 | ||
 |         |  |
 | ||
| MP3 Radio | Website News Briefs: | |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
 |  |
1. MK Ben-Ari to Boycott Rabin Memorial
by Hillel Fendel
MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) has announced that he will not be able to attend the official memorial Knesset session for Yitzchak Rabin. This is apparently the first time a Knesset Member is boycotting the Rabin memorial.
Ben-Ari provided two reasons for his controversial decision. One is that the annual ceremony has become “the flagship” of those who “want to implant the Oslo catastrophe into our public agenda – the catastrophe that has brought upon us thousands of widows and orphans.”
In addition, Ben-Ari explained, “I have no doubt that just like every year, this ceremony will be a stage for incitement against the religious-Zionist public.”
The convicted assassin of Rabin, Yigal Amir, was a student at the religious-Zionist Bar Ilan University and belonged to the religious-nationalist camp. Many in the “peace” camp over the years have used this fact to besmirch the religious camp.
Dr. Ben-Ari emphasized that he does not belittle the severity of the murder itself: “My teacher and mentor, the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, always objected to anything that looked like civil war. The murder was forbidden and it must never be emulated. True, Rabin brought about many catastrophes, and it is true that his legacy must be erased – but his murder was a catastrophe for the People of Israel as well.”
“They say that Rabin’s way is the way of peace,” Ben-Ari said, “but they forget other things in Rabin’s history, such as his expulsion of enemies from Lod, and other things.”
The ceremony will be held in the Knesset plenum on Thursday afternoon, the 11th of Cheshvan, the day before the 14th anniversary of Rabin’s death.
MK Yaakov Katz, head of the National Union party, predicted last week the beginning of the “annual open season of incitement and tongue-lashing against the national-religious community.” He charged that the Jewish left-wing “self-hatred” thrives on the “annual official festival of poisonous incitement against the religious community…”
2. Who Changed Old City Street Signs to Arabic Names?
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Jerusalem officials have changed the names of several streets in parts of the Old City from Hebrew to Arab names, despite the law that requires notice before renaming streets.
A street called “Beit HaBad,” the Hebrew name for an olive press, now is “Mufti Road" (Islamic official), and "Sha’ar HaPrachim" (Gate of the Flowers) now is known as "Darwish Road" (Healer, in Arabic). Residents who were acquainted with “Ma'aleh HaMidrash (Ascent to the House of Study) and Plugat HaKotel (Western Wall Platoon) discovered that these names have been replaced with Arabic descriptions.
Aryeh King, who manages the Office for Public Affairs in eastern Jerusalem, said he will demand that the City Council take down the new signs and return the original Hebrew names. He criticized authorities for wasting taxpayers’ money to make unauthorized changes in the signs.
Jerusalem officials say they are trying to discover who was behind the changeover.
Nationalist groups have charged in the past that officials are cooperating with the Palestinian Authority to create a de facto Arab sovereignty in the capital. They have documented land grabs by the Palestinian Authority, which also has deployed its own security forces in several Arab neighborhoods within the municipal district.
3. Shomron Wisens Up: If You Can't Join Them, Beat Them
by Hillel Fendel
Ultra-left Peace Bloc has circulated an updated list of Judea/Samaria settlements and products for the purpose of having them boycotted – and the Shomron Regional Council is using it to enhance sales.
The left-wing group periodically circulates the list, and a note accompanying the most recent one explains, “The settlements over the Green Line are the main obstacle to historic peace between Israel and Palestine.”
This statement is widely considered to be patently false, in that there is no longer an entity called Palestine, and because the PLO was founded with the goal of destroying Israel in 1964, three years before Israel liberated the areas past the Green Line (Judea and Samaria).
“It is the national obligation of every Israeli citizen,” Peace Bloc continues, “and of every person for whom peace is a supreme value, to do his best to return the Israeli citizen settlers to their homes that are in the State of Israel.”
