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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, Sep. 11, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Tuesday, Sep. 11, 2001 / Elul 23, 5761 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S NEWS:
*******CATACLYSMIC TERROR ATTACKS IN U.S.******* CNN reported, two hours after the attack, that Israel ordered the evacuation of all its diplomatic missions throughout the world. A spokesman for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, headed by Naif Hawatme, denied a report on Abu Dhabi television claiming that it had taken responsibility for the cataclysmic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks. State Department officials were quoted unofficially as saying that Palestinian terror organizations are claiming responsibility for the attacks.
BBC reported that Palestinians in the autonomous areas reacted with joy to the news of the WTC bombing. Arabs in eastern Jerusalem distributed candies to children in the streets in celebration of the news.
Israel's IDF Home Front Command has declared an emergency alert, preparing to possibly send emergency aid to the U.S.
Two planes crashed into the twin towers of the WTC, one or two in Washington, and another one - it was not immediately clear under what circumstances - crashed in western Pennsylvania. The White House, the United Nations, and the Sears Tower in Chicago, too, are being evacuated, as are many other Washington and New York buildings.
OTHER NEWS - gathered before news of the WTC bombing was learned -
One Million Olim Wanted
President Moshe Katzav wishes to set a new national goal: The absorption of one million Jews from the West in the coming decade. Katzav feels that this will solve a number of problems at once: The increasing assimilation among world Jewry, the weakening of bonds between Diaspora Jewry and Israel, and the increasingly acute demographic situation in Jerusalem. The Israel Demographic Forum <www.idfonline.org> notes that though the Arabs of Israel are expected to climb from 16% to 21% of Israel's population by the year 2020, "the government of Israel has no viable internal program to ensure a strong Jewish majority over the coming decades. It's not within the Israeli government's power to arrange for [massive immigration]. Jews outside of Israel will move to Israel only if they choose to do so."
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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 / Elul 24, 5761 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING IN ISRAEL 2. PALESTINIANS DANCE - ON AND OFF TELEVISION 3. ISRAELI REACTIONS 4. IDF ATTACKS IN JENIN 5. THE PUNISHMENT FOR NOT RESPONDING FORCEFULLY
1. NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING IN ISRAEL The Israeli Government decided last night to declare today a day of mourning in Israel, "out of deep shock and sharing the deep grief of the American people." The Israeli flag flew at half-mast at government offices, local councils, IDF bases, educational institutions and Israeli diplomatic representations overseas.
Israelis have already donated over 1,300 pints of blood on behalf of the American wounded. An Israeli rescue team that had prepared to depart for the U.S. received word today that its help is not required at this point.
Israeli airspace was reopened this morning, although several foreign airlines, such as British Airways and Air France, have canceled all flights to and from Israel. No flights are departing Israel for North America. A delegation of Israeli Knesset Members is currently stuck in the U.S.
At least three Israelis are known to be missing, while one Israeli trapped under the remains of the World Trade Center has contacted his wife using a cellular telephone. A father and his daughter were found unharmed almost 24 hours after the attacks. Two Israelis are known to have been killed; both were passengers on the hijacked planes. Some 20 Israeli citizens are hospitalized in New York. The Foreign Ministry has located some 300 Israelis feared to have been killed in the attacks, and continues to look for many others. The Israeli missions in New York and Washington have set up hotline numbers for information on missing friends and relatives. This and other information may be accessed on the Foreign Ministry website at <http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il>.
2. PALESTINIANS DANCE - ON AND OFF TELEVISION Palestinians danced for joy in the streets of several Palestinian Authority cities when they heard the news of the World Trade Center attack - but many foreign television viewers may never know this. Several television stations were warned by the Palestinian Authority not to broadcast the film clips of the Palestinian celebrations, and Palestinian reporters working for foreign stations in PA areas were physically threatened for having filmed the scenes. The BBC last night screened pictures of thousands of joyous Palestinians, including policemen, in Shechem, Gaza, and eastern Jerusalem - but today, BBC reported that it was only a "handful" of celebrants.
CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour's review of Arab reactions did not include the Palestinian expressions of joy. However, the station used the celebration film clips to pose some hard questions to PA spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi. Ashrawi had said earlier that the Palestinian people "deplore and condemn these terrible acts." The anchorwoman then asked Ashrawi how, then, she explains "the scenes that we will now show you and the world audience" - and the joyous scenes of cheering Arabs flashed across the screen more than once. Ashrawi, looking pained, said that these were just a few people, that they were children - although many adults could be seen participating in the celebrations - and that at the time they did not know the full significance of the attacks.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, asked shortly afterwards by CNN about the Palestinian celebrations, said that the terrorism in the U.S. was a result of continuous incitement by "Chairman Arafat and his media. But I don't think that this [the Palestinian reaction] is the main issue right now. The main thing is that the world must unite against terrorism."
