the formerly Jewish area of Gaza, but Arab squatters are moving in. Arab clans clash with P.A. police, as different groups vie to claim land. People are arrested over this. In one clash, a bystander youth was killed. His family then attacked the police station, as do armed gangs. At the funeral, mourners broke the law by firing rifles into the air. Violence is increasing (Arutz-7, 11/20). Hamas may pose as the party best able to end the anarchy. On that basis, it may win the election. ISRAEL DEVELOPED A LIE DETECTOR For use in airports, an Israeli has developed a lie detector that requires no physical contact. It listens to people's voices and detects emotions. The developer claims a 12% sensitivity, but an American test claims a 90% reliability. Of course, the emotion of fear need not be for plans to commit a crime at the airport (Arutz-7, 11/20). Try it on PM Sharon and Sec. Rice. POLLARD SUGGESTS A SPY SWAP Jonathan Pollard's attorneys are suing the government of Israel to arrest Angie Kielcienski, an Israeli, for spying on Israel in behalf of the US. Kielcienski's crime came to light when he sued the CIA for denying him a pension although his spying led to the exposure of Pollard. Thus he admitted having spied. His ability to do so was due to Sharon's having appointed him to a security position in the Likud, gaining him access to State secrets. Pollard wants Israel to swap Kielcinski for him (IMRA, 11/21). Does the US care what happens to Kielcienski? SHARON DENIES SUPPOSED RFEASON FOR NEW PARTY The popular assumption is that Ariel Sharon is forming a new political party because he plans more withdrawals and no longer can get away with it in the Likud Party. Sharon, however, denies that he plans any more retreats (IMRA, 11/2 ). There is no other rationale for him leaving his party. His officials have been discussing another retreat, planning to offer settlers money to abandon their homes, and are drawing the security fence so as to leave settlements outside unprotected and the ones inside subject to snipers from higher ground outside. ONE DEMOCRATIC ADVANTAGE FOR ISRAEL OVER U.S. It is almost impossible to use libel suits to punish the US media. The judicial standard for convicting is to prove malice. The US media is not likely to admit publicly that it defamed Israel with malice aforethought. The judicial standard for conviction in Israel is less rigorous. The Israeli media can get away with factual errors but less so with smearing individuals (Pipes #618, 11/21). Nevertheless, it is difficult to bring lawsuits. Sometimes a rich person uses the courts to force innocent but poorer people to apologize publicly to the guilty ones. In this way, Prof. Plaut was sued for slander by a professor he had denounced truthfully. A PREDICTION COME TRUE When thousands of terrorists rushed from Gaza through the unguarded exit to Sinai, it was predicted that they would circle around Gaza to the unfenced Egyptian-Israel border and enter the Negev. Sure enough, three of them, in the company of an Egyptian arms smuggler, were caught in the Negev (IMRA). ANARCHISTS FLOCK TO HEBRON To assist Israeli Far Leftists help the Arabs of Hebron against the Israeli Army, anarchists have been coming in from all over the world. At first, the Arabs received them with hospitality. Then they became disgusted with them, as are the local Jews. These anarchists not only attack Israeli troops, they bring in drugs and teach local Arab youths sexual depravity and otherwise violate the local moral code. As a result, local Arabs and Jews formed joint street patrols against the anarchists (IMRA, 11/22). This is the first time in about 80 years that Arabs and Jews there had good relations. Local Jews are religious and conservative about sex and drugs. Only a few years ago, the Arabs used to riot against the Jews and terrorists tried to murder them. I don't think this cooperation will last. When the anarchists leave, jihadists will return. SOURCE OF ANTI-ZIONISM & ANTI-AMERICANISM Before the Iraq war, Mideastern dictators focused their people's discontent upon Israel and America. Then came the war and the American call for freedom and democracy. As a result, Mideastern peoples are beginning to focus their discontent upon their own dictatorial and corrupt regimes (Michael Barone, NY Sun, 11/21, Op. Ed.). Perhaps to some extent, but don't expect too much too soon. ONE DEMOCRATIC ADVANTAGE FOR ISRAEL OVER U.S. It is almost impossible to use libel suits to punish the US media. The judicial standard for convicting is to prove malice. The US media is not likely to admit publicly that it defamed Israel with malice aforethought. The judicial standard for conviction in Israel is less rigorous. The Israeli media can get away with factual errors but less so with smearing individuals (Pipes #618, 11/21). Nevertheless, it is difficult to bring lawsuits. Sometimes a rich person uses the courts to force innocent but poorer people to apologize publicly to the guilty ones. In this way, Prof. Plaut was sued for slander by a professor he had denounced truthfully. A PREDICTION COME TRUE When thousands of terrorists rushed from Gaza through the unguarded exit to Sinai, it was predicted that they would circle around Gaza to the unfenced Egyptian-Israel border and enter the Negev. Sure enough, three of them, in the company of an Egyptian arms smuggler, were caught in the Negev (IMRA). ANARCHISTS FLOCK TO HEBRON To assist Israeli Far Leftists help the Arabs of Hebron against the Israeli Army, anarchists have been coming in from all over the world. At first, the Arabs received them with hospitality. Then they became disgusted with them, as are the local Jews. These anarchists not only attack Israeli troops, they bring in drugs and teach local Arab youths sexual depravity and otherwise violate the local moral code. As a result, local Arabs and Jews formed joint street patrols against the anarchists (IMRA, 11/22). This is the first time in about 80 years that Arabs and Jews there had good relations. Local Jews are religious and conservative about sex and drugs. Only a few years ago, the Arabs used to riot against the Jews and terrorists tried to murder them. I don't think this cooperation will last. When the anarchists leave, jihadists will return. SOURCE OF ANTI-ZIONISM & ANTI-AMERICANISM Before the Iraq war, Mideastern dictators focused their people's discontent upon Israel and America. Then came the war and the American call for freedom and democracy. As a result, Mideastern peoples are beginning to focus their discontent upon their own dictatorial and corrupt regimes (Michael Barone, NY Sun, 11/21, Op. Ed.). Perhaps to some extent, but don't expect too much too soon. MISLABELING, AGAIN When Sharon forms a new party, "That would leave Likud as a bastion of hard-line opponents to compromise with the Palestinian Arabs." (Mark Lavie, NY Sun, 11/21, p.6 from Associated Press.) Three labels are casually tossed into that sentence: "hard-line," "compromise," and "opponents of compromise." (I corrected the preposition from "to" to "of." Israelis have difficulty with English prepositions. This can make for awkward sentences.) Those labels are misleading. That has become the function of labels in these times of advocacy journalism. The purpose of advocacy journalism is to imbue readers with the journal's point of view, without much scruple. "Hard-line" is used to make principled people appear extremist. If the principle is to preserve defensible borders against terrorists and to retain one's national patrimony against imperialist usurpers, the principle is not extremist. Its journalistic critics are. Unfortunately, Likudniks are not hardliners. They vary. Many are appeasement-minded. Others don't care about the issues but only about their political careers. Mr. Lavie both uses the term "hard-line" incorrectly and misapplies it to Likud. They rarely apply the term to the Arab side, which would be correct because the Arabs want all of Israel. "Compromise" generally means two sides each conceding some ground, in order to reach agreement somewhere in the middle. That is not what is expected in the Arab-Israel compromise. The term "compromise" is used deceitfully. It suggests that both sides are conceding. The Muslim Arabs, being religious fanatics, however, concede nothing and break their commitment, without the great powers that urge "compromise" taking steps to ensure Arab compliance. The great powers may ask the Arabs to comply, and ask and they ask, but they don't take steps. Their requests are lip service to the uninformed and the naïve. Which major journalist will admit that the Arabs don't compromise? There is a secondary, non-complimentary meaning to "compromise." One compromises one's beliefs. This is what Israel is asked to do. The Arabs are not asked to do that. In mistakenly calling Likudniks hardliners, Mr. Lavie is equally mistaken in calling them "opponents of compromise." He means they would not make any concessions. What those among them who do stand up for nationalist needs and reasonable defense oppose are one-sided concessions that endanger Israeli survival. Those who criticism them for this are "extremists." There I am using a label, but I believe correctly so. People such as Pres. Bush, Sec. Rice, and PM Sharon, who get Israel to stop barring terrorists from entering Gaza or from freely traveling on the roads to Jewish communities, although they know that the Arabs are at war with Israel and by war crimes, surely are extremists. The NY Times and the Left misuse the term to mean opponents of theirs. It is argument by smear. THE "JEWISH SICKNESS" DEEPENS A Europe willingly ignorant about the Arab-Israel conflict has made Israel the scapegoat for it. Its indignation against Israel serves as an excuse to chastise Jews instead of themselves for moral turpitude. This think that their prejudice is confirmed by the "new historians," whose rendering of history is false and tendentious. (Some of the main new historians are Communists.) The European theory parallels the Arab one that the Arabs are the victims of Zionism, rather than the reverse. Having abandoned nationalism themselves, the European elite condemn Jewish nationalism (which parallels the Israeli leftist animosity towards national power, expressed in early anti-Zionism at Hebrew U.). Somehow, Europeans conflate nationalism with fascism (though some nationalisms opposed fascism). They are not consistent about this, however, refusing to condemn Arab nationalism. These Europeans deny their anti-Zionism is antisemitic, but they seek to deny national rights only to the Jewish people. They advise Israel to dissolved itself. How much justice this would lead to, under rule by the genocidal, fascistic Arabs, is not discussed by those we're-not-antisemitic Europeans. The Europeans have revived their old, anti-Jewish policy of demanding that the Jews give up their national identity. They urge Diaspora Jews, like Communists confessing to non-existent crimes under the Stalin purge trials, to denounce Israel. Some European Jews are doing just that. They think this will gain them acceptance. They are aided by far leftist Israelis, who ought to know better (Emmanuele Ottolenghi, Commentary, 12/2005, p.42). My fellow Jews acceptance of antisemites' accusations I call the "Jewish neurosis"). SWEET TALK BETWEEN SHARON & MUBARAK Mubarak wished Sharon luck. Sharon said he hoped to continue to work together with Mubarak for peace (IMRA, 11/22). They work together this way: (1) Sharon opens the gates; and (2) Mubarak lets terrorists and arms through. Politicians and diplomats seem to talk baby talk. THE TRIBULATIONS OF ARAB INTELLECTUALS Oppressive Arab regimes have long impeded Arab intellectuals who discuss reform. It is illegal to criticize the Koran. Now those intellectuals receive death threats from Islamists. Some intellectuals have fled abroad (IMRA, 11/22). $ID |
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"CULTURE" MAG QUESTIONS ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST
Posted by Honest Reporting, November 29, 2005. |
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Dear HonestReporting Subscriber, Why is The Dubliner, which claims to be "widely regarded as the definitive guide to Irish culture", publishing an op-ed piece (http://www.honestreporting.com/a/dublinerarticle.htm) that not only disputes Israel's right to exist but also denigrates Jewish history and culture at the same time? In the immediate aftermath of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call to 'wipe Israel from the face of the map', this magazine's November issue publishes an opinion piece alluding to the same idea by former Irish Labor Minister Justin Keating. While couched in less violent terms than Ahmadinejad, Keating claims: the Zionists have absolutely no right in what they call Israel, that they have built their state not beside but on top of the Palestinian people, and that there can be no peace as long as contemporary Israel retains its present form. Keating not only takes issue with Israel's right to exist but, unlike any serious historian, also questions the entire Jewish historical and religious connection to the land, asking: Did the Jews of the Old Testament come from what is now Israel? The answer is No. Quoting Israel's Declaration of Independence - "The land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people" - Keating calls this a "self-serving and untruthful Zionist myth", ignoring more than 3700 years of Jewish ties to their historical homeland. Also ignoring the fact that Jews have lived there throughout this period, Keating portrays the Jews as "people who occupied some land two thousand years ago for a historically brief period, to the detriment of those who have been there since." Continuing his historical revisionism into the 20th century, Keating claims that the Balfour Declaration did not give "the Zionists the right to establish a state in Israel." This, despite the fact that the 1917 document was included as part of the British Mandate for Palestine and specifically referred to "the historical connections of the Jewish people with Palestine" and to the moral validity of "reconstituting their National Home in that country." In addition, the Mandate was backed by the members of the League of Nations in 1922, the forerunner of today's UN. Keating even states that the UN Resolution of 1947 did not give Israel the right to exist as a sovereign state, claiming: they [the Zionists] have continuously and relentlessly violated that resolution for more than half a century, so that any tatters that now remain are void, by their action. This, despite the fact that the Resolution did indeed legitimately give birth to the modern State of Israel, a recognized member of the UN with the same legal rights as other member states including the Republic of Ireland, in whose government Keating once served. In addition, while the Zionist movement accepted the Resolution for partition, Keating completely ignores its rejection by the Arab states that proceeded to invade the newborn Jewish state in an attempt to annihilate its people. Referring to the Jewish contribution to civilization, Keating concludes by claiming: Zionists have betrayed all of this, and that is a tragedy not just for Jews, but for all of us. Does Keating's vitriolic attack on Jewish history and Israel's right to exist have any place in the pages of an Irish cultural magazine? Comments to The Dubliner: editor@thedubliner.ie For more detailed historical information on the myths raised by Justin Keating, see Myths and Facts Online: Israel's Roots by Mitchell G. Bard. BBC UPHOLDS COMPLAINT AGAINST PLETT'S TEARS FOR ARAFAT At the end of October 2004, HonestReporting highlighted BBC Mideast correspondent Barbara Plett's emotional attachment to Yasser Arafat following her public revelation that: when the helicopter carrying the frail old man rose above his ruined compound, I started to cry... without warning. Despite a flood of complaints from HonestReporting subscribers, the BBC initially cleared Plett of any wrongdoing. Following an appeal, however, the BBC Board of Governors has upheld part of the complaint, stating that Plett's comments "breached the requirements of due impartiality". According to the BBC website, the BBC's director of news, Helen Boaden has apologized for what she described as an "editorial misjudgment". She said it appeared Plett "unintentionally gave the impression of over-identifying with Yasser Arafat and his cause". While this begrudging apology certainly does not go far enough in addressing the BBC's Mideast coverage, which is the subject of the majority of complaints received by the corporation, congratulations to those who kept up the pressure on the BBC and also contributed to its Israeli-Palestinian Impartiality Review. Following the recent deadline for submissions on 25 November, HonestReporting awaits with interest the publication of the report in the spring. CHANGES TO BBC COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE Staying with the BBC, a number of HonestReporting readers inform us that complaints to the BBC are no longer accepted by direct e-mail. Instead, the complainant is now directed to a web-based procedure at http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints. We hope that you will not be discouraged from making your feelings known to the BBC in the future. Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias.
Honest Reporting monitors the media for inaccuracy and unfairness
in how they report the news about Israel. Ther website address is
http://www.honestreporting.com. You can help support their research
online or by sending contributions to: HonestReporting, 400 South Lake
Drive, Lakewood, NJ 08701-3167.
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SIMPLETON SHELI AND A FATAH 'HITLER'
Posted by Steven Plaut, November 29, 2005. |
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1. Simpleton Sheli Well, Amir Peretz is picking up political rejects and jetsam even while many of the establishment Labor Party people are making moves to leave. The latest recruit is none other than communist TV-radio hostess Sheli Yachimovich. Why communist? Well, in recent elections she endorsed the Stalinist pro-terror HADASH party, which has never gotten around to renouncing Stalin's terror. Sheli is the main target of ridicule on Israele's leading humor TV show these days -- Eretz Nehederet. She says she is joining the Peretzites because she thinks they represent "social democrats," and if you think that Stalin was a social democrat then you should be joining Simpleton Sheli. The feminizts were upset when the TV comedians made funny of Sheli, using a character to represent her as - well, coyote ugly. Sheli is 45 and is a flaming feminizt. She used to write for the Marxist Al-Hamishmar newspaper before it went bankrupt (it had gone into mourning when Stalin died, running as its banner headline: "The Sun of the Nations has Set"). She pretends to be an intellectual and writes book reviews in the press. 2. "'Hitler' wins Palestinian primary elections -- Terrorist known for 'brutal policies' one of many militants victorious," by Aaron Klein, World Net Daily (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47615) JERUSALEM: A terrorist known in his hometown as "Hitler" -- both for his physical resemblance to the German dictator and for his policies -- has swept local primaries and will represent his district for the ruling Fatah party in upcoming Palestinian legislative elections, according to Palestinian sources. Jamal Abu Al-Rub, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, won the Fatah primaries in the northern Samarian village of Qabatya, just outside Jenin, election officials say. He was one of dozens of terrorists and militant leaders to dominate the local elections. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, founded in 2000, is a terrorist group responsible for dozens of deadly suicide bombings and hundreds of shooting attacks against Israeli civilians. Al-Rub has publicly executed Palestinians his group suspected of collaborating with Israel and is accused by the Jewish state of planning several terror attacks. A source close to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND, "If you ask around in the West Bank who is Abu Al-Rub, most people won't know. But when you ask them about the guy nicknamed Hitler, everyone knows exactly who he is." Continued the source: "While the nickname came because of his looks, he is known more as Hitler because of his policies. He runs a tight ship in his town through fear and intimidation. And he not only calls for executions but personally carries them out in public so everyone can see what happens when 'Hitler' thinks you collaborated with Israel." Also yesterday, Palestinian election officials certified the landslide primary win of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Founder Marwan Barghouti, who is serving multiple life terms in Israeli prison for planning suicide bombings and shooting attacks. Israel accuses Barghouti of orchestrating the Intifada, the terror war launched by the Palestinians in 2000. Barghouti took 96 percent of the votes to head Fatah's roster in Ramallah, spurring calls from Palestinians and some Israeli ministers for his immediate release. Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat told WND, "He should be freed, period. Israel should not have arrested a Palestinian official in the first place." Yossi Beilin, leader of the far left Meretz party and an architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords, said, "I think today there is no doubt that he is one of the top leaders in the Palestinian street. Barghouti heads one of the Palestinian camps that do want peace and so this is the moment to end his sentence... in preparation for an historical peace agreement with Israel." Meanwhile, the primary elections scheduled to be held yesterday in Gaza were postponed after Fatah gunmen stormed Gaza City polling stations and complained about irregularities in voter lists. According to witnesses, the gunmen fired into the air and burned tires in the streets. No injuries were reported. Earlier, gunmen had ransacked the office of an online newspaper in Gaza City, destroying furniture and equipment and threatening to kill the editor-in-chief reportedly because the media outlet published a report critical of a Palestinian Authority official running in the primaries. 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 or write him at splaut@econ.haifa.ac.il. |
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URGENT CALL TO THE LEADERS OF THE NATIONAL CAMP
Posted by Ron Breiman, November 29, 2005. |
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Professors for a Strong Israel (PSI) urges the leadership of the National Union and of the National Religious Party to create a joint list of candidates and to include, in places likely to be elected, the names of candidates who do not wear kippot. It is essential that the list represent the entire Zionist camp, not only religious Zionism, both in its message and in its makeup. We also call on the candidates for the leadership of the Likud to declare, before the primaries, that they will work to create a joint home for the entire nationalist public, a true alternative to the Sharon-Peretz-Meretz bloc. Dr. Ron Breiman, is Chairman of Professors for A Strong Israel (PSI). He can be reached by telephone at 050-5-518 940 in Israel. |
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UNITE!
Posted by Batya Medad, November 29, 2005. |
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Unite! The Israeli political system has been evolving over the years, and just as I'm writing this I realize that I've been a "participant" for a majority of those years. We have been here since 1970. First of all, the Knesset is divided by "proportional representation." That means that you vote for a party/ideology/platform and the 120 seats are divided in proportion to the votes. But it's not that simple, because the minimum percent for a party to be in the Knesset has gone up a lot. It used to be possible for one person to get in as a sole, solitary one-person political party. But now it has gone up and one needs enough percentage points for at least three, or has it been raised since? Sorry, I can't remember. But this is important. It is now much more difficult for a new party to make a successful showing. That's why massive pressure must be put on Baruch Marzel and Paul Eidelberg to cease their attempts to run for the Knesset as a separate party. They have already run and lost, and it's not just whatever money was wasted. The votes they got would have gone to other patriotic or religious or chareidi parties giving a total of 4-6 extra seats to the block if not more. Instead those seats went to the Likud and Labor. Yes, it's complicated. B'ezrat Hashem, with G-d's help, the National Religious Party, Mafdal, will join with the Ichud Le'umi, National Union. Former NRP members joined before the last elections. The NU reminds me of what was the best of the T'chiya Party, which just missed getting back in the Knesset the year that Rabbi Levinger and Daniella Weiss ran for Knesset as a new party. They didn't get in either, causing a massive waste of votes and potential religious & patriotic Knesset Members. T'chiya included Geula Cohen, Moshe Shamir, Yuval Ne'eman and Channan Porat. It was a wonderful coalition of Jews. I remember once at a T'chiya "chug bayit," "parlour meeting," someone asked Geula if T'chiya was a religious party. Her answer was: "No, it's a Jewish Party." And that's what we need again. And we need a Jewish Government with Jewish Values. And most of all we need UNITY. And in order to unify, sometimes you have to compromise on details. We all need to vote for and support a political party with a clear vision. This vision must be of Jewish settlement in all of the Land of Israel. We must take responsibility for our own security and not rely on any other country or international body. It is better to develop our own industry, rather than accepting coupons (foreign aid.) By becoming economically independent, we will reduce unemployment, thereby getting fiscally stronger at the same time. Jewish and World History has proven over and over that we cannot count on any other country, people or international organization to save ourselves. Not only Ariel Sharon and other left-wing politicians have been saying they want to, or are willing to, give our Land, most of what remains of Judea and Samaria to the Arabs. Almost all of the Likud politicians, including Bibi, Uzi and Sharansky, will give Land away "when the Arabs agree to..." and some, even if they don't. Remember who supported Disengagement or sat by passively as Jewish homes, schools, businesses and lives were destroyed. Yes, lives, because today the vast majority of Disengagement victims are homeless and jobless. Family dynamics have changed for the worse. The results will take their time to fully show. G-d forbid. We need strong leaders who are ready to contribute to our country without being "party head" or even members of Knesset. This isn't the time for egos. It's the time to contribute whatever we can. Let's focus on what's really important. Let's save our country, our Land and our People! UNITE!! Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il This article is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/11/unite.html |
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I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE SHOULD LAUGH OR CRY AT THIS ONE
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, November 29, 2005. |
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These are excerpts from "Robots of Arabia", from Wired (11/05) Vol. 13, No. 11, P. 188; by Jim Lewis. The complete article is at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/camel.html The ideal camel jockey is the size and weight of a starving 4-year-old boy. Ancient tradition collides with new technology, atop a beast racing at 25 miles per hour in 112-degree heat. ... however modern the Qataris may be, some traditions linger. For thousands of years, camel racing has been the sport of kings throughout the Arab peninsula - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates. A fast camel can cost several hundred thousand dollars, and an owner may house and feed scores of them. ... A camel will not run without someone riding it and egging it on. The lighter the jockey, the faster the camel. For as long as anyone can remember, the solution was to use child jockeys - not adolescents, but little boys as young as 4, hustled in from poorer countries like Sudan and kept in hovels in the desert where they did nothing but ride camels. They were denied even rudimentary schooling, they were starved to keep their weight down, and their injuries were often left untreated. In Qatar there were a few hundred such children; in neighboring UAE, which used Pakistani and Bangladeshi boys as well as Sudanese, there were as many as 3,000. Trainers would choose whoever was handy and ready, stick him up on a saddle behind the camel's hump, and when the race started, bark orders through walkie-talkies the boys wore strapped to their chests. ... By the end of 2003, the practice had become a public relations disaster of exactly the sort that Qatar, gazing westward, wanted very much to avoid. The creation of robot camel jockeys is seen as a significant achievement from both a technical and social perspective. The machines were developed in an attempt by Qatar's emir, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, to win the respect of the developed world by eliminating the practice of using children, imported from poor nations and trained and housed under less than humanitarian conditions, as jockeys. The 35-pound prototypes were developed by Swiss company K-Team under the guidance of project and services manager Alexandre Colot. The remote-controlled devices fit into specially designed saddles and feature two hands--one to pull the reins and one to bear the whip. The robots were also designed with a ruggedized aluminum frame and shock absorbers; a GPS-enabled monitor that tracks the camel's heart rate; and a 400 MHz processor running Linux and communicating at 2.4 GHz. A plastic head adds an anthropomorphic touch that makes the camels more accepting of the robots, but this feature is frowned upon by Arabic culture, which considers representations of the human form taboo. Qatar's prime minister has mandated that the heads must be removed before the commencement of the racing season. The Qatari government will buy the robots for as much as $10,000 each and rent them to the camel owners for an undisclosed amount. But Colot says that the owners themselves will soon begin purchasing the robots. There are now 20 or 25 robots ready to ride, with 100 or so ore expected to be in service by the end of 2005. Mordechai Ben-Menachem is a Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva. Contact him at quality@acm.org |
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ISLAMIST RADICALS CARRY OUT NEW OPERATIONS IN BANGLADESH
Posted by Salah Choudhury, November 29, 2005. |
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Suicide Squads belonging to ISLAMIST Radical groups exploded two powerful bombs in Gazipur (a suburb in Dhaka city) and Chittagong (port city) this morning at court premises killing more that 15 people and leaving hundred injured. Terrorists entered the court premises with the camaflage of lawyers wearing gowns and exploded the bombs inside the court rooms. In both the incidents, attackers, belong to suicide squads were also killed. Right after the incident, lawyers came on streets in Dhaka and Chittagong chanting anti Islamist radical slogans. They demanded an immediate ban on religion based politics and arrest of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, who are, according to them, behind such notorious activities. Earlier, last evening, Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia warned people to refrain from using Islam for terrorism. She said, Islamist radicals will be given strict punishment for their notorious activities within the country. Lawyers and judges in the lower judiciary of the country immediately started boycotting courts. Lawyers in the High Court Division also are protesting on road demanding immediate ban on religion based politics. The protestors demanded forthwith the resignation of the State Minister for Home Affairs, Lutfozzaman Babar, who left Dhaka Sunday night for treatment in Singapore. The writer is a journalist, columnist, author, and editor of "Weekly Blitz" in Bangladesh. Email him at salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com |
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ABAYUDAYA JEWS
Posted by Sandy Rosen-Hazen, November 28, 2005. | ||||||||
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Pictures and words are by Anna Borzello. Abayudaya, from the Luganda word for Jews: Welcome, The eastern Ugandan town of Mbale is home to a small Jewish community, known as Abayudaya, from the Luganda word for Jews.
The writer can be reached at Sandy@israel.net. |
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WHAT THE JEWS HAVE, THE WORLD WANTS
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, November 28, 2005. |
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It all seems to be starting again - although it never really stopped. What the Jews have, the world wants. So, what is it they want and now how will they get it? First, they want our religion (with modifications) but, without the Jews, namely the transfer of title to the Covenant. They have already borrowed a Jew and formed him into what they want to believe. The Muslims also want something from the Jews: legitimacy - namely through Jewish acceptance of their god Allah! We are told by today's radical Islamists that Avraham was, of course, a Muslim - as were all the Hebrew prophets. The claims of two violently conflicting religions, Christianity and Islam could go on for centuries - perhaps never-ending. But, for both, there was always the one thing on that very narrow bridge to G-d's Courtyards, an impediment to final claims...the Jews! In their view, somehow, the Jew stood in their way, not because he choose to, but merely because he was there. The Jew was G-d's selected instrument, not unlike a well-tuned violin or even as G-d's tuning fork which vibrates to perfect pitch. The Jews were an instrument of what was to be a perfect pitch to the ears of mankind. Others believed G-d's Judgement was flawed in choosing Avraham and the Jews and that He made a mistake. Regrettably, the Jews were not always in harmony with their obligations but, of course, G-d with His infinite vision, knew there would be ups and downs with His Jews. While the Jews were considered an insignificant impediment, the fact was that these two major religions, Christianity and Islam actually owed their existence to the bedrock of Judaism even to advance their claim of being heirs to G-d's earthly work. But, Greed, Avarice and Hubris drives men to reach for more than they are entitled to. Today, they grasp at Jerusalem, the spiritual core of the Jewish people. The Church after years of unremitting pursuit and attempting to kill the whole family of the Jew they call Lord now says they wish to internationalize the city of Jerusalem as a peaceful gesture. The Muslims never claimed Jerusalem as its soul center, although wooed by Mohammed for a short time. Of all people to float the idea that Jerusalem was to be the capital of an Arab Muslim Palestinian State, it was Yassir Arafat who floated this idea. It caught on with the Muslims and the always hostile anti-Jewish Europeans. It expanded to include all of Jerusalem with a narrow path left for Jews to reach the "wailing wall" - Kotel Ha'Ma'arivi. Arafat had maps on his walls, uniforms, school books, TV stages, stationary, etc, showing his new Muslim state of Islam over the Jewish State of Israel with the narrow path for Jews which was always controlled by the Muslims. Now, more energy is being poured into the Muslim mission to divide Jerusalem and then take it all. Strangely, Jerusalem was always treated as a closed city, religiously speaking to whichever religion conquered it, be it Christianity or Islam. Each denied the other access, until the Jews took back the city of their patrimony. Only then were Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Bahais and/or any other religion allowed to worship as they pleased. But, this wasn't satisfactory because the Jews were the authority and their generosity was galling to those Christians and Muslims who wanted it all back and only for themselves. Ask any Christian cleric or any denomination who has visited Jerusalem while the Jews had control about the free access to Shrines, Churches and Mosques. They will tell you of being cordially received and accommodated. Under Israeli law, it is codified that unimpeded access is available to all religions, including Muslims and Christians. Only when Islamists wish to cause their familiar violent riots are there any restrictions. Jerusalem has been invaded and conquered by foreign armies numerous times through the centuries. Each hoped to capture the spirit of G-d and add it to their gods, thereby hoping to become all powerful. In the end, all they got were the bricks and mortars of the City. Granted, the Romans looted the Jewish Temple of its Holy serving pieces but Rome eventually fell - as did all Jerusalem's conquerors. So, go and corner G-d in His Throne Room. Speak to Him as He spoke in His Word to the Jews and demand your rights as the correct heirs to His Covenant. Hand Him your petitions and inform Him that the rest of the world thinks He made a mistake in choosing the Jews as His messengers. Please tell Him that you are the replacements and are ready to take over this responsibility. We Jews will not stand in your way. Look for Him in Jerusalem or Rome or Mecca - wherever He may be hidden. Present your demands when you find Him. And when you find Him, tell Him you have massacred His Jewish messengers in His Name, as well as stealing their treasures, their Land, their women and enslaved their children. I am sure He will be grateful for your zeal and will award you appropriately. I have attached a recent report which speaks about the gathering of the nations and also the apostate Jews who wish to divide Jerusalem and de-Judaize Israel. ### EU (PEACE NOW,LABOR/KADIMA/MERETZ PARTIES) Wants Israel to Divide Jerusalem IsraelNationalNews.com - November 27, 2005 / 25 Cheshvan 5766 The EU has accused Israel of a de facto annexation of East Jerusalem. Senior Israeli officials will be absent from an EU conference Sunday, when the PA will echo the call for dividing the capital. A European Union (EU) document, reported in the New York Times and The Guardian, urges member countries to prevent the security fence from "sealing off most of East Jerusalem" and allowing Israel a "de facto annexation" of the city, which was re-united after the 1967 Six Day War. The report charges that "Israeli activities in Jerusalem are in violation of both its roadmap obligations and international law." Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and virtually every previous prime minister and leader of major parties have declared that Jerusalem will remain united. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has insisted that its proposed new Arab state will include Jerusalem as its capital. The EU report, prepared by its diplomats in East Jerusalem and Ramallah and written by British consulate officials, was sent to foreign ministers of the 25 countries in the group. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said he hoped the document would not lead to a "regression to the one-sided (European) position of the past." The report is to be published in December, but was leaked as the EU increased its involvement in the PA-Israel relations by placing European observers at the re-opened Rafiah border between Gaza and Egypt. The report, along with an EU conference in Barcelona on Sunday, may put the status of Jerusalem in the forefront in the current Israeli election campaign. PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is to attend the Barcelona meeting, but both Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom have absented themselves to continue their campaign in the upcoming elections in Israel. Abbas is expected to exploit the opportunity to demand that Israel tear down the security fence. The EU implicitly has sided with the Palestinian Authority (PA) against Israel on the status of Jerusalem. Its official policy states, "The EU opposes...actions aimed at changing the Palestinian character of East Jerusalem." The EU has blamed Israel for policies that it says "are reducing the possibility of reaching a final-status agreement on Jerusalem that any Palestinian could accept" because the security fence separates 230,000 Arabs from Judea and Samaria. The result is a "de facto annexation of Palestinian land," according to the report, which the Times said was leaked "from someone who wanted to publicize it." Diplomats also accused Israel of "radicalizing the hitherto relatively quiescent Palestinian population of East Jerusalem" by what it called discrimination against Jerusalem on matters of work and building permits, house demolitions and taxation. The Barcelona conference will also be a test of whether EU countries can overcome Arab opposition to its proposed agreement to fight terrorism, which Arab countries want to be defined as excluding attacks in the name of agreement to fight terrorism, which Arab countries want to be defined as excluding attacks in the name of "resistance." 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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ISRAEL SUDDENLY WITH CLEAR-CUT ELECTION CHOICES
Posted by Jerome S. Kaufman, November 28, 2005. |
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This was written by Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis), November 24, 2005. His website is http://www.imra.org.il If all goes well and the survival instincts of the post-Sharon Likud Party brings it to the realization that their only possible chance to beat Sharon is by "product differentiation" then the Israeli electorate may very well have a genuine opportunity to set the Jewish State a new path at the ballot box. Labor, Sharon and Likud can offer the public distinctly different paths, each with its own distinct logic. The Labor Party, headed by Amir Peretz, is genuinely convinced that withdrawal to the '67 lines will bring peace. Period. The heavy investment they plan to make in quick final status talks is not because they think such paperwork is really needed for peace but instead in order to come up with wording that will satisfy enough Israelis who don't share their faith to join in supporting the final status withdrawals. And since, according to this faith, Arab violence will end the moment the last Israeli leaves the West Bank (and possibly the Golan), Palestinian security non-compliance before the actual withdrawal is irrelevant. The Sharon "Kadima" Party, or rather Ariel Sharon (the rest of the ticket is profoundly irrelevant) is genuinely convinced that Israel can unilaterally impose final status arrangements if it unilaterally withdraws to ostensibly final status borders. The United States and even the European Union will give Sharon carte blanche, the argument goes, as long as he bulldozes enough Jewish communities in the West Bank. The Likud is genuinely convinced that Israel is better off managing the stalemate and insisting on Palestinian compliance before final status talks can be expected to continue. By the same token, should conditions warrant Israel's engagement in final status talks Israel will enter those talks confident that the Jewish State's interests would be better served if the talks stalemate over final status terms rather than compromise on what it sees as vital Israeli interests and requirements. National Union and NRP also fit into this line of thought but with a more demanding perception of what are vital Israelininterests and requirements. In many respects, the Labor-Peretz approach, being faith-based, has both the advantage and disadvantage of simplicity. Accept the premise that withdrawal to the '67 lines will bring peace as axiomatic and the rest falls into place. Reject that article of faith and the logic falls apart. The debate between the Sharon and Likud approaches is considerably more complicated as it requires not only deliberating Israel's vital interests but also assessing the limits Israel faces as it endeavors to pursue these interests under the two scenarios. Both camps can be expected to try to bolster their position by referring to the Gaza experience: Supporters of the Sharon approach can point to the praise Israel earned for withdrawing while advocates of the Likud approach can point out that the Gaza model was based on 100% withdrawal and that that foreign praise did not translate into support for Israel's stand on security interests. The security fiasco known as "Agreement on Movement and Access" and "Agreed Principles For Rafah Crossing" that Israel was pressured by the Bush team to accept to fill the vacuum created by the retreat from Gaza serves as a stark reminder of just how fleeting the rewards are for retreating. On the other hand, with elections coming up in just a few months, retreat advocates can hope that the security consequences of the Gaza retreat won't play out before the votes are cast. It is hard to predict how the vote will ultimately be split between the three views. But at least this election may offer the opportunity for the public to consider and choose between them. Jerome S. Kaufman is National Secretary of the Zionist Organization of America. and host the Israel Commentary website (http://www.israel-commentary.org). |
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WHY SHOULD I CARE THAT SHARON PLANS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING BUILT IN THE STATE OF ISRAEL?
