 | ||
 |         |  |
 | ||
| MP3 Radio | Website News Briefs: | |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
 |  |
1. Barak Ousts Rabbi Melamed’s Yeshiva from ‘Hesder’ Program
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced Sunday night he is throwing out the Har Bracha yeshiva, headed by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, from the Hesder yeshiva program. Barak charged the rabbi with “undermining democratic principles” and “inciting” students to refuse IDF orders to expel Jews from their homes.
The Hesder yeshiva program allows young men to service in the IDF for up to two years, instead of the usual three, and to learn at yeshiva for at least three years. The organization of the Hesder yeshivas has not commented on the historic decision by the Defense Minister, who also is chairman of the Labor party.
Picture: Rabbi Melamed The Defense Minister said that the IDF should be kept out of political arguments, exactly the same claim made by many leading national religious rabbis concerning the decision by Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi to use soldiers to help expel Jews from their homes. Police normally undertook the expulsions until the massive forced evacuation of Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria four years ago.
Defense Minister Barak said he decided to ban Rabbi Melamed’s yeshiva from the Hesder program after consulting with IDF Chief of Staff Ashkenