STATIONING UNITED STATES TROOPS IN ISRAEL IS BAD FOR ISRAEL Posted by Yardena Anat Even, August 26, 2003.

Senators Lugar and Feinstein appeared on CNN and threw an idea on the air to see how we the public would re-act. As reported by Leigh Strope, Associated Press: "As violence escalates in the Middle East, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says military involvement by the United States and its NATO allies might be required to bring stability to Israel and the Palestinians." These troops would patrol Gaza and the West Bank. As Emanuel Winston has written in European Union Wants To Use NATO Against Israel: "In order to get the E.U. to agree to send forces into Iraq, America and Bush must give them what they have wanted for years, namely the right to send European troops into Israel - with a blessing (and a curse) from the U.N. (United Nations). Their objective is to block Israeli retaliation for Terror attacks while forcing the establishment of another Arab Muslim State called Palestine." Edward I. Koch in the Jewish World Review (http://www.jewishworldreview.com) said: "This is a terrible idea, which Israel has rightly rejected over the years, not wanting to entrust its security to others or be responsible for the death of a single American soldier. "Such deaths would almost certainly occur as the result of terrorist acts, just as they have in Iraq where 47 American soldiers have been killed since President George W. Bush said hostilities had ceased. "If American forces are used in Israel, they would never take on the suicide bombers, nor should they. Their sole function would be to prevent Israeli reprisals to terrorist attacks by Hamas and others. This could cause misunderstandings and perhaps even combat between Americans and Israelis... "Regardless of what some Palestinian leaders now say about a two-state solution, you can be sure that the threat to Israel's existence will persist. Palestinians and their supporters in the 22 other Arab states are enraged when Israel is referred to as a Jewish state. To his credit, President Bush has used that description when referring to Israel. The majority of Palestinians, and millions of Arabs in other countries, want Israel replaced with a single Muslim state comprised of all of historic Palestine." Please get involved the sooner the better and voice your strong objection in involving American troops combined with NATO to participate or meddle between Israel and the Arab terrorists supported by the majority of Palestinians and the liberal lefty Jews who support them. Write and phone the Congressmen from your state.

THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG? Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, August 26, 2003.

A while back, Molly Moore of the Washington Post reported on progress in talks between Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas. In the passing, she also quoted from Hamas spokesman, Abdul Aziz Rantisi, who held out the possibility of halting terror against Israelis. This ,"of course," was contingent on Israel first stopping all actions it has been forced to take to stop the murder itself. A few days earlier we heard that certain U.S. "officials" (translate as State Department) were concerned that in acknowledging Israeli concerns regarding the 'Road map,' new disputes with the Arabs may surface. This is true. Consider the debate over the course of Israel's security fence as just one current example. Arabs think they're going to shove the pre-'67 Auschwitz - I mean armistice - lines down Israel's throat again. Palestinian Arabs and their European, Russian, United Nations, and other supporters - including friends in Foggy Bottom - are looking for a virtual resurrection of the Oslo debacle. In Oslo I, the more Israel tangibly gave, the more it bled. Without President Bush's assurances that this will not again be the case, Sharon - or any other leader - could not accept this so-called new plan for peace. Let's get something straight right from the start. The problems that both Abbas and Rantisi cite - Israeli incursions, assaults, checkpoints, travel restrictions, and other measures which cause inconvenience and problems for Arabs - were eggs laid and hatched as a result of Arab rejectionist hens raised on both of their farms. Camp David 2000 and Taba clearly showed that occupation and settlements were not the problem; the existence of a viable Israel, regardless of size, was and still is. Arabs continue to kill not to end "occupation" - unless one understands that to mean Tel Aviv as well as Hebron - but to end Israel. A mere look at either gentleman's websites quickly illustrates this. While it has been stated a thousand times, it must be repeated yet again. Arabs blow up Jewish innocents on buses, in pizza parlors, teen night clubs, etc. because, in too many Arab eyes, no Jew living in a Jewish state is innocent. How dare Israeli Jews, half of whom were refugees themselves from "Arab" lands (where they were known as kelbi yahudi - "Jew Dogs"), want in one miniscule state what Arabs have conquered and forcibly Arabized for themselves in twenty-two others. They reject an independent Kurdish state, Berber state, Black African Sudanese state, etc. for the same reasons: a belief that only Arabs have the right to rule lands where many different peoples have historically lived and live. There is no moral equivalency between those who murder and those who try to prevent themselves from being murdered. And that's what Israel's reservations over the roadmap are basically all about. After 9/11, the United States didn't negotiate with al-Qaida or the Taliban. It sent in B-52 and B-1 bombers to do the "negotiating" with bunker buster and daisy cutter bombs. Yet the world expects Israel to constantly watch its people blown to bits. Al-Qaida had its gripes with America too, but that didn't lead us to seek "accommodation" with those who butchered our own people. Before anything can be done to ease up on the measures Israel has taken to try to limit Arab terrorism, the Arabs themselves must control those who deliberately disembowel, maim, and incinerate Jews. No other nation would demand less. There's no mistaking which came first in this case. As long as Arab hens continue business as usual, misery for their own people will hatch from the eggs that are laid. Gerald A. Honigman has lectured and appeared on TV, talking about foreign policy. He frequently writes on Israel, the Arabs and the Kurds. He lives in Volusia County, Florida.

ISRAEL DROPS SECURITY REQUIREMENTS Posted by Richard Shulman, August 26, 2003.

In July, the head of the Israeli secret service declared that the P.A. must demonstrate that it confiscated weaponry and took other measures to destroy the terrorist infrastructure, before Israel transfers security authority to it for P.A. cities. Now Israel settles for the absence of dramatic terrorist attacks before a withdrawal. The P.A. has been shooting at Israelis from both halves of the P. A., but not dramatically. Therefore, the turnover would proceed. Israel reportedly asked Dahlan to present a security plan before the turnover of Ramallah and Tul Karem, but does not require that he fulfill that plan, first. Israeli commentators explained that Israel is trying to 'save the hudna' and insure that when it collapses, the P.A. would be blamed. Dr. Aaron Lerner thinks this careless Israeli approach reflects the Israeli practice of planning only half a day ahead, just to 'look good' in the eyes of its critics. Anyway, whatever Israel does for the Arabs, the Arabs call meager, so they can blame problems on Israel. (IMRA, 8/16) Israel never can look good in the eyes of its critics, because their criticism is not based on what Jews do but on how they worship and whether they have oil. By not planning further ahead, Israel's leaders incur more public relations problems even in the short run. They don't realize that no amount of 'good public relations' can overcome the animalistic tendency to pick on the sickly, including sickly states that do not protect their people from terrorists pretending to have a ceasefire. Dahlan insisted that his forces would not use force against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or Fatah gunmen. (IMRA, 8/16) That violation of Road Map lets them keep fighting! At Israel's weekly cabinet meeting, Defense Minster Mofaz claimed that the P.A. was taking action against terrorism, and if the transfer of authority to the P.A. did not work out, he would reverse the transfers. By contrast, the chief of military intelligence told the Cabinet that the P.A. security services did no counter-terrorism. (IMRA, 8/17) I see it this way: the Defense Minister now is a politician; he plays politics. The military intelligence head still is a military man; he presents intelligence findings. If the P.A. did one thing to honor its commitments, it would be the first. That would call for celebration. The Defense Minister's casual claim that the P.A. does apparently is deceitful. Education Min. Livnat was appalled that Israel continues to offer goodwill gestures while the P.A. still murders Israelis instead of arresting terrorists. (Arutz-7, 8/17) P.A. Arabs recently threw rocks at terrorists planning an attack; they like not being raided. Arafat, however, is again transferring funds to terrorists. (Op. Cit.) The State Dept. rapturously proclaimed that P.A. finances have been reformed. How mistaken! I think that Israel should do the right thing, instead of doing the wrong thing that its State Dept. enemies call the right thing. Israel does the wrong thing, to please the US government and the media. That reflects Jewish lack of self-confidence and craving for gentile approval, plus US blackmail and leftist defeatism. After two millennia, isn't it time for the Jews to learn that they cannot earn gentile approval! Israel can garner either temporary praise for injuring itself or, after some initial criticism, respect for protecting itself. Its government is deceiving its own people about its intentions and P.A. actions.

BBC SKEWS ARTICLE ON DEATHS OF UN PERSONNEL Posted by Leah Green for CAMERA, August 26, 2003.

The BBC continues to offer distorted news about Israel, and appears to go out of its way to create opportunities to present Israel in an unfavorable light. For example, in an August 20 online article ("UN: Human Cost of Intervention") about deaths of staff suffered by the UN in various world conflicts, the article's Middle East incidents include only incidents involving Israel and that information is skewed and distorted. (See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3167411.stm.) The BBC ignored several more recent murders of UN staff by Muslim or Arab terrorists in favor of presenting the 1948 assassination of Count Bernadotte by "Israeli extremists," calling it "[o]ne of the most infamous killings in the organization's history." The article fails to note that, unlike the Palestinian leadership's laissez faire attitude toward known terrorists, the group responsible for Bernadotte's death was disbanded and members of the group were prosecuted and jailed. The article's only other Middle East reference is the 1996 incident at the UN compound in Qana, Lebanon, which the article calls "the worst attack ever on a UN site,"...Although the article notes Israel's insistence that it was an accident, the BBC's rendition of events in Qana offers no context. It omits that minutes before the Israeli strike in Qana, Israel had been attacked with missiles by Hezballah from a site next to the UN compound, a fact noted in the UN's own report. (U.N. Report on Israel's Bombing of the United Nations Compound at Qana, Lebanon, May 7, 1996. http://almashriqu.hiof.no/lebanon/300/350/355/April-war/un-report/qana1.html) When Israel struck back at Hezballah's missile launch site, it inadvertently bombed the UN compound nearby, unintentionally harming many civilians who had, unbeknownst to Israel, taken refuge there. Why is the Qana incident even mentioned? The subject of the article was loss of life among UN personnel. NO UN personnel died in that attack. The UN report further indicates that two or three of the Hezballah terrorists themselves entered the UN camp, which the BBC also chose to ignore. In fact, before the tragedy, the UN knew about Hezballah's missile launch site being so close to their compound and attempted to put a stop to it but failed. Time Magazine reported, "Two days before, a Fijian Blue Helmet tried to persuade Hizballah fighters not to strike from a site close to another UN post up the road. They shot him in the chest. 'We are breaking our backs to stop Hizballah from using the U.N. as a shield,' [said] UN spokeswoman Sylvana Foa. 'Now it's gone to hell in a handbasket.' " (Time Magazine, April 29, 1996, "Dark with Blood; Israel Tried to Bomb Hizballah into Submission. But a 'Grave Error' Slaughtered More than 100 Lebanese Civilians. Can Diplomacy Do Anything?") It is telling that the BBC also chose to ignore other recent and notable events in the Middle East involving the murders of UN personnel. For example, the kidnaping (February 17, 1988) and brutal execution (July 31, 1989) of Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins, Chief of the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, goes unmentioned in the article. More recently in March, 2002, the two members of the UN Temporary International Presence in Hebron were killed, and another member was wounded. The wounded officer, Captain Ozarslan of Turkey, reported, "We saw a Palestinian standing in the middle of the road. The (car's) lights were on and we saw him. He was in a Palestinian police force uniform. He was carrying a Kalachnikov. We shouted towards him, 'We are TIPH, don't shoot.' When they stopped their car, Ozarslan said, 'there was only 5 to 6 meters between the men and our car and he didn't stop (shooting). We told him we are from TIPH and he didn't care. He kept shooting toward us.' " ("Two Observers Killed in Hebron," UPI, by Joshua Brilliant, March 26, 2002.) Even this recent concrete example escapes the BBC's notice. The BBC also omits the ironic fact that UN Resolutions have supported terror attacks of the sort just witnessed in Baghdad. Numerous resolutions have endorsed "struggles for liberation from colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation by all available means, including armed struggle." (See, for example, U.N. General Assembly Resolutions 3070 and 3328.) The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) monitors the media on its reporting of news about Israel and Jews. CAMERA has instituted a new "BBC Watch" and "Washington Post" Watch. This report was prepared by Cynthia Ittleman.

STRENGTHENING ABU MAZEN Posted by Bryna Berch, August 26, 2003.

In an interview published in the Jerusalem Post, August 22, Caroline B. Glick quotes the Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz: "The terrorist organizations have two leaderships. They have leadership in the territories and leadership outside. The leadership here sits mainly in the Gaza Strip and the leadership abroad sits mainly in Damascus. The infrastructure is based on split leadership when the leaders here and the leaders abroad communicate with one another, sometimes they agree with one another, sometimes they don't, but they communicate with one another. During the conflict the strength of the local leadership increased naturally, because of its direct involvement in the violence and terrorism. "Now, the local leadership has agreed to a temporary cease-fire, their power has decreased and the leadership abroad has been strengthened, because it objects to the cease-fire." This means that whichever one of them says no to peace most strongly gets the higher approval rating from the 'Palestinian' Arabs. It follows that the more Abu Mazen helps get Israelis killed, the stronger he'll be. If the local Arabs in the territories - members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim, Al-Fatah - singly or in combination kill enough Israelis, Abu Mazen will increase prodigiously in leadership strength. It follows logically that to strengthen Abu Mazen so he can be a peace partner, we should let him be very non-peaceful and kill lots and lots of Israelis. This is too orwellian. Even Orwell never thought of anything this insane. There's got to be a better way to get peace.

OVERHEARD BY A FLY ON THE WALL: A Conversation Between Arafat and Abu Mazen Posted by Beth Goodtree, August 25, 2003.

