August 2001
August 2, 2001 Bring Jonathan Pollard Home
August 7, 2001 Temple Mount Perservation Act - Petition
August 7, 2001 Is Israel Still Enslaved to Egypt?
August 13, 2001 Where Does the Blame Lie?
August 17, 2001 Is it Good For America?
August 23, 2001 A New Guide for the Perplexed?
August 31, 2001 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
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Jerusalem, August 2, 2001
Bring Jonathan Pollard Home
The following is a letter we received from "The Committee to Bring
Jonathan Home." Women in Green bless the efforts of the
Committee on behalf of Jonathan Pollard and the Israel Action
Alliance and urge all of you to participate in their important activities
for the release of our brother Jonathan Pollard.
Nadia
-------------------
Dear Friends,
If you were at the very successful and moving Walk Around Jerusalem Tisha
B'Av Eve, you probably were handed a flyer (in Hebrew) announcing a shiur to
be given by Rav Mordechai Elon for the cause of freeing Jonathan Pollard.
(Jonathan's cause should be well known to subscribers of this list; for more
information, see www.jonathanpollard.org.)
This shiur is being organized by the Committee to Bring Jonathan Home and
the Israel Action Alliance, grass roots organizations whose aims are to
increase public awareness about Pollard among Israelis and to lobby decision
makers about him. Women for Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green) supports this
effort and cooperates with it.
Info about the shiur:
Shiur with Rav Mordechai Elon (Hebrew)
"Yonatan, Achinu Atah: Arvut Hadadit"
Wednesday, 15 August at 8:00 PM
Renaissance Yerushalayim Hotel (near Kiryat Moshe)
For more information, please call 055-665-036 or email Arvut@egroups.com
Havaad Lehava'at Yonatan Habayta
If anyone can accept a packet of these flyers to display and distribute in
their local shuls, it would be a big help to the organizers.
Please call or email Yehoshua Steinberg at 055- 665-036 or arvut@egroups.com
if you can help.
Thanks,
Gidon Ariel
The Israel Action Alliance
gidon1@egroups.com
(02) 589-4721
055-665-037
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Jerusalem, August 7, 2001
Temple Mount Perservation Act - Petition
Dear Friends,
The Arabs are destroying the remains of the First and Second Temples on the
Temple Mount. We ask you to read the following petition and add your name.
Nadia and Ruth
--------------------------
The Temple Mount Preservation Act of 2001 (H.R. 2566) is a brand new bill
which was introduced at a press conference at the Sam Rayburn Building in
Washington D.C. July 19th 2001 by Congressman Eric J. Cantor (R-7th /VA).
The bill seeks to protect the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, by halting all
funding to the PA, unless the President certifies that all excavation on
the Temple Mount has stopped!
THIS BILL NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!
Enclosed is a world wide petition, that seeks one million names of people
everywhere, not only US citizens.
This petition will be hand delivered to selected members of Congress, and
will help elicit their support for the bill.
TO JOIN THE PETITION, please submit your name, email address and city and
country of residence, and email it to
Shoshanna Walker
<
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Jerusalem, August 7, 2001
Is Israel Still Enslaved to Egypt?
The ancient people of Israel are often accused by the nations of the world
of being racist because they are required to think of themselves as having
a mission to be "a light unto the nations." The accusations with regard to
this deliberately misunderstood concept take on different forms.
Particularly is this true, where those who themselves are generally
immersed in amoral and inhumane practices, have other undeclared motives
for their accusations.
Take Egypt for instance. The latest charge of their Foreign Minister is
that Israel is led by a "gang of assassins." Egypt has a long and unabated
history of attempting to subjugate and oppress the Jewish People. No doubt
about it, the present Egyptian attitude towards the Jewish People is still
influenced by the previous Jewish enslavement to Egypt. It is Egypt's
ironical repayment to Joseph who, as recounted in the Bible, through his
Jewish wisdom and leadership, extricated Egypt from what was then an
upcoming disaster.
Cunningly, Egypt has used typical Arab deception to regain the whole of
Sinai, with its precious oil and gas, much needed by Israel today. It
signed a "peace treaty" with Israel, which it never intended to implement.
It thereby regained the territory it had lost through wars against Israel,
which it, in concert with other Arab nations, had initiated. It turned out
to be an outstanding Egyptian maneuver, worthy of the admiration of
Machiavelli himself.
The official Egyptian media, despite the so-called "peace treaty", has
continued to spew hate, and classical anti-Semitism, to demean Israel and
the Jewish People at every opportunity. It is accompanied by a policy of
Mubarak of openly refusing to visit Israel, except for the one happy
occasion for him, when he thought it beneficial to be present at the
funeral of an assassinated Jewish Premier. He has recalled his Ambassador
to Israel on the flimsiest of excuses, and continues to this day to refuse
to return him to Tel Aviv. He has falsely imprisoned a Druse from Israel
without basis on some trumped up charge, in order to drive a wedge between
the Druse community and the Government of Israel. Mubarak, no doubt, is
also attempting to convey to the Druse community an expression of his
displeasure that he does not look with favor that they serve in the Israeli
Defense Forces.
