HHMI Newsgroup Archives

To:            arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News Brief:  Friday, Dec. 7, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, Dec. 7, 2001 / Kislev 22, 5762
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
--- See below for subscription instructions ---
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ARAFAT IN CONTROL:  HAMAS TO HOLD QUIET FUNERAL
   2. CONGRESS DEMANDS P.A. ACTION AGAINST TERRORISM
   3. ANTI-SEMITISM ALIVE AND WELL ON ARAB TV
   4. EXCERPTS FROM "SHARON FLINCHES"
1. ARAFAT IN CONTROL:  HAMAS TO HOLD QUIET FUNERAL
The PA continues to claim that it is making strides in its "war" against 
terrorism, although Israeli officials say that the terrorists arrested by 
the PA over the past few days are only small-fry.  However, the PA did make 
a major gain in its "war" today:  The Hamas terrorist organization has 
agreed to hold a quiet funeral for one of its slain colleagues.
This notable achievement - albeit not helpful in containing anti-Israeli 
terrorism - did not come cheap:  The PA was forced to agree to release 
Hamas terrorist leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin from the house arrest it imposed 
on him earlier this week.  Yesterday, in a skirmish outside Yassin's home, 
PA para-military police shot a Hamas protestor, who later died of his wounds.
2. CONGRESS DEMANDS P.A. ACTION AGAINST TERRORISM
Both bodies of the U.S. Congress passed a resolution yesterday urging 
President Bush to "suspend all relations with Yasser Arafat and the PA if 
they fail to take actions" against terrorism.  The House of 
Representatives, where the effort was led by Congressmen Tom Lantos (D-CA) 
and Henry Hyde (R-IL), passed the resolution in an overwhelming 384-11 
vote.  Senators Joe Biden (D-DE) and Jesse Helms (R-NC) led the Senate 
effort, and the resolution was passed unanimously.  "This resolution 
clearly shows the exasperation of Congress with Arafat's continued 
indulgence in terror, even as he professes a desire for peace," said AIPAC 
President Tim Wuliger.  "Congress is telling him he must either act to end 
Palestinian terror, or forfeit his relationship with America...  Arafat is 
on the verge of losing his relationship with the United States."
One Congressman was very clear about his support for Israel at this 
time.  Speaking at a private gathering in Indianapolis last night, 
Indiana's Michael Pence said that despite President Bush's recent statement 
in favor of a Palestinian state, "The heart of the President is committed 
to Israel."  A devout Christian, Pence stressed that the overwhelming 
majority of American Christians have a deep emotional attachment to the 
land of Israel and recognize the Jewish nation's Biblical and historical 
connection to the land.  He recently co-sponsored legislation protesting 
the Moslem Waqf's illegal construction on the Temple Mount.  "Millions of 
Christians would be deeply offended if their tax dollars were used to 
desecrate the Temple Mount," Rep. Pence said last night.
3. ANTI-SEMITISM ALIVE AND WELL ON ARAB TV
The prototype of modern anti-Semitism, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, 
is alive and well in the Arab media.  The Middle East Media Research 
Institute (MEMRI) reports that several Arab television stations, including 
those in Egypt, are broadcasting a special series on the "evidence" of a 
Jewish conspiracy to rule the world, as described in the above Czarist 
anti-Semitic tract.  While "Protocols" is still widely sold in the Arab 
world, this is the first television series on the subject purporting to 
show how the Jews and Israel act today to enact the strategy described in 
the work.  The 30-part series, entitled "Horseman Without a Horse," is a 
huge undertaking starring over 400 Arab actors, including prominent ones, 
from Egypt, Syria and France.  MEMRI reports that the series was produced 
by Arab Radio and Television, which broadcasts to the Middle East, North 
America, Latin America, Australia and Africa.
