HHMI Newsgroup Archives

To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, June 29, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, June 29, 2001 / Tammuz 8, 5761
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. YESHA TAKES OFFENSIVE AGAINST DEFENSIVENESS
2. CEASEFIRE VIOLENCE CONTINUES
3. AND NOW, THE POWELL PLAN
4. REFORM MOVEMENT CALLS ON ISRAEL TO "SHOW RESTRAINT"

1. YESHA TAKES OFFENSIVE AGAINST DEFENSIVENESS
Residents of Yesha have begun a campaign against the army's recommended defensive measures, saying that they will lead the Arabs to further their offensive actions. A petition making the rounds of many Yesha towns today calls upon the population not to invest in bullet-proof cars and vests nor to travel in convoys, as the army recommends. Signatories on the petition so far include Lt.-Col. (res.) Rabbi Moshe Hager, head of the military preparatory yeshiva in Yatir, Kedumim Mayor Daniella Weiss, and Col. (res.) Moshe Leshem. Their position is that the bulletproofing policy broadcasts a feeling of cowardliness, will cause the attacks to increase, and is designed to enable the army to evade its responsibility to fight the terrorists.

Residents of Ma'aleh Hever, just southeast of Hevron, blocked the main north-south highway to Arab traffic for two hours this morning. They demand that the closure on Hevron, which was removed, be immediately reinstated. The grassroots Cities of Israel organization reports that its members - hi-tech workers, Technion students, and other concerned citizens - have held several pro-Yesha rallies and events over the past two weeks, in Haifa, Jerusalem, Raanana, and elsewhere throughout the country.

2. CEASEFIRE VIOLENCE CONTINUES
Six mortar shells were fired at Jewish homes in Gush Katif last night and this morning - five near Gadid and one near Netzarim... Shots were fired from the PLO city of Rafiach at soldiers guarding Rafiach Yam, Israel's western-most spot; the bullets passed right over their heads, but no one was hurt. The local security coordinator told Arutz-7 sarcastically, "The soldiers didn't fire back, of course. Because of the ceasefire agreement, we just sit here, watching for the next shots, waiting for soldiers and civilians to get hit." Arab shots were also fired last night at an army jeep north of Kiryat Arba in Judea, and at Chomesh in northern Shomron; no one was hurt... A Border Guard policeman was hit in the face by Arab-thrown rocks in Hevron...

3. AND NOW, THE POWELL PLAN
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said last night that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed to a ceasefire timetable, based on consecutive periods of no-violence. "We see the continuation of this [process] as follows," Powell said. "Complete and utter cessation of terrorist actions, of violence and of incitement, and as soon as complete quiet exists, there will be seven days of trial or tests in order to see how the Palestinian Authority manages to keep its undertakings. Then a period will start of six weeks, a cooling-down period, and throughout that entire period complete quiet must prevail," he said. If these obstacles are overcome, the sides will begin a series of confidence-building measures - mainly a total Jewish construction freeze in Judea and Samaria - that is supposed to lead to a resumption of negotiations.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres may meet today or tomorrow with Arafat at a gathering of the Socialist International in Lisbon. Prime Minister Sharon is not in favor of the meeting, and even vetoed a similar one a few weeks ago, but will not veto it. Former government minister and Oslo architect Yossi Beilin met this week in Ramallah with senior PA leaders. He does not hold any official position, yet the meeting was approved by the Defense Minister's Office.

4. REFORM MOVEMENT CALLS ON ISRAEL TO "SHOW RESTRAINT"
A forum of 1,800 Reform rabbis in the United States called on Israel yesterday to continue its policy of restraint and to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria. Earlier this month, the Reform movement decided to cancel its youth summer trips to Israel due to perceived security dangers. Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh said at the time, "The behavior of these Jews, who have talked to us for all these years over piles of bagels and lox about unity and solidarity of the Jewish people, is disgraceful." A Shas party statement noted that the bonds between the Reform movement and the Land of Israel are weak, and "Israel must remember the Reform's desertion of the Jewish front during these times of trouble."

Yesterday's resolution comes only a few weeks after Reform leader Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie said that the Reform movement had been "wrong about some very important things" regarding the Oslo process, specifying, et al, "We were inclined to focus overly much on the hard choices we had to make, and not enough on the hard choices that our Palestinian neighbors had to make."