King Abdullah of Jordan also attempted to explain the joyous Palestinians as a "small minority." He added that the attack would not have happened had peace been attained last year. Former American mediator Dennis Ross disagreed. He blamed the Palestinian leadership for constantly talking about martyrdom and struggle and the like, and said that the Arab nations will "simply have to stop using their media as a release for their outrage and anger... and to create a climate of legitimacy for this behavior... They will have to be made to understand that there's no free lunch..." He said that even if peace had been attained last year, the attack would have occurred, because "these terrorists don't believe in peace, they don't believe in Israel's existence, they reject everything that we represent. These groups have to be completely discredited. [Can this be done?] Well, we all have to transform our thinking. Yesterday was a transforming event. We will have to create a new priority in terms of our war on terror. We will have to form a very different international coalition [to root this out psychologically and practically]. But I don't think that we can just sit back and say that because it's a difficult task we can't take it on. We've now been confronted with something that is worse than any war, in terms of casualties in a single day, and our thinking has to change drastically as well."
MTV Arab Affairs reporter Moshe Katz reports that storeowners in Baka el-Garbiye (in pre-1967 Israel) distributed free food to passersby when they heard the news. Arab leaders refused to respond when contacted by Katz for their response. Others told him that they were afraid for their lives if they were to condemn the attacks.
Official Iraqi television broadcast the following commentary, with the exploding World Trade Center in the background: " The American cowboy is reaping the fruits of his crimes against humanity... America [is] tasting the bitter defeat of its crimes and disregard for peoples' will to lead a free, decent life. The massive explosions in the centers of power in America, notably the Pentagon, is a painful slap in the face of US politicians to stop their illegitimate hegemony and attempts to impose custodianship on peoples... The collapse of US centers of power is a collapse of the US policy, which deviates from human values and stands by world Zionism at all international forums to continue to slaughter the Palestinian Arab people and implement US plans to dominate the world under the cover of what is called the new [world] order."
For more Arab reactions to the attacks on the United States, see Arutz-7's Arab Press Survey on our website <www.a7.IsraelNationalNews.com>.
3. ISRAELI REACTIONS President Moshe Katzav said today that the attacks in the U.S. are a turning point in the history of mankind: "The world has changed, and it must be rebuilt anew on strong moral foundations. The wave of attacks yesterday is a declaration of war against the free world, against morality and justice, and we must not surrender." President Katzav blamed Iran, Syria, and the Palestinian Authority for incitement leading to yesterday's cataclysmic terrorism.
US Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer convened a press conference this morning in which he emotionally thanked the State of Israel and its citizens for its solidarity and help to the United States in its difficult hour. He spoke in Hebrew as well as in English.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the attacks in the U.S. are the signal of the beginning of a worldwide war against terrorism.
Knesset Members such as Tzvi Hendel (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu) called upon the government to take advantage of the new situation and strike out against Palestinian terrorism. Hendel said that the world will understand and justify action against Arafat and his terrorist army. MK Collette Avital (Labor) said that such action will not exempt us from solving our problems with the Palestinians. MK Benny Elon, currently in New York, told Arutz-7 today that the residents of New York, including the Jews there, are still far from comprehending the full scope of the tragedy that befell them.
4. IDF ATTACKS IN JENIN The IDF continued its offensive activity last night around PA-controlled Jenin, in northern Shomron, where many of Arafat's suicide terrorists have made their base. The army destroyed the PLO army's compound in Jenin, killing 11 terrorist fighters and wounding 30 or more in the process. No Israelis were hurt. The security forces also arrested two Islamic Jihad heads in a Jenin-area village last night; the army said they were responsible for many attacks on Israelis.
Palestinian terrorists opened fire at the Gush Katif town of N'vei Dekalim in Gaza this morning. The Tunnels Highway between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem was closed for several hours while two pipe bombs that were found there were safely detonated. Another pipe bomb was discovered and neutralized on the Kalkilye bypass road. Two mortar shells were fired at a Gush Katif community this afternoon. Shots were fired in at least two other locations.