Notwithstanding the open and hostile attitude of Mubarak, previous Israeli
governments, particularly those of Barak, Peres and Rabin, have made
frequent servile trips to Egypt, with or without Arafat. Their purported
aim was to use Mubarak as an impartial arbitrator, to resolve the many
differences Israel was having with Arafat and the Palestinian Authority.
Despite Mubarak's present harsh accusations against Prime Minister Sharon,
Peres, as the present Foreign Minister, disloyally continues to travel to
Cairo to see Pope Mubarak. What does it take for Israel to recognize the
depth of hostility of Mubarak and Egypt towards Israel? National pride and
reality require a complete re-evaluation of our relationship with Egypt.
Our message to FM Peres therefore is: "Let go of the coat tails of Mubarak,
Shimon!"
Ruth and Nadia Matar
---------------------------
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Jerusalem, August 13, 2001
Where Does the Blame Lie?
Mayor Ehud Olmert was being interviewed on television after a suicide
bombing of a pizza restaurant in the heart of Jerusalem took the lives of
many Jews, including six children and where scores were maimed and injured.
Mayor Olmert went out of his way to emphasize that his complaint was not
against the Arabs generally, but only those who engaged in these sort of
terrorist activities. Unfortunately, the Mayor, as many others do, refused
to face realty. As a result, the mayhem will continue.
Predictably, there was wild joy over the bombing and its tragic results
throughout the Arab world, but particularly among the Arab communities in
Israel and in the "territories." Therein lies the root of the problem.
It is, unfortunately, a fact that the violence and terror against the Jews
is approved not only by the Arab world itself, but by the great majority of
Arabs who reside here in Israel and its surrounds. Mayor Olmert was
completely in error in saying what he did. It does not matter whether the
approval is expressed through silence, or whether there is, as the news
following the event demonstrated, a barbaric Arab expression vocally.
Theses types of atrocities will continue because there is no revulsion felt
as to these inhumane suicide bombings among the Arabs themselves. No
influential Arab voices are raised to put a stop to this type of violence
and terror.
It is outright barbarism. Any people who approves of this type of inhumane
behavior where innocent children and civilian men and women are blown to
smithereens, is not worthy of any human sympathy. Whether the exponents of
this savagery be Arab Members of Knesset, or leaders of the Palestinian
Authority itself, the same human condemnation is due from those who want a
just, moral and humane world.
Those in the Arab communities, whether they be ordinary citizens or their
leaders, must assume responsibility for the actions of their brethren, and
deter them from such acts of savagery and barbarism. When they do not do
so, they declare themselves as one with the perpetrators of these
atrocities.
Mayor Olmert was dead wrong when he excuses those Arabs who stand on the
sidelines, and do not protest. They are as responsible as the murderers!
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, August 17, 2001
Is it Good For America?
America's Middle East policy, formulated and directed by the U.S. Sate
Department, is a recognized failure. Instead of bringing peace to the area,
it has produced unabated violence. Both from a short and long term point of
view, America's present interests in the region are not being furthered by
its present policies.
The cardinal aspect of such U.S. policy is its reliance on the creation of a
Palestinian state, under the leadership of Arafat. However, as recent
events have proven, this development would be a catastrophe for the Middle
East. Arafat is a close ally of Saddam Hussein, America's worst vicious
enemy. Moreover, Arafat has a long and unbroken record of unreliability and
also as an outright terrorist and murderer. At the first opportunity,
Arafat and the Palestinian Authority will join forces with Saddam Hussein in
any attack on America and its allies.
Blaming Israel for defending itself and its citizens from constant murderous
Arab attacks is another puzzling aspect of the State Department policy. Nor
will its attempt to play the role of a neutral judge ever satisfy the Arab
appetite for destroying Israel. It would be in furtherance of America's
image as a powerful democracy, for America to act on a consistent basis. The
U.S. cannot adopt hypocritical stances where it has one criteria for Israel,
and another for itself.
What is needed is an entirely new approach. The criteria remains the same,
namely: What is in the best interest of America? The day to day senseless
condemnations from the State Department against Israel must be abandoned.
Granted that America's interest is to keep the oil flowing from the Middle
East area at a reasonable price. However, that should not be done at the
expense of destroying Israel's image. Rather America should be promoting the
basic concepts on which it was founded: Liberty, Justice, and Biblical
Morality.