An Egyptian weekly, Ruz al-Yusuf, lauded the series for "courageously 
tackl[ing] the 24 Protocols of the Elders of Zion, revealing them and 
clarifying that they are the central line that still, to this very day, 
dominates Israel's policy, political aspirations, and racism..."  The book 
contain 24 aspects of an alleged Jewish plot to take over the world, and 
the TV series states that "19 of the 24 protocols [have already] been put 
into practice" - and then proceeds to give examples.  For instance, the 
presidency of Bill Clinton is alleged to be the application of a Jewish 
plot to "choose someone corrupt [for the presidency of the superpower] and 
when he resists us - we will expose him."  Other alleged Jewish "protocols" 
such as 'Feed a dog, [but] not a Muslim or a Christian' and `Kill a Muslim 
or a Christian and take his house as your house and his lands as your 
lands' are also highlighted.
4. Excerpts from
"Sharon Flinches" by Charles Krauthammer
The Washington Post, December 7, 2001
"You would think that the right to self-defense is elementary, a minimal 
decency one nation accords another. France has it. We have it. (See 
Afghanistan.) Yet when President Bush's spokesman declared on Dec. 3 that 
"Israel has a right to defend herself," it was news. Indeed, it was a 
thunderclap. To anyone who follows the baroquely nuanced language of Middle 
East diplomacy, it constituted something wholly new.
"For eight years, under the tutelage of a president hungry for a Nobel 
Prize, the American position had been that when attacked, Israel should 
exercise "restraint" and not contribute to the "cycle of violence." 
Everyone knew that this was no cycle; it was elementary self-defense in the 
face of an openly declared campaign of Palestinian terror. But truth could 
not be allowed to stand in the way of "peace."
".When Israel began retaliating for Dec. 1-2 -- Israel's Sept. 11 -- the 
State Department issued no criticism. In part, this was anger. State had 
just been pushing a campaign of greater American "engagement" in the Middle 
East. The president declared his support for a Palestinian state. Secretary 
of State Colin Powell gave a speech in Louisville calling for an end to 
"occupation" and the establishment of "Palestine."  [Then American mediator 
Gen. Zinni] arrives, and is greeted with a mass murder of innocent Jews 
carried out by terrorists operating freely under Yasser Arafat. Zinni looks 
helpless; Powell looks the fool. Even the State Department is moved by such 
humiliations.
".The window thus opens for Israel finally to act.  What does Prime 
Minister Sharon do? He flinches. He temporizes. He attacks symbolic targets 
-- destroys two of Arafat's helicopters, tears up his Gaza airport runway, 
flattens a few police stations, blasts the office next door to Arafat's. 
The intent is to "send a message," namely, "we can get you." But the effect 
is precisely the opposite. It tells Arafat, "We can, but we dare not." The 
message is clear. Israel does not (yet) have the will -- or the government 
-- to fight its own war.
".The shock of Dec. 1-2 will soon wear off. Media attention will wander. 
Normalcy, i.e., dead Jews daily, will return. Soon you will once again be 
hearing evenhanded laments about the "cycle of violence."
".The moment is passing. The window is closing. Sharon's policy of 
symbolic war and sympathetic words is not a strategy. It is the muddling 
through of a hopelessly muddled Israeli government, a government of 
national disunity.
"And yet, there will be an Israeli military campaign to do to the 
Palestinian Authority what the United States has done to the Taliban. 
Sooner or later, the war is coming. It is inevitable. Israel cannot bleed 
forever."
*******************************************************
To:            arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com 
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> 
Subject:       Arutz-7 News Brief: Sunday, Dec. 9, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Sunday, Dec. 9, 2001 / Kislev 24, 5762
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ISRAELI OFFENSIVES IN GAZA, SHOMRON
   2. MIRACLE IN HAIFA: SUICIDE BOMBER WOUNDS SEVEN
   3. P.A. "FIGHTS" TERRORISM.
1. ISRAELI OFFENSIVES IN GAZA, SHOMRON
An IDF offensive in a PA-controlled village near Tul Karem (on the
western edge of Shomron, 15 kilometers east of Netanya) uncovered an
explosives laboratory and several ready-to-detonate explosive vests. 
Brig.-Gen. Gershon Yitzchak of the Judea-Samaria Division announced
today that the forces also found several bombs that the terrorists
planned to place on roads near the Shomron communities of Avnei
Heifetz and Einav.
