HHMI Newsgroup Archives
To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, November 16, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, Nov. 16, 2000 / Cheshvan 18, 5761
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. YESHA DEMANDS END TO RESTRAINT
2. NO CHANGE IN POLICY
3. BARAK VETOES ARAFAT-SMEAR CAMPAIGN
4. RABBI LIOR: KINDNESS TO THE CRUEL IS CRUEL
5. NO END TO INCITEMENT
6. BACKTRACKING IN AMERICA
1. YESHA DEMANDS END TO RESTRAINT
The Yesha Council leaders' sit-down strike outside the Prime Minister's
Office in Jerusalem continues, as visitors and sympathizers continue to
stream in. The strikers, who were joined in their efforts today by
residents of the Binyamin (southern Samaria) town of N'vei Tzuf, demand
that the government "allow the IDF defeat the Palestinians." N'vei Tzuf,
where lived Sarah Lisha, a victim of Monday's murderous Palestinian
terrorist attacks, is striking altogether today - no school and no work.
The residents drove slowly along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway,
demonstratively causing traffic foul-ups.
Rabbi Yaakov Libi, principal of the Beit El Yeshiva High School, explained
why he has called upon his colleagues to follow him in transferring his
students and their studies to the protest site: "We feel that there is a
time at when we must not continue in the regular routine. We must express
that there are very very critical things going on now to the People of
Israel, namely, that blood is being spilled, and when this happens, the
students must know that they cannot sit by quietly. Instead, they protest
and express their lack of acceptance of this reality." Students from the
Ma'aleh Levonah girls' high school, where Sara Lisha taught, held signs
saying, "They murdered our teacher!"
Prime Minister Barak dismissed criticism of his policy of restraint, and
said that the right-wing is "talking nonsense" when it says that he is
holding the army back from acting strongly. He said that the diplomatic
process will not continue until the firing ends, but noted that he does not
demand "total calm" before resuming the talks with Arafat. Arutz-7's
Haggai Segal summarized the right-wing objections to Barak's position by
saying, "The question is, of course, whether the government wants to win,
or would rather simply prepare the way for the renewal of the negotiations
and further withdrawals."
2. NO CHANGE IN POLICY
As expected, Prime Minister Barak and the security cabinet decided last
night to continue the policy of restraint. The explanation: They do not
wish to play into the hands of Arafat, who is trying to "drag us into an
escalation that will invite international intervention." The government
itself seems not to mind such intervention, however; the Washington Post
reports today that Israeli and Palestinian diplomats met in Washington last
night to discuss the possibility of stationing 400 international observers
in Judea and Samaria. MK Danny Naveh (Likud) said that the fact that
Israel is even willing to discuss such an option proves to Arafat that his
violence pays off.
American mediator Dennis Ross, who met last night with Ehud Barak, met
today in Gaza with Yasser Arafat. It was reported that they discussed "new
ideas." Shas leader Eli Yeshai said that his party will remove the "safety
net" that it granted the Barak government if the latter resumes talks with
the Palestinians on the basis of the Camp David understandings. Yeshai
said that the safety net would also be removed if the talks resume before
the "violence" has ceased.
The continued nod to restraint, however, does not rule out offensive
actions - and in fact, Israel Air Force helicopters bombed four Tanzim
installations at 1 AM this morning in several Judea and Samaria
locations. In addition, following seven hours of a heavy barrage of fire
from Beit Jala to Gilo yesterday afternoon and evening, the army responded
sharply; among other targets, helicopters destroyed an abandoned building
from which a terrorist cell was shooting.
3. BARAK VETOES ARAFAT-SMEAR CAMPAIGN
Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) reported today that Prime Minister Barak ordered
a near-total censure of a 60-page document detailing many incidents of
corruption by senior Palestinian Authority leaders, including Yasser
Arafat. The document cites large-scale tax evasion by Jibril Rajoub, the
use of stolen Israeli cars by PA leaders, and corruption by Muhammad Dahlan
and others. Other tidbits: Arafat's popularity within the PA has dropped
significantly, largely because of the wide-spread corruption, and it has
not invested at all in helping the refugees, despite the large amounts of
funds donated for this purpose by foreign countries.
