If I forget thee...

Annapolis...

2007-11-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

Defining Annapolis Down
Noah Pollak

Is there anything left to be said about the Annapolis conference that hasn’t been said, at this point, dozens of times before? Well, not really. But there are a few smaller items worth discussing.

On Monday a force of 300 Palestinian Authority policemen were sent to the Balata refugee camp near Nablus, a stronghold of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, in order to demonstrate that the Palestinian Authority is attempting to fulfill its Phase I obligations under the Road Map. Remember the Road Map? That document has been living a strange existence in recent months, as it has been both invoked and ignored by all parties involved, at their convenience. The Balata operation was about as symbolic as it gets, with PA police taking up positions in the camp, trading a few shots with members of the Brigades, and then packing up and leaving twelve hours later.

For years The PA did nothing about the Road Map but offered various lame excuses as to why it couldn't, it wouldn't, it shouldn't comply with it and why Israel should... Could their sudden show of "interest" have an ulterior motive?

But the simple fact that a group of armed men, called the PA police, exchanged gunfire with a Palestinian terrorist group—the Martyr’s Brigades are also heavily involved in terrorizing Palestinians—will be used as leverage for demands for Israeli concessions, such as prisoner releases and a reduction in the IDF presence in the West Bank. If Phase I of the Road Map suddenly is being invoked again, the Israelis should re-read what it entails and insist on more than a half-day, merely symbolic PA police parade through Balata. Phase I is supposed to be permanent.

Frankly, as long as we have the likes of Olmert, the Invertebrate, et al bowing and kowtowing to Condi, that brilliant political scientist who is taking lessons from James "F... the Jews" Baker and the peanut bandit, Jimmy Carter... you can bet there will be a redefinition of Phase I and the actual duration of "permanent."

The rhetoric surrounding the conference has changed of late, and I think some people are making the mistake of taking Ehud Olmert’s lofty declarations seriously. The Israelis have done a good job of performing a sort of good cop/bad cop routine with their American interlocutors, and with the media as well. In front of the cameras, Olmert speaks in dulcet clichés about hopefulness and breakthroughs and the great promise of Annapolis, while in private meetings, people like Ehud Barak and Avigdor Lieberman have used hard facts to slap down Rice’s peace-process dreamscape. Such facts include these: Israel will retain freedom of action for the IDF in the Palestinian territories; Israel will not withdraw from the West Bank until a comprehensive missile defense system is in place; Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu, two members of Olmert’s coalition, will bring down the government if red lines are crossed; etc..

I wish I could share Mr. Pollak's optimism in the Israeli government. Unfortunately, based on past performance I hold no illusions as to how far Allmerde is really willing to reach before he hardens against the PA's inaction, intransigence and murderous lies. As for Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu bolting the government, my hopes are practically non-existent. As long as Allmerde is able to keep buying them off, they'll find plenty of excuses for staying in and explaining it as actually being there to curb the PM's enthusiasm in destroying the country even faster than he already is.

This disconnect has created an interesting dynamic, a sort of inverse relationship between rhetoric and reality, in which officials from all sides speak increasingly in platitudes, as the likelihood of anything concrete resulting from Annapolis continues to decrease. If the peace process has drifted off into Never Never Land, why not at least say the nice things that people enjoy hearing about peace processes? These declarations are starting to sound like the slogans affixed to those colorful motivation posters that can be purchased out of the SkyMall catalogue. Condi: “We can succeed. Failure is simply not an option.” Tony Blair: “Intentions will not suffice; only actions will.” Olmert: “This is an opportunity and it must be seized.”

Rice’s most recent trip, from which she returned Monday, was her eight to the region this year, and she will return for a ninth visit before the month is up. For all this activity and the trainwreck of clichés it has generated, remarkably little has been resolved. It is still uncertain which Arab states will show up in Annapolis, and under what conditions; the entire Hamas/Gaza crisis is being ignored thoroughly; and Annapolis itself continues to be defined downward, at this point being proposed as a sort of timeline marker to signify the start of negotiations that the participants hope to complete by the end of the Bush presidency. With goals like these, how can it not be a success?

For failure to truly be "not an option" Ms. Rice should abandon the unreal Realpolitik that historically has only served to compound today's problems around the world. Who are her mentors, the men she draws inspiration from?

James Carter is the former President whose legacy to the world includes, among other things, enabling the rise to power of the Ayatollahs in Iran and putting Mugabe at the helm in Zimbabwe. Did the Peanut Bandit's actions prove to be of any benefit or... do we all realize the disasters his foreign policy has wrought?!?!?

James "F... the Jews" Baker, proved to be an unmitigated calamity to American foreign policy! It is thanks to him that we are currently at war in Iraq. As the chief Consigliere of the Royal House of Saud, as a man who (when representing the US) was more interested in securing juicy deals for his firms clients than for his country, CAN BAKER BE TRUSTED TO GIVE GOOD, UNBIASED, ADVICE?!?!? The answer, gentle reader, is blowing in the wind and it's disgustingly unpleasant!

Tony Blair declared: “Intentions will not suffice; only actions will.” But... he has already made it clear that his idea of "actions" means more confidence bolstering for Abbas and his crew... Hasn't Israel tried that over and over and over? What fruit have these confidence bolstering "gestures" ever produced, beyond further bloodshed and more demands?

As Sarah Lehman wrote, The November Conference looms ahead and forebodes disaster. Relinquishing any part of Eretz Yisrael, especially Yerushalayim, Yehudah and Shomron, is relinquishing the Jewish heart in its heartland. It poses an immediate and irrevocable threat to Jewish lives. At this juncture we cannot afford to witness more tacit support in or out of the Knesset for such perfidy. Frankly, gentle reader, the upcoming Annapolis Conference as it stands now is merely a modern day "Munich" conference where Israel is about to be stripped of any semblance of a country.

This Munich type conference's eventual aim is not a Two State solution, but a One State (NOT a Jewish one, mind you, if Annapolis is to be considered a success by the likes of Rice, Baker and Carter!). Aside from it's effect on the Zionist Entity and dem Jooz, how will this Annapolis "Munich" Conference help America's own efforts on the War on Terror? HOW WILL SACRIFICING A FEW MILLION JEWS TO ALLAH'S FOLLOWERS MAKE THIS A SAFER, BETTER, WORLD?!?!? Frankly, it will only whet the appetite of the blood thirsty IslamoFascists in their pursuit of the big prize... the whole of the western world!!!! Could it be that John Edwards saying the War on Terror is merely a bumper sticker, will become true after all?!?!?

Chaim

Crossposted at: Freedom's Cost

Sara Lehman on: Need breeds Greed

2007-11-07T06:21:00.000-05:00

Need Breeds Greed
by Sara Lehmann

I called a friend in Israel before Rosh Hashanah to wish her a Shanah Tovah and we exchanged news about our families. My friend’s nineteen-year-old daughter is currently involved in shidduchim and is looking exclusively for a husband who will be a full-time learner. My friend’s description of the process provided revealing insights into the Israeli counterpart of a world that I know well in Chutz LaAretz. Her daughter’s wish to marry someone who does not plan on working is quite the “ordre du jour” these days. But in light of current and past wrongs in Israel and their effects on the Jewish people as a whole, it seems to me that this wish involves ramifications that should transcend a personal choice.

My friend’s daughter never lacked for anything and seems quite unprepared to live a life of Torah under privation, despite her protests to the contrary. Of course her parents plan to pick up the tab, as many parents in such a scenario do. So many of these girls’ idealistic pursuits are buttressed by the pocketbooks of those who enable them. But there are limits, especially with younger siblings in the household. My friend’s daughter will not even consider someone who may have a long-term plan to support his family, and my friend’s dismay at this extreme attitude is not unlike that of many other families in Israel and in America. I have attended countless shidduch meetings in New York where mothers bemoan this stance that their children have adopted yet seem powerless to confront or negate it.

Torah is the bedrock of Judaism, and Torah learning is what sustains this foundation. Without it we Jews would simply not survive as Jews, as evidenced by those who have thrown off the yolk of Torah and vanished through assimilation. The concept of “Koveiah Itim”, setting aside time for Torah learning, is obligatory on all Jewish men. It is imperative that we have amongst us those who devote their lives to such a course so that we have talmidei chachamim to serve as rabbanim, dayanim and mechanchim in our communities. However, Torah scholars are not mass produced, and not everyone has the potential to become one. Today, it unfortunately seems as if the once valuable partnership of Yissachar and Zvulun has been hijacked by one side.

This single-minded manifesto to pursue a kollel life at almost all cost is a relatively new phenomenon. One does not need to go back to the days of the Tannaim to ascertain how the greatest of our sages worked for their livings. My mother grew up in a Rabbinic Chassidic home in Transylvania during World War II and clearly remembers the role of the father as a breadwinner in every household. She recalls how shameful it actually was for a husband to have to rely on his wife’s earnings. One would think that if Hashem did not intend for man to work, we would still be collecting mannah each morning outside our doorsteps.

My friend in Israel attributes much of her daughter’s leanings to her teachers. She told me that teachers in her daughter’s school in Petach Tikvah will now not even use the word “work” when referring to an eligible young man’s plans for the future. They have come up with a euphemism to replace the dirty word, and they admonish their students not to even consider dating someone who plans “la tzeit” - “to go out”. I wonder if these young men recognize the irony of their now having achieved a similar status to that of the ideal Bat Yisrael, who is extolled by King Solomon for not “going out” in his words, “Kevod Bat Melech Pnimah”.

By opting for such a lifestyle, an enormous burden is put on the wife. She usually becomes the sole earner of the family and no longer serves as the Akeret Habayit to her children at home. Invaluable opportunities to teach children basic lessons in manners and inestimable rules of social interaction based on Torah values are frequently squandered without the proper mentors. Notwithstanding our obligation to support a certain amount of talmidei chachamim in kollel, an indiscriminate carte blanche invitation to all has engendered dependency as a matter of course.

In Israel especially, this situation seems to be compounded by the severity of prevalent difficulties. Unlike my friend, many parents are not in the position to support their children. The stipends of the typical kollel do not go a long way, and the benefits of programs in America, such as food stamps, section 8 and medicaid, do not have ready equivalents in Israel. Furthermore, the restrictions of not attending college, not only by the dictates of full-time learning but also by the shunning of the army draft, have limited the options of those who are forced to reconsider a kollel life and provide sustenance for their family. All these can cause a domino effect leading to rampant poverty.

It is not improbable to correlate claims of privation among this sector and ill-fated decisions in the Israeli government. Many of these citizens have grown accustomed to hand-outs in some form or another, and there is no shortage of willing politicians eager to fill the demand at any cost. It is no wonder that the Torah insists that the judges of Israel be independently wealthy (as were many of the leaders) and thus impervious to bribes. Needy leaders who represent needy followers are easy bait for corruption, and the ills of bribery cast long shadows after their acceptance.

