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Subject: Arutz-7 News: Feb. 11-15, 1999
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 16:37:57 -0800
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Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999
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Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999 / Sh'vat 25, 5759
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. MASS DEMONSTRATION MAY BE POSTPONED
2. SHARP REACTIONS CONTINUE
3. THREE VIEWS
4. BORDER DISPUTE?
5. SPLIT IN SHAS?
6. NO CRACKS IN MICRONESIAN SUPPORT
1. MASS DEMONSTRATION MAY BE POSTPONED
At this hour, it is reported that attempts are being made to postpone
Sunday's planned prayer vigil/demonstration against judicial intervention
in religious matters. Despite the fact that the program calls only for the
recitation of Psalms and shofar-blowing, with no speeches, an outbreak of
violence cannot be ruled out, as left-wing and student organizations have
announced plans to hold a simultaneous counter-demonstration nearby. At
least 100,000 people are expected at the religious demonstration. Leading
players in the matter - such as President Weizman, Chief Justice Aharon
Barak, former Chief Rabbis Shapira, Eliyahu, and Yosef, Rabbi Shlomo
Elyashiv, Rabbi Menachem Porush, Knesset Law Committee Chairman MK Chanan
Porat, and others - have been meeting all day to discuss postponing the
demonstration. Porat said that the prayer vigil may be pushed off until
after the Supreme Court's deliberations on the conversion issue - scheduled
for Feb. 25 - which in turn may be postponed until after the elections,
thus giving the Knesset a chance to legislate the issue.
Earlier today, Rabbi Elimelech Tirnoyer, one of the United Torah Judaism
organizers of the demonstration, told Arutz-7, "The pressures not to hold
the demonstration will not help. We are willing to speak with
representatives of the judicial system, but this will occur only after the
prayer vigil. Rabbi Menachem Porush has asked almost every week for the
past 4 months to meet with Chief Justice Barak, saying that we are standing
at the edge of an abyss. Attorney-General Rubenstein also tried to arrange
such a meeting, but Barak has always said that he doesn't want to meet with
politicians... We have an amazingly united religious front: The Mizrachi
[National Religious Party] has largely gone with us, with letters from the
former Chief Rabbis and from Rabbi Druckman, and the Eida HaHareidit are
also joining with us, and Agudah, and Degel, and Shas - for the first time
all these groups are united! It will be held at 3 PM on Sunday afternoon,
across from the old central bus station in Jerusalem, beginning with the
Mincha prayer service. Two official banners will be displayed: one will
quote one of Maimonides' Thirteen Principles, 'I believe with perfect faith
that this Torah will never be replaced.", and the other one will say that
we are against persecution of Jewish tradition and that which is holy to it."
Mateh Ma'amatz, a political activist group identified with the
religious-Zionist struggle against the Oslo accords, has enlisted on behalf
of Sunday's planned demonstration. Their motto will be: "The Supreme
Court is tearing the nation apart," - a reference to the Supreme Court
rulings that "separate the religious public from the rest of the nation."
Yaakov Novick, head of Mateh Ma'amatz, explained to Arutz-7 today that the
issue is "critical for the unity of the nation. The Supreme Court has
intervened in issues of religion and state, which is something [that we
cannot accept]. We therefore rose to the call of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu's
office to help in the arrangements for the demonstration. I cannot
emphasize enough that this is not only a hareidi issue - it was Rabbi Kook
[Chief Rabbi until 1935, leading mentor of today's religious-Zionists] who
established the Chief Rabbinate, for the purpose of ensuring one united
nation that is not divided into different groups and sectors. The hareidim
today are fighting the battles of Rabbi Kook."
