March 2004
March 3, 2004 From Tannenbaum to Gaza
March 3, 2004 Vanunu and Tennenbaum, Yes Federman, No?
March 8, 2004 When Generals Grow Old
March 10, 2004 Do Not Condemn Them
March 11, 2004 A Palestinian State - A U.S. Blunder
March 12, 2004 Upcoming Activities
March 13, 2004 Pressure the National Camp MKs
March 15, 2004 Israel Must Disenfranchise the Arabs from Voting
March 18, 2004 Upcoming Activities of Women In Green
March 19, 2004 Plans and Plans
March 20, 2004 The lessons of Ashdod
March 22, 2004 Another Tack: Air Jordan
March 23, 2004 Death Knell to Secular Leadership
March 24, 2004 Another One Bites the Dust
March 25, 2004 The Fear Factor
March 26, 2004 What Did Lilly Sharon Mean?
March 29, 2004 Let My People Stay!
March 30, 2004 Allah is not God
March 31, 2004 No Substitute for Strategy
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March 3, 2004
From Tannenbaum to Gaza
Evelyn Gordon
Jerusalem Post March 1, 2004
The plea bargain reached between the state and Elhanan Tannenbaum last
week has understandably generated considerable public anger. Yet
offensive though it is, this deal is no more than a sideshow.
The real issue is the earlier deal that secured Tannenbaum's release from
Hizbullah and what, in light of the new information revealed by the plea
bargain, that exchange says about the judgment of the people running our
country.
Tannenbaum, a civilian who holds the rank of colonel in the army reserves,
was kidnapped by Hizbullah in October 2000 and freed in a prisoner
exchange this January. Under the deal, Israel released 400 Palestinians, 23
Lebanese and 13 citizens of other countries, mostly Arab, who had been
jailed for hostile activity against Israel; it also returned the bodies of 60
Lebanese killed in clashes with the IDF.
In exchange, Israel received Tannenbaum plus the bodies of three Israeli
soldiers killed by Hizbullah.
This was clearly a terrible deal for Israel. Not only did it encourage further
terrorist kidnappings by proving that they pay off handsomely (Hizbullah
itself started threatening new kidnappings the very day of the exchange), it
also greatly expanded the circle of potential Israeli targets. Previously, all
terrorist kidnap attempts had targeted soldiers since the government felt
obliged to pay ransom only for soldiers captured in the line of duty.
In the Tannenbaum deal Israel paid an exorbitant price for a civilian
turning Israeli civilians anywhere on the globe into attractive targets.
The deal also made Hizbullah one of the leading financiers and organizers
of terrorist attacks against Israel, and therefore an organization that Israel
has every interest in discrediting into a pan-Arab hero, allowing it to claim
credit for "liberating" prisoners from throughout the Arab world.
And finally, it put 400 Palestinian terrorists back on the streets of whom,
based on Shin Bet statistics from previous prisoner exchanges, some 50
percent will probably resume terrorist activity.
For all these reasons, the deal seemed wildly irresponsible. Yet at the time,
it was possible to argue that perhaps the government knew something the
rest of us did not something that somehow justified the transaction.
This weekend, however, all the hidden details were revealed: As part of the
plea bargain Tannenbaum gave his Israeli interrogators the full story of his
capture in exchange for a promise that he will not do jail time. And it turns
out that he was kidnapped from Dubai while trying to conclude a drug deal
with a man Israel's security services have fingered as a top Hizbullah
agent.
In other words, our government endangered all our lives, in all the ways
enumerated above, to rescue a drug dealer who is buddy-buddy with
Hizbullah operatives.
Moreover, the cabinet knew this when it approved the exchange: The whole
story had been published in the media, attributed to government sources.
Yet the government brazenly declared those reports to be unsubstantiated
rumor.
A POSSIBLE clue to the government's motives can be found in another bit
of information revealed by the media this weekend: Throughout the three
years of Tannenbaum's captivity the army paid his family the salary of a full
colonel, even though Tannenbaum was not on active reserve duty at the
time of his capture.
This is the same army that has spent the last three years claiming that it
lacks the funds to buy bulletproof vests for all its soldiers a shortage that
has caused untold needless deaths in Palestinian attacks. Yet somehow it
found the money to pay three years of a colonel's salary a sum sufficient
to buy hundreds of flak jackets to someone who had no claim to it at all,
just because he was "one of the boys."
It is admittedly outrageous that Tannenbaum, whose confessed crimes are
enough to put him behind bars for years, will do no jail time at all under the
plea bargain unless he proves to have also spied for Hizbullah. Yet even if
he spent the rest of his life behind bars it would do nothing to ameliorate
the enormous damage caused by the deal that bought his freedom from
Hizbullah. Thus to fret about the plea bargain is to fret about a triviality.
Instead, the focus should be on learning lessons for the future because
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz are already
trying to sell us another dubious deal, which needs to be evaluated in light
of what the Tannenbaum affair tells us about their judgment. That deal is
called unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.
Under Sharon's withdrawal plan, Israel would give the Palestinians every
inch of Gaza while receiving nothing at all in exchange. It would even
uproot settlements a key Palestinian demand, to which Israel has hitherto
refused to accede outside the context of a permanent agreement. Not
surprisingly, every armed Palestinian organization has declared this a
major victory for terrorist tactics, and even moderates have been forced to
concur that terrorism has won for nothing what negotiations would only
have achieved at a substantial price.
Thus the withdrawal plan, like the Tannenbaum deal, appears to provide a
major incentive for more terrorism. And Sharon, just as in the Tannenbaum
deal, is trying to counter this charge by claiming that ordinary citizens lack
the complete picture available to the prime minister.
Unfortunately, that "complete picture" is now available in Tannenbaum's
case and it is a picture of a prime minister willing to sacrifice vital national
security interests for the sake of a drug dealer who happens to be "one of
the boys."
With the Tannenbaum deal, Sharon forfeited any claim to the nation's trust.
He deserves no benefit of the doubt on Gaza.
The writer is a veteran journalist and commentator.
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March 3, 2004
Vanunu and Tennenbaum, Yes Federman, No ?
Following is a must read. Women in Green call upon all to join the
demonstration organized by the committee to free Noam Federman,
tomorrow, Ta'anit Esther, Thursday, March 4 at 4:00pm,
in front of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
********
Vanunu and Tennenbaum, Yes Federman, No?
by David Wilder
In a few weeks atomic weapon's spy Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli
equivalent of the American Rosenberg couple, is due to be released from
prison after serving an eighteen year sentence. Vanunu, it might be
recalled, was convicted of publicizing Israel's nuclear secrets, having been
employed at the atomic power plant in Dimona. Vanunu's statements and
secretly-photographed pictures caused Israel irreparable security damage.
Yet he will not be left in prison to rot for the rest of his life. Shortly he will
be set free. This despite Vanunu's overt threats to continue revealing State
secrets. During a high-level meeting concerning Vanunu a couple of weeks
ago, a meeting which included Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, it was decided
not to keep Vanunu in jail via an administrative detention order. According
to media reports, Sharon himself made this decision. We are told that
Vanunu will have a 'permanent shadow' and at the first 'slip of this tongue'
he will be immediately incarcerated. But, until then, the traitor will be a free
man.
Another big-time criminal has also been making headlines: Elhanan
Tennenbaum. According to a Knesset subcommittee for security and
defense, the Tennenbaum case is one of the most damaging affairs Israel
has ever known. It is still unclear whether Tennenbaum's escapades were
strictly criminal, i.e., drug marketing, leading to his abduction by Hezbollah,
or whether his original intent was to sell State secrets to our enemies.
However, Tennenbaum, whose freedom from captivity cost Israel the
release of dozens of terrorists, was offered, and signed, a plea-bargain
deal, allowing him to escape further punishment. The only condition is that
his initiated activities were not security- related. It makes no difference
whether or not Tennenbaum's criminal offences were, or were not security-
connected. The fact is that the State of Israel is willing to allow a first-class
gangster to walk freely on the streets, despite the damage he inflicted on
his people.
Conversely, one Israeli citizen has been rotting in an Israeli prison for
almost six months, without having been indicted, without having been
tried, and without having been convicted. He is the only Israeli in jail due to
an administrative detention order, signed by Defense Minister Shaul Mufaz.
He has been stripped of all legal due process. His wife and seven children
remain virtually fatherless. His name is Noam Federman….
First, an update. Noam Federman was placed under house arrest in the
summer of 2002, for ostensibly belonging to the "Bat Ayin" group, three of
whom were convicted and jailed. The difference between Federman and the
others was that Noam was not put on trial. He was told that his trial would
commence only after the trials of the others were concluded. Six months
ago, in the middle of an appeal to the Supreme Court, he was arrested
while presenting his petition to the judges. The police appeared in the
courtroom, handcuffed Federman, and led him away. He was placed in one
of the highest security jails in Israel, in a solitary confinement cell, in the
same wing with Arab criminals and others, such as Lebanese terrorists
Mustepha Dirani and Shech Obeid (who were freed in return for
Tennenbaum and the three murdered Israeli soldiers). He was denied
kosher food, minimal conditions to allow normal prayer, etc.