On the personnel side, the soldiers also arrested some 30 suspects of
Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, and the DFLP terrorist organizations.  Eight
of them have already been identified as having perpetrated shooting
and bomb attacks in the region.
Over the weekend, Israeli armed forces took military action in Gaza,
including entering PA-controlled area in Rafiach for a short period. 
They destroyed two PA para-military posts there, and bombed other
targets in southern Gaza.  Palestinian mortar fire at civilian targets
did not stop, however; shells landed in Jewish communities on Friday
night, yesterday, and last night; no one was hurt.
2. MIRACLE IN HAIFA: SUICIDE BOMBER WOUNDS SEVEN
A major catastrophe was averted in Haifa early this morning when a
suicide bomber blew himself up earlier than he planned, causing the
light wounding of only seven people.  Two Zevulun District policemen
noted the suspicious man and asked him for identification.  The bomber
then detonated the bomb, which injured but did not kill him.  The two
policemen saw that he continued to move his hands as if to blow up
another bomb, and shot him to death.
The operative assumption of the police is that he did not arrive
alone, and combed the area for his accomplice(s).  It is assumed that
the terrorist had planned to explode his bomb-pack, which was similar
to the one that killed 15 people last Sunday morning, in a city bus.
3. P.A. "FIGHTS" TERRORISM.
Israel has not let up on its demand that the Palestinian Authority
arrest the 33 terrorists whose names appear on the list Israel
provided a while ago - and in fact, the PA is making efforts to appear
to be fulfilling this demand.  It has already "arrested" 10 or 11 of
them - i.e., they were asked if they agree to remain in detention,
under better-than-usual conditions, for a period of a few weeks until
the American and European pressure abates.  So did a "senior military
source" tell Ynet today.  "It's for the good of the Palestinian
Authority," the terrorists were told.  Some of the 33 were arrested
"on paper," and were released to their homes after being registered in
the prison.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz told the Cabinet today that
the PA is attempting to broadcast a message as if it has "changed
direction," but that in actuality, the changes are merely tactical. 
Mofaz said that Israel would continue its offensives for as long as
the terrorism continues.
*******************************************************
To:            arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com 
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> 
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Monday, December 10, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, Dec. 10, 2001 / Kislev 25, 5762 - Chanukah
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
WAQF KEEPS ON BUILDING, DESTROYING THE TEMPLE MOUNT
The Committee to Prevent Damage to the Temple Mount Antiquities says
that the Moslem Waqf has begun taking steps to erect a memorial to
Feisal Husseini on the Temple Mount.  The Committee fears that this
will cause further damage to Jewish artifacts there, and complains
that Public Security Minister Uzi Landau has taken barely any action
against the harmful Waqf activities there.  The members met with him a
few days ago and accused him of giving backing to the government's
continued weakness in this matter.  The meeting was tense and produced
no concrete results.
Yisrael Kaspi, member of the Committee, told Arutz-7 today:
"We've known of the plans to make a memorial for Husseini for months. 
We have informed the relevant bodies, and they give us all sorts of
evasive answers; the only thing they don't do is take action against
the continuing destruction on the Temple Mount."  He said that he and
his colleagues had met with Minister Landau this week, "for the third
time since he took office, but it was a very difficult meeting.  He
keeps ignoring the facts, and doesn't want to see, hear, or speak.  We
bring him intelligence, testimonies in writing and orally, and aerial
photos of the continuing Waqf construction there - but he ignores them
all.  He uses the police to put a closure on the Temple Mount, so that
the public can't see anything...
"I'll give you an extreme example:  On July 11, he stood up in the
Knesset and announced that for months, tractors had not been working
on the Temple Mount.  Two days later, we came to his office and showed
him 80 photos of tractors working there in the preceding week.  We are
still waiting for his retraction, and for his admission that the
reports he received from the police led him to lie to the Knesset. 
There are other similar cases as well.