To the irreparable detriment of the Jewish people, it seems as if Israel has sacrificed much on the supposed alter of Torah learning. The leaders of political parties in Israel who represent the vast majority of this segment of society have supported Knesset policies that have slowly destroyed the lives and security of their fellow Jews. Shas’s endorsement of the Oslo Accords enabled them to pass in the Knesset, a debacle that spiraled downwards into tragic consequences. How can a party steeped in Torah knowledge have agreed to give up parts of the holy land that Hashem promised His children? If one were to excuse their judgement as a mixture of naivete and a desire for peace for the sake of pikuach nefesh, how can one forgive subsequent decisions? After thousands of Jews were slaughtered and maimed as a result of Oslo, how can Shas now sit in the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a traitor to his G-d and his people, who plans to give the Palestinian Authority a state in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and much of Jerusalem?

How did UTJ (United Torah Judaism - Agudah) justify joining the government coalition that approved the Disengagement from Gaza? What amount of shekalim can absolve a religious party from receiving support for its constituents at the expense of ruining 10,000 lives and endangering their fellow countrymen? For that matter, why were so many of their American counterparts silent at the time? If ever a time of pikuach nefesh warranted action, that was it.

And what can one make of the endorsement by Rav Ovadiah Yosef, spiritual leader of Shas, of a man who is the antipathy of Judaism to serve as president of the State of Israel? Shimon Peres, a pariah of politics who has made a career of castigating the Jewish religion at every ample opportunity, won approbation from the likes of Rav Menachem Porush of the Agudah and won the presidency through the enabling of Shas. Such a Chillul Hashem is monumental. It has already had ripples of repercussions as this serpentine president usurps maximum power from a role that until now has been largely symbolic. His very first speech gave tacit support to the notion of relinquishing holy and strategic land, and he continues to take advantage of a pulpit to push his agenda of delusional capitulation.

Israel’s politics has been hijacked by the suicidal leanings of the Left, and its culture has been dying a slow death at the hands of the irreligious policies of its educators. The moral compass of a land that should have been directed by Judaic values has been increasingly off kilter. The religious right could have been at the forefront of combating this sickness and taking stands that would have made a Kiddush Hashem. Unfortunately, not only were opportunities of this sort wasted but too many were exploited. With their success at halting the Gay Pride Parade last summer in Jerusalem, the strength of their numbers and purpose should not be undervalued. They have the potential of being a force worth reckoning with. Their dedication to Torah study has the potential of linking with Torah action to achieve results.

It seems as if the personal dilemma which my friend in Israel is grappling with has national consequences. Her daughter’s decision to subscribe to a system of living that does not promote working can have ripple effects on more Jews than just those who adhere to it. Troubles of dependency in Israel cannot be viewed in a bubble. The rumblings against the Israeli government cutbacks affecting Chareidi families underscores how intertwined their lives are with the government. It highlights the necessity of division between the two based on financial independence in order to avoid corruption. The lives of all Jews are connected, and the manipulation by some, whether they be by those on the right or the left, have repercussions for all.

The November Conference looms ahead and forebodes disaster. Relinquishing any part of Eretz Yisrael, especially Yerushalayim, Yehudah and Shomron, is relinquishing the Jewish heart in its heartland. It poses an immediate and irrevocable threat to Jewish lives. At this juncture we cannot afford to witness more tacit support in or out of the Knesset for such perfidy. The Jewish people are waiting for the rabbanim and leaders in Israel and America to stand up and make a Kiddush Hashem worthy of the imprimatur of Torah scholarship.

CALL TO ACTION - CONTACT CONGRESS

2007-11-07T06:14:00.000-05:00

URGENT INFORMATION REGARDING A NEW HOUSE RESOLUTION: H.Res.758

This resolution can impact the outcome of the upcoming Annapolis Summit by calling for Palestinian accountability.

Last week, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced H.Res.758 jointly with Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV). This resolution calls on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also chairman of his Fatah Party, to officially renounce ten articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel’s destruction and acts of terrorism against its people.

The Fatah Constitution opposes any political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and it labels Zionism as racism. Other examples of the offensive language among the ten separate articles that explicitly seek to incite violence against the state of Israel include the following:

Article 17
(“armed public revolution is the inevitable method to liberating Palestine”)

Article 19
(“the struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished”)

Article 22
(“opposing any political solution offered as an alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation of Palestine”)

Rep. Blunt released the following statement:

“There can be no reasonable expectation of a broad-based, long-term reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians while one side’s constituting document calls for the complete destruction of the other. I believe it’s absolutely critical that the insidious nature of the Palestinian constitution be brought to light – and that those with a genuine interest in working toward peace insist its most unconstructive provisions be abrogated from the text.

“It goes without saying that a basic condition of negotiating with someone is recognizing their right to exist – and once that’s granted, the right to live without fear of terrorism. But, at least according to the ruling party's constitution, even these fundamental concessions continue to be rejected by the Palestinian leadership.

“The resolution I’ve offered with Rep. Shelley Berkley builds on the Arafat Accountability Act of 2002, which sought to bring action against former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as long as he continued to sanction acts of terrorism against Israel. This resolution takes a different approach, but the message remains the same: As long as Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah Party continue to promote the wholesale destruction of Israel, there can be no possibility for peace – whether in our time, or any other.”

It will be easy for you to contact your representative and ask him/her to support H.Res.758. To send the message, simply click the link below. You will be asked to enter your state and zip code. You will then be directed to your own Representative’s Website where you simply fill out a short form using your own message or you can copy and paste the sample message below.
Go to your Representative’s Website and send a message.

SAMPLE MESSAGE:

Dear Congressman,

I hope you will co-sponsor H. Res. 758 calling for accountability from the Palestinians. The PLO Charter (Constitution) calls for incitement to violence and the destruction of Israel and its people. By co-sponsoring this resolution, you will make a statement that will express the opinion of millions of Americans against submitting to wanton calls in the Palestinian Constitution for the eradication of the state of Israel. This demand particularly applies to the upcoming Annapolis Summit that will ask for millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to go to the Palestinians and promises them statehood, while at the same time they continue to profess their underlying “death wish” for the state of Israel.

Rep. Blunt said, “As long as Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah Party continue to promote the wholesale destruction of Israel, there can be no possibility for peace – whether in our time, or any other.”

As long as the Palestinian Constitution remains in effect in its current form, it is preposterous to assume that the Palestinians have any intention for peaceful coexistence.

Respectfully,

CAJLCC110607 What we can do to save Judea and Samaria, by Nadia Matar.

2007-11-06T11:48:00.000-05:00

CAJL Conference of Authentic Jewish Leadership
CC Calling Campaign
November 6, 2007

The following was sent out by Nadia Mater, forefront activist, leader of Women in Green in Israel.

Dear Friends,

1) Yesterday, Monday evening, a group of us went to a very last-minute demonstration to give support to the 30 youth still in jail after they had been arrested the day before (Sunday) by the police for the "crime" of settling the Land of Israel. As you may recall, this past holiday of Sukkot, the Land of Israel Faithful, Youth for Eretz Israel, Women in Green and others have put up five new communities in Judea and Samaria. Three of the five communities lasted a day or two before the authorities brought them down. Weekly activities continue to take place on those three hills until we will be able to return and settle them with families, please G-d, in the near future.

But two out of the five communities have held strong since Sukkot, with families and youth living there. One community is "Harchivi" next to Elon Moreh and the other is "Shvut Ami" next to Kedumim. More than once, the authorities have sent troops to Shvut Ami to bring down the residents, but they have always immediately returned. On Sunday, the troops came once again and this time were very brutal, arresting over 40 youth and confiscating their cameras. The youth spent the night in jail and some thirty of them are still incarcerated in the Ariel police lockup. Last night close to a 100 people came to the Ariel police station to show our support to those wonderful idealistic youth who understand that now, more than ever, we must fight for every inch of this land. Their friends who have not been arrested have already returned to Shvut Ami to rebuild the place.

More details can be found by clicking on the Arutz 7 newsreport about it in English:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124139

We strongly suggest you also click on the Hebrew website, where you will find a videoclip of Shvut Ami and of what happened in court yesterday: http://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/168213

There is no doubt that at this time, when the Olmert government wants to give away large parts of the land to the Arab enemy, the authorities are very bothered by activities that express our eternal link to the Land of Israel. We expect there to be many more actions by the police in the coming weeks against the Jews living in Judea and Samaria.

THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

Women in Green call upon all of you to have a campaign of protest phone calls to your nearby Israeli Embassy and to your Congressmen. When we in Israel protest the government's crushing of Jewish civil rights, it does not bother Olmert one bit. But when lovers of Israel abroad, Jews and non-Jews alike, bombard the embassies with masses of protest calls and faxes, then they do take notice.

Below are the numbers of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Keep their numbers for you will need them in the coming weeks and do not stop calling them whether it is to protest the arrest of tens of minors who have done nothing wrong except settling the Land of Israel ,or whether you simply want to tell them: I oppose the creation of a Palestinian State in Israel's Biblical Heartland.

Embassy of Israel in Washington D.C.
Tel 202-364-5500
Fax 202-364-5527
For finding the consulate closest to you please click on:
http://israelemb.org/israeli-consulate-in-usa.htm

For finding your congressmen please go to the following website: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

2) Wednesday mornings - Women in Green mornings

Starting this coming Wednesday, November 7th, Women in Green will hold weekly activities to support the Land of Israel.

This Wednesday we will go to Hebron and show support to our heroic brothers there. We will meet at 10:15am at the Gush Etzion intersection and drive with our cars to Hevron. Approximate return to Jerusalem: 2:00pm.

3) SUNDAY, November 11th: The State of Israel vs Nadia Matar in the Jonathan Bassi case.

As you may recall, Women in Green co-chair Nadia Matar was accused of "insulting a public official" after having written an open letter to Jonathan Bassi, head of the Sela committee before the expulsion from Gush Katif. Judge David Mintz, in the Shalom Court, dismissed the case saying that Nadia was unfairly being accused, when so many leftists had said things that were much worse, and were not put to trial. The State of Israel appealed Mintz's decision and won.

The trial is starting all over again in the Shalom Court, once again in front of Judge David Mintz.
The public is invited to come and protest this outrage.

When? Sunday, November 11th at 8:30pm
Where? Jerusalem, the Shalom Court, in front of Judge David Mintz.

Because there are often last minute changes we suggest you check your email to make sure we did not post any cancellation or change of date.

4) A call for Action by www.israelunitycoalition.org - Call your Congressmen

URGENT INFORMATION REGARDING A NEW HOUSE RESOLUTION: H.Res.758

This resolution can impact the outcome of the upcoming Annapolis Summit by calling for Palestinian accountability.