2. SHARP REACTIONS CONTINUE
Minister Sha'ul Yahalom and MK Chanan Porat of the NRP, together with many
other public figures, have come out against the inflammatory remarks made
by certain hareidi rabbis against the Supreme Court. Former Chief Rabbi
Ovadiah Yosef, in his weekly satellite-broadcast lecture last night, called
the judges "evil" and other similar terms. Posters were hung in Jerusalem
today condemning Yahalom and Porat for calling upon the religious-Zionist
public not to take part in the prayer vigil/demonstration. The posters,
purportedly authored by "Hesder Yeshivah students," claim that Yahalom and
Porat are defying the leading religious-Zionist rabbis who have come out in
favor of the demonstration. Yahalom said in response, "The NRP position is
clear: We condemn all incitement and name-calling against the judges, even
if we have sharp disputes with some of their rulings." The law departments
in universities throughout the country are striking today in protest of the
sharp remarks attributed to religious leaders against the High Court.
3. THREE VIEWS
Arutz-7 has spoken with three religious attorneys over the past day, and
has heard three different approaches to the Supreme Court and its religious
rulings. Atty. David Rotem said, "The Court is merely doing its job:
interpreting the laws legislated by the Knesset. If the courts interpret
the law in a fashion that is contrary to the intentions of some or all of
the legislators, then the latter must sit again and find a way to
reformulate the law. If the Supreme Court says that the law means 'red,'
and the legislators meant 'green,' then they must rewrite the law. This is
what is now known as a Supreme Court by-pass law, which has become a dirty
word, but in actuality is a most basic democratic procedure... If certain
people have a claim against Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak for
saying 'Everything is subject to adjudication,' then they should not stage
a demonstration, but should demand that a law be legislated declaring that
*not* everything is subject to adjudication." [ed. note: In August 1996,
after the Supreme Court decision forbidding the Sabbath closure of Bar Ilan
Ave. in Jerusalem, Law Professor Shalom Albeck suggested legislating a
special law that would limit the powers of the Supreme Court.]
Constitutional lawyer Mordechai Haller took an opposing point of view:
"The question is to what extent the Supreme Court should involve itself in
matters of 'public policy,' issues that are usually decided upon by the
legislature and through normal democratic channels... Conversion to
Judaism, for instance, is a public policy issue in Israel because of its
great sensitivity. If there is no mechanism that will enable conversions to
be acceptable to the public as a whole, there will be an [unacceptable]
amount of dissension within society." Haller did not summarily dismiss the
value of an "activist court" that plays a role in defining public policy:
"Everyone can benefit from the fruits of an activist court. The problem is
that Israel's Supreme Court has been selectively active. In anything
connected to [administrative detention], the court has had a 'hands-off'
approach, whereas on issues of religion and state, it has had a 'hands-on'
approach. Another topic on which the court has been selectively active is
on war and peace, the forfeiting of territory and related matters. In the
70's and 80's, when the Likud was in power, the Supreme Court overruled a
military decision regarding the settlement of Elon Moreh, and often
directed the army where it could and could not build settlements. In
contrast, when the Labor party came into power in '92, the court time and
time again refused to get involved in the multitude of cases brought before
it relating to the Oslo process, arguing that such topics are 'political'
and thus beyond the scope of the court's jurisdiction. I think that it's
the selective activism and the identity of some of the subjects, or should
I say victims, of that activism that has caused the strong reaction of the
religious and hareidi public. I've heard from Hebrew University Law
professors, who are very far from a religious outlook, that from a purely
professional point of view, the Court has overstepped its boundaries many
times."
Bar-Ilan University Jewish Law Professor Shimshon Ettinger took an approach
somewhere in the middle. He said yesterday that the religious councils
issue could be claimed to be within the purview of the courts, as the
councils are not strictly halakhic
bodies. "But giving the legislators jurisdiction over the Conversion Law
issue was uncalled for," he said, "since there is already an unambiguous
law giving the Chief Rabbinate control over matters that are specifically
religious in nature, as this is."
4. BORDER DISPUTE?
A new border dispute between Egypt and Israel may be in the offing. The
Egyptian Gazette reports that Egypt plans to demand land on which the
Princess Hotel is located, very close to the border between the two
countries. Egyptian government sources reportedly claim that, according to
the international borders delineated at the start of this century, the land
belongs to Egypt. The Egyptian Foreign Office has not denied the report.