Following a lengthy hunger strike lasting months, and due to a tremendous
public outcry, which included MKs and others, Federman was moved to a
jail in Ashkelon and promised better conditions. Presently, he is
incarcerated in a wing with Israeli criminals who have no respect for
religious Judaism, he cannot properly maintain Shabbat observances or
eat normal hot food on that sacred day, and is allowed to see his family
only 45 minutes a week, with a guard sitting next to them to record
everything said. Other prisoners in the same jail are also allowed a three-
day vacation at their home every month, which Noam is denied. In addition,
on the first of every 'new month', other prisoners are allowed a three hour
family visit. This too is forbidden to Federman. In short, without having
been charged with any crime, Federman's conditions are abysmal,
especially compared to others in the same prison.
In a few weeks, the six month detention order will expire. In order to keep
Noam Federman in jail, another order must be issued. People in Israel and
around the world, Jews and gentiles alike, are working to bring about
Federman's release from prison. There are several avenues open to public
action:
1. Tomorrow, (Thursday, March 4 Ta'anit Esther) at 4:00 in the
afternoon, a public demonstration will take place outside the Supreme
Court building in Jerusalem. At the conclusion of the fast refreshments will
be served. All people are urged to attend. Information concerning
transportation is available at:
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March 8, 2004
When Generals Grow Old
Victor Hugo was extremely disappointed in Napoleon in the latter's later
years. So it is with Ariel Sharon who recently marked his 76th birthday.
Gone is the love and devotion which Sharon showed towards Israel as a
military commander in his earlier years.
The secular orientation in which Sharon was raised is still with him today.
However, he now finds himself as a leader of a Jewish Nation, despite the
fact that he has never observed nor practiced his People's ancient
traditions. He knows little about the meaning or experiencing his People's
Holy Sabbath, nor has he ever observed its dietary laws, nor are its
beautiful holidays and traditions any relevance for him. He has no real
appreciation, nor understanding of the magnificence of Jewish culture, and
the depth and breadth of its ancient traditions of religious learning. He
rarely makes mention of the moral values which the Prophets of Israel
contributed to Western Civilization, nor is he a spokesman for those moral
values, nor does he take pride in them.
The promises that the Lord made to the Jewish People in their Bible he
does not believe in. For him the Promised Land is not to be taken
seriously. He can thus propose that there be a Palestinian State in Judea,
Samaria and Gaza, which are part and parcel of the ancient historical
Biblical homeland of the Jewish People. He can talk of uprooting entire
Jewish communities in ancient Gaza, which has never had any historical
connection whatsoever with the Arab people. A great majority of these
Arabs have recently come into the Land of Israel from neighboring Arab
countries, to seek labor and better living conditions than they formerly had
in their previous Arab homelands.
The anomaly of having an agnostic and secular Jew being a leader of a
Jewish Nation is sadly not new in Israel. From the inception of the rebirth
of this nation, we have had Jewish leaders who do not share the religious
traditions of the Jewish People worldwide. Nor even when living in Israel,
do they observe or practice their people's fundamental religious beliefs. We
have a situation in our Holy Land, where there are Jews who share the
views of their present Prime Minister. Particularly, is this true of those who
dominate the media in Israel, and help to perpetuate Israel's secular
orientation. The famous lines of the poet Browning, "Grow old along with
me, the best is yet to be" will never be actualized in Israel. Unlike his
ancestors, this aged general has not the faith, nor the moral and spiritual
message to convey to Jews in Israel, or elsewhere.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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March 10, 2004
Do Not Condemn Them
(Part 1 of 3)
by Boris Shusteff
It is almost a forgone conclusion these days that a Palestinian state should
be established on the lands of the West Bank and Gaza. Hardly anyone
questions this assumption. After all, it seems only natural, since many
Palestinian Arabs live there. However, though no one would try to build a
skyscraper on any plot of land without first conducting a proper survey and
geodesic work, doing a special traffic study and other pertinent
investigations, this incomparably much more complicated task of state-
building is approached absolutely irresponsibly.
The world has known countless historical examples of forcing unworkable
solutions on people and nations. Born of noble-sounding politically correct
slogans, these solutions culminated in disasters at the price of millions of
innocent lives. Just recall the clamor all over the world for democracy in
Congo and compare it with today's ethnic strife and civil war raging in the
now Democratic Republic of the Congo. The price of this "democracy" is
evident from a recent demographic study by the International Rescue
Committee, which reported that during the last five years "between three
million and 4.7 million people in Congo have died… mostly from hunger
and disease thought to be preventable during peace time."(1)
Let us take another example, this time of a struggle against "colonial
injustice." Not long ago, Zimbabwe was productive enough to feed the
countries of sub-Saharan Africa. In 2000, Zimbabwe's president Robert
Mugabe started to evict white farmers from their farms, in order to return
land to dispossessed black farmers. As a result, the country's once-prized
national herd dwindled from 1.4 million to 125,000 heads in three years, the
level of inflation in December 2003 reached 620%, and unemployment now
hovers near 70%. The number of people in Zimbabwe requiring food
assistance "…will rise to 6.2 million from January to March of 2004, taking
the total [in need of food aid] to well over half the country's population." (2)
These essentially genocidal crimes do not seem to discourage the world
community from continuing with new experiments. A particularly ill-fated
one is the intent to squeeze several million destitute Palestinian Arabs into
two tiny disconnected parcels of land and label this entity a "viable,
independent Palestinian state." This author has already presented some
major problems with the viability of this artificial pseudo-state in "The
Stillborn Palestinian State", written in May 2002. However, it is extremely
important to understand that the establishment of such an entity, first and
foremost, presents an existential threat to the Palestinian Arabs
themselves. We will concentrate here on two aspects of this threat: The
inevitable moral demise of Palestinian society and the total economic non-
viability of this artificial entity.
First, let us briefly trace the bloodstained history of the Palestinian Arab
leadership, and examine the effect this has had on the Palestinian Arab
society of today. For many years, the Palestinian Arabs have been used as
cannon fodder for the destructive political ambitions of their leaders. They
have been kept in refugee camps in sub-human conditions with only one
purpose to breed hatred against Jews, who "usurped their land." For
decades they have been incited to see the Jews as their archenemies. And
while occasionally hope glimmered that coexistence between the
Palestinian Arabs and the Jews might be possible, the rule of Yasser
Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has made the situation
irreversible.
The severity of the injustice that has befallen the Palestinian Arabs derives
from the simple fact that the PLO, which has been given carte-blanche by
the international community to rule over the Palestinian Arabs in West
Bank and Gaza, always was and still remains, a terrorist organization,
capable only of murder and destruction. It did not matter to Arafat and his
PLO whom to kill. Whether the victims were Moslems, Christians or Jews,
the PLO basked in killings.
In fact, the more free rein the PLO was given, the more disastrous were the
results. The first case was Jordan, in September of 1970, when the PLO
under Arafat's command tried to usurp power from the Jordanian king. In
the ensuing massacre several thousand Palestinian Arabs were killed
(Fatah reported that 30,000 fedayeen perished, while the official figure
given by the Jordanian army was 1,500).
After this failed uprising, Arafat and his PLO fled to Lebanon, where they
immediately set about their next attempt to gain power. Their activities
succeeded in plunging Lebanon into a civil war that lasted from October
1970 through November 1976. Thus, Arafat and the PLO played a key role
in the destruction of the Switzerland of the Middle East (as Lebanon was
called). "Out of a population of 3.2 millions, some 40,000 people, perhaps
more, had been killed, 100,000 wounded, 5,000 permanently maimed, and
500,000 displaced from their homes. About 300,000 Lebanese had fled to
other lands."(3)
In spite of this barbaric history, the PLO and Arafat were given a free hand
again in 1993, under the Oslo Accords. We are all witnesses of the
destruction and devastation that has followed after their latest ascension to
power. Just the last three years have seen over 3,400 Jews and Arabs killed
and more than 30,000 maimed and wounded in the war unleashed by the
PLO. We are not even taking into account the economic disaster that has
befallen the Palestinian Arabs, with skyrocketing unemployment, pervasive
corruption and widespread poverty.
However, the worst and most devastating blow throughout the past ten
years was struck against the moral fabric of the Palestinian Arab society. A
thirst for killing and death was ingrained into the souls of the people, who
became slaves of the PLO's regime. Over two million people delivered to
Arafat's control under the Oslo Accords were daily and nightly bombarded
with messages promoting hatred and glorifying death in PLO-controlled
newspapers, radio and TV stations, and schools.
The first victims of this incessant campaign became children. It is therefore
no surprise that after watching videos provided by Itamar Marcus of Israel-
based Palestinian Media Watch, New York Senator Hillary Clinton said that
the Palestinian Authority is engaged in "horrific abuse of children." Poll
results gathered by Palestinian Arabs show that "72% of the children
sampled from all the districts of Gaza expressed the hope of becoming
shahids in the confrontations..."(4) In a different poll, "79-80% of the
children expressed willingness to be shahids."(5)
Just one example from Marcus' documentary will suffice to underline the
poll results. In June 2002, official Palestinian Authority TV interviewed two
11-year-old girls. Among other topics, they spoke of their personal
yearning to achieve shahada, or martyrdom death for Allah. As one of the
girls said: "The children of Palestine have accepted the concept that this is
shahada, and that death by shahada is very good. Every Palestinian child
aged, say 12, says 'Oh Lord, I would like to become a shahid.'"(6)
While it is understandable that the vulnerable minds of children are easy
prey for the PLO's and other terrorists' "martyrdom" campaign, the
concurrent desire of parents to see their children dead is shocking. Truly
frightening statistics come from poll results gathered by the Palestinian
Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) in October 2003 among adult Palestinian
Arabs in West Bank, and eastern Jerusalem. The poll showed that 18.2% (!)
of them "believe that it is important to raise a child to be a shahid [or
martyr]." That means that nearly every fifth mother or father dreams of
death for their children!