Last week, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced H.Res.758 jointly with Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV). This resolution calls on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also chairman of his Fatah Party, to officially renounce ten articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel’s destruction and acts of terrorism against its people.

The Fatah Constitution opposes any political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and it labels Zionism as racism. Other examples of the offensive language among the ten separate articles that explicitly seek to incite violence against the state of Israel include the following:

Article 17
(“armed public revolution is the inevitable method to liberating Palestine”)

Article 19
(“the struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished”)

Article 22
(“opposing any political solution offered as an alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation of Palestine”)

Rep. Blunt released the following statement:

“There can be no reasonable expectation of a broad-based, long-term reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians while one side’s constituting document calls for the complete destruction of the other. I believe it’s absolutely critical that the insidious nature of the Palestinian constitution be brought to light and that those with a genuine interest in working toward peace insist its most unconstructive provisions be abrogated from the text.

“It goes without saying that a basic condition of negotiating with someone is recognizing their right to exist and once that’s granted, the right to live without fear of terrorism. But, at least according to the ruling party's constitution, even these fundamental concessions continue to be rejected by the Palestinian leadership.

“The resolution I’ve offered with Rep. Shelley Berkley builds on the Arafat Accountability Act of 2002, which sought to bring action against former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as long as he continued to sanction acts of terrorism against Israel. This resolution takes a different approach, but the message remains the same: As long as Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah Party continue to promote the wholesale destruction of Israel, there can be no possibility for peace whether in our time, or any other.”

It will be easy for you to contact your representative and ask him/her to support H.Res.758. To send the message, simply click the link below. You will be asked to enter your state and zip code. You will then be directed to your own Representative’s Website where you simply fill out a short form using your own message or you can copy and paste the sample message below.
< http://www.house.gov/writerep/>Go to your Representative’s Website and send a message.

SAMPLE MESSAGE:

Dear Congressman,

I hope you will co-sponsor H. Res. 758 calling for accountability from the Palestinians. The PLO Charter (Constitution) calls for incitement to violence and the destruction of Israel and its people. By co-sponsoring this resolution, you will make a statement that will express the opinion of millions of Americans against submitting to wanton calls in the Palestinian Constitution for the eradication of the state of Israel. This demand particularly applies to the upcoming Annapolis Summit that will ask for millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to go to the Palestinians and promises them statehood, while at the same time they continue to profess their underlying “death wish” for the state of Israel.

Rep. Blunt said, “As long as Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah Party continue to promote the wholesale destruction of Israel, there can be no possibility for peace whether in our time, or any other.”

As long as the Palestinian Constitution remains in effect in its current form, it is preposterous to assume that the Palestinians have any intention for peaceful coexistence.

Respectfully,

(Insert your name) _______________________
<http://www.israelunitycoalition.org/pdf/hres758.pdf> View the full Resolution

With Love of Israel,

Ruth and Nadia Matar

Purely Right!

2007-11-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

One on One: Purely Right
Ruthie Blum
THE JERUSALEM POST - November 1, 2007

'The fact is that everyone has a responsibility to prevent someone else from committing suicide," says Herb Zweibon, chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI), a conservative, New York City-based organization promoting "peace through strength," rather than "land for peace."

This, according to Zweibon, is what the Bush administration should be doing - not allowing Israel to put itself at existential risk by withdrawing from territory that is not only crucial militarily, but central to its "covenant." Pretty heavy stuff, coming from someone who hails from the United States, and who is neither Orthodox nor claims to be a "Jew first."

For, while Zweibon, who resides two months of every year in Herzliya, made his living in the real estate business, his life has been devoted to a different sort of passion for property - that of the right of the Jewish people to the Holy Land. And, if his uncompromising posture vis-a-vis political deal-making is anything to go by, he's probably not someone you'd want to come up against when buying a house. So hard a bargainer is he, in fact, that he has kept the running of his non-profit group - established in the early 1970s - as close to his chest as his heart. Or, more to the point, his mouth.

"Expanding would require a lot of money," explains Zweibon, whose demeanor is as affable as his doomsaying is direct. "Then we'd have to be beholden to the people who gave it to us, and I don't want to be told what to say."

Indeed, anyone familiar with AFSI's monthly publication, appropriately named Outpost, can attest to its pull-no-punches polemics. Edited by founder Rael Jean Isaac, the 12-page newsletter - in which Zweibon and associate Ruth King, among other hawkish contributors, such as former Knesset member Elyakim Ha'etzni, have regular columns - Outpost is distributed free to Congress, pundits and other opinion-makers. (It is now in its 37th year, with a circulation of around 6,000, and currently being reproduced in Canada.)

Like Zweibon and the like-minded evangelical Christians with whom AFSI has cultivated close relations, his organization's rhetorical vehicle is anything but apologetic when it comes to its relentless support of "the state and the land of Israel."

This undying loyalty, as Zweibon hastens to point out, is "not a question of supporting the government; it's a question of supporting the integrity of the land, because it is essential. And it makes little difference to us whether the government of the United States or the government of Israel believe that they can somehow compromise with the Muslim community. This just will not happen."

Are you a Jew first, or an American first?
I'm an American Jew; I find it very difficult to separate the two. I have loyalty to the United States - I served in the army in World War II - and I have been heavily involved in Jewish affairs almost all my life, at least for the last 40 years of it.

Is that why AFSI doesn't have the word "Jewish" in its title?
That's correct. Though most of our membership is Jewish, we do have non-Jews. As a matter of fact, AFSI reached out to Christian groups as early as 1984. We even invited the Reverend Jerry Falwell to speak at our conference. Whereupon, many of our members asked me, "Are you off the rail?" [he smiles] "Have you lost your marbles?"

Why did they respond that way?
They thought that the Christians either weren't friendly, or that their motivations were not appropriate to a group that was mainly Jewish and concerned about Israel. But we knew that was not so.

You mean motivations like conversion?
Yes, conversion, and the bringing on of the messiah. When Falwell finished his presentation, and we opened the floor to questions, somebody asked him: "Isn't it true that you want all of us to make aliya so that the messiah can come?"

His answer was: "My dear friend, if you think the good lord is going to wait for you [Jews] to go to Israel in order to decide when [the messiah is coming], you have another thing coming."

Anyway, this relationship between us has gone on for a long time, and I believe that it's borne fruit. We have made many, many friends in that community, and they have been very helpful politically in regard to Israel's needs.

On the one hand, both AFSI and the evangelical Christians maintain that Israel's well-being is in the political interest of the United States. On the other, you both talk about the Jews' biblical right to the Holy Land. Which is it?
I always say to people who are interested in AFSI that it makes little difference how one comes to support us or the State of Israel. Is it scripture? Fine. Is it connected to Israel's strategic requirements? Good. Is it a matter of international law and the rights of the Jewish people to this land? Welcome. Any and all of these are appropriate for involvement in supporting the state and integrity of the land of Israel, which is primary to AFSI.

Doesn't your ideological purism - which seems like the opposite of realpolitik - cause you political problems? After all, by believing in the integrity of the land of Israel because of the Jews' right to all of it, you necessarily oppose any deal that involves relinquishing any of the land.
I'm not so sure [it's the opposite of realpolitik]. There are many people in Israel who, as a result of the political situation, agree that the integrity of the land is essential. When leaders of the country talk about Judea and Samaria as being dispensable, you have a serious problem - which goes back to two matters. One is security. We know that the area of Judea and Samaria - what some call the West Bank - is hill country, overlooking the Coastal Plain. There are points along the Coastal Plain that are as narrow as 9-12 miles - a very dangerous situation, when you have a potential enemy up high, and you're down low. Following Israel's recovering of the land in 1967, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff did a report in which they laid out certain parameters, among them retention of the mountain ridge running north to south in Judea and Samaria. There were other things that they suggested be retained, as well. Sharm e-Sheikh, for example. The Golan, certainly. So, military experts saw the situation in this part of the world, and after reflecting on it, this was their recommendation. Such things don't change, particularly in the Middle East, where the enemy is very persistent and determined.

That is one aspect. The other is the recognition by the Western world that the Jews had a claim to the land of Israel, based on scripture. And what are the places on which they base that recognition? The hills of Judea and Samaria. Those are the places that are part of the covenant, if you will.

We are aware of Christian elements who espouse replacement theology. But those who support us and understand the rights and needs of the Jewish people in the land of Israel hold fast. I'm thinking right now of a group called CUFI - Christians United for Israel - established by Pastor John Hagee. I must admit, I was somewhat nervous about Hagee's statements early on, because he said [his group] would support the government of Israel no matter what it did. I sent him a letter asking him how he can reconcile this with scripture, and told him that making nice with the government of Israel - or playing kissy with AIPAC - doesn't help us. I must say, the statements that emerged in the last CUFI convention in Houston were first class, though I don't take any credit for influencing Hagee.

If the head of a left-wing organization had written such a letter about not supporting the government of Israel at all costs, would you not view it as disloyal? I remember right-wingers calling people who engaged in such practices traitors.
As I said before, it's not a question of supporting the government; it's a question of supporting the integrity of the land, because it is essential. And it makes little difference to us whether the government of the United States or the government of Israel believe that they can somehow compromise with the Muslim community. This just will not happen.

Some would argue that the reason former prime minister Ariel Sharon was able to carry out disengagement was that a majority of the population was persuaded that demography was not in Israel's favor. Even a number of conservatives said - albeit sadly - that the settlement movement and mass aliya had both failed. In other words, if Jews like yourself had come here in droves and settled the land whose integrity is of such concern to you, Israel wouldn't be in the situation it is today.
Well, I'm not sure this analysis is right, but it has no bearing on the problem of security and Jewish rights. The fact that the electorate in Israel is confused doesn't surprise me at all. The results of elections in this country are beyond understanding, as is the fact that Kadima came away with 29 seats when it's not really a party, but rather a collection of opportunists. Now the people are apparently prepared for another kind of change - one that in my book is not so dramatic.

You mean Bibi Netanyahu?
I mean Bibi Netanyahu.

Why is that not such a dramatic change?
Well [he sighs], Bibi, whom I know and admire, has a problem that most Israeli politicians have, particularly those who spent a lot of time in the United States. I call it Washingtonitis. They are so impressed with the power of the United States - with the strength and breadth of the nation - that they believe Israel is totally dependent.

Isn't it?
No, I don't think it is.

Not even economically?
I wonder.

Not militarily?
Militarily, the resupply in a conflict, perhaps. But then, who did the resupplying? When I'm asked who the best president whoever dealt with the needs of the State of Israel was, I say Richard Nixon. At a very crucial moment, it was Nixon who overrode the advice of people like Henry Kissinger. All the others - going all the way back to the Rogers plan and since then - say, "Give up the land, give up the land."

So you have to ask yourself: Do they really understand the nature of global conflict that Norman Podhoretz has named World War IV?