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, November 28, 2005. |
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We, the followers of Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, are not ashamed of what he has done or the way he has done it. We just don't care! I don't care if Sharon doesn't believe that Jews have a right to their Land based on the Gift of a G-d he does not believe in. I don't care if Sharon doesn't believe in G-d and denies having a soul from G-d. I don't care that Sharon, as a young man, went out with gangs to beat up the political opposition. After all, he had that right, didn't he? I don't care if Sharon is now compared to Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Yalta, as an old confused man, sick of spirit and sick of the world, giving away half of Europe. I don't care (much) if Sharon gives up half of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, the Jordan Valley, the rest of Judea and Samaria.....in a blood pact with the Bush family. He has earned that right to do what he wants. I don't care that Sharon is an Evil Person (a Rasha) because Evil is stronger than a Good. Will I vote for a leader who shows no mercy to friends or enemies - like a Jewish Junk Yard Dog? Why should I care - as long as he doesn't bite me? Why should I care if Sharon lied to the Likud and was already rasing money for his departure...he wouldn't lie to us from his new Party, 'Kadima'...would he? I don't care if Sharon used his own sons as illegal fronts to cut deals. So what if he was willing to sacrifice his sons for himself - he wouldn't do that to me - would he? Why should I care if Sharon made secret deals with the Bush family for their political oil gains - after all, Shimon Peres made secret deals in Oslo and noone seemed to care? Why should I care about lying to the pioneering settlers when now we Jews and Israelis are all so well-liked in France, Germany, at the State Department, the U.N., the E.U. for abandoning Gaza' They do like us, right? What does it matter to me if Sharon, Dov Weisglass, Ehud Olmert, cut a deal to build casinos and resorts on the evacuated, demolished Lands of Gush Katif' Aren't they entitled to make some money for their efforts to clear the Land of Jews and make it fruitful for some of their Palestinian partners? Why should I worry about Sharon bringing the armed Egyptians back into the demilitarized Sinai Desert and up to our borders' They (the Egyptians) promised Sharon not to bring in too many tanks, missiles and Intelligence personnel. We have their word on it....don't we? What does it matter to me if at the Bush-Rice demands the borders are open to Palestinian trucks - shipping things to Hebron without inspection for weapons' Do you think that they will dare hide explosives and weapons in with the cabbages and carrots? Sharon and Rice told us not to worry, so why should I be worried? What does it matter to me if Sharon emptied Gaza/Gush Katif in the South and Ehud Barak emptied the Israeli Security Zone in Lebanon on Israel's Northern borders? Why should I question the judgement of these good men, even when a few (OK a lot of) missiles hit those towns in the North and the South? Many of us Sharon supporters live in Tel Aviv, far from these areas. Surely, we are safe here, aren't we? As for everyone else - well, that's their problem! What does it matter if Sharon releases another 1,000 or 5,000 convicted and jailed Terrorists. We can always re-capture them after their next Terrorist operation. We have Sharon's assurances. What does it matter to me if Sharon is known to destroy every single thing he has ever built up? Some say this is his psychological problem called "passive/aggressive" (or perhaps something else), but, I say, he has a right to knock over the blocks he stacked up as a child might. They're his blocks, aren't they? Why should we care if Sharon does not make any effort to release Jonathan Pollard? After all, Sharon was one of the small circle of those who both tasked Pollard and received his intelligence. It's perfectly understandable why he doesn't want Pollard out of prison. Why condemn Sharon for wanting to keep his role secret and Pollard in jail, now going into his 21st year? If President Bush understands this and does a favor for Sharon, why shouldn't we agree - so we don't embarrass Sharon? What does it matter if Jerusalem is given over to the Muslim Arab Palestinians by Sharon? Only a few of us go there or even want to go there after Moshe Dayan gave the keys to the Jewish Temple Mount to the Arab Muslim Wakf within days of its recapture in June 1967 by the Jewish IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Most of us don't believe it's important to hold any Jewish shrines or holy sites, including the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs (Ma'arat HaMachpelah), Joseph's Tomb, and, if we (Sharon) could, we would get rid of Kever Rachel (Tomb of Rachel). Granted, Sharon, Shimon Peres, Ehud Olmert, Yossi Sarid and Yossi Beilin are scoundrels but, they are our scoundrels....aren't they? "Kadima" (Forward!), Sharon's name for his new "Evacuation Party", urges us to follow him Into the Valley of Death - so we follow. Sharon's followers and all the rest of us followers are all (or soon will be) dead. Choosing to sacrifice our families is our own choice. You do not have to follow us! "Kadima" could mean "advance to the rear!" Who says Sharon does not have the right to give away Land under his 'supreme' authority as elected Prime Minister? He can do whatever he wants and noone can stop him. What business is it of ours if Sharon chooses Yonatan Bassi, Chairman of the Mehadrin Real Estate Company to be both the overseer in displacing the 10,000 Jewish men, women and children of Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron and then sells that Land that he (Mehadrin) owns to the Government for re-settlement of the evacuees, thereby generating millions of NIS (New Israeli Shekels) in profits - mostly for himself. It's none of our business that any money from this deal flows to the Sharon family and his new Party. I repeat that it is unnecessary for the Sharon Government to hold any investigation of wrong-doing or financial malfeasance since, after all, Sharon is entitled to his share of the loot. I regret and resent the assertions that the "beautiful" new "Caravillas" (house trailers with red tiled roofs) which the Government claims are valued at $100,000 U.S. dollars are each nothing more than tissue paper trash, set on mud, creating instant slums. So what if their sewage plumbing leaks into the muddy streets where the children have to play. So what if these shacks are only actually worth $25,000 U.S. dollars and will decay and devalue to scrap prices within the year. It's only fair that Sharon and Company make a fair profit. Don't you think? If Sharon wishes to gift the rest of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) to the Arab Muslims, this is his business. Who are we to interfere? If Sharon wishes to privately negotiate the abandonment of the Golan Heights (protecting Israel from invasion by Syria) to Syria at the behest of the Bush/Rice Administration, that is also his right as the reigning royalty of Israel. Isn't it? It is no one's business if Sharon wishes to use the Jewish Army and Police in any way he chooses. Isn't that his right? I don't care if Sharon has no interest in Jewish Torah Law. After all, didn't the religious parties accept money for their approval of Sharon's "Disengagement" - withdrawal and uprooting of Jewish Gush Katif and Northern Samaria? Just because Sharon weakened them by taking away all the monies that they needed for their children's food and their schools, putting the most observant Jews into the one-third of the Israeli people who are now living below the poverty level, does that mean they must accept any orders by Sharon in order to keep their children fed and schooled? Didn't Sharon have every right to offer Government money to any Party who would accept it and follow Sharon's orders? People are merely people, while Sharon is effectively the Law! Besides, didn't the Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak accept whatever Sharon wished to do with and/or to the Jewish people? There is no law that prohibits lying to the people, is there? Who cares that Sharon's evacuation opened up Gaza as a base for Global Terror by Muslims who poured in from all over the world? So what if the Palestinian Authority admits that the now "Judenrein" (Jew-free) Neveh Dekalim in Gaza is now a primary training base for Terrorists, appropriately named: "Martyrs' Training Camp". Why blame Sharon? Why should anyone care if Sharon was raising money months before his intended break-away to his new "Evacuation Party" pledged to mass evacuations of Jews from their homes? If he lied to his fellow Likud members, surely he must have had a good reason. So what if he collaborated with Bush and Rice to push through a follow-on massive evacuation - if not with Likud, then with his new Party - with outside funding? That's his business...not ours? Join Sharon's "Evacuation Party" strangely called "Kadima" (Forward) as he moves the nation back to those days before all the wars which had to be fought for the Jews just to survive. Since Sharon helped to fight the Arabs and gain the Land the Arab Muslims lost in their gamble to eliminate the Jewish nation, Sharon certainly has special rights. Doesn't Sharon have the right to ignore the 25,000 Jews who fought and died to gain and hold the Land? Certainly, he has the right to dig up these fighters and put them wherever he wants to, doesn't he? Doesn't Sharon now have the right to withdraw from the land and force the Jews who followed his orders to build and settle to now roam the land like beggars? Why should anyone care what Sharon does or his broken promises or his lies? Hasn't Sharon earned the right to lie to his former comrades and the people? So, please feel free to join the "Evacuation Party" and you too can lie to the people - with impunity. 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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SHOULD AMERICAN JEWS ALLOW ISRAEL TO COMMIT SUICIDE?
Posted by Michael Anbar, November 28, 2005. |
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In the last few days there has been an uproar about the extensive concession Condoleezza Rice managed to extract from PM Sharon. People called to protest that pressure exerted by the US Secretary of State on Israel, which might have disastrous consequences for the Jewish state in the long run. I have serious a problem with that protest, as I question not only its effectiveness but also its justification. I can understand Condi's position. However, it is hard for to me to understand how and why Israel has recently become a banana republic in the true sense of the word. Clearly the corruption of the Israeli administration allowed Condi to achieve whatever the Arabists in the State Department have been asking for since the establishment of Israel in 1948. However, I see no point in sending protests to the American Administration that follows a policy it believes is the best interest of the United States (with which I strongly disagree). This is purely the US's business and it will be America that will bear the consequences of this policy by losing its international stature in the foreseeable future. Caving in to demands of the Muslims today is not different than trying to appease the Communists during the Cold War. Consequently, it is not impossible that the US will be ready at some point in time to sacrifice the Jewish state for political gain, as GB did to Czechoslovakia in 1938. In any case, it is not for the US to safeguard the national interests of the Jewish state -- this is up to the Jewish people. If the Israelis do not revolt against the disastrous policies of their own government, why should I, here in the US, act against their collective will? Why should I object if they prefer to accept the dictates of the pro-Arab US Department of State? Israeli polls indicate that Sharon will be reelected as PM in his new party. This means that the majority of Israelis endorse his suicidal policy, which contradicts everything Israel was standing for in the past in the political arena. The Condi episode is not an outrage to be condemned, but a direct consequence of Israeli policy in the last few years. It boils down to an ethical question: Does one have the right to prevent an individual with full mental capacity from willfully committing suicide? Essentially, it is a conflict between traditional ethics based on Jewish religious premises, and the "modern" secular principle of promoting the rights of the individual above those of society. "Liberal universalists," including the majority of liberal Jews, disavow traditional ethics in favor of individual rights (see their support of arbitrary abortion, euthanasia and other self-destructive modes of individual and social behavior). Why then should one wonder about their indifference witnessing the suicide of the Jewish nation? Certainly, they are not going to prevent it. What is truly surprising is the Israelis' behavior, which is strikingly reminiscent of the behavior of European Jewry during the Holocaust -- following a cowardly, self-serving leadership that cowed to the intimidation of their mortal enemies (those leaders seemingly started to believe that Jews are truly subhuman and therefore have no civil rights, just as many Israelis seem to believe today that the State of Israel has no sovereign rights). No Israeli PM before Sharon was ready to capitulate, virtually unconditionally; to give up without anything tangible in return vital political and territorial positions, one after the other, under diplomatic and/or economic pressure. We must learn form history. Like the Muslims today, Hitler did not hide his intent to eradicate the Jews, and he was fairly successful -- he eradicated a third of the world's Jewry. Most Israelis and many American Jews (at least those who continue to support Sharon or his anti-national, i.e., anti-Zionist, socialist allies) seem to utterly ignore the explicit Islamic mortal threats against Israel and the Jews (just because they are Jews, very much like Hitler did). They seem to have lost not only their traditional national-religious values and their political compass (giving up Zionism amounts to giving up Jewish national identity -- please open up the Bible or the Siddur), but also a basic biological imperative -- the instinct of survival, both at the national and individual levels. Michael Anbar, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biophysics and Chairman of Dept. of Biophysical Sciences at the School of Medicine, University of Buffalo (1977-2002, now retired). Previously, he was Director of Technical Program Development, at the Stanford Research Institute. He is the author of Israel and its Future, published by iUniverse. amara@adelphia.net |
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US BROKERS GAZA AGREEMENT
Posted by Jerusalem Prayer Team, November 28, 2005. |
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The opening of the Rafah Crossing on November 25 was another blow to the tiny nation of Israel. It seems that every time the U.S. is feeling the squeeze from oil-rich O.P.E.C. bigots, the Secretary of State rushes off to Israel for another full-court press demanding that Israel give up something. Israel made a huge sacrifice in 1990 when it was the target of 42 of Saddam Hussein's SCUDS. Hussein even threatened to launch chemical and biological weapons on the SCUDS. The Jews were terrified because of what they had endured during the Holocaust. I remember the SCUD attacks well; I had gone to Israel to comfort the Jewish people and saw the brilliant night-time sky as Patriot missiles intercepted and destroyed the SCUDS. What was Israel's reward for accommodating Arab bigots and not retaliating? A $10 million loan guarantee was frozen, causing Russian emigrants to be stuck in tents and tiny rooms. The U.S. was using their crisis as an economic noose around Israel's neck. It did not escape my notice that for at least some part of Secretary of State Rice's trip to Israel before Thanksgiving, she was in the company of former Secretary of State James Baker (a member of President George H.W. Bush's cabinet.) They attended the ceremonies surrounding the anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Following Operation Desert Storm, Israel was forced to the peace table at the Royal Palace in Madrid. I was in Madrid for virtually every session of the conference. The Syrian Foreign Minister arrogantly told me that he planned to accuse Israel and Prime Minister Shamir of being terrorists. I spoke up that week for the Jewish people at world press conferences, and was the first to confront James Baker. I asked Mr. Baker, "Why can't America recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital" Secondly, we are moving a military presence into the Arab world for security. Why can?t we have a military presence in Israel to help its security? It has suffered so greatly, and has especially paid a dear price during the Persian Gulf War.? Baker was upset by my remarks and said he refused to be entangled in a fruitless debate and that the status of Jerusalem should be determined by negotiations. I was at the White House ceremony in 1993 when the U.S. pressured Yitzhak Rabin to sign a peace accord with the infamous terrorist, Yassir Arafat. I was sickened to see Senators standing in line to get Arafat's autograph. A former Speaker of the House said to me, "I used not to like that fellow, but after his charming speech I find him very delightful." Jesse Jackson smugly said, "The Jews need to follow the Golden Rule, and give the Palestinians their state." Yassir Arafat had no intention of ever making peace with Israel. It was never about having a state; it was about destroying a state: Israel. I had the rare privilege of being at the state funeral of Prime Minister Rabin ten years ago. I was totally shocked when the three American presidents that attended the funeral met at the King David Hotel to talk about how they could push the Oslo Accords forward. This document included the division of Jerusalem. And now, Israel has yet again been forced to make concessions that endanger its very existence. The newly-opened Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will provide an open pipeline for terrorists to import the materials needed to launch new, and perhaps deadlier, attacks against Israel. Please sign the petition to President Bush today. Ask him not to continue the policies that allow terrorist attacks against our staunchest Middle East ally, Israel. Your ambassador to Jerusalem,
Michael Evans is the author of "Beyond Iraq: The Next Move," and founder of Jerusalem Prayer Team, America's largest Christian coalition praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Contact them at www.JerusalemPrayerTeam.org |
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TOMORROW NEVER COMES
Posted by Walter Bingham, November 28, 2005. |
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In almost every speech that Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has delivered since the implementation of his order to expel 10,000 of his Jewish fellow citizens from their legally owned homes in a legitimate part of Israel, he has referred to it as a "painful decision". Painful? It was indeed a ruling that caused immeasurable pain, mental and physical, to the victims of his ruthless decision. But observing Sharon since then, I have not been able to detect any manifestation of the pain he flaunts on every possible occasion. On the contrary, he is cheerfully and obediently carrying out every instruction he receives from Condoleezza Rice, whose false smile betrays her real intention of reducing Israel to a size that will hardly be able to sustain itself economically, politically, militarily and even demographically. Rice's allies, the EU and the Quartet, are already seeing to it that the Palestinian Authority shall be neither short of money nor weapons. Dr. Rice is a smart cookie and it is my belief that she will be a Republican contender for the presidency of the United States. If she were to succeed to that position, she would quickly and efficiently finish the task she set herself for this region of the Middle East. There is, of course, still time left to remedy the situation, but not a lot. Now that Sharon has resigned from the Likud and the 16th Israeli parliament will be dissolved, the chance for the nation to speak has arisen earlier than anticipated. It is hoped that the inevitable wheeling and dealing of the smaller right-wing political parties will bring about a united front, and that their leaders will for once put aside any thoughts for their personal gain and prestige, and act in the interests of the electorate and the country. That would make it possible for the votes of their supporters to actually carry weight and prevent the emergence of either Ariel Sharon or the new radical left-wing leader of the Labour party, Amir Peretz, to become the new prime minister. The State of Israel, under the leadership of either of these two intellectual dwarfs, would be manoeuvring herself into such a tight corner that she would find it difficult to extricate herself. Unfortunately, it is too much to hope that MK Uzi Landau and Moshe Feiglin would withdraw as contenders for the leadership of the Likud and instead join the united front, which would then have a more-than-excellent chance to emerge the victors at the ballot box. I have to confess that the third alternative is also not ideal, because, human nature being what it is, even in victory there would not be unity. Changing coalitions within the 'united' front would inevitably stifle many good policy proposals. So, I go for the fourth alternative and the only sensible solution, the party that will treat the cause and not the symptoms: Hazit, the Jewish National Front. Here is a part of its manifesto:
In addition, Hazit advocates electoral reform, so that the members of Knesset and local councils will be accountable to the constituents who vote them into power. The lack of accountability is the cause of the corruption that is rampant in Israel. With those points in mind, after the next general election, which is expected to take place in March of next year, Israel needs to quickly reestablish herself as the nation she once was: proud, asserting her independence as a sovereign state, and defending herself as she thinks fit, resolutely and without fear. Sadly, fear seems to have overcome her. Fear of the displeasure of George Bush and Rice, for whom the continuing supply of Arab oil is paramount and supersedes everything; fear of disobeying what was after-all only an advisory ruling of the International Court of Justice at the Hague about the route of the security fence; fear of hurting Arab civilians from behind whom the terrorists are operating, in their houses and their fields. Judging by the tactics of US forces in Iraq, the dictate to Israel is "do as we say not as we do." This attitude has now reached intolerable proportions, to the extent that the government would rather put Jews at risk than mount an attack against an enemy who is gaining not only strength, but also confidence, by the day. The proposal to reinforce the roofs of schools and other vulnerable buildings in towns and cities that are within range of Palestinian rockets is the most wasteful and inefficient strategy that could have been devised. Soon, Israel will no longer be in a position to prevent delivery of more powerful weapons to the Palestinians, so that in the not-too-distant future, the whole country will be within range. Is it proposed to progressively strengthen roofs everywhere? That is the same as just giving painkillers to a patient with stomach ulcers, instead of cutting them out before the body stops functioning. Regrettably, Israel's leaders, many of whom come from the ranks of the military, are excellent tacticians, but poor strategists. In other words, solve the problem of today - tomorrow never comes. Sustained terrorism has scored one important success. It is the effect on a large part of the Israeli population, who have grown tired of wars and terrorism. They fall easy prey to the left-wing rhetoric that land-for-peace will bring peace after the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian State. The vociferous left-wing lobby, in this instance led by Shimon Peres, also disseminates the belief that if Israel facilitates a strong Palestinian Arab economy, their population would be content and desist from supporting aggression against Israel. That sounds absolutely plausible, because generally, you wouldn't bite the hand that feeds you. However, these well-meaning people are overlooking one very important fact. In negotiations with today's Arab leaders, we cannot apply Western logic. It is said that "clothes make the man." True enough in appearance, but not in the Arab leaders' hearts. Their hatred of anything Jewish will no more dissipate under a collar and tie as it did under a kaffiyeh. In the London, and probably also the New York and Tel Aviv diamond exchange, a handshake and a few Hebrew words suffice to seal the deal; it's cast iron. Not so with our so-called 'peace partners', who have up to now dishonoured every agreement; not made with a handshake, but written, signed and sealed. That, I suggest, is what Messrs. Bush, Rice, Wolfensohn and the rest have to learn quickly. Walter Bingham is a veteran journalist and broadcaster from London who made aliyah and now lives in Jerusalem. His weekly radio programme, Walter's World, can be heard on Israel National Radio.com. Contact him by email at walter@IsraelNationalNews.com |
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GIRLS STILL IN PRISON, DESPITE SUPREME COURT ORDER
Posted by Hillel Fendel, November 28, 2005. |
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Contrary to the best efforts - and orders - of Supreme Court Justice E. Rubenstein to free six girls from prison after two weeks, they have not yet been released. The girls, aged 14-16, are accused of ripping open bags of olives harvested by Arabs from Sinjil, near Shilo, and with fighting with policemen who came to arrest them. Officials of the Honenu legal rights organization, which is representing them, say the evidence against them is flimsy at best - but that in any event, their place is not in prison. Honenu founder and chairman Shmuel Medad told Arutz-7, "No one saw these girls during the incident, and everything is based on the testimony of one or two Arabs... In addition, the court already ordered them released, and even then, they were re-arrested a day later once again." After they were first arrested on Nov. 13, at least two judges ordered them released, but the police and State Prosecution, using various legal devices, continued to keep them in prison until Nov. 17. The next day, they were brought once again to court, where the judge acceded to a police request to keep them in prison until the end of the proceedings. Despite the above, an earlier ruling by Jerusalem District Court Judge Yosef Shapira ordered the consideration of a form of house arrest for the six - but he set the date for the hearing only for Dec. 5. The girls therefore remained in prison. At this point, Supreme Court Elyakim Justice Rubenstein [pictured] came to the rescue - or tried to. Atty. Naftali Wurtzberger of Honenu said that Rubenstein, in yesterday's hearing, decided to put aside the legal argumentation and concentrate on the "human problem" of the girls who "are sitting in jail while waiting for a report of alternatives." Rubenstein set facts on the ground by ordering the girls freed to their home communities - though not their own homes. He said that they should be released that very evening, even before all the paperwork, including payment of guarantees and the like, was completed. He also asked the relevant authorities to "hurry" their report on an alternative form of restriction of the girls' movement, such as house arrest. In the event, however, once again the legal system got the better of the judges, and the girls had still not been released as of this afternoon (Monday). The mother of one of the girls said, "I called the prison, and they said that they knew nothing of a release, and had heard nothing from any court. I feel that they are simply toying with me." She later called and found out that three of the girls had been kept in isolation until this morning. The 16-year-old sister of one of the six is also in prison. She has been incarcerated for two months, charged with offenses related to protesting withdrawals from the Land of Israel. She refuses to agree to restrictions placed on her by a court that does not employ Jewish Law. Another of her sisters is to be married tomorrow night, and it is not clear whether she will be allowed to go to the wedding. Another immediate problem she faces is that as of Saturday night, she has been in isolation - without even a mattress to sleep on. Her mother said, "Some girls stood outside the prison on Saturday night and called out to her and tried to encourage her, as they have been doing for several weeks. My daughter apparently called out her thanks and said she heard them - and then the jailers put her in isolation. From what the other girls report, it means that she doesn't even get a mattress. In addition, she hasn't called me, which to me is the clearest sign that she's in isolation." Knesset Member Gila Finkelstein, who has helped out in similar situations before, has been approached regarding this problem. Hillel Fendel is senior editor at Arutz-Sheva. |
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DEFUSING "TENSIONS"; PA ALREADY RENEGING ON BORDER MONITORING; ISRAEL STILL SUPPLYING GAZA WATER
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, November 28, 2005. |
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OUR INCURIOUS MEDIA Every day, IMRA and David Bedein ask insightful questions about apparent contradictions between politicians' assertions and actual conditions. I, too, question policy and misconceptions. Why don't the major media? Is it just their bias? ACCUSE U.S. OF PRESSURE WITHOUT EXAMPLES My sources frequently refer to US demands of Israel as "pressure." They do not cite threats. Some disagreements result in the US drawing back from agreements, to punish Israel for not following US wishes on other matters. That is pressure and violation. PENCHANT FOR SELF-DECEPTION There were a couple of steps towards democracy in and near the Mideast: elections in Afghanistan and Iraq. That may or may not lead to democracy. Other reforms are needed for democracy to develop and thrive. Meanwhile, commentators not only exaggerate these minor and preliminary steps. They also hail the phony elections in dictatorial Egypt and the anarchical P.A., where the rivals all are terrorists. These commentators are deceiving themselves. The same may be true of conclusions stated about Libya. Libyan renunciation of nuclear arms development is in the litany of alleged, salutary effects of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The renunciation may be sincere, but Ghadaffi never was before. He has before him the examples of N. Korea, Pakistan, and Iran that have been deceiving the world for years, until the first two developed nuclear weapons and the third is close to having them. He had built under the Atlas Mountains miles of wide tunnels for some secret purpose. The tunnels' use remains hidden. What evidence have we that Libya is keeping its word? If we have any, it seldom is discussed. DEFUSING TENSIONS The world devises various ways of making demands upon Israel as if reasonable. If one starts out with the fact that the Arabs are the aggressors and the Israelis their victims, then Arab demands are not reasonable. If one adds in the fact that the Arabs are jihadists working to conquer the world, then even if a particular demand might be reasonable, it, like anything that helps the Arabs, injures the rest of the world, and should be resisted Lebanon currently demands that Israel immediately return the bodies of Hizbullah gunmen killed attacking an Israeli post, in order to "defuse tensions." A Lebanese arrest of Hizbullah men and a Hizbullah apology might defuse tensions caused by the Arabs. But the Jews are urged to be good little boys and defuse the Arabs' tensions. Can't do. The Arabs are fanatics striving for conquest. Their faith imbues them with tension. ISRAELI GOVERNMENT PERSECUTES DISSIDENT AGAIN Over the years, the government has harassed Noam Federman with a series of false charges. He defeated dozens of them, though he lost time and income waiting in jail for the disposition of some. In one case, the court awarded him damages for false arrest. There were a couple of convictions on minor issues. Despite the harassment, Mr. Federman completed his studies for the bar and began an apprenticeship in a law firm. Prosecutors tried to prevent that apprenticeship, by showing a court a dossier of all the charges. When Federman proved that almost all of the charges were false, and that some were mere allegations without indictment, the court turned on the prosecutors for trying to mislead it. Whom does the State allow to become lawyers? One planned the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. Another was convicted of spying for Syria. The question of who becomes a lawyer is political (Arutz-7, 11/17). And Israeli politics are rotten. Patriotic Jews are discriminated against and hounded. CHRISTIANITY MAY NOT SURVIVE IN P.A. The western Palestinian Arabs have driven most of the Christians out. The rest are persecuted. Their numbers continue to dwindle. Instead of defending their co-religionists under siege, however, Christian organizations abroad curry favor with the Muslim Arabs (IMRA, 11/17 from www.jcpa.org/christian-persecution.htm, a monograph by Prof. Justus Reid Weiner of the Jer. Center for Public Affairs.). I found a previous monograph by Prof. Weiner thorough, definitive, and readable. If a religion sacrifices innocent faithful to what it considers expediency, why should its adherents take risks in behalf of that religion? P.A. RENEGING ON BORDER MONITORING The agreement between the P.A. and Israel called for live monitoring of video cameras at the Gaza border-crossing. Now the P.A. official in charge there declares that Israel will not view live screenings ((IMRA, 11/17). Live screening is not of much use, without personnel on hand to bar or arrest wanted terrorists. Delayed and doctored, it fails even to alert Israel whom to watch out for. The P.A. Arabs have again, as they always do, violated their agreements. A self-respecting Israeli government would point out how futile it is to make agreements with them and that foreign friends who urge them to are not demonstrating friendship. It is time for Israel to get down to countering the jihad against them, instead of either cooperating with it or putting itself into a position of dependency upon non-existent enemy goodwill. ARABS IGNORE IRAQI TERRORISM Most Arab countries ignore terrorism in Iraq. They claim that the Iraqi Constitution, which reflects US liberation of Kurds and Shiites, is not legitimate, perhaps because of that liberation. What legitimacy have their non-elected governments? Egypt claims leadership of the Arabs, but whom does its undemocratic government represent? Jordan officially is moderate, but its society is Islamist and anti-American (Fouad Ajami, Jewish Political Chronicle, 9/2005, p.64 from Wall St. J., 9/28). Jordanians already are losing animus against Zarqawi for the bombing in Amman. They argue that they don't know that he really ordered it (IMRA, 11/18). This is their usual excuse for terrorism. PALESTINIAN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (PCHR) The IDF has slain a number of Arab terrorists, because, it claims, they refused to stop and show I.D. or to surrender. Contrary to witnesses the IDF finds, PCHR always claims that its investigations find that the IDF did not try to capture the wanted men but opened fire without warning. Another such incident occurred recently (IMRA, 11/17). Terrorists often fight rather than surrender. They have the advantage in that IDF rules of combat prevent the Israeli troops from opening fire as soon as they might. Arabs also try to race through roadblocks. I believe the IDF, which emphasizes human rights more than combat, rather than the Arabs, who emphasize deception more than human rights. SHARON IS TO THE LEFT OF LABOR IMRA has discovered a big loophole in the Gaza border agreement. The agreement obligates the P.A. to prevent importation of weapons. It does not have a similar provision to prevent importation of terrorists (IMRA, 11/19). PM Sharon has opened up the Gaza border to a free flow of terrorists and weapons. He indicated he would do the same with a Gaza seaport. This is a radical position that even the Labor Party would not have taken (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 11/17). Since the Arabs don't keep agreements, however, it hardly matters what the agreements specify. What matters is the disposition of Israeli and Arab forces. ISRAEL STILL SUPPLYING GAZA WITH WATER It is giving the P.A. same water it did for Jews in Gaza (IMRA, 11/20). Arabs complain that Israel takes their water. Arab complaints are war propaganda. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com. |
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SURPRISE?
