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THE FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES
Posted by Stan L. Bowman, Jr., September 29, 2004. |
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Happy Sukkot everyone and pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for the rebuilding of the 3RD TEMPLE in Jerusalem. David Ben-Ariel wrote this letter to President Bush. The Jewish/Biblical Holiday of Sukkot Sukkoth begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, which is 5 days after Yom Kippur. The festival of Sukkot, also known as Chag'ha Succot, the "Feast of Booths" (or Tabernacles), is named for the huts (sukkah) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. These huts were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart, and carry as the Israelites wandered through the desert. Depending where you live determines the length and celebration of Sukkot. Most the of world observes the festival for 9 days. The first two and the last two days being the most important. In Israel the festival is only celebrated for 8 days and the first and last days being the most important. Sukkot completes the biblical trilogy began with Passover and Shavuot. This cycle begins with the fleeing of the people of Israel from Egypt (Passover), continues with Moses receiving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai (Shavuot), and concludes as the Israelites wander the desert living in huts and awaiting their entrance into the Promised Land (Sukkot). Sukkot is the third and final celebration in this Exodus from Egypt. The focal point of the festival is the sukkah. Sukkot is the plural form of sukkah, which means "covering" or "shelter". Those who observe Sukkot build and live in a sukkah for seven days. These huts are constructed as temporary shelters and the roof is covered with foliage which is spaced to let the light in. Inside the hut are hung fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. The families eat their meals in the huts under the evening sky. Though most people limit their activities in the sukkah to eating; some, depending on climate and location, sleep in the sukkah as well. Another important part of the Sukkot observation is hospitality. It is important to share your meals with others. In fact this sharing is so important that the holiday is also know as Chag Ha'asif, Festival of the Ingathering. The ninth day of Sukkot is know as Simchat Torah. Throughout the year, a portion of the Torah is read every week. On Simchat Torah the final passages from Deuteronomy are read. The reading of the Torah is concluded and is started again Contact Stan Bowman at stan120032000@yahoo.ca David Ben-Ariel is author of "Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall". He can be reached at http://www.pushhamburger.com/david.htm |
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LAND FOR PEACE OR LAND FOR A PLO CASINO?
Posted by Unity Coalition for Israel, September 29, 2004. |
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David Bedein's article below describes the sordid plan to build a casino on the land of Gush Katif after the Israeli residents are forced from their homes. The proposed disengagement plan is apparently based on a joint financial venture between Yassir Arafat and Dov Weissglass, advisor to the Prime Minister. CLICK HERE to send the sample letter shown below. You can send this letter as is or change it any way you wish. A copy of your letter will automatically be sent to Prime Minister Sharon, President Bush, Uzi Landau, MK Yuri Shtern, MK Dr Arieh Eldad, Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, and mayors of 20 Israeli communities in Gaza/Judea/Samaria.
"Rubbing Elbows with Arafat" by David Bedein The man who has been the most visible diplomat representing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in negotiations with the Palestinians and with the U.S. government has been a lawyer by the name of Dov Weissglass - the man who created and engineered Sharon's withdrawal plan, and the man whom Sharon has delegated to negotiate for Israel with U.S. National Security Advisor Condeleeza Rice and with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. Weissglass's power in the government of Israel with Ariel Sharon at the helm has eclipsed the influence of the highest officials of the Israel Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense. Yet Weissglass has another identity. Back in December 2002, Israel Resource News Agency uncovered the fact that Weissglass, then the office manager of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was still in private business, listed in the Israel Corporate Registrar as the owner and operator of his law firm, Weissglass-Almagor and a business trust by a similar name. That finding was publicized in the weekly Israeli newspaper, Makor Rishon. Why is that so important? Well, it would be one thing if Weissglass's firm represented Zogloveck, Israel's kosher sausage firm. However, Weissglass's law firm and business trusts represent the financial interests of the Palestinian Authority, including Muhammad Rashid, the treasurer appointed by Yassir Arafat to manage Arafat's illusive accounts which amount to several billion dollars. Two Israeli journalists, Amos Harel and Avi Issacharov, have just published a book titled "The Seventh War", in which they report that Weissglass actually celebrated the electoral victory of Ariel Sharon in the company of Muhammad Rashid on election night in February, 2001. In June, 2003 Israel Resource News Agency uncovered the fact that Weissglass's law firm and business also represent the Palestinian casino firms, which are in part owned by PLO security chief Jibrl Rahoub, and by Yassir Arafat himself. Why is that important, in light of the demise of the former Palestinian casino in Jericho, that was closed down when the Palestinian Intifada began in October, 2000? According to the Palestinian tourist publication This Week In Palestine, plans are under way to build a new Palestinian casino and resort for tourists in "Southern Gaza", in place of the Jewish communities of Gush Katif that now reside there. And who stands to profit? None other than Dov Weissglass, the architect of the Sharon plan to withdraw those very Jewish communities from Gush Katif. The logical question to ask would be: Where is the law enforcement system in Israel that would act against any such conflict of interest and possible breach of security? In January 2003, after it was revealed that the Prime Minister's office manager, Weissglass, still maintained his law firm and business outside his government job, the Israel Civil Service Commission looked into it and affirmed that Weissglass was indeed still registered in the Israel Corporate Register as part of that law firm. But they dismissed its importance, after Weissglass wrote to the commission that he had divested himself from his law firm and that he had sold all financial interests in his business. To support that claim, The Israel Corporate Authority in April 2003 reported that Weissglass finally removed his name from his law firm in the Israel Corporate Authority records and provided us with a document from the Israel Corporate Authority to prove it. However, in April 2004, our agency uncovered what the Israel Civil Service Commission did not know, which was that Weissglass's name was still registered as the lawyer of record for two other firms which bore virtually the same company name, while also located at the same corporate address. In May, 2004, the Israel Civil Service Commission declared that this represented a conflict of interest for Weissglass. So in July, 2004 Weissglass quietly resigned his position as the Prime Minister's office manager, but received permission from the Israel Civil Service Commission to assume a new position as the all-powerful official "advisor" to PM Ariel Sharon. In other words, although the highest echelons of the Israeli government are cognizant of the fact that Weissglass represents the business interests of Yassir Arafat, Weissglass was still allowed to continue to conduct negotiations on behalf of the state of Israel with all official levels of the Palestinian Authority and the United States government, even though Weissglass continues to represents the business interests of the Palestinian Authority. You might call this a legalized conflict of interest, Middle East style. Meanwhile, two more young Israelis were blown up by a suicide bomber this week... David Bedein is Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency. (http://Israelbehindthenews.com). His article appeared today in Front Page Magazine (www.frontpagemagazine.com). The Unity Coalition for Israel (http://www.israelunitycoalition.org) is "the largest worldwide coalition of Jewish and Christian organizations, with more than 200 groups representing millions of people dedicated to Israel. Though we have many different backgrounds, we have one common goal: A Safe and Secure Israel." |
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CAMERA & REP. BRAD SHERMAN (D-CA) TESTIFY ON NPR'S BIASED REPORTS
Posted by CAMERA, September 29, 2004. |
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Corp. for Public Broadcasting Fails in Oversight of National Public Radio; CAMERA Proposes Reform in Agency's Monitoring of Tax Recipients Washington, D.C. (September 28) -- National Public Radio (NPR) coverage of Arab-Israeli news continues to violate federal law requiring "strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature," CAMERA Washington Director Eric Rozenman has told board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). NPR receives federal funds through CPB. The corporation is required to monitor recipients' compliance with objectivity and balance mandates, Rozenman reminded board members at their quarterly meeting last week. "CAMERA has documented in studies over extended periods and in analyses of incidental coverage that NPR ... continues to display an established pattern of anti-Israeli, pro-Arab bias," he stressed. U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) also criticized NPR's Middle East reporting. Sherman noted that he, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and nine other members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to NPR President Kevin Klose last year after a series of unsuccessful meetings. They reiterated that "for many years, National Public Radio programs have presented a view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is too often biased against Israel." According to the Sherman-Engel letter, "despite concerns raised over the years by listeners, members of NPR affiliate stations, and members of Congress, NPR coverage of the Middle East -- to our ears and to the ears of many of our constituents -- still exhibits a slanted perspective on the conflict." Rozenman informed CPB board members that their annual "Open to the Public" report to Congress reviewing oversight of recipients "is inadequate. It avoids the substance of CAMERA's criticism and numerous other complaints." CAMERA recommended that the board create a unit within CPB to respond promptly to substantive complaints, according to accepted journalistic criteria like those in the Code of Ethics of the Society for Professional Journalists. He said these responses, "rather than vague generalities," should be reported to Congress. Prior to the public forum, CAMERA provided all eight CPB board members with extensive documentation of its criticisms of NPR's Arab-Israeli coverage. Sherman noted that it was unusual for a member of Congress to address the CPB board, but Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson thanked him for his "extraordinary presentation," adding, "I associate myself with it." The Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is a national, non-profit organization with more than 50,000 members. It monitors major news media coverage of the Middle East for accuracy, objectivity, context, and comprehensiveness. |
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ARAFAT MURDERED U.S. DIPLOMATS
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, September 29, 2004. |
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FOR MANY YEARS I HAVE CONTENDED THAT THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT WAS NOT ONLY A PRO-ARAB INSTITUTION BUT ALSO A COLLABORATOR WITH YASSIR ARAFAT - with the tacit acceptance of American Intelligence Agencies. These American institutions have not only collaborated with Arab Muslim Terrorist organizations but have used American tax-payers? dollars to fund their activities. The cover-up by the pro-Arab U.S. State Department of Arafat's orders, February 28, 1973, recorded on tape, to execute the U.S. Ambassador, Cleo Noel, his aide and the French Charg d'Affaires in Khartoum is merely one of their heretofore hidden activities. Every year the State Department writes a fictitious report to Congress about the PLO's compliance with Oslo so they can continue to receive several hundreds million of American tax-payers? dollars. These activities and much more were ignored by the 9/11 Commission - quite delibertely. The following article by Kenneth Timmerman tells us the story of this ultimate betrayal and what might be treason of State Department personnel who should be tried for these crimes and, if convicted, be serving a long prison sentence in a Federal Penitentiary. Perhaps, IF the State Department had been caught and their institutional biases corrected at that time in the 1980s, the Terrorist organizations of the world would not have found America a free field in which to thrive and, just maybe, they would not have been able to organize 9/11 and all the other anti-American Terrorist attacks of the 1990s, 2000s, including 9/11, Madrid, Bali, Beslan...... . . . highly classified intercepts of Arafat's verbal orders to the killers and has been suppressed for years by the State Department and by political appointees at the National Security Agency (NSA). . . . Arafat praised his gunmen for pumping 40 bullets into U.S. diplomats Noel and Moore and a Belgian colleague. . . the Department of Justice must issue a warrant for Arafat's arrest on charges of murder. "Arafat Murdered U.S. Diplomats" by Kenneth R. Timmerman (http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=161111) Late in May, 53-year-old Sarah Blaustein, a Long Island, N.Y., native who moved to Israel last year with her husband, was killed by Palestinian terrorists while driving to attend a funeral in Jerusalem. She was the 18th American victim of Palestinian terrorists in Israel since Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stood on the White House lawn with former president Bill Clinton and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in September 1993 and signed the Oslo peace accords. A Palestinian spokesman, Saeb Erekat, implicitly accepted responsibility for the drive-by shooting, telling CNN that cease-fires only can be forged between armies. "We are not an army," he said pointedly. Also wounded in the attack were Blaustein's husband, Norman, 52, and her son Samuel Berg, 28, who was visiting Israel from New York. Every year since Arafat set up shop in Gaza in 1994, there have been moves in the U.S. Congress to cut off aid to his Palestinian Authority (PA), which runs several hundred millions of dollars each year. But an end to his U.S. subsidy soon could become the least of Arafat's worries. New evidence establishing that Arafat personally ordered the assassination of two U.S. diplomats in Khartoum, Sudan, in 1973 could lead Attorney General John Ashcroft to issue an arrest warrant for Arafat, effectively barring the Palestinian leader from any future role in Middle East peace negotiations. The evidence includes highly classified intercepts of Arafat's verbal orders to the killers and has been suppressed for years by the State Department and by political appointees at the National Security Agency (NSA). It finally is coming to light, thanks to the efforts of a former NSA employee, James J. Welsh, who has been shaking heaven and earth the last six months, trying to get official Washington to pay attention to Arafat's trail of infamy. During his six years as a U.S. senator, Ashcroft was one of Arafat's fiercest critics. In June 1999, he successfully introduced legislation requiring the State Department to compile a report every six months on U.S. citizens killed by Palestinian terrorists. The latest report, released in April, carefully skirts involvement by members of Arafat's security forces in anti-U.S. terrorist attacks. But the trap was laid. "The United States government attaches a high priority to ensuring that the perpetrators of these terrorist acts are brought to justice," the report states. What if the perpetrator is named Yasser Arafat and the evidence of his crimes includes recordings and transcripts of him giving direct orders to the killers who murdered U.S. diplomats in cold blood? As a pro-Israeli lobbyist tells Insight, "There is no statute of limitations for murder." Therefore, should the new evidence come to light, by law the Department of Justice must issue a warrant for Arafat's arrest on charges of murder. In 1973 Welsh was a 27-year-old NSA employee at Fort Meade, Md., whose job was to analyze military communications of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for potential threats to the United States and to U.S. allies. On Feb. 28 of that year he received a call from a colleague in Cyprus, Mike Hargreaves, alerting him to a highly unusual radio message intercepted between Beirut and Khartoum. The NSA code-named these intercepts FEDAYEEN. "Arafat and his top deputy, Salah Khalaf, were giving orders over their shortwave network to a team of PLO operatives who had just arrived in Khartoum," Welsh recalls. "From the transcript, it was clear that everyone was armed and ready to go. We didn't know what the target was, but it was clear that a major operation was in the works. This was not just a bunch of hand-grenade throwers. These were the big guys." At first, Welsh thought Arafat and his Fatah organization were planning an attack on Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, who was scheduled to arrive in Khartoum later that day for talks with Sudanese President Muhammad Gaafar al-Nimeiry. Welsh pressed his superiors to send an unusual FLASH message - the highest priority - to the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, warning of imminent danger. Welsh went home that Wednesday night thinking he had helped avert a disaster. Just six months earlier, he knew, a similar tip-off had been ignored just hours before Palestinian terrorists burst onto the world scene in Munich, where they seized a dormitory at the Olympic Village and murdered 11 Israeli athletes in cold blood. "We felt tremendous satisfaction over the job that we had done," Welsh recalls. "We went to bed thinking: `At least our embassy personnel will be safe.'" Early the next morning, Welsh received a call at home telling him to turn on the television. A Fatah commando had just stormed the Saudi Embassy in Khartoum during a diplomatic reception and taken U.S. Ambassador Cleo Noel and Charg d'Affaires George Curtis Moore hostage, along with other diplomats. Welsh rushed back to Fort Meade, where his NSA office was in an uproar. "We were shocked," Welsh recalls. "How could the ambassador have gone to the Saudi Embassy reception if he had gotten our warning?" As Welsh learned later, the warning had been downgraded by Juanita Moody, a NSA liaison officer, after a State Department desk officer complained that it had come from "a couple of enlisted guys." (Both Welsh and Hargreaves, who worked the radios in Cyprus, had been detailed to NSA from the U.S. Navy). The downgraded cable didn't arrive for another 48 hours. During those next two days, FEDAYEEN intercepts from PLO shortwave radios began pouring in from the Cyprus listening post, this time with clear orders from Arafat and his deputy, Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad), who were directing the hostage-taking from their headquarters in Beirut. Arafat used a Racal Single-Side Band radio tuned to 7150 kHz to communicate directly with his top deputy Khalil Wazir (Abu Jihad), who had been dispatched to Khartoum from Beirut to carry out the kidnapping. Wazir, in turn, relayed the orders by telephone to the terrorist commandos holed up inside the Saudi Embassy. Details of the operation and the communications scheme penetrated by NSA were reported in a previously secret postmortem account that was commissioned by the Rand Corp. in 1975. The PLO operation was code-named "Cold River," after a Palestinian refugee and training camp, Nahr al-Barad, that Israeli fighter jets had attacked 11 days earlier. At one point, the Palestinian commando was ordered to demand release of Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian who assassinated Sen. Robert Kennedy. When then-president Richard Nixon refused to negotiate, Arafat's deputy in Beirut, Abu Iyad, gave the order to execute the hostages: "Remember Nahr al-Barad. The people's blood in Nahr al-Barad is screaming for revenge. These are our final orders. We and the world are watching you." The transcript of Abu Iyad's call to the PLO office in Khartoum shows that it took place at around 8 p.m. local time on March 2, 1973. But when the international news media still hadn't reported the execution of the American diplomats one hour later, Arafat himself came on the radio and reiterated the command to execute the American diplomats. In one of the last FEDAYEEN intercepts that day, Arafat praised his gunmen for pumping 40 bullets into U.S. diplomats Noel and Moore and a Belgian colleague. "Your mission is ended," he told his men. "Release Saudi and Jordanian diplomats. Submit in courage to Sudanese authorities to explain your just cause to [the] great Sudanese Arab masses and international opinion. We are with you on the same road." The Rand report, which relied on the still-classified intercepts, states categorically: "The order to kill three of the hostages came from Beirut. The barrage of messages which they received from Beirut strongly suggests that the operation was being tightly controlled from Beirut, presumably by Khalaf and Arafat." Welsh believes that recordings of those intercepts still exist - either the U.S. originals or contemporaneous copies made by Israeli- or British-intelligence listening posts in the region. Wall Street Journal editorial writer Robert Pollock says that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon confirmed to him recently that Israel gave the U.S. government copies of its own intercept of Arafat's order to murder the Americans. "Several authorities on signals intelligence have given the opinion that this message, coming at the height of a hostage crisis that had been under way for 25 hours, and broadcast over open radio waves in a voice transmission, could not realistically have escaped interception and recording by the intelligence-ga thering facilities of the United States and other countries," the Rand report states. "One authority said, `It would be impossible not to have intercepted it.' Another offered the observation that, `If the U.S. didn't catch it, hundreds of people should have been fired.'" But through the years the State Department and the NSA have sought to downplay the incident, especially in the wake of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, when Arafat and the PLO publicly embraced an end to international terrorism. In 1986, 47 U.S. senators signed a letter to then-attorney general Edwin Meese demanding that the Justice Department indict Arafat for murder. One of the signatories was Tennessee Democrat Al Gore Jr. As vice president - and during last year's presidential campaign - Gore championed Arafat as America's "partner" for Middle East peace. But in the 1986 letter, Gore excoriated the Reagan administration for making excuses for Arafat. "These allegations, if substantiated, leave little doubt that a warrant for Arafat's arrest should be issued, and a criminal indictment filed against him," the Senate letter concluded. "To allow other factors to enter into this decision is to make a mockery of our laws and our stated commitment to eradicate terrorism." The Monday after Noel and Moore were murdered on Arafat's orders, the NSA director, Lt. Gen. Samuel C. Philips, drove over to the State Department carrying a special folder with Welsh's warning. "When he returned, we were told, `It's over,'" Welsh recalls. "I was 27 years old and got angry. I threatened to go to Congress to tell them that our warning had been discarded and was now being covered up. I was told in no uncertain terms by my superior that if I didn't shut up I'd have my clearances pulled and be sent out on a fleet oiler within 48 hours." A year later, after eight years in the Navy, Welsh left the NSA and resigned. Twenty-eight years later, Welsh finally is going to Congress asking for an investigation. Former intelligence analysts consulted by Insight believe Welsh is right, and that transcripts of Arafat's orders to kill the U.S. diplomats were sent to CIA stations in Beirut, Cyprus, Paris and Khartoum and still exist. If so, they could be entered into evidence before a court of law as Exhibit A in U.S. v. Arafat.
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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HAMAS VS US; PEACE STUDIES PROMOTED AGGRESSION; HOW PA TREATS ARABS
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, September 29, 2004. |
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HAMAS VS. U.S. Hamas praises the organizer of the Chechen massacre of Russian children. Its functionary, Ismail Elbarasse is an unindicted co-conspirator in financing Hamas terrorism against Israel. His wife was arrested videotaping Chesapeake Bay Bridge, as he drove over in, including close-ups of cables and other features "integral to the structural integrity of the bridge." Al Qaeda enlists Hamas members for such surveillance. Other high-level Hamas operatives were detained in the US for racketeering, money laundering, and rendering Hamas material support. Former Hamas head Rantisi wrote that attacking American was a religious and national duty. At his funeral service, another Hamas leader said that Hamas' battle is with the US as well as with Israel. Israeli authorities charged an Arab with training with Hamas for terrorism against Canada and New York City. The US media largely ignored his arrest. It treats Hamas as if not menacing the US (Erick Stakelbeck, NY Sun, 9/24, Op. Ed.). We Americans must be hit on the head many times to realize a threat. ANOTHER EXPLANATION FOR ISRAELI LEFTIST ANTAGONISM The Israeli Left or Far Left vehemently opposes Jewish residency in Yesha. The Left has railed against it for so long, accusing it (mistakenly) of being an occupation that steals Arab land and is racist, as to have come to believe that perhaps the entire Zionist enterprise is likewise guilty. The Left feels guilty about the land it owns in Israel. It takes out its feelings of guilt on the settlers. If the settlers were replaced by a parallel Arab state, the guilt feelings would be relieved. The Left wouldn't feel bound to apologize for a Jewish presence in Yesha or in Israel. (There is a parallel Arab state in Palestine - Jordan. Don't they know that?) Actually, no land in Yesha was taken from Arabs to build houses for Jews. Actually, the Arabs rule themselves domestically, so that even if the Geneva Convention applied in Yesha, which it does not, the Israeli presence would not be an "occupation." (Israel has a better claim to the Territories than do the Arabs.) Should the question of occupation "be decided by the EU, the UN, or Swiss bureaucrats at the Intl. Committee of the Red Cross, who call Jewish presence in Yesha 'illegal?'" Offered a guided tour to see for themselves, leftists refuse to go to Yesha, on "principle." Their principles do not keep them from visiting repressive states, nor impel them to denounce the repressive P.A.. They exhibit no humanitarian considerations for the Jews of Yesha. They think they are principled in demanding withdrawal, but withdrawal would increase terrorism against Israel. Thus the Left sides with murderers. The Left does not seem to realize (or does it) that if the Jews have no rights in Yesha, then they have no rights in Israel. The circumstances of settlement are the same in both. The Left suggests that although Israel is winning against the terrorists, it cannot win and ought not to win. That is not ethical but depraved (Prof. Steven Plaut, 9/12, e-mail). Ironically, originally the Left had encouraged settlement in parts of Yesha. ODDLY UNREALISTIC CONDEMNATION OF TERRORISM A Jordanian prince condemned suicide bombing as contrary to Islam for targeting innocent people who are not attacking Muslims. So far, so good. Then he sought to prove his point by alleging falsely that all Islamic schools condemn terrorism. Fact is, most honor it (IMRA, 12/13). He mixed a realistic condemnation with an unrealistic claim that his view is widely implemented. ARABS LEARN THE LESSON FRANCE DIDN'T? The Arab press is critical of Iraqi terrorist abduction of French journalists, who were not opposing the insurgency, and to France's reaction. France pleads for the captives' lives by stressing neutrality. The press finds France mistaken in supposing that its neutrality in the war on terrorism would shield it from terrorism. Terrorists just want to kill and intimidate, regardless of whether a country sends troops to Iraq. France shames itself, and the terrorists shame Islam. Some journalists deplore the double standard by centers of terrorism that plead with the abductors to free the French, but not plead to spare Nepalese. Some Arab journalists are concluding that the war on terrorism must be international (not just up to the US). The head of Iraq considers the government of France partly to blame, because France opposed measures against terrorism. Will Pres. Chirac admit that he was wrong? (IMRA, 12/13 from MEMRI.) WHY PM SHARON OPPOSES A NATIONAL REFERENDUM As some Israelis urge a national referendum on whether to proceed with PM Sharon's abandonment plan, Sharon's aides admitted fearing they would lose one. They believe that the settlers are best able to mobilize voters (IMRA, 12/13). Polls supposedly find a majority of Israelis supporting abandonment. However, when questioned in detail, the majority does not believe that abandonment would bring peace or reduce terrorism. PEACE STUDIES COURSES IN THE U.S. Many peace studies at US colleges present anti-American and anti-capitalist themes. Some courses feature Marxist professors and fringe literature. Their notion of supporting peace may be to organize anti-war rallies against US intervention in Iraq (Prof. Steven Plaut, 12/13, e-mail). The examples given prove the contention for one professor's course. These rallies facilitate aggression by opposing defense against it. P.A. GIVES OUT FREE BULLETS Another P.A. journalist received a warning bullet in the mail, for independent-minded reporting, i.e., for being critical of the P.A. regime. The journalist took his family out of the P.A., to prevent getting another bullet in the head. Thus the P.A. media is kept subservient to Arafat. Western demands for P.A. reform are limited to corruption and Arafat's sole control over the military. They do not include freedom of the press (IMRA, 9/14). If the West admitted that the P.A. controls journalists there, and since the West draws on local "stringers," it would be realized that Western reporting about the P.A. also is controlled and therefore biased in favor of the P.A.. If Western journalism pressed for freedom of the press in the P.A., the P.A. would bar it altogether. The media mostly prefers access to accuracy. FORD FOUNDATION FUNDS ANOTHER BIGOTED NGO MADRE is an NGO that describes itself as "an international women's human rights organization but attempts to justify terrorism as "resistance to military occupation." Terrorism is illegitimate regardless of excuses for it. MADRE falsely accuses Israel of: responsibility for Arab terrorism, Arab wars of aggression, and wanton aerial bombing of houses and mosques. It ignores terrorist attacks and P.A. violations of Israeli human rights, but bewails Israeli assassination of terrorist leaders (IMRA, 9/14). Its reports are replete with vicious lies and misrepresentation. I'm sorry that as a news summary, I don't have space to show you all the details all the time. Hairraising! HOW THE P.A. TREATS ARABS The A.P. published photographs of Arafat's Fatah taking an Arab down the street of some P.A. village and executing him. He was accused of molesting his daughters and collaborating with Israel. (Quite a combination!) It is not known which charge, if any, is accurate, for there was no trial. The crowd chanted "death." The gunmen obliged, and showed off to the foreign press. P.A. police entrapped an Arab homosexual in Gaza. They demanded he become a collaborator against Israel. He refused. They arrested him and hung him by the arms. A high-ranking officer got him released, but demanded sex as the price. He fled, but was rearrested. This time he forced to stand in sewage water up to his neck, etc.. He was taunted for being a homosexual. Israel did not mistreat those Arabs, Arabs did. They suffered capital punishment and brutal homophobia. Capital punishment, discrimination against homosexuals, and the Arab side of the Arab-Israel conflict all are causes celebres of the Left. The left ignores P.A. capital punishment and discrimination against homosexuals, which Israel does not have, lest it have to admit that Israel is the worthier side. The Left objects to "Israeli policies," although they are far more benign than that of many countries to which the Left does not object. Those objections must be pretexts, not ethics. As an excuse, the Left contends that it holds Israel to higher standards, and that Israel has more power to make concessions than have Arafat's Arabs but won't. Actually, Israel does not act worse than other democracies. (It acts more benignly.) If Israel were so brutal, it would have killed 250,000 in the four-year war, instead of 2,500. Leftist complaints about Israel are about a tempest in a teapot. But the Arabs tried to kill as many Jews as they could. How can the Left sympathize with them? Perhaps the Left secretly likes violence (or hates Jews). The Left is confused into supposing that if Israel is the more powerful side, therefore Israel must be in the wrong. That is no logical correlating but irrational sympathizing. Might does not make wrong. Why should the right side make concessions to the wrong one, an evil side, one that utilizes concessions to kill more victims? It is patronizing and discriminatory to hold the Arabs to a lesser standard. But if the Left does, why does it mute the implication that the Arabs are less ethical? (Prof. Steven Plaut, 9/13 from Bret Stephens in Jer. Post, 9/9) If less ethical, less deserving! Crime is crime. Nor is it accurate to consider Israel the more powerful party. The opposing side consists of most Arab states, not just the P.A., and is backed up by most of the rest of the world. In some of the wars, the Arabs started with an advantage and by winning. Some of the Israeli victories over Arab aggression seem miraculous. All were halted by the US and others. The world keeps rearming the Arabs. The Arabs now have a great advantage in military might, are developing weapons of mass-destruction, and are discouraging and dividing Israelis. Diplomacy is moving to deprive Israel of secure borders formed by the better watered core of its own homeland. The Arabs are enthused by religious fanaticism. Pity the Arabs? ESTIMATES OF RALLY ATTENDANCE Estimates of the number attending an anti-abandonment plan rally in Jerusalem differ by tens of thousands. "Haaretz" estimated 40,000, "Yediot" estimated 70,000, and channel 2 estimated 100,000 (IMRA, 9/13). Estimates by advocacy journalists may be tendentious. For leftist rallies, they may exceed a public square's capacity. P.A. POLICE NOW UNDERGOING TRAINING (In what?) Dozens of P.A. police are training in Egypt. Six hundred Egyptians will train more in Gaza. The stated purpose is to prepare these police to control Gaza if Israel withdraws (IMRA, 9/14). Israel now has invited the Egyptian coast guard to negotiate. Egyptian naval patrols would hamper Israeli controls for fear of clashing and leading to war with Egypt. The IDF warns that Egypt facilitates the P.A. insurgency, but the government ignores reality in favor of wishful diplomatic considerations (Arutz-7, 9/14). The head of the Egyptian effort is an intelligence officer. Be leery of stated purposes. The West lies about them half the time, and the Arabs, most of the time. You may surmise that Egypt is setting up an intelligence operation in Gaza to soften up Israel for the next Egyptian invasion, and is arranging for more effective arms smuggling. The sad part is that Israel is allowing this to happen. MORE ATTACKS & MORE CELLS CAPTURED Terrorists constantly try to attack Israelis. Several lately were stopped at checkpoints, where they blew themselves up, to at least wound some Israelis. The checkpoints spared hundreds. Israel broke up more terrorist cells. One included Israeli Bedouin recruited by a member of Hamas. Another also included an Israeli Arab, had an arsenal, and had committed terrorism. Both were planning attacks and kidnappings. A personal bodyguard of the P.A. Prime Minister was caught trying to smuggle arms into Israel (Arutz-7, 9/14). Remember that the Israel government gave V.I.P. passes to P.A. officials, whom the IDF knew were smuggling? The lesson is clear. Checkpoints are valuable, but they would be invaluable if they barred all Arabs from passing into Israel -- the news brief indicates that some don't bring weapons and are let through, but recruit terrorists within Israel. The Arabs of Israel constitute a pool of potential terrorists that no fence in Yesha keeps out of Israel. Israel should start by expelling the tens or hundreds of thousands of Arabs illegally in Israel. The world would claim that that is not "humanitarian" to bar guilty illegals, but it would be humanitarian for the innocent Israelis. P.M. SHARON'S DICTATORSHIP Among the 100,000 people demonstrating against PM Sharon's scheme to drag Jews out of Gaza, some carried signs, "Sharon is a dictator," objecting to his deceitful, illicit, and threatening maneuvers against opposition to it. Sharon's reaction justified their criticism. He ordered the Attorney General to investigate whether they may be prosecuted criminally for "incitement." (That would be unthinkable in the US. "Incitement" for what, for democratic rule?) Were the signs valid, beforehand? Yes. Sharon was elected for opposing abandonment. He thus disenfranchised and cheated the majority that elected him. He vowed to abide by a referendum in his Party, since his position as PM depends on his Party. After having lost the vote by a landslide, he ignored it, again disregarding the wishes of the people. Now there are calls for a national referendum on the major step of unilateral abandonment of territory that not only rightfully is Israel's and is needed for national security and identity, but whose control has enabled Israel to tamp down terrorism. He is refusing to allow a national referendum. Sharon's aides plant rumors about civil war, to discredit the opposition. (He shut down the major opposition radio station.) Now he is moving against a small-circulation ultra-Orthodox paper, upon a complaint by an Arab MK champion of terrorism, on the pretext that its light-hearted, light-headed criticism of the haj for trampling hundreds to death is "racism." The major leftist media, however, maligns Judaism without repercussion. Israel's crazy judiciary permits praising past terrorism but not current or future terrorism! (Prof. Steven Plaut, 9/14, e-mail.) MEDIA MISLED US ABOUT "MODERATE" For months, the media and the ruling class touted the second Prime Minister of the P.A. as a moderate. Then Hamas blew up two Israeli buses, and Israel retaliated by killing about 14 Hamas terrorists at a training camp. PM Qurea responded with a declaration that the Israeli retaliation would justify any further Hamas attacks (terrorism) against Israel. None of the foreign media and ruling class denounced him for it nor did any apologize for having misled people about his being a moderate (Prof. Steven Plaut, 9/10, e-mail). HAMAS ENCOURAGED BY ISRAELI LEFT Israeli journalists interviewed Hamas leaders. Hamas divulged, "It was the Israeli Left and your peace camp that ultimately encouraged us to continue with our suicide attacks." Hamas tried to divide Israeli society; the Left's reaction was divisive. Amid publicity that camouflages the paucity of their numbers, leftist refusals to fight in Yesha encouraged the use of suicide bombing. PM Sharon's proposed, unconditional abandonment of Gaza seems to Hamas as proof (IMRA, 9/10). In view of that Hamas assessment, the P.A. contention that Sharon's plan is a plot really to secure more territory seems more like propaganda than belief. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. |
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THE EROSION OF ISRAEL
Posted by Aubrey Wulfsohn, September 28, 2004. |
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In Israel itself there is no longer any free-speech; right-wing Jews are in fear of saying the wrong thing in case they be cruelly. incarcerated. The Courts are corrupt in that the judges are biased by their personal animosity to orthodox Judaism and their left-wing political views. Immigration of Jews is curbed if there is any indication of their wanting to settle outside of the green line whereas immigration of non-Jews is encouraged as long as they are white. The Prime Minister is almost completely predictable. The government is a dictatorship. I am reminded of an old saying: "----", said the king and all the courtiers squatted and strained because in those days the word of the king was law. The Prime Minister uses foul means to get what he wants. He pays no attention to ministers who disagree with him and if this cannot be effective he 'persuades' them to change their minds, or makes vague nice-sounding statements. Unfortunately Jews in general listen though hear something else - usually what they want to hear. He pays no attention to most of his coalition parties or to the majority of Likud. Nothing major gets through without his approval, though he often apportions the blame to others. He double-speaks by having his office 'let out' false information about his verbalised intentions. He is bluffing when he threatens a new election - it would be too uncertain for him and more likely that he loses out. He manipulates the greed of the religious parties. The majority of the NRP MK's would sell their souls to be part of the government; this has been so since the inception of the state. They are presently putting conditions for their remaining in government which are virtually meaningless; the Prime Minister can easily make their conditions irrelevant by introducing such gradual a gradula erosion by small trivial-looking changes which would make make their resignation seem a lot of fuss over nothing. Orlev is trying the referendum idea simply because it allows him to stay in the government longer. The referendum will be formulated in a vague way and if the referendum decides to pull out of Gaza the NRP will not have a foot on which to stand. Shas would sell their souls for money towards their educational institutions. He bought off Netanyahu by allowing him to institute a capatalist state; though I am uncertain about Netanyahu's soul. The UTJ, Shinui and part of Labour are forgetting their principles in order to be in the cabinet. UTJ is giving in on unilateral disengagement (irrevocably leading to disengagement in Yesha and part of Jerusalem) and Shinui and Labour are giving up their principles as they consider giving away most of Israel is more important than their principles. Their hatred of the Jewish religion remains. Without religion they might as well have taken up Herzl's idea of a Jewish state in Uganda. The Primne Minister's plan, as developed a few years ago, is to get rid of: 1. Virtually all holy sites. This includes, at the least, responsibility for the Temple Mount. This is clearly evident from his actions. His vows about Jerusalem and the holy sites are to be taken with a pinch of salt. He almost certainly realizes that 1. Whatever he gives away, Israel will not be able to get it back, and once there is a Palestinian state Israel will not be allowed to make any incursions. 2. There is no way that both Israel and his planned Palestinian state can both be territorally contiguous unless he gives away considerable portions he has not even hinted at. 3. The U.S.plan for Israel is, and has been for over 50 years, a small fortified ghetto completely dependent on the U.S. It is difficult to pinpoint his reasons but the best liars are those who have convinced themselves that their lies are the truth. There is a choice of possible reasons for his actions: he wants to be loved by the nations (virtually impossible) and/or he wants lots of money, property and a Greek Island, and/or he wants the Nobel peace prize, and/or he is 'aber botel', i.e. mentally decrepid from old age. His clever manipulations might be due to his advisors. The Prime Minister must appear as a 'strong man' because a large proportion of Israelis are no different from the Arabs in particular in their appreciation of a strong leader. To give this impression he orders the bombing of (empty) buildings and the assasination of Palestinians. He builds a partition fence simply because he has to appear to be doing something concrete. The same applies to his proposed Gaza canal. In the past he had many achievements but hardly any of these have remained or will remain. The Sinai has been given away, Gaza is back to chaos, the Lebanese border is back to dangerous and almost all of the 'settlements' are on their way out. What else has he done besides (unnecessarily, after the fact) losing battle-fodder? Until maybe recently all Israeli decisions on withdrawals were made in secret. I refer to at least one occasion, while Menachem Begin was prime minister, when I personally saw bulldozers arranging the temporary border between Egypt and Israel long before anything was made public. Remember the secret Oslo accords. Many years ago the Prime Minister used to terrorise Arabs, though now his attempts are a lot of hot air. He could still be thought of as a terrorist in that he is trying to terrorise the Jewish inhabitants of Gaza and Yesha into leaving. He isa cutting off virtually all their access to arms to protect themselves and putting their lives at risk in having to leave their enclaves un-armed. He will, besides blockading access to protestors and residents, cut off the settlements' water, electricity and food supplies. He is terrorising people who speak out against him by his use of administrative detention. Every American president is in turn praised by Jews as being the most pro-Israel president ever. The present president is better than his predecessors in that he does not make promises he will not keep - he instead makes no promises, just almost meaningless statements. When American and European politicians publicly pledge their (eternal) support for Israel they mean a small defenceless ghetto. Once there is a Palestinian state it is entitled to let in whosoever and whatever they want, to set up as large an army-cum-police-force as they wish, to prevent Israeli planes from flying over their territory and to deny Israel access to water. (The Prime Minister does not worry about this as he would rather buy water or use high energy methods to produce it - if it was his money he would be different). There is no way Israel can enforce any treaties made beforehand as punitive action will incur the wrath of the nations. These would love to bomb Israel to smithereens. The Arabs are not interested only in oil - but also water. For example the Arabs in the Sudan are terrorising the non-Arab Sudanese out of their land an villages. Besides their inherent cruelty it is also because of a vast water-aquifer under the region. There is no unity amongst the African tribes and they are not interested in interfering unless the presecution is done by whites. Also they need the support of the Arab states. The West is unconcerned as their oil-supply is unaffected. The same will happen if Israel is over-run by Arabs. The U.S. will once again just express their concern and send boats to rescue useful scientists and whatevr American citizens are still alive. A large proportion of religious Jews who wait for the messiah are not concerned by the destruction of holy sites because they do not consider them relevant - just history. When the messiah arrives he will fix everything. The amount of open spaces in Israel is diminishing rapidly, the Jewish-populated areas usually over-crowded, the shikunim inducing claustrophobia. Where will all the sought-after immigrants go - are they to fill up the spaces provided by the Israeli youth who do not want these spatial restrictions on their life-style? I can think of two solutions (besides the messiah solution): 1. The Jews get out of Palestine No matter what Israel concedes it will be forced by the U.S. to make more concessions. Thus, Israel has to stop making any more concessions as there have already been too many. |
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AMERICAN COMPANIES SUPPORT TERRORISM
Posted by Avi Jorisch, September 29, 2004. |
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Key Facts 1. American Internet and Media Companies are actively supporting the two biggest threats to the U.S: Al-Qaeda and Hizbollah. 2. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 both the executive branch and Congress created some impressive weapons to curb terrorist financing. Executive Order 13224 empowers the U.S. government to impose financial sanctions against those "that support or otherwise associate" with "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT). Specifically, the SDGT order, in addition to Congress's USA PATRIOT Act (sections 311 and 319), empowers the Treasury Department to take action against the financial structure of terrorist organizations, blocking their fiscal transactions and targeting the banks that support them. 3. Executive Order 12947 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1707) prohibit the provision of "financial, material, or technological support" to any SDGT, while U.S. Code makes it illegal to "knowingly provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization" (Title 18, U.S.C. Section 2339B). Analysis 4. AP's Washington bureau provides services to the Washington Bureau Chief of al-Manar Hizbollah tv, Mohamed Dalbah. AP also provides the satellite link-up necessary to contribute to live broadcasts from al-Manar's Beirut studios. 5. Telestar 5, a California-based company, broadcasts al-Manar's signal to subscribers in North America 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 6. Internet Companies are providing web services and hosting to a number of Al-Qaeda and Hizbollah internet sites. 7. Hizbollah's American supporters include: a. Alabanza Inc., based in Baltimore, Maryland hosts the following sites: 8. Al-Qaeda's American supporters include: a. Everyone's Internet Inc., a Houston-based company hosts Policy Recommendations 9. The U.S. government should establish an office whose sole responsibility it is to monitor terrorist media outlets and see to it that American companies stop doing business with terrorists or punished to the full extent of the law. 10. By monitoring terrorist mass media outlets, and taking swift action against American complicity, we sent the right message that terror is not welcome on our shores 11. Undoubtedly, much of the web-hosting business will go to companies in Europe and elsewhere around the globe. Many of these countries are allies in the war on terror the U.S. could use diplomatic channels to pressure them to close their businesses to terrorist organizations as well. 12. There will undoubtedly be those who will argue that providing these terrorist organizations with Internet services supports freedom of the press. Nothing could be further from the truth. By providing these services, Internet companies are directly promoting terrorist propaganda in return for cash payments . 13. U.S. media companies regularly refuse to run advertisements they deem unacceptable. They should show the same restraint when doing business in the often shadowy Internet byways and when terrorist funds are involved. It's not just their responsibility, it's the law. Avi Jorisch is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and author of "Beacon of Hatred: Inside al-Manar Hizballah Television," which will be published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in October, 2004. |
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TRUE SPEECH VERSUS FREE SPEECH
Posted by Phyllis Chesler, September 28, 2004. |
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This is a letter I wrote to Richard Brodhead,
President of Duke University.
Dear President Brodhead: Greetings! I am writing to you as a member of Duke's extended family of scholars. As you may know, my archives reside at Duke University as part of a distinguished collection of feminist intellectuals and activists. Indeed, my archives were Duke's first major acquisition in this area. You have in your possession a treasure trove of my research, published and unpublished manuscripts, interviews, course curricula, and world wide civil rights activism from the early 1960s on. Duke acquired my papers in 1992 and I have continued to hand over materials ever since. Other important acquisitions that followed mine include those of Kate Millett, Alix Kates Shulman, Merle Hoffman, Robin Morgan, and others. I am also one of 107 signatories to a letter recently sponsored by the Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies addressed to Secretary of State Colin Powell on behalf of the Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, (HR 4230), which would have the United States monitor and combat anti-Semitism world-wide. Other signatories include current and former Senators, Congressmen, Ambassadors, theologians, and educators including the Reverend Dr. Joseph Hough, Jr., President of the Union Theological Seminary, Dr. Harold W. Attridge, Dean of the Yale University Divinity School, Dr. Maxine Clarke Beach, Dean of the Drew University Theological School, Sister Rose Thering, author James Carroll, and R. James Woolsey, Jack Kemp, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Cynthia Ozick, Richard Perle, and Gary Wills. I understand that Duke University will be hosting a Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM) conference. I also understand that you and certain faculty members believe that doing so constitutes your commitment to free speech and academic freedom. Ironically, Duke will be supporting a group (which is also known as the International Solidarity Movement), which does not believe in free speech or democracy and which endorses violence, mass murder, Jew-hatred, and homicidal-suicide terrorism. But, you might say, America prides itself on extending its civil rights, including that of free speech to racist groups and to their hate speech. Let me respectfully suggest that, post 9/11, America may no longer do so without risking grievous consequences both in terms of lives lost and truth abandoned. President Brodhead: Would you proudly host a Nazi Party or Ku Klux Klan conference in the name of academic freedom? Given your commitment to the First Amendment, would you still allow the meeting to take place behind closed doors with no press allowed? I understand that this is what the Palestine Solidarity Movement conference planners have demanded. As you know, a free and vigorous press is one of our protections against tyranny. What issue cannot bear the cleansing light of scrutiny? But why is Duke giving any intellectual credibility to what is bound to be a hate-fest? Under President Rudenstein, Harvard, which like Duke is also a private institution, resolved that it would not allow any hate-speech conferences. The Harvard Divinity School also returned United Arab Emirate monies from the Sheikh Zayed Foundation no doubt earmarked for such purposes. Perhaps Duke can consider doing this as well. The PSM/ISM are precisely the kinds of groups that European governments, beginning with Germany, have begun to monitor in terms of their terrorism potential. Why is Duke granting them an aura of intellectual respectability? In my view, the masked and hooded members of al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Fatah, and the al-Aqsa's Martyrs Brigade--which the PSM and their allies support--are far more dangerous than the Nazis or the Klan ever were. Their terrorism against civilians, especially in Israel, but also world-wide, is both state-sanctioned and trans-national. Their propaganda against Jews and Israelis is based on doctored footage, photo-opportunity journalism, and sophisticated post-Orwellian lies. The Palestine Solidarity Movement and their allies chant "Death to the Jews," and "Death to America," at what they describe as peace rallies; they characterize the mass murder of civilians as "resistance to oppression;" they preach the destruction of Israel and the murder of all infidels in Arabic--but then, in English, French, and German, claim that they have been misunderstood, that they really meant the opposite of what they said. President Brodhead: Until now, I have been proud to be associated with Duke. However, as a Duke family member, I am distressed by Duke's decision to host the PSM conference - but I am even more distressed by Duke's failure, so far, to fund and host very different kinds of programs in this area. Some academics and educators might say that PSM's/ISM's hate speech and lies are only words and cannot hurt anyone. They might also say that honoring diverse and controversial words are precisely what American universities should do. At some other time in history, and perhaps in terms of other subjects, I might agree with you. However, the level of hate-propaganda against Israel and Jews is surreal, global, sophisticated, and deadly. During this latest Palestinian-led and Arab and Iranian-backed Intifada, (2000-2004), such propaganda has both led to and yet rendered invisible the highest civilian body count in Israel's history. In American demographic terms, by now America would have suffered approximately 45,000 civilian deaths at the hands of terrorists and approximately 280,000 civilians wounded, often seriously, and for life. More than half would have been women and children. Only Israel's unilateral creation of a security barrier has begun to staunch the flood of Israeli blood. The Islamists, whom the PSM support, torture and impoverish their own people, sacrifice their own children, practice slavery, and commit genocide. They terrorize their own citizens, especially intellectuals, women, and homosexuals. Nevertheless, many "politically correct" academics have romanticized these barbarians--even the billionaire bin Laden and the multi-millionaire Arafat--as humiliated and impoverished freedom fighters.
