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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Thursday, November 30, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000 / Kislev 3, 5761
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. PALESTINIANS REJECT BARAK'S NEW INTERIM PLAN
   2. PARTY POLITICS
   3. NRP LOOKING FOR BROAD UNITY

1. PALESTINIANS REJECT BARAK'S NEW INTERIM PLAN
Prime Minister Barak presented his new plan for an interim agreement with the Palestinians today.  The plan includes recognition of a Palestinian state, the transfer of an additional 10% of Yesha in order to provide territorial contiguity for the Palestinians, and the presence of Israeli settlement blocs.  Jerusalem and the refugees are issues that will be left for later.  The Palestinians do not accept the plan:  "We reject any partial or interim solutions,'' said Arafat-aide Nabil Abu Rudaineh in response.  "There must be a solution to all final-status issues, foremost of which are Jerusalem and the refugees.

Likud MK Danny Naveh says that the Prime Minister has no mandate to make far-reaching diplomatic decisions.  National Religious Party leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy has initiated a letter to Barak, signed by opposition party leaders, declaring that any such diplomatic agreement he signs during this sensitive period before the elections will not obligate the next government.

Palestinian elements, such as Al-Ayam newspaper and Naif Hawatme's Democratic Front terrorist organization, report that secret negotiations are taking place between Israeli and Palestinian representatives.  PA senior official Abu Ala said that despite overtures from Barak's office for the resumption of talks, the PA will not agree to such until Barak changes his diplomatic positions.  The Prime Minister's office denied that that it had any intention of renewing the diplomatic talks until there is a "sharp change" in the Palestinian violence.

2. PARTY POLITICS
Prime Minister Ehud Barak does not quite enjoy wall-to-wall support within his party.  Nissim Zvili, former Labor Party Secretary-General, called Barak a "political paranoid, who thinks that everyone is trying to undercut him - and that's why he could not function as Prime Minister...  In addition, he acted as a Chief of Staff, by giving orders - instead of working together with people."  Zvili also negated his diplomatic functioning:  "Barak thinks that the more he concedes to the Palestinians, the more likely he is to succeed."  On the other hand, Justice Minister
Yossi Beilin, who is considered a possible challenger to Barak for the party's top spot, said today, "Whoever wishes to challenge Barak today must have a pretty good reason for doing so."  The reference was clearly to Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, who has not yet announced whether he will challenge Barak for the party leadership.

Minister Shimon Peres had some strong words against Barak for his rush to convene the party's Central Committee tonight; Zvili said that the rush stems from Barak's desire to head off any internal challenges from the left to his leadership.  In the end, however, the party decided not to discuss this issue until next week.

The Likud leadership will also convene tonight; a decision has already been made not to set dates for party primaries and other pre-election business before the date for national elections has been set.  Another political party, the Center Party, is apparently on its way to oblivion.  Leader Amnon Lipkin-Shachak - who formed the party before the previous elections together with former Likud MK Dan Meridor, but who then vacated his top spot in favor of Yitzchak Mordechai, who is now on trial for sexual harassment - said that his party colleagues will join other parties.

3. NRP LOOKING FOR BROAD UNITY
NRP leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy spoke with Arutz-7 today about his efforts to expand the religious-Zionist camp to include Meimad, on the left, and Tekumah [a faction of the National Union party] on the right: We would like to make every effort to unite, in one form or another, for the elections.  Religious Zionism is a powerful force in the public, with a strong, clear, and important message.  It would be a waste for us to be scattered over different parties.  The differences between Meimad and us, in my opinion, no longer exist, for Barak has brought about a situation where it's either 'all or nothing.'  We are no longer talking about another 10 or 20% [of Yesha], but rather about Jerusalem, Mt. Moriah, and the Arab refugees - issues on which there is practically no differences between us.  We once differed on Kfar Darom or Netzarim - but does anyone think today that Arafat will settle for these places?  It's obvious that not...  Also between Tekumah and us there are practically no differences.  The issues that divided us two years ago practically don't exist any more, and the questions on the agenda now are much more
comprehensive and essential - issues of Jerusalem, and the essential Jewish character of the State.  If the left wins the next election, they will continue the 'secular revolution'...  We must be united."

Arutz-7's Uzi Baruch asked him about the probable resignation of Brig.-Gen. Effie Eitam from the IDF and his likely desire to join - or head - the NRP.  Rabbi Levy:  "I can say this:  We will not fight over the top spot.  We know each other for a long time, and whatever happens will be the result of an agreement between us."  Eitam was recently informed by IDF Chief of Staff Mofaz that he would not be promoted to Maj.-Gen. - a decision that many observers assume to be a result of Eitam's religious and political opinions.  Levy was asked whether it might not be worthwhile for Eitam to postpone his army retirement in the hope that if the Likud wins, he might be promoted and become one of the next in line for the position of Chief of Staff.  Rabbi Levy:  "This is something he will have to decide.  If he remains in the army, it could be a blessing for the entire nation.  But if he decides to leave, then his place is with us."

