HHMI Newsgroup Archives
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Wednesday, January 5, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Wednesday, January 5, 2000 / Tevet 27, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1.YESHA WITHDRAWAL BEGINS
2. PROTECTING MOTHER
3. BEHIND THE SIGNS
4. OPPOSITION
5. PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED
1.YESHA WITHDRAWAL BEGINS
Two army bases have already been handed over to the Palestinian
Authority
today, as part of the 5% of Judea, Binyamin, and Samaria being
abandoned to
the PA today and tomorrow. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai
Huberman reports
that four more army bases will be evacuated in the withdrawal,
which
involves 2.2% of Yesha in the Judean Desert and a further 0.8% in
other
areas; these will come under Palestinian administrative
control. An
additional 2% in the Bir Zeit region will come under total
Palestinian
control. Huberman reports that there will be no concrete effect
on the
lives of Jews in the area, "but after the next withdrawal,
from an
additional 6.1% of Yesha two weeks from now, the communities of
Beit Haggai
and Otniel south of Hevron will become enclaves surrounded by
Palestinian
territory."
For the first time, there will be territorial contiguity between
two
Palestinian Authority cities, Huberman said: "A road
paved to Har Eval
only a year ago by the IDF was given over to the PA today.
Arabs will now
be able to travel around Mt. Eval directly from Shechem to Jenin
over roads
that are all under at least PA administrative control, if not
full
control." When asked what made the Palestinians
finally and suddenly agree
to accept the current withdrawal, Huberman explained:
"Barak has apparently made a great concession for the next
pullback two
weeks from now, which is the last stage of what is known as the
second
withdrawal. The third withdrawal - until now said to be
only 1% - is still
to be determined. Originally the extent and the locations
of the
withdrawals were to be unilaterally decided by Israel; Netanyahu
gave in on
allowing the Palestinians a say in determining the amount of area
to be
handed over, and now Barak has apparently given in and allowed
them a say
in determining the exact locations to be handed over. This
means that
Israel will show them the maps as they are being formulated, and
will
adjust them in consideration of Palestinian demands.
Another concession
made by Barak for the next withdrawal is that the PA will receive
the
control of land close to Jerusalem, such as A-Ram in the north
and possibly
Abu Dis in the south-east. Even Beit Hanina, which is
officially part of
Jerusalem, will come under PA control, and the Palestinians will
have a
share in running the Atarot airport [in northern
Jerusalem]."
Huberman's report was affirmed by journalist Nadav Shragai in
Ha'aretz
today. Shragai wrote that Israel has agreed to a form of
Palestinian
administrative control over almost all aspects of day-to-day life
in the
northern Jerusalem neighborhoods of Shuafat and Beit
Hanina. The Israeli
delegation to the talks has reportedly adopted the conception of
"two
Jerusalems," one Israeli - including the post-1967 Jewish
neighborhoods -
and one Arab.
Residents of the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, which borders on the
Arab
neighborhood of Beit Hanina, have begun to organize in an effort
to thwart
the plans. The hareidi Ramat Shlomo lies between French
Hill and Ramot.
2. PROTECTING MOTHER
Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane spoke with Shuki Lax, one of a group of
grass-roots
activists who demonstrated last night in the Tel Aviv area
against the
suddenly-announced withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. Lax
explained:
"We heard the news last night relatively late, so that we
couldn't
organize ourselves in a more massive manner as we usually do, but
I and
several friends could not bear to sit quietly by when our land is
being
torn out from under us. It is simply being given to our
sworn enemies,
whom we know - from reading the right publications and listening
to the
right stations - that they have never ceased their hatred and
incitement
against us, and continue to spread among their populations a call
for the
liquidation of the State of Israel..."
Kahane asked, "What will you tell those who agree with you
but feel that
there is no purpose to demonstrate because it won't
work?" Lax responded:
"I would say first of all that if the honor of their mother
was being
trampled upon, they would not ask themselves how effective it
would be to
protest - the first thing they would do would be to scream out
and demand
justice, without regard to whether it will work or not. How
would they
ever be able to tell their mother that they love her, if they sat
by
quietly while her honor was trampled in their presence and did
nothing?
All their excuses afterwards wouldn't help! Whoever loves
his mother is
not able to be silent while she is being hurt. Whoever
suffices with the
question, 'What will it help?' apparently does not feel deeply
enough the
injustice of this act, and does not feel personally
betrayed... Secondly,
even those who are carrying out these withdrawals are not 100%
sure of what
they are doing. It's not as if they are sure what the
future will bring,
and that there will certainly be peace forever afterwards.