5. THE PUNISHMENT FOR NOT RESPONDING FORCEFULLY Yoram Ettinger, Israel's former liaison to the U.S. Congress, told Arutz-7 today, "One thing that we can learn from yesterday is the punishment that comes to those who don't respond forcefully to terrorism. Allow me review the following:
"October 2000 - 17 US sailors were murdered in a Bin Laden attack in Aden, but the Clinton administration did not respond militarily, because he preferred to conduct negotiations.
"Aug 1998 - 257 people, including 12 Americans, were killed in the bombing of American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the response was cruiser missiles to insignificant targets in Sudan and Pakistan.
"June '96 - 19 Americans murdered in a military base in Saudi Arabia, with no American military response.
"November '95 - 5 Americans were murdered in an army base in Riyadh, with no American military response.
"This shows us what is the punishment for using negotiations as an option for terrorism."
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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, Sep. 13, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 / Elul 25, 5761 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. WTC TERRORISTS LINKED TO FATAH, HIZBULLAH 2. PERES TO MEET ARAFAT ON SUNDAY 3. SAMPLES OF ARAB/PALESTINIAN INCITEMENT 4. P.A. THREATS PREVENT FILMING OF FOOTAGE 5. ISRAELI EX-GENERAL: NOW IS THE TIME
1. WTC TERRORISTS LINKED TO FATAH, HIZBULLAH Information leading to the identities of the hijackers and their possible sponsors continues to be collected by the FBI in the U.S. It is now assumed that about 50 people were involved in the planning and execution of the attacks, all of them Arabs from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Gulf Emirates. The footprints lead not only to Bin-Laden, but also to Hizbullah and Fatah, according to Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa. He said that he American Justice Department officials had told him that the terrorists are assumed to have had ties not only with Bin-Laden, but with "groups like Fatah and Hizbullah," and that they received extensive help from Arabs living in the United States.
A number of attacks on mosques and Moslem facilities in the United States were recorded last night. Some 300 people were stopped by the police from raiding a mosque in a Chicago suburb, and windows were broken in a Texas mosque. A firebomb was thrown at a mosque in Montreal, Canada, and five girls with Arab names were attacked. Similar reports have been received from Russia.
2. PERES TO MEET ARAFAT ON SUNDAY Despite the war that the U.S. and the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) have declared on worldwide terrorism, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres plans to meet with Yasser Arafat this coming Sunday night. Arafat's Fatah, Tanzim, and Force 17 organizations have been waging a terrorist war against Israel for the past year, following many years of intermittent attacks. Peres said that the meeting will be "the Palestinian leadership's opportunity to order a stop to terrorism and a start to negotiations." The Foreign Minister said, though, that results so far have not been satisfactory.
Likud Government ministers, Knesset Members, and even U.S. Senators have expressed objections to the meeting. Interior Minister Eli Yeshai demands that Prime Minister Sharon call off this "inconceivable and unreasonable" meeting. Minister Danny Naveh said that instead of talking with Arafat, we must fight him in the framework of the worldwide war against terrorism, and Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi expressed yet again his long-standing opposition to such a meeting. MK Michael Kleiner (Herut) said that a meeting with Arafat is "the epitome of stupidity."
Yediot Acharonot is also against the meeting. Israel's largest paper editorialized yesterday, "For almost a year, the State of Israel has been facing a brutal terrorist onslaught alone, and Israeli counter-terrorism efforts have frequently met with no small amount of international criticism. However, given the horrific scenes in Washington and New York, the eyes of many will be opened... Just as holding diplomatic negotiations with the Nazis during World War II was unthinkable, no one can negotiate with terrorists in the new millennium."
3. SAMPLES OF ARAB/PALESTINIAN INCITEMENT Dennis Ross, who served until last year as the American mediator in the Middle East, blamed official Arab media incitement for the wave of terrorism. Some samples of this incitement:
Excerpts from the Friday sermon delivered by the PA-appointed "Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine" Sheikh Ekrima Sabri at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount on July 11, 1997, broadcast over Voice of Palestine radio:
"Oh Allah, destroy America, for she is ruled by Zionist Jews... Allah will paint the White House black! ... The Muslims say to Britain, to France and to all the infidel nations that Jerusalem is Arab. We shall not respect anyone else's wishes regarding her. The only relevant party is the Islamic nation, which will not allow infidel nations to interfere... Allah shall take revenge on behalf of his prophet against the colonialist settlers who are sons of monkeys and pigs..."
