February 2003
February 13, 2004 Israel's Jewish Adversaries, Locally and Abroad
February 15, 2003 Palestinian Lies, Israeli Truths
February 19, 2003 Knowing Your Enemy
February 20, 2003 Moses and the Extortion by the Left
February 23, 2003 Our Peace Partners
February 25, 2003 An Unconventional Arab Viewpoint
February 27, 2003 Ruth Matar, Women in Green Radio Program
February 28, 2003 "A View of the Absurd"
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February 13, 2003
Israel's Jewish Adversaries, Locally and Abroad
Ruth Matar, Women in Green Radio Program
Arutz Sheva, February 12, 2003
It is tragic that we even find it necessary to have a discussion
about the following topic:
ISRAEL'S JEWISH ADVERSARIES, LOCALLY AND ABROAD
Long ago, the Prophet Isaiah, in his vision, foresaw Israel's
present situation: the Jews returning to Zion, the rebuilding of
her ruins, and multitudes again crowding within her walls
(Chapter 49). One verse in this chapter is particularly
meaningful and full of hope for us today.
"Your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away
from you."
Chapter 49:17
Some commentators of the Book of Isaiah interpret the term
"the destroyers" to mean "the wicked men who were the
cause of their own people's fall".
How necessary it is to learn the facts about these
"destroyers" is revealed in an op-ed article in today's
Jerusalem Post by Professor David Newman of the Ben
Gurion University. This morning, over my second cup of
coffee, I came across his article entitled "SETTLEMENT
REMOVAL, A BLUEPRINT". It suddenly became very clear to
me what all of Israel's Jewish adversaries, both local and
abroad, have in common: They want to establish a Palestinian
state in the Biblical heartland of Israel by removing all the
Jews, and handing Judea, Samaria and Gaza over to the Arab
enemy. Let us call a spade a spade! These Jewish
"destroyers" want to "transfer" their fellow-Jews from their
own G-d-given country.
Professor Newman appears to be a charter member of the
Jewish "destroyers" in Israel. He seems to already smell
victory for their common cause, and therefore writes a
"blueprint" as to how this transfer shall be accomplished.
Let's study Professor Newman's blueprint in some detail. He
says that "any future territorial agreement will necessitate
evacuating a large number of Israeli settlements". He further
states "that the freezing of settlement expansion should take
place as a confidence building measure prior to the signing of
any agreement. Evacuation can only take place afterwards."
And now the Professor gives us practical advice on how to
proceed. He insists that options for settlement evacuation
must include the following:
* Enough time for settlers to prepare an orderly
evacuation.
* Establishing a public agency to deal with a wide range of
relocation problems: housing, education and employment.
* Adequate financial compensation to help settlers get
their new lives in order.
* Providing psychological services, especially for those
who perceive evacuation as shattering their political and
religious dreams.
* No settlements should be razed to the ground as
happened in Sinai, especially in the Yamit region. The
settlements can either be sold or handed over to the
Palestinian State/Authority as potential housing solutions for
some of the refugee population.
* As far as possible, settler leaders should be involved in
the detailed stages of any planned evacuation. While many
will refuse to undertake what they see as an act of
"collaboration", it is reasonable to assume that once reality
sinks in there will be pragmatists ready to become involved to
ensure the least possible disruption to normal life.
Thus speaks the Israeli Jewish destroyer Professor David
Newman. Is Professor Newman trying to create a new
Judenrat?
Is Professor Newman alone in plotting and planning the
demise of Israel? Absolutely not! He has illustrious company,
both locally in Israel and abroad in the United States. The
ones in Israel do the dirty work and the ones abroad raise the
money for them, often from unsuspecting naive people who
don't realize that they are being conned and harming Israel.
Our guest tonight is David Bedein, Head of Israel Resource
News Agency, Jerusalem International Press Center.
(A recording of this entire program, including the interviews,
is available on http://www.israelnationalnews.com Click on
"On Demand Audio" on the blue bar.)
The question is, shall the Jews living in the re-born
communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza start packing their
bags? No way!
Of course, I have a vested interest in this matter, as three of
my four children live in Efrat in the Judean hills. Efrat is a
beautiful community consisting of 1400 families, or a total of
9,000 Jews. Efrat is mentioned in the Book of Genesis. It is
where our Mother Rachel gave birth to Benjamin and died in
childbirth. "Thus Rachel died and was buried on the way to
Efrat, which is Bethlehem." (Chapter 35:19). Rachel's Tomb is
still in this very place today.
My children, who were born in the United States, have
returned according to the prophecy of Isaiah to re-settle the
land. It would be against the Word of G-d to follow the
blueprint of Professor Newman and the rest of the Jewish
"destroyers", and let themselves be transferred.
These Jewish "destroyers" do not seem to understand that as
far as the Arabs are concerned, all of Israel is one big
settlement, a cancer which needs to be removed from the
Arab body. It is difficult to fathom what causes Israel's Jewish
adversaries to put all their energy into working against the
interests of their fellow-Jews. What makes them have such
twisted, perverted loyalties?
Let's use our People Power. Please write a registered letter
to:
John Ashcroft, Attorney General, US Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC 20530
I am presenting a sample letter to Mr. Ashcroft:
"Dear Mr. Ashcroft,
We respectfully ask the US Department of Justice to
investigate any organization that works in conjunction with
the PLO. The PLO has been defined by US law as a terrorist
organization.
Please look into the activities of AMERICANS FOR PEACE
NOW, one of those organizations, and the sources of their
financial support."
It is said, "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." Let evil
not triumph where G-d's covenant land is concerned, by
remaining silent.