Such that our
rallies and protests shake their confidence."
3. BEHIND THE SIGNS
The two slogans "Uprooting Settlements Tears the Nation
Apart" and "The
Nation with the Golan" appear in giant signs, side by side,
in many
intersections throughout the country. Arutz-7's Effie Meir
reports on the
story behind the signs:
"The two slogans represent a basic dispute between the Yesha
and Golan
camps. The Yesha people are torn between the desire to help
out in the
struggle for the Golan and the need to ensure that attention is
not
diverted from the no-less-burning struggle over the withdrawals
from Judea
and Samaria. For this reason, the Yesha Council sought a
slogan that would
unite it with the Golan people - and in fact came up with
"Uprooting
Settlements Tears the Nation Apart." However, the
Golan Residents
Committee did not wish to cooperate, preferring to stick with a
slogan that
would emphasize the Golan. 'The Golan is our recognized
brand name, and we
can't afford to give it up,' explained GRC spokesman Uri
Heitner. But this
explanation camouflages the old fear of an ideological bear hug
on the part
of the Yesha settlers. Many of the Golan residents do not
wish themselves,
or their struggle, to be associated with Yesha... The
search is on in the
Golan for a replacement for the old slogan "The Nation with
the Golan," as
the first attempt at a new Golan slogan - "I am with the
Golan" - has been
declared a failure."
4. OPPOSITION
Yesha Council Chairman Benny Kashriel told Arutz-7 today:
"The public is totally confused and bewildered, because it
sees the
government giving away territories left and right, to the Syrians
and to
the Palestinians, and they simply don't know how to react.
We are planning
to convene a body of local municipal leaders on behalf of
Jerusalem. We
are merely waiting until the giant Golan rally on Monday, and
immediately
afterwards, we will all gather to begin the struggle - not just
to talk,
but the actual struggle itself. This will involve leaders
of all the
surrounding communities: Adam, Nofei P'rat, Mitzpeh
Yericho, Givat Ze'ev,
Efrat, Beitar, Almon (Anatot), etc. We want Jerusalem Mayor
Ehud Olmert to
head the struggle. He is the most natural choice, since
they're actually
detaching neighborhoods of his city, and separating the capital
from its
surrounding communities. Olmert told me a couple of days
ago that for him,
the red line is when they start giving away Abu Dis and A-Ram to
Palestinian control, and that he will then begin a public
struggle. That
time is very near."
An interview in English with Kashriel, conducted today by
Arutz-7's Ron Meir, can be heard at
www.a7.org/engclips/050100/cashriel-jer.ram.
Opposition to a withdrawal from the Golan continues to spread to
many
elements not identified with the Israeli right wing. In a
full-page ad in
today's Ma'ariv newspaper, a heterogeneous group of some 35
writers,
professors, and other intellectuals writes: "True
peace is not electronic
early warning stations, or ceremonies and signatures of
diplomats... A
true lasting peace with Syria requires mutual concessions,
but before anything else, the Golan must be made a region of
peace and
partnership for both nations. It is permissible for a state to
give up its
sovereignty - but it is forbidden for a state to transfer its
citizens
unwillingly, whether they are Jews, Arabs or Druze... For
the benefit of
both nations, let us wait for Syria to establish a regime and
society that
is ready for a true peace."
One of the statement's signatories, left-of-center writer Eyal
Megged, told
Arutz-7 today that his problem is not with Israel's transferring
Golan
sovereignty to another country, "but with the nature of a
peace that is
based on transfers and the destruction of settlements. My
concern is what
such a process indicates about the Syrian intention to establish
a real
peace. I felt I had to raise my voice, to declare that we
are not all a
flock of naive or, worse, stupid people!" Megged
contrasted the late
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's "ice-breaking visit"
to Jerusalem with the
"stone-faced Syrians who think that they are doing us a
favor by agreeing
to take the Golan. Here we are, already setting up for the
referendum -
we're basically telling the Syrians that the whole issue is
closed,
finalized, that they have nothing to worry about. This is
stupid! Are we
giving the Syrians the Golan just to pay off some of Barak's
election
debts? To satisfy the appetite of some sort of 'Molekh' god
- a false
messiah disguising itself as a true peace?"
5. PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED
The heavy rains that began in Israel two nights ago continue in
force.
