THE B'NAI MENASHE - OUR DEAREST LINK Posted by Rachel Saperstein, February 28, 2005.

"Will we be able to come with you if, G-d forbid, we are expelled? Do you want us? Do you feel we are the weakest link?" Gush Katif is blessed with people from every corner of the world, a perfect microcosm of the ingathering of the exiles. We have one thing in common - we are all Jews. We are a kaleidoscope of colors from white to black and every shade of brown in-between. And we are all Jews. Among our very special people are the Jews of northeast India called the B'nai Menashe. In India the B'nai Menashe lived near the border of Burma and like Jews worldwide they have blended in and picked up the physical characteristics of the indigenous peoples. Their history is similar to that of other groups following the dispersion of the tribes of Israel. For thousands of years they lived apart both from the main streams of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewry, and also from the Indian influence. They evolved into a separate people who believed in Manassah (Menashe, son of Joseph) who would redeem them. Other than rudimentary Jewish customs whose origin they did not know, they learned their biblical history through Christian missionaries intent on converting them. Instead, they turned to Amishav, an organization established to find our lost tribes and bring them home. A few hundred B'nai Menashe came to Israel to learn about their lost Jewish identity and eventually underwent conversion so their Judaism would not be questioned. "We came like babies having to learn of our heritage from its beginning," said Sharon Binyamin of the settlement of Gan-Or, the elected leader of the Gush Katif B'nai Menashe community. "Now we have yeshivot in India and visiting rabbis to teach us so we can come to Israel prepared to be mainstream Jews. Unfortunately the Israeli Ministry of the Interior will no longer allow our people to immigrate. Many non-Jews are allowed into Israel but we who are religious Jews are abandoned by the government." Today there are 45 B'nai Menashe families in Gush Katif comprising 200 people. They work in every area of the Gush. You will see them in factories, in the printing plant, in agriculture, as teachers and in the laboratories checking the kashrut of Gush Katif produce. They study Hebrew at the Ulpan and continue to learn Halacha from rabbis and lecturers. B'nai Menashe males are the mainstay of daily services and every Shabbat the synagogue is crowded with women and children praying for their families in Israel and those still in India. The adults are gentle and unassuming, with a strong sense of community. The children have become Hebrew-speaking rambunctious Sabras. Today the B'nai Menashe are threatened with the same edict as each of us - Expulsion! In a meeting with Mr. Lior Kalfa, head of the Neve Dekalim Council, and local rabbis, the Bnai Menashe asked "Are we one of you? Are we to go with you if, G-d forbid, we are expelled? We feel part of Gush Katif and we want to remain as part of this wonderful community." The answer was a resounding Yes! My dear B'nai Menashe friends and neighbors, just as our leaders have said to you, I want you to know that I have seen your commitment to Eretz Yisrael. I live next to you. I've seen your bravery under fire. I personally saw your strength and your courage during the worst of the bombing attacks. You gave me strength by your example. You visited me when my husband was wounded. You left bags of produce on my doorstep to show your affection and concern. We bring Mishloach Manot (gifts of food) to one another on Purim. We dance together at weddings. We are one. Without you there is no Gush Katif. You are not our weakest link. You are our dearest link in our chain of Jewish history. Rachel Saperstein works at the Girls High School in Neve Dekalim and published a booklet last year for families dealing with terror victims. She and her husband Moshe live in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Gaza, Israel. To Go To Top

DON'T DESPAIR! ORGANIZE! AN AGENDA FOR THE RIGHT Posted by Moshe Saperstein, February 28, 2005.

This was written by Moshe Dann, a Jerusalem-based writer and journalist. He dedicated it to the memory of Adir Zik (z"l) Contact him at moshedan@netvision.net.il As the Israeli government moves to eliminate the Jewish presence in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in northern Shomron, opponents of its plan would do well to keep things in perspective. The battle is not over homes and hothouses; it is over the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters. Even if we lose the battle for Gush Katif, we will not have lost the war. The attempt to destroy Jewish communities in Yesha has brought to the surface a power struggle within Israel over the meaning of Zionism, the future of Israeli democracy and the importance of Jewish identity. Though deeply painful, the struggle can provide opportunities for an educational process that may eventually transform Israeli society, allow true democracy to flourish and liberate us from the trauma of our Holocaust-based frame of reference. That in turn will give birth to a more relevant and vigorous Jewish and Zionist ethos. Well before the inception of the State of Israel, Palestine was seen as a national homeland and as a refuge for persecuted Jews. The Holocaust taught us that Jews could be slaughtered genocidally and no one would help. This gave rise to "Never Again:" the imperative to protect ourselves. "Never Again" was essential to winning Israel's acceptance by the world; it was, for many, our raison d'etre. Today, however, it is inadequate to justify Israel's existence. In order for something new to emerge there must be a shift in how we see the structure itself. Only when sacred myths about the State, its institutions, and political parties and their leaders are challenged and the rot at the core of system itself is exposed can change occur. Many Israelis now realize that our political system has evolved into one in which no one is accountable to any constituency. When political and economic power is concentrated, without checks and balances, it allows the system to be manipulated by the ruling elite for their own interests, masked by a fake "democracy." To enforce compliance government institutions - the judicial system, the police, the Attorney General and Ministries of Justice and Internal Security, even the IDF - will try to crush any opposition. The media provides disinformation and distraction; settlers are vilified as if they were the enemy. The more these institutions are used to suppress dissent, however, the more it is possible to see the essential corruption of the system. PM Sharon's plan to destroy Jewish communities ("settlements") throughout Yesha is an example. It's not about homes and hothouses; it's about a conception. "Settlements" in the Land of Israel are the defining characteristic of the State's existence. Settling the Land is not merely a political statement but an historical imperative and a divine obligation. Indeed, the only reason the Land of Israel has value is because Jews live in and value it. That the right of Jewish People to settle the Land of Israel is an axiom is now denied, not only by our enemies but by some Israeli leaders as well. Denying this right negates the essence of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel and raises a basic question: to whom does the Land of Israel belong? How can Jews "occupy Palestine" when it belongs originally and absolutely to the Jewish People? For some, the Jewish claim is no greater (and for some less) than that of Arabs. This attempt to distort history and the purpose of the Jewish people in its homeland is the basis of PM Sharon's policy. The challenge that the Left presents, therefore, is an important and necessary ingredient in creating a renewed Zionist consciousness - not one that goes back to Herzl or the Holocaust, but to our Patriarchs, to the Giving of the Torah, and to conquering and settling the Land during the time of Judges, Prophets, and Kings. If the destiny of the Jewish people can only be worked out in the Land of Israel, as most Israelis and all Zionists believe, then our claim to the Land is not only political and historical but existential. The true meaning of Israel is not as a refuge for persecuted Jews but as the living dynamic fulfillment of Prophetic visions, the Ingathering of Jews and the rebuilding of the Land of Israel; it is part of the process of Redemption. Every Jew, secular as well as religious, is part of that transcendent vision, an historical process embodied in every act of aliyah and settlement. That is not only a physical relocation but also a spiritual commitment as well. That is why we are here. That some secular Jews oppose this process is inevitable. They need to reject the idea that we are part of G-d's plan because to accept it would require confronting what it means to be a Jew and an Israeli. Paradoxically, opposition to Jewish settlement can clarify the meaning of these concepts. It helps us break out of what has become an irrelevant frame of reference ("Never Again") and forge a new and more authentic awareness of our presence and purpose in Israel. It is in this spirit that we should view the plan to uproot Jewish communities in Yesha while assisting in the establishment of a Palestinian state. Destroying Jewish communities only because they are Jewish is a dangerous precedent, especially when we are under attack and when there are no obvious rewards. But the danger of this policy is not the real issue. Attempts to destroy these communities raise a basic question: What are we doing here in the first place? If Jews can't live in Yesha because Arabs and the international community oppose us, then where can we legitimately live? And if we are allowed to live only within our pre-1967 boundaries, why were we attacked when that was all we had? And why do Palestinian terrorists blow up buses and cafes in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem? Whether or not Gaza and parts of Yehuda and Shomron are emptied of Jews our struggle must and will continue. Ours is a struggle for true Zionism (settlement of the Land of Israel on the basis of the inherent inalienable right of the Jewish people to do so), for true democracy ("government of the people, by the people and for the people") and for true Jewish identity (the ability to live authentically without shame or fear). This struggle is our obligation and privilege anchored in Covenant, Ingathering, and Redemption. It has nothing to do with what Arabs demand and international community desires, or what the government decides. It has to do with the duty and destiny of the Jewish People in its homeland. Moshe Saperstein and his wife Rachel live in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Gaza, Israel. To Go To Top

AND JUSTICE FOR SOME Posted by David Haimson, February 28, 2005.

This was written by Caroline Glick and appeared in the Jerusalem Post February 24, 2005 (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/ JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1109215386238). Former prime minister Ehud Barak sent a jolt through the political system when on Monday he told a television interviewer: "The Sharon family is corrupt to its very foundations, and in any other normal country, Sharon would have no longer been in power." The remark was made just after Barak had participated in a meeting of his Labor Party's Knesset faction, where he accused his colleagues of losing their party identity and their loyalty to the rule of law as a result of their infatuation with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Barak made these statements against the backdrop of Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz's decision last Thursday to indict Sharon's son, MK Omri Sharon, on several felony counts relating to his illegal financing of his father's 1999 campaign for leadership of the Likud. Mazuz declined to indict the prime minister. In response to Barak's criticism, his party colleagues explained that it isn't their job to attach guilt or innocence to anyone. This job, they said, belongs to the legal system. It is also, of course, the job of the media. As to the media, in a program on Army Radio Tuesday, journalistic heavyweights Eitan Haber, from Yediot Aharonot and Moti Kirschenbaum, the former head of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and current talk show host on Channel 10, readily admitted that the press has been largely silent on the issue of the legal investigations because it doesn't want to disturb Sharon's plan to destroy all Israeli communities in Gaza and northern Samaria. Haber explained, "The Left, and not only the Left, is as silent as lambs [about Sharon's criminal investigations] because it's convenient for it that he's carrying out his political plan." Kirschenbaum agreed, saying, "There's no doubt that the media is dealing with the Sharon family with uncharacteristic tenderness because of its empathy toward his diplomatic plans." So here we have it, the watchdog of Israeli democracy, the Fourth Estate, is willfully ignoring one of its cardinal responsibilities - holding our public officials to standards of proper behavior in order to ensure the proper functioning of our government. And the media is behaving thus because apparently, the Powers That Be hate the Israeli communities in Gaza and northern Samaria more than they love the law. As Labor leaders Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and MK Avraham Shochat readily explained to Israel Radio Tuesday morning, upholding and enforcing the law is the responsibility of the attorney-general and the courts. As politicians, they said, their job is limited to getting their political plans implemented and this means supporting Sharon's decision to root out all Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria. Fair enough. At least they have the integrity to admit they will overlook corruption if it serves their political interests. Unfortunately, it would seem that Mazuz, Israel's chief law enforcement officer, shares Ben-Eliezer's and Shochat's sentiments. His decision last week not to indict the prime minister is case in point. Omri Sharon is accused of setting up fictitious companies in 1999 through which he funneled some NIS 6 million into his father's campaign. The process of moving the money - illegally transferred from abroad - and its use to fund various campaign activities, was a day-to-day process. Omri paid service providers with checks from Annex Research, a fictitious company (registered for him by Sharon's diplomatic representative and personal attorney Dov Weisglass). He then asked these service providers to equip him with fraudulent receipts in exchange for these checks. Omri lied under oath about these payments. He also carried out these felonious activities in his official capacity as his father's campaign chairman, while living intermittently with his father at their Sycamore Ranch - and updating him daily on the progress of the campaign. According to the Political Parties Law, a candidate for office is responsible for all activities that take place during the course of his campaign. The burden of proving a candidate's lack of culpability for criminal activities that were carried out by his campaign workers rests, according to the law, on the candidate, not on the police or the state prosecutors. In Sharon's case, the prime minister did not actively prove his lack of culpability; he merely denied knowledge of the criminal activities and claimed that he instructed his son to act lawfully. On the one hand, this passive, declaratory defense does not meet the dictates of the law. On the other, it strains credulity to believe that Sharon had no idea what his son was doing. NIS 6 million is a lot of money. Sharon has a reputation as a micro-manager. Is it reasonable to credit his statement that he never once asked his son where all this money had come from? Mazuz justified his decision to clear the prime minister by arguing that there was insufficient evidence to indict him. But again, this is impossible, for if there is sufficient evidence to indict Omri Sharon, then there must be sufficient evidence to indict Ariel Sharon. Again, according to the law, the candidate is criminally culpable for any illegal activities that are carried out in the course of his campaign unless he actively proves he had no knowledge of what was happening. As Haaretz legal commentator Zev Segal put it, in acting with such leniency against Sharon - in apparent contravention of the law - Mazuz "has turned into the prime minister's defense attorney." WHY WOULD Mazuz do this? In Israel's loaded political environment it is difficult to escape the feeling that in preferring the political survival of the prime minister to the dictates of the law he is sworn to uphold and enforce, Mazuz, like the media, is acting on his political sympathies rather than on his professional responsibilities. This suspicion is strengthened when one notes Mazuz's unrelenting campaign to have Likud central committee member Moshe Feiglin barred from running for Knesset. In an almost unprecedented move, Mazuz Monday petitioned the High Court of Justice to overturn Justice Jacob Turkel's decision to allow Feiglin to run for office. Feiglin was convicted of sedition, publishing seditious materials and conducting illegal gatherings when, as leader of the Zo Artzeinu movement in 1995, he led mass protests against the agreement to transfer Judea and Samaria to the PLO. Feiglin since joined the Likud and formed the Manhigut Yehudit faction inside the party which Sharon has spent the better part of the past two years trying to purge from the party because its members object to his policies. In arguing against Turkel's decision, Mazuz wrote that the court should overturn the decision "especially in light of today's flammable circumstances, the shrillness of the public debate - which is expected to deteriorate even further - and the implications involved in letting [Turkel's] ruling stand in terms of the unconstructive message it conveys to the public." It is unclear where the legal argument is here. It is not Mazuz's job to worry about the shrillness of debate. And what is the statute that discusses the need for courts of law to squelch "unconstructive" messages? For that matter, where is the legal definition of an "unconstructive message"? Furthermore, Mazuz's pursuit of Feiglin is not an isolated action, which would indicate that his political views dictate his how he enforces or fails to enforce the law. This week, two interesting stories emerged that, one could assume, would capture the attention of a nonpartisan attorney-general. The first was a Ma'ariv report on Sunday according to which a police agent provocateur has been disseminating incendiary political material - such as bumper stickers saying, "Sharon, Lily [his late wife] is waiting for you." This is one of the messages that the media has latched onto in its hysterical offensive against right-wing incitement. Yet here, it works out that rather than emanating from Sharon's political opponents, it is emanating from the police. This would appear to be an egregious abuse of authority on the part of the police, and one that bears investigation. But to date, Mazuz has not said a word about it. The second was the news magazine Koteret's cover story this month. In an investigative report, the magazine alleged that in financing his campaign for leadership of the Yahad (Meretz) party, far-Left politician Yossi Beilin illegally used funds donated by the EU. The report claims that Beilin illegally transferred funds from his EU-financed "Geneva Initiative" to his political campaign. The magazine came out a couple of weeks ago. It would seem that Mazuz might have taken an interest in the story, given that former justice minister Beilin was largely responsible for promoting Mazuz to a leadership position in the ministry. But again, not a word has passed through his lips about Beilin's reported criminal activities. It is Supreme Court President Aharon Barak who has done so much in recent years to involve the court with the day-to-day running of Israel - and who, since his tenure as attorney-general, has been the prime mover behind the realignment of the office of the attorney-general with judicial rather than the executive branch of government. Barak justified this state of affairs by claiming that the attorney-general's subordination to elected officials prevented him from carrying out his duty as chief law enforcement officer in a dispassionate, independent and professional manner. Unfortunately, from Mazuz's behavior, it would seem that just the opposite has occurred. The more independent the attorney-general has become from any political authority, the more politicized and less professional the office has become. There can be no doubt that having a professional and independent state prosecution is an essential component of democratic governance. Unfortunately, what we see is that in the name of "professional independence," it is precisely this component of the prosecution that is disintegrating before our very eyes. In light of the fact that our media unabashedly admits to willingly surrendering professional standards for political purposes, the absence of a professional prosecution is all the more disturbing. Contact David Haimson at DvHaimson@aol.com to receive emails with direct links to articles on Israel that are well-worth reading. To Go To Top

ABRAHAMISM AND DHIMMITUDE Posted by Carol Iannone, February 28, 2005.

In her new book, Eurabia, Bat Ye'or notes how as far back as 1991 British politician Robin Cook publicly flattered Islam as being at the roots of Western culture while omitting any mention of Judeo-Christianity. She says this is in keeping with dhimmitude, because Muslims need to be told that they are superior and cannot believe that there was any input from infidels. Dhimmis learn to fawn over Muslims in this respect. When Westerners agree to talk about "Abrahamic faith" and "Abrahamism" and related terms, they are really bowing to Islam because Muslims co-opt Abraham as a Muslim and then see themselves as the origin of everything. From Eurabia: [Cook's] adulation was designed to undermine Europe's Judeo-Christian roots. The principle of a Judeo-Christian civilization in Europe was belittled by producing and constantly propagating the Islamic origin of European civilization. Hamadi Essid, head of the Arab League Mission at Paris and its permanent delegate to UNESCO, told a meeting as early as 1970, "For some time there has been a catch-phrase: Judeo-Christian values. This slogan is directed against the Arabs." Arabs reject the term "Judeo-Christian civilization" and replace it with "Abrahamic civilization" because, as Abraham was a Muslim (according to the Qur'an), it follows that Western civilization not only includes the Islamic dimension, but is Islamic in its essence through Abraham, the Muslim prophet. "Abrahamism" is a notion that totally denies the historical identity and origin of Judaism and Christianity, since it reduces them to falsifications of Islam, the true religion of Abraham. Today, any reference to Europe's Christian sources--not to mention its Judeo-Christian roots--has been omitted from the EU Constitution on "secular" grounds, but mainly so as not to offend Muslim immigrants. This kowtowing to Islam is also a form of appeasement. According to this belief, if we say Islam is at the origin of our society, Muslims will supposedly be less likely to feel they are living in infidel country and must take up jihad for perceived offenses against the faith. Bush is already mentioning the Koran in speeches, as in the State of the Union address, and little by little we might be hearing more and more of the glories of Islam and how it led to our present world and aren't we lucky. To Go To Top

THE GOLAN HEIGHTS - AGAIN Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 28, 2005.

Whatever doubts that Sharon's government is either the fabled Potemkin Village of a pathetically stupid Administration or there is something here that is far more ominous.. For example, a number of Israeli Prime Ministers have tried to gift the Golan Heights to Syria - first to Hafez al Assad, an arch dictator, now followed by his son Bashar Assad - an optometrist. Recall how PM Ehud Barak in his time tried to drive the Jews off the Golan by raising a false alarm to the effect that the Syrian Army could roll over the Israeli civilians and Army in a quick assault. In retrospect, it was Barak's attempt to panic the nation into giving up the Golan that warrants suspicion. It would appear something similar is going on now with a modified tactic. The Chelm-like fools who make choices as to what territory to abandon, want to give away the Golan Heights - down to Lake Kinneret, Israel's main fresh water resource. So, what's wrong with giving up Israel's North-East front with Syria on down to Israel's main water resource? First, it is a natural geographical barrier to tanks coming in from Syria or Iraq.. Next, it is prime high ground, irreplaceable, defensive position for Israel to watch every move in Damascus. Not a tank or an aircraft can move without Israel spotting it. Israeli observers cannot be replaced by or with U.N., E.U., American or even NATO observers and have Israel risk NOT being told in real time, in the first few seconds of hostile Syrian military traffic. The idea that de-militarizing the Golan was similar to de-militarizing the Sinai Desert by the Camp David Accords in 1979 is misleading. That border, the Philadelphi road, is now being considered as the place to put Egyptian troops with armor, troops, artillery, missiles and intelligence. In brief, agreements to demilitarize are merely a verbal count-down to re-militarizing again. Nothing is permanent. Syria may be the most backward and hostile of Arab Muslim nations, now controlled by Alawites who represent 10% of the larger Sunni population. Nothing guarantees that a Sunni uprising driving Assad's Alawite Generals out of power will not put Israel under Syrian guns from the Golan Heights once again. I remind you that the Joint Chiefs of Staff under General Earle Wheeler concluded in their June 29, 1967 secret memorandum to President Lyndon Johnson that the Golan Heights was one of the key defense point Israel needed to keep to survive. Watching the Lebanese government resign and the tumultuous spontaneous rally AGAINST Syria, despite Syria's dictator-despotic rule in Lebanon was impressive. Is it really possible that the dominoes of democracy will actually replace the dictatorships that exist today. Perhaps sometimes but, not too soon - if ever. However, if you pause to listen to the News Shows' talking experts, some of them have not caught on or kept up with the trend to a freer, more open democratic Middle East. When one from the Center of Strategic & International Studies concludes in his second sentence that, because Lebanon is kicking Syria out NOW, Israel should give the Golan Heights to Syria is so strangely wrong-headed, one wonders where they get their 'Strategic' positions. The same political hustlers who claim that abandoning Gaza, allowing a Southern Front to open up against Israel now claim that abandoning the Golan to Syria will bring Syria into the Peace Camp. Syria has kept the Peace on the Golan BECAUSE Israel is in control of the Northern Front and can see directly into Damascus. One dim-witted scribbler on TV tells us that IF Israel gives up the Golan, then "the Arabs, the Muslims and Saudi Arabia" will really really recognize Israel. Then, we will get NATO Peace Keepers in there to really really keep the peace. Has Smersh, directly out of a James Bond movie released laughing gas so, while we are all bursting our sides in the giggles, they can come and steal Fort Knox? Only a group of mad politicians can hope to get away with the explanations they offer. Because just after the assassination of Rafik Hariri in Lebanon, the Lebanese Government (controlled by Syria) quit, the people and the politicians poured out into the street and displayed a demonstration similar to the Orange revolution that just upturned the corrupt government in Ukraine. America has often held mass rallies for worthwhile issues. The huge protest demonstrations that Israel has conducted to stop the current government's retreat from Gaza/Gush Katif should be kept in mind. Now, in Lebanon, the government has fallen; new elections may occur and no one knows who will be offered as President. Following Hariri's assassination, a homicide bomber blew up his bomb belt at a Tel Aviv beach nightclub, killing 5 young people, wounding almost 50 on February 25th for which the Syrian Terror organization called "Jihad Islaami" took the blame - although the homicide bomber came from Tul Karem - 9 miles East of the Tel Aviv beach. Syria is being forced to pull its 15,000 troops out of Lebanon - for now - at least as far as the Beka'a Valley (a profitable opium growing area for Syria). Approximately one million Syrians work in Lebanon. Many are Syrian agents. America is pressing Syria to stop assisting Mujahadinn fighters who train, arm and move from Syria into Iraq. There is also the "sleeper" of those WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) including NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) weapons trucked from Iraq into the Syrian Beka'a Valley, buried in fields and guarded by 2 Syrian Army brigades. Into this maelstrom, the dim-wits urge Israel to quickly give Bashar Assad the Golan Heights - as if such a gesture made any sense at all. Am I the only one who thinks that this is a crazy manipulation by people who have a strange agenda? Someone is playing with our minds. The key questions are: Who? and Why? I think I smell that old plan surfacing wherein the Golan Heights - after the Jews clear out - is leased back to the United States for a military base and airfield. Can you smell the subtle aroma of betrayal? Let us keep an eye on this catastrophe in the making. "Secret Syria-Israel talks, 'Post' learns" (www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull&cid=1109475189059&p=1078027574097) by Orly Halpern, Jerusalem Post, Feb. 28, 2005. An official Jordanian source told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that Syrian, Jordanian and Israeli Foreign Ministry officials held secret peace talks in Jordan last week. According to the source, technical committees from Syria and Israel were hosted at the Movenpick Hotel on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea. Another meeting is planned, but there is no date set for it yet, said the source, who added that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss possibilities for more substantive peace contacts. The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no comment on the meeting. "This is the first time I have heard of this," said Mark Regev, the ministry's spokesman. Syrian President Bashar Assad last November invited Israel to enter peace negotiations without preconditions. Israel dismissed the offer, saying that if Assad were serious he would crack down on Lebanon's Hezb'Allah organization and close the offices of terrorist organizations in Damascus. "Syria should translate words into action by shutting Palestinian offices and military bases in Damascus and stopping the relaying of missiles to Hezb'Allah from Iran via the Damascus airport," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom at that time. Analysts say Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wants to focus on the Palestinian track but not all Israeli officials follow that view. President Moshe Katsav was quoted in Maariv following Assad's invitation as saying he thought it was "important and worthwhile" to consider Assad's offer. Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's outgoing chief of General Staff, said in August that Israel should take advantage of Syria's diplomatic isolation to cut the best possible deal. At the time, Ya'alon declared that Israel's military superiority means it could return the Golan Heights it conquered from Syria in 1967. Peace negotiations between Syria and Israel began in 1994 and broke down in March 2000 over a narrow strip of land along Lake Kinneret. Assad signaled a desire to resume peace talks with Israel in an interview with The New York Times in December 2003. That offer was repeated at least five times. Meanwhile, another high-ranking Jordanian source said Sunday that there were "no plans" for Jordan's King Abdullah II to visit Israel, despite reports by Arab MKs who met with Jordanian Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez on Sunday. "I'm not saying it won't happen," said the Jordanian source, "but it's not in the pipeline." MKs Ahmed Tibi and Muhammad Dahamshe of Hadash, Wasal Taha and Jamal Zahalka of Balad, Taleb a-Sanaa and Abdul Malik Dahamshe of United Arab List, and Ghaleb Majadle of Labor met with Fayez, Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani Mulki, Jordanian Minister of Culture and Information Asma Khader, and Jordan's ambassador to Israel, Maarouf Bakhit, to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the demands of Israeli Arabs. Bakhit took a letter from King Abdullah for Sharon stressing the deepening relations between Jordan and Israel and his plans to look into a possible visit in accordance with the invitation extended to him by Sharon in Sharm e-Sheikh last month, said the source. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

SETTLER SPIRIT IS UNBROKEN Posted by Jerome S. Kaufman, February 28, 2005.

This was written by Yehudit Tayar, a veteran activist and spokesperson for the settlement movement. It appeared in the Jerusalem Post, January 4, 2005. Many Israelis, especially those of us who live in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (Yesha) are confronting what we see as a perversion of the democratic ideal. It is somehow deemed "democratic" to undermine our civil liberties - our rights against the government. As we see it, the human rights of law-abiding, tax-paying citizens are under attack because of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and parts of northern Samaria. Many of us are prepared to protest what we perceive as a "forced exile" from our homes. Is the protection of family, life and property a basic human right? We hear talk that if we resist we will be incarcerated in actual prisons. What I am about to write may seem harsh, but many of us feel under siege. What others call "disengagement" we see as a demonic plan - I have no other word for it. Technically speaking, Prime Minister Sharon may have the votes to carry this plan forward. But we see it as undemocratic and immoral. It is undemocratic because it goes against the wishes of the constituency that voted for Sharon and against his pro-disengagement Labor opponent. It is undemocratic because when Sharon couldn't get what he wanted he fired cabinet members and ignored votes in the Likud Party Central Committee (which he himself called). It is undemocratic because Sharon is now bringing in the very man, Shimon Peres, who was responsible for the Oslo debacle to sit in the cabinet as his government pursues disengagement. Think how that makes us feel. We find ourselves facing what seems like continuous psychological warfare. We feel alienated from what we read and see in the mainstream media. Official spokespeople talk in a babble of phrases we simply do not understand. Moreover, the use of veiled - and sometimes not so veiled threats against us is immensely troubling. If we oppose disengagement we'll lose our "compensation"; if we engage in civil disobedience we'll wind up in jail, and so on. Now we suspect that the government has been issued directives to the IDF which limit the scope of retaliation by our military when Gush Katif communities are attacked. In a sense, the government is asking the IDF to differentiate between the Jews of Sderot - just a few kilometers away - and the Jews of Gaza. How do you think that makes us feel? So from where we sit, the government is practically encouraging the enemy to shoot at us. And yet we have not given up. To combat "disengagement" the grassroots settler movement needs to pursue "engagement". We need to speak to as many of our fellow citizens as possible. We need to awaken support for our position. We need to mobilize against what we see is a horrific plan that could turn Jews into refugees in their own Land. We need to tell people that there is no lasting justification for disengagement. And we will. We will remind them that disengagement is a reward for terror. Granted, there are Israelis who give out-and-out support to the plan to destroy Jewish towns and turn Jews into refugees. But there are many others who, puppet-like, repeat popular phrases from the media or politicians. We keep hearing "but we have to try something", or "this situation cannot go on". Yet, after speaking with people - even sometimes just for a few minutes - these same knee-jerk pro-disengagement types come around to our position. They say, "I know that we cannot trust Palestinian Arab intentions", or "No matter what the enemy gets, they still will want more." What has happened to good, old-fashioned common sense? Has our national will become wobbly because of continous terror blows? Are we deluding ourselves because reality is harsh? Israelis need to ask themselves why a country at war should be willing to follow Sharon's disastrous plan. If we continue down this path, our country will be divided and our enemy encouraged. Disengagement will only give the enemy continued reason to attack additional civilian centers; they'll just come up with new targets. The end result? More Jews might become refuges in their own land. From where we sit, disengagement has no tangible, lasting benefits whatsoever. So why are we pursuing this policy is ever more impossible for many of us to understand. If Israel had true leadership, our government would be teaching those who plan, perpetrate and carry out the murder of Jews that Israel will not capitulate to terrorism. The Prime Minister may have won various political victories thanks to all sorts of machinations. But we are not about to throw in the towel. We shall show the world that we stand firm and will fight what we see as an evil plan. Would that Israel had a leadership which was honest with itself, and about what motivates it. Would that we truly had a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We, the Jewish residents of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza will continue to play our part, to engage with our fellow countrymen. We will do all we can - body and soul- to prevent this catastrophe from happening. Because we do believe in true democracy, and because we want to engage, not disengage. Jerome S. Kaufman is National Secretary of the Zionist Organization of America. and host the Israel Commentary website (http://www.israel-commentary.org). To Go To Top

INTERFAITH DIALOGUE ON THE SUDAN CRISIS' WITH SURVIVORS OF SLAVERY AND GENOCIDE Posted by Sliwa News, February 28, 2005.

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 28 /U.S./ - A survivor of the genocide in Darfur whose grandfather was burned alive by Arab militiamen, a survivor of slavery from southern Sudan, and the human rights activist on the front lines of the struggle against slavery and genocide in Sudan are coming to the University of Pennsylvania for an "Interfaith Dialogue on the Sudan Crisis." Mohammed Yahya, Simon Deng, and Charles Jacobs will be the featured panelists at a symposium on Monday at 7 p.m. in Room 255 at Jon M. Huntsman Hall (entrance on Walnut and 38th street). The event is co-sponsored by the African Students Association, Hillel, Amnesty, STAND, and various other student groups. Yahya will present on the experience of African Muslims in Darfur, who face a campaign of genocide waged by the Arab Muslim- dominated regime in Khartoum. Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir was recently named the world's No. 1 dictator by Parade Magazine, and his armed forces are responsible for the death over 100,000 civilians in Darfur and the displacement of over 1,000,000 people. Deng, who escaped after being held as a slave for several years by an Arab master in northern Sudan, will discuss the racism directed against Africans in Sudanese society. "We are called Abeed," notes Deng. "This word in Arabic means 'slave.'" Deng was recently profiled on BET's Nightly News and in the Christian Science Monitor. Jacobs, the co-founder and chairman of the American Anti- Slavery Group, will speak about the failure of the international community, the academic community, and the human rights community to address a genocide in Sudan that is over two decades old. He will recount the many obstacles faced by the abolitionist and anti-genocide movement and discuss why the United Nations has repeatedly failed in Sudan. Melissa Hauptman, one of the event organizers, explained that students will not sit by as genocide unfolds on their watch. "As the granddaughter of four Holocaust survivors, I don't want to have to tell my grandchildren that I did nothing while hundreds of thousands were enslaved and slaughtered in Sudan. We want to help stop this genocide." For more information on the American Anti-Slavery Group, visit http://www.iAbolish.com or call 800-884-0719 or email info@iabolish.com To Go To Top

A LETTER FROM THE SANUR COMMUNITY Posted by Hebron Community, February 28, 2005.

Dear friends of Eretz Yisrael, We need you to help us and all Eretz Yisrael! This summer Sharon is planning on evicting us from our homes in the Sanur community in the northern Shomron. We arrived in Sanur two years ago, before Sharon's plan's to destroy this community. We left successful communities, places of employment, educational institutions, full-fledged municipalities, to settle this land. We found here an almost abandoned community, decrepit houses, thorns and weeds. With our own two hands we rebuilt the community and today it shines and blossoms and includes a nursery school and kindergarten, a Torah study center, a Mikvah tahara, and library. We today number twenty-two families, and over 50 children, totaling over 100 residents. We were able to successfully revive a beautiful piece of Eretz Yisrael, which is now in danger of being destroyed. WE HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF LEAVING. THIS IS OUR HOME AND WE WILL STAY IN SANUR! However, we need your help at this difficult time, to prevent, with our bodies, our eviction and the destruction of Sanur. The Northern Shomron, like Gush Katif, is in jeopardy. Please don't stand idly by and watch the expulsion. Help prevent this tragedy. We are all soldiers and together, will succeed in stopping the abandonment of Gush Katif and the northern Shomron to our enemies. Please be in touch with us: Call: 011-972-52-392-9585 or email: sa_nur@walla.com Thank you. Sincerely, The Sanur Community You can contribute directly to The Jewish Community of Hebron, POB10, Kiryat Arba-Hebron 90100, hebron@hebron.org.il, 972-2-9965333 or write to The Hebron Fund, 1760 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, hebronfund@aol.com To Go To Top

URGENT CALL BY PROMINENT JEWISH LEADERS TO WORLD JEWRY Posted by Women in Green, February 28, 2005.

FROM THE RABBINICAL CONGRESS FOR PEACE By the Grace of G-d, Adar I, 5765 STOP THE MADNESS An Urgent Call to All Rabbis, Jewish Communal Leaders, and Friends of Israel Throughout the World, "For the sounding of wailing is coming from Zion: 'How have we been plundered? We have been shamed tremendously, for we have abandoned the land; our own dwellings have cast us out'" (Jeremiah 9:18) Open your eyes and see what the government of Israel is planning to do: Jewish communities that are more than three decades old will be destroyed; Torah centers and yeshivos will be torn down; Cemeteries where terror victims lie will be given over to the very hands who slew them; Parents and grandparents, young children and flowering youth, will be driven from their homes; and Businesses and corporations employing thousands will be closed. A victory will be granted to terror. Our enemies will celebrate in the streets and be encouraged to further acts of violence. Jews throughout the land of Israel will be endangered when the bases of terror will be brought closer to their homes and thousands of terrorists will be set free. Success that our foes could never dream to achieve will be granted to them. For what? What is being given in return? There are still terror alerts throughout Israel. Rockets and mortars are still falling on Jewish homes. Suicide bombers are still blowing themselves up in the heart of Israel murdering innocent Jews. "Do not stand idle while the blood of your brother is endangered" (Leviticus 19:16). We must object by raising an outcry, fasting and giving charity. As in all times of difficulty an extra measure of Psalms including Chapters: 20, 83, 103 should be recited daily. The emperor has no clothes. But the media in Israel are so slanted that they celebrate his parade through the streets while exposed. You can help! Raise an objective voice. Speak in the name of our Torah and our Jewish tradition. Tell the government to stop. Speak to your congressmen and senators. Let the media throughout the world know. Let an outcry be heard so that the heroes risking their lives and fortunes in Israel will take heart. "They will contrive a scheme, but it will be foiled; conspire a plot, but it will not be realized, for G-d is with us" (Isaiah 8:10). Signed, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman, Rebbe of Sadigura and Member of Council of Torah Sages Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz, Bostoner Rebbe and member of Council of Torah Sages Hagaon Rabbi Binyomin Yehoshua Zilber, Member of Council of Torah Sages Hagaon Rabbi Meir Mazuz, Rosh Yeshivas Kise Rachamim Former Chief Rabbi and noted Kabbalist, Hagaon Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

WHEN IS A POLITICIAN HONEST? Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 28, 2005.

There are a number of variations of the joke; when can you be sure a politician is telling the truth? Answers vary from when he's dead, when he's sleeping to the best, when he's talking about another politician that he hates. Of course what we have been going through (due in great part to the stupidity and perfidy Ehud Barak among others) is no joke and not at all funny. I, however, could not resist a good belly laugh when I read this. This is a news item from today's Arutz-7 - IsraelNationalNews.com (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=77611). It is called "Ehud Barak Against Disengagement." Ex-PM Barak made headlines last week when he told the Knesset Channel that the Sharon family was "corrupt to the core." Some of the other things he said were even more newsworthy, but were ignored. Much attention was paid to Barak's condemnation of the Sharon family. Barak said that "in any other normal country, Sharon would have no longer been in power." He said this just days after the decision was made to indict Sharon's son, MK Omri Sharon, on several felony counts relating to his financing of his father's 1999 campaign to head the Likud. The remarks caused such a stir that the Prime Minister even deigned to respond, saying that Barak could benefit from medical help. However, Barak made several statements during the interview that were very critical of the disengagement plan - and these were barely reported, if at all. He said that the impression that Sharon has caved in to terrorism, "shared by [Uzi] Landau, [Effie] Eitam and Hamas," is in fact grounded in reality. "After all," Barak said, "this plan is not something that Sharon promised during his election campaign," but rather something that took form after he saw that he was not defeating terrorism. Barak also gave marks of approval to Moshe Feiglin and Landau in their observations that "even after the disengagement, we will have withdrawn our forces and residents, but we will not have disengaged - for we will continue to be responsible for everything that goes on in Gaza, from the standpoint of international law." Barak didn't stop there, however. "It's not true that Bush promised Sharon that we [Israel] will be able to remain in Gush Etzion, Givat Zev, Ariel, and Maaleh Adumim. Get the Americans in a closed room and they will say that this is not true. The public is being deceived. Sharon is not strong enough to tell the Israeli public the truth. He and Mofaz have replaced people like [former Mossad chief Ephraim] Halevy, [outgoing GSS head Avi] Dichter, [outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe] Yaalon, and [former National Security Advisor Gen.] Uzi Dayan." Despite this, Barak hedged his bets by repeating several times that Sharon deserved much credit for initiating the disengagement. "But," he continued, "Sharon is not telling the public the truth... He's not telling the truth about the fence, that the communities behind the fence will be lost, and because he wasn't strong enough to say that, he left the fence open in several places, and that caused people in Hadera, Afula, Be'er Sheva and Tel Aviv to be buried [killed]. He has lost [the city of] Ariel, and now he's about to lose Maaleh Adumim, because there's a little Arab village between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim that's creeping up on it..." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

POLICE ARE OVER-PROTECTIVE OF MOFAZ Posted by Eliezar Edwards, February 28, 2005.

This is a news item from today's Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com At least three people, including a journalist, were detained by the police for between a half hour and several hours merely because Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz was visiting nearby. One of them was a journalist of the Chabad Hassidic movement by the pen-name of Shai Gefen. As Mofaz was beginning his visit in Kiryat Malachi last night, policemen knocked at Gefen's home in the city, and said they wanted to interrogate him. He went with them to the police station, where he was told that he must sign his consent to remain at home for the rest of the night. He signed, and was forbidden to leave his home until the next morning. Rabbi David Drukman - a well-known opponent of the disengagement, a leader of the Pikuach Nefesh [Saving Lives] Rabbis Organization - and an acquaintance of the detained journalist - told Arutz-7, "This is unbelievable. What happened to democracy here? Just because he organized the anti-disengagement rabbis' gathering in Jerusalem last week, they won't let him attend Mofaz's visit and Heaven forbid ask a question that they don't like? This must be publicized as widely as possible!" Rabbi Drukman wrote Gefen a letter this morning, saying, "Just yesterday the Cabinet decided on the formation of a special 'Jewish section' to deal with incitement - in Russia it was called the Hebsectzia, a shortened version of the words 'Hebrew' and 'section' - you have the great merit of becoming the first victim of the 'thought police'... "I plan to file a complaint with the Attorney-General against the fact that several others... who dreamt last night about demonstrating against the Prime Minister... I am actually surprised that they didn't arrest me as well, since I also dreamt last night that Sharon knew about the monetary deals of his son Omri... It's about time you realized that in a state that worships the religion of democracy, a demonstration by citizens is a blatantly anti-democratic act... You apparently don't know that one of the fundamentals of democracy in the State of Israel is the right to be arrested just for the thought of expressing your opinion." Two similar items occurred last Wednesday when Mofaz visited Kiryat Gat, just to the south of Kiryat Malachi and east of Ashkelon. The main news reports that evening began with this item: "A man has been arrested who planned to harm Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz." The report dealt with a resident of Netivot, aged 35, who was taken to the police station for having said he would like to throw tomatoes and eggs at Mr. Mofaz. The suspect was in a crowd of people waiting for the Defense Minister when he allegedly told them of his "plan." Maariv quoted Police Commander Yaki Artzi describing how the police force immediately went into action: "Right at the beginning of the visit, we received information from people who stood next to him and hear the threat. We enhanced our deployment, and I sent detectives to the site to locate him." At the same time, the police updated the body responsible for Mofaz's personal protection. Finally, the man was found in his home - i.e., after not having carried out the alleged threat. He told the policemen who took him for questioning, "I didn't protest against the disengagement only because of my respect for the mayor, but Mofaz deserves to be hit with tomatoes and eggs." Commander Artzi said, "The man was released, and we will check if charges should be filed against him." This was not all, however. On the day of the visit, a Kiryat Gat city councilman - a Chabad member named Chaim Shalom - arrived at his office in the city council building to pick up a document. "Suddenly, policemen jumped on me," he later told Yediot Acharonot newspaper, "and then I heard them say on their radio, 'The suspect is in our hands.'" Shalom said he asked the policeman, "What happened to you? Why are you jumping on me?" The policeman said abashedly, "This is the orders we received from the [GSS unit for the protection of persons]. Wait half an hour, until the Defense Minister finishes his lunch here and leaves the building." Shalom's pleas to be allowed to leave were in vain, and he was released only after Mofaz left. The fax number of the Public Security (Police) Ministry office in Jerusalem is (+972-2) 530-8039. To Go To Top

THE NEGEV'S RADICAL OASIS Posted by Bryna Berch, February 28, 2005.

This article was written by P. David Hornik and appeared in the Jerusalem Post today. Mr. Hornik is a freelance journalist and translator living in Jerusalem. Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, was a fervent nationalist who would turn in his grave to hear some of the things being said by academics at the Israeli university that bears his name. There are, of course, radicals at other Israeli universities as well, but they are particularly well represented at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Dr. Neve Gordon of BGU's political science department, for example, has written: "Israel's gravest danger today is not the PA or even Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, but the one it faces from within: fascism." And in a column on the far-Left Counterpunch Web site, he accused General Aviv Kohavi, currently IDF commander in the Gaza Strip, of "blatant violations of human rights" and of being a "war criminal." Not surprisingly, Gordon's articles are often posted on anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi sites. Not far behind Gordon in anti-Israeli vilification is Jeff Halper of BGU's anthropology department, who has written: "'Fortress Israel,' as we call it, is by necessity based on a culture of strength, violence and crudity. In the final analysis, it will be the bulldozer that razes the structure that once was Israel." Other pearls by this author include: "[Israel is using] state terrorism on a scale we have not seen before"; and "A just and lasting peace will not emerge from within Israel; only international pressure can save the Palestinians from being crushed by the iron wall." Halper heads IACHD (the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions), which openly calls for international sanctions against Israel even at a time when it is preparing for major land concessions. Then there's Lev Greenberg, director of BGU's Humphrey Institute for Social Research, who has written: "There is a difference between Israeli and Palestinian acts of aggression . the difference is that Israeli aggression is the responsibility of Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Shimon Peres, and Shaul Mofaz, while individual terrorist acts are done by individuals in despair, usually against Arafat's will"; "Suicide bombings killing innocent civilians must be condemned unequivocally; they are immoral acts, and their perpetrators should be sent to jail. But they cannot be compared to state terrorism carried out by the Israeli government"; "The murder of [Hamas leader] Sheik Ahmad Yassin by the government of Israel is part of a major move... which can be described as symbolic genocide." Other BGU academics portray Israel . which has already made massive land concessions and offered further ones in a quest for peace, while creating the Palestinian Authority and helping it become the most generously assisted entity on earth . as a brutal oppressor and call for its dissolution as a Jewish state. Oren Yiftachel of the Department of Geography and Environmental Development writes: "The actual existence of an Israeli state... can be viewed as an illusion... Israel has created a colonial setting, held through violent control"; "The establishment of a binational democratic state... appears more attractive than ever." For Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin, who teaches Jewish history, "Binationalism is the only solution . for now... the Zionist historical consciousness is based on suppression and the erasure of history"; "there really are Arabs who accuse me of supporting binationalism in order to preserve the Jewish people". a charge that, apparently, stings. A 2004 article called "Genocide by Public Policy," BGU's Michael Dahan with Palestinian-American businessman Sam Bahour, asserted that: "Deliberate and systematic destruction, as the definition of genocide illustrates, does not necessarily mean physical killing of people, albeit Israel is having no problem, and is facing no international outcry, in doing just that." The value of academic freedom, and the need for expression of a wide variety of views on the problems Israeli faces, is not in question. It is a different matter whether the taxpayers and donors who fund BGU should remain indifferent when this university, responsible for educating its young people, becomes a nest for academics who deny Israel's legitimacy, advocate its dissolution, call its people Nazis, and accuse it of genocide. Even if academic freedom is construed as being unbound by minimal notions of truth or loyalty, this should not prevent donors from conditioning their contributions carefully, and potential students and their parents from taking heed. To Go To Top

ISRAELI SECURITY PLAN DEVISED BY ARABS; UNILATERALISM; AN OLD SCAM RECYCLED Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 27, 2005.

PERES' SECURITY PLAN FOR GAZA Peres (whose Peace Center is funded by appeasement minded Europeans) contends that for (unspecified) diplomatic reasons, Israel should vacate the Philadelphi corridor above the arms smuggling tunnels that the IDF keeps destroying. Who would demolish them after the IDF left? The P.A. that still is bombarding Jewish communities (Arutz-7, 1/26) or Egypt, the P.A.'s patron? The P.A. is at war with Israel. Does it make sense for Israel to give the P.A. responsibility for blocking the tunnels from which it gets the arms for its insurgency? Vacating the corridor would be fatal to many Israelis. Peres should be asked what "diplomatic reasons" justify letting them get murdered. He should be challenged to show he is not giving a phony excuse. Israeli leftists have been getting away with vague assertions unchallenged, and, as a result, the Arabs have been getting away with murder. Egypt condoned the smuggling. What gives Peres confidence that Egypt now would block it? Egypt could block it now, but doesn't. Judge Peres by his confidence in Oslo, which failed, but in which he retains confidence. What a jolly good fellow is he! Or is he Israel's Dr. Moriarity? ARAB'S SECURITY PLAN FOR JUDEA-SAMARIA Defense Min. Mofaz has agreed to an old proposal of P.A. military leader Dahlan, that when Israel hands over security control in Judea-Samaria cities to P.A. forces, any wanted terrorists there will join those P.A. forces. This decision is not a satire (IMRA, 1/26). IMRA frequently advises readers that an Israeli security decision is not a satire. This plan was devised by a terrorist. Calling it a security plan does not make it one. My advice to readers is to suspect falsity in news labeling. Can wanted pirates be transformed instantly to respected policeman, by decree? If only people were so easily transformed! Imagine if New York City suggested that it end crime by enlisting the criminals in its police force! On the other hand, why not - the P.A. security men are terrorists initially armed by Israel and still somewhat subsidized by them, partly at the insistence of Pres. Bush, that supposed great friend of Israel. All those who complain that Israel does not adhere to Oslo are silent about this and earlier Arab violations of Oslo, in enlarging the P.A. forces beyond the contractual limit. Why is this type of violation important? It is important because it fosters the continuous building of a police force into an army capable of impeding an Israeli mobilization against an Egyptian-Syrian assault. It also rewards instead of eradicates terrorists. This change should not be viewed in isolation. Israel also has let Hizbullah come up to the Lebanese border and bring rockets with them. The State Dept. wants Hizbullah's sponsor, Syria to regain the Golan Heights, down which it could pour fire and send tanks. PM Sharon plans to let Egypt bring armored units up to its Israeli border in the Sinai. ISRAEL PLANS TO BUILD A SECURITY FENCE ALONG EGYPT Though less formidable than the one in Judea-Samaria, the plan for this one indicates suspicion of Egypt (IMRA, 1/26). Then why let Egyptian armored units alongside Gaza and Israel? The moral is: the world is closing in on Israel, and Israel's leaders are springing the trap. FILM GLORIFYING SUICIDE BOMBING An Israeli produced it "in association with the Consulate General of Israel (SF)." How sick! (Prof. Steven Plaut, 1/26, e-mail.) Prof. Plaut often finds Israel acting antisemitically, but not in conscious satire. NEW SYRIAN SUPPORT FOR TERRORISM Syrian regional authorities deduct $1 a month from thousands of government employees, to use in the P.A. war on Israel (IMRA, 1/27). Now there is interference with another country! RUSSIA REDUCES SYRIAN DEBT Russia dropped $9.8 billion of Syria's debt to it (IMRA, 1/27). That enables Syria to buy more new arms. The real cycle of violence is that the Arabs borrow money for arms, default on the debt, are forgiven the debt, and borrow again. In this case, however, Russia may be requiring new sales to be paid for on delivery. Thanks to high oil prices, Iran and S. Arabia can spare the funds for Syria's new purchases. To lower the price, the US should conserve fuel, switch to renewable energy, and do extensive research on making coal as clean a fuel as oil, since two of the main consumers of oil, the US and China, have extensive deposits of coal. SYRIA: WANTS DEFENSIVE WEAPONS & STABILITY? Syria rejects Israeli objections to its proposed purchase of surface-to-air missiles from Russia. It claims the objections interfere in Russian affairs and, by not wanting Syria to be able to defend itself, indicates a plan for aggression against Syria. Syria prefers dialogue between civilizations. Pres. Putin depicted the missiles as purely defensive, unable to change the balance of power, and would be restricted by Russia so they don't get into the hands of terrorists. To the contrary, some of the missiles are like the US hand-held "stinger" type, which changed the balance of power, which were not just defensive, and which got into the hands of terrorists (IMRA, 1/27). Syria and Iran put 14,000 other missiles into the hands of Hizbullah. Russia's sale would interfere in Israeli affairs. Syria doesn't often engage in dialogue, but when it does, it is the usual Arab ploy to lull suspicions. Far from seeking to defend itself (from whom?), Syria must be suspected of planning more aggression along the lines of its designs on other countries that it never abandoned, just as it is occupying another country contrary to its signed agreement. Deception is the primary Arab tactic. The main deception in the Syrian statement is to call the missiles defensive weapons. This is the usual Arab ploy of putting to a word something it does not mean. Syria's likeliest aggression against Israel is by missiles. Israeli's likeliest defense is to launch its air force at the Syrian missile sites. There, the Soviet, er Russian, ground-to-air missiles would intervene in behalf of the Syrian aggressors. Deception is a primary Soviet tactic. Putin was a Soviet KGB official. His deception does not excuse the West for its extensive deception, but it doesn't rely on deception as much as did Soviets and Arabs. IMRA & AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE IMRA translates and reviews articles in the Arab media. Often IMRA remarks about the media's use of expressions that are not supported by the news and that reflect Arab bias. In this case, the source of the news was "Agence France Presse, which described the conflict in diplomacy between Syria and the US as Syrian "reluctance to toe the US line." IMRA responded, "hat US line, 'free elections' and cessation of support for terrorism? (IMRA, 1/27) The US also demands that Syria stop occupying Lebanon. The US demands are decent and just, and necessary for eventual world survival and peace. For "Agence France Presse" to call it the "US line," and to put it as if the US, one of the victims of terrorism, has no right to combat terrorism that Syria specializes in, indicates what a misconceived, pro-Arab approach the French media have. SANITIZING TERRORISM "A conspicuous component of the academic world of the West engages in vigorous campaigns against Israel, with strong support for Palestinian (Arab) actions. Even when Palestinian wrongs are recognized, ultimate blame is placed on Israel and its supporters." (The assumption I that the poor Arabs cannot help themselves. The assumption patronizes the Arabs in behalf of antisemitism.) "... terrorists as exemplified by Hamas have advanced from being presumably outlawed by the Oslo agreement to participating in Palestinian elections and to now becoming a P.A. partner in the peace process and governance." (Likewise, Israel and the Quartet are permitting terrorists to join the P.A. police. If the P.A. were ever to eradicate terrorism, one would think that terrorism would be a disqualification rather than a qualification.' Professor of Culture Terry Eagleton of Manchester U. wrote in the "Guardian" that human bombs are idealists, hence noble. He claims they do it not only for religions reasons but also because they see it as the only way to secure justice (IMRA, 1/27). Justice? Jihad, their usual cause, is one of religious oppression, imperialism, and mass-murder. Some Communists and fascists thought they served ideals, as did some of the servants of the Inquisition. They perpetrated great cruelty and robbery, in the service of injustice. Who needs such "idealists?" Westerners repeatedly imagine the worst as the best? The professor omitted other common motivations for murder: brainwashing by those who don't sacrifice themselves, coercion of compromised women, and payments for their families. UNILATERAL ISRAELI "GOODWILL" GESTURES Although it would get nothing in return, Israel plans to remove from its list of wanted terrorists two of the main ones, Tawfiq Tirawi and Rashid Abu Shabak. Both have been proved heavily involved in planning and directing fatal terrorism (IMRA, 1/27). Israel constantly takes measures to undermine its security. Its government is more suicidal than are the Arab human bombs. Israel does get something in return. It gets demands from diehard antisemites for more. PM SHARON'S BETRAYAL OF ISRAEL'S VOTERS During his last campaign, Ariel Sharon ridiculed his rival for planning unilateral withdrawal. Sharon did admit he would make some painful concessions. Now he and his supporters pretend that by "painful concessions" he meant unilateral withdrawal. If that were true, he would not have ridiculed his rival and promised to be different from him. Sharon claims the voters misunderstood, but they didn't, and he betrayed them (and the Jewish people). All the worse that Sharon refuses to go back to the people for a referendum, to see what they understand now (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 1/27). TERRORISM DOESN'T ARISE FROM POVERTY, IT CREATES IT As the US pours its treasury into the rebuilding of Iraq, the rebels there spill blood and shatter facilities. The terrorists are Baathists seeking to regain power and Islamists seeking the death of infidels and hegemony over the faithful. They are well-financed. Thus terrorism does not arise from poverty. It creates poverty. AN OLD SCAM RECYCLED Iran and Syria declared their countries one front, whether attacked by the US or Israel. Israel's Foreign Ministry finds, by contrast, Egypt and the P.A. "moderate." This is the old confusion or scam of falsely dividing Israel's Arab enemies into moderates and extremists. The foul incitement to racial violence against Jews coming out of Egypt and the P.A. is no different from that coming out of Iran and Syria. Same for the end goal of Egypt and the P.A., which is their dominance over Israel, and the subordination, dispossession, and to some extent the extermination of the Jews. The difference is that the ones called moderate may negotiate agreements with Israel, and then, again, they may not. The ones considered extremist resist agreements, lest it sully their honor. Therefore, the ones called moderate present the greater danger, because they can dupe Israelis into imagining they are negotiating peace rather than concessions that facilitate the next Arab aggression. HOW TO OPPOSE AN AUTHORITARIAN REGIME DEMOCRATICALLY? "Yediot Ahronot" criticizes the Right for opposing PM Sharon's territory-abandonment plan with violence instead of democratically. I don't condone stone-throwing against police, but I question who is throwing the stones. The government never punished the secret service people and their high political patrons (such as Peres and Rabin) who committed dirty tricks. The editor is not ethically entitled to take that line without also condemning police brutality against dissidence. The Israeli police are used for political purposes, are brutal, and perform poorly. Without the Territories, and with all the other concessions to the Arabs, Israel would not survive. What are the limits to the type of opposition when the stakes are national existence? How is a political opposition to function democratically, when the government has become authoritarian? The people voted to replace Barak with Sharon, but Sharon instituted Barak's policies. Sharon's Likud Party held two referendums to oppose Sharon's adoption of Barak's Labor Party policies. Sharon lost, but after promising in advance to abide by the votes, ignored the votes (because he is driven by some psychological demon or blackmail). Cabinet Members who would vote against the plan he fired, although that is contrary to the protocol for coalition government. Opponents turned to the Supreme Court, but that Court, itself chosen undemocratically, serves the Far Left and twists its interpretation of the law, when it doesn't simply declare its whim the law. Opponents cannot get much time on the air or in the press, controlled by the Left. People who speak up are threatened with preventive detention. When soldiers indicate they won't obey orders to dispossess Jews from the Territories, they are dismissed. When soldiers indicate they won't obey orders to protect Jews in the Territories, they are not dismissed. It is said that Sharon has hired foreign troops to do his dirty work. The situation is so dire, that it would justify a coup. But Sharon has preempted this by staging his own coup, as indicated by those measures and his general bullying and maneuvering. Rather than merely disobey, soldiers should arrest the officer and officials giving the illegal order. If they did, however, they would not be able to maintain their stance. An attempted coup would not have the support of the country, which disapproves of Sharon but does not understand how evil he and especially Peres are and how sick is the Left. This effort to save Jews would kill Jews. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

PAMPHLET THREATENS NEW VIOLENCE AGAINST MAGHAR CHRISTIANS Posted by Tamar Rush, February 27, 2005.

This article is by Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent. A pamphlet threatening renewed violence against Christians was distributed Sunday in the mixed Druze-Christian-Muslim village of Maghar. The pamphlet, signed by a group calling itself "The Heroes of Hamza Ben Ali" after a Druze saint, expressed support for the riots that occurred in the Galilee village roughly two weeks ago, and included detailed threats to open fire on any Christians venturing to the village's main road starting Wednesday. Tiberias police have launched a probe to find out who was behind the pamphlet. Seven Maghar residents and three police officers were injured in the clashes between Druze and Christians, which began after a Druze teenager spread a false rumor that Christian youths had posted pornographic pictures of Druze girls on the internet. Many Christian families fled the village as a result of the riots. The threats were also directed against police officers from the Tiberias station who have been involved in arrests of Druze, as well as the village's Christian leadership, accusing it of disrespecting the Druze sheikhs. The distribution of the pamphlet has increased tensions in the village, and Christian families have expressed fears of a new round of violence. A Christian resident of the village said the Christians are taking the threats seriously. "We don't know who is behind the pamphlet and if it is a few people or many, but there is no doubt that these are very grave statements that can re-ignite the flames," said the resident. "This time there is no more property to burn and therefore they are threatening physical harm." "It seems that all the talk of reconciliation have not seeped into the same group that led the pogrom," the resident continued. "I hope that the police will treat the matter seriously this time and will not wait until an additional catastrophe occurs." In the Christian neighborhood, villagers emphasized Sunday evening that a large number of villagers do not feel they can count on police and are taking up arms themselves. Police sources said they are aware of the villagers lack of faith, and warned that criminal agents may try to take advantage of the tension in order to sell weapons to the villagers. The sources said Sunday evening that the police is taking the threats very seriously, and emphasized that police forces remain in the Christian neighborhood of Maghar in order to prevent acts of violence against the community. To Go To Top

NOT TO WORRY: We Have the High Priest Cult of Human Sacrifice Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 27, 2005.

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon has a sufficient number of Jews to sacrifice to his ego. The moment I head of the atrocity in Tel Aviv, I wrote the anticipated speech from Sharon, Abbas and Bush. Each would babble something about: "The Peace must go on - even when there was none." We used to hear this often from Rabin and Peres was always quick to say that the "Piss Process must go on." The Media has a lot invested as the cheering squad for a process that is not happening. I would forecast that many Jews are yet to die at the hand of a non-existent Peace Process. Clearly, Sharon is no less corrupt than Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), the new President of the Palestinian Authority in setting in motion an "Intifada 3" while telling its future victims "not to worry", we have everything under control. The other day one of Sharon's team of liars was holding forth at an interview, bragging about how quiet it was on Israel's Northern Front where former PM Ehud Barak ran from the Lebanese Security Border, like a rat in the night. That vacuum is now filled with 12,000 to 15,000 missiles, tended by Hezb'Allah under Syrian and Iranian influence. Many of those warheads are known to Israeli Intelligence as being loaded with deadly chemicals. In his interview, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had ignored the number of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, roadside bombs, sniper killing that have been used successfully against Israeli troops but Olmert claimed "All was quiet on the Northern Front." When really pressed with the facts, Olmert walked out. Olmert's purpose was to create the impression that the Gaza withdrawal will result in similar 'quiet'. Well, maybe. Lebanon is a good example. Gaza, like Lebanon, is already loaded with weapons. When Sharon leaves the Gaza vacuum, it too will have its 10,000 missiles or more pointed at Israel. Add to that Russia's plan to sell heavy weapons and light armor to the Arab Muslim Palestinians. Sharon's team of liars believe the Israeli people to be exceptionally stupid and believe anything told to them. Moreover, they are counting on the Jewish tendency to quickly forget Terrorist atrocities, like the one that just killed four young people, wounding more than 50 - one woman is fighting for her life. The club named "The Stage" featured karioke and sing-a-long. It had four guards, one of whom stopped the killer from getting inside where he would have killed many more. My friend, Oded Orbach had to fly to Israel last night because his niece, Yael Orbach was killed as she was handing out wedding invitations to her friends at The Stage nightclub. Is there anyone in Israel who does not have a friend, relative or loved one who was killed by a Terrorist? Throughout the phony calm since Sharm el-Sheikh, between 50 and 60 threatened bombings were constants on their screens. Although the military had drastically cut down on its counter-terror operations and precautions to give the new Palestinian leader Abu Mazen a chance to rein in Palestinian Terror, still ticking bombs from all the various Palestinian Terrorist organizations were being caught almost daily in Judea and Samaria. None of this was reported by the Leftist Hebrew Press but, then the world Media including CNN and FOX News didn't think it was worth publishing This killer wasn't alone. He was just the first that got through the Israeli security net after many of his fellow killers had tried and failed. He was handed his bomb belt by a confederate Terrorist who lives inside Israel. In Jerusalem there were three separate alerts in the past two weeks for suicide bombers on their way from Judea and Samaria to strikes in the Capital. All were captured with their bomb belts. Now Tel Aviv and central Israel are now also on elevated Terror alerts for the coming days. The Sharon government will face grave charges that will be heard in its regular session, Sunday February 27. But, Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz were too preoccupied with political maneuvers over the coming retreats from the Gaza/Gush Katif and North Samaria. They fired or silenced their most effective apolitical critics of the "Disengagement Plan" and prematurely lowered Israel's counter-terror guard; Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, Shin Beit Director Avi Dichter and Military Intelligence Chief Brigadier Aharon Ze'evi are all on their way out. But, Sharon's office has been clear that Abbas will be given more freedom before any drastic military action and the giving away to the Palestinian Arab Muslims will continue. (1) According to DEBKAfile, Abu Mazen and his lieutenant Mohammed Dahlan have secretly applied to more than 20 world governments with urgent requests for large quantities of heavy weapons. The Sharon government hasn't bothered to monitor these dangers. It includes all types of armored personnel carriers with fixed mortars, jeeps fitted with 107 mm recoilless guns, telescopic rifles, pistols, ammunition, communications and engineering gear, helmets and medical equipment. Shopping for heavy weapons is in total contravention of every international accord the Palestinians, including Abu Mazen in person, have ever signed with Israel and every pledge Abbas has made to President Bush. In 2001, the Israeli Air Force and Naval Commandos intercepted the Karine-A with 50 tons of heavy weapons from Iran bound for the Palestinian Authority. The Russian Foreign Minister frankly admitted February 15, to supplying the Palestinians with "military machines" and said Moscow was considering sending them APCs since the Palestinian Authority proved itself in control of security. In Gaza, Mussa Arafat would have the use of mobile artillery to blitz Israeli towns and villages. The first to pay the ultimate price were the victims of Arab Muslim Terror in Tel Aviv Friday night.(1) Jews are supposed to forget so Sharon can go on with his scurrilous plans. This is bunch who surely deserve a Nuremberg trial, with the same probability of sentencing. Sacrificing Jews to a theory, as was done with the Oslo Accords under Rabin and Peres was only their first major betrayal but, not the last. Now, "Disengagement" is being foisted on hard-working innocent Jewish farmers and their families who must accept being evicted, uprooted - having 30 years of their work wiped out by a theory that "Disengagement" will bring Peace. How foolish! Anyone who has studied history of the Arab Muslims will know that they will never stop accepting the Jews' sacrifices of their own people. Never forgive or forget this cult of the Political High Priests still in the business of sacrificing people to the pagan gods they follow. Some may recall HaShem's instructions to the Hebrew tribes, namely to eliminate those who practiced human sacrifice to their pagan gods. It was considered an abomination before G-d and man. They were supposed to kill ALL the Amaleketes but they never did. This is just a preliminary slaughter leading up to the main event. Be assured there will be plenty of dancing in the towns and camps of the Palestinians and Arab nations. The bait-and-switch groups of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have denied a role in the slaughter while others, wearing another hat, blew up the young people with bombs loaded with nails. He killed a bride giving her friends wedding invitations. Her groom-to-be is in moderate condition. We don't know yet who lost legs, arms, eyes - cut by the nails and shrapnel loaded in the 60 pound of explosives the bomber had on his belt. All of them had a life, a story, to live and love, bear children and watch them grow. Why does normal life have to be bought with the sacrifices of other lives? Abu Mazen can say: "It wasn't me or mine." Nevertheless, the wood is being gathered to light and dance around. The big event will be Sharon's grand ceremony as he sends in troops and thugs to attack the settlers, the Jewish men, women and children, put them on trucks and ship them off to "temporary? tent camps?" There will follow a wild swirling ceremony, where Sharon and his collaborators will join with Abu Mazen and his men, as they dance around whatever pagan god each believes in. I wonder if Condi will join the high priest cult in the ceremonies? ### 1. "Terrorists Shatter Phony Calm in Tel Aviv, Shop for Heavy Weapons" DEBKAfile Feb. 26, 2005 2. "Terrorists Kill Four in Tel Aviv Bomb Blast" ARUTZ 7 Feb. 27, 2005 An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber Friday night killed three men and a woman and wounded more than 50 others at a Tel Aviv nightclub near the beach. The four who were killed were to be buried in their hometowns today. They are: * Yitzchak Buzaglo, 40, from Moshav Mishmar HaYarden, whose wife Linda was hospitalized in serious condition; they have a 9-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter. * Aryeh Nagar, 37, of Kfar Saba; never married, he is survived by his parents and five siblings. * Ronen Reuvenov, 30, of Tel Aviv; and * Yael Auerbach, 28 from Rehovot, who was to have been married in two weeks; her fiancé is hospitalized in moderate condition. The attack occurred when a suicide terrorist blew himself up at the entrance to the Stage Club on the Tel Aviv boardwalk. The terrorist was killed in the blast, and police are searching for a second man seen with him before the attack. The Palestinian Authority (PA) blamed the attack on Hezb?Allah terrorists allied with Iran, but Israeli security sources said the terrorists came from an Islamic Jihad gang backed by Syrian terrorists. Islamic Jihad, in fact, claimed responsibility, airing a video tape prepared before the attack and boasting that it was trying to derail the PA. Three of the wounded were initially listed in serious condition. Of the more than 50 people who were wounded, 29 are still hospitalized in four Tel Aviv hospitals - Sheba, Ichilov, Wolfson and Beilinson - including one in very critical condition and one in serious condition. Most of the victims belonged to an Israeli army reserve unit that was planning to celebrate the birthday of one of its officers at the nightclub. "It was a surprise party for our sergeant-major," said Eitan Hait, one if the reservists. "We were all standing outside laughing and smiling when suddenly I felt darkness sweep over me." Many unit members described themselves as a close "family" that would often get together socially. They were to have received wedding invitations to Ophir and Yael's wedding on Friday night. "We're a small and very 'together' unit," later said Yaron Greivsky, whose 30th birthday was the reason for the surprise gathering. "We're the kind who smile when we're called up for reserve service. All of us have been in dangerous places, we've been in Lebanon, Gaza, Hevron, all over. No one was ever hurt. And then a terrorist comes to the middle of Tel Aviv, where it's supposed to be the safest, and destroys everything." The murderer was a 21-year-old terrorist from an area near Tul Karem, about five miles east of Tel Aviv. Tul Karem was slated to be one of the first cities whose security responsibility was to be handed over to the PA in the coming days. In reaction to the suicide bombing, Israel announced last night, among other things, that it was freezing the plan. Some analysts said that this was largely an announcement to calm the Israeli public, as the plan was mired in any event. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

OUTRAGE! Posted by Barry Shaw, February 27, 2005.

To: helen.boaden@thebbc.co.uk Cc: michael.grade@thebbc.co.uk To Whom it May Concern, (if it concerns anyone at the BBC!) People in Israel were shocked by the sudden terrorist outrage that hit Tel Aviv last Friday. This horror was compounded by your coverage, under the heading 'A family in mourning' of the parents of the homicide bomber !!! How brutally insensitive! And what an insult to the real terror victims! Your action is identical to that taken by CNN who, following a similar deadly bombing attack in Petach Tikva, interviewed and aired the parents of the bomber, despite having also interviewed the young woman who had lost her baby and her mother in the attack. The protests that erupted jammed ther switchboard of CNN and crashed their computer system. It also brought their chairman, Eason Jordan, running to Israel with an apology, as protests in Israel threatened to remove CNN from our TV screens. There is now a growing campaign to have the BBC removed from our network channels following a long history of blatant anti-Israel reporting, journalism, and programs - and not only on your news programs. I know we have the support of an Israeli Government that has been forced to take steps against the BBC in the recent past. Barry Shaw is Founder & Chairman, Netanya Terror Victims Fund, Netanya, Israel. Contact him at netre@matav.net.il or at his daytime phone: 050.350.6101 (Israel) To Go To Top

MISSING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES Posted by Marcel Cousineau, February 27, 2005.

If P.M. Sharon were to dissappear tomorrow, the Quartet Master would find another turncoat Jew to replace him and New World Order (NWO) groupie Peres. And the process spoken of in Psalm 83 1-5 would continue. It is the globalist cabal which pull the strings in Israel. The point you miss is that Israel must stop seeking acceptance and P.R. points from this NWO group headed by President Bush. All attempts to play by their rules has led Israel closer to destruction. You must read Psalm 83 1-5 and see that this is more than just a Israel-Palestinian peace plan. Verse 1 is our answer to this Global Cabal against Israel. Have you forgotten that every Israeli P.M. since Yitzak Shamir has bowed the knee to their Master in Washington. Rabin,Barak,Peres,Netanyahu always went along with the suicidal U.S. policy for Israel and knew who their Master was and knew not to say 'no'. Sharon talks tough today, but he has always been easily de-balled by a phone call. I leave you ONE guess as to where the phone call always comes from. The fact that the best and brightest Zionists IGNORE the true danger of U.S. policy towards Israel reveals the dark haze that blinds them. Your failure to address this serious problem (The BUSH ROAD MAP to a Palestinian State) does not bode well for Israel's immediate future. You fail to see that P.M. Sharon is just following the orders of his Puppet Master,you miss the forrest for the tree and Sharon is just one small tree! Marcel Cousineau can be reached at up2zionsg8@yahoo.com To Go To Top

CROSS OVER Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 27, 2005.

Officers and soldiers who believe in a democratic nation as it once was, should consider crossing over. By that I mean resigning their positions and crossing over to physically join the pioneering Settlers if by doing nothing more than to stand with them on the road. The Settlers represent the deepest core values of what is called: Zionism, namely, to return to the Land; make it fruitful and raise children who respect their parents, teachers and even the government when it deserves respect. Regrettably, the soldiers who have died for the Land have been dismissed as unimportant by the present Government as men who have sacrificed their lives for no good reason. The highest ranking officers, with the foot soldiers have come to recognize that Sharon's idea of "Disengagement" is nothing more than another version of the failed Oslo Accords which also were the ideas of Rabin, Peres and Beilin. Now Sharon has ignored whatever degree of Peace was already bought and paid for through the many dead who sacrificed themselves for whatever protection they could give the Israeli people and their families. Sharon has been advised by his highest Military leaders in Israel's Army that he is making a vital, existential mistake in opening the City Gates to an implacable Muslim enemy whose religious mandate is to remove Israel from the face of this Planet. Sharon has had similar advice by the Director of Shabak, the Intelligence Service to cease the "Disengagement". Follow on Intelligence speaks of a growing number of Terrorist attacks between now and the effort to force Israel out of Gaza and the blooming Gush Katif. Intelligence indicates that the attacks will ramp up during the evacuation to demonstrate that the Israeli retreat is being conducted under fire. This will couple with the knowledge that former PM Ehud Barak and Israeli forces were driven out of Lebanon under fire by Hezb'Allah Terrorist attacks. When Barak's midnight desertion under fire out of the Lebanese security zone became known to Arafat's Terrorists, they knew that Israel's politicians didn't have the staying power. Now Sharon will further cement that perception as he, the "great" warrior can be made to similarly run - as did Barak. For Israel's Armed Forces, they know that Sharon's retreat will heat up the entire border so that all the areas of Israel will come under increased fire so that the next Jewish leader will easily give up Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley, the Golan Heights and that part of Jerusalem that Jordan occupied for 19 years between 1948 and 1967. The Arab Muslim Palestinian Terrorists supported by Syria and Iran will know for an absolute certainty that Jews, Jewish soldiers, Jewish politicians can be made to run under fire. The simple fact is that Sharon and his collaborators must be run out of office and, if possible, charged with treason against the Jewish State. However, in the interim, the Israeli Army should be encouraged to cross over to protect the Jews of Gaza/Gush Katif because that must hold firm in order to keep the rest of the Jewish State in strength and faith. Soldiers! Police! Resign your posts and be reinstated as heroes of the Jewish nation under a new Government. The officers and men of Israel's Army must be reminded that one day in the future, they will have to stand before a Court of Comrades long dead and to explain why they abandoned the Jews of Israel and merely obeyed orders they knew to be dangerously wrong. Cross Over and stand with both the pioneering settlers and many of your comrades-in-arms who already refuse to drag Jews out of their homes! Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

HAMAS DEMANDS ISRAEL RELEASE ALL ARAB PRISONERS AND TERRORISTS Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, February 27, 2005.

Thousand of Hamas terrorist supporters took to the streets Friday to demand that Israel release all Arab prisoners and terrorists, or face reprisals - including kidnapping of IDF soldiers. Israel freed 500 prisoners last week, and has agreed to release another 400. Senior Gaza Hamas leader Fathi Hamar said on Friday, following Moslem prayers, that his forces are "ready at any time to kidnap soldiers" until Israel releases all jailed terrorists. Hamar reiterated that the planned withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria proves that Israel meets Arab demands only under threats. He said terrorists have proved their success in kidnapping, and cited the abduction and subsequent murder of soldier Nachshon Wachsman 10 years ago. Another Hamas leader, Hassan Yousef, said he doubted that an upcoming meeting of leaders of Arab terror groups in Syria would lead to a formal truce. The leaders of all eight Damascus-based groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, will meet with Palestinian Authority and Egyptian officials in early March. Following the Friday night attack in Tel Aviv, Israel has announced that it would not permit the Islamic Jihad representative from Judea/Samaria to attend. Syria-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said that a truce is not possible unless Israel accepts Palestinian demands, including allowing three million Arabs in Lebanon, Jordan and other countries to live in Israel. Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org To Go To Top

THE APT AND ULTIMATE MOCKERY Posted by Women in Green, February 27, 2005.

This article was written by Eugene Narrett, Ph.D. The Jerusalem Post refused to publish it AS AN AD unless certain unspecified phrases were changed. We could not agree to this censorship, since we did not write this article. Thus this article AS AN AD, which follows below, was never published by the Post. A "Galut state" is a Jewish state that scorns its birthright. Since mid-June 1967, the guns of the miracle war hadn't even fallen silent, successive governments and nearly all the media and 'judges' of Israel have played the part of Esau, spurning their birthright, the complete Land of Israel. No wonder these same ruling cadres and their descendants are now openly allied with Edom and Ishmael in utterly betraying their fellow Jews and reversing the miraculous redemption the L-rd prepared for the Children of Israel. They are a generation of perverts, an obtuse and ass-backwards generation as Moshe foretold, and they are bringing hell upon the people and Land of Israel, against a nation gathered partly back together and dwelling, many of them, "in unwalled villages." It is very difficult to single out the worst group of betrayers of the world's most essential and saving promise, but the "United Torah Judaism" [sic] has done its worst to earn mention. "United"? "Torah"? "Judaism"?!?! To ally themselves, for $60 million with the destroyer and betrayers of their brethren, and to facilitate dragging them from their homes, synagogues, and dragging their dead from the consecrated earth, these degenerates have earned eternal wrath and an eminent place and the large room of shame of 20th century Jewish betrayers of the complete Land of Israel. They're 'kissing cousins' with all the Bolsheviks, socialists, anti-Jews, Jew-murderers (e.g. at the Altalena, the Saison" etc.) and all the other spurners of the birthright and vilifiers of those who sought to clasp it dear, as our father Jacob did. This party is helping to disunite the Jewish people in the most heinous way and under the worst circumstances, to sever them from their G-d-promised home and duties on the land and following the Torah of Peres, Sharon, the UN, the EU, State Department and Saudis leading to the murder of more Jews as inevitably happens when the birthright is despised. This is the ultimate anti-Judaism. So the entire party's name is a lie; their behavior relative to their Jewish brethren is a lie; they are political sluts of the most shameless kind since they come cloaked with excuses purporting to be Torah. They have allied themselves to the covenant of lies and death, even as this covenant is in the process of sweeping the land and scourging it, and the people who have not embraced it fully and wholeheartedly. "For this, the Land will mourn." But just as the savages are preparing to drag Jews from their home, adding a piquant postscript to the work of the Ukrainians, Nazis, et al, may it be that "may My dead come to life, may My corpses arise, awake and sing from the dust" in glory and victory. Victory, for which, as Purim, Hanukkah, Moshe, Joshua and David taught us, there is no substitute and without which there is no peace. Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

ELI MOZES: "I WAS CHOSEN" Posted by TheRaphi, February 27, 2005.

This was written by Rachel Saperstein, who is Rachel Saperstein is a teacher at the N'vei Dekalim ulpana and a spokeswoman for the Katif Regional Council. Eli is under house arrest. Dear, sweet Eli. It is Friday morning and we are sitting in his garden. He just celebrated his son's bar mitzvah and his twin daughters are to celebrate their third birthday. Eli will not be allowed to attend the party in their kindergarten. Eli Mozes gave me his boyish grin, but the pain in his eyes and the new creases in his forehead told me that he was in pain. His hearty "Shalom HaMorah" - "Hello teacher" - is his standard greeting when he sees me. I was his English teacher at the Community Center's course for adults. Eli is under house arrest. Dear, sweet Eli. It is Friday morning and we are sitting in his garden. He just celebrated his son's bar mitzvah and his twin daughters are to celebrate their third birthday. Eli will not be allowed to attend the party in their kindergarten. Eli Mozes told me his story. "I'm a security guard in N'vei Dekalim. Palestinian policemen were being brought to the industrial area to share patrols with our army. Our people were enraged that our security would be placed in the hands of the Palestinian Authority. Residents went out to the gate to protest. "The police were waiting for us. I carried my rifle as I always do. I had volunteered to go to make sure there would be no friction. A policeman asked me for my rifle. I gave it to him and explained what my job is in the yishuv [community]. I was told to report to police headquarters. "There, I was told that I was under arrest for disturbing the peace and carrying a weapon. I was whisked off to jail in Be'er Sheva. Suddenly, I was turned into a felon. My feet were shackled and I was thrown into a cell with drug dealers and wife beaters. No, HaMorah, I wasn't afraid. "Strangely, I knew that I was chosen to accept this mission. That I was the shaliach tzibur, the representative of the people, to be jailed for being at the right place at the right time for the right cause. I was chosen to be put in jail for protecting my fellow Jews. The police treated me as a felon, the felons treated me as a hero when they heard that I was a political prisoner. They shared their food parcels and tea with me. "Brought shackled into court, I was offered a deal - to be placed under house arrest until my trial. My lawyer took the deal." Eli Mozes is permitted to be at his job at the Katifari, the Gush Katif zoo, where he cares for the animals. There, he had befriended co-worker Tiferet Trattner, z.l. Eli and his wife Pazit had adopted Tifferet and she had become a member of his family. When Tifferet was killed in a mortar attack, the Mozes family mourned her. Eli spoke about her to the media because so few knew her. Eli also takes young people who are emotionally or psychologically troubled to a horse farm. He teaches them to ride and care for the horses, aiding in their recovery. "I'm hyperactive," says Eli. "That's why you'll see me working in neighbors' gardens, caring for my trophy-winning show dog and delivering the Makor Rishon newspaper every Friday morning. I'm also a member of the first response team in times of attack on the community. "I help people," he smiles. The people of Gush Katif were very troubled to hear that Eli Mozes was arrested as a common criminal by the "get tough" police. Today, the police are beating any person who shows up at protest demonstrations against government policy. Eli Mozes is being used as an example of this new police action in Gush Katif. The message is clear: 'If we can jail Eli Mozes, we can easily jail you. Beware! Do not show any resistance. We are stronger than you!' As we spoke in the garden, neighbors passed by. Some brought Shabbat flowers and cakes. Others blew their car horns and waved. A police car drove by to see if Eli was still penned in. Eli wished them a Shabbat Shalom. Eli is not allowed to go to synagogue, so on Shabbat the Torah scroll is brought to Eli's home for a minyan. Last Shabbat, the sexton reminded the worshippers in our synagogue and the many guests from Psagot and Bat Yam to visit Eli to show their support. They were also asked to visit the jail and courthouse in Be'er Sheba on Sunday. Seven yeshiva students had been imprisoned for the previous week because they dared to stop Arab cars on the Tantcher Road. They had protested the day after the mortar and rocket 'blitz' on N'vei Dekalim. They were beaten and jailed. TheRaphi (http://www.theraphi.com/archives/oldindex.html) is a pro-Israel and pro-Zionist site; it provides news articles and essays. To Go To Top

SHARON'S UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE Posted by Steven Plaut, February 28, 2005.

Middle East ceasefires are always unilateral ceasefires, whereby the Jews stop shooting back. They usually morph into one of those "controlled carnage" agreements that Israeli politicians so love, whereby the Arabs continue to murder Jews but as long as the rate of murder is "reasonable", the Jews do not retaliate. Such deals operated in Lebanon and with the PLO. And now Sharon's ceasefire has been revealed to be just another in this series, as the massacre Friday night outside a Tel Aviv nightclub showed. The one-sided violence is no surprise. And it is being accompanied by all the same nonsense Oslo pollyanna. The leftist newspapers in Israel are sighing in ecstasy about how Abu Shlimazen's new government is now going to crack down on the terror. Danny Rubinstein, Haaretz's commentator on Palestinian affairs, the leftist who always seems to be convinced that all Palestinians think exactly what he is thinking this week, a guy who is acknowledged as an expert on Palestinians by himself, insists the Palestinian "street" is horrified by the atrocity in Tel Aviv Friday night. It is Oslo deja vu all over again, and we are only missing Shimon Peres telling us about how the threat of infiltration of cable TV into Israel is much worse than the threat of infiltration of terrorists. But one question is nagging at everyone's mind. What was the role of the International Solidarity Movement, the pro-terror group of Mall Marxists and Designer-Jeans Anarchists, in Friday night's attack? Why would anyone think the ISM is involved? Because it already was involved in the last identical bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub, where the bombers used the identical M.O. as this week's atrocity. The International Solidarity Movement openly endorses Palestinian terror and candidly declares its belief that Israel and its people should be annihilated. It's martyr and Mother Teresa is Rachel Corrie, a young American girl who died while trying to prevent an Israeli bulldozer from destroying a tunnel in which explosives used to murder Jewish civilians were being smuggled. ISM members who come to Israel have been arrested for vandalizing and destroying Israeli security fences and equipment. On March 27, 2003, fugitive Islamic Jihad terrorist Shadi Sukiya was arrested in a house in Jenin rented by the ISM. In the most serious incident, on April 30, 2003, two British Muslims tried to blow themselves up at a popular Tel Aviv nightspot, Mike's Place; one of them succeeded, killing three and wounding 50. At least one of the terrorists had spent the weeks before the attack living with the ISM in Gaza. They entered Israel in the first place by pretending to be part of an entourage of "peace protesters" and fact seekers. So we have ample reason to suspect that the same ISM accomplices of terror could be again involved. Were they? Inquiring minds want to know! Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

ANOTHER SUICIDE/HOMICIDE BOMBING...NOW THERE'S A SHOCK! Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, February 27, 2005.

Another Arab bought his ticket to paradise and his seventy-two awaiting virgins by murdering and maiming young Jews last night. No surprise here, despite the so-called cease fire agreed to by the "moderate" Abbas. He ran for office, after all, literally being carried on the shoulders of such folks, promised them protection from Israel, and wants to incorporate their fellow butchers of innocents into his own military to do so. Abbas also pledged to continue to work towards Israel's destruction, but by other "more acceptable" means. Blown up buses and nightclubs--like the recent one in Tel Aviv--bring bad press and negatively impact on the unilateral pressure being brought to bear on Israel to make yet more concessions to an enemy which promises not peace, but only more demands for more unilateral concessions from Jews in return. And they openly call any negotiations with Jews a Trojan Horse. "Condemnations" from Condy or Dubya don't change these realities. Israel better wise up... and fast. Despite the probable shameful threats from abroad. Abbas refuses to do what really needs to be done with disembowelers of Jews--and demands that Jews also do nothing to stop them from murdering their kids. What other nation or people would be asked to put up with this manure? Where is the outrage here? (Not that I really expect any from most of the rest of the world.) The more Israel concedes, the more it's bloodied. We've been down this path before, and Oslo was its name. There must be no Oslo II. Israel must say no--and mean it-- to even its "friends" on such matters. And it must not play the game by rules that Arabs set for it. Abbas has the manpower and the military to act. If he refuses to do so, then neither he nor his colleagues deserve the state they are demanding...the Arabs' state #22, and second -- not first -- to be created within the original April 25, 1920 borders of the Palestinian Mandate. Jordan (then Transjordan) emerged on the lion's share (some 80%) as a gift from Colonial Secretary Churchill in 1922. And if they get that undeserved state anyway (thirty million stateless Kurds still don't have one) and the murder continues, then Israel must declare full scale war on that state and do unto it what America did unto the Taliban which supported the murder of America's own innocents. B-1s, B-52s, daisy cutter and bunker buster bombs, cruise missiles, and such were America's weapons of choice...not merely targeted attacks by helicopters. It's important at this time, however, to step back a bit and look at this issue in its broader perspective, so let's give it a go... While the past year brought other issues back to the front burner which also demanded immediate attention (the future of the Gaza Strip and the rest of the disputed territories as just a few examples), it's worth rethinking another all-too-real fact of life that has driven events over recent past years, especially since the onset of the era of the so-called Oslo "peace, " and is still very much with us. I'm speaking, of course, about the Arab suicide/homicide bomber, a subject tragically thrown back into our faces in Tel Aviv last night. We have indeed heard much about suicide/homicide bombers in the Middle East. And when Israel pursues the deliberate murderers of its innocents, this then becomes the next excuse for Arabs to kill more innocents. Of course, the way many--if not most--Arabs see all of this, there are really no Israeli "innocents." They're all simply Jews who have stolen "purely Arab" land. That's the way it's taught in their textbooks, preached in their mosques, and inbred elsewhere as well. After the September 11, 2001 tragedy, when nineteen Arabs (mostly Saudis) hijacked civilian aircraft and flew them as guided missiles into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing some three thousand Americans and others as well, the situation has become even more of a concern. Officials believe that it's just a matter of time before the United States, itself, once again becomes victimized this way. The Arab suicide / homicide bomber has also since made his (or her) debut in other places as well--notably in the fight for the future of Iraq. Young children have also been utilized as living bombs. There is no doubt that this is a horrendous human tragedy. But while Arabs and their supporters place the blame for this on Israel, the truth is actually far more depressing. Like in many other places, there are conflicting historical and political claims over the land contested between Arabs and Jews. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of scholarly books written about the connection of the Jews to the land of Israel. The very name Jew, itself, comes from the later name of the land, Judaea, which in turn was named for the Hebrew tribe of Judah--one of Jacob's sons. Judaean equals Jew. Early Muslim Arab historians recorded this in their works, as does the Qur'an itself, the Holy Book of Islam. Similarly, there are many books which deal with the imperial Arab conquest, settlement, and incorporation of the land of Israel / Judaea / Palestine--and much of the rest of entire region as well--into the two earlier Arab Caliphates based in Damascus and Baghdad. Imperialism is evidently only a nasty word when non-Arabs so indulge in it. Suffice it to state, therefore, that a quest for relative justice demanded some sort of compromise over the land in question. Unfortunately, that was too much to ask... Arabs saw themselves as the only legitimate heirs to a defeated Ottoman Turkish Empire which had replaced the Arabs (and others) as imperial rulers and had ruled most of the region for some four centuries prior to the end of World War I. After the Allied defeat of the Turks, Arabs subsequently treated the region as "purely Arab patrimony" and acted accordingly. Despite the presence of scores of millions of non-Arab Berbers, Kurds, Jews, Black Africans, Copts, Semitic but non-Arab Lebanese, and others as well, Arabs saw these as purely Arab lands. As just a few of many other examples of what next transpired, both Berber and Kurdish languages and cultures were periodically "outlawed," churches of the Copts were burned down, Black Africans in the Sudan and Kurds in Syria and Iraq were massacred, and more Jews fled "Arab" lands than Arabs who fled Israel...the other side of that famous refugee problem that few folks ever talk about. Those who resisted this forced Arabization process were simply killed, turned into refugees, and the like...millions over the decades, and continuing to this very day. Returning to our main topic, the Arab rejectionist response to the question of a compromise with the Jews over the question of Israel / Palestine falls into this same pattern. Arabs rejected any solution which would grant Jews any rights at all. They attacked a miniscule, reborn Israel in 1948...and thus the continuing problem regarding Arab refugees. But it didn't have to be this way... Hundreds of millions of people became refugees in the course of the last violent century (not to mention the millions before then). Many were displaced between the two world wars. Scores of millions were uprooted in the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Many more examples exist, like that involving Turks and Greeks; but, as is already hinted to above, one truly stands out in light of the current turmoil in the Middle East: The one half of Israel's five million Jews whose families fled Arab/Muslim lands around the same time Arabs fled in the opposite direction because of the invasion of Israel by five Arab states upon its rebirth in 1948. This does not include another million of these Sephardim who fled to other lands in the Diaspora, notably France and the Americas. Greater New York City alone now has tens of thousands of Syrian Jews. They were known as kilab yahud -- "Jew Dogs" -- in those "Arab" lands... So much for what Arabs like to claim was their alleged tolerance of "their Jews" before the rise of modern political Zionism. Again, how dare anyone else but Arabs demand a sliver of national dignity in the region! At virtually the same time that the partition of the Indian subcontinent was taking place, the Arabs rejected a similar plan that would have created a second state for themselves in historic Palestine. Jordan had already emerged on some 80% of the original territory of the Mandate issued to Great Britain in the wake of the Paris Peace Conference on April 25, 1920. Colonial Secretary Churchill had separated all of Palestine east of the Jordan River and handed it over to Britain's Hashemite Arab allies in the creation of Transjordan in 1922. Listen to what Sabri Jiryis, a prominent Palestinian Arab researcher at the Institute for Palestinian Studies in Beirut, had to say about all of this in the Lebanese newspaper, Al-Nahar, on May 15, 1975: "While it is estimated that 700,000 Arabs fled the 1948 war...against this...Arabs caused the expulsion of just as many Jews from Arab states...whose properties were taken over...a population and property exchange occurred and each side must bear the consequences." Much more evidence for this exists in books written by Arab kings, officials, and others as well. So, why is it that over a half century later, Arabs-- who have received billions of dollars in aid from the United Nations, the European Union, America, oil revenues, other international funds, and elsewhere as well--still have not relieved the plight of their own refugees...a problem which, by their own rejectionist attitudes, they largely created themselves? They have, after all, almost two dozen states on some six million square miles of territory--lands that belonged mostly, as we have already discussed, to other non-Arab peoples before they were conquered in the name of the Arab nation. Jews absorbed their own refugees into a sole, tiny state roughly the size of New Jersey. The answer to the above question can perhaps best be illustrated by Arab actions. Some years back, with the status of the disputed territories Israel found itself in control of in the aftermath of the 1967 War still unresolved, Israel offered to knock down the dilapidated refugee camps and replace them with new housing and better living conditions. It's worth remembering that Egypt and Jordan occupied these territories from 1948 to 1967 and not only did nothing about this problem but never discussed the creation of that additional Palestinian Arab state here either. So, how did the Arabs respond to that Israeli offer? They demanded that Israel do nothing to remedy life in the camps. Again, why? It's really not hard to understand... Quite simply, and as it has been known for decades, Arabs have used their own refugees as pawns in their perpetual war to delegitimize Israel. For Arabs, there is no justice nor suffering besides their own. They don't want the refugee problem solved--not as long as it means that a viable Israel will still exist on the morrow. That's why they tacked on the "right of return" of millions of real or alleged Arab refugees to the so-called Saudi peace plan a few years back and Arafat walked away from an offer to get some 97% of the disputed territories, half of Jerusalem, and other major Israeli concessions as well at Camp David 2000 and Taba. Even the "moderate" Abbas has pledged to destroy Israel democratically by forcing it to accept millions of allegedly "returning" Arab refugees sworn to its destruction. The result of Arafat's, the "moderate" Saudis', and Abbas' so-called "peace plans" still envisions Israel's Jews being overwhelmed so that a second Arab state will replace Israel, not live side by side with it. This should come as no surprise since all Palestinian (and many other) Arab maps, school books, web sites, and the like still continue to omit Israel as well. This is also why talk about creating a "provisional Palestinian Arab State" under these circumstances is scary. Fellow sweet-talking Faisal al-Husseini, the late colleague of President Mahmoud Abbas and showcase moderate of the PLO, said that while he'd accept any land diplomacy would yield, a purely Arab Palestine from the River to the Sea was the real goal ... the same old "destruction of Israel in stages" strategy dominant since after the "one fell swoop" alternative collapsed in failure during the 1967 Six Day War. Thus, tragically, despite the renewed hopes, this conflict still really has no end in sight. Unless Arabs offer Israel a true peace, not a temporary hudna/ceasefire designed only to win them more time and concessions on the road to Israel's destruction, Israel will have no choice other than to treat its enemies in a manner in which America or any other country would have done many suicide bombings ago. As just one example, the Powell Doctrine (as in Colin) calls for massive retaliation against America's own enemies. Keep this in mind...And again, no pinpoint accuracy demanded of American bombers, missiles, and such either. Just ask the Iraqis and Afghanis. Furthermore, the horrendous human costs specifically associated with the suicide/homicide bombings--for both sides--have been created and sustained by the Arabs themselves. Reasonable compromises have been repeatedly offered--and rejected--to end the Arab-Israeli conflict...certainly more than anything Arabs have ever offered to the numerous native, non-Arab peoples they have conquered and forcibly Arabized in carving out most of the almost two dozen states they now call their own. Gerald A. Honigman, a Florida educator, has created and conducted counter-Arab propaganda programs for college youth, has lectured on numerous campuses and other platforms, and has publicly debated Arab spokesmen. His articles and op-eds have been published in both the print media and on websites. To Go To Top

ISRAEL'S LITERARY LEFTISTS Posted by Judy Lash Balint, February 27, 2005.

"They're very much like me ... we have so much in common, - gushed Israeli novelist, Dorit Rabanyan, to a rapt audience of international literati, book publishers and journalists about her encounters with Palestinians in New York. "The peace I make with one person encourages me that we can make peace between two peoples," she concluded to rapturous applause from the audience assembled last week at the Sheik Hussein Peace Bridge in northern Israel for a gathering billed as "Voices from Two Sides of the Bridge." No one got up to scream that we're not the same: Arab society where incitement and hatred reign is nothing like Israeli society where every popular song is a plea for peace. For me, Rabanyan's words triggered an acute case of déjà vu. I found myself transported back twenty-five years or so to the days of the evil Soviet empire, when the Cold War was in full force. The Soviets used cultural exchange to avert attention from their human rights abuses and soften their image abroad. Month after month, American cities would be deluged with delegations from the Bolshoi Ballet, the Moscow Circus or the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra. For those of us active in the Soviet Jewry movement to promote free emigration, the cultural visits provided an opportunity to try to publicize the plight of various individuals who had been arrested or harassed for courageous acts of dissent against the communist regime. Invariably, American leftists would decry our efforts to speak out about human rights abuses, warning that we were disturbing the atmosphere of friendship and exchange and disrupting the warming of personal relations between Russians and Americans. "The Russians are people just like us," the leftists would declaim. "They want peace too." Many of these well-meaning naïve Americans would head off for official visits to Soviet sister cities, where they'd meet with "counterparts" carefully vetted by the KGB, and come back to yell even louder against those who might mess up future exchanges by raising that pesky issue of Jewish emigration or freedom of religion. It took years until Americans involved in the citizen's exchange movement realized that they'd been had. They never got to meet real Russians who could freely speak their minds and engage in true dialogue. Their "friends" were KGB fronts who filled their heads with Soviet propaganda and sent them back into their communities to spread the word. There were no Russians who returned to Moscow, Leningrad or Vladivostok proclaiming their love for America - they would end up in jail if they did so. Back at the Bridge, it's discouraging to see a parallel of sorts percolating through Israeli intellectual elite circles. The goal of the "Voices" project was to bring together Palestinian, Jordanian, Turkish and Israeli writers for a literary exchange. In fact what occurred was a gathering of Israelis - Jews and Arabs - with only two of the invited Palestinians and none of the Jordanians showing up. Organizer Deborah Harris, Israel's premier literary agent, was furious. With curious journalists nosing around for a story, rumors swirled about the reasons for the no-shows. The Jordanian Writers Union had apparently nixed the travel plans of their fellow countrymen. Moderator Michael Naumann, former chief editor of Germany's leading newspaper Die Zeit, announced that the Palestinian writers had received threatening phone calls from the Palestine Liberation Organization warning writers not to take part. Swearing under her breath as she learned in the early morning that the writers she'd paid to appear had decided not to come, Harris valiantly juggled the panels to resemble some kind of interchange. But the uniformity of opinions made for an all too predictable event. Speaker after speaker trotted out the despicable moral equivalency diatribe. Rabinyan, for instance, spoke of the reason she fled Tel Aviv for New York in the horrible spring of 2002. She couldn't take, "the awful terrorism nor the IDF reaction to it..." she explained, as if the murder of civilians is equivalent to the strikes against the terrorist perpetrators. Sami Michael, the controversial Iraqi-born Israeli author decried the "corruptive occupation," but chose not to repeat the assertion he made in a recent magazine interview that he could understand the motivations of Hamas bombers who blew up "settlers". Michael did succeed in making the most stunning statement of the morning. In a vivid demonstration of how far out of line with reality are the perceptions of the far left, Michael told the attentive audience that included authors David Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua, that Israeli writers who are staunch peace supporters "are forced to stay silent." Surely Michael must know that the views of Amos Oz, Yehoshua, Grossman and many others less well known outside Israel are constantly quoted in the media. In fact, it's hard to think of living Israeli writers who hold anything but left-wing views - Aharon Appelfeld and Naomi Ragen are the only two names that come to mind. But when asked to expand on his comment, Michael replied that the other leftist authors are actually, "part of the establishment. The establishment needs the façade of progressive writers to put forward its point of view," he claimed. In the next breath, the 79 year old novelist tells me that when he put together a full page ad denouncing Israel's policy of targeted assassinations, Amos Oz made calls to other public figures to persuade them not to sign. It's a conspiracy theory worthy of the KGB. Judy Lash Balint is an award-winning Jerusalem-based writer and author of "Jerusalem Diaries: In Tense Times," (Gefen) www.jerusalemdiaries.com. It is available for purchase from www.israelbooks.com This article appeared on Front Page Magazine (www.frontpagemagazine.com) February 24, 2005. To Go To Top

WHAT WOULD DECENT, CIVILIZED HUMANS DO? Posted by Beth Goodtree, February 26, 2005.

Over the years, I have learned to judge people by their actions. And not just current behaviors, but past behaviors, especially if such past behaviors never change. I have often been accused of unfairly judging the majority of Muslims in a harsh light, in particular, the Arabs occupying Jewish Palestine. In truth, I do not judge them; I merely point out their unswerving behaviors regarding Jews, Christians and Israel. This latest genocide/homicide bombing in Tel Aviv is yet another example of the wholly self-occupied, self-centered behaviors of the Islamist world. For many years I awaited the Arab/Muslim world to condemn attacks on Jews as being reprehensible because it constituted murder as well as genocide. It meant the ripping apart of families and loved ones. It meant the ultimate evil of cutting short the lives of individuals and targeting an entire group of people for genocide. During those years I did not go after the Arab/Muslim world. Instead, I often wrote about atrocities committed upon Muslims. This is because I am a true liberal, unlike today's pseudo-liberals who pick and choose which victims to support, and which victims to further victimize by blaming them for their victimizations. I believe with all my soul that anyone who is singled out for murder, genocide, oppression or ethnic cleansing (even by their own governments) must be defended. And I distinguish between rightful defense to preserve life and the illegitimate reasons of territorial conquest for political and/or religious goals. While I waited, I wrote about or participated in actions designed to help the Muslims of the Balkans who were being ethnically cleansed, raped and murdered. I wrote about the plight of Muslim women living in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban. I even did some volunteer work for these and other causes in defense of Muslims. And all the while I waited. I waited for the Arab/Muslim world to do something, anything, that would show they had a shred of humanity or decency regarding Jews in general and Israel in particular. But nothing was forthcoming. Even during the first year of the intifada I waited. But 9-11 was a watershed moment. After the first few weeks of condolences and offers of aid, the Arab/Muslim world began to vociferously blame the Jews, saying we were all warned beforehand and that the Israelis orchestrated the attacks. Well, no one called me to warn me away. I was supposed to be in the Twin Towers that fateful morning. I was supposed to be in the second tower hit, on one of the floors that was directly hit. It was sheer luck (although I certainly didn't think so at the time) that I had had a freak accident the night before that prevented me from being able to walk more than a few steps until I healed a bit. So I stayed home that day. But although I couldn't walk more than a few steps, I could drive. And I was living two towns away from Paterson, NJ, home to a large Palestinian contingent. I forget now how I found out, but I heard that the Palestinians of Paterson were dancing in the streets at the tragedy of 3000+ dead Americans. It was such an unthinkable thing that I couldn't believe it. So I drove over and witnessed this barbaric, nay, demonic celebration of murder reminiscent of frenzied pagan blood sacrifices. And I stopped waiting. So here we are today, on the verge of supposed peace, and nothing has changed. Unfortunately, our leaders choose to ignore clear signals, in the form of behaviors, which indicate not only that there will be no true peace, but that the Arab/Muslim side of the 'peace partnership' is nothing more than a thinly veiled deception for gullible Westerners. My criteria for this conclusion are based upon something very simple: "What would decent, civilized humans do?" A few examples of decent, civilized human reactions to tragedies were the Jewish and Christian outreach to the mostly Muslim victims of the recent tsunami. Another is Israel's offer of medical aid and search and rescue to its sworn enemy, Iran after a devastating earthquake. Another were the American Christian groups which helped the Muslim victims of Christians in the Balkans. Every time there is a human tragedy, and especially if such tragedy is a willful act done in the name of their own religions, Christians and Jews help the victims. They denounce the act as a crime against humanity and give overwhelming aid. And what does the Arab/Muslim world do? Here is what the Arab/Muslim world has had to say about the Tel Aviv bombing of the other day. Often, it is part of the Muslim deception of al-Takeyya (1.) not to lie outright, but to omit things. In this case, they are deceiving us into thinking they feel badly about this atrocity, but note what they do not say. I was not able to find a single quote offering condolences for the victims. Nor did I see any offers of aid or assistance for the victims or their families. Instead, all I saw was totally self-centered, self-involved concern about how the bombing would affect them. Not even a mention that such mass murder is wrong for the victims. Not a mention of victims, other than the potential Arab/Muslim victims of the consequences of this act: "We will not allow anyone to sabotage our national goals, aspirations and ambitions," Abbas said Saturday in the West Bank town of Ramallah.(2.) "If Hezbollah was behind this attack, I as a Palestinian tell them, 'Deal with your own problems and stay out of ours,'" said Akram Abu Sbaa, 38, of Jenin.(3.) "Another Jenin resident, Bashar Jalloudi, 40, said Hezbollah's alleged involvement in the Tel Aviv bombing would only hurt Palestinian interests at a time of relative calm."(4.) "We think that the Israeli defence minister?s comments show that he knows the identity of the real perpetrator and that he is to be found inside Israel," he said. "Israel is known around the world for sabotaging any peace process," the official added. (5.) I looked at the online English websites of The Kuwait Times, The Middle East Times, The Jordan Times, The Islamic Republic News Agency (Iran) and The Egyptian Gazette; not even a mention of the horrific murders in Tel Aviv. This is the Islamist Hadith-sanctioned al-Takeyya at its most insidious: omission of facts and critical information meant to skew an individual's view of reality. And certainly no condemnations of the murder of Jews because they are Jews living their normal lives in their rightful and legal homeland. Over the past few years, it has only been the rare Muslim who has condemned these bestial, demonic acts of serial mass murder in the name of Allah and 'Arab unity.' (6.) And the excuse is that people are afraid. This same excuse was used time and again at the Nuremberg trials and didn't wash. And quite frankly, if someone has true faith in Allah, they should certainly not be afraid to do and say what is the whole truth and what is right. So, are the newly-heralded Arabs who claim to want peace really decent, civilized human beings or selfish bi-pedal carbon-based creatures who have not one shred of sympathy, empathy, or humanity for any victims of atrocities committed by their own people? And can there ever be trust, let alone peace with them in their current state? You be the judge. End Notes (1.) "Islam in general, forbids lying. The Quran says, "Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies." Surah 40:28. However, within Islam there are certain provisions under which lying is not simply tolerated, but actually encouraged. According to Muhammad, 'He is not a false person who (through lies) settles conciliation among people, supports good or says what is good.'" -- Abdullah Al Araby Here the author is only referring to lying for 'good' reasons. Therefore you must ask yourself "What is 'good' to these Islamists?" According to radical Islam, anything promotes the spreading of Islamic conquest is good. This also means that anything that weakens the non-Islamist is also good. Therefore, any lie, omission of fact or half-truth that fools the non-Islamist is 'good.' (2.) http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB8MQ7HO5E.html (3.) Ibid. (4.) Ibid. (5.) http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ 0447EAD8-3744-44DB-86B2-9135A36AFF4A.htm (6.) ''The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality, today, there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak, today, about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism. (Amsterdam-based newspaper ''Dagblad de Verdieping Trouw,'' March 31, 1977.) Beth Goodtree is a writer specializing in political commentary, Islamism and the Middle East and also writes the occasional science and humor articles. She has a background in advertising and works as a consultant on Islamism and terrorism to a security firm. Her website address is http://hometown.aol.com/bgoodtree/ To Go To Top

DISENGAGEMENT'S TRACK RECORD IS EXAMINED Posted by Yoram Ettinger, February 26, 2005.

The late President Reagan stated that "History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap." Reaganism and the proposed Disengagement Plan (cut & run from Palestinian terrorists in Gaza and northern Samaria, while uprooting Jews) constitute an oxymoron. Enclosed you'll find the 174th issue of Straight From The Jerusalem Cloakroom, which highlights the damage - caused by disengagement - to vital US interests. Hang Tough,   Yoram 1. Israel's 1993/6 disengagement from Gaza and 40% of Judea and Samaria established the pro-Saddam/Taliban PA, coinciding with the dramatic rise in anti-US Islamic terrorism, leading to the Twin Towers terrorism. Palestinian terrorists fought the US in Afghanistan and Iraq. Islamic terrorists compare Israel's disengagement to the US retreat from Beirut (1983) and Somali (1993). 2. IDF re-engagement with, and control of, Palestinian towns has sharply cut terrorism in 2004. Palestinian terrorism has targeted, mostly, Israel's pre-1967 area. IDF presence in/around Gaza protects, primarily, pre-1967 Israel. 3. In 1994 Israel disengaged from 85% of Gaza (and 100% of its population). By 1998 Israel disengaged from 40% of Judea & Samaria (and 95% of its population). It yielded unprecedented terrorism, facilitated anti-US and anti-Israel hate-education, smuggling and manufacturing of terror hardware, recruitment and training of terrorists. 4. 250 Israelis were murdered, by Palestinian terrorists, during 1988-1993. 1,700 Israelis have been murdered, by Palestinian terrorists, since the launching of the Oslo-driven disengagements (85,000 in US terms; 28 Twin Towers). 5. The 1994 disengagement created the largest terrorist base in the world, led/harbored by PLO graduates of terrorist camps in Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia. It is interpreted, by terrorists, as a retreat by the role-model of countering terrorism (Israel), and a reward to the role-model of terrorism (PLO/PA). It has inspired Islamic terrorism, which threatens pro-US Arab regimes (Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc.). 6. The 1995 disengagement from Bethlehem and Beit Jallah facilitated a takeover by Moslem terrorists, which has accelerated the flight of Christians. 7. The July 2000 disengagement from Southern Lebanon - following the loss of 21 soldiers in 17 months - propelled Hizballah to regional prominence (including in Iraq and Afghanistan), expanded Hizballah's role in Gaza and J&S, injured Israel's posture of deterrence and adrenalized Palestinian terrorism. 8. Egypt has inspired Palestinian hate-education and has encouraged the smuggling of terrorist hardware to Gaza. Its re-engagement with Gaza could unintentionally produce Israel-Egypt military confrontations (e.g. during hot pursuit of terrorists), dragging the US into unnecessary conflicts with both. 9. President Reagan: "History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap." Reaganism and the proposed Disengagement Plan (cut & run from Palestinian terrorists in Gaza and northern Samaria, while uprooting Jews) constitute an oxymoron. Ambassador Yoram Ettinger is an editor and consultant who lives in Jerusalem. This essay is Straight From The Jerusalem Cloakroom #174. To Go To Top

TRICKY QUESTIONS Posted by Yashiko Sagamori, February 26, 2005.

----- Original Message ----- From: ira.gold@hotmail.com To: ysagamori@hotmail.com Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 6:48 AM Subject: Islam Blaming a whole faith-group for the actions of a small proportion, is incitement to pure and simple religious hatred. Isn't this the basis for Nazism? Ira (believing Jew)   Dear Ira (believing Jew): I keep a file named Tricky Questions where I store questions that are, for one reason or another, impossible to answer. I keep them arranged in the descending order by their trickiness. You may be interested to know that I have added your e-mail to my collection. It easily got ahead of #12 (How often should a decent person be faithful to his or her significant other?), but didn't quite make it to #11 (If you were a woman suffering from a mild case of penis envy, would you find your own penis enviable?). And you, probably, thought that you were asking me a fairly straightforward question. Or did you? Here is what caused my doubt. I don't have the murkiest idea what the basis for Nazism is. I could ask you for a definition, but I am ready to bet my life that you don't have a clue either. You were simply trying to call me a Nazi, which is kind of hard to do without looking silly, especially when you are incapable of either thinking outside politically-correct clichés or of standing up and giving it to me straight. Just look at your lame whole faith-group when we both know that you are specifically defending the Muslims rather than theorizing on followers of some abstract cannibalistic cult. Here's #92 from my collection: If saying what you believe is against your beliefs, then how can I believe what you are saying? Correct me if I am wrong, but I am reasonably sure that you consider Islam just another religion; Communism, just another political philosophy; and Nazism, just a label to affix to those who disagree with you on the first two points. Let me offer to you a multiple choice question. What would you call a system that: is based on absurd beliefs that couldn't withstand collision with commonly known facts; demands absolute, unreasoning faith from its followers; has created a powerful propaganda machine that promoted the most outrageous lies, brainwashed its followers to the point of total inability to critically regard reality, and attempted, often successfully, to create a benign image of itself among outsiders; has elevated xenophobia to the rank of national policy; has pronounced world domination its ultimate goal; has attempted to achieve that goal by military force, killing millions in the process and leaving the conquered people no choice but to accept the beliefs of the conquerors or die; has deprived its followers of the most basic human rights, consistently destroying even the faintest vestiges of democracy; produced an essentially feudal society, an ultimately totalitarian regime, where rampant corruption has become the very foundation of social life; has put forth mediocre leaders who rule uncontrolled and are worshiped religiously; has been guilty of mass murder on an unprecedented scale; sacrificed its own people - sometimes, millions of them on end - to the bloody struggle between various factions, violently rejecting out of hand the possibility of even the slightest, most loyal dissent; has taken itself so seriously that even the friendliest joke about the regime or its rulers is treated as high treason and punished accordingly - often, by death. Here's the list of answers: A. Nazism B. Communism C. Islam D. All of the above. If your answer is anything but D, then you are guilty of using words whose meaning you don't understand. If you disagree with my conclusion, please feel free to explain what, in your opinion, distinguishes Nazism, Communism, and Islam from each other. Just don't try to tell us that Islam is a religion, Communism, a philosophical system, and Nazism... Well, you have already demonstrated that you don't have a clue about Nazism. I would also like to ask you how a believing Jew like yourself decides which form of Nazism to support and which to oppose. How does a believing Jew choose whether his children should be slaughtered under the green banner of jihad, the red banner of the world revolution, or by the pursuers of an unpretentious quest for lebensraum? Let me address the matter of a small proportion you mentioned in your letter. I believe that an Arab who puts on a bomb belt, sneaks into Israel and blows himself up in a crowd of Jews, like it happened yesterday in Tel Aviv, can be considered a typical representative of that tiny, evil minority among the proud, noble people you, along with all the other anti-Semites, call "Palestinians". Let's ask the easiest question of all: Does the suicide bomber act alone? Obviously, not. He did not manufacture the belt, nor did he fill it with explosives. Someone did it for him. That someone is not a person, but rather an organization. No, it's not what you would call a terrorist cell - four or six recent converts with unkempt beards waiting for a wake up call, not knowing whether it will come from Osama bin Laden or the FBI. Bomb belts are made at bomb belt factories. Those factories have workers, and managers, and suppliers, and financiers. All these people know that they are manufacturing death to the Jews. Therefore, I can confidently add them to the small proportion of suicide bombers. Your small proportion has just grown a thousand times bigger. I am sure you believe that deep down those proud, noble people you call "Palestinians", are not that different from you. In reality, of course, they are as different from you as any murderer is different from his intended victim. Nevertheless, for the sake of the argument, I am ready to accept your absurd point of view temporarily. Look inside yourself and tell me, what it would take to turn you into a suicide bomber. Most of them are young men in their late teens or early twenties. Try to remember yourself at that age. You had plans for the future. You had dreams. Considering that you have lived long enough to write your idiotic letter to me, you never seriously contemplated suicide. I don't think you ever seriously wanted to kill another human being either, not even the bullies who turned your every day at school into a chain of humiliations. What would it take to convince you to abandon your dreams and end your life a few decades prematurely, just to kill people you had never met? Even if you believe that the so-called "Palestinians" are justified in their efforts to destroy Israel, you must agree with me that converting a normal kid into a suicide bomber must require quite a formidable effort. Such an effort is being made constantly and on an industrial scale. It is being made at all levels of what passes among your friends, the "Palestinians", for an educational system, from kindergarten to university. It is being made in mosques where imams routinely preach genocide of the Jews. It is being constantly made in the "Palestinian" media. A couple of years ago, an international court convicted three newspaper editors of genocide in Rwanda. Those editors did not kill anybody; they only published articles calling for the murder of Tutsis. I suppose we could use it as a precedent to indict and convict of the same crime against humanity every schoolteacher, every mullah, every newspaper editor in the future state of Palestine. Suddenly, your small proportion is no longer small. Add to it parents buying toy suicide belts for their babies. Add the staff and supporters of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and every other explicitly terrorist outlet that exists in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria. Who's left? A tiny minority of people who are slightly less enthusiastic about the murder of all Jews. These people are labeled collaborators and are liable to be mercilessly murdered in front of a crowd of onlookers, without even a semblance of a trial or a protest from human rights supporters like yourself. The rest of the proud, noble people you call "Palestinians" wholeheartedly support wholesale murder of Jews. These people whom you consider so necessary to defend from me, even though I haven't killed an Arab yet, routinely greet each other, saying, "May you kill a Jew before you die." I expect you to be willing to defend their right to freely express themselves that way. I don't expect you to accuse them of Nazism. And when you have nothing left to say in defense of the terrorist organization called the "Palestinian people", you will probably tell me that they constitute but a small proportion of all the Muslims in the world, who are proud and noble and full of good will towards us. In response, I would remind to you that the "Palestinian people" was created in 1967 by Arabs, with full support of the entire Muslim world, as a murder weapon against Israel. The "Palestinian people" is the suicide bomber of the Muslim world. Please try to understand that terrorism is no more a crime than a tank attack. It's a tactic. It's a weapon. It's the preferred strategy of jihad in its current stage. And jihad is a war of all Muslims against the rest of the world, which constitutes the essence of Islam, its raison d'être This is why not a single observant Muslim has ever denounced any single act of Muslim terrorism against the "infidel". They cannot do it and remain Muslims, just like you couldn't remain a Jew if you decided to worship the elephant-headed Ganesha. You know what disgusted me worst of all in your letter? The fact that someone calling himself a Jew could so flippantly, so mindlessly, in two ignorant sentences, trivialize both the Holocaust that has already happened and the Holocaust that's unfolding before us right now. And you call yourself a "believing Jew" ... I met a man once who believed that Jews were entitled by God to the land of Israel. This man lived up to his convictions. For several years he had served in some super-special unit of the IDF doing stuff that he had sworn to keep secret till the day he died. He told me he had saved a few Israeli lives; I have a reason to believe that was a gross understatement. He wasn't an Israeli himself, but he was a much better Jew than you can ever hope to be. Even though he was an Irish Catholic. Shame on you, Ira. Shame on you. Yashiko Sagamori Yashiko Sagamori is a New York-based Information Technology consultant. To read other articles by the author, go to http://www.middleeastfacts.com/yashiko/ or email ysagamori@hotmail.com To Go To Top

ENEMY OF THE STATE Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 26, 2005.

This is how the goon squads deal with enemies of the State. This is a news item from yesterday's Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=77489). It is called "Police Obstruct Medical Examination of Protestor" Police instructed doctors not to x-ray a young man who was severely beaten after being arrested at a demonstration, a hospital doctor revealed to the boy's mother. She also reported that the hospital told her they could not find the medical report on her son's injuries. The saga began 10 days ago when the youth, by the name of Ariel and who lives in a community in Samaria, was at a demonstration at a major intersection in Tel Aviv. "I was walking with a friend after we had left the protest. We saw a police vehicle, but did not pay any attention. Suddenly a policeman jumped on me and arrested the two of us," he said. Ariel related that the police refused to answer his request that they identify themselves and then they beat him up. At the Herzliya police station, police continued to hit him, he added. After the police questioning, Ariel was taken to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv for examination. His mother, Yehudit, said he was released without having been x-rayed, despite bruises and swelling all over his body. She brought him back to Ichilov for further examination and demanded x-rays. "We were waiting for the results when one of the nurses pulled me aside and said, 'Listen to me. Several doctors have an arrangement with the police. They examine according to police instructions and the findings are in accordance with their requests. It is not surprising that they didn't x-ray him yesterday.'" The nurse advised the mother to check which doctors are on duty before letting them examine her son. The hospital also discharged Ariel without a medical report and subsequently said they had not located the files. "Ariel was hospitalized at 12:15 a.m. and was discharged at 1:15," his mother Yehudit said. "We returned to Ichilov the next day at 1:30 and I asked the receptionist, 'How could the file disappear? Less than 24 hours have passed.'" The receptionist admitted it was strange that the file was lost, but when the mother asked why the hospital had given a copy of the file to the police, the receptionist replied, "That's the way it is." She also was not able to receive a copy of the file from the police. The x-rays showed there were no broken bones, although an orthopedic doctor was shocked to see the boy's condition, his mother added. The mother tried to file a complaint in a Jerusalem court this week, but was told the case would be transferred to Tel Aviv where a decision will be made whether or not to investigate. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

WHY DOES THE ARMY AND KNESSET RESPECT THE ARAB-AIDING LEFTISTS LIKE THE WOMEN IN BLACK? Posted by Ruth and Nadia Matar, February 26, 2005.

Women in Green representatives were invited to participate last Tuesday in the Knesset Law Committee, headed by MK Michael Eitan, regarding the topic of "human rights during the era of terror". Up until now, the Law Committte only invited as guests extreme left wing organizations like Machsomwatch, Betzelem, Association of Civil Rights, who would give a completely distorted image of what was going on in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and at the IDF chekpoints, spreading lies about our soldiers, besmirching them and even managing to bring soldiers to trial for things they had never done (remember the Zviki Koretzky case). Women in Green, who, as one of their many activities, go to the IDF checkpoints to strengthen the soldiers and the border policemen, demanded that this time we would be present at the Law Committee to give a real picture of what goes on at the IDF checkpoints; how the extreme left wing Machsomwatch ladies harass and endanger the soldiers. How they are collaborators of the Arab enemy, etc. Nadia Matar and Anita Finkelstein were WiG's representatives at that Knesset Law Committee where all the higher echelons of the army and the border police were present. It was shocking to realize how the army, the police and the MK's are completely "prisoners" of the extreme left wing organizations like Betselem, Machsomwatch, Association for Civil Rights, and "Shvrim Shtika". Every little demand they made, the army and police representatives were bowing down to them making sure to please them. It was nauseating. When Nadia Matar started telling stories about Machsomwatch, how they bother the soldiers to do their work, how they help the Arabs to bypass checkpoints, how in any other country such traitors would not be allowed in the Parliament, the head of the Law Committee, MK Michael Eitan (Likud!) threatened to forcibly remove her. "You were invited to give us facts about what goes on at the checkpoints, not to start attacking other groups in this room" he said. Nadia answered that she had brought a folder filled with facts as to what harm Machsomwatch does to the security of the soldiers and of the country. Nadia demanded to tell her stories anyway, which enraged MK Zahava Galon (Meretz) greatly. In the end, Nadia was able to tell some stories, and thus, for the first time, somebody in the Law Committee actually defended the soldiers and border policemen. Nadia pointed out how those women, who are very connected to the leftist Israeli media, and to the high echelons in the army Yaron London's wife is Machsomwatch. Amnon Dankner's daughter is Machsomwatch. Some of the high ranking army people are married to women active in Machsomwatch]. They enjoy "protekzia" and are not being brought to justice for harassing soldiers and bothering them at work, as would be the case in any other country. MK Michael Eitan, who had just praised the wonderful cooperation between him and Machsomwatch(!), seemed shocked and unaware of these stories. He invited WiG to come this coming Tuesday to his office in order to hear more. We will be coming with two officers who will finally have a chance to tell some MK what really goes on at those IDF checkpoints. Women in Green see this as a big achievement and will continue to strengthen the soldiers and the border policemen at the IDF checkpoints. Our next visit to the IDF checkpoint will be this WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH 2nd, leaving the Inbal hotel at 9:30 A.M. Call to confirm you are coming - Nadia 0505-500834, Anita 0505-777254 Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

A PALESTINIAN SUICIDE MURDERER IN TEL-AVIV Posted by Yuval Zaliouk, February 25, 2005.

Dear friends, PM Sharon is bulldozing on with his unilateral eviction-of-Jews-and-destruction-of-their-properties-plan, namely, Israel is withdrawing without any reciprocal act. Abu Mazen makes the familiar usual Palestinian empty promises. The Israeli army is vacating Palestinian towns. Road blocks in Judea and Samaria are being relaxed. Hundreds of Palestinian terrorists are released by Israel as a goodwill gesture to Abu Mazen. Israelis are Oslo-dreaming yet again, as historical lessons are totally ignored. The leftist media, the US Administration, the British and Europeans upeasers are again pushing Israel to do more to weaken herself. Suddenly.... BOOM.... a suicide bomber in the heart of Tel-Aviv, down the road from the Dolphinarium, where youth gather on Friday night, explodes himself and murders more innocent young Israelis. Ah, the Dolphinarioum, where four years ago more than twenty youth met their death in a similar ghastly manner. If Israel reacted then as she should have (as US and others would have reacted), thousand Israelis would still be alive today, including tonight's victims and even the suicide bomber himself. Many asked me in the last few weeks if there is any hope. My answer was NO WAY. So there, NO WAY... Even if Abu Mazen changed his spots, and this is a big IF, the fundamental Islamic organizations already began WWIII. They will not allow him to succeed and he will not dare stand against them. Your Truth Provider, Yuval. Yuval Zaliouk writes the Truth Provider columns. To subscribe, send an email to ynz@netvision.net.il To Go To Top

LANDAU: SHARON WILL DIVIDE JERUSALEM Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 25, 2005.

Sharon opened the gates, opened the checkpoints and let the Arab Muslim Terrorists in. I believe that Member of Knesset Uzi Landau is an exceptional, honest man and devoted public servant. Conversely, I believe that Prime Minister Ariel (Aril) Sharon is a crafty liar and has demonstrated this ability time and again so his lack of character is not a question but rather a question as to how much will he lie on any given topic. Uzi Landau should have been elected to the Prime Minister's Office years ago but, he is not given to manipulating the public or the Likud Party members. He could run under the banner of "One Honest Man". Regrettably, the tendency in Israel is to vote for unprincipled manipulative politicians under the impression that twisty people are stronger as leaders than honest people. In Sharon's case, he lies like Shimon Peres but, with a certain vicious intent, even enjoying the conflict. As for giving up Jerusalem, be assured that (sadly) he will do this in a heart beat. He will use others to be his spokesman or 'stalking horse' like Ehud Olmert or Dov Weisglass but, the thoughts and voice will be Sharon's. He enjoys misleading the people and revels in his victories - even over his own people - when they are successful. Whenever he loses, he rages, becomes petulant and plans revenge. Sharon cannot restrain his natural socio-pathic tendencies to be all powerful and thus adopts dictatorial methods which, in a nation with a weak Knesset (Parliament) and a Leftist Court allow him to run amok. So far, Sharon has backed away from every commitment, promise, pledge that he has made to the people and his Likud Party - save for one. That was where he stated without specificity that he would make "Painful Concessions". He did not share the specifics of Pain he planned to place on the Israeli people. We now know why he was vague about what he had in mind. Sharon, through his devious advisors, including Olmert and Weisglass has stated recently that ALL of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley will be forfeit to the Arab Muslim Palestinians which then Sharon says is not true. That is called "whipsawing the public". And, as Uzi Landau says herein: "A chief "Palestinian" demand for peace is control over eastern Jerusalem." PM Sharon has proven he is capable of caving in to that demand, Likud "rebel" leader Uzi Landau said on Sunday, February 20th. In closing, the time to change the Government is almost too late for safety. Sharon has demonstrated his inability to run a nation in all of its many phases. "Landau: Sharon will divide Jerusalem" written by the Jerusalem Newswire Staff February 21, 2005, (www.jnewswire.com/library/article.php?articleid=445). A chief "Palestinian" demand for peace is control over eastern Jerusalem, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has proven he is capable of caving in to that demand, Likud "rebel" leader Uzi Landau said Sunday. Fearing Sharon's "disengagement" plan will lead Israel down a slippery slope of surrender, Landau said those loyal to the Land of Israel would fight a fierce battle to save Jewish Gaza and the settlements of northern Samaria. Landau also warned that Sharon and his government appear to be preparing public opinion for violence against any Jews who refuse to abandon their biblical and historical right to settle the land. Those lawmakers opposed to the transfer of Jewish settlers say Sharon's plan, despite having passed into law last week, can still be defeated by toppling the government over the 2005 national budget. Sharon will divide jerusalem During the 1996 national elections, the right-wing supporters of prime ministerial candidate Binyamin Netanyahu regularly employed the slogan "Peres will divide Jerusalem" in order to discredit Labor Party chief Shimon Peres. That slogan is now being used again Sharon by members of his own Likud Party who say that they, unlike him, are remaining loyal to the platform on which they ran for election. From Yasser Arafat to Mahmoud Abbas, the "Palestinians" have consistently demanded control over the eastern half of Jerusalem as a prerequisite for peace. A spokesman for Abbas confirmed Sunday this demand remains in place, including Jewish suburbs of the capital like Ramat Eshkol and French Hill. Sharon's willingness to abandon his own convictions and surrender Gaza and northern Samaria proves he has the capacity to one day give in on Jerusalem and divide the city, Landau told a gathering of Likud activists Sunday. When Sharon is finished, all that will "remain for actual negotiations will be Jerusalem; in the end [Jerusalem] will be at the heart of peace negotiations, and in the end Sharon will divide Jerusalem," Landau said. On Monday Sharon fired back, saying Jerusalem would forever remain the undivided capital of Israel. Prior to his 2003 election victory, however, Sharon also vowed Jewish Gaza would never be uprooted. Battle to the finish Landau said it was crucial for those loyal to the Land of Israel to fight now to save not only Gaza and northern Samaria but all lands that may soon fall victim to international pressure and leftist policies bent on retreat. "If the first part of this withdrawal is implemented, withdrawing from Judea and Samaria will be easier because the government will know there is no serious opposition," the veteran politician explained. As such, "this must be a fierce battle, but avoid escalation to civil war." Will Sharon use violence? While retreat's chief opponents are committed to avoiding violence, the same may not be true of Sharon, Landau noted. "In the Prime Minister's Office they are now talking the same talk as that heard prior to the attack on the Altalena," Landau said. In 1948, the newly established government of David Ben Gurion ordered the nascent IDF to open fire on a Jewish ship importing arms for Menachem Begin's Irgun militia. Sixteen Irgun members were killed by their fellow Jews. And now leftists in Sharon's government are "saying that in life of the nation there needs to be more than one Altalena," Landau stated incredulously. "Jews killed Jews there in cold blood!" Government's Achilles' heel It may not come to a physical showdown though, if Landau and his colleagues are successful in their primary course of action. On Monday, Landau announced on Israel Radio that at least 13 Likud MKs would vote against the 2005 national budget, greatly increasing the odds it will not gain Knesset approval. Other large Knesset faction such as Shas and Shinui have also said they would oppose the budget. If Sharon's government fails to pass its 2005 budget by March 31, the law stipulates that new elections must be held 90 days later. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH ON REMOVING THE JEWS FROM GAZA Posted by Evelyn Hayes, February 25, 2005.

cc: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Congess, Senate, Supreme Court. Please be advised that removal of Jews from Gush Katif, Jewish Aza, is against International Law, undemocratic, with bribes, blackmail, threats and training of non-Jews to brutalize Jews, breaking the wrists of mothers refusing to release their babies. The Prime Minister of Israel intends to Unilaterally Disengage from Jewish owned land in the remainder of Gaza that is only inhabited by Jews. Gaza I, the trial by Rabin, turned an intifada into a jihad armada with support from Iraq and Hizballah.. Sharon is dictating against advice, firing military and Knesset advisors The involvement of America and the world in this expulsion action is a major crime, is ethnic cleasing of Jews and may result in Jewish death, murder, illness, unendurable pain especially for Jews chased from foreign and Arab lands, refugee survivors of the Holocaust, who still suffer loved ones lost, possessions lost, instability and fear. Brutal removal again, destruction of belongings, life savings and wages will have lasting effects. Many Jews died from the evacuation of Yamit, were relocated to Gush Katif, rebuilding their shattered lives. American involvement is anti-democrat as this action will cause death, emotional distress, destruction of homes, shuls, cemeteries and make the Jews sit shiva again, productive industry, which employs without prejudice Bedouins and other peaceful, hardworking, anti-terrorist Arabs who were impressed with how Israel was blessed and made vegetation bloom in the sand. Eviction is a major crime foreshadowing international repercusions with no precedent except in times of pogroms. I know of one woman who made her home in Neve Dekalim because of health reasons. She has asthma and needs this not humid sea air to breathe. She is elderly, has raised her family here, has grandchildren here. I know of people who have rebuilt their lives rebuilding the desolate place which suffered many imperialisms. According to records the Jews lived here in Balfour Mandate times. They were evicted by the British assigned the protection of the Balfour Mandate for the Jewish State in Palestine and let the Arabs riot, massacre and kill. The British also gave the Arabs of the east bank of the Jordan 78% of the Jewish Mandate, now called Jordan, the second Palestinian State. Palestine is a place, not a people! As America gives Democracy to all the people of Iraq: the Sunnis, the Shiites and the Kurds, how dare anyone disregard this precedent and ethnic cleanse Jewish Biblical, historical, owned, developed land of Jews only. How dare anyone appease the Arabs of Egypt who live in Gaza with property and risk the lives of Jews who have suffered so much from anti-Semistism as we remember the Holocaust. How dare SS Condoleezza Rice suggest a continuity for Arabs who have lands of their own to cut Israel in pieces so the Arabs of Jordan and the Arabs of Egypt be connected as One Palestinian Race ala Aryan Race, ignoring the Jews, the Bedouins, the Druze, the Christians, Greek Orthodox. How dare the world ignore Christian Bethlehem and put it under control of Moslems. Just the definition of two peoples and two religions defies such an absurd action. The land of Israel has many inhabitants, many religions. The land redeployed from for the PA has many kevers of Jewish sages, prophets and kings. Protection of the archaeology of these places was part of the Oslo II Amendment which is being violated without regard to signatures on the Whitehouse Lawn. The First People of this land before Christians and Moslems were the Jews. Avraham bought Hevron 4000 years ago so his Jewish descendants who would deny evil would have a burial place and a homeland. Yaakov, the father of the twelve Jewish tribes bought Schem (renamed Nablus to discredit Jewish identity), and it became a burial place of Joseph whom the ancient world recognized as a savior. How dare America ignore the Amendment to Oslo II that protected this place and keep destroying Israel piece by piece when the destruction is so visible. King David bought the Temple Mount. Removing Jews, brutally, or without their consent and due process is an international crime. It is a violation of human rights and civil liberties. It will not bring peace, but undermine all the laws of civilization to appease and support those who hate, spread hate and who jihad against all dhimmis. It may lead to another mass attack against the Jews. It is worse than a crime to scapegoat Jews to propagate hate. It is against the laws of America to be a partner in such a crime, to support it in any way and to consider a crime against the Jews as a remedy for hate and war. As America fights for democracy, fight for the Jews under attack in their own land with their homes about to be destroyed for monetary gain of those embezzling charity to get another box for their illegal cuts. Injustice to the Just Jews will have a domino effect and disrupt all that America is doing to free the world for Arabs under jihad dictatorships. Destroying Jewish settlements supports jihad unsettlement and tyranny. Creation of another "Arab Only" Palestinian state ignores the rights of Jews, Christians and international law. Revoking the Jewish Mandate of the League of Nations negates any actions by the UN as established laws ignored take away the basis of laws and actions that depart from established laws. The agenda against the Jews. their vote against another Palestinian state, their Democratic mass demonstrations, the denial of any appeals, blackmail of those in the government is without precedent and is a fuse extending the tunnels for smuggling into a black hole to destroy the only, small, recognized, legal Jewish entity in the world. Special laws, jails, expulsion for Jews only is not apartheid; it is prejudice to the maximum degree. The Prime Minister of Israel is not representing his mandate. This must be investigated as perhaps an international crime that supports terror, corruption and ethnic cleansing. Cooperation and support for this crime undermines Jewish rights to Israel from the Bible to Balfour. If the Jews had Balfour, six million would have been generations in Israel. They have no life to return. Let the Jewish survivors regenerate. Please let the Jews of Gush Katif stay as it's their legal, legitimate right, their land, legacy, life and longevity. Stop expulsion, ethnic cleansing! Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

KILLING A NATION Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 25, 2005.

Would killing a nation carry the same penalty as killing a person? February 25, 5PM Chicago time. THIS JUST IN: A suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, killing at least 3, with 50 wounded, 3 severe/critically - next to young people - outside of a Tel Aviv night club called The Stage at 3 AM Israeli time. Islamic Jihad claiming responsibility. Expect Sharon to call for a few days of disconnect with Abbas, followed by one of those ingenuous statements saying "the Peace Process must go on!". Let's wait for a media coverup and downplaying of what we all expected. They will save Abbas at all costs - even if the cost is our young people. We are awaiting a statement by Abbas condemning the bombing - as Arafat often did. We should be hearing from President Bush giving his condolences and telling us how we must fight Terror - except in Israel. Sharon has opened the gates, closed the checkpoints and allowed the Terrorists in. Perhaps when Israel's Prime Minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon planned to evacuate all Jews even before his election as PM, he may have foreseen the future or maybe not. But, after he lied his way into office by denying he was going to do the exact same thing as his political opponent (Amram Mitzna), other facts emerge. There was the opposition from his Likud Party to whom he also lied. When they voted against "disengagement" 60% to 40%, he simply ignored their vote and the Likud collapsed like a house made of rotten wood. Apparently, Sharon had been in collusion with the Bush Administration and pro-Arab U.S. State Department even before the elections - or shortly thereafter, as he kept repeating the mantra that Israel must make painful concessions. Had he been open about those concessions before the elections, he could have been ousted as the candidate for Likud. He then announced his decision to abandon Gaza and make it the beginnings of another Palestinian Arab Muslim State. Clearly, heretofore, Sharon had to have been in negotiations with the Muslim Arab Palestinians - probably using the U.S. State Department as his go-between. Of course, things got better when Yassir Arafat died by whatever circumstances. The concept of "Disengagement" became firmer and later through the Bush Administration evolved a plan which resuscitated the "Road Map". This, as Condoleezza Rice put it: "Now included the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem" - denials of Sharon and Weisglass notwithstanding. But, as Peace or War plans go awry, the resistance of the pioneering Settlers of Gaza/Gush Katif grew, to be joined (as of February 25th) by at least 10,000 soldiers pledging to refuse to drag Jews out of their homes. Sharon's threats grew and his tendency toward a full blown dictatorship emerged. Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) was voted in as President of the Palestinian Authority but refused to actually disarm or confront Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim, Fatah, or Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigade (his own Terror organization). A great deal of bombast and proclamations was quickly undertaken by the Media as a guarantee of Peace and a cessation of Terror. None of this actually happened but, that didn't keep the Media or the Bush Administration from proclaiming imminent victory. Meanwhile, there was sporadic firing of Kassem Rockets and shootings - even as the PLO Police, who were supposed to stop the Terrorists but took up firing at Israeli soldiers, planting bombs along what would be the evacuation routes, etc. While Sharon was issuing a stream of propaganda to demonize the pioneering Settlers and building a specially selected Army and Police of goons who were profiled to be anxious to confront the settlers with extreme violence, something else was happening. As Sharon added to the number of Police and Soldiers he wanted to use to confront the Jews of Gaza/Gush Katif, he also saw that he was diminishing the number of defense forces to protect the cities and outer borders - such as they are - against the Terrorists. Sharon had previously received a stream of advisories from the Heads of his Army and his Intelligence that his proposed "Disengagement" plan was very dangerous because it would be bringing the Terrorists closer to Israel's population centers and with ever improving Kassem Rockets. He not only ignored their battlefield analysis but literally, told his senior officers to "Shut Up!". Recently, as we all know, the current Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon and the Head of Intelligence at the GSS, Avi Dichter were dismissed prematurely. The Chief of Staff Ya'alon was vigorously against allowing the Egyptians back into the Sinai with arms and armor at the invitation of Sharon. Similarly, the head of Intelligence Avi Dichter publically stated that evacuation the Gaza area would leave Israel's southern front open to Terrorists and/or a possible full scale of attack by any coalition of Arab armies. Here again, Sharon was blind to all other dangers as he is now so consumed with warring against the Jews of Gaza and their supporters throughout the country and Jews in the Diaspora world. Sharon began to congratulate Abbas on the excellent job he was doing while reports indicated that he was virtually accomplishing nothing. While Sharon was busy building up the image of Abbas, the Terrorists were doing more practical things. Under the umbrella of a false truce, the Terrorist leaders emerged on the streets to organize their troops, knowing they were safe from Israeli reprisals for attacks. Sharon had called off hitting the Terrorist leaders who had before and were now planning to hit Israeli targets, including planting bombs on routes Israelis were expected to use. The Palestinian factories were freely humming, producing Kassam Rockets, car bombs, suicide bomb belts and, of course, stocking up on rifles and ammunition. Sharon looked on benignly. Sharon received daily, if not hourly, reports of Terrorists planting large road-side explosives and, as before, wiring explosive traps into the buildings where they expect Israeli soldiers - as they did in Jenin. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezb'Allah, Tanzim, and al Aksa Martyrs' Brigade are now working in Gaza, Ram'allah, Schehem (Nablus), Jenin have all stated plainly that they are not bound by the temporary truce ('Hudna') arranged by Abbas, Sharon and the U.S. State Department. Bush approved the sending over General Ward to bring together Yassir Arafat's 12 Secret Services (read "Terrorists") to operate more efficiently to be gathered into two or three forces. Sharon's agreement (which I would call a 'fool's agreement') also calls for the Israeli IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to arm and train the Palestinian Police/Army much the same as Rabin and Peres did after Oslo when they turned over 40,000 weapons over to Arafat's burgeoning "Police" force, who later used them to shoot the Israeli soldiers, police and civilians. Sharon was advised that the Palestinians continued to smuggle weapons through the tunnels dug from Egypt (with Egypt's assistance). Sharon has been advised by his own Intelligence and Army that what might be called 'Intifada' 3 will begin either during or shortly thereafter the removal of Jews from Gaza. Here again Sharon is so consumed with his war against the Jews of Gaza that these reports mean nothing to him. Historians often spoke of Hitler's all consuming hatred for Jews which was so great that he diverted troops, trains, trucks to root out the Jews and send them to the camps. Some say Hitler lost the battle of Europe because - instead of sending troops, weapons, ammunition to the front - instead he was busy - transporting Jews to their ultimate deaths. Sharon has accepted the fact that there will likely be full scale attacks by the Terrorists throughout the summer with full force efforts into the fall. In essence, he has decided that a certain number of Jewish civilians are expendable. He thinks that he is again at the China Farms (1973 Yom Kippur War) ready to use everyone to achieve his objectives. The question arises: If Sharon will not take pre-emptive measures against a highly probable uprising by the Terrorists and leave the Jewish nation exposed, should he now be either deposed by the Military and/or impeached by the Knesset - given the situation? Should he not move pre-emptively against the re-arming Terrorists, knowing what he has been advised and the Terrorists cut loose resulting in high casualties, should he not be charged with a capital crime so heinous that requires the sentence of capital punishment for the deaths and wounding of his own people? Sharon has long passed the point of being a clear and present danger to the nation. Even the Military and Intelligence has become alarmed at a Prime Minister who has run amok. He has loosed Terrorist prisoners on the Israeli public, prisoners whom, I might add, were captured at great risk to the Army and/or Secret Services. Sharon has been running his campaign on his well-deserved past glories but, the Sharon of today is no longer competent to run the Jewish State nor to win the ongoing War Against Terror. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

RABBI BAR-ILAN: PULLOUT ENTAILS 14 BIBLICAL SINS Posted by Evelyn Hayes, February 25, 2005.

This was written by Mati Wagner and appeared yesterday in the Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull&cid=1109181979802&p=1078027574097) The humiliation of orphans, widows and converts; theft; kidnapping; and indirect causation of death are just a few of 14 or so biblical prohibitions that soldiers and police will transgress while evacuating Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria, according to a halachic opinion distributed by the Council of Rabbis of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. The opinion, authored by Rabbi Shaul Bar-Ilan, head of the Kfar Darom kollel (yeshiva for married men), is unique in its exclusive focus on individual rights. Unlike other rabbis who have come out against the disengagement, not once does Bar-Ilan mention the commandment to settle the Land of Israel or the aspiration to extend Israel's borders to biblical dimensions. Bar-Ilan, 36, a great-grandson of Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, the father of the modern yeshiva, bases his argument on the assumption that disengagement is synonymous with ethnic purging - a violation of international law. The Gaza rabbi posits that Israelis never intended to invest the State of Israel with more powers than any other enlightened Western state has, and that they rejected the establishment of a monarchy modeled on the historical kingdoms of Judea and Israel. "Therefore," argues Bar-Ilan, who is a member of Amnesty International, "the obligation to obey the Israeli government is no greater than the obligation to obey any other gentile state inhabited by Jews during the past 2,000 years of exile. "The Israeli High Court has ruled time and again that innocent citizens' rights cannot be trampled even when the security of the state is at stake - for instance, regarding the building of the security fence. Who is better qualified than the High Court to set the norms for the state?" Lacking a legal mandate to evacuate, the state ipso facto would transgress a long list of biblical prohibitions during the course of the planned evacuation, asserts Bar-Ilan, who has lived in Kfar Darom for six years. Perhaps the most serious prohibition listed by Bar-Ilan is the indirect causation of murder. "There is no doubt that the evacuation, with all the emotional trauma involved, will shorten the lives of the elderly," he argues. "Women in late stages of pregnancy may miscarry. Many would give up their lives before allowing themselves to be separated from all their assets, which would force soldiers to use the most drastic possible means to evacuate." Bar-Ilan, who prepares young men to become rabbis, points out that many converts to Judaism, orphans and widows live in Gaza. The Bible enumerates special prohibitions against humiliating these individuals. Providing compensation to settlers does not exculpate, according to Bar-Ilan. "If I hit you in the face or steal your property, the fact that I pay you for the damages does not mean I haven't transgressed biblical commandments." Bar-Ilan admits that if the damaged party were to agree to be evacuated of his or her own free will, none of the prohibitions would apply. Acquiescing to a government decision or to a referendum would sidestep the halachic problems of disengagement. "But," he continues, "no one can force me to agree to something against my will. Regardless of what the government decides, we want to continue to live here." Bar-Ilan uses an analogy to prove his point. "If Iran were to agree to abandon its plans to develop an atomic bomb on condition that every man in, say, Kiryat Shmoneh cuts off his right arm, and there were a democratic vote in favor of adopting the Iranian initiative, would it be lawful? I feel the same way about disengagement." Other prohibitions listed by Bar-Ilan include uprooting fruit-bearing trees, destroying synagogues, forcing Jews to act against their will, and possible desecration of the Shabbat, as was the case at Havat Gilad. The vast majority of religious Zionist rabbis oppose disengagement. In fact, not one leading rabbi has come out in favor, although Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, head of the Har Etzion hesder yeshiva, was quoted as saying, "I'm not convinced the disengagement is justified - I do not rule out the possibility it is. It depends on the political ramifications." Rabbi David Stav, considered one of the more moderate religious Zionist leaders, believes that in principle there are halachic justifications for ceding land to Palestinians. "But the nondemocratic process used by the prime minister to ram through the legislation is an injustice. Even the most moderate rabbis, who in principle support territorial compromise, are not willing to put themselves out on a limb for Sharon's injustices." Stav is the rabbi of Shoham, a town that saw a large percentage of its voters support the dovish religious Meimad party, which joined Labor in the last elections. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the preeminent halachic authority for Sephardi Jews, has come out against disengagement on the grounds that it endangers Jewish lives by encouraging terrorists to pursue violence for further territorial compromises. He opposes a referendum on the grounds that it cannot overrule Halacha. In contrast, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the preeminent halachic authority for Ashkenazi haredim, has ruled in favor of a referendum. It is, however, unclear whether this is simply a tactical move to postpone evacuation indefinitely or a fundamental position that there is no halachic prohibition against disengagement. Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

RACHEL'S CHILDREN RECLAMATION FOUNDATION: BUYING PURIM PACKAGES FROM GUSH KATIF Posted by Evelyn Hayes, February 25, 2005.

The Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation is again remembering Sara Blaustein HYD this Purim. Our baskets will be bought from Gush Katif. They will be distributed to the children of Gush Katif and soldiers guarding Kever Rachel. Every dollar will be used for this purpose. A basket is a minimum of $18. Any denomination is acceptable. Donations will be doubled to the extent that the sponsors have pledged. More sponsors welcome. Please help give Chizuk to our Gush Katif friends in emotional and physical need this year and let this charity stop the evil expulsion decree so our people will remain in their own borders. Please remember Sara Blaustein, H'yd, a beautiful, generous, pious victim of Arab terror who was murdered on the day she visited Rachel's Tomb, ordered a Torah and was going to the Kotel to pray while saying tehillim in her car on a bypass road that led the terrorist entity spread Please support 9000 settlers so they will not be sojourners again. Remember it was Abraham who was just one Jewish neshama who said no to evil and was commanded to stop sojourning and settle the land including Aza. Lech Lecha, let our charity open the derech so the Jewish Way will be the road map for Israel and keep Israel united, strong, safe and blessed. Rush your tax deductible donations to Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation, PO Box 220, Valley Stream, NY 11582 718-648-2610 PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLECT AT YOUR GATHERINGS. LET US MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS PURIM. All donations of $28 or more will receive a free gift. A self addressed large envelope must be enclosed. Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

PROTEST THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (WCC) ANTI-ISRAEL DIVESTMENT INITIATIVE Posted by Join the Boycott, February 25, 2005.

WCC Blasted for Anti-Israel Divestment Initiative: Jewish groups blast The World Council of Churches (WCC) recommendation to divest from certain Israeli companies. For details, including how to protest the WCC's action, see http://www.geocities.com/truthmasters/jointheboycott.htm To Go To Top

SUPER URGENT: A NEW HOPE Posted by Susie Dym, February 25, 2005.

We very urgently need people who are each willing to visit 10 Likud Central Committee members and urge them to vote for next week's Central Committee resolution urging the MKs to legislate the Referendum Law. The Referendum Law is intended as an antidote to the Disengagement Law. It stipulates, simply, that the Disengagement Law is suspended until such time as a referendum is held and passed. The Central Committee vote is Thursday, 3 March. Please urgently forward your name, cell phone and in which locations (cities) you are able to visit 10 Likud Central Committee members. We will rush you 10 names from one of the cities you choose and an explanation of what you should say to them. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE ACTION TO TAKE AT THIS TIME It does not require cooperation from Sharon -- because legislation needs 61 MKs which need not include the PM. SO PLEASE COME FORWARD AND VOLUNTEER. WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU TODAY: by email to sddym@bezeqint.net or by phone to Elisheva at 0544 868735. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Susie Dym spokesperson, Mattot Arim To Go To Top

THE CAMPAIGN OF DEFAMATION AGAINST GENERAL HALUTZ Posted by Steven Plaut, February 25, 2005.

Nothing so clearly illustrates the pseudo-democratic nature of Israel's ruling class and its dual justice system than the refusal to take action against those leftist anti-Zionists in Israel who are defaming the newly appointed Chief of Staff of the army, Dan Halutz, and libeling him as a "war criminal". Suddenly calling someone a murderer and war criminal is protected free speech, but of course only for anti-Israel leftists. This is all unlike anti-Oslo dissidents calling Sharon or Peres names, acts that have earned their perpetrators arrest and indictment. The anti-Jewish Israeli Left dislikes Halutz because Halutz used to command the air force. While he was commander there, the air force offed a large number of terrorist leaders. In one such hit, a large bomb was used against some Hamas terror leaders, and the bomb also killed some civilians in the building nearby. Tch tch tch. This makes Halutz a war criminal in the "minds" of the Left. You know, unlike those Israeli leftists who imported the dozens of suicide bombers into Israeli cities. Now civilians getting hurt when Israel bombs terror leaders operating with the blessing and protection of the PLO are the responibility and blame of the PLO, not of Dan Halutz. If the PLO had not kept such people operating with the resulting Oslo mass murders of Jews, no targeted assassinations of the Islamofascists by Israeli choppers and planes would have occurred. Halutz is a war criminal in exactly the same sense as were FDR and Churchill, every time civilians in Berlin got hurt from Allied bombing in WWII. In others words, he is not. The war criminals responsible for Palestinian civilians getting hurt are the Palestinian Islamofascists and the Israeli-leftist amen chorus, urging the terrorists on to ever greater violence. But what about the lefties calling Halutz names? Israel has a law making it a crime to insult public officials! Call Shimon Peres a twit and see what happens to you! It is also libelous to call Halutz a murderer. Now take the Yesh Gvul organization. Ordinarily Yesh Gvul devotes its efforts to organizing insubordination and mutiny among soldiers in order to make it easier for the Arab fascist world to destroy Israel. Yesh Gvul urges its members to refuse to serve in the Israeli army or follow orders. Several Yesh Gvul members have had their wrists tapped in court for this. Yesh Gvul has large ads in the papers today (bet you a week's salary the New Israel Fund is paying for them), defaming Dan Halutz as a murderer and war criminal. The Israeli Attorney General demands that every anti-Oslo protester who holds a sign against Sharon be arrested as a clear and present threat of assassination. Will he now show some consistency? Will he round up the Yesh Gvul extremists and toss them in the klink? Will the police arrest others posting filth on the internet accusing Halutz of being a murderer? Arresting them the same way they arrest Kahanists who wear Tee shirts that say "Where there are no Arabs there is no terrorism"? Yeah, and I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

"HAST THOU MURDERED AND ALSO INHERITED?" Posted by Ruth Matar, February 25, 2005.

Dear Friends, History repeats itself in the most amazing ways. In these very difficult times we must not fail to learn from Jewish history, because as the saying goes: "Those who will not learn from history are bound to repeat it." Do you remember the story in the Bible about King Ahab? This famous story is found in the First Book of Kings, Chapter 21. There is a chilling resemblance between this story and the events in the Holy Land today. .... There was a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite in Jezreel that was adjacent to the palace of Ahab, King of Samaria. Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it as an herb garden, it is close by my house; in its place I will give you a better vineyard, or if you prefer I will give you its price in money." (1 Kings, 1-2) (Isn't this exactly what Sharon is offering to the Gush Katif Jews?) But Naboth said to Ahab, "Far be it for me before HASHEM that I should give you my ancestors' heritage." (1 Kings, verse 3) This is exactly how the Gush Katif Jews replied to Sharon. They refused to give Sharon their ancestors' heritage, as HASHEM had given Gaza to the Tribe of Judah, as their eternal inheritance. Do you see the incredible resemblance between the Biblical story and what is happening in the Holy Land in the Jewish Year of 5765 (2005 C. E.)? In the "good old days", when Sharon went through his Zionist phase, he criticized the Peres-Rabin government for acting as if Israel was their "private real estate." Now Ariel Sharon himself treats our Biblical inheritance of Samaria, Judea and Gaza as his own personal real estate. Sharon is working non-stop to give our covenant land to the Arab enemy, who have murdered us non-stop since long before the State's rebirth. Sharon needed to shore up his tottering government. He therefore joined forces with the leftist Labor party and its leader, Shimon Peres. Peres is now the Vice Prime Minister, and is contributing his proven extraordinary talents to the project of helping Sharon deport the Jews in Gaza from their homes in their G-d given homeland. Let us not forget that Oslo architect, Shimon Peres, negotiated these Accords with the Arabs when it was totally forbidden under Israeli law to have any dealings whatsoever with the Arab enemy. The agreement he signed with the Arabs was "retroactively" and illegally approved by the Knesset. Dear Friends, let me tell you, the Sharon-Peres combination is even worse than the Rabin-Peres combination was. Peres, the architect of the disastrous Oslo Accords is, in the opinion of many Jews, the personification of evil. He gave the Arab enemy ammunition and guns, and shares responsibility with them in the murder of more than a thousand innocent civilians. Now let's get to the practical aspects of the Disengagement (Deportation) Plan. Those Jewish "Extremists" had actually been encouraged to build their homes in Gaza by Sharon, as Governor of Gaza, and by various previous Israeli governments. Sharon, who is often called, not affectionately, the "bulldozer", thought at first that the transfer of Jews was a simple problem. Just bring in the mechanical bulldozers and level the Gush Katif homes. But then another problem arose: "We are going to lose the international good will of the World, which we gained by agreeing to transfer the Jews. The World will think that we are leveling these houses, in order to deprive these poor, long-suffering Arabs of shelter, purely out of spite." (Our Dictator Sharon does not for one moment care what the Jewish People will think of his scheme.) An additional problem arose. The environmentalists started a hue and cry. Not what will happen to those poor Jewish families, but what will happen to the environment? Environment Minister Shalom Simhon warned of unprecedented environmental damage to the country. "The demolition of homes in Gush Katif under the Disengagement Plan will cause severe damage to the environment and unprecedented damage to Israel's economy and public image", Simhon warned. "Israel is not sufficiently prepared to properly dispense all the refuse that would be created if the homes are demolished. The demolition of the standing structures in Gush Katif would create some 1.5 million cubic meters of garbage. The demolition and the removal of the refuse would cost the State over NIS 80 million. The State of Israel is not prepared to absorb all the refuse, even if new garbage sites are created for that purpose. We will still not be able to recycle the materials until 2010. Also, the homes and the underground infrastructure may be made of asbestos and those exposed to the refuse will be at risk of getting sick with cancer in addition to other illnesses." To the rescue comes an Arab billionaire, Mahmoud al-Abar, from Dhabai. One of those romantic oil-sheikhs, you know! To make a meeting between Mahmoud al-Abar and Sharon possible, Labor Knesset Member Ephraim Sneh and Prime Minister Sharon's Office Director-General, Ilan Cohen, arranged a clandestine meeting. The Jerusalem Post assured us gullible little readers that the sheikh only stayed in Sharon's office for 180 seconds. I guess the Jerusalem Post reporter thought that this sounded like less than three minutes! In any case, the reporter tells us that all they did was shake hands. But what did they shake hands on? Well, it develops that sheikh Mahmoud al-Abar has offered to buy the Jewish Gaza settlements for $56 million. What an incredible bargain! For Mahmoud al-Abar, that is! Who will be the beneficiaries of this real estate transaction? For sure not the Jews of Gush Katif who will most likely be in prison for not leaving their homes voluntarily. Neither do we know what is going to be left of this $56 million purchase price, after Sharon's sons Gilad and Omri, and Knesset Member Ephraim Sneh get their cut? And how about the Prime Minister's Office Director-General, Ilan Cohen, who helped to set up this deal, doesn't he deserve something for his efforts? I am sure you are aware that both of Sharon's sons, Gilad and Omri, have been investigated for financial wrongdoings, both in the Greek Island Affair and for illegal campaign contributions to their father's campaign. All this was supposedly done with filial devotion to their father. The new Attorney General Mazus, appointed by Ariel Sharon, has found the evidence insufficient to indict Gilad, but has just indicted Omri. But both sons claim that their father knew absolutely nothing of their trying to help him! Also, the Brooklyn Bridge is still for sale. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak has just told a committee of Labor Knesset members that they should not support the Prime Minister, because the whole Sharon family is riddled with corruption. Is this the case of the pot calling the kettle black? Shimon Peres does not want to stay out of the debate about Disengagement. Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres is preparing a plan to transfer Jewish-owned businesses, green houses, farms and factories by selling them to the Arabs, to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. "We are interested in economic peace in addition to political peace," Peres said. "The Palestinians residing in Gaza must not find themselves disappointed the day after we disengage. If unemployment and poverty increase, hatred and bitterness will increase as well. I see this scenario as a danger." Peres, as always, is loyal to the enemy rather than to his own Jewish brethren. What about the difficulty of the dispossessed Jews to find employment, to start new farms, to feed their families? Yes, hatred and bitterness will increase among those poor people who were subject to the crime of being expelled from their homes by Ariel Sharon, their own Jewish Prime Minister. Isn't this the story of King Ahab and Naboth, multiplied 9,000 times over? Has the Sharon Government lost it completely? Even if the buildings are given over to deserving terrorists, government officials say that the synagogues of Gush Katif and northern Samaria will not be left standing, for fear that Arabs will defile them. It is unclear how the Israeli Defense Forces' destruction of the synagogues in Gush Katif and northern Samaria would take place in a manner that would not constitute "defilement". Dear Friends, I have completely abandoned the idea that Sharon and his leftist coterie will ever abandon the evil and immoral plan of deporting the Jews from Gush Katif and northern Samaria. However, American support is vital for Sharon's political survival. I don't think he can carry out his plan without American complicity. We must convince the Bush Administration that the goal of bringing democracy to the Middle East is not served by making parts of the Holy Land "Judenrein." Such a plan is completely against the promises given to the Jewish People by the G-d of the Judeo-Christian Bible. Time is short. A giant protest rally is being planned for Washington, D.C. to convince the American government that Sharon's plan is dangerous not only for Israel, but for America as well. A date for this rally will be announced soon. Let us put our heads together and plan how to make this event a resounding success! Please give me your name, street address and email address for our rapidly growing list. We count on you, both Christian and Jewish Zionists and Bible believers to join the struggle against a take-over of the Holy Land by radical Islam. Remember what Arafat said in his Johannesburg speech in 1994: "Now after this agreement [the Oslo Agreement] you have to understand our main battle is Jerusalem. The jihad (Islamic holy war) will continue, and Jerusalem is not for the Palestinian people alone. It is for all the Muslim people." Dear Friends, make no mistake about it. The Muslims believe in conquering by stages. First Gaza and Samaria, then Judea and the rest of Israel. And finally, Jerusalem! We must wake up before it is too late. Together we shall overcome! With Blessings and Love for Israel, Ruth Matar Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

EVACUATION/COMPENSATION FOR THE ARABS Posted by Moshe Feiglin, February 25, 2005.

