December 2001
December 2, 2001 Beware of Powell's Machinations!
December 5, 2001 Should We Give Arafat One Last Chance?
December 6, 2001 From France to the Pit
December 6, 2001 Labor's Divisive Stand
December 6, 2001 Chanukah at Kever Rachel
December 9, 2001 "Indict the Oslo Criminals"
December 10, 2001 Hannukah - The Fight Against Enemies Within and Without
December 12, 2001 The Modern Macabees To Lead Us, Where Are They?
December 18, 2001 Should Shimon Peres Be Required to Face A Commission of Inquiry?
December 21, 2001 Should Peres Face Charges for Criminal Negligence?
December 23, 2001 Herut Rally: "Destroy the Palestinian Authority"
December 25, 2001 "Is the Palestinian Authority also Irrelevant and Should it be Destroyed?"
December 29, 2001 Growing Numbers Against Palestinian State
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Jerusalem, December 2, 2001
[The following article will be printed in the "Jerusalem Post" this Friday,
December 7, 2001.]
Beware of Powell's Machinations!
Eugene W. Rostow, U. S. Undersecretary of State for political affairs
between 1966 and 1969, and former dean of the Yale Law School, played a
leading role in producing the much talked about UN Security Council
Resolution 242. He has emphatically stated that 242 "calls on the parties
to make peace", and allows Israel to administer the territories it took over
in 1967 until "a just and lasting peace in the Middle East" is achieved.
Resolution 242 called for secure and recognized boundaries agreed to by the
parties. When such a lasting peace has been "achieved", Israel is required
to withdraw from SOME, but not ALL of the territories it acquired during the
Six Day War, in accordance with the agreement reached by the parties to the
present dispute. Resolution 338, passed after the Yom Kippur War in 1973,
makes Resolution 242 legally binding.
Professor Rostow pointed out that President Reagan always asserted and
maintained that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria and in the Gaza
Strip were "perfectly legal." Moreover, the British Mandate fully
recognized the right of the Jewish People to settlement in the entire
Mandated territory. In 1922, Britain withheld Jewish settlement in what is
now Jordan, but Rostow asserts that the Jewish right of settlement in Judea
and Samaria, that is west of the Jordan river, is incontestable. Rostow
states that right cannot be terminated and is buttressed by Article 80 of
the UN Charter which provides that nothing shall be construed to alter in
any manner the rights of peoples or the terms of existing international
instruments." The Mandate given to Britain by the League of Nations was
such an "international instrument." The Mandate recognized the historical
connection of the Jewish People with their Biblical homeland, and the
grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country. Former
Undersecretary Rostow pointed out that, therefore, the Jews have the same
right to settle in any part of Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip as they
have to settle in Haifa, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.
The State Department, until Powell's Louisville speech, has never denied
that under the British Mandate the Jewish People have the right to settle in
all parts of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. In their desire to keep the
oil flowing at a reasonable price, however, they are understandably acting
in what they believe to be America's self-interest. General Zinni has been
sent for the purpose of bringing Arab violence in the area under control. It
should be borne in mind by Prime Minister Sharon and Foreign Minister Peres
that Zinni is not here to enforce the legal rights of the Jews to settle in
their Jewish homeland. The end result surely will be an appeasement of the
Arabs, no matter what the deleterious consequences to Israel which
eventually will result from such a pressured arrangement.
Professor Rostow pointed out that the controversy about Jewish settlements
in Judea and Samaria is, therefore, not about the established legal rights of
the Jews. It is Powell's political decision to override these legal rights.
Secretary Powell has already indicated this in his recent speech where he
talks about Israel's "occupation." There are similar indications in his
recent "foreign policy" address that he is about to level heavy pressure on
Israel.
Our leaders must recognize that, surrounded by mortal enemies, it cannot
rely on anyone but itself. Moreover, as with all other nations, its own
self-interest must be the ultimate and decisive criterion. Israel must
instinctively know that it cannot accept Powell's intended scenario, if it
is to survive.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, December 5, 2001
Should We Give Arafat One Last Chance?
Ruth Matar Interviews:
Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director, Independent Media Review & Analysis
Yossi Klein Halevi, Author & Senior Writer, Jerusalem Report
David Bedein, Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency
Wednesday, December 5, 2001, between 9 and 10 P.M. (Israel time)
Arutz 7 -- 98.7 FM and 1539 AM
Live on Internet - http://www.israelnationalnews.com
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Jerusalem, December 6, 2001
From France to the Pit
A few months ago we printed 2 stories about injustices done in
Israel to Jews who defended themselves against Arab
assailants.
Recently we heard about an additional outrageous story--the
story of David Sharvit. David, a father of 5, has been in jail for
the past 5 months, accused of possession of a hunting gun
without a permit.
We urge you to read the following translation of David's story.
The story appeared in the Makor Rishon in Hebrew. Immediately
following the story are details of what we all must do to gain a
pardon for David Sharvit.
Makor Rishon
Yoman Shevui, pp. 14-15
November 9, 2001
From France to the Pit
David Sharvit, an immigrant from France, an inhabitant of Har
Bracha, was convicted on the basis of conflicting testimonies of
shooting at an Arab who was about to throw stones at him, he was
imprisoned for three and a half years, and his weapon was taken from
him. Half a year ago, he was caught with a hunting gun in his
automobile, and he received an additional two and a half years. His
friends and family complain about the disregard for his distress by the
leaders of the right and Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, and the head of the
Samaria Council promises to help: "As far as we are concerned, he is a
victim of terror."
Avinadav Vitkon
That morning, like every morning for the preceding two years,
David Sharvit left the settlement of Har Bracha near Shechem for his
work as a renovations contractor. He arrived safely in Jerusalem. An
exhausting day's work awaited him. He still had to catch up on three and
a half years' absence from the competitive renovations market, and to
provide livelihood for his seven-member household - in a house that he
had recently built himself.