Sources in Jerusalem say they are aware of Egypt's claims to property in
the area, but that such demands have never been officially presented.
Israel President Ezer Weizman is set to visit Egypt next week.
5. SPLIT IN SHAS?
Tensions within the religious Sephardi political camp. Rabbi Meir Amar
claims that the party he has started has the support of his mentor, the
famed Kabbalist Rabbi Kaduri. Shas party activists claim that Rabbi Kaduri
has gone on record to the contrary. The new party - Achdut Yisrael - has
registered as such, but it is possible that if it receives two guaranteed
seats on the Shas party list for the Knesset elections. it will not run on
its own.
6. NO CRACKS IN MICRONESIAN SUPPORT
The President of Micronesia is considering firing his country's ambassador
to the United Nations. The ambassador apparently disobeyed standing
instructions when he walked out on an anti-Israel vote in the U.N. last
night, instead of voting against it. The President told Israeli reporters
today that his country's long-standing policy of friendship with Israel has
not changed, and that Micronesia is still an ally of Israel. 115 nations
voted in favor of condemning Israel last night regarding "civil rights
violations in the territories." Five countries abstained, and two - Israel
and the U.S. - voted against.
*******************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <netnews@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, February 12, 1999
Reply-to: netnews@a7.org
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Friday, February 12, 1999 / Shvat 26, 5759
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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*********************************************
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. EFFORTS TO CALL OFF RALLY AGAINST SUPREME COURT "ACTIVISM"
2. ATTEMPTS FOR PARTY MERGER AT A STANDSTILL
3. CONGRESS TO OPPOSE PALESTINIAN DECLARATION
1. EFFORTS TO CALL OFF RALLY AGAINST SUPREME COURT "ACTIVISM"
The organizers of the prayer vigil/rally against Supreme Court
intervention in public policy matters have no plans to cancel the
demonstration scheduled for this Sunday afternoon. Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting this morning in his Jerusalem
office in an effort to promote dialogue on religion-and-state issues.
In attendance were Former Supreme Court President Moshe Landau, former
Deputy Supreme Court President Menachem Elon, B'nei Akiva Yeshiva
Chairman Rabbi Haim Druckman, Agudat Yisrael Chairman Rabbi Menachem
Porush, "Yad Ben-Tzvi" Chairman Dr. Tzvi Tzameret and Justice Minister
Tzahi Hanegbi. In response to the Prime Minister's request to
postpone the prayer vigil, Rabbi Porush explained that postponement
was not possible. The participants agreed that the delegitimization
of various sectors of the general public must be prevented.
After a meeting between President Ezer Weizman and Chief Sephardic
Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, the latter declared that he supports
changing the demonstration's slogan to "Strengthening Judaism and
Fostering Unity in the Land of Israel." Rabbi Bakshi-Doron also came
out in favor of postponing the demonstration by one day to coincide
with the Eve of the New Month. The vigil organizers are expecting
100,000 participants. Mateh Ma'amatz activists, affiliated with the
religious-Zionist sector, announced that unless the Supreme Court
President postpones the hearing of an appeal submitted by
representatives of Reform Judaism in Israel, they will continue to
assist in organizing the prayer vigil.
Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander forbade government workers
to participate in the prayer vigil. No such prohibition was issued
regarding employees of the State Prosecutor's office who are planning
to participate in a counter demonstration. Hollander explained that
his decision was in accordance with the law which prohibits government
employees to participate in protests against government institutions.
Minister of Agriculture Rafael Eitan declared that he will participate
and speak at counter demonstrations being organized by Meretz, the
National Union of Israeli Students, the Bar Association, and a kibbutz
movement. Eitan said that he is determined to take part in the rally,
even if his participation will torpedo the merger between his Tzomet
party and Tekumah.