MK Nachum Langental (NRP), said today that Rabbi Levy is not concerned for his own personal political future, but rather for what is good for the Religious Zionist movement.  When Voice of Israel's Yaron Dekel said, "That's what they all say," Langental responded, "Yes, but Rabbi Levy is the only one who can prove it.  Immediately after he was named a government minister last year, he vacated his Knesset seat so that I could become a Member of Knesset in his stead.  He did not wait for any official decision to be made on the matter."  Langental said that there are other leaders in the religious-Zionist public, such as noted educator and lecturer Rabbi Mordechai Elon - brother of MK Rabbi Benny Elon and son of former Supreme Court Justice Menachem Elon - whom the NRP would like to have join its ranks.

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News Brief:  Friday, December 1, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, Dec. 1, 2000 / Kislev 4, 5761
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ARAFAT FORCES SECURE FRIDAY PRAYERS
   2. PLO AIRPORT BACK ON TRACK
   3. BARAK DOES NOT NEED PLEDGE TO "END CONFLICT"
   4. TEACHING CHILDREN TO HATE AND KILL
   5. BARAK POPULARITY AT LOW POINT

1. ARAFAT FORCES SECURE FRIDAY PRAYERS
Thousands of policemen and IDF soldiers were situated on the Temple Mount today for the first Friday prayer service of the month-long Moslem festival of Ramadan.  A senior member of the Jerusalem District police told an Itim reporter today that a group of Yasser Arafat's "Force 17" soldiers arrived at the Temple Mount early in the day and remained throughout the services.  For the first time since the onset of the Rosh HaShanah Arab Assault, Moslems of all ages who are Jerusalem residents and Israeli citizens were permitted to attend services there. Tens of thousands were in attendance.  Voice of Palestine reported on Israeli police preparations for the Temple Mount Moslem prayers by saying "dogs were brought in to attack Palestinian
worshippers."

2. PLO AIRPORT BACK ON TRACK
Israel has re-opened the Palestinian airport in Dahaniya, Gaza.  It was closed a month ago for security reasons.  The reason for the decision: A "good will gesture" and "confidence-building" measure offered by the Barak government to Arafat's PLO.

3. BARAK DOES NOT NEED PLEDGE TO "END CONFLICT"
Influential Palestinian Authority officials continue to reject Ehud Barak's new diplomatic initiative, despite the fact that Barak has waived his Camp David demand that the PLO end its long-standing conflict with Israel.  According to the latest Barak proposal, Israel will agree to a "graduated final-status arrangement" to include the immediate transfer of yet more Judea and Samaria lands to the PLO, Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state, and the postponement of negotiations over Jerusalem and Arab refugees for several years.  PLO spokesmen say the organization wants the Jerusalem and refugee issues dealt with now. "Without this, there will be no peace and no security," an Arafat aide asserted today.  Key figures in Washington have indicated that the US would also prefer a complete final-status deal over another interim agreement.

4. TEACHING CHILDREN TO HATE AND KILL
The peaceful intentions of the Palestinians came into question again in light of the Palestinian Media Watch's (PMW) latest report on the activities of Arafat's official media.  PMW Director Itamar Marcus writes: "The scene has been replayed over and over during the past two months: Palestinian children going up against Israeli soldiers, even in situations involving gunfire and life-threatening situations. Many children are wounded or even killed as a result.  What motivates children to place themselves in such dangerous situations, so that at times it seems that they are seeking death?  From the PA media and education the apparent answer is that the children are pushed by their parents, teachers, friends and the education they receive in the Palestinian Authority schools glorifying death as Martyrs ["Shahid" death for Allah]  as a supreme virtue."

The following are a number of stories among many that were prominently reported in the Palestinian media:

A November 9th edition of the official PA paper Al Hayat Al Jadida included the following item:

"When I become a Martyr, give out Kannafa' [sweet cake]. These are the words that 14-year-old Wajdi Al-Hattab often said to his friends and teachers in the days prior to his death in the riots."  The Arab paper went on to report on Al-Hattab's ninth grade friends' reaction to his death:

"They swore they would carry on, down the road of shahada [Martyrdom for Allah]."

A headline in the Nov. 30 edition of the paper read: "The Boy Martyr Karam Al-Kard [age 12] announced of his own death on the walls of his home."  The article stated: "The hand-written notice read: 'The Al-Kard family announces the death of its courageous Martyr Karam Fat'he Al-Kard...'"

Another PA-controlled paper Al Ayyam reported in its November 1 edition that the paralysis and permanent disability of "the boy Saber Al-Ashkar (aged 18)... just added to his mother's determination to encourage her sons to participate in the Intifada riots... She said that she had [previously] lost her older son Iyad, and described him as the first flower that appeared in her life.  She is not interested in anything but encouraging her sons to self-sacrifice and Martyrdom for the land of Palestine."

An October 19th Palestinian Authority TV broadcast conducted conversations with 2nd grade school children.  The interviewer spoke with a child who had thrown stones [in the riots]:

Interviewer: "You threw stones at the army and injured your leg. Will you throw again?"

Child: "Yes."

Interviewer: "You aren't afraid to die?"

Child: [embarrassed, hesitant] Interviewer: [indicates "No" to the child by shaking her head in the negative] Child: "No."

An October 27th Palestinian Authority TV broadcast featured schoolgirls reciting a poem which appears in 5th, 6th, and 7th grade PA school books: "I will take my soul in my hand and toss it into the abyss of death. And then either life that will gladden friends or death that will anger the enemy.

The honorable soul has two objectives: Achieving death and honor."

5. BARAK POPULARITY AT LOW POINT
A recent Gallup Poll has found that if elections to be held today, former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would trounce incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Barak by over 17% of the vote.  According to the same survey, Sharon would defeat Barak - but only by a margin of 2%.  Speaking in today's Jerusalem Post, veteran pollster Rafi Smith says that support for Barak is at a low point, and that nearly half of Barak supporters in 1999 elections would not vote for him today.


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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 Op-Ed: THERE IS A JEWISH ALTERNATIVE
Reply-to:      netnews@a7.org

THERE IS A JEWISH ALTERNATIVE
by Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio <http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Broadcast Nov. 20, 2000 / Cheshvan 22, 5760

In This Article:
   1.  First, Some Definitions
   2.  Political Implications
   3.  An Unhealthy Dependency
   4. The Difference
   5. Translating Our Views Into Action
   6. Proposals for Action

FIRST, SOME DEFINITIONS
Given the current situation in the Land of Israel, it is important to clarify for ourselves the fundamental disagreement between the Israeli left and the religious right-wing. By understanding the approach of the secular left, we will be able to discover the means by which to confront it successfully.

The secular political left is convinced that the Jewish People is not "special," and that we do not have a sacred claim on the Land of Israel.  It is this camp's belief that the Jewish nation is no more special than other nations, and that the Jewish People has no specific mission.  Furthermore, it is claimed, Eretz Yisrael has no unique qualities that link it specifically to the Jewish people.  It therefore follows that, for the secular left, Jews have no unique intrinsic claim to the Land of Israel.

This approach has far-reaching ramifications: It strips away all meaning from our struggle for sovereignty over the Land, and it empties us as a people of any motivation to fight for the Land of
Israel.  In fact, for the secular left, the Arabs are right! Obviously, without any moral justification for being here, and without any motivation to remain here, it is impossible for us to wage a war
and to win.

Moreover, the blurring of the uniqueness and mission of the People of Israel dashes any hope for unity and mutual responsibility - since it is our national mission that really forges us into one nation and fosters an appreciation of our mutual responsibility.  The Arabs, on the other hand, stand united as one - at least in their determination to wage war against us.

POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS
 From the secular-leftist perspective, there is no way of solving our conflict with the Arabs militarily, because military power has its limits, and we don't have the capability of forcibly imposing our rule over the Arabs - nor is there any moral justification for employing force!  It follows, therefore, that the only way to bring the conflict to an end is via a deal in which Israel offers the Arabs major territorial concessions.  There is just no choice, we are told, and the forfeiture of land is the "proper moral choice" under the circumstances.

The Arabs take advantage of this, knowing that this is the position of the secular left, feel free to force more and more concessions upon us - and the left will agree, since it feels we "have no choice." The secular left, a group of people estranged from Jewish faith and divorced of nationalistic values, looks at the conflict with secular eyes, and sees a political, diplomatic conflict, and not a religious-nationalistic one. For a political conflict, of course, there are political solutions.  From secular eyes, it is still possible to consider the notion that the Arabs desire peace, and that
if we accept their demands, the conflict will end!

But this is simply wrong.  The Arab-Jewish conflict on both sides of the "Green Line" is fundamentally a national and religious struggle, and thus it will be perpetuated even after any agreement is signed. Diplomatic deals will not lessen the latent hatred, and even if such hatred lies dormant for a while, it will eventually re-surface. Only the fulfillment of the vision of our Biblical prophets in the form of "Tikkun Olam" - the rectification of the world - will bring about a true, lasting peace.