The document, prepared under the direction of Barak's chief security aide
Gen. (res.) Danny Yatom, was originally meant to be sent to Israeli
missions abroad, as well as to the Israeli public, as part of Israel's
information campaign against the Palestinian Authority. Foreign Minister
Shlomo Ben-Ami, however, together with senior Barak aides Sher and Liel,
convinced the Prime Minister not to publish more than a handful of copies
of the document. Army Radio quoted Barak as explaining, "It will be
impossible to convince the Israeli public to reach an agreement with the
Palestinians after it is publicized."
In a related issue, Yasser Arafat has apparently pulled off another
successful talking-out-of-both-sides-of-his-mouth. He taped a video of
himself warmly eulogizing Leah Rabin, who was buried yesterday, with the
promise that it would be broadcast on Palestinian television. The two
Israeli channels broadcast the video with Hebrew subtitles, relying on the
above Palestinian promise. Israeli officials rushed to interpret Arafat's
warm gesture as a signal by the PLO leader to his people that negotiations
with Israel would resume soon. In the end, Arafat's message was not
broadcast on PA TV. Israelis thus saw Arafat speaking words of peace - but
his own people did not.
4. RABBI LIOR: KINDNESS TO THE CRUEL IS CRUEL
Rabbi Dov Lior, the Rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Hevron, related today to
various questions connected with our relationship with the
Palestinians. He told Arutz-7's Tuvia Rosenfeld that the government's
policy of restraint and 'not hitting innocent civilians' does not "jibe
with the Torah's outlook:"
"It is true that Nachmanides [13th century Torah giant] rules that the
army must not encircle the enemy and must allow it an opening from which to
escape, but Maimonides [12th century Torah giant] differs and says that
this is merely strategic advice - in that an army with no means of escape
will fight more strongly. In war, when one nation attacks another nation,
there is no such thing as 'innocent civilians...' Even collective
punishment is allowed, according to the decisions of the military
leaders. If, for instance, it is decided that the proper military response
to the constant shooting at Gilo would be to bomb Beit Jala, or even to
bomb large parts of Gaza, then this is what should be done. Of course, it
could be that because of various weaknesses, the army does not make these
decisions... It is clear to me that we are being too merciful, and in the
wrong places - such that it is a 'mercy of cruelty;' as our Rabbis teach
us, 'Whoever is merciful to the cruel, will end up being cruel to the
merciful.' ... Furthermore, it's not enough to learn Eastern Affairs in
universities - we must know our enemy and his characteristics. Maimonides
wrote in his Epistle to Yemen, 'Whenever we try to seek their [the
Moslems'] welfare, they will respond with curses and war.' This means that
if we behave toward them with proper manners and with gentleness, they
don't take this as a sign of strength - but rather as weakness, and it will
actually invite further attacks upon us."
Rabbi Lior also related to the claim by the left-wing that "conquest
corrupts," and that we should therefore rid ourselves of the "conquered
territories." He said,
"The Torah promises us, as explained by various commentaries to Deut. 13,
18, that when we are engaged in a Torah commandment, we need not worry that
it will leave any immoral defects in our character. If we were engaged in
military conquest of other lands, this would be against the Torah and basic
ethics. But in this case, it is not conquest - it is the liberation of our
own land, and the protection of our own people from enemies who threaten
our very existence. I have no doubt that whoever is engaged in this act
for the purpose of saving the People of Israel will be saved from any
character blemishes, as the Torah promises."
5. NO END TO INCITEMENT
Itamar Marcus, whose organization Palestinian Media Watch regularly reviews
anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian press, spoke to Arutz-7 today
about his most recent findings: "We now hear that the PA wants to direct
its war more directly against soldiers and residents in Yesha. An article
in the official PA newspaper Al Hayat Al-Jadida talks about the Palestinian
ability to 'make the settlers run away in fear, to save their necks from
our sword... The settlers are a polluted stain in our land. Whatever
Israel can do to save them, it won't be able to save all of them... We
feel that it is time to expel them... they will turn into rats hiding in
their holes...'"