Posted by Batya Medad, November 28, 2005. |
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Now, I must say that nothing really surprises me about Ariel Sharon any more. I was surprised and upset by his original Disengagement announcement. And I was surprised, upset and disgusted by his dictatorial totalitarian means of enforcing Disengagement. But now, these latest announcements, already in the stage after "leaks," that he wants to give, G-d forbid, the Arab terrorists over 90% of what remains in our hands of YESHA, get a "so, who's surprised?" And who and what is Ariel Sharon? He's the person who visited Shiloh in early 1981 and told the few families there that they "weren't thinking large enough." He pointed to the mountain above the ancient Tel of Shiloh, a kilometer from where the first permanent houses were being built, and announced that Shiloh's new neighborhood would be up there. That's where we live, having moved here the summer of 1981. Every veteran yishuv has stories like that about how Ariel Sharon encouraged their existence and expansion. We really do feel betrayed. We're being tortured and murdered by the man who was our "father figure." And I guess we didn't know him at all. Yes, we should have suspected something when he worked so efficiently at destroying Yamit and the other Jewish communities in the Sinai. But, honestly, Menachem Begin was also involved in that. Could it have been that Sharon was more instrumental in the entire Camp David--Sadat "agreement?" Many of us have been blaming Moshe Dayan, who had been drafted by Begin (or was it already Sharon's influence?) to make him (Begin) "more attractive" to the world's diplomatic community. When will the truth come out? Will it? Who really knows, other than Sharon himself? Another peculiar figure is Israel's very own Dorian Gray, Shimon Peres. He is one of the latest to join Kadima, Sharon's new political party. Just a few short months ago, when we were campaigning against Disengagement, I predicted that if we G-d forbid lose and Disengagement is implemented, my home would be next. Unfortunately I'm right. The case against Disengagement should have focused on the big picture, and it didn't. Now after the horrendous and dangerous precedent of Disengagement, we have a much more difficult job ahead. Sharon has taken off his mask and so has Olmert, Mofaz, Sylvan Shalom, Limor, Tzachi, Bibi, Sharansky ad nauseum. We've seen their performances under fire, and we know what they're really made of. This next, March 28th, election is the most important in the entire history of the State of Israel. We must unify to save the country. We must also reject the corrupt. I only see one party to vote for, The National Union. Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il This article is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/11/surprise.html |
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WHEN SEYMOUR MET CONDI - AMERICAN JEWS LOBBY AGAINST ISRAELI SECURITY INTERESTS
Posted by Evelyn Hayes, November 27, 2005. |
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This article was written by Isi Leibler and appeared November 23, 2005
in the Jerusalem Post
(www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475610276&pagename=JPost%
2FJPArticle%2FShowFull).
Isi Leibler chairs the Diaspora-Israel relations committee of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and is a veteran Jewish international leader. Contact him at ileibler@netvision.net.il Until recently, Diaspora leaders all agreed that on matters relating to security, Israel and the Diaspora are not equal partners. It is Israeli citizens who will face the consequences of decisions made by their elected government, whereas Diaspora Jews will not be called to make sacrifices on these issues. Simple morality should therefore presuppose humility and restraint, especially at a time when Israelis face a resurgence of terror and when most of the world is critical of Israel for seeking to protect itself from neighbors who shamelessly orchestrate suicide bombings and rocket attacks. I was therefore astonished to learn that when Mr. Seymour Reich, President of the left wing Israel Policy Forum, and his associates met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they had actually urged her to pressure Israel to make concessions over the Gaza border crossing and other issues. They told her that by adopting a tough policy against Israel, "she would gain the support of Jewish Americans on both sides of the aisle". Reich shamelessly told the media that "I have no doubt that we bolstered the Secretary of State's instincts and strengthened her opinion that aggressive American involvement was needed to achieve practical results." Of course Reich's group also added the mantra that the Palestinian Authority should be pressured to meet its commitment to fight terror. Mr. Reich must surely be aware that Mahmoud Abbas has already reiterated his determination not to disarm Hamas, stating instead that at a later stage, he may even co-opt Hamas to the Palestinian security organization so that the terrorists would then also receive salaries from international funds set aside to promote the Palestinian economy. We know that Condoleezza Rice and James Wolfensohn subsequently bludgeoned a pliable Dov Weissglass into conceding ground on security issues, despite appeals from Israeli top military echelons not to submit to such "hazardous" demands. The defense experts had warned that under the new arrangements, Palestinians would be able to smuggle heavy weaponry, including anti aircraft missiles into Gaza and the entire area could also be infiltrated by international terrorists. The Sharon government's submission to these pressures is unprecedented and may exact a heavy price in Israeli blood in the future. Yet a former American head of the Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations who considers himself a Zionist, has the unmitigated gall to boast that he and his group helped to convince the Secretary of State to take aggressive action to bring Israel into line and that he had assured Condoleezza Rice that exerting such pressure on Israel would result in strong support from American Jews. This is truly a sad day for Israeli-Diaspora relations, especially so at a time when in the absence of any meaningful concessions by the Palestinians, the government of Israel should have been able to rely on the support of American Jewry in their efforts to ensure the security and welfare of her citizens. Two and half years ago, I publicly reprimanded Edgar Bronfman, the President of the World Jewish Congress, when on the eve of a meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon, he co-signed a letter with former Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleburger, calling on the President to reject Israel's intention to build a "separation wall". Without consulting any of his WJC colleagues, Mr. Bronfman also took it upon himself to urge the President to exert pressure on Israel and apply "the same straightforwardness in his meeting with Prime Minister Sharon" as he had with the Palestinian Prime Minister. A few days later, Bronfman went further and stated that if the Palestinians would have concentrated exclusively on killing Jews over the Green Line and avoided attacking Jews in Israel itself, today they would have a Palestinian state and enjoy the support of the entire world. Public Jewish outrage forced him to apologize. This behavior is reminiscent of the exploitation of politically naive liberals by communists during the Cold War. Like their present day counterparts, they were flattered, manipulated, and duped into adopting public profiles designed to influence public opinion in the interests of the Evil Empire. There is obviously something sick in the state of World Jewry when purportedly mainstream Jewish leaders feel that they can lobby freely against the security policies of the democratically elected government of Israel. If this sort of behavior is to be tolerated we may as well write off our one remaining ally - Diaspora Jewry. Hopefully, American Jews will vent their anger at the chutzpa and perfidy of those purporting to represent the Jewish community who lobby their Administration to pressure Israel on security issues. But the ultimate responsibility for this sorry state of affairs rests with successive Israeli governments and the Foreign Ministry who, for over a decade, abdicated their traditional role of liaising and guiding Jewish communities in relation to Israeli affairs. Today that no longer prevails and, setting aside the fact that Ambassadors are now usually selected on the basis of cronyism and seniority rather than merit, most Jewish community leaders no longer retain the close liaison with Ambassadors that was formerly taken for granted. The rot had its genesis with the Oslo Accords when Israeli leaders told Diaspora Jewish activists that in view of the "irreversible peace process", their lobbying was superfluous and even counter productive. This void paved the way for both right and left wing groups to indulge in politics on the American scene. But now, in the midst of a new election season, it seems to have reached its climax when an organization like the Israel Policy Forum unashamedly lobbies the State Department to exert pressure to bring Israel to heel even if that entails riding roughshod over her security requirements. This can still easily be reversed. The reality is that despite the enormous erosion and chaos which has occurred in Israel Diaspora relations over the past decade, a mainstream Jewish leader is still required by his constituents to be a supporter of Israel - at least on matters relating to its security - and to behave accordingly. If the Government and Foreign Ministry were to vigorously take action to restore its relationship with Diaspora Jewish leaders, it would still find highly enthusiastic partners. And leaders like Mr. Reich who cross red lines would rapidly discover that most Jews, irrespective of political affiliation, will not tolerate such irresponsible behavior. There is absolutely no room in the Jewish mainstream for actively canvassing against the security related policies determined by the democratically elected government of Israel. 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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HARASSMENT BY MAIL
Posted by Rachel Saperstein, November 27, 2005. |
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Telephone Company. We will have to pay a penalty of IS 280, the letter stated, for breaking our one-year contract for internet use. "The government threw us out in August," we countered. "They destroyed our phone lines. Sue the government for breach of contract." We are awaiting their reply. Twenty-three Neve Dekalim families received a letter from SELAH -- The Expulsion Authority. "We don't deny you lived in Neve Dekalim. But you rented privately rather than through the local council. So you are not entitled to housing in Nitzan, or compensation of any kind. You have six days to vacate your hotel!" Five other families received letters saying "Though you rented privately we will allow you to rent a 'caravilla' of 60 square meters. But it must be in an area 'everyone has turned down'." We all signed a petition today -- Everyone goes or no one goes to Nitzan. And we all will live in the same neighborhood. Slowly, very slowly, the families are moving out of the hotels and into the prized, paper-thin fiberglass trailers. "Congratulations you have received a prized key!" says their letter. Like many others Moshe and I have received neither letter nor key nor compensation of any kind, and are simply left in limbo. Ship containers packed, stored and guarded by the IDF are now reaching the Nitzan Displaced Persons camp. Many have been broken into. Furniture, appliances and clothing were stolen or vandalized. Half-eaten food strewn about by the packers lay moldering in the containers, giving off a stench. Rats left their mark. But there are those who make a difference. The Band-Aid Fund has sent seed money to each family as it moves into its trailer. But the needs, the replacements, the small items, cost so much. Paying off the mortgage of the destroyed homes, food, electricity, water, payments for the container rental eats away at the small government advance. Avery Harris of Petach Tikva moves peripatetically among the hotels, tent cities and trailers looking for leaders and encourages their endeavors. Mark Launer of Jerusalem helped establish the Student Loan Fund. Unemployment among our people is nearly 80%. Rabbi Yosef Rimon of Alon Shvut, a volunteer, has opened an employment agency in Nitzan using the internet as his tool. "Job Katif" is bringing in the data to place our people in jobs. College volunteers help write CVs and prepare for interviews. Rav Rimon has managed to place people in satisfying jobs and this has made all the difference. And so we see light, a small light barely flickering. Despite government pronouncements of "a solution for all" there is no help, only the harassment of the authorities. But the decency of private individuals who have come to help, people like yourselves, is making all the difference. The BAND-AID FUND is now collecting money to give each family 1,000 shekels (approximately $240) as seed money as it prepares to start a new life in Nitzan. You can help a family. Send your contribution to: Central Fund for Israel
OR Central Fund for Israel
Moshe and Rachel Saperstein lived in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif,
Gaza, Israel. They are now homeless refugees, living in temporary
quarters at Jerusalem Gold Hotel.
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IDEAS TO REACH THE BELIEVING COMMUNITY - FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Posted by Renalee Colon, November 27, 2005. |
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This comes from Faige Rayzel, who can be reached at FaigeRayzel@aol.com Letter to the Rabbi Simon Jacobson and Rabbi YY Jacobson Dear Rabbi Jacobsons, amv"sh Back to the Root. G-d in his Covenant with Avraham Yitzchok and Yaakov says that the Land is for the people of Israel exclusively. Am Yisroel in turn is obligated in the Mitzvot. Tachlis. Can you and your family get the Rabbanim, (Chareidi, Orthodox, Conservative etc). to support such a statement and publicize it in the Algemeiner? Interesting Proofs for those of you who enjoy Geometry: Hypotheses: The Roadmap Plan and the Covenant are mutually exclusive. 1. Given: The Covenant says that G-d gives the Land of Israel to the Nation of Israel as an eternal inheritance exclusively.
Either the Roadmap is the way to go or the Covenant is the way to go. If we choose the Covenant we must oppose the Roadmap. If we choose the Roadmap then by extension we oppose the Covenant. What do our Rabbis or Jewish Leaders choose? I would first ask Rav Shteinman and Rav Eliashiv. I would also ask the Rebbe of Belz, the Gerrer Rebbe, the Vishnitz Rebbe and all the Chasidic Rebbes. No protest to the Roadmap is implicit agreement with the Roadmap or interpreted by the hundreds of thousands of followers as such. Another Hypothesis: The Blessings on the world can only come about when Israel has rights to the Land. Given A: The Land of Israel is promised in a Covenant between G-d and Avraham Yitzchok and Yakov as an eternal inheritance of their seed.
1. Only Am Yisroel are obligated to keep these Mitzvoth. (given D)
Once we have the Land of Israel then potentially we can bring Blessings to the world. Once we have the Land of Israel and keep the Mitzvoth then the world will be blessed. The next question is: When we owned the Land how do we keep the Mitzvoth that are pertaining to the Land as prescribed by the Torah. How do we follow the Mitzvoth pertaining to the 7 year Shmita cycle as best as possible? Bikurim - What do we do when there is no Beis Hamikdash and the Kohanim are dispersed? I am in the middle of reading Worldstorm by Roy S. Neuberger. I am finding it fascinating. In this book he says, that it is G-d that makes the rules. When
man chooses to make up his own rules that circumvent or defy G-d's
rules he gets into deep trouble.
Contact Renalee Colon at renalees@yahoo.com
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FROM GOOD MORNING AMERICA TO THE TEFILLIN CHALLENGE
Posted by Deb Kotz, November 27, 2005. |
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Very interesting and inspiring story. I wonder if he had to give up his job at GMA after he became Orthodox. I've recently been inspired by several people who "found" Orthodox Judaism. Rachel (formerly Christine) Factor told a fabulous story of her conversion to Judaism and her subsequent transformation into an observant Jew. This former Broadway singer and dancer recently did her one-woman show in the D.C. area, coincidentally at Rabbi Herzfeld's shul. (Rachel and her Jewish husband became observant together.) I also recently met another woman from Spain who told me she had an Orthodox conversion in her 40s, strangely enough, after divorcing her Jewish husband. She and Rachel both said that they had felt like something nameless was missing from their lives, that their identity was somehow incomplete. They also said they felt like outsiders among their own people, and it wasn't until they became Jews that they felt like they belonged. This was written by Richard Pollock, a former television producer, who is the president of Next Generation Advertising, LLC, in Washington, D.C., which produces video, audio and animation for use on the Internet. It was in the the Orthodox Union Shabbat Shalom, November 17, 2005. How does one journey as a secular Jew and a producer for ABC's "Good Morning America" -- from attending White House Christmas parties and walking the sands of Saudi Arabia, to attending morning minyans (prayer services) at an Orthodox shul (synagogue) in Washington, D.C.? The short answer is, with a great deal of difficulty and many unforeseen pit stops along the way. I was a secular Jew who was a liberal activist during the days of Bob Dylan and anti-war rallies. We called it the "Age of Aquarius." We were about to re-make mankind. My generation trashed institutions. We rejected rules and laws. We believed we could re-write history. We could revise the history of civilization itself. Among the casualties was religion. We were particularly strident in our condemnation of organized religion. It felt good to be "liberated;" which meant we thought we could flee from our past. I joined this traveling band with great gusto. I was an anti-war activist, worked for Ralph Nader and founded a public relations firm in Washington, DC. My friends in the media shared my values and world outlook too. In 1988 I was invited to be the Washington producer for ABC's "Good Morning America." It was a pretty thrilling life. I was invited to private Washington dinners, rubbed elbows with the powerful and famous. I personally met every President from Gerald Ford to Bill Clinton and was able to discuss issues with world leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ariel Sharon. As the White House and Pentagon producer, I had a front row on history. I traveled on Presidential trips and covered civil unrest and armed conflict. I was held at gun point during an attempted coup in Panama, arrived at the scene of airplane crashes, reported on space flights from Cape Canaveral, covered a G-7 Summit in Tokyo and produced a special from an anti-terrorism summit in Sharme El Sheik, Egypt. I was in Nicaragua when the Sandinistas fell and lived in Hong Kong prior to the handover to China. One of my proudest moments was to produce a live, five hour ABC special from Normandy, France commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day. I conducted nearly a hundred interviews with World War II military leaders and D-Day veterans, including a Nazi General who headed the Panzer tank division closest to the Allied landing in Normandy. The two of us sat, feet apart, as we quietly discussed the war and the invasion, as if we were simply colleagues. A half a century earlier, he would have executed me. I remember standing on a beach in Normandy at the American Cemetery on June 6, 1994. I remember being struck by the tombstones especially that had the Star of David on them. Many were teenagers 18 to 20 years old. Throughout this period, however, I kept my Jewish identity pretty well under wraps. I received Christmas cards from friends, was invited to holiday parties in December and even attended a few White House Christmas parties. I married a woman who was Episcopalian. Her father was a Deacon in a small church in Danville, Virginia. My Judaism was in the closet, and the door was firmly shut. Nevertheless, there was this tug of the arm. Despite a fulfilling job, a successful career, many friends and a comfortable life, I felt something was missing. I and a few friends began a clumsy, somewhat counter culture search for what we called "spirituality." Spirituality does not have a Jewish face in America. In fact, it isn't associated with any established Western religion. A few of my friends joined Buddhist temples. Others dabbled in New Age stuff. I once held a retreat for New Age leaders at my home. Still others sought out what they called "ancient voices" and bonded with Native American Indians. For all, the journey seemed to be one part Kumbaya, one part self-indulgence and one part mystery. While on this journey I found myself one evening on an upstate New York estate owned by a wealthy businessman who said he had discovered the "spirits" of Native American Indians. I was invited through a friend. It was a sprawling estate. On it, the owner had erected two giant Indian teepees. In the evening a bonfire was lit and we chanted obscure Indian songs, holding hands under the starlit skies. It may have worked for others. But it left me cold. The evening seemed contrived. After all, none of us were of Indian heritage. It was a total disconnect. It was there, on that estate that I finally stated the obvious. "Hey, I'm Jewish, not a Cherokee, Lakota or Hupa Indian." My tribes weren't on the North American plain. They were in Jerusalem, near the Jordan River. And as I began to reflect on it, I realized that my religion had its own "ancient voices," among the most ancient and wisest of all time. They had names like Abraham and Isaac, Ruth and Esther, Moses and David. In terms of modern marketing, these spiritual leaders could be considered a bust. They didn't exude the exoticism of the East or the newness of Shamans or channeling. They were part of our "ugly" Western history. They were part of a past I and my colleagues were supposed to be fleeing. I had ignored Judaism since my Bar Mitzvah. Nevertheless, now it seemed to intrigue me. Maybe the distance of time allowed me to re-discover my own roots. About the same time, I was asked to be a producer for a "Good Morning America" special in Saudi Arabia. It was the beginning of the First Gulf War. I would lead a crew of 15 people, including GMA host Charlie Gibson. Getting the visas was not easy. At the time, Western media had never been permitted inside the Saudi Kingdom. To secure the visas I had to socialize with senior Saudi officials. We became friends. I was invited to request a visa. As I reviewed the Saudi application I found there was a line for religion. In my life, I had never been asked to identify my religion. Something rattled inside this closet Jew. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if I revealed my religion, I would be barred form entering the country. What was I to do? I consulted with Jack Reilly, my executive producer in New York, and we agreed that the entire team should leave the religion line blank. Just to make sure, he consulted ABC News President Roone Arledge. He too supported the move. I returned to the Embassy with the visa applications, sans any religious identification. It was the first time in my life that I had to think about my place in the world as a Jew. My cage rattled a bit more. The Saudis were not very pleased with our incomplete application. There was discussion, tension and debate, but after numerous meetings, the Embassy approved our visas. Practicality had won out. The Saudis needed American television coverage more than the knowledge of our religion. Since I was going to the Middle East, I decided I would visit Israel. However, this wasn't easy. I was privately counseled by ABC News that if I wished to travel there I needed to obtain a second American passport. An Israeli entry visa would bar me from travel throughout much of the world and virtually all of the Middle East. Again, it was a reminder of my place in the world as a Jew. More rattling. I obtained a "sanitized" American passport exclusively for travel to Israel. I left for Saudi Arabia where I spent several months covering Operation Desert Shield. Let me assure you, it was not a picnic. We were in a war zone. We were in a Muslim country. And now I was living there secretly as a Jew. The closet door closed tighter. But there were also some surprises. During my stay I was able -- as an ABC producer, not as a Jew -- to discuss Middle East politics with Arabs. It was then that I learned that most Arab elites privately despise the Palestinians. I will put it as politely as I can: they considered them shiftless, lazy, corrupt and hopelessly, always on the wrong side of history. (At the time the Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.) Curiously, many of them also expressed private admiration for Israel. When I went to Israel, gas masks and sealed rooms were the order of the day. U.S. Patriot missiles protected the skies from incoming missiles. Yet the majesty and spiritual pull of Israel was overwhelming. It was as if I had returned home. A few years ago I got another glimpse of what it means to be a Jew in today's world. I was in Caracas, Venezuela, working for an employer. As it turned out, I had to stay in the country during High Holidays. A colleague introduced me to a Jewish family who welcomed me into their home and secured a ticket for High Holidays at Union Synagogue, an Orthodox synagogue in Caracas. Because I was an American, I was invited to a number of Jewish homes for dinners. During each dinner, the same conversation came up. Gen. Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's President had made numerous veiled threats to the Jewish community during his last election campaign. The conversations among the Venezuelans at these dinners were all the same and went something like this, usually in hushed tones: Have you gotten your children out of the country? Where are you going to live? Which country looks good to you? Are you moving your money to the United States? When will you put your home up for sale? The conversation could have been the conversations that might have taken place around German Jewish dinner tables in the early Thirties. You could see the fear and concern in the faces and eyes of these Venezuelan Jews. Hell had not yet arrived, but you could see it from here. I needed to find my own place as a Jew. Who was I? What was my past? So in 2002 I began to go shul shopping. I had divorced my Episcopalian wife and was now married to a Jewish woman. Well Shul shopping isn't what it's cracked up to be. It isn't an easy journey, especially if you want to find commitment. There is a confusing array of Jewish flavors out there. Among other things, my Age of Aquarius brethren have re-shaped a good deal of organized Judaism with a lot of politically correct stuff that has watered it down. I remember once attending an open house at a reform temple. The shul's president was very pleased to announce that men did not have to wear a Kippa (skullcap) or Tallis (prayer shawl) at Sabbath services. He considered this a very strong selling point. Perhaps. But for me it sent a clear message that even the simplest rules were too much of a burden for this congregation. Commitment phobia was no longer my problem. I finally joined a Conservative synagogue and asked the Rabbi if he would take the time to show me how to wear Tefillin. His response was somewhat disappointing. He recommended I buy a book, and if I had any other questions to call him. He might as well have said, "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning." Still, lives in contemporary Jewish shuls don't exude much spirituality. It is a sanitized service that wishes to neither excite nor offend. Then I stumbled upon a modern Orthodox synagogue, Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah or OSTT in Washington, DC. The Rabbi there, Shmuel Herzfeld says there are few coincidences in life. He may be right. I had been rebuffed by a Rabbi on the question of Tefillin. And at my first OSTT Kiddush, the Rabbi asked me if I would like to enter the Tefillin Challenge. The gist of the challenge was that if I attended 30 out of 60 morning services, I would receive a free Tefillin. Oh yes, and "instructions were included." The Rabbi and many members of the congregation warmly helped me get it right. In some ways, I agreed to do it, as it was a challenge. And I did learn more about the morning services and how to wear the Tefillin. But as I Davaned (prayed) each morning, I found a subtle change came over me. Now I started each day differently. I was no longer thinking about the bills, or work, or the latest sports scores. Instead, I found myself beginning every day in a beautiful way. Instead of the mundane, every morning I focus on the important things in life. And shorn of political correctness, modern Orthodoxy touches on the miracle of life, from the miracle of our Torah to daily prayers. Now every morning I remind myself of eternity: "Master of the universe, Who reigned before any form was created." I ask Hashem for wisdom and insight: "For Your wisdom, O supreme God, may You imbue me; from Your understanding gives me understanding..." I am reminded every morning of the spirit of our soul: "My God, the soul You placed within me is pure. You created it. You fashioned it. You breathed it into me...As long as the soul is within me, I am grateful to You, Hashem, my God and the God of my forefathers, Master of all works, Lord of all souls." I am in awe of the miracle of each dawn: "Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who gave the heart understanding to distinguish between day and night." And every morning, I am reminded of the miracle of life itself: "We shall thank You...for Your miracles that are with us every day; and for your wonders and favors in every season - evening, morning and afternoon." For me, each morning -- each day -- has become a miracle unto itself. I met the Tefillin Challenge and got a new pair of Tefillin and I'm a member of a new shul. But a committed Jewish experience has given me something much more vital: the meaning of life itself. |
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THE OPENING OF JIHAD ON US SOIL
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, November 27, 2005. |
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This was written by Adina Kutnicki and appeared in Arutz-Sheva - www.IsraelNN.com. It is archived at http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=5798 Adina Kutnicki operates a CPA tax practice with her husband. She is involved in Israel activism and investigates ISM terror front groups. Ever since the horrific public assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane at the Marriott Hotel in New York City in 1990, there has been a small, yet vocal group of individuals trying to get certain US authorities - both state and federal - to pay attention to his murder. Their many entreaties both for personal justice and for a wider investigation fell on deaf ears. Nonetheless, the ramifications from the inaction of these US authorities can no longer be ignored. This small group's personal pain at the rabbi's cold-blooded assassination fueled their initial anguished pleas. However, there was much more underlying their silenced screams. Just as surely as night follows day, they were convinced about one glaring aspect of Rabbi Kahane's murder: it was the opening salvo by Islamic terrorists in their ongoing war against the US, perpetrated on US soil. Previously, during the 1970s and the 1980s, the Islamists shot several devastating hits aimed at US interests overseas. Not this time. The logical conclusion that Rabbi Kahane's supporters drew from his murder was crystal clear. Strangely, it coincided with the assessment of the Islamic jihad: if they can eliminate a problematic "radical" rabbi (their first victim of choice) on US soil and get away with it, then the hitherto invincible and impenetrable US would become open for their jihad. The Islamists counted on the US authorities turning a blind eye to their intentions; and their assumptions proved demonstrably and deadly accurate. Rabbi Kahane's assassin was an Egyptian named El-Said Nosair. Soon after the murder, the investigating authorities found among Nosair's belongings many boxes of Arabic writings, which for years were inexplicably not translated. Unbelievably, they included detailed plans for the upcoming 1993 World Trade Center bombings. In addition, Nosair was also a protege of Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman, the internationally infamous "blind sheikh" from a Jersey City mosque, convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Furthermore, the gun used to kill Rabbi Kahane was given to him by Wadith El-Hage, a member of Al- Qaeda, who was convicted for the 1998 US embassy bombings. Significantly, in March 1997, an Egyptian Muslim opened fire at more than a dozen people who were congregated on the rooftop of the Empire State Building for a sightseeing visit. Three years later, in the fall of 2000, the USS Cole was attacked, albeit overseas. The nexus to this Islamic hydra was growing exponentially (the above are only some examples of their lethal attacks on US soil and US interests overseas), yet US investigative authorities kept undeniably missing the links. The catastrophic attacks of September 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center and the US Pentagon were a direct culmination of their blindness. However, from day one after Rabbi Kahane's murder, his supporters besieged US authorities to view it as an Islamic act of jihad. But to no avail. Coincidentally, Rabbi Kahane's personal lawyer, Mr. Shannon Taylor, was also at his side when he was gunned down. In fact, he collapsed at Mr. Taylor's feet. He never imagined that the camera he brought along to take pictures of the gathering at the Marriott Hotel would later be used to take photos of a dying Rabbi Kahane. These pictures were taken to compile evidence for eventual prosecutorial purposes. In fact, these same images were the ones which circulated all over the world right after the murder. Immediately, Mr. Taylor approached the local New York office of the FBI and the US Attorney General's office with sources of information. Acclaimed terror investigator Steve Emerson produced a documentary, Jihad in America, that exposed that the FBI had buried moles and spies deep within some of the Islamic terror cells. However, no tangible results on Rabbi Kahane's murder were forthcoming from the FBI. Coincidentally, Mr. Taylor had the occasion to speak with the newly retired CIA head, William Sessions. Mr. Taylor was flabbergasted to learn that Mr. Sessions never saw the crime scene pictures taken of Rabbi Kahane's murder. This should have been the first order of business, to hand over the pictures to the head of the CIA. After all, that was a logical conclusion to make when Islamic terrorists were being pursued. What was later revealed, though, managed to fill in the blanks as to why no results were forthcoming in Rabbi Kahane's assassination investigation. In a nutshell, the FBI was not only taken off Rabbi Kahane's case, but all Islamic "infiltrating" was halted. President Clinton ordered the CIA, and the CIA then demanded that the FBI cease and desist. The Congress also put the squeeze on the FBI. Why? The true motives are anyone's guess. However, from 1990 until the 1993 first World Trade Center bombing, these groups were not monitored. Fifteen years after Rabbi Kahane's murder, National Geographic, much to their credit, finally connected the most undeniable and intrinsic dot in their very well-documented four-part series entitled Inside 9/11. The focus of their documentary was on a timeline of the Islamic jihad against the US. Lo and behold, they concluded, much like Kahane's supporters, that Rabbi Kahane's assassination was the opening of jihad on US soil. This documentary was deemed so important and so relevant that it was made available free of charge to those areas that do not have access to the National Geographic cable channel. One needn't be a cynic or a conspiracy theorist to make one salient observation: Kahane's murder (that of an often-maligned rabbi, deemed a "radical" and a "racist"), and the lack of a proper investigation into its cause, was of very little import to most. This was especially the case in the non-Jewish communities, and, to a certain extent, in the Jewish communities both in the US and in Israel. Imagine that. It took fifteen years, and thousands of deaths, to finally point out what should have been obvious to all. That is, that the opening shot fired by the Islamic jihadis on US soil was Rabbi Kahane's assassination, and that the jihad is ongoing - with no end in sight. Countless lives could have been spared if the investigation into Rabbi Kahane's murder had been given the priority and attention it deserved. It most assuredly would have led investigators to an overarching Islamic jihad plot against the US. Now that the politically incorrect blinders have been taken off, we can only hope and pray that the US authorities will pursue in earnest the Islamic jihadis, regardless of who is killed, and despite where the investigation leads them. May Rabbi Kahane's memory be for a blessing. |
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CHAYE SARAH IN HEBRON AND DVAR HEBRON BY RABBI DOV LIOR
Posted by David Wilder, November 27, 2005. |
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1. Chaye Sarah in Hebron Yesterday Hebron celebrated the purchase of Ma'arat HaMachpela, bought almost 4,000 years ago by the Patriarch Abraham, to bury his wife, Sarah. Annually, as this Torah portion is read, thousands of people arrive in Hebron for Shabbat to hear these verses recited at the very site Abraham purchased. This Shabbat, over 25,000 people from Israel and around the world, arrived in Hebron to participate in this special event. Hundreds traveled from the United States especially for this Shabbat, via Hebron 's New York office, the Hebron Fund, and through AFSI. In addition, thousands of Israeli couples and youth were hosted by Hebron and Kiryat Arba families. Youth slept in public buildings, prepared especially for Shabbat. Due to the warm weather, many also pitched tents in Hebron and Kiryat Arba. Shabbat meals were provided for those who made prior reservations. Families in Hebron and Kiryat Arba hosted dozens of people in their homes, with guests sleeping on any available floor space. Friday night, the multitudes gathered at Ma'arat HaMachpela, the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, for evening worship. The entire building was open to Jewish worshipers, including Ohel Yitzhak, the Isaac Hall, open to Jews only 11 days during the year. Huge prayer services were held both inside and outside, in the Ma'ara courtyard. Thousands joyously sang and danced the traditional Kabbalat Shabbat service. Following the evening meal, many of the guests attended classes and lectures in Hebron and Kiryat Arba. People could be seen roaming the streets of Hebron through the early hours of the morning. At five thirty in the morning, thousands gathered for early morning prayers at Ma'arat HaMachpela. A 'central service' began at eight o'clock in Ohel Yitzhak, with thousands crowding in and participating. Hearing the ancient words chanted, written by a scribe on parchment, describing the lengthy negotiations leading to Abraham's purchase of the caves and field, almost four millennium ago, at that very site, left everyone in awe. Following the services and afternoon meal, throngs toured Hebron's Jewish neighborhoods, with tours given in Hebrew, English, French and Russian. A festive 'third meal' was attended by hundreds of guests from the United States in the Gutnick Center. Hebron leaders, extremely happy with the huge turnout, said that this was the largest "Chaye Sarah" Shabbat gathering ever. They expressed hope that Israeli politicians and world leaders would take note of the tremendous international support for Hebron's Jewish community. They also commented that such a strong show of support should assist in efforts to prevent the possible expulsion of Jewish families from the 'Mitzpe Shalhevet' neighborhood, which was ordered to be implemented before the end of 2005. 2. A Second Celebration -- Publication of 'Dvar Hebron' by Rabbi Dov Lior Friday afternoon Rabbi Yitzhak Rodrig, dean of the Institute for Settlement Rabbis, arrived at the home of Hebron-Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi, Rav Dov Lior, with a special book in his possession. He presented Rav Lior with the first copy of "Dvar Hebron' -- 'The Words of Hebron,' the first publication of Rav Lior's extensive writings. The 270 page book is a collection of Questions and Answers dealing with various aspects of Jewish law (Even HaEzer and Hoshen Mishpat). In the book's introduction, Rav Lior writes: "I want to give thanks to the L-rd, who gave me the privilege of come to Eretz Yisrael and to save me from the days of holocaust, from 1940-1945 in Europe, years of bloodshed. I arrived at the doors of Torah in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav in Jerusalem, where I studied under my teacher, Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaCohen Kook, zt"l, who not only taught me the legal aspects of Judaism for Rabbis and Judges, but also formed my spiritual essence, concerning my outlook on the acts of G-d, who saw the future at the beginning, who returned the exiled to Israel and who raised the ruins of our land. His viewing of faith saw in every act which accompanied the path of the redemption of Israel, the light of redemption, even when the path was filled with difficult complexities." Rav Dov Lior, is known to be one of the 'Gedolie HaDor' -- a Torah Giant. His has an extensive knowledge of all fields of Torah, and many have waited breathlessly for the publication of the first volume of his writings. The book is available via the Institute of Settlement Rabbis (in Hebrew) and can be ordered at: mahevron@zahav.net.il 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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MODIFIED BRAVE NEW WORLD
Posted by Lawrence Ungelicht, November 27, 2005. |
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We live in a Depraved New World brought to us by "All those Hucksters". The mind dulling soma ration or drug of choice, especially among many Europeans, is anti-Zionism, which in truth is anti-Semitism. Such addicts are seduced by the illusion of Palestinian occupation, when in reality the democratic state of Israel is besieged by totalitarian Arab regimes intent on using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a diversion to vent the seething rancor and frustration of their exploited subjects. In this world, intelligence has effectively been eliminated. The mindless intellects that censure Israel wallow in their incestuous self-righteous states of pseudo-happiness fully confident that an aggressive Israel must ever be chastised and tethered if there is to be peace in the Middle East. This manipulated mindset diverts focus from a totalitarian cadre of fossil fuel magnates, many of which wear Muslim attire and live in disgustingly ostentatious palaces. Yet, in this deluded Jew bashing world, sanguine indulgence in one's own petard cannot be sustained for the sanguinary savages bent on obliterating their perceived infidels. Freedom from the pain generated by horrific acts of homicidal hostility is no longer assured to these apologists. Misplaced sympathy for the Palestinian pawns in this charade, as well as sycophantic behavior toward Saudi potentates and similar ilk financing such human hatred, only supports the sterilization of goodness from earth's soul. Surely, morals on our planet are not now determined by God or reason, but by the controllers and contrivers of agendas antagonistic to Israel. Still, we must hope that in the end depravity shall be vanquished, truth shall prevail, and Israel shall overcome. Contact Lawrence Uniglicht at luniglicht@snip.net |
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A FEW POINTS WHAT IS WRONG WITH VICIOUS BBC (BIASEDBsCRAP, PUTTING VIEWS FIRST!)