"On the other hand, he did put a stop to the flooring work, and also
stopped the trucks from coming in - at least formally, but the Waqf
and Islamic Movement people still manage to sneak in all sorts of
building materials and smuggle out antiquities.  Worst of all, they
have been carrying out an extensive operation of cleaning out
underground caverns and cisterns - headed by an Israeli-Arab who is
blatantly breaking the law without anyone enforcing it against him -
for the purpose of bringing 'holy waters' from Mecca."
Archaeologist Eilat Mazar recently explained this issue to Arutz-7:
"They [the Waqf] claim that they are performing 'routine cleaning of
water cisterns' - something that long-time Jerusalem archaeologists
never heard of before.  What they are really doing is emptying out the
cisterns of valuable artifacts of first-degree importance.  According
to Arab media reports, there is really a much broader plan: to bring
'holy water' from the Zam-Zam spring in Mecca to the Temple Mount
cisterns, thus 'upgrading' the status of the Temple Mount in Moslem
eyes and obviating the need for Moslem worshippers to go to Mecca;
they will be able to obtain the same spiritual 'value' by visiting the
Temple Mount."
*******************************************************
To:            arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com 
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> 
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001 / Kislev 26, 5762 - Chanukah
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. SHARON IN HOLDING PATTERN
   2. THE TRUE "FACE" OF ARAFAT
   3. ZINNI GIVES UP ON ARAFAT
   4. YESHAI WANTS LAW OF RETURN CHANGED
1. SHARON IN HOLDING PATTERN
The coalition easily defeated yesterday several no-confidence motions
submitted to the Knesset by left-wing parties.  The motions were made
in protest of the Cabinet decision to declare the Palestinian
Authority a "terrorist-sponsoring entity."  It wasn't all smooth
sailing for Prime Minister Sharon, however.  The coalition party
National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu did not participate in the vote, to
show its displeasure with the government's failure to successfully
contain the non-stop mortar fire against Gush Katif.  Yesterday, for
instance, five mortars were launched at the Jewish communities there,
lightly wounding two children, and two more were fired this afternoon.
Infrastructures Minister Avigdor Lieberman has met with Prime Minister
Sharon several times over the past few days, demanding a stronger
military response against Arafat.  The request, so far, has not been
met.  MK Tzvi Hendel said again that if Sharon does not decide to
dismantle the Palestinian Authority, "his government has no reason to
exist."
2. THE TRUE "FACE" OF ARAFAT
A semi-private initiative in public relations for Israel:  Hundreds of
posters are being circulated around the world featuring a large
full-face photo of Yasser Arafat.  A closer examination of the
picture, however, reveals that it is made up of hundreds of little
photographs of terrorist attack scenes.  The caption on the bottom
reads, "What You See is What You Get."  The poster can be seen at
"http://go.ynet.co.il/arafat/".
Israel's Foreign Ministry sources say that they encourage initiatives
of this sort in the ongoing media war around the world.  MK Ahmed Tibi
criticized the poster as "personal incitement" against Arafat, while
Likud MK Ze'ev Boim called it an "excellent poster that exposes
Arafat's true face..."
3. ZINNI GIVES UP ON ARAFAT
American mediator Gen. Anthony Zinni, who met with Yasser Arafat
yesterday, said about him, "I have never encountered such lack of
trustworthiness in my life."  He said it was a "waste of time to try
to reach a serious agreement with Arafat," and will concentrate on
talking with other top figures in the PA - probably a reference to
Muhammad Dahlan, Jibril Rajoub, and others.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon breakfasted today with the European
Union's Javier Solana, expressing his satisfaction with the EU's call
for the dismantling of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.  The EU's statement of
yesterday also called upon Israel to freeze settlement activity in
Judea and Samaria.  Sharon said that Israel is anxious to fulfill
another EU request by easing some restrictions upon the Palestinian
population, but "the unceasing terrorism makes this difficult."
4. YESHAI WANTS LAW OF RETURN CHANGED
Interior Minister Eli Yeshai demands a change to the Law of Return, in
order to make it harder for non-Jews to be eligible for automatic
immigration rights to Israel.  Yeshai says that 70% of the immigrants
who arrived during the past year are not Jewish.  "According to the
law, however," he said, "they are legally eligible to immigrate
because they either have one Jewish grandparent, are married to
someone who is eligible, or are the close relatives of someone married
to someone who is eligible."