We shall struggle for Gush Katif and with G-d's help we shall win, but the most important question is what will happen on the day after. The government's decision to expel the residents of Gush Katif is, without doubt, a black milestone in the history of the State of Israel. However, as believing Jews it is clear to us that behind this harsh event lies a lesson that we must learn. We have to try and discover this lesson. At the time of Yamit we lowered our eyes and continued. Consequently we are once again encountering the same destructive forces (then also it was Sharon and the Likud) and the same destruction, but this time infinitely worse. It seems that the uprooting of an entire population forms a just and moral solution, and that no-one either in the Right or the Left regards the issue as a humanitarian problem. The Right would not protest if Sharon were to decide to disengage Kalkilya from Kfar Saba. No-one on the Right would then make comparisons with the Expulsion from Spain or with other dark regimes. It also becomes clear that the Left, when over all the years it spoke of the moral prohibition to transfer populations, did not speak the truth, for otherwise the Left should now protest against the expulsion of Jews. The sole decisive factor amongst both the right and the Left is the feeling of justice. The Left maintains that Eretz Israel belongs to the Arabs, and the Right that it belongs to the Jews. That's all there is to it. Both sides know that the solution lies in disengagement, and the difference between them is that the Right has accepted the approach of the Left (that now transpires to be an absolute lie), according to which the transfer of a population by its very nature represents a moral problem. In this way the transfer of the Arabs was placed outside the bounds of legitimate debate in the State of Israel. However, since disengagement is the sole solution, and disengagement of the Arabs is not legitimate, disengagement of the Jews has become legitimate and its implementation is only a question of time. This week all the barriers fell, and the following conclusions must be drawn: a) The solution is disengagement. b) There is no moral problem in transferring populations. c) The question is not whether it is permissible to uproot a population, but which population to uproot. In other words, to whom does the country belong? d) The answer to this question is given by the government that succeeds in passing the resolution in a legal manner. From now on it must be remembered that when a National Government comes to power, that believes in the right of the Jews and not in that of the enemy, it will possess the appropriate legal means, approved by Supreme Court rulings, for an immediate solution to the Jewish-Arab conflict over Eretz Israel: Evacuation-compensation for the Arabs. Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) is a group of people inside the Likud party who want to see Israel adopt a more Jewish character. Moshe Feiglin, its cofounder, has emphatically said he does not want a theocracy, but he does want a State based on Jewish values. The Manhigut Yehudit website address is http://www.manhigut.org. To Go To Top

CANADIAN ANTI-SEMITE IN THE UNESCO Posted by Laureen Moe, February 24, 2005.

Mr. Pierre Poilievre (Nepean-Carleton, CPC): [Poilievre.P@parl.g c. ca] said yesterday in parliament: "...Mr. Speaker, it is an honour, as a friend of democracies of the world to introduce a petition, which calls upon the government to note the following. The appointment of Yvon Charbonneau as Canada's Ambassador to UNESCO has caused great concerns to Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Mr. Charbonneau has made numerous comments and statements publicly against Jewish Canadians and the state of Israel and has never recanted these anti-Semitic statements or beliefs. The appointment of Yvon Charbonneau as Ambassador of Canada, a man who has expressed anti-Semitic and anti-Israel and even anti-American views, sends a message to Canadians and the global community that such views reflect the policies of the Government of Canada. They state that these views are not acceptable to Canadians. ..." Please write to Minister of Foreign Affairs - Pierre Pettigrew: pettigrew.p@parl.gc.ca and Prime Minister Paul Martin: pm@pm.gc.ca Please write to your MP: http://canada.gc.ca/directories/direct_e.html Expressing your views and concerns. Laureen Moe is a Christian Zionist and lives in Canada. She can be reached at her website, http://www.laureenmoe.org To Go To Top

THE U.S.-BACKED "CONTIGUOUS PALESTINIAN" STATE Posted by Jan Willem van der Hoeven, February 24, 2005.

A referendum is needed. Not to decide about the beginning of this road - the expulsion of the Jews from Gaza. A referendum is need to decide about where it will undoubtedly lead: to a Palestinian State that will be used to destroy Israel. The U.S. backed and European pressured Road Map for 'peace' may likely result in: 1. The surrender of most of the Golan, Gaza, Judea and Samaria. 2. Civil war among the Israelis. 3. No true peace but a stage towards the further dismantling of the State of Israel. 4. No secure borders. 5. Gaza, Judea and Samaria turned into terrorist bases like southern Lebanon, with all the resulting unnecessary bloodshed. 6. No more land enough of Israel for all the Jews who have not yet emigrated to come back to. 7. A total unwillingness for all Arab Muslim Nations to make peace with Israel without Jerusalem becoming the Muslim Palestinian capital! Is this where it all is leading? To a divided land, "a contiguous Palestinian State" and thus a divided and eventually destroyed Israel? The yellow area would be a likely "contiguous Palestinian state" carved out of land legitimately belonging to Israel and in a good position to strike at what's left of Israel. The only, only way to defeat the disengagement plan of P.M. Sharon is to point out that it in the end - by the continuous pressure of the whole world - will lead into the much more serious trap for Israel: the expulsion of most of the Jews from Judea, Samaria and the Golan, after which a Palestinian State will be formed that will certainly become the springboard for the further demise and destruction of Israel. Imam Ibrahim Mudyris, as late as this month February, clearly pronounced this ultimate Islamic Palestinian goal in a Friday sermon broadcasted on official PA Television (February 4, 2005): "Our approval to return to the 1967 borders is not a concession for our other rights. No!... this generation might not achieve this stage, but generations will come, and the land of Palestine... will demand that the Palestinians will return the way Muhammad returned there - as a conqueror." In the light of the majority of the Likud Central Committee having already voted against the destructive formation of a Palestinian State in the heartland of Israel: in Judea and Samaria, a land which God swore, under oath, to give only to one people - not to two - as an everlasting possession, the question in any upcoming referendum to Israel's political parties individually or to the nation as a whole should therefore be this pertinent question: "In the realization of the still present dream of millions of Muslims and Arabs for the total destruction of Israel - even if they can only achieve it - by first receiving 'only' half of your land - are you nevertheless willing to take this risk of committing national suicide by accepting such a Palestinian State?" Thus not a referendum on the present disengagement plan from Gaza and Northern Samaria settlements is needed - but a binding referendum whether Israel is willing for peace sake to commit national suicide by the establishment of a Palestinian State which certainly will be exploited by the ISLAMIC forces like Alqaida, Hezbollah, Tanzim, Hamas, ISLAMIC JIHAD and other elements, who will soon fill up the vacuum the Israeli Defense Forces have left by withdrawing from most of the so called West Bank to the further demise of Israel. This is the question which needs now to be asked in a referendum before any other matter is decided upon. One cannot be clear enough to Israel's present politicians who view with great anxiety, foreboding and trepidation the present Sharon disengagement plan - if they want to stop this - they need to ask for a referendum not about this single disengagement issue but a referendum on where it may end: a Palestinian State - a tool in the hands of all Islamic terrorist groups and nations for the further destruction of their State. Jan Willem van der Hoeven is Director of International Christian Zionist Center in Jerusalem (www.israelmybeloved.com). To Go To Top

FREED TERRORIST ARRESTED AGAIN Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, February 24, 2005.

This is a news item from today's Arutz-7 (www.IsraelNationalNews.com). Yet another released terrorist has been re-arrested by Israeli security forces for involvement in terrorism. The arrested man, Waseem Akab Khalil Mantzur, had been released from an Israeli prison in 2003 after spending less than a year in jail for his involvement in previous shooting attacks. Since his release, Mantzur has been involved in weapons dealing and various attacks against Israeli targets. The Tanzim faction to which Mantzur belonged has been carrying out its attacks in the Shechem region in coordination with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, also affiliated with Fatah, and with the Hizbullah terrorist organization. Mantzur is from the village of Kfar Kalil and was involved in many recent attacks against IDF forces in the vicinity. He was involved in last week's attempted attack on the Jewish community of Bracha, in which another released terrorist, Atzam Mantzur, was killed while planting a bomb. Israel set him free in January 2004 as part of an exchange for kidnapped Israeli Elhanan Tenenbaum and the bodies of three IDF soldiers murdered by Hizbullah. Despite the attack on Bracha, Israel released the first group of 500 Arab prisoners last week as a "good-will gesture" to provide PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) with an accomplishment he can chalk up to his credit. Yehudit Dasberg, whose daughter and son-in-law were murdered by terrorists nine years ago, told Arutz-7 today that the government disregards the fact that a large percentage of the released terrorists return to murdering Jews. "The government releases terrorist murderers, without examining at all whether the freed terrorists return to killing Jews. We have in our possession dozens of names of Israelis wounded by terrorists who released by Israel in the past," said Dasberg. According to Dasberg, Deputy Defense Minister Zev Boim has confirmed that due to lack of budget, the IDF and security services have not carried out any investigation into how many freed terrorists have returned to carrying out attacks. "We, the families of terror victims, are representing all of Israel's citizens," Mrs. Dasberg said, "and not just those on the right-wing. It is in everyone's interest not to release terrorists who, in light of past experience, will definitely return to trying to kill Jews. When they say the terrorists being released have no 'blood on their hands,' it just means they weren't successful in killing Jews on their first try. Their desire to continue trying to murder remains. What kind of country will we have with 900 more terrorist murderers roaming freely in our land?" Dasberg added that when she petitioned the Supreme Court, asking how Israel could continue to arrest criminals when murderers are released, Justice Mishael Heshin told her, "You are bringing claims from the realm of ethics and justice when we are here to discuss law alone." Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org To Go To Top

CHRISTIAN AID USES CHARITY FUNDS FOR ANTI-ISRAEL POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS Posted by NGO Monitor Organization, February 24, 2005.

SUMMARY: Drawing upon simplistic and emotional language and imagery, a prominent advertisement from Christian Aid on the front page of The Guardian sees this organization again using its considerable "charitable" resources to promote a political message focused on Israel's security barrier against Palestinian terror attacks. On 15 February 2005, the front page of The Guardian featured a prominent advertisement from Christian Aid. At an estimated cost of approximately &x#00A3;4000 ($7500), Christian Aid has again used its considerable "charitable" resources to promote a political message focused on Israel's security barrier against Palestinian terror attacks. Drawing upon simplistic and emotional language and imagery, this advertisement erases the context of this violent conflict, as was the case in CA's "Child of Bethlehem" and "Peace Under Siege" campaigns. Failing to acknowledge any Palestinian responsibility for the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian Authority, Christian Aid places the blame solely on "Israel's occupation and the poverty it has created." While Christian Aid claims to have condemned Palestinian suicide bombings, this immoral 'balance' does not justify the political attacks against Israel, as documented and analyzed by NGO Monitor and repeated in this advertisement. The one-sided text, while referring to the difficult situation in both Israel and the Palestinian territories, treats the Palestinians as "the voiceless ones" ignoring the "voiceless" Israeli victims of terror and the many lives that have been saved by the security barrier. Christian Aid claims, in dramatic and entirely unsubstantiated fashion, that Palestinian families will be "carved down the middle by the separation barrier." In sharp contrast to its legal status as a charity, Christian Aid's advertisement in The Guardian illustrates an unchanging political agenda, even at a time of renewed hope and efforts at peacemaking in the Middle East. In contrast to the new atmosphere in the region, it appears that Christian Aid has not reevaluated its own highly partisan contribution to the hatred and violence. The NGO Monitor organization (www.ngo-monitor.org) promotes critical debate and accountability of human rights NGOs in the Arab Israeli Conflict. Note that the original article contained dynamic links to additional material (http://www.ngo-monitor.org/editions/v3n07/ CAUsesCharityFundsForAntiIsraelAdverts.htm). To Go To Top

ZIONISTS AREN'T THE REAL JEWS Posted by J.A. Omayyad, February 24, 2005.

Are you tring to say that "zionists"and "JEWS" are the same people.I personaly know hundreds of "ARAB JEWS" and they hate the zionists.Can you tell me why the WHOLE world hates the zionists.You see, the majority of arabs respect the real Jews--they follow gods laws to the letter.The "zionists on the other hand are the disease that tries to claim they are Jews.After reading some of the garbage you have posted, i realize that Israel will never have 100% security .All you do is bash Arabs.I have real Jews in our family tree,we love them and they love us .WE ARE BLOOD.you trash will remain "OUR" enemy until the end of time.You see its the real Jews that supply the Palestinian factions with arms to hit the zionists-dont tell me you dont know that -gosh -everyone knows that!(TRY LOVE) J.A.Omayyad can be contacted by email at jra_ucc@yahoo.com To Go To Top

WE HAVE TO FOLLOW ORDERS Posted by IsrAlert, February 24, 2005.

This was written by Aliza Karp with Menachem Porter "We have to follow orders," is what the policeman told Menachem. Recently there has been a news blitz about how police have been in special training to remove Jewish mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, grandparents and infants from their homes. (I could have said remove 'setters' from their homes, but these are people, not a category. I wish I could put all 8,000 names every time I mention the deportation. Because there are 8,000 individual souls.) The news blitz got a jumpstart by coming out as a leak and afterwards the news release came. I happen to believe that the reports are true, but I also believe that the 'leak' was in order to get maximum media coverage. It is more ammunition for the psychological war that the state is waging on its loyal citizens: tinkers, tailors, soldiers, sailors, rich ones, poor ones, best friends and lovers. I heard from a Rav yesterday that he got a communiqué that was from the Avraham's, Bracha's, Coby's, Dalia's, Ehud's and Zahava's of Yesha. They were asking rabbis their Halachic opinion as to what they should do. What is forbidden because it is considered putting yourself and your children in danger and what is forbidden as far as turning over the land to terrorists and thereby facilitating the murder and destruction that will follow. The questions are heartbreaking. These people are under tremendous pressure. If I were in that position, I think I would project what my feelings would be in the future. If I did not resist the expulsion, how would I feel in years to come? Or if I put myself in danger - because this is the land promised to us by G-d and given to us through miracles and sustained through miracles - how would I feel in years to come? On second thought, maybe I am in that position. How will I feel in years to come, knowing someone else fought my battle while I sat by the pool at a bungalow colony and of course went to Shiurim, all the while sighing deeply as I read the news? In the midst of all the publicity and tumult about police training, I got an email from a young man I know, who studies in Yerushalim and spends every Erev Shabbos in the Hevron area going to army outposts with his Tefilin and a bottle of Coke and a smile. This is what Menachem wrote: "I myself spoke to a cop on Friday, and he told me that he's already been in training for 7 months. He said 'you guys are the Rebbe's army, what he says you do, what he says not to, you don't. We are Israel's army and even though it's not comfortable, we have to follow orders.' Rings a bell, doesn't it? What I want is for these reports to get to press in America, we can't have a replay of 1940. Back then, the unbelievable reports that leaked out of Europe were dismissed as 'unreliable' and 'exaggerated' and history tells us the terrible results." Hopefully reinforcements from other parts of Yesha will be moving into the threatened areas to help defend them. But can Americans really go to these areas and be a help and not a hindrance? The answer might be for us city slickers to go to reinforce the towns in other parts of the country, while our tougher cousins leave their posts to serve in the front lines. There might be jobs we can fill in for: teachers, bookkeepers, storekeepers, tinkers, tailors? Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com To Go To Top

CAN YOU SEE? Posted by Yuval Zaliouk, February 24, 2005.

Dear friends, If you have not noticed yet, the Middle East is truly a bizarre place. It is as if every few months someone feels compelled to come up with a new plan or term to interfere with the people living there. Today let us concentrate on a new term coined by President Bush in his speech in Brussels earlier this week. I am referring to the term "contiguous," as in the new Palestinian state must have a 'contiguous' territory in order to make it a viable state. First let us clarify one very important point: President Bush did not invent the idea. Like all "peace" plans ever brought to light (and failed), they originated in Israeli by Israeli leaders, mostly by leaders from the left, or like Sharon, who suddenly advocates leftist ideas. Always remember that neither the "Road Map" nor the "Disengagement" Plan were invented in Washington DC. They were exported from Jerusalem!!! It took a lot of persuasion by Israeli officials to sell the plans to the bewildered (at first) Americans. When last year the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza plan was brought before Ms. Condolizza Rice by Sharon's envoy Weisglass, her initial reaction was something close to: Are you crazy? But back to "contiguous." For four years the Israeli left has been blaming the failure of the Barak / Arafat negotiations in Camp David, not on Arafat's character and intentions, but on the fact that the 95% territory of Judea and Samaria offered to him was not "contiguous." Namely, there were Israeli pockets left in the territories. On its face it sounds almost legitimate: Why should a Palestinian state contain Israeli pockets? Now, come, friends, ask the question again, this time louder: WHY SHOULD A PALESTINIAN STATE CONTAIN ISRAELI POCKETS? Can you see how ridiculous this is? OK, here is the mirror question: WHY SHOULD ISRAEL CONTAIN ARAB POCKETS? Why is Israel not allowed to be "contiguous?" In tiny Israel there are close to hundred Arab villages and towns. 20% of its population is Arab. Is Israel "CONTIGUOUS?" Can you see the injustice now? What the President and Sharon should have declared is clear: For every Jewish village or town there should be and exchange of an Arab village or town. In many conflicts in history such an exchange of population has been an accepted principal. But if you feel a revulsion to such a solution, fine, but explain why can't Jews continue to live among Arabs? The idea that in the context of true peace only the Arabs are permitted to have a cleansed state but not Israel is so outrageous, it is almost beyond words. Sharon is evicting ALL Jewish Israeli citizens from Gaza and Northern Samaria in order to hand the Arab "Palestinians" a territory clean of Jews... Again, think seriously: In the context of TRUE peace, why would Jews not be allowed to remain in a future "Palestine" and keep their homes there if they so wish, just as Arabs live peacefully in Israel? Instead of chasing Jews from their legal homes, Sharon and President Bush, should have made it extremely clear: Peace means just that, PEACE!!! As Germans can live in France and French in Germany, Jews should be able to remain in Hebron and Gaza as Arabs can remain in Jaffa and the Galilee, otherwise, what kind of peace, democracy and freedom are they really talking about? This is what the Arabs need to internalize as a pre-condition. Until they do, Israelis must remain in their communities and the Israeli Army must defend them. I believe that this point is the most crucial one in the entire conflict. It contains within it the answer to the Arab propaganda term "occupation" (which never was). It also reveals the true nature of the Arab intentions: This is NO peace. It is the first installment of their intention to the eventual eviction of most Jews from Israel, as stated clearly in the Palestinian National Charter. Can you see? Your Truth Provider, Yuval Yuval Zaliouk writes the Truth Provider columns. To subscribe, send an email to ynz@netvision.net.il To Go To Top

GUSH MAKES PLANS - MAKES GREAT SENSE TO ME Posted by Ken Heller, February 24, 2005.

This is from my friend Anita Tucker who lives in Gush Katif. To help the Gush Katif community in their courageous battle to save their homes and Israel's honor, you can SEND YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO: "FRIENDS OF GUSH KATIF" AND MAIL IN CARE OF EITHER: In Israel: Katif Regional Development Fund Neve Dekalim, D.N HOF AZA 79779 In America: KEN HELLER, 11213 JEANES STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 19116 or: AMERICANS FOR A SAFE ISRAEL, 1623 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 205, NEW YORK, N.Y 10128 or: MARC ZWEBNER, 588 SOUTH FOREST DRIVE, TEANECK, NEW JERSEY 07666 Help give real meaning to the phrase, NEVER AGAIN"!!! In my town we are trying to organize quietly in this direction -but money is a big problem--a generator for the 500 people in our town -is a lot more money than we can manage. More families are quietly moving in as well. We are also trying to find money for family size tents and either chemical or mobile bathrooms that we could possibly hook up to system. Many families are calling they want to move in very soon as the gov't sources are spreading rumers of closing off area - anywhere between March and May and then till expulsion date each person coming in would need special permit - but of course we don't know if this isn't part of psychological warfare. Meanwhile volunteer lawyers are taking the Gov't to Supreme court on every little detail of the expulsion law with unbelievable facts - like that they were not able to find another example in recent history of a similar removal of such a large population from their homes and farms and businesses. The time allowed for the expulsion is totally unreasonable - every farmer will lose an entire year of crops for which he will not be compensated. Even in the expulsion from spain the Jews were allowed a much longer period of time to organize themselves to leave Spain and later when the expulsion of Jews continued to Portugal in 1492 it was decided to give them even longer because the time given in Spain turned out to be impossible to enact. etc etc. There are also plans to put up endless new hilltop settlements all over Judea and Samaria as most of the Police and Army will be in Gush Katif - so they will have no way of stopping this unless they take troops and police out of Gush Katif. There are also efforts to get the Likud party Central members to force Sharon to have a nataional referendum - planned for next week. Also for Purim people from Yesha and supporters will personally distribute to EVERY SINGLE home in Israel Mishloach Manot of Gush Katif products + a new CD on Gush Katif and information on the basic details of poulation, size, production etc of Gush Katif that the average person in Israel doesn't know - most think it is a caravan or two with a few nutty settlers - so what's the big deal to uproot it. Ken, there are plans in every direction being enacted on but those that are really serious cost tons of money so anyone who can organize people to seriously participate in this effort will be taking a serious step in enabling it to be done. God has helped us in that Sharon has forced the Lnesset to pass a law that offers compensation that is so low and so unrealistic, and time for resettling the population here is so short and totally impossible to in fact do in any sort of a half normal way, that even those people who are having a hard time dealing with all this Evil Psychological warfare of Sharon are now saying THEY ARE NOT BUDGING FROM HERE under those conditions. So far in all of the 8500 people now living in Gush Katif we know of only 17 families that have signed to leave - (14 from one town who now regret their act). This is unbelievably low and wonderful and amazing. You can't possibly imagine the pressure that Sharon's people are putting on us - plus the media, who are writing the craziest things to delegitimize us and to scare us - Every evening we are making meetings with groups in our town and thank God there is real beautiful unity among us - we are all planning to sign now an ethical agreement where we all agree to stick this out via supporting and helping each other no matter what. The thing that scares some of the adults is how will they manage financially - how will they pay their mortgages the suppliers etc -- if they stay on and can't work or sell their goods. We are organizing for this as well - here again money is the thing that we are trying to organize to calm these fears. I think every Jew in the world to whom Israel is dear must be part of these efforts -- his financial distress in his supporting this effort must be no less than the people who are planning to stay and hold the fort here as well as those from all over the country who are already leaving their jobs and moving here now for fear that they won't be allowed in later and won't be able to be part of the privilege of showing their devotion to the land and people of Israel in this crucial struggle that is about the essence of Israel and Judaism. So as usual DEVOTION and MONEY are the means to the end. God willing WE SHALL OVERCOME! God willing we will all do it together! Ken Heller is a pro-Israel activist and a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of Americans For A Safe Israel. He can be reached at kjhnha@aol.com. To Go To Top

CLEARING UP SOME CONCEPTS Posted by Steven Plaut, February 24, 2005.

1. "Clearing up Some Definitions, or, Who says that Only Chomsky can Do Linguistics?" (http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/moonbatcentral/2005/02/ clearing-up-some-definitions-or-who.html) Since there has been a lot of confusion lately about definitions of terms, it behooves us to clarify some terms: 1. Capitalist: A. Someone who owns capital, and thus would include almost all American workers, who own capital through their pension funds. B. Someone who understands that capitalism is the only system on earth that can produce wealth or reduce poverty. 2. Liberal: Before 1960, someone who believes in individual freedom, economic freedom, and opposes discrimination. Since 1970, someone who opposes individual freedom, opposes economic freedom, and supports discrimination. 3. Marxist: A. An extremely rare form of psychosis and personality disorder. B. Something someone claims to be to make their Mommy mad. 4. Fidelista: a terminal case of #3. 5. Socialist: A. Someone who refuses to study economics. B. Someone practicing recreational compassion. 6. Conservative: see "liberal" for before 1960. 7. Jew - someone born to a Jewish mother or who converted to Judaism. 8. Self-hating Jew: A Jew who supports Arab terrorism and wants Israel destroyed 9. Christian: someone following the teachings of Christ. 10. Zionist: A Jew who is not a self-hating Jew. 11. Anti-Zionist: an Anti-Semite 12. Deconstructionist: a twit with nothing of value to say about anything 13. Progressive: shallow politically-correct liberals and leftists 14. Post-modernist: a Deconstructionist without all that depth in understanding 15. Multiculturalist: someone pretending to be interested in other cultures, as long as no one asks him or her to study a foreign language 16. Humanist: a human speciesist 17. Reconstructionist: see "Deconstructionist" 18. Empowered: a meaningless word PC leftists use to make themselves feel deep 19. Feminist: A. Before 1970, someone who wants equality of opportunity for the sexes. B. After 1970, someone who opposes equality of opportunity for the sexes. 20. Palestinian self-determination: the destruction of Israel and its depopulation 21. Democrat: see "liberal". 22. Moderate Republican: see "Democrat". 23. Caring: what liberals claim to be to make themselves feel good. 24. Egalitarian: someone who opposes equality of opportunity. 25 White: an American person with light complexion generally possessing a mix of Caucasian, American Indian, and other racial ancestors. 26. Black: an American person with dark complexion generally possessing a mix of black, Caucasian, American Indian, and other racial ancestors. 27. Hispanic: A. Anyone speaking Spanish except someone from Spain. B. Anyone the racist bureaucrats in Washington decide arbitrarily is Hispanic. 28. Asian: someone whose ancestors do not come from Asia west of the Himalaya mountains. 29. Afrocentric: someone who hates white people. 30. Eurocentric: a meaningless adjective attached by PC leftists to everything they do not like. 31. Freedom of speech: something PC leftists want promoted through censorship and speech codes. 32. The media: an Old Boys Club for liberals. 33. Affirmative action: a form of apartheid. More on PC-speak can be found at http://chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=13253 Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

KNESSET PROBES SHIMON PERES Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 24, 2005.

There is a story within a story here. The obvious story is about a crook called Shimon Peres and all the little Peresites that accompany him. The hidden story here is about David Bedein. He is one of the handful of real and honest journalist in Israel. This is not his first scoop. Without benefit of multi-million dollar backers or a super sophisticated telecommunication-computer network, he has managed to uncover one major scandal after another in Israel. Of which nearly all have been studiously ignored by the Israeli media and political system. This one seems to have hit a nerve. Most people in or out of the political establishment despise Peres. However, since he is the Boss of Bosses, the founder and ultimate controller of Israel's secret police, the SHABBAK, he is feared. Let us hope that the lump that would be formed by trying to sweep under the carpet this latest scandal involving Peres will be too big to ignore. This article is by Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily's Jerusalem bureau chief, whose past interview subjects have included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Shlomo Ben Ami and leaders of the Taliban. It appeared today in World Net Daily. (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43007) Top official under investigation for role in funds tied to Palestinian Authority JERUSALEM - Israel's Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres is being investigated for alleged involvement in a private technology fund coordinated with the Palestinian Authority while he was a government minister -- a move some are charging was a conflict of interest requiring him to step down from his government position, WorldNetDaily has learned. The investigation, to be conducted by members of the Knesset Ethics Committee, focuses around the establishment by Peres of the Peace Technology Fund, a $160 million venture-capital entity created in part to encourage investment in the Palestinian economy. Investors in the fund, allegedly procured while Peres was minister of regional cooperation under Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 1999, include the Palestinian National Authority and several companies that have in the past contributed to the Peres Center for Peace, a non-profit think tank he founded. The fund's first investment was announced in Business Week in June 1999, one month after Peres assumed his ministerial position that year. The article reported, "A venture capital fund founded by former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres has taken a $9 million, 3.3 percent stake in Paltel, the Palestinian Telecommunications Co., according to officials of the Peace Technology Fund. The investment is the first by the peace fund, which was established last year by Israeli and Palestinian investors." "The fund has raised $60 million from Israeli, Palestinian, and foreign investors. The Peace Technology Fund was established by Peres and the World Bank as part of an attempt to spur investment in the Palestinian economy." The Palestinian National Authority, according to a report by the Democratic Council, invested $22 million in the fund, also allegedly while Peres was an Israeli minister. The PNC is a monetary branch of the Palestinian Authority. Other investments in the fund, totaling nearly $10 million, were made by Bank Leumi, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Federmann Enterprises, Koor Industries, Arison Investments, Strauss Holding, Delta Galil, Daimler Chrysler and Keter Plastics. Most are contributors to the Peres Center for Peace, which itself is listed as a member of the fund's advisory board. David Bedein, director of the Israel Resource News Agency, alerted members of the Knesset Ethics Committee yesterday to the fund's activities and has sparked a Knesset investigation to determine if Peres' involvement with the fund was a conflict of interest and whether the veteran Israeli politician received or continues to receive fees for allegedly securing multimillion dollar investments or profits from previous fund ventures. Bedein told WND, "Since Peres was the minister of regional cooperation when the Palestinian investment was made, the Knesset Ethics Committee will now investigate whether Peres was paid a consulting or broker fee as payment for bringing in the investment." Consultants procuring investments for companies or funds typically receive finders fees of 2 to 5 percent. The Palestinian Authority's investment of $22 million could have earned Peres a fee of $440,000, according to yesterday's briefing to members of the Ethics Committee. Another charge brought to the Knesset focuses around the fund's $9 million investment in the Paltel Palestinian communications company, also after Peres assumed his 1999 government position. The price of Paltel's shares rose from 2.5 Jordanian dinars in May 1999 to 4.5 in August 1999, reportedly realizing a nearly $10 million profit for the fund's investment that year. The stock increase has been widely attributed to a monopoly license granted in August 1999 by the Palestinian Authority to Paltel for the company to operate exclusive wireless services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. WND has learned the Ethics Committee will investigate whether Peres knew in advance, through contacts while he was a member of the Israeli government, the PA was planning to grant Paltel the exclusive contract, and whether Peres personally profited from the fund's investment. Other questions surround Peres' relationship to Evergreen Canada Investment Management, a Canadian company listed on the advisory board of the fund. A subsidiary of the company was reportedly granted an advisory contract to help the Palestinian Commercial Services Corporation, a financial arm of the Palestinian Authority, invest more than $170 million in international private equity funds in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Bedein asks, "What was the role of Peres in helping Evergreen receive the advisory contract from the PCSC? Was Mr. Peres paid a consultancy fee by Evergreen for his work in convincing the directors of the PCSC that they should give this investment advisory work to Evergreen? As Evergreen has no expertise or experience whatsoever on investment capital into private equity funds, the question remains why the PCSC would chose Evergreen?" Further questions being raised by the Ethics Committee include: "Do Mr. Peres or the Peres Peace Center today hold any shares or equity in the Peace Technology Fund? Why does the Peres Peace Center maintain an advisory role in the private held Peace Technology Fund?" Peres served twice as Israel's prime minister - following the formation of a unity government in 1984, he was an alternate prime minister with Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir, and again in 1995 after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Peres has held numerous other government posts, including deputy defense minister, minister of immigrant absorption, minister-without-portfolio, minister of transport and communication, and minister of information. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed Peres foreign minister until Labor left the government in 2003, and created for him the position of vice prime minister when Labor again joined Sharon's coalition in December. Peres founded the Center for Peace in 1996 with the aim, according to its website, of "realizing [Peres'] vision of a 'New Middle East,' in which people of the region work together to build peace through socio-economic cooperation and people-to-people relations." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

WHO SAYS ISRAEL HAS DEMOCRACY? Posted by Arlene Peck, February 23, 2005.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was a young journalist visiting in Israel. Just to give you an idea of how long ago, I was a blonde then, and then Defense Minister, Arik Sharon, was just a "little stout". I remember meeting him at a "working luncheon" and found him to be a little flirtatious and a lot charming. Then, I thought he was nice and rational. Amazing how a few decades can change things. Today, I find Israel's Prime Minister neither charming nor rational. As an American living in California, I find him treacherous, corrupt, and downright scary. Lord and this from a woman who also personally found Peres charming in her dealings with him. Makes me totally doubt my judgment in men as both of them could not be more dangerous to the well-being of the Jewish State. Do you know how confusing it is to read an article in anti-Semitic newspapers like the Los Angeles Times entitled, "Sharon Says He's prepared to Make 'Painful Concessions'" They never mention though, how as a result, Israel will be making disastrous concessions. The Associated Press was absolutely gloating how the Israeli Prime Minister, in his first interview with an Arab newspaper, sought to soften his image among Egyptians. How lovely. How absolutely terrific that, while the Jews are getting ready to be shipped out, of their Jewish homes, Ariel is giving interviews to the Arab press how ready, even anxious he is to "make painful concessions." Now, here's the catchy phrase, "to end the region's half-century of conflict." Maybe he might want to ask himself before more destruction being done to Israel as who actually caused this "conflict". As though all of the marvelous concessions he, Beilin and Peres have in store are going to actually make them like the Jews. I don't think so. What the thinking behind the "painful concessions" comments is how he wants to show the Arab world that he is really, really nice. So what if, from here, the very future of Israel is hanging by a thread? And, while the Islamic enemy is using this time to re-group and re-charge, Sharon and company are giving photo-ops and interviews to Al Ahram that "he had faith that he, Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could take the opportunity to push the Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian people forward," yatta.. yatta.. yatta.. Once again, Sharon "hinted" that he would like to see a Palestinian state established during his term. Now, doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hey, I know the Palestinians have to be happy with him. After all, the Sharon and Peres duo have agreed to create a country for a people that did not exist until 1967. Even more so, since the Israelis Prime Minister was so willing to state to the foreign press that the "controversial barrier Israel is building to separate itself from the West Bank will not mark the borders of a new Palestinian state." I find it amazing that just like that, with a snap of his fingers, a few self-serving politicians just decided to "make a Palestinian state". They did have the decency to comment how Sharon still has a few "traditional sticking points such as the status of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees and the borders of the Palestinian state." If it is so easy, then how difficult could it be to hire a public relations company and do a few photo-ops for a transfer? In addition, moving the Jews out of their country was not the transfer that I had in mind. Everybody laughs about the "fruits and nuts" living in California. And, sometimes I agree. However, not so long ago, a great many of us were unhappy with the mentality of the then-Governor, Grey Davis. He was incompetent and costing the state a fortune. So, a grass roots effort was started and petitions signed and pretty soon, they had enough to have a vote for a new governor to run the state. The key word here folks, is VOTE! "Arnold" was elected, the destruction was halted, and the rest is history. That, to me folks, is democracy at work. The very idea that a few recycled politicians, for self-serving needs or misguided incompetence, can decide the direction of an entire country, without a referendum from the entire population, is not a democracy! Agreeing to create a country for a people that did not exist until 1967 is bizarre. The people of Israel have to decide, in a countrywide referendum what has to be done. A lot of work needs to be done ... and fast ... but Israel can change the system. Critical life and death critical decisions are in the making and should not, nor cannot be done by a few destructive men. What is happening now is dangerous beyond comprehension. For the first time, I see the Jewish state in danger of a tremendous split from within. They have enough trouble from their real enemies who live for their deaths to continue on the track they are on. First and foremost, Israel needs a Constitution, just like every other real democracy. It wouldn't even hurt if the Israeli system could take a lead from what we do in the United States and actually use a system of government that has check and balances. Someone could sit them down and tell the citizens of Israel all about the separate Executive, Judiciary and Legislative powers, a system that actually works. The Judiciary and the Attorney General are important here, but they don't run the country as seems to be happening in Israel's version of a "democracy". Hey, maybe if they tried something called term limits we wouldn't be seeing four or five decades later the same old, and I do mean old, politicians still running the country. When it comes to our Presidents, eight years is enough! Most of the time, its more than enough. And, what better place to start but with the citizens of Israel and a referendum. It is obvious that the men leading the country need to be changed, but the system is the first place to start. The answer is not in a two-state solution, which Sharon and some anti-Semitic world leaders seem to be proposing. That is the beginning of the terrorists' state within Israel, which will be the ultimate destruction of Israel. Each concession that is forced upon and accepted by Israel, to my way of thinking is another nail in the coffin of the country. "Never Again" seems to be "Possibly Again" if Bush, Rice, Blair, Annan, Putin, Solana, Sharon and Peres have their way. Enough is enough! Arlene Peck is an internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess. She can be reached at: bestredhead@earthlink.net and www.arlenepeck.com To Go To Top

3 KEY REPORTS FROM ISRAEL RESOURCE NEWS AGENCY Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 23, 2005.

David Bedein, Bureau Chief of Israel Resource News Agency, is to be congratulated for bringing us what may be several hidden issues. The following are 3 key and linked reports on PM Sharon's current dealings. David Bedein exposes severe problems in the Sharon administration and decision-making during these critical times. A Winston Commentary of personal opinion precedes each of the Bedein Reports. Please read consecutively and to the end to grasp the synergy. 1. "Threats To The Life Of Israel's Prime Minister," by David Bedein, Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency, www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com Winston Commentary: Perhaps we have forgotten PM Rabin's enlistment of the GSS (Shabak) for what is called in American politics, the Dirty Tricks department. Rabin and the Shabak directors initiated a campaign of Dirty Tricks through Agents Provocateurs before and during Oslo. Their role was to either attack Arabs or attack Rabin's character - as if it was the work of the political Right. One particular agent (among others) Avishai Raviv (code-named "Champagne") even distributed posters which he had produced of PM Rabin in a Nazi uniform infuriating the citizens of Israel - which was the intent. It took years to fully expose Rabin's role in this anti-Right propaganda - including the names of the GSS Director, the Agent Provocateur and, in the end, the most insidious information was still hidden. Raviv was protected by the GSS and the courts which accommodates the political Left, wherever possible. Now once again PM Sharon has followed this scurrilous technique of using propaganda to the effect that he is under threat to his life so the general public will be sympathetic to him personally and turn against the settlers and the Political Right as before under Rabin. Sharon even stooped so low as to claim there are threats to his wife, Lily's grave where she is buried on his Sycamore Farm in the Negev. This is the most ugly lie of all. The fact is that Sharon's Farm has been under heavy guard and electronic surveillance since Sharon became Prime Minister because he was so hated by the Arab Muslim Palestinians and the Political Left of Israel. Floating the rumor that Lily's grave was under threat was a cheap, low level trick of a politician to bring personal and emotional sympathy to him and further demonize the settlers. As for other threatening letters, it doesn't take much to write and post such letters to others of Sharon's group, intending them to be read and passed over to the Hebrew Leftist Media so they could be spread among the people. A recent report in Arutz Sheva (7) indicates that most of these threatening letters came from an elderly woman - a Holocaust survivor - who, in her letter spoke about the small town in Poland where she was born. The Police located her at her home in Bat Yam - only to find that she has been writing these letters for 14 years, often spending 12 to 16 hours a day to producing them. Perhaps you have noticed that they were always dismissed as crank letters all public figures received until Sharon and the Leftist Media found a use for them. Sharon has used every ugly trick to demonize the settlers so that when he launches his attack to uproot and evict them from their homes, any cruelty - even shooting by the Police will be approved. As for the recent recruiting the Presidents' Conference of Major Jewish Organizations to condemn these threats, well that has never been a problem. They will believe anything negative about the settlers and the Political Right, particularly when spoken by an Israeli political leaders. They rarely probe into the real facts. Tricking the people with false propaganda in politics and war is a standard in the Dirty Tricks Department in Israel as well as the U.S., et al. For Sharon, manipulation of public opinion is simply part of his persona. I am awaiting a shot being fired out of a crowd of protesters by a planted Agent Provocateur at the Police or Military who are evacuating the pioneers from Gush Katif. This would be intended to justify salvos of bullets to be shot at the protesters. Perhaps, it will be a self-inflicted wound in order to justify attacks against the Refuseniks. Sharon is at war against the Jews he once praised as the best that the nation of Israel could offer. Now the master of switching parties and ideology is at war with observant Jews pejoratively called "settlers". Even Sharon's former friend, the legendary fighter Meir Har-Tzion has broken his silence and has said in a public interview in Ma'ariv that "Arik Sharon is crazy - the great fighter is running away. He has become a very dangerous man." Har-Tzion calls Sharon's disengagement plan, a "holocaust". And "if a Palestinian state is established here, it will be the beginning of the end for us." Moshe Dayan referred to the famed fighter, Har-Zion as the bravest Jewish warrior since Bar Kochba. Retired with injuries in 1956, Har-Zion has organized a protest movement against the disengagement among Kibbutz and Moshav farmers. SOLUTIONS: Since I am "certain" that men like Sharon and Shimon Peres always want the truth to come out and not to be tainted by political considerations, consider the following: If there is a planted shooter in the crowd of protesters, let the crowd capture him and then have him questioned by the settlers, using techniques of interrogation such as those known by the Shabak. Film record his statement and turn him over to authorities with the tapes going both to the Police and to the International Media. Better to get the truth out to the public than to have suspicions arise that the Police will suppress the truth as they did with Avishai Raviv. Bedein's Report: For the past four months, the Israeli media has been reporting that there are increased threats against the life of the Israeli Prime Minister. Each time, our news agency hears of such a threat, we call to the spokesman of the Israeli Prime Minister to verify if this is the case that the PM is indeed under such a threat. The consistent answer that we have received from the PM's office is that there is no such threat. However, the news reports have continued, culminating in a resolution taken by the visiting Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations from North America on February 20th, 2005 which condemned "the campaign of threats to the life of the Prime Minister." Yet on February 21st, 2005, the respected investigative reporter Kalman Liebskind, writing in the Ma'ariv newspaper, revealed that a special intelligence unit of the Israeli police has been spreading threats against the life of Israel's Prime Minister. Here is the translated article in question: [Note: The term "champagne" is derived from the term that Israeli police intelligence used to describe Avishai Raviv, the police intelligence agent who created an extremist group which operated Yigal Amir before the assassination of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin] "The Police's 'Champagne,'" Ma'ariv, Feb.21st, 2005 by Kalman Liebeskind A police intelligence source who is active in extreme right-wing groups in Israel, and who hands over information to the Judea and Samaria police, is himself responsible for printing stickers against the prime minister and against Arabs. The man, who hands over the information without payment, was also involved in recruiting activists for demonstrations that took place last week during which right-wing extremists blocked traffic intersections. In recent weeks the man told his associates that he intends to spearhead additional activities of much more violent civil disobedience during the implementation of the disengagement plan, which will begin in five months. According to the plan, government institutions and courts, where security is weak, will be attacked and various places torched in an attempt to keep the police busy and prevent it from properly carrying out the operation of evacuating settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. The activist, who lives over the Green Line, is not acting under the orders of the intelligence coordinator who is in charge of maintaining contact with him, but only gives his handlers information, sometimes partial, about his activities. It is feared that his statements and threats might escalate, in light of his previous activities in a radical right wing movement. Inter alia, in one instance he and several other members bought several pocket knives with the intention of handing them out to settlers during the evacuation. Members of the organization said that the goal was to enable settlers who were arrested by police to cut off the plastic handcuffs easily. Another activity in which he took major part was the distribution of the sticker reading "Sharon, Lily is waiting for you." He was also one of those behind the distribution of the Monopoly game whose board contained slogans calling for the expulsion of Arabs and mass riots. After the appearances of the game and the sticker, the State Attorney's Office ordered the police to begin investigations of alleged incitement. Two investigations are still in progress. The Samaria and Judea police did not comment. 2. Knesset Ethics Committee Study On Feb. 22 - "Shimon Peres' Conflict of Interests." by David Bedein, Bureau Chief,Israel Resource News Agency, Research Associate, Center For Near East Policy Research, Cell# 0547 222 661. (*http://israelbehindthenews.com/Archives/Dec-27-04.htm#ptf) Winston Commentary: David Bedein is to be congratulated for bringing what may be a hidden transaction by Shimon Peres in the Cayman Islands as a cut-out to avoid public knowledge of himself and/or his organizations' participation in what may prove to be an illegal manipulation of stock. Generally, such profits are also intended to be hidden from Israeli tax authorities. How were these funds eventually used? Did they flow into Yasir Arafat's Terrorist pipelines - Who were the participating advisors, such as Peres' brother? Was Dov Weisglass a participant or an advisor? Will there be a proper hearing or will it be arranged by Attorney Gen. Mazuz to be dragged out for years and then dismissed for lack of evidence? Will everything remain hidden until after Sharon and Peres push through the "Disengagement"? What role is the Peres organization supposed to play in Sharon's planning? Will the Leftist Hebrew Media try to bury the full story? Bedein Report: TODAY, FEBRUARY 22ND, 2005, AT 1:30 PM, THE "KNESSET ETHICS COMMITTEE" WILL BEGIN DELIBERATIONS ON THE "BEDEIN REPORT" FINDINGS CONCERNING THE INVESTMENTS FACILITATED BY ISRAELI VICE PRIME MINISTER SHIMON PERES IN THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, TO DETERMINE IF MR. PERES, IN HIS CURRENT POSITION IN THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL, HAS POSITIONED HIMSELF IN A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTERESTS THAT WOULD REQUIRE HIM TO STEP DOWN FROM HIS POSITION. BACKGROUND: In coordination with the James Wolfensohn of The World Bank and Yassir Arafat of the Palestinian National Authority, Shimon Peres announced in January 1998 and then again in June 1999 that he was organizing investments for "The Peace Technology Fund", a corporation founded in association with the Palestinian National Authority. The total amount of investments: $164 Million. FACTS PRESENTED BY THE ISRAEL RESOURCE REVIEW REPORT: 1. The Peace Technology Fund (PTF) was established on May 7th, 1998 and registered with the Registrar of Companies for the Cayman Islands. 2. Press reports at the time and the prospectus of the PTF states clearly that Peres was the man who initiated the fund. 3. Since Shimon Peres organized this private equity vehicle and solicited the investors to invest in the fund- it can be assumed that he also brought together the three General Partners to manage the fund, Evergreen Canada-Israel Management, International Capital Advisors and the IFC. 4. The Palestinian Authority itself is a Limited Partner (i.e., principal investor) in the PTF. Since Shimon Peres was the Minister of Regional Cooperation when this investment was made, the Knesset Ethics Committee needs to investigate whether Mr. Peres was paid a consulting or broker fee (typically, 2%) as payment for bringing in PCSC's investment in PTF. This $22 million investment would have earned Mr. Peres a brokerage fee of $440,000. 5. The role of the Advisory Board is to provide guidance to the Fund. 6. While the Peres Center for Peace, as an Israeli non-profit organization, does not invest in the Fund or participate in its management, it plays an active role in advising and assisting the Manager. 7. According to Abdullah Shahin, a telecommunications analyst for the Atlas Investment Corporation- the price of Paltel's shares rose from 2.5 JD (Jordanian diners) in May 1999- to 4.5 JD in August 1999. This means that if the PTF invested $9M in Paltel's shares in June 1999- within two months a $10 million profit was earned. In this two month period average daily trading in the stock went from just under 4 million shares to more than 10 million 8. The reason is that in August 1999 an exclusive/monopoly license was granted by the Palestinian Authority for Paltel to operate a GSM network and GSM service in the West Bank and Gaza. 9. The Peace Technology Fund wasn't Evergreen's only advisory role for investment in Palestinian entities. 10. In November 1999, five months after the Peace Technology Fund's first investment in Pal Tel, Evergreen formed Evergreen Partners U.S. Direct Fund III LP, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, to which Palestine Commercial Services, committed $8 million for investments in Israel, the U.S. and the U.K. That partnership is one of three that together form the Evergreen Partners Direct Fund III, which had total committed capital of $170.5 million at the end of 2002, according to S&P's valuation of the PCSC investment. QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE BEDEIN REPORT: 1. Was the Peres Center paid a fee by the Peace Technology Fund (The PTF) after the money was raised? If so, why is there no record of such on the records of the Peres Center? 2. In June 1999, while Peres was a government minister, was Mr. Peres a consultant to the PTF for ensuring that the investment in Paltel by the PTF was made? 3. Do Mr. Peres or the Peres Peace Center today hold any shares or equity in the PTF (the Peres Peace Center has one of the nine advisory positions on the Advisory Board of the PTF)? There is no reference anywhere in the financial records of the Peace Center of a payment made to the Peace Center for their advisory services that they provided to the PTF. 4. Does Mr. Peres receive a portion of the $4.15 million that was owed to the Peace Technology Management company by the PTF at the end of 2002? 5. Do Mr. Peres and Mr. Uri Savir (the representative of the Peace Center on the advisory board of the PTF) receive payment for the services they provided to the PTF- which was paid out via this $5.5 million that was lost to the Palestinian public? 6. Why does the Peres Center maintain an advisory role in the private held Peace Technology Fund? 7. What does the Peres Center for Peace know about investing in new Palestinian start up companies that an experienced venture management company such as Evergreen would need their assistance to make investments?. 8. Did the General Managers of the PTF know of the announcement of the exclusive/monopoly license was granted by the Palestinian Authority for Paltel in advance due to the contacts that Shimon Peres had with high level government ministers in the Palestinian Authority? If so, this would be considered a manipulation of the stock of a public company 9. Did the Peres Center play an advisory role in this transaction to purchase early $10 million worth of Paltel's stock a month before it rises nearly 100% in value. Considering the unusually close relationship Padico's managers, directors and owners had with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Telecommunications Authority- is it possible that the Peace Technology Fund purchased Padico's shares in Paltel with the knowledge that Paltel's shares would rise substantially once the announcement was made on August 1, 1999 to award the GSM license to Paltel? 10. Did the Peres Center played an advisory role in this transaction to purchase nearly $10 million worth of Paltel's stock a month before it rose nearly 100% in value? 11. Considering the unusually close relationship Padico's managers, directors and owners had with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Telecommunications Authority - is it at all possible that the Peace Technology Fund purchased Padico's shares in Paltel with the knowledge that Paltel's shares would rise substantially once the announcement was made on August 1, 1999 to award the GSM license to Paltel? 12. Did Shimon Peres personally profit from the increase in Paltel's shares? 13. What is the relationship between the Evergreen Investment Company - and Shimon Peres? 3. "The Man Running Negotiations For The State Of Israel Continues To Represent The Jericho Casino & The Sharon Family, Despite Orders To The Contrary" Winston Commentary: A series of reports about PM Sharon's dealing may also connect Shimon Peres through Dov Weisglass. With Attorney General Menachem Mazuz now firmly in place, it appears that anything goes to include but not limited to the Greek Island affair, the exoneration of Sharon in setting up illegal front companies to collect large donations from foreign interests, the tie-in to the Jericho Casino which also links to Shimon Peres, the contemplated Casino to be built in Gaza on land cleared of Jews. Also see [above - #2] the exposé of Peres in another hidden participation in what may be a deliberate stock manipulation through a cut-out established in the Cayman Islands. I have frequently stated that there is a desperate need for a Peoples' Court to sweep away the gross corruption that now pervades the Israeli government, whether on the Left or the Right. There are a few honest people who could clean out this nest of corruption and run the nation as a clean operation. Sharon and Peres, along with their respective followers must be thrown out - along with sweeping revisions to the Supreme Court. Add to that the de-Politization of the Army, Intelligence and Police who have been so shamefully misused for their political agendas. Bedein Report: Last summer, after this news agency published a series of articles in Makor Rishon and in Front Page Magazine concerning Dov Weissglass, which revealed that Weissglass maintained his law practice while continuing to function as the director of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, Weissglass resigned his position as office director and arrived at a special arrangement with the Israeli civil service commission which allowed him to assume the role of "special advisor" to the Prime Minister of Israel. According to Aryeh Greenblatt, spokesman for the Israel Civil Service Commission, Weissglass now receives a 1/3 salary in this new arrangement as "special negotiations advisor to the Prime Minister". In a letter that our agency received on October 13th, 2004 from the office of the Israeli Attorney general in respect to Dov Weissglass, the office of the Israeli attorney general formally stated that Weissglass had given an absolute commitment to "completely divest himself from his law firm" in his new position of responsibility. In that letter, the Israeli attorney general confirmed that Weissglass's law firm indeed "represented the Jericho Casino owned and operated by an Austrian business" and that Weissglass's law firm had indeed "represented the Sharon family'" The letter did not mention that the other shareholders in the Jericho casino interests were Yassir Arafat and his security chief, Jibril Rajoub. The Israel Defense Forces is on the record that the casino in Jericho was a major source of laundering funds for Palestinian terrorist activity. The IDF official who made that accusation was none other than General Yaakov (Mendy) Ohr, commander of the Israel Defence Forces central region, made that accusation in January, 2001. At the time, Weissglass, acting on behalf of the Jericho casino interests, threatened to sue General Ohr unless Ohr would withdraw that accusation. Ohr stood his ground and would not back down. Weissglass did back down, however, and never sued Ohr. There are reports that the recently dismissed IDF commander in chief Yaalon, maintained that re-opening the casino operation in Jericho represents a security threat to the state of Israel. However, a check with the Israel Corporate Authority reveals that Weissglass never divested himself of his partnership in his law firm, a procedure which would have been relatively easy to do. Officials of the Israel Corporate Authority report that it would take exactly one day for Weissglass to divest himself from his law firm and to substitute the name of another lawyer in his stead. However, Weissglass has chosen NOT to divest himself from his law firm, which continues to represent the casino interests in Jericho and which continues to represent the Sharon family. Meanwhile, Weissglass, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister of Israel in negotiations with the Palestinian authority, has given the go-ahead to the Palestinian Authority to reopen casino in Jericho, At the same time, the Israeli Attorney General has instructed the Israel District Attorney to indict Member of Knesset Omri Sharon for illegal financial activities on behalf of the election of his father, Ariel Sharon. The fact that Weissglass maintains his law practice under his own name therefore assumes a double significance. This means that the man who oversees the senstive foreign affairs and security negotiations on behalf of the state of Israel is also running a law firm for a casino that launders funds for terror activity against the state of Israel while at the same time representing MK Omri Sharon, who stands to be indicted in a case of election fraud against Weissglass's government client, the Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Every major news agency in the state of Israel has access to this story. Out of a show of loyalty to the policies of the Prime Minister of Israel, no other news agency in Israel will touch this subject. Israel Channel Ten TV's Moti Kirschenbaum, the former head of the Israel Broadcasting Authority appeared yesterday on the IDF Army Radio newreel program hosted by prominent IDF Radio hoist, Razi Barklai. and stated that "There's no doubt," he told Army Radio on the same program, "that the media are dealing with the Sharon family with uncharacteristic tenderness because of their [the media's] empathy towards his diplomatic plans." IDF Army Radio host Razi Barkai asked Kirschenbaum, "So how does it work? Is there someone above who gives out instructions of what and how to report?" Kirschenbaum said, "It's not a coordinated decision, but rather stems from the fact that the reporters and the commentators are sick of the current situation and they want to see personally if there's a chance to change the situation." It will be instructive to see if the foreign press, as part of its in depth coverage of Israel, will act differently than the Israeli press in covering conflicts of interest which remain inherent to current Middle East negotiations. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

BULLYING ISRAEL Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 23, 2005.

The Bush Administration, using its Super-Power status, has been bullying Israel to meet Bush's political needs. Who exactly is Bush pacifying and what does he expect to get out of bullying Israel? The "Who" are the Arab nations that either have oil or can act as dangerous spoilers. That includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Iran and soon-to-be-added an Iraq with a government which, in the long run, ;may very well turn out to share Iran's Islamic ideology. Additionally, the "Who's Who" also includes placating the Europeans who have bonded with the Arab Muslims for oil, for the sale of armaments and always because of the anti-Semitic attitudes endemic in Europe. In brief, the Bush Administration and the pro-Arab U.S. State Department need a token appeasement to serve their interests and Israel is IT! The "Why" is some of the above plus a great deal more. Bush, in his correct pursuit against Global Terror, has run into a wall of culture shock for which he was not prepared. After 9/11 we first attacked Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Most of the Taliban fighters were allowed to escape from the cities into the mountains before America and her allies made any serious attempt to decimate their numbers, an effort in which they were only partially successful. The Taliban regrouped and have pledged an all out assault against American troops and the freely elected Karzai Government in the spring. The wall of Islamic extremists is the same wall of Terror and intolerance that Israel faces - which the Bush Administration is ignoring. Then America and her allies launched a war against Saddam Hussein, his tyrannical ruling family and the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. They won handily - at first - only to discover that Saddam's Army had merely retreated into the population and have since been conducting a Terrorist/Guerilla War with terrible effectiveness. But, we (the Media, Governments, etc.) call it an "insurgency", trying to minimize its importance. Too bad. If we took it seriously, we would win against the Muslim Terrorists who attack any part of the rebuilding of Iraq as a free, democratic society - whether it be American and Allied soldiers, civilian contractors building the infrastructure, or civilians just trying to live in a free Iraq. Bush thought he could easily win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and they probably did - for a short time. But, the Terrorists were threatened by that freedom and have undercut, undermined and tried to explode the burgeoning but fragile peace. The civilians in Iraq, however, only wanted water, electricity, food, schools and they expected it from the Americans When the Muslim Terrorists attacked and blew up oil pipelines and cut off electricity, the people blamed the Americans, who really never did win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people - except for some TV sound bytes. Most of the people in Iraq couldn't and wouldn't fight the Terrorists and they're being murdered - just as when the Terrorists are free to kill civilians in Israel. No compunction, no conscience, no quarter given. And they always blamed the Americans, which is a lesson Bush and our soldiers are still learning. They should learn these lessons well as it also applies to Israel. With the experiences of Afghanistan and Iraq staring us and the Bush Administration in the face, what to do? Bush selected the option of Bullying Israel so that she could be softened up for dangerous concessions to the Arab Muslim Palestinians. They incidentally, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, cannot be placated with gestures which they view as signs of weakness. Recruiting un-worldly Jews like Ariel Sharon was not a problem. Just promise everything, deliver very little and tell the Israelis they have been included in the big regional plan. What is left out is that Israel is to be reduced into such a minuscule sliver of land that she cannot possibly defeat a collective attack unless she unwraps her nuclear deterrent, But, that too is being thought about as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy recommends that Israel cease producing fissionable materials for nuclear weapons so that Iran could be pacified and possibly convinced to stand down her nuclear deterrent. In effect, Israel would be stripped of her nuclear deterrence so that the Bush Administration would not have to deal with Iran head on. The Bush Administration has bullied Sharon into releasing convicted Terrorists, while no other nation on this planet has been forced to release dangerous convicted and jailed Terrorists. No nation on this planet has been forced to release dangerous convicts as a conciliatory gesture to another group. Not only are a first 900 being released now but Israel is being pressured to release even more, including those who successfully completed their missions to kill Israelis - that is, prisoners with Jewish blood on their hands. The Israelis, first under Rabin and Peres have released Terrorists before - only to discover that 50% of them returned to killing. This is a method of bullying or, do as I say, not as I do. I wonder if Bush is contemplating releasing from American prisons convicted Terrorists, serial killers, rapists, drug dealers, et al. President Bush now having direct experience in dealing with Arab Muslim Jihadists nevertheless insists that Israel give up irreplaceable territory won in wars started by the Muslim Arabs. Between Bush and the Leftist Jews who have no affinity for the Land or for their own Jewishness, Israel is to be bullied into giving up territory vital to her continued existence. This begins with Gaza - Israel's Southern Front, soon to be followed by Judea and Samaria (the West Bank which encompasses the historical and religious centers of Judaism and is also Israel's most exposed underbelly). Add to that the Jordan Valley which has always been a natural barrier to armored assaults from Jordan by Syria through the five passes in the mountains. Bush and Sharon would include the high hills on Israel's western side where Israel has artillery and tanks in position if Syria and/or other Arab Muslims try to pour across the flats of the Jordan Valley. There is more: President Bush wants Israel to give up her vast water resource aquifers under the Judean/Samarian hills which supplies Israel with 30% of her potable water. Then there are the Golan Heights, captured after years of Syrian bombardments onto the civilians in the Valley below. Bush and his predecessors wanted Israel to take the Syrians at their word that they would not use the superior high ground of the Golan Heights to again attack Israel. Another one third of Israel's main water supply flows from the Golan Heights into Lake Kinneret which is then pumped into Israel's main water carrier system. Syria has tried to dam up this one third of Israel's potable water in the past. Then Bush wants Israel to turn over that part of Jerusalem that Jordan had occupied for 19 years from 1948 to 1967 to make it the capitol of another Arab Muslim State of Palestine. Bush as a religious man who keeps the five books of Moses (the Bible) on his shelves knows that the Jewish Nation of Israel and Jerusalem as its capital preceded by thousands of years the new Palestinians who did not even exist as a people until Yassir Arafat claimed it sometimes after 1964. Most of the Arab Muslims in Israel now or in 1948 had come from the surrounding Arab Muslim countries as the incoming Jews created jobs, good health care and education. But, nevertheless, Bush, a born-again Christian, is willing to sacrifice and bully Israel to give up lands clearly identified by the Bible as Lands given to the Jewish people by G-d in perpetuity. What will Bush hope to get out of bullying Israel? Will the Arab Muslim nations cease their Global Terrorism? Unlikely. Will they cease their efforts through Terror or population waves to absorb all nations into the Global Islamic Caliphate? Unlikely. Will the mix of Arabs from all the surrounding countries who call themselves Palestinians cease their attacks from their improving firing positions as mandated by Bush and now Sharon? Absolutely not! For example, will Gaza become a quiet democracy or an epicenter for improved Terrorism with a Global outreach? High probability. Will Bush buy any time by bullying Israel into gestures of appeasement? He'll try but it won't work - not in Afghanistan - not in Iraq - and not around Israel with attempted Terror attacks and planting of bombs continuing since Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) pledged peace at Sharm el-Sheihk. What if Bush and Sharon are partly or totally wrong!? Israelis Jews will likely die in greater and greater numbers with more severe casualties. America will be hit, independent of any appeasement of the Arab Muslim Palestinians. Europe will continue to be inundated with hostile Muslims Russia will step up its arming of Iran with nuclear and conventional but deadly arms. Russia will step up its arming of Syria. Russian will continue moving back to the future in a Cold War posture. Israel will either pre-emptively deal with Iran and/or Syria or face a saturation missile attack at a time of the Arab countries own choosing. Even as Abbas fails and the mix of Terrorists ramp up attacks on Israel, Bush, and the E.U. will push Israel to continue its gesture of divestments of vital and defensible land. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the more Bush pounds Israel, the more America is pounded with heavy blows from "the Weather". From the fierce hurricanes that pounded Florida's coasts to the continuous storms that are pounding California. In the center of America, there was an earthquake in Arkansas, considered small but, it could be a precursor to the deep fault lines that run the length of the Ohio Valley. I don't think that Bush has quite gotten the message so, perhaps the pounding will become more severe. This then will be the legacy of the Bush family and the Sharon/Peres axis. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

THE TERRORIST WHO CONTACTED ME Posted by Beth Goodtree, February 23, 2005.

I get a lot of reader mail, some of it hateful, some even threatening, but imagine my surprise when I was contacted by someone with established ties to al-Qaeda. And he claimed to want to start a dialogue. He also let me know -- in case I didn't -- that he was (radical) Wahabbi. This guy must not have read Dr. Mahathir's speech to the OIC conference of Autumn 2003, where he clearly implied that Jews are smarter than Muslims (see article: "It's Official: Jews Are Smarter Than Muslims" (http://www.think-israelorg/oct03bloged.html#oct03.108). If there is one thing this smart Jewess has learned, it's that radical Muslims will lie to an 'infidel' whenever possible. It's considered 'holy' to do so. And I am a loud and proud infidel; therefore it is prudent of me to assume he is lying. Despite their protestations to the contrary, there is something in Islam called al-Takeyya. Here, from the mouth of an Arab/Muslim himself, is the definition of al-Takeyya: "Islam in general, forbids lying. The Quran says, "Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies." Surah 40:28. However, within Islam there are certain provisions under which lying is not simply tolerated, but actually encouraged. According to Muhammad, 'He is not a false person who (through lies) settles conciliation among people, supports good or says what is good." -- Abdullah Al Araby (1.) Ah, but you say, he is only referring to lying for 'good' reasons. Therefore you must ask yourself "What is 'good' to these Islamists?" According to radical Islam, anything, anything which promotes the spreading of Islamic conquest is good. This also means that anything that weakens the non-Islamist is also good. Their entire reason for being is to Islamicize the world. They state it very clearly every chance they get. Therefore, any lie that fools the non-Islamist is good. This is al-Takeyya according to radical Islam, which includes Wahhabis (also called Salafists). So here I got this Islamic Wahhabist terrorist writing to me claiming to want dialogue and communication to make peace. And, because he has stated that he is Wahabbist, I already know he will lie about anything. I decided to look him up on the Internet and see what history he had, if any. The name of the man who wrote to me is Soliman H. Al-Buthe, with an email address of soliman.albuthe@gmail.com. (And do please feel free to write to him.) I found this news report about him from Sept. 10, 2004: "The Treasury Department said it is shutting down an Oregon Islamic charity that has "direct links" to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and has supported Chechen mujahedeen with ties to al-Qaida...Treasury officials also designated the group's treasurer, Soliman H. Al-Buthe of Saudi Arabia, a terrorism supporter." (2.) The article further states that the charity he helped run was a Saudi one. Big surprise there. The Saudis are at the heart of Wahabbi Islamist terror. While they may be at war with al-Qaeda on their own land, it is merely a war of political control. The Saudi royalty wants to maintain their obscenely decadent lifestyle supported by the oil that belongs to their people. Al-Qaeda wants to oust these self-indulgent, debauched and corrupt despots. But they both follow and strictly enforce radical Islam and its despicably hegemonous agenda. However, Saudi Arabia has managed to stave off al-Qaeda's attempts at a coup by giving them money and other support for al-Qaeda's operations outside of the Saudi kingdom. This is why you see Saudi Arabia supporting al-Qaeda, despite their claims to fighting terrorism. They only fight al-Qaeda on their own turf and try to deceive us into believing that they are truly on our side. The fact is, the Saudis support al-Qaeda outside of the Saudi kingdom. Meanwhile, this man, Soliman H. Al-Buthe, appears to be a more subtle attempt at Saudi deceit than the embarrassing flopperoonie of an ad campaign they tried to perpetrate on the American people this summer, telling us they were all sweetness and light. The Saudis still practice slavery (they now call it 'debt servitude' in a futile attempt to confuse us). They still fund genocide, giving $150M to homicide bombers who blow up Jews. The Saudis are also funding and supporting Islamist conquest wars in Africa against the Christian and Animist populations. And Saudi charities have been tied to numerous terror organizations throughout the world. Nor should we forget that Saudis and their Wahabbist/Salafist religion was the driving force behind 9-11. So now they have this sneak attack on us, using Soliman H. Al-Buthe and an oh-so-carefully worded piece of propaganda aimed at our heartstrings. And he targeted me personally. I asked around and so far, none of the other writers or editors I asked received a letter from him. This makes me wonder about a few things, but first read an excerpt of his letter and my cut-through-the-Shi'ite response: Greetings, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that I have produced a letter entitled "An Open Letter From a Saudi Wahabi To Members of the 109th U.S. Congress", which has been approved by some Saudi senior scholar and thinkers. My purpose in doing so is to open an avenue of communication and dialogue that will bring about greater understanding between our nations and peoples. I, feel that dialogue is the best way for us to approach the weighty problems facing our world today. I believe that violence will not bring about any positive results for the world, and we are committed to the fact that it is our collective responsibility to come up with and implement solutions that will bring about a better world for all of our children. In light of this, I invite you to read the attached letter and I would also appreciate if you could respond to it. My reply: Dear Mr. Soliman: As much as I would like to believe the sincerity of your plan, I find it difficult to do so for several reasons. 1.) It is now well known among non-Muslims that lying to one's enemy is not considered wrong, and in fact encouraged under al-Takeyya. 2.) The Muslim call for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state and with safe and secure borders. As far as many of us are concerned, there is no negotiating or dialogue on this point. You either accept Israel or we have nothing to talk about. 3.) The same goes for Jerusalem. 4.) The continual calls for the murder of Jews and Christians coming from imams and mosques the world over, citing Koranic scripture which states that Jews and Christians are friends to each other as well as the rock and tree Surah where it says "There is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him." If you want me to sign onto your attempt at communication and dialogue, I will only do so if you can clarify these points. Otherwise, not only will I not sign on; I will warn people of your attempt to appear pliant while still maintaining the same murderous and genocidal agenda. The entire text of his 'peaceful dialogue' proposal may be found here: An Open Letter From a Saudi Wahabi To Members of the 109th U.S. Congress. (3.) The first question must be, why should Soliman H. Al Buthe in particular put forward this deception? The answer is actually quite simple. (Those Saudis are soooo childishly simple in their maneuverings.) Here they've got a big fundraiser who is indicted by the US government. They don't want to lose him because he was successful and apparently well integrated enough into American society to function admirably. The Saudis want to get him off the hook so he can go out and raise more funds. Therefore, they set him up to look like a dove of peace, hoping it will make his bad reputation, and thus the indictment, go away. And the next question is, what does he want from me? There are two obvious answers. The first is that Dr. Mahathir is right and Jews are for sure smarter than Muslims if he thinks he can sucker me into signing onto this thing and singing the praises of Saudi Arabia. My answer is: when Riyadh freezes over, when the Muslims return Mecca and Medina to the rightful inhabitants, whom they slaughtered -- the Jews, and when they remove that abomination from the Temple Mount. Maybe I'll consider it. The second answer, which some people have suggested, is that he is trying to lure me into a Daniel Pearl situation. In this scenario, he would set up a meeting, or get me into a situation where I could be kidnapped and beheaded, or just killed outright. Either way, his letter is just another example of Saudi lies and deceit under the aegis of al-Takeyya, pushing their goal towards Islamic global conquest and subjugation. And if Mr. Soliman or his puppet masters -- the Saudi government -- thinks for a New York instant that I would fall for this piece of crapola, then he is an obvious example of why Dr. Mahathir said, essentially, that Jews are smarter then Muslims. (Although he might try his machinations on a few apparently brain-damaged or traitorous Jews -- unfortunately we have them too -- like Noam Chomsky or the Arafat-loving Shimon Peres.) Meanwhile, several days have passed and I heard nothing from Mr. Al Buthe from my email response to him. Not that I expected any. But then, if Muslims were smarter than Jews, he wouldn't have written to me in the first place, giving me a great reason for outing his and the Saudi's little scheme. And if Muslims were smarter than Jews, they would have found a way to annihilate tiny Israel years ago. Now if the Saudis were really smart, they'd enslave a bunch of Jews to do their thinking for them. End Notes 1.) http://islamcommentaries.com/lying/index.htm 2.) http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/ base/front_page/109481816654490.xml 3.) http://www.islamdaily.net/EN/Contents.aspx?AID=2428 Beth Goodtree is a writer specializing in political commentary, Islamism and the Middle East and also writes the occasional science and humor articles. She has a background in advertising and works as a consultant on Islamism and terrorism to a security firm. Beth Goodtree's website address is http://hometown.aol.com/bgoodtree/ To Go To Top

OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER SHARON FROM PASTOR VINEYARD Posted by Women in Green, February 23, 2005.

Pastor Jim Vineyard, who has a very large Baptist Congregation in Oklahoma City in the U.S., submitted a letter to the Jerusalem Post for Friday, February 25, 2005, to be published as a paid AD in the local and international editions of that newspaper. As was done to him previously, this AD was also rejected. The complete text of his letter is reproduced below. After reading this letter, if you too agree, please write or call Prime Minister Sharon at: Office of the PM, 3 Kaplan Street, Jerusalem, Israel; webmaster@pmo.gov.il; 972-2-652-4040; 972-2-670-5527. Please send a copy of your letter to President George W. Bush, the White House, Washington, DC 20500; president@whitehouse.gov; 202-456-1414. In addition, please distribute this letter as widely as possible, to your Congressional representative, your email list, your religious leaders, and your fellow worshippers. Ask them to add their voices of outrage against the "black-days" planned for the Jewish people. Open Letter to Prime Minister Sharon Christian-Zionist greetings to you Sir on this "black-day" in the history of the nation of Israel! I call it a "black day" Sir, as an observer from Oklahoma, because of your arrogant and jubilant boast to your cabinet that "Gaza will be 'Judenrein' (my words Sir) by Rosh Hashanah." I call it a "black day" Sir, because your personal plan is a reversal of your "campaign platform" you had against Amram Mitzna. I call it a "black day" Sir because your concept of democracy now says "anyone who speaks or writes against the disengagement plan is guilty of incitement". I call it a "black day" Sir, because your five thousand Druze, Bedouin and Jewish jerks, raised in a non-faithful environment, "storm-trooper deporters", will not have to wear name tags, hence no accountability. I call it a "black day" Sir, because a Hatzofe article noted that many of your storm troopers will be Druze and Bedouins, who are "looking forward" to manhandling Jews. I call it a "black day" Sir, because the entire storm trooper machine, which is now known as the "State of Israel" had reneged on its Abrahamic Covenant, to adopt a new, sick and macabre venture, all in an effort to secure the "silly approval" of the European Union and the Bush Administration. I call it a "black day" Sir, because your "storm trooper school for deportation", established in Beit-Govrin [Lak'hish area], now promises a cool $5,000 bonus to the "storm trooper" deporters. With five thousand storm trooper deporters receiving $5,000 each, that is a cool $25,000,000 (million) the American tax payers will be giving your storm troopers to deport Jews. I call it a "black day" Sir, because of the fact that it would seem that the only true friends of those people whom you supposedly lead, the apple of God's eye, are the faithful Jews and Christian Zionists, who believe that God meant what he said, and said what he meant, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I call it a "black day," Sir, because it is like that day, when Israel's first King, King Saul, as the Holy Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 13: 13-14, when Samuel said to Saul: "thou hast done foolishly, thou has not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which He commanded thee ... But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him, a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee." I call it a "black day," Sir, because it is like that day, when Israel's king, King Ahab, had Elijah tell him that King Ahab had acted immorally in deporting faithful Naboth from his home. God never changes His morality. You too, are acting illegally and immorally when you remove Jews in Gaza and Shomron in 2005 from their homes. As the Bible states: "has thou killed, and also taken possession ... in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." [1 Kings 21:19]. I call it a "black day," Sir, because it is a day in which people in democracies worldwide need to know that Israel now has a fascist dictatorship endowing Israel in its ruling elite with legitimacy. I call it a "black day," Sir, because American Christians and Jews need to know that Israel's Prime Minister must presently be exposed as a dictator. I call it a "black day," Sir, because Americans need to know that you are utterly ruthless and will stop at nothing - not even bloodshed - to deport Jews from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria. I call it a "black day," Sir, because I am going to have to involve all the resources I can, in money and people, to let Americans know what you, Sir - a man who reminds me of Haman, mentioned in the Bible in Esther's day - are going to do to the innocent Jews in Israel. I call it a "black day" because America is complicit with you in this endeavor. A true yedid and haver to the Jews, Jim Vineyard, Baptist pastor Windsor Hills Baptist Church, 5517 Northwest 23rd St., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73127. Email: jav9@juno.com Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

PEOPLE IN PAIN Posted by Rachel Saperstein, February 23, 2005.

"Do you think it is psychosomatic?" I asked the doctor. "I have a persistent cough. Yes, I had had a high fever, but now it's this cough." "Your lungs are clear" the doctor said. "Take it easy. Drink hot lemonade with lots of honey." My cough gets worse when I speak and speaking is what I do. I speak to reporters, and television and radio crews from around the world. The message of Gush Katif must get through. I also speak to people who just call and need emotional support. The government of Israel has signed the official expulsion orders and we are fighting for our lives. Each of us volunteers in the battle for Gush Katif and I write and speak with passion about my home, and when I speak I cough and choke. I cry, silently, at night. I try not to let my husband hear. He suffers, too. I'm not alone. The people are in pain. One woman said "I have nightmares of a bulldozer coming towards me and I cry out 'STOP' but it doesn't stop. It smashes into my home. I hear my children scream and I wake up shaking." "I have a constant headache", a colleague at school told me. "I know what it is from." "Why don't you pack and leave?" I ask. "I can't. I have to be here with the people. But I suffer. If you believe in Eretz Yisrael and all the values I grew up with and teach my own pupils, then I can't just walk away. I even signed my daughter up for first grade at the Atzmona school for next year." "Aren't you being impractical?" "I guess so. I know you're right. I'm the most practical person you ever met. This time I can't be practical. I have to believe that we will be here next year, and the year after that." A friend from a community in Samaria called. "We're not slated for this expulsion, but I know we're next on the list. If they succeed in destroying you, there is no hope for us. I have severe stomach pains. I don't sleep. I find myself crying at all times of the day. I pray a lot. Surely the Almighty will have compassion on us." Men don't cry as easily, but the pain in their heart is no less great. "I'm over 50. I put my whole life into making my greenhouse farm successful. With the Lord's help we made these vegetables grow. Religious people around the world depend on us to provide insect-free kosher vegetables. My sons live here with their families. Three generations to be thrown out. They want to give this land to the Arabs. It will return to sand. Excuse me, I've got to get back to work. My heart is breaking. My pain is for me and Eretz Yisrael." The pain is there, for me, for my people in Gush Katif, for the people of Israel, and for people all over the world. How often do journalists and radio and tv reporters say "Why is Sharon doing this to you?" The world media is here in Gush Katif listening to us and reporting this terrible shameful story of expulsion to listeners around the world. And despite my personal pain I speak to the world and tell our story over and over again. Rachel Saperstein and her husband, Moshe, live in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Gaza, Israel. To Go To Top

LEGENDARY IDF HERO CALLS FOR INSUBORDINATION Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 23, 2005.

This is a news item from Arutz-7 - www.israelnationalnews.com (IsraelNN.com) Meir Har-Tzion - whom the late Moshe Dayan referred to as the bravest Jewish warrior of his generation - has publicly called for IDF soldiers to refuse orders to uproot the Jews of Gush Katif. The soldiers who refuse, he explained in an interview with the Ma'ariv newspaper, must be willing to go to jail for insubordination. Har-Tzion referred to the government's Disengagement Plan as a "Holocaust" and said, "If a Palestinian State arises here, that will be the beginning of the end for the State of Israel." A founding member alongside Ariel Sharon of the legendary counter-terrorism unit known as Unit 101 in the 1950s, Har-Tzion had harsh words for his erstwhile comrade-in-arms: "Sharon's gone nuts. The great fighter has run away; he is simply a dangerous man." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

ISRAELI SOLDIERS MUST REFUSE ORDERS Posted by Shmuel Sackett, February 23, 2005.

"Get the Jews! Drag them out of their homes! Smash their synagogues! Demolish their businesses! Dig up their graves! Blow up their homes! Make sure they never step foot in this town again!" If you were a soldier in the American army and these orders came from your commanding officer, would you obey them? How about the German army? Would you simply "follow orders"? What about the Israeli army? Would your answer be any different? This is the terrible dilemma facing our holy Israeli chayalim (soldiers) as Prime Minister Sharon moves closer and closer to an all-out civil war against the brave Jews who live on the south west coast of Israel. That beautiful area is called Gush Katif and, while I do not believe it will ever come to fruition, the latest Israeli dictator is planning the forced expulsion of 2,000 Jewish families during the upcoming summer. I am not exaggerating at all. Jewish soldiers will be ordered to drag their Jewish brothers out of homes they have lived in for 30 years' longer than most of you have lived in your homes. They will be ordered to smash all 29 shuls, 15 Yeshivas and 13 mikvehs. These young Jewish soldiers will be ordered to dig up Jewish graves? unthinkable!!! Jewish farms, from which you will eat your "bug free" lettuce this Pesach, will be trampled upon and permanently destroyed and Jewish businesses will be demolished. Believe it or not, many Jews are saying that if this becomes reality (G-d forbid), soldiers must obey these orders! Have you ever heard of such torture? Most of these soldiers are barely 18 and 19? they're just kids!!! Digging up Jewish graves? Smashing shuls and businesses? Making 8,500 people homeless? He who supports this illegal behavior should be charged with war crimes and he who makes young, innocent kids carry them out should be charged with child abuse. The argument for listening to orders is that the army is part of the democratically elected Israeli system and however painful it may be, orders must be carried out. Also, "refusing orders will ruin the army", say IDF loyalists and "we cannot allow that to happen". Let the facts speak for themselves. The present Israeli government is NOT a democracy. The people of Israel did not vote for Ariel Sharon? they voted for the Likud party. 60 days prior to the general election, the Likud membership elected Ariel Sharon to head the party and carry out the platform and ideology of Likud. That platform is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. That platform calls for settlement on both sides of the Jordan (that's right!!!) and that platform is officially opposed to any surrender of Israeli land. Ariel Sharon received the mandate to carry out that platform ... not his own!! Furthermore, when the issue of abandoning Gush Katif came up, Prime Minister Sharon decided to make use of the ultimate democratic tool; a referendum inside the Likud party. "Let the people of Likud decide and I, as their leader, will carry out their wish", said Sharon. On May 2, 2004 the entire Likud membership voted on this issue and 61% voted against surrendering Gaza to the Arab enemy. Had Israel been a democracy, it would have ended there. But Sharon is not a democrat, he is a dictator and dictators do not recognize defeat. He immediately organized a vote inside his cabinet making sure to fire all opposing views, namely Ministers Elon, Eitam and Lieberman. Can you imagine George W. Bush doing that? But this was still not enough for Dictator Sharon. Realizing that a "rebel" movement was starting in his own party, he appealed to the Likud Central Committee for permission to bring Shimon Peres? Labor party into the government. A vote was taken on Rosh Chodesh Elul (Aug 18, 2004) and, once again, Sharon was defeated! Case closed ... right? WRONG! Sharon ignored the democratic process and defiantly - and privately - cut a deal with Peres (and then Rav Elyashiv) and 3 months later brought the Haredim and Labor into his government. It must be reiterated that this was done contrary to the wishes of the Likud membership and the Likud Central Committee. Based on all of this information, does the argument of listening to the army- since it is the arm of the democratically elected government- still apply? Of course not! The government is run as a dictatorship and the IDF is Sharon's toy. He has no mandate for his actions. But what about the second argument, the one that says that refusing orders will ruin the army? Doesn't that still apply? To answer this, let's turn the clock back a bit and remember the Lebanon War. During that war, hundreds of leftists refused orders since they did not agree with the fact that the IDF was defending Kiryat Shemona and Metulla (cities in northern Israel) by attacking Beirut and other Lebanese cities, where terrorists were hiding amongst civilians. Many leftists refused orders to serve in Lebanon and they even led violent rallies calling Prime Minister Menachem Begin a war criminal. Those were rough days for the IDF but did it fall apart? NO! Those who refused to serve sat in jail, as the ones today should, and the army was perfectly fine. A few short years ago, many leftists started trouble again by saying that they would not serve in Judea and Samaria. They felt that the IDF was mistreating Arab civilians. These Jews could not bare the pain of Arabs waiting at check-points as brave IDF soldiers risked their lives by checking Arab identity cards and making certain they were not wearing explosive belts. Many of these soldiers were killed at these checkpoints. Yet, these leftists felt only the pain of the Arab and not the Jewish mother who buried her 19 year old son. Once again, the IDF had to endure a difficult time yet, once again, it escaped unscathed and as strong as ever. These same leftists are screaming and hollering that many Jews, myself included, have begun a campaign calling on IDF soldiers to refuse orders when commanded to evacuate Jews from their homes, dig up Jewish graves or demolish shuls and yeshivas. These leftists, and their IDF-is-holier-than-G-d followers, are furious that many leading Rabbis are supporting the refusal idea. Let me make myself perfectly clear. I served in the IDF and continue to be in the reserves. My son, Gabi, is currently in a combat unit and nothing makes me prouder than seeing him wearing his army uniform complete with tzitzit out, big kippa and even bigger M-16. Every time I see a chayal I thank G-d for the fact that we can now defend ourselves and wonder how much our brothers would have given to have some of those chayalim in Europe 60 years ago. This is why I am so angry? not at our precious soldiers who risk their lives every day, but at the forces of evil who run the country, as dictators, according to non-Jewish values. These "leaders" expect soldiers, like my son, to follow orders blindly and become sacrifices on the altar of world opinion. I will not allow that to happen. Thank G-d my son received excellent training at home and will never follow orders to uproot fellow Jews. He will pay the price for his disobedience, as I did during my days running Zo Artzeinu when I was sentenced to 12 months in prison for organizing non-violent civil disobedience protests throughout Israel in the early days of Oslo. But my son is not enough. Thousands - and tens of thousands of soldiers - must make their positions clear that they are willing to pay the price of disobedience rather than dig up Jewish graves so Arabs can make room for new ones. With this in mind, the group I co-founded, Manhigut Yehudit, published a 32 page booklet entitled, "The Duty to Disobey" (Hebrew only). We have already distributed 70,000 copies. Another 100,000 will be printed in the coming days. Our goal is to show IDF soldiers that if they really love the army and the State, then illegal and anti-Jewish orders such as these must not be carried out. With G-d's help, these horrific orders will never be given and our holy soldiers will never be put into this difficult predicament. Furthermore, very soon, the existing Israeli dictatorship government will be changed to one that truly represents the dreams of the people and their desire to become a light unto the nations! For more information about making this a reality, see our website: www.jewishisrael.org Shmuel Sackett is International Director, Manhigut Yehudit. Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) is a group of people inside the Likud party who want to see Israel adopt a more Jewish character. Moshe Feiglin, its cofounder, has emphatically said he does not want a theocracy, but he does want a State based on Jewish values. The Manhigut Yehudit website address is http://www.manhigut.org. To Go To Top

WALMART COCKROACH Posted by Steven Plaut, February 23, 2005.

1. "We Discover A Leftist Critic of DiscoverTheNetwork" by Steven Plaut, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 23, 2005 (http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17103). The new sister web page of Frontpage Magazine, DiscoverTheNetwork, seems to be upsetting some of our leftist brethren. The first outburst of crazed frenzy has come from Kurt Nimmo, one of the regular columnists at Counterpunch web magazine. In the first lengthy analysis of DiscoverTheNetwork, Nimmo writes a vicious attack against the new venture, in which he accuses the operators of unjustified inclusion, in a comprehensive database of the left, of Islamic terrorists and their apologists (along with, of course, leftists innocent of such connections). He writes: "Truly, Horowitz's latest endeavor is a sight to behold -- an exercise in massive right-wing paranoia and vindictiveness, making the so-called left, from Ted Kennedy to the bedtime bogeyman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (if Abu's a leftist, then I'm Donald Trump), into something it is not: a massive, secret, treasonous, hateful, and violent (as in Ayman al-Zawahiri) conspiracy to destroy David Horowitz's version of America." Who exactly is Kurt Nimmo? I have not done an exact count of his articles, but it looks to me like Cockburn runs Nimmo every few days in Counterpunch. Nimmo's credentials for analyzing global political events for Cockburn's webzine? Well, rather than Stanford or Harvard, his intellectual base seems to be a New Mexico Walmart. To be fair, he does seem to have some connection with New Mexico State University, but as a local photographer who occasionally does snapshots for the campus newsletter. His day job, on the other hand, is at the photo development desk at Walmart. In his off hours, Nimmo runs his own weblog, which features screeds even more anti-American and anti-Semitic than the famous 9/11 rant by Ward Churchill. "Bush and Rumsfeld are promoting Zionist racism," insists Nimmo. He also claims the US and Israel killed Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister. (Apparently they got a Palestinian dupe to plant the bomb.) Nimmo is of course a devoted fan of Churchill. In Counterpunch he wrote: "I must say that I agree with Churchill: the financial and government institutions housed in the WTC, including the CIA, most certainly did employ 'technocrats' comparable to Adolf Eichmann." He has written his own rants in Counterpunch endorsing North Korea's defiance of Bush: "No matter how you cut it, Dubya has painted himself into a corner. He may yet go on record as the most ill-advised and murderous US president." Like Michael Moore, Nimmo considers the terrorist threat to be an imperialist myth: "Bush's fraudulent terror alerts endeavor to convince America that 'sufficient threat' exists to such a perilous degree from a largely mythical al-Qaeda, but a wholesale decimation of the Bill of Rights is also in order." But if Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is not really a terrorist, why be outraged that he should appear in the same database with Ted Kennedy? The Left can be so darned confusing! More to the point, why be outraged when he himself lumps liberals like Kennedy with Adolph Hitler: "Democrats out there: come November, when you vote for Kerry, you will be voting for mass murder and flagrant violation of international law. Like the Good Germans of Nazi Germany, you will be guilty of supporting crimes against humanity." Here's a sampling of Nimmospeak from Cap'n Nimmo: "The attacks of 9/11 were not actually the work of Muslim terrorists. If you believe that you have bought a canard made up by Islamophobic Israelis: "I will not go into the numerous inconsistencies in the government case against al-Qaeda, or their failure to answer crucial questions, and will leave it up to you to read the voluminous information out there, presented mostly by the 9/11 truth movement, demonstrating the fact this remains an unsolved crime and the perps are at large.... As we know, the WTC 'story' was disseminated by the Bush regime in the hours following the attacks and was uncritically, in fact slavishly broadcast by the corporate media, the same media that later sold the Iraqi invasion to the American people with nearly as much ease. No evidential detail was provided... In a matter of hours, blame was affixed to an evil Muslim madman and his organization. In short, a camarilla of right-wingers, attached at the hip to a gang of Muslim-hating right-wingers in Israel, contrived a story that served their best interests." Muslim terrorists are the persecuted victims of the Zionist-Imperialists: "For Bush, Ashcroft, the Zionist neocons, and the rapture-dizzy Christian Zionists, Abu Hamza al-Masri is the perfect Islamic fanatic. In the weeks ahead, as he is extradited from Britain to face the death penalty in America, the cleric will be held up as a primary example of the inherent viciousness and homicidal character of al-Qaeda and radical Muslims in general who want nothing more than to force us at the point of an AK47 to face Mecca five times a day." The Bush and Bin Laden "crime families" are protected by the ruling class media: "Naturally, the US corporate media will embrace this story and chances are the Bushites will use it to justify their invasion of Iraq. Yet the same media refuses to publish anything detailing the business links between the Bush and bin Laden crime families." Condi Rice is a pawn of the vast neo-con conspiracy: "Of course, as a neocon acolyte, Condi Rice is not interested in peace in the Middle East, least of all between the Palestinians and Israelis, and even less so then her predecessor, who was often at odds with the Bushcon "crazies," as he so famously called them. Rice's Hoover Institution is closely aligned with other neocon foundations, including the Project for a New American Century and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, the latter particularly rabid in its opposition to any meaningful resolution of the conflict--that is to say, Israel's theft and occupation of Palestinian land--and continually cranks out propaganda designed to demonize not only the Palestinians, but Arabs and Muslims in general. The beheaded and hanged victims of Zarqawi deserved what they got: "Increasingly, Iraqis involved in the resistance are targeting 'civilians,' who are in fact working for military contractors and organized theft operations such as the World Bank... According to a CNBC business snapshot, Logcap III's purpose is to 'deliver Combat Support and Combat Service Support (CS/CSS)' to the US Army. In other words, this anonymous employee was providing support to the occupation forces and was undoubtedly regarded as a legitimate military target by Iraqi guerilla forces." The blind sheik Abdel-Rahman who masterminded the first World Trade Center bombing was a CIA plant: "Here's the message sent, via the corporate media: there are terrorists and radical, 'anti-American' traitors in our midst. Considering the history lesson below, the New York Post should have written: Lynne Stewart convicted of passing messages to the CIA... So important was Abdel-Rahman, the CIA made sure he was issued a visa and entered the United States in 1990, the country he supposedly hated. Abdel-Rahman went on to head the al-Salaam Mosque in Jersey City....As for the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, the FBI knew about the plot and allowed it to happen." And 9/11 was not what you think: "Having said that, it is my opinion the U.S. was not attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001 -- or not Muslim terrorists, anyway." "'It could've been (Osama) bin Laden,' Charkaoui added. 'But maybe it was done by ultra-conservatives in the United States for economic gain.' Let's take a look at the ballistics on this statement. As we know, in the days and hours before the attacks, there were conspicuous spikes in trading activity in regard to the two airlines involved in the hijackings of Sept. 11. 'There was a 9,000 percent jump in United Air Lines (UAL) put options between Sept. 6 and Sept. 10, with a huge spike 285 times higher than average on the Thursday before the attack,' writes Christopher Bollyn. 'American Airlines saw a 6,000 percent jump in put options [also known as short-selling] above normal the day before the attacks. However, there was no similar trading activity on any other airlines, according to market reports.' Coincidence? ... Adil Charkaoui is correct when he claims 'some guy living in a cave doesn't have the means to plan an attack against the most powerful nation in the world.'" (He then concludes that the Israeli Mossad did it.) Nope, no fruitcakes in the Counterpunch cupboard. 2. A senior Israeli military report says that the PLO is using the current "ceasefire" to stock up on missiles, rockets and explosives and that the PLO is doing nothing to "gather up weapons and rockets". The Sharon government announced in response that it would accelerate the plan for expelling Jews from the Gaza Strip. Really. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

OSTRACIZED ON MY OWN CAMPUS Posted by Janet Lehr, February 23, 2005.

These are two articles on anti-Semitism on the campus of the University of Toronto. The first called "Ostracized On My Own Campus" is by Lisa Anthony, a third-year University of Toronto student majoring in history and political science. It appeared in the Jewish Tribune of Toronto, Canada (http://www.bnaibrith.ca/tribune/jt-050210-06.html). The second called "Concerns Over Links To Terror At U Of T" was written by the staff of the Jewish Tribune. Free speech. Debate. Equality. Respect. As a university student, I often take these ideologies for granted. These have become norms in my personal and academic life, and I expect them to be upheld in my community, in my city and in my country. However, these have been utterly disregarded with the Arab Students' Collective "Israeli Apartheid Week." As a Jewish student attending a lecture one evening about Palestinian political prisoners, I, as well as the other Jewish students' opinions, comments and questions were disregarded, disrespected and not even debated. The first part of the lecture that I attended showed a video entitled Stolen Youth featuring the stories of three Palestinian children who had allegedly been arrested by the Israeli army and who suffer from physical, sexual and psychological abuses and torture. After the video, the first speaker made a presentation that was not so much a speech as a series of accusations. Of course, only one side of the issue was shown, leaving no room for concession, opposition, or debate. I couldn't help but think to myself of the Israeli families destroyed by Palestinian suicide bombers. Mothers and fathers forced to bury sons and daughters. I thought of their Stolen Youth and how life for these families would never be the same. I thought it was a shame that not one of the evening's speakers would have the courage to stand up and protest the inculcation of hate that goes on in Palestinian schools and the encouragement of young children to die a 'martyr's' death. The atmosphere of this lecture did not reflect the usual feel of a university classroom. Whenever an anti-Israel, anti-Zionism, or anti-US comment was made, cheers emanated from most of the audience. One audience member claimed to have a report from the United Nations outlining a list of 279 terrorist acts that were committed to help set up Israel. This was obviously a comment made not in the true nature of a question-and-answer period, but merely added to the hate sentiment of the entire evening. Some Jewish students were confident enough to ask questions, but those questions were dodged, remained unanswered, or were turned around to insult Israel or Jewish campus groups in general, claiming that they were sources of hate and racism. When one Jewish student asked blatantly for either speaker to denounce the general use of terror and the killing of civilians and children, the answer was as follows: "Terrorism will end when apartheid ends." This left the impression that the speaker does indeed fully endorse terrorism against Israel and other democracies, including the US. From this "lecture," I emerged the same as before in support of Israel but I have gained a new-found anger for my educational institution for allowing such a mockery of a debate and "free speech." This type of explicit hate week seems to polarize beliefs and deepen the divide between Jewish and Arab students on campus. By consenting to host this conference under the banner of "Apartheid," the university itself is complicit in foreclosing debate and discussion. The point of "Israeli Apartheid Week" was not to educate, it was to frustrate. As a Jewish student, I feel that the university administration has left me feeling ostracized and uninvited to express my opinions openly on campus. "Concerns Over Links To Terror At U Of Toronto" by Tribune Staff, February 10, 2005 (http://www.bnaibrith.ca/tribune/jt-050210-01.html) "Israel Apartheid Week" at the University of Toronto has raised concerns in the Jewish community, caused controversy on campus and has made news headlines across Canada, the United States and Israel. Bonsai Brith Canada, concerned with the security and safety of students, took the lead in trying to prevent the "hate fest" at the University of Toronto from going forward. Reports from the week-long event make clear that the initial concerns of the organization were well founded. Personal accounts from Jewish students who spoke of being harassed on campus and feeling betrayed by their university were called into B'nai Brith's Anti-Hate Hotline. "I certainly feel disappointed in my university. As an academic institution, it should not be supporting such anti-Jewish propaganda," said Wilfred Bromberg, a second-year University of Toronto student. "'Israeli Apartheid Week' was in no way a legitimate exercise in political debate but was simply an exercise in the promotion of hate and racism. It was just one more attempt to marginalize the Jewish voice on campus. I would have hoped that the administrators of the university could have seen through such a thinly veiled disguise." Confirming the worst of B'nai Brith's fears, were flyers prominently displayed and disseminated at the university with the logo of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade - the milita arm of Fatah. The logo, which displays the Dome of the Rock encircled by two rifles, suggests open support for terror and the "liberation of Palestine" by force. "This apparent promotion of terror on the university's campus must not be condoned by the administration," said Frank Dimant, B'nai Brith Canada's Executive Vice-President, whose organization notified university authorities of this serious and dangerous development. B'nai Brith also immediately notified the Toronto police, requesting that a full investigation of the posters be undertaken forthwith, including their link with persons who have affiliations with terrorist groups, and to possible offences under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Throughout the week, expressions of hate targetting Israel and Israelis, could be found both in formal presentations being given, and in corridors and classrooms throughout the Brith also immediately notified the Toronto police, requesting that a full investigation of the posters be undertaken forthwith, including their link with persons who have affiliations with terrorist groups, and to possible offences under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Throughout the week, expressions of hate targetting Israel and Israelis, could be found both in formal presentations being given, and in corridors and classrooms throughout the campus. The reinforcement of terror as a "legitimate" tactic, was underscored by the closing presentation last Friday when one of the speakers indicated that "we have to fight," seemingly opening the door to a violent agenda. Jewish students in attendance reported that "there could be no mistaking the speaker's intent." Adding insult to injury were complaints from Jewish students who felt abandoned not only by the university's administration, but also by Hillel, the on-campus organization specifically mandated to support Jewish students. According to Tribune sources, in a letter to a concerned donor, the University of Toronto cited Hillel's lack of objection to the event as the reason for the university's agreeing to host "Israel Apartheid Week." An initial press release by Hillel appeared to confirm this statement: "We acknowledge the rights of other groups to hold events on campus. Along with other student groups, we believe that the campus community at large should be free to consider all viewpoints and draw their own, unbiased conclusions." However, Zac Kaye, Executive Director of Hillel of Greater Toronto, told B'nai Brith representatives that Hillel was concerned about the event and had told the university so. In a later press release, Hillel did appear to qualify its earlier statement, saying it "strongly disagree[s] with the title, tone and objectives of 'Israeli Apartheid Week' in the strongest possible terms." Certainly students were left feeling confused and demoralized. "'Israel Apartheid Week' is a one-sided affair with does not benefit the search for compassion, peace and cross-cultural understanding in the Middle East and the various multiethnic communities in Toronto," said Michael Anthony, a student at OISE, University of Toronto. To Go To Top

SETTLERS ... NOW THINK ABOUT THIS, LONG AND HARD Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, February 23, 2005.

Settlers... Let's see, now what's a good synonym for this? Hmmmmm... Jews! Now there's a good one, correct? I mean, almost every time you hear the word mentioned these days, it's got Jews associated with it. Not so? Think long and hard, however, about what follows. Not that the information hasn't been known before. Indeed, some get tired and upset at having to rehash it over and over again... Me too. It's just that only a relative few have cared enough to find out, and the mainline press, most of the rest of the media, and much of the rest of the world are indeed ignorant of these facts or choose to not want to know them for one reason or another. As just the most recent of countless examples over the past three quarters of a century regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, the headline of the February 21, 2005 Orlando Sentinel was a case in point and read as follows: "Israel Approves Ousting Settlers." Jews are the settlers and Arabs are the allegedly abused aboriginals. You get the picture. Now for a reality check... Just who is and who is not a "settler" in these regards? Did you know that when the United Nations Relief Works Agency--UNRWA--was set up to assist Arab refugees (after a half dozen Arab states invaded a nascent Israel in 1948 to nip it in the bud and their attempt backfired), the very word refugee had to be redefined to assist those people? So many Arabs were recent arrivals themselves into the Palestinian Mandate that UNRWA had to adjust the very definition of "refugee" from its prior meaning of persons normally and traditionally resident to those who lived in the Mandate for a minimum of only two years prior to 1948. Do you really understand what this is saying? Now also keep in mind that for every Arab who was forced to flee the fighting that Arabs started (after all, how dare Jews want in one tiny, resurrected state what Arabs demand for themselves in some two dozen others), a Jewish refugee was forced to flee Arab/Muslim lands into Israel and elsewhere...but with no UNRWA set up to assist them. As just one of many examples, greater New York City alone now has tens of thousands of Syrian Jewish refugees and their descendants. And while many, if not most, of France's pre-World War II European Jews perished in the Holocaust (rounded up too often by the French themselves), many of France's now newly-endangered post-war Jewish population also consists of refugees from the "Arab" world. As for those "native Palestinians," Arafat himself was born in Cairo, Egypt. Scores of thousands of other Arabs came from Egypt earlier in the 19th century with Muhammad Ali and son's Ibrahim Pasha's armies and many, like Arafat a bit later, settled in Palestine. During the mandatory period after World War I, the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission recorded additional scores of thousands of Egyptian, Syrian, and other Arabs entering into Palestine and settling there. Indeed, this influx of Arabs into the land is well documented, but few--except scholars--usually delve into these sources. And too many of the latter these days tend to have an anti-Israel bias and agenda...so such facts are simply ignored, down played, or whatever. And often a grad student brings such things up at his own future professional risk. Been there, done that (unfortunately). Ready for more "native Palestinans?" Hamas' patron saint, Sheikh Izzedin al-Qassam, for whom its militant wing (the folks who blow up the teen clubs, pizzerias, buses, and so forth) was named, was from Latakia, Syria. He too settled in Palestine. This is the same Hamas that butchers Jewish "settler" babes and grandmas. And the same Hamas that says no Israel--regardless of size--has a right to exist. In this, however, it has company in the "moderate," sweet-talking Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority as well. He ran on a platform of Israel's destruction--but by "other," more acceptable means. It is estimated that for each one of these incoming Arabs who were recorded, many others crossed the border under cover of darkness to enter into one of the few areas in the region where any economic development was going on because of the influx of Jewish capital. These folks later became known as "native Palestinians." Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from some of those same "Arab" countries--Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, and so forth--became the settlers. While this is not to say that there were not native Arabs also living in Palestine, it is to say that many, if not most, of the Arabs were also relative newcomers--settlers--themselves. Many of the villages set up in the West Bank and elsewhere were settlements established by Arab settlers. And there were Jews whose families never left Israel/Judaea/Palestine as well over the centuries, despite the tragedies of two, well-documented major wars for their freedom and independence with Rome, forced conversions of the Byzantines, the Diaspora, Crusades, and other nightmares as well. So, why is it acceptable for Arabs from surrounding lands to settle in Palestine, but not for Israel's Jews, half of whom were refugees themselves from Arab/Muslim lands? They're the other side of the refugee coin nobody talks about. Jews owned land and lived in Judea (Judean=Jew) and Samaria until they were massacred by Arabs in the 1920s and 1930s. And for those who make short shrift of the Jews calling those lands by the above names (I heard one commentator on National Public Radio doing so on the very same day of the cited Orlando Sentinel article), Judea and Samaria didn't become known as the "West Bank" until British imperialism made its presence there in the 20th century and purely Arab Transjordan--created itself in 1922 on the east bank from 80% of the original Mandate for Palestine which Britain received on April 25, 1920--annexed the "west bank" of the Jordan River after the 1948 fighting. The United Nations' had imposed armistice lines--not borders--which made Israel a mere nine miles wide at its waist. Jews were then barred from living on lands where they had thousands of years of history and as much right as Arabs to live on. Whatever will or won't become of the disputed lands in question, it must be noted that this is disputed territory, not "Arab" land, as the media, the United Nations, the American State Department, and others like to insinuate. Again, Jews lived and owned property there until their slaughter by Arabs. Judea and Samaria were unapportioned parts of the Mandate, and leading authorities such as Eugene Rostow, William O'Brien, and others have stressed that these areas were open to settlement by Jew, Arab, and other residents of the mandate alike. Indeed, as we've already discussed, hundreds of thousands of Arabs poured into the area from all over the Middle East and North Africa. Having one of the highest birth rates in the world, those "native Palestinians" soon greatly increased their numbers...again, more Arab settlers setting up more Arab settlements. So why are these "legal" and acceptable but those of the Jews not? U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, in the aftermath of the 1967 War that Arabs started with their blockade of Israel-- a casus belli-- and other hostile acts, called for the creation of secure and recognized borders to replace Israel's vulnerable armistice line existence. All the architects of that resolution, from Lord Caradon to Eugene Rostow and others concur here. Israel was not to be forced to withdraw to the suicidal status quo ante. Any renewed discussions about the so-called roadmap to peace must take all of this into account. And those truly in search of justice would do well to reconsider the very words they choose to discuss this conflict. Gerald A. Honigman, a Florida educator, has created and conducted counter-Arab propaganda programs for college youth, has lectured on numerous campuses and other platforms, and has publicly debated Arab spokesmen. His articles and op-eds have been published in both the print media and on websites. To Go To Top

THE WORLD'S MOST INTOLERANT SOCIETY - A FRIGHTENING DISCLOSURE Posted by Jerome S. Kaufman, February 23, 2005.

This is from "Graffiti for Intellectuals" and was written by Sy Frumkin. Saudi Arabia is probably the world's most intolerant society. It excludes not only Christians and Jews but also Moslem Shiites and the less radical Sunnis. The only tolerated religion is Wahhabism, a radical fundamentalist offshoot of Islam. Abdul Wahhab Najdl an 18th century cleric founded Wahhabism. The doctrine's central point is that absolutely every idea added to Islam after the 3rd century of the Moslem era - approximately 950 CE - was false and should b eliminated. It opposes pilgrimages to special tombs and mosques; votive and sacrificial offerings; praying to saints and celebrating the Prophet's birthday. More recently, it opposes innovative technology such as photographs; television musical instruments singing videos and much else. The Wahhabi brand of Islam was adopted by the influential Saud clan in its fight against the rule of Ottoman Turks in the 19th century. The bloody battles that followed caused the slaughter of more than 100,000 Moslems as a result of the Wahhabi cleric's ruling that it was lawful to kill men, women and children who did not accept or practice Wahhabism. The Saudis came to power in 1924 by defeating the Hashemite clan that had ruled Mecca and Medina after the Allies defeated the Turks in World War I. They captured Mecca after an artillery bombardment of the holiest Moslem sites. Shiite and Sunni spokesmen who believe that the Wahhabis are a heretical and non-Moslem cult invariably mention this sacrilege in the many Moslem Internet sites. In September 2004, the United States has finally done the previously unthinkable: In the State Department's 2004 report on religious freedom Saudi Arabia was classified as a "country of particular concern." At the same time, however, the U.S. welcomed a delegation of 15 Saudi professors of religion for a 3-week visit. The delegation was led by five professors from the lmam Mohammed lbn Saud Islamic University (MISIU) a religious seminary for Wahhabist clerics. MISIU was the alma mater of three of the 9/11 suicide bombers. MISIU has an extension campus - The Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America supervised by the Department of Religious Affairs of the Saudi Embassy in Washington. Twenty-four Saudis associated with this operation were deported early in 2004 for abusing their diplomatic passports. It may be too little and too late. It is estimated that 80% of U S mosques are under Wahhabi control. Osman Ahmed el Sayed known as "Mohammad the Egyptian" is in an Italian prison awaiting extradition to Spain. He is the self-described mastermind of the Madrid bombings that killed 191. In a conversation taped by the Italian police, Osman claims to be working for Salman al-Awda, one of the most prominent Wahhabi clerics, who is also connected with one of the 9/11 terrorists. Currently al-Awda is a professor at the MISIU. One of the most widely distributed Wahhabi books is the Wahhabi Koran, published, with commentary, in every European, Asian and African language. It is distributed worldwide free or at very low cost. The 15th edition was published in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1996. Stephen Schwartz, a senior policy analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and author of the best-selling, "The Two Faces of Islam", in an extensive study of the book, shows that it violates the basic Wahhabi dogma that prohibits the re-interpretation editing or changing of the original Koranic text. This is done by adding commentary to the English translation that "corrects" the original. For example the opening chapter - the Fatiha - is recited as a daily player. The translation ads commentary - in brackets: "Guide us to the straight path The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace not (the way) of those who have earned Your Anger (such as the Jews) nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians)." The Wahhabi Koran scatters condemnation of Christians and Jews throughout the text and inverts the meaning of the verses that urge respect for them. Thus, the original text of verse 262 says, "Believers, Jews, Christians and Sabaeans - whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right - shall be rewarded by their Lord." In the Saudi version there is a footnote "No other religion will be accepted from anyone," but there is no such statement in Arabic. The original text praises pious Christians and Jews in 3:113 but in the Wahhabi text the only upright ones are the ones who convert to Islam. Verse 5:66 says of Jews and Christians, "If they observe the Torah and the Gospel and what is revealed to them from their Lord, they shall enjoy abundance." The Wahhabi Koran adds that in addition both must convert, accept the Koran -a concept that doesn't appear anywhere in the Koran and contradicts the traditional Islamic theology The Muslim-Jewish controversy is also addressed. The word "Jerusalem" never appears in the original Koran; there is only a reference in verse 17:1 to a night journey taken by Prophet Muhammad on a magic steed, to a "farther temple" The Wahhabi Koran alters it to press the Islamic claim to Jerusalem and places in parentheses "... the Journey at night ... to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem)." The Wahhabi Koran is the mainstay of student groups on campuses throughout the West. It is also available wherever Wahhabis conduct missionary efforts - primarily in prisons in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. It is likely that it is the Koran supplied to the detainees in Guantanamo and the US aimed forces. The Saudi royal family supports the bigotry that is taught at the Mohammed ibn-Saud University, its branches and the overwhelming majority of U.S. and European mosques It is essential that this be recognized and opposed as yet another tactic in the war against us by the forces of intolerance and terror. Jerome S. Kaufman is National Secretary of the Zionist Organization of America. and host the Israel Commentary website (http://www.israel-commentary.org). To Go To Top

DISENGAGE NOW - LOWER THE FLAG Posted by IsrAlert, February 22, 2005.

This was written by Aliza Karp. She lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn where she is the administrator of Friends of Families of Hevron, an organization that assists families and projects in and around Hevron. "The Sharon Plan obligates Israel to 'provide water pipes, electricity, industrial zones, markets, employment and an industrial zone to sustain the Palestinian Arab economy of Gaza'. The Sharon Plan mandates that 'other existing arrangements, such as those relating to water and the electro-magnetic sphere, shall remain in force' while 'economic arrangements currently in operation between Israel and the Palestinians shall, in the meantime, remain in force.'" Quoted from David Bedein's article "'Disengagement Plan' Approved? Hardly" Bedein makes a good point. There will be no severance of relations with the Arabs in Aza, i.e., no disengagement. So where does the Disengagement apply? The Disengagement refers to the breaking of relations between the Jews in Aza and the Northern Shomron from the Jewish state. The Knesset has passed the Disengagement plan and so has the cabinet. The state has spoken. The state has ruled. The state is training special forces to remove babes from their mother's arms so as to lure the desperate mothers onto awaiting trucks to reunite with their nursing infants. By passing the Disengagement Plan, the state has already disengaged from loyal citizens. The politicians who voted for the Disengagement Plan are not so naive as to think the extrication of Jews from their homes will transform terrorists into peace loving flower children. But they do know it will disperse the strong, wholesome, Jewish communities that are flourishing in Eretz Yisroel. At the beginning of Shmos, of the second book of the Five Books of Moses, we are told that a new Pharaoh became the ruler of Egypt. Rashi claims that this was not an actual new person, it was the same person with a new and very different policy. It was this Pharaoh who gladly settled Yosef's family in Goshen. But as the years went by, he saw how strong the Hebrews were becoming. He feared their strength and set out to weaken them physically and psychologically. I don't like to say that Sharon is acting like Pharoah, but the parallel is just too real. Sharon was once the advocate for settling the land. And we did settle the land and the settlers became very strong. They have incredible family values, they have solid community relationships, they have a strong bond with the land at the same time they have developed a close connection to the G-d of Israel. Sharon did not foresee the fruits that would grow from the seedling settlements. He settled handfuls of idealists on some hilltops and sand dunes, he did not know they would evolve into such strong tribes, so strong they became known for providing the armed forces with the finest, most dedicated, most skilled soldiers. The potent Yesha communities are not what Sharon and the secular Zionists had in mind. The secular Zionists had their own vision of their state. Traditional Jewish values were to be the side-dish of their state, not the main course. So, like Pharaoh, Sharon had to think of a plan to weaken the settlers. He saw the strength in their community lives and decided his tactic would be dispersal, and he would call it Disengagement. Sharon is a man of war. To conquer is second nature to him. In this case he has chosen to divide and conquer. The Disengagement Plan is actually a Dispersal Plan. Last spring on Yom Atzmeiut, Independence Day, throngs of people gathered in Gush Katif to show they considered it part of the country, not to be severed. At that time I wondered how the supporters could fly their flags and enjoy their picnics. The government of the very country they were celebrating, was about to remove their flag from the ground they were standing upon. Shouldn't the people have been fasting and praying instead of barbecuing and laughing? But at that time it was still hard to imagine that Sharon was really serious. I mean, there had been threats on other parts of the country and in the end, the plans of retreat were foiled. Unfortunately times have changed from that Yom Aztmeiut less than one year ago. We no longer have the luxury of denial. The state wants to remove its flag from Aza and the Northern Shomron and it really looks like it is going to happen - notwithstanding a miracle. It's time for the settlers to realize they are no longer connected to the state. They have been betrayed and rejected. The state would rather give their homes to terrorists than to have strong religious Zionist communities. A one-sided relationship is not a relationship. It is unhealthy denial, an inability to face the rejection. It is like a loyal wife whose husband deserts her. She cannot understand how he could not love her for all the goodness she gave to him, but the reality is? he is gone. It is time for her to remove her wedding ring, acknowledge her position and move ahead from where she finds herself. So too, it is time for the settlers to lower their flags. After the settlers devoted years of true loyalty and dedication to their country, their beloved country has disengaged them. It is time for them to accept their disengagement from the state, so they can heal. It is time to relate to the land solely as Eretz Yisroel - the land promised to the Jews by the Almighty - disassociated from the state, the Zionist dream, which was born from the political victory at the UN and the military victories on the battlefield. It is time for us to disengage from the entity that is on the brink of self-destruction. The book of Shmos continues as Pharaoh summons the Jewish midwives to his palace. He personally commands them to kill Jewish babies and they personally do not follow his orders. The powerful Pharaoh did not send a courier, he summoned the midwives for a private audience, but the midwives feared G-d. They knew that Pharaoh could 'disengage' them, to put it mildly, but they did not fear Pharaoh, they feared G-d. Shmos then tells us "And it was because the midwives feared G-d that He made dynasties for them." And how did the midwives show they feared G-d? By refusing orders! 1. I firmly believe we have to pray and do extra Mitzvos, as in the days of Purim, to facilitate the miracle to happen, but we live in a world of nature and are expected to deal in a natural way as well, as in the days of Purim. Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. 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THE BUSH VISION: UPROOT JEWS SO PLO CAN HAVE CONTIGUOUS STATE Posted by Unity Coalition for Israel, February 22, 2005.

This is from yesterday's Arutz Sheva - Israel National News (www.IsraelNN.com). President George W. Bush told policy makers meeting in Brussels that further Israeli withdrawals from territory in Judea and Samaria must lead to a PLO state that is "viable" and "contiguous". Bush called on Israel, "to freeze settlement activity, help Palestinians build a thriving economy and ensure that a new Palestinian state is truly viable, with contiguous territory on the West Bank." Enunciating a vision that in principle can be attained only by dismantling more Jewish towns and communities in Judea and Samaria, Bush stated bluntly that "a state of scattered territories [for the PLO] will not work." Many Jewish communities, reestablished on ancient biblical sites in territory liberated from the Arabs in the Six-Day War, are located along the main highway linking Arab populated cities in Judea and Samaria. It is hard to conceive of a viable and contiguous PLO state as long as these Jewish towns and villages continue to exist, thrive and expand. Bush also promised American support for the emerging PLO state: "As Palestinian leaders assume responsibility for Gaza and an increasingly larger territory, we will help them build the economic and political and security institutions needed to govern effectively." Expressing confidence in PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, Bush said, "President Abbas has the opportunity to put forward a strategy of reform which can and will gain support from the international community, including financial support. I hope he will seize the moment." Bush said he will direct Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to attend a conference to be hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London next month "to convey America's strong support for the Palestinian people as they build a democratic state." Bush also reiterated rhetoric directed towards the Arabs: "Arab states must end incitement in their own media, cut off public and private funding for terrorism, stop their support for extremist education, and establish normal relations with Israel." Bush also repeated his anti-terrorist message, and what many have begun to call, his messianic vision of democracy, requesting PA leaders to "confront and dismantle terrorist groups, fight corruption, encourage free enterprise, and rest true authority with the people. Only a democracy can serve the hopes of Palestinians and make Israel secure and raise the flag of a free Palestine." Bush's speech, made at a gathering of academics, business leaders, and diplomats, also touched on the issues of U.S.- European relations, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. The audience received his remarks with subdued applause. The Unity Coalition for Israel (http://www.israelunitycoalition.org) is "the largest worldwide coalition of Jewish and Christian organizations, with more than 200 groups representing millions of people dedicated to Israel. Though we have many different backgrounds, we have one common goal: A Safe and Secure Israel." "Israel is not just a Jewish issue. Millions of Christians resolutely endorse the principle of peace with security for the state of Israel. Because we work closely together and speak with a united voice, our message is being heard!" To Go To Top

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES PREACHES DIVESTMENT Posted by David Frankfurter, February 22, 2005.

Dear Friends, The World Council of Churches has long adopted thinly disguised extremist Palestinian positions. Monday was no exception. The WCC issued a press release (1) calling for the application of economic sanctions against Israel, on a personal, parish and international level. The timing could not be more peculiar. Just when there seems to be a broad consensus that we stand on the threshold of a narrow window of opportunity for peace which must be very carefully nurtured. The leaders of Israel and the Palestinians have met, created a respite in a long and bloody war, and pledged a path to peace. One might have expected the WCC to encourage this process. Each positive step is to be applauded, the other side encouraged to recognise it and take their own step to keep up the momentum. And yet, the WCC complains of "occupation". just when Israel's parliament approved the next stage of plans for withdrawal Gaza. The WCC complains of housing demolitions just a few days after the IDF announces (2) that this practice will no longer be employed. They use the emotive language of a "dividing wall", when 95% is a chain-link fence. They set the borders of Israel as those of the 1949 armistice - knowing full well that even the Palestinian Authority accept the borders of Israel as the 1967 cease-fire line. And then they have the temerity to pay lip service to Israel's "serious and legitimate security concerns". And speaking of lip service, the WCC claims to be "supportive of both Palestinians and Israelis who suffer under current circumstances". Two of my closest friends have children in the horrible violence unleashed by Arafat. I have not heard through them of a single family of a Jewish terror victim having had any even minimal contact by the WCC, let alone the offer of comfort or support. I was brought up in a nominally Christian country. While my generation of Jews took the pledge "Never Again" very seriously and would not countenance any indignity, our Christian friends would try to salve the wounds of anti-Semitism and counsel us to "turn the other cheek". These friends explained that the Christian religion of peace and rapprochement was far superior than the strict law and justice of Judaism. And yet the WCC bases its position on "initiatives within churches to become better stewards of justice". I am no theologian, but I wondered exactly what is the basis of this WCC press release. The WCC specifically bases its call for action on a verse on the New Testament - Luke 19:42 (3). I went to look it up, and was struck by two things. Firstly, the bible I saw had a completely different version of the text than the quote by the WCC. Again, not being a theologian, I will have to accept that the words "Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes." calls [for WCC] members to do the "things that make for peace". If I had not had the WCC guidance, I would have interpreted the verse differently. Especially if I had put it in the overall context of the verse of Jesus coming to a hill and being overwhelmed he catches site of Jerusalem, with the above words are addressed to Jerusalem itself. Jesus then weeps as he foresees the day when the holy city will be encircled by a trench dug by its enemies to besieged her. And then he goes to the Temple to throw out the traders. I would have seen this verse as a prediction of the destruction of the Temple by the Romans. Certainly, though, if I was to believe that the verses should be interpreted in a modern day context, I would not wish to be on the side of those who dig a trench around and besiege Jerusalem - economically or physically. I don't think I would go as far as to point out that those who stand on the Temple Mount are not the Jews, but the Palestinian Muslims. I am left to wonder if the WCC is not simply concerned that the current peace moves may succeed, and a Jewish Israel might become a permanent and hard to explain fixture on their theological map. I would ask my Christian friends to take certain actions. Firstly, register your concern about the WCC position at their website. Let them know whether the WCC represents you. Secondly, please take up the issue within your own parish and amongst the church leaders you know. Thirdly, I would be very pleased if the theologians amongst you would visit this entry at my archive website (4), and add a comment (click on the word "comment" in the bottom right hand corner of the entry) and let me know how these verses in Luke should be interpreted. I would ask my Jewish friends to leave a (polite) message for the WCC, possibly at the interfaith section (5) of their website. Footnotes 1. http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesge.nsf/index/pr-cc-05-08.html 2. http://www1.idf.il/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=3 7885&Pos=10&last=1&bScope=True 3. http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/Luk/Luk019.html 4. http://www2.wcc-coe.org/wccstaff.nsf/ SendEmailForm?OpenForm&ParentUNID=A05686BB90D2F6FFC1256E22002CCAA7 5.  http://www2.wcc-coe.org/wccstaff.nsf/SendEmailForm?OpenForm&ParentUNID =9017590261D6F35CC1256E22002BF93B To subscribe to David Frankfurter's 'Letter from Israel', email him at david.frankfurter@iname.com. Or go to http://www.livejournal.com/users/dfrankfurter/ To Go To Top

ARIEL SHARON SCHEDULES PEACE TALKS WITH SELF Posted by David Haimson, February 22, 2005.

This spoof - if spoof it is - appeared today in Jewish World Review (http://www.JewishWorldReview.com). It was written by Scott Ott. New Summit Sign Of Continued Diplomatic Success After achieving another in a series of unilateral Israeli concessions to the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced today that he would hold a peace summit with himself in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheik later this month. Over the weekend, Mr. Sharon persuaded his cabinet to give final approval to an Israeli pullout from the Gaza strip and the military said it would release of 500 Palestinian prisoners today without receiving anything in return from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "I believe that I can extract even deeper concessions from myself in the heady atmosphere of a peace summit," said Mr. Sharon. "I'm sending my aides ahead to negotiate the groundwork and protocol for the talks. When I arrive, I will have several hours of one-on-one time with the Israeli prime minister, whom I now consider a partner in peace." Contact David Haimson at DvHaimson@aol.com to receive emails with direct links to articles on Israel that are well-worth reading. To Go To Top

SHARON FAMILY SCANDALS Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 22, 2005.

Let me reiterate for the benefit of those who have not been paying attention to my raving over the past years. Sharon is a gangster. He is motivated by his own, selfish needs and desires. He is not a politician and is not interested in the welfare of the Jewish people. Everything he has done either in the military or civilian sectors, he did to advance himself. That anyone else benefited from his actions is purely coincidental and not what motivated him. Furthermore, as long as Sharon or people like him have power of the possibility of coming to power, we will limp along from one disaster to another. This is a news item from today's Arutz-7 - Israel National News. It is called "Sharon Family Scandals Buried in Favor of Pullout" and archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=77322 Top political, media personalities admit: Public silence on criminal suspicions against Sharon and family stems from media's support for his plan. MK Hendel: "This was Sharon's strategy all along." Eitan Haber, a former top aide to Yitzchak Rabin and a writer for Yediot Acharonot, put it poetically: "Our products - values and norms - are drowning in the sea, and the left-wing is singing praises." Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday, "The Sharon family is corrupt to its very foundations, and in any other normal country, Sharon would have no longer been in power." Though Barak currently does not have many allies in Labor - the party he headed when he became Prime Minister - many left-wing personalities in the Knesset, not for attribution, agree with him. If not for the fact that he was promoting the disengagement plan, said at least one MK, "a public outcry would have arisen regarding the accusations against Sharon in the Greek Island and campaign funding scandals." MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union), a resident of Gush Katif, has long said that the reason Sharon initiated the disengagement plan was to avoid being arraigned on criminal charges. Sharon assumed, Hendel's thesis goes, that the press and left-wing politicians would be silent and would not risk the disengagement plan merely to have him put in jail. Hendel says that Sharon met with his close advisors in his Shikmim Farm home in the Negev sometime in 2003 and discussed the looming prospect that he would be charged with wrongdoing in the Greek Island affair. Atty. Dov Weisglass, still Sharon's most trusted aide today, told the assembled that history shows that a leader who carried out historic moves is "forgiven" for criminal and other crimes. At first, Hendel maintains, a war was considered, but this was rejected given the expected public opposition to such a move in light of Sharon's military history. "Sharon's press aide then proposed that Sharon withdraw from Gaza," Hendel recounts, "but Sharon reminded him that Israel had already done that, during the Oslo period. The press aide said that no one would remember that, and it would be easy to market such a move to the Israeli public." Hendel says, "For three weeks, his aides tried to convince him, and only after his son Gilad made it clear that this is the only option they have in order to prevent the indictment, he was convinced to make this move against his will. I am willing to debate Sharon or any one else regarding the accuracy of this story." Hendel also notes that throughout Sharon's entire ministerial career, "whether he was Agriculture Minister, Housing Minister or Infrastructures Minister, he always made sure that the Israel Lands Authority would be under his purview. I always thought this was for the good of the country, but now I know that he was only worried about his own personal good." Speaking with Army Radio today, Eitan Haber said that the media's silence vis-a-vis Sharon stems only because of the disengagement plan. "The left, and not only the left, is as silent as sheep because it's convenient for it that he's carrying out his political plan." Even more surprising was when this viewpoint was reiterated by Channel Ten TV's Moti Kirschenbaum, the former head of the Israel Broadcasting Authority who is considered to hold extreme left-wing views. "There's no doubt," he told Army Radio on the same program, "that the media are dealing with the Sharon family with uncharacteristic tenderness because of their [the media's] empathy towards his diplomatic plans." "The Greek Island scandal is 1,000 times worse than the campaign funding issue," Kirschenbaum said, "and the media's silence regarding Sharon's behavior in the Greek Island affair are much graver than regarding the campaign funding." He had criticism for Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz, as well, who refused to indict PM Sharon in the Greek Island affair: "Mazuz's reasoning in clearing Sharon was so weak that it was really terrible. If the evidence presented to the Attorney-General, including recordings, protocols, and more, was not proof of his guilt, then I don't know what evidence is." Last week, Ariel Sharon's son MK Omri Sharon was indicted on charges of setting up dummy companies to direct cash to his father's 1999 campaign to win the Likud primaries. Army Radio host Razi Barkai asked Haber and Kirschenbaum, "So how does it work? Is there someone above who gives out instructions of what and how to report?" Kirschenbaum said, "It's not a coordinated decision, but rather stems from the fact that the reporters and the commentators are sick of the current situation and they want to see personally if there's a chance to change the situation." Haber agreed that there is no conspiracy, but rather that the reporters are individually slanted in a particular direction. Kirschenbaum hinted that the press is planning to deal with the suspicions against Sharon after the withdrawal from Gaza and northern Shomron. Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen notes that an example of the media's silence concerns its treatment of information that he himself uncovered regarding Sharon's connections with Greek Orthodox Church Patriarch Irineos. Cohen found evidence purportedly showing that the Prime Minister advanced Irineos' appointment as Patriarch - which required Israeli government approval - in order that Irineos, a friend of Yasser Arafat, approve the sale of a Greek island for the purpose of the construction of a spectacular resort that was to earn Sharon's son Gilad millions of dollars. "Before we published this on Arutz-7," Cohen says, "I gave it to senior reporters and investigative reporters on Channels One and Two, and to Haaretz and Maariv, but no one chose to take up the gauntlet and to deal with the grave findings." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

LEFTIST MOONBATS TAKE OVER THE BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL Posted by Steven Plaut, February 22, 2005.

1. Leftist Moonbats take over the British Medical Journal: (http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/moonbatcentral/2005/02/ leftist-anti-jewish-moonbats-take-over.html) Leftist anti-Jewish Moonbats Take over the British Medical Journal The British Medical Journal has in recent months been taken over by space alien pods from the planet Lefto, just to the left past Youranus. It has repeatedly run Israel-bashing pieces, because Israel has the nerve to try to protect its children and other civilians from the Palestinian terror barbarians who blow up buses and otherwise carry out mass atrocities. You see, Israel is building a Security Fence. The Palestinians and the Left do not like the Security Fence because it makes it harder to murder Jewish children. The latest Jew-baiting piece of political propaganda from the British Medical Journal claims the fence is a "health danger" for Palestinians. Why? Well, a Palestinian seeking free medical treatment at an Israeli hospital and clinic might have to pass through a security check to get help. And that might endanger his health. The Left has long denounced Israel for stopping and searching ambulances carrying Palestinians trying to enter Israel for free treatment, but has never denounced the PLO from using those very same ambulances to smuggle bombs, weapons, and suicide bombers. And was I out of the room when free medical services at Israeli clinics became a Palestinian entitlement? What happened to all that talk about how Palestinians wanted to be independent of the Zionists and run their own services? And what sorts of health problems has the same British Medical never managed to get itself worked up over? Well, there are the health problems of those poor Moroccans barred from entering the EU health facilities because of the security fences around Ceuta and the other Spanish possessions on the Moroccan coastline. All of a sudden, THOSE security fences are ok. Then there are the health problems of Israeli children blown to smithereens by Palestinian savages. Or the Israeli civilians whose homes are hit by the thousands of Kassam rockets the PLO and its affiliates fire at Jews. Or those countless other atrocities committed against Jews by Islamofascists to the cheers of the Left. The British Medical Journal has never quite gotten around to caring about THOSE! 2. When the Oslo carnage began and it was evident that the PLO was behind the suicide bombings and other atrocities, I proposed a simple plan of Denazification. The West Bank and Gaza Arab towns would be divided into a white list and a black list depending on whether they were serving as bases for terror and murder or not. Towns that suppressed violence would be on the white list and entitled to decent treatment, maybe even jobs in Israel. Those who did nothing to stop the violence, or where violence originated from them, would be blacklisted. Blask list town residents would be under permanent house arrest with the water and electricity and phones shut off. When I made this proposal, I was dismissed as a lunatic and an extremist. Shut off the water and electricity for terror towns? Absurd, I was told. The world would never stand for it. The World Court would indict Israel for human rights atrocities. The State Department would threaten fire and brimstone. Electricity and phone servive are rights and entitlement more important than the rights of Jews to ride buses without being blown up. Well, now it turns out that under some circumstances it is ok to shut off the water and electricity. When? As part of the Likud government's plans to expel all the Jews from the Gaza Strip. Sharon advisor Dov Weisglas yesterday revealed that part of the government's plan is to shut off the power and water for the settlers to force them to abandon their intentions of resisting the the ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Gaza Strip: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/543130.html Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

DÉJÀ VU AND INNOVATION Posted by Moshe Feiglin, February 22, 2005.

The voices of peace have returned to our country... We're now seeing a replay of despicable murderers such as Abu Mazen and Dahlan being turned into media idols as they perhaps give us a few moments of peace and quiet in return for the rehabilitation of the terrorist organizations. Once again, commentators are referring to the terrorist leaders as "colleagues" of IDF officers. Once again, armed terrorists are walking around unhindered, not fearing anything. In total contrast, but also as in the past, good people are coming from all over the country to participate in a demonstration, thus indicating the basic obedience of the organizers and participants. What difference does it make if there were 100,000 or 500,000 participants in the demonstration? General Sharon doesn't bother to count them. This is the real question: Of those who came to the demonstration, will there be tens of thousands who will stand up at the critical moment and say in a loud voice: "We shall defend our brothers with our bodies and not permit Jews to be expelled from their homes"? Will tens of thousands of regular and reserve soldiers say to their officers: "We shall not raise our hands against Jews - we shall not expel our brothers from their homes"? The answer to this question will determine the fate of the struggle. The tens of thousands of new Manhigut Yehudit booklets about the obligation to refuse to obey that were rapidly grabbed by the crowds, the thousands of signatories to the Homat Magen (defensive shield) petition who undertake not to obey the expulsion order, are a refreshing innovation in the process we are currently undergoing. Does Gush Katif stand a chance? Is there a chance that Israel will extricate itself from the vicious circle of disintegration and internal destruction in which it finds itself? The chance lies with disobedience. We are witnessing the end of an era. The social elites who led this country until now have ended their role, but are not willing to step down from positions of power. Power is their only concern - not security or peace, not democracy or the economy, not even civil war. "We'll show the settlers that we can overcome them and expel them from their homes." It is war for the sake of war as a first stage in creating a secular state, as some of them have already declared. All the means available have been recruited in their support - the media, the courts, the army, the Police, the GSS, senior economists who know that Israel has no money for this tremendously expensive act that will be borne by the Israeli taxpayer. Everyone has been recruited. Their strength comes from those who, with perverted morality, have declared that the State of Israel is the foundation of the A-mighty's throne in the world and that all its decisions must be carried out. It comes from those who have declared that they will volunteer to assist in the expulsion because it is an act of kiddush Hashem for Jews to expel other Jews from their homes, that they will then hand over to their enemies and murderers. There is no worry, no concern, that the evacuation plan is just another caprice of the dictator who ignores and tramples underfoot the wishes of the nation, as expressed in every proper democratic process. In today's Israel, disobedience is true liberty! It means freedom from the general brainwashing, and having the capability to listen to the internal Jewish conscience. Those who have G-d in their hearts will not raise their hands against their brothers, will not expel them from their homes, nor destroy all their life's work. Those who have a free spirit will be ready to go to jail and will not be a partner to this evil deed of handing over the homes of murdered people in Kfar Darom to Dahlan, their murderer. There is a price to this freedom. Many people have asked if it was worth it to publish the booklet, "The Obligation to Refuse Orders", if it would perhaps cause the heads of Manhigut Yehudit to be expelled from the Likud. The answer is - Yes! There is a price to freedom in a country in which the wishes of the people have become ludicrously distorted and democracy has turned into despotism. We, personally, are prepared to pay this price, just as we expect that every soldier and civilian who does not obey orders will be prepared to pay the price of being sent to jail. They can imprison our bodies but not our spirit. It is possible to expel two or three of our members from the Likud, but it is impossible to remove our spirit from the hearts of the Likud members. We shall always put forward a belief-based candidate for leadership of the Likud. The more our spirit is Jewish and free, and the more they use dictatorial methods such as attempting to silence us and threatening to expel members from the party, the more our influence will increase...whereas those who will fear to speak out will become slaves, guided by the rules prescribed by the Left until now, and they will disappear from the stage of history. Announcement: Manhigut Yehudit Annual Journal Dinner - Shushan Purim (March 27th) Guest speakers: Esther Pollard, wife of Jonathan Pollard Moshe Feiglin - Candidate for Prime Minister and Founder of Manhigut Yehudit Shmuel Sackett - International Director, Manhigut Yehudit www.jewishisrael.org/database/events/6dinner.htm Sunday, 16th of Adar II Shushan Purim (Mar 27) 5:00 PM, Hewlett East Rockaway Jewish Center, 295 Main St., East Rockaway, NY 11518 Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) is a group of people inside the Likud party who want to see Israel adopt a more Jewish character. Moshe Feiglin, its cofounder, has emphatically said he does not want a theocracy, but he does want a State based on Jewish values. The Manhigut Yehudit website address is http://www.manhigut.org. To Go To Top

PLAY IT AGAIN UNCLE SAM Posted by Ellen W. Horowitz, February 21, 2005.

I don't think anything that will postpone, or interfere, with the timetable or orderly manner of carrying out disengagement would be viewed favorably in Washington. -- Israel's Ambassador to the US, Danny Ayalon Our hope is that whatever happens that there will be no delay in the disengagement plan and the withdrawal from Gaza, because the United States has made very clear that we believe very strongly that this is a very positive step. -- US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice The US is a true friend of Israel... But the notion that the US will sit by and be accepting as Israel decides to dump the disengagement plan or to delay it indefinitely is a serious mistake. It will lead to a major crisis with the US. -- Rabbi Eric Yoffe, president of America's Union for Reform Judaism [the above quotes are from the Jerusalem Post - February 11, 2005] Back in 1993, I wasn't a writer - I was a cartoonist. I began to articulate my ideas into words when a no longer funny situation became increasingly tragic and complex, and I felt things warranted further explanation. It's now 2005 and the circumstances, although strikingly similar, are more severe and beyond words. Perhaps blatant illustrations and black humor are needed again. So picture this scene (it's kind of a cross between the work of Federico Fellini, Walt Disney and Rube Goldberg)... Peres (whose name means "vulture" in Hebrew) is happily circling the darkening globalized sky above the geopolitical arena where the old-security hawk turned mad politician, Ariel Sharon, has had his right wing clipped by a flock of mutant doves under the direction of some American eagles. The wounded hawk is trying to waltz to Wagner, on two left feet, with Abu Mazen - a wolf in sheep's clothing who has excellent taste in suits. This cacophony is accompanied by a slick, yet elegant bird named Condoled Rice, who knows her way around political mine fields, global oil fields, and who plays a mean piano. The approving crowd of spectators is made up of Americans, Europeans, Arabs, the United Nations, a lot of Diaspora Jews, and a good number of post Zionist, secular Israelis. The rest of us want to know why we're still dancing to "been there and done that" at an ever maddening pace and increasing volume. Some of us still can't quite figure out how we got into this mess, but there's a general consensus that we want and desperately need to get out of it. Now! I don't think that G-d created the historical/political or personal déjà vu experience in order to keep parapsychologists in Lala Land. I believe that, in His mercy, He gives people and nations a second (sometimes third, fourth, fifth, etc...) time around, in order that they be given the opportunity to correct their past mistakes. We Jews may be a fairly intelligent people, but we're also largely naive -which is why we keep falling into these classic set-ups. And it's no wonder why so many of us are exceedingly numb and fatigued after having played in or viewed the re-runs for the umpteenth time. However, it's uncanny that most of us still can't follow the plot, derive the moral or understand the conclusion. But boy, do we fall for the leading man and his smooth talk. He gets us every time. A good part of the Free World and, I imagine, a significant part of the Jewish Nation was impressed with President Bush's oratory over the last few weeks, which was fortified with lavish sprinklings of the words freedom, democracy and liberty. "There is no Justice without Freedom" does have a nice ring to it, but in today's terror-run-rampant atmosphere, it seems that the President should have said, there is no freedom without justice. Israel is being pressured to negotiate with and release murderers in the name of peace, to uproot productive communities as a capitulation to terror, and to endanger her very existence by surrendering strategic land and assisting in the creation of a rogue state. The very underpinnings and foundations of any moral society must be based on truth, justice, law and order. But those pillars of substance have crumbled and given way to empty rhetoric, dangerous double standards and overt hypocrisy. And it seems, like the song says, "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose..." So when Bush announces, as he did last Saturday in preparation for his trip to Europe that, "America and Europe are the pillars of the free world", those sitting in the bleachers and enjoying the show should at least be warned that the infrastructure of the arena is severely corrupted and in danger of collapse. I often question the intentions and meaning of our relationship with America. I wonder whether or not our "friendship" needs reassessment. Many will tell me to shut-up and watch, listen and learn, as America pounds our enemies and does the dirty work for us. What does it matter to us if they're doing it in the name of justice or for economic hegemony in the region? Let them run the show and go after Iraq, Syria and Iran, regardless of whether it be for oil, a war on terror or for liberating the region from tyranny. The above world view keeps the Diaspora Jew sitting in comfortable, complacent exile. It suits the post- Zionist Israeli just fine, as they have no real conception of their past or future. And the religious Jew sitting outside of the national Zionist camp nods in approval under the assumption that perhaps, out of mercy, G-d has sent American troops to squash and handle our enemies for us. Maybe. But there remain a few problems... There's usually a massive price to pay when you rely on somebody else to do your fighting for you. It's not always a terrific bargain. I'm not sure if Israel has the resources to handle her enemies in the same "shock and awe" kind of way that America can, but we best be aware of the costs involved when we turn to others. More often than not, and ironically, one ends up paying the price of such services with their personal freedom, national independence, or life. I am absolutely certain that we as a nation would have been able to efficiently and effectively protect our citizens and borders from an onslaught of Palestinian terrorism had we not chosen to succumb to the pressures of an international community with a dubious agenda, or endorsed American brokered accords and treaties of questionable design and origin. I also believe that had we taken the initiative, the world would be a lot safer today. But now, under the guise of liberty, Israel has assumed the position of serf to a very "noble" America, and, if Europe gets her way, we may have to serve as the welcoming committee for a lot of foreign and UN peacekeeping forces (and we've already seen how friendly and effective those guys can be). As I write this, CNN is reporting that President Bush is heading to Europe today with an ambitious agenda for patching relations with "old Europe." I'm not sure what the term "old Europe" means, but it does send chills up this Jewish spine. Israel wasn't invited for dinner, but we are being served up on a platter. So we can let freedom ring, or we can get smart and ask ourselves for just whom does this bell toll? Maybe when the toll gets so loud and large that we can't take it anymore, a wise leader will step forward and help us to navigate our way out of a very unstable and violent arena. And we shouldn't be afraid to stand or to dance alone. But in the meantime some nameless nudnik on the geopolitical dance floor has just made the request, "Play it again, Uncle Sam." Ellen Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights, Israel with her husband and six children. She is a painter and columnist for Israelnationalnews.com. email: ellen@artfromzion.com To Go To Top

PEACE AT WHAT PRICE Posted by Evelyn Hayes, February 21, 2005.

This was written by Dr. Alex Grobman, a historian, whose most recent book is "Battling for Souls: The Vaad Hatzala Rescue Committee in Post War Europe" [KTAV]. He is also co-author of "Denying History: Who Says The Holocaust Never Happened?" (University of California Press, 2000). For years, Israelis were reluctant to acknowledge the potent and inexhaustible stream of antisemitism in Arab media and in pronouncements by Arab religious and political leaders. According to Menahem Milson, professor of Arab literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Israelis repress the virulent plague of hatred that surrounds them because of the Zionist ideal. Zionism, the dream, was supposed to be the end of European antisemitism. Jews came to the Promised Land to escape Jew-hatred, and when they got there, they discovered it to be ubiquitous! And then, after the Holocaust, by psychological necessity, they slipped into denial. Milson says if the Jewish intellectuals and politicians in Israel concede that the strength of Arab antisemitism has poisoned the psyches of their Palestinian partners in peace, it justifies those who question Arab sincerity in peace talks and support those who refuse to surrender land. Itamar Marcus, who monitors Arabic sermons, speeches and media via the Palestinian Media Watch, reports on the constant barrage of hatred and lies broadcast by the Palestinian Authority, much of it imported from other Arab lands. Arie Stav, director of the Ariel Center for Policy Research, reports that, in general, Israeli academic institutions, were minimally interested in analyzing this phenomenon and its effects. Shimon Peres as Foreign Minister in 1993, Stav notes, ordered the Palestinian Covenant removed from all Israeli government offices. The Covenant is anti-Israel and contains the PLO's ideology, its objectives and calls for the "elimination of Zionism in Palestine" (article 15). It also proclaims the "entire illegality of the establishment of Israel" (Article 19) and the need "to destroy the Zionist presence." After a number of wars, two intifadahs and the failure of the Oslo Accords to bring peace, some Israelis are now convinced that the Arabs will never accept the existence of the Jewish State and will use every subterfuge to destroy it. Not all Israelis share this view. There are those who believe that there are Arabs who want peace. That is understandable, at least from a psychological perspective. Sixty years after the Holocaust, the Jewish State is negotiating with an Arab leader who denies that it ever happened. He used his "knowledge" to spread lies and hatred for Jews among Arabs in many lands, lies and hatred found in his 1982 doctoral dissertation for Moscow's Oriental College. The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen), claimed that the Nazis and the leadership of the Zionist movement conspired together to create the Holocaust. In 1984 he published a book based on his dissertation, questioning if gas chambers were used to exterminate Jews, and claiming that "even less than a million" might have been murdered. The Zionists used a higher number of victims, he said, to extract "greater gains" when they would "distribute the spoils." He asserted, "Raising a discussion regarding the number of Jews [murdered] does not in any way diminish the severity of the crime committed against them, as murder even of one man is a crime that the civilized world cannot accept and humanity cannot accept." Abu Mazen's Holocaust denial challenges the legitimacy of the Jewish State. Scholars at MEMRI say that he does that by showing how the Zionists worked with the Nazis to destroy the Jewish people because only "Palestine" was the right place for Jews. He claims "The Zionist movement led a broad campaign of incitement against the Jews living under Nazi rule in order to arouse the government's hatred of them, to fuel vengeance against them, and to expand the mass extermination." ("Palestine Leader: Number of Jewish Victims in the Holocaust Might be 'Even Less Than a Million' ... Zionist Movement Collaborated with Nazis to 'Expand the Mass Extermination.'" (Washington, D.C.: The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Number 95. May 30, 2002) Denying the Holocaust is part of a strategy to deny the Jews any connection to the Land of Israel, including the strategy of denying the Bible. Itamar Marcus illustrates the problem: * "Biblical Judaism is really Islam. Biblical Jews are really Arab, and the Land of Israel is really the Arabian Peninsula [Judaism is not a religion on the full sense of the word ...] The religion of Moses is a religion, apparently it is the Islamic religion, and some research that was published find[s] that, when translated correctly, the Torah texts show that it is a continuation of Islam." * "It is known scientifically as well, that a homeland of all the [Israeli] tribes exists today in Asir [in the Arabian Peninsula]. Their history is there." * "Modern Judaism, the Torah and Bible are forgeries. Jews are falsifiers and the enemies of Allah and Islam. The Torah was brought down while it contained guidance ... They [the Jews] faked the words of Allah and changed their religion and laws are wicked ..." Professor Arthur Hertzberg, a Jewish leader and major historian, says, "The attack by Holocaust deniers is ... the most hurtful that has ever been leveled against Jews. We have long been prepared to defend our religion and our corporate character ... but the immediate reaction to the Holocaust deniers is outrage ..." In our book Denying History, Michael Shermer and I note that Holocaust denial is a form of pseudohistory. It is an affront against history and how the science of history is practiced. To deny the Holocaust is shocking because it attempts to deny our search to understand extreme acts of humanity. Holocaust denial is so dangerous and despicableit is an attempt not just to deny a true past, but to deny a meaningful one. By denying the Holocaust and vilifying Zionist leaders, Abu Mazen declares Jews have no legitimate right to any part of Israel. Before anyone signs an agreement involving the security of the Jews in the State of Israel and perhaps its viability, is it unreasonable for someone to go up to Abu Mazen and just ask him if he really believes what he wrote? Don't we need to know if there is a reason to believe he is different from his predecessor? So far, the only difference is better personal grooming. Since his election, things do not bode well. For years the Jews in America and many of its leading academics argued against meeting with deniers lest they be given legitimacy. Are we legitimizing Holocaust denial and Jew-hatred while we delegitimize Israel? We yearn for peace, but at what price? Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

WHO STARTED THE RUMOR? PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST? Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 21, 2005.

Some time ago the Rumor was floated partly by Yassir Arafat and partly by the Europeans that, IF Israel were to accommodate the Palestinians, Peace would come to the Middle East. President Bush while in Brussels echoed that rumor without really knowing or understanding the Middle East. "Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and Palestinian reform could give momentum to changes throughout the Middle East", U.S. President George Bush said Monday. I like dreams because you can make them anything you want. In this case, the dream has nothing to do with Israel. It has to do with many almost imponderables. I will list a few I know but, then there are a lot no one knows. First - We know that there are many Terrorist leaders and organizations whose entire life's work has been dedicated to Terror. There is no other work for them. It is their chosen profession and they will not stop. Then there are the Mullahs, the Imams, the Ayatollahs whose dedication to Koranic Law cannot allow what they call a nation of unbelievers (infidels) to exist - not only in the region but, on this planet. All religions must eventually submit to Islam and Sharia Law because they will not stop unless defeated. This is something that is non-negotiable and will continue under Dar al Islam until it is accomplished. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is only one small facet of a clash of civilizations with which neither Europe nor America have come to grips - yet. There is more! The nations and leaders of Syria, Iran, Egypt and even the so-called new Iraq need an adversary so as to stay in power. Dictatorship are like that. Fear keeps people obedient but even a fictitious outside threat (Israel) creates an impressive reason why there is suppression. They need Israel as they need to breathe. If the West's dream of imposing democracy or peace through the elimination of the Palestinian hostility to Israel - well, dream on! There is more! The Arab Muslim culture rests on two pillars: Pride and Shame. They always knew that Europe and America were far advanced in almost all fields and they hated Western Civilization and the Judeo-Christian culture that supports it. The Muslims hated their inferiority because it damaged their Pride. Then came the era of pricey oil and the West came crawling. It wasn't anything they had achieved but it restored their vaunted Pride. But, then came Israel and they had a chance to further elevate a Pride they had not known since the Kurd Salahadin bested the Christians in the 12th century. It was a long time to wait but anticipating the coming battle with the Jews whom they were certain to beat was joyful. But, it didn't happen as they planned. In 1948 when Israel declared her independence as a Jewish State, six Arab armies attacked a rag-tag army of 600,000 Jews, many of them just off the boats from the death camps of Europe. They, the Arab Armies, well-armed and some trained by the British, lost ignominiously and fled the battlefield. Now, Pride and Shame was damaged at least until it could be recovered in blood and battle. They lost all the subsequent wars they started and the need to win grew deeper as did the Shame. They gambled the Land, their Pride and now they tell the world they deserve to have it back. The Rumor that settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will restore their lost Pride and the Shame is deliberately misleading and can't be changed with paper agreements that must be recovered in battle which is why they will be no peace. There is still more! The Europeans have century upon century of Jew-hating that culminated in the German Nazi Holocaust. But, it didn't end there. When oil because pricey and very needed, the Europeans wanted the Arab Muslims on their side and that required sharing their hatred of the Jews. Despite a brief period of guilt, the Europeans ramped up their ever-present hatred for the Jews and became the champion and funding source for the Palestinian PLO. They cranked up the Rumor Mill that IF Israel gave up defensible territory that Terrorism would cease. Thus was born Oslo which, of course, failed tragically. The Rumor continued: Settle the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Middle East genie of Terror would go back into its bottle. Another Rumor (more accurately this time) is that President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are starting to recognize that Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) cannot deliver the dismantling and disarming of the Terror structures and organizations - so they are backing off somewhat. Bush needs it politically and the Europeans are pressing hard. In other words, it's irrelevant if Abu Mazen delivers as long as Israel bites the bullet. Lots of egos to fill; lots of hatreds to placate and it makes no difference if Sharon falls, if Israel falls or, at least takes a lot of casualties. There is always a lot more but, let's put the Rumor of Peace between Israel and the Arab Muslim Palestinians where it belongs. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

THE ISRAELIS TOY WITH NATIONAL SUICIDE Posted by Enzo Nahum, February 21, 2005.

This was written by Sarah Honig and appeared today in the Jerusalem Post. It is called "Who pays Barakei?" and is archived at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/ JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1108610310685&p=1006953079897 Emphasis by underlining is mine. I got as agitated last week as my father used to get when he watched the news on TV. Whenever he took things excessively to heart - which was almost always - my mom would lecture him that it's unhealthy to view the world through dark lenses. "Besides," she'd go on, "let politicians worry; they get paid for it." Without exception, my father would then reply: "And who do you think pays their salary? I do!" What so upset me was the Knesset Finance Committee vote approving compensation for Gush Katif's soon-to-be uprooted Jews. I had anticipated the result; I expected that the one-vote majority for a decision that frays the Zionist fiber would hinge on anti-Zionist Knesset member Muhammad Barakei's predilection. What distressed me was the epilogue. Barakei lashed out at Likud Knesset member Michael Gorlovsky and screamed in his face: "Go back to Russia. You don't belong here!" He then proceeded to yell at Yehiel Hazan: "Shut up! You're a settler - a dirty criminal terrorist." What blew my mind was that public opinion wasn't outraged. This, in a nutshell, is the essence of Israel's malaise. Israelis consider themselves neutral objective observers - "from the UN," to quote local idiom. They've distanced themselves from their own cause, aren't emotionally involved with Jewish and Zionist interests, don't love, don't hate, don't deeply care. They dispassionately consider the most pragmatic options to maintain a reasonable quality of life, one entailing the fewest sacrifices and commitments, yet enabling them to posture complacently as enlightened citizens of the world. They don't want to be bothered about the history of the conflict, which still, vexingly (though they'd rather not admit it), threatens to annihilate them. Unsettling truths can burst their bubble. They don't want to hear that Arab hate predated the "refugee problem." They'd rather forget that Israel's Coastal Plain was inundated with Arab migrants from the far-flung corners of the Arab world (attracted to Jewish-initiated opportunities) and that Arabs who streamed here as late as 1946 (while Jews were barred) qualified for the status of Palestinian refugees in 1948. Israelis don't want to hear about Nazi collaborator Haj Amin el-Husseini, Hitler's pampered pet in WWII Berlin, who recruited Muslims to Axis forces, exhorting them to "slaughter Jews wherever you find them" because "spilled Jewish blood pleases Allah." Israelis don't want to know that this genocidal zeal still inspires Arabs, passing propaganda expediencies notwithstanding. They'd rather not reflect on the fact that Arab bitterness and refugees arose from Arab failure to exterminate us. Israelis trust that concessions can buy calm, painful concessions secure peace, and really painful concessions yield better and bigger peace. At this point concessions cease to be painful. They become desirable - the coin with which one makes deals. That's when Zionism dies. Dismissing our case and our justice eases things. It helps to accept the enemy's fraudulent narrative, not even call him an enemy but a potential peace partner, seek to understand the motives of those who want to ethnically cleanse this land of our presence, and discover where we're wrong and they're right. THAT'S WHY nobody protested Barakei's bullyragging and why ever-virulent Arab animus to the Zionist endeavor can loudly, impudently and fearlessly resonate within the hallowed halls of the Jewish state's parliament, the symbol of renascent Jewish sovereignty. This sovereignty had been won in the existential fight for "a Hebrew state and free aliya" - our twin pre-independence battle cries. Barakei, who consistently harangues against Israel's flag and national anthem, openly defining Jewish emblems as offensive, provocatively delegitimizes the core motifs of Jewish national liberation: the ingathering of the exiles and return to the land. He paints himself as the outraged native and fulminates against "foreign interlopers" who, for no rhyme or reason, arbitrarily decided to dispossess him. He fails to mention ancient Jewish communities like the one in Hebron, uprooted via a sadistic massacre, or the bloody onslaughts against similarly old Jewish communities in Jerusalem, Safed, Jaffa, Acre and Beisan (the latter two were made judenrein before 1948). He omits reference to current Palestinian policy of rendering whatever areas they control judenrein, just as Jordan - artificially created by perfidious Albion on three-quarters of original Palestine - forbids Jewish residency by law. Significantly, the latest Arab mantra isn't "two states for two nations," but "two states coexisting side-by-side." By that definition the second state needn't be non-Arab. Self-deluding Jews miss the mutating nuance. And so Barakei, who annually laments Israel's creation and calls its Independence Day nakba (catastrophe), can continue to insult us with impunity. Our courts will back his right to mouth off and may even someday repeal the Law of Return, just as they have already undermined the JNF. Barakei must be laughing his head off at our collective gullibility, and all the while, I (and you) pay his salary. To Go To Top

THE BIBLICAL LAND TITLES Posted by Steven Shamrak, February 21, 2005.

Christianity and Islam insist they have inherited the Jewish tradition and believe in a monotheistic G-d. All three religions include Torah (Old Testimonies) as the written word of G-d. It is considered a great sin to disobey or falsify the words of the Almighty! I would like to present for your perusal two biblical land titles: "Sarah died in Kiriatharba [Hebron] ..." "Avraham weighed-out for Ephron the silver that he spoke of in the hearing of the sons of Cheis, four hundred silver shekel, negotiable currency." "This became Avraham's [possession] through a purchase before the eyes of the sons of Cheis..." (Genesis 23:2,16,18) Abraham made sure the purchase of land at Hebron was recorded as a legal sale not as a gift. "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spoke unto Moses. From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the Great Sea [Mediterraneansea] toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border." (Joshua 1:3,4; Re: Deuteronomy 11:24) "This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families." "Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; unto the Brook of Egypt, the Great Sea being the border thereof." (Joshua15:20,47) Religious people believe that all that is written in the Torah by G-d is purposeful. Therefore, if you are a Jew, Christian or Muslim you must accept the will of G-d and recognise the right of the Jewish people to live on all the land given to them by G-d. Otherwise, you have been living a life of self-deception or hypocrisy. Steven Shamrak was born in the former Soviet Union (USSR) and participated in the Moscow Zionist "refusenik" movement. For the last 3 years, he has been publishing internet editorial letters on the Arab-Israeli conflict - independently, not as a member of any organization or political movement. He can be reached by email at StevenShamrak@mail2world.com To Go To Top

A MAN AHEAD OF HIS TIME Posted by Herb and Miki Sunshine, February 21, 2005.

RABBI, WHERE ARE YOU NOW THAT WE NEED YOU? Herbert B. Sunshine is Professor of Law (US). He and his wife Miki live in Jerusalem. To Go To Top

WHAT SHARON OMITTED TO TELL MINISTERS BEFORE THEY APPROVED EVACUATIONS Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 21, 2005.