Sharvit began to work, when a police car, detectives, and GSS
operatives suddenly appeared. He was called to talk with them. They
came with surprisingly accurate intelligence information. "Open the trunk
of your vehicle," they told him. In the trunk the detectives found what
they were looking for: a hunting gun and cartridges. David Sharvit was
taken into custody on the spot, until the end of the legal proceedings.
The charge: illegal possession of a weapon.
This happened in May. In July Justice Zevi Segel delivered
Sharvit's sentence: 48 months imprisonment, 30 to be served. That is, two
and a half years to be served in prison, as the district attorney's office
had requested. Since then David is in jail.
Explains to the Policemen about Jewish Pride
David Sharvit (39) was born in France. Eighteen years age he
immigrated to Israel, served in the army, became observant, and married.
Fourteen years ago the Sharvits moved to Har Berachah. The intifada
broke out shortly afterwards. "David is a good guy, a devoted friend,
and a faithful husband," his friends attest, "but one thing went against
his nature and set him off: he could not bear to live in a condition of a
lack of security, of the inability to react and to defend himself against
threats." And so Sharvit found himself to be a key figure in Har Bracha
in the counteractions by the residents against attacks by their Arab
neighbors.
"David Sharvit was at the head of everything connected to
demonstrations" his friend in the settlement Avraham Nitzan relates.
"Very many residents were arrested during that period for
demonstrations against the Palestinians, but very few accumulated
convictions, because they knew how to keep their heads down. David,
on the other hand, stood before the policemen and the investigators and
fervently explained to them about Jewish pride and about his duty to
defend himself. In this manner Sharvit accumulated six convictions that
were "lightweight, on the background of demonstrations," in the words
of his attorney, Naphtali Wertzberger.
Sharvit continued to live his life in Samaria and to keep an IDF
weapon, with a permit. But his character, or as his friends claim, his
innocence, was not pleasing to some elements within the General
Security Services. "This was the time of a hunt by the GSS," explains
Shalom (not his real name), a friend of Sharvit. "Several residents
received very fat offers from the GSS to work for it. David also was
invited for a talk and heard various offers. He told me the specifics of one
of them: to go back to France in exchange for the dropping of all of his
convictions." Sharvit, according to Shalom, vigorously refused. "He isn't
one to take orders from anyone, certainly not regarding living in Eretz
Israel. He loves the land, he came to Israel to live here for good."
In '93, during the time in office of the late Prime Minister Rabin,
David Sharvit was arrested for questioning. He was suspected of
aggravated assault against an Arab youth. It was charged that David
Sharvit shot him and wounded him when the Arab was about to throw
stones at him. "I remember when he returned from the interrogation,"
Shalom says. "His face was puffed up, and he said that the interrogators
beat him." During the period of the trial the Sharvit family moved from
Har Bracha to within the Green Line. The verdict was delivered three
weeks after the Rabin assassination: even though he denied firing at the
Arab, and despite the contradictory testimonies by the Palestinian
witnesses and the fact that the victim did not identify Sharvit as the one
who had shot him, the court found David Sharvit guilty, and sentenced
him to five and a half years' imprisonment.
"My brother is an inward-focused person, with integrity, and he
never lied," says Laurence Eisenkot, Sharvit's sister, who immigrated
from France three months after David began to serve his first prison
sentence. "He told me that he did not shoot the Arab, and I believe him."
According to her, David is being singled out for harassment. "David said
that they are looking for something to get him on. For years they have
been trying to persuade him to leave Israel, or alternatively, to work for
them, but he refuses."
Segel's Torments
David Sharvit's wife and five children waited three and a half
years for him to return. "David learned much Torah in prison," Avi
Nitzan relates. "He returned a serious and deep person." Sharvit began
to rebuild and make up for what he lacked during his imprisonment, with
his family and in his work. "He worked everywhere in the country," a
friend from the settlement tells, "he built in Netzerim in the [Gaza] Strip,
and in Ateret in Benjamin. He attempted to firmly base the source of his
livelihood with real self-sacrifice."
The Oslo war that began in the meantime gave Sharvit, who was
weaponless, a terrible feeling. Shooting at Israelis became an everyday
occurrence, especially in the area where Sharvit lived and worked - in the
most remote and smallest settlements in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. "The
situation was intolerable," Avi Nitzan describes. "In our area Rabbi
Herling, Gilad Zar, and Rabbi Lieberman were murdered during that
period. Avi Romano was seriously wounded on the descent from Har
Bracha. Erez Shmuelian also was wounded at the same place, and in
the village of Hawara, not far from Har Bracha, Shmuel Nahmani was
almost lynched - they blocked the road in front of him and tried to murder
him with boulders and pieces of metal. Obviously, in the face of this
reality, David, whose weapon had been taken from him after his first
imprisonment, felt threatened, and he made sure that he would have a
weapon to defend his life and those of his children."
[He acquired a hunting gun, for which, in many countries like in France,
one does not even need a permit. Nadia Matar]
"I know I shall not be ashamed to say I was faced by formidable
indecision [...] regarding the punishment that the defendant deserves,"
waxed lyrical Justice Zevi Segel in his verdict. "The desire and the effort
to close the window on his distressing past and set forth on a positive
and normative way of life are distinctly visible in him. [...] His wife finds
herself in a difficult situation." Justice Segel also accepted the position
of the defense that the weapon was used only for the purpose of self-
defense. But despite everything, Sharvit's previous indictments,
especially the one that led to his imprisonment, proved decisive. The
judge adopted the prosecution's position in its entirety, and sentenced
Sharvit to 48 months' imprisonment. Sharvit appealed to the Supreme
Court.
When Sharvit was arrested a year and a half ago, a report was
published in Mekor Rishon, but unfortunately for Sharvit, there was no
one to fight on his behalf since. "I don't understand," his sister
Laurence says in a French accent, "why there is a right wing. Where is
their concern for the settlers?" According to Laurence, she managed to
send letters and E-mail about her brother to all the right-wing political
parties, to talk with Gideon Ezra, and to address the leaders in Judea,
Samaria, and Gaza, but no one did anything and no one took upon
himself the fight on behalf of her brother. "How it possible that some
settlers are not permitted to bear weapons for self-defense? This is not
just my brother's war, but of the entire right."