The following was overheard by a fly on the wall of Arafat's headquarters back in May of 2003 Arafat:  So Abu, looks like we bamboozled the Americans into thinking you were a moderate and forgetting about your recent book disproving the Holocaust and your funding of the Olympic bombers. What are your plans now that your are the President? Abu Mazen:  Well, they want me to `handle' things. Naturally, I take my orders from you. Arafat:  If you're gonna be the President, you gotta know that this job is more like being a movie director than anything else. We create a fiction that looks so good people think it's real. For example, we gotta dig some more smuggling tunnels - 3 for show, and 30 for real. Abu Mazen:  For show? Arafat:  Yup. At some point the Americans will insist that we crack down on terror so we give them a show. We destroy the 3 we don't use and keep using the ones they don't know about. We've been doing this same scam for years - works every time! Abu Mazen:  But what do I do when they insist I crack down on terrorist groups and their weapons? Arafat:  We get new weapons all the time. When you hand them out, collect the old broken ones and keep them somewhere for when we have to show a crackdown on arms. Just use them to show those idiot Americans and the EU that you've collected all the weapons. Then show them how they're all broken, so you couldn't possibly be the threat that that aggressive, lying Israel says you are. Be all contrite and apologetic and somewhat embarrassed. You tell them, "If we're too poor to eat, how can we afford weapons?" As to the crackdown on terrorists, you tell 'em it'll cause a civil war. If they really get pushy about it, I got some volunteers who are willing to be arrested for a few days - we pay them a bonus out of the money the Americans and the EU gave us. Then we let them out. Abu Mazen:  But suppose they insist we keep the peace? Arafat:  (Grinning evilly) You agree. Then you start sending out the home invaders, the kidnappers, and all the others. When the Israelis complain, you blame them for your lack of police and weapons to control things. If that doesn't work, blame me - tell them I won't let you have control. After all, they'll never touch me - they're all afraid. Abu Mazen:  But that won't get us our homeland. Arafat:  The last thing we want is a homeland! At least not until we have taken over all of the land and rid it of that plague upon Allah's creation, the Jews. Besides, if we had our own country, we couldn't keep attacking those descendants-of-pigs-and-apes, the Jews. If we had our own country and even threw one stone at them, it would be considered an act of war. This way, we can keep killing off the Jews with impunity. Clever, huh? Abu Mazen:  So how do I stop it from happening until we get all the Jew's land?  Arafat:  Same thing I've been doing for years. As soon as an agreement looks close, pretend you're eager for peace but send out the bombers. Deplore their acts, swear to try and crack down and blame the Israelis. Remember:always blame the Israelis. That'll stop the process for a while. Meanwhile, we've lost one person; they've lost a lot. Do the math. Abu Mazen:  But then they'll retaliate! Arafat:  Only once or twice. And we can afford to lose a few people. Heck, I got our women cranking out babies like rabbits on Viagra. Anyway, then you plead with the Americans and the UN to broker another temporary peace. You say you really want to give peace a chance. Abu Mazen: With our history? They'd never believe it! Arafat: Doesn't matter. We got Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and Kofi Anan in our back pocket. And George Bush listens to the first two. Besides, if things get hot for us, Assad and Hezbollah will start acting up to take some of the heat off. We have that squeeze play honed to a fine art. And don't worry about the Israelis. (Snickering) I got my Nobel Peace Prize partner Peres in my pocket too and the Israeli left will believe anything. Meanwhile, age must be affecting Sharon even more than we thought. Or maybe it's something else. But he knuckles under to us and America at every instance. Whoever said Jews were smart never met this group of idiots. It's like their working for me but I don't even have to pay them. What a bunch of yutzes! (It was at this point that someone noticed the fly and bombed him.) Beth Goodtree writes humorous articles and political commentary.

THE CHILDREN'S ATTACK Posted by Mike Evans, August 25, 2003.

The devastating bombing of Jerusalem Egged Bus 2 last week has been immortalized as the "children's attack." Two terrorist organizations - Hamas and Islamic Jihad - seem to be jockeying for position as the responsible party. Both groups claim culpability, and vow that they will not disarm. The U.S. will not force them to do so. On Tuesday, July 22, 2003, Arafat warned that "grave consequences" (suicide bombings) would ensue if Israel continues to allow Jews to visit the Temple site. It seems he is capable of making good on his threat. The announcement was made Tuesday morning, August 19, that Jews and Christians would be allowed back to the Temple site to pray. The blast that ripped apart the lives of so many Jewish families occurred Tuesday evening. Six children died at the hands of a Palestinian suicide bomber, and another 40 children were wounded. The word "wounded," however, simply does not do justice to the horrific injuries some of these children have suffered. Shmuel Zargara was just 11 months old when his tiny body was torn from his mother's arms by the blast. On Wednesday, little Shmuel was placed on an unfinished plywood board and carried to a small hole hewn out of a hard, dry Jerusalem hillside. The explosion injured his father, Yaacov, his mother, Nava, and 3 siblings. His only sibling to escape the terror chose not to go on the outing to the Western Wall Tuesday evening. Another mother injured in the suicide bombing knew only that her child had not been found. Some of the dead have not yet been identified, so she waits for the news that she fears will come. Lilach Karadi, 22, the mother of a one-year-old, and eight months pregnant with her second child was among the dead. One-month-old Elchanon Cohen was found amid the rubble, the fate of his parents unknown. But someone did ask for him; his distraught parents had been taken to another hospital. Baby Elchanon was easily identified - he was born with only one kidney. In another hospital, Shira, not quite two-years old, suffered shrapnel wounds to her face and left eye. (I wept as I read about little Shira. I, too, have a daughter named Shira.) She shared an ICU room with Shmuel Zargara's 7-year-old sister, Esther. Another young Shmuel was injured at the hands of the bomber. When his father, Avi Ben-Zion could not find him, he gave Shmuel up for dead, and pulled his two younger brothers, Israel (8) and Yair (6), from the bus. Shmuel had been blown through a window, and landed on top of some of those who died. Mr. Ben-Zion asked over and over for God's forgiveness, as he had to walk over several of the dead to get his sons safely off the bus. The question now remains: How do those who survived explain such ferocious hatred to the smallest of the wounded? How does one explain why a 29-year-old father of two, and the husband of a pregnant woman, would strap on a pack of explosives and target a bus filled with children? In Mr. Ben-Zion's words, "...we'll cope with it together. They are strong kids." While Russia, the EU, the UN and the U.S. search the rubble for the remains of their Road Map plan, friends and relatives search for more precious remains. We need you to stand with us in defending Zion. Add your voice to the Defender of Zion petition now. Please sign the Defenders of Zion Petition today. THEN FORWARD this email to everyone you know, and ask them to sign it. Let's keep this petition going around the world. We must let President Bush know that to curse Israel is to bring disaster upon our nation. Mike Evans is founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Team of Euless, TX. He is an award-winning journalist and author of the current bestseller: "Beyond Iraq: The Next Move," in which he argues that the U. S. should use its control of Iraqi oil to break OPEC, and use Iraq as a base for the war on terrorism.

CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH ZIONISTS OPPOSE THE ROAD MAP Posted by Ruth and Nadia Matar, August 25, 2003.

The "Road Map" disaster, is the newest threat to Israel's existence. It must be fought against vigorously. We did this recently and successfully by our demonstration in Crawford, Texas. Our Houston Chapter, which includes Christian Zionists, went to where President Bush's ranch is located. We also support and participate in the world-wide demonstrations against the Road Map. Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green) represent the views of the majority of the Jewish People in this Land and in the Diaspora. Most Jews and Bible-believing Christians quite naturally oppose the "Road Map." Many Christian Zionists have indicated that they will withhold their support of President Bush in the upcoming U.S. Presidential elections if he does not change his present "Road Map" policy...These Christian Zionists continuously tell us they are opposed to the present U.S. policy of supporting the "Road Map," and the creation of a Palestinian State within Biblical Israel. Ruth and Nadia Matar founded the `Women For Israel's Tomorrow' (Women in Green), a prominent and effective activist organization in Israel. They interview Israelis opposed to the Road Map on their radio show, they speak up for Yesha settlements and they demand the opening of the Temple Mount. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org. Go to https://host5.apollohosting.com/womeningreen/donation.html to contribute financially in this work. Or send a check to Women in Green, P.O.B. 7352, Jerusalem 91072; this is an IRS-approved donation.

ATERET COHANIM: The Jerusalem Reclamation Project Posted by Yocheved Golani,August 25, 2003.

In the aftermath of the horrific post-hudna bus bombing of August 19 2003, it seems to be a particularly apropos time to consider the work of Ateret Cohanim/The Jerusalem Reclamation Project (JRP). In 1948, Jordan conquered eastern Jerusalem and expelled or killed all the Jewish residents. JRP is reclaiming Jewish property and seeks to restore a significant Jewish presence in all of Jerusalem. One of their responses to terrorism's struggle against the kedusha of the Jews and Israel is Beit Baruch, a compound near the Damascus Gate. Beit Baruch is named for Baruch Lerner (son of Roni and Dani Lerner), the JRP security guard murdered in the terrorist attack at the Moment Café. Projections to house two to three families with children who can make use of the mini-playground in Beit Baruch are part of the overall effort to 'breathe life' into the heart of the Jewish Land. JRP spokesman Daniel Luria says, 'It is vital for Jews to own, live and function in their G'D-given inheritance. This is how Am Yisrael can end the reign of terror that has poured on us and on the rest of the world. By filling Israel with the Jews designated by HaShem to inhabit the Land, we will simply remove the potential for terrorists to launch attacks against us. They will have no foothold here.' In the post-9/11 world, people tend toward introspection, asking themselves what is worth living for and dying for, what defines them as individuals and what they value enough to make enduring commitments. Some of the answers seem readily accessible in Jerusalem. Luria spoke of the brave Jewish families who live in Jerusalem's reclaimed sites, describing the 25-year veterans, the Raya and Yossi Cohen family, as 'Cohanim who live in the city of Cohanim and kedusha.' The Yitzchak and Ayala Cohen family in Chashmonaim, Yehuda and Evelyn Cohen in Volero, and the residents of the renewed Jewish Yishuv are among the many spiritually and emotionally fulfilled Ateret Cohanim residents. Luria added, 'On the day after the recent Kotel bus #2 bombing, two separate groups of Americans (plus their Israeli cousins and friends) here for Bar Mitzvahs, still came to Old City and walked around with me and Ateret Cohanim in the alleyways. They were not to be swayed or scared off! This is our city and this also our response - to tour the streets of the renewed Jewish Yishuv!' Other important JRP projects include Beit Neli and Beit Reuven Vacation Villages Project. Called 'The Restoration of Jewish Life Between the Walls,' the Rechov Chaladiah site in the Kotel Quarter is a means for hands-on participation in reclaiming the renewed Jewish Yishuv for Jewish posterity. The possibility to own the property exists and further information is available via jrpisrael@yahoo.com. Many people do not realize there is pressure from the Road Map sponsors to keep the Jewish population of eastern Jerusalem as low as possible - with the intention of making it the capital of the projected Palestinian state. They oppose any attempt by Jews to build there or reclaim Jewish property. Ateret Cohanim/The Jerusalem Reclamation Project can be contacted by email at jrpisrael@yahoo.com, or by phone in Israel at 02-6243337. The developing website is at www.jrpisrael.com. You can read more about their work in "The Settlements Revisited" in the November-December issue of Think-Israel.

SPURIOUS STATEMENTS Posted by Honest Reporting, August 25, 2003.

Journalists covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict aim to provide readers with a balanced picture by quoting official statements from both sides. But with Palestinian spokesmen issuing increasingly disingenuous and mendacious statements, HonestReporting asks: Do all official statements merit uncritical coverage? When spokespeople utter statements that directly contradict established facts, hasn't a news outlet that amplifies such statements stopped reporting "balanced" news, and crossed the line into disseminating lies and propaganda? A recent case in point: After the IDF killed Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab on Thursday (Aug. 21), a Hamas spokesman announced to reporters: "The Zionist enemy has assassinated the truce," so therefore "we consider ourselves no longer bound by this cease-fire." It truly stretches the mind to imagine how last Tuesday's horrific bus bombing in Jerusalem `perpetrated by a Hamas terrorist' fits any definition of an ongoing cease-fire. Even before the Jerusalem bus bombing, there was no shortage of bloody terror from Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Ariel two weeks ago. Additionally, the IDF has reported no less than 300 terror attacks throughout Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel proper since the beginning of the supposed "cease-fire." A telling graphic, illustrating these attacks by daily occurrence, is available on the IDF website. One TV reporter, Michael Holmes from CNN, did provide due comment on Hamas' spurious claim on Thursday: "Hamas called CNN's Gaza office and said that the cease-fire was over...if you were near West Jerusalem the other night, you would wonder what sort of cease-fire was it in the first place anyway." Yet many other media outlets felt compelled to report the Hamas spokesman's statement as fact: The Chicago Tribune headlined its Aug. 22 report: "Hamas Abandons Truce After Israel Kills Leader." (You can send comments to Chicago Tribune: publiceditor@tribune.com) The LA Times headlined: "Truce Ended After Israeli Airstrike" (You can send comments to LA Times: letters@latimes.com) The (London) Independent stated: "Palestinian militant groups suspended their two-month-old ceasefire last night after Israel assassinated a Hamas leader in Gaza and sent tanks and infantry back into West Bank cities." (You can send comments to Independent: feedback@inuk.co.uk) By disseminating the Hamas statement while omitting contradictory facts, news outlets provide a mouthpiece for terrorists to brazenly deny their murderous acts, and falsely frame Israel as the "anti-peace" force in the conflict. HonestReporting monitors the media - newspapers and broadcasting - for fairness and accuracy in their reporting on Israel. Their website address is http://www.honestreporting.com.

WHERE ARE THE RIGHTEOUS JEWS? Posted by David Ben-Ariel, August 25, 2003.

In a message dated 8/23/03 4:03:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Brit-Am Israel (britam@netvision.net.il) writes: The British Government forbade us to place an Ark, tables or benches in the alley; even a small stool could not be brought to the Kotel. The British also instituted the following ordinances, designed to humble the Jews at the holiest place of their faith: it is forbidden to pray out loud, lest one upset the Arab residents; it is forbidden to read from the Torah (those praying at the Kotel had to go to one of the synagogues in the Jewish quarter to conduct the Torah reading); it is forbidden to sound the shofar on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The British Government placed policemen at the Kotel to enforce these rules. Now that the British "occupation" is history, what will be done to defeat the Jewish Hellenist occupation that forbids Christians or Jews from praying or reading the Bible upon the Temple Mount lest the militant Muslims riot or the Nazi Wakf (Muslim authorities on Temple Mount) threatens terrorist attacks against the United States and Israel? Who will resist the Jewish Hellenists who continue to permit Jerusalem's abomination of desolation - a Temple Mount without a temple - to remain the deplorable status quo? Who will order the Jewish policemen who enforce these wicked decrees to instead defend those who merely desire to be praying pilgrims and not just paying tourists? Who will stand up for Gershon Salomon - chairman of the Temple Mount Faithful (who was blessed to help liberate the Temple Mount in the Six Day War) - who is forcibly forbidden to enter, pray or read the Bible upon the Temple Mount yet the pope is permitted to meet with sworn enemies upon Judaism's holiest site and Nazi Muslims and terrorists are buried upon the Temple Mount? Where is the Jewish outrage that Christian-Zionist David Ben-Ariel is denied entry (supposedly until 2005) to the Promised Land of Israel because he dares to write and speak out against these things? Are there no "righteous Jews" to complement the "righteous Gentiles?" David Ben-Ariel is the author of "Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall." He lives in Toledo, Ohio; his website address is http://www.benariel.com.

WEAPONS OF MASS DESPAIR Posted by Michael Freund, August 24, 2003.