Of course, they do not want their children simply to be killed. They want
them to die while killing Jews. The Jews are an obsession for the
Palestinians, and the popularity of terrorist groups depends on how
successfully they inflict death upon Jews. This tendency was clear from
elections to the student governing body at Bir Zeit University (considered
to be the most liberal of the Palestinian higher education institutions),
conducted in December 2003. Hamas won 25 seats of the 51 on the council,
Fatah took 20, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - a
radical PLO faction - won five and the lesser-known People's Party got the
remaining seat.
Ludna Abdel Hadi, a university spokeswoman said, "The Bir Zeit elections
are like a barometer to measure the political mood on the Palestinian
street."(7) This barometer clearly points towards a poisoning of the
Palestinian society by pervasive hatred, because "the election campaign
focused on which party killed more Israelis. …At a debate, the Hamas
candidate asked the Fatah candidate: 'Hamas activists in this university
killed 135 Zionists. How many did Fatah activists from Bir Zeit kill?'"(7)
Footnotes:
1) http://www.zimbabwesituation.com
2) Fred Bridgland, "Beef herd nears extinction", The Washington Times,
Jan. 5, 2004.
3) Jillian Becker, The PLO. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984 p.13
4) "Sout Al-Nissa-Voice of the Women", Al-Ayyam, January. 24, 2002
5) PA official daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 18, 2002
6) "Letter of the People", PA TV, June 9, 2002
7) "Hamas wins West Bank Election." Associated Press. 12/10/03
The above is part of a series of three articles. Part II can be read at:
http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=3375
Part III at: http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=3386
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March 11, 2004
A PALESTINIAN STATE - A U.S. BLUNDER by Yoram Ettinger
1. The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the PLO have been systematic allies
of Bin-Laden (whose mentor was the Palestinian Abdullah Naji of Jenin),
Taliban, Saddam, Khomeini and his successors, No. Korea and other rogue
regimes. The ideological mentors of the PA/PLO were allies of the Nazis
(e.g. Haj Amin Al-Husseini). Arafat, Abu-Mazin, Inc. were trained by the
KGB and forged intimate ties with the ruthless Communist regimes in
Moscow and E. Europe. The PA/PLO have constituted the role-model of
international terrorism, narco-terrorism, hijacking, car-bombing, homicide-
bombing, hate-education, inter-Arab treachery, corruption and oppression
of Christian Arabs (who have fled Bethlehem, Beit-Jallah and Ramallah).
2. The PA/PLO TRACK RECORD reveals the nature of the proposed
Palestinian State:
*In the late 1950s, Arafat, Abu-Mazen and Abu-Ala' fled Egypt for
subversion;
*In 1966 they fled Syria for subversion;
*In 1970 the PLO fled Jordan, following a violent attempt to topple the
Hashemite regime;
*In 1975 the PLO tried to violently topple the Lebanese regime, triggering a
multi-year civil war, which doomed the Christian domination of Lebanon;
*During 1978-1981 the PLO plundered and raped South Lebanon;
*In 1990 the PLO spearheaded Saddam's invasion of Kuwait (while the
Bush-Baker Administration was brutally pressuring Israel to recognize the
PLO!);
*Aware of PLO's subversive track record, Arabs do not allow the PLO to
bear arms on their soil;
*Since (Oslo) 1993 - when the PLO was snatched out of oblivion, imported
to the heartland of Israel and provided with weaponry - the PA/PLO have
been consistent with their inter-Arab track record. They have introduced
an unprecedented hope-driven terrorism, systematically and violently
violating all agreements. They instituted a hate-education system (K-12),
which has featured a production line of heralded homicide bombers for the
next two generations.
3. LEOPARDS DO NOT CHANGE SPOTS, ONLY TACTICS.
4. A Palestinian State would undermine U.S. VALUES AND INTERESTS.
The 1976 Entebbe Operation and the 1981 bombing of Iraq's Ozirak Nuclear
Reactor dealt a blow to global terrorism. The establishment of a Palestinian
State would be perceived as a reward to the role model of terrorism,
dealing a blow to the US war on global terrorism. It would condemn
Jordan's Hashemite regime to oblivion, would recharge Saddam's and
Taliban's allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, would bolster Iran and Syria and
would facilitate the re-entry of Russia to the Mideast.
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March 12, 2004
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
1. We are happy to see that the Yesha Council has put up a protest tent in
Jerusalem, in front of the Prime Minister's offices. Every day different
groups and communities come to the area to hold vigils. It is vital that you
join with them at this crucial time. Tomorrow will be too late.
2. On Monday, MARCH 15th, 2004 the Knesset will be discussing Sharon's
withdrawal plans. At the end there will be a vote. On that morning, at
9:15am, Women in Green will demonstrate at the entrance to the Knesset
urging all National MK's to vote against Sharon.
We urge you to participate. The PM, the media and the world need to see
that protests against
Sharon are growing daily and that Sharon is acting like a dictator, without a
mandate from the Jewish People.
3. A month ago, Women in Green went with 3 full buses to Gush Katif, to
show support to our brothers and sisters. We promised them to be their
messengers and to do all we can to convince as many people as possible
to go there and see why Israel cannot abandon the Gaza Strip to our
mortal enemies.
An organization called "Anachnu Al Hamapa" (We are on the Map) has
taken upon itself to organize guided tours for groups to Gush Katif.
Women in Green call upon all synagogues, organizations, teachers unions,
workers unions in Israel and abroad, etc., to organize themselves and call
this organization in order for them to organize your trip. Anachnu Al
Hamapa will provide you with Bullet Proof buses, guides, fascinating tours,
etc. Come and meet these wonderful people of Gush Katif and you will
come back strengthened, invigorated and convinced that these Jewish
Communities must never be abandoned!
Anachnu Al Hamapa can be reached by calling 1-800-24-36-36.
4. The Action committee to save the Outposts (sponsored by the Yesha
Council) continues to get organized in order to make sure that we will be
able to prevent the uprootings (that might start as early as next week). In
order to make things more effective, people who own cellphones will be
able to receive SMS messages in which all details about the upcoming
uprooting will be sent to them. The SMS message will tell you where, when,
and how to come to a specific place in order to participate in the struggle
to save the outposts.
Women in Green urge all its Israel members to register and be part of this
master list of people who will be called to save the outposts. Up until now,
more than 6000 people have already registered.
It is simple to register. Send a fax with your name, cellphone and town to
02-5814072 or by emailing your details to
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March 13, 2004
Pressure the National Camp MKs
From: Israel Resource News Agency
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March 15, 2004
Israel Must Disenfranchise the Arabs from Voting
The suicide bombings in Ashdod, point up the futility of abandoning Gaza
to the Arabs. Arab terror will continue, and be supported by the majority of
Arabs, until the Jews themselves take firm necessary measures.
Prime Minister Sharon has no answer to the Jewish People, or to anyone
else, for a solution to the Arab problem. He simply ignores it, hoping that it
will somehow go away. But it won't! There are hard and difficult decisions
that seem to conflict with democratic principles, but nevertheless have to
be made. The very survival of the Jewish People is at stake.
Arafat and Arab propaganda, and Palestinian Authority education, have so
poisoned the minds of Arabs and Arab children, that for many generations
it will be impossible for them to divorce themselves from the hatred against
Jews that was taught to them.
The whole Bush and U.S. State Department concept that there will be a
Palestinian State within Biblical Israel, living side by side peacefully with a
Jewish State, is pure fantasy, and totally unrealistic. Both the Palestinian
Authority, and the PLO, are so constituted that it is impossible to achieve a
peaceful relationship with the Jewish State of Israel. Just as the L-rd
hardened the heart of Pharaoh in the Bible, so he has created within the
Arab mentality an unwillingness by certain Arabs to live in peaceful
coexistence with the Jewish People, in a Jewish State
The decisive measures the Jews of Israel must realistically take are as
follows:
1. The Arabs must be disenfranchised from voting. Arabs can be permitted
to live in all parts of Israel, so long as they are prepared to live in peace
with the Jewish population. As a condition for their living in Israel, each
Arab would be required to sign an affidavit consenting to his
disenfranchisement from voting, and renouncing violence in any form. In
that affidavit he would recognize, as well, the right of the Jewish People to
have their own Jewish State.
2. All of the Biblical Land of Israel, east of the Jordan River, should be
incorporated into the State of Israel. Thus, the State of Israel would be
from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Gulf of Eilat
to its border with Lebanon.
