November 1996 November 3, 1996 Except The Lord Build The House November 5, 1996 Et Tu Rifkind! November 6, 1996 Hypocrisy Thy Name Is Channel 1 November 11, 1996 Let the Jewish People Decide On Hebron! November 13, 1996 Arch-Criminal Nadia Matar Arrested For Leading Protesters November 17, 1996 "You Promised, We Believed, You Betrayed" November 19, 1996 A Bereaved Mother's Plea November 24, 1996 "Confrontation" a la The PLO And The PA ************************************************************************* Jerusalem, November 3, 1996 "Except The Lord Build The House, They Labor In Vain That Build It." (Psalm 127:1) The heavens opened up and poured forth a continuous torrent of rain. It was hardly an inducement for a large turnout for a scheduled nationalist rally in downtown Jerusalem in an attempt to counter-balance the inordinate pressures being brought on Prime Minister Netanyahu's new Government. Today the issue was Hebron; but the implications of any decision made as to that Ancient Jewish City, affected and had ramifications with regard to the right of the Jews to Jerusalem, the Jewish right to live, grow and expand in Judea, Samaria, and Gush Katif, and yes, even the issue of the safety of Tel Aviv residents. There were heavy rains throughout the day, and it was nothing short of a miracle that as many as 20,000 (according to the low estimate of the intellectual Labor oriented newspaper "Ha Aretz"), had braved the elements in order to express their concern and identification with the brave Jewish Community of Hebron. Intuitively these Jews felt, as Nadia Matar pointed out when she spoke to this Mass Rally, that re-deployment by the Israel Army in Hebron is like the act of the brothers of Joseph when they threw him into a pit full of snakes and scorpions. The well known sordid violent record of the volatile Arab Hebron Community, the center of the Hamas movement in Israel, bodes ill to the Jews of Hebron in any event, even if the Israel Army were not to re-deploy. However, should the re-deployment take place in a manner similar to that which Peres had formerly agreed to, the Jewish Community in Hebron would be virtually doomed. Particularly ominous were the recent Arab riots, where Palestinian Police used the arms that Peres had given them under Oslo, to kill and maim Jewish soldiers. To make arms available to an Arab community which has a long track record of violence is shocking and irresponsible. It puts at terrible risk the lives of the women, children and men of the Jewish Hebron Community, and it is a crime of such historical magnitude, that there is no adequate punishment for those responsible for the predictable consequences which will flow from such army re-deployment. In this regard, Rabbi Moshe Levinger, one of the early pioneers who led the Jewish return to Hebron after the miraculous victory of 1967, pointed out when he was called upon to address the gathering, that in all the years he has lived in Hebron, he had not experienced the fear he now has in anticipation of the Israel Army's re-deployment. Speaker after speaker spoke in a similar vein, including Rosh Yeshiva Eliezer Waldman, of neighboring Kiryat Arba, Noam Arnon a leader of the Hebron Jewish Community, and Nadia Matar of the Women In Green. The article in HaAretz reporting on the event which appeared the following day, dwelt mainly on the comments of Nadia, which won sustained enthusiastic applause from the audience. Nadia pointed out that the anniversary of the Nazi Krystalnacht occurred about this time of year, in early November. Krystalnacht was a forerunner of the unspeakable horrors of the subsequent Holocaust. Among other heinous acts, they burned holy books then too. Heinrich Heine, a famous German author, had earlier written with great wisdom and foresight: " One Who Begins By Burning Books Will In The End Burn People" Similar to Krystalnacht, there were ominous warning signals from what occurred throughout the Land of Israel during the recent widespread Arab riots instigated by Arafat. One of the more ghastly events occurred at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus: a House of Study was burned down by the Arabs, along with thousands of holy books. She stressed that the Arabs have exactly the same attitude towards the Jews and their religion as did the Germans. To ignore that hatred and bigotry is to invite disaster. What Nadia said captured the spirit of what Chagi Ben Artzi, Netanyahu's brother-in-law, has been saying, as widely reported in the press recently. Chagi complained that Netanyahu was showing unfortunate weakness in submitting to the overwhelming pressures being brought on him by America, the Europeans, the local and international press, the disloyal opposition of Labor led by Peres, and Meretz and the Peace Now Movement. Nadia, as well, reminded Netanyahu of his prior statements concerning Hebron: "Whoever abandons Hebron, abandons not only the security of its Jewish residents, but also 4,000 years of Jewish History." She wisely stated: "We chose you because your intentions, as reflected by such statements, was in accord with the Jewish majority. But now is the testing time. The pressures upon you are great from without and within - at the head of the anti-Zionist minority stands Shimon Peres, the one who gave guns to the Arabs that later killed our soldiers. Opposite these pressures stand the majority of Am Yisrael and begs: Guard Hebron, the City of the Forefathers, for all