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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Sunday, December 31, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2000 / Tevet 5, 5761
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. KAHANE CHAI LEADER AND WIFE, PARENTS OF SIX, KILLED BY PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS
   2. SHOCK AND MOURNING
   3. ABOUT BINYAMIN ZE'EV KAHANE
   4. BARAK WAITS FOR PALESTINIAN ANSWER

1. KAHANE CHAI LEADER AND WIFE, PARENTS OF SIX, KILLED BY PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS

Thousands of people are taking part in the double funeral of Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane - son of Rabbi Meir Kahane and leader of Israel's Kahane Chai movement - and his wife Talia this evening.  The two were murdered early this morning by Palestinian terrorists as they and five of their six children were on their way home from Jerusalem to Tapuach in the Shomron.

After dropping off nine-year-old Meir David at a bus stop from where he went to his Talmud Torah in Beit El, the parents and their five daughters set off northwards.  Shortly before reaching Ofrah, they were attacked with gunfire by Kalachnikov-armed terrorists who lay in wait near the Arab village of Ein Yabrud.  The terrorists fired over 50 bullets at the car; only 8 hit their target.  The parents were killed by the bullets, but the children were injured when the car continued wildly on its way and crashed into an embankment.  One of the five children is in moderate-to-serious condition, and the other girls - ranging in age from 10 years to 2 months - are also hospitalized.

The funeral departed from the Yeshivah of the Jewish Idea in the Shmuel HaNavi neighborhood of Jerusalem, and from there is scheduled to pass by Prime Minister Barak's home on its way to the Har HaMenuchot cemetery.  The funeral of Rabbi Meir Kahane departed from the same site ten years ago last month, following his assassination by an Arab in New York.  Among those who eulogized the couple were Rabbi Nachman Kahane (Binyamin's uncle), Rabbi Baruch Kahane (Binyamin's brother), and Rabbi Yosef Ginzburg.  The speakers noted the writings of the Warsaw Ghetto's saintly Rabbi Menachem Zemba, who called upon Jews during the Holocaust to stop sitting passively and to take their fate into their own hands.

At one point, Kabbalist Rabbi David Batzri asked the crowd to sit on the floor and recite the Psalm, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept as we remembered Zion."  Thousands of people sat on the floor and wept with him as they recited the verses.  The crowd was almost totally quiet during the eulogies, but the procession was then held up for about a half-hour when some participants vented their rage at the media vans nearby, causing significant damage to Army Radio equipment.

It was announced at the funeral that the family will sit shiva - the traditional week-long mourning period - in a tent outside the Prime Minister's home in the Rechavia section of Jerusalem.

2. SHOCK AND MOURNING
The Yesha Council lays direct blame for the double murder on Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Ben-Ami.  A Council statement of today reads,

"Ehud Barak and Shlomo Ben-Ami are personally responsible for the innocent blood that was spilled this morning. Every minute that these two chase after Arafat and conduct negotiations with the murderer Dahlan, they give a green light to terrorism and encourage the murder of Jews. Our blood has become free for the taking, and we are paying the price of Barak's campaign for Prime Minister."

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of Beit El, normally a voice of moderation in Yesha, demands that the government respond strongly to the murder, "for if not, personal acts of vengeance will be the result." He called upon the public not to carry out such acts.

Pinchas Wallerstein, Binyamin Regional Council head: "This is a government that collaborates with murderers.  I have no expectations from this government."

Former GSS head Ami Ayalon, who himself met with Yasser Arafat five weeks ago, said today that the government must not conduct negotiations with the Palestinians while terrorism runs wild.  "This transmits a message that Israel can live with the terrorism," he said.  Moledet party head MK Rehavam Ze'evi agreed.

Rabbi Zalman Melamed, head of the Yesha Rabbis Council, called upon the public to beware of provocateurs a-la Avishai Raviv:  "In the present situation, when the reign of the left is collapsing, we must suspect that the Shabak [General Security Service] will initiate violent activities - such as an attempt on left-wing personalities - in order to save its reign.  The public is called upon not to fall prey to these provocateurs."

Students and friends of Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane held a memorial vigil outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City this afternoon.