Apart from laconic answers from the offices of the political
parties of the right that "we sent your letter to the Minister for Internal
Security," no one gave Laurence any personal treatment or took an
interest in the matter, except for MK Michael Kleiner, who put her on the
air on Arutz Sheva, and tried to have an article on the subject published
in one of the major newspapers. "There is a tendency to try settlers
before judges who will be severe with them," Kleiner charges. "Judge
Segel, for instance, is a known leftist. Even if the appeal to the Supreme
[Court] will be accepted, we must examine the fitness of a judge who
gives such punishments to people who defended their lives. In my
opinion, this is a test for the Supreme Court. Perhaps I am naive, but I
believe that they will shorten his punishment. And if not - I will take
action, so that both from the right and from the left they will request
clemency for him."
Sharvit's friends from Har Bracha also complain about the
elements in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza who chose to ignore the case of
Sharvit. "If this were about somebody else, all of the Judea, Samaria, and
Gaza leadership would cry out and fight for him," Shalom asserts, and
refuses to specify to which of the heads of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza he
is referring.
The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Bentzi Lieberman,
whose office also referred Laurence to the Ministry of Internal Security,
says that the story did not reach him directly, apparently due to an error
by one of the workers in his office. "This is an extremely serious
instance, and the punishment that Sharvit received is beyond all
proportion," Lieberman says. "He shouldn't even have been fined a
single shekel as punishment. We will act in this matter, so that the man
receives a pardon, the sooner the better, and we will attempt to see what
we can do for the family within the context of our concern for the families
of terror victims. Whoever was arrested for possessing a weapon for self-
defense is a victim of this war."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The appeal has been rejected by the Supreme Court. Therefore only a
pardon by President Katsav will get David out of jail.
In these crazy days of brutal Arab terror against Jews, it is outrageous
that a Jew sits in jail accused of possessing a gun for self-defense.
In Kedumim, an action committee has been formed to help David Sharvit
and his family.
Women in Green urge all of us to join in the struggle for a pardon for
David Sharvit.
We call upon all of you to URGENTLY send faxes to:
President Katsav at 972-2-561-1033
Ministry of (in)Justice at 972-2-628-5438
Send the same fax daily!
Send this e-mail to all your friends and relatives.
Call David Sharvit's sister and strengthen her. She lives in Ashdod
Laurence Azincot 08-866-1005
To receive more info, call the Kedumim action commitee for David Sharvit
09-792-2075
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, December 6, 2001
Labor's Divisive Stand
On his return from meeting with U.S. President Bush in Washington, Prime
Minister Sharon spoke to his people, followed by a brief press conference.
One of the questions posed to him by a local reporter related to the fact
that one of his ministers, Ephraim Sneh, had publicly criticized Sharon for
targeting and destroying Arafat's helicopters. Sharon proceeded to point
out that Sneh, as part of the present Unity Government, was obligated to
adhere to the policy adopted by that Government, or to vacate his post.
That comment was eminently fair and made good sense. Unfortunately, Labor's
Sneh felt that in Israeli politics, those seemingly basic political
principles, were not relevant nor applicable.
Sharon went on to differentiate between what he saw and experienced in his
short visit to America, from the back-biting practices that continue to
occur in Israel despite both nations being in an identical state of war
against terrorism. In America, however, there was a tremendous upsurge and
show of unity in this time of crisis. Senator Al Gore, Bush's rival in a
closely fought presidential election, went out of his way to state that he
was solidly behind President Bush in all that he did in this time of crisis.
All were united against the "enemy." Alas, here in Israel, the atmosphere
is quite, quite different. Politics and party loyalty remain paramount.
Prime Minister Sharon pointed this out in stressing this sad and poignant
stark difference between the climate in America and here in Israel.
The irony is that the Labor Party to which Minister Sneh belongs is
responsible for the terrible mess in which Israel finds itself today. It is
they who forced the "Oslo Process" upon us, which has utterly failed and
resulted in more Jewish slayings than there had been during the last fifty
years prior to Oslo. It is they, under the Oslo concept, who gave the guns
to Arafat and his people, which have been used instead to kill Jews. The
Arab terror which Israel is presently experiencing, has resulted in almost
daily murders of Jewish women, men and children civilians. Under such
circumstances, you would think it circumspect for those leaders of the Labor
Party to be conspicuously silent and unobtrusive, and ridden with guilt.
The opposite is true. They act as if their ignominious defeat in the last
election never happened. They audaciously walked out of a vital government
meeting which took place following suicide bombings which killed many Jews.
They saw that a great majority was going to take a stronger stand against
Arafat than they recommended, so they, in a characteristic undemocratic
manner, just left.
Their disloyalty is persistent, yet Sharon overlooks a great deal of it to
maintain his "Unity Government." Having consented to join such a Sharon
government, they nevertheless remain vituperative and vocally divisive. An
overwhelming majority of the nation as expressed by their vote in the last
election, rejected Oslo and the Labor Party's views of how to solve the
problem with the Arabs. Notwithstanding, even important members of Labor in the
present unity government, persist on labeling the present government as "right wing
extremists" and PUBLICLY disagree with announced governmental policies.
They constantly threaten to leave the government, but in the end, to the
nation's great sorrow, they do not.
What can be done about such a blatant and harmful minority who persist in
placing their own selfish interests above those to whom the nation entrusted
its leadership during these crucial times? In sharp contrast to the unity
which U.S. President Bush commands in America, Sharon finds himself in a
house divided. Perhaps, the Labor Party which has always been dependent on
the Arab vote to succeed in any election, keeps this fact in mind when they
continue to criticize Sharon during the monumental terrorist war that Israel
is now facing. If this is a correct appraisal, the Labor Party is not worthy
of ever again leading this Jewish nation.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, December 6, 2001
Chanukah at Kever Rachel
Buses to Kever Rachel every day of Chanukah from the Central Bus Station
in Jerusalem, bus number 163, every hour on the hour between 9 a.m. and 3
p.m. In addition, there will be shuttle buses between 9 and 3 at the Beit
Lechem Gilo intersection. (On Friday, transportation until 11 a.m.)