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, July 1, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Sunday, July 1, 2001 / Tammuz 10, 5761
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. PERES-ARAFAT MEETING MAKES WAVES
2. WHAT SHARON'S VISIT ACCOMPLISHED

1. PERES-ARAFAT MEETING MAKES WAVES
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres' meeting with Yasser Arafat in Portugal on Friday did not go over quietly in Israel. This morning's Cabinet session began with a request by Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi to debate the matter and to hear Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's position. When Sharon turned him down, Ze'evi walked out in anger, saying that there is no point to participating in a government meeting if he can't express his opinion and attempt to have influence on government policy on matters of this nature. Ze'evi said that he was irked by photographs showing the look of happiness on Peres' face as he was greeting Arafat, but that he was particularly bothered by the fact that Peres "continues to seek ways to conduct dialogue with the murderer of my people."

Public Security Minister Uzi Landau said, "I have difficulty accepting Peres' behavior. I see a young mother being murdered a day before, in front of her 4-year-old son, and then Peres goes and meets with Arafat as if nothing happened... And then at the same forum, Arafat gives a speech full of invective and lies against Israel..." Speaking later with the press, even former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami had harsh words for the Peres-Arafat meeting. Ben-Ami said the meeting was pointless because Arafat continues to lie to Israel and it is impossible to reach an agreement with him at this time.

Others also said that the Peres-Arafat meeting went against the "no negotiations under fire" policy. Peres defended his meeting by saying this morning that it would be ridiculous if other countries' representatives can meet with Arafat while Israel's Foreign Minister cannot.

Labor MK Collete Avital, who accompanied Peres to Lisbon, defended the meeting. She told Arutz-7 today that it was important because, "despite everything, Arafat is the head of the Palestinian Authority, and he is the one with whom we must reach a ceasefire agreement. As far as I know, no deeper diplomatic issues were discussed." Arutz-7's Haggai Segal said, "Arafat promised that he would not give a hate-filled speech, and even in this little thing he lied and did not keep his word. So what is the point in talking to him? Maybe we should just say that there is no one to talk to at this time."  Avital: "It could be, but I have a different opinion, not because I trust them, but because we have to try to reach a ceasefire... From a realpolitik point of view, I know that if I have enemies, I have to try to lower the level of violence as much as possible..."

2. WHAT SHARON'S VISIT ACCOMPLISHED
Dr. Dore Gold, a part-time diplomatic advisor to Prime Minister Sharon who traveled with Sharon to the U.S. last week, told Arutz-7 today why he felt the visit was important: "In foreign relations, nothing remains static. True, there are excellent personal relations between Prime Minister Sharon and President Bush and Secretary Powell. But as time goes on, things can change, there are outside influences, lower-level clerks are replaced, etc., and all this leads to changes in the American policy. What Sharon succeeded in doing was to put the brakes on this process, and bring about better cooperation between Israel and the U.S. Even the public disagreement between Sharon and Bush before their meeting [about whether a full cessation of Palestinian violence was required, or only a reduction in violence] showed that the Americans wished to defend what they saw as the achievements of the Tenet agreement - but when Mr. Sharon explained to them the truth of what was going on here, they began to backtrack from their original position."

Gold said that Sharon has no intention of imposing a settlement freeze when and if the Mitchell Report recommendations become relevant.  "There is an attempt to find a way to calm down the international agitation on this matter without harming the daily needs of the settlers. I don't want to go into details; this is merely a word to the wise. I can just say that Sharon is quite aware of the settlers' needs..."

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, July 2, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, July 2, 2001 / Tammuz 11, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

1. SHARON TELLS YESHA RESIDENTS: YOU ARE THE TRUE HEROES
The South Har Hevron communities celebrated 20 years of renewed settlement last night in the town of Shim'ah, 13 miles northeast of Be'er Sheva. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon honored the participants with his presence, assuring them that Israel would remain there forever. He emphasized that the diplomatic process would not be renewed until there is a "total cessation of terrorism, violence, and incitement." Sharon also said that Jewish communities throughout Yesha are the best solution for providing security, and called the residents the "true heroes of today" who provide protection for the State of Israel. "Perhaps I made a mistake when I spoke in the past [only] about the security importance of these hills," he said. "The primary thing to emphasize is our historic and inalienable right to this place."