Marcus said that Arafat and the PA continue to encourage children to take
part in the violence: "For instance, we saw one of their new television
clips yesterday where an Israeli helicopter is depicted as 'chasing' a
little terrified girl until she falls, dead. The goal, of course, is to
implant in the children the image of Israelis as cold-blooded
murderers. We see a teacher asking her 2nd-grade student if he is afraid
to throw rocks at Israeli soldiers, and when he hesitates, she signals the
correct answer by shaking her head 'no'... A final clip shows one boy
encouraging a smaller boy as they both throw rocks at IDF soldiers; the
older one tells the younger one not to be afraid, that Allah is with them,
and that the 'rock has turned into a Kalachnikov [rifle]...' - and then
Arafat goes around the world denying that the PA is inciting its children
to violence and hatred."
6. BACKTRACKING IN AMERICA
"It takes a big organization to admit it was wrong. We think we were wrong
about you, Chairman Arafat..." So declared the American Jewish Congress in
a full-page New York Times ad this past Sunday, joining the crowd of other
American-Jewish organizations and individuals who have begun to publicly
regret their previous support for the Oslo process. Morton A. Klein,
President of the Zionist Organization of America, lists several of the
"born-again" groups in a recent article. Among them, he counts the New
York Jewish Week, Reform leader Rabbi Alexander Schindler (who passed away
this week), and others. Some excerpts:
"The peace that seemed so near seems to have been swept from grasp in a
cruel wave of violence, terror, and the cynical sending of children into an
armed conflict fomented by the Palestinian leadership." - from the
American Jewish Congress NY Times ad
Gary Rosenblatt, editor the largest Federation newspaper in the U.S., the
New York Jewish Week, wrote that "the premise of the Oslo peace process has
gone up in the flames of the renewed intifada." Rosenblatt urged Israel to
take back some of the territory it has given to Arafat, and stop
transferring tax revenues to the PA.
John Ruskay, a veteran left-wing activist and Executive VP of the NY
UJA-Federation, said that "the events of the last three weeks have
certainly challenged if not shattered the fantasies of an early, quick,
peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians."
"Wrong About Arafat" - the headline of a Washington Post op-ed by U.S.
Labor Zionist leader Menachem Rosensaft, one of the first Jews to meet with
Arafat.
Mel Shralow, former president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of
Philadelphia, authored an op-ed for the Federation's Jewish Exponent titled
"From Peace Advocate to Supporter of 'Not One Inch!'"
Longtime Oslo supporter Neil Rubin, editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times,
wrote, "At this moment we American Jews cannot push the peace agenda. We
must focus on explaining Israel's right to defend itself... We must add
that the Palestinians need to drop absurd denials of the Temple Mount's
centrality to the Jewish soul, that they rebuild the destroyed Joseph's
Tomb..."
****************************************************************
To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, November
17, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, Nov. 17, 2000 / Cheshvan 19, 5761
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK TO AGREE TO INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS IN YESHA?
2. RACHEL'S TOMB NOT FORGOTTEN
3. HOTEL WORKERS BEAR THE BRUNT
4. BACK TO POLITICS
1. BARAK TO AGREE TO INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS IN YESHA?
The government appears to be changing its mind about the stationing of
international observers in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Transportation
and Tourism Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shachak, a former IDF Chief of
Staff, said today, "What's wrong with a few UN observers in Gaza?"
Ma'ariv reported today that diplomatic sources hinted that Israel
might agree to such a force, in exchange for Arafat's return to the
negotiating table. Government sources denied this, however, saying
that peacekeeping forces would be invited only in the framework of a
final-status agreement.
Former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said today, "Arafat wants
peace - but without Israel." He said that what Arafat tells the world
is totally different than what he and other PA figures tell their own
people, "and we must uncover this deception... They want Acre, Jaffa,
Ramle, and Haifa." Netanyahu further said that Israeli must use the
necessary force to stop the Palestinian violence, "and only after an
extended period of quiet can the diplomatic process be considered, and
even then - only if it is based on reciprocity."