Candle lighting every night of Chanukah at Kever Rachel.
As always, your presence makes a big difference!
For more information: Shelli Karzen 02-996-1756
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Jerusalem, December 9, 2001
"Indict the Oslo Criminals"
Nadav Shragai
From: "Ha'aretz"
Sunday, December 9, 2001
Seething with anger at the Oslo architects, fifteen months after what
some believe is the collapse of the Oslo process, "Indict the Oslo
criminals" is a code phrase for a wide range of demands.
On July 25 in the Rose Garden opposite the Knesset there was a
somewhat embarrassing event organized by a group calling itself "Soul
Searching," a non-partisan group of reserve officers, students and
citizens who for months demanded a state judicial commission of
inquiry be established to investigate the Oslo agreement.
With little media coverage, the leaders of the group declared an
end to their hunger strike, which had gone on seven weeks without any press
coverage or political echo. Micha Maimon, a major in reserves, who
hoped to become the Moti Ashkenazi of the "Oslo War," which is how the
right refers to the intifada, dismantled the tent and went home.
The "Soul Searching" group assumed the media's indifference was
part and parcel of the media's own fear of a state judicial inquiry that
would expose the press's role in encouraging the Oslo process and
didn't expose the dangers that the Oslo architects were taking on.
In those days, in any case, Maimon and his associates avoided
the phrase "indict the Oslo criminals," focusing their demands on
establishing the commission of inquiry.
But three weeks later a suicide bomber blew himself up in the
Sbarro restaurant, and since then there hasn't been a right wing
demonstration that doesn't include posters saying "Indict the Oslo
criminals.
On the 30th day after Rehavam Ze'evi's assassination at the
Hyatt Hotel in Jerusalem, at a conference there, hundreds of attendees
wore lapel buttons saying "Indict the Oslo criminals" and bearing the
pictures of Shimon Peres and Arafat, just to make sure it's understood who
those criminals are.
The demand has also appeared in dozens of articles written in
recent months by right-wing commentators and is proliferating as a bumper
sticker. More people, it should be noted, would make do with the
demand of Maimon's "Soul Searching" group, which wants a commission of
inquiry, while there are those who think it would be enough if Oslo's
architects simply withdrew from public life.
Fifteen months after what some believe is the collapse of the Oslo process,
"Indict the Oslo criminals" is a code phrase for a wide range
of demands. Their common denominator is profound anger at the
architects of the agreement, not only for the agreement itself but
also for what the right regards as a lack of remorse on the part of
those who shepherded the agreement from the start.
The issue raises a series of questions, like whether to take the
demand at face value, meaning putting previously elected officials on trial,
or whether elected officials can be put on trial for legitimate
activity in a democracy, or, indeed, how widespread is the demand.
Nadia Matar of Women in Green was probably the first to coin the
phrase and she seems to be the one who wants to carry it to its logical
extreme. She believes some of the people in what she calls the leftist
government who have given the Palestine Liberation Organization
weapons, knew in advance that there was a strong possibility that
those weapons would be aimed at Jews, but those politicians not only
ignored that possibility, they wanted it to happen.
"The Beilins," she says, "wanted the see those weapons aimed at
us, the settlers, to make us run away from here and thus end the settlement
industry in Judea and Samaria." According to Matar, "if that wasn't
their intention, by now we would have seen them expressing remorse and
confessing to their mistakes. Even Chamberlain retracted and expressed
remorse.
"The fact that Peres and Beilin continue to support the Oslo
Accords is proof, as far as I'm concerned, that giving the enemy weapons was
the goal. I'm saying something very grave but I'm sticking to it," says
Matar,
It's doubtful that most of her colleagues in Women in Green
agree with Matar's proposition about the premeditated intentions for giving
the
Palestinians weapons. "In any case," adds Matar, "we have no argument
about the fact that there was criminal negligence." Matar, and maybe
Moshe Leshem, who heads "Gamla Won't Fall Again," another right-wing
protest movement, are possibly the only ones who actually want to see
Peres and Beilin put on trial tomorrow.
Elyakim Haetzni, considered the angry prophet of the ex-parliamentary
right, is in favor of retroactive legislation with which "it will be
possible to put the peace criminals on trial." He speaks about a
full-scale war now in the offing, "the real Oslo war," as he refers to
it. Yasser Arafat will set it off, he says, "and the weapons were
given to him by the Jewish Oslo criminals. Someone there invented a
weapon of destruction with a nice fragrance - peace. In the name of
peace they have brought a catastrophe. If, heaven forbid, we reach the
final payment of the Oslo criminals, and I pray we don't, then after
the great Oslo war, I expect the idea will come up for a law that
would enable the trials of these people. There are some precedents for
such retroactive legislation - the Nuremburg trials, for example, not
that I'm making any comparison."
Haetzni says Oslo's political proponents committed a serious crime of
negligence but "in history there is no precedent for a statesman
being put on trial for negligence. Some have been tried for treason, but
nobody claims Oslo is treason, in the legal meaning of the term.
There's medical negligence, and lawyers can be negligent, and I think
that in the wake of Oslo, the legislature should consider political
negligence." He says that "the negligence was ignoring the danger, and
it was gross negligence, like a driver plowing a car into pedestrians,
even though he had no intention to kill any specific person."
Much more popular in the right is the call for a commission of
inquiry, whether as a goal unto itself or to determine if the Oslo proponents
should be tried. Rabbi Ya'acov Madan, a resident of Alon Shvut, has
spent some of the last two years with political opponents from the
left trying to work out a formula for a secular-religious social
contract. He favors a commission of inquiry, "since it's impossible to
go directly to trial." He went on a hunger strike eight years ago in
the center of Jerusalem calling "don't give them rifles." Seventy-one
MKs signed his petition, but Yitzhak Rabin ignored them. Among other
things, he wants a commission of inquiry "to investigate whether
foreign elements influenced those involved in Oslo, by financing to
groups or individuals."