generations; do not break your Covenant with Am Yisrael; do not forget what you wrote in your books and said in your pre-election speeches. Do not surrender to murderers." What Netanyahu would be doing by adhering to Peres' Oslo Accords, is giving Hebron over to the Arabs, as a result of world pressure. He rationalizes this abandonment of our ancient historical City by telling us he is bound by the former Government's Agreements. However, this is not a valid reason for his abandonment of the Jewish historical claim to this holy City, in effect, tearing Hebron away from the inheritance of Caleb of the tribe of Yehuda, as recorded in our Bible. History will not judge Netanyahu kindly if he allows this tragedy to occur. At the close of the evening, there was a planned march to the nearby American Consulate on Agron Street. The rain had temporarily stopped, and there were a few speeches in English in front of the Consulate, addressed to President Clinton. Nadia Matar, among others, spoke again. She urged President Clinton not to put one-sided pressure on Israel concerning Hebron, while at the same time completely neglecting Arafat's failure to comply with the Oslo Accords. That the rationale that we can not put pressure on Arafat because of his unstable position with the Arabs, is an irrational policy doomed to failure, and leading to disaster. Furthermore, she reminded President Clinton of the blatant injustice in not freeing Pollard, and pleaded with him to pardon him without further delay. It is incumbent on Jews everywhere, both here in Israel and those living abroad, to raise their voices in protest to Prime Minister Netanyahu that he not surrender our rightful inheritence and claim to this historical Jewish City. Thousands of years ago, as reported in the book of Joshua (14: 13,14), Hebron was captured by Joshua and given over to Caleb Ben Yefunah for an inheritance. Ironically, the reward to Caleb Ben Yefunah, one of the two whose unshakeable faith in the Lord's Promise to give the Land of Israel to the Jews, despite the pressures of the majority of the other ten spies, was now being given away by Netanyahu to the Arabs, as a result of world pressure. U.S. President Bill Clinton, who told us before the Oslo signing, that he was fortified in his decision by reading the Book of Joshua, ought to read that book again. He will find in that book that the Jews inherited this ancient City from the Lord himself. Clinton's role in pressuring Netanyahu to re-deploy from this City and urging that Peres' Oslo Accords be complied with in the name of achieving "peace" with the Arabs, runs counter to the clear meaning of the Book of Joshua. How audacious it is for Clinton to imply that he is basing his support for the Oslo Accords on the Bible and on the Book of Joshua. How sad it is for Netanyahu to believe that peace can be achieved by ignoring the faith and experience of his forefathers, and the promises of the Lord on High in the Book of Books. If the Lord's behest is not synchronized with any Accord, "they labor in vain", even though they claim their work is in search of peace. Ruth MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
********************************************************************** Jerusalem, November 5, 1996 Et Tu Rifkind! When the history of the Jewish People is definitively written, it will reveal many harsh discriminatory practices by the Gentiles of this world against this unique nation which has survived as no other People on earth, despite its 2000 year exile from its Land. It will unfortunately reveal, as well, several practices among the Gentile nations which are quite predictable. Whenever they wish to do Israel in, they have a Jew living in their land represent them to do the job. For example, the U.S. uses Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk for this purpose. It is a fool proof way of escaping criticism; they can always claim how fair they are to have a Jew represent them in such "sensitive matters." On the other hand, the Jew whom they appointed for this purpose, can be counted on to be much harsher and more demanding towards Israel, bending over backwards to show he in no way favors Israel; at the same time he feels he must clearly demonstrate how very loyal he is, no matter how grotesquely unfair and unjust that Country's position might be. Malcolm Rifkind, present British Foreign Secretary, is a classic example of the Jew placed in such a role. To begin with, Malcolm Rifkind, from the statements he has made here on his brief visit to Israel, clearly shows he no longer has, if he ever had, any notion of what it means to be Jewish. He is the typical assimilated English Jew, who must prove to the English that he is more English than Churchill, and to clearly demonstrate where his loyalties are, by unjustly bashing Israel. Thus this "English Jew" has the temerity to publicly announce that the settlements of the Jews living in Judea and Samaria are "illegal", despite the great weight of legal opinion of experts on international law which holds to the contrary . So too are the words of the God of Israel "illegal", for his repeated "promises" in the Bible giving this Land to the Jews. The British Balfour Declaration must similarly be "illegal". And the League of Nations in granting the Jews a homeland, which included Judea and Samaria, also acted "illegally". The British Mandate to implement the establishment of this Jewish Homeland was "illegal" as well. The