2. ATTEMPTS FOR PARTY MERGER AT A STANDSTILL
No progress has yet been reported yet in efforts by leaders of the
Council of Communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (Yesha) to persuade
"New Herut" party leader Dr. Benny Begin to enter negotiations for a
joint ticket with the Moledet party. Begin's colleague, MK Michael
Kleiner, says that his new party has no intention of merging with
Moledet.
3. CONGRESS TO OPPOSE PALESTINIAN DECLARATION
Resolutions were introduced in the U.S. Senate and House last week
opposing the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian State. Senators
Brownback (R-KS), Wyden (D-OR), Mack (R-FL), and Kerrey (D-NE)
introduced a resolution with 15 co-sponsors, while a parallel
Congressional Resolution, launched by Representatives Salmon (R-AZ),
Engel (D-NY), Saxton (R-NJ) and Lantos (D-CA), now has 78 co-sponsors.
Following President Clinton's meeting with Yasser Arafat last week,
State Department Spokesman James Rubin said that a unilateral
declaration of statehood "would be a mistake that would undermine the
ability to negotiate a permanent status [arrangement]." The House and
Senate resolutions are aimed at ensuring that the White House abides
by this policy.
**********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, February 14, 1999
Reply-to: netnews@a7.org
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, Feb. 14, 1999 / Sh'vat 28, 5759
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. PRAYER RALLY DRAWS OVER A THIRD OF A MILLION
2. RABBI KOOK: VIGIL NOT AGAINST DEMOCRACY
3. NETANYAHU ENCOURAGES DIALOGUE
4. JORDAN REJECTS CONFEDERATION WITH ARAFAT
1. PRAYER RALLY DRAWS OVER A THIRD OF A MILLION
Media estimates of the attendance at the prayer vigil/rally this
afternoon in Jerusalem put the total number at approximately 350,000.
Religious Jews of all streams heeded the calls of their spiritual
leaders and arrived in buses from all over the country. The
participants totally filled the area from the Jerusalem Convention
Center (Binyanei HaUmah) to the old central bus station, as well as
for many blocks around. The mass prayer service began at 3 PM with
the afternoon Minchah service, and continued with the recitation of
Psalms and penitential prayers, interspersed with the blowing of tens
of shofars (ram's horns). It concluded at approximately 4:45 PM with
the crowd crying as one, "The Lord is G-d" - seven times, as on Yom
Kippur. Rabbi Menachem Porush then read aloud the resolutions of the
rabbinical bodies sponsoring the event. As the crowd dispersed, many
of the participants broke out into spontaneous dancing, singing, "May
this hour be one of mercy and one of Heavenly favor."
Posters at the mass gathering read, "The Torah of Israel is not
adjudicatable" - a reference to Chief Justice Barak's 'activist'
approach, according to which, as he said, "everything is subject to
adjudication." Other banners read, "The Supreme Court is tearing the
nation apart," and "This Torah will never be replaced." A separate
section for women and girls was cordoned off, so that there would not
be a mingling of the sexes.
Guards were stationed in the hareidi neighborhoods of Jerusalem,
which had
all but emptied out, to protect against looters and thieves. Similar
prayer vigils were held at the same time in New York, London, Antwerp,
and Paris. Representatives of the media from all over the world were
on hand to cover the event. Some 1,300 policemen were stationed in
the area, including roof-top snipers who were on the lookout for
terrorist activity. Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of
the National Council of Young Israel, speaking from the mass prayer
service to an Arutz-7 correspondent, said, "They say there are almost
half a million people here.
How can one not take part in an event involving almost ten percent of
Israel's Jewish population?"
Media commentators noted the unprecedented discipline and orderliness
of such a large crowd, as well as the significant and unusual measure
of cooperation among the various religious camps in organizing the
event.