Posted by American Chin High, November 27, 2005. |
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Now is the time to write and have your say about BBC. Write these people: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, info@bbc.co.uk, talkingpoint@bbc.co.uk, israelipalestinian.review@bbc.co.uk BBC is receiving emails especially about the ME at this email address: israelipalestinian.review@bbc.co.uk 1) No matter what the story is, no matter what the situation is, it will only cover the discomfort the Arab Palestinians MIGHT have, that side is ever the 'major overall issue'. 2) Never any feelings for the Israeli victims, actually there is no such a thing as Israeli victims under BBC, Is it just plain out right racism that only Arabs could be considered as victims? Since when do Arab 'Palestinians' mainly attack the armed Israelis that BBC loves so much to show again & again? Do Israeli kids have a place on racist BBC? 3) I do not remember ever the BBC showing one tiny fractor of the beautiful, humane & kind Israeli daily lives for all, Israel appears on BBC only on the context of "poor" Arab Palestinian complaints. Would it kill the BBC to quote one 'other' thing in all areas of major achievement, medicine, technology http://israel21c.org ), major aid (http://israaid.org etc. or Israeli official "MASHAV") 4) Amazing how the BBC still endulges in the most lying picture of our time: Tank VS Kid', as if the cool good Israeli defenders are against the kids (and not against the shooters behind them). How silly could be the BBC to fall for the stomes-for-cameras cheap shots? 5) Does the BBC documentary industry plan to have any to research on Arab Palestinian official (Mahmoud Abbas too) Fatah terrorists organization on innocent unarmed civilians, or does the BBC prefer to keep that myth of 'only radical terror groups'? 6) When was the last time we saw the BBC reporting on Israeli security catching again & again children human bombs sent by their parents or by other Arab Muslim adults? 7) The first thing that the BBC should do is 'saying it' out loud, the overall picture, it is about security VS terror, Remember, Terrorism came before the so called "occupation". 8) Would it kill the BBC to utter the word terrorists or murderers or criminals on the Arab Muslims that deliberately target the unarmeed innocent? Contact the poster at americanchinhigh@yahoo.com |
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SHARON PLANS MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL. WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 27, 2005. |
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This is from today's Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNN.com) and is called "Sharon Plans Massive Withdrawal", www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=93725 OK everybody. This is what Sharon plans to do. So what are you planning to do? Reports are increasing that Prime Minister Sharon has drafted a plan for Israel's withdrawal from almost all of Judea and Samaria by 2008. Middle East Newsline (MENL) reports in the name of "political sources" that Sharon has begun briefing senior U.S. officials of his intention to withdraw unilaterally from more than 95% of Judea and Samaria. Sharon is hoping to be elected Prime Minister for a third time - this time not in the Likud, however, but as head of his new Kadima Party. One of the most valuable "acquisitions" of the Kadima Party, MK Chaim Ramon, formerly of Labor, said openly last week that Sharon will unilaterally withdraw to final borders in Judea and Samaria if Palestinian terror continues. IMRA reported that Ramon said this on a live interview on Channel 10's "London and Kirschenbaum" news program just hours after he announced his decision to join Sharon's Kadima. Ramon explained that Sharon will keep his plans secret until the elections because he wants to give the Road Map a chance. Many public figures said, both immediately before and after Sharon's decision to quit the Likud, that this decision stems from his desire to carry out dramatic diplomatic moves that he knows the Likud would not approve. Among those who have said this are Binyamin Netanyahu, former Ashkelon Mayor and long-time Sharon confidante Eli Landau, Likud ministers, and others. The MENL report indicates that Sharon would seek a U.S. and international security presence in Judea and Samaria, as well as yet another commitment for the dismantling of Palestinian terrorist groups. Sharon's reported plan is to order a unilateral withdrawal, at first, from more than 90% of Judea and Samaria, while retaining control over air space. The pullout would be accompanied by a pledge of an additional withdrawal, as well as full Palestinian independence, once the PA dismantles terrorist groups and maintains security cooperation with Israel. The MENL sources said a version of the plan has already been drafted by Israel's National Security Council. Though Sharon has denied that he plans any further disengagements, he pledged last week to "lay the foundation for a peace in which we set the permanent borders of the state, while insisting on the dismantling of the terror organizations." 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. Contact him at zelasko@actcom.co.il |
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UNSETTLED SETTLERS
Posted by Moshe and Rachel Saperstein, November 27, 2005. |
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Read it and weep, like we do. This and comes from yesterday's Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475628906&pagename= JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull) On the eve of disengagement, a massive government public relations campaign maintained that "there is a solution for each evacuee." Today, more than 100 days after nearly 9,000 Israelis were uprooted, it emerges that there is no solution for many of the evacuees, and indeed there never was. Many Israelis are indifferent, if not downright hostile to the plight of these fellow citizens. The daily Hatzofeh newspaper recently found a novel way of gauging sentiment by launching a fictional initiative to house evacuees in Tel Aviv. Its make-believe real-estate office, it reported, was inundated with antagonistic responses, hotly opposing the introduction of personas-non-grata into the city. Families whose world literally came crashing down must somehow cope in this atmosphere of apathy and worse. It need hardly be stressed that officialdom's failure does not distinguish between those who pulled up stakes prior to the deadline and those who stayed put to the last minute. According to the Government Employment Service, 1,990 of Gush Katif's former residents - 75 percent of the income-earners - are unemployed to date. There's no unemployment office at any of the large evacuee concentrations, including at the fiberglass mobile-home camp in Nitzan. Job offers are scant and the few available are often at minimum wage. None of the evacuated farmers has yet been compensated and none has received land to cultivate. There hasn't even been remuneration for the hothouses purchased via the World Bank to offer employment to local Palestinians. The World Bank argues that since these hothouses were looted (by Palestinians) there's no obligation to reimburse Israeli farmers who kept their part of the bargain. In the meantime families eat up the advances on their overall compensation packages, providing such advances were paid. Many families now realize that at this rate they won't have enough money to replace lost homes even with much smaller and inferior accommodations. Besides having nothing to live on, they must also pay rent for temporary housing, which means further deductions from the compensation package. If that weren't enough, the mortgages for their demolished homes, as well as insurance premiums for razed structures, are deducted regularly from the compensation each family is due. Thus families - whether or not they cooperated with the disengagement authorities - are forced to continue making payments on houses the government demolished. The least the government can do is pick up the tab or amend the relevant legal regulations. As things stand now, over 35% of the evacuees are still without even interim housing. They reside in hotels (from which they are also sometimes threatened with eviction), tents or youth hostels. The Education Ministry does not finance kindergartens for those evacuees still in hotels, hostels and tents. Many school-aged youngsters in these sites still aren't in regular classroom frameworks either. Presumably the government is not deliberately trying to punish these children, or to punish their parents through them. But the reality is bitter. An immediate concern is the inability of the families to reach their possessions, still locked up in containers. They cannot recover these containers (for which they must also pay rent) until they have a home for all their belongings. This means they are unable to merely unpack some of the items therein and many do not have any of their own winter clothing. The withdrawal left the lives of many families in shambles. Some youths even ended up in closed psychiatric wards as a result of emotional trauma. They didn't have it coming. Our society can ill afford to look upon such tragedies with equanimity. This was not how disengagement was supposed to turn out. The lot of these citizens, who bore the brunt of years of terrorism before they lost everything this summer, should appall everyone, opponents and supporters of disengagement alike. This is not a matter of political orientation but one of plain decency. Only in a heartless society would such governmental incompetence or indifference, and the plight it spawns, be allowed to persist. Moshe and Rachel Saperstein lived in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Gaza, Israel. They are now homeless refugees, living in temporary quarters. She was a teacher at the Neve Dekalim ulpana and a spokeswoman for the Katif Regional Council. Her recent book, "Eviction: A Gush Katif Viewpoint", with photos by Moti Sender can be ordered from www.pavilionpress.com. 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. |
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KADIMA
Posted by Paula R. Stern, November 27, 2005. |
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Ariel Sharon's Kadima Party, meaning forward or onward, is aptly named. I can imagine that Ariel Sharon and his spin doctors thought they could bilk a new group of supporters into believing that his new party would move the nation forward to some rosy future of peace and security, just as easily as he fooled his last group of supporters into trusting the bulldozer and father of the settlements would not betray the cause he championed above all others. Kadima can mean moving forward, progress and forethought, but in Sharon's case, it reminds me of when my children were young and wanted to charge off in some direction, unaware of what lay ahead. Kadima was the charge they yelled as they went running down a hill, usually to end in a fallen heap, crying at the bottom. Kadima is the reckless charge of a young child who does not have to take responsibility for unseen dangers that are hiding just beyond the bend. A child falling down a hill is nothing compared to a nation losing its way, a leader betraying its own people by sacrificing its safety and entrusting its security to others. Kadima is the blind cry of innocence and a nation cannot afford to have blind, innocent leaders. Kadima is the dare one teenager gives to another as they dive head first into a pool of water before checking the depths of the water below. Their youth can lead to serious injury, but the cry of Kadima runs through them and so they dare. Yes, Kadima is perfect for the likes of Ariel Sharon and his would-be supporters because only the foolish and reckless would believe a man who has proven he will not heed the promises he makes, the wishes of his supporters, the suffering of his people. When my brother first got his driving permit almost 30 years ago, anyone with a current driver's license was allowed to teach him to drive. With all of my 3 years of driving behind me, I drove my brother to a large, empty, parking lot in my parent's old station wagon. We switched seats and I suddenly realized the responsibility I had in my hands. A car is an amazing invention, if handled carefully and responsibly. Otherwise, it can be an instrument of great damage and even death. In the first moments, as I taught my brother how to start the car, I realized that before you learn to go, you must learn to stop, to evaluate, to understand the strength and responsibility you have in your hands. Kadima is easy. Press the gas and see how far you can go. Kadima into madness and death. Kadima into irresponsibility, betrayal and corruption. I told my brother to gently release the car brake and the car began to roll. He asked if he should give the car some gas. "No," I said quickly, understanding something that he had yet to learn. Before you can go, you must learn to stop. You must respect the machine, the power you have behind you. "Gently, slowly, hit the brake," I told him. He did so and despite the fact that I was bracing myself, I nearly went through the front window. The car stopped abruptly. "I just touched it," he said in surprise. He was beginning to understand the power he had. For the next few minutes, my brother simply practiced releasing the brake and applying it. A lesson learned. Learn to stop, learn to evaluate. Kadima can bring danger to yourself and those around you. Ariel Sharon has had the power of the nation and the army at his disposal for years now and yet he has not learned to correctly wield that power. He abused the army, turning it against his own people in order to accomplish what he thought was best. He has earned a reputation of corruption beyond any Israel has known in the past. Like a mindless teenager filled with the challenge of Kadima, Sharon careened down the hillside into madness, leaving a nation crumpled and broken behind him. Sharon abused the faith of his supporters by using their votes to implement a plan they did not support. And, when they told him in no uncertain terms that they opposed his new direction, he ignored them. He manipulated, he cheated, he betrayed and he lied. All to do what he thought was best. Kadima, demanded Sharon. Kadima without checking the depths of the water. Kadima and terrorists have taken advantage of our weakness, foreign governments have forced their vision upon us, and we meekly accept rockets fired from the north and from the south. The nation is less secure today than it was when Ariel Sharon took office. People are poorer. Cities are dirtier. Corruption is rampant. The country is more vulnerable, divided and distrustful. Kadima has destroyed the spirit of a generation of youth, who look to the soldiers as betrayers of the land and faith they love. Kadima has led to 9000 people being homeless and robbed of their possessions and communities. Kadima has broken the determination of countless soldiers who don't understand why they were used to fight a battle against the people they swore to protect. They see the disdain in our eyes, the anger we feel, the hurt. Kadima brought only madness. Ariel Sharon may ask for more supporters, but it is to those that he betrayed that he must first answer. In leaving the Likud Party, Sharon has offered many of us a welcome gift. He has confirmed that it was he who led the nation to betray its people, not the Likud ideology. He has returned the vote he stole from us, recognizing that you can only fool someone once. He leaves behind a Likud party stronger for having been cleansed of the dirt and filth that often comes with lies and corruption. Very soon, Likud members will proudly tell Sharon what we thought of his betrayal. Before the next election, the Israeli public must learn to stop and evaluate where we are, what we have done to ourselves, our youth, our army. We must stop this reckless, mindless rush towards surrendering everything before even reaching a negotiating table. Sharon's Kadima into madness must end and he must be defeated. Rushing off into the unknown can be exciting and fun, but it is not the cry of a responsible adult or party that asks for the nation's trust. Kadima is a cry for the young, the blind, and those who have faith. Ariel Sharon's party is indeed young, certainly it is blind to the suffering created by Ariel Sharon, and while it may have faith in itself, Israeli voters need only heed what Sharon did to the last group of people who had faith in him. Before giving Sharon support, look to those who supported him last time around. They are easy to find. Many live in tents and hotels still waiting for his disengagement plan to offer them the security and safety he promised in his last campaign. Paula R. Stern is a freelance journlist living in Maaleh Adumim. She is the Founder and Director of WritePoint Ltd., a technical writing company in Israel. Her personal website is: www.paulasays.com. |
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WINSTON CHURCHILL ON ISLAM -- SPEECH IN 1899!
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 27, 2005. |
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"How dreadful are the curses, which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome." -Sir Winston Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899). |
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"PROFESSOR" BRAVERMAN
Posted by Steven Plaut, November 27, 2005. |
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Amir Peretz's new sidekick is "Professor" Avishay Braverman, president of Ben Gurion University for almost as long as Kaddafi has been president of Libya. Peretz is already boasting that his anti-productivity quasi-bolshevik "ideas" have the backing of an academic heavyweight - Braverman. Academic heavyweight? I did a literature search to see what "academic" work Avishay Braverman has ever done. What I found was that he co-edited a book on agricultural economics with Joseph Stiglitz (this would not count as an academic publication at any serious research university -- it is an anthology that contains one paper co-authored by Braverman), he did a few reports for the World Bank in agricultural economics (neither would these), has one contribution to a volume of proceedings from a conference on agriculture (neither would that), and he published a paper in a Brazilian journal in Portuguese: TI: Custos e beneficios da estabilizacao de precos agricolas no Brasil. (With English summary.)
According to the computerized bibliography Econlit, the authoritative data base for research in economics, this last one is the only publication in a "refereed" journal that he has and IT is in Portuguese (and so does not count). In research universities, only refereed journal publications in English form the basis for academic achievement (at least in economics). In short, Braverman's academic record is essentially a blank slate. What wonder then that academic standards at Ben Gurion University have been trashed, at least for far leftist anti-Zionists, while Braverman ran the show! |
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JERUSALEM IS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL!
Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, November 26, 2005. |
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The litmus test for any true buddy of the beleaguered Jewish State must result in positive recognition of all Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Hmmm! Is such a line of buddies now forming outside the Knesset? Has that line lost its way, somehow misdirected towards Tel Aviv? Historically, conquered regions are annexed to victorious nations. The U.S.A.'s southwest, for one, was so annexed at the expense of Mexico in the 19th century. I hear no hand-wringing pundits worldwide suggesting a give back. Indeed, are there many if any nation's born to this dysfunctional planet that have not shaped boundaries in a like manner? In 1967 Israel survived an intended war of annihilation instituted by its neighbors; annexing Gaza, Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights, and east Jerusalem to its relatively diminutive recognized landmass, dwarfed 100 fold by many Middle Eastern belligerent regimes, most of which will not tolerate habitation by "The Jew". No doubt, Jerusalem is a city sacred to many cultures, and indeed should be accessible to all cultures. Democratic Israel, unlike its much larger yet intolerant autocratic neighbors, allows all ethnicities to dwell within the confines of its borders, even allowing Arab Muslims to wield power within its parliamentary Knesset. No Jew or indeed any so-called "infidel", however, might expect power wielding reciprocation within any extreme Muslim sovereignty any time soon. Hence, it is good for the civilized world to encourage Jewish sovereignty over all Jerusalem, in effect guaranteeing non-discriminatory safe access to all parts of that city. Would a non-Muslim even consider meandering along narrow passageways through the Old City or visit holy sites located in east Jerusalem with a weak Palestinian Authority or more likely Jew/infidel despising Hamas fanatics in charge? Human history sets the rules of boundary formation, thus the entire city of Jerusalem belongs to and in fact is the capital of Israel. End of that conversation! If any nation agrees to become Israel's true buddy, it will unequivocally support that assertion. Contact Lawrence Uniglicht at luniglicht@snip.net |
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PA ADMITS JEWISH TOWNS TURNED INTO 'TRAINING CAMPS'
Posted by Evelyn Hayes, November 26, 2005. |
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Plowshares have been turned to terrorist camps endangering democracy, human rights, and human life in the Middle East. This article appeared yesterday in World Net Daily and is archived
at www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47587
JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Authority admitted in an official
document published that today parts of Gush Katif, the former Jewish
communities of Gaza, are now "training camps" for terror groups.
In an exclusive story last week, WND reported Hamas has turned Neve
Dekalim, the former capital of Gush Katif, into a "martyrs training
camp," and has used the territory to fire rockets into Israel.
Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef yesterday toured Gaza's
former Jewish communities and detailed a PA plan to bring security to
the area. Since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in August, the land that
comprised Gush Katif has been the scene of regular internal
Palestinian clashes.
An official dossier of Yousef's schedule released today by the
Interior Ministry states, "The Minister Nasser Yousef toured the newly
liberated areas of Gaza, parts of which are used by the Palestinian
groups as training camps."
As WND reported, in what some expelled Jewish residents of the area called the "ultimate insult," Hamas leaders said they turned Neve Dekalim into a "martyr training camp" and have used the territory to launch rockets into Israel.
Earlier this month officials placed barbed wire around Neve Dekalim, as well as signs posted in Arabic which describe the neighborhood as a "closed military zone."
Senior Hamas sources told WND the group transformed Dekalim into a "military training camp for martyrs," boasting that several Qassam rockets have been fired from the former Jewish capital into nearby Israeli Negev towns.
Hamas has taken credit for Israel's Gaza withdrawal and has become a formidable force in the area. It swept local municipal elections, and analysts expect the terror group to do well in upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas chief in Gaza, told WND in an exclusive
interview last month "that our martyr operations caused Israel to
withdraw from Gaza is the truth and the reality.... [Martyr
operations] are the option that the great majority of our people,
except a minority of opportunistic people, is deeply convinced is the
best choice because any negotiation with the occupiers will be
helpless and will not bring back to the Palestinians any of their
rights and it will not free their lands."
Al-Zahar warned Hamas would launch terror attacks to drive Israel
from the West Bank and ultimately from the entire Jewish state.
Since the Gaza withdrawal, more than 100 rockets have been fired
from Gaza into Israeli Negev towns. Israel says Palestinian groups are
transferring rocket technology and heavy weaponry to Judea and
Samaria.
Neve Dekalim was the largest town in Gaza's Gush Katif slate of
Jewish communities. Prior to Israel's withdrawal, the neighborhood
regularly was bustling with Jewish residents dining, shopping and
going to work. It contained Katif's industrial zone, government
buildings and some of the largest synagogues and stores in the area.
Housing was tight, with a total of 467 units in the neighborhood
filled by Jewish families who moved in from throughout Israel and
across the world.
WND's story last week of a Hamas terror camp in their former city
saddened Jewish residents who had been expelled from the area.
Dror Venunu, former director of the Gush Katif Development Fund and a Dekalim resident, told WND, "This is the ultimate insult. I didn't have one illusion the Palestinians would use our town to build something good. We warned about this to the Israeli population, that giving Gush Katif will reward all the terror organizations. Still, to hear where my home once stood is now a Hamas terror camp is very difficult and sickening. This is like making a holy place into total filth."
Rachel Sapperstein, a former Dekalim community leader, told WND, "I had not expected anything less from the Palestinians. I would have assumed they would take our beautiful homes, synagogues and schools and turn them into centers for terror."
Sapperstein said prior to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza she was in
the planning stages for a new girls' dormitory to be constructed in
Neve Dekalim in the memory of the first Gush Katif resident killed in
a terror attack.
"I thank God I didn't build that dormitory," Sapperstein said, "because my heart would shatter if I knew that from it would come a Hamas training camp."
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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NAMING SHARON'S NEW PARTY
Posted by Michael Gale, November 26, 2005. |
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I have a few names for Sharon's new party... How about the Backward Party? Or the We Surrender Party? Or the Irresponsible Party? What's next? Is his party going to rewrite Hatikva and remove the word Jerusalem? Michael Gale
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OLEG CARTOON: KNESSET APPROVES OF EGYPTIAN PATROL OF GAZA BORDER
Posted by Women in Green, November 26, 2005. |
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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DID CONDI GO ON A RAMPAGE?
Posted by Israel Resource News Agency, November 26, 2005. |
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This was written by Dr. Joel Fishman, a Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) and of the Centre for Strategic and Military Studies at the University of Calgary. He is the co-author (with Efraim Karsh) of La Guerre d'Oslo (The Oslo War) (Paris: Editions de Passy, 2005). Emanuel A. Winston said of Condileeza Rice: Hysterical anger by America's Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tells us more about the sinking of the Bush Administration then merely a black lady of stature following in the footsteps of Andrew Young, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Idi Amin - among others - who viscerally hate the Jews. That Rice sat on the Board of Directors of the Chevron Oil Corporation, who themselves saw Israel through the eyes and minds of the Saudis tells only part of the story of her screaming fit as described in the following. Last week, the local press announced that after weeks of inconclusive negotiations an agreement was reached within the framework of the Roadmap regulating the border crossings in and out of Gaza. At the same time, it became clear that this agreement deprived Israel of means of preventing the passage of terrorists and arms into Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came to Jerusalem in order to move these negotiations forward, and the newspapers reported that she brutally forced Israel to accept the terms of this agreement. It seems that the staff at the hotel where the negotiations took place heard Condoleezza Rice screaming at Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz upon whom she vented her anger on a previous visit. The media have devoted attention to two main facts: a confrontation took place and Israel's sovereignty and its ability to defend itself have been compromised. Although, the United States has continuously applied pressure on Israel for various reasons, last week's drama reflected unusual brutality and forcefulness. It was shocking and unforeseen, because no state would have knowingly placed itself in the situation Israel faced last week. While we will have to wait for further details, we may learn something by examining the long-term lines of American-Israeli bilateral relations as understood by the Sharon government. While one should not generalize on the basis of a single event, what happened is of such importance that we must try to understand it. This brutal confrontation took place despite the fact that one of the priorities of Israeli foreign policy has been to build cordial relations with the American administration. At the same time, some Israeli policy-makers understood that with Yasir Arafat's proven unsuitability as a negotiating partner, the Americans would appreciate the need for a measure of initiative regarding the establishment of borders and keeping settlement blocs. It followed that the Sharon government hoped that disengagement from Gaza would earn special consideration for Israel, in view of the fact that the Palestinian Authority failed to demonstrate positive cooperation in fighting terror and ending incitement. On several occasions, the Americans denied the existence of this type of understanding, but the Sharon government has persistently maintained that indeed there is a special American appreciation for Israel's needs. The formulation of this policy dates back to Sharon's address to the Herzliya Conference of December 4, 2002 and more recently to the famous interview of his advisor, Dov Weisglass, which ran in Ha'aretz of October 8, 2004. Here, Weisglass with great confidence and buoyant optimism explained that after Israel's seizure on 4 January 2002 of the Karin A (a ship smuggling illegal weapons to the PA), and the documentation of Arafat's financial links to terrorist organizations, the Americans no longer wanted to have anything to do with the Rais. "From that moment he was as good as dead." He further declared that Israel had adopted the principle that the eradication of terrorism would have to precede the start of a political process, and that in the meantime the peace process would be stopped in place, as if it were preserved in formaldehyde. "We received a no-one-to-talk-to certificate. That certificate says: (1) There is no one to talk to. (2)As long as there is no one to talk to, the geographic status quo remains intact. (3)The certificate will be revoked only when this-and-this happens when Palestine becomes Finland. (4) See you then, and Shalom." There is every reason to believe that the Sharon government endeavored in good faith to protect Israel's interests according to its best understanding of the situation, but evidently something went wrong. There could have been a change of American policy, or Prime Minister Sharon may have overestimated the friendship of the American administration. What is clear from last week's ugly and heavy-handed episode is that the U.S. Secretary of State did not show much special appreciation for Israel's critical needs or respect for its sovereignty. Like a broom sweeping away cobwebs, Condoleeza Rice challenged the basic assumptions which in recent years have guided Israeli foreign policy. |
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GERMAN GOVERNMENT PROVIDES INDIRECT SUPPORT FOR ARAB "RIGHT OF RETURN"
Posted by David Bedein, November 25, 2005. |
One consistent aspect of cultural life in the United Nations-run Palestinian Arab refugee camps: the film screenings in the camps which motivate the refugees longing for a Palestinian "right to return" to villages that they left in 1948, even though these villages were turned into Israeli communities after that war. These films are organized through the Cine Club, a project of the Palestinian Diaspora and Refugee Center, orchestrated under the framework of a Palestinian advocacy group known as Shaml and registered with the Palestinian Authority. What is not generally known is that the agency that sponsors the Shaml organization is not an Arab entity, but rather the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, funded by the German Social Democratic Party, which in turn receives direct funding from the German government. According to the Ebert Foundation's website, its primary mission is "promoting peace and understanding between peoples". Yet UN article 194 is touted by the German sponsored Shaml as proof for an absolute "right of refugee" return. That article states that: "Refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible." Besides Shaml, the Ebert Foundation also aids PASSIA: the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. In 2004, PASSIA published a multicolored bulletin still in circulation titled "Palestinian Refugees", offering facts and proofs for the so called "right of return". This publication highlights the Friedrich Ebert Foundation as the sole sponsor of this brochure. Cohre, the Geneva based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions is yet an other Palestinian entity which campaigns for the "right of return" Scott Leckie, Cohre's director, was a member of the PLO's Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees. Cohre has teamed up with Badil, The Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, another leading Palestinian advocate for the "right of return". In the Cohre Activity Report of 2000 - 2002 it says, "Cohre and Badil are planning to jointly hire a lobbyist to co-ordinate a campaign to change policies within various UN agencies and States with regard to the right of Palestinian refugees to repossess the properties confiscated by Israel since 1947". On page 72 of that report, the Cohre Activity Report praises support provided for the "right of return" campaign by The Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Badil, for its part, was recently deferred from membership to the UN Social and Economic Council. According to NGO Watch, Badil's "extremist anti-Israel political agenda is incompatible with universal human rights norms". This is evidenced by their 23rd Occasional Bulletin of December 2004, where they candidly reveal the scope of a Palestinian "right of return" : "The real Zionist opposition to return is that return would alter the demographic balance in Israel so much that it would destroy Israel's Zionist, exclusionist character. This, of course, is true. But the preservation of this character of Israel is neither an international responsibility nor a moral-juridical-political fact that outweighs in importance the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people." When the President of Germany, Horst Kohler visited the Israeli Knesset in January, 2005, Israel Member of the Knesset Gila Finkelstein waved the Ebert Foundation funded PASSIA "right of return" brochure at President Kohler and walked out of the Knesset in protest. Finkelstein requested and received an appointment with German President Kohler, to personally d express her outrage that Germany would ever fund an effort that supported the "right of return", which is a code name for dismembering the state of Israel. Kohler promised to look into the matter. In April, German President Kohler wrote to MK Finkelstein that he relied on the professional judgment of the Fredrich Ebert Foundation and rejected MK Finkelstein's protests. However, in contrast to the lofty goals of peace and reconciliation advocated by the Ebert Foundation website and by the President of Germany, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in practice has clearly aligned itself with the most virulent proponents of the Palestinian "right of return", all of whom operate with funds traced directly to the German government, with programs designed to dismember the state of Israel. A generation after a previous German government sponsored a JudenRein campaign in Europe, a new German government now sponsors a JudenRein campaign -- in parts of the land of Israel. David Bedein is an investigative reporter and Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency. (http://Israelbehindthenews.com). |
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IS U.S.A CHIPPING AWAY AT ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR ADVANTAGE?