The cardinal principle that must be recognized is that this Holy Land was
Promised to the Jewish People by the L-rd of the Universe, and not to
anyone else. All the details that follow from this Promise, can and will be
worked out by the creative Jewish mind. The sooner reality is dealt with
however, less Jewish lives will be lost to Arab terror.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
*******************************************************
March 18, 2004
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES OF WOMEN IN GREEN
The battle for Israel's survival is at its peak. Ariel Sharon wants to go
ahead with his dangerous defeatist plans, against the consent of the
majority of the Jewish People in Israel. The People of Israel are
overwhelmingly opposed to Sharon's dictatorial approach.
Come and participate, directly or indirectly, in the upcoming events this
week:
1)FREE NOAM FEDERMAN!!
Shaul Mofaz has extended Noam Federman's administrative detention for
another 6 months. This is an outrage. This coming Motzei Shabbat,
Saturday night March 20th, at 9:00pm- there will be a vigil organized by
friends and supporters to protest Noam's detention.
WHERE? In Ashkelon: in front of his jail in the old industrial area of
Ashkelon.
For details: Call Itamar 058-693-867, as to how to get there, and other
specifics.
2) KAPOWATCH- Convoys of Support for Our Dear Soldiers
Lately, the leftist Israeli media has given a lot of coverage to a tiny fringe
group called Machsomwatch- those are extreme leftist, pro-PLO Israeli
women, who come, in groups of 2 or 3, to the IDF checkpoints to humiliate
the IDF soldiers in front of the Arabs, by shouting at them and constantly
filming them.
Women in Green has decided to remind our dear soldiers that those
traitorous women represent nobody but themselves. The People of Israel
overwhelmingly love their soldiers and appreciate their work.
Women in Green is therefore renewing its convoys of support to the IDF
soldiers at the different army checkpoints. We will be bringing them cold
drinks, snacks and lots of love.
This SUNDAY, March 21st, we will be going to the Gilo army checkpoint at
the entrance to Bethlehem. Be there with your car at 9:00 am.
For those who need a ride, we will meet at 8:45 on Derech Hevron, at the
train station bus stop.
Please reserve a seat for your ride by calling Anita 050-777254.
3) FREE JONATHAN POLLARD BEFORE PASSOVER!!
Women in Green are joining the March for Jonathan Pollard, organized by
the Committee to Bring Jonathan Home.
WHEN? MONDAY MARCH 22nd, 2004
Women in Green will join the March at 3:45 at Gan Sacher. We will march
from there to the American Consulate on Agron Street in Jerusalem, where
a demonstration will be held.
Details of the entire March:
March & Demonstration for Jonathan Pollard 22/03/04
On Monday, March 22, 2004 there will be a pre-Passover March from
Merkaz Tsippori in the Jerusalem Forest to Jerusalem. It will be followed by
a demonstration in front of the American Consulate in Jerusalem calling for
the release of Jonathan Pollard NOW, so that he can come home to Israel
to celebrate Passover. Passover is the Holiday of Freedom. May Jonathan
celebrate it in Jerusalem this year! Amen!
The details are as follows:
11:00 am meet at the Merkaz Tsippori
11:30 Start of the March
15:30 Near Yad Vashem, MKs (and anyone unable to walk the full distance)
will join the March. From there we will continue to Gan Sacher, and then to
the American Consulate in Agron Street.
16:30 Demonstration opposite the American Consulate:
FREE POLLARD NOW! POLLARD HOME BEFORE PASSOVER!
Re'ut Ben-Yosef and Ya'akov Sharabi, from the Committee for Pollard, are
responsible for transport to the March. Re'ut: 058-870158, Ya'akov: 055-
684481. The March is being organized by Eli Joseph and The Committee to
Bring Jonathan Home, with the full support of Justice4JP.
4) ACTIVITIES AGAINST THE UPROOTING OF JEWS FROM THE LAND OF
Israel
This past Monday, Women in Green demonstrated at the entrance of the
Knesset urging all MKs to vote against the unilateral withdrawal speech of
Ariel Sharon. Women in Green members came from all over: Jerusalem,
Gush Etzyon, Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv, Holon and even Ashdod. The MKs saw
us and got the message. Many of them pledged their support.
Unfortunately, the vote narrowly was passed 46 to 45. Disappointingly,
several otherwise nationalistically oriented Likud members voted for it,
such as Uzi Landau, Benjamin Netanyahu, Naomi Blumenthal, Tzachi
Hanegbi, Reuven Rivlin, Yuval Shteinitz, and others. Party loyalty
seemingly took preference over what was in Israel's national interest.
There are many individuals who left the session before the vote.
5) HELP US SAVE ISRAEL
Women in Green are in the forefront of fighting for the very survival of
Israel. We are presently the most active organization on the Israeli scene.
In order that the above important crucial activities materialize, and to
actualize the many other activities we are planning, we desperately need
your financial support.
Send your checks made out to the Central Fund For Israel, and mail it to
the Central Fund For Israel, 980 Avenue of the Americas, Third Floor, New
York, NY 10018. Indicate on your check that it is for Women in Green.
Or go to our website
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March 19, 2004
Plans and Plans by Gary Cooperberg
Clearly a great many people are very upset with Sharon's plan to uproot
Jewish people from their homes. It is ironic that, from June of 1967 onward,
nearly every Israeli government has sought to give away that which was
miraculously handed to us by our
G-d. And, at long last, when we finally got a Prime Minister who was,
deemed by most observers to be, the most right-wing militant leader we
could hope for, he does an about face and suggests the most leftist policy
ever dreamed up! No wonder many people are losing hope in our future.
Threats to our existence are nothing new to the Jewish people. What we
must continue to keep, first and foremost, in our minds is the knowledge
that Israel and the Jewish People are part of a Divine Plan which no human
power can alter. Of course it would be a lot better if we, the Jewish People,
could pull ourselves together and act with faith in G-d and true self-
confidence in the certainty of our destiny. By failing to do this we are the
prime cause of our own needless suffering.
While we can examine mistakes we have made over the centuries and
identify how G-d has rescued us so many times, even though we may not
have been worthy of His mercy, let us just take a brief look at recent Jewish
history. Theodore Herzl, the founding father of modern "secular Zionism",
was certainly not a religious man. His dream of a Jewish State was not that
of his fathers. As a result of the Dreyfus trial in France he came to the
conclusion that the world hates Jews so much that it could easily destroy
them physically. His concern was not to save Judaism, rather to save
Jewish lives. He did not see the connection between antisemitism and
Judaism. All he saw was irrational hatred of the Jew. Antisemitism did not
discriminate between observant and non-observant Jews. The fact is that
all Jews have an equal obligation to serve our G-d and bring redemption to
Mankind. That many Jews choose to ignore their obligation as Jews does
not remove the fact that they still have that obligation. The holocaust,
which was probably the most brutal and horrible expression of
antisemitism in history, clearly revealed that no Jew can escape from his
destiny. Many thought that they could abandon Judaism and thus escape
antisemitism only to find themselves hunted down equally with observant
Jews.
The reason we Jews were not permanently accepted by any nation is
because it was our destiny to remain a people apart from all the nations of
the world. Had we been accepted and become a part of the nations of our
exile we would have disappeared centuries ago. Today, after thousands of
years of wandering from nation to nation, in spite of our desire to become a
part of those nations, it is nothing less than a miracle that we still are
recognizable as a people! Yes, we have made plans to make new lives in so
many different places, only to have those plans disintegrate before our
eyes. For two hundred years we lived in Spain and considered it home ...
until the Spanish Inquisition forced us out. Jews living in Germany
considered themselves Germans first and Jews second, failing to believe
Hitler even when he clearly expressed his hatred for the Jews.
It was no coincidence that the reborn Jewish State came into existence
right after the holocaust. Clearly the most horrible desecration of G-d, the
wholesale murder of millions of His people, brought with it Divine reaction.
Were G-d not to intervene for the sake of His Holy Name, the nations would
have destroyed the Jewish people completely. Thus Divine Redemption
was pushed forward. While Herzl would have settled for a state in far off
Uganda, it was not Herzl's plan that was being implemented. He was merely
an unwitting tool in the Divine Plan. His efforts set into motion the events
which eventually led to the modern state of Israel. It is also interesting to
note that most of the leaders of the Jewish Agency were opposed to the
concept of Jewish independence. They would have preferred to remain a
protectorate of Great Britain for fear that a Jewish State would not have the
ability to defend itself, and thus would be better off depending on a strong
foreign power to protect it. Thus it was clearly another miracle that Ben
Gurion had the courage to declare independence in the face of
overwhelming odds, both from within and without, which threatened the
viability of such a state.
We Jews have been trying to compromise with our enemies from the
moment of our re-emergence as a sovereign entity. Consistently those
efforts have brought nothing but war and strife. Never have we gained any
advantage as a result of our attempts to appease our enemies. The only
times we had any respite from our enemies were in response to inflicting
decisive victories against them. Yet, in spite of this observable fact, we
have consistently undone those victories by voluntarily surrendering to the
losers!
Sharon is correct in assuming that we have no partners with whom to make
peace. We have only ourselves and thus must resort to making unilateral
decisions for our future. How strange and incredible that he would think to
make unilateral expressions of surrender rather than decisively destroy our
enemies! Yet his thinking is consistent with that of most Jewish leaders of
our recent past. The one element which sets us apart from the nations and
gives us our unique, unbeatable strength, is completely ignored! England
was never our protector. The government to which Jewish leaders had
wanted to trust our security turned out to be an enemy of the Jewish
people! Had we trusted our future to the British the Jewish homeland
would likely have become another Arab State. Anyone who thinks that
today our only hope for survival lies with the United States of America is
making the same mistake.