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February 15, 2003
Palestinian Lies, Israeli Truths
Martin Sherman
30 December 2002
"Since the time of Dr. Goebbels [head of the Nazi propaganda
machine] there has never been a case in which continual
repetition of a lie has borne such great fruits... Of all the
Palestinian lies there is no greater or more crushing lie than
that which calls for the establishment of a separate
Palestinian state in the West Bank..." (Excerpt from
Palestinian Lies by former Meretz minister of education, Prof.
Amnon Rubinstein, printed in Ha´aretz, July 1976)
A Palestinian state would be a deadly threat to Israel. This is
not an empty political slogan, but a well-founded strategic
truth. Accordingly, any sign of support for - or even reluctant
resignation to - the eventual establishment of such a state is
inconsistent with the preservation of Israel´s vital national
interests. Any ambivalence on this issue - any policy other
than resolute rejection of the very notion of an Arab state on
the fringes of the greater Tel Aviv area, having total
topographical control over the urban sprawl in the coastal
plain, and full hydrological control over a third of the
country's water resources - is a grave strategic error.
The approach that Israel should refrain from repudiating the
idea too sharply - lest it be branded "extremist" by world
opinion - is badly misguided. For this means sacrificing long-
term strategic values for short-term tactical expediency. It
means subordinating vital security considerations to
diplomatic convenience. It means transferring the burden
and the responsibility for safeguarding the national interest
from diplomatic representatives in well-pressed suits in
foreign capitals, to the combat soldiers in sweaty battle
fatigues on the front line. This is a total inversion - indeed
perversion - of the proper order of things. After all, diplomacy
is supposed to be a tool to serve and promote national
policy, not a constraint that dictates this policy.
In this regard, there is ample reason for severe reprimand of
those who have administered Israel´s foreign policy in recent
years. The grave dangers involved in the transfer of Judea
and Samaria to sovereign Arab rule are so stark, so tangible
and so blatant that it seems inconceivable that any foreign
service worth its salt (and taxpayers money) could not be
capable of conveying to the world that the establishment of a
Palestinian state would constitute an unreasonable, and
hence unacceptable, risk for Israel. No country that wishes to
survive can be expected to acquiesce to such a measure; no
leader who cannot repel pressures for its implementation
should be allowed to continue to govern. The fact that the
idea of a Palestinian state has gathered widespread
international support does not testify to the merits of the idea
or the inevitability of its eventual implementation. Rather it
testifies to the quality - or the lack thereof - of the
performance of those charged with promoting Israel´s
interests abroad and the necessity for their rapid
replacement.
The deadly threats that would confront Israel in the event of
the establishment of a Palestinian state manifest themselves
along every conceivable dimension: width, length, height and
depth. Width - because Israel will be left with less than the
minimum territorial depth required for the deployment of a
modern military defense system to protect the coastal plain,
in which 80 percent of the country´s population and 80% of
its economic activity are located; length - because Israel will
have to contend with the creation of a permanent border
hundreds of kilometers long on the very approaches of the
Dan region and adjacent to the nation´s major urban centers;
height - because from the highlands of Judea and Samaria,
the Palestinians will have total topographical control over all
the infrastructure (civilian and military) in the low-lying
coastal strip, including airfields, seaports and power plants;
depth - because the Palestinians will have hydro-strategic
control over crucial groundwater sources, creating a situation
in which Israel´s water problem could be transformed from a
grave but manageable crisis, to an insoluble catastrophe.
Detailed explication of these dangers goes beyond the above
points. However, it was none other than Shimon Peres, who
encapsulated their essence in the following apt, articulate and
accurate warning (in his book, Tomorrow is Now): "If a
Palestinian state is established, it will be armed to the teeth.
Within it there will be bases of the most extreme terrorist
forces, who will be equipped with anti-tank and anti-aircraft
shoulder-launched rockets, which will endanger not only
random passersby, but also every airplane and helicopter
taking off in the skies of Israel and every vehicle traveling
along the major traffic routes in the coastal plain." (my
translation - M.S.)
Is it possible the present leadership of the Likud has
forgotten what the past leadership of the Left once knew?
Indeed, in this regard, the "national camp" would do well to
adopt the proud, assertive position expounded in the past by
a prominent member of the left wing, Prof. Amnon Rubinstein.
In a 1976 Ha´aretz article, Rubinstein, a foremost expert on
constitutional law, said: "The claim that the Arabs of Eretz
Yisrael have the right to determine for themselves how
to organize their political life must be rejected. Israel has a
right and a duty to state its own position - and to take
measures to have this position adopted."
His words were valid then. They are still valid today.
*****
Martin Sherman is a senior research fellow at the
Interdisciplinary Center,
Herzliya.
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February 19, 2003
KNOWING YOUR ENEMY
In connection with the recent polls on the question of aid to
the so-called Palestinian Arabs, and a poll relating to the
creation of a Palestinian State, it appears that Americans
overwhelmingly opposed giving any aid to these so-called
Palestinians, and overwhelmingly opposed the creation of
another Arab state west of the Jordan.
Large numbers of Americans were influenced by the actual
deeds and statements of these Arabs and the Palestinian
Authority who:
1. Pretty much unanimously support Saddam Hussein and
regard Osama bin Laden as a Muslim prophet and hero!
2. Fully support Hamas, Hizbullah, the PLO and Jihad groups,
and are overjoyed about the acts of Al Qaeda, which bombed
the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on that infamous
9/11
date.
3. These polls demonstrate a realization by Americans that
the so-called Palestinian people and the Palestinian
Authority, by their deeds and declarations, are active enemies
of the United States.
4. Such polls in a democracy should influence President
Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and the U.S. Congress,
that they should not in any way support an enemy of the
United States.