You fought in World War II. Did the American government understand what dire danger the Jews were in then?
I don't think they cared. The proof is that they did relatively nothing to save the Jews. So, the reality is that we must learn to depend on ourselves, and be strong and stay strong for a long period. Otherwise, all of Israel's great accomplishments could disappear in a flash. Even the US, had it not maintained its strength, would have lost to the Soviet Union. Today, the influence of radical Islam - in Europe especially, but in the US as well - threatens to undermine that strength. Democracy is at risk when you provide the ability for a group to take control of a political situation. Can it happen in the US? I don't think so. But, I don't know whether the president truly understands the nature of the problem.

President George Bush doesn't understand the nature of the problem?
Yes, well, the Bush Doctrine is a bit foolish. Democracy in the Middle East? Where has it ever existed?

Natan Sharansky argues that democracies emerged where it had been thought impossible.
In Germany and Japan?

Yes, and the Soviet Union.
There was a prelude to the forming of democracy in Germany and Japan, and I'm not sure that in the Soviet Union - or what's left of the Soviet Union - is exactly going forward with democracy. Germany and Japan were defeated. We occupied and stayed there for decades.

Wasn't that what Bush had in mind for Iraq?
I don't think so, but even if it was, I don't think that democracy - which is antithetical to [radical] Islam - can survive in Iraq. When the president calls Islam a "religion of peace," come on, I mean, doesn't he understand? And then when he further says that there can be two states in this little piece of land called Israel?

In fairness to Bush, Sharon and his adviser, Dov Weisglass - and subsequently Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni - all assured him that a two-state solution was a viable option. Is Bush supposed to be more Catholic than the pope?
Yes, definitely. When he was governor of Texas, Bush was taken by the very same Sharon on a [helicopter] tour over Judea and Samaria, landing in the Golan Heights. He got a full explanation of Israel's military requirements, and understood them full well. For anybody today to say that you can put a potentially dangerous entity on the hills of Judea and Samaria - don't tell me that it is because of Sharon, Weisglass or anybody else. The fact is that everyone has a responsibility to prevent someone else from committing suicide. If you're standing on the precipice, it is my duty to pull you back.

Aren't your expectations too high? After all, the president, however well-informed or well-intentioned, is a politician who has to maneuver his own political system.
I don't believe for a minute that there is any political advantage to a lame duck president creating [the illusion of] peace in the Middle East. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Maybe it's a smoke screen to divert attention from his intention to bomb Iran.
What does one have to do with the other? If he believes that Israel has to pay the price for bringing other Arab nations to the American side when and if they decide to act in Iran, well, which of these countries is prepared to help? Saudi Arabia, armed to the teeth, never fired a shot at anybody. The Syrians? I don't think so. Who? Who will it be? There is nobody there. You can provide all the goodies you like to the Arab countries; they will not join us in an attack on Iran, even if it is in their interest.

Why does it matter whether they join such an attack?
It matters because we seem to be offering up Israel's well-being and safety in the interest of bringing together Muslim nations in the conflict with Iran.

Are you saying that the United States doesn't really view Israel as crucial to its interests in the Middle East?
I find it difficult to believe that putting a potential enemy in the high ground of the State of Israel is in any way indicative of a country concerned about Israel's well-being.

But the Palestinians are located in the "high ground" of Judea and Samaria anyway; and the weapons and terrorist cells are already in Gaza. Perhaps the attempt at coming to an arrangement is a way of minimizing the danger that already exists.
You have to make a distinction between Gaza and Judea and Samaria, because at this moment, the IDF is still in Judea and Samaria. And since the disengagement from Gaza, missiles have been flying regularly. Every terror group in the world now exists there, which wasn't the case before disengagement. So, all the ideas of Sharon and everybody else in favor of "separation" from the Arabs - well, we haven't separated from anybody. On the contrary, we've given them a solid base pointed at the heart of Israel, and they are having a grand old time. Meanwhile, there is the two-headed snake behind it all - Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism on the one hand, and Iran's nuclear ambitions on the other - that has to be defeated.

If this "two-headed snake" is at the root of the global conflict, what difference do the Palestinians really make? If radical Islam is defeated, doesn't the rest follow? Why are we so focused on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Aren't the Palestinians merely pawns in the greater clash?
Yes, absolutely. They are part of the worldwide conflict. And as part of it, they mean us no good.

Not just Hamas.
No, not just Hamas. All the Arab residents of the land of Israel.

What about Jerusalem? Do you believe it's about to be divided?
[He laughs uncomfortably, and shifts in his seat.] Well, I don't believe it's going to happen, but when you put something on the table, it's in play. The danger is that Jerusalem is now in play. When Tzipi [Livni] says we've got to have a Palestinian state, where is she coming from?

Condi-land, one supposes.
Now, [US Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice is another story, because so far she has not been successful at anything. Condi was supposed to be an expert in Soviet relations. She can supposedly speak Russian. Nu? So, what's happened? We're in worse shape today vis-a-vis [Russian President Vladimir] Putin than before. She hasn't been effective in almost any of the things she's tried to do, and it reflects on what she's trying to do here. And when you're dealing with the weakest element that ever existed in the State of Israel, you can put the pressure on.

Look at it for a moment. I believe that a two-state solution is an existential threat. And who are the people presenting this plan? A prime minister with the lowest rating of any prime minister in the history of the state; Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas], who left Gaza, barely able to get his trousers on; and a president of the United States who is a lame duck under pressure.

These three people - who really have no clout - are trying to decide the fate of the Jewish state and the Jewish people. This is a grave situation.

History and Ikrema Sabri

2007-10-28T15:16:00.000-04:00

From the Jerusalem Post:

‘Western Wall was never part of temple’

The former mufti of Jerusalem, Ikrema Sabri, has made the claim that there never was a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall was really part of a mosque.

“There was never a Jewish temple on Al-Aksa [the mosque compound] and there is no proof that there was ever a temple,” he told The Jerusalem Post via a translator. “Because Allah is fair, he would not agree to make Al-Aksa if there were a temple there for others beforehand.”

Sabri rejected Judaism’s claim to the Western Wall as part of the outer wall of the Second Temple.

“The wall is not part of the Jewish temple. It is just the western wall of the mosque,” he said. “There is not a single stone with any relation at all to the history of the Hebrews.”

Asked if Jews would ever be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount under Muslim control, he replied: “It is not the Temple Mount, you must say Al-Aksa. And no Jews have the right to pray at the mosque. It was always only a mosque - all 144 dunams, the entire area. No Jewish prayer. If the Jews want real peace, they must not do anything to try to pray on Al-Aksa. Everyone knows that.”

“Zionism tries to trick the Jews claiming that this was part of a Jewish temple, but they dug there and they found nothing,” Sabri added.

Archeologists overseeing Islamic infrastructure work on the Mount announced this week that they had unveiled a sealed archeological level dating back to the First Temple period.

The First Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century BCE, and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was built 70 years later, enlarged during the first century BCE by Herod, and destroyed by the Romans in the year 70.

The Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa Mosque were constructed on the Temple Mount site in the late seventh century.

The controversial issue of the holy sites is expected to come up during negotiations ahead of a US-sponsored summit on the Middle East in Annapolis later this year.

Palestinian leaders, most notably the late Yasser Arafat, have consistently denied Jewish claims to the Mount.

Sabri made the comments in an interview with the Post’s Friday supplement, In Jerusalem, for a cover story on how religious leaders view the capital.

Religions, at least those who claim an Abrahamic heritage, stress truth as a virtue and lies as damnable sins. Here is a religious leader who follows in the tradition of Hitler’s friend - Haj Amin al-Hussein, Arafat’s mother’s uncle. He distorts history and invents “facts,” all in an effort to deny the legitimacy of the claims of Jews and Christians to the Temple Mount. His gaul is appalling, yet not surprising. It is no more than another manifestation of IslamoFascism’s plan to deny the validity of any religion outside of itself, in spite of the Quran’s words to the contrary.

Ikrema Sabri, just like al-Husseini before him, is not a true religious leader. He is, first and foremost, a demagogue of the lowest kind. Religion is used to advance his cause, to spread his hatred, his prejudices while gaining power and prestige, as he incites incite others to terrorism. The pompous idiocy of his words would be laughable and easily dismissed were it not for the fact, that neither Jewish or Christian religious leader have made any efforts to expose his politicization of his religious tenets in an effort to deny the undeniability of history. If no one protests, if this descendant of pigs and monkeys, is allowed to get away with his lies there may soon be some misguided souls who will look seriously at his words as a worthy scholarly view.

“…Allah is fair, he would not agree to make Al-Aksa if there were a temple there for others beforehand.” Perhaps. Yet, nobody who is a student of history or current affairs can claim that those who profess to follow Allah, in the Middle East, are… in any way “fair.”

Chaim

Crossposted at: Freedom's Cost

BEDEIN'S TEN POINTS Activism in USA

2007-10-28T15:11:00.000-04:00

TO DEFEAT ANNAPOLIS

DAVID BEDEIN, MSW

COMMUNITY ORGANIZER AND INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

The purpose of the Annapolis Summit is to hand sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and part of Jerusalem to the aegis of the PLO. Sovereignty means guns in an independent nation which cannot be violated. Most people do not understand that.

The US and Israel governments hope to portray and isolate opposition to a Palestinian state as a small religious minority - in both countries - who do not care about peace. The US and Israeli governments have therefore combined their “information machines” to promote a “peaceful Palestinian state”, downplaying and ignoring the fact that the PLO will not relinquish its purpose: to conquer all of Palestine. After all, the term FATAH connotes “conquest” in Arabic.

Here are ten vital factors and tactics to keep in mind, in order to prevent the Annapolis Summit from succeeding in that purpose.

Educate decision makers and opinion makers that the PLO, defined by both the US and Israel as an illegal terrorist organization, indeed represents a threat to the US and to Israel, not only to Judea/Samaria/Jerusalem
Invite articulate specialists in Arabic language and Islam to present the face of what Fatah spokesmen communicate to their people in their own lore and language. These experts should address influential Jewish constituencies and key congressional staffers.
Stir a momentum that both the press and both governments are being pummeled with feedback from thousands of people, by bombarding key congress people along with the Israeli embassy and Israeli consulates with thousands of individually written letters of protest – NOT with petitions.
Establish weekly vigils of articulate protesters in strategic locations in the US and in Israel.
Seek out seemingly unlikely allies - i.e., Non-Orthodox Jews in the US, along with working class “mesorti” Sephardim, left wing kibbutzim now under attack in the Negev, and even Arabs who fear the PLO takeover.
Provide the media with sample footage and testimony of life in Sderot/Western Negev to warn about the quality of life following Israeli withdrawals.
Do not underestimate Olmert: Anticipate that the Israeli Prime Minister as an alternative gov’t under his sleeve, with Meretz and the three Arab parties, even if Shas and the Lieberman parties bolt the Israeli government. Expect that the Israeli Prime Minister will seek to defuse the Jerusalem issue by offering to keep PLO sovereignty out of Jerusalem, in order to distract from the reality that their guns would be trained on Jerusalem
Threaten US based supporters of Fatah with legal action, since Fatah is listed by the US as a terrorist organization, and any assistance rendered Fatah by a US citizen is a felony.
Publish maps which illustrate Jerusalem’s intertwining Jewish & Arab neighborhoods, along with the proximity of Judea and Samaria to Jerusalem & to all of Israel’s coastal region. .
Present the media and the public with families whose loved ones have been murdered by the Fatah.