America is not an evil country. It is not our enemy. But should we fail to
recognize the reality that we are dependent only upon the Living G-d of
Israel, and seek to exchange Him for a burnt out Bush, it may well be that
the U.S.A. will become our enemy in order to force us to turn to the
Fountain of Living Waters rather than depend upon more broken cisterns.
What we must all take to heart during these days of apparent despair and
road maps to hell is that Jewish destiny will override both the plans of our
enemies, and that of our own leaders.
*******************************************************
March 20, 2004
The lessons of Ashdod by Michael Freund
Jerusalem Post, March 17, 2004
It didn't take long after Sunday's suicide bombing in Ashdod for the Israeli
media to begin looking for someone to blame. Even as the wounded were
still being evacuated to local hospitals, the police and the port's
administrators were busy giving interviews, ducking responsibility and
pointing fingers at each other for the lapse in security that had enabled
terrorists to hit the site.
Unnamed police sources said they had warned the port's management that
security was lax, while port officials asserted they had done everything the
police had asked.
It was, quite frankly, a sorry sight to behold, so much energy and effort
being devoted to covering, rather than saving, people's behinds.
The Hebrew papers, of course, had a field day, devoting page after page to
the question of who fouled up, and why. Did the police really take the threat
of a "strategic attack" seriously? And why was the port protected by a
simple metal fence rather than an electronic one?
But for all the attention Israel's media devoted to the matter, they failed to
identify the gravest blunder of all that of the government itself, which has
not only allowed the terrorists to operate with impunity, but now dangles
before them the prize of a withdrawal from Gaza.
In recent weeks nearly the entire military and security establishment has
made it clear that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's talk of a unilateral retreat
will embolden the terror organizations and invite further attacks.
As OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aharon Ze'evi (Farkash), head of military
intelligence, recently said, groups such as Hamas and Fatah will do their
utmost to ensure that an Israeli withdrawal is perceived as a retreat under
fire and hence will try to intensify their attacks as a result of Sharon's plan.
And so we have a situation where the experts were all but unanimous, with
everyone from the IDF chief of staff to the head of the Shin Bet saying that
a unilateral pullback would buoy the terrorists and increase their
motivation to kill Jews.
And that is precisely what occurred. Ten innocent Israelis lost their lives in
Sunday's attack, the first victims of the prime minister's dubious plan. Their
deaths were effectively foretold in advance, but Sharon refused to listen.
The warnings and admonitions, the advice and the counsel, all of it was
brushed aside and ignored by an arrogant and tired premier, one unwilling
even to listen to his own generals.
Even in the aftermath of the attack Sharon has not learned his lesson. Less
than 24 hours later he stood before the podium in the Knesset, insisting
that Israel had no choice but to move forward by moving backward and
fleeing Gaza for good. But running away from a problem is no way to solve
it. If anything, Sunday's attack should serve as a compelling reminder of
precisely what Israel is up against.
Just meters away from where the terrorists detonated themselves in
Ashdod's port were storage tanks containing dangerous chemicals such as
bromide, ammonia and fuel. Had one of the containers caught fire and
exploded, it might very well have caused hundreds, possibly even
thousands, of casualties in the nearby area.
This was, quite simply, a Palestinian attempt at mass murder on a scale
equivalent to America's September 11 and Spain's March 11, the only
difference being that Fatah and Hamas aren't as "proficient" as their al-
Qaida colleagues. This is not the first time the Palestinians have attempted
to carry out such a mega-attack.
In April 2002, Israel thwarted a planned assault by Palestinian terrorists
against the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv, which they had hoped to bring down
along the lines of the World Trade Center. One month later terrorists set
off an explosive device hidden under a truck at the Pi Glilot fuel depot
outside Tel Aviv. Miraculously, the complex did not go up in flames, which
could have endangered untold thousands of people.
Such attacks have nothing to do with a Jewish presence in Gaza, but
everything to do with a Jewish presence in the Middle East. By attempting
to carry out a mass attack that could have murdered thousands of Jews,
the Palestinians have made clear that they are willing to resort to genocidal
tactics to achieve their goals.
Sadly, if it is a battle for survival the Palestinians are after, Israel has no
choice but to fight it. But in order to prevail the government must first
recognize that no amount of wishful thinking, or shortsighted withdrawals,
will appease a foe bent on our destruction.
Building fences and uprooting Jews from their homes is hardly the way to
fight such terror. Only by reasserting complete and permanent military
control over the territories and by dismantling the Palestinian Authority
and the terrorist infrastructure can Israel hope to achieve a modicum of
security for its citizens. There is simply no alternative to the IDF being
there physically, militarily, and running the show.
The only way to eliminate terrorism is to eliminate the terrorists, and not to
run away when the going gets tough.
Israel did not start this war; nor did we ask for it. But we sure know how to
end it. After the Ashdod attack, that is what Ariel Sharon must finally do.
******
The writer served as deputy director of Communications & Policy Planning
in the Prime Minister's Office under former premier Binyamin Netanyahu.
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March 22, 2004
Another Tack: Air Jordan
by Sarah Honig
Jerusalem Post, March 18,2004
Lucky for the Jebusites that the Hebrews were the People of the Book.
Otherwise these Jerusalem-area Canaanites would have never made their
very fleeting appearance on the pages of history or on Jordan TV.
For those who may have anyway forgotten the brief biblical references, the
Jebusites were the folks from whom King David conquered a wee hamlet
he later turned into his capital. The books of Judges and Ezra indicate that
they intermarried and assimilated amongst the Israelites.
But that latter bit of scholarship escaped the notice of Jordanian
historiography. An unforgettable JTV documentary on Jerusalem not too
many years back magically transformed Jebusites into "Palestinian Arabs"
to establish an Arab claim to Zion. The Jebusites' contribution to mankind
was concomitantly magnified to a proportion that would have doubtlessly
amazed them.
JTV even treated us to recipes from the Jebusite kitchen. These would
have altogether floored the long-lost Jebusites, as it appears that their
favorite ingredients included tomatoes and chili peppers, which, alas, only
reached the Old World 2,500 years later, when Spaniards brought them
back from America (unless the enterprising Jebusites beat Columbus
there, thereby establishing an Arab claim to the Western Hemisphere).
The past obviously isn't safe from retroactive repairs. Take last week's
Jordanian demand that Ariel Sharon apologize for having, in his less-
confounding days, insisted that Jordan is Palestine. Now the Jordanians
are after a public retraction of the truth. They maintain that Sharon's
cronies promised that this would pose no problem.
Considering Sharon's incredible flip-flops of late, it indeed shouldn't.
Sharon once labored hard to expose the deception the Arabs managed to
market so successfully to a world so eager to be deceived - i.e., the
artificially concocted Jordanian and Palestinian ethnicities, along with the
notion that these recent-vintage nationalities were distinct from each other
and deserved self-determination in separate homelands - Jordan and
Palestine.
THIS FABRICATION begat the image of the stateless Palestinians,
aggrieved indigenous inhabitants of the land, striving desperately to throw
off the yoke of foreign (Jewish) occupation.
Yet until 1948, "Palestine" was used synonymously with the Hebrew "Eretz
Yisrael." Those called Palestinians were generally Jews. Local Arabs
preferred allegiance to Greater Syria (or Iraq).
Golda Meir used to quip: "I am a Palestinian but don't like the name.
Palestine is a name the Romans gave Eretz Yisrael with the express
purpose of infuriating Jews Why should we use a spiteful name meant to
humiliate us?
"Christendom inherited the name from Rome, and the British chose to call
the land they mandated Palestine. The Arabs picked it up as their nation's
supposed ancient name, though they couldn't even pronounce it correctly,
and turned it into Falastin, a fictional entity."
That entity never had an independent existence, unique identity, language,
or culture to distinguish it from the surrounding Arab milieu.
Moreover, the British Mandate in Palestine extended over both banks of the
Jordan. In 1921, some 77% of what was designated as the national home of
the Jewish people was ripped off and given as a gift to Abdullah, son of
Mecca's Hashemite chieftain who lost the battle for control of Islam's
holiest city and surrounding Hejaz to a rival clan, the Saudis. Had he won,
we'd be speaking today of Hashemite Arabia. Instead, we're saddled with
Jordan.
Abdullah sought the title of Emir of Palestine, but the Brits made him settle
for Transjordan. No Transjordanian nation appears in human chronicles. It
was conceived on Palestinian soil by perfidious Albion. That was the first
division of Palestine.
In 1953, Transjordan annexed the "West Bank" and became Jordan. Its
leaders, including the late King Hussein, stressed over and over in
numerous pronouncements that Jordan and Palestine are one and the
same. So did Palestinian leaders, including Arafat. The Palestinian
covenant, in fact, covets all of Jordan, precisely because it's Palestine.
Since then it became expedient, PR-wise, to claim that Palestine exists
exclusively west of the mini-river, justifying the campaign for a second
Palestinian Arab state.
