October 1996 October 2, 1996 Arafat Seeks to De-Judaize Jerusalem October 6, 1996 Renowned Professional Israeli Bashers October 11, 1996 The Intimidating Media October 20, 1996 "When One Burns Books, One Will in the End, Burn People" October 21, 1996 A New French President, But the "Usual" French Hypocrisy October 24, 1996 A Fair and Impartial Media "Is Good for the Jews" ************************************************************ Jerusalem, October 2, 1996 Arafat Seeks to De-Judaize Jerusalem One of Yassir Arafat's recent claims, for which he has sought and gotten the sympathetic ear and support of Vatican oriented Christians, is that the present Netanyahu Government is attempting to Judaize Jerusalem. Horror of all horrors. The City of King David, the ancient Jewish Capital of Israel, is remaining the undivided Jewish Capital of the Jewish State of Israel! Arafat and some members of the international community are not happy with such a state of affairs. That is one of the main reasons for the recent riots. It is, moreover, the reason why there has been a rush by the international community to irresponsibly place the blame on Israel for those PLO riots. To make their point, Arafat's police,(really his army) turned the guns, given to them by Israel under Oslo, on Israelis and murdered 15 of our soldiers and wounded more than 60. In addition, widespread rock and Molotov Cocktail throwing has taken place by Arab throughout Israel, Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip area. It has been well documented, and proven conclusively, that all aspects of these riots had been initiated, orchestrated and approved by the highest echelons of the PLO, and by Arafat personally. The canard that these riots arose out of the re-opening of the Hasmonean Tunnel by the Netanyahu Government, which in turn threatened Moslem holy sites, is patently absurd. It may be true that the re-opening of this ancient archeological site may have sparked these riots, but that is based on the proven facts that Arafat and the PLO deliberately made false claims and misrepresentations concerning this archeological site to Arabs both in Israel and in the "territories." The specific intent was to incite them to riot, to obtain what they determined would be Israeli concessions to restore the "peace and quiet." Even the most superficial checking of the facts about the nature and location of this ancient archeological site, however, will disprove the false allegations and inciteful claims of Arafat. The Hasmonean Tunnel in question is located at a distance equivalent to several city blocks from any Moslem shrine, and is some distance from the Temple Mount itself. It is not underneath the Temple Mount, and thus can not possibly affect the foundations of the El-Aksa Mosque, as Arafat absurdly claims. Moreover, It had already been open to the public for quite some time, without any objection from the Moslems or Arafat. The only thing that has been added during the recent renovations is an exit at the other end of the Tunnel, which now permits tourists to go out onto Via Dela Rosa Street in the Old City, rather than requiring them to double back from where they originally entered. That exit is a safer and more convenient way of accommodating the many visitors to the famous archeological site. The resultant flow of traffic into the Old City is of direct benefit to the Arab merchants located in the area, who are strongly supportive of the recent renovations which will result in an increase in their tourist business. The fact of the matter is that what disturbs Arafat and the PLO about this Hasmonean Tunnel, is that it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jewish claims to Jerusalem are based on solid historical facts. The Tunnel of the Hasmoneans pre-dates Christianity, and the Moslem Religion, and is living proof that Jews lived and functioned in Jerusalem long before there were any Arabs living here. It proves that the Jews lived and ruled in this Jewish Capitol during the period of the Hasmoneans, and that this aqueduct served the water needs of the Temple Mount, where the Jewish Temple stood, long, long ago, before there was any El Aksa Mosque. (Incidentally, the Arabs displaced a Christian Church on the site where their El Aksa Mosque is now located today). There is a definite pattern which Arafat and the Arabs follow in their attempt to rewrite and distort history in their favor. They destroy, wherever they can, any artifacts which proves the Jewish historical ties to this Land. Whether it is on the Temple Mount, in the Old City itself, Bethlehem, or whatever areas they take possession of, the first thing they do is destroy any signs that Jewish life heretofore existed at such sites. Thus in the Old City, many houses, in what the British arbitrarily called the Moslem and Christian Quarters, had Mezuzot on their doorposts indicating that Jews used to