HESHVAN 5767/ OCTOBER 2007

Izzy Kaplan

416 256 2858

HAPPY MOMENTS .......... PRAISE HASHEM
DIFFICULT MOMENTS .... SEEK HASHEM
QUIET MOMENTS ........... PRAY TO HASHEM
PAINFUL MOMENTS ....... TRUST HASHEM
EVERY MOMENT ............ THANK HASHEM

Uniting on Jerusalem and Silent about the State of Palestine

2007-10-28T15:05:00.000-04:00

bs"d

Dear Members of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem, amv"sh

I am extremely fearful about this unity regarding Jerusalem only (see our Statement below). Condeleeza Rice is not quiet about her desire to establish a Palestinian State and is requesting funding from Congress to uproot settlements from Yesha. Her plan is all inclusive. It includes almost the entire Judea and Samaria and parts of Jerusalem as well. If we are strong regarding Yesha than by extension, sovereignty over Jerusalem is not even on the negotiating table. G-d himself would reject Jerusalem if Yesha was turned into a State of Palestine. Speak out for the entire of Israel and Jerusalem will be saved. The converse is not necessarily true.

Please read the statement by the United Coalition for Israel, a Coalition of Christians and Jews. They are not afraid to speak out strongly opposing a terrorist State in Palestine in Judea and Samaria. It's very sad that the Coordinating Council is only about Jerusalem .Why does it only have to be the Christians that are Biblically correct and talk about G-d's given borders? Do we care less than the Christians about our Divinely given patrimony?

Dear President Bush and Vice President Cheney,

I am very concerned that the November Summit promoted by the United States will further destabilize an already volatile situation in the Middle East by weakening both the United States and Israel, our only dependable democratic ally in our war against radical Islam.

Israel has been on the frontline of this war ever since the rebirth of the nation in 1948. Since then, Israel has defended itself against 5 offensive attacks by combined Arab countries. After the last conventional war, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which the Arab countries again lost, they have turned to terrorism as their war of choice.

If the United States insists on further dividing the tiny nation of Israel, demanding that they give up strategic land defenses, we will be succumbing to the brutal, barbaric forces that are threatening our Judeo-Christian civilization throughout the world. The global Jihad will have obtained an easy major victory on the Israeli front, demonstrating the collapse of resolve of the great western power, the United States. The culture of hatred and death will have won a decisive battle.

For Israel to give up the security of tangible land in exchange for more promises and future commitments would be a colossal mistake with historic repercussions. To divide Jerusalem, establish another Arab terrorist stronghold in 95% of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and to remove Israeli sovereignty from the Temple Mount, would invite more Gaza-like rocket attacks in the heart of Israel. How would a country that in some areas is only 9 miles wide, ever defend itself against Hamas, Fatah, al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in its midst?

Backing a Summit that forces such an unrealistic surrender upon our ally, Israel, would discourage other countries from seeking our friendship.

The above letter was taken from the suggested letter by the Unity Coalition for Israel. I have added the following paragraph:

As a Bible Believer, you must also believe that the Covenant G-d made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and their future descendants is an everlasting Covenant. The Roadmap to a State of Palestine is in direct opposition with G-d Given borders to the Nation of Israel and can only result in tragedy as pointed out above.

Respectfully,
Signed Robin Ticker

Coordinating Council on Jerusalem

AMERICAN JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS ANNOUNCE THE CREATION OF 'COORDINATING COUNCIL ON JERUSALEM'

Jewish Leaders Initiate International Effort to Keep the Jewish Capital Secure, Intact and United

NEW YORK, NY (October 24, 2007) - We are proud to announce today the formation and launch of The Coordinating Council on Jerusalem, for the purpose of uniting American Jewish organizations on behalf of a secure and unified Jerusalem. Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, founded the initiative as a united public front of Jewish American organizations towards the principle of keeping Jerusalem united. It has been endorsed by hundreds of Jewish leaders in the Diaspora and Israel.

Recently, in preparation for next month's Annapolis summit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ministers of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government put forth their view that Jerusalem was negotiable and opened the door to concessions of parts of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, world Judaism's holiest and most revered site. Following his ministers' remarks, Olmert himself questioned the value of maintaining Jewish sovereignty over certain Jerusalem neighborhoods. As a result, Jewish leaders around the world are coalescing around a simple bottom-line position: World Jewry opposes Israeli negotiations which would include any discussion of ceding sovereignty over part or all of Jerusalem.

Realizing the historic breach and potentially tragic significance of these ministers' position, as well as the pivotal role being played by the US Secretary of State, Rabbi Pesach Lerner, a well-known leader of numerous Israel-related campaigns, immediately recruited Jeffrey Ballabon, a nationally known strategist with expertise in issue campaigns, crisis management and government relations (www.ballabongroup.com) to recommend and execute a broad-based international strategy to ensure continued Jewish sovereignty over all of Jerusalem. As a first step, the two called for the creation of a body to coordinate and leverage efforts in Israel and the Diaspora to secure Jewish interests in Jerusalem's future.

The formation of the Coordinating Council marks the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel that a significant group of American Jewish organizations have created a broad united front to pursue a policy directly involving Israel that is based on an explicit principle that supersedes deference to the sitting Israeli government. Notably, many of the organizations on the Coordinating Council are among the State of Israel's most loyal and active supporters.

Within hours of the announcement of their intent to create the Coordinating Council, Lerner and Ballabon were contacted by dozens of Israeli groups which also have decided to coordinate their efforts with the Council.

"Jerusalem has been the epicenter of the Jewish People for 3,000 years. It is the inheritance of Jews everywhere and for every generation. Even the suggestion that Jerusalem could be divided is appalling to a majority of Israelis and the global Jewish community," said Rabbi Lerner. "The Coordinating Council on Jerusalem is an unprecedented display of unity. Every organization is setting aside other priorities and agendas and differences to unify around the future of Jerusalem. We are committed to helping each other to ensure that all of Jerusalem remains the capital of the Jewish People.

"Preserving an undivided Jerusalem is a paramount issue not only for Israelis, but for the worldwide Jewish Community. This is not a decision any Israeli government can make unilaterally. Jerusalem belongs to all Jews, even those not living in Israel, and their opinion matters."

Adds Ballabon, "We are gratified by the overwhelmingly positive response to the creation of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem. Each organization on the Coordinating Council is a responsible national or international organization and each is exercising crucial leadership for their constituencies on the issue of the preservation of Jerusalem. The threat is grave and what is at stake for all Jews is incalculable and irreplaceable. By uniting and coordinating, members of the Coordinating Council are sending a message of unmistakable unity, unshakable commitment and a determination to succeed."

Leaders of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem have scheduled meetings with members of Congress and White House officials in the coming weeks, as well as with Israeli government officials and members of Knesset.

###

The Coordinating Council on Jerusalem, currently in formation, includes Americans for a Safe Israel, Association for Jewish Outreach Programs, Emunah of America, Hineni, Jerusalem Reclamation Project, National Conference of Synagogue Youth, National Council of Young Israel, One Israel Fund, Poalei Agudath Israel of America, Rabbinic Alliance to Save Jerusalem, Rabbinical Alliance of America, Rabbinical Council of America, Religious Zionists of America, Russian Jewish Community Foundation, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations (OU), Unity Coalition for Israel, Young Israel Council of Rabbis, and Zionist Organization of America.

unsubscribe | update your profile

This email was sent to: faigerayzel@aol.com by info@youngisraelrabbis.org.il

Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel - CYIR
Heichal Shlomo, 58 King George Street, Suite 109
Jerusalem 91285 Tel:97226254983

sign me up | forward to friend

CAJL CC 102307 Contact info to President, Israeli Ambassador and Israel Consul

2007-10-28T15:02:00.001-04:00

bs"d

CAJL (Conference of Authentic Jewish Leadership)

CC October 23, 2007 (Calling Campaign via snail mail, fax, email, telephone)

"Frankly, it's time for the establishment of a Palestinian state," Rice told a news conference with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. "The United States sees the establishment of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution as absolutely essential for the future…"

IMPORTANT P.S. Letter from Ruth Matar!

Dear Friends,

I received an incredible number of positive replies to last week's article: "Open Letter to US President George W. Bush".

I'm afraid I forgot to give you important information as to how to forward that letter to the President.

Please print the letter and send it to him at your earliest opportunity as follows:

REGULAR MAIL:

President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
USA

E-MAIL
president@whitehouse.gov

first.lady@whitehouse.gov

FAX:
(202) 456-2461

PHONE: (leave a message for the President)
(202) 456-1414

According to inside information, e-mail may easily be deleted, and is very unlikely to be read by the President. Faxes are a little bit better; however, they may end up in the waste basket without being shown to the President. The best way is to send a letter by regular mail, "registered return receipt requested".

It is important that you let the President know that both American Christians and American Jews are upset and worried about the forthcoming "Peace Conference" in Annapolis.

It goes without saying that the Israeli People are in fear of having our God-given country taken away from us once again.

With Love and Blessings for Israel,

Ruth Matar

A copy of Ruth's letter to the White house is on http://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/2007/10/fwd-important-letter-from-ruth-matar.html

bs"d

Dear Volunteers. Please don't get overwhelmed. 10 phone calls is great but 1 is better than none. When you can, please write to the President, and to the Israel Ambassador and Israel Consul General to publicize your personal protest to Condeleeza Rice's public statements. Please continue to call the major Jewish Organizations such as the Agudath Yisroel of America, the OU and the Young Israel to encourage their people to do so as well. Collectively, these 3 organizations reach out to hundreds of thousands of Jews. A Statement just about Jerusalem is inadequate. The points raised by Nadia Matar are more comprehensive. The Rebbe says even if you don't think it will make a difference or that you will be heard there is still an obligation to speak up for Eretz Yisroel. Now is not the time to be shy! Use your gifts for public speaking and self expression to end this Chillul Hashem of Silence.