Chutzpah of this English-Jewish messenger apparently knows no bounds. For a Jew or anyone else to say that Jews cannot live in settlements in Judea and Samaria, is inciteful, shameful and downright irresponsible. But damaging, interfering statements, such as Rifkind's, have become commonplace. Chirac, who is not a Jew, preceded him with such behavior. Netanyahu, whose timidity in allowing these remarks to be made without immediately protesting against such hypocritical outpourings by foreign leaders, must take responsibilty for the resultant tarnishing of Israel's image. If Netanyahu as our leader shows no national pride, what can we expect from others? As Netanyahu allows Israel to sink further into the morass of Oslo, and capitualates on Hebron, it does not help us, even were he now to justifiably murmur: "Et Tu Rifkind!" Ruth and Nadia Matar *********************************************************************** Jerusalem, November 6, 1996 Hypocrisy Thy Name Is Channel 1 Television Station Channel 1 is Government owned. Public funds, through a special tax on listeners, and funds directly supplied by the Knesset, enable it to function. Its huge annual budget is overburdened with an extraordinary number of "workers", approximately 1500 of them! Its entrenched personnel are Meretz, Labor and secular oriented, and its presentation of the news, and programming reflect their personal likes and dislikes. The "Kopatch" affair brought the "defenders of the faith" out of the woodwork, shouting the usual lovely phrases which they themselves in daily practice completely ignore. They protested against the criticism of the vulgar caricatures of Kopatch in his parody of the Torah portion on Sabbath evening. "Freedom of Speech", "the Continued Independence of the IBA", "Religious Coercion", all the favorite pat phrases of the left were paraded out. Lost in all the shouting was the grim hypocrisy of the shouters, and their lack of honesty. The sad truth of the matter is that the Government owned Channel 1 is tightly controlled by a leftist clique that ruthlessly suppresses the right of the majority to hear and see what they believe in. When Rina Shapira, Chairwoman of the Israel Broadcasting Authority's Executive Committee, in response to the attacks on the vulgarity of Kopatch, states: "I believe this executive unequivocally gives rights of expression to all groups" she is telling the public a deceitful, bald faced lie. The showings on Channel 1 today do not reflect the beliefs of the majority. Labor and Meretz representatives get a vast disproportionate amount of coverage, just as they did prior to the last elections. The content of the television fare is mediocre, lacking in Jewish content, and revealing the lack of belief in Judaism of its personnel. Nationalist groups such as "Women In Green" are deliberately banned from coverage on its screen, lest they awake in the populace the pride in their nation, and love of its Biblical Land, and its history, which this Channel avoids promoting at all costs; such coverage, they believe, would work against the Peres-Oslo process which they favor. For example, Channel 1 deliberately barred showing Women In Green's street theater outside the French Consulate protesting the pro-Arabic Chirac bias. Entirely ignored by Channel 1, French and other European television gave it wide coverage. Peres approved IBA Chairman Kirschenbaum, a Peres advocate, refuses to resign, and allow the new Government to appoint to this key post someone who reflects what the majority of the People of Israel want. Such a resignation would smack of democracy at work! The prevailing dictatorial views held by the personnel of Channel 1 and its permissive Chairman, make the chances slim indeed of such a voluntary resignation taking place. Ruth and Nadia MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
********************************************************************* Jerusalem, November 11, 1996 Let the Jewish People Decide On Hebron! These are days where the weak of heart and those of little faith are prominent among the People of Israel. These "practicalists" offer only certain catastrophe if their advices are taken; for their advices are founded on fear and trepidation, are shallow, and cannot withstand close scrutiny and review. The issue of Hebron is on the table. Those around Netanyahu, and Netanyahu himself, do not seem to be able to rise to the occasion; they have not, up to now, come up with a decision that is consonant with the dignity and glory of this People whom the Bible has made into a majestic force in shaping the history of man on this earth, and the relationship of humans with the only One Lord on High. Netanyahu is taking the weak leader's cop-out. He is telling the Jewish People, but mostly America and the world at large, that he feels bound by the previous Government's Oslo Accords with Arafat and the PLO. Accordingly, he says he is willing to redeploy in Hebron, which means in actuality that he is willing to turn over the ancient Jewish City of Hebron to Hamas, the PLO and Arafat. In taking such a stand, he is joining the leaders of the ten tribes, who, when they were inspecting the Land in the days of Moses, came back to tell the People that the Jews could not possibly overcome the local populace who resided in the Land at the time. Interestingly enough it was Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, who was in the minority, and who urged Israel to be faithful to their Lord and his Promise. He told them that if they demonstrated their faith in HaShem, they would be able to overcome whatever obstacles that may seem to them at the time to be insurmountable. Caleb proved to have the ultimate wisdom, when the Jews indeed came into the Land, and under Joshua, overcame their powerful foes. Caleb was rewarded by being given Hebron for an eternal inheritance; Netanyahu, in contra-distinction, is a man who appears to have much less faith, and is prepared to disinherit Caleb and the Jews from Hebron, in our own times. Netanyahu is going along with the rationale of Peres and the Goyim that since the Arabs far outnumber the Jews living in the area, this Jewish City should be given over to them, with only a token symbolic area to be kept for the Jews. The proper perspective, however, is that it is only within the last 90 years of our 4,000 years of Jewish History in this Land, that the Arabs have settled in Hebron, and outnumber the indigenous Jewish population. These Arabs migrated to Israel because the Jews had built up this previously barren land. Under a rationale limiting the rights of people to live in a certain place if they merely constitute a minority at any given time, the Jews could never have returned to their Land and rebuilt it as they have done. Moreover, the Jewish Community is comparatively small in Hebron, only because it was the Arabs who are responsible for the small number of Jews presently living in this Jewish Holy City. The Arabs of Hebron massacred the Jewish Community in 1929 and drove out those who survived. In addition, a British Mandate acting against its own Balfour Declaration of declaring Israel to be a Jewish Homeland, had restricted the Jewish Community from naturally expanding and developing in this ancient Jewish City even prior to that 1929 pogrom, as did unfortunately the previous Jewish Governments in Israel since 1967. What Netanyahu refuses to think through is that the redeployment of the IDF in Hebron, and its virtual abandonment to Arafat, the PLO and Hamas rule will not bring "peace" to Israel. Far from it. Not only will such redeployment expose the existing small Jewish Community to inordinate exposure to harm and death, the innate hostility of the existing Arab community, fomented by adding Arafat and the PLO as their leaders, can only bring disaster to the possibility for peace there or anywhere else in Israel. Hebron is the litmus. If a workable arrangement cannot be set up there, it will not work anywhere. And it will not work there, if the arrangement contradicts what is clearly written in the Bible. Doesn't disaster always result when there is not adherence to what our forefathers taught us to be His Divine teachings? You cannot take the Jewish City of Hebron and give it to Arafat, and expect that something good will result from this betrayal of faith. It appears inexplicable why Netanyahu has failed to insist on the reciprocity he previously urged as necessary, before proceeding further under Oslo. However, the very least you would expect Netanyahu to do, faced with such an unworkable, and seriously breached Oslo Accords on the part of the Arabs, is to turn to the People of Israel and let them decide; It should be left to them by referendum to determine whether they truly believe, as Ben Gurion did, that "the Bible is their Mandate" as to Hebron. When Netanyahu stated that his Government would be bound by the Accords the previous Government signed, subject to the necessary security arrangements for the continued existence of the Jewish Community of Hebron, he got nowhere with Arafat. Whatever legitimate security precautions he would be seeking would never be accepted or adhered to. Arafat is not proceeding in good faith, and any provisions for security that does not allow for the IDF to be in complete control of the situation spells disaster. A security dependent in the slightest way on Arafat's good will and intentions is doomed from its inception. It should be stressed that neither Rabin nor Peres entered into the Oslo Accords wherein sections of the ancient Land of Israel were relinquished to the PLO and Arafat without ever having the mandate of the Jewish People to so act. Nothing in the platform of the Labor Government on the basis of which Rabin was elected even hinted about such an abandonment of important segments of the Jewish Homeland by the acts of a Jewish Government. So the fact of the matter is that the People of Israel never had an opportunity to sanction what took place under Oslo, until the elections of May 1996 took place. In those elections however, they turned out of office the very Government who had entered into Oslo, and a fair interpretation of their actions would be that they rejected both the architect of Oslo, and Oslo itself in its present form, and the one sided way it was being carried out by the parties thereto. Rabin himself, during the time he was Prime Minister, had pledged to the Israeli public that he would have such a referendum decide any Agreement with regard to the Israel giving up any portion of the Golan. It would seem therefore that Netanyahu had a precedent to hold such a referendum with regard to giving up on part of our ancient Homeland. In addition, he can rightfully claim his mandate from the Jewish People in the last elections, supported his decision to turn to them at this time for this referendum. There is no doubt that Netanyahu has capitulated to pressure. Of