AN UNHEALTHY DEPENDENCY
The blurring of the parameters of Jewish identity and national unity has brought the secular left to establish a political alliance with the Arab minority that now lives within the borders of the State. In fact, the left has become politically dependent on this minority, without which the left could not rule over the country. Since Israeli-Arabs are part of a broader Arab nation, the secular left has become dependent on the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, who personally determines the positions of the Arab Members of Knesset. Thus, the hands of the left are tied; it cannot effectively overcome the terrorists, who hold the keys to the continued rule of the secular left itself.

THE DIFFERENCE
Our perspective is fundamentally different.  We believe that the Nation of Israel is God's Chosen People, a unique community with a giant, unique, eternal mission.  The Land of Israel also has its special qualities. This is our land, and only here can we truly fulfill our Divine charge. We therefore have a complete right over the entirety of the Land; it is our homeland, the Land of God; we are thus motivated to fight for and defend it.

The special character and mission of Israel is that which unites us and energizes us with a national, spiritual zeal to fight and defeat our enemies in the battle over the Land of Israel.

We believe that there is no political solution to the conflict. What prevents the Arabs from going to war with us is our deterrent capability.  No agreement signed on the White House lawn will prevent them from waging war with us.  The approach must therefore be to improve our deterrent capability, by acting wisely and firmly against any attempt to strike us via terrorism or war. The enemy must know that it will pay a high price for trying to harm us. Thus, in stark contrast to the defensive and withdrawal-oriented posture the country has taken in recent years, we believe that we must stand strong and constantly move towards discouraging the Arabs from trying to harm us.

TRANSLATING OUR VIEWS INTO ACTION
The knowledge that the conflict has deep roots, and that it is currently impossible to fully solve it, gives rise to a fundamentally different approach to the problem than that of the left-wing.  Just as any nation considers how to control organized crime and does not think for a moment of the possibility of capitulating to the criminals, so too, we must struggle with terrorism and not give in to it.  We live with other problems such as illness and traffic accidents; we are not overwhelmed by them, however, and we have learned to live with them.  We can do the same when it comes to terrorism, which claims fewer lives than sickness and car crashes.  Our attitude towards terrorism will be nurtured in great measure by our deep commitment to our cause.

Since the political and security perspective rests on weak conceptual foundations, the great military wizardry of the IDF in its battle with the Arabs has not brought results, because, as architects know well, even an otherwise well-built structure cannot stand long if it rests on weak foundations.  This is why, despite its great efforts and self-sacrifice, the army receives criticism for the basis on which it acts. Furthermore, the security establishment should not be absolved of responsibility for government policy, since the government would not have the gall to employ a security policy completely in opposition to the views of the top army brass.  Since the army's evaluations are based on faulty premises, its leaders bear the heavy responsibility for the grave security situation no less than the government.

The General Staff officers and other security leaders are cut from the same cloth; they do not represent a variety of worldviews and outlooks.  Their point of departure is that Arab threats to "liberate all of Palestine" and the like are interpreted as just so much rhetoric - when in fact their threats and actions would more accurately be understood as expressions of their deep nationalistic feelings and hatred of Jews by those with a more correct, more Jewish, outlook.  We have already seen, in the Yom Kippur War, how wrong interpretations by the ruling elite can lead to catastrophe.

PROPOSALS FOR ACTION:
1) Regarding the left: Given our evaluation of this group, we can conclude that we will not succeed in changing their views without drawing them back to the warm embrace of the Jewish faith.  This is a long process, but it seems that the Arabs have begun the work, and are in a sense teaching those on the secular left how wrong they have really been all along. To our sorrow, this lesson has proven painful for all of us.

2) For the population as a whole:  Our main goal should be to unite the hareidi, religious, nationalist and traditional public into one large group, whose joint interest is to preserve Jewish identity. To this end, we must explain to these communities the grave danger for the Jewish character of the state, as well as the security dangers, entailed in further agreements that stem from the secular left's incorrect worldview.

3) The struggle in Yesha: We must adamantly defend each community, and stand strong against the trials and tribulations facing us.  We must view this period as a test period and as a challenge.  The Creator of the World is testing us to see the extent of our cleaving to Him and to His Torah and to the Land of Israel.

We must pass this test as children of the Patriarch Abraham, who also withstood numerous trials. Each successful struggle moves us one step closer to our redemption.  We must stand firmly against Arab terror and the internal weakness of the left, until both of these groups prove that their efforts to weaken and harm us have backfired in the face of our perseverance.

We shall continue to settle the Land of Israel, despite all of the difficulties.  We will continue to call out the name of Hashem, the Creator of the world, the G-d of Israel - in all places, at all times.  With confidence, faith, and dedication, and with God's help, we will triumph - because G-d is with us.

*          *           *           *           *           *           *
Rabbi Melamed is the founding Rabbi of Beit El, the Dean of Beit El Yeshiva Center Institutions, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arutz Sheva.
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