Score one for the terrorists. The big blackout that enveloped New York this past weekend may not have been the work of a malicious band of anti-American militants, but it most certainly brought to the fore, however briefly, the fear they have succeeded in instilling in all of us. It was shortly after the electricity went off that I emerged from a meeting on Manhattan's Upper East Side unaware of what was going on. Large crowds of people were gathered at street corners, as car radios with the volume on 'high' noisily blared the latest news bulletins from around the city and the region. Traffic lights were out, the wail of sirens could be heard from afar, and there was a palpable sense of unease in the air. 'The lights are down across the northeast,' noted one passerby. 'Even Detroit and Cleveland are in the dark,' he said, as shopkeepers rushed to shutter and bolt their establishments. What the heck is going on? I thought to myself. Have all these people gone mad? As accustomed as New Yorkers have become to blaming Con Edison, the local electric company, whenever something goes wrong, the first thought which crossed many people's minds in this instance was the same: it must have been Osama Bin-Laden, or even Saddam Hussein, who did this. And so, unwittingly, many Americans found themselves joining a club that was previously thought to be the exclusive preserve of Israelis. They have become a society that is living on edge, bracing, however unaware, for the next big attack. The extent of this phenomenon became clear in the days that followed, as people shared stories and experiences of the Great Blackout of 2003. Those blessed with children were confronted by an array of questions to the tune of: 'Did the bad guys do this'? or 'How do you know it wasn't the bad guys' fault'? Even the kids, it seems, have become conditioned to expect another terrorist assault. In this respect, then, the terrorists and their allies have succeeded. Though nearly two years have passed since the September 11 attacks, they have left an indelible imprint on the collective psyche and self-confidence of the West, putting entire societies on the defensive, and making untold millions of people jumpy, nervous and tense. If, as its name implies, terror is designed to spark fear in the hearts of men, then it seems fair to say that the 'bad guys' have already scored an important victory in their preposterous offensive against the West. Think, for a moment, of the myriad ways in which terror has affected, and even altered, day-to-day life in Israel. It has shaped the choices people make about what mode of transportation to use, and it has led many to avoid visiting certain locations throughout the country. Our ears pipe up at the sound of a sonic boom, and our hearts may very well miss a beat when regularly scheduled programming is interrupted by an unexpected news flash. The tension and anxiety that this adds to our already hectic lives is simply incalculable, as is the havoc it necessarily must wreak. But this is far more than just an interesting development in the annals of group psychology. It is also a fundamental issue of national security, one of paramount importance to the future of the West, because 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' cannot coexist together over time with a prolonged sense of fear. Weariness inevitably sets in, and once it does, capitulation is not too far behind. It was precisely this strategy that guided the PLO from its inception in 1964, namely, to bleed the Jews into national fatigue. The 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords was the culmination of this process, the ultimate act of exhaustion by an Israel tired of constant fighting and warfare. And it is this very same approach that has worked wonders for Yasser Arafat over the past three years, since the start of the Palestinian terror campaign. Armed with a steely patience, he sits and watches as the Jews are sapped of their energy to the point of offering still more concessions. The real threat facing countries such as Israel and America, then, is not so much from weapons of mass destruction as it is from the weapon of mass despair. If steps are not taken to quash the terrorists, and the fear factor they produce, then the steady erosion of our morale will do us all in far more effectively than even the most zealous of militants. And, as we all know, the only way to overcome one's fears is to confront them head-on. Feeding them or appeasing them only prolongs the misery, rather than eliminating it. As I walked the streets of New York amid the turmoil of the Great Blackout, I saw a woman standing in the middle of Madison Avenue, gesticulating wildly as she tried to direct traffic amid an onrush of cars, taxis and buses. Though a particularly unappreciative driver deluged her with expletives, this simple citizen who had stepped forward to do her civic duty could not have looked any more content than she was. Upon further reflection, I think I now know the reason why. At a time when others were overwhelmed by the crisis around them, she took charge of the situation and sought to make it right. By liberating herself from fear, she was able to restore a much-needed element of normalcy to an otherwise chaotic scene. Israel, too, can learn a lesson from this. For, only when a leader emerges who is willing to step into the intersection and overcome the anarchy, standing tall and fending off the forces of terror and mayhem, can we hope to prevail. Until that occurs, I'm afraid, Israel will merely continue to stumble its way through the darkness. The writer served as Deputy Director of Communications & Policy Planning in the Prime Minister's Office under Benjamin Netanyahu. This article appeared in the Jerusalem Post August 20, 2003. It is entitled, "In The Dark And On Edge."

PA MUSIC VIDEO: Israelis Are Cold-Blooded Murdurers Posted by Itamar Marcus, August 24, 2003.

Twice today PA TV broadcast a particularly hateful music video intended for children. It opens with a young girl rushing home to her mother with flowers, but as she approaches, an Israeli rifle appears at the corner of the screen and her mother is murdered in front of her eyes. In the next scene, the girl places the flowers intended for her mother on her mother's grave. The rest of the 5-minute music video is the girl's song of mourning and longing for her mother, which she sings over the grave. This PA video is designed to create fear and hatred of Israelis among PA children, depicting them as people who would murder even their mother in cold blood. It had been broadcast almost daily from Jan - July 2003, and stopped being broadcast two weeks ago. As reported above, today it was broadcast twice. The following are selections from the text of her song [PA TV subtitles]: `My mother I miss you I know that you can hear me I can go to you ... If you cant come to me Cold has come to my life It makes me suffer... Ma, you voice still a tear in my eyes, I bear Ma, you voice still a tear in my eyes, I bear Bring my mother back to me Bring my mother back to me Bring my mother back to me? Itamar Marcus is Director of the Palestine Media Watch (PMW), which translates directly from the Arab media - newspapers, film and schoolbooks.

INCITEMENT IN THE PALESTINE AUTHORITY AFTER AQABA Posted by Y. Yehoshua and B. Tchernitzky, August 23, 2003.

In his June 4, 2003 speech at the Aqaba summit, Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) said, "We will also act vigorously against incitement and violence and hatred, whatever their form or forum may be. We will take measures to ensure that there is not incitement emanating from Palestinian institutions." It was in a meeting following that speech that PA Information Minister Nabil Amr and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom decided to establish two joint committees to examine Palestinian and Israeli incitement in the media and in school curricula. Since that meeting, the PA has taken a number of steps to stop incitement in the media and in mosques. Concurrently, however, incitement by bodies and institutions belonging to the PA or under its supervision continues. Thus, for example, Jihad and Shahada [martyrdom] are still glorified in the PA media, mosques and schoolbooks. They are also celebrated in summer camps that are named for suicide bombers and their dispatchers. Palestinian textbooks containing messages extolling Jihad and Shahada have not been changed. It should be noted that the media - newspapers, radio, and television - are still controlled by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, who himself relies on incitement to bolster his public status against that of Abu Mazen. For instance, Palestinian Television did not air any of the Aqaba summit, showing instead archive footage of Arafat. This paper reviews both attempts to halt incitement and evidence of its continuation from the June 4, 2003 Aqaba summit up to the August 19 bus suicide bombing in Jerusalem. These are measured against limited criteria: only glorification of martyrdom or incitement to violence, only against targets inside the Green Line, and only since the Aqaba summit. Incitement occurring after the release of the Road Map and up to the Aqaba summit was not included in the paper, but two examples can be seen in Appendix I. To view the full version of this report, please visit: http://www.memri.org/release The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) carries translations from the Arab press as well as in-depth analyses about the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

WORLDWIDE, ANTI-ROAD MAP DEMONSTRATION SET. Posted by Ken Heller, August 23, 2003.

I need your help in terms of posting the announcement for the September 21st Worldwide Anti-Road Map demonstration. We obviously need your assistance in trying to reach as many people as possible. Below is the announcement. Please distribute. Thank you! ISRAEL IS IN DANGER! JOIN THE SECOND ROUND OF AN HISTORIC, WORLDWIDE, SAME DAY DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE ROAD MAP AND IN SUPPORT OF AM YISRAEL. WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL BE ABLE TO ORGANIZE OR HELP ORGANIZE THEIR TOWNS AND CITIES REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU LIVE. THE DATE IS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST BEFORE THE HIGH HOLIDAYS. THERE ARE ABOUT 4 WEEKS LEFT AND PLENTY OF TIME TO GET THE JOB DONE. WE CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT. WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER AS ONE ON THAT DATE TO VOICE OUR SUPPORT LOUDLY AND UNASHAMEDLY FOR ISRAEL AND OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS LIVING THERE. WE MUST PROMOTE ISRAEL'S SAFETY AND SECURITY AND THIS IS WHY WE MUST FORCE PRESIDENT BUSH AND PRIME MINISTER SHARON TO SCRAP THE MAP!! IF INTERESTED, CONTACT KEN AT KJHNHA@AOL.COM Ken Heller was a major organizer of the world-wide demonstrations on July 20th against the Road Map.

SO WHO'S IN CONTROL? Posted by Eliezar Edwards August 22, 2003.

It looks like Hamas doesn't just control the Arabs in Gaza. They get to decide when the temporary cease fire is officially over. Maybe now the Jews will finally believe the Arabs are out to kill them, not get another Arab state. Maybe now the Jews will start fighting back seriously like menschen: bomb the tunnels bringing in weapons from Egypt, bomb every place a terrorist manager is suspected of being and jail the "peaceful" foreigners who aid the terrorists. This appeared in yesterday's Arutz Sheva: ISRAEL RESPONDS TO MASSACRE - AND HAMAS DECLARES END TO HUDNA: The hudna - a temporary ceasefire by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists so that they could regroup and rearm while Israel reduces its anti-terror efforts - has ended. So announced Hamas today, following the killing this afternoon of a top member of the Hamas leadership. It should be noted that even though a Hamas terrorist massacred 20 Jews in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, this did not signal the end of the hudna for Hamas. In its statement taking credit for the attack, Hamas added a "comforting" qualification:"The hudna is still on, it's just that we have to retaliate when Israel kills our men." [Israeli forces last week killed Muhammad Sieder, who was behind many murderous attacks in the Hevron region, including the bloody Worshipper's Way ambush and the Otniel yeshiva attack.] Today, however, following Israel's *response* to that massacre (see next paragraph), Hamas declared the hudna over and that it would retaliate. Israeli sources quoted on Ynet responded with derision:" Hudna, shmudna; the attack in Jerusalem changed the rules altogether. If the Palestinians want to keep Hamas and Islamic Jihad, then let them remain without a state." What caused Hamas to announce the end of the hudna was Israel's killing of a terrorist leader this afternoon. No sooner did Israel's mini-security cabinet decide that leading terrorist figures were fair game - and Israel Air Force helicopters rained down five rockets this afternoon on the car of one of the most murderous terrorists of all - Ismail Abu Shanab, as well as his two bodyguards. Dozens of Arabs surrounded the burning car immediately afterwards, demanding revenge. Top Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists are reported to have gone underground, for fear of Israel's long arm. Minister Uzi Landau (Likud), who served as Public Security Minister in the previous government, said today that the return to targeted killings of terrorist leaders is a welcome development - "if it marks the beginning of Israel's uncompromising war on terrorism, but not if it's just a spot reaction here and there."

STATEMENT ON THE RESUMPTION OF MASS PALESTINIAN TERRORISM Posted by Religious Zionists of America, August 22, 2003.

As sickening, inhuman and horrendous as the massacre of innocents on the Jerusalem bus this week is, the reaction of the Palestinians in Hebron who celebrated the attack with a fireworks display, speaks volumes to the nature of the enemies of peace. The desire to destroy Israel is the underlying goal not only of those on the decision making level of the Palestinian leadership - but of much of the populace as well. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is not a new national Palestinian figure, despite Washington hype. On September 13, 1993, he and Yasser Arafat, the only two Palestinians on stage, stood on the White House lawn to sign Oslo I. It was greeted with a total lack of enforcement by the Palestinians - with subsequent Palestinian violence. At Camp David, Mr. Abbas was a prime mover in convincing Mr. Arafat to reject President Clinton's brokered offer from Prime Minister Barak, giving Palestinians 97% of their demands - with subsequent Palestinian violence. Now at Aquaba, Mr. Abbas - after agreeing to dismantle the terror apparatus under the Road Map - has totally reneged, and Palestinian violence continues unabated. He is either unable or unwilling to truly combat terrorism. How many Israeli lives must be sacrificed in the name of a false peace? The RZA supports the following response to this week's resumption of mass Palestinian Terrorism: American pressure on Israel to stop or limit the security fence must cease. The Israeli Government must be given the latitude to choose the boundaries and the speed of the fence construction necessary to save Jewish lives. The United States must end its pressure on Israel regarding the fate of Yasser Arafat. Mr. Arafat remains the inspiration and prime instigator of terror and his presence is an impediment to peace. We urge President Bush to place a moratorium on Road Map negotiations until the Palestinian Authority has dismantled the terror apparatus, disarmed and incarcerated terrorists, incitement ceases and the words of peace and co-existence are introduced into Palestinians textbooks, newspapers and media. The U.S. Administration's attitude towards Syria is inadequate. Syria, the Iranians and the Saudis are the prime financiers of the terrorist movements. Congress must immediately pass the Syria Accountability Act which until now the Administration has opposed. The Religious Zionists of America Organization can be contacted through email: mizrachi@rza.org or telephone: (212) 465-9234.

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH Posted by Concerned Organizations, August 22, 2003.

Dear President Bush, We believe you were correct in placing the war on terror at the center of American policy. As a result, terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq is slowly, but steadily being eradicated. In addition, the terrorist infrastructures of countries that form the `axis of evil' are being controlled. However, terrorism cannot be conquered without abolishing its center in the Palestinian Autonomy (PA), and without removing the U.S. double standard which prevents Israel from fighting its war on terror. The PA prime minister announces that he will not disband terrorist organizations, and still Israel is pressed to continue with a fraudulent `road map.' At the recent news conference with Mr. Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister and Chairman of the European Union, you claimed: `The states that harbor terrorists will be brought to justice.' The PA not only harbors terrorists - it trains them, although it denies responsibility for this. The Quartet's 'Road Map', which the U.S. supports, promises a sovereign state for the `Palestinians.' We believe it is impossible to speak about such a state while terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Al-Fatah, the Abu Nidal Organization, the PLO, the PFLP and others continue to operate there. In addition,, the PA has been the initiator of the cruelest kind of child abuse, the brainwashing and training of young people to become suicide bombers, a modern, cheap weapon of mass destruction. Mr. President, we believe that there can be no talk about establishing a separate `Palestinian' state until the complete dismantlement of the PA terrorist centers has been completed, and the education of the `Palestinian' Arabs is changed from hatred of Jews and Israel to tolerance, respect, and full recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Even if this is accomplished, such a state MUST NOT BE ON BIBLICAL LANDS, but on territories in neighboring Arab countries. Mr. President, in our opinion, it would be a great error to establish a new Arab state on BIBLICAL LANDS. Your steadfast commitment to keeping Israel intact would be an example to the whole world of morality and political decency. It would also provide you with broad support in the coming election. With deepest respect, Gary Bauer, Chairman, American Values Vitaly Raevsky, Chair of Israeli Committee, American Association of Jews from the FSU Leonid Shkolnik, Chief Editor, Newspaper `Forverts' (Russian edition) Leonid Stonov, President, American Association of Jews from the FSU Herbert Zweibon, Chairman, Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI

DIPLOMACY Posted by Cox and Forkum, August 22, 2003.

