HHMI Newsgroup Archives
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
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
--- See below for subscription instructions ---
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
------------------------------------------------
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
------------------------------------------------
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
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
--- See below for subscription instructions ---
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."
**************************************************************
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
------------------------------------------------
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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