I have written about this betrayal of the truth and of the Jews in my twelfth and latest book: "The New Anti-Semitism. The Current Crisis and What We Must Do About It." Most "politically correct" academics, including feminists, have joined left-alliances which single out only Israel for imaginary crimes and misdemeanors. They say that Israel is an Apartheid and Nazi state; it is not. But, as one of Duke's pioneer feminists, let me indeed briefly focus on Apartheid as a feminist issue. Islam today is the largest practitioner of both gender and religious Apartheid in the world. Women who live under Islam are, variously, murdered outright in honor killings and oppressed by forced veiling, segregation, sequestration, stoning to death for alleged adultery, female genital mutilation, polygamy, forced marriage to men old enough to be their grandfather, and by domestic and sexual slavery. Women have few, if any, civil, legal, or human rights under Islam today. In addition, under Islam, all non-Muslims: Christians, Jews, Assyrians, Hindus, Zoroastrians, animists--have historically been viewed and treated as subhuman and accorded "dhimmi" status. Today, except for the small country of Israel, all 22 nation states in the Arab Muslim Middle East are Judenrein (free of Jews); Christians there remain at serious risk. You will probably not hear anyone at the PSM conference address Apartheid in this way and to fail to do so is to fail the requirements of objectivity and scholarship. "Free" speech is not always "true" speech. Universities have an obligation to teach the truth as much as they may also wish to model tolerance for all speech, including that which bears no relationship to the truth. Thus, in the interests of free, true speech, may I suggest that Duke: [*] Allow the media in to cover the PSM conference. [*] Allow the conference to be taped so that you and others will see what is being said. [*] Sponsor a pro-democracy and pro-Israel conference, one which reflects a wide spectrum of opinion, not only that of the left-wing Israeli Oslo and Geneva accordianists. This should be an inter-faith and inter-disciplinary effort. The Jewish community should not be expected to monitor Jew-hatred and educate against it by themselves. In addition, such a conference should feature Arab Christians, as well as Lebanese Maronite Christians who are the descendants of Phoenicians and pre-date the Arab conquest of Arabia. [*] Sponsor an international conference on Gender and Religious Apartheid. [*] Sponsor a conference on the feminist challenge to and transformation of patriarchal religions. As yet, perhaps due to funding limitations, none of my extensive work as a feminist activist within Judaism and within Israel, especially as a co-leader of the Women of the Wall struggle in Jerusalem, has been made available to scholars or Duke students nor has any of my work as an anti-racist activist--not only on behalf of minorities of color but also on behalf of Jews--been made available. We live in dangerous times. Keeping a low and "neutral" profile, trying to please and appease all sides--especially the most violent side-- is unwise. One must take a stand against radical evil and injustice. I hope and pray that you will do exactly that. All the best,
Phyllis Chesler, Ph.D., is the author of twelve books including her latest, "The New Anti-Semitism. The Current Crisis And What We Must Do About It." She is working on a new book about the importance of independent thinking for Palgrave-Macmillan (St. Martin's). She may be reached through her website www.Phyllis-Chesler.com. |
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NEWEST ASSAULT ON FREE SPEECH IN ISRAEL
Posted by Steven Plaut, September 28, 2004. |
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1. New assault on Israeli democracy and freedom of speech by the
leftist Attorney General appointed by Ariel Sharon:
(http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/482560.html) "Mazuz eases rules
for police probing incitement," by Yuval Yoaz.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz yesterday gave the police more power to to open incitement investigations and ruled that in certain cases they will no longer need prosecution approval. Under the new rules, any commander of a police national investigation squad or head of a regional investigations department will be able to order certain types of incitement investigations. Mazuz said he issued the directive because of "the sensitive period we are in, whose sensitivity, according to all the signs, will only intensify." Police will be able to open incitement probes on their own authority if someone publicly and explicitly calls for the use of violence against an elected official or any other specific individual, or if someone publicly and explicitly incites to general racism - for instance, by yelling "death to the Arabs!" at a soccer match or demonstration. If the alleged incitement took place before a crowd, police will have full powers to investigate, up to and including arresting the suspect. If the incitement was via the media or over the Internet, police will be able to start the investigation and collect evidence, but will need prosecution approval to question the suspect. If the call to violence was only implicit, however, or if the suspected incitement consisted only of praising or expressing sympathy for the use of violence, police will still need the prosecution's approval even to start the probe. In those cases, the prosecution will have to decide whether the evidence justifies launching an investigation. Mazuz issued his directive in response to requests from the police in recent weeks for clearer guidance on when they have the power to open incitement probes on their own initiative. Incitement probes are considered a particularly sensitive area, both because they restrict free speech and because they entail "predicting the future" - a person can be convicted of incitement only if there is a "real possibility" the words will lead to actual violence. **** It goes without saying that the new rules of unfree speech will NOT be used to prosecute pro-genocide Arab fascists nor pro-terror Israeli Jewish leftists supporting the annihilation of Israel and endorsing anti-Semitic people and groups. See also http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/4175.htmt
TORONTO - Yusuf Islam, the British singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was the guest of honour at a Toronto fundraising dinner hosted by an organization that has since been identified by the Canadian government as a "front" for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. In a videotape of the 1998 event obtained by the National Post, Mr. Islam describes Israel as a "so-called new society" created by a "so-called religion" and urges the audience to donate to the Jerusalem Fund for Human Services to "lessen the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Palestine and the Holy Land." The Jerusalem Fund is one of four "fronts" named in a secret Privy Council Office memo that was sent to Jean Chretien, then prime minister, on May 23, 2000, discussing what it called groups that "have unsavoury links with terrorism. "In a limited number of cases, fundraising in support of violent foreign struggles takes place in Canada through the cover of ethnic, religious or community-based associations and groups, lobbying and even criminal activity," the report says. "Front groups operating in Canada include the Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (Hamas Front), the World Tamil Movement (Tamil Tigers Front), the Canadian Kurdish Information Network (Kurdistan Workers Party Front) and the Babbar Khalsa (a Sikh extremist front)." Hamas, also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, is responsible for most of the suicide bombings against Israelis. Canada has outlawed Hamas under federal anti-terrorism legislation, making it illegal to support the group. Best known for his hit songs in the 1960s and '70s, when he was known as Cat Stevens, Mr. Islam, 56, a Muslim convert, made headlines last week when his flight from London to Washington was diverted to Maine because his name appeared on a U.S. watch list. He was expelled from the United States for national security reasons. "Yusuf Islam was placed on the watch list because of activities that could be potentially related to terrorism," a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security told reporters. The expulsion was criticized by Muslim groups, and Mr. Islam denies any ties to terrorism. "I never knowingly gave any terrorist group money," he said after being deported from Israel in 2000. "I've given to poor people and hospitals. I've helped to buy ambulances in the Holy Land. Obviously quite clear and supportable aims." But on June 20, 1998, Mr. Islam gave the keynote address at a Jerusalem Fund fundraising dinner held in Toronto. The event was videotaped, and a copy was obtained by the SITE Institute, a U.S. terrorism research organization. The video opens with a scene of Niagara Falls, overlayed with the Jerusalem Fund logo, which features the al-Aqsa Mosque and the maple leaf. It begins with an unidentified man explaining the activities of the Jerusalem Fund, which he describes as "helping the Muslims in Palestine" by financing hospitals, health clinics, families in need and orphans. "Palestine is close to the heart of each and every Muslim. What the Muslims of Palestine have been doing for many years now has been that bright light shining, that hope ... that they are still believers that can raise the banner of jihad in the most difficult of circumstances." Mr. Islam then begins a 45-minute speech in English in which he says it is "intolerable" for Muslims to "stand and watch" the situation in the Middle East. He describes Jerusalem as the centre of a land that is holy because of its connection to Allah. "So this city which is blessed because of its religious nature. Therefore, what we see today is the result of the departure of religion from this area, of the uprooting of religion. So many of the people of the faith have been exiled from this region, moved on, to make way for what? Strangely and ironically, they moved on in the name of so-called religion, on behalf of ... the Jews. "Of course, that would explain what is happening. Because the moment that religion and religious virtues disappear, there for sure follows trouble, tyranny, oppression," he says. "So what do we see then today? The concoction of a so-called new society based on an old society." He says there could be "no redeemer except Allah. No political concept or construct or treaty or agent except the laws of Allah, which he instructed for this world. Jerusalem is that, the symbol of that. Out of the hands of the righteous then it falls into disrepute and blood. "Jerusalem, al-Quds, it is a mirror reflecting the reality ... If it is dark, if it is bloody, then so too is the world. Today it reflects injustice of the secular man over the religious man. And how can the secular man be given the control and the sanctuary of the divine place of worship when he doesn't even respect what is holy? How? And how can those of faith allow that to happen? Therefore, peace will not return until we return to the Holy Land." Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. |
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ANOTHER PROOF OF OUR RAISON D'ETRE THAT THIS IS OUR HOMELAND
Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, September 28, 2004. |
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This article is called
"Solving a Riddle Written in Silver" and was written by
John Noble Wilford.
The words are among the most familiar and ecumenical in the liturgies of Judaism and Christianity. At the close of a worship service, the rabbi, priest or pastor delivers, with only slight variations, the comforting and fortifying benediction: "May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you peace." An archaeological discovery in 1979 revealed that the Priestly Benediction, as the verse from Numbers 6:24-26 is called, appeared to be the earliest biblical passage ever found in ancient artifacts. Two tiny strips of silver, each wound tightly like a miniature scroll and bearing the inscribed words, were uncovered in a tomb outside Jerusalem and initially dated from the late seventh or early sixth century B.C. - some 400 years before the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. But doubts persisted. The silver was cracked and corroded, and many words and not a few whole lines in the faintly scratched inscriptions were unreadable. Some critics contended that the artifacts were from the third or second century B.C., and thus of less importance in establishing the antiquity of religious concepts and language that became part of the Hebrew Bible. So researchers at the University of Southern California have now re-examined the inscriptions using new photographic and computer imaging techniques. The words still do not exactly leap off the silver. But the researchers said they could finally be "read fully and analyzed with far greater precision," and that they were indeed the earliest. In a scholarly report published this month, the research team concluded that the improved reading of the inscriptions confirmed their greater antiquity. The script, the team wrote, is indeed from the period just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent exile of Israelites in Babylonia. The researchers further reaffirmed that the scrolls "preserve the earliest known citations of texts also found in the Hebrew Bible and that they provide us with the earliest examples of confessional statements concerning Yahweh." Some of the previously unreadable lines seemed to remove any doubt about the purpose of the silver scrolls: they were amulets. Unrolled, one amulet is nearly four inches long and an inch wide and the other an inch and a half long and about half an inch wide. The inscribed words, the researchers said, were "intended to provide a blessing that will be used to protect the wearer from some manner of evil forces." The report in The Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research was written by Dr. Gabriel Barkay, the archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel who discovered the artifacts, and collaborators associated with Southern California's West Semitic Research Project. The project leader is Dr. Bruce Zuckerman, a professor of Semitic languages at U.S.C., who worked with Dr. Marilyn J. Lundberg, a Hebrew Bible specialist with the project, and Dr. Andrew G. Vaughn, a biblical historian at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. A companion article for next month's issue of the magazine Near Eastern Archaeology describes the new technology used in the research. The article is by the same authors, as well as Kenneth Zuckerman, Dr. Zuckerman's brother and a specialist in photographing ancient documents. Other scholars not affiliated with the research but familiar with it agreed with the group's conclusions. They said it was a relief to have the antiquity and authenticity of the artifacts confirmed, considering that other inscriptions from biblical times have suffered from their uncertain provenance. Scholars also noted that early Hebrew inscriptions were a rarity, and called the work on the amulets a significant contribution to an understanding of the history of religion in ancient Israel, particularly the time of the Judean Monarchy 2,600 years ago. "These photographs are far superior to what you can see looking at the inscriptions with the naked eye," said Dr. Wayne Pitard, professor of the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern religions at the University of Illinois. Dr. Pitard said the evidence for the antiquity of the benediction was now compelling, although this did not necessarily mean that the Book of Numbers already existed at that time. Possibly it did, he added, but if not, at least some elements of the book were current before the Babylonian exile. A part of the sacred Torah of Judaism (the first five books of the Bible), Numbers includes a narrative of the Israelite wanderings from Mount Sinai to the east side of the Jordan River. Some scholars think the Torah was compiled in the time of the exile. A number of other scholars, the so-called minimalists, who are influential mainly in Europe, argue that the Bible was a relatively recent invention by those who took control of Judea in the late fourth century B.C. In this view, the early books of the Bible were largely fictional to give the new rulers a place in the country's history and thus a claim to the land. "The new research on the inscriptions suggests that that's not true," Dr. Pitard said. In fact, the research team noted in its journal report that the improved images showed the seventh-century lines of the benediction to be "actually closer to the biblical parallels than previously recognized." Dr. P. Kyle McCarter of Johns Hopkins University, a specialist in ancient Semitic scripts, said the research should "settle any controversy over these inscriptions." A close study, Dr. McCarter said, showed that the handwriting is an early style of Hebrew script and the letters are from an old Hebrew alphabet, which had all but ceased to be used after the destruction of Jerusalem. Later Hebrew writing usually adopted the Aramaic alphabet. There was an exception in the time of Roman rule, around the first centuries B.C. and A.D. The archaic Hebrew script and letters were revived and used widely in documents. But Dr. McCarter noted telling attributes of the strokes of the letters and the spelling on the amulets that, he said, ruled out the more recent date for the inscriptions. Words in the revived Hebrew writing would have included letters indicating vowel sounds. The benediction, the scholar said, was written in words spelled entirely with consonants, the authentic archaic way. The two silver scrolls were found in 1979 deep inside a burial cave in a hillside known as Ketef Hinnom, west of the Old City of Jerusalem. Dr. Barkay, documenting the context of the discovery, noted that the artifacts were at the back of the tomb embedded in pottery and other material from the seventh or sixth centuries B.C. Such caves were reused for burials over many centuries. Near this tomb's entrance were artifacts from the fourth century, but nothing so recent remains in the undisturbed recesses. It took Dr. Barkay another seven years before he felt sure enough of what he had to announce details of the discovery. Even then, for all their microscopic examination of the inscriptions at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, scholars remained frustrated by the many unreadable words and lines. About a decade ago, Dr. Barkay enlisted the help of Dr. Zuckerman, whose team had earned a reputation for achieving the near-impossible in photographing illegible ancient documents. Working with scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dr. Zuckerman's group used advanced infrared imagining systems enhanced by electronic cameras and computer image-processing technology to draw out previously invisible writing on a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The researchers also pioneered electronic techniques for reproducing missing pieces of letters on documents. By examining similar letters elsewhere in the text, they were able to recognize half of a letter and reconstruct the rest of it in a scribe's own peculiar style. "We learned a lot from work on the Dead Sea Scrolls," Dr. Zuckerman said. "But at first a processing job like this would send your computers into cardiac arrest. We had to wait for computer technology to catch up with our needs." As the researchers said in their magazine article, the only reasonably clear aspect of the inscriptions was the Priestly Benediction. Other lines preceding or following the prayer "could barely be seen." To get higher-definition photographs of the inscriptions, Ken Zuckerman applied an old photographer's technique called "light painting," brought up to date by the use of fiber-optic technology. He used a hand-held light in an otherwise dark room to illuminate a spot on the artifact during a time exposure. In addition, he photographed the artifact at different angles, which made the scratched letters shine in stark relief. The next step was to convert the pictures to digital form, making possible computer processing that brought out "the subtleties of the surface almost at the micron level." This analysis was particularly successful in joining a partial letter stroke on one side of a crack with the rest of the stroke on the other side. It also enabled the researchers to restore fragments of letters to full legibility by matching them with clear letters from elsewhere in the text. In this way, the researchers filled in more of the letters and words of the benediction itself and for the first time deciphered meaningful words and phrases in the lines preceding the benediction. Scholars were particularly intrigued by a statement on the smaller artifact. It reads: "May h[e]/sh[e] be blessed by YHWH, the warrior/helper, and the rebuker of Evil." Referring to God, Yahweh, as the "rebuker of Evil" is similar to language used in the Bible and in various Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars said. The phraseology is also found in later incantations and amulets associated with Israel, evidence that these artifacts were also amulets, researchers concluded. "In the ancient world, amulets were taken quite seriously," Dr. Zuckerman said. "There's evil out there, demons, and you need protection. Having this around your neck, you are involving God's presence and protection against harm." Dr. Esther Eshel, a professor of the Bible at Bar-Ilan and an authority on Hebrew inscriptions, said this was the earliest example of amulets from Israel. But she noted that the language of the benediction was similar to a blessing ("May he bless you and keep you") found on a jar from the eighth century B.C. If the new findings are correct, the people who wore these amulets may have died before they had to face the limitations of their efficacy. They might then have asked in uncomprehending despair, "Where was Yahweh when the Babylonians swooped down on Jerusalem?" Other scholars, including those previously skeptical, will soon be analyzing the improved images. In a departure from usual practices, the researchers not only published their findings in a standard print version in a journal but also as an accompanying "digital article," a CD version of the article and the images to allow scholars to examine and manipulate the data themselves. The research group said, "As far as we are aware, this is the first article to be done in this fashion, but it certainly will not be the last." Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@acm.org |
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PALESTINIAN HATE VIDEOS REFLECT IDEOLOGY ISRAEL BEHIND ALL WORLD TERROR AND WARS
Posted by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, September 28, 2004. |
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PMW received numerous inquiries requesting further elaboration about the visual message that "Israel is to blame for all world terror and suffering" of the last century, expressed in the new PA hate video that was publicized last week in a PMW Bulletin. Palestinian Authority hate videos for children do not spring up in a vacuum but mirror PA society's deep hatred of, and libels against, Jews. As farfetched as it seems to the normal mind to presume Jews have been responsible for all evil and are represent an ongoing danger to the world, two additional items appeared this week in official PA media, which demonstrate that this video for children reflects the reality of their adult mentors. In one a political leader presents the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the infamous forgery that presents a Jewish plan to rule the world, as an authentic Jewish - Zionist plan. In the other a religious leader talks about the dangers Jews are to all humanity - since the time of Muhammad. Note the items below come from different parts of society, reflecting both official PA religious and political establishment ideology. Friday sermon on PA TV by Mudayris, Sept. 24, 2004 "Why did Allah move the direction one faces in prayer from the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Jerusalem) to the Al-Haram Mosque (in Mecca)" The reason is those [Jews] who are the cause of all catastrophes on earth, The reason for it is those [Jews] who spit their poisons in the international and regional level, and [even] more so in the domestic level, those [Jews] who are the reason for every disaster of the world disasters, they are the reason for moving the direction of prayer from the Al-Aqsa to the Ka'aba. These are the Jews, Allah's curse upon them ..." Protocols of the Elders of Zion - an authentic work in PA society. "Recently, issue 64 of the 'Al-Shahada' magazine was published ... In the editorial, the chief editor and general political commissioner of the military forces of the border regions, Ahmad Hilles, dealt with "the war of morale and will" ... The issue included ... research on the topic of the Zionist danger as appears in the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' ..." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, official PA daily, Sept. 20, 2004, supplement of the Political and National Education] Itamar Marcus is director of PMW -Palestinian Media Watch - (http://www.pmw.org.il). Barbara Crook, a writer and university lecturer based in Ottawa, Canada, is PMW's North American representative. |
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ARAB IMMIGRATION TO ISRAEL
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, September 28, 2004. |
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P.A. PRIME MINISTER APPROVES OF TERRORISM PM Qurei said that Hamas would be justified in retaliating for the IDF bombing of a Hamas terrorist training camp in Gaza (Arutz-7, 9/8). The appointment of a PM was called a "reform." NO HOPE FOR P.A. REFORM "It is becoming increasingly plain that the notion of Palestinian (Arab) 'reform' is a farce. Even more farcical is the notion that genuine reforms ever could spring from Arafat's ranks. This is not merely because they remain answerable to Arafat. Rather, it is because they remain his ideological fellow-travelers, and whatever differences they may have politically or tactically disappear as far as Israel is concerned." (Foreign Ministry, 9/8 from Jer. Post.) This is a point I have been making for years, but Pres. Bush still does not comprehend. The point indicates that the drive to "give peace a chance" was misguided. Give victory a chance! ARAB IMMIGRATION TO ISRAEL In the past four years, an estimated 45,000 Arabs have moved to Israel, mostly illegally. They come primarily from the Territories and from Jordan. Whole families plunk themselves down in Jerusalem and in Arab towns. The Arab localities harbor them knowingly, enroll them in the free public schools, and give them credentials for welfare benefits as if they were citizens. The study asked various Israeli officials what they know of this, whether they study it, and what remedies they suggest. They didn't know, don't study it, and offer no remedy. They considered the subject a delicate one, whose answer might draw international criticism (Arutz-7, 9/8). What doesn't Israel draw international criticism for? There needn't be an justice to the criticism, the point of criticizing Israel is to criticize Israel. The Israeli officials don't know the first thing about defending their country from the internal thereat. They have not learned that salvation trumps political correctness. Their first reaction to criticism is to plead for understanding. Mine would be to castigate the critics for hypocrisy or bias. EU REACTIONS TO "DISENGAGEMENT PLAN" Misinformed EU officials imagined that Sharon's plan for abandoning areas is part of the Road Map. The EU officials said that no Israeli official had apprised them of these matters Finally an Israeli official disillusioned them. The Road Map has conditions for both sides, but Sharon's plan is unilateral. The Map calls for transfer, but Sharon's calls for abandonment. Sharon says he cannot fulfill the Map because there is no responsible authority in the P.A. and the P.A. has met none of the conditions required (Arutz-7, 9/8). Can't they compare Map and Sharon's plan, and see the difference? Lazy, aren't they! They take strong diplomatic positions on matters of life and death for millions in other countries, without adequately informing themselves beforehand. But both plans concede to terrorism. FUNCTION OF ROADBLOCKS Roadblocks are the last line of defense between the hostile P.A. and downtown Jerusalem! Having parked near one in an area populated by Arab aliens, Women in Green brought snacks to the soldiers. Ten minutes later they returned to find all their tires slashed. Obviously, Arab residents do not approve of succoring the soldiers guarding their country. They approve of the medical and welfare benefits conferred upon them by Israel (Op. Cit.). JORDAN POPULATION TREND Jordan's population increase is 2.8%. Religious tradition restrains a population planning program that seeks to reduce the rate to 1.5%. That's population increase, not birth rate. The population problem in Jordan is out of control (IMRA, 9/8). The Arab population explosion is fueling a mass-migration to the West, which then finds itself infected with local jihadists. SHARON'S GREAT SELF-CONTRADICTION PM Sharon is preparing ethnic cleansing of the Jews from Gaza. At the same time, he is ordering the Army to seize a part of Gaza from which the most rockets are being launched against Israel. His self-contradiction is in promulgating unilaterally a plan to remove Jews from Gaza to reduce alleged contact and friction, and sending the Army in because the friction lies in the Arab war, which they now wage from Gaza by rockets and therefore without contact on the ground. If the Jewish residents are moved out, but the Army moves in, then there will have been no point to the abandonment of the communities built at great expense. If the Army then pulls out, too, Gaza would become a "giant rocket launching pad." (Prof. Steven Plaut, 9/8, e-mail.) THE LEFT SLANDERS THE RELIGIOUS The Israeli Left exploited the assassination of Rabin to malign Yesha rabbis. The slander alleged that Rabbis urged the murder. No evidence ever was adduced that rabbis gave such advice or that it influenced the supposed murderer (actually, the murder was one of the Rabin campaign's dirty tricks, which included incitement against Rabin that the campaign then hypocritically denounced. One rabbi made some theoretical statement that secularists distorted into a sinister meaning that any religious person would know it didn't have). Now some rabbis urge the government to smash the terrorist military apparatus, suggesting that it avoid unnecessary collateral casualties but not refrain from needed action just because there might be some civilian casualties. Those would be normal measures and within the recognized bounds of international law. These measures would be humane towards Israel's own people. The Far Left Meretz Party is petitioning to indict the rabbis, as if their request for normal military protection were incitement to murder and racism. Meretz does not cavil at constant Arab racism and demands for murder, but seeks prosecution of religious and nationalist Jews for expressing their wish for protection from that racism and murder. The Far Left does not believe in free speech for opponents. (It doesn't have much of a democratic tradition in Israel.) Israel's anti-racism law has never been used against the Arabs, who preach the murder of Jews as "enemies of mankind." (Op. Cit..) "Haaretz" accuses the rabbis of fanaticism for not allowing for negotiated resolution (9/9, Foreign Ministry). All Arab negotiations have been deceptive. SYRIA TRIES OLD TRICK The Syrian Army has begun dismantling bases near Beirut, and redeploying the troops elsewhere in Lebanon, especially in the Bekaa Valley (near Syria and where narcotics are cultivated). Syria hopes that this move would be perceived by the UNO, or used as an excuse, for dropping the Security Council demand that Syria withdraw from Lebanon altogether. It is not likely to have that effect (Joseph Panossian, NY Sun, 9/22, p.7). Syria did this once before. The Arabs are masters at foiling resolution against them by various forms of procrastination, such as negotiating interminably, making false promises, reshuffling Cabinet posts, and making excuses, denying responsibility, and falsely accusing opponents. BUSH AT THE UNO Pres. Bush touted democracy as truly stabilizing, compared with dictatorial repression that the US formerly supported. He declared that a free Iraq would chill terrorist ambition, but denied any clash of civilization. Peace would not be achieved by P.A. rulers who "intimidate opposition, tolerate corruption, and maintain ties to terrorist groups." Let world leaders "withdraw all favor and support" from such P.A. rulers. In furtherance of the Map, Israel should "impose a settlement freeze, dismantle unauthorized outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people (sic) and avoid any actions that prejudice final negotiations." Arab states "should end incitement in their own media, cut off public and private funding for terrorism, and establish normal relations with Israel." (Likelihood?) The speech was coldly received at the UNO, most of whose members are just such dictators (Benny Avni, NY Sun, 9/22, p.4) -- participants in the clash of civilizations and their appeasers. Of course there is a clash, of religions. Pres. Bush ought to know that jihad is occurring all over the world, often militarily but mostly building up to it. That is why Arab governments broadcast mosque sermons calling for the deaths of Americans and Jews. By denying this, he weakens our side and exposes that weakness to the other side, which gains in morale at the spectacle of Western failure to identify the enemy. The European democracies, beset with what in individuals is called low self-esteem, are ashamed to defend Western civilization. Bush failed to identify the enemy in the P.A. as the whole culture and people there. Almost all of them support terrorism. Their leaders do not just maintain ties to terrorist groups; they run the P.A., itself, as a terrorist group. They don't just tolerate corruption; they share in it. Terrorism and corruption are the raison d'etre of the P.A., don't you know. While calling on other world leaders to "withdraw all favor and support from such P.A. rulers, the US supplies it, including restraining Israel from liquidating Mr. Arafat, and training P.A. murderers. It was big of our President to admit past US faults in policy, but hypocritical in that he still supports the Saudi dictatorship, condones the Syrian one, and is trying to create a Palestinian Arab one. He will not get deserved credit for the admission, nor deserved rebuke for the hypocritical attempt to set up an Arab dictatorship. Lip service about making the P.A. democratic does not keep the US from wanting to proceed with the Road Map that would make sovereign that enemy of its US midwife. It would be a sovereign terrorist state. What an ignoble US goal! The criticism of Israel was meant to be seen as a balance for criticism of the Arabs. So was the equating by Sec. Gen. Annan of terrorism with Israel's "excessive use of force." Israel's problem is insufficient use of force to destroy aggressor Arab armies and regimes. The denunciation of Israel for "excessive use of force" is part of the anti-Zionist bias that objects to any Jewish self-defense as offensive to Jew-haters. It also is due to a false notion of balance. Criticism of one side, they think, must be "balanced" by criticism of the other side, deserved or not. I think that further hypocrisy lay in Bush's cautioning Israel not to prejudice negotiations. He implied that Israel should not build further in Yesha, but the Arabs may. If he is willing for the Arabs to prejudice negotiations by establishing facts on the ground, then he is prejudiced in behalf of the Arabs. That is proved by his Map requiring only Israel not to build. The accusation that Israel daily humiliates the Palestinian Arabs, is slander. It is taken from propaganda devised by the Arabs and passed on to their leftist and appeasement-minded supporters. They have the temerity to call inspection of Arabs coming in to Israel "humiliation." Many passengers landing in the US are inspected. If Israeli inspection is humiliation, isn't US inspection? If US inspection is not humiliation, why is Israel's? More hypocrisy. If only Sen. Kerry seized upon that as a campaign issue. But he can't. He is no better. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. |
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THE UNJUSTICE SYSTEM
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, September 28, 2004. |
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While strictly speaking, it is too early to have an opinion on this
event. I assume, however, on the basis of past incidents that this is
more official harassment of "settlers" by Israel's unJustice system.
This is a news item from Arutz Sheva and is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=69584 Police Requesting Extended Remand of Shomron Resident (IsraelNN.com) Police today will request the extended remand of a Shomron resident who was arrested yesterday after firing at an Arab van driver whom he believed was intending to run him down. The suspect was standing on the side of the road near Itamar waiting for a ride when he noticed the van heading directly at him at a high speed. He told police that he attempted to signal the driver in an effort to ascertain his intentions but the driver continued heading towards him, prompting him to pull his licensed weapon and fire. The driver was killed. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. |
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DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT MULLS CONFISCATING SETTLERS' WEAPONS
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, September 27, 2004. |
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MA'ARIV September 27, 2004: "Report: Senior ISA official, who brought up the idea, says arms should be collected to prevent possibility that the weapons would constitute a threat to evacuating forces." By Amir Buhbut "A Senior ISA official has suggested to begin the process of rounding up weapons from settlers in Gush Katif ahead of the expected Gaza pullout, Channel 10 revealed last (Sunday 9/26) night. "During a meeting of top defense brass including Mofaz, the senior official explained that arms must be collected ahead of the implementation of the disengagement plan in order to prevent a possibility that the weapons would constitute a threat to evacuating forces. "According to the official, the weapons that are used to protect the settlements from terrorist infiltrations are to be taken as well, but only in a gradual manner so as not to harm the level of security in the communities. "Another senior official told NRG Maariv that the option was being considered. 'It is important to stress that no decisions have yet to be reached. This idea will be considered with other proposals,' he said." (2004-09-27 00:29:5.0) WINSTON COMMENTS: Not surprising, since the first attempt to confiscate the weapons of Israeli citizens in Judea and Samaria was the Rabin-Peres ploy - according to a reliable source who ought to remain anonymous. They started by going to the settlements and demanding to inspect the armory of the settlements - seeming to check their operational ability. 'Somehow' the arms they took to inspect were either not returned or they were kept so long that they made the settlers vulnerable to Arab Muslim attack. Even officers of the region had to turn over their personal side arms which were usually never returned. Leftists have always hated those they pejoratively call 'settlers' (forgetting that they began themselves as settlers in kibbutzim to 'settle' the nascent State to be born in the Land of Israel.) They recognized that, by comparison, they were a low political movement who seemed to never want the territories valued by post-1967 Zionists who found Israel's ancient history in her heartland. Add to the tendency to confiscate, the fact that ammunition was kept in short supply, insuring that settlements would not have enough sustaining power to hold off human wave attacks promised by the Arab Muslim Terrorists. This was part of the earlier plan of the Oslo Accords now picked up by PM Sharon as he tries to weaken the Pioneering Settlers prior to their being uprooted, evicted and evacuated. 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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MEDIA SPIN ON "ISRAELI SHOOTS AND KILLS PALESTINIAN NEAR ITAMAR"
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, September 27, 2004. |
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PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 3 ARTICLES AS PRINTED MONDAY & TUESDAY - PLUS MY COMMENTS & QUESTIONS. STORY AS IT APPEARED ON MONDAY in the JERUSALEM POST: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid =1096259489005 "Israeli shoots and kills Palestinian near Itamar" by Matthew Gutman, THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 27, 2004 "Judea and Samaria Police reported that an Israeli man shot and killed a Palestinian civilian in the area of Eilon Moreh east of Nablus Monday afternoon. The Israeli, a resident of Itamar's Gidonim outpost in the West Bank, said he opened fire after a Palestinian minivan tried to run him off the road. "However, Palestinian witnesses said the Israeli fired without provocation. According to eyewitness reports, the Palestinian minivan had turned down a dirt path between the settlements of Itamar and Eilon Moreh, reportedly to avoid a checkpoint, which led the van to a settlement bypass road. The settler, whose car was stopped on the side of the road, exited his car, cocking an M16 rifle as he walked across the road, eyewitnesses reported. When the minivan eased onto the small road the suspect shot a single bullet at the Palestinian driver, identified as Sayel Jubara, killing him almost instantly as the bullet penetated his arm and pierced through his chest. According to Israeli law, only soldiers are allowed to carry assault rifles outside of the immediate lands of Gaza and West Bank settlements. "The van was carrying five additional passingers at the time of the fatal shooting, and the eyewitnesses gave testimonies to the police. Ahmed Mohammed Shtiyeh, who saw the entire incident from inside the van, accused the settler of cold-blooded murder. "I saw him drive up, park the car and get out," Shtiyeh said. "When we went over the hump, he shot Sayel from a very close up." The suspect's story, however, contradicts eyewitness reports. He told police that he shot at the Palestinian van in self-defense, after the van had tried to run him over. In view of information collected at the site, IDF sources said that it does not appear that the Palestinian van tried to run the man over as he claims. The suspect was arrested by Judea and Samaria Police. Police are continuing investigation into the incident and have already filed a re-enactment of crime on Monday afternoon." Winston comments: It has been reported by an enthusiastic NPR reporter, Linda Gradstein that "a settler has shot a Palestinian taxi driver who he said attempted to force him off the road. The settler reported it to the Police Station." Keep in mind that, being forced off the road in the winding, hilly roads of Judea and Samaria can mean landing upside down and dead These are not broad American highways with neatly leveled shoulders. No doubt, this incident is one that will be used by PM Sharon and the Leftists in the Media and Knesset to prove that Israelis who live in the territories are unreliable and therefore dangerous. Allow me to share with you two incidents that happened to me personally. In one incident I was driving with my wife to Shilo. It was then a two lane straight road and wide enough for large trucks. We were in a Volvo station wagon. An on-coming Dump Truck with license plates indicating it was Palestinian was approaching in his lane. He then swerved into half of my lane which forced me to swerve onto the rough grade shoulder with a deep ditch beyond. He missed me but not because he didn't try. I happen to be an excellent defensive driver. Had he succeeded, I have little doubt that my wife and I would either be dead or critically injured. In another incident, we had just left the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv main Route One road and headed south from the Latrun turn-off. I don't recall the name of the road. As we were driving in our Volvo station wagon, we picked up a tail. It was a French Peugeot with Palestinian license plates and had four Arabs as passengers and driver. The reason I mention the Volvo station wagon is because it was well-known that Members of Knesset were provided with such vehicles and, therefore, we probably looked like we were of some political importance as a target of opportunity. At this point I must qualify myself as a professional driver so my observations are not dismissed too lightly. I have driven most everything that moves. As a young man I drove a taxi; I drove tow trucks; trucks in the mountains of Colorado; I have a farm pickup and have had numerous cars. I am a qualified professional driver both for most vehicles and for observing traffic and drivers' behavior. Therefore, when I caught this Peugeot tailing us, I picked up speed on a very winding road. The Peugeot tailed me. I had my wife and youngest son in the car with me. My senses told me that this was not merely an innocent driver challenging me for a fast ride. So I stepped on the gas and pulled around large trucks on blind curves. Dangerous, but accomplishable. After a 15 minute chase, I lost him. When I arrived at my destination at Lakhish, I met my friend who was a Reserve Special Forces Commando. I explained what went on and he declared that we were lucky and that I could drive better than most typical drivers. He then commented that several soldiers had been kidnapped and murdered on that road by Arab Muslims. The point being that Palestinians have used their vehicles as attack weapons and most drivers in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan Heights are aware of it. Linda Gradstein, always a pro-Arab Jewess spokeswomen for NPR may be delighted to report that "a settler shot a Palestinian driver" but the fact is that numerous Palestinian drivers have, with deliberation, crashed into Israeli vehicles and tried to hit pedestrians. Very few are declared Terrorist attacks, but rather "traffic accidents"....Except for a few notable exceptions. Do you recall when the Israeli bus was forced off the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road near Tel Stone and it crashed over a steep cliff? Many died and were injured. And when an Arab bus driver (as he said: "merely on an impulse") rammed his bus into a crowd of Israelis awaiting a ride, also with many casualties? I am sure there are others. I wonder if the Traffic Police would take accidents caused by Arab Muslim Palestinian more seriously if they finally understood that their intent was just the same as the plane hijackers who flew their planes into the Twin Towers? *** We almost sent this Monday September 27 as is above but, had second thoughts about many issues in the reported story: 1. It was slanted. Credibility went to the Arab 'eyewitnesses'. The word 'eyewitnesses' was used 5 times. 2. No names of suspect, his occupation, his story. 3. Why did the minivan with 6 Arabs evade an army checkpoint? 4. Yehoshua Elitzur, a 32 year old (mature) shepherd (on foot). At age 32 he was probably a soldier, a reserve soldier or on guard. His weapon was licensed. He reported directly to either the Police or the Army depending on which story you read. 5. The Arab Muslims from Beit Faruk in the area of Nablus (Schehem) have murdered 13 Jews from Itamar in 4 separate incidents. 6. Why did the Israeli police or IDF accept the "eyewitnesses of 5 Arabs" over 1 Jew? 7. Why is the M16 even mentioned? An M16 is standard issue for every soldier and settler. Elitzur was licensed to carry this gun. 8. What would you do in an empty field, if a minivan with 6 Arabs who Elitzur had seen evade an Army checkpoint is facing you on a dirt road and accelerates toward you at high speed - especially given the above history of 13 Jews murdered by Arabs? HERE IS THE STORY AS IT APPEARED ON TUESDAY: jsid@dorsai.org Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 13 Tishrei 5765 4- ITAMAR RESIDENT CHARGED WITH KILLING ARAB "Yehoshua Elitzur, a 32-year-old shepherd from the Itamar, Shomron region was arrested yesterday after reporting to the IDF that he had just shot a suspicious Arab who had sneaked through an army checkpoint near Beit Faruk. "According to Eliitzur, "When I saw the suspicious car sneak by the checkpoint, I chased after the car, aimed my weapon at the vehicle and ordered the driver out of the car. The Arab driver then tried to run me down, at which time I opened fire on him." "Police plan to indict Elitzur quickly on manslaughter or murder charges. Voice of Judea Commentary: "Arabs in this region have a wonderful track record when it comes to murdering Jews. Over the past 2 years, no less than 13 Jews from Itamar have been murdered by Arabs from Beit Farouk, in 4 separate incidents. Naturally the Israeli police accept the version of the Arabs and not of the Jewish victim who, on his own, came to report the incident to the army. Enough with the Sharon appeasement policy that has trickled down to the soldiers in the field." Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com 10:30 Sep-28-04/ 13 Tishrei 5765 "Police Requesting Extended Remand of Shomron Resident (IsraelNN.com) Police today will request the extended remand of a Shomron resident who was arrested yesterday after firing at an Arab van driver whom he believed was intending to run him down. "The suspect was standing on the side of the road near Itamar waiting for a ride when he noticed the van heading directly at him at a high speed. He told police that he attempted to signal the driver in an effort to ascertain his intentions but the driver continued heading towards him, prompting him to pull his licensed weapon and fire. The driver was killed." *** WINSTON'S CONCLUSIONS: So, all we have to wait for is the Leftist Media and a Leftist Court to accept the eyewitness accounts of Arab Muslim Palestinians, who lie with impunity against all Israelis. No doubt, there have been hundreds of such incidents of Palestinian drivers crashing into Israeli vehicles or pedestrians but, the government routinely plays down the statistics lest Israelis are provoked to retaliate. 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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CHARITY SHOULD BEGIN AT HOME
Posted by Tamar Rush, September 27, 2004. |
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Background: Tzfat, one of Israel's four holy cities, is in economic crisis with a large percentage of families living at or below the poverty line. And the number is increasing. "Lev U'Neshama" (Heart and Soul), is attempting to collect funds to assist Tzfat's poor. This money is used to help relieve the mounting pressure of grocery store debts and to provide food vouchers. It is bothersome, considering the number of people in Israel who are in need - especially now, when the tourist industry has been disrupted - to find organizations that call themselves Jewish but who only help other people, but not Jews. Rabbi Rothenberg of Lev U'Neshama asked one of these organizations, American Jewish World Service (AJWS), for grant aid and received a reply from Jennifer Gaviston, AJWS Administrator and Grants Manager. She wrote: "... The inspiration for AJWS' work is drawn from the demand for social justice articulated by the Jewish tradition. ... Unfortunately, we do not currently work in Israel. It is our policy to make non-emergency grants to organizations only in countries in which we have some working familiarity, and we currently do not have enough professional contacts there to adequately support a partnership between our organization and your own." This was the Lev U'Neshama's response to her letter: "Thank you for your recent e-mail to Rabbi Rottenberg regarding the work of Lev U'Neshama. While we are well aware of AJWS and your mandate, we are most curious to know why, when you use the term Jewish in your name, why don't you work in Israel? Truly this seems very strange to us all. Donations of $25 or more can be sent to the PEF Israel Endowment Fund, 317 Madison Ave., #607 New York, NY 10017, with a note that the funds are to be sent to Tzfat, Israel in care of "Lev V Neshama" to help feed the poor. The PEF office sends a US Tax Deduction Receipt to donors who send $25 or more. The PEF office phone is 212-599-1260 for those who wish to verify credibility of "Lev u' Neshama." |
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HAR HABAYIT B'YADENU
Posted by David Wilder, September 27, 2004. |
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Shalom.