President Bush painted himself into a corner. The Bush Doctrine had made it clear that the U.S. would consider any regime that harbored or sponsored terrorists to be hostile. But Bush also backed the creation of a state for Palestinian Arabs, who are led by the godfather of terrorism, Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority (aka, Palestinian Liberation Organization). Bush's first solution was Clintonian: He refused to label Arafat a terrorist (because Arafat was involved in the "peace process"). Later Bush backtracked and proclaimed, in a profound understatement, that Arafat was "tainted by terrorism," which lead to the farce of negotiating with an Arafat puppet, Mahmoud Abbas. So what does the Bush Administration really think of terrorist Arafat and the PLO? Last week there was this news: "Bush Waives Sanction on PLO Office in U.S." President Bush on Thursday allowed the Palestinian Authority to maintain an office in Washington by waiving for another six months a law that would require it to be closed. The law, which mandates the "downgrade in status of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) office in the United States," has been waived every six months since its passage. "I hereby determine that it is in the national security interest of the United States to waive that sanction," Bush said in a written memorandum released in Crawford, Texas where he is spending a month-long working vacation. This week, there were two horrible terrorists attacks, one in Baghdad, one in Jerusalem. Bush gave a speech condemning the Baghdad bombing but has said nothing comparable (that I can find) about the Jerusalem bombing, which claimed the lives of five Americans. Via Little Green Footballs: Yesterday the situation reached a new low when Secretary of State Powell requested help from none other than "tainted by terrorism" Yasser Arafat: "Powell Warns of Mideast Cliff, Seeks Arafat Help." "Powell's appeal to Arafat, whom Washington has tried for months to marginalize, was an implicit acknowledgment that he retains influence and that Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas may not have the muscle to stop attacks on Israel. "I call on Chairman Arafat to work with Prime Minister Abbas and to make available to Prime Minister Abbas those security elements that are under his control so that they can allow progress to be made on the road map - end terror, end this violence that just results in the further repetition of the cycle that we've seen so often," Powell said. Worse still, Powell went on to equate those who are against a Palestinian state with the terrorists: "The alternative is what? Just more death and destruction, let the terrorists win, let those who have no interest in a Palestinian state win, let those who have no interest but killing innocent people win? No. That is not an acceptable outcome," he said. Bush announced the backing of a Palestinian state less than a month after the 9/11 attacks. It was the death knell for the Bush Doctrine and we're seeing the consequences today. It it will also be the death knell for Israel if Israel doesn't stop listening to what America preaches and start practicing what America practices, as Israel did yesterday: killing terrorists. Larry Benson of the Ayn Rand Institute put it this way: "Tuesday's mass murders in Israel and Iraq prove for the thousandth time that words are useless against bloodthirsty killers. The United States must end all support for a Palestinian state, cease-fires and peace agreements, and instead encourage Israel to destroy all Palestinian terrorists. We are not attempting to negotiate peace with the terrorists in Iraq and should not insist that Israel continue to negotiate peace with the terrorists in Palestine. If we want to prevent the next September 11, we must send a new message to the Arafats, bin Ladens and Husseins of the world - by showing explicit, uncompromising moral support for Israel's right to eliminate all Palestinian terrorists from existence. At a Hamas funeral/demostration yesterday involving tens of thousand of Palestinians, they made their purpose clear: "We love martyrdom and we seek martyrdom," [Hamas leader] Rantissi said. "Our leaders and followers will continue to fight until we achieve martyrdom." UPDATE: Later on the day of this post, President Bush finally spoke about the bus bombing and acted by freezing the assets of six Hamas leaders. This is good news, but we have to ask: What took so long? This would be a nice start to a new, aggressive strategy against Palestinian terrorists, but judging by past Administration behavior, we doubt it will be. John Cox and Allen Forkum produce brilliant political cartoons, many of which highlight the insanity of the policy of catering to the Arabs while restraining the Israelis in the name of peace. Visit http://www.coxandforkum.html to view their work.

HUDNA = YEHUD! NA!! Posted by Barry Shaw, August 22, 2003.

Did you notice something significant this week? When Hamas bombed a bus full of women and children returning from their prayers at the Kotel they did not declare that this murderous attack ended their `hudna,' their so-called ceasefire. Accordingly, the world's press represented the peace process as still being on track. It was only Israels precise response at one one their murderous leaders that led them to declare and end to the ceasefire. And, sure enough, the press have announced that it was Israel's violent action that has brought about an end to the ceasefire and an end to the road map process. Yet another cruel corruption of the truth by our enemies, supported by the Western media. In Israel we interpret the Arabic version of 'hudna' to be 'Yehud! Na!!' Barry Shaw writes his essays under the title `The View from Here.' He lives in Netanya, Israel.

A NEW VIEW OF TERRORISM Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, August 21, 2003.

The old homily of "Whose Ox Is Being Gored?" seems applicable at this sad moment. We hear Kofi Annan speaking in somber tones about the U.N. headquarters being hit by a suicide bomber and the loss of a valuable and most decent man, special envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Is this the wake-up call for Kofi, long known as a fellow traveler of Arab Terrorists? In a pro-forma speech we hear President Bush deplore the suicide bombing of the U.N. headquarters and the suicide bombing of a double bus full of observant Jews along with children and their mothers. (Will President Bush finally unchain Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who may soon be ejected from office as irrelevant?) Doesn't Bush realize that his statements, "We will go after the Terrorists wherever they are?" and "Whoever harbors Terrorists is against us" apply to the Arab Muslim Palestinian Terrorists attacking and killing Jews, Israelis and Americans in Israel? (Five of the victims in the August 19th homicide bus bombing were Americans and almost 50 Americans have been murdered since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993.) President Bush should be fighting the Arab Palestinian Terrorists if he is truly serious about defeating Global Terrorism, why is he aiding and abetting Terrorism in Israel and trying to set up another Arab Palestinian State that will be a ready-made Terrorist State? We have been hearing daily about the American soldiers being hit by snipers, rocket-propelled grenades, road-side bombs and mines. The reports are that these Saddam's Ba'athist loyalists, Muslim Islamists pouring in from Syria with a mixture of Arab Palestinians, Saudis, Egyptians, Yemenis and now Chechen Muslims, among others. Some are being sent by the Iranian government, some by the Syrian government, some from Al Qaeda and 3000 Saudi Islamists who have gone missing. The "Ox that's being gored" is America and now the United Nations. Will being gored by Muslim Islamists serve as an eye opener? By comparison, when Israel was being gored by the very same Terrorists and Terrorist nations, Kofi Annan wasn't very interested. Secretary of State Colin Powell wasn't very interested. All, of course, sent a public, politically safe expression of regret when a bunch of Israeli children were blown up by a homicide bomber who was an Arab Muslim cleric, an 'imam' with 2 children and a pregnant wife. At the same time, a quiet, back-channel message came to Israel's government - to restrain herself - which meant, don't you dare attack Yassir Arafat; no more heavy incursions into Arab Palestinian held cities; nor more executing known Terrorist leaders; and keep on talking peace -even as your people and their children are being blown up. Release Terrorists as a peace gesture, knowing statistically from prior Arab Terrorists released, only to return to Terror. (In America a recent study of crime confirmed that violent criminals usually go back to crime and violence after they have served their sentence and are released from prison.) Bush - Powell - Kofi Annan - Jacques Chirac - Gerhard Schroeder - the U.N. and the E.U. generally all demanded that Israel withdraw her troops from the Arab Palestinian incubator cities dedicated to planning Terror attacks against Jews in Israel. The checkpoints were to be dismantled so cars, trucks and human bombs with explosives - or Arab Palestinians dressed like observant Jews - would not be screened. Shall we, therefore, dismantle the American checkpoints we now have in Iraq? Shall we remove the guards from Iraq's soft targets - like hospitals, schools, museums, theaters, shopping malls, oil refineries, pipelines, electrical pylons that carry the electric line or water sources - all of which are being blown up and sabotaged daily? Surely, we will not put guards on U.N. buildings or the embassies - like Jordan's - which was similarly blown up. Isn't this what we are advising/demanding of Israel? What's wrong with President Bush? The United Nations should have been the most beloved organization of the Arab nations - given that the U.N. was consumed with voting condemnations of Israel each time they retaliated against Arab Palestinian Terror. The Bush crowd constantly threatens and harasses Israel for daring to be effective in her war against the Arab Terrorists who are continually attacking her men, women and children, even throughout the promised cease fire ("Hudna"). While threatening economic reprisals against Israel for what America is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. protected the Saudi family for their financial contributions to global Terrorist Organizations International. The Bush family has grown so financially close to Saudi and other Arab oil nations that America even allows them to fund subversive radical Wahhabi 'madrassas' (radical Islamic schools) that teach their children to hate and kill any non-Muslims, that is, Christians and Jews. They train their students to hate Americans while accepting America's generosity as a host nation. America is learning a bitter and costly lesson in Iraq as the Islamists pour in from all over the Arab Muslim world to kill Americans and any other non Arab Muslims - like those in the United Nations. It appears that they wish to make what happened in Iraq comparable to "Custer's Last Stand" or "The Alamo". Israel was doing a pretty good job of breaking up Arafat's Terrorist gang, including Hamas, Al Aksa, Islamic Brigade, the Tanzim and others until Bush clipped them with the "Road Map". The Terrorists were to be given a nation to operate from and Israel was mandated by Bush to assist them to build that nation, even as he knew that Israel was being ordered to commit national suicide. There is, after all, the 2004 elections and Bush needs at least one winner, given that the U.S. is losing excessive numbers of soldiers in Iraq and the Taliban are returning in force to Afghanistan. Will Bush allow Israel to untie her hands and crush the Terrorists that Abu Mazen refuses to do? So far, it doesn't look like he will do anything then make innocuous speeches, deploring violent things that happen. Will Bush assist Israel fight the very same Terrorists America is fighting? Will the U.N. eventually come to its collective senses and recognize that Global Terror is rampant, particularly among the Islamists? Now that they hit the U.N. Headquarters in Baghdad, will they try for the more sensational Headquarters in New York, the United Nations building? Will Arik Sharon break out of the Bush mind control and start protecting the people instead of his place in history as the peace-maker for the dead? Perhaps the entourage with the coffins for every Jew who is murdered though Sharon's lax response policy, should pass his office and government home before going on to the cemetery. Emanuel A. Winston is a prominent Middle East analyst and commentator. Many of his articles first appeared on the Gamla (http://www.gamla.org.il/english) and the Freeman Center for Strategic Studies ((http://www.freeman.org/online.htm) websites.

ROADMAP FAILURE Posted by Richard H. Shulman, August 21, 2003.

The US monitoring chief, John Wolf inclines towards the Arabs. He knows that the P.A. cannot crack down on terrorism. He proposes monitoring Israeli compliance with the Map by judging whether Israel is not harming `trust,' but building it, as by releasing Palestinian (Arab) prisoners, despite the Map having no requirement for such releases. ZOA notes that the P.A. has well-armed security forces, trained by the CIA. P.A. troops can arrest terrorists, confiscate weapons, and close terrorist training camps. They can change the names of streets, schools, and summer camps commemorating terrorists. `Why doesn't John Wolf's work plan include any monitoring of the P.A. policy of encouraging terrorism by publicly glorifying terrorists?' (IMRA, 8/14.) The US excuse is that Abu Mazen doesn't control the P.A. Then why not let Israel arrest Arafat, who does? The US is making unilateral demands of Israel and none of the Arabs. It protects Arafat probably because it doesn't care about Arab evil, if against Israel. As for `trust,' Israel keeps its bargains and the Arabs don't, regardless of gestures. A day after Hizbullah fired indiscriminately across the border, killing an Israeli teenager, State Dept. spokesman Philip Reeker did not condemn it. He urged restraint `upon all parties, Israel included, not to inflame tensions.' What moral relativism! The State Dept. must have been displeased that Israel retaliated at all - it destroyed only the particular cannon used by the terrorists in that murder, not other cannon. The Dept. wants to deny Israel, on pain of sanctions, a fence to keep out P.A. terrorists. Israel is not supposed to defend itself. Does the State Dept. want terrorists able to strike Israel with impunity? The State Dept. may as well erect billboards: `Jews are fair game.' (National Unity Coalition for Israel, 8/13 from Michael Freund, the Jer. Post.) Calls for Hizbullah to restrain itself have no effect. These calls are an excuse for restraining anti-terrorism. In other words, the State Dept. stands for the murder of Jews. In condoning some terrorism, the US undermines its principled stance against international terrorism. Will Pres. Bush tell the Arab world that continued terrorism and violations of peace agreements have cost the Palestinian Arabs their opportunity? Usually the US falsely declares sufficient progress to maintain its policy of driving Israel out of its territories. Although Arafat, terrorism, incitement, and corruption are as virulent as ever, Pres. Bush continues to plump for a `provisional' P.A. state by year-end. Whatever for? While denying his public the truth or a say, PM Sharon promises peace with security. There cannot be peace with jihadists. Sharon should strive for security. If he and Bush think they can build peace upon concessions to the Arabs, they will destroy Israel's security and then Israel, itself (Rael Jean Isaac, Outpost by AFSI, 7/203, p.3). The US demands those injurious concessions. Is the US President refusing to admit that his policy failed? Democracies commonly persist in futile policies. This case may be worse. Although Bush responded to the 9/11 attacks, he is pro-Arab. He lets the State Dept. set much policy. He is working for the destruction of Israel, so long as it is not seen to be at the hands of the US. What to do? Extend the war on terrorism to the Palestinian Arabs. Squelch their `aspiration' to conquer Israel and direct world terrorism against the US. There would be little loss of face in that, if Bush pointed out that the US gave the Palestinian Arabs opportunities, but they preferred war and terrorism. Mr. Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com.

THE REAL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS Posted by Leo Rennert, August 21, 2003.

Since the Western media won't tell the story right, it's important to establish the real sequence of events in the last 48 hours. On Tuesday, a Hamas bomber blew up the Jerusalem bus, killing 20 people, including half a dozen children and five Americans. If ever there was an end to the hudna, this was it. But of course, there never was a hudna, only a substitution of low-level terrorism in the last few weeks for the previous all-out terrorism. Israel remained under constant terror alerts and Israelis were still killed, though in fewer numbers. So first and foremost, let's be clear about the phony cease-fire that the Western press brandished as a great breakthrough. It was anything but; in fact, on the political level, it was a clever Hamas ploy to substitute itself as the group that really was going to call the shots for the Palestinians. Then came Tuesday's bombing in Jerusalem. Bush and Sharon talk. Sharon tells Bush the obvious: Abbas and Dahlan never made any serious moves to dismantle the terrorists, as required under the road map. Bush agrees. In fact, for days and days before the Jerusalem bombing, Bush kept telling reporters that the first order of business was for the PA to dismantle and "destroy" (his word) the terrorist groups. (Bush's remarks were largely ignored by the press.) So Sharon tells Bush that unless Abbas immediately moves to shut down Hamas & Co. in a matter of hours - not days - Israel would reserve its options. On Wednesday, Powell calls Abbas and not only relayed Israel's ultimatum to Abbas, but effectively endorsed it. After all, this was simply repeating what Powell's boss had been saying all along. Under fierce U.S. pressure, Abbas goes to Arafat's compound Wednesday night and presents his own ultimatum, according to Agence France-Press. Either Arafat gives unequivocal orders and his official blessing for all PA security services to crack down right away on Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which jointly claimed credit for the Jerusalem bombing, and also puts ALL Palestinian security services under Dahlan, Abbas and his entire government would resign. (Has anyone kept count how many such resignation threats Abbas has made?) In the early morning hours of Thursday, an Arafat spokesman emerges to assure reporters that Arafat actually had beaten Abbas to the punch and ordered confiscation of weapons from the terrorists, but all in due time. Give us time and everything will be fine. No timetable, no turning over all security authority to Abbas and Dahlan. The same tired refrain we heard all through the Oslo years. The stage was set for another Arafat-orchestrated Kabuki dance. Go and arrrest a few terrorists, they'll be released next week but by then the media will have moved on. Abbas does not resign. A few hours later Israeli missiles kill a top Hamas guy in Gaza and his two bodyguards. A successful pinpointed operation, in stark contrast to the blood flowing from innocent civilians in Jerusalem. Then, in an Orwellian example of linguistic chutzpah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad righteously declare an end to their non-existent hudna. A do-nothing Abbas blames Israel for undermining the peace process. Powell, with no cards to play, warns that BOTH sides will fall off the cliff if they abandon his cherished road map. Another instance in a long chain of disconnects between Powell and Bush. Powell again plays the equivalence game dear to Kofi Annan, the European Union and the Kremlin - his road map partners - even though Bush squarely put the onus all along on Abbas to finally get cracking against the terrorists. Thus, a fractured administration stands naked, having built an illusory peace process on the shoulders of a weak, submissive Abbas - not the "empowered" prime minister claimed by the White House.