2. RABBI KOOK: VIGIL NOT AGAINST DEMOCRACY
Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, the long-time Chief Rabbi of Rehovot -
looked up to by both the religious-Zionist and hareidi sectors -
called for a "peaceful" demonstration today, and for dialogue between
the camps. Speaking with Arutz-7, Rabbi Kook said that the
participants must be careful to heed the directions of the police
today. "But, as usual, the media are portraying the event falsely.
It's not a demonstration against democracy, it is simply a prayer
service, and there will be no speeches... I do not want to risk a
police investigation, so allow me to simply quote former Supreme Court
Chief Justice Moshe Landau, who wrote in a Haifa University Law
journal that the way of the current Supreme Court in this term is not
democratic, and that the Court has taken upon itself the authorities
of the Knesset. Other prominent judges have also expressed similar
harsh criticism... This is a dangerous situation, therefore, that
imperils not only the religious, but the entire society... There is
no other country in the world that would have allowed a judge who
called an entire sector "lice" and "parasites" to continue to serve as
a judge." [President of the Southern District Courts, Justice Oded
Alyagon, called the hareidi community "parasites" in August 1996.]
3. NETANYAHU ENCOURAGES DIALOGUE
The feverish efforts of President Weizman and, chiefly, Prime Minister
Netanyahu over the past few days to have the demonstration postponed
did not bear fruit. "First we'll pray, then we'll talk," said Rabbi
Menachem Porush. Netanyahu met on Friday with leading judicial-system
representatives and religious and hareidi public leaders, in an
attempt to establish a national forum for discussing
religion-and-state issues. Prime Minister Netanyahu said today: "I
condemn in the strongest terms any attacks upon the Supreme Court, and
I defend it totally and completely. This does not mean that it is
unacceptable to criticize... I have been working over the past few
days to bring about an understanding between the sides - not with
complete success, I admit - and I will continue to do so... For the
Jewish people, nationality and religion are intertwined, and it is
impossible to define the Jewish people by completely separating its
national identity from its religious identity."
Other quotes:
Minister Limor Livnat said on Friday, " [Labor MK] Yael Dayan and I
demonstrated outside the Supreme Court several years ago in protest of
the light sentences handed down to rapists. In a democratic society,
everyone has a right to express criticism, to demonstrate and to
protest against any institution, even the Supreme Court."
Chief Justice Aharon Barak, explaining why he has refused to meet with
hareidi leaders: "Judges are supposed to speak only in the courtroom.
If the Court will conduct negotiations regarding items and issues on
its agenda, its objectivity will be harmed."
Former Supreme Court justice Tzvi Tal: "There is room for the Supreme
Court to make an 'accounting' regarding its sensitivity to Jewish
tradition and that which is holy to it."
Author A.B. Yehoshua called upon the religious public "who cannot
adapt to the national reality in Israel" to return to the Diaspora.
Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak: "I am not afraid of Rabbi Ovadiah
Yosef, and I have met with him and told him clearly what I felt on
this matter... We must cease surrendering to extremist hareidi
elements, and the way to do this is by replacing the government at the
ballot box."
4. JORDAN REJECTS CONFEDERATION WITH ARAFAT
Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat has re-proposed a
confederation between Jordan and a possible future Palestinian state.
In a speech before Fatah activists in Hevron, Arafat said, "We are
twin nations, and there is no reason why the idea should not be
implemented." Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ila'a Al-Hatib said
that such a proposal cannot be considered before there is a
Palestinian state. The idea is not new, and was first proposed as
part of a 1985 pact between Arafat and the late King Hussein of
Jordan.
********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, February 15, 1999
Reply-to: netnews@a7.org
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, Feb. 15, 1999 / Sh'vat 29, 5759
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. POST-RALLY CONCLUSIONS
2. JUSTICE MINISTER EXPLAINS
3. PRAYER RALLY: REHEARSAL FOR THE GREETING OF THE MESSIAH
1. POST-RALLY CONCLUSIONS
Estimates of the attendance at yesterday's giant prayer-rally vary
widely, and range between 250,000 and close to half a million people.