Once again DEBKAfile takes the lead in exposing, underlying truths to Sharon's manipulations of his Cabinet, the Hebrew Media and the Knesset. I would not be surprised to see a coup to take over the Government by political and military interests who observe with alarm Sharon's desperate attempt to disassemble the nation on the faulty premise that the Palestinians will evolve into a peaceful nation. Sharon's first release of 500 convicted and jailed Terrorists, to be followed by at least 400 more, has demonstrated to the Military and Intelligence that risking their lives to capture Terrorists has proven purposeless. The number of dead soldiers, police and agents who sacrificed their lives to penetrate the Terrorist groups was just thrown away by Sharon as a sacrifice of no consequence. This is a DEBKAfile Exclusive Report from February 20, 2005. General Asaf Shawqat, new Czar of Syrian front against Israel Israeli prime minister finally managed to elicit two momentous decisions from his cabinet on Sunday, February 20. The hard one was the evacuation of 26 Israeli communities from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, one of the most polarizing in Israel's history. Sharon and his defense minister immediately signed the decrees making the removals possible as of July 20. After the eight weeks allotted for the evictions, it will be illegal for any Israeli to reside in the Gaza Strip. But along the way, Sharon split his party, dropped ministers and divided at east two pro-settlement factions. Only after he built a new government coalition with Labor to neutralize his own party rebels, did he see his way to majority support for his pullout plan in the Knesset and cabinet. By then, two top national security chiefs had fallen by the wayside, chief of staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, and Shin Beit Director Avi Dichter. The 8,000 evacuees have been given five months notice to accept the payouts on offer and go quietly or wait to be forcibly evicted under an elaborate evacuation plan requiring 6,000 policemen to remove them bodily, backed by several thousand armed soldiers for security. The second decision confirmed by Israeli ministers later in the session approved the southern section of West Bank defense barrier after its route was amended. The revised route encloses 7% of West Bank territory instead of 16% in the original blueprint. The fence will encircle the Gush Etzion cluster and town of Maale Adummim south and east of Jerusalem. Both are bound to the capital as virtual satellites. But the town of Ariel further north will be excluded as will the Israeli communities of southern Mt. Hebron where the fence will follow the pre-1967 route. Although this is essentially a security fence, its route suggests that in future bargaining, these communities may find themselves in the same boat as their fellows in the Gaza Strip. When the prime minister told the ministers at the critical voting session that disengagement is an "essential step for the state of Israel's future," he did not share with them certain facts that might have altered the way they voted. DEBKAfile's uncovers some of those facts: The Palestinian Front. Friday, December 11, three days before the well-publicized Sharm el-Sheikh summit of Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, the opposite camp met secretly on ways to disrupt it at a Hizballah base near Hermel in the Lebanese Beqaa Valley. Organized by the "Palestinian Desk" of Syrian military intelligence, it was attended by the officer who orchestrated Rafiq Hariri's assassination two months later, General Rustum Ghazallah, as well as, DEBKAfile's intelligence sources reveal, Colonel Askar Assdallahi, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard unit stationed at a secret Syrian military camp in the Zabadni Valley 40 km north of Damascus. Syria has never admitted to hosting an Iranian Revolutionary Guard force on its soil. Also there were Palestinian Hamas operations chief and liaison man with Tehran, Imad al Alami, and Ezze-din-al Qassam commander Musbah Abu Huwila, whom Israeli attempted to liquidate in Damascus on December 14, 2004. The two Jihad Islami operatives present were senior recruiter and trainer Akram Ajuri and head of operations in Lebanon Ziyad Nakhla. The two high-ranking Hizballah officers at the meeting were training director Abu Zainab aka Hassan Ali Dib and the undercover liaison with Hamas and Jihad Gaza commands, Kassam Kasir. Present too were delegates of Fatah-Damascus and the Palestinian "Fronts." On the agenda: the organization of a fresh terrorist offensive to accompany Israel's withdrawals. Here are the decisions of that secret conclave: 1. Unanimous rejection of the ceasefire Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon planned for the Sharm summit. 2. The Hamas, Jihad, Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades and Gaza Strip Popular Committees would lay the groundwork of the terror offensive by planting hundreds of explosive charges along Israeli traffic routes to blow up the Israeli units executing the evacuations. Israeli military sources revealed Sunday, February 20, that in the last two weeks, 22 of these bombs, some as large as 70 kilos, were uncovered before they could do any harm. 3. Every effort would be made to step up the flow of smuggled weapons from Egyptian Sinai into the Gaza Strip, especially missiles of all types including anti-tank and surface-to-air rockets, the latter for shooting down Israeli helicopters and drones deployed to silence concentrated Palestinian Qassam missile assaults on Israeli targets. 4. Hizballah promised to redouble its recruitment of spies and spotters among Israeli Arabs to keep the terrorists abreast of Israeli military movements. 5. Iran's Asdallahi and Syria's Ghazallah announced an extra one-million-dollar allocation each to fund the operation to disrupt the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. This is what General Yaalon was talking about Sunday when he referred to the disengagement operation as "a very vulnerable and fragile process subject to a Hamas and Hizballah veto." He added: "We see that the Palestinians are caught up in internal debate. But there is no change whatever in Hamas thinking; it is exploiting the slowdown of military action to re-arm." The American Front. In her latest telephone conversation with Mahmoud Abbas, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice repeated three times: Dismantle, dismantle, dismantle. But during her visit earlier this month she - and subsequently US security coordinator Lt.-Gen William E Ward - carried the same message to Sharon: A. We don't believe Abbas will make it. That is why we haven't invited him to the White House and the funds allocated to him will only be forwarded if he takes real action against terror. From what we have seen thus far, he has not done anything at all. He simply hides behind Mohammed Dahlan's talks with your defense minister (Mofaz). Dahlan has not lived up to any of his promises to us. B. We are therefore standing back from your dispute and will confine ourselves to being observers. If there is anything we need to say, we will say it. C. If you need help in implementing your disengagement plan, get back to us and we will see what we can do, but we accept no responsibility for the move. D. So that Washington can keep its distance, an American diplomatic coordinator will soon be appointed to complement General Ward's function in security. According to our sources, a middle-ranking official will be chosen to downgrade the Bush administration's engagement in the dispute and keep it off the desks of the Oval Office and the secretary of state. The Bush administration has decided to remain aloof - if not quite wash its hands of Abbas - because of his decision to forego any attempt to dismantle or disarm the terrorists, after failing to persuade them even to join a temporary ceasefire. His plan of action only goes as far as absorbing terrorist manpower in the Palestinian Authority's security forces. But every attempt made in the past to turn terrorists into security or police officers and wean them away from terror with new uniforms and paychecks has failed. The European Front, Following the American step back from the Middle East dispute, Sharon sent his top aide Dov Weisglass to London and Brussels instead of Washington to report on the government's pullback decision. This mission went ahead despite the fact that the European Union foreign affairs executive Javier Solana conveyed a secret assurance to Abbas. He advised him not to be dismayed by the cool wind blowing from Washington, because immediately after Israel completes its pullback, the EU would stage a big international conference to work on the final-status accord between Israel and the Palestinians. What this means, according to DEBKAfile's Middle East experts, is that the Europeans have given Abu Mazen the means to duck the American demand to dismantle terrorists. So keen is Solana on his Middle East initiative that on the day of the Hariri assassination in Beirut, the Spanish ambassador in Tel Aviv was ordered to fly to Damascus via Cyprus for a briefing on Abbas' situation to Spanish minister Miguel Moratinos who was then visiting Damascus. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL HAS BECOME A DESTRUCTIVE FORCE Posted by Rabbi Avraham Shmulevich, February 21, 2005.

This is an appeal Of "Bead Artseinu" ("For Motherland!") to world Jewry. Brothers and sisters! In these dark days the "government" of the state of Israel is preparing to commit a terrible crime against G-d of Israel and the Jewish people - an eviction of Jews from their homes and transfer of a part of our common historical Motherland to the enemy. There can be no justification for this crime - as the people who have usurped the power in Israel are motivated by pure greed and cowardice. We call on you, Jews, wherever you may be, to do everything in your power to stop this horrible crime from happening. We call on the world Jewry to cease having any contact with the official government of Israel, to declare a boycott against all of its official branches and representatives of the government of Israel - until such time, as the government will relinquish its criminal intent to deport Jews from Gaza, Samaria and the transfer of parts of Jerusalem under Arab control. The government of Israel has become a destructive force, its activities cause great harm to the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, and this is why we implore the world Jewry to stop providing assistance directly to the government, but at the same time to double your efforts to provide assistance directly to the Jewish settlements, yeshivas, hospitals, schools and universities. Your efforts and money should not fill the pockets of corrupt and traitorous government officials and "Sokhnut" functionaries, but aid the strengthening of the Jewish presense in our common Motherland. The duty of every honest Jew who sees this message is to distribute it as widely as possible among the Jews of diaspora. Translate this call to all the languages spoken by our brothers and sisters who remain scattered around the world, tell about it to all the Jews you know. Only together may we succeed in defending our traditional Motherland! Don't let the criminals, who have usurped power inside the country, to give away parts of our common heritage to our ememies! Demand from the Israeli government the cancellation of the deportation. Rabbi Avraham Shmulevich is Chairman of "Bead Artseinu". He can be reached at hebron@mail.ru To Go To Top

DEMOCRACY, DUPLICITY, DEMAGOGUERY AND DISHONESTY Posted by Gary Cooperberg, February 21, 2005.

It is more than amazing to watch how the Israeli government is trying to force down the throats of its electorate a policy which can only be described as treasonous and self destructive. We are told by our Prime Minister, that, as a result of forcibly evicting over 8000 Jews from their homes and handing Jewish land to the PLO; as well as turning terrorist murderers loose, that we will now have a new hope for peace with our would be murderers. Does he really think we are all morons? Before outlining the lunacy of this marvelous peace program, allow me to present an unlikely analogy. Suppose tomorrow the President of the United States determined that, for the security and well being of the nation, all Jews living in Washington DC must be evacuated. By allowing Jews to live in the nation's capitol, relations with Saudi Arabia would be severely impaired and the likelihood of a terrorist attack would be greatly increased. And suppose that the President succeeded in getting both houses of Congress to pass a law making it illegal for Jews to live in Washington. To make the legislation more palatable Jews may continue to live in Maryland and work in the capitol. Certainly this minor inconvenience is worth preventing future terror attacks. Is there any normal person on the face of the earth who would imagine that such an effort would succeed? Even were this law passed, there would be such a political upheaval that it would be immediately repealed. No government has the right to arbitrarily throw citizens out of their homes for political whims. If it is so easy to see how such an attempt to deprive Jews of their basic human rights would never work anywhere in the USA, why is it so hard to see that what the government of Israel is trying to do to her own citizens living Gaza is a gross and intolerable violation of their human rights? This would be true even if there were truly a hope for peace. But, to add insult to injury, there is absolutely no reason to assume that these gestures will bring peace any closer. On the contrary. We already have clear evidence that both, evacuating Jews and giving away their land to the PLO, plus freeing murderers from jail, only serve to encourage our enemies in their struggle to destroy the Jewish State. Abu Mazan is no less a terrorist murderer than was Arafat. The PLO has no desire to live in peace with an Israel of any size. The murderers who were released from prison, after promising not to murder again, and, mind you, signing affidavits to that affect, were seen flashing the victory sign to the press with big grins on their faces. Clearly these are reformed criminals who will now choose to live in peace with Jews. If George Bush, and other world leaders are prepared to sacrifice Israel for what they perceive as their self interests, I can understand that. But how does one begin to fathom how Israeli leaders are working so hard to turn Israel into one gigantic suicide bomb? One needn't be a genius to see where these insane policies are leading us. Sharon is so wrong it makes you want to scream. Expelling Jews from their homes and then giving away our land to our enemies will not make them love us. Turning murderers loose will only convince them that murdering Jews is a good deed. For a Prime Minister of Israel to tell us otherwise is not merely an insult to our intelligence, rather a breach of his responsibility to his country. It is imperative that we do all in our power to see to it that the upcoming vote on the budget fails. Sharon is bad for Israel and must be removed from power. Gary Cooperberg lives in Hebron. He can be reached at his website: www.projectshofar.org To Go To Top

PSI STATEMENT ON GAZA WITHDRAWAL IS INCOMPLETE Posted by Joe Marzal, February 21, 2005.

An excerpt of the Professors for a Strong Israel (PSI) statement on the Gaza withdrawl is missing a most important part. Why do you and the vast majority of Zionists ignore the most dangerous factor of the Sharon retreat and surrender? Professors for A Strong Israel wrote; Professors for a Strong Israel rejects the decision as anti-Zionist, anti-democratic, and immoral. We believe it is incapable of execution and hence will find its place in the dustbin of history. We deplore the accompanying campaign of incitement against millions of loyal citizens, whose only crime is to oppose this tyranny ... The threatened expulsion is illogical, inhumane, unethical, un-Jewish, and - not least - illegal. If it is carried out, it will constitute a catastrophe on all fronts: security, diplomatic, economic, social, ethical, and constitutional; the harm caused to the state will be irreversible. You are ignoring that it is the Bush Road Map for a Palestinian State that fuels P.M. Sharon's illogical, illegal, anti-Zionist, immoral, inhumane and unethical expulsion of Jews from their land. Why are so many of you ignoring that it is the personal vision, dream, desire and will of the President of the U.S. and that P.M. Sharon is only doing as he is told by the sly tyrant camouflaged in a freedom and democracy costume? If you succeeded in stopping Sharon, Mr. Road Map, the greatest threat to Israel, would only find another Jewish turncoat to fulfill his dream of a Final Solution Terrorist Palestinian State. Was Yitzak Shamir the last Israeli leader who refused to bow to Washington? The rest - Netanyahu, Sharon, Peres, Rabin, Barak - all surrendered Israel's sovereignty to the one who now divides up the land of Israel for national self interests and all of you are fearful, silent and ignore this important and deadly threat to Israel's survival. Why, I ask? Why are all of you silent on the evil Road Map of King George? The author can be reached at marzal@myway.com To Go To Top

OLEG CARTOON: RELAY BATON Posted by Women in Green, February 21, 2005.

Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

UNDERCOVER POLICE AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR RIGHT-WING INCITEMENT Posted by Bryna Berch, February 21, 2005.

This is a news item from today's Arutz-7 - www.IsraelNationalNews.com So the Government is PAYING at least one person to run around pretending to be an angry settler. He spray paints graffiti and puts up signs with death threats against Sharon. And the local Israeli media and the TV reporters working for BBC and CNN - all of who know better - solemnly report that the right-wing settlers are inciting people against the government. Sick. Sick. Sick. A police informant initiated much right-wing incitement in recent weeks, according to Maariv newspaper. Similar police tactics were used in the mid-1990's against protestors of the Oslo Accords. Much of the "right-wing incitement" of recent weeks, attributed by the media to the national camp, was initiated by none other than an undercover police informant. So reports Maariv today, in an article featured in a front-page headline. The paper states that the police agent has initiated some of the more extreme protest acts of recent weeks - acts that were widely attributed to the entire national camp. The activities thus cast a cloud of illegitimacy on the entire anti-disengagement cause. The agent provocateur was behind a recent bumper sticker which implied that Prime Minister Sharon's death was near. The sticker read: "Sharon, Lily [the PM's late wife] is waiting for you." He also recruited people to attend the road-blocking protests of last week, which brought much public wrath upon the anti-disengagement cause. The police informant resides in a community in Judea and Samaria (Yesha). Armed with police "protection" because of the information he transmits to them, the agent initiated extremist acts, ostensibly to "entrap" protestors. He reportedly said he plans more violent activities over the coming months, including vandalizing or setting fire to courthouses and other public buildings. The media have routinely attributed such activities to "extreme right-wing" elements. Etgar Lefkovits of the Jerusalem Post, for instance, wrote on Friday, "For the second time in as many days, suspected Jewish extremists spray-painted graffiti Thursday against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in central Jerusalem, police said... Police said that they suspect far-right activists, affiliated with the outlawed Kach movement, were behind the vandalism. Similar slogans appeared on city streets and billboards prior to the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin." In fact, the revelation of the police agent-provocateur was reminiscent of the Avishai Raviv case in 1995. An agent of the General Security Service (Shabak), Raviv was paid to inform on the activities of his right-wing neighbors, and in fact instigated some of the more violent and extreme activities himself. Tzvi Hendel, speaking in the capacity of Deputy Education Minister, said that Raviv was "a sick provocateur who did all he could to sow hatred for the Jews living in Judea and Samaria by Israeli citizens." Raviv goaded Yigal Amir into murdering Rabin, according to testimony of at least two people. Raviv himself later admitted that he not only knew of Amir's intention to murder Rabin, but that he gave Amir the impression that he concurred with Amir's conclusions. "The main point is," said Prof. Hillel Weiss of Bar-Ilan University at the time, "that the GSS was behind a cruel, heartless plan to besmirch an entire public and frame them with the crime of attempting to murder the Prime Minister." Raviv was later indicted in April '99 - 18 months after it was officially released that he was a GSS agent, and only following court suits and public pressure demanding that Raviv be put on trial. The charge sheet specified not that Raviv encouraged Amir, but rather that he did "not prevent" the murder. After the trial was delayed many times over the course of more than three full years, the trial began in earnest only in July '02. Eight months later, Raviv was acquitted of all charges. Likud MK Michael Eitan, one of the strongest advocates at the time of a public inquiry into the Raviv-Amir connection, said something then that might easily be said about this morning's revelations. Eitan said that the verdict "was a personal, legal vindication of one man - but the entire public interest issue still remains a tightly closed secret. No one has investigated those on behalf of whom GSS-agent Raviv was operating. No one has investigated the incitement against Jewish citizens and Arabs living in Judea and Samaria. No one has investigated the smear campaign against Jewish leaders that came before and after the murder. All this and much more remains closed and shut." To Go To Top

NOT LIKELY Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 21, 2005.

I am amazed that there is anyone who actually trusts Bibi. He has consistently shown himself to be totally without scruples and is able to lie to or betray anyone. Often with the most minimal benefit to himself. The idea that Bibi will come riding into town on his white horse and save the day is total fantasy. He might succeed in wresting the leadership away from Sharon but we will see no significant changes in any area of importance from him. He will not stop the destruction of Yeshah nor reverse the Road Map to the final solution of the Israel problem. In fact the only hope from the Likud comes from the Likud loyalists and the Feiglin faction. If someone from this configuration were to ascend to the leadership of the Likud, we could see a peaceful resolution of all this. This is not as impossible as their opponent would like the world to believe. Should the realization set in to the members of the Likud that the real issues here are not "settlements" but the continued existence of the State of Israel and the continued existence of they and their families, then the loyalists and the Jewish Leadership people will be able to come out on top. So long as the perception is that all this is just politics as usual or about fanatics try to stop peace, the gangsters will continue to dominate. Only when the members of the Likud and especially the Likud Central Committee understand that their lives, their families and everything they have worked to build for over a century is at stake and will be lost, only then will there be changes. This comes from Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis). It is archived at http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=24220 Contact Dr Lerner by email at imra@netvision.net.il or go to the IMRA website: http://www.imra.org.il Background: Long shot - budget defeated, elections, disengagement voted down If the budget is not approved by the end of March new elections will be held on 28 June. In the event of new elections Prime Minister Sharon is expected to run against Binyamin Netanyahu for the position of head of the Likud and their candidate for prime minister. Only people already registered as members of the Likud could vote in the primaries. The over hundred thousand Likud members "recruited" by Omri Sharon from kibbutzim, the Arab sector and elsewhere who voted for Sharon in the last primaries did not continue paying dues and are no longer Likud members. Candidate Netanyahu could promise to "honor" the cabinet decision without going into specifics. Under this scenario a new government formed by Netanyahu after the elections would, per yesterday's cabinet decision, have to vote on the actual implementation of the withdrawals from each group of communities. If the new cabinet decided that "the circumstances" are such that withdrawal will not take place this would close the circle on the disengagement plan and any future removal of communities would require new enabling legislation. #1 Vote on each group of communities "The Cabinet will reconvene shortly before the evacuation of the group, will discuss the then existing circumstances, and will decide whether or not the circumstances are such that they will affect the evacuation." CABINET COMMUNIQUE (Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat) Monday, 21 February, 2005 The Cabinet Secretariat told IMRA today that "decide" means vote. #2. Elections if budget not passed "36(a). Dispersion due to failure to adopt budget" Non-adoption of the Budget Law within three months subsequent to the beginning of the fiscal year will be considered to be a Knesset decision on its dispersion, prior to the completion of its term of service, on the day following the end of this period (hereafter: the determining date), and early elections will be held on the last Tuesday before the end of 90 days of the determining date, unless the Knesset decides, within five days of the determining date, may decide that because of the proximity of the date of elections to a holiday or memorial day, to postpone the elections to a date no later than 100 days from the determining date. Basic Law: The Government (2001) www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basic14_eng.htm Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

ANOTHER DAY OF INFAMY Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 20, 2005.

I feel certain that all those connected with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who voted for the de-stabilization of the Jewish State should be reminded of their perfidy every time they walk the streets. Let no one raise their hand to these people because they have already cursed themselves. Later, their regrets will carry the same importance as the recent assembly of European nations to mark the Jewish Genocide they assisted the Nazis to implement. Therefore, "Never Forget" and "Never Forgive". Only the dead can forgive and, of course, they will not be around to voice an opinion. Sharon and his army of "Yes" men and women will have not only weakened the nation both internally and at her borders but, they will have brought every enemy within close firing range of Israel's heavily populated cities and, in the next phase, Ben Gurion International Airport. Every time a Katyusha or Kassam Rocket or mortar hits deep inside Israel; every time a Terrorist easily enters Israel with reduced checkpoints and blows up Jews - know that Sharon is expanding his personal graveyard. Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin have their expanding graveyards through Oslo and now Sharon will have his own "Disengagement" graveyard - starting now. Make a comprehensive list of Sharon's supporters who voted into existence the deportation plans. This includes its principals, the 17 Cabinet members who voted FOR retreat; the Knesset who didn't stop it; the Army and Police officers who accepted this evacuation mission without protest. Name them. Keep those name and for the rest of their lives (may they live long), remind them every day of their treachery. Insure that their/your entire family knows so they too can decide whether it was right or wrong. Let nothing be hidden, forgotten or forgiven - particularly among the victims' families. Once a year there should be a "Treachery Day" where the participants of the expulsion receive a mailed card or a phone call further reminding them of their role. (No apologies accepted.) FDR, Franklin Roosevelt (no friend of the Jews) once said after being attacked at Pearl Harbor that "This was a day that will live in infamy". He wanted Remembrance and now, so should the Jews for being attacked by Ariel Sharon. LEGACY Sharon will have succeeded in dividing the Jewish Nation with the Leftists of the cities and the Settlers developing into what Josephus called: "The War of the Jews". Sharon has given up a vital Southern Front. All invaders have entered Eretz Yisrael from Gaza. Sharon has established a base for Global Terrorists which will deeply affect Israel's security, to include putting most of Israel's southern cities within easy reach of Missiles fired from Gaza. Sharon will have slowed and possibly stopped immigration (aliyah) given that he will have made Israel more dangerous to Iive in. Sharon has proven that he will attempt to deport Jews - not only from Gaza but from the vital core of the Nation, the heartland historical named Judea and Samaria. Add to that, they talked about evacuation of the Jordan Valley, the Golan Heights and that part of Jerusalem that Jordan occupied for 19 years from 1948 to 1967. This is all contained in the Bush Family Road Map. Sharon has turned a trusted Police Force and Military Forces into Forces feared by her citizens because now it will be beating protesters, using Administrative Detention, jailing residents who resist being uprooted and deported. They will lock up anyone who disagrees with Sharon's policy without trial, without attorneys for defense, with secret court proceedings or, in effect, all the trappings of a Police State. Sharon, like Rabin did, is releasing convicted and jailed Arab Muslim Terrorists who were simply caught trying to murder Jews but didn't succeed. A recent study tracking Terrorists released under gestures for peace demonstrated that half returned to acts of Terror. Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra, indicated that, when Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), the new President of the Palestinian Authority, makes appropriated gestures, Sharon will even release Terrorists who have murdered Jews - those with "blood on their hands". Note! International law states that all crimes and criminals must be punished. "Nullem crimen sine poena" - "No Crime Without a Punishment". Therefore, it must be assumed that all released Terrorists will return to committing murder or to teaching others to murder Jews. (This makes Sharon complicit in a crime of major proportions to include subsequent Terrorist attacks by those released. Sharon has divided the Army with this policy of evacuating Jews - from its officers down through its foot soldiers. Their morale is low, with more and more soldiers committing NOT to deport Jews because they consider it an illegal and immoral act. Israeli youth will begin to see the Army as hostile to the people, their own families, and will likely not volunteer for service in the future. Sharon has also decided to disband the Hesder Yeshiva model wherein Orthodox soldiers volunteer to serve for five years, with Yeshiva studies combined in their Army service. Many of the IDF's top officers are religiously observant, i.e., Orthodox. This virtual discrimination of Jew against Jew will further demoralize the Army and the number of excellent Orthodox officers and soldiers will diminish. Sharon has accepted a role for Israel to be an obedient creature to U.S. politics and their interests in the Arab Muslim world. In effect, Sharon is no longer an employee of Israel but has accepted foreign rules and orders. Sharon has demonstrated that he can rule by fiat - like a dictator - and anyone who challenges his policies is summarily fired. Just like the practices of Jordan, Egypt, Iran and Syria. Sharon's "Disengagement Plan" was probably NOT read by most of the Knesset (I'd be willing to bet) and, therefore, didn't see or understood that the Plan includes arming and training Palestinian Arab Muslims as was done under Oslo. (Some may recall that those same Palestinian Policemen - given 40,000 weapons (or more) by Rabin and Peres - turned their guns against the Israeli Police and Soldiers with whom they were patrolling.) Sharon's Cabinet Ministers have called for Administrative Detention for any protester who yells at them - putting free speech in the category of a physical threat. If shouting were an jailable offense, most of the Knesset would need to be put into Administrative Detention. Imagine if Bush accepted this flagrant abuse of power for Americans, more than half of America's citizens would now be in jail. What sane American would consider moving to a Police State when, by exercising their free democratic rights, a Policeman could put you in prison under Administrative Detention for shouting or demonstrating. Americans are not used to keeping their mouths shut or having a dictator forcing them into obedience. Sharon has not encouraged aliyah (immigrating to Israel or going up) but yeridah (leaving Israel or literally - going down) Perhaps it is all best summed up by a statement of the long serving and respected Member of Knesset recently: "The Prime Minister is trying to prepare public opinion for violence along the line of the "Altalena". Recall the ship "Altalena" coming from Europe in 1948 with death camp refugees and weapons for the newly born State of Israel who was fighting against 6 Arab Armies. Prime Minister David Ben Gurion ordered Yitzhak Rabin to shell the Altalena. The ship was sunk and Rabin ordered his men to shoot the Jews swimming ashore. This then was the massacre of the Altalena and no less a Terrorist attack of Jews against fellow Jews. In brief, Member of Knesset Uzi Landau who knows Sharon quite well, understands that he intends to use maximum force against the Settlers who come under the category of "Refuseniks". It just doesn't get any uglier than that. So, don't forget and don't forgive! Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

REVEREND BELL'S BLATANT LIES AGAINST ISRAEL ON BBC Posted by Barry Shaw, February 20, 2005.

This is a letter I wrote to the Yorkshire Post. To: Editor, Readers Letters Yorkshire Post Dear Sir, May I offer my thanks to Bill Carmichael for exposing the blatant lies aired, with no rebuttal, by the BBC by the Reverend Bell. He claimed to have met an 18 year old Arab named Adam who, he said, had been conscripted into the Israeli army to kill children. This is the type of blood libel, echoing the non-existent 'massacre' of Jenin, that we Israelis, we Jews, have suffered for years by the Western media and broadcasting networks while being blown up in our buses, cafes, streets, markets, and discos. I am sure that your readers are unaware that we Israelis have suffered no less than twenty four thousand separate terror attacks since the Palestinian Authority launched its latest intifada in September 2000 after Israel had made the most generous and painful peace concessions. Twenty four thousand terror attacks are not the work of a few desolate souls. Twenty four thousand terror strikes is the coordinated work of a society not determined to create a state of their own, but to destroy the Jewish state of Israel. The Palestinians need more than a state. Like the Reverend Bell, they need a new state of mind. Barry Shaw is Chairman of the Netanya Terror Victims Fund in Netanya, Israel. Contact him at netre@matav.net.il To Go To Top

PR: SAUDI-STYLE Posted by Barry Rubin, February 20, 2005.

It's a really strange thing. America is supposed to be the land where the art of public relations has been perfected. Yet it is in the Arab world--in both domestic and international terms--that this art has been most perfectly developed in political terms. Consider for example the Saudi government's international conference on counterterrorism held in early February. Saudi Arabia is in an extremely peculiar position on this issue. On one hand, Riyadh has been a major financer of terrorism and propagandist for the main ideology motivating such behavior. Most of the September 11, 2001, hijackers were Saudis, too. The Saudis have never accepted their responsibility for these acts--which its leaders often claim is a Zionist or American plot--and has not taken very effective action to change the situation. For example, one Saudi journalist wrote typically, "Ideological extremism is merchandise that was never manufactured or sown in this land." (MEMRI translation) In contrast, Saudi liberals warn that the real source of terrorism is not some foreign plot or importation but the result of the extremist ideas implanted among Saudis by their own school system, mosques, and media. Their writings most often appear, though, only in Western or English-language newspapers. For example, Mansour al-Nogaidan, a Saudi columnist, defined the real problem as being "that Saudi Arabia is bogged down by deep-rooted Islamic extremism in most schools and mosques, which have become breeding grounds for terrorists." Naturally, the Saudi rulers do not like the idea that reform is necessary to root out terrorism. On the other hand, though, Saudi Arabia has been a victim of terrorism, though it is most often aimed at foreign nationals working to promote development there. There has been widespread criticism of Saudi countermeasures as sloppy and ineffective. Of course, Saudi Arabia wants to present itself as victim, not a promoter of terrorism. Hence, the idea of holding a conference involving 50 countries and many international organizations in order to boast of Saudi efforts and to define terrorism was a most attractive idea. It is not surprising that the Saudis did not invite Israel but at the meeting they--and their fellow "counterterrorist" delegations from terrorism-sponsoring Iran and Syria--insisted that Israel did not suffer from terrorism since resistance to occupation could not be terrorist. Rather sadder was the fact that only the U.S. delegation openly challenged this claim. Yet while gleaning much good publicity and the fruits of appeasement, the Saudis did not even think it necessary to maintain more than the thinnest pretense of sincerity. Consider the following points: --Both the conference's chairman, Interior Minister Prince Nayef, and the keynote speaker, Crown Prince Abdullah, had blamed the September 11 attacks and Usama bin Ladin's Saudi revolutionary group on the Jews. --A book distributed officially by the Saudi government at the conference claimed that Jewish-controlled mass media in the West was responsible for linking terrorism and Islam, rather neglecting the fact that the terrorist organizations themselves made this claim and had many supporters in the Muslim world. --Incredibly, a few days later, the man who wrote that assertion, Abdallah al-Obeid was appointed the new minister of education. To underline the incredible nature of this choice, it should be clear the he is now the man who controls what young Saudis will learn. Presumably the man who headed the Muslim World League for seven years at a time when it was contributing millions of dollars to bin Ladin and other terrorist groups is not a likely person to move Saudi education away from its current role as training ground for future terrorists. The League's activity in this context is reportedly being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. --Despite periodic Western media coverage praising the Saudis for reforming mosques and schools to encourage moderation, in fact the ministries of education and of Islamic affairs have employed their energies in purging teachers accused of liberalism. In mosques, state-sponsored preachers continue to attack liberals, Muslims who do not follow the strict Saudi Wahabi rite, Christians, and Jews. --Saudi "denunciations" of terrorism are carefully worded to limit their condemnation to attacks on Muslims or, at most, their non-Muslim guest workers. Here is how one Saudi columnist typically explained it: an attack on an occupier oppressing one (i.e., Israel) "is legitimate Jihad." But the same type of attack in Saudi Arabia "is a criminal and terrorist act." The latter type of attacks are also regrettable "because they caused no damage to American interests_but damaged their homeland." (MEMRI translation) --And on top of all that, the Saudi definition of terrorism is not even going to protect the kingdom. After all, the rationale given by bin Ladin and the terrorists trying to overthrow the Saudi regime is that they are defending themselves from an occupation by the Saudi royal family and its supposed master, the United States. In other words, the Saudi regime is spreading a view of terrorism which extols attacks not only on Israel and America but also on itself. This type of manipulation fools some people abroad but may ultimately be fatal to a Saudi regime which is inspiring its own would-be gravediggers at home. Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), and co-author of "Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography" and "Hating America: A History" (Oxford University Press, August 2004). Prof. Rubin's columns can now be read online at http://gloria.idc.ac.il/columns/column.html. This article is archived at http://gloria.idc.ac.il/columns/2005/02_15.html To Go To Top

NEW, OLD, ANCIENT, ALL THE SAME Posted by Batya Medad, February 20, 2005.

Ok, I admit that I'm not a rabbi; I'm just a housewife, who teaches English and writes. I learned that there's a Jewish Law that even if one of the shofrot (rams horns) used in the time of the Beit Hamikdash, Holy Temple, was found, it wouldn't be considered kosher for ritual use today. Rabbinic decisions are connected to the times in which they are made. That's why I have a problem with a few of the responses to my feeling that we must rethink our "enthusiasm" to the present State of Israel. A few people said that my thoughts and, opinions, are wrong because of what the Rabbis Kook (both of them) poskened, taught. Now, I would never criticize what the rabbis stated about the times in which they lived, but even Rav Tzvi Yehuda passed to olam haba a generation ago. Not to diminish anything those great rabbis taught during their lives, I wonder what they would say and do if they were alive today, when the State of Israel planning on dismantling Jewish communities, schools, yeshivot and businesses and jailing those who protest against it. I can't help thinking of Shmuel HaNavi, Samuel the Prophet, the man who anointed the first King of Israel, Saul, and soon after, while Saul still reigned, he anointed David king. In a sense, the Rabbis Kook can be likened to Shmuel HaNavi, except for the crucial fact that they died at too early a stage in the story. I strongly feel that we are in those times again. We are reliving the times when Saul was chasing David, trying to kill him and all who followed him. Saul was desperate to preserve his kingship and pass it on to his son Jonathan. David wrote some of his most moving T'hilim, psalms, when he was trying to avoid Saul's persecution and murder attempts. Every week when I learn more of those lines (at our Boker Limud Nashim, Women's Study Morning taught by Rabbi Nissan Ben Avraham), I'm more and more convinced of the similarities. First of all, in Biblical times, the people asked Shmuel to make them a king, "like all other nations," (First Samuel, Chapter 8.) "Like all the other nations" so clearly reminds me how the Zionist leaders were so insistent on getting the approval of foreign countries, and how they celebrated, even today, the UN vote on the 29th of November, commemorated on the goyish calendar date. And to this day, major national decisions are made, not for what's best for the State of Israel, but how will the goyim see us. Now, in the Divine Plan, which was no secret, there was supposed to be a king, but he wasn't supposed to be "like all the nations." I have to admit something that annoys or makes some people uncomfortable, the more I learn about King Saul, the less I think of him. Now, as I'm writing this, I reread Chapter 9 in the First Book of Samuel, just to make sure that my impressions are based on the text. And it just confirmed my previous feelings. Saul was chosen more for his physical attributes, "from his shoulders and upwards, he was taller than any of the people." (First Samuel 9, 2) I can see that line illustrated with the classic portrait of the early kibbutznik, tall, handsome, broad-shouldered, his sun-bleached hair in a natural pompadour crowning his forehead. Just read the chapter for the narrative. You don't see a leader, just a well-behaved son of a prominent family, the handsome, pampered son of a "man of valor," thrust into a position for which he was unprepared and unsuited. So it's no surprise that later on when Goliath taunts his army, Saul is paralyzed and doesn't react. Young David, the "Cinderella" son of Jesse, arrives with some food for his more important brothers, hears Goliath, takes out his slingshot, and kills him. I call King David the "Cinderella," because, like the Fairy Tale character, he was from a distinguished family, but treated like a servant. His brothers were raised to be national leaders, but he was kept out, sent off to be a shepherd. Now read Chapter 16 in The First Book of Samuel. Again, the similarities are really spooky. I see our hilltop youth in the description of young David and the fear of today's regime echoes in Samuel's as he tries to avoid G-d's orders. "And Samuel said, 'how can I go? If Saul will hear of it, he will kill me.'" (First Samuel 16, 2) Think of the government ministers "holding onto their seats" rather than defying Sharon. Reading our once and forever history book, the Bible, we learn that because he didn't follow G-d's commandments, Saul loses Samuel's backing in one of most pathetic scenes in the Bible and secular literature. The once kingly Saul crying, begging, pleading and grabbing Samuel's cloak, willing to do anything just to remain king (First Samuel 15, 22-35.) It ends with G-d being sorry for ever having had appointed Saul king. My writing, even at its best, can't compete with the compelling narrative of the Holy Bible, so I suggest that you read it in whatever language is easiest for you to comprehend. If we continue to follow our ancient history, then our troubles won't be over for a while. It took quite a few years for David to begin his reign over the entire Jewish Nation. Our struggle is far from over, but as long as we follow G-d's commandments, b'ezrat Hashem, t'hiyeh Geula shleimah, b'mheira, b'yameinu, With G-d's help, there will be a complete redemption in our day, soon. This is Musing #101. Batya Medad lives in Shiloh. She can be reached by email at Shilohmuse@yahoo.com or visit her website http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/ or go to http://www.shilo.org.il To Go To Top

THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 20, 2005.

Somehow Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been selected as the key master to open the portals of an Islamic Hell, starting in Gaza. Early arrivals such as Hamas, Hezb'Allah, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim, Fatah, Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigade (Abu Mazen's own Terror organization), have already promised to set the earth on fire for the Jews and all other infidels. (They mean Christians.) We have already seen the wars, the atrocities, including the felling of the Twin Towers in New York with more than 3000 dead within minutes. How are Hell's representatives selected to open the doors to the netherworld? Are they selected for the evil that's already in them so the seduction is that much easier? How do we tell them apart? Is the key to their beastiality that they mostly begin their conquest by attacking Jews? We saw it in Hitler; we saw it in Stalin; we saw it for centuries in the Church as their crusades targeted the Jews as the enemy. Now we see a Jew preparing to attack what we thought were his own people. Granted in a review of Jewish history, these were evil Jewish Kings, like Herod who made common cause with the enemies of the Jewish people. Were these evil people Hell's key carriers? Was it their assignment to open the doors of Hell each in their own time? Sharon is about to deport Jews so he can make Gaza into a Devil's Playground. Yes, he sends out smoke-screens, talking peace - but he has already been advised by many in his Cabinet, senior Military officers, the highest ranking Intelligence Directors that Gaza will become a hell-hole or better said: the Devil's Playground with Arab Muslim Terrorists coming in from all over the world to make Gaza a center for Global Terrorism. Sharon not only ignored these professional warnings but, managed to get rid of anyone who might stand in his way. I am mindful of the belief of the Gentiles that a man will appear to talk peace but will start horrific wars and he will be called the anti-Christ. The Jews have their own prophecy of the War of Gog and Magog where the nations will gather to war against the Jewish people - only to be destroyed when they believe their victory is assured - and the Jews will win. We are also told that our greatest enemies shall come from within. Sharon had many years to distinguish himself in battle and to gain the confidence of the Jewish people. But, once in power, he adopted the role of a Caesar or a demi-god on earth. He now prepares for a ruthless war against his own people in which he seems to revel. Like a mad Nero or Herod, he will assault his own people in order to develop a Devil's Playground for a pagan people who issue proclamations in the name of their god to kill the Jews. That Devil's Playground will spawn a new breed of Terrorists who will reach far beyond Israel. They will activate radical Islamists who are already in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, the Gulf States, Iraq, Iran.... Muslims flooding Europe and America are already an incubator for Terror and strict Sha'aria Islamic schooling. The World will not know what hit them or where to turn. Israel, having been further reduced in size at the behest of the Bush Grand regional plan and with the assistance of Sharon, will be under constant attack. I have little doubt that those who brought this calamity upon Israel will be hunted as were the 'Judenrat' and 'Kapos' of Europe. I fear that there will be a Civil War in Israel which will continue for a long time now that Sharon has successfully divided the Jewish nations. One can only be reminded of Josephus' observations in his "War of the Jews". Leading men into battle against Arab Muslim invaders but, using those lessons of battle to fight Jews is perverted. Worse yet, are the Jews dedicated to pacifism and appeasement, having forgotten that groveling has invariably been treated with contempt - followed by another attack? At a recent meeting in Jerusalem between Sharon and the American Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, Sharon lied to them and they applauded enthusiastically. Sharon bragged that he led Company B in battle and then claimed he had gained the trust of the people when he won the election against Amram Mitzna. What Sharon neglected to say, and no one challenged him, was that he won because Mitzna's platform was to retreat from Gaza, Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley, the Golan Heights and all Jerusalem that Jordan had occupied for 19 years from 1948 to 1967. Sharon pledged that he rejected Mitzna's platform BUT, he lied. Because he has adopted the Mitzna terms, the Oslo Accords, the Barak agreements and even (probably soon) the Beilin Geneva plan. It no longer matters what motivates Sharon, except that he has proven to be a perfidious liar and the greatest real and present danger that the Jewish Nation has ever faced. He and Bush will be the Godfathers of a Devil's Playground and all the little Devils who will come to plan Terror. Incidentally, while Sharon is lying to the Jews of America, Israel's Military have been daily finding bombs of over 400 pounds being planted wherever the Arab Muslim Jihadists can reach. In the meantime, the Jews of the Left and the American Leftists are hugging each other in an orgy of joy for the coming peace. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

A RESPONSE TO ERIC YOFFE: CONFRONT THE EXTREMISTS. . . Posted by IsrAlert, February 20, 2005.

Eric Yoffe wrote an anti-Settler essay. It can be read at: http://www.isralert.com/archives/2005/02/confront_the_ex.php This is Rabbi Haim Cassorla's rebuttal. I find it very difficult to hold the right voice in response to Eric Yoffe's column. It is difficult to make arguments against propositions which are specious in foundation, and incendiary in their language, but it must be done, so I ask forgiveness in advance if I offend the sensibilities of the well-intentioned misled as I attempt to help them back onto the proper path by illuminating not only the proper path, but also the mines in the minefield through which they walk.The questions that Mr. Yoffe raises are all of a single piece and can fall into a single category, or question. The question is a question of legitimacy, but there are levels to the question and to the answer. I would like to address some of the levels of the question of legitimacy. Who is the "Legitimate Owner" of The Land? For the first pass at solving the "legitimacy" of ownership we will start this discussion at the Biblical level, which we might accept as the origin of the conflict over the ownership of The Land. We track back to Genesis, in the TORAH, in which, on authority recognized by Jews, Christians and Moslems alike, The Land is deeded in perpetuity to the children of Avraham Avinu (Our Father Abraham). Since these three Religions also agree that this text points to Ishmael and his nephew Esau, as being legitimate descendants of Avraham, the general deed, as per this text doesn't solve the problem by pointing to a "clear title." The later texts of the TORAH, (still in Exodus) reiterate the deeding of The Land to the descendants of Yitzhak (Isaac), and Ya'akov (Jacob). The reiteration to Isaac still is a "cloudy" title, in that we must remember that Esau, unlike his uncle, was not "sent away." Of the three Fathers, only one Patriarch has (something of) a clear line of descendants called Bnai Yisrael, (Children of Israel). Jacob's name was changed to Israel as he returned home after his self-imposed exile to the land of Padan-Aram. When the Children of Israel left Egypt, The Land was again promised, this time to the Children of Israel. This promise was reiterated at Sinai and again shortly after as Yehoshua bin Nun (Joshua), and Calev ben Yefune (Caleb) along with ten other "spies" selected from the Children of Israel were ordered to "spy out the Land" just prior to the intended invasion and reclamation of The Land Promised again! That was not the successful invasion, but the aborted planned invasion that led to the "40 Years in the desert." From the moment of the invasion of The Land documented in the Book of Joshua, there has ALWAYS been a Jewish presence in some part of The Land. No matter who conquered The Land, or who overthrew the government by coup d'etat, or who invaded, there was ALWAYS a Jewish presence; Jews living in The Land. The list of "temporary," and "wannabe" conquerors is long and distinguished. The list includes a few Popes, and Kings of England. It also includes in the "wannabe" list, the great Napoleon Bonaparte, and some of The Land was even conquered by The Prophet Mohammed. I put Napoleon and Mohammed together since both failed in their intended conquest. Napoleon made it a few kilometers inland from Acco, while Mohammed, tried to convert the Jews living in Jerusalem to his new religion of Islam and when the Jews refused to convert, Mohammed declared that prayers should be recited in the fetal position with the head pointed to Mecca. This position points the nether parts toward Jerusalem, and that position (with respect to Jerusalem) was intentional on Mohammed's part, as "punishment" for the Jews not converting to Islam. I will jump now to the Ottoman Empire, which "owned" The Land in the latter years of the eighteenth century of the Christian era. As per Ottoman Law there were very good records kept of who lived on the land of "Greater Syria" and of who owned that land, (in Ottoman eyes). Lands that were not held directly by the Ottoman government were mostly owned by absentee landlords and farmed by sharecroppers. With the rise of the Zionist movement, the Jewish National Fund began buying up The Land to be held "in Trust for the Jewish People." Often these Lands were purchased several times over by the JNF just to insure a "clear Title." In the meantime, the Balfour Declaration, several British White Papers, and later a declaration by the League of Nations set aside The Land for the purpose of "establishing a National Homeland for the Jewish People." The British were given temporary Custody of The Land under a "mandate" from the League of Nations. The Land was then known as "the Palestine Mandate," or "Mandatory Palestine." The first step that the British took towards "establishing a National Homeland for the Jewish People" was to lop off all of The Land east of the Jordan River and give it to a Bedouin family. This land was known as Trans-Jordanian Palestine. The family made it a Kingdom and renamed it the Hashemite Kingdom of Trans-Jordan, and then later changed it to Jordan, (although they still call it the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan). That Kingdom consists of about 75% of the land allocated for the purpose of "establishing a National Homeland for the Jewish People." The JNF continued to acquire lands by purchasing them and the Yishuv, (THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT) continued to grow. As the Yishuv grew and the economy of The Land began to grow, more and more Arabs moved into the area to benefit from the growing economy. On November 29,1948 CE, the United Nations voted to "partition" the remainder of British Mandatory Palestine into two States; a Jewish State and an Arab State. Reluctantly, THE JEWISH SETTLERS accepted the UN Resolution. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, (A Nazi collaborator), told the Arabs in the remaining areas of British Mandatory Palestine to leave so that the armies of the neighboring Arab States could "Drive the Jews into the Sea." When the dust settled, THE JEWISH SETTLERS had a larger State than they (we) would have been willing to settle for, and Seven Established Arab States had bloody noses. By this time there were several SETTLEMENTS on the ridgeline running south from Jerusalem toward Bethlehem. This group of SETTLEMENTS was called Gush Etzion. In the period leading up to the (first Battle of) The War of Independence, these settlements were systematically attacked and their residents were killed by marauding "bands" of "Arab irregulars" until the SETTLEMENTS had to be abandoned. The Jewish Settlement in Hebron was also attacked and eventually abandoned. Hebron had been a site of continuous Jewish presence until the riot and massacre of the Jewish citizens of Hebron in 1929, from which time it was abandoned until its liberation in 1967. The UN passed some resolutions asking for us to negotiate boundaries, and we were willing, but they weren't. The first Battle of the War of Independence ended with a UN brokered cease-fire, and a cease-fire line that came to be known as the Green Line. It was originally called the Green Line, because it was drawn in green marker on the map. As time progressed toward 1967 CE, many more battles were fought and the Green Line became a line on the ground; green on our side, brown on the other side. In 1956 CE, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. Great Britain, France, (and maybe even the United States), backed the "Sinai Campaign" to force Egypt to relinquish the Canal to the British (as it had been British until the "nationalization"). After the IDF conquered all of the Sinai Peninsula, the British, French, and the United States forced Israel to retreat to the Green Line. It is important to note that from the end of the first Battle, at the time of the UN Supervised Armistice, Egypt retained control of the Gaza Strip, and Jordan retained control of Judea and Samaria and Eastern Jerusalem. The Palestinian People didn't exist, and none of the residents of these areas were granted citizenship by either of the Occupying powers. Or for that matter, by any of the Arab States which offered them some shelter, (usually accompanied by employment in menial labor positions). The REFUGEES, as they were now called, were under the care of the UN - specifically, under the care of UNRWA - The United Nations Refugee and Works Agency, an agency specifically and solely designed to care for and feed the REFUGEES. Unlike all other refugees in the world, who were resettled and integrated into various countries, the Arab REFUGEES in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza were never resettled or integrated into any other state. The UNRWA hired local people to administer their programs and the local people used UN monies to publish hate materials and called them "schoolbooks." The UN has always denied "responsibility" for these materials. I agree with the UN; they demonstrated no responsibility on any level with regard to the education, or health care of the REFUGEES. The terms of the Armistice included provisions for Jews as well as all other religious pilgrims to pray at all Holy Sites throughout the land that was once British Mandatory Palestine. The terms also included the status of Jerusalem, (all of Jerusalem) as an international city with guarantees of passage by the UN. The Hadassah Hospital, and the Hebrew University campus were on Mt. Scopus, in the Jordanian controlled part of the city, as were the Western Wall and all of the Temple Mount. Jews were never allowed access to any Jewish Holy sites in Jordanian Occupied Territory. As we found out after the liberation of Judea and Samaria, during the period of the ILLEGAL JORDANIAN OCCUPATION of Judea and Samaria, Jewish Holy Sites were ransacked and gravestones from cemeteries were torn up to be used as paving stones and urinals in hotels in Eastern Jerusalem. In 1967 CE, Israel responded to attacks from its neighbors, Egypt and Syria. In the ensuing battle, the IDF made quick work of the Egyptian army, and had the Syrian army on the run. The government of Israel was in contact with the king of Jordan and advised him that Israel would not open fire on Jordan unless provoked. After three days of battles the governments of Egypt and Syria convinced the Jordanians to open a third front to help relieve pressure on their armies. In Six Days, the Israel Defense Forces recaptured all of the Sinai Peninsula, and liberated all of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza, and captured the Golan Heights, from which the Syrians had been shelling Israel's SETTLEMENTS, such as Machanaim, and many of the other Kibbutzim in the north of Israel. We built this country. We accepted the Jews who had lived in all of the Arab countries and who were expelled after the foundation of the State of Israel. We accepted Jews from all over the world who said that they would rather live in Israel, than live without Israel. We welcomed real REFUGEES from South Vietnam when nobody else wanted to open a single door to them. We agreed to peace talks. We built a real economy. We built scientific institutions and industrial powerhouses. We welcomed Arabs from the Territories and employed them in meaningful high paying jobs in Israel, while government after government lacked the guts to "draw a line," and give Israel a border. But government after government of Israel SENT PEOPLE to the new cities which the Government Built as a "security shield," and To SETTLE The Land, which the government knew, is Israel but never had the backbone to declare as Israel. Government after Government has engaged in "making facts on the ground." Government after Government in Israel has been elected either on a platform of "Land for Peace" or, as the Sharon government was, elected on a platform of NOT following in the footsteps of the "Land for Peace," people. Who is the "Legitimate" Government of Israel? The Government of Israel is a Parliamentary government made of one house of 120 seats. The Prime Minister is the leader of the government and maintains that position as long as he can hold a majority in the Knesset, (Legislature). The Prime Minister is supposed to be the head of his party. Until recently, the party with the most seats in the Knesset chose the Prime Minister after the general election. The current Prime Minister of Israel ran on a platform of not yielding an inch of Israel. He was going to abandon the Oslo process. He was going to make peace through strength. Sharon backed the settlements.And now, faced with major opposition by the citizens of Israel, and within his own party, Sharon has brought back those he "kicked out," because without the support of the Labor Party, the government would collapse. A Democracy, or even a Democratic Republic only is legitimate as long as it holds the support of the people governed. There is good reason to doubt that the Sharon government has the support of the people. The People are the only "Legitimate" source of power. As a further indication of the illegitimacy of the Sharon government, the legislation authorizing the payments to the ISRAELIS BEING FORCEABLY REMOVED FROM THEIR HOMES passed without a majority in the Knesset. This was how the legislation finally made it after all the manipulation of the coalition by Sharon to "guarantee" approval. "Extremists" is a Religious Term As you may know by now, Judaism as promoted by the School of Hillel the Elder, supports the concept of "the Golden Mean." We all promote the idea that extremism is an evil. There are few epithets worse than "Extremist." But of course, the question is who is an "extremist." Dennis Prager used to say that each of us knows that we embody the "golden mean: Everyone less observant than I is an Apikoros; and anyone more observant than I is an Extreme Orthodox." Surely a homesteader in a (new?) town who moved to that town as long as thirty years ago at the urging of the government is not a proper pawn in the chess game of global power politics. Surely a homeowner who has raised a family in the house that the government is promising to tear down has a right to protest. Surely, a person who has defended his country for a lifetime and has put his life on the line every day living the life of a moving target for the terrorists, has a right to complain when the government that he elected to protect him sells him out. Don't you think that a government that gives away land, and frees terrorists time after time in the hope of reciprocity that never has materialized is more "extremist" than the honest members of the Yishuv - THE JEWISH SETTLERS IN THE NATIONAL HOMELAND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE? What is a "Legitimate" Response to a Threat on (Y)Our Existence? Throughout Jewish history, we have been beset by enemies. The threat to our existence is so constant and consistent that we take time to mention it at the Pesakh (Passover) Seder (Religious Service/Meal). We recite, "In every generation, they come against us to destroy us." In every generation we have been required to face this test, but of all the instances three stand out. On Pesakh, we celebrate our leaving exile and returning "home" to The Land as our response to the threat annihilation. On Purim, we celebrate self-defense as our response to the threat of annihilation. On Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) we mourn the period in our recent history when the Jewish communities of Europe were slaughtered, while the world stood by and watched. George W. Bush is the President of the United States of America. His job is to "protect and defend" the people of the United States of America. Israel is NOT one of the 50 States. Governments have not friends. Governments only have allies. Allies are those who support and advance each other's needs and priorities. When the needs and priorities are no longer the same, the alliance weakens, or ends. France and Germany have determined that their interests and priorities are no longer identical to those of the United States, and we see the results of this decision in their foreign policy. Arik Sharon is the Prime Minister of Israel. His job is to "protect and defend" the people of the State of Israel. His first consideration should always be the safety and security of the people of the State of Israel. He has three models to choose from: Pesakh, Purim, or Yom HaShoah. To make it abundantly clear to those who need to have it spelled out: We have nowhere to run. We will not be slaughtered again.We must defend ourselves. America is NOT Israel's "friend." The interests of the United States of America are not identical to the interests of the State of Israel. And on a personal note, General: Wars can either be won or lost. If you are not intent on winning, you are going to lose. This is the true lesson of Vietnam. Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com To Go To Top

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE LEFT VERSUS THE CITIZENS OF ISRAEL Posted by Dr. Ron Breiman, February 20, 2005.

The decision by the government of the Left, headed by Sharon, to execute the "disengagment" is an unspeakable step, nothing less than a declaration of war by a government against its own citizens. Professors for a Strong Israel rejects the decision as anti-Zionist, anti-democratic, and immoral. We believe it is incapable of execution and, as such, will find its place in the dustbin of history. We deplore the accompanying campaign of incitement against millions of loyal citizens, whose only crime is to oppose this tyranny. We urge the public and the government to heed the warnings of the Chief of Staff and of the head of the Shin Bet, who argue that this dangerous gamble will revitalize terrorism. They have been relieved of their posts only because they voiced their professional opinions. Once again we call on every loyal citizen, on every loyal Jew wherever he is, and on every government official to stop this dangerous transfer program. The threatened expulsion is illogical, inhumane, unethical, un-Jewish, and - not least - illegal. If it is carried out, it will constitute a catastrophe on all fronts: security, diplomatic, economic, social, ethical, and constitutional; the harm caused to the state will be irreversible. Every citizen has the supreme duty of preventing the expulsion by all non-violent means that will deter the Prime Minister from continuing on the road to catastrophe. We call on the Prime Minister to disengage from his hazardous course, to forget about giving the patently illegal order of expulsion - an order that must not be given and that must not be carried out. Non-violent civil disobedience against the violent expulsion order will prevent a national rift and return unity to the nation! For the sake of unity in the IDF, the IDF must not be involved in this dangerous political game, and must not be ordered to employ violence against the citizens! The transfer will not pass!!! Dr. Ron Breiman is Chairman of PSI. Contact him by phone at 050-5-518 940 To Go To Top

AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS SUMMER? Posted by Nadia Matar, February 20, 2005.

These are difficult times. Our country is being kidnapped, before our very eyes, by a band of politicians, thugs, and frauds, led by Ariel Sharon, who, like a real dictator, in Bolshevik style, wants to force his disastrous plan upon us. The Sharon plan not only endangers the entire settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza- it threatens all our lives and delegitimizes the continued existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state. A witch-hunt is currently underway against anyone who dares to oppose the Sharon plan. Lies are spread by public officials who presumably are attacked by opponents of "disengagement" It is clear to all that these episodes never happened. There is the use of horrifying force by the police against nonviolent demonstrators - and the list of such incidents grows each day. The aim of all this is obvious: First, to divert the attention of the public from the true crime of the Israeli government, a crime that includes the release of terrorists; the handing over of parts of the homeland to the enemy and their transformation into Judenrein Fatahland, from where missiles will be launched at all of Israel's major cities; the training and rearming of the PLO army; the entry of Jordanian and Egyptian soldiers close to our homes; and who knows what else. So that the public will not devote too much thought to the immorality of this course of events and all the dangers and murder of Jews that will result from the criminal Sharon plan, which is a sort of "mega-Oslo," the decision was taken to assault those who cry out. The second goal, obviously, is to intimidate all those who intend to demonstrate and protest. The documents circulating on the Internet concerning all the plans of the police, that include the use of overwhelming force against demonstrators; the promise not to indict violent policemen who attack and brutalize demonstrators; the plan to separate parents from children; the building of camps for prolonged detention of thousands of demonstrators, and even the government's willingness to shoot Jewish demonstrators - all are truly intimidating and shocking. The government wants to lead us to despair, to implant in us the feeling that everything is lost, that there is no point in even opening our mouths and crying out. We must not fall into this trap! Not only are we capable of stopping the Sharon plan, but the more that the Sharon regime's persecution campaign intensifies, the more strength and encouragement we should draw from this, and realize that they are in a state of total panic, and they rightly fear that they will not be able to realize their malicious schemes. This is best illustrated by a short story that should light the way for us, and that was mentioned by Rabbi Binyamin Lau in the Kislev 5765 (November 2004) issue of Nekudah. In the year 40 CE the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula proclaimed his intent to erect a idol in the Temple in Jerusalem. The edict was to be implemented by the Syrian procurator Petronius with two legions. In practice, this was a declaration of war against the Jews and Judaism. Both Philo and Josephus describe the profound shock of the Jews when they heard of this horrendous decree. Philo describes what happened when Petronius arrived in Tiberias with his forces, on his way to Jerusalem: Some of Petronius' men saw a multitude approaching. The multitude of Jews came as swiftly as a cloud, and covered the face of the land of Phoenicia. Then the sound of shouting, wailing, and the clapping of hands was heard, so awesome that the ears of the listeners could not bear it. This sound did not cease even when the people stopped screaming, rather its echoes reverberated even after they had already fallen silent. The Jews were divided into six divisions: the older men, youth, and boys on one side, and the older women, maidens, and girls on the other. When Petronius appeared, the Jews told him: We have not come to fight, for who can strive with the Emperor? But there are only two possibilities: either not to erect the idol, or to destroy all the people of Judah entirely. Accordingly, if you have resolved to erect an idol in the Temple, then kill us all first, and then do what your heart desires. For as long as we are capable of taking even a single breath, we may not permit anything against our Torah to be done. We are not so witless as to raise a hand against the mighty emperor. Behold, our necks are extended for slaughter, and our lives to be taken. When not a single one of us is left, then carry out the order of Gaius. In other words, tens of thousands of Jews - men, women, and children - left their homes, left the fields at the height of the harvest, and came in the height of the summer heat, to stand without arms and without violence, against the Roman army, and state simply: We cannot remain in our homes and allow this decree to be implemented. We will stand here in masses, and you will be forced to kill us all if you desire to carry out this crime. The Jews remained there for weeks. Petronius realized that he could not fight against this popular uprising. Caligula was furious, and even threatened to sentence the procurator to death if he did not obey the order. And then a miracle occurred. Caligula was killed in Rome during some political strife that was totally unrelated to the events in Eretz Israel, the decree was abrogated, and calm returned to Judea. The Sharon decree is a declaration of war against the Jews, against Zionism, and against the State of Israel. As our forefathers acted during the time of Caligula in order to prevent the execution of the decree, with nonviolent civil disobedience, it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to go this summer to Gush Katif, or to the closest place to Katif if the area will be sealed off, and to prevent, with his body, the execution of the decree - without violence and without the use of force. The masses will prove decisive, and, with God's help, will defeat all of Sharon's plans for the security forces. Before thinking about the logistics of the operation (how to come, what to do with the children, what about work, how will we have food, what will we do if arrested, and many more important questions) we must first psychologically prepare ourselves and our families: this summer, all of us will be in Gush Katif. We will not go on vacation to the Golan or to Eilat or abroad. We will not plan trips, picnics, or even a kumsitz. This summer there are no plans, except one: masses of people going to Gush Katif. It cannot be that a Jew who is loyal to his land and his heritage will stay home with arms folded and watch the horrendous events on television. Some will already come months before the uprooting date. Some will come for two weeks, some for one. But no one will stay at home. This message has to be delivered, already now, to all the members of our families, and to our friends and acquaintances. There is no doubt that the arrival of tens of thousands of Jews to the area earmarked for uprooting, together with the tens of thousands of soldiers and policemen who will refuse to implement the crime of deportation, and the tens of thousands of others who will disrupt the entire country with demonstrations and the blocking of roads from the north to the south, will, with G-d's help, succeed in preventing the execution of the decree. All the intimidation, the threats, the arrests, and the silencing of protests will be of no avail. Our strength lies in our numbers. Our strength lies in our determination. Our strength lies in our faith in Hashem and in the justice of our cause. "They call on chariots, they call on horses, but we call on the name of the L-rd our G-d. They collapse and lie fallen, but we rally and gather strength. O L-rd, grant victory! May the King answer us when we call." (Psalms 20:8-10) Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

ABBAS IS FAILING IN HIS ROAD MAP-MANDATED EFFORTS TO QUELL TERROR IN HIS BACKYARD Posted by Marion Dreyfus, February 20, 2005.

I sent this to Time magazine. To the Editor: While Time continues to maintain the thin fiction that the new PA suzerainty under legatee Mahmoud Abbas -- nom de guerre, Abu Mazen -- is after a much-sought-after peace, the truth is not thus. Abbas has in English mouthed the pieties, but in all other venues, and in Arabic for the ingestion of his own constituency, he continues to permit free rein -- and bolsters! -- to the numerous freelance terror groups under his putative banner. The temporary ceasefire ("hudna" means opportunistic halt until the enemy is inattentive, then strike again) undertaken for moments last week was never agreed to by the Arab factions lobbing missiles, rockets and assorted weaponry at any Israelis within reach; the West is too desperate to accept the lineaments of 'peace' from those whose entire business is promulgating myths for the consumption of Western media. Granted, it is sadly difficult for even a well-intentioned leader of such unyielding sociopaths as train their very children to kill themselves --along with others--for some monstrous nonsense goal to achieve a foothold on the stony path to reconciliation. But to cede the cynical mouthings of a man who denies the Holocaust (Abbas earned his PhD denying the Holocaust occurred, and derided the figures of Jewish dead by a factor of 100s) as sincere is aiding the flim-flammery, and does nothing to advance true civility in the region. Israel has been conceding land and goodwill, prisoners with murder on their hands and tolerance; theArab moiety under the PA in the past, and continuing on until today, has balked at asserting even the mildest reproof or the most elementary limitation on institutionalized maverick murder. No one is assisted when the West consistently fails to identify terror moguls for what they manifestly are. Mazen has yet to put any teeth into his efforts, or to back his assurances with anything beyond the same undisguised Potemkin-figure inanities of his unlamented predecessor. Marion Dreyfus can be contacted at dreyfusmarion@hotmail.com To Go To Top

PREPPING THE POLICE FOR GAZA EXPULSION Posted by Yocheved Golani, February 20, 2005.

This was sent to me from Eliyahu Levine. These are the sites with the information (Hebrew) http://www.inn.co.il/news.php?id=103856 http://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/6295.shtml The full police program will be made public at the Chabad convention, Thursday 24th February 2005 at Binyamei Hauma. See: http://www.sos-israel.com/images/news/90909070.jpg http://www.sos-israel.com/dispimage.asp?ID=1034&dir=news (SORRY ABOUT POOR TRANSLATION) ----- Original Message ----- From: Eliyahu Levine To: moshebur@actcom.co.il ; Aryeh Sonnenberg ; Colin Leci ; Buckman Family ; Eliyahu ; 1 (Frontier) ; barry freedman ; Devorahk ; docben10@yahoo.com ; Eliezer Adam ; Yocheved Golani Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 12:23 AM Subject: I dont believe it myself. Both of these links take you to following document (SEE ATTACHMENT for Hebrew) http://www.inn.co.il/news.php?id=103856 http://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/6295.shtml The full police program will be made public at the Chabad convention - Thursday 24th February 2005 at Binyamei Hauma. see- http://www.sos-israel.com/images/news/90909070.jpg http://www.sos-israel.com/dispimage.asp?ID=1034&dir=news (SORRY ABOUT POOR TRANSLATION) The following is part of an interview with a policeman who has just finished a course to prepare him for the "Hitnatkut". * On May 15th all the passages to Gush Katif will be closed and declared a closed military zone. No-one enters, no-one leaves. From June 15th all vacations for the Israeli police will be canceled. All police personal are to be called up for 2 and a half months continuesly without going home. From July 15th, the actual dismantling will begin,and will continue approx. 2 months. * The will be large conferences for the wives of police officers to explain to them the importance of the hour and that they should understand that they will not see the husbands for 2 and a half months but they shouldn't be so disturbed as their husbands are involved in a very important opperation. * Each settler will have appointed to him/her 4 policeman. According to the number of people inside the house so the the number of police will be multiplied by 4. *With each team that enters a house will be accompanied by a camera man to photograph all the movements thereby frightening all the settlers as not to physically oppose or to behave violently against the policeman. * The police will perform the dismantling without name tags, this among other reasons is to prevent settlers from prosecuting the police for violent behavior in the courts.It has been made known to the police in the clearest terms that the "office for investigating police complaints" will not deal with complaints during the months of the withdrawal. Also afterwards they will try to turn an eye and defend the police whenever they can. * The course is teaching special classes of physical combat, and the main purpose is to learn different methods as to apply pain without leaving any marks. For example: If a mother is holding her baby in her arms, and you want to remove her, first you have to remove the baby physically, and how do you do that. Therefore we learnt different methods how to apply pain through pressure points or how to dismantle the hand "gently", and she will have no choice other than to release the baby. But everything is done so that afterwards there will be no signs of violence and she can't claim that she was hit. After the children will be removed from their mother, they will immediately be placed in the care of social workers, they will drag the mother to a bus and only after will she receive her child. * Immediately after removing the families from their home, the moving companies will start their work to remove the furniture and pack it on trucks. After everything has been removed, immediately the doors and windows will be sealed with bricks or metal in a way that the house cannot be penetrated again. After the sealing, a guard will be place on every house. * The dismantlement will be Yeshuv, Yeshuv, not all at once.Once the residents of a Yeshuv have been removed and the houses sealed,soldiers will be placed to guard the Yishuv in order to prevent settlers from returning to it. * The settlers will be taken to caravan sites or hotels specially prepared in advance. Also there they will be placed under guard so that the settlers cannot try and return. * A large number of the police in the course are not Jewish, like Beduim and other gentiles. * The Jewish police, on the other hand, are very shocked and find themselves involved in an internal conflict. During the breaks of the course they spoke among themselves saying that just from the course alone they are in need of psychological help. Anyway after the course, all the police are being taken for a special psychological treatment program, to help them deal emotionally with the task being placed upon them for 2 straight months. * To sum up, the officer said while trembling: " The settlers do not understand what awaits them, they have no chance whatsoever to win this battle. Apart from being removed from their homes and having them given to terrorists, they will also see how strangers are packing their belongings, are for sure there will be looting. They will be transported like animals, inhumanly to places of concentration. The pinui (dismantling) and everything else involved will break them emotionally and place them in depression. They will not be able to continue normally, their lives will be destroyed. Yocheved Golani provides a journalist and writing service; she does author reviews and book reviews. She can be reached at her websites: www.ygolani.com, www.yochevedgolani.com To Go To Top

THE LORD HAW-HAWS OF THE LEFT, OR, LONG LIVE GEOFFREY PERRY'S PEACE plan! Posted by Steven Plaut, February 19, 2005.

Comrades! The time has come to give Geoffrey Perry his rightful place in history. Perry is one of history's great unsung heroes. His act of courage sets a role model for how the world can deal with the pro-terror professors and "intellectuals" in the anti-Western Left today. Yes, comrades, in a few weeks it will be the 60th anniversary of the day that Geoffrey Perry shot Lord Haw-Haw in the ass. Let us all hold campus Geoff Perry Days this year! Invite some leftist professors! Lord Haw-Haw was the Ward Churchill of World War II. He spent the war turning out pro-nazi propaganda that Hitler broadcast into Britain from Berlin. Lord Haw-Haw was born William Joyce in Brooklyn, NY, but was raised in Ireland. In 1934 he obtained a British passport by lying, and when World War II broke out, he moved to Germany and took German citizenship. He spent the war making radio broadcasts on behalf of Hitler. The British press nicknamed him Lord Haw-Haw. Toward the end of the war, Lord Haw-Haw was trying to find a place to hide from the advancing allied armies. In the spring of 1945 he was wandering through a forest near Hamburg, apparently trying to make his way to Denmark, when a young Jewish lieutenant in the British army named Geoffrey Perry shot Lord Haw-Haw in the ass. (Haw Haw had reached into a pocket in a suspicious manner but turned out later to be unarmed.) Haw-Haw's ass made a rapid recovery that allowed him to be hanged as a traitor later the next summer. Yes, Britain, the mother of all democracies, hanged traitors. It did not give them tenure at its universities. Before moving to Berlin, Haw-Haw had set up his own peace organization in Britain, opposing Britain's war for oil and colonialism, supporting the right of Germans to resist British aggression, calling itself the British National Socialist League. Geoff Perry is still alive in London today, leading a quiet life, relishing that ass shot. Now HERE is a good homework assignment for undergrads at a school near you. Should Geoffrey Perry's actions be a model for all of us struggling today against the Lord Haw-Haws of the American and Israeli Far Lefts? You know, those people who support bin Laden, rationalize al-Qaeda, celebrate Palestinian terror, and demonize Jews? The people who fill the pages of Counterpunch and similar outfits with anti-American and anti-Jewish propaganda? The people who serve as the 21st century Tokyo Roses and the academic Lord Haw-Haws? Please turn in your papers by Geoff Perry Day! Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

GUSH KATIF/GAZA = CLOSED MILITARY WAR ZONE Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 19, 2005.

As the Warsaw Ghetto was leveled during WW 2, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered the 21 Jewish farming communities in Gush Katif/Gaza to be a "closed military zone", literally a "war-zone" under marshal law. Israeli civilians, friends, family of residents and even (especially) journalists, photographers and videographers will require special permits (generating long lines at entry points). The residents legally licensed weapons will be confiscated so they cannot defend themselves and their families from the danger of the surrounding Gazan Arabs. This, of course, ratchets up Sharon's "Misery Index" as part of his para-military tactics to break down the resistance of the Jewish residents and to deny the world a picture of what he intends to do to them. This is Sharon's plan for cutting off supporters from all other parts of Israel so they may not join Sharon's targets in sympathy or moral support. The world Media will be cut off and handed press releases, carefully worded to obscure what is really being done to the pioneering residents. [I recall Yassir Arafat's brother doing the same thing in Beirut at the Commodore Hotel where the world press was quartered (read: quarantined). No mention of Terror - and G-d help the journalist who printed the truth.] We are informed by various Internet sources that only Israeli soldiers will be allowed to photograph the routing of Gazan Jews from their homes. The clubbings and dragging out of women and children will be censored - as will the digging up our dead from the Jewish cemeteries. I presume that the Leftist Hebrew Media will willingly go along with this propaganda slant. THE WARSAW GHETTO....AGAIN We all recall how the Nazis were so surprised and angered by the resistance of the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. Jews were not expected to fight back against the vaunted Army of the Nazi Third Reich. The unarmed Jews held out against the powerful Nazi Army for three weeks. In a rage the Nazi General Staff ordered the Ghetto's total destruction. Those Jews who remained fought bravely against Nazi soldiers who used every weapon available to kill or capture (and then kill) the stubborn, resisting Jews. I wonder how long the Jews of Gush Katif will hold out against overwhelming forces whose orders are to brutally crush them - if they refuse to be uprooted. "NEVER AGAIN" The call of "Never Again" is not only happening again but, this time its being done at the behest of a Jew named Ariel (Arik) Sharon. Jews are about to undergo a major assault by Jewish soldiers (or non-Jews recruited into the Jewish Army for this purpose). There is little difference in the title or description. Being driven out of their homes, farms, businesses, factories, greenhouses, schools, synagogues and even their cemeteries will be brutal - even if the Jewish Army and/or Police do not want to do it. The Settlers will suffer injuries, possibly being beaten (already happening). One source said mothers would have to hand their nursing babies over to social workers if they refuse to board their evacuating buses. Is it too harsh to make the analogy between the Nazis who deported Jews from their homes (to die) with Jews who deport other Jews from the homes (hopefully to live somewhere else in the supposedly Jewish moral State of Israel)? I don't think it's harsh enough. Maybe it's worse. How can we do this to our own people? Or allow it to happen? Where is the righteous indignation of the Diaspora Jews? American Jews fought for minorities to have the right to live anywhere in America. Why aren't they all demonstrating against these "Restrictive Covenants", which are unconstitutional in America - thanks to protest campaigns by American Jews? Same question for Jews from all the other countries of the world. As before, we observe the world media who artfully avoid telling the true story while supporting a man they hated - until he attacked peaceful, hard-working observant Jews whom they pejoratively called "Settlers". "JUDENREIN" GAZA WILL BECOME CENTER FOR GLOBAL TERROR Sharon fired those military people and Cabinet Ministers who objected to his plans to make Gaza "Judenrein" because it would open up a Southern Front for Arab Muslim Terrorists and Arab Armies to enter Israel. That included MK Uzi Landau, Maj. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, Head of the IDF, and Avi Dichter, Head of the GSS (Shabak Secret Services) among others. They all warned that retreating from Gaza would open the whole area to radical Islamic Terrorists from all over the world. Gaza will become a Center for Global Terrorists to gather, to train, to arm, to plan their attacks on Israel, Europe and even into America. We have already seen some of Sharon's measures for terrifying his intended victims. One protestor was arrested, driven to a barren location and beaten until his ribs were broken, with his vision and hearing compromised. Only then did they police bring his to the Police Station from whence he was removed to hospital. Does this remind you of the Warsaw Ghetto, or Kristallnacht - or isn't it bad enough - yet? Or does this remind you of the behavior of dictators of South America where people were 'disappeared' into dark prisons. The media were often shot if they reported negatively on the local dictator or the police - or if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and it appeared as if they might report what they were seeing. "DISENGAGEMENT" = RETREAT AND ABANDONMENT Sharon isn't saving the Jewish nation but, merely bringing the Arab Muslim Palestinian shooters and bombers closer to Israel's main population centers. But, he calls this by a vague, euphemistic word: "Disengagement". Sharon tell us all he is "Disengaging" from the Arabs so the Jews will be safe. Sounds like a load of B.S. to me. I wonder where Sharon will hide. I don't think Sharon could be pulled out of spider hole given his girth. Where will the rest hide - those who voted to enable him to launch an attack on the Jews of Gaza (first) - including 500 Jews from Samaria, more to follow, then the rest of Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights. Having retreated to a tiny piece of land, do you have any doubts that Israel under Sharon won't be 'forced' to give up all of Jerusalem that Jordan had occupied for 19 years from 1948 to 1967? Of course, these retreats will abandon all the Jewish Holy Sites including the Temple Mount and the Cave of the Machpelah. Do I believe that the Arab Muslim Terrorists from around the world will find a home and operating base in Gaza - Absolutely!! The new CIA Director Porter Goss, in testimony before Congress, made it plain that the Mujahadin Muslim Terrorists, now so well-trained in Iraq, will spread throughout the Middle East. They are already gathering in Europe and across the pond into America - some as deep cover moles. Porter Goss could have stated that many, like Hamas and Hezb'Allah, were already operating cells in Gaza and the cities turned over to the Arab Muslim Palestinians under Oslo. But, that is only a drop in the bucket compared to the large migration of Muslim fighters into Gaza. Add to that freedom of territory, they will no longer have to use the smuggling tunnels allowed by and from Egypt into Gaza. Now they will be able to transport large missiles, armaments and explosives easily by ship or even air without fear of interception. I can just hear the bleating and moaning from the Leftists, the Jews of Tel Aviv, the coast and the inner cities of Israel, crying to save them from the explosives and missiles from the closer Arab Muslim Palestinian firing positions. All will deny their part in agreeing (promoting) the deportation of their Jewish brothers and sister when the missiles start falling. They will say, blame Sharon. Blame Peres. And each will say: "Don't blame us!" Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

GUSH KATIF NEEDS YOUR HELP Posted by Ken Heller, February 19, 2005.

URGENT! CRISIS IS AT HAND! "DISENGAGEMENT" BILL NOW LAW! IN LESS THAN 5 MONTHS, OVER 8,500 GOOD JEWS WILL BE FORCIBLY EXPELLED FROM THEIR HOMES, FARMS, SCHOOLS AND SYNAGOGUES IN GUSH KATIF AND NORTHERN SAMARIA. LAND AND STRUCTURES WILL BE HANDED OVER TO ARAB KILLERS! PLEASE DO NOT STAND IDLY BY AS THIS TRAGEDY UNFOLDS! HELP US PROVIDE THE MEMBERS OF THOSE COMMUNITIES THE NECESSARY RESOURCES TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT THIS IMPENDING DISASTER. SEND YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO- "FRIENDS OF GUSH KATIF" AND MAIL IN CARE OF EITHER: In Israel: Katif Regional Development Fund Neve Dekalim, D.N HOF AZA 79779 In America: KEN HELLER, 11213 JEANES STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 19116 or: AMERICANS FOR A SAFE ISRAEL, 1623 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 205, NEW YORK, N.Y 10128 or: MARC ZWEBNER, 588 SOUTH FOREST DRIVE, TEANECK, NEW JERSEY 07666 Help give real meaning to the phrase, NEVER AGAIN"!!! Ken Heller is a pro-Israel activist and a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of Americans For A Safe Israel. He can be reached at kjhnha@aol.com. To Go To Top

MAYBE THE LEADERS COULD BE TESTED FOR DEMENTIA? Posted by Arlene Peck, February 19, 2005.

Recently, I wrote a column that I was going to be nice, and more subdued. I lied. I have tried. It is not nice to shout at the television station when I see Nazis like Pat Buchanan 'debate' men like Natan Sharansky on Meet the Press and listen to him rant on about the "Settlers" who have caused, by his accounts, everything that is wrong with the Middle East. In addition, as soon as they do the "right thing" and leave the country preferably, there will be peace and tranquility in the world. When does the thought of there being a transfer of the so-called Palestinian Arabs into one of their twenty-two nations instead of throwing Jews out of their own land become a viable issue? Actually, it looks as though that those that are leading Israel down the Road to Hell, are taking the Ann Frank philosophy of believing that people are actually really, really nice. Why else would they be announcing to the world that they no longer plan to be mean to the Palestinians and will no longer demolish the family homes of suicide bombers...? (Gee, is that terrorists killer bombers?) Nor, will they harm a hair or piece of property of any other 'attackers'. How nice! I wonder how soon Sharon is going to set up a fund to rebuild the homes of the terrorists. Unfortunately, according to the L.A Times, gloating in a recent article about Omri Sharon, the son, of the Israeli premier, (who invalidates my theory that Israeli men are the best looking in the world), shattered that theory. Omri (who obviously never had a date for the prom) is as corrupt as his father. According to the Times he is guity of fraud, perjury and breach of trust in connection with campaign financing. Gee, where did he learn that? When his dad was still a member of the Likud? After all, the "blood on their hands" theory is getting vague and, lately it seems, anything goes . I even heard a ludicrous rumor that this 'peace-keeper' Abu Mazen, released frozen funds to terror organizations with Hamas at the head of the list. And, could the rumor be true that he's now killing any Palestinian found 'guilty' of fighting terrorism within the Palestinian society? And, 350 more of these released terrorists are now being trained in his "security" forces to "fight terrorism." Hey, maybe you believe that I've got some land here in LA I"d like to sell you! It is not easy staying calm and benevolent when I watch the jails being opened and the streets once again flooded with yet more terrorists. Whose idea was that? I remember when Peres armed 40,000 of these "Palestinians" who were inducted into the PLO "army" and I wrote about they would be used against the Jews before the year was out. I was right, but, hey, it was enough for "Noble Peace Prizes" to be passed out. The way it's looking from here, it seems, after the last massive release of terrorist though it would be safer for the people in Israel to just lock themselves up in those same prisons to keep themselves away from the cretins who have been released from the Israeli jails. Hey, but living across the world, what do I know although I did spend five weeks in Beirut in June of 82 and again in 93 and many visits to Israel. I now waste most of my energy complaining about the stupid decisions of my own President. Moreover, probably, had Kerry gotten in, I would have been deploring his lack of leadership just as loudly. So, what can I say about men who from this distance, look as thought they are either lost it, or are being 'blackmailed' by someone to give into their demands? I am just an American. Actually, I am not even a very religious one. Now, that is something that could probably be seen in the eye of the beholder. Yet, I remember when I was living in Israel and the Israelis would tell me "I'm not religious." Moreover, I even think that they thought they meant it. Yet, they would always know when the Sabbath was. Most times, the streets would be empty by two o'clock in Friday so everyone would be preparing to travel to their mom's house for dinner. The flower stores would be doing a brisk business and the challahs in the bakeries were sold out if you did not pick one up early enough. It was unheard of not to light the candles at sundown. Anyway, you get the idea. What is not very religious to a Jew living in Israel is a lot more religious than what I see here in Los Angeles. When they say it here, the Jews of Beverly Hills really mean it. Most of the men have already left with blond Barbie Dolls named Whitney or lusting after an Asian girl from Thailand. Yet, despite all of that, I learned valuable lessons during my twenty-six trips and spans of time when I lived there. No matter what our varied backgrounds, when we spoke of "them" versus "us" we would be talking about the Muslims who were out to kill everyone in their wake. I remember being on the beach in Tel Aviv during an Independence Day demonstration. A half million of us were watching in awe (take out: at) the planes flying above. That in itself could have been enough, but, it was the unity of standing there, on the beach, along, with the religious, the young soldiers, girls in bikinis, tourists, a Hodge podge of people. However, we all had one thing in common, our Jewishness. And, the pride that we felt in that. Today, I am confused. When did the word "settler" become a negative entity? Then, they were the heroes. And, folks, that was not so long ago. What changed everything? I was not religious but, I liked the fact that there was an independent national radio, Arutz-7. I even went on as a guest of a few of the "religious stations." This, in retrospect, even though I am not too religious myself, was a nice experience. I am pretty much of a novice but what is wrong with Zionism in a Jewish state being high on the agenda? Truly, as someone living in a far away land, fifteen minutes from Beverly Hills, I don't understand the mentality of not only opening the jails, but then training 350 of them to become more of those same kind of "policemen" that Peres did, who killed so many thousands of Jews under his misguided and dangerous leadership. Tonight's news brought the revelation that Israel has now agreed to no longer destroy the homes of the terrorists in their efforts to "make nice" with the new Abbas 'aka what's his name' leadership. From this distance, and I'm sure there will be many of you to correct me if I'm wrong, it looks like Sharon has not only lost it but is determined to destroy even the illusion of Israel being a democracy. As a "tourist", I'm just asking, "How is it possible for him to split the country in two with the Jews in 'my' Israel being on the verge of a "civil war'?" As inconceivable as it sounds to me, living all the way across the ocean, I'm at a loss why Sharon desires to transfer all the "settlers" property to Arab Muslim Palestinians in addition to supplying them with water, electricity, etc., without getting ANYTHING in return. Am I missing something? On the other hand, maybe the stupid men who are leading Israel now who are so old that they have forgotten. They no longer remember the chaos that was caused by the Arab Muslim Palestinian "workers" who used their "worker" status to come in and rampage through the cities and murder every innocent Israeli civilian in their wake. As foolish as it sounds, I have even heard rumor that this is next on the agenda. Gawd, why bother to catch them? Of course, being a columnist myself, I know how little of the real news is actually read by the masses. So, maybe I am mistaken in my perception that Sharon is working as a puppet for Bush, Rice and Blair. Maybe he is just getting himself in line for the Noble Prize. After Suha? Arlene Peck is an internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess. She can be reached at: bestredhead@earthlink.net and www.arlenepeck.com To Go To Top

THIS UPROOTING PLAN Posted by Shimon Ansbacher, February 19, 2005.

I was (in Belgium) a survivor of the Holocaust, am 73 years old, an Israel's citizen, residing in Ma'aeh-Adumim near Jerusalem. I read in the past a lot of Jewish history. When I study the plan of Israel's Government to deracinate hundreds &/or thousands jewish families Jews from their homes, in the jewish Homeland, I perceive that this is worse than any kind of persecutions we had to suffer from non-jewish regimes during millennia, including also the Holocaust. Getting older I reduced my expectations from non-jews, in their attitude towards Judaism, Jews or Israel. But of jews & of their leadership I expected always a lot more. If this Uprooting Plan of "Judenreining" within the jewish Homeland by the Israel's Government goes through, it will, in my view, stain jewish history and be remembered as a major crime for all times. Contact the author at ansbache@zahav.net.il To Go To Top

POLICE PLAN TO USE NON-JEWS FOR EXPULSION Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 19, 2005.

This is more or less what I and a number of other independents have been warning for nearly a year. Furthermore, most of them will not even be Israeli policemen but out and out mercenaries given police uniforms. That is why there will be no name tags and immunity will be granted for all crimes. They have been recruited from Turkey, Egypt, Europe, Russia, Ukraine and the USA. There may even be some local Arabs as well. The EREV RAV have know for years that they would never be able to assemble enough Jews to pull off such a stunt. There has been a great deal said and written about the terrible situation where Brothers will have to raise hands against each other. Well we can see by what is developing that this will not exactly be the case. What is really being prepared is a mercenary army of vicious, Jew hating Goyim supplemented by a few psycho Jews who will be sent by the desperate rulers of Israel to rid themselves of a bunch of pesky Jews. In light of all this, those pesky Jews had better start reevaluating their options. This is a news item from today's Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com. It is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=77140 Police are preparing non-Jews to force Jews out of Gaza and northern Samaria and also are instructing policemen to hide identity badges, according to the B'Sheva weekly newspaper. Law enforcement officers also have been promised that the police department will not act on any complaints against police brutality during the evacuation, which is expected to take several weeks. B'Sheva also reported that police are being trained how to use violence without leaving any external signs which could be used as evidence against them. The government plans to close off Gush Katif as a closed military zone from May 15 and thus prohibit non-residents from entering, according to the investigative report. It disclosed that most of the policemen are non-Jews and that many Jewish policemen are suffering psychologically from the training they are receiving. Police will not wear identity tags in order to prevent any complaints or claims of brutality, B'Sheba stated. Policemen have been told no complaints will be filed for "minor things" such as breaking an arm. The newspaper said the entire police program is to be unveiled at a Chabad gathering this coming Thursday. The law enforcement agency plans to place four policemen for every resident to be evacuated. They also are preparing how to force mothers to release their babies, who are to be turned over to social workers until mothers agree to board buses. Police also plan to seal the houses permanently, and soldiers will be on duty to prevent residents from returning. The Gaza and northern Samaria residents are to be transported to hotels or mobile homes, where guards will keep them from protesting or blocking roads. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Posted by Yashiko Sagamori, February 18, 2005.

The Prophet's guidance was always, Before you attack someone, warn them very clearly and offer them a chance to convert to Islam. - Michael Scheuer, ex-CIA expert on Osama bin Laden We are doomed to destruction unless we start treating Islam the way we did Nazism. I am not calling for an anti-Muslim genocide: our decisive victory in WWII was achieved without exterminating the Germans. Instead, we exterminated Nazism. Today, we have no choice but to exterminate the most murderous ideology that has ever existed - Islam. - Yashiko Sagamori, Innocent Civilians at the Time of Jihad ----- Original Message ----- From: syednhussain@hotmail.com To: ysagamori@hotmail.com In the name of Allah Most Beneficent Most Merciful Dear Yashiko Sagamori, Read your article "PEACEMONGERS AND JIHADEERS" and found it to be distorted, fuzzy, full of hate and totally inaccurate. Your article is completely biased, thoroughly un-objective and completely rubbish. Tell me what pleasure do you get in wanting to have all of us nuked? It seems to me that you have done very little research on Islam and yet portray yourself as some form of world authority. Your name tells me that you are of Japanese origin. If that is the case, then you should do some research on the brutal behavior of your ancestors toward the Chinese women in WW2 and you will find these acts don't compare with anything done in the name of Islam. I have been convinced of your naivety on this subject matter and I am willing to engage with you to help change your erroneous views. If you do some proper research on Allah then I'm sure you will find with him rewards which money cannot buy. I ask you to remove your articles from the Internet and post an immediate apology. Be true to yourself. Regards Syed Hussain (Muslim)   Dear Syed Hussain (Muslim): You are not the first observant Muslim commenting on my essays. Like every single one before you, you freely express your displeasure but fail to provide even a single example of distortions and inaccuracies I, according to you, am guilty of. "Fuzzy"? Without an example, it's hard for me to say whether it's my fuzziness or your inability to connect commonly known facts and follow simple logic. "Un-objective"? Being neither a judge nor a reporter, I do not need to be objective. I only have to be truthful. Are you being truthful? Exactly to the extent expected from a jihadeer. In the article that caused your outrage, I describe not the pleasure, but the horror of my co-worker at the prospect of nuclear response to your September 11, 2001, attack on the United States. I wrote that all non-Muslims would share both the understanding of the necessity of such a terrible response and the horror at the death of hundreds of thousands human beings that it would inevitably bring. I specifically wrote the following: That pretty much defines the basic difference between Muslims and the rest of us. Nobody can push us to the point where we would celebrate death, because no such point exists. What words exactly did you mistake for an expression of pleasure? Please look at this photograph of a happy young Muslim with bloody hands. He is happy because he and his equally Muslim buddies have just torn apart two Jews. Look at it carefully: this is your happy face, not mine. This is my blood on your hands. You are saying I am not an expert on Islam. How can you tell? What is your own area of expertise? Certainly not the history of World War II. The inhumane treatment of prisoners of war and civilian population by the Japanese military is well documented. For what reason only the suffering of Chinese women succeeded in attracting your attention? This little omission tells me volumes about you. I suspect brothels staffed with captured (mostly, Korean) women, like those the Japanese army set up for its soldiers, present a special interest for you because they are the closest thing on earth to your idea of heaven. (You are in for a great disappointment.) As to their cruelty towards prisoners of war and civilians, both male and female, there can be only one reason why you consider it not worth mentioning: given an opportunity, Muslims do much worse things to those who find themselves at their mercy. Therefore, if you think that Japanese atrocities do not compare with anything done in the name of Islam, then you are certainly not an expert on Islam either. Today, despite the deep cultural gap between East and West, Japan is an integral, prosperous, democratic part of our civilization. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 have been a major factor in changing the Japanese attitudes from militarism and domination in favor of joining the progress of humanity. It was bitter medicine, but, as you can see, it worked wonderfully well. Is there a reason to think the mujaheddin are more resistant to it than the samurai? I appreciate your generous offer to "engage" me. Unfortunately, you haven't noticed that you and I have been engaged for a long time. I am not a history student, but if I am not mistaken, our first engagement took form of genocide committed by you against the Jews of Medina. More recently, you and I have been engaged daily through almost six decades of your genocidal war against Israel. You engaged me in 1993 when you tried to blow up the World Trade Center, but only succeeded in killing six people, which, of course, could not satisfy your thirst for blood. On October 12, 2000, you engaged me twice: first, you killed 17 American sailors by blowing up the USS Cole; then you happily lynched two Israeli reservists in Ramallah, Israel, where the picture above was taken. You engaged me on September 11, 2001, when you succeeded in murdering 3 thousand of my countrymen. In October 2002, you engaged me in Moscow where my close friend and his daughter were among the 130 innocent people killed by you and your suicidal helpers. On March 11 last year, you engaged me in Madrid, where you killed 200 perfectly innocent commuters. In September 2004, you engaged me in Beslan where you left behind 344 dead civilians, at least half of them children, both Christian and Muslim. You engage me every time you put on a bomb belt and board a bus or enter a restaurant in Israel. I cannot provide the complete list of our engagements, because, once compiled, it will be more voluminous than all the documents the prosecution brought to the Nuremberg trials. There was a Coptic family in New Jersey, a man, his wife and their two daughters, 15 and 8 years old. They were even more naïve than I am. They thought they could restore a good Muslim to humanity by convincing him to abandon his cult. You proved them wrong by killing all four of them. You slit their throats and watched them slowly, painfully bleed to death. Tell me what pleasure do you find in death and suffering of innocent human beings? Does it matter to you that among all the religions that exist today on our planet, yours is the only one that practices ritual murder? But let us suppose that I decide to accept your invitation and let you fill the gaping holes in my Islamic education. What can I hope to learn from you about Islam that's so vitally important to me to know? It seems to me that between the two of us, we know everything there is to know about Islam. I know what Islam does; you know how its demagogues justify its crimes. My knowledge can be expressed in two simple sentences: If you oppose jihad, you are not a Muslim. If you support jihad, you are my enemy. Can you argue with that? Whatever you may possibly add to this is nothing but enemy propaganda. Make no mistake, however: this propaganda was devised not for the "infidels" like myself, but mostly for internal consumption by the "faithful" like you. You see, Muslims are human too. In their heart of hearts, they know that what they do is terribly wrong. Without the brainwashing, you might even feel guilty. You might even refuse to participate. But look at it from my side if you can: when you blow up the bus I am riding, does it really make a difference to me whether you scream "Allahu akbar!" or "Heil Hitler!?" It doesn't matter to me whether your propaganda is being fed to you in the form of religion or in any other form. How many times a day you get on your hands and knees, where do you aim your butt when you do it, what centuries-old mental tricks your mullahs use against you to guarantee that you forever remain an obedient sheep in their herd - all this matters absolutely nothing to me. What does matter is the choice you are offering to me: the choice between becoming a slave master and a slave if I am lucky, and between becoming a murder victim and a murderer if I am not. If I am "true" to myself, I will be allowed to join you in the murder of infidels and oppression of dhimmis; if not, I am destined to become a dhimmi, probably, a dead one, myself. And what exactly do I gain if I decide to switch sides in your war against me? What are the gifts of Allah that no money can buy? What can I find in Dar el Islam that I so sorely miss in Dar el Harb? If I am a woman, you offer me an opportunity to live my life without a face. At a very young age, you will subject me to a painful, barbaric operation that in a male would be tantamount to castration. I will not be allowed to work. I will not be allowed to drive a car either, but that's not important, since I will not be able to afford one. If you are consistent in your demands of Islamic "purity", I will be deprived of even the most basic medical care. If there is a rumor of a sexual indiscretion on my part or if I am raped, I will be either murdered by my own relatives or stoned to death. If I am a man, I will have an opportunity to uphold the honor of my family by killing my daughter or sister, better, both. Occasionally, I will take part in the stoning of a person condemned for something that civilized people do not even consider a crime. If I am really, really lucky, I may get a chance to tear apart a piece of burned human flesh, like so many of you happily did in Fallujah. Between murders, I will entertain myself watching beheadings on Al-Jazeera. And if all that is not enough to keep me happy, I will always have an option to strap on an explosive belt and sneak into Israel. Yes, I know that life isn't exactly like that in every Muslim country. Not everywhere Islamic laws and traditions are followed to the letter. But this is only due to the corrupting influence of the West. When you finally free yourself from that humiliating influence, those who survive will remember the Taliban as a paragon of liberalism. Have you noticed that even while the United States occupies Iraq and Afghanistan, most Muslims around the world who die a violent death are killed not by us, infidels, but by other Muslims? Have you noticed that while most of the recent tsunami victims were Muslims, help came to them from Dar el Harb, while Dar el Islam was striving to explain how evil Jews and Americans caused the earthquake that caused the tsunami? Take a look at Iraq where Sunnis, on occasion of a Shiite holiday, killed a few dozens Shiites. That's okay; one day Sunnis will be celebrating, and Shiites will pay them back. Peace and love, indeed. I will be perfectly honest with you: I have no intention of moving in with you. I never wanted to live in a cave. I never wanted to find myself on either side of slavery or murder. The choice you are trying to force on me looks awfully unattractive to me. So unattractive in fact that nuking Islam out of existence suddenly doesn't seem such a terrible idea. Make no mistake: the only reason it hasn't happened yet is because our leaders still believe they have less radical means to stop you from destroying our civilization. But since you keep doing everything in your power to prove them wrong, one day they will have to change their mind. Think about that day. I've been complaining that the United States did not rise in anger in response to 9/11. To my dismay, it didn't. But look how easily we, even without getting angry, removed two of your worst regimes. Arabs are well known cowards, while Afghans are famous for their courage in battle, but did it make even a slightest difference? Don't kid yourself: nuclear arms in your hands may greatly increase the number of casualties, but they will not buy you victory. Even armed with the most terrible weapons, you are still a bunch of savages, impotent against a civilized army. Were it not so, would Israel still exist today? Think about the day when we finally become angry. Where will you run when it happens? What will the stone cry when you try to hide behind it? I maybe very naïve, but I am not naïve enough to overlook the ominous warning in your letter. You are telling me that if I refuse to be engaged with you on your terms, you will engage me the same way and for the same reason you engaged Theo van Gogh. Why is it that the only way for Islam to prove that it is a "religion of peace and love" is to kill everybody who knows otherwise and is not afraid to say so? Why is the only way for a Muslim to be true to himself is to kill? Are you going to slit my throat to prove the eternal kindness of your god and the wisdom of his prophet? That would certainly make me - and millions of others - see the light. What exactly do you expect me to apologize for? Sincerely disgusted, Yashiko Sagamori Yashiko Sagamori is a New York-based Information Technology consultant. To read other articles by the author, go to http://www.middleeastfacts.com/yashiko/ or email ysagamori@hotmail.com To Go To Top

THE ROAD MAP WILL LEAD TO ROAD KILL Posted by Unity Coalition for Israel (UCI), February 19, 2005.

"The Road Map Will Lead To Road Kill" was said February 14 by Israeli MK Benny Elon at a Press Conference in Anaheim, CA, sponsored by the Unity Coalition for Israel and Christian Friends of Israeli Communities. MK Elon further stated: "There is no positive element for Israel in the entire Road Map document." The statements were made at the Annual National Religious Broadcasters Convention during what has become a UCI media event tradition. Always featuring prominent speakers, the Press Conference spotlights issues that are of special current interest. This year the focus was on the controversial Road Map and the Disengagement Plan that is being promoted by PM Ariel Sharon in cooperation with the UN, the EU, Russia and the US State Department. The unilateral evacuation plans have met with widespread opposition within Israel because they would displace 8,000 long-time residents of Gaza, plus four Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. No such reciprocal concessions are required on the part of the Palestinians. Opponents fear that this looks like a retreat, signaling more concessions if the PA is encouraged to follow up with more brutal acts of terrorism. It means that the 4 years of the Palestinian intifada has paid off as the weapon of choice. Esther Levens, CEO and Founder of the UCI coalition that hosted the Press Conference, also presented a strong case against the Road Map and the Disengagement Plan in the form of a Declaration of Concerns. It represented the views of more than 200 member Christian and Jewish organizations, who oppose the land giveaway. Based on inconsistent statements and no track record as yet by the newly elected Palestinian official, Abu Mazen, there is much skepticism and fear that the new plan is simply a rehash of the previous Oslo Accord, which collapsed when Arafat walked away from the Camp David meetings. Key elements of the UCI Declaration of Concerns follow: Features of the Road Map that fail to provide a climate for peace: Israel is expected to evacuate territory twice used by Arab nations as launching pads to attack and annihilate Israel. Israel is expected to release hundreds of mass murderers into its population as a sign of good will. Israel is expected to evacuate 8,500 Jewish citizens from their homes, schools, and established communities. Israel is expected to accept an edict that would prohibit Jews from living in their 3,000-year homeland and birthplace of their sacred religious heritage. Israel is expected to believe that Hamas, Hizbullah, and other terrorist groups supported by Syria and Iran, will simply lay down their guns and hand held missiles and forever stop the senseless murder and maiming of innocent Israelis. Unresolved issues: The Palestine National Council's 1964 Charter has never been revoked. It calls for Israel's annihilation. The Arab League and the Palestinian Authority have never acknowledged Israel's right to exist. Proposed borders would leave Israel indefensible with an 8 mile distance at one point from the border to the Mediterranean sea. Arab Palestinian children continue to be indoctrinated into a culture that teaches them to hate Jews and turn themselves into human bombs to kill as many Israeli Jews as possible. Families of Palestinian suicide bombers continue to receive thousands of dollars from Iran and Saudi Arabia. The "Right of Return" claim for Arab Palestinians fails to acknowledge the "Right of Return" claim of an equal number (800,000) Jews forced to flee their homes in Arab countries when the UN declared Israel a nation in 1948. This issue must be addressed. Israel absorbed Jewish refugees into their tiny nation - the size of New Jersey - in less than a generation while the UN exacerbated the Arab refugee problem by funding their long-term encampment rather than integrating them into the Arab Middle East - the size of the entire North American continent. The return of three generations of Arab Palestinian refugees to the West Bank and Gaza poses an exponential threat to the survival of Israel. The Israeli people are calling for a referendum on the disengagement plan. Prime Minister Sharon should acquiesce to this request, and take the opportunity to legitimize his controversial plan. Additional US funding for the Palestinians must be contingent upon a strict system of financial accountability and a clear record of progress in accomplishing the above listed conditions. Members of the Unity Coalition for Israel maintain that before there can be any movement for peace under the terms of the Road Map, the prerequisites listed below must prevail, in reality, not just on paper: The Arab world must acknowledge Israel's right to exist. They must formally and officially give up their declared purpose of driving Israel into the sea. They must sign peace treaties and normalize relations with Israel, rather than making perennial empty promises. Acknowledging Israel's right to exist is a two-step process. 1) The Palestinians must formally and officially vote to revoke their National Charter and with it their declared purpose of eradicating Israel. 2) The Charter itself must be replaced with a document declaring their intent for peace and demilitarized co-existence with Israel. All school books and TV must be examined and all hate and incitement to violence and suicide must be eradicated. Funding of suicide bombers and payments to their families by Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia must be investigated and legally stopped. The "Right of Return" of Arab Palestinians has no place in the negotiation process. The Unity Coalition for Israel (http://www.israelunitycoalition.org) is "the largest worldwide coalition of Jewish and Christian organizations, with more than 200 groups representing millions of people dedicated to Israel. Though we have many different backgrounds, we have one common goal: A Safe and Secure Israel." "Israel is not just a Jewish issue. Millions of Christians resolutely endorse the principle of peace with security for the state of Israel. Because we work closely together and speak with a united voice, our message is being heard!" To Go To Top

REPLAY OF THE RABIN ASSASSINATION; SHARON IS GREATEST DANGER TO ISRAEL Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 18, 2005.

HIZBULLAH WEBSITES Of the 25 active Hizbullah Websites, 22 are hosted in the US and 1 in Britain. US law requires companies not to cooperate with Hizbullah, a designated terrorist organization (IMRA, 1/24). Why isn't the law enforced? STRANGE FACT Israel is training foreign bodyguards for Saudi royalty (IMRA, 1/24). For that, the Saudi boycott of Israel is suspended. REPLAY OF THE RABIN ASSASSINATION Israeli Cabinet Members claim to have received death threats over their plan to root the Jews out of Gaza and northern Samaria. They liken this to the political atmosphere before the assassination of PM Rabin. In reaction, PM Sharon ordered law enforcement agencies to crack down on "Jewish extremists." He tol them to "rein in the violent rampage." He may be referring to the slashing of Finance Min. Netanyahu' tires and the slurs shouted at him and at Education Min. Livnat, as well as the e-mail (Joseph Federman, NY Sun, 2/14, p.6). Yes, the political atmosphere is similar. But the Left misrepresents what it was in Rabin's time. As I recall, there were no death threats against Rabin, nor did right-wingers commit violence. Rather, Rabin's secret police committed a series of dirty tricks to make the Right appear violent and politically extreme. Objectively, the Left's appeasement of jihadist enemies at war with Israel is extreme. Objectively, the Right's policy of resisting jihad and retaining traditionally Jewish territories needed for secure borders, strategic depth, and sufficient water are prudent and justified. The Left used those dirty tricks to intimidate right-wing dissent. Although the truth came out, it was not widely disseminated, inasmuch as the media also is on the Left. None of those involved in the dirty tricks were punished, and some were rewarded after having failed to protect PM Rabin. Perhaps those who shout insults and slash tires are those same rogue secret service agents provocateurs still under direction from Peres, or serving Sharon. My own tires once were slashed. I certainly do not approve of it, but wish that Sharon had as much spleen for cracking down on P.A. bombardment of his people as he does for cracking down on the harassment of his Cabinet. It is difficult to sympathize with a Cabinet that is abandoning part of its homeland to a genocidal enemy. That Cabinet should be tried and imprisoned, rather than harassed. SYRIA-RUSSIA AGREEMENT Syria and Russia agreed on opposing terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass-destruction and on supporting democracy. They resolved Syria's large outstanding debt owed to Russia. "For years proponents of retreat from the Golan explained that Syria's huge debt to the USSR from earlier arms purchases would prevent it from being able to make substantial purchases of advanced weapons system that could disturb a post-retreat balance. The decision to forgive the debt should serve as a reminder of the inherent problem in advocating permanent moves on the basis of a snapshot of the situation at the time of the analysis" (IMRA, 2/25). Translation: Syria and Russia agree on supporting terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass-destruction and on opposing democracy. ISRAEL RELEASES TERRORISTS' BODIES In honor of the so-called truce, Israel turned over the bodies of 15 slain terrorists to the P.A.. The dead were paid reverence (Ibrahim Barzak, NY Sun, 2/15, p.6 from Associated Press). Dishonoring the victims of the fanatical Arab genocidists, Israel allowed the Arabs to consider their pirates as martyrs getting a heavenly reward for their attempted murder. Israel prevented those 15 from further attacks, but did not thereby discourage their fellows. If Israel had buried the 15 in lard, it would have disqualified them from martyrdom, in the Arabs' eyes, and discouraged others. ANOTHER SHARON BLOW TO DEMOCRACY AND JUDAISM PM Sharon quietly has ordered the disbanding of the religious army units. These are units of the ultra-Orthodox, who, if they had to be in mixed units, would be unable freely to practice their religious beliefs while serving among not just skeptics but the generally hostile secularists. Since the ultra-Orthodox units were the top-rated ones, the change is not done for military reasons. One speculates that it must have been done to purge religious Jews from the military, so the military would more readily obey Sharon's anti-Jewish ethnic cleansing. "The religious Jewish units which Sharon plans to disband are the most patriotic and stable units within the IDF. They go into battle with a belief in G-d which makes them more courageous - probably because they really understand that they are fighting for their families, their homes, their fellow Jews and the Land that G-d gave the Jews in His Covenant. the religious officers are always out in front of their men with the battle-cry: "Kadima" (Follow Me). They don't lead from behind. Sharon wants to stamp out the religious soldiers because they have become role models within the military." "Sharon is a direct reflection of what all other hostile nations want of Israel's leadership. Sharon will be the midwife or godfather of another Arab Muslim State of Palestine which will rapidly fill with Terrorists from all over the globe to become a Global Terrorist base to mount Terror attacks against Israel as well as the rest of the Free World. Even now Sharon has made it possible for Palestinian Terrorists in Gaza to fire Kassam rockets directly into Israeli cities." With sovereignty in Gaza, they would get more powerful weapons. What hath Sharon wrought! Since Sharon knows they would give Israelis no peace, he is betraying his people. Sharon plans to turn the dispossessed Jews' property over to the World Bank, which would relay it to the Arabs. He is selecting soldiers with a psychological profile of cruelty to oust the Jews. He is behaving like the Nazis with their Nuremburg laws stripping Jews of their property, and like Stalin, using troops from other areas to control the people (Winston Mid-East Analysis, 2/25). CONTEMPORARY ANTISEMITISM Antisemitism has shifted from a phenomenon: (1) largely of the Right to one largely of the Left; (2) mostly Christian to mostly Muslim; (2) religious discrimination to racial discrimination, by considering all Jews as enemies, whether religious or not; and (4) into a common pot with anti-Americanism. Since these phobias are not rational, they are outcroppings of a psychological disorder. There is grave danger of a new holocaust (Daniel Pipes, NY sun, 2/15, p.7). I felt that much anti-Americanism is neurotic, for it blames the US excessively, exaggerates its indignation, and ignores far worse countries. Unfortunately for the Jewish people all over the world, Israel's and America's current leadership is giving the jihadists a state "side-by-side" with the Jewish one that they want to eradicate. THE PROBLEM WITH ANTI-MISSILE DEFENSE Missiles are not cheap, but anti-missile missiles are costlier -- they have to be more accurate. To shoot down each incoming missile, the defenders must invest perhaps a million dollars. Iran has given Hizbullah missiles that are swift and accurate, and, being right on the border, offer less opportunity to intercept. The Israeli Army considers them an immediate threat. How could Israel hope to fend off the 14,000 missiles? Israel doesn't have billions of dollars to spare. The Four Mothers and PM Barak should have thought about that prospect, instead of campaigning to withdraw from Lebanon (IMRA, 1/25). PM Sharon's withdrawal plan would compound the danger. The Jews may have to evacuate from the whole country. That is the logical conclusion to his policy. Perhaps he knows it. Israelis rarely project future scenarios. They act on the spur of the moment, often merely seeking immediate relief from anti-Zionist pressure. They are making Israel non-viable. NATO AND ARABS AGAINST TERRORISM Algeria impressed NATO by decimating Al-Qaida's sub-contractor in Algeria. NATO wants to conduct joint anti-terrorism operations and have military cooperation with Algeria and perhaps Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia (IMRA, 1/25). Some of those are countries they should be fighting or changing the regimes of. Egypt is a military menace and it breeds terrorists. Arab states generally oppose terrorists only when they attack the Arab regimes or would bring foreign retribution against them. Mauritania is a slave state. IDF REFORMS RESERVES The IDF will have to make more efficient use of its members. It plans to call up the reserves only when needed for combat and training. Hitherto, it used them as a source of cheap labor. That usage underutilized skilled people and disrupted their lives (Foreign Ministry, 1/25 from Haaretz). EVEN THE ARABS ADMIT CAUSE OF TERRORISM Several Arab columnists admit that poverty and "despair" are not the underlying cause of terrorism. Rather, the stage is set by Arab culture and religion. Radical sheiks cultivate the pre-existing inclination (IMRA, 1/25). Westerners keep deluding themselves that the problem is not radical Islam. They don't want to admit that they can't make peace with the Arabs. ABBAS IS JUST TALK P.A. police won't restrain terrorists. As they admit, some fear Israeli retaliation (which doesn't make sense, since if they prevent terrorism, there would be no retaliation). Others sympathize with the terrorists. Thus it was in the week of Feb. 6 that P.A. police merely watched Hamas terrorists firing dozens of rockets and mortar shells at Jewish towns in Gaza. They also let gunmen break into Gaza's jail, murdering and abducting. The police are unreliable also because of corruption, inter-departmental rivalries, and insufficient training and discipline (Ibrahim Barzak, NY Sun, 2/15, p.6 from Associated Press). The Associated Press left out key explanations: (1) The P.A.'s purpose is jihad against Israel; (2) From the head of the P.A. on down, the police forces basically are comprised of terrorists; and (3) The Western world is so anti-Zionist now, that it continues to give hundreds of millions of dollars a year in subsidy to the P.A., while the P.A. is diverting that money to personal accounts and to promoting "martyrdom." Is it any wonder that the P.A. police don't crack down on terrorism? EXAMPLE OF SELF-DELUSION ABOUT JIHAD After have deceived the EU about its nuclear development for years, still breaking promises about it, and being defiant, Iran finds the EU still thinking it can negotiate a halt in that development. The EU seems more concerned about staving off US action than resolving the problem. The problem doesn't end by talking about it. Rather, it gets more acute. Eventually, the US will have to act militarily, because the EU won't act economically (Foreign Ministry, 1/25 from Jer. Post). In the end, the US probably would move to save itself, but the EU would blame the US for rushing to war. "Rush?" We gave the negotiations years. They didn't work. That is reality. Face it, EU! PM SHARON IS ISRAEL'S GREATEST DANGER PM Sharon has been capitulating to Abbas's demands. Israel is allowing Hamas to co-exist with the P.A. regime, is cooperating with the ceasefire (that the Arabs are violating), is not demanding that the P.A. disarm and punish terrorists, is pulling the IDF back, and is releasing hundreds of terrorists. This will enable Hamas to recover from the Israeli offensive. He is dropping the Road Map requirements for reining in terrorism, and jumping into the final stages of withdrawing. Sharon seems to be manipulated by Peres and associates in all this. They are betting on Abbas, who is not getting support from other P.A. leaders. If Abbas loses power, Hamas is liable to end up the strongest faction (Winston Mid East Analysis, 1/26 from Debka File). U.S. PRAISES SAUDIS FOR ANTI-TERRORISM CONFERENCE Pres. Bush and US delegates, including a Homeland Security advisor, congratulated the Saudis for a successful conference. Actually the conference was a farcical whitewash of S. Arabia, which, even up until the conference, still was blaming 9/11 on the US and other terrorism on Zionism, and was calling Christians and Jews the enemy (Steven Stalinski of MEMRI, NY Sun, 2/16, p.7). The advisor is too naïve or worse. MANUFACTURING GROWS IN THE P.A. Financed and guided by Hizbullah, Fatah manufactures components for car bombs (IMRA, 1/26). A new friend thought he was praising the Palestinian Arabs as being the brightest among the Arabs, but this is what they do with their talent. They destroy wealth instead of creating it. It is not that poverty creates terrorism, but that terrorism creates poverty. SYRIAN ROLE IN IRAQI INSURGENCY In the past three months, Syria has laundered billions of dollars for the Iraqi insurgents (Benny Avni, NY Sun, 2/16, p.7 from CIA). If we have to fight Syria, and encounter strong resistance, we can thank Russia for arming it and the Sate Dept. for sheltering it from Israel. POWER POLITICS IN THE P.A. The new head of Fatah, Khaddoumi, is trying to forge an alliance with Hamas and Islamic Jihad against the P.A., to keep it in line, i.e., hard line (IMRA, 1/26). So much for the election! Abbas is not always for fighting, therefore is the greater danger. Hamas fights and can't be ignored -- it arouses fighting opposition by Israel. Abbas promises and negotiates, and his demands for the ultimate destruction of Israel are ignored -- he lulls Israeli suspicion. MUSLIM CULTURE IN THE P.A. Abbas has gotten nationalistic incitement reduced but not antisemitic incitement. "Min. Sharansky said '... Even as the Palestinian Authority works to prevent a few hundred terrorists from attacking Jews and Israelis, it prepares hundreds of thousands more. As in Nazi Germany, there is an entire 'culture of hatred' in Palestinian (Arab) society today, from textbooks to crossword puzzles, from day camps to TV music videos and calling for the murder of Jews, as Jews, is the end result.'" The jist of P.A. propaganda is, "the Jews are an evil force, and it's inherent to the Jews, and therefore they have to be killed." Itamar Marcus "... pointed to January 14, when he said an imam gave a sermon declaring, 'The days of the pilgrimage to Mecca remind the Muslim of the connection to his history and remind him of his past glory and the lowliness of the Jews, who today rule the world; how Muhammad expelled them from Medina in retribution for their actions and their hostility and their corruption, and not on false charges, not unjustly. No, it was retribution for their hostility toward Islam." (If we rule the world, let's order an end to jihad against it.) "It is important to document this phenomenon, he said, because many people view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as centered on political issues, when the Palestinians have tied redemption to killing Jews. "It's not connected to borders, it's not connected to compromise, and no compromise will be reached [once] it's a battle of God against the Jews." (IMRA, 1/26 from Palestinian Media Watch.) IRAN'S WORLD VIEW The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khameini, explains that the Muslim people is awakening and resisting the Zionist plan to take over the world. But he also said that they have taken over the world. (Which is it?) The US encouraged Iraq to use weapons of mass-destruction against Iran (IMRA, 1/26.) I stand corrected by the Supreme Leader. I had thought that the Muslims were trying to take over the world. It had seemed to me that the Jewish people barely can hold on to their own state, and, far from dictating to the US, as Iran claims, the US and Israel's rulers are trying to divest Israel of parts of its homeland. As for the US role in the Iraq-Iran war, it was indeed one of deception towards its own people and encouragement of Iraqi savagery. Anti-American Americans rarely criticize the US for what it really does wrong, such as helping Arab imperialists. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

IS ARIK SHARON REALLY ARIK SHARON? Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 18, 2005.

If you ask any old, personal friend of Ariel Sharon, they are puzzled as to who or what Sharon of today really is. Any old friend who disagreed with him is no longer his friend. He was always this way in his younger years in that he didn't like to be thwarted or disagreed with. But after he became political and both his age and bulk advanced, something strange happened. It was as if he had been taken over by a Dybbuk or a hostile spirit. At first I though it seemed to be merely a state of dementia but, it was more than that. I know my next comment will seem out-of-this-world but, those of the Intel community would probably nod in some agreement. Trying to influence the minds of enemies was written as long ago as Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and continues on through today. During World War II the idea of actually influencing or controlling the minds of the enemies became a major pursuit by the then secret Soviet KGB and America's OSS (later the CIA), among their other agencies. They explored the para-normal after recruiting those strange people among us who always seem to know things in advance of their happening. These were the Uri Geller types who seem able to pick up the thoughts of other people right out of the air. Paralleling that, I recall reading about mind control experiment through the use of chemicals. As I remember, chemicals were injected into the subject and remained in their brain,. Then, using outside personnel or electronic equipment, a frequency was pulsed into the subject from a distance. Presumably, this method would generate certain thoughts and patterns of behavior. In Sharon's case, his behavior contrasted from what he was to what he is now certainly bears scientific study. I hope it is merely the reality of old age, possibly dementia or a phase of onsetting Alzeheimers. If that, Sharon should be examined for psychological aberrance, given that he is an elected leader. [As a relevant aside, I always thought that, before they took office, all leaders should be subjected to a battery of psychological tests to determine their stability. Some may recall Yitzhak Rabin's mental collapse while he was Chief of Staff during the 1967 War wherein he had to be replaced by Ezer Weizman.] If, on the other hand, the ability of mind control experts has indeed become operational then Sharon belongs to them. Whatever is happening to PM Sharon's bumbling, willingness to do whatever is asked of him by the U.S. or other foreign interests is puzzling. Even his body motions seem awkward with his head bobbling when he is in the presence of an important visitor. Sometimes when such people show formal approval or even friendliness, Sharon suddenly begins to act as if he were a child, almost wiggling in happiness at attention being paid. I recall the old Sharon of the desert wars where he was in command of every facet of his body, eyes, voice. But, today's Sharon is not that person. I recall his standing up, half-way out of a tank, directing his troops in the middle of battle and fearful of nothing. He was my hero for a long time. To see him like this, to see him betray his people, to see him deport Jewish men, women and children from their homes, simply devastates me. But, I must describe it accurately despite my personal feelings. Today Sharon rarely leaves his home without a phalanx of guards, mini-airplanes circling overhead, televising down to a control vehicle. This is not the fearless leader that Sharon was once but rather a paranoid person, frightened of everything - especially his own people. Sharon claims that he is not fearful for his own person but, he no longer visits communities, although he did go to S'derot with an army of Police escort after that community had been mercilessly shelled by Arab Muslim Palestinians from inside Gaza. Whoever Sharon is today, he is not the Sharon one knew as the Great Warrior or, as often called, King of Israel. He seems more like an aging Nero gone quite mad. Clearly, it is time for Sharon to retire to his Sycamore Farm and not embarrass himself as a man who has lost focus, in addition to putting the Jewish nation in extreme danger. Speaking of his Sycamore Farm, Sharon recently said that the grave site of his wife, Lily, was threatened with desecration and so he was placing a guard around it. Given that Lily was buried on the Sycamore Farm which has always been guarded lest Arab Muslim Palestinian Terrorists try to sneak in, the need for a special grave site guard was either a further sign of paranoia or a calculated effort as part of his propaganda campaign to further demonize the settlers as extremists. Clearly, the political and military of Israel had better have a discussion as to whether this is not the time to forcibly retire Sharon to his farm. Instability in a Prime Minister demonstrated by the level of war he is prepared to wage on the Jewish people of Gaza/Gush Katif and anyone who objects to his aberrant planning, must be dealt with by extraordinary means if Israel is to remain a democracy and a Jewish State. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

NEW BOOKS FOR SALE FROM AMERICANS FOR A SAFE ISRAEL! Posted by AFSI, February 18, 2005.

Order today. Call us at 1800-235-3658 or send a check to 1623 Third Ave, Suite 205, NY NY 10128 Eurabia - The Euro-Arab Axis written by Bat Ye'or - $20 - includes shipping in US. This book is about the transformation of Europe into "Eurabia" a cultural and political appendage of the Arab/Muslim world. Eurabia is fundamentally anti-Christian, anti-Western, anti-American, and anti-Semitic. The institution that has been responsible for this transformation, and that continues to propagate its ideological message, is the Euro-Arab Dialogue, developed by European and Arab politicians and intellectual over the past thirty years. The Political and Social Philosophy of Ze'ev Jabotinsky - Selected Writings with a foreword by Prof. Daniel Carpi and preface by Ze'ev Binyamin Begin M K- $20 - includes shipping in US. This book contains selected excerpts of Jabotinsky books, articles, speeches, poetry, and personal correspondence which portray the broad range of his ideas and philosophy. Although they address the burning issues of his day, one cannot miss how contemporary his ideas remain. Please visit our website http://www.afsi.org to see a full list of books for sale as well as many other important and exciting news! Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI is a pro-active pro-Israel advocacy group. AFSI may be contacted by mail at 1623 Third Ave., Suite 205, New York, N.Y. 10128 (Tel: 212-828-2424; Fax: 212-828-1717); by email at afsi@rcn.com; or by accessing its website: www.afsi.org. Helen Freedman is Executive Director. To Go To Top

THIS PURIM: SHARE IN THE MITZVAH OF SENDING MISHLOACH MANOT PACKAGES TO OVER 8000 RESIDENTS OF GUSH KATIF Posted by Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI), February 18, 2005.

With the imminence of P.M. Ariel Sharon's withdrawal plan, friends of Israel across America are looking for constructive ways to share feelings of solidarity with residents of Gush Katif and the threatened Shomron communities, who are facing eviction. These families are living under great stress and are about to be evicted from their homes where many have lived for the past 27 years. Included amongst these residents are the strongest citizens of Eretz Yisrael. They have been on the front lines for a long time and have endured terrible tragedies, including the loss of many loved ones and the crippling of many others. The Gush Katif residents, during all this, have also raised some of the finest organic vegetables and herbs sold around the world, adding a significant sum to the Israeli GNP. They deserve our support and a show of our solidarity, which can be accomplished this Purim through a simple act of kindness. Through Project Shiloach's Purim Campaign, congregations and individuals across America will be embracing settlement families by sending Mishloach Manot packages, thereby building relationships and partnering with them in an attempt to show that American Jewry stands behind their Israeli brethren. This is a most practical form of solidarity and giving. Often, a simple gift means as much as large financial assistance. In the late eighth century, during King Chezkiyah's reign, a tunnel was excavated linking the Gichon Spring, near Mount Olives, to the Pool of Shiloach, inside Jerusalem. This architectural feat ensured a supply of water into the besieged city from outside Jerusalem's walls. The Shiloach pool, and the tunnel leading to it, became a reservoir that guaranteed the survival of the Holy City. In this spirit, Project Shiloach is being launched in an attempt to direct a stream of support and encouragement into Israel's most vulnerable area from "outside the city walls." With your contribution of only $25.00, Project Shiloach will assemble and deliver a Mishloach Manot package along with your greeting card to a family slated for eviction. Rabbanim in Gush Katif, Jerusalem, and the U.S.A. are confident that these packages will lift settlers' spirits and make them aware that there are people out there who are standing by them during this historic crossroad. By sending a Mishloach Manot package of strictly kosher food, you can express your concern for these people through a personal note attached to each package. When they receive heartfelt messages of support from America, it makes a very powerful statement. Another goal of this initiative is to help the public gain a better understanding of who the residents of Gush Katif are, what they are doing there, and to provide a realistic image of the established towns. We encourage participants to stay in contact with the recipients in the months ahead. Checks can be made out to CMD Project Shiloach. $25.00 covers the cost of a Mishloach Manot package, including shipping and handling. Please send your contribution to Project Shiloach, P.O.B. 4013, Clifton, New Jersey, 07012 The tentative deadline for contributions is March 6, 2005. If your synagogue is not yet a participant in this worthy initiative, please contact us at projectshiloach@yahoo.com. Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI is a pro-active pro-Israel advocacy group. AFSI may be contacted by mail at 1623 Third Ave., Suite 205, New York, N.Y. 10128 (Tel: 212-828-2424; Fax: 212-828-1717); by email at afsi@rcn.com; or by accessing its website: www.afsi.org. Helen Freedman is Executive Director. To Go To Top

BAT AYIN Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 18, 2005.

Bat Ayin is a village of volunteers. When visiting Bat Ayin in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, you have a unique experience. Turning West off the main road, you wend your way for a few minutes and, as you come over a rise, Bat Ayin appears on top of a broad hill in the valley below the road. One is reminded of a slumbering Shangri-la or, at the risk of seeming mystical, one thinks of Brigadoon, the magical town in the Scottish highlands, that goes to sleep for a hundred years and wakes up for one day. Well, Bat Ayin certainly isn't sleepy but, there is a certain feeling of mysticism. Most everyone in Bat Ayin in their separate ways could be described as unique. All are self-starters, ready to help each other. They have rescue teams for road accidents and answer their beepers when there has been a terror attack. They have medical personnel who can assist accident and/or wounded casualties. Bat Ayin is a community of volunteers who ask nothing for themselves. Each family had to apply for permission of the Community Board to live and build their homes in Bat Ayin. Only the dedicated need apply. Each family that is accepted may start by renting a caravan (house trailer) to live in - with the understanding that when they are financially able, they will build a house of their own design. While there are building codes, there is no requirement for you to make your house look the same as others. Bat Ayin has an excellent school system in a constant struggle to survive financially, since the Israel government has drastically reduced off school funding in the region. Nevertheless, their curriculum is demanding, teaching full courses in Hebrew and English - a serious course of study including high level Torah studies together with a unique approach to science and math education, aimed at raising Torah-fluent youth to the highest attainable levels of science knowledge. It has been our privilege to try to assist in making up the school budget deficit each year. The children are taught respect for teachers which is a lesson they bring home. It was impressive to see these boys and girls growing up in an environment that taught and demanded self-sufficiency. These are tough kids who play hard but, with a certain sweetness. I must admit that their math assignments baffled me. These kids are special in terms of becoming the future leaders for Israel. Granted, these are not city kids who look for entertainment in pizza parlors, cafes, or the movies. I am reminded of American kids in the early days when they were not anchored to a couch watching TV. They make up their own games and entertainment. Remember when we used to play kick the can or capture the flag? After school we were out the door like a shot, playing ball, shooting baskets. Watching these children in Bat Ayin, one gets the sense that money for their education is well spent. I know from personal experience of being solicited for funds by large, illustrious institutions, promising honor and recognition for our contributions that the honor and recognition quickly evaporates. But, investing in the education of these Bat Ayin children has a much greater, long term satisfaction. They really do remember you, year after year, but that is merely my personal point of view. What is there that is so seemingly mystical about the little town nestled on a hill in a valley? Since there are many mystical places in Israel, why does Bat Ayin strike a chord? Bat Ayin in Biblical times was called "Migdal Eder" (Tower of the Flock) Micah 4:6. The Prophet Micah speaks of a King arising from the midst of Migal Eder. Many believe that this refers to the Moshiach, and that this portion speaks of the prophetic war of Gog and Magog when the forces of Gog converge on Jerusalem. Migdal Eder is one of Jerusalem's outlying fortifications called: "Ophel". The Prophet Michah speaks of bringing the nations together in conquest so HaShem may trample them. Perhaps also it is the way the people of Bat Ayin respond to the troubles of others. Last night I received a call from my son at 2 A.M. Israel time. He had just returned from a rescue mission with his team to extract passengers from a bus that had been hit by a truck and skidded off the road. It was teetering, ready to tip and roll over. The team spent four hours carefully extricating the passengers through the back window the team had cut out. The bus could have tipped and rolled any moment. The Bat Ayin rescue team all wear transponders on their belts, linked to a network that alerts them when they are needed within a certain area. I wonder how many nations have small towns where its citizens are on an official volunteer call roster to save lives - even when they must endanger their own? The children of Bat Ayin grow up with parents who are superb role models who really help people. There is a belief that Bat Ayin is more than interesting people, excellent education, roads and houses. While it may not disappear for a hundred years to reappear for one day - as in the mythical Brigadoon, one gets the sense that Bat Ayin is more than the sum of its parts. That sometime in the near future, it will produce spiritual leaders who are reminiscent of the great Kings and Prophets. When I see the children of Bat Ayin volunteering, like their elders, to take care of younger friends without being asked - perhaps there is something to that sense of the mystical. Many of us on the outside think it is worthwhile to connect with these unusual people and Bat Ayin (aka Migdal Eder). If you too wish to do that, just give me a call at: 847-432-1735 or Email at gwinston@interaccess.com Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

DIVESTMENT UNMASKED Posted by Fred Taub, February 18, 2005.

Proponents will tell you they want to bring peace to the world, but the leadership looks at it differently. The story involves government plots to wage a secret war and the private citizens who are unwittingly carrying out the will of brutal foreign dictatorships, while the evil leaders sit back and gloat at the fruits of their labor. No, I'm not referring to the plot of a paperback spy novel, rather to the divest-from-Israel campaign that started on college campuses in the United States and is now extending to businesses and municipalities. Our story begins in 1945, four years before Israel was born, when the Arab League formed and officially declared its boycott against the Jews and the forthcoming Jewish state. Their idea was to isolate Israel economically, in hopes that such actions would starve out the Jews, who would have no easily accessible trading partners once the British left the Palestine region. The Arab League was an outgrowth of previous unification efforts in the Arab world, which also included a boycott of Jewish interests in the region as early as 1921. In fact, the boycott and its underlying hatred of Jews was one of the unifying factors that created the Arab League. A common enemy among warring factions can be a powerful motivator. We fast-forward to the Clinton administration era, when the Palestinian Authority was negotiating the borders of a proposed Palestinian state. Francis Boyle, a US professor from Indiana, was working as a consultant to the Palestinian Authority's negotiating team and publicly proposed what he termed "a divestment campaign against Israel". His idea furthered the Arab boycott of Israel by specifically trying to draw students into creating small campaigns on their campuses to get their universities to not do business with Israel. This later included an academic boycott that excludes Israeli universities, professors and their research. Boyle suggested that while a single campus campaign would have little effect, having many US campuses adopt the campaign would increase the impact of the overall campaign. This was not, however, the first time such a campus campaign had been attempted by the Palestinians. In the 1980s, the General Union of Palestinian Students created a campaign to make people comfortable with the concept of a Palestinian state. The results of that campaign are being felt today, because the former college students of the '80s are now adults with their own families, many of whom see the creation of a Palestinian state as a good thing. Enter the year 2000. A new generation is on campus, and the campaign of a generation ago is no longer needed because the Palestinian state every Israeli once feared is now being negotiated. The proponents of a Palestinian state, one would have thought, should be happy and working toward their new state with the goal of peace. After all, they now have what they said they wanted. But that is not what is happened. Suicide bombers and other terrorist attacks are being carried out against Israelis on a daily basis. The rhetoric has progressed and so has the terrorism. While researching these divestment/boycotts campaigns for Boycott Watch, I came across nearly forgotten legislation - the US Antiboycott laws of 1979, administrated by the Department of Commerce and enacted to prevent foreign governments from imposing their foreign policy on the US. When creating the law, Congress reiterated that creating foreign policy was their domain and that they did not want de facto US foreign policy created by individuals. Yet, that is the goal of the divest-from-Israel campaign. People are trying to impose the foreign policy of Arab League countries on the United States; a clear-cut violation of US Antiboycott laws. I researched the laws further and discovered they were primarily being enforced on exports, forbidding countries from requesting declarations that no parts of goods being sent to Arab countries originated in Israel and the ships used to transport the goods did not dock in Israel. This law is being circumvented by requesting positive statements of origin, such as a declaration that the products are entirely US made, thus still guaranteeing no Israeli products will enter Arab countries. The specific goal of the divest-from-Israel campaign is to carry out and further the Arab boycott of Israel, which has the overall goal of destroying Israel economically. Non-Arab students and others who support the effort are told that their participation is for humanitarian reasons the fight against oppression of innocent people by Israeli soldiers - yet they fail to mention that shooting rifles at the tanks of any army is not healthy. Iraqis who shoot at US troops seldom live to tell about it either. Along with divestment, the Palestinian Authority has also been promoting a complete economic blockade of Israel in Malaysia and a general boycott of Israeli products in Europe. This economic warfare campaign is being carried out while the Palestinian Authority is claiming to negotiate for peace in good faith with Israel for the creation of a Palestinian state. One can hardly call this back-handed approach to achieving peace benevolent. Rather, it can best be summed up as economic terrorism. If Israel does not acquiesce to the desires of the Arab League, i.e., vanish, then the boycott in all its forms will continue indefinitely. The Arab League has not placed any end-goal to their boycott other than their greater goal of the complete destruction of Israel. Similarly, the divest-from-Israel campaign is not scheduled to end with the creation of a proposed Palestinian state, as its non-Arab proponents are led to believe. Rather, it will continue indefinitely as part of the Arab boycott of Israel. Like the '80s campaign to create an adult population that accepted the notion of a Palestinian state, the desired results of the divest-from-Israel campaign will be felt in twenty years, in the next campaign dismantlement. Realizing this, I needed to get other groups involved against the illegal divest-from-Israel campaign. I first contacted the Zionist Organization of America, because of their ability to work with Congress on issues vital to Israel and because ZOA National President, Morton A. Klein, is the kind of person who will not rest until the job is done. Our efforts resulted in the ZOA getting a letter signed by 20 members of Congress to the Department of Commerce requesting an investigation into the matter of the illegal boycott of Israel. While the ZOA was working on the Congressional letter, Boycott Watch and the ZOA each challenged the legality of the divest-from-Israel campaign to the Department of Commerce. We also sent letters detailing the legal issues to Duke University, which was about to sponsor a conference by the Palestinian Solidarity Movement / International Solidarity Movement in furtherance of the divest-from-Israel campaign. Together, we initiated the legal challenge to the Presbyterian Church USA's divest-from-Israel stance, as well. The ISM/PSM officially recognizes the validity of "armed struggle" in its own book Peace Under Fire (page 20). "Armed struggle" is the term terrorist groups - such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority's own Fatah and Al-Asqa Martyrs Brigade - use for terrorism, to justify the murder of innocent men, women and children. As such, the ISM/PSM is not the benevolent organization it claims to be. Rather, it is an organization that tries to get non-Palestinians to participate in furthering its terrorist ideology by implementing economic terrorism, instead of suicide bomber terrorism. ISM/PSM supporters are unwittingly supporting terrorists and their ideology while trying to advance peace in the Middle East. Despite their good intentions, the non-Arab divestment advocates have been tricked into violating US Antiboycott laws by people whose primary goal is the destruction of Israel using the creation of a Palestinian state as a tool of their hostilities. In the meantime, Divestment Watch was born to specifically concentrate on the illegal divest-from-Israel campaign separately from the monitoring of general boycotts. A primary goal of Divestment Watch is to coordinate efforts and to challenge the legality of the divest-from-Israel campaign with Boycott Watch. Challenging the divest-from-Israel campaign is not just to protect Israel. The US is a target of the campaign as well. Imposing the foreign policy of foreign countries on the US demonstrates the contempt of the Arab League nations for the United States. Recruiting Americans to press their foreign policy agenda on the US is reminiscent of Soviet and Nazi attempts to infiltrate the US government. Foreign countries should not be allowed to dictate US foreign policy, nor should we allow foreign countries to advocate in the US for the destruction of the economy of a fellow democracy. Such actions are clearly against the best interests of the US. The success of Israel's economy has a direct impact on the US economy, because Israel is a key developer of new technologies, including in medicine, computers and even space exploration; not to mention that it is the democracy and free-market-economy example for the Middle-East. There is little doubt that, considering how Arab League countries have exported their manifestations of hate for Israel to the US, including terrorism, divestment campaigns will eventually be directed against the US. Clearly, the divest-from-Israel campaign is not in the best interests of Israel or the United States, and must be stopped. Fred Taub is President of the Divestment Watch. Contact him at http://www.DivestmentWatch.com To Go To Top

THE ENEMY WITHIN Posted by Talya Lapidot, February 18, 2005.

Book Name: The Enemy Within Author: Jacob Gurewich ISBN: 0-9666398-2-0 Library of Congress Control #: 2003099054 Contact the author at http://www.jackgur.com Insightful, stirring, and controversial. The Enemy Within is a series of essays describing the author's first-hand experiences as a founding member of the Israeli IRGUN (IZL), the underground Organization founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Jacob Gurewich's parents emigrated from Riga, Latvia, to Israel in the 1930s. Growing up in the Holy Land, Jacob soon joined the pioneering Irgun Organization. It was a fateful decision. Throughout his career in the Israeli Defense Force, Jacob locked horns with leaders such as Menachem Begin; learned the truth about covert activities involving international leaders; and was nearly executed for his beliefs. His collections of never-before-told essays will captivate history buffs, Middle East aficionados, and fans of the historical narrative. The Enemy Within is a chock full of eyewitness accounts of covert activities conducted by the British, since World War I - and up to the day of liberation. The Enemy Within is far more than a military recollection - it quenches the reader's thirst for intrigue. Gurewich delivers the truth behind the Sezon period, the hanging of the 12 freedom fighters by the British, and the author's own exile to East Africa. In light of today's chaotic "Roadmap to Peace" in the Middle East, The Enemy Within is timely and will strike a deep chord with readers. Using countless examples of tyrannical acts of anti-Semitism throughout the ages, readers will be challenged to examine and weigh their attitudes toward the Arab situation, especially with World War II still looming in the background. These are excerpts from The Enemy Within: And the stone shall cry out from the wall! (Habakkuk II: 11) The Enemy Within is adding more injuries to the Jewish Nation: They keep on caving in To the pseudo friends of Israel, who pacify the Arabs on the expense of the State of Israel, and they coincide to create an Arab state in the heart of the Land of Israel. Rise up Israel! And let thine enemies be scattered! And tell it throughout the Land Of Israel, publish it to the world. Hearken Sharon the turncoat, Peres the Vulture, and your ilk: There was Never a falastinian tribe, falastinian people, or a falastinian country to begin with, and There are no falastinian chronicles. Ever. Jewish Settlers shall never be displaced from The Land of Israel, and the world shall never ever see an Arab state in the Land of Israel! To Go To Top

THE INCITEMENT OF IDEAS Posted by David Haimson, February 18, 2005.

This article was written by Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor and a columnist at the Jerusalem Post. It appeared today in the Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/ JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1108696748914). Last Friday night, the TV stations were in a frenzy over the right-wing incitement against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and northern Samaria and to expel all Jews living in these areas from their homes and communities. Channel 2 devoted fully a third of its hour-long news broadcast to the issue -- super-imposing images of the political protests against the Oslo Accords in the months before Yitzhak Rabin's assassination with footage from the recent mass rally and protests against Sharon's withdrawal plan. Much was made of the fact that right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir yelled at Education Minister Limor Livnat at the memorial service for the slain Jewish underground leader from the pre-statehood days, Avraham Stern. Ben-Gvir told her (probably correctly) that Stern would never have approved her support for Sharon's plan. It was unpleasant seeing Ben-Gvir and his nasty friends following Livnat and yelling at her. But then again, how was their behavior different from that of members of Knesset who insult and curse one other as a matter of course? Why is this news? Then there is the pseudo-attack against Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at Kfar Habad last Thursday night. The initial reports claimed that a group of anti-withdrawal thugs slashed Netanyahu s tires and surrounded him, yelling, as he tried to make it to his disabled car. He was spirited away in another vehicle, escaping, so the reports had us believe, by the skin of his teeth. After the matter was duly investigated, it worked out that Netanyahu's tires had not been slashed; he may simply have had a flat tire. And that no group of hooligans had surrounded him; one teenager had yelled at him. According to Amnon Abramovich, from Channel 2, this teenager had actually been asked to yell at Netanyahu by a journalist at the scene who told him what to say and even sent him a "thank you for a job well done" text message on his cellular phone. In the meantime, in light of these major infractions on the apparent right of public servants to receive no unpleasant criticism for their support of highly controversial policies, Sunday, Interior Security Minister Gideon Ezra called for inciters -- including people writing nasty graffiti on city streets -- to be placed under administrative detention. For his part, Sharon has castigated anyone who calls for a referendum on his withdrawal program as contributing to incitement and indeed as advancing the cause of civil war. In a speech last week Sharon said, "The idea of holding a national referendum is an attempt to delay the implementation of the Disengagement Plan." He went on to say, "The inciters use threats of civil war in order to influence the public who wants disengagement but prefers quiet. A national referendum will bring about an increase in incitement." So for the prime minister of Israel, anyone who claims that the Israeli voters have a right to weigh in on what is perhaps the most controversial plan ever adopted by an Israeli government is playing a direct role in inciting a civil war. This is a shocking statement for two reasons. First, it shows the utter disdain the prime minister feels for his people who he clearly doesn't believe are capable of responsibly exercising the freedom to choose. Second, Sharon is effectively saying that anyone who calls for the people to be given the right to choose is guilty of fomenting a rebellion. That is, he has relegated all of his political opponents to criminal status. This week saw MK Effi Eitam thrown out of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee when he argued with Sharon for accusing parliamentarians who are opposed to his plan of incitement. Apparently, committee chairman Yuval Steinitz is unaware that in a democracy, one of the main functions of a parliament is to enable free and fair -- often rancorous -- debate of the issues of the day, and that it is the responsibility of legislators to call leaders to account for their actions and policies. Then there is democratically challenged Transportation Minister (and former justice minister) Meir Sheetrit. On Monday, Sheetrit told Israel radio that as far as he is concerned, Likud party members are guilty of incitement when they write letters to Likud MKs informing them that future political support for these politicians is dependent on their voting against the withdrawal and expulsion plan. That is, in Sheetrit's view, it is incitement for constituents to base their support for politicians on the extent to which those politicians advance their interests while in office. The most amazing aspect of the entire "incitement" craze is that, as Shin Bet Director Avi Dichter explained this week, statements by opponents of Sharon's plan have no influence over potential assassins. According to Dichter, there are some 500 people floating around who fit the psychological profile of a potential assassin. Like Rabin's assassin, Yigal Amir, and John Hinckley Jr. who attempted to assassinate US president Ronald Reagan in 1981 these individuals are not members of any organization or group. Rather, potential assassins are sociopaths with messianic protestations of divine selection. People of Amir's ilk are not moved by what leaders say. They are moved by their own delusions of grandeur and sense of alienation. They would murder even if no one were in the streets protesting against Sharon's plan. But in the meantime, rather than focusing their attentions on finding and neutralizing the threat posed by such sociopaths, our political leadership is moving to demonize and criminalize the huge swath of the Israeli public who opposes Sharon s policy of withdrawal and expulsion. In advancing this objective which, if allowed to continue, will destroy Israeli democracy the government has been ably assisted by the media. The news media's advocacy of Sharon s withdrawal plan has been shockingly brazen. Opponents of the plan, when given any airtime at all, find themselves under attack. Rather than allowing people like MK Gideon Sa'ar or Binyamin Regional Council Chairman Pinchas Wallerstein to explain why it is that they oppose the plan, radio and television left-wing partisans posing as objective journalists attack them for their role in contributing to the "atmosphere of incitement," and pointedly demand that they justify their disloyal and dangerous behavior. On the other hand, these pretend journalists shamelessly pander to Sharon's supporters, such as Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is constantly handed softball questions by fawning hacks commiserating with him about the dangerous extremists on the right who are just about to kill Sharon. Because, as far as these paragons of the free press are concerned, it is a foregone conclusion that Sharon will be assassinated. On Sunday, under a headline that proclaimed "The Fear: A Jewish Suicide Attacker," a Yediot Aharonot sub-head asserted, "The question isn't whether they will try to assassinate the prime minister, the question is how." Alex Fishman, the paper's military "reporter," detailed the likelihood of a Jewish suicide bomber breaking through Sharon's security cordon and then pushing the button. The entire article was devoid of sourcing, facts or even grounded suspicions. But then, what can we expect from the most widely read newspaper in the country? Certainly not that it accurately report the news. Back in 1798, the US Congress passed the Sedition Act. The act, which was aimed at silencing political criticism of president John Adams' administration, was dressed up as a precaution against what at that time was an imminent threat of war between the US and France. The act made it a criminal offense to criticize the government, and its enforcement brought about the imprisonment of a number of anti-Adams newspaper publishers and editors. This fundamentally unconstitutional and anti-democratic law was allowed to lapse. But if it had remained in effect, would it have prevented four American presidents from being assassinated in later years? Given the profile of political assassins, it strains credulity to think so. On the other hand, one thing is clear beyond doubt: Had the Sedition Act remained the law of the land, democracy in America would have been destroyed. US Supreme Court Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once famously said, "Every idea is an incitement." And in a democracy, ideas -- that is incitement -- are supposed to flow uninhibited. Indeed, ideas -- from the idiotic to the sublime -- are the stuff of democratic societies. The constant incitement of competing ideas is what differentiates democracies from tyrannies. The failure of Sharon, his allies and underlings -- like the failure of his apparatchiks who run the country's media -- to understand that just as an elected government has the legal right to set policy, so does its political opposition have a legal right to protest its policies as loudly, nastily and unaesthetically as they wish, exposes a singular failure of our political and cultural elite to adopt the habits of democracy. The main victim of this terrible reality is, of course, the Israeli public, which has not been afforded an opportunity to hear any significant debate or discussion of Sharon's plan to uproot thousands of Jews from their homes and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza and northern Samaria. This policy -- arguably the most controversial plan ever to be adopted by an Israeli government -- is being bulldozed through to implementation without Sharon or his allies ever satisfactorily explaining how it will advance Israel's security or political interests. Sharon has not explained how turning Gaza over the Palestinians will enhance Israeli security. He has not explained how Israel will protect itself from rocket and mortar attacks on Ashkelon, Ashdod or Netivot after the withdrawal. He has never explained why it is necessary to give the Palestinians the communities in northern Gaza - Dugit, Alei Sinai and Nissanit - which are geographically indistinguishable from Ashkelon and whose heights control the entire area. He has never explained how Israel will be able to defend the strategic sites like the Ashkelon power station and the Ashkelon-Eilat oil pipeline with Hamas roaming freely on those heights. He has never explained why it is necessary for Israel to remove itself to the 1949 armistice lines, rather than retain the areas necessary for its security and what Israeli acceptance of these lines in Gaza means for future negotiations regarding Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem. Because of the absence of real debate in the Knesset or in the press, and the concerted effort by the government and the media to criminalize political speech, the Israeli public is being denied the one thing that distinguishes a democracy from a tyranny: the ability of the citizenry to make informed decisions and to hold their leaders accountable for their actions Contact David Haimson at DvHaimson@aol.com to receive emails with direct links to articles on Israel that are well-worth reading. To Go To Top

A SELF-HATING HORROR: ISRAEL POLICY FORUM (IPF) Posted by David Wilder, February 18, 2005.

Shalom. Holding the position I do in Hebron grants me the dubious honor of receiving and reading various works of dribble written about those of us living in the city of Abraham. I find all sorts of garbage on various web sites circulating throughout the internet universe. A few days ago I received another such article, written by someone named MJ Rosenberg, who is the Director of Policy Analysis for an organization called IPF - Israel Policy Forum. This organization's goal, as published on their web site, is "to support active and sustained American efforts aimed at resolving the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. In doing so, IPF seeks to strengthen Israeli security and to further U.S. foreign policy interests in the Middle East". Oh boy. Another one of those?. In any case, in an article dated February 11, called "Hebron Horrors," MJ Rosenberg tries to allay the so-called 'success' of the Sharm Summit. It is quite clear who Rosenberg holds responsible for the 'issues which produced the violence in the first place.' In order to rebut the author's view of 'Hebron Horrors' I am going to try and dismantle the article, piece by piece. And so we begin: Rosenberg: Hebron is a city considered holy by both Jews and Muslims because of the presence there of the Cave of Machpela, traditionally thought to be the burial place of Abraham, the patriarch of both Judaism and Islam. Predominantly Arab, Jews also lived in the city, adjacent to the tomb, until 1929 when a pogrom launched by Arab fanatics resulted in the murder of 69 Jews and the end of the Jewish presence in the city. What's missing? Several facts: (1) There was an almost continuous Jewish presence in Hebron for thousands of years. (2) The structure atop Ma'arat HaMachpela was constructed by Herod some 600 years before the birth of Muhammad. (3) The site, despite considered being 'holy' to both Jews and Muslims, was placed off-limits to anyone not Muslim, i.e., Jews and Christians, for 700 years. (4) True, the massacre was launched by fanatics, but was carried out by 'normal, everyday folk,' i.e., the Jews' next door friends and neighbors. Rosenberg: In 1967, following the Six Day War -- with Israel now in control of the West Bank, including Hebron -- ultra-religious Jewish nationalists pressured the Israeli government to permit Jewish settlers to reclaim, and move into, properties that had belonged to the Jewish community prior to 1929. The government refused. It arranged for Jewish worship inside the tomb but not for civilian settlement inside the city, which it considered to be both impractical and provocative. Only a tiny group of extremists (many from outside Israel) had any interest in living inside Hebron and - in the midst of a city of 160,000 Palestinians - they would need to be defended by hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers. The settlers moved in anyway, establishing illegal outposts in the heart of Hebron, which have been tolerated by successive Israeli governments for 36 years. Following the Oslo agreements, the Israeli army withdrew from all Palestinian cities except Hebron, where troops remained to defend the settlers. In 1997, the Israeli army withdrew from 80% of Hebron, remaining only in an area labeled H-2 which includes the Cave of Machpela, the Casbah (Arab market) and the Jewish settlements. (1)According to the Encyclopedia Judaica: "According to the 1967 census, conducted by Israel, Hebron had 38,309 inhabitants, all of whom (excepting 106 Christians) were Muslim. Hebron has a smaller percentage of Palestinian Arab refugees than most other places of the West Bank." (2)On June 8 1967 David Ben-Gurion said "we now control Jerusalem and that is one of the greatest of events - one of the first things that must be done is build neighborhoods - to immediately settle the Jewish Quarter. If there are empty Arab houses, we'll put Jews in them. The same is true for Hebron - I am sure that with the current mood, the people will go." Ben Gurion later wrote that "Hebron is a sister city to Jerusalem. [www.hebron.org.il/text/DBG.htm]. Golda Meir said the "Shehechiyanu" blessing, thanking G-d for allowing us to reach this joyous time. [http://news.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=173030] (3) Yigal Allon, then a government minister, encouraged and fully backed Rabbi Moshe Levinger and the plan to reestablish a Jewish community in Hebron. Allon later built Kiryat Arba. "There have always been Jews in Hebron, the cradle of our nation, and they will remain until they are evicted by force. [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/50/act/bg/bg5.html] (4) An overwhelming majority of the Jews arriving in Hebron in 1968, (as well as the present population) was and is native Israeli. In May, 1981, the Israeli government, led by Menachem Begin, officially recognized and authorized the renewal of a Jewish community in Hebron. There are no 'illegal outposts' in the center of Hebron, as claimed in the article. Some 400 settlers live in H-2 in the midst of 30,000 Palestinians. Hebron's current population consists of over 800 Jews, including almost 100 families, hundreds of children, and between 250-300 post-high school Yeshiva students at Yeshivat Shavei Hevron in Beit Romano. According to statistics received from Israeli security forces, in 1997 there were approximately 100,000 Arabs living in the entire Hebron Municipality (which includes Kiryat Arba - another 7,000 Jews) and about 20,000 Arabs in the H-2 Israeli controlled side of the city. That number has decreased significantly in the past 3 years. Rosenberg: Last month, I visited H-2 despite being told by an Israeli friend that it is "the worst place in the West Bank." How so? "The settlers there are religious fanatics and dedicate their lives to terrorizing the Palestinians with the goal of driving them all out. The Palestinians can't fight back because the army won't let them. On top of all that, the settlers hate the soldiers almost as much as they hate the Palestinians because the soldiers try to curb their activities. These soldiers are in a situation where they have to defend fanatics who routinely refer to them as Nazis." "But," he added, "so long as the settlers are there, the soldiers must remain as well. Snipers, shooting from the hills, have killed Jews [including a two year old, Shalhevet Pass] and, so the soldiers need to be there, no matter how much they hate it." This is simply not true. (1) All residents of Hebron are religiously observant. So are many other Jews in Israel and around the world. We are no more 'fanatical' than anyone else. (2) We dedicate our lives to living, attempting to live normal lives in very hostile surroundings. We do not 'dedicate our lives to terrorizing Palestinians.' To the contrary, they dedicate their lives trying to kill us. For two years we were shot at, day and night. (3) Arab terror in Hebron is a fact of life. Hand grenades are hurled at automobiles. Last week an Arab attempted to kill an Israeli soldier with a knife. An Arab exploded on Hebron's main street, killing a couple from Kiryat Arba. Last year an Arab started shooting at Jewish cars on the road leading to Tel Rumeida, injuring two people. (4) Hebron's Jewish residents do not hate Israeli soldiers. In fact we are very happy that they are here and we try to make their lives more comfortable while they are serving here, including offering them food, drink and a Shabbat meal. The only time there is friction between Jewish residents and soldiers is when the soldiers are ordered to act as police. Community leaders have repeatedly tried to prevent this, unsuccessfully. There are frequent meetings between the community leadership and local commanding officers. The community holds a party for each unit upon conclusion its service in Hebron. (5) Hebron's Jews do not 'routinely' refer to soldiers as Nazis. (6) A vast majority of soldiers do not 'hate' being in Hebron. Many of them are quite happy serving here. Rosenberg: I walked into the heart of H-2 following a short inquisition by an IDF soldier. My first stop was the Ibrahami Mosque, which encompasses the Tomb of the Patriarchs. As I walked down the steps toward the mosque, a young Palestinian made the point of informing me that I was following the same route Jewish zealot Baruch Goldstein took when, in February 1994, he burst into the mosque and shot dead 29 Muslims at prayer. Goldstein is a hero to the Hebron settlers. His burial place (in a tourist park named after Meir Kahane) was turned into a shrine where settlers annually celebrate Goldstein's murder spree with parties and games. (In 2004, police arrested some of them for holding an illegal celebration of both the Goldstein murders and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin). For Palestinians, of course, the Goldstein massacre is a symbol of the ultimate threat. The author's bias becomes exceeding clear by speaking of Ma'arat HaMachpela as the 'Ibrahimi Mosque,' thereby negating legitimate Jewish rights to worship at the site. According to Islam, only Muslims can pray at a mosque. Therefore, Rosenberg implicitly agrees that this holy site should be inaccessible to Jews and Christians. Of course, no besmirching of Hebron would be complete without mentioning Baruch Goldstein. Hebron's Jewish community has repeated, time and time again, that it rejects all illegitimate and unnecessary violence. The fact is that no Hebron Jewish resident has ever used a weapon to indiscriminately shoot Arabs in Hebron. Goldstein's grave site is not a shrine, rather it is located in an isolated area in Kiryat Arba. The grave stone was erected by his family, as is customary for any deceased person. The site and the nearby park are not tourist attractions. The generalization that 'Goldstein is a hero to the Hebron settlers' is grossly distorted. Baruch Goldstein, in his capacity as a regional doctor, saved many people's lives following terror attacks in and around Hebron. I can honestly say that there are very mixed feelings about his actions in February, 1994 amongst people in Hebron and Kiryat Arba, including many people who knew him personally and were his friends. Rosenberg: I left the mosque and walked through the mostly deserted Casbah toward the settlers' neighborhood. There wasn't much to see, just settlers strutting around with rifles and a few Arabs trying to sell their wares in what was once a thriving market and is now mostly abandoned. And there is the graffiti in English and Hebrew promising death to all Palestinians. But the most striking thing is the steel mesh screens that the Arabs have installed just above the heads of pedestrians to protect them from the garbage and excrement routinely dumped by the settlers from their second floor windows. The screens catch all sorts of disgusting stuff and lethal objects like cinder blocks, although liquid debris does make its way to the ground or on the heads of anyone below. It's an appalling sight. Imagine looking up and seeing and smelling the foulest debris just above your head, stopped only by mesh. But then everything about H-2 is appalling, including the fact that Israeli soldiers are forced to serve there. Of course, there isn't much to see, from Rosenberg's perspective. Jewish sanctity at Hebron is nonexistent, be it at Ma'arat HaMachpela, the Tomb of Jessie and Ruth, or the Avraham Avinu synagogue, not to mention Jewish holy sites which are 'off-limits' to Jews, such as the cave of Otniel ben Knaz (the first Judge in Israel) and the tomb of Avner ben Ner (adjacent to Ma'arat HaMachpela. (1)Jews do not 'strut' with rifles. People carry arms for reasons of self-defense. There are Jews alive today because they had weapons to protect themselves with. And vice versa. (2) The 'once thriving market' is no longer thriving due to the fact that Hebron's Arabs declared war on the city's Jewish population, shooting at us day and night for two years. Rosenberg does not see fit to even mention this fact anywhere in the article (excepting a brief notation concerning the killing of 10 month old Shalhevet Pass). The shops were closed by the Israel Defense Forces in accordance with security precautions needed to protect Israelis in the city. According to all estimates, this threat has not yet passed and the stores are still closed. Concerning graffiti and garbage: Rosenberg neglects to mention that the wire screening also acts as a deterrent, preventing Arabs from hurling rocks, hand grenades and other explosive devices (bombs) into the Jewish homes and playgrounds from the Casbah. It is not an infrequent event that rocks and other projectiles are thrown at Jewish homes, particularly in the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. I have written in previous articles that Hebron's Jews are not perfect. We are also people, not angels. Our children, have been constantly attacked by Arabs, either on the streets or from afar, (people were shot at in their homes, cars and walking on the streets. Hebron youth were stabbed and seriously wounded by Arab terrorists). Therefore it is no wonder that graffiti, expressing 'dislike' for our enemies, be seen on walls in Hebron. This is certainly not a 'just solution' to the problems we face, but I can image much more serious reactions to such events as we've dealt with in Hebron over the past four years. The final paragraphs of Rosenberg's column deal with 'eyewitness accounts' of soldiers in Hebron. I will not reprint them here - you can read them for yourselves if you so desire [http://www.israelpolicyforum.org/display.cfm?rid=1579]. The group, called 'Breaking Silence' used its military service in Hebron as a springboard to launch a new 'leftwing' form of expression. The photo exhibition and accounts deal primarily with the soldiers and relationships amongst themselves, as opposed to dealing directly with Hebron. Unfortunately, over the past decade, the role of Israeli military personnel has been maligned, and as a result, many soldiers are unaware of their true purpose. They have little understanding of the importance and significance of Eretz Yisrael. (Many of them arrive in Hebron knowing virtually nothing about the historic importance of the city.) Their ability to defend themselves was, for many years, greatly curtailed, with army morale falling leaps and bounds. This has led to groups, such as 'Breaking Silence,' which, under different circumstances, could be defined as treasonous as well as 'aiding and abetting the enemy.' In Israel, if you are on the left side of the political spectrum, this is legitimate. I will not relate to the individual 'accounts' for there is absolutely no proof of their veracity. Rosenberg: That is why Hebron is significant. In one neighborhood, in one city, on any given day, anyone can experience the occupation at its worst -- terrible for the Palestinians and terrible for the Israelis too. The Sharm el-Sheikh summit was a start toward a full ceasefire and the end of the Intifada. But it won't change much in Hebron or in the rest of the West Bank either. As for Gaza, Ariel Sharon is getting out. That is if extremists in the Knesset, and settlers very much like their brethren in Hebron, let him. But a start is certainly better than the status quo. Why is it a given that Jews, living in Hebron represent 'occupation? ' Why can't a Jew live in the first Jewish city in Israel? I understand from Rosenberg's remarks that anyone opposing Sharon's plans in Gush Katif is an extremist - "... if extremists in the Knesset, and settlers very much like their brethren in Hebron ..." meaning that 'they' (in the Knesset) and all other settlers are comparable to us (their brethren in Hebron). In other words, Rosenberg's article isn't really dealing with Hebron - rather it is describing his vision of reality amongst all Jews living in Yesha, and all others around the country who support us. That is, about 50% of the Jews living in Israel. In other words, I am in good company. According to Rosenberg's reality, at least half of the Jews living in Israel represent 'horror.' The only thing left to say is: The only horror I've witnessed in MJ Rosenberg's article is that of another self-hating Jew, true, self-hating horror. With blessings from Hebron. David Wilder is spokesman of The Jewish Community of Hebron. You can contribute directly to The Jewish Community of Hebron, POB10, Kiryat Arba-Hebron 90100, hebron@hebron.org.il, 972-2-9965333 or write to The Hebron Fund, 1760 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, hebronfund@aol.com To Go To Top

PRETENDING IT'S NOT TERRORISM; FACTS DON'T DENT IDEOLOGY; NGO'S ON REFUGEES Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 18, 2005.