MEDIA BIAS IN REPORTING THE JERUSALEM `CHILDREN'S BUS BOMBING' Posted by Camera staff, August 21, 2003.

CAMERA mourns the loss of life in Baghdad and Jerusalem, as once again terrorists target the innocent. The bombing of the U.N. facility has rightly been given major media prominence, as has its human and political dimension. Headlines have focused on the immensity of the blast that tore down a whole section of a building, and, lacking a known perpetrator, have omitted specific information about the killer(s). Headlines for the Jerusalem attack also nearly always omit the identity of the perpetrator - yet there is no uncertainty that Palestinians committed the act. As CAMERA has previously documented, a striking discrepancy is often apparent in the way newspaper headlines characterize Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians versus Israeli military attacks against Palestinians involved in terrorism. In the case of Israel taking action, that nation is almost invariably identified in the headline. Headlines about the August 19th Palestinian suicide bombing on a crowded bus that left 20 dead, including babies and toddlers, displayed the familiar pattern of avoiding the word "Palestinian." They also typically ignored the fact that many victims of the attack were children and emphasized the political ramifications of the attack. The fact that some publications do present the essentials of stories in their headlines directly, without obscuring who did what to whom, makes clear others could do the same. Most headlines excluded reference to Palestinian perpetrator New York Times: "Bombing Kills 18 and Hurts Scores on Jerusalem Bus" Chicago Tribune: "Blasts rock Iraq, Israel; Bus bomb in Jerusalem kills 18, threatens peace process; Ultra-Orthodox Jews targeted" AP: "Suicide bomber blows himself up on Jerusalem bus, at least 18 dead" Washington Post: "In Jerusalem, A Scene 'Like a Horror Movie'" Newsday: "Suicide blast kills 18; Jerusalem bus filled with worshipers, 100 others injured" Two headlines identified the perpetrator as Palestinian A Reuters story: "Palestinian Suicide Bombing Kills 20 in Israeli Bus" (An earlier headline, however, was "Blast Wrecks Jerusalem Bus, at Least Six Hurt") Orlando Sentinel: "Palestinian kills 18, puts peace plan in jeopardy; it was one of the deadliest Palestinian operations in the last three years" A few headlines noted families and children among the victims The Boston Globe: "Bomber Hits Bus Carrying Israeli Familes 18 Die, 100 Wounded; Children Among Victims" The Gazette (Montreal): "Israeli bus blast leaves 18 dead: Five children killed, 40 injured. Deadliest attack in seven months calls peace plan into serious question" Compare the general lack of focus on Israeli children killed in the Jerusalem attack to headlines for a story weeks earllier when an Israeli soldier accidentally killed a young boy. Israel was widely named and the boy's age specified. Two examples: Washington Post (July 26): "Israelis Kill 4-Year-Old At West Bank Checkpoint" New York Times (July 26): "Palestinian Boy, 4, Is Killed at Israeli Checkpoint" Many headlines emphasized political implications over victims of the bombing. Atlanta Journal and Constitution: "Day of Terror; Bombings Shatter Peace Efforts in Baghdad and Jerusalem; Deadly Jerusalem blast hurts chances for peace" Detroit Free Press: "In Israel: 18 dead; Mideast peace plan in danger" The Toronto Star: "Mideast truce rocked by suicide bomb blast" Philadelphia Inquirer: "Bomb kills 19 in blow to peace" Wall Street Journal: "Jerusalem Bomb Shreds Road Map; Bus Attack Kills at Least 18, Prompting Israel to Cut Ties With Ties With Palestinian Authority" Not a Single Headline Used "Terrorist" or "Terror" This barbaric attack against a bus packed with children and religious worshipers fits any reasonable person's definition of a terrorist attack. Why was not one mainstream newspaper willing to label it as such in their headline? ACTION ITEMS: Urge your newspaper (local and/or national) to use headlines that tell the facts straight about all sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict without obscuring Palestinian aggression or Israeli losses. Urge your newspaper and others to do follow-up stories on the Jerusalem bombing, just as there have been such reports regarding the attack in Baghdad. With so many Americans and children among the dead and wounded, it is likely that the public would be interested in human interest stories about them. Media Addresses: letters@nytimes.com (NY Times) 888-698-6397 Also: nytnews@nytimes.com letters@washpost.com (Washington Post) 202-334-7512 editor@usatoday.com (USA Today) 703-276-3400 letters@time.com (Time magazine) 212-522-3817 letters@newsweek.com (Newsweek magazine) 212-445-4585 letters@usnews.com (US News & World Report) 202-955-2000 wolf@cnn.com (CNN) 404-827-1500 404-827-1519 lateedition@cnn.com cable@msnbc.com (overall MSNBC mailbox) 201-583-5000 hardball@msnbc.com (Hardball with Chris Matthews) countdown@msnbc.com (Countdown with Keith Olbermann) joe@msnbc.com (Scarborough Country) Fox News Channel 212-301-3000 212-301-5226 212-301-3164 comments@foxnews.com (overall Fox mailbox) oreilly@foxnews.com (Bill O'Reilly) hannity@foxnews.com (Sean Hannity) foxreport@foxnews.com (Shepard Smith) special@foxnews.com (Brit Hume) beltway@foxnews.com (Fred Barnes) CBS News 212-975-4321 212-975-3019 ABC World News Tonight 212-456-2800 nightline@abcnews.com (202) 222-7000 atc@npr.org (All Things Considered on NPR) suggestions@lauraingraham.com (nationally syndicated radio host) letter@globe.com (Boston Globe) 617-929-3049 ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com (Chicago Tribune) 312-222-4331 letters@latimes.com (Los Angeles Times) 213-237-5000 forum@newsobserver.com (Raleigh News and Observer) 919-829-4517 heralded@herald.com (Miami Herald) 305-350-2111 insight@orlandosentinel.com (Orlando Sentinel) 407-420-5070 letters@sfchronicle.com (San Francisco Chronicle) Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com (Philadelphia Inquirer) letters@suntimes.com (Chicago Sun-Times) 312-321-3000 ctc-tribletter@tribune.com (Chicago Tribune) letters@uniontrib.com (San Diego Union-Trib) 800-BIG-NEWS letters@sptimes.com (St. Petersburg Times) 727-893-8111 tribletters@tampatrib.com (Tampa Tribune) 813-259-7600 editor@nysun.com (letters to editor at New York Sun) newsdesk@nysun.com (story ideas) 212-406-2000 The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) has long monitored the media in how it reports news about Israel and Jews. It issues well-documented, detailed descriptions of inferior reporting from such sources as the New York Times.

WHAT SHOULD ISRAEL DO ABOUT TERRORISM? Posted by David Holcberg, August 21, 2003.

Once again, Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for a deadly terrorist bombing in Israel. This time a terrorist attacked a Jerusalem bus, murdering at least twenty and leaving more than a hundred wounded. What should Israel do? Keep pretending that the "road map" will work? That the terrorists running the Palestinian Authority will get rid of the terrorists in their midst? That dismantling Jewish settlements and releasing Palestinian terrorists from Israeli jails will soothe those who call for the genocide of Jews? That anything short of the total destruction of Israel will be acceptable to the majority of Palestinians? No. Israel should wake up and face reality! It should stop all negotiations and go after the members and supporters of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and all other terrorist groups operating from among the Palestinian population. Eliminating Palestinian arch terrorist Arafat would be a good start. David Holcberg is with the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, California (http://www.aynrand.org). He writes on environmentalism, science and capitalism.

THE HUMAN FALLOUT Posted by Honest Reporting, August 21, 2003.

On Tuesday evening a Palestinian suicide terrorist struck a packed Jerusalem bus, killing twenty and injuring more than one hundred. One aspect of this attack made it uniquely barbaric: the bus was filled with young children on summer vacation, on their way home from worshiping with their families at the Western Wall. With at least seven children dead and more than forty still wounded, this one has become known in Israel, with a heavy heart, as "The Children's Attack." Yet many news outlets chose to focus their main reports on the diplomatic implications of Tuesday's attack. Reuters, for example, headlined a story "Bus Blast in Israel Deals Deadly Blow to Truce." While the political fallout of the bombing is significant, "the story" of a terror attack - especially one targeting children - is far more than diplomatic. With scores of parents still nursing or mourning their children, and children mourning their parents, some reporters submitted human interest stories on the human fallout of this particularly heinous attack: James Bennet of The New York Times wrote a poignant article describing the funeral of a baby, and doctors' noble efforts to treat child terror victims. Associated Press addressed the excruciating difficulties of reuniting families victimized by the blast. The Washington Post ran a touching profile of the child victims of the attack, entitled "Special Sorrow for the Young." Reuters also released a sympathetic, human interest profile - on the life of the terrorist bomber. Reuters encourages readers to rationalize his monstrous act, describing how the "academic cleric...was embittered by ill treatment" in an Israeli jail, and "infuriated by Israel's killing this month of a distant relative." Further, Reuters confers a modicum of credibility to his mass murder by blandly grouping him among "militants waging a 34-month-old uprising for independence." On the Israeli side, Reuters did release an article on the religious community hit hardest by the blast. The article, however, was largely a cold, sociological overview that referred to the people as "menfolk" who don "heavy dark frocks and headgear." Apparently, this is the best Reuters can muster to humanize Israeli terror victims. This is a human interest story about Israeli victims that demands broad coverage. HonestReporting encourages subscribers to call the editors of your local paper right now, and urge them to run a follow-up, human interest account of Tuesday's barbaric murder of Jerusalem children and families. Five Americans were also killed in the attack - a further reason for local human interest in the U.S. (Your local paper can run one of the aforementioned articles, which are easily available for reprint.) A full listing of U.S. newspapers is available online at http://www.honestreporting.com. HonestReporting monitors the media - newspapers and broadcasting - for fairness and accuracy in their reporting on Israel. Their website address is http://www.honestreporting.com.

TURNING DEATH INTO LIFE Posted by Beth Goodtree, August 21, 2003.

The latest atrocity by the Arab Palestinians, the Jerusalem bus bombing of Aug 19, does not have to be a just another senseless act of violence. Of course, if nothing changes it will be, just as the countless others in the recent past. But Israel and Jewish people the world over have been given an opportunity to turn death into life and to make the deaths of so many innocents meaningful. We have a chance to breathe new life into the State of Israel and turn it once more, into the mighty and brave country who beat off the Arab world and raided Entebbe. When G-d closes a door, he opens a window. Right now, there is a window of opportunity which Israel and all Jews must, must use. Those who would see our destruction (that of world-wide Judaism and Israel) in slow, incrementalized legal steps by the international community are now in a weakened position. Time to take a page from the Arab handbook on how to exploit this weakness and manipulate the world. Here's what we must do: First, we must have all terrorist groups and individuals legally declared guilty of genocide or attempted genocide. This is possible using Israeli Law 1950-5710. It is also possible to do the same by a proper application of the International Criminal Court's revised Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. This states that any person or group who targets a specific group of people defined by their national, ethnical, racial or religious group is guilty of genocide. It further states that those who aid, abet or merely keep silent about impending attacks is equally guilty, as are members of a group whose objective is to target a specific group as defined above. Targeting Jews and/or Israelis certainly meets the criteria for the crime of genocide. So does stating one's goals as being to 'rid the world of the Zionist entity.' So does having one's stated goals as forcible conversion. These criteria cover a lot of groups and individuals now controlling the Arab Palestinian government. All that is needed is a few people with the will and the legal skills to start the procedures. Applying the Genocide Law also addresses my second point. Demolition of a terrorist's house has now become fairly useless. You can be certain that he/she and his/her family planned for such a contingency (and all are therefore complicit) as part of the planning involved in the actual commission of the act of terror. But this leaves the question of how to deter, prevent, and punish acts of terror. Aside from capturing and indicting for the crime of genocide those involved or privy to the particular act of terror, measures must be taken not merely to prevent and deter future attacks, but to convince the Palestinian Arabs that it is in their best interest to help in such prevention. Because they seem impervious to gestures of goodwill, determining what it is that Palestinian Arabs dread the most is a good place to start. They obviously don't fear death or we wouldn't be seeing wave upon wave of genocide bombings where the individual uses his own body as a weapon. They also don't fear closures and curfews or they would have already altered their behavior. In fact, they seem to revel in such things as a way to portray themselves as some poor innocent group being oppressed by big bad Israel and the Jews. But there is one thing that makes them tremble with fear: loss of land they plan on using for their future country. Witness the hair tearing and cries of foul over a security fence. Therefore, for every act of terror, every stone throwing (stones can and do kill), every kidnapping, knifing, home invasion, etc. as well as for every attempted act and each victim thereof, Israel will reclaim a portion of land that was hers until she was coerced into relinquishing it. This reclaiming of Israel's land can be justified if said land is used as a buffer zone between those who would seek to commit genocide and innocent Israelis. To those who would cry `collective punishment' I say that no terrorist act is committed in a vacuum. As long as the Palestinians continue to teach their children that there is no such country as Israel, as long as they continue to run children's camps to teach their offspring how to become genocide bombers, as long as they continue to incite genocide on their radios and television, as long as they continue to dance and hand out candy every time a Jew is killed, they are all guilty and deserving of punishment. People who foment genocide should never be allowed to have a country or safe haven. The third thing Israel must do is alter her relationship with the United States and the other `Roadmap' countries. For too long the US et al have been bullying Israel into submission. This most recent attack might not have taken place if President Bush and Colin Powell hadn't forced their `Roadmap' down Israel's throat and insisted that Israel take steps that would leave her citizens vulnerable. It's long overdue for Israel to insist that she be allowed to do whatever it takes, whatever extreme measures are deemed necessary, to protect her own and to prevent terrorism - just as the United States has been doing in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places. And here's where Jews all over the world can help. Write to your governments and your representatives and let them know that you will not support them in future elections unless they stop trying to undermine Israel's right to exist in safety and security. And for you American readers, may I remind you that Bush is up for reelection next year. He is also counting on the votes of the Jewish bloc as well as that of the non-Jewish supporters of Israel. Mr. Bush, like Pontius Pilate, has the blood of Jews on his hands, only no one is going to put him in any holy book. Let him know how you feel. (president@whitehouse.gov) Beth Goodtree writes humorous articles and political commentary. This appeared as an Op-Ed piece on Jewish Indy (http://www.jewishindy.com).