Palestinian Media Watch (pmw@netvision.net.il) reports that Arafat's denunciation of the attacks [Arutz-7 ed. note: he said that he is "shocked," but stopped short of actually condemning the attack] is in direct contradiction to the atmosphere of hatred he has been promoting through his tightly controlled media. Tuesday's edition of the official PA paper Al Hayat Al Jadida wrote,
"The suicide bombers of today are the noble successors of their noble predecessors... the Lebanese suicide bombers, who taught the US Marines a tough lesson in [Lebanon]... These suicide bombers are the salt of the earth, the engines of history...They are the most honorable among us..."
Hafez Barghouti, Editor-in-Chief of the official PA daily, wrote on Aug. 29 of this year:
".The writers Charles Krauthammer, William Safire and Michael Malley try to portray us as if we are threatening New York and as if fighting us is an American need and that a good Palestinian is like a good Indian - dead. This is the culture of the Zionist Lobby that rules even over the bedrooms of the senior Members of Congress and the White House. It whips them in the morning and evening lest they awaken from their servitude... And the last to judge us in this area is the pathetic scoundrel Thomas Friedman who called upon NATO to conquer the [West] Bank and Gaza in order to protect his beloved Israel.
"These examples of beastly writings which surpass Nazism, require that their authors be tried in an international court, for they are considered inciters who have committed crimes against humanity...."
"Saher Habash, a member of the central committee of [Yasser Arafat's] Fatah, ... expressed his hope that the Arab and Islamic world will act against America and Israel... Habash demanded to strike and to threaten the American interests in the Arab world..." [Meeting with journalists in El Birah, Al-Quds, Aug. 30, 2001]
"[Maher Taher] a member of the political bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ... said, 'We say to the Arab nation: Hit American interests and threaten them. The United States is a fundamental enemy.' He asked the Arab countries to take a clear and strict position towards the US, which is the a fundamental enemy of the Palestinian people and the Arab Nation."[Al Hayat Al Jadida Aug. 28, 2001]
4. P.A. THREATS PREVENT FILMING OF FOOTAGE Yasser Arafat's Tanzim kidnapped the cameraman who filmed a report for AP showing Palestinians in Ramallah celebrating the attacks against the United States. The report includes footage of Palestinian police firing their assault rifles in the air in celebration as hundreds cheer. The cameraman was released this morning, but not before the Associated Press protested to the Palestinian Authority about threats against the cameraman in the event the footage was screened. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, Arafat's Cabinet secretary, said the Palestinian Authority "cannot guarantee the life" of the cameraman if the footage is broadcast.
Dr. Aaron Lerner asked AP Bureau Chief Dan Perry today whether his office would release the video of joyous Palestinians celebrating the attack on the World Trade Center. Perry answered, "We are acting to assure the safety of our staff. The safety of our staff is paramount. At this point we believe there to be a serious threat to our staff if the video is released and we have protested this to the PA."
5. ISRAELI EX-GENERAL: NOW IS THE TIME "We must destroy the Palestinian Authority. Now is a perfect opportunity and if we don't take advantage of it, we will be sorry about it for generations." So said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Aharon Levran to Arutz-7 yesterday. Rather than condemning us, Levran believes, the nations of the world will now understand us completely, for they now finally understand the extent of the terrorism threat.
"For months," said Levran, "I have been saying we must work towards Victory Now, a counterweight to the late Peace Now. We must put an end to this mini-war with the Palestinian Authority." Levran, a former intelligence officer, said that Israel must not even bother with reactions to PA provocations, like the IDF attacks in Jenin, but must immediately totally destroy its infrastructure.
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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, Sept. 14, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 / Elul 26, 5761 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. PERES-ARAFAT MEETING IN DOUBT 2. ONE EVERY WEEK 3. ISRAELI-ARAB RALLY FOR "AL QUDS" (JERUSALEM) 4. REACTIONS: WHO REALLY BELIEVES 5. REACTIONS: DO YOU GET IT NOW?
1. PERES-ARAFAT MEETING IN DOUBT It now appears that the tremendous pressure has had an effect, and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres will apparently not meet with Yasser Arafat in the near future. A meeting had been planned for this coming Sunday night. It was reported this morning that almost every Israeli Cabinet minister - including Labor Party ministers Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Defense) and former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Matan Vilnai (Culture) - is strongly against the meeting. Early this afternoon, Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin, considered to be close to Prime Minister Sharon, announced surprisingly that Sharon, too, is against the meeting, and that the government would reject it in its Sunday morning session.