Fearing that his Palestinian subjects would collude with the PLO to topple
their imported Hashemite rulers, Hussein kicked the PLO out in Black
September, 1970. Too bad. Had he failed, Arafat would be running Amman
and no one would dispute that Palestine is divided among Jews and Arabs,
with the Arabs owning nearly four-fifths thereof.
Sharon may consider such division no longer feasible. That's his
prerogative. But he wasn't entrusted with the right to rewrite history. Any
assertion that Jordan isn't Palestine is just as unimpeachable as that
memorable JTV documentary, which expunged Jews from Jerusalem's
annals, save for one abrupt but indispensable appearance in the Judenrein
city.
Villainous Jews arrived suddenly out of nowhere and stayed just long
enough to crucify Jesus, described as "a Palestinian Arab prophet."
*******************************************************
March 23, 2004
Death Knell to Secular Leadership
One has to search in vain among our present Jewish Leadership for
someone who believes and is faithful to what is written in the Bible. The
latest pronouncement of Netanyahu is very typical of secular leadership
and its thinking. He has set conditions before he would approve of
Sharon's plan to uproot Jews from the Promised Land. Netanyahu does
not take seriously the words of the Prophet Ezekiel that no Jewish Leader
is permitted to relinquish the inheritance of the entire Jewish People
(Ezekiel 46:18). The inheritance of the Jewish People is not Sharon's or
Netanyahu's to give away. Every Inch of this Promised Land, belongs to
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that is the entire Jewish
People, whether living in Israel or outside of the Holy Land.
Sharon can decide to give his farm that he has acquired during his lifetime,
to both or either of his sons, or to anyone else. But he cannot decide to
give up the Land promised to the Jewish People by the Almighty. That
Promise is an integral aspect of Jewish Law, and is an eternal inheritance.
No generation, and no Jewish Government in a Jewish State has the right,
or the authority to bind present or future generations of the Jewish People
with regard to parting with any portion of this inheritance.
Ben Gurion stated these crucial facts back in 1933 to an International
Zionist gathering in Basel. Sadly, he later was pressured to change this
view. Unfortunately, that occurs when secular leaders lack knowledge of
what is required of them by the Torah. Ben Gurion was a serious student
of the Bible, but he was not religious, nor did he possess the necessary
faith in the Lord's Promises. Subsequent leaders of the Jewish People in
Israel have also been secular. When pressured, they fully succumbed.
They did not possess the strength and belief in Jewish Law, which is part
and parcel of every religious and Bible-believing Jew. No matter what the
pressure, or the source of such pressure, no matter what is demanded of
him, a believing Jew will not go against Jewish Law, nor defy the Will of G-
d. Believing in the Bible, and the Lord's repeated Promises to the Jewish
People, he will never waiver.
Their faith and belief in G-d has preserved the Jewish People down through
the ages. They had a related belief, a belief in Jewish Destiny.
Secularization has worked havoc with these fundamental values. Trust in
G-d's Will, has always been characteristic of the Jewish People. Even the
disastrous Holocaust, followed as it was by the rebirth of Israel, carried
with it an important message for religious Jews: Zion was being reborn out
of the ashes of Auschwitz. With the miraculous return to Zion, Jewish
Destiny was being fulfilled. Those who objectively witnessed this
awesome event, saw that the Hand of G-d was directly involved.
The Jewish People desperately need to cast off the yoke of secular
leadership, and return to their basic faith and belief in the One G-d of this
Universe. Their faith in the Promised Land as a Holy Land must be
restored. The glory and pride in being Jewish, that once existed for the
Jewish People during the days of the Psalmist King David, can and must
reign in the reborn Land of Israel. We first must rid ourselves from secular
leadership, and restore G-d and His Prophets to their rightful place in our
everyday life. Amen. Selah!
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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March 24, 2004
Another one bites the dust
by Joseph Farah - Between the Lines
WorldNetDaily
Prepare for the gnashing of teeth over the death of Hamas leader Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin, targeted in an Israeli rocket attack yesterday.
Weak-kneed Europeans will condemn Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Misinformed Americans will see it as a provocative action by the Jewish
state. And the Arab world will threaten fire-and-brimstone retaliation.
My reaction? What took so long? Can I hear the Hallelujah chorus, please?
This is the way terrorism must be fought. It needs to be decapitated. It
needs to be discouraged with overwhelming force. It needs to be met with
greater terror. I know this is not politically correct. I know we're all
supposed to give lip service to the "peace process." I know it is not
considered kosher to encourage Israel to take out its terrorist enemies the
way the U.S. takes out its own.
I don't care. Three cheers for the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
Who was Yassin? He was a terrorist clothed in the garb of a holy man. He
repeatedly said the land of Israel is "consecrated for future Muslim
generations until Judgment Day." Well, Judgment is here at least for
Yassin.
"The so-called peace path is not peace and it is not a substitute for jihad
and resistance," said Yassin. It makes you wonder why his followers are so
upset. Yassin got just what he said he wanted martyrdom. That's what he
had sent countless boys, young men and even girls to carry out in suicide
attacks on Jews.
Yassin didn't have the blood of Jews alone on his hands. He also ordered
the murder of Arabs who he believed had collaborated with Israel in any
way. Sometimes all Arabs needed to do to be named as collaborators was
practice the Christian faith.
So, good riddance to Yassin. May Yasser Arafat's day be near. May the
head of the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade be next. May Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah
of Hezbollah meet his maker sooner rather than later.
I know I will be roundly condemned by the Council on American-Islamic
Relations and the self-proclaimed Arab-American leaders for this position. I
don't care. I say this proudly as an American of Arab ancestry.
America is at war. It's not a war with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist
network alone. We are engulfed in a full-scale, global war with Islamist,
jihadist terrorism and all these groups are allied against America, against
Christians around the world and against Jews in and outside of Israel.
It's just that simple, and someone needs to say it. No, I do not say that this
war is a global conflict between all Muslims and the West. Clearly, it is not
that simple nor that dire. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we are battling the
terrorists side-by-side with Muslims who want to live in freedom. And,
ultimately, that's what this struggle is about freedom vs. Islamo-fascism.
Some try to stay on the sidelines like the new leadership in Spain and the
old leadership in France. There are no sidelines in this war. There is no
neutral ground.
Like Winston Churchill told Neville Chamberlain after the latter met with
Adolph Hitler in an effort to make peace: "You had a choice between war
and dishonor and you chose dishonor. And you shall have war."
That's our choice today: War, dishonor or surrender to Islamo-tyranny.
Three cheers for Israel's bold move in the assassination of this bloodthirsty
murderer. May it be just the beginning of a brand new "peace process."
*******************************************************
March 25, 2004
The Fear Factor
By BRET STEPHENS
Are Palestinians weeds? It would seem many people think they are.
Following Israel's assassination early yesterday morning of Ahmed Yassin,
spiritual leader of Hamas, the gist of international reaction was that the
strike would bring new converts to the Islamist cause and incite a fresh
wave of terrorist violence against Israel. In other words, Palestinians are
weeds: Mowing them down, as it were, only has the effect of making them
grow back stronger and faster.
There are moments (Monday morning was one of them) when I find myself
tempted by the metaphor. As I write, my TV screen is filled with images of
Palestinian mourners thronging the streets of Gaza, praising Yassin as a
martyr and vowing deadly vengeance. This looks like the reaction of an
emboldened people, not a frightened one. So what's the sense, in purely
utilitarian terms, of further Israeli attacks? Alternatively, what's the sense
of showing any restraint at all? If the weed metaphor is right, either Israel
should sue for peace on whatever terms the Palestinians extend or it
should resort to extreme measures like population transfer. Anything else
just fruitlessly prolongs a cycle of violence.
But of course Palestinians aren't weeds. They're human. They think in
terms of costs and benefits, they calculate the odds, they respond more or
less rationally to incentives and disincentives. And what makes us afraid
can also make them afraid.
This is a trite observation, but it's one Palestinians would rather have us
forget. Over 42 months of conflict, their strategy has been to persuade
Israelis that they, the Palestinians, are made of different stuff. Why else the
suicide bombers? Not because of their proven capacity to kill civilians in
greater numbers than any other weapon currently in the Palestinian
arsenal. That's only a second-order effect. The deep logic of suicide
bombing lies in the act of suicide itself. People who will readily die for their
cause are, by definition, beyond deterrence. By showing that Israel's tanks
and fighter jets are just so much scrap metal in the face of the Palestinians'
superhuman determination, they aim to disarm Israel itself.
How does one respond to such a logic? It helps not to be fooled by it.
Again, allow me to make the trite observation that Palestinians love their
children too. To date, there has not been a single instance in which a
Hamas leader sent one of his own sons or daughters on a suicide mission.
I once interviewed a Hamas leader, since deceased, as he bounced his one-
year-old girl on his knee. Contrary to myth, this was not a man who was
afraid of nothing. Unsparing as he was with the lives of others, he was
circumspect when it came to the lives of his own.
Indeed, when one looks closely at just who the suicide bombers are (or
were), often they turn out to be society's outcasts. Take Reem Salah al-
Rahashi, a mother of two, who in January murdered four Israeli soldiers at
the Erez checkpoint on the Gaza-Israel border. In a prerecorded video,
Rahashi said becoming a shaheed was her lifelong dream. Later it emerged
she'd been caught in an extramarital affair, and that her husband and lover
had arranged her "martyrdom operation" as an honorable way to settle the
matter. It is with such people, not with themselves, that Palestinian leaders
attempt to demonstrate their own fearlessness.