AN OPEN LETTER ON ARAB PROPAGANDA Posted by Jacob Gurewich, August 21, 2002.

To George W. Bush, Distinguished Members of Congress, The Senate, And the American People: With all due respect, your 'Road Map to Peace' in the Land of Israel is doomed to failure. The Arab mentality, which has led to countless massacres among the Arabs themselves, will never change. The cycle of their hatred of Jews, of the Land of Israel, of Christians, and of infidels will never be broken. Their belief system is hard-wired into their brains. Ironically, they even vowed to destroy the U.S.A. Don't fall for the Arabs' propaganda. There was never a Palestinian tribe or nation to begin with. The Arab terrorists never had a region or a country in the Land of Israel. Ever. There was only the stench of crude, cheap oil wafting up The nostrils of the British, who blockaded the shores of of the Land of Israel, preventing Jewish refugees from escaping the German death camps to reach their homeland. It was a violation of the League of Nations Decree. And an abomination. For the past 2000 years, the Jewish Nation has followed religious leaders who preached not to return to their homeland but to wait for a Messiah who will descend from heaven, emancipate them from the Diaspora, and transport them on eagles' wings to Jerusalem. This in itself is a tragedy; the leaders should have stirred the Jewish Nation to rise up and return to their homeland-to the deserted Land of Israel. The aim of the Arabs is to populate Israel with clusters of terrorists who commit homicidal atrocities against humanity. They don't want to live in peace with the Jewish State; they want to destroy it. The 'Road Map' is the highway to terror, death, and destruction - do not give in. The only solution is to remove the Bin Ladens, the Saddams, and the Arafats et al, not just from the Land of Israel, but from our planet entirely. Jacob Gurewich is President of A.C.I. (American Citizens for Israel) and author of "The Enemy Within."

THE INNOCENTS Posted by Dutch Griffin, August 20, 2003.

I grieve with you over the bitter loss in Israel yesterday. I rode the #2 bus from the Kotel. It's the third line I've ridden on that's been hit. I am convinced that this is the most obvious case in all world history of an innocent, meritorious, important and peace craving people being sold down the river by evil men. Considering that this betrayal of miraculous Israel comes on the heels of the Holocaust and that Christian Eastern and Western Europe's history of brutality is shameful beyond Jihad, the proportions of this betrayal certainly warrant wrath from the Creator. He, as in the time of Moses, just desires His Children to have a small place in the desert to bring their sacrifices, a place where He would smile on them. The whole world which basks in His sunlight, refuses the One who gives them life. Someone asked, "Where is God, where is he?" I personally believe He is building a trap. Psalm 2. Le'itroat, Dutch.

CRIMINAL INTENT Posted by Miki and Herb Sunshine, August 20, 2003.

To: Ariel Sharon Oslo was a warning not to appease murder. Wye was a second warning. For Israel to enter the present Appease Process is no longer excusable neglect, it is criminal intent. Were you Prime Minister of a normal country, thousands would have demanded your resignation. But since you are a sheep leading sheep, your mistakes are put to rest. Arik, you are leading us over the cliff. Turn the flock around. With love of Israel and with fear for its future under your misleadership. Miki and Herbert Sunshine are Americans who live in Jerusalem.

TOO PREDICTABLE Posted by Gerald Honigman, August 20, 2003.

Another random bus bombing. More incinerated and maimed innocents whose only crime was their existence in a land where their ancestors have lived for over three thousand years. Another hollow condemnation by the alleged "good half" of the Arafatian/Hamas-Islamic Jihad good cop/bad cop team. On the same day, August 19, 2003, that some Arab bought his ticket to "paradise" and its seventy or so virgins awaiting him by blowing Jews apart on a bus, another was doing likewise to United Nations workers in Iraq...This is the same U.N. that, at best, has seen a "moral equivalence" between Jewish babes and grandmothers being deliberately and wantonly slaughtered and Israeli steps taken to try to stop that slaughter...How many other nations would continuously tolerate such atrocities without exacting just and devastating retribution? Think about the daisy cutter and bunker buster bombs, etc. we used against our own enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq as just a few recent examples. [The Arabs] know that the Jews will...go house to house, endangering their own sons, and try to target the exact murderers and plotters as best as possible. Yet the Geneva Conventions make perfectly clear that militants are not permitted to use their own non-combatants as human shields, that those non-combatants do not prevent an army from pursuing terrorists, and that any harm occurring to the civilian population as a consequence falls on the heads of the cowards using their own people this way. But you'd never know this by listening to the accounts in the press or given even by our own State Department. Given all of the above, there is, again, only one conclusion: Israel has indeed become too predictable. Arabs know that their own wives and children will not be deliberately targeted on buses, in restaurants, shopping centers, etc. So what I will state next, I regret, but will say anyway. It's time, given the Arab track record of barbarity, for them to reap what they have sown. It's time for massive Israeli retaliation. Poll after poll among Arabs have shown that even if Israel withdrew to the 9-mile wide armistice lines imposed upon it after the 1948 fighting (having been invaded by surrounding Arab countries immediately upon its rebirth) - something UN Resolution #242 expressly does not require it to do - Arabs would still reject its right to exist. It's time for Arabs to know that Israel will tell the hypocrites around the rest of the world (much of which has also had plenty of Jewish blood on its hands) that it doesn't care what they think and act to protect its own people - as any other nation would - as best as it can. It's time for Israel to not worry about being too precise in its targeting, for it's time that Arabs fully understand that if they harbor and support terrorists as heroes, they'll share in their fate. President George W. Bush said almost those exact words regarding America's own fight not long ago. When dealing with their own "problems" - a la Assad's "Hama Solution" in Syria (in which ten times more people were killed in a month than Israel killed in two years of intifada), King Hussein's Black September in Jordan, Saddam's murder of Kurds in Iraq (5,000in Halabja alone), the slaughter of millions of Black Africans in the Sudan, etc., Arabs have murdered literally millions by poison gas, bombs, and artillery from afar, and without a peep out of the United Nations either. It's time for Israel to make it clear that it will use its own air force, tanks, and such - the way America has - to target the rats' dens instead of risking the lives of its own nineteen year old infantrymen by futilely trying to do the job as "morally correct" as possible. This has gained it nothing among the world's hypocrites and cost it the lives of more of its own soldiers instead. Israel is fighting a war it didn't want. It repeatedly offered more than fair compromises to its enemies - far more than Arabs ever offered to any of their own national competitors. But nothing short of its own suicide will satisfy most Arabs. Arabs don't worry about "ethical choices" when disemboweling Jews. On the contrary, the more innocent the victim, the more preferred he is for shock value as a target. It's time for Arabs to get massive doses of at least a version of their own medicine. While I don't advocate blowing up Arab buses, restaurants, schools, and such, any building, town, etc. harboring murderers and their collaborators must be recognized for what the Geneva Conventions recognize it as: a fair military target. Listen to Article #51/7: "The presence of the civilian population shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attack..." Article #58b: "The parties to the conflict shall...avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas." The rats' dens are typically set up in or adjacent to civilian apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, etc., as America has learned for itself in Iraq. Article #51/2: "The civilian population...shall not be the object of attack. Acts of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited...Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Arabs typically target Israeli civilians." And those famous funeral processions showing hundreds of the dead butcher's colleagues firing weapons into the air? It's time that Israel sees that for what it is: one big, legitimate military target. It's time for Israel to stop letting Arabs dictate how the game will be played. If mothers and infants are fair game for Arabs, then what are the murderers' collaborators? It's time for Israel to send the press packing, tell the UN to drop dead, build the security fence as quickly and as strongly as possible with an adequate buffer (permitted by U.N.#242) so it doesn't have its absurd suicidal 9-mile wide existence again, and ask its friends in the United States to stop having one set of standards for themselves and another one for Jews in their sole, microscopic state. When we thought we knew where Saddam was dining, we bombed the restaurant to smithereens - innocent diners present and all. And the more unpredictable the Israeli response to Arab barbarity, the better. I wish it had not come to this. But when volumes of Arabs start dying relatively randomly (Arabs outnumber Jews 50 to one - they know this - so do the math), as Jews are doing, perhaps they'll be less likely to treat their own terrorists as heroes. And yes, this may also not be the solution, but Israel has tried everything except consenting to its own demise, and nothing else worked either. Arabs simply replaced a pre-'67 "one fell swoop" strategy for Israel's destruction with a "destruction in stages" strategy instead. It's time for Israel to lose it predictability and for Arabs to get a megataste of what they've been dishing out. Gerald Honigman has lectured and appeared on TV, talking about foreign policy. He frequently writes on Israel, the Arabs and the Kurds. He lives in Volusia County, Florida. This is a shortened version of the original article.

THE INCOMPARABLE COWARDICE OF PALESTINIAN TERRORISM Posted by Louis Rene Beres, August 20, 2003.

The August 19 attack on a passenger bus in Jerusalem was claimed by both Hamas and Islamic Jihad as yet another "glorious military operation." Here, once again, Palestinian terrorism was intended to maim and murder unprotected Jewish schoolchildren with nail-studded explosives. Celebrating the strewn body parts with visible jubilation, leaders of the two groups vowed unhesitatingly to continue their "armed struggle." Not surprisingly, Palestinian terrorism remains entirely unchallenged as the planet's purest form of organized human cruelty. Israelis have endured nearly one terror attack every hour of every day for thirty consecutive months. These attacks on a country that is half the size of Lake Michigan have had nothing to do with Palestinian self- determination or freedom-fighting. Rather, they have targeted, almost exclusively, the most vulnerable Israelis. And while Palestinian propaganda, funded heavily from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, always seeks to suggest equivalence between Arab terror and Israeli counterterror, there is a longstanding and meaningful difference between premeditated murder and the unintentional casualties of essential self-defense. International law has determinable form and content. It cannot be invented and reinvented by terror groups merely to accomodate their own presumed interests. This is especially the case where terror-violence purposely assaults infants and children, the quintessentially characteristic signature of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and their many Palestinian spinoffs. Nonetheless, the world usually chooses not to notice. At best, public opinion refuses to blame the Palestinians or supporters of Arab/Islamic terror in other countries. At worst, public opinion even supports such terror as "national liberation." American universities, at best, are unmindful. The learned scholars are generally busy with more weighty matters, especially those that do not pertain to real life in any way. In academe the truly fashionable concern is now for "strategic planning," "preeminence" and "branding." Understandably, there is no time for terror victims' agony, anguish and suffering - especially in Israel. Who is to blame for cowardly forms of terror? If the Palestinians are to be blamed at all, we hear from almost all educated quarters, responsibility belongs only to Hamas, or to Islamic Jihad, or perhaps to Nobel laureate Arafat's Fatah. But surely it does not belong to the broader Palestinian community. Surely only the Arab "extremists" and "militants" are blameworthy. Yet, as we learn from all reliable survey research, an enormously disproportionate share of Palestinians fully supports the bombings, the burnings, the lynchings, and the shootings of Jewish noncombatants. Enjoying the now open support of Al Qaeda - support which is often accepted gratefully and without embarrassment - Palestinians in Israel as well as in Judea, Samaria and Gaza revel proudly in shedding the blood of Jewish children. And why not? Most nations argue that this "occupied" people may wage their particular armed struggle "by any means necessary." Even better, Palestinian "martyrs" believe that the killing of Jews always buys them and their families a secure place in Paradise. What could be easier to understand? Of course they could earn such a piece of immortality just as confidently by targeting Israeli military personnel, but they avoid such an option wherever possible. That course, after all, would require courage. The cowardice of the Palestinian terrorist is unparalleled in the history of insurgent warfare. Although there is no shortage of examples of revolutionary fighters who disregard humanitarian boundaries in battle, the record of fighters who deliberately and consistently seek utterly innocent and fragile targets is actually very small. Several months ago, when a Palestinian terrorist machine gunned two Jewish infants still sucking on pacifiers (after repeatedly stabbing the mother), the image of the murdered children was a source of feverish exaltation throughout the Palestinian communities in Jenin, Ramallah and Gaza. When, a year earlier, a newborn Jewish child was shot deliberately by a sniper, Palestinian celebrants hailed the murder as "yet another military victory against the Zionist occupation." When, several years ago, two Russian-Jewish Israelis who had not yet learned to speak Hebrew took a wrong turn into Ramallah, they were torn apart - literally - by howling mobs. When, after blinding and disemboweling the two Israelis, several young men in a Palestinian "police station" held up the still-dripping eyes and internal organs for all to see, THOUSANDS of ordinary people began to dance and chant wildly. And when, on August 19, 2003, an aspiring "martyr" entered a Jerusalem bus, he waited, patiently, until it was fully loaded with schoolchildren and their mothers. Only then, only then - did he turn his wretchedly defiled body into a bomb. What kind of people are these? What boundless levels of cowardice are they willing to undertake and sustain? What manner of fear can occasion such an utter lack of human regard for life? What vision of "Jihad" can transform schools, nurseries, ice cream parlors and buses into exploding altars of human sacrifice? Are there no limits, no limits at all, to Palestinian terrorism? I don't know the complete answers to these questions. I do know, however, that it is not despair. There are many, many other peoples on this planet whose conditions of daily life are much, much worse - indescribably worse - and these people never resort to pure barbarism. I know, also, that Palestinian schools and mosques systematically demonize "The Jew" and emphasize his or her alleged subhumanity. It is far easier to kill "the sons of pigs and monkeys" than it is to kill a fellow human being. But this still does not explain the incomparable cowardice of the Palestinian terrorist. I suspect the truest answer has something to do with this murderer's overwhelming fears of death. Let us not forget that the suicide/homicide bomber does not really feel he is giving up his own life in his terrible deed. Rather, he murders defenseless Jews to ensure his absolute freedom from death - and also, according to the latest authoritative rulings of Arab clerics, the immortality of his closest relatives - by "dying" for the will of God. Professor Beres Professor of International Law at Purdue) and is the author of many books and articles dealing with Arab/Islamic terror.

ANOTHER ILLUSION BLOWN TO BITS Posted by Leo Rennert, August 20, 2003.

The ghastly bus bombing in Jerusalem ought to be the final straw for Israeli and U.S. reliance on Mahmoud Abbas to put the peace process on a viable track. After being hailed in Washington and Jerusalem as a "different" and "empowered" Palestinian leader, there can be no further illusions about Abbas' real role as a PR front for Yasser Arafat's strategy of total war against Israel. The belief that real progress on the road map could be achieved with Abbas as a reliable partner - a costly and futile gamble by Bush and Sharon - has been blown to smithereens. After making a few initial moves to distance himself from Arafat, Abbas pulled back and turned himself into Arafat's obedient servant, while allowing Hamas and Islamic Jihad to plot more deadly attacks. The Jerusalem bombing drove the final nail into his credibility. It's crystal-clear now that there's a seamless continuity from Abbas to Arafat to terrorism. After every atrocity, Abbas' pronouncements have become word-for-word replicas of Arafat's standard line of phony declarations since the start of Oslo. It's time to go back to square one and put Palestinians on notice that they can kiss goodbye to autonomy, let alone statehood, until they clean house of the terrorists, the terror-supporters and terror-apologists in their midst.