Har Hevron Regional Council head Tzviki Bar-Chai told Arutz-7 that organizing the event last night was a complex endeavor: "We are 15 yishuvim (communities); half of them are religious and half are not, and some of them are located deep inside the area while others are on the 'front,' such that it was tricky putting everything together. But together, with joint efforts, we did it - in fact, 'B'yachad' [together] was the theme of the event - and the result is that we had an evening of tremendous inspiration, and one which gave us the strength to have an even more productive 20 years ahead of us..." Bar-Chai was happy that Prime Minister Sharon was present: "I spoke to him on Friday when his office informed me that he would not be coming. I told him that he must be present so that he could gain strength and give us strength - in that order.. When he came, he heard strong but respectful words from both [Kiryat Arba's] Rabbi Dov Lior and from myself, and I believe that he came out with increased strength to fight the war that he will have to manage. On the other hand, the residents also gained new strength that will help them face the challenges and the dangers... It's not that they are kids.  People who live in Otniel, or Beit Haggai, or Maaleh Chever know exactly why they are here, their roots are deep in this Land; a remark here or there by a Prime Minister is not what will make or break them..."

Mayor Bar-Chai was then afforded the opportunity to list the achievements of "his" settlers, and fired off the following: "We began with the community of Beit Yatir 21 years ago, and the latest
towns are Sansena and Negohot. We have large schools and yeshivot, such as a hesder yeshiva in Otniel, a girls' institute in Maon, a  yeshiva high school for environmental studies in Susia, a pre-military yeshiva in Carmel, a children's village in Beit Haggai, an intensive yeshiva-studies high school in Maaleh Chever - first-rate institutions that the demand to study in them is 130% of what it was last year... We have first-rate agriculture, including a very advanced nursery and orchards, we have developed an advanced tourism site in Susia, a new industrial zone, and much more..."

2. LEFT-WING EDITOR: PALESTINIANS DECEIVED ME
Israel's newspapers and magazines have found a new craze: Interviewing top leftists who have gone right. One of the latest and most prominent examples is an interview in last week's Maariv with Chaim Shur, former editor of the Socialist daily Al HaMishmar who says that he is probably on the list of the ten Israelis who met most frequently with Palestinians before it became legal to do so. Shur told Maariv:

"The Palestinians deceived both me personally and the entire Israeli Left. They lied to us, they scammed us, maneuvered and manipulated us... My respect for Yossi Beilin goes way down when he says that he has reached a mutually accepted formula on the refugee issue, because if he still does not understand what is going on here then he is not really a man of the Left. A genuine man of the Left is a man who should accept the reality for what it is, and not see it the way he wishes to. The Palestinians are not yet ripe for peace, and my duty as a man of the Left is to realize this truth. The Left is not a synonym for deceit... [They deceived me in that] during all of my meetings with them, the Palestinians said that we will find a mutually accepted formula regarding the right of return - but in fact this never happened. They didn't mean it. Everything they said was just a part of the 'plan of stages.' I was one of those who opened the American doors for the PLO... Their success [with Jewish Americans] was due to our help. Without out our assistance they would never have succeeded... Then, 2-3 years later, Nabil Sha'ath tells his public in Gaza that this whole thing was just a tactical move, and that the Palestinian plan is to make piecemeal gains for the ultimate goal of conquering the entire State of Israel. This was the same Nabil Sha'ath who was my best friend in America, who hugged and kissed me following a pro-peace speech that I gave. All his speeches were worthless. He meant nothing he said.

"...It enrages me when I see my friends from the [Labor] party, including the young generation, going to Gaza to greet Yasser Arafat.  After all, he is an arch-liar, an arch-murderer. All along I argued that one makes peace with the enemy, but only if the enemy is willing to make peace as well..."

Question: "The Israeli Right is blaming the Left for misleading the nation, for orchestrating some kind of a messianic peace movement. Do you accept the charges?"

Shur: "To a certain degree, yes. We wished for peace so much that we ended up [confusing] our wishes [for] factual reality. But there will not be peace, not next year and not five years from now... " [Ed. note: Shur went on to explain that he is still against the settlements, but is pained by the terrorism against them.]

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, July 3, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, July 3, 2001 / Tammuz 12, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. DEFENSIVE POLICY TO CONTINUE, BUT MORE OFFENSIVELY
2. MOFAZ DEFENDS POLICY IN FACE OF AMERICAN CRITICISM
3. BARGOUTI OUTLINES TRUE GOALS
4. ARMY OFFICER CALLS FOR WAR-TIME TRANSFER
5. U.S. KNEW OF NAZI PLANS

1. DEFENSIVE POLICY TO CONTINUE, BUT MORE OFFENSIVELY
The security mini-cabinet convened this morning, following the spate of terrorist attacks yesterday that left two Israelis dead and another with serious wounds. Finance Minister Silvan Shalom, who participated in the meeting, said afterwards that Israel would continue its unilateral ceasefire, but would continue its policy of "specific targeted killings." The ministers also resolved to initiate an international information campaign portraying Arafat as the one violating the ceasefire.