PRETENDING IT'S NOT TERRORISM Citing 13 examples of a widespread phenomenon, Daniel Pipes finds that authorities in the US and abroad refuse to consider that crimes committed in a terrorist modus operandi were terrorism. The officials are more worried about stimulating a backlash against Muslims. What they are doing is encouraging terrorists to feel they can lash us with impunity (NY Sun, 2/8/, p.7). Why can't the officials do their jobs but also suggest that not all Muslims commit such crimes and warn people not to take the law into their own hands? In Israel, too, they hesitate to identify as terrorism certain crimes such as the frequent Arab attempts to run Israeli cars off the road. Denial is disgraceful, but it helps keep Oslo afloat. FOCUS OF PM SHARON'S CONCERN Meeting with his top officers, PM Sharon asked for proposals on how to deal with the P.A. bombardment of Siderot, within the Green Line. His officers had to remind him that the mortars and rockets also fall on Jewish communities in Gaza (IMRA, 2/22). Revealing! RAMIFICATION OF "CEASEFIRE" In agreeing to a ceasefire, did PM Sharon give immunity to terrorists' smuggling of arms through tunnels from Sinai? (IMRA, 2/23.) CORRUPT VS. TREASONOUS POLITICIANS Many if not most Israeli Members of Knesset are corrupted by the perquisites of their jobs. They will swallow almost any danger to their country, to keep their Membership. That is worse than ordinary misfeasance. Politicians such as Peres and Sharon commit treason by appeasing and enabling the Arab enemy to murder fellow Israelis, by pursuing the same policies that led to hundreds of murders before. These politicians, with their offer of arms to the Arabs, pullbacks of avenging troops, and release of convicted terrorists, enable Arabs to commit more murders. The politicians, from Prime Minister on down, who make not just bad decisions, but hasty ones that predictably and repeatedly endanger their people should be put out of office and into life imprisonment. Instead, they pay no price -- ordinary Israelis pay it (Winston Mid-East Analysis). JUSTIFICATION FOR WAR IN IRAQ Nobody knew definitely whether Saddam possessed weapons of mass-destruction. (He had had them, he retained the weapons development staff on his payroll, falsified or withheld some documentation of having destroyed the weapons, and he evaded UNO inspection.) The war was justified because Saddam: (1) Had used poison gas against Iraqi Kurds and against Iranians; (2) Had built a nuclear reactor, but Israel destroyed it (and he re-started the nuclear weapons program, importing the materials for it); (3) Attacked Iran, Kuwait, S. Arabia, and Israel, and remained a destabilizing threat; and (4) Violated a dozen Security Council resolutions requiring certain steps. The US did not rush to war (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2004, p.45 from Shlomo Avineri, Jer. Post, 10/26/04). He also trained and insured terrorists. Sanctions did not work; allies in the UN were about to free him of all restraints, whereupon his nuclear staff would be free to resume their nefarious work. The US spent years on inspections and negotiations. Those years were fruitless. I think they were wasted. There is too much pretense that fanatical dictators should be given a lot of time to negotiate, that they would negotiate in good faith, and that negotiations with them would resolve anything. All we really need in the way of time is enough to gauge their fanaticism. WHAT ISRAEL GETS ACROSS TO THE ARABS Israel's chief of staff briefed the Cabinet about the war. He said there was quiet in Gaza. Actually, there were several terrorist attacks from and in Gaza. The chief was lying. The Cabinet knew it, but objected not. They went along with the pretense, the same as the Cabinet went along with similar pretenses during the early years of Oslo (IMRA, 2/23). Under the pretense of terrorism having ended, Israel would have an excuse to sign an agreement with the Arabs. The Arabs would be pretending that by this agreement, they are making peace. Pres. Bush would pretend that he is the great peacemaker. In the end, more Jews would slain, perhaps all. SECRETARY RICE'S BRIGHT THOUGHT After visiting Israel, Sec. "Rice said that she thought the prospects for peace were brighter than they have been in years." The US will work on it, she said. The US had not explained to Congress how it would spend the 225% increase in aid it proposed for the P.A. (Eli Lake, NY Sun, 2/8, p.7). I would say that the prospects for signing an agreement have increased, but the prospects for peace are darker than they have been in years. Here is why. A terrorist won the election in the P.A.. He continues to praise the martyrs he long had financed. The rest of the world praises him as moderate. Other countries are training his terrorists. The appeasement-minded leadership of Israel is waiting for an excuse to make concessions that will enable him to multiply their casualties ten-fold. Victory is within sight for him. ISRAELI PROFESSOR FINDS HAVEN IN U.S. Hebrew U. seemed about to bring up on charges a radical feminist professor of anthropology at Hebrew U., Meira Weiss. The media are not telling the whole story (why not?), but hinted at fabrication and plagiarism from her doctoral dissertation until the present. She gave some medical courses in which she alleged medical differences in the Jewish body. She claimed that the early Zionists had practiced or endorsed mass eugenics. Her claims are based on obvious distortion of what they said, judging by her quotations. Since it is a serious matter to mislead medical people, the university proceeded against her, despite her having tenure. She resigned. Now she is a visiting professor of anthropology at Berkeley. The question is why Berkeley would hire her (Prof. Steven Plaut, 1/23, e-mail). Prof. Plaut alleges other peculiar theories by her, but he did not make clear why they are peculiar, he just heaped ridicule on them. FRANCE VERSUS THE U.S. "In the Middle East, America favors change through democratic reform, while the French covet their friendships with many of the region's despots." "Many in the developing world may ultimately prefer America's vision of liberty and self-determination to France's cynical statecraft." (Mark Molesky, NY Sun, 2/8, Op. Ed.). The US long favored some of those dictatorships, until they clashed with the US. The US still aids Egypt, the P.A., and Jordan, and coddles S. Arabia. It favors the territorial claims of Syria and the P.A. against Israel. The US has not converted any dictatorship into democracy, in the Mideast - no results yet. It undermines the little democracy that Israel has. As for France, it doesn't favor dictators but anybody who will work with it. MAYOR INVITES ISLAMISTS TO TEACH Michael Bloomberg had been a Democrat until he saw more opportunity to run for Mayor of New York City on the Republican line. In his re-election campaign, he accepted endorsement by the Independence Party, whose leader is a notorious, Communist-like, antisemite. His first main project was to recapture control over the public schools, formerly run by an independent Board. He promised to apply business principles to the schools' mismanagement, and use educational principles of proven worth. Upon succeeding in gaining control, he challenged the public to judge him by that department's progress. It did not progress. His department head hired "progressives" to institute educational policy. They instituted principles of proven worthlessness, particularly the "whole language" method of teaching English. "Progressives" don't progress. Although the Mayor had promised to reduce the old bureaucracy and consult more with parents, department head Klein filled in a layer of high-priced bureaucrats and froze parents out. Klein, an aggressive lawyer, confuses management with one-way communication, from him to his staff. Professionals who offer suggestions and criticisms are not tolerated. His aides, many of whom are inexperienced in the field, micro-manage not particularly the business end of the department but particularly the teaching end. Teachers are told what to say the whole period, regardless of what would be effective for their particular students. The old problems of excessive paperwork and insufficient classrooms remain. The job has become a demeaning, clerical one. Incompetence can be forgiven. Unforgivable is the Administration's approach to the Mideast. It has hired Columbia University's Mideastern studies department to instruct teachers, on the Mideast -- its culture and its conflicts. That is the department under fire for being staffed with Islamists. These professors are not scholars but anti-American and antisemitic propagandists. They impose their views and their tempers on their students in typical Arab polemicalfashion, and insult their Jewish and especially their Israeli ones with canards. The department's head, Prof. Khalidi, is subsidized largely by foreign Arabs, hostile to the West. When this project became known, people objected. Khalidi et al insist that Israel is racist, oppressive, and should be destroyed, and find no fault with the Arab aggressors who plan to take over our country. The City relented to the extent of disassociating Khalidi from the project. The City intends to keep the rest of the Columbia U. staff in the project. Totalitarians are to instruct our public school teachers on the Mideast. The course would be one of disinformation and defamation, Islamism and anti-Americanism. It was bad enough that the City hired the Columbia U. department in the midst of the scandals attesting to a lack of academic integrity and to a purpose of subversion. It is far worse that after this scandal and its implications for the project were brought to the City's attention, the only change was to remove only one of the offending professors. So yes, I will judge Mayor Bloomberg by what he has done with the schools. He has brought the enemy into them. He has become our enemy. I regret that this incident did not occur last October, when we voters could have taken it into account. I will, next time. I wish a candidate would not be so bad that I have to be stuck with whoever wins the other Party's primary. There are other aspects of Bloomberg's incumbency. Some are to his credit. His favoring of boondoggles at a time of great deficits is to his discredit. Bringing Islamists into the public schools, however, is like bringing in those other totalitarians who hated the US and the Jews - the Nazis and Communists. It is unconscionable. It dwarfs all other considerations. ISRAELIS DIE FOR P.R., IN VAIN In 1971, I found Israelis ready to act on their national interests. They now give priority to world public opinion. What made the change? I think two factors. First, their enemies learned the art of public relations, but they did not. Their enemies, who influence most world leaders and the media, turned world public opinion against them. This opinion largely is antisemitic, too. Second, and somewhat related, the Left, especially in Israel, spent decades on subverting Israeli nationalism. It turned Israel into a politically correct, somewhat multicultural society, increasingly divorced from its Jewish roots, refusing to define national interests, and probably bribed and blackmailed into becoming solicitous of world public opinion. To think, this was the nation that set Western standards of ethics! Now it cringes before the unethical standards of others. The more it bows, the more it is bullied. Israeli obsequiousness means less retaliation against Arab terrorism and more appeasement of foreign demands for ceasefires when Israel is winning. Israel waits for the terrorists to perfect their techniques and evade security checks with a certain number of fatal attacks, before rooting out the particular cell involved. More rarely does Israel, against world protest, sweep the whole Territories for terrorists and their weapons. After it starts to, it soon accedes to foreign demands, and withdraws. Israel does not know how to, nor do its anti-Jewish leaders want to, tell the world that it must apprehend and disarm all the attempted killers of its people, and if he world doesn't approve of its police action, then it condemns itself as approving of the Arabs' criminal action. Those leaders of Israel sacrifice their own people for public relations. Do they get good P.R.? No. The world is too antisemitic for that. Then why keep trying in vain? It is neurotic. The Jewish people needs to heal itself and stand up for what is right, that is, for itself as the victim of aggression and entitled to its own country in its own homeland and as an opponent of the same jihad that has breached world peace and threatens to take over, if not take down, the world. CODDLING SYRIA AND IRAN Does it make sense for the US to coddle Syria and Iran, as they send insurgents against US forces in Iraq (not to mention against Israel)? WHEN FACTS DON'T DENT IDEOLOGY Having seen statistics that correlated terrorism with poverty, and having been given a story about Islam being tolerant, my interlocutor insisted that eradicating poverty would end terrorism and Islam is the most tolerant major religion. No amount of facts could sway him. He did not even consider them. He just waited until I was finished adducing them. It made no difference to him that many societies poorer than the Arabs do not produce terrorists. UNRWA cares for the medical, educational, and nutritional needs of the Palestinian Arab refugee descendants, but they are organized to consider themselves wronged and Allah bloodthirsty. They become terrorists. The wealthy Saudis produce the most terrorists. Terrorism is a tool of fanatical ideologies. Islam is the most intolerant religion. My interlocutor was judging by the Quran, alone, which is only part of what makes up that faith. He cited some favorable passages, without realizing that the unfavorable ones, that are rabidly intolerant, are given priority, because they came later. Apparently he also judges Judaism equally naively and also by its Bible, alone, as if it did not evolve. Judaism judges people by their behavior, not by their religion. Christianity has become more tolerant. It no longer mounts crusades and pogroms; Muslims do. DOES THE U.S. PROMOTE DEMOCRACY? The US may have meant to promote democracy by elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the P.A.. Unfortunately, the elections came too early in the process to do so. There should have been a clean break with terrorism, not financial aid to the P.A., still wedded to terrorism and jihad. The US condones Pakistan's non-democratic regime (Amity Shlaes on Natan Sharansky's views, NY Sun, 2/8, p.9). With Pakistan, the US is in its usual position. It fears that a successor regime would be worse, and that the incumbent is cooperating with the US. Pakistan's incumbent, however, engaged in nuclear proliferation and helped terrorists stationed in Afghanistan. Remember, he had advised Muslims that thereafter, he would appear to be ant-terrorist. Why does the US not know that? Because our intelligence and diplomatic experts always fall for the deals that offer crumbs of intelligence and cooperation, leaving the enemy to work against us on a grander scale. REPORTING TERRORISM IN ISRAEL "Gush Katif residents say that the IDF is anxious to conceal incidents or reduce their scope in order not to impair the public impression that Palestinian terrorism in Gaza has ended." The residents cited cases in which the IDF claimed the firing was one burst but actually was of some duration and caused damage. Newspapers don't report what the IDF doesn't (IMRA, 1/23). DOES CEASEFIRE APPLY TO ARMS TUNNELS? The IDF replied that it does not. If the P.A. does not thwart that terrorist activity, the IDF would (IMRA, 1/23). CHECKPOINT WATCH WOMEN The commander of a checkpoint apprised his superior of this incident. An Arab driver of a truck tried to run down his men. While the commander was dealing with the driver, a Checkpoint Watch Women member kept following him around, taking notes, and threatening to report him. The commander felt that the agitator deliberately was encouraging the driver, and he felt intimidated from arresting the driver. Other soldiers report that the women urge Arabs to pass through as they please, without submitting to a thorough examination. The soldiers are afraid to say anything to the women, lest the women distort it and file a complaint against them. The soldiers feel discouraged. A senior commander declared that the women make the patrol dangerous (Arutz-7, 1/24). The checkpoint soldiers should be encouraged to arrest drivers who try to run them over and the women who encourage Arabs to break through the checkpoints, and otherwise interfere. The soldiers should not be afraid that the women would file false reports against them. One is tempted to ask, what kind of soldiers are these. It would be unfair to the soldiers. The problem is higher up, in the top brass, including the Prime Minister. These leftists have instilled an atmosphere of hostility to doing a professional job of guarding against anti-terrorism. Hence the women's false complaints are taken seriously. They do not seem to care about casualties among the Jews. Their concern is for the Arabs. They want Israel to withdraw. They are not fit for command. They have let their politics overcome their professionalism, and their ignorance or prejudice overcome their common sense. The Left complains that right-wing settlers get away with lawlessness. Actually, those leftist women get away with treason. ANTISEMITISM IN A NUT'S SHELL "'Anybody who advocates for divesting only from the Jewish state ... at a time when Iraq was posing a great threat to the world, when Iran was posing great threats ... when China is oppressing million of Tibetans, when the Kurds are still denied independence and statehood, to single out only Israel for divestiture at that point in time cannot be explained by neutral political, even ideological consideration,' Mr. Dershowitz said. One professor said that faculty members are afraid of ostracism and jeopardizing their careers if they speak out against the drive to divest from Israel. A student criticized Mr. Dershowitz as wanting "to marginalize the pro-Palestinian voices on campuses" (Jacob Gershman, NY Sun, 2/8, p.10). Mr. Dershowitz was describing basic antisemitism. He isn't trying to stop anyone from making a case for the Arabs but from stifling Jews' opinions. Such bullying is happening at Columbia U., where he spoke. Since faculty members are afraid to defend the Jews, the problem is not marginalizing pro-Arab voices but marginalizing pro-Israel voices. The student has turned the problem upside down. Thus the Arab aggressors are depicted as the victims, and the Jewish victims as the aggressors. It is an old piece of demagoguery. THE RETURN OF THE COLD WAR The Cold War never really ended. It just has been taking Pres. Putin some time to recover the centralized power that broke down in the Soviet Union. One of Putin's current reversions to the former Soviet role is to work against the US by arming the Arabs. (Might he now be doing it for the money, alone?) Thus he is selling Syria 20 missiles that are so modern, they can evade US anti-missile missiles (and therefore probably Israeli) counter-measures. He had signed an agreement with Turkey and Israel not to sell advanced weapons to their adversaries. Syria is Israel's adversary. Therefore, Putin is breaking the agreement. The Soviets repeatedly cheated on their disarmament or arms limitation agreements with the US. We cannot depend on Good faith by Russia. Neither can Israel, but PM Sharon does. Clever in tactics, that farm boy is naïve about world politics. Since Russia has such a capability, and it has ICBM's, and it is acting as if the Cold War has returned, it poses a nuclear threat to the US. The US would be wise to re-target Russia with its own ICBM's, to regain its deterrent. Russia also is building a defense system for Iran's nuclear plant development. Therefore, the time for action against Syria and Iran is now, before they become much harder nuts to crack. At least, the US should let Russia's economy collapse. The EU may need the US more than it thinks (Winston Mid East Analysis, 1/24). Can the US rely on Russia's promise not to help Iran get nuclear arms? RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN SYRIA This revival alarms the ruling Party, which incorporates Islamic antisemitism into its public schools but is not otherwise an Islamist regime (Dr. Joseph Lerner, IMRA, 1/24). Its alarm is over the prospect of losing power and to a faction that considers its Alawite members infidels, and you know what Islamists want to do to infidels. IRAN'S NUCLEAR PLANS LEAKED TO CIA Iran has been arresting scientists, to stem the leaks (IMRA, 1/24) BITING ITS U.S. SUBSIDIZER The state-run news media of Egypt compares the US and Israel unfavorably to Nazi Germany. It accuses the US of dropping poisoned food packets in Afghanistan and of spreading AIDS in Africa. In answer to terrorism, including 9/11, an Egyptian editor blamed the West, as "currently engaged in a war of annihilation against Muslims" (because we killed a tiny fraction after having been attacked and threatened). Pres. Mubarak warns the US that if his regime falls, the Islamists would inherit it. Egypt is a breeding ground of Islamist terrorists. The US should assist the more reformist opposition (Max Boot, NY Sun, 2/11, Op-Ed). The US hardly protests this rabid defamation of it, when it gives Egypt $2 billion a year, mostly for its military. NGO VIEWS ON ARAB REFUGEES Under guise of humanitarianism, Amnesty lntl., Human Rights Watch, and other NGOs campaign for the descendants of Arab refugees from Israel to immigrate to Israel or be compensated. They do not campaign for the same thing for Jewish refugees from Arab states (who, unlike the Arabs, were forced out), nor for other refugees. They know that "refugee-return" is a euphemism for swamping the Jewish state with enough Arabs to sink its existence. Their one-sidedness and favoring of Arab efforts to destroy Israel reflect a political and not a humanitarian agenda IMRA, 1/24). These NGOs are anti-humanitarian, when it sits their radical ideology. ABBAS DEMANDS THAT ISRAEL NOT DEFEND ITSELF Abbas complains that Israeli defensive measures weaken his anti-terrorism (IMRA, 1/25). "It should be noted that while Mahmoud Abbas demands Israel stop defending itself that Israel is thwarting major terrorist attacks daily via the very action that Abbas wants halted. The irony: if even one of those major attacks hadn't been thwarted it could have easily undermined all his efforts." Let us get this straight. Israel should stop fighting terrorism and let its people get killed, until Abbas, who has no record of anti-terrorism and a long record of pro-terrorism, somehow ends terrorism, though he promises not to use force to stop those fanatical terrorists whose efforts he praises. Sounds like a scam. It always has been. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

WHY ISRAELI PUBLIC RELATIONS ARE BAD Posted by Albert G. Silverton, February 18, 2005.

Yes, Israel's public relations ability couldn't be worse. It's leadership seems to be in a trance as to what is going on in the rest of the world's distorted picture of Israel. The exception has been Israel's ambassador to that infamous outfit the United Crooked Nation. But, the biggest cause for all the opprobrium foisted on Israel is its non leader Arik Sharon. A prime minister and president should be the principle source for justifying a nation's activities. Please picture current leaders such as the president of the United States, the prime minister of Great Britain, the president of Russia, they are at the forefront daily justifying what is transpiring. Sharon once in a while belches out some of his intentions and reasons. Most of the time he puts his foot in his mouth and attracts more criticism. Sharon has a bunch of posterior kissing morons around him that supposedly are his mouth pieces. They also make matters worse. Evidently Sharon has the support of the Jews in Israel. The Knesset voted overwhelmingly to support his retreat from Gaza. It is said that Jews are smart. A minority are, but the Jewish masses are as dumb or dumber than the rest of the world. To Go To Top

U.S. DENIES SHARON'S CLAIM OF KEEPING WEST BANK Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 18, 2005.

The first and most obvious question is who's the liar here? However, a bit of reflection makes it clear that all those involved are liars. The true goal has never been to establish a "Palestinian" State but to destroy the Jewish one. If, G-D forbid, we were to be once again drive out of Israel into exile, the Americans, Europeans, Arabs and "Israelis" would quickly loose all interest in a "Palestinian" State. The only difference between the above and Sharon, Peres, et al (the Israelis) is that they wish to destroy the Jewish state and replace it with an "Israeli" one. However for sufficient compensation they are willing to forego this as well. This article was written by Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily's Jerusalem bureau chief, whose past interview subjects have included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Shlomo Ben Ami and leaders of the Taliban. It is archived at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42908 Prime minister used supposed Bush promise to justify Gaza withdrawal JERUSALEM - The U.S. has denied a claim, used by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to justify plans to withdraw Jewish settlements from Gaza this summer, that the Bush administration has reached an agreement with Israel to allow Jewish settlements to remain in the West Bank, WorldNetDaily has learned. Sharon said Tuesday, in response to a journalist's question, that he agreed to pull soldiers and settlers from Gaza because of assurances from President Bush that large settlements in the West Bank would remain part of the Jewish state. Sharon, speaking to reporters after giving his annual address to the foreign press corps, said Bush supported the concept of a final peace agreement in which Israel would retain land in the West Bank and not accept Palestinian refugees if the Jewish state carried out the Gaza withdrawal. "I don't think that we made compromise or concessions without getting anything in return," Sharon said. "In the agreement between Bush and myself we [received] tremendous achievements that Israel never had since its establishment." But an e-mail obtained by WND from Paul Patin, the press attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, flatly denied Sharon's claim. Patin was responding yesterday to a message received from David Bedein, director of the Israel Resource News Agency, a media firm based in Jerusalem, asking, "The Israeli PM declared ... that the government of Israel has reached an agreement with the U.S. government to allow settlement blocs to remain in Judea and Samaria. Can the U.S. government confirm such an agreement?" Pattin answered, "No." In April, Bush sent to Sharon a formal letter discussing the Gaza withdrawal and outlining understandings between the U.S. and Israel. Before the official release of the letter, the Israeli media reported Bush had agreed to allow Israel to retain the West Bank after the Gaza withdrawal is carried out. But the letter contained no direct promise regarding the West Bank. Some analysts say Bush hinted about Israel keeping parts of the West Bank when he wrote, "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949." The pre-1949 borders did not include the West Bank. Bedein told WND: "The letter made no promise about retaining the West Bank. The claims by Sharon are part of a process of misrepresenting the American government and taking advantage of a sympathetic president by twisting his words to fit Sharon's agenda." Bush's April letter also dealt with Palestinian refugees. "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel," wrote Bush. But Bedein says, "Bush's letter does not reject the 'right of return' of Arab refugees to the sovereign state of Israel. Instead, the U.S. simply encourages Palestinian Arab refugees to settle in a future Palestinian state, 'rather than Israel.' Bush could have said 'only' in a Palestinian state. He did not." To Go To Top

PASTOR JIM VINEYARD: LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER SHARON Posted by Women in Green, February 18, 2005.

On February 10, 2005, Pastor Jim Vineyard who has a Baptist Congregation of over 3500 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the States, wrote a letter to Ariel Sharon, as he does almost daily. Minister Vineyard attempted to place his writing as an Open Letter Ad today, Friday, in the local and international editions of the Jerusalem Post. The Editor of the Post wanted to censor part of the last paragraph of the Pastor's letter. Pastor Vineyard thought what he wrote was accurate and fair Biblical commentary. The Post refused to publish this AD. The letter is found below in its entirety. Dear Mr. Prime Minister, Christian-Zionist's greetings to you, Sir, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sir, I am writing to you about the Sham of Sharm. This morning I read (material from Israel) that Avi Pazner, acting in his capacity as press spokesman for yourself, said (to 100 reporters who got off the plane at Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai to cover the summit, between yourself and Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen), King Abdullah and President Mubarak), "They will declare quiet. They will not sign anything. Sharon will not sign anything. The important thing is the 'quiet.'" Further, I read (more material from Israel), "At this summit, we will see calls for a cessation to violence," repeated Gideon Meir, a spokesman for the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs. "There will be no cease fire proclaimed here today." This was told to reporters as they arrived at an improvised press center established in small villas and tents next to the Movenpick Hotel. Sir, in other words, the consistent message in what the official Israeli government spokes people told the media was a "generalized call" for an end to violence. However, the summit participants held no press conference so that reporters could ask the principals at the summit what they meant by an end to violence. And, then, Mr. Prime Minister, I read in Arutz Sheva, "The Ceasefire" and "New Hope for Peace" declared at Sharm a-Sheikh (just two days ago) exploded last night (just as we knew back here in Oklahoma that it would, Sir) and today amidst 36 Arab-fired mortar shells and Kassam rockets at Gush Katif towns. Kfar Darom spokesman Asher Mivtzari says the tremendous amount of mortar shells shows that there is "guidance" from higher (Israeli) political echelons. "We see that no shells have hit Sderot, while Gush Katif is pounded mercilessly," he said. "It is clear that Abu Mazen is allowing,while at the same time receiving, a signal from Sharon that it is okay to hit Gush Katif, as long as Sderot is left out of the equation." We call upon the Prime Minister and defense minister," said Gush Katif spokesman Eran Sternberg, "To open their eyes and see with whom we are making this imaginary peace, and to whom they are making the gestures [of removing roadblocks, releasing prisoners, and the like]." MK Uri Ariel said very simply, "Sharon has abandoned Gush Katif and its residents; the fact that there have been no wounded has nothing to do with him... the soldiers can no longer merely open fire on suspected infiltrators; they have to ask permission from their higher-ups, and it takes awhile. All the Hamas leaders have now come out of their holes, and are walking around free, preparing for the next round of terror. (Releasing all these murderers will never bring one dead Israeli child back to life.) Mr. Prime Minister, how in the world can you, as a duly elected official of the Israeli people, allow this kind of barbaric behavior to proceed against the apple of J-h G-d's eye - the Jews of Israel. G-d promised this land to the Jews. G-d has a plan to re-gather them there, which he has done. You are going against the plan of Almighty G-d. Sir, I promise you that from here on I will use all the energies I have left, to call on every Jew whom I know, to do everything they can to "throw you out of office as Prime Minister in Israel." And, just as G-d dealt with Israel's first king, King Saul, and dealt with Israel's most wicked king, King Ahab, I am asking the L-d G-d of Israel to deal with you. What a travesty you are to the nation of Israel! Sincerely, Jim Vineyard, Baptist Minister, friend and lover of Israel Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

"PROTEXIA" IN ISRAEL Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 17, 2005.

Why is it that every time I hear of anything connected to PM Ariel (Arik) Sharon and his family, I immediately think of "Protexia" (high connections)? It has just been announced that Sharon's hand-picked Attorney General, Menachem (Mani) Mazuz proclaimed that Sharon has been exonerated from the accusation of illegal fund-raising through shell companies during his election campaign. But, as if a bone must be thrown to the citizens of Israel, Omri, Sharon's son was indicted for perjury, corporate fraud, breach of trust, conspiracy to commit a crime and a few other things connected to the same false front companies for raising illegal campaign money for their father during the 1999 primary campaign. If convicted, these penalties carry a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison. These are the same charges which would have been placed against Arik Sharon had AG Mazuz decided not to indict the Prime Minister - as well as the PM's advisors Dov Weisglass, Uri Shani and Ya'akov Katz. [Immediately, I matched the trickery of Kofi Annan and his son, Kojo, in the Oil-For-Food scandal, where Annan denied knowing what his son was doing for years. Somehow, we all know that Annan will get off scot-free - along with his son.] For some time the general opinion of Sharon and his sons is that they have gotten away with various shady deals because of what is called "Protexia" in Israel. There was the Greek Island Affair, wherein Attorney General Mazuz found that there was no evidence that either Sharon or his other son, Gilad were guilty of manipulating Israeli law. In Israel, where high ranking politicians and family never go to jail, indictments are often merely showpieces for the people. Omri Sharon is very close to his father and they see each other daily. As in Kofi Annan's relationship with his son, does anyone believe that they do not talk - that plans are not shared, particularly where large amounts of money are concerned? Those close to Sharon in the past knew that it was in Sharon's nature as a General to be knowledgeable about even the smallest detail of a campaign, be it military or political. There was no way he could not know what his son Omri was doing to raise millions in illegal campaign money for him. When Sharon was planning his election campaign wherein both his sons were so deeply involved in the planning strategy, is it believable that Sharon did not know that his son Omri was setting up shell companies to tap local and foreign individuals for large contributions? At this moment Sharon is bulldozing his Plan for 'Disengagement' by deporting Jews out of their homes, farms, businesses, factories, schools, synagogues and even their cemeteries by pressuring the Knesset, manipulating their votes by forcing out the Nationalists to bring in the anti-Nationalist Labor Left. So he won a Knesset vote by 59 to 40. But, Sharon could not afford to be indicted for breaking the election fund-raising laws. Someone else had to take the fall for any illegal campaign fund raising. Omri was chosen and, of course, he deserved to be named for at least part of the scam, if the investigation "ever" finds him guilty. Knowing Israeli politics and the pressures that can turn investigations on their head, I somehow doubt that Omri Sharon will go to jail. Long, long tedious investigations will take years, the court appearances, the delays and continuances.... Finally, it will be forgotten and, in the end, it will be judged as trivial and dismissed for lack of evidence. All the players from Menachem Mazuz, Arik Sharon, Omri Sharon, the police investigators all know how the game is to be played out. Even the hopelessly biased High Court knows its role. All of this has happened before. When Ehud Barak was raising money for his election campaign to Prime Minister, Herzog was his planner. He was investigated for setting up false fronts to cover illegal campaign contributions. Herzog refused to answer any questions and was NOT indicted - let alone jailed. In fact, he became a secretary of the Government under Barak and the issue of illegal finances was simply disregarded. Barak also was known to be a stickler for detail in planning but, as a high ranking general and politician, he was not indicted. All politicians are deeply involved with fund raising because money is the life's breath of their campaigns. At this moment, Sharon cannot be taken down now that he is going to fulfill the dreams of the Labor Left and complete the Oslo/Road Map. Many special interests want Sharon to succeed in re-partitioning Israel and do not wish to be stopped by something as trivial as breaking the law. Sharon is eliminating one threat after another to keep his throne and complete his version of Oslo 3. With each Cabinet Member he fired - with each objecting, high-ranking member of the military and secret services he fired or eliminated - with each dismissal of charges against him personally, he grows in power. Sharon betrayed the basic philosophy of the Likud Party, forcing them to obey his commands, and totally nullified their 60 to 40 vote against his Disengagement. By running the Israeli Democracy like a Dictatorship, he is growing in power. The Likud Party is likely to dwindle down during the next election and disappear as a political force as did the Labor Party. This does not matter to the ageing Sharon because he sees himself as a political Party of One, loyal only to himself and the 'ideas' or 'plans' he concocts in the dark watches of the night. Once again, it is clear that, if Israel is to remain a viable State and return to any semblance of Democracy, then Sharon and his gaggle of lackeys must be thrown out of power because Sharon has made the entire Government into his personal Mafia. After reading all the particulars of the indictment by Mazuz against Omri Sharon, does anyone wonder if Arik Sharon's motivation for his big Disengagement campaign was not a diversionary device to distract the people and the government's legal arm from pursuing Omri's misfeasance and manipulation of funds for his father's election campaign? In Israel, when you think you have pushed the limit on crazy ideas, maybe you haven't? Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

GERMAN SPOKEN IN THE KNESSET COMMERATING FORTY YEARS OF ISRAELI-GERMAN RELATIONS Posted by Rachel Kapen, February 17, 2005.

In his State of the Union speech President Bush lauded the democratic rule against the evil of tyranny both to the individual as well as his country and hence the world as a whole. A prime example of the great advantage of democracy vis a vis tyranny is the democratic nation of Germany who as a tyranny perpetrated an unprecedented genocide against the Jewish People and a mere twenty years hence formed diplomatic relations with the Jewish State and is a staunch friend and ally ever since. Yet, these interesting relations between these two unlikely countries were beset by strife from the outset mostly because of the great number of Holocaust survivors who managed to rebuild their shattered life in the State of Israel, which was re-established on the ashes of the Holocaust, who are vehemently opposed to anything German, including the German language, to remind them of the unfathomable horrors they endured. In a pre-commemoration of 40 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany, Germany's president Horst Kohler spoke on Wednesday, Feb 2nd, in a special session in the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem. Prior to President Kohler's speech a debate raged whether it is proper for the German language to be spoken in the Israeli House of Representatives, however, there was no alternative, the German president was unable to address the Knesset in any other language, so a compromise of sorts was devised, he will begin his address in a few words of Hebrew: Ha'nsiah ha'zot, ha'yom ha'zeh, v'hasha'ah ha'zot meragshim oti meod - "This journey, this day and this hour move me greatly," the German president read from a prepared speech, but this gesture wasn't sufficient for those who opposed the German language associated with the Nazis to be heard in the Knesset and they boycotted the session saying that it is painful for survivors to hear the German Language within the walls of the Israeli Knesset. This recent uproar comes to epitomize the history of the Israeli-German relations which was marked by rancor and controversy from the outset. On March 14, 1965, Israel and then West Germany decided on the formation of diplomatic relations between the two nations. This decision was ratified by the Knesset on March 16th with out of the 120 members 66 voted for the resolution, 29 voted against it, and 10 members abstained. Levi Eshkol, the then Prime Minister, said at that stormy session, " ... the mind should override the emotions ... the considerations of conscience and history are above and beyond political realism ... but we have to make use of every opportunity to strengthen the establishment of the nation in its new Homeland." Conversely, the then leader of Herut, a forerunner of today's Likud, and a future Prime Minister Menahem Begin said in a typically fiery speech that: "every German is a 'son of death' (ben mavet, a Hebrew expression) and he has Jewish blood on his hands ... therefore there could be no atonement and no forgiving and as a result, no normal relations between us and them." However, upon hearing of the ratification of the resolution by the Knesset, then West German Kantzler (chancellor) Ludwig Erhard stated, "I feel a deep satisfaction that after years of tragedy and strained relations with Israel, we will be able to find a basis to form normal and productive relations." And by the way, it is worth noting that the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers, upon hearing of the forming of diplomatic relations between Israel and West Germany, were so outraged that they decided to sever their own diplomatic relations with West Germany. In the rest of German President Kohler's address, which was conducted in the German language, he articulated the deep shame of his country for what transpired on its soil, a shame which will be its tragic legacy forever, and vowed to fight relentlessly the growing antisemitism in his land and always be at the side of the Jewish State. Rachel Kapen live in West Bloomfield, MI. To Go To Top

A COPTICAL ILLUSION (Part II) Posted by Carrie Devorah, February 17, 2005.

National Press Club, NPC, event attendance varies event to event. Months earlier, no media attended a press conference held by American women formerly married to Saudi National husbands, despite some of the wives alleging their husbands were asked to participate in the 911 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Then Wednesday the 17th, less than an hour before a press conference called for by the US Copts Association took place, a handful of media in the Zenger Room had crossed the hall from where Christian Broadcast Network's founder Pat Robertson dropped his bombshell statements - the United Nations should be done away with and that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's disengagement plan for Gaza threatens the security of Israel and its citizens. Elevators heading to the top floor were filled with media. There is something about the scent of blood that draws crowds and journalists. Especially when the blood belongs to an immigrant family discovered tethered, their necks sliced and bored like cows at slaughter. The press conference started late. Media, responding to the US Copts Association press release on the Garas family from New Jersey, packed the room. The press conference was little more than a month after Hossam, 47, Amal, 37, Sylvia, 15 and Monica, 8, Armanious, of Hudson County, New Jersey's Jersey City, were discovered. Sylvia's 16th birthday. The wait time for the Garas family was used by attending NGOs (non governmental organizations) to hand reporters the organizations' press releases. The room quieted when Garas's filed in, men and woman, in black - Ayman, brother of Amal; Emad Fahmy, brother-in-law of Amal; uncles Emil, Gameel, Alphonse and Milad, stood behind the lectern. Amal's mother Ferail, worn from her flight, exhausted by the loss of her daughter and granddaughters, sat to the side. Ferail speaks little English, "My Monica," she said. Tears flooded her eyes. Looking skywards, "Ave maria." Monica, 8, was bound, gagged alongside her sister Sylvia and their parents, Hossam, 47, and Amal, 37, their throats sliced. And bored. Monica's wrists were slit. Relatives said they had not seen other family member's wrists. They were shrouded. Ayman, Amal's brother, expressed the conviction that brought a family in mourning to speak to national media. Over 6 feet tall, he pulled himself taller, looking at the ceiling. Tears welled in his eyes. Whoever said men don't cry never saw a man who witnessed the bloody carnage of his sister and her children. Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick, Washington representative of Christian Solidarity International, secretary General of the Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights stood in front of media gathered at the National Press Club's headquarters by the US Copts Association. Roderick said: "The fact that this press conference is taking place in Washington, DC rather than in Jersey City points to the broader impact of this case." US Copts headquarters are three floors beneath the Press Club. Roderick said, "Many non-Muslim immigrants have told me that they believed that when they fled to the United States, they would be safe," referring to "religious persecution and violence by Jihadists in their native countries." "This case is unnerving. The delay in pursuing leads indicating a hate crime risks a terrible miscarriage of justice." Roderick said earlier, "To avoid pursuit of what may be the most obvious motive of the murder for fear of maligning one part of the Jersey City community or creating a backlash against that community is irresponsible." Roderick's NGO was one of several human rights organizations Michael Meunien, president of the US Copts Association, invited to join with the bereaved Garas family adressing misconceptions the press published. The Jubilee Campaign presented their NGO's letter congratulating Alberto Gonzales on his confirmation as Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice. Jubilee urged Gonzales to take "a strong leadership role insisting the federal investigation into the Armanious murders be carried out professionally and thoroughly and by ensuring particulars of this case do not lead to policies or decisions on the part of the Justice Department that will have a chilling effect on religious expression in our country." The Jubilee Campaign said "what may have been a hate crime stemming from a religious dispute" is of concern to their coalition because Armanious's "expression of his religious views in an Internet chatroom may have contributed to his death and the deaths of his wife and daughters," hastening to note "investigating authorities have as of yet drawn no conclusions" about the murders religious motivation, assuring if the allegations prove true "our concerns are obvious." American Jewish Community legislative director and counsel, Richard T. Foltin, provided reporters copies of his NGO's letter sent to Hudson County New Jersey's Prosecutor, Edward J. De Fazio. Acknowledging facts determining the horrific murders a hate crime "are yet not known," the AJC addressing the "heightened sense of fear in the Coptic community," asked ethnic, religious and community groups to stand together and speak out against the intimidation inherent in such a crime. One reporter, present, identified himself as a Muslim. CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, despite having issued prior public statements on the murder was not present at the press conference. Michael Meunier founded the US Copts Association to raise awareness to the Copts plight within Egypt, seeking to educate the Coptic community of their "human rights, democracy and religious freedom" in the "Diaspora." Meunier said a new organization was needed because Coptics, "frustrated with existing Copts-Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Coptic Advocacy Groups in the United States," sought "an attractive alternative" to voice concerns reflecting the changing needs of America's Coptic Community in the world. The Association says Coptics are the largest Christian population in the Middle East. One hour earlier, Pat Robertson said, across the hall, Christians are the fastest growing group in the world. The US Copt Association, founded in 1996, established local chapters nationwide, developing an Arabic-English daily digest for thousands of readers, arranging speaking tours enabling their Board of Directors to educate media, political and enforcement representatives on "critical matters affecting the Coptic community" and motivated "interventions concerning the Christian minority in Egypt." At the 59th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Meunier, its president, testified 11 to 13 million Copts in Egypt had been forced to live under dhimmi, inferior non-Muslim status, and pay an annual jizia, punitive tax, to practice their faith where the Egyptian Constitution says "Islam is the religion of the state" and "Shariah, Islamic Jurisprudence, the principal source of legislation." Meunier's Board takes credit for exposing detiriorating Copts human rights conditions within Egypt. Meunier says his visits to the Capital prompted Congressional member letters written to Egypt's President Mubarak demanding Coptic victims receive funds to compensate for loss of income and life from Islamic violence. Meunier says "crucial language in the appropriation bill directing US funding to Egypt," and influence in "legislation such as the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act- an act aimed at monitoring religious tolerance in the international arena" evolved from his US Copts Association lobbying efforts. Four months before the Garas' murders, Meunier joined the US Copts Association with FBI, British Parliament and European Union representatives. The Feds are seeking to expand their recruitment towards Arabic-speaking individuals familiar with Coptic Christian and Islamic cultures. The Coptic Diocese of Los Angeles hosted a Coptic-Community "Meet The FBI" Banquet, at Garden Grove California's Hyatt Regency, familiarizing the FBI to American Copts and introducing Copts with "the FBI's mission, efforts and future needs," like finding who murdered, like trussed sheep, a daughter, son-in-law and two grand daughters, before it happens again. US Copts Board Member Dr. Kamal Ibrahim, His Grace Bishop Serapion, FBI assistant director Mark S Bullock, and FBI Los Angeles Division, Assistant Director in Charge, Ronald L. Iden, stressed Copts can contribute to the nation's security from terrorism through civic involvement. Bishop Serapion gave an introduction of Copt culture, history and traditions. The Bishop described Copts patriotic history in Egypt. Meunier said Copts, with a "long history of suffering under Islamic terrorism" and "continuing oppression,| are best equipped to fight terrorism with the FBI, domestically and internationally. Two FBI Copt employees were on hand to answer questions. Bullock said the Bureau needs Arabic-speaking individuals. Amal Garas' family described Hossam Armanious as an outspoken advocate for Coptic Christian religious freedom in Egypt. News reports described him as a well-known leader of online ministry to the Muslim-American community, seeking to bring his religion to others. Garas family members held up hands, displaying Copt tattoos. Media misreported tattoos on wrists were slashed. Corrected, wrists were slit. The Garas' said the tradition of Copt cross hand tattoos began as a tradition to never forget Egyptians tattooing crosses on Coptics hands to identify them as Christians in a Muslim culture. Similar to yellow stars and numbers Nazis used to identify Jews. Ferail's son, Ayman, knelt beside his grieving mother. Hossam's family was in Egypt. They would not be attending the memorial for their daughter-in-law, grandchildren and son. Meunier said the Armanious family held an alternative funeral for their son. Ferail wept. The family's official statement made clear the Garas family wants to solve the murders. They do not want to further erode fragile Coptic and Islamic community relations, "we seek only justice for our slain family members and make no accusations as to who committed this crime or why it was carried out in such a vengeful and premeditated manner." Amal's uncle confirmed Amal was wearing her $3500 ring when her body was discovered; other expensive pieces of jewelry were in the house when their bodies were discovered; the family was not aware of other jewelry that might have been taken; Amal's cousin said the Armanious family rarely kept more than $100 in their house; the postal worker and dining hall server's family gold was stolen a year earlier; loans including $120,000 mortgage were paid down; the family was unaware if Armanious owed money. Amal's brother-in-law rhetorically asked reporters if robbery was the motive, "why would the murderer have killed each person in such a cruel and vindictive manner," holes bored in their necks, beneath the slits, Internet-Hagannah reported, were large enough to turn a knife around. A few months after Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Eric Lewis wrote "many Copts chose emigration to the US over the alternative of living as second class citizens in an increasingly Islamic Egypt," the Garas family denied there was truth to stories the Armanious murders were an Egyptian "life for a possible life vendetta killing" as was reported to enforcement as a motive. Amal's uncle said, months after Theo Van Gogh's public slaying in Amsterdam along with Westerner beheadings broadcast repeatedly over the Internet, "the 'old country vendetta' theory, in their opinion "lacks credibility" because "such common practice decades ago in Egypt are no longer practiced in modern society," continuing, if it was a vendetta, the logical attack would be family members in Egypt not here in the US. Amal's uncle felt Hossam's 2002 visit to Egypt played no role in the murders. The uncle stated, twice, the Armanious came to Jersey City, for the same reason other immigrants did, to "pursue their dream." Relatives confirmed there was no sign of forced entry into the Armanious's home. No questions were asked about Armanious's former tenant rumored to have held a grudge with Hossam. At the end of the press conference, one photojournalist asked about the Copt Association's comfort zone with enforcement's ability to interface within Coptic and Muslim communities. Meunier said best effort is being done to communicate the in's and out's of Coptical history to enforcement. Privately, Meunier said current officers on the force are unfamiliar with this culture of Islamic murder displayed at the Armanious' murder site and the viceration, a year earlier, of a pregnant wife and her mother by a local Muslim politician. Allegedly, the women refused convert to Islam. Meunier expressed concern over crime analysis. Hate crimes are being misreported as murders, assaults, stalking, and vice versa. Amal's brother Ayam admitted their family was unaware Hossam preached Christianity on Pal-Talk. Jihad Watch host Robert Spencer viewed barsomyat.com, a password-protected Arabic Web site featuring pictures and information about Christians active in debating Muslims on PalTalk, after being advised the photos, names and addresses of Christians, innocently participating in web talk chatrooms are being hunted down then exposed to potential danger through publication on the Net. Internet-Hagannah, tracking such sites discovered one site hosted in Minnesota, another in Quebec, others in the Netherlands. Once uncovered by media watchers, the sites are closed then re-opened under new URLs. Spencer wrote "It's chilling to see photographs of people who probably have no idea that they're on the Web site. Hamas' site posts congratulatory accounts of their attacks on civilians, but barsomyat.com's users are telegraphing their intended victims in advance." Spencer said the Internet is a "prime example" of how some Islamic extremists utilize technology to attempt to bring Islamic religious law to the West. Meunier announced the family's upcoming memorial service. Copts will be there. As well as empathetic mourners. And as Enforcement hopes, murderers, who like arsonists, coming back to view their handiwork, to gloat. Or for a second strike. As terrorists do. Carrie Devorah is a DC-based investigative photojournalist. To Go To Top

A SMALL CRIMINAL VIOLATES THE LAW. A BIG CRIMINAL LEGISLATES IT Posted by Moshe Feiglin, February 17, 2005.

The Expulsion Law A small criminal violates the law A big criminal legislates it. The expulsion law passed yesterday in the Knesset is a law for perpetrating a national crime and as such we shall not observe it. We shall oppose its implementation by all legitimate means. This fundamental fact was correct under all circumstances, and it is even more true in the light of the methods of deception and influencing public opinion used throughout the entire process. a) Deception of the voters who voted explicitly against the plan in the elections to the Knesset. b)Deception of members of the Likud who voted against the plan in the Likud referendum, and recruitment of the Left to neutralize the party that received a tremendous majority in the elections. c)The dismissal of ministers in order to achieve a majority in the government. d)Reliance on the votes of the Arabs who represent a public opposed to the very existence of the State. We shall obey the Creator's commandments, and hold on to the country that belongs to us. Those who wish to destroy us, from within and without, shall be defeated with great humiliation, like chaff in the wind. Manhigut Yehudit's Position on the Referendum Rabbi Hanan Porat initiated a petition that implies that if the referendum decides in favor of the destruction of Gush Katif, the residents of the Gush and the opponents of the expulsion will accept the verdict. In response, Manhigut Yehudit published the following statement: "The Manhigut Yehudit faction in the Likud protests against and rejects the agreement by representatives of the public to accept in advance, and without a struggle, any result of the referendum. No forum has the moral right to decide on the expulsion of Jews from their homes, and even if it is decided to carry out a crime of this nature we shall not accept this and shall continue to struggle against it. Irreversible decisions that split the heart of the nation and are enforced by manipulation and without broad public legitimacy create the danger of civil war. For this reason only we support holding a referendum. We are confident that in a real and fair referendum we shall achieve a resounding victory, exactly as occurred in the Likud members referendum. However, even if, G-d forbid, we were to lose, a clear and unambiguous decision in a referendum will turn the decision about disengagement into a democratic one having public legitimacy, instead of despotic manipulation in an apparently democratic guise. The legitimate struggle for Gush Katif will then be a struggle between brothers, as in Yamit, and not, G-d forbid, of the kind to which Rabin's government attempted to drag us. Manhigut Yehudit, led by Moshe Feiglin, holds that a referendum will reduce the danger of a civil war, into which the Prime Minister is trying to drag the entire public." Those who fail to see the difference between a struggle waged in a democratic way, and a despotic manipulative struggle in the guise of democracy, are recommended to recall the struggle in Yamit against the democratic (but mistaken) decision of Begin. In contrast, there was the dynamism that developed against the manipulation of democracy by the Rabin government (Mitsubishi, Arab support, "propellers", etc.). Incitement A yeshiva student from Kfar Habad has been jailed for shouting "Thief!" at Netanyahu. A soldier fires above the heads of young girls in Yitzhar, and receives direct backing from the Prime Minister. A single slogan, that it is uncertain who wrote it, is screened repeatedly in the TV news broadcasts. All the cabinet ministers suddenly receive threatening letters, and the subject is constantly in the headlines. The Prime Minister is photographed next to his wife's grave, and explains that he has hired guards to protect it. The public is prepared for numerous cases of administrative detention. Every demonstration is described as being like the one "that led to the murder of Rabin". In a deliberate, calculated way everyone who opposes Sharon's crimes has his head chopped off. Be careful! Don't speak out! Don't demonstrate! Don't identify yourself with those demons with beards and kippot! Keep your distance! The Police has announced that it will use great force! They've shown on TV the detention camps they've prepared for you! Why look for trouble? Stay at home! Keep quiet! If they are endangering you, accept this. If they insult you, bend your head. Against this combination of "liberal and unbiased media", a judicial system that collaborates with this abomination, and a locomotive lacking values recruited to haul this "peace train", you don't stand a chance - so go home and don't get into trouble? Isn't Netanyahu a thief? Of course he is! He promised Habad that he would halt the Oslo process, and in return they organized an election campaign with the slogan "Bibi is good for the Jews", and enabled to defeat Peres against all the odds. Could there be a greater theft than the way Netanyahu deceived Habad? Apart from that, who has ever heard of anyone being jailed in a democratic country for making derogatory remarks against a public representative? Wasn't Itamar Ben Gvir right? Does anyone really dispute what Yair, the man who declared the building of the Temple to be one of the principles of Lehi, would now say to an Education Minister who supports the destruction of Jewish settlements? There are innumerable examples of the organized government incitement against the belief-based public. We have long since crossed the invisible barrier separating a free regime from a despotic one. The public is well aware that it is being subjected to a harsh, "civilized" dictatorship. Three major forces are supposed to halt the degeneration of democracy (a free country) into despotism. These are the media, the courts, and politics. These three forces are supposed to balance one another, to watch over each other, and to keep sovereignty in the hands of the true owners of the country - the people. We are currently witnessing a situation in which these three forces, instead of balancing one another on behalf of the nation's sovereignty over its country, are joining forces in order to deprive the nation of its ownership of the country, and to replace it by a narrow-based junta. A by-product of this process is the decline of the Israeli regime into something resembling a South American Generals' republic. In the end they will hang citizens from the lamp posts with the approval of the Supreme Court and in keeping with the law for the dignity and freedom of man. Does this sound far-fetched? Remember the "holy cannon", with which Ben-Gurion sank the Altalena. The outgoing head of the GSS said: "In the life of a nation it's necessary to have several Altalenas". In no country which experienced similar events did anyone believe that it would lead to such an end. For more on the subject, view Moshe Feiglin's article Totalitarianism of Ideas: http://www.jewishisrael.org/dbart.php?art=492 There's also a bright side to the picture. This deterioration indicates a great fear of the potential alternative presented by the belief-based public. It seems that this fear is well-founded. The Police Investigation of Moshe Feiglin This week the head of the Manhigut Yehudit movement was asked to come for investigation in the Kfar Saba Police station. To our surprise it turned out that the investigation related to an article published by Feiglin in Lechatchila (no. 116) three years ago(!). In that article Moshe analyzed the forces acting in the country, and also referred to the Arab public. The Adallah organization that acts together with the Betzelem organization in support of the rights of the Arab public, filed a complaint with the Police, and they hurriedly summoned Moshe to an investigation of suspicion of incitement to racialism. It is interesting to wonder if the Police would have been in such a hurry to investigate Tommy Lapid or Yigal Tomarkin for their racialist remarks against the Haredi public. Feiglin readily answered the investigator's questions, and even added at the end of the investigation that he hoped that it would result in a charge being brought, since he was definitely interested in addressing the issue of the Israeli Arabs during a public trial that would permit calling in witnesses and examining their loyalty to the State of Israel. Arik Barami's Petition to Expel Moshe Feiglin and the Leaders of Manhigut Yehudit From the Likud As is well known, the general attack is directed mainly at the Manhigut Yehudit faction in the Likud. When Ben Gvir attacks Limor Livnat, she says the "Feiglinists" are behind him. When a Habadnik attacks Netanyahu, an accusing finger is pointed at the "Feiglinists", of course. To judge by the major target against which the Left and their supporters are directing their arrows, without doubt they identify Manhigut Yehudit as the major obstacle in their path. It was clear to us that Sharon would use any excuse to try and expel the leadership of the movement from the Likud, and thus halt the belief-based move. Clearly this consideration should not have influenced us when deciding to publish the booklet. If we had failed to take a stance of leadership and to express our opinion on this vital subject, we could perhaps remain in the Likud as a group of people with personal interests, but this would not be Manhigut Yehudit. Immediately after the publication of the booklet that addresses the obligation to refuse to obey orders, the following petition was sent to Moshe Feiglin, and subsequently to Michael Fuah and Motti Karpel. To view the petition: http://he.manhigut.org/content/view/1244/0 (for English translation of Petition and Moshe Feiglin's response: http://www.jewishisrael.org/dbart.php?art=567) Manhigut Yehudit's Plans in the Event of "Heads Rolling" Examination of the petition and the replies clearly indicates that an objective court, free of external pressures, would reject the petition out of hand. Obviously we shall make every possible effort from the judicial aspect, but in the despotic atmosphere in which the ruling party is currently being managed, it is hard to know if the court will withstand the pressure applied to it. There is a definite possibility that the heads of Manhigut Yehudit will be formally expelled from the Likud. Even if he doesn't succeed this time, Sharon will continue in his efforts to rid himself of his political opponents, instead of confronting them on the ideological plane. How should we respond in such a situation? Will the expulsion of the leaders from the Likud destroy Manhigut Yehudit? Will it destroy our activities in the party? If the leaders of Manhigut Yehudit are expelled from the Likud, the public will be informed on the same day who will be their replacements, and who will be the new belief-based candidate who will run for leadership of the Likud in the coming primaries. The despots attempting to chop off the head of the "monster" will immediately discover that it has grown ten new heads in its place. The current leaders of Manhigut Yehudit will in all circumstances continue to lead the movement and direct its path, free of the bonds of political obligations. The political roles will be filled by the next levels of leadership in the movement. It is impossible to destroy the idea of Manhigut Yehudit. There are currently about 10,000 Likud members who are directly associated with the ideas of Manhigut Yehudit. The "Hametzuda" newspaper is distributed monthly to all members of the Likud, and constantly increasing numbers of veterans members of the Likud are being exposed to our ideas and are identifying with them. Each of these members is far preferable to the current chairman of the party. We have no intention of ceasing to act within the Likud, the party leading the national camp. The Likud is the authentic representative of the Jewish people, and justifiably so. Only from within this arena is it possible to act in order to change the direction in which Israeli society is advancing, and we don't intend to abandon it. The Left, that has gained control of the national camp through the Sharon family, has in fact stolen the Likud. The terrible reality towards which Sharon is driving us will in the end open the eyes of the Likudniks, and sooner or later the situation will be reversed. The heads of Manhigut Yehudit will be ceremoniously returned to the Likud, and Sharon and his toadies will be thrown out. The Manhigut Yehudit movement is entering a difficult phase, but this also presents an opportunity to make a significant leap forward. We have to realize that the Likud isn't Sharon, and even if the robbers who entered our home succeed in throwing us out, the real Likudniks know in their hearts that we are the real tenants, who will never abandon our ownership. When the public sees that the activities of Manhigut Yehudit are continuing and even strengthening, it will become clear to everyone that the most stable element in the Israeli political scene is Manhigut Yehudit. A real, stable, ideological factor, that does not depend on a specific person, represents a very great attractive force in any system, and certainly in the political one. To sum up: We aren't worried by the attempts to expel us. The move, if it happens, it will only strengthen us. Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) is a group of people inside the Likud party who want to see Israel adopt a more Jewish character. Moshe Feiglin, its cofounder, has emphatically said he does not want a theocracy, but he does want a State based on Jewish values. The Manhigut Yehudit website address is http://www.manhigut.org. To Go To Top

THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING AS HOLOCAUST DENYING POLITICAL LEADER GETS FREE PASS Posted by Neal Sher and Morton A. Klein, February 17, 2005.

Have the voices of conscience all of a sudden lost their gumption? Despite the smiling images from Sharm el-Sheikh, the fact is that Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, has taken no demonstrable steps to dismantle and disarm the vast Palestinian terror networks, end the incitement, or arrest terrorists. And, although his rhetoric even after his election has been troublesome (calling for a "big jihad", referring to Israel as the "Zionist enemy", making it clear he will not use force against terrorists and endorsing the policies of Yassir Arafat), the Administration and Congress are falling over themselves to throw vast sums of money his way. President Bush has promised $350 million to Abbas, more than four times that given by the Clinton Administration. Just as Abbas' troubling words and lack of anti-terror action have been ignored, so has another distinctly dark part of his pedigree: the undeniable fact that he is a blatant and unrepentant Holocaust denier. In 1984, he wrote "The Other Side: The Secret Relations Between Nazism and the Leadership of the Zionist Movement". In this pseudo-historical account, which was based on his 1982 PhD. dissertation, Abbas contended that Zionist leaders gave the green light to the Nazis to do as it pleased with the Jews as long as immigration to Palestine was allowed. Moreover, he endorsed the outrageous contention that the Jews intentionally inflated the numbers of those slaughtered in order to engender support for the State of Israel. Citing other historical quackery, Abbas suggested that the number of Jewish victims might have been as few as "only a few hundred thousand". And worse, he embraced the discredited work of Robert Faurisson who shamelessly insisted that the Nazis did not use gas chambers It's bad enough that the mainstream press has not taken him to task. But how in the name of the memory of martyred 6 million can one explain that Jewish leaders, Holocaust scholars and advocates have given him an unprecedented pass on so important an issue? It's beyond disappointing: it's downright offensive and sets a dangerous precedent. During last month's week-long series of ceremonies commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we were admonished never to allow or condone the desecration of memory of the victims through the distortion of the Shoah; we cannot afford to be asleep at the switch. While we applaud that that message received such broad dissemination, it was hardly a new one for the Jewish world. While we may debate among ourselves every conceivable topic, including life and death issues of Israeli security, there always has been at least one issue which cut so deeply into our collective souls that it was not open to debate: Holocaust denial, from whatever source, was a scourge to be swiftly and ruthlessly challenged. When politicians like LePen in France, Haider in Austria, and the late Franjo Tudjman in Croatia spewed their ugly views of Holocaust denial, Jewish organizations immediately sprung into action and spared no mercy in exposing the blasphemes for the anti-Semites they are. John Roth, a well known scholar, can certainly attest to how strongly Jews feel on this issue. Roth was not a Holocaust denier. He was, however, deprived of a senior position at the Holocaust Museum in Washington after he had been exposed as having written offensive articles comparing certain actions of the Israelis with those of the Nazis. This was not only an ugly lie, it also diminished the horror of the Shoah. We were among many who stood up for the victims and survivors and signed a petition opposing his appointment as someone who had desecrated the memory of those who perished. It mattered not that an assault on Jewish memory came from the highest of offices. Who of us will ever forget Elie Wiesel's plea to President Reagan not to visit SS graves at Bitburg because to do so would "begin to rehabilitate" the SS? Do we not, by giving legitimacy and respectability to Abbas the Holocaust Denier, begin to rehabilitate Holocaust denial? The international spotlight is now shining intensely on him as he has been anointed the great hope for peace. One would have thought this to be the most opportune moment to challenge him on his blasphemy. Instead, those who otherwise would be relentless in calling a denier a denier, have become timid; they've given him a pass. AIPAC issued a statement proclaiming that his election presents an "historic opportunity" for the prospects of peace. Not a word about Holocaust denial. The Anti-Defamation League published an informative analysis of the Palestinian election, but ignored Abbas' Holocaust denial. AIPAC and the ADL were not alone. Check the other organizational web sites: nothing. Why, we painfully plead, is there the deafening silence when it comes to Mahmoud Abbas, one of the most powerful and influential Arab leaders? It is with utmost respect that we must urge Elie Wiesel, whose courageous words to President Reagan made us so proud, to forcefully speak out. After all, it is he who has always admonished us to dare not be silent when it comes to evil and lies about the Holocaust. And, why has there been silence from Emory Professor Deborah Lipstadt, an expert in Holocaust denial, who also made us proud by her strong court battle against an unknown Holocaust denier, David Irving? These prominent personalities, and all Jewish leaders, must publicly demand that Mahmoud Abbas give an unequivocal apology, fully retract his ugly lies and clearly acknowledge the horror of the Holocaust endured by the Jews. Neal M. Sher is the former Director of the Office of Special Investigations in the U.S. Justice Department (the Nazi prosecution unit) and former Executive Director of AIPAC. Morton A. Klein, a child of Holocaust survivors, is the President of the Zionist Organization of America. To Go To Top

THE ISRAELIS: ORDINARY PEOPLE IN AN EXTRAORDINARY LAND Posted by Judy Lash Balint, February 17, 2005.

"The Israelis: Ordinary People In An Extraordinary Land" was written by Donna Rosenthal. It is excellent for all ages and religious backgrounds. High school and university students love ... and need it. (Part of the proceeds are donated to Adi, The Israel Organ Donor Society.) For more info see: http://www.theisraelis.net These are some reviews of the book: "A panorama of Israeli diversity - Ashkenazim and Sephardim, Orthodox and secular, Russians and Ethiopians, Arabs and Christians ... Thanks, Ms. Rosenthal!" - Los Angeles Times "Rosenthal, who worked in Israeli radio and TV, gives us a broad, well-informed picture of its citizenry. She methodically limns the various ethnic and religious subcultures, Jewish and non-Jewish, that constitute the vibrant and fragile mosaic of Israeli society." - Washington Post "One of the most fascinating and detailed insights into any country written by a close observer in recent memory. Rosenthal's dispassionate style is powerful. Scrupulously fair..." - Weekly Standard "A wonderful read." - Liz Smith, Newsday "We all hear about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But what about the people? Donna Rosenthal shares their stories - Even in Israel, "The Israelis" has shocked readers who didn't realize the depth of cultures ... the book's success is confirmation that there is a void of information about Israeli society." - San Francisco Chronicle "An eye-opener" - San Diego Union Tribune "She doesn't lecture and never rants. She stands aside and listens ... a masterpiece." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution "The subtitle of this informative, well-researched book says it all. But it could also have been subtitled: `Everything you always wanted to know about Israel and the Israelis but were afraid to ask.' Rosenthal has taken almost every aspect - religion, army, social mores, ethnic groups and many others - and explained them objectively, thorough the eyes of the `ordinary' Israeli, and not, refreshingly, from the view point of politicians or sociologists." - Jerusalem Post "From the ultra-Orthodox who slip prayer faxes into the Western Wall to traditional Ethiopians who kiss the knees of respected elders; from educated, affluent Christian Arabs to Russian brainiacs changing technology and science; from peace-activist Muslim doctors to Bedouin women teaching sex education, to kibbutzniks who raise crops electronically, Rosenthal tells their stories with wit, diligence and without making judgments... A very literate work anyone - no matter how extensive their knowledge of Israel - can learn from." -Hadassah magazine To Go To Top

WILL SHARON DIRECT WAR OF JEWISH DEPORTATION FROM GAZA? Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 17, 2005.

It has been reported that politicians, the General Army Staff, the high level Directors of Israel's various Secret Services are all in a state of shock. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has once again removed key figures whom he believes may interfere with his plans to deport the 8,500 Jews living in the Gaza Strip. When it comes to battling an adversary, Sharon is absolutely ruthless. He also wishes to personally control every aspect of the battle - which is fine when fighting attacking enemy armies or Terrorists. But, Sharon wishes to unleash the same destructive power against the Jews who till the soil, built their homes over 30 years and 3 generations and have never been an adversary to Israel. It appears that by virtually eliminating the presence of Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon and the Shin Bet Security Director Avi Dichter just before the deportation is to begin, Sharon intends to be the Field Commandant to oversee the attack. Granted, he will appoint people to replace Ya'alon and Dichter but like Attorney General Menachem (Mani) Mazuz, they will be merely apparachniks with good names but will follow Arik's plans and battlefield tactics - without objection or any independent thoughts of their own. You did know that Ya'alon and Dichter had stated certain reservations about the advisability and safety of Sharon's Disengagement Plans, Be assured that Sharon will engage in bloody warfare with as much journalistic denial as he can get away with. He does not want news photographers, videographers or journalists embedded with the troops to display in the news women and children being dragged out of their homes. Nor does he want the Israeli or world public to see the sociopathic policemen, specially selected for their cruelty, bludgeoning the farmers and their wives. He wants a brief slaughter so he does not face the accusation of another Sabra and Shatilla - with photos and videos. I have little doubt that he has been huddling with the publishing families of the Leftist Hebrew Press to insure that they only display a few gentle pictures of soldiers gently putting women and children onto trucks to deport them wherever he has arranged holding pens or, if they resist - non-violently by refusing to leave their homes - into prisons. The prison terms for peaceful resistance have been reduced from 3-5 years down to 3 months to 2 years, as of the Knesset vote February 16. Sharon is anything but an incompetent Field Commander. He is well known for shedding blood and taking large casualties when he was fighting against Arab Armies and/or Terrorists. He could also always outsmart them. Now he will be a Field Commander once again, attacking Jewish civilians who do not wish to leave their homes, tended fields, large greenhouses, businesses, factories, schools, synagogues or their dead in their cemeteries. Sharon wants to transfer all their property to incoming Arab Muslim Palestinians - not only to give the Arabs the Jews' property but also to supply them with water, electricity, etc. Add to that, he will open Israel's borders to Arab Muslim Palestinian workers who, throughout the Oslo intifadas were the conduits for Terrorists who murdered their Jewish employers and any group of innocent civilians in buses, cafes, hotels, schools, etc. they could. I have always thought that politicians who open-the-gates to murderers should themselves be taken before a Peoples' Court and receive the same verdict that Terrorists placed upon their victims or - to say it differently - "Share the Pain". Sharon is now so consumed with hatred, based on any defiance to his orders that I am certain he will issue orders to attack, maim or kill any resisting Jews. He has already ordered that the areas to be uprooted will become closed military zones by Sunday February 20th into which no non-residents, be they friends, family, supporters, workmen, journalists - none will be permitted in to see what is happening or to assist. There is no planned psychological support for the families either. Sadly, it seems that Ariel Sharon's mind is clouded with his own view of democracy and what he calls "his mandate" to do whatever he pleases. I feel certain that Sharon looks forward to this conflict as his Last Hurrah as a General in battle. Arik Sharon, like George Patton, loved the smoke and gunpowder of war. He has often said that "painful decisions" will be made and, clearly, he has made his. No doubt, he and those who voted for the deportation of Jews will leave a legacy of hatred which will be long remembered. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

SOCIAL SECURITY FOR ARAB TERRORISTS Posted by Ruth Matar, February 17, 2005.

Dear Friends, There are some recent developments in the United States, which I would never have dreamed of, even in my worst nightmares. I am aware (being an avid Fox News Channel watcher) that the U.S. Social Security system faces some severe financial problems, and that there are various proposals to improve it on the part of President Bush's government. These are legitimate concerns and various plans have been advanced to improve the Social Security system, as well as the Health Insurance system. In spite of the financial problems in assisting the aging part of the American populace, and those who cannot afford adequate health insurance, President George W. Bush wants to make an extraordinary gift of $390 million to Abu Mazen and his terrorist regime. I am going to quote extensively from an article by Yoram Ettinger, former Israeli Minister for Congressional Affairs (with the rank of Ambassador), entitled: "$390 Million to Abu Mazen Defies U.S. Global Policy." 1. PRESIDENT BUSH'S MEMORABLE SEPT. 20, 2001 SPEECH VS. $390 MILLION TO ABU MAZEN ... "Either you are with us, or your are with the terrorists...Any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the US as a hostile regime...WE WILL STARVE TERRORISTS OF FUNDING..." [Where does that leave Abu Mazen, Card #2 of the Palestinian Terror Authority, the largest terror base in the world? With $390 Million US foreign aid?] 2. U.S. POLICY ON IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN VS. $390 MILLION TO ABU MAZEN. The prerequisite for free election and for US assistance to Iraq and to Afghanistan, was the thorough eradication of - rather than accommodation with - rogue regimes. US policy would not tolerate top Ba'th or Taliban leaders running for office, let alone heading a new regime. The US would not tolerate an Iraqi or Afghani candidates campaigning for office on the shoulders of a most wanted notorious terrorist, as did Abu Mazen on the shoulders of Zakaria Zubeidi, the leading terrorist in Jenin. Abu Mazen did not emerge, on election day, from exile in Europe or from his hiding cave in the Judean Desert. Abu Mazen emerged from Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, running as Arafat's most intimate confidant during the last 50 years and Arafat's loyal #2 since 1993. Abu Mazen had occasionally disagreed with Arafat tactically, but always concurred strategically. Contrary to US policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has re-entrenched, rather than uproot, the rogue old regime, thus rewarding Palestinian terrorism and adrenalizing regional anti-US terrorism. 3. U.S. FARM SUBSIDIES VS. $390 MILLION TO ABU MAZEN. The US would not extend grants/loans to farmers, who have misused previous subsidies in gambling and other non-farming mischief. Why would the US extend a $390 Million grant to the PA, which has misused some $1.5 Billion since 1994, promoting anti-US and anti-Jewish hate-education, terrorism (including the murder of 52 US citizens), corruption and repression, rather than moderation, peaceful-coexistence and counter-terrorism? 4. U.S. POLICY ON SYRIA VS. $390 MILLION TO ABU MAZEN. President Bush ("State of the Union", Feb. 2, 2005) and Secretary of State Rice (Israel, Feb. 7, 2005) have condemned Syria for harboring terrorists, which has denied Damascus US foreign aid and cooperation. Where does that leave Abu Mazen, who has harbored Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, while heading the political infrastructure of PA ("security organizations") terrorism? Abu Mazen met - in December 2004 in Damascus - the leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PDFLP, and will meet shortly with other Islamic terrorists in Teheran. Both meetings (at terrorist capitals) aim at coordination and co-existence with terrorists, in defiance of the morally-just and strategically-right US war on global terrorism. 5. PAST U.S. CRITICAL BLUNDERS & $390 MILLION TO ABU MAZEN. Sacrificing the 50 year track record of Abu Mazen - and the lessons of the last eleven years since the signing of Oslo - on the altar of wishful thinking, is consistent with the 1993 White House embrace of the Oslo Process and Nobel Laureate Arafat, with the 1996 crowning of Arafat - by the US Administration - as "a democratically elected President", with honoring Arafat as the most frequent visitor to President Clinton's White House, with the 1988-91 courting of Saddam by the Bush/Baker Administration (until the day of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait!), with the 1978 US Administration support extended to the "elder Iranian religious leader in exile" (Khomeini) in his battle against "the dictator in Teheran" (the Shah), etc. * * * President Bush said in his State of the Union Address. "Secretary of State Rice will depart on a trip that will take her to Israel and the West Bank for meetings with Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas. She will discuss with them how we and our friends can help the Palestinian people end terror and build institutions of a peaceful, independent, democratic state. To promote this democracy we will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic and security reforms. The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, is within reach - and America will help them achieve that goal." The Bush administration subsequently suggested that Congress consent to send an additional $41 million immediately for an immediate impact in support of democratic transition. The entire gift to Abu Mazen now amounts to $391 million dollars. And now for what Bill O'Reilly of the American Fox News Channel would surely call the most ridiculous item of the day. Condoleezza Rice, in her new position as successor to Colin Powell, demands that part of that money go directly to "retired" terrorists. She proposed a $100 dollar monthly allowance to "retired" terrorists, who agree to lay down their arms and retire, or find another profession. She proposed that this pension fund must benefit at least 1,000 terrorists. The money would come out of President Bush's offer to Abu Mazen of $390 million dollars. However, Abu Mazen has made the terrorists a better offer. About 350 gunmen, all on Israel's list of wanted terrorists, have been recruited to "join the [PA] security forces." This move is designed to protect them against Israeli assassination attempts. According to the Jerusalem Post, these terrorists are all members "of the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad - Izzaddin Kassam and al-Kuds brigades. The two groups are responsible for most of the suicide bombings and rocket attacks against Israeli targets over the past four years." "A PA 'security' official said, 'Hamas and Islamic jihad leaders who met with Abbas last week in Gaza City demanded that their followers be recruited as policemen as a condition for accepting a temporary truce with Israel.'" Maybe the American money could be put into a "Social Security" Fund for the time when these particular Arab terrorists are too old and feeble to kill Jews? Do not believe for even one minute that Israel's Prime Minister Sharon will not be the recipient of this largesse of American tax payers' dollars, as well. President Bush has promised to help Sharon financially with his unilateral Disengagement Plan (actually, Deportation of Jews by Jews Plan). Thus, President Bush is with one hand promoting a make-believe democracy for Abu Mazen's terrorist regime, and with the other hand he is collaborating with Israel's Prime Minister Sharon in suppressing Israel's democracy. Dear Friends, it is absolutely essential that you contact your Congressman and your Senators. and ask them to defeat this $390 million dollar appropriation for a terrorist regime. It is in your power to avert this evil plan, since Congress has to approve any such appropriation. You can see it is important that the giant rally, which is being planned for the Washington DC Mall, in May 2005, is becoming more and more important. We, Bible-believing Jews and Christians, must impress on the U.S. Government that we will not allow Israel to become the first "democracy" to be defeated by Islamic terrorists. With Blessings and Love for Israel, Ruth Matar P.S. Don't forget to send us your name and street address, so that we can add you to our rapidly growing list of people who are anxious to save G-d's Promised Land. Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

HOLY WORK IN THE HOLY CITY Posted by Judy Lash Balint, February 17, 2005.

Life in the holy city of Jerusalem can sometimes be so intense that you have to shield yourself from the power of the emotion coming your way in order to keep things in perspective. For the past four and a half years, occasions of such emotional intensity have generally been centered around bus and cafe bombings, with the difficult tasks of checking in with friends and relatives, paying hospital visits, attending funerals and paying shiva calls. Lately, with the temporary lull (how could it be anything other than temporary when Israel is set to release 500 terrorists in the coming days) the emotional heat has been redirected to the holy task of helping people in need in the city. A few weeks ago, a Jerusalem writer learned of the plight of a young single mother who had emigrated from the former Soviet Union who is desperately sick from cancer. Unable to work or care for her child, lacking family support and about to undergo a heavy chemotherapy regimen, Chassia was unable to cope. Andrea recalled that she had actually met the woman at a sukkot meal a few years ago, so she penned an emotional plea for financial assistance to help. The letter made the rounds of various e-mail lists, and within short order a significant amount of money was raised. Meantime, in true Jerusalem fashion, a group of women form themselves into an ad hoc committee to handle the donations and tend to Chassia's escalating medical, financial and emotional needs. Of course Chassia is not the only person in dire straits in the city, so the women decide to broaden the mitzva and put on a benefit to help other women in need. Organized in less than two weeks, the women-only evening takes place in a bomb shelter serving as a synagogue in the central Jerusalem neighborhood of Nachlaot. Tonight, the low ceilings, small space and crowded chairs give the place the feel of an intimate night club. More than a hundred women have turned out for a high intensity evening of barely contained emotions. Maybe it's that way because almost all the performers are divorced middle- aged women and their young adult daughters. Their talent is astonishing as they open the floodgates of their pain and their passion. Chana Cohen, an accomplished songwriter and musician, sings her own compositions as her pregnant daughter provides the harmonies. A versatile keyboard and guitar player, Chana kibbitzes with MC Andrea about their recent dating experiences, and then sings of her path into the world of observant Judaism. Andrea Simantov, the writer, carries the show with her stand-up comedy-style banter and occasional serious message about why we're there. But it's her heartfelt rendition of poignant songs about love, loss and loneliness that are overwhelmingly powerful in their raw emotion. One of Andrea's teenage daughters accompanies a song by Chana with a passionate dance routine. Journalist Ruth Beloff lightens the atmosphere a little with a classy, polished performance of a couple of show tunes as part of the Midnight Blue duo, while veteran Jerusalem shadchanit (matchmaker) Gittel Nadel, the moving force behind the benefit evening, provides words of Torah. At the end of the evening there's wild applause and a couple of encores as the women leave on a holy high that can only be experienced in Jerusalem. For updates on Chassia visit: http://chassiasfriends.blogspot.com Jerusalem Diaries: In Tense Times by Judy Lash Balint (Gefen) is available for purchase from www.israelbooks.com To Go To Top

ABU MAZEN ORDERS EXECUTION OF ARABS ACCUSED OF HELPING ISRAEL Posted by Sergio Tezza (Hadar), February 17, 2005.

This is a news item in today's Arutz-7. It is archived at http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=77098 In one of his first policy decisions as head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has approved death sentences for three Arab men accused of helping Israel. Gaza governor Sakher Bseso announced earlier this week that Abu Mazen had transferred several cases of people sentenced to death under Yassir Arafat's regime to the Mufti (arbiter of Islamic law) of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri. Abu Mazen then signed the decisions, authorizing PA executioners to carry out the death sentences. Shurat HaDin - The Israel Law Center condemned the decision, and though the identity of the three men was not released, speculated that the condemned men were most probably Yusef Hassan Sinwar, Muhammad Abu Kainas and his son, Rami Kainas. Sinwar, 31, was sentenced to hanging by a PA military tribunal in October 2004, after an hour long "trial." He was convicted of assisting the IDF in capturing fugitive terrorists. Abu Kainas and his son were similarly convicted in a Gaza military court of charges that they tipped off the IDF to the whereabouts of Hamas chief Abdel-Aziz Rantisi in June 2003, even though it lead to a failed assassination attempt, and that they also gave away the location of Ra'fat Za'anin, a Hamas leader the IDF successfully killed in 2003. The father and son were displayed to journalists in September 2004 at a police station in Gaza operated by Mohammed Dahlan's PA forces. Another PA prisoner, Walid Hamdiya, has been on death row since 1995. In October 2002, he was sentenced to death by firing squad. Hamdiya's sentence, however, has not yet been carried out. Several other accused Israeli agents being held in PA prisons are facing capital charges although they have not been "convicted" as of yet. "At a time when Israel is recklessly preparing to release hundreds of dangerous Palestinian terrorists from its jails as a goodwill gesture to Abbas," stated Shurat HaDin Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, "The Palestinians are reciprocating by carrying out the executions of suspected Israeli agents. Israel must immediately abandon the planned terrorist release and takes steps to stop the death sentences from being implemented." In August 2002 Shurat HaDin petitioned the Palestinian Authority's Minister of Justice for permission to appear in the Gaza security court to defend another accused Israeli agent, Akram Mohammed al-Zatma, who was charged by the Palestinian preventive security forces with assisting Israeli military forces in their targeted killing of Hamas and Fatah leaders. The PA rejected its request. In December 2000, Shurat HaDin filed a similar petition with former Justice Minister Freih Abu Meddein on behalf of another accused Palestinian collaborator, Alan Bani-Odeh. Again, the Shurat HaDin request was denied by Abu Meddein. The next day, a Palestinian security court sentenced Bani-Odeh to death in the course of a ten minute "trial" during which masked Hamas gunmen roamed the court room. Shortly afterwards Bani-Odeh was brought to the public square in Shechem (Nablus) and executed by a PA firing squad. Even a PA human rights groups joined the condemnation of Abu Mazen. Bassam Eid, director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG), said that Abbas' decision to refer the cases to Sabri doesn't bode well for PA democracy. "On the one hand, Abbas talks publicly about democracy, human rights and pluralism; but on the other hand he transfers the names of 51 Palestinians to the mufti, which is against international rules and human rights," Eid said. "I see it like the other side of the same coin that was Arafat." To Go To Top

PBS ON S. ARABIA; A NEW SEC. OF STATE MEANS WHAT?; DANGEROUS "CEASEFIRE" Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 17, 2005.

PBS ON SAUDI. ARABIA If you think that your income should be taxed for the benefit of public TV and radio, consider WNET's broadcast of 2/8/05 on the history of S. Arabia. I missed part of the Frontline program. The format was dramatic film coverage, commentary, and mostly interviews. Featured primarily were Saudi princes, former US diplomats, and oil company executives. More bias there than objectivity. The audience was not advised that many US diplomats become lobbyists for those Arab states. That gives them a conflict of interest not only after they retire from our diplomatic corps, but also before it, when they anticipate the high salaries the Saudis would pay them. The program related a statement by the first King Saud, that was seized upon to explain FDR's anti-Zionist predilection. King Saud acknowledged the Holocaust but contended that the Arabs' Palestine should not be given to the Jews to make up for what the Germans did to their Jews. The quoting was accurate but the quotation was false and misleading. WNET's propaganda trick is to quote somebody else's lies and leave them standing, as if true. The audience then absorbs some of the propaganda. In an ad, it would be called false advertising. What is false about it? (1) Palestine did not belong to the Arabs; (2) The Palestine Mandate for a Jewish national home was established before the Holocaust as a matter of historical justice to the Jewish people, from whom the country was taken, a people persecuted by Muslims and Christians, well before the Holocaust. The Holocaust merely reinforced the Jewish people's need; (3) The Arabs did play a role in the Holocaust. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem raised two SS divisions among Bosnians, to exterminate Jews; the Arab world was pro-Nazi; Iraq invited the Germans in; and worse, the Arabs pressured Britain to violate its Mandate and keep the Jews penned up in the European killing fields; (4) The Arabs were given a vast portion of the defeated Turkish Empire, a hundred times what was set aside for the Jews, and then were given 80% of that, but begrudge the Jews the tiny remnant, as a result of which the US urges Israel to evacuate from its towns in Yesha; and (5) The King pretended to a sense of justice that the Arabs don't have - they oppress every non-Arab or non-Muslim people among them. The funniest moment was when the Ulema, a body of ultra-conservative clerics who shared power in that slavocracy, was consulted by the King. This was called an exercise of democracy. It would be like calling a consultation of the Politburo by Stalin an exercise of democracy. S. Arabia is one of the least democratic states. With a straight face, a prince lamented the treachery of the foreign Arab teachers, mostly Egyptians and Syrians, to whom the King had given sanctuary. These teachers, he said, indoctrinated Saudi youth in fundamentalist ideology. It is misleading to blame foreigners, when the local Saudi clergy is Wahabbi, as rigid and intolerant as they come. Nor is it fair to continue to blame the problem on them, when the Saudi government and officials finance Wahabbi mosques and madrassas all over the world. The start of the Six Day War in 1967 was falsely attributed to an Israeli pre-emptive attack. That is an old propaganda ploy. Actually, the Arabs committed two acts of war, first: (1) Blockaded an Israeli port; and (2) Mobilized along their borders with Israel for the stated purpose of making war. The myths about the 1973 alleged oil boycott were reiterated. What was egregious about that is that these commentators, participants in that fraud, knew better. There was no reduction in oil extraction. The Saudis and the oil companies were in collusion to make it seem as if there were. At that time, I flew over numerous oil tankers, awaiting word to steam in to the Port of New York and unload their copious supply of oil. The Arab-Israel conflict was a convenient scapegoat for price-gouging -get consumers angry at the Jews instead of at the oil companies and countries, and perhaps get a bonus, pressure on Israel to make concessions to the Arabs. Yes, concessions from the Jews, not from the Arabs who started the war and the whole conflict. People think it is the duty of the Jews to sacrifice themselves. Then there were the myths about the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Yes, Israel ran out of supplies. Yes, the US re-supplied it. Not stated was that Kissinger put off re-supply long enough for Israel to suffer many casualties, to be softened up so as to be amenable to Kissinger's demands in behalf of the Arab aggressors. There was the usual talk of peace. But the Arabs don't want peace. They propose plans for Israeli concessions to advance the Arabs' strategic war goals, in the name of peace. Calling it peace plans deceives the naïve and gives the cynical State Dept. a handle for beating Israel with. There was some relevant truth in a statement that the initial war against Israel was for the purpose of destroying it. Even that should have gone on to explain that the goal did not change with the other Arab wars on Israel nor with the Arabs, today, and that genocide was the boasted goal. A diplomat described an early, and futile US overture to S. Arabia as a counter-balance to the anti-US Nasser. Lost was the opportunity to point out that the US has sought other counter-balances in the Mideast except with Israel, and those attempts failed. They failed because those people have divergent interests from those of the US. In conclusion, PBS did not advance truth, understanding, or the interests of the US. Your tax dollars at work! A NEW SECRETARY OF STATE MEANS WHAT? A new Secretary of State sweeps in amid hope and speculation. In reality, the style changes more than the substance, at least with the Arab-Israel conflict. No Secretary of State has been a reformer, cleaning up the Arabist corruption and bias and the bureaucracy in that Department. Like the CIA, the State Dept. will continue to assess world events from a narrow view. Sec. Rice is "making nice" to France. Being diplomatic is being prudent. Shifting to greater coordination with France, that jealous has-been, because of having been stung by the Democrats' mistaken criticism of the US for not being more accommodating to appeasement-minded Europe, would be a mistake. Which tack Sec. Rice is taking remains to be seen. I think she and Pres. Bush will take action when they want to. The question is when and against whom. Right now she is moving against Israel. She is moving not with planes but with platitudes -- treacherous diplomacy. The big issue preoccupying people is whether the US will demand that the P.A. eradicate terrorism or only pretend to, before making the Quisling Israeli government give up traditional Jewish territory for it. The bottom line is a terrorist state, for after any suspension of terrorism, terrorism would come roaring back in a sovereign P.A. state. Let us not be grateful to Pres. Bush for anything he says and does against P.A. terrorism, when he is cheating the Jewish people out of their patrimony and laying the groundwork for a successful war by invasion and attrition against Israel, by depriving it of secure borders, strategic territory, and water. So far, what Bush is proposing and Rice is supporting is greater economic and military aid to the P.A., without the P.A. first having to cease its incitement against Israel and Jews and without eradicating terrorism. Indeed, Abu Mazen proposes paying the most active terrorists by incorporating them into his oversized police force, really an incipient army, but holding off most of their depredations until he has gotten more concessions from Israel. Congress is barking at paying the P.A. before it eliminates the terrorists, but it rarely bites. Unfortunately for the Jewish people, their worst leadership is in power. In Israel, Peres and Sharon favor appeasement, as do the billionaires who run some of the major private Jewish organizations. They do not champion Jewish interests, which is to say, common decency. They let the world fall all over itself with admiration for one of the worst terrorists and his movement of evil. The masses are beguiled by the media, which gives them the impression that their leaders care about them more than about themselves, their positions in the gentile world, and their warped ideology. WRONG REASON TO DISPARAGE ISRAEL Someone told me that Israel cannot be democratic, because it doesn't have separation of church from state. I believe in democracy and separation of church from state in general, but do not idolize them. In themselves, they are over-rated and under-achieved. But Israel is not different from other countries she could consider democratic: Germany, Britain, the US, and at least some of the Scandinavian countries, among others. Germany underwrites the country's religious schools. Britain and, last I heard, the Scandinavian countries have established churches, and their royalty must belong to them. Why does she disparage only Israel? On the other hand, I have pointed out many truly and gravely undemocratic features about Israel: Its not having electoral districts or electing its chief executive, uniform media, government power, no bill of rights, self-appointing, and radical judiciary. It also is antagonistic towards Judaism. GERMANY BANS HAMAS CHARITY FRONT The main charity front for Hamas is al-Aqsa. From its headquarters in Germany, al-Aqsa raised funds for Hamas and supported other Hamas activities, such as indoctrination and advocacy. When this was proved in a German court, the court upheld a German law disbanding the terrorist front. Another European state also banned it (IMRA, 1/20). P.A. ESCALATION P.A. terrorists have smuggled longer-range, Egyptian rockets into Gaza. They can threaten more cities and their infrastructure. In 1995, when the Labor Party planned a similar autonomy for Gaza, critics worried that the Arabs would use their mobility to fire rockets into Israel. PM Rabin chided critics as childish weavers of scare stories (Arutz-7, 1/19). They weren't childish; Rabin was blind. What about Sharon and Bush? DANGEROUS CEASEFIRE The two sides reputedly agreed to a ceasefire, although Hamas did not pledge adherence. Almost immediately came this news: "In the first reported violation of the cease-fire, Palestinian Arabs shot at a car near a W. Bank Jewish settlement after nightfall and fired on and threw firebombs at soldiers who came to investigate. No one was hurt. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, affiliated with Mr. Abbas's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility." (Ramit Plushnick-Masti, NY Sun, 2/9, p.6 from Associated Press.) So it is with every ceasefire. But against whom does the world rail about "violations," when it takes up the cry? Against Israel, falsely. It does not want to acknowledge that the Arabs always violate inconvenient agreements. The Arabs pocket concessions and breach promises. One cannot expect better from a culture that honors deceit, violence, and bigotry. In the presence of such dreadful cultures, multiculturalism is appeasement by fools. EXHIBITION KILLINGS Pre-Islamic Arabs practiced psychological warfare by means of kidnapping and decapitation. Their Prophet codified that, restricting it to jihad. Captives could save themselves by converting. Then non-Muslims (just Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians?) were to be protected from all that by a discriminatory poll tax. Contemporary jihadists are drawing away from these religious rules. The Chechnya Muslim mass-murder of Russians was disapproved by most Muslims only because Russia supported the PLO. Muslim scholar al-Qaradawi disapproved, but would approve of a similar attack on Israeli schoolchildren, because they would grow up to become soldiers. Likewise, Muslims disapproved of the taking of French hostages in Iraq, and took active steps to free them, because France opposed the US war on Iraq. Moreover, France demanded that the Bush administration invite the insurgents to an international conference on Iraq, though they are terrorists (seeking to reinstate an imperialist dictatorship). (Sen. Kerry urged the US to listen more to France!) The result of a general Muslim failure to reject terrorism renders no one safe. Iranian Ayatollah Khalkhali dismissed concerns that innocent people are killed, by leaving it to Allah to take care of them in the afterlife, from which no witnesses return (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2004, p.43 from Amir Taheri, opinion.journal.com, 10/3/04). Believers are amazing - they know the mind of the unseen God. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

MORE ON SHARON'S GOONS Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 17, 2005.

This is called "Achia Resident Discharged from Hospital," February 17, 2005 and appeared in Arutz-7 (www.IsraelNationalNews.com). It is archived at http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=77064 [Editor's Note: See below for previous story.] (IsraelNN.com) Achia resident Hanoch Albert was released from Jerusalem's Bikur Holim Hospital this morning after being admitted for injuries sustained when police arrested and beat him. Albert explained his arrest was prompted by his planting a tree near his Shomron home in an area deemed as "under dispute" by police since local Arab villagers maintain the tree was planted on their land. Albert admits he is somewhat puzzled - questioning why his actions warranted his being placed under arrest, stating with certainty "police have a political agenda". He detailed that after being driven in the police jeep from his home, officers stopped at nearby Shilo Junction, at which time a policeman named Aviran (first name) punched him in his face, telling him "you will not win with us - you will finish up in hospital" as was the case. Albert went on to detail the multiple assaults to his head and face, with two other officers present joining in, continuing physical attacks accompanied by verbal assaults and threats. He explained that he remained on the floor of the vehicle in an effort to protect himself, but did return to a seat of the jeep when instructed by police to do so, only to be knocked to the ground repeatedly. Hanoch is filing charges against police, stating that he in no way made any movements that could have been interpreted as an attempt to strike police, adding he was too busy trying to defend himself against the unprovoked and merciless assault which left him with fractured ribs, soft tissue injuries and assorted bruises, as well as compromised hearing and vision. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

G-D BE WITH YOU Posted by Chananiah ben Chaim Nossen Gabrylewicz, February 17, 2005.

Israel, My beloved Jerusalem, seat of our G-d and home to the birth of all that is good on Earth. What has happened to you, O Israel? What has happened to the promise of yesteryear? Where did all the blood spilled go? Why can you not look at yourself? Where are you headed? What is your destiny? O, my G-d, and G-d of my ancestors, listen to my questions and on bended knees and prostrated to the ground with fear and love I ask of You, Why? Is this the lesson we have learned? Is this the Promised Land? Are these the deserving peoples of Israel? Do they have the right to posses and govern, control and dictate, venerate and pray, with G-d's blessings? I do not know the answers, I only know the questions. Will we need a new Flood? Do we need another Holocaust? Why aren't there more deserving Jews? And if there are many more, where are they? Why are they not in Israel? Why? At what price the State of Israel cuts itself into pieces to feed the hungry hordes of enemies that need not the land but the blood of the Jews? To what degree does the State of Israel have to bow down and serve others? When will enough sacrifice be enough? What more do they want, those that seek to destroy the Jews? Six million plus lives are not enough for one generation or two? How many millions more will satisfy the beast that hunts the Jews? Who will be next? Our cousins the Christians? Haven't the Christians sacrificed enough either? What will it take for Humanity to awaken to the never ending lust for lives that are the basis of those that multiply faster than any pestilence, famine or war can destroy? O AMERICA YOU ARE THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE FUTURE OF THE PEOPLE OF G-D. AWAKE YE GIANT, TAKE YOUR STEPS AND DO AWAY WITH YOUR ANCESTRAL TIES TO THE EVIL OF THE PAST. AND TO YOU, JEWS OF THE WORLD, LOOK AT YOUR RICHES AND PRAY THAT G-D WILL FORGIVE YOU FOR NOT OFFERING THEM TO YOUR ONE AND ONLY PROMISED LAND. YOUR LIVES BE FORFEIT AND DENIED AS YOU DENY THE VERY SOURCE AND REASON FOR EXISTING. BEAR DOWN ON YOUR MOTIVES AND REASONS AND DEMAND ACOUNTABILITY FROM THOSE THAT GOVERN WITHOUT A HEART OF PURITY AND CONCERN FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE TORAH. NO SACRIFICE IS WORTH A SECOND OF BREATHING OR A MILLISECOND OF EXISTENCE WHEN ALL REASONS FOR BEING HAVE DIMINISHED OR BEEN SHED. I PRAY FOR THEE, O ISRAEL, LAND OF MY DREAMS, HOME OF MY G-D AND SOURCE OF THE G-D OF MY ANCESTORS. WERE IT THAT I MAY INFLUENCE ONE PERSON TO LOOK AND DO AS THE TORAH COMMANDS. G-D BE WITH YOU This was distributed by Communaute-Juive-France, the Jewish Community of France. To Go To Top

PARCHEESI FOR INCITERS Posted by Steven Plaut, February 17, 2005.

1. As you know, Israel these days is a country in which free speech is under a massive attack, not only from the usual totalitarian leftists but also from the Likud establishment politicians. Day after day they and their obedient press amen chorus scream out that evil anti-Oslo dissidents are threatening to produce civil war by utilizing their right of free speech, and that "right-wingers" expressing their opinions or even doodling graffiti on walls represent a clear and present danger of murder. Really. But the newest target of this McCarthyism is a board game called "Rivava", which the Attorney General claims is nothing less than Parcheesi for Inciters to violence. (In Hebrew, see http://www.inn.co.il/news.php?id=103688 ) The game is the invention of one David Haivri, a fellow you may remember as the gentleman who got arrested and sentenced (http://israelnn.com/news.php3?id=63970 ) for selling Tee-shirts on which it was printed "Where there are no Arabs there is no Terrorism" (see http://www.foundation1.org/papers-articles/democracy/haivri-freedom-speech.htm , http://www.ourjerusalem.com/opinion/story/opinion20040218.html, and http://www.acpr.org.il/ENGLISH-NATIV/03-ISSUE/eidelberg-3.htm). His plight and trial were so unlike those of - say - Tali Fahima, the Israeli leftist woman who helped her Jenin lover plan terror atrocities, and also unlike the cousin of Mohammed Bakri who got off a Galilee bus when she was tipped that it was about to be blown up and never bothered to warn anyone else (she was just cleared of all wrong doing). The Bakri cousin is clean as a hound's tooth, unlike poor Margalit Har-Sheffi, convicted because she assumed Yigal Amir was blowing off hot air when he said he was out to shoot Rabin (just like police mole Avishai Raviv, who assumed the same thing). Har-Sheffi did hard prison time. Haivri's board game looks a little like a Hebrew monopoly board, and is dedicated to tactics and strategies that can be used to stop Sharon's Mitzna-clone disengagement plan and to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Gaza Strip. I confess that I have not had the opportunity to play the game myself, but it is my understanding that nothing in the game can be considered to be promoting violence, unlike 100% of the video games on the market. Haivri was dragged in to the police this week for questioning about this clear and present dangerous board game, a game that potentially could result in anti-Oslo inciters actually utilizing their right of free expression. 2. I think you will find this story interesting: http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/moonbatcentral/2005/02/who-is-capn-nimmo-star-cockroach-of.html 3. LONDON, England -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called on London Mayor Ken Livingstone to apologize for a tirade in which he accused a Jewish reporter of behaving like a Nazi concentration camp guard. "A lot of us in politics get angry with journalists from time to time but in the circumstances, and to the journalist because he was a Jewish journalist, yes he should apologize," Blair said Wednesday. If th emayor gets canned, maybe he can get a job at Ben Gurion University. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

SO WHAT? Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 17, 2005.

And every think else they have been doing is in accordance with the Torah? If the Rabbis of Yeshah want to make a significant impact on stopping the Sharon final solution to the Yeshah problem, let them begin by resigning their Government jobs and encouraging all others to do the same. Grandiose and pompous laments will not stop the Oslo gang or their goon squads. The law passed. There will be no referendum. There will be no free and fair elections. The one last non-violent tactic that can force the fundamental changes we need is for there to be massive resignations by Government employees. Let the Yeshah Rabbis lead the way. This is a news item from Arutz-7 (www.InsraelNationalNews.com). It's called "Yesha Rabbis - Disengagement Law Contradicts Torah Law." It's archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=77046 (IsraelNN.com) The Yesha Rabbinical Council yesterday released a statement that the passing of the Disengagement Law by in Knesset does not change the fact that it contradicts Torah Law, explaining the Knesset cannot legitimately pass legislation calling for the expulsion of Jews from their homes in the Land of Israel. Echoing the rabbi's remarks, Yesha Council officials released a statement lamenting the passing of the bill into law, calling it a "dark day" in the history of modern Israel. Council officials remained outside the Knesset while the vote was taking place, reading the over 100 pages which make up the Expulsion/Compensation Law, tearing it to shreds page-by-page as they mourned the reality that the government of the Jewish State has decided to evict Jews from their homes. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

ANTI-ISRAELI INCITEMENT BY THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY SINCE THE ELECTION OF ABU MAZEN Posted by Dr. Reuven Erlich, February 17, 2005.

Synopsis Incitement to acts of terrorism and hatred has routinely accompanied the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. Its cessation, or at least a significant decrease, is a condition for progress in Israeli-Palestinian political negotiations and an important indication of the post-Arafat Palestinian Authority's intentions. Since Abu Mazen's election as chairman of the PA there has been a change in the nature of Palestinian television broadcasts. The amounts of anti-Israeli propaganda and incitement have diminished, part of Abu Mazen's attempt to change the atmosphere in the "Palestinian street" and to stop the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. However, the Palestinian media still contain anti-Israeli propaganda and incitement and there are still no changes in sources of incitement, such as the graffiti and posters appearing on walls, in mosques and in the educational system. What is incitement? Incitement is basically the encouragement of terrorism and hatred, in this case hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. It includes demonization of Israel and the Jewish people and the encouragement of violence, including of acts of terrorism. It can be manifested by an explicit call to violence or by indirect and vague messages aimed at emotions rather than intellect. Incitement can be used on the everyday, superficial level to serve immediate goals (e.g., the written and broadcast media, sermons in mosques and street graffiti) and on the underlying, long-term level (the educational system from kindergarten to university). Anti-Israeli incitement has accompanied the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation at all its stages and in all its forms. It sustains terrorism and encourages it both directly (explicit calls to violence) and indirectly -- the creation of an atmosphere of hatred of the State of Israel and the Jewish people, on which terrorism grows and flourishes. During the Arafat era it was inspired by Arafat's strategies and policies and pronouncements, which were fully absorbed and assimilated by the Palestinian population, and which nourished the current ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation from its inception. For that reason, the cessation of incitement or at least a significant decrease in its everyday use is a condition for the cessation of terrorism and for progress in political negotiations, and an important indication of the PA's intentions for the Abu Mazen era. Palestinian media and additional sources of incitement The Palestinian establishment media (which center around Palestinian television) are perceived by Abu Mazen as an important tool for changing the atmosphere in the Palestinian street and for advancing his new public-civilian agenda. It is evident that he wants to remove anti-Israeli incitement from Palestinian television and to make it more modern and democratic, enabling it to compete with other television channels, particularly the Arab satellite stations. However, he is aware of the difficulties involved in dealing with the deeply-rooted patterns already present, primarily in the educational institutions and mosques, where he is liable to find himself confronting Hamas, which plays a central role in the ongoing incitement in those institutions. Therefore, since Arafat's death, Abu Mazen has instructed the executives of Palestinian television to mitigate the content of its broadcasts with regard to Israel. After he was elected chairman he continued more energetically in the same spirit, and renewed his instructions regarding the decrease of incitement on Palestinian television and on the Voice of Palestine radio station. He also instructed that an end be put to the "leader cult" prevalent during the Arafat era. On January 30, 2005, Abu Alaa, the Palestinian prime minister, visited the television studios in Gaza and called for a change in the broadcasting schedule to make it more "objective and pluralistic." The changes instituted by Abu Mazen During the Arafat era, Palestinian television broadcasts were usually devoted to religion, current events and various Palestinian matters (prisoners, Jerusalem, history) with intensive "coverage" (which was usually biased) of the confrontation with Israel. There were also songs and straight incitement-propaganda programs which preached violence and an armed insurrection against Israel and portrayed terrorists who perpetrated attacks on Israel (including suicide bombing attacks in Israeli cities) as heroes and role models. During that era, it should be noted, the level of incitement and the level of Palestinian terrorism against Israel were usually coordinated with Israeli army actions against terrorism. Between his election and the summit meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh, Abu Mazen voiced highly encouraging statements, and praised the peace process and "the cessation of all violent activity of Israelis and Palestinians wherever they are" (Al-Jazeera TV, February 8,2005). In effect, there have actually been changes in Palestinian TV broadcasts: There has been a significant decrease in the number of songs inciting anti-Israeli violence: During the Arafat era approximately 15 such songs were broadcast daily, and during Israeli army actions the number often rose as high as 30. Since Abu Mazen's election the number has dropped to three to five songs daily. Instead, national songs and appearances by singers and dancers have been broadcast, and during the past few days (as of February 13, 2005), no such songs have been broadcast. Programs supporting Abu Mazen's policies: The Palestinian media have issued reports in support of the steps taken by Abu Mazen and expressing hope that they will succeed in pushing the peace process forward. Palestinian TV has broadcast current events programs which include interviews with civilians who support the calm and a return to normal life. For example, residents of the Gaza Strip expressed their support for the deployment of Palestinian forces in the Strip and condemned the firing of Qassam rockets into Israeli territory and the construction of tunnels used to smuggle weapons. Changes in the nature of the broadcasts: More time is devoted to cultural programs, lifestyle, entertainment and leisure (sports, game shows, Internet, etc.), and the broadcasting of programs of a national character continues. In addition, the personality cult which characterized Arafat's régime has been minimized and emphasis is now put on the importance of maintaining a rule of law. Changes in terminology: It has been reported that program directors have been instructed to remove hostile terms such as - the Zionist enemy - and the - Israeli occupation forces - from broadcasts. So far, there are no indications of significant changes in terminology or sweeping changes in tone, and the Israeli army is still referred to as the "Israeli occupation forces," and actions attributed to Israel are still referred to as actions undertaken by "the rule of occupation." However, the Israeli Minister of Defense is no longer referred to as the "Minister of War," but rather as the "Minister of the Army." Publishing cartoons hostile to Israel in the PA's house organ: The Palestinian media are still rife with anti-Israel cartoons, which are an easily-grasped and effective way of spreading hatred for Israel, delegitimizing it and sowing lack of faith in Israel's intentions for peace. Omayya Joha, whose vicious cartoons have made her immensely popular, supports the use of terrorism (1) and appears regularly in Al-Hayat Al-Jadeedah, the PA's house organ. An example of small changes in anti-Israeli incitement can be found in the Friday sermons of Hamas-affiliated sheikh Ibrahim Madeiras, Gaza's chief cleric. His sermons, which include crude anti-Israeli propaganda and incitement (sometimes anti-Semitic), are broadcast live by PA-controlled Palestinian TV. During the past few weeks the following were noted: A part of the January 28 sermon was devoted to explaining to the worshippers the importance of the truce and the need for "a time out for the fighters." On January 20, during the Feast of the Sacrifice sermon (attended by Abu Mazen), he spoke about advancing a new PA agenda and condemned the "anarchy of weapons," citing religious reasons (on Friday, February 11, 2005, his sermon was not broadcast). However, in his February 4 sermon he noted that the Palestinians had not ceded the lands of 1948. He said that Palestinians would return to those lands and not as part of a political process, even if it were a matter for generations not yet born. "This does not mean that we have ceded Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramle and Tel Aviv," he stated. Sheikh Ibrahim Madeiras : A (temporary?) toning down of anti-Israeli incitement while emphasizing Palestinian determination to return to the borders of 1948, no matter how ( Palestinian TV, February 4, 2005). It has also been reported that the Palestinian Ministry of Education instructed schools in the West Bank to stop using terminology hostile to Israel (such as "the occupation army" and "ravaged land"). It is still unclear if and how the instructions will be carried out. What still has to be done? So far, the changes instituted by Abu Mazen are superficial and should only be considered the beginning. They do not reflect an overall PA effort to bring about a profound change in Palestinian perceptions of the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation with Israel, not immediately and certainly not in the long run. The universities and the mosques remain conspicuous centers of anti-Israeli incitement and throughout the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation they have not retreated from incitement to terrorist actions, accompanied by hatred-spreading propaganda and turning suicide bombers and other terrorists into role models. In Israeli assessment no genuine effort has been made to deal with either the universities or the mosques. For example: In recent weeks incitement from senior clerics continued on the Temple Mount (most conspicuous among them was Ikrimah Sabri, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem), who receive their salaries from the Palestinian Authority. They routinely and methodically slander Israel (often without regard for truth), which they represent as continually attacking Palestinians (psychologically preparing the ground for the continuation of the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation.) Israeli continues to be libeled in the Palestinian press with charges often based on outright lies. For example, on February 4, 2005, Al-Hayat Al-Jadeedah printed an announcement from the "National Guidance Department" in east Ramallah, warning Palestinians not to approach suspicious objects and landmines [sic]. The "occupation forces" or settlers planted them, according to announcement, in many areas, including near dwellings, schools and tilled land. The reason, according to the announcement, was that "the occupation forces want to pressure the Palestinian people in a variety of ways to force them to get rid of their lands ." In summation The conclusion drawn from the current situation is that so far, positive signs are being shown by Abu Mazen and other high-ranking figures in the Palestinian Authority, perhaps heralding the beginning of a change, important in itself, in the dimensions of anti-Israeli incitement. However, so far the PA has taken only superficial steps. In the future, to stop such incitement altogether and to make genuine changes in Palestinian consciousness regarding Israel, the PA will have to deal much more effectively with anti-Israeli incitement: more broadly, more profoundly and over a long period of time: In terms of the immediate future, the PA must: Make profound changes in the Palestinian media : Continue the broadcasting of positive statements made by the Palestinian leadership, remove all inciting songs and programs, eradicate anti-Israeli libel and change in the terminology used in reference to Israel. Clean the streets of anti-Israeli propaganda : Remove from streets and public places (including in the vicinity of schools) the graffiti and posters which preach hatred, the continuation of violence and the turning of Palestinian terrorist shaheeds into role models. Stop the generation and distribution of books, cassettes and CDs (some of which are imported from countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia) which preach hatred and continued violence. Stop the incitement coming from the mosques and increase PA supervision of the preachers, especially those affiliated with Hamas (as was done in the past by the Palestinian Preventive Security). In the long run, the PA must: Stop the incitement to anti-Israeli hatred and terrorism in the Palestinian Authority educational system (both formal and informal), from the kindergartens to the universities. Change educational and cultural materials (books, textbooks, literature, poetry, plays). --------------------------------- 1 Politically, Omayya Joha subscribes to Hamas ideology. Her husband was a Hamas terrorist-operative who died in a gun battle with Israeli soldiers in 2003. Dr. Reuven Erlich is Head of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel. Its website address is http://www.intelligence.org To Go To Top

GLOVES ARE OFF AT COLUMBIA Posted by Janet Lehr, February 17, 2005.

A Columbia University professor challenged anti-Israel professors to a debate. George Fletcher, a Columbia Law School professor who teaches a course on the jurisprudence of war, paid for a quarter-page advertisement in the Columbia Spectator challenging Middle East studies professors Rashid Khalidi, Joseph Massad and Hamid Dabashi and other interested faculty to a debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his assistant said. In a recent documentary film, pro-Israel students accused the professors of harassing them for their views. Fletcher said, "The specific cause of my disturbance was a panel that was held two weeks ago at the Columbia Law School," which "consisted of one person after another getting up and making the most trivial and childish anti-Israel arguments." This article is called "Law Professor Challenges Mideast Scholars To Debate," and is by Jacob Gershman, Staff Reporter of the Sun. It appeared in the New York Sun yesterday and is archived at http://www.nysun.com/article/9295 When the Harvard legal star Alan Dershowitz dropped by Columbia University last week to harangue faculty members for tolerating an anti-Israel climate on campus, sitting in the front row and wincing was a Columbia law professor, George Fletcher. "There's something ridiculous about having to invite Dershowitz to campus to make the case for the other side," Mr. Fletcher told The New York Sun. "That's kind of shameful." Few faculty members at Columbia have openly questioned the scholarship and teaching of Columbia's Middle East professors, many of whom express the view that Israel is a racist state and poses the greatest threat to peace in the region. Mr. Fletcher, 65, who is something of a maverick at Columbia's law school and has taught at Israeli universities, said he wants to break the silence. "It's obvious that someone has to take these guys on," he said. He has purchased a $450 quarter page advertisement in the student newspaper, the Columbia Spectator, challenging three of those professors to one-on-one debates on the Middle East conflict. The ad is expected to appear in today's newspaper. It reads: "Professor George P. Fletcher of the Columbia School of Law invites and challenges Professors Rashid Khalidi, Joseph Massad, and Hamid Dabashi and any other interested members of the University faculty to a civilized and reasoned debate about the issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Contact civildebate@aol.com." Such a direct challenge between colleagues is likely to raise eyebrows at a university where differences among faculty are generally discussed behind closed doors and seldom spill out into public forums. The dean of Columbia's law school, David Schizer, told the Sun in an e-mail that he supported Mr. Fletcher's proposal and said he would consider moderating the debate. "I think George has a good idea," Mr. Schizer wrote. "The Law School is committed to engaging with the world's hardest problems, like the situation in the Middle East, and we believe the right way to do this is through a balanced and collegial conversation." Two of the professors named by Mr. Fletcher - Mr. Massad, an assistant professor of modern Arab politics, and Mr. Dabashi, a professor of Iranian studies - are in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, which is at the center of the continuing controversy involving student accusations of intimidation. Mr. Khalidi teaches in the history department and holds a professorship named after the Columbia literature scholar and political activist Edward Said and partly financed by the United Arab Emirates. To varying degrees, each of the professors has attacked Israel as a colonial state that is the root of the problem in the Middle East conflict. Mr. Khalidi, a specialist on Arab nationalism, has compared Israel's founding to the Holocaust. Mr. Dabashi has reportedly said Israel "amounts to nothing more than a military base for the rising predatory empire of the United States." Mr. Massad has expressed support for the Palestinian intifada against Israel and calls Israel an illegitimate, racist state. "I don't think there's anything wrong with making arguments against Israel," Mr. Fletcher said. "It's a matter of not allowing stupid people to get away with stupid arguments." Mr. Massad, Mr. Khalidi, and Mr. Dabashi did not respond to e-mail and phone inquiries for comment. "They have to respond to me," Mr. Fletcher said. Like professors in the Middle East studies department, Mr. Fletcher has faced his own academic battles. In 1999, he butted heads with the then dean of the law school, David Leebron, who accused him of giving students an inappropriate essay assignment that concerned the graphic murder of fetuses. Mr. Fletcher said he is not particularly interested in the complaints made by Jewish students who accuse some professors in the Middle East studies department, including Mr. Massad, of mistreating them in the classroom. "If I thought there was actual intimidation in class, it might be an issue," he said. "I have not seen enough evidence to suggest there was." "On the other hand," he said, "there is a one-sided discourse on campus. That's what bothers me." He said he was upset over a recent panel discussion on the Middle East conflict at the law school that was titled, "One State or Two? Alternative Proposals for Middle East Peace. "Three of the four panelists - Mr. Massad, Mr. Khalidi, and an Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe - argued that Israel was the primary barrier to peace and that a two-state solution was not feasible. The fourth panelist, Mark Cohen, a medieval historian from Princeton, lectured on the historical relationship between Jews and Muslims and said in his conclusion that he favored establishment of two states. Mr. Fletcher, who did not attend the event, said it was wrong for the university to hold what he believed was a slanted discussion about the Middle East conflict. That bias, he said, is contributing to an increasingly anti-Israel environment on campus. "Anybody who has any training and who knows anything about Israel can refute these arguments," he said. "Why isn't the university interested in open debate?" he said. "I don't understand why the central administration doesn't see this as a central problem." Mr. Fletcher said he would like the debate to focus on specific topics and offered two examples: "How many settlements on the West Bank would be compatible with a peace agreement," or "Who provides better guidance on the issue of the wall, the Israeli Supreme Court or the International Court of Justice?" The reference is to the long security barrier that Israel is constructing at the West Bank. Mr. Fletcher, a specialist on criminal and constitutional law who is fluent in six languages, joined Columbia's law school in 1983 and has taught in the law departments at Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University. In his writings, he has criticized those who say Israel is illegally occupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is best known for his book "A Crime of Self-Defense: Bernhard Goetz and the Law on Trial," a dissection of the trial of the subway gunman. To Go To Top

SAVE THE SUBBOTNIKS Posted by Michael Freund, February 17, 2005.

Following is an article of mine from the Jerusalem Post regarding the need for Israel to rescue the Subbotniks, a group of Russian peasants whose ancestors converted to Judaism 200 years ago and who now wish to escape growing anti-Semitism and move to Israel. It appeared today in the Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/ JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1108583510892&p=1006953079865 Your comments and feedback are welcome. Hundreds of miles south of Moscow, in the heart of the Russian hinterland, lies one of the most compelling testimonies to the power and the appeal of Jewish identity. It is here, in the small snow-drenched town of Vysoki, that some of the last remaining members of a group known as the Subbotniks cling tenaciously, though somewhat tenuously, to the religion of Moses and Israel. Though their origins are clouded in mystery, the Subbotniks, and all that they represent, demand our attention and our help. Over two centuries ago, a large group of Russian peasants in the Voronezh region decided to convert to Judaism, part of what historians describe as an inexplicable wave of "Judaizing sects" that appeared on the country's theological scene. They came to be known as "Subbotniks," thanks to their observance of the Subbot, or Sabbath, of the Jews. While it is unclear precisely why they chose to become Jews, one thing is certain: It took a whole lot of guts to defy the anti-Semitism and oppressive discrimination of Czarist Russia, which was hardly known as a bastion of philo-Semitism. Indeed, from the very beginning, they suffered terribly for their choice to become Jews. Simon Dubnow, the great historian of Russian and Polish Jewry, notes that the Subbotniks first came to the attention of the czar in 1817, when they petitioned him to complain of "the oppressions which they had had to undergo at the hands of the local authorities, both ecclesiastic and civil, on account of their confessing the law of Moses." Their appeal, however, backfired, arousing the fury of Czar Alexander I, who uprooted thousands of the Subbotniks and expelled them to the far reaches of the empire. "The chiefs and teachers of the Judaizing sects are to be impressed into military service, and those unfit to serve deported to Siberia," read a decree issued in 1823 by Russia's Council of Ministers. "Every outward display of the sect, such as the holding of prayer-meetings and the observance of ceremonies which bear no resemblance to those of Christians, is to be forbidden," it continued. Nonetheless, despite two centuries of forced exile, persecution and neighborly contempt, the Subbotniks somehow managed to survive, hanging on to their Judaism under the most trying of circumstances. They observed Shabbat and kept kosher, prayed three times daily and donned tefillin (phylacteries). They celebrated all the Jewish holidays, from Yom Kippur to Lag Ba'omer, baked their own matza for Pessah, and even managed in some cases to send their children off to study at the great Lithuanian yeshivot in the 19th century. BUT SEVEN decades of harsh Communist rule took its toll on the Subbotniks, as on the rest of Russian Jewry, presenting them with new challenges in their efforts to maintain their identity. The Soviet regime sought to force them to assimilate by trying to compel them to work on Shabbat, an effort that proved largely unsuccessful. The authorities also intentionally settled non-Jewish Russians in their midst in the hopes of breaking up the traditional and close-knit structure of the Subbotniks' communal existence. This Soviet policy led to a growing number of intermarriages among the community's younger generation beginning in the 1960s, and a decline in the level of their religious observance and knowledge. On a visit to Vysoki earlier this week, I attended the Monday morning prayer service, which, though following precisely the Ashkenazi rite, was recited entirely in Russian. The last member of the community who knew how to read the prayers in Hebrew was a 93-year-old man who made aliya two months ago. Indeed, in recent years, some 500 Subbotniks from Vysoki alone have moved to Israel, where they all send their children to religious schools and live observant Jewish lifestyles. Nevertheless, although there are still another 800 Subbotniks in Vysoki who would like to make aliya, Israel's Interior Ministry has suddenly begun placing obstacles in their path. Applicants from Vysoki often have to wait as long as three years before receiving an answer to their requests to move, as the Interior Ministry treats them with suspicion even though nearly all of them have relatives already living in Israel. In mid-2003, under then-interior minister Avraham Poraz, a decision was made to bar Subbotniks married to non-Jews from making aliya, with the result being that many families, unwilling to leave a sibling or a child behind in Russia, choose instead not to come. And yet, this policy is precisely the opposite of that being applied in the rest of the former Soviet Union, where the question of who one's spouse is has no bearing whatsoever on the right to come to Israel. "It's not fair," Lubov Goncharev told me at a meeting in Vysoki. Goncharev's elderly parents, both of whom are in their 70s, are planning to make aliya at the end of the month, but her request to join them was denied because her husband isn't Jewish. "I, too, want to make aliya and raise my children to be Jews in Israel, so why won't the government let me come?" Indeed, the Subbotniks themselves said they would agree to undergo conversion if it would remove any doubts regarding their status or that of their spouses and children. But that doesn't seem to interest the Interior Ministry very much, with the result being that countless numbers of Subbotnik Jewish children are being lost to the Jewish people, possibly forever. According to research carried out by Dr. Velvl Chernin, an ethnographer who works as a Jewish Agency emissary in Moscow, there are an estimated 10,000 Subbotniks spread throughout several dozen communities in places such as Russia, Ukraine and Siberia. Chernin says that the Soviet-imposed assimilation on the Subbotniks so weakened the younger generation's ties to Judaism that unless they are allowed to come to Israel, they will largely disappear within a generation or two. It is simply unthinkable that the Israeli government would allow such an injustice to occur. The Subbotniks braved czarist cruelty and Soviet repression to be Jews, at great risk to their lives and well-being. How can the Interior Ministry now slam the door on them in such a callous and short-sighted manner? It is incumbent upon the government to reverse the Interior Ministry's policy and to enable all the remaining Subbotniks to come to Israel. They are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to be accepted back into the fold of the Jewish people and Israeli society, so there is just no good reason not to bring them here. Though they may look and sound like typical Russian peasants, with the facial features and mannerisms familiar to anyone who has seen Fiddler on the Roof, we shouldn't allow appearances to fool us. The Subbotniks are Jews in every respect, and it is time for Israel to bring them home. Michael Freund, a former aide to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, is the founder of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), which helps "lost Jews" return to the Jewish people. To Go To Top

OSLO III: ARIEL PERES, SHIMON SHARON AND THE END OF ZIONISM Posted by Moshe Dann, February 16, 2005.

Twelve years ago the 'Oslo Process' was inaugurated based on secret agreements and understandings. Its PR rationale was "Land for Peace," relying on Arafat as a "partner." It was all a lie. Today, after thousands of dead and tens of thousands crippled, that same process (led by some of the same people) continues under the PR slogan "disengagement." Since there is still no 'peace partner' as yet (only a truce partner) terrorists will not only stay in place but are honored and strengthened. Oslo III is, therefore, 'Land for Nothing.' "Unilateral withdrawal" is only a euphemism for retreat. No mandate and no explanations. As Israelis say, Kacha! (just because). Missing in the debate over Israel's proposed retreat from all or most of Yesha - the historical and strategic heartland of Israel - is the context from which that policy has emerged. During the last forty years secular Jewish/Israeli Leftists have assaulted Jewish identity, the foundations of Zionism, and the institutions of Israeli democracy. They have diminished Jewish content in public education and in daily life, they have attacked the national religious settlement movement inYesha, they have politicized the IDF and the courts, they control the media, educational and cultural institutions and by and large Israel's political economy. By pitting "loyalty to the State" against "the settlers" the ruling elites and Left seek to divide and conquer public opinion. The State itself replaces ideology with its own values based on the myth that it represents the popular will and serves our common interests. Engaging in diatribes against personalities and hysterical scenarios only contributes to a general confusion about who is responsible; they fail to understand the inner dynamics of what's really happening - and leaves us in anger and despair. The Sharon/Peres plan is part of an agenda that seeks to destroy Zionism and replace it with Israelism (nationalism per se), to transform Jewish nationhood into a secular pluralistic republic (in the Western European tradition) and to maintain control of Israel's political/economic system in order to preserve the interests of the ruling elite. They seek to de-Judeize Israel, to assimilate and integrate into (and hopefully be accepted by) the international community, especially by the West, and to stay in power. These are the people who control Israeli banks, newspapers and TV, and major industries. This is not sinister or conspiratorial; there is no need for a coup d'etat. This is business as usual. Three main obstacles stand in their way: Anti-Semitism, Arab terrorism and the national religious Zionist camp. The latter, especially the Jews who live in Yesha are not marginal; they are fully integrated into the fabric of daily life and especially the IDF. These Jews are rooted in an ideology of Jewish settlement that is basic to Zionism and Jewish consciousness. "Disengagement," even if possible is not only or even primarily intended to separate from Arabs (the external threat), but from the religious Right, "the settlers," who represent an internal threat to Israel's ruling elite. Both Arab and religious Jewish nationalists - because they are idealists - are perceived by the political/economic establishment in Israel as threats to their power. They can't be bought. "Disengagement" therefore means nothing more than uprooting Jewish communities and allowing Palestinian terrorists a sovereign state in return for, hopefully, international good will. PM Sharon has said clearly to the Palestinians: 'whether or not you stop terrorism and incitement, we will leave.' What a bargaining position. The hope is, of course, that Palestinian "moderates" will control extremists in return for a significant cut of the loot, in addition to the billions stashed away by Arafat in Swiss banks and throughout the world. But even if terrorism continues at a reduced level, that too will be acceptable, "manageable" in the jargon of "experts," as long as there won't be too many casualties and the elites continue to rule. It's not so much that the ruling elites want freedom from the Arabs, since they are necessary in the workforce; the elites want freedom from Judaism and from Zionism. The willingness of Israel's government to cede most of Yesha to a terrorist-oriented Palestinian state is the logical consequence of the Left's agenda. This includes building barriers and fences throughout the country along what were the armistice lines of 1949 (with some exceptions). In some cases it may provide a temporary obstacle for terrorists; more important, however, it restricts the expansion of Jewish communities and defines a future Palestinian state. It declares: 'Israel stops here.' That, perhaps, may buy some respite, but not for long. Nor is it enough. For the international ruling elites, Israel is an anachronism among nation states and Zionism is an impediment to assimilation into a world economic structure. Israel is particularistic (nominally Jewish) in a 'pluralistic/universalistic' world; the basis for its existence is a 'homeland for Jews.' That made sense after the Holocaust; today it's inadequate and insufficient as an historical reference. Hence, the need to restructure. Sharon and Peres seek to create a new coalition representing a "center" that will thwart challenges from the "Greater Israel" national religious anti-Palestinian-state forces on one side and those calling for the dismantling of the State on the other. Their agenda is not only to create physical borders, but social, cultural and political ones as well that will ensure their continued dominance of Israel's political economy and culture. The Oslo Accords were meant to stop Jewish settlement in Yesha; the Sharon/Peres plan takes it the next step: the destruction of those Jewish communities. Regardless of Palestinian terrorism and incitement, the "inevitability of a Palestinian state" (in Sharon's words) has become an obsession that has paralyzed the government's ability to consider any other options and requires Israel's dependence on American/European and Palestinian good will. That policy comes out of a deeply-rooted belief that the Jewish people do not have the inalienable right to establish their national home in the Land of Israel. Yoram Hazony's book, The Jewish State; The Struggle for Israel's Soul, laid out in striking detail how Israel's Left-wing intellectual "elite" have undermined the basic premises of Zionism. Published just before former PM Ehud Barak agreed to give Arafat and the PLO almost everything they wanted - nearly all of Yesha, including east Jerusalem and exclusive rights over the Temple Mount, Hazony exposed a cancer that has eaten away at Israel's raison d'etre as a Jewish state. This "post-Zionist" policy waited only to be implemented. PM Sharon, who presented himself as a Right-wing leader, became its Godfather. Coincident with Oslo, far-Left-wing Education Ministers cut budgets for teaching about Judaism and introduced pro-Palestinian propaganda in textbooks. Today, Jewish students in Israeli secular schools may graduate knowing little or nothing about their religion or their history. That is deliberate policy. Israeli universities, with one exception, are bastions of anti-Jewish Leftist propaganda. TV stations which are primary cultural molders denigrate Judaism and Jewish values and promote consumerism. Alternative radio stations (like Arutz 7) that provided services and information to supporters of the Right were closed (unlike the Left-wing's "Voice of Peace," or the hundreds of pirate Arab radio stations). Specials laws and penalties have been proposed to prevent expressions of dissent. Legitimate protests are considered criminal acts. New prisons and detention camps are planned for those who resist evacuation. Ministers who disagree with PM Sharon have been summarily fired. Never before has such arrogance been institutionalized and legitimized. Even institutions which are supposed to prevent such abuse have remained silent. Indoctrinated by Israel's Left-dominated media many Israelis no longer believe in their country and the justice of its cause. Politicians, community leaders and "artists" espouse anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist doctrines that would be considered bigotry if uttered by non-Jews; their insults are carried by a compliant media into every home. Add to all this four years of unremitting terrorist attacks and the result is emotional exhaustion and despair. Sharon has taken advantage of that societal malaise to fragment and demoralize the opposition; but this is not new. The seeds of this denouement can be found decades ago in attempts by Israeli Leftists to substitute a form of nationalism for religious faith and a detachment from Judaism. Their attack on Jewish identity, the one common denominator that holds us together, is an attempt to break the connection between Judaism and Zionism. Israeli leaders are unable to express an authentic, proud and definitive Jewish message. Nor have they been able to articulate Israel's place and purpose in Jewish history. They have defended Israel as if it were simply a country like any other - rather than one that lives on the edge of extinction because it is Jewish. That distinction is crucial: the only reason that the Land of Israel has value is because Jews live in it, because it is central to Jewish consciousness and belief. The culture of Israelism, which spurns Jewish content and has little or no understanding or connection to Judaism, or Israeli history, contains a kind of Judeophobia. Attacking Jews who live in Yesha is an example of the Kulturkampf that is tearing apart Israeli society and with it the nationalist ideology and religious belief that define and distinguish us. For the Left, that is why the Jews of Yesha have become The Enemy. The struggle in Israel over Sharon's policy of retreat is not merely about power, and certainly not "peace," but over Jewish identity and Jewish values. It is ironic that those who support this policy because of their concern for the "Jewish character of Israel" and" Israeli democracy" have so little regard for either at home. Anti-Zionist Leftists have, however, raised important questions. What does Jewish national self-determination mean when so many Israelis reject that premise or have little understanding of it? If Israel is nothing more than a few Jewish symbols and some official recognition of holidays, but without a Jewish content, why does there need to be a State of Israel at all? In order to ensure their control, the ruling elites and their supporters will buy off whomever they can and impoverish the rest until they too give in. They will imprison those who protest and try to break the will of any opposition. In the name of The State, they will try to destroy the Jewish and Zionist ethos that has sustained and inspired us for thousands of years and brought us back to our homeland. The triumph of The State, wherever it is, can only be meaningful when it expresses the will of the people. Otherwise, it is only another form of repression. Moshe Dann, a former assistant professor of History (at CUNY), is a writer and journalist living in Jerusalem. He can be reached at moshedan@netvision.net.il This is dedicated to the memory of Adir Zik. To Go To Top

TRAINING TERRORISTS GLOBALLY Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 16, 2005.

Spread CIA killing skills all over the world. Why not? In the world of Spooks, that's called Blow-back or to us civilians, "Unintended Consequences". I've written about this many times. The CIA is America's creature. We Americans pay the CIA to improve their skills of killing, overthrowing governments and then hope our creature, our Golem doesn't turn against us. But, once we educate non-American, anti-American Muslims to shoot, kill in a dozen ways, how to use electronics to intercept communications - why are we surprised when they turn up in our cities, well-trained to set of a nuclear bomb or spread some incurable disease developed in our own laboratories? The following insight comes to us from Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA, International Media Analysis and appeared in IMRA Wed Feb 16 00:24:16 2005 Volume 2, Issue 995. It is called "Mideast training program backfires: Palestinian security officers schooled by U.S. later used tactics against Israel," and is by Matthew Kalman, and appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle Monday, February 14, 2005. It is archived at www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/14/MNG50BANBE1.DTL Bethlehem, West Bank - In June 1998, somewhere near CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., two rows of men in military fatigues posed for their graduation photo. All of them were officers in Palestinian General Intelligence Service, charged with hunting down terrorists and preventing attacks on Israel. They had just completed a training course, paid for by the U.S. government, in which they learned firearms and counterterrorist tactics. But the graduation photo holds a stark warning for the Bush administration as it gets more involved in Middle East peacemaking. Some of the men in the picture later swapped sides and began using the skills they learned in Virginia against the Israelis. Such training courses, which were suspended with the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000, will be an integral part of Washington's aid package for the new government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. "There will need to be some international effort, and the United States is prepared to play a major role in that, to help in the training of the Palestinian security forces and in making sure that they are security forces that are part of the solution, not part of the problem," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said earlier this month on the London stop of her European tour. Lt. Gen. William Ward, Rice's newly named Mideast security coordinator, will visit the region this month to "start looking at how to build Palestinian security forces," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday. "What we're really all talking about is helping the Palestinian security forces get organized, get equipped, get trained and get the command structure that allows them to take care of security problems," Boucher said. The men in the 1998 photo came from Bethlehem, Jericho and Nablus, which all became flash points in the four-year uprising, called the intifada. Kneeling fourth from the left in the front row is Raafat Bajali. In December 2001, Bajali was killed when a bomb he was making blew up in his face. He had become a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the militant wing of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, said some of his comrades in the General Intelligence unit. Bajali died in a fourth-floor apartment near Bethlehem's Manger Square, the home of Nedal Zedok, a colleague in the Palestinian security forces who also was moonlighting for Al-Aqsa. Zedok, too, was killed in the explosion. Standing in the back row, second from the left, is Khaled Abu Nijmeh, from Deheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, according to two of his colleagues who are also pictured. By 2001, he had become one of the most-wanted Palestinian militants in the city, suspected of involvement in a string of suicide bombings and shooting attacks against Israelis. In May 2002, he was one of 13 gunmen escorted from the Church of the Nativity siege in Bethlehem, flown to Cyprus and then to exile in Europe. Three of the group, including Abu Nijmeh, were given asylum in Italy. "I am a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and a first sergeant in Palestinian General Intelligence," Abu Nijmeh, now 36, told The Chronicle from his temporary home in Rome. "I personally received a course in antiterrorism and VIP protection. "I was not alone. Many Palestinian security people were trained by the Americans. We hope they will continue helping us." Abu Nijmeh and his 12 comrades will be allowed to return to Bethlehem under the cease-fire agreement reached last week between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli warnings As Israeli commentators had been warning for years, the CIA inadvertently helped train future adversaries - as it has done in other countries, including the anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan who ended up as Taliban and al Qaeda militants. "This has proven to be a very risky undertaking," said Israeli political analyst Gerald Steinberg of Bar-Ilan University. "Both the CIA and British efforts to train Palestinians during the Oslo process helped strengthen terrorist capabilities." A U.S. official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said that if previous U.S. aid went to train would-be militants, "obviously steps will be taken so that any future training does not lead to a similar outcome." The Palestinian security forces were created in the aftermath of the 1993 Oslo accords by Arafat to maintain order in newly autonomous Palestinian territories. The recruits were supposed to serve as the police force for the Palestinian Authority and to prevent terrorist attacks against Israel. The CIA and British intelligence services helped provide training and equipment. But Arafat also used the new police forces to keep himself in power. Based on longtime loyalties within his Fatah political faction, he created 14 separate, often overlapping, security services - including a naval intelligence unit in the landlocked West Bank. Palestinian security forces were doubling as militants in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and in Hamas, an Islamic group that has claimed credit for many anti-Israel attacks. Zedok, who was killed by Bajali's bomb, was among those dismissed from the security force after their connections were exposed by Israel. Others, including the Al-Aqsa founder and commander in Ramallah, Khaled al-Shawish, found refuge in Arafat's West Bank headquarters. Clinton connection The training given to hundreds of Palestinian security officials between 1996 and 2000 was sanctioned by a presidential order in 1996 by then-President Bill Clinton, who was deeply involved in peace-making efforts. The order created a covert program that provided tens of millions of dollars to enhance the professionalism of the Palestinian security services and help combat anti-Israel terrorism. Under the arrangement, CIA contractors trained the Palestinians in firearms, counterterrorism, interrogation techniques and bureaucratic organization. The Palestinian graduates in the photo were instructed by International Training Inc., a private security- training firm that does contract work for the CIA. The United States, the European Union and Britain also provided advanced radio communications systems, computers, vehicles and other equipment. In October 1998, the Wye Plantation agreement - hammered out between Clinton, Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a summit in rural Maryland - formalized the assistance provided by the CIA to Palestinian security, in cooperation with a special security adviser appointed by the European Union, a British former intelligence officer named Alastair Crooke. It was Crooke who escorted Abu Nijmeh and the 12 other exiles from Bethlehem to Cyprus in May 2002 while CIA officers cleared Palestinian weapons from the Church of the Nativity, officials involved in the operation said. Even before the intifada broke out in 2000, the Israeli government was becoming concerned about the inadvertent help to Palestinian militants. In November 1999, then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak asked Washington to scale back its assistance to the Palestinian security forces. "In recent conversations with senior U.S. officials, Israeli representatives expressed their concerns about the risk that sensitive information on anti-terror methods and antiterror technology would be passed from the Palestinian Authority on to terror groups," the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported at that time. "The American aid to the Palestinians carries a great danger, because it is impossible to know exactly what the Palestinians are receiving, or who ultimately receives it," a Barak aide told Haaretz. The Israeli warning was borne out by the graduation photo. Bajali and Abu Nijmeh, the two Al-Aqsa members, were not unusual in combining service in the Palestinian security forces with activity in an underground militia. When the Church of the Nativity siege ended in May 2002, Abu Nijmeh was just one of several security officers among the 13 men deported to Europe and 26 more banished from the West Bank to Gaza. Among his colleagues when he joined General Intelligence, "there were five or six who were deported abroad and another 10 (from the West Bank) to Gaza," said one Palestinian officer pictured in the photo of the Class of 1998, who still is in the security forces and asked that his name not be used. CIA session The certificate - complete with gold-leaf seal - that the 1998 graduates received from International Training Inc. refers only to an "antiterrorist driving and motorcade operations" course. But the CIA-sponsored session provided firearms training as well, the officer and other participants in the course who spoke to The Chronicle confirmed. "They trained us on pistols and MP5 machine guns," said the officer. "There were fixed targets and moving targets in front of us." He said the training was shrouded in tight secrecy, and in a manner that foreshadowed future problems. "We arrived in Washington, then they took us in another plane," he said. "We were in Virginia for a day or two, then they took us to a military base where they trained us. "I was shocked by one thing - when they put us on the plane, its windows were blackened," he said. "And when they put us on a bus, the windows were covered. I asked our escort, 'Why have you covered the windows of the bus and the airplane?'" He replied, 'For the moment we are friends, but we could also become enemies. It's not in our interest to show you the security bases.' Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

ANTI-SEMITISM EVOLVES Posted by Janet Lehr, February 16, 2005.

This article was written by Daniel Pipes and appeared yesterday in the New York Sun. It is archived at http://www.nysun.com/article/9234 Dr. Pipes (www.DanielPipes.org) is director of the Middle East Forum and author of "Miniatures" (Transaction Publishers).This article follows the outline of a recent lecture delivered at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Anti-Semitism may seem to be a static, unchanging phenomenon but in fact the obsessive hatred of Jews has a history that goes back millennia and continues to evolve. Developments since World War II and the Holocaust have been especially fast-paced and portentous. Here are four of the most significant shifts: From right to left: For centuries, anti Semitism was the hallmark of the right and merely episodic on the left. To take the ultimate examples of these trends, Stalin's Judeophobia was peripheral to his monstrous project, but Hitler's was central to his. Even a decade ago, this pattern still basically held true. But recent years have witnessed a rapid and global realignment, with the mainstream right increasingly sympathetic to Jews and Israel and its leftist counterparts cooler and more hostile. From Christian to Muslim: Christians developed the abiding tropes of anti-Semitism, (such as greediness and ambitions to world domination), and historically Christians killed most Jews. Therefore, Jews regularly fled Christendom for Islamdom. In 1945, this pattern abruptly changed. Christians came to terms with Jews, while Muslims adopted both the old Christian themes and murderousness. Today institutional anti-Semitism is over whelmingly a Muslim affair. One result has been a steady reverse exodus, with Jews now fleeing Islamdom for Christendom. From religious to secular: What began as a rejection of the Jewish religion evolved over the centuries into a bias against the supposed Jewish race, (thus, our continued use of the nonsensical term anti-Semitism) and lately has evolved into anti-Zionism, or hatred of the Jewish state. An astonishing 2003 poll in which Europeans found Israel to be the leading threat to world peace indicates the depth of this new sentiment. The conflation of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism: Jews and Americans, Israel and the United States they have merged in the minds of many around the world, so that one prejudice routinely implies the other one, too. The two hatreds also share a basic feature: neither is susceptible to rational argument, so each is better understood as the symptom of a psychological disorder than of some arcane political logic. Combining these developments prompts several reflections on the parlous future of three major Jewish communities. Israel faces the most extreme danger, surrounded as it is by enemies who in the past generation have dehumanized Jews in ways reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. In both cases, governments have engaged in a systematic campaign to transform the Jewish next-door neighbor into a beast-like threat that can only be controlled through his destruction. In Nazi Germany, this outlook culminated in the death camps; today, it could, and I stress could - I am not predicting it will - end up in a hail of nuclear bombs descending on Israel, a prospect that one powerful Iranian leader has publicly mused on. This in turn could result in a second Holocaust. European Jewry is next most in danger, though in a more mundane way: Political and social isolation, depredations by Islamists, Palestinian Arab terrorists, and other hotheads, and a growing sense that Jews have no future on that continent. An exodus may take place in the near future that replicates the post-World War II exodus of Jews from Muslim countries, where the Jewish population has collapsed from about 1 million in 1948 to 60,000 today. And finally, the United States: American Jews may not have been conscious of it, but they have lived these past 60 years in one of Jewry's golden ages, arguably more brilliant than those in Andalusia, Aragon, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, and Prague. But now, in a milder form than in Europe, Jews face similar currents swirling through American life, especially the Islamist surge coddled by leftists. The golden age of American Jewry, therefore, is ending. American Jews have had the relative luxury of worrying about such matters as intermarriage, coreligionists around the world, school prayer, and abortion; if current trends continue, they increasingly will find themselves worrying about personal security, marginalization, and the other symptoms already evident in Europe. As the 60th anniversary of V-E and V-J days approach, it is clear that problems apparently buried in the crematoria of Auschwitz and Birkenau have revived and are increasingly with us. To Go To Top

SOUL HEROES Posted by Yosef Ben Shlomo HaKohen, February 16, 2005.

A person should cling to the righteous and always sit among the sages in order to learn from their ways. - [Maimonides, Hilchos Deos 6:1] Dear Friends, Every society has heroes that serve as role models for its members. One of the ways of becoming a hero in many societies is to demonstrate great physical strength or to excel in a physical skill. This is why successful athletes are among the most popular heroes in many countries. The tragedy of September 11th, however, made many people aware of a different type of hero. There were policemen, firemen, and others who risked their lives in an attempt to save those who were in the Twin Towers, and they became the heroes of a grieving America. One of the reasons why I am proud to be a member of the Jewish People is because the heroes of our people throughout the ages have been individuals who excel in the qualities of the neshamah - higher soul. One of the greatest "soul heroes" of our people is Moshe Rebbeinu - Moses, our Teacher. It was Moshe who was chosen by HaShem - the Compassionate One - to lead our people out of Egypt and bring us to Mount Sinai, where we received the Torah. According to Jewish tradition, Moshe Rabbeinu was born on the seventh day of the Hebrew month of Adar, and this was also the day when he passed away after a life of 120 years. How did Moshe - the adopted Hebrew boy who grew up in the palace of Pharaoh - become a "soul hero"? The Torah records the following story concerning Moshe's love and concern for his suffering brethren: It happened in those days that Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens. - [Exodus 2:11] The Midrash, in its commentary on this verse, explains: He looked upon their burdens and wept, saying: "Woe is me for you; would that I could die for you". There is no labour more strenuous than that of handling clay, and he used to shoulder the burdens and help each one...pretending all the time to be helping Pharaoh. HaSshem then said to him: "You have put aside your work and have gone to share the sorrow of Israel, behaving to them like a brother; well, I will also leave those on high and below and only speak with you (at the burning bush)". - [Exodus Rabbah 1:27] When Moshe realized the full suffering of his People, he did not remain indifferent or neutral. He strove to help his persecuted brethren, and he even struck down an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Hebrew man to death [Shemot/Exodus 2:11-12]. The terrorism and cruelty of the Egyptian oppressors was not his only concern, for in the next story, we discover that Moshe was also concerned about the internal welfare of his People: He went out the next day and behold: Two Hebrew men were fighting. He said to the wicked one, "Why would you strike your fellow?" - [Shemot/Exodus 2:13] The Torah records that when Pharaoh found out how Moshe intervened on behalf of a Hebrew man who was being beaten to death, he sought to kill Moshe. Moshe was forced to flee, and he ended up in the land of Midian, where he rested by a well. The Torah then tells us a third story about Moshe's concern for others: The priest of Midian had seven daughters; they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's sheep. The shepherds came and drove them away. Moshe got up and saved them and watered their sheep. - [Shemot/Exodus 2:16-17] The Midrash records a fourth story concerning Moshe's concern for other creatures: When Moshe Rebbeinu was tending the flock of Jethro in the wilderness, a little kid ran away from him. He ran after the kid until it reached the oasis, Hasuah. Upon reaching Hasuah, it came upon a pool of water, and the kid stopped to drink. When Moshe reached it, he said: "I did not know that you were running because you were thirsty. You must be tired". He placed the kid on his shoulder and began to walk. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said: "You are compassionate in leading flocks belonging to mortals; I swear you will similarly shepherd My flock, Israel". - [Exodus Rabbah 2:2] Moshe became a soul hero by demonstrating love and concern for his people, and he extended that love and concern to other human beings and even to other creatures. We are to learn from Moshe that our love and concern cannot be limited to our own People. We are to also learn from Moshe that our love and concern must begin with our own People. There are individuals who find it easier to love those who are far away than to love those who are close to them. They see imperfections in those around them, and they form a romantic, idealized picture of those in the distance. It is therefore very sad, but not surprising, that we find some Jews who express great compassion and concern for the suffering of another people or even for other creatures, but who fail to express great compassion and concern for the suffering of their own People. A number of them express moral outrage at various acts of injustice in the world, but fail to express moral outrage at acts of injustice committed against Jews. They seem to think that their cold neutrality and silence in the face of growing anti-Jewish hatred and violence is a "virtue". In fact, it is a very grave sin. Such individuals are found on both the right and the left of the political spectrum. They try to curry favor with certain non-Jewish colleagues in their political movement by ignoring Jewish concerns, and if an anti-Semite spits at them, they make believe its raining. An individual who claims that he loves the world, but is unable to love his own community and people is not a true soul hero. From the perspective of Torah, a true soul hero begins to serve the world through his own community and People. This insight was discovered by a progressive Jewish writer of my generation, the late Paul Cowan, who wrote for the Village Voice. He discusses this insight in his book Orphan in History - a moving account of his search for his Jewish roots. In chapter 13 of this book, Cowan explains why, after much soul-searching, he chose to become involved in the Jewish community through joining a synagogue in his Manhattan neighborhood: There is a phrase in Hebrew, tikkun olam, which means "repairing the world". Without knowing these words, Rachel and I had been trying to practice this concept most of our adult lives. We'd be doing it on a universal scale in Mississippi, in Ecuador, in the anti-war movement. It was inevitable that our energy - that our generation's energy - would begin to ebb. For when you try to rebuild the world for everyone, you don't rebuild it for anyone - least of all for yourself. So now we were starting once again in our own home, in our neighborhood, in our place of worship, and hoping that from that finite, concrete base, we could reach out to all sorts of people everywhere - reach out in person and by example - and become what we'd always hoped to be: part of a force that had the practical wit and the spiritual will to repair the world. Shabbat Shalom from Liberated Yerushaliyim, Mr. Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen is Advisory Board Member, Ecology Fellowship, and Social Welfare Fellowship, Root & Branch Association, Ltd. He is author of "The Universal Jew" (Feldheim Publishers) and editor of the Shema Yisrael website: "Hazon: Our Universal Vision" http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon/ This is Essay #40, Human Soul Series. To Go To Top

GOONS Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 16, 2005.

This is a news item from today's Arutz-7. It's called "Arrested Yesha Resident Suffered Broken Ribs" It is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=77028 Sharon did say to break their bones, didn't he? Chanuch Albert, arrested yesterday by police, remains in the hospital for treatment of broken ribs, injuries to the head, damaged hearing and vision and severe back and neck bruises. Police arrested him when he tried to prevent them from taking another Achia resident for investigation. He said that police stopped on the way to the station in Ariel and three policemen took him out of the vehicle and beat him severely. Albert remains in Bikur Chulim hospital in Jerusalem. He plans to file a complaint against police for assaulting him. To Go To Top

TO THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT OF SHARON AND PERES: DAYENU - IT'D HAVE BEEN ENOUGH Posted by Bernard J. Shapiro, February 16, 2005.

Dear Friends of Israel: Like most of you, I am frustrated, angry and depressed over the actions of the Israeli government. We must, however, get over the depression and then use our anger to spur ourselves to greater action on behalf of Israel. Ein Brera. In that spirit I offer the following chant or song to sing at demonstrations (slightly abridged from the popular song sung at Passover). Please distribute as widely as possible: - With Love of Israel If you had collaborated with enemy to get elected to office, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy and not given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy, given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; and not divided the People of Israel setting brother against brother, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; and not beaten and abused women and children, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places, divided the People of Israel; beaten and abused women and children; and not suppressed our freedom of speech, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech and not endangered our water supply, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech; endangered our water supply and not released terrorist murderers into our midst, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech; endangered our water supply, released terrorist murderers into our midst and not surrendered our strategic mountains that protect us from attack, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech; endangered our water supply; released terrorist murderers into our midst; surrendered our strategic mountains; and not created a Palestinian State dedicated to the destruction of Israel, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech; endangered our water supply; released terrorist murderers into our midst; surrendered our strategic mountains; created a Palestinian State and not broken God's Covenant with Abraham, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech; endangered our water supply; released terrorist murderers into our midst; surrendered our strategic mountains; created a Palestinian State, broken God's Covenant with Abraham and not defamed religious Jews and their TORAH, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule If you had collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech; endangered our water supply; released terrorist murderers into our midst; surrendered our strategic mountains; created a Palestinian State, broken God's Covenant with Abraham, defamed religious Jews and their TORAH and not jeopardized Jewish rule in Jerusalem, Dayenu - It would have been enough to rebel against your rule TO THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT OF SHARON AND PERES: You have done all of these things. You have collaborated with the enemy; given away our Sacred Land and Holy Places; divided the People of Israel; beaten women and children; suppressed our freedom of speech; endangered our water supply; released terrorist murders into our midst: surrendered our strategic mountains; created a Palestinian State; broken God's Covenant with Abraham; defamed religious Jews and their TORAH and even jeopardized Jewish rule in Jerusalem. DAYENU! WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR RULE! BY YOUR ACTIONS YOU HAVE FORFEITED ANY CLAIM TO LEGITIMACY. DAYENU! "FOR ZION'S SAKE I WILL NOT HOLD MY PEACE, AND FOR JERUSALEM'S SAKE I WILL NOT REST" Bernard J. Shapiro is the executive director of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies and the editor of The Maccabean Online and the Freemanlist. Contact the Center at Freeman Center For Strategic Studies, P.O. Box 35661, Houston, Texas 77235-5661. Phone or Fax at 713-723-6016 To Go To Top

THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK or WHAT IS APARTHEID AND WHAT IT ISN'T? Posted by Max Yas, February 16, 2005.

It's little wonder that Palestinian terrorists have agreed to stop attacking Israel at the urging of newly elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They have no choice: Israel's security fence has cut suicide bombings by 90%. This good fence may yet turn longtime enemies into good neighbours. Inshallah. (National Post, Feb. 02/02/05) Frustrated by the effectiveness of Israel's security fence, while their catch word: "liberation" became trite from excessive use, Arab students in Western countries were desperate for a new line of attack. At the University of Toronto they sponsored an "Israel Apartheid week" from Jan. 30th to Feb. 4th. The university authorized this event on campus under the pretext of it being a debate. Far from it! This was a one-sided hate-Israel rant. The program offered an Israel - bashing speaker each day. The audience was sparse, about 100 per event and a third of them pro-Israel students, but the headlines it received created an association in some minds between "Israel" and "apartheid." Conversly the 20th annual Israel Fest, a ten day event, attracted 800 to a concert with Israeli musician Ida Richler and more than 200 students paticipated in the Shabbat dinner. Few headlines resulted! "Is the University of Toronto hosting a free and scholarly exchange of ideas, or a racist rally masquerading as an academic conference," asked Alistair Gordon, spokesman for the Canadian Coalition for Democracies. Apartheid does not require walls. It is an internal condition created by a government to discriminate against an identifiable group. Hitler did not build a wall to discriminate against, and finally murder Jews, nor did South Africa to humiliate, degrade and exploit their black population. Saudi Arabia practices gender apartheid against women, denying them the right to drive a car, appear in public without a male relative in attendance and enforces the compulsary wear of buqas Any comparison between South Africa and Israel is an obviously a malicious deception. In Israel, where Arabs are 20% of the pop[ulation, Arabic is one of two official languages. Arabs elect members to the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) and can walk the streets of Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem in total safety. In the Palestinian Authority, by contrast, two Jews who inadvertently lost their way and strayed into Ramallah, were lynched by an Arab mob, their bodies dragged up to a second floor then dumped out a window The mob dipped their finger in the victims blood and licked it. This was shown on TV once and then withdrawn (by the power of Arab oil money?). Compare this to the shooting of a young Arab boy caught in a cross-fire. This appeared on TV many times per day for weeks and in the end it turned out that the bullet was fired from a Palestinian terrorist's gun. When Jordan occupied the West Bank in 1948 every Jew in Jerusalem and the kibbutzim was expelled without compensation. Israel did not create refugee camps, but absorbed them, as they did with the six to seven hundred Jews forced to leave Muslim countries where their ancestors dwelled since Biblical times. Racial cleansing is happening right now in the Sudan. By contrast Israel is a multi-racial society, which admitted some four hundred Vietnamese refugees denied entry to any other country. A campaign is now under way to create a single multiracial state. in all of the former Palestine. The idea was tried in Lebanon. When Lebanon gained its independence from France the population was equally divided between Christians and Muslims. The constitution provided for a power-sharing arrangement. The Muslims, due to a higher birth-rate soon became the majority. Years of civil strife broke out, thousands were killed and the country left in ruins. Now Lebanon is a Muslim Republic under Syrian occupation. Similarly, a one-state solution for Palestine would spell the end of a Jewish homeland. With the influx of Arab 'refugees' and their naturally high birth-rate the Arabs would quickly become the majority and win by elections what they couldn't win by the armed intefada. Other countries with large minorities, have separated - e.g., Czechoslovakia (now The Czech Republic and Slovakia), Malaysia (now Malaya and Singapore), Yugoslavia's and the USSR's many Republics - and now live in peace with with each other This is the only viable solution to which both Israel and the Palestinians can aspire. To Go To Top

THIS ANSWERS A SLEW OF QUESTIONS Posted by Beth Goodtree, February 16, 2005.

A lot of things have been happening during the last few years that go against all logic and history. The United States granting legitimacy to those terrorist, name-stealing usurpers - the Arabs who call themselves Palestinian, Ariel Sharon's behavior, broken treaties with nary a raised eyebrow, ethnic cleansing of Jews from their land, etc. Separately, each event seems puzzling at best, but if you list them all and look for a connection, there is at least one solution that stands out. So first let's list them. 1.) Two weeks after 9-11, apparently in capitulation to terror, the US grants legitimacy and promises statehood to a group of people who have waged a war of terror on not merely Israel, but killed or maimed hundreds of Americans, including several of our diplomats. These people are the Arabs of Jordanian and Egyptian descent (mostly) who now occupy Jewish Palestine. 2.) Ariel Sharon, going directly against his campaign promises and platform, in fact, his very lifelong beliefs, agrees to ethnically cleanse Jews from their homes and land. He also acts weak in the face of threats and aggression, letting the Arabs get away with hundreds of murders and maimings, and even rewarding them with multiple prisoner releases. 3.) Then there's Russia. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has yearned to once again be a superpower. It has insinuated itself into areas where it didn't belong, for example, foisting itself into the Middle East 'peace' process. And while supposedly having friendly relations with the US, it has opposed America on not a few critical issues. Especially regarding terrorism and terroristic regimes bent upon waging war. I kept asking myself why would Russia agree to help Iran build up its nuclear arsenal. Iran is an oil-rich country and certainly doesn't need nuclear plants to generate power. And she has made it plain, at every opportunity, that she will use whatever is in her means to destroy Israel the first chance she gets. That Russia needs the income it would generate is not an excuse enough for her to arm a country almost guaranteed to use nuclear weapons the first chance she gets. And now Russia is arming another of the countries designated by her supposed ally, the US, as part of the 'Axis of Evil' - Syria. 4.) Next is Egypt. Egypt has broken almost all the guarantees of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. OK, Israel chooses to ignore this for whatever reason. However, there is also another treaty that was signed at the time, guaranteeing that Egypt would, among other things, not arm herself with weapons that could be used against Israel. That treaty, signed by the US as a guarantee for Israel's safety, is called The Document of Agreement. The United States is now breaking that treaty by allowing Egypt to purchase weaponry, from the US, which will definitely reach Israel. 5.) Meanwhile, the US, the EU, Russia, and even many of Israel's own leaders are deliberately weakening Israel's stance. They are giving back territory that has been the only buffer between Israel and a sea of hostile countries. In the face of Arab agression and murder Israel does little but bomb empty, useless buildings, give back prisoners, and make other humiliating concessions in return for nothing. Israel is now looking and acting like a losing weakling. 6.) Then there are many of the surrounding Arab countries. Suddenly they are all arming themselves to the teeth. 7.) Not to be left out is the twin problem of Iran and N. Korea both developing nuclear weapons. 8.) Also is the long-term problem of Saudi Arabia. As she did back in the early 1970s, she could wreak havoc on our oil flow, upon which our economy is based. As she is doing today, she continues to hold our economy hostage by her prices that she helps set through OPEC. And, perhaps what is worse, Saudi Arabia uses her vast wealth to fund the spread of a terrorist branch of Islam, Wahhabism, even within our own country, the USA. 9.) And finally there are the recent, perplexingly hypocritical statements by Condoleeza Rice. One week she declares that leaving the occupying Arabs with 2 non-contiguous cantons is not letting them have a viable state. The next week she proposes turning Israel into 3 non-contiguous, utterly indefensible cantons with little water supply to sustain its current population and no room whatsoever for any natural growth. Her stated plans would turn Israel into a non-viable state ripe for the conquering. It was Ms. Rice's recent statements that got me thinking... Say you have these really big problems. You need to stop radical nations from getting nuclear weapons. You also need to control the flow and price of oil to keep your economies stable. You also need to stop the funding and spread of terror. But you also need not to look like a bigger bully than some are already painting you. In other words, you need a damned good excuse to solve your problems with, shall we say, extreme prejudice. How do you do it without overextending your resources and also looking like the good guy? Easy. You get yourself a good excuse. Coming to the defense of an ally who is fighting for her very existence is an excellent excuse. Especially if you have treaties to back you up and that ally was not the aggressor in the current conflict. Enter Israel. It is no secret that the Arab/Muslim world would like to destroy Israel. They have tried it 5 times in the past (and failed in a most humiliating way, I might add). Even those countries that ostensibly have peace agreements with Israel are hardly peaceful in their anti-Israel, anti-Jewish rhetoric. In truth, there are no real peace agreements, merely a lack of overt war at this time. Then there is the Arab/Muslim psychology. We in the civilized world view weak nations as ones to be protected and nurtured. The Arab/Muslim world views them as ripe for attacking and conquering. Don't believe me? If the history of their attacks on Israel is not proof enough, look at what's happening on the African continent. There are a number of wars over there right now, all perpetrated by Arabs/Muslims against weak governments in an attempt to conquer them and force them into becoming Muslim. While the US has no stake or protection treaties with these African nations currently under attack, she has a big responsibility towards Israel's survival. A frontal attack on Israel would be a green light for America to come dashing to her aid. So how do you solve your oil/terror problem in one fell swoop? You sucker the Arab/Muslim world into attacking Israel. You do this by making her appear weak and vulnerable, while allowing the Arab/Muslim world to build up their arms. Then, when the first missile is fired at your ally, Israel, you respond with fierce, rapid and utter finality. No diddling with 'limited' urban wars. No ground troops. You use your biggest 'guns' on the enemy's most vital and sacred centers. Would Israel survive such a 'first strike' scenario? Most assuredly. Not only does she have the most advanced anti-missile batteries, she has a laser beam defense weapon under development, but already working well in tests called THEL (Tactical High Energy Laser). THEL is designed to destroy short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, ground- and air-launched rockets, unmanned aerial vehicles, mortar shells, and artillery projectiles. It consists of advanced radar that detects and tracks incoming rockets, and uses a high-energy laser beam to destroy them. So if the Arab/Muslim world (I'm including at least Iran here, but maybe even Pakistan) goes after a weakened and supposedly indefensibly-bordered Israel, they might not even get one bomb through. But they will have given the US and Israel the justification to attack with no holds barred. And the missiles fired at Israel? If the defense systems work as designed, they will be exploded before the reach Israel, falling on the surrounding Arab countries. This would explain Ariel Sharon's turnaround on the Jewish cities and towns of Yesha, as well as his silence about Condoleeza Rice's vision to turn Israel into 3 'indefensible' cantons. Perhaps he was told that if he goes along with this, knowing the Arab/Muslim mindset of hubris, pride and bullying, the above scenario would take place. And when the shooting stops, all those Arabs lands will be ripe for the taking as recompense for their war of aggression. And even if the entire Arab/Muslim world does not attack Israel, I can guarantee that the Arabs now occupying Jewish Palestine will. You cannot raise two generations of people on hatred and a lust to commit genocide and not expect them to attack. And once they attack, Israel will have every right to wipe them out and reclaim her land and more. And where does Russia fit in to all this? Russia would like to still be a superpower. Even if she sides with the US, she will, at best, be second best. Russia also has a Muslim problem of her own, as evidenced by Chechnya. She also has an economic problem. By arming Syria and helping Iran get the ability to produce nuclear weapons, she is putting herself on the side of 'The Axis of Evil.' She is showing the Muslims in her country that she is pro-Muslim and hoping that they'll stop taking over elementary schools and murdering hundreds of children. Or taking over theaters and murdering the patrons. Russia is gambling that the Arab/Muslim world will win a war against the US and Israel, thus catapulting her into the only superpower on the planet. But even if the Arab/Muslims never start a war, or if they lose, Russia's made a few billion bucks, and earned what she thinks will be the good will of the Arabs/Muslims. And if there is a war, it won't be on Russian soil. she is also betting that America and her allies won't go after Russia for selling arms to terrorist nations. Russia therefore sees herself in a win-win situation. As for North Korea, such a scenario, with America's entry into a war of ultimate finality, will be a lesson they are not likely to ignore. Beth Goodtree is an award-winning writer who lives in the NYC metro area. She writes political commentary/analysis, and the occasional science and humor articles. Or visit her website: http://hometown.aol.com/bgoodtree/ To Go To Top

BBC'S 'INSPIRING' THOUGHT Posted by Honest Reporting, February 16, 2005.