For the past few days we've been hearing commentators discuss the probable catastrophe that will occur should Muslim Ramadan prayers take place on a particular section of Temple Mount, called Solomon's stables. Perhaps an introduction is in order. In just over three weeks, on the 15th of October, (which is the last day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei), the Arabs celebrate the beginning of the month of Ramadan. According to Muslim faith, it was during the month of Ramadan that the Koran 'was sent down from Heaven.' Moslems ostensibly fast from sunup to sunset daily, for the entire month. According to one source, "Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives. It is a time of worship and contemplation." [http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/story.htm] (I might add, it is also a time that Arabs use to try and kill Jews.) Where, at all, is the Muslim connection to Jerusalem and Temple Mount? According to Lebanese Arab journalist Joseph Farah, it is not true that the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem represent Islam's third most holy sites. In fact, the Koran says nothing about Jerusalem. It mentions Mecca hundreds of times. It mentions Medina countless times. It never mentions Jerusalem! With good reason. There is no historical evidence to suggest Mohammed ever visited Jerusalem. So how did Jerusalem become the third holiest site of Islam? Muslims today cite a vague passage in the Koran, the seventeenth Sura, entitled "The Night Journey." It relates that in a dream or a vision Mohammed was carried by night "from the sacred temple to the temple that is most remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might show him our signs." In the seventh century, some Muslims identified the two temples mentioned in this verse as being in Mecca and Jerusalem. And that's as close as Islam's connection with Jerusalem gets -- myth, fantasy, wishful thinking. And he concludes, "Meanwhile, Jews can trace their roots in
Jerusalem back to the days of Abraham." -
In an essay by Lambert Dolpin, "In A.D. 691 Caliph Abd el-Malik commissioned the best architects to build the Dome of the Rock. His plan was based upon a Fourth Century Christian shrine on the Mount of Olives marking the site of Jesus' Ascension. The Caliph's new shrine was deliberately built as a political, economic, and religious counter attraction to Mecca. Medina and Mecca, the two cities holy to Islam, were under the control of a rival Caliph. Abd El-Malik sought to build up the importance of Jerusalem as an Islamic center for pilgrimage and worship. The holy spot of Judaism was now to be identified with the spot where Mohammed's horse ascended to heaven." Another indication that Jerusalem was not considered of great importance to the Muslim armies is the fact that it was one of last cities taken by the Syrian Muslims after the death of Mohammed. It was conquered by a mediocre commander, and not by Omar himself. The Arabs first called the city Ilya (Aelia Capitolina) rather than Beit el-Maqdas (the holy house). An early Muslim proverb says, "One prayer in Mecca is valued as ten thousand prayers; a prayer in Medina is valued at one thousand prayers; and a prayer in Jerusalem at five hundred prayers." Although Abd El-Malik had commissioned the structure, it became known as The Mosque of Omar. The structure, however, was not (and is not today) a mosque, but rather a shrine. [http://www.templemount.org/allah.html] In any case, literally tens, and even hundreds of thousands of Arabs worship at Har HaBayit, Temple Mount in Jerusalem during Ramadan, especially on Friday afternoons. Recently, studies conducted by engineers, including a team from Egypt, concluded that the supports in the area called Solomon's Stables, (named as such during the Crusader period,) are very weak and will likely collapse in the event that tens of thousands of people fill the site. According to Israeli sources, the area can suitably hold up to 30,000 people, yet during Ramadan prayers, that number is multiplied several times over. There are several reasons for this weakened condition. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, over the past few years, the Waqf, or Muslim religion trust, has conducted unauthorized and unsupervised construction in that vicinity, in an attempt to expand Arab control of Temple Mount. This has caused tremendous deterioration of the structural supports. An Ha'Aretz newspaper article concerning illegal work at the area states: "At the end of November 1999, the Waqf tricked the government of Israel, and under the pretext of opening an emergency exit to the Solomon's Stables mosque - which had been built illegally and inaugurated in December of 1996 - the Waqf took advantage of the negligence of the government of Israel and its indifference to the fate of the archaeological remains on the Temple Mount, dug a huge 2,000-square meter pit beneath the Temple Mount some 13 meters deep, and opened a main door to the Solomon's Stable mosque 10 meters wide and 13 meters high. In addition, the recent earthquake which shook Israel also weakened these supports. The result of these studies points to, not a possible collapse, rather an almost certain disintegration of the floor, causing tens, if not hundreds of thousands of casualties. So what is Israel doing in order to prevent this calamity, which almost inevitably would be blamed on the Jews? The State of Israel sent high-level representatives of the police force to speak with members of the Jordanian government, trying to convince them of the seriousness of the impending disaster. They are also pleading with Waqf leadership to restrict the number of visitors allowed on Temple Mount during Ramadan. Of course, Arab reaction to Israel's begging has been that of derision and scorn. Israel's pleas are nothing more than a hoax in an attempt to keep Arabs from worshiping at their 'holy site.' Any effort by Israel to prevent Muslims from praying on Temple Mount will result in nothing less than jihad! What should Israel do? First of all, we should never plead or beg about what is rightfully ours. Temple Mount is the most sacred place in the world. The First and Second Temples were constructed on Temple Mount hundreds and thousands of years before Muhammad was born. This site has been politicized by our enemies in an attempt to delegitimize Israel's most basic claims to our land, Eretz Yisrael. The Arab world in general, and most specifically the Waqf, is a declared enemy of the State of Israel and rejects our very existence in our land. Why should Israel negotiate with them? Why must Israel send 'police representatives' to speak to the Jordanians? Temple Mount falls within the sovereign jurisdiction of the State of Israel. It is the undeniable heart and soul of Jewish spirituality. Why must we get down on our knees before any foreign nation, concerning anywhere in our land, and particularly, Temple Mount? What Israel must do is clear. Har HaBayit Temple Mount - must be immediately closed to all visitors. Jewish law forbids anyone from treading on this sacred ground. And if that is difficult for some to swallow, the possibility of tens of thousands of people buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed floor should be enough to convince anyone needing convincing. We need not ask anyone, we need not appeal to anyone. By means of contrast, the Statue of Liberty in New York City was closed for a number of years, due to structural faults and security problems. Did the United States ask the French, who gave Lady Liberty to the Americans in the 1800s, if they minded? Did the U.S. ask anyone in the free world their opinion - after all, the Statue of Liberty represents freedom, democracy and international friendship. Closing such a monument is an insult to the entire Western World! Drivel and gibberish! No greater nonsense could possibly be spouted! So why must Israel bend over backwards to spew out such idiocy. In June 1967, General Mota Gur exclaimed, "Har HaBayit b'yadenu" - "Temple Mount is in our Hands." Almost 40 years later, the time has come to apply these words in actions, showing the nations of the world, and proving to ourselves: Har HaBayit b'yadenu! With blessings from Hebron. David Wilder is spokesman of The Jewish Community of Hebron. You can contribute directly to The Jewish Community of Hebron, POB10, Kiryat Arba-Hebron 90100, Israel or by email to hebron@hebron.org.il, or by phone to 972-2-9965333. Or write to The Hebron Fund, 1760 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, hebronfund@aol.com |
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THE BODY SHOP'S ROLE IN EXPLOITING HUMAN RIGHTS
Posted by NGO Monitor Organization, September 27, 2004. |
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Body Shop, an international chain of cosmetics stores, awarded one of four "Body Shop Human Rights Awards" (and $75,000) to the pro-Palestinian NGO known as ADRID: "the Association for the Defence of the Rights of the Internally Displaced". This award triggered protests and critical analysis from those concerned at this abuse of the term 'human rights', as detailed in an August 5, 2004 article in The American Thinker. This led to the removal of the details of the award from the Body Shop's website. As a result of these events, the NGO Monitor has prepared the following analysis of ADRID. Based in Nazareth, ADRID is a member of the highly politicized NGO umbrella group known as Ittijah (Union of Arab Community Based Organizations). According to Ittijah, ADRID's goal is "The return of displaced Palestinians within the Green Line to their villages and homes which they were expelled from, in accordance with UN resolution 194." (This resolution, adopted in December 1948, is a complex package, including Arab recognition of Israel and formal peace agreements, and was never implemented.) (See Ruth Lapidoth, "Legal Aspects of the Palestinian Refugee Question"). ADRID does not have its own website, and does not disclose sources of funding. However, the organization is profiled on the website of the Global IDP Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council, which in turn is funded jointly by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the British Department for International Development, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Australian Government Overseas Aid (AUSAID), etc. Although they are Israeli citizens, ADRID officials who promote their political campaigns do not disguise their anti-Israel agenda of demonization. Following the standard Palestinian narrative, they erase the context and history of the 1947-8 war and violent Arab rejection of UN Resolution 181. ADRID simply claims that "The experience of Palestinians before, during and after the 1948 al-Nakba is the result of the Zionist policies of occupation, violence and military eviction." Further, ADRID claims that "Consecutive Israeli governments have robbed refugee properties and homes, destroyed our villages and confiscated our lands by means of discriminatory, ethnic legislation and by denying our right of return to our homeland?" ADRID's manifesto of November 19, 1999 contains language that is considered to be anti-Semitic, casting blame for the Palestinian refugee situation on "Zionist conspiracies" and claiming that the establishment of the State of Israel was "gained with the support of international Zionist and imperialist forces". Despite claiming to specifically represent the interests of Palestinian Arabs of Israeli citizenship, ADRID also repeats the standard maximalist demands of the wider Palestinian leadership, claiming that "The refugee issue is the heart of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict" and "The Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homeland and homes is a sacred right?" In response to protests from customers concerned at the award of a human rights prize to ADRID, The Body Shop declared (despite evidence to the contrary) that it "does not have a position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The removal of relevant pages from the company's website suggests a possible recognition that this NGO has indeed used the veneer of human rights as a cover for promoting its extremist political agenda. (A press release about the award is still available at the site of Badil - a pro-Palestinian website.) Whether other supporters of ADRID will reach the same conclusion remains to be seen. The NGO Monitor organization (www.ngo-monitor.org) promotes critical debate and accountability of human rights NGOs in the Arab Israeli Conflict. The Monitor is produced by The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs/Institute of Contemporary Affairs. |
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ROLE OF DIPLOMATS; ARAB EXCUSES; ISRAELI LUNATIC ARAB FRINGE
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, September 27, 2004. |
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ARAB JOB APPLICATION IN P.A. Countries are not donating enough to the terrorist P.A. regime to compensate for the P.A. ruining its economy and making war in the style to which it has become accustomed. Rather than sacrifice any graft, the P.A. recruits fewer terrorist militiamen into its armed forces. How are unemployed terrorist gunmen supposed to feed their Arab families while they slaughter Jewish families? Their solution is to kidnap P.A. employers, i.e., P.A. terrorist officials, by way of persuading them to hire. THE WORLD WAR'S "TWO-HEADED MONSTER" Two rules of strategy are: (1) Understand the enemy; and (2) Avoid having too many enemies. To avoid having to fight all of Islam, Daniel Pipes makes a distinction between radical and moderate Islam. That distinction may not properly estimate the enemy. In defining WWIV, Norman Podhoretz' term for the enemy, "a two-headed monster," epitomizes a point I have been making for years. There is an affinity between the Islamists, whose ideology may be extreme but is not contrary to Islam, and the other Muslims. Mr. Podhoretz calls the other Muslims "secular." Most really are not secular. Although they do not run theocracies, they do establish Islam. Their culture is the same as the radicals'. They all are more or less anti-Western. The supposed secularists prefer the radicals to the infidels. That is why Podhoretz pointed out the alliance of sorts between Saddam and Al Qaida. Saddam originally paid little devotion to Islam. In his last few years, however, he allowed Islamists more influence in Iraq, as he rallied the Arab world against the West and the UN sanctions. The salient feature of his shift to overt Islamic identification was the ease with which he accomplished it. The gap he originally closed had not been wide. ARAB EXCUSES The world did not know what to expect from Nazism and was unprepared to resist it. Its early successes first were from Hitler's bluffing and then against weaker military forces. The Wehrmacht seemed like supermen. Then the Germans came up against tough Russian, US, and British forces. Defeated, the Germans produced excuses: somebody else did the bad things and they didn't know what was happening; they did the bad things but just were following orders. The Arabs also are full of excuses for evil deeds: what was done is not terrorism; what was done is terrorism but they didn't commit it; they committed terrorism but acted contrary to Islam. How many bad Muslims there must be. What will those who call them contrarians do about that? Like the Nazis, the Arabs blame everything bad on the Jews, whose reputation they defame. While claiming that the Jews control the world, they wipe out large numbers of those supposedly all-powerful Jews. Both the Nazis and the Arabs themselves have tried to do just what they accused the Jews of doing, controlling the world. Ironically, the Arabs accuse the Jews committing terrorism and trying to poison people, the Zionists, who boosted Arab life expectancy! Oh my fellow Jews of good will to all mankind, good deeds for the Arab boomerang. THE ROLE OF THE DIPLOMAT After having listed S. Arabia as oppressing religious freedom, Sec. of State Powell was interviewed by a Saudi journalist. His reply was contemptibly obsequious. I once wanted to join the Foreign Service; now I wonder how anybody could. How do our diplomats avoid laughing when they so excessively flatter enemies without arousing deserved suspicion? ISRAELI LUNATIC LEFTIST FRINGE REALLY DANGEROUS The Israeli government and people no longer pay attention to the Far Left, recognizing it as psychologically damaged. They should. Far Left academics may be few in number and declining in domestic importance, but they wield great influence abroad. These academics constantly devise new charges against Israel and publish them abroad. Foreign newspapers, such as the Guardian, and antisemitic groups repeat these charges and gain a certain acceptance of them. This demeans Israel's reputation and keeps Europe, for example, from realizing the Islamist menace to it. Due to the recipients' own bias, the charges are not examined and rejected on merit. The Far Left's record of failure in predictions goes unnoticed. One widely circulated prediction was that masses of reservists would refuse call-ups. Instead, they answered calls in unusually high percentages. Another libel, eventually refuted but only after having damaged Israel's standing, was that Israel committed a terrible massacre in Jenin. The fringe gives the false impression, by means of its vigorous campaigning and access to the media, that Israeli society is deeply and evenly divided. Arafat concludes that Israel will not defend itself. He is encouraged to make war. (He partly is right, for even Sharon hardly defended Israel, taking years to ramp up the raids on the P.A. and even then not doing so thoroughly and now seeking to run away from the war.) The latest canard is the Far Left warning, based on distorting statements by the Chief of Staff, that Israel is planning war crimes against the P.A.. The Far Left should be denouncing actual war crimes committed by the P.A. Its failure to do so proves itself hypocritically unconcerned about war crimes and emotionally sick in its unconcern for its own people's unwarranted casualties. These fringe academics have the right of free speech and the right to sign petitions in behalf of terrorists, but their universities ought not to raise money from US Jewry on the grounds that they are helping Israel (Prof. Steven Plaut, 9/7, e-mail). CAN THE U.S. AFFORD TO FIGHT BACK? The US acts as if daunted by the prospect of having to invest heavily in a military, already criticized for consuming too high a proportion of tax revenue, to expand the war on Islamism. Actually, the military consumes a lower proportion of tax revenue now than in recent years. It spends only 3.6% of the gross domestic product! The US could afford to defend itself. (Can it afford not to?) (Rebuilding the military, a periodic mission, would mean raising taxes.) Mark Helprin suggests mounting a vigorous defense. He would direct it initially against Iran, racing to develop nuclear weapons and being a mainstay of international terrorism. He would start with an ultimatum to stand down its nuclear development. If not complied with, the US would rid the Gulf of Iranian naval and coastal defense forces, and Iranian soil of anti-aircraft capability. We would prepare long-range bombers for worse. If there's still no compliance, the US would destroy every nuclear, ballistic missile, military research, and military technical facility in the country, vowing to return if any are rebuilt (Wm. F. Buckley Jr., NY Sun, 9/16, p.9). I do not know whether that percentage is accurate. Mr. Helprin did not assign a role to, or coordination with, the people of Iran, who want to free themselves of their theocracy. Would they continue developing nuclear weapons? I think so. Does it matter? Not so long as they guard them and keep the mullahs at bay. But if they fail? SOURCE OF TERRORISM AND HOW TO COUNTER IT Most terrorism is done in the name of Islam. Muslim radicals motivate religiously and seek religious sanction for each attack. Their indoctrination enables sleeper cells here to resist the lure of Western civilization (and to hold it in contempt). This truth is called bigoted. Since the roots of radical behavior are not political, political gestures would not appeal to the radicals to desist. (How come those who think terrorism is rooted in poverty fail to notice how little there is of it in most poor, non-Muslim cultures and how much general violence Arab culture condones?) The Islamist philosophy deems the ways of the Prophet perfect and a guide. The outside world's religious innovation, relativism, and pluralism do not influence Islam. (The latter two blight Western civilization and defense of it.) Another hoary Muslim precept is that countries formerly under Muslim rule must revert to it. The Islamists seek to recapture these areas. They preach it is each Muslims' duty. They credit their success in Afghanistan against the USSR not at all to US arms but entirely to Islam.) The more they fight against the odds, the more virtuous. The more a commanders leads battles, the more prestigious. The more successful, as on 9/11, the more followers volunteer. Hence the US must not lose in Iraq. Although those beliefs are radical, they fit within the traditions of Islam. Moderates do not dispute their authenticity, but prefer to de-emphasize such behavior. Resolution of this difference in emphasis requires Islamic legal analysis, just as there is in fatwas authorizing attacks. Traditionally, Muslims support jihad financially. No Muslim cleric has considered banning donations for jihad. (Nor have Muslims complained about being defrauded for charitable donations that went for jihad. Often they knew where the money was going, and approved. They are not innocent civilians.) Moderates don't like to confront radicals, lest they disunite Muslims. Radicals exploit this reluctance when they warn of civil war, if criticized. Muslims in the West can get aroused by radical exhortation. How should the West cope with radical Islam? The West has a serous disadvantage. Western government rarely intervenes against organized religions. It is constrained by concepts of civil rights and concern about being called anti-Muslim. (It mistakenly assumes that Islam is solely a religion rather than a war society with a religious basis.) The West is reluctant to punish inflammatory mosque imams, though Muslim states do so, or clerics who issue fatwas authorizing terrorism. Whereas W. Europe defines ideological crimes such as Nazism and racism, the US does not. Arab states clamp down on clerical excesses, but would not join the war on radical Islam. Islamists want to destroy Western civilization. The answer is not just military defense or offense or democratization. The answer must be in religious ideology, too: (1) The West must press the Islamic Establishment to join with us; (2) It must make binding legal rulings against the radicals; (3) Reform Islamic dogmas; (4) Disavow a state of jjhad with the rest of the world; (5) Rule that jihad is not a personal duty; (6) Prohibit menacing non-Muslims in Muslim countries; (7) Declare suicide bombings as suicide and therefore damnable; (7) Rule financial and moral support for terrorism illegal; and (8) Declare heretical the claims that jihad is a duty. The West should review freedom of religion and speech and redefine religious "incitement" and clerical criminal responsibility for what they influence (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/204, p.7 from Shmuel Bar, Policy Review). So far, the author's views are not accepted. Although Saddam was not religious and he invaded Kuwait, the Kuwaitis hate the US for making war on Muslim Iraq, even though it was to save Kuwait. That is like the Islamist view. MULTILATERALISM FAILED Although most commentators disagree about how to solve the problems of the Mideast, they agree that the "international community" should solve them and by consensus. What fantasizing! (Whom do they think created these problems?) Nobody should doubt, especially after the recent Chechen massacre of Russian children, that the Islamists have a death cult putting their threat beyond negotiation. But doubters there are; would- be negotiators await the call. Isn't that fantasizing, too? Many Westerners, being tolerant, favor multilateralism. They would prefer to organize broad coalitions to form military missions. The world works differently. Most countries won't join; others wait for a leader, committed to a military mission that they then can follow without risking being isolated and a sure enemy target. (Unfortunately, now terrorism coerces them out of coalitions.) The failure of the "international" community to built broad coalitions to fight against international terrorism failed as early as 1974, when Arafat was invited to give a speech at the UN instead of taken to the gallows, and he wore his holster. Indeed, the consensus is building that international terrorism is legitimate (especially against Israel). Multilateralism and the "international community" are failures. Let us move from fantasy to realism by acknowledging that (Lee Smith, NY Sun, 9/16, p.9). Were it up to a consensus, we'd not have the 10 Commandments. Multilateralism was called "collective security," before WWII. France had organized an alliance to contain Germany. When Nazi Germany started to demand submission of, and attacked, individual members of the coalition, Britain and France let Germany seize several minor members before realizing that they would be next. That was an earlier failure of coalition politics. WHAT TO DO ABOUT IRAN'S NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT The European countries made an agreement with Iran, whereby Iran thought it was signing up for more inspection, and the Europeans thought it was promising not to turn to military nuclear development. In any case, the European countries were foolish to imagine that Iran, which ignores its own Constitution, would honor, and were honoring, an agreement with infidels. Instead, Iran advanced its nuclear development by nine months. You might suppose that as a major exporter of oil, Iran would not need to develop even peaceful nuclear development, given the problems that poses. Not true. In 1970, they projected that it would need all of its oil production domestically by 2010. Since then, Iran has declined economically, but it still would want to spare its oil for export income. With its civilian nuclear base, Iran easily can develop military usage. If Iran were a peaceful country, this would not matter (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/2004, p.18 from Ardreshir Zahedi, Scotsman, 7/1). Too many matches for fire-prevention. S. ARABIA'S BIG MISTAKE Decades ago, Egypt and Syria expelled Islamists. S. Arabia welcomed them. As the Islamist strength in the country grew, the royal family turned education, courts, and cultural affairs over to it. It was then, in the 1980s, that women were prohibited from television, music was banned from the media, stores closed during prayer times, the religious police were given more power, and religion was emphasized in school (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/2004, p.19 from Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 6/28). The country went from bad to worse. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. |
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WHAT IS REALLY SHOCKING, AND WHO IS REALLY INCITING
Posted by Women in Green, September 26, 2004. |
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Below is an English translation of the article that Nadia Matar prepared in connection with the announced intention of the Minister of Internal Security, Gideon Ezra, who publicly announced that Nadia would be interrogated by the police before Yom Kippur. That did not happen. The essay contains a list of quotes, and is therefore longer than usual. However it is a must for members of the National Camp to use in case he or she is accused of "incitement." I sent a letter to the head of the Deportation Administration, Mr. Yonatan Bassi, in which I wrote that the fact that he plans to send a personal letter to each of the inhabitants of Gush Katif designated for transfer, and that his letter contains a "personal appeal and initial explanation of the evacuation process," fills me with chilling associations from the Holocaust. I attached to my letter one that had been written by the Berlin Judenrat in 1942 to the Jewish community, with details and explanations of the approaching deportation. I wrote to Bassi that, in my opinion, the document from 1942 was chillingly similar to the letter that he was about to send. I further stated that I believe that "Yonatan Bassi is a much worse version of the Judenrat in the Holocaust, for then in the Holocaust, this was forced upon those Jewish leaders by the Nazis, and it is very difficult for us to judge them today. But today no one stands with a pistol to Bassi's head and forces him to cooperate with the deportation of the Jews of Gush Katif and northern Samaria." I added that "whoever aids in the deportation of the Jews of Gush
Katif and northern Samaria in actuality aids an anti-Semitic act, and
will be so remembered to everlasting abhorrence." I concluded the
letter with an emotional appeal to Bassi that "he still can resign
from his contemptible position and enter Yom Kippur, the Day of
Judgment, clean and at peace with his conscience, without being part
of the modern Judenrat - the Deportation Administration" (the entire
letter in Hebrew and the letter from 1942, also in Hebrew, can be seen
at the Hebrew language Women in Green web site:
The letter received wide exposure, and I must admit - I am shocked.
I am shocked by the responses of the establishment and the state
media. All cry out to high heaven, because of the use of the strong
epithet I applied to Bassi - while, on the other hand, no one is
disturbed by the criminal act that Ariel Sharon seeks to commit, with
Bassi's help, against which I cry out in my letter: the brutal
deportation of Jews from their inheritance and their homes - most of
whom are already the third generation on the land - men, women, and
children, against their will, solely because they are Jews. This will
be accompanied by the razing of their homes, the elimination of their
lives' undertaking, the destruction of scores of synagogues, ritual
baths, kindergartens, libraries, and schools; the disinterment of
dozens of bodies from the cemeteries - many of them, the victims of
Arab terror. And the trauma of ethnic cleansing will be followed by
the ultimate crime: the handing over of all the Judenrein territory to
the Arab enemy, territory that is the inheritance of our forefathers,
that they were given by G-d, and that no Jew is permitted to give
away. This is a national crime that will (correctly) be interpreted by
the Arab enemy as a victory for terror, and will incite it to continue
to murder Jews in Israel and throughout the world, knowing that these
murders will result in additional "disengagement" plans - and this
time from Netanyah, Haderah, Askhelon, Beersheva, Tel Aviv, and
Jerusalem.
Instead of this terrifying scenario shaking every Jew to the very
depths of his soul, instead of this scenario causing every public
figure in Israel - the politicians, the Rabbis, civil rights
activists, journalists, and others - from stopping their everyday
routine to cry for help "Gevalt!", instead of this scenario resulting
in a general strike by the entire country until the despicable plan is
shelved, instead of all that, this is accepted naturally, with
frightening tranquility. Yes, they "express sorrow and identification
with those earmarked for uprooting and transfer, "but there is no
shock, no outcry of "Gevalt," no proclamation that this is
inconceivable, as if this were a heavenly decree! And about what is
everyone alarmed? About the victim daring to call the hangman names!!
Just imagine the response in Israel and the world if the French
government were to declare that "because of the great antagonism
between Muslims and Jews in Paris, all the Jews must leave Paris by
the end of 2005." All the houses of the Jews, the synagogues, the
schools, and all other Jewish properties in Paris would be put at the
disposal of the Muslim community. Jews who would oppose the evacuation
would be forcibly placed in internment camps by the French security
forces. Just imagine the response in Israel and the world if the
Israeli Prime Minister were to declare that "by the end of 2005 there
will no longer be any Arabs in Israel." Every Arab who would dare to
resist the evacuation would be removed forcibly by the security forces
and would be arrested. In each of the cases depicted above, a
worldwide outcry would result. Everyone would compare the decree to
the Holocaust period. Derogatory epithets would be hurled at those
implementing the deportation, and the entire country would be
disrupted by violent demonstrations, that would be organized
spontaneously as soon as the plan became known.
And I ask: how is it that when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
proclaims to the entire world that "by the end of 2005 there will no
longer be any Jews in Gaza," and even adds that the operation to
deport Jews, simply because they are Jews, is not limited to Gaza, but
also that additional extensive portions of our land, our homeland,
will be handed over to the Arab enemy and become Judenrein - this is
accepted without an upheaval similar to the outcry that would arise in
response to either of these two scenarios?
One woman answered this question and told me: "Because Ariel Sharon
is a Jew and this is a government of Jews, and so they are permitted."
To which I respond: To the contrary! This is even more horrendous,
just because this is a Jewish government! Master of the Universe,
after two thousand years of Exile during which the worst of
anti-Semites persecuted the Jews, expelled us, murdered us, burnt us,
we have finally returned to the portion of our forefathers, to the
Promised Land, and we established the State of Israel "to be a free
people in our land" - and, oh, the horror of it! here, too, we are
deported because we are Jews. This time it is not the Romans who are
committing the crime, but our Jewish brothers! This is a crime for
which there can be no atonement.
The late Shmuel Shnitzer already wrote about this in 1990, in an
article in Maariv (February 23, 1990) entitled "The Racists": If we
are the people of the Bible, if "the Land of Israel was the birthplace
of the Jewish people" (in the words of the Israeli Proclamation of
Independence), if this land is the land of the dreams, longings, and
prayers of the people of Israel throughout all the generations of its
exile and dispersion, how is it possible to determine, specifically
now, that some areas are outside the bounds of the Children of Israel?
In the places where the residence of Jews must be stopped, in the past
the kings of Israel were enthroned, the prophets of Israel delivered
their message of morality and justice, the freedom fighters of Israel
shed their blood in the defense of their homeland. And there, of all
the lands in the world, will be established the only area in the
modern world in which the residence of Jews will be prohibited? I do
not think that discrimination against Jews and the determination of
areas within the Land of Israel as Judenrein, in which Jews may not
live, becomes more respectable due to the fact that some Jews consent
to this. For me, the true nature of all the restrictions of the
"except for Jews" type is not in question. Whoever champions them,
whoever preaches on their behalf, whoever bases his political theory
on them, has to be capable of explaining why this anti-Jewish
discrimination is any better or more valid than the old type that the
world vomited up in revulsion 45 years ago.
Accordingly, in order to upset the entire system, I wrote what I did to Bassi. Since I have learned from the Internet that I might shortly have to undergo questioning by the police for my statements, I therefore wish to defend my letter, and show that there is nothing wrong, or inciting, in the epithets and the comparison that I used. I will show that it is not I who should be put on trial, but other prominent public figures.
My use of the word "Judenrat" and my stating to Bassi that "you are
worse than the Judenrat of that time" resulted in two types of harsh
criticism directed against me by the media and by the establishment.
The first charge raised against me is that the use of Holocaust
terminology is unfit and forbidden. The second, that my letter
constitutes incitement to harm Bassi.
I wish to relate to both charges, to categorically deny them, and
to indicate the hypocrisy of my critics:
1) The use of Holocaust terminology: The Jewish public in Israel
and the world, from the left and the right, is divided on the question
of the permissibility of the use of Holocaust terminology. Is it
legitimate to compare then and now? Doesn't the use of terms from, and
comparisons with, the Holocaust diminish the horrors of the
destruction of European Jewry? Some say that the entire subject of the
Holocaust is untouchable. It is sacred, and we are not allowed to use
any word that recalls the Holocaust, because there is no situation
today that can be comparable to what was then. I respect those who
hold such an opinion, and I know that I cannot convince them to think
otherwise. Since, however, they do not have a monopoly on the
Holocaust, I am entitled to disagree with them and maintain that it is
very important to make comparisons, to draw conclusions, and to act so
that there will not be another Holocaust.
I was born and raised in Belgium. A considerable portion of my
family was destroyed in the Holocaust. Throughout my childhood I heard
from my grandparents about the stories and about the horrors. Already
at a young age I made a promise to myself to do everything so that it
would not happen again, that I would act so that the murder of my
family would not have been for nothing, that I would do everything not
to forget, and not to forgive.
In my humble opinion, the Holocaust is an event that could recur,
in some form or other, if we do not open our eyes and understand that
the Nazi monster is still breathing, and attempting to continue what
Hitler, may his memory be blotted out, did not have time to finish. I
am speaking of the Arabs around us, who have been trying, even from
before the establishment of the State of Israel, to eliminate any
Jewish existence in Eretz Israel, regardless of our borders. The Arabs
have been murdering us on a daily basis from the days of the pogroms
in 1929 (when it could not be claimed that we were "occupiers"). They
slaughter Jews at every opportunity, whether in war or in terror
attack, cold-bloodedly firing at the heads of Jewish infants. Muslim
suicide bombers explode buses, pizza parlors, and discotheques full of
Jews. It is they who are the modern version of the Nazis. Every
thinking person knows, or should know, that Hitler's legacy plays a
starring role in the Muslim world. Hitler's book Mein Kampf is a
bestseller in all the Arab countries. Everyone knows, or should know,
that the hero of the Arabs, Haj Amin el-Husseini, was Hitler's close
friend, and together they planned the Holocaust of the Jews of Eretz
Israel. Every intelligent person knows, or should know, that all the
wars and terror attacks by the Arabs against us have the same goal:
the total destruction of the State of Israel, and the elimination of
all its Jewish inhabitants. Every intelligent person knows, or should
know, that every sign of weakness, submission, or retreat by Israel
will encourage the Nazi-Arab enemy and incite him to engage in more
and more terror.
Consequently, every political plan that will merely play into the
hands of the Nazi-Arab enemy and bring him closer to his final goal,
that is, the removal of the Jews from Israel and the elimination of
the Jewish state, is a dangerous plan against which we must sound the
alarm. While, during the Holocaust, the Jews of the Judenrat played
into the hands of the Nazi foe when they (unwillingly) collaborated
and aided in the deportation of the Jews (without knowing the
destination of the transports); today, Sharon's deportation plan also
plays into the hands of the Nazi-Arab enemy, incites him to murder
more and more Jews, and is liable - if, Heaven forbid, it were to be
realized - to result in tens of thousands of murdered Jews, by
Katushas and rockets fired from Gaza and northern Samaria to the
densely populated centers in Gush Dan. In addition, Sharon's plan
would give fuel to the antisemites in the world. They would rightfully
say: "If a Jewish government can uproot Jews and deport them from
their historic homeland; we in Europe can do the same and deport our
Jews far away from here". Thus, in my eyes, the comparison between
Yonatan Bassi (and Ariel Sharon) and the Judenrat is definitely
appropriate. With the proviso that Bassi and Sharon constitute a much
more horrible version, since, unlike the Judenrat of then, today,
there is no one holding a gun to Sharon and Bassi's forehead and
demanding that they commit the deportation crime.
People like Minister Sharansky, who claimed that I compared the
government of Israel with the Nazi regime, are wrong and deceptive. I
would never compare Jew and Nazi! As I said, the Arabs who murder us
today should remind us of the Nazis then. And Jews who play into the
hands of the Nazi-Arab enemy with political plans that are the
realization of the Hamas platform (the expulsion of Jews from Eretz
Israel) should remind us of the Judenrat, in a more terrible version.
All those who have joined the outcry should recall the words of
Ariel Sharon from nine years ago, when he was interviewed by the Kfar
Habad magazine. On the agenda at the time was the declaration by the
then Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, that within the framework of Oslo
it might be necessary to evacuate several settlements. When Ariel
Sharon was asked about this, he issued a clear statement: "I am happy
to say that nothing will be of avail to the government and its aims:
the settlers do not intend to move from these places." When he was
asked: "If so, then what response from them do you expect when an
attempt will be made to evacuate the settlements?", Sharon continued:
"This is inconceivable. [...] This would be an extremely grave matter.
In my opinion, people will not leave, and I think that the government
has to think well where this decision will lead. This will result in
the most severe consequences [...] to civil war."
Mr. Sharon also had a clear definition of the government and its
head, who were capable of even conceiving of the possibility of a
withdrawal and the evacuation of settlements. Sharon also said in the
same interview:
If, nine years ago, none other than the Prime Minister himself
compared the Rabin-Peres government to a Judenrat, because of their
willingness to expel Jews from the Land of Israel, why, all of a
sudden, is it forbidden to compare the government of Sharon and his
aides, such as Yonatan Bassi, with a Judenrat?
Here is the place to cry out against the hypocrisy of those
attacking me. In my letter I did not compare Bassi or Sharon to the
Nazis, but to the Jewish Judenrat. Notwithstanding this, everyone in
the media fell on me, crying out to the heavens. In contrast, the list
of public figures from the Israeli left who compared Jews to Nazis is
extremely long - and they were not attacked, neither by Yad Vashem nor
by government ministers. They, of course, will not be placed on trial.
The following reminder is a short selection from this lengthy list:
- Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz: "IDF soldiers are Judeo-Nazis."
- Prof. Moshe Zimmerman, from the Hebrew University: "The children
of Hebron are Hitlerjugend."
- Uzi Benzamin, Haaretz, 2002: "The behavior of those who are called the 'youth of the hills' among the settlers is reminiscent of that of the skinheads in Europe and the US."
- Prof. Michael Harsegor, Haaretz, September 1996: "The leaders of the ultra-Orthodox are the enemies of democracy, no less than the blackshirts or the heads of the National Socialist Workers' Party [the full name of the Nazi party]."
- Shulamit Aloni, Maariv, December 2002: "Eli Yishai (as Interior Minister) acts in accordance with the Nuremberg Laws [...] the [PR] film [by the Shas party] reminds me of a Nazi propaganda film."
- Haaretz, May 1996: "The editors of Der Stuermer [the newspaper of the Nazi party] would enjoy reading these headlines [from the Likud election propaganda]."
- the newspaper of the Tel Aviv University student organization, May 2002: "Citizen, religion is your enemy, it is incumbent upon every Israeli citizen to fight it. [...] When a person chooses to believe these lies, he throws man's essence into the garbage can. [...] Others will come and say that this makes [a person feel] good. [...] Many of those who joined the Nazi Party also experienced spiritual elevation and joy."
- Yedioth Ahronoth, Shlomo Gazit: "The religious soldiers remind me of the Nazis."
- Kidmah ("Progress"!), January 2003: "A general statement may be made of the ideological settlers, that they are much worse than any neo-Nazi in Austria."
- For many years the sculptor Yigal Tomarkin has made statements
and engaged in acts that anti-Semites would not be ashamed to utter or
do. For example, in 1980 he brought a pig enwrapped in tefilin to
Malkhei Yisrael Square, in protest against the settlements. Some of
his utterances that are reminiscent of leading anti-Semites: "When I
see the ultra-Orthodox, I understand the Nazis," or "I identify the
religious by their smell." In 1988 he won the Sussman prize by Yad
Vashem(!) for his works relating to the Holocaust, but the awarding of
the prize was canceled due to protests against him. Despite all his
anti-Semitic statements, Tomarkin recently received the Israel Prize
for sculpture from Education Minister Limor Livnat.
2) Incitement to Violence?: Now that we have shown that
there definitely is cause for a historical comparison between the
Bassi letter to the residents of Gush Katif and the letter from the
Judenrat to the Jews of Berlin, and we have demonstrated that many
others in the public sphere in Israel use terminology from the period
of the Holocaust, we must attack the second argument against my
letter: as if my statements constitute incitement to violence.
The following is the relevant section of the Penal Code, 1977 (as
amended in Amendment no. 66, on May 22, 2002): 144d2. Incitement to
Violence or Terror [amendment: 2002(3)] (a) One who publicly calls to
commit an act of violence or terror, or issues a statement of praise,
sympathy, or encouragement for an act of violence or terror, support
of it or identification with it (in this section: inciting
publication), and in accordance with the content of the inciting
publication and the circumstances in which it was publicized, there is
a real possibility that it will lead to the performance of an act of
violence or terror, is punishable by five years imprisonment. (b)In
this section, "an act of violence or terror" is an offense that harms
a person's body or places a person in danger of death or in danger of
serious injury.
In other words, a call that is liable to constitute the offense of
incitement must include an explicit call for inflicting serious bodily
injury to someone. What connection does this have to my letter to
Bassi, in which all I did was draw a historical parallel between two
documents, and appeal to Bassi to resign from his contemptible
position?
But now that the subject of incitement has entered the public
discourse - I wish to direct the attention of Police Minister Gideon
Ezra and the Attorney-General to clear calls of incitement to murder
and violence, that for some reason have not been subject to any legal
treatment. The inciters have not yet been questioned or placed on
trial. Could this ensue from the fact that the inciters are situated
on the left side of the Israeli political map? The following is a
collection from among a lengthy list of such incitement (some of the
quotations were found in the archives of the Hatzofeh newspaper):
- Yonatan Gefen, Maariv, May 1998: "Secular Israel is the occupied territories of the religious parties. If the secular desire to live here, they have no choice but to start an intifada. Yes, I am prepared to throw the first stone." Here, as well, the police decided that there was no need to investigate these statements.
- Sheike Levi, Yedioth Tikshoret, November 2003: "The settlers are lunatics, I get angry even if I only hear about them. [...] I cannot tolerate small children with peyot [sidelocks], that they have a mori [a traditional Yemenite teacher], who teaches them to be Yemenites and not Israelis. I wanted to grab their mori and break his bones."
- Ha-Kibbutz newsletter, August 1995: "They [the settlers] are not my brothers. [...] A civil war will be a war [...] I will run to it [...] and I will crush their flesh with mighty blows, to rout them. [...] I will go forth to the foe in order to fight, for once, a justified war. [...] Much blood will be shed."
- Michael Roeh, Meretz faction, June 1998: "We have established anti-ultra-Orthodox reconnaissance units that will knock off the heads of the ultra-Orthodox."
- Yonatan Gefen, Maariv, 1996: dreams of the assassination of
Netanyahu: "I was angry, and I wrote that I had a wet dream that I
shot Bibbi Netanyahu twice. They didn't print this. And why is it
permitted to print [...], while they continually reject my wet dream
about rubbing out Bibbi Netanyahu?"
- Hadashot newspaper, October 1992: "The ultra-Orthodox should be hung from electric poles."
- Haolam Hazeh, Uri Avneri, November 1988: "The time has come to bury them [the settlers]."
- Davar, Zeev Sternhal, April 1988: "Fascism cannot be stopped with rational arguments. This can be stopped only by force, and when there is willingness to risk a civil war. When necessary, we shall have to forcibly deal with the settlers in Ofrah or in Eilon Moreh. Only a person who is willing to advance against Ofrah with tanks will be capable of curbing the fascist drift that threatens to inundate Israeli democracy."
- Yoel Marcus, Haaretz, July 9, 2004, an article entitled "Don't
Try and Frighten Us with Bloodshed": "They should not try to frighten
a nation - tens of thousands of whose sons were killed in wars to
ensure its very existence - with [the prospect of] the shedding of
blood in the cause of peace."
- MK Abu Vilan, from the Yahad party, in an interview with Ari
Shavit, Haaretz, September 5, 2004: "If, Heaven forbid, they will
force us, we will be compelled to open fire [against the settlers].
[...] It will be necessary to pull the trigger, slowly, responsibly,
coolheadedly, and intelligently."
- Ami Ayalon, the former head of the General Security Service, in an
interview in Yedioth Ahronoth, November 14, 2003: suggests killing, in
cold blood, the "problematic" settlers who would refuse to willingly
be evacuated of their own free will: "I will say this in clear words:
There is more than one Altalena in the life of every state or nation.
[...] The political leadership in the State of Israel has already
taken difficult decisions when the alternative was clear, and in the
future the political leadership will have to take difficult decisions
when the alternative is clear." Anyone who is familiar with the
Altalena episode (in which sixteen Jews, Ben-Gurion's political
rivals, who were swimming, unarmed, in the sea towards the coast, were
coldbloodedly murdered by the Palmah under the command of Yitzhak
Rabin) knows that the call to conduct an "Altalena" against a
political rival is incitement to murder that rival. The Women in Green
lodged a complaint with the Attorney-General for Ayalon's inciting
statements. Talia Sasson wrote in her reply: "After an examination of
this matter, it was decided that what Mr. Ami Ayalon said in the
context of the interview that is the subject of the complaint does not
constitute a criminal transgression. It is our understanding that Mr.
Ami Ayalon did not call for the implementation of a violent act
against settlers, but rather estimated that when it will be necessary
to evacuate settlements, there will be a certain percentage of
inhabitants who will not consent to be evacuated from the settlements
of their own free will. In such a situation, he maintains, the state
will have no alternative other than to confront anyone who will not
obey the legal order of the elected government. As was noted, I did
not find any transgression in these statements." In other words, Talia
Sasson, on behalf of the State Attorney's Office, justifies the cold
blooded murder of settlers, just because they would refuse to be
evacuated of their own free will.
In light of all the above, the conclusion to be drawn is
unequivocal: the offensive launched against my letter has a single
purpose - this is a Bolshevik attempt to stifle the National Camp, and
prevent it from expressing its strong opposition to Ariel Sharon's
deportation plan, a plan that Sharon is dictatorially imposing on the
public, against the wishes of the majority of the people. In the last
elections, a majority of the people voted for Sharon, because he
convinced us that Amram Mitzna's unilateral withdrawal plan from Gaza
would be disastrous for the country. To our amazement, after his
victory, Sharon decided to push through Amram Mitzna's plan! In this
manner Sharon stole our votes and deceived the people!
The broad support from the people that I received in light of the
blatant attempt to block my freedom of expression - the many telephone
calls, the e-mails, and the faxes of support and encouragement - prove
to me, once again, that the majority of the public has a healthy
spirit, loves the Jewish People, and loves its Homeland and its
Heritage. Our problem is with our weak and galut (diaspora-like)
political leadership, which demeans itself before the enemy in an
attempt to curry favor. This is a political leadership lacking a
Jewish backbone, without roots, without values, without loyalty to the
people of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the Land of Israel.
This corrupt leadership will never succeed in silencing us. We
shall continue to proclaim before the whole world: Eretz Israel
belongs to the People of Israel, in accordance with the Torah of
Israel, and no Jew has the right to hand it over to the enemy. With
God's help, the people of Israel shall be victorious. I will conclude
with Ariel Sharon's words from nine years ago, in the interview in
Kfar Habad:
"On the occasion of the New Year, I want to address the people (not
the government, because there's no one to talk to there): In this
difficult hour, you must reveal courage and spiritual powers, and
understand that if you desire independent existence, you must be
prepared to struggle for Eretz Israel. Eretz Israel is the 'desirable
land,' but it is also a harsh land in which we must contend, both with
ourselves and with our brothers. I naturally would want to wish you
all that true peace, tranquility, and security would reign here - but
what the Jews really need as the new year approaches is to return to
themselves, to walk with Jewish pride, and to act as a real people;
and above all, to be ready for the struggle as the time of testing
approaches. I want to wish the entire Jewish people, in Israel and in
the Diaspora, that this shall truly be a good year, and that we will
finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, with the removal of
the current government and the establishment of a Jewish government
that shall act as such in all realms."
To these words by Ariel Sharon from nine years ago, we can only
add: Amen, May it be G-d's Will!.