5. In the U.S. war against terror, and the regimes that harbor
and support terrorists and terrorism, the so-called Palestinian
people and the Palestinian Authority are prime culprits. A
great majority continue to support such terrorists and
terrorism. Proof of that fact is the daily murders of Jews that
continue to occur within Israel. Neither the so-called
Palestinian people nor the Palestinian Authority do anything
whatsoever to prevent such murders. Instead, terrorist
activity is fostered by continuing to shelter terrorists within
their midst. Moreover, silent approval is given to terrorist
actions. (Substantiated by polls showing that a large majority
of Arabs continue to support terrorism. These polls were
taken of Arabs by Arabs within their own areas.)
5. Nor should terror be rewarded by President Bush and
Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Under the existing circumstances, their support of the
creation of another Arab terrorist
state is incomprehensible! Write to each of them, and
democratically express your vigorous
opposition to such support.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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February 20, 2003
Moses and the Extortion by the Left
Nadia Matar
Uri Elitzur quite correctly reminds us in his article "Belgium
and Rabin Square" (Yedioth Ahronoth, Friday, February 14,
2003) that the decision by the Belgian court against Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon did not suddenly spring forth, it rather
is due solely to the incitement by the Israeli left against that
war in Lebanon and the demonstrations by the left in Malkhei
Yisrael Square after Sabra and Shatilla.
Elitzur reminds us about the massacre in the village of
Sohmor in southern Lebanon, which, in contrast with the
slaughter in Sabra and Shatilla, received no publicity
throughout the world. The massacre in Sohmor took place
about ten years after Sabra and Shatilla, with the
murder of dozens of men, women, and children by SLA
soldiers, in retaliation for a serious attack conducted by the
villagers against them.
As Uri Elitzur writes: "In Belgium they do not know about the
Sohmor massacre, it is not mentioned in Israel, and even the
Arabs have already forgotten about it, for the simple reason
that during the time of Sohmor, the Israeli Prime Minister was
Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres was the Foreign Minister.
And therefore no Israeli leftist went into the streets to call
them murderers and to demand a commission of inquiry.
What turned Sabra and Shatilla into a colossal international
story did not take place in the outskirts of Beirut, but rather in
Malkhei Yisrael Square." (the plaza where the Israeli Left
demonstrates).
What Elitzur writes is correct; the problem with his article is
the conclusion that he reaches. Elitzur tells us that the above
proves to all of us why it is so important that there be a unity
government with the left - for with the left in the government,
"they will not fill the [city] squares with demonstrations in
which they turn us in the eyes of the entire world into war
criminals."
In other words, Uri Elitzur, and many like him in the national
camp, call upon us to surrender to the extortion, blackmail,
by the left. This probably is also Prime Minister Sharon's line
of thought. He is so afraid of demonstrations by the left in the
city squares, he has been so traumatized by their criticism
and incitement, that he prefers to have them
join him, hoping that he will thereby be able to silence them,
and prevent them from initiating demonstrations against him.
The problem is that in order for the left to agree to this,
including them in the government in a token manner will not
suffice: the Prime Minister must come with "the goods." He
must become "one of them," and continue their disastrous
Oslo policy. The new government will have to be based on the
basic
guidelines of the left (the adoption of the "road map," the
uprooting of. Only then will they agree to join him, out of the
goodness of their hearts.
And so we are witness to a horrifying phenomenon: whoever
calls for the establishment of a "unity" government with the
left is actually calling for the Prime Minister and the Likud to
totally surrender to the extortion of the left and to adopt their
disastrous and criminal
policy - and all this, for fear that the left will organize
demonstrations against the policy of the government that,
according to the will of the voter, should have been a strong
national government!
The establishment of a false "unity" government with the left
will therefore constitute a clear sign of the weakness and lack
of leadership of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The weekly Torah portion, that of Ki Tisa, teaches us how a
true leader would act. Moses descends from the mount with
the Tablets of the Covenant, and he sees the people reveling
and prostrating themselves around the Golden Calf. Moses
does not fear demonstrations
against himself by the people, and he does not decide to have
the leaders of those prostrating themselves to the Calf join
him, in order to form with them a "unity government." A true
leader knows that it is impossible to "unify" with sinners and
with their way.
Moses understands that he must act quickly and forcefully in
order to stop this deterioration: he must completely
delegitimize the Calf, and punish those who bow down to this
cursed statue. First, he burns the Calf to the ground. After
that, he enlists all those who remained loyal to God: Moses
issues the call: "Whoever is for God, come to me," and "all
the Levites rallied to him." It was the Levites who received the
order to punish the sinners, and so, three thousand are killed
by the Levites. After Moses demonstrated leadership and
personally punished some of the sinners, the Lord sends a
plague against all those who participated in the sin of the
Golden Calf.
Thanks to Moses' speedy and uncompromising intervention,
that showed the people what is the correct way, and in which
path one may not go, Moses sapped their will to repeat the
sin, with the result that no one would dare to think any more
about the construction of a Golden
Calf.
Ten years ago, a small portion of our people built a new
Golden Calf, named "the Oslo Accords." In the beginning,
many danced around the Oslo Calf, but most of them
gradually came to their senses, and understood that this was
a calf of physical and spiritual death for the people of Israel; a
Calf of surrender to the murderous enemy, a Calf that will
eventually lead to the total destruction of the State of Israel.
Consequently, the majority of the people voted in the recent
elections against the builders of this Calf and against their
policy. But, to everyone's amazement, the policy of the
erectors of the Calf, the architects and criminals of Oslo, still
dominates the country: in the media, in the State Attorney's
Office, in the courts, and soon, unfortunately, in the new
government as well, so it would seem. All of this is because,
until this very day, no one has dared challenge the criminal
Oslo mentality.