Dear HonestReporting Subscriber, Every morning at 7:45, BBC Radio provides listeners with an inspiring 'Thought for the Day' from a religious cleric or philosopher. On the program's February 10 edition, Rev. Dr. John Bell used the platform to describe an Arab-Israeli acquaintance of his - 'Adam' - who was conscripted into the Israeli Army. There he had distinguished himself as a good soldier and was made a corporal. He was also imprisoned for refusing to shoot unarmed schoolchildren. Through our BackSpin weblog, HonestReporting encouraged subscribers to notify the BBC that 1) Arab-Israelis are not 'conscripted' into the IDF (though some volunteer to serve), and 2) the claim that the IDF orders officers to 'shoot unarmed schoolchildren' - under penalty of imprisonment - is outrageous, libelous, and completely unsubstantiated. In response to letters of protest, BBC removed Bell's sound clip and transcript from its online archives - but not before HonestReporting captured the transcript on our weblog (as publicized through the popular COP 'Daily Alert'). BBC has since issued an official apology for not 'fact-checking' that Israeli-Arabs are not conscripted. However, neither Bell nor the BBC has retracted the libelous claim - broadcast to millions worldwide - that the IDF would order an officer 'to shoot unarmed schoolchildren.' You can register comments at http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/comments.shtml AFP'S MISSING CONTEXT On Feb. 21, a Palestinian in Hebron tried to stab an IDF soldier, but was shot and killed before he could do so. Agence France-Presse (AFP) released a photo of the scene, with the following caption: An Israeli soldier walks next to the body of a Palestinian who was shot dead by Israeli troops close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Israel handed over the remains of 15 militants shot dead by the army during attempted attacks in the Gaza Strip as part of a series of goodwill gestures towards the Palestinians. The AFP caption omits the essential context of this scene - the pictured man had attempted to stab the IDF soldier, who then shot in self-defense. The effect is to suggest that the IDF killed the Palestinian man for no reason. Comments to AFP: contact@afp.com BIG MEDIA UNDER SCRUTINY HonestReporting is proud to be an alternative news source, holding the mainstream media outlets accountable to the truth at all times. The recent HonestReporting Readers' Survey revealed that 65% of respondents consider HR 'one of [their] primary news sources on Israel.' The HR approach to online, critical journalism is expanding. As weblogs become more and more popular, there is a growing public demand for honest reporting from the big media outlets. Bloggers' diligence has been the source of two recent major media shake-ups: CBS News' highly dubious report in September that contributed to anchorman Dan Rather's departure, and now the Feb. 11 resignation of CNN's chief news executive Eason Jordan, in the wake of Jordan's controversial statement implying that the US military intentionally shot at journalists in Iraq. HonestReporting subscribers should take pride in the fact that alternative voices such as yours are banging at the all-powerful media's gates (as per this Cox & Forkum cartoon), in pursuit of fair and accurate reporting. Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias. HonestReporting Honest Reporting monitors the media for inaccuracy and unfairness in how they report the news about Israel. Ther website address is http://www.honestreporting.com. You can help support their research online or by sending contributions to: HonestReporting, 400 South Lake Drive, Lakewood, NJ 08701-3167. To Go To Top

MK UZI LANDAU: "SHARON PLANS ALTALENA-TYPE ACTIONS Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 16, 2005.

Uzi Landau may be the most experienced MK in the Knesset and one of the most respected - if not the MOST respected. He does not shout and is very accurate about what he says. When he plainly states that PM Sharon is planning is Altalena, believe him. We have all watched Sharon's propaganda team build up the demonization of the Settlers. Sharon has turned on his former friends and supports like a rabid dog who foams at the mouth and bites anyone. This is a news item from Arutz-7. It is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=77020 Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Landau expressed the fear that Ariel Sharon is planning to take forcible and violent measures against those who oppose the withdrawal/expulsion plan. "PM Sharon is trying to prepare public opinion for violence along the lines of the Altalena against Yesha residents and their supporters." So says anti-disengagement Likud leader MK Uzi Landau. Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Landau expressed the fear that Ariel Sharon is planning to take forcible and violent measures against those who oppose the withdrawal/expulsion plan. "The recent statements by Sharon and his men against the settlers are designed to justify using force against them, in the style of the Altalena," said Landau. The Altalena (see: http://www.etzel.org.il/english/ac20.htm) was a ship of Jewish refugee/volunteers and weapons, organized by Menachem Begin's Irgun in June 1948. David Ben-Gurion ordered the fledgling IDF to attack the ship with shells and gunfire on the shores of Tel Aviv; 16 Jews aboard the ship, and three others, were killed. Landau voted against the disengagement plan in the Cabinet, even though he knew it would cost him his ministerial position in the Cabinet. Sharon promptly fired Landau after his vote last October; Sharon had previously fired Ministers Effie Eitam and Benny Elon simply for their intention to vote against his plan. Landau quoted statements today such as, "We'll break their bones" and "The settlers are worse than terrorists," that have emanated of late from the Prime Minister's Office. Labor MK Ephraim Sneh, a former Deputy Defense Minister, recently wrote in Maariv, "Even if the clash over Gaza exacts a price in blood, it will be tiny compared to the blood and victims that we will have to pay in decades of conflict with the Palestinians... A cruel and destructive civil war formed the democratic character of the United States, [and] the conflict amongst ourselves is unavoidable." The late Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin also made provocative statements against the Jews of Yesha, saying that they are like "propellers" and that he is the Prime Minister of "98% of the nation." Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

YET ANOTHER WAKE-UP CALL Posted by Rebbetzin Esther Yungreis, February 16, 2005.

As much as I was planning to respond to last week's letter, I feel constrained to interrupt the sequence of my articles to comment on events in Eretz Yisrael. What am I so upset about? Why am I concerned? Aren't things going just perfectly in Eretz Yisrael? Didn't Prime Minister Sharon call this the greatest window of opportunity for peace? Isn't it true that the Palestinians have democratically elected Abbas? Aren't we witness to the dawn of a new era in the Arab world? Is it not true that, for the very first time democratic elections were held by the Iraqi, Afghanistani, and Palestinian people? Isn't this a stunning victory for democracy? And doesn't that portend hope for Israel? Shouldn't we all be elated? On the surface, we should, and indeed, it all looks very good, but if you are familiar with Jewish history, you also know that for us, nothing is that simple. That which bodes well for others is not necessarily hopeful for us. Indeed, it is very impressive to see democracy emerge in countries that for centuries have been under the heel of brutal and oppressive dictatorships, but there is another side to the coin - one that we may well find difficult to accept, and that is that despite the elections, despite the courage that many Iraqis demonstrated in going to the polls, and despite the smooth and orderly elections facilitated by Israel on behalf of the Palestinians, we dare not forget that those who were elected and those who voted, share a common ideology which has been ingrained in their psyches, and that is hatred for Israel. The democratic process has not removed one iota of that hatred - but it did convince many good friends and supporters of Israel that the threat to Israel's survival has now been neutralized - the democratic process has resolved it all - and therein lies the danger. But what is even more disconcerting is that many of Israel's leaders have come to believe this as well. To demonstrate her good will, Israel agreed to release nine hundred vicious terrorists from prison - but not to worry, they will all have to sign declarations promising that they will refrain from future murderous acts of terror. Amazingly, Israeli officialdom chooses not to remember that such documents were signed in the past by killers who were released only to launch new waves of terror including the bombing of Café Hillel and the Tzrifin Military Base. It appears that the Prime Minister has chosen to ignore the fact that Abbas (a Holocaust denier who referred to the Holocaust as a "Zionist fantasy - the fantastic lie that six million Jews were killed"), is a disciple of Arafat. In his election campaign he referred to Israel with epithets, which Israeli officialdom was quick to rationalize away as "just so much election rhetoric." I recall this very same reaction from Israeli government leaders in the wake of Oslo when Arafat incited his Arab brethren with calls for jihad against Israel. Abbas never made a commitment to eliminate terrorism, although admittedly, he did broker a temporary cease fire with Islamic terrorist groups, but nowhere did he disarm them or dismantle their terrorist infrastructure. In the fifty-seven years since the establishment of the State of Israel, there have been many cease-fires ... all of them broken and all of them used by the terrorists to re-group and re-arm. Moreover, Abbas invited these terrorists to join the Palestinian security forces. If things go according to plan, these same security forces will be responsible for the protection of Israelis in Judea and Samaria (that is, what will be left of Judea and Samaria after all the negotiations for a contiguous Palestinian state). Once again, it's deja vu ... we are reminded of Oslo, when Israel equipped and trained the so-called Palestinian police, only to see those weapons turned against her. But this time, we are assured, things will be different. This time, Israel will enable the Palestinians to build a port and an airport in Gaza. This time, not only Israelis, but Europeans and Americans will finance and help train the Palestinians. If there is one subject that galvanizes the Europeans, it is their abhorrence of Israel and their embrace and support of the Palestinians. The Europeans are lobbying for a powerful Palestinian state, and if you are concerned about how such a state would impact on Israel, you need not fear - be assured in the knowledge that this Palestinian state was, after all, democratically elected. In all fairness however, we can't fault America for this latest disengagement plan. Even as Oslo in 1993, this too was orchestrated by the government of Israel. Israel is not only trying to curry favor with Abbas, but it is also romancing Mubarak of Egypt to act as her broker for peace. Once again, it's deja vu! Was it only yesterday, when, in the great euphoria of Oslo, Israeli representatives traveled to Egypt and, under the portrait of the goddess Isis, gave away Jericho? At that time, I recall writing an article about that painful irony. Thousands of years ago, I wrote, we went forth from Egypt. G-d brought us into our promised land, and the very first city that He gave us was Jericho. And now, thousands of years later, representatives of the Israeli government return to Egypt and the very first city that they give away is Jericho! I recall that the Parsha was Ha'azinu (Deuteronomy, 32:20), in which it is written, D'or Tahapuchot - "A generation that does everything in reverse ..." Thus far, I have aired only some of our concerns. I did not even touch on the ramifications of giving up our Divinely bequeathed land, the future of Jerusalem, or the impact that a forced evacuation could have on our people. When Israelis enlist in the army, it is to defend their country against enemy forces, but not, G-d forbid, to battle against their own brethren. Think for a moment and ask what effect such conflicts will have on the morale of our nation? I fear that difficult days lie ahead. This is a time for all of us to pray, to come closer to HaShem through Torah, mitzvoth and deeds of chesed, and in that merit, may HaShem protect us so that despite ourselves, this new chapter in our long saga may become a time of blessing and peace and bring us a step closer to the coming of Messiah. Rebbetzin Yungreis is founder of Hineni. This article is archived at http://www.hineni.org/rcolumn_view.asp?id=190 To Go To Top

TIME WORLD LEARNED ABOUT ARAB COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT Posted by Jock L. Falkson, February 16, 2005.

The Palestinian Terrorist Authority (PTA) has squealed often enough about Israel imposing so called collective punishment on the Arabs living in their territories. Disciplined in effective propaganda methods, they mention the context responsible for their inconvenience. Islamic Motivated Racist Apartheid Israel never had objections to Arabs coming in to Israel provided their purpose was ordinary and peaceful. No need to remind you that the reverse was not the case. Peaceful Israelis entering Arab areas gambled with their lives - and lost. Most were brutally killed by the regular Arab population, not necessarily by their hooded monsters. Consequently virtually no Jews cross into their areas any longer. This is just one example of Arab collective punishment based on their Islamic motivated racist apartheid. Israel has failed to convince world opinion of the simple fact that we have a national imperative to prevent the suicide terrorists getting into Israel to explode maim as many Jews as they can in a single bombing. Men, women and children, babies and grandmothers whose bodies are spattered into eternity. However, the world is mistaken to think we will passively accept this collective punishment which the Palestinians wanted to impose on us. Anti-Terrorist Barrier Not Collective Punishment The Palestinian Terrorist Authority complains that Israel's anti-terrorist barrier also falls into the category of collective punishment, because it hampers freedom of movement. They cannot abide the truth - that the barrier was erected to prevent their terrorists from crossing over, here, there and everywhere. The barrier forces them to crossing points where they can be searched for terrorist weapons. Make no mistake, the Palestinians understand very well that inconveniences at crossing points are the result of the deadly terrorism of their brothers and sisters. Nevertheless all follow the Palestinian Terrorist Authority's line, bleating to high heaven about the "collective punishment" of delays and inconvenience. To which the lop-sided human rights organizations chorus a dutiful amen. Forgive us for living, but we don't intend to make it easier for the terrorists to kill us. Israel will not give up its right to search for terrorists hiding weapons and bombs. Israel has every right to prevent these monsters (martyrs in the Arab lexicon) killing Jews. Collective Punishment By Palestinian Terrorist Authority Why are the nations more sympathetic to the inconveniences Arabs "suffer" at crossing points - than with the death and destruction Israelis have suffered from car bombs, explosive belts and automatic rifles? What about the collective punishment which the Palestinians have rained on the heads of the unfortunate Jews who lawfully made their homes in the Gaza Strip three generations ago? What's wrong with 8,000 Jews staying on in a Jewish enclave in the state of Palestine if it comes into being? Here in Israel we host 1,300,000 Arabs in the Jewish state as equal citizens. But the Palestinians can't abide a tiny minority of 8,000Jews in theirs? It's not the quantity they cannot endure; they don't want to tolerate any! Shame On Nations Supporting Collective Punishment Of Jews By insisting on this separation, the Palestinian Terrorist Authority is completely identified as out and out apartheid racists. They don't give a hoot about the morality of collective punishment. Not being genuine democrats they have no hesitation about collective punishment of Jews. Shame on the European nations for supporting Palestinian collective punishment directed against Jews. And why do President Bush and Condoleezza Rice actively support it too? How The Sand Dunes Bloomed It was Prime Minister Sharon's final understanding that a Jewish presence will never be accepted by the Palestinians, which forced him to change his policy and announce his unilateral intention to remove Jews from Gaza. These are Jews who had literally made the sand dunes bloom with their acreage of hot house plantations producing beautiful flowers, the tastiest of tomatoes, fruits and other vegetables. And providing work for Palestinians. After 3 generations of fruitful life on land for which they owned full property rights, the 8,000 Jews from Gush Katif must now suffer the collective punishment of being physically removed - instigated by Palestinian inflexibility to abide this small enclave. Had they been Israeli Beduin of course they could have stayed. But Jews must be uprooted and resettled because Islamic Palestine must be Judenrein. As free of Jews as the Arab states of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and most Islamic countries. Racist apartheid states all. Arab Collective Punishment: Brutal Example There are, according to (unsubstantiated) Palestinian sources some 4 million Palestinian refugees in various Arab countries. They have been deliberately kept in the squalor of refugee camps where their minimum needs have been supplied by UNWRA. How about that for massive collective punishment? These Arabs fled voluntarily in 1948 at the urging of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Trans-Jordan and Iraq to get out and allow their armies to conquer and get rid of the 650,000 Jews in a quick campaign. After ignominiously losing that war, the Arab League decided that the refugees should not return to the West Bank or Gaza, but should remain where they were until the (single) state of Palestine came into being. The Palestine Liberation Organization, founded in 1963, endorsed the decision regarding the refugees. Only those who fled to Trans-Jordan were subsequently accepted as citizens. The rest have languished a forced state of hopelessness and poverty for 3 generations, compelled by the Arab nations and the Palestinian Terrorist Authority to depend on the world's charity. It is one of the most brutal, widespread examples of collective punishment (Arab-on-Arab) the modern world has known. To be put on Jock Falkson's email list, contact him at falkson@013.net To Go To Top

ON JEWISH ANTI-SEMITISM Posted by Judah Tzoref, February 16, 2005.

From the very beginning I have been an ardent opponent of the "peace" process in the Middle East and anticipated that the "peace" tactic was nothing but an Arab crafty scheme to advance the Islamic Jihad against Israel, after failing to obliterate her by military means. Israel is now predictably sliding into a preposterous reality, where a Jewish government plans atrocious ethnic cleansing against Jews in the name of disengagement (not even peace). Unfortunately, we are undercut by the adverse bustle of the Peace Camp, which is nothing but a decadent bunch of proven fools that cooperate with our enemies. The Arabs have vast resources of uninhabited land, but we, the Jews, are supposed to be compressed into tiny, crammed and stifling Auschwitz ghetto borders which cannot guarantee our survival. People across the world cannot even imagine how tiny is Israel. On top of it and most ironic of all, the Arabs invented a new nation, with whom we are supposed to share our meager land. Joan Peters in her imperative book "From Time Immemorial" describes exactly who are the so-called Palestinians, that are so vehemently marketed as a "nation". Palestinism is undoubtedly one of the biggest lies in human history. President Bush and his entourage are advocating their nightmare-vision of two states for two nations, but this is a sure recipe for the destruction of Israel. Palestinism emerged from terrorism and as a political instrument to undermine Israel. If the Arabs really wanted peace with Israel, then they should have let the Jews live in a viable territorial space. Moreover, the numerous Arab states should have repatriated the so-called Palestinians in their own vast lands. It is a well-established fact that the absolute majority of the Palestinians descend from those immigrants that during the first half of the 20th century inundated the Land of Israel under the auspices of the British Mandate, following the economical boom engendered by the Zionist enterprise of the returning Jews. As my past predictions outlined the vile stages of the "peace" process disaster, I can assure you now that Sharon's plan of ethnic crimes against the Jews of Gaza Strip and Samaria leads to unprecedented catastrophe. That Jewish communities six decades after the Holocaust are threatened to be razed to ground by a Jewish government, renders Israel a leper state. The world's anti-Semites are having the time of their life: "the Jews have eventually got the message and set their minds for the real thing..." Why talk about non-Jewish anti-Semites while the world is plagued with Jewish maggots that practice the most virulent type of anti-Semitism, to name a few: ALEC DUBRO mediaguide@igc.org GERALD KAUFMAN cootesn@parliament.uk British Parliament Member CLEMENT LEIBOVITZ cleibovi@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca MICHAEL LERNER community@tikkun.org GIDEON LEVY levy@haaretz.co.il TANYA REINHART reinhart@post.tau.ac.il ISRAEL SHAMIR ContactUs@MediaMonitors.net HENRY SIEGMAN hsiegman@cfr.org NORMAN SOLOMON mediabeat@igc.apc.org LIZ SPIKOL lspikol@philadelphiaweekly.com Such colourful assortment of fringe ideologues has been pestering the Jewish nation from the dawn of its existence. They must have some esoteric function, they can be harmful at times, but eventually they drop behind and dissolve into the limbo of the insignificant. Israel's ordeal reflects the deplorable state of humanity... in fact, where is humanity... Dr Judah Tzoref can be contacted at jtzoref@netvision.net.il To Go To Top

ANTISEMITISM CHIC; ABU MAZEN REALLY NOT SO SMOOTH; COLUMBIA U. WORSE Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 16, 2005.

ANTISEMITISM CHIC Most US Jews are worried about the Christian Right for a slight tendency in it to establish some Christianity, a tendency that is getting nowhere and is being rolled back. They overlook the greater threat from the Left, whether Christian, radical, or Islamic, that wants to roll over Israel and the US and, speaking for the Islamists, over Jews everywhere. Against that leftist threat, most of the Christian Evangelists are on Israel's side. If the Jews want to survive, they had better be more realistic about who threatens them and who befriends them. The Left is the big contemporary danger to democracy. In this, the Far Right, much of which includes Christians but not as such, joins. A worrisome leftist tendency is to embrace antisemitism as some kind of solidarity with the Third World. It doesn't occur to the leftists, imagining themselves to be progressive, that they are not progressive when they embrace backward Islamists and adopt reactionary antisemitism. We should make it occur to them. It is time to start shaming the Left, conceited about its virtue actually long lost. I think that antisemitism is becoming chic. It had gotten so bad that the W. European upper classes, you know, those superior Westerners whom the US "should consult", were insulting the Jewish reputation, the Muslims have been attacking Jews in the street, and Arabs are given leave on U.S. campuses to slander Israel and the Jews. There is some reaction against this in Europe, where physical assaults have become infamous and the terrorist threat more prominent. The scandal is steaming up at Columbia U., where Arab professors abuse Jewish students and slant their classes. Western artists, Israelis among them, have become so debauched, that they seek prominence by shocking viewers with excrement and antisemitism. This twin evacuation is stoutly defended as freedom of expression, though it is vulgar sensationalism posing as art. People supposedly in the avant guard think they must go along with this. Actually, the "artists" are propagandists defaming people by a type of prejudice that "progressives" are supposed to combat.. ABU MAZEN REALLY NOT SO SMOOTH People are describing Abu Mazen moderate. Others perceive him as "Arafat in a suit." They mean that whereas Arafat displayed crude violence, Abu Mazen conceals his and sounds refined. I think the two men rather alike, which is why they worked in tandem for decades. When Arafat was recalled from Tunisia, he was compared to Hamas and found gentler. The false distinction was devised that Hamas is extremist but Arafat's PLO is moderate. Actually, the PLO committed more terrorism than has the smaller Hamas. What Hamas perpetrated was with the knowledge of the PLO. Nevertheless, people were taken in then, as they are being taken in now. Arafat used to preach peace to the West and violence to the East. He got away with it for a long time. Finally, Israel got its observations about that across, when the US found Arafat unable to reach a final agreement with Israel, despite Israel's foolishly over-generous offer. Now Westerners pretend that Abu Mazen is moderate and anti-terrorist, despite his long record of terrorism. He is thought moderate, because he stations troops to prevent attacks on Israel, but he forbids those troops from enforcing a ceasefire, but in any case a ceasefire is the terrorists' opportunity to recruit and rearm. He talks out of both sides of his mouth, just as did Arafat. The Western media is slow to catch on, because it is unwilling to. COLUMBIA EVEN WORSE THAN REPORTED In exposing the "Crisis At Columbia," Jacob Gershman (NY Sun, February 7, 2005) performs a critical public service. He shows that Islamist professors regiment classes, abuse dissidents, and express antisemitism. The University is worried about the professor' academic freedom, but the issue is the professors' denial of students' academic freedom. Too gentlemanly, Mr. Gershman calls those professors "scholars." They are no scholars. They lack academic integrity. (Like thugs, they shout down students who have it). More than being one-sided, as depicted, they are Islamist propagandists, ignoring and misrepresenting the facts. They commit jihad. They want to turn our youth against America, and subvert us. They should be dismissed as frauds and deported as enemies in the war on radical Islam. Prof. Massad praises PLO "resistance" to Israel, but warfare cannot be justified. The PLO agreed to peace and negotiations. Universities should encourage inquiry, not distortion and hatred. The chief misrepresentation is of Israel as a colonialist, racist, aggressor. Most Arab families in Israel and Judea-Samaria arrived for jobs created by Zionist redevelopment, and tried to dominate the others, as they did elsewhere in the Mideast. The Arabs, like the Nazis, describe Jews as genetically evil. The Arabs repeatedly made war on Israel. Thus the Arabs may be seen as colonialist, racist, aggressors. WHY THEY CALL ISRAEL "APARTHEID" Israel is called apartheid to encourage disinvestments, boycotts, ostracism of visiting Israelis, and eventually to challenge Israel's right to exist. Unlike apartheid, Israeli Arabs vote. (Their vote tips the balance in favor of the Arab enemies of Israel. They should not be allowed citizenship.) Also, Arabs have almost the same life expectancy as Jews, and a higher one than Europeans. On the other hand, as occupier of the Territories, Israel perpetrates suffering upon Arab victims, who lash back. Israel's security fence is "a cover" to seize Arabs' land. That is theft. The Arabs undermined Oslo by continuing warfare; Israel did by continuing to build in the Territories. Israel has a right to bar Arab immigration, but it is unfair automatically to let Jews in while denying the return of Arabs who fled or were massively dispossessed during wars. Israel discriminates against the Arabs in land use, employment, and benefits (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2004, p.36 from Benjamin Pogrund, Tapei Times, 10/25) and director of an Israeli NGO. Although he calls the charges of apartheid and racism false, he depicts Israel as unworthy of self- defense. Actually, the Arab states are, because they are oppressive, aggressive, backward, and bigoted. They cause their own troubles, because of dictatorial looting and war. Israel perpetrates nothing against the Arabs. The cause of Israeli defensive measures is constant P.A. attack, but Mr. Pogrund mistakenly thinks those measures are the cause of Arab problems. He calls the fence a land-grab, but the Arab retain their plots. I think he means that the whole Territories belong to the Arabs. They don't. Israel has the best legal and moral claim to the area, under the Palestine Mandate. He should look it up. He also should look up Oslo, which does NOT restrict Israeli building in Yesha. Why doesn't he complain about the Arab theft of much of their building and farming sites, livestock, and cars? Almost no Arabs were expelled. There was a population exchange: Arabs fled because they were aggressor enemies whom Israel owes nothing; Arab states expelled their Jews, and Jordan expelled the Jews in Judea-Samaria. Zionist land-use has been discriminated against. Less qualified Arabs enjoy student and job preference. Pogrund's indignation has a false basis. WILL THE U.S. DECLINE? One cannot assume that the fast pace of economic growth in China and India will continue and not be hampered by problems. Raw materials may become inadequate. Neighboring states may band together against China. China's supply of workers may decline. Social unrest may stir. The trend, however, is for both of those countries to surpass Europe's economy and to match the US economy. Seeking more competitiveness, China and India invest more in technology and education than does the US, where even privately funded research and development is declining. US corporations are establishing research centers abroad. China graduates three times as many engineers as does the US. The US imports fewer, for security reasons (Marusca Niccolini, NY Sun, 2/7, p.8). Even if not an absolute decline, there would be a relative decline. EFFECT OF OIL ON THE ECONOMY The Group of Seven finance ministers reckon that they can handle higher oil prices. There is no question, however, that OPEC is learning how to keep them high and painful. Britain wants to challenge that phenomenon. Britain proposes, among other things, a more open investment climate in Mexico and Russia, so as to increase supply. Europe and Japan are reducing their energy demand by alternative energy technologies and renewable energy. They need to bring the US and China into the program. US oil imports have doubled since 1991, accounting for a third of the increase in oil shipments and half of OPEC's increased income. Chinese imports are increasing fast. Some US states are requiring greater conservation of energy (Amy Myers Jaffe, NY Sun, 2/7, p.9). While US politics are self-absorbed, the rest of the world marches on. China is working with the Natural Resources Defense Council to erect energy-efficient buildings. The US had better wake up, invest in the future, and conserve its resources and power. WHY THE P.A. ARABS CONTINUE TO MURDER In view of Israel's plan to withdraw from Gaza, why don't the Arabs cease their effort to drive the Israelis out and turn to planning the administration of Gaza? The usual explanation is that the Arabs want it clear that Israel's withdrawal is under duress. This reason should be explored. Another explanation is that the Arabs are not satisfied with capturing the Territories, their ideology demands conquering Israel, too (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2004, p.41 from Avraham Tal, Haaretz, 10/4/04). The Arabs don't want to live in peace, "side-by-side" with Israel. SYRIA ORDERS MORE RUSSIAN ARMS Iran and S. Arabia have chipped in $2 billion for Syria to purchase Russian arms. It remains for Russia to decide whether to take the money and for which arms. Syria owes $11 billion to Russia, but refuses to pay. Russia, however, may sell for cash. It still thinks that selling arms gains influence (IMRA, 2/21). Influence for what? And does it? No thanks to our Saudi "allies!" Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

GRAFFITI Posted by Steven Plaut, February 16, 2005.

1. The main item in the Israeli press this week is graffiti. It seems some Rightwingers have been putting graffiti of poor taste on some buildings, especially in Jerusalem. The media are screaming that the graffiti, probably placed by humans who are pre-puberty, proves that there is a clear and present danger of violence from the murderous anti-Oslo dissidents. You know - the same criminals who murdered Rabin by exercising their freedom of speech in the early 90s! The media and the politicians are openly calling for suppression of free speech for anti-Oslo dissidents because of the graffiti and the accompanying "threat of violence" indicated by it. The pre-adolescents spreading this graffiti have written things like "Rabin is awaiting Sharon", which the McCarthyists say is proof that anti-Oslo dissidents are planning to murder. They also write things like "Where there are no Arabs there is no terrorism," and sometimes things even worse than that. Shame on them. Now the banner headlines in the Israeli press about this "violence-triggering graffiti" come against the background of some other notorious casesin which graffiti was regarded as an irrelevant nuisance. A few months ago, two far Leftists spent Yom Kippur evening decorating Jerusalem with pro-violence graffiti threatening Sharon and Netanyahu and also smearing anti-Orthodox and anti-Semitic graffiti on synagogues. No one claimed this indicated imminent national civil war, and the perps got off with a wrist tap. Far leftist graffiti is all over the place. Here in Haifa the Lefties smear pro-communism graffiti all over, often accompanied by cartoons of automatic weapons being aimed at "capitalism". Some of the graffiti is anti-McDonald's. Some is anti-globalization. Much is pro-Palestinian and anti-"settler". No one has ever been indicted for it. The fact that far-Leftist graffiti is considered artistic or at worse an urban nuisance, while the media and pols are screaming that a little Rightwing graffiti doth incitement to violence and civil war maketh, is just an extension of Israel's dual justice system, by which one judicial system operates for Lefties and another for everyone else. 2. "Turnabout: Ward Churchill Now Target of Terrorists," by Jeremy Robb. BOULDER, Colorado - - University of Colorado professor, Ward Churchill, canceled a speech at Hamilton College in New York after protests relating to his essay comparing 9/11 victims to Nazis. The America-hating professor now has an unintended consequence for his repulsive commentary though. Al Qaeda has offered a bounty on his head. Apparently, Muslim terrorists believe Churchill's comparison of 9/11 victims to Nazis must mean that the terrorists are like Jews. "This is an outrage," said an unnamed Al Qaeda spokesman. "Anyone who compares us to the Jews must die. Call us scum. Call us terrorists. Call us cowards. Even call us pigs. Just don't call us Jews. I will now need to go burn my tongue with hot coals for even uttering that word." Professor Churchill has gone into hiding since the threat materialized. In a printed statement, Churchill said "I am shocked that I have become the target of Al Qaeda. I hate Americans as much, if not more, than they do. I only wish I could have been on one of those planes to prove how much I hate Americans. And I certainly would never insult these freedom fighters by comparing them to Jews." About the Writer: Jeremy Robb is a San Francisco resident and satirist who notes that he is on a "one man's jihad against liberalism." He is the editor of the "Jerhad!com Newsletter" and his website is at http://www.jerhad.com. Jeremy receives e-mail at jeremy@jerhad.com. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

ARIK, ASK THE PEOPLE Posted by TheRaphi, February 15, 2005.

This was written by Paula R. Stern. She is the Founder and Documentation Manager of WritePoint, a technical writing company. I'm trying to understand what is happening in this country. The more times I listen to the latest news, the less I understand. I'm not even convinced the government itself can explain its actions. Normally, a review of the past would clarify the present, but this only serves to blur the picture even more. What I do know is that a few years back we were asked to vote in a new government. Israelis went to the polls after examining what each side was offering, their plan for the next few years, what they would do if they were elected. We had the choice between continuing the weak message of capitulation offered by Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak, or Ariel Sharon's bold and strong position, from which we all hoped peace would come. We had the option of continuing to divide the country into settlers, Right and Left, or unify it into one people seeking an end to the seemingly endless war waged against us. Israelis decided that what they wanted was a strong leader to lead us in times of trouble. We were in the midst of a war; terrorism was rampant here and abroad. Our most generous offers had been thrown back in our faces and negotiations were at a complete standstill. The Palestinians had made it clear that violence was their chosen method of operation, and the only response from the Labor government was the endless ebb and flow in which we tightened restrictions on the Palestinians and then eased them, entered their cities and then exited them. The cycle was endless, repetitive and self-destructive. Hoping to leave that behind, we chose a leader who promised not to negotiate under fire, to respond with strength, to seek peace and security equally to ensure the future of our country. All was clear to me then. It all made sense. If the Arabs were ready to talk, we would negotiate. If the Palestinians wanted to blow up buses, we would track them down and stop them with all the might of our superior army, so that mothers wouldn't be burying their babies, husbands wouldn't be mourning for murdered wives. Our children would be safe. It was all so clear. We would finally act as other nations do. Hurt us, and we hurt you back. Try to infiltrate our cities, and we will build a wall so high, you'll never make it through. Smuggle killers among workers and the workers won't be allowed in. The wall would make a difference and we would build it despite international protests, because the goal of a government, first and foremost, must be to protect the lives of its people. The hard line was working. Terrorism was dropping and Israelis were feeling safe again. It's true, we weren't on a road to peace, but we were on the road to security, because we finally admitted to ourselves that we could not achieve peace alone. Much of the world even agreed. Finally, they were seeing Yasser Arafat for the terrorist murderer he was. The European Union was beginning to examine where they had thrown billions of euros and accountability was the watchword of the day. Then, it all fell apart, and I'm still not clear on how or why. Suddenly, the bulldozer, the man of strength, the brilliant tactician lost his way, or maybe just his mind. Sharon buckled and the moral strength of the government fell with him. Suddenly, we were begging the Arabs to take whatever we could give them. We'll pull out of Gaza, we promised, even if you keep shooting rockets at us; and they have. We will open the gates of our country, even when you gun down our citizens; and they do. We will release prisoners, even when they vow to come back and continue inciting towards violence. But even during the birth of Sharon's ill-conceived plan, a moment of sanity shone through. Sharon said he'd ask the people who supported him to make their opinions known. A referendum of the Likud was called. We put him in office and he came back to ask us what we thought of his plan. We told him in a resounding defeat (or perhaps a victory). And, irony of ironies, Sharon balked and refused to honor the very referendum he had called. Then, Sharon went to the Central Committee members, promising to listen to them. And again he was defeated, and again he ignored them. Next, cabinet members refused to buckle under, and so Sharon fired them. If you can't get a majority, says the Sharon concept of government, redefine the numbers. Sharon lost one coalition and formed another, all dedicated to implementing his plan, his dream, his will. The will of the people, the dreams of Israel, the plan of the electorate that brought him to office has been betrayed. Sickened by all the political maneuverings, his supporters took to the streets to tell him, but he refused to listen. In great numbers they show him, but he refuses to see. In mass demonstration after mass demonstration, in an unparalleled human chain stretching across the nation, our message was clear. Arik, ask the people. You have no right to decide the future of this nation alone. And your government, the one that was elected on one platform and now seeks to install another, lacks the legitimate right to proceed. Ask the people, Arik. Listen to the people. The right has promised to abide by a referendum. We are part of Israel and we recognize and celebrate the democracy of this land. We do not seek to hide or circumvent the true will of the people, as Ariel Sharon does. We will not agree if the majority votes to withdraw from Gaza, but we will accept this ruling because it comes from the people. The people of Israel must decide the future of Israel if there is to be peace amongst ourselves. After all the dishonest maneuverings of this government, only a referendum will prove what the people want. Ever a realist, I do see improvements in the level of rhetoric and even action coming from Abu Mazen, and perhaps we are, finally, on the path to peace. But we certainly haven't arrived, and Sharon is tripping over his feet trying to release prisoners and withdraw from cities, turn over the bodies of terrorists, stop the targeted killings, open the gates to Palestinian workers. All in its time. What is the rush? It's taken us more than 50 years to get into the depths of this conflict. We cannot crawl out of it in a day or a month, and maybe not even in a year. The peace with Egypt is a cold one because nations moved, but not people. True peace will be made when governments and people are brought together, when the level of rhetoric is lowered and reason is heard. This takes time to build, to nurture. If we are to really determine whether we finally have partners in peace, we must walk the long road with them, not run to the end of the road and hope they find their way to us eventually. For each positive action they take, we must answer with a positive action in return, so that both peoples are encouraged to continue. If necessary, we can lead. We can offer positive action and wait for an equal response. But to surrender all, to withdraw from everywhere, to open ourselves, our cities, our homes for what remains an elusive dream - that is suicide. This government is spiraling out of control, so busy trying to keep itself in power it has lost all sense of security, all sense of justice, all sense of what is right. If Sharon is to lead this country, he must submit to a national referendum now, before history judges him as a dictator and a fool. TheRaphi (http://www.theraphi.com/archives/oldindex.html) is a pro-Israel and pro-Zionist site; it provides news articles and essays. To Go To Top

SEARCHING FOR A SOLUTION Posted by Israel Zwick, February 15, 2005.

In the last few months, a number of my articles have been published in various pro-Israel websites. I have received many favorable comments about my articles but my biggest critic has been my wife, Devorah, whom you already met in a previous article. "You write nice articles," Devorah said to me, - "but you are always kvetching. You kvetch about the Arabs, you kvetch about the Europeans, and you kvetch about the UN. When are you going to stop kvetching and come up with a solution?" "How am I supposed to come up with a solution?" I responded. "Dennis Ross couldn't find a solution. Either could Bill Clinton or Shimon Peres. Nobody understands Ariel Sharon's solution. So how could I come up with a solution?" "Listen," she said, "you have three Master's degrees and you're always studying. You can come up with a solution." "But to create a good solution, I would need a lot of data," I said defensively. "I would need data on geography, demographics, topography, economics, military logistics, and natural resources." "You're a college teacher, you know how to get data." she countered, "You press a few buttons on your computer and you get all the data you want. Come up with a solution or stop kvetching." "It's not quite so easy, but I'll tell what I'll do. The next time we go to Israel to visit our kids, I'll snoop around a little to get some information." That satisfied her for a while. So the next time we went to Israel I embarked on my quest to search for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. My friend Steve lives near the Prime Minister's residence so I figured that's a good place to start. We saw a few young soldiers sitting around and chatting so we approached them. They were speaking in Russian, so we figured that wouldn't work. Suddenly, my friend Steve exclaimed, "There's one wearing a kipah srugah, let's try him." "That's great," I said, "I'm also wearing a kipah srugah, so we'll get along just fine." I approached the young soldier with my broken Hebrew, "Slikha, khayal. Ani rotze... " The soldier interrupted me with his perfect South African English, "How can I help you?" "I would like to ask the Prime Minister a question." "Is that so, what would you like to ask him?" "Well, you see, I'm a writer and I'm doing a piece on the Gaza Strip. I would like to know if he could give me a helicopter tour of the Gaza Strip like he did with Colin Powell and Tony Blair." "I'd love to help you out, but my radio is beeping and I have to get back to my post." Strike One! I figured I'll try the public library. They have to help me over there. I approached the reference desk and a stunningly attractive Sephardi girl looks up at me and asks, "What can I do for you, sir?" For a moment I forgot what I was there for. When I regained my composure, I said, "I'm writing a piece on the Gaza Strip. Could I see the Mossad and Shabak files on Hamas positions in the area?" "So you would like to see Mossad files?" she asked politely. "Why don't you give me your name and address and I'll forward your request directly to Mossad?" "That would be fine," I said, "Could I also have your name and address, my friend's son is looking for a shidduch." She pressed a button on her desk and a security guard came over to escort me out of the building. Strike Two! Next, I decided to try the Israeli Supreme Court. I figured that their cases are public domain, so they can't kick me out. I approached the desk. There was an elderly woman sitting there. I asked her, "Could I see the cases dealing with property rights in the Gaza Strip?" She looks at me and asks, "Are you vun uf dose left people who vorry about Palestinian rights? Doesn't anyvun vorry anymore about Jewish rights?" She extended her arm to show me where to go. The tattooed number on her arm was clearly visible. I headed in that direction, when suddenly my cell phone rang. Family emergency! While I was gone, my daughter, Sara, was exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning and was rushed by ambulance to the hyperbaric chamber at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. I caught the next bus to Haifa. When I arrived at the hospital, a nurse, wearing a Hijab, came over to greet me. "Your daughter is fine. She is fully conscious. We have to be thankful to Allah that her husband's Talmud class was suddenly cancelled. He came home early and was able to revive her." If you had the patience to read so far, you're probably wondering, "When is this guy going to stop babbling and get to the point?" OK, here's the point: It's time for the State Of Israel to make an emphatic statement to the nations of the world: "For 56 years, we have taken in millions of Jews who needed a home because they were annoyed, harassed, tormented, persecuted, and incarcerated in your countries. We absorbed them, housed them, trained them, integrated them, and returned their self-dignity to them. All without the help of any UN agencies. In that same time period, you maintained four generations of Arabs in squalid refugee camps. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on them each year so that they could perpetuate their dream of taking over the 21,000 square kilometers of land that is called the State of Israel. You supported their hatred, their incitement, and their violence, while we became the focus of your enmity and condemnation. "Now we had enough. We want you to leave us alone. Go attend to the other 35 ethnic conflicts that are going on around the world. Go attend to the widespread abuse of women and children around the world and stop bothering us. "We're willing to make you an offer. If the entire world is willing to absorb 3 million Arab 'refugees,' we'll take the remaining million, with conditions. Let us have the Gaza Strip and West Bank as part of the internationally recognized boundaries of the State of Israel. The entire city of Jerusalem will become the internationally recognized capital of the State of Israel. All together, we would still have less than 30,000 square kilometers, about a third of the size of Jordan and a sixth of the size of Syria. Yet, we would still be willing to take in those million Arabs and make them full citizens with full democratic rights. You do the same for the other 3 million. The transfer would be strictly voluntary, with compensation, and without coercion. That would be the end of the refugee problem and the end of the conflict. If that offer isn't good enough for you, then sit down with us and make a counter offer. Just stop harassing us and let us go on with our lives. Let us continue to make our valuable contributions to technology, health care, agricultural science, and water conservation. We're willing to help you, but you have to leave us alone. Stop bothering us, because we're not going to take it anymore." Anyway, I had to tell Devorah that I struck out. But the game's not over and I'm not giving up. Israel Zwick can be contacted at israel.zwick@earthlink.net To Go To Top

PLO EMPOWERMENT IS ON THE AGENDA Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 15, 2005.

This article was written by David Bedein of the Israel Resource News Agency (www.israelbehindthenews.com). Contact him by email at media@actcom.co.il This is Worth Reading! More to the point: the word "Disengagement" is misleading, given that PM Ariel Sharon will not be disengaging but bringing the Palestinians very close to the Israeli cities or at least within rocket and mortar range. It's not "Disengagement" but rather RE-ENGAGEMENT. Hopefully, this reduced verson of Sharon's Plan has been written in Hebrew so the Members of Knesset who never bothered to read Sharon's Plan will read it IN FULL - or at all. In a generation of fast sound bytes and instant news, neither proponents nor opponents seem to know what the Sharon Plan is all about. It is hard to find anyone who has read the plan. What I have found from covering the Knesset is that most Knesset members, reporters who cover the Knesset and even some key Israeli government ministers have never read the Sharon Plan. Instead, people throughout Israel and throughout the world assume that the Sharon plan only concerns whether Israelis should continue to live in the Katif district of Gaza and some seemingly distant Jewish communities in Northern Samaria. Hence the term "disengagement". However, if anyone had bothered to READ the Sharon Plan, posted at www.pmo.gov.il, the reality of the Sharon Plan would unfold in an entirely different direction. While the Sharon Plan is described as a "disengagement plan", it does anything but that. Despite the premise in clause one of the Sharon Plan that there is "no Palestinian peace partner", the Sharon Plan involves a PLO empowerment process. 14 clauses of the Sharon Plan strengthen every aspect of the PLO to belie clause one that that there is "no reliable Palestinian partner" While the premise of the Sharon Plan mandates that the Gaza Strip "be demilitarized and shall be devoid of weaponry", the Sharon Plan provides "advice, assistance and training" to "the Palestinian security forces. by American, British, Egyptian, Jordanian or other experts, as agreed with Israel." The Sharon Plan ignores how military training of the PLO facilitated by Israel and the western democracies was abused to conduct a terror campaign against Israel in every part of the country for the past four years. The Sharon Plan goes on to say that "Israel will be willing to consider the possibility of the establishment of a seaport and airport in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with arrangements to be agreed with Israel." The Sharon plan obligates Israel to "provide water pipes, electricity, industrial zones, markets, employment and an industrial zone to sustain the Palestinian Arab economy of Gaza." The Sharon Plan mandates that "other existing arrangements, such as those relating to water and the electro-magnetic sphere shall remain in force" while "economic arrangements currently in operation between Israel and the Palestinians shall, in the meantime, remain in force." According to the Sharon Plan, these arrangements will include: i. The entry of workers into Israel in accordance with the existing criteria. ii. The entry and exit of goods between the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Israel and abroad. iii. The monetary regime. iv. Tax and customs envelope arrangements. v. Postal and telecommunications arrangements. Finally, the Sharon Plan envisions international support for the PLO, "in order to bring the Palestinians to implement in practice their obligations to combat terrorism and effect reforms, thus enabling the parties to return to the path of negotiation." And if the PLO does not "implement in practice their obligations to combat terrorism" The Sharon Plan provides no answer to that possibility. The Sharon Plan does not provide even include a minimal demand that the PLO not endorse the cold blooded murder of Jews on the official media outlets of the PLO. The way in which the official media of Palestinian Authority praised the October 26th 2004 Knesset approval of the Sharon Plan is indicative. In the words of Nabil Shaath, "May this be only one step in the liberation of all of Palestine." Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Moshir Al-Masri declared that "the Knesset vote proves that the Hamas has forced the Zionist enemy to retreat." To make a long story short, the Sharon Plan, far from being a plan of disengagement from the PLO, is nothing less than a program of empowerment for the PLO. Since no one bothered to read the Sharon Plan, spin masters were left in charge, to sell it as a "disengagement from Gaza" program. Ariel Sharon knows that the very mention of the word "withdrawal from Gaza" makes him very popular. And the opponents of the Sharon Plan fall right into the trap that Ariel Sharon has laid for the them, and scream loudly against "the Sharon Disengagement Plan from Gaza", and earn the enmity of Israeli public opinion. What the opposition to Sharon should be doing is to educate the population of Israel as to the inherent dangers of the "PLO EMPOWERMENT PLAN" to every citizen of Israel. President Abe Lincoln once noted that you can "fool some of the people some of the time", but not "all of the people all of the time." This time, Prime Minister Sharon may have succeeded where President Lincoln failed. "Disengagement"? Gee, it sounded so good. Imagine if Ariel Sharon had tried to sell his plan for what it really is: Aiding the PLO, which in the media mind set is Sharon's arch enemy. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

ON "DISENGAGEMENT", CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, AND IDF MILITARY REFUSALS Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 15, 2005.

There comes a time in many nations when the ruling parties grow old, corrupt and make decisions that are not beneficial to their people. Sometimes it merely leads to bad but recoverable or reversible decisions. At other times, the political party becomes so dominant that it seems the people only exist to keep them in power to carry out the Party's decision. Glaring examples are, of course, Stalin;s interpretation of Communism, Hitler's Third Reich, Mao Tze-tung's Permanent Peoples' Revolution.... There are, of course, many others where the population was enslaved to those who grasped and held onto power. We are all familiar of the method of the ruling through fear. Syria, Iran, for example, will not tolerate civil disobedience and quickly jail those who risk defying their rulers. We also know that many of these dictatorial regimes rose and fell - often to Revolutions by the people. France had its Revolution accompanied by the guillotine. America had it Revolution in breaking away from the self-serving Monarchy of England. Israel is beginning to see that the ruling party cliques, be it Right or Left, no longer serve the people but rather, the whims of dictatorial leaders. Like the forums of Rome, their service to the nation begins with the benefits to themselves first. (Note! I exclude the handful of legislators who have served the nation faithfully and well - without looking for special power or enriching themselves.) Power brokers and dictators cannot help themselves much like a kleptomaniac who steals because he cannot help himself. At the national level, the dictator grabs for power. He demands obedience and all who do not submit are shifted over into the enemy category to be dealt with ruthlessly. There are times in a nation's history when it is necessary to clean out the corrupt, the incompetent, the greedy. One can call it "revolution" or "civil disobedience" but, bottom line, it is all the same - necessary! A clean sweep of deeply entrenched politicians who have so corrupted the systems that it's un-repairable as long as they are present. Now is such a time for Israel and, if it has to come through civil disobedience then that is the way it must be. The following article by Professor Louis Rene Beres of Purdue University, an expert in International Law, speaks to the issue of the Disengagement, Civil Disobedience & the IDF Military in Israel. Louis Rene Beres is the author of books and articles dealing with international law and Israeli security matters. Strategic and Military Affairs analyst for The Jewish Press, he lectures frequently on jurisprudential and strategic issues in Israel and in the United States. This article appeared in The Jewish Press Inc. (ISSN 0021-6674) A dear friend of mine in Israel, a hard-fighting veteran of all too many wars, was asked to summarize his view of the "disengagement." "What," I inquired, "do you think of the forcible deportation of Jews from Jewish lands in Gaza and parts of Samaria by the government in Jerusalem?" Never one to mince words, here is his succinct reply: "The entire scheme, described euphemistically as `disengagement,` is irrational, fatally dangerous, unjust, immoral, illegal and disgustingly inhumane. It is being forced upon Israel by blatantly undemocratic means, and its underlying cause is auto-anti-Semitism." The Sharon Government`s edict to evict Jews is a clear expression of Jewish self-hatred, and it is not only the right of each individual Israeli soldier to reject this edict, but his sacred duty to do so. There is more. The axis of conflict and disagreement between one group of Jews and another here is not at all straightforward. It is not the IDF against the "settlers". The existential danger of territorial surrender is now facing each and every Jew in Israel. Some of the very best soldiers in the IDF are "settlers" themselves, and all of the "settlers" have unassailably deep ties to the Jewish army. Will military refusals to participate in the expulsion of Jews cause the IDF to weaken or even to disintegrate? "On the contrary," writes Moshe Feiglin of Manhigut Yehudit. "It will strengthen the IDF morally and establish its right of existence. Real conscientious refusal will not lead to a situation in which everyone does as he likes. The soldiers who are refusing are the outstanding ones who wish to serve and make sacrifices for the nation and the country." Moshe Feiglin is correct, of course, but the already compelling Jewish argument against complicity in Jewish deportations and the associated argument for civil disobedience can also be grounded in fundamental international law. Significantly, international law is itself drawn from the idea of a Higher Law - an idea that was born in ancient Israel. The right to civil disobedience is well-established in democratic legal theory. This right can become an outright obligation whenever a particular government`s policies run counter to the codified "Nuremberg Principles of 1946." In Claude Lanzmann`s monumental documentary, SHOAH, one of the surviving leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising remarks: "If you could lick my heart, it would poison you." Sadly, the time may still come - if Prime Minister Sharon is permitted to continue following a "Road Map" to unilateral surrender - that surviving Israelis will someday express similar sentiments. It is to prevent such an unforgivably ironic repetition of Jewish history that hundreds of thousands of Israelis may soon need to embark upon massive civil disobedience and wide-scale military refusals. In essence, the "Road Map" to peace in the Middle East now offered by the United States, Russia, the European Community and the United Nations calls for the surrender of territories that are indispensable to Israel`s physical survival as a state. This one-sided piece of cartography would open up the entire country to expanded terrorism (including mega-terrorism involving chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons) and to genocidal wars of aggression launched by one or several enemy states. It follows that Sharon is assuredly under no obligation to proceed with this contrived agreement, and that Israel`s citizens are under a distinct obligation to get Sharon to abandon the "Road Map." As Thomas Jefferson recognized back in 1793 in his Opinion On The French Treaties: "The nation itself, bound necessarily to whatever its preservation and safety require, cannot enter into engagements contrary to its indispensable obligations." In the fashion of the earlier Oslo Agreements, the "Road Map" also contravenes the binding legal obligation to punish acts that are crimes under international law. Known formally as nullem crimen sine poena, "No crime without a punishment," this requirement points clearly to the multiple acts of terrorism ordered by various Palestinian organizations and "authorities" over many years. To not only ignore this requirement, but to actually legitimize the criminality by making the current Palestinian Authority a "partner" in the "Road Map," continues to represent an indisputable violation of Principle I of the Nuremberg Principles. It is important that these informed views of civil disobedience, military refusals and international law immediately become more widely understood. The Israeli government`s present policies will destroy "certain unalienable rights" for all Israelis. These are natural rights that belong fully to all peoples, not only to Americans. In return, the Sharon government should fully expect to be confronted with mounting acts of civil disobedience and principled refusals to carry out eviction edicts. If they do not respond thus, the citizens of Israel would be consenting like sheep to incremental dismemberment and eventual annihilation. In the years before the Civil War, thousands of Americans organized an Underground Railroad to help fleeing slaves. At that time, those who participated in this movement were judged lawbreakers by the Federal government, and were imprisoned under the Fugitive Slave Act. Today, it is generally recognized that the true lawbreakers of the period were those who sustained the system of slavery, and that every individual act to oppose this system was genuinely law-enforcing. Similar patterns of recognition should now emerge in regard to the critical anti-disengagement movement in Israel. Throughout the centuries, distinguished legal theorists (e.g., Bodin, Hobbes, Leibniz) have understood that security is always the first obligation of the state. Where that state can no longer provide security, it can no longer expect obedience. And where the state actively avoids the provision of security, as is the case today in Israel, citizens have an obligation to resist state policies. In fact, the Sharon government`s idea of "peace" could lead even to another Jewish genocide. Therefore, this obligation could arguably go beyond Israel`s still gentle forms of civil disobedience and military refusals to more vigorous expressions of lawful opposition. International law, which is based upon a variety of Higher Law foundations, forms part of the law of all nations, including that of the State of Israel. This is the case whether or not the incorporation of international law into national law is codified, explicitly, as it is in the Supremacy Clause (Article VI) of the United States Constitution. The government of Israel is bound by authoritative rules of international law concerning punishment of terrorist crimes, the prevention of genocide, and physical survival of the state. Where this government fails to abide by these rules, civil disobedience and purposeful military refusals are not only permissible - they are required. "If you could lick my heart, it would poison you." We must never again hear such a tormented remark from the victim of yet another Jewish tragedy - this time from the self-inflicted disappearance of Israel in "compliance" with the patently twisted "Road Map." Let us hope that our brothers and sisters in the Jewish state have learned something very important about collective Jewish survival from the Shoah. To Go To Top

OVER 30,000 RALLY IN GUSH KATIF TO DERAIL EXPULSION PLAN Posted by Gush Katif Community, February 15, 2005.

Over 30,000 Israelis gathered in Gush Katif last night, in an act of solidarity with the more than 8,000 Jews there slated for expulsion. Despite long traffic delays, over 30,000 Israelis arrived Monday evening in Gush Katif, in an act of solidarity with the more than 8,000 there Jews slated for expulsion. The government plans to withdraw the residents and IDF forces from Gush Katif, and from northern Shomron, and abandon the territory to the Palestinian Authority. Rabbi Yigal Kaminetzky, Rabbi of the Gush Katif region, told the assembled crowds that the struggle for the Katif bloc is not only to save the Gaza region, but to save the entire national homeland of the Jewish people. Rabbi Kaminetzky said that the People of Israel felt great despair just before the split of the Red Sea, "as if there's nothing left to be done. But then, G-d told Moshe, 'Don't cry out to Me, talk to the children of Israel and have them go forward.' When a Jew is in trouble, when the Jewish People is in danger, shouldn't one cry out to G-d, creator of the world? Will he not tear at the heavens? G-d tells Moshe there's [something other than] prayer, making it possible to open up the heavens through self-sacrifice. Nachshon ben Aminadav, who was the first to jump into the water, merited to save the nation of Israel and merited the kingdom that sanctified G-d's name. Rabbi Kaminetzky continued: "We're at the stage where we can split the sea due to the self-sacrifice of the people of Gush Katif and the self-sacrifice in northern Samaria. With G-d's help we will continue through self-sacrifice and great faith that it's possible to win this struggle. Even a sharp sword hanging over a person's neck does not preclude the possibility of attaining mercy. With G-d's help we will be victorious." MK Tzvi Hendel of the National Union party, a resident of Gush Katif and former head of the Gaza Coast Regional Council, also spoke to the crowds. He said that Sharon lacks a mandate for his program, as he was elected on a platform that negated a withdrawal from Gaza. "You don't have a majority in the Knesset," Hendel said, as if to Sharon, "and therefore, you must return to the people, and we will win." Hendel referred to the media reports of threats against government ministers: "The main person threatening members of the Knesset and government ministers, and the one who is truly inciting against the settlements, is the Prime Minister of Israel. [He's] smart enough to know that he has no chance of winning a referendum. He got an answer from members of the Likud party [who voted down the proposal to withdraw from Gaza in a party referendum] that the Jewish People are with us and we will win. An eternal nation is not afraid of a long journey." Yesha Council Chief Bentzy Lieberman said that in the past month, over 92,000 people have signed their commitment to come to Gush Katif on the day the expulsion order is given and to fight the withdrawal in a non-violent manner. MK Effie Eitam, IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) who until that morning headed the National Religious Party - he was suspended from his chairmanship of the party for resigning from the Sharon government in protest of the disengagement plan before a party decision was made on the matter - also spoke. "Ariel Sharon is spurning democracy," he said. "I saw you [Sharon] today in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee and you couldn't even listen to my criticism of you. In the same way you fired cabinet ministers, you trample over everything that stands in your way..." Eitam continued, "You call us inciters" This is incitement: You belittle your friends and call your Foreign Minister a butcher, and to members of the Likud you lie with no shame. Ariel Sharon, you will finish this battle at home, you will finish this battle in your Shikmim Farm [Sharon's home in the Negev not far from Gaza], and I tell you in the name of everyone who's here, that on the day the order is given you can destroy and make up lies, but we will stand here and prove that we love the Jewish People, we love the Land of Israel and the IDF. We will not act against our brothers who serve in the IDF." The Yesha Council, which represents municipalities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, helped organize the demonstration. The intention was to show the government that if the order is ever given to expel Jews from their homes, farms, yeshivot and factories in Gaza, thousands more will be ready to prevent the expulsion from taking place. Others in Gush Katif do not accept this position, as they do not wish to acknowledge publicly the possibility of an expulsion. In Jerusalem, opponents of the retreat burned tires at the main intersection leading into Jerusalem and near the Kastel, a few miles to the west. As a result, traffic on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway was blocked for kilometers on the way into the capital. Police arrested nine demonstrators. Hundreds of protesters also demonstrated at the Golani Junction in the north. Another demonstration took place on Route 4, also in the north, during which four protesters were arrested. To Go To Top

TODAY HARIRI, TOMORROW ABBAS AND AFTER TOMORROW ALLAWI Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 15, 2005.

This comes from the Lebanese Foundation for Peace (LFP), http://www.free-lebanon.com. It was written by Nagi. N. Najjar, executive director of LFP. For God's sake, President Bush, let us act. Today, Rafic Hariri former Prime Minister of Lebanon was killed in Beirut by a powerful car bomb. A similar car bomb was used by the same butchers who killed Elie Hobeika few years ago, injured former Druze Minister Marwan Hamadeh recently and killed many former Presidents in Beirut, including President Bashir Gemayel and President Rene Moawad. How can we "thank" Hezbollah, Gen. Ghazi Kanaan and Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh of Syrian Intelligence for these acts? Ghazi Kannaan is making the U.S. appear the fool in Iraq and Lebanon. He promotes minimum help to the US on the left hand and promotes maximum damage with his Iranian friends on the right hand. How much time is it going to take for the CIA and State Department to understand Syria's deadly involvment in Terrorism in Iraq and Lebanon? What is more important than this assassination is not the act but its message to America. The car bombs are on the increase in Iraq, despite America claiming success in the elections. It is a matter of time before Hezbollah will assassinate Mahmood Abbas and Prime Minister Allwai through its proxies in Iraq. This dynamic cannot continue in this fashion. Affirmative military action must be taken. How many casualties are the Democracies willing to incur before Washington understands that the only option that works with Syria and Hezbollah is military force? We urge the US State Department to stop the nonsensical "diplomatic pressure" of UN Resolution 1559 on Syria and authorize the use of force against Hezbollah. The freshly emerged Democracies in Iraq and the Palestinian Authority will never see daylight as long as the Iranian-Syrian nexus of terror is functioning. Besides world sympathy and condemnation, Israel should have a green light along with its Lebanese Allies to operate militarily in Lebanon, strike Hezbollah, and reverse the balance of terror in that country. We urge Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom to raise the issue of Hezbollah in his tour and help the Lebanese liberate their homeland. Today, we are requesting military aid from Israel and a US green light to implement this issue and finish once and for all the threat of terrorism emerging from Lebanon. Hezbollah should be submitted to devastating military blows designed to destroy them as a meaningful, fighting force. We urge the United States to stay out of this fight and give the Christian Lebanese opposition the necessary means and logistics to get the job done. Syrian and Iranian instruments of terror in Lebanon should get the same message and understand this will be the end of them. We are not requesting a world sanctions against Syrian and Lebanon but a severe military operation that will wipe Hezbollah off the map in Lebanon and elsewhere. If President George W. Bush is going to challenge the terror of Syria and Iran by diplomatic means, it is a matter of time before the US will be defeated in the war against terror. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

ABBAS: NOBODY IS ELIGIBLE TO CONCEDE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS Posted by Sergio Tezza (Hadar), February 15, 2005.

Even Abbas is more faithful to his own people than our chiefs of government! Abbas says that nobody can give away what he calls his people's rights... In our neighbourhood, on the contrary, our leaders since Ben Gurion have always been ready to give away our rights and our heritage from HaShem in the name of some idol of the moment. This article, "Abbas: No Body Eligible to Concede People's Rights" appeared on www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=2619 It is archived at IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis (www.imra.org.il). GAZA, Palestine, (IPC+WAFA) [official PA website] - President Mahmoud Abbas, asserted on Monday that no body is eligible to concede the inalienable legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including a viable contingent independent Palestinian state, ending the Israeli occupation of the 1967 territories, and a just solution for the refugees problem according to UN resolution 194. President Abbas's remarks came in an interview with both Palestine News Agency (WAFA) and Palestine TV satellite channel, on Monday. The president emphasized the point that such Palestinian rights need to be realized on the ground, voicing willingness that the refugee problem's UN resolution 194 be negotiated with the Israeli government, then the Palestinian people say their word in a special 'referendum'. Mr. President believed that 'we have a precious chance' for the time being as we put and end to fighting, then the Israelis have to pressure their government for meeting the Palestinians' needs, such as releasing the prisoners and ending the occupation of Palestinian territories so that a viable Palestinian state could be established in peaceful coexistence with Israel. Asked about the United States role involving peace, the President said that Washington is a major player, as the Americans have demonstrated readiness to help in terms of economy and politics as well as the security matter. As for other bodies involvement in peace, Mr. Abbas pointed out the Russians' role, saying the Palestinian National Authority has received signs of support from Rrussia, such as training police forces, offering technical assistance and welcoming scientific expeditions. Abbas hinted roles of other parties like the European Union, which is a part of the road map peace plan along with Russia, and Turkey, as a Muslim friendly country. Regarding the upcoming London conference, the President made clear that the Palestinian delegation has made the final touches of preparation for the February17 conference, voicing the hope that such a gathering be for future peace not only for rehabilitation of the Palestinian economy. Addressing the Israeli public, President Abbas was quoted as saying "we would like to tell the Israelis that we want to live side by side in peaceful coexistence, so there is no need for a wall (Apartheid Wall), they need the security and so do we, they need economy and that's we need either. We might find out many common things, we both have a precious chance, so you have to pressure your government for needs of both be met". The president concluded the interview by saying "we will do our best to ensure that the Palestinian people live in peace and security". To Go To Top

AN UNEXPECTED ENORMOUS BENEFIT FROM THE ALLIED TOPPLING OF SADDAM! Posted by Steven Plaut, February 15, 2005.

1. There are at least two intriguing things about the assassination of Hariri, the ex-PM of Lebanon, yesterday in Beirut. The first is that the Arab media have not been charging Israel with responsibility, at least not yet. This is completely out of character. The Cockburn Cockroaches from the American Left have not yet either. The second is the willingness, at least for now, of so many Lebanese to denounce Syria. Openly, faces filmed and broadcast on TV! Now THAT is news! This mass defiance is not only news but it is clearly one of the side benefits of the Allied war against Saddam! For anyone still whining about the War in Iraq and questioning whether it has long-term strategic and political benefits, one need look no further than Beirut today. True, Syria might still clamp down and the open defiance of Asad inside Lebanon crushed. But the very fact that so many Lebanese are openly pointing their middle finger at Syria, openly denouncing Asad as a terrorist, is also without precedence. Now that is REALLY REALLY news. And like it or not, it is all thanks to George W. Bush. The Lebanese understand that fascist Arab regimes are on the defensive and under threat, and they are willing to defy Syria, at least for the moment. No set of endless international trade sanctions against Iraq could ever have produced that result, nor could a Clinton-style air bombing campaign. The Arab world of Islamofascism was put on guard by George W. and is jittery. Asad's lack of sleep in Damascus is a direct result of the toppling and imprisonment of Saddam. And THAT is a result the entire world should appreciate. That is something worth fighting a war for! The only mystery at this point about the assassination is whether Syria did it by itself or used its Hizbullah stooges to do it. My hunch is the latter. This is noteworthy because it was just this week that France blocked Israel's attempts and initiative to have the Hizbullah added to the world's list of terror groups. The amphibians in Paris are unwilling to define the Hizbullah as terrorists. They are activists. I know a nice hotel on the Beirut waterfron in which the Chirac family spend it next vacation holiday! The most amusing part was watching the Syrian analogues to Baghdad Bob! Speakers red in the face with indignity that anyone would think that Syria was behind the murder! Denouncing the assassination as criminal terrorism. Almost as persuasive as Bill Clinton denouncing marital infidelity. [Oh, one other thought. Hariri was a billionaire. Lot of good his billion did him. Heck, it makes me feel better when I see my pathetic pay check.] 2. Lately the Left has been whining about Palestinian "children" killed by Israel. Well, yesterday saw a rather typical case of an innocent Palestinian child brutally slaughtered for no reason. A 16 year old child approached a group of Israeli soldiers in Hebron while on patrol, in a suspicious manner. He was told to stop, refused, pulled a knife, and tried to attack the soldiers. And with absolutely no reason these heartless soldiers shot him dead as a doornail. Yet another war crime by the Zionist entity! Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

GAZA AND MUCH MORE Posted by Menachem Kovacs, February 15, 2005.

Neil Rubin, Senior Editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times (www.jewishtimes.com) wrote an article called "Gaza and You." He believes Israel should withdraw from Gaza. The reason for him is simple: "Jews are lousy occupiers." Neil Rubin's piece "Gaza and You" (Feb.11 issue) ignores the bigger picture that Prime Minister Sharon and President Bush are actively pursuing plans to leave not only Jewish Gaza but much more including, as they and their agents like Rice, Abrams, Olmert have said for the public record, much of Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem to the Palestinians-and the strategic Golan Heights is supposed to go to Syria for a handshake, too! (This is why Sharon has included a few Samaria communities in the current stage one plan to leave Gaza.) Rubin buys into the line that the Jews are the occupiers (he says this twice) and oppressor as well. Yet he also admits that there is a Halachic (Jewish Law) case that Gaza is indeed part of Eretz Yisrael, the Biblical Holy Land. Indeed, our first two Patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac, lived in Gush Katif (Biblical Grar) and made an acquisition of that part of Israel which would later be explicity confirmed in Joshua's time as noted in the Book of Joshua, Ch. 15, sentence 45. The Me'eiri and other later Biblical commentators explain that Gaza's integral status as part of Israel was never diminished although it and other areas of Israel do not have unform obligations under the agricultural laws. Olmert, Sharon's number one advocate to give up the Biblical Heartland of Israel to make a Palestine (bent on destroying the Jewish State according to opinion polls showing 80% of Palestinians admitting that is their goal) says that Israel is not on occupied land. Olmert says, "You ask me today, Do I believe that Judea and Samaria" - the Biblical names for the term West Bank today - are the historical lands of the Palestinians? Nonsense. There never was any Palestinian nation that lived there ... other than the Jews ... from a historic point of view, you can argue strongly against the Palestinian claim...For me, forever, these are parts of Israel. But maybe we will be forced to pull out from parts of Israel." In addition, and of ultimate importance, are security considerations. For 30 years impartial evaluations of Israel's security requirements by top US Defense Department and Israeli security officials have concluded that Yesha, that is, Judea, Samaria, Gaza, plus the Golan are a security imperative. Although Rubin has hopes (in Baltimore we call that Believe), he admits to "the still unrepentant nature of the Palestinians ... inciting hatred, terrorism and promises of more..." In light of these realities we can not afford to lose more lives and land for false hopes. Hudna is their time to redeploy, re-supply, to make new plans with new targets and newer weapons. Standing on the beach in Gush Katif not long ago, I saw the nearby Ashkelon power plants which are almost in range of the present Palestinian rockets. Sharon has given them permission to build a new port and airport. They have a track record of using these entry points to bring in even more adanced weaponry. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef recently reversed his endorsement years ago of "land for peace" as not based on the realities which the intifada has taught us, the murders and maiming and traumas of thousands of Jews. Now Rabbi Yosef begs the political parties in vain to vote against any withdrawal saying, "How will you explain why you placed Israel in danger? Dismantling Jewish communities in Gush Katif and northern Samaria will endanger Israel. Next they will chase Jews out of Ashkelon, Hevron and Beersheva. There will be no end. This plan is pikuach nefesh, a danger to our lives. If, Heaven forbid, we evacuate these Jewish communities, who will come in their place? The terrorists will be free to fire their rockets. Should we make way for them to do that?" How then to explain how we got here? The bigger picture is that the ruling elites in Israel today are post-Zionists who signal to the outside world that everything is on the table. There are no longer red lines which define The Land of Israel or protection of the security of the people of Israel. The Torah speaks of the Jewish spies who entered Israel and reported back that they were like grasshoppers in their eyes. The Jewish spies were not only tiny in the eyes of the giants who lived in Israel at that time, but also in their very own eyes they were wretchedly small! The world longs to respect the Holy Land and the Holy Jewish People. But first we need to educate ourselves in our Holy Torah and its teachings to know who we are, what the Holy Land means, and what we will and will not do. What three words characterize Judaism perhaps more than any others? Perhaps Truth (Emes), Chaim (Life) and Shalom. Only if we are guided by the Torah and by the sober truth of our situation and the reality of who and what our enemies are (Emes) will be live (Chaim) with a real Peace (Shalom). Dr. Menachem Kovacs is Director, Jewish Roots Center Education & Research on Torah and the Social Sciences. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Montgomery College Maryland. He can be reached at takovacs@comcast.net To Go To Top

PETITION FOR REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA Posted by Marion Dreyfus, February 15, 2005.

I don't view petitions as particularly effective. However, Syria's Ba'athists are a real and present threat which America, France and the rest of the world wish to overlook in the near term. In the not so long range, it will lead to a difficult confrontation. The situation, coming at the start of a new administration, needs to be met head on. Syria, the Golan, Lebanon enslavement - All bode very badly for Israel. Good deed for the day: Please sign this petition and forward it. Click here. Marion Dreyfus can be reached at dreyfusmarion@hotmail.com To Go To Top

THE PEACE MADNESS SYNDROME IN ISRAEL AGAIN Posted by Ariel Natan Pasko, February 15, 2005.

The "peace at any price" bug has returned to Israel. This cyclical moral-decadence disease has reinvaded the Israeli body politic. Once infected, messianic hallucinations of "peace" begin to confound the victim's moral compass, leading to confusion, lack of moral clarity, and a suicidal death wish for the "Peace of the Grave." It also weakens the patient's resistance to falsehood, distorting the infected person's ability to distinguish right from wrong, good from bad, and enemy from brother. This moral-AIDS disease is sweeping through Israel again, on a scale not seen since the "peace drug" induced false euphoria of the Oslo days. We know what that led to, death and destruction. But that was just a trial run organized by the "forces of darkness" testing this bio-terror weapon. This time, with planned expulsions of Jews from their homes, mass arrests, and the limiting of civil liberties in Israel, it's the real thing. Helped by their "Uncle Sam," who wants to make the world "safe for democracy," i.e. America; infected "peace" mongers in Israel have reared their "ugly heads" again. No price is too high, no pain is too great, and no fantasy is too deformed, to stop the "bulldozer" from leveling Jewish homes. The Gaza Expulsion Plan is on the way, and those not infected with the "Oslo Madness - Part Two" are being considered a menace to public health. In the name of "democracy," which is spreading throughout the region - Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine - a people's 2,000 year old dream is being shattered on the alter of false peace. The Jewish People's homeland is being nibbled away at, by the worms of peace, "Peres-cites" that have fantasized about "New Middle Easts" and "worlds without borders". And the "Sharon-istas," those meglomanical dictator doctors, to save the body politic, tell us, radical surgery is required, a "Gazan-ectomy" is needed, and fast. But like all good "surgeons," they want to make sure they get all the "sick" tissue out, so if a few extra right-wingers are beaten up by the police, and a few "extremists" are jailed, and a few journalists are frightened from reporting the truth, no matter. But, like the Rabbi Nachman of Breslov story of the poisoned wheat (where everyone who ate it went crazy and the last remaining sane people who hadn't eaten it, had to remind themselves that they're not the crazy ones), we who have not imbibed from the "peace pipe," and have not succumbed to the drugged stupor of "dark fantasies," have a responsibility to ourselves (to remind ourselves and everyone else who will listen), that true peace will not come from the falsification of history, the denial of the Jewish People's G-D given right to the Land of Israel, or expulsion of Jews from their homes. As healthy souls, it's our job to be town crier and call out loud and clear; "They [the leaders of Israel and the world] have outwardly healed My people [the Jews] by saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:11). Because, "The Portion of Jacob is not like them [the people who oppose G-D's plan]; for He [G-D] is the creator of all things; and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance [they have been given the mission to promote the true understanding of GOD-liness in the world]..." (Jeremiah 10:16). Ariel Natan Pasko is an independent analyst and consultant. He has a Master's Degree in International Relations & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites, in newspapers, and can be read at: www.geocities.com/ariel_natan_pasko To Go To Top

LIKUD USELESS; WHY IS EGYPT A SACRED COW; OVER-ANTICIPATING CASUALTIES Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 15, 2005.

"WHEN MUSLIMS CONVERT" If you want to understand how aggressive and intolerant Muslims can be about their religion, consult "When Muslims Convert" by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross in "Commentary," 2/2005, p.66. Islam officially sanctions the death penalty against apostates. (Islamic clergymen and journalists accuse people who do not agree with them on just one aspect of Islam, "infidels." That is a grave accusation, for it puts them into the same category as converts-out.) Many converts to Christianity live in fear of being found out by their communities or their own relatives. They try to keep their new faith secret from their community, and their full identities from their new congregation. Immigrants' loss of community and family support makes life precarious. But there also is a risk of direct loss of life. A convert who returned to Bangladesh, once fairly tolerant but now largely radicalized, was murdered. The West is proving an insecure haven. An Iraqi convert to Christianity migrated to the Netherlands, known for tolerance. Once there, Muslims issued him death threats. An Egyptian convert to Christianity moved to Chicago. Radical Muslims frequented the restaurant in which he worked, to threaten him. Relatives may come from Iran to the US, to bring back or assassinate people who convert. Ontario passed an Arbitration Act in 1991, granting religious authorities power to arbitrate family and property matters to consenting parties who retain the right to appeal to Canadian courts. Although they argue that conversion out of Islam should be treated as a crime, Islamist spkesmen in the West have been accorded respectability. Syed Mumtaz Ali, president of the Canadian Society of Muslims, is mentor for the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice, which seeks to apply Islamic law to disputes in Ontario Province. Not satisfied with that Act that frightens many Muslim women, whose standing under Islamic law is low, Mr. Ali advocates extending it so religious law would govern all aspects of a person's life. He demands the right to punish apostates. Ali argues for this establishment of religion as a matter of freedom of religion, equality, and the spirit of Canadian multiculturalism. A law professor at Washburn U. in Kansas "...was able to use an American law review as a soapbox from which to advocate the licensed punishment of apostates - and that his grossly illiberal views were never rebutted in its pages." My comment: A simple rebuttal is that being chained to a particular religion is tyranny. In Egypt and Sudan, Muslims force girls into Islam by extortion or rape. The girls have a right to recant. Western law should not enforce Islamic law. When a religion is murderous, freedom of religion means freedom from religion. Under a democratic concept, people have a right to change their faith of birth. These Muslims are arguing for an oppressive concept alien to the societies that gave them haven. Those societies should spit them out as a menace to it and its advanced way of life. Instead, using sophistry, and protected by liberals, whose way of life they would destroy, these Muslims are making inroads. We don't need immigrants to impose their failed social concepts upon us. So far, there is little fighting back against their temerity. LIKUD VOTED ITSELF OUT OF POWER Ariel Sharon swept Likud into power by criticizing the territorial give-away plan of his Labor Party rival. Once in office, Sharon revealed a similar plan, and cajoled his Party to bring Labor into the coalition to impose it. Thus, Likud voted itself out of power, in giving Sharon Labor Party support for the platform that Likud voters had rejected. Likud officials still true to their principles should pull out of Likud and form a genuine right-wing party, to give the people a choice (Winston Mid East Analysis, 2/19) and a chance. Israel is ruled by the people's "unrepresentatives." RUSSIA DENIES SELLING ADVANCED MISSILES TO SYRIA (IMRA, 2/19). PLO STATE ALONGSIDE, OR INSTEAD OF, ISRAEL? Pres. Bush proposes a PLO state alongside Israel (on historically Jewish territory), but the Arabs do not recognize the legitimacy of Israel. Since they consider Israel illegitimate, and its existence an act of aggression against them, they feel entitled to attack Israel as an act of defense. Their ideology envisions an Arab state to replace Israel (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2004, p.16 from Bernard Lewis, Wall St. J., 11/15/04). Is that why Pres. Bush offers to help the Palestinian Arabs fulfill their "national aspirations?" Why do the P.A. terrorists keep getting Western help in their assault on the Jewish state? WHY IS EGYPT A SACRED COW? "Time and again Iran and Syria are criticized, and rightfully so, for their role in supplying weapons to the Palestinian terrorists. But what of Egypt?" "Syria and Iraq can't ship the weapons directly to the Gaza Strip since Israel hasn't withdrawn yet and still controls the port and the airspace. (But the Quartet wants Israel to let the P.A. control the ports.) The weapons instead are first shipped to Egypt and then smuggled across the border into the Gaza Strip." "Egypt can, under the Israel-Egypt Treaty, deploy an unlimited - that's unlimited - number of security men in full battle gear - including assault rifles - in the border area to prevent the smuggling of weapons across the Egyptian border into the Gaza Strip." "But Egypt now takes the position that it cannot stop the smuggling under the so-called restrictions of the treaty (they want their border forces to have anti-tank missiles). The truckloads (not tanks) of weapons being moved across a limited number of roads spanning the Sinai are anything but a needle in a haystack. Egypt could act if it really wanted to. "And while withdrawal supporting theorists patiently explain that it is not in Egypt's interest for the terror to continue, the reality on the ground appears to support those who contend that Egypt wants to see Israel permanently tied down by an ongoing low grade Palestinian war of attrition." (Western experts don't know how to gauge what other societies consider their "interests.") "Why then does the Government of Israel consistently give Egypt a free pass? Why does Jerusalem allow Egypt the luxury and status of presenting itself as the good guy in this mess - this as Egypt slams Israel publicly at every opportunity? There are several explanations:" Inertia, appeasement, or a pretense that Israelis safely may abandon Gaza. Inertia is no excuse. Appeasement does not mellow jihadists. If the abandonment plan isn't safe, then abandon the plan rather than Gaza. Lives are at stake (Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA, 2/20). S. Arabia long was a sacred cow, too. The US would be wiser to acknowledge who its enemies are, rather than subsidize or coddle them, as it does Egypt, the P.A., and S. Arabia. Without the smuggling, the P.A. could not wage war. By condoning smuggling, Egypt proves its hostility to Israel and to peace. WHY THE ARABS NEGOTIATE WITH ISRAEL "'Hatzofeh' remarks that Yasser Arafat always entered into negotiations when the level of terrorist attacks had reached a point that an Israeli reprisal was unavoidable, in the hope of preventing the response." (Foreign Ministry, 1/20.) My point exactly. ARAFAT IS DEAD BUT HS LEGACY SURVIVED His legacy is hate, preparing his people for war rather than for peace. His techniques for terrorism were imitated widely throughout the Muslim world (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2004, p.20 from Mortimer B. Zuckerman, US News & World Report, 11/29). Abu Mazen is his protégé and assistant. OVER-ANTICIPATING CASUALTIES Israelis used to beg their government not to send the Army into P.A. cities, lest the streets run with Israeli blood. They anticipated powerful and determined resistance to forces pursuing terrorists. When the troops did pursue, they usually met weak resistance and had few casualties. Thereafter, with the IDF ready to re-enter any P.A. city, it took only small forces to pacify any of the cities (Prof. Steven Plaut, 1/20, e-mail). ISRAELI BUSINESS GREED Israeli hoteliers asked the government to issue permits to 500 P.A. Arabs to work for them. They claimed they could not get sufficient staff otherwise (IMRA, 1/20). Unemployment is rife in Israel. One would think some idled adults would apply for such jobs. Why ask for Arabs? I guess it is because the hoteliers want to offer pay too low to attract Israelis. Non-Arab foreigners often are invited to take such jobs. Why must Israel let Arabs in, at risk to its own people, to earn money for their terrorist entity? NEW TERRORIST TACTIC If a terrorist from Syria landed at Ben-Gurion Airport, his passport would draw the attention of security officials, and he would be turned back. Now, however, many Islamists live in Europe. Two landed with Danish passports. Others had come in with British or German passports. All those were arrested (Arutz-7, 1/21). NEW ISRAELI MEDICAL INVENTION An Israeli invented a non-invasive device that tests one's fingertip, to diagnose athersclerosis. The FDA has approved it (Arutz-7, 1/21). Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS LAUNCH ROCKETS AT ISRAEL FROM HEZBOLLAH-CONTROLLED TERRITORY IN SOUTHERN LEBANON Posted by Dr. Reuven Erlich, February 15, 2005.

Overview 1. During 2004, rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel six times, and once before that in October 2003 (See the Appendix for details). No one was hurt in any of the attacks. Some were instigated by terrorists belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC, Ahmad Jibril's organization, sponsored by Syria). Others were the work of unaffiliated Palestinian terrorists. The firing of rockets is a ploy intended to demonstrate involvement and identification with the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation in the PA-administered territories. 2. It should be noted that in each case, the rockets were fired from areas in southern Lebanon over which Hezbollah (and not the Lebanese army) has complete control. Hezbollah has denied involvement in the incidents; however, there is no doubt whatsoever that if Hezbollah wanted to put an end to the rocket attacks on Israel, it could. 3. Hezbollah does not put an end to them because it is actually interested in maintaining a certain degree of tension along the Israeli-Lebanese border and in sending up smoke signals indicating that it supports the Palestinians. Hezbollah manages to achieve its goals in Lebanon without leaving its fingerprints and is constantly in the process of determining how far it can push the limits of the "game rules" with Israel. The Lebanese government contents itself with condemning a few of the incidents and makes no genuine effort to terminate them. 4. Israel has so far exercised restraint in the face of what is clearly provocation. This pattern is potentially dangerous because of the possible deterioration of the status quo and the escalation of violence, in that the rockets launched from Lebanese territory may cause injuries in population centers in Israel (one of the rockets landed near the town hall of the northern city of Shelomi). Appendix RPGs fired into Israel from Lebanon since October 2003 1. October 6, 2003: In response to an air force attack on one of its bases in Syria (Ayn Saheb), PFLP-GC terrorists attempted and failed to fire five rockets from the central sector of southern Lebanon. The rockets fell on Lebanese soil and killed a Lebanese boy. Hezbollah denied involvement in the incident. The Lebanese government announced that it was not interested in escalating the situation with Israel. 2. March 22, 2004: An attempt to fire mortars was foiled; two days later the PFLP-GC claimed responsibility. The excuse for the attack was that it came as a response to the targeted killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. 3. April 24, 2004: A shell was fired from the Yarin area in the western sector of southern Lebanon, apparently in response to the targeted killing of Hamas leader 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Rantisi. 4. June 7, 2004: Shells were fired from the area of Naqura in the western sector of southern after Israel sentenced Fatah leader Marwan Barhouti to jail and the Israeli army conducted intensive activity in the PA-administered territories. In response, the Israeli air force attacked a PFLP-GC base in Lebanon. Fatah and the PFLP-GC denied involvement. 5. October 9, 2004: An attempt was made (and failed) to launch rockets from the Yarin area after 'Izz al-Din Sheikh Khalil was killed in Damascus. Hezbollah denied involvement. 6. October 28, 2004: Rockets were fired from the region of Kafr 'Alma al-Sh'ab in the western sector of southern Lebanon. It was apparently the work of unaffiliated Palestinian terrorists, and responsibility for the attack was never claimed. 7. November 15, 2004: Two rockets were fired from the western sector of southern Lebanon into Israeli territory. One fell into the Mediterranean (in Lebanese territorial waters) and the other near the city of Shelomi in the western Galilee. The Lebanese Information Minister condemned the incident, calling it "an act of entrapment and anarchy," and stated that "the Lebanese government rejects the act" (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, November 17, 2004). Hezbollah denied responsibility. Dr. Reuven Erlich is Head of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel. Its website address is http://www.intelligence.org To Go To Top

MEDIA CONCOCTING THREATS AGAINST PM AND OTHER MINISTERS Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 14, 2005.

Carl Jung, the renowned psychologist, made the observation that an aggressor will first blame his intended victim with the charge that the victim was planning to attack the aggressor and they were merely responding pre-emptively. We are watching this develop under the Sharon regime. The Settlers were quietly going about their business of farming, manufacturing, gardening, raising and educating their kids. They offered offense to no one other than Terrorists who coveted what the Settlers had developed and grown out of barren sand dunes. Along came PM Sharon who, out of his own mind, and likely a push from President Bush, offered to deport the Jews of Gaza as the gesture President Bush required to theoretically appease the Arab Muslim nations. Thus began a demonization of all Jews who defied Sharon and his "idea". Anyone who worked against his "idea" of "Disengagement" became the Jungian classic example of blaming your victim before you attacked the victim so you could claim your own innocence. So now, we see every segment of Government harnessed to do Sharon's bidding in demonizing the Jews of Gaza, Judea, Samaria and all others from the political right. The Leftist Hebrew Media was easily enlisted to lie about the so-called provocations which justified Sharon's merciless crackdown on all objectors. Sharon used government instruments aided by the Media to tar all opposition with the titles of Rebels, Fanatics, Inciters, and Potential Assassins. Not surprisingly, as in Carl Jung's identification of an aggressor, Sharon has blamed the victim of everything he planned to do to the peaceful settlers of Gaza/Gush Katif. Sharon enlisted the Leftist Courts, the Leftist Attorney General Menachem (Mani) Mazuz, the GSS, the Military and the Police in his intimidation campaign. He bludgeoned his Cabinet, firing well-known and respected Cabinet Members for voting their consciences. He ignored the majority AGAINST his "Disengagement Plan" of his own Likud Party's Central Committee 60% against his Plan to 40 votes for - which he had pledged to honor - but then ignored. In effect, he did everything in reverse - which made him a liar, a cheat and a fully fledged Dictator. He betrayed every principle of democracy and still called it Democracy. Sharon attacked a peaceful community and called them aggressors. He unleashed a full propaganda assault against a quiet, resourceful people whose only offense was to grow crops in barren, sandy soil, live a quiet, productive life. No discos, no political ambition, no power trips, no ego trips. Sharon once called them "the Best of Israel" - until he turned against them. But, if you are sufficiently ruthless, have the levers of Government control in you hands and have a Media so acutely twisted to the Left then it isn't hard to turn one side of the population against another. Which puts a criminal dictatorial government regime against that part of the people who does not wish to be forced from their homes. Sharon is in the process of doing this with what I suspect is the assistance of foreign advisors whose expertise is in subverting governments and populations. I call your attention to the following from Arutz Sheva, which strips away the so-called provocation and the disinformation offered in the Press. This wasn't just spin but a series of lies more typical of Al Ahram or Pravda. A Media who deliberately adopts a political position becomes both a political party and a 'provocateur' toward Civil War. ### Despite multi-page treatment by the written media, and hours of radio talk, the GSS (Shabak) has stated categorically: There is no increase of threats on PM Sharon or other leaders. Maariv newspaper's blaring front-page headline is, "Suspicion: Extremists will Attack the Temple Mount from the Air." The sub-headline is flanked by two other similar items: on the right, a headline regarding a threat against Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, and on the left, the first paragraph of an editorial by Editor Amnon Dankner, entitled, "The Next Murderer." The snippet reads, "The next murderer knows that he is not alone... He reads in the papers and hears talk of fear of all sorts of murderous violence: mass murder of Arabs, attacks against the Temple Mount mosques, murder of police and army officers. He doesn't only hope. He knows that there are many like him." [NOTE! ALL OF THIS WAS PLANTED DISINFORMATION!!] Pages 2 and 3 of Maariv continue the anti-right wing incitement. A two-page headline reads, "A Targeted Government," astride a picture that also appeared in yesterday's edition (as well as on page 5 of today's edition): A copy of a 1995 poster of Yitzchak Rabin in an SS uniform, alongside a poster publicized several days ago of Ariel Sharon dressed as Stalin. No mention is made of the fact that the Rabin poster was disseminated by none other than GSS agent-provocateur Avishai Raviv; at least two people testified that they heard Raviv encourage Yigal Amir to assassinate Rabin. Page 3 is filled out by the "Parade of the Threatened," with photos of eight politicians in gunsights. Several of the captions are misleading at best: [NOTE! DISINFORMATION!] * Education Minister Limor Livnat is said to have been "attacked" by right-wing extremist activists, when in fact they merely cat-called to her; * Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is said to have been "attacked" in Kfar Chabad and his tires slashed, when in fact he was merely the subject of derisive comments and none of his tires were slashed; [NOTE! DISINFORMATION WHICH DISCLOSES THAT NETANYAHU HAS CHOSEN TO JOIN SHARON'S PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN.] * Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer of Labor, who also appears with a gunsight on his head, "received a letter" - with no threats at all in it; *MK Ruhama Avraham also appears with a gunsight, with the caption citing a threatening letter she received six months ago. Maariv's page 4 has no right-wing incitement; it is an advertisement for a cell phone company. Page 5, however, continues with "Arrest Them!" and a "Map of Threats," featuring organizations generally considered to be on the "extreme right." Yediot Acharonot had similar coverage today and yesterday, though less inciteful. Prime Minister Sharon is said to have said, "I don't know why they don't arrest them [the right-wing inciters and/or letter-writers]." IMRA's Dr. Aaron Lerner reports that Channel Two's Amnon Abromovitz revealed last night the incident in which Minister Netanyahu was "attacked" was staged for the media. Abromovitz reported that the entire incident involved two youngsters who yelled at Netanyahu, "You are a chicken, Jewish blood isn't valueless" at the behest of a reporter. After the performance, the reporter sent them a text message, reading, "Good work." Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said that he thinks Kach activist Itamar Ben-Gvir should be placed in administrative detention - although he admitted that Livnat and Netanyahu "weren't attacked - they were yelled at." Ben-Gvir was among those who yelled at Livnat. President Moshe Katzav said that in order to preserve democracy, non-democratic measures must sometimes be implemented. Justice Ministry officials said that in order to place someone under administrative detention, incriminating evidence must be presented against him. "If a well-founded request is submitted for administrative detention, it will be considered positively," the sources said. Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz said, "We must be careful not to be dragged into a trend of silencing the opponents of the Prime Minister's diplomatic plan." Katz added, however, that those who wrote the threatening letters must be tried and punished according to law. MK Tzvi Hendel, a resident of Gush Katif, said yesterday that the alleged attackers "are only a tiny fraction of the entire populace, and they must be related to in this manner. It's actually the Prime Minister who sees fit to mention extremist Kach members and Judea, Samaria and Gaza in the same breath. A citizen who hears the Prime Minister make such an equation is liable to believe him... I don't see anyone being arrested. I'm beginning to think that this is another case of [Shabak agent-provocateur] Avishai Raviv, and that [these incidents] serve Sharon's ultimate objective of de-legitimizing all of us." ***** [The above is only a small part of Sharon's well constructed Disinformation campaign to not only demonize the Settlers but also to provoke the nation to accept a vicious attack on all who stand in his way.] Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

CONTIGUOUS Posted by IsrAlert, February 14, 2005.

This was written by Mike Levine. Sounds like a big fancy word. It's really not. It has a simple meaning. It means 'Adjoining', or 'Connected'. An example is Canada and the United States, which are contiguous. We are hearing the word 'contiguous' a great deal now in connection with the nascent state of Palestine, that the world wishes to foist onto Israel, and which Israel now has agreed to. But a contiguous state is not possible for Palestine without making Israel into a non-contiguous state. Heres why: The territories of Samaria and Judea (commonly called 'west bank') and Gaza are the two areas which may become the state of Palestine one day. They are separated by Israeli land, about 160 kilometers of it. That's a distance of about 100 miles. That would be like New York City and Philadelphia were part of one country, but all the land in between - New Jersey and Pennsylvania - belonged to another nation. So the only way to make the West Bank and Gaza contiguous is to annex to these two sections of 'Palestine' a huge swath of Israel that now lies in-between. Quite naturally the Palestinians want to be able to travel to and from Gaza and the West Bank easily if they are to become part of one state. And there have been several solutions discussed in the past, including an elevated highway which would cover the distance with no exits into Israel underneath. But now it seems that some, including US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, are talking about something far different. They are talking about something that sounds very much like Israel giving up the land between so that the West Bank and Gaza could become 'contiguous'. That, of course, would mean that Israel would become 'non-contiguous', a ridiculous solution. Previously, the magic word to describe the sort of state Israel should bestow upon the Palestinians, was 'Viable', meaning that all should be in working order - electricity, communications, transportation, and infrastructure. That non-starter of an idea has now been replaced by 'contiguous', which is even more impossible. If President Bush and Condoleeza Rice truly believe that it is more important for 'Palestine' to be one contiguous territory rather than Israel, which already is contiguous, then I guess we can expect to see the following headlines soon in American newspapers: THE UNITED STATES PLANS TO ANNEX WESTERN CANADA IN ORDER TO MAKE ALASKA CONTIGUOUS WITH THE REST OF THE LOWER STATES!! THE U.S. CORPS OF ENGINEERS IS SEEKING BIDS FOR FILLING IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN BETWEEN THE WEST COAST OF CONTINENTAL USA AND HAWAII, IN ORDER FOR THE TWO PARTS OF THE COUNTRY TO BECOME 'CONTIGUOUS'!! To Go To Top

NETANYAHU INCIDENT STAGED FOR PRESS Posted by Yrachmiel ben Menachem Mendel Elias, February 14, 2005.

The Netanyahu incident staged for press. Hhow could we believe that Chabadnik bocherim would yell and threaten the Minister of Finance at a Chabad event at Kfar Chabad? It was staged to discredit the essence of Chabad and the Rebbe of Lubavitch and those opposed to Oslo! The papers are still full of the "attacks" on Netanyahu and Livnat. The "attack" on Livnat was videotaped. There were people following her and her bodyguards, heckling her. One of her bodyguards pushed one of the hecklers, who pushed back. Another guard then fell out and attacked the heckler, then returned to his position. That was the extent of the "settler violence." But the Attorney General and the Shabak are talking about "administrative detention" which means arrest and imprisonment without charges, in order to "defend" the state from the "settlers." The banner headline this AM on Ma'ariv is that DM Mofaz is under "threat" of a pulsa danura. Remember that one? They claimed some rabbis had done that esoteric ceremony against Rabin, being one of the factors they claim caused his murder. It turned out to be another sordid invention of an imaginative leftist inciter against the right. They need a new script writer. Of course, that one worked so well to put down the opposition to Oslo, if you have a winning formula, why change it? This comes from Dr. Aaron Lerner director Independent Media Review & Analysis (I.M.R.A.) http://www.imra.org.il Journalist Amnon Abromovitz, who exposed Avishai Raviv as an agent of the General Security Services code-named "Champagne" revealed tonight on Israel Television Channel Two that the headline making incident in which Minister Netanyahu was "attacked" was staged for the media. Abromovitz reported that the entire incident involved two youngsters who yelled at Netanyahu "you are a bunny, Jewish blood isn't valueless" at the behest of a reporter. After the performance the reporter sent an SMS message "great job." Raviv's primary function was as an agent provocateur to provide incidents that would defame Oslo opponents. Many of the favorite anti-Oslo opponent film footage still shown to this day, including the Rabin in SS uniform photo-montage, were produced thanks to the work of this GSS agent. Yrachmiel Elias and Professor Ya'acov Golbert are co-founders of the NetzahYisrael.org (www.netzahyisrael.org). To Go To Top

MK ELON LAUNCHES NEW BOOK BRIDGING CHRISTIANS AND JEWS Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, February 14, 2005.

This is from Arutz-7. Israeli Knesset Member Benny Elon is in the United States to kick off a campaign to connect Christians and Jews in support of Biblical Israel. Together with MKs Yuri Stern and Gila Gamliel, Elon is attending the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention in Anaheim, California, the largest annual gathering of Christian broadcasters. At a press conference today, Elon will release his new book, "God's Covenant with Israel: Establishing Biblical Boundaries in Today's World." Dotted with personal anecdotes and recollections, the book traces the Jewish People's connection with the Land of Israel from a national and historic perspective. It debunks purported evidence about Moslem ties to the Holy Land, and shows that Islam relates to Christians, as well as to Jews, as infidels. The book also includes chapters on Elon's "Right Road to Peace" plan and on Israel's Biblical inheritance of the Land. A separate section exhorts readers to "Get involved!,' while another lists key Prophetic Scriptures about Israel. A report from Palestinian Media Watch and a study of the international legal status of Israel and the settlements is also included. Elon, who as two-time Tourism Minister forged strong ties with many Christian lovers of Israel, feels that they are "our strategic partners." In his many meetings with Christians around the country, he emphasizes the following points: * The cease-fire with the terrorists currently under consideration is a complete sham and must not be seen as real peace. * The Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Any transfer of part of Biblical Israel, including Judea, Samaria and Gaza, runs counter to Biblical principles, is dangerous to Israel and poses a threat to the security of the entire western world. * PM Sharon's disengagement plan, if carried out, would be the first step in Israel's capitulation to terrorism and radical Islam and as such must be opposed vehemently. "We will not permit the creation of a terrorist state in our Biblical heartland," Elon says. "I intend to fight PM Sharon's plan tooth and nail in Israel, the U.S. and around the world." Israel's Tourism Ministry sponsored a breakfast at the Christian broadcasters' convention yesterday, but did not allow the MKs to appear. Though the NRB political line opposes the abandoning of Jewish land to the Arabs, the official Israeli position expressed there was one of support for Sharon and his policies. NRB board member Michael Little said that evangelical Christians believe that God gave Israel to the Jews, while outgoing NRB chairman Glenn Plummer noted that in the Bible, "God does not identify himself as the God of Abraham, Ishmael and his descendants," but rather as that of Abraham, Isaac and descendants. Plummer, an African-American pastor from Detroit, told the Christian and Jewish audience that "when Islam comes into a place, their intent is to take over everything." Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org To Go To Top

PREVENT THE BIG VOTE FROM PASSING THE KNESSET ON FEBRUARY 16 Posted by Yrachmiel Elias, February 14, 2005.

Please contact all on the list today to vote no on financing the sellout of the Jewish People and the Deportation of those living in the Gush Katif, Judea, Samaria and Shomron. Vote No on what Sharon proposes to use against Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. Call now And call often fax now and fax often emails are less effective and usually get blocked! Name, Fax #, Phone #, (both in Jerusalem, +02-), Email Address Yaakov Edri, 5308933, 6753446, yedri@knesset.gov.il Zeev Boim, 6496591, 6753846, zaevb@knesset.gov.il Yisrael Katz, 6496170, 6753237, yiskatz@knesset.gov.il Binyamin Netanyahu, 6496421, 6753383, bnetanyahoo@knesset.gov.il Gideon Ezra, 6753510, 6753801, gezra@knesset.gov.il Limor Livnat, 6753726, 6753220 llivnat@knesset.gov.il Silvan Shalom, 6753792, 6753231, sshalom@knesset.gov.il Danny Naveh, 6753750, 6753439, dnaveh@knesset.gov.il Tzahi Hanegbi, 5811832, 6753266, zhanegbi@knesset.gov.il Ruhama Avraham, 6753360, 6753206, ravraham@knesset.gov.il Michel Eitan, 6496404, 6753273, meitan@knesset.gov.il Eli Aflalo, 64961640, 6753240, eaflalo@knesset.gov.il Daniel Benlulu, 6496456, 6753872, dbenlulu@knesset.gov.il Ronny Baron, 6753486, 6753937, rbaron@knesset.gov.il Inbal Gavrieli, 6496406, 6753443, egavrieli@knesset.gov.il Yehiel Hazan, 6753567, 6753656, yhazan@knesset.gov.il Yuval Steinitz, 6753100, 6753123, ysteinitz@knesset.gov.il David Tal, 6496014, 6753221, davidt@knesset.gov.il Hami Doron, 6496186, 02-6753871, ndoron@knesset.gov.il Yigal Yasinov, 6496503, 6753666, iyasinov@knesset.gov.il Victor Brailovsky, 6753978, 6753387, vbrailovsky@knesset.gov.il Eliyahu Yishai, 5004052, 6753827, eyishay@knesset.gov.il Avraham Ravitz, 6496520, 6753822, aravitz@knesset.gov.il Meir Porush, 6496523, 6753807, mporush@knesset.gov.il Yrachmiel Elias and Professor Ya'acov Golbert are co-founders of the NetzahYisrael.org (www.netzahyisrael.org). To Go To Top

HOW IS THE MOOD IN ERETZ YISROEL? Posted by Aliza Karp, February 14, 2005.

When I got back to Chutz L'Aretz (outside of Eretz Yisroel) after visiting our homeland, I was constantly being asked, how is the Matzav, the dominant mood among the people who live there? Well, I cannot speak for everyone in Eretz Yisroel, but the people I did meet are very concerned and perplexed but in no way distressed or disheartened. Concerned, because people are aware of the great dangers that the deportation plan, in addition to being destructive and evil, could endanger the entire country. Most people are not under the illusion of 'peace,' they know concessions bring neither peace nor security. Perplexed, because the political situation is so ridiculous. Everyone wants to do their part but it is so hard to know what to do or whom to trust. Yet, Boruch Hashem people are not disheartened. Being down and despondent drains a person's energy and we need all the strength we can muster to make it through these complex and dangerous times. Contrary to what I just said above, the first people who greeted me upon my arrival were under the illusion that deportation was a tactic that had to be tried. It was raining as I carried my backpack to the apartment where I would be staying in French Hill, Yerushalaim, and a young couple invited me in for tea. We tried to avoid it, but eventually our conversation turned to the deportation plan. These two individuals were not hostile, nor hardheaded, but as far back as they could remember they had been hearing the mantra that we need peace, and in order to get peace we have to offer yet another sacrifice. When I suggested that instead of peace we first need security, they were actually surprised by the idea. These were intelligent, cultured people. But they had not been exposed to logic, only the constant media gibberish. Soon they realized that they agreed with me on many accounts and that the concession business is bankrupt. The following day I visited my friend Shaena in Mea Shaarim. Because she is Charedi, that does not mean she voted for the parties that deal in blood money (i.e. the party that supports Sharon's dictatorship in return for Sharon's support financially.) In fact she and her faction generally do not vote because they do not like to recognize the state. These people are ensconced in their own world of Halacha and tradition. Like thick syrup their concentration makes them strong. I rather doubt that the government would try to enter their highly populated neighborhoods to evict them. So how is their mood? The same as always. They do not feel betrayed by Sharon because they never put their trust in him. Although it irritates many to see the untapped potential of these people, who if mobilized could defend the Torah view not to hand our land to our enemies, still, as I see it, they have been in the heart of Yerushalim for generations and will remain there as the governments come and governments go. And yet there have been movements by some Charedim to visit Gush Katif and show support in their own ways. For instance, protesting the removal of graves from Gush Katif. Even a small representation of Charedim on our team is an asset. Then off to Hevron. The mood in Hevron? How can one describe the rich mixture of faith in the Creator and the determination to take responsibility according to Divine directives? So much was happening the days I was there. It was the Yartzeit of Rebbitzen Menucha Rochel, the guiding matriarch of the Chabad community of Hevron that flourished for a hundred years prior to 1929. Hundreds of Chassidim and guests came to pay their respects and to join in the celebration being held in honor of the dedication of the newly restored Shul that was purchased 200 years ago by Menucha Rochel's father the second Chabad Rebbe. Host of the events, Rabbi Danny Cohen, the Shliach of Chabad Hevron, prepared a grand celebration and a forum for speeches by Hevron community leaders and Chabad Rebbeim. Many of the speeches centered around the crucial decree hanging over Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron. The mood was one of determination and encouragement to action. Rabbi David Druckman of the Pikuach Nefesh organization reminded the audience that Chabad has a history of being incarcerated for their beliefs. In past generations they were sent to Siberia for adhering to the Torah against government policy. Friday night in Maarat HaMachpela is like no where else. The Simcha of welcoming the Shabbath is expressed in song and dance, friendship and devotion. The energy and love generated in the Maara on Shabbos is powerful. The women of Hevron are amazing. Sara Nachshon, Anat Cohen, Sara Marzel, Leah Hochbaum, Elisheva Federman and Yifat Elkobi, just to mention a few. Elisheva and Yifat were recently convicted of a crime they never committed. Has their mood changed? Are they discouraged and afraid? Not that I could tell. Disgusted, maybe. Discouraged, not a chance. Hevron is my first love, but if there was such a thing as being untrue to a city, it would be my infatuation with Yitzhar, in the Shomron. In Yitzhar I enjoyed a visit to the mother of Yosef Pilant, the soldier who was jailed because, because, because... because of the wonderful things he does! Seriously. He was not jailed because he did not follow orders, because he was on his day off when he pleaded with his army unit not to destroy the caravan that his sister planned to live in after her upcoming marriage. And he could not have been jailed for unsuitable behavior because that only applies to officers. So why was he jailed? Because. When Yosef was arrested, his mother Rivka had been unreachable by the press. Neighbors were being offered nice rewards if they could get her to give an interview. Rivka is a woman who is proud that her son stood up for what is right and was ready to pay the price. She has received reports that while in jail, her son was giving classes in Chabad Chassidic philosophy to his fellow prisoners. I was also privileged to visit Itzik Sandroi and his new wife in their home in the outposts of Yitzhar. Itzik is the one whose home was destroyed last May, ten days before his wedding. Due to support from those who oppose demolition of Jewish homes, it took one thousand home destroyers ten hours to flatten the small structure Itzik had built by himself. Itzik and his wife now live in a container. But at the same time it is a palace. It was cold and raining on the hilltop, but warm and cozy in their tiny home. The view from the hilltop was amazing. Cloud cover actually brought out all the colors of this phenomenal panorama. I realized that sunlight bleaches and hides the colors. But in the rain stones were shining and showing all their colors, as if they were polished. The winter greenery was magnificent. Even the shades of grey in the clouds were gorgeous. Like I said, I love Yitzhar. Itzik spoke about the legitimacy of Jewish presence at Mitzpeh Yitzhar and how the army knows how important this location is and the need to have Jewish homes securing it. At the same time, the politicians keep giving them orders that go contrary to good security. Itzik gave me a handful of CD's with the story of Mitzpeh Yitzhar with an addressed envelope to send assistance. He feels the responsibility for securing this strategic site and he has a clear knowledge of the challenges he faces. In the midst of my other travels I had the chance to speak with Member of Knesset, Professor Arieh Eldad. I have a lot of respect for him, as does anyone I know who has worked with him. He expressed a deep concern over the threat of a civil war. He wants to save lives. He explained to me that it is legitimate for a soldier to tell his commander that he cannot follow a command because it is against his morals. But it is not legal to campaign to tell soldiers to do such a thing. However, Eldad did admit that in the case of saving lives, we need to encourage soldiers not to engage in acts of civil war, or acts that would lead to civil war. Eldad also spoke to me about the importance of showing appreciation and giving recognition to those politicians who are standing up against Sharon by voting against the deportation. He said that by giving these politicians a platform, inviting them to speak and publishing articles about them, empowers them to be more influential in the Knesset, which is the crucial forum of the moment. What amazed me was that he suggested giving support to the thirteen Likud members who have opposed Sharon's plan. These people are his political opponents! But Eldad is concerned for his people and his country, before his own political status. I also met with Baruch Marzel. Baruch works every hour of the day and with all the different groups and personalities in the country. He just does not seem to be bound by time and space. "Lives are at stake," he told me, "no one has the right not to help." Years ago there were very few visitors to Hevron. It was Baruch who went to Jewish community leaders and Rabbis, in Eretz Yisroel and abroad, convincing them to visit Hevron and bring their communities. Slowly at first, visitors started coming. Now Hevron is a popular place with scores of thousands of visitors a year. In a similar fashion, Boruch is now going to individuals community leaders and discussing how they and their communities can help prevent the tragedy of deportation. Baruch has incredible determination and persistence. My final rendez-vous, before packing up, was with author/activist Judy Lash Balint. We met in the Café that I have read about in her articles. It is truly charming and truly Yerushalaim, English-speaking Yerushalaim that is. Judy is also seriously concerned... and active. I was lucky she took an hour to sit with me. She gave me a lot of encouragement and guidance. Of all the articles about Eretz Yisroel that come to my e-mailbox I always open her series of articles first. (To be on her list write to judy@jerusalemdiaries.com) For two reasons. The first reason is that it might be a letter from Moshe Saperstein of Neve Dekalim, the most amazing writer of our times. Secondly, the articles she sends are down-home accounts of life in Eretz Yisroel, some written by her and some by others. Judy graciously shares her platform with many writers. The effect is a balanced perspective, a refreshing alternative to the news and from the opinion articles that discuss and rehash the news, trying to make sense out of it. My trip ended as the Hebrew month of Adar began. Actually, this is a leap year, so there are two months of Adar this year. A full sixty days. The sages tell us that the month of Adar is a month of joy. The Lubavitcher Rebbe said that when there are two months of Adar, the sixty days act like the sixty measurements that can nullify a single measure. In other words the ratio of sixty to one has the power to nullify. Adar is the month when the Haman's evil decree was nullified and turned into a day of joy. This year, the power of sixty to one, will surely nullify the evil decree of deportation. But we have to do our part. We have to be B'Simcha, full of happiness, this must be our Matzva, our mood, our spirit, wherever we are. We have to celebrate the month of Adar with joy, all the sixty days, and pray that the God of Israel - who neither slumbers nor sleeps - will nullify all evil decrees against His people and bring us to a full and complete redemption. To Go To Top

EUROPE IDENTIFIES WRONG BOGEYMAN; WHAT EGYPT CALLS UNREASONABLE Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 14, 2005.

EUROPE GLARES IN THE WRONG DIRECTION Western Europe rails against American capitalism (though they find they must reform their own along American lines). Meanwhile, growing faster than both those economies, Asians are undercutting them (Arthur Waldron, Commentary, 2/2005, p.51). China is becoming a rival for scarce oil supplies. It may have a hegemonic view towards the rest of the world, as does Islam. PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VS. ISRAEL & THE P.A. The Israeli chapter of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) dedicates itself to ending the "occupation" of the Territories and to fighting alleged Israeli denial of human rights to Arabs inspected at Israeli roadblocks like travelers at US airports. The chapter affirmed that devotion to the Arabs without citing cases other than a problem at the Egyptian border and without expressing concern for Israelis' human rights. This statement of devotion was the preamble to a complaint to the P.A. over its barring of the return of some Arab pilgrims for political reasons (IMRA, 2/19). That is being tactful: show one is on the P.A. side, before chiding the P.A.. If the organization studied the issue, it would not still call the legitimate Israeli presence in the Territories reserved, under international law for Jewish settlement, "occupation," as if the Arab immigrant families there have special rights to that part of the Jewish homeland. There is no legal occupation. In an informal sense, there is an occupation, and the Arabs are the occupiers. PHR ought to refrain from politics, and especially not favor the jihadists, who deny human rights. Why doesn't PHR complain regularly about the many Arab curbs on Jewish human rights? Are Jews not human? Don't constant Arab murders of innocent Jews deny human rights? What about P.A. roadblocks that bar Israeli traffic, Arab gangs that stone Jewish traffic, and worse, when Israelis enter the P.A., they are liable to be lynched and mutilated? I was raised to consider lynching a denial of human rights and mutilation bestial. How were the members of PHR raised? Jews have been left to bleed to death from Arab terrorist attacks, sometimes by Arab soldiers, in Jordan, the Sinai, and the P.A.. Israeli ambulances have been attacked by Arabs. If PHR worries about denial of medical care, where is its concern about those violations of human rights? When the P.A. allows or participates in persecuting Christians and in barring Jews from their holy sites, who objects to that violation of human rights? PHR? Human Rights Watch? Amnesty International? Seldom if ever. What about P.A. indoctrination in hatred of other faiths? Doesn't that engender the violence that denies others the right to worship and even to live? SHARON USING AGENTS-PROVOCATEURS? A colossal blunder, Ariel Sharon's abandonment plan would open up the whole country to terrorists' missiles. Sharon's colossal ego won't admit it. He is steamrolling the plan through, using all his strategic military skills not only to neutralize opponents politically, but also to use psychological warfare and recruit brutal enforcers. Agents-provocateurs among protesting settlers egg them on to extreme measures for the government to self-righteously call extremist, to discredit and repress opponents of Gaza abandonment. It is the secret service that is discredited, however. Agents reportedly shoot at Israeli soldiers, to give Sharon an excuse to claim civil war and the right to fire into the crowds (Winston Mid East Analysis, 2/19). If a soldier were killed, would that not be murder? Dirty tricks did not die with Rabin's sponsorship of them. If Israel is to be democratic, it must drop police state tactics. HOW SIGNIFICANT IS IRAQ'S ELECTION? Many Iraqis went out of their way to vote. They repudiated Saddam's dictatorship and affirmed democracy (Nibras Kazimi, NY Sun, 2/2/05, p.10). Mr. Kazimi is an Iraqi Sunni. He seems fairly adept at the American idiom, which indicates some understanding of our culture. When he discussed Israel, however, the old Muslim venom crept out. I don't know how reliable he is or how objective about his own country. He did mental handsprings over the election. It is an accomplishment, but is only a step along the way. Will the other steps be taken? Postpone euphoria, hard work ahead. WHAT EGYPT CALLS UNREASONABLE The Egyptian newspaper, "al-Ahram," complained that PM Sharon expects too much of the P.A.. He wants the P.A. to "eliminate the sources" of terrorism and enjoy a "one-way truce," as if terrorism were the aggression and the Israeli military action the response. Al-Ahram still calls Tel Aviv the capital of Israel (IMRA, 2/19) indicating refusal to recognize the reality of Israel having its capital in Jerusalem. That means that Egypt does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over even the New City of Jerusalem, built by Jews. Sharon is right about the P.A. Only Israel honored joint ceasefires. After the P.A. terrorists broke truces too often, the Israeli military responded. Whosoever says it should not favors jihad. A one-way truce would leave Israel free to pursue known terrorists. That makes sense, because the terrorists are criminals, and the police need not have a ceasefire with them. If Sharon accedes to Arab truce terms, it would be a one-way truce, featuring the usual Arab violations and excuses. The would condone P.A. violations as not too egregious (not their folks getting murdered, just some Jews?). Spain would urge Israel to grit teeth and bear loss, but two bombs in Madrid and Spain panicked. JORDAN'S CONFLICT WITH PROFESSIONAL UNIONS Jordan's Islamists control the professional organizations to oppose government policies (as on limited recognition of Israel). The government has been warning the organizations to stay out of politics. The organizations persist. Finally, the government sent police to bar the organizations from meeting with the opposition parties to discuss the Iraqi elections (IMRA, 2/19). "JORDAN TIMES" COMMENTS ON P.A. LAUNDERING OF FATAH "M. Abbas' decision to reinstate Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades into the mainstream security forces of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is a smart move that should have been taken long ago. [IMRA: Jordan Times never suggested it should be done. Why should Israel 'reciprocate' for what should have been done 'long ago'?] Even though Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is an offshoot of Fateh movement, it remained defiant and outside the control of the central authority of the Palestinians for many years. [IMRA: It always did what the 'central authority' wanted.]" "Abbas' second major decision since the recent wave of violence between his people and Israeli forces still occupying much of the Palestinian territories was his stern orders to the Palestinian police force to stop all attacks directed against Israel. [IMRA: Still only words."] "The new Palestinian leadership cannot take any additional bold measures to rein in militants unless Israel acts prudently." [IMRA: What "bold" steps have been taken?" (IMRA, 2/19.) What makes the territories, such as Judea, named after the Jewish people, "Palestinian?" By "prudently," "Jordan Times" means that Israel should not pursue terrorists still attacking Israel. That would be imprudent. It would let Israelis be murdered because the new chief terrorist says he opposes terrorism but allows it. HOW TO APPROACH PUBLIC PROBLEMS Most politicians approach public problems according to self-interest, partisanship, and ideology. Few solutions emerge that way. Bickering begins the problems are digested. A better way is cooperation. Consider automotive fuel economy. Industry, labor, government, and environmentalists are working together in the privately financed National Commission on Energy Policy to devise a non-partisan, functional plan. When they do, a more acceptable proposal would emerge than if one of those four parties came up with its own plan. Like a good negotiation, everybody gains. The key to solving such problems is to gather the facts, analyze independently and from more than one aspect, and address all the questions and suggestions. Bills banning big cars don't pass. More imaginative and flexible ideas might be: (1) shift the $1.5 billion annual federal subsidy for the highly profitable oil industry to invest in private sector programs to save gasoline. Some of those programs would increase the sales of more efficient tires and motor oil. (2) Instead of paying a fixed sum for basic liability coverage, buy coverage incrementally, when buying gas. People who drive less or have more efficient cars would pay less for insurance. (3) Turn excise taxes of fuel-inefficient cars into rebates on fuel-efficient cars. (4) Some of the fees could subsidize poorer drivers' switch to newer, more efficient cars (ONEarth by Natural Resources Defense Council, Winter 2005, p.29). NEW HOPE FOR EUROPE West Europeans had become towards Islam like fellow-travelers had been towards Communism, sycophantic. Then came a particularly gruesome jihadist murder in the Netherlands. The perpetrator was a Dutch Muslim who had been defeated in the media as a liberal and an example of the countries success in multiculturalism. It turned out that he had become part of a huge, international network of Islamists. W. Europeans finally started realizing that appeasement, a la Spain, does not inoculate one against terrorism. Nor does slighting the US stop terrorism. Defeating terrorists does. Europe recruited more police, improved intelligence, cooperated more with other countries, and began to tackle the problem of Muslim immigration. Europeans stopped calling it fascistic to want to require identity cards, immigration controls, and for imams to preach in the local language. Immigrants now are expected to face civic requirements. The question is whether Europe will move far enough (Arthur Waldron, Commentary, 2/2005, p.49) and fast enough. Europe's problem not only is poor self-defense, but weak self-respect. Europeans should stop feeling inferior to barbarous, backward, bigoted Islamists. The Muslims use European multi-culturalism as a Trojan horse. I wish that some Israelis would gather films of P.A. lynching, and show them in Europe. The problem with allowing moderate Muslims in is that they readily radicalize. HOW EFFECTIVE ARE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS International sanctions proved unable to restrain Iraq, Libya, and N. Korea. W. European governments are determined to make money with the worst rogue states. Iran accepts valuable offers from W. Europe to suspend its uranium enrichment program, but the US suspects it would continue its program clandestinely (Michael B. Oren, Commentary, 2/2005, p.80). Already poved in later news. I've seen a good argument that sanctions did not get the apartheid regime in S. Africa to stand down. When the economy was good, sanctions made no difference. When the economy was poor, due to a drop in the price of gold, then the government could not weather the crisis. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

GUSH KATIF FARMER: "HOW DO YOU UPROOT ONE MILLION PLANTS?" Posted by Gush Katif Community, February 14, 2005.

Anita Tucker, originally from the U.S. and one of the original Jewish residents of the Gaza Coast communities, asks rhetorically, "How do you evacuate one million plants?" The 59-year-old Tucker has become an expert in growing celery while working in her family hothouses in the Gush Katif farming community of Netzer Hazani. "Every seedling I plant here only strengthens my love for this place," she says. "I speak to the plants and even have names for them." Anita Tucker, whose husband Mordechai teaches English at a yeshiva high school in the adjacent community of Katif, farms two acres of hothouses among the 1,200 acres of hothouse farms in Gush Katif. She grows celery without insects, in a process that Gush Katif residents have perfected over the past 20 years. Like most of the Jewish residents in Gaza, she doesn't give much thought to the government's plan to dismantle their homes and transfer the land to the Arabs. "My head is in the plants," she asserts. "I came here when there were only sand dunes, and they told me it was impossible to grow anything here. But my friends and I proved the opposite. Despite the terror and mortar shelling, we are strong and we love this place." An 11.5-minute English film, entitled "Gush Katif Forever", contrasting the residents' serene lives of agriculture and faith with the Palestinian violence that has terrorized them for years, can be seen here. Produced several months ago, the number of shells specified in the film - 4,200 - is off by more than 1,000. "The prime minister is trying to kill our spirit," says Anita Tucker, "but we are continuing to farm. What is so strange is that after they prepared the law and voted all sorts of things, suddenly Knesset Members arrived here and were impressed. Why do they come to visit now and not beforehand?" The Tucker children also farm. Their 32-year-old son Aviel, who also lives with his wife and children in Netzer Hazani, grows tomatoes and harvests more than three tons a week. Some of them are exported to Europe. He said he has not even read the proposed law that calls for the destruction of the Jewish communities in Gaza and northern Samaria. "I am not preparing to make any changes," he says, despite the government timetable that would expel him this summer, just before the major marketing season. "I am working as usual, I have contracts with people who are waiting for the produce, and it is impossible to suddenly stop." Aviel also continues to report for reserve duty, after having served three years as a soldier in the Golani Brigade. He has orders to report in March, and insists he will serve. "One thing is clear," he said. "I report for duty, and there is no such thing as getting out of army duty, but my motivation has been lessened. We have risked our lives for this place. What about all the blood that has been spilled?" To Go To Top

POLL: ISRAELIS FAVOR BOOTING PALESTINIANS: But pollsters refuse to release results Posted by Marion Dreyfus, February 14, 2005.

I'm wondering why these results failed to reach the mainstream. Interesting that manhandling 8,500 Israeli Jews appears to be copacetic, whereas transferring opponents of the State out to areas controlled by their own evoke thunderous nonreaction and silence. This article is by Aaron Klein of World Net Daily. He is WND Jerusalem bureau chief, whose past interview subjects have included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Shlomo Ben Ami and leaders of the Taliban. JERUSALEM - A scientific poll allegedly suppressed in Israel last month has found a plurality of Israelis favor transferring the Palestinian population out of Israel instead of implementing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw Jewish settlements from Gaza and parts of the West Bank this summer, WorldNetDaily has learned. The poll was commissioned by Mishalot Yisrael, a group formed to assess public opinion with regard to the withdrawal, and was conducted Jan. 12 with Mutagim, a major Israeli polling company. Israelis were asked whether they "prefer the 'Sharon/Peres Disengagement Plan' which includes transferring Gaza and Northern Shomron to Palestinian control, and expulsion of all Jews who live there - a move that would bring Palestinian territory closer to major Israeli cities such as Ashkelon and Tel Aviv. Or do you prefer the 'Jewish Alternative Disengagement Plan,' which includes annexing these territories and expulsion of the Arabs living there to an area outside Israel, deep beyond a safe security buffer zone - a move that would effectively distance the Palestinian population from major Israeli cities like Ashkelon and Tel Aviv?" The results showed 38 percent of the general Israeli population said they favor the mass transfer of Palestinians, while 37 percent favor Sharon's withdrawal plan, according to the poll. But Mutagim refused to release the survey results, claiming a question was entered late and the company was only able to interview 397 people instead of the 511 originally planned. The company offered to conduct another survey for free. Yekutiel Ben Yaacov, director of Mishalot Yisroel, told WND he demanded the poll results be released. In a conversation taped by Ben Yaacov because he says he suspected foul play, Mutagim market researcher Uri Pancier allegedly admits the results may be accurate and discusses his reluctance to release them. An independent polling company told WND the survey of 397 people, if conducted appropriately, would still be accurate and would only increase the margin of error by 0.5 to 1 percent. A second poll conducted by Mutagim, this time including 499 people, found 49 percent of the general Israeli population supports the Gaza withdrawal, while 27 percent favor the transfer of Palestinians. A third Mutagim survey, conducted earlier this month with 509 people, had 39 percent for Sharon's withdrawal, and 31 percent for Palestinian transfer. Both polls were released to Mishalot Yisroel. A second Israeli polling company, Geocartography, was also commissioned to conduct the same poll, and found 44 percent in favor of Sharon's plan, 31 percent for Palestinian transfer. But Ben Yaacov says he is upset the first poll, which found a plurality for the alternate plan, has not been released. "The polling companies are afraid. They don't want to put anything out that shows the Israeli people would rather kick out the Palestinians and not evacuate the Jews," said Ben Yaacov. Indeed, another Israeli polling company, Dahav Institute, refused to conduct the survey all together. Veteran Israeli pollster and Dahav head Dr. Mina Tzemach told WorldNetDaily, "Yes, I refused to do it. The so-called alternative plan is unrealistic, immoral and it will never happen. Such ideas are damaging to the state of Israel." Pancier made similar comments in the past. He told the Jerusalem Post in December his company is generally wary of surveys involving what he calls the right-wing community, as they tend to use results to express ideological opinions. "Israelis are not racist," Pancier told WND. "Sure, people are accepting this Arab transfer as a theoretical option when asked in a poll, but if you ask them whether they believe it can happen, most will say no. This plan is not reality, it can't happen." Ben Yaacov says he's aware of the controversial implications of the Palestinian transfer plan. "Some say this is apartheid against the Arabs. But actually I got the idea from Ariel Sharon, who wants to remove the Jews in Gaza and the West Bank. I'm just applying the same concept to hostile Palestinians. As far as I am concerned, Arabs that are loyal can remain in our territories without any problems." Ben Yaacov says his group plans to conduct a nationwide referendum in Israel pitting his plan against Sharon's. "Our goal is to get a bigger voter turnout at our referendum than there is in national Israeli elections," said Ben Yaacov. Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom broke ranks with Sharon and announced he too will lead a push for a national referendum. Ben Yaacov discounted earlier survey's on the Gaza withdrawal, explaining "they offered people no alternative. It was either you favor Sharon's withdrawal or things remain the same. Now we are offering another plan - Palestinian evacuation." Andras Bereny, a key member of the Italian referendum party and a former candidate for the Italian Senate who helped pass over four referendum packages in Italy, has joined forces with Ben Yaacov and will assist in conducting an initial survey in select Israeli towns. Bereny calls the referendum important and says it will contribute to "determining the destiny of the Jewish people." Marion Dreyfus can be reached at dreyfusmarion@hotmail.com To Go To Top

MORE SELECTIVE FREE SPEECH Posted by Steven Plaut, February 14, 2005.

1. Nazi symbols are prohibited throughout the EU, which is why the Neonazis this week protesting the "Holocaust" of German nazis in Dresden had to use symbols other than the swastika. Now a group of Euro parliamentarians from th ehuman rights lobby want communist symbols also banned, as part of a proposed set of measures against racism, although their proposal has not yet been accepted. No one seems to think these measures constitute violations of democratic protections of free speech. So if Europe can ban symbols of totalitarianism, why can't Israel jail people who endorse Islamofascist terrorism, wave Hamas and PLO flags, call for the country to be destroyed, or teach political science or geography at Ben Gurion University? There is of course a form of free speech that is prohibited in Israel, namely, expressing opposition to Sharon's "disengagement plan". The government is rattling its swords now and today's headline is an open threat by the Likud-run Ministry of Justice to place anti-Oslo protesters in "administrative arrest", detention without trial usually reserved for Arab terrorists the state does not wish to bring to trial in order to avoid revealing identities of undercover informants. The new leftist editor of the Jerusalem Post joined the calls to suppress free speech for anti-Oslo dissidents in an editorial at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull&cid=1108321452463&p=1006953079865 2. Speaking of Dresden, I have always thought that the main injustice perpetrated at Dresden was that it was the ONLY German city obliterated in fire bombing at the time, and that justice demanded a hundred Dresdens. Yes, innocents died there, and their deaths were the fault of German totalitarianism that started the war, murdered tens of millions, and made those Dresden deaths necessary as part of ending the war. Blame for Dresden's dead rests entirely on Germany, just like the blame for the deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians rests entirely on the PLO and its Israeli collaborators and promoters. But it is now fashionable in certain circles to represent Dresden as the epitome of human rights violations in World War II, and to recast the war as a struggle against violation of German humnan rights by Allied imperialists. It is in precisely the same way, of course, that the Middle East war is about mistreatment of Palestinians by Israelis. This week also saw a protest in Italy against the violation of human rights during World War II by anti-fascist partisans. Now I have argued in jest for years that the Palestinian solidarity movement is equivalent to a protest movement against the inhumane behavior of anti-Nazi armies and partisans, as an attempt to revise history and ignore nazism and paint the war as one launched by insensitive anti-nazi partisans. I compared the recent "balanced" resolutions from the Ayatollahs of the Reform synagogue movement, denouncing Israel and the Palestinians in even-handed terms, to a resolution denouncing Hitler but in the same breath denouncing the anti-German partisans for being insensitive to homosexuals and for eating meat. I was of course being sarcastic. But these recent trends make me think that life once again will be imitating parody. 3. Selective free speech: Haggit Rotenberg of the Besheva weekly was requested by police to hand over her interview notes following a story on Noam Livnat of Chomat Magen campaign to refuse service with the disengagement. She refused, noting not only professional immunity but said also that no reporter she knows was asked to do so after interviewing Palestinian terrorists. http://news.walla.co.il/?w=//670326 4. From IMRA: Oslo Redux: Amnon Abromovitz reveals Netanyahu incident staged for press Aaron Lerner Date: 13 February 2005 Journalist Amnon Abromovitz, who exposed Avishai Raviv as an agent of the Israel General Security Services in 1995, code-named "Champagne" revealed tonight on Israel Television Channel Two News that the headline-making incident this past Thursday and Friday in which Minister Netanyahu was "attacked" was staged for the media. Abromovitz reported that the entire incident involved two youngsters who yelled at Netanyahu "you are a bunny, Jewish blood isn't valueless" at the behest of the reporter. After the performance the reporter sent them an SMS message which read: "great job." In 1995, Raviv's primary function was as an agente provocateur to provide incidents that would defame Oslo process opponents. Many of the favorite anti-Oslo opponent film footage still shown to this day, including the Rabin in SS uniform photo-montage, were produced thanks to the work of this GSS agent. 5. "Psycho Ward Churchill met with Gadhaf," Rocky Mountain News: Local, (http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/local/article/ 0,1299,DRMN_15_3540067,00.html). Controversial professor set to make speech at Wisconsin school by Charlie Brennan And Laura Frank, Rocky Mountain News February 11, 2005 This is not the first time Ward Churchill has disagreed with the U.S. government's idea of who is, and is not, a terrorist. In April 1983, Churchill went to Libya to meet with Col. Moammar Gadhafi. The U.S. government had banned travel to Libya two years earlier, saying Gadhafi supported terrorism. Churchill traveled to Tripoli and Benghazi as a representative of the International Indian Treaty Council and the American Indian Movement. He went with Dace Means, brother of AIM leader Russell Means. They were seeking recognition from Gadhafi of the U.S. government's breaking of Indian treaties. "The main thing we sought and received was diplomatic support," Churchill told the Associated Press at the time. He added, "AIM has not requested arms from the Libyan government." The meeting took place five years before a bomb exploded on an American passenger jet above the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. Intelligence sources have long believed Gadhafi ordered the bombing. 6. A REALLY REALLY good web site: http://www.babylonianmusings.blogspot.com/ 2003_03_16_babylonianmusings_archive.html See if you can find the Cockburn Cockroach on this page! 7. The anti-Semitic Guardian from the UK endorses and celebrates Palestinian suicide bombers: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0%2C3604%2C1407216%2C00.htmly 8. Time to perform vivisection on PETA? PETA bankrolls arsonists - Tell the IRS it's time for them to go! If you were watching the State of the Union Address on the Fox News Channel last week, you also saw a provocative commercial from the Center for Consumer Freedom. It wasn't about social security or Hillary Clinton, but it deserves your attention just the same. The Center's advertisement asked Americans to support a petition asking the IRS to investigate and penalize People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an extreme animal-rights group that brazenly supports and openly funds domestic terrorists. Click here to watch this groundbreaking commercial. PETA's stated goal is total animal liberation. That means no steaks, hamburgers, chicken, veal, lamb, bacon, milk, or cheese. No milk chocolate on Valentine's Day. No Thanksgiving turkey. No hunting, fishing, rodeos, circuses, wool, fur, silk, leather, or seeing-eye dogs; and no medical research using lab animals. PETA's president is on record saying that even if animal research resulted in a cure for AIDS, we'd be against it. We're pushing back against these lunatics, but we need your help. To make a one-time gift or a recurring pledge, please click here. Every little bit helps. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO SLANT Posted by TheRaphi, February 14, 2005.

This was written by Jack Engelhard, author of the novel "Indecent Proposal" and the award-winning memoir of his experiences as a Jewish refugee from Europe, "Escape From Mount Moriah." His novel "The Days of the Bitter End" is being prepared for movie production. Bernard Weinraub of the New York Times tells us that he's learned an important lesson, and that is, not to trust anyone in Hollywood, as if we didn't know. He forgets to mention a lesson for the rest of us, and that is, not to trust anyone, or hardly anyone, at the New York Times. Weinraub was the Times' man in Hollywood for more than a decade. So, from 1991 until right about now, this was the reporter we trusted to give us the scoop from Tinsel Town. Trouble is, in the middle of it all, he married a studio boss, Amy Pascal, now head of Sony Pictures. Conflict of interest? He admits so himself in a recent article mentioning his departure. But did anyone at the paper take him aside and say, "Hey, you can't have the best of both possible worlds?" You can't be objective on the one hand and be married to a Hollywood tycoon on the other hand. No, the Times brushed that aside. So he stayed on. What about journalistic distance and integrity? Well, there it is. Or rather, there it isn't. If you can't trust the paper of record, whom can you trust? Let's try CNN. Ironically, it was in a New York Times op-ed that CNN's chief news executive, Eason Jordan, confided that he played footsie with Saddam Hussein - and surely other Arab tyrants, like Yasser Arafat - to keep his correspondents safe as they covered the Middle East. But covered it with a slant against the United States and Israel. (Jordan resigned just the other day over yet a separate outbreak of journalistic mad cow disease.) I'm tempted to call all that false journalism, which it is, or false advertising, but I prefer false packaging, like the man from QVC who told me how he failed with a certain product until he changed the package. Indeed, you can put lipstick on a pig and call it Miss America. Those Palestinian Arab elections, in which Mahmoud Abbas won Best in Show, were plainly farcical and absurd. Arabs, those with membership in the Palestinian Authority, said so themselves and many resigned after complaining about rigged electioneering. This did not make news. But headline writers here and around the world have been swooning and dancing at this wedding between Ariel Sharon and Abu Mazen. Another bride, another groom, another season, another reason, for making whoopee. Yes, over in Egypt, Sharon reached across the table to shake hands with Abu Mazen. Then he reached over again, this time to shake hands with Mahmoud Abbas. Same man, but he has two different names, so he gets double; double of everything. Abu Mazen gets Judea. Mahmoud Abbas gets Samaria. I wasn't invited to this wedding, so maybe that's why I'm not dancing. Or maybe I'm remembering Jacob imploring Joseph: "Bury me not in Egypt." Call me skeptical, or call me a pessimist, but let's remember that pessimists are correct 98.2 percent of the time. Kassam rockets are already raining on this parade. Of course, what do I know? I make far less money than the man who holds that umbrella over Michael Jackson's head. Here's the good news. Surveys show that most people don't believe what they read in the (mainstream) papers. That's why circulation figures keep plunging for newspapers like the Philadelphia Inquirer, which delivers the same news every day, or rather, the world according to Trudy Rubin. Instead, we're blogging to find some truth. Along with the rest of our culture, what's to believe when there's so much deception going around, inside and outside our news media? Take this, for example. A new book has just come out and it's called Kafka on the Shore. This novel, by one Haruki Murakam,i is getting fawning reviews all over the place, but is it about my main man Franz Kafka? No, it's about "a runaway boy calling himself Kafka." Maybe that's not cheating on the part of the author, but it is cheap. J. D. Salinger already saw this coming - phony people in a phony world. Amy Holden Jones wrote the screenplay from my novel Indecent Proposal. Before she got started, I checked her out and learned that she wrote a movie called Beethoven. Wow! My favorite composer. What can be better? "Ode to Joy", that's what I said. So we rented the movie from our local Blockbuster and who is this Beethoven? It's a dog; a dog named Beethoven. There is something manipulative, rotten and corrupt about all this. For some reason I'm remembering Frank Rich on a well-known morning radio show. Rich is now a cultural commentator for the New York Times. He used to be the paper's chief drama critic, better known as "The Butcher of Broadway". Who knows how many plays he doomed? So, on this particular program, he tells the moderator that maybe he was wrong. Many of those plays that he blasted and made stillborn were, on second thought, actually good. But as he is saying this, he's in stitches, laughing, as is the moderator. Angels who saw their millions go down the drain, actors, directors, producers and stage hands who were sent packing, their careers mangled - are they laughing? As we note with sorrow Arthur Miller's passing this past Friday - how many playwrights never got beyond "a smile and a shoeshine" because of Frank Rich's hasty thumbs down? Sorry to be picking on the New York Times when there are so many others who tell us that bitter is sweet, sweet is bitter, day is night, night is day. (As from Isaiah.) But here we are with the Muhammad Al-Dura caper back in the news - way back. Recall, please, that this September 2000 incident in Gaza sparked the intifada. Banners flared. Headlines inflamed. But that entire incident is now being revealed as a hoax. Time for some journalistic atonement, you'd think. As CAMERA's Andrea Levin points out, the hoax part of the story was indeed reported in the Times, but on Page Six, Section C. A generation ago, the same New York Times hid the entire Holocaust on Page Six, Section C. Back to Weinraub of Hollywood. He writes: "Clearly, I stayed too long at my beat." The same can be said for so many of them. TheRaphi (http://www.theraphi.com/archives/oldindex.html) is a pro-Israel and pro-Zionist site; it provides news articles and essays. To Go To Top

ARIK - YOU ARE CLEVER! Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 13, 2005.

Arik, you are clever! Your tactics are just as good against the Jews as they were in battle against the Arabs. The people always knew you had courage, even to the point of being at the front in battle - even standing up in a tank while the enemy shells were flying. But, I like your hysterical act, shouting that you fear for your life from the Settlers. That because of this amazing hysterical fear, Sharon has ordered a crack-down - not on settlers or protesters but against "extremists". It just happens that the protestors are settlers and even those living inside the 'Green Line' who are opposed to weakening the Jewish nation by deporting Jews of Gaza/Gush Katif and giving away to the Arab Muslim Palestinians Israel's Southern Front. But, for Sharon, he must do several things. One. He must claim that he fears for his life while demonizing the Jewish settlers. Two. He must create a sense of fear in the citizenry that those "terrible settlers" not only threaten the Prime Minister but they threaten the rest of the Jewish population. None of this is true, although I can believe that in every land someone wants to kill the president, prime minister, king whatever - for any number of reasons. But, in this case by demonizing the settlers, the rest of the nation will find excessive brutality by Police and Soldiers perfectly acceptable. I recently read where a law of immunity was offered as a trial balloon for Police and Soldiers being exonerated for any level of brutality they choose (or are ordered) to use. If this sound like the techniques of a totalitarian dictator who also used unlimited force against their people, well - it is. In effect, Sharon has done and is doing what he does best. He has set up a plan surrounded by a trap to insure that nothing interferes with his plan to re-partition Israel and transfer 9,000 Gush Katif and Samarian Jews from their homes, farms, factories, businesses, schools, synagogues and even their from their cemeteries. He believes the settlers are an impediment and most be disposed of. That includes his playing the role of a frightened ruler who always posed as never being frightened of anything. He wants to convince the nation that settlers are a greater danger than Arab Muslim Palestinians shooting Kassam rockets at their homes, kindergartens and schools. Sharon wants to release a battalion of specially trained thugs who can club, beat and even shoot settlers because they resist being uprooted from their homes where three generations have grown and built a Garden of Eden from sandy, barren soil. Gush Katif supplies Israel with 7% of its produce with more for export. Most remember when Rabin had politicized the Shabak (General Secret Services-GSS) to employ their agents to do provocative things to be blamed on the Right, the settlers and the religious. Everyone is waiting for the Shabak to render the same services to Sharon. It is regrettable that so honorable and important service be used by corrupt politicians and so ruined Shabak's reputation as a service for the people. In any case, Arik Sharon, the General, is in a fully fledged war against the Jewish people and will use all his battlefield experience against his own people. First, he must soften up his adversaries by crying: "Wolf" and telling everyone he "fears for his life". Then to attack the resisting settlers and their supporters, he will unleash those of his Police and Army who have been tested and found to be sociopathic. Perhaps he will, as predicted do a hostile sweep arresting all the leaders who dare to speak out against his re-partition plan that deports Jews from their home. This article is called "Sharon Orders Jewish Extremist Crackdown." It is by Josef Federman, Associated Press Writer. "Danger Ahead - Mccarthyism, Suppression Of Free Speech Threatens Israelis," It is archived at Arutz-7, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=3934 JERUSALEM, Feb. 13 Responding to threats against government ministers, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) ordered law enforcement agencies Sunday to crack down on Jewish extremists opposed to the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip (news - web sites). Cabinet ministers said the charged climate is reminiscent of the period before the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and one minister warned that Sharon himself could become a target. Despite those concerns, Sharon's Cabinet approved a list of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released in coming days, and several hundred Palestinian workers were permitted to return to jobs in Israel in line with agreements reached at a Mideast summit last week. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, was to present a new Cabinet to his Fatah movement for approval Tuesday. Abbas was expected to appoint new interior, foreign and information ministers but keep on many current government members, officials said. Israeli officials have voiced concerns about extremist opposition to the pullout plan for months. But with this summer's planned withdrawal quickly approaching and a recent warming of ties with the Palestinians, the level of alarm has been raised. Sharon instructed law enforcement agencies to report back to the Cabinet as soon as possible with steps that can be taken to "rein in the violent rampage" of extremists opposing his plan, a statement said. Several Cabinet ministers said they have received threatening letters in recent days, and last week Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (news - web sites) had his tires slashed and slurs shouted at him while attending a wedding. Netanyahu, a former prime minister, was targeted just days after Education Minister Limor Livnat was whisked away from an event where she was screamed at by hard-line (actually ZIONIST) Jews. Extremists also have put up posters across the country with implicit death threats to Sharon. The posters say Rabin and Sharon's wife, Lily, who is deceased, are "waiting for Sharon." Meir Sheetrit, one of the ministers to receive a threatening letter, said every step should be taken to punish those behind the threats. "It sets off a warning light, and we should take tangible steps before there is another political murder," he said. Cabinet minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer presented the ministers a copy of a letter he received. The letter described the Iraqi-born Ben-Eliezer as "the epitome of evil, a miserable Iraqi, a Nazi with Arab blood. You love Arabs more than Jews." Ben-Eliezer then said to the ministers, "I am telling you: They will try to kill the prime minister," according to the Haaretz daily. [Freeman Ed. Note: Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire] Sharon was outraged. "I am shocked by this savagery. We need to take immediate practical steps," Sharon was quoted as saying before ordering police, legal authorities and security commanders to take action. At Sunday's meeting, the Cabinet approved the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners in the near future, one of a series of agreements reached at last week's Mideast summit in Egypt. Israel will also allow several dozen Palestinian militants who were expelled from the West Bank to return to their homes and gradually hand five West Bank towns to Palestinian control. Senior commanders from both sides met late Sunday to coordinate the handover of Jericho, the first town to be turned over. Army Radio reported that the handover would take place in about 48 hours. In line with the summit agreements, Israel will release another 400 Palestinian prisoners within three months. The Palestinian prisoners to be freed constitute only a small fraction of the estimated 8,000 in Israeli jails. Palestinians are demanding that all be freed, while Israeli officials insist that with few exceptions, prisoners with "blood on their hands" cannot be considered. Several hundred Palestinian workers from Gaza returned Sunday to jobs in Israel under the summit agreements. Before the outbreak of fighting more than four years ago, more than 100,000 Palestinians worked in Israel. Also, the Israeli army said the bodies of 15 Palestinians killed last year during attacks on Israeli settlements and army bases in the Gaza Strip would be handed over Monday to Palestinian authorities in Gaza for burial. The Israeli national ambulance service, which is transporting the bodies together with the Palestinian Red Crescent, said the move was "a humanitarian gesture." Palestinian officials said on condition of anonymity that the new Cabinet would include Brig. Gen. Nasser Yousef, a military official who frequently fought with Yasser Arafat (news - web sites); Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan; and possibly Nasser al-Kidwa, the current Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, as the new foreign minister. The current foreign minister, Nabil Shaath, would be shifted to another Cabinet position, the officials said. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF THE UN Posted by Israel Zwick, February 13, 2005.

This is a cryptic, but important article. Examine the numbers carefully. Compare UNHCR to UNRWA. A number of issues and concerns will be revealed. The intent is to stimulate dialogue on these issues. Writers are invited to use this as source material to elaborate on the issues involved. The official organizational chart of the United Nations http://www.unsystem.org/ lists 108 agencies of the UN. Three of these agencies have been selected below. For each agency, excerpts were cut and pasted from their official websites. All of the statements are from the official UN website, there are no comments from the editor. The reader is encouraged to draw his own conclusions. In the interest of brevity, some of the statements had to be taken out of context. The hyperlink for each statement is provided so that the reader needs only to click it to get the complete web page. In event that the hyperlink doesn't work, please cut and paste the URL into the browser address. The three agencies are, in alphabetical order: 1. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 2. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the (UNHCR) 3. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Part I. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_mission.html UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children - victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation and those with disabilities. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social, and economic development of their communities. http://www.unicef.org/about/who/archives/oldindex.html We involve everyone in creating protective environments for children. We are present to relieve suffering during emergencies, and wherever children are threatened, because no child should be exposed to violence, abuse or exploitation. We are more than 7,000 people working in 157 countries around the world. Middle East and North Africa Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Morocco occupied Palestinian territory Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Sudan Syrian Arab Republic Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen http://www.unicef.org/oPt/overview.html UNICEF is a world-wide reputable organization in existence for more than 50 years. In the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), UNICEF has a large and dynamic programme to the tune of about US$17-million for basic humanitarian and development assistance for the most vulnerable women and children. Top priorities for 2005 are to restore basic services for Palestinian children such as health services, immunization, nutrition education and protecting children against violence, abuse and exploitation, including a response to the children's psycho-social distress. The chronic consequences of the conflict, due to closures, barriers and movement restrictions, result in a fragmentation of society, impoverishment and increased aid dependency. This is why UNICEF interventions are more needed than ever. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/oPt.html The decline in the wellbeing and quality of life of Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) over the past two years has been rapid and profound. This is directly linked to the violence and mobility restrictions children experience daily, including death and injury to family and friends, damage to their property, and the frustration and poverty they sustain through stifling closures, curfews and home confinement. Since 80 per cent of Palestinian parents reported a change in their children's behaviour, UNICEF's response to the increased psychosocial distress among Palestinian children affected by violence includes the training of school counsellors, kindergarten teachers and social workers. In addition, UNICEF supports activities which promote the peaceful and non-violent participation by children in the social and cultural life of the oPt through assistance for more than 300 summer camps, sports activities, media by and for children and youth forums, including the Palestinian youth parliament in Gaza and Jericho. UNICEF supports the development of mentoring and peer support groups through schools and community based organizations. Up to 48 groups have been set up providing approximately 2,500 children and adolescents with peer-to-peer support in hardship areas of Jerusalem and Ramallah. A hotline was established by the same organization offering support to adolescents in out-of-reach areas. http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/conflict.html Estimated number of children killed in conflicts since 1990: 1.6 million Estimated rise in the under-five mortality rate during a "typical" five-year war: 13 per cent http://www.unicef.org/media/media_24979.html September 8, 2004 STATEMENT ATTRIBUTABLE TO DAN ROHRMANN, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE, UNICEF OPT IN RESPONSE TO THE SHOOTING OF A NINE-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN AN UNWRA CLASSROOM "I feel saddened by the news that a nine-year-old Palestinian girl was critically shot while sitting at her desk in a classroom on Monday. Having commented just a few days ago all that is being done in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to get kids back to school and provide a safe learning environment, it feels frustrating to receive tragic news like this. The schools that children learn in and playgrounds they play in must be seen as zones of peace. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to a safe learning environment and have a right to be protected from violence." Statement on shooting of a three-year old girl in occupied Palestinian territory JERUSALEM, 27 January 2005 - The UNICEF Special Representative in oPt, Dan Rohrmann, expressed his sadness today in the aftermath of the latest fatality, when yesterday, a three-year-old Rahma Ibrahim Abu Shamas was struck dead by a bullet while sitting in her house in a very poor area in the central Gaza Strip. Rohrmann said that unfortunately children have these days limited opportunities to play and exercise in areas safe for them and where they can be with their peers. Close to half of the children in West Bank and Gaza spend less time on extra-curricular activities. UNICEF and others are working tirelessly in promoting child survival and development. http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/childsoldiers.pdf FACTSHEET: CHILD SOLDIERS It is estimated that some 300,000 children - boys and girls under the age of 18 - are today involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. Children are used as combatants, messengers, porters and cooks and for forced sexual services. Some are abducted or forcibly recruited, others are driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination, or to seek revenge for violence enacted against them or their families. Children are more likely to become child soldiers if they are separated from their families, displaced from their homes, living in combat zones or have limited access to education. Children may join armed groups as the only way to guarantee daily food and survival. In some situations, the involvement of children in conflicts as soldiers may even be ccepted or encouraged. Children may "voluntarily" take part in warfare, not realizing the angers and abuses they will be subjected to. Most likely these children are responding to economic, cultural, social and political pressures. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/opt_23468.html GAZA CITY, 6 October 2004 - At 3 a.m. on a fog-shrouded morning, Israeli military vehicles opened fire on an area in the Gaza Strip near the Rawdet Tal Zaatar kindergarten. "I was with my wife and six children. We hid in the kitchen to protect ourselves from the missile attack and gunfire," said Jabr, a middle-aged Palestinian man who has run the kindergarten for five years. When the hundreds of schoolchildren arrived later that morning they found their school reduced to rubble. "I felt unfairness and injustice when I saw the destroyed kindergarten. Palestinian children are being deprived of their basic rights to play and learn peacefully," Jabr said. http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/conflictissue.html The destruction wreaked by war is likely to mean that children are deprived of key services such as education and health care. Education, for example, is often disrupted due to hazardous roads or the absence of teachers. Often, schools are directly attacked, as was seen in September 2004 during the hostage crisis and subsequent calamitous battle in the Russian town of Beslan, which left more than 150 children and even greater numbers of adults dead. In Aceh, Indonesia, as part of the conflict between government forces and rebel groups, 460 schools were systematically burned to the ground during May 2003 alone. In Nepal, schools are regularly used as centres for propaganda and recruitment by groups opposing the government. Attacks on and abductions of both teachers and students are frequent. Part II. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the (UNHCR) http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/basics The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of more than 6,000 people in more than 116 countries continues to help some 17 million persons. http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/protect The protection of some 17 million uprooted people is the core mandate of UNHCR. The agency does this in several ways. Using the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention as its major tool, it ensures the basic human rights of vulnerable persons and that refugees will not be returned involuntarily to a country where they face persecution. Longer term, the organization helps civilians repatriate to their homeland, integrate in countries of asylum or resettle in third countries. Using a world wide field network, it also seeks to provide at least a minimum of shelter, food, water and medical care in the immediate aftermath of any refugee exodus. http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/country?iso=isr The total population of concern to UNHCR fell from 20.8 million persons at the end of 2002 to 17.1 million by the end of 2003 (-18%). Refugees constitute 57 per cent of the total population of concern to UNHCR, up from 51 per cent in 2002. By the end of 2003, the global number of refugees reached an estimated 9.7 million persons. This constitutes a net decrease of approximately 920,000 refugees. In addition, some 4 million Palestinian refugees fall under the responsibility of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Resettlement 22. In 2003, almost 26,000 refugees were resettled from first asylum countries with UNHCR assistance. The main nationalities benefiting from UNHCR-facilitated resettlement were refugees from Sudan (5,160), Afghanistan (3,560), Somalia (3,310), Ethiopia (3,030), the Islamic Republic of Iran (2,670), Liberia (2,140) and Iraq (1,270). 23. Some 75 UNHCR country offices were engaged in facilitating resettlement departures during 2003. The largest number of refugees resettled with UNHCR assistance departed from Kenya (7,300), Egypt (3,510), Turkey (2,940), Côum;te d'Ivoire (1,650), Pakistan (1,290), the Islamic Republic of Iran (910), India (750), Ethiopia (620) and Guinea (540). 24. In 2003, twenty-four countries received refugees resettled under UNHCR-auspices. The main countries which resettled refugees through UNHCR were USA (54%), Canada (17%), Australia (15%), Norway (5%) and Sweden (3%). Local integration 26. In many countries, refugees have the opportunity to integrate locally because the host country has provided them with access to land or the labour market. In other countries, refugees remain confined to camps where they depend on assistance from the international community. Using UNHCR beneficiary statistics, it is possible to determine the degree to which refugees depend on the international community for their survival. Industrialized countries, where assistance is generally provided by the host country, are not included in this analysis. Part. III. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) http://www.un.org/unrwa/overview/archives/oldindex.html Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, was established by United Nations General Assembly resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees. The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950. In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2008. Since its establishment, the Agency has delivered its services in times of relative calm in the Middle East, and in times of hostilities. It has fed, housed and clothed tens of thousands of fleeing refugees and at the same time educated and given health care to hundreds of thousands of young refugees. UNRWA is unique in terms of its long-standing commitment to one group of refugees and its contributions to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees. Originally envisaged as a temporary organization, the Agency has gradually adjusted its programmes to meet the changing needs of the refugees. Today, UNRWA is the main provider of basic services - education, health, relief and social services - to over 4.1 million registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East. http://www.un.org/unrwa/archives/oldindex.html UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) is a relief and human development agency, providing education, healthcare, social services and emergency aid to over four million refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab republic. UNRWA is by far the largest UN operation in the Middle East, with over 25,000 staff, almost all of them refugees themselves, working directly to benefit their communities - as teachers, doctors, nurses or social workers. http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/whois.html WHO IS A PALESTINE REFUGEE? "Under UNRWA's operational definition, Palestine refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. UNRWA's services are available to all those living in its area of operations who meet this definition, who are registered with the Agency and who need assistance. UNRWA's definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in 1948. The number of registered Palestine refugees has subsequently grown from 914,000 in 1950 to more than four million in 2002, and continues to rise due to natural population growth. http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/wheredo.html WHERE DO THE REFUGEES LIVE? One-third of the registered Palestine refugees, about 1.3 million, live in 59 recognized refugee camps in the area of operations in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A camp, according to UNRWA's working definition, is a plot of land placed at the disposal of UNRWA by the host government for accommodating Palestine refugees and for setting up facilities to cater to their needs. Areas not designated as such are not considered camps. However, UNRWA also maintains schools, health centres and distributions centres in areas outside camps where Palestine refugees are concentrated, such as Yarmouk near Damascus. The plots of land on which camps were set up are either state land or, in most cases, land leased by the host government from local landowners. This means that the refugees in camps do not "own" the land on which their shelters were built, but have the right to "use" the land for a residence. UNRWA's responsibility in the camps is limited to providing services and administering its installations. The Agency does not own, administer or police the camps as this is the responsibility of the host authorities. UNRWA has a camp services office in each camp, which the residents visit to update their records or to raise issues relating to Agency services with the Camp Services Officer (CSO). The CSO, in turn, refers refugee concerns and petitions to the UNRWA administration in the area in which the camp is located. Ten of the camps were established in the aftermath of the June 1967 war and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, to accommodate a new wave of displaced persons, both refugees and non-refugees. Socio-economic conditions in the camps are generally poor with a high population density, cramped living conditions and inadequate basic infrastructure such as roads and sewers. The other two-thirds of the registered refugees live in and around the cities and towns of the host countries, and in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, often in the environs of official camps. While most of UNRWA's installations such as schools and health centres are located in refugee camps, a number are outside camps and all of the Agency's services are available to both camp and non-camp residents. http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/statements/situation_july2004.html UNRWA Headquarters, Gaza 29 July, 2004 Statement by Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of UNRWA The deteriorating security situation in the Gaza Strip is a matter of serious concern to me. Recent worrying developments include the extensive Israeli military operations in Beit Hanoun and increased unpredictability and insecurity faced by United Nations staff in crossing into and out of the Gaza Strip at Erez. As a result, I concluded last week that it was necessary to increase the Security phase rating and to relocate a small number of Headquarters staff to Jerusalem to enable them to continue to work in the most effective and efficient manner. In these difficult and trying times, I acknowledge with gratitude the commitment of all my staff, in particular the 8,300 Palestinians working for UNRWA in the Gaza Strip. They are doing an excellent job under enormous pressure and often in situations of great danger. They deserve everyone's support, and I call upon all elements of Palestinian society to facilitate their vital work. Let there be no doubt that UNRWA's Headquarters and Field Office in Gaza continue to operate fully and will maintain all the services provided to Palestine refugees: education, health, social and emergency relief services. As Commissioner-General, my job is to serve you and I will see to it that no effort is spared to assist you and to alleviate your suffering to the best of our ability. http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/statements/01nov04.pdf Statement by Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of UNRWA to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee 1 November 2004 2) UNRWA emergency activities in the occupied Palestinian territory In addition to the challenges posed by running such a large and varied program, UNRWA faces enormous hurdles in the occupied Palestinian territory that have developed as a result of violence, curfews and closures. UNRWA launched its Emergency Program in 2000, at the beginning of the intifada, and strives to mitigate some of the hardship of the crisis. During the past year, the Agency provided food aid to over 1.3 million refugees and the emergency job creation program generated over 1,823,000 work days. The Agency provided temporary accommodation and emergency assistance, including tents, food, water, blankets and kitchen kits to families when their houses were destroyed, and launched several rehousing projects giving refugees new dwellings. Last year I expressed concern over the building of the "wall/fence" in the West Bank. I should have expressed alarm. This "separation barrier" is having severe detrimental effects on the Palestinian population and UNRWA operations. Refugee families are cut off from agricultural land, and access to schools and health facilities is more difficult. The permit regime for the "seam zone" consists of 13 different types of permits. Residents require permits to live in their own houses, some of which are valid for only three months. UNRWA is undertaking a series of surveys to determine how the barrier is affecting refugees and how UNRWA can best adapt its services. For example, the number of mobile clinics was increased, providing health care to over 91,000 patients who could not reach UNRWA health care facilities due to movement restrictions in the West Bank. 4) UNRWA's working environment and the road ahead The Agency continues to face severe operational obstacles in carrying out its humanitarian mandate in the oPt. Closures and checkpoint delays prevent schools from operating normally as teachers and students regularly can not reach schools. Doctors and nurses can often not reach their clinics. Trucks carrying humanitarian supplies can not reach their destinations in time, ambulances are delayed or prevented from moving patients. Agency vehicles are fired on, staff members are injured, beaten, or humiliated by Israeli soldiers. Incursions by the IDF have led to destruction of equipment in UNRWA schools, training centres and health care facilities. These facilities have also been seized and used by the IDF as temporary detention and interrogation centres. UNRWA staff members have routinely been denied free movement in and out of the Gaza Strip for unspecified reasons, often for extended periods, without explanation. During the reporting period, 34 staff members from the West Bank and Gaza Strip were detained by the Israeli authorities, and there are now 23 in detention. In most cases the Agency was not provided with adequate or timely information as to the reasons for the arrest/detention of its staff members, and was systematically refused access to them. Restrictions on freedom of movement of UNRWA staff in the occupied Palestinian territory have seriously impeded the effectiveness of the organization's operations. These include external closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, imposition of curfews and internal closures, checkpoints, and the continuation of cumbersome procedures requiring permits and magnetic ID cards for West Bank staff entering East Jerusalem. Further restrictions are imposed at borders, most significantly the Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The Agency has also had significant problems moving containers with humanitarian commodities from Ashdod into the Gaza Strip, and empty containers out of the Gaza Strip. The number of stranded containers has ranged between 400 and 600 since April of this year. The accumulated costs of these delays to UNRWA since the beginning of the crisis will soon reach $5 million. All these restrictions are inconsistent with 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, as well as the Comay-Michelmore bilateral agreement where Israel agreed to "facilitate the task of UNRWA." In July of this year, the unpredictability of the Erez passage into the Gaza Strip, and the increasing danger caused by major Israeli military operations in its vicinity led to the decision by the UN as a whole to move into security Phase IV, necessitating the temporary relocation of most international staff from the Agency's Gaza headquarters to Jerusalem and Amman. One can well imagine the disruption to even routine work caused by lack of office space, support staff, filing systems, difficulty in holding meetings, and so on. The future is uncertain, not only for UNRWA and its ability to effectively fulfil its mandate, but also for the Palestine refugees, particularly those in the Gaza Strip. Regarding the proposed disengagement by Israel from the Gaza Strip, I fear that a disengagement that is not accompanied by a radical easing of movement for both people and goods, will exacerbate economic stagnation, and the donor community will continue to bear the burden of the humanitarian crisis. Operational constraints and program constraints are at an all-time high I continue to be thankful for the dedication of UNRWA area staff members, who perform their jobs at great personal risk, are paid much less than other UN local staff and are the only UN employees in the area not receiving hazard pay. I ask again for your support in addressing this anomalous situation. http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/releases/pr-2005/hqg01-05.pdf January 31, 2005 Noran Iyad Deeb, a pupil at the Rafah Elementary Co-Ed "B" School run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), was shot and killed today while lining up in the school yard for afternoon assembly. She was ten years old. A second girl, Aysha Isam El-Khatib was injured in the hand by a second bullet fired at the same time. At the time of the incident, firing had been heard from the direction of the Israeli-controlled border area. The school's teaching staff were attempting to clear the children from the school yard when Noran was hit. The bullet hit her in the face. This is the fifth incident in the last two years in which children have been killed or seriously injured inside UNRWA school premises in the Gaza Strip. Two girls were killed in separate incidents in Rafah and Khan Younis last year and a little girl was permanently blinded in Khan Younis in March 2003. UNRWA has repeatedly protested the Israeli military's indiscriminate firing into civilian areas in the occupied Palestinian territory. Rafah Elementary Co-Ed 'B' School, which is 800 metres from the border, has been hit on numerous occasions since the start of the conflict. This is the first time the shots have had tragic consequences. Peter Hansen, UNRWA's Commissioner-General, said: "Despite the hopeful signs of improvement in the situation we have again been reminded of the continuing danger to which innocent children are exposed by the realities of the occupation and the irresponsible use of arms." New Shelters for Rafah Homeless http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/releases/pr-2005/hqg02-05.pdf February 3, 2005 The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) today handed over 122 new homes to 135 families from Rafah refugee camp whose shelters have been destroyed by the Israeli military during the last four years. These homes are the visible expression of UNRWA's pledge to provide shelter for all these refugees made homeless by the conflict that has raged since September 2000. According to UNRWA's statistics, by end of December 2004, a total of 2,991 shelters, home to over 8,483 people had been demolished or damaged beyond repair in the Gaza Strip since the start of the strife. The 122 buildings opened today will house almost 700 people and are part of a five-phase project that will eventually provide 431 new homes. This, the fourth phase, was funded by donations from Canada, Belgium, Norway and unearmarked contributions to UNRWA's emergency appeals. The total cost of this part of the project, including the infrastructure work, is approximately $ 2.3 million. Homeless families waiting for their new shelters have already been provided with emergency assistance from UNRWA, in the form of tents, blankets, kitchen utensils, food parcels, and rental subsidies. Additionally, the construction project itself has served to alleviate some of the hardships being felt in the Gaza Strip. It provided around 50,000 man-days of temporary employment for laborers, builders, and tradesmen in an area where unemployment is exceptionally high. In total in Gaza Strip a total of total of 903 shelters have been rebuilt or are at the planning and tendering stage. However, UNRWA still needs more than $54 million to meet the current requirement for a further 2,532 new shelters to house homeless families throughout the Gaza Strip. Israel Zwick can be contacted at israel.zwick@earthlink.net To Go To Top

DOWN MEMORY LANE IN MUNICH Posted by Bruce S. Ticker, February 13, 2005.