Chaim Walder writes in the hareidi paper Yated Ne'eman that the
sensation there was one of positive pride and satisfaction, and that
the rally was a "show of strength against those who would destroy us."
The religious-Zionist daily Hatzofeh highlighted the fact that at the
conclusion of the rallies in Jerusalem yesterday, "thousands of
people" from both the religious rally and the left-wing
counter-demonstration a few hundred meters away gathered in groups and
held discussions on the issues of democracy and religious rights.
2. JUSTICE MINISTER EXPLAINS
Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi says today that he does not regret
having taking part in yesterday's counter-demonstration run by
left-wing groups, despite the jeers with which he was greeted there.
He told Arutz-7 today that neither does he regret the harsh things he
said there about yesterday's prayer vigil. "I objected to the blanket
delegitimization of the Supreme Court as an institution," Hanegbi
said. "I admire the tenacity of the hareidi community and its
determination to preserve Jewish practice.
At the same time, I don't think that changes of societal norms and
behaviors will come through compulsion." Though he stressed that
separation of religion and state in Israel is impractical, he said
that religious practice should be left up to the individual: "Many
Israelis fulfill a good portion of the 613 [Torah] commandments, and
not because the state forces them to... We cannot have giant
demonstrations against the Supreme Court simply because people object
to their rulings. Many rulings anger many sectors of the population,
but it is not acceptable to attack the Court as an institution because
of this."
Arutz-7 News Editor Haggai Segal pointed out to Hanegbi that one of
the issues that brought the masses to the rally yesterday was "Chief
Justice Aharon Barak's statement that 'everything is adjudicatable'
[including the definition of the fundamental of Jewish identity]."
Hanegbi responded, "The Chief Justice has said on numerous occasions
that he does not feel that way." Segal retorted: "I myself have heard
him say as much with my own two ears!" Hanegbi: "Barak feels only
that everything comes under the purview of the law, not that
everything is adjudicatable. The justice system has an interest in
everything that goes on in society, since all issues [directly or
indirectly] involve rights. This doesn't mean, though, that the court
will adjudicate all cases. Many people have misunderstood him." The
Justice Minister said that what appears to be the Supreme Court's more
"activist" approach reflects the failure of Israeli legislators, who
have failed to legislate some of the delicate religious issues of the
day.
3. PRAYER RALLY: REHEARSAL FOR THE GREETING OF THE MESSIAH
Rabbi Elimelech Tirnoyer, one of the main organizers and the announcer
at the rally, summed up the event for Arutz-7 today: "The
participants filled the streets from the Machaneh Yehuda market to the
television studios, and from the Sakharov Gardens [at the entrance to
the city]... This was great, an awesome spectacle! I can only
describe it as a preparation for the coming of the Messiah into the
gates of Jerusalem. When I was visiting a prominent rabbi in
Jerusalem yesterday after the gathering, there were people there
seriously debating when a Jewish assembly of this magnitude had last
taken place - during the days of the Second Temple, or at the stand at
Mount Sinai?... The sense of unity that filled the air was amazing!
Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews singing together the same traditional
prayers to the same tunes! The prayers that were heard... Forget the
Supreme Court issue! Just the unity and prayers alone were enough!...
I heard that Chief Rabbi Lau cried [on television], but I can tell
you that he was not the only one: women, children, and elderly people
were literally weeping, their prayer sheets soaked with liters of
tears. And at the conclusion, the mass recitation of "The Lord is G-d"
and "Shma Yisrael" was simply an unforgettable spectacle. Men with
knitted yarmulkes danced with others who bore sombreros, who in turn
joined hands with Gerer Hasidim... Not one negative word was uttered
against any Jew, not even against politicians or government
institutions... No one was hurt and there was no violence. For this
I want to thank from the depths of my heart the wise Chief of
Jerusalem Police, Mr. Yitzchaki, who agreed to our request not to
bring policemen with clubs or horses... It was really a
sanctification of G-d's name! Wonderful, sweeter than honey..."
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