In the early months of the intifada, this macho pretense was sustained by
the Israeli government's tacit decision not to target terrorist ringleaders, for
fear such attacks would inspire massive retaliation. Yassin and his closest
associates considered themselves immune from Israeli reprisals and
operated in the open. What followed was the bloodiest terrorist onslaught
in Israeli history, climaxing in a massacre at Netanya in March 2002. After
that, Israel invaded the West Bank and began to target terrorist leaders
more aggressively.
The results, in terms of lives saved, were dramatic. In 2003, the number of
Israeli terrorist fatalities declined by more than 50% from the previous year,
to 213 from 451. The overall number of attacks also declined, to 3,823 in
2003 from 5,301 in 2002, a drop of 30%. In the spring of 2003, Israel stepped
up its campaign of targeted assassinations, including a failed attempt on
Yassin's deputy, Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Wise heads said Israel had done
nothing except incite the Palestinians to greater violence. Instead, Hamas
and other Islamic terrorist groups agreed unilaterally to a cease-fire.
In this context, it bears notice that between 2002 and 2003 the number of
Palestinian fatalities also declined significantly, from 1,000 to about 700.
The reason here is obvious: As the leaders of Palestinian terror groups
were picked off and their operations were disrupted, they were unable to
carry out the kind of frequent, large-scale attacks that had provoked
Israel's large-scale reprisals. Terrorism is a top-down business, not vice
versa. Targeted assassinations not only got rid of the most guilty but
diminished the risk of open combat between Israeli soldiers and
Palestinian foot soldiers.
Now a few words about Yassin, the international reaction to his killing, and
the likely result for Israel. It may be recalled that Israel released the good
sheikh in 1997, after having sentenced him to life in prison, with the
promise that he would never again promote terrorism. This was during the
Oslo years, when serious people actually thought that such conciliatory
gestures served the interests of peace. Today, that is beyond
comprehension. At any rate, Yassin didn't keep his promise.
Meanwhile, assorted foreign ministers are in full throat against Israel. "All
of us understand Israel's need to protect itself -- and it is fully entitled to do
that -- against the terrorism that affects it, within international law," says
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw. "But it is not entitled to go in for this
kind of unlawful killing."
It would be interesting to know exactly what, according to Mr. Straw, Israel
is lawfully allowed to do in self-defense. Perhaps it would be as well if the
minister also reminded the Palestinian Authority of its obligations, under
the Road Map, to "undertake visible efforts
. . . to arrest, disrupt, and restrain individuals and groups conducting and
planning attacks on Israelis." But if Mr. Straw and his colleagues do not do
so, it is not from an excess of respect for the Palestinians, but rather its
lack. They will, after all, be viewing them merely as weeds, not as humans
capable of acting in their own best interests.
Mr. Stephens is editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post.
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March 26, 2004
What Did Lilly Sharon Mean? By Nadia Matar
First, let us congratulate the soldiers of the IDF for the splendid action
against Ahmed Yassin, a lethal foe of the Jews. We pray that IDF soldiers
will soon receive orders to eliminate another arch-murderer Yasser Arafat,
and the band of murderers of Jews he harbors in Ramallah, and other
leaders and personnel of terrorist organizations.
A serious question remains. If Ariel Sharon sought to protect the Jewish
People, why hadn_t he eliminated Ahmed Yassin long ago? And why
hasn_t he added Yasser Arafat and other murderers of Jews to the
elimination list. If Ariel Sharon truly desires to break the spirit of the
enemy and eliminate, once and for all, the Hamas movement and the other
Arab terrorist organizations, he would take these actions:
1. He would eliminate - every day - key individuals in these terrorist
organizations. The daily elimination of such commanders and leaders
would quickly squash the existing Arab intifada, and smash the Arab will to
continue terrorism.
2. He would permanently put the IDF back in the Gaza Strip, clean up the
area once and for all and rid it of the terror nests. That means: the
elimination of every armed individual and the expulsion of their families,
and restore Jewish control over all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. It has
already been proven that the only way to fight terror is when Israel controls
the area. The moment that the IDF abandons the field - terror flourishes and
develops.
Since these steps were not taken by Sharon, and apparently will not be
taken, we must ask: What is Ariel Sharon really doing? What is he striving
to achieve? We might possibly receive the answer to this question from
what Ariel Sharon's late wife, Lilly, of blessed memory, told an
unimpeachable source in the Golan many years ago.
A woman, G., who knew Lilly well, told me the following: A few years ago,
when Rabin was in power, and when the sword of destruction hung over
the Golan, Ariel Sharon and his wife came to Neveh Ativ for a solidarity
visit. After a talk with the residents, the men
went and talked with Sharon. Lilly remained with G. for a talk among
women. G. told
Lilly that she so greatly wanted Ariel Sharon to be Prime Minister. She even
volunteered to act on his behalf and to bring others to act as well. When
Lilly Sharon asked her why
she so strongly wanted Ariel Sharon to be elected Prime Minister, G.
replied that she was certain that he would know how to be a true and proud
Jewish leader. Lilly Sharon asked the woman: "Do you know the parable of
Jotham?" G. was not familiar with that parable, but Lilly did not attempt to
further explain.
The parable of Jotham appears in the ninth chapter of the book of Judges.
After the death of Gideon, the Israelites enthroned his son Abimelech as
their king - the same Abimelech who murdered seventy of his brothers, in
order to ensure that only he would rule as king. One brother was not killed
by Abimelech. This was Jotham, who managed to hide during the
slaughter. When Jotham heard that the Israelites had proclaimed the
wicked Abimelech king, he went to the top of Mount Gerizim and related the
following parable, in order to warn the Israelites of the terrible mistake that
they were making:
"Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the
olive tree, 'Reign over us.' But the olive tree replied, 'Have I, through whom
God and men are honored, stopped yielding my rich oil, that I should go
and wave above the trees?' So the trees said to the fig tree, 'You come and
reign over us.' But the fig tree replied, 'Have I stopped yielding my
sweetness, my delicious fruit, that I should go and wave above the trees?'
So the trees said to the vine, 'You come and reign over us.' But the vine
replied, 'Have I stopped yielding my new wine, which gladdens God and
men, that I should go and wave above the trees?' Then all the trees said to
the thornbush, 'You come and reign over us.' And the thornbush said to the
trees, 'If you are acting honorably in anointing me king over you, come and
take shelter in my shade; but if not, may fire issue from the thornbush and
consume the cedars of Lebanon!'" This is how Jotham ended his parable,
warning that the encrowning of Abimelech would bring only fire and
trouble.
Lilly Sharon is not with us today to explain what she said. One thing,
however, is clear. Lilly wanted to caution G. against the idea of Sharon as
Prime Minister, just as Jotham had warned the Israelites. Indeed, a
thornbush can cause fires - not only among the enemy, but also among its
own people, for all that interests it is its own survival and remaining in
power. Yes, the elimination of Yassin is a blow to the Arab enemy. But we
cannot deceive ourselves. To the same degree that Sharon delivered a
blow to the nemy, Ariel Sharon is also capable - and apparently intends, as
well - to unleash a "strange fire" against his own people, and even more
forcefully promote the disengagement plan for the destruction of the
settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
It is within our power to stop the "strange fire" of Ariel Sharon. We, too, we,
the national camp, we also possess a fire, the perpetual fire of which we
shall read in the Torah portions of the coming weeks. As Dr. Yisrael Eldad
writes in Contemplations
of the Bible :
"The first fire in the Bible is that of the _Covenant between the Pieces".
This fire, the first that came down from heaven, sanctified the
covenant of Abraham's offspring with this land. This is the fire of the great
love that rivers shall not wash away, not the River of Egypt, not the
Euphrates River, and not the mighty waters of the entire world. This fire
shall not be extinguished. It shall not be consumed. An eternal flame, From
the Covenant between the Pieces" to the burning bush, from the burning
bush to the altar of the kohanim [priests], from the altar of the kohanim to
the lips of the prophets, an eternal flame. The same fire. Eldad notes that
in all generations foreigners have attempted to
extinguish the eternal Jewish flame, but without success. The most
dangerous, however, are specifically individuals such as Nadab and Abihu,
who come from within our midst, who pretend to be "one of ours," but who
hold in their hands a destructive "strange
fire. _ We must be warier of them than of anyone else.
Ariel Sharon pretends to be a leader who is "one of ours." He built the
settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. He embodies
"security." He eliminated Ahmed Yassin. But he holds in his hands strange
fire, the fire of the disengagement plan, the fire of the plan of destruction
and expulsion of Jews. We must ensure that our positive fire,
the fire of Judaism, the fire of love and loyalty to the people of Israel, the
Torah of Israel, and all the Land of Israel, shall extinguish the strange and
destructive fire of Ariel Sharon. Who knows, perhaps this is what Lilly
Sharon meant by her laconic statement.
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March 29, 2004
Let My People Stay!