Dr. Ron Breiman, head of Professors for a Strong Israel, a
right-wing academic group, also is in favor of a commission of inquiry and
foresees the inquiry leading to indictments. "There were enough people
in the Knesset, public life and even in Ha'aretz, who shouted and
warned that Oslo was wrong," he says. "If a commission of inquiry
could ban Ariel Sharon from serving as defense minister, I naturally
expect that one should ban Peres and Beilin from ever serving as
ministers ... There's a commission investigating whey 13 Arabs were
killed in October 2000, and even one for the 22 Jews killed in the
Versailles wedding hall disaster, so why shouldn't there be one for
Oslo, that led to hundreds of Jews being killed?"
According to Aryeh Stav, head of the Ariel Institute for Strategic Studies,
and editor of "Nativ," an academic journal, "in a properly run
state, these people would be put on trial," but "since Israel is not
properly run," there won't be a trial. "The rules of the game
developed in Israel are pathological," he says. "All the prime
ministers broke the law regarding the Golan. According to the law
against treason, they should have been thrown into jail for life or
executed. A gang like Peace Now would be considered traitors in a
properly run country, but there's no point in putting them on trial
because they do express the views of the majority."
Oslo, adds Stav, "was inherently illegal. It's the closest thing
to a junta. The law defines the PLO as a terror organization and says
anyone who engages in negotiations with it should get 15 years in
jail. That law is still on the books, but everyone is silent."
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Jerusalem, December 10, 2001
Hannukah - The Fight Against Enemies Within and Without
[The following is a translation of part of Nadia Matar's
radio program on Arutz 7, Thursday, December 6, 2001]
It is written in the Talmud: "It is
obligatory to place the Hanukkah lamp
by the door of one's house, on the
outside [...] and in time of danger,
one may place it on his table"
(Shabbat 21b).
The book Birkat Hayyim raises the
question: It seems that in ancient
times the lamps were kindled "outside"
- so why do we, in our times, kindle
"inside" - inside the house?
Me-Otzrot ha-Yahadut responds to
this question with an extremely
relevant answer: "Because previously,
those hating us were located outside,
and with the Hanukkah lamp we
proclaimed the victory we gained over
those external enemies of ours. Today,
in contrast, the haters of Judaism are
to be found within, and against them
we must demonstrate the triumph of
Judaism - against our enemies within"
(Birkat Hayyim, p. 15).
Today, the enemies of the Jewish
people are present both without and
within. The war of Hanukkah - the war
of the Hellenist Jews who join the
enemy against their Jewish brothers -
continues to this very day. Historians
have asked why the wicked Antiochus
issued his decrees against the Jewish
religion, and prohibited the Jews from
engaging in all manner of religious
activities (Torah study, circumcision,
and the like). Antiochus did not issue
antireligious decrees against any of
the other peoples that he conquered.
He simply conquered them, politically,
but he did not attack their religion
and their rite; it was only against
the Jews that he instituted his
antireligious decrees.
The historian Prof. Eliahu Bickerman
resolved this mystery in his book God
of the Maccabees. He says that indeed
Antiochus had no intention of issuing
antireligious decrees against the
Jews, but his Jewish friends, the
Hellenists, advised and prompted him
to do so. The Yossi Beilins of that
time, together with the Yossi Sarids,
the Shulamit Alonis, and the Shimon
Peres's from then.... They were the
ones who told Antiochus: You want to
break the Jewish people? We will tell
you how to do this: forbid them from
studying Torah, do not allow them to
perform circumcision, and so on.
As it was then, so it is today, as
well: the internal Jewish enemies
counsel the external enemies, and give
them advice, how to break the people
of Israel in its Land. Either by
briefings that the Oslo Hellenist
Beilin gives the archmurderer Arafat,
or advice and ideas that the Oslo
Hellenist Shimon Peres gives the
European Union, against Israel.
Today, unfortunately, we do not have
a political leader like Judah Maccabee
who will raise the banner and fight
against these internal and external
foes. Jewish blood is spilt like water
- and the Israeli government does
nothing, and the people in Israel does
not rise up and does not cry out
bitterly. In kindergarten, our
children sing the song "The whole land
is flags, flags." But in reality,
we see that "the whole land is
terrorists, terrorists - who blow
themselves up and murder - but nothing
is done about this."
Dr. Steven Plaut reminds us in
an Internet article that the Kishinev
pogrom occurred in 1903, a pogrom that is
still studied in every school. All the
historians agree that this pogrom
changed Jewish history. The pogrom
shocked all of Eastern European Jewry,
and in its wake the Jews began to flee
Tsarist Russia. This pogrom inspired
the famous poem by Bialik. It also was
the signal for massive immigration to
Eretz Israel. Dr. Plaut reminds us how
many Jews were murdered in the pogrom.
Thousands? No! Hundreds? No! A total
of 45 Jews were murdered in that
pogrom (and 600 were wounded).
Shimon Peres and the rest of the
criminals, the supporters of Oslo,
created a situation in which every two
weeks a Kishinev pogrom is carried out
in Israel - and no one opens their
mouth. The strongest army in the world
sits on the fence, and the politicians
continue to conduct negotiations with
the pogromists.
And if anyone thinks that anything
has changed since the pogrom in Ben-
Yehuda and in Haifa ...he should not
deceive himself. Nothing has changed!
The truth is that I fell into the
trap, and I am certain that many
others feel the same as I do. After
Prime Minister Sharon's speech in the
wake of the slaughter in Jerusalem and
in Haifa, I truly and honestly thought
that "this is it - the Prime Minister
has come to his senses, and he is
finally going to topple Arafat and the
PLO Evil Authority." A friend called
me at 5 p.m., several hours before the
Prime Minister delivered his forceful
speech, and said to me, emotionally:
"Quick, turn on the television and the
radio. Israel has finally begun the
attack on Gaza." My children also were
excited. At long last, the soldiers of
the Israel Defense Forces are going to
strike the enemy!