There it was, a huge poster hanging on a wall in an elevator lobby where I work. The title line at the top read, "Remember When (in the 60's and 70's)," as part of Black History Month. Dozens of colleagues waxed nostalgic as they jotted down their recollections. Ah, and one writer became wistful about the good ol' days when it was far easier to murder Jews in a foreign land. To wit, or nitwit: "Remember when Black September shot up the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany?" For good measure, the poster likewise waxed nostalgic as to "When Palestine was on every map." I reported this to the big bosses at the city agency where I work and to Jewish colleagues. I also left phone messages with the Philadelphia offices of the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee last Monday (Feb. 7) and neither returned my calls. I imagine the ADL must still be busy reviewing Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." These postings reflected the latest episode in a conflict that began in May 2002 - when two Israel-bashing messages were posted on a bulletin board outside the office of a senior manager who should have known better, and we learned later that the administration sent her a letter of censure. A number of Jewish employees filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which supported the city's lame reaction. After all, the EEOC considered this a matter of that senior manager's "Fourth Amendment" free speech rights. I wrote to the EEOC investigator to point out to him that free speech is covered under the First Amendment. Or is there a misprint in my copy of the Constitution? Last year, some more Israel-bashing messages appeared on that senior manager's fourth-floor bulletin board, one of which announced that she was scheduled to speak at Temple University about "the Berlin Wall" being moved to "Palestine." I complained to the usual suspects. My EEOC complaint is still pending and my contact at the ADL told me that they would not intervene because it was "an internal matter." Silly me, I forgot to tell him that this senior manager is international president of the Mel Gibson Fan Club. Now the new postings have appeared on the same floor. After nearly three days, the agency's integrity officer sent me this response: "I fully understand why you might have taken offense to these two postings because of our previous experience with political messages involving the Middle East and Israel being inappropriately posted on a fourth floor bulletin board. "I personally checked out these postings and all of the others and found them to be consistent with the 'remember when' theme. While it is true that these and other postings that had political postings might have been posted to further a political agenda, there is no way of proving the motivation behind them even if it was possible to find out who wrote them. "The statements are historically accurate and do not express a political position on these two historical facts. In a situation like this, the department cannot interfere with staff's freedom of expression unless a posting is clearly meant to be offensive or derogatory. These postings do not meet that criteria." Never could a message written in a celebratory tone for Jewish murders - and having nothing to do with black history - be "meant to be offensive or derogatory." Of course, the historical accuracy of the message could well be disputed, but that is not what is important. The agency's integrity officer misunderstood my concern. I did not want it removed. I wanted equal time, for I have my own wistful memories of that era. Remember when, after the Israeli athletes were murdered by Black September terrorists in 1972 in Munich, Prime Minister Golda Meir organized a squad of hit men who fanned out all over western Europe to rub out some of those responsible for the Munich killings? Remember when a movie called "Sword of Gideon" was produced to recount the ventures of these Israeli heroes? Remember when in 1973 Ehud Barak and Yonny Netanyahu raided an apartment building in Beirut, as part of a commando squad, to blow away three Palestine Liberation Organization leaders who helped plan the Munich massacre and other terror escapades? Ah, the good old days... Bruce Ticker is editor of www.crisisisrael.com To Go To Top

IS JAMES BAKER III RUNNING PRESIDENT BUSH? Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 13, 2005.

James Baker II is well known for his vulgar slur and advisory to President George Herbert Walker Bush: "F... the Jews! They didn't vote for us anyway." Well, that hostile, bigoted advice seems to have been adopted both by the Father in his time and the son now. During the time of the Germans and the European savagery against the Jews, they weren't quite that vulgar in their words but, in their actions - in the end - they massacred 6 million Jews or, to say it in Baker's vulgar terminology: "They F...ked the Jews out of their lives." Now the Bush Administration, backed by advisors like James Baker, both in person and in principle, has adopted the Baker Policy with respect to Israel. It was recently exposed that the "Road Map" concept came out of James Baker's Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and more recently a paper detailing the Baker "Road Map" written at the Rice Institute was handed to Condoleezza Rice before she left for Israel. HOSTILE ADVERSARY Young Bush implied promises to an unworldly Ariel Sharon, whose entire life was dedicated to military thought and, only in the last few years did he have to confront world leaders in the age-old practice of misleading geo-politics. Bush and company easily took the naive Sharon and his country, the Jewish State of Israel, to the cleaners. Sharon thought verbal promises from his "friend" Bush were a firm commitment. Sharon was wrong and now Israel has to pay the price of the Bush families more important commitments to such as Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. Sharon became a plaything, their "buba" (doll) in the hands of the Bush dynasty and the "Shadow Government" of the James Baker Club. The promises easily slipped away, replaced by threats as Sharon floundered in the waters of Perfidy. (1) His gigantic ego would not permit him to admit he had been made the perfect fool and stooge for foreign interests. He now must try to protect his reputation even if it provokes Civil War in Israel and weakens the Jewish nation's defenses through transfer of vital territory in a nation that is only 300 miles long and 50 miles wide with Judea and Samaria. Sharon and Bush plan to narrow Israel to 9 miles wide at her center. Each time his military advisors, including his Director of Intelligence, Avi Dicter, gave him a negative assessment of what he is doing, he falls into a rage of denial. He instructs his military and intelligence advisors to "Shut Up!" And only he will make the decisions about the Jewish nation's future - to live whole or to die cut up. Even as Sharon hides behind claims of his personal interpretation of democracy, he fires Cabinet Ministers who do not agree with his re-partition plans and threatens other Ministers and Knesset Members to force them to accept his orders. Sharon claims he has a mandate from the people who voted him into office in a landslide by his campaign promises wherein he vowed to keep the country whole. The fact is that he ran on a platform against Amram Mitzna who pledged to withdraw from Gaza, Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights. Sharon has now adopted every single policy of Mitzna, including the failed Oslo plans and the proposed Beilin Geneva Accords. He falsely claims a mandate on everything the electorate denied. I remind the reader that the American Joint Chiefs of Staff, under Maj. Gen. Earle Wheeler undertook an analysis of what land Israel must keep so America wouldn't have to rush troops to her defense if she were at risk of being defeated by the Arab Muslim Armies. Four of the key parcels included the Gaza Strip, the hills of Judea and Samaria from their peaks eastward - including the Jordan Valley, all of Jerusalem and surrounds, Sharm el-Sheik and another small portion of the Sinai. The last two are gone already, Gaza is promised and the rest are all on the table for negotiation. [Map available - send your Fax number by Email please.] Clearly, Sharon is either a traitor in adopting mandates of a foreign government or must undergo a psychiatric analysis to determine his competency to rule. Prime Minister Sharon has accepted, in principle, the division of Israel's already minuscule land mass - to be forfeit over to a people and culture who have tried everything to destroy her and promise to continue their violent attacks.. Sharon, who was once called "King of Israel" by the people, seems now to be wearing the crown of a timbela (dunce cap) and became the "King of Fools". He relies upon Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) the selected candidate of the Bush Dynasty to have the Terrorists stand down their war of Islam against the Jewish 'Infidels' (non-believer) and the Christian 'infidels; who they call the Crusaders. The Koranic injunction to fight and kill infidels overrides any agreement which they may make for temporary gain. This puts Islam in a permanent state of war (Dar al Harb) with non-Muslims. Even the massive Super Power, the United States, cannot force Muslims in Iraq to cease their attacks. Bush is desperate to withdraw with a semblance of honor but, he cannot. One day when there is a government in Iraq, American troops will be withdrawn and victory (where there is none) will be declared with pomp and ceremony but, the war of civilizations with continue. Israel, unlike the Super Power America, cannot withdraw because they have nowhere to withdraw to! Under the Sharon - Bush mandate, Israel will go from a nation of 50 miles wide to a 9 mile wide pinched narrow section easily broken through by any determined enemy or coalition of enemies. Sharon has declared he will give up Israel's southern flank in Gaza at Gush Katif - just like former PM Ehud Barak abandoned the northern flank of Lebanon in a sneak midnight retreat. Following that, Sharon, under the Bush Road Map, wishes to give up Israel's vital center section the world called the "West Bank" which exposes the entire underbelly of the Jewish nation to the Arab Muslim Palestinians. RETREAT FROM GAZA ENDANGERS ALL ISRAEL & BEN GURION AIRPORT Sharon creates the equivalent of the infamous failed Bar Lev line (so easily overrun by Egypt in 1973) at the Suez Canal with his new Border Fence. This supposedly high-tech monstrosity may stop some goats or walk-in Terrorists but, it cannot stop Kassam or Katyusha rockets and mortars which will easily fire over this barrier and reach every single coastal city in Israel, including aircraft landing and taking off at Ben Gurion Airport. The first plane shot down by a shoulder-fired missile (as happened to British and American aircraft in Iraq) will cause Ben Gurion Airport to shut down permanently. Only El Al Israel Airline has equipped their planes with defensive anti-missile systems which, regrettably are useless to slow flying aircraft as they take off or land. The foreign airlines said "We can't afford to mount anti-missile systems". What foreign civilian aircraft will expose its passengers and planes to the thousands of shoulder-fired missiles already there or smuggled in from Egypt? But, that is Sharon's plan....to give up vital territory and bring the Arab Muslim Palestinian Terrorists close to Israeli cities and airport. Not to worry...Sharon has the implied promise of the Bush Dynasty that somehow, in a vague way, America will make gestures to protect Israel. Sharon is also accepting the very short-lived promises of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim, Fatah and Abu Mazen's Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades for a temporary cease-fire (called a hudna in Arabic) which even the Americans in Iraq discovered was merely a farce to buy time for re-grouping and re-arming. BOTH BUSHES PROMISED TO PROTECT ISRAEL Some may recall Father Bush and Baker's implied promises during the Gulf War to send U.S. aircraft against Saddam's mobile SCUD missile launchers. Israel was hit with 39 SCUDs during the first Gulf War in 1991, starting January 16, 1991. But, then President Papa George Bush refused to give the Israeli Air Force the IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) codes which would have allowed Israeli aircraft to hit Saddam's launchers without being shot at by U.S. planes. As it turned out, the GAO (U.S. Government Accounting Office) reported after the War that none of the American aircraft were assigned the task of hitting the SCUD launchers. So much for American promises by the Bush/Baker pro-Arab State Department - implied or even signed MOUs (Memorandum Of Understanding). Bush ended the first Gulf War after Saddam's SCUD hit an American Marine Base, killing 28 American Marines - mostly from Pennsylvania. Bush left Saddam in power, leading to the second Gulf War, still on-going. Now that Bush has Sharon 'hog-tied', the next step will be the March meeting in London of the infamous Quartet (the U.N., the E.U., the U.S. State Department and Russia) will create a barrage of promises of how they will come to the rescue IF the Arab Muslim Palestinians and the Arab Muslim nations do not keep their implied or even signed promises of peace. If you believe this and find out what the grand scheme is really all about, well, you can always express out your disgust. OIL DRIVES MID EAST POLICY The matter of landing Israel like a caught fish has a far greater importance than the seeming Bush policy of bringing Democracy to the Middle East. It does have to do with ramping up crude oil prices from its earliest days at $2.50 a barrel, through $20 a barrel and now hovering at $50. Guess who is most involved and interested in these obscene profits? Let's ask Father Bush, James Baker and their oil friends. You will notice that Congress refuses to investigate, let alone vote an excess profits tax on multi-national U.S. Oil companies. Such nations as Saudi Arabia have doubled, tripled and quadrupled their profits. These profits which make them rich enough for massive purchases of U.S. armaments, which delights the U.S. arms industry. That also increases their investment leverage to establishing more mosques and madrassa (Islamic) schools in America which teach that Islam is destined to rule the world. Please read the essay by Rachel Ehrenfeld, "Sowing Terror" at the conclusion to further understand the Oil Scam to increase crude prices by oil companies and oil nations. (2) For the oil men, Israel is an impediment because the Muslim Arabs remain at a high state of hostility because they have not been able to crush and dispose of the Jewish State. Oil-men, like Bush and Baker wish to accommodate their Arab oil 'best friends' like Prince Bandar who George Bush enjoys inviting to his ranch. Of course, at the same time they make usurious profits. If you though that the $60 Billion Oil-For-Food scam was huge, the manipulated Oil-For-Profit of the Oil Companies exceeds that by Trillions of Dollars. If eliminating Israel is beneficial to the oil men, than that is what will be done. ELIMINATE ISRAEL TO APPEASE THE MUSLIM ARAB NATIONS Why then (besides the religious intolerance and the loss of face - having lost 6 wars to a people, the Arab Muslims claim are a lowly people) is there such a concerted effort to erase Israel? Carl Jung would say that the one making these claims know themselves to be an inferior people and cannot bear the thought, thus they claim superiority. But, there is something else which drives both oil companies in the West and the Arabs to try to eliminate Israel. There is a concern that the Arab Muslims will try again to destroy Israel, this time with a saturation missile attack - possibly with a choice of NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) weapons. They know Israel is capable of a nuclear response which could jeopardize the oil fields and the hostile Arab Muslim nations. One can only conclude that the Bush crowd believes if it cannot tame (read: appease) the Arab Muslims, then Israel must be removed if they can recruit enough Leftists to agree to assist in her national suicide. This just in: Arik Sharon announced a vote to release the first 500 convicted and jailed Arab Muslim Palestinian Terrorists - to be followed by an additional 400. In addition, Sharon is negotiating the immunity of the top 350 Terrorists who have yet to be caught or killed. Add to that Sharon's acceptance of the return of Arafat's Terrorists who occupied the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Bethlehem who were exiled to other countries. Having virtually surrendered to Terrorists, Sharon's offices put out a bold statement that he will not tolerate Jewish objectors to his entire policy gamut of re-partition and deportation of Jews. He will clearly deal harshly with the protesters, even as he releases hundreds to perhaps thousands of convicted and/or wanted Terrorists. SOLUTIONS: One is to kick, drag, force Arik Sharon out of office and simply endure the mix of threats, already defined by Bush and the U.S. State Department - including cancellation of contracts, cut-off of vital exchanged intelligence, cut-off of spare parts, cut-off of aviation fuel, cut-off of political support in the corrupt U.N. - and even the use of force through NATO, all orchestrated by the Bush Dynasty. Two: Elect someone who has a deep affection for the Land like Americans who venerate their United States of America. (I feel certain that the American people and the American Congress will side with Israel against whatever punishments the Bush Dynasty will leverage against the smallest and only real Democracy in the Middle East. Three: Cancel any withdrawals or land transfers that offer nothing more than Land for a Piece of Paper to a primitive, hostile people who cannot abandon the mandate of their religion to attack infidels. ### 1. Read: "PERFIDY" by Ben Hecht (if you can find it since it is supposedly out of print) 2. "SOWING TERROR" by RACHEL EHRENFELD The Jerusalem Post Feb. 9, 2005 .............Saudi Arabia raised, openly and publicly, $174 million for families of suicide bombers, including members of Hamas and the Aksa Martyrs Brigades. According to Ain-al-Yaqeen, the Islamic Center in Brussels, Belgium, received a total of more than $5 million; the Islamic Center in Geneva, Switzerland, receives annual support of close to $7 million; and the biggest Islamic Center in Europe, which the Saudis built in Madrid, Spain, received close to $8 million in total. The Saudi kingdom's efforts, under the leadership of King Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz, "has been astronomical, amounting to many billions of Saudi Riyals... [resulting in] 210 Islamic centers... more than 1,500 mosques and 202 colleges... And 2,000 schools for educating Muslim children in non-Islamic countries in Europe, North and South America, Australia and Asia." These are the same mosques, schools and Islamic centers that preach the destruction of the US and Israel. Islamic centers in Spain, England, Germany, Italy and other European countries have been identified as serving al-Qaida and Hamas. On February 2003, the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center Web site (www.intelligence.org.il) published additional captured documents on Saudi money transfers to Hamas and other terrorist groups. These official Palestinian documents detailed Saudi contributions to the Islamic Association, a Hamas-affiliated organization in the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Association, which identifies itself as a charitable organization, is dedicated to teaching kindergarteners "to hate Israel, to wage a 'holy war' against it and to carry out suicide attack against civilians." The writer, author of "Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed - and How to Stop It", is director of the American Center for Democracy. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

THE DANGER OF ASSIMILATION IN ISRAEL Posted by David Ha'ivri, February 13, 2005.

Assimilation in Israel is not only a demographic threat, but it also leads to a real security risk. Loss of Jewish identity often evolves into a situation where one sympathizes with the enemy, and can reach a point where one finally crosses the line to full-fledged, active support of the war against Israel. Tali Fahima is a Jewish woman and a resident of Tel Aviv who paid frequent visits to Jenin, where she developed a romantic relationship with Zakaria Zubeidi, who is chief of "the Al-Aksa Brigades" and one of the most wanted terrorists in the Shomron. Not only is she the "mistress" of this Arab terrorist, but she herself was arrested by the Israeli authorities when it became known that she was involved in terrorist activities against Jews in Israel. This "agent of love", as she has been coined, has become a "celebrity" of the leftist Israeli media, who are quick to quote her from her prison cell each time she praises Arab terrorists. Here is an example: "Even if Zakaria did carry out attacks, so what? He is under occupation. He is a freedom fighter." Fahima, a self-proclaimed "peace activist", faces a multi-count criminal indictment which includes charges of aiding the enemy in a time of war, relating to her allegedly passing military information to terrorists to facilitate the commission of terror attacks. Fahima herself said that she wished to serve as a human shield for Zubeidi, to protect him from Israeli security forces. This is hardly a new phenomenon. While statistics are obscured as to how many Jewish girls are being held in Arab villages, the estimation is that the number is in the tens of thousands. As part of the over-all war against the Jewish state, they systematically dispatch young Arab men to charm Jewish girls and take them back to their villages. These Arab men freely enter Jewish towns and cities where they entice Jewish girls. Often, they pretend to be Sephardic Jews, and only after they become romantically involved do they reveal their true identity. But by then it is too late. The girls have been drawn into their clutches, and eventually into their villages. In time, they literally become slaves, abused by the Arab husbands and families. Though they suffer, they remain as captives, since there is no where to turn to. The children in these affairs are considered Jewish by the Halacha, but are raised as full-fledged Arabs, hostile to Israel. The Israeli authorities don't dare get involved, at the risk of being accused of being racist. Not only do the Israeli authorities ignore this, but recently a Jewish woman in Tel Aviv was arrested for trying to break up the relationship between her 17-year-old daughter and an Arab "suitor". How twisted! In the Jewish State, a Jewish mother is being held as a criminal because she tried to save her daughter from the hands of our Arab enemies. Is this in the name of democracy? Or in the name of insanity? This Jewish mother should be given a medal. At the very least, she should be helped by the government of Israel to save her child from becoming another Tali Fahima. But, no. the girl's mother and four other relatives have been arrested and are being held for allegedly trying to kidnap the Arab "boyfriend" to persuade him to end to the relationship. In the book of Bereshit, chapter 34, we learn of Dina, the daughter of Yaakov Avinu, who wandered off into Shechem and was abducted by the king's son who physically abused her, and then sent messengers to Yaakov suggesting that Yaakov agree to have Dina marry him. Shimon and Levi, sons of Yaakov Avinu, refused to sit idly by while their sister was being held captive. They took their swords, entered the city of Shechem, and wreaked havoc upon the city. Unfortunately, in Israel today, Shimon and Levi would end up in prison for their undemocratic behavior. One of the reasons that HaShem gave us the land of Israel was so that we could dwell alone, separate from the nations and not intermingle with them. The Torah teaches us in the book of Devarim, chapter 7, "you shall not marry your daughters to their sons and you shall not marry your sons to their daughters." The purpose of the State of Israel is to create a place where the Jewish People are gathered together, so that Jewish girls can marry Jewish boys and have Jewish babies; a place where Jewish mothers and fathers need not worry of such assimilation. Instead, we are witness to a plague of intermarriage in our own country a problem we once thought was limited to the exile. The "open minded" Hellenist society cultivates an atmosphere vapid of Jewish content, making it so easy for confused Jews to cross the lines and join the enemy. Let us put an end to this insanity before it puts and end to us. David Ha'ivri, chairman of Revava, is also editor of Darka Shel Torah and Ideas in Action newsletters, and the publisher of books teaching Jewish pride and faith in HaShem. He has set a goal to put the Jewish people back on the footpath of our fathers, and build a proud and strong nation whose national policy is based on Jewish values. He can be reached by email at haivri@hameir.org or at his website: http://www.hameir.org/ To Go To Top

IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH AS INSTIGATORS OF TERRORISM IN THE P.A.-ADMINISTERED TERRITORIES Posted by Dr. Reuven Erlich, February 13, 2005.

High-ranking officials in the PA claim Hezbollah recently increased its efforts to disrupt the calm in the PA-administered territories by encouraging its operatives there to escalate their activities Overview 1. During the past year Iran and Hezbollah have increasingly stepped up the activation of Palestinian terrorist operatives in Israel and the PA-administered territories with the intention of sustaining and fomenting the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. Political and security officials in the PA told reporters from Reuters and the AP that efforts had recently been increased to disrupt the current calm and to sabotage Abu Mazen's attempts to enter into a dialogue with Israel. 2. To put an end to the Hezbollah activity, which also sabotages Abu Mazen's and the PA's efforts to suppress manifestations of anti-Israeli violence, the PA has initiated a media attack by leaking information off the record to expose the methods used by Hezbollah to incite terrorist operatives in the PA-administered territories to further violence. 3. In addition, a Palestinian delegation headed by 'Abd al-Fattah Hamail, a former PA Minister, was sent to Beirut to meet high-ranking Hezbollah members in an attempt to clamp down on Hezbollah terrorists in the PA-administered territories (so far, Hezbollah sources have denied the meeting took place). Hezbollah methods in the PA-administered territories exposed through leaks to the media 4. Examples of the PA's media attack on Hezbollah can be found in reports given to Reuters and AP reporters in Ramallah by high-ranking political and security officials and terrorists who have discontinued their terrorist activity. a. "Senior political and security officials" in the Palestinian Authority told a Reuters reporter (on February 9, 2005) about increased Hezbollah efforts to escalate terrorist attacks in the PA-administered territories: i. "Hezbollah has been trying to recruit suicide bombers" from among Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades terrorists "to carry out attacks which would sabotage the truce" (for example, a recent attack in Nablus, which Palestinians said had been perpetrated by Hezbollah). ii. "Another official said intercepted email communications and bank transactions suggested Hezbollah had raised its cash offers to militants [i.e., Palestinian terrorists] ... and are now willing to pay $100,000 for a whole operation (suicide bombing) whereas in the past they paid $20,000..." iii. "One top Palestinian official said security services were investigating Hezbollah funding for militants [i.e., Palestinian terrorists] in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip" Another said clear links had been identified through intercepted communications [between Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists]. b. The Palestinian security apparatus and gunmen in [i.e., terrorist operatives] the West Bank told an AP reporter in Ramallah that Hezbollah was the worst threat there was on the truce with Israel. The reporter wrote (February 9, 2005) that: i. Officials in the Palestinian security apparatus noted that "[Hezbollah, which has] hundreds of West Bank gunmen on their payroll, [has] stepped up pressure on them in recent weeks" and "offering thousands of dollars to step up attacks on Israelis." ii. "One retired militant [i.e., Palestinian terrorist] told the AP that a Hezbollah recruiter called him just a day before the Mideast summit in Egypt, told him the cease-fire wouldn't last and offered him a generous payment if he returns [sic] to violence. A squad of five or six militants typically receives $5,000 to $8,000 a month for expenses, including bullets, weapons, cell phone calling cards and spending money." iii. "Majed ['Ali Muhammad] Faraj, a top official in the Palestinian Interior Ministry, said 'There are foreign parties who are trying to create bases in Palestine,' but did not refer to Hezbollah directly." He said that "this has a political dimension and the Palestinian Authority will not allow" the activities of those foreign parties. iv. "A former militant [i.e., Palestinian terrorist] in the West Bank city of Ramallah" told AP that "a Hezbollah recruiter called him [on February 7] a day before the summit, and urged him to resume attacks. The recruiter said the cease-fire wouldn't last long" and promised to cover all [the terrorist's] expenses, buying bullets and weapons? He also said that "Hezbollah is trying to recruit members of the Palestinian security forces as allies." v. A top Palestinian police official in charge of watching extremists said that Hezbollah regularly uses email to monitor the bank accounts of its members in the West Bank and the names of those who carried out attacks. He said that he monitored some of the email traffic and that the Palestinian Monetary Authority was watching the bank transfers from Hezbollah to Palestinian terrorists. He noted that he briefed Palestinian leaders on Hezbollah's activities but had not received an order to step in or make arrests. Dispatching a Palestinian delegation to Lebanon 5. Because of that situation, Abu Mazen, the current chairman of the Palestinian Authority sent a delegation to Beirut headed by former Minister 'Abd al-Fattah Hamail, which was supposed to meet with senior Hezbollah members. "Palestinian sources" reported that the delegation met with members of the Hezbollah leadership and the field commanders of the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. However, Hezbollah sources, and even 'Abd al-Fattah Hamail himself, denied that the Palestinian delegation and the Hezbollah leadership had met (Al-Arabia TV, February 9, 2005). 6. In addition, Jibril al-Rajoub, senior Palestinian security adviser said, after a previous visit in Beirut, he was confident that Hezbollah would not sabotage the efforts to reach a truce because it would respect the Palestinian leadership's commitment to a cease-fire (Reuters, February 9, 2005). A call to Syria to stop its support of Hezbollah, which poses to threat to the peace process 7. During her visit in France (February 8, 2005) American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted that Damascus should stop its support of terrorist groups in Lebanon, by implication Hezbollah, which posed a threat to the peace process. She said that the American government was examining ways to do more when it came to imposing sanction on Damascus in light of the "Syrian responsibility law." Visiting in Italy, Rice reiterated the American position that Syria had to stop serving as a haven for terrorist operatives harmful to the peace process. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah: The "active resistance" will continue and will not surrender to threats 8. The Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in Beirut: "This is a year of devotion to resistance, of maintaining resistance of and insisting on resistance, that is our choice, our faith and our way, and our national, pan-Arab and Islamic activity" (Al-Manar, the Hezbollah satellite TV station in Lebanon, February 9, 2005). Dr. Reuven Erlich (Colonel, Ret.) is director of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)  in Israel. He can be reached by email at mlm@intelligence.org.il To Go To Top

PEOPLE ARE REALLY, REALLY NICE Posted by Arlene Peck, February 12, 2005.

I am going change my attitude and adopt a kinder, gentler one. I have concluded that it will take less stress and hostility to view the world in the same way as the benevolent media and all those good kind people who really, really do not like being politically incorrect. Thinking that most of the world just 'didn't get it' and were too stupid or corrupt beyond belief was taking its toll on me. I do not handle stress well. I'm a giver. Why do I say this? Well, for instance, I remember a time not so long ago, when old people could count on getting their Social Security, and the Constitution wasn't under siege by the ACLU and their ilk against anyone with the audacity to mention the name of a higher power. Hell, I even remember when people were not afraid to leave their houses and not lock their doors. You'd send your kids out to play and the rule was, "Be home before dark!" So, when I thumb through the newspaper and see every page filled with the daily horrors, world-wide, of daily bombings, beheadings or whatever this 'peaceful Muslim culture' has done to destroy our world as we know it, I ponder. I shake my head in absolute wonderment that there are still people "out there" who from now on, I am going to think, are very, very nice and not morons because they can really negotiate with these cretins and make them behave. Yeah, right. I watched ex-president Jimmy Carter, who never met a terrorist that he did not bond with or an Israeli who he did not think needed his destructive guidance. I reminisce how nice it was during Carter's inauguration when he had the audacity to walk down the main drag in Washington holding his wife's hand while waving to the crowd. Nobody even thought of blowing up the in-coming President of the United State as he strolled down the street. In fact, I do not even recall the word 'terrorism' being a mainstay in our vocabulary at that time. Has that ever changed! When George W. was being inaugurated, there was more security surrounding him and the entire city of Washington, D.C. than probably the combined forces we now have stationed in Iraq. Does that provoke unfavorable world opinion? Naw, it is just another fact of life that we have all learned to live with since that fateful day on September 11. Folks, that was our wake-up call! Yet, there are too many who have already forgotten the message. Much of Europe is no more. Paris? Forget it. The same can be said for Holland, Austria, and Spain, - they are all well on their way to being obsolete as viable nations. Even here, the Arab culture leaves no doubt about the fact that the goal of the Islam is not to live in harmony and join the melting pot of the world or United States. Instead, it has to multiply and terrorize the citizens into submission. The entire Muslim culture is based on submission. Starting with their women who are not treated even as well as their farm animals. But, hey, with my new attitude, such mundane things like how every waking hour of every day in our culture is being consumed with fighting the hate the Arab world has brought into our lives isn't going to concern me. I am going to be sweet,and instead of thinking evil thoughts about savage barbarians who live to die and drag everyone in their wake along with them, I am going to change my un-PC attitude. In days past, I did not think that terrorists who shoot babies in their beds and chase them around the schools with rifles deserved nice treatment. Now? I might just go down and rally about how terrorists should be given the protections of the Geneva conventions and other niceties,despite their preponderance for targeting civilians and beheading captives. When my President gives speeches that we are going to open our purses and hearts, I think I felt as the many other taxpayers who are more concerned about 'No child left behind in American schools: I didn't give a diddly-squat whether these cretins were thinking kindly about us. However now, that is all over. From now on, I am going to be happy for the Iraqis who now have such a democratic society even when they blow up the schools that we are building for their children. Not that they would notice, but illiteracy in the Arab world is at an all time high and rising rapidly, with the out- of-control rise in population. It's possible when your allowed four wives with an average of ten children each. Since they keep their women pregnant, barefoot and out of schools, over half of them are not even able to read or write. At the pace, they're going in the Arab world, now, it will take roughly 30 years to wipe out basic illiteracy. And, when we sent over another $350 million dollars to Mohamed Abbas aka whatever, I didn't even reflect on how maybe President Bush ought to consider insisting that Ms. Suha Arafat might be asked to open the secret vaults and removing such a paltry sum out of her eight to eleven billions that she's already stashed away previously. I will forget I ever mentioned that it is time we invested in America's future. Why should I read headlines that speak of the "New demands on Israel for peace" In addition, why should I feel alarm over my belief that Abbus 'what's his name' is really Arafat in a suit? Why would it matter that this new 'peace-keeper' replacement of the father of terrorism, Arafat, earned his doctorate for a thesis on Holocaust denial? I also won't let it bother me that he was the financial muscle behind the murders at the Olympics in Munich. Sure, if Israel caves in just one more time, opens the jails to let out another thousand terrorist to join the Israeli work force, this time, it will be different. Especially if the people of Israel give in to just a "few more" conditional demands for peace. Maybe moving out a few hundred thousand Jews and turning over more Israeli real estate to these "peaceful Palestinians" isn't such a bad idea, huh? What is wrong with the mentality of the men who are leading Israel? Gawd! I worry about our elections, not how many Palestinians and Iraqis are disappointed or lacking the necessities. I worry about many things, but savage, barbaric people who want to kill us do not worry me in the same manner.I worry that the countries of good people such as the Dutch, and a dozen other countries that are on their way out will not wake up in time. They will fail to realize that the Islamic culture, all 1.3 billion of them, are so dysfunctional and dangerous that life, as we know it, is very much in danger. Columnist Ann Coulter wrote, "When there is a 100 percent chance of being hijacked by an Arab Muslim Extremist, it ceased to be a profile. It's called a description of the suspect." Yet, not all those 'nice people' in those transitional countries want to tell it like it is. Maybe, from now on I ought to refer to the savages who we are watching on our daily news, in a kinder, gentler, manner. Insurgents... now that's a 'nice' word. A recent article in the Sunday Los Angeles Times, written by an unbiased journalist, I am sure, by the name of Ashraf Khalil, wrote "The Power of Anger! Displaced from dominance, minority scorns vote but is still courted." It was how the role of outsider is a strange one for most of the Sunni Arabs in Iraq and how we need to be kinder and gentler to these disenfranchised people. I am going to be like Ann Frank and think that people are really, really nice. So, maybe from now on, I ought to tone down my insistence that the media, and everybody within their earshot ought to get honest and fair, and take notice that Israel isn't the problem. According to the doctrine of these savage sub-humans who are swarming into our lives at an alarming rate and destroying everything in their wake, they want everyone who is not them, dead... dead ... dead! However, it is not a nice thing to say for a nice person such as I am. Shame on me for thinking 'that' way. Arlene Peck is an internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess. She can be reached at: bestredhead@earthlink.net and www.arlenepeck.com To Go To Top

MORE THAN SEMANTICS Posted by IsrAlert, February 12, 2005.

This comes from http://maggiek.web.aplus.net/id104.html So what's in a name? Wouldn't a lilac by any other name smell as sweet? Undoubtedly. But would it sound as sweet? Take the matter of those Jewish communities beyond the so-called Green Line, which demarcates Israel's pre-June 1967 borders. The mere mention of the area raises a semantic problem. To the world at large, including Israelis left of the political divide, you're talking about the 'West Bank,' a reference concocted by the British during their 1917-1948 Mandate over Palestine to denote most of the arid land between the Jordan River and Israel's coastal plain. You could try that term on members of Israel's 'National Camp,' the right-of-center and religious factions that were the core of Ariel Sharon's landslide electoral victory a couple of years ago, but only if you're in the market for a hot argument. The world's West Bank is their 'Judea and Samaria,' Israel's historical, religious heartland and the key to its defense against invasion. Moreover, they are not alone. Behind them stands a phalanx of like-minded Jews throughout the world, plus the better part of an American 'Christian Zionist' community that claims upwards of 50 million adherents. If just naming the area raises a red flag, it's nothing compared to the debate over the identity of the 250,000 Israelis who populate it. They have grown to nearly 5 percent of the nation's Jewish population spread over 144 points on the map from the head of the Jordan Valley to southern Gaza. Are those pins on the map the notorious 'Settlements' and their inhabitants the 'Settlers' with whom most of the world has become so familiar? Or are they the 'Communities' and 'Community Residents' lovingly portrayed in the four-color brochures of the 'Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and Gaza,' (more commonly identified by the Hebrew acronym 'Yesha'), their national umbrella organization. Here we have a political bombshell enveloped in a semantic cloud. 'Settlement' just doesn't carry the same baggage in Hebrew that it does in English. In Hebrew it is simply a community, albeit a recent one. In English, it conjures up images of a frontier outpost, a collection of shacks and tents, ideally surrounded by sagebrush, that can be folded up and carted away at the mere utterance of the dreaded phrase "obstacle to peace" The 'Settlers,' the occupants of these imagined wilderness crash pads, project much the same aura of impermanence and disposability in the collective perception of a CNN-fed public. 'Community' is quite another kettle of fish. Communities are rooted in the ground on which they stand. One doesn't fold them, spindle them or cart them off. Their occupants are homeowners, school board members, car-poolers, and soccer moms. There is nothing impermanent or disposable about them. Is it any wonder that they and their representative bodies in Israel are ready to go to the mat to preserve the civic entities - the Communities - they have created over the last 30 years from the bulldozers of Arik Sharon, the man who once swore to defend them? Where in this war of descriptions and definitions does the truth reside? Truth in its absolute sense may never find a home in this debate, but if Ariel in Samaria, with 20,000 inhabitants, light industrial plants, a five-star hotel and a four-year university is a 'Settlement," then so is Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Do the journalists who routinely refer to towns like Efrat and Kedumim, with their landscaped gardens and homes reminiscent of New Rochelle and Brentwood, as "Settlements' really believe their owners are about to hand the keys over to Abu Mazen anytime soon because somebody in some diplomatic ivory tower has declared them to be 'obstacles to peace"' The biggest obstacle to an Israeli-Palestinian peace isn't the Jewish 'Settlements,' or 'Communities' of the 'West Bank' or 'Judea, Samaria and Gaza' (select one from each column in accordance with your political taste). It is rather the fanatical clinging to symbolism over reality. What's in a name? In Israel, everything. Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com To Go To Top

THE DECISION OF MANY-INDIVIDUAL SYSTEM IS MORE DEMOCRATIC THAN OF FEW-INDIVIDUAL SYSTEM Posted by Yoram Shifftan, February 12, 2005.

One aspect of the momentous decision to uproot Jewish habitation in the heart of the Jewish national home is highlighted by the last Time magazine (14 February 2005), which is devoted to the spread of nuclear weapon and knowhow to outlaw regimes and terrorist organizations, as well as to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, by Pakistan's A.Q. Khan in particular. If we take note of this, we can see that the uprooting program will create an even more dangerous territorial vacuum with Hizballah and other terrorist organizations becoming able to enhance their already existing support to Palestinian terrorism. This time Israel will be absent from this territory and therefore unable to effectively counteract such activity. Furthermore, the shielding and deterrence effect of the presence of nearby Arab habitation close to Jewish villages will be lost with the "disengagement". This is not just a theory; during the first Gulf war, Saddam was careful to direct his missiles to the localized Jewish population only - e.g., to Ramat Gan. Some Jews escaped from the densely-populated coastal plane to Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria close to Arab habitation, so they were avoided by Saddam. Each time that Israel ignores what is easily foreseeable in advance, because it wants to obtain a temporary "peace", it pays the price in Jewish life few years later. For example, Israel decided to ignore the Egyptian violation of the condition that ended the attrition war, i.e., the advancing of the missiles by the Egyptians closer to the Suez canal, and this was the single most important reason that made the 1973 war so much more difficult than the 1967 war, and caused the direct loss of so many planes and Jewish life (it is also an example to the importance of strategic depth which saved the day). Instead of destroying some of Lebanon strategic targets such as power stations, and thus compelling the Lebanese and Syrian armies to dissolve the Hizballah, Israel retreated from Lebanon, and the result was not just a morale boost to terrorism and allowing the Hizballah to actively aid the Palestinian in the territories, but Israel became hostage to Hizballah: "Israel, too, is reluctant to resort to the kind of pre-emptive blow it used to take out Saddam Hussein's Osirak reactor in 1981. A similar strike against Iran would invite retaliation by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hizballah, which can rain missiles on Tel Aviv from its perch in southern Lebanon..." (14 February 2005, Time). The contemplated uprooting will compound Israel inability to take pre-emptive action for similar reasons. Now too we know all this in advance, and there should be no doubt about the ruthless determination of the present leaders of Iran, in particular, to destroy Israel: "Iran's current leader, Ayatollah Khameini, is intent on acquiring a nuclear arsenal ... some members of the Iranian government have boasted how they would use such weapons 'to destroy Israel,' saying 'Islam could survive the retaliation. But Israel would be gone forever.'" (Jewish Chronicle, February 11 2005). The uprooting is not just a mortal blow to the Zionist ethos and the most demoralizing blow to Israel's cohesion and its pioneering spirit since the inception of the state, but it has got practical implications of life and death. One would expect the Leaders of Israel not to be in a rush to uproot and to take a great deal of time for internal discussion, culminating in a decision in the national level. Instead there is unreasonable and unexplained urgency to carry out the uprooting. It is most important that we think carefully about the nature of the democratic forum that is appropriate to take such a fateful decision. There have been reports of pressures and bribes exerted on individuals in key positions so that they will support the uprooting; for example, see http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/539174.html. It is important to understand the qualitative difference between voting in a forum of few individuals versus voting in a forum of many individuals - and to see which is more democratic. It is important because in Israel today both opposing camps enlist democracy. One camp says the government and the Knesset (the few-individual forums) decided for the uprooting and therefore it is not democratic to refuse to perform it. The other camp says that in all the many-individual forums, including the all-important recent national election where such an uprooting was central, and the two votings about the uprooting in the Likud, and in the third voting in the Likud where Netanyahu's position against a Palestinian state won, in all these forums, each composed with many individuals, the position for the uprooting lost heavily. On a priori grounds a decision of a many-individual system is more democratic than a decision by a few-individual system. This is because a cynical, opportunistic and ruthless PM can alternate tactics - on the one hand he bestows honors and jobs, and on the other hand he issues threats and intimidation. Such 'customized' treatment is technically much more difficult to achieve when dealing with many individuals (and in particular if the vote of the individual is known only to himself); i.e., at the level of large polls and elections. Indeed, from the point of view of the history of Israel and Zionism, it feels as if Sharon is reversing the second law of thermodynamics. It is akin to the atypical behaviour one can get from a system of a few individuals (particles) in statistical mechanics. Sharon is like one of Maxwell's demons, selecting and pressurizing a few individuals so as to alter the course of history. The course is thus determined by a few individuals when in reality this is a many-individual system and voting should be done only after the long and free discussion that would be appropriate to such an epoch-making decision. In truth, one can argue that even the call for a referendum or an election is not necessary, because there has been already a rejection in a landslide of the uprooting idea and this rejection occurred in the LARGEST possible forum, and there has been no change in the conditions on the ground since this last national election. If one considers the irreversible and momentous nature of such an uprooting, the idea of which was introduced within few months after the election, by ONE individual who came to power by ridiculing the idea of such an uprooting, it is hard to imagine that Israel will remain the democracy it has been, if the uprooting will take place. Yoram Shifftan is a frequent contributor to Think-Israel. He writes on hasbara and on the legal basis of Israel's right to all of Israel, including Biblical Israel. To Go To Top

JANE'S SECURITY NEWS BRIEF 'ISRAELI ARMY HARDLINES DEFY GOVERNMENT' IS WRONG Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, February 11, 2005.

This report is false! Jane's Security News Brief: Israeli army hardliners defy government - Soldiers say they will not obey orders to dismantle settlements On 5 January 2005, Sgt Yossi Pilant was given 28 days' detention by a military court for refusing to obey an order to dismantle a Jewish settlement, Yitzhar, in the occupied West Bank where he lives and for urging fellow soldiers to join him. Other soldiers will probably follow his example as the political battle triggered by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's controversial decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank intensifies. [Jane's Foreign Report - first posted to http://frp.janes.com - 8 February 2005] This report is true! He was, at first convicted, and then immeadiately released on appeal. Firstly, he was on furlough and had not been given any orders, so obviously, they could not have been "refused". Secondly, he was telling the members of his unit that they had been sent illegally to destroy a temporary housing unit, meant to be occupied by his brother - there is no crime in this. It turns out that this was correct, legal procedings had not been followed and the order was illegal. A good example of not believeing everything one reads. best regards, Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org To Go To Top

CRISIS AT COLUMBIA Posted by Janet Lehr, February 11, 2005.

Is bias at Columbia damaging the University's reputation? Whether donations will be effected is a real consideration. But when the Chairman of Columbia's board of trustees expresses his belief that donations will not be effected and defends the university by saying: "We think that people ... will come to understand that this is a broader subject than what's going on at Columbia," it would seem that academic fantasy, has overtaken concerns of academic freedom. Since when is the defense of 'they all do it' acceptable? This article was written by Jacob Gershman, Staff Reporter of the Sun and appeared in the Sun today. It is archived at http://www.nysun.com/article/9072 The chairman of Columbia University's board of trustees, David Stern, said he has confidence in President Lee Bollinger's ability to steer the university past a damaging public relations crisis involving Jewish students and anti-Israel professors that shows little sign of abating. Mr. Stern, the National Basketball Association commissioner, told The New York Sun in a recent telephone interview that he supports Mr. Bollinger's response to the controversy that erupted last fall after reports came out about complaints by Jewish students against professors in the Middle East studies department. Speaking publicly about the issue for the first time, Mr. Stern, who attended Columbia's law school, defended Columbia as an Ivy League trailblazer when it comes to relations with Jewish students. "For those who see some virulent anti-Semitic history and customs, or whatever, at Columbia, I would remind them that when quotas were abolished, Columbia was first to accept Jewish students," said Mr. Stern. As chairman of the board, he is essentially Mr. Bollinger's boss. Some have faulted Mr. Bollinger for not taking swifter measures to defuse the scandal and for appointing faculty members sharply critical of Israel to investigate the complaints. Others sympathetic to the anti-Israel professors have accused Columbia's president of impinging on the professors' academic freedom. In response to critics of Mr. Bollinger's handling of the matter, such as the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, Mr. Stern said, "I would expect them to be impatient." But he said he did not find fault with the make-up of the committee investigating the complaints and urged critics of the president to wait for the committee to complete its work. "I think the president appropriately decided - in terms of the complaints - that this is a matter for a faculty committee to deal with," Mr. Stern said. "That was an appropriate and correct decision, as unpopular it may have been with just about everybody." Some faculty members have criticized Mr. Bollinger for dragging his feet and for appointing what they believe is a biased committee. "I don't understand Bollinger's handling of the situation," said Judith Jacobson, an assistant professor of clinical epidemiology in the Mailman School of Public Health and a leader of an academic group called Scholars for Peace in the Middle East. "If I were naming a committee to investigate a problem in a particular department, then I would select people who didn't have a conflict of interest with respect to the subject matter or the people involved." She is among several Columbia professors who have called on Mr. Bollinger to appoint a more "fair-minded" committee, and she said the student complaints that have come out recently are "just the tip of the iceberg." Meanwhile, as pressure has mounted for Columbia to make changes to the Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures Department, the administration has taken the unusual step of wresting departmental control away from tenured professors in the department and giving it to a newly established committee of outside faculty members. Columbia's vice president for arts and sciences, Nicholas Dirks, said the purpose of such a committee is to help departments "overcome specific challenges." He said the one advising the Middle East studies department "will independently advise and work the department chair and me." The chairman of the department is Marc Van De Mieroop, a professor of ancient Near East history. The committee members are a professor of philosophy, Akeel Bilgrami; a professor of South Asian art, Vidya Dehejia; an Arab studies professor, Rashid Khalidii, a sociologist, Gil Eyal; and an anthropology scholar, Brinkley Messick. Two of the professors, Messrs. Messick and Bilgrami, signed a 2002 petition condemning Israel and calling for Columbia to divest itself from companies that sell arms and military hardware to the Jewish state. Mr. Khalidi's professorship was named after Edward Said, a Columbia scholar and author of "Orientalism," and was paid for partly with a donation from the United Arab Emirates. In an interview with the Sun, a Hebrew literature professor, Dan Miron, said the university's decision to establish the new committee has enraged members of the Middle East studies department. "Some people see it as a punishment" against the department as a whole, he said. Mr. Miron, who perhaps more than any other professor at the university has spoken out in defense of the Jewish students, said tensions inside the department did not warrant such a handover of academic power. About a dozen Jewish students have accused some professors in the Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures Department of treating them hostilely because of their sympathetic stance toward Israel. One scholar, Joseph Massad, an assistant professor of modern Arab politics, is accused of ordering a student in 2002 to leave his class if she continued to deny Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. Mr. Massad denies that the incident took place. Mr. Massad is undergoing a fifth-year review, the final step before his tenure review, which could begin in less than a year. Mr. Stern said Mr. Massad's employment at Columbia is not a matter for the board of trustees to handle but "for academics to deal with and for educators to deal with." Top university officials were aware of the complaints months before they first surfaced in the press in October. Since that time, Columbia has seen an academic dispute balloon into a major public relations disaster as news of the student complaints circulated around Jewish communities across the country. Just last month, Israel's ambassador to America, Daniel Ayalon, refused to attend a conference at Columbia "in view of complaints by Jewish students of intimidation by faculty members." Earlier this week, Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz fanned the flames when he came to campus and told a gathering of hundreds that Columbia's anti-Israel professors encourage Islamic terrorism and are an embarrassment for the school. While some alumni have threatened to withhold donations to Columbia, Mr. Stern said he doesn't believe that the university should expect any significant difficulties in fund-raising because donors see the problem of anti-Israel sentiment on campus as a nationwide issue affecting many schools. "We think that people ... will come to understand that this is a broader subject than what's going on at Columbia," Mr. Stern said. To Go To Top

ISRAEL'S AUSCHWITZ BORDERS Posted by Rachel Neuwirth, February 11, 2005.

This was written by Joseph Farah and appeared in World Net Daily today. It is archived at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=4280 Condoleezza Rice may know a lot about the old Soviet Union, but she sure doesn't know squat about the Middle East. The secretary of state recently explained how it is necessary for Israel to give up more land to help fashion a viable, contiguous Palestinian state - from Gaza through Judea and Samaria. Perhaps if you don't understand the geography, this might seem like a perfectly reasonable demand. After all, how can we expect the new Palestinian state to function normally if its people are divided by artificial barriers? What I trust Rice does not understand - in fact, what I hope she simply fails to comprehend - is that Israel has no more land to give. Israel has no moral obligation to give any land. Israel will be jeopardizing its own security in doing so. Let me make this crystal clear. Look at a map of the Middle East. After glancing at it for a few minutes, can anyone honestly tell me they believe the problems of violence and terrorism there have to do with the fact that Israel has too much land? This is apparently what we are to believe. There's lots of land in the Middle East. Most of it is populated sparsely by Arabic-speaking people, culturally, linguistically, religiously and ethnically at one with the so-called "Palestinians," a people who have never had a country of their own in the history of the world. Why then is it Israel's obligation to carve itself up to create this Palestinian state? The tiny sliver of land that represents the current state of Israel is only about one-tenth the size of the original United Nations mandate that created the Jewish state in 1947. Now, I'm not a Jew. I'm a Christian Arab-American journalist who believes in freedom first, peace second. And I've got to tell you that the demands on Israel right now are demands for the nation to commit political, military and cultural suicide. Do you know what the new borders of Israel would be under the plans being drawn up now for a "viable, contiguous Palestine"? I call them Auschwitz borders. I don't know why the Jews don't see it. They are willingly helping to build a national concentration camp of half the world's Jewry surrounded by hostile maniacs who want to eradicate them. Israel's new borders under a Rice plan will be indefensible. Creating a new Palestinian state with contiguous borders and relying on Israel to come up with all the necessary real estate requires cutting Israel in half from north to south. It might create a "viable" Palestinian state, but it will destroy the viability of Israel. If Adolf Hitler had been a little smarter, he would have helped recreate a Jewish state in the Middle East and squeezed it the way the Arabs, the Europeans and now the United States are squeezing Israel. Hitler could never have dreamed of a more expedient "final solution." Now I am not going to suggest that Rice or the Bush administration are intentionally trying to destroy Israel or the Jews. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are ill-informed, that they are making profoundly bad decisions based on bad data and bad analysis. But I will make no such assumptions about the leadership of the Palestinian Authority and the Arab states that back it. They are not promoting a Palestinian state because they believe in freedom and self-determination for the Arab people who live there. Instead, they are doing so to create a permanent staging ground from which they will continue their war of attrition against the Jewish infidels who have the audacity to live in what they consider to be Dar al-Islam. It's that simple. I wish Rice and Bush and even the Israeli government could see it. It is a national disgrace that the U.S. government is spending $350 million more to subsidize the Palestinian Authority, which holds that no Jews are permitted to live within its territory or future nation. It is a national disgrace that the U.S. government would join with the rest of the anti-Semitic world to force Israel to abandon its own security needs and its own Jewish communities on historically Jewish lands. And it is a national disgrace that the U.S. government, while supposedly fighting a global war against Islamist terrorism, is appeasing them in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rachel Neuwirth is a Los Angeles-based analyst on the board of directors of the West Coast Region of the American Jewish Congress and the chairperson of the organization's Middle East committee. To Go To Top

THE NEO-PALESTINIAN STATE WILL BE A PARASITE ON AMERICA Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 11, 2005.

The Bush Administration, advised by the pro-Arab U.S. State Department and the secret "Shadow Government" including those such as James Baker, Father Bush, Brent Scowcroft and others wish to continue contributing American tax-payers' money to the Arab Muslim Palestinians, whom they know work as Terrorists. As you may know, America has a State Department list of state-sponsored Terrorist nations, such as Syria and Iran. In fact, using the same criteria, the pro-Arab U.S. State Department should put themselves on that list. Through various schemes, the State Department has been one of the largest contributors to Terrorism especially if one views the PLO and all its attached splinter groups as Terrorists. The Arabist State Department has maneuvered hundreds of millions of dollars out of American tax-payers' monies, through Congress and into Yassir Arafat's personal Treasury. From there it went to various Terrorist groups, including 9 to 12 Secret Services - all of which operated in the well-known mode of Terror. They continue under Abu Mazen. The U.S. intends to merge these Terrorist services into 2 or 3 more efficient units, calling them Army or Police or Security, which should make them world-class Terrorists. Some may recall that America trained Osama Bin Laden to fight in Afghanistan against the Soviets. He returned to haunt us. The State Department knew that funds they were managing, in one way or another were supporting a veritably large army of Terrorists, denials notwithstanding. Laws passed by Congress mandated compliance with the now moribund Oslo Accords to cease Terror or these funds (several hundred million dollars per year) would be terminated for cause. The Arabist State Department issued a white-wash report each year that falsely stated Arafat and his various official and un-official Terrorist organizations had complied and thus the money flowed. As far as I know, Congress accepted these false reports from the State Department at face value and never mounted an investigation. If they did, their conclusions were buried. CIA AND US INDUSTRY CONNECTION TO NAZI WAR CRIMINALS The reader may compare this to the recent exposé of the hidden CIA funding and working with Nazi war criminals during and after WW2. After years of stone-walling, the CIA finally released documents which purport to 'fully' disclose their operations with high ranking SS war criminals and the industrialists of slave labor camps who were guilty of Genocide to escape justice. That black chapter of what one would call fellow-traveler Nazis in the CIA and U.S. State Department was (and perhaps still is) a black cloud hanging over these organizations. (1) Earlier reports said that major U.S. companies drove a secret pro-Nazi industry policy with such names as GM and Ford listed as collaborators. To quote:"Hamburg historian Bernd Greiner said 26 of the top 100 U.S. companies in the 1930s collaborated to some degree with the Nazis before and in some cases after, Hitler declared war on the U.S. in 1939."(2) Similarly today, we have the oil industries, weapons' industries, and banking - all influencing State Department policy, mostly in an appeasement mode - [Read:] subverting Israel to please Arab oil nations. Once again, industry through State, has a not-so-secret agenda. $390 MILLION - NEW AMERICAN MONEY FOR THE NEW TERRORIST STATE Now we see the current Bush Administration with the same sort of advisors - many with financial ties to the oil industry, recommending a first $390 million dollars of American tax-payers money to be gifted to the Palestinian Authority. Keep in mind that the same conduits of the PA for disbursing donor monies to the Terrorist Organizations are still in place. The State Department always had a yearly stand-by 'propaganda campaign' designed to head off embarrassing questions about where the money was going and how it was to be used. Generally, their smoke and mirrors theme was that it was to be used to build "Infrastructure" for the Palestinian people. This includes roads, housing, irrigation for farms, factories for jobs, schools for kids, public government buildings and institutions. Very little of it got to the people but, when it did, Arafat's Terrorist chieftains always skimmed quite a bit in taxes and miscellaneous charges for the passage of material. This seemed acceptable to the State Department and America's money kept flowing. State knew that the embezzled money was primarily going as subsistence paychecks to keep a Terrorist army employed and to families of suicide bombers. High-ranking Palestinian Terrorists always became a 50% partner with no investment in every Palestinian business other that his implied presence of protection. (Even Al Capone could have learned something from Arafat about squeezing money.) The U.S. State Department knew all that and never conveyed it to Congress. The Palestinian Authority under Arafat always got a State Department White-Wash. Now those privileges and the State Department's protection have been passed to Abu Mazen, who was Arafat's co-pilot for the 50 years he ran the PLO. He handled the money and did the organizing. Another rat tunnel was the U.S. funding of the U.N.'s UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency). Here State funded more U.S. tax dollars, supposedly for the support of the Arab Muslim Palestinian people. UNRWA through the UN made this one of the largest and most permanent organizations of the UN. UNRWA changed the previous world-wide definition of "refugee" only for Arab Palestinians as "someone who had lived in a place for at least two years". Originally there were 450,000 Arab Muslim Palestinian refugees, ordered by their leaders to leave during the 1948 war when armies from six Arab states attacked the new Jewish State. Now, they claim 3 to 5 million "Palestinian refugees" UNRWA also benefitted as a permanent bureaucratic mechanism which employed and paid UN personnel - one reason why they never completed and terminated their jobs. The Bush Administration plans to pump $390 Million new American tax-payers' dollars into this rathole, while Bush's new budget proposes cutting 48 domestic programs in Education, clean water fund, energy research, national parks, environment, oil and gas research, nuclear waste storage and cleanup, transportation like Amtrak and airports, retirement pension funds for elderly, subsidies to farmers, food stamps for the poor, medical research and care, etc. This $390 million will go through the same established 'rat tunnels' to the Terrorists - probably with substantially more to follow. The new President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) must pass this money through the well-established rat tunnels to the Terrorists to keep them in some form of need and control. However, they do as they please and continue Terror except when they need a breather to re-group and replenish their explosives, weapons and man-power (even women and child-power). Of course, if Abu Mazen refuses to pass on U.S. (and European) donor funds to the Terrorist organizations and individuals, he will probably be assassinated in short order. SHAM SHARM EL-SHEIKH CEASE-FIRE ENDED WITH TERROR IN 48 HOURS Even as Sharon was leaving Sharm el-Sheik under the sham of a "cease-fire", Terrorists continued their operations. Sharon responded with force (or farce) as he cancelled a low level meeting with Palestinians to teach them that "Crime Does Not Pay". Abu Mazen also played the "revolving door" card as he fired several of his chieftains and soldiers, but with a back door opportunity of full salaries and new jobs when no one was looking. The Bush Administration is pushing Israel to open her borders to allow Arab Palestinian workers into Israel. But, Terrorists too easily mingle with workers,as they did before under Oslo, which gives them easy access to Israelis in the densely populated inner cities of Israel. Even ordinary workers have been taught to hate the Jews to such a degree that many of them have killed their Jewish employers or, minimally, have sabotaged the work they are doing. Note! DEBKAfile reported February 10th: "Jerusalem goes on high alert Thursday following word of Palestinian, Muhammad Ali al-Mouari, heading out of Ramallah in white Ford transit pickup packed with explosives for attack in northern Jerusalem." & "Police special forces recently picked up Palestinian in Nablus on way to suicide bombing in Jerusalem's French Hill." (3) HUMAN SHIELDS: WOMEN & CHILD MARTYRS - UNDER UNRWA'S WATCH UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency) employs 20-25,000 Palestinians. UNRWA'S 'official' number of refugees is from 3 to 5 million - way beyond natural increase. Sadly, one finds that the UNRWA schools under the PA control, are teaching three year olds and up to hate Jews and to be future suicide bombers. The curriculum has been thoroughly researched, documented and forwarded to State and Congress. The UNRWA schools have also been used as storage facilities for weapons and explosives. NOTE! The use of schools, hospitals, residential buildings housing civilians were considered the best locations for storage of such explosive material and for bomb-making factories - because they were protected by the civilian Human Shields of children. They thought that using children as a shields would keep Israel from bombing their facilities. IF they were caught and destroyed, the Palestinian Terrorists could crank up their propaganda mechanism and cry about "Israel committing crimes against humanity by blowing up our children" (in the PA's bomb factories or storage depots). When it was recently exposed that Hamas members were employed by UNRWA, the UNRWA Director conveyed a "so what" attitude. Of course, this never stopped the PA from training youngsters to become child martyrs and women as suicide bombers. Here again, the U.S. State Department knew all of this and were frequently informed by Israeli Intelligence and various NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) that monitored school curricula and Terrorists' methodology. But, State, UNRWA and the world Media still chooses to ignore this controversial information. ARAB MUSLIM PALESTINIANS ARE PARASITES LIVING ON ISRAEL AND AMERICA Here again, the Bush Administration and the State Department knows all this but wishes to put the Palestinians on the back of Israel just like a parasite so that America doesn't have to become the permanent money supplier to the Palestinians. There is little doubt if Bush succeeds in displacing Jews in the 'West Bank' with Arab Muslim Palestinians, America will be stuck with a yearly bill in the Billions to support the incoming millions of invented refugees. It has just been reported that Israel's PM Ariel Sharon - as a gesture to President Bush - has removed weapons' inspection check-points so now Terrorists can travel freely and their explosive laden cars can make it through. Bush (through Condoleezza Rice) told Sharon he is also required to start allowing Palestinian workers into Israel with the numbers growing weekly. Under the guise of 'Peace' euphoria, Sharon is supposed to give Abu Mazen everything he demands - even as Hamas, Hezb'Allah, Islamic Jihad and Abu Mazen's own Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigade, among the others, state plainly that they will not be bound by any cease-fire. Some Mullahs have claimed that they were willing to quiet things down until they have extracted the concessions from a compliant Israel and then they would move forward toward the 1967 armistice lines - followed by a push to the 1947 partition line and then to the Mediterranean Sea. RELEASE OF JAILED TERRORISTS - 900 OR 8,000? In the interim PM Sharon has volunteered to initially release 900 convicted and jailed prisoners. Now the Arabs are claiming Sharon should release ALL the 8,000 jailed prisoners - many of whom have shot, blown apart and murdered Jews. It has been reported that Sharon is agreeable to accommodate Abu Mazen and release even more prisoners - including those who were successful in murdering Jews. Like all Sharon's other pledges, he has caved in again. Sharon has lost the confidence of Israelis in droves. They already see his mis-adventure of "Disengagement" from 21 communities in Gush Katif/Gaza and 4 communities in Northern Samaria - to uproot almost 9,000 Jewish men, women and children from their homes, farms, schools, synagogues, factories, businesses and even the dead from their cemeteries. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush have made it clear: Israel must also withdraw from ALL the communities in Judea and Samaria, no matter the continual Terrorism and the human rights violations to the residents who will be uprooted and deported. The Media have been quiet about the Golan Heights for years. February 10th the New York Times featured a human interest story about the apples on the Golan Heights being sold to Syria - because the apple trees really belong to Syria - they claim.(4) So the Golan is still at risk, as sly gestures precede a State Department full court press against Israel in the near future. Then - Jerusalem. To make their intentions about Jerusalem perfectly clear, the front page of the February 8th New York Times boldly featured Ms. Rice and Mr. Mazen smiling glowingly in front of a very large color photo of the most famous site in Jerusalem - the Temple Mount - that is, the Dome of the Rock that sits on the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem. (5) Arafat spread the lie that Jews never built the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. You can see where the Big Lie leads. While the Arab Muslim Waqf is in control, they excavated unscrupulously, destroying Jewish holy artifacts without objection from Sharon. According to Sharon, Peres and the Osloids, the Jewish Temple Mount must go to the Muslims IF Israel is to become a secular nation. Bush and the State Department plan to move Jews out of their 37 year old neighborhoods of French Hill, Ramat Eshkol, and others - wherever Jordan had occupied for 19 years from the 1948 war until the Jews liberated the Land in 1967. Many Israelis in Tel Aviv and on Israel's coast seemed unconcerned when Jews from Gaza were under the gun, mortar and Kassem rockets. Only now they are getting the first glimmer that they too will soon be easy targets when Palestinians Arab Muslims are moved close by in Israel's heartland, after the Jews are evacuated - making the 'West Bank' "Judenrein". NEEDED INVESTIGATIONS: UNRWA - 9/11 - OIL-FOR-FOOD Many investigations in the wings need to be undertaken. The first should be the pro-Arab U.S. State Department and their qualifications to be on the list of financial supporters of Terrorists. The next would be UNRWA as a financial conduit for Terrorist financing. Perhaps you have been following the UN Oil-For-Food scandal now joined by the UN Weather Department Scam to be embezzled by $3 Million. UNRWA may turn out to be the most long- term scam that is not only funding Terror but from which UN officials get the kick-backs. However, just as the 9/11 Commission avoided investigating State for their involvement in protecting the Saudis - among others, don't hold your breath for a real hearing. Of the 19 hijacking homicide bombers on 9/11, fifteen were Saudis and the other four were Egyptians. The U.S. State Department is protecting Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria from any real culpability for Terror in America (9/11) and/or in Iraq. Please send this to your Congressmen. Ask what he or she is doing about it. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California is investigating the UN beyond the Oil-For-Food. Let him run a forensic audit of UNRWA along with other categories of UN malfeasance. ### 1. "Splendid Blond Beast: Money, Law & Genocide in the 20th Century" by Christopher Simpson Grove Press 1993 2. "German historian: U.S. companies had extensive Nazi ties" Reuters Chicago Tribune Jan. 14, 1999 3. "DEBKAfile" Thursday February 10, 2005 4. "Syria to Buy Apples from Israel-Occupied [sic] Golan Heights, While Trying to Ignore Israel Itself: Contested Land" by Hassan M. Fattah (Kuwait City) New York Times Feb. 8, 2005 5. "2 Mideast Rivals To State Intent to Halt Attacks: Summit Meeting Today: Rice Says Bush will See Both Sharon & Abbas Separately in Spring" by Steven R. Weisman & Greg Myre NY Times Feb, 8, 2005 Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

TO THE MEDIA: GIVE ME A BREAK Posted by Barry Shaw, February 11, 2005.

Palestinian lies exposed. Am I the only person in this world that noticed it? We have had years of Palestinian lies turned into facts and excuses by a naive and willing Western media. For years you bought the lie that Arafat was unable to deploy security forces in Palestinian-held territories because of Israeli occupation, because of Israeli checkposts, because he didn't have the manpower, because he didn't have the weaponry, etc. etc. etc. Arafat was the powerful charismatic figure that held the Palestinian movement together for decades. Yet the world portrayed him as being impotent to act due to Israeli oppression. Well, Israel didn't do a thing. Yet, within three hours of being elected, Abu Mazen deployed 30,000 armed men to restore calm. And suddenly, low and behold, silence! Hello out there! Perhaps you can now apologize for decades of falsely demonizing and accusing Israel of wrongdoing? And how about the lies you spread about Israel creating the poverty of the Palestinians? Just today I read that the IMF reckon that Arafat and the other corrupt leaders of the poor Palestinians siphoned off $900,000,000 from the Palestinian budget - and that was only between 1995 and 2000. What about the billions in aid that vanished since then? The financial magicians that performed this disappearing trick were not Israelis. They were the Palestinian leaders, many of whom are sitting in Abu Mazen's current cabinet. With facts like this people like Tim Sebastian, of BBC 'Hardtalk' fame, sound grossly one-sided when they do not challenge Palestinian leaders on this point, but merrily accuse Israel of causing poverty and starvation by uprooting a few olive trees. Give me a break! Diplomats like Chris Patten would eagerly investigate Israel for any wrongdoing, but when asked to investigate his EU Commissions lousy accountability of European tax payers money to a corrupt and wealthy Palestinian regime he said, and I quote "I need an investigation like I need a hole in the head!" And you wonder why the Palestinians are poor? They have been granted more funding, more aid, than most of Africa. Now we come to the biggest lie of all. The 'cycle of violence'. Sorry folks, but this cycle just developed a puncture! Am I the only person in the world that noticed that when the Palestinian terror groups decided to stop blowing up Israelis the Middle East went quiet and peaceful? Of course, we all know this won't last. Just today the itchy Palestinian trigger finger couldn't resist lobbing almost fifty mortars and rockets into Israel. The Western media didn't think to mention this. After all fifty lethal rockets fired into Israeli towns doesn't make news. Only if the I.D.F. goes in pursuit of the maniacs that deal in death will you hear protests in your media. So, don't give me any more of your lies. I know the truth. Barry Shaw writes 'The View from Here' from Israel. He can be contacted by email at netre@matav.net.il To Go To Top

NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TERRORISTS WHO MURDERED AND THOSE WHO DID NOT SUCCEED! Posted by Evelyn Hayes, February 11, 2005.

With a ministerial committee set to decide Sunday which Palestinian terrorists to free as a gesture to Abu Mazen, a new study shows that half of released Arab terrorists return to their evil ways. A booklet published by journalist Boaz HaEtzni and others includes warnings and protests by public and military figures who say that releasing prisoners is dangerous from several standpoints: * It places the lives of Israel's citizens in certain danger * It harms the IDF's deterrence effect * It strengthens both the motivation and capabilities of the terror organizations * It weakens Israel's moral stance against terrorists and those who shelter them. "From 1985 until now," the booklet states, "Israel has released thousands of Palestinian terrorists in various prisoner exchanges. Not one of them underwent a test to determine if he will continue to endanger us or not." "We have gathered some of the results of past prisoner releases," HaEtzni explained, "and we show that waves of terrorism have been ignited as a result. According to authorized data, some 50% of the released terrorists returned to terrorism after their release." "Our purpose in publicizing this report," he says, "is to warn those who release terrorists that every other terrorist to be released is expected to endanger us again!" "Those who must make this decision," the booklet states, "should be aware that the eyes of women, children, babies, elderly, new immigrants and IDF soldiers who were murdered by terrorists released by Israel will be upon you. If the government hadn't decided to release them, and if the President had not signed their pardon, and if the Supreme Court had not refrained from preventing the release, these people would have been with us today." Though the public and ministerial debate is focused on the question of whether to release murderers or not, many relatives of terror victims say no terrorists at all should be released. Aryeh Bachrach, whose 18-year-old son Ohad was murdered by Arab terrorists almost a decade ago, says there is no difference between terrorists who have murdered and those who did not succeed in their goal. "Our organization [Almagor] has lists of terrorists released without 'blood on their hands'," Bachrach said, "whose hands became full of blood afterwards. If they have no blood on their hands, it means they didn't succeed the first time, and they'll simply try again." The ministerial committee comprises Ministers Sharon, Mofaz, Peres, Olmert, Netanyahu, Ramon, Livny, and Ezra. Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

STUART ZIMMER NEEDS OUR HELP OR HE WILL DIE Posted by IsrAlert, February 11, 2005.

This was written by Stuart Zimmer's wife Jennifer. (from the website) My husband, Stuart Zimmer, is dying from kidney failure. We have three children: ages 4, 2 and 5 months. Stuart is suffering on dialysis and his doctors are unable to control his blood pressure, which is high enough to cause a stroke or worse. He is only 35 and otherwise fit and healthy. He desperately needs a kidney transplant to stay alive. So far, 30 friends, family and total strangers have been tested, but none were compatible. Since he had a previous surgery and blood transfusions, he is highly sensitized and difficult to match. Now, I am taking my appeal across the U.S. in hopes of getting a match for Stuart. I pray someone will read this and understand. Every day, 12 people die waiting for a donor. I don't want my precious husband to become a statistic. If you or anyone you know would consider being tested as a potential donor, call Columbia Presbyterian Hospital at 212-305-6469 and ask for Joan Kelly. You can also reach her at kellyja@nyp.org. The test is simple and free. If you do not hear back soon, call me. Often they are very busy, and don't get back to people as quickly as we would like. You can also email me: zimmer6@aol.com. Compatible donors should be between 18 and 65, in good health and have Type B or O blood. If you have high blood pressure, a blood disease or diabetes, you cannot donate. The donor's surgery is now very simple and laparoscopic. The donor is hospitalized for 2-3 days, with only a small "bikini line" incision. Most donors are back to work within a week with no dietary or lifestyle restrictions. There is no cost to the donor. You can live a long, healthy life with just one kidney! In fact, many people are born with just one. Please share this with friends, family and colleagues. With the right transplant, Stuart will have many more years to enjoy our babies and lead a full, productive life. In the meantime, please pray for everyone awaiting vital organs to live. Thank you with all my heart for reading this. Please contact me with any questions. God bless you, Jennifer Zimmer Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com To Go To Top

$390MN TO ABU MAZEN DEFIES US GLOBAL POLICY Posted by Yoram Ettinger, February 11, 2005.

This week's portion of the Torah, TEROUMAH, highlights the Jewish view of the commandment of donation. According to the Torah, donation is an act of "receiving", rather than "giving", since one benefits when one donates. The Hebrew word TEROUMAH embodies the Torah meaning of donation. The root is ROM (sublime; mood elevating). The first four letters, TAROM, mean "you shall reach new heights". The letters of TEROUMAH may be also read as TEMOURAH (a positive transformation) or as MOREH/AH (educator). According to the Torah, the commandment of donation should be guided by one's heart (permanent conviction), rather than by one's head (shifty logic). 1. PRESIDENT BUSH's MEMORABLE SEPT. 20, 2001 SPEECH vs. $390MN TO ABU MAZEN. "Deliver to the US all the leaders of Al-Qaeda who hide in your land...Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, and hand over every terrorist...[But, Abu Mazen has stated that he would not fight, nor would he extradite, Palestinian terrorists. Palestinian terrorism - mostly masterminded by PA leaders and carried out by PA "security forces" - has evolved under the 1993-2005 Arafat-Abu Mazen regime into the largest terrorist base in the world]. "They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate...[But, the PA has received some $1.5BN in US foreign aid since 1994, in spite of Abu Mazen being the chief architect of PA-Hamas agreements since 1993. Abu Mazen insists on integrating, rather than eliminating, Hamas terrorists]. "We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety... [But, notwithstanding Abu Mazen's grandpa-like well-shaved appearance, he was Arafat's chief accomplice since the 1950's, he has shaped PA's hate-education, he and his son have been role models for "Mr. 20%" kickback/corruption, he was the chief architect of PLO ties with ruthless communist regimes, and he played a key role in hijacking planes, in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre, in the 1972 execution of 2 US ambassadors, and in the 1970 and 1976 attempts to topple the Hashemite and Lebanese regimes]. "Either you are with us, or your are with the terrorists...Any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the US as a hostile regime...WE WILL STARVE TERRORISTS OF FUNDING...[Where does that leave Abu Mazen, Card #2 of the Palestinian Terror Authority, the largest terror base in the world?! With a $390MN US foreign aid???] 2. U.S. POLICY ON IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN vs. $390MN TO ABU MAZEN. The prerequisite for free election and for US assistance to Iraq and to Afghanistan, was the thorough eradication of - rather than accommodation with - rogue regimes. US policy would not tolerate top Ba'th or Taliban leaders running for office, let alone heading a new regime. The US would not tolerate an Iraqi or Afghani candidates campaigning for office on the shoulders of a most wanted notorious terrorist, as did Abu Mazen on the shoulders of Zakaria Zubeidi, the leading terrorist in Jenin. Abu Mazen did not emerge, on election day, from exile in Europe or from his hiding cave in the Judean Desert. Abu Mazen emerged from Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, running as Arafat's most intimate confidant during the last 50 years and Arafat's loyal #2 since 1993. Abu Mazen had occasionally disagreed with Arafat tactically, but always concurred strategically. Contrary to US policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has re-entrenched, rather than uproot, the rogue old regime, thus rewarding Palestinian terrorism and adrenalizing regional anti-US terrorism. 3. U.S. FARM SUBSIDIES vs. $390MN TO ABU MAZEN. The US would not extend grants/loans to farmers, who have misused previous subsidies in gambling and other non-farming mischief. Why would the US extend a $390MN grant to the PA, which has misused some $1.5BN since 1994, promoting anti-US and anti-Jewish hate-education, terrorism (including the murder of 52 US citizens), corruption and repression, rather than moderation, peaceful-coexistence and counter-terrorism? 4. U.S. POLICY ON SYRIA vs. $390MN TO ABU MAZEN. President Bush ("State of the Union", Feb. 2, 2005) and Secretary of State Rice (Israel, Feb. 7, 2005) have condemned Syria for harboring terrorists, which has denied Damascus US foreign aid and cooperation. Where does that leave Abu Mazen, who has harbored Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, while heading the political infrastructure of PA ("security organizations") terrorism?! Abu Mazen met - in December 2004 in Damascus - the leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PDFLP, and will meet shortly with other Islamic terrorists in Teheran. Both meetings (at terrorist capitals) aim at coordination and co-existence with terrorists, in defiance of the morally-just and strategically-right US war on global terrorism. 5. PAST US CRITICAL BLUNDERS & 390MN TO ABU MAZEN. Sacrificing the 50 year track record of Abu Mazen - and the lessons of the last eleven years since the signing of Oslo - on the altar of wishful thinking, is consistent with the 1993 White House embrace of the Oslo Process and Nobel Laureate Arafat, with the 1996 crowning of Arafat - by the US Administration - as "a democratically elected President", with honoring Arafat as the most frequent visitor to President Clinton's White House, with the 1988-91 courting of Saddam by the Bush/Baker Administration (until the day of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait!), with the 1978 US Administration support extended to the "elder Iranian religious leader in exile" (Khomeini) in his battle against "the dictator in Teheran" (the Shah), etc. Ambassador Yoram Ettinger is an editor and consultant who lives in Jerusalem. This essay is Straight From The Jerusalem Cloakroom #173, February 10, 2005. To Go To Top

WHAT DOES ISRAEL HAVE TO PROVE?; ARAB INFLUENCE ON WESTERN MEDIA; ABU MAZEN Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 11, 2005.

ARAB WORLD CIVILIZING? Arabs have been discussing reform for centuries. Discussions were vaguea, so as not to incur rulers' wrath. That may be changing. In several Arab countries and regionally, Arab reformers are organizing over specific problems and remedies. They are insistent and persistent, sometimes even suggesting an end to Islamic intolerance and enmity towards Israel. That takes guts! The US ought to encourage them (Steven Stalinsky, NY Sun, 2/2/05 of MEMRI). The US has to be careful lest its help be the kiss of death. THE WORD FROM "HAARETZ" The new immigration law enacted "a sweeping, disproportional denial of citizenship to Arabs from outside the country. Such legal discrimination must not be allowed to continue." (Foreign Ministry, 2/18.) The law sounds unusually sensible. It prevents enlarging the fifth column and reducing the percentage of Jews until the Jews no longer would be master of their own national development. ARE JUST JEWS FAIR GAME? Defense Min. Mofaz said that he opposes evacuating Arab civilians from areas in the Gaza Strip, for security purposes. Mofaz is a leading supporter of the plan to evacuate Jewish civilians from the Gaza Strip," for (undefined) security purposes (IMRA, 2/18.) "Hypocrisy" is difficult to spell but easy to have. A POOR ARGUMENT AGAINST INTL. CRIMINAL COURT Prompted by the biased General Assembly, the Intl. Criminal Court took up an Arab complaint against Israeli erection of a security fence. It reached the anticipated verdict for political reasons contrary to international law. This travesty has been criticized on various grounds. One of the objections is to the judges from countries lacking judicial independence and rule of law. Unfortunately for that objection, the Court's other judges reached the same conclusions. Therefore, that objection loses some of its force (Commentary, 2/2005, letter) but not all. NOT ALL IRAQI EX-PATRIATES WERE ALLOWED TO VOTE A million Iraqi ex-patriates abroad cast ballots for Iraq's election. Not included were Jews who were expelled from Iraq and who, along with their descendants, are citizens of Israel (IMRA, 2/28). There must be 50,000 to 100,000 of them. WHAT DOES ISRAEL HAVE TO PROVE TO ABU MAZEN? Leftists are calling for Israeli concessions to Abu Mazen, to prove Israeli goodwill and to strengthen his hand in dealing with terrorism (even as he disavows the use of force). They are wrong. Israel owes him nothing. Until he proves otherwise, he is a terrorist leader, same as always. It is up to him to end terrorism. If he continues to permit terrorism, then "For every indiscriminate round of fire on a civilian target, we will retaliate in kind on the closest and most populated Palestinian city," suggests a supporter of abandonment of Gaza. But if Gaza becomes sovereign, the Security Council would not let Israeli forces back in, and if attacked, Israel would not be allowed to retaliate by bombarding civilians (IMRA, 2/18). Nor are Israelis likely to want to. Was the suggestion to vent anger or to falsely reassure? THE JAFFEE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA charges the Jaffee Center with slanting its analysis of PM Sharon's plan to abandon Gaza, because it favors the plan. He does not prove that is deliberate, but shows that its reasoning is so illogical as if deliberate. (I have seen the like for years.) When the Center analyzes the balance of power, it assumes that only some of the major Arab states would attack Israel simultaneously. (To prevent fatal under-estimates of enemy forces, the IDF must prepare for a concerted attack,) The Center ignores Saudi forces, now training with Egypt for just such an attack (IMRA, 2/18). DOUBLE DIPPING AT AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Agence France-Presse employs P.A. Arabs to report P.A. news. Some of them also are on the P.A. payroll as reporters or are involved in P.A. politics. One is chief reporter for the Voice of Palestine radio station. Their objectivity is questionable. "'I will never work on a story that defames my people or leadership,' boasts a Palestinian (Arab) 'fixer' (mediator/guide/translator) who works on a regular basis with many foreign journalists. 'It is my duty to protect my people against Israeli propaganda.'" (In the Arab view, to criticize jihad is to defame.) "Meanwhile, the Associated Press and Reuters, which have their own TV production services, rely almost entirely on footage provided to them by Palestinian crews covering events in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The material, distributed to thousands of subscribers worldwide, mostly focuses on Palestinians as victims of IDF operations; the cameramen decide from which angle to film and which material to send at the end of the day to their employers in Jerusalem." "The AP also has a journalist - Muhammad Daraghmeh - who works for the PA's Al-Ayyam. 'It's like employing someone from the [Israeli] Government Press Office or one of the Israeli political parties to work as a journalist,' comments a veteran foreign journalist based in Israel." "'I also know of cases where former security prisoners have been hired as journalists and fixers for major news organizations, including American networks. Can you imagine what the reactions would be if they hired an Israeli who had been in jail for one reason or another?'" About CNN, a former employee explained, "When one of its crews is delayed at a checkpoint (by Israelis), they start calling everyone in the government to complain and shout. But when it comes to the Palestinians, they never complain." (They would get barred.) "One consequence of the way the international media chooses to cover Palestinian affairs may be its reluctance to report stories critical of the Palestinian Authority. For example, most of the foreign media for years chose to ignore stories about rampant corruption and lawlessness in the PA, preferring to focus instead on Israeli 'violations' and 'atrocities.'" "Most recently, the BBC published on its Web site a story by correspondent Barbara Plett about the PA campaign to register voters for the election in east Jerusalem. Israel had closed down the six registration centers in the city because, under agreements signed with the PLO, the Palestinians are not permitted to carry out political activities inside Israel." "When it comes to Palestinian democracy in occupied East Jerusalem, Israel is obstructing them?," Plett concluded her report. Plett failed to mention in her story that most Arabs in Jerusalem had refused to register." Plett "also ignored in her story complaints by Palestinians that the PA security forces were harassing and intimidating would-be voters and supervisors at the registration centers - a complaint made by the Palestinian Central Election Committee?" (IMRA, 2/18.) The P.A. is totalitarian. It controls its news personnel, regardless of whom they work for. The personnel must not oppose the P.A. or jihad. Western news agencies that utilize such personnel are extending Arab bias to their own countries surreptitously. ARABS CLOBBER POOR ECONOMIES OPEC's Arab leaders are rubbing their hands in anticipation of higher profits. They rationalize that the prices can double from their long-term level, without disrupting the Western ability to keep paying those prices. They think American consumers should stop being greedy for low prices and should reduce per capita consumption and increase supplies. Imagine what the Arabs can do with the income! They can finance international terrorism, major weapons acquisition, military assaults, and their own lavish life-styles. Jihad would thrive, though some of their own populations would not and they are not building diversified economies that can survive the eventual depletion of oil. Besides neglecting their own countries and paring down Western standards of living at the same time they are warring on the West, there is another ill effect of high oil prices. Non-Western, developing countries cannot afford such prices. Those countries have been borrowing billions of dollars to pay for oil. Price increases would consign them to bleak existence (Amy Myers Jaffe, NY Sun, 2/5/05, p.10). Are southern African countries developing or disintegrating? American consumers are as greedy for cheap oil as the Arabs are lusting for expensive oil and poor countries are irresponsible in over-borrowing for it. After a few years, the insolvent countries ask for debt relief. That means that the Western economies take another blow. There is no need to exhort for greater supplies. Oil companies develop new fields where they can. There is a need to exhort greater economizing, efficiency, and conservation. Unfortunately, our political leadership opposes such efforts. Democracy has come to mean deferring decisions that corporations think are painful, until the pain from deferring them becomes unbearable and the cost to rectify becomes overwhelming. Unrestrained US corporations are building huge, oil-guzzling cars, because consumers want to be safer in crashes. Of course, when there are many such cars, they not only demolish smaller cars and their occupants, they smash into each other. End of safety! If all such cars were forbidden, driving would become much safer. People sometimes can abide a rule such as such that ban, if applied to all. FATALITIES IN THE P.A. JIHAD AGAINST ISRAEL Each side has killed the other side's civilians. Israel has killed a number of Arab civilians. The number of Israelis intentionally killed is the number slain. The number of Arabs intentionally killed is zero (Prof. Steven Plaut, 2/19, e-mail). ABU MAZEN'S ORDER TO SUSPEND TERRORIST ATTACKS Much favorable publicity came Abu Mazen's way, when he ordered his people to suspend terrorist attacks in Gaza (so he could get Israeli concessions before resuming attacks). Not publicized was his qualification of that order. He ordered them to do "whatever is necessary." Yes, but he excluded the use of force against terrorists (Arutz-7, 2/19). Could anyone persuade rather than compel Nazis and Communists to cease aggression? It is absurd to give Abu Mazen credit for opposing terrorism, when he won't use force to oppose it with. That proves that he will not end terrorism. He only would try to persuade terrorists that they can gain more in the long run by letting deluded Israelis, who imagine that a ceasefire is making peace, give the Arabs half of what they are fighting for, and then terrorism would resume. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

POLITICS AND RELIGION Posted by TheRaphi, February 11, 2005.

This essay is by Professor Eidelberg, who is a political scientist, author and lecturer. He is co-founder and president of The Foundation For Constitutional Democracy and is the President of the Yamin Israel movement. He can be reached by mail at 244 Madison Avenue, Suite 427, New York, NY 10016, Tel: 212-372-3752, and by email at Constitution@usa.net Of course, it will be argued that the religious parties have, inter alia, (1) helped to establish educational institutions essential for the preservation of the Jewish heritage; (2) preserved - unfortunately with diminishing success - some islands of Shabbat observance; (3) fought against trivialized conversions that would endanger the integrity of the Jewish family; (4) promoted aliya on the part of religious Jews; hence (5) endowed Israel with some aspects of being a Jewish state. There is truth in this argument. However, it is not entirely clear that these achievements and efforts would not have occurred were it not for the power wielded by religious parties in the government. Indeed, following in the footsteps of the Satmars, the mainstream hareidi community has announced plans to break with the state and set up its own education system for about 40,000 boys in elementary schools. This last point aside, one might well argue that Israel would be somewhat better off - religiously - were it not for religious parties in the Knesset, and for the following reasons. Politics involves bargaining, often shoddy, but nowhere more shoddy and treacherous than in Israel. Two examples: (1) In the 1999 national, elections, 29 Knesset members hopped over to rival parties! (2) In the 2003 elections, Likud leader Ariel Sharon campaigned against "disengagement," the Labor party's policy, in consequence of which, the Likud won twice as many seats as Labor - unprecedented. Yet Mr. Sharon adopted Labor's policy despite its having been rejected by an overwhelming majority of the electorate! Indeed, in pursuance of that policy, he virtually forced its opponents to resign from his cabinet and formed a new government with Labor, thereby nullifying the 2003 election! Well, we expect higher standards from the leaders of religious parties. Ye, to obtain 290 million shekels for religious education and services, United Torah Judaism joined Sharon's treacherous government and thereby facilitated its logistical preparations for the expulsion of Jews in Gaza and Northern Samaria - which that party knows to be a violation of Jewish law! How sad. How disgraceful! We expect religious leaders to set an example of sincerity, of intellectual integrity, of selfless dedication to Torah values. And if they have to compromise, it should not be at the expense of basic principles: they should not play fast and loose with the Halacha. Secularists are understandably ignorant of the fact that Jewish law is more comprehensive and coherent, more humane and progressive than the legal systems of any modern state. Nevertheless, they can see when the religious parties use the Torah for the sake of politics rather than politics for the sake of the Torah. This cannot but alienate them further from Judaism. So it is not entirely clear that the religious parties do more good than harm. Of course, one could say the same of secular parties, whose dipping into the public purse for self-serving purposes makes the pickings of the religious parties appear as mere peanuts. But there is another reason for questioning the value of religious parties. In the United States, where there are no religious parties in the Congress, the two major political parties vie with each other for religious voters. It would be utterly exceptional and almost certainly self-defeating for any American politician to make offensive statements against any religious group. Not so in Israel. Long before the ascendancy Tommy Lapid and his anti-religions Shinui party, even the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin referred to religious Jews - and not only the hareidi - as "parasites" or "pariahs." This viciousness often occurs in Israel for the following reason. Given the existence of religious parties in the Knesset, the secular parties of the Left know very well that they will receive hardly any votes from the religious community. Hence, they are not deterred from vilifying religious Jews and from taking anti-religions positions. Conversely, if there were no religious parties in the Knesset, secularists on the Left would compete with secularists on the Right for religious voters, and this would require them to moderate their attitude toward the Orthodox Jewish community. However, in a country that boasts of being a democracy, one cannot readily prevent the existence of religious parties. Still, I wonder whether Israel would become more Jewish without them. After all, it's clear to most people that the major secular parties, Labor and the Likud, are intellectually and morally bankrupt. Might not Israel become more Torah-oriented if the secular parties alone were held responsible for the country's malaise? Surely this is something to think about. TheRaphi (http://www.theraphi.com/archives/oldindex.html) is a pro-Israel and pro-Zionist site; it provides news articles and essays. To Go To Top

CEASEFIRE EXPLODES WITH DOZENS OF MORTAR SHELLS AND ROCKETS Posted by Gush Katif, February 10, 2005.

This is a news item from Arutz-7 (www.IsraelNationalNews.com) The picture is by Eran Sternberg. The ceasefire and "new hope for peace" declared at Sharm a-Sheikh just two days ago exploded last night and today amidst 36 Arab-fired mortar shells and Kassam rockets at Gush Katif towns. No one was hurt in the attacks, though was one house in N'vei Dekalim suffered a direct hit, and electricity was out in most of Gush Katif - the bloc of Jewish communities in southern Gaza - for several hours. Israel submitted a formal complaint about the attacks to the U.S. and to Egypt, which hosted the Sharm a-Sheikh summit on Tuesday. The most recent shells landed in Netzarim, close to 11 AM, and three more in Morag around noon. Though Gush Katif has been pounded with well over 5,300 shells and rockets during the past four years, residents say they cannot remember such a large bombardment as the one that began early this morning. On the one hand, the organized bombardment appears to be a direct result of the concessions that Prime Minister Sharon has made to the Palestinian Authority in recent days, and which continued even this morning. Katif.net reports that the north-south route that has long had an IDF checkpoint controlling its traffic is now open 24 hours a day to local Arab traffic, with no Israeli supervision. "This enables the terrorists to rearm and transport mortar shells from north to south with no disturbance," the site reports. On the other hand, Kfar Darom spokesman Asher Mivtzari says the tremendous amount of mortar shells shows that there is guidance from higher political echelons. "We see that no shells have hit Sderot, while Gush Katif is pounded mercilessly," he said. "It is clear that Abu Mazen is allowing this, while at the same time receiving a signal from Sharon that it's OK to hit Gush Katif, as long as Sderot is left out of the equation." "We call upon the Prime Minister and Defense Minister," said Gush Katif spokesman Eran Sternberg, "to open their eyes and see with whom we're making this imaginary peace, and to whom they're making the gestures [of removing roadblocks, releasing prisoners, and the like]." The first shells started blasting N'vei Dekalim close to 2 AM, and continued throughout the night. One shell landed directly in the shower stall of a home, and miraculously, no one was hurt. Electricity throughout Gush Katif, except for Moshav Katif and Netzer Hazani, was knocked out, apparently by a mortar shell, at 4 AM, until around 9:30. In between, another round of at least seven shells hit Atzmonah, and two Kassam rockets were fired this morning at N'vei Dekalim and Katif. MK Uri Ariel (National Union) said very simply, "Sharon has abandoned Gush Katif and its residents; the fact that there have been no wounded has nothing to do with him... The soldiers can no longer merely open fire on suspected infiltrators; they have to ask permission from their higher-ups, and it takes a while. All the Hamas leaders have now come out of their holes, and are walking around free, preparing for the next round of terror." MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party) has called upon the government to cease all goodwill gestures to the PA following the bombardment. Hamas took credit for the bombardment of Gush Katif, stating it was in retaliation for Israel's shooting last night at a group of four Arabs. The four were attempting to infiltrate the community of Atzmonah, having reached to within 40 meters of the fence, and were shot while in an area well-known as being banned to Arabs. Another terrorist was killed nearby when the bomb he was trying to place blew up in his hands. In the meanwhile, the gestures towards the Palestinian Authority continue even today. The Erez Crossing, closed following terror attacks, was opened to 2,000 workers today, and family visits are also being permitted across the Gaza border. Finance Minister Binymain Netanyahu said that Abu Mazen's grace period is beginning to run out of time. Gaza Coast Regional Council chief Avner Shimoni said that the IDF must take action to stop the attacks. Minister Chaim Ramon (Labor) said that Israel is still awaiting action by Abu Mazen in this direction Please contact AFSI: 212-828-2424; afsi@rcn.com for information about how to help Gush Katif. Contributions may be made to "Friends of Gush Katif" and mailed to AFSI, 1623 Third Ave., Suite 205, New York, N.Y. 10128. A special mission to Gush Katif, under the auspices of Assemblyman Dov Hikind, will take place March 13-18. Contact AFSI if you are interested in joining us. To Go To Top

PM: READY TO RELEASE PRISONERS INVOLVED IN ATTACKS Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 10, 2005.

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reversed himself on almost every commitment he has undertaken. Clearly, Sharon is either under some kind of mind control or out of control in some other unknown way. Some may recall a sick and weakened Franklin Delano Roosevelt giving away much of Europe to Josef Stalin which puzzled everyone capable of thinking. Perhaps it is time for a temporary care-taker government to take over before very necessary elections and before Sharon can do any more permanent harm to the State of Israel and her citizens. Sharon's proclamation of release beyond the 900 of Arab convicted and jailed prisoners to releasing terrorists with blood on their hands - in jail for having shot, bombed, blown up and murdered Jews. This displays a mind well removed from reality. Even the Leftists of Oslo must doubt Sharon, knowing that even they will be at risk with operational terrorists back in action. What does the Army, GSS (Secret Service-Shabak) think of Sharon's thoughts of freeing Terrorists that cost the lives of so many soldiers and/or agents who went under cover to catch these terrorists? Perhaps they have thoughts not unlike those of the Generals in the Turkish Army each time their government turned radical. Can the Israeli population whether Left or Right possibly believe that PM Sharon is competent to keep Israel safe as he releases terrorists who were successful in killing Jews, possibly even in their own family or friends? Even if your wish to fondly remember Arik of Old, then do him the favor of sending him back to his Sycamore Farm before he further endangers Israel and embarrasses himself. "PM: Ready to release prisoners involved in attacks," Associated Press, The Jerusalem Post, Feb. 10, 2005. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signaled in a newspaper interview Thursday that he is ready to release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners involved in deadly attacks - a key Palestinian demand and significant Israeli concession - if terrorists hold their fire during Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer. Sharon said Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas stressed during their meeting earlier this week that the release of long-serving prisoners is a top priority. "He (Abbas) told me simply that it is a major problem," Sharon told the Haaretz daily. In the past, Israel refused to release those involved in deadly attacks, though in recent days it has said it was willing to consider a few isolated cases. The newspaper quoted Sharon as saying he told Abbas that if the Gaza withdrawal proceeds smoothly, he would release larger numbers of Palestinians involved in attacks. Israel is concerned that terrorists will fire on Israeli troops and Jewish settlers during the withdrawal to portray it as a retreat under fire. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

JORDAN'S ARAB BANK TO CLOSE ITS OPERATIONS IN AMERICA. Posted by Mordechai Ben-Menachem, February 10, 2005.

This is a news item from"The Economist" (The_Economist-business-admin@news.economist.com) Jordan's ARAB BANK is to close its operations in America, its home country's central bank announced. The bank faces investigations by American regulators and is being sued for allegedly facilitating the financing of terrorism. It denies any wrongdoing. Mordechai Ben-Menachem is at Ben-Gurion University. He can be reached by email at quality@computer.org To Go To Top

A SHIP ON OILY WATERS Posted by Ruth Matar, February 10, 2005.

Dear Friends, I must confess that I have heretofore been an admirer of the new US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. She seemed to me to be a perfect role model for women, someone who grew up in very difficult circumstances, but pulled herself up by her bootstraps, and reached the very heights of personal achievement. President George W. Bush nominated her to succeed Colin Powell as US Secretary of State in November of 2004, and the Senate confirmed her nomination by a vote of 85 - 13. Condoleezza Rice was born on November 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama, the only child of Angelena Rice and the Reverend John Wesley Rice, Jr., a minister at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Birmingham, Alabama, where Condoleezza grew up, is the town where Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was thrown in jail for demonstrating without a permit. Where black people had to ride at the back of the bus. Where black people weren't even allowed to drink water from public fountains. Where a classmate of Condoleezza, Denise McNair, was among the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of an African-American Baptist church by white supremacists. But Condoleezza states that growing up during segregation taught her determination against adversity. I was very pleased, along with many others, that Colin Powell was not going to be the US Secretary of State during the second term of President George W. Bush, as Israeli analysts had predicted that Condoleezza Rice was going to be friendlier to Israel than her predecessor. I became somewhat concerned when I learned that at her Senate confirmation hearing Rice said: "And, if I am confirmed, I will be especially honored to succeed a man I so admire - my friend and mentor, Colin Powell. He was a great and inspirational Secretary of State." That was the first alarm bell. Colin Powell was the US Secretary of State, who described Arafat to a US Senate Committee as follows: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." I became really concerned about Ms. Rice's attitude toward Israel when I read the newspaper headlines during her recent whirlwind tour of Europe and the Middle East. For instance, the headline in The Jerusalem Post of February 7, 2005 read as follows on the front page: RICE CALLS ON ISRAEL TO HELP, NOT HINDER, ABBAS. In private meetings and public declarations, visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel to do everything possible to support Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and to refrain from taking steps that would make it more difficult for him to assert his authority... According to diplomatic officials, Rice said that Abbas needed to have tangible results to take to his people.... What exactly does that mean? Should the victim supply the hangman with the rope? Should Israel be on Abbas' side in the negotiations? Does Ms. Rice not want a mutual give and take? Condoleezza also made it clear that the US government was against settlements. Whose settlements? (According to Joseph Farah, Arab-American head of World Net Daily, more Arab than Jewish settlements have been established in the Holy Land since 1948. As a matter of fact, almost twice as many Arab settlements than Jewish settlements have been built since the Jewish State was reborn!) Also, Condoleezza insists that the Disengagement Plan go forward as promised by Sharon. Altogether, Rice made it clear that she wanted Israel to take steps to bolster Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). It seems that Rice was not concerned about bolstering Sharon, who had just encountered a massive non-violent demonstration of at least 200,000 people who strongly disagreed with his policies vis a vis the PLO enemy, and his intentions to reward such terrorists with Biblical covenant land. Condoleezza Rice, in an interview with Yediot Aharonot, said: "I am the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and was brought up on the very moving stories of the Holy Land. They mean a lot to me. When I first visited Mt. Olives, Lake Kinneret, Jerusalem, I felt a very deep emotional experience. I already then felt that I am returning home despite the fact that this was a place that I never visited. I have a deep affinity with Israel." Sadly to say, the daughter of a Minister of God is hell-bent on promoting the expulsion of 8,000 Jews from their Biblical homeland. During her childhood, Condoleezza must have read the Judeo-Christian Bible. No doubt she must have come across the fact in the Book of Joshua that G-d gave Gaza to the Tribe of Judah. Also, that it is stated in the Book of the prophet Amos, Chapter 9: 14-15, "I will return the captivity of my people Israel, and they will rebuild desolate cities and settle them; they will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will cultivate gardens and eat their fruits. I will plant them upon their land and they will never again be uprooted from their land that I have given them, said HASHEM your G-d." I decided to do some research through the Internet to find out more about Condoleezza Rice. If you, dear friend, have some extra time, you will be able to find out interesting facts about Condoleezza Rice, her attitude to the Holy Land, and her past associations, which are far from reassuring for friends of Israel. For instance, James Baker of "F__k the Jews" fame, is one of her good friends. They have many common interests and attitudes. As Condoleezza Rice embarked on her maiden voyage after her appointment as US Secretary of State, it was reported that she departed from America armed with a new policy paper on how to implement the Quartet's Road Map produced by the JAMES BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT RICE UNIVERSITY. According to Edward Djerejian, the former US Ambassador to Syria who directs the Baker Center, the policy paper, with its detailed recommendations, is a "street map to the Road Map." The following is part of an article by Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post columnist: "... the team that composed the report included senior policy makers from the US, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Canada and the World Bank. The US was represented by current Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns as well as by Norman Olsen, the political counselor at the US embassy in Israel. The PA was represented by security strongman Jibril Rajoub and by senior aides to Mahmoud Abbas, Yasser Arafat and Ahmed Qurei. Egypt was represented by Dictator Hosni Mubarak's senior adviser Osama El Baz and by General Hossam Khair Allah. Israel had no official representation. Rather, the Jewish state was represented by none other than Yossi Beilin's Geneva Accord crowd. Amnon Lipkin Shahak and Shlomo Brom, signatories to that subversive agreement where private citizens tried to abscond with the government's sovereign power to determine foreign policy by negotiating the scandalously anti-Israel "accord," participated. They were joined by members of Beilin's EU-financed think tank, the Economic Cooperation Foundation. Not surprisingly, the product this team produced and delivered to Rice is soft on Palestinian terrorism, soft on Palestinian democratization, and relentlessly harsh toward Israel - its sovereignty, its right to defend itself, and its ability to claim any right to retain any of the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. The document makes no clear statement on the need for the Palestinians to dismantle terrorist organizations. Indeed, the term "terror organizations" is absent from the report. Instead, the Palestinian requirement to combat terrorism is reduced to demands on Israel to facilitate the training, arming and operation of the "reformed" Palestinian security services while not interfering with them in any way.... But two questions still arise: Why is the US government sending its officials to participate in a 'working group' which works to undermine the sovereignty of a US ally; and why is the Israeli government not taking legal action against private citizens who travel the world "negotiating" away the sovereign rights of the state while undermining the prerogatives of the Israeli government?" * * * I have only chosen two items from her background which I feel cast light on the persona of Condoleezza Rice. 1) Chevron is a San Francisco-based multinational oil firm, one of the top ten largest oil companies in the world. Condoleezza Rice served on Chevron's board from 1991 until January 15, 2001, when she resigned after Bush named her as his top national security aide. A double-hulled 129,000-ton giant tanker, part of the international fleet of Chevron, had years before been named "Condoleezza Rice" in honor of her service to the Chevron oil company. Critics complained that the ship served as a giant floating symbol of the Bush administration's cozy ties to the oil industry. The tanker's name also raised more serious questions of possible conflict of interest for Rice, because Chevron does business on six continents and in 25 countries, and has been sued for alleged human-rights abuses in Nigeria. Leaving a wave of controversy in its wake, one of the most visible reminders of the Bush administration's ties to big oil - the "Condoleezza Rice" tanker - was quietly renamed the "Altair Voyager." 2) There has been widespread concern that Rice's expertise is the Soviet Union and that she is out of her depths in the Middle East. Actually, she was out of her depths in relation to the Soviet Union as well. Rice, who claims an expertise in nothing less than the high-stakes world of global power, has failed spectacularly as the "expert" who was disastrously wrong in her area of expertise - the US relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev. President George H. W. Bush, Rice, National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, James Baker (then Secretary of State) and then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Colin Powell approved supporting the Soviet leader and his vision of a reformed Soviet Union. Dick Cheney (then Secretary of Defense), Paul Wolfowitz (his deputy), and Lewis "Scooter" Libbey foresaw the break-up of the USSR and wanted to speed it along. "Regime change" in Europe and Asia was what the Cheney crew were after - with resulting opportunities for American corporate interests if the US got in on the action early. As it turned out, Bush and Rice prevailed. In one famous incident, Rice physically blocked the door to the Oval Office to prevent Russian leader Boris Yeltsin from meeting with the President. The Bush team was slow to grasp the scope of the changes that were seizing Europe, slow to encourage the unification of Germany, and slow to give up on the Soviet Union. A speech Bush gave with Rice's assistance in Kiev became notorious as the "Chicken Kiev" speech because in it, the US urged the people of the Ukraine, (then clamoring for independence), to remain loyal to Moscow. At the same time, the President balked at giving Gorbachev what he needed - either at arms talks, or in terms of foreign aid - and the Soviet leader's domestic currency made a nose-dive. Within months, the Gorbachev era was over. The new post-Soviet Republics broke away one by one and in Russia, Yeltsin rose to power. * * * The above information gleaned from the Internet certainly made me less starry-eyed about Condoleezza Rice. Of prime importance to us in Israel is Condoleezza Rice's apparent antagonism to the Jewish People, and their right to live in their entire homeland, as spelled out continuously in the Bible. We must also be aware of her continual attempts to whitewash Mahmoud Abas (Abu Mazen) and his unsavory past. The next holocaust train has already left the station and is once again hurtling towards the abyss. What will change the US policy favoring the forced deportation of Jews from Gaza and Samaria? Dear friends, I feel that only a very strong showing of support for Israel by Jewish and Christian Bible believers, and other concerned supporters of Israel, will be able to stop this train. Let us start a list of people who are willing to join a giant rally on the Washington, DC Mall, most likely in the month of May 2005. Please email me your name and address if you think this is a good idea. We have a wonderful friend in Oklahoma City, Pastor James A. Vineyard, who is enthusiastic about taking part in this endeavor. He has sponsored the production of a DVD on "Disengagement." The DVD which Pastor Vineyard sponsored has interviews made with Israelis who are to be "deported" from their homes. This is powerful stuff. As Pastor Vineyard says, he doesn't want to profit from the troubles of the Jews, so he's only charging $10 for a copy. In the words of Pastor Vineyard, "The deportation scheme will be one of the 'ugliest scenes' unfolding for 2005, because these folks probably will not go peaceably and quietly." Time is short! Get your copy of the DVD and encourage your friends to get a copy as well. Plan a social evening in your home, and invite people in your community to view the DVD as well. Also, arrange that Synagogues and Churches feature a viewing of this tape, together with a discussion program. To purchase a copy of this DVD, email javyedidimis@aol.com or write him at 5517 NW 23rd St., Oklahoma City, OK, 73127. It is most important, dear friends, that after viewing this DVD, you express your feelings to President Bush. Send him a fax at 202-456-2461, or a letter by snail mail to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20500. In addition, call his office at 202-456-1414. As I previously mentioned, emails are not as effective, as they're not printed out, and therefore your opinion may not be fully brought to the President's attention. Also, contact your Senators and Congressman in this regard. With Blessings and Love for Israel, Ruth Matar Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

SUPPOSE ARAFAT HAD UNIFIED HIS FORCES; WISHFUL US THINKING; KILLING JEWS IN MODERATION Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 10, 2005.

WISHFUL U.S. THINKING These are heady times for America, though my Democrat friends seem unaware of it. There have been unprecedented, democratic elections in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Iraq. Whether those countries, especially the Muslim ones, will become democracies, remains to be seen; they now have some opportunity. The democracy movement in Ukraine is strong. In these accomplishments, the Bush Administration played a significant role. In crowing, the Administration and other commentators include with those accomplishments a fourth, actually non-democratic election. The P.A. election was not free and is not characterized by a movement for democracy. It is a ratification of terrorism and jihad. Even if it were democratic, what it ratifies is disgraceful. The US should not be party to it. It is their ganging up on Israel that causes Westerners to lose their heads over that charade in the P.A. SUPPOSE ARAFAT HAD DONE IT, WOULD IT BE REFORM? Arafat set up multiple security agencies, so he could play one off against the other. He was asked to unify them. That was proposed as if a great reform. Nobody explained how that would be a reform, when the commander of the three groups to be reconstituted would be the same as the commander of the dozen groups he had established. Now Abu Mazen is asked to combine the groups. He is amenable to this request, since it would enhance his power, please international donors, and serve as the rationalization for demanding a reciprocal concession from Israel. Nobody explains how this reformation, giving a more concentrated punch to this terrorist military arm of Arafat's former deputy, would make for peace. Neither does anyone explain why Israel should make concessions to the Arab enemies seeking to conquer it, regardless of what the Arabs do. Why aren't people demanding concessions of the Arab aggressors, to guarantee Israeli security? The chief concession and guarantor would be the P.A. Arabs' departure for Arab countries, leaving Israel with secure borders, etc.. P.A. ELECTION SHOWS THEY DON'T DESERVE STATEHOOD During the P.A. election, Abu Mazen ran on a terrorist platform. He would vary the tactics but not the jihadist objective, would not crack down on terrorism, and would demand agreements with Israel that would doom it. In endorsing him, the people ratified terrorism and imperialism. They demonstrated their unworthiness for sovereignty, especially statehood at Israel's expense. A ONE-LETTER DIFFERENCE COULD SOLVE THE CONFLICT Israel could solve its problems with the P.A. Arabs by switching from the letter "e" to the letter "u." It keeps getting asked for, and granting, concessions, to no avail. It is past time for it to give the Arabs concussions. MEDIA CASTS DOUBT ON ISRAELI FINDINGS Here is more indication of the double standard in language, slanted against Israel. A typical media practice is to repeat many Arab assertions as factual, but to qualify many Israeli assertions as disputable. Associated Press referred to the hundred arms smuggling tunnels unearthed by Israel as "Israel says." Have they no staff to visit the tunnels to see for themselves? Israel would welcome their verification. Instead, they cast doubt on what Israeli officials "say." Ironically, what Israel asserts about the Arabs usually is true and what the Arabs say, false. DIPLOMATS & JOURNALISTS AREN'T THE ONLY DECEIVERS OF JEWS "It has come to our attention that there is a relatively new 'hotspot' in town (in the Russian Compound, to be specific) that has become popular among English-speaking teens and collegiates. It is called The Jamm. It is a no-smoking, non-alcoholic drop-in youth center in which youngsters who like to play music can come and play on top-of-the-line equipment free of charge. Kids from the one-year yeshivot and seminaries for American students have been seen frequenting the place. It's a really nice, clean, safe place for kids to have a good time." Actually, the Jamm is a Christian missionary operation. The Christian missionaries entice innocent young Jews, whom they seek gradually to convert (Arutz-7, 2/13). Sneaks! Israel might expel deceptive or all missionaries, but US officials pressure it not to. Neither does the Israeli government mount an educational campaign against such missionizing. Nor do its schools anchor Israeli youth in their peoplehood. The effort is left to private, usually religious, hands. MISPLACED INDIGNATION "'Yediot Ahronot' remarks on the latest slogan against disengagement: 'Our blood is as thick as that of Sderot residents,' and says, 'The connection they have created between Sderot's tragedy and the tragedy which threatens settler ideology is as outrageous and vulgar as using the tragedy of the Holocaust for their struggle.'" (Foreign Ministry, 2/18.) Bombarded Siderot is in the official State of Israel, while the bombarded "settlers" are in Gaza, which is in the Land of Israel outside the State, and whose Jews are Israeli citizens. The connection should be obvious - the P.A. is committing terrorism against both groups of Jews. The P.A. goal is to conquer all of them. The newspaper is outraged at any argument against its disproved ideology that imagines the P.A. wants to seize just the Territories. THE WORD FROM THE "WASHINGTON POST" It referred to the FOUR year old "Israeli Palestinian conflict" (IMRA, 2/18). The conflict simply flared up again, more like regular war, four years ago. The conflict has endured for about 80 years. The PLO, itself, was started about 40 years ago. HELPFUL JORDAN Now Jordan is giving "police" training to the 1000 Palestine Liberation Army men who have been staying in Jordan, and suggests they go to the P.A. to help maintain order (IMRA, 2/17). The P.A. has more police per capita than any other police state. The last thing it should have, and Israel should allow, is an infusion of more terrorists (and mouths). What is Jordan's game? To rid itself of pests? To overthrow Israel? If the latter, how long would the monarchy last? JERUSALEM BACKGROUND MISSING "Ruling it violates Israeli and international law," "Israel's attorney general overturned a secret government decision" that "attorneys for the landowners said was an attempt by Israel to confiscate thousands of acres of Jerusalem land" "belonging to Palestinian Arabs living in the W. Bank" to "cement Israeli control over the eastern sector of the city" - Joseph Federman, February 2, Associated Press (A.P.). No background given. How did the Arabs, who often squat, acquire land? What is the government side? How did it violate laws? When the Jewish people recovered and annexed Old Jerusalem, Arab residents were Jordanian citizens. Israel offered those enemies citizenship and allowed them: (1) Travel throughout the State; and (2) Citizens' welfare benefits. Arabs who move out of the City for enough years would forfeit the benefits, but many falsely retain their old address. Generous Israel's remedy for Arab welfare-cheating is blamed as political and "illegal," but A.P. allowed it no rebuttal. One is left supposing that the Attorney General represents Israel's interests and conscientiously upholds law. As a far leftist, however, he generally misrepresents law to favor the Arabs, especially their hold on the Territories. Has the government no right to preserve Jewish holy sites, homes, and lives from Arab jihadists? Why not note that foreign Arabs poured millions into acreage, to wrest de-facto control? A.P. should better inform readers, especially of the "NY Sun" that means to be fair to Israel. KILLING JEWS IN "MODERATION" "...Abu Mazen has reached an agreement with his Fatah militias that they stop trying to kill Israelis within the Green Line in the area near the Gaza Strip. They may continue trying to murder Israelis inside the Gaza Strip. Channel Two reports that Hamas has so far rejected the deal and says they will continue to try and also kill Israelis within the Green Line. Sometimes Abu Mazen calls for an end to violence, but it doesn't end. PM Sharon asks him for action, not for calls (IMRA, 2/18). Although the violence continues, he gets credit for opposing it. His words soothe, but the bombs explode. He has his cake and eats it, too. How moderate of Abu Mazen! He doesn't approve of their assaulting all Israelis everywhere, only in places that he thinks world public opinion won't mind. It is a sad commentary on world public opinion that it has so stereotyped Israelis living in the Territories beyond the Green Line that it doesn't mind their murder by war criminals. HOW ISLAMISTS DOMINATE JORDANIAN PROFESSIONS Jordan's professional associations, able to blacklist members, largely control their fields. Islamists dominate the associations, because they faithfully pay dues and vote (IMRA, 2/18). NEWS MEDIA DOESN'T GET THE NEWS "Israel pulled out of southern Lebanon in 2000 after suffering high casualties at its (Hizbullah's) hands (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2005, p.14 from Ewen MacAskill, Guardian, 10/15/04). Israel's casualties were a dozen or a score a year. That is light. Hizbullah's were considerably heavier, but it doesn't care, and appeasement-minded Israeli leftists campaigned for a pullout, making false promises about its enhancing security, now at greater risk. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. 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PROTESTING GIVING ARMS TO THE PLO A SECOND TIME Posted by Professor Ya'acov Golbert and Yrachmiel Elias, February 10, 2005.

We protest even the idea of giving the PLO arms a second time, and so as not to make it too difficult for Prime Minister Sharon's budget - our plan would save the Jewish People millions of Shekels in expenses as it would also not be necessary to train them and then mobilize our IDF forces to clean up the deaths after their default on peace takes place! Also by not having to remove 8000 Jews forcibly from their homes in the Gush Katif area we would not continue to bankrupt our economy by having to purchase their homes and then forcibly move them to holding camps that also cost millions of shekels in maintenance cost on a daily basis! Netzah Yisrael http://netzahyisrael.org has been up and running for over three years and presents an eight point plan showing how G-D willing we can together rescue the Jewish People and redeem Eretz Yisrael. Reply to: action@netzahyisrael.org or golbert@netzahyisrael.org To Go To Top

MOFAZ REFUSES TO ACCEPT EXPULSION REFUSERS' SIGNATURES Posted by Evelyn Hayes, February 10, 2005.

This is a news item from www.ourjerusalem.com. The international community may be receptive to the disengagement plan and the expulsion of Jews, but 10,000 of the Israeli soldiers who are supposed to do the uprooting say they're not. The "Homat Magen" (Defensive Shield) Task Force has overseen the collection of the signatures of 10,000 IDF soldiers who say they will not participate in the uprooting, even if ordered to do so. The signatures, of soldiers from both the standing army and the reserves, were gathered by several grassroots organizations over the past several weeks. Noam Livnat of Elon Moreh, younger brother of Education Minister Limor Livnat, is the driving force behind the campaign, which has become known as the "refusal" drive. He planned to submit the signatures to Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz today, but Mofaz refused to meet with him. Livnat therefore deposited the lists with a trustee, Law Professor and TV-and-radio show host Chaim Misgav, and they will be available for public viewing. Asked if he is sure that all 10,000 of the signatories will actually make good on their word if it comes down to it, Livnat said today, "No, I think there won't be 10,000 - there will be 50,000. Because for every soldier who signed, there were another five who implied that though they didn't want to sign, they could be counted on not to take part in the evacuation. They'll sit and drink coffee, they'll play backgammon, but they won't have a hand in dragging away their brothers and sisters so that the Land of Israel can be given over to the enemy." Many in the anti-disengagement camp oppose the idea of a public campaign for refusal, fearing that it will irreparably harm the IDF. Livnat says that his hope is not to reach that day at all: "Our goal is to make sure that the military orders to evacuate Gush Katif and the northern Shomron are never given... It's obvious that the establishment won't be able to tolerate a situation in which tens of thousands of people have signed their refusal to carry out these orders. We're not trying to interfere with the evacuation, but rather prevent it from even beginning to occur." Israeli law states that soldiers must not carry out blatantly illegal orders, and as such, many public figures agree with the call to refuse orders relating to the uprooting of Jews from their homes. This past September, over 150 public figures signed a call for IDF soldiers and police officers to refuse to take part in the disengagement - including Professor Ben-Tzion Netanyahu and Ido Netanyahu, father and brother of Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu; two former Prime Ministerial Bureau directors, Uri Elitzur and Yossi Ben-Aharon; Prime Minister Sharon's legendary comrade-in-arms from the 1950s-era Commando Unit 101, Meir Har-Tzion; and a long list of public figures, including scientists and former mayors and Knesset Members. The petition signed by the 10,000 is entitled, "I will not participate in civil war!" and reads as follows: I am a proud soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. My mission is to protect the State of Israel and the Nation of Israel against its enemies. I am liable to be ordered to expel the residents of Gush Katif and northern Shomron, but I won't be able to. I won't be able to, because I am not able to strike my brother and sisters, my own countrymen. I won't be able to expel a mother from her home; I won't drag an old woman from her bed; I won't use force against a child. I won't be able to harm crippled, orphans, and widows, destroy their homes and give their lands to murderers. I will not strike Jews. I will not uproot that which is planted. I won't destroy property. I will not take part in destroying greenhouses, dismantling factories, destroying crops in the field. I won't remove those of my countrymen who have been murdered from their graves, and I will not destroy synagogues. I will not agree to take part in civil war, even if I receive an order to this effect. I recognize my obligation to fulfill the army's orders, but if I am ordered by my commanders to do the above, I will view this as a blatantly illegal order, and as a soldier, I will be prevented by the State's laws and the General Staff's orders to fulfill it. Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

POLICE HARASSMENT Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 9, 2005.

"Son of Terror Victims Claims Police Harassment" is is a news item from today's Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com. It is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=76672 Expel Sharon, not Jews! As terror victims and their relatives feature in the news protesting the government's consent to release murderers, some loved ones are asking that other types of basic consideration be shown them. Tzvi Horowitz, 28, is the second of four children of Rabbi Eli and Dina Horowitz (pictured above), who were gunned down in their own home in Kiryat Arba by Palestinian terrorists in March 2003. The murderers, dressed as religious Jews, entered the couple's home during the Friday night Sabbath meal and opened fire, killing the couple and wounding five others. Tzvi is currently under police investigation. He told the story to Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri today: "It all started when Noam Livnat, whom I didn't know before, asked me to build a website for his campaign against the disengagement. The cause appeared to be a good one, and also I haven't had much work since my parents were killed, and so I agreed. One day I heard that an investigation had been opened against Noam Livnat for incitement to refusal of army orders, so I checked the site to see if there was anything incriminating there. I saw that there was an option to sign up soldiers for refusal. In such a situation, I would have called my father for advice - but he was murdered, and so I called his rabbis to see what he would have said I should do. They said that they didn't think refusal was the right option, but that on the other hand, it was already done and I had a financial obligation to Noam. So I made sure that my name was not there; I had nothing to do with it anyway - I was merely hired to build a website... "About three weeks ago, the police left a summons in my house for me to arrive for questioning; I wasn't home at the time. A few days later, they arrived at my house, and told me to come with them right away. I said no, and they then threatened very roughly that if I didn't come the next day, I would be put under arrest. In the meantime, my father's rabbis arranged a top lawyer for me - though I still am not sure where the money will come from - and he accompanied me to an interrogation that lasted for five full hours. However, the police refused to allow him into the room. They questioned me under caution, and finally dropped the boom. For building a website, they told me that I was suspected of five crimes: incitement to army evasion, incitement to army disobedience, destroying evidence, interfering with police work, and - an attempt to destroy the IDF. No less. "They scared me very much, and they saw how difficult it was for me - yet they insisted I sign the statement. I told them that they see I am not at all involved in this story, and that I have no interest in it, and how hard it is for me emotionally, but it didn't move them... I didn't sign." "Two days ago, after not having heard from them since then, I was working at home on my computer when I heard a harsh knocking on the door. I was alone with my baby daughter, and it was frightening; the caravan in which I live, in Karmei Tzur [south of Gush Etzion], had bullet holes from a terror attack here in which another couple, Eyal and Yael Sorek [and Shalom Mordechai] were killed in their home in the same way - a terrorist knocked on the door and then burst in and shot them. So I feared that this might be a repeat. I called loudly, twice or three times, 'Who's there?' and received no answer. Just as my fears were growing and I was considering going for my gun, the police burst in the door. I yelled at them, 'Why didn't you identify yourselves?' They didn't apologize, but rather said that they have a search warrant, and proceeded to coldly search every corner of the little caravan. They shook matchboxes, looked under cups, and of course, took my computer. I told them that I had served in the army, that I had given the country everything I had, including my parents, and what more do you want from me? Instead of showing any sensitivity at all to my situation - and they saw how hard I was taking it - the investigator, the one who interrogated me before, said, 'We could have treated you much worse if we wanted to.' I said, 'This is how you 'comfort' me? I was responsible for Arab terrorist prisoners in the army, and I acted towards them with more sensitivity than you're acting towards me!' They saw the picture of my parents in front of them the whole time, and they know that they burst in the same way in which my parents were killed, and yet it didn't bother them... "Yesterday, after they took my computer, they called me and said they had copied my whole hard drive and that I could come and get it. I expressed my fear of coming, and they said, 'Don't worry, we won't arrest you - just come and sign.' When I arrived, the policeman asked me what computer program I had used to build the site. I couldn't imagine why he was asking, after he had just copied my whole drive, and my lawyer had advised me not to say anything, and so I didn't answer. He said, 'Fine, if that's how you want it' - and then went to the court with a request to keep my computer for another ten days. His excuse was that the fonts didn't look righ... The judge said that he couldn't understand why that would require ten days - but after he saw that I was suspected of trying to destroy the army and all that, he said the police could keep my computer until Sunday. "I told them that I wouldn't be coming to get it; if they want, they could bring it to me. I've had enough of their treating me as if I'm an enemy, instead of someone who has lost his parents in a terror attack. I'm not built for this type of thing; maybe Noam Livnat can take it, but I can't." In contrast, Noam Livnat - one of the organizers of the campaign to sign soldiers on a petition to refuse expulsion orders - told Israel Television today that he was interrogated "for maybe two hours, about a month ago, and that was it. After all, there's nothing more legal or Zionist than what I'm doing: organizing people to say that they won't carry out illegal orders." Tzvi concluded, "What I would like to get across is that the police must be more sensitive. Their attitude is degrading and dehumanizing. They must take into account the people with whom they're dealing and their situations." As an aside, Tzvi noted that while he is under suspicion of encouraging refusal to fulfill orders, Attorney-General Mazuz himself could be accused of the same crime. He noted that on May 10 of last year, Mazuz spoke at a lawyers' conference about left-wing refusal to serve in the army. "I have understanding," Mazuz said, "for the phenomenon of young people fighting for beliefs. In and of itself it could be, on the face of it, a positive phenomenon that shows social involvement and concern... however, it has to be considered in the broad view." He also expressed tolerance for those who incite others not to serve in the army, as long as such incitement does not take on a "racist character." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

LOOK WHO'S 'REPRESENTING' ISRAEL Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 9, 2005.

The article article below was written by Caroline Glick and appeared in The Jerusalem Post yesterday. Bravo for Caroline Glick whose nose for the covered over facts is extraordinary. The following exposé about James Baker's involvement in the drafting of the Bush original 'Road Map' and the follow-on version given to Condoleezza Rice as the messenger is about as scary as it can get. You remember James Baker, don't you? He is reported to have said: "F..k the Jews! They didn't vote for us anyway." Everyone thought that Father Bush and Baker had faded from the scene, especially the subverting of Israel. One day someone will write the full story about Baker, his Rice Institute and its real purpose. You could ask or subpoena Edward Djerejian who might tell us what on in something like Frankenstein's laboratory and the creatures of espionage it produces. Many of us have been writing about the Bush Dynasty and its oily friends and its dedication to insuring the elimination of that Jewish State which irritates Saudi Arabia so much. If you think that all that precedes the Conference at Sharm el-Sheik isn't inter-connected, well - WAKE UP! It's all connected: Rabin and Peres meeting with Arafat in the1980s, the Reagan Plan, the Bush-Baker Peace Plan, Oslo, Wye, Camp David, the Geneva Accords, the Bush, Jr. Road Map - morphed into the Quartet's Road Map - and now Sharm with Sharon opening all the road-blocks to allow Terrorists free roaming privileges. The spontaneous "Disengagement" of Sharon so the domino effect of the Jewish territories falling - one after another - were all inter-linked. We Jews should be used to betrayal by enemies and friends alike. It is especially disheartening to see President Bush and his father's cronies hoodwink the American people, pretending to be friends of the Jewish State. In early March there will be a meeting of the Wannsee Quartet in London, supposedly to address the "Palestine" element. You do recall the Wannsee Conference directed by Heydrich for Hitler, don't you? Only the best German minds, like Adolph Eichmann, were there to decide the fate of the Jews both in what was then the Palestinian Mandate and everywhere else. So, in brief, we are being betrayed by the Bush Administration, by the Sharon Administration and by the Left - be they Jews, Gentiles or any others who want to destroy the Jewish State. As US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice embarked on her maiden voyage, it was reported that she departed from America armed with a new policy paper on how to implement the Quartet's road map produced by the James Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. According to Edward Djerejian, the former US ambassador to Syria who directs the Baker Center, the paper, with its detailed recommendations, is a "street map to the road map." One of the things that make the paper significant is that it bears former US secretary of state James Baker's name. Not only did Baker serve under the president's father, he now plays a formal role in mobilizing international support for Iraqi reconstruction efforts. As well, the team that composed the report included senior policy makers from the US, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Canada and the World Bank. The US was represented by current Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns as well as by Norman Olsen, the political counselor at the US embassy in Israel. The PA was represented by security strongman Jibril Rajoub and by senior aides to Mahmoud Abbas, Yasser Arafat and Ahmed Qurei. Egypt was represented by Dictator Hosni Mubarak's senior adviser Osama El Baz and by General Hossam Khair Allah. Israel had no official representation. Rather, the Jewish state was represented by none other than Yossi Beilin's Geneva Accord crowd. Amnon Lipkin Shahak and Shlomo Brom, signatories to that subversive agreement where private citizens tried to abscond with the government's sovereign power to determine foreign policy by negotiating the scandalously anti-Israel "accord," participated. They were joined by members of Beilin's EU-financed think tank, the Economic Cooperation Foundation. Not surprisingly, the product this team produced and delivered to Rice is soft on Palestinian terrorism, soft on Palestinian democratization, and relentlessly harsh toward Israel - its sovereignty, its right to defend itself, and its ability to claim any right to retain any of the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. The document makes no clear statement on the need for the Palestinians to dismantle terrorist organizations. Indeed, the term "terror organizations" is absent from the report. Instead, the Palestinian requirement to combat terrorism is reduced to demands on Israel to facilitate the training, arming and operation of the "reformed" Palestinian security services while not interfering with them in any way. While the report pays lip service to the need for the PA to reform its governing institutions, its only clear statement on the end-product of reform is unabashedly authoritarian. The aim of all the reforms must be the "consolidat[ion of] Fatah as the main political player in Palestinian society." While the report makes no call for the destruction of Palestinian terror organizations and bucks up the authoritarian, corrupt PA, it calls for Israel to be treated with hostility and suspicion. The paper calls for the establishment of a multinational force that will implement the agreements. Implicit in this statement is the assumption that Israel will be prevented by the presence of this force from taking any measures to defend itself against attacks. International border crossings in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, including the weapons smuggling hub at the Philadephi Corridor which separates Gaza from Egypt, are to be controlled by the Palestinians. The report gives Egyptian forces a more prominent role in implementing the agreements than the IDF. WHERE THE report's anti-Israel bias is most blatant is in its discussion of the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. The authors refer to their desire to see "The Palestinian people establish a viable state in the West Bank and Gaza" and make it clear that a precondition for the state's viability is that it be racially pure - entirely cleansed of Jewish communities. At the same time, they express their desire to "assure that Israel will continue to exist as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people and its other citizens." So in the authors' view, Israel is to be a state of all of its citizens while "Palestine" is to be Judenrein. The report calls for the institution of a draconian regime in the Defense Ministry and the Justice Ministry to effectively prevent any building activities whatsoever from being conducted in the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. This regime, "The Special Office on Settlement Activities," will be obliged not simply to act as the enforcer of the attrition of these communities. The report determines that this body will be subordinate to the US embassy in Israel - effectively ceding Israeli sovereignty to the US. The study even dares to dictate what propaganda moves must be made by the Israeli government to force the Israeli public to accept this policy. A close reading makes it clear that the result of this policy will be the expulsion of more than 400,000 Israeli Jews from their homes. This is so because the destruction of Israeli neighborhoods in Jerusalem is implicit in the section's opening paragraph, which mendaciously claims: "The US government policy has been based on the principle that there can be no acquisition of territory by war." Not only does this sweeping and totally false statement necessarily include Jerusalem; it can easily be interpreted as saying that the only borders Israel can legitimately claim are the UN partition borders from 1947 since much of the land that makes up the 1949 armistice lines was acquired in war. Perhaps it is reasonable that officials pushing a plan that would cause Israel to effectively become the ward of the international community should not feel limited by the positions of the Israeli government as it makes its plans - sufficing instead to have Israel "represented" by radical free agents with Israeli citizenship. But two questions still arise: Why is the US government sending its officials to participate in a "working group" which works to undermine the sovereignty of a US ally; and why is the Israeli government not taking legal action against private citizens who travel the world "negotiating" away the sovereign rights of the state while undermining the prerogatives of the Israeli government? Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

OPEN LETTER TO CONDELEEZA RICE Posted by Evelyn Hayes, February 9, 2005.

As everyone applauds the elections in Afghanistan and Iraq as a democratic enablement by America in an Arab world that only knows tyranny, the Sharon Expulsion Plan unilaterally planned by Prime Minister Sharon on a turn-act against his own words and settlement building actions would put American participation on the disenablement of democracy's path. America would be turn-acting against its accomplishments and undermining democracy for the Jews. And this breakdown may lead to the free fall of world democracy with a lot of help from conniving with Jihad. As Jews helped Blacks integrate into American society and Condeleeza Rice is now Secretary of State. How can you consider ethnic cleansing the aboriginal Jewish people from their homeland leaving it for Moslems only? Sadly, Blacks do not consider that Moslems are enslaving their Christian brothers in Africa and that many Jews are black. Sadly, Blacks do not consider that the black Jews of Yemen and Ethiopia exiled from their lands have been living in Jewish Gaza before the Egyptian invasion of 1948. The Jews returned after the Egyptian imperialists fled after the 1967 defeat when they tried to invade further into the Jewish country. Condeleeza Rice, Israel is by definition and name a Jewish state which the Romans tried to unravel by changing the name to Palestine. Not only is ethnic cleansing of Jews to form another Arab Only Palestine state undemocratic, without considering the fact that Jordan is an Arab state made out of 78% of Israel and that Jericho in 1948 had 3000 Jordanian Arabs and now the Jordanian Arabs dared and destroyed the Oslo-protected Shalom Synagogue, but it is a crime of massive anti-Jewish proportions. Democracy means of the people, by the people and for the people. Jews are people, too. Jews in Israel are the people of Judah, his portion being Gaza, Israel. Gaza is home to Jewish survivors chased from Inquisition to Holocaust, to conversion and death. Your push to tie the Egyptian Arabs of Gaza with the Jordanian Arabs of Jericho and make a cohesive country in a Palestine 2 is forgetting why Jordan was created. And it is slicing Israel up for those nations - all pan-Jihad who are a cancer in the infrastructure of American universities, brainwashing America against itself. Unilateral decisions against the Jews where America has other plans for the victims of the Husseins of and Palestine and other Islamicists is undemocratic. Ms Rice, would you be so democratic and do equally to the Arabs of the Galilee who fled Arab warlords and settled near the Jewish settlements of Rishon Ltzion and make them leave to give the expelled Jews of Gaza their homes? Will you be so Democratic to expel the Arabs to Arab lands as you are to give Jewish land to the Arabs? And are these productive planting Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, Arab expulsions and massacres going into refugee camps again and in their own country? Why is Sharon training brutes to brutalize Jews to leave their homes of the last three generations for a pro-Iraq Gaza which voted for the terrorist entity of Hamas aka Hizb-Allah which America wants to put on the terrorist list? Perhaps my equations are hard to fathom but your harshness against the Jews of Gush Katif, those who farm and don't fight, is blatantly undemocratic and anti-semitic even if some Jews agree with you. Remember they are truly guilty because they lied to get into office, Jew-be-rid was not their platform. Ridding America of Africans would not be as bad as ridding Israel of Israelis. Is America being paid to expand Arabia, the most discriminating nation on the earth? Ms Rice, the Blacks of America imported as slaves into America are now responsible well respected citizens. Democracy includes. Your policy against the Jews of Gaza, both black and white, excludes those who only act with peace in their hearts and goodness in their ways. The Jewish people must stay. Gardens not Grenades. Democracy not deMOCKcrazy. /font> Evelyn Hayes is author of "The Eleventh Plague, Twins, because their hearts were softened to accept the unacceptable" and "The Twelfth Plague, Generations, because the lion wears stripes." Contact her at haze@rcn.com. To Go To Top

SELF-HATING ISRAELI LEFTIST ANTI-SEMITES Posted by Steven Plaut, February 9, 2005.

This was written by Shalom Freedman and appeared today in Arutz-7 - Israel National News. It is archived at http://israelnn.com/article.php3?id=4769 There has been much written and said about the 'self-hating Jew'. But little has been written and said about one particular kind of self-hating Jew, one unfortunately increasingly important and disturbing: the self-hating Israeli. The self-hating Israeli may be someone raised within Israel society, someone who knows its institutions and people well, someone who is even a part of its academic, journalistic, legal or political elite. This familiarity and knowledge of the society he is criticizing gives his criticism particular force and even authenticity. It legitimizes the criticism of Israel-bashers, even anti-Semitic Israel-bashers, as they will exultantly proclaim, "But we are only saying what the Israelis says about themselves." One great locus of Israeli self-haters is its most prestigious daily newspaper, Haaretz. The long list of Israeli self.haters is headed by Gideon Levi and Amira Hass. Their identification with Israel's enemies is total, and they have been known to invent and distort facts, do anything and everything possible, to absolve the Arabs and blame Israel in disputed incidents. Another vicious hater of Israelis is the writer Yitzhak Laor, whose reputation was built in part on a blood-libel poem featuring Israelis baking matzot from Arab children's blood. But the list is very long indeed and is frequently expressed not only in what is said, but also in its tone. What joy is in the tone of these writers whenever anything goes wrong for Israel. And how eagerly do they rush to proclaim an Israeli defeat and disaster. In fact, one of their favorite tactics is predicting disaster constantly. Their hope is that wishing will make it so. Recently, a long.time Arafat-booster, Danny Rubinstein, exulted about the Palestinians preparing their victory celebrations when Israel withdraws from Gaza. Any long-time reader of Rubinstein knows how much he longs for Palestinian victories and Israelis defeats. Another very big Israeli self-hater is Meron Benvenisti. He is somewhat unusual, however, as he hates everybody, both of the Right and the Left, and considers himself to be the only one who is ever right about anything. Akiva Eldar, a diplomatic correspondent who for years found peaceful intentions in Hafez Assad and Yasser Arafat, and always blamed Israel for any failure in negotiations, loves to throw around the word "racist" when he refers to Israeli society. Haaretz is always ready to open its paper to academic Israel self-haters. Ze'ev Sternhall and Baruch Kimmerling frequently tell us why the Israelis are the stupidest, cruelest, most inhumane people in relation to the kind, peace-loving and gentle-souled Palestinian Arabs. The list is too long, and is being added to continually, especially by those who wish to win favor in certain areas of the academic and journalistic worlds. The real question is why this is so, why there is such hatred, and not merely criticism, harbored by Israelis for other Israelis and for Israel itself. One answer might be that most of these people, however successful in their own areas, are not really part of the decision-making political elite in Israel. Out of their own frustrated ambitions and powerlessness may come their resentment of others. Another answer is that these people are 'idealists', who expected perfection from Israel and are deeply disappointed. They may have been raised with pictures of Israel as a light to the nations, and come by their own eyes to see how filled with faults and failings it is. Many have suffered, as I suspect most of us on occasion have, from rudeness, stupidity and inconsiderateness. But they, instead of considering the great stress many are especially subject to here, are unforgiving; instead, they are angry and resentful. All this, however, does not answer the question of why their resentment and hatred is so deep, why it leads them to so blindly and absolutely support the 'other side' when the other side is clearly, in terms of basic human decency, a very bad lot indeed. It does not answer the question of why, instead of dislike and resentment and criticism of undesirable parts of Israeli society, there is such hatred of it. And it does not answer the question of why, instead of desiring to change the society for the better, they seem to be aiming at the undermining of it. I do not have a definite answer. But I do know that these people are causing damage to Israel not only within the country, but in the world as a whole. And I strongly believe that they have been a major force in promoting the dramatic increase in the past four years of anti-Semitism in the world. One need only look on the web-sites of the most vicious Arab anti-Semites to see, proudly featured, the bylines of many Haaretz stalwarts. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

THE HYPE OF PEACE Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 9, 2005.

This morning, February 8th, I was watching FOX NEWS and listening to the anchors all excited about this amazing expected announcement of the cessation of Terror (by Muslim Arab Terrorists against Jews in Israel) that has been a daily way of life for four years. Breathlessly all awaited the results of talks between the new President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) and Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Their lapse of memory and the avoidance of Middle East reality seems to lead the unrealistic expectations. We already know that Abu Mazen was himself an acting and planning Terrorist and a denier that the Holocaust happened. He has a 'rap' sheet that's long and detailed. Few believe that he can or will confront Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim, Fatah, DFLP (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine), Hezb'Allah plus others or even his own Terror organization, the Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigade. Abu Mazen has already stated plainly that he will not physically confront Terrorists but in fact, he has armed and deployed uniformed Terrorists as Police greeted warmly by other Terrorists. Hamas and other Terrorist groups have stated they are not bound by the purported 'cease-fire'. All historians and intelligence analysts know that those who are driven by religious motives (Islam and Koranic injunctions) cannot and will not give up what is mandated by their religions, 'vis a vis' Muslims vs. all infidels. Muslims consider any and every non-Muslim to be an infidel - especially Jews and Christians, because they keep to their own religions and therefore 'reject' Islam. We in the 'Free West' have learned a great deal about the tactic called Hudna or temporary truce. This is a Muslim trick modeled on Mohammed's method of negotiating a 10 year peace treaty with the Jews in Mecca but when he was strong enough in 2 years, Mohammed broke that treaty (called the Hudaibiya Treaty in 628 CE), attacked the Jewish Koreish (Quraish, Quraysh sp. varies) tribe, massacred all the 600 men and sold the women and children into slavery. The present hoopla about the Sharm el-Sheik hudna may impress the media and make for photos of handshakes but, realists know the shooting will slow down and then start up. One is reminded of Yitzhak Rabin shaking the hand of Yassir Arafat on the White House lawn. Hand-shakes mean something in the West but to Islamists they merely wash their hands afterwards - with their promises going down the drain. We know that there is not one (not one!) democracy other than the Jewish State of Israel in the entire region. Every Arab and/or Muslim nation is controlled by a single dictator. The accepted method is to suppress the population through fear delivered by large numbers of secret police and state-controlled courts. Any new Palestinian State will follow the accepted and established format so common to the Arab Muslim culture. We know that Muslims and/or Arabs in general make losses in war part of their natural agenda which translates into future wars to recover their Twin Pillars of Islam, namely, Pride and Shame. This is more than custom but rather it is a deeply based culture, rooted in fervent religious fundamental radical Islam. The international community has knowingly adopted the philosophy that, IF there is a Hudna and follow-on agreements between Israel and her self-declared adversaries, this means an Anglo or Western-styled peace is on the way. Contracts negotiated and signed are meaningful in the West. Among Arab Muslim nations they knowingly enter agreements with the belief that at a time of their own choosing, they can abrogate the agreement and do - they always do.. King Hussein of Jordan made 26 agreements with Yassir Arafat and his PLO. Arafat broke every single one of them and no one in the Arab Muslim world was surprised. When Arafat planned to assassinate King Hussein in 1970, the King mounted a war against Arafat's PLO Terrorists and drove them out into Lebanon. Arafat set up a mini Terror State, causing a 12 year Civil War which killed 100,000 Christians and Muslims. When Israel and Egypt negotiated Camp David, the expectations was a normalization to include trade, demilitarization of the Sinai, interchange of visitors - plus 60 side letters mostly related to future business between the two. The result was a Cold Peace, no continuous exchange of Ambassadors - except for a brief time. None of the 60 side letters were implemented at Egypt's behest, no exchange of tourists. Israelis loved to tour Egypt. But, Egypt insured that no businessmen or ordinary tourists came to Israel. For this unbalanced exchange in the name of Peace, Israel gave up $17 Billion of her investment in the Sinai Desert, including the oil fields Israel discovered and developed which could have made Israel energy self-sufficient, 2 sophisticated air bases and more to Egypt. The U.S. subsequently paid Egypt $1 Billion dollars a year which has accumulated to date to approximately $60 Billion in free armaments, making Egypt the military colossus in the Middle East. The international community, including America, deliberately misreads the concepts of Peace, knowing that even if the miraculous happens, eg., adopting democracy, the Arab Muslim nations still will not accept Israel as a peaceful neighbor. When such nations as Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq (under Saddam) made contracts with the West or Russia for the sale of weapons and other goods most often the contracts were unpaid. Ask Russia, France, England - how many Billions of dollars are still owed on contracts these Muslim Arabic nations abrogated and will never be paid? Keeping a contract is like keeping your word. Arab Muslim nations simply don't always keep agreements either with each other or with anyone in the infidel West. When it comes to Israel, one must add a layer of religious driven hatred to their so-called agreements with Israel to keep the peace. Then there is the Institutional Bias in their education systems. They not only teach anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred in their normal curriculum but, then they add the mind-numbing idea that it is not only acceptable to murder Jews, it is mandatory as stated in the Koran. Moreover, they make suicidal death desirable to their children from the age of 3 up, because they are taught both in their curriculum and on the street that by killing themselves and Jews, this will bring them instant paradise. This is very difficult to cope with, even by the parents of the would-be suicide bombers who do not wish to see their children as martyrs. I recall Bill Cosby, the humorist, acting out the role of a teenager, jumping off the garage roof, absolutely certain he would fly because he had his Superman cape on. Children are impressionable and once imprinted with the idea of sacrificing their lives for Allah, they grow into adulthood, knowing that one day they would want to kill a Jew as their ticket to Paradise. Yassir Arafat was quite accurate when he boasted that he had a million Shahids and Shahadas (male and female martyrs for Islam) ready to march against Israel. Then there are leaders in Israel who sincerely believe that they can give up their own Land and come to some arrangement for peaceful co-existence. Time and again this has proven not only false but actually feeds the culture wherein if the enemy agrees to a truce and negotiates 'Peace' that they are weak and ripe for an attack. This is deeply ingrained in their culture, in their teachings of the Koranic Law, in the Hadith which explains Mohammed's strategies to trick and defeat the infidel. Nothing in the West, particularly America will change this mind-set. Regrettably, men like Sharon and Shimon Peres and the so-called intellectuals of the Left, have either forgotten or never learned the rules by which the Middle East guides itself. There is an unusual phenomenon in the Arab world that the West has not yet begun to understand. Arab Muslims lie as a policy to protect their honor or to make things seem to have turned out to their benefit. Some call this re-construction of Historical Revisionism and the Arab are excellent at memory warping of history to suit themselves. For example, the Saudis, among others, still proclaim that 9/11 was a "Jewish Plot" - evidence notwithstanding. Of the 19 hijacking, homicide bombers on 9/11, 15 were Saudis and 4 were Egyptian. The Arab and Muslim nations maintain that they did not start the wars against the Jewish people, despite the filmed and recorded speeches of their leaders and imams proclaiming that this is exactly what they were going to do. When the Arab nations lost their first war against Israel in 1948, they stated that it was Americans who defeated them and not the Jews. The Arab nations started the wars against Israel 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, and 1991 (with continual Terrorism in between) - and gambled away territory they might have gained if they hadn't started aggressions against Israel. Then they demanded the return of territories they lost in battle - as if their demand was quite normal. The Arab Muslim Palestinians demanded the release of all the prisoners Israel captured as Terrorists, truly believing there was no guilt connected to Terror and atrocities. In brief, it is OK to kill a Jew and then it is also OK to demand release from prison when caught. Granted, the nations of the Muslim Arab world not only don't care if Israel disappears but they prefer it. It is their primary goal in life. We in America and the Free West sold the Arabs WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) for money or the supposed influence it would buy. Even if those WMD weren't found - yet - in Iraq or buried in Syria, they probably do exist. Such power is irresistible to dictators and those who must rule from a point power. Now they, as a primitive people, they can use weapons they could not ever have developed without our complicity and blow and/or poison our cities. The amateur politicians of Israel have never understood geo-politics and dream those impossible dreams. They think up or are given ideas of peace through appeasement assured by foreign governments that they will back Israel if things go wrong. Do you, the reader, have any belief that any nation, including the U.S. would come to fight Arab Muslim nations in real time to defend the tiny Jewish State of Israel. Indeed, they would come on rescue missions in the same time span it took George Herbert Walker Bush, James Baker, Colin Powell to mount a delayed rescue effort of Kuwait - namely, six months. In the Middle East wars are fought and lost in a few weeks. Perhaps the Arab world will move into the 21st Century in 50-100 years. Perhaps they will cut loose from the domination of Mullahs, Ayatollahs and the dictatorial systems by which they govern. Perhaps they will give up their religious mandate to eliminate the challenge of the Jewish presence along with the Christians. I would, however, not count on it. So, while there is much political and media hype about the rosy future of peace because Sharon and Abu Mazen make proclamations in Sharm el-Sheik - and they shook hands, twice for the cameras - the ignored facts of the region speak otherwise. Those facts may not mean a great deal to the Bush Administration, to the Quartet (the U.N., E.U., U.S. State Department and Russia) because their agenda is different from that of Israel's. They all hope to push the genie of radical Islamic Terror back into the bottle so they may continue the commerce of oil, selling weapons and other products. For Israel as a small country that can be walked across in less than a day at its narrowest, the subject of ultimate survival should be her only concern. ### P.S. I though the selection of a photo in Wednesday, February 9th in the New York Times was very telling. Sharon leans his bulk across the conference table to shake the hand of Abu Mazen while Mazen takes the extended hand and looks away as if the gesture was meaningless to him and should not be taken seriously by the Arabs. Please See Follow-On Of Report By David Bedein, below. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL REMAINS PA GOAL Posted by IsrAlert, February 9, 2005.

In Their Own Words, We Are DAMNED (Isralert.com source: www.bicom.org.uk) Excerpts from leaders' declarations at Sharm el-Sheikh PM Ariel Sharon (9/2, BBC online): "To our Palestinian neighbours, I assure you that we have a genuine intention to respect your right to live independently and in dignity. I have already said that Israel has no desire to continue to govern over you and control your fate' PM Ariel Sharon (9/2, Haaretz): "Today, in my meeting with Chairman Abbas, we agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere, and, at the same time, Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere." PM Ariel Sharon (9/2, The Guardian): "The future lies before us. We are required to take difficult and controversial steps, but we must not miss the opportunity to try to achieve what we have wished for, for so many years: security, tranquillity and peace." PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (8/2, BBC Online): "We have agreed with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to stop all acts of violence against Israelis and Palestinians, wherever they are." PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (8/2, BBC Online): "The calm that our land will experience starting today is the start of a new era, a start for peace and hope. It is the beginning of peace and hope." Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (9/2, Haaretz): "We have seen today a positive step... the determination and willingness of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to work together seriously and sincerely to implement their mutual obligations, and take required measures to restore confidence." Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (8/2, BBC Online): "There is a general sense of guarded optimism. There have been too many false dawns over the last 60 years. There have been more tears than smiles, but I sense there is a commitment from Abbas and Sharon, a new determination to make a reality of the goal of two states living side by side." Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (9/2, Glasgow Herald): "I know that there have been plenty of dawns which have turned out to be false in the very tortured relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but I think this is a new beginning." King Abdullah of Jordan (8/2, BBC Online): "I'm optimistic, and I think that today will be the start of a process that will get us back onto the roadmap." Javier Solana, European Union foreign policy chief (8/2, BBC Online): "The meeting proves that there is indeed an opportunity for peace and that the parties are determined to seize it in a spirit of understanding and co-operation. This opportunity must not be missed." Michel Barnier, French Foreign Minister (8/2, BBC Online): "Today in Sharm al-Sheikh, dialogue is resuming again... and there cannot be peace if there is no dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. What matters is to talk, that those at war talk, and the European Union is here to accompany the peace process should it start again." Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister (8/2, BBC Online): "The important thing now will be to support the Israeli and Palestinian leadership in the implementation of their courageous policy. The German government, together with its partners, will do everything in its power to support the political dynamic that is developing." Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State (9/2 Times Online): "Success is not assured, but America is resolute: This is the best chance for peace we are likely to see for years to come." PM Tony Blair (8/2, BBC Online): "It certainly does sponsor terrorism, there is no doubt about that at all. I hope very much that if we can make progress in the Middle East that Iran realises it has an obligation to help that, not hinder it." NOW THIS IS WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND: "PA TV: Goal is Israel's destruction Amid peace talks, message to people in Arabic doesn't change" from WorldNetDaily.com. Isralert.com source: Isralert subscriber Kim Segar As Israel and the Palestinians agree to a cease-fire setting the stage for peace talks, official Palestinian Authority television continues to communicate the ultimate goal of eliminating the Jewish state. In the official Friday sermon broadcast last week, senior Muslim figure Ibrahim Mudyris explained that the diplomatic process can only achieve a return to the borders Israel had before the 1967 war. The final stage, he said will be the destruction of Israel "the way Muhammad returned there as a conqueror." Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch, an Israel-based monitor, said that in its Arabic messages, the Palestinian Authority always has denied Israel's right to exist and often has presented the peace process as a tactic leading to the Jewish state's destruction. That approach was repeated last Friday, Marcus said. In his sermon, Mudyris declared that all of the land encompassing Israel belongs to Muslims. "We tell you Palestine, we shall return to you, by Allah's will, we shall return to every village, every town, and every grain of earth which was quenched by the blood of our grandparents and the sweat of our fathers and mothers," he said. "We shall return, we shall return." Mudyris said the willingness of Palestinians to return to the 1967 borders does not mean they have "given up on the land of Palestine." It might take diplomacy to return to the 1967 borders he said, but diplomacy will not lead to a return to the "1948 borders," a reference to the land before Israel was established as a state. "No one on this earth recognizes [our right to] the 1948 borders," he said. "Therefore, we shall return to the 1967 borders, but it does not mean that we have given up on Jerusalem and Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramla, Natanyah [Al-Zuhour] and Tel Aviv [Tel Al-Rabia]. Never." Mudyris said "our grandfather's blood" and "father's blood" demands a return to the entire land, "and [their blood] shall curse anyone who will concede a grain of earth of those villages." "Our approval to return to the 1967 borders is not a concession for our other rights," he said. "No! ... this generation might not achieve this stage, but generations will come, and the land of Palestine ... will demand that the Palestinians will return the way Muhammad returned there, as a conqueror." Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com To Go To Top

HATE PROPAGANDA FROM THE SAUDIS Posted by Max Yas, February 9, 2005.

Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom issued a 89 page report based on a one year study of more than 200 documents from 15 mosques in six U.S. states and Washington, D.C., available for distribution. The study concluded that the government of Saudi Arabia is spreading, through American mosques, literature that advocates hatred of Christians and Jews. Muslims are instructed that they are behind enemy lines, on a mission to non believers. The study suggests that Saudi publications teach "totalitarian ideology of hatred that can incite to violence." Chairman of the Board of Freedom House, former CIA chief James Wolsely, writes that such publications that "advocate an ideology of hatred have no place in a nation founded on religious freedom and tolerance." The documents urge Muslims in countries of 'unbelievers' to behave as if they are on a mission behind behind enemy lines. Muslims are instructed not to linger in the land of the unbelievers any longer than necessary, which is illegal under Muslim law and puts them at risk of being considered as non-believers and they too must be condemned. Some of these documents are headed by: "Greetings from the Cultural Attache of the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C." Some excerpts from the FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT: * "Everyone who does not embrace Islam is an unbeliever and must be called an unbeliever ... One who does not call the Jews and the Christians unbelievers is himself an unbeliever." * "Whoever believes that churches are houses of God ... or that what Jews and Christians do constitutes the worship of God ... is an infidel." * "To offer greetings to a Christian at Christmas - even to wish "Happy holidays" - is "a practice more loathsome to God ... than imbibing liquor, or murder, or fornication." * "Muslims who convert to another religion "should be killed because [they] have denied the Koran." * "Democracy is "responsible for all the horrible wars" of the 20th century, and for spreading "ignorance, moral decadence, and drugs." The established creed in Saudi Arabia is Wahhabism, an intolerant and extremist version of Islam, but unfortunately, this religious hatred is exported worldwide. In the words of one Mullah in the USA: "We are not here to become as you are - we are here to change you to become as we are." To Go To Top

SAUDIA ARABIAN INFLUENCE ON AMERICA; WATCHING HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH; "JENIN, JENIN" A FORGERY Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 9, 2005.