Besides the White House, the Jewish Media, and the Rabbanim, address your protests to

THE ISRAELI FOREIGN SERVICE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU

Oops! A fly on the wall informs us that the Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor and the Israeli Consul General in NY, Asaf Shariv, have apparently gotten NO PROTESTS from anyone about the attempts to set up a new Palestinian terror state just a bike ride from divided Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, and Israel's only international airport (Ben-Gurion). So... write, fax, email :

Ambassador Sallai Meridor, Embassy of Israel, 3514 International Drive, NW, Washington, DC 20008

Emb-sec3@israelemb.org 202-364-5590; FAX: 202-364-5560

Ambassador Asaf Shariv, Consulate of Israel in NY, 800 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017

ashariv@newyork.mfa.gov.il, 212-499-5450 - Fax: 212-499-5455

Volunteer, Yasher Koach on your efforts. May Hashem reward us collectively with Peace and PROSPERITY.

To summarize:

Call/Write to Rabbanim encouraging them to urge their congregations to speak up and to speak up themselves since they have a voice on Capital Hill and the White House.

Call/Write the White House

Call/Write Israel Ambassador and Israel Consul General.

and finally please listen to this song http://www.greatjewishmusic.com/Midifiles/Lo%20Alecha.htm Here are the words to the song.

Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor It's not for you to finish the task

Lo alecha ligmor It's not for you to finish

V'lo ata ben chorin lehibatel mimena But you are not free to cease trying

V'lo ata ben chorin you are not free to cease trying

(Really another song, but it's always sung together)

Sheyibane beit hamikdash, sheyibane May the Temple be speedily built in our days

Sheyibane beit hamikdash, sheyibane

Bimhera b'yamenu, sheyibane

Sheyibane hamikdash

CAJL CC 102307 Contact info to President, Israeli Ambassador and Israel Consul

2007-10-28T14:37:00.000-04:00

bs"d

Dear list, amv"sh

(CAJL will be sending out periodic action items for it's volunteers. If you do not wish to be on this list please email me. Each time you will get such an email with action items for CAJL it will say CAJL CC )

CAJL (Conference of Authentic Jewish Leadership
CC Calling Campaign
101807 October 18, 2007

This letter by Ruth Matar says it all. It says it right! I know at least 3 other spunky ladies around Ruth Matar's generation, the Holocaust generation, that are not afraid to say it like it is. They are not afraid to speak out to President Bush. This letter is phenomenal. Let it be the statement of our United Jewish Voice! Let us carry these women on our shoulders. Nothing written so far can compares!

Action items:
Please forward this letter to all the Rabbanim you know. When you speak to the organizations feel free to talk to whomever picks up the phone. Our biggest advocates are the secretaries.

Call the Young Israel 212-929-1525 plerner@youngisrael.org Rabbi Pesach Lerner

Call the OU 212-563-4000 info@ou.org Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Stephen Savitsky

Call the OU Washington DC 202-513-6484 ipadc@ou.org Nathan Diament Director

Call the Agudath Yisroel of America 212-979-9000 Rabbi Gertzulin,

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel PR dzwiebel@agudathisrael.org

Rabbi Avi Shafran PR
and ask them if they read Ruth Matar's letter. Ask them to please forward it to the proper channels in Washington DC. This is the correct Jewish position regarding the establishment of the State of Palestine, G-d forbid. They are the occupiers. Ruth Matar's letter should be read on Shabbos Drashos in shul! Ask everyone you know to use her points in the letter when they call the White House.

Dear Volunteer, Yasher Koach! May you go from strength to strength! Bracha Vehatzlacha and please let us know what response you received!

From: Women in Green
To: wfit2@womeningreen.org
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:52:54 +0200
Subject: OPEN LETTER TO US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

October 18, 2007

Dear President Bush,

I am taking the liberty of writing you this personal letter because I fear you have put the State of Israel in a most dangerous, life-threatening situation. You have achieved this both by your June 24, 2002, policy speech, and by your planned “Peace Conference”, to be held in Annapolis, Maryland.

I have spent many sleepless nights since your speech on June 24, 2002, when you first declared your vision of dividing Israel into two states; a Jewish one, and an Arab state carved out of Jewish Biblical land.

IN YOUR JUNE 24, 2002, POLICY SPEECH you declared:
“My vision is two states, living side-by-side, in peace and security.”
You also stated that it is untenable for Palestinians to live in squalor and OCCUPATION.

Mr. President, your “vision” is based on a faulty premise. Israel is not occupying Arab territory! On the contrary: LARGE PARTS OF ISRAEL ARE OCCUPIED BY THE ARABS.

The Arab claim that the country was theirs and was taken away from them by the Jews is completely false and lacks any historic basis.

The following is a short summary of Israel’s history:

Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E., i.e. 2,000 years BEFORE the rise of Islam, and long before there was any Arab nation. Israel (Palestine) has been the homeland of the Jewish People since biblical times. It was subsequently “occupied” more than 15 times. Among its occupiers were the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Ottoman Turks. The longest occupiers of the Holy Land who ruled on and off for 400 yearsbetween 1517-1917were the Ottoman Turks. They were followed by the British who ruled under a Mandate of the League of Nations (later the U.N.) to renew a homeland for the Jewish People.

Jews had dominion over the land of Israel over 1,300 years before their expulsion by the conquering Roman Empire. Moreover, Jews have had a continuous presence in this land for over 3,300 years.

As for your planned, so-called “Peace Conference”, to be held in Annapolis, Maryland, which you announced on July 16 of this year, you seem to have stacked the cards unfairly against Israel.

You have invited all your Arab friends, and in addition, only countries who have declared themselves to be in favor of a TWO STATE SOLUTION.

What then, remains to be discussed at the Conference?

Your plan is to have your Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, chair this Conference. It is well known that Ms. Rice is no friend of Israel.

For example, at her Senate confirmation hearing as US Secretary of State, Rice stated: “If I am confirmed, I will be especially honored to succeed a man I so admire- my friend and mentor, Colin Powell.”
Colin Powell, Secretary of State during your first term, famously described Yasser Arafat to a US Senate committee as follows: “One man’s Terrorist is another man’s Freedom Fighter.”

In addition, James Baker, your father’s Secretary of State, of “F-ck the Jews” fame, is one of Rice’s best friends. They have many common interests and attitudes.

To top it all, Chevron Oil Company, one of the ten largest oil companies in the world, named one of their giant tankers “Condoleezza Rice” in honor of her dedicated service. As you may remember, many critics complained at the time, that the ship served as a giant floating symbol of your administration’s cozy ties to the oil industry.

No wonder then, that the Israeli People are wary of the upcoming Conference, which Ehud Olmert has agreed to attend on behalf of the country he supposedly represents. (This man is currently under a number of criminal investigations!) At this Conference there will be a preponderance of Arab nations. Prime Minister Olmert has foolishly accepted the invitation. Does he not realize Israel is slated to be the sacrificial lamb?

President Bush, it is only fair that the person writing this letter identify herself. I am an elderly lady, who will, God willing, celebrate my 78th Birthday at the end of this month.

I am a Holocaust survivor, born in Austria. I escaped the Nazi death machine when my parents succeeded in having me accepted on a Kinder Transport to Sweden, just a month before the outbreak of World War Two. (My cousins were not as fortunate, and are believed to have died in a concentration camp).

My parents were able to escape Austria by crossing the border to Italy. At the end of the war they were part of the group of one thousand survivors who President Roosevelt allowed to enter the United States. Our family was miraculously united in the US, where we subsequently became American citizens.

I received my higher education, from age seventeen through college, in the United States. I met and married an American Jewish lawyer who had served in the American Army throughout the war. After the War, he attended Wisconsin University and Yale Law School on the G.I. Bill.

My husband and I have four children and seventeen grandchildren. We currently live in Jerusalem, Israel. We consider the United States as our homeland. At the same time, as religious Jews, we feel that Israel is our spiritual homeland, promised to us Hebrews by the Almighty G-d as an everlasting inheritance.

From my perspective as a Holocaust survivor, I fear that my children and grandchildren are not safe from another Holocaust.

The current situation frightens me more than I can describe in words.
Iran is about to acquire the atom bomb and President Ahmedinejad repeatedly states his intention to wipe Israel off the map.

At this point I must tell you, President Bush, that I voted for you both in the election of 2000, and in the election of 2004. At that time, I worked hard on my popular weekly English radio program from Israel, (INN: Israel National News), to recruit the American absentee vote on your behalf. My program was mainly directed to American audiences. I was fortunate to be able to interview many interesting prominent Americans such as James Woolsey, foreign policy specialist and former Director of Central Intelligence and head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

In light of all this, I implore you, Mr. President: Do not divide the Holy Land!

I truly believe that such an act on your part will have the most dangerous repercussions for Israel, the United States, and in fact, the entire western civilization, whose values and belief system are based on our common Holy Bible.

I believe that you truly wish to promote Peace in the Middle East.
However, dividing the Holy Land will have the exact opposite effect.

We cannot hide from ourselves the fact that Mahmoud Abbas, who you are promoting as Prime Minister of this new theoretical Arab State, is a former well known terrorist who co-founded the PLO together with Yasser Arafat. We must also face the fact that his terrorist Fatah Organization has murdered many more Jews than even Hamas! To this day, Abbas denies that there ever was a Holocaust, a view shared by Iran’s President, Ahmedinejad.

We must keep in mind Mahmoud Abbas’ educational background. He graduated from the University of Damascus, Syria, and subsequently earned his Ph.D degree at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow. Both these institutions are known for their hatred of Israel. Abbas’ thesis was, in fact, about Holocaust denial. His dissertation was entitled: “The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement”.

Abu Daoud was one of the terrorists intimately involved in the planning of the Munich Massacre of Israeli athletes in the 1972 Olympics. Daoud alleged in his autobiography that Mahmoud Abbas was the main paymaster behind the attack.

Mr. President, do you really plan for this terrorist to be Israel’s peace partner?

There are many Israelis and Americans, both Jews and Christians, who feel that your Conference will have a strong anti-Israel component, and therefore will result in a harmful outcome for the Jewish State.

You have yet to announce the final-final date for your Conference. We hope that you give us the courtesy of notifying the public as to when it will be held, so that we can finalize our own preparations. We plan to hold a Zionist Conference in New York preceding your Annapolis Conference by a few days.

In conclusion, I would like to quote Oklahoma Senator Inhofe’s Senate Floor Statement of March 4, 2002, entitled “SEVEN REASONS WHY ISRAEL IS ENTITLED TO THE LAND”:

“Reason Number 7: I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel; that it has a right to the land. This is the most important reason:
BECAUSE G-D SAID SO.”

Respectfully Yours,

Ruth Matar
Jerusalem, Israel

=============================================
Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380
mailto:wfit2@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org

To make a contribution via our secure server:
https://wigisrael.org/index3.htm

To make a contribution through Paypal, go to: https://www.paypal.com
click on "Send Money" to the address wfit2@womeningreen.org

To subscribe to the Women in Green list,
please send a blank email message to:
list4-subscribe@womeningreen.org
Check your spam filter for confirmation to reply to

To unsubscribe from the Women in Green list,
please send a blank email message to:
list4-unsubscribe@womeningreen.org

Guaranteeing Bloodshed

2007-10-28T12:32:00.001-04:00

The following appeared in the New Media Journal:

Should Israel Swap Land for War or Peace?
David Singer
October 18, 2007

Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are reportedly looking at swapping land in the West Bank for land in Israel as a means of overcoming the PA’s long standing demand that all 6205 square kms of the West Bank be handed over to the PA by Israel as a necessary precondition for peace.