Talia, my eleven-year-old daughter,
was especially happy. A week ago she
had told me that if she could choose
in which period to live, she would not
choose to live in our time, but in the
period of the Mandate, and she would
have joined the Lehi [Lohamei Herut
Yisrael] or the Etzel [Irgun Zevai
Le'ummi]. I was surprised, and asked
her to explain:
"But today you have a much easier
childhood than children your age
then," I told her. She replied:
"That's true, but then during the time
of the Mandate, the Jews fought
against the enemy, and they weren't
afraid of anyone. Today, there are so
many terror attacks and we have an
army, but despite this, nobody does
anything. I am ashamed to live in our
time. I am ashamed of the Prime
Minister who doesn't do anything when
Jews are being murdered." Her words
penetrated deep into my heart. I was
proud that we have a girl so healthy
in her soul, and my anger at the Prime
Minister intensified. I understood
that Sharon's policy of restraint not
only threatens the physical existence
of the state, it also radiates despair
and fear, and weakens the spirit of
the children of Israel. We ran
together to the TV screen, hoping
that, at long last, our soldiers would
be allowed to fight like the Maccabees.
We watched the "attacks" on Gaza,
and, very quickly, we all understood
that this was one big Hollywood show.
We were bitterly disappointed. It
transpired that, all in all, the
kindergarten teacher Ariel Sharon
decided to punish the bad boy in the
kindergarten by breaking his favorite
toys - several helicopters. And
instead of expelling the bad boy from
the school for good - since this child
brought a weapon to school and
murdered several pupils - the
kindergarten teacher Ariel Sharon
decided to reprimand him - once again -
and to demand of him, for the who
knows how many times, that this time he
would really, really behave nicely.
The spokesmen of the Prime Minister's
Office explained the policy in all the
media: "Our attacks on Gaza are meant
to signal, not to topple!"
To our great sorrow, we learned that
Ariel Sharon's forceful speech was
just pulling the wool over our eyes,
in order to placate Ministers
Avigdor Leiberman and Benny Elon and
their supporters in the national camp.
Sharon deceived us in deeds and in
words. In deeds - it seems that the
policy of bombing empty Arab buildings
in order to placate the public in
Israel will continue. In words - in
his speech the Prime Minister, for the
first time, called the PLO Evil
Authority a "terrorist supporting
entity." The public in Israel thought
that this means simply that from now
on total war was finally declared
against Arafat and his organizations.
But here, too, the wool was pulled
over the eyes of the public in Israel.
Legal experts explained to us that in
Israel there is no such thing as a
"terrorist supporting entity." This is
a meaningless formulation that does
not obligate us to do anything. Only
the wording "terror organization"
necessitates action.
But I want to disagree with the
legal experts. As far as I am
concerned, there is such a creature as
a "terrorist supporting entity." And
they are to be found specifically in
Israel. When Channel One television
interviews the archmurderer Arafat and
gives him a platform to attack Israel -
Channel One becomes a "terrorist
supporting entity."
When, after the massacre in
Jerusalem and in Haifa, Kol Yisrael
(Israel Radio) and IDF Radio invite
the heads of the PLO terrorist
Authority and their brothers -
accomplices, the Arab MK's, and give
them a microphone to attack Israel,
then Israel Radio and IDF Radio are
"terrorist supporting entities."
More so, when we hear that Prime
Minister Sharon decides to continue
the construction of the bridge in Gush
Katif - the bloody bridge that was
responsible for the murder of Etti
Fahima, may the Lord avenge her, then
we have in fact a terror supporting
Prime Minister. Because he supports
the continued construction of the
terror bridge, knowing that this will
bring to more Jewish deaths, God forbid.
When the Prime Minister gave an
order to brutally evacuate the meahaz
[outpost settlement] that was
established in Gush Katif in memory of
Etti Fahima, then the Prime Minister
in fact awarded a prize to terror and
is technically "supporting terror."
And when the Prime Minister gives
Foreign Minister Peres permission to
speak on the telephone with the
archmurderer Arafat, the Prime
Minister is once again "supporting
terror". Is it conceivable that
George Bush would allow Collin Powell
to call bin Ladin and have a chat on
the phone?
In my opinion, the nonresponse by
the government to the pogrom in
Jerusalem and in Haifa proves that
this government has lost its right to
exist.
The Hanukkah holiday reminds us
that it is not enough to pray for a
miracle. Hashem grants us miracles
when we take the first step. When
Nahshon son of Amminadab leaped into
the water, then and only then did the
waters part. When Hashem saw that
there were Jews who were willing to go
forth and fight for the existence of
the Jewish people in its land, then
Hashem performed for the people of
Israel the miracle of Hanukkah, and
enabled the Maccabees to be victorious.
Today, Hashem sees that, despite the
daily pogroms against Jews, the
political leadership in Israel does
not respond, and continues to act
servilely towards the enemy. A great
responsibility rests upon us, the
people, at present: we must arise,
awaken, and cry out loudly and
bitterly; we must stop our daily
routine, go forth into the streets in
our masses. Yes, to take to the
streets and proclaim that we will not
permit the country to function until
our leadership totally eliminates all
the terrorist organizations, and
restores Israeli rule to all the areas
that we abandoned.
I am certain that if and when the
people will arise and go forth to the
streets - then Hashem will grant us,
with God's help, fitting Jewish
leaders who will not fear to act in
accordance with the one and only
slogan: All of the Land of Israel
belongs to the People of Israel, for
all time, in accordance with the Torah
of Israel.
Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, December 12, 2001
The Modern Macabees To Lead Us, Where Are They?