his own announced prior convictions, there is little doubt he did not believe in the efficacy or wisdom of turning this ancient Jewish City over to the Arabs. What he obviously lacks is having the necessary strength to stand by his convictions in the face of pressure from the "Goyim" who never have, nor never will, act on the basis of what is good for the Jewish People to survive with dignity. The risks involved the Goyim are willing to take, since those risks only involve "Jewish" lives; the Holocaust has shown us that the nations are not prepared to do anything to prevent a repeat of such an horrendous eventuality. What is deplorable is that we have a Jewish Prime Minister and a Jewish Defense Minister who are willing to take unnecessary risks, knowing full well in advance that the results are known at the outset, and that innocent Jewish blood will once again flow incessantly. Such leadership on the part of Netanyahu is weak, shameful and irresponsible. He does not deserve the support of the majority of the Jews who elected him if he persists in this mindless, myopic cave-in. It is a Ghetto Jew's response to the Goyim's dictates. It is not the appropriate action of a Jewish leader who must look beyond the immediate problems of the hour, and tackle as well the long range aspirations of this ancient Jewish People, as they rebuild their future with hope, faith and confidence, in their own Homeland. Ruth MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
********************************************************************** Jerusalem, November 13, 1996 Arch-Criminal Nadia Matar Arrested For Leading Protesters More and more there is a startling resemblance between the Netanyahu Government and the suppressive regime of Shimon Peres, and the ordinary citizen will find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between them. Netanyahu's words and promises are quite different than the positions which Peres held, yet with regard to deeds, it becomes increasingly hard to notice any real change since Netanyahu has become Prime Minister. The Police were a notorious instrument which Peres often used to suppress dissent and criticism of his regime. Netanyahu is using this same tool against Jews, as well as the anti-civil rights weapon of Administrative Detention. The tactics employed by the police today against Women In Green were hardly distinguishable from when Peres held sway. Early this morning, Women In Green held a "surprise" demonstration outside the home of Netanyahu in Bet HaKerem in Jerusalem. The demonstration was novel, in that Women In Green, for the first time, harshly criticized Netanyahu. The Women deplored his apparent "cave-in" on Hebron, going against all his statements and promises prior to the recent elections, relating to the Biblical City of Hebron, and its ancient Jewish roots. The great bulk of that city is being given to Arafat and the Hamas oriented hostile Arabs, together with guns, and the bulk of the Jewish property that was stolen from the Jews during the 1929 Arab pogrom. Such a move will inevitably lead to further spilling of Jewish blood, and severely restrict the normal growth and development of that important Biblical City where the graves of the founders of Judaism are located. Police reaction was brutal. They arrived in a force well exceeding the number of protesters, which included special "riot" squads. They manhandled the ladies, pushing and shoving them forcibly into police pens which hid them from view, some distance from where they had been peacefully standing adjacent to Netanyahu's residence. At the end of the brief demonstration, they arrested one of the ladies whom they previously had knocked to the ground; they singled out Nadia and took her in a police car with her four month old baby son "Yisrael Amichai" for "questioning." After Nadia was "interrogated" they were prepared to let her go, provided she sign a bond for her possible re-appearance. On advice of counsel she refused to sign such a bond; she was therefore formally arrested, and subsequently released. All this took place under the very nose of Netanyahu, who was home but refused to receive the Women In Green, nor a letter they wanted to deliver to him; he thus can't claim that he was unaware of such brutal police tactics. Shades of Mr. Peres! For Shame, Mr. Netanyahu! Ruth Matar ************************************************************** Jerusalem, November 17, 1996 "You Promised, We Believed, You Betrayed" There is a big problem facing the nationalist camp today. On the one hand, there is widespread recognition that the change of Government was beneficial to the principles of Zionism that were in a rapid process of abandonment by the previous Rabin- Peres Government. On the other hand, the Government of Netanyahu has so far been a great disappointment in its failure to carry out by concrete deeds what it professed to believe in both before and after the elections. All the arguments and rationalizations for the lack of action are well known. It was still too early, Bibi has been in office such a short time, we must wait and give him a chance; the pressures on him from both outside and inside are tremendous; his coalition partners themselves are not a cohesive group, each seeking their own selfish ends, which do not give him the kind of support necessary to make bold decisions; and, his own party, the Likud, is terribly fragmented idealistically, and has several important members