2. RACHEL'S TOMB NOT FORGOTTEN
Some 30 people will spend their second consecutive Shabbat in tents at
a checkpoint about a kilometer away from Rachel's Tomb. They are thus
registering their demand to allow free Jewish worship to the holy
site, which has been targeted for take-over by the Palestinians. They
have succeeded in having the army open the site to thrice-daily
busloads; the army escorts groups at 9, 10, and 11:00 every morning.
The group invites the public to attend prayers with them tonight and
tomorrow night; Shabbat morning prayers, which require a Torah scroll,
will be held in nearby Gilo.
3. HOTEL WORKERS BEAR THE BRUNT
Three-quarters of the nation's 20,000 permanent hotel workers will go
on unpaid leave for three months, starting at the end of this month -
a direct result of the sharp drop in tourism caused by the Palestinian
violence. Ha'aretz reports that the agreement was reached yesterday
by labor unions, industry leaders, and the government. A
demonstration against the firings was held today in Tiberias, the
economy of which is heavily dependent on tourism.
4. BACK TO POLITICS
In anticipation of the end of the four-week safety net granted by Shas
to the Barak government - coming up on Nov. 28 - the political parties
are resuming their machinations. Opposition leaders have met with
their Shas counterparts in an attempt to get them not to renew their
support for Barak, and at this point Shas in fact appears to be
willing to topple the government. A meeting between Likud leader
Ariel Sharon and Shas head Eli Yeshai, the first since Shas angered
the Likud by agreeing to the safety net, is scheduled for Sunday.
Labor party leaders have also met with Shas people, hoping that Shas
will renew its support. A national emergency government is not
considered likely at this point.
*************************************************************
TO: Friends (and friends of friends) of Bridges for Peace
FROM: Clarence H. Wagner, Jr., International Director - Jerusalem
Special Update --- The
Islamization of Israel
November
14, 2000
THE ISLAMIZATION OF ISRAEL
As a Christian living in Jerusalem and working
to build good
interfaith relations, for the first time in 23 years, I am worried. I
can see clearly that the current conflict between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority is threatening all the good work that has been
accomplished over the past decades to bring faith communities
together.
There are many reasons that this current
conflict has erupted,
from political to economic. Yet, the most disturbing manifestation
now is that the conflict is becoming a religious confrontation that is
bringing Judaism, Christianity and Islam into direct conflict. Sadly,
recent events show that Islam is making moves in Israel and the
territories that are challenging Judaism and Christianity. One such
move affects my neighborhood of Gilo, on the southern edge of
Jerusalem, which is predominately Jewish, and adjacent to the
Palestinian Authority town of Beit Jalla, which is predominately
Christian. Since 1967, these two communities have lived side-by-side
in harmony. Now, there is almost daily machine gun fire upon Gilo from
Beit Jalla, which is the work of Yasser Arafat's Tanzim (Fatah)
militia who take over a home or factory and fire into the residences
of Gilo, trying to get Israel to fire back. The weapons being used by
the Palestinians are large caliber machine guns with armor piercing
bullets that are going through several walls of the apartments in Gilo
that are being fired upon, and necessitate a response. Additionally,
the Tanzim have chosen positions near to churches in Beit Jalla, most
notably the Church of St. Nicholas, hoping that Israel's return fire
will hit a church. Then it will be front-page news for the "Christian
West," that Israel is now destroying churches. We saw this tactic used
by the PLO in Lebanon in 1982, when they would place an anti-aircraft
gun on the roof of a hospital, or position a tank next to an
residential block. Then, when Israel struck the gun or tank with
return fire, it would damage the hospital or apartment building and
the PLO would claim that Israel was "attacking hospitals and
defenseless civilians." For this reason, the Israel Defense Force is
being very careful about their targets in Beit Jalla. Meanwhile,
innocent residents of Beit Jalla and Gilo are subjected to almost
daily violence because of some outsiders who are coming in to
victimize both communities and drive a wedge between Christians and
Jews - not only locally, but also internationally.