Nadia Matar
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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SHARON HAS VIOLATED HIS CITIZENS' RIGHTS
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, September 26, 2004. |
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THIS JUST IN!: "Disengagement Plan Law: Israelis Who Remain Can Be Imprisoned 5 Years, Possessions Seized" by Dr. Aaron Lerner. A review of the proposed Disengagement Plan Law presented today in Hebrew on the Ministry of Justice website (http://www.justice.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/7D7CD9F9-A421-4E68-BD89-4EE560E B5207/9689/Hitnatkut1.pdf?thumbnail=true&label=Hitnatkut.pdf) finds that Article 27 (A)(2) provides for the imprisonment for five years of residents of communities who decline to leave their homes before the evacuation date. Those residents who have no knives (possibly even no kitchen knives) or guns in their possession who decline to leave their homes before the evacuation date could be imprisoned for 3 years. Prime Minister Sharon seems to have adopted a version of Hitler's Nuremberg Laws which made Jews non-citizens of the German Reich. He is forcing Jews to divest themselves of their homes and property. In furtherance of Sharon's government shift to dictatorial procedures, Attorney General Mazuz has issued guidelines on what he and Justice Minister Tomy Lapid consider incitement - which apparently is anthing opposing Sharon's unilateral 'Disengagement Retreat' Plans. (more on this in a later article) WHAT DID WE KNOW ABOUT THIS? WHEN DID WE KNOW IT? WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? What is the responsibility of a citizen to his or her government when elected leaders start to rule by fiat? Generally that's called a dictatorship. Regrettably, I see that happening in Israel today as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rules on uprooting 8,300 Jewish men, women and children without a consensus in the Knesset, his own political party and its platform or a referendum by the people. Israel's government has drifted far from anything that could conceivably be called a 'democracy'. These ruling cliques hold the citizenry in contempt and clearly state that they, the so-called elected leaders "know best". Sharon answers to nothing, no one and pledges to move forward his re-partition plans for the Nation as if he owned title to all the Land of Israel. Moreover, he has become enslaved to the interests of Israel's great friend, the United States. But, that is not entirely true, given that it is the American people and the American Congress who view Israel as a friend and strategic ally. They see clearly that, if Israel divests herself of any land she will become more vulnerable and weakened as an ally. Some others in America has special interests to look after. Here we find the pro-Arab State Department, the oil multi-national companies who try to manipulate the American citizenry on the theory that they "know best". These special Arabist vested interests wish to dictate to Israel whatever orders will appease the Arab Muslim oil nations and their Terrorist organizations' representatives or proxies. To accomplish the full cycle of appeasement, it is imperative that these pro-Arab promoters control one of the main entities of Muslim rage, namely the Jewish State of Israel. Why the rage? Because the Jews beat the Arab Muslims in six wars and made the Land of Israel bloom where it was only barren while the Jews were exiled from it. Israel can only be 'controlled' if they (American pro-Arab vested interests) have a lock on the office of Israel's Prime Minister and her Leftist Supreme Court. The recruitment of these power centers in Israel has been ongoing for a long time with a carrot and stick technique. The 'stick' is the threat to cut off the 'carrot' which includes the aid, technology, arms and such political assistance the U.S. can offer in such hostile organizations as the U.N. There may be other threats the U.S. holds over the State of Israel so dire that even the most stalwart of defenders for Israel's security and sovereignty are defeated and blackmailed into cowed submission to the will of the pro-Arab State Department who runs American foreign policy no matter who is President. No doubt, Sharon is on a short leash and has gotten used to taking orders to "heel" like any well-trained dog. So, Sharon's dictatorial ways are a combination of his arrogance, his inflated ego and orders from the U.S. Administration - run by the pro-Arab State Department whose interests he serves as he thinks he must. Furthermore, Sharon expects Israel's citizenry to obey his diktats without question. If they resist - even to defend their own homes as all democratic citizens must - he immediately tries to put the powers that are at his disposal into motion to quash any resistance. The draconian Articles above from the Disengagement Plan prove this very point. IF Sharon was right, correct and had the right to take these Jewish men, women and children from homes, farms, schools, synagogues, factories, businesses, infrastructure, water and, yes, even from their cemeteries, he wouldn't need to threaten 5 years of prison. If he were correct, there wouldn't be any resistance, human chain, demonstrations, rallies.....signs calling him a dictator. None of those are incitement. What he is planning to do to his own people - THAT IS INCITEMENT! Arik Sharon was a great part of the defense of the Jewish people and their new State and earned our sincere and devoted admiration. But, that was yesterday. Sharon is now perceived as acting like the dedicated enemies of the Jews. After 56 years of War and incessant Terror attacks where we lost tens of thousands, Sharon breaks and runs! Is it any wonder that many Israelis, Jews and pro-Israel Christians around the world have come to literally hate this man? If you re-read the devastating punishments he threatens his own people with, you would know why he has earned this hatred. Perhaps Sharon is not entirely to blame, given that Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres crossed that line when they created the Oslo Accords without consensus. In either case, the public was manipulated and tricked into thinking that their elected officials had extraordinary powers. That even the Knesset (Parliament) was merely a collection of weak politicians who did very little to protect the Jewish nation but, did have broad gifts of expense accounts, long vacations, free cars, etc. Except for a handful of dedicated M.K.s (Members of Knesset), most were merely political hacks, simply along for the perks of a free ride. So don't count on the Knesset as gatekeepers to prevent the excesses of a Prime Minister who rules by fiat. And note who he has as his largest coalition partners in government: the Shinui Party with Tomy Lapid as Minister of Justice. "Shinui" means "change". They want to 'change' Israel from being Jewish State to being a state of all its citizens. They want to de-Judaize the world's only Jewish State that was given to the Jewish people by G-d forever. And it is Tomy Lapid's Justice Ministry who issues these appalling threats of retribution if those Jews who are forcibly uprooted resist as any normal person would. Lapid and Shinui are also trying to strip Israel of Jewish law and have cut humanitarian budgets to Jewish families, schools and institutions. Another decaying system is the Israeli Supreme Court which is known for its political activism under another type of dictator, Aharon Barak. They have shown themselves to be politically Left in the extreme. They actually pick their own replacements in office and answer to no one. They are a dictatorial cabal who have shown great hostility to those pejoratively called 'settlers' while reflecting the radical Left in their pro-Arab rulings. Best recent example: The Security Fence has to be moved to accommodate the agriculture of the Arab Muslims, even if, (as they acknowledge) it further endangers Jewish lives by bringing potential Terrorists closer to Jewish population centers. An Arab's trees and crops have more 'rights' than do Jewish citizens have 'rights' to life. Hopefully, no Jew will lift his hand against Sharon but that does not stop G-d from taking a hand. I wonder if the Spirits of the Dead Jews past are watching Sharon tear down the nation, brick by brick, for which they sacrificed their lives and the lives of the unborn future children. As is foretold in Tanach and the Daily Prayers, G-d will raise the dead. Perhaps the true heroes of Israel's dead will rise up in a mighty army to face Sharon and drive him and those he recruited to dispose of the Land. No doubt, King David would take up his sword. Perhaps the thousands who died fighting the Egyptians in the Sinai or those who scaled the Golan Height to defeat Syria would rise up out of their graves to defeat any who would demolish the Jewish State they fought and died for. Remember the acclaimed Muslim poet Darweisha who tells the Jews to dig up their dead bones take them with you out of our (Muslim - sic) land. Sharon has grown accustomed to his adopted role of dictator and becomes enraged when thwarted. When told by senior Military and Intelligence officers that a "Judenrein" (Jew-free) Gaza will become a staging area for long range, accurate missiles, shipped from Iran, he literally tells them to "Shut Up!" And he declares: nothing will stop his plans for transfer of Jews from their land. Sharon is like a huge ship, heading toward an iceberg with so much built-up momentum, he cannot stop. Which is why Sharon's Ship of State must come to an end. The people must demand a vote, a peoples' referendum, new elections to stop the destruction, deaths, dire injuries and terror that he has wrought. Sharon is no longer fighting for the Jews against the enemy. He is now fighting his own people to aid and comfort our declared enemies, the Arab Muslims and all who would defend their rights to attack and destroy the Jewish State. Sharon has become a clear and present danger to the Jews and the Jewish State and the people have an obligation to change this government. There has been much talk of Civil War. Perhaps Sharon is causing this by accusing his own people of threatening him - when it is he who is threatening them. ### 1. "Disengagement Plan Law: Israelis who remain can be imprisoned 5 years, possessions seized", 26 September 2004, by Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director of IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis) (Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava) Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730 INTERNET ADDRESS: Website: http://www.imra.org.il 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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AUSTRIAN NAZI ACT PERFORMING IN TEL AVIV
Posted by Jens Misera, September 26, 2004. |
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Shalom, please sign the following letter and send it to the email addresses listed below. please spread this mail as well. The flyer that has been distributed in Tel Aviv can be viewed at: http://ulitsky.freeservers.com/pics/kosmonaut0910.jpg Regards,
To the organizers of the "Bunker Nights Festival Part 1" njstudio@njstudio.co.il On October 9th 2004 the "Bunker Nights Festival Part 1" is supposed to take place at the night club "Kosmonaut" in Tel Aviv. One of the acts that has been announced to perform at this event is the Austrian neo-Nazi band "Der Blutharsch". "Der Blutharsch" (a synonym for "dried blood") is an Austrian white power music act headed by Albin Julius which was founded in 1997 with the assistance of the leader of another (better known) neo-Nazi band called "Death in June", Douglass Pierce. "Der Blutharsch" takes great pride in their use of fascist symbols, and is well known for its use of Nazi imagery. "Der Blutharsch" attracts neo-Nazi's and right wing extremists across Europe. In March 2003, a concert in Clausnitz, Germany was even cancelled by the German government. A statement released by the security police concluded that "Der Blutharsch" has "right wing extremist tendencies." (The statement has significant weight in Germany, given the legal impermissibility of such extremism.) On September 28th 2004 a concert with "Der Blutharsch" is scheduled in Leiden, Netherlands. Anti-Facist groups in that area have called upon the organizers to call off that event as well because of "Der Blutharsch"s" National-Socialist orientation. Those tendencies are evident in the packaging and music of the band. The logo of "Der Blutharsch" is a Sig-rune, like the Waffen-SS used. Their website also relies on the Nazi Iron Cross and the logo of the Hitler Youth. The covers of their albums are also adorned with Nazi art. The cover of the CD "Der Sieg des Lichtes ist des Lebens Heil!" (The triumph of light is the life's Heil) is part of a picture about the Varus battle, painted by the Nazi Werner Peiner. The cover of their CD "The pleasures received in Pain" is a reprint of a painting by Nazi artist Ferdinand Staeger. The album contains songs sampling lyrics from the Hitler Youth marching anthem "Forward!" and other speeches and marches. The EP "Adesso viene IL bell" even contains eight songs from Italian fascism. On a live-videon - published in 1999, named "Gold gab ich fur Eisen" (I gave gold for iron) - of the second tour, a "Finnish version of Lili Marleen, a popular song in Germany during World War II, was played (called "Lisa Pien"). The song was dedicated to the "Europaische Freiwillige der Waffen SS" (European volunteers of the Waffen SS) and "Marsch des Sturmatillerie" (march of the storm artillery). On their second tour they were performing together with "Death in June". At the end of the video, the second singer Wilhelm Herich shouted "Free Pinochet". The only Israeli act that has been announced to perform at the festival is called "Gesichter des Todes" (Faces of death), which is apparently named after the snuff movies of the same name. Besides that "Gesichter des Todes" quotes the neo-Nazi band "Death in June" (that was mentioned above) on their website as well, and reveals thereby its sympathy for that train of thoughts. The name "Death in June" refers to June 30, 1934, the "Night of Long Knives," when Hitler had Ernst Roehm and other leaders of the SA (nazi stormtroopers) murdered. Roehm and his faction were highly critical of Hitler's policies (even though they were still Nazis) and are associated with a branch of fascist ideology called "National Bolshevism" spearheaded by Gregor Strasser. The National Bolsheviks argued for a "more socialist version" of NS and criticized Hitler's reliance on industrial capitalists. "Death in June" repeatedly used fascist and nazi symbols on their albums and on stage, including the Death's Head (worn as a pin by nazi SS soldiers), the Life Rune (a pagan symbol commonly used by fascists) and the Black Sun (another rune used by the SS). Likewise, members of Death in June have often worn nazi Waffen-SS uniforms on stage. I hereby call upon the organizers to refrain from supporting this event and to prevent it from happening in Israel. Signature |
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I WANT TO BE BURIED IN GUSH KATIF
Posted by Dror Vanunu, September 26, 2004. |
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At dawn Thursday the Israeli Army military post near Morag was attacked by terrorists. Three soldiers belonging to the Givati unit were killed in the attack. When morning came, with it came the dreadful news. Yisrael Lutati, a resident of Neve Dekalim, was one of those killed in this attack. Everyone knew the twenty-year- old young man, son of one of the long-time resident families in Gush Katif, who was always one of the first to volunteer and to offer his help wherever needed. At the age of fifteen, Yisrael began volunteering with the Gush Katif medical and rescue teams, showing self- sacrifice and professionalism faced with terror events that happened in the area. A week ago Yisrael was injured when the army vehicle in which he was riding rolled over. In pite of his injury he immediately returned to his unit, saying "I am not willing to leave my friends to do the work. I am defending Gush Katif and the whole country." A few hours before dawn, as if he could foresee his impending death, he called all his close friends, from the post where he was serving and asked forgiveness from them as is traditionally done before the Yom Kippur fast. Eliahu Lutati, Yisrael's father did not hesitate for even a moment when called upon to determine where his son was to be buried, saying that Yisrael always said that if anything were to happen to him he wanted to be buried in Gush Katif. "I am sure that Sharon's expulsion plan, under which the 8,300 Jewish residents of Gush Katif are to be expelled from their homes, along with the local cemetery, will not succeed. The residents, the living and the dead will continue to live here forever." he said. Three thousand people took part in the military funeral as Yisrael was laid to rest in the local cemetery in Gush Katif. The dozens of journalists from Israel and from around the world who were present at the funeral were impressed by the fortitude and willpower of the Lutati family and of the residents of Gush Katif. A day after Tiferet Tratner from Neve Dekalim died from a mortar Shell explosion. Dror Vanunu is a resident of Gush Katif |
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MY HIDDEN MESSAGE: A 25-WORD DESCRIPTION OF SHARON AND HIS PLAN
Posted by Ken Heller, September 26, 2004. |
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Sharon's "Resettlement" Plan? In 25 words here is what I think of it ... Shameful Shana tova! 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 kjhnha@aol.com. |
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CONDOLENCE LETTERS TO LEFTISTS
Posted by Sally Melnick, September 26, 2004. |
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Israeli security sources have noted that Hamas in Damascus is increasingly involved in guiding, funding, and directing Palestinian Arab terrorist groups in the West Bank and Gaza. This is a news item from today's Arutz-7: A leading Hamas terrorist was killed in Damascus, Syria this afternoon. He was Iz-A-Din Al-Halib, a senior operations commander in the murderous organization, and was killed when his car blew up. No one else was hurt in the explosion. He was among the 400 terrorists expelled to Lebanon by the then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin in the 1980's, and was at one time the handler of the infamous Yichye Ayash, known as The Engineer. Official Israeli sources said they learned of Al-Halib's death via media reports, though it will be recalled that after the Be'er Sheva double-bus massacre of four weeks ago, Israel promised to strike out at terrorist leaders wherever they are, including in Syria. You might want to send letters of condolence to Israeli leftists for their sorrow over the exploded terrorists. Here are emails: Baruch Kimmerling at mskimmer@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il
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A QUESTION FOR LEGAL EAGLES
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, September 26, 2004. |
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This is for all the legal eagles out there. Is it not fraud to represent yourself as a government agent or agency if you are not? Is it not criminal as well? If not, can I set up my own "Supplementary Tax Authority" and send people letters advising them of their rights and the necessity of immediately paying me the supplemental tax I have levied on them? In a sense, this could be the ultimate expression of democracy. Whosoever wishes, can set up his own "Government" agency. Just think of the possibilities. This was a news item in Arutz-Sheva (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news). Evacuation Administration Sends Letters to Residents The war of nerves continues. Though the government has not yet mandated an Israeli withdrawal from Gush Katif and northern Shomron, and though the Knesset has not yet voted on it, the Evacuation Administration has begun to send letters to the residents advising them of their "rights." Gush Katif residents say they will send back the letters unopened, together with children's drawings and poems on the topic of "Gush Katif is My Home." Excerpts from the letter being sent by Evacuation Administration head Yonatan Bassi to the residents slated for expulsion: "We are well aware of the many personal, societal and economic ramifications of this program. We will do all we can to help you in the most sensitive, fair and professional manner that we can. Similarly, our meetings will be held in the most discreet manner - if you wish... The Government of Israel sees great importance in a dialogue with the population designated for evacuation on the various issues connected with the implementation of the plan, including financial compensation, guidance and support that will be needed - both for the community and the individual, and choosing a new location for settlement... You may contact us at this address: ..." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. |
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SHARON'S DEEPENING CRISIS OF LEGITIMACY
Posted by Ken Heller, September 26, 2004. |
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This was written by Bradley Burston, Haaretz Correspondent. It
appeared 23 September 2004
and is archived at www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=
480560&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
It is the High Holidays, the time of year when Jews are commanded to have second thoughts. Accordingly, in Israel, it is at this time of year that, in taking an honest look at themselves, their actions and interactions, their findings may be the most refreshing. And disturbing. Perhaps inevitably, much of the rethinking has shown itself on the Israeli left, which has at times raised the concept of second thoughts to the level of an art form, an alternative ideology, even a state religion. This month, as the right massed in tens of thousands to assail Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the conduct of his disengagement campaign, denouncing his drive to evacuate settlements as lacking all legitimacy, one of the most respected advocates of the withdrawal initiative lent her voice in unlikely backing for the prime minister's critics. "The central question is that of legitimacy," said Ruth Gavison, one of Israel's foremost professors of law and a founder and former president of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. "The Sharon government today has no clear legitimacy for the move that it is making," she said of the disengagement campaign, noting that the plan has yet to be approved either by the cabinet or the Knesset. "It is not at all certain that we should cooperate with this move, which threatens to take people out of their homes under the authority of such a shaky [legal] basis, without even so much as a cabinet decision." In fact, a number of attempts by Sharon to win formal backing for the plan have either been blunted or brusquely rebuffed. In May, the prime minister's bid to garner momentum for disengagement through a referendum of members of his Likud party ended in a humiliating defeat. A month later, Sharon's cabinet balked at ratifying the initiative. So divided was the cabinet that the prime minister ultimately sacked two far-right National Union ministers to ensure a majority. But even then, three of his five senior Likud ministers withheld their votes until the prime minister agreed to limit the decision to an anemic resolution on preparations for a possible future disengagement, which would then be subject to a potentially crippling series of phases and cabinet reconsiderations. In no small part, the secret weapon of the right in battling the disengagement has been the pointed, even ideological absence of second thoughts which has long been a hallmark of the Israeli right in general and of the religious right in particular. "This prime minister is weak - the Emperor has no clothes," Yesha settlers' council official Moshe Yogev declared this week in a meeting with pro-disengagement cabinet minister Gideon Ezra. "There's no security, there's no peace. Only withdrawal after withdrawal, and surrendering to terrorism. If Sharon can take a bulldozer and raze the study house set up by my parents in [the Gaza settlement of] Atzmona, I'm allowed to take a bulldozer and drive out to Sycamore Ranch [Sharon's home]." Second thoughts as second nature For many on the left, meanwhile, the Intifada, in particular Palestinian grass-roots support for deadly terror attacks in the hearts of Israeli cities, has shattered long-held tenets of belief. Bereft of a peace process, devoid of leadership, for many doves, second thoughts have become second nature. The legal ambiguity of the disengagement procedure - coupled with long-held suspicions regarding Ariel Sharon's true motives - has done little to generate leftist enthusiasm for the proposed withdrawal. "Had there been a stable government, and had it approved the move by a large majority, in my view there would have been no problem of legitimacy," Gavison told Israel Radio. "Not only was this very, very important condition not fulfilled, but even more significantly, the cabinet apparently failed to approve the disengagement because if it had taken a decision, the government would have fallen apart." Noting that the central party of the government, Sharon's Likud, was so divided over the disengagement that it showed signs of actively opposing it, Gavison said: "From the standpoint of a representative democracy, this is a very defective situation. There is no doubt, therefore, that Israel is currently suffering from what may be called a severe deficit of legitimacy." The legitimacy gap has prompted sharp recent debate over holding an unprecedented referendum over the disengagement. The prime minister has turned aside the calls, with his aides calling them a ploy by the right to stall for time in an effort to bring the disengagement to a halt. In the meantime, Sharon's campaign has begun once again to pick up steam. Last week, in the first concrete step toward disengagement, his security cabinet voted 9-1 to give a green light to down payments on compensation for settlers willing to voluntarily leave their homes in the 21 Gaza Strip settlements and four northern West Bank enclaves slated for removal under the plan. "It is indeed peculiar that a government can begin a move toward uprooting from their houses citizens that the government originally sent there - without a decision by the cabinet," Gavison said. Some of the steps the government is currently taking may be irreversible, she continued. Despite efforts by Sharon's predecessors Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu to nudge Israeli governance in the direction of a more American-style presidential rule, the Knesset has never relinquished the governmental center of gravity. The prime minister and his cabinet serve at the pleasure of parliament, which can topple a government in a single vote. Sharon, for his part, sees no legitimacy gap. He indicated in a radio interview Wednesday that the cabinet's muted decision to green-light preparations for the disengagement amounted to approval of the plan. "I am acting in a democratic manner," Sharon said. "The cabinet has accepted the decision. I will bring this decision to the Knesset. A decision of the cabinet and the Knesset is certainly appropriate legitimacy." Gavison saw it differently. "With all due respect to the prime minister, we have no presidential system. Sharon has been functioning like de Gaulle. Sharon needs to understand that his has no power other than that of his government. And his government, for the time being, is stuttering over the disengagement." Gavison compared the state of affairs to the waning months of the Barak government. "There was a great debate at the time in Israeli society, as Ehud Barak, with elections already imminent and it appeared headed for defeat, continued to conduct far-reaching negotiations on peace accords. I felt then that this was improper." The deepening legitimacy crisis has prompted senior IDF officers to advise Sharon that a "clear democratic process," which may mean new elections, a referendum, or Knesset ratification, could markedly smooth an avacuation process, particularly among settlers and Orthodox soldiers. Sharon has ruled out a general referendum or early elections as measures that would be unduly costly in time and money, and would in the end only serve to delay the disengagement. "We must make a maximum effort to refrain from elections, or to postpone them for as long as possible, until the central missions and goals facing us are carried out," the prime minister argued. But Gavison concluded that precisely in order to carry out the disengagement, Israel must be able to state that the people had had their say, and that a clear decision had been made. "Then it will truly be possible to do things that are among the hardest of all, in the name of the rules of the game of democracy. "As long as this situation is not in effect, I fear that we cannot do this. We cannot demand of people that their life's work be destroyed without a clear decision of the elected government." 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 kjhnha@aol.com. |
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TEMPLE MOUNT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESTRUCTION
Posted by Zachi Zweig, September 26, 2004. |
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Dear Friends, We finally got the appropriate licenses for executing the project for sifting the Temple Mount dumps. More information can be found at http://www.har-habayt.org. Please forward this to people who are concerned with such issues. Thanks in advance. In November 1999 illegal construction and excavation work took place on the Temple Mount that caused irreparable archaeological destruction. This is part of a larger trend of illegal work of the Wakf (the Moslem religious body in charge of Moslem holy sites) to change history and especially eradicate the remains of Jewish history on the Mount. The dirt dumps from these illegal works, saturated with archaeological material, were removed with bulldozers and trucks and discarded in the Kidron Valley. Though these archaeological remains are no longer in their original context they include great and important archaeological potential. Systematic scientific archaeological excavation has never been permitted on the Temple Mount, and these dumps contain the only archaeological information available from the Temple Mount. For example, the sampling and analysis of the ceramic material from the dumps can contribute to the ongoing archaeological discussion concerning the nature and character of the Kingdom of David and Salomon. Furthermore, there is a high probability of discovering valuable artifacts such as: seals, ostraca (pots shards with writing on them), coins and other important architectural remains. These are just some examples of the types of artifacts that will greatly enhance our knowledge of the Temple Mount from all periods. Examinations done on a small sample of these dumps yielded artifacts from various periods, starting from the First Temple period through all periods until today. From an analysis of the artifacts we may presume that the origin of the dumps is from ancient fills mixed with a destruction layer from the Second Temple Period. At the construction site of Solomon?s Stables there were seen arches and water channels dismantled during the work. Among the artifacts discovered in the dumps are: a fragment of a monumental door jamb of a gate from the Second Temple Period, a fragment of a cornice of a monumental structure carved with a unique pattern, stair stones from the Second Temple Period, marble fragments from the Byzantine Period, arch stones, water channel stones, and more architectural fragments. In addition, we also found fragments of glass vessels (some are from the Second Temple Period), a fragment of an ornamental stone table from the Second Temple period, fragments of glazed bricks, decorated clay tiles from the Ottoman Period, a few Roman coins, a fragment of a pillar figurine from the First Temple period and more. For these reasons archaeologist, Dr. Gabriel Barkay under the auspices of Bar-Ilan University have decided to take the task to sieve these dumps, in order to save every archaeological information that can still be rescued from this archaeological destruction. The project will start in mid October 2004 using a small and insufficient amount of funds we have managed to gather until now ($10,000). This will allow us to remove and sift only a small portion of the dumps, while sieving the entire dumped material will require an extra $55,000. In order to ensure that we will be able to start and finish the work properly we have decided to try and raise funds before starting the project. Unfortunately, we got the archaeological license just a few days ago. Immediate additional funding is urgent and crucial to the project so that we will be able to begin the project before the rainy season, otherwise precious time will be wasted and invaluable archaeological material may be lost forever. The Project Plan In the Kidron Valley there are large amounts of dumps (discarded by approximately 390 trucks). We plan to transfer these dumps to an alternative location, in which the dumps will be safe and protected from external disturbances. Proper sieving needs to be done by mechanical means used in quarries. The soil will be sifted into piles with different resolutions. High Resolution sifting needs to be done manually. This requires a great amount of manpower. These earth piles will need to be scrutinized by the excavators and additional staff. The archaeological materials extracted will need to be treated appropriately and documented for publication. Certain finds will need to be sent to laboratories for further research in Israel and abroad. Funds will be required for the research and publication of the material. Your assistance is crucial in saving the archaeological heritage remains from the Temple Mount. Without your assistance, these artifacts will be forever lost. Sincerely,
Israel Exploration Society
To Contact us for further information:
The PEF cannot accept contributions under $25 Donations are tax
deductible only if made payable to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.
An official receipt for tax deductible contributions will be sent to
the contributor by the P.E.F.
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DE'JA JEW
Posted by Steven Plaut, September 26, 2004. |
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This is a review by Giordana Grego of "The Liberal Anti-Semites: The New Face of an Ancient Hatred," by Fiamma Nirenstein ("Gli Antisemiti progressisti: La Nuova Forma di un Odio Antico"), Rizzoli, 390pp., 18.50 Euro. Giordana Grego, a native of Rome, recently earned her MA in International Relations at the London School of Economics, and is currently a researcher at Azure. In the aftermath of the 1975 UN motion that condemned Zionism as a form of racism, Italian artist Herbert Pagani wrote: "Now that the Jews have a homeland, anti-Semitism rises again from its ashes, or better, our ashes, and it is called anti-Zionism. Before it was applied to individuals, today it is applied to a nation. Israel is a ghetto, Jerusalem is Warsaw. We are no longer besieged by the Germans but by the Arabs, whose crescent has often been disguised as a sickle to better fool the Left around the world. I, a left-wing Jew, do not care about a Left whose wish is to liberate all mankind at the expense of one minority, because I belong to that minority." Today, in the aftermath of the 2001 UN human -rights summit in Durban, we are back to the future. The chorus of harsh international criticism and condemnation of Israel merely resurrects this same dark phoenix. Interestingly, the main promoters of the increasing hostility toward the Jewish state belong to the liberal camp - an old ally and protector of the Jewish people. In her latest book "The Liberal Anti-Semites," Italian journalist Fiamma Nirenstein follows the development of the relationship between the Italian Left and the Jewish people, from the aftermath of the Second World War until today. Nirenstein provides a compelling analysis of the dynamics of this relationship, and of how the Left took an increasingly anti-Israel stand since the Six Day War, eventually becoming one of its most vociferous opponents. The consequences of this liberal anti-Semitism are very serious: a legitimization of terrorism and a failure to understand its origins. As a result, Nirenstein contends, we fail to see its only possible solution: democracy in the Arab world. Nirenstein invites the Left to reconsider its position vis-a'-vis Israel and terrorism, warning that Europe, willing or not, will soon have to fight the same war that Israel is fighting today. APART FROM being a leading Italian journalist and author, Nirenstein is professor of Middle Eastern History at the University LUISS in Rome. One of her previous books, "The Betrayal: How the West Betrayed the Jews" (2000), was a best seller in Italy that sparked an intense debate and attracted international attention. At the time of its publication, anti-Semitism was clearly on the rise. But today it has reached such a feverish pitch that it compelled her to delve more deeply in this latest book. In it, she argues that in the aftermath of World War II, the Jews and the Left needed each other. While the Jews were the "living accusation" and memory against the brutality of fascist regimes, the Left acted as a protector of their rights as a minority. Israel fit well in this pattern: a small, weak country evincing sympathy and support among the Left as a socialist nation, with a strong labor union and workers' rights. This dynamic, however, came to an abrupt end with Israel's victory in the Six Day War. The "new Jew" who defends himself and even dares to win "loses all his charm in the eyes of the intellectuals of the Left," beholden as they are to a peculiar ide'e fixe. To clarify the rigidity of this idea of the Jew, Nirenstein refers to a letter published recently by a large group of professors from the prestigious University of Bologna addressed to their "Jewish friends." The letter contains the bizarre definition of the Jewish people as "a people who suffer, who must suffer because it is in their nature. Because of its fate, the Jewish people must bear the most terrible persecutions without raising a finger, and only then the Jews will gain compassion and solidarity." This vision reeks of ancient theological anti-Semitism, in which Jews are destined to suffer for rejecting the Christian faith. Obviously, a Jewish state that defends itself clashes with such a belief, but the professors from Bologna offer a solution by inviting the Jews to join them in condemning Israel, thereby reclaiming their role as the "old Jew" who dies in silence, or "the good Jew" who denounces the horror of the particularism and nationalism of the Jewish people in the name of universalism and a Christian-like love. SINCE ITS repudiation of Israel in 1967, the Left has become the Jewish state's most ferocious critic. This enmity reached its peak at the 2001 UN Summit in Durban, where Israel was officially identified as a pariah state. In the words of Alan Dershowitz, "Israel has become the Jew amongst the nations." By abandoning the Jews and Israel, the liberal camp found a new identity, "defining its foreign policy in terms of an extremely aggressive anti-American and anti-Israel stand." The deliberate use of the media by the Left to spread lies and myths about the conflict has been incredibly successful. Today Palestinian terrorism has gained a horrifying level of legitimization in the eyes of many Europeans as a struggle against occupation. Left-wing political forces espousing these views have earned vast popularity among various peace activists, anti-globalization movements and powerful international institutions, all united by Israel as the common enemy. The results are unambiguous. By hiding behind a one-sided and malicious criticism of Israel, anti-Semitism is being legitimized, and so is the use of terror by the Palestinians. A lucid example is the International Court of Justice ruling over the security fence built by Israel to defend itself from terrorist attacks. "It is a license to kill Jews," Nirenstein pointed out in a recent interview. The rationale of the Left goes even further. Europe is afraid of terrorism, and naively believes that "by sacrificing Israel, it will placate the appetite of Islamic terrorism." It fails to understand that Islamic terrorism goes well beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the American presence in Iraq. Islamic terrorism is not the result of the Israeli occupation, but of years of poverty, repression, and propaganda by radical imams and leaders exalting suicide terrorists. Europe should be aware that these campaigns of hatred for the Jews and the Western world have a clear agenda for Europe too. "We shall not win the war against terror unless we win the war against anti-Semitism. We shall not win unless we fight for democracy, first and foremost for democracy in the Islamic world." This is Nirenstein's message. Israel and the US understand this point. Putting an end to repressive regimes, dictatorships and violent propaganda while providing freedom and rights is the only way forward. Democracy is the strongest weapon the West has against terrorism. The Liberal Anti-Semites is also a call to Jews in the Diaspora to denounce anti-Semitism and shout "J'accuse!" when Israel is unjustly criticized. European Jewry should not hesitate to break its old alliance with the Left and "base new alliances on the present rather than on old memories. The memory of the Holocaust cannot protect against the horror of anti-Semitism if accompanied by a total ignorance of the history of Zionism and Israel." The Left has been crying along with the Jewish communities on Holocaust Remembrance Day while identifying Israel as a Nazi country. It is as if they were saying to the Jews, "Let's celebrate together the Day of Remembrance and curse Israel together!" To clarify this point, Nirenstein reports a chilling sentence heard several times in Italy: "The image of the death of Muhammad al-Dura in his father's arms has finally allowed Europe to forget the famous picture of the Jewish boy with his arms raised in the Warsaw Ghetto." This is unacceptable, and Nirenstein devotes one full chapter to the "new season for the relationship between Jews and the Right." The right wing today, at least in Italy, has understood that "if it wants to reach the Jews, it must reach Israel as the Jewish nation." Italian Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini's visit to Israel clearly demonstrated that the Right regrets its Fascist past and is now ready to be the champion of democracy and fight international terrorism. The Right today has a clear identity; the Left does not. Its position vis-a'-vis democracy is unclear, and the Jews need to recognize this and act accordingly. Nirenstein concludes by explaining that "the only way to defeat anti-Semitism in Europe is via understanding the contradiction of an open and global society and to accept the idea that the campaign of defamation against Israel has incited violence and terrorism." She mentions a few positive steps that have been taken so far, such as the former European Commission President Romano Prodi's acknowledgment that "the idea that criticisms of Israel are connected to anti-Semitism is not totally wrong." The alternative to this is to witness what we are witnessing today: "A voluntary recoiling from our identity because the war ahead of us is too hard to fight. However, as hard as it may be, Europe, like Israel, will have no choice but to fight." Less than two weeks after its publication in Italy, The Liberal Anti-Semites is already a best seller there, and has sparked a lively debate in Italian society. Fiamma Nirenstein has once again given us a compelling analysis, a passionate yet lucid defense of Israeli democracy that makes her latest book engaging and fascinating. Thirty years after their pronouncement, Herbert Pagani's thoughts still sadly ring true: "Today, Descartes' famous sentence 'I think therefore I exist' holds no meaning for me. We, the Jews, have been thinking for 5,000 years and are still denied the right to exist. Today, although it horrifies me, I have no choice but to say 'I defend myself, therefore I exist.'" Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. |
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"IF SAVING LIVES MEANS I'M A TRAITOR, SO BE IT"
Posted by Steven Plaut, September 26, 2004. |
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This was written by Khaled Abu Toameh and appeared in the Jerusalem
Post, September 24, 2004.
Yunis Owaidah is probably the only Palestinian who's not afraid to admit that he is a "collaborator" with Israel. On the contrary, the 63-year-old father of 12 even boasts of the fact that he has been collaborating with Israel since 1967. "I've saved the lives of many innocent people," Owaidah said in an interview at his home in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras el-Amud. "If saving the lives of innocent civilians means that I'm a traitor, so be it." Thousands of Palestinians who have made similar confessions over the past three decades have been either killed or ostracized by their families and communities. The last killings occurred in Tulkarm on Monday, when two suspected collaborators in their mid-20s were executed by Fatah gunmen. The executioners claimed that the two had confessed during interrogation to assisting Israel in hunting down and killing wanted activists. A week earlier, Fatah gunmen in Ramallah kidnapped a young man, also suspected of collaborating with Israel, as he was being escorted to court by Palestinian Authority security agents. The man's bullet-riddled body was later discovered near Al-Amari refugee camp south of Ramallah. Oweidah, who has two wives and 46 grandchildren, has also been the target of several attempts on his life. Since the establishment of the PA in 1994, he has refrained from entering the West Bank. "I only move around in safe areas and never leave the borders of Jerusalem," he said. "I'm wanted by the Palestinian Authority and I know that they won't waste an opportunity to kill me." Owaidah's connections with Israel were first disclosed in the early 70s, when he helped thwart rocket attacks on the King David Hotel and the Western Wall. He is not prepared to talk about the role he played then, but says that his actions saved the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians. "The Palestinians were then planning to fire rockets at the King David to kill [former US secretary of state Henry] Kissinger, who was staying there," he said. "The other rockets were supposed to hit the Western Wall. The rockets could have easily landed on the Aksa Mosque, killing many Arabs." Back then, Owaidah was living in the Arab neighborhood of Abu Tor. A few years after the rocket attacks were foiled, he discovered a bomb attached to the door of his house. Police sappers detonated the bomb safely. He then decided to move to Ras el-Amud, where he purchased a small piece of land and built a new home. Most of his neighbors have since been boycotting him and his family. "Their children still refuse to play with my children," he said. "Despite that, I have decided to stay here. I don't have any plans to leave." Owaidah, who works for a maintenance company at the Western Wall, said there was only one time when he seriously considered leaving Ras el-Amud. "In the year 2000, when [then-prime minister Ehud] Barak was talking about re-dividing Jerusalem and bringing the Palestinian Authority into the city, I started searching for a new house," he recalled. "I knew very well that I would not be able to live under Yasser Arafat or any other Arab regime." Since the beginning of the intifada, masked gunmen have repeatedly threatened to kill Owaidah. In one incident, several shots were fired at his home from a distance, but no one was hurt. His eldest son, Sadek, was kidnapped twice to Jericho and Ramallah, but was released following heavy pressure from Israel. "He was brutally tortured by the Palestinian security services," the father pointed out. "But they were not after him. They are trying to get to me, and this is what they told my son. They even asked him to draw a sketch of the interior of the house and where I sleep." In his bedroom, Owaidah keeps a pistol and hundreds of bullets. "You see this pistol?" he says as he brandishes the handgun. "I will not hesitate to use it if they come to get me. I will never surrender. I will kill 10 of them before they get their hands on me." Asked if he was afraid nevertheless, in the wake of the continued killing of suspected collaborators, Owaidah retorted: "First of all, most of these people who are being killed are innocent and were never working for the Shin Bet. Secondly, I'm not afraid because I know that Israel is protecting me. If I call the police, they will be here in less than three minutes." Owaidah explained that he decided to work with Israel "because of the injustice we saw when we were under Jordanian rule before the 1967 war." "When the Jews came to Jerusalem, I saw how they were treating the people
in a humane way," he said. "By comparison, we had been oppressed by the
Jordanians when they were here. Look how the Jews have built a modern and
democratic state, and look where the Arabs still are."
Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of
business administration at Haifa University and author of "The
Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically -
on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website
address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com.