in it who are weak in nationalistic feeling, and are indistinguishable from Peres in their way of thinking. In addition, there are unfortunately many signs that Netanyahu himself is not a strong enough leader, not in faith, nor conviction, and all too ready to bow to the "nations," especially America, to be liked by them personally as one of the "boys," etc., etc. Nevertheless, there are crucial decisions being made, even by inaction, or just going along with the Oslo process in the same way that Peres had done: no insistence on reciprocity, no demanding fulfillment of obligations of Arafat & Co. under Oslo, which have not been honored, and constitute serious breaches on their part of those Agreements. It does not need any great intelligence to understand that not taking a firm stand now on strict compliance with the obligations undertaken by Arafat, will bring on repercussions creating problems that are not solvable with regard to dealing with Jerusalem, and the rest of the Oslo Accords. The nature and kind of redeployment in Hebron involves ominous and dangerous risks, including the risk of virtually abandoning a vital part of historic Eretz Yisrael to hostile forces who seek the destruction not only of the Jewish Community in Hebron, but the entire State of Israel. Certainly we can wait no longer, when all the indications are that by silence, and not criticizing Bibi, we are blindly showing support for a man who has not at all proven himself as yet to be a strong and inspirational leader, even taking into account the great difficulties he is facing. Too much is at stake to be silent. While we do not in any way wish to partake in bringing this Government down, we have decided that it is beneficial to the national cause to raise our voices in vigorous protest when we see the ominous signs of the direction which this present Government is taking. Accordingly, we decided to take decisive action in criticizing Netanyahu for his failure to date to carry out what he had promised our Jewish People. Therefore, early Wednesday morning, November 13, 1996, Women In Green held a "surprise" demonstration outside the Netanyahu home in Bet HaKerem in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister was scheduled to depart to address a large Jewish Federation Audience in Seattle the following day, and our Women wanted to remind him about his promises about Hebron before he left, as the media kept telling us that the signing of an Agreement with Arafat concerning Hebron was imminent. In April of this year, prior to the elections, Netanyahu had unequivocally stated in an interview with Israeli radio station Arutz 7: "I believe in our inviolable right to this Land, and the right to settle it, and our obligation to concern ourselves with security issues in any negotiations that may come about. I say "may" because I emphasize that there will only be negotiations with the Palestinians if they honor their obligations to fight terror and change their Covenant. If they don't we feel no obligation to talk with them. Q: In case you assume office when most of Hebron is still in our hands, will you withdraw the IDF from the city? A: I repeat, they didn't fulfill their obligations, and I see no reason to withdraw from Hevron....It is the City of the Patriarchs and the site of Judaism's most ancient settlement in the world. The Agreement... should never have been made for these reasons alone. I'll add another factor...Hebron has the biggest concentration of Hamas activists, so that if only from a purely 'security' aspect, it is clear that we may not allow ourselves to withdraw from Hebron. Therefore,if Hevron will remain in our hands, it will not happen." One of our signs, which appeared in color on the front page of the Jerusalem Post the following day, in a report of the Women In Green demonstration, proclaimed: "You Promised, We Believed, You Betrayed." That brief message stated concisely the theme of our protest that morning. The demonstration was novel, in that Women In Green, for the first time, harshly criticized Netanyahu. We deplored his apparent "cave-in" with regard to the Biblical City of Hebron, which Netanyahu heretofore eloquently spoke about; moreover, he had promised that if Hebron had not been turned over to Arafat, and he was elected, "it will not happen." Now it appears that the great bulk of that city was being given over to Arafat and the Hamas oriented hostile Arabs, by Netanyahu, together with the Jewish property that was stolen from the Jews during the 1929 Arab pogrom in Hebron. In addition, Netanyahu is giving them more guns, and allowing the creation of a Hamas oriented Police force in this ancient Jewish City, despite what we recently experienced with Arab Police during the recent riots at the end of September, where 15 of our soldiers were killed and many seriously wounded by guns supplied to them by the Rabin-Peres Governments. Such moves are not only a breach of faith with the Lord's promise to the Jews concerning the Land of Israel; Women In Green further pointed out that such a turnover of Hebron to Arab control would inevitably lead to further, and continuous, spilling of Jewish blood. As Nadia Matar has said previously, the IDF redeployment in Hebron was tantamount to throwing the Jewish Community of Hebron into a pit of vipers and snakes, just as in Biblical times, his brothers had acted to Joseph. In Netanyahu's own words: "Hebron has the biggest concentration of Hamas activists, so