live there. Arabs would methodically attempt to obliterate these traces of a former Jewish presence. Thus, the Moslem Wakf is unashamedly active in destroying Jewish artifacts on the Temple Mount itself in its desperate attempt to prevent any Jewish claim to the right to pray on the Mount. To clearly demonstrate how extensive and consistently pervasive this Arab policy is of destroying proof of prior Jewish life in Israel, the Arabs immediately removed traces of Jewish historical roots when they took over in the areas turned over to them under Oslo. They did this despite the explicit provisions in the Oslo Accords that such action on their part would constitute a clear violation of the terms of those Accords. Thus in Bethlehem, in the short period that they are there, they have already removed traces of an ancient Jewish aqueduct that supplied water to Jerusalem going through that area. Moreover, a house which for many years was known as "the Jewish house", where Jews had lived over the centuries, was recently destroyed by the PLO when they were given control over the area. The same pattern was is to be found in Hebron, especially after the 1929 pogrom, when long settled Jewish population sites were desecrated and destroyed. Here then is the basic grievance of Arafat and others with regard to the Hasmonean Tunnel. It is living proof that Jerusalem is the ancient Jewish Capital of Israel, and that is something Arafat and his ilk cannot abide. It "Judaizes" Jerusalem, and must be closed. Arafat apparently is being assisted in his efforts to rewrite history. CNN, a major media power, in discussing the recent Arab riots on the Temple Mount, emphasizes that the El Aksa Mosque is located there, which they tell you repeatedly is the Muslim's third most holy site! CNN, also tells you over and over again the Arabic name for the Temple Mount. It deliberately neglects to point out that the Temple Mount is the holiest Jewish site, mentioned as such in the Bible; it is there specified as the site where Abraham took his Jewish son Isaac to be sacrificed in what was the most famous show of faith in the Lord that has ever been recorded. CNN deliberately does not give the proper historical perspective, because of its pronounced pro- Arab one-sidedness in the Arab-Israel dispute. It omits to advise its listeners, that it is the place where the First and Second Temple were built and the site where masses of Jews prayed daily long before there was a Muslim Religion or even an Arab People; and that it is the site where the Jews pray daily to be allowed to rebuild the Third Temple in the future. Women In Green came out in support of the Netanyahu Government in the face of the disloyalty of Shimon Peres, and Peace Now, siding with the PLO-Arafat onslaught. Our women held such a demonstration on Friday morning, September 20, 1996, in downtown Jerusalem. The event was widely covered, particularly by the foreign media; Nadia Matar was interviewed at length in behalf of Women In Green by Israeli, French, Belgian, English, German and Scandinavian television, press or radio. Women In Green street theater and signs directed questions at Shimon Peres and those who have been acting in a similar disloyal manner. Some of our posters read: "How dare you side with the enemy?!" ; "Shimon Peres, Aren't You Ashamed?!" "How Can You Sleep At Night?!"; "We Warned You, Don't Give Them Guns!"; "Peres, You Gave Them the Guns Which Kill Our Sons". The riots against the Jewish presence in Israel, which was joined in by Arab police who killed our soldiers, has temporarily brought reality to the make-believe "peace process." The belligerence and incitement of Arafat which preceded and caused these Arab riots brings into serious question whether any meaningful peace can be achieved with such a deceitful "peace partner", who at any time will use violence to obtain his objectives. A re-evaluation of the whole process is in order. First and foremost must be the determination by the Arabs that they truly wish to live in peace alongside Jews in this historic Jewish Land. Ruth MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
************************************************************** Jerusalem, October 6, 1996 MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE Renowned Professional Israeli Bashers BBC and CNN are decidedly prejudiced in their reporting concerning Israel. Especially is this true when it concerns any dispute Israel has with the Arabs. You just do not get a fair presentation of the news on these powerful networks when they report on events relating to Israel. Their commentary is even worse. The higher echelons in those communication giants have a patent bias against Israel and its Jews. Whereas as far as they are concerned, the Arabs and Arafat can do no wrong. Both in their selection of antagonistic personnel who cover and report the news from here, and in their