Passover is with us again. Only this time we are in the Land of our
forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and are not slaves in the Land of
Egypt. We are in the Promised Land. The Land of Milk and Honey. The
Land which the Lord of the Universe Himself promised in the Bible to our
ancestors thousands of years ago. We literally have come from the four
corners of this earth, back to our Holy Land. A true miracle for all to see,
and ponder. A clear proof that life has purpose, meaning and fulfillment.
There is an awesome message in this turn of events. Despite Arab and
Moslem terror, the Jews have come home, and are here to stay. Despite
the vicissitudes, and imponderables, there is a clear message coming out
of Israel, whereas, heretofore the message of freedom called out to Egypt
to: Let my People Go!, the message for our generation is: Let My People
Stay!
There may be skeptics, and those who wish to rewrite history, but one
thing is crystal clear, the Jews are proof positive that there is an Almighty.
Their miraculous survival throughout the ages, and their return from
whence they originated almost two thousand years, raises the spirits and
provides hope to all of the downtrodden of this earth.
For if the Jews can make wastelands in Israel bloom, and make their barren
land fertile once again, they have a vital and inspiring message for
everyone.
Moreover, the sanctification of life, should be the important concept rather
than the Moslem emphasis on death and sexual rewards in the hereafter.
Furthermore, we must concentrate on the eradication of Arab terror from
the Holy Land. Terror is an unacceptable solution for solving societal
problems.
However, what the world craves desperately is a spiritual center.
Jerusalem, and particularly the Temple Mount, fulfills this need. Out of
Zion will come forth the law, and the word of G-d from Jerusalem, is no idle
phrase. It can and should become our moral guide for a richer and more
meaningful life.
Above all else, this Passover should mark the beginning of a new era with
regard to Israel. Let the Jewish People Stay and flourish in all of the Land
of Israel, should become the catchwords for all freedom loving peoples.
May it be His Will, that the upcoming Passover, be special for the People of
Israel; that their Land be blessed with peace and prosperity; and that Arab
terror be finally eradicated from the Holy Land forever.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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March 30, 2004
Allah is not God
by Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director
International Christian Zionist Center
Now we have the proof, and we should be thankful for Dr. Rantisi, Hamas
new leader's clarity: that Allah - many times wrongly translated as 'God' - is
not the God of the Bible, nor the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Allah is
another deity, one who drinks blood as water, who loves jihad and terror,
and promises virgins in his so-called paradise to those who kill Jews - the
more the better.
This Allah has nothing, nothing to do with the God of the Bible. And no
matter how many times the muezzins shout out that Allah hu ahbar - 'our
Allah is greater' - the God of Israel remains infinitely greater and is the only
true and living God and Creator, a God of love to be worshiped as the
Creator of us all.
So Dr. Rantisi's declaration that Allah (not God!) has declared war on
President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon, and thus on the U.S. and on
Israel, is strangely revealing. Every intelligent believer already knows that
this evil bloodthirsty 'god' has, like Amalek, a war for generations against
the only true God and His chosen and elected people. What's new?
But let no one, and I repeat - no one - from henceforth translate Allah into
God. It's pure nonsense.
Allah is the god of terrorists; Hizb'allah, the party of this god. So, if Allah
were the same as the only true God, then He would be fighting His own
people, the Jews who, in accordance with His eternal promise, He has
brought back to His own land as He promised again and again in His word
to do.
Allah, if he was the only true God, is making war against a President who
begins his day with prayer and the reading of the Bible, and who believes
in and loves God.
How ridiculous can one be?
So now President Bush and the whole enlightened and believing western
world knows. Allah and his jihad-centered and terrorist-championing
religion has declared war on Israel and the U.S. In this fallen and decadent
world, these nations are the last strongholds of the Judeo-Christian values
inspired by the only true and living God. And these are the strongholds that
need to be terrorized into submission to the teaching of ISLAM by the will
of this bloodthirsty deity, Allah!
When Christians earnestly prayed in England and elsewhere to be
delivered during the second world war from the terrible scourge of Nazism
- God used the U.S. led Allied forces to bring victory on the Continent over
this beastly power. So too, now, we as believers need to earnestly pray that
God will again deliver us from this equally dangerous power, and cause
leaders to arise, especially in the West, who like Churchill and Roosevelt,
will vanquish this Evil Force!
May the true God - the God of Israel - have mercy upon us!
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March 31, 2004
No substitute for strategy
DANIEL DORON
Jerusalem Post, March 24, 2004
Despite its brilliant tactical victories, Israel has never truly won a war
against the Arabs. In fact, Israel has habitually snatched diplomatic defeats
out of the jaws of military victory.
In part this was due to the lack of an overall strategy, as none of Israel's
leaders defined goals for war or the means to achieve them, or to
consistently pursue them.
A similar fate may befall our present war against terrorism. Despite some
great tactical achievements, Israel is not winning this war because it is
failing yet again to articulate a winning strategy. Israel, with its powerful
fighting forces, finds itself at the mercy of even relatively small groups
such as Hizbullah, allowing them to seize the initiative and to dictate the
terms of engagement. Even against Palestinian terrorism, Israel acts
mostly in a haphazard manner, and from a defensive position.
The lack of a determined and cohesive military strategy that would
seriously damage terrorist organizations by eliminating most of their
leadership in one fell swoop (rather than in dribs and drabs as in the case
of Ahmed Yassin and others inviting continual condemnations and
reaction) is hardly surprising. Lack of concerted action, acting only in
response to near catastrophes is the typical modus operandi of all Israeli
governments in all spheres of their activity.
More than in most countries, most of the energies of Israeli politicians are
devoted to jostling for power and for the considerable spoils offered by an
extremely centralized, government-controlled economy. Little energy
remains for what is supposed to be the business of government the
provision of security and other public good.
In the case of the military, the problem is confounded not only by the
innate difficulties of all huge bureaucratic organizations to quickly adapt to
changing circumstances but also by a no-win ethos. Like other institutions,
the IDF was subjected to a high degree of politicization stemming back to
its Hagana days. Many army leaders, like many in the elite generally, are
left of center. They have embraced the utopian assumptions of the peace
camp. Many Israeli generals are convinced that terrorism cannot be
vanquished by force. They do not bother to explain, to themselves or to
others, what is the justification for the enormous outlays Israel spends on
its military if it cannot solve military problems, or how their ideological
position squares with the many instances where terrorist groups from the
11th-century Assassins to the armed bands of the 1936-9 Great Arab Revolt
were totally vanquished by military force alone.
ISRAEL'S FAILURE to curb terrorism is what makes an exhausted Israeli
public grasp at any straw offered by its confused leadership, which
believes that a defensive tactic, a wall, is a solution to terrorism.
Walls have been and will continue to be breached. So while a wall may
significantly reduce the number of terrorist incidents, it cannot prevent as
its supporters readily admit all terrorist attacks. Worse, it cannot ensure
against mega-attacks causing enormous damage and many
casualties.Thus strategically, the security fence has very limited
usefulness. More disturbingly, it may come at great cost and some
unforeseeable consequences, and it might actually reduce Israel's ability to
fight terrorism effectively.
For the wall to function, it must not only be expensively constructed with
sophisticated monitoring devices, but it must also be maintained, even
defended, by mobile quick-response units again, a costly proposition.
Perhaps instead of investing heavily in a wall, it would be cheaper and
more effective to construct a light fence and invest the savings in more
mobile response units, probably achieving better results. A temporary
fence would also reduce the objections raised against the wall that can be
seen as a precursor of a permanent border.
Walls have a tendency to produce a Maginot Line mentality. The Bar-Lev
Line was first conceived as a series of outposts meant to serve as trip
wires along the Suez Canal, alerting mobile units to repel an Egyptian
crossing. Heavy Egyptian shelling forced the Israelis to turn them into
heavily fortified strongholds whose protection required the creation of a
line and a defensive strategy, which soon overshadowed the concept of
mobile defense. This was an important factor in the disastrous beginning
of the Yom Kippur War.
But the greatest drawback is that the wall punishes the innocent along with
the guilty. This is counterproductive. The wall will exacerbate the miserable
conditions upon which terrorist organizations thrive. It will assign the
Palestinian Arab population to the mercy of a corrupt irredentist leadership
that has already proven its ability to transform the desperation it creates
into terrorist acts against Israel.
Extolling unilateral withdrawal and the separation wall, the writer A. B.
Yehoshua explained, "From the moment we withdraw, I don't want to know
their names. I do not want any personal relations with them I am not going
to perpetrate war crimes for their own sake, but I will use all my force
against them (if they attack us)."
Apparently even this great liberal does not understand that you cannot lock
terrorism behind a wall, threaten brutal responses, and expect quiet. Peace
will only come when a new Palestinian leadership, emerging from a civil
society, will replace the criminal Palestinian Authority and its terrorist
leadership imposed by Oslo. Only then will the Palestinians be able to
make some concessions for peace the way Israel is ready to do.
Meanwhile, Israel's failure to systematically eliminate terrorism by
destroying its organizations and its leadership is, paradoxically, a major
obstacle to peace. It causes unnecessary massive loss of life and suffering,
not only for Israelis but for the Palestinian Arabs too.
The writer is president of The Israel Center for Social and Economic
Progress, an independent pro-market policy think tank. www.icsep.org.il
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