Included in this new approach, Saudi Arabia, as well as all other Arab
regimes, should be made to realize that Arafat represents a dire threat to
each of these countries. Terror spreads, and will not be confined to the
borders of Israel. Moreover, by aligning himself with Saddam Hussein, Arafat
is a constant threat to the Saudis and all other regimes in the area.
The present U.S. policy of supporting a Palestinian state will lead to a
predictable war and instability. Some other imaginative formula must be
worked out. A policy of transfer of Arabs, with America's assistance, to
neighboring Arab countries should be considered. After all, ninety percent
of the Arabs in Israel immigrated to Israel within the last 100 years.
That would be a rational and workable way out of the present impasse. Above
all, new thinking is required. The stale, rote, U.S. State Department
present policies only invite an inevitable disaster.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, August 23, 2001
A New Guide for the Perplexed?
The complex Middle East picture which Prime Minister Sharon is required to
solve, cannot but baffle him. On the one hand, there is wily Arafat who
skillfully blurs his terrorist and barbaric activities under the guise of
a National Liberation Movement. Then there is the United States which acts
to protect its need for Arab oil. Accordingly, it engages in a macabre
dance whereby it seeks to assuage the Arabs by unreasonably bashing Israel.
Moreover, to keep the region quiet, U.S. policy demands Israel show
restraint in the face of Israel's citizenry being slaughtered on a daily
basis. Added to this stew, are the hostile positions of the nations of
Europe. They too need Arab oil; they too want the massive oil monies
deposited in their banks; and they too seek favorable trade from the many
Arab countries in the region. Then there is the United Nations overhanging
threat to intervene. Its policies are dominated by countries currying favor
with the Arabs and their oil wealth.
The situation becomes more complex because Sharon has chosen the path
of a unity government. The leftist-oriented Labor Party holds pivotal posts
in such a government, led by the Socialist-International adherent Shimon
Peres, as Israel's Foreign Minister. A ludicrous phenomenon is occurring.
The Israeli electorate overwhelmingly voted in the last elections for a
nationalistic-oriented government. Yet today Shimon Peres virtually rules
this nation, despite the fact that his views are those of a slim minority,
not shared by the major bulk of the electorate.
Add to this complex picture, the fact that Sharon is no longer a
young man. He was previously maliciously smeared by Labor, who invented
a bizarre accusation against him in the Sabra and Shatila matter. More
recently, Labor's major platform in the last election was the prediction
that Sharon will lead us to war. Faced with the many years of attempting to
exonerate his name and reputation, Sharon no longer seems to possess his
former daring and courage. The psychological factors involved may have
taken their toll, and affected his confidence and ability to act decisively.
Israel desperately needs a leader who believes passionately in the
value of its noble Ancient Heritage, and its historical rights to its
Homeland. Above all, it requires a leader to inspire and unite the Jewish
People in the present war being waged against them by the Arabs. Sharon, up
to now, has not shown such leadership.
Given the above considerations, it is a gigantic task for anyone to
lead. Yet, despite such problems, Israel desperately needs an inspired
leader. Recent polls indicate that the Jewish People in Israel are losing
faith in Sharon. Under the present trying circumstances of the Arab
intifada, they need to be fortified in their faith, belief in themselves,
and in their rights to this Promised Land. Sharon, or some other leader,
must have the courage and wisdom to provide new guidelines and objectives.
Oslo is dead. It is now quite clear that a Palestinian state is a dire
threat to Israel's survival. Israel must meet the challenge of Arab enmity
that refuses to abate, or ever to go away.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, August 31, 2001
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
Dear Friends,
The following is the translation of a part of my radio show on Arutz 7.
Shabbat Shalom,
Nadia
-----------------------
I want to tell you: despite the difficult situation, I am optimistic.
Rabbi Benny Elon said once in a demonstration: to be optimistic
means knowing that the situation is extremely serious and difficult,
but knowing that, with God's help, it is also possible to emerge
from this, and that, with God's help, it is possible to prevail and be
victorious.
I received proof this week, when I attended a very special evening
that I will speak about later, an event that in its entirety expressed
the verse "hazak, hazak, ve-nithazek" - "Let us be strong and
resolute for the sake of our people and the cities of our God"
(II Samuel 10:12).
Incidentally, this verse was distributed in thousands of copies, on
cloth banners and on posters, throughout Israel. The distributors
were highly successful: they succeeded in annoying the former
government minister, Yuli Tamir. She was so upset that she wrote
an editorial in "Ha'aretz" against the "religious-messianic" signs
that cause "damage to Zionism." In my opinion, the reason that
this verse so greatly bothered Yuli Tamir is that it reminded her that
we are indeed strong, that we cannot be broken; we - that is, those
Jews, religious and less religious - who believe in the eternal Divine
link between the people and the Land. Those Jews who, despite
the terrorist attacks, despite the loss, despite the bereavement,
continue to proclaim "Let us be strong and resolute for the sake of
our people and the cities of our God." Those Jews who, despite the
shooting on the roads, despite the mortars on houses, remain in
their settlements and do not leave, continue routine life as much as
possible, continue to travel on the roads, continue to
build, establish "me'achazim" [outpost settlements], settlement core
groups, continue to settle, continue to smile, and yes, continue to
sing as well.