unashamed slanting of the news, their hostility glaringly shines through. While subtle Anti-Semitism is no doubt a factor, short term self-interest is the more dominant basis for their hostile attitude towards Israel. Whatever the reasons, the blatant unfairness, and lack of professional standards of reporting when it concerns Israel is there for all to easily witness daily. Israel and the Jewish People are the ENEMY, and the "poor" warring Arabs shooting Jews with the guns Israel gave to them are the VICTIMS. The ones who are the "oppressed" are those aggressively throwing mortally dangerous stones and Molotov Cocktails on peaceful passing Jewish vehicles, with women and children passengers. A street theater presentation has been called to express grateful appreciation by the Arab Community for all that CNN and BBC are doing for them. Arabs will congregate in front of the Jerusalem Capitol Studios at 206 Jaffa Road, in Jerusalem, on Tuesday, October 8, 1996 at 10:A.M., outside the building where CNN and BBC studios are located. CNN and BBC cameras will be there recording the spontaneous show of appreciation by the ARABS to CNN and BBC for getting world public opinion worked up against the Jews and Israel. Come and Join the Circus! Ruth and Nadia Matar **************************************************************** Jerusalem, October 11, 1996 The Intimidating Media There are all kinds of cynical individuals in this world, and singling out any particular one, or two of them, normally isn't worth the effort. However, when these cynical people, directly and unfairly attack you personally by threatening your very survival, they can not be ignored; in such instances an all out effort must be made to stop such unjustified attacks. Unfortunately, in the instance of media giants such as BBC and CNN, stopping such prejudicial attacks is no easy feat. These broadcasters deliberately and continuously deprecate Israel in its life and death struggle with the Arabs. They do so through the highly prejudiced anchor men they have placed here, who can be counted on to slant and interpret the breaking news events in a manner detrimental to Israel. Their subtle and sometimes open verbal attacks on Israel are effective and help mold world opinion against that small nation. In addition, they bolster these harmful reports by choosing outside "analysts" of the news events, who can be counted on to be supportive of the claims and charges of the Arabs against the Jews of Israel, no matter how baseless. Israel does not have the ultimate and decisive oil weapon, which lurks in the background, and prevents the nations from impartially weighing matters on the merits. Neither does it have the huge amount of monies or friends to counter-attack or to deflect this reign of false propaganda blows. Both these television networks have made their calculations and find their bread is buttered economically from real or potential Arab markets. As far as Israel is concerned, even if its position is historically and morally "correct," that does not carry sufficient weight to counter-balance these networks' self-interested outlook blatantly favoring the Arabs. Moreover, huge amounts of Arab money are wisely spent on public relations firms, and it is not inconceivable that broadcasters are "influenced" by "appropriate" contacts that are had with them from such sources. Take the recent "opening of the Hasmonean Tunnel" and the subsequent Arab rioting, where guns supplied to the Arab "Police" by the former Labor Government, were used by them to murder 15 Israeli soldiers and wounding over 60 of them. CNN and BBC had a field day; a virtual propaganda orgy of false reporting, working up world opinion against the victim Israel, in favor of the Arab aggressors, Arafat and his henchmen. Without bothering to investigate the easily available facts, they adopted almost to the letter Arafat's attacks on the Jews and on Israel. It was a sordid day for these bulwarks of the media which had abandoned any semblance of ethical standards. Women In Green took to the streets in protest. On Tuesday morning, October 8, 1996, they organized a street theater demonstration outside the Jerusalem Capitol Studios where BBC and CNN are housed. Our women, dressed in Arab garb, were publicly thanking BBC and CNN for being so openly prejudiced in favor of the Arabs. Others of our women were dressed as "Gorilla" CNN and BBC cameramen, recording the proceedings. They carried placards conveying strong messages of criticism against these media leviathans, some of which read as follows: B ringing B ack C hamberlain; B latantly B iased C ommunications; B igoted B ully C arrier; C ertified N on-Stop N etanyahu basher. C lose-minded N egative N ewsreporting; C ommunicating Neo Arafat N ihilism There were a great many television cameras and photographers who recorded the demonstration, including a face-saving lengthy