Prime Minister Sharon, who met with Shas leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef for 20 minutes last night, told him that we will not be able to restrain ourselves any longer in light of the wave of severe terrorism. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said today, "Whoever talks of a 'change in direction' [a decrease in Palestinian violence], and that the seven-day period of quiet has begun, why, this is a joke. Every day sees another shooting and another bomb and another shooting and another bomb. Therefore, it should be understood: We have no choice but to re-evaluate the situation." Minister Eli Yeshai (Shas) said that the Palestinian Authority's behavior rules out any option of a ceasefire.

2. MOFAZ DEFENDS POLICY IN FACE OF AMERICAN CRITICISM
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher condemned Israel's liquidation on Sunday of three terrorists on their way to an attack.  Boucher said yesterday, "We remain opposed to Israel's policy of targeted killings," and appealed again to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to restrain Israel's response to attacks on Israel. He also said, however, that the Palestinians were not doing enough to fight terror and to end violence. The bottom line of the American position is that, "In light of the violence, the first day of the projected seven days of calm had not yet arrived." Responding to Boucher's statement, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz, who is visiting in the U.S., said, "Everyone who brings up the issue of the right of self-defense has to ask what they would do if their country was exposed to 5,600 acts of terrorism. Our actions are very carefully considered."

3. BARGOUTI OUTLINES TRUE GOALS
"The goal of the current intifada is a Palestinian state, but afterwards, there will be even greater things for which to strive."  So says Tanzim leader Marwan Bargouti in an interview with the weekly New Yorker, explaining, "There is no room for more than one state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean." Israeli security forces attribute most of the serious terrorist attacks of the past few days to Bargouti and the Tanzim.

4. ARMY OFFICER CALLS FOR WAR-TIME TRANSFER
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Dr. Aryeh Eldad has been saying for months that the only solution to the present situation is an all-out war. He elaborated on this point for Arutz-7 today:

"How exactly this war will take place, whether it will be with tanks or planes, or what the exact missions will be, will have to be decided at the proper echelons... But the goals of the war have to be clear, and one of these must be defined as ensuring that no other Arab political entity will be established west of the Jordan - and that there must be many less Arabs west of the Jordan after the war. If this is not clear, then those who say that 'there's no purpose in fighting since in any event after it's over we'll have to sit down and talk' are right... It's true that there could be a high price of casualties, as in any war, but the longer we push this off, the higher will be the price. The Arabs have a clear strategy of threatening our very existence, in that they will block our reservists from getting to bases and preventing the army from defending its citizens. We must pay the price now, so that it will not be ten times higher later."

Eldad said that it must be made perfectly clear to the Arabs that if they drag us into an all-out war, the price for them will be that at the end of the war, there will be many less Arabs on this side of the Jordan River. We must see to the existential needs of the People of Israel; we have no other choice." Dr. Eldad, who served as the IDF's Chief Medical Officer until his retirement last year, is the son of the late Prof. Yisrael Eldad, who was one of the three leaders of the Lechi Underground which fought against the British for Israel's independence in the 1940's. The elder Eldad engaged in writing and speaking on behalf of Revisionist Zionist ideology, and calling for the renewal of the third Jewish Commonwealth and the liberation of the entirety of the Land of Israel.

5. U.S. KNEW OF NAZI PLANS
American historian Richard Breitman published a new study in Washington yesterday, proving that the American administration under President Franklin Roosevelt knew as early as the spring of 1942 about the German plan to wipe out all of European Jewry. The study is based on 400,000 pages of National Archives documentation whose "secret" classification was removed last year. Among the papers Breitman found a telegram sent by a Chilean diplomat from Berlin to Santiago enumerating details of the Nazis' "Final Solution."