This must stop! The time has come to smash the Oslo Calf to
smithereens and return to the original "Tablets of the
Covenant," that bear the inscription, "The Land of Israel for
the People of Israel, according to the Torah of Israel." We
shall succeed in accomplishing this, not by including the
builders of the Calf in the government, and not by adopting
their policy, - but only if we will act as Moses did: by totally
delegitimatizing the Oslo policy and by punishing the
architects and continuers of the Oslo accords. In our time we
do not act as did those in the wilderness. Therefore, we
obviously are not calling to physically harm the Oslo
criminals, but rather to place them on trial in a court in
Jerusalem, on the
charge of crimes against the Jewish people in its Land. These
crimes were expressed, among other acts, by the giving of
arms, ammunition, and parts of the Land to Arab murderers -
an action that resulted in the murder of more than one
thousand Jews, and the injuring of additional tens of
thousands.
If we are successful in shattering and utterly destroying the
mentality of the Oslo Calf, we will also succeed in smashing
the extortion by the left in Israel. Thus we will finally be able
to establish a proud Jewish-Zionist government that is
desired by the majority of the people of Israel, and which the
countries of the world will respect and honor.
Nadia Matar, Chairperson, Women in Green
www.womeningreen.org
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February 23, 2003
Our Peace Partners
I do not always watch the 8 PM news here on TV which is the
hour of the national news here. Tonight, since it's freezing
outside with lots of rain, thank G-d, I was curious to see how
our Israeli TV reporters were explaining the delays of George
W.'s war due to the extorting Turkey leadership.
The lead story was the most important one that I have seen or
that most of you out there have not yet heard through the
networks in the Diaspora. The military correspondent, Ronny
Daniel, was inside a bulletproof command car being driven by
the Sgan Aluf(Colonel) M. inside the Casbah of Schechem
(Nablus).
We watched as the IDF Golani unit 202 comprised of
paratroopers were going from house to house inside the 700
year old Casbah of Schechem Since last Passover's
massacre in Netanya on Seder night, our IDF has been in and
out of Schechem unable to finish the 'job,' because Arik
Sharon knowingly allowed his coalition partner, the former
Defenseless Minister Ben Eliezer of Labor to run for its
leadership while running down our IDF.
Tonight, we sat back with our mouths wide open and frozen in
anger and disbelief. As Ronny Daniel, Colonel M. and
soldiers entered an Arab's house in Schechem, the cameras
were filming the three floor 'find' of the IDF Golani heroes
today. The 'family' of Arab men, women, and children were
escorted out of this house before the IDF engineering unit
began to cut apart the tiles of the kitchen floor. The area
below the kitchen was filled with hundreds of bags of nails,
bolts, and screws in quantities that were apparently more
than ACE Hardware's supply in your local mall! The heating
and soldering machines were assembled with oil, gas, and
combustible materials for the next tens of bus bombs being
assembled.
On the second floor of this 'residential house of militants,
activists, and residents' (sic), the cameras followed the
explaining Colonel M. and our correspondent, Ronny, and we
watched as more of our IDF soldiers were removing the walls
of the 'kids' bedrooms' to find hand grenades, guns that the
Arabs had received and stored. On the 3rd floor of this
house, the camera crew captured the bomb belts, their pieces
and parts with all sizes, colors, and widths of belts, again
more choices than your local belt rack in Nordstrom!
As the officer and soldiers went to the next house in search,
the soldier began to shout excitedly on his find in this house.
Here we watched again and saw dynamite sticks and fuses
inside kids' school bags which our kids carry with school
books. There must have been dozens of assembled school
bags with bombs inside. Cellular phones and clocks were
discovered which are the alleged methods of detonation by
remote control of some of the Arabs' terror.
The Colonel M. stated to the correspondent inside
Schechem's Casbah that the IDF is now here for months to
clean up, capture, destroy as much of these terror tools as
possible. The questions we had comprised of why did we
leave, enter, leave, enter, and now have to come back again in
the past months, year?
I turned off the TV as I knew that this rare habit of watching
the news was dangerous to my health, but tonight's coverage
of why we and our soldiers have to go house to house to
search and destroy rather than utilize our airforce in one
night will not be covered by CNN, BBC, or Reuters antisemite
club groups. Instead we will be faced with possible IDF
injuries or G-d forbid deaths in the coming weeks of this long
delayed action by the IDF under Shaul Mofaz, a Defense
Minister who also knows what the word Offense means,
because we Jews cannot do that which others can do in
nonstop aerial bombing (remember Afghanistan last year?).
Efrat, February 23, 2003
Harvey Tannenbaum
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February 25, 2003
An Unconventional Arab Viewpoint
By Joseph Farah
Editor's note: The following is adapted from remarks made by
Joseph Farah at a Christian Coalition symposium on Islam
Feb. 15 in Washington, D.C This is an abbreviation of such
speech.
I've been really bugged, especially since Sept. 11, 2001, by all
the self-proclaimed Arab-American and Muslim-American
spokesmen I see on the talking-head shows. What bugs me
is the way they show no appreciation for just how tolerant
and open-minded and non-judgmental the American people
really are toward them and the Arab and Muslim world.
Americans are so good, so fair and so understanding. They
are anything but quick to generalize and stereotype even
when doing so would clearly be in their best interest.
Over a two-day period this week, I had to take nine different
airline flights and go through nine different airport security
checkpoints. Not once during that two-day period did I ever
get a second glance from any security person. Not once was I
subject to any extra checks.
Now, I am an Arab-American. I have an Arab face and an Arab
name. But I didn't get a second look. Meanwhile, I saw young
mothers with little babies struggling to make it through extra
security. I saw little old grandmothers facing the indignities of
extra checks. And all the while, the Muslim-American lobbies
and the Arab-American anti-discrimination groups are
denouncing this country for being racist and for profiling.
It's just not true. Worse yet, there is every common-sense
reason for it to be so. The threat of terrorism in the United
States does come largely, if not exclusively, from Arabs and
from Muslims. We ignore that fact at our own peril. When I fly
to the Middle East, I often fly El Al. In fact, it is my preferred
carrier. Why? Because it has great security. I know, because
of my name and my Arabic ancestry, I'm going to have my
bags searched more scrupulously than the average
American. Do I mind? Absolutely not. In fact, I am grateful.
Because I know these security people are not only protecting
the other passengers, they are protecting me. It only makes
sense to do this kind of profiling especially when we are in a
war where our very way of life is at stake.
For those of you who have not read my writings on the Middle
East and the Islamic-West conflicts, I don't think these battles
are over misunderstandings. I don't believe they are the result
of a failure to communicate. I don't believe they are caused by
an inability to compromise. I believe they are caused by evil
people doing evil things, pure and simple. I come at this issue
of the Middle East a little bit differently than just about anyone
else. I'm an Arab-American Christian journalist. I've arrived at
my conclusions largely through first-hand experience
covering the Mideast on the ground.
Throughout my 25-year career as a daily newspaperman, I've
had two principal beats Hollywood and the Middle East. You
might wonder what these two beats have in common. The
common denominator is that they both deal in the realm of
unreality. They both rely on myths. In fact, the imagination of
the Arabs in crafting fables, reinventing history and
fictionalizing facts would make Oliver Stone blush. And it is
those myths of the Middle East that I want to address today in
the short time we have.
What is this debate all about? What are the real roots of this
conflict? If you believe what you read in most news sources,
Palestinians want a homeland and Muslims want control over
sites they consider holy. Simple, right? Wrong. In fact, these
two demands are nothing more than strategic deceptions
propaganda ploys. They are nothing more than phony
excuses and rationalizations for the terrorism and the
murdering of Jews. The real goal of those making these
demands is the destruction of the state of Israel.
The proof of the pudding is that prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli
war, there was no serious movement for a Palestinian
homeland. Why? In 1967, during the Six-Day War, the Israelis
captured Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. But they didn't
capture these territories from Yasser Arafat. They captured
them from Jordan's King Hussein. Why did the so-called
Palestinians suddenly discover their national identity after
Israel won the war. Why wasn't there a demand for a
Palestinian homeland before?
The truth is that Palestine is no more real than Never-Never
Land. The first time the name was used was in 70 A.D. when
the Romans committed genocide against the Jews, smashed
the Temple and declared the land of Israel would be no more.
From then on, the Romans promised, it would be known as
Palestine. The name was derived, we think, from the
Philistines, a people conquered by the Jews centuries earlier.
Contrary to what Yasser Arafat will tell you, the Philistines
were extinct by that time. Arafat likes to pretend his people
are the descendants of the Philistines. Actually, the name was
simply a way for the Romans to add insult to injury to the
Jews not only were they annihilated, but their land was
renamed after people they had conquered.
Palestine has never existed before or since as a nation
state. It was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and
Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire and, briefly, by
the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at
least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland.
Who rejected that idea? The Arabs. The Jews could have no
place in the Mideast. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. Now, at least to
Western audiences, Arafat and some other so-called
"moderate" Arab leaders will tell you that it's OK for the Jews
to have their homeland, too side-by-side with the Arabs.
Why wasn't it OK in 1948?
There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no
distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land
known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians
are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians, Syrians,
Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. Keep in mind that the Arabs control
99.9 percent of the Middle East lands. Israel represents one-
tenth of 1 percent of the landmass.
But that's too much for the Arabs. They want it all. And that is
ultimately what the fighting in Israel is about today. No matter
how many land concessions the Israelis make, it will never be
enough. Arafat himself explained the ploy of negotiations with
Israel in a 1994 speech in South Africa in English. He's
explained it in Arabic dozens of times. First we create our
own state, then we use that state to liberate all of Palestine.
That's the goal. It's always been the goal. Arafat and his
supporters will tell you the reason a Palestinian Arab state is
needed is because Arabs were forcibly removed from their
property in the 1948 war. But listen to what the Arabs were
saying about the refugee issue after that war.
* "The fact that there are these refugees is the direct
consequence of the act of the Arab states in opposing
partition and the Jewish state. The Arab states agree upon
this policy unanimously and they must share in the
solution of the problem."
Emile Ghoury, secretary of the Palestinian Arab Higher
Committee, in an interview with the Beirut Telegraph Sept. 6,
1948.
* "The Arab state which had encouraged the Palestine
Arabs to leave their homes temporarily in order to be out of
the way of the Arab invasion armies, have failed to keep their
promise to help these refugees."
The Jordanian daily newspaper Falastin, Feb. 19, 1949.
* "Who brought the Palestinians to Lebanon as refugees,
suffering now from the malign attitude of newspapers and
communal leaders, who have neither honor nor conscience?
Who brought them over in dire straits and penniless, after
they lost their honor? The Arab states, and Lebanon amongst
them, did it."
The Beirut Muslim weekly Kul-Shay, Aug. 19, 1951.
* "The 15th May, 1948, arrived ... On that day the mufti of
Jerusalem appealed to the Arabs of Palestine to leave the
country, because the Arab armies were about to enter and
fight in their stead." The Cairo daily Akhbar el Yom, Oct. 12,
1963.