The so amazing event which I saw this week was the premiere
performance of the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dream Coat" in the Gush Etzion community center. The story
began about two months ago, at the end of the school year, when
a group of women from Efrat and Gush Etzion spoke together
about the "situation" and the urgent need to improve people's mood
and to raise the public's morale. Various ideas were raised, until
Sharon Katz, a very special woman, who is active in many areas, a
resident of Efrat, suggested staging the musical "Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat." As is well known, this successful
musical was staged many years ago in the United States, as an
outstanding musical for the entire family.
The story of the righteous Joseph is presented to the public with
drama, with humor, with feeling, and, mainly, with much singing
and dancing. It was decided to stage the performance by women
for women. More than a hundred women, from Efrat and from Gush
Etzion - grandmothers, mothers, girls, and children - volunteered to
be part of this grandiose project. Women were found with hidden
talents - singers, dancers, choreographers, writers, seamstresses,
artists, and more. Those women gathered for exhausting and tiring
rehearsals during the entire eight weeks of the summer, at least
four times a week, each time for long hours into the middle of the
night. The musical was presented to the audience in its original
language, English, with connecting and explanatory passages in
Hebrew.
At first, the question was raised of whether to conduct rehearsals
on the day on which a terrorist attack was perpetrated. It transpired
that if the rehearsals had to be canceled every time there was a
terrorist attack, the rehearsals would never be held. And so it was
decided, intentionally, to hold all the rehearsals. The night before
the premiere performance, the husband of one of the main
actresses in the play was wounded. Sixteen bullets were fired by
despicable Arab murderers at the car in which her husband, a Jew
residing Efrat, was traveling. The murderers attacked him not far
from Beit Shemesh, on his way from Ben-Gurion Airport to Efrat.
The bullets hit his hand and his leg. After it was learned that his
condition in the hospital, thank God, was stable, his wife, Ann,
decided not to cancel the performance, specifically in order to
show the murderers that we will not stop singing.
As the director, Toby Greenwald, said in the introduction: "We
women of Efrat and Gush Etzion, we are neither politicians nor
members of the military. We will not begin to lecture about 'the
situation.' This musical is our response to 'the situation.'" The
musical was staged in memory of the victims of terror, and
especially the seven victims of terror, residents of Efrat and Gush
Etzion, who fell in recent months in the war for our land - including
Esther Alvan and Sarah Blaustein, may the Lord avenge them.
All the proceeds are earmarked for charity, for terror victims.
Words fail me in describing how wonderful, how special, moving,
fantastic, unbelievable, professional, and amazing that evening
was. The organizers succeeded in elevating everyone's spirits.
Women came to the premiere from Efrat and Gush Etzion,
Beit Shemesh, and Jerusalem. The tickets for the next three
performances went like wildfire. The breathtaking musical event
succeeded in creating a bond between the women, a bond of love,
a bond of a shared destiny, a bond of power and strength,
a bond of faith, a bond of "Let us be strong and resolute for the
sake of our people and the cities of our God."
This sisterly bond that was felt on that special evening reminded
me of Rabbi Motty Elon's words in an inspirational evening in the
area. The Rabbi quoted the "Keli Yakar" commentator on the Torah
portion of Shelah. It is written, "Send out men for yourself [to
scout the land of Canaan]" (Numbers 13:2). What does this mean,
"Send out men for yourself"? Why "for yourself"? Keli Yakar explains:
Moses wanted to send men, males, to be the spies who would scout out
the Land, but, according to Keli Yakar, G-d specifically preferred
women to scout the land. He writes: "As our Rabbis, of blessed memory,
wrote: The men hated the Land and said, 'Let us appoint a leader and
return to Egypt' [Numbers 14:4], while the women [the daughters of
Zelophehad]
loved the Land and said, 'Give us a landholding' [Numbers 27:4].
G-d therefore said: According to My opinion, for I foresee the
future, it would be better to send women, who love the Land, for
they will not defame it; but you, according to your opinion, who
think that they [the men] are fit, and you think that the Land is
beloved by them, send men. This is 'Send out for yourself,'
according to your opinion, men - but according to My opinion, it
would be preferable to send women."
Today, women are in the front line of the war for our land. Mothers
sacrifice themselves in order to defend babies from the bullets of
the Arab terrorist monster. And at the same time, they continue to
sing and dance. And together with our husbands and children, we
all proclaim: "Let us be strong and resolute for the sake of our
people and the cities of our God."
Nadia Matar
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