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ARABS AMBIVALENT OVER HOSTAGE CRISIS
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, September 26, 2004. |
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This article was written by Sebastian Usher, BBC World Media correspondent. It is archived at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3684324.stm Are you really surprised by this? And if not, why? The Arab media has presented the latest hostage crisis in Iraq as just another element in the bloody and chaotic pattern of violence in the country. The latest developments have been reported and often broken on Arab television channels, but they have soon been superseded by bloodshed elsewhere in Iraq or in the Palestinian territories and Israel. There has been little sign of the outrage that greeted the kidnapping of two French hostages last month and none of the soul-searching prompted by the Beslan siege. The issue of foreign hostages in Iraq was examined this week on the most heated discussion programme on the Middle East's most-watched television station, al-Jazeera. Television debate In the programme The Opposite Direction a fiercely anti-American political analyst, Talat Rumayh, faced off against an Iraqi politician, Karim Badr. In the Arab media the plight of Iraqis and Palestinians overshadows that of the hostages Mr Rumayh claimed that the kidnappers were Iraqi resistance fighters and compared the number of their victims to the thousands of Iraqis, who had been killed: "Two thousand people have been killed since the beginning of the attack on Falluja, which was dismissed in one report, one line or just a couple of words... while we keep hearing about the hostages. It's the hostages and the terrorists, always the terrorists," he said. Karim Badr responded by saying all Iraq was disgraced by the beheadings. "We have to prove our humanity. I am addressing my brethren in Iraq: These are masked creatures that resemble humans, who I am certain are uglier than their deeds," he said. "Is the killing of people and exploding cars in the streets an act of resistance? Is the kidnapping and murder of people in this manner an act of resistance? I am certain they do not represent the Iraqi conscience in any way at all." Viewers 'unmoved' Viewers were unmoved. In a phone poll 93% supported the kidnappings. A little later - after the beheading of the second American hostage - an Iraqi religious leader told al-Jazeera that the foreign hostages were capturing the world's attention at the expense of the Iraqi people's suffering. In the Arab media, naturally enough, this order is reversed - with the plight of Iraqis and Palestinians overshadowing that of the hostages. But this is not to say that the Arab satellite channels have ignored the human impact of the story - the hostages' relatives appeared live on al-Jazeera, hoping to convey their pleas for mercy directly to the kidnappers. The Arab press has also, in the past, condemned Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as a thug who perverts Islam. But there has not been the same outcry as when two French journalists were taken hostage and their kidnappers demanded that France rescind its ban on Islamic headscarves in schools. Then, many Arab commentators warned that the kidnappers' actions could irrevocably tarnish the image of Islam and the Arab world. This time, the kidnappers' demands are limited to Iraq, whose political and security problems remain the focus of Arab attention rather than the fate of Western hostages. |
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BEYOND THE PALE
Posted by Ted Belman, September 26, 2004. |
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The world has decided that the territories are beyond the Pale for the Jews. In a crash course on Jewish literacy, dealing with the Pale of Settlement published by www.Aish.com, we learn: "From 1791 until 1915, the Jews living in Eastern Europe were confined by the Czars of Russia -- starting with Catherine the Great -- to an area known as the "Pale of Settlement" (meaning "borders of settlement"). Any settlement beyond this area was "beyond the Pale". Later this expression was generalized to identify ideas or activities that are out of bounds, as being "beyond the pale." Once again the powers that be, are trying to restrict Jewish settlement to Israel and declaring Jewish settlement in Yesha as beyond the pale. Jews everywhere should utterly reject this restriction on their rights and liberty. Similarly they should also reject a settlement freeze as required by the Roadmap and recently demanded by Bush. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 was contained in a letter from Lord Balfour to Lord Rothschild "His Majesty's government looks with favor upon the establishment in Palestine of a national homeland for the Jewish people" Pursuant to this declaration that was issued after Britain took possession of the lands due to the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations created the British Mandate for Palestine. Under the terms of the Mandate, Britain's principal obligation was to facilitate the implementation of the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, which pledged "the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people." No territorial restrictions whatsoever - neither east nor west of the Jordan River were placed on the Jewish National Home. In fact, the Mandate stipulated that Britain was to "facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage close settlement by Jews on the land." A similar right was not given to the Arabs. This was and is the law of the land. It has never been rescinded. When the United Nations succeeded the League of Nations, it assumed all things done in its name including the Mandate. In 1947 the General Assembly passed Resolution 181 in which it "Recommends to the United Kingdom, as the mandatory Power for Palestine, and to all other Members of the United Nations the adoption and implementation, with regard to the future government of Palestine, of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union set out below;" Pursuant to this plan "A declaration shall be made to the United Nations by the provisional government of each proposed State before independence. It shall contain inter alia the following clauses: These stipulations included "No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants on the ground of race, religion, language or sex. Israel provided such a declaration and came into being and the Arabs refused to do so and rejected the whole Plan. The world conveniently forgets about this basic requirement. After the Six Days War, the Security Council passed Resolution 242, which legitimated Israel's occupation of the territories until such time as she could withdraw to secure and recognized borders. No such borders have been recognized and therefore there is no requirement to withdraw. This resolution included in its preamble the following: "Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" It wasn't until the Oslo Accords in 1993 that the Arabs accepted this resolution as binding. They are now using this preamble to deny Israel the right to retain any part of the territories. This argument should be rejected put of hand. It should be noted that International Law permitted an exception to this rule in the case of a defensive war. This exception continues to this day. Also the people involved with the drafting of this resolution all acknowledged that not all territories had to be given up for peace. In the Oslo Accords there was no limitation put on the settlement of the territories by Jews. It was not yet beyond the pale. The Mitchell Report opened the door for this to be so when it called, for the first time, for a freeze of Jewish settlement. Who says that terror doesn't pay. When Arafat aborted the peace process, such as it was, and started the war of terror, the world community in one chorus said that the Arabs needed hope i.e. a promise of a state, for there to be progress on the peace process. This was the precursor to President Bush promising, for the first time, such a state in his June '02 speech. The desire of the US to have Arab support for her invasion of Iraq in March '03, led to the infamous Roadmap. . The Roadmap for the first time, regarding settlements, demanded that "Israel immediately dismantle settlement outposts erected since March 2001." The pressure on Israel to accept the Roadmap was enormous. Even so, her acceptance was stipulated to be subject to 14 reservations none of which, unfortunately, rejected these settlement provisions. The US rather than look upon this as a conditional acceptance took the position that the acceptance was complete but subject to 14 concerns which it undertook to take into consideration and Israel went along. Nevertheless, the Roadmap provides "The following is a performance-based and goal-driven roadmap, with clear phases, timelines, target dates, and benchmarks aiming at progress through reciprocal steps by the two parties ..." The first phase included Israel's obligations re settlements and the Palestinian obligations of "Ending terror and violence, normalizing Palestinian life, and building Palestinian institutions"present to May 2003." If ever there was a roadmap for peace that arrived stillborn, this was it. Absolutely nothing was done by the Palestinians or Arabs regarding their obligations, so in law nothing can be asked of Israel regarding the settlements. The steps are stipulated to be reciprocal. This of coarse did not deter Bush and the whole Quartet from continuing to demand that Israel dismantle post March 2001 settlements and freeze the rest. Dr Rice you will recall demanded action in the name of Israel's "commitment." Although the Roadmap is moribund and cannot be brought back to life until the leopard changes his spots, Bush demanded that Sharon's disengagement plan not replace the Roadmap and the entire Quartet emphasized this. It seems everyone wants to maintain the fiction that the Roadmap can be implemented. Back to the Pale of Settlement Israel should maintain its right to settle in the territories until the Palestinians fulfill their obligations regarding security. Israel should continue to put facts on the ground (settlements) as a means to put pressure on the Palestinians to begin the peace process in earnest. The Palestinians should not have the luxury to be unaccountable. If they delay or are intransigent or commit acts of terror or incite to hatred they must accept that such actions have consequences namely that settlements will expand. Israel should insist in the requirements of Resolution 181, which effectively provides that building Jewish homes in the territories are not beyond the pale. Israel should realize that to acquiesce in the settlement freeze is to accept that she does not have the right to settle there. This she must not do. The Middle East is a state of flux now. Once the US presidential elections are over Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia will be dealt with. There is no telling what the final outcome of all this will be. There is no telling what will become of Iraq. Under such turbulence, Israel should be battening down the hatches to wait out the storm rather than adding to the turbulence by disengaging. Ted Belman is cofounder and cohost of IsraPundit, a pro-Israel strong activist website (http://israpundit.com). |
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EVACUATING SHARON
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, September 26, 2004. |
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It is clearly time to evacuate and transfer Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his farm. Whether it is merely dementia or the fact that he has grown old, cranky, tired and ineffective, Sharon must be removed from office. Sharon can no longer refuse any demand by the American Administration - no matter how dangerous or absurd. We have just heard President Bush tell the world at the U.N. on September 22 that Israel must cease "humiliating" the Palestinians. Take that to mean: no road patrols, no checkpoints, no profiling of Palestinians carrying suicide bomb belts or bags. I wonder: Will Bush will call off checking passengers boarding flights in America lest they scream humiliation? Will Bush open American borders even wider, with no profiling of Arabs or Muslims who no one trusts other than politicians looking for votes in November? It appears to many that the pro-Arab State Department's continual war against Israel is bring unusual calamitous weather to American shores. G-d appears to be pitching one hurricane after another against the U.S. But, Bush and the State Department haven't gotten the message. What else will catch his attention? An earthquake or the growing plague of Islamists accompanied by another great calamity? Another 9/11? As the Arab Muslims are killing American troops in Iraq, Bush threatens Israel to withdraw, cease killing Jihadists or "Do as I say, not as I do". I fear that despite claims that George Bush adheres the Five Books of Moses, he is bringing upon America a calamitous punishment with G-d hurling nature at all of us for what Bush has been doing to the Jews in order to appease his father's Arab Muslim oil business associates. As for Sharon. He can no longer say "NO!". As a dithering old man, he must be transferred to his farm and Israel must elect a vigorous nationalist Prime Minister who will defend all of the Jews in Israel. We have the right of self-determination to the one sovereign, independent, strong Jewish State with Jerusalem as her Eternal Capital. As for President Bush and Candidate-for-President Senator Kerry: Please quit trying to appease Muslims and Arab oil nations by throwing Israel to the rampaging Islamists. 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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CHRISTIAN DIVESTMENT
Posted by David Frankfurter, September 26, 2004. |
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I have just read an article (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/480684.html) which is most disturbing. "Leading members of the Anglican church will recommend that their decision-making body adopt an anti-Israel divestment policy similar to the one the Presbyterian church passed earlier this summer." It is hard for me to tell from this distance (physically and religiously) if Israel is being caught in between some form of intra-Christian theological debate, or there are simply influential members of the Church who have been hoodwinked by the Palestinian narrative and misunderstand Muslim replacement theology. One of my Christian readers has sent me material that clearly shows Muslim replacement theology starts with Mohammed replacing Moses, but extends to Jesus. Not only do Palestinian Muslims convince themselves that Abraham, Moses and King Solomon were followers of the not-yet-born Mohammed, but also Jesus was a faithful follower of Islam. Once they have dealt with the Jews, the Christians will follow. It is no accident that Bethlehem and Nazareth - once Christian Arab cities - are now predominantly Muslim. "After Saturday comes Sunday." What is certain is that peace will not come as long as the Palestinian leadership remains the true enemy of the Palestinian Arab people. If they were to follow a program of peace, and stop stealing from their own people then there would be no need for "occupation", economic levels would significantly improve, and peace could be brought to the region. (See the analysis of some of the problems at www.euFunding.org.) They need to be exposed. I urge my Christian readers who are concerned for the future of Israel to communicate their concerns at all levels of the Anglican Church. This is a critical time for Israel. We need our Christian friends to speak out loudly and clearly. To subscribe to Frankfurter's 'letter from Israel', email him at david.frankfurter@iname.com. Or go to http://www.livejournal.com/users/dfrankfurter/ |
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ISRAEL NEEDS A NATIONAL REFERENDUM ON THE DISENGAGEMENT PLAN
Posted by Unity Coalition for Israel, September 26, 2004. |
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CLICK HERE to support the 69% of Israelis who want a National Refendum regarding the disengagement plan. A sample letter is included, which you can change in any way you wish. A ZOA Press Release is included. A copy of your letter will automatically be sent ot Prime Minister Sharon, President Bush, Uzi Ladau, MK Yuri Shtern, MK Dr Arieh Eldad, Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, and mayors of 20 Israeli communities in Gaza/Judea/Samaria. Dear Prime Minister Sharon, As an ardent advocate for Israel, I appeal to you to heed the wishes of 69% of your countrymen who want the privilege accorded by all true democracies: to vote in a national referendum regarding your disengagement plan. Israel, as a democracy, must respect the "will of its people." By not allowing the people to vote in a national referendum, Israel is acting as a dictatorship. Not only is your government demanding the unilateral transfer of land but it is allowing one person to rule the state of Israel. A new Ma'ariv poll from September 13th, 2004, confirms that 69% of Israelis believe that before any disengagement plan can take place, they should have the privilege of voting on such a major policy change. Dramatic upheaval in the lives of thousands of Israeli citizens must not be carried out in an arbitrary fashion. To demand that citizens abandon the fruit of years of sacrifice because their Prime Minister dictates a new policy means that Israel is adapting the worst elements of a totalitarian state. In the future, Americans would be hard-pressed to justify our support for Israel while it engages in such undemocratic policies. True advocates for Israel in the US cannot stand idly by and agree with such a travesty. Those of us who love Israel and support it as the only democracy in the Middle East are saddened by these undemocratic tactics and maneuverings. In the eyes of the world, actions that reverse the essential basis of your democratic government and adversely affect the lives of so many of your citizens must not take place. This next is from the Zionist Organization of America, September 21, 2004. The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver. SUPPORT GROWING AMONG ISRAELI PUBLIC FOR NATIONAL REFERENDUM BEFORE GAZA RETREAT - 69% NOW BACK REFERENDUM PROPOSAL NEW YORK- A new poll has found that more than two-thirds of Israelis now support the holding of a national referendum on the proposal to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza. The poll, conducted by the Teleseker firm for the Israeli daily Ma'ariv on September 13, 2004, found that 69% of Israelis want a national referendum on the Gaza retreat plan, as compared to only 26% who think the retreat decision should be made by the Knesset only. The 69% level of support is an increase from the 60% that an earlier poll found. A poll on September 8, 2004 by the Maagar Mochot firm, for Israel Radio, found 60% of Israelis favor holding such a referendum, and only 17% are opposed. Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a referendum, and Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin (Jerusalem Post, Sept. 14, 2004) has stated: "If a referendum could prevent national trauma, I would have to support it." A poll on September 8, 2004 by the Israeli polling agency Maagar Mochot, for Israel Radio, found 60% of Israelis favor holding such a referendum, and only 17% are opposed. Morton A. Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), said: "Withdrawing from Gaza means grave risks for Israel's security, as well as ending Israel's presence in territories that have been an integral part of the Jewish homeland since biblical times. It means rewarding and encouraging terrorists. It means engaging in ethnic cleansing - something that has always been strongly condemned throughout the Jewish world. Anything less than a broad consensus, as determined in a national referendum, would leave Israeli society severely polarized. That is too high a price for Israelis - indeed, for world Jewry - to pay." The ZOA notes that a June 2004 survey by the Israeli polling agency Geocartography found 64% of Israelis do not believe leaving Gaza will decrease the threat of missiles fired by terrorists at pre-1967 Israel, and 71% do not believe retreating from Gaza will slow down the flow of weapons from Egypt to the terrorists in Gaza. ZOA president Klein also pointed to the fact that the Gaza withdrawal plan dramatically contradicts the platform on which Ariel Sharon was overwhelmingly elected prime minister: "During the last election campaign in Israel, Labor Party candidate Amram Mitzna urged unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and Sharon opposed it. He was elected on the basis of his opposition to unilateral withdrawal; Israel's voters should have the right to say if they, like Sharon, have changed their minds." The Unity Coalition for Israel (http://www.israelunitycoalition.org) is "the largest worldwide coalition of Jewish and Christian organizations, with more than 200 groups representing millions of people dedicated to Israel. Though we have many different backgrounds, we have one common goal: A Safe and Secure Israel." "Israel is not just a Jewish issue. Millions of Christians resolutely endorse the principle of peace with security for the state of Israel. Because we work closely together and speak with a united voice, our message is being heard!" |
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LET ALL NATIONS AND PEOPLES PREPARE FOR JERUSALEM'S HOUSE OF PRAYER!
Posted by David Ben-Ariel, September 26, 2004. |
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The Jews have prayed for 2,000 years to see again the Temple upon the Temple Mount. It's past time for prayers alone: ACTION is necessary to put faith into practice! Let the Muslims submit to the Word and Will of God concerning the Temple Mount. It's sole purpose is to House the Temple of the God of Jacob-Israel, that all nations may come to know, love and obey the God of Abraham. May they agree the Rock of Abraham has been preserved by the "Dome of the Rock," and that it was created for the Jews to continue their worship upon the site of Israel's Temple. It has served its purpose and now it's past time to restore spiritual sovereignty to the Jews upon the Temple Mount that they may build the House of Prayer for all peoples to come and worship. May the Jewish leaders repent of their woeful neglect of the Temple Mount and end Jerusalem's abomination of desolation - a Temple Mount without a Temple! May the pope encourage Judah to obey God and build His Royal House, His Heavenly Embassy, in the noble spirit of King Cyrus, and restore the Temple treasures to Jerusalem. May the Vatican release the silver, release the gold, that Rome stole from Jerusalem! May they immediately return the Menorah to stand again where it belongs: upon the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, within the Temple! The Vatican chambers will have served their purpose of protecting and preserving such consecrated items for this time. Let construction begin and may all nations and men seek and find the Great Creator God of the Bible, the God of Israel, and learn of His Word and ways and be blessed! For Zion's Sake,
David Ben-Ariel is author of "Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall". His website address is http://www.pushhamburger.com/david.htm |
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ADD ONE TO THE WRECKERS
Posted by Bryna Berch, September 26, 2004. |
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Someday when the strong resistence of the Gush Katif community to the expulsion of Jews from their homeland is glorified, this is certain to be one of the context documents. It was written by Moshe Saperstein, who lives in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Gaza, Israel. Saperstein is one of the Jerusalem diarists, who write of their experience living in Israel today. As Judy Lash Balint, author of "Jerusalem Diaries: In Tense Times" writes Moshe Saperstein lost an arm while fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. A resident of Neve Dekalim in the Gush Katif area of the Gaza Strip, Moshe was 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. The phone rang just as Shabbat ended. It was Oshri telling us that Tamar had gone into labor. Her due date was today, and as with the previous births she had delivered on schedule, we assumed this one would be the same. We were caught unprepared. But while I moved around like a spastic, Rachel calmly and methodically packed. Two and one half hours later, as we were about to leave the house, Oshri called again. It's a girl! The Wreckers, Ohr and Haddad, now have a baby sister. It was close to midnight when we arrived at Hadassah-Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem, and I was grateful for the `disabled parking' sticker on my car which enabled us to get relatively close to the entrance. Each of Tamar's two previous births had taken many hours and a variety of painkillers. I guess practice makes perfect because this one was not only quick, it was medication-free as well. Tamar lay in bed, smiling and serene and transcendently beautiful. Baby - they won't divulge the name until Shabbat in the synagogue - lay with other newborn. Though Baby's mother is blond and fair-skinned, Baby is black-haired and dark-skinned like her siblings, all clones of Oshri. Thank the Lord he's good-looking. I couldn't help noting that Tamar's ward is all Jewish. Many Jewish women avoid Hadassah-Mount Scopus because the maternity wards are generally crowded with our Ishmaelite peace partners. In truth, Tamar was to have given birth at Shaare Tzedek but Hadassah was closer and she was already in labor. Oshri explained to me that Hadassah, perturbed at the absence of Jewish business, simply assigns religious and secular-nationalist Jews to one maternity ward and Ishmaelites and their leftist Jewish collaborators to another. The Hadassah organization would doubtless vociferously deny that this is policy. Indeed, many Hadassah ladies fearful of being politically incorrect don't even separate whites and coloreds in the laundry. It was after 1a.m when we got to Maale Michmash, north of Jerusalem. Even in darkness the location is breathtaking. To the south the lights of Jerusalem are ablaze. To the southwest, those of Maale Adumim where Ari and Efrat live. Further west, the Dead Sea area. And behind a hill to the east, a glow from the lights of Jericho. At 4a.m I was awake. Perhaps I was nervous, or the bed was uncomfortable, or I needed a cigar. Certainly the bed was closer to the ground than I am used to, and getting in and out of it is a major engineering problem. These days it's difficult to stand up from a sitting position, or sit up from a lying position, without losing my balance. So imagine maneuvering myself upright practically from the ground in a confined space. Anyway, I staggered outside to a glorious star-swirling sky, the points of light moving like a slow motion pinwheel, and a chill wind. Maale Michmash is just north of Jerusalem and the cool nights we had grown accustomed to during our thirty years in Jerusalem, then unaccustomed to after seven years in Neve Dekalim, came as a delightful shock. Which I proceeded to celebrate by destroying the ozone layer with volleys of cigar smoke. Whether my mind is blank, or bursting with thought, or as is customary in my case, bursting with blank thought, awaiting the dawn is an exhilarating emotional experience. A religious experience. It is only a small exaggeration to say that, were I condemned to be shot at sunrise, I would still be thrilled at the coming of the light. Would that the day were as good. Rachel prepared breakfast and the kids' lunchbags while Oshri dressed Ohr for kindergarten and Hadar for pre-kindergarten. The kids kvetched without cease. Comfortable with us as they are in our home, in their home, particularly as their mother is absent, we are interlopers. And they behaved accordingly. Functionless, I tried staying out of everyone's way. It wasn't easy. With the kids finally in school Oshri, on leave from the army, left to attend to something or other. Rachel and I went to see Tamar and Baby, getting back in time for Rachel to prepare lunch before we collected the kids. We were happy to see how the community works hard to inspire pride in the arrival of a new sibling, rather than letting children feel resentful at the intruder. In both pre-kindergarten and kindergarten parties were held in honor of the kids, with presents and congratulations to make them feel they were gaining something because of Baby. After lunch, while I told them stories and sang songs that I had first made up for Tamar and Dafna many years before, Rachel began the Herculean task of cleaning the house. With Oshri in the army and Tamar barely able to move, the work has piled up. Also, Tamar has inherited my easygoing attitude toward cleanliness and order rather than Rachel's never-satisfied perfectionism. And when Oshri returned and took the girls to visit their mother, Rachel continued to clean and I continued to pretend to be wallpaper. Monday I again greeted the sunrise, determined not to take another day as wallpaper. So I began to do what I do best. Laundry. Oodles of laundry. Enough to clothe a medium-sized village. Unfortunately I was unfamiliar with the machine, a German-made monstrosity with written instructions in Hoch-Deutsch and pictographs not seen since the heyday of hieroglyphics. After much trial and error, especially error, I persevered. And avoiding Rachel - sweeping, scouring, scrubbing, muttering - as best I could, I managed to do it all. Even occupying myself between loads by turning the clothes over on the line, thus speeding the drying and frying process. [Should I rent myself out for barbecues?] We had a wedding that evening on a kibbutz the other side of Jerusalem, so while Oshri tended the tykes we drove off. Escaped might be a better word. Anti-social creature that I am, I would happily have skipped the event. But for Rachel it was a matter of survival. It was an interesting wedding in that we didn't know whether to sit at a table marked `friends of the bride's family' or at one marked `friends of the groom's family'. The bride is from Neve Dekalim and the groom from a family of old friends from Jerusalem. It was easy to tell the groups apart. At least the males. All the females were dressed beautifully. But while the Jerusalemite males wore suits and ties, the Gush Katif guys were resplendent in open-necked white shirts and firearms. Rachel sat with a gaggle of old girlfriends while I smoked myself silly outside on the lawn in splendid isolation. Except for those awkward moments when former acquaintances approached and said "Hey, we thought you were dead!" To which I smiled and replied "Sorry to disappoint you." By 11pm we were back in Michmash. I pulled in the last of the clothes on the line, packed a bag, kissed Rachel goodbye and returned to the car for the trip to Neve Dekalim. I had promised to speak to a group of Christian pilgrims on Tuesday, and though I was exhausted and it was suggested I sleep in Michmash and leave early in the morning, I was afraid that I wouldn't sleep and would arrive too exhausted to be effective. But I would rather drive at night when the roads are relatively empty, then sleep later in the morning. A mistake. Read on. The trip was uneventful, and I could smoke to my heart's content and blast the music til the wax ran out of my ears. Near Modi'in there was a roadblock, and I noticed the soldiers manning it were from the ultra-orthodox Nahal Hareidi regiment. As they waved me past I saw a group sitting around a campfire just off the road. They were listening to a lecture on the laws of Rosh Hashanah. It was hard to drive as my eyes filled with tears at the beauty of it, at the holiness of this extraordinary country. It was almost 2am when I pulled into the driveway and as I stepped out of the car I was shaken by a tremendous explosion nearby, followed moments later by a second explosion farther off. "Gee, fellows" I said to the peace partner neighbors, "you didn't have to go to all this trouble to welcome me home." The next day I learned that the first explosion, a Kassem rocket, had sheared off the upper half of a large palm tree next to our synagogue. Exhausted as I was, I was too rattled to sleep. Especially as explosions and machinegun fire continued through the night and in to the morning. So I did more laundry, Rachel's and mine, which I had brought home. A thick fog shrouded everything in the morning, but an ever thicker fog shrouded my mind. And long after the ground fog burned off my brain fog remained. Remained? It congealed. The pilgrims were supposed to come before noon and I counted on being able to sleep after they left. But they were delayed, and delayed again, not arriving before 3pm. I don't know how I got through it. There were about thirty of them, Americans, Australians, South Africans, Barbadians, and two or three Klingons. Or Romulans. They seemed appreciative. Either they were being kind or they have low standards. After they left I simply collapsed. And have more or less slept or sleepwalked til starting this letter. Now I just need to get back to Rachel. Doubtless there is more laundry waiting for me. I also want to see Tamar and Baby. Oshri brought them home yesterday afternoon. I hope Ohr and Hadar have calmed down with Tamar's reappearance. 9.9 I want to send this off before returning to Michmash, and as we'll be back here the day before Rosh Hashanah, to wish you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year. Permit me to close with something quite wonderful that I heard Oshri say. A friend of his, showing standard Israeli tact, said "Aren't you annoyed that it's another girl?" To which Oshri smiled: "Every time the Bible talks about our messing up, and the Almighty wanting to destroy us, it then says He changed His mind because of the virtue and holiness of the women of Israel." |
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U'NETANEH TOKEF - SEPTEMBER 2004
Posted by Menachem Kovacs, September 24, 2004. |
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U'netaneh Tokef (pivotal prayer of the High Holidays asking forgiveness for our many sins against G-d. This litany of sins is solemnly repeated by the full congregation many times during the prayer service, and each time, forgiveness is asked. It is itself an awesome sight to see and feel the entire congregation standing, the whole community together praying for forgiveness) This poem was written by Moshe Tutnauer.
Rabbi Menachem Kovacs is Director of the Jewish Roots Center of Baltimore, an education and research center on Torah and social science topics. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Montgomery College in Maryland. |
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HAPPY ROSH HASHANAH: WHAT I LEARNED FROM JEWS
Posted by Nonie Darwish, September 24, 2004. |
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These weeks we welcome Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). I know very little about the Jewish Religion, but I understand the significance of this holiday. Even though I am not Jewish I thought that everyone can benefit from this holiday. I learned from my Jewish friends that it is actually a period of ten days, from the Eve of Rosh Hashanah (Wednesday, September 15) through the day of Yom Kippur (Shabbat, September 25). This period is called "The Ten Days of Repentance" in Jewish tradition. The concept of examining myself from within and seeing how I, as well as my community, are responsible for our actions and self improvement sounds both very attractive and alien to me and my cultural background. I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, and the Gaza strip as a Muslim in the fifties when Classical, more moderate, Islam was prevalent. However, the concept of examining oneself deeply without fear of repercussions was lacking in our religious education as a whole. I am not sure if Islam influenced Arab culture or Arab culture influenced Islam but one of the basic driving forces in Arab society is shame and pride. I decided to try this wonderful Jewish tradition and apply it to myself and my culture of origin. I moved to the United States in 1978 and came with the usual preconceived biases, indoctrination and baggage from a Middle East upbringing: Fear of Jews, government, people in power, and fear of speaking my mind. Having lived through the '56, '67 and '73 wars with Israel took away my feelings of trust and security. However, living in America made it easy for me to change and look objectively within myself, my history and my culture of origin. Now I run a new website called ArabsforIsrael.com. To courageously stand and admit to oneself and to the world one's sins, bad choices and engage them head on, to correct and repent, is hard for most people in any culture, but it is inconceivable and unheard of in Muslim culture. Speaking, even to oneself, of one's shortcomings and examining one's responsibilities first before blaming others would bring shame, disgrace and dishonor not only to the individual but to his or her entire family. Those who admit fault or guilt, even if it is unintended, are regarded as fools. If the mistake is a cultural taboo one's reputation might be scarred for life and the person might end up brutally punished. We were discouraged from sinning out of fear of an angry God, the flames of Hell and Society's cruel punishment awaiting sinners right here on earth. There was no reward for loving humanity as whole, self improvement and bringing out the best of the human spirit. Pleasing brutal dictators to get favoritism and wealth at the expense of the majority population was the common thing to do. Arabs were always proud to talk about the old glory and their old contributions to the world and suppressed discussion and examination of any internal ills or evil. Because of this fear of shame and facing the truth about the negatives in Arab and Muslim culture, they allowed evil to dominate all aspects of Arab and Muslim society. No one can deny the current sad state of the Middle East's dysfunctional society. Terrorism in every Muslim country and poisoning the world, war, genocide against non-Muslims such as in the Sudan, burning of churches, then taking refuge in Muslim holy shrines, beheading of Jews, destruction of Buddha temples, brutal dictatorships and weak economies. Despite wealth from oil, the Muslim world is among the poorest in the world. Pollution and garbage are all around the great Nile Valley, unemployment is rampant and nothing can get done without bribery. Arab media forgives and ignores all these problems and is preoccupied with destroying Israel. This is the sad situation in the Middle East where countries like Egypt cannot survive without generous U.S. aid. Blaming everyone and anyone but themselves was the only wise thing to do in a culture that gave no appreciation for accepting responsibility. Today this problem has metastasized and dominates a billion and a half Muslims around the world. The only option for survival in such a culture is to always deny wrongdoing and tell yourself "you did not do it" until you believe it. Thus Israel becomes the useful enemy that Arabs blame for everything. Even the last terrorist attack on Russian children was blamed by some on yet another Jewish conspiracy. After defending and supporting Israel in my articles I was also accused of being part of an Israeli conspiracy. At a time when most religions struggle to explain evil in the world, Radical Islam found the answer. Without hesitation, they say it is the Jews. Just listen to most Friday sermons in mosques all around the Muslim world. For that I personally want to apologize to Jews around the world during their holy time of holidays. Jews do not wish each other a "Happy New Year" on Rosh HaShana, the way we are all used to do on every January 1. The proper greeting is "Shanah Tovah", which means a "good year" or "a year of goodness". The greeting stresses goodness and living a good life, a life committed to improving the world and relationships. I am in awe when I hear my Jewish friends speak and explain the teachings of their faith. I want to take this opportunity to thank them and their culture for so many contributions to humanity. I am grateful to them for teaching me this great tradition that so many non-Jews need to reflect upon. We all need to examine ourselves from inside, bring out the good and see what we have accomplished as members of the human race. We all learn from each other and that is good. May the New Year bring to our reality some of our expectations and may it bring us more together. Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova (Happy Jewish New Year of 5765) from California, Nonie Darwish can be reached by email at noniedarwish@hotmail.com. Or go to these websites: www.arabsforisrael.com and www.noniedarwish.com This article was distributed by the Root and Branch Association of Jerusalem (www.rb.org). |
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AL CHAIT SHECHATANU - WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU
Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, September 24, 2004. |
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Jews begin the Ten Days of Awe, which fall between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur each new year, with a confession of sins committed in the eyes of G_d. Additionally, it is required that transgressions committed against fellow human beings be addressed as well. Without a true turning of the heart in attempts to rectify both, however, the confessions and fasts associated with the High Holy Days remain meaningless words. In terms of Arab-Israeli politics, Jews have been accused of countless sins by much of the world today. But, as is noted in terms of yet another Jewish holiday, Passover, while it is regrettable that any hardship had to be suffered even by enemies who would destroy us, as we symbolically remove drops of wine from our cups at the Seder dinner to diminish our joy of deliverance, we offer no apologies for wanting to put an end to our two thousand year-old nightmare of massacres, forced conversions, expulsions, ghettoization, pogroms, dehumanization, inquistions, dhimmitude, demonization, Holocaust, and being labeled either killers of G_d by the Christian West or "Jew Dog" killers of Prophets in the Muslim East by doing what was necessary for our own survival...working, with G_d's timely help, for the rebirth of Israel. The Prophet Ezekiel's vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones arrived just in the nick of time... At a time when Arabs and their fellow jihadists and hypocrite supporters elsewhere offer no confessions and ask no forgiveness from neither G_d nor man for blowing up buses, restaurants, and schools, deliberately targeting innocents, subjugating, enslaving, and massacring millions of non-Arab peoples (Kurds, Black Africans, Jews, Copts, Berbers, and others as well) just in the last half century alone, in the Middle East and North Africa on behalf of the Arab nation and what they claim as "purely Arab patrimony," Jews can honestly say that they have truly tried--repeatedly--to reach an honorable and just solution to their problems with Arabs. To any objective observer, this is not debatable. While wanting to put an end to their own perpetual nakba (as Arabs like to refer to the rebirth of Israel--"the catastrophe"), Jews nevertheless agreed to one compromise after another over the past century so that Arabs could gain their 22nd or 23rd state. Those of us who are knowledgeable are tired of reminding the world (and each other) that this included Arabs being granted the lion's share of the original 1920 Palestinian Mandate itself with creation of purely Arab Transjordan--today's Jordan--from 80% of "Palestine" (the name the Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed Judaea after the Jews' second major revolt for freedom in 133 to 135 C.E.) in 1922. Just a few years ago, Arabs rejected an offer which would have eliminated most of the Israeli settlements on disputed--not "purely Arab"--lands and would have turned over some 97% of those lands to Arab control. That Arabs want their new, additional state to exist in place of Israel, not along side of it, has always been the problem. So "occupation" and "settlements" are not the core issues of the debate. Since Arabs see all of Israel proper in those latter terms, however, we have an even more serious dilemma in these regards. This problem has always involved Arabs not granting anyone else but themselves political rights in the region...with the possible exception of some of those whom they successfully Islamized centuries earlier. While this holds true for Turks, Afghanis, Pakistanis, and Iranians, for example, this is largely not the case with Kurds, Black African (Muslim and non-Muslim) Sudanese, and Berbers. For the latter, the issue becomes more of a clash of nationalisms than of religion with the Arabs' still ongoing forced Arabization process still under way centuries after they burst out of the Arabian Peninsula in their imperial Caliphal conquests of the region. And while they demand that others confess and address their "imperial" sins, Arabs see their own conquest, forced imperial Arabization, colonization, and settlement of other peoples' lands (including in the Mandate of Palestine, where most Arabs were newcomers themselves in the last century) simply in terms of their own just due. So, as the New Year of 5765 begins, Jews have lots--both individually and collectively as a people and community--to work on to make better both before G_d and man. The latter will include continuing to try to find an honorable solution to problems involving Arabs. But, to do this, we must have true partners for peace, ones who recognize our rights as well as their own, and understand that others besides themselves are entitled to a bit of justice in the region. Unfortunately, this is not how Arabs have ever dealt with any of their own national competitors. As just two other timely examples, consider the current plight of Kurds in both Syria and Iraq or Black Africans in the Sudan. Furthermore, everything that Arabs say, write, teach, and preach to their own people works against this from ever happening. Under such circumstances, no amount of Israeli concessions will ever be "enough." Until such a day arrives, however, Israel must do what it must do to thrive, not just survive. The world's demand, for example, that a miniscule Israel fight with one hand constantly tied behind its back must be rejected by Israel's leaders...even when such demands come from its "friends." When Israel recently carefully targeted a Hamas training camp right after the latter blew up two more buses filled with children and other Jewish innocents, none other than the so-called Palestinian Arab moderate, Prime Minister/Arafatian chief marionette Ahmed Qurei', endorsed further barbarism against Jews as being "justified" because of the Israeli assault. Using his logic, murderers should never be pursued nor dealt with. So, even in "moderate" Arab eyes, Jews are supposed to just allow themselves to continuously be slaughtered with no response. What Israel actually needed to do here was to follow the above assault on the murderers of its innocents quickly, with even more devastating blows. The day of the Hamas funeral comes to mind, with hundreds more Hamas members and their supporters crying out during the procession for additional Jewish blood and firing weapons into the air. Many with Jewish blood already on their hands were likely in that procession. Will such Israeli counter measures make Arabs hate Jews any more? Well, nobody likes to have their own nose bloodied, but these folks are already dedicated to the Jews' destruction--both individually and collectively. The only thing that prevents more of their barbarism is Israel's non-stop counter measures. So Israel must fight--somewhat at least--to win and must ignore the hypocrites elsewhere (including the Foggy Folks) who will condemn it. The latter would have leveled Gaza years ago if subjected to the same treatment Jews have been told to constantly endure. If Fallujah is deemed a fair target for American Air Force fighter bombers day after day in Iraq because we believe our enemies are located there, then what are hundreds of Hamas folks, dedicated to Israel's destruction, crying out for "revenge" and announcing their planned intentions to butcher more Jews? Unlike a huge, three thousand mile-wide America, thousands of miles away from its Iraqi Arab enemies, tiny Israel faces these problems right in its own very backyard. While 9/11 also changes this reality a bit, it's still far better to be in America's position than in that of Israel's. Any innocent Arabs killed as a result of their support of those who are openly dedicated to the murder of Jews and their sole state are not "innocent." On the other hand, women, children and others aboard Israeli buses, in restaurants, and such are not dedicated to the murder of Arabs or denial of Arab rights. Yet they are the targets of choice of Arabs. The problem has always been that Arabs have seen their rights as being exclusive and negating those of others. There is no room for a true "compromise" with this mindset...only for a temporary hudna--ceasefire--until the time for total conquest better presents itself for the Arab cause. Under these unfortunate--but very real--circumstances, five million Jews cannot afford to simply fight a war of attrition with an Arab world that is numbered in the hundreds of millions, with one of the highest birthrates anywhere. Arafat talks of the Arab mother as being his best weapon. Sick... While I hate to stoop to such thinking, taking out fifteen murderers after a like number of Jewish innocents have been massacred and scores more maimed, is a losing tactic. Killing hundreds of them, however, on the other hand, sends quite a different message. A few well-placed, two-thousand pound bombs during the next Hamas or Islamic Jihad funeral procession is certainly at least as justified as anything America has been doing in its own fights in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. And when Hamas follows through with the next inevitable attack, the Israeli response must increase exponentially. This is not to say that all hope must be given up regarding a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israel conflict. But it is to say that deceiving ourselves along the suicidal lines of a Burg, Beilen, Peres or such "peace" (i.e. accepting millions of "returning" Arab refugees, an Israel in its United Nations' imposed, 9-mile wide armistice line existence, etc.) will only lead to the demise of the Jewish State. Remember the response, above, of the "moderate," Ahmed Qurei'. Of all of our real sins that we must seek forgiveness for during this Holy season, we must remind ourselves that the rebirth of the Jewish State and our struggle to survive are not to be counted amongst them. And the latter requires decisive action, not just words. A security fence, for example, which does not allow for the protection of Israel's main airport comes to mind as does the same which does not grant Israel at least a minimally adequate protective buffer zone between itself and millions of Arabs still sworn to its destruction...a buffer, by the way, envisioned by UN Security Council Resolution #242 itself. What other nation would be asked to forsake such things? For those who think otherwise, well...they can read my mind. They already know what I will tell them. Issues related to the survival of the Jewish people in their sole, reborn nation are not debatable as far as I am concerned, especially given the repeated attempts by the Jews to reach a fair solution to their problems with the Arabs, and also given that it was a murderous and dehumanizing, millennial anti-Semitism practiced by much of the rest of the world which, ironically, led to the very rebirth of the Jewish State in the first place. May we all be blessed with a new year in which all people will reach out to find better, more equitable ways to live with each other. < |
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YOM KIPPUR 2004
Posted by Tamar Rush, September 24, 2004. |
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I originally penned this article last year and it appeared on
IsraPundit. Things have changed so little that I have decided to
re-post it with slight updates.
It is archived at http://israpundit.com/archives/008714.html#more
A lot to atone for............ We in Israel, and Jews everywhere will observe "Yom Kippur" or the "Day of Atonement" on Saturday 25 September. It is a day for fasting, quiet contemplation, and asking our G_d to forgive us for the sins that we committed during the last year. In our prayers all sins are confessed in the plural (we have done this, we have done that), emphasising communal responsibility for our sins. Our confessions are usually silent, a private dialogue between Man and G_d, however, I am going to share with you a few things that I feel it necessary to atone for this year. I must atone for the sin of "Lashon Ha'ra" [The evil tongue] or slander, because I have allowed so much defamation and blood-libel against Israel and the Jewish people to go unchallenged. I was born and raised in Eretz Israel, and to quote the last known words of the murdered Daniel Perl; "I was born a Jew and I'll die a Jew". As a Jew, to sit quietly and appease those who would rewrite history and use medieval blood-libels to evict my people from our land is to participate in a great slander against the Jewish people. In our eagerness to be accepted by the "International Community" we have opened our arms to some of history's most blood-soaked terrorists. We have hoped against hope that these murderous miscreants would honour their agreements to reform and denounce the fanatical violence that has been their hallmark, or that those in the "International Community" who sponsored their entry into our land would accept their responsibility to rein them in. Both our "Peace partners" and the International sponsors of agreements such as the infamous "Oslo" accords have revealed themselves to be hell bent on the destruction of Eretz Israel, to be replaced by a fanatical terror-state. Every schlemiel in this country should atone for this sin. We have even adopted the language of those who would drive us from the land given to us by a holy covenant between G-d and the Jewish people ("And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great..") It's been over a generation since we have referred to this land by the historically correct term "Eretz Israel" [The Land of Israel]. Today we use the internationally acceptable "Medinat Israel", or the "State of Israel". "States" come and go, and we have taught today's generation that we are a "state" like all others, no covenant with the Creator and no special bond to the land. We have a lot to atone for. Wednesday's deadly attack in our capital, Jerusalem, presents several more reasons to atone for our sins. Jewish tradition holds the preservation of human life as one of its supreme moral values. It takes precedence over virtually all other moral values. Our Talmud [Tractate Sanhedrin.] tells us; "If someone comes to kill you, arise quickly and kill him.", yet we have allowed a ten year campaign of unprecedented savagery against our people to continue, while we appease and negotiate with the very terrorists that are murdering and maiming our children and loved ones. We sit in cafes, or watch sports on TV while a succession of morally indifferent politicians kow-tow to the "International Community" instead of defending this land and it's people. There are no serious protests, no one takes to the streets after the bloody attacks, or mass funerals. We should, but we don't. We have a lot to atone for. We will also hold memorial services to commemorate the 2,225 Israelis who fell during the Yom Kippur War (1973). Our attempts to appease the "International Community" and not anger the United States almost cost us our country and our lives as the Arab world, led by Egypt, attacked during the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar. Thirty-one years on, and we seem to have forgotten the lessons of that costly war. We continue to jeopardise the future of our children and the Jewish people by placating an enemy whose stated goal is to finish what the Third Reich began. As we ignore the lessons of the past we have ensured that the slaughter of innocents will continue at pace. We have a lot to atone for. When Yom Kippur has ended, the streets will fill with children playing, as families prepare their first meal after the fast. At the Muqata, Arafat and his colleagues will be giggling away as they plan their next "act of resistance" against innocent Israeli targets. It is incomprehensible that this situation can be allowed to exist. We have a lot to atone for. We certainly have the military and material wherewithal to put an end to this murderous insanity once and for all. We merely lack the moral fortitude to do so. The massacre of Israelis and the decimation of the Jewish people will only escalate until we find the courage to thumb our noses at the duplicitous "International Community" and permanently remove Arafat, and the entire Islamic-terror apparatus from our midst. If the current situation continues unabated, there will be many fewer Jews to observe Yom Kippur in the year 2005, and those who survive to do so will have a lot to atone for. Since I wrote the original article one year ago, nothing much has changed. Yes, we have suffered slightly fewer casualties from Arab attacks, but that is a tribute to our military, who have intercepted a greater percentage of would be attackers than in previous years. Yom Kippur 2004 finds my country still targeted for extinction by erstwhile "friends" and committed enemies alike. Our "Disengagement plan", otherwise known as the "Unconditional retreat in the face of bad P.R. Plan" has provided encouragement to the most radical of Jew-haters. This year has brought more of the Lashon Ha'ra from the usual sources and an increasing number of their emboldened sympathisers. My silence (for far too long) is something that I must once again atone for. To close on a positive note, I'd like to mention someone who is making a positive contribution to my country, Mr.Howard Bernstein. Mr.Bernstein was formally the chairman of the America-Israel Chambers of Commerce. Today he runs a website that promotes Israeli goods and services. Mr.Bernstein does not "have to" do anything for my country, he has a successful business (The Chapman Group) and he surely could use the time he spends assisting Israel in other, more enjoyable ways. I promise you that Howard Bernstein's efforts on our behalf are very much appreciated by the people of Eretz Israel. I'd also like to commend the crew at IsraPundit for their tireless efforts on our behalf. I know that Ted, Joseph, Bunuel, and everyone else could have a far easier life by ignoring our plight, and taking up golf, sky-diving, or whatever. Thank you guys, really!
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OPTIMISTIC ASSESSMENT OF IRAQ; TALK OF CIVIL WAR A PLOY?