3. ABOUT BINYAMIN ZE'EV KAHANE
Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 4, in 1971.  He studied at the Merkaz HaRav Kook Yeshiva, and co-founded the Yeshivat HaRa'yon HaYehudi [Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea] with his late father in 1987.  He and his wife Talia, nee Hertzlich, had six children, and lived in the Shomron town of Tapuach.  He wrote several books on the halakhic [Jewish legal] status of the non-Jew in Israel and on other topics of Jewish law, including a commentary on the Passover Hagadah.  He directed Yeshivat HaRav Meir in Tapuach, and headed the Kahane Chai organization, known as Israel's Jewish Defense League, until it was banned by the Israeli government in 1993.  He edited and published a weekly commentary on the Torah portion of the week and on current events; in the last issue, published for Chanukah, he wrote,

"What was miraculous about the victory of Chanukah?. When the Maccabees went out to battle, they had no feasible chance of winning. To enable such an inconceivable victory to occur, there had to be, first of all, a few "crazies" who dared to rise up in arms against this invincible empire!  Rabbi [Meir] Kahane would say, then, that the essential miracle of Chanukah was not the war victory, but rather the very fact that a few Jews realized that "things just cannot go on this way", arose, and with immense faith in the Almighty, declared war on the superpower of their day. Chanukah is the holiday for today, when masses of Arabs arise against us, and G-d stands at our side. But what happens when the official Jewish leadership from left to right is overcome with fear, crippled by lack of faith and thereby incapable of action?  Then the torch is passed on to the few - unto those who are ready to cling onto Eretz Yisrael at any price. And then the day comes in which they are told by the non-believers: "If you are not ready to pull out, that's your choice. But deal with the enemy by yourselves. Because we are afraid, we have no faith. You claim that you have faith?! Fine - let's see what you can do." And those precious few, inspired by a pristine faith in the Almighty, will arise to repel the enemy."

Lenny Goldberg, a close friend and colleague of Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, and who translated many of his writings from Hebrew into English, spent a week with him in the U.S. earlier this month on a fund-raising trip.  He Israel told Arutz-7 today about his impressions of the man:

"He was just like his father - totally dedicated to the 'idea' and to spreading it, and totally dedicated to saving Israel from catastrophe.  He knew of, but ignored, the many personal sacrifices involved - jail terms, being unpopular, being convicted of sedition, etc.  It is hard to think of him without thinking of the idea he tried to disseminate - he and the idea were one and the same...  He understood, as did his family, that people who have the truth often have to suffer for it.  This is a common truth from history - those who are considered 'moderate' and 'nice' are forgotten by history, while those who were considered terrorists, such as Judah Maccabee and Ya'ir Stern - they are the ones who will be remembered.  Only a few individuals have the power to lead things...   I believe that there are many many people who agree with what we say, but are simply afraid to say so.  We therefore want to break this fear, and to save Am Yisrael.  If we don't do what the father and the son said - namely, that which the Torah and logic dictate, which is to expel the Arabs from the Land - we will all die here.  I became observant after hearing Rabbi Meir Kahane, and when I met his son, I saw that he was the same mold - the same ideals, the same analysis.  We went through some difficult times: [after Rabbi Meir Kahane was a Knesset Member from 1984 to 1988,] they disqualified him from running for Knesset again in 1988, and then in 1990 he was assassinated; his son Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane was disqualified from running in 1992, and in 1994 his organization Kahane Chai was outlawed as a terrorist organization.  Despite these hardships, we continued because this was the truth - and because it was the truth, that's why they tried to get us...  It's true that he was in danger a lot, because he drove on the roads very often, but when I said that maybe he should travel less, he said to me, "And then? Would it be better if someone else got shot?" - but this is the way of a Jewish leader:  Thinking about the nation, and not so much about his own personal security."

Goldberg said Binyamin Kahane was "a prolific writer - in my opinion, one of the great political writers of these times.  His last plan was that in order for Jews not to be killed on the roads here, we should simply call upon the government - which anyway does not believe in its right to be here - and on the army, which anyway sees its presence here as temporary, to go home, leave us alone, and let us do the job of protecting ourselves.  The Arabs are afraid of us, because they know that we don't shoot rubber bullets and we don't just let ourselves be firebombed.  The army no longer has deterrent power, while the settlers do; If we are not for ourselves, then who will be for us?"