BBC interview of Nadia Matar. Speaking in behalf of Women In Green, she incisively analyzed the problem, stressing the pernicious bias of these networks and their local reporters, and the resultant harm they were doing to the possibility of a real peace being achieved in the region. Wonder of wonders! No coverage was given to the event at all by foreign television, nor by the local television stations. The cameraman for Channel 2 Israel Television was there, and enjoyed immensely the ingenuity and content of the street theater demonstration, but was later unable to convince his superiors to put the footage he recorded on television. Neither was there any report of the event on the radio. The Jerusalem Post carried a large photo taken by Reuters, and the caption under the photo read " A right-wing protest," deliberately not mentioning Women In Green, whom they well knew initiated and staged the "event." The Hebrew press likewise had no report of the protest whatsoever. What does this all mean? Certainly we had no anticipation that BBC or CNN would report on the event, despite the obvious gimmick of BBC purporting to conduct an interview of the protesters at the scene. But what about the local media? Involved here was a basic problem seriously affecting the welfare and image of Israel, which should have been widely reported locally, since it is of great interest to the Israeli public. The problem, moreover, had serious ramifications affecting the success of any peace process. Yet there was an obvious concerted blackout of this important news story by the Israeli media. Why? It was certainly by any criteria "news that was fit to print," and of vital interest and concern to the Jews of Israel. The answer, we must face up to, is that the very biased media here in Israel is still controlled by those who are antagonists to the things Women In Green are working and striving for, i.e. unabashed Zionism, a love of Country and a State with Jewish content. Israel media well understood that if they reported on criticism of the patent prejudices of the "foreign media," they would be opening a Pandora's box of criticism of the tight reins they hold on what information the Israeli public will receive at their left-oriented hands. They would be next in line as a natural target of Women In Green. So it is. A bad situation where the foreign press is seriously and unfairly hurting our image, and suppression of this fact by the Israeli media, which itself is guilty of the same crime. Ruth MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
**************************************************************** Jerusalem, October 20, 1996 MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE "When One Burns Books, One Will in the End, Burn People" Heinrich Heine Overlooked by the world media, deliberately or otherwise, was that the Arabs set on fire a synagogue and burned sacred books at Joseph's Tomb in Shchem, an important Jewish Holy Site, during the recent PLO inspired riots. The foreign media did report, however, that six Jewish soldiers guarding that site were murdered by rioting Arabs, with guns supplied to the Arab Police by Israel under the Oslo Agreement. At a time when Arafat, and all Arabs, ably abetted by the world media, are urging Israel to turn over Hebron to the Arabs, the recent Arab attack on the Jewish Holy Site in Shchem looms as an ominous forewarning of what is likely to occur in Hebron in the not too distant future. In Hebron, an ancient Jewish Biblical City, Jews are presently a minority, living alongside one of their holiest sites, the Cave of the Patriarchs, where the founders of their religion are buried. Jewish holy books are considered so sacred, that even when partially burned, their remnants can not just be discarded. These holy books are required to be buried, just as if a human life was taken. The Arabs who hold in disdain non-Moslem holy places and sacred books, find no problem with this recent desecration of the synagogue at Joseph's Tomb, and significantly, not a word of regret about this sacrilegious and barbaric attack was ever uttered by Arafat, nor by any other Arab leader. And the world media is strangely and ominously silent, reminiscent of their behavior during the horrendous Holocaust perpetrated on the Jews not so long ago. The media asks no hard questions concerning these criminal Arab acts, but rather continues to pressure the Jews concerning Hebron; it criticizes the Jew's reluctance to once again be a patsy to Arab pogroms there. The need for a vigorous protest in this matter is well justified. That is why Women In Green are joining with others in a Funeral Procession to bury what remains of the burned holy books, which the Arabs of Shchem torched. We want the world to know that this evil has occurred, and that we will not be silent. If peace is what Arabs say Oslo will bring, then why don't they actually