Ruth Matar interviews:
Dr. Gaby Barkai - well-known Israeli archeologist
Chaim Makovsky - noted Yesha tour guide
Wednesday, December 12, 2001,
between 9 and 10 P.M. (Israel time)
Arutz 7 - 98.7 FM and 1539 AM
Live on Internet - http://www.israelnationalnews.com
*******************************************************
Jerusalem, December 18, 2001
Should The Major Architect of Oslo, Shimon Peres,
Be Required to Face A Commission of Inquiry On
Charges Of His Criminal Negligence For the
Deaths of Jews Resulting From Oslo.
Ruth Matar interviews: Dr. Rael Jean Isaac,
co-author of "WHAT SHIMON SAYS."
Dr Isaac writes extensively on public affairs, and
is the author of several books on Israeli politics.
Wednesday, December 19, 2001
Between 9-10 P.M. Israel Time
Arutz 7, 98.7 FM and 1539 AM,
Live on Internet:
http:// www.IsraelNationalNews.com
*******************************************************
Jerusalem, December 21, 2001
Should Peres Face Charges for Criminal Negligence?
Eight years after the Oslo Accords, and what do we have? Hundreds of dead
Jews, thousands of injured Jews---some of whom are crippled for life---and
an untold number of widows, widowers and orphans.
The Trojan horse of the terrorists is within our gates. And who opened the
gates for the arch murderer Arafat and his criminal gang? Who brought us to
this tragic situation? The irresponsible, dishonest and arrogant architects
of the Oslo Accords, chief amongst them, SHIMON PERES!
The Oslo Accords were based solely on the ideology of the Oslo architects.
There was no need for any Oslo Accords. Arafat was at his lowest point
ever. Nobody trusted him. He had made twenty-two cease-fire agreements with
Jordan. He broke all of them. He made thirty cease-fire agreements with the
Lebanese militia. He broke all of these. He supported Saddam Hussein during
the Gulf War in 1991. He was thrown out of Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia.
The Oslo architects literally picked Arafat up from the dung heaps of
history. In their arrogant stupidity, they decided that they knew what was
best for Israel---namely, to divest ourselves of our Biblical heartland,
Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and to bring in the arch-terrorist Arafat from his
exile in Tunis and to make him our so-called "peace partner".
The Oslo Accords were born in sin, no doubt about it!
The negotiations were secret, even though we had an Anti-Contact Law,
passed in 1986, forbidding meetings with terrorists. The negotiations were
known to be against the law, and were held both secretly and maliciously.
*
The law required authorization by the Israeli Cabinet in order to sign an
agreement, which was not even asked for before signing.
*
The PLO, as a terrorist organization, had no legal capacity to sign a
contract.
Just listen to the self-incriminating words of the main architect of Oslo,
Shimon Peres, in his book, THE NEW MIDDLE EAST:
"It was in the wee hours of the night, on August 20, 1993, that the
delegates initialed the finalized document on which we had been working so
long and so hard. An Arab-Israeli Accord has at long-last been reached.
Here was a small group of Israelis, Palestinians and Norwegians--partners
to one of the best-guarded diplomatic secrets ever, a secret whose imminent
revelation would make a watershed in the history of the Middle East."
Shimon Peres was interviewed by Tom Segev of the newspaper HaAretz some
time after the Oslo Accords were signed.
*
Shimon Peres: "I have held these views imbedded in the Oslo Accords, long
before 1993."
*
Tom Segev: "How come you didn't reveal this to us?"
*
Shimon Peres: "I knew the Israeli people were not ready for it."
Shimon Peres has never aspired to be a Democratic leader. In fact, Peres
boasts: "I may not know what the people want; I do know what is good for
the people." (Jerusalem Post International Edition, December 23rd, 1995.)
In what way did Shimon Peres and the other Oslo architects damage the
Israeli people with their disloyalty, dishonesty and colossal arrogance?
Theirs was an irresponsible gamble that did not pay off.
*
They gave the arch-terrorist Arafat legitimacy, enabling the Nobel Peace
Prize Committee to award him the Nobel Peace Prize of 1994.
*
They gave Arafat legitimacy in the eyes of the United States. America had
begun a dialogue with the PLO in 1988, when Arafat offered the first of
many renunciations of terrorism. The United States rescinded this dialogue
after an Arafat atrocity in 1990---and resumed it only after Israel signed
the Oslo Accords in 1993.
*
Most horrendous of all--the Oslo architects provided Arafat with the
weapons to launch his murderous campaign against Israel.
Throughout his long career, Shimon Peres has always tried, and often
succeeded, to undermine official government policy.
For instance:
*
Former Prime Minister of Israel, Moshe Sharett, made the extraordinary
claim that the nation would be obligated to tear their clothing in mourning
if Peres rises to a position of power.
*
Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin says in his book, The Rabin Memoirs,
published in 1979, that Peres is an inveterate liar, and that he never
believed one word Peres uttered.
*
Former Prime Minister Golda Meir would only agree to accept the position of
Prime Minister if Peres would not be in her cabinet, as she claimed that
Peres, to advance his own personal aims, deliberately leaked State secrets
which harmed our nation.
And now, after the Cabinet has declared the Palestinian Authority to be an
entity that supports terrorism, and again, when it later decided to sever
ties with the Palestinian Authority, Peres loudly told every local and
international forum he could reach how foolish he considered both decisions.
Prime Minister Sharon has stated repeatedly that he will not negotiate
under fire. Peres, on the other hand, announced in an interview with
Palestinian Television that Israel would reopen diplomatic negotiations
with the Palestinian Authority, if there were "only" two to three shooting
attacks per day. Peres made this incredible pronouncement a few days before
the recent terror attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa, where twenty-seven people
were killed, and hundreds seriously wounded. However, Peres could claim
that these were only two or three shootings a day. The limit placed by
Peres was on the number of terror attacks per day, not on the number of
dead and wounded.
Peres' political judgment has always been extremely faulty. He fought,
tooth and nail, against the Entebbe rescue plan in 1976. He opposed the
demolishing of Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor plant at Osirak near
Bagdad, in 1981. Former Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered this
operation because the Iraqi dictator was on the verge of assembling his
first nuclear weapon. But Peres moved heaven and earth to try to abort this
operation. Since then, every western leader has agreed that the Israeli
initiative was the right one. It would have been terrible for the United
States in the Gulf War if Saddam Hussein had had nuclear weapons.