THE INFLUENCE OF S. ARABIA ON AMERICANS The Saudi government finances US mosques, research centers, and Islamist organizations such as the Council on America-Islamic Relations, trains the preachers who practice radical Islam in US prisons, and seeks to influence university campuses via the Muslim student Association. Freedom House got Muslim volunteers to collect 200 books and other publications sent to 15 prominent mosques by S. Arabia. One could not expect university Middle East Institutes, being biased in favor of their Arab subsidizers, to study the content of Saudi propaganda. All the publications are anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, misogynist, jihadist, and supremacist. Here are their views. Any Muslim who thinks that churches are houses of God really is an infidel. Apostates must be killed, women veiled, and Islamic law enforced in America. Infidels must be opposed, not associated with. True Muslims must prepare for jihad even in America. This movement threatens the security of non-Muslims and even Muslims. S. Arabia must be made the key to the war on terrorism, really on radical Islam. The Saudi menace in America must be eradicated. That means ending the notion of friendship with the desert kingdom. It is a seeker after world hegemony (Daniel Pipes, NY sun, 2/1/05, p.7). A Saudi textbook at a Saudi-sponsored Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. depicts Jews as "worse than donkeys." Inasmuch as S. Arabia is sponsoring this in the US, imagine what it is sponsoring around the world! (NY Sun, 2/1/05, Ed..) Iran is an equal menace. The good news is the decency of those Muslim volunteers. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (HRW) ANNUAL REPORT The report is a compendium of previous, biased HRW press releases and studies. It ignores basic human rights violations by the Arab terrorists and focuses almost entirely on Israeli responses and without noting the justification for those responses. Cited were only two examples of P.A. oppression of Arabs, the major focus being on Israel. The report quotes (false) Hamas statements about its willingness to make peace and then expresses doubt about whether Israel is willing. This is both misleading and political. It has nothing to do with human rights. The report alleges that Israel destroyed Arab property needlessly. It does not back up the allegation. This is just opinion (and by a group already shown to have been biased). The security fence is referred to as a land-grab measure, making it untenable for Arabs to stay. Its (initial) reduction in terrorism is ignored, though that is what Israelis demanded the fence for. Jewish communities incorrectly are called illegal. HRW condemns the US for selling Israel anti-terrorism weaponry. It condemns the Caterpillar Corp. for supplying Israel with bulldozers (that demolish terrorists' buildings). It condemns the US for training in Israel for anti-terrorism (though it may not have). These condemnations reflect HRW's political agenda, not human rights matters. That agenda is extreme, perhaps bigoted. Although the report briefly states that the P.A. has not disarmed terrorist militias, it seems to justify terrorism by referring to rocket attacks against "illegal" Jewish settlements (IMRA, 2/17). Let US forces learn anti-terrorism/ HRW should condemn Arab destruction of Jewish property, Arab land-grabs, Egyptian supply of arms to terrorists, and US training of P.A. terrorists. STATE DEPT. VS. ISRAEL "I have often written that the department of State linked to multi-national oil companies who (sic), in turn were slaved to oil nations - like Saudi Arabia - were dedicated to eliminating Israel. As you see movement from the corner of your eye, I could always see a cabal of anti-Israel collaborators, working diligently in Washington to subvert Israel. "It was no secret that the U.S. State Department was anti-Semitic from its earliest days and grew more so when oil became pricey and connections to the Saudis tightened. "The Jonathan Pollard case offered us a glimpse into a cohesive group who (sic) defied the sense and specifics of the M.O.U. (Memorandum of Understanding) that was signed by a series of Presidents and approved by Congress to exchange vital information with Israel. "This cabal seemed primarily driven by the pro-Arab U.S. State Department, particularly the Middle East desk. "There the links radiated out to the Pentagon, Naval Intelligence, CIA, FBI, NSA. NIS, etc., where apparently, there were small units of 'friendlies' in these Agencies who joined the Cabal. Caspar Weinberger was Secretary of Defense at this time, having come from Bechtel with close connections to the Saudis. "I've written extensively in the past that there were weekly meetings at the offices of the FBI in a place euphemistically called "The Jew Room" where Israel, Israelis and American Jews in all walks of life, were tracked. Apparently, Israel was considered 'a hostile' to these people and Saudi Arabia was 'an ally' - which gives us an idea of who and why. "There was a brief moment of insight when Jonathan Pollard blew the cover on an operation that gave Saddam chemical and biological weapons which Caspar Weinberger, who controlled the Pentagon, decided was to be kept secret from Israel, despite the Presidential M.O.U.s. In essence, we have a breakaway rogue operation which conducted itself as a Shadow Government and may still be operational." The cover-up continued with the 9/11 Commission. Not only did it fail to inquire into the State Dept. directions to the FBI and CIA that kept them from investigating Saudi terrorists. Its head concluded that the US should try to be friendlier to Muslim states. The FBI investigation of AIPAC, which is a fishing expedition without apparent cause, seems to be intended to shut up AIPAC criticism of the pro-Arab subversion of US government (Winston Mid East Analysis, 2/17 from Malcom Honelein of AIPAC). "JENIN, JENIN" ADMITTED FORGERY Screened all over the world, Muhammad Bakre's documentary, "Jenin, Jenin," depicts Israel as having committed war crimes when it wiped out a terrorist nest in that so-called refugee camp. The film "alleges IDF troops killed a 'large number' of civilians, mutilated Palestinian (Arab) bodies, randomly executed and bombed women, children and the mentally and physically impaired, and leveled the entire refugee camp, including a wing of the local hospital." Israeli filmmaker Pierre Rehov disprove much of "Jenin, Jenin." His expose was used by some of the soldiers singled out by the film, who sued producer Bakri, for libel. As a result, he admitted in a deposition that he did not verify testimony (Arab propagandists usually do not), falsified scenes, and was subsidized by the P.A., where the raid was launched. "When asked about a scene in which it is implied Israeli troops ran over civilians, Bakri admitted to constructing the footage himself as an "artistic choice.' He also answered 'no' when asked if he believed 'that during the operation in Jenin, the Israeli soldiers killed people indiscriminately.'" The IDF medical chief in the battle "Zangen says Bakri uses deceptive filmography techniques to create the myth of a massacre." Bakri's deposition confirms the myth-making. "Zangen cites one scene of a tank heading toward a crowd. The scene then blacks out, falsely suggesting the people were all killed, says Zangen. Also, Bakri, who Zangen says was not on scene at any time during the battle to get footage, deceptively juxtaposes images of Israeli tanks and snipers taking aim with pictures of Palestinian children, another charge Bakri has admitted to." (IMRA, 2/17.) The scenes and testimony are mutually contradictory. "For example, an older interviewee charges that the Israelis made Palestinian prisoners fully undress: 'Some people were completely undressed in front of their brothers, sisters and children, who were used as human shields.' Yet, the accompanying image does not support this claim; it shows a group of Palestinians, some of them without shirts. All wore pants." The Israeli Left insisted on showing the film, although it knew from the outset that Israel had not committed a massacre in Jenin, and that most of the camp still stood, contrary to the film. The Left is masochist in its anti-Zionism and championing of the Arabs even when the Arabs have no decent case but are genocidal. People elsewhere in the world welcome anti-Israel diatribes without questioning them closely. People adopt causes as popular crusades without much examination. Having a memory dating back to WWII, having read about the Nazi and Communist movements, and having debated Communists, give me an advantage many younger people lack. I more often can recognize propaganda. Many other people haven't the facts and the intellectual tools for doing so. They get taken in by totalitarian movements. They have been slow to recognize the menace of radical Islam. Instead, they follow what is politically correct. They are at the mercy of their few sources. Advocacy journals such as the "NY Times" and European papers exploit that naivete. Were this a just world, it would be celebrating the battle of Jenin as an example of Jewish humanitarianism in modern warfare against war criminals, and I would be lamenting jut the extra casualties Israel incurred in going overboard to spare Arab civilians. Instead, the Left gave foreign audiences the notion that the propaganda film was realistic. The Left has much to answer for. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

GOVERNMENT "FINDS" FUNDS Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 9, 2005.

This is an important lesson for those who trust the Government to obey any laws other than those of the jungle. The money found was legally appropriated and the Government was required to transfer it to the various institutions. It was NOT granted discretionary powers to give or not to give. So we see that only through "Haredi blackmail" were these institutions able to receive their legally appropriated budgets. In fact, if Sharon did not desperately need MK Ravitz, the money would still be "lost." Those of you who are considering taking "compensation" to allow your lives to be destroyed by the Oslo gang, take note. Your money will also be "lost" and what will you be able to do to force them to "find" it? Once they have destroyed your communities, imprisoned or killed your leaders and disbursed you to various detention camps, what will you do? Go to the Supreme Court? No doubt they intend to give a few well chosen individuals full compensation and with the maximum publicity but the rest? Forget it! There will always be just one more form to fill or one more meeting to be held or the office will be moved from Jerusalem to Lod and everything will get lost. In short every trick that can be done will be done. Do not allow yourselves to be fooled. This news item, "Gov't "Finds" Funds for Religious Kindergartens", appeared today in Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=76658). (IsraelNN.com) It appears that the resignation of Knesset Member Avraham Ravitz (United Torah Judaism) from the coalition has had a nearly instantaneous effect. The government has this morning transferred monies that were originally deleted from the State budget to the nation's haredi-religious kindergartens. Two days ago, MK Ravitz sent a letter of resignation to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon saying that he, as a member of the Degel HaTorah faction of United Torah Judaism, is quitting the coalition. Ravitz said at the time that his resignation was unavoidable due to the failure of the government to abide by commitments to lower the tuition of haredi-religious kindergartens. MK Ravitz said this morning, "It is a shame that in order to cause the return of the funds to the children of Israel I had to announce my resignation from the coalition." As for retroactive funding for 2004, MK Ravitz said that he is hopeful the government will provide the monies soon. He noted that the government secretary, Yisrael Maimon, made a personal commitment to see to the transfer of 2004's funds. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

SHAME ON COLUMBIA YET AGAIN, AN OLYMPIAN OF POOR CHOICES IN VISITING PROFESSORS Posted by Marion Dreyfus, February 9, 2005.

Mr. Bollinger, Columbia University New York, NY 10025 Mr. Bollinger: As a professor at China's top five universities, i would hardly invite to my campuses any speaker or even visiting weekend artist a person in foul odor with the constituency to be served by the invitation. And that is only China, where academic credentials are less impeccably pegged forever into the future, and where politics intrudes sometimes rather assertively. Why then, oddly, does Columbia University, once a fine institution of proven integrity in the midst of the Jewish student population so prized and so singularly superior, insult and disdain its obvious community by inviting a fraudulent 'scholar' - better known for his hate speech - (favorite and oft-invoked canard of the current academic terrain) like Paulin to the Heights campus? Some three years ago, I wrote, equally baffled and admittedly outraged, that such a travesty of an academic was asked to teach at the University. I was disgusted at that time with the audience afforded this debased intellect. Yet here again, after the fire of so few years ago, you are again seeking the wrath of graduates, alumni and current student body. It is not just Jews who are outraged at this unforgiveable breach of trust. All fair-minded collegians of integrity and commitment are dismayed. What is Columbia trying to achieve by repeatedly offending her earnest constituency? Are you aiming for a final divestment of all alumni funding, all good repute, all decent consideration among the annals of once-respected academe? Sorrowfully, (Prof.) M D S Dreyfus was at Huazhong University in Wuhan, Hubei Province. PC To Go To Top

AN INDEPENDENT VIEW FROM SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT Posted by David Bedein, February 9, 2005.

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt "They will declare quiet. They will not sign anything. Sharon will not sign anything. The important thing is the 'quiet'. " So announced Avi Pazner, acting in his capacity as press spokesman for the Prime Minister of Israel as more than 100 reporters got off the plane in Sharm El Sheikh to cover the summit between Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, Palestinian leader Machmud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen), Jordanian King Abudullah and Egyptian president Mubarak. "At this summit, we will see calls for a cessation to violence. There will be no cease-fire proclaimed here today", repeated the spokesman of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gideon Meir, to the reporters as they arrived to the improvised press center that was established in small villas and tents next to the Movenpick Hotel conference center in Sharm El Sheikh. In other words, there was a consistent message in what the official Israeli government spokespeople told the media: A generalized call for an end to violence. However, the summit participants held no press conference in order to give the opportunity for reporters to ask the principals at the summit as to what they meant by an end to violence. Journalists had to follow the summit through video monitors only. Israeli government officials were quick to point out during the many hours while reporters waited in the press center for a press statement to be released that the Israeli government expected Abbas to dissolve terrorist organizations and to collect all weapons from those organizations, and to arrest any and all wanted terrorists, for which Israel was prepared to make sweeping humanitarian gestures and free more than 500 Palestinians who had been convicted in an Israeli court of law of murder or of attempted murder. And if Abbas does not deliver on his promises? Israeli government spokespeople at Sharm could not answer. Israeli government officials were quick to say, however, that Abbas has not arrested or disarmed one single Palestinian terrorist since his election, which took place exactly one month before the Sharm summit. Israeli government spokespeople did note that Abbas had only ordered the apprehending and release of terrorists after their arrest. Israeli government officials in Sharm did report to the press that there had been a "reduction in Palestinian incitement" in the official Palestinian media. Indeed, on the previous Sunday, Feburary 8th, Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom told the Israeli cabinet that there had even been a "reduction of incitement" in the Friday mosque speeches that were broadcast and telecast on the airwaves of the "Voice of Palestine" network of the Palestinian Authority, which is under the direct control of Palestinian leader Abbas. At the summit I showed officials of the Israel Foreign Ministry and Israel Prime Minister the text of the mosque speeches from the previous Friday, as reviewed by Dr. Michael Widlanski, who holds his PHD on the subject of the official media of the Palestinian Authority electronic media. Israeli government officials were surprised when they perused these texts of Friday's official Palestinian Authority mosque speeches that called for the violent liberation of all of Palestine, once again this time under the aegis of the new Palestinian leader. Israeli government officials did not know that the Fateh organization, also under the leadership of Abbas, had issued a written statement the day before the summit which limited their call for to an end to violence to civilians who live within Israel's pre-1967 lines, meaning that anyone could be killed in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, or that anyone who dons an IDF uniform in a Tel Aviv bus or coffee shop was fair play for murder. Israeli government officials also did not seem to know that the official web site of the Palestinian Authority, on the day of the summit, continued to showed cartoons of Prime Minister Sharon eating little Palestinian Arab children for breakfast. Before the Sharm summit I interviewed the expert retained by the Israeli government to monitor incitement in the Palestinian Authority. That expert indicated that he was not being given any administrative framework within which to operate, and that the Israel Ministry of Defense, which was supposed to be supplying him with raw material on Palestinian incitement was simply refusing to share information at this time with the Israeli government officials who are supposed to report about the state of incitement to the media. After Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz issued a statement that there had been a "reduction in Palestinian incitement", I dispatched the text of the mosque speech from Friday and the latest material from ABU MAZEN WATCH to his office, to which our news agency has as yet received no response. Meanwhile, Israeli government officials at the Sharm summit were asked about the legal ramifications of what it meant to free those convicted of murder or attempted murder. I showed Israeli government officials pictures and descriptions of 25 Israelis murdered over the past two years by convicts who were released by the Israeli government as a gesture of good will, along with lists of more than 1000 Palestinian terrorists who had been freed from Israeli jails in political deals over the past 11 years, and who had returned the terrorist activity. I asked if the Israeli government would bear criminal responsibility, if any of the new suggested list of convicts were released were then to perform acts of murder. On this question of the legal ramifications of the Sharon Plan, the Israel Foreign Ministry officials deferred to the officials of the Israeli Prime Minister who were present at the summit. Officials of the Israeli Prime Minister referred legal questions of this nature to officials of the Foreign Ministry, who were also present at the summit. It turned out that the Israeli government retained no legal personnel at the summit, and no Israeli government official would relate to either the moral or legal implications of amnesty for convicted terrorists. While no Israeli government ministers besides the Prime Minister were present at the Sharm summit, five Palestinian ministers were present. Two of the Palestinian ministers fielded questions from the press - Saed Erekat and Nabil Shaath - both indicated that they would not settle for anything less than the unconditional release of Palestinian Arabs who sit in Israeli prisons. As indicated above, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was not available for questions in Sharm. And despite repeated statements of all Israeli government officials on tape and on the record that no ceasefire had been agreed to in Sharm, the public relations firm that works with the prime minister of Israel reported to every possible media outlet that a cease fire had been achieved. And so it was, the sham of Sharm. Hardly a cease fire. David Bedein is Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency. (http://Israelbehindthenews.com). Contact him at media@actcom.co.il To Go To Top

GRINBERG GRINNING ABOUT GENOCIDE AT BEN GURION UNIVERSITY Posted by Steven Plaut, February 9, 2005.

Lev Grinberg was the "academic" who published articles in Europe last year after Israel has assassinated the Hamas' Sheikh Yassin stating that Israel was engaged in "symbolic genocide" when it assassinates arch-terrorists. Grinberg would no doubt have found the assassination of Hitler by a Jewish partisan in 1944 to hav ebeen the sybmobolic genocide of Germans by Jews. Grinberg is a "political sociologist", whatever that is supposed to be, at Ben Gurion University, the school that just cannot find enough anti-Semites and pro-terror lunatics to hire for its faculty. The institution named for David Ben Gurion is today Israel's leading bastion of anti-Zionism. Grinberg's rantings about "symbolic genocide" triggered an outraged response by Limor Livnat, Minister of Education, who boycotted a Board of Governors meeting at ben Gurion University, and expressions of outrage by the British charirman of the BGU Board of Governors. But Grinberg is still around and kicking, as are all the anti-Semites and pro-terror extremists on the faculty of Ben Gurion University. He even has a guest Op-Ed in Haaretz today, the Palestinian newspaper printed in Hebrew. It is at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/537860.html Here are some exerpts: "Disengagement opponents use everything that "works" in the public discourse: the Jews as victims, Holocaust, democracy. They know very well that a discourse about civil rights and democracy is "leftist," so therefore they demand a referendum. The difference between the opponents and supporters of the disengagement is in the measure of transparency of their hostility toward the Arabs and mastery over them. The disengagement opponents simply ignore the human existence of the Palestinians. That is not a democratic state with a Jewish character and culture, but a discriminatory regime that grants more rights to Jews, and denies equal rights to Arabs. No democracy in the world has one nation deciding what is good for another nation. Such a regime has been called by Prof. Oren Yiftahel an "Ethnocracy" and it is the wish of "the nation in Zion": to be the masters of the entire land. (Yiftachel is another great mind teaching anti-Israel leftist indoctrination at Ben Gurion University - - SP) That is not a democratic state with a Jewish character and culture, but a discriminatory regime that grants more rights to Jews, and denies equal rights to Arabs. No democracy in the world has one nation deciding what is good for another nation. Such a regime has been called by Prof. Oren Yiftahel an "Ethnocracy" and it is the wish of "the nation in Zion": to be the masters of the entire land." Here are some other earlier brilliant analyses from the crayon of Comrade Grinny: Here is the English text of Grinberg's anti-Israel screed that appeared in the Belgian newspaper. Note who is distributing it. http://amin.org/eng/lev_grinberg/2004/mar23.html. (If you'd rather read it in Frog, it is at http://homepage.mac.com/vuillermoz/iblog/B1691587594/). And here are his other pieces distributed by the same crowd: http://amin.org/eng/lev_grinberg/. Grinberg by the way was one of those people who denounced Benny Morris for breaking ranks with the Hate-Israel Left when Morris justified some of Israel's policies and denouncedthe PLO, at least on certain days of the week. Grinberg was outraged that Morris is not anti-Israel enough any more. He is one of the PLO's favorite Jews: http://www.solidarite-palestine.org/doc144.html. Mikey Lerner and the Tikkun Cult love him - http://www.tikkun.org/index.cfm/action/current/article/79.html The PLO's official web pages run his material: (http://www.ramallahonline.com/modules.php?name=News&new_topic=58 ). Grinberg maintains a personal web site at http://www.bgu.ac.il/beh/lev.html and here is his resume: http://www.ffipp.org/events/speakers/bio2002-Lev%20Grinberg.doc (note how he lists himself as a Beilin advisor). Here is a typical Grinberg screed: http://www.democracymeansyou.com/mideast/state-terrorism.htm Grinberg is one of the most extreme promoters of treason and mutiny by Israeli soldiers refusing to serve: http://www.merip.org/mero/mero022202.html Here is Grinberg bashing Israel in the Egyptian Holocaust Denying daily al-Ahram: weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/580/op5.htm Here is Grinberg again denouncing Israeli "state terrorism": http://www.fpc-wilmette.org/sanders/032902/11grinberg.html. He makes it clear he thinks Israeli state terrorism is far worse than anything mere Palestinians or al-Qaeda folks perpetrate. (Note: BGU's Neve Gordon has also built his career on making similar charges about Israeli "state terrorism", in one case in a "research paper" financed by the same Kroc Institute recently found to be financing a Swiss Arab anti-Semite with ties to al-Qaeda.) Want to let the officials at Ben Gurion University know what you think of these people? Officials at Ben Gurion University: Professor Avishay Braverman President, Ben-Gurion University Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer - Sheva 84105, Israel Fax: 972-8-647-2937 avishay@bgumail.bgu.ac.il Professor Jimmy Weinblatt Rector, Ben-Gurion University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer - Sheva 84105, Israel Tel. 972-7-6461105 Fax: 972-7-6472945 weinb@bgumail.bgu.ac.il Professor Avishai Henik Dean of Social Sciences henik@bgumail.bgu.ac.il 972-8-6472945 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, P.O.B. 653 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel. and also American Associates of Ben Gurion University: 1430 Broadway, 8th Floor New York, NY 10018 phone 212-687-7721 fax 212-302-6443 email info@aabgu.org Lis Gaines President Vivien K. Marion Executive Vice President Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

A PALESTINIAN STATE WILL CREATE PROBLEMS NOT SOLVE THEM Posted by Israel Zwick, February 9, 2005.

It is taught that most conflicts can be resolved if the parties engage in the techniques of negotiated compromise. This has not been the case with the Arab-Israeli conflict. The massacres, pogroms, bombings, and wars started in the 1920's and have continued since. Since 1937, there have been numerous proposals for resolving the conflict. There were partition plans, armistice agreements, truces, cease-fires, Oslo Plans, Tenet plans, Wye Agreements, Geneva Initiatives, and Roadmaps-all to no avail. The fighting and bloodshed continued, with enormous destruction and loss of life for both sides. All that has apparently changed now that the world's great leaders have reached a consensus on how to resolve the conflict. Liberator George, Savvy Condi, Orator Tony, Peacemaker Kofi, Moderate Mahmoud, and Bulldozer Arik, have all agreed that the way to end the conflict is to create a new Palestinian State, the 23rd Arab-Muslim state in the region. As envisioned, the new state would consist of less than 10,000 square kilometers of land with a population of about 3 million, one of the highest population densities in the world. It would be located on two disjointed pieces of land that are now called the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Part of historic Jerusalem would become the internationally recognized capital of this new state. The other part of Jerusalem would finally be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel. The logic behind this is simple: The Arabs will live here, the Jews will live there, and each will mind their own business. The Arab terrorists will give up their bombs and return to driving cabs and growing olives. The Israeli soldiers will park their tanks and return to driving cabs and studying Torah. Everyone will be happy and content. There will be peace and tranquility throughout the Holy Land. Tourists will flock there, businesses will sprout, and prosperity will abound. If that sounds too good to be true, it's because it is. To imagine this new geography, try to imagine the states of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts all being independent, sovereign states. Each would have its own military, passports, currency, transportation facilities, and utilities. It would be utter chaos. But that would be mild in comparison to the arrangement of the State of Israel to the new State of Palestine. Let's take a look at some of the regional issues that may occur on a daily basis. 1. Airspace. With two tiny countries in such close proximity, there are bound to be incidents where aircraft will have to modify landing patterns and violate the airspace of the other. In 99% of the cases, these incidents will probably be innocuous. Yet there could be an incident where one country says to the other, 'We're really sorry that we shot down that aircraft with 400 passengers. It was a computer glitch. We fixed it and it won't happen again.' 2. Commerce. Both Israel and a neighboring Palestinian state would depend on an exchange of goods between the two states. That includes manufactured and agricultural goods, as well as human resources. Will the checkpoints that exist now be reduced or could they even be expanded to include both Palestinian and Israeli checkpoints at the borders? Will there be free trade or a system of tariffs and taxes on the goods. What kind of security will there be at the border crossings? How easy or difficult will it be for merchants to exchange goods between the two states? What kind of currency will be used? 3. Passports and Visas. An independent Palestinian state will have the ability to issue passports and visas. Can we feel confident that passports won't be issued to trained terrorists who want to export their skills to comrades in other countries? Since the Gaza Strip is so readily accessible by land, sea, and air, can we be confident that the Gaza Strip won't be used as a safe haven for international criminals who are trying to escape from Interpol or the FBI? 4. Security and Weapons. A sovereign Palestinian state would have the right to purchase weapons for security and defense. Can we be confident that the Palestinians will do that in a responsible manner so that explosive materials and sophisticated weapons don't get into the hands of criminals and terrorists? Will the Palestinians be able to maintain a system of security and justice within their own borders? What would be the nature of their military apparatus? 5. Natural Resources. Fresh water and energy sources are scarce in that part of the world. Will the Palestinians and Israelis work amicably together to conserve, develop, and distribute valuable water resources? How will they determine placement of pipelines and cables? How will they ensure that both countries get an adequate supply of water, oil, and electricity? What kind of security will be provided for pipelines, cables, and reservoirs? 6. Construction. The Palestinians will probably want to construct airports, seaports, and highways. Can we be assured that they will do that with concern for security and environmental protection? Will the Palestinians show respect for archeological, historical, and religious sites in their construction plans? 7. Tourism. Tourists who wish to visit the Holy Land will probably want to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nazareth, and Tiberias, all within driving distance from each other. Will Palestinians cooperate with Israelis to allow tourists of all faiths to have free access to these areas? What kind of security will be provided for tourist buses? What happens when the bus has to travel from Israeli to Palestinian areas? Will buses be able to travel directly from Jerusalem to Hebron or from Jericho to Tiberias, or will they have to take some lengthy, circuitous route for security reasons? Will Palestinians and Israelis work together to encourage tourism and commerce or will antagonistic policies discourage tourists from visiting holy sites? 8. Public Health. Can the Palestinians be trusted to address the health needs of their own population? Will children receive their inoculations? Will geriatric needs be addressed? Will Palestinian health officials cooperate with their Israeli counterparts? Suppose an atypical epidemic breaks out in Israel. It could be a tropical disease such as West Nile Fever, or it could be bio-terrorism. Will Palestinian officials provide access to Israeli health officials to investigate the source of infection or will they make it more difficult? Will Palestinians cooperate with Israelis to control the epidemic or will Israelis have to examine birds and mosquitoes at checkpoints? 9. Archeological, religious, and historical sites. Can we trust the Palestinians to respect and preserve the holy sites of all religions? Will there be free and secure access for all religions? Suppose the Palestinians are building new housing in Jericho and come across some artifacts from the biblical era. Will they call Israeli archeologists at Hebrew University and say, 'We discovered some materials that may be of interest to you, would you like to come and examine them'? Or, will they attempt to erase any signs of Jewish history in the area? 10. Utilities. How will the two countries resolve issues involving telephone cables, electricity, water pipelines, and wireless communication? These are only a few of the regional issues that would arise on a daily basis. There could probably be many more involving military intelligence, criminal incidents, drug traffic, satellite communications, and emergency response to disasters. How long will it take until the two states can develop operational procedures for dealing with these issues? How would they function and survive without close, effective mutual cooperation to address these concerns? The answer is that they aren't ready for it yet and probably won't be for at least another generation. It's time to acknowledge that an independent Palestinian State in Gaza and the West Bank would not resolve problems and create peace. It would just create more conflict. It's time to develop a creative, realistic governmental arrangement that would give the Arabs some measure of autonomy, while maintaining the integrity of the State of Israel. At least for the foreseeable future, Israel should maintain control over the disputed areas. We all wish for a time when the two nations will be able to live together side by side, without hostility. That time hasn't arrived yet. Israel Zwick can be contacted at israel.zwick@earthlink.net To Go To Top

AL DURA STORY UNRAVELS Posted by Janet Lehr, February 9, 2005.

The NY Times' claim to print "all the news that's fit to print" does not exactly tell the whole story. Where the news is placed in the paper is a major issue. The Al Dura story is a major international story. To place a 3/4 page article of this interntional importance at the back of the business section on a page labeled 'Media' effectively buries the news. I confess to not reading the NY Times, hard copy, daily - Certainly not a surprise to readers of IsraelLives. I do read it online - It was not in the online edition. I would surely have not seen this important story had I not taken a commuter bus into the city where a NYT was provided. Even then, had I not had lots of spare time, I would not have read to the end of the business section, had the trip not been delayed. The NY Times does a disservice to reporting the all the news that's fit to print. The death of Al Dura at the beginning of the Intifada, like the assignation of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, was heralded as starting a war. There has been considerable evidence to dispute the killing of the child, Al Dura at the hands of an Israeli sniper. This article refuses to draw the obvious conclusion, that the story was fabricated, though it leaves it to the reader to reach that conclusion. It was the fabrication of this story that inspired Pierre Rehov to begin filming his revealing documentaries. There is now a court case in France on this story. Manipulation of news is nothing new - the palestinians have made it a speciality, filming staged moments at every opportunity, for future use. This article, "Photo Of Palestinian Boy Kindles Debate In France", was written by by Doreen Carvajal, International Herald Tribune, and appeared in NY Times, February 7, 2005 (www.nytimes.com/2005/02/07/business/worldbusiness/ 07video.html?pagewanted=print&position) PARIS, Feb. 6 - Since the start of the second Palestinian uprising more than four years ago, many children have died in the gunfire. But it is the harrowing image of a terrified 12-year-old boy, shielded in vain by his father, that carries the iconic power of a battle flag. Egypt and Tunisia issued postage stamps of the boy, Muhammad al-Dura, crouching against his father and under attack from a fusillade of bullets in September 2000. Egypt named a street in his honor, and suicide bombers invoked the boy as a martyr in videotaped farewells. Here, debate seethes about whether the televised footage of Muhammad al-Dura was genuine, misinterpreted or - as an American academic put it - artfully staged "Pallywood" theater. Battle photographs have long been potent media weapons, and some of the most memorable war pictures have provoked questions of authenticity. At the center of this dispute is the state-run television station France 2 and its Jerusalem correspondent, Charles Enderlin, who says that the fierce criticism about the chain's exclusive footage of the boy has brought death threats against him. Images from the street confrontation in a remote area of Gaza have been dissected in books and in the sharply worded universe of blog commentary. The video has also been explored by a small French-language Israeli wire service, the Metula News Agency, which rented a theater to examine the footage. A 2002 German documentary, "Three Bullets and a Child: Who Killed the Young Muhammad al-Dura?" tried to address lingering questions about whether the boy was killed by Israelis or Palestinians. Last week, the debate gained fresh momentum after a prominent French editor and an independent television producer broke ranks in the country's media circles and wrote a cautious article in the newspaper Le Figaro, expressing some doubt about the photo's authenticity. "That image has had great influence," said Daniel Leconte, a former correspondent for France 2. "If this image does not mean what we were told, it is necessary to find the truth." Mr. Leconte wrote the article in Figaro with Denis Jeambar, editor in chief of the newsmagazine L'Express, weeks after station executives at France 2 allowed the two men in October to see all 27 minutes of the footage shot. But their commentary did not emerge publicly until after they had offered it to Le Monde, which rejected it, according to its new opinion page editor, Sylvain Cypel. He called the entire debate "bizarre" and said it had been propelled by a tiny French-Israeli news agency. When the report was first broadcast, France 2 offered its exclusive footage free to the world's television networks, saying it did not want to profit from the images. The scenes were filmed by its Palestinian cameraman, Talal Abu Rahma, who was the only one to capture images of what Mr. Enderlin characterized then as the killing of a child by gunfire from an Israeli position. Mr. Enderlin was not present during the shooting. Esther Schapira, a German producer in Frankfurt, said she tried unsuccessfully in preparation for her 2002 documentary to see a master copy of the tape and was astonished when France 2 did not share it because European stations commonly exchange material. "If there is nothing to hide," she said of France 2's initial reluctance, "what are they afraid of?" When critical articles started appearing in publications like The Atlantic Monthly in the United States, Mr. Enderlin wrote letters insisting: "We do not transform reality. But in view of the fact that some parts of the scene are unbearable, France 2 was obliged to cut a few seconds from the scene." In many ways, Mr. Enderlin argues, the video has become a cultural prism, with viewers seeing what they want to see. "It's a campaign," he said, "because the video was used as a symbol by the Palestinians as a propaganda tool." Richard Landes, a Boston University professor specializing in medieval cultures, studied full footage from other Western news outlets that day, including the pictures of the boy. "We could argue about every frame," he said. But after watching the scenes involving Muhammad al-Dura three times, he concluded that it had probably been faked, along with footage on the same tape of separate street clashes and ambulance rescues. "I came to the realization that Palestinian cameramen, especially when there are no Westerners around, engage in the systematic staging of action scenes," he said, calling the footage Pallywood cinema. As questions were raised, some France 2 executives privately faulted the channel's communication. Last week, they showed The International Herald Tribune the original 27-minute tape of the incident, which also included separate scenes of rock-throwing youths. The footage of the father and son under attack lasts several minutes, but does not clearly show the boy's death. There is a cut in the scene that France 2 executives attribute to the cameraman's efforts to preserve a low battery. When Mr. Leconte and Mr. Jeambar saw the full footage, they were struck that there was no definitive scene showing that the boy had died. They wrote, however, that they were not convinced that the scene was staged, but only that "this famous 'agony' that Enderlin insisted was cut from the montage does not exist." To counter criticism, France 2 called a November news conference and prepared a frame-by-frame folder of photographs, including blow-ups to respond to skeptics like Professor Landes, who argued that blood was not visible. The station also sent a journalist back in October to film the boy's father, Jamal al-Dura, rolling down part of his pants and shirtsleeves to show scars on his right arm and upper right leg. They compiled footage of the bandaged father in an Amman hospital, where he was visited by Jordan's king. But critics like Luc Rosenzweig, a former Le Monde reporter and radio host, want an independent medical expert's opinion. "It's a crazy story," said Arlette Chabot, the station's deputy general director, about the continuing controversy. "Every time we address one question, then another question surfaces. It's very difficult to fight a rumor. The point is that four years later, no one can say for certain who killed him, Palestinians or Israelis." Earlier in the fall, France 2 filed a series of defamation complaints against some of its critics, but it did not name individuals, labeling them as "X." The station's lawyer, Bénédicte Amblard, says that France 2 followed this strategy because of the difficulties of legally identifying the owners of Web sites, which were particularly harsh in their attacks on the station and Mr. Enderlin. But this has emboldened critics like Philippe Karsenty, who is one of the station's intended legal targets along with the Metula News Agency. Mr. Karsenty runs a small, Paris-based media watchdog group, Media-Ratings that has called on both Ms. Chabot and Mr. Enderlin to resign. "We will offer 10,000 euros to a charity chosen by France 2 if the chain can demonstrate to us and a panel of independent experts that the Sept. 30, 2000, report shows the death of the Palestinian child," said Mr. Karsenty, who has urged French officials to start an inquiry. The Culture Ministry is one agency that has been approached. Privately, a government official said: "We can't take any initiative because it is not our mission or job. The press is independent, especially in the French tradition." To Go To Top

EAST AND WEST PALESTINE, AND ISRAEL? Posted by Ariel Natan Pasko, February 8, 2005.

Has anyone really thought through what Condi Rice means when she said recently, "Israel [must] continue to make the hard decisions that must be taken in order to promote peace and…the emergence of a democratic Palestinian state." Or before that, "Israel also must recognize that the Palestinian state, which is within our grasp, must be viable and contiguous, meaning with enough land to function well." Or when she told the Senate confirmation hearing that a future Palestinian state must also be contiguous with Arab neighbors and mentioned Jordan. Many analysts understand from this that Washington wants "Palestine" to have a common border with Jordan, Egypt and eventually Syria, and a territorial link between Judea, Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza. As she said, "There cannot be peace in the Middle East unless the Palestinians gain a state that satisfies their aspirations." But at what cost? Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abba announced a mutual cease-fire at the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting. Yet, while high-flying platitudes such as Sharon's "today we are starting a new period of tranquility and hope," and Egyptian President Mubarak declaring "a new era" and a "new positive spirit," were made at the meeting, Hamas' representative in Lebanon insisted that Hamas is not bound by the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire declaration, "because this is a unilateral stand and was not the result of the outcome of an intra-Palestinian dialogue." Islamic Jihad leaders in Gaza also denied they were part of a cease-fire. Behind the backdrop of the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting, it's rumored that there's a proposal to bring Egyptian influence back into Gaza, and Jordanian influence back into Judea and Samaria. They are supposed to help the "Palestinians" reform their security services, "democratize," and stabilize society, so that the Palestinian Authority's Abbas can govern. This plan it is promised, will bring the Roadmap back "online" and lead to Palestinian independence. Was that East and West Pakistan? We know what happened to them... If a Palestinian state is born, East and West Palestine (i.e. the West Bank and Gaza) will suffer a similar end. Or, do they intend to carve up Israel to gain territorial contiguity? Will Israel be reduced to a Northern and Southern Kingdom as in the bible? Will Tel-Aviv and the Galilee - formerly the coastal and northern parts of Israel - become disconnected from the Negev, the newly formed Southern State? Whatever they tell you know this, states collapse, countries or areas of a country merge with other states, and some ethnic groups go extinct in time. East and West Palestine is just such a creature. It will be still born at best, on long-term international life-support. But that won't save it from the fate of East and West Pakistan. So, even if an illegitimate child-state is born, expect it's early demise. Why you might ask? For starters, because they're never was an independent Palestinian Arab State or identity. The closest thing they have to an independent identity is hatred of Jews and Israel, and the desire for statehood. If they achieved statehood and actually lived peaceably with Israel, their whole purpose to existence would end. History abhors a vacuum and the so-called "Palestinian identity" will probably be subsumed in a greater Arab or Muslim identity, Hamas will work to insure that. Beyond this, Jewish identity is stronger. Simply put - Israeliness not withstanding - Jewish identity, the connection to our ancient and modern homeland, will prevail over a sick child-state and it's international doctor-backers. You know, I feel that the Quartet (the United States, EU, UN and Russia) is about to play the role of Dr. Kevorkian (the suicide doctor). They're about to help the "Palestinians" commit national suicide. Why is this child-state doomed? Because it won't be a democracy, my proof, ask yourself, will Jews living in towns in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza be allowed to stay and be equal Palestinian citizens - including voting rights and electability to parliament - as Israeli Arabs can be in Israel? No, they're talking about ethnic cleansing, uprooting hundreds of thousands of Jewish "settlers," making "Palestine" Judenrein (free of Jews). And a state born in such sin will never redeem itself. An independent Palestine might be described by some as a democracy, but in fact will more closely resemble a Nazi State (remember Arafat's uncle Haj Amin al-Husseini, Hitler's friend). Does anyone really believe that Abbas will gain control over Hamas and Islamic Jihad? He's having problems within his own Fatah movement. East and West Palestine will be a Terror State and its eventual end will gladden the hearts of millions around the world. If born, this moral-AIDS ridden Terror State won't be a democracy. Lacking democracy, freedom, prosperity, and real control over their own lives, Arabs will continue to suffer deprivations at the hands of their corrupt leaders and be used (by the likes of Hamas) to attack Israel. Because it won't integrate the different elements of Arab society into an organic whole, they will never overcome their deeper inner contradictions. As long as they have an external enemy, the Jews, they might hold off the internal feud, but for how long? East and West Palestine won't last because they aren't the same societies. Gaza is medieval, insular, Islamic, poverty stricken, overcrowded and in just plain language, "a hell hole". It has no culture beyond terrorism, and no chance of commerce or serious relations with Egypt its neighbor to the west, they'll be under Egyptian "occupation," remember. After Sharon's "disengagement" plan is implemented, cut-off from Israel, who got tired of being attacked by them, with whom will they interact, the Bedouin of the Sinai? The "West Bank" by contrast is more cosmopolitan. Although overwhelmingly Muslim, there are a significant minority of Christians. It has the potential to be more secular, more democratic, and more tolerant. Trade and cultural relations with Jordan exist and will continue to flourish. East and West Palestine will suffer from uneven development. If the child-state is born, and democracy does "rear its ugly head," with its tolerance and pluralism, western movies, music, gambling casinos and bars, you can count on the Ayatollahs and Sheikhs of Gaza to rant and rave against "the infidels" in East Palestine, i.e. the West Bank. I firmly believe that an independent Palestinian State will suffer the same outcome as East and West Pakistan. For those of you who don't remember, East and West Pakistan fought a bloody civil war in 1971, and the outcome was Bangladesh, an independent state. Although both parts of Pakistan were Muslim - the only reason for its separation from India in 1947 in the first place - cultural and ethnic differences led to serious animosity between the two sides. But developmental inequality is what pushed the final button. East Pakistan was an economic basket case (as it continues to be today). "Blessed" by being at the convergence point of several natural phenomena; the southern third of East Pakistan/Bangladesh sits on the mouth of the Ganges River, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. Never short of water, they regularly suffer from floods from the Ganges overflow and yearly Monsoons (hurricanes). A former International Relations professor of mine - originally from Thailand - once commented, that Bangladesh is situated in one of the harshest inhabited areas of the world. "Why would people want to live there?" He asked. "It would do the international community good, to simply move the entire population out of there. It would save a lot of lives, money, and time in disaster relief efforts." East Pakistan - the more populous area - for years complained that they weren't getting their fair share of central government budgets. After a period of military rule, in December 1970, the East Pakistani Awami League won absolute control over the newly formed parliament. With the Awami League set to control the government and demanding autonomy for East Pakistan in a federated state, General Yahya - junta leader from West Pakistan - chose to disband the assembly and invaded the East. Civil war broke out and after a half a million Bengalis (East Pakistanis) were massacred, India invaded to establish order. Ultimately India recognized Bangladeshi independence, and so did the international community. But India continues to suffer till today from the Muslim fanatics of Pakistan. Is that the prognosis for East and West Palestine? Will Gaza scream foul? Is a civil war or societal degeneration in the offing for the unborn child-state, or would a partial birth abortion better serve the international community? The world should think seriously about the "real" viability (or not) of a territorially divided Palestinian state. Show me a successful model, anywhere in the world, of an independent country divided in two parts by another state. Or, will there be continuous warfare between Israel and Palestine to foster unity between the Arabs and to gain contiguity? East and West Palestine is an experiment doomed to failure from the start. Like my former professor's advice about Bangladesh, I suggest about East and West Palestine, that "It would do the international community good, to simply move the entire population out of there. It would save a lot of lives, money, and time..." Few things in life are certain, but these two are worth betting on; first, that East and West Palestine won't survive long if born, and second, that the territorial integrity of the Land of Israel will. The Jewish people didn't survive 2,000 years of dispersal and persecution, just to return to their homeland, gain independence, and then give it away to 7th century Arab imperialists and early 20th century Arab squatters. Ariel Natan Pasko is an independent analyst and consultant. He has a Master's Degree in International Relations & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites, in newspapers, and can be read at: www.geocities.com/ariel_natan_pasko To Go To Top

ISLAMOFASCISTS AT NOTRE DAME; DERSHOWITZ AT COLUMBIA: ISRAELI ART Posted by Steven Plaut, February 8, 2005.

1. Notre Dame "University" is best known for its football team. Academically it is tenth rate and not on anyone's radar screen for serious research. It is also home to the Kroc Institute, an anti-American pro-terror anti-Jewish institute funded by the Kroc fortune (as in McDonald's hamburgers). Kroc funds Marxist activities at Notre Dame and elsewhere and was the financial sponsor trying to bring in Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss Arab anti-Semite with ties to al-Qaeda. Kroc wanted him to teach at Notre Dame. The US refused to give him a visa. Kroc and Notre Dame are still in the news. Take a look at http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16936 which documents the whole saga. But there is another interesting side to this. Neve Gordon, the anti-Semitic political science lecturer from Ben Gurion University, who believes that criticism of his political extremism constitutes libel, got his PhD from Notre Dame and was funded at least in part by the same Kroc Institute. In particular, the Kroc Institute financed Gordon's "research paper" in which he claims to prove that Israel is a terrorist state. That paper came out as a "Kroc Paper", see http://kroc.nd.edu/ocpapers/abs_18_1.html While at Notre Dame, Gordon spent his time bashing Israel and opposing free speech for people with whom he disagrees, such as George Bush (see http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/050401/050401s.htm) 2. "Dershowitz Says Faculty Members Work To Encourage Islamic Terrorism Crisis At Columbia" by Jacob Gershman - Staff Reporter of the Sun, February 8, 2005, http://www.nysun.com/article/8865. It's not often that a professor tells a packed crowd at Columbia University that Edward Said was a political extremist and that faculty members in the school's Middle East studies department encourage Islamic terrorism. The professor who made those statements yesterday isn't from Columbia but from Harvard. Law professor Alan Dershowitz showed up at the intellectual home of Said, a literature professor who was a fierce critic of Israel, to rebuke Columbia's faculty and administration for tolerating an atmosphere on campus that he said promotes the hatred of Israel. "This is the most unbalanced university that I have come across when it comes to all sides of the Middle East conflict being presented," Mr. Dershowitz told hundreds of students and a smattering of Columbia faculty members. "I have never seen a university with as much faculty silence," he said. At a campus already divided by a controversy that has flared for months - one that pits a handful of Jewish students against some professors in the Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures department - the appearance of Mr. Dershowitz was the latest indication that the most serious crisis of President Lee Bollinger's tenure is far from over. Mr. Dershowitz's speech, which lasted about an hour, drew a few catcalls from some hostile members of the audience, who accused the lawyer of supporting torture. It also prompted frequent outbursts of applause from many in the audience, as he repeatedly expressed contempt for the Columbia scholars in the Middle East studies department who are the subject of an internal campus inquiry. One of the best-known defense attorneys in the country, Mr. Dershowitz, who is 66, said he would help organize an independent committee to look into the student complaints if the faculty committee appointed by Mr. Bollinger came to a "biased" conclusion. Without mentioning names, Mr. Dershowitz said the external committee would include Nobel Prize winners. Members of the New York City Council, too, have called for an outside investigation of the student complaints. Drawing a few laughs, Mr. Dershowitz said the prospects of "peace in Israel itself are greater than they would be on this campus." "The kind of hatred that one hears on campuses like Columbia, and let me say especially Columbia, is a barrier to peace," Mr. Dershowitz said. "They are encouraging the terrorists. They tell the terrorists you will have academic support even if you oppose the peace process." At times he singled out for censure an assistant professor of modern Arab politics, Joseph Massad, who is accused of ordering one of his students to leave his classroom if she continued to deny Israel's alleged atrocities against Palestinian Arabs. Mr. Massad, who denies that the incident took place, is among dozens of Columbia professors who in 2003 called on the university to divest itself of financial holdings in companies that support Israel. "Anybody who advocates for divesting only from the Jewish state ... at a time when Iraq was posing a great threat to the world, when Iran was posing great threats ... when China is oppressing million of Tibetans, when the Kurds are still denied independence and statehood, to single out only Israel for divestiture at that point in time cannot be explained by neutral political, even ideological consideration," Mr. Dershowitz said. Mr. Massad, who argues that Israel is a racist state, has publicly urged Palestinian Arabs to continue their resistance against Israel and supports the creation of one binational state containing both Israel and the occupied territories. "If you were a space alien from a distant planet and your spaceship landed at Columbia University, you wouldn't think necessarily that the reality is a two-state solution," Mr. Dershowitz said. "You would think there is another potential reality - the one-state solution, the secular national state of Palestine." He said those at Columbia who advocate the end of a Jewish state as a solution to the Middle East conflict "deliberately ignore the lessons of history." "I do not believe that those who advocate it genuinely believe that a one state solution would produce a secular bi-national state," Mr. Dershowitz said. Speaking to a mostly friendly audience, Mr. Dershowitz said he was struck by the reluctance on the part of faculty members at Columbia to demand publicly more intellectual diversity within the Middle East studies department. Such silence, he said, has turned the controversy at the university into a student-versus-teacher dispute. "Having tenure means you have no excuse for not speaking out," Mr. Dershowitz said. "I'm appalled at how many professors at Columbia University privately support Israel, and privately support many of the students, but are publicly afraid to speak out." One Columbia scholar who attended Mr. Dershowitz's speech, Judith Jacobson, shared his opinion that Columbia faculty members have been reluctant to speak out about the controversy. "The faculty have been afraid," Ms. Jacobson said. She is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia's school of public health and a leader of a pro-Israel academic group called Scholars for Peace in the Middle East. Mr. Dershowitz, she said, "is a little ungenerous about the nature of their fear." Ms. Jacobson said faculty members do not want to risk being subjected to ostracism and even jeopardizing their careers if they speak out. A critic of Columbia's investigation of the professors, Monique Dols, 24, who is a student in the School of General Studies and a writer for the Socialist Worker, said Mr. Dershowitz's visit exposed the "political motivation" behind the student allegations. "This is a man who wants to marginalize the pro-Palestinian voices on campuses," she said. Mr. Dershowitz, a criminal lawyer who has in recent years become one of Israel's most visible public advocates, was invited and paid to speak by the David Project. The Boston-based group was also responsible for producing a documentary video, "Columbia Unbecoming," a compilation of student accounts of classroom experiences, that prompted Columbia last fall to launch the internal investigation into the conduct of professors of the Middle East studies department. 3. Who says that you need to be a self-hating anti-Semitic leftist to be an artist? Haaretz art critic Dana Gillerman ran a piece this week on "Right wing Artists", in which she reports that a number of artists and sculptors now operate in Israel who are anti-Oslo and right-leaning. The article, in Hebrew, is at http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=536931&contrassID=2&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0 (Has not come out yet in English but I will post if it does - still worth opening the page to see the photo there) Especially interesting is one Avner Bar Hama, who makes patriotic art out of Jaffa oranges. He also makes art that protests against terrorism and in one work he shows Arafat drenched with red blood-like paint. Naturally, he and a group of similar-minded artists from the Right find it almost impossible to get their work displayed in art galleries and museums. After all, everyone knows that any TRUE artist wants to see Israel destroyed and Jews mass murdered. A REAL artist would be one like Dror Feiler, the ex-Israel who produced the "art" celebrating and glorifying the mass murdering woman who murdered 20 people, including many children, at the Maxim restaurant. Feiler describes the murderer as Snow White, the embodiment of purity. Don't get your hopes up that Sharon and Livnat will be awarding any Israel National Prizes for Art to these politically incorrect artists any time soon. They have already shown that junkyard "sculptor" and anti-Semite Yigal Tomarkin is much more to their taste. For that matter, my bet is that Feiler will get the prize from the Likud before Ben Hama does. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

HEZBULLA SETS OFF BOMBS; NON-MAKE-BELIEVE VIEW OF ABU MAZEN Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 8, 2005.

HIZBULLAH SETS OFF BOMBS Hizbullah set off a second explosive in a week, just over the border with Israel (IMRA, 1/15). P.A. ARAB TERRORISM ALSO AGAINST ARABS "Terrorist organizations carry out terrorist attacks at civilian sites that contribute much to the welfare of the Palestinian population, such as (joint work zones at border) crossings, while taking advantage of easing of restrictions given to the Palestinian population, in order to sabotage the normal Palestinian way of life and any co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians. Although the terrorists sabotage their fellow Arabs' ability to earn a living, they blame Israel for the Arabs' suffering. The IDF cites 16 examples in the past few years. (Probably more were planned, but were headed off by Israeli intelligence and raids.) Many of those attacks were with the knowledge or complicity of the P.A. police, through whose checkpoints the terrorists had passed (IMRA, 1/15). RULE OVER LAW Dictators change the rule of law to rule over law. Israel seems to be at that stage. PM Sharon has turned the Knesset into his rubber-stamp and has continued politicalizing the secret police and the army, to force compliance with illegal orders. Law enforcement is becoming more like ideology enforcement, for much dissent is called "incitement" as if illegal. Many Israelis fear the secret police, as is typical of a police state. The people cannot turn for relief to the judiciary. The Supreme Court has made itself into a self-perpetuating super-parliament, substituting for Knesset laws that do not suit its own views. Instead of representing the people, the leftist Supreme Court (like many social science professors and "Haaretz") represent the Arab enemy (Winston Mid East Analysis, 1/16). GIVING THE TERRORISTS ANOTHER CHANCE AT TERRORISM "Israel Radio military correspondent Carmella Menashe reported this afternoon that the IDF is giving the PA 'one more chance' and will not launch a major campaign in the Gaza Strip until the Palestinians (Arafat's Arabs) succeed in carrying out another substantial terror attack ... before taking decisive action). It should be noted that, as expected, Egypt has not been called on to contribute to the situation by honoring its treaty obligations to stop the flow of weapons from Egypt to the Gaza Strip." (IMRA, 1/16.) Israel's leaders boast of the Army's strength but make it act weak. ZIONISM IS BAD, SAY THE GOOD YEMENIS Zionists secretly abduct children, under cover of the tsunami, and blame the Muslims, warns a professor in Yemen. "Many studies have proven that a large percent of the slave market belongs to the forces of global Zionism?" (IMRA, 2/17 from MEMRI). No such study cited. The Arabs follow the Communist tactic of accusing enemies of doing the crimes that the Communists perpetrate. Arab-run slavery is common in Sudan and Mauritania. Syrians act like leeches on the Lebanese economy. ISRAEL'S REACTION TO TERRORISM The upsurge in P.A. terrorism has led PM Sharon to release the IDF for an upsurge in counter-terrorism. Nevertheless, he still intends to abandon Gaza to the P.A. terrorists (IMRA, 2/16). Then he accepted Arab claims of a truce and ceased counter-terrorism. Then there was much terrorism, so he reinstated counter-terrorism. Why does anyone treat the Arabs as sincere? ABU MAZEN ENLARGES TERRORISTS' SCOPE The head of the P.A. has started integrating the illegal Fatah militia into the P.A. forces. That means terrorist forces become enlarged and more of them gain the security of being on the official payroll (IMRA, 2/17) subsidized by the EU. Hardly moderate. ABU MAZEN'S INAUGURATION SPEECH He listed false complaints against Israel, but admitted no P.A. wrongdoing. He called Israel oppressive, but admitted no P.A. oppression. He promised to meet the P.A.'s commitments (which it violates), but complained that Israel did not meet its (which it did, until it tired of one-way compliance). He stated what he expects of Israel (most of which is unreasonable or would depend on his ending terrorism), but did not indicate that he would stop terrorism (IMRA, 1/15). Earlier he complained that Israel was unfair to blame him for terrorism even before he was sworn in. It was fair; he was disingenuous. He already was acting head of the P.A.! Add deceit to his other unattractive character traits. SAUDIS PROMOTE HATRED IN U.S. Freedom House reports that more than a dozen mosques in the US gave out documents bearing the seal of the Saudi government that spread hatred, especially among recent immigrants. The documents inform Muslims that their religious duty is to hate Jews and Christians and, as apostates, more moderate Muslims. The documents explain how to express it, including by violence. The Saudi literature denounces democracy and the US as un-Islamic. Muslim immigrants are told to think of themselves as behind enemy lines, finding out how they can further jihad or convert infidels. Tolerance is apostasy, and to the Saudis, apostasy is a capital crime. A Brooklyn Mosque has a book authorizing Muslims to kill converts to Islam who violate sexual rules by adultery or homosexuality. S. Arabia denies the accusations against it, and members of some of the mosques deny having seen the material. Some of the documents, however, start, "Greetings from the Cultural Attache of the Saudi Embassy in Washington." Thus it is not sufficient to war against terrorism; it must be against militant Islam (Meghan Clyne, NY Sun, 1/31, p.1). We must reverse Muslim immigration, not import irreconcilable barbarians. SAUDIS TWO-FACED ON ANTI-U.S. TERRORISM The US expects to attend the February 5 Saudi counter-terrorism conference. Saudi officials declare that their country does not support jihad against US troops in Iraq. Saudi government media and officials and religious leaders do. For example, a professor of Islamic law there said on Saudi TV that Muslims are duty-bound to fight against the US troops. Just as the Soviet Union collapsed when the Muslims fought against it in Afghanistan, so will the US collapse. Young Saudis are urged to fight in Iraq rather than in S. Arabia, and increasing numbers of them are heeding the call (Steven Stalinsky of MEMRI, NY Sun, 1/26, p.7). What will the US delegate say about S. Arabia, there? Will the US demand that S. Arabia stop supplying US mosques with propaganda urging jihad against the US? PROSPECTIVE RUSSIAN MISSILES FOR SYRIA Newly developed Russian missiles can evade Arrow anti-missiles. Sold those missiles, Syria could strike 175 miles into Israeli territory, including its nuclear facilities, with impunity. Meanwhile, Pres. Putin blames Israel for allowing the financing of the victor's campaign in Ukraine's election. The two countries relations are in crisis (Winston Mid East analysis, 1/15). With what money is Israel supposed to have financed that campaign? But if it did, let us credit Israel and guard against Putin. MUSEUM FOR MODERN ANTISEMITISM? The Museum of Modern Art is exhibiting 44 films. Some are anti-American. All four on the Arab-Israel conflict blame Israel for alleged suffering of Israeli P.A. Arabs. Arabs initiate warfare, but a film blames the resulting destruction on Israel. The film does not indicate what Israel could do but fight jihad. Another makes the PLO a role model for Arab women. Still another blames an Israeli roadblock for an Arab family's difficulty in taking a child to hospital. The film does not consider the reason for the roadblock, which is the Arab war on Israeli civilians. (Where is there a film sympathizing with the tens of thousands of wounded Israelis and their families?) Yet another film attributes confrontation not to P.A. indoctrination in jihad but to Israeli checkpoints set up to stop human bombs (Jacob Gershman, NY Sun, 1/31, p3). Not enough was described about the anti-American films for me to comment. Not only is the exhibit unbalanced. The anti-Israel films make Israeli reactions to Arab aggression out to be the aggression. The film that glorifies terrorism goes too far in its bias. Often the Arabs are heading for free treatment at an Israeli hospital. Why should Israel give its enemies free care? DEBATING WITH MUSLIMS Some Muslim debaters try to disarm their opponents with the challenge, "Have you read the Koran in its original Arabic?" The implication is that unless one has, one does not understand what the religion stands for. Just reply, no, and neither have most Muslims, who are not Arabs, nor do most Arabs read classical Arabic in which the Koran is written. Most have to use translations, too. Another challenget is, "You have quoted out of context." Islam deems Koranic statements permanently and literally true. To determine which of contradictory stands to take, the Islamic judges rule in favor of the later ones. The later ones generally are more jihadist than the earlier ones. When the Muslim quotes the earlier ones, it is he who is taking them out of context! Muslims attempting to portray the religion as tolerant sometimes quote the gentle part of a passage without the rest of it that threatens opponents with death and other terrible punishments. That, too, is quoting out of context. Again, when the Muslim tries to cite passages as if jihad were some moral struggle, he is misrepresenting the reality of the Muslims of the time of the Koran, who fought for booty, land, and women (and religious dominance). Full quotations emphasize intolerance, jihad, and conversion. The Koran amply and graphically reviles non-believers and assigns Christians and Jews an inferior status in Islamic countries. The message is that Islam is the only true religion and the others are despicable (Winston Mid East Analysis, 2/17). Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

PA RELIGIOUS LEADER: GOAL IS ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION Posted by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, February 8, 2005.

The Palestinian Authority, in its Arabic messages to its people, has always denied Israel's right to exist and has often presented the peace process as a tactic leading to Israel's destruction. This goal was repeated Friday, on the Palestinian Authority television, in the official sermon. Senior religious figure, Ibrahim Mudyris, explained that the limitation of the diplomatic process is that it can only achieve the 1967 borders, and that at a latest stage the Palestinian Authority will achieve its goal, the destruction of Israel: "the way Muhammad returned there as a conqueror". The following is the text of the Friday sermon, February 4, 2005: Preacher Ibrahim Mudyris: "We do not love any land more than the land of Palestine. Had the Jews not expelled us from it with their plains, their tanks, their weapons, their treachery around us, we would never leave you, Oh Palestine?. (Quotes Muhammad who promised he would return to Mecca as a conqueror). "We tell you Palestine, we shall return to you, by Allah's will, We shall return to every village, every town, and every grain of earth which was quenched by the blood of our grandparents and the sweat of our fathers and mothers. We shall return, we shall return. Our willingness to return to the 1967 borders does not mean that we have given up on the land of Palestine. No! We ask you: Do we have the right to the 1967 borders? We have the right. Therefore, we shall realize this right with any mean it takes. We might be able to use diplomacy in order to return to the 1967 borders, but we shall not be able to use diplomacy in order to return to the 1948 borders. No one on this earth recognizes [out right to] the 1948 borders [before Israel's existence]. Therefore, we shall return to the 1967 borders, but it does not mean that we have given up on Jerusalem and Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramla, Natanyah [Al-Zuhour] and Tel Aviv [Tel Al-Rabia]. Never. We shall return to every village we had been expelled from, by Allah's will. Why? All the international laws deny the Palestinians their real borders. We might agree, but in the name of Allah, our grandfathers' blood demands that we return to them [the borders]. Your father's blood was shed there, at the villages, at Ashqelon, at Ashdod, at Hirbia [a village between Gaza and Ashqelon, where Kibbutz Zikim is located today] and at others places, hundreds of villages and towns. [Their blood] demands it from us, and it shall curse anyone who will concede a grain of earth of those villages. Our approval to return to the 1967 borders is not a concession for our other rights. No! ... this generation might not achieve this stage, but generations will come, and the land of Palestine... will demand that the Palestinians will return the way Muhammad returned there, as a conqueror?. VISIT PMW VIDEO ARCHIVES WITH IMP MATERIAL ON 12 TOPICS http://www.pmw.org.il/tv.html VISIT PMW VIDEO ARCHIVES ON PA INCITEMENT TO GENOCIDE http://www.pmw.org.il/tv%20part6.html VISIT PMW VIDEO ARCHIVES ON PA INCITEMENT OF CHILDREN TO SHAHADA [MARTYRDOM] http://www.pmw.org.il/tv%20part1.html Itamar Marcus is director of Palestinian Media Watch - PMW - (http://www.pmw.org.il). PMW is based in Jerusalem. Barbara Crook, a writer and university lecturer based in Ottawa, Canada, is PMW's North American representative. To Go To Top

THE SUMMIT Posted by Samson Krupnick, February 8, 2005.

LIBERATED YERUSHALIYIM, D.C. (David's Capital), Liberated Israelite Tribal Territories of Yehudah and Binyamin, Kingdom of David and Shlomo, United Israelite Kingdom of Yehudah and Yosef, Yom Shlishi, 29 Shvat, 5765, Root & Branch Information Services [mailto:rb@rb.org.il] [www.rb.org.il]: Four parties meeting in Sharm e-Sheik will make considerable progress towards peace. This is the view of three of the four parties. Palestine Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II are committed to apply tremendous pressure upon the fourth party, Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, to submit to the demands of Mahmoud Abbas. Even before the summit Sharon made a "gesture" of goodwill in the release of 900 prisoners. The committee of Israelis and Palestine Authority representatives met to prepare for the summit. On the 900 prisoner offer, the P.A. representatives walked out. In the 12 years since Shimon Peres and associate Yossi Beilin brought in The Egyptian from Alexandria (alias "Yasser Asrafat", previous alias "Abdul Rauf el-Codbi el-Husseini) and the Oslo Agreement, "gestures" were the order of the day. The results were 1,200 Israelis murdered and over 2,000 wounded. The Prime Minister is following the same ridiculous and costly course. The new U.S. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice advised that the U.S. will not participate but was anxious to get the show on the road. Mahmoud Abbas announced that he is against mass murder ("terror") to achieve their goal. What is the goal of Abbas? The very same as was that of "Yasser Arafat", namely the destruction of the State of Israel. He had in mind that he could have Israel accept the Palestine "refugees" who would help push the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea. "Arafat" was not interested in a two state solution even in spite of the overly generous Shimon Peres offer presented by President Bill Clinton. Instead, "Arafat" chose the Rosh HaShana War/"Al Aksa" Intifada with suicide slaughter and 24 hour attacks on civilians in Israel in the hope that he could drive out the Jews and there would be one State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. He would then be the hero who won a state on the battlefield. Mahmoud Abbas also has visions of grandeur with the same victory over the Jews simply by forcing Israel to accept 4.8 million Palestinian "refugees" and also by a return to the 1949 armistice lines. These two steps would solve the problem. He tried to convince "Saudi" Arabian petro-dollar profit financed Wahhabi Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Kho-Maniac Mullah-ocracy Iranian petro-dollar profit financed Shi'ite Hizbullah mass murderers to agree to a cease fire and Israel be forced to submit to the pressures of Egypt and Jordan. Further, a cease fire would give them time and effort to reorganize for future attacks upon civilians. Our recommendations for destroying houses of suicide slaughterers and pinpoint targeted elimination of planners, suppliers and transporters of suicide slaughterers were accepted by Prime Minister Sharon and proved very effective. The first request by Abbas was for the I.D.F. to cease pinpoint targeting and to stop arresting terrorists. At the beginning of the Rosh HaShana War/"Al Aksa" Intifada both Egypt and Jordan recalled their ambassadors. If Israel submits to the demands of Abbas, Egyptian and Jordanian ambassadors would return to their posts. One of the first requests by Israel was stopping the vicious anti-Jewish broadcasts and newspaper reports by the Palestine Authority, Egyptian and Jordanian controlled media. During the some 25 years of the Anwar Sadat Egyptian peace treaty with Israel with the surrender of every square inch of the Sinai, relations were cool. Egyptian upper classes have nothing to do with Israelis. Israel gave up its oil wells there and now purchases oil from Egypt. Tourism is all one way. Business relations are limited. To date the over 100 tunnels for smuggling arms of all sorts coming from Iran and through Syria are at the border of Egypt with Israel. Egypt has made no effort to stop this smuggling of arms which had developed into a profitable business. The three mass murder organizations Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah have their head offices in Syria. Despite American warnings of punishment, Syria has continued to sponsor mass murder in Israel and in Iraq with its insurgents. The overall problem is the war against mass murder which has become worldwide to the point that "Saudi" Arabia has called a conference of all countries suffering from mass murder attacks. Naturally, Israel was not invited, albeit Saudi Arabia has financed much of the mass murder activities in Israel. It is hoped that the Arab and Muslim states will cease support of mass murder and will put an end to the "Saudi" Arabian petro-dollar profit financed Wahhabi al Qaeda mass murder organization. In the recent outstanding Holocaust observance of the liberation of Jews from the death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau with 41 outstanding leaders participating, the united effort was to be made to destroy Jew-hatred ("anti-Semitism"). Even German President Horst Kohler addressed the Knesset, speaking in Hebrew and in German, to celebrate 40 years of relations with Israel. Kohler was ashamed of the past and vowed that Germany will always stand by Israel and its people. The plague of Jew-hatred is present in countries with Arabs and Muslims and even in so called respectable democratic countries such as France, Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Russia the Ukraine and Italy. Hatred of Jews and Israel by our Arab neighbors particularly has poisoned a true peace possibility for many years to come. Further, President George W. Bush has committed the United States to Israel that Palestinian "refugees" are to be admitted to the Palestinian state and not to Israel. Also, the borders cannot be the pre June 1967 borders. The Summit must bear that in mind. Israel must not submit no matter how strong the pressure may be! Shavua Tov from Liberated Yerushaliyim, Mr. Samson Krupnick is Board Member and Treasurer, Root & Branch Association, Ltd. and Israel Chairman, Jerusalem Embassy Initiative, Root & Branch Association, Ltd. He can be contacted at Krup@012.net.il To Go To Top

THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF EURABIA Posted by Janet Lehr, February 8, 2005.

Eurabia is the title of a just published book by Egyptian born author, Bat Ye'or, who arrived in the US last night to begin a month long book promotional tour and lecture series. The first printing has already been sold out and a second one is in the works, as I write this. Bat Ye'or will be in New York, New Haven, and, I believe Philadelphia and Boston this week. During the perio d from February 15th to the 18th she will be in Washington. She flies out to Los Angeles for major addresses there and a panel that includes her, Professor Raphi Israeli of Hebrew University and Bob Spencer of Jihad/Dhimmi Watch. When I have Bat Ye'or's schedule, I'll pass it along. Bat Ye'or's Cassandra like message about the islamization of Europe and the real threat in the Atlantic divide has caught a wave, just now. Nidra Poller expands on this theme. "The Brave New World of Eurabia," by Nidra Poller - Special to the Sun, February 7, 2005 (URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/8812). No, Eurabia does not mean a strong influx of Arab-Muslim immigrants into European countries, though it does include demographic input. Eurabia does not mean the European Union after Turkey has been admitted, though welcoming Turkey with its 80 million Muslim citizens, fruitful and multiplying, is part of the plan for Eurabia. Eurabia is an ambitious project of fusion between the E.U. and the Arab world, beginning with the Mediterranean rim countries, and with no end in sight. In her recently published "Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis," the Egyptian born historian Bat Ye'or, a pioneer in the study of jihad, dhimmitude, and Eurabia, documents the system of secret conferences, negotiations, agreements, and directives elaborated since the early 1970s, which has resulted in the construction of Eurabia and the forging of a joint foreign policy based on hostility against Israel and hostile competition with America. Ms. Ye' or will be speaking at various venues on the East and West Coasts in February, including Columbia University on February 8 and Yale University the next day. Today, the architects of Eurabia have moved from secret diplomacy to unashamed declaration of their ambitions, as exemplified in "Dialogue Between Peoples and Cultures in the Euro-Mediterranean Area," a curious report drafted by the High-Level Advisory Group named by Romano Prodi, the European Commission President at the time, and published in December 2003. The cover illustration, a medieval Arab map of an upside-down Europe at the feet of a commanding South, sets the tone. The South-North motif is carried through in the composition of the 12-member Advisory Group, chaired by Assia Alaoui Bensalah and Jean-Daniel (editorial director of the Nouvel Observateur), featuring the famous Umberto Ecco and the infamous Tariq Ramadan in a more or less balanced list: an Aboulmagd for an Eisenstadt, a Susskind-Weinberger for a Matvejevic, and no Jean-Michel, Hans, Mario, or Peter anything. For some unexplained reason the report was published in English and reads as if it were awkwardly translated from French. Though purportedly involving the entire Mediterranean rim, the dialogue is clearly aimed at the Arab-Muslim states of North Africa. Greece and Europe's Greek heritage are never mentioned, Judeo-Christian roots are eschewed, Israel is reduced to the guilty party in the Middle East conflict, leaving Europe and the Maghreb free to recombine the two halves of a shared history in a marriage made in secular heaven. In the opening pages, nation states are implicitly abolished - "the Mediterranean is made up of a number of sub-units" - and a new ethnic group is created - "communities of immigrant origin." As immigrants they have a culture, which gives them a sort of lifetime guarantee to indulgent consideration, because "culture is by nature egalitarian." Broadly speaking, the dialogue intends to "involve ... civil societies in ending the discrimination from which European citizens of immigrant origin still too often suffer and the persistent situation of injustice, violence, and insecurity in the Middle East." Making the best of both worlds, Euro-Med dialogue will bring together the vibrant youth of the Mediterranean and a "cynical ageing" Europe rich in capital and employment opportunities. Lest the South look askance at the E.U.'s eastward enlargement, the advisory group casts it in a friendly light. The E.U. is taking steps in the right direction by incorporating countries with Orthodox Christian traditions that "sometimes lead to behavior which is surprisingly similar with that of Islam," encompassing Bulgaria with its 10% Muslim population, then Bosnia-Herzegovina with its Muslim majority, and Turkey with its "'historically' European Islam." The end result will be a European Islam that will "dispel the image of a rampant Islamisation of Europe." Did Mr. Ecco really sign this document? Though all cultures are equal, the report pinpoints two troublemakers. Democracy would flow and flourish in the Mediterranean region if it were not for "The weight of humiliation and the feeling of impotence which, though inherited from the colonial period, are nursed and even sharpened by the vicissitudes of the peace process in the Middle East and by military ventures trumpeted as crusades - for example in Iraq." By contrast, the interminable 43-page report is a hymn to peace in the European mode, the "peace of the brave," based on non-judgmental acceptance of the Other, respect for diversity, and tolerance for religious and cultural differences. All the tolerance has to come from the North. The refusal of the Other, his religious edifices, his language, his very existence in the decolonized North African countries, is not really mentioned as such. In the brave new world of Eurabia a Euro-Mediterranean Parliament with real power will promote democracy throughout the region, based on mutual respect, a shared history, and a shared rewriting of history to correct past errors. School textbooks will be rewritten, teachers will be trained, and the very standards for assessing performance will be revised in the interests of equality, solidarity, and cultural diversity. European pupils will learn Arabic. The press will portray the beauties of the Other culture and convey the message of harmonious fusion. There will be exchanges of students, professors, artists, and writers; and somehow, this is going to be mutual and egalitarian, a rush of students from Algeria to the Sorbonne, a flux of students from Paris to Fes. And all of this will be richly financed by the "ageing cynical North." Ditto for the institutions, the foundations, the sumptuous headquarters. The Euro-Med dialogue is a costly proposition. No penny-pinching will be tolerated. Shared institutions modeled on the E.U. will implement the ambitious projects set forth in the report. Beyond these institutional changes, close personal contact will be fostered with the creation of congenial meeting places where North and South can see each other face-to-face, talk, and touch. No mention of the diversity that precludes the slightest hint of physical contact with women in certain cultures, a prohibition that is applied in some quarters of European cities today. In fact, cultural diversity in the dewy eyes of the High Level Advisory Group is all charm and folklore, all Mediterranean and non-European and, since no culture can make any claim to superiority, all to the benefits of the Other whose Otherness is more of an ethnic quality than a relation to a Someone. What could go wrong? In the North, "populist and xenophobic movements ... could make it difficult for all 25 members of the E.U. to embrace the philosophy we are advocating here." In the South? A vague risk that the "aim of the dialogue will be distorted by some part of the elite or within civil society." How will we know if everything is working as planned? A polling mechanism, the "Euro-Mediterranean cultural barometer," will ask a sample population in a diversity of languages what they think of Each Other. That should do it. To Go To Top

RICE CONDITIONS: FREE THOSE WHO KILLED JEWS. ARREST THOSE WHO KILLED AMERICANS Posted by IsrAlert, February 7, 2005.

Isralert.com source: www.imra.org.il #1 Reward Palestinian security action with release of murderers of Israelis. ...the prisoner issue is a very difficult one of course, and I would hope that some progress could be made on that issue. I think that progress will be made on that issue. I would not presume to try and tell the parties which prisoners should be released, this is a very difficult situation and difficult issue. But I do think that as a part of a larger package, in which not just the Israelis but the Palestinians make difficult choices as well, that they will make progress on this very difficult issue. Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Interview With Shireen Younes of Abu Dhabi TV, Jerusalem, February 7, 2005 www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/41864.htm #2 Condition appointment of security coordinator on arrest of murderers of Americans. The U.S. decided to appoint a security coordinator after PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Rice that the killers of three American security guards who died in an October 2003 bombing of a U.S. convoy in the Gaza Strip would be brought to trial. The commitment was a condition set by the U.S. Rice: U.S. to appoint 'security coordinator,' will take active role By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Agencies 7 February 2005 www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/536784.html United States Assistance to the Palestinians, Office of the Spokesman, Jerusalem, February 7, 2005 www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2005/41870.htm The President announced in the State of the Union on February 3 that he will ask Congress for $350 million for the Palestinians to support political, economic and security reforms. We will be consulting with Congress about modalities for disbursing this assistance. Separately from the $350 million mentioned by the President, we notified Congress of our intent to reprogram over $40 million in previously authorized assistance for quick disbursing projects designed to make an immediate, visible impact on the lives of Palestinians. As the President has said, the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security is within reach; we are at a moment of opportunity and we must seize it. We are committed to building democratic Palestinian institutions dedicated to reform and to helping the Palestinian people, particularly as they prepare for Israeli disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. This package of aid is designed to make an impact, both immediately and in the long-term, on the lives of Palestinians, and to support the PA as it continues its reform efforts. Planned breakdown of assistance and programs Quick impact program: The over $40 million of previously authorized assistance is being reprogrammed from funds currently reserved for a Gaza seawater desalination facility. Assistance will not be provided directly to the PA but will be channeled through NGOs using existing mechanisms. Breakdown: $7.3 million for higher education and training programs $8.9 million for community services - including youth programs and job creation $7.9 million for private sector development $3 million for support for primary health care $13.9 million for water infrastructure - construction of wells, pipelines and water distribution systems Supplemental: The Administration will seek $200 million in program assistance via the supplemental appropriation. This will include program assistance targeted at the following areas: Financing home construction in Gaza Expanding education opportunities Developing the economic infrastructure for a Palestinian state Helping to improve the Palestinian social safety net to provide social services to the poor "Building bridges" to help improve the flow of people and goods between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza FY 2006 budget: The Administration's FY 2006 budget will seek $150 million in economic assistance for the West Bank and Gaza, an increase of $75 million over the FY 2005 budget. U.S. assistance supports significant programs in six areas: private sector development, water resources, democracy and governance, health, community services, and higher education. The FY 2006 increase will allow a focus on longer-term development - including reconstruction of Gaza and revitalization of the Palestinian economy in the wake of Israel's withdrawal; necessary foundations for emerging democracy such as institution-building and civil society strengthening; and infrastructure development, especially water. 2005/145 [Murder "only" non-civilians and "settlers"?] Fateh Revolutionary Council Calls for not Targeting Israeli Civilians. http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=2100 [IMRA: As Secretary of State Rice meets with the ostensibly peace loving new face of the PA, the ruling Fatah movement declares that it is OK to murder Israeli non-civilians within the Green Line and any Israelis beyond the Green Line. Within the framework of this statement it is permitted to murder Israelis inside Jerusalem as they pray ("occupy") at the Western Wall] GAZA, February 7, 2005, (WAFA- PLO news agency)- The Revolutionary Council of Fateh Movement called for not targeting civilians in Israel, stressing the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation, the Apartheid Wall and colonization. *During its Monday meeting, of the 25th session, in Gaza, the Revolutionary Council stressed that the Israeli civilians should not, in all forms, be targeted. *It also affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right of self defense and to resist the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. *The Council confirmed its readiness for a comprehensive and mutual cease-fire in the 1967 territories between the Palestinian-Israeli sides according to the Road Map plan. *It concluded the meeting with cofirming on the decision among all Fateh members and bodies, and at the same stressing the importance of (reaching) an agreement with all Palestinian factions to abide by such decision. Harv Weiner, a businessman in Dallas, Texas, is the founder and moderator of Isralert. To subscribe to IsrAlert, send an email to isralert@aol.com To Go To Top

THE GATHERING OF THE NATIONS - 4 Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 7, 2005.

I have written about the "Gathering of the Nations" before. #1 in August 4, 2001, #2 on November 12, 2003, #3 on August 15, 2004. (If you have the patience to read numbers 1, 2 and 3, you can see the build-up to this Sharon-ordered Disengagement of Israel (aka Dismantling) through the efforts of the Bush Administration and as it continues today with Condoleezza Rice delivering the 'coup de grace' - deathblow.) See end for how to get 1, 2 and 3. I stated that the nations were gathering again to continue their pursuit of Jews who were now elevated to the Jewish Nation of Israel. That evil, called anti-Semitism or anti-Zionism, grows virulently in Europe, pushed by the Muslims who are inundating their countries. Both the Christian Europeans and Muslims (mostly Arabs), want Israel destroyed and replaced with a Muslim Caliphate State which will become the natural center into which Global Terrorists will swarm, train, arm, find safe housing and plan for their ultimate goal: World Domination by Islam. Now, much to the shame of the Americans who admired how the small Jewish State resisted and defeated the Terror of the Arab Muslim world, we see the Bush Administration joining the Europeans and Arab Muslims. [John Kerry would have been worse as President.] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has aimed the Bush message to Israel that, Israel must start her own dismantlement in order to appease a group of people hideously devoted to Terror. I am mindful of the non-Jewish Jews like Sharon and Peres as well as the other Osloids who have no spiritual or meaningful connection with the Land of Israel. Nor do they believe that G-d promised that this Land of Israel was for the Jewish people - because only the Jews promised to keep His Laws and Commandments. I pray daily that G-d will be reminded of His Promise to Abraham where He said: "I will bless those who bless thee and curse those who curse thee." Therefore, I have asked G-d to take the breath of all those who gather to eliminate the Jewish nation. May no Jew lift his hand against the Jews who have gathered to betray the Jewish nation and who thereby defy His Word. To even touch such people would be to make one's hand Tamei (ritually unclean or contaminated). I regret that good people in Europe and America will likely suffer along with the evil who have risen to fight the coming great battle between good and evil. I have called upon HaShem to destroy those nations who come against His Creation. I have asked him to take away the breath of such leaders and all those who are close to and support them. As HaShem took the first born of Egypt (even Pharaoh's son); as HaShem opened the ground for Korach who fought against Moses; as HaShem closed the waters of the Red Sea over Pharaoh's Army - let it be done to the nations who gather against the nation of Israel. May HaShem spare the people who accepted the servitude of G-d's Covanent. Whether by disease, walls of water, fiery volcanoes or earthquakes - let these forces be released against such enemies. Let the cities of Islam crumble in devastating shakings so that not one stone shall stand on another. For the Jews who have turned against their fellow Jews, may their days be filled with agony and their nights a horror. May they share the pain of those whose families have been torn apart by the bombs of suiciders. May they see their families cursed as they have sentenced other Jews to be uprooted and murdered. As Pharaoh was lured to defy G-d, so too are the nations lured to their own ultimate destruction. Each day I remind G-d of His Promise and each day I see more catastrophes explained away as 'merely' nature gone wild. I know that my one voice is not the answer but, I am reasonably certain that there are many other voices reminding HaShem of the need for accountability and a final reckoning. So, as it says in the Jewish morning prayers: "Do not fear sudden Terror or the destruction of the wicked when it comes." ### P.S. Does this sound "extreme"? Good! I meant it to. You can request The Gathering of the Nations, number 1, 2 and 3 through my Email or through Google, by using Advanced Search - with the words: Gathering nations on line 1 & on line 2: Emanuel Winston. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

A PLEA FROM GUSH KATIF, GAZA, ISRAEL Posted by AFSI, February 7, 2005.

We, at Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI, have visited Gush Katif many times, and have grown to love the friends we have made there. We have seen the beautiful homes, flourishing communities, and the inspiring faith and belief that enable these people to live under the most trying conditions. Over 5,000 Arab rockets have targeted the 21 communities with miraculously low casualties, although there have been painful deaths, and many wounded, along with much damage to homes and property. In addition, there have been horrific murders of innocent men, women and children through Arab terrorist acts. All of this has not been sufficient to drive the Jews from their treasured homes. Now that PM Sharon is intent on pursuing his expulsion/ethnic cleansing program which would force 8500 Jews from their homes, farms, schools, synagogues, and graveyards, the Jews of Gush Katif are crying out for support from their brethren around the world. They are not hearing anything from the mainstream Jewish community. There is only silence. That community swears "Never Again" during the Holocaust memorials honoring the dead 6,000,000, but ignores the living millions of Jews whose lives will be endangered if the murderous Islamic militants win their victories in Israel. Enclosed is a heartfelt letter from Anita Tucker, a remarkable woman who lives in Netzer Hazani, in Gush Katif/Gaza. Whenever we visit, she escorts us into her hothouses to pick the most delicious vegetables right off the vines. She has lived there for three generations, raising her children and grandchildren so that they, too, have become residents of the community. Please spread this cry around so that Jews - and Christians - will make their voices heard loudly and clearly with this message: There can be NO EXPULSION OF JEWS FROM GUSH KATIF/GAZA. THERE CAN BE NO CREATION OF A TERRORIST 'PALESTINIAN' STATE. Please contact AFSI: 212-828-2424; afsi@rcn.com for information about how to help Gush Katif. Contributions may be made to "Friends of Gush Katif" and mailed to AFSI, 1623 Third Ave., Suite 205, New York, N.Y. 10128. A special mission to Gush Katif, under the auspices of Assemblyman Dov Hikind, will take place March 13-18. Contact AFSI if you are interested in joining us. This is from Anita Tucker of Netzer Hazani, Gush Katif/Gaza I have no words left after the latest PM Sharon decision to release murderers so they can murder us again! It is beyond words. The only words that I am still able to speak, which seem meaningful, are those of King David's Psalms - psalm 142 especially. However, I must ask Jews all over - Why did you educate your children and grandchildren to the values of devotion, heroism (Maccabees etc.), love of Israel, love of Torah? Now that the next generations, the children and grandchildren of Gush Katif, are living up to these values, we don't hear a word from most of the Jewish people. Our grandchildren want to know and hear loudly and clearly whether grandparents and parents still stand behind these values upon which generations of Jews have been educated. Please ask the Jews the world over to speak up! (We only hear that strong minority that Thank God visit us, support us and write about what is happening in Israel) We can't hear you! Do the Jewish people still stand behind those values? Do they want their grandchildren to continue to educate their children to those very values to which our grandparents educated us? Devotion (Mesirut Nefesh)! Heroism (Gevura),Love of Israel and Love of Torah! We in Gush Katif are living every one of those values to their fullest, which were handed down by generations of Jews the world over -and suddenly we find ourselves almost totally alone........... Please tell everyone you know: PLEASE SPEAK UP- WE CANNOT HEAR YOU HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI is a pro-active pro-Israel advocacy group. AFSI may be contacted by mail at 1623 Third Ave., Suite 205, New York, N.Y. 10128 (Tel: 212-828-2424; Fax: 212-828-1717); by email at afsi@rcn.com; or by accessing its website: www.afsi.org. Helen Freedman is Executive Director. To Go To Top

ACCUSER OF 'CONFIRMED KILL' IDF CAPTAIN: WE LIED Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 7, 2005.

This is from today's Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com - and is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=76567 Captain "R." is on his way to aquittal following a major breakthrough in the trial of the IDF commander accused of intentionally killing an Arab girl. The prosecution's key witness admitted Sunday to having lied during the investigation. Two soldiers in R.'s unit had testified that he carried out a point-blank "confirmed-kill" of 13-year-old Arab girl Iman al Hams, who had entered a closed military zone adjacent to the Girit IDF position last October. R. testified that though he and his soldiers had opened fire on someone they assumed to be a terrorist based on intelligence information and the fact that the girl threw a bag toward them - he denied confirming the kill at close range. Three weeks ago, one of the accusing soldiers admitted that he had not actually seen the shooting, contradicting previous testimony he had given. Now, Lieutenant S., who had been on lookout duty during the incident and subsequently accused R. of shooting the girl at close range admitted during his cross-examination by defense attorney Elad Eisenberg, that he and his fellow soldiers had been lying all along. Eisenberg asked S. whether it was accurate that following R.'s suspension, S. had bragged to his fellow soldiers, saying, "We managed to get rid of the company commander." S. answered: "Not exactly. I said it humorously. Most of the soldiers in the company didn't care about the girl who was killed. Many people did it in order ... to get rid of the company commander." Eisenberg said: "Did what?" S. answered: "Lied during the investigations." Eisenberg then accused S. of lying to investigators when he told them that he saw R. confirm the kill by firing two individual bullets, followed by a burst of fire toward the girl. Repeating the question of whether or not he told the truth, S. said his words were not "intentionally," false, then argued that they were not meant "maliciously" and finally admitted: "I didn't exactly lie ... I said an untruth." Following the development, the defense requested that the prosecution withdraw the indictment altogether, but the request has been declined so far. The judge, Lt.-Col. Aharon Mishnayot ordered R., who has been confined to his army base - released, that his weapons be returned to him, and that he be reinstated into the Givati Brigade. "It is an inarguable fact that the dramatic development with regard to the testimony of Lieutenant S., who admitted flat-out that he did not tell the truth during the military police investigation, significantly undermines at least the value of this witness's testimony," Mishnayot said. R. was in good spirits upon his release. "I have missed my job and my unit, and am happy that in the end justice is being brought to light - what you saw today speaks for itself." R. Though the story was reported widely in the world press, including headlines such as "IDF Captain Shoots 13-year-old 20 Times," the fact that the facts of the case have been increasingly challenged has been virtually ignored. Already in October, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon told the cabinet that the girl had been dispatched by terrorists as a decoy in order to draw out soldiers and turn them into targets for terrorist snipers. Yaalon also explained that the girl was in a closed military area. In addition, the girl reportedly threw a bag at the soldiers - a suspicious move, under the circumstances, even though the bag was later found to contain only schoolbooks and no explosives. Shortly after the incident, one of the soldiers involved told Maariv: "For several weeks now, we have been in a state of high alert due to warnings of infiltration attempts. Only two weeks ago, three of our friends were killed in Morag. With death suddenly arriving at our doorstep, we were extremely tense. We knew the terrorists were coming, we just weren't sure when. On the day in question, we spotted a child just over 100 meters from our post. At first we thought she was a terrorist, not a girl; we were sure the moment had arrived, that which we had been talking about all along. We immediately knew what we had to do: to open fire. We all opened fire. "After we fired, the platoon commander went out to make sure she was dead. He fired only two bullets at her from a relatively distant point, fearing she was wearing a bomb belt. He then headed back to the outpost, but suddenly turned around and fired a long burst. I saw where the body was, and in which direction he fired. It wasn't even close [to the girl]. He fired towards Rafiah, in response to a burst of fire... "The soldiers who turned to the media tried to frame him because he was a tough commander and often handed out harsh punishments. The veteran soldiers were angry with him. I also was tempted to say he had done it, but that's not the way. It would be a despicable thing to do," the soldier said. A second soldier in the platoon also told Maariv that the soldiers who accused their commander had ulterior motives. The story was originally reported by Israel Radio defense affairs correspondent Carmella Menashe. Menashe, famous for her exclusive stories exposing misconduct within the IDF, noted at the time that her source- who later became the lead witness who now admits to lying about the incident - had called her many times previously complaining that he did not like his commander but that his complaints were not substantive enough to report on or affect the Captain's removal. S., who is the most veteran member of his company, previously admitted that he had personal enmity toward R. over R.'s active campaign to increase discipline in the company since he assumed command and his quest to promote equality between newer and more veteran soldiers. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

ISRAELI AUTHORITIES PANIC OVER NEW SURVEY RESULTS Posted by Voice of Judea, February 7, 2005.

An independent initiative to launch a national referendum on Sharon's disengagement plan is worrying government officials who plan to do everything they can to prevent the Israeli public from voicing their opinion on this critical issue. The following is a translation of an article that apperared on the Hebrew msn site, Feb. 7, 05: http://news.msn.co.il/news/criminallawcourt/criminal/200502/20050206165406.htm It is called "Survey Against Referendum Suspected of Incitement" The "Jewish Alternative Disengagement Plan" is the name of the new young competition that has arisen to challenge the Prime Minister's disengagement plan. While The Prime Minister's plan speaks of separation from the Palestinians, by way of a phased withdrawal from the territories of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, the new plan, that is being backed by "Mishalot Yisrael", speaks, in reality, about the transfer of the Arabs. The registered organization (Mishalot Yisrael), commissioned a survey (referendum), that has already been launched, known as the "Sderot Referendum". The organizers represent themselves as those who will try "to bring a smile to the Jews in Israel and to permit them to voice their opinion". On the "Mishalot Yisrael" website (www.referendumforisrael.com or www.mishal.org) appears declarations requesting to propose the "Biblical Plan" as an alternative plan to the one known as "The disengagement plan". According to the alternative plan the territories will be annexed to Israel and the Arabs who live there will be removed. According to the organizers of the referendum, Sderot is the starting point. 6500 referendum ballots (to every household in Sderot) have already been distributed, in which the citzens have been asked to vote their conscience. Yekutiel ben Yaakov, one of the leaders of the organization, explains about the initiative: "We have started in Sderot because those who are first to be affected by the disengagement should be the first to be polled, however we want every Jew in the world to vote and to express their view on the subject". The question, as it appears on the site (www.mishal.org or www.referendumforisrael.com): Do you prefer the "Sharon/Peres Disengagement Plan" (which includes transfering Gaza and Northern Shomron to "Palestinian" control, and expulsion of all of the Jews who live there - A move that would bring "Palestinian" territory closer to major Israeli cities such as Ashkelon and Tel Aviv) More than "The Jewish Alternative Disengagement Plan" (which includes annexing these territories and expulsion of the Arabs living there who refuse to an area outside of Israel, deep beyond a safe security buffer zone - A move that would effectivelly distance the "Palestinian" population from major Israeli cities like Ashkelon and Tel Aviv)? On Saturday night February 5th 2005, police arrived at Ben Yaakov's Jerusalem residence, detaining him for several hours of investigation after which he was released. The official reason for the arrest: "Search for inciteful material". "I did not know why they were arresting me. Evidently, there was no grounds for the arrest and this is why I was immediately released. They told me they were searching for materials containing incitement, so I told them that if they were looking for the Sderot ballots they can collect them from 6500 houses in Sderot were they have already been distributed." Ben Yaakov promises to publish the results of the survey in the near future and he is sure that the "biblical plan" - "The Jewish Alternative Plan" will win by a landslide. "We have to hope that the government will be sensitive to public opinion. We have already commisioned several national surveys from credible polling institutions and according to some of them, there is a majority for the Jewish alternative plan." Why are you really doing this referendum? "The Israeli authorities are very scared of a referendum and we want to show the minority (the supporters of Sharon's disengagement plan, according to Ben Yaakov) the true results of such a referendum". Isn't it clear to you that you are proposing Apartheid that contradicts democracy? "I don't support Apartheid against Arabs. If Ariel Sharon wants to separate the Jews from the Arabs - this is Apartheid. Ariel Sharon has paved the way and given a stamp of Kashrut for the future expulsion of the Arabs, since he proposes expulsion of the Jews. As far as I am concerned, Arabs that are loyal can remain in our territories without any problems..." If the reader's comments to this article on msn.co.il are any indication, such a referendum as the one proposed by Mishal Yisrael, would result in an impressive victory for those who are offering the Jewish alternative plan. Over 80 percent of the comments were fully supportive of the Jewish alternative plan. Andras Bereny who was a key member of the Italian referendum party in Brescia, and a former candidate for the Italian Senate, who has helped pass over 4 referendum packages in Italy has joined forces with the organizers of the Israeli Referendum Initiative from "Mishalot Yisrael" and will be in Sderot at polling stations together with attornies to verify signatures and ballots. Bereny said, the Mishalot Sderot Referendum is very exciting to me as a Jew as it is the real thing with us contributing to determining the destiny of the Jewish people and not just some other nation in the Galut." "Mishalot Yisrael" has invited international observers to witness true Israeli democracy at work. "Our goal is to get a bigger voter turnout at our referendum than there is in national Israeli elections," said Ben Yakov. Ben Yakov rejects the type of referendum that Yesha is lobbying on behalf of for several reasons. Firstly, they offer no alternative to the Sharon/ Peres proposal. Second, we have no time to wait for Sharon to agree to make a referendum. If Sharon should agree to such a referendum he will have the advantage as the one who words the referendum, wins the referendum. And according to every national poll that has been taken in Israel, Sharon has a firm majority if the question will be a Yes / No referendum on Sharon's disengagement plan. The reason for this is that the average Israel wishes to be as far away as possible from the "Palestinians." Our referendum that offers the Jewish alternative, actually offers an alternative that would distance the Arab threat further away, and not conflict with Torah and democratic values. Sharon's proposal to drive out all of the Jews from Gaza and Shomron negates the Torah and democracy. Sharon calls for expulsion of each and every Jew from Gaza. That is as racist a proposal one could make." "Adding the alternative proposal that calls not to throw out every Arab because they are Arab, but rather to remove most of the Arabs who will likely refuse not to swear allegiance with Israel offers a Jewish and democratic alternative that is sure to win over the hearts of most Jews in Israel. When we publish the results that we have from the national omnibous surveys that we have already commissioned, people will be shocked to learn just how many people reject Sharon's plan when given a viable alternative." People wishing to vote in this referendum can do so on line on http://www.mishal.org Ben Yakov plans to shock the nation on Thursday when he releases the findings of the earlier surveys that he has already commissioned from national pollsters on this subject. People wishing to find out more or to volunteer at polling stations can call 0544 876 709 or 0547910341 in Israel. In the USA calls can be placed to 718 874 2057. Funds are needed to publish more ballots and posters and to finance this massive campaign to save Israel. Funds can be sent to Mishalot Yisrael - 210/14 Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, Israel. Funds can be deposited in The Mishalot Yisrael bank account: Mishalot Yisrael - Yerushalayim at Bank Hapoalim, Branch 968, account number: 676769 Bank transfers/wires can be sent to: Mishalot Yisrael - Yerushalayim, Bank Hapoalim - Jaffa Rd.- Branch 968 - AC # 676769, Swift Code: Poalilit To subscribe to Voice of Judea emails, send a request to jsid@dorsai.org To Go To Top

TO THE RABBIS OF ISRAEL Posted by Professor Paul Eidelberg, February 7, 2005.

With all due respect to eminent rabbis who support a referendum on the Sharon "Disengagement Plan," I ask, (1) Do they understand that this plan violates Israeli as well as international law? (2) Do they understand that the uprooting of almost 10,000 Jews from their homes and synagogues in Gaza and Northern Samaria is but the preliminary of expelling countless more Jews from all of Judea and Samaria to facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state? (3) Do they understand that turning Judea and Samaria, the heartland of the Jewish people, over to Arabs cannot but endanger the lives of more Jews - a matter of pikuach-nefesh? (4) Do they understand that rewarding terrorists is a violation of international law and the principles of the Nuremberg trials, which require the punishment of those who commit crimes against humanity? Indeed, do they understand that rewarding terrorists - and these Arab terrorists are dedicated to Israel's destruction - cannot but encourage terrorism throughout the world? (5) Finally, in considering the issue of whether it is halachically permissible to surrender Jewish land to non-Jews, have they seriously examined the contrasting halachic opinion of the renowned Talmudic scholar, HaGaon HaRav Chaim Zimmerman (z'l)? I have already disseminated Parts I and II of his essay on the "The Prohibition of Abandoning Land in Eretz-Yisrael." But because eminent rabbis support Sharon's "Disengagement Plan," I offer below only the two concluding paragraphs of Part V of Dr. Zimmerman's 10,000-word halachic discourse: "The relationship of pikuach-nefesh to giving away shtachim [parts of] Eretz-Yisrael is a very intricate halacha, and cannot be solved by one's wishes or intuitions or political inclinations. This halacha and its psak can be solved only by a shakla-vetarya, a discussion and debate of all the great halacha-people, meaning all the genuine gedolei-haTorah - the Torah giants of our generation. They must convene in one place and exchange all the halachic arguments for and against their respective points of view. At the conclusion of this discussion and debate, a majority if not unanimous decision must issue from this conference.It must be clearly understood that only gedolei-haTorah - the great people of Torah who are universally accepted for their fear of Heaven and for their Torah learning - are qualified to decide the halacha concerning shtachim. No secular or pseudo-Talmudic scholars are qualified to be members of this conference. But it must be reiterated that without the meeting and debate of all the gedolei-haTorah in one place at one time, any individual decision in relation to the pikuach-nefesh of shtachim has no status of psak-halacha binding on Klal-Yisrael in Eretz-Yisrael." Israel's most eminent rabbis are surely cognizant of Dr. Zimmerman's work on the Rambam, which is in Hebrew. But they may not be familiar with his halachic discourse on "The Prohibition of Abandoning Land in Eretz-Yisrael," which is in English. Hence it behooves men of Torah to bring Rav Chaim's work to the attention of the rabbis in question. Prof. Eidelberg is a political scientist, author and lecturer; co-founder and president of The Foundation For Constitutional Democracy and is the President of the Yamin Israel movement. He can be reached by mail at 244 Madison Avenue, Suite 427, New York, NY 10016, Tel: 212-372-3752, and by email at Constitution@usa.net To Go To Top

ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN ISRAEL AND U.S.; WHY TO HATE BUSH Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 7, 2005.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN ISRAEL & U.S. After consulting with US Jewish leaders, the Israeli Ambassador declined an invitation to a hastily called Columbia U. conference on the Mid-East. Referring to accusations that Islamist University professors squelched or insulted Jewish students, he said that academic freedom should not be intimidated. He went on to explain, "Academic freedom is a central pillar of Israeli democracy, and we welcome pluralistic debate." (Jacob Gershman, NY Sun, 1/26, p.4.) Meeting canceled. Wise decision. He would have been photographed with professors accused of demeaning Jewish students who disputed their propaganda. Then Columbia would suggest that the complaints are not important, when the Ambassador from Israel overlooks them to meet with those professors, who, in turn, by meeting with him, demonstrate alleged moderation. Israeli democracy, under particular strain by PM Sharon, is another matter. Academic freedom is useless without academic integrity, which is rare in most social science departments at Israeli universities. Those departments are bastions not of democracy but of the Far Left that is antagonistic to democracy. They promote leftist views regardless of facts to the contrary. Originally they advocated appeasement of the Arabs. Now some of them advocate in behalf of the Arab attempts to murder Israelis, and take over their country (turning it into dictatorship). As in the Middle Eastern Studies institutes in the US, Israeli leftists libel their country. Many leftist professors have poor credentials, involved as they are in pro-Arab or socialist propaganda and not in genuine academic studies. They turn their classrooms into indoctrination centers. Jewish under-graduates at Israeli universities, unlike those in the US, tend to be veterans and therefore of a more mature age. They better can cope with their professors' biases, having met the Arabs on the battlefield. In dealing with outside criticism, one of the leftists, who makes obvious antisemitic slander, dealt with a critic by slapping him with a lawsuit for, of all things, slander. It was the use of law, and all the expenses and time-consuming tasks related to it, to discourage criticism. (This is a tactic that the police in the Territories and especially Hebron employ against religious Jews, harassing them with false arrests and requiring their frequent appearance in court.) It is fatuous to consider Israeli colleges pillars of Israeli democracy welcoming pluralistic debate. I asked an Israeli college professor what he observed. Prof. Steven Plaut of Haifa U. replied, "There is no official prohibition on people expressing themselves or on how they do research, but at the same time there are clear hints and signals and threats. People with dissident (non-leftist) points of view have been fired or had their promotions blocked by the campus leftist ruling cliques." "Israeli universities are highly politicized. They are dominated by the Left and it is an open secret that leftists with embarrassing academic records get hired and promoted, while rightists get their careers sabotaged and blocked. As an example, at Ben Gurion University these days, there operates at least one university department (political science), and probably a couple of others as well, in which there is a Disloyalty Clause (I think he means an unstated one ) for employment in the department, according to which all faculty must be far leftists disloyal to Israel and loyal to the PLO. A single dissident non-leftist lecturer there in political science was just fired, despite having better academic credentials than most of the others in that department." "Pluralism is largely absent in many Israeli university departments, which often contain no non-leftists and no religious people. The discrimination is often subtle, not openly proclaimed. I know religious people who do not wear yarmulkas on campus fearing being "flagged" by their colleagues. In-class leftist indoctrination is more the rule than the exception. There are double standards by which Arab professors and Jewish leftists can be hired and promoted on the basis of political propaganda they write misrepresented as scholarly research (and may place in Arab hate-journals). Even with publication records entirely devoid of real research. There are quite a few examples. There is much documentation of all this at www.israel-academia-monitor.com." DEMOCRATS HATE BUSH. WHY? I asked five Democrats whether they hate Pres. Bush. All did, but each for a different reason. Four objected to a Bush policy. The fifth found his personality phony. (Sen. Kerry's wasn't, lying about being in Cambodia, and voting for war in order to oppose it? If you are willing to hate a US politician, why not Kerry, for having falsely accused the US of constant war crimes while our troops were under fire in Vietnam? How about Pres. Clinton, who instead of bombing the Serbian forces on the rampage, bombed the Serbian civilians, who were not. That is a war crime!) Upon reflection, one realizes those are not reasons for adults to hate someone. Though our politics is becoming more petulant, I suspect some other, emotional reason. Perhaps they are overly partisan or assume a sense of injured superiority towards the electorate). Those Democrats do not realize what is happening to this country and in this world. The rest of the world has changed but they have ossified. They leave reform and its political appeal up to the Republicans. No longer "progressive," the Democrats are the Party of the past. Problem is, reform led by Pres. Bush may not solve problems but be class warfare. It behooves the Democrats to devise their own proposals, not just complain about whatever the GOP suggests. Why don't the Democrats devise a program on Social Security, jihad, immigration, and excessive litigation that loots industries? Bush is defining those problems on his own terms, because the Democrats do not participate. Neither do they propose other reforms such as of tax, energy, and environmental policies. The Iraqi War they oppose as hasty, unnecessary, and deceitful. They haven't the grace to acknowledge that the US deposed a mass-murderer. Their rationale has solidified into a mantra, devoid of the facts. They fail to see the inter-connections of the Evil Axis. They won't credit the Administration for following the same intelligence information that persuaded the rest of the West that Iraq was developing weapons of mass-destruction. It was. Their test remains whether we found the weapons, rather than whether they were actually or potentially made. One expressed surprise upon my pointing out that before the invasion got far, truckloads of contraband were driven into Syria. Was it hasty to resume the war after Saddam was violating the truce agreements and UN resolutions for a dozen years? One friend, an international advisor on business, thinks the US is wreaking havoc in the world. So do the Russians he meets. Does he at least inform them that individual Americans are not responsible for policies by the US government and corporations, and that these policies, with their outsourcing and pollution, victimize Americans, too? He denied that the Europeans are hostile to individual Americans, but Russians constantly reviled my niece. I found it pretentious of Russians and other Europeans to complain that the US is making problems in the world, after the calamities they brought upon it and from which they were rescued by the US. Even in contemporary times, with France having helped Iraq develop nuclear technology and Russia still helping Iran develop nuclear plants, Europe tries to stifle US initiatives They are like the ghetto youth who used to obstruct firefighters coming to quell a blaze. Whereas Putin tried to retard Ukraine democracy, Bush helped it prevail. Thus, Russia was tying to "mess up" an international situation, but the US straightened it out. Let Russia follow the US lead, and let the Democrats praise this great success of Bush and of our decent country, the US! Or don't liberals care about democracy and their own country? It is the US that urged the UN to crack down on Iraq, Iran, and Sudan; it is W. Europe and Russia that resisted. So much for collective security with other countries that have abandoned the best of Western civilization, still alive in America! We do not need the UN for legitimacy, and we cannot expect to persuade envious, profiteering, and dictatorial foreign states to join a coalition against their clients. I just hope that Pres. Bush means his call for freedom. Ironically, Democrats seem not to recognize Bush's real deficiencies. Another friend, who admitted she hadn't studied the Arab-Israel conflict, welcomes the new P.A. leadership, and wondered how one person, Arafat, could hold up peacemaking for decades. A reader of the "Times," she imagines she is being given useful information. Instead, she is being steered by advocacy journalism. The "Times" objects to the war, so it presents the negative side disproportionately, and its readers wax indignant against the Administration. The traditionally anti-Zionist "Times" favors at least the Arabs' immediate demands. Hence it and the whole Establishment pretend that the recalcitrant Arab leadership has changed. One leader is gone, but the rest remain in charge, led by Arafat's deputy, party to all the terrorism and corruption. It wasn't "one person" who made the jihad, it was the whole culture of the Arabs and especially of their Palestinian branch. That branch was committing terrorism more than four decades before Arafat's four decades of it. The Democrats would be wise to vary their news sources and think for themselves. It wouldn't hurt if they were more patriotic and less sensitive to foreign criticism of America and more critical of foreigners. They shouldn't be so other-directed. YOU WANT TO HATE BUSH, HERE'S A REASON Norman Podhoretz wrote another great analysis of WWIV in the current issue of "Commentary. Quoting liberally from Pres. Bush's speeches, which indeed are eloquent appeals for democracy abroad, Mr. Podhoretz speculates how far the President intends to go, now. The writer misses the point. Bush is mostly talk. In the "NY Times" of 2/3/05, Pres. Bush is depicted exhorting Europe to get the Arabs to donate more money to the P.A.. Sec. of State Rice will appear in the Holy Land to see about "reducing tensions" between the P.A. and Israel. "Reducing tensions" means that Israel "eases" (removes) checkpoints and roadblocks that stop terrorist attacks. Sec. Rice was not quoted as demanding any steps by the P.A., which sends terrorists against Israel. She just wants Israel to lower its defenses. The tension is engendered by Islam and P.A. indoctrination and buildup of terrorist forces. Therefore, the solution is for the P.A. to eradicate its terrorist forces, etc.. The lowering of Israeli defenses increases "tensions," i.e., Arab attacks. It has the dozens of times that, in response to US entreaty and false hopes in sudden P.A. moderation, Israel removes checkpoints and roadblocks, and the P.A. lets or sends terrorists through. What Rice proposes is what gets Israelis killed. The P.A. steals Europe's donations. Abu Mazen has taken his share of what Arafat misappropriated. Would Pres. Bush, wanting to lend financial support to a widow, hand the money over to her son, bitten with gambling fever, who would waste it? That is what Bush's plea to Europe amounts to. It is the usual case of handing the Arabs money unconditionally, and then being surprised that they don't mend their religiously imperialist ways. His plan, Rice says, is to set up a PLO state. She puts it in the exasperatingly innocent image of "two democratic states, side-by-side." The same George W. who knows that Iraq was an aggressor does not seem to know that the P.A. is an aggressor, a bona fide member the Evil Axis, and Israel its innocent victim. The PLO goal is to conquer Israel. PLO sovereignty and the absence of Israeli troops would go far to fulfill that quest. What Bush proposes is what could get all the Israelis killed. If you want to hate Bush, do so for his evil attack on democracy, decency, and the innocent Israelis, not for his defense of democracy, decency, and the innocent victims of Saddam! MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE "NY TIMES" I've seen in the same edition a statement that Israel "says" that the Arabs smuggle arms in tunnels bridging the Sinai with Gaza, and a statement that the P.A. claims to have closed one such tunnel. If the P.A. admits there is such a tunnel, then must the "Times" cast doubt on the Israeli statement? It often states what the Arabs claim without such qualification, and what Israel claims, with one. That is a double standard. The "Times'" staff in Israel must be so busy finding out negative news about Israel, that it cannot judge whether what Israel claims is factual. The paper also explains that Egypt has an interest in keeping the border stabile. It does. But who does the "Times" think has been allowing the smuggling, if not Egypt. Egypt has made war on Israel a few times, twice losing the Sinai to Israel, which was foolish to return it the second time. War hardly makes for stability. You see, aside from liking glory and having imperial ambitions, Egypt also has a religious motivation. It wants Israel destroyed. Tell the "Times" that! Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT Posted by Time to Speak, February 7, 2005.

"The doctrine [of peace at any price] . . . has caused more wars than any of the most ruthless conquerors." - Benjamin Disraeli "Reckless Endangerment" is deliberate performance of an act that can create hazard and cause damage, without regard for consequences and common prudence. It carries the burden of guilt for whatever damage it does cause. When the damage is grievous, the act of reckless endangerment is morally and often legally criminal. For more than a decade, those at the highest level of responsibility in Israel have been recklessly endangering the well-being and the very survival of the people and the nation. They bring on one disaster after another. The likelihood - indeed the near certainty - that their acts would lead to disaster was obvious, and they were implored to pay heed to consequences. When the predictable disasters occur, they do not try to find some remedy for the harm they caused, or to make some kind of mends, or even to refrain from even more and worse reckless endangerment. They ignore the lessons of experience, and show arrogant contempt for all criticism and warnings. When they resort to ruthless tactics to quash all dissent, they compound recklessness with arrogance and tyranny. They profess to be acting in the cause of "peace" while adopting policies and taking actions that can only lead to war. Recklessness, arrogance and tyranny is then lethal. They neither know nor understand. They go about in darkness. - Psalm. 82:5 Listen you rulers of Jacob You chiefs of the House of Israel! For you ought to know what is right. - Micah 3:1 O, my people, Your leaders are misleaders They have confused the course of your paths. - Isaiah 3:12 It is commonly reported that "Israel" does this or that, or "Israel" says this or that. What the reports usually mean is that government officeholders of the moment do this or say that. Often, however, officeholders and their staffs of yes-persons are acting contrary to the wishes of the people who elected them. Their views, words and deeds are then not those of "Israel". There are politicians and parties who avow their commitment to appeasement, surrender, retreat, and contempt for obsolete Jewish tradition and beliefs. They garner votes and win seats in the Knesset, but never enough votes or seats to produce a prime minister and form a parliamentary government. The plurality of votes and seats go to parties that profess themselves committed to the dignity, the honor, the rights, and the defense of Israel. Too often, especially since the election of 1992, those who win power on such a platform then use it to diametrically opposite ends. They switch from the policies the voters favored to those the voters rejected, a cynical political fraud that double-crosses the electorate and destroys the bond of trust between people and government that is indispensable to a true democracy. This pattern of political deceit has been almost unbroken since 1992, when the Labor Party scraped into office by promising the electorate that there would never be recognition of or dealings with the PLO. High-ranking members of the party were already at work on the Oslo Accords that sold Israel out to that same PLO. Subsequently, the public was disappointed by the unreliable Binyamin Netanyahu of the rival Likud Party, and flagrantly betrayed by the calamitously silly Ehud Barak of Labor and the shamelessly treacherous Ariel Sharon of Likud. They are clever at doing wrong But unable to do right. - Jeremiah 4:22 Such a sequence of serial-catastrophe cannot be accomplished by one individual alone, but there is one who bears heavier guilt than any other for setting it off. The Hebrew name "Shimon" - transliterated in Western languages as Simeon or Simon - was first borne by the eponymous ancestor of one of the Tribes of Israel. Shimon Peres is an Israelite whose affinity is with a man of different but uncannily similar name: Sinon. It was Sinon who, full knowing what he did, used crafty wiles to induce the Trojans to bring the Wooden Horse into the city. So Shimon, full knowing what he did, used crafty wiles to induce Yitzhak Rabin to bring the Wooden Horse of Oslo into the country. Shimon Peres has thus far managed to become Prime Minister of Israel three times without ever being elected. He has also been Foreign Minister three times, and held sundry other ministries. He is default leader of the Labor Party, whenever it cannot agree any other choice. He is off-and-on Leader of the Opposition. Yitzhak Rabin described him as "a relentless intriguer". Golda Meir so despised him that she would not let him ride in the same elevator with her. Moshe Sharett, a Founding Father and Prime Minister in the 1950s, observed the young Peres in action and dreaded the consequences if he should ever gain power in Israel. Peres did gain power, and in pursuit of a private fantasy that he calls New Middle East has inflicted more injury on Israel than have all of its foreign enemies combined. In 1992, the Labor Party scraped into office after an election in which Yitzhak Rabin swore never to recognize of deal with the PLO. Even before the election, Foreign-Minister-in-Waiting Peres and a few co-conspirators were secretly cobbling together the Oslo Accords. They did this with the connivance of European politicians, but without the knowledge of then Prime Minister Rabin. When his concoction was ready, he foisted it on a reluctant but weak Rabin. The Peres-Rabin government pushed approval through the Knesset by a margin of one single vote, obtained only with the support of the anti-Jewish Meretz Party and anti-Israel Arab parties. The PLO had been founded in 1964 (when there were no so-called "occupied territories"). Its charter defines its sole purpose as the total destruction of Israel. By 1992 it had achieved nothing beyond wanton bloodshed, had been driven out of Jordan and out of Lebanon, and was decaying in Tunis. Peres revived it and empowered it, and gave it an illicit legitimacy, thrust it into the heart of the Land of Israel, and even furnished it with weapons. For this accomplishment, Peres can bill himself as a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. As Foreign Minister and subsequently as Prime Minister, his policy was to refrain from expecting the PLO to comply with its commitments and promises, while Israel must make more and more unilateral concessions and sacrifices. This, by his reasoning, was the only way to continue to have a Peace Process. without any reciprocity from its "partner in peace". He even issued false statements that the PLO charter no longer called for the destruction of Israel. His political career was not advanced by photographs of him affectionately clasping his "partner in peace" Yasser Arafat. Peres has always been held in high esteem in some circles outside of Israel, especially at the Socialist International and at international conferences in plush Swiss resorts. His gaudy taxpayer-funded 80th Birthday Party in 2003 was attended by scores of low-level foreign notables. He is so useful to the Judeophobic European Union that it subsidizes his Peres Center for Peace and Peace and Technology Fund whose finances are non-transparent. [See Issue No. 26] His personal financial dealings in PLO-land are currently under investigation in Israel. While Peres was out of office, Ariel Sharon of the Likud Party was elected Prime Minister of Israel because the people of Israel voted, by the largest majority in any election in any democracy, to get rid of Ehud Barak before Ehud Barak could get rid of Israel. Sharon, theretofore a vociferous opponent of Oslo and the Osloid Labor Party, promptly appointed Shimon Peres as Foreign Minister. This gave him a high official status when he wandered the globe to inform the world that Israel has no moral or legal rights to Judea and Samaria or the Golan, or to anything else that holds it back from sinking into non-nationhood in his New Middle East. Sharon has now broken his own Likud Party, banished cabinet ministers who do not vote according to his commands, and several other parties have withdrawn from his coalition government. He can only stay in power with the support of the Labor Party that the voters massively rejected. So Shimon Peres rides again, this time as a Deputy Premier, giving life-support to Sharon's demented Disengagement. Peres is still insisting that the Oslo Accords were the right thing to do, and their principles will yet prevail. And true to form, he states that new PLO chief Abu Mazen "should not be judged on what he accomplishes". In 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush made an unequivocal commitment in writing: "In accordance with the United States traditional policy, we do not support the creation of an independent Palestinian state." In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush discovered a U.S. policy "vision of long standing" to create just such a state and pursues that goal with fervor. The recently invented "Palestinians" insist that they would accept such a state only to use it as a base of operations to pursue their unalterable goal of destroying Israel. [See further, Twelve Bad Arguments for a State of Palestine] There was an interval of ten years during which one "United States traditional policy" was morphed into an exactly opposite "vision of long standing". Not by coincidence, the Oslo Accords were perpetrated during that interval. Until then, Israel had shown itself a resolute nation able and willing to defend itself against repeated attacks on all sides, by vastly larger and more numerous enemy. The Osloids made Israel appear to be country that without any need to do so, surrendered to the terrorists and cast away its hard-won heritage. Such a show of self-defeating weakness led "friends" as well as foes to suppose that it had lost its resolve, and would not resist pressure for more and more concessions. The successive governments of Israel since then have not disappointed them. The Oslo Accords were designed to give domestic autonomy to a "Arab Palestinian" entity, though in fact the notion of an "Arab Palestinian" identity was entirely fictitious. [See Issue No. 2] This autonomy was conditional on PLO fulfillment of certain commitments; "experiment" that could be stopped if it did not work. The experiment did not work, but no Israeli government has had the will to stop it. As was clearly foreseeable, any city or region where the PLO was permitted provisional administration came to be considered "Palestinian territory", on which Israel had relinquished authority, claims, and rights. Any effort to control terrorist activity within those areas became "Israeli incursion into Palestinian territory". The criminal folly of the Oslo Accords and the failure to annul them led to the invention of "Arab Palestine" and on to the sudden discovery that the United States had a "long-term vision" of creating the state it had pledged to eschew. The failure to resist this anti-historical and pernicious reversal opened the way for the Quartet's Roadmap, that should it ever come into effect will compromise Israel's sovereignty and leave it an impotent vassal dependent for mere survival on the whims of a consortium composed of the U.S. Department of State, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia. [See Issues Nos. 23 and 28] The incumbent government of Israel submitted without a peep of protest to this lethal insult. As if perpetuating Oslo and submitting to the Roadmap were not reckless endangerment enough for one small besieged country, it then proceeded to Disengagement. Those who opposed the Oslo Accords argued that they would do vast damage to Israel, and events since then have proved that they were right. But the lessons of experience are ignored by the Disengagers, who are bent on repeating all the mistakes of Oslo and adding some new ones. 1] The anti-Osloids correctly predicted that land given over to the control of the PLO would become bases for murderous terrorism and eventual war on Israel. Furthermore, a PLO in control not only of territory but also of schools and media taught a generation of children and youngsters that the greatest glory in life is to kill Jews, even - or especially - if they sacrifice their own lives to do it. The Disengagers, rather than undoing the deadly mistakes of the Osloids, are bent on even more reckless and dangerous adventures. They would endow the PLO with more land and power, with promises of still more to come, along with freedom to misuse them without fear of interference or consequences. The terrorists are naturally exhilarated by this Israeli surrender, thrilled and encouraged by their own victory. 2] Scorning all pleas for common sense, the Rabin-Peres Government insisted on giving weapons to the PLO, to be used to "keep order". Inevitably, those weapons were used to murder Israelis. Under Oslo, the American CIA took on the mission of training PLO gunmen in the arts of sniping, again "to keep order". Inevitably, the snipers used their new skills to murder, men, women, children, babies. Under Disengagement, the CIA is to resume training more snipers to keep more order. In the past, feckless Israeli authorities made deals with the enemy to release hundreds and even thousands of terrorists who had been captured by Israeli soldiers and border police who risked and sometimes lost their lives in depriving these terrorist of the freedom to carry on their trade. Many of them went used their freedom to perpetrate more terrorism and murder. Now, the Disengagement Government is planning to release hundreds or even thousands more terrorists, as a goodwill gesture to the recently installed Terror Chief Mahmoud Abbas alias Abu Mazen - the instigator and financier of the PLO massacre of Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Olympic Games. The Disengagement Government is not a mere copycat, imitating the stupidities of Oslo. It has added innovations of its own. 1] It has extended the scope of danger because enemy arsenals are no longer just guns but also rockets and missiles with ever-increasing ranges. Residents of Israeli towns near to the present PLO bases have already been murdered with these missiles. Under the terms of Disengagement, the PLO will be given more bases for unrestricted mischief, and the range of carnage will be extended to many more towns and cities. Even Ariel Sharon's vast cucumber farm in the Negev will be within range, but ut seems that he patriotically willing to put his property at risk. The enemy will also be able to cut off much of Israel's water supply, and sabotage power stations and fuel depots, and civilian and military aircraft. In the event of all out military attack or foreign invasion, it can cut the roads and lines of communication. 2] When Egypt attacked Israel in 1948, it managed to seize and hold on to the Gaza Strip. The Egyptians used it as a base for both military and terrorist assaults on Israeli civilians. During the Sinai Campaign of 1956, the Egyptian troops fled from Gaza, but the U.S. Eisenhower-Dulles Administration forced Israel to restore the Egyptians to power there. It was again made into a base for military and terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, until the Six-Day War of 1967 when the Egyptian troops again fled. Israel and Egypt signed a formal peace treaty in 1978, but there has since been no break in Egypt's passionate hostility to Israel, its plots and incitements against it. As its contribution to the Oslo War, Egypt smuggles weapons and explosives to the PLO terrorists in Gaza, via underground tunnels from the Sinai. Soldiers of the IDF are repeatedly sent to risk and too often lose their lives to find and seal off the tunnels. If Disengagement is actually carried out, however, there will be no need to dig or to seal off tunnels, for weapons and explosives can be openly carried in from the Sinai, and in far greater loads then was possible through the tunnels. Now the Disengagers intend to out-source Israel's security to Egypt, entrusting it with guarding the crossing points. To make sure the Egyptians have enough power on the spot, the Disengagers will suspend the terms of the 1978 treaty that limit the size of Egyptian military forces in the Sinai. 3] Israel has been kept alive by the men and women of the Israel Defense Forces. Outside of Israel, the IDF's extraordinary valor and capability are admired in some quarters, grudgingly recognized in others, and bitterly resented in still others others. [See Issue No. 43]. These young men and women give up years of their lives and too often their very lives, knowing that the survival of their people and their nation depend upon them. Never before has a politician tried to use the IDF as to force his will on their fellow Israelis. Never before has a politician set out to purge the IDF of officers who will not agree with his political agenda. This will cause soldiers agonizing dilemmas of conscience, and instill doubts whether they are defenders of Israel or tools of a transient officeholder. To use the soldiers of Israel against the people of Israel would be an unbearable disgrace. To inflict such damage on the spirit, the morale, and the integrity of the IDF would be a despicable act of reckless endangerment of Israel the nation. Even if the assault on Israelis is assigned to police rather than soldiers, they do serve to defend their fellow citizens, and they too must not be misused for any political end. It is reasonable to ask why Sharon finds Disengagement so imperative that it must be perpetrated even at the cost of tearing the country apart body and soul. It is a question that he himself will not answer. Occasionally a henchman alleges that the Disengagement will relieve foreign pressure on Israel and forestall the need for any more alienations of the Land of Israel. This argument never had credibility. It will be simply absurd to invoke it again, now that Madam Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has literally given Israel its marching orders: Start Marching Out and Keep On Marching Out . . . The public opposition to the Oslo Accords was vast and passionate, and subsumed all classes and elements of society. It was tragically ineffectual. Prime Minister Rabin gave no consideration to the pleas and arguments of the opposition. Rather, he responded only with coarse insults. He opined that those who opposed the Oslo Accords were equivalent to the terrorists of Hamas as "enemies of piece". He told those who pleaded for his attention that they "could spin like ballbearings". Sharon uses the word "rebels" for members of the Likud Party who do not support Disengagement, while in fact he is the one who rebelled against the Party Platform on which he was elected, and rebelled against the results of a party referendum that he himself devised. He and his minions go far beyond verbal abuse. Those who speak out against the Disengagement are subject to investigation for "criminal incitement". Sharon wants - but the Knesset has thus far refused - a law making passive resistance punishable by three-to-five-year prison terms. There are plans for detention camps to incarcerate entire families. There are calls for criminal charges against anyone who - wisely or unwisely - urges IDF soldiers not to attack fellow Israelis. Some of the calls come from politicians who themselves urged IDF soldiers to disobey orders that said politicians did not approve. There are no such calls for charges against the far-left pro-PLO groups that urge soldiers to refuse service or desert rather than defend their country against its enemies. Some Disengagers want to withdraw protection from whole communities of Israelis and abandon them to the terrorists who mean to slaughter them. Some call for inflicting physical violence on the uncooperative, which may or may not be figurative. Some seem actually to relish the prospect. Their blatant hatred of their fellow Jews would rightly be called by its proper name if it popped up in any other country. One of the leaders of the movement to stop this rush toward the abyss is Brigidier-General Ephraim [Effie} Eitan, now retired from the IDF and a leading figure in the NRP [National Religious Party] He addresses himself to a Sharon who will not listen, as quoted by IsraelNationalNews.com, 11 January 2005: "[. . . . ] I must tell you, Mr. Prime Minister . . . that I have served the country for many years on the battlefield, and during difficult and tense moments, but I have never heard from government elements in the State of Israel such unrestrained incitement as that which was heard from your confidantes and coalition partners this week. 'Break their bones!' your confidantes whispered, and the headlines blared it. Whose bones precisely do you intend to break, Mr. Prime Minister? Those of little children? Pregnant women? Civilian protestors? [. . . . ] "Your new partners in the government are, unfortunately, joining up with you. I was astonished to read of late an article by [Labor MK and former minister] Ephraim Sneh, a doctor bound by the Hippocratic Oath. He writes that it won't be so bad if we have a little civil war and some blood will be spilt.. [. . . . ] "You, Mr. Prime Minister, are a refuser of democracy. You refuse to go to a referendum or elections. There is no country that makes a decision of this type without specific elections or a precise referendum on the question. But what do you do? You destroy the entire political framework, and turn everyone into confused marionettes. Look at the new opposition head [Shinui leader Tommy Lapid], how he is almost weeping that you left him behind. Look at your partners from United Torah Judaism who tell you that they won't support you on the disengagement. "Is this the way to approach this type of move?! With an opposition that is a coalition and a coalition that is an opposition and by switching and replacing parties and coalitions as if they were socks? And then by firing ministers, and by deceiving and reneging on promises to adhere to the results of the Likud referendum? "You can continue to barrel through one red light after another, you might run over some children on the way, maybe some houses or pregnant women - but we will stop you. We will not give in to your corruption and obtuseness. "As a Brigadier General in the reserves, I call upon you to take the army out of this story. Firing and dismissing officers who said they object to refusal and will carry out all legal orders, but also said that it's not the function of the army to expel citizens from their homes. They said a simple truth. Why did you dismiss them? Now a witch hunt will start and you will throw out every officer who thinks differently, who wants to say something. This won't strengthen the army, it will only weaken it. It won't make the army more ethical, but will rather confuse it and divide it, and the responsibility will be upon you! [. . . .] "The cynicism, cruelty and obtuseness you show us in return will yet boomerang back at you - and you will be remembered, on the last page of your political history, as the man who destroyed the IDF, and the one who is liable, Heaven forbid, to destroy the State of Israel. You have many merits, but you have no right to come and burn everything merely because you were once a partner in the construction! "We won't respond in kind to your maliciousness, and we won't respond to your violence with violence, and not to your incitement with incitement. But we will say to you clearly: If you don't listen to our call to return this decision [regarding the disengagement] to this healthy and strong nation, we will send you home, and it will be painful and shameful, erasing all your previous accomplishments." Disengagers may sneer that only religious fanatics have a notion that the Land of Israel is a sacred trust that cannot be annulled by any clutch of ephemeral officeholders. But a strong warning against Disengagement comes from a distinctly secular source, as reported in "Old-Time Pioneers Against Sharon's Plan", IsraelNationalNews.com: "Moshav Nahalal in the Galilee, one of the most prominent of the secular moshav movement, will host the first of a series of gatherings protesting Prime Minister Sharon's expulsion plan. [. . . .] The announcement of the gathering states, 'This is our historic land. Our enemies who waged war on us since the beginning of Zionism will not be satisfied with one piece of land or another. Their ultimate goal is to uproot and banish us from the entire Land'. 'We know about the plans being cooked-up in smoke-filled room calling to abandon and expel the residents of the Jordan Valley and Golan as well. Far from the spotlights, an international border crossing is being built in the northern Jordan Valley near Mehola - and this is clear proof of the dark storm about to come upon the Zionist enterprise. [. . . .] "Facing obtuse powers of evil, facing people with no Zionist or settlement values, and facing a mad dictator who is dragging the country to a civil war - we will establish anew the scale of Zionist and settlement values that built the State of Israel, the national home of the Jewish People. [. . . .]" There is a deep nationwide distress that Sharon's tactics are wrecking the structure of government and the social contract that underlie any healthy democracy. The distress is not shared by much of the left-wing clique that dominates the news media. Radio Israel newscaster/Ayala Chason explained to her audience that when Sharon breaks his campaign promises and his post-election promises about unilateral withdrawal "that is 'politics' and has no bearing on 'democracy' and the 'democratic process'". This is "A Time to Speak - Messages About Israel", Vol. V:1 (No. 49), January 2005 - Tevet-Shevet 5765 "A Time To Speak" appears once a month, and each issue is on a theme that relates to Israel and the Middle East past and present, including history, background, current events, analysis and comment. All issues appear on its website: http://www.israel.net/timetospeak. A complimentary subscription to the e-mail edition is available by request to: speak@actcom.co.il. To Go To Top

ISRAEL'S CAMPUS FIFTH COLUMN AND THE LATEST FROM SHARON'S FIRST AMENDMENT Posted by Steven Plaut, February 7, 2005.

1. Ariel Sharon has now announced that he was just kidding when he pledged that, as part of the upcoming release of 900 or so Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prison, no actual Palestinian murderers will be released. He now says that some murderers will in fact be released after all, just as long as the murders they committed of Jews occurred a while ago and not too recently. Really. I guess if any Nazi leaders hiding in Paraguay get caught, Israel will want them released now also since the murders they committed are so out of date. 2. Meanwhile, Israeli McCarthyism is alive and exceptionally well under Ariel Sharon's administration, as is the Israeli dual justice system. The Israeli First Amendment continues to protect free speech for leftists, only. Protected speech is that with which Yossi Beilin would agree. All other speech is criminal incitement. On Saturday night, Israeli police arrested one Yekutiel Ben Yaakov. Ben Yaakov was suspected of operating a web site expressing politically incorrect opinion. Ben Yaakov heads an organization calling itself "Israel's Yearnings", which operates the web site. It claims it wishes to offer an alternative separation plan to that touted by Sharon-Mitzna, and it calls its alternative the Biblical Plan. Instead of evicting Jews from their home, the "alternative" they propose is to evict Arabs from Israeli lands. The web site has a poll in which people can "vote" for or against their alternative plan. They also call it the Sderot Poll, and claim to have distributed 6500 copies of the plan to homes in Sderot. Sderot of course is the new Israeli version of Stalingrad, taking the brunt of the Oslo terror barrage. Now you can of course agree or disagree with Ben Yaakov's web site and opinions. But where exactly is the crime here? The police claim they arrested Ben Yaakov because Rabin's assassination was caused by "incitement", and the police know it was caused by incitement because the Israeli media have repeated this baseless ridiculous claim countless times. Incitement in Israel means expressing opinions with which Yossi Beilin might disagree. Israel's media decided that Rabin was killed because anti-Oslo dissidents exercised their free speech. This is all the Israeli version of McCarthyism. The full story in Hebrew on Ben Yaakov's arrest is at http://news.msn.co.il/news/CriminalLawCourt/default.htm . Now the arrest of Ben Yaakov for expressing his opinion comes against the dramatic absence of any arrests of faculty members at Ben Gurion University for endorsing Arab terror, for engaging in law breaking as part of their support for the PLO, or for calling for the elimination of Israel. Ben Gurion University is crawling with such people and none have been arrested for incitement. In some departments at Ben Gurion University the only people who may be employed as faculty members are those endorsing anti-Israel anti-Zionist opinions. Really. Why have none of these people been arrested? 3. A while back we posted a piece about an "anthropologist" from the Hebrew University, Meira Weiss, who got fired (was forced to resign) for fabricating research results and who was immediately grabbed up and hired by the department of anthropology at Berkeley. Why Berkeley, we wondered. Well, we now have an answer. Look who runs that department: "In May, UC Berkeley anthropologist Lawrence Cohen visited Israel as the keynote speaker of the Israeli Anthropological Association and the Israeli Queer Studies Group. Members of the coalition met with him on May 9 to discuss the reasons for the American-focused campaign, and to request further assistance. Cohen was generous with his time and ideas, and also suggested that we organize or consult with Native American activists. Nevertheless, he expressed the fear that by siding with equal opportunity anti-racist struggles outside the US, the AAA might appoint itself a cop of the world, so to speak, Bush-administration style. Considering the so-called "special relations" between Israel's and the US's white neo-conservative elites, however, such a fear is difficult for us to grasp? He went on to protest what he called the domination of Israeli academia by what he called Ashkenazim-Zionists, without "enough" Oriental Jews or what he called "Palestinian Israeli women". Full story at http://list.haifa.ac.il/pipermail/alef/2005-February/009969.html 4. Speaking of victims of McCarthyism, perhaps the leading target of Israeli McCarthyism has been Adir Zik, who died over the weekend. Zik had begun as a radically-secularist kibbutznik in the Labor Party and as a TV producer when Israel set up its first TV station in the 60s, but made the transition to Israel's anti-Oslo religious right. He was a founder of the Arutz7 radio station before it was shut down by Sharon's government. Zik was accused by the Leftist Ascendancy in Israel of being THE "inciter" behind the assassination of Rabin because he criticized Rabin on his radio show and might have called Rabin a traitor, although he denied using that word. Zik NEVER called for violence and always made it clear he was urging people to stop Oslo democratically and non-violently, but for the Left he was the dream scapegoat - religious, outspoken, rightwing, charismatic. Zik was a phenomenal speaker, extremely eloquent, usually well reasoned. He had his weaknesses though. In his last years, he bought into the infantile conspiracy nonsense of Barry Chamish and repeated and endorsed Chamish's baseless 'theories' about the assassination. Zik also tended to be religiously intolerant, attacking secularists as well as the Reform and Conservatives, not for their silly PC liberalism (my own pet peeve), but for their non-halakhic versions of observance. My guess is that this alienated many on the Israeli Right, the bulk of whom are not Orthodox. But Zik's attacks on Oslo were right on the mark and for years his analysis and predictions proved dead correct, please excuse the "pun". Zik was not only an important dissident figure in Israel but served as one of the main victims of Israeli political McCarthyism and personal illustration of Israel's failures to become a democracy. He will be missed. (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=76503) 5. Remember those "reports" about how Israeli troops supposedly "finished of" a Palestinian girl hit by gunfire? How they just walked up to her and offed her? Well, soooprise soooprise. It was a lie. Here is the real story, from Haaretz no less: "Military Court Releases Officer Charged With Killing Gaza Girl" by Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service. The IDF Southern Command's Military Court on Sunday decided to release Captain R., who is suspected of killing a 13-year-old girl in Rafah, southern Gaza, at point blank range. R. has been confined to an IDF base for the last two months, pending completion of the trial. The decision release the officer came just hours after a soldier who served as a look out at the post, and was one of the prosecution's main witnesses, retracted much of what he stated during the investigation. The witness, known only to the media as S., also told the court that he had not told the Military Police the truth when initially questioned on the case. A large part of the indictment against R. was based on S.'s testimony to the police. "Most of the soldiers did not care for the girl who was killed. Many did it ... to get rid of the officer," the witness told the court. When asked "did what" by the attorney, the witness responded "lied during questioning." Iman al-Hamas was killed in early October when she approached the Girit outpost in Rafah, which R. commanded, and his soldiers opened fire. R. allegedly fired a stream of bullets into the girl's prone body to "confirm the kill." R. is facing charges of illegal use of weaponry, obstructing justice, violating the rules of engagement to the point of endangering human life and behavior unbecoming an officer. Prosecutor Ronen Katsaf told Israel Radio on Sunday that S. had told the court that he had not seen R. directly shoot al-Hamas through his binoculars, but believed he had seen him shoot her with his own eyes - though he was a considerable distance away. Katsaf believes that a number of soldiers lied in their testimony to the Military Police as many of the soldiers wished to see R. dismissed as company commander, and not because he allegedly killed the child. S. and another look out at the post told the military tribunal that one month before the girl's death, they had tried to have R. dismissed by going to the press with various stories which they claimed illustrated R.'s unethical behavior? 5. Ed Alexander on the "Commie Make-Pretend Indian Prof," http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16917 Seems that the pro-al-Qaeda prof has a history of anti-Semitism as well. Here is the passage from the Alexander article: "Prior to this incident, Churchill's scholarly reputation was based mainly on a squalid tract called A Little Matter of Genocide (1997), in which he argues that the murder of European Jews was not at all a "fixed policy objective of the Nazis," and accuses Jews of seeking to monopolize for themselves all that beautiful Holocaust suffering that other groups would very much like, ex post facto, to share. "He also argues that Jewish "exclusivism" had nearly erased from history the victims of other genocidal campaigns, and that Jewish scholars stressed the Holocaust in order to "construct a conceptual screen behind which to hide the realities of Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinian population." "He not only likened Jewish scholars who have argued for the unique character of the Holocaust to neo-Nazi Holocaust deniers; he said that the Jews are worse than the latter-day Nazis because "those who deny the Holocaust, after all, focus their distortion upon one target. Those [Jewish scholars] who deny all holocausts other than that of the Jews have the same effect upon many." With opinions like this, my guess is that after getting fired in Colorado he will be offered a job at Ben Gurion University. 6. Israel's Fifth Column on Campus: "Israel's Enemies Within" by Myles Kantor, FrontPageMagazine.com, (http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16844) today. The following is based on a speech at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights, New York on January 8, 2005. The first part of the speech is available here: http://www.arutzsheva.org/article.php3?id=4700. Israel won't fall from Hamas, Hezbollah, or some other foreign band of barbarians. Its defeat, may it never come, is within. Presently there's a controversy at Columbia University over classroom depiction of Israel by Arab professors from the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures.[i][1] Consider this pair of remarks: "I want people to boycott Israeli institutes." "I think the de-Zionisation of Israel is a pre-condition for peace; I have no doubt about that." One of the Columbia professors? A Palestinian professor at Birzeit University or Al-Quds University? Make that Israeli Ilan Pappe, a politics professor at Haifa University.[ii][2] Pappe's anti-Zionism is widespread in the Israeli professoriate. Consider this abstract of an article by law professor Andrei Marmor, from the University of Southern California and previously Tel Aviv University: "the article examines the distinction between Israel's alleged entitlement to the territories it occupied and resettled during the war of independence and those it occupied and resettled in 1967, arguing that from a moral perspective both episodes of conquest are tainted with illegitimacy, and that the former does not fare any better than the latter.[iii][3] Or Tel Aviv University political science professor Yoav Peled, who wrote of his niece's murder in a suicide bombing in 1997: On September 4, my 14-year-old niece, Smadar, was killed with four others in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. Smadar's grieving parents, Nurit Peled-Elhanan and Rami Elhanan, have courageously put the blame for their daughter's tragic death right where it belongs: in the lap of the intransigent government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. To give concrete expression to their feelings, they invited a representative of the Palestinian Authority and former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, architect of the peace process, to speak at Smadar's funeral.[iv][4] Surpassing Peled, Ben-Gurion University politics lecturer Neve Gordon went to Ramallah in February 2002 and clasped hands with Yasser Arafat.[v][5] Israeli anti-Zionism isn't only in academia. Israeli director Keren Yedaya said during her acceptance of the Camera D'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival: "... I come from Israel, and we are responsible for the slavery of three million Palestinians."[vi][6] Similar is documentary filmmaker and sixth-generation Israeli Yulie Gerstel's My Terrorist. In August 1978, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist Fahad Mihyi and an accomplice machine-gunned an El Al flight crew in London. The attack murdered a flight attendant and wounded four others including Gerstel, who was a flight attendant. Sentenced to four life sentences, Gerstel located Mihyi in 2000 and recounts in her director's statement: I found Fahad Mihyi in English prison, lonely and deserted. Both his family and the PFLP had disowned him. After corresponding with Fahad I visited him in prison. He expressed deep remorse, said that he had turned away from political violence and was now pro-peace. I decided I wanted to help get him released.[vii][7] A recent case of outright Israeli collaboration with the enemy is Tali Fahima, who went to Jenin to be a human shield for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade commander Zakariya Zubeidi.[viii][8] In this solidarity for her negation, Fahima follows Israeli "peace activists" like Uri Avnery, who volunteered to shield Arafat.[ix][9] Other Israelis prescribe remedies that would be merely ridiculous if their consequences weren't so hideous. Left-wing activist Yehudith Harel writes of allowing large numbers of Palestinians to enter Israel: I don't think that if any refugees returned - even in big numbers - that it would be at the expense of the present Israeli citizens. On the contrary, I can easily fantasize that in case Israel agreed to absorb a big number of Palestinian refugees, together with them would come not only an immense human potential, but also a huge international aid. This beautiful and rich human resource, together with the big financial aid, could not only boost the local economy but also contribute to our cultural richness and diversity.[x][10] They advocate annihilation and call it peace. Some Jews can't handle victory; they seek to abolish the embodiment by Israel of so much Jewish blood and hope. That miracle creates burdens, and some would rather surrender than defend. May they destroy only themselves. Notes [i][1] See Jennifer Senior, "Columbia's Own Middle East War," New York Magazine, January 17, 2005, http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/urban/education/features/10868/ and Uriel Heilman, "Non-academic debate," The Jerusalem Post Magazine, December 23, 2004, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1103776317627&apage=1. [ii][2] See http://www.labournet.net/world/0209/pappe1.html. Likewise, Oxford professor Avi Shlaim, who grew up in Israel, has stated, "I'm for a boycott of Israeli goods and against a boycott of Israeli academics. Israel does 40 percent of its trade with the EU and very little of its trade with the US, so EU economic sanctions against Israel would be effective and I'm in favor of them, as well as an arms embargo." "Israel's Occupation Turns 35: Avi Shlaim on History and the Current Impasse," Middle East Report 223 (Summer 2002), http://www.merip.org/mer/mer223/223_shlaim_interview.html. In a January 25 debate in London on the motion "Zionism today is the real enemy of the Jews," Shlaim argued for the motion with Ha'aretz correspondent Amira Hass and British professor Jacqueline Rose. See http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/12898/. [iii][3] Andrei Marmor, "Entitlement to Land and the Right of Return: An Embarrassing Challenge for Liberal Zionism," USC Law and Public Policy Research Paper No. 03-17 (2003), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=424622. Tel Aviv University linguistics professor Tanya Reinhart similarly claims, "Israel's birth was in sin." Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002), p. 52. [iv][4] Yoav Peled, "Blame the Government for Israeli Deaths," Los Angeles Times, September 12, 1997. [v][5] For a photograph, see http://www.nevegordon.blogspot.com/. [vi][6] See http://www.festival-cannes.com/news_archive.php?langue=6002&actu=2825&retour=index.php. [vii][7] See http://www.wmm.com/catalog/press/myterr_presskit.pdf. [viii][8] Orit Shohat, "Throwing the book at Tali Fahima," Ha'aretz, December 30, 2004, http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=521424. [ix][9] "Uri Avnery To Act As Human Shield for Arafat," Gush Shalom (Peace Bloc) Press Release, September 14, 2003, http://www.countercurrents.org/pa-avnery150903.htm. One of Avnery's books is titled Israel Without Zionists. [x][10] Yehudith Harel, "One or Two States - Return or Not?" Academic Left Mailing List of Haifa University, July 17, 2003, http://www.one-state.org/articles/2003/harel2.htm. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

YOUR BLATANT FILM FESTIVAL SKEW IS IMPROPER Posted by Marion Dreyfus, February 7, 2005.

Mr. Lowry, As a documentary film festival judge (UNESCO Documentary, EFLA Festival, and New York Festivals), I am saddened and baffled by the choices MoMA seems to have made in its upcoming film festival, where all your choices seem to involve decidedly anti-Israel postures and direction, and in fact all of selections have a distinctly anti-Zionist, anti-Jewish cast. Because there are numerous alternative films that are acceptable and accurate (as opposed to the unreliable and anhistorical 'reportage' to be found in the to-me flawed Arab films you have chosen), I am surprised you have apparently scheduled, despite the incendiary nature of your deliberately unfair slate of films, to omit a single balancing perspective. I can think of no justification for such deliberately outlandish choices, given the heavy demographic representation of your audiences. Nor do I understand on an intellectual level why the Museum would purposely opt for films the veracity of which has been shown to be less than sterling. The chance to offer films showing another view is open and available, and there are candidayes galore for the Museum to choose among. Yet the provocative refusal to present a decent balance of views, and the alarming incitement to anti-Semitism encouraged by your four pro-untruth, pro-Arabist 'documentaries' elected for exhibition speaks to a pernicious current of animus I find alarming and very, very regrettable. What is one to think of a curatorial myopia that ignores a glaring imbalance of four rudely contemptuous efforts aiming at besmirching the Jews? What band of responsible museum-docents or curators could justify these deliberately nasty and unfair choices? Endowments will fall, and support for the grandness that was once the MoMA will likewise suffer, as indeed it deserves to, given your inexplicable (outside of graft and bribery) fingers-in-the-eye offensive choices. Regretfully, Marion DS Dreyfus, film critic and festival judge To Go To Top

THE PASSING OF A LEGEND - ADIR ZIK Posted by the Hebron Community, February 6, 2005.

The Jewish Community of Hebron mourns the death of Adir Zik, a true lover of Eretz Yisrael, Am Yisrael and Torat Yisrael. Adir Zik, who worked tirelessly to save Eretz Yisrael despite his illness, represented the ideals upon which the true Zionist ideal was founded. His Arutz 7 Friday morning radio show, Zikukim shel Adir (Adir's Fireworks) was a classic example of authentic Jewish nationalism at its best. Adir, a close friend of Hebron's Jewish community, used his talents to further the causes in which he believed. In particular, his films produced for Hebron's Jewish community, depicted to people in Israel and around the world the beauty and significance of Israel's first Jewish city. His passing is a tremendous loss to all the Jewish people, to Eretz Yisrael and to Hebron. May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and know no more sorrow. These are articles written about him. "Hard Talk" by Herb Keinon, The Jerusalem Post, November 8, 1998. Charges that he is 'the national inciter' don't deter Arutz 7 radio commentator Adir Zik from attacking those he sees as betraying the Land of Israel. These are difficult, trying and confusing days for the ideological Right - for the hard-core settlers and their supporters inside the Green Line. Parts of Judea and Samaria - the land they dreamt of, sacrificed for, but ultimately failed to convince the nation that it needs - are being torn away before their very eyes. Binyamin Netanyahu, whose election the ideological Right and settlement movement worked tirelessly for, and whose victory they blessed with the recitation of the sheheheyanu prayer, has just signed away 13 percent of the "heartland." Another man who has long been their defender, Ariel Sharon, gave his tacit agreement to the accord. And to make matters even worse, some 75% of the nation - according to the polls - support the agreement. At a time when Netanyahu calls placing 16% of Judea and Samaria under the sole jurisdiction of Yasser Arafat an "achievement," and Sharon dubs the agreement a "good" one, the ideological Right must be asking itself where it can turn to hear a voice of clarity, of sanity, a voice expressing truth that it sees as so obvious, so clear. And then, in thousands of cars and homes around the country, the radio is clicked on - to Arutz 7 of course - and a throaty, gravelly voice bleats, "This is zikukim [fireworks] of Adir." The ideological hard-right has found its voice - it belongs to Adir Zik. "The media are celebrating," Zik said on his weekly radio program on the Friday that the Wye memorandum was signed. "There is an agreement, they will sign. And I feel like a woman whose husband they have taken out to kill. People say to her, 'my you look nice, your dress is so pretty, your hair looks so lovely.' "But," Zik says, drawing out his words for dramatic impact, "they are k-i-l-l-i-n-g her husband and she will be a w-i-d-o-w. Yet they still say to her, 'you look so nice, you dieted, and lost weight.' Yes, just like Eretz Yisrael, which will also have a very narrow waist." For the last six years Zik has broadcast every Friday morning at 9 a.m. on Arutz 7. He has been vilified by the Left as the "national inciter" and praised by the Right for having the "courage to say what must be said." He has been called "the Israeli Rush Limbaugh" - the hugely popular American right-wing radio commentator - and the settlers' equivalent to Nahum Barnea, Yediot Ahronot's top left-wing columnist. He likens himself to the prophet Jeremiah - goodness knows he is angry and pessimistic enough. Zik's program, according to Arutz 7 figures, is heard by tens of thousands of people each week. He is less a framer of opinion then a microphone for the opinions that people in this particular sociological group generally express among themselves, in the privacy of their living rooms. It is in this role as microphone that Zik's words are so interesting. With further withdrawal from Judea and Samaria under way, what the ideological Right and the ideological settlers do will have impact on us all. Zik's weekly shows, and what he writes every Friday in his column for the National Religious Party newspaper Hatzofeh, provide a peephole glimpse into this mindset. And what exactly is Zik saying these days? First of all that Wye is an unmitigated disaster, and Netanyahu a colossal mistake. "I must say that I am in complete shock," says Zik, sitting on the patio of his spacious house in Jerusalem's Givat Hamivtar neighborhood. "But I cannot come to Netanyahu with complaints, because he said all along that he intended to go ahead with Oslo." Zik says the Right should be making a concerted effort to topple Netanyahu. "The moment there is a 13% withdrawal it will mark the beginning of the end of the settlements," he says. "You see Palestinian building going on everywhere. They will strangle the settlements. It is a death sentence." Moreover, Zik says that cutting away land is liable to spell the end of the state. "The state, as a state, has no meaning for me. The state is not the be-all and end-all." Instead, it only has significance if imbued with Jewish content. And how can it be imbued with Jewish content, he asks, if it turns a cold shoulder to the physical areas that pulsate with Jewish history? "If I have no right to Hebron," he says, "where Grandpa Abraham and Grandma Sarah are buried, then what right do I have to Ashkelon, Ramle, Lod, or Ramat Aviv Gimmel? What difference does it make if one was captured in 1948, and the other in 1967? It is only a difference of 19 years." Separate the state from Judea and Samaria, Zik argues passionately, and you are severing the country from its roots. A country severed from its Jewish roots, and the values those roots represent, is of little interest to him. "What am I, Mussolini?" he asks. "The state does not have significance in and of itself. The state is only significant if it advances the Jewish people, but how can it advance the Jewish people, if it cuts itself off from Jewish history?" Picking up a pastry, Zik holds it up and - in his earthy manner - says, "If I have a cake, and fill it with dung, I can't then call it a chocolate cake. It is a dung cake. The same is true of the Jewish state. If it does not have anything Jewish in it, it means nothing to me." For Zik, Israeli secular culture is little more than dung. And he says this, not as someone who has lived all his life in a sheltered, religious, homogeneous community, but rather as someone who was born in the secular milieu, and worked in it much of his life. Zik was born in Tel Aviv 59 years ago to a strongly socialist family. "I have 400 relatives," he says, "and I am unable to eat in any of their homes. Not one of them is religious. Well, that's not exactly true. My nephew is in a cult." At the age of five, because of asthma, Zik's parents sent him to a moshav near Jerusalem, where he lived with a religious family. That experience was life-transforming, and - by the time he was a teenager - he became religious. Zik studied geography and history at Hebrew University, and then went on for a master's in television and film production at the University of California, Los Angeles. When he returned, he joined Israel Television and worked there for over 20 years, at one point as head of ITV's documentaries. His severe criticism of secular culture, he points out time and time again, comes from a good inside knowledge of that culture. Currently he directs films and documentaries independently. "The Left hates me," Zik says, "because I am one of theirs. It's the same way they can never forgive Uri Zohar [entertainer turned haredi rabbi]. I know their milieu, I know them. We are their apostates. The apostate is always hated." Speaking of Zohar, Zik says he has a meeting with him scheduled later in the day to talk about a film they are co-producing on the newly Orthodox. In the same way, Zik charges, the Left hates Arutz 7 because it plays in their arena. He says that Arutz 7 is not a pirate station like the others that merely play Hassidic music and preach fire and brimstone. "We have a news department, we have commentary, and that annoys them. We play on their field." The secular Labor Zionists, Zik says, view the state as a house that they built. "They have always sat in the front room," Zik explains, likening the secular Labor Zionist to a man sitting comfortably in a leather chair in his living room. "But all of a sudden things have changed. All of a sudden there are the dosim [a derogatory term for the religious] - Aguda, Shas, the NRP, the settlers. Look what you have today," Zik says, "they [the Left] hate the haredim because they don't go into the army, and the settlers because they go into the army and are going to take over the army." "The Labor Zionist sits in his front room and a haredi in black clothes shows up at the door, one of the participants in this house, in this democracy," Zik continues, getting more and more into his illustration. "He asks, what the hell do you want?" The haredi answers - "money for yeshivot." "You draft dodger," the Zionist replies, "take the money and go away." Then one of those Sephardim from Shas comes and knocks at the door. "Take some money, you parasite," he yells after him. "And then I come, the national religious. I enter the front room, look around and don't ask for anything. I sit next to him, pat the arm of his chair and say 'nice place.' "What do you want," he asks. "I don't want anything, I say. I'm your partner, I just want to sit here with you." "Look at us," Zik says. "look at how many kippot there are in the army, in computers, in the hospitals. But this the Left can't tolerate, this is going too far, this means I am stepping on his toes." Zik says this trampled-toes feeling of the Left is behind the campaign of the last few years to close down Arutz 7. "We are playing on their field," Zik repeats, "and they don't like it." One of the problems with this theory is that the attempts to close Arutz 7, indeed the recent police investigation of its main players - including Zik - have only intensified under Netanyahu's government. There are reports that indictments will be handed down against top Arutz-7 personnel for operating the pirate station. The reason, Zik says - seeing a conspiracy - is because the Left, intent on closing the station, has retained sources of power in the State Attorney's Office and in the media. As for Netanyahu's silence on the matter, Zik remarks: "Netanyahu is someone with an American education - use and throw away. There are no obligations. You need someone now, use him. You don't need him tomorrow, he can go to hell. This is how he has acted toward the national religious and toward Arutz 7." The house that the secular Zionists built, Zik declares, is without values - a poor imitation of American society. He stops a minute, after receiving a puzzled look, and corrects himself. "Sure it has humanist values. But for that I have to die for this land? I could have stayed in the US, after receiving a master's. I could have been a big director, and come to visit here every once in a while to give a few speeches. There are democracies all over the world. I came back for a Jewish state. I need to see a Broadway show in Hebrew? If Jewish content is not poured into the state, who needs it?" Zik maintains that severing Judea and Samaria from the State of Israel is severing the body from its pulse. By signing away parts of the land, Zik argues, the government is stripping away Jewish content, not infusing the state with it. Words such as these strengthen the arguments of critics of religious nationalism who say that a spiritual crisis awaits the hard-core religious right as major withdrawals are planned from the West Bank. The fear is that their very belief in the state - in the need for a state - will radically diminish as the state turns its back on what they deem most dear: Judea and Samaria. "The state is a tool to ensure the existence of the nation," Zik says. "If it turns into a tool working to destroy the nation, who needs it? I am not a Zionist," he declares, expressing his frustration at how the Zionist enterprise has let him down. "I am a Jew who lives in Eretz Yisrael. It doesn't make a difference to me if someone is a Zionist. Any Jew who lives in this land is involved in it. I don't give a damn if he is Zionist. He is my brother." Since Zik links the Jewish content of the state to its ties to the territories, a prime minister who rends those ties needs to be toppled - even if the prime minister is from the Right. As such, the time - he says - has come to topple Netanyahu. "What I get in his stead is my problem later," Zik says. "I will put up another candidate. The government has to know that if it adopts this type of policy, it will fall." With Ehud Barak as prime minister, he says, "we would at least be able to organize demonstrations." Despite his harsh and outspoken criticism of Netanyahu, Zik, who had no compunctions - and still has no compunctions - about calling Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres traitors, is more reluctant in using this word when talking about the prime minister. "He has been swept along," Zik determines, referring to Netanyahu. "There is no doubt that he has betrayed the idea of Eretz Yisrael. But today there is a fixed reality. Netanyahu always said that he would go ahead with Oslo. We deluded ourselves in thinking that he would not go along with it. But he never lied about this to us." The Rabin government, Zik says, is a different story altogether. In the heat of the battle over Oslo in 1995, Zik called Rabin a traitor more than once on his radio show. He has not changed his mind. "I was very sharp in my criticism of Rabin," Zik says in an understatement. "I said it is a traitorous government. I do not take it back. If I were the prime minister, I would have tried them [ministers of the previous government] right away. "They always say that I am an inciter," Zik continues. Then, switching to English for added emphasis, he declares, "I don't give a shit." Done cursing, it's back to Hebrew: "You can call me what you want. Who called me an inciter? Israeli television filmed an Eyal initiation ceremony knowing full well that it was a bluff and cooperated with the GSS in its provocations against the Right." Though Zik says that the term inciter does not bother him, he quickly adds that he called on people not to take weapons to the anti-Oslo demonstrations in the summer of 1995. He brings the tape of the radio show when he made those remarks, eager to dispel any disbelief. His voice, he seems keen on proving, did not have anything to do with spilling Rabin's blood. "Oslo is the destruction of the State of Israel," Zik says, his loud tones carrying through his back yard. "I believe that today as well." Asked if he erred in calling Rabin a traitor, Zik says, "It was not a mistake - it was the truth. The person who gives Eretz Yisrael to the Arabs, who promises the Golan Heights to Syria, whose Knesset majority rested on Arabs and who buys a traitor with a Mitsubishi - Alex Goldfarb - then, yes, he is a traitor. The whole government was a traitorous government. I don't take back one word of what I said." Then, don't these words make him an inciter? "What does it mean that I am an inciter?" Zik asks. "Avishai Raviv said constantly to [Yigal] Amir, go kill him, go kill the prime minister. Raviv's the big inciter, nothing happened to him. People called Sharon a murderer and [Menachem] Begin a murderer [during the Lebanon War], nobody called them inciters. I don't take a word back." Zik may not get excited that he is called an inciter, but he does get excited when he talks. He spices his words with curses, throws in some Yiddish here, some Arabic there, a little English for good measure. He bounces from one topic to the next, often dropping names ("Yankele Neeman called last night"). He speaks in inflections that are imitations of others. "I try to speak to my listeners at eye level," he says of his radio show. "I don't try to make them think I know more than they do." Imitating a rabbi with a European accent, he says, "You'll never hear me say the Rashi on that verse." The format of Zik's show, which is rebroadcast on Tuesday evenings at 11 p.m. and is in its sixth year, is simple. Zik talks for 45 minutes about anything Zik wants to talk about. "When I started the show, there were a couple of possible formats. Either I could take calls from listeners, or interview others. But, I thought, I have so much to say, why let someone else talk, I'll talk." And talk he does. Sometimes it's about politics, sometimes it's about his wife, his 91-year-old mother - Savta Bronsha - or his six kids. But don't get the impression that this is some warm, cuddly, fireside-chat type of show. "He is a very in-your-face person," says Eve Harow, a settlement activist from Efrat. "Those who don't like him really don't like him, and those who do really do. It's hard to have lukewarm feelings about Adir Zik. He is not a parve kind of guy." Harow says it is good that there is an Adir Zik out there on the airwaves, because "it makes us look moderate. Those of us who say strong things in a more polite fashion don't look so crazy when we have someone saying it out there like Adir does." Another settlement activist, who did not want to be identified, says that as far as influence goes, Zik is not terribly important. "People listen for an hour or two and get their jollies," says the activist. "What he does is tap into a raw nerve within most of his listeners. It is a release. They constantly hear commentators on the other side, on Israel Radio and Army Radio, dumping on them, and then they have Adir to dump on the other side. He expresses what they would say if they were on the radio - without diplomacy, without couching his words in niceties." But Sam Lehman-Wilzig, a professor who teaches political science and communications at Bar-Ilan University, says that Zik does more than just tap into a raw nerve - he gives people on the far Right a feeling of legitimacy. "Once these views are on the airwaves, and not just among the hevre, then on a psychological level they become more official," Lehman-Wilzig maintains. "He lends them more legitimacy. Zik says things that others may not want to voice out loud, and strengthens people's ideas, even if they are ideas that they are not willing to express because they are not politically correct." One issue that is not politically correct, yet which Zik has been instrumental in putting on the public agenda, is the Avishai Raviv question. Nary a program goes by when Raviv's name does not come up. Zik is hell-bent on not letting the Raviv issue fall off the public agenda - whether to tell listeners the number of Raviv's bank account, where Raviv ate dinner the day before last, or what his monthly stipend is from the GSS. "Understand something," he says, leaning over the patio table, ignoring phone call after phone call coming to his office/home. "Raviv was part of the offensive war against the national religious camp. We were dehumanized, demonized. It was all planned from the beginning." In Zik's world view, the Labor government, when it came to power in 1992, was dead set on ceding land. The problem was the settlers, who enjoyed support among the nation. The government set out to weaken their support by dehumanizing them, he maintains. Here Zik inserts a rare word of praise for Shimon Peres who, he says, never spoke in an insulting manner against the settlers, neither as foreign minister nor as prime minister. "But look what Rabin said about people," Zik says. "He called them parasites, pariahs, propellers, crybabies and ayatollahs. Rabin knew all the time about the existence of Raviv as a provocateur. Raviv never brought information - he just engaged in provocation at the behest of the GSS." Zik says Raviv used to turn to him continuously to publicize the actions of his organization, Eyal. He "drove me nuts that I should publicize what he did. I told him once, 'You want to start an underground, start an underground - I don't have to give you publicity.' "Look," Zik says, "there is room for political disagreements. I accept that there are those who say Eretz Yisrael is important, and those who say there is no choice but to make concessions - but for the government to set out to delegitimize and dehumanize 50 percent of the country is unbelievable. Just unbelievable." On a recent show, Zik broadcast an appeal to Raviv. "I spoke to him directly," he recalls. "I said, the rope around you is getting tighter - eventually your day in court will come. There are elements out there who will do everything they can to ensure that you don't get to court. If you want to get there alive and healthy, get a video camera, sit in front of it and talk. Tell everything. Everything, everything, everything. Who ran you, who paid you, what they told you to do. Put one copy of the video in a bank safe, and the other give to one of the papers - I said Hatzofeh - and tell them that you will call every three days. Tell them that if you don't call in three days, they should publicize the tape. This way you have a chance of safely reaching trial." Zik says he wants to see a national commission of inquiry set up to investigate the Raviv matter. Otherwise, he says, Raviv will eventually be tried for something relatively minor. "The GSS will tell him to shut up, he will shut up, sit nine months in jail, and that will be the end of that. Unless there is a commission of inquiry." Zik's concern with Raviv is not without self-interest. Getting to the kernel of his obsession, he says, "I want the Left to know, if they accuse me of incitement, let's look at what they did - their people, their agents, the GSS. Let's look at how they used the GSS as a political tool, not only a security tool. "This is not my way of clearing my name," Zik insists, "but had they not all said that Adir Zik was the national inciter, I probably would not be dealing with this issue with such vigor." "The Passing of a Legend - Adir Zik," Feb 06, '05 / 27 Shevat 5765 (IsraelNN.com) The news of the passing of Adir Zik was made official a short time ago following his long battle with cancer. A lover of Israel, a man who exemplified a love of the Torah, the Holy Land, and G-d's people, Zik championed the battle for maintaining the integrity of the Holy Land. Through his Arutz-7 Radio program "Adir's Fireworks", he spread the Torah message, one of truth and unyielding compromise, accompanied by a willingness to sacrifice for the glorification of the Land of Israel and the Chosen People. His efforts spread across the country and then abroad, seeing the clear dangers which threatened the State of Israel following the 1993 signing of the Oslo Agreement. It was then that he launched his tenacious battle against the Oslo process, one that he continued, despite fighting his illness, almost to his last breath. Adir Zik, who died today following his battle with cancer had many a political nemesis, but he earned the respect of fellow journalists, authors, and public officials. Zik found an open door in many Hassidic courts, while he was a familiar face in the National Religious camp and many a secular kibbutz. His love of Israel and the Jewish People was contagious, impacting anyone who was touched by him. Prof. Eidelberg is a political scientist, author and lecturer; co-founder and president of The Foundation For Constitutional Democracy and is the President of the Yamin Israel movement. He can be reached by mail at 244 Madison Avenue, Suite 427, New York, NY 10016, Tel: 212-372-3752, and by email at Constitution@usa.net To Go To Top

THE BIG LIE Posted by Dafna Yee, February 6, 2005.