* "For the flight and fall of the other villages it is our leaders
who are responsible because of their dissemination of
rumors exaggerating Jewish crimes and describing them as
atrocities in order to inflame the Arabs ... By spreading
rumors of Jewish atrocities, killings of women and children
etc., they instilled fear and terror in the hearts of the Arabs in
Palestine, until they fled leaving their homes and properties
to the enemy."
The Jordanian daily newspaper Al Urdun, April 9, 1953.
I could go on and on with this forgotten or deliberately
obscured history. But you get the point. There was no
Jewish conspiracy to chase Arabs out of their homes in 1948.
It never happened. There are, instead, plenty of historical
records showing the Jews pleading with their Arab neighbors
to stay and live in peace and harmony. Yet, despite the clear,
unambiguous words of the Arab observers at the time,
history has been successfully rewritten to turn the Jews into
the bad guys.
The Arab states that initiated the hostilities have never
accepted responsibility despite their enormous wealth and
their ability to assimilate tens of millions of refugees in their
largely under-populated nations. And other states have failed
to hold them accountable. Today, of course, this cruel
charade continues. The suffering of millions of Arabs is
perpetuated only for political purposes by the Arab states.
They are merely pawns in the war to destroy Israel.
There were some 100 million refugees around the world
following World War II. The Palestinian Arab group is the only
one in the world not absorbed or integrated into their own
people's lands. Since then, millions of Jewish refugees from
around the world have been absorbed in the tiny nation of
Israel. It makes no sense to expect that same tiny Jewish
state to solve a refugee crisis it did not create. Do you think
the Arabs really care about the plight of their refugees? I
would submit to you that Israel, of all the Middle East states,
has treated the Arab refugees with more fairness and
more compassion. Let me give you an example of what I'm
talking about:
The Jordan Times reports that "Palestinian refugees in
Lebanon, who have long been denied many civil rights
including the right to work, now face a new obstacle in their
precarious lives." Under a bill introduced by parliament last
year, Palestinian Arabs will be deprived of their right to
own property. Those who already own property will not be
able to pass it on to their children. Now just imagine if Israel
passed such a law? Can you imagine the international
outcry? What would the United Nations have to say
about this? How would the media establishment in the West
view such a Draconian ploy? Yet, this is happening in an Arab
country virtually without comment except here. And take a
look at the transparent rationale for this action in Lebanon, as
described in the Jordan Times: "The Lebanese parliament
passed the law on the grounds that it wants to protect the
right of the Palestinian refugees to return eventually to their
homes which they fled after the creation of the state of Israel
on Palestinian lands in 1948."
Don't you love that? "We are protecting your rights by
denying your rights." While Israel has bent over backwards
to accommodate the Palestinian Arabs especially those
victimized by the 1948 war the Arab nations have only
sought to exploit their misery. That exploitation
continues today. It is overt. It is a matter of law. Yet the world
sees it not. Ever since I wrote a column in October 2000
called "Myths of the Middle East," readers from around the
world have asked me what is meant by the term "Palestinian."
The simple answer is that it means what Yasser Arafat wants
it to mean.
Arafat himself was born in Egypt. He later moved to
Jerusalem. Indeed, most of the Arabs living within the
borders of Israel today have come from some other Arab
country at some time in their life. Arabs continue to flock into
Israel today. They continue to move into the Palestinian
Authority. They immigrated there even before it left Israeli
control. The Arabs have built 261 settlements in the West
Bank since 1967. We don't hear much about those
settlements. We hear instead about the number of Jewish
settlements that have been created. We hear how
destabilizing they are how provocative they are. Yet, by
comparison, only 144 Jewish settlements have been built
since 1967 including those surrounding Jerusalem, in the
West Bank and in
Gaza.
Is this a new phenomenon? Absolutely not. This has always
been the case. Arabs have been flocking to Israel and its
environs ever since it was created and even before,
coinciding with the wave of Jewish immigration into Palestine
prior to 1948. Winston Churchill said in 1939: "So far from
being persecuted, the Arabs have crowded into the country
and multiplied till their population has increased more than
even all world Jewry could lift up the Jewish population."
And that raises a question I never hear anyone ask: If Israel's
policies make life so intolerable for Arabs, why do they
continue to flock to the Jewish state? This is an important
question as we see the Palestinian debate now shift to the
issue of "the right of return." According to the most liberal
claims by Arab sources, some 600,000 to 700,000 Arabs left
Israel in and around 1948 when the Jewish state was created.
Most were not forced out by Jews, but rather left at the urging
of Arab leaders who had declared war on Israel. Yet, there are
far more Arabs living in these territories now than ever
before. And many of those who left in 1948 and thereafter
actually had roots in other Arab nations. This is why it is so
difficult to define the term "Palestinian." It always has been.
What does it mean? Who is a "Palestinian"? Is it someone
who came to work in Palestine because of a bustling
economy and job opportunities? Is it someone who lived in
the region for two years? Five years? Ten years? Is it
someone who once visited the area? Is it any Arab who wants
to live in the area?
Though Arabs outnumber Jews in the Middle East by a factor
of about 100 to one, the Arab population of Palestine was
historically extremely low prior to the Jews' renewed interest
in the area beginning in the early 1900s. For instance, a travel
guide to Palestine and Syria, published in 1906 by Karl
Baedeker, illustrates the fact that, even when the Islamic
Ottoman Empire ruled the region, the Muslim population in
Jerusalem was minimal. The book estimates the total
population of the city at 60,000, of whom 7,000 were Muslims,
13,000 were Christians and 40,000 were Jews.
"The number of Jews has greatly risen in the last few
decades, in spite of the fact that they are forbidden to
immigrate or to possess landed property," the book states.