Some residents of flooded homes in Jaffa have been evacuated,
while others
were trapped for hours; traffic lights in downtown Tel Aviv have
been
knocked out of service, and miles of traffic jams developed on
various
highways. Snowstorms are raging in the Golan - some two
feet of snow have
piled up on the highest peak of Mt. Hermon - and snow has begun
to fall in
the Galilee. The Sea of Galilee has risen by five
centimeters.
*************************************************************************
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Thursday, January 6, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Thursday, January 6, 2000 / Tevet 28, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. IS IT A DONE DEAL?
2. MAJORITY AGAINST WITHDRAWAL
3. TURKEY AGAINST SYRIA
4. ARUTZ-7 LAW IN DANGER
1. IS IT A DONE DEAL?
The Israeli-American-Syrian talks in Shepherdstown continue to
limp
along without apparent developments, and the Syrians continue to
refuse to meet face-to-face with the Israelis without American
chaperones. It has been learned that a section of the video
of
Clinton, Barak, and A-Shara walking together on a bridge was
censored:
the scene in which A-Shara purposely turned his back to Barak was
cut.
The Americans have called a halt in the meetings of the
various
working groups, but no explanation was provided. U.S. Secretary
of
State Madeleine Albright reportedly exerted heavy pressure on the
sides over the night to reach agreements.
Despite the fact that American and Israeli officials have
privately
expressed pessimism about the talks, right-wing politicians in
Israel
remain convinced that the pace and results of the talks have been
pre-determined, and that the dramatic ups and downs of the talks
are
merely a pretense. Journalist David Bedein, in
Shepherdstown, told
Arutz-7's Ron Meir last night that Israeli government officials
have
told Jewish-American organizations that there was no need for
them to
demonstrate against the talks, as the outcome has already been
essentially decided.
Golan Residents Committee leader Eli Malka does not accept the
view
that a deal has already been cut between Barak and A-Shara.
"This is
a long process, and we must not give up," he told Arutz-7
today. "It
is within our power to affect the results, and we can have an
influence on what goes on in Shepherdstown, especially if Barak
and
Clinton see that large numbers of Israelis come out to our giant
demonstration next Monday. A strong showing there may also
frazzle
Assad, who, as you know, is not particularly hasty when it comes
to
signing agreements." Malka added that the Golan
organizations are not
interested in having Likud leader Ariel Sharon speak at Monday's
rally, because "we want to stress the fact that support for
the Golan
is above political concerns and transcends narrow political
interests."
2. MAJORITY AGAINST WITHDRAWAL
"The Jewish public at this time lacks a majority in favor of
full
withdrawal from the Golan in return for a full peace agreement
with
Syria," according to a poll by the Tel Aviv University
Steinmetz
Center. The 502 respondents were asked, "What is your
position
regarding support for a full peace treaty between Israel and
Syria in
exchange for withdrawal from the Golan Heights?" Of
these, 21,2% said
they were "greatly" or "somewhat" in favor of
the treaty, while 62.3%
were "greatly" or "somewhat" against.
More and more Labor party seniors, out of what MK Tzvi Hendel
calls
"fear that they will lose," have expressed their
opposition to the
holding of a referendum on the Golan. These include
Ministers Beilin
and Ben-Ami, and, to a lesser extent, Minister Itzik and Knesset
Speaker Burg. Hendel, of the National Union party, said
that the
referendum is not a "favor" on the part of Barak, but
is anchored in
the Knesset Golan law. He wryly predicted that the next
step is
likely to be the cancellation of the general elections, "out
of Labor
fear that they might lose." Labor MK Avi Yechezkel
differed with his
Labor party colleagues on this issue, and said today that
"the party
has an obligation to adhere to its pre-election promises,
especially
since we are speaking of a historic move that will have an impact
on
the future of the State of Israel."
Fears were expressed in a Labor party meeting today that public
support for Barak's proposed Golan withdrawal is on the
decrease. The
party is afraid that the investigations into the Weizman-Sarousi
gift
scandal, the fictitious organizations of Ehud Barak's campaign,
and
Histadrut Labor Union chief MK Amir Peretz, together with the
increasing level of poverty, will contribute to the referendum's
failure. Labor figures realize that the Likud's proposal
for a 61%
majority to pass the referendum has great public support, and
therefore plans to appeal against it to the Supreme Court if it
is
passed by the Knesset.