4. BARAK WAITS FOR PALESTINIAN ANSWER
Prime Minister Barak said today that the government continues to await the Palestinians' reply to Clinton's proposals.  It will be recalled that the government approved Clinton's idea last week, thus paving the way - if the Palestinians agree - to give away 95% of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza; expel over 50,000 Jews in over 100 communities from their homes; yield control of the Temple Mount and many Jerusalem neighborhoods; leave the Jordan Valley; and allow 150,000 Arab refugees to "reunite with their families in Israel" - 8,000 in Haifa, 4,000 in Acre, 4,000 in Lod, etc.

Despite the above, Barak said today that if the Palestinians accept President Clinton's proposals, "it will then be possible to continue the process while adhering to our principle of no right of return to Israel and the Prime Minister's intention not to sign any document that transfers sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians.  If the Palestinians [say no], their negative answer is liable to lead to increased violence.  In such a situation, Israel will take a time-out and prepare for a unilateral separation while leaving the door ajar to a continuation of the process when the Palestinians are ready for it."  PA negotiator Saeb Erekat said today that the Palestinians are continuing to study Clinton's proposals, but that they will not give a final answer until after Clinton sends clarifications to the questions they raised.

The Prime Minister also said today that the rush for an agreement is not dictated by the Israeli election timetable, but rather by that of Clinton who will end his term of office on Jan. 20.  He sent his condolences to the Kahane family, and said that the residents of Yesha are going through hard times.  He called upon them not to be dragged into individual acts of violence and to act with restraint.

A protest tent has been erected outside Jerusalem's City Hall in Safra Square, and several public figures there have begun a hunger strike until "the plan to give away the Temple Mount" is cancelled.  Israeli Rabbis have called upon the public to recite the following Psalms, in light of the difficult situation Israel is facing:  20, 83, 108, 110, 120, 121, 140.

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Monday, January 1, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, Jan. 1, 2001 / Tevet 6, 5761
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
   --- See below for subscription instructions ---

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. CANDIDATE SHARON WALKS FINE LINE
   2. IN BRIEF

1. CANDIDATE SHARON WALKS FINE LINE
Ariel Sharon, candidate for Prime Minister in the election to be held five weeks from tomorrow, has received the endorsement of the Yesha Council.  He met with Council leaders last night, praised the "residents' determined stand," and promised not to carry out negotiations under fire or to divide Jerusalem.

Sharon further said that if elected, he would preserve Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, and the security areas of Yesha.  The Council leaders understood this as a repeat of a pledge he recently sounded on Arutz-7 that he would not evacuate or uproot a single Yesha town.  Speaking on television last night, however, he avoided making such a declaration. Pinchas Wallerstein said, "Let us not fall into the trap of trying to make inferences from every single word he says...  There are times when he will try to sound more moderate, etc. - our main goal is to topple Barak, and we must not lose sight of this."  Noam Arnon, spokesman for the Hevron Jewish Community, explained from a different angle, "I believe that Sharon will go the way his advisors tell him
the public wants to go.  Right now, it appears to his advisors that the public is interested in 'moderation,' in the continuation of talks with Arafat.  It's up to us to mold public opinion so that it
will be cognizant of the dangers of such a path, so that Sharon's advisors tell him that it is politically expedient for him [to be more critical of the diplomatic process]."

Some statements and actions by Sharon, however, have left room for genuine concern within the nationalist camp.  In addition to his sending holiday greetings Yasser Arafat last week, he said today that he does not rule out the possibility of a meeting between himself and Arafat.  "My opinion of Arafat has not changed," Sharon said, "but we do not choose our neighbors' leaders."  Sharon did say, though, that he would shake Arafat's hand only in the event that he reaches an agreement with him on an "end to the dispute."

After criticizing Barak last week for calling a halt to the policy of killing specific terrorist leaders, Sharon praised him today for apparently resuming this policy over the past few days.  "Higher-level terrorists should also be killed," Sharon urged.

2. IN BRIEF

Israel agreed at the last minute yesterday to sign the Rome Statute for the establishment of an International Criminal Court.  The signature came with a qualification designed to protect Israel from world sanctions against its towns in Judea and Samaria, including Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Gilo and Ramat Eshkol...