Posted by Warren Manison, November 25, 2005. |
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PENTAGON-COMMISSIONED REPORT CALLS ON ISRAEL TO INITIATE NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT IN REGION... According to a report commissioned and paid for by the Pentagon that deals with issues stemming from Iran completing its nuclear program, the way to bring about stability in the Middle East is to encourage "Israel to set the pace of nuclear restraint in the region by freezing its large reactor at Dimona, and calling on all other states that have large nuclear reactors to follow suit." The report, entitled "Getting Ready for a Nuclear Iran" was prepared by the U.S. Army War College and edited by a nuclear nonproliferation expert and an expert on Iran. Their conclusion is that Iran has all of the technology, know-how and materials necessary to complete its nuclear program and create a nuclear bomb within twelve to forty-eight months. They dismiss the possibility that any of the military or diplomatic options currently being discussed to derail the Iranian nuclear program are viable and argue that the best alternative is an Israeli-led regional disarmament. |
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FIRST LAW OF GENETICS
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 25, 2005. |
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The first law of genetics is that if your parents never had children, neither will you. Marriage, birth, children and all that go with it are a very, very difficult and time consuming businesses. In order to convince the ordinary, self centered hedonist to undertake such an enterprise, there must be extremely compelling arguments. Historically, the most powerful reason was that there was really no choice in the mater. With the introduction of effective, cheap and easily available contraceptives, all that changed. In the First, Second and even Third world most people who do not want children can avoid the issue. The corollary to that is that people who have children, especially if they have a lot of them, want them for a reason. In the end it is the culture that can give its people a reason to live that will survive. This comes from yesterday's The Washington Times. It was written by David R. Sands and is called "Europe's 'baby bust' signals major change." In the cradle of Western civilization, the cradles are empty. From the Atlantic to the Urals, in good and bad economies, in Protestant and Catholic societies, the countries of Europe are witnessing an unprecedented decline in birthrates. This "baby bust," analysts warn, will affect economic growth, social-welfare programs, patterns of immigration and Europe's ability to pull its weight diplomatically, culturally and militarily in the 21st century. In 1900, according to U.N. estimates, one out of four human beings on the planet -- 24.7 percent -- lived in Europe. Today, the European population share is a little more than 10 percent. By 2025 -- with the average woman in the European Union bearing just 1.48 children in her lifetime -- the ratio of Europeans to everyone else is projected to be less than one in 14 -- 7 percent. The dearth of babies, coupled with longer life spans for today's elderly, "have major implications for our prosperity, living standards and relations between the generations," according to a "green paper" on demographic change issued by the European Commission earlier this year. With fewer younger workers in Europe supporting more older pensioners, the immediate worry has been the fate of generous welfare and social protection systems across the continent. But "the issues are much broader than older workers and pension reform," said Vladimir Spidla, EU social affairs commissioner. "This development will affect almost every aspect of our lives, for example the way businesses operate and work is being organized, our urban planning, the design of [apartments], public transport, voting behavior and the infrastructure of shopping possibilities in our cities. "All age groups will be affected as people live longer and enjoy better health, the birthrate falls and our work force shrinks. It is time to act now," he said. Outside threat One direct fallout from the demographic slump was on vivid display during the riots that rocked the suburbs of Paris and a string of French cities this month. The rioters were overwhelmingly drawn from the ranks of young, unemployed sons of immigrant families from North and West Africa. As in countries across Europe, the largely Muslim immigrants were drawn to France to take low-end jobs that the native population could not or would not do. With large-scale immigration from former colonies such as Algeria, France's estimated 6 million Muslims represent 10 percent of the nation's overall population. Michael Vlahos, a former State Department analyst now with the Joint Warfare Analysis Department at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory, argues that the "Arab boomer" generation now in its teens and early twenties will have an outsized impact on European society. With native European populations not producing enough children to maintain current population levels, "the bow-wave of the Arab 'boomer' generation, buoyed by aggressive illegal immigration, could still push the proportion of Muslims in France, Italy and Spain up to a quarter or even a third of their population," Mr. Vlahos wrote in a recent analysis. In the coming 40-year period beginning in 2010, "even if Muslims in Roman Europe still only represent 20 to 25 percent of the total population, working adults may reach 40 percent or more," he wrote. "That era -- from 2010 to 2050 -- could alter the nature of European civilization." The motives of the French rioters -- economic, social, religious -- remain a subject of hot dispute. Few think that Islamic fanaticism triggered the riots. But the threat of al Qaeda attacks, such as those against rush-hour commuters in London and Madrid, continues to shadow France and other Western European nations. In one well-known case, a disaffected Islamic terrorist cited the demographic imbalance in France as one source of his frustration. Engineering student Kemal Daoudi, the son of Algerian immigrants to France who lived in the isolated Parisian suburbs cut off from mainstream French life, joined Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and was arrested just after the September 11 attacks in 2001 for plotting to attack the U.S. Embassy in Paris. He told French investigators that he first was motivated to join al Qaeda by the "abominable treatment" he and fellow immigrants received as "subcitizens good only to keep working to pay for the retirement of the 'real' French when the French age pyramid gets thin at the base." When in Rome The first wave of Muslim immigrants to France had a birthrate three times that of the native French, a pattern replicated in other EU countries with heavy immigrant populations drawn from Africa and the Middle East. "With current trends," Bernard Lewis, a leading U.S. scholar of Islam, has said, "Europe will have Muslim majorities in the population by the end of the 21st century." But other analysts say demographic history suggests that "present trends" are unlikely to continue. Birthrates in the Muslim world are already falling sharply as well. American Enterprise Institute scholar Ben Wattenberg, author of "Few," a study of declining birthrates worldwide, said the average family size of immigrants in Europe quickly matches that of longtime natives. The embrace of radical, even violent Islam by disaffected European Muslims is a danger, he said, "but it is not principally a problem of demographics." Asked whether Europe faced a Muslim "population bomb," Mr. Wattenberg said, "The answer to that, in my judgment, is a flat 'no.'" On the flip side, the idea that large-scale immigration will reverse Europe's chronic fertility rate decline is also unlikely, said Demetrios Papademetriou, director of the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute and a leading authority of global population shifts. "Immigration, as it is currently conceived, will not provide a solution [to white, Christian Europe's declining birthrate] because the birthrates of permanent immigrants quickly drop to those comparable to natives," he said. Out with 'Old' -- and 'New' Even putting aside the question of assimilating Europe's immigrant communities, the population statistics for both "Old" and "New" Europe are sobering. According to the European Commission Green Paper, population is already falling in the EU states of Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Of the six most populous EU states, only France and Britain are projected to see population increases by 2050. Italy, Spain and Germany all have fertility rates of less than 1.3 children per woman -- compared with the classic "replacement rate" for a population of 2.1 children. Despite generous social benefits and numerous pro-family policies (including baby "bounties") in individual EU states, overall birthrates have been falling for three decades. Overall EU population, now at 458 million, is expected to peak in 2025 at about 470 million and then start declining. The situation in Russia is even grimmer. By midcentury, demographic trends suggest that the population of the country could decline by a fifth. Joseph Chamie, former director of the U.N. Population Division, noted that greater educational and employment opportunities for European women have contributed to a situation in which nearly one in five women in Finland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in her early 40s is childless. "The decline of Europe's population is being brought on voluntarily, the result of hundreds of millions of men and women choosing to have fewer children than is needed to ensure population replacement," he wrote in a recent analysis for the Washington-based journal the Globalist. Complicating the picture is the historical baggage that comes from past European efforts to boost birthrates. France and Estonia have had limited success with "pro-natalism" programs, but an Italian proposal to pay a 1,000-euro baby bounty to couples who have more than one child raised unfortunate echoes of past racial purity measures proposed by Benito Mussolini's Fascists. French Employment Minister Gerard Larcher said last week that the government does not track ethnic and religious classifications in the national census because the country was "traumatized" by the experience of the World War II collaborationist Vichy government's role in expelling French Jews to Nazi concentration camps. But the question of Europe's declining population has moved in recent years beyond fringe political movements often linked to anti-immigration and even eugenicist groups.
The United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and even the CIA have published major studies on the economic and social consequences of Europe's baby bust.
The CIA analysis generated headlines across the continent with apocalyptic warnings that Europe's social safety structures face collapse in a little more than a decade if the demographic meltdown is not addressed.
"The current EU welfare state is unsustainable and the lack of economic revitalization could lead to the splintering or, at worst, disintegration of the EU, undermining its ambitions to play a heavyweight international role," according to the forecast released in January.
Even Pope Benedict XVI has weighed in on the population drain in an August address, saying the decline in birthrates in Europe "has deprived some nations of the freshness, the energy, the future embodied in children."
Demographers admit that they have failed to identify a single controlling factor that has produced plunging birthrates across the continent.
Sweden, renowned for its generous paternal benefits and employment supports, saw birthrates climb from 1.6 children per woman in the 1970s to the replacement rate of 2.1 percent a decade later. By 1989, combined maternity and paternity leave stood at a full year at 90 percent of the regular salary.
But economic hard times and welfare cutbacks in the 1990s left Sweden quickly reverting to the European norm. The Swedish birth rate fell to 1.5 children by 2000 and now stands at 1.66.
The numbers are just as stark a continent away in Catholic Spain: The Spanish birthrate fell from 2.86 children in 1970 to 2.21 in 1980 to 1.28 today -- one of the 10 lowest birthrates in the world.
Economic uncertainty and a tight job market are considered factors, but the birthrate in the impoverished former East Germany is actually higher than the rate in the wealthier western part of the country.
A German survey released earlier this year found that 15 percent of women and 26 percent of men between 20 and 39 do not want to have children, up from 10 percent for women and 12 percent for men just a decade ago.
Reviewing the findings, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle concluded, "The natural and somewhat obscure longing to have a child has little to do with state subsidies and labor market structures."
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. Contact him at zelasko@actcom.co.il |
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P.A. BARBARISM BOOMERANGS; GAZA PASS-THRU AGREEMENT; ISRAEL CIVIL LIBERTY GAIN
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, November 25, 2005. |
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WE ARE BOUND TO IRAQ, NOW We put our credibility and prestige on the line, in Iraq. If we fled without having given freedom sufficient time, nobody would go out on a limb for us, again. (We have betrayed nations several times, including Hungarians, Kurds, Israelis, and probably Taiwanese, whom we are about to let down, again, when China builds up its forces more.) People would feel it is safe to join the Islamists and share in their expected string of victories. Peace would not replace our forces. (Only the Israelis remain unaware of US perfidy.) Therefore, we are wedded to our exit strategy -- a legitimate government and native security forces built to replace ours. Meanwhile, we have killed and jailed tens of thousands of terrorists. If we keep this up, their cause will be discredited (Victor Davis Hanson, Jewish Political Chronicle, 9/2005, p.54 from Washington Post, 9/4). Can we choke the enemy without choking off enemy supplies and reinforcements? Why don't we stop the invaders? Can't? Failed to plan for it? Have no reserves to deal with this contingency? And still we don't support Iranian opponents of the regime, around whom the masses might rally? Bush afraid to learn, lest he have to admit mistakes? Can native Iraqi forces can be built up to defend their country? Some columnists claim that they are being built up. What combat have they engaged in? Did they hold their ground? Not substantiated in the media. If US policy is succeeding, why doesn't the Administration and its supporters cite specifics? PALESTINIAN ARABS' BARBARISM BOOMERANGS The al-Qaeda bombings in Jordan slew many Palestinian Arabs. The hypocrites did not like it. The Queen complained that this time, the victims were innocents, as if their attacks against Americans and Israelis did not target innocents. What kind of people are these Palestinian Arabs? "No other press and school system indoctrinates children to become suicide murderers. No other people holds joyous wakes for dead suicide bombers. No other parents hope their children will blow themselves up. None other receives lavish endorsement and funding for terrorism from the authorities. Nor has another people produced a leader so inextricably tied to terrorism as was Yasser Arafat, nor so bountifully devoted its allegiance to him." "To change Palestinian Arab behavior requires that civilized people finally get tough on suicide terrorism. That means rejecting Hamas as a political organization and excluding dialogue with it. It means shunning propagandistic movies such as Paradise Now, a film that whitewashes Palestinian suicide bombing. And it means convicting Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives Sami Al-Arian and his Florida cohorts." The answer is for all who consider themselves civilized to consistently oppose random bombing of civilians as terrorism, regardless of the nationality targeted (Daniel Pipes #617, 11/15). Mr. Pipes does not exempt Fatah as an organization to ban, he informed me that he just cited the most prominent example. He missed an opportunity to correct the widespread misimpression that ignores Fatah terrorism and thinks the P.A. is not terrorist and that one can make solid peace deals with it. P.A. LIBEL EXPANDING For six years, the P.A. has been libeling Israel as striving to weaken P.A. youth by turning them into drug addicts. The official P.A. daily lately alleged that Israeli intelligence has a special unit for this purpose. It claims that some Israelis confessed to furnishing perfumes that produced drug addiction. (Those Israelis were not displayed, in confirmation, though the news would be sensational.) Israelis also were said to pay youths to take drugs. Abbas is keeping his people hateful of Israel (IMRA, 11/15). Drugs are a problem in Israel. Arabs are among the suppliers, mainly for the money. THE P.A.-ISRAEL AGREEMENTS FOR PASS-THROUGH IMRA furnished the text (11/15). I saw no reason to believe that the third party would report honestly on P.A. compliance, no means of enforcement, and no recourse by Israel in the event of the usual Arab non-compliance. There were attachments not publicized. Generally, attachments make more Israeli concessions. This is the Oslo way. If the Israeli people knew how their leaders endanger them, they'd string them up. Emanuel Winston informs us that the agreements, made under US pressure, do not permit of inspection of trucks entering Judea-Samaria. The US inspects at its own ports of entry. Based on customary practice, the trucks would contain weaponry. This is a recipe for murder. It is a US reward to Islamism at Israel's expense, to appease S. Arabia. After the resulting terrorist attacks, the government of Israel would want to defend its country, but the US would insist that this defense be only temporary and only in proportion to the terrorism, not enough to defeat the terrorists (Winston Mid East Analysis, 11/16). Such is the US modus operandi. IMRA finds that the third party merely may recommend that some terrorist not be permitted to enter, but the P.A. makes the final decision. Israelis can monitor the screens showing who is entering, but cannot bar anyone. Israel has ceded control over the border. That means terrorists and arms will enter. The same conditions pertain to the seaport. Worse, Israel promises not to interfere with operations of the port, meaning it will not mount inspections at sea, either. For Judea-Samaria, Israel agrees to work out with the US which road barriers to take down. Of course, the US will press Israel to take down as many as possible. The agreement has no provision for Israel to erect new ones, should Arab aggression warrant. Israel thus is giving up most of its security control in Judea-Samaria (11/16). Why the elaborate charade? To lull suspicion. That means the US knows how bloody the war will become! Do the Israeli leaders not know it, too? ERRORS IN HAARETZ Haaretz correspondent Amira Hass mentioned "Jewish-only" roads in Judea-Samaria. Those roads are open to all citizens of Israel, including Arabs. They are Israeli-only, not "Jewish-only." The newspaper implied that Israel had a racist road policy. Having opened an office in Israel to monitor the media there, CAMERA informed Haaretz of the error and asked for a retraction. By mistake, Haaretz sent CAMERA a Haaretz memo to staff advising them to ignore CAMERA. Another error in that paper was a statement by Gideon Levy that PM Meir once said that "after what the Nazis did to us, we can do whatever we want." CAMERA asked the source. Mr. Levy admitted he had none, but the Editors refused to issue a correction. An Op.-Ed. claimed that the P.A. provided a four-year period of almost absolute "quiet." CAMEA provided the newspaper with a considerable list of the attacks during that period. Nevertheless, the Newspaper made no retraction. Haaretz is acting contrary to Israel's code of journalism, which calls for prompt correction of errors (IMRA, 11/16). Some of the media consider themselves too prestigious to have to admit mistakes. Such a policy forfeits prestige. It breeds complacency towards error (which I believe certain newspapers deliberately foist upon audiences). The supposed mission to inform has been replaced by a mission to mould (and to make money). SMALL VICTORY FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES IN ISRAEL Young Shimshon Cytryn was released from prison to house arrest. He is accused of the attempted murder of an Arab in a rock fight. The lower court wanted to keep him in prison until his trial, but a Supreme Court judge thought that unnecessary, and remanded him to house arrest in a yeshiva and to payment of a large bond (Arutz-7, 11/16). This is a small victory for civil liberties. Israel tries to deny any bail. The new ruling still deprives someone not proved guilty of much of his freedom, including the freedom to earn a living. In this case, the police state practice converged, for the evidence is of his innocence and of his arrest being farcical, part of Sharon's punishment of dissidence. LEGALITY OF ABANDONMENT VS. RESISTERS The abandonment law barred giving assets to terrorists. The Sharon regime turned 40 public buildings over to the P.A., after the P.A. admitted planning to give some to terrorists. The Supreme Court admitted that the law breaks Israel's civil liberties law. People excuse false arrests of settlers on the grounds they refused to leave! The settlers offered to negotiate years earlier, but the regime refused. The government broke its promises on compensation, who have had to sue for basic justice (Media@actcom.co.il). aRichard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com. |
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A VERITY CHECK ON "CHECKPOINT"
Posted by Max Yas, November 25, 2005. |
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The documentary "CHECKPOINT" was produced in Israel over a three - year period between 2001 - 2003, during Arafat's 'armed intifada', with full cooperation of the Israel Defence Force (IDF). Why then does this work demonstrate such willful one-sidedness, never presenting the factual reasons for roadblocks and barriers, never acknowledging that such are the last recourse Israel has to defend itself against the insane hatred of Palestinians? Road blocks are established for the same reason we lock our doors and install security systems - to keep the bad guys out! The documentary dwells on armed Israelis harassing and humiliating unarmed Palestinians. There is no voice - over to explain the reason for these roadblocks The facts are that during this three - year period, over 800 Israelis were murdered and thousands wounded by Palestinian terrorists. Over a 100 suicide attacks and other atrocities took place. The checkpoints succeeded in preventing many more terror attacks, which could have doubled or tripled the number of Israeli victims. Fortunately Israel's defence barrier has now reduced terrorist activity against Israel to a mere fraction. Yet Israel is subjected still to new terror tactics: rocket fire and artillery. The large majority of checkpoints function smoothly and efficiently. The documentary focuses only on the small number of ugly scenes at some checkpoints. I am posting letters written to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) a tax-funded entity whose mandate is to present the news without favour or bias. I submit it has failed in this instance, and therefore protest in the strongest terms this unmandated spending of my tax dollars. My second letter was addressed to the British Broadcasting Corporation, that has been compelled to establish an "Israel Palestinian Review Process" due its demonstrated anti - Israel bias. This Process is either ineffective or lacks credibility - The BBC reporting on the Middle - East remaines biased and promotes racism. This is my letter to CBC - national@cbc.ca "Zionism does not lead to antisemitism - antisemitism leads to anti-Zionism." Contact Max Yas at maxyas@victoria.tc.ca |
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FORMER MUSLIM TERRORIST SPEAKS OUT ON ISRAEL'S BEHALF
Posted by Evelyn Hayes, November 25, 2005. |
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Zachariah Anani, an Ex-Muslim militant who grew up in Lebanon hating the state of Israel, has since become one of Israel's most staunch supporters. Anani, along with two other former Muslims, plans to address an audience at Princeton University next month to voice his controversial views. [Editor's note: 7:30pm, December 8, 2005: at McCosh 50 Lecture Theater on the campus of Princeton University. Parking for the public is available in Lot 10 near the theater. For more information, contact Keith Davies at: 720-935-2826 or lalric@verizon.net ] "I was brought up to hate Jews and Israel. That was my first raising, my first attitude," Zachariah Anani told Israel National Radio's Tovia Singer. Anani describes the circumstances that prompted him to make the decision to turn his life around. "In the 70's I became a Christian, but even as a Christian, Jews didn't mean anything to me. One day someone asked me a question regarding Jews, and I really didn't know the answer. I started studying Jewish history. I was shocked and amazed at how much the Jews had suffered, how much they had endured. That's what made me have a change of heart," he explained. "Thank G-d, I spent most of my short militant life fighting against my own kind. Fate never put me against the Israeli army," Anani added. Anani says that a quick look at modern Zionist history makes it clear that Israel has enjoyed divine protection and assistance. "G-d is with Israel. If every Arab country were to send a million soldiers to surround Israel, which would be 23 million soldiers, Israel would be doomed. How did they win five wars in the past? Because G-d was there," he said. In addition, Anani shared his opposition to the recent withdrawal from Gaza and his belief that future efforts to give up land for peace would be disastrous for Israel. "I have no clue why Israel left Gaza, why the righteous owner of a land would give up part of their inheritance and freedom. It would be another big blow if Israel gave up the West Bank." he affirmed. "A long time ago when Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel, I believed at best this treaty gave the Jews one hundred years to pack up and leave," Anani said. Anani expressed his strong views regarding the current tension between Israel and the Hezbollah, stating that he thought Israel should have completed the task of eradicating the Hezbollah terrorist forces that control Southern Lebanon before they withdrew their forces from the region in May, 2000. "I don't know how the intelligence of the Israeli military did not finish the job. This is the only way, "he said. Anani's radical viewpoint has made him a continued target for terrorists seeking to silence him. "In twenty years there have been twenty attempts on my life. I was forced to escape to Canada. I am now a Canadian citizen, but I am still not free from unfortunate incidents. Recently someone tried to set fire to my car and my house," Anani stated. Anani is slated to be part of a panel discussion at Princeton University on December 8th where he will speak about Israel, Lebanon, the Hezbollah, and peace in the Middle East. Additional former Muslim terrorists who became Israel supporters, Walid Shoebat and Ibraham Abdullah, will join Anani in the panel at the Princeton event. Anani ended his radio interview with an inspiring message to Israelis: "Hold on and keep the fight till the end. Don't give up. Stop giving up." 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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ISRAEL: WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO SURVIVE
Posted by Marcel Cousineau, November 25, 2005. |
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This was written in response to Hezbollah's Terrorist Chief Nasrallah's statement that they have a right to attack, kill and kidnap Jews. The many enemies of Israel are rather bold in their actions while Israel has become very weak, insane and docile in its attempts to appease the world and the Islamic forces arrayed against it. Israel, by it's continual show of weakness only invites more attacks, terror and calamity. This is what Israel is saying by her actions. We are weak and rely on the will of the nations, their permission to live and breathe. They gladly support the terrorist jihad majority against us, so we bow to their will and we surrender when they tell us to. We even throw our brothers and sisters out of their homes for our foreign masters. Contact Marcel Cousineau at up2zionsg8@yahoo.com or go to his blogsite -- http://aaveryheavystone.blogspot.com |
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SHARING BRIT AM ISRAEL'S KNOWLEDGE
Posted by David Ben-Ariel, November 25, 2005. |
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This article was written by Yair Davidiy, an Orthodox Israeli Jew, and the founder of Brit Am Israel, an organization of Jews, Israelites and Gentiles dedicated to identifying the so-called "Lost Ten Tribes." Brit Am Israel works toward the restoration and reconciliation of Joseph and Judah. This appeared in Truth Seekers Online Magazine and is archived at www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=94206 The original article is at http://britam.org/manasseh.html The nickname "Yank" applied to someone from the U.S.A. is derivable from a possible pronunciation of the Hebrew name Yaacov or Jacob rendered as "Yankel" in Yiddish. THE NAME "MENASSEH" IN HEBREW ENCAPSULATES THE MEANING OF NORTH AMERICAN DEMOCRACY! The Patriarch Joseph son of Israel had two sons, Ephraim and Menasseh, whose names testified to aspects of their national destiny: "And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of On bare unto him. "And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God has caused me to forget [Hebrew: `Nashani'] all my troubles and my father's family (Genesis 41;50-51). The Hebrew word translated above as "forget" is derived from a root, "NOSHE", connoting "movement from its proper place": One forgets when something "slips one's mind", as if to say that whatever has been forgotten has moved from its proper place in the brain's retrieval system. Similarly, "And Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a man with him....... "And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him........ "Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the displaced nerve [Hebrew: "Gid HaNosheh")... (Genesis 32;24,25,32). The sciatic nerve is called "Gid HaNoSHeh" meaning "the sinew that was displaced" (Genesis 32;33) when Jacob wrestled with the angel, and consequently (though victorious) limped away..By the same principle a creditor in Hebrew is called a "Nosheh" since what is rightfully his he has moved out of his domain and placed in charge of another and may demand an accounting of his own. Women collectively are called in the Plural "NoSHim" [and not "Ishoth" as they should logically be] since communally their collective rights are delegated elsewhere, i.e. in their husbands upon whom they have a claim to be represented by them. It follows that any name derived from this root "NoSHeH" has several possible connotations including "forget", "move, or slip", "credit or oblige an accounting" (i.e. hold responsible), or be responsible to and "represent". It seems that the name Menasseh (derived from the root "NaSHeH") may be understood to mean "responsible representation" which is the type of Democratic Government the U.S.A. sometimes seems to base its whole being upon. A linguistic analysis (freely translated) of the name "Manasseh" by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) extracted from his Commentary on the Book of Genesis serves as background to the above interpretation: [Genesis 41;51:..."Forget" is not the only meaning of "Nosheh". "Nosheh" also means: to be the bearer of a claim, to be a creditor. [Genesis 32;33:]` "Nosheh"...to have body or property in anothers trust. Thus the "NoSHeH" (Creditor) has passed to another person part of his property and as a result he demands something from him...a woman in the singular [Hebrew: "Ishah"]...complements (her husband) and stands by his side as an equal. In the plural [i.e. in the plural name for women, "NoSHim"], however, is revealed the communal status of woman, who surrenders some of her rights to the man and these rights are represented by him. Only in the mass, in the life of the general whole group, do women reveal themselves as weak and lacking resourcefulness. - Women, however, are "Noshim" (i.e. "creditors") with a claim [to be represented] on the husband who owes it to them' (S.R. Hirsch on Genesis 32;33). The relevant verse regarding the name MENASSEH, Genesis 41;51, says: "And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God has caused me to forget [Hebrew: `Nashani'] all my troubles and my father's family (Genesis 41;50-51). S.R. Hirsch on the above states that "nashani" does not mean "forget" in case of the name "Menasseh" (Genesis 41;51 continued) but rather delegated representation: `The correct interpretation therefore of "Nashani" [from which the name "Menasseh is derived] is that God has made my tragedy and my [loss of] family credit claims. From that which till now appeared to be tragedy and torment God has made a tool to form my happiness. I am greatly obligated to my tragedy and [loss of] family'. In the light of the above observations and the Commentary of Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, the verse (Genesis 41;512) may be re-formulated and understood as saying: "And he called the name of the firstborn Menasseh: for of all my troubles and [loss of] my father's family, God has made representative agents [Hebrew: "nashani"=] acting on my behalf and to whom I am obliged". The name MENASSEH is therefore derivable from the root "Nosheh" as demonstrated in the above verse. A Creditor is a "nosheh" because he has a claim on somebody else; women are "noshim" ["nosh-im" = plural of "noshe"!] because as a group they have a claim on their husbands to represent their interests. Joseph named his firstborn "Menasseh" because (through God's agency) he "owed" his success to his personal troubles and loss which had become both his creditors and agents on his behalf. "MENASSEH" according to the above study actually means: "RESPONSIBLE REPRESENTATION OBLIGATING THE REPRESENTED"! The U.S.A. was founded and dominated by descendants of Menasseh. Before the foundation of the U.S.A. North America was settled by migrants mainly from the British Isles. Friction developed between the British Government and the settlers who adopted the slogan: "No Taxation Without Representation". In other words they demanded the application of those very principles embodied in the name "Menasseh" according to the above explanation!! When these demands were not met, Revolution resulted and all those ("Loyalists") who were not prepared to fight against the "mother country" were driven out and moved to Canada. The Americans were prepared to kill or be killed and to engage in fratricidal strife all for the sake of an ideal which in Hebrew could be termed "MENASSEH"! After the War of Independence 13 colonies (representing 13 Tribes of Israel?) formed the U.S.A. It was proposed and seriously considered to adopt Hebrew as the national language and the Mosaic Code as obligatory Constitutional Law. A picture of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea was suggested as the National emblem. The Constitution of the United States of America laid the basis for Responsible Representative Government. Foreign observers are constantly surprised by the importance attached by Americans to their Constitution. Whether something is right or wrong or whether or not it is "Constitutional" appear to be synonymous considerations to the American mind, as if the principle embodied in the name "Menasseh" is part of their very personal being!! Much of the U.S.A.'s foreign policy often seems dedicated ideally to encouraging forms of representative responsible government (resembling that of the U.S.A.) being adopted by others. Other countries are Democratic but only the U.S.A. makes Republican Democracy an expression of itself. Only the U.S.A. is Menasseh! The American Civil War was brought on by several factors including the issue of slavery but the immediate cause was over the Constitutional right claimed by some States to secede from the UNION. Regardless of which side was or was not in the right, the victorious "Yankee" northern "Union" side believed it was fighting for the principle enunciated by Abraham Lincoln of: "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people". Another aspect of the name "Menasseh" according to the explanation of S.R.Hirsch was that through representation (in this case before God) Joseph had been enabled to turn his failure and deprived status into the basis of his later success: The American belief in equality of opportunity reflects this same principle. David Ben-Ariel's website is http://beyondbabylon.blogspot.com |
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MUSLIM RIOTS IN FRANCE -- AND SUICIDE IS PAINLESS
Posted by Don Feder, November 25, 2005. |