3. TURKEY AGAINST SYRIA
The Sydney Morning Herald reported this week that Turkey has
appealed
to the United States not to take Syria off the State Department
list
of countries supporting terrorism, as part of a peace treaty with
Israel. Turkey says removing Syria from the list is out of the
question as long as Damascus continues to allow bases of the
rebel
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Syrian soil. The camps
have been
used to plan PKK attacks in its struggle to establish a Kurdish
state
in eastern Turkey. Turkey, which has close military ties
with Israel
and the U.S., has also expressed its concern about the
implications of
a peace treaty for the region's water resources.
4. ARUTZ-7 LAW IN DANGER
The Ministerial Legislative Committee will vote Sunday on a new
government bill aimed at annulling last May's "Arutz-7
Law" and
replacing it with a bill establishing three special-interest
radio
stations. Communications Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
explained to
the Knesset yesterday that the bill's goal is to solve the
long-standing problem of the lack of licensed stations
representing
the hareidi and Yesha publics. Arutz-7 correspondent Ariel
Kahane
reports, however, that some committee members - such as Ministers
Natan Sharansky (Yisrael B'Aliyah), Rabbi Yitzchak Levy (NRP),
and
Shlomo Benizri (Shas) - appear to be convinced that the
government's
purpose is merely to overturn the law licensing Arutz-7 and grant
its
license to another body from Judea and Samaria instead.
Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, chairing the ministerial committee
meeting yesterday, opened it by demanding that an aide to
Minister
Benizri leave the room since he [the aide] "broadcasts
regularly on
one of the unlicensed religious stations." Benizri
declared, "I, too,
regularly broadcast on one of these stations, and if he goes, so
do
I!" and stormed out of the meeting. His party
colleague, Minister Eli
Yeshai, was ambivalent about the proposed bill, saying that he
could
not meaningfully discuss the issue or vote on it, as
"Benizri is more
familiar with the issues."
NRP leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy objected to the long period of
time -
"probably 18 to 24 months," he said - between the
immediate closing of
existing stations, mandated by the bill, and the opening of new
ones.
Minister Sharansky said that the bill does not relate to the
needs of
Russian immigrants, and in any event, "Arutz-7 must not be
closed in
the interim period before the formation of the new
stations. Closing
Arutz-7 specifically at this time when the Golan is at stake will
create the impression of 'shutting mouths.'" Attorney
Didi
Lachman-Messer represented the State Prosecution.
"You're all
lawbreakers and deserve to be closed down," she
shouted. MK Benny
Elon (National Union) told the Knesset that "the new bill is
just a
cover for a deliberate effort to close down Arutz-7."
Earlier today, Shas called an urgent meeting on the matter, and
rumors
were rampant that the party might initiate a new coalition crisis
over
the issue. MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) was skeptical
that this
would happen, however. He told Arutz-7 today that a deal
has already
been struck between Communications Minister Ben-Eliezer and
Minister
Benizri, and that one of three new stations would be given to
Shas.
"Benizri can have the best of both worlds," Hendel
lamented. "Knowing
that there will be a majority in the committee in favor of the
bill,
Shas can vote against it in the committee, thus gaining points
for him
with the NRP, Arutz-7, and others, and he is nevertheless
guaranteed a
new station."
*************************************************************************
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News
Brief: Friday, December 7, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Friday, January 7, 2000 / Tevet 29, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. SYRIAN MEDIA NERVOUS ABOUT NORMALIZATION
2. YESHA RESIDENTS TAKE TO THE STREETS
3. US RABBINICAL LEADER VISITS YESHA
4. FROM BE'ER SHEVA TO KIRYAT GAT
5. YESHA COMMUNITIES WEANED OF IDF SUPPORT
6. STORMY SHABBAT ANTICIPATED
1. SYRIAN MEDIA NERVOUS ABOUT NORMALIZATION
One of the topics to be discussed at the Shepherdstown talks -
normalization of relations between Syria and Israel - has not yet
caught on in Syria. So reports the Middle East Research and
Media
Institute http://www.memri.org
citing a January 1st article in the
Syrian Arab Writers' Association weekly, Al-'Usbu' Al-Adabi.
Following are some excerpts from the piece, which analyzes
Israel's
process of normalization with Egypt:
*"The Zionist embassy in Cairo has been a den of
spies since day
one.
....Then, the 'Academic Center for Israeli Studies was
established.
This center brought the works of weaklings to Egyptian society,
especially in the fields of economy and culture, and even
regarding
Egyptian family, marriage, divorce, military service,
unemployment,
etc.... Externally, it look likes an academic research
[institution],
but in reality, it is [one of] espionage and Zionist plots, aimed
at
destroying the fabric of Egyptian society..."