Even though the Jews were persecuted, still they came to
Jerusalem and represented the overwhelming majority of the
population as early as 1906. Why was the Muslim population
so low? After all, we're told that Jerusalem is the third holiest
city in Islam. Surely, if this were a widely held belief in 1906,
more of the devout would have settled there. The truth is that
the Jewish presence in Jerusalem and throughout the Holy
Land persisted throughout its bloody history, as is
documented in Joan Peters' milestone history on the origins
of the Arab-Jewish conflict in the region, "From Time
Immemorial." It is also true that the Arab population
increased following Jewish immigration into the region. The
Arabs came because of economic activity. And, believe it or
not, they came because there was more freedom and more
opportunity in Israel than in their own homelands.
It's time to inject the component of freedom into the
discussion. In recent years Freedom House, the human-rights
organization that monitors the way the nations of the world
treat their own citizens, has found a there's a big trend
worldwide away from totalitarianism and authoritarianism and
toward freedom except in the Arab world. There are 22 Arab
states all varying degrees of police states. If the
U.S. continues pushing for a Palestinian state under the
leadership of Yasser Arafat, there will be 23.
Let's hope and pray that this administration is beginning to
get it. There are some strong indications that is the case. The
impending Iraq campaign could represent a watershed event
in the history of the Middle East. Imagine a free Iraq. Imagine
a free Afghanistan. Imagine a free Iran. Imagine a free
Lebanon. It could happen. If we set out goals high and we
act responsibly and we are courageous and steadfast in
waging this war on terrorism this war we did not start it
could happen.
*******************************************************
February 27, 2003
Ruth Matar, Women in Green Radio Program
Arutz Sheva, February 26, 2003
Today we are reaping the bitter harvest of the handiwork of
the Israeli Left.
In 1993, Shimon Peres and the rest of the Oslo Architects
worked
ceaselessly, illegally, and above all, secretly, to engineer an
agreement
with our enemies, who have long vowed to destroy us.
On August 20, 1993, Shimon Peres and his cohorts met in
Oslo with a group
of Palestinians and Norwegians in absolute secrecy and
signed these cursed
"Oslo Accords".
It is most educational to study this enormous betrayal in
Shimon Peres' own
words in his book "The New Middle East", published in the
year 1993.
Page 1: "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 mark a watershed in
the history of
the Middle East."
But wait a minute. This was not a secret from everybody, only
from the
People of Israel!
Page 22: "President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Foreign Minister
Ahmru Mussah,
and Advisor Osmah el Baaz were privy to the fact that secret
talks were
underway."
What was the reason for all this secrecy? Peres later revealed
that the
Israeli People would not have agreed to his plans. As Peres
boasted in the
Jerusalem Post International Edition of December 23, 1995: "I
may not know
what the people want; I do know what is good for the people."
It is also painful to learn from Peres' book with what
incredible
generosity Peres gave our country away, piece by piece.
Page 22: "I assumed if we proposed 'Gaza first', the
Palestinians would
suspect we were offering 'Gaza only'. Without a clear sign for
continued
negotiations regarding the West Bank, the Palestinians could
not agree. In
other words, the chance of getting 'Gaza first' depended on
that it be
'Gaza plus'."
Obviously, Peres felt that he had to sweeten the pie, and
promise the Arabs
future give-a-ways, in order to make them accept 'Gaza first'.
Shimon Peres, and the rest of the post-Zionist Oslo
Architects, have done
the Jewish People incredible harm. Over a thousand people
have been
murdered by Arab terrorists since the inception of the Oslo
Accords. Many
thousand have been maimed for life. Our holy sites are
attacked and destroyed.
Some examples:
* The Seventh Century Shalom al Yisrael synagogue in
Jericho has been
burned to the ground, and its magnificent mosaic floor
destroyed.
* Our Temple Mount is off limits to both Jews and Christians.
It is
continually vandalized by the Arabs in order to destroy any
evidence
whatsoever of Jewish history. The Sharon government
cooperates with the
Arab Wakf by denying Jews and Christians in order to
"prevent violence".
Who says terror doesn't pay?
* Mother Rachel's Tomb, located on the road to Bethlehem
from Jerusalem, is
continually under attack.
* Hostile Arabs attacked Joseph's Tomb in October of the
years 2000 and
destroyed the dome covering the grave. They burned the
Sefer Torahs and the
Jewish holy books housed within. During the last two weeks
of the standoff
between the Arabs and the Israeli Defense Forces, the Arabs
completed the
job and used hammers to turn the large stone marking
Joseph's grave into a
pile of rubble.
By the way, the right for the final resting place of our
forefather Joseph
is clearly spelled out in the Bible (Joshua 24:32):
"Joseph's bones, which the children of Israel had brought up
from Egypt,
they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field that Jacob
acquired
from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a
hundred kesitahs;
and it became a heritage for the children of Joseph."
Similarly, the Bible relates that Abraham bought his wife
Sarah's grave
plot, which is the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and King
David paid
for the area of the Temple Mount. Our sages say that the
importance of
these purchases is that no one should be able to say that the
Jews stole
this land.
The Arabs are well aware that our rights to this land are
incontrovertible,
and that these rights are both religious and historic. That is
why they
feel compelled to try to destroy any physical evidence of
Jewish history in
the Holy Land.
Despite al this, Ariel Sharon, who had strongly opposed Oslo
from its
inception, and had described Peres, its architect, as the man
"who has
given Israel away" is still anxious to have Peres and the Labor
Party in
his coalition, even though they were so completely rejected
by the
electorate. Why?