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, September 24, 2004. |
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THE REAL U.S. MIDEAST POLICY Before Israel was established, the State Dept. hired Christian missionaries in the Mideast to represent it there. Eventually, some of them rose into policy-making. They were indoctrinated into blaming "the Jews" for the death of Jesus. The Vatican, too, opposed the establishment of Israel lest people question whether the resurrection of Jewish sovereignty impugns the notion of Christianity having superceded Judaism. In the early 20th century, the State Dept. allied itself with oil companies. Together, they set policy, guiding Presidents more than the reverse. The Dept. became a major adversary of Zionism. When the UN foiled the State Dept. by recommending Jewish statehood, the State Dept resorted to schemes public and secret, to undermine that sovereignty. It immediately imposed an arms embargo that for some months kept Israel from having much more than handguns, while Britain provided invading Arab armies with heavy weapons. Nevertheless Israel fought them off. Next the State Dept. supported various dictators against Israel. Secretaries of State made appeasement-minded visits to Syria. (It was in the name of getting peace negotiations started, but Syria wanted deadly concessions in advance, negotiations to be a formality, and peace to be promised but war to be made. Israel nearly succumbed to the promises and US blandishments.) Under State Dept. guidance, the US intelligence agencies ran a "black ops" program that secretly deprived Israel of intelligence about Arab military capability, including weapons of mass-destruction. This violated Memos Of Understanding by Presidents and Congress. (The US even fed Israel disinformation, so that it would suffer heavy casualties, in a war.) Hence Pollard supplied it independently. The US favored the Arabs in so many self-defeating and corrupt ways, including letting Saddam survive Gulf War I with regime and weapons programs intact, that Pres. Bush issued a pre-emptive blanket pardon for his top officials! Fearing exposure by Pollard, the conspirators made sure he was locked up for life for his minor violation of law. Meanwhile, Israel gave the US intelligence so valuable, that one US general said Israel was worth five CIAs to the US. Undermining Israel, the US gives the P.A. $210 million a year, even while it makes war on Israel. The current black ops program is to leak disinformation against neo-con supporters of Israel and AIPAC, to squelch the neo-con group officially investigating intelligence failures by the pro-Arab intelligence agencies and to disenchant the American people with Israel. The "Washington Post" accommodatingly converted the disinformation into 10 stories in 9 days. The State Dept. has something to hide. It knowingly let into the US people from states on our terrorist watch and that preach hatred of the US. The State Dept. hid that fact from the American people. State Dept. official retire onto Arab payrolls! The 9/11 Commission did not investigate these real failures of intelligence! Its main conclusion was that the US needed to reach out to the minds of Muslims, as if the US invoked terrorism. That suggestion seems to have been planted by the State Dept.. US agents who complained that their superiors or the State Dept. leashed their efforts to track down Islamist conspirators were hounded, sometimes out of their jobs. The intelligence agencies tried to squelch that. Although the war on Islamism requires international cooperation against nuclear proliferation, the US reportedly again is denying Israel relevant information (of use in attempting to knock out facilities that sooner or later would be directed against the US, after Israel). Israeli intelligence being near the Arabs and excellent, should be harnessed, not ostracized. A shadow government runs the US. Will we ever get that investigated and purged? (Winston Mid East Analysis, 9/7.) No, we are too busy boasting of our democracy, while the Establishment guides our thinking. Where are the radicals and the "protestors" when we really need them? TWO REACTIONS TO TERRORISM Terrorists in Iraq executed Nepalese workers and captured French ones. The people of Nepal reacted by mobbing Muslims and their businesses. The violence is improper, but Nepal should have made a legal defense of Nepalese security by homogeneity. France reacted by pleading with other terrorists to rescue the captives as a reward for decades of appeasement of the Arabs. France subordinated itself to the Islamists (Daniel Pipes, NY Sun, 9/14, p.9). P.A. CALLS FOR GENOCIDE On P.A. TV, two religious leaders have called it an Islamic duty to murder Jews until none are left (IMRA, 9/14 from Palestinian Media Watch). The Islamist drive to genocide gets full P.A. cooperation. The P.A., not just Hamas, is Islamist. WHAT DO JIHADISTS WANT IN IRAQ? They want to do more than force the US military out. They want to turn Iraq into the training arena for terrorism that Afghanistan was. Iraq is drawing Islamists from all over, as a "proving ground." They have better weapons, now. Saddam's funding cut off, the insurgents turned to foreign Muslims, who give the insurgency an Islamist cast. Saddam's former, secularist officers rationalize that innocent people whom they blow up go right to Paradise. (How readily Muslims turn Islamist!) Eschewing a central command, the insurgency cannot be eradicated by a blow to that command. Its tentacles can inject themselves into other cities. It is racing to establish warlords before the thin US forces and the nascent official Iraqi forces can stop them. If the US withdrew, what would the insurgents do? One said they would pursue, right into the US (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/2004, p.14 from Michael ware, Time Mag., 6/27). The US is grinding them up, but they produce more from the madrassas. We must close madrassas. ISRAELI ANTI-TERRORISM The Israeli Air Force bombed a Hamas camp as it was training terrorists to infiltrate Israeli communities. The bombs killed 14 terrorists and no civilians (Arutz-7, 9/7). But the P.A. press release called them "civilians," and protestors called the raid Israeli "state terrorism." Training has been going on for years. Why weren't the camps attacked before, and in daytime? SOURCE OF HAMAS TERRORISM The Al-Jama Arab neighborhood of Hebron has "'large, spacious houses, smart cars and vineyards spread out over undulating hills - a pocket of relative prosperity -' has seen no fewer than 11 of its young men die while carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis." "These numbers put the lie to Shimon Pres oft-repeated thesis that terrorism is the result of the Arabs' poor economic conditions and that peace will follow prosperity." "The Telegraph reports that dozens of young men leave for the US and France rather than remain in Hebron and risk being 'brainwashed' by Hamas." Thousands are leaving the Territories (Arutz-7, 9/7). Therein lies Israel's potential victory. It must spur the exodus by threat and bribe. STATE DEPT. VS. S. ARABIA Saudi law bans conversion, even to non-Salafi sects of Islam. Judges may discount non-Muslim testimony. Customs officials inspect for material from non-Salafi religions. The State Dept. now condemns S. Arabia as among the countries that persecute religious minorities and deny freedom of religion. This is the first time that the State Dept. has named and shamed S. Arabia as a religious persecutor. It has not yet designated it as a denier of human rights or terrorist state. The State Dept. thorn was not thrust deep. Sec. Powell indicated there would be no sanctions placed on that country; rather there would be "engagement." (Eli Lake, NY Sun, 9/16, p.7.) "Engagement" means we trade, they murder. OPTIMISTIC ASSESSMENT OF IRAQ The world's powers increasingly are hostile to radical Islam. Two thirds of al Qaeda's leadership has been neutralized. Afghanistan and Iraq no longer sponsor it. Europe and the US are rounding them up. Profit and spite are losing their power to motivate European opposition to the US. It discovered that it, too, is within al Qaeda' sights. After experience with Chechnya, Russia wants the US to succeed. China wants to liquidate its radical Islamists. Foreigners do not mourn the targeted terrorist commanders. S. Korea, Indonesia, and Japan are finding that the US protects their sea lanes to the Mideast. US military commitments to them against the barbarians are valuable. Hamas' Intifada has failed - Western democracies still can fight back. Moderate Arabs feel ashamed by association with Islamists. They find anti-Americanism doesn't spare them, as terrorists murder hundreds in Pakistan, S. Arabia, and Turkey. They know that the US has done much to save and subsidize Muslim countries. Will Pakistan, Jordan, and S. Arabia realize that subsidizing or harboring terrorists is counter-productive? If so, they will close the Islamist schools, charities, and borderland bases. Arab League dictatorships, however, are afraid that we would sponsor democracy. Foreigners do not mourn the targeted terrorist commanders. Some of those powers don't publicly cooperate with the US, but they wish it well. The world admires success. The world knows the choice is between civilization and barbarism. The US is NOT isolated. The US has made tactical blunders. It overlooked Arab culture - tribal, male-dominated, and eager for prestige and publicity. Whenever the US is in a real military battle with insurgents, it wins and the enemy has no popular support. The veteran coalition troops are liquidating the enemy. The media missed this story. The main US problem is in the US. The anti-war movement has grown large, ironically in behalf of the sexist, fundamentalist, homophobic, racist, ethno-centric, regimented, murderers of Kurds, Arabs, and Americans (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/2004, p.16 from Victor Davis Hanson, Natl. Review Online, 6/25). Likewise, the main Israeli problem is with the Jewish people. It hinders itself with misplaced sympathy for its enemies, who are among they least worthy of sympathy. Mr. Hanson is too optimistic. If the world knows we are right but still is ashamed and afraid to cooperate with us openly, then the terrorists gain. Secular and religious Arab states still try to tamp down local terrorists while ramping up the ones that strike us. Europe still retains an alliance with the Arabs. The West still subsidizes the PLO. The Intifada wasn't Hamas' but that of the whole P.A., and is winning, because Sharon is retreating. ISRAELI CIVIL WAR? NO EVIDENCE! (published in NY Sun) Your 9/16 editorial raising the question of Israeli civil war is deep in sympathy but shallow in history. Otherwise you would know: (1) Sharon is derided as a hard-liner by Arabs and the Left because they will criticize Israel and demand more concessions, no matter how appeasement-minded he has become; (2) His undemocratically bulldozed scheme to give the active enemy, in stages, what would be Israel's secure borders, a third of its water supply, and the religious and historical core of the Jewish homeland is not "pragmatic;" (3) There are no security reasons for that concession to terrorism, and his excuses for it are unconvincing. He would greatly encourage the jihadists; (4) Sharon's alarm about a civil war is the Establishment way of discrediting the whole opposition. The same was done by Shimon Peres, who had agents provocateurs perpetrate violence, and then blamed the "incitement" on the Right and the religious; (5) Menachem Begin was distributing 9/10ths of the Altalena's military cargo to the Haganah, into which he was folding his men. The rest was for an attempt to liberate the Old City. Not wanting the right-wing Begin to get credit for saving Israel, Ben-Gurion had Rabin shell the Altalena and murder volunteer soldiers who had jumped off the burning ship. DANGER OF ISLAM VS. NAZISM & COMMUNISM At the start of WWII, our adversaries were better armed than we. This time, we have the advantage in armaments, but it matters less. Our enemies don't depend solely on armies, but more on pressuring individuals to ambush and to murder civilians. The minions of Hitler and Stalin never reached New York City and D.C., but the Islamists did, on 9/11. Next time they may come with weapons of mass-destruction. They may seem crazy to us, but so did Nazism. The Islamists better understand the West's weaknesses. They pose a greater menace (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/2004, p.11 from Victor Davis Hanson, Natl. Rev. OnLine). One resents the horror and pity of the destruction that may claim our lives, because the Democrats are in an appeasement mode and Pres. Bush is not pursuing additional terrorist states. I would go further. I ask, if we are struck by such weapons, how much might would the US have left? What then of the argument that our combat must spare the lives of collateral civilians in the enemy countries, civilians who would dance in the streets when American cities become funeral pyres? THE DANGER FROM EUPHEMISMS The media both sympathized with the Arab side of the Arab-Israel conflict and was intimidated by it. As a result, it devised at least 20 euphemisms in lieu of calling Arabs "terrorist." Some of the examples are ludicrous. A Dutch newspaper went so far as to call a dead suicide-bomber a "victim." The practice has spread into other countries and non-Arab Muslims committing jihad. The consequence of this moral obfuscation is that the West does not take Islamist terrorism seriously enough (Prof. Steven Plaut, 9/7, e-mail from Daniel Pipes). ARAB TERRORIST FACILITIES IN ISRAELI PRISONS Arab prisoners enjoy television, canteen, Open University correspondence courses, and opportunities for younger ones to take Arab matriculation exams so they can apply for college. Are such prisons "inhumane," as the Arabs claim? Warrant hunger strikes? (IMRA, 9/7.) I think that the hunger strike was part of jihad, especially demands for reduction in security measures. I wonder what studies those prisoners engage in -- for careers outside of terrorism or for better expertise or leadership within it? If the latter, rescind the privilege. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. |
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CHRISTIAN ARABS IN GREAT DANGER TODAY
Posted by IsrAlert, September 24, 2004. |
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This is a Special Dispatch - Reform Project, September 24, 2004, No. 789
From MEMRI. It is archived at http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD78904
Iraqi Columnist: 'It is Difficult to Recall a Period in which Christian Arabs Were in Greater Danger than Today' In an article in the Iraqi daily Al-Zaman, a newspaper published simultaneously in London and Baghdad with an independent and liberal pedigree going back to the 1940s, columnist Majid Aziza highlights the plight of the Christian Arab community in the Muslim world. The following are excerpts from the column:(1) "Christians, natives of Arab countries, are escaping their countries of origin. This is a common statement nowadays everywhere and it is correct one hundred percent. Statistics show that a large number of them have emigrated to safer countries for them and for their children, like the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The reason is the harassment to which they are subjected to by government agencies on the one hand and extremist groups on the other hand in countries they have inhabited for thousands of years... "The Christians have lived in the territory currently referred to as [the Arab countries] for centuries alongside other religious groups, and particularly with Muslims who shared with them the afflictions of life. But the Christians have lost their partners for many reasons, including religious extremism among some Muslims, the demographic increases out of religious reasons, and the acts of discrimination, coercion, and individual and collective expulsion of Christians, and the pressures placed upon them even when they were serving their countries. There are many examples of that in Palestine, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, Egypt, and other countries. "Approximately 4 million Lebanese Christians have emigrated from their country as a result of the pressures placed upon them by others. About half a million Iraqi Christians have left their country for the same reasons... The situation gets worse today because of the discrimination by salafi [Islamic fundamentalist] extremists. In Palestine, the Christians are becoming almost extinct as a result of the control of extremist Muslims on the Palestinian issue and the marginalization of the role of the Christians, apart from the negative impact of the Intifada, which is led by Islamist organizations, on the Christians of Palestine. With regard to Christians in Egypt, the Copts, what happened and is happening to them equally on the part of the state and the Islamists will suffice to fill pages of books and newspapers to explain the coercion, discrimination and persecution. What is happening in Algeria, Mauritania, Somalia, and others is too long to explain. "This situation is also reflected in non-Arab [Muslim] countries. In Islamic countries like Pakistan, Indonesia and Nigeria, Christians suffer from persecution. In Pakistan, Islamist [spiritual leaders] have issued a fatwa [religious opinion] permitting the killing of two Christians for every Muslim killed by the American attacks in Afghanistan, as though the Americans represent Christianity in the world. In other countries they [Christians] live in fear, under the shadow of threat, and face a growing cycle of assaults whenever the United States and its allies carry out a military operation against any country. "Christians are afraid of what might happen to them in these countries. The situation is quite critical and requires urgent attention. It is difficult for us to imagine any other time in which the Christians have felt a greater danger than the danger they feel today in these countries..." Endnote:
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JOURNALISTIC INVERSION OF SAVAGERY INTO OUTLANDISH C.Y.A-ISM
Posted by Marion D.S. Dreyfus, September 24, 2004. |
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Mr. Jukes, Several years ago, I had the questionable privilege to be in an audience of journalists and editors in the McGraw-Hill auditorium in New York City when you opined your Reuters by-now-infamous redefinition of murderers into the merely 'active' or 'militant.' I asked a question of you then, and you oleaginously explained that one man's etc. blah blah. I was sickened then at your pusillanimousness, and even more revolted in the subsequent years and months of blatant terror and brutality visited on innocents by your 'activists' and 'insurgents' and other euphemisms for the plebianly bestial. Recently, Reuters finally acknowledged it was less journalist standard than embarrassing covering your derriere insofar as your appalling substitute locutions go. You want to save your men in the field. You pervert your coverage to appease and peropitiate the monster Islamo-fascists. It was a pathetic if overdue acknowledgment. Reuters has been an innately smug and self-satisfied outfit, despite all objective assessments to the contrary. It is and has been, unfortunately, too busy to look in the mirror for truth or accurate journalistic standards. We in the journalistic community are embarrassed at your inability to recognize the victims of these, your friends of the bullet-, rat poison- and bolt-belt who do so much violence to the peace and welfare of the civilized. You have betrayed the profession. We must wash our hands obsessively to rid ourselves of your stink. For shame. Marion DS Dreyfus
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NOT A SPOOF - NEONAZI ROCK GROUP COMING TO TEL AVIV
Posted by Steven Plaut, September 24, 2004. |
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1. You will all be happy to know that the Austrian neonazi anti-Semitic white-supremacy rock and roll band named Der Blutharsch ("Dry Blood") http://www.derblutharsch.com/ has been invited to perform in Israel on October 9 (source: http://www.ulitsky.freeservers.com/coming.html). When it tried to perform in Chicago last year, local protests forced the cancellation of the "concert" on grounds that the band was a group of racist neonazis. For background on the group, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/farright/story/0%2C11981%2C841363%2C00.html and http://www.jimdero.com/News2003/BottleDec16.htm and http://www.infoshop.org/inews/print.php?story=03/12/17/8467619 and http://www.suntimes.com/output/derogatis/cst-ftr-dero17.html Now I personally happen to consider all such "heavy metal" rock and roll music to be a human rights atrocity, whether or not it happens to be accompanied by anti-Semitic nazi symbols. But hosting them in Tel Aviv has got to take the cake. Whosever idea that was should be running Meretz. Meanwhile, I am waiting to see if Ben Gurion University makes any job offers to the band members after the concert.... 2. Dror Feiler, the pro-terror ex-Israeli "artist", defends his sculpture celebrating the mass murder of Israeli children and civilians on a University of Haifa chat list: http://list.haifa.ac.il/pipermail/alef/2004-September/007882.html |
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ROLE MODEL
Posted by David Frankfurter, September 24, 2004. |
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Dear Friends, Terrorist Zainab Ali Issa Abu Salem intended to kill innocent civilians at a Jerusalem bus stop and soldiers' hitch-hiking post. The wounded include The alertness of two young Israeli soldiers straight out of basic training reduced the damage to 'mere' injuries - and cost them their lives as she blew herself to smithereens, taking them with her. Reuven Koret raises some important questions (http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/4157.htm) to those (including President Bush) who see the suspicious questioning of Palestinians wishing to traverse Israel as "daily humiliation". As long as Palestinian terrorists breach the Geneva Conventions, hiding their evil behind civilian dress, in civilian populations and seemingly innocent and even humanitarian activities, the Israeli security forces will be forced to build fences, man roadblocks, delay ambulances and take all action necessary to protect its civilian population. To demand less is to actively support murder. Stop terror and the Palestinian Arabs have the opportunity to set their own rules. Of significant interest to me, though, is the background of the terrorist herself. Chosen by the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades for her youthful innocence, the young girl was dressed in traditional Muslim garb, in order to play on the sensitivities of any soldiers she may encounter. They know that Israelis are reticent to stop and search women - especially religious women who are shrouded in apparent modesty. While no motivation for her deed has yet been reported, her short biography, reported in Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, raises eyebrows. Zainab was pretty, 18 years old, intelligent and just out of high school. One of 10 children, her home was the Askar "refugee camp" near Nablus, where she lived with her wealthy family - who own a local Palestinian television station. She had spent the last three months - her break between high school and higher studies - fulfilling the dream of many teenagers. She had become a television star. A presenter on a children's show broadcast by her parents' TV station. How she was recruited, what pressures were brought to bear, what indoctrination she received in school - at this stage are all matters of speculation. Could it be that she simply internalised the messages in video clips encouraging children to terror on Palestinian TV? Sadly, whatever led her to the deed, Palestinian children have been given yet another role model to be hero worshipped and emulated. Something that will no doubt be reinforced in every re-run of their favourite TV show. Best Regards,
To subscribe to Frankfurter's 'letter from Israel', email him at david.frankfurter@iname.com. Or go to http://www.livejournal.com/users/dfrankfurter/ |
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REUTERS: NEWS AGENCY OR PR FIRM FOR TERRORISTS?
Posted by CAMERA, September 24, 2004. |
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Ever since Reuter's notorious editorial decision not to call terrorists "terrorists" was affirmed following the 9/11 attacks ("We all know that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, and Reuters upholds the principle that we do not use the word 'terrorist.' " Stephen Jukes, Reuters Global Head of News), the news agency has zealously adhered to its policy of softening the face of terrorism.
Not all of its customers are happy about this. Reuters recently became embroiled in a dispute with CAN West Global Communications, publisher of 13 newspapers across Canada, over the newspaper's substituting the word "terrorist" for "militant" in Reuters dispatches. Reuters' managing editor David Schlesinger insisted that Can West either conform to Reuters' guidelines banning the descriptor "terrorist" or remove the news wire's byline. Reuters, Schlesinger made clear, cannot be perceived as offending terrorists lest its journalists be endangered in volatile areas. Reuters has now gone even further in its indulgent policy toward terrorists. Reporting on the September 22, 2004 suicide bombing in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood, the news agency not only avoided any pejorative reference to the suicide bomber who detonated herself to kill two Israelis and wound 17 more, it lavished sympathetic detail on her and her family. Description of the terrorist attack itself was dry and unsympathetic, with no details about the victims. The only information Reuters provides about the Israelis murdered is that they were "border policemen." The heroic action of two young border policemen in spotting the suspicious bomber and sacrificing their lives to prevent her entry past a checkpoint where she hoped to kill many more is unmentioned. Nor does Reuters note, for example, that Menashe Komemi, one victim, was the oldest of eight children, working as a waiter in a banquet hall while he served in the army to help support his family. Menashe's father was unemployed having undergone a kidney transplant three years earlier. The other Israeli victim, Mamoya Tahio, immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1991 with his parents and six siblings. He enlisted in the Border Police after studying at Yeshivat Hadarom in Rehovot. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry Web site, "He wanted to end his service as a border policeman in peace," said his sister Matako, 21. Tahio's father, Yosef, said that he had initially been opposed to his son's serving in a dangerous area, but that Mamoya had insisted on it, saying, "Don't worry, I'm doing this for my country. Everything will be all right." But for Reuters the victims are simply military targets and the neighborhood where the attack took place is described as an "illegal settlement." The suicide bomber is said to have approached "a security position near a hitch-hiking post used mostly by soldiers," while the area of attack, French Hill, is described as having been "captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally." Another account contends that "Israel sees French Hill as a neighborhood of Jerusalem but it is widely viewed internationally as an illegal settlement built on occupied land." The terrorist, by contrast merits descriptions of her beauty ("one witness described her as a 'pretty Arab woman'), her clothing ("dressed in black and wearing a traditional Muslim headscarf"), her age ("18-year-old"), her family size ("she was one of 10 children"), her school status ("she had just passed her high school exams"), as well as an entire article focusing on the loss felt by her family. Entitled "Bomber's Stunned Family Has Little Time to Grieve," Reuters reporter Atef Sa'ad emotively describes the stunned pain of a family that had "little time to absorb the shock" and their fear of "expecting Israeli bulldozers to soon come to demolish [their home]." We learn that the bomber was "a brown-eyed girl in a white headscarf and a slight smile," that she had "spoken of entering university,"and that "she was from a family not known for connections to militants." We learn that the bomber's little brother was "in disbelief that his sister had died," that her father was "recovering from surgery to open clogged arteries" and had "collapsed and was taken to hospital after learning of his daughter's death," that the mother too "passed out and was taken to hospital." But mostly we learn of the family's alleged innocence ("family members said they had known nothing of Abu Salem's plans for the attack") and the possibility of reprisal by Israel ("Israel typically demolishes the homes of militants suspected of involvement in suicide bombings, a practice Palestinians condemn as collective punishment but which Israeli officials say deters future attacks.") The article closes with a quote justifying the attack: "Oppression is eveywhere, said her uncle Mustafa Shinawi, 55. Every Palestinian finds his own suitable way to protest Israeli oppression." In its apparent attempt to mollify terrorists, Reuters grotesquely reverses the roles of victim and perpetrator. Israeli victims are presented as military targets and as mere statistics, with no humanizing details and no word about grieving families. The terrorist and her family are given extensive sympathetic coverage. Reuters has progressed from erasing the term "terrorist" from its vocabulary to, in effect, erasing the realities of terrorism itself in its reporting. Perpetrators have become victims and victims the guilty party. CAMERA monitors the news and TV media for how fair they are in reporting on Israel. The website address is www.camera.org. |
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RAPID RESPONSES OVER VERIFIABLE VERITIES
Posted by Lori Lowenthal Marcus, September 23, 2004. |
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Quick: you are a government official and you have to respond to a question on the spot but you don't know the actual answer. Is it better to (1) make up an answer that fits your world view, or (2) say "we'll unearth the truth and then let you know"? The world press in the Middle East has rewarded the morally wrong answer to that question time after time. And the reading and listening public reward the liars by valuing rapid responses over verifiable truths. Yasser Arafat has had a starring role as an on-the-spot-and-unabashed-liar for about a dozen years. Rather than diminishing his credibility, Arafat's value as an interviewee remains at peak level. Fast with the quotes, loose with the facts. Remember the homicide bombing at the Dolphinarium discotheque in Tel Aviv? Arafat publicly condemned the carnage and that condemnation was widely reported. Actually, Arafat privately rewarded the bomber's family financially and effusively. How come you don't already know that? Most government officials, even if they don't feel morally bound to tell the truth, are constrained by external consciences. Usually the voting public, or the ever-vigilantly dubious press, will out a liar, and will do it with brutal glee. But not always. Yasser Arafat repeatedly claims to condemn terrorism. But the recent discovery of an iron-clad smoking gun pointing out of his checkbook unequivocally exposes the claim as a flat-out lie. Arafat and his Arab Palestinian leadership frequently lie to the press. Those lies are repeated verbatim, with little or no investigation. Then the press moves on to the next story. Israeli officials, on the other hand, typically respond to queries about important operations or incidents with an equivocal, "the matter is under investigation." No disingenuous denials, no inflamed rhetoric, just a flat statement of intent to investigate. And amazingly enough, Israelis actually conduct these investigations into questioned incidents involving their own actions and those of their enemies. One such investigation involved an exhaustive search of reams of documents Israelis took from Arafat's Mukata headquarters. Those documents reveal conclusively that Yasser Arafat financially and enthusiastically rewards Arab terrorism. I found it ironic that when Israelis broke into Arafat's Mukata during Operation Defensive Shield, they stole computer discs. Who else but Jews would pounce upon computer discs as the Holy Grail of an incursion? But those discs did reveal the equivalent of the Holy Grail: cold, hard evidence proving, not suggesting, not hinting at, but proving Arafat paid off families of homicide bombers. Hassan Khutari detonated himself at the entrance to the Dolphinarium discotheque in Tel Aviv on June 1, 2001. That homicide bomb tore 21 people to pieces, most of them teenagers. Yasser Arafat's public condemnation of the bombing was widely reported. But documents found in Arafat's headquarters reveal he personally sent Khutari's family a $2000 check, complimenting Hassan's heroic deed. Arafat also wrote a letter to Khutari's father. In handwriting confirmed to be Arafat's, Hassan Khutari was praised for his "heroic martyrdom operation - who turned his body into bombs - the model of manhood and sacrifice for the sake of Allah and the homeland." In Arafat's world, sending your child to become an exploding weapon in order to murder as many Israeli kids as possible wins you the Arab equivalent of the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. The existence of this documentary proof was made public by Israel in the middle of September. But this slam-dunk myth-shattering evidence was not pounced upon by Middle East based reporters. In fact, it wasn't mentioned by even a single mainstream media source: not the New York Times, not the Washington Post, not the Philadelphia Inquirer, not ABC, not CNN, not NPR. Not one. Apparently the truth is insignificant unless uttered the moment a microphone or a reporter's notepad is thrust in your face. Vacuous apologies and utterly baseless allegations fit the ticket just fine, thank you very much. Liars are rewarded with enormous media coverage. News consumers worldwide ingest the media saturation of the Arab lies. This constant brain marination is an effective, proven, weapon for producing anti-Israel views. We now know that Arafat gave a cash prize to the family of a man who brutally murdered 21 Israelis at a discotheque in Tel Aviv. But that's not news, according to the news professionals. Journalists usually play the role of external consciences. Middle East journalists, apparently, do not. Maybe that's why a liar like Arafat is still in power. Arafat may be a brutal master terrorist, but he's never too busy to respond to questions. And isn't that what's important? Lori Lowenthal Marcus is a lawyer and President of the Zionist Organization of America, Greater Philadelphia District. |
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WHEN THE RIGHT IS WRONG: PART II
Posted by Ellen W. Horowitz, September 23, 2004. |
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Said Raba, "For those who go to the right, the Torah is an elixir of life; for those who turn left, it becomes a deadly poison." (Shabbat 88b) "Please separate from me! If you go left, I will go right, and if you go right, I will go left." (Lech Lecha) As much as Judaism places an emphasis on peace and unity, there is an equally strong thread running throughout the Torah which calls upon us to draw clear boundaries and to separate from evil. As the world descends into a globalized cloud of darkness, our souls are just screaming for some clarity.. The concept that "Yaacov remains alone" may be an anathema for the left, but many of us on the right absolutely crave the thought of separatism from a world gone mad. We understand that being a Jew is often about being part of a "remnant" or engaging in a struggle of the "few against the many". But, on the other hand, we know that our ultimate calling is to be a "light unto the nations.". Confusing, no? The national situation is especially hard on us right-wing zealots. We know that G-d despises disunity and that the Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred, but we have good grounds to be angry. The national crisis demands our attention. So what's it gonna be - a Maccabee victory or Bar Kochba defeat? Pinchas throws a deadly spear in the ultimate zealous act and gets the peace prize, while two of the very peaceful Aaron's sons are consumed by fire for their over-zealousness. How do we committed Jews navigate through a plethora of seeming contradictions? I have a theory that the success or failure of zealous actions is determined by the wisdom of their timing. Which is why I am especially distraught to be receiving a continual influx of virulent email lambasting the self-hating, bolsheviki, shabbatean left, during the Days of Repentance. Now, I have to admit that a good portion of the stuff is more than true. But somehow, as we face the Day of Atonement, I was hoping that a bit of the anger would have dissipated- if only for a few weeks. Because, it's impossible to be simultaneously angry and humbled at the same time. And this time of year we need to be contrite. There's a new book out by Daniel Pearl's parents, called "I Am Jewish." You can read a few of the excerpts at http://info.jpost.com/C004/Supplements/DanielPearl/ Some of our favorite targets like Shimon Peres, Thomas Friedman and A.B. Yehoshua let us in on what Judaism means to them. Believe it or not, they have a sense of pride in their heritage and history. I'm in awe at the resiliency of the Jewish spirit that, in spite of everything, is still able to declare, "I am a Jew." That confused Jewish hearts can still retain a love of Israel and sense of morality and ethical responsibility towards the world is truly remarkable. However, what seems to be lacking in a number of the essays is any mention of the beauty of ritual service, or the essential Jewish ideas of redemption, repentance, Divine providence, Divine service, or The World to Come. There are few references to the passion or emotional and intellectual depth of our sages. It seems that contemporary Jewish movements have either buried, twisted or diluted the very underpinnings of Judaism. What remains for many liberal Jews is an arrogant religion bereft of a spiritual foundation and soul. There's a gap in our education and our sages teach that when educating children, one should "push away with the left hand and bring close with the right." The right hand is traditionally associated with mercy, and the left with strict justice. This time of year, mercy dominates. And so, like a confused child, I feel fairly safe approaching my Father in Heaven and asking the following questions: Is it fair to fault a nation that was scattered and then raised on the bolshevism of Eastern Europe or, alternatively, the extreme excesses and personal freedoms of the West - a people that have endured the traumas of the Holocaust and scores of other atrocities? A good portion of us weren't even nurtured on Jewish mothers' milk - we imbibed Similac as infants and in many cased graduated to bacon and eggs, cheeseburgers and pepperoni pizzas (shrimp cocktails, too). Is it any wonder why "Yeshurun grew fat and kicked"? How can we as a nation possibly hear the primordial cry of the shofar when a good number of the Diaspora synagogues and "temples" back-up their teruah with a sophisticated sound system, trumpets and organ-accompanied choir? Under the circumstances, is it really our fault that we have difficulty returning to You? Perhaps a major dose of Divine intervention is called for. Now here's a couple questions for my activist friends on the right (and please know that I grapple with this one all of the time). It's obvious to many of us that we are being accosted by both external and internal manifestations of our arch-enemy Amalek, and without G-d fearing leadership we will be unable to meet the challenges at hand. So how can it be that those of us who know and understand that we lack the spiritual strength and will to carry-out our national obligations with regards to our enemies are so willing to point fingers and toy with the idea of civil strife between brothers? Kind of the easy way out isn't it? It seems there was a drought in the world and the Sages located a tzadik by the name of Abba Hilkiah, who was known to have success at bringing on the rains. To make a long story short, Abba Hilkiah and his wife go up to the roof of their home to pray for rain. The rain clouds gather on the wife's side and the drought ends. When asked why the clouds appeared on his wife's side of the roof, Abba Hilkiah responds, "I had terrible neighbors, who committed all sorts of immoral acts, and I prayed that they die, so that I would be rid of them. My wife, however, prayed that they change their ways...." (Ta'anith 23ab) Given the present impossible circumstances, I don't know how many of us are capable of true teshuva, or attaining the level of Abba Hilkiah's wife. But maybe we can hold some of that hatred in check - at least until the rains come. Ellen Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights, Israel with her husband and six children. She is a painter and columnist for Israelnationalnews.com. She can be contacted through her website http://www.artfromzion.com |
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PRESIDENT BUSH AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Posted by AFSI, September 23, 2004. |
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In his speech to the United Nations on September 21, 2004, President Bush stumbled into "State Department speak" and evoked the "road map" for peace in the Middle East. He issued a perfunctory call for reform and democracy among Palestinian Arabs, and issued a list of demands on Israel: "Israel should impose a settlements freeze, dismantle unauthorized outposts, end the daily humiliation of the "Palestinian" people, and avoid any actions that prejudice final negotiations." Herbert Zweibon, Chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel, maintains, "This was unfortunate pandering to the Arab and Moslem enemies of America and Israel. How can an area roughly the size of Connecticut be the 'root cause' of Islamic terrorism? And why call Israel's necessary security measures 'humiliating'? Was it not better to 'humiliate' the Arab homicide bomber who was prevented by the Border Guards from boarding the bus on Wednesday afternoon in Jerusalem, rather than allow her to detonate her bombs on the bus? By detaining her, the deaths and maimings were kept to two deaths and 16 wounded. The numbers would have been horribly higher had she not been 'humiliated'." Zweibon continues, "An underlying question here is, why did President Bush deign to speak before the United Nations? Victor Davis Hanson, in his Wall Street Journal column on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2004, describes the UN as a forum whose 'membership is rife with tyrannies, theocracies and Stalinist regimes... For Mr. Bush to talk to such folk about the need to spread liberty means removing from power, or indeed jailing, many of the oppressors sitting in his audience.? Mr. Hanson goes on to describe U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan as 'a symbol of all that is wrong with the U.N.'" AFSI's Chairman concludes, " We decry the fact that President Bush chose to speak to this forum of despots, and to use that forum to attack Israel, the only democratic ally that America has in the Middle East. He should hearken to his own words on November 8, 2001, when he addressed firemen, policemen, and postal workers in Atlanta, Georgia: 'We are the target of enemies who boast they want to kill, kill all Americans, kill all Jews, and kill all Christians.' Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI is a pro-active pro-Israel advocacy group. AFSI may be contacted by mail at 1623 Third Ave., Suite 205, New York, N.Y. 10128 (Tel: 212-828-2424; Fax: 212-828-1717); by email at afsi@rcn.com; or by accessing its website: www.afsi.org. Helen Freedman is Executive Director. |
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MUSLIM TERRORISTS WERE THERE ALL THE TIME AND STILL ARE
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, September 23, 2004. |
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While one may have arguments of substance with President Bush, there is a singular point that is beyond speculation and that is what required Bush to declare War on Global Terrorism. I have written about this before and now wish to reiterate the point that President Bush engaged the enemy of all with only minutes to spare. A Special Report: "Struggle for the Soul of Islam - A Rare Look at a Secretive Brotherhood in America" appeared in the Sunday CHICAGO TRIBUNE September 19.(1) "A group aiming to create Islamic states worldwide has established roots here, under the guidance of Egyptian-born Ahmed Elkadi" (In a note from the Editors): "The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928, spawned generations of Islamic activities, both peaceful and violent, around the globe. It is the most influential Islamic fundamentalist organization in the world. "In the U.S. it has operated legally but covertly, mimicking clandestine fraternal organizations...with this pervasive goal, creation of Islamic states throughout the world, including the U.S." [Note the Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezb'Allah, PLO, Fatah, Al Aksa Martyr's Brigades, Tanzim - among many others - can be considered one interlocking organization dedicated to Global Terror.] Terrorists of every type were in a state of incubation in our countries - some called "sleeper cells" - long before 9/11/01. While there were small Terrorist groups with grudges and demands of their local governments, the biggest movement has been among Moslems. Nations of the Free West deliberately ignored this growing threat in their own countries as they wished to remain on good terms with Arab nations who, by the happenstance of nature, had oil under their feet. The black gold cast a broader protective shadow over other Arab nations without oil. The Western nations didn't want to risk offending any Arab/Muslim nations, lest the oil be used against them as a weapon. So Arab Muslims were given a free pass. Investigative Agencies like the FBI/CIA learned that the State Department would slap them down if they probed or even profiled Arabs or Muslims, particularly the Saudis and Egyptians, etc. [Remember that of the 19 hijacking suicide bombers, 15 were Saudis and the other 4 were Egyptians.] During this time, Muslim Terror movements grew exponentially through their tightened connections. The following is a very brief history of Islamic Terror which is rampant today and growing Globally. The Muslim Terrorists were only attacked when they threatened regional governments - such as Egypt and Syria. Recall that Hafez al Assad leveled his own town of Hama, a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood, killing an estimated twenty thousand of his own civilians, men, women and children with artillery and cyanide gas In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood, was created by Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Banna directed Al-Ikhwan Al-Moslemoon until he was murdered in 1948 in Cairo. In 1938 al-Banna presented his idea of Jihad (Holy War for strict Islam) in an article "The Industry of Death" wherein "Death" was an ideal to long for. [While the Brotherhood fought the Egyptians and the Syrians for power, their main target was the Jews.] The anti-Semitism of the Brotherhood was not only influenced by European Nazi-Fascist ideologies but by Islamic roots. For example, Islamists tried to legitimatize their aspiration to drive out or kill the Jews of Palestine by referring to the example of Mohammed who, as the legend goes, succeeded not only in expelling 2 Jewish tribes from Medina during the 7th century, but killed the entire male population of the third tribe and sold all the women and children into slavery. [In the 7th century Mohammed conquered in the name of his vision of Allah but, slaughtering his adversaries and slavery made him a Terrorist - with ideology. Did you think that those desert warriors were merely romantic Arabs who slaughtered other tribes, including the Jews because they were NOT Terrorists.] May 8, 1945 the ideological rapprochement between the Muslim Brothers and the Nazis reached a peak. The Nazis under Hitler granted Amin el Husseini, the infamous Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, a new political domain. Husseini was a zealous supporter and friend of Hitler, Adolph Eichmann and Heinrich Himmler. Husseini was also the leader of the Arab Palestine National Terrorist Movement who had spawned the 1929 and 1936-9 pogroms which killed more than 100 Jews in 1929 and more than 600 in the 1936-39 Arab Muslim riots. Husseini was exiled by the British from Mandatory Palestine as a war criminal. He was not only one of the closest allies of the Muslim Brotherhood since the beginning of the 1930s but also within the Arab Muslim world was the most ardent supporter and perpetrator of the annihilation of European Jews. Husseini was indeed a Terrorist and also, of course, viewed himself as a religious Muslim cleric, defending the faith. Nazi criminals being sought in Europe, poured in droves into the Arab Muslim world. Masses of copies of the Russian forgery, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" were published for decades after the exposure of the Nazi death camps by 2 well-known Muslim Brothers, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar al-Sadat. The Brotherhood ignored and justified Hitler's extermination of the European Jews. Creation of the Jewish State is seen by them as an attack against the Arab Muslim world. This mad notion of a world-wide Jewish conspiracy not only survived but got fresh impulse in 1947 in an Arabic Muslim world where the Muslim Brotherhood had meanwhile garnered a million supporters. The impact of a Nazi-like conspiracy is obvious in the Charter of the Muslim Brotherhood of Palestine which calls itself Hamas. Adopted in 1988, it defines Hamas as a "universal movement" whose Jihad has to be supported by Muslims all over the world. These Islamist programs call for Hamas and also Al Qaeda to resume the Nazi-compatible policies of Amin el-Husseini. Mohammed Atta, a (or the) leader of 9/11 for Osama Bin Laden totally subscribe to the motives which lead to the suicidal mass-murders of innocent people in Israel and the America." (2) Other nations of Europe and even America simply looked the other way as Terrorists used their Free Western nations as a safe haven in which to grow, train, raise funds, prosper and spread their propaganda. These same nations have now become the target 9/11 broke through the psychological barrier of diplomatic "hands-off" policies for many - but, not all. Even the pro-Arab State Department backed down in public but, continued to protect and collaborate with Saudi Arabia - long known to American Ambassadors who served there as hostile to America. President George W. Bush, whether forced to act by 9/11 or personally galvanized by 9/11, finally saw the threat to all of Global Terrorism "in the clear". Bush pierced the festering boil of radical Islamic Terror before it had reached operational maturity. Had 9/11 NOT triggered Bush to press the American war against Global Terror, that festering boil would have grown to even greater proportions than when it was perceived first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq. There are those who complain that Terror has ramped up since Afghanistan and Iraq. The fact is that: It was there before and growing exponentially. It was growing quietly in many nations. It was gathering weapons, training, establishing a matrix of interlocking cooperative links for collective war against all whom Muslims perceived of as the infidels (un-believers in Islam). It is well recognized that Europe is becoming Islam-ized at an alarming rate and predicted to be wholly dominated by Muslims with native Europeans becoming a minority or emigrating.(3) Therefore, the battle against Terror is raging in Iraq, winding down in Afghanistan - fought by the Americans - while similarly in Israel, the battle against Arab Muslim Terror continues. Here we can recall the nations ignoring Hitler's build-up to war and accommodating his expansionism - just as we have ignored the growing power of a hostile, radical Jihadist Islamism. Any of the countries in Europe, could have stopped Hitler in his early stages and didn't. Later, we could have united and stopped him before he killed 6 million Jews, including 1.5 million Jewish children and a total of 50 million killed in WW2 - and we didn't. Can you imagine what we would have been facing had Al Qaeda not prematurely exposed their ultimate plans with 9/11? We already know both the Terrorists and the nations who supplied Global Terror were steadily building an arsenal of conventional weapons and WMD (Weapons of Mass Death) including NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) area-wide weapons with accurate missiles to reach Europe, Russia, Israel and soon even America. By 2010 the then integrated Terrorists of Islam could have threatened every nation on the planet with WMD. (Note! Those weapons were not invented by these semi-backward countries or by the Terrorists. No! It was we, the Free West in America, France, Russia, China, Europe who developed them in our own laboratories and then gave them to these primitive hostiles.) As Americans, we cannot rely on old Europe to either save themselves nor assist us in saving them and the rest of the world. As they allowed Hitler a free hand to occupy Europe, so too, they are permitting Europe to become Islam-ized. The Jihadists are using the double threat of Terror plus overwhelming the native populations with Muslims until they reach a critical mass to exercise supreme control and power. If that doesn't work, they always have the threat available to them of blowing up their host cities. That same phenomenon is overtaking America as Muslims establish centers of power, strict Islamic schools, called Madrassas, making extraordinary demands to accommodate their hostile religion and to allow "sleeper cells" to blend in for cover with all the other "peaceful" accommodating Muslims. The nations are all upset that the mostly Arab Muslim Terrorists, Mujahadiin, have descended upon Iraq and are killing, beheading, blowing up people and oil pipelines, including infrastructure beneficial to the Iraqi people and non-Iraqi civilian construction workers who are trying to put the country Saddam destroyed back into functional working order. The Terrorists are generally doing what Terrorists do best. They are successfully Terrorizing. They have made America's fight to give Iraq freedom, a winner-take-all showdown. America is fighting the good fight in a Global battle which the Europeans always refuse to do - even for themselves. In 5 or 10 years these same Terrorists would have been far better organized and equipped to dictate terms of surrender to America, Europe and all other nations whom they choose, had Bush NOT pierced the boil earlier than the Terrorists had planned. I happened to write on 9/11/01 at 10 am that the attacks on the Twin Towers were America's Second Pearl Harbor and I quoted the Japanese general, Yamamoto, who on December 7, 1941 prophetically said: "We have awakened a sleeping giant." Personally, I have plenty of concern about what the Bush Road Map has become under the pro-Arab U.S. State Department, collaborating with the U.N., the E.U. and Russia as the "Quartet". They are trying to appease the Arab Muslim nations and Terrorists much as the nations of the Free West tried to appease Hitler. However, we must recognize that, if Bush had NOT attacked the incubator where Terrorists were and are breeding more Terrorists, we would all have been facing a far greater calamity. We ignored Hitler's march across Europe on his way to conquer the world for his 1000 Year Reich much as we have, up to now, ignored Islam's march toward making Earth a great U'umah, a Muslim Empire from pole to pole and from sea to shining sea. In the political debates between Bush and Kerry, the Kerry message is that we have fought a war that didn't need to be fought. That we are handling the war badly and that he, Kerry, would somehow take us back to a pre-9/11 policy of "see no evil" and therefore peace would reign. This political position may make for good speeches but it has nothing to do with a long overdue war that finally cleans out the mind-set that brought us Global Terrorism and threatens to Terrorize until Muslims reach World Domination for Islam (strict Shariah Islamic law). Now this war is epi-centered in Iraq and must be won there first. Israel continues to fight daily Terror - despite demands of restraint by the pro-Arab State Department. I do not exclude Syria, Iran and/or North Korea as hot-spots, rogue nations with possible WMD and hostile intent. They all need to be dealt with. IF Iraq is dealt with definitively, it may not be necessary to actually go to war against all these rogue nations. Notice how Gadaffi seems to have folded Libya's WMD tent - immediately after Saddam was captured? Senator John Kerry has been and remains a pacifist in synch with European avoidance and reality denial until it is too late to act effectively. He demonstrates weakness and vulnerability to Arab Muslims, encouraging them to attack more often and more fiercely with WMD and Terror. President Bush has engaged Global Terror with no assistance from the United Nations or the leaders of the European Union, (France and Germany, particularly). Regrettably, Bush has NOT recognized that Israel is fighting the same Terrorists today and Israel fought the same Terrorists in the past, that America is fighting now. Hopefully, Bush will come around in his thinking before the next 9/11 hits America or some other country in the West who thinks they are Free - or at least safe, having bribed the Terrorists with a promise of free access to their nations. The blister of Terror has been lanced and now it's time to clean out the infection to its very core - or it will infect all of us. ### 1. "A Rare Look At A Secretive Brotherhood In America: Struggle for the Soul of Islam" by Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Sam Roe and Laurie Cohen CHICAGO TRIBUNE Sun. Sept. 19, 2004 2. "Jihad Against the Jews: Jihad and anti-Semitism" by Dr.
Matthias Kuntzel Source: Judische Allgemeine, Berlin, No. 1/03 Jan. 2,
2003 matKuentzel@aol.com
3. "THE MULLAH'S EUROPE" by Robert Spencer FrontPageMagazine.com 9/22/04
***Note our prior article: "MANKIND AGAINST ISLAM" of March 14,
2004 President George W. Bush, both by intent and happenstance may
have very well saved the world by giving her a fighting chance against
global terror - in real time. After 9/11 America was awakened to the
fact that she was no longer invulnerable to terror. We discovered that
we have been methodically penetrated by Muslim enemies both from
outside and within. Bush concluded that we were in a war. The
terrorists had brought the terror war to our shores -
dramatically...but, Bush kicked over the ant-hill of Terror.
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm Flight 103, 12/21/88
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 2/26/93
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon, 10/23/83
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Khobar Towers, U.S. Barracks Saudi Arabia, 6/25/88
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of U.S. Embassies-Nairobi & Dar es Salaam, Africa, 8/10/98
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon & (probably) the White House or Congress on 9/11/01
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombings of 4 commuter trains in Madrid 3/11/04
REMEMBER the MUSLIM murders of at least 368, - of them children in
Beslan, Russia 9/1/004
AND, PLEASE REMEMBER the MUSLIM murders of at least 1500 Israelis
since Oslo was signed 9/13/93, with tens of thousands wounded - many
maimed for life!
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN and other lives who were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks.
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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THE LESSONS OF THE HOLOCAUST
Posted by Ruth Matar, September 23, 2004. |
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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Dear Friends, The greatest tragedy of the present situation in Israel is that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon attempts to completely crush the democratic process. For good reason has he been nicknamed "The Bulldozer". He was elected on a platform completely contrary to the policies which he is presently trying to enforce on the Israeli public. Without any prior warning or justification Sharon is now advising us that we must follow him in what he previously told us would be suicidal behavior, namely to retreat from our Land in the face of terror and war! All this in the face of Hamas, Hezbollah and Arafat openly fighting for the spoils of Sharon's anticipated perfidy, that is who will get the fruits of the labor of the Jews in the communities from which they are to be forcibly expelled. And all this in the face of Egypt merrily winking at the terrorists' continued massive smuggling of weapons from Egypt to Gaza. The national consensus, and that included Sharon himself, as well as the commanders of the army, the police and the intelligence services, was that there must be no retreat until the war has been won. And now Sharon has announced that he has decided it is best for the country to abandon 8,500 Jews from Gaza and Northern Shomron. No reason given. Just in true dictatorial fashion Sharon says he knows what's best for Israel. But Sharon is trying to do all this without a mandate! It is erroneous to think that the Israeli People overwhelmingly voted for him personally in the last election. It must be understood that the Israeli system is different from the American system, where we vote directly for the President. In Israel, the vote is for the Party. And the leader of the party which receives the majority of votes, becomes Prime Minister, if he can successfully put together a coalition within a given amount of time. The Likud Party won the last election overwhelmingly with a platform of "No to a Palestinian State", and "No Concessions to the Arab Enemy". Sharon's Unilateral Disengagement Plan has been soundly rejected by his own Likud Party.