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Wasn't it only yesterday the media were telling us that the French are so wise in choosing diplomacy over the use of force, and so clever at handling relations with Third World people - in other words, so unlike the trigger-happy unilateralists on this side of the Atlantic? Well, guess what? After three weeks of rioting in Parisian suburbs, those sophisticated, worldly French have been transformed into a nation of repressive, racist pigs, in the eyes of the U.S. press. All it took was a few thousand burning Citroens to illuminate the situation. For the mainstream media (inveterate root-causers), riots invariably are the result of injustice, discrimination, hopelessness, poverty, lack of economic opportunity and unemployment. I don't know about you, but whenever I'm out of work, I firebomb a few cars. "Rage of French Youth Is a Fight for Recognition," read the headline in a Washington Post story. The New York Times' Craig Smith informed readers that in France "a significant portion of the population has yet to accept the increasingly multiethnic makeup of the nation. Put simply, being French, for many people, remains a baguette-and-beret affair." No, don't tell me the French actually expect these immigrant families to assimilate? Incroyable! Smith argues that le rampage is rooted in "growing inequalities," "discrimination" and an "overly aggressive police presence in the country's immigrant-heavy housing projects" -- which, of course, is why immigrant rioters have torched those symbols of inequality and discrimination, synagogues and churches, to shouts of "Allahu akbar!" (God is great). We are told the rioting was sparked by the deaths of two immigrant teens, who were electrocuted in a power station while eluding the gendarmes. In a hilarious malapropism, CNN's Carol Lin referred to the deceased as "African-American teenagers." While the lads were of African origin (namely, Tunisian), I don't believe Parisian suburbs have been annexed by the United States. Or - perhaps Lin was making the youth honorary African-Americans, in tribute to their victim-hood. But it was a USA Today story ("La belle France: A Country of equality and exclusion") that scaled the heights of political correctness. Writers Steven Komarow and Rick Hampson began by wondering if the mayhem would "mark the beginning of social change, as the U.S. urban riots did four decades ago?" Read: Things began getting better for black Americans when they started burning down their neighborhoods. The article approvingly quotes the assistant mayor of a town north of Paris, who insists the vandals "are asking for dignity. They don't want make-work jobs. They want real opportunities - jobs, education and respect." The riots are a proverbial cry for help. By firebombing 40 schools, the disenfranchised were pleading for better educational opportunities. And how can one not respect thugs who emulate storm troopers in going after synagogues? A lady who runs a community playhouse (probably not a National Front-voter) says the current turmoil "is just the beginning. I work with people who don't even have socks and live 10 people in a room." But they do have petrol for Molotov cocktails, not to mention the cell phones and computers used to coordinate attacks. In case you missed the point, after being bludgeoned with it for several hundred words, USA Today summarized its case: "The same complaints that fueled the fires in inner-city Detroit and Los Angeles - unemployment, discrimination, despair - are behind the arson and rioting in suburban France." The media's it's-South Central-on-the-Seine analysis helps them avoid certain unpleasant realities. On those rare occasions when they managed to use the I-word, it was to assure us that Islam played no role (absolutely, positively none) in the violence. Just as it played no part in the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, the 2004 Madrid train-bombing, the July bus and train-bombings in London (52 dead), or the wave of anti-Semitism that's swept the Continent in recent years. Columnist Mark Steyn ("Wake Up, Europe, You've A War On Your Hands") calls it the "Eurabian civil war." Steyn notes, "For half a decade, French Arabs have been carrying on a low-level intifada against synagogues, kosher butchers, Jewish day schools, etc." The rioters in Clichy-sous-Bois are immigrants alright, immigrants (or the children of immigrants) from North Africa - Moslem immigrants driven by the same burning hatred of the West (democracy, tolerance, sanitation, in-door plumbing) seen in the streets of Tehran, Ramallah, Jakarta and Islamabad. In the past 50 years, the Muslim population of Western Europe has gone from less than 250,000 to upwards of 20 million (10 percent of France is Muslim). This is the result of a deadly troika - demographic winter (European secularists have chosen extinction by childlessness), lax immigration policies and brain-dead multiculturalism. The Center for Security Policy warns that by 2050, Europe will lose one-third of its native population. Enter the Muslims, whose high birthrates are subsidized by European welfarism. Some doubtless want to assimilate into their host societies. More want to live in Europe while identifying with a culture that's warred with the West for more than a millennium. The Madrid train bombers (body count, 191), mentioned the loss of Grenada in 1492 among their grievances. Perhaps the immigrant youth of Stains are protesting the defeat of the Moorish army at Tours in 732 AD. One of the few journalists who gets it is Olso-based Bruce Bawer. Writing in The Christian Science Monitor on November 17 ("Not all Muslims want to integrate"), Bawer observes: "Europe's Muslim communities are powder kegs, brimming with an alienation born both of assiduously inculcated antagonism toward infidel society and an infidel society whose integration policies - which should actually be called segregation policies - have perversely encouraged this ire." "Naively, they imagined they could preserve their nations' cultural homogeneity while letting in millions of foreigners and smiling on their preservation and perpetuation of values drastically different from their own." Bawer cautions: "What they've reaped, alas, is a generation of Muslims, many of whom view their neighborhoods as colonies amid enemy territory - and who demand this autonomy be recognized. In Britain, imams have pressed the government to designate part of Bradford as being under Muslim law. In Belgium, Muslims in the Brussels neighborhood of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek consider it under Islamic jurisdiction. In Denmark, Muslim leaders have sought similar control over parts of Copenhagen." The French problem began, Bawer maintains, not when the youth were accidentally electrocuted, but when police "invaded" Dar al-Islam (the house of Islam) - heavily Muslim suburban towns. Muslims have always operated on the premise: "What's mine is mine. And what's yours will eventually be mine." Thus, wherever they settle, the delightful civilization they've created in the Middle East follows them. In her insightful book "The Rage And The Pride," journalist Oriana Fallaci wonders if Muslim immigration to Europe might be part of a grand design: "Something else, then, I don't understand: if they (Muslim immigrants) are as poor as their abettors and protectors claim, who gives them the money to come? Where do they find the five or ten thousand dollars per head that pay for the trip? Might it be that this money is supplied by some Osama bin Laden for the mere purpose of establishing the Reverse Crusade's settlements and better organizing Islamic terrorism?" But - not to worry, New York Times -- among the European elite, such views are shunned. It appears that France will answer the latest outbreak of immigrant violence with hope and handouts. Last week, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced a $35 billion program to provide employment, scholarships and other unspecified "opportunities" for the rioters and their kin, along with the creation of an agency for "social cohesion" to address all of the oppression and discrimination in the land of Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite. Even Nicholas Sarkozy, the French interior minister who calls the rioters "scum," favors a Gallic form of affirmative action. In the face of this appeasement, the immigrants will keep coming and keep procreating. The have-nots (who have not a work ethic or a desire to live peaceably with others) will continue to resent the haves. Their imams will continue to preach hatred of the infidels. Al-Qaeda and its clones will continue to recruit. And French families will continue to have fewer children, or no children, aiding the process of Islama-cide. In place of La Marseillaise, perhaps the French will adopt as their new national anthem the theme song from "M.A.S.H." - "That suicide is painless (well, almost). It brings on many changes and I can take or leave it if I please..." Don Feder was an opinion writer for the Boston Herald and a syndicated columnist. He is currently a political/media consultant. Contact him at coldsteel@rcn.com or at his website www.donfeder.com This article was originally published in Front Page Magazine. |
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REVAVA OLAMI BANNED FROM THE ELECTIONS! WE'RE NOT GIVING UP
Posted by Matthew S. Finberg, November 25, 2005. |
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Sadly, The American Zionist Movement in its infinite wisdom decided to ban us from the World Zionist Congress election despite our qualification as a legitimate party according to the Rules for the Election of Delegates to the Zionist Congress adopted by the World Zionist Organization and the administrative requirements of the American Zionist Movement as Area Election Committee for the WZO in the United States. We requested that the AZM reconsider its undemocratic decision (based on perceived ideological problems) and awaited better news. The AZM requested a declaratory judgment from the Supreme Court of the WZO upholding their decision to ban Revava Olami. This call for help from the big guns back in Jerusalem was a result of our promise to challenge the balloting in international forums as well as U.S. courts if we were not given an opportunity to run a slate of delegates. The WZO Supreme Court summarily turned down the AZM request for declaratory judgment, so we expected that Revava Olami would be included in the balloting. When we learned that AZM excluded our party from the ballots which were sent last week, we immediately filed a request for declaratory judgment with the WZO Supreme Court in Jerusalem asking that the ballots be declared invalid and that the voting commence anew with Revava Olami given equal treatment with the other parties. We have not yet received a decision from the Court. In the meantime, we request that our supporters and those just interested in seeing Jewish elections conducted with integrity and fairness register with AZM and continue to send us endorsements on our form which is printable from our website (www.revava.org/olami), despite the apparent September 30 deadline. We request this action in order to further demonstrate our bona fides and support in the U.S., and to show the moral mice who desperately cling to their seats of "leadership" by excluding groups such as Revava Olami which challenge the current paradigm that the good old days are numbered. This will make a big difference. Until new ballots are printed listing Revava Olami with all votes cast under the first ballots cancelled, we urge you to consider voting for the Herut party. AZM Chairman Mel Salberg and his committee of the elite American "Jew-ish" Zionist leaders concluded that Revava Olami failed to respect democratic principles because we call for unrestricted Jewish access to and control of all Jewish holy sites (including the right to pray at them), and a Jewish government over all of Greater Eretz Yisrael. The pathetic treatment of our party by fellow American Jews who have succeeded in this country because, in large part, of the democratic principles accorded them over the past 200 years (which they are now ignoring when it is convenient for them) is indicative of the discriminatory elitism practiced by many Jews who seem to have a pathological hatred of proud nationalist and religious Zionists here and in the Land of Israel. We will continue to the fight for a voice in the upcoming 35th World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem next June, and we need our supporters to write to AZM and WZO as well as help us reveal the hypocrisy and discrimination of the AZM. We hope that the Forward, The Jewish Press, and like media will be interested in helping to reveal this sham. AZM and its attorney asked us not to do our "dirty laundry" in public where Gentiles might see our warts. We responded that we Jews have been afraid of what the Gentiles think far too long, and that this fear is responsible for entrenched dirty laundry beginning to rot and stink. We will not whisper our grievance nor hide the poor behavior of fellow Jews to protect the American elitist leaders of the assimilated Jew precariously perched on thrones of Gentile recognition and acceptance. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. Contact Matthew Finberg by email at matt@finberglaw.com or at his website -- www.finberglaw.com -- or at his law firm: 1871 Folsom Street, Boulder, CO 80302, Phone: 303.442.1276, Fax: 303.442.1294. |
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SPY SWAP FOR POLLARD
Posted by Naomi Ragen, November 25, 2005. |
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Friends, Jonathan Pollard has been sitting in American jails under the absolute worst of conditions for the last twenty years, his only crime a desire to warn the State of Israel of murderous plans by Saddam Hussein, information that Israel's ally, the United States, deliberately withheld. Abandoned by all by a few American and Israeli Jews, and by successive Israeli governments, he is now suing the government of Israel to take a few obvious and simple steps to end his long nightmare. I have often sent you e-mail about the marvelous work of attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Shurat Hadin. Now Shurat HaDin has taken on the case of Jonathan Pollard, suing the Israeli government to fulfill its basic responsibility toward Jonathan : to swap him for an Israeli who spied for the U.S. Join the Shurat HaDin -- the Israel Law Center -- (http://www.israellawcenter.org/mission.shtml) on an Israel adventure of a lifetime: Experience a dynamic and intensive exploration of Israel's struggle for survival and security It is day 7302 that Jonathan Pollard remains in an American prison following his arrest on November 21, 1985. Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center is a long overdue Jewish legal rights institute based in Israel. Staffed by some of the country's leading activist attorneys, we are dedicated to providing legal representation and resources for the numerous courtroom struggles, which are being waged in the Israeli, American and European courts on behalf of the Jewish State. We serve as a central clearinghouse and litigation base for the multifarious legal battles that have been thrust upon Israel's citizens during these dark days. Information below,
"On 20th Anniversary Of His Arrest Pollard Sues Israeli Govt To Force Spy Swap" Pollard: "Israeli who spied against Jewish State for U.S. must be arrested, interrogated and traded for my freedom." Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center has filed a suit on behalf of Imprisoned Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard in Israel's High Court of Justice, on November 21, 2005, the 20th anniversary of his arrest. Pollard's petition asks the Supreme Court to compel the Government of Israel to arrest Angie Kilciensky -- a self-confessed Israeli traitor who spied for the US and exposed Pollard -- to interrogate him, and then initiate a spy swap to return Kielcynski to the US and Pollard to Israel. Angie Kielcynski, (aka Josef Barak) an Israeli Likud party activist (not an MK) was appointed by Arik Sharon to the Likud Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in 1985. He took advantage of his appointment to this Committee and his access to classified information to spy for the US. Kielcynski was exposed in 2001 when the New York Law Journal reported on his lawsuit against the CIA to collect pension and benfits for his services from 1985 to 1991. His lawsuit stated that he had provided the CIA with valuable information, including the information about Jonathan Pollard which led to the Israeli agent's arrest and incarceration. The US Court did not question the validity of Kielcynsk's claims but declined to hear the suit for fear that classified information might be compromised in the process. Despite his open admission in the media that he spied for the US, Kielcynski was neither detained nor interrogated by Israeli security services when returned to live in Israel in 2001. Jonathan Pollard summed up his 20 year experience of dealing with the Israeli Government as follows: "Let me paraphrase an old quote, from Abba Eban: The Government of Israel has never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity to free me. How else is it possible for successive governments to be "toiling" for 20 years to secure my release, without making even a single centimeter of progress? No one can be that incompetent." The High Court of Justice has ordered the government to respond to the petition within 30 days. 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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2,000-YEAR-OLD SEED SPROUTS, SAPLING IS THRIVING
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 25, 2005. |
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This was written by John Roach for National Geographic News. It appeared November 22, 2005 (news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1122_051122_old_seed.html) A sapling germinated earlier this year from a 2,000-year-old date palm seed is thriving, according to Israeli researchers who are cultivating the historic plant. "It's 80 centimeters [3 feet] high with nine leaves, and it looks great," said Sarah Sallon, director of the Hadassah Medical Organization's Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center (NMRC) in Jerusalem. Sallon's program is dedicated to the study of complementary and alternative medicines. The center is also interested in conserving the heritage of Middle Eastern plants that have been used for thousands of years. Sallon wants to see if the ancient tree, nicknamed Methuselah after the oldest person named in the Old Testament of the Bible, has any unique medicinal properties no longer found in today's date palm varieties. "Dates were famous in antiquity for medicinal value," she said. "They were widely used for different kinds of diseases -- cancers, TB [tuberculosis] -- all kinds of problems." She and her colleagues are currently comparing the structure of the sapling to modern date palms and examining DNA from one of the sapling's leaves. The team plans to publish preliminary results in a peer-reviewed journal early next year. Ancient Seed Several ancient date seeds were taken from an excavation at Masada, a historic mountainside fortress, in 1973. In A.D. 73 Jewish Zealots took their own lives at the fortress rather than surrender to the Romans at the end of a two-year siege. Carbon dating indicates the seeds are about 2,000 years old. Hebrew University archaeologist Ehud Netzer found the seeds and gave them to botanical archaeologist Mordechai Kislev at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv. The seeds sat untouched in a drawer in Kislev's office until last November, when Sallon asked if she could have a few to pass on to desert agriculture expert Elaine Solowey. "I said, Thank you. What do you want me to do?" Solowey recalls. Told to germinate them, she said, "You want me to do what?" Solowey, director of the experimental orchard and the NMRC cultivation site at Kibbutz Ketura in Israel, focuses primarily on finding new crops that grow well in the arid Middle East climate. By January Solowey had done enough research on revitalizing the seeds to get the project off the ground. First she soaked the seeds in hot water to make them once again able to absorb liquids. Then she soaked them in a solution of nutrients followed by an enzymatic fertilizer made from seaweed. "I assumed the food in the seed would be no good after all that time. How could it be?" she said. Tu B'shevat, a Jewish holiday known as the New Year for Trees, fell this year on January 25. Solowey chose that day to plant the seeds in new potting soil, hook them up to a drip irrigation system, and leave them locked up. She occasionally checked on the plants for a few months, and in March she noticed cracked soil in one of the pots -- a sure sign of sprouts. "I couldn't believe it," she said. "I did everything to avoid contamination, so it had to be that seed. And by March 18 I could see it was a date shoot." The first leaves were almost white with gray lines. They looked like corduroy but felt totally flat, Solowey said. She thought the plant would never survive. But by June healthier-looking leaves were growing on the young sapling. As time progresses, she said, the leaves continue to look even healthier. The researchers are now repeating the experiment with another batch of the ancient seeds to see if their success was a "one in a million" stroke of luck or if their technique can more readily bring ancient seeds to life, Sallon said. Slow Grow Date palms are either male or female. The sex of the sapling is unknown, but the researchers are hoping for a female, which would bear fruit. If a modern date with similar DNA is found, the researchers may be able to tell the sex of their sapling soon. Otherwise they'll have to wait about four years, when female dates usually begin to bear fruit. In ancient times the Judean date palm was a staple source of food, shelter, and shade. References to it are made in the Bible, the Koran, and other ancient literature. Judean date palms were wiped out by about A.D. 500. Today's date trees in Israel were imported during the 1950s and '60s from modern cultivated Iraqi, Moroccan, and Egyptian varieties, Sallon said. Solowey, who also works for Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, said it already appears the ancient plant has some interesting differences from modern dates. If Methuselah bears fruit, Sallon and her colleagues will study its medicinal properties in hopes of better understanding what made the Judean date so famous in antiquity. If funds can be found, the researchers hope to apply any novel properties to modern medicines. "Maybe there are genes there that have actually died out or become extinct [in modern dates], in which case [the sapling] has very exciting possibilities for date cultivation as well," Sallon said. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. Contact him at zelasko@actcom.co.il |
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COMING SOON, JIHAD IN ITALY
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, November 25, 2005. |
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This article appeared yesterday in Adnkronos International (www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.232920506&par=0) It is called "Italy: Media Spurs Italian Left's Soul-Search Over Israel" I wonder how the Jihad in France is affecting their thinking today? It is one thing to be an overfed, over privileged, decadent leftist in the comfort of your safe, democratic society. It is another thing to have the WOGs breathing down your neck and burning your cities. Italy's Arab and Moslem problem is as bad as any in Europe. Anyone with even minimal intelligence (and I suppose that includes Leftists) can see that it is only a matter of time before Italy follows France into Jihad. Rome, 24 Nov. (AKI) - The Italian political left -- long accused by its critics of at best, lacking objectivity by espousing the Palestinian cause against Israel, or, at worst, being blatantly anti-Semitic -- is in the throes of revaluating its stance on the Jewish state. For many a demonstration earlier this month at the Iranian embassy in Rome organised by the right-wing Rome daily, Il Foglio, signalled a turning point. The protest came in the wake of remarks made by Iran's new president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who, speaking at a anti-Zionism coneference in Tehran, called for Israel to be wiped off the map. In what some commentators saw as a cunning move to force the Italian left to show its true colours, Il Foglio's director, Giuliano Ferrara, a former Communist who is one of conservative premier Silvio Berlusconi's staunchest supporters, challenged left-wing leaders to join the protest against Tehran as a show of solidarity with Israel's right to exist. The leaders of Italy' main left-wing political parties have enthusiastically turned out for pro-peace demonstration such as those against the war in Iraq, but seldom show up at rallies denouncing terrorism in the Middle East, particularly that aimed against Israeli targets. But Piero Fassino, leader of Italy's largest political party, the Left Democrats - created from the ashes of the Italian Communist party - together with many flag-waving party militants joined other demonstrators at the gates of the Iranian embassy. On Thursday, Fassino participated in a debate "the Left and Israel" held at Adnkronos International's (AKI) headquarters, the Palazzo dell' Informazione, in Rome. The debate was chaired by Antonio Polito, editor of the centre-left daily Il Riformista. Fassino suggested that in the past the left, not just in Italy, but also elsewhere in Europe, may have been guilty of "cultural relativism" when approaching the conflict in the Middle East - an attitude that led to the condemnation of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, but tolerance of some of the autocractic practices of its Arab neighbours. "The lack of democracy in an Islamic nation, was 'justified' on the basis that that nation was Islamic," Fassino said, adding that the "It is time that certain universal rights are accepted as being absolute." While remaining opposed to the concept of exporting democracy by force as espoused by US President George W. Bush and his allies including Berlusconi, Fassino said the left should forge a stronger policy on promoting international democracy and secularism, which he argued, is a pre-requisite for a democratic culture to flourish. He reiterated his praise for Israeli Ariel Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza and several West Bank settlements, but said he felt more in tune with the new leader of Israel's Labour Party, Amir Peretz, who he described as a "peace activist". "I hope Peretz will win the Israeli elections [set for 28 March] and that a government that believes in peace and restarts the peace process is formed," Fassino said. Another speaker at Thursday's debate was Fausto Bertinotti, the leader of the more hard-line leftist Communist Refoundation party, who did not participate in the demonstration organised by Il Foglio, but who together with the members of another left-wing party, the Greens, staged separate protest in front of the Iranian embassy. Disagreeing with Fassino's analysis of the left's stance on Israel, Bertinotti, said he believed it has largely "assumed a fair position but has shown an inability to implement it." While rejecting any charge of anti-Semitism that may have been levelled against his movement, Bertinotti admitted that there is a need for his party to clarify its stance on Israel, especially through dialogue with Italy' Jewish community. His party, he said, was, together with Milan's Jewish community, organising a seminar on this topic to be held early next year. While welcoming Bertinotti's recognition for such dialogue, another debate participant, Federico Steinhaus, an historian and president of the Jewish community in the northern city of Merano, argued that the left, and much of its media and newspapers, despite advocating secularism, continued to display typical historical anti-Jewish "prejudices" akin to those adopted by Israel's Islamist enemies. A further irony was that many of these images were rooted in the anti-Semitism present in a part of Christian culture, that portrayed Jews as the killers of Jesus Christ and now the oppressors of the Palestinians. 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. Contact him at zelasko@actcom.co.il |
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GERMAN REPORT: SCHLAFF TRIED TO BRIBE ARIEL SHARON
Posted by Hillel Fendel, November 25, 2005. |
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The German weekly "Focus" reports that Austrian businessman and Jericho casino-owner Martin Schlaff tried to bribe PM Sharon into opening the casino earlier than planned. The German magazine embellished on similar reports in Austria that emerged last week by stating that the sums involved totaled $4.5 million. Schlaff allegedly funneled the money into Sharon family bank accounts in exchange for a decision to re-open the Jericho casino. The Oasis Casino in Jericho is partly owned by Casino Austria, a partially Austrian government-owned company that is controlled by Schlaff and Arafat-crony Mohammed Rashid. The casino shut down in late 2000, a month after the PA started the Oslo War, and it has remained closed ever since. It was heavily damaged by Israeli military strength in retaliation for terrorist fire shot at Israeli forces from its roof shortly after it was closed. Schlaff funneled the money to the Sharons, the reports state, in February 2002, 16 months after the casino was closed. The Jericho casino depends on Israeli customers to turn a profit. An average of close to 2,900 people visited the casino daily before it closed -- 99% of them Israelis. In 1999, it made a profit of $54 million. It was earlier reported that Schlaff availed himself of a South African businessman - probably another friend of Sharon's, Cyril Kern - to transfer the money. Though Focus reported that Schlaff "tried to" bribe Sharon, the Austrian reports had a slightly different version. Senior Austrian prosecutor Gerhard Yarush said that based on the evidence he has seen, "my conclusion is that it's almost certain that Ariel Sharon took a bribe." Though the story has now been publicized in Austria and Germany, the Israeli media have been shy about it. A computerized review of Hebrew internet news sites of the past week show only two headlines on the story - Arutz-7, and NFC quoting The Jerusalem Post. Haaretz, Maariv, Yediot Acharonot, Army Radio and Israel Radio do not appear. Hillel Fendel is senior editor at Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNN.com). |
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THOUSANDS OF GAZA ARABS POISED TO ENTER ISRAEL FROM SINAI
Posted by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, November 25, 2005. |
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More than 15,000 Arabs from Gaza have moved into the Sinai Peninsula, and many plan to infiltrate the 200-kilometer (124-mile)-long Egyptian-Israeli border. Israel may build a new security system. The massive unregulated entry to the Sinai came immediately after Israel surrendered the Gaza region to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The potential terrorist infiltration has forced the government to consider a plan for a $900 million security system along the border, according to the Middle East News Line report. "We're going to require a serious security system," Deputy Defense Minister Zev Boim said. Intelligence officials have warned Israelis not to travel to Sinai because of concrete evidence of terrorists in the region. Infiltration from Sinai, where the lengthy border is not hermetically sealed, would give terrorists free access to urban centers without having to pass border checkpoints. Security officials also have reported an increase in cooperation between terrorists and Negev Bedouin. The Bedouin, many of whom serve in the IDF, have in the past limited most of their smuggling to drugs but recently have turned to weapons and ammunition. Several Bedouin were arrested in the past few months for planning attacks against Israeli targets. The Negev Arabs also have taken advantage of leniency in Israeli laws which granted free entry to Israel for Arabs from Judea, Samaria and Gaza who married Israeli Bedouin. The government recently placed severe restrictions on the practice. Israeli officials have recognized the Bedouin claim that bigamy is a religious right, and many Bedouin have several wives, including non-Israeli spouses. This article appeared in today's Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNN.com). |
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THE PALESTINIAN ARABS IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Posted by Avodah 15, November 25, 2005. |
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The series of quote sheets prepared by IRIS (Information Regarding Israel's Security) www.iris.org.il On the desecration of synagogues in Gaza:
Under-Secretary of the PA Foreign Ministry Abdullah Abudllah.
Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.
Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas official in Gaza.
A Palestinian police officer who watched crowds set fire to the Netzarim synagogue.
Palestinian cabinet minister Ghassan al-Khatib.
On 13 October 2000, the official Palestinian Authority television station broadcast live a Friday sermon in the Zayed bin Sultan Aal Nahyan mosque in Gaza. Below are excerpts from the sermon, as transcribed by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). The speaker is Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya, Member of the Palestinian Authority-appointed "Fatwa Council" and former acting Rector of the Islamic University in Gaza. On killing Jews and Americans: "O brother believers, the criminals, the terrorists - are the Jews, who have butchered our children, orphaned them, widowed our women and desecrated our holy places and sacred sites. They are the terrorists. They are the ones who must be butchered and killed, as Allah the Almighty said: 'Fight them: Allah will torture them at your hands, and will humiliate them and will help you to overcome them, and will relieve the minds of the believers'..." "Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them. Wherever you are, kill those Jews and those Americans who are like them - and those who stand by them - they are all in one trench, against the Arabs and the Muslims because they established Israel here, in the beating heart of the Arab world, in Palestine. They created it to be the outpost of their civilization and the vanguard of their army, and to be the sword of the West and the crusaders, hanging over the necks of the monotheists, the Muslims in these lands. They wanted the Jews to be their spearhead..." On making peace with Israel: "Even if an agreement of Gaza is signed - we shall not forget Haifa, and Acre, and the Galilee, and Jaffa, and the Triangle and the Negev, and the rest of our cities and villages. It is only a matter of time. The weak will not remain forever weak, and the strong will not remain forever strong... If we are weak today... and we are not able to regain our rights, then at least we have to pass on the banner - waving high - to our children and grandchildren..."
On divine rewards for warfare: "O brothers in belief, the beautiful bride has a costly price and dowry... Our bride is paradise, O brothers in belief... The cost and the dowry of this bride, the dowry of this paradise, is that we fight in the path of Allah, and kill and be killed." "Allah has purchased from the believers their persons and their property in return for the promise that they shall have paradise, for they fight in the cause of Allah, and they slay the enemy and are slain." On peace, war and armed struggle against Israel: "The failed attempt to achieve peace made us realize that the only way to solve the Palestinian problem in a just and comprehensive manner is to implement the PLO's covenant... meaning a return to the armed struggle, which is the only language the Israelis understand... "The Fatah movement will not allow the continuation of a situation which is neither war nor peace, imposed on the region by the Israeli and American governments... The Palestinian people are ready for war. As much as they are experienced in peace, the Palestinian people are experienced in war, where they have yet to fail." Ruhi Fatuh, Secretary General of the Palestinian Legislative Council and member of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, Yasser Arafat's mainstream faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Fatuh said the return to armed struggle should take place if a Palestinian state is not established by 5 May 1999, when the Israel-PLO accords expire.
"We will turn the territories of the [Palestinian] Autonomy into [the Israelis'] graveyard. This will be the beginning of the end and a regression to a state of overall explosion, for which Israel will be held responsible, as it is responsible for the failure of the peace process today." - Chief Palestinian negotiator Sa'eb Ariqat, saying that if the Israelis try to re-enter areas under the Palestinian Authority they would not get out alive.
"Defining the situation with Israel today as peace is a mistake. There is no peace with Israel, which is an imperialistic state by nature... Rather, it is a truce, mainly because Israel wants to dominate the region and shuns peace with its neighbors. Such was revealed when the idea of a Middle East [economic] market was raised [by Israel]." Senior advisor to the PLO Executive Committee Jamal Al-Sorani. (Al-Bayader Al-Siasi, 13 June 1998. Translation courtesy of MEMRI.) On the Palestinian Covenant: "...The [Palestinian] National Council did not vote to annul the [Palestinian] Covenant, but rather announced its readiness to change the Covenant under certain terms. If the terms are met, it will be amended. Otherwise, the Covenant will remain as is. The Covenant has yet to be changed, and this is better understood by the enemy than by our own people..."
On Jewish rights to the Western Wall in Jerusalem: "The Al-Buraq [Wailing] Wall is part of the Al-Aqsa [Mosque]. I tell this to foreign reporters who refer to the Al-Buraq Wall as Jewish [property] because Jews call it the 'Wailing Wall'. We stress that the Al-Buraq Wall belongs to the Muslims alone. This is not my personal view, but rather, that of Islam."
The following recent quotations from leading figures in the Palestinian Authority were distributed by the Israel Government Press Office. Israel's agreements with the Palestinians obligate both sides "to foster mutual understanding and tolerance and shall accordingly abstain from incitement, including hostile propaganda, against each other." The Oslo Accords as a temporary truce: "Question: Do you feel sometimes that you made a mistake in agreeing to Oslo? Arafat: No... no. Allah's messenger Mohammad accepted the
al-Khudaibiya peace treaty and Salah a-Din accepted the peace
agreement with Richard the Lion-Hearted."
Israel's "racist Zionist colonialist" plot: "The Palestinian people were and remain a victim of the international colonialist Zionist plot which began with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Israel has not halted its implementation of the racist Zionist colonialist policies which are responsible for the calamities that have befallen our people."
Holy war and the military option: "Whomever has occupied part of Palestine or Jerusalem faces jihad [holy war] until Judgment Day. Our destiny is jihad."
"Our choice is the military option. We must put an end to the despicable negotiations. The time has come for jihad [holy war] and martyrdom."
"Peace is a strategic choice, but it is not a sacred choice if the occupation and the Judaization continue."
On the PLO's military option: "All options are open to the Palestinian people... The Fatah movement did not and will not forfeit the military option, until all national lands are liberated, and the Palestinian independent state is established with Jerusalem as its capital."
"If [Palestinians] do not regain their full rights and an independent state, we will not let any one in the region live in peace and security."
"We must always be prepared to sacrifice our blood, as in the beginning - January '65 - as we continued, and as we will continue [to sacrifice]. Fatah is a movement of blood sacrifice... Our people gave the world a chance, and unless the world takes this opportunity, violence and havoc will come."
"The future is full of options... The Palestinian people expect a long and bloody phase of an overall struggle, in order to fulfill what has been agreed upon in Oslo. Israel is a state that cannot make peace, a state whose function is war." Palestinian Authority Cabinet Secretary Ahmad Abd Al-Rahman (Al-Ayyam, 4 May 1998. Translation courtesy of MEMRI.) On the function of Israeli redeployments: "[The planned third phase of Israeli troop redeployment in the West Bank is] a matter of principle that would enable the [Palestinian] Authority to accumulate liberated lands... which would allow it to double its ability to confront [Israel] without harming the signed agreements or holding [renewed] negotiations over matters already agreed upon."
Calls to war: "Gather together, O fighters of Karameh, Litani and Beirut, raise your voices aloud: we shall die, we shall die, so that Palestine shall live. Our blood is your atonement, O Jerusalem, and our souls are your defenders, O Palestine. We swear unto the holy martyrs: until victory!"
statement issued by the student branch of Fatah, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's faction of the PLO, in Nablus to commemorate Land Day. Karameh, Litani and Beirut were the sites of major battles between terrorists of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israeli forces.
"We are ready for a military confrontation The bullets of the Black Panthers will strike at Netanyahu's soldiers."
from a statement issued by Fatah in Jenin announcing the reestablishment of the Black Panther military units
Contact Avodah 15 at avodah15@aol.com
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U.S. HOUSE SUPPORTS ISRAEL!
Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, November 24, 2005. |
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U.S. House of Representatives Resolution 575, a bipartisan proposal, and a similar letter circulating in the U.S. Senate assert terrorist groups such as Hamas should not be allowed to participate in upcoming Palestinian elections. Furthermore, the resolution states that Mahmoud Abbas must declare, prior to the elections, his intention to dismantle the terrorist groups in the territories. Indeed, he could lose U.S. financial support, per the bill, if he allows Hamas to participate without being disarmed and recognizing Israel's right to exist. Alas, such a resolution if passed would lack the sharpest of teeth, as the White House determines foreign policy. However, Congress must still approve significant foreign aid authorizations. Hmmm! Wait a minute! What is this? The beleaguered Jewish State's presumed staunchest ally, the swaggering Texan G.W. Bush, has (perhaps) reluctantly agreed to allow the two-name double-game erstwhile holocaust trivializing Abbas/Mazen to break election bread with the Jew-despising Islamic fanatics even though they wish to sever the Israeli jugular. Say it isn't so G.W.! A prescient Knesset should also note that the current U.S. President's approval ratings are lower than the New Orleans basin. Let's analyze this. The U.S. Congress, both democrats and republicans, may pass a bill telling the Palestinian President to confront and dismantle a terrorist organization or else. The U.S. President, a man whose presidency is defined by his "war on terrorism", hypocritically backs down when confronted with what should be a "no brainer", and cedes ground to a terrorist organization whose mantra is "annihilate Israel". Facts on the ground must not be spun. Israel's brain trust must take off their Rose Garden-colored spectacles and grasp the significance of recent American events. It is imperative Sharon and company forthwith reverse their contemptibly feckless position and emphatically declare "the State of Israel will never recognize a sovereign entity governed by its sworn enemy." PERIOD!!! There can be no compromise on this issue. It is national suicide to allow such a rabid salivating aggressor to emerge next door. Are you listening President Bush! Contact Lawrence Uniglicht at luniglicht@snip.net |
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V'SHAVU BANIM L'GVULAM -- OUR CHILDREN HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR BORDERS
Posted by David Wilder, November 24, 2005. |
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This morning, while eating breakfast, my eye caught an article in a local paper. Submitted by Kiryat Arba resident Yeshovev Friedberg, it relates a true story which I don't recall having heard before. By the time I'd finished reading, it had caught not only my eye, but also my heart. I like to relate it to you. This coming Shabbat, as we read "Parshat Chaye Sarah,", reading how Abraham purchased a small cave and the field around, here in Hebron, almost 4,000 years ago, you might want to keep this story in mind. Thank G-d, we have been privileged to fulfill the prophecy: V'Shavu Banim l'Gvulam. Dr. Max Nordau, one of the founders of the World Zionist Organization, was named at birth Meir-Simcha. However, he was known as Max, a children's doctor in Paris. The following story was told by Avraham Shmuel Yehuda, a Jerusalem Orientalist professor, in his book, "Ezer HaRav," describing how Nordau became interested in Zionism. On the second night of First Zionist Congress in Basel, Nordau spoke in German, giving a long speech. He mentioned several times, as a motto, three words from Jeremiah, in Hebrew, v'Shavu Banim l'Gvulam, -- "Our Children Have Returned to their Borders." When asked by a young representative at the congress how he found this verse, and especially in Hebrew, for this did not fit Nordau's educational background, Nordau replied: "I know these words from the person to whom I am obliged all my Judaism and Zionism. A person whose name I don't even know. A person who was, in essence, only a little boy of eight or ten. And this is what happened: "I have a children's clinic in Paris. A woman, an immigrant from Poland, her hair covered with a scarf, came in with a pale boy, 8 or 10, sick for three weeks. Someone recommended that she bring him to me. I took out a form for a new patient and tried to speak to him in our local language, but he could hardly understand French. I asked his mother, who was also very poor at French, and she said, 'no he doesn't go to a regular school, he goes to a "Heder," a Jewish religious school.' I scolded her harshly. 'This only causes anti-Semitism. We have opened the door for you, the gates to the country, to refugees from Poland. Why doesn't your child learn the national language here?' She apologized and said that he is still young and that her husband is from the 'old generation,' but that he will grow and study in the 'gymnasium' (modern school), and will learn the language. In anger I asked the child, 'in Heder, what did you learn?' His eyes lit up, and in Yiddish, which I understood because of my German, told me what he had last studied in Heder. "Ya'akov," he said, "was dying and he invited Yosef and commanded him, swearing him, pleaded before him, please, don't bury me in Egypt. There is Ma'arat HaMachpela, Avraham, Yitzhak, Ya'akov, Sarah, Rivka, and there I buried Lea. Take me from Egypt and bury me with them. And when I came from Padan, Rachel died in Eretz Canaan, on the way to Efrat, and I buried her there, on the way, in Beit Lechem. "Why, in the middle of Ya'akov's request, does he tell the story of Kever Rachel?" Rashi says," -- and this is all the child talks about, 8 or 10 years old, speaking about the 'Sages' -- that Ya'akov felt a necessity to apologize to Yosef and say, I bother you like this, to take me from Egypt to Hebron, and I, mysef, didn't bother to take your mother Rachel. And despite that I was very close. Next to Beit Lechem, Even into the city I didn't take her, I buried her on the way. But I'm not guilty and didn't act wrongly. G-d wanted it this way. He knew: the murderer Nebuchadnezzar would, in the future, exile the sons of Rachel, her sons, during the first destruction, and then she would leave her grave and weep and wail and her voice would be heard: Rachel weeps for her children. But the L-rd responds to her: "Stop your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, because there is a reward for you actions, and a hope for the future, and the children will return to their borders -- v'Shavu Banim l'Gvulam." "And I," says Dr. Max Nordau, "I didn't know what to do with myself. I turned to the window so that the mother and child wouldn't see the tears rolling down my cheeks, and I said to myself, 'Max, aren't you ashamed of yourself? You are an educated man, known as an intellectual, with a Doctor's degree, but you don't know anything about the history of your people. From all of the holy scriptures, nothing? And here, this sick child, weak, an immigrant, a refugee. And he speaks of Ya'akov and Yosef and Jeremiah, and Rachel, as if it was yesterday, it all lives in front of his eyes?'" "I wiped the tears from my cheeks and turned to them and said, in my heart, 'a people, with children like this, that actually live their past, they will have a sparkling future." "In the weekend newspaper I saw an advertisement, "Whoever believes that the fate of the Jewish people is important to them, please call to help find an answer. Dr. Theodore Hertzl." I called immediately. When we founded the Zionist Congress, at the first one, when I was honored to speak and give a speech, the figure of that little boy, whose name I don't even remember, stood in front of my eyes. But those words I will never forget, because they are the foundation of Zionism, they are the pillars of Judaism, V'Shavu Banim l'Gvulam -- and the children will return to their borders." 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 You can comment on this article at: www.davidwilder.blogspot.com |
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MORAL EQUIVALENCY, A PERILOUSLY NAIVE NOTION
Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, November 24, 2005. |
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Should scientific and social philosophies be congruent? Consider the Theory of Relativity. Einstein espoused the notion that observers of motion exist within independent reference frames, all of which are equivalent. If we apply this theory to social perspectives, might we then say that all viewpoints are relative as well as of equivalent value, including moral viewpoints? An extreme example arising from this nexus could be the acceptance of a philosophy that homicide bombing is a relative and morally justifiable form of behavior. However, rational thought tells us that only a terribly misguided individual might ever condone such a socially perilous practice by asserting its moral equivalency to say militarily defensible initiatives and vindicating it on that basis. Perhaps Relativity Theory within the context of motion should be reassessed. Certainly, the idea of equivalent reference frames ought not be applied to social behavior. Clearly, there are objective standards that all people must adhere to for civilized societies to remain secure and viable. If a morally honorable world body existed, it could forthwith issue and enforce a resolution stating that nations directly or indirectly assisting groups or individuals in committing horrendous acts such as homicide bombing shall be sanctioned in the strongest possible ways, both economically and perhaps militarily. Such condemnation should then be visibly supported by every civil nation and culture on our planet. To presume that such apologists of despicable acts are at all influenced by esoteric scientific theories might seem a stretch. However, there are parallels in all human thinking. If brilliant minds can deduce concepts conferring equal value to all physical frames of reference, might less lucid minds be so inclined to suggest analogous inferences regarding behavior? Alas, those not so infected by perilous naivety necessarily tolerate those who tolerate the intolerable. Furthermore, Israel must evermore follow an ethical course clearly evolved from rational objective analysis, waiting for an awakened mankind to the same. Contact Lawrence Uniglicht at luniglicht@snip.net |
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AMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID (ANERA): AID ACTIVITY TARNISHED BY POLITICAL AGENDA
Posted by NGO Monitor, November 24, 2005. |
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SUMMARY: American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) is a major NGO that claims to provide "direct financial assistance and/or gifts in kind to Palestinian-Arab refugees and other needy individuals in the Middle East." With a budget of over $24 million (2005) provided by the US government and a range of private donors and organizations, most of ANERA's focus is on development assistance and emergency relief, and the quality of these programs is considered to be very high. However, as the following report demonstrates, this NGO also engages in biased anti-Israeli political activities, and its publications erase the context of terrorism and promote the Palestinian narrative while falsely claiming to work with "all people living in impoverished communities". Such activity contributes to incitement and the resulting violence, and is inconsistent with ANERA's proclaimed objectives. American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) was founded in 1968 as a "non-profit corporation organized for the purposes of extending direct financial assistance and/or gifts in kind to Palestinian-Arab refugees and other needy individuals in the Middle East." It operates in the Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan to "create opportunity and hope by improving health care and education and stimulating job creation." In the fiscal year 2005 ANERA distributed $24 million for development assistance and emergency relief. Funding for ANERA includes over $9m from the US government (via USAID) in 2005, which was designated for use towards a variety of projects in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jordan. Other sources of funding include the IMF, the UN World Food Program and a variety of NGOs, private companies and individuals. ANERA also lists Adalah - an Israeli NGO that uses human rights claims to pursue a pro-Palestinian political agenda - as one of its donor partners. ANERA has been led by its Chairman, Les Janka and President, Dr. Peter Gubser, since 1977. Prior to joining ANERA, Dr. Gubser worked with the Ford Foundation in Lebanon and Jordan. Dr. Thomas Neu is the ANERA Middle East Representative based in Jerusalem. He has also worked with Save the Children, and the UNRWA in Central Europe, Africa and Latin America. ANERA practices a high degree of transparency, particularly in comparison to other Palestinian NGOs, and the bulk of its resources are used to promote the stated objectives of assisting Palestinians in health, education, job creation and other areas, as detailed below. However, as noted in its financial reports, ANERA also allocates 1.3% of total spending to fundraising and public education. In 2005 this amounted to nearly $300,000, and the resources in this area may be considerably higher. These aspects of its activities are highly political. In particular, ANERA's reports and newsletters present a highly biased view of the conflict, ignoring any Palestinian responsibility for hardship and contributing to the demonization of Israel consistent with the 2001 Durban strategy. The Fall 2005 newsletter describes the Playgrounds for Palestine project as aiming to improve the "heartbreaking life of Palestinian children caught between military occupation and oppressive poverty" by providing a place "where children can find a reprieve from the unforgiving reality of occupation." In this partisan and very misleading statement, there is no mention of the Palestinian corruption that has misappropriated vast amounts of public money. Once again Israel is portrayed as the single cause of poverty among the Palestinians. Furthermore, ANERA draws an immoral equivalence between victims of suicide bombings and the terrorists themselves, when it presents figures for the number of Palestinians or Israelis killed since the start of the intifada, with no explanation of how they died. In field reports to the Board of Directors, written by the ANERA President Peter Gubser, the context of terrorism is erased as Israel is blamed for all Palestinian suffering. The April 2005 report describes how "shelling and missile attacks caused severe damage" during "[I]sraeli military incursions into the Northern Gaza Strip." The report omits any mention of Palestinian rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, implying that Israel's actions are unprovoked: "the preschool has lost a number of its children whose parents opt to keep them at home in fear of the children being harmed during an attack." The security barrier is also described, along with the "700 checkpoints and other physical obstacles blocking travel on roads," while the context of terrorist attacks is entirely absent. Gubser's biannual reports repeat the standard Palestinian political slogans, such as referring to "Gaza [a]s a big prison." Similarly, Thomas Neu makes false medical claims, including "Israel's closure policy is responsible for malnutrition," (see statement ). He also signed a petition that condemned the "daily terror and war that Israel is inflicting with impunity". These radical political contributions to incitement are the primary difficulty in ANERA's activities. As noted, ANERA sponsors a large number of projects for economic, health and educational development in Palestinian areas. It supports a range of charitable and non-political project partners in their work including building community centers, sidewalks, refurbishing hospitals, providing medical supplies; educational scholarship programs and IT training. ANERA's most recent project is a partnership with Intel to build an "Intel IT Center of Excellence" at the Islamic University of Gaza. ANERA's impact and credibility depend not only on these substantive
activities, but also on the dialogue it creates about the causes of
Palestinian suffering. ANERA claims that "[t]hrough community-building
projects and efforts to increase understanding of the region, [it]
strives to promote peace." However, its current approach of demonizing
Israel and erasing any Palestinian responsibility for their condition,
perpetuates misunderstanding and undermines ANERA's attempts to
provide purely humanitarian aid to people in need in the Middle East.
Gerald M. Steinberg is editor of NGO Monitor and director of the
Program on Conflict Management at Bar-Ilan University.
NGO Monitor is published by the Jerusalem Center for Public
Affairs/ Institute for Contemporary Affairs founded jointly with the
Wechsler Family Foundation The original at http://www.ngo-monitor.org/
has live links to additional material. |
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KADIMA
Posted by Batya Medad, November 24, 2005. |
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Kadima means "onwards," or "forward" and that's the name Ariel Sharon and public relations staff chose for the new political party. Somehow it creates an image in my mind of his rather obese figure, clothed in armor, topped with a helmet, tiny holes near his eyes, brandishing a long sword, posed on a skinny horse, which he's whipping enthusiastically as he gaily gallops over a cliff. The crowds, led by the UN's Kofi Anan, US's Bushes and Cheney, Europeans of all languages and colors cheer wildly!! What a great show for them. If I was a Yaakov Kirschen [who draws Dry Bones. See http://drybonesblog.blogspot.com/], I'd draw it, but I'm not. I have to trust that my words create the image in your mind that is prancing around mine, like a psychotic in a manic episode. Being a Gemini, it's pictured more than one way in my active mind. My "youthful, techie side" sees Sharon taking the Likud and punching "save as...Kadima" into his computer, giving him two intrinsically identical parties with two different names. He can then use the Likud template on Kadima, fine-tweaking any changes and adjustments to suit his desires. And of course, in actuality, he still controls the Likud. A new paragraph should give you time to breathe and think about what I just wrote. I have absolutely no doubt that Sharon, and when I write "Sharon" I mean his "political machine," is still in control of the Likud. We saw how he bull-dozed, or hypnotized once "nationalist, pro-Land of Israel" politicians and army officers until they performed, not like trained seals, but like well-oiled robots. Sharon succeeded in implementing Disengagement without the Likud breaking up. Considering how long he must have had been planning his breakaway party, I am certain that he was just putting it together as a backup, to protect and promote himself if and when the Likud fell apart. He is a master tactician, and so is Olmert, who as I've been saying for awhile is poised to take over when Sharon is either dead or incapacitated. Omri (son of Ariel) Sharon's talents and loyalty are in the "back room" of politics, and at least at this time, wouldn't be acceptable as Prime Minister, even to those loyal to the machine. Do you remember the surprises in the last Likud list for the Knesset? Do you remember how totally unknown to the general public figures got safe numbers, while those who had been working their way through the political ranks were left in the cold? These neophyte politicians are the products of the Sharon factory, a machine being too small an image. Remember that they were voted in by the Central Committee, and the Central Committee is still there in the Likud. So are all of the clerks and secretaries, whom we all know are a lot more powerful than their salaries and titles indicate. The "real Likud" of pro-Land of Israel loyalty is dead. It is like a brain dead patient being kept alive by machinery. It's time to pull the plug. If Uzi Landau and Moshe Feiglin really think themselves as national leaders, if they really want to save our country, they should give the Likud the dignity of a natural death. They should join the National Union and unite for the good of our Land, Nation and People! Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il This article is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/11/kadima.html |
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GETTING STONED WITH THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY'S PROFESSOR SHANON
Posted by Steven Plaut, November 23, 2005. |
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The Timothy Leary of the Hebrew University Allow us to introduce you to Professor Benny Shanon, professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University (see http://pluto.huji.ac.il/~bshanon/ ). While having once been a serious psychologist with a distinguished academic record, since 1997 the good professor has spent most of his energy on promoting psychedelic drug use, and doing a bit more than dabble in getting high himself. Haaretz weekend magazine Nov 25, 2005 devotes a long piece to the professor. Seems that he discovered a cousin of LSD used by South American Indians, named Ayahuasca while trekking about Ecuador and Brazil in 1993. He dropped acid, er -- I mean Avahuasca, more than a hundred times. He was chairman of the psychology department at the Hebrew University at the time. He advocates use of psychedelic drugs and insists that their use is simply not well known in the West. I guess he has never been to my high school in Philadelphia nor to the parks near the Berkeley campus. Shanon does not believe in the subconscious and insists that anyone can learn all there is to know about their psyche if they trip out on dope enough. I guess Shanon belongs to the Mikey-Lerner-Tikkun school of psychology. It goes without saying that the good Prof. Shanon is also a far leftist. See http://www.dasbistro.com/pipermail/clarkgreen/2003-April/001218.html and http://www.jerusalemites.org/appeal/7.htm and http://www.emjournal.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ap03036.html We can understand why Shanon's ideas are so popular among the anti-Zionist Campus Left at the Hebrew University. After all, one really needs to be stoned to believe in ideas of leftists. But why are Hebrew University donors funding this Timothy Leary on Mt. Scopus? 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 or write him at splaut@econ.haifa.ac.il. |
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COMBAT EXTREMISM WITH WORDS
Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, November 23, 2005. |
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There is no bigger threat to planetary social stability than extremist policies foisted upon naïve populations by cadres with insidious agendas. The raison d'etre of Islamic fanatical groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, located in the Palestinian enclave and Lebanon respectively, is to annihilate Israel. They bludgeon gullible constituencies with rationalizations steeped in obfuscation and duplicity to justify that despicable goal. The beleaguered Jewish State counters, for one, by dropping Arabic leaflets over Lebanon exposing Hezbollah and stating its case. Such a strategy is a sensible reprogramming response. Further reprogramming ought to be instituted electro-magnetically throughout the Middle East, directed at ever-increasing quantities of satellite dishes dotting the Arab landscape. An Israel Hasbara channel, broadcasting in Arabic and Persian languages, replete with skillfully crafted persuasive arguments is surely more powerful and enduring than military achievements that only breed contempt. No doubt, a militarily attacked State such as Israel must defend itself vigorously, punishing any aggressor without reservation; however such necessary action in itself will not win over the hearts and minds of populations controlled by those aggressive forces. Victory is truly established when the collective mindset of an erstwhile adversarial nation has been persuaded to comprehend and respect the victor. Adroitly iterating the downside of exploitative extremism to a manipulated mesmerized perhaps somnambulistic populace could serve as a beneficial wake-up slap. Israel's century twenty-one robust technologically advanced macro-economy, nurtured within a secular democratic milieu, could not have evolved within the confines of any of the intolerant extreme theocracies sadly endured by so many Middle Eastern Muslims. Fanatical narrow viewpoints stifle creativity and achievement. An ordinary Arab or Persian Muslim, when confronted with such juxtaposed realities, might begin exercising his cerebrum realizing why the hated Jew has it so much better. He might ask if a middle class life style beats groveling in a desert hovel. He might further ask if intolerant Islamic militants, obsessed with an extreme interpretation of the Koran vindicating the annihilation of the infidel and Israel, possess the where-with-all and will to lead their minions along progressive paths worthy of the new millennium or possess only a mindset that encourages ill desert winds to continue blowing over their ill-adapted regimes. A glimmer of light deftly generated by Israeli communicators could penetrate the darkness energizing any rational inquiring collective Arab or Persian soul currently suppressed by a dysfunctional Islam. It is indeed worth the effort! Contact Lawrence Uniglicht at luniglicht@snip.net |
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CHARGE: ISRAEL HAS NOT APPROACHED AIPAC ON POLLARD
Posted by Hillel Fendel, November 23, 2005. |
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Yitzchak Oren, the man responsible for the Pollard file on behalf of Israel's Washington Embassy in the late 1990s, says the key to Pollard's release lies with AIPAC - and that it's not too late. Oren, who was the Israeli liaison to the U.S. Congress in 1997, said, "I tell you with total certainty, as an expert on the matter and as someone who dealt with the subject on behalf of the government for a long period, that he could have been released. Very simple. One word: AIPAC." Oren, who studied all the material on Pollard and visited him in prison seven times, spoke with Ben Caspit of Maariv. AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Community, has been termed by The New York Times "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel." Oren said that in 1996, then-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu decided to recognize Pollard as an Israeli agent and work to secure his release. The instructions were relayed to the Embassy in Washington, but the late then-Ambassador Eliyahu Ben-Elissar chose not to deal with it, and instead transferred it to Oren. Oren explained that the long-time efforts by Pollard supporters to pressure the American President were in vain: "Only Congress can force the release. The president [Clinton] tried, and we saw how it ended with [Clinton and Netanyahu] at Wye Plantation - the intelligence community forced the president to change his mind, with [CIA head George] Tenet threatening to resign. But with Congress, it's the opposite. The intelligence establishment receives funding from Congress, and Congress is its supervising body. One word by AIPAC would free up a giant and powerful lobby in this direction. I tell you with full responsibility that if AIPAC would just nod or hint, it would happen. The CIA would give in. That's how the American network works." Oren said that though he and then-Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh informed AIPAC that it would be desirable to work for Pollard, it didn't happen: "I remember an AIPAC event at which the Ambassador [Ben-Elissar] called openly and publicly upon AIPAC not to intervene in the Pollard affair. They really didn't intervene, and the whole thing hit an iceberg..." "All these years," Oren said, "we wasted energies on the executive branch, the President, but it was hopeless. The President cannot bend the giant intelligence community - but Congress sure can... The CIA head can't threaten Congress that he will quit; Congress can fire him. All that was missing was AIPAC's blessing for the efforts to have him released. Senators like Arlen Specter and Ben Gilman waited for it, but it didn't come." Asked if he can explain why Ben-Elissar objected, Oren said, "No. Perhaps because of reasons of recognition, or because of his past as a Mossad man... I can just say, as someone who worked under him, that this is what happened. He said this on-the-record." Caspit added that the Mossad had no sympathy for Pollard, who was employed by a different government organization. Oren also cannot explain why the American establishment is so vengeful against Pollard: "It is unfathomable. It is, perhaps, an attempt to strong-arm and trample Israel, on Pollard's back. Very strange things happened here. After all, transmitting information to an ally is a relatively light crime. And yet, suddenly, [then-Defense Secretary Caspar] Weinberger gives the judge a 46-page memorandum that led to the unheard-of life sentence... " "I also think it's not too late," Oren said. "Even now, via AIPAC, it can be done. There is a Senator named Chuck Schumer of New York who is willing to lead it. There is no reason that the State [of Israel] should not do this for Pollard - especially in light of all the dirty and strong-arm tricks that were used against Israel and against him in this story." In February 1998, Pollard's wife Esther told IMRA that Israel had several easy options at its disposal in its attempts to secure her husband's release - and one of them was AIPAC. "The State of Israel, in accomplishing any important initiative in the United States, first engages AIPAC," she said. "With the support of AIPAC Israel then gets the necessary meetings on Capitol Hill and the proper exposure. AIPAC also helps Israel to engage the American Jewish leadership. It doesn't matter if we are talking about advancing the peace process or selling any Israeli idea. This is standard practice. In 13 years [since Pollard's arrest], AIPAC has never been engaged by the Israeli Government on the Pollard case. In 13 years, the American Jewish leadership has never once heard from the Israeli Government, 'This is a national priority, we'd like your support on this.'" Another example of an easy initiative, she said, is, "Israel simply had to go to the money people in the Jewish community who fund the Clinton Government. All that Israel had to do was to say to them, 'We could use your support on this.' You don't even have to threaten not to sign the checks. Just remind the President that releasing Pollard is a priority of the Government of Israel that you support.'" Hillel Fendel is senior editor at Arutz-Sheva (www.IsraelNN.com). |
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HAS CANADA'S UN VOTING REALLY CHANGED?
Posted by Laureen Moe, November 23, 2005. |
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Anne Scarrow wrote: Dear Zion Family: Peg Byars has suggested that we stand with Israel and help our government to do this too! Shalom! (see below and respond!) Anne 
"We will continue to press for the kinds of reforms that will eliminate the politicization of the United Nations and its agencies and in particular the annual ritual of politicized anti-Israel resolutions." (Toronto, November 13, 2005) Every year at the UN General Assembly, more than twenty resolutions are passed that deny the historical right of the Jewish people to live in their homeland, ignore the realities on the ground and, in effect, sanction Palestinian terrorism against Israeli civilians. The chart below shows Canada's voting on the first batch of these resolutions, which have so far been passed at the Committee level and will reach the General Assembly shortly for final ratification. Has Canada's UN voting really changed? Examined: Years 2003-2005 RESOLUTION 1. Assistance to Palestine refugees While giving special recognition to "Palestinian refugees", the resolution ignores the historical fact that a Jewish refugee question was created simultaneously when Jews were expelled or fled out of fear from neighboring Arab and Muslim countries, primarily in the post-1948 period. NO CHANGE 2. Persons Displaced as a Result of the June 1967 and Subsequent Hostilities Inherent in the resolution is the suggestion that Israel was the aggressor in the 1967 war. Completely absent is the historical fact that Israel's neighboring Arab states launched the war, forcing Israel to defend itself against the Arab onslaught of invading armies. NO CHANGE 3. Operations of UNRWA By not recognizing Israel's right to self defence -- especially in light of allegations that UNRWA has aided and abetted terrorists -- the resolution effectively delegitimizes the Jewish state and the right of its citizens to live in safe and secure borders. NO CHANGE 4. Palestine Refugees' Properties and their Revenues The resolution reaffirms to the "entitlement" of "Palestinian refugees" to property and income left behind in 1948. The same principle is not being applied to Jewish refugees as a result of the 1948 war. NO CHANGE 5. Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices By its very mandate, the "Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices" adopts an inherently one-sided approach to the conflict. A double standard is employed which examines "Israeli practices" while never examining Palestinian practices. From Abstain to No to No 6. Applicability of the Geneva Conventions The resolution employs a double standard by demanding that Israel adhere to its international obligations, but never once demanding the very same from any other party in the region. NO CHANGE 7. Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan This resolution holds Israel solely accountable for signed agreements. There are no similar such requirements on the Palestinians, including their repeated promises to cease their violence and incitement. NO CHANGE 8. Israeli Practices Affecting the Human rights of the Palestinian People The resolution speaks of "the continuing systemic violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel," without once placing into context current realities in which Israeli civilians continue to be targeted by Palestinian terrorists, thus denying Israel and the Jewish people basic rights to security and freedom. NO CHANGE 9. The Occupied Syrian Golan A double standard is at work which characterizes Israel as the belligerent party, when in fact it was Syria, along with fellow Arab nations, which launched the war in 1967. NO CHANGE We urge concerned Canadians to contact Prime Minister Paul Martin
to demand that Canada lives up to its word: Tel. 613-992-4211/ Fax
613-941-6900
Laureen Moe is a Christian Zionist and lives in Canada. She can be
reached at her website, http://www.laureenmoe.org
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INTEL'S PUBLICITY STUNT
Posted by Batya Medad, November 23, 2005. |
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I'm sure that I wasn't the only one to be extremely impressed when the premier high tech company, Intel, sent out a news report that they were hiring unemployed Gush Katif and Northern Shomron Disengagement victims. Employment is the key to regaining control over their lives, and I've been lobbying best I could for helping the refugees find work. I should have guessed. Former Neve Dekalim resident, Yossi Shomron, now of Nitzan (Carravilla town), tried to get a job. Here is his report: A week ago I read that Intel Kiryat Gat is recruiting former Gush Katif residents for jobs and job training and even led tours of the Kiryat Gat plant and conducted over 30 interviews. From what I can tell this is all a lie. From the Katif.net web site there was an article about the program with Intel. When I called the Meida Katif phone number I was told that someone would contact me from Intel. That was a week ago and no one called. After calling their number again (1700-707765) I received a recording that the number has been disconnected. I called Intel at Kiryat Gat (08 666 7111) and spoke to human resources and was told that they don't know of such a program, don't know of any tours of the plant, and don't know of the 30 interviews conducted with former residents of Gush Katif. I was told I could enter my resume onto their general web site www.intel.co.il/jobs and apply for a job like anyone else in Israel. Human Resources also could not give me a name of the Intel person in charge of helping Gush Katif residents find jobs. By the way, I could not find any place on their web site to enter my resume. Sounds like a publicity stunt by Intel. Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il This article is archived at http://samizdatblogfree.blogspot.com/2005/11/intels-publicity-stunt.html |
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BUSH FOLLOWED SOME KERRY POLICY; SHARON SQUEEZING SAMARIA; PA COMPLAINERS
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, November 23, 2005. |
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BUSH FOLLOWED SOME KERRY POLICY For two years, the Bush Administration followed Sen. Kerry's recommendation to align itself with European diplomacy towards Iran. Results? Iran continued to make and break agreements against nuclear weapons development. Iran made bellicose threats. It murdered peaceful Kurdish protestors. Iran's chief negotiator boasted, "Thanks to the negotiations with Europe, we gained another year in which we completed" Isfahan. He went on to itemize the development of nuclear war capability resulting. Iran also sent weapons into Iraq for use against US forces. The US had toned down its rhetoric against Iran, and did not support internal dissidents. Iran still has a hard line. US restraint only encourages Iran to grow unrestrained (Jewish Political Chronicle, 9/2005, p.52 from Wall St. J., Ed., 8/22). Bush got no credit from Democrats from turning partially their way. Neither did he invoke criticism from Republicans for this foreign policy failure. The parties follow their set courses and debate on the wrong issues or from the wrong perspectives. For example, Social Security should give way to a pre-funded pension plan, so retirees can count on the money being there for them. If this involves privatization, including IRAs, so be it. Bush's mistake was in contending that channeling money away from Social Security into individually controlled accounts would reduce the decline of Social Security funds. Opponents focused on his inability to count and not on his germ of an idea that could be refashioned into a solution. JORDANIAN BOMBING COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE Jordanians are angry with al-Qaeda for bombing their country. Eli Lake thinks this means that they are ready to oppose terrorism and al-Qaeda (NY Sun, 11/17, Op. Ed.). Anger, one can understand. Resolute? I think it is too early to tell. After reverses in popular opinion, Islamists pull in their horns for a while. It does not mean they have turned against terrorism. Islamism has a grip on Jordanian society. I think that al-Qaeda may well stop targeting Sunni Arabs, in order to regain their popularity with them. The Arabs still conceive of murder of innocents as the slaying only of themselves. I OVERSTATED ARGUMENT AGAINST FRENCH MUSLIMS Apparently job discrimination is a factor in the Muslim youths' discontent in France and elsewhere in Europe. But those people largely segregated themselves. Their lawlessness prompted people of French nationality to flee. Job discrimination does not justify violence, especially in a country that allows peaceful protest. France remains in danger of being submerged by Islam. Why did France let the unemployment problem grow by letting unemployables immigrate in large numbers? It would answer that it was multicultural. If so tolerant, why the discrimination? IDF APPROVES 500,000 BULLETS FOR P.A. Israel approved the shipment of 500,000 bullets for the P.A., on condition that only the P.A. police get them. IMRA points out that since the P.A. is bringing terrorists into the P.A. police as integral units, giving the P.A. police bullets means giving those terrorist units bullets (IMRA, 11/17). If Defense Min. Mofaz believes that the P.A. would keep its word on this matter, after violating it on all other matters, he is an idiot. If he knows better, then in giving us this excuse, he is treating us as idiots. ANOTHER FRAME-UP OF SETTLERS Some Arab olive harvesters and six Jewish girls 14-15 years old clashed in Samaria. Police arrested only the Jews. Police claimed that the girls destroyed a day's harvest. The judge interviewed the policeman who brought the complaint. Finding his story without merit, the judge ordered the girls' release. Police appealed. A Supreme Court judge confirmed the lower court finding. Police appealed again. That appeal, lost too. But prosecutors of Jews are relentless, and demanded that the girls be kept in jail until the matter was settled, a matter without merit and for a level of misdemeanor that the government usually doesn't bother with, on the grounds that these girls present a public danger. How so? If attacked again, these girls would defend themselves, police would be called in, and then they would have to shoot. As the girls were being released, the police claimed they couldn't find the forms, and so the girls had to spend the night in jail. The defense attorney remarked that the police are abusing their authority to persecute (Arutz-7, 11/17). They are vindictive, more so under Sharon. In other words, Jews who would defend themselves from marauding Arabs present a public danger, but the marauding Arabs don't. Is it any wonder that the Arabs are bold about taunting and attacking Jews? Such is the Israeli government's level of antisemitic appeasement of the Arabs against the Jews of Samaria? Disgraceful. The Left now stands for prejudice and injustice. SHARON MACHINATIONS AGAINST SAMARIA BEGIN PM Sharon plans for the security fence to slice the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements in half. His officials are talking about offering Jews on the other side money to depart, so the government can demolish their communities. Thus, as long suspected, Sharon, under US pressure, is turning the fence into a political boundary. Actually, it is a "partition wall" generating insecurity, by leaving Arabs in the hills outside it, where they can shoot down on the Jews within, who would have less freedom to sally forth in pursuit. This is a divide-and-conquer policy. It reveals Sharon's intent, an intent he tried to keep quiet during the first expulsion of Jews from Samaria (Arutz-7, 11/17). CAUSES OF TERRORISM To find out the causes of Arab terrorism, Western journalists should study Arab culture and the books that the Arabs read (and write). Instead, the journalists ask the terrorists, who will not admit to them that the cause is religious intolerance. Instead, the terrorists offer secular excuses. These excuses divide the West (Nofit Amir, NY Sun, 11/18, Op. Ed.). One excuse is that Israel is oppressing the Palestinian Arabs. Actually, Palestinian Arabs are oppressing Palestinian Arabs. But the terrorists have persuaded Westerners, who readily accept calumny against a Jewish state, to make Israel a scapegoat. People can work with research, facts, and logic. They are not given the facts and don't know what they are missing. They are too lazy to do research, and some of the research sources are getting biased. But what a pity how little they exercise native logic. They fail to see that most nationalities and religions, oppressed or not, do not turn to terrorism. That means the problem lies within the culture of the Muslim Arabs and increasingly other Muslims. It wouldn't matter how well a country treats Muslims. When they reach a critical mass, they try to take over and impose their ways upon the natives. JORDANIAN ANTI-TERRORISM BILLS The King has proposed a bill outlawing advocacy and support for terrorism (Arutz-7, 11/16). The recent terrorism in Jordan may strengthen the government's hand. However, Jordanian society generally supports terrorism. The Muslim Arabs, however, excuse their terrorism as resistance to occupation. But the definition of terrorism, and the reason for abhorring it, is that it attacks civilians, by definition, innocent non-combatants. ARABS COMPLAIN ABOUT NEW BORDER AGREEMENT The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights claims that the new agreement strengthens Israeli control over Gaza. It gives some rationalization for this claim, but weak ones. It starts out describing the agreement as first of all giving non-Israelis control over the Gaza-Egypt border. It mentions the surveillance films that Israelis and P.A. police would view some distance away. As IMRA points out, that means that Israel has ended its supervision, it can only comment (IMRA, 11/16). In a recent article, I gave IMRA's and my own analysis of the agreement, and how it eliminated Israeli security measures over certain borders, including the Egypt-Gaza one. Instead of celebrating, however, the Arabs prefer to complain. It is their way. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com. |
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"NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY"? SCORCHED EARTH!