*"Even the Egyptian soil is not safe from the Satanic war
waged by
Zionism [against the Arabs]. Tens of thousands of tons of seeds
were
sent [to Egypt] through agricultural deals with the Zionist
Entity.
These seeds destroyed the Egyptian soil, rendering part of it
infertile."
*"It is no wonder that all honorable Arabs and most of our
own people
in Egypt blame the Zionist enemy for the Egyptian airplane crash
in
the US sky, because this airplane had 33 military officers of
various
ranks on board, most of whom were pilots. These pilots had
finished
their training on the most modern fighters and the Zionists saw
them
as a threat to their [security] and their goals of weakening the
Arabs
and paralyzing their [military] capability."
2. YESHA RESIDENTS TAKE TO THE STREETS
The Council for Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha)
today
called on Yesha residents and supporters to bodily prevent Yasser
Arafat's convoy from traversing Jerusalem on its way from
Ramallah to
Bethlehem. The Yesha Council is concerned that entry to Jerusalem
for
Arafat would set a dangerous precedent leading to his ultimate
access
to the Old City and Temple Mount. Explaining the council's
urgent
plea, its spokesman said: "If blocking of roads is
permissible for
truckers in protest of an increase in diesel fuel prices, it is
also
legitimate for those who object to the entry of a dangerous enemy
to
Israel's capital."
On Wednesday of this week, Gush Etzion residents gathered along
the
highway from Hevron to Bethlehem in order to block Arafat's
vehicle
from entering the area. In response, Israeli authorities
delivered
Arafat to his destination by way of a back route. Arutz-7
correspondent Kobi Sela notes that Arafat made his way from
Ramallah
to Gaza three days ago via "little Israel."
Security officials said
both then and today that "inclement weather conditions"
did not permit
Arafat to travel by helicopter.
3. US RABBINICAL LEADER VISITS YESHA
Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University in New York Rabbi Hershel
Schachter
visited Judea and Samaria yesterday and delivered a Talmudic
lecture
in Hebrew at the Bet El Yeshiva Center. Speaking with
Arutz-7's
Yedidya Atlas, Rabbi Shachter reaffirmed his halakhic (Jewish
legal)
position that it is forbidden to give up parts of the Land of
Israel
to a foreign entity or to uproot Jewish communities. A
picture of
Rabbi Shachter's visit is available on the Arutz Sheva website
news
page http:\\www.ArutzSheva.org.
4. FROM BE'ER SHEVA TO KIRYAT GAT
Police this morning accompanied a procession of some 30 vehicles
-
bearing posters objecting to a Golan giveaway - from Be'er Sheva
to
Kiryat Gat. Using a megaphone, the vehicles' occupants, including
academics from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, elucidated to
passersby the dangers of a Golan giveaway. In related news,
the giant
Golan rally rescheduled for this Monday evening in Tel Aviv is
picking
up steam. Golan Residents Committee spokesperson Marla Van
Meter said
today that organizers expect a massive crowd to be on hand,
including
"citizens from all corners of the country, representing all
political,
ideological and religious views."
Golan-related polls indicate that a majority of Israelis oppose a
full
retreat from the region. A survey conducted by Mina Tzemach
this
week, and published in today's Yediot Achronot, shows that 53% of
all
Israelis oppose a full withdrawal in exchange for "a full
peace" with
Syria, while 41% support such a move. On Sunday, opposition MKs
will
continue their efforts on behalf of a bill which, if passed,
would
require a special 60% referendum majority to sanction an Israeli
retreat.
5. YESHA COMMUNITIES WEANED OF IDF SUPPORT
The IDF this week significantly reduced the number of soldiers
guarding Yesha communities, prompting community leaders to
increase
the security burden on local residents. An army spokesman
told
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman that the change of IDF
policy
stemmed from budgetary constraints.
6. STORMY SHABBAT ANTICIPATED
Rain is expected to continue to fall later today, and will likely
intensify over Shabbat. Forecasters are predicting that the
rainy
weather conditions will last until Monday, including snowfall on
Mt.
Hermon in the Golan Heights. While Israel has enjoyed one
fifth of
the average winter precipitation in the course of the week, the
Chief
Rabbinate has urged worshippers to continue reciting special
daily
prayers for rain.
***********************************************************************
Return to
Newsgroup Archives Main Page
Return to our Main Webpage
©2011
Hebraic Heritage Ministries International. Designed by
Web Design by JB.