Sharon's statement that the Disengagement Plan has been decided upon by the Government, is an outright, and it may be assumed, deliberate misrepresentation. Yes, the cabinet has given its approval, but only after Sharon fired those of his Ministers who had announced that they planned to vote against the Plan. Sharon then appointed such Ministers who could be counted on to be his yes-men. Please note: The Israeli Knesset (Parliament) of 120 members has not yet been given the opportunity to vote on Sharon's Disengagement Plan. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Education Minister Limor Livnat and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom have now called for a national referendum on this vital issue. But officials from the Prime Minister's office recently declared brazenly on Israeli television, Channel 2, that a national referendum is no longer considered "because the Government might lose". This is supposed to be Israeli democracy in action? How does the Sharon Government explain their fear that a growing majority might not vote for the Disengagement Plan in a national referendum? Of course, they blame the "inciters", i.e. Israelis who disagree with the plan to forcibly drag 8,500 Jews out of their homes. And the Israeli leftist media is enthusiastically helping the Sharon government in this endeavor. It is extraordinary how the Israeli left , with a few exceptions, passionately hated Ariel Sharon as long as he was in the forefront of building Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Now that he is intent to expel the Jews from the very communities which he helped build, an equally passionate love affair has developed between Sharon and his erstwhile leftist detractors. Nadia Matar, co-chair of Women in Green, has apparently been chosen and designated as the chief "inciter". In fact, Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra says that Nadia is a threat to internal security, and has ordered the police to bring her in for questioning, even before Yom Kippur. In addition, Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra wants Attorney General Mazuz to investigate if Nadia is guilty of criminal incitement. What is Nadia's "crime"? Nadia Matar had the "audacity" to send to Jonathan Bassi, the man appointed by Ariel Sharon to be head of the Evacuation Agency, a response to his draft letter to the Gush Katif residents, who are to be deported from their homes, together with a letter written by the Judenrat (Jewish Council) to the Jews of Berlin in Germany in 1942. Nadia noted that the 1942 documents ended with an emotional plea by the Berlin Jewish leadership to behave calmly and thus ease the process of deportation. Nadia further accused Bassi that he is a modern-day version of the Judenrat and is, in fact much worse. During the Holocaust the deportation of Jews was forced upon community leaders by the Nazis, whereas Bassi's decision to head the Evacuation Agency was purely voluntary. Bassi, as Nadia correctly points out, was under no threat to his life or limb when he assumed his position as head of Sharon's Evacuation Authority. Tomorrow you will receive an essay by email written by Nadia Matar herself, in which she describes these two letters in detail, and her motivation for sending them to Jonathan Bassi. Nadia noted that the Judenrat letter was "chillingly similar" to the one Bassi planned to send to the Jewish Gush Katif residents. Many public figures and media pundits protested the use of the Holocaust comparison. Avner Shalev, head of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, on Monday last lambasted comparisons made by Matar between Israel's plan to dismantle Jewish settlements in Gaza and events of the Holocaust as "a distortion of history and the cheapening of the Shoah." He further stated that "the use of the Holocaust to advance political positions is irresponsible, disrespectful and distorts historical facts." But in 1998 Avner Shalev apparently felt differently. He lobbied for the idea that Arafat should be allowed to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, but said that he understood that official visits from dignitaries were determined only by the Foreign Ministry. Was his desire to invite the murderer Arafat to Yad Vashem not political? On the contrary, shouldn't we learn from the Holocaust never again to allow ourselves to be expelled from our homes and again be evacuated and powerless to resist as the German Jews were in 1942? Nadia and I are both, in a sense, Holocaust survivors. Members of both our families were murdered by the Nazis. Should we not learn lessons from what happened? It is not enough to visit Holocaust museums all over the world (even Germany has such a museum), to sorrowfully study what many of us believe was a one-time terrible and tragic occurrence? The Holocaust was not a one-time event. The Jews over the ages have suffered various Holocausts and Expulsions. Examples are the Spanish Inquisition and Expulsion, the Crusaders murdering all the Jews on their way to the Holy Land, and the many countries where Jews were murdered, expelled, even though in some cases subsequently readmitted. More recently the Muslim countries have violently expelled virtually all of their once blossoming Jewish communities. Only with the fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecy of the Jewish return to our Promised Land have we been able to feel some safety. However, if Ariel Sharon succeeds in the forced deportation and ethnic cleansing of the 8,500 Jews now living in Biblical Gaza and Northern Samaria, many countries, in order to appease their rapidly growing Muslim population, may well do what Ariel Sharon plans to do to his own People. With G-d's help, we must defeat Sharon's evil Unilateral Disengagement Plan which is really just a plan of forced deportation and ethnic cleansing of Israeli Jewry. With Blessings and Love for Israel,
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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ISRAEL'S VIRTUAL SURRENDER TO ARAFAT AND TERRORISM
Posted by Bernard J. Shapiro, September 23, 2004. |
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1. It is apparent to many people that, despite his exalted military career, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is showing cowardice in the face of Palestinian attacks during the current war. While IDF soldiers and officers certainly are personally brave in the face of the enemy, Israel's political leadership is indecisive and non-aggressive. I ask you: When in Israel's military history did its forces not attack and occupy enemy positions from where live fire was coming? Only today is the IDF entangled with rules that prevent its ability to defeat the enemy decisively. The failure to engage the enemy with force and aggressiveness has led to a massive loss of deterrence on the part of Israel. 2. The repeated cease-fire talks and restraint demanded by the Americans have made the Israelis look like a "banana republic" as well as fools for expecting Arafat's signature on an agreement to mean something tangible. 3. The failure to pursue VICTORY by the IDF allows the Arabs to regroup, learn from their experience and prepare for the next round of fighting. They have a high learning curve. If the Security Fence stops suicide bombers, then they will fire rockets over it, tunnel under it or have Israeli Arabs inside the fence carry out the attacks. Like a surgeon who must totally excise a cancer or it will metastasize and destroy whole body, the IDF must eliminate completely terrorism and those who support it. 4. The level of lying on the part of the Palestinians about Arafat's war is an indicator of how unreasonable and "anti-peace" they really are. Of, course, they are truthful about their ultimate goal of destroying Israel and committing genocide against its Jewish population. 5. It is clear to me that Sharon is using Arafat's war for the purpose of causing the Jews of YESHA to evacuate their homes. This was meant to save himself the difficulty of personally taking charge of the ethnic cleansing of Jews from the area. Unfortunately today, he leading the forces demanding the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Eretz Yisrael. Sharon has already given the green light to Arafat, Hamas and Islamic Jihad by his failure to suppress and destroy them. 6. Sharon's giveaway of Gaza and the Shomron and his plans to make all of YESHA Judenrein should have brought down his government, yet he still rules. I am very disappointed at this. Where is the nationalist/religious camp? 7. There is talk of international observers for YESHA. This would be a great victory of Arafat and justify his war against Israel. The Israeli response should be a deafening no. From experience of 52 years, we all know that the UN, its bodies, and all International Forces are biased against Israel and in the pocket to the Arabs. The only purpose of such a plan would be to diminish Israel's rightful sovereignty in the area. 8. Sharon's constant warnings and threats, for which he never acts, further reduce Israeli deterrence. 9. Allowing the news media to photograph teenagers throwing stones is bad for Israel's image. It is well know that these very same photographers avoid taking pictures of Palestinian gunfire. The print journalists avoid references to live fire from the Palestinian side. Many rioters wait for journalists to arrive before rioting. Others actually collaborate with journalists to start riots strictly for the anti-Israel propaganda it inevitably brings the Arab cause. It is past time to remove journalists from the areas of clashes. 10. If Israel wants to rid itself of terrorism, it must first get rid of its AG, pro-Arab Supreme Court, and pro-Arab anti-Zionist media. Then it must release from all restraint the IDF to totally destroy the PA and other terrorist groups. And finally it must expel all the disloyal and terrorists supporting residents of Israel. It is not brain surgery. This does not require going beyond the international standard for survival of a nation state. 11. Oslo, Camp David, Road Map, Geneva, and the Disengagement (Retreat -Appeasement to terror) must be terminated with extreme prejudice. 12. Israel must annex immediately all of YESHA. Then the Palestinians must be told that those who engage in hostile activity against Israel will be expelled from the country. If hostility is widespread then the entire population should make a new home in Jordan. SIMPLE RULES FOR CREATING A GIANT WAVE OF ALIYA TO ISRAEL 1. Crush terrorism and pre-empt all existential threats to the State of Israel. Why move to a country unable to protect its Jewish population? 2. Annex all state lands within the borders of Israel (post 1967). Annex all property stolen from the Jewish People during the last 2000 years, including Church and Waqf property (exceptions, of course for Holy Places. The term Holy Places does not include fraudulent claims of Muslims to Jewish or Christian Holy Places.). Remove all illegal Arab buildings and farms. 3. Require all voting citizens of Israel to do military or community service for 3 years (including Arabs). The right to vote and be a citizen will depend such service + a loyalty oath to the Jewish State. 4. Re-affirm that Israel is a Jewish State and NOT a democratic(one man one vote) state of all its citizens. The loyal citizens of Israel whether Jewish, Christian, Druze, Beduin or Arab will have equal rights. 5. Adopt Prof. Paul Eidelberg's constitution with constituency elections. 6. Open up Judea & Samaria for massive building, thus creating giant suburbs close to the heavily populated Israeli coastline. A system of toll roads, and light rail will connect these suburbs to the coast from Ashdod to Nahariya. This will solve the over population along Israel's coast and create a better quality of living for all Israelis. 7. Anyone in Israel who raises up a rock to crush Jewish skulls, or a knife, gun or bomb to kill Jews should be killed or expelled from Eretz Yisrael. A final thought: It took Jews 2000 years to regain Eretz Yisrael. We should most emphatically not allow the world who wished us dead to influence our decisions on how we should LIVE. Bernard J. Shapiro is the executive director of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies and the editor of The Maccabean Online and the Freemanlist. Contact the Center at Freeman Center For Strategic Studies, P.O. Box 35661, Houston, Texas 77235-5661. Phone or Fax at 713-723-6016 |
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SUICIDE BOMBER WAS CHILDREN'S TV SHOW HOSTESS
Posted by Bryna Berch, September 23, 2004. |
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This was a news item in today's Arutz Sheva (www.INN.com).
Wealthy. Educated. Articulate. Engaged in working with children.
She definitely fits the profile of a suicide bomber - and I'm not
being sarcastic.
The young 18-year-old female suicide terrorist, Zeinab Ali Isa Abu-Salem, who murdered two Israelis yesterday and wounded some 30 others, was none other than a children's TV show hostess on a local station in Shechem. Ofra resident Debbie Segal, who noticed the terrorist approaching the bus stop moments before she blew herself up, described her as "extraordinarily beautiful." She comes from a very wealthy Arab family in Shechem, which owns the TV station where she worked. Palestinian Media Watch has thoroughly documented numerous children's TV programs that indoctrinate Arab children to seek "heroic death for Allah." On January 15, 2002, Arafat himself, during a PA televised message to children, told them, "Is it not the greatest message to the world, when a child dies for Allah?" Abu-Salem raises the number of female suicide terrorists to eight. Security sources say that she, like most of them, was young, single, and intelligent. Another 40 female terrorists have been arrested since the Oslo War began on Rosh Hashana, 2000, some of whom were on their way to commit suicide attacks. Eyewitnesses to yesterday's attack said that the terrorist, clad in a veil, was stopped at the Border Guard post at the entrance to the crowded bus-and-ride stop, and argued with one of the policeman who wanted to check her. When the second officer approached them, Abu-Salem detonated the explosives that she held in a bag in her hand. IMRA notes that this occurred just a day after US President Bush told the UN General Assembly that Israel must "end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people" - a reference to the checkpoints. The two Border Guard policemen who were killed in yesterday's suicide bombing in northern Jerusalem were buried today. They are Momoya Tahio, 20, from Rehovot, who immigrated from Ethiopia a number of years ago, and Menashe Komemi, 19, from Moshav Aminadav in the Jerusalem area. Komemi's cousin, Raanan Komemi, was killed a year ago in a battle with terrorists in central Gaza. Raanan's father - the uncle of the policeman killed yesterday - is one of the founding members of an organization called the Three Fathers, which demands that the government allow the army to fight the anti-terror war without restraint and that the Supreme Court not prevent the army from razing structures used by terrorists to perpetrate attacks. A few hours after the attack, Israeli forces demolished the homes of the terrorist and of her dispatcher. The two lived in the Shechem area in northern Shomron. In addition, IDF forces arrested over 15 terrorists in various Yesha areas last night. |
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HOW THE ENEMY BUILDS UP STRENGTH; PALESTINIAN ARAB WAR
Posted by Richard Shulman, September 23, 2004. |
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OTHER ARABS URGE SYRIA TO WITHDRAW The foreign ministers of the Gulf Arab states urged Syria to obey the Security Council Resolution and withdraw its forces from Lebanon. Countries should not pick and choose which Resolutions to follow (NY Sun, 9/14, p.8). The Arab League criticized the Resolution as "interference." Arab states rarely criticize another. I am not sure of the significance of this departure. WWIV: THE ENEMY IS BUILDING STRENGTH What the US calls a terrorist war really is an ideological one. By mis-defining the war, we impede devising a winning strategy. We focus on the military aspects, while the enemy builds an intellectual movement, with indoctrination centers in madrassas and mosques. They are laying the groundwork for decades of struggle. As an ideological movement more than a national or military one, the Islamists follow different rules. They don't rely upon any single territory, whereas we overcome particular states. Our public demands such victories, but the terrorists do not. They feign martyrdom, and win more favor. They use satellite TV better than we, to persuade their masses across several countries. We need new methods to combat beliefs. We investigated our intelligence failure but not our intellectual failure (nor the State Dept). In the ideological struggle, we are naive. Many of our own scholars are too bemused with Western abuses of the past, to rally to its defense in the present (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/2004, p.5 from David Brooks, NY Times, 7/27). We defeat the Islamists here and there, but they get stronger. They get stronger not because we are doing something offensive or irking them by fighting back, but because they are building up their following. Think of an anthill, through whose exit ants stream out to forage at a nearby food warehouse. An exterminator waits outside, to kill those which emerge. He keeps eliminating those pests, and reports victories to his employer. But the ants keep coming. Inside the anthill, the nest is breeding many more fighters than the exterminator eliminates. One day, they will make five exits, and he will not be able to keep up with their marauding. HOW U.S. GOVERNMENT WORKS: in another aspect New York Congressional representatives contend that the bulk of the domestic defense funds should be spent where the likeliest targets are. The representatives from areas with the fewest targets have spread the funding out by population, so as to most of it. Sen. Clinton calls that latter policy a pork barrel and an outrage (NY Sun, 9/15, p.4). It is just as she calls it. This pork barrel often gets filled with funds for superfluous military bases and unneeded weapons in influential representatives' districts. Having spent the money on that, Congress then does not have enough left to provide sufficient training nor sufficient numbers of troops. The Members win re-election, but the country gets less secure. I think that rather than trying to defend every target, we should overthrow the rest of the evil axis and close madrassas. S. ARABIA NOT RISING TO THE CHALLENGE S. Arabia's deal with the radicalized Islamists that it bred in its schools and mosques was to bribe them to fight elsewhere, and itself to seek protection from Pakistan and the US. The presence of US troops helped goad the Islamists to doubt the regime's "purity." The monarchy realizes the menace, and talks about reform, but is too conservative to change (Jewish Political Chronicle, 7/2004, p.21 from Daily Times of Pakistan, 7/28). INTERNATIONAL BRUTALITY "'Yediot Ahronot' believes that the recent spate of terrorist attacks around the world has been characterized by exceptional brutality, and suggests that 'The world - how awful -- has become a smaller, narrower, scarier, and more threatening place.'" (Foreign Ministry, 9/7.) Yes, as Islamists emigrate and disseminate. SHARON THREATENS ARAFAT PM Sharon contemplates expelling Arafat from the Territories "at a convenient time" or treating him like the Hamas leaders whom Israel has liquidated for terrorism. A P.A. Cabinet minister saw in those threats a hidden agenda to kill Arafat and promote chaos in the P.A. (Mark Lavie, NY Sun, 9/15, p.7). "Hidden agenda"? It is long threatened but not fulfilled. The US objects to it. The US will stop objecting when it sees that Arafat has become the obstacle not to peace but to Israeli concessions to the Arabs. (Concessions to jihadists, however, promote war.) As for chaos, Arafat promotes it. He make all the decisions himself, but does not maintain order. (Notice that I did not put it, "law and order." There is no rule of law or business law in the P.A.. P.A. and PLO gangs extort from businesses and individuals. Municipal services and workers' salaries are neglected, because the money is diverted into cronies' coffers and terrorism.) Israel does not want chaos. It wants established government with which to negotiate for security and on common matters such as the P.A. untreated sewage. A well-organized P.A. government, however, would not guard Israel's security but undermine it. "JERUSALEM POST" MISUNDERSTANDS THE ARABS AND THE WAR "Pres. George W. Bush was right when he said that only a new, representative Palestinian (Arab) leadership that rejected terror can help bring real peace." The "Post" added that defeating the terrorists by fencing them off would be the required first step (Foreign Ministry, 9/7). Pres. Bush and the "Post" misunderstand the Arabs in supposing that somehow a new leadership will arise in a dictatorship that squelches challengers and compromisers and indoctrinates in extremism. They further misunderstand in anticipating that a new leadership would be both representative and reject terrorism. Representatives of that people celebrate terrorism. The Israeli army would be on the Israeli side of the fence. Unfortunately, the fence cannot be effective without the Israeli Army patrolling the Arab side of it, to prevent organized assaults on the fence and a buildup of weapons that can be fired over it. Nor does the fence keep the million Israeli Arabs apart from the Jews. The "Post" misunderstands the nature of this war. ARAB FAMILY VALUES Of 30 appeals from court verdicts against men convicted of murdering female relatives to protect family "honor," 27 had sentences reduced to less than one year. There may be many more murders than reported, as implied by the Parliament's rejection of appeals for reform (IMRA, 9/7). Only women are attacked, mere suspicion suffices, no trial is held, their offense may be minor but their punishment is death, and Arab society approves. HOW U.S. GOVERNMENT REALLY WORKS While the campaign diverts attention to Vietnam and past mistakes in Iraq, and Pres. Bush accuses Sen. Kerry of favoring a tax-and-spend policy, the Bush administration is favoring a borrow-and-spend policy. Extensive borrowing means heavy repaying. For example, the Administration was well on its way to getting an energy bill passed. That bill proposes subsidizing giant energy companies by billions of dollars, making oil and gas development the dominant use of the western wild lands, and building more nuclear power plants at risk to our cities. (The government wants to exempt the companies from full liability.) A grass roots campaign forced Congress to retreat. Senate leaders, however, now are trying to attach the bill's provisions to other legislation, so as to capture our taxes quietly (Nature's Voice, 9/2004 from Natural Resource Defense Council). The Bush tax reduction in the uppermost bracket would be restored by Kerry, so burden of debt repayment does not fall as hard on the middle class, which is less able to pay. When the government insists it hasn't the funds for something, and must either forego it or borrow for it, examine what it does do. It has many subsidies for big corporations and wealthy people. Example: Many business people eat $100 lunches at fancy restaurants, whereas most of us probably eat out for $15. The businesspeople don't pay for the lunch, and the government gives the business a credit of perhaps $40. A bigger example: Western mineral and range lands are leased to mining and ranching interests for a fraction of market value. As they profit, our natural resources shrink. STATE DEPT. OPPOSES ANTI-ANTI-SEMITISM A Senate bill would have the State Dept. prepare an annual report on international anti-Semitism. The State Dept. opposes the effort. Stated reason: "... it would show 'favoritism' to Jews by 'extending exclusive status to one religious or ethnic group." Actually, "It is the anti-Semites who are singling out Jews..." Anti-Semitism is at levels just before the Holocaust. The State Dept. is acting the same way it did, then (Eli Lake, NY Sun, 9/14, p.7). Yes, then it argued that letting Jews in would give them preference. So it let Jews die. Actually, the immigration maximum was not reached, and a few thousand could have been admitted within the existing limits, but the State Dept. would not do even that. But my fellow American Jews do not realize that the State Dept. is their enemy and Israel's. The State Dept. typically waits for genocide to get well under way, before acting. In the case of the Jews, it never did act. "HAARETZ" WARNS OF INTERNATIONAL DISAPPROVAL The daily warns the government that failure to evacuate the non-documented outposts could cost Israel international recognition of certain established Jewish towns in Samaria (Arutz-7, 9/7). Where is the linkage? Since when does meeting foreign demands gain Israel credit rather than more demands? Although Israeli communities in Samaria confirm to international law, Israel does not enjoy international recognition for them. The foreign countries have a double standard towards Israel. The State Dept. demands Israeli withdrawal. SHARON PLAN ROLLING ON The Israeli Army is setting up training for troops on how to remove Jews from Yesha. The training includes psychological support (Mark Lavie, NY Sun, 9/15, p.7). Some people still doubt that Ariel Sharon intends to remove Jews from Yesha. Training for it, already begun, is too advanced to support that belief on the basis of a misunderstood reputation of a man, once a hero of the nation but now a destroyer of it and a dissembler. The "psychological support" is meant to assuage the attenuated conscience of troops, selected for hostility to nationalist and religious Jews and for lack of scruples, as they destroy the hopes of, and physically harm, their most idealistic people and in behalf of a brutal enemy of the whole country. The plan is evi; the psychologists are a tool of the evil plan. WHOM A SOCIETY HONORS One may judge a society by whom it honors. Some honor entertainers. (Ours has come down to that.) Some honor great discoverers. (Ours still does that.) The Arabs honor murderers and mass-murderers. During the recent Arab prisoner strike in Israel, the P.A. celebrated a terrorist strike leader under life sentence for having murdered several Israeli civilians. P.A. TV repeatedly praised him as a "brave," "model warrior." A P.A. Cabinet minister thanked him. Due to overcrowding, Israel has released a little early some security prisoners convicted of lighter offenses, such as stone throwing, (IMRA, 9/7). If no room, make room by executing murderers who fought when asked to surrender. Were we to pity such prisoners for not having more TV sets and having to submit to searches lest they break out and murder more innocents? The Western wire services misrepresented and misstated the prisoners' demands, labeling them "humanitarian." Since the prisoners were not abused, they struck for no humanitarian rights but for privileges and also for reduction in security measures. Against those leashed killers, security measures must be stringent. When they do kill Israelis, and savagely, the wire services' "humanitarian" hearts do not open. Media hypocrisy over humanitarianism, like that of the human rights organizations, indicates that their humanitarianism is a pose for their bigotry. They side with one of the most inhumane of ethnic groups and against one of the most humane ones. SYRIA'S DIPLOMACY & ACTIONS DIVERGE The Foreign Minister (has made what for Israel is a great discovery. He) recognizes that Arab actions disprove their diplomatic avowals. He rejected Syria's diplomatic overtures for negotiations for peace. He rejected them because Syria still is on a course for belligerency. He said that Israel will not negotiate peace while Syria makes war. Syria continues to occupy Lebanon contrary to UNO Security Council Resolutions. It continues to support terrorist groups warring on Israel (IMRA, 9/7). It would negotiate for military advantage. WELCOME MUSLIMS TO THE PLURALISTIC WEST A Muslim leader in Britain defended the killing of Russian children by the terrorists, by blaming Russia (without explanation). He thought Iraqis would be justified in abducting British children (Arutz-7, 9/7). Welcome to the pluralistic West. We Westerners clasp the viper to our bosom! Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. |
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THE ISLAMIC STATE
Posted by Yashiko Sagamori, September 23, 2004. |
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This article was written by Daniel Pipes and appeared in
www.FrontPageMagazine.com today. It is archived at
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2100
The hardest thing for Westerners to understand is not that a war with militant Islam is underway but that the nature of the enemy's ultimate goal. That goal is to apply the Islamic law (the Shari'a) globally. In U.S. terms, it intends to replace the Constitution with the Qur'an. This aspiration is so remote and far-fetched to many non-Muslims, it elicits more guffaws than apprehension. Of course, that used to be the same reaction in Europe, and now it's become widely accepted that, in Bernard Lewis' words, "Europe will be Islamic by the end of the century." Because of the American skepticism about Islamist goals, I postponed publishing an article on this subject until immediately after 9/11, when I expected receptivity to the subject would be greater (it was published in November 2001as "The Danger Within: Militant Islam in America"). I argued there that The Muslim population in this country is not like any other group, for it includes within it a substantial body of people - many times more numerous than the agents of Osama bin Ladin - who share with the suicide hijackers a hatred of the United States and the desire, ultimately, to transform it into a nation living under the strictures of militant Islam. The receptivity indeed was greater, but still the idea of an Islamist takeover remains unrecognized in establishment circles - the U.S. government, the old media, the universities, the mainline churches. Therefore, reading "A rare look at secretive Brotherhood in America," in the Chicago Tribune on Sept. 19 caused me to startle. It's a long analysis that draws on an exclusive interview with Ahmed Elkadi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader in the United States during 1984-94, plus other interviews and documentation. In it, the authors (Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Sam Roe, and Laurie Cohen) warily but emphatically acknowledge the Islamists' goal of turning the United States into an Islamic state. Over the last 40 years, small groups of devout Muslim men have gathered in homes in U.S. cities to pray, memorize the Koran and discuss events of the day. But they also addressed their ultimate goal, one so controversial that it is a key reason they have operated in secrecy: to create Muslim states overseas and, they hope, someday in America as well... This Brotherhood approach is in keeping with my observation that the greater Islamist threat to the West is not violence - flattening buildings, bombing railroad stations and nightclubs, seizing theaters and schools - but the peaceful, legal growth of power through education, the law, the media, and the political system. The Tribune article explains how, when recruiting new members, the organization does not reveal its identity but invites candidates to small prayer meetings where the prayer leaders focus on the primary goal of the Brotherhood, namely "setting up the rule of God upon the Earth" (i.e., achieving Islamic hegemony). Elkadi describes the organization's strategic, long-term approach: "First you change the person, then the family, then the community, then the nation." His wife Iman is no less explicit; all who are associated with the Brotherhood, she says, have the same goal, which is "to educate everyone about Islam and to follow the teachings of Islam with the hope of establishing an Islamic state." In addition to Elkadi, the article features information from Mustafa Saied (about whose Muslim Brotherhood experiences the Wall Street Journal devoted a feature story in December 2003, without mentioning the organization's Islamist goals). Saied, the Tribune informs us, says he found out that the U.S. Brotherhood had a plan for achieving Islamic rule in America: It would convert Americans to Islam and elect like-minded Muslims to political office. "They're very smart. Everyone else is gullible," Saied says. "If the Brotherhood puts up somebody for an election, Muslims would vote for him not knowing he was with the Brotherhood." Citing documents and interviews, the Tribune team notes that the secretive Brotherhood, in an effort to acquire more influence, went above ground in Illinois in 1993, incorporating itself as the Muslim American Society. The MAS, headquartered in Alexandria, Va. and claiming 53 chapters across the United States engages in a number of activities. These include summer camps, a large annual conference, websites, and the Islamic American University, a mainly correspondence school in suburban Detroit that trains teachers and imams. Of course, the MAS denies any intent to take over the country. One of its top officials, Shaker Elsayed, insists that MAS does not believe in creating an Islamic state in America but supports the establishment of Islamic governments in Muslim lands. The group's goal in the United States, he says, "is to serve and develop the Muslim community and help Muslims to be the best citizens they can be of this country." That includes preserving the Muslim identity, particularly among youths. Notwithstanding this denial, the Tribune finds MAS goals to be clear enough: Part of the Chicago chapter's Web site is devoted to teens. It includes reading materials that say Muslims have a duty to help form Islamic governments worldwide and should be prepared to take up arms to do so. One passage (www.masmn.org/Books/Fathi_Yakan/To_Be_A_Muslim/009.htm) states that "until the nations of the world have functionally Islamic governments, every individual who is careless or lazy in working for Islam is sinful." Another one http://www.masmn.org/Books/Fathi_Yakan/To_Be_A_Muslim/010.htm) says that Western secularism and materialism are evil and that Muslims should "pursue this evil force to its own lands" and "invade its Western heartland." [links added by me, DP] In suburban Rosemont, Ill., several thousand people attended MAS' annual conference in 2002 at the village's convention center. One speaker said, "We may all feel emotionally attached to the goal of an Islamic state" in America, but it would have to wait because of the modest Muslim population. "We mustn't cross hurdles we can't jump yet." These revelations are particularly striking, coming as they do just days after a Washington Post article titled "In Search Of Friends Among The Foes," which reports how some U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials believe the Muslim Brotherhood's influence "offers an opportunity for political engagement that could help isolate violent jihadists." Graham Fuller is quoted saying that "It is the preeminent movement in the Muslim world. It's something we can work with." Demonizing the Brotherhood, he warns, "would be foolhardy in the extreme." Other analysts, such as Reuel Gerecht, Edward Djerejian, and Leslie Campbell, are quoted as being in agreement with this outlook. But it is a deeply wrong and dangerous approach. Even if the Muslim Brotherhood is not specifically associated with violence in the United States (as it has been in other countries, including Egypt and Syria), it is deeply hostile to the United States and must be treated as one vital component of the enemy's assault force. |
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IRAQ: A SHORT HISTORY LESSON
Posted by Menachem Kovacs, September 23, 2004. |
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1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq. 2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization! 3. Noah built the ark in Iraq. 4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq. 5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq! 6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq. 7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq. 8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq. 9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel. 10. Amos cried out in Iraq! 11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem. 12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq! 13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq. 14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq. 15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq. 16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq. And you have probably seen this one. Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq! However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq, means country with deep roots. Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible. No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated it than Iraq. And also... This is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages... The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)
Rabbi Menachem Kovacs is Director of the Jewish Roots Center of Baltimore, an education and research center on Torah and social science topics. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Montgomery College in Maryland. |
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REPORTING ABUSES BY HERALD TRIBUNE AND NEW YORK TIMES. SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Posted by Steven Plaut, September 23, 2004. |
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1. HERALD TRIBUNE CARRIES PIECE SUGGESTING AMERICAN JEWS OF "POISONOUS" ATTITUDE IN CHARGES AGAINST FRANCE Tom Gross adds in relation to the above item "France to distribute copies of 'Shoah' film in anti-hate drive": Yesterday the New York Times-owned International Herald Tribune (IHT) ran as their top-of the page, main comment piece (with a large photo, giving it twice the space usually reserved for a comment piece), an article titled "A poisoned 'j'accuse' from America." The piece, specially translated from French by the IHT, was written by Jean Daniel, the co-founder and director of the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur. Earlier this year Daniel was presented with a special award for his contribution to "the Humanities." The piece did not run in the New York Times, but does follow in a long tradition by the Jewish-owned (but often giving the appearance of Jewish-hating) family (some of whom have converted to other religions) that owns the New York Times of denigrating Jews and downplaying anti-Semitism. (The most notorious example being the downplaying by the New York Times of anti-Jewish measures in the 1930s and of the Holocaust in the 1940s. Over half a century later, the family that owns the New York Times offered a semi-apology for this cover-up.) In his article, Daniel suggests that the idea that there is increasing and widespread anti-Semitism in France is due to "certain ultra-Zionist camps of French Judaism... [making] their concerns known in Tel Aviv and New York, where they were hijacked for use against France." (Daniel neglects to mention that Jerusalem and Washington are actually the capitals of Israel and the US. He neglects to mention that a large increase in anti-Semitism throughout France has been admitted by French government ministers. He neglects to cite a single example of the hundreds of anti-Semitic attacks carried out in France in recent years. He neglects to mention that thousands of French Jews have fled to Israel, Canada, Florida, New York and elsewhere in the last four years.) Daniel goes on to argue that the French population cannot be anti-Semitic because they only handed over one third of their Jewish population to their death in Nazi camps. (He neglects to mention that among these were thousands of young children.) "Two out of three!" he writes in his piece (the exclamation mark is his) in relation to those French Jews who didn't die, citing this as what he appears to consider to be a good record proving non-anti-Semitism. "It was not a Frenchman who killed the great Yitzhak Rabin," he adds for good measure, as if this bore any relevance to French anti-Semitism. Deliberately employing a word associated with WW2 Germany, he refers to the "Bush-Putin-Sharon axis." With less news than usual emanating from Israel, the West Bank and Gaza at present, and with news dominated by particularly bloody clashes and beheadings in Iraq during recent days, as well as on-going massacres in Sudan, the IHT again chooses on its comment pages to instead lead with misinformation about Jews. The abuses of reporting by the New York Times and even more by the International Herald Tribune about Israel and Jews are too numerous to cover on a daily basis. 2. For more details, see: "All The News That's Fit to Print? The New York Times and Israel," www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-gross031403.asp also: "DOES THE TIMES HAVE AN AGENDA?" The Times's distorted presentation of events is especially troubling given the very high respect in which the paper is generally held by its readership, policymakers, and other members of the media. The Times's framing of the conflict has for years contributed to bad diplomacy at the State Department and elsewhere, and has fueled negative images of Israel among the public at large. As I know from personal experience working as a correspondent in the Middle East for both American and European papers, foreign news editors throughout the world often look to the Times for story ideas. Every evening, editors across America check the next day's front-page stories on the New York Times before altering their lineups. Especially abroad, some mistakenly presume that the New York Times must be pro-Israel since it is Jewish-owned and has several prominent Jewish writers and editors. In fact, it may be precisely for this reason that it bends over backward to avoid being seen as the "Jew York Times," as one European journalist I used to work with in Israel called it. There would be nothing new in this. The Times deliberately downplayed reports on the Holocaust in the 1940s. It hid news of the ongoing genocide of European Jewry "in small print on the back pages Jewish-owned but anxious not to be seen as Jewish-oriented," as historian David S. Wyman put it. Full reports in http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-gross031403.asp 3. Dated but worth reading: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-gross051302.asp 4. A rare comment of common sense in the Israeli press: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1095650550698&p=1078027574097 5. Could someone report this to the Israeli tax authorities? http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1095743613874 6. http://www.jewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=4194 "Jews And Ostriches", posted 9/22/2004 by Jackie Mason & Raoul Felder. Its been said that "Jews are the people of `The Book.`" From what we observe today, "The Book" is not a survival manual and may end up being the Koran. There are three things certain in life: death, taxes and anti-Semitism. Well, death is death, taxes are down, and anti-Semitism is up. Like some demon seed that lay dormant, sleeping, covered over or ignored, it has now sprouted once again. The hated symbols are scrawled across the gravestones in Jewish cemeteries and on the walls of the ancient capitals of Europe and the Near and Middle East. Jews are blamed for everything from the destruction of the World Trade Center to the war in Iraq, and are called "baby-killers" in relation to the Palestinian problem even while the world`s media print the photographs of the arms of small slaughtered Jewish children hanging from the side of a bus that Palestinian terrorists decided to destroy. American Jews are disconnected from these realities, and apparently are determined to make their lack of interest in unfolding world events evident by supporting the Democratic candidate for president. An ostrich buries its head in the sand, and in so doing leaves another part of its anatomy vulnerable. American Jews should take heed and perhaps consider emulating the eagle rather than the ostrich. In a recent poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, American Jews who were likely voters favored Kerry by 75 to 22 percent. The problem, like it or not, that American Jews choose not to deal with is that to some degree the life and well-being of any Jew, anywhere in the world, is connected to the fate of Israel. This is true even for Jews who go to country clubs, ride polo ponies, or name their daughters Tiffany. When the Nazis came into power, with equanimity they murdered Jews with blond hair and blue eyes and who'd been loyal German soldiers for the Kaiser, along with the ones with yarmulkes and long beards. The Jewish knee-jerk propensity to vote Democratic is unrelated to any particular advantage the party offers American Jews in the modern world. The allegiance of Jews is basically historical, beginning with President Roosevelt and then becoming embedded in their psyches, with no connection to events or reality. The Jews believed that somehow Roosevelt was their savior. In point of fact, Roosevelt was a canny politician who believed he had the Jews in his pocket. Notwithstanding Churchill`s plea, Roosevelt would not order the bombing of the Nazis` transportation web to slow the delivery of Jews to the concentration camps -- even after Churchill`s prophecy to him that history would condemn both of them for his refusal. Democrats since Roosevelt have not been much better for Jews when it comes to Israel: Jimmy Carter engineered a sellout of Israel at Camp David; Hillary Clinton hugged Mrs. Arafat; John Kerry called Arafat "a statesman" and, in his unending acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, did not mention Israel even once. On the other hand, Nixon, Reagan, and the present president have been the guardians of Israel`s survival. President Bush, however, has been extraordinary in this regard. American Jews who do not like Bush are quick to insist that the he and the Religious Right and are supportive of Israel only because such support fits their belief that there must be a state of Israel when the Messiah comes. The unworthy thought crosses our minds that if your house is burning and your neighbor puts out the fire, not out of any love for your family but because he doesnt want a burned-out wreck of a house next to his own, does it really make a difference? Either motive leaves you and your family with your home. In the Greenberg poll, only 15 percent of the Jews surveyed mentioned Israel as the most important factor they take into account when deciding which presidential candidate to vote for. Unfortunately, there are six million reasons why they are wrong. Jackie Mason is the world-renowned comedic genius. Raoul Felder is a prominent Manhattan attorney. 7. Banning the "T" Word http://www.jewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=4192 8. Reform synagogue space pods take over Connecticut? http://www.intellectualconservative.com/article3807.html 9. 14:30 Sep-22-04 / 7 Tishrei 5765 29 Municipalities Refuse Fiscal Reform (IsraelNN.com) The Interior Ministry today released data showing that 29 municipalities have refused to sign on to the fiscal reform package that is designed to restore economic health and responsibility to the faltering cities. The package would also free funds for payment of city employees. Of the 29 "rebel" municipalities, 27 are Arab-majority cities. 10. A quote from "Intellectual Morons," http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15189. "Noam Chomsky is Michael Moore with his brain on steroids. In the late 70s, he deemed stories of Pol Pots killing fields capitalist propaganda. Later, he fantasized a conspiracy between ex-Nazis and U.S. government officials to shape the post-World War II world. Prior to the war on terrorism, Chomsky maintained that the U.S. was in the midst of apparently trying to murder 3 or 4 million people in Afghanistan, predicting mass starvation and death." 11. Neutering a Cat: http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15219 12. The REAL Axis of Evil: http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15218 13. WHAT humiliation? http://israelnn.com/article.php3?id=4214 14. Let's have MORE Humiliations: http://web.israelinsider.com/views/4157.htm Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. |
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MICHAEL MOORE AND AMERICAN SELF-HATRED
Posted by Freeman Center for Strategic Studies, September 22, 2004. |
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This article was written by Dennis Prager, who is
one of America's most respected and popular nationally
syndicated radio talk-show hosts. He is the author of several books and a
frequent guest on television shows such as Larry King Live, Politically
Incorrect, The Late Late Show on CBS, Rivera Live, The Early Show on CBS,
Fox Family Network, The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes.
Did you ever notice that there are no Germans going around the world saying, or making movies about, how awful Germany is or has been? Given that Germany unleashed two world wars and invented industrialized genocide, why has there been no German Michael Moore? Are there any Japanese making films about the absence of Japanese soul-searching or expressions of sorrow over their country's enslavement, torture and murder of Asians in World War II? Has anyone ever encountered any Japanese self-hate? Any Belgians telling the world how bad their country is? Argentinians? French? France surely has reason to produce people ashamed of their country. The answer, of course, is no. In fact, among all the world's peoples, only two produce large numbers of individuals who have greater sympathy for those who hate their country or national/ethnic group than for those who love it Americans and Jews. Many on the American Left loathe America (they love the Constitution and their vision of what America could be) and have contempt for the average American. That is why most of the Left has such admiration for Michael Moore, who has said, among so much more, the following: Americans "are possibly the dumbest people on the planet ... in thrall to conniving, thieving, smug p----s" (London Daily Mirror). "Should such an ignorant people lead the world?" (open letter to the German people in Die Zeit). Elsewhere, he speaks of America as bringing immeasurable misery and sadness to the world and as essentially deserving attacks on it. There are no comparable self-haters in any other country except Israel, whose leftists have the same contempt for their country, nor among any other group except the Jews, whose Left also generally loathe the Jewish state (and America). Israeli professors in the West are often the leaders in anti-Israel demonstrations and movements. Jews such as professors Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky devote much of their lives to trying to harm the one Jewish country in the world (and America) and express deep hatred of Jewish institutions. Here is Finkelstein: Jewish organizations "steal, and I do use the word with intent, 95 percent of the monies earmarked for victims of Nazi persecution" (Counterpunch, Dec. 13, 2001). Jews "are not Zionist by conviction, they are Zionist because it is useful for their political and more recently financial self-interest" (same). In a lecture delivered in Beirut, Finkelstein likened Israeli actions to "Nazi practices" during World War II, albeit with some added "novelties to the Nazi experiments" (Commentary, June 2002). And Noam Chomsky wrote the foreword to a book denying the Holocaust. This is the same as a black professor writing the foreword to a book by a Ku Klux Klansman. This self-loathing on the part of Americans and Jews is all the more remarkable when you consider that leftists of every other group strongly affirm their national, cultural and ethnic identities. For example, while American and Jewish leftists ceaselessly attack America and Israel, black and Hispanic leftists ceaselessly defend blacks and Hispanics. How, then, to explain this anomaly of American and Jewish self-loathing? I offer four explanations in no order of importance. First, those Jews and Americans who loathe Israel and America are virtually always on the Left, and the Left around the world hates America and Israel. You can't be a leftist and strongly defend America or Israel. The Left will shun you. And since most of these individuals' primary identity comes from being a leftist, being ostracized from fellow leftists is hell on earth. Second, many leftists are psychologically adolescents. And one feature of adolescent psychology is anger at a parent who claims very high ideals and turns out to be flawed. Many on the Left are angry at America and Israel for being imperfect and therefore disappointing them. Third, the words "American" and "Jewish" both represent distinctive value systems, not only national and ethnic identities. And these value systems clash with leftist values. Both American and Jewish identities are rooted in religion and divine chosenness. And the further left one goes, the greater the hostility to religion especially to Judaism and Christianity (not to Islam, which the Left often defends, because many Muslims hate Judaism and Christianity as much as the Left does) not to mention to any notion of national or religious exceptionalism. When you add to this that America also represents capitalism and holds liberty higher than equality, you can further understand why America elicits so much hatred from its own leftists. Fourth, since America and Israel are the two most hated countries in the world, and the Jews are the most hated ethnic/religious group, many Americans and Jews would rather identify with the haters than with the hated. That is why, for example, so many American leftists base a large part of their case against George W. Bush on his having increased anti-American sentiments around the world. This makes leftists livid again, like adolescents, they yearn to be part of the in-crowd (meaning America- and Israel-haters) and fear being disliked. There may be other explanations. But what is certain is that American self-hatred and Jewish self-hatred are unique phenomena that play a particularly destructive role in our world. |
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ONE JERUSALEM: SIGN THE PETITION
Posted by David Horowitz, September 22, 2004. |
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The War on Terror and the war in the Middle East are one war. Radical Islam has declared its enemy to be Jews and Crusaders,
i.e., Jews and Christians. America, Abu Musab al Zarqawi recently
declared, is the enemy of radical Islam because it is the "bearer of
the Cross." In the war on terror, Israel is the canary in the mine.