Posted by Dr. Ron Breiman, November 23, 2005. |
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Ariel Sharon's new party is to be called the National Responsibility Party. Professors for a Strong Israel finds the name to be ridiculous and, shall we say, disengaged from reality. After all, Ariel Sharon has been following a policy that is both irresponsible and anti-national. A better name for his party would be "Scorched Earth," since this is what Sharon leaves behind him everywhere he goes. He left scorched earth when he disengaged from the settlers whom he settled in Gaza, when he disengaged from his own son, and when he disengaged from the platform of the party he founded. Dr. Ron Breiman, is Chairman of Professors for A Strong Israel (PSI). He can be reached by telephone at 050-5-518 940 in Israel. |
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TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE
Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, November 23, 2005. |
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The lesson of the Bar Lev Line in 1973 was that a nation dwarfed by its enemies geographically, in manpower, and armaments can't afford to fight wars of attrition. The latter involve allowing your enemies to call the shots...literally and figuratively. Israel was almost destroyed in the Yom Kippur War. Israel's military excels at the offensive, lightning strike. It's enemies know this also. So they do what they do to push just so far, but no further. They expect that Israel will play by their rules, since it is always under pressure by those in the American State Department and elsewhere to not "over react." Syria's main proxy in what it considers to be its Lebanese "province," Hizbullah, recently launched a major assault on Israeli positions and towns in the north. It appears that it was primarily designed to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Luckily, despite Israeli casualties, that attempt failed. But there's that initial problem mentioned above again. Merely sitting and waiting for murderous, rejectionist enemies to make their next move at their own convenience is asking for trouble. This is not the first time Israel has suffered this way. While there have been promising developments in Lebanon lately--most notably Syria's at least partial departure--circumstances cannot stay the way that they are now indefinitely. Indeed, Damascus and its Iranian cohort continue to stoke the flames via Hizbullah, which is now in possession of tens of thousands of rockets and other high tech armaments courtesy of them. On the positive side, there have been some signs lately that Lebanon's own military is more willing to assert itself on issues relating to containment of forces likely to stir up trouble. But Hizbullah has a huge, home grown following in south Lebanon, and it can no longer use Israel's forced occupation of that area as its excuse to attack Jews since the latter have exited the area for some time now. Had there been a Lebanese government earlier that was willing and able to prevent the continuous attacks on Israel by Arafat's boys, there would have been no need for that earlier occupation in the first place. Israel must make clear to all parties concerned that it will not permit the situation to deteriorate further. Right now it's worse than during the days which led to Israel's war to evict the PLO from Lebanon several decades ago. Hizbullah has a more massive following, better arms, and determined, powerful allies with specific goals. This author's Syria...Seriously (http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_10200.shtml) gets into this issue in detail, so it won't be repeated now. So, the bottom line is that it's fast approaching the time for Israel to have to once again clean its neighbor's house. For those who claim that it means that Israel will be meddling in another country's internal affairs--like the critics who accused Israel during its campaign against the PLO in Lebanon previously--the answer, of course, is that if you allow your territory to be used to launch aggression against your neighbor and continuously fail to do anything to prevent this from happening, then you best have no complaints when the victim acts to defend itself. Targeted tit-for-tat helicopter and artillery retaliatory strikes only invite more problems later. They do nothing to solve the long term problem. Not long ago, there was an outpouring of support in Lebanon against Syria and those who support it. True, there were also large pro-Syrian demonstrations. Israel can bolster the former via some renewed house cleaning as well. So, here's the plan... Israel has its "chat" with Lebanese officials. It has ways that this can be done via diplomatic channels. It explains that this déjà vu scenario must fast come to an end and that Lebanon is now being forewarned and placed on notice that further aggression will be handled the way any other nation would to act to defend its own land and people. For those who claim that this is just what Hizbullah wants--to heat up the north--my answer is that better to heat it up now than later when Hizbullah's buddies are nuclear. Israel should then evacuate its northern towns as best as possible and launch a massive offensive against Hizbullah from air, sea, and land...taking out as many major positions as possible all at once a la the June '67 war. As Israel has targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, Hizbullah's should now meet their seventy-some virgins in Paradise as well...especially the ones with the big mouths. Another Israeli air visit to Syria--especially to Hizbullah's Sheikh Nasrallah--would also be nice. No doubt, Hizbullah will retaliate with massive rocket launches and the like. And these must be met exponentially with the full brunt of Israel's military power to crush them. The time for pussy footing around has long past. Indeed, Hizbullah believes it defeated Israel in Lebanon, leading it to withdraw. While Israel was on Lebanese soil, Jews had misgivings about that war...so withdrew and cut their losses. Hamas learned a lesson here as well. It's a totally different ball game now. Israel is being attacked by an enemy which, like Hamas, rejects its very right to exist. But, unlike how it has handled the latter, it must go after Hizbullah and its thousands of rockets with the same preemption which led it to take out powerful enemy air forces and armored brigades en masse in just six days four decades earlier. If done properly, Hizbullah will be weakened tremendously. True, it will not be totally destroyed, but it must be left with the message that it can expect the same treatment if it starts playing the same game yet again. There is already a clear division in Lebanon between those who support Syria and its proxies and those who don't. Guess who wins out here? If the Syrians make a move, Israel must make it very clear that it will be a move that Damascus will long regret. And huffing and puffing should not be the way this message is conveyed. Too much of that lately has led to Israel not being taken seriously. Israel says one thing then caves in to international (i.e. American) pressure to agree to one-sided concessions detrimental to its very existence. Israel has nothing to lose that it won't later lose anyway if it doesn't take care of business now. And then the stakes will be even higher. Hizbulllah rejectionists have long revealed their true hands. Indeed, they have been increasingly in contact with their Hamas and Islamic Jihad counterparts. With Israel out of Lebanon, Hizbullah and other pro-Syrian Lebanese stooges cannot claim that they're merely acting to defend Lebanon's sovereignty when Israel is targeted. Their lame excuse about the disputed Sheba Farms area is baseless as well, as even a UN frequently hostile to Israel confirms that Israel indeed withdrew to the international border. So, when Israel launches its already overdue war to end the Hizbullah terror (how long would America have waited after its citizens were repeatedly attacked from Canada or Mexico to react if the latter failed to act to stop this themselves?), the new enemies it will have made in the process will not be new at all...just the same ones it already has. And while most will dare not say it, there are many in Lebanon who are waiting for Israel to do this very house cleaning for them. Combined with the Syrian withdrawal (even if its agents are still present), this may pave the way to a real peace between Israel and its ancient Phoenician/modern Lebanese neighbors. Some seventeen centuries before the Arab conquest of the native Semitic but non-Arab Phoenicians/Lebanese, the Hebrew Bible (aka "Old Testament") records in detail how Solomon, King of Israel, requested King Hiram of Tyre to supply cedar wood and to build a temple and a palace in Jerusalem. It is time for those days to return. Gerald A. Honigman, a Florida educator, has created and conducted counter-Arab propaganda programs for college youth, has lectured on numerous campuses and other platforms, and has publicly debated Arab spokesmen. His articles and op-eds have been published in both the print media and on websites. Contact him at honigman6@msn.com or go to his website: http://geraldahonigman.com/blog.php |
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SHARON DID NOT "IGNITE" THE 2ND INTIFADA
Posted by David Meir-Levi, November 22, 2005. |
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To the editor of the New York Times,
Odd that you can never seem to get it right. The myth that Ariel Sharon "...detonated the 2nd intifada" has been deflated by none other than Sheikh Imad Faluji himself. And as a high ranking member of the Palestinian National Council, he ought to know. Faluji has been quoted numerous times, including in your own newspaper, as saying that "...anyone who thinks that the dog Sharon started the blessed intifada is wrong". He goes on to explain that planning for the intifada started immediately after Arafat returned from the Camp David 2 conference (June, 2000), months before Sharon's visit to the Temple Mound. Sharon's visit merely gave the terrorists the excuse they needed to start their long awaited and pre-planned "blessed intifada". Yet, your "Ariel Sharon, as the Centrist" (New York Times editorial of 11/22/05) lends renewed credence to that tired Palestinian lie. Don't you read your own newspaper, or do you just not care that your statements are contradicted by reality? David Meir-Levi David Meir-Levi is an American-born Israeli, currently living in Palo Alto. He lectures in English, Hebrew, and Spanish; his expertise is in Near Eastern studies and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is Director of Peace and Education at Israel Peace Initiative (www.ipi-usa.org). Contact David Meir-Levi at david_meirlevi@hotmail.com |
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ORDINARY COMMERCE OR TERRORIST ENTRY? THE REAL ENEMY; PEACETIME BUDGET IN WARTIME
posted by Richard H. Shulman, November 22, 2005. |
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Israel will consult with the US which checkpoints and roadblocks in Judea-Samaria to take down. The Times (surprisingly) reported Israel's rationale for them. Israel finds them necessary to limit Arab attacks. Not reported is why -- considering there have been many such attacks during the current war, and that when the checkpoints and roadblocks are up, Arabs still can pass through but terrorism is greatly limited, does the US insist on removing the roadblocks in wartime. (Israel has refashioned checkpoints for swifter and more comfortable passage.) The article states some Arab complaints against Israel, but not Jewish complaints against the Arabs. (Patriotic or objective Jewish commentators have complaints, but the government might not. Why not? It is not clever enough to wage diplomatic war and it is appeasement-minded. Why no Israeli rejoinder to the Arab complaints?) The P.A. may resume construction of a seaport in Gaza, although they did not reach agreement about any inspection of incoming cargoes. As for the Gaza entry point from Sinai, No Israelis will be present to (arrest, to bar, or to) tell the P.A. whom to bar. Israel may just advise the P.A. (which already has declared that it will not bar any Palestinian Arab. There will be surveillance cameras, but their film would first be fed to Europeans, then possibly to Israel. (But the terrorist will have gotten in!) From Gaza, there will be vehicular convoys escorted by the IDF through Israel to Judea-Samaria (Greg Myre & Steven R. Weisman, 1/16, A10). The same day's Times editorial remarked that Sec. Rice had extracted a needed agreement, overcoming technical obstacles that really were lethargic obstruction. This is progress, stated the editorial. The pact offers Israel a fig leaf of inspection over its cave-in to US demands that weaken its security. Israel is set up for the same result when the seaport is built. That is how such negotiations, undertaken under US pressure, work out for Israel. The jihadists know that the US takes their side in this, that the their recalcitrance incurs no penalty but instead gets the US and the Times impatient with Israel for not conceding fast enough, that they can count on the Europeans to foil Israel, and that Israel is not tough. GIVING THE JIHADIST SHOTGUN A SECOND BARREL When terrorists bomb another country, commentators attribute it to that country assisting the war on Islamism. False. "Terrorists kill people. It's who they are; it's what they do." First they strike. Then they find pretexts (Jonathan V. Last, "Jewish Political Chronicle", 9/2005). If we give credence to their pretexts, we exert pressure on their enemies. DISTORTING REASON TO FAVOR POLICY "...publication of this year's Annual Report on the military power of the People's Republic of China was delayed while its initial and more alarming conclusions about China's strategic intent were toned down. Senior Administration officials overruled the report's authors, professional analysis, and policy advisers at the Pentagon intent on providing an unvarnished account of China's military. And, contrary to conventional Washington wisdom, this was done not over the heads of the most senor ranks in the Pentagon but with their agreement." (Gary Schmitt & Dan Blumenthal, "Jewish Political Chronicle", 9/2005, p.73 from The Weekly Standard, 8/8). This is just what the Democrats are complaining about. The Bush Administration changes reasonable analysis in order to make it seem as if a genuine study buttresses the Administration's theories. It not only is dishonest but leads to disaster. A President ties his own hands when he fails to assess the situation fairly and then determine what policy would deal with what is revealed. If the public does not want to confront Chinese imperialist plans or our own pollution or P.A. jihad, and does not want to pay for dealing with our problems, let it state that it wishes to enjoy life for a few more years without sacrifice and then risk survival. But don't hide the problem from it and not give it a chance to rise to the occasion. Bush is hiding the problem. THE REAL ENEMY The real enemy is a fascistic Islamic ideology which only a few thousand promulgate, but which the whole Muslim society protects. When the Islamists strike, most Muslims are pleased with the injury to the West, which Muslims envy for its success. For a U.S. initiative, such as a movement for democracy, to gain Muslim support, it must be seen as successful and not as an American affair. One difficulty in liquidating terrorists is finding them, for they hide within Muslim society. Another difficulty is in the will to seek them out, for much of the West is beguiled by multiculturalism and moral equivalence, and thinks that dialogue can resolve conflicts with fanatics. Actually, treating the Muslims as if they think like Westerners is ethno-centric. Nor can the US get much international sympathy when people think the terrorists are the underdog and have the mistaken notion that they should side with underdogs. Summing this up, "Amnesty International claims that Guantanamo-specialized ethnic foods, available Korans, and international observers - is comparable to a Soviet Gulag where millions once perished" (Victor Davis Hanson, Jewish Political Chronicle, 9/2005, p.46 from National Review Online, 6/3). Apparently we Westerners, in our foolishness, are our own worst enemies. The Gulag was far worse, but that does not excuse U.S. use of torture. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at richardshulman5@aol.com. |
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WITHDRAW OR STAY THE COURSE IN IRAQ? NEITHER.
Posted by Yaron Brook, November 22, 2005. |
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Both the Democrats and Republicans are wrong about what to do now in the Iraq war. The Democrats want to retreat immediately and the Republicans want to "stay the course." Neither proposal will make America safe from Islamic terrorism. As Republicans have noted, withdrawal at this time would be perceived by the Islamic fundamentalists as a major defeat of the West and draw more recruits to their cause. But as the Democrats have noted, staying our current course--which has no standard of victory and no clear connection to protecting America from Islamic terrorism--is a disaster that has already resulted in the death of two thousand Americans. The solution is neither embracing defeat nor staying a losing course; the solution is to pursue victory. We must define war objectives designed solely to protect the American people from Islamic terrorism, and then execute those objectives by any means necessary. Above all, we must make it our objective, not to bring the good life to every corner of the Middle East, but to make the terrorist states of the Middle East non-threatening--which means that we must end state sponsorship of terrorism. In Iraq, we must crush the insurgency immediately--which includes choking its backers, Iran and Syria--and let the Iraqis themselves take on the responsibility of establishing a government that will not threaten America. Once the insurgency is crushed the priority should be on eliminating the regime that is the greatest terrorist and nuclear threat to the United States in the Middle East: Iran. Such a policy would serve as a death blow to bin Laden, al-Zarqawi and the rest of the fundamentalists, who attract their recruits with the hope that America can slowly be defeated. Dr Yaron Brook is Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute (http://www.aynrand.org/) in Irvine, CA. The Institute promotes the ideas of Ayn Rand--best-selling author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead and originator of the philosophy of Objectivism. |
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KURT VONNEGUT: MOONBAT
Posted by Steven Plaut, November 22, 2005. |
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From http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog, November 18, 2005. A formerly great writer goes off the deep end: US author lauds suicide bombers. ONE of the greatest living US writers has praised terrorists as "very brave people" and used drug culture slang to describe the "amazing high" suicide bombers must feel before blowing themselves up. Kurt Vonnegut, author of the 1969 anti-war classic Slaughterhouse Five, made the provocative remarks during an interview in New York for his new book, Man Without a Country, a collection of writings critical of US President George W. Bush. Vonnegut, 83, has been a strong opponent of Mr Bush and the US-led war in Iraq, but until now has stopped short of defending terrorism. But in discussing his views with The Weekend Australian, Vonnegut said it was "sweet and honourable" to die for what you believe in, and rejected the idea that terrorists were motivated by twisted religious beliefs. "They are dying for their own self-respect," he said. "It's a terrible thing to deprive someone of their self-respect. It's like your culture is nothing, your race is nothing, you.re nothing." Asked if he thought of terrorists as soldiers, Vonnegut, a decorated World War II veteran, said: "I regard them as very brave people, yes." He equated the actions of suicide bombers with US president Harry Truman's 1945 decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. On the Iraq war, he said: "What George Bush and his gang did not realise was that people fight back." Vonnegut suggested suicide bombers must feel an "amazing high." He said: "You would know death is going to be painless, so the anticipation - it must be an amazing high." 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 or write him at splaut@econ.haifa.ac.il. |
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A VIEW FROM GOLDA'S BALCONY
Posted by Rachel Kapen, November 21, 2005. |
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These days a one woman play by author William Gibson is making the rounds in many U.S. cities among them Detroit, MI, Washington, D.C., St. Paul, MN, Houston, TX, and more, culminating in Toronto, Canada. Television star Valerie Harper of the Mary Tyler Moore and Rhoda T.V. series is playing the role of Golda Meir, Israel's only woman Prime Israel and only one of a handful of women prime ministers in the entire world. The play which won high acclaim is telling this remarkable woman's life from her early childhood in a little shtetle in the Ukraine, to the family's new home in Milwaukee, WI, and to her aliyah in 1921 to Palestine, or Eretz-Israel, then under British rule. The rest, as we say, is history, the history of the State of Israel, which Golda Meir was an integral part of. However, what is most striking is that the play puts special emphasis on the Yom Kippur War when Golda Meir was Prime Minister, and it reminds us of the desperate situation Israel faced, to the point that it considered using nuclear weapons as a last resort, what an unspeakably frightening notion. Fortunately, though, this was not necessary when the United States with Kissinger as Secretary of State and Richard Nixon as president came through for the Jewish State which was on the brink of destruction and send the asked for ammunition to fight its enemies. Admittedly, this openness regarding Israel's nuclear capability is worrisome being that for many years Israel refrained from admitting it and we all remember an Israeli by the name of Mordechai Vanunu who disclosed it to a British publication who as a result was abducted and imprisoned for eighteen years. Obviously, Israel's situation is unique among the nations being that it does not want to use it against another country unless faced with extinction, G-d forbid as the play distinctly show still however, talking about it openly is not wise. It is sure to rehash the accusation that Israel enjoys special treatment by the U.S.in regard to its having nuclear capability. We should take our sages counsel that: Silence becomes the wise. Golda's Balcony is Israel's history in a nutshell and should not be missed. It reminds us how significant it is and how very vulnerable. Contact Rachel Kapen at skapen285466mi@comcast.net |
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IN A NUTSHELL
Posted by Batya Medad, November 21, 2005. |
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In a nutshell, ok, nut house Politics here in Israel is like a nut house, and I can't sit here too long, so I'll give you my latest reading of it in a nutshell. The big question is why is Arik Sharon starting another party? He has already castrated the Likud and turned most of the politicians and Central committee into his puppets. What's the point? He's an old man. How much longer does he see himself active? Maybe my mind is just too suspicious, but I can't help forgetting that Sharon and his supporters had thousands join the Likud. Those people are still members. Actually, I've been a member "forever," even though I stopped voting Likud since Menachem Begin gave the Sinai to Egypt and destroyed Yamit and the other communities there. You can be a member of a party without voting for it, or even respecting it. That means that Sharon* can control two parties. One his custom-made new one, and two his customized old one. Besides the members, there are all the employees he has brought in. They're loyal to him. So, the simple thing is that he can control, or strongly influence, the results of the race for Likud Party leader, even though he has left the party. He can get someone elected who either will make a coalition deal with him or will find other ways of completing the destruction of the party. I don't think I need to elaborate further. You're not stupid. * When I mention Sharon I'm referring to his "organization," his sons and those who are involved with his planning and policies. Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il This article is archived at http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/11/in-nutshell-ok-nut-house.html |
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NEEDED: PROACTIVE ZIONISM
Posted by David Haimson, November 21, 2005. |
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This article was written by Gil Troy, professor of history at McGill University and the author of "Why I Am A Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today," as well as "Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s." It appeared in the Jewish Week November 18, 2005 (www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=4630&print=yes) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's despicable call to destroy Israel, and its hearty endorsement by the Palestinians' Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, triggered a predictable and justifiable torrent of Jewish outrage. Those who consider anti-Semitism the worst sin in their books -- and the community's greatest motivator -- are demanding world leaders repudiate these genocidal calls. But we should challenge ourselves, too. The best response to Tehran's dreaming about "a world without Zionism" is for Jews to dream about how to inject more Zionism into our own worlds. Sadly, too many Jews have internalized the non-Jewish world's disdain for the Z word. In North America, "Zionists" are caricatured as either fanatics or bureaucrats. In Israel, "post-Zionists" pathetically seek European approval by demonizing Zionism, while the Israeli street considers Zionists friers, "suckers." We cannot demand the world respect our movement of Jewish national liberation if we do not even respect it ourselves. This should be a moment of Zionist renewal, not only to defy our immoral enemies, but because in the last five years Zionism, and Israel, emerged triumphant. The Palestinians' futile war forced us to relearn some essential Zionist lessons. We relearned the prime Zionist directive of ein breira, "we have no choice." Just as hundreds of thousands of Jews from Europe, Arab countries, the Soviet Union and Ethiopia left their homes and came to live in the Jewish state because ein breira. Just as Israelis have had to fight, reluctantly, this wave of terrorism because they had no choice. Future historians will compare Israelis, particularly Jerusalem's citizens, to London's citizens during the World War II blitz and Berlin's citizens during the Cold War blockade, for demonstrating an extraordinarily courageous commitment to maintaining ordinary life that has fueled many democratic triumphs over evil. Thanks to Yasir Arafat's evil, we also rediscovered the central Zionist experience of unity in peoplehood. Even in this post-ethnic, hyper-individualistic age, the Jewish people's nerve endings are intertwined. When one of us is cut, we all bleed. Too many Christians yawned as Christian aid workers were slaughtered in Pakistan, Christian children were enslaved in Sudan, Christian girls were raped in the Palestinian territories. But most Jews empathized with Israel's terror victims, and many mobilized to help. Arafat offered negative proof that the Jewish people remain interconnected; we must rally around positive symbols, ideas, actions and initiatives, too. Watching the Israeli center re-emerge, seeing how the separation fence buried the right's maximalist territorial illusions and the left's naive millennialist delusions, we also remembered the pragmatism and big tent centrism that traditionally characterized Zionism. The early Zionists were quarrelsome and fragmented. Still, for most, when faced with historic choices such as the painful 1947 partition plan, hardheaded, realistic problem-solving trumped ideological purity. Israel grew from the center, and it survived this round of violence by staying levelheaded, losing neither democracy nor dignity, balancing civil liberties and civil survival, seeking protection from Palestinian terror, not vengeance, and improvising as the situation demanded. Hidden within these mostly reactive Zionist lessons, two more affirmative values can shape a positive Zionist renewal. Zionism at its best always sought particularism, meaning Jewish nationalism, as a path into universal values, not an escape from broader ideals. We can best advance humanistic values by concentrating communal energies in service of those ideals. Tikkun olam is hot these days, but do-gooding should be more than merely Christian charity with a Jewish inflection. Zionism defined effectively can provide a Jewish national or communal framework for responding to modern challenges, be it the values crisis in our material world, the alienation and individuation of consumer society, or the worldwide epidemic of terror. Fighting poverty in Israel or alleviating misery in Darfur through an Israeli framework focuses and anchors actions that otherwise might dissipate as individual initiatives. By having a "we" not a "me," and a Jewish "us" at that, by taking responsibility for individual, communal and world problems together, you and I can change the world, as the Zionist hymn goes, or at least have a better shot at succeeding. In doing that, we will also uphold the Zionist value of returning to history. In 1990s America there was much cheap talk about ending history until 9-11. We cannot escape history. We might as well be the best actors and activists we can be, broad in our vision, deep in our idealism, united in our purpose. Let us use our lucky accident of birth -- membership in the Jewish people -- as a way to enrich our lives, save our souls, work together, multiply our impact, build a country that we need and improve a world that needs us and our values. Let this, then, become the year we all commit ourselves to developing Israel, not wiping it off the communal agenda because calm seems to be returning. And let this be the year we revitalize and redefine Zionism rather than just defend it when psychopaths attack. To subscribe to David Haimson's emails that provide live links to interesting articles, contact him at DvHaimson@aol.com |
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'ROLL OUT THE BARRELS'
Posted by Lawrence Uniglicht, November 21, 2005. |
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The Arab Gulf 'Texas tea' drenched nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar will suck in enormous quantities of foreign assets in 2005 and 2006, perhaps about 360 billion petrodollars worth per the Institute for International Finance, indeed fifty percent more than total purchases over the past five years. These are heady times for OPEC inc., an Islamic cartel tightly gripping its spindly talons about fossil fuel faucets dispensing much of the energy-addicted world's life-blood. The aforementioned nations alone will likely reap almost 600 billion total in U.S. erstwhile presidents this year and next, three fold more than average 1990 decade rates of return. Let us usher in the 'Era of the Gusher' with a chorus of 'Roll Out the Barrels', only S.U.V. owners aren't exactly having 'barrels of fun'. Never mind those wild and crazy pick-pocketed Westerners, how about those poor bedraggled so-called Palestinians? Are some of the 'got rocks' Gulf guys gonna splurge and send a few greenback converted riyals and dinars to their needy 'Palestinian' brethren so they can buy dinners for their families? Maybe a few Israel-bashing news rags can reserve a column or two to rag on the 'Arab cheapos', or might they be so 'occupied' busting the Jewish state's hump, little time is left to insult the neo-sultans by suggesting that charity doesn't always begin and stay at home? Westerners, how about those poor bedraggled so-called Palestinians? Are some of the 'got rocks' Gulf guys gonna splurge and send a few greenback converted riyals and dinars to their needy 'Palestinian' brethren so they can buy dinners for their families? Maybe a few Israel-bashing news rags can reserve a column or two to rag on the 'Arab cheapos', or might they be so 'occupied' busting the Jewish state's hump, little time is left to insult the neo-sultans by suggesting that charity doesn't always begin and stay at home? Once perceived a wretched refugee, always perceived a wretched refugee, when dubbed a 'Palestinian'. Besides, it makes 'the Jew' look bad. Of course, if a few Gaza fanatics Once perceived a wretched refugee, always perceived a wretched refugee, when dubbed a 'Palestinian'. Besides, it makes 'the Jew' look bad. Of course, if a few Gaza fanatics might be in the market for 'state of the art' missiles to help launch their new terrorist enclave, I'm sure those chic sheiks could shake a few coins loose to help defray the costs, sports that they are. No doubt, they'll keep 'singing in Bahrain' while average Arab folks remain indefinitely on the other side of the tracks. Contact Lawrence Uniglicht at luniglicht@snip.net |
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ARIEL SHARON'S PARTY: LOYALISTS
Posted by David Bedein, November 21, 2005. |
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Ariel Sharon, who has served as Israel's Prime Minister for almost five years, has suddenly found himself as a man without the very Likud party that he formed in 1973. Likud had a clear platform, which opposed ceding any land to any Arab neighbor without a solid peace treaty, as in the case of Sadat, when Sharon served in the government of PM Menachem Begin, as Agriculture Minister and then as Defence Minister. Unlike the Likud, Labor and Meretz, all of whom favored various forms of the territories for peace, Sharon abandoned the principle of reciprocity in favor of a position of unilateralism when he instigated the demolition of 25 Jewish communities and the handover of their assets to terrorists. Until recently, unilateralism had only been the platform of Israel's Communist Party and Israel's three Arab political parties which represent that position...Ironically, that unilateral position was remarkably similar to the platform of the ShomTzion Party which was led by Sharon in 1977, which indeed advocated unilateral withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Therefore, Sharon found himself without a political party and without a political base.. So Ariel Sharon organized a party based on loyalty to Ariel Sharon.. People whom Sharon has chosen to join his party are members of the Likud faction of the Knesset who remained supportive of his policies. Ariel Sharon does have a following in Israel, which is based on widespread admiration for a man who showed courage in the battlefield and as a man who is always willing to take risks and to carry out policies that he believes in. Likud Ministers such as Ehud Olmert, Shaul Mofaz, Meir Shitrit and Tzipi Livni have tied their political careers to the coatails of Ariel Sharon. Apparently, so has Shimon Peres, the stalwart elder statesman of the Israel Labor Party. The power of incumbency has given Sharon about 30 seats, or 25% of the Knesset, in the initial polls that were taken in the days before Sharon indeed decided to form his own party. However, it is hard to envision the tenacity and strength of a such a political party. Now the Likud will draft a candidate for party leadership who will reflect a more clear and less compromising position that Ariel Sharon, which may marginalize Sharon and his supporters. Ariel Sharon's "Party for National Responsibility" is riddled with contradictions,led by a tough talking leader whose record of capitulation in negotiation has transformed his image in the Israeli public opinion to a somewhat less than heroic figure. Israel's political history in filled with instances when a "centrist" party is formed over night and lasts only one term in office. Such was the case with the Democratic Movement for Change under Yigal Yadin's leadership in 1977, and such was the case with the Center Party in 1999. Will Ariel Sharon fade into Israeli political history, as the greatest political anomaly that Israel has ever produced in its short history? We will know very shortly. David Bedein is an investigative reporter and Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency. (http://Israelbehindthenews.com). |
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WELCOMING BACK MAJORCA'S CRYPTO-JEWS
Posted by Michael Freund, November 21, 2005. |
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This was written by Israel National Staff.
Majorca's Jews are gearing up for a seminar aimed at strengthening the Jewish community on the small island off the coast of Spain, and reaching out to the area's large crypto-Jewish population The event is being organized by Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based group that assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people. It will include traditional festive Sabbath services and meals, lectures and study groups on Jewish historical and religious subjects, and a walking tour of Palma de Majorca's ancient Jewish quarter. "Majorca's Jews suffered terrible persecution over the centuries. As far back as the 1300s, the island was the scene of horrific massacres and forced conversions," said Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund, noting that the Inquisition was formally abolished in Majorca only after the French conquered it in 1808. Nonetheless, Freund said, many of those forced to convert continued to practice Judaism in secret, at great peril to their lives and well-being. Though outwardly Catholic, Majorca's crypto-Jews were never fully accepted by their Christian neighbors, who referred to them by the derogatory Catalan term Chueta, or pig, and refused to marry them. Historians believe there may be as many as 10-15,000 identifiable Chuetas now living on the island. In recent years, a growing number of Majorca's crypto-Jews have begun seeking to reclaim their Jewish roots. Several have moved to Israel, where they have formally returned to Judaism or are in the process of doing so. "In the two years that I have been here, I feel that a definite change has taken place in terms of people's attitudes towards their Jewish heritage," said Rabbi Shaul Friberg, who serves as Chief Rabbi of Majorca and Shavei Israel's emissary to the area. "What was previously something that was denied and kept in secret, is now more and more coming out into the open. People are showing more and more interest in their Jewish heritage," he said. Rabbi Friberg appears regularly at local and official functions, and is often quoted in the Majorcan press, which he says adds a new measure of acceptance and legitimacy to Jews and Judaism in the eyes of the island's populace. As part of its outreach efforts, Shavei Israel runs a Spanish-language conversion and return institute in Jerusalem, Machon Miriam, where some 85 students, many of them descendants of Spanish and Portuguese crypto-Jews, study annually. The institute is under the ongoing supervision of Israel's Chief Rabbinate. Shavei Israel also maintains a website in the Catalan language, where articles and material on Jewish topics and the Torah portion of the week can be found. "Hundreds of years after their ancestors were compelled to convert, a Jewish awakening is taking place among the Chuetas of Majorca," said Freund. "It is now our responsibility to help them to come home again." For more information, contact: spanish@shavei.org. Michael Freund is chairman of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), a Jerusalem-based group that assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people. |
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ABOUT SHARON'S FORMATION OF A CENTRIST PARTY
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, November 21, 2005. |
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PM Ariel Sharon has announced he is leaving Likud and forming a centrist party. This is my take on Sharon's move. Of course, I could be wrong and of course, things can change. Nothing in the world is as dynamic as Israeli politics, but that does not mean we cannot learn from history. Every Eco-system has to have a way to clear out the brown and stinky. Historically, Israeli politics forms a centrist party about every other election. These are used by the eco-system to fling the junk out of the stables so that business can continue. None of them have ever lasted for any amount of time, and there have been many, all abject failures. I have every confidence that this one will be the same. He is an old and frustrated man. He is advised by his son, who is now a convicted felon and his lawyer whose hands are just as clean (if we are to believe the newspapers). He has made a major mistake -- another one. Early elections are just what we needed. For whatever it may be worth, this is my take on it. If I am proven wrong, you now have what to use against me. Mordechai Ben-Menachem is a Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva. Contact him at quality@acm.org |