work and educate for peace? Much has already been given to them under Oslo: a one sided Agreement, where only the Jews give, and the Arabs take. The Arabs continue to evade the very few obligations they have under Oslo, but the media refuses to deal with these sly Arab tactics, which will lead to an inevitable explosion. The funeral procession of the burned holy books will commence at Zion Square in Jerusalem on Tuesday, October 22, 1996, at 6 P.M., and will proceed to the burial site at the Har Menuchot Cemetery in Jerusalem. Ruth and Nadia MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
***************************************************************** Jerusalem, October 21, 1996 MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE A New French President, But the "Usual" French Hypocrisy French President Jacques Chirac is seemingly a very practical man. He, like his predecessors, has weighed the rightness and wrongness of the Israeli-Arab conflict solely in terms of what position is more beneficial economically for France. He has recognized that France is wholly dependent on Arab oil to keep its industries running, and that there are vast potential Arab markets for French products. Throw in a healthy measure of anti- Semitism in the French Foreign Office, and voila, you have a French Foreign Policy that is tilted wholly in favor of the Arabs. So Chirac is for a Palestinian State; the Jews completely out of Hebron; Israel giving up the Golan to Syria, an old ally of the French; Israel giving up Judea and Samaria and, and, and. He will not hesitate to travel to Ramallah to speak to the Palestinian Legislative Council, but has to be begged to condescend to visit our Knesset. He wants to have a greater share in the "peace process", where his impartial judgments will speed up the process of the dismantlement of Israel. To such a visitor we owe a reception that is suitable to his "friendship" for the People of Israel. Accordingly, Women In Green will be outside the French Consulate on Emile Botta Street in Jerusalem on Monday, October 21, 1996 at 11 A.M. Women In Green feel they must put everything aside to extend the kind of welcome this French President deserves. Ruth and Nadia MatarTop of Page | End of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
************************************************************* Jerusalem, October 24, 1996 A Fair and Impartial Media "Is Good for the Jews" I am not a prophetess, nor the daughter of prophets, despite ancestral roots in prophecy, yet it needs no special gifts of clairvoyance to predict the upcoming tragedy which is sure to befall Israel, and Jews everywhere, should the overriding desire for a peaceful solution of our problems with the Arabs, continue to deter us from facing up to the "realities." Last night, I came away from the rally held in downtown Jerusalem, and the accompanying funeral procession to bury holy books torched by Arab rioters at Joseph's Tomb with a feeling of shame. Even though there were thousands, I nevertheless felt shame that there was not a far greater participation by all segments of the Jewish population at such a crucial event. What occurred at Joseph's Tomb was ominous, and indicative of the true state of affairs in this land, and as such should be sending distress and warning signals to our Prime Minister, to our Knesset and Jews everywhere. Heinrich Heine, a famous German author who preceded by many years the Nazi practice of burning books, prophecized long before Hitler killed masses of Jews, that: " When One Burns Books, One In The End Will Burn People." That acute observation says it all with regard to the Arab burning of our holy books at Joseph's Tomb. Also, I later experienced an overwhelming feeling of frustration because of the way our local media handled the reporting of this significant protest. It became another example of the unjust and harmful control by the media, which arbitrarily decides what sort of news we Jews are allowed to hear. In this instance, fear of upsetting the unwavering drive to carry out the "peace process" with Arafat, at all costs, made the Media deliberately ignore news which would engender in us a reluctance to proceed with our present peace partners, and the present format of Oslo. On its face, the rally had been called to bury the burned books; but its significance ran much deeper. The little publicized or reported facts were that, in addition to massacring 6 Jewish soldiers protecting the Holy Site of Joseph's Tomb in Shechem, rioting local Arabs joined with the Arab Police and went on a rampage, in a literal pogrom. They torched thousands of Jewish holy books, and burned to the ground the place of learning of the Yeshiva located on the premises. Jewish law required that these sacred books be buried in a manner similar to the burial requirements of individual Jews. Accordingly, at the rally, memorial services were conducted in downtown Jerusalem before a gathering in excess of three thousand, in behalf of the fallen soldiers. Prominent speakers included former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu; the Rosh Yeshiva of Od Yosef Chai at Joseph's Tomb, Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburgh; Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, the Rosh Yeshiva of Nir Tamid, a Hesder Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba; and Knesset Member Chanan Porat, among others. Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Eliahu passionately pointed out the need of our People face up to and realistically deal with this outrageous and despicable conduct on the part of the Arabs, and buttressed his analysis with comments of our Sages directly in point. All the speakers were quite eloquent, but particularly Chanan Porat said it all when he told the large audience that these despicable Arab acts will not succeed in intimidating the Jews of Israel from living and growing on the Land of their forefathers. Shortly following these talks, there commenced an impressive silent funeral procession winding through the streets of Jerusalem to the distant Menuchot Cemetery in Givat Shaul, where the charred remains of the sacred books were buried. Along the way, additional thousands joined the procession, especially as it passed through the nearby neighborhoods of Geulah and Mea Shaarim. The world and foreign media were virtually silent with regard to this attack on a Jewish Holy site and the accompanying sacking of a House of Prayer located there, and its sacred books. Since they had a previous track record of ignoring what was happening to the Jews during the Holocaust, their silence and avoiding the required condemnation of such inhumane Arab acts in this latest pogrom, did not come as any surprise. That Arafat and local Arab leadership, as well as Arab Countries in the Middle East in no way condemned these Arab actions, or even recognized the event as ever having happened, was also predictable. Unfortunately, it is further significant proof that there are no real prospects of peace until such time as such a perverse attitude changes for the better. Can you imagine what would have been the world's and the Arabs' collective reaction if a single Jew was responsible for the burning of one copy of the Koran? All of Jewry would have been vilified and condemned! Yet when thousands of Jewish sacred books are burned by a host of rioting Arabs, and a Jewish religious place of worship is burned to the ground, there is complete silence from the Arab and Moslem world. To add insult to injury, French President Jacques Chirac who was visiting in Israel on the date this rally for the burial of the burned books was held, completely ignored the event, although it was well advertised in the Jerusalem Post that day. Instead Chirac came to preach to the Jews that they are not doing enough for peace, and Arab refugees, and are not respecting the "sensitivity" of the Palestinians. He announced his intention to speak to the " Palestinian Parliament", while refusing to speak to Israel's Knesset. Of course not a word of criticism of any Arab nation, nor of Arafat; not a word about the latest Arab pogrom. This from a French Government which, according to recent revelations, actively participated in turning over 80,000 French Jews to the Nazi Germans for their certain death. What can you expect from such a "friend"? Unfortunately, the Media in Israel were not very much better than the foreign media, in reporting adequately the tragic occurrences that took place during the Arab riots at the Jewish Holy Site at Joseph's Tomb. Nor was this subsequent protest rally at which thousands of Jews participated, given other than minimal coverage by Israel Television, Radio or Press. The only two Israeli television stations, one of which is privately owned, gave less than 30 seconds each to the coverage of this important, and tremendously meaningful protest and memorial. The extreme bias of the personnel who control these powerful instruments of communication shone through once again. They will not promote among their listeners the nationalistic pride and dignity of being Jewish, the vitality and meaningfulness of Judaism, or that Israel is a Jewish State. Moreover, except for Arutz Sheva, a small independent nationalistic oriented radio station, the radio coverage was nil of the burial ceremony of the sacred books, As to the press, none bothered to report on this large protest gathering, or to editorialize or write up the implications of this latest Arab pogrom. There was, here and there, an innocuous photo appearing of the event, without any accompanying article. Thus the Jewish Community in Israel, because of the anti- religious controlled media were not allowed to have spelled out for them, or decently reported, this historic, extremely relevant