This statement has also raised many eyebrows, in that the vast majority of Jews residing in Judea and Samaria, similar to those living in the rest of the State of Israel, do not own more than one home. Recent experience in attempting to find alternative housing for the Jews of Gush Katif – equal to only a fraction of those in Judea and Samaria – indicates that expelling and relocating them would be virtually a mission impossible.
Despite this, the radical group exhorts its members to “print and disseminate this list among your friends and relatives. Hang it on bulletin boards near your homes, at your local supermarkets, and in your place of work. Look at it when you buy products or seek services.”
The Shomron Regional Council, for its part, is using the list to its own advantage. It has publicized the same list, but with a different accompanying message.
“The tattle-tale work of the ‘Peace Bloc’ gang has one benefit,” the Council writes, “and that is in carefully locating and listing all the factories and businesses in Judea and Samaria. Thanks to their work, we can recommend specific stores and factories for our friends and supporters who wish to help us – and give Peace Bloc full credit for their trouble.”
“Without their work,” the Council continues, “many people would not have known that Kibbutz Mitzpeh Shalem [north of Ein Gedi, along the Dead is a ‘settlement,’ that Shamir Salads are made in Barkan, that Abadi cookies are made in Atarot, and that Fried’s Blankets are manufactured in Ariel.”
Among the businesses listed on the 12-page document are:Ahavah (natural cosmetics), Mitzpeh Shalem
Amgazit (gas equipment), Kfar Etzion
Beigel & Beigel (pretzels), Barkan
Beitili (furniture), Barkan
Har-Shefi (boxes), Beit El
Keter (plastic furniture), Barkan
Mei Tzurim (water purification), Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion
Mitkanei Psagot (playground equipment), Psagot
Orli-Print, N’vei Daniel
Palphot (photography products), Karnei Shomron
Tefillin Beit El, Beit El
4. Struggle to Keep Jerusalem Unchoked Continues
by Hillel Fendel
The 18-month old struggle to keep the Shdema ex-IDF army base in Jewish hands - the key to the Jewish development of southeastern Jerusalem - continues, thanks to the perservering pioneering spirit of youths from around the country.
Shdema is situated between south Jerusalem's Har Homa neighborhood (population: 15,000) and the eastern Gush Etzion towns of Nokdim and Tekoa. Located in what the Oslo Accords designated Area C, under full Israeli security and administrative control, it was a large army base that was abandoned by the IDF in late 2006.
The Arabs of nearby Beit Sahour and Bethlehem saw this as their opportunity to expand to the east, thus choking off the Jerusalem-Gush Etzion connection. In fact, rumors were soon substantiated that the Olmert government had agreed to turn the area into a Palestinian Authority hospital/neighborhood - despite the many other areas in the region that were already under PA control that could have been used for the same purpose.
At that point, local Jewish activists immediately got to work to stop the plans – and have not ceased since.
Nearly every Friday, activists led by The Committee for a Jewish Shdema and Women in Green have held lectures and other activities at the site. The army originally did not know how precisely to relate to them, and sometimes forcibly stopped and evicted them. Now, however, all activities are coordinated with the army, and the activists are allowed nearly a free hand – not including, however, permanent construction.
“We have met with government ministers and Knesset Members,” says Women in Green’s Nadia Matar, “and they have thanked us for our activities, which they acknowledge as having kept the hilltop from being given away – though illegal Arab construction still continues below. Retaining Shdema is also vital to ensure that the development of southern Jeruslem is not choked off.”
Though a court has rendered the Arab construction illegal, not only has it not been razed, it continues apace. Letters have been sent to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and MKs have promised to speak with him as well, asking him to order an end to the unauthorized and dangerous Arab expansion.
Har Homa Joins the Battle
The Har Homa neighborhood administration is particularly concerned about the possible loss of Shdema to Arab control. The administration notes that while there are government plans to develop Har Homa towards the west with thousands of new apartments, it is important that construction first develop towards the east – “with the goal of joining the Shdema camp in the southeast of the neighborhood.” The Har Homa administration says that “in order to achieve this important goal of Jewish settlement continuity and the maintenance of the demographic balance in greater Jerusalem,” the only option is to stop the the Arab expansion south of Har Homa and near Shdema.