Biblical sites sacred to Jews and Christians are also being taken
over by Islam. In Jericho, the ancient Jewish synagogue was burned
and crowds prevented fire trucks from putting out the blaze. In the heart of
Nablus (Biblical Shechem) Palestinians took control of Joseph's Tomb
after days of fierce fighting. Under the Oslo Accords, this site was
considered an important Jewish holy site where Jewish young men were
allowed to pray and study Torah. After the take-over, the Moslems
immediately converted it into a mosque, complete with a freshly
painted green dome. This "take-over" was quickly followed by calls
amongst the Palestinians to overrun and take Rachel's Tomb in
Bethlehem, not far from my house, and the Cave of Machpelah, in
Hebron. All of these are biblical patriarchal sites, holy to those of
us who honor the Bible. Yet, because Islam teaches that Jews and
Christians perverted the faith given them by God, they believe Allah
gave the final revelation to Mohammed. Furthermore, for Islam, all
Jewish and Christian (Biblical) characters are considered good
Moslems, even though Islam did not exist before the 7th century.
Because Islam considers itself superior to both Judaism and
Christianity, they have no theological problem in usurping Jewish and
Christian sites and changing them into Islamic sites, or simply
building a mosque next door. Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus (Shechem),
and Jericho which were Jewish towns in the days of the Bible, have
been given over to the Palestinian Authority, and now the last vestiges of
Jewish life and presence are quickly being eradicated. However, of most concern is the Islamic usurpation of the Temple
Mount, the site of Solomon's and Herod's Temple, which is a central
holy site for both Jews and Christians. At present, there are three
mosques on this site; the third one recently built in the underground
"Solomon's Stables," where many artifacts of biblical significance
were destroyed in the construction process. Even though Israel gave
the Moslem authorities control of the Temple Mount in 1967 and have
respected the site, the Moslems refuse to acknowledge the importance
of the site to Jews. Here is what the official Palestinian Authority
website says about the Western Wall, sacred to the Jewish people as
one of the remaining fragments of Herod's great Temple complex. You
can see that Islam totally redefines the entire area and eradicates
its history. "Al-Boraq Wall: It is part of the exterior facade of the
western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque. "Al-Boraq" creature which carried
Mohammad during his ascension to heaven was tied to this wall. Some
Orthodox religious Jews consider it as a holy place for them, and
claim that the wall is part of their temple, which all historic
studies and archaeological excavations have failed to find any proof
for such a claim. In order to undermine the foundations of Al-Aqsa
Mosque, the Israeli government has convert it into a religious shrine
for Jews, prohibiting non-Jews to enter it, except for a limited
number of tourists." This description not only flies in the face of
history and archaeology, but has the more sinister motive of
eradicating the biblical history of the area, which undermines the
validity of Judaism and Christianity. Furthermore, the Palestinian
Authority is calling their uprising the "Intifada of Al-Aqsa" and are
calling the Moslem world to declare a jihad (holy war) against Israel
and come to help defend the mosque. Frankly, it has never been
threatened.
In a day when everyone is calling for religious freedom, freedom of
access to holy sites, and freedom of worship, the historical record
shows that Israel has been the only one who has respected and
encouraged this practice, while the Palestinian Authority and its
majority Moslem community have proven just the opposite. The PA cannot
protect the sites nor guarantee free access. These most recent
incidents require us as Christians and Jews to speak out to the proper
international authorities to protect our biblical sites and places of
worship before they are lost forever.
- by Clarence H. Wagner, Jr.
International Director
Bridges for Peace - Jerusalem
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
WHO ARE WE?
For those who are new to the list, Bridges for Peace is a
Christian charitable organization, headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel. Since
1977, we have been working to build Christian-Jewish understanding and
support for the people and land of Israel. We do this through twelve
different aid projects to help the people of Israel, while
disseminating information about Israel and teaching Christians about
the Hebraic roots of Christianity. We have national offices in Israel,
the U.S., Canada, the U.K., S. Africa, Japan, Brazil, Australia and
Puerto Rico.
We also invite you to look at our WEB SITE at:
http://www.bridgesforpeace.com
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