In the best traditions of a Middle East bazaar it seems a great idea for Israel to horse trade 500 sq kms of vacant Israeli land for 500 sq kms of land heavily populated by Jews in the West Bank

Land swaps are not unknown in the Middle East. In 1965 Jordan exchanged 7000 sq kms of inland desert for 6000 sq kms of Saudi Arabian land fronting the sea shore.

The announcement of a planned land swap to be negotiated within a time frame of six months would certainly go down well at President Bush’s international meeting next month and probably be hailed as a major breakthrough in resolving the 130 years conflict between the Jews and the Arabs over the former territory once called Palestine.

It might also just act as the fig leaf necessary to persuade Saudi Arabia to attend the meeting even if the more contentious issues - Jerusalem, water and permitting millions of Arabs to emigrate to Israel - are put on the diplomatic backburner.

President Bush desperately needs a lifeline to prevent his two state vision disappearing forever into the quicksand stirred up by totally inflexible and intransigent Arab negotiating positions.

Certainly the resolution of the territorial dispute over the proposed land to comprise the future Palestinian State would be a notable achievement.

It would herald an important change in the present racist stance of the PA and the Arab League that demands the West Bank be ethnically cleansed of all its Jewish residents - that Jews be tossed out of their homes in breach of international humanitarian law as encompassed in a number of United Nations Conventions.

It would signify the first crack in the negotiating stance of the Arabs that has remained unchanged for the last 40 years - showing a willingness to now be prepared to give something and not demand everything.

Unfortunately the announcement and eventual resolution of such a proposed land swap will not resolve the conflict unless all the other outstanding core issues - Jerusalem, refugees, water, - are also resolved.

Even if such issues were miraculously settled, what guarantee could then be given to Israel by the PA that the border between Israel and the newly created State would become a no go zone for Hamas, Hezbollah and the myriad other terrorist groups hell bent on Israel’s destruction - having already unanimously indicated their violent opposition to any proposed settlement with Israel other than its total dismantling?

What guarantee would there be for Israel that those parts of the West Bank accepted by Israel in the land swap deal would not come under mortar fire and rocket attacks from within the borders of the new Arab State as emanated from Gaza virtually without respite when the PA ruled there?

The reality is that until any PA agreement with Israel is endorsed by Hamas, Hezbollah , Islamic Jihad and the Arab League, that agreement runs the risk of being abrogated overnight by the actions of well armed and trained terrorist groups whom PA President Abbas has been too weak to oppose or control in the past.

The risks of continued dealing with the PA alone are therefore so great that any responsible Government in Israel would be putting the lives and security of its citizens at grave risk unless these other belligerent parties were signatories to any peace agreement.

The position would be entirely different if the West Bank was divided between Jordan and Israel - two sovereign countries already possessing a peace agreement that has proved its resilience for the last 12 years.

Land swaps would only be necessary as a last resort if dividing some relatively small areas of the West Bank between Jordan and Israel could not be amicably resolved. A lease to Israel of some Jordanian land as part of their peace agreement shows what can be achieved.

It would not be in Jordan’s national interest that any terrorist groups be allowed to flourish in Jordan’s newly acquired West Bank territory since they could represent a threat to the Hashemite regime ruling in Jordan. These groups might be tempted to try and overthrow Jordan’s King Abdullah if allowed to develop a formidable military infrastructure in the West Bank.

The attempt by the PLO to do just that in 1970 is deeply ingrained in the Jordanian psyche. Jordan has a well trained and disciplined Army and police force - unlike the PA’s forces - to meet any such new threat.

Jordan is not faced with the political problems arising out of the falling out between Abbas and former Prime Minister Haniyeh that has split the PA and Hamas into two bitterly opposed factions - destroying any semblance of unity between the Arabs living in the West Bank and Gaza. Jordan’s close ties with West Bank Arabs would be a unifying factor of enormous significance in countering terrorist activities.

The path to resolution of issues such as Jerusalem, refugees and water are already sign posted in the existing peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

The return of Jordan to rule the Arab sections of the West Bank would recognize the status quo that existed in the Arab occupied areas between 1948-1967. It would bring the hope of stability to the region rather than the chaos and uncertainty that the PA currently represents as one of the principal players responsible for the slide into despair that has befallen Jordan’s Arab brothers in Gaza.

Any belief that an agreed land swap involving the PA will be a step on the road to peace is yet just another mirage like so many others that have marked politics in the Middle East since the euphoric endorsement of the Oslo Accords 14 years ago by most of those countries assembling at President Bush’s meeting next month.

How wrong they were then and how wrong they will be next month if they rapturously endorse the announcement of this “historic breakthrough”.

Land swaps with the PA are land swaps for possible war. Land swaps with Jordan are land swaps for possible peace.

Which one Israel chooses will make a huge difference to millions of Jewish and Arab lives.

David Singer is an Australian Lawyer and Convenor of: Jordan is Palestine International — an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine.

Israel’s pre-’67 borders were indefensible according to every military strategists from whatever country that ever visited the region. In spite of it, against all odds, against all conventional wisdom, Israel achieved a stunning victory in June of ‘67. It was not a war Israel craved. It was a war of necessity and one that was either decisively won by it or Israel’s destruction would follow. What the Arabs had failed to achieve in war after war since the day of Israel’s inception is about to be handed them by Israel’s current government. The moment it swaps lands Israel ensures itself of a 5th column that will work and clamor hard for a reversal of 1948. The moment Israel ceases to be a Jewish country, it forfeits any legitimacy to land in the area.

The Middle East does not need a Western enclave in its midst, regardless of how democratic it may be. Democracy is something that needs time to become engraved in the minds and hearts of people who have never experienced, people who have no real understanding of the concept. Israel’s neighbors, as long as everyone of them is governed by despotic regimes, (with the possible exception of Lebanon, which is beset by factional fighting along ethnic/religious lines), find democracy a threat. While it’s true that fear of Ahmedinajad and the Ayatollahs might force some Arab countries to regard Israel in a different light, should the Iranian threat to them be over, they will be back to treating Israel as the enemy, even after it succeeds in saving them from Iran.

To swap land will only ensure that the PA, which has never shown itself willing and/or able to keep anything it has ever signed, will at an opportune time overrun the surrounded Jewish cantons. Then, as a condition to stop further Jewish blood spillage insist on further land concessions and that “refugees” be allowed to enter Israel. After the days of Menachem Begin, no Israeli government stood its ground against international pressure and foolishly gave in at the smallest demand. Israeli goivernments foolishly made gesture after gesture by releasing terrorists, by giving up land, by raising a murderous, opportunistic corrupt thug that got thrown out of Jordan and later Lebanon (Yasser Arafat) into an internationally recognized leader of a people who never elected him… even if they worshiped him, for lack of any other leadership.

The Palestinian cause has hurt itself tremendously by the ongoing fighting and barbaric treatment of each other’s leadership between Hamas and Fatah. The average Palestinian who voted for Hamas as a protest against the corruption of Fatah, has merely exchanged one ruthless, blood thirsty, morally decrepit political party for another equally corrupt, more blood thirsty, more morally decrepit one. The results are merely more bloodshed, more infighting, more misery, more poverty, and a bleaker future. The current Palestinian leadership whether Hamas or Fatah is unwilling to concern itself with the everyday problems of running an efficient government that cares for the welfare of its subjects. It has shown its totally disinterest in anything other than the destruction of the Zionist Entity. Can a country prosper, whose sole reason for existence is its avowed goal of destroying its neighbor?!?

Hamas and Fatah are both vying with each other for the title of who can inflict the biggest damage to the Zionist Entity. The Israeli government, the Europeans, the US (who is thereby undermining its own War on Terror) are actually helping them!

History’s sad lessons, prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that land swaps or negotiations with barbarian hordes never work except to prolong bloodshed, to perpetuate misery, poverty and needless death. In any case, who can guarantee the peace that is supposed to follow? Will it be the Arab League? Will it be Saudi Arabia, James “F— the Jews” Baker, the Europeans, or the UN?

Chaim

Crossposted at: Freedom's Cost

A Perfect Solution to the Jerusalem Issue

2007-10-19T14:48:00.000-04:00

[Sammy from Yid with Lid has graciously allowed us to cross post his latest piece on Jerusalem. Even when we cry, we laugh...]

A Perfect Solution to the Jerusalem Issue

Jerusalem is Probably the most difficult issue to solve in the ongoing Israel/ Palestinian "peace" process. The Palestinians are demanding control of the holy city, the Temple Mount and Kotel because they claim it is where Mohamed rose to heaven which makes it the third holiest site in Islam. Of course this is a very recent claim and there is nothing about Jerusalem in the Koran. Some people claim that the only reason that the Palestinians want Jerusalem is their continued attempt to de-legitimize Judaism's historical claim to Israel

For Jews Jerusalem is the Holy City, and the Temple Mount is the holiest site in all of Judaism, not only did the mount house the two temples to God, it is where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac and where Jacob had the dream of the ladder to heaven. For two thousand years Jews have prayed for a return to Jerusalem.

Reports that Israel's government is willing to split Jerusalem with the Palestinians and give up sovereignty over the Temple Mount has raised the ire of the Jewish People. Polls have shown that the Israel people are against it, the majority of the Knesset is against it, protests and petitions have come from groups such as the OU and the ZOA. Yet the Palestinians claim that there can be no peace without handing over the holy city. What can Olmert do to satisfy Israel the Jewish People and make a peace with the terrorists at the same time.

Thankfully I have a solution, not only will it work but I got the Idea from an Arab, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . Remember last week when he suggested that we move Israel to Alaska? We we can do the same thing with Arab East Jerusalem--move it. And I am willing to give the Arabs a lot more options--in fact I have an entire list of cities that they can pick to move East Jerusalem to:

Miami Beach Florida- This one is a no-brainier, their third holiest city for our third holiest city. We will throw in the "early bird" special dinners, and access to Miami's holiest site (the Fontainebleau Hotel).

Secaucus New Jersey-Remember that old song "Raucus in Secaucus"? This site is perfect for them, and the best part of it is no one in the United States will notice (except maybe NY Jet Fans but we would be much happier).

London, England- After all Tony Blair thinks Israel should be more flexible on Jerusalem, lets try and see how flexible the British can be. The good part of the solution is that Abbas' Fatah wouldn't have to set up satellite dishes for communications, the could use Prince Charles' ears.