Shdema Youth: Energetic and Dedicated
The backbone of the Shdema struggle is a dedicated, pro-active, informal group known as Shdema Youth. “Don’t follow the path, blaze it!” is their motto, as these energetic young people from around the country organize and encourage others to participate in various Shdema events. Realizing the importance of Shdema as a flagship for the struggle for the Land of Israel, they have intensified their activities in recent months with events, hikes, and building projects.
Among the activities were the following:
* During the month of Elul (two months ago), dozens of students from the Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook "Yashlatz" high school took part in daily Selichot penitential prayer services at Shdema.
* This past Friday, students of the pre-military academy in Nokdim came to Shdema to hear a lecture by Brig-Gen. (res.) Yehuda Duvdevani in memory of the late Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi, murdered by Palestinian terrorists eight years ago this month.
* This past Sunday, the Shdema Youth hiked from Shdema to Herodion – a route that has barely ever been hiked, and they therefore made many “discoveries:” water wells, almond orchards, and hidden caves. “So far, there’s no water or electricity in Shdema,” organizers say, “so the discovery of nearby water sources is propitious for our future development plans.”
* On Monday of this week, young women from Midreshet Tohar in Yad Binyamin “visited” Shdema for several hours of painting, planting and cleaning. They also heard talks on the importance of their work and on the Matriarch Rachel, whose resting place in Bethlehem is just a few hilltops northwest of Shdema. At the same time, another group was there as well, helping to clean some of the trash from the area – and even recycling old tires into armchairs…
For more information, click here: <http://womeningreen.org/shd.htm>
5. UNWRA Stages 'Propoganda Play' against IDF
by David Lev
For the past several months, the United Nations has been sponsoring what many Israelis have called a "propaganda piece," in the form of a one-man play describing Israel's shelling of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency warehouse in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
The performer, Chris Gunness, who also wrote and directed the performance, is the chief spokesperson for UNWRA in Gaza. In the show, he plays the part of a warehouse and describes how he is "the victim of an excruciatingly painful fire that burned me down" when the building was bombed by the IDF using what he claims is illegal white phosphorous.
Gunness has been peddling the show, titled "Building Understanding: Epitaph for a Warehouse," at sites around Israel since the summer, claiming that he produced it chiefly for Israeli audiences. Yet so far he's had few bites; he was banned in a Tel Aviv theater, and a performance scheduled for a theater festival in Akko (Acre) was cancelled at the last moment. At another performance in Tel Aviv, a large part of the audience walked out in mid-performance.
In the show, Gunness portrays Israel as the clear aggressor, hitting the United Nations warehouse randomly, and perhaps intentionally, in order to further injure the Gaza civilian population – thus dismissing immediately IDF claims that Hamas terrorists were firing missiles at Israel from right next to the warehouse. "How do you know the IDF is telling the truth? Do you really believe them?," he told Israel National News during Operation Cast Lead.
However, Gunness seemed far less sure of his facts on the issue of the alleged use of white phosphorous earlier this year. In an interview with Israel National News last January, Gunness said that it was not clear that white phosphorous had been used in the Israeli shelling, as Hamas and the U.N. originally charged, and instead based his claim on circumstantial evidence.
"According to our international staff members, who were eyewitnesses, it looks like phosphorus, it smells like phosphorus and it burns like phosphorus," he said. Gunness called for an international probe into the attack. In the show, Gunness leaves no doubt in the audience's mind that the IDF indeed used the chemical in the bombing.
Subsequent probes by Israeli military officials proved that phosphorus material from smoke, and not as a substance in weapons, was measured in minimal quantities and far within the limits of international law.
When asked how his staff knew that the shells had been fired by IDF soldiers, Gunness acknowledged that he had no way to confirm the information. "That is the assessment of the international staff on the ground," he said, "but this is why there needs to be an impartial investigation. Let's find out." The play, however, clearly states that the IDF was responsible for the shelling.