OH SIR JASPER: curtailing PLO obligations Posted by Steven Plaut, August 20, 2003.

Back when I was a nipper in summer camp, we used to sing the Sir Casper song...Each verse was one word shorter than the one before it. I believe that the Oslo `peace process' and its Road Map are simply updated versions of the Sir Jasper song. In the beginning the Oslo Peace Process was supposedly about making peace and ending violence. SO the dialogue and Israeli concessions were based on reciprocity and a total ceasefire and halt to all Palestinian atrocities. It was based on Palestinian democratization, rhetoric devotions to non-violence expressed daily by the PLO, economic cooperation, and renunciations of fascist xenophobia and anti-Semitism by the Palestinians. It was based on altering those nazi textbooks used by the PLO, altering the Palestinian Covenant, arresting terrorists, extraditing them to Israel, military and intelligence sharing by the PLO, disarming Islamist groups, It was based on explicit renunciation of the so-called `Right of Return' by the PLO, explicit acknowledgement of Israel's legitimacy as a sovereign Jewish State. It was based on the expectation that the PLO would announce to the world that in exchange for its being recognized and legitimized by Israel, the Arab-Israel conflict was over as far as it was concerned. But all of this was followed by a long series of lopping off the last clauses to the going version of what obligated the PLO. The PLO was just kidding about abandoning its `Covenant' and `jihad' Oh Sir Jasper Do Not Touch me. The PLO had no intention of extraditing terrorists from Hamas and Jihad. Oh Sir Jasper Do Not. The PLO would not end the anti-Jewish incitement and nazi textbooks and if anything would escalate their use. The PLO would glorify suicide bombers and teach murder to summer camping children. The PLO would continue to demand the `Right of Return' and Israel's destruction. Oh Sir Jasper Do! The PLO's own al-Aqsa brigades and tanzim would become the main murdering and terror organizations under Arafat's direct control and command. The PLO would never arrest anyone for terrorist atrocities but instead glorify them and celebrate them. It would import countless tons of missiles and produce rockets it would shoot regularly into Jewish homes. It would destroy Joseph's Tomb and turn Rachael's Tomb into a battleground. It would praise Saddam and call for chemical annihilation of the Jews. It would select a Nazi Holocaust Denier as its `Prime Minister' as the entire set of 'reforms' of the Palestinian Authority. Oh Sir Jasper! And when the PLO would announce that it was not even going to arrest any of the Hamas and Jihad terrorists in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of murdering terrorists this week? Oh Sir! And in the face of these, after each and every shortening of the song phrase, after each and every violation and atrocity by the PLO, after each new proof that the PLO had no intentions of complying with ANYTHING, that the best Israel could hope for is buying a few weeks of reduced bloodletting with only a few Jewish children and other living things being murdered each day in exchange for new appeasements, where the PLO itself would continue to launch most of the terrorist atrocities at the same time that it was being appeased, where there are daily proofs that the only reason the Palestinians want a 'state' is as a launch pad to attack Israel and murder Jews, where Israel GOES AHEAD AND RELEASES HUNDREDS OF TERRORISTS EVEN AFTER THE PLO HAS ANNOUNCED IT WOULD DO NOTHING BUT `KEEP AN EYE ON' REGARDING HAMAS AND JIHAD TERRORISTS. Even THEN the Beilinized government of Ariel Sharon proceeds with the appeasements of the Appease Process, rewarding the PLO for its savagery and barbarism, promising to strive for a Palestinian `state' whose raison d'etre will be Israel's destruction, never conditioning a single appeasement by Israel on PLO compliance with anything, agreeing to new unilateral ceasefires, displaying cowardice when the Hizbollah shells Israel, turning the other cheek when the PLO fires rockets into Sderot, glad handing and male bonding with Abu Mazen, pretending that the Palestinian Authority has been reformed and granting it new legitimzation in the world, re-proving over and over again that Israel seeks to achieve peace through cowardice and weakness, that Israel has lost its will to survive and resist. Steven E. Plaut is professor of business administration at the Graduate School of Business, University of Haifa. A Native-born Philadelphian, he has lived in Israel since 1981. He frequently comments on Israeli politics and the Leftwing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. This is a shortened version of the original article.

JERUSALEM NIGHT OUT Posted by Naomi Ragen, August 20, 2003.

Let's go out to dinner tonight, my husband suggested about five p.m. yesterday, Tuesday, August 19, 2003. Great, I told him. I've been stuck in the house all day working on my book. Making dinner seemed like mission impossible. ...Downtown Jerusalem was packed with people. Families out for a stroll. Holiday-makers on tours. People going to the downtown food festivals. The open air flea markets were re-opened, and full of buyers. I couldn't believe my eyes. Just a year ago, Jerusalem was a ghost town. It was almost the feeling of a rebirth, I thought. People throwing off their fears, beginning to live again. ...We finished [eating] about ten past nine, and decided to join the milling crowds enjoying the summer evening. As we walked down Rechov Rivlin and reached Jaffa Road, I didn't suspect anything as I saw the young boys who ran down the street. Youngsters letting off steam, I thought. Then I saw the police cars, and overheard someone say: Pigua. Terrorist attack. All at once, I heard the sirens. More crowds of people were gathered on corners, listening to car radios. Someone said "Shmuel HaNavi street." It was a street in the heart of Jerusalem's ultra Orthodox neighborhood. Suddenly, the lively street scene turned almost surrealistic. People were still sitting in outdoor cafes, smiling and laughing, while streets away children lay burnt and dying. There were no loudspeakers, and if you weren't paying attention, you could keep on telling yourself that everything was the same; a lovely summer evening in Jerusalem. ...A double bus, standing room only, packed with religious families coming back from a visit to the Western Wall, blown to bits. It had just happened. We headed home, wanting to see the television reports. As I opened the door, I called out my son's name. But he didn't answer. He hadn't said he was going out. He probably hadn't heard me. I walked up the steps. His room was empty. My stomach lurched. My God, where was my son! But soon I heard his voice from another part of the house. And I thought of all the families going through the same thing with different results. I watched the television reports, the bloodied faces of crying children. The grandmother led from the carnage. The bodies lying in the streets. The tiny little girl on her back as medics worked over her. And I thought of the people still sitting in coffee houses and restaurants all over Israel, and all over the world, still trying to pretend that we are at peace, or we are in some kind of peace process, or that we have people to speak to among Muslim Palestinians, or Muslims in general, who are in a position of power who actually want to reach a peaceful compromise on any subject. And I thought of all the months our government has allowed itself to give in to American pressure to abandon its war on terror, to let out prisoners, hand over security control in the West Bank and Gaza, allow terrorist organizations to bring in more and better weapons, train more bombers, in a process of self-delusion that looked at every concession as a step towards some positive goal. I thought of all these things which had led, inevitably, to that tiny girl lying bloodied in the street fighting for her young life. And I thought of myself, as a citizen in a democracy, and how tired I was of fighting her enemies and her own government, and most of her own press, and the country of her birth - the greatest democracy and lover of freedom in the world today, the United States - all of whom have been totally wrong every step of the way in facing a threat to mankind that can only be solved by force of arms with useless words, and self-destructive appeasement. I thought, I'm to blame for that little girl. I shouldn't have been going out to dinner. I should have been standing with picket signs outside the home of my Prime Minister, my government, the American Embassy, telling them that the lives of the people of Israel were not a bargaining chip. And that that little girl's life, her blood, is on all our heads. I should have been screaming: anyone who doesn't fight terror 100% of the time, is a collaborator in the death of victims of terror. That very same day, I had watched television footage of a terrorist bomb as it blew up the head of the UN delegation in Baghdad. I had heard UN spokesmen say, finally, after two years of having them blow up Bar Mitzvahs, and discos and Seder nights: "terrorists know no boundaries." Those of us who wish to rid the world of terror should learn from our enemies. Our opposition to terrorism, to leaders of the free world that accommodate it, to an indifferent public that has learned to tolerate the deaths of others by it, should also know no boundaries. We are not allowed to get tired, to take time off. We need to be as relentless and uncompromising and single-minded and unmerciful and determined as Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. We need to fight for our lives now, so that our children will not have to fight for theirs in the middle of the street beneath the ministering hands of medics as their blood washes the road. Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist who has lived in Jerusalem since 1971. She has published five best-selling novels in the US, UK and Israel, and is the author of a hit play in Israel's National Theatre. She also publishes a regular newsletter by email. Her website address is http://www.NaomiRagen.com. This is a shortened version of the original article.

SHOW OUR LEADERS THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR STUPID POLICY Posted by Bryna Berch, August 19, 2003.

Another bombing? So again we'll write the White House and the State Department. And again everyone will deplore the violence, barely suppressing a yawn. And again, in measured step, Sharon will slap an Arab hand and blast an empty building. Let's try something different. In today's Little Green Footballs (http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/), there is a picture that says it all: two emergency response workers labor over the probably dead body of a little boy. Copy this picture. Send it by email and by mail to the White House (president@whitehouse.gov), the First Lady (first.lady@whitehouse.gov), Secretary Powell at the State Department (secretary@state.gov) and Prime Minister Sharon (webmaster@pmo.gov.il). Send it to them today and tomorrow and the day after that. And keep sending it. Again. And again. And again. Show them the consequences of their stupid policy. Why should they sleep better than we can?

OPEN LETTER TO ARIEL SHARON Posted by Mike Epstein, August 19, 2003.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, I was so proud to see you elected to the position of Prime Minister. You are a hero of Israel, a great general, and for that I thank you and will always love you. You were elected as leader of the Likud party. The Likud party does not support the creation of a "palestinian" state within the borders of greater Israel. The Likud party does not support the propositions set forth in the "road map" created by those who hate Israel. Today, because of the weakness of the government of Israel, a murderer took the lives of many innocent Jewish children and injured over a hundred more people, many of them small children, on their way home from a visit to the Western Wall and the Old City that you helped to liberate in 1967. Today, we had a glimpse of the future that this "road map" is taking us to. In the past month, while visiting Israel, I made the decision to make aliyah. I did this DESPITE the belief that government policy was putting my life in danger. I am coming to Israel to fight against the policy of appeasement. Weakness will never be successful. Politics will never win a war. For the sake of all of the children of Israel and all those who love them, please do the honorable thing and admit that a grave mistake was made. There is no "other side" with which to make peace. There is no land to give away. I was there. I saw it all. But there is another direction. Read the Jewish Road Map of Manhigut Yehudit, the Jewish Leadership faction of Likud. This is the road map to peace and security for the State of Israel. Today can be the start of the direction that we prayed you would take when you were elected. If you cannot do this, you must resign...immediately. The lives of too many people depend on you for this dangerous political "game" to continue. May G-d show you the proper direction and may He take vengeance on all of those planning and supporting the killing of innocent Jews. Thank you. Mike Epstein Starr, South Carolina, USA

NO ARABS = NO TERROR Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, August 19, 2003.

We are watching the televised reports of the Bus Bombing in Jerusalem with 20 dead and 105 wounded - so far - 16 seriously. Bus #2 was loaded with religious Jews coming from the Kotel, the Western Wall at 9:15 P.M. Jerusalem time, turning from Route #1 into Shmuel HaNavi Street toward the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Mea Shearim. During vacation time this Bus was full of families, at its maximum load of 90 people, mostly families - many children. Bus #2 left the Kotel at 8:30 P.M. towards Har Nof via Shmuel HaNavi. The Terrorist Homicide bomber had a long red beard and wore the black clothes of the ultra-orthodox. He was a teacher and 'imam', Islamic clergyman in Hevron. Bus #19 behind #2 was damaged with injuries. Hadassah Mt. Scopus and Sha'arei Tzedek Hospitals have admitted 22 children under the age of 7 so far. Hadassah Ein Kerem has admitted 10 children under 5 years old. (1) Two infants are amongst the dead so far - pacifiers, baby bottles and strollers all over the street near Shmuel HaNavi Street - mothers are searching for their children - husbands are looking for their wives. (2) One scene caught on TV was heart-wrenching as we watched an ambulance worker trying to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a toddler. We saw too many bloody children. But, not to worry, the American President Bush has put on a standing tape wherein he condemns the bombing. Soon, we should hear from the intrepid Secretary of State Colin L. Powell somberly drooling out a message that this suicide bombing claimed by both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, will not make any difference in (his) 'Road Map to Peace.' No doubt, orders have gone out to Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to keep meeting with the Terrorist Abu Mazen, continuing his pretense that the 'peace process' is real and the so-called 'Hudna' (cease-fire) is still on. News to all: The 'Hudna' is over - it never even started. We can expect a phony halt in withdrawals until the rage of the people dies down and then Sharon will pick up where he left off in his craven appeasement of the Muslim Arabs continuing the 'Road Map' on the orders of the "Quartet" (the Arabist U.S. State Department, the anti-Israel United Nations - also seriously bombed today, the anti-Semitic European Union and Russia whose hostile history to its Jews is infamous). Along with the political blowhards vomiting out the usual garbage we hear from Saeb Erekat (Arafat's usual spokesman) condemning the bombing, no doubt, urged to make a statement by the Arabist State Department. It is past time for Sharon to draw personal conclusions and quit or he must be voted out by the Israeli people. He seems to have become a creature owned by Bush, Bush Sr., James Baker, Powell, et al. He has become more than useless but a clear and present danger to the Jewish nation. All during the so-called 'Hudna' cease fire since June 28th there were serious attacks by Yassir Arafat's Muslim Arab Palestinians daily. Much of it was generated by Syria and Iran, in lock-step with Arafat - as always. The President and the State Department made no response to the attacks, pretending the cease fire was actually operating. It is painfully clear that Israel can only survive by transferring all Arabs into Jordan with the Jordan River as the natural, national border. Arab Muslims can never be trusted nor can agreements arranged by the Arabists in America be relied upon. (3) These are an ugly, backward, war-prone tribal people who will continue attacking Israel, America and even the appeasing Europeans. To wit, earlier today a sophisticated truck bomb, 500 pounds of C4 in a cement truck blew away the roof, blasting down part of the U.N. headquarters at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, killing the U.N. special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello trapped in the rubble who died from his wounds and at least 20 others, with dozens injured. More people may be buried in the rubble. Many more were wounded in the hospital next door. This was a strike against the whole world - not 'just' American soldiers. It has been revealed "foreign forces" have infiltrated Iraq and are responsible for the almost daily deaths of American soldiers. Are these Al Qaeda' Syrian Hezb'Allah' Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood' Jihad Islaami' Muslim Arab Palestinians' Iranian radical fundamentalist Muslims' 3000 Saudi men (radical Islamists) are reported missing, presumably now part of those attacking American soldiers and the U.N. in Iraq. Regrettably, the Bush family are still the chief protectors and apologists for the Saudis. Islam has been at war with Western civilization for many years but, most of us who live in the Free West behave as if we were 'air heads', with leaders who drift into high office or among the general approving population pretending all is well with the Muslims and Islam. For Israel the slogan "No Arabs=No Terror" that has been declared 'racist', should be re-named 'realistic.' "No Arabs=No Terror" is simply a fact of our lives today. Remember that the Muslim Arabs have been the primary Terrorists in these past decades. (4) Isn't it time to vaporize Damascus and Tehran and let G-d sort them out? Perhaps a demographer or a statistician can say, well, one out of 5 Arab Muslims will be a Terrorist - or, perhaps one out 10. The simple point is that the leaders of the Arab Muslims - politically and religiously have virtually declared war on the Planet Earth. Why not just blow them up and insure that at least the head of the snake is severed? Or would that be considered 'violent'? 1. "Terror Update: Sharon Worried Over Sons & Not Country" by Harvey Tannenbaum, 8/19/03 2:58 PM. 2. "More Volunteers Needed" by Harvey Tannenbaum, 2:52 P.M. 3. "Homicide Bombing Induced By Road Map" by Yoram Ettinger, August 19, 2003, 2:39 PM, (yoramtex@netvision.net.il). 4. "Remember" Another indication the US is confused (and self-destructive): AMERICANS, REMEMBER! REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon killing 241 in 1983. REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the military Barracks in Saudi Arabia, REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa, REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE. REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on the World Trade Centers & Pentagon on 9/11/01. REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks. Emanuel A. Winston is a prominent Middle East analyst and commentator. Many of his articles first appeared on the Gamla (http://www.gamla.org.il/english) and the Freeman Center for Strategic Studies ((http://www.freeman.org/online.htm) websites.