that only from a purely 'security' aspect, it is clear that we may not allow ourselves to withdraw from Hebron." The facts are blatantly clear; Hamas will not allow the Jews to peacefully live in the holy Jewish City of Hebron. The demonstration was deliberately held without prior notification to the media or the police. It was kept under 50 protesters so that there was no legal need to apply for a permit and thus alert the police and Netanyahu. Despite the short notice, the media turned out in full force. After all, it was big news: Women In Green were demonstrating against Netanyahu? They who had fought so hard to elect him?! Police reaction was brutal. They arrived in a force well exceeding the number of protesters, including special "riot" squads. They manhandled the ladies, pushing and shoving them forcibly into "police pens," and put them where they were hidden from view, some distance from where they had been peacefully holding their vigil, adjacent to Netanyahu's residence. All this took place under the very nose of Netanyahu, who was home, but who refused to receive the Women In Green, nor a letter they wanted to deliver to him; thus he can not claim he was unaware of the brutality the police exhibited towards our women that morning. Two of our women, including Women In Green leader NADIA MATAR, were arrested and later released on bail. Shades of Shimon Peres? For Shame Mr. Netanyahu?! Ruth MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
********************************************************************** Jerusalem, November 19, 1996 A Bereaved Mother's Plea: Please know that the issue of "IDF Freedom of Action" in all parts of Hebron that now delays the signing of the accord between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has little to do with the four hundred Israeli citizens who live in the center of Hebron. From my own tragic experience, the matter of "IDF Freedom Of Action" concerns all potential murderers who are not being pursued by the IDF, and who have been afforded "havens of hospitality" by the Palestinian Authority. Speaking personally, my son David, age 16, was murdered by Palestinian terrorists while coming home from school on May 13, 1996. The IDF could not extricate the killers, who escaped into the cities under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. Yet despite the fact that Israeli and American intelligence officials have informed me as to the name and the whereabouts of at least one of my son's killers, the Palestinian Authority refuses to punish him, or to hand him over to the Israeli Authorities as required by the Oslo Accords. What makes matters worse is that Arafat's press spokesman himself announced on October 8, 1996 that none of the nineteen murderers of Israelis who have taken refuge in the PA areas will ever be handed over for trial, Oslo Accords notwithstanding. The question remains: Under such circumstances, will Hebron become another haven of refuge to which killers of Jews, from all over the country, may escape? The issue of "IDF Freedom Of Action" is not in any way merely of hypothetical concern, nor is it confined exclusively to the fate of four hundred Jews in Hebron. Please understand that what happened to our family could happen to any Israeli citizen, wherever they live. The IDF must be allowed the prerogative of "Freedom Of Action" against terrorists who escape to a new "city of refuge" for killers in Hebron. Fax Prime Minister Netanyahu today! Demand that he remain resolute on this issue of "IDF Freedom Of Action" in Hebron. His Fax No. Is: 02 - 566 4838. Joyce Boim ******************************************************************** Jerusalem, November 24, 1996 "Confrontation" a la The PLO And The PA The headline caption of the news report read unobtrusively enough. It announced that the Palestinian Authority and the PLO had devised a "Confrontation Plan" against settlement expansion. What that meant in practical terms showed itself very quickly when Arabs invaded the yet undeveloped hills of the town of Efrat, in Judea, even before the above report surfaced in the newspapers. They came with bulldozers and clubs to the Hill of Zayit, which the Court had already established was Jewish land, and where the authorized building of residential dwellings had already been in progress for some time. When the Police and army were advised of this attempted Arab invasion, the Arabs were quickly dispersed, but not before shouting violent threats and epithets against the Jews. The "peaceful" message these Arabs addressed to the Jews of Efrat was: "We know where you live, and we will come and kill you." The Police did nothing to prosecute such violent verbal offenders, since instructions from above apparently were not to "upset the Arabs", in order not to jeopardize the "peace process." Outside my home in Jerusalem (within the so- called "green line") there are a few ancient olive trees. Looking out my window, I observed several Arab women and children recklessly climbing these fragile trees, breaking branches in the process of mercilessly beating the trees so that the olives would fall and become more easily available for their gathering, at the expense of the life and beauty of the tree. The phenomenon of this invasion by Arabs during the olive season is quite common in Jewish neighborhoods. Jews who would dare to pick anything from trees in Arab neighborhoods, would do so at the risk of losing their very lives. When I