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, January 2, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2001 / Tevet 7, 5761
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
   --- See below for subscription instructions ---

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. BARAK BACKTRACKS?
   2. YESHA SETTLERS HAVE SUPPORT OF NATION

1. BARAK BACKTRACKS?
The Prime Minister said this morning that the chances of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians in the coming weeks are very small. Blaming Arafat for the impasse, Barak said, "In the current circumstances, and given the severe terrorist attacks, the talks have given way to intensive action on our part to stop the terrorism...  We are also making plans for a unilateral separation."  He said that if Arafat responds affirmatively to Clinton's proposals - which call for Israel to divide Jerusalem, give away the homes of tens of thousands of Jews of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, leave the Jordan Valley, and allow at least 150,000 Arabs to enter Israel - "we will have to consider our response - but not under the current level of violence."

Paraphrasing the famous no-drinking slogan, "When Drinking, No Driving," Israel's Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau said today, "When [There is] Killing, No Talking."  In a message publicized this morning, the Chief Rabbi states, "With the broken cries of the orphans and wounded ringing in our ears, diplomatic talks should be halted. The old system [formulated by Rabin] whereby 'negotiations take place as if there was no war, and war is fought as if there were no negotiations,' no longer works...  If the Palestinian Authority exists is not in control, there is no point in negotiating with it."

Later this afternoon, Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee more forcefully that the talks will not be resumed while the terrorism continues.  PA senior Nabil Shaath dismissed Barak's new stance:  "Every once in a while, he has to appear to be tough," he said.

Arafat will deliver the PA answer regarding the American proposals to President Clinton in Washington tonight.  Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that in a letter to Clinton, Arafat wrote that the Halutza Sands in the Negev will not suffice as compensation for the areas of Judea and Samaria that Israel demands to keep. Arafat further wrote that the Arabs of 1948 must be granted the right to determine whether they wish to "return to their homes."

2. YESHA SETTLERS HAVE SUPPORT OF NATION
A survey by the Brandman Institute shows that 70% of Israel's adult Jewish population rejects the notion that the settlements in Judea and Samaria are the reason for the recent Palestinian violence.  Only 12% are in favor of "punishing" the settlements with boycotts and the like, while 77% are against this idea.  Some 80% of the public feel that they are "strong" and will be able to withstand the current crisis.     Ruth Brandman, head of the Brandman Institute for Research and Marketing Consulting, sums up:  "The results show that as opposed to the popular conception that the public is apathetic or objects to the Yesha communities, we have found that the public is 'with the Yesha towns.'"

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News Brief: Wednesday, January 3, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2000 / Tevet 8, 5761
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ARAFAT'S ANSWER UNCLEAR
   2. SHARON PROMISES THE JORDAN VALLEY

1. ARAFAT'S ANSWER UNCLEAR
There appears to be a difference of opinion as to what exactly was or will be Yasser Arafat's answer to U.S. President Clinton regarding the American proposals.  Edward Abington, a former Israeli diplomat in Israel who is now a consultant for the Palestinians, says that Arafat will deliver this evening a "conditionally positive" answer, to the effect that he agrees to have the proposals serve as a basis for continued discussions.  Other Palestinian sources said that Arafat will deliver his final answer after tomorrow's meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers.  Still other Palestinian sources say that Arafat's answer is basically 'yes,' and that the ball is now in Barak's court.

President Clinton had said earlier that he did not receive a positive answer from Arafat, and that "no breakthrough" was achieved.  Clinton said that Arafat had agreed to "increase efforts to reduce the violence," including shooting attacks; to arrest those responsible for the attacks; and to renew security cooperation with Israel.  Arafat's main problems with Clinton's proposals - which call on Israel to divide Jerusalem and give over the Temple Mount, 95% of Judea and Samaria, and the Jordan Valley - are the lack of a guarantee that three million Arab refugees will return to Israel, and the arrangements for the Temple Mount.

2. SHARON PROMISES THE JORDAN VALLEY
Ariel Sharon, the nationalist camp's candidate for Prime Minister in the election to be held in five weeks, visited the Jordan Valley and North Dead Sea communities today.  "The Jordan Valley must never be given away," Sharon said, "under any final-status agreement."  Local leaders, many of whom supported Ehud Barak in the previous election, said that Barak's actions and policies since his election had driven many of them to support Sharon in this election.  Sharon refused, however, to elaborate on his statement of ten days ago that "painful compromises would be required" to reach a peace agreement.  He explained why:  "Anyone who is experienced in negotiations, as I am, knows that if you specify your red lines in advance, the other side will use this as an opening point from which to demand further concessions."