and significant "event". In marked contrast, the media took the trouble recently to actually count 220 Peace Now protesters in a demo against Netanyahu, which merited a large picture and accompanying article. The net effect apparently is that the media has decided to play down the barbaric and sacrilegious acts committed by Arabs against the Jews at Joseph's Tomb, because it feels that to report such events and the public reaction thereto would do damage to the "peace process". In their perverse view, all that was involved at Joseph's Tomb was the destruction of irrelevant books that had no real message or guidance for life in "modern Israel". Thus was sacrificed the public's "right to know" the facts, and to be able to decide for itself what the implications of such facts are. Jews in Israel in particular, but Jews everywhere, are entitled to hear discussed this vital development which goes to the heart of any future arrangement or accord between Jew and Arab. The Israel Media should be made to understand that unless there is an unconditional pledge of non-violence as a mutual policy, and respect for each other's religion, and a mutual tolerance of each other's basic beliefs, the likelihood of there being peace in this land is quite remote. It would ultimately prove to be the height of wisdom, for Israel to insist at this time, before proceeding further with the Oslo Accords, that there be an outright condemnation of such tragic recent occurrences at Joseph's Tomb. Such sincere and immediate declarations, whose wording and delivery must be acceptable to Israel, should be repeated ad nausea in the Arab Media, and made by important Arab dignitaries, including Arafat. Only in this manner can the recent set-back to peace between Arab and Jew have a chance to get back on track. And of course, this Netanyahu Government must take appropriate steps to correct the grave injustices which the present personnel in the media daily inflict upon us. The Jews of Israel are entitled to have a fair and impartial media, nothing more and certainly nothing less. Ruth MatarTop of Page | What We Say Index Page | To Home Page
************************************************************* Jerusalem, October 28, 1996. Mass Rally To Counter-Balance Dangerous Pressures Everyone these days appears to be acting in what they believe to be their own self interest. Their real motives are hidden behind the facade of a make-believe "peace process". From the point of view of America, Europe and Japan, the Arabs are to be appeased, at whatever the cost to Israel. The flow of oil from this region is not to be disturbed. No matter the sordid past record of Arafat, and of Arab violence; no matter the known duplicity of the Arabs; no matter the serious breaches of Arab basic obligations under Oslo. Israel is to be pressured into appeasement. "Land For Peace", the present favorite cliche, is to be pressed upon Israel, even though everyone knows it hasn't the slightest possibility of bringing peace. The pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu is horrendous and comes from all quarters, within and without. It comes unrelentingly from a Labor Party led by Shimon Peres, whose vanity seems more important to him than his Country; from Meretz, whose positions often border on treason; from a local media made up mostly of pseudo-liberals who no longer identify with or believe in Zionism or a Jewish State; from a foreign media which has lost all pretense of fairness and impartiality; and from Peace Now, whose one-sided attacks on the Jewish State are heard continuously, despite the fact that it represents a tiny Jewish minority, which hues to the line of current Arab propaganda. Arab Knesset Members are a Fifth Column in our midst. They daily seek out the world and local media to tell them about how Netanyahu is breaching Oslo. Arafat, and his followers, have the same aims as the more flagrantly extremist Arab groups such as Hamas. Arafat's strategy is to be constantly traveling abroad spreading his poison and lies against Israel, and asking that the world's leading nations pressure Netanyahu to submit to one-sided Arab demands. He is in constant touch with the rest of the Arab world, led by Syria and Egypt, which use the "Israel basher" ploy, to hide the abuses of their dictatorial regimes. All threaten Netanyahu with war and violence, if he stands firm as to Israel's needs. In the face of such overwhelming pressures on Netanyahu, what can be done? We must attempt to counter-balance this coercion. We must plead with him publicly to be true to his campaign promises, and the platform on which the sizable Jewish majority elected him. He must stand by his previous commitments concerning Hebron, despite the enormous pressures. Accordingly, a Mass Rally will be held on Tuesday, October 29, 1996, at 18:30 at Paris Square in Jerusalem. Come One - Come All! Ruth and Nadia Matar