The Knesset Immigration Committee discussed Yeshai's proposal today in
what Arutz-7 Knesset correspondent Haggai Seri called a "surprisingly
calm" session.  "Israel is turning into a country of immigration."
Yeshai said.  "It is happening not necessarily by law-breaking, but
via loopholes in the Law of Return itself.  For instance, a non-Jew
whose grandfather was Jewish, or a non-Jew who married a Jew, can
immigrate to Israel, bringing his or her parents, children from a
previous marriage, etc."
Jewish Agency head Salai Meridor told the Committee that the law must
not be changed, lest it deliver a "slap in the face to the world
Jewish community."  He said that now, when we need the support of
world Jewry, is not the time to suddenly change the Law of Return. 
Meridor emphasized, however, that the Jewish Agency strives to
strengthen Jewish identity, "including conversion [to Judaism] for
those who want."  Several MKs, including some from the former Soviet
Union, are against a change for fear that it will decrease immigration
and bring about an Arab majority in the region; the religious MKs are
in favor of a change.
*******************************************************
To:            arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com 
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> 
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001 / Kislev 27, 5762 - Chanukah
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ETTINGER: AMERICAN GREEN LIGHT MAY BE "COLOR BLINDING" ISRAEL 
   2.  U.S. PAPERS AGAINST ARAFAT
1. ETTINGER: AMERICAN GREEN LIGHT MAY BE "COLOR BLINDING" ISRAEL
Former Israeli liaison to the U.S. Congress Yoram Ettinger explained
to Arutz-7 today why U.S. President Bush has taken such a notably
pro-Israel position of late:
"First of all, he feels that Arafat has personally betrayed him, and
more than once...  In addition, he is a student of former President
Ronald Reagan, who reacted forcefully against Muammar Kaddafi and
ports in Tripoli when five American soldiers were killed by Libyan
terrorists in Germany...  Also, Bush is surrounded by veterans of the
Gulf War of 1991 - Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rice, and many others - who
remember that the Palestinians were the bad guys at that time, who
helped and cheered Saddam Hussein, and have since helped other
terrorist elements as well...  Another consideration is that he is in
the midst of fighting the Taliban, and so it's hard for him to tell
the Israelis to sit quietly, as the State Department would like, in
the face of its own terrorist threat."
"Israel does not seem to be noticing the American green light for
strong Israeli action against Arafat," Ettinger said.  "The green
light is flashing even more brightly of late, but for some reason
Israel seems to be suffering from color blindness and is translating
the green light into a red light.  There has never been a better time
for Israel in terms of American public opinion...  This could change,
however.  We have yet to see if the present Bush has learned from the
mistakes of his father, who didn't finish off Saddam Hussein and
instead enabled him to come close to having nuclear capabilities.  In
Afghanistan, it looks as if has learned, but the question is whether
he will then go on to fight other terrorist organizations around the
world..."
2. U.S. PAPERS AGAINST ARAFAT
A survey by the Bnai Brith Anti-Defamation League shows that a large
majority of American newspapers feel that Arafat's time is running out
and that he must be held responsible for stopping terrorism against
Israel.  The poll was carried out on Dec. 3-6, immediately following
the massacres in Jerusalem and Haifa.  Eighty percent of the 50 papers
surveyed carried editorials regarding the terrorism war against
Israel, with the message that it is time for Arafat to take strong
action.  Twenty-one papers, including the New York Times, Los Angeles
Times, Boston Globe, and Chicago Tribune, said that Arafat must choose
between fighting against terror or being thrown out of the region. 
Thirteen papers wrote that despite his lack of trustworthiness, Arafat
must be given another chance.
*******************************************************

Return to Newsgroup Archives Main Page

Return to our Main Webpage


©2011 Hebraic Heritage Ministries International. Designed by
Web Design by JB.