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To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News Brief: Thursday, January 4, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, Jan. *****, 2001 / Tevet *****, 5761
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
   --- See below for subscription instructions ---


TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ARABS SAY NO
   2. BARAK TAKES RABBINICAL BAN TO HEART
   3. BARAK TURNS DOWN RECOMMENDATION TO OPEN TEMPLE MOUNT

1. ARABS SAY NO
The Foreign Ministers of the Arab League decided unanimously today to support the "reservations" expressed by Arafat about U.S. President Clinton's proposals.  The Arab League announced that the Arab "Right of Return" to Israel is "holy" and can never be abandoned.  Arafat had earlier announced that he would wait until after the Arab League meeting before announcing his final answer to the proposals.  The negative Arab answer came despite the fact that Clinton's plan "offered" the Palestinians more than any other Israeli government had ever agreed to cede them: * 95% of Judea and Samaria; before his election last year, Barak told Arutz-7 today that he would not even give over as much as 50%. * many Jerusalem neighborhoods and the Temple Mount; before and after his election, Barak repeatedly promised that Jerusalem would never be divided and would remain Israeli forever; * the Jordan Valley and entry of 150,000 Arab refugees to Israel.

Palestinian leaders continue to talk about a possible Barak-Arafat-Clinton summit meeting - but the Prime Minister's Office says that the diplomatic process will not resume before the
Palestinian violence in Judea and Samaria is reduced.  Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shachak, speaking with Arutz-7 today, surmised that although no agreement is likely to be reached in the coming weeks - echoing public sentiments of Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Ben-Ami - "the continuation of talks serves the purpose of lessening the violence."

2. BARAK TAKES RABBINICAL BAN TO HEART
Knesset Members of the National Religious Party met today with Israel's Chief Rabbis, and asked them to issue an "emergency measure" allowing Jews to visit the Halakhically-permitted areas of the Temple Mount.  The Chief Rabbinate's position has always been not to distinguish between the different areas, and to issue a blanket ban on Jewish entry to the holy site.  Last week, however, at a rabbinical conference on the issue of the Temple Mount at Yeshivat Hakotel, a number of rabbis expressed regret at not having taken a more active stance in favor of visiting certain areas of the Mount.  The Chief Rabbinate issued a ruling today stating that is forbidden to cede Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount.

Barak wrote to the Chief Rabbis today that his government "did not cede the Temple Mount to the Palestinians," and that he plans to ask Clinton for "clarifications" on this matter.  Clinton's position is that the Temple Mount should be Palestinian.  Barak wrote that he would consult with the Chief Rabbis before any Israeli decision on the matter is made.  The Rabbis reacted with great disappointment to the letter, saying that Barak had been much more categorical only a week ago in a discussion with them on the topic.  They said that he promised at the time that the Mount would not be given to foreign sovereignty.

Barak's office later responded to the Rabbis' disappointing by issuing a statement saying, "the Prime Minister has reiterated his position, which is well-known to all, that he does not intend to sign any document which transfers sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians.  U.S. President Clinton, the Palestinian Authority, and all those involved in the negotiations are aware of this position." It was unclear from the statement whether Barak still intends to maintain Israeli sovereignty only over the lower level of the Mount, or the entire area.

3. BARAK TURNS DOWN RECOMMENDATION TO OPEN TEMPLE MOUNT
The Police and Israel's General Security Service recommend re-opening the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors.  In a meeting this week at the Prime Minister's Office, police and GSS leaders said that reopening the Temple Mount to Jews would not cause renewed outbursts of tension there.  They reached this conclusion after holding meetings on the matter with the Moslem Waqf.  Jews have not been permitted to visit the holy site since the beginning of the current violence, over three months ago.  Prime Minister Barak rejected the recommendation, and said that the Temple Mount would remain closed to Jewish visitors at least until after the elections.  The Chai VeKayam movement, which is active on behalf of Jewish rights to and on the Temple Mount, said in response that the decision is "political" and that they would petition the Supreme Court to have it revoked.

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