Vatican City- Lets face it the Palestinian claim to Catholicism's Holy City is just as vailid as their claim to Judaism's. The extra benefit of this solution is that it might help repair the "bad vibes" between the Pope and Islam.

New York City- The "Jewish Lobby" needs a vacation--lets let the Palestinians Control the banks and media for a while.

Washington DC- This is probably the best solution of all. Think about it--we give away part of Washington, Condi Rice wont be able to force her Dhimmi solutions to the Mideast conflict upon Israel. We know that House Speaker Pelosi would endorse this one, after all she looked so go with her head covering when she visited Syria.

I know that there will be protests to any of these solutions, some may say, "how could you make up reasons to take away a city from a people who have an historic attachment, and give it to people who have no real claim to it?" Well let me answer those people like this:

I Agree.

An urgent Appeal

2007-10-19T03:41:00.000-04:00

Young Israel USA and Young Israel in Israel, OU, Agudath Yisroel of America, etc.

You are speaking out loudly for a United Jerusalem. That is praiseworthy, indeed! Your united voice will certainly make a difference. The question, however, is what kind of a difference it will make. Mainstream Jewish organizations is uniting about publicly decrying a division of Jerusalem, yet it refrains from speaking out with the same conviction regarding opposition to a State of Palestine. Are you afraid to take a stand that is diametrically opposed to the Government of the United States? President Bush clearly wants to establish a State of Palestine. You are Silent. Does that mean that you agree? Is that implicit agreement? Have we not been taught shtika kehoda'a?!?

I know that the Rabbinic Leaders of your respective organizations will tell you a State of Palestine is a tragedy. But… will they say so publicly? If as a united voice they only speak up for Jerusalem then, by omission, it means that Yesha is expendable. Think about the dangers! We have then, by default, united to be SILENT on the subject of a Palestinian State. However, if we speak out with conviction against a State of Palestine, then any discussion about dividing Jerusalem ceases to be an option.

Young Israel has 150 member Synagogues. That means thousands of members. Agudath Yisroel has an extensive worldwide network. That means the voice of their rabbis, their representatives, their emissaries can influence hundreds of thousands of caring Jews. Agudath Yisroel of America has shown its ability to mobilize people in record time. The Yesha Leaders from the Yesha Council have in the past led their constituents to believe that they are proactive and, in the end, failed miserably! Will the tragedies of Gush Katif repeat itself, chas vesalom?!?

It is up to each individual to question the decision to remain silent regarding the establishment of the State of Palestine and to urge their Rabbinic Leaders and their affiliated shuls and organizations NOT TO BE SILENT regarding a future state of terrorists that is a direct threat to Israel and Jews around the world! The Jewish people should not allow their leadership to lead them to another Gush Katif! When the Nations of the world perceive total resolution, when they hear the clamoring and see a defense a defense of the entirety of Israel they will lose their brazenness in demanding Jerusalem.

Whoever gets this email in his or her office, pass it around to your friends of coworkers. Don't be afraid to speak out to the higher ups in your organization to be outspoken against the State of Palestine. Secretaries are our biggest advocates. Why does it only have to be the Christians that are Biblically correct and talk about G-d's given borders? Do we care less than the Christians about our Divinely given patrimony?

Sincerely,

Robin Ticker/ Shmuel Koenig initiators Rabbi Calling Campaign
CAJL (Conference of Authentic Jewish Leadership)

If I Forget Thee... a Very Personal Recollection

2007-10-19T03:03:00.000-04:00

[The following Post first appeared on Freedom's Cost on May 26, 2006 and in The Jerusalem Post on May 15, 2007]

I arrived in Israel on Friday before the Six Day War, as a volunteer. For Shabbat (Parshat Bamidbar) we stayed in Savyon, a ritzy neighborhood close to the airport and not far from Tel Aviv. The view was absolutely breathtaking! On Sunday morning I was taken to Kibbutz Lavi, strategically perched atop a hill overlooking the Tiberias-Haifa road.

Within minutes of arriving, the secretary of the kibbutz assigned me a room overlooking the road and gave me a quick tour. The first thing we did was to climb to the highest point of the Kibbutz, the water tower. “We are one minute away from Syria by Mig’s flight,” he said… I wasn’t sure that I wanted to hear that… not just yet… The rest of the tour did not seem as important, in fact… I barely remember it.

By the afternoon I was joined by 10 more volunteers from England, Ireland, France and the US. At dinner time, in the kibbutz’ dining room surrounded by people I’d never met before, somehow, it felt like a homecoming. For the first time in my life whether I lived in Montevideo (Uruguay - where I grew up), Buenos Aires, Richmond, VA, New York City or traveling through Europe, I felt that this land was mine. Every pebble, every grain of sand, everything was mine, MINE! It’s hard to describe the emotions running though me at the time, but believe me, I am reliving every single one of them as I write…

After a tasty meal in a darkened dining room (no electric lights were allowed anywhere, so as to make it harder for enemy planes to spot us, only candles and small flashlights could be used) when everyone except for the guards had gone to sleep, a horrible noise woke us. We looked out the window and realized it was coming from the road below. Some of us in the room wanted to go down to the road but the guards would not allow it. No one else in the kibbutz was outside… The road was swarming with tanks, on their way to Syria… We tried going back to sleep, but between the noise and the excitement, who could do that?

At early dawn they came for us and we were given suitable clothing (the famous Israeli kova tembel, a very distinctly shaped hat -to ward off the sun - turned out to be the most important item, a sand colored shirt with matching shorts (both ill fitting, of course!) and boots. Then we were issued pickaxes and hoes, and told that we would be digging trenches. Easier said than done, on very rocky ground! By the afternoon, when the heat made it very hard to work, we volunteers had realized very little progress against the rocks, but we all had blisters on our hands… By contrast, a group of teenage kibbutznik girls not far from us working on a similar type of ground astounded us by how much they had accomplished…

Most of us had transistor radios and we listened to the BBC (English was a lot easier to understand than Hebrew) at 7:00am that Monday morning, they reported that Israeli war planes had attacked Egyptian military airfields and totally destroyed their Air Force before they could get airborne… Kol Israel - The Voice of Israel not only reported no news but kept playing an hours long repertoire of Hebrew songs. There was no way to corroborate the truth on this BBC story… At 8:00am one of the kibbutz wives reported with glee that she just received a call from her Air Force husband… Every single Israeli plane returned to base safely.

At 10:00am Kol Israel finally reported that we were amidst a war but gave no details and kept playing songs… Shortly thereafter there was a dog fight, directly above our heads, between an Israeli Mirage and a Syrian MIG, and the Israelis continued working seemingly without a care. We volunteers - mitnadvim, looked up fascinated… strangely without fear… The MIG was shot down after a few minutes, and an armed group from the kibbutz left in two Jeeps, they came back awhile later with a piece of the MIG’s tail and.. the Syrian pilot whom they held until members of the IDF came to pick him up.

At dinner time, we non-kibbutznikim could only talk about the news on the BBC while the kibbutznikim didn’t seem to show much concern… Then came Tuesday, June 7 - the 28th of Iyar… a day that would forever change history… By late afternoon the BBC reported that the Old City of Jerusalem was in Israeli hands, a few hours later Kol Israel played a sound bite by General Motta Gur, commanding officer of the crack paratroopers brigade that captured the Western Wall: “Har haBayit beyadenu, Har haBayit beyadenu… - The Temple Mount, The Temple Mount - is in our hands…” Soon there was barely a dry eye… happiness knew no bounds…

The full import of those simple words did not totally hit me until Shavu’ot (the following week) when five of us mitnadvim found ourselves in Yerushalayim - Jerusalem. On what in the diaspora would have been the second day of the holy day we walked to Har Tzyion - Mount Zion - so we could get to the Wailing Wall. As we found our way through through the narrow, winding road filled with history, soaked with Jewish blood, I felt as if my ancestors were there walking with me, gently guiding me… Finally we spied the Kotel in the distance… not the sweeping plaza we have today, but a very narrow area surrounded by Arab houses and public latrines… The five of us, as if we were part of a Greek chorus in some ancient play… started crying unabashedly as little children would… Avinu shebaShamayim, - Our Father in Heaven, we are home, we are home…!!!

As we walked back through the Old City, as we saw the narrow streets filled with bazaars, with butcher shops hung with huge cuts of meat and myriad flies buzzing on and around them, with the stench of public latrines we, every single one of us, understood why of all the beautiful cities around the world Hakakosh Baruch Hu - The Holy One, Blessed He, chose Yerushalayim, Ir Hakododesh as His Holy City

“Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach yemini! - If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, let my right arm loose its cunning!” Though we lived in exile for thousands of years, our prayers always spoke of Jerusalem. No Holy Day ever ended without the words: “Beshana haba beYerushalayim! - The next year in Jerusalem!” Jerusalem, Jerusalem, your Jews NEVER forgot you…

Chaim

Statement of purpose

2007-10-19T02:07:00.000-04:00

This blog will post the views of CAJL (Conference of Authentic Jewish Leadership) and like minded posts from around the blogosphere.

For two thousand years Jews have longed, prayed, shed tears and lost their lives because of their love of Jerusalem. Their love of the Jerusalem no Jew could forget, the Jerusalem that's engraved in every single Jewish heart, the Jerusalem that kept the flame of Judaism burning for millennia, against all odds, in exile in Israel, everywhere there was a Jew. In June 1967, Jerusalem was united again under Israeli rule. The tears, the suffering, the prayers paid off! The Almighty finally found His people worthy of being in Jerusalem, in the Old City. Its reunification was paid for in blood, the same blood that for two thousand years had the Holy Land and the lands of Europe. The same blood that run through the veins of millions of murdered Jews whose only crime consisted of stubbornly being Jewish.

Currently a government of morally bankrupt, corrupt, spineless, unthinking, uncaring, cowardly political eunuchs believes it will appease its bloody enemies and the West by dividing it again. They seem to believe that by giving over control of the Holy Places in the City of David (which is mentioned over and over in the TaNa"CH but not even once in the Quran) they will achieve peace. For a Jew to spit at this precious gift the Almighty handed us, is treachery of the highest order. It's a betrayal of everything Judaism stands for. It is trampling on the hopes of millions of martyrs throughout the ages, it represents walking away from that which legitimizes a Jew. To divide Jerusalem is akin to gleefully celebrating with our enemies the tragic deaths of our ancestors, as that division puts a knife into the collective heart of Jewry.

Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach yemini! - If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning! And yet... and yet there are those who in pursuit of an illusory peace have no compunctions in slowly carving away at the piece of land the Almighty bequeathed us. Are they really so blind, so foolish, as to believe they can buy the end of the current state of war with land? Has history not proven over and over that magnanimous concessions only result in more demands, in more magnanimous concession, in more Jewish blood being spilled? Can the forgetting of Jerusalem accomplish other than more death and horror?