This is an excellent article even though I don't agree with the author's statement that the lie about the existence of "Palestine" is "the greatest lie ever perpetrated on the whole of humanity." There are other lies which are certainly equal contenders such as the one that the Jews killed Jesus or that the Jews were "subhumans" while the Nazis were the "master race." Aside from that small difference of opinion, this article is definitely a must read and I highly commend the author. It was written by Sharon Nader Sloan, Esq, a Lebanese-American. It appeared on World Net Daily (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28222). Ms Sloan can be reached by email at naderlaw@earthlink.net "The West Bank is occupied Palestinian land." This phase is repeated, as a given, by all the governments of the world and by the entire news media, etc., etc. This idea that the West Bank is occupied Palestinian land has been accepted by almost everyone. Yet, it is, in fact, the greatest lie ever perpetrated on the whole of humanity. If you think this is an outlandish statement please read on and decide for yourself. Palestinians claim that Palestine is their land, and that Jerusalem is their capital, and that Israel is occupying their land. To resist occupation they have the right to send suicide bombers into crowded bus stations, pizza parlors, etc., and kill innocent men, women, and children. And all Arab and Muslin countries support them in their claims and actions against Israel. Because of this occupation of Palestinian land by Israel, because of this crime committed against their Palestinian brothers, all Arabs hate Israel and want to destroy it. To anyone who is familiar with the facts, and has an objective eye, all this must be fascinating. Because never before has a complete lie, on such a large scale, been so successful. First, if Arab animosity toward Israel is based on their love and support for their Palestinian brothers, and in wanting their Palestinian brothers to have their own state, where was that love and support before the Jewish state existed? Where were they when the Kingdom of Jordan ruled Palestine? Why were they not accusing Jordan of occupying Palestinian land? Why did not the Arab world and the United Nations call on Jordan to stop occupying Palestinian land? Second, where were the Palestinians themselves, with all their grievances and claims, when Jordan occupied the whole West Bank, including Jerusalem? Did you know that? Did you know that for 19 years Jordan occupied and ruled the whole West Bank, including Jerusalem? Why didn't they clamor for a Palestinian state then? All this time, did we hear a word about Palestine being occupied by the Kingdom of Jordan? Did we hear anything about a Palestinian state? Or about Jerusalem being the capital of Palestine? No, we did not. Why not? Because their never existed a Palestinian state. And in the entire history of nations, Jerusalem was never the capital of any country other than that of ancient Israel and modern Israel. So how can there be a claim on Jerusalem as the capital of a state that never existed? One of the problems here is that so few people know the history of the world. Hence, lies and more lies, repeated often enough, are assumed to be facts. I have heard many scholars, including an Arab journalist, question the very notion of a Palestinian people. What, they ask, makes a people? Well, there are four elements that define a people: language, religion, culture, and cuisine. For example, the Chinese and Japanese are both Oriental. Still, they are two different peoples, because they each have a different language, a different religion, a different culture, and a different cuisine. The Palestinians speak the same language, follow the same religion, manifest the same culture, and eat the same cuisine as all the other Arabs. They are really Arabs who happen to live in a region called Palestine. Palestine is not, and never was, the name of a country, or the name of a people. It is the name of a region - just like Siberia is a region, not a country. There is no Siberian country, nor is there a Siberian people. It is a region. Just like the Sahara is a region, not a country. There is no Saharan country, nor is there a Saharan people. The Arabs living in that region are Libyans, Moroccans, etc., etc. It is a region. Because Palestine is a region, not a country, England was able to carve out half of it and give it to the Arabs living on the other side of the Jordan River and call it the Kingdom of Jordan. Because Palestine is a region the United Nations was able to divide the rest of it between the Jews and the Arabs living there. Had the Arabs accepted the United Nations resolution there would have been a newly created Arab state called Palestine. Instead they rejected the United Nations compromise and went to war to destroy Israel. They lost the war. Hence, no Palestinian state. Here are some cold facts. King David built the city of Jerusalem, and King Solomon, David's son, built the holy temple. This commonwealth of Israel lasted for a thousand years. There was only one break, when, 400 years after King David, the Babylonian invaders occupied the land for 70 years. Then, with the help of Cyrus the Great of Persia - yes, Persia - Israel came back to the land, rebuilt the temple, and ruled for another 600 years. Then the Romans came and ruled the land, then the Crusaders ruled the land, then the Ottoman Empire ruled the land, then the British Empire ruled the land, then Israel returned to its homeland and built a modern Jewish state. It was never - repeat, never - a Palestinian state. So what is all this talk about occupied Palestinian land? They certainly have a right to live there freely and happily. Nobody wants to move them away from their land. But from where comes the right for a Palestinian state? Is it because they live there? Imagine, if the Mexican-American community in California, whose numbers are greater than the number of Palestinians in the West Bank, decides tomorrow to claim that the United States is occupying their land, because they live there and they want their own Mexican state. Imagine, if when the U.S. government says, "No, you can live here but you cannot have sovereignty, you cannot have your own state," they start sending suicide bombers, shooters, mortars, etc., etc. into the rest of the country, what do you think would happen? This is precisely why there was never any suggestion of a Palestinian state; not under the Romans, not under the Crusaders, not under the Turks, not under the English, and not under the Arab Kingdom of Jordan, not until after Israel was again established in its homeland. I believe it is the big lie of our generation and we are all buying into it. Whatever you believe, don't you think these facts deserve to be raised when discussing Middle East policies? Thank you for reading this paper. Dafna Yee, is director of Jewish Watch Dog (JWD). Her website address is http://jwd-jewishwatchdog.home.comcast.net To Go To Top

VIOLENCE: BLAME THE VICTIM, REWARD THE PERPETRATOR Posted by Israel Zwick, February 6, 2005.

The Department of Psychology at the University of California Los Angeles issues a newsletter as part of its School Mental Health Project. This project is partially supported by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. The Winter, 2005 issue had a feature article on "Bullying." In general, the article was comprehensive, well balanced, and supported by research. However, there were several aspects that were disconcerting, with widespread implications for educational, political, and social issues. The authors cited a recent article in the American Educational Research Journal by Watts and Erevelles. These authors studied school violence from the perspective of "the intersection of critical race theory and materialistic disability studies." They concluded that "school violence is the result of the structural violence of oppressive social conditions that force students (especially low-income, male African-American and Latino students) to feel vulnerable, angry, and resistant to the normative expectations of prison-like school environments." As a result of this and similar research, the UCLA newsletter called for "comprehensive systemic change." The authors wrote: "When a student misbehaves, a natural reaction is to want the youngster to experience, and others to see, consequences. It is hoped that public awareness of consequences will deter problems. For these reasons, a considerable amount of school time is devoted to discipline and classroom management. "To these ends, schools increasingly over rely on negative consequences and control techniques. In doing so, school staff model behavior that can foster rather than counter development of negative values and can produce other forms of undesired behavior. Moreover, the tactics often make schools look and feel more like prisons than community treasures. "To move beyond over reliance on punishment and control strategies, there is ongoing advocacy for social skills training, positive behavior support... asset building, and character education. Relatedly, there are calls for greater home involvement, with emphasis on enhanced parent responsibility for their children's behavior and learning." Ostensibly, this UCLA logic appears to be sensible and rationale. Let's say there is a fifth grade class with a violent, aggressive student. Let's call him by the generic name "Johnny" to avoid ethnic identification. Johnny is labeled "a troubled, at-risk student." He is assigned to a guidance counselor who will pull him out of class twice per week to have a chat, and be a support for him. A school social worker will be assigned to the case. She will contact the family and try to arrange assistance for domestic issues. Johnny will be eligible for a specially funded after-school program. In this program, he will get individual homework assistance, he will get to play in the school gym, and will even get free pizza with a can of soda. With all of this love and attention, Johnny will no longer be violent and aggressive. There is another child in this class of 30 students. Let's call him "Jimmy." Jimmy comes to school every day, a little disheveled and a little dirty. Jimmy is hurting inside, but no one knows it because Jimmy doesn't bother anyone and doesn't cause any trouble. One day, Jimmy gets up from his seat, walks over to the bulletin board, and sets fire to it. Suddenly, the teacher notices Jimmy. "Jimmy, what got into you," the teacher exclaims, "you were always such a quiet, good boy." Jimmy was sent to the school board for a suspension hearing. At the hearing, the truth about Jimmy's domestic turbulence was revealed. Finally, Jimmy got the help he needed from Family Court. In many respects, this situation is analogous to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Two recent reports from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (1) and UN Development Programme (2) reveal some interesting statistics: There are more than 5000 different ethnic groups in the world distributed in 190 independent countries. In two countries out of three, there is at least one substantial ethnic or religious minority group representing at least 10% of the population. Around 900 million people in the world face some form of discrimination because of their ethnic, racial, or religious identities. There are about 22 million refugees in the world under the auspices of the UNHCR. Of these, 13 million are living outside of their country of persecution. As you are reading this, there are about 35 ethnic or communal conflicts going on around the world, mostly in Africa and Asia. Yet, there are few people in the world that are aware of these many ethnic conflicts and refugees. However, almost everyone knows about the 3 million Arabs that have been living in the UNRWA refugee camps for 55 years. The whole world seems to be concerned about the "plight of the Palestinian refugees." They are always in the news because they dispatch suicide bombers to blow up buses, schools, and hotels. Why do young men don a suicide bomb belt and go out to kill themselves, along with 30 others whom they never met? According to UCLA logic, they do this because they feel frustrated, angry, and desperate. Why do they feel that way? Because they have been living under "harsh, Israeli military occupation" since 1967. If they only had a little microstate of their own, they wouldn't feel that way. So according to UCLA logic, remove the "occupation," give them their own state, and they will throw away their bomb belts and return to raising goats and growing olives. The same logic can be applied to the shooting of Qassam rockets in the Gaza Strip. Why do the Arabs keep shooting Qassam rockets at civilian homes? Because Jewish settlers came to Gush Katif and built nice homes, schools, farms, and businesses while the Arabs are still living in squalid refugee camps. So according to UCLA logic, remove the settlers and give the homes, schools, and farms to the Arab refugees. Then the Arabs will be content, and will no longer feel a need to shoot Qassam rockets. That seems like a simple, logical formula for peace and tranquility in the Middle East. To understand the fallacy of applying UCLA logic, one has to understand that there are major differences between a 10-year old school bully and an Arab terrorist. The school bully is still a child who needs to learn respect for life and property. He needs to learn the concepts of diversity, tolerance, and compromise. He needs to learn that there are verbal techniques for resolving conflicts between peers. The Arab leaders who dispatch suicide bombers are mature adults, many of whom have advanced academic or religious training. They should have learned these things already. They should know that barbaric terrorism has no place in civilized society. They should know that conflicts should be resolved through negotiated compromise. Yet the US, UN, and EU are still eager to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at them each year to help them achieve their goal of "an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." Perhaps our world leaders believe that giving the Arabs another state will reduce their violence and help to prevent a nuclear war in the region. The logic is flawed. How long will it be until some more of these other 5000 ethnic groups decide that they would also like to have their own independent mini-state? How long will it be until they learn that to obtain attention, support, and money for their cause, they need to blow up buses, trains, and planes? Footnotes 1. UNHCR, The State of the World's Refugees, 2000 2. UN Development Programme, Human Development Report, 2004 Israel Zwick can be reached by email at israel.zwick@earthlink.net To Go To Top

DOWN GOES ANOTHER "POST-ZIONIST" FRIVOLOUS SLAPP SUIT AGAINST FREE SPEECH Posted by Steven Plaut, February 6, 2005.

1. You may recall Professor Moshe Zimmerman, from the Hebrew University, as one of Israel's worst Far Leftists and "Post-Zionists". Zimmerman is a Professor of German History who has a passionate hatred for "settlers". He denounced Jewish settlers as "Hitlerjugend" and also compared Israeli troops to nazis. It would be hard to find a better reason for not making any financial donations to the Hebrew University. Anyway, it seems that Herr Zimmerman decided a few years back to file a SLAPP suit against Israel's leading daily, Yediot Ahronot. A SLAPP suit is a malicious anti-democratic "libel" suit filed as an attempt to deny free speech and suppress the free expression of one's critics through legal harassment. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. SLAPP suits are prohibited in many parts of the US and there are serious penalties in the law for those who try to use them. Zimmerman was suing the paper because the paper had the nerve to report truthfully Zimmerman's comments about settlers and soldiers being "nazis". Zimmerman claimed these comments were reported by the paper "out of context", as if there could be any proper context in which they would not be outrageous. So he filed a 1.2 million NIS suit against the paper. Friday the suit was thrown out of Tel Aviv District Court by Judge Anat Brun. She not only dismissed the suit as frivolous, but she hit Zimmerman with court costs. In her ruling she went out of her way to denounce Zimmerman's malicious SLAPP tactic. Now as you know, Zimmerman's is not even the most outrageous attempt by an anti-Zionist or anti-Semitic faculty member to use the courts in Israel as an anti-democratic harassment tool for suppressing free speech. An even more malicious and ridiculous SLAPP suit was filed against me by Neve Gordon, an anti-Semitic lecturer in political science at Ben Gurion University. A ruling in that suit is expected soon. Gordon routinely denounces Israel as a fascist, apartheid terrorist state. In his harassment SLAPP suit against me, Gordon claimed he was "libeled" by me because I criticized articles he published, including those by him that were published in anti-Semitic and neonazi web magazines. He believes any criticism of his extremist views is "libel". This is the same Gordon who libeled his own army commander, calling him a war criminal in an article published all over the globe, and who routinely denounces all politicians in Israel fropm the Right and the Left as murderers and war criminals, while insisting that Yassir Arafat was NOT a murderer! I also criticized Gordon's illegal and criminal political activities when he entered Ramallah as part of a group of "solidarity protesters", who were displaying their solidarity with PLO terrorists, and to interfere with Israeli military anti-terror operations going on at the time. Arafat at the time was hiding wanted murderers, including the assassins of an Israeli cabinet minister, in his offices, and Gordon was shown in two Israeli dailies the next day grasping Arafat's paw in affectionate solidarity and support for Arafat's refusal to turn over the murderers. Gordon does not deny engaging in these illegal activities. In fact he is proud of them. He did so as part of an extremist leftist Arab-Jewish group in Israel calling itself "Tayush", which was recently described by Maariv as a violent anti-Israel pro-terror seditious criminal organization. Everything I had written about Gordon concerned his public political activities and articles, and everything I wrote was factually correct and documented in the Israeli media. Gordon did not deny writing any of the articles I criticized, including those of his that were published in the nazi "Zundelsite" and on pro-terror Islamic fundamentalist pro-al-Qaeda web sites. Gordon claimed falsely I had called him a Holocaust Denier. In fact I had claimed he was a groupie of the world's leading Jewish Holocaust Denier Norman Finkelstein. (Gordon had compared Finkelstein ethically to the Prophets in the Bible in some of his columns.) Gordon later admitted to the court that this claim against me had been a lie, although it is a lie still carried on his personal web page. The defeat of Zimmerman's attempt to recruit the Israeli courts as a weapon against free speech does not auger well for Gordon's even more anti-democratic "suit". 2. Cute: 'Stop Suicides, Close Golden Gate Bridge,' Gun Rights Group Suggests (http://www.usnewswire.com/), 2/4/2005. To: State Desk Contact: Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation, 425-454-7012 BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 4 /U.S. Newswire/ - The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today called upon the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to "take an important step for public safety" and close the Golden Gate Bridge, which has been a popular suicide platform for more than 65 years. "Several city supervisors want to ban handguns in San Francisco on the mere presumption that such a law would prevent crimes, accidents and suicides," said SAF Founder Alan M. Gottlieb. "Well, it is an absolute certainty that closing the bridge would prevent suicides, and perhaps many accidents, as well. And just for the sake of argument, one seriously might question whether any of the more than 1,300 fatal falls from the bridge since 1937 were cleverly-concealed homicides." As gun rights groups and activists, including many gay gun owners, began putting momentum to their efforts to defeat a gun ban initiative, Gottlieb turned his attention to the bridge and its horrendous body count. USAToday reported that suicides have tarnished the bridge's reputation. The newspaper recounted how the San Francisco news media created a macabre circus atmosphere in the 1970s and again the 1990s as the body count approached 500 and then 1,000 victims, respectively. "Social do-gooders have gone on the warpath repeatedly against firearms for the most tenuous of reasons," Gottlieb stated. "The Golden Gate Bridge is a proven killer, and media fascination with jumpers is sickening. It has inspired hundreds of people to end their lives. Anyone can simply walk out there and jump, or be pushed. There are no barriers, no waiting in line, and there is nobody assigned to the bridge who can check the mental and emotional history of bridge visitors. It's far easier to walk out on the bridge and jump to your death than it is to purchase a firearm in California. At least when a person buys a gun, he or she must complete a background check and endure a waiting period. But nobody screens possible Golden Gate jumpers. Unlike a gun, you can't even use the bridge to defend yourself against a criminal. "The only way to prevent future tragedies," Gottlieb said, "is to close the bridge. We need to stop the growing body count. It's up to the Board of Supervisors to act, and they should do it immediately. If it saves just one life, closing the Golden Gate Bridge is the right thing to do." The Second Amendment Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, Conn.; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers & an amicus brief & fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right. 3. Please visit www.israel-academia-monitor.com and explore its pages! Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

AS YE SOW... Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, February 6, 2005.

Many traditions have a version of this wisdom. Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians in the Christian New Testament, said it beautifully: He began by saying "As ye sow..." Israel has long been determined to rid the world of one of its rare positive stereotypes about Jews...that they're smart. When will they learn? How many times must Israel give up hundreds or thousands of Arabs with Jewish blood on their hands, either directly or indirectly, for some grossly one-sided "deal." The scenes of thousands of Egyptian and Syrian soldiers, in previous wars, exchanged for a handful of Jews is legendary. Not that Jews weren't captured...but most were simply slaughtered on the spot. And the Syrians are especially famous for their butchery. This at least, however, can be excused as proper treatment by Israel following the Geneva Conventions even if Arabs indulged in barbarity. But how do you explain, time after time, massive Israeli prisoner releases of known terrorist plotters and disembowelers of Jewish babes and other innocents...Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Arafat's own PLO murderers, & Co.? And each time they come back to kill more Jews. As February 2005 began, the Arafatian sweet-talking co-terrorist in a suit, Holocaust denier Mahmoud Abbas, had already become the darling of a deaf, dumb, and blind West. He ran on a platform that was long his position: Israel would not be recognized as a Jewish State, for the goal still remained its destruction...but by "other means." Abbas repeatedly restated his intention to demand that Israel be forced to accept unlimited numbers of allegedly returning Arab refugees so that it would be destroyed democratically. Blown buses bring bad press...And the world, including the Foggy Folks, can largely be counted on to support him and to ignore the one half of Israel's own Jews who were refugees from Arab/Muslim lands, but without almost two dozen other states - like Arabs have to call their own. Gone, apparently, are the stipulations of United Nations Security Council Resolution #242 stating that Israel's pre-'67, Six Day War, 9-mile wide armistice line existence must be gone for good in terms of any future peace agreement. The hard fought wording and idea, which Lord Caradon, Eugene Rostow, and other architects of the Resolution succeeded in implanting, that the latter must be substituted by "secure and recognized boundaries" in return for any such peace is now no longer even discussed. Even the friendly Bush team, with its new Secretary of State, rants and lectures Israel over the contiguity of the Arabs 22nd state - and second, not first, Arab one to emerge on the original borders of 1920 Palestine (Jordan created from almost 80% of the land in 1922) - while demanding that Israel return to its vulnerable, microscopic existence. And what does Israel get for all of this...? A hudna, a temporary ceasefire (Arafat's "Peace of the Quraysh"), designed to buy the Arabs more time to strengthen themselves while the world - including Israel's "friends" - pressures the Jews into more one-side concessions designed to weaken them for the final blow. Arabs think in terms of the big picture... So, back to sowing... With Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice due to arrive shortly in the Middle East to get things moving again regarding so-called peace negotiations, Abbas shot out one demand after another for his temporary ceasefire deal. Among them was the release of additional thousands of Arab prisoners - including murderers. Israel offered to release nine hundred and was told by the Arabs that the offer was "insulting." Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice...and I'm pretty pathetic. Shame on the Israeli officials who would agree to this. But the problem goes beyond the immediate demands. It has to do with the other half of Paul's Epistle to the Galatians: "...so shall ye reap." If Israel didn't have thousands of these killers in its jails, it couldn't be blackmailed into releasing them. America and other nations have a death penalty for those who murder and plot the destruction of their own states. And for those who care, the Hebrew Bible itself, in the revered Ten Commandments, does not say - despite earlier misinterpretations (not uncommon elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible as well) - "Thou shall not kill." It says "Thou shall not murder." There's a difference. Why do Jews have to prove how "liberal" they are by worrying more about those who want nothing more than to kill them and to destroy their sole, reborn state than about their own children and other Jewish innocents? All Arab states certainly have death penalties...and for far less compelling reasons. If known murderers and others with blood on their hands were executed (saving the Israeli taxpayers lots of money as well), then they couldn't be released when the Arabs demanded their predictable next prisoner releases...like one not long ago when the Arabs bargained for the bones of dead Jews they held in return for live comrades. Israel needs to wise up on this and other issues before it's too late - regardless of what the world's hypocrites will say. As ye sow, so shall ye reap... Indeed. Gerald A. Honigman, a Florida educator, has created and conducted counter-Arab propaganda programs for college youth, has lectured on numerous campuses and other platforms, and has publicly debated Arab spokesmen. His articles and op-eds have been published in both the print media and on websites. To Go To Top

THE PEACEMONGERS ARE BACK Posted by Naomi Ragen, February 6, 2005.

God help us. This is all true. This article was written by Caroline Glick. It appeared in the The Jerusalem Post Feb. 4, 2005 Speaking with State Department personnel on Monday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave form to the Palestinian state that now stands at the center of American Middle East policy. "The Israelis," she said, "were going to have to recognize that there was going to have to be land for - contiguous land for the Palestinian state to exist on." Contiguous land? Well, how can there be contiguity between Judea and Samaria on the east and the Gaza Strip on the west unless Israel is split in two? It's simple geography. Either Israel will separate two sections of the Palestinian state or the Palestinian state will divide Israel in two. And now we know where America stands on the issue. The contiguity statement also bodes ill for Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. After all, Israel's control of Jerusalem cuts off the Hebron and Bethlehem areas from Ramallah. And Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley would cut Jericho off from the rest of the Palestinian cities in Judea and Samaria. The most amazing aspect of Rice's statement is that it was made before Israel and the Palestinians have even begun to negotiate. Then again, since the so-called road map is the only plan in town, we already know that America has joined Europe, the UN, Yossi Beilin and Vice Premier Shimon Peres in believing that at the end of the day, Israel will enable the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. That state will share borders with Egypt and Jordan (and after Israel gives the Golan Heights to Syria, with Syria); will encompass all of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip; and will have its capital in Jerusalem. In addition, there will be foreign troops in the areas to prevent Israel from defending itself. On Tuesday, Rice made clear that now that America has joined the bandwagon of those calling for Israel's disembowelment, it should be able to patch up its relations with the EU. In her words, "This great alliance that has faced very grave threats now faces really remarkable opportunities in the world." The first opportunity she mentioned was "the opportunity to support the parties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to try and find a two-state solution." It is odd that the US, in trying to patch up its relations with Europe, has preferred to give in to Europe's Palestinian fetish over say, building on common interests. As Robin Shepherd from the Center for International and Strategic Studies wrote in The Washington Post last week, the core of Europe's rift with America is Europe's emotional and irrational antipathy for Israel. And, as he warned, "Americans should now be aware that on one crucial issue, at least [i.e., Israel], it is Europe, and not America, that needs to clean up its act." All the same, it is hard to feel too betrayed by America when the charge to strengthen Palestinian terrorists at the expense of Israel's national security is being led today - just as it was in 1993 - by the Israeli government. Thursday, the "security cabinet" - stacked with security geniuses like Shimon "Arafat's Great" Peres and Haim "Israel is Bad" Ramon - decided to release 900 Palestinian terrorists from prison. This is just the latest of the Israeli payoffs to the democratically elected PA leader Mahmoud Abbas. And what has Abbas done to deserve such largesse? He has purportedly reached an agreement with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah that involves these terrorist groups temporarily ceasing their attacks. (This is probably news to the residents of Gush Katif who had 15 mortars and rockets lobbed at them over the past few days.) During this temporary cessation of terrorist attacks, the terrorists will not be disarmed. If they desire, Abbas told a Russian newspaper this week, they can be integrated into the Palestinian security services. Those would be the same security services to which Russia pledged to donate helicopters; to which Turkey has asked to donate uniforms and guns; which Rice says America will train; and which President Bush wishes to finance. And, if terrorists are dissatisfied with the pace of Israeli withdrawals or other appeasement measures, Abbas promised them that they can always go back to murdering Israelis. In addition to his mollification of terrorists, Abbas announced a ban on illegal weapons. That would seem a promising move, except that his announcement has no enforcement mechanism, is directed against "criminal elements," and makes no mention whatsoever of gun-toting terrorists. Abbas has also deployed PA militias in Gaza. But these forces have been given strict orders to take no action against terrorists. As to reform of Palestinian institutions, in one of his first "law enforcement" actions, Abbas instructed the PA's mufti to speed up the process of executing the 51 Palestinians who have been sentenced to death by Palestinian "courts." At least seven of those 51 were convicted of the capital crime of "collaborating" with Israel. Then there is the question of economic transparency, which the US demands Abbas shore up. In an interesting move on this score, one of the first "economic" issues that the Palestinians raised this week was their demand to reopen the casino in Jericho. That particular edifice is the concrete manifestation of everything that is corrupt about the PA and about the "peace process" itself. Jibril Rajoub, Muhammad Rashid and Abbas have all been investors in the casino. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's adviser, Dov Weisglass, represents casino shareholders. And the late Yossi Ginnosar, who set up meetings between Omri Sharon and Yasser Arafat back when Sharon first came into office four years ago, was both a member of the Board of Directors of the Peres Peace Center and an investor in the casino. Indeed, Omri's first meeting with PA officials took place in Vienna, in the presence of Weisglass at the offices of Martin Schlaf, the casino's main stockholder during Sharon's election campaign in 2001. Perhaps most indicative of Abbas's intentions is his acceptance of Iran's invitation to conduct a state visit. This willingness to truck with global terrorists who are pursuing nuclear weapons aligns nicely with Abbas's visits to Syria and Lebanon, where he was mollycoddled by dictators and terror masters while campaigning for the office he won in a largely uncontested, highly corrupt election. It stands, of course, to reason - in the Orwellian world that so characterizes Israel when it is peace-drunk - that our leaders would look at all that Abbas has done and say, "Wonderful, let's give this guy a state!" So here we are. Our army has been ordered not to protect us, because the Palestinians will do that for us now. PA security forces will now be deployed in Judea and Samaria, as well as in Gaza. Wanted Palestinian terrorists - mass murderers - are free to go back to their homes. Israel won't harm them. Palestinian terrorists whom Israel caught and imprisoned will now be released on their own recognizance. It's all in the interest of peace, after all, and we can rest assured that they won't return to killing, because they will all be required to sign declarations promising not to be terrorists anymore. That's crucial. Let's not forget that the terrorists who carried out the bombings in Cafe Hillel and outside Tzrifin military base in September 2003 signed precisely such declarations before they were released as part of a confidence-building gesture to Abbas. In addition to rushing to embrace Abbas, Israel is doing everything it can to shore up Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in the hope that he will protect us after we run away from Gaza. Crowned with legitimacy as a peacemaker after he and his security chief, Omar Suleiman, have spent the better part of two weeks getting Hamas and Islamic Jihad to agree to... absolutely nothing - according to Hamas chieftain Khaled Mashal - Mubarak next Tuesday will host a peace party in Sharm e-Sheikh, where peace-drunk Israeli politicians and media flacks will gush, and Palestinians will demand that Israel take down the security fence and the roadblocks and release still more murderers from jail in order to give them confidence to make "hard steps" toward peace sometime later on down the line. In the meantime, because of his vital role in the "peace process," Mubarak can safely assume that he will receive no flak from America for having imprisoned Ayman Nur, the leader of the only opposition party trying to challenge his one-party rule in Egypt. King Abdullah, too, can be sure he will pay no price for trying to prevent Iraq from becoming a democracy. And herein lies the greatest irony of the peace process. American supporters of both Bush and Israel are now backing Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and northern Samaria and Bush's plan for Palestinian statehood, claiming the world has changed since Oslo. They promise that Bush is going to cause a democratic revolution in the Arab world that will change the entire strategic balance in Israel's favor. What they don't seem to remember is that the world had also changed after the fall of the Soviet Union and the 1991 Gulf War. Then, as now, there was an expectation that the Arabs would be forced to change the way they treated Israel and America. Then, as now, the reactionary forces in the region were saved by one thing - the peace process with Israel. Back in 1992 at Madrid and in 1993 at Oslo, the Arabs learned that the way to ensure the longevity of their authoritarian, terror-supporting and jihad-engendering regimes is by attacking Israel with olive branches. These earn them legitimacy from the Jewish state and gratitude from the White House. Since peacemakers are of course indispensable, all thought of democracy must be put aside in the furtherance of a greater good. So, here we are again, at the dawn of a new peace process which will bring no peace; will legitimize terrorists and the authoritarian regimes that support them; will weaken Israel's democratic institutions while endangering its citizenry; and will engender scorn for America and faith in Israel's eventual destruction in the hearts of millions of people who today waver between support for freedom and support for terror. Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and journalist who lives in Jerusalem. She can be contacted at www.naomiragen.com, where you can subscribe to her newsletter. To Go To Top

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER Posted by Boris Shusteff, February 5, 2005.

There have been stories throughout history of people who have behaved strangely, and who were later unable to recall their actions. But the first medical studies of what we now call Multiple Personality Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD/DID) did not appear until the 1800s. It was regarded as a very atypical medical oddity, and by 1944 only 76 documented cases of MPD were documented worldwide. By 1984 the number of reported cases had jumped to a thousand, and by 1989 to four thousand. Just between 1985 and 1995 40,000 people were diagnosed with this disease. However, in the mid 1990s the number of active cases of MPD/DID abruptly decreased, as belief in the illness become less common and most or all MPD/DID clinics in North America were closed down. The main reason for this strange jump and subsequent decline of the illness is the existence of two conflicting views of the disorder. One school of thought sees MPD/DID as a valid common diagnosis of an illness that it believes is "induced by extreme, repeated, physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse during early childhood." According to the other view, "MPD/DID is a psychological fad". Those who defend this approach think that "the illness does not occur naturally and is a therapist-induced disorder, unknowingly created by the interaction of a therapist and patient." To put it differently, people diagnosed with the illness are victims of bad therapy, rather than MPD itself. According to the proponents of this view "If true MPD exists, it is an extremely rare phenomenon, affecting perhaps fewer than a dozen people in North America." Yet, if in North America fewer than a dozen people are afflicted by MPD/DID, it appears that Israeli Jews have been hit by an epidemic of this disease. It seems that hundreds of thousands and perhaps even several million Israeli Jews are suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder. The Internet site of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) describes the mental curse that afflicts Israeli Jews in the following way, "Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), previously referred to as multiple personality disorder (MPD), is a dissociative disorder involving a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate and distinct personality states (or identities) control the individual's behavior at different times. When under the control of one identity, the person is usually unable to remember some of the events that occurred while other personalities were in control. The different identities, referred to as alters... are often quite striking." (1) This definition perfectly describes the mental condition of vast numbers of Israeli Jews. By this we mean that in their behavior and attitudes related to Israeli territory inside the so-called "green line" - the armistice lines of 1949 - they wear a Jewish identity. However, when they deal with Judea, Samaria and Gaza, they immediately don a distinctly Arab identity, absolutely unable to remember why the Jews returned to Eretz Yisrael in the first place. It is especially noticeable in the different status that these Jews assign to Judea, Samaria and Gaza and Israel proper. They place the former into the category of "occupied lands," accepting the Arab view, and feverishly demanding the expulsion from their homes of mentally sound Jews who do not distinguish between different parts of Eretz Yisrael. At the same time, the Arab alter makes them believe that Jews came to Palestine, occupied it, and expelled the Arabs from their homes. They accept the Arab position that the Balfour Declaration brought to the Palestinian Arabs their greatest tragedy, relegating millions of them either to the status of refugees or pariahs in their native land. Together with the Arabs they condemn Zionism as an imperialistic movement created for the purpose of colonizing Palestine. They blame the settlers of Judea, Samaria and Gaza for all the ills and all the bad blood that exists between the Jews and the Arabs. However, as soon as their thoughts wander into Israel proper, crossing the armistice lines of 1949, a striking metamorphosis takes place. Their Jewish identity returns, and they have no recollection that only moments ago they were controlled by their Arab personality. What the Arabs consider to be Arab lands occupied in 1948 becomes for them primordial Jewish territory. They worship the Balfour Declaration that opened the gates of Palestine to the Jews. Zionism changes back into the Jewish national movement, whose purpose was the creation of a Jewish state. They shrug off Arab complaints about destroyed Arab houses and villages, stressing that Arab refugees exist today only because the Arabs tried to destroy the Jewish state. They glorify settlement activity, proudly recalling the days when the first settlements, kibbutzim, and moshavim were taking root in Palestine. People affected by MPD/DID are usually not aware of their condition. "A very common complaint in people with DID is episodes of amnesia, or time loss. These individuals may be unable to remember events in all or part of a proceeding time period" (1). This is exactly what is happening to Israeli Jews. When their Arab identities take over, they are completely unable to remember all previous Arab attempts to eliminate the Jewish state. Their memory loss is so profound that they cannot recall at all that Jewish settlement activity at the beginning of the last century is absolutely on par with the Jewish settlement activity at the beginning of this century. Though, in truth, today it is far more benign, since not a single Arab has been expelled from his home to make way for Jewish housing projects of the last 30 years. Psychiatrists explain that "often people with DID are depressed or even suicidal" (1). Perhaps this is the real reason for the Oslo Kevorkian Process and Sharon's idee-fixe to expel the Jews from Gaza and four settlements of Northern Samaria. The suicidal tendency among these mentally ill Israeli Jews has become so persistent that they are unable to make even simple logical conclusions from obvious things. For example while Sharon keeps insisting that he will expel the Jews from Gaza, come what may, thus demonstrating Israel's strength, the Arabs see every Israeli retreat as a sign of Israel's weakness. Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said in 2002 videotape to Palestinian Christians, "One has seen in the history of the last ten years that the Israelis have moved only when forced by violence." It is not surprising therefore that over 70% of Palestinian Arabs see the expected expulsion of Jews from Gaza by Jews as a clear victory for the Arabs. The NAMI fact sheet tells us that "Approximately one-third of [MPD] patients complain of auditory or visual hallucinations"(1). In the case of the Israeli Jews the number of these hallucinating people is obviously much greater. And they do not complain, but are simply happy to succumb to the mirages of blissful coexistence with their murderers. While the Arabs keep saying that their goal is Israel's destruction, the Jews hear in their words the sirens of peace. Just several weeks ago, in a sermon transmitted by Palestinian Authority TV on December 31, 2004, Sheik Ibrahim Madiras said, "[We will say] no to the return to the '67 borders. We are interested in returning to our genuine borders. We want to return to the 1948 [pre-Israel] borders...We want to return to these borders, and we will yet return to them, by Allah, even if it will take time."(2). The time that the Arabs are ready to wait, the Jews must use to defeat their mental illness. In treating MPD, "the goal of the therapist is to enable the patient to achieve... the unification [of the patient's separate identities] into a single identity"(1). While Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit try to accomplish this among the members of the Likud, who are themselves not immune to the illness, it is the task of all tdhe healthy nationalist forces within the Jewish state to reach out to the rest of the affected Jews. It is only the return of the Israeli Jews to an exclusively Jewish identity that can stop the plunge of the Jewish state into the abyss. 1. http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/ Dissociative_Identity_Disorder__formerly_Multiple_Personality_Disorder_.htm 2. Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin. January 9, 2005. http://www.pmw.org.il Boris Shusteff is an engineer and a research associate with the Freeman Center for Strategic Studies, (http://www.freeman.org). To Go To Top

I AM A SETTLER Posted by Janet Lehr, February 5, 2005.

Please read "I am a settler" by Ashley Perry. I hope that if you and as many people as possible read this, more of you will at least get a glimpse of this other, hidden side of a human dilemma. To seek a referendum on the disengagement plan, click here. Fill in the few required fields and click SEND. The message will automatically go to the PM's (Sharon's) office, his cabinet members, to each of the members of the Knesset and to President Bush. To Go To Top

PLEASE VISIT THIS WEBSITE Posted by Dafna Yee, February 5, 2005.

Please visit this website: http://www.rotter.net/israel/ Then please forward the link to everyone you know. Thank you. Dafna Yee, director JWD - Jewish Watch Dog http://jwd-jewishwatchdog.home.comcast.net To Go To Top

UGLY MIDEAST PARLEY AT COLUMBIA U, ONE-STATE SOLUTION PRESSED Posted by Janet Lehr, February 4, 2005.

One-Stater's woop it up at Columbia University Instead of providing an alternative to hatred and extremism from both sides, this panel was a hate-fest masquerading as academic discourse. This carefully selected panel was a hate-fest masquerading as academic discourse. And this was no aberration attributable only to one misguided student group. In addition to Qanun, a Columbia Law School student group, the panel was cosponsored by the university chaplain, the Student Senate, and two of Columbia's most prestigious academic affiliates: the Middle East Institute, headed by professor Khalidi, and the School of International and Public Affairs. In bringing professor Khalidi to Morningside Heights from the University of Chicago to fill the Edward Said Chair, Columbia also got itself a twofer of Palestinian activism and advocacy. Mr. Khalidi's wife, Mona, who also served in Beirut as chief editor of the English section of the WAFA press agency, was hired as dean of foreign students at Columbia's SIPA, working under Dean Anderson. In Chicago, the Khalidis founded the Arab American Action Network, and Mona Khalidi served as its president. A big farewell dinner was held in their honor by AAAN with a commemorative book filled with testimonials from their friends and political allies. These included the left wing anti-war group Not In My Name, the Electronic Intifada, and the ex-Weatherman domestic terrorists Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers. (There were also testimonials from then-state Senator Barack Obama and the mayor of Chicago.) Coming away from Monday night's hate panel and then looking at this tangled web of conflicts of interest within the university, we realized that the issue of misconduct in the classroom by one or two professors, important though it is, is dwarfed by a more fundamental question: How did a great institution of higher learning allow itself to be transformed into a platform for vicious political propaganda and hate speech directed against one country, Israel? This was written by Sol Stern and Fred Siegel, Special to the Sun, and is archived at http://www.nysun.com/article/8725 You might think that Columbia University would be on its best academic behavior on the issue of the Middle East conflict these days. After all, several professors in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, known as MEALAC, are credibly accused of anti-Semitism and intimidating pro-Israel students. The university's president, Lee Bollinger, has appointed a committee to look into the charges. But even with the media spotlight on, Columbia apparently can't help itself. Last Monday night we attended a university panel on the Middle East conflict titled "One State or Two? Alternative Proposals for Middle East Peace." Even the panel's title was a giveaway that we were in for more anti-Israel bias on campus. The "one state" solution is a euphemism for the destruction of the Jewish state - a trope of the most extreme rejectionist elements within the Palestinian movement and their allies in Syria and Iran. Terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah want to create an Islamic Republic in place of Israel. A few splinter Marxist groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, founded by George Habash, offer the Jews a solution that's far more "progressive." They murder innocents merely to replace Israel with a "secular democratic" Palestine. The scene at Columbia, with Spartacists handing out literature outside the packed auditorium and proponents of Palestinian military victory in the vast majority, was wildly at odds with the hopeful development on the ground, where Messrs. Sharon and Abbas are now scheduled to meet. One of the panelists was Mark Cohen, a Princeton historian of medieval Islam. He gave a measured scholarly presentation on the subject of Arab Muslim anti-Semitism, insisting that attacks on Jews in the Koran had little to do with hostility to Jews. It's a debatable proposition. But Professor Cohen never even engaged the issue at hand. He largely served as a prop for the ranting to follow. Rashid Khalidi, a Columbia professor whose recent book argues that Yasser Arafat was right to reject the best peace deal he had ever been offered, opening the way to four years of bloodshed, presented a tendentious argument for a one-state solution that strained to stay within the bounds of reasoned discourse. Then Joseph Massad took the floor, and the floodgates of hatred opened wide. Mr. Massad is one of the MEALAC professors accused of demanding of one Israeli student, "How many Palestinians did you kill today?" At the forum, he used the phrase "racist Israeli state" more than two dozen times. He used seemingly universalist language of anti-racism to drive a fascist argument. Mr. Massad is so extreme that he argued that Arafat was in effect an Israeli collaborator for even talking about compromise. Whatever can be said of this rant, its "academic" content was hard to discern. But to judge by the applause he received, Mr.Massad was the star of the evening. Obviously, Mr. Massad, an acolyte of the dear departed George Habash, isn't worried about President Bollinger's panel, which includes three professors who have signed petitions demanding that all universities divest from Israel. The final act of hatred came from the Israeli quisling "historian" Ilan Pappe, who has stated openly that his so-called scholarly work is an attempt to create a counternarrative to official Zionist historiography and to undermine the international legitimacy of the state of Israel. He bizarrely insisted that the destruction of Israel would pave the way for enhanced rights for women, and the feminist students in the audience cheered. Instead of providing an alternative to hatred and extremism from both sides, this panel was a hate-fest masquerading as academic discourse. And this was no aberration attributable only to one misguided student group. In addition to Qanun, a Columbia Law School student group, the panel was cosponsored by the university chaplain, the Student Senate, and two of Columbia's most prestigious academic affiliates: the Middle East Institute, headed by professor Khalidi, and the School of International and Public Affairs. SIPA's dean, Lisa Anderson, was appointed by Mr. Bollinger to the committee looking into the charges against professor Massad - whose dissertation adviser she was. Coming away from Monday night's hate panel and then looking at this tangled web of conflicts of interest within the university, we realized that the issue of misconduct in the classroom by one or two professors, important though it is, is dwarfed by a more fundamental question: How did a great institution of higher learning allow itself to be transformed into a platform for vicious political propaganda and hate speech directed against one country, Israel? Surely one crucial moment in this transformation was Columbia's decision to raise $4 million - including a contribution from the United Arab Emirates - to create the Edward Said endowed chair in Arab studies, and then to give the prize to professor Khalidi. We don't doubt that Mr. Khalidi has academic credentials. Compared to professors Massad and Pappe, he is a model of decorum and moderation. But when Columbia academic officials made this choice they knew they were getting a Palestinian political activist. From 1976 to 1982, Mr. Khalidi was a director in Beirut of the official Palestinian press agency, WAFA. Later he served on the PLO "guidance committee" at the Madrid peace conference. In bringing professor Khalidi to Morningside Heights from the University of Chicago, Columbia also got itself a twofer of Palestinian activism and advocacy. Mr. Khalidi's wife, Mona, who also served in Beirut as chief editor of the English section of the WAFA press agency, was hired as dean of foreign students at Columbia's SIPA, working under Dean Anderson. In Chicago, the Khalidis founded the Arab American Action Network, and Mona Khalidi served as its president. A big farewell dinner was held in their honor by AAAN with a commemorative book filled with testimonials from their friends and political allies. These included the left wing anti-war group Not In My Name, the Electronic Intifada, and the ex-Weatherman domestic terrorists Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers. (There were also testimonials from then-state Senator Barack Obama and the mayor of Chicago.) The message sent by Columbia University officials by this choice was that they were determined to honor the memory of Edward Said by continuing to have radical Palestinian activism on campus. That's what they now have in spades. The question is whether it's now possible within the university's public space to even make an argument for the only democratic country in the Middle East. To Go To Top

UNO SUBSIDIZES HAMAS; FRENCH MEDIA COVERS UP BLOOD LIBEL Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 4, 2005.

P.A. BANS CARRYING WEAPONS The P.A. banned civilians from carrying weapons (Mohammed Daraghmeh, NY Sun, 1/28, p.8). The decree was hailed as a step towards a truce, as if a truce were desirable, and as an indication that Abu Mazen has turned against terrorism. Neither assumption is true. Truces don't end terrorism. They give terrorists opportunity to emerge from hiding, reorganize, and rearm. When the truce ends, they would be able to strike Israel harder. Another purpose of the truce is to give PM Sharon a fig leaf of "quiet" so he can proceed to abandon territory to the terrorists. Islamists specialize in extracting concessions for a truce, from which they benefit, again. Their adversaries are suckers for acquiescing. Thus what the media and State Dept. pretends is a move towards peace is a move towards war. The purpose of the truce is to promote war. The Arabs have the same purpose for negotiations. "A NEW REALITY," BY ALUF BENN OF "HAARETZ" "PM Ariel Sharon is currently (as of 11/12/04) taking a tough line against Arafat's successors. Yesterday, he reiterated that Israel will stick with unilateral disengagement." "Sharon's firm stance is possible because of backing from Washington. Pres. G. Bush - is rejecting Europe's urgings that he rush forward with negotiations and evict Israel from the territories in exchange for improved trans-Atlantic relations." (Jewish Political Chronicle, 11/2004, p.22.) Unilateral abandonment of strategic territory within the Jewish homeland to a genocidal enemy during wartime is "a tough line"? The pretenses that the victim is the aggressor and occupier, and that Israel's appeasement of the Arabs either bring peace or are tough, are getting farfetched indeed! Turning territory over to the Arabs without their having to fight for it is just what they want. It is not being tough against them! The PLO Covenant pledges the Arabs to use whatever territory Israel abandons, to fight Israel for the rest, by which they include Israel, itself. Therefore, PM Sharon's "tough" stance is a step towards national suicide. To that, he is sticking. The approval of Pres. Bush for this precedent-setting abandonment is no feather in Bush's cap. It does not indicate support for Israel, as the journalist implies, but support for the European plan and for the Arabs. Get Israelis dislodged from some areas and a mechanism in place for uprooting them, and the rest of the Road Map would be easier to implement. The US approval may be more than approval but an order. To the public, the US move is subtle because gradual. By contrast, the full Road Map, if demanded all at once, would more likely get Israelis roused against abandonment and likely to roust Bush's toady, Ariel Sharon, from office. If Europe-US relations depend on sharing Europe's commitment to evil and to yielding to jihad, then those relations are worthless. Setting up alongside Israel a PLO state pledged to destroy Israel and hating the US would be a blow to the West and to the liberty that Bush has declared his goal. It is typical of Bush, however, to describe a poisonous policy as purification. He gets credit for purification while harming his people. The trouble with Bush is that he keeps his definition of liberty vague. The PLO is oppressive and bellicose. If Israel goes down, the West would lose one of the finest buffer armies against jihad it has. The US has few allies. More members of the anti-Saddam coalition are pulling their troops out. I wonder whether people think about what they read. True, most don't have sufficient information to puzzle out the Arab-Israel conflict well enough. Nevertheless, if they give thought to what "Haaretz" said, they would be able to realize it is nonsensical that Israel's plan to abandon territory unilaterally rather than coordinate it with the P.A. is being "tough" with the enemy. UNKNOWINGLY SUBSIDIZES HAMAS The Israeli Defense Force identified two charity committees as fronts for a Hamas network. The head of one of the committees was imprisoned by Israel for active terrorism. The IDF warned the UN Development Program, headed by Mark Maloch Brown, now Secretary Gen. Annan's chief of staff and known for organizational skill. The head of the Program's office in Jerusalem, Timothy Rothermel, wrote back to the Israeli authorities that he would not stop transferring money to those committees until the "deteriorating humanitarian status" of the P.A. Arabs ended. About $6,000 was involved (Benny Avni, NY Sun, 1/28, p.8). Making war, the P.A. causes own misery. It is not the sum but the defiant donation to a terrorist organization that delegitimizes the UNO. MORE DANGERS IN PM SHARON'S ABANDONMENT PLAN The Chair of Israel's National Security Council warned the Knesset of further dangers in abandoning Gaza and northern Samaria. The radius of risk from bombardment by P.A. rockets originally estimated to be 4-5 miles is re-estimated to be 6-12 miles. (Considering how tiny Israel is, that is significant. Add to that hints that PM Sharon wishes to abandon more, in concert with, or independently of, the Road Map! Add to that the peril to northern Israel from Hizbullah rockets at the Lebanon border from which former PM Barak fled, to the convenience of those jihadists.) Despite the extended risk, the Home Front Command was authorized only to plan for defense for 4.3 miles and only from Gaza, not from Samaria. Nor has the funding sufficed. The defense plan does not consider the risk to industrial facilities, including major utilities. There is a possibility that water could be cut off from the Jezreel Valley (Arutz-7, 1/14). That's what happens to a country that squanders its wealth on aid to the enemy and needless government restrictions on business. It is stupid about defense planning, too, cannot pay for an adequate defense, and it doesn't take the fight to the enemy, so it wouldn't have to defend. IDF ANNOUNCEMENT "In a security forces operation tonight in Northern Gaza, the IAF targeted a building belonging to the weapons manufacturing infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. "The building was used by the terror organizations for the manufacturing of Qassam rockets and mortar shells, used to terrorize Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers. "The IDF is determined to continue acting to protect Israeli citizens and IDF forces by operating against any group or individual that carries out terrorist activity or supports them." (IMRA, 1/15.) Did the Israeli Air Force strike and destroy that building, or did it just "target" it? If it struck the building, what was the result on manufacturing and personnel? Did the Air Force choose night, in order not to inflict casualties on the enemy? It is suspicious how often Israel strikes empty buildings. What is the point in these uninformative announcements, ending with a boast about IDF determination to protect Israeli citizens? Is the point to pretend? PRES. BUSH'S NEW CHALLENGE Planning to arm Syria with missiles and Iran with nuclear plants, Pres. Putin has been resurrecting the Cold War and the old Soviet Union. (Pres. Bush gave Putin's imperial ambition an important check by insisting on the freedom of Ukraine.) Will Pres. Bush meet the new challenge and prevent Russia from rearming our adversaries and itself become a menace, again? (Winston Mid East Analysis, 1/15.) FRENCH TV, CHARGED WITH ANTI-ISRAEL FRAUD, COVERS UP An Israeli, Stephane Juffa has discovered a host of persuasive (to me) evidence that the France 2 tapes alleging, without evidence, an IDF murder of al-Durra, a P.A. Arab boy, were staged. "Juffa was surprised to find that instead of investigating the video, France 2" accused "him of being a negationist, a revisionist, an extremist and a member of Israel's ultra right wing." The media has been stonewalling. Since the State controls most media jobs, it can keep French journalists silent about the fraud, one which damaged Israel's reputation (IMRA, 1/15). Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

SUPPORT FOR REFERENDUM ON DISENGAGEMENT GROWS Posted by Join the Boycott, February 3, 2005.

The settlers demand for a referendum on disengagement is supported by Israel's biggest daily and legislators are discussing it. See the latest at JtB (http://www.geocities.com/truthmasters/jointheboycott.htm) Do you think there should be one? To comment click here. To Go To Top

ISRAELI ATTORNEY GENERAL: MORE ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION FOR SETTLERS Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 3, 2005.

When I first saw Prime Minister Ariel Sharon turn against the Jews of Gaza first, I opined that in this war against the Jews, Sharon would use every dirty trick his fertile mind could conceive. One of those tricks would have been to target influential leaders of the pioneering settlers. "Targeting" could mean everything from continued arrests (Administration Detention) to those road side sniper shootings by Arab Muslims (or at least they would LOOK like Arabs). Sharon, through his hand-picked AG (Attorney General) Menachem (Mani) Mazuz, has begun to ease the way for large scale Administrative Detention - otherwise known as the British method of imprisoning Palestinian Jews when the Brits controlled Palestine. Doubtlesly, Sharon will use the lever of Government to enforce the "Disengagement" [read "Deportation"] of Jews - including the British method of "Administrative Detention". Mazuz is merely an apparachnik who is an extension of Sharon's War Against the Jews. That Sharon is merely a dictatorial thug has now proven itself beyond any doubt. I predicted he would eliminate the pro-Israel pioneering settlers (the leaders of true Zionism) and all those who oppose their abandonment, just as he decapitated the Arab Muslim Terrorist leaders. For Sharon, enemies are enemies be they Arabs or Jews. Sharon revels in the task of combat, like a dog trained to fight other dogs - any dog. He can't be de-programmed. Indeed, he is a pit bull who one would want on his side in any battle and - for a while - he was staunchly on the side of the Jews. Now, he belongs to others, many others. He has with him the Osloids, the Leftists, the Arabist U.S. State Department, the Russians, the Europeans and now Abu Mazen (formally known as Mahmoud Abbas), the Arch Master-Mind Terrorist companion to Yassir Arafat, grandfather of all Global Terrorism for at least 40 years. First Arafat and now Abu Mazen heads all the Terrorist organizations who fight for Jihad, Holy War for world domination of Islam. They will all follow his lead - temporarily - to insure Sharon will give up as much as possible. Sharon has already negotiated release of 900 convicted and jailed Terrorists. How many Jews were killed or wounded by those Terrorists in their acts of Terror or in their capture? On Sharon's orders, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz negotiated with the killer Mahmoud Dahlan to give immunity to 300 top Terrorists who have been listed as top priority to kill or capture. Sharon's loyalties no longer belong to the Jewish people nor does he maintain a commitment to protect the Jewish people. No doubt, the arrests, euphemistically called Administrative Detention, will begin soon IF Jews who defy Sharon's deportation plans and whomsoever he considers a target of influence to prevent his deportaion (aka Disengagement). Regrettably, "Disengagement" is only a small part of Sharon's assignment. (More Later) This article is called "Ag: More Administrative Detention For Settlers" and was written by Haaretz Staff (/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=535988), February 2, 2005. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said Thursday that administrative detention would be increased as punishment for settlers who resist evacuation under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. The attorney general said that Jews could be arrested if proof is shown that they intend to carry out hostile attacks to obstruct the evacuation planned for Gaza and West Bank settlements. "The use of administrative detention will increase as the public struggle gets fiercer," said Mazuz. The attorney general added that there are legal rules regarding the use of administrative detention and it will only be carried out in cases which are firmly based in fact. Mazuz said that there is no policy or government decision which prevents the use of administrative detention in a cautious and authorized manner. The attorney general explained the restraint he has shown in his decisions regarding recent controversial statements by public figures, saying criminal enforcement in the current reality can do more harm than good. He referred to calls by rabbis to refuse orders to evacuate settlements and refuse to serve in the army, saying that in both cases he didn't believe it was wise to launch an investigation. According to Mazuz, 24 hours after the calls to refuse orders, a national-religious group was formed, which expressed reservations regarding the far-right stance. "I believe that by launching an investigation against Rabbi Shapira (one of those who backed refusal), we would have generated automatic support for his cause." Similar calls made by another rabbi brought about a triple decision by the Yesha Council: No to refusal, no to the orange Star of David worn by settlers in protests, and no to violence. Mazuz spoke during a gathering of criminal attorneys near the Dead Sea. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

DISENGAGEMENT: A QUESTION OF TREASON Posted by Professor Paul Eidelberg, February 3, 2005.

To begin with, Sharon's Disengagement Plan is utterly illegal, and on several grounds. Few people are deceived by the euphemism of "disengagement," which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has employed to describe his plan to expel Jews from their homes in Gaza and Northern Samaria. Sharon's Disengagement Plan has been described as "transfer," "deportation," "ethnic cleansing," etc. - but even these terms obscure the full gravity of this issue. To begin with, Sharon's Disengagement Plan is utterly illegal, and on several grounds. Attorney Howard Grief reveals the illegality of the Disengagement Plan in the January 2005 issue of Nativ, Israel's premier journal. In addition to the plan's violation of the Law of Return and basic laws of the State as well as Jewish law, the evacuation of Jews from Gaza and Northern Samaria, "will impair the sovereignty of the State over all regions of the Land of Israel presently under its control, exposing those responsible for the Disengagement Plan, particularly Prime Minister Sharon, to a charge of treason under section 97(a) of the Penal Code. Since the Disengagement Plan also involve territorial withdrawal, a charge of treason can also be brought against him under sections 97(b) and 100 of the law. However, this would only take place if and when a true Zionist government comes to power and initiates prosecution." This last observation implies that no relief can be expected from Israel's Supreme Court. Indeed, Attorney Grief, on behalf of prominent citizens of Israel, has submitted learned petitions to the court challenging the legality of the Oslo or Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles, of which the Disengagement Plan is a derivative. His scholarly and persistent efforts have been in vain. The Supreme Court has refused to deal with the merits of these petitions, even though Chief Justice Aharon Barak has audaciously stated that "everything is justiciable." Quite apart from his anti-Zionist predilections, Judge Barak is not about to give publicity to a case in which Prime Minister Sharon would be accused of violating, prima facie, the Penal Code governing treason. Indeed, if Mr. Sharon were convicted, scores of other Israeli politicians would suffer the same fate - not a pretty commentary on the government of Israel. No one wants to contemplate the possibility that perfidious politicians are making the laws and policies of the Jewish state and do so with impunity. Here is the way Mr. Grief has elsewhere addressed the issue. Israel's Penal Law defines four kinds of acts as treason: 1. acts which "impair the sovereignty" of the State of Israel'section 97(a); 2. acts which "impair the integrity" of the State of Israel' section 97(b); 3. acts under section 99 which give assistance to an "enemy" in war against Israel, which the Law specifically states includes a terrorist organization; 4. acts in section 100 which evince an intention or resolve to commit one of the acts prohibited by sections 97 and 99. The punishment prescribed in the Penal Law for the first three kinds of acts of treason is death or imprisonment for life. The harshness of the punishment emphasizes the seriousness with which the State of Israel views the crime of treason, which it seeks to prevent by the punishment it imposes upon offenders. Of course, most people are afraid to use the "T" word, especially today when the heavy hand of tyranny is descending on Israel. Those resisting "disengagement" will not only be subject to as much as 5 years of imprisonment, but detention camps are being constructed for resisters. And one should bear in mind that decisions of the Barak court regarding the "security fence" indicate greater concern for the conveniences of Palestinians than the lives of Jews. The fact that Israeli citizens cannot get a redress of grievances from the courts or from the Knesset cannot but lead to violence. This is the inevitable consequence of a system of government that lacks institutional checks and balances, without which the arbitrary rule of men takes the place of the rule of law. Therefore, "disengagement" - a policy Sharon campaigned against in the 2003 national elections, - is not only a question of treason. It also represents a nullification of that election, in which an overwhelming majority of the people voted against "disengagement." This means that Israeli democracy is little more than a facade for what Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin calls a "gang" that makes the law. It follows that the prosecution of those who have or may have violated the above mentioned sections of the law concerning treason will not take place until Israel has a very different system of government. This is precisely why the present ruling elites will fight teeth and nails to preserve the present system. Prof. Eidelberg is a political scientist, author and lecturer; co-founder and president of The Foundation For Constitutional Democracy and is the President of the Yamin Israel movement. He can be reached by mail at 244 Madison Avenue, Suite 427, New York, NY 10016, Tel: 212-372-3752, and by email at Constitution@usa.net To Go To Top

ORCHESTRATING THE DEMISE OF ISRAEL Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 3, 2005.

In current plans Israel is being diminished, slice by slice, to a size digestible for her Arab adversaries and it will be called "Peace". Tonight we will hear from President George Bush give his 2005 State of the Union address. I have no doubt that his comments on Peace will drift over to the orchestrated theater being enacted to create the impression that Peace is on the wing. Early this morning, on schedule, we hear that Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has announced that he has invited to Egypt at the Red Sea Resort in Sharm el Sheikh Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and newly elected President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen). Sharon accepted. Abu Mazen accepted and we hear that Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice and Jordan's King Abdullah will also be there on February 8th. It is expected that Sharon will follow former PM Barak's offer to the Arab Muslim Palestinians of everything. With Rice present, Sharon will be willingly squeezed like an over-ripe pear with "secret agreements" dribbling out later - to insure the Israeli people are swindled fair and square. Behind the scene we observe Mubarak as a key supplier and enabler of smuggling tunnels transferring tonnage of weapons, explosives and 'foreign' Terrorists to the Arab Muslim Palestinians. The Bush Administration has known this about Egypt for a long time and ignored their role as a spoiler - much as they ignored Egypt's of nuclear products from Pakistan and possibly from North Korea. That 'secret' is also dribbling out but, is yet to become a full blown scandal if the bureaucrats at the U.S. State Department have their way. Mubarak's reward for trouble-making is that Sharon invites Egypt into what was the demilitarized Sinai. According to the Camp David Accords, the Sinai was to be demilitarized of troops, armor and weapons, etc. Now that Sharon has invited Egypt back to "police" the Sinai with heavy weapons and armor, the Camp David Accords are null and void. In sync with the President's State of the Union Address on February 2nd, we see his new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is arriving in Israel - with the statement that Sharon's giving up of the Gaza Strip is only the beginning and that the entire center of the country of Israel, Judea and Samaria (called the West Bank) must be evacuated to create a "viable, contiguous Palestinian State". Rice added the Jordan Valley to Israel's obligations of surrender. That is the Arab Muslims reward for decades of their Terror attacks which, of course, will NOT end with being gifted a State. Most of them will see this State only as an improved firing position against the Jewish State of Israel. How do we know this? All their maps, all their declarations, all their educational curricula, all their TV/radio/written propaganda speaks and shows the new State of Palestine covering over ALL of the State of Israel - with ALL of Jerusalem as only their capital. Add to that the accurate statement of Yassir Arafat that he had trained hundreds of thousands of child martyrs (Shahids) who cannot ever be de-programmed. We observe KBG-trained Abu Mazen's trip to Russia, back to his trainers. As you may recall Russia is part of that infamous Quartet of Russia, the U.N., the E.U., and the pro-Arab U.S. State Department who were tasked to enforce a "Peace". [Read: Make Israel pay the price.] Within the orchestration of Israel's demise you will find the fingerprints of the E.U., particularly those of France, Germany and always the perfidious British. Recall that it was the Brits who cheated the Jews out of Transjordan in 1922 which was part of the Land promised to the Jewish people by the British Balfour Declaration. The nations have concluded that the Arabs cannot be weaned away from their Terror-based civilization have decided to sacrifice Israel for whatever short-term appeasement that will bring. A great deal has been going on behind the scenes with Bush family orchestrating the outcome. The President wishes to leave a legacy of the Middle East Peace and Democracy while firming up the relationship with the Arab oil nations or, in effect, apologizing for attacking Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq. When it comes to making up history, there is none better than Muslim Arabs who try to obliterate the insult to their honor of their defeat - even if it takes 1000 years. Sorry, Dear Jews, but the nations have once again decided that you must pay the ultimate price for the greater good. Pacifying Islam which is becoming a critical mass across Europe who are demanding an obedience to their hostility against the Jewish State. The nations, particularly the leading nations of Europe and the U.S., are paralyzed with fear that the Muslims will blow up our cities in the Free West with the very weapons we in the West invented. All of the nations in the Free West transferred these sophisticated weapons to a primitive people for money and oil. The American people are not of this mind but, the power brokers in Washington are and, as if they are a separate nation they are conducting America's foreign policy of appeasement. I realize most Jews have no operative memory of the past to guide their paths in the future. The nations also have conveniently forgotten their roles in atrocities against the Jews and are preparing to do it again - whether by active or passive participation. Nothing has changed in the ruling circles of America and Europe with respect to the betraying the Jewish people. Recall it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who, knowing the Jews were being exterminated by gas in the thousands per day, directed the nations following the International Conferences at Avian and Bermuda NOT to rescue, clothe or feed the Jews who were eventually exterminated. They refused to even bomb the rail-lines leading to the death factories. Recall that it was the U.S. State Department which moved to save Nazi war criminals (which included the German industrialists who ran the slave factories) from prison or a hangman's noose. "NEVER AGAIN" is happening again - only this time they have recruited the Jewish leadership (in Israel and internationally) with guile and promises to assist in the demise of the Jewish nation. If the words: "sick" - "suicidal" - "self-destructive" - "self-hating" come to mind, you would be correct. So, let us listen tonight to President Bush as he orchestrates the words and events that could be the death knell of the world's only Jewish State - if we let it. (By the way, I believe the situation would have been worse if John Kerry were elected - so this is not a political statement.) Be assured that the words will flow - with "Peace" being invoked again and again, knowing the Arab Muslims will not give Israel that inaccurate, misleading state of Peace. I believe that Bush himself is a decent man but, he has become desensitized to the role of the Muslim Arab world in offering the chimera of Peace so America will join them in reducing Israel's size and capability to defend herself. Now, Israel is one of America's strongest and more dependable strategic and military allies. Truncated, without Gaza, Judea, Samaria and probably/possibly the Golan, the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem, Israel will become dependent upon America to come and save her when a combined coalition of Arab Muslim countries attack her again. So said the Secret Memorandum of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff led by Gen. Earle Wheeler on June 19, 1967 when asked what lands Israel must keep to remain defensible. That map was published by the Wall St. Journal finally in 1983 and is available by Fax if you wish to receive, please send your Fax number. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). To Go To Top

GITMO GAMES AND THE HOLOCAUST Posted by Yashiko Sagamori, February 3, 2005.

Some news read like Penthouse letters. Thanks to the freedom of the press, we have been given a chance to peek into the torture chambers of the Gitmo camp at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The horrors described by Paisley Dodds on the AP website and repeated in Maureen Dawd's column in the New York Times on Sunday, January 30, belong to that category. I have no choice but to quote some of the story here: One female civilian contractor used a special outfit that included a miniskirt, thong underwear and a bra during late-night interrogations with prisoners, mostly Muslim men... Isn't that awful? But wait, it gets worse. Here's how a Saudi man (who, for a reason we would all love to know, was taking flying lessons in Arizona just before 9/11) was tortured. ...she removed her uniform top to expose a tight-fitting T-shirt and began taunting the detainee, touching her breasts, rubbing them against the prisoner's back and commenting on his apparent erection. I believe it was a two-prong approach. First, no self-respecting Arab can survive without losing his self-respect when an American woman makes comments about his private parts. For some strange reason, Arabs don't feel comfortable when compared to other men. Their discomfort produced body bags in which their females are condemned to spend their lives and cliterectomy they have to undergo at the treshold of their womanhood. Second, didn't she know that a good Muslim is not allowed to have an erection unless thinking of his death and the houris that, contrary to what the mullahs had taught him are not going to be there to welcome him to his heaven? Apparently, not all Muslims are that good. Soon after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke, a New York Times article described how guards there ordered several prisoners out of their cells and directed them to disrobe and masturbate. The prisoners had no choice but to comply. Imagine the scene: several naked prisoners in a row ruthlessly exposed to the guards, both male and female, as well as dozens of their fellow inmates watching from their cells. The setup bore no resemblance, not only to the soft fur thrown in front of a fireplace in a dark, empty house, but even to a minimally sanitary bathroom stacked with girlie magazines. Nevertheless, according to the article, one of the "tortured" prisoners quickly reached the point of no return and couldn't stop when ordered, which shows that we are up against a bunch of truly unstoppable guys in our War on Terror. But let's get back to Gitmo, and never mind the timeless beauty of AP prose. The detainee looked up and spat in her face... The interrogator left the room to ask a Muslim linguist how she could break the prisoner's reliance on God. The linguist told her to tell the detainee that she was menstruating, touch him, then make sure to turn off the water in his cell so he couldn't wash. Strict interpretation of Islamic law forbids physical contact with women other than a man's wife or family, and with any menstruating women, who are considered unclean. The concept was to make the detainee feel that after talking to her he was unclean and was unable to go before his God in prayer and gain strength... ...The interrogator used ink from a red pen to fool the detainee... ...She then started to place her hands in her pants as she walked behind the detainee... As she circled around him he could see that she was taking her hand out of her pants. When it became visible the detainee saw what appeared to be red blood on her hand. She said, "Who sent you to Arizona?" He then glared at her with a piercing look of hatred. She then wiped the red ink on his face. He shouted at the top of his lungs, spat at her and lunged forward - so fiercely that he broke loose from one ankle shackle. He began to cry like a baby... the interrogator left saying, "Have a fun night in your cell without any water to clean yourself." I am tempted to note here that I (and, most probably, you) personally know a few men who would pay to switch places with that Saudi detainee, at least for a couple of hours, shackles, red ink, and all. If you tell me those men must be sick, I won't argue. However, unlike our aspiring pilot, they are perfectly harmless. Seriously speaking, I see no torture in this scene. I see a savage choked by his superstitions and a professional interrogator using those superstitions to break him in order to obtain information that could make us all safer. I suspect she took very long showers after each session like that. Or maybe she didn't. In either case, the detainee survived to tell his horrible story, but would have difficulties corroborating it, since the hellish torture he had endured left no scars. Chances are some of his Arab friends have an irresistible urge to emulate the passionate Abu Ghraib inmate every time they recall his ordeal. If the description above is accurate, I don't see anything unethical in the actions of the interrogator either. Every interrogator uses the suspect's weaknesses to obtain the needed information. As you can see from this example, being an observant Muslim is most certainly a weakness. At this point, someone is bound to ask me if I would agree to perform as an interrogator at Gitmo. Frankly, I wouldn't. Nor would I want to be a librarian, or a nurse, or an elected official. So, what does that prove? But I have to ask, what would have happened had the roles been reversed. During the Gulf War, an American helicopter crashed, and Iraqi soldiers captured the survivors. All of them were later liberated. One of them was a female physician, a colonel if I remember correctly, who had both legs broken in the crash. Two Iraqi soldiers tied her hands and threw her into a truck. While one of them was driving, the other one was enthusiastically examining her anatomy; then they switched. They weren't interrogating her; they were just having one hell of a good time. After she was liberated and recovered from her ordeal, she gave an interview to the New York Times. She described the episode in precise, impersonally sterile terms. The reporter expressed his horror at the circumstances of her capture. The impeccable professionalism of the colonel's response elevated my respect for her to the point of admiration. She said, "My captors' actions neither presented an imminent danger to my life nor caused me an excruciating pain." I wonder how those Iraqi soldiers violated the Islamic prohibition of close contacts with women outside their immediate families without causing themselves irreparable psychological damage. Why didn't they complain of the torture they suffered at the (bound) hands of the American colonel with broken legs. I see three possible explanations. One is that the soldiers were twin brothers who mistook the colonel for their younger sister. Another is that those Iraqi soldiers were actually Israeli spies. And, finally, it's possible that our interpretation of the abovementioned prohibition is flawed. We do tend to misinterpret various points of the Islamic dogma; without such tendency, we would have never arrived at the conclusion that Islam is a "religion of peace and love". Can it be that the taboo is applied differently, depending on who is in charge? The colonel's case illustrates Koranic recommendations for a man who finds an infidel woman at his mercy. I suspect the Koran fails to provide efficient guidance for the faithful warrior of Allah who finds himself in the opposite situation. That's why the only recourse left for a good Muslim at Gitmo was to behave like a rabid animal. Fascinating. The contrast between these two cases of torture is the contrast between a vile caveman and a civilized person. A civilized person knows she or he can be harmed by the enemy, but can refuse to be humiliated. A pack of hyenas can kill you, but cannot insult you. A caveman, on the other hand, is always at the mercy of his idiotic superstitions - oh, pardonnez-moi, his "Abrahamic faith". Of course, had the colonel been captured today, her fate might've been very different. Today, Al Jazeera (extolled a few years ago by the American liberal press as a free voice of the Arab world) provides Arab murderers with an opportunity to torture and execute their victims in public, while remaining in the (hopefully, temporary) safety of their undisclosed location. Today, she would've had a very realistic opportunity to have her head slowly sawed off in front of millions of delighted Arab TV viewers. Under these circumstances, her blood would not have rendered her murderers unclean before the evil idol they worship, and most major media outlets would have described the event without using the word torture. These events are important to us, because they help us understand what made the Holocaust possible. Abu Graib remains on the front pages of newspapers around the world, although its "victims" are alive, and well, and unafraid to accuse their captors. How many of you still remember that eight-month-pregnant Israeli woman whom Arabs shot point-blank along with her four young daughters? It happened the same week Abu Graib hit the news. Unlike the Abu Graib prisoners, these five Jews are still dead. Their murderers were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, but those who dispatched them are alive and well. They have killed a few more Jews since. They will most certainly try to kill many more in the near future. The world is not worried about that particular murder. And why should it? That was but an insignificant episode in the long chain of murders intended to gradually erase Israel from the map. Good people around the world have nothing against it. They have endorsed the destruction of Israel in the name of higher ideals. Is it anti-Semitism? You bet it is. But it is, inevitably, much more than that. South Africa used to be an integral, albeit remote, part of European civilization. To be sure, it wasn't a paradise on earth. And yet, it was a prosperous, democratic country that could be reformed. Instead it was destroyed. It was happily sacrificed to unapologetic racists like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Today, the country is run by people whose participation in our civilization is limited to their reluctant agreement to wear a necktie instead of a loincloth when they attend the UN General Assembly. They don't consider it necessary to mask their hatred of the white race and its civilization, even though that civilization keeps bailing them out of all kinds of crises they keep bringing upon themselves. The crime rate is growing, AIDS is rampant, and corruption has become the norm. Did the "colored" South Africans benefit from the destruction of their country? I don't see how. I only see the eradication of a vital segment of European civilization. Since we are still a part of that civilization, this was a victory for our enemies and a defeat for us. Sacrificing South Africa to racist demagogues was a suicidal act for our civilization. So is the betrayal of Israel. In Europe, our suicidal tendencies are more pronounced than they are in the United States. The term European civilization used to be so appropriate, because Europe was the place where our civilization emerged from the Dark Ages, through the Renaissance and a series of technological revolutions into democracy. In the last century, Europe attempted suicide by Hitler. The United States bailed them out and prevented them from attempting suicide by Stalin. As soon as we relaxed our suicide watch, Europe overdosed on Muslim immigration. Before this generation leaves the scene, the term European civilization will be used mostly by archeologists. American archeologists, to be precise. Are we immune from the European suicidal insanity? Soon after the Abu Graib scandal was brought to public attention, a friend's family invited me for dinner. Like our civilization, her family had both Jewish and Christian roots. What's more important, they are terrific people: well educated, bright, and warm. I was anticipating a delightful conversation. Instead, someone mentioned Abu Graib, and everyone began telling each other how it made them ashamed to be an American. It was very important for each of them to be more ashamed of being an American than the next guy. By the time dessert was served, the orgy of self-flagellation had subsided, and I used the pause as an opportunity to ask everyone why the non-torture at Abu Graib perturbed them more than the execution of that Israeli woman and her children, including the one yet unborn. Guess what? They had the answer ready. They easily explained to me how it was the fault of the Israeli government, American government, Zionists, and the woman herself. They sounded extremely convincing. They most certainly convinced themselves. A few months later, the bereaved father of Nick Berg was using the same twisted logic telling everyone who would listen how Bush and Cheney had killed his son. Not only were Bush and Cheney absent at the scene of the beheading, they didn't send poor Nick to Iraq either; he went there on his own accord in pursuit of his own goals. And yet, nobody objected to his father's idiotic ravings. That's exactly what made the last Holocaust possible. If I were an architect, I would begin designing the next Holocaust memorials now, to be ready for next intermission comes between world wars. Yashiko Sagamori is a New York-based Information Technology consultant. To read other articles by the author, go to http://www.middleeastfacts.com/yashiko/ or email ysagamori@hotmail.com To Go To Top

YOU CAN FIRE TREASONOUS PROFESSORS IN THE US! WHY NOT IN ISRAEL? Posted by Steven Plaut, February 3, 2005.

1. The fanatical "Keshev" group about whom we reported yesterday, the group that claims it is documenting Israeli incitement against Palestinians, doing so with wampum from the EU, held its official press conference with Hana Ashrawi as their spokes-lizard. Ashrawi is a PLO official who supports terror and denies the Holocaust but is presumed to be a moderate because she speaks English well. 2. "The myth of Israeli 'apartheid'" Barbara Kay, National Post, Wednesday, February 02, 2005. It's little wonder that Palestinian terrorists have agreed to stop attacking Israel at the urging of newly elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They have no choice: Israel's security fence has cut suicide bombings by 90%. This good fence may yet turn longtime enemies into good neighbours. Inshallah. Palestinian sympathizers in the West prefer to see the fence as a symbol of colonialism, the greatest of crimes in the left-wing intellectual lexicon. Few care that its construction has saved hundreds of lives on both sides. Bogus accusations of "ethnic cleansing" and "apartheid" spill forth, linking Israel with Verwoerd-era South Africa. As you can tell by now, my views would make me persona non grata at "Israeli Apartheid Week," an anti-Zionist rally currently in progress at the University of Toronto (Jan. 31-Feb. 4). Indeed, "The Illegality of the Apartheid Wall and Canada's Responsibility" is a featured presentation, as are: - "Roots of Apartheid: Al-Naqba and the Right of Return" - "The Apartheid of the Camps: Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon" - "Labour Apartheid in Israel" - "Palestinian and Migrant Labour in the Apartheid State" "Apartheid" is a new battery to replace Arafat's run-down shibboleth, "liberation." Liberation has become generic, any oppressed group's word. But apartheid, conjuring up the suffering imposed on South African blacks by a white imperialist regime, still has the voltage to shock. The Israel-Palestinian situation is completely unlike the South African model. Historically, apartheid, as practised in pre-Civil War America, South Africa and pre-1945 Germany, was the opposite of a fence. True apartheid is internalized, a psychological dehumanization, not an external barrier. It arises when people of different races - or genders or ethnicities - already live together in close association. True apartheid means separate drinking fountains, burqas, yellow stars. But historical and linguistic accuracy always suffer collateral damage among demagogues, who, like Humpty-Dumpty in Alice Through the Looking-Glass, use words to mean just what they choose them to mean. The international community widely endorses the two-state solution, as do the Palestinian intellectuals who paved the way for the Oslo accords. But to utopians in the West - including a few on the far left in Israel - a two-state solution implies separation and thus, by the hysterical hyperbole that is now casually accepted, apartheid. A minority opinion, marginal until recently, therefore calls for a one-state solution, with the avowed ideal that Palestinians and Israelis live as equals in a single democratic secular state. Palestinian nationalists have been happy to encourage this multi-ethnic fantasy, for they know they will easily outnumber, and therefore outvote, Jews under such an outcome. And since the one-state proposal is adamantly contingent on the right of return of about four million Palestinians to the homes their ancestors fled in 1948, the scheme is rightly dismissed by Middle East experts as a euphemism for the demographic eradication of Israel. The intellectual construct of apartheid is crucial to this eradication project, for it permits the radicals to cast the separation required for a two-state solution as racist by definition. The near-identical trope dominated the recent anti-Zionist (and anti-Semitic) hate-in at Duke University in North Carolina. Targeting Israel as a Western hegemon in the 19th-century colonial mode, anti-Zionists aim to make Israel a pariah state, encouraging disinvestment and institutional condemnation. Such rallies as Israeli Apartheid Week braid into a single skein the promotion of the one-state solution, condemnation of Israel as a racist state, and fetishistic repetition of the Palestinian narrative of dispossession. Palestinian terrorism against Israel, on the other hand, is never on the agenda for open discussion - except insofar as it must be explained as a symptom of "the occupation." The great irony, of course, is that these rallies are always held in universities - purported centres of truth and learning. While there is nothing of academic worth to recommend such events, our campuses have become petri dishes for the cultivation of anti-Western, post-colonial ideologies. Shame on the University of Toronto for its complicity in this calumny against a fellow democracy. 3. Gosh, in America professors can be fired for treason and support for terrorism! Why not in Israel? Colorado governor wants 9-11 prof out Says state not compelled to accept pro-terrorist views at taxpayer cost - WND (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42666). Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

BREAKING THE MORALE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE Posted by Herbert B. Sunshine, February 3, 2005.

To Zvi Hendel How proud the Jews of Gush Katif were of their MK, Zvi Hendel. When we visited on TuB'Shvat, they praised you as their voice in the Government. What a betrayal of them when you caved in to the pressure of this evil godless government and conceded the battle for the Holy Lands of Katif to the Arabs and their leftist partners. We, my wife and I, are planning to move into Katif in time for the invasion by the hired hoodlums of Sharon, to resist and to protest and to scream to Hashem above against the injustice and the disgrace to His name. Should we, residents of Jerusalem, have more passion for Katif, more love of Zion and more straightness than you, the "right wing" resident of the conquered lands? In another day, an elected government removed its Jewish citizens, tore them from their homes, transported them in closed vehicles, imprisoned them in camps and punished those who fought their transfer. In that day, the first tactic of the ethnic cleanser was to demonize the victim and to break his spirit by declaring his plight to be hopeless. I find terrifying comparisons between this day and that of the time of the German plague on our people; and I find an unwholesome comparison bewtween the actions of Jews herding Jews to their expulsion and the actions of Jews who herded Jews to their destruction. In Yiddish Hendel is "hondel" and Hondel means to bargain. Politicians buy and sell; statesmen vote their principles. Will you sell our people to the murderers? Will you bargain away the God- given Lands of Israel to those who have vowed to destroy us? A non Jew once wrote, "The mills of G-d grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small." With love of Israel and with fear for its future, Herbert B. Sunshine, Jerusalem, Israel Herbert B. Sunshine is Professor of Law (US). He and his wife Miki live(d) in Jerusalem. To Go To Top

EDWARD SAID'S LAST BOOK, HUMANISM AND DEMOCRATIC CRITICISM Posted by Janet Lehr, February 3, 2005.

This book review comes from the Little Green Footballs website (LGF). Charles Johnson of LGF writes: "I'm very pleased to present an LGF exclusive (not otherwise available online), thanks to The Claremont Review of Books = a review of the final book by the man who did more to intellectualize and legitimize the Arab world's hatred of the Western world than any other human being, Edward Said. In 1997, Said ridiculed speculations about Muslim conspiracies to blow up buildings and sabotage commercial airlines, as inventions of racist Westerners. Yet his analysis of the Middle East came to dominate the discourse at American universities. Why did people continue to listen?" James Panero, the associate editor of The New Criterion, asks what to make of his pernicious legacy (http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=14495). This review appears in the winter 2004 issue of the Claremont Review of Books. Humanism and Democratic Criticism, by Edward W. Said. Columbia University Press, 154 pages, $19.95 In November 1993, the New York Times Magazine featured a remarkably unprescient essay by Edward Said titled "The Phony Islamic Threat." He charged the media, government bureaucrats, and Middle East experts with conjuring an Islamic bogeyman to demonize at home and abroad. Coming only a few months after the first attack on the World Trade Center, the piece dismissed all talk of an Islamist threat as a reflection of American prejudice and insecurity. Then, in the 1997 revised edition of his book Covering Islam, Said ridiculed "speculations about the latest conspiracy to blow up buildings, sabotage commercial airlines," as inventions of racist Westerners. Since the publication of Orientalism in 1978, Said's theories on the interaction of Islam and the West have become dominant - one might say hegemonic - in the academy. He refashioned postmodernism into something called postcolonialism. Armed with the nebulous "deconstruction" theory of Michel Foucault, he seized a narrow canon of literature and enlisted it in the service of political advocacy; in his case, on the Palestinians' behalf. For over two decades he identified with this group, championing its cause at every turn, flacking it in every paper, ceaselessly hewing to Yasser Arafat's line, even serving as a Palestinian governor-in-exile in New York. Before cancer took his life in September 2003, the University Professor in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University fired some parting shots; Humanism and Democratic Criticism is one of them. For the most part, it is not an enjoyable read. The volume recasts four lectures given at Cambridge University in October and November 2002 (not 2003 as the book says), and an earlier essay on "The Public Role of Writers and Intellectuals." Yet for a précis of Said's thought and style, one could do worse. At only 154 pages, it is remarkably dense, packed with the literary criticism, petty self-pity, grandstanding, and the quick-tempered excoriation of enemies that made the "dispossessed" professor a favored guest on "The Charlie Rose Show," NPR, and media throughout the world. If the results are uneven and repetitive, one must make some allowances - this was a book produced on borrowed time. Said's fame and infamy stem from his insistence on transmuting scholarship into political activism. In his foreword, Akeel Bilgrami admits that the literature professor's "intellectual legacy will be primarily political.... This is inevitable and it is perhaps how it should be." Said was the willful antithesis of the disinterested scholar, and nowhere is this more apparent than in this book. Humanism and Democratic Criticism is not about Israelis and Palestinians, or Islam and the West, or "the humanities" in any serious sense. It is Said's blueprint for a new pedagogy, the likes of which could not have been imagined by the Columbia scholars he invokes - Mark van Doren, Jacques Barzun, F.W. Dupee, Meyer Shapiro, and Lionel Trilling. Post-9/11, politics have become total. This is Said's exhortation from beyond the grave: Develop a form of humanism that amounts to "stubborn, and secular, intellectual resistance." Read: politicize. The classroom is the battleground, the lectern is the soapbox, and the instructor is a committed agent of social change. This is the responsibility of the engaged intellectual. There are incredibly tedious moments in this book, which begins with Said's ritual invocation: "I grew up in a non-Western culture, and, as someone who is amphibious or bicultural, I am especially aware, I think, of perspectives and traditions other than those commonly thought of as uniquely American or "Western." The implication, of course, is that this qualification furnishes him with unique insight superior to that of the prejudiced Western scholars he made a career of denouncing. Score-settling was high on Said's to-do list. Lynne Cheney, Dinesh D'Souza, and Roger Kimball are blasted as "irate traditionalists or callow polemicists." Allan Bloom suffers from "dyspepsia of tone." Harold Bloom makes "tiresome vatic trumpetings." William Bennett employs "thumping oratory." Samuel Huntington developed a "deplorably vulgar and reductive thesis of the clash of civilizations." Bernard Lewis is a "discredited old Orientalist." Saul Bellow is racist, evidenced by a passage from Mr. Sammler's Planet. The hitlist extends to T.S. Eliot, the Agrarians, The New Critics, Irving Babbitt, Paul Elmer More, and Matthew Arnold, the progenitor of what Said calls "Arnoldianism." Not even his privileged upbringing, fame, television appearances, an endowed professorship at Columbia, and years of accolades and publications succeeded in giving the lie to Said's own identification as "dispossessed." Christopher Hitchens, an old friend and co-author of Blaming the Victims (1998), confessed in Slate soon after Said's death that "Edward had a slight tendency to self-pity, and the same chord was struck even in the best of his literary work, which often expressed a too-highly developed sense of injury and victimhood." To many readers, these contradictions only made Said's public persona more attractive. This book is packed with odd moments, and often Said's exile-on-Main Street grows downright comical. Here is one example: "True, it is a considerable disadvantage to realize that one is unlikely to get asked on to PBS's NewsHour or ABC's Nightline or, if one is in fact asked, only an isolated fugitive minute will be offered." In another strange moment, Said writes, "In far too many years of appearing on television or being interviewed by journalists, I have never not been asked the question, "what do you think the United States should do about such and such an issue?' ... It has been a point of principle for me not ever to reply to the question." This, despite a lifetime of telling the U.S. what to do in op-ed pages, radio programs, and television talk shows. Some of Said's detractors on the Left were outraged by his support for the "Great Books" and Columbia's "core curriculum." But for Said, the classics need not be avoided, just reinterpreted. This is the secret message of his humanism and "return to philology." He says flatly: "Humanism is not about withdrawal and exclusion. Quite the reverse: its purpose is to make more things available to critical scrutiny as the product of human labor, human energies for emancipation and enlightenment, and, just as importantly, human misreadings and misinterpretations of the collective past and present. There was never a misinterpretation that could not be revised, improved, or overturned." Said's concept of a "new humanistic practice" is not original. For over a decade, students have been grappling with the mandarin mores of studying great literature in the academy. He is correct when he writes that "the new generation of humanist scholars is more attuned than any before it to the non-European, genderized, decolonized, and decentered energies and currents of our time." They have little choice. One reads Jane Austen, for example, to comprehend her legitimization of colonialism - an argument Said put forward in his book Culture and Imperialism. I can imagine an analogous situation fifty years ago in the storerooms of the Hermitage Museum: "What colors. What elegance. What a capitalist trickster, this Matisse!" Said's efforts to unify instruction and advo-cacy have borne fruit. In spring 2002, a UC Berkeley instructor inserted in the description of his English class, "The Politics and Poetics of Palestinian Resistance," the following caveat: "Conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other sections." Far from being an anomaly, this sort of activist intolerance is common practice in classrooms countrywide. The Berkeley instructor's mistake was simply to make the unsaid explicit, exposing it to the protests of university trustees and the "conservative media." Both sides were hardened by the exchange. Said writes that "reading involves the contemporary humanist in two very crucial notions that I shall call reception and resistance." Undoubtedly, reception and resistance are the codewords for the next round of the culture wars, part and parcel of the legacy of Edward Said. To Go To Top

OSLO REDUX: ANOTHER "HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY" WE SHOULD MISS. Posted by Naomi Ragen, February 3, 2005.

1. Caught in a bind of misconception and delusion, the government of Israel signed agreements that resulted in the death of a thousand civilians, and injuries to thousands more. In the beginning, when the bombings first started, we were told that we would proceed anyway, and not let the terrorists acts interrupt this "historic opportunity" for peace. Again and again, we were told Arafat wasn't behind these acts, so it was okay to honor agreements with him even as our children died in the streets. Each time there was a terrorist attack, I asked myself: have they had enough yet? Enough self-delusion? And when nothing was changed, I knew the answer was no. They needed more convincing. More dead. And here we are, after everything we've been through, and it seems the answer to "have they had enough yet" is still no. Mr. Sharon is now planning a giant "good-will gesture" to the new government of Abu Mazen, who demands that the jails let out the terrorists caught and jailed at so much risk to our soldiers lives. And Mr. Sharon has agreed to release 900. He's agreed to open the checkpoints. He's agreed to give over five West Bank cities to the Palestinian Authority, Jericho first. All this in anticipation of the "historic opportunity" of a meeting with Mubarak, King Abdullah and Abu Mazen next week. All of these things have been tried. Cities turned over to the Palestinian Authority became bomb factories, and 23 Israeli soldiers were killed in Jenin alone trying to undo this "good will gesture." We tried opening the jails, and the prisoners, freed, went back to the only life they knew, killing Israelis. We tried opening checkpoints, and what we got were suicide bombers in our pizza parlors. Today, a 15 year-old Palestinian was caught near Nablus with a four-kilo suicide belt. Grenades were thrown in Gaza at a military patrol, injuring two IDF soldiers. The rocket attacks continue unabated at Gush Katif. Nothing has changed in the Palestinian Authority. And apparently nothing has changed in the self-delusion of our new coalition government. As a citizen of Israel who voted with the majority of Israelis to remove Mr. Peres and his Oslo junkies from power, it is with a sense of deep betrayal and bitterness that I see my government preparing us for the next round of slaughter, preparing once again to "experiment" with "historic opportunities" to get another thousand Jews murdered. What my government should be doing now is demanding all illegal weapons be handed over, as was demanded by the British government of the IRA, and the Americans in Fallujah. It should be dismantling terror networks and demanding good will gestures from the Palestinians to convince Israelis they can now be trusted. One of these gestures could be the shutting down of the hate-filled television and radio stations. Removing the hate-filled textbooks from the classrooms. Demanding the turning over of all Hamas operatives. Instead, it does none of these things, because once again we are in a fake peace process that consists of one-sided Israeli concessions in exchange for more lame, baseless generalities about cease-fires. Yes, a historic opportunity indeed to make the same fatal mistakes again. And when, I ask myself, will it finally be enough? 2. Gush Shalom is sending Teddy Katz to spread his lies on a tour of North America in March-April. If your organization (or one near you) is planning to host him, please be advised of the following: Teddy Katz is the one who had his MA cancelled for falsifying testimony that Jews committed a "massacre" at Tantura. Spread the word. My thanks to Yisrael Medad for the information. [Editor's Note: See http://www.think-israel.org/leftists.html for more on Teddy Katz and his anti-Israel fabrications.] Might I suggest you contact Dr.Efraim Warshaw at www.eyewitnessSpeakers.org or at (310) 829-7884, efwarshaw@adelphia.net to get honest, pro-Israel speakers like Brigitte Gabriel, Nonie Darwish, etc.? Naomi Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and journalist who lives in Jerusalem. She can be contacted at www.naomiragen.com, where you can subscribe to her newsletter. To Go To Top

WEST'S UNUSED SECRET WEAPON; STOPPING SHARON; FRANCE WORRIES ABOUT MUSLIMS IT IMPORTS Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 3, 2005.

PRETENSE Much of public life is pretense. Public discussion of the Arab-Israel conflict has become almost totally pretense. The public is not told the facts. It is fed rationalizations that either are based upon false premises or poor logic. The media does not want to find those flaws in logic, so it does not analyze them. Genuine analysis is absent from much public discussion. Unfounded assertion has taken its place. In this way we are becoming like the Arabs, who make up fantasies both as to the facts and as to deductions from them. It is pretended that the Palestinian Arabs are a separate nationality, that their terrorist leaders have been making peace, that Israeli defensive measures are not allowed, that it is up to Israel to make concessions to the Arabs and then the Arabs would forget all about jihad, that the US, which demands those concessions, is a friend of Israel, that phony P.A. elections are democratic, that Israel is not entitled to the Territories, and so on, indefinitely. Political correctness may be seen as pretense, too. It is pretended that all ethnic groups should achieve the same in every field but don't only because of discrimination and not because of inclination and existing level of culture. It is pretended that all religions have the same standard of ethics, although Islam has a different standard, and although not always totally oppressive, is not one of tolerance towards others. Universities pretend that they don't use racial quotas and that their "affirmative action" succeeds, while black students who are accelerated into stricter schools than their scores warrant, struggle desperately to keep up. WEST'S SECRET WEAPON UNUSED The West has used a certain tactic against Islamist rebellion in one or two places, with success. The tactic was forgotten, except by some Jewish nationalists unfortunately lacking access to the major media. This secret weapon offers promise of stopping international jihad, with a minimum of killing. The question is why it isn't deployed. The tactic is to dip bullets in lard and to bury slain Islamists in pigskin. By so doing, the West would disqualify the slain Muslims, according to their own belief, from martyrdom and entry to paradise. The current prospect of eternal heavenly bliss and the prestige that martyrdom confers on the surviving family motivates many a jihadist. The loss of that prospect would deter most. To cause the fighting to die down without masses to die would be a humane victory. Why isn't it done? I don't know why. I think it is a combination of political correctness, cowardice, and lack of originality. There seems to be a squeamishness against using a religious belief against the enemy, as if that is against all religion. The feeling is misplaced. The enemy is trying to destroy our way of life and kill many of us on the basis of not sharing their religion. Muslim leaders exploit their people's martyrdom concept to wreak war crimes against us. What I propose would be a corrective against the enemy evil. Should one even consider Islamism religious? Many call it Islamo-fascism, because of its totalitarian digression or exaggeration of normative Islam. A case can be made that it takes unfair advantage of its own people's beliefs to get them to make war. Let us promote the tactic until we hear convincing reasons not to. And let us refer to suicide-bombers as "human bombs," to be more accurate. FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVERS About a thousand foreigners came to monitor the P.A. election. They monitored how the voting went, after Abu Mazen made sure that his rivals did not gain much access to the P.A. media and his side threatened those who might vote for those rivals. Arabs complained about large numbers of Mazen's Fatah terrorists voting more than once. What did the election, which Israel catered to, particularly by reducing security measures unnecessarily, prove? Abu Mazen asserted afterwards that he has the same goals as Arafat did, will use some of the same means, and will likewise continue violating his Oslo obligations. Like his Communist mentors, he doesn't admit violating his agreements, he accuses Israel of doing so and of committing aggression. WORLD PUBLIC OPINION Friends of Israel worry whether certain actions by Israel, justified in themselves, might set world public opinion against Israel. Where have those friends been? What do they think world public opinion about Israel is, regardless of what Israel does? In this misinformed, mercenary, and antisemitic world, public opinion is biased against Israel. It has been for some time. During the Holocaust, Jews used to hope that world public opinion would stop the Nazi Holocaust. The world did not even care. HOW TO STOP THE ABANDONMENT OF JEWISH GAZA Several thousand Israeli soldiers have signified their disapproval of the government's policy of removing the Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria. They signed petitions. The more prominent among them are to be dismissed from the Army, and not given a chance to fight the Arabs. Perhaps those signatories hoped that tens of thousands would sign the petitions and then the government would be too embarrassed to proceed. If so, they did not assess PM Sharon well. He is stubborn, perhaps being driven by people with some hold over him. Fanatical about it and resourceful, he would simply have troops specially selected for hostility to Jewish settlements, do his dirty work. Refusing to cooperate will not stop him. To the contrary, by identifying themselves, his opponents, who consider his plan illegal as well as unethical, allow themselves to be neutralized. Perhaps those signatories instead should stay in the military and persuade more troops to see the evil in the government and its plan. Perhaps when the illegal commands were given, those troops should arrest those who command and obey. Perhaps they should bring back Jews who were taken away. Perhaps they should arrest the drivers of the bulldozers and "Mr. Bulldozer," Ariel Sharon. Many decent people are afraid to really challenge this shameful government that would ethnically cleanse its own people. ANOTHER MEANING OF THE GAZA ABANDONMENT By forcing the Jews to abandon their communities in Gaza and northern Samaria, PM Sharon indicates that he is turning those areas over to the Arabs permanently. He is abandoning the traditional Jewish claim to them, although that claim is superior to the Arab claim. He is making it almost impossible for the Jewish people to return to that part of their homeland. At the same time, he is entrenching the Arab enemy in it. From that point on, it would be easy for the Arabs to declare sovereignty over it. With recognized sovereignty comes the right to import whatever weapons are desired. When the P.A. returns to battle, it would have heavy weapons and foreign human shields called "observers," "peacekeepers," or antisemites. That is the real meaning of PM Sharon's treason. NEW FRENCH WORRY ABOUT ITS MUSLIMS Islamic leaders have been giving French Muslims youths religious training for suicide attacks in Iraq. The government is worried that some of them may commit terrorism elsewhere, including in France. France's domestic counter-terrorism agency is breaking up a network of transportation to Iraq, arresting 11 people in Paris. It doesn't want would-be rebels to get combat training and experience in Iraq (NY Sun, 1/28, p.7). Why not end Muslim immigration? If those youths were human bombs against only US troops in Iraq, would the French government not try to stop them? UNO AGAIN PUTS ARAB CONVENIENCE OVER JEWISH LIVES The UNO announced a registry for P.A. Arab claims for damages from the security fence Israel is erecting in Judea-Samaria. However, Palestinian Arab terrorists, with congratulations from the P.A., have murdered or permanently disabled thousands of Jews. Why doesn't the UNO establish a registry for Israeli claims against the Arabs? "The UN should not be focusing on inconveniences to Palestinian Arab farmers, or on travel delays and restrictions that may have arisen since the fence was constructed. These are inconsequential when compared to the loss of life. There would be no fence in the first place if there were no suicide bombings and no terrorism." The UNO plan exhibits its prejudice against the Jewish state (IMRA, 1/13 from ZOA). ISRAEL KEEPS IMPAIRING OWN SECURITY Israel's Defense Minister has stated his willingness to withdraw his troops from any P.A. city that the P.A. would prevent terrorism from breaking out of. He put it as "take responsibility over." "Israel has already left and re-entered these areas several times over the past few years. The cycle usually begins with an Israeli withdrawal as a "gesture" to the PA, a period of quiet, renewed terrorism, and the IDF's return to the area in question." (Arutz-7, 1/13.) How long will Israelis put up with these cycles of Israeli foolishness and Arab duplicity? When will a leader arise who tells the US to stop demanding Israeli withdrawal, that paves the way to murder? When Israelis reform their system so that decent leaders might arise. One wonders what Americans need to do so that they don't have to vote always for the lesser of two evils. TERRORISTS BREACH SECURITY WALL From the P.A. side, Arab terrorists blew up a hole though a security wall, dashed through it, and opened fire on Israelis, killing six before getting themselves killed (Arutz-7, 1/14). Security walls historically are unreliable. A static defense cannot be sustained. Eventually someone invents a counter-measure. In this case, the Arabs committed their war crime imaginatively but treacherously, firing at the ambulances coming to the aid of the wounded. The Arabs should be condemned for attacking ambulances. Instead, Israel is widely condemned for inspecting ambulances because terrorists sometimes used them for cover. This demonstrates the insincerity of the human rights organizations and the indecency of world public opinion. POLICE STATE EMERGING IN ISRAEL Invited to visit his MK, an Israeli colonel was barred by police from driving to the Knesset. Reason? His flag sported a banner indicating opposition to the government plan to abandon Gaza and northern Samaria. Other Israelis report being summoned to police stations and asked to report on neighbors who intend to demonstrate against the plan. Repressing dissent is not the province of police. Drivers are not supposed to be barred because of their views (Arutz-7, 1/14). Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

AT LAST A REAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST INCITEMENT TO WAR Posted by Steven Plaut, February 2, 2005.

You will be happy to hear that something at long last is being done about the problem of "incitement". You may recall that the original Oslo accords required that the PLO stop that nazi-like anti-Jewish incitement by the media under its control. It was all part of the Oslo doctrine which insisted that the ambience is the essence, and if things could be made to appear as if they were calming down, peace would follow. In other words, pretense that war does not exist would end war. I personally thought it was better if this plank never would be applied, since the world is much better off, or at least Jews are, knowing exactly what sort of nazi propaganda the PLO is dishing out. As it turned out of course, there was never any serious attempt to force the PLO to stop its anti-Semitic incitement. Peres and his cronies insisted that words do not matter, except of course when they are spoken by Jewish non-leftists, in which case they kill. The Left insisted that the PLO was just engaging in bravado and letting off hot air, and it would upset the peace process to pressure the PLO to stop calling Jews dogs and monkeys, or to stop the PLO from calling for genocide of Jews. Anyway, the Eurotwits decided to pony up some cash to be used for purposes of implementing the Oslo clauses requiring a suppression of incitement. And now the money has actually produced a campaign to suppress incitement - by Jews against the PLO. (Full story in Hebrew at http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo= 535283&contrassID=5&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0) No, I am not kidding you. The Eurotwits funded a project by a group of far Leftist Israelis calling themselves "Keshev" ("listening in" in Hebrew), who decided to document the incitement by Israelis against the Palestinians. They just issued their first report. It is directed against the anti-Palestinian "incitement" by Maariv, Yediot Ahronot (the 2 large Israeli dailies), and Israel's Channel Two TV. Now as it turns out, all three of these are leftist or left leaning (with Maariv the least biased and most pluralistic). The Lefties receiving the cash of the Eurotwits insist that these three Israeli media outfits are guilty of incitement. Why? Well, when Arafat croaked, they had the nerve to claim in their coverage of the funeral circus that Arafat had himself been personally responsible for violence and terror. They also had the gall to claim that Israel had offered Arafat an insanely generous set of offers at Camp David II. Both claims amount to incitement against the Arabs, claim the well-financed Keshev commentators. Never mind that both claims are factually correct and unchallengeably true. I have no doubt that Keshev will soon be financed by the Euros to denounce the American media for claiming that the Germans and Japanese started World War II. After all, that is unforgivable stereotyping and incitement against innocent fascists. Naturally, the Eurotwits have never quite gotten around to funding any studies of incitement by the PLO against Jews. The Left and Uncle Shimon Peres are not complaining though. That might hurt some Palestinian feelings and delicate sensitivities and make peace less likely. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

ARAB DOCTORS FOR JIHAD; ISRAELI INVENTION & U.S. SECURITY; SHARON & PERES FOR THE ARABS Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 2, 2005.

JORDAN'S SUGGESTION Jordan has proposed that a brigade of the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA), stationed on its soil be let into the P.A. Israel has not yet responded (IMRA, 1/10). Israel would be foolish to let another terrorist force into the P.A. Israel's task should be to get terrorist forces out of the P.A.. If Jordan is moderate, why doesn't it disband the PLA? WHAT HAS ISRAELI LEFT AGAINST ISRAELI SECURITY? Now head of a far Left party, Yossi Beilin proposed that the P.A. unity its security forces, as a major reform, and that Israel should reduce its roadblocks (IMRA, 1/10). Unifying the P.A. security forces has nothing to do with improving Israeli security and everything to do with building an army against Israel. Probably that is why proponents of that reform glide over the point made by Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA that the P.A. wants to integrate the private militias into the P.A. security forces, to legitimize them, thanks to the popular misconception that the P.A. military is not part of terrorism. If the promoters of unification were sincere, they would insist only upon a genuinely reformist head of the P.A. gaining control over the security forces, regardless of how many there are. Mr. Beilin, why let the P.A. use guns, when Abu Mazen vows not to confront the militias? When will the Israeli Left promote Israeli security and not counter-productive measures that assume those jihadist devils are angels? Let the Arabs earn freedom from roadblocks. "QUIET" FOR "QUIET" Israel has pointed out in the past that a terrorist truce does not end terrorism, but leaves the terrorist organizations in place to resume terrorism when it suits them. Now, however, PM Sharon said he would accept a terrorist cease-fire as a "first step" in ending terrorism, and would match P.A. "quiet" with Israeli "quiet" (IMRA, 1/11). "Quiet" is the typical Israeli leadership's (and State Dept.) selection of a vague word to give them room for claiming that the P.A. satisfactorily reduced terrorism, without holding the P.A. accountable for meeting an acceptable, defined standard. It is a means of deception and self-deception. Israel's assassination of terrorist leaders has eliminated some of the most skilled terrorist commanders and made the rest fugitives. While winning, as Israel is, a truce is bad for Israel. The truce would enable them to regroup and rearm. ARAB DOCTORS IGNORE NON-MUSLIM TSUNAMI VICTIMS The Egyptian government weekly "Akhbar" "criticized the double standard of the Arab Doctors' Association, which is aiding Jihad warriors in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia, but refrains from helping victims of the recent tsunami in Asia because the tsunami is 'punishment from Allah.'" "... the enthusiasm of the Arab Doctors' Association in sending 'volunteer' doctors to those blood-drenched regions was not for carrying out this sublime mission that only doctors [could carry out], but rather, to urge [those volunteer doctors] to fight, [to participate] in the Jihad war, and to manufacture explosives and to blow up places in which there were a number of 'infidels' and scores of innocent civilians..." "They could not care less that hundreds and thousands of innocent people were killed [in these operations], as long as one or two soldiers from among the invaders and occupiers were killed or injured." (IMRA, 1/11.) Arab doctors murder, Western doctors cure? ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION DEPENDS ON HEARSAY! "... according to "security sources" none of the disengagement opponents can be detained under administrative detention because of lack of evidence. Though under administrative detention it is possible to keep people imprisoned indefinitely without ever advising them why they are being incarcerated (on the grounds that the information is classified), security authorities do have to show information to a judge. And while, traditionally, the information provided to the judges has been known to be fairly shallow (intelligence reports based on hearsay), even this information is apparently not available and thus their detention would not stand the test of the Supreme Court." "... all of the various remarks about various possible threats posed by disengagement opponents are based on speculation on the part of Israeli security authorities as to what they think opponents will do - rather than what any of these opponents actually said to anyone" (IMRA, 1/12). HOW PM SHARON PRESERVED HIS REGIME Enough Likud MKs defected from PM Sharon during a vote of no-confidence, so that the government, already linked with the appeasement-minded Labor Party, turned to support from the Far Leftist party of Beilin and an Arab party. Sharon denied that he paid a price for that additional support, but is it coincidence that he is releasing for a minor penalty some Islamist prisoners on trial for treason? (Prof. Steven Plaut, 1/11, e-mail.) IDF DISCOVERS A CULTURE GAP AMONG THE TROOPS An Israeli colonel, whose troops include many immigrants, found that they lack knowledge about Israel's dimensions and borders, what the Arab-Israel conflict is about, and their Jewish heritage. He drew up an education program for them. It includes a visit to the Western Wall (next to Judaism's holiest site and re-acquired as the culmination of the Six Day War). His company commanders now are taking their troops to other historical sites. The colonel wants his troops to become better Zionists and therefore better troops (Arutz-7, 1/12). They would know the value of what Israel has and what they are fighting for. "Haaretz" staffers need such a course. "HAARETZ" REVEALS ITS ANTI-ISRAEL POLICY "Haaretz" has become little more than an organ of Arab propaganda against Israel and Judaism. Now it treats of Ethiopian Jewry in Israel. Those black Jews are particularly Zionist and religious. "Haaretz" nevertheless paints them as eager to live in Haarlem. Not too eager, considering that they are not moving there (Op. Cit.). "Haaretz"' economic policy reduces their employment; its foreign policy reduces their security; and its religious policy denigrates their Judaism. LEFTIST BIBLE-QUOTERS Sometimes left-wingers quote from the Bible to support their appeasement of the Arabs. Their quotations are selective and taken out of context. Nor are they sincere, since the left-wingers almost invariably disapprove of Judaism. Judaism does not support appeasement and does support preservation of the Jewish national interest (Prof. Steven Plaut, 1/12, e-mail). NEW ISRAELI INVENTION FOR SECURITY Arab terrorists have been taking to a new type of explosive that cannot be sniffed out by trained dogs at airports, etc.. Israel invented a small device that can detect the explosive (Arutz-7, 1/12). This is another Israeli invention that will benefit us Americans and innocent people everywhere. SHARON'S PLAN FOR PERES & THE ARABS In defining the responsibilities of Shimon Peres as Vice-Prime Minister, PM Sharon listed the second of five duties as preparing a plan for the economic development of Gaza. In other words, destroy the Jewish economic development of Gaza, under his "disengagement plan," and replace it with economic development for the Arabs (IMRA, 1/13) Some "disengagement" from the Arabs! It is not Israel's responsibility to plan for the Arabs. It is irresponsible to help develop Arab roots in the area, for that would strengthen the Arab campaign to drive the Jews out. Peres and Sharon promote the gradual destruction of Israel. They, but especially Peres, bear the responsibility of the criminally negligent and probably of the treasonous policies allowing the murders of thousands of Jews. They must be overthrown. I think that friends of Israel and of the Jewish people are so used to defending Israel and the Jewish people, that they are too reluctant to criticize the government of Israel. They fear that such criticism would be exploited by Israel's enemies. The trouble with that reluctance is that it lets the government commit major crimes against its own people. Zionists must face the fact that Israel's leaders are misguided, corrupted, or selling out. ABU MAZEN BEING RE-MADE BY THE MEDIA Keeping Abu Mazen's record from the public, the media is recasting Arafat's top henchman as a moderate. Actually, Abu Mazen, trained as a Soviet double agent, was PLO treasurer. Every evil campaign was financed through him. Among the Soviet-PLO schemes was extortion of Saudis and other Arabs, who sent Abu Mazen money not to be assassinated. He also helped plan many of the terrorist atrocities. He shares responsibility with Arafat for many thousands of murders, that "moderate." (Winston Mid East Analysis, 1/13.) Israel should capture Abu Mazen, just as they should have done with Arafat. Unfortunately, the US protects these dictators. Now Sharon is turning into a dictator, cooperating with Abu Mazen to carry out US wishes against Israel. Sharon should be treated as a collaborator. PUT ABU MAZEN TO THE TEST True to his ideology, Abu Mazen has stated he would not disarm the illegal militias. To the contrary, in working towards a truce, he is seeking a respite for them that would enable them to arm all the more! That fact, alone, (if Westerners gave facts any thought) should disabuse Westerners of the notion that he is a moderate with whom peace may be made. He claims that he needs to get the Israeli troops out of the P.A. cities, before he can disarm the illegal militias. (Nobody makes a case for this, they just assert it. If they tried to make the case, they would be out-argued. Likewise, he seems to be moving to integrate the illegal militias into the P.A. police, as if donning the uniforms sheds their terrorist ideology.) Why wait to see, and allow the illegal militias to rearm? Put Abu Mazen to the test in a much easier way. His own, official P.A. police forces also have illegal types and quantities of arms. Let him turn those arms over to a third party for public destruction. That would put the P.A. forces in compliance with the P.A. signed commitment to Oslo. It would demonstrate a seriousness and sincerity of intent to a peaceful solution. If, however, Abu Mazen refuses to destroy the illegal weaponry of his own forces, then we may infer that he does not intend to destroy the illegal weaponry of the militias (IMRA, 1/13). Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

TERMS OF PEACE Posted by David Ha'Ivri, February 2, 2005.

Dwelling in the land of Israel is a Mitzvah equal to all of the Mitzvot in the Torah, as we learn from our sages, in Sifri,(Reei 80), learned from the verse "You shall inherit the land and dwell therein and you shall carefully keep all of the laws" (Bamidbar 11:31). One can consider it even greater than the rest of the Mitzvot, because all of the Mitzvot were meant to be carried out in the land of Israel. When HaShem took us out of slavery in Egypt, He did so in order that we settle in our own land, separate from the nations and by doing so, to be a light unto them. If He had meant to free us from slavery only, He could have left us to dwell in the land of Goshen in Egypt, a beautiful land possessing wealth and natural resources. But He commanded us to return to the land He promised our Fathers, the land of Israel, to live separate and distinct from all other nations. Only through separation and isolation, uncorrupted by the ways of the nations, living according to the law given to us by HaShem, can we be a nation of Priests. And only then will we be a light unto the nations who will be able to look to us and follow in our ways. The land of Israel is not only God's gift to the Jews, but living in the land is a great obligation. We are commanded to dwell on the land and not to give it over to any other nation. The RaMBaN wrote in the Book of Mitzvot, mitzvah number 4, "This is what our Sages call 'Melchimit Mitzvah' (a mandatory war). In the Talmud (Sotah 44) Rava said: 'Joshua's war of conquest was an obligatory duty according to all options.' One should not make the mistake of saying that this mitzvah only applies to the Seven Nations we were commanded to destroy - this is not so. We were commanded to destroy those nations when they fought against us, and had they wished to make peace we could have done so under specific conditions. Yet we cannot leave the land in their control or in the control of any other nations in any generation." The Torah draws out the basic conditions by which we are permitted to make peace with the non-Jewish inhabitants of the land. They must accept our sovereignty and government of the land, obey the Seven Noachide Laws, pay tax, and serve the nation. If they are willing to pledge allegiance to the Jewish state and people, then the Torah gives us permission to grant them the status of ger toshav and they may dwell in the land as foreign residents. This is no different than laws of other sovereign countries who grant work privileges and immigration to foreigners according to their own laws, like the United States' green card and immigration laws. Peace with neighboring nations is achieved through victory in war, in which the terms of that peace are dictated by the winning side. HaShem, through His great mercy, has given us an army, technology, and weapons that made it possible for us to win all of the wars that our enemies waged against us. It is only fear of our own greatness that holds us back from pinning down our enemy and dictating the terms of peace. The land of Israel belongs to Jews. We have the power and ability to keep and protect it. We need not fear the pressure of the nations of the world who demand that we surrender what is rightfully ours. We must fear only HaShem and put our trust in His covenant with our Fathers. Our presence and sovereignty in the land is a sanctification of God's Name - Kiddush HaShem. David Ha'ivri, chairman of Revava, is also editor of Darka Shel Torah and Ideas in Action newsletters, and the publisher of books teaching Jewish pride and faith in HaShem. He has set a goal to put the Jewish people back on the footpath of our fathers, and build a proud and strong nation whose national policy is based on Jewish values. He can be reached by email at haivri@hameir.org or at his website: http://www.hameir.org/ To Go To Top

MEDIA TWO-STEP Posted by Honest Reporting, February 2, 2005.

STEP ONE While the diplomatic mood in the Mideast may be taking a turn for the better, one classic pattern of anti-Israel media bias remains very much intact: When a Palestinian civilian dies under disputed circumstances, the media (1) overwhelmingly blame Israel, and (2) ascribe a 'revenge motive' to any subsequent Palestinian terror. On Monday (1/31), 10-year-old Nuran Deab was struck by a bullet in southern Gaza and died shortly thereafter. The IDF immediately suggested the gunshots may have come from nearby Palestinians firing celebratory shots in the air. Further, Reuters stated that 'it did not appear that Israeli soldiers some 600 meters away could have seen into the [school] compound from their position behind high walls.' Despite this, many news agencies were quick to promote the Palestinian version of events, backed by the UN: Agence France-Presse, under the headline 'Palestinian schoolgirl shot dead by Israeli troops in Gaza,' prominently quoted the PA prime minister condemning it as 'a crime.' The Israeli denial of responsibility was buried at the very end of the AFP report. The Independent based its story on a UN official who directly accused the IDF of firing on Deab, then passed off IDF spokespersons who denied culpability as 'plainly embarrassed.' Knight Ridder-Tribune quoted both Ahmed Qurei decrying the shooting as an IDF 'war crime,' and a UN official condemning 'the Israeli military's indiscriminate firing into civilian areas.' This lopsided version of events appears all the more ludicrous given the Jerusalem Post's report that PA police have now arrested a Palestinian man for the shooting. Comments to AFP: contact@afp.com Comments to The Independent: newseditor@independent.co.uk STEP TWO Step two of this dishonest reporting is to ascribe a 'revenge motive' to subsequent Palestinian terror. Nearly all articles included a statement similar to this from Knight Ridder: 'the militant group Hamas responded [to Deab's death] with a mortar attack on an Israeli settlement.' (Hamas issued a press announcement to that effect.) The IDF was thereby blamed for disturbing the 'calm' that had previously held. Yet Hamas mortar shells and rockets had never stopped raining on Israeli civilians in Gaza or Sderot - see reports from Jan. 24, 26, and 29. This episode, therefore, was clearly used by Hamas as a mere excuse for their ongoing terror. As we've seen repeatedly in this conflict, the terrorists use minor grievances - oftentimes fabricated - as pretexts to rationalize their murderous acts against civilians. When media outlets report these statements from Hamas et al., without directly questioning their merit, the media become a tool exploited by terrorists to promote their anti-Israel campaign. HonestReporting encourages subscribers to be on the alert for the 'media two-step' of blaming Israel for disputed events, then passing off subsequent Palestinian terror as 'revenge.' Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias. Honest Reporting monitors the media for inaccuracy and unfairness in how they report the news about Israel. Ther website address is http://www.honestreporting.com. You can help support their research online or by sending contributions to: HonestReporting, 400 South Lake Drive, Lakewood, NJ 08701-3167. To Go To Top

KAPPOS OF THE JUDENRAT IN JERUSALEM Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 2, 2005.

And you all thought it was only in Yeshah. This is a news item from Arutz-7 (www.IsraelNationalNews.com). It is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=76254 A group of several Arab teens smashed the window of the Zilberman school's study hall this morning. The police arrived at the scene after students from the school thrrew stones back at the Arab assailants - arresting the students, but declining to arrest the Arab stone-throwers. "A number of teachers yelled at the police, asking them why they weren't arresting the Arabs, who attacked the school unprovoked," said Yisrael Liebman, who teaches at the school. "The police refused to arrest the Arabs, who had not even run away but were standing around watching. The police instead arrested two of the rabbis who teach at the school, one of them the vice-principal." The students and teachers were brought to the "Kishle," the main Old City police station, located at the Jaffa Gate. One student, 18-year-old Y. of Ramat Beit Shemesh, said, "The police came with their clubs and began beating us up... Rav C. was beaten up terribly - punched, kicked, dragged - I didn't think he would get out of it alive... One of the policewomen who they say was injured slipped on the floor - and that's what they call injured." Rav J. said, "It was instigated totally by Effie Havivian - even though he later tried to explain that because one of his men was hit, he had to protect him. What did he mean that one of his men was hit? That in the middle of the beating up, finally one of our students threw something, and it grazed his forehead, and maybe drew a little blood - for that he had to beat us up." Rav C., who was detained in the police station for ten hours, later told the students that they saw this "injured" policemen take the bit of blood from his forehead, spread it around his face, and thus presented his "wounds" to the media. Rav Y. was detained for three hours. Both he and Rav C. refused to answer any of the police "questions," and were finally released. The three yeshiva students who were detained - one of them was handcuffed and then hit several times, Y. said - were released only early this evening, more than 24 hours later. The fax number of the Public Security Ministry office in Jerusalem is (+972-2) 530-8039. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top

STOLEN CHURCHES, STOLEN JEWS Posted by Michael Freund, February 2, 2005.

This is an article of mine from the Jerusalem Post regarding recent revelations that the Catholic Church sought after the Holocaust to avoid returning Jewish children to their parents. Letters to the editor of the Post may be sent to: letters@jpost.com. In the old Juderia, or Jewish district, of Segovia, Spain, the Corpus Christi church sticks out like a sore thumb and, as it turns out, not without good reason. Located northwest of Madrid, Segovia is best known as a popular site for Spanish tourists, who flock to see its imposing Roman aqueduct and the famed Alcazar, a medieval castle of the Castilian monarchy. Less well-known is its Jewish past, which came to an end in 1492 when the Edict of Expulsion compelled Segovia's Jews to leave. Despite the passage of time, though, the injustice of that act remains very much alive. For the Corpus Christi compound, which now houses a convent and church, had in fact served as Segovia's Great Synagogue until it was seized by the ecclesiastical authorities like brigands pouncing on booty. After paying an entrance fee of a few euros I walked into this building, where Sabbath prayers once echoed and the haunting tunes of Yom Kippur were uttered in awe, only to gaze in astonishment at the Catholic icons hanging incongruously on the wall. Bewildered and incensed, I walked out, only to find myself standing next to none other than the mother superior herself. Noticing the yarmulke on my head, she asked me with a smile if I had come for a visit. Yes, I told her, before politely asking why she would not return the synagogue to the Jews. The smile on her face quickly disappeared, giving way to a decidedly un-heavenly frown. "Because it is a Christian site," she insisted. "Yes," I said calmly, "but it was a synagogue before that, so shouldn't you give it back?" "Now it is for all people," she snapped, before turning and walking off. Somehow, I doubt that the founder of Christianity would have approved of this, as a Jewish house of worship was pilfered from its rightful owners and transformed into something it was never meant to be. Corpus Christi is hardly unique. There are unfortunately many similar examples to be found throughout Europe, where the Catholic Church frequently helped itself to Jewish property and assets in the wake of various expulsions, massacres and persecutions. But buildings were not the only thing the Church was interested in confiscating. As a recently discovered document makes clear, the Vatican had its eye on snatching Jewish children, too. Datelined October 1946, the document in question was a directive sent to the Vatican's Paris representative, Angelo Roncalli, stating that Jewish children hidden from the Nazis should not be returned to their parents if they had been baptized while in the church's care. "Avoid, as far as possible, responding in writing to the Jewish authorities, but do so orally," the document instructed, adding that its contents had been approved by Pope Pius XII. Since it was first published in the Italian daily newspaper Corriere Dela Sera on December 28, the directive has caused a firestorm of controversy, and rightfully so. After everything that the Jews of Europe had endured under Nazi rule, how could the Church possibly be so cruel? While the Vatican has sought to undercut the document's authenticity, it has also rejected requests by groups such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to open its archives, which would allow researchers a chance to corroborate or rebut the charges. Similarly, Rome is refusing to publish wartime baptismal records, which might shed light on what became of numerous Jewish children who survived the war. ADL Director Abraham Foxman, who was hidden and illicitly baptized by a Polish nanny, has noted that as a result of the Church's policy "There may have been tens of thousands of rescued and baptized Jewish children who to this day are not aware of their true origins." The directive, he said, "which most likely was not limited to France but reached Catholic clergy throughout Europe, adds a level of responsibility for the church to actively participate in revealing the truth about those who were baptized." Historian Daniel Jonah Goldhagen has gone even further, arguing that the document is a "smoking gun" which "proves the pope's and the Church's policy was to systematically kidnap Jewish children." Just last week the international community marked 60 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, decrying the crimes committed there. But by hiding the truth regarding Jewish children entrusted to its care during the Nazi period, the Vatican is keeping alive the wounds of the war. This is simply intolerable, and it is time for Israel and world Jewry to turn up the pressure on Rome to come clean. The Vatican must open its archives and release the baptismal records at once. It is bad enough that they plundered Jewish property over the centuries. They cannot be allowed to get away with stealing Jewish children too. Shortly after my encounter with the nun at Segovia, I was reminded of the Talmud saying that the Diaspora's synagogues and study halls will one day be physically relocated to Israel (Tractate Megilla 29a). Apparently, their connection with the Jewish people is so strong and so enduring that even the stones and bricks that comprise our houses of prayer will not be left behind in exile. If that is true of inanimate objects, how much more so does it apply to our fellow Jews? We must do whatever we can to find these unknown and unknowing Jews and bring them home. The truth, at last, must finally be allowed to come out. Michael Freund served as an aide to former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He is founder and chairman of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), which reaches out and assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people. This appeared in the Jerusalem Post today (www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull&cid=1107314583668&p=1006953079865) To Go To Top

WHAT IS AND IS NOT GENOCIDE Posted by Steven Plaut, February 2, 2005.

1. As you know, well over a million humans have been slaughtered by the Islamofascist regime in Sudan. Some of the worst atrocities have been in Darfur. Those campus "solidarity protesters" who spend some much time helping the Palestinians murder Israelis have never gotten around to setting up protest lines in front of nursery schools of SOuthern Sudanese. The UN yesterday announced that while atrocities have been prepetrated in Darfur, they should not be designated "genocide". The reason? The term "genocide" should be reserved for unique acts of inhumanity such as Israel's battle against terrorists in Jenin a couple of years back in which fewer than 20 Palestinians died. 2. Haaretz is making less and less attempt to be a newspaper, and these days does not even bother hiding the fact that it is the PLO's official spokes-organ. Haaretz is to the PLO as Noam Chomsky was to the Khmer Rouge. Today's print edition of Haaretz (not shown on their web edition) carries a large photo (someone with a scanner should post it) of the new Palestinian Authority "police" giving a Heil Hitler nazi salute with raised arm as their official morning salute. But Haaretz cannot let the photo speak for itself. So on its news page (NOT editorial page), just below the photo it adds that readers should not get upset at this display of nazism because similar salutes are common in many Arab armies. Yes, perhaps they are. I am waiting to see if this same Palestinian Authority gesture of goodwill and devotion for peace will be adopted as the morning salute of Israel's Peace Now. I believe Gush Shalom has been using it for some time. Can certain professors at Ben Gurion University be far behind? 3. Yesterday, France's Minister of the Interior proposed banning and criminalizing all neonazi organization in France. Israel will not be following France's example. There are too many neonazi organizations who already have Knesset representatives. Some of their members have tenure at universities. 4. "Our World: Mazuz vs. the Jewish People" (www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/ JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1107141483469) by Caroline Glick, Feb. 1, 2005. Last Wednesday Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz did something unpardonable. He decided that the state can no longer abide by the law of the land. That law, the Basic Law for the Israel Lands Authority from 1960 provides the legal basis for the ILA's administration of both state-owned lands and lands owned by the JNF. The law states that lands owned by the JNF a privately owned and funded trust are to be administered in accordance with the JNF's charter. Mazuz decided that from now on, the ILA will ignore the JNF's charter and administer its lands in the same manner as it administers state-owned lands. The JNF was founded at the dawn of modern Zionism for the purpose of raising money from Jews in the Diaspora and in Israel to buy lands in the Land of Israel for Jewish settlement. Its charter stipulates that JNF lands are to be used specifically for Jewish settlement. Stemming from this, it was agreed in 1960 that the ILA would only lease JNF land which comprises some 13 percent of the total land in Israel to Jews. In the meantime, state-owned lands which constitute more than 80 percent of land in Israel are leased to all citizens Jews, Muslim and Christians. The proximate cause of Mazuz's decision to renounce the state's commitment to administer JNF lands in accordance with its charter is a petition to the High Court of Justice submitted by the Arab Israeli "human rights" organization Adalah. While Adalah adamantly rejects Israel's right to be a Jewish state, it demands that Israel confer "collective rights" to Israel's Arab minority. In its petition, Adalah argues that the state, which through the ILA is prohibited from discriminating against citizens based on their religious or ethnic status, cannot administer JNF lands in accordance with its charter, but rather must treat JNF lands as it treats state-owned lands. In its response to the petition, the JNF explained, "The petitioners are requesting that the honorable court instruct the state to initiate an expropriation of all JNF lands. With all due respect, we have yet to hear of a case where a citizen forces the state to expropriate land for him from another. "The JNF is not a trust for the public living in Israel. The JNF trust belongs to the Jewish people in the Diaspora and in Israel. Not only does the JNF not have the duty to act for the benefit of all citizens of Israel, the JNF has a duty to purchase lands for use by Jews. "The JNF is prohibited from acting for the provision of lands to all residents of the state." MAZUZ, IN deciding the state's response to Adalah's petition, took Adalah's point and concluded that the ILA, as a statutory body, cannot both honor the terms of the JNF trust and follow the law of how the state is supposed to administer state lands. But there is a simple solution to this problem. If the state cannot administer privately owned lands in accordance with the wishes and directions of the lands' owners, it can stop administering them. After all, the Islamic Wakf owns large swathes of land in Israel which Jews are prohibited from purchasing or leasing. The Holyland Christian Ecumenical Foundation buys lands in Israel exclusively for Christian settlement. Yet rather than turn to the simple solution, Mazuz decided that the ILA can no longer publish tenders for any lands it administers which include a stipulation that the land is to be leased for Jewish settlement or use. And so, at his directive, JNF lands are to be treated from now on as if they are owned by the state. In so deciding, Mazuz has effectively expropriated and nationalized all JNF lands. Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

ARAB GIRL KILLED BY MUSLIM CELEBRATORY GUNFIRE, IDF BLAMED Posted by Naomi Ragen, February 2, 2005.

This was a news item in Arutz-7 and is archived at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=76196 A 10-year-old Arab girl was killed Monday by celebratory gunfire as PA Arabs departed for their pilgrimage to Mecca. Her death was initially blamed on the IDF by PA and UN officials. A7 - 20:19 Jan 31, '05 / 21 Shevat 5765 The girl was shot as she stood outside a UN-sponsored school in Rafiah, in Gaza. Suspicion surrounded the initial claims that the IDF was responsible for the girl's death due to the fact that no IDF activity had taken place anywhere near the school. It was later revealed by the Ynet news agency that hundreds of shots had been fired into the air by Muslims celebrating the departure of friends and family on the Hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Islam's holy cities, Mecca and Medina - incumbent upon every Muslim. The girl was killed when one of the bullets struck her in the head. Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and journalist who lives in Jerusalem. She can be contacted at www.naomiragen.com, where you can subscribe to her newsletter. To Go To Top

AT EVERY TURN, HOPE FOR PEACE; "REFORMIST" PLAN TO PAY TERRORISTS; IRAQI WEAPONS IN SYRIA Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 1, 2005.

INTERNATIONAL GUARANTEES Israel often is urged to accept international guarantees in lieu of actively defending its security from Arab encroachment. When Israel calls upon the guarantors to make good, they disavow responsibility. The same thing happened to Czechoslovakia, leading to WWII. It should be clear by now that there are no international guarantees, there only are international promises. These promises sometimes are made in good faith and increasingly are made in bad faith. Prudence dictates skepticism; rejection them! When offered them, Israel should stop being seduced. As the victim of aggression, let it secure its rights. Let foreign busybodies give the Arabs international guarantees that Israel, which keeps its agreements, will behave. TSUNAMI RELIEF (update) Originally I reported complaints that the US was stingy about Tsunami relief. Some of those complaints were lodged by partisan Democrats, who cited Pres. Bush's original low offer. They gave him no time to reflect, forgot that most US aid is from private agencies, and overlooked the value of US military protection. Why didn't they complain about S. Arabia offering less? Since then, S. Arabia has raised more money, and the US has offered more than 20 times the original amount. Some of the increase, however, may have been in reaction to the complaints. Americans, think through what you expect of our government! How much should the US divert from its declining resources to other countries, most of which cause their own grief or wish to cause ours? I resent foreigners who constantly condemn the US for protecting itself, but constantly implore the US to protect them so that they don't have to pay for doing so. Most foreign aid is wasted, and much goes to our Arab enemies. Hasty funding of tsunami relief would have fallen into jihadists' hands. The US government and corporations do cause some problems. The government exempts from taxation many big corporations that export jobs and pollute our environment, and subsidizes them from middle class revenues. Therefore, the American people are being exploited, too. Let the Europeans stop blaming the American people who are their fellow victims. Let the Europeans realize that their failure to help defeat Islamic fascism is victimizing us all! ELECTORAL PROSPECTS IN IRAQ Assuming no fateful assassinations, the Iraqi election may be most interesting. The likely winner is Mr. Chalabi. He is the one whom the US first wanted to head the Interim government, but then had a falling out with. The CIA, Jordan (which was pro-Saddam), and his Interim Cabinet rivals have continually leaked suspicions and threats about him. They vary from rumors that he turned US intelligence over to Iran and embezzled a fortune from a Jordanian bank, to carrying $2 worth of counterfeit currency. The flimsy charges have gone nowhere, and Congress did not take up his offer to appear before them with his own evidence. The Interim government, that has shady and Saddamist characters in it, tried to cancel the elections. That would keep it in power. With Chalabi in the ruling circle, anticipate prosecution of Saddamist crooks, solutions to various mysteries, and demands for the return of Iraqi funds stolen under UNO-Saddam auspices AT EVERY TURN, A HOPE FOR PEACE Minor changes in the P.A., such as a new terrorist face on the same old P.A., are heralded as "new hope for peace." That hope has no basis. Expressing it is done either out of relentless anti-Zionism or persistent naivete. The naifs don't realize that the problem is Arab fanaticism. The cynics seek new snares for the naifs. The suckers usually take the bait. HISTORICAL AMNESIA & STRATEGIC MYOPIA In his intent to abandon Gaza, PM Sharon seems to have forgotten why Israel had to liberate it twice before. In outside, Arab hands, it was used for attacking Israel. (So was Judea-Samaria, the Golan, and the Sinai. Driven by some unknown lemming instinct, this plan is based on historical amnesia.) Oops! It was MK Sharon who made that identical point some years ago. He forgot what he, himself, had pointed out. Abandonment would come at a time when Israel is on the verge of defeating terrorism, even without having fought it hard enough to have routed it quickly and more thoroughly. It also would come when the US is trying to teach terrorist states that it does not pay to foster terrorism. Sharon's proposed retreat from terrorism teaches the opposite lesson - that terrorism can win (IMRA, 1/11). The best arguments made against the follies of appeasement were made years earlier by people now indulging those follies. If there were someone with the opportunity, courage, and sense to ask PM Sharon to explain his change, the people might see that he has no reasonable answer for it. Indeed, the case against appeasement of the Arabs is greater now, after the Arabs have proved themselves jihadists. Unfortunately, most people with sense in regimented Israel are not given the opportunity or lack the courage. In the US, enough editors would point out that the head of government failed satisfactorily to answer the question about some topics, as to become public knowledge. "REFORMIST" PLAN TO PAY TERRORISTS "The London-based daily Al-Quds al-Arabi reported that Abu Mazen funneled at least $100,000 to wanted terrorists during the PA election campaign." "The paper revealed that Zakariya Zubeidi, the fugitive leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin, and other Fatah leaders gave Abu Mazen a letter expressing their interest in joining the PA security services. Such a step would mean the disbanding of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades." (No, it would be like Hitler folding his remaining S.A. storm troopers into the S.S.. That was nothing to cheer about.) "Meanwhile, the London-based daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that the American government is concerned about Abu Mazen's close relationship with armed elements and is refusing to invite him to Washington until it receives clarifications." (IMRA, 1/11.) What, the US is disenchanted with whom it supposed was a moderate, who would rein in terrorism? Is it surprised that after 40 years of participation in the terrorist movement, second only to Arafat, that Abu Mazen has not reversed himself? This report about Abu Mazen financing terrorists expresses the news as a scandal. Previously, however, we reported that the US gave him the money to do so. That is the real scandal. DON'T ROCK THE LEAKING BOAT Jews at Berkeley planned a rally against P.A. terrorism, featuring an exhibit of a burned out bus. A local rabbi publicly urges people not to attend. He thinks the rally would be counter-productive, because, writes Prof. Plaut, "the PLO is being so moderate and democratic by electing a new terrorist leader." Besides, now is not the time to remind the Arabs of their terrorism. He worries they would use the rally to argue their case and perhaps riot. Not rallying would permit constructive dialogue with those potential rioters. Displaying the bus in which people were murdered does not respect the dead (1/11, e-mail). To the contrary, using the bus to prevent more deaths respects the dead, for they would not have died in vain. JERUSALEM POST OVER THE DEEP END "Israel and the region, not to mention the Palestinians (Arafat's Arabs) themselves, have a great interest in the success of their democracy. Just months ago, conventional wisdom had it that the only alternatives to Yasser Arafat's leaden rule were radicalism or anarchy. Yesterday's generally orderly election and the weakness of the groups trying to keep the terror war alive show that these expectations were too low." (IMRA, 1/11 from Jer. Post editorial.) Dictatorships usually do have orderly elections. They also usually restrict rival candidates' access to the media if they allow rivals, intimidate voters, and allow false voting, as Abu Mazen did. That makes them undemocratic. The "Jerusalem Post" is distorting the situation. Why? For ideology? It must want Israel to deal with Abu Mazen, so it pretends he was properly elected, and the whole mechanism of dictatorship switched instantly to democracy. What a fairy tale! Another pretense is that the terrorists proved weak. To the contrary, the Fatah terrorists elected one of their own. In its editorial, the "Post" admitted that Mazen campaigned with terrorists and praised them, even as he opposed certain means of terrorism. The key here is certain means, but not all means, and for certain times, but not forever. "Post" ideology keeps editorials naïve. HOW WOULD VICE-PM PERES JUDGE ABU MAZEN Vice-PM Peres would judge the "moderate" Abu Mazen, whose doctoral dissertation was one of Holocaust denial, not on his results but "on what he starts to do" (IMRA, 1/10). Abu Mazen need only start moving against terrorism, for Israel to give him credit for ending it. The terrorism would resume, but based on the undeserved credit, Israel would make concessions to the Arabs that would facilitate the still extant terrorism. Peres rarely makes sense. IRAQ'S WEAPONS WENT TO SYRIA Russian special forces sneaked Iraqi weapons into Syria before the invasion, according to satellite photos. If they were conventional weapons, Iraqi trucks could have been used. Therefore, the likelihood is that they are non-conventional weapons, perhaps of Russian origin. Why didn't the US release this information and search for the weapons? (Winston Mid East Analysis, 1/11 from Washington Times). THE HELPFUL UNO The UNO is setting up a registry for P.A. Arab claims of damages from Israel's security fence. Presumably the UNO would ask Israel to compensate the claimants (IMRA, 1/11). Israel should tell the UNO to compensate the claimants from the P.A. budget, used to promote the terrorism that necessitates Israeli defensive measures. The claims probably are highly exaggerated, judging by the usual falsity of Arab land claims now and during the Mandate era. Another Israeli tactic should be to counter-claim for compensation from P.A.-sponsored and condoned terrorism. Israel should have deducted those costs from excise taxes it relayed to the P.A.. ANOTHER DANGER OF THE ABANDONMENT PLAN An Israeli officer told a Knesset committee that 46 Western Negev communities are located only seven miles from Gaza. They would be exposed both to infiltration and to rockets from Gaza (IMRA, 1/11) which now can travel 11 miles.) The plan is exposed as more and more a menace to Israel. Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him at ricshulman@aol.com. To Go To Top

REB HAIM'S WEBSITE Posted by Israel Zwick, February 1, 2005.

Check out Reb Haim's Website. It's a good Israel advocacy site and also has Divrei Torah - http://www.rabbihaim.com/ Israel Zwick can be contacted by email at israel.zwick@earthlink.net To Go To Top

THE DARK SIDE OF DEMOCRACY Posted by Ellen W. Horowitz, February 1, 2005.

Today... the world has heard the voice of freedom... (President George W. Bush) What we are seeing here is the emergence of an Iraqi voice of freedom... (Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) It is not the song of victory, nor the groans of the defeated. What I hear is simply noise... (Moses - Exodus 32:18) This week's Iraqi election was hailed in the loftiest of terms as a "grand moment" and turning point for Iraq and the world - a veritable "defeat of terrorism". I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but a bit of honesty is called for. The last time anybody actually saw and heard the kind of voices and trumpets that the White House claims to be hearing and seeing was at the Revelation at Sinai. I believe that what we are currently hearing and seeing are democratic delusions of grandeur. All of this talk of freedom, liberty and democracy against the backdrop of an increasingly violent, deranged and oppressive world is confusing. So, I returned to the dictionary and the Bible for some basic clarification. And I think I found the source of the problem... The current online dictionaries offer a rather cut and condensed version of some very lofty concepts - poor old Webster must be turning in his grave (I imagine the ghosts of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are lamenting, too). The following is the Wordnet definition of freedom, found at hyperdictionary.com: 1. [n] the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints 2 [n] immunity from an obligation or duty Now compare and contrast the above with the condensed Biblical account of freedom via the Exodus from Egypt (May G-d Almighty and Moshe Rabbenu forgive my abbreviated version): A short time after the Jews were freed from the tyranny, oppression and slavery of Egypt, they approached Mt. Sinai and were slapped with all sorts of external restraints and repeated warnings about crossing established boundaries. They then had a mountain held above their heads and were basically coerced into accepting a series of do's and don'ts, obligations and duties, lest they die. It became remarkably apparent that freedom meant the right to choose between good and evil, life and death. You wanna be free? Draw yourself clear boundaries, accept moral and ethical principles, be aware of yourself and sensitive to those around you, and serve a higher purpose. True liberty could be defined as the freedom to serve and fulfill obligations and duties which we know to be right. The ballot box and democratic reforms are simply tools to be used, or abused. Contrary to what America's president will have you believe, this is not the first time that the Islamic world has seen a ballot box. Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini formed a post revolution Islamic republic in 1979, under which a president was elected every four years. Dictatorial Democracy may, in fact, be the preferred form of government in the Middle East - where people periodically get the symbolic opportunity to wave their purple fingers and pictures of their victorious clerics or strongmen. These type of regimes appear to reflect the true will of the people. It's no surprise that the real victory in Iraq's elections appears to be Iranian-born and backed Ayatollah al-Sistani, who caused the U.S. coalition major headaches when he called for direct elections at a time when Washington was opposed to that option. Two years ago in an article called, "Freedom, the Great Oppressor," I wrote, "The people [of Iraq] are calling for a Theocracy and not Democracy. This, just two weeks after Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said, 'Iraqis will be free to form their own government as long as it is not an Iranian-style theocracy... That isn't going to happen.' Why do I get the feeling that America may soon be wheeling and dealing with the Ayatollah?" http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=2276 That the Iraqis braved threats from insurgents and voted in throngs is admirable, but it hardly spells a "defeat for terrorism". There is such a thing as terrorist states and state-sponsored terrorism, and insurgencies, rebellions, and revolutions are usually state-sponsored. And it's not always nations like Iran or North Korea behind evil developments. Democratic America's own CIA has had a substantial hand in creating much of the terrorist upheaval and tyranny taking place throughout the world. And, let's not forget that Adolph Hitler was freely and democratically elected. [Allow me to divert and mention that this week Halliburton, the U.S. Oil and Military Services company once run by US vice president Dick Cheney is planning to end its substantial business dealing in Iran after existing contracts come to an end. Seems they racked up some $80 million dollars in revenues from the evil, nuclear weapons producing theocracy of Iran in 2003] It seems America, always in need of a quick fix, has spun what is essentially a predicable Shiite Islamic revolution at the ballot box into a victory for peace and freedom. Saddam is gone, and that's very good, but it's a little premature and reckless to declare peace in our time. Indeed, in his inaugural address, a very zealous President Bush spoke about how an "untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world." Frankly, untamed fires frighten me. Bush proudly declared that, "I firmly planted the flag of liberty [in Iraq] for all to see..." I'm not sure what Mr. Bush planted, but come harvest time, if we run into a bumper crop of wild weeds, we'll know who to blame. This same reckless, almost frantic pattern has been seen over the last few weeks in Israel. Headlines had Bush "hailing" Abu Mazen's election victory of January 9th. Mazen had been in office for just 10 days and barely a week had gone by since the last Israeli casualties when, with projectiles still flying, Bush states that he is "very pleased by the courage and leadership shown by Abu Mazen," and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he is "very satisfied". That's quickest positive job assessment in recorded history. Why the mad rush, guys? Even the Hudna of 2003 lasted longer before erupting with a big bang. But when the terrorist group Hamas scored a stunning landslide victory in democratic municipal elections throughout Gaza this week, there was silence from the White House. Also, there was very little reporting of the grand victory celebration which sparked a shoot-out between Fatah and Hamas and left 25 people wounded. It seems nothing will get in the way of America's brand of liberty and their vision of a divided and castrated Israel alongside a "peaceful, active, vibrant [Palestinian] state". Not only does the emperor have no clothes, but today's Western leaders are running a globalized nudist colony in which their latest fetish is to revel around a golden ballot box called "freedom and democracy". Meanwhile the venomous creatures and Ayatollahs of the desert, watch and wait patiently for the right time to strike. Based on the examples set by Sharon and Bush, I imagine that it's the individual in a position of power, who thinks that he is free and in control, who will eventually become the oppressor. That's the funny thing about freedom and the very dark side of Democracy. Ellen Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights, Israel with her husband and six children. She is a painter and columnist for Israelnationalnews.com. Contact her by email at ellen@artfromzion.com To Go To Top

GOOD NEWS, YES? Posted by Women in Green, February 1, 2005.

by Eugene Narrett, Ph.D. They report that about 8 milllion of potential 13 million "Iraqis" voted January 30 and, if reasonably accurate, that's an impressive turnout, far greater than the registered voters in America confronted by the choice of Bob Dole of Bill Clinton, say, in 1996. But of course, the people in Mesopotamia have a lot more at stake: murder or living on; electricity more than a few hours a day; potable water, and so on. There are numerous interesting details. The word is that a 'moderate Shi'ite' list led by Dr. Alawi won. No doubt the regime of the Shi'ite mullahs in Iran will try to manipulate it. But perhaps the influence will work the other way. And then, who knows? Like Mesopotamia, Iran does, under the name of Persia, have a lengthy pre-Islamic history, culture and identity. It also is interesting to hear network discussion of the pressures this brings on the other Ba'ath party regime, in "Syria," another of the inter-war British-coined new nations. On FOX a guest even forthrightly noted that Syria was sponsoring most of the terrorists and terrorism in "Iraq," and discussion ensued of how America needed to get tough with, and perhaps push out, the Asad family despotism. Even "Syria's" occupation of Lebanon was noted. So perhaps America is in the process of doing what the British had the wish but not the will or the power to do, to create a self-sustaining, reasonably self-governing nation called "Iraq" in Mesopotamia, unifying the oil fields of the northern province of Mosul (Kurdistan, center of ancient Ashur = "Assyria") with the oil rich areas around Basra at the head of the Persian Gulf that Britain had always intended be its protectorate. And if the Kurds again don't get their state, well, we will see what happens.... Yet this auditor couldn't help but consider the contrast between this never-before-in-history nation, "Iraq" set up by the British in the 1920s and which has brought so much treachery (e.g. its pro-Nazi coup in 1940) and bloodshed to the world in 80 years, with the fate of Israel and the Jewish people under the malevolent and treacherous British Mandate. The Mandate was declared at San Remo in 1920 and became legal in 1922, although it was in effect de facto since 1918 when the Jewish Nili service and Jewish troops gave invaluable help to General Allenby in driving the Turks from what the whole world called, after the Roman name, "Palestine." General Allenby acknowledged that assistance though he later played a small but key role in betraying the Jewish people and the National Home. As some readers know, the League of Nations Mandate to Britain stipulated that Britain would "facilitate Jewish immigration into "Palestine" [Israel including the West Bank and Jordan], close settlement of Jews on the Land and establishment of the Jewish National Home." As many readers know, but all too few citizens do, indeed few university educated historians know or care to know as I have seen for decades to our shame, the British actively betrayed all these essential provisions of their Mandate for 28 years, until under the pressure of the belated Jewish Revolt, they packed up in summer 1948, having done everything they could to inflame a non-existent pan-arab nationalism based on eradicating the Jews in pre-State Israel. Unifying the Arabs by enflaming murderous hatred of Jews was the only form of unity the British could establish for what they'd hoped would be their large, oil-soaked dependency, managed largely by cousin America. So rather than bringing 4 or 5 or 8 million Jews from Europe and the Americas to the Promised Land, making it bloom and burgeon with productivity, innovation (and gratitude to Britain, too), the British ruling circles were de facto but major allies of Hitler in his world-historical project of eradicating the Jewish people. They continue to be, along with the American State Department primary players in the crippling of Israel and the murder of Jews to this day, both directly, through arming and empowering the Arabs and Muslim hatred of Jews, and pervasively by undercutting Israel's right to settle and rule ALL of its historic homeland, at least those parts, Israel and Transjordan (the Gilead), as set forth in the Mandate. So while a smidgen of freedom and self-government is created for a, historically speaking, brand-new state manufactured by Anglo-American (and French & Russian and German) diplomacy and treacheries, one of the most ancient nations in the world, with one of the handful of most ancient sovereignties, languages, forms of worship and governance, the ancient nation and people that have shaped the west more than any other and have had probably the greatest influence on the entire world of all are not only crippled and imperilled daily, but Judaism, the faith of this people, continues to be rendered effectively ILLEGAL. How so? The faith of Judaism is essentially a practice: "we will DO and [then] we will understand." It is a way (derekh) of living. Much of its practice requires settling the land, all the land given to Israel in its covenant with the Creator. All the betrayals of the Mandate, all the partition plans of the British and UN, all the "Land for peace" deals of the last 40 years are NOT ONLY POLITICAL BETRAYALS: they in effect are declarations that the central tenet of Judaism, settlement of Jews on the Land to practice the commandments, is unacceptable to the nations of the world. So kudos to America's plan to create a pluralist and constitutional "Iraq." Perhaps someday this brand new nation in Mesopotamia, that previously in its ancient history has been united only by various empires will even recognize and deal in friendly fashion with Israel. But how great a contrast is its creation and support (complete with an American army to fight terrorists!) with the stance of America, Britain and the rest of "the world community" to the ancient nation of Israel and its civilization-forming faith that for a century has been in the process of being politicked into pariah status and its people blotted, if not quite from the earth, at least from Europe and their ancient homeland in the Middle East. Ruth and Nadia Matar established Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green), an activist group of women based in Jerusalem. Their website address is http://www.womeningreen.org To Go To Top

UNCLE SHIMON WANTS US TO PLAY SANTA CLAUS FOR TERRORISM Posted by Steven Plaut, February 1, 2005.

1. Just when you think that things could not possibly get any stupider in Israel, along comes Uncle Shimon (Peres) with his newest brainstorm. Uncle Shimon wants Israel to pay tribute to terror in the form of a monthly stipend of $100 paid to every Palestinian under the "poverty line". It is not clear which poverty line he means, but it is probably Israel's, which would mean just about every Palestinian would be entitled to this free handout. Since it is $100 per Palestinian, a family of ten Palestinians would get $1000 each month, almost what an Israeli professor earns. 2. The chief McCarthyist of the Labor Party and now Ariel Sharon's Minister of the Interior, Ophir Pines, has announced that accountants at his ministry will open an investigation into the question of "who financed" the large mass demonstration this week against the Sharon-Mitzna capitulation plan for Gaza. Never mind that his Ministry has no authority over such questions. And what questions are not interesting enough for Comrade Pines to investigate? Well, like, who is financing all those picayune far-Left organizations in Israel with almost no members but money for huge full-page ads and big billboards? Like who pays for Yossi Beilin's shenanigans? Like who pays for Ami Ayalon's PR stunts? Like who finances Israel's Lord Haw-Haw, Uri Avnery? Who pays for those "international solidarity" hooligans? Who finances "Peace Now"? Who pays for those propaganda anti-Israel speaking trips of Israel's tenured traitors? None of these items interest Comrade Pines. 3. Next time anyone is looking for some kapos to work as guards at concentration camps in which Jews can be herded, some of the people from this list might be interested for the job: http://www.eccmei.net/~eccmei/j/indiv.html 4. "The Left Is Worth Nothing" by Dennis Prager, today's FrontPageMagazine.com. "Someone who does not know the difference between good and evil is worth nothing." - Miecyslaw Kasprzyk, Polish rescuer of Jews during the Holocaust, New York Times, Jan. 30, 2005 It took a Polish rescuer of Jews in the Holocaust, cited this week 60 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and death camp, to best describe those people who cannot or refuse to know the difference between good and evil. They are "worth nothing." Since I was an adolescent, I have been preoccupied with evil: specifically, why people engage in it and why other people refuse to acknowledge its existence. As I have gotten older, I often find the latter group more infuriating. Somehow, as much as I don't want to, I can understand why a Muslim raised in a world permeated with hate-filled lies about America and Israel, and taught from childhood that God loves death, will blow himself up and joyfully maim and murder children. As evil as the Muslim terrorist is, given the Islamic world in which he was raised, he has some excuse. But the non-Muslims who fail to acknowledge and confront the evil of Muslim terror and the evil of those monsters who cut innocent people's throats and murder those trying to make a democracy - these people are truly worth nothing. Unlike the Muslims raised in a religious totalitarian society, they have no excuse. And in my lifetime, these people have overwhelmingly congregated on the political Left. Since the 1960s, with few exceptions, on the greatest questions of good and evil, the Left has either been neutral toward or actively supported evil. The Left could not identify communism as evil; has been neutral toward or actually supported the anti-democratic pro-terrorist Palestinians against the liberal democracy called Israel; and has found it impossible to support the war for democracy and against an Arab/Muslim enemy in Iraq as evil as any fascist the Left ever claimed to hate. There were intellectually and morally honest arguments against going to war in Iraq. But once the war began, a moral person could not oppose it. No moral person could hope for, let alone act on behalf of, a victory for the Arab/Islamic fascists. Just ask yourself but two questions: If America wins, will there be an increase or decrease in goodness in Iraq and in the world? And then ask what would happen if the Al Qaeda/Zarqawi/Baathists win. It brings me no pleasure to describe opponents of the Iraqi war as "worth nothing." I know otherwise fine, decent people who oppose the war. So I sincerely apologize for the insult. But to the Left in general, as opposed to individually good people who side with the Left, I have no apologies. It is the Left - in America, in Europe and around the world - that should do all the apologizing: to the men, women and children of Iraq and elsewhere for not coming to their support against those who would crush them. That most Democratic Party leaders, union leaders, gay leaders, feminists, professors, editorial writers and news reporters have called for an American withdrawal and labeled this most moral of wars "immoral" is a permanent stain on their reputations. About 60 percent of the Iraqi people went to vote despite the fact that every Iraqi voter risked his or her life and the lives of their children, whose throats the Islamic fascists threatened to slit. Yet, the Left continues to label the war for Iraqi democracy "immoral" while praising the tyrant of Cuba. Leftists do so for the same reason they admired Ho Chi Minh and Mao Tse-tung and condemned American arms as the greatest threat to world peace during and after the Cold War. The Left "does not know the difference between good and evil." And that is why it is worth nothing. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16845 Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist, a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author of "The Scout." He frequently comments - both seriously and satirically - on Israeli politics and the left wing academic community. His website address is http://www.stevenplaut.blogspot.com. To Go To Top

THANK YOU BARAK Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 1, 2005.

We all have the former, and wannabe again, Prime Minister Ehud Barak to thank for all this. His cowardly betrayal of South Lebanon to the Hezbollah murderers left the area open to the influx of missiles. This is also what would happen if Sharon's plans to exterminate the Jewish communities of Yeshah were to succeed. This article was written by Aaron Klein and appeared today n World Net Daily. It is called "Trouble In The Holy Land," Report: Hezbollah obtained advanced missiles Israel worries Syria might provide weapons from new Russian deal. It is archived at www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42636 Aaron Klein is WorldNetDaily's special Middle East correspondent, whose past interview subjects have included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Shlomo Ben Ami and leaders of the Taliban. Israeli officials say Hezbollah has obtained an advanced surface-to-air missile, forcing Israeli aircraft to fly at higher altitudes and underscoring fears missiles Russia is selling to Syria may be handed over to terrorists. A report in Israel's Maariv daily Hebrew edition quoted Israeli officials saying Hezbollah has acquired SAM-18 anti-aircraft missiles from a former Soviet republic other than Russia, prompting Israeli air force jets to fly higher while nearing the Israeli-Lebanese border. The SAM-18 is a high-altitude, infrared-capable, heat-seeking missile that homes on and attacks the primary source of heat detected. The missiles are considered moderately advanced, and would be the most potent missile known to be in Hezbollah's arsenal. The report strengthens American and Israeli objections to a deal Russia made last week to sell Syria the advanced SA-18 surface-to-air missile, an improved version of the Strela missile with a larger warhead, extended range and higher speed. Sources said the sale is the first transfer in a larger missile package that includes another anti-aircraft missile system mounted on armored personnel carriers and a surface missile capable of engaging multiple targets at once. U.S. and Israeli officials have been urging Russia to limit the scope of its missile sale to Syria and have expressed concern the weapons could be passed to Hezbollah or to insurgents for use against U.S. forces in Iraq. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the missiles will not find their way to terrorists. "We have the ability to know exactly where these missiles are located," Putin said. He added the missiles are mounted on vehicles and cannot operate if they are detached from them. Syrian president Bashar Assad told Russia's State Institute for Foreign Relations last week the weapons sold by Russia "are for air defense, meant to prevent aircraft from intruding in our airspace. If Israel objects to our acquisition of these defensive weapons, it is as if it is saying, 'We want to attack Syria but we do not want them to defend themselves.' That's not logical." WorldNetDaily reported the missile sales were part of a major weapons agreement between Putin and Syrian president Bashar Assad in which Russia pledged to upgrade Syria's military and sell to it advanced arms. Putin also pledged joint business ventures, including projects focusing on the development of oil and gas resources in Syria, and agreed to write-off 73 percent of Syria's $13.4 billion debt to Russia. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. To Go To Top