came out and requested that these Arab women not break the branches of this ancient tree, and suggested that with a ladder they could pick the olives without causing damage, they shouted back the now widespread battle cry that appears to have become part of their common parlance towards Jews: "We know where you live, and we will come back and kill you." Here again, as if carrying out a national policy, the Police who were called, did nothing to punish those who had used these verbal ominous threats of violence, merely disbursing them, and sending them on their way. The above are not isolated incidents, but rather are occurring with increased frequency throughout Israel, Judea, Samaria, and Gush Katif in the Gaza strip. There is nodoubt about it, that the Arabs know that the Jews will not normally react violently to such "provocations", and at the worst, Arabs will only be peacefully "turned away", if and when the Police are called. What would invoke physical violence on the part of Arabs were the Jews to do the same sort of acts in Arab controlled areas, has now become the official announced policy of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority. "Confrontation", rather than amendment of the PLO Charter calling for the destruction of, and violence against, Israel, has now formally been adopted as a tactic by the Arab leadership. Netanyahu is on the defensive, and has become intimidated by Arab accusations that he is a Jewish nationalist, bent on maintaining a Zionist Jewish State, and promoting Jewish growth and development in Judea, Samaria and the Jewish Gaza Strip. Would that it were true! How wonderful it would be if Netanyahu turned out to be a strong faithful Zionist, unashamedly asserting the Jewish right to build and develop the Biblical Land of Israel, and backing his words by actual deeds. Unfortunately, in the face of Arab, Peres-Meretz, and expected world adverse reaction, Netanyahu has been treading water to date, and has done nothing to show he is a Zionist; he has virtually gone along with the Peres formula for peace, which amounted to continuous concessions to the Arabs. Peres and Rabin had turned over large sections of the historic Land of Israel, to persuade the Arabs not to act in their usual violent manner. Now Netanyahu, on the pretext that Peres had already committed the Jews by the Oslo Accords, is preparing to turn over the bulk of Hebron to Arafat. With regard to Hebron, Netanyahu has forgotten his pledge to the People that he will require full compliance with the Arab obligations under Oslo, before Israel will be further obligated under those Accords. His approach on Hebron is just another form of the prior Peres policy of appeasement to the Arabs, proceeding, without first requiring concrete proof on their part that they are indeed seeking a peaceful solution with the Jews of Israel. This policy of appeasement has not and will not work with the Arabs. Witness the new PLO, PA policy of "confrontation." Arafat has learned from the intafada experience that violence pays, and brings about more concessions. There is never any appreciation for any of the concessions made. No nation on this earth has previously done what Israel has, to voluntarily give up large portions of its historic Country. Rather, there is increased hatred of the Jews being taught in their school systems, in their Mosques, and broadcast on a television and radio network which Israel has given to the PA and PLO. Not peace, but Arafat's praise of violence against Jews is what is being taught among the Arabs. President Clinton has attempted to wage war on terrorism, and has invited the leading nations of the world to participate in this campaign, purportedly initiated at the Sharm El Sheik conference on terrorism. Yet, he too, and the other member nations, are completely silent in the face of Arafat's and his underlings' continued virulent incitement to terror, calling for jihad, stone throwing and worse, against Jews. No lasting peace can emerge from such a background. Sweeping under the carpet, and ignoring dangerous signs of present and future Arab violence, both with regard to Hebron, Jerusalem, and all other areas in the Land of Israel where Jews reside, including Tel Aviv, is a Chamberlain approach that invites certain disaster. We have a problem, a real problem, and the sad fact is that avoiding facing up to the realities will bring pain and suffering not only to Jews who are nationalistic, but also to the Labor-Meretz oriented Jews amongst us. History has taught us, that hatred of Jews by our enemies, and violence towards them, is not confined to those who practice Judaism, and oppose appeasement. When the violence comes, as we saw in Germany and elsewhere, it attacks all Jews; in our long history, the enemies of the Jews never distinguished between Jews; those Jews who identified with the Arab Cause, will not be spared. We should have learned by now that we can not rely on anyone but ourselves. No doubt about it, we could resolve the problems that now face us much more easily if we were united in the belief in ourselves, and in our inalienable right to the Land of Israel. But resolve it we will. We have faced worse problems in our long history both in Galut, and here in the Land of Israel; with pride in ourselves, belief in our Biblical destiny, and with the necessary wisdom, fortitude, and faith, WE SHALL OVERCOME! Ruth MatarTop of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page