The common belief is that Sharon is waiting for the current
Labor leader
Mitzna to be dethroned, so that he can bring Peres and the
Labor Party back
into his government. That way he won't have to rely on the
National
Religious Party and the National Union Party for his Knesset
majority,
since these parties are against a Palestinian state. With Peres
he would
have a willing partner for the creation of such a state.
Is the Israeli electorate which voted so overwhelmingly for
Zionist and
religious parties, being betrayed? The intention may be there,
but as the
saying goes: Man proposes, but G-d disposes! With G-d's
help, and hard work
on our part, we may be able to avert this evil decree.
We have two guest speakers on our Women in Green
Program. Morton Klein is
President of the Zionist Organization of America. He has
recently released
a national United States public opinion poll which is most
encouraging: 71%
of Americans oppose creating a Palestinian Arab State.
Jodie Anderson is President of the Christian Zionist
organization Deborah's
Battalion. She is diligently working to unite Christians
worldwide to save
Jerusalem and its holy sites.
(A recording of this entire program, including the interviews,
is available
on http://www.israelnationalnews.com Click on "On Demand
Audio" on the blue
bar.)
All of us-and I mean both Christians and Jews-have been
silent far too long
as our Biblical heritage is sold out in exchange for a phantom
peace.
The Holy Land-all of it-must remain under Israel's sovereignty
in order
that all holy sites be protected from destruction by fanatic
Islam.
The Holy Land must also remain under Israel's sovereignty to
ensure the
physical safety of all visitors.
The Western World (re the Quartet) must no longer dictate to
Israel and be
the judge of her future. Political bargains with the enemy
must not be
allowed to endanger Israel.
Finally, the Holy Land must remain under Israeli sovereignty
because, in
the world of Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma, G-d said so!
This is the big one! Right now join the effort of Jews and
Christians
united in the endeavor to save the Holy Land from Islamic
takeover and
destruction.
Write President George W. Bush and point out to him that
71% of Americans
are against a Palestinian state and that 77% of Americans say
that the
United States should stop giving the Palestinian Arabs $150
million in aid
each year.
Fax: 202-456-2461
Email: president@whitehouse.gov
Address: just write: President
President George W. Bush
White House
Washington DC, USA
Also write Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and express that his
own people and
his own party, the Likud, are against a Palestinian state.
Fax: 02-566-4838
Email: webmaster@pmo.gov.il
Address: Prime Minister Sharon
Jerusalem, Israel
Finally: Anybody who possibly can should join the day of
lobbying Congress
on March 26, 2003. Please call the Christian Coalition for
more
information. The number is 888-440-2262.
*******************************************************
February 28, 2003
"A View of the Absurd" by Jack Engelhard
Mr. President, About That "Palestinian" State …
Dear Mr. President, do you truly believe that Arafat has rights
to
Jerusalem? Scriptures says otherwise: "Blessed is the Lord
from Zion, who
dwells in Jerusalem." Mr. President, you are a man of faith.
You
frequently use the Almighty in your speeches, as when,
remembering
Leviticus, you said: "The liberty we prize...is God¹s gift to
humanity." You have been quoted as saying, "I welcome faith
to help solve
the nation's deepest problems."
So it is disappointing and astonishing to find you in support
of a
Palestinian Arab state within the boundaries of Biblical Israel,
as
originally outlined in your "two-state solution" speech of
June 24, 2001.
Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Land of Israel was
deeded to the Jews
-- a ONE state solution. "To you will I give this Land," said
God to
Jacob...not to Mohammed.
Yet, you favor a "Quartet" and a "road map" that would chop
Israel into
pieces and create a homeland to the very people God
commanded the
Israelites to drive out, "lest they become as a snare unto
you." These
pre-Israel Canaanites were worshipers of Moloch, the "god"
that demanded
child sacrifice -- a ritual still vigorously practiced today by
these same
people, when they strap their children with explosives and
send them to
commit self-sacrifice and murder.
To these people of Moloch you award a state? You are a
God-fearing man, a
man like King David, who follows his convictions even
against the warbling
of the mixed multitudes. Your steadfastness is a blessing to
those of us
who are proud to be Americans, Christians and Jews. You
read the Psalms, so
surely you draw strength from King David who wrote: "He
who is a
God-fearing man, in him, God instructs the path to choose."
But when it comes to Israel, Mr. President, your path is not
righteous. How
can you, a man of the Bible, join these nations that call upon
the
dismantling of God's Covenant, when instead you should join
the Psalmist:
"The Lord has annulled the counsel of the nations; He has
foiled the
schemes of peoples." Against those who wage treachery,
your Biblical
wisdom demands that you heed the following: "Do not touch
My anointed ones,
and do not harm My Prophets."
Who, indeed, are these people, these Palestinians who
demand a share of
Israel? Today's Palestinians were never a distinct nation and
have never
even had a distinct Palestinian heritage. The very term
"Palestinian" to
mean a defined Arab people came about only as recently as
1964. Has there
ever been a single "Palestinian" Judge, King or Prophet
within the Land of
Israel?
But...from Joshua's conquest onward, the Land was ruled for
centuries by
JUDGES, KINGS and PROPHETS. From David to Zedekiah,
from Amos to Malachi,
all were Jews. None were "Palestinian" Arabs. By what
historical
legitimacy, then, do the Arabs assert rights to even an inch of
God's
Everlasting Covenant? The Jewish presence in the Land of
Israel has
endured for some 4000 years and remains fixed to this very
day further upon
the word of God to Jacob..."and to thy seed after thee will I
give the Land."
Yes, Arafat WANTS Jerusalem...and I want to play
center field
for the New York Yankees. The one entitlement is as
deserving as the other.
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