About a half hour after Rivlin's announcement, Israel Radio reported that Minister Peres said he would not hold the meeting unless Arafat ordered a total halt to terrorism and takes concrete steps to this end.
Americans for a Safe Israel also urged Sharon to withdraw permission and to recognize that "The time for talking has passed. The world has seen the fruits of Arafat's labor in the reign of terror he's been conducting in Israel, the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington. Watching Arafat's disciples, children and adults, dancing with joy as news of the heinous terror attacks took place in the U.S., as they have danced in Israel following suicide bombings, there can no longer be any doubt in the minds of reasonable people as to the murderous intentions of the enemy. Any "talk" at this time is mere sham and will only bring calamity to Israel and its ally, America..."
2. ONE EVERY WEEK Yesterday marked the eighth anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords; during this period, 419 Israelis have been murdered in Arab-Palestinian terrorist attacks - for an average of one each week for the past eight years.
3. ISRAELI-ARAB RALLY FOR "AL QUDS" (JERUSALEM) Israeli-Arab citizens in Um El-Fahm will host a mass anti-Israeli demonstration entitled, "Al-Aksa Mosque in Danger." The rally, in which tens of thousands are expected to participate, is designed to drum up the Arab masses against Israel's official control over the Temple Mount. The Islamic Movement in Israel, one of whose agents committed this past Sunday's suicide attack in Nahariyah, killing three, has distributed posters in many Arab areas, including Jaffa, promoting the demonstration. Video clips of Arabs in Um el-Fahm supporting the attacks against New York can be seen on our home page.
4. REACTIONS: WHO REALLY BELIEVES
"The true test of the strength of an army and a nation is not its willingness to kill for what it believes in, but its willingness to die for its beliefs. There is not a single Western [or Eastern European] nation that could field an Army of believers today. While the world can be destroyed by men pushing buttons, wars are won by dedicated soldiers in the field.
"The death and destruction was wrought on America by about 20 soldiers. They accomplished more than all of the American smart bombs and missiles dropped on Iraq, and at a fraction of the price. In a head-on war between the Western powers and the Muslim world, the outcome is not at all predetermined. Unless the West overcomes its infantile attitude towards warfare and uses its weapons of mass destruction against the Arabs, it will lose and be destroyed by them.
"It is the great blind spot of Western thinking that, because they do not take seriously ideas and religion any more, therefore no one else really takes such things seriously either. The Arabs and other Muslims truly believe in Islam and have shown time and time again that they are willing to kill and die for their belief. The idea that a Muslim will exchange his religion for Coca Cola and a hamburger is so detached from reality as to be comical. It, however, is the underlying concept in Western, especially American, foreign policy." -- Aryeh Zelasko, Ma'aleh Amos, eastern Judea, Israel
5. REACTIONS: DO YOU GET IT NOW? This was the question New York Times correspondent Clyde Haberman, not known for his pro-Israel stance, asked in a column yesterday:
It is a question that many Israelis wanted to ask yesterday [Tuesday] of America and the rest of the finger-pointing world. Not in a smart-alecky manner. Not to say, "We told you so." It was simply a question for those who, at a safe remove from the terrorism that Israelis face every day, have damned Israel for taking admittedly harsh measures to keep its citizens alive...
"We are now going to see a very resolute, and possibly global, approach to dealing with terrorism," Joseph Alpher, an Israeli strategic analyst, said by phone from Tel Aviv. As for his own country, he said, "People will understand with how much reserve we have responded - and after this, criticism of the response will lower."
...You can't avoid the ["Do you get it?"] question when... you have seen the human wreckage caused by the suicide bombs that go off with sickening frequency [in Israel]. You ask it because Jerusalem offers a glimpse of what New York may become... Just three days ago, I wrote about the fear that now grips Israelis, how they listen for the sirens, how as the ambulances keep coming, they reach for cell phones. Frantically, they call to make sure that loved ones are all right. Often, they cannot get through because so many people are phoning at the same time. They try to hold the panic at bay.
All of that happened in New York yesterday.
Even without knowing who was behind this monstrous act, you could not
shake off the televised images of crowds of Palestinians - not a handful of bloodthirsty extremists - chanting, "God is great" and joyously handing out candy in celebration on the streets of Nablus in the West Bank. Same as when a bomb went off in Jerusalem and killed children and their mothers in a restaurant.
Remember the suicide bomber who killed 15 innocent people at a Sbarro's pizza outlet in downtown Jerusalem last month?... We certainly have no shortage of Sbarro outlets in New York.
Do you get it now?
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