Shimon Peres and his fellow Oslo architects took a giant gamble with the
Oslo Accords. The tragedy is that this grand experiment cost so many people
their lives. Instead of admitting that he committed one of the worst
blunders in all of Jewish history, Peres continues to demand that we
consider Arafat our peace partner.
The important question is: Should Oslo-architect Shimon Peres and his
cohorts be brought to trial? Or, in the alternative, should there at least
be a State Commission of Inquiry investigating Oslo, and those responsible
for it!
Peres and cohorts should be brought before the bar of justice to stand
trial for the illegal actions that they took to trick the People of Israel
to think that peace is within their grasp.
The Women In Green is embarking on a series of demonstrations throughout
the country, which we have decided to call "In the Footsteps of Terror
Victims". We are going to stand in the very places where these terror
victims were murdered. We want to state loud and clear: We will not allow
your death to have been in vain. We will not allow a terrorist Palestinian
State in our Holy Land.
The first such demonstration will take place at Zion's Square in Jerusalem,
on Sunday, December 23rd, between 9:30 and 11:00 am. We will hopefully
collect masses of signatures on our petition: NO TO A PALESTINIAN STATE.
Ruth Matar
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*******************************************************
Jerusalem, December 23, 2001
Herut Rally: "Destroy the Palestinian Authority"
Women in Green call upon all to join this important demonstration organized
by MK Michael Kleiner. It is this coming Friday morning, so prepare your
Shabbos on Thursday.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
-------------------------------
On Friday, December 28th at 10:00 am, MK Michael Kleiner and the
Herut Knesset faction will be holding a rally at Paris Square, under the
banner of: "Destroy the Palestinian Authority" (לחסל הרשות הפלשתינית). This
will coincide with the Women in Black and at least 15 other Peace
groups, as well as Gush Shalom, Peace Now, The Four Mothers, and people
from the
U.S. and Europe. The Left's Paris Square rally is meant to coincide with 70
other rallies around the world on that day. There will be a police permit.
MK Kleiner will address the rally.
It is important that as many groups and people as possible join in
this rally. There will be major foreign press coverage and we
cannot let the Left have a free playing field.
I ask that this information be forwarded on to any e-mail list or
individuals who can spare some time, (I know Friday is not an easy day).
Yisroel Cohen
051-738-901
*******************************************************
Jerusalem, December 25, 2001
"Is the Palestinian Authority also Irrelevant and Should it be Destroyed?"
Ruth Matar interviews: Michael Kleiner, Member of Knesset (Herut Party)
David Bedein, Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency
Wednesday, December 26, 2001
Between 9-10 P.M. (Israel Time)
98.7 FM and 1539 AM
Live on Internet: http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
*******************************************************
Jerusalem, December 29, 2001
Growing Numbers Against Palestinian State
One of our supporters forwarded to us a letter of a cousin
of hers in America. After reading some of the adverse American media, he
was of the opinion that a Palestinian State was inevitable. Moreover, he
said that the hostile press was even doubting that there ever was a Moses or
an Abraham! He also agreed with the appraisal that the Arab birthrate did
not bode well for the continued existence of Israel. Our respone to such
thinking follows in a letter we sent to him.
Dear Hal,
There is definitely a consensus here in Israel against such another Arab
State in the historic heartland of Israel. We already have over 40,000
signatures to that effect within a very short time. Significantly, the
number is rapidly increasing every day. We disagree that there will be such
a State "sooner or later," for permitting the creation of such a State would
be a sure way to commit national suicide.
The hatred taught in Arab schools and over their media has in no way
lessened, and several generations of Arabs have been taught to hate us.
I doubt whether the Bush Administration is supporting such a State, even
though admittedly it has indicated that it eventually "envisions" such a
State.
Such support, particularly with the likes of Arafat at its head, would be
against American interests in the region. Arafat and the local Arab
populace here
have vocally supported Iraq and Saadam Hussein. Moreover, despite what the
tape
of bin Laden clearly shows as to his masterminding the Sept. 11 massacre,
the Arab populace refuses to publicly accept such proof. As a matter of
fact, they admire him even more because of his proven involvement.
Peres who, in a very anti-democratic fashion engineered Oslo, gave guns to
the Arabs resulting in the killing of hundreds of Jews, and maiming
thousands of them for life. Despite the many concessions that Peres and
his followers have made, you spell out an impending anti-Semitic explosion
in the States. You correctly point out that American Arabs support
fanaticism and violence, not only against the Jews but against America as
well.
It is in America's self-interest that there be a strong Israel. It would be
far more costly to place U.S. armed forces here to keep the area quiet so
that the oil necessary for its economy can continue to flow. While we
should expect that America will always act in its own self-interest, we
should apply that same criterion to Israel. However, the interests of
America and Israel are not always the same, and since Israel's very survival
is at stake, it should determine what it's own self-interest is. Any other
nation in the world would do the same.
It is true that no easy solution is in sight. However, we are an ancient
People and have survived much worse situtations. If we remain united, we
will survive this situation as well. There always will be those who hate
the Jews. We are a special people, and have given morality to Western
Civilization. Unfortunately, there is a long history of lack of appreciation
for this momentous contribution to mankind.
Sure there is a growing Arab population, far larger than the rate of Jewish
growth in Israel. However, we still believe there is someone Omnipotent
watching over us, and despite the Holocaust and other signs to the contrary,
we shalll overcome. We Jews do not need verification of the existence of
Moses and Abraham. Ours is a Heritage that has survived Rome, the Greeks,
and will survive the Arabs as well. A different situation will prevail when
their oil runs out, but in the meantime faith and belief in ourselves is
paramount. Do not despair!
Join us, Hal, in this important struggle, so that you can leave an important
Jewish inheritence to those who come after you.
Faithfully,
Michael Levi Matar
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