SURPRISE, THE CEASE FIRE IS OVER Posted by Arno Weinstein, August 19, 2003.

Enough with the nonsensical hyperbole, there never was a cease fire between the various terrorist gangs and the State of Israel. Should one want to maintain the charade that there had been a cease fire, that's right - the emperor has no clothes - it is no more. Over and over again, it is the same story. Let's pretend that peace can be had between the Jewish State and those who believe, to their very core, that the Jewish presence in the Middle East must be eliminated. The only elements different on this go-around are the Israeli leaders who give in to the terrorist and the Americans sitting on the sidelines pushing the Israelis forward. Repeating the number of attacks that took place during the "cease fire" is useless. Anyone interested in what really goes on in Israel knows that the cease fire was a myth from the start. The American and Israeli leaders have played a perverse and deadly game hoping to create an impression of quiet. The ill-conceived notion that the illusion of peace will bring peace is a lethal fantasy of diplomats and politicians who care little about the people their evil policies effect. On a day when President Bush has countered the statements of his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, by calling for the destruction of the terrorist infrastructure within the Palestinian Authority, we see the horrific results of the failure of implementing such a policy. Mr. Bush specifically said that Hamas was one of those organizations that should be eliminated, unfortunately, he missed the obvious. The Palestinian Authority will not dismantle Hamas or any other terrorist organization because the Palestinian Authority is itself a terrorist organization. President Bush may contradict his own secretary of state, however, it may be that it is Colin Powell who speaks the language that the Palestinian Authority understands. Secretary Powell foolishly believes that if he expresses the notion that good comes from Hamas, that the PA will somehow take that to mean that the US will continue to work with them even though they continue to be a terrorist entity. Secretary Powell is wrong and President Bush is right. But President Bush must carry his doctrine to its logical conclusion. He must end his endorsement of the "Road Map" and actively encourage the Israelis to fight terror as it ought to be fought: until it is totally destroyed. Taking this concept to the next level, to a place where the battle will inevitably be fought, requires a little thought. More important than the physical dismantling of the terror organization is the dissection and destruction of the positions promoted by these terror groups. It should come as no surprise that, by and large, the positions of the terror groups, that is, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, are the same as those held by the Palestinian Authority and the Arab and Islamic nations supporting them. The very same entity with which Israeli leaders now engage in dialogue and talks of the future, are no more than the terror masters themselves. Is it absurd that Israel now deals with those who plan their annihilation? Well, indeed it is, and yet for lack of any better alternative, short of war, that is what they do. The question must be asked, then: would not war, though horrific, not be quicker and more humane than this drawn out bloodletting? Of course, it would. On a day when terror spread from Baghdad to Jerusalem, the leaders who genuinely understand that the War on Terror is not a silly euphemism meant to represent a spiritual quest, must unequivocally state that war is entered not by choice but by necessity. The War on Terror is just that: a war. What part of "War on Terror" do certain people in the White House, the US State Department or for that matter, the Israeli cabinet, fail to grasp? The more concessions given to the terrorist or their terror masters, the more terror will result. As proof, we no longer need to reach back into history. Take a look at last week's newspaper and rest assured that terror will never end until those who support terror are completely eliminated. Whether in Iraq or Israel the prescription is the same. Those responsible must be destroyed. And as for Hamas, who committed the murderous atrocity on the streets of Jerusalem, along with those who give aid and comfort to them, they must be eradicated. Once we understand that the goals and tactics of the terrorists are shared by others who wear the mask of peace, we will then gain access to those who pull the strings. Only by searching out terror from its deeply rooted ideologically based support system, will the real criminals be exposed. This means the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia must also be guilty with the 29 year old Arab who viciously ended the lives of those innocent Jews and permanently maimed the countless others on a Jerusalem bus. Dore Gold, a senior advisor to Ariel Sharon, stated on Fox News on the day of the terrorist atrocity, that "the attack was inevitable." Gold said that because the Palestinian Authority failed to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas and others that the terrorists were going to continue their bloody, murderous assaults. Why then did Israel agree to any aspects of the "Road Map?" Why did those murdered on the Jerusalem bus have to die? How many Jewish bodies are needed to constitute absolute certainty that the enemies of the Jewish State are hell-bent on its obliteration? The morbid lesson of a bloody day of terror is war and only war will bring an answer to the unyielding violence of the Arab/Islamic terrorists. And should the nations that now form the infrastructure of support for these criminals not find regime change from within, then they too should be the focus of the liberators' gun. Perhaps politically required restraints now hinder President Bush's full articulation of this position. Be that as it may, eventually this realization will have to become the next logical extension of the Bush Doctrine. Arno Weinstein is the Executive Vice President and National Director of the American Friends of Israel's National Union (http://www.TheNationalUnion.com).

WHAT PSALM 83 TEACHES Posted by Ken Heller, August 19, 2003.

And they that hate Thee have lifted up the head...and take counsel against Thy treasured ones. They have said: Come and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no longer remembered. For they have counseled together with one consent: AGAINST THEE DO THEY MAKE A COVENANT (Psalm 83) "And we allow them to remain in the land! And we allow them to lift up the head! And we allow them to raise the hand against a Jew and his G-D! And we do not remove the head and remove the hand and remove the abomination from the land! "Is there a greater desecration than this? And so the jackals continue to walk on the Temple Mount, the Mountain of G-D where it was decreed, "and the stranger who shall come near shall die." And we, in fear of the jackals and their protectors, allow the desecration - not only barring Jews, but creating from the mountain on which stood the Temple and the Divine Presence, a place of Moslem arrogance and triumph of Allah, G-D forbid, over the G-D of Israel." (Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY'D) Ken Heller is founder of  "Citizens Against Giving-up Eretz Yisrael," a grassroots, worldwide network of Jewish and Christian pro-Israel activists. He was a major organizer of the world-wide demonstrations on July 20th against the Road Map.

SUPPORT ISRAEL! DARE TO NAME AND DESTROY ARAB TERROR! Posted by Jules Segal. August 19, 2003.

Mr. President: You label the Islamic suicide bombers in Iraq who killed seventeen plus people at the UN headquarters in Baghdad today, August 19, as "enemies of the civilized world." On the same today on a Jerusalem bus carrying Jewish worshipers returning from the Western Wall, a massive Arab terror bomb murdered at least 20 people, including many infants, while seriously injuring over 100 others. Islamic Jihad and Hamas, sheltered and sustained by the PLO, took credit for this massacre. They too could be categorized as "enemies of the civilized world," wouldn't you agree? I am sure you will immediately describe them in such a fashion. But, that is a broad and nebulous description of these particular murderers. Your inability to condemn these Islamic terrorist criminals in specific terms is something I find disturbing and I believe Islamic terrorists find encouraging. That is because it conveys the message that out of deference to the billion Moslems in the world, you will not explicitly condemn nor seriously wage war against the terrorists among them. Calling these killers "enemies of the civilized world" is so vague as to be misleading. These murderers do not choose to kill everyone in th civilized world randomly. They put a priority on killing Jews, Americans and their allies. That is because they have a specific agenda, with specific targets, precisely because they are Islamic terrorists. Islamic terror must not be allowed to become so intimidating that even its intended victims dare not speak its name. Enough Mr. President, in the name of thousands of Americans martyred on 9/11, have the courage to call things as they are. Dare to label and defeat the Islamic terrorists in Iraq for precisely who they are. Encourage Israel to do the same against the Islamic terrorists in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and Gaza. That way you will replace your current road map of appeasement of Islamic terror with a road map of victory over Islamic terror.

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT WILL DETER TERRORISTS Posted by Mark Alan, August 19, 2003.

It is unspeakable that democratically elected governments in America and Israel continue to placate terrorism as so many innocent civilians and soldiers are murdered. Enough! It is time for the U.S. and Israel to announce the forced expulsion of Arab neighborhoods and villages in response to any act of terror. A terrorist from Hebron murders over 20 on a bus - his family home and 20 other homes nearby are evacuated and destroyed. There is no "right of return" - they are made refugees. Mortar and machine gun fire come from the village of Bet Jalla? The entire village is expelled into Bethlehem - good bye! It is time to meet the threat of terror with mass deportations, expulsions and home-destruction. When the terrorists realize their suicides will result in the disposession of their village - they may think twice. More so, their families and leaders may reconsider their strategy of murdering civilians. Mark Alan lives in Los Angeles and publishes essays emailed as Mymagen@aol.com.

WHITHER YOUR ROADMAP Posted by Leo Rennert, August 19, 2003.

Dear Mr. President: Today's terrorist carnage in Jerusalem caused more than the deaths of a score of Israeli civilians, including several children. It also blew apart the foundation of your strategy to bring about a durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In pushing ahead with the road map, you placed your unqualified faith in Mahmoud Abbas. You hailed him as a "different" leader with the strength to confront Hamas and other terror groups. A few short hours before the deadly bus bombing near Judaism's holiest shrine, you told reporters that the first imperative was for Palestinian leaders to "dismantle and destroy" terrorist groups. By now, however, it should be evident that Abbas has failed miserably in meeting your expectations. From the start, both you and Prime Minister Sharon did not demand "total results" from Palestinians in fighting terrorism, but "total effort." Yet, far from making an all-out effort to break up terrorist groups, Abbas increasingly has shied away from this basic responsibility under your road map. To this day, he hasn't even made the first move. After signaling at the outset that he might distance himself from Yasser Arafat, Abbas quickly gave up and acknowledged Arafat as his real boss. During Abbas' tenure, Arafat actually has become stronger, not weaker. While publicly refusing to challenge Hamas & Co., Abbas and his top aides have gone back to the Arafat playbook - shedding a few crocodile tears over terrorist murders while giving the bombers a green light to proceed with their all-out war against Israel. Mr. President, it is time for you to order a total reassessment of your Mideast policy and to take realistic stock of "who's with us" and "who's against us" - to use your post 9/11 formulation. Sadly for you, for Israel, and for the Palestinians, Abbas has not been - and still is not - "with us."

SHARON'S HANDS TIED BY BREACH WITH BUSH Excerpts from the Debka File, August 19, 2003.

The tragically high proportion of children and babies among the 18 dead and 120 injured in the latest Palestinian terror atrocity appears to have shocked prime minister Ariel Sharon out of his uncharacteristic meekness in the face of rising Palestinian demands and surge of terror. Two Palestinian suicide attacks went by last week without response. But Tuesday night, August 19, a Hamas imam, Ra'ad Misak from Hebron, detonated his bomb belt in the middle of a busload of families returning from the Jerusalem's Western Wall. The Sharon government finally roused itself to freeze talks with Palestinian leaders over the handover of four West Bank towns and suspended all exchanges and contacts with Palestinian representatives. Israel had been on the point of turning over the first two towns, Jericho and Qalqilya, by the end of the week, after dropping its basic demand for tight surveillance over wanted terrorist murderers. Ever since the Aqaba summit on June 4, these exchanges were based on Israel falling back step by step in the face of Palestinian demands, compromising even on its most fundamental condition, namely that the new leaders of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan, first dismantle terrorist structures as laid down in article one of the road map. Israel did not stiffen even when the Palestinians were far from upholding the ceasefire they themselves had declared six weeks ago. The question commonly asked in Jerusalem in recent weeks was: why does the Sharon government put up with this mockery and keep the negotiations going, knowing they will go round in circles and end up at starting point, the resumption of full-scale suicide terror? The answer discovered by DEBKAfile's Washington and Jerusalem sources is that Sharon entered the process from a position of weakness. The best-kept secret in Jerusalem, one which explains the Sharon government's exceptional docility, is this: the warm personal rapport prime minister Ariel Sharon developed with US President George W. Bush is no more. A widening breach has taken its place, dating from the June 4 Aqaba summit which anointed Mahmoud Abbas Israel's Palestinian partner in the process to revive the Bush peace plan. Since then, the Bush-Sharon relationship has gone downhill. Bush's...long-term vision...entailed replacing incumbents ...with democratically elected, enlightened leaderships... [Sharon] soon woke up to the realization that Israel's strength, military, social and economic, had been cruelly eroded by three punishing years of warfare against intrusive Palestinian violence and it could not afford to wait for the fulfillment of the US president's plans. Even worse, America's first steps on the way to its goals expose Israel to great, possibly existential, danger. Sharon's diplomatic and defense policies, hinging on unswerving loyalty to the Bush line, were now proving untenable because of the conflict between the Bush administration's postwar strategy and Israel's vital security interests. Ever since he was cut out of the White House loop, the Israeli prime minister has locked himself away, denying access even to his closest aide and main go-between with the White House, chef de bureau Dov Weisglass, whose frequent trips to talk to Condoleezza Rice have stopped abruptly. [A plan] to restore the terms of trust between Bush ... was for Sharon to go the extra mile for the sake of the Bush peace plan by preserving the ceasefire, notwithstanding continuing terrorist initiatives, and, despite the absence of a single Palestinian finger raised to stamp out violence, offer to hand over to Palestinian control not one but four West Bank cities. The planners forgot to keep an eye on the Palestinians. Sharon's magnanimity was interpreted as a sign of weakness and its cause, the ebb in Sharon's relations with the US President, quickly picked up in Ramallah, which thereupon raised the level of terrorist threats. DebkaFile (http://debka.com) does independent, investigative reporting on international terrorism, intelligence, international conflict, Islam, military affairs, security and politics.

 

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