Israel`s enemies, the PL0, Hamas and Hizbollah are all integral
elements of the Islamic jihad against the West. Signing this petition
is a small but important act in the defense of the West against its
mortal foes. I urge you to add your name. Go to
http://www.onejerusalem.org/petition.asp?referrer=fpm
David Horowitz is publisher of Front Page Magazine (http://www.frontpagemagazine.com), a leading publication in the fight against terrorism. |
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ANTISEMITISM EVENTUALLY HITS EVERYONE
Posted by Irwin N. Graulich, September 22, 2004. |
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It only begins with the Jews. Jew-Hatred should be a wake up call for all decent human beings of every religion and no religion. Hitler's initial target was indeed, the Jews. But that was only the beginning of his plan. He invaded Czechoslovakia, France, England and would have eventually progressed to the rest of humanity. Attention planet earth! Antisemitism is not exclusively a Jewish problem, because it never ends with only Jews. The latest example of this phenomenon is the Arab and Muslim world, which has despised Israel since 1948. Anti-Israel and antisemitism are virtually synonymous terms. However, this time, the antisemitic cancer has metastasized further than previous masses, growing into anti-American and anti-Western tumors. The hatred for the tiny Jewish state should have been an early detection warning for the world that this lump will eventually spread. Had the West biopsied the problem immediately, perhaps 1 million black Sudanese Christians would still be alive and 3000 Americans who perished on 9/11 would continue to hug their children, parents and spouses today. What is even more amazing is that Jew-Hatred does not stop with murdering all other groups. As displayed clearly in Iraq and Afghanistan today, these Jew-Haters are more than happy to murder their own innocent Muslims using car bombs, suicide bombers and other tactics. As America's great moral beacon, Dennis Prager, has continually explained, "The Jews are the miner's canaries for the world." Miners have been known to take canaries down into the mines when working. It seems that canaries are much more susceptible to noxious fumes than humans. When the miners see the canaries dying, they know it is time to fight the fumes, and get out of the mines, or they too will die. Let the world know, that Jews play the role of miner's canaries for good people everywhere. When there are "noxious moral fumes," the Jews die first. But it does not end there. All innocent people are next in line. For 25 years, Israel was at the top of the Islamic world's list. Now, these evildoers are beheading Americans, British, Italians, South Koreans and yes, even blowing up their own. Unless the world recognizes from where these horrible, evil fumes emanate, and do something definitive to eliminate the poisons, we can all kiss our families good-bye right now. Political correctness has crept into this equation, not permitting world leaders to tell the truth; that the real problem is fundamentalist Islam. To call Islam "a religion of peace," at this time in history is a "fundamental" error of gross proportions. Of course there are some beautiful, kind Muslims, especially in America. However, there were some lovely members of the Nazi party during WWII, and even wonderful Communists during the heyday of the Soviet Union. The bulk of the world's issues with evil today unfortunately fall within one group, and it happens to be a religion. That is the plain and simple truth. Unless leaders like George W. Bush point that out clearly, without fear of offending, Islam will never solve its disastrous problems. Imagine a therapist being "uncomfortable" telling a patient their flaws. Pointing out faults and gross behavior is a positive thing for everyone. Thank God that humanity has never thought of polio, malaria, AIDS or any other disease as a problem for only one group or country. If civilized people everywhere do not fight the battle to wipe out this new "Islamic Terrorist" disease, eventually we will all catch it. America has the cure. Use it! Irwin N. Graulich is a motivational speaker on morality, ethics, Judaism and politics. He is also President and CEO of a marketing, branding and communications company in New York City. He can be reached at irwin.graulich@verizon.net |
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RUSSIA AND ISRAEL VERSUS TERRORISM AND OTHER ITEMS
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, September 22, 2004. |
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MISUSE OF ISRAELI TROOPS We have shown false the argument that retention of Yesha diverts Israeli troops from the defense of Israel, because then the P.A. would concentrate on Israel. Many troops in Yesha these days are dismantling outposts. Dismantling is a counter-productive use of Israeli troops. It is anti-Zionist, divides the country, and strengthens its enemies. REPORTING THE OTHER SIDE News reports used to state factually the events and the situation. Audiences knew what was happening. Now news reports mostly quote leaders. Audiences know little of what is happening. This new way is both lazy and biased. Sometimes the bias is in omitting the Israeli side. It is not difficult to do that, because the Israeli government either takes the Arab side, is appeasement minded, or is so uncomprehending of public relations that it has nothing to say. Actually, there is no Arab side - the Arabs are totalitarian fanatics who seek conquest by brutal and deceptive means. They have no veracity. They are the enemy not only of Israel but of the entire West and of civilization. To publish their statements and their claims plays into their propaganda drive to bring us down. By "us," I mean the non-Muslim world. Imagine if during WWII, the Allied media gave equal billing to the Nazi press! Our media would be full of Nazi blame of the Jews and calling the US degenerate, whereas the Nazis were to blame and socially were degenerate. Nazi propaganda, all false, would have confused our people, clouded our resolve, and softened us up for conquest. Our current media does that with the Arabs. Perhaps the media thinks it is being objective when it gives equal billing to the drive to destroy our society, but might it not realize that it is part of our society it is undermining? AMERICAN & ARAB POLARIZATION Hikers enjoy camaraderie. Four of us were driving home. The driver and I always have a hilarious time. There was a silent passenger whom I won't mention again, and a pleasant woman from Manhattan's Upper West Side who liked to converse. She effusively started to discuss her plans to volunteer for the Kerry campaign. Not getting a response, she said she supposed we all were Democrats. (Why did she suppose that?) Seeing me shake my head, to head off the driver, she then declined to discuss politics. She said her neighbors don't talk to each other any more, and she is afraid to discuss politics with her beloved but Republican son. It took much reassuring from me that the driver has a sense of humor about it, and I, a sense of tolerance. She got discouraged, again, when he observed that every criticism of Kerry she called a distortion, and every criticism of Bush a fact. These partisan Democrats don't know to drop the irrelevant and minor parts of the Kerry campaign and explain the major issues. She tied herself up in self-contradiction over it. (That does not mean she is wrong. She probably is not used to skepticism). Neither side understands the war on radical Islam or cares that they both would overspend and just for politics, not for effectively reaching public goals. She taught at college. One class was mostly of Arabs. She brought them a well-researched paper pointing out the dangers of radical Islam. The students called it "all lies." I reminded her that their culture features deceit. Their calling the paper lies may be their deceptive evasion. Since they know that their leaders believe in deceit, let them doubt Arab propaganda and the statements by radical Muslims. They are "all lies." She is upset over the US warring in Iraq; I regret the US failure to build up its forces to take on half a dozen more countries and win this world war. This is a problem that neither campaign faces. Kerry opposes it. Bush is too cheap and leery of being criticized to propose it. This will cost our lives. WHAT VIDEOS ARE POPULAR IN BAGHDAD? Terrorists take videotapes of their beheading of hostages, and Baghdad video stores run a land-office business. The recent beheadings are the most popular, replacing ones of crimes by Saddam and his sons. On the other hand, many Muslims deny that beheadings were done by Muslims, for it is too barbaric (IMRA, 9/6 from Jordan Times via Reuters). Of course Muslims did it! They have torn people to pieces, as did the Palestinian Arabs who beat some Israelis into a pulp, long after death came, and the one who dipped his hands into the victim's blood and held the hands up for the cheering crowd. Do the Badhdadis think that the more civilized Westerners do the beheading? The Arabs often claim that anything evil is a conspiracy by outsiders injuring their own people in order to gain sympathy. They are in a state of denial. Is that for public relations or out of neurosis? RUSSIA & ISRAEL VS. TERRORISM Israel is offering Russia valuable security cooperation against terrorism and facilities for rehabilitating child victims of the school hostage crisis. Russia seeks some such cooperation. Old attitudes persist. Although Israel called this terrorism an Islamic threat, Russia's Foreign Minister declared that the terrorism has nothing to do with religion. Oh, no? The terrorists launched their capture of the school with the usual Islamic cry of "God is great." Russia also intends to maintain friendly ties with Arab states and to continue the "peaceful" development of Iran's nuclear industry. (Iran indicates it is using its knowledge for belligerent development). IMRA wonders how many Arab states would join Russia in anti-terrorism and how would Russia enforce Iranian compliance with promises not to develop nuclear weapons from its atomic fuel. IMRA calls this "Russian blindness" (IMRA, 9/6). Pres. Putin seems to be attempting to restore the Soviet Union and to resume the Cold War. Israel had better be careful not to trust him at risk to itself. PLO CRITICIZES UNO RESOLUTION ON SYRIA & LEBANON A PLO official described the UNO Resolution on Lebanon as interference in the fraternal relations between Lebanon and Syria, as if Syria were not forcing Lebanon to submit to its will. The Resolution demands that Syria stop occupying Lebanon (IMRA, 9/6). Other P.A. reactions are to admit that Syria is occupying Lebanon but to suggest that the UNO also demand an end to other, alleged occupations. To the Arabs, liberation is "interference" with occupation? The Arabs demand that the UNO interfere in other countries' affairs, just not in theirs. CLOSING ISLAMIST WEB SITES Thanks to individual efforts and cooperation by web site hosts, several sites of Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been shut down and its application to be hosted on another facility was turned down. This is a kind of counter-terrorism. The Patriot Act "defines the facilitation of communication for terrorist purposes" as a terrorist act. Is the Dept. of Homeland Security enforcing the Act? Congress should require that US-based ISPs require hosts to identify their customers and (for vague reasons) should ratify the Council of Europe's Convention on Cyber Crime (Rachel Ehrenfeld, NY Sun, 9/13, p.9). CRITIQUE & COUNTER-CRITIQUE OF SHARON'S PLAN IMRA presented its critique and then a description and analysis of PM Sharon's abandonment plan by Prof. Shlomo Brom of the Jaffee Center. Jaffee has traded common sense and experience for an appeasement-minded ideology. The impractical approach that led to Oslo has not be replaced in academia by the skepticism that Oslo's failure warrants. The critique finds that Prof. Brom naively and falsely assumes that: (1) The Palestinian Arabs are moderate and desirous of peace; (2) Egypt wants to stop its arms smuggling into Gaza; (3) The rest of the world has pure motives towards Israel; (4) Israel may put its security into foreign hands; (5) Present conditions are permanent, and there is no need to provide for failure. Actually: (1) The P.A. is enhancing its capability of warfare in a drive to destroy Israel in phases (of which the first phase is to get its own territory); (2) Egypt wants to ship arms in so as to weaken Israel; (3) The rest of the world would not be a reliable third-party mediator and enforcer. Experience has proved this. Under the Plan: (1) Israel would remove all its forces from the designated areas except along the Egyptian border, and, later, perhaps from that, too; (2) Israel intends to guard the Gaza air space and sea space, and later may allow an airport and seaport to open in Gaza; (3) Israel reserves the right of retaliatory and preventive self-defense against threats from the evacuated areas (but if the P.A. declares sovereignty, Israel would lose that right); (4) Foreign countries would consult with Israel about training the P.A. in fighting terrorism and may not themselves station forces in Gaza (but without Israeli forces there, foreign forces could move in, and the P.A. never fought but produced terrorism; (5) Israel would remove residences and synagogues, but turn over industrial, agricultural, and other facilities to a third party to use for the benefit of the Arabs (what a reward for pirates that should pay Israel reparations!); (6) Israel expects that the other existing arrangements for demilitarization (which the Arabs continuously violate), water usage, and economic measures would remain in force; (7) Israel would coordinate with international organizations' measures to benefit the Arabs. (These organizations build up terrorism. The Arabs would demand control over it, get it, and devote more of it to graft and warfare.) The professor points out that Arabs and Jews remain on both sides of the fence. That makes for instability (yes, because the Arabs are jihadists and not peacemakers). Therefore, he favors expanding the Plan in stages. (What does he think the US and Sharon have cooked up?) The Plan is an "opportunity," because it creates a "positive dynamic" in relations between the two sides. (There are no relations in this unilateral Plan! It isn't positive -- it simply whets the jihadist appetite.) It would reduce friction between them in Gaza. (It would increase friction, because the Arabs would increase their firing over the fence, would violate the conditions, as would the foreign powers, and would make new demands. There would be friction when the Arabs continue to bring in arms, want to bring in armies, demand sovereignty and would get foreign recognition for it, etc..) Later, the professor admits that there is likely to be more friction with the IDF troops guarding the border and over Israel's claiming continued overall control over Gaza. Further into his report, Brom contradicts the hope he stated above, by remarking that there already is minimal friction in Gaza, because the two peoples live apart. (The problem is not friction at points of contact, but that the Arabs are pursuing jihad against the Jews.) Bron hopes that if violence decreases and incomes increase, both sides would like the Plan and be encouraged to do more and to make peace. The P.A. may yet demonstrate serious intent to make peace. (How, as a result of spontaneous combustion? Has he not seen P.A. polls that show the Arabs wholeheartedly behind jihad? The P.A. exists for graft and jihad? Why should violence decrease when the terrorists are in sole charge, they are allowed to regroup their forces and get trained by Egypt in warfare, the IDF is not around to tamp down terrorism, and, if Israel allowed airport and seaport to open, the terrorists would more easily import heavy weapons? The first move the Arabs would make is to demand that the "occupation" of the Egyptian border be removed. Fighting over that is likely to increase.) The new arrangement would hamper Gaza economic development. (How?) The professor acknowledges that the Arabs would not start permanent status negotiations now, but thinks they would be encouraged to do so, as the Plan unfolds. (So by showing that they are nice, Israelis would convert all those fanatical terrorists into civilized negotiators? That was the failed assumption of Oslo. The professor did not learn from that failure.) The analysis raises questions: (1) Would there be dialogue and coordination with the P.A.? (2) How much international activity would Israel permit; (3) What conditions would lead to opening of port and airport and withdrawal of the border guards alongside Egypt ; (4) Would the P.A., Hamas, or anarchy control Gaza, and how would Israel influence the outcome; and (5) Would the plan actually reduce violence and enhance security? (The absence of those questions in the Plan is an indictment of the Plan's author for not having thought it through. These questions merit analysis, but the report discusses too briefly and still in the mode of hope rather than realism. Later, Brom warns that unless there is coordination, mobs are likely to loot the infrastructure left behind and strongmen are liable to seize control over it. With such, one makes peace?) Any evacuation would set a precedent. (This contradicts PM Sharon's assurances to his people that the purpose is to preclude further withdrawal.) Evacuation also would show the world's Israel's seriousness. (Israel's sincerity never was in doubt. Doubted was expressed only as a cynical pretense by Israel's critics. An evacuation to show that the Jews are good boys is part of the centuries-old Jewish neurosis of trying to please hostile gentiles. In this age of advanced antisemitism, the attempt is futile. Better to force and to earn their respect by means of self-respect. It is the Arabs who should have to demonstrate not sincerity by fundamental ideological reform. Instead of reform gaining ground, the Islamists are.) The problem is that the Arabs do not trust Sharon. (They have said the same thing about the other Israeli leaders. It is part of their propaganda if not also their mind-set.) Since the US may be over-committed around the world, Europeans should help the US monitor the Arabs and tutor them. (The Arabs would resent the thought of being held in tutelage. If they thought that the US were not abandoning the task soon enough, they would commit terrorism against the Western monitors and tutors. As for monitoring, when the CIA and State Dept. monitored P.A. non-compliance with Oslo, they called it compliance. Brom should know that.) The P.A. should persuade Hamas to make a ceasefire. (A ceasefire is worse than continuous warfare, because it extracts Israeli concessions, while the Arabs rearm and resume warfare.) Implementation of the Plan would take a year, which Brom thinks is long enough for the P.A. to change. (Have jihadists ever changed? Oslo ran for 11 years, without any change for the better and much organization for the worse.) The P.A. would have to cooperate with Israel, in order to improve its economy (IMRA, 9/6). The P.A. refuses to do so now. Jihad takes precedence over living standards. For example, rather than recognize Israeli authority, the P.A. tries to keep many Arabs from jobs with the Israelis. The report seems worse than it is, because it expresses all the hopes, before the doubts. It indicates little understanding of Arab deception and jihadist goals. It discusses problems with Arab genocidists as if with wayward boys just needing some adult guidance. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. |
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WHEN THE RIGHT IS WRONG: PART I
Posted by Ellen W. Horowitz, September 22, 2004. |
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"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." (Kohelet) This is the season when G-d shows us mercy. Strict justice is suspended for even the worst of us, in order that we be given time to reflect and strive towards change. This is a time of heavenly compassion. If G-d, in His mercy, opens the gates of repentance and forgoes rigid judgement, then it's certainly incumbent upon us mere mortals to suspend our pointing of accusing fingers in condemnation of our brethren. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur every Jew is entitled to a temporary reprieve (including our misled leaders), and we passionate, uncompromising zealots would do well to take a breather from our relentless pursuit of justice and redirect our efforts towards serious introspection -if only for 10 days. This week, Nadia Matar, co-chairperson of Women in Green, launched a well deserved and scathing public relations blitz against Evacuation Administration head Yonatan Bassi. But, with all due respect, her timing and tactics may have been off. Nadia quoted a 1942 Judenrat's letter which was addressed to the Berlin Jewish community, and compared it with Bassi's appeasement letter to the Jewish residents of Gush Katif. She wrote to Bassi, "You are a modern version of the Judenrat - but actually much worse..." The analogy was indeed chilling, but its effect and fairness is debatable. However, it should be noted that any accusations associating Nadia's methods with incitement are far off the mark. "We strongly request that you follow the instructions and carry out all of the preparations for the transport in a calm manner". Frightening words from sixty-two years ago, but I imagine residents of America's Gulf Coast heard similar instructions last week, as they were preparing to evacuate the hurricane zone. I suppose residents in the Chernobyl area also received analogous directions, as have refugees from various war and famine torn regions, and people participating in civil defense exercises.. Discomforting directives for sure, but nobody holds an exclusive on the existential fear that grips all individuals when they are about to be torn from their homes in efforts aimed at either destroying them or saving them. If those same directives are, at some time in the future, issued to the Palestinian Arab population, will Nadia find them problematic? In the article, "Lens, Lies and Videotapes" (http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=3770), I called into question the Palestinian Arab and international media's visual and verbal antics, as they tried to hijack the tragedies of the Holocaust and Hiroshima and superimpose them on Israel's defensive operation in Rafah. Indeed, Justice Minister Tommy Lapid fell into the media's Holocaust memorial trap when he told the world that images of an elderly Palestinian woman searching through the rubble of her Rafah home reminded him of his grandmother who was killed during the Holocaust - made big headlines across the globe. If we Jews set a precedent of taking historical events out of context and manipulating them to play upon the traumatized Jewish psyche, then surely every other revisionist group and historian will gladly jump on the bandwagon -in fact, they already have. Aside from comparing Israelis to Nazis, numerous academics, politicians and historians have compared our unique national situation to the struggles which took place in Algeria, Northern Ireland, and India. These comparisons are unfair, because Jewish history marches to a different drummer. We must remember and learn from our history, but there are more differences between the Holocaust and Nazism than there are similarities to the tragedies unfolding in Israel today. The Holocaust was a Diaspora event and the current parallels being drawn are demoralizing for a nation engaged in an uphill march towards Redemption. One can certainly draw a general comparison between the behavior of the Court Jew throughout our history and the way in which our current Diaspora and Israeli leaders pander to the gentile nations. But when it comes to our internal struggle, we have many more appropriate homegrown examples to pick from than that of the Judenrat. Our lessons and direction with regards to our national struggle should be taken directly from the events which took place in the Land of Israel as outlined in the Torah. This is something that Israel's founding secular Zionist leaders knew, and this knowledge and pride in their land and history inspired them - and for many years led us on the road to to success. Let's not confuse the issues. The Jews are clearly forbidden to surrender portions of the Land of Israel. Our leaders are acting in an undemocratic, godless and criminal fashion due to their arrogance, lack of wisdom and a series of historic blunders. We don't have to turn to Nazi-occupied Europe in order to recognize a pattern of mistakes which has clearly been a part of our national heritage. Because the majority of the generation has lost its connection to G-d and to Torah, we're now living in an era characterized by an unprecedented lack of wise and creative leadership, while we are faced with a glut of arrogant dolts. I'd classify our leaders as being more idiot than Nazi -more stupid than sinister. But there is also an element of rebelliousness and treason among them. They "...have turned away from Your commandments and from Your good laws..." Those of us who are actively trying to wake-up the nation and alert them to the dangers at hand find it tortuous to continually bear witness to the gross injustices and atrocities taking place in Israel. We are champing at the bit for a day of reckoning. Moderation, balance and patience are often qualities that are lacking in the zealous personality, but wisdom, timing and thoughtfulness must fill that void if we are to be effective and do our job. Nadia Matar, Ruth Matar and all those associated Women and Green have worked tirelessly these last eleven years in order to preserve the integrity of the Land of Israel. Their efforts have been nothing less than heroic. They are genuinely guided and inspired by the words, "For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not rest." But to pause, reflect and contemplate a change in tactics during this time is hardly rest. It may be the most difficult and painful task that is required of us. We hope and pray that Ariel Sharon, Yonatan Bassi, and the rest of the gang, take advantage of a heavenly opportunity and season of mercy to turn to G-d and to return to their true selves. Ellen Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights, Israel with her husband and six children. She is a painter and columnist. She can be contacted through her website |
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THE LETTER ARIEL SHARON SHOULD SEND OUT THIS WEEK, BUT WON'T
Posted by Steven Plaut, September 22, 2004. |
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1. The Letter Ariel Sharon should send out this week, but won't:
President George W. Bush
Dear Mr. President: I noted with concern your offhand comments in your UN speech denouncing Israel for "humiliating Palestinians" at security checkpoints, and calling upon Israel to freeze and remove settlements. Mr. President, it was not clear to me why you think it is okay for the United States to operate security checkpoints all over Iraq and Afghanistan and at the Mexican border entry points into the United States, in which cars are stripped and checked, as are humans, yet you think it is "humiliating" for Israel, under nonstop attack and victim of endless nazi-like atrocities, to inspect cars and bodies of passing Palestinians, when stopping them at checkpoints. Be that as it may, I hereby make a formal pledge to you. Let the Palestinians halt all violence, end all murders of Israelis, desist from shooting all rockets and mortars into Jewish homes or businesses, end all violence and bombing, and end all rock throwing. If that happens, we will no longer operate any security checkpoints that slow down Palestinian mobility or prevent their having free access to any place they wish to visit, including clinics. And until that happens, we will continue to defend our citizens, regardless of whether other people think that is "humiliating". The rights of Palestinians not to be "humiliated" at our checkpoints count for infinitely LESS than the rights of Jews to continue staying alive. As for freezing settlements and removing them, we will be happy to follow the example of the United States, the moment the Congress decides to remove all American settlements from occupied native and Mexican territories in the American Southwest, Hawaii, and Alaska. Respectfully yours,
2. Ehud Olmert has emerged as one of the most unprincipled and demagogic slugs in Israeli politics. Having left behind the Jerusalem mayor-hood and a long trail there of financial misdeeds and dubious finances, he then decided to fence off the Likud's far Left and has been leading the jihad for implementing Mitzna-like unilateral "disengagement" and surrender, and expulsion of Jewish "settlers" from their homes. Now he has gone even further down the path of demagoguery and has backed Amir Peretz and the Histadrut crime family in their demand that the Treasury just pony up endless funds for the deficit-mongering local authorities without any conditionality. Olmert explicitly demanded that Netanyahu ABANDON any conditioning of Treasury aid to the deficit-running municipalities on any restructuring or reform program that would prevent new deficit-running in the future. In other words, Olmert's new banner is eternal fiscal malfeasance. I strongly urge the Likud to ship Olmert to the US, where he can join his brother, who recently sought refuge there to escape his underworld creditors. 3. "The latest Palestinian "moderate": Arafats Mouthpiece" by Joel Mowbray, FrontPageMagazine.com, September 22, 2004. JERUSALEM: The man sitting across from me was a consummate PR flack: smooth, eloquent, charming, passionate. He also happened to be the spokesman for the world's most experienced terrorist, Yasser Arafat. Saeb Erekat is something of a rarity in the Palestinian Authority (PA): by his own account, he has never had a gun in his hand and has never been to jail. While he may not personally perpetrate violence, his polished prose advances its cause deviously. Whereas most spokesmen cleverly contort the truth without fracturing it, Erakat lies like he breathes. At a one-hour session with nine American journalists, Arafat's mouthpiece wasted no time in doing what he does best. Asked upfront whether Arafat's machine, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, recognizes the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, he emphatically states that it does. Except it doesn't. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. |
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WHOSE HUMILIATIONS, MR. BUSH?
Posted by Beth Goodtree, September 22, 2004. |
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Today the news had another cry of "Humiliation!" But it was not coming from Islamist world. This time the cry of "Humiliation!" was from, of all people, that supposed Israel-supporter President Bush. The word humiliation has become the emotional bullet in the Arab/Islamist propaganda weapon. But it seems that our president is now using it to show the international world that he commiserates with the genocidal murderers who want to destroy Israel and wipe out the Hebrew people. So okay, let's talk Arab/Islamist humiliations, but from the viewpoint of those who have been and continue to be the victims: the non-Islamist world. In 638 C.E. Caliph Omar Ben Hatav attacked and conquered Jerusalem, placing it under Arab/Muslim rule. By 642 C.E. the Muslim Arabs conquered Egypt, driving out or subjugating the mostly Christian Arabs. It was also during this time that the Muslims attacked and conquered Syria and Persia, doing the same to their populations. When 688 C.E. rolled around, the Arabs and Muslims desecrated, for the first time, Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount, by building a mosque on top of it. Then in 711 C.E. the Muslim hordes invaded and conquered Spain, subjugating the entire Spanish population. Between 1100 C.E. and 1500 C.E., the Muslims invaded India, desecrating and converting many of the Hindu sacred holy sites to Islamic shrines. You say ancient history is boring and of no immediate purpose in today's world? Think again. Here is a quote from Dr. Mahathir, former Prime Minister of Malaysia and former Head of the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC). This is what he said during his introductory speech at the autumn 2003 OIC Summit-- to a standing ovation no less: "At the time the Europeans of the Middle Ages were still superstitious and backward, the enlightened Muslims had already built a great Muslim civilization, respected and powerful...The Europeans had to kneel at the feet of Muslim scholars in order to access their own scholastic heritage." Dr. Mahathir was, in effect, relishing and gloating about previous Muslim conquests over the non-Muslim world. He seemingly expressed regret that Europe freed itself from the shackles of Islam and its repressive ways. Not once did Dr. Mahathir express remorse for the millions upon millions of lives that were humiliated, nay, exterminated by the Muslims and Arabs. And lest you think this is just more ancient history, you are wrong. Islamists/Arabs like to think backwards, keeping their pasts as close as if they happened yesterday. If the standing ovation of 50-some odd countries is proof, all the Muslim world would like to revert back to the day when they can conquer and subjugate the non-Muslim world. Moving on to modern history, we see not humiliation of Islamists/Arabs by the civilized world, we see just the opposite. Oil is their main weapon and blackmail is their choice method of subjugation and humiliation. The Arab/Islamist world demands that we in the civilized world sit still while they behead our citizens for not being Muslim, all the while using our ingenuity and technology to further their murderous and barbaric campaigns. The price if we protest? They cut off that which makes our society run: oil. Because of oil, our leaders are humiliated into making concessions no rational human would make. The US, the EU and even Russia are now forced into making humiliating appeasements to the terrorist Arabs and their supporters occupying Israeli Gaza, Judea and Samaria. By offering them a country of their own -- cut from a chunk of Israel's (and Judaism's) rightful holy land -- while allowing the terror to continue and the criminals go unpunished, the US, the EU, and Russia are being constantly humiliated by those whose war cry is "Humiliation!" Even Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, must temper his words when dealing with the genocidally-bent Arabs who want to exterminate the Jews and their descendants that Hitler never managed to kill. Every time there is a suicide/genocide bombing (deliberately targeting families, not soldiers), the most Mr. Powell seems to be allowed to say, lest the oil be cut off, is "tone down the violence." Or what about the humiliation inflicted by the Arabs upon Christians and Jews when they use our headstones for urinals and paving blocks? Or when these 'Palestinians' took over The Church of the Holy Sepulchre for use as a terrorist hideout, ripping up the Bibles for use as toilet paper? Where is the apology and relief coming from the Arab/Islamist world? Where is the acknowledgement of humiliations done against non-Muslims? And finally, what about the 24/7/365 humiliations heaped upon the Jewish people by the Arab/Islamist world? Day after day, year in and year out, the Jews living in Israel are forced to live in fear of genocidal murder. They are forced to drastically alter their lifestyles, lest their homes be hit by rockets, their babies shot in the heads by snipers, their families wiped out by bus or restaurant bombers. And then there is the unrelenting humiliation of these same Jews, as well as Jews the world over. Imagine being told that you have no right to your aboriginal homeland, no right to your holiest sites, no right to stay in your homes and the towns you have lived in for generations. On top of that, imagine that you are told you must give your homes and towns over to those who openly admit that they themselves have absolutely no right whatsoever to your holiest, aboriginal, and only homeland? If I may remind (or educate) you Mr. President, this is what one of the Palestinian's own leaders had to say regarding their legitimacy and rights to the Jewish land they now occupy: "The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism." -- Zahir Muhsein, PLO executive committee member, in an interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw March 31, 1977 and http://www.paktoday.com/expert.htm Meanwhile, what contributions has the Arab/Islamist world made to modern civilization? They have perfected the art of beheadings; slow, gruesome, sawing-off-the-head beheadings. They have perfected the art of terror. And they have perfected the art of using our technology to spread their hatred, terror, genocide and propaganda. Has the Arab/Islamist world contributed to anything that is not war and conquest-related? Do they invent medicines or technologies to advance the human condition? Hardly. Yet Israel, the US, and Europe all leaders in these areas, willingly sharing it with the Arab/Islamist world, only to have it used against us. We are the ones being humiliated, Mr. Bush. And you are groveling to their lies and agendas. So the next time you hear the cry of "Humiliation!" coming from the Arab/Islamist world, think of the humiliations that they are inflicting daily upon each and every one of us, American, Christians and Jews. Think of the sermons coming from mosques all over the planet calling for "Kill the infidel (non-Muslim) where you find him." And think about any beneficent contributions to society that the Arab/Islamist world has made of late. Bet ya can't. (And by the way, Mr. Bush, I realize that a few weeks ago I said I would vote for you, but your statement about 'Palestinian humiliation' is making me rethink my position. And I'll bet I'm not alone. I'll never vote for Kerry and his Islamist-supporting Ketchup Queen wife -- certainly not when the biggest genocidal monster since Hitler -- Yasser Arafat -- wants him to win. But at this point, I'm finding it very hard to vote for you with your talk about the 'humiliation' suffered by a bunch of lying genocidal monsters. Are you with us or with the terrorists? Do you have the courage of your religious convictions and will you honor God's covenant with Israel as written in the Bible? Will I have to do a write-in vote, yet again, maybe for Rudy Giuliani this time? Your move, Mr. Bush.) Beth Goodtree is an award-winning writer who lives in the NYC metro area. She writes political commentary/analysis, and the occasional science and humor articles. Her website address is http://hometown.aol/BethGoodtree |
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THE DEMISE OF DIGNITY
Posted by Michael Freund, September 22, 2004. |
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The following is a column of mine from yesterday's Jerusalem Post about the
underlying cause of many of Israel's current problems. It is archived
at
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/
ShowFull&cid=1095828001063&p=1006953079865
From politicians to banks to sports, the problem is us. Eureka! After reading the newspapers over the past few weeks I think I can say with a good deal of confidence that the underlying cause of so many of Israel's current problems is at last apparent for all to see. It is not the ongoing hatred that our enemies continue to nurture toward us, though that certainly does not help matters. Nor is it the double standard various international institutions like to apply when it comes to the Jewish state. It isn't media bias, State Department Arabists, or even the French who are responsible for our plight; and I dare say it has nothing whatsoever to do with Madonna's dubious embrace of Jewish mysticism. The root of Israel's troubles, the origin of our predicament, can be found right in front of you, very close to home. Just look in the mirror and there you will see: The problem is us. We are it. As a people, we have done truly incredible things in the past six decades. We have built a country from scratch, fended off far more numerous foes, and established a democratic system amid a sea of tyranny, all while accommodating new immigrants and forging a state with unprecedented technological and intellectual prowess. No other nation can boast such achievements in such a short period of time. But for all of our successes, one key failure that continues to haunt us, and that is the demise of dignity in Israel's public life. As a society we have elevated the stereotypical bickering and infighting that has characterized Jewish life over the centuries to a new, and far more dangerous level, one where nearly all sense of limitation and boundaries has been abruptly cast aside. Public officials and institutions, it often appears, will say or do just about anything, with no apparent sense of shame reining in their actions. And once the brakes are off, there is no telling just how far this vehicle can spin out of control. Take, for example, reports earlier this week about the behavior of some of Israel's banks vis-a-vis Holocaust victims' assets. After a June 2003 study found that Bank Leumi was sitting on some NIS 500 million in assets that should have been returned to Holocaust victims or to their heirs, the bank officials "managed to get the computational method changed, thereby significantly reducing its obligations" (Haaretz, September 20). And so, if the reports are correct, we have a situation where a Jewish-owned bank in the State of Israel decides to rip off survivors of the Nazi genocide by manipulating the decimal points in its favor. Can it get much worse than that? And how about this headline from Sunday's Jerusalem Post: "Shinui ministers slam Jewish knowledge project" (September 19)? After Minister Natan Sharansky briefed the cabinet on a wonderful program called Judaism for Everyone that will sponsor 195 explanatory Yom Kippur prayer services around the country, free and open to the public, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid threw a fit, decrying it as "missionary" activity unworthy of government backing. When other officials expressed support for the program and suggested that similar criticism voiced abroad regarding Jewish activities would rightfully be deemed anti-Semitic, Interior Minister Avraham Poraz let loose his own bombshell of a statement. Coming to Lapid's defense, Poraz said, "Even a Jew is permitted to be anti-Semitic." Huh? WHILE HE later sought to backtrack from the remark, Poraz's statement is so astonishingly stupid that one cannot help but wonder: What is such a man doing in a senior government post? Is there no limit to what our leaders will say or do? Apparently there is not. And that is precisely the problem. Whatever caution they may have practiced was long ago tossed to the winds. No remark, no matter how offensive or obtuse, is deemed out of bounds anymore; nor, it seems, is any amount of corruption or dishonesty greeted with much shock. Even the societal norms that once united us despite our differences are no longer considered worthy of preservation. Just this past weekend, three - count 'em, three - Israeli soccer teams decided to ignore the sanctity of Rosh Hashana to avoid forfeiting matches that had been scheduled to take place on the festival. Showing hardly any remorse, they went ahead and played on one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. Put aside for a moment the issue of religious piety or observance - how about some basic self-respect and national pride? As arcane as it might sound, it is nevertheless essential that we find a way to restore a sense of propriety, and even decorum, to Israel's national life. We have lost our sense of collective dignity, greeting each outrage with numbness or despair. The result, of course, is a free-for-all, and it is time for that to change. We must stop shrugging off such delinquency and recklessness, and start holding public officials accountable for what they say and do. In any other country, Bank Leumi would be settling its Holocaust-era accounts, not manipulating them; Avraham Poraz would be looking for work, and the nation's soccer teams would be a tad more respectful of our ancient tradition. If they have pushed the limits of what is right and proper, it is only because we, the public, have allowed them to do so over and over again. But by placing renewed emphasis on basic values such as honor and respect, we can inject a sense of shame back into the system. And shame, after all, is what instills each of us with humility. That, more than anything else, is what Israeli society must now seek to recoup. The writer served as deputy director of communications and policy planning in the Prime Minister's office under Binyamin Netanyahu. |
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ADVANCED WEAPONS FOR GAZA TERRORISTS TURN SECURITY HEADS ABOUT RETREAT
Posted by IsrAlert, September 22, 2004. |
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This is by he Israel Insider Staff and is archived at
(http://web.israelinsider.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=ArticlePage
&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Article%
5El4152&enZone=Security&enVersion=0&).
A new missile threat has compelled Shin Bet Director Avi Dichter and IDF chiefs to openly challenge prime minister Ariel Sharon's plans for the accelerated removal of Israeli settlements, residents, and forces from the Gaza Strip. The Luna-2 short-range ground-to-ground missile, based on the Soviet-era Frog-2, has already extended Hizballah's missile range from the north to cover Israel's coastal cities of Haifa and as far south as Netanya and Hadera. With Tehran already playing a direct role in leading military operations of Hamas in Gaza, it is believed likely that these missiles eventually will be transferred to the Strip, especially if Israel retreats and loosens its grip on the border crossing with Egypt and Mediterranean Sea approaches. This would bring all of southern Israel, including the Tel Aviv metro region, within striking range. Israeli intelligence sources believe that Syria has fitted the Lebanon-based missiles with chemical warheads, which can be attached in hours. In July, Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi ("Farkash"), head of Israeli military intelligence, said that Hizbullah possesses around 13,000 short-range rockets, some 500 of medium range and a few dozen long-range rockets capable of traveling 70 to 134 miles. The rockets appear to have granted Hizballah a strategic parity with Israel along the Blue Line, deterring the Israeli army from launching large-scale military operations against the group for fear of major strikes against northern Israel. Hizbullah has already penetrated deep into terrorist groups in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli officials say Hizbullah plays a key role in providing funds, guidance and training to Palestinian terrorists there. In August, Yediot Aharonot daily quoted a senior army officer as saying that Hizbullah was involved in 75 percent of Palestinian military operations in the West Bank. "The involvement of Hizbullah in Palestinian operations is no longer a secret matter, but is common knowledge and it is increasing and expanding," he said. Security chiefs fear that the Hizballah, working with Iran, is already shipping and prepositioning missiles in northern Sinai, anticipating the "morning after" and Israeli retreat. Egyptian security authorities, who are concerned by the arrival of heavy weapons from Iran on their territory, have reportedly seized one shipment of Katyusha rockets before they could be smuggled into the Gaza Strip. But military intelligence sources believe that some such weapons have already reached their intended destination. Iran and Syria have reportedly instructed Hamas to veto any Egyptian or other programs to secure the Gaza Strip after Israel's planned retreat. Senior security officials in Israel and Egypt have concluded that the implementation of Sharon's plan will transform Gaza into a second missile front against Israel's heartland, a "South Lebanon to Israel's South, as one put it. On Sunday, Sharon, reportedly admitted that forced removal of some 7800 Israelis living in the Gaza Strip cannot be achieved, if at all, without substantial losses in military and civilian lives. However, the security officials presenting their grim prognosis were stunned to hear that the prime minister intended to pursue his withdrawal plans timetable, even if it meant retreat under intensive enemy fire. He asked the security officials to prepare for such scenarios. The logic of the Arabs is that if unrelenting terrorist bombings, shooting and artillery attacks could push a warrior like Sharon to abandon Gaza, the same would be possible in other areas, the IDF's monthly journal Bamachaneh reported in its current edition. A "high ranking intelligence officer" cited by the journal said the strategic goal of the Palestinian Arabs was to "do in Judea and Samaria what they succeeded in doing in Gaza," Arutz 7 reported Sunday. "The terror organizations will adopt the model of Israel's retreat from Gaza, and will try to cause us to flee under fire from Judea and Samaria as well," the officer explained. "In the short-term," he said, the terror organizations are liable to attain the ability to fire Kassam rockets at Jewish locations within the Green Line, including Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport.? Palestinian Authority spokesmen have acknowledged that Israel's hasty retreat from southern Lebanon in May 2000 encouraged them to launch their campaign of violence the following September, four years ago. The prognosis of Israel's military and security chiefs in the south appears even more dire. The likely result of Israel's flight will be a full-blown war involving a combination of terrorist attacks, gunfire and missiles blasting the Gaza Strip, the western and southern Negev and Gush Katif. Under these conditions, they believe, the army would be forced to drive back into the large sections of the Strip just to blunt their offensive, at substantial losses to Israeli forces. At the Sunday cabinet meeting, Shin Bet director Avi Dichter focused his warnings on a single issue: If Israel were to pull out of the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza Strip-Egyptian border it would open the door to an avalanche of advanced weapons which had never previously reached Palestinian terrorist organizations. He said Iran was pursuing its strategic goal of exporting Islamic revolution to the territories and Israeli Arabs, repeating its success in Lebanon. IsrAlert, a Jewish advocacy network, is hosted by Harv Weiner. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com |
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NEVER AGAIN?
Posted by Tamar Rush, September 21, 2004. |
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The most blatant and vulgar expressions of anti-antisemitism are on the upsurge in North America, and this time it's well-respected "businessmen" stirring up the trouble. Urban legends, planted on thousands of web-sites by Islamists and their anti-semitic comrades in arms, have created an atmosphere in which the most fantastic of blood libels are accepted as pure, unvarnished, truth. Is this an exaggeration? A recent e-mail from a friend who promotes Israeli products and services provided all the evidence I needed to verify the veracity of these claims. I am not going to name names at this point, however, I have confirmed that hot on the heels of the latest media anti-Israeli smear campaign, mall managers across the U.S. and Canada have been closing down Israeli run businesses at an alarming rate. Last week, one business owner in the U.S. returned from distributing Rosh Ha'Shana gifts to local Holocaust survivors to find a letter from mall management informing him that he was being evicted for the "crime" of closing two hours early on the eve of the holiday. Pretty feeble excuse actually! The same mall management has closed down two other Israeli owned businesses during the month of September alone! When North America's most prestigious malls begin to "cleanse" their premises of pesky Jews and Israelis, can similar actions by neighbourhood associations be far behind? Certainly this is a "kinder and less violent" sort of Kristalnacht, but the intentions are the same as the 1930's version, "Juden Raus"!! I think it's high time for "Jewish Organisations" and individuals (far more likely) to convey their displeasure to the media giants who are fueling this travesty with their sensationalist reportage, and to the jew-hating mall mangers who are exploiting the situation by ridding their establishments of any and all Israeli presence. Never again? Well it is happening again, and this is only the beginning. This article appeared on the IsraPundit website (http://IsraPundit.com). |
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IRAQ: FACING TODAY'S REALITIES
Posted by Barry Rubin, September 21, 2004. |
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President George W. Bush and his opponent Senator John Kerry agree on very little except regarding one important foreign policy issue: the United States should stay in Iraq until there is a stable government, violent extremists are defeated, and U.S. credibility assured. This seems a responsible stand. But is it a correct one? Bush wants to prove his decision to attack Iraq was correct and can still bring victory. Kerry wants to show he is a tough protector of U.S. interests. Nevertheless, this bipartisan strategy is based on some doubtful assertions. Though they at first seem obviously true, these ideas neglect the specific realities of Iraq. Unless they are seriously reexamined now, whoever becomes America's next president is going to face a much bigger disaster there. First, that the American presence will give the new government in Baghdad time to become strong enough to let foreign forces leave within a year or so and still keep power. In reality, though, the current regime is unlikely to rule Iraq without a large-scale coalition presence, having no coherent interest group, army or mass base of supporters ready to fight to the death for it. There are just too many others who want the job for themselves and will do anything to get it. The regime is not steadily getting stronger. No matter how well it governs or what decisions it takes, legitimacy will be elusive. Six months or a year from now it is likely to be equally dependent on foreign forces. Second, that by continuing to fight terrorist forces the United States will eventually defeat or suppress them. Equally, another year or two of combat by American military force is not going to stop the violence. Yet it is the foreign forces' presence which lets the terrorists survive, recruit, and fight by using nationalist and Islamic appeals against the "occupation." This argument so often wrongly applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict actually fits Iraq. The Palestinian leadership's goal is to destroy Israel and it uses terrorism toward this end. But Iraqi terrorists are fighting a civil war, treating the Shia majority like the Palestinians treat Israelis. Only the foreign presence is stopping the majority from destroying them by means far more violent, but effective, than the coalition forces can apply. The main Iraqi political forces don't view the terrorists as their champions or as fellow Arabs or Muslims. They want to wipe the terrorists out in self-defense, then take over the country for themselves. They want American forces to get out of the way so they can begin this dual offensive. Equally, though, they have no interest in supporting the interim government which also keeps them from power and cannot eliminate the terrorists. Only when the coalition forces leave and this civil war takes place will the violence end. Third, that if the United States leaves Iraq its worst enemies--Saddam loyalists, Iran's clients, or al-Qaida's allies, will be in control. In fact, though, these forces are quite weak. The violence which will take place after the coalition leaves will be messy but at the end of it any survivors of these radical forces would be lucky to be in an American prison compared to what their fellow Iraqis would do to them. The al-Sadr clan, whose patron is Tehran and has caused U.S. forces the most problems, is not a contender for ruling the country, which is why it has attacked the coalition now, realizing this is their only hope for posing as the Shia community's heroes. The American presence is preventing an all-out civil war by staying in Iraq but it is also sustaining a different kind of civil war. And it is only the post-American civil war that will settle the country's future. Fourth, that by refusing to leave Iraq, the United States will ensure that it retains a high level of credibility. To leave sooner, as apparently happened in Vietnam, or to let its allies be defeated--as in the shah's Iran--would signal radical forces that they could attack U.S. interests with impunity and disregard its threats. This sounds like a persuasive argument but in fact the United States is so over-extended in Iraq--and its enemies know it--as to be incapable of taking action on any other issue. Forget about a tough response against Iran getting nuclear weapons or Syria sponsoring a war against America in Iraq, the United States is too preoccupied to do anything. The United States may have thrown Saddam Hussein out of power but is not making other regional dictators tremble today. The same situation applies to the war on terrorism. Sunni Muslim terrorists have moved their main operational front to Iraq where they seek to relive their glory days in Afghanistan fighting the Soviets. No matter what happens they will claim to have driven the Americans out of the country, but they will be too busy fleeing hundreds of thousands of Shias out for revenge to spend much time gloating. The point is that there are serious arguments for the United States to seek an early withdrawal from Iraq, not due to cowardice or foolish appeasement but as the result of a more sophisticated strategic concept. Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and co-author of "Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography" and "Hating America: A History" (Oxford University Press, August 2004). Prof. Rubin's columns can now be read online at http://gloria.idc.ac.il/columns/column.html. |