6. Sheikh to Jews: Keep Jewish Law on Temple Mount
by Hillel Fendel
Sheikh Kamal Riyan called on Jews to “observe Jewish Law” and not visit the Temple Mount. It is true that Jewish Law restricts Jewish entry to the Mount, Rabbi Zalman Melamed responded, but it also forbids non-Jewish entry to the Temple area outright - which the sheikh did not note.
The Muslim Sheikh, who heads the Al-Aksa Association for the Islamic Trust, pointed a finger at the Israel Police, the Government of Israel, and the entire Jewish Nation for allowing themselves to be “held hostage” by the “extreme right-wing.”
'Riyan has Chutzpah'
Riyan noted in this connection that Jewish Law forbids Jews from entering the Temple Mount. Unsurprisingly, as his background in Jewish Law is not extensive, and his mistakes in this area include the following: Basic Jewish Law allows Jews to enter the Temple Mount, after having purified themselves of a certain level of legal impurity, but they may not enter the site where certain parts of the Temple itself stood. Many rabbis today adhere to the leniencies of this law, while others say that Jews should not enter any part of the Temple Mount, for fear that they will enter the wrong areas.
Furthermore, as Rabbi Zalman Melamed noted on Tuesday in response to Riyan’s statement, Jewish Law most certainly forbids non-Jews from entering the holy areas of the Mount. (See Mishna, Tr. Kelim 1,8)
Rabbi Melamed, who heads the Beit El Yeshiva Center and is Chief Rabbi of Beit El, is among those who discourage Jews from ascending to the Temple Mount. However, he said, “Riyan's statement that Jewish law forbids Jews from ascending to the Temple Mount is an expression of nerve and chutzpah... It is true that according to Jewish Law, a Jew who is not in a pure state cannot ascend to the Temple Mount - but certainly Arabs may not ascend to the Temple either."
Riyan released a statement saying that the “extremist settlers” and the “Jerusalem extremists” are linked by a desire to “create facts on the ground in opposition to international law, humanism, and even the word of the Creator.” He blamed the Jerusalem violence of the past few days – in which over 20 Arabs were arrested and at least three Israeli policemen were injured – on the “settlers and on the Israeli establishment that protects them.”
“If Israel truly does not intend to build a synagogue [on the Temple Moun or to build the fake Holy Temple [si,” Sheikh Riyan said, “it must prove this to the entire Arab world.” Many Muslim clerics have claimed in recent years that there never was a Jewish Holy Temple atop the site – contradicting not only Jewish sources and countless historical and archeological proofs, but also an Islamic Waqf booklet of 1925 describing the Temple Mount that mentions, twice, the historic existence of the Holy Temples there.
7. New Anti-Semitic Textbook: Polygamy in Israel
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A new textbook introduced into a Sydney, Australia school charges that “much modern conflict in the world is related to the reactions of other groups to the Jewish people." The author, Christopher Hartney of the University of Sydney, also wrote that polygamy is “commonly practiced in the Jewish State."
Bedouin men practice polygamy but the author did not refer specifically to them, leaving the impression that Jews follow the practice. Polygamy among Jews has been prohibited by rabbis for centuries and is illegal in the State of Israel. However, the government has made an exception for Bedouins, citing it as a religious freedom.
Hartney’s stab at Jews as being involved in most modern conflicts in the world, among other slurs against Jews, caught the attention of Jewish students, who complained to authorities. The author also wrote that the Passover holiday involves slaughtering lambs, [a smearing the lintel on the front door with blood,” rituals that are described in the Bible but which are not practiced today.
Sacrificing animals was performed in the Holy Temples until the destruction of the Second Temple nearly 2,000 years ago.
Jewish leaders in Sydney expressed fear that the book, which already has been distributed to 5,000 students, will fuel anti-Semitism.
The publisher of the textbook, Cambridge University Press, said it will “review” the objections, although the Jewish Board of Deputies has demanded that the current edition of the book be withdrawn.
"It is alarming that a book which is widely used in schools across New South Wales could contain so many inaccuracies and such appalling statements - one of which is in the realm of racial vilification,” said Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff.