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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, July 4, 2001

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, July 4, 2001 / Tammuz 13, 5761
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NO MAJOR CHANGES IN WAR POLICY
2. OUTPOSTS AT CENTER OF COALITION STORM
3. TELLING THE WORLD WHO ARAFAT IS

1. NO MAJOR CHANGES IN WAR POLICY
The extended security cabinet, numbering 13 government ministers, sat for over four hours this morning, hearing details of the non-stop Palestinian violence and discussing possible reactions. Leading IDF officers told them that there is basically no ceasefire, noting yet again that Yasser Arafat stands behind all the attacks. Several ministers demanded that the government intensify its offensive measures; Foreign Minister Shimon Peres objected, and has even threatened to quit if such an approach is adopted. "I am not Ariel Sharon's clerk," Peres said last night. "He won't tell me what to do." Ministers from Shas and other parties argued with Peres, saying he still does not understand Arafat's true intentions. At the end of the meeting, the ministers ratified yesterday's decision to continue Israel's non-offensive policy, but to intensify defense measures such as striking at Arabs engaged in terrorist activity.

Shortly after the meeting, it was reported that a leading Fatah terrorist had been seriously wounded from a bullet to his stomach in Hevron. The man appears on the Defense Ministry's list of wanted terrorists as responsible for shootings in the Hevron area.

A group of 200 Israeli rabbis have signed a petition calling upon Prime Minister Sharon to immediately end the policy of restraint that has resulted in a great deal of bloodshed. The rabbis were addressed by National Security Council head Maj.-Gen. Uzi Dayan, who explained the importance of unity among the nation during these difficult times. It was in that spirit that Public Security Minister Uzi Landau, who is in favor of a stronger military response than that which Israel has so far offered, agreed with today's security Cabinet decision. He said that the process by which the various sectors in the nation are finally beginning to understand the dangers facing us is very important, and that the continued existence of the unity government is important to that end.

2. OUTPOSTS AT CENTER OF COALITION STORM
Is the Sharon government undergoing its first coalition crisis? The Prime Minister says no, but Labor party Knesset faction head Effie Oshaya says it most certainly is. Arutz-7's Knesset correspondent Haggai Seri explains:

"Many Labor party MKs violated coalition discipline today, voting with the opposition for a bill that would increase benefits to reserves soldiers. Prime Minister Sharon made a personal plea for Labor to vote as a bloc against the bill, in light of the considerable benefits that the government has already approved for the reservists, but in vain: Many Labor MKs either voted in favor of the bill or were not present. Labor's Oshaya explained that Labor Knesset Members will continue to vote "according to their conscience" for as long as the Yesha outposts are not removed, and while the government supports legislation against the Sabbath operation of shopping malls in kibbutzim."

Maariv newspaper's political commentator Shalom Yerushalmi was asked today if Peres' threat to resign - thereby presumably taking Labor with him out of the coalition - was genuine? Yerushalmi's response:

"Not at all, and in fact there has been pretty good cooperation between the two [Sharon and Peres] over the months, especially considering the genuine differences between them. But one thing that really upsets Peres is the matter of the settlements and the new outposts, because he meets with the international leaders who complain about the settlements, and then he comes back and finds 15 new outposts. I don't think there will be any real coalition crisis in the near future, for two reasons: one is that Sharon has not yet had to make a real choice on the diplomatic or military fronts, and secondly, because the Knesset is about to begin its summer recess."  In addition, Arutz-7's Haggai Seri notes that Labor MKs know that their party would suffer a major defeat if Knesset elections were held now or soon, "but they could still serve their political interests - and work against Sharon's - by merely joining the opposition if he takes more militant positions."

Voice of Israel Radio reported on its 4 PM news broadcast that the coalition crisis had ended because Prime Minister Sharon had agreed to remove the new Yesha outposts, as well as freeze the problematic religious legislation. The 5 PM report was that the coalition crisis had not ended, with no elaboration. What actually happened was that MK Effie Oshaya said that Sharon had told him that an agreement had been reached with the Yesha Council on the evacuation of the outposts as soon as today. Yesha Council spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, who was then contacted by Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson, categorically denied that any such agreement had been reached.

One of the outposts, the Doron Outpost near Einav in the Shomron, has had a particularly hard time of it today. Early this morning it was reported that it would be handed over to the army within a day or two, and that its request to continue operating until the end of the 30-day mourning period for Doron Zisserman had been turned down. (Zisserman, father of three, was murdered by Arabs outside Einav about two weeks ago.) Later in the day, permission was given to remain there "for the time being" until a final decision could be reached. Early this evening, another change was announced, and residents were told to prepare for immediate evacuation.

Residents of Judea and Samaria have established some 15 such positions in recent weeks and months throughout Yesha, largely for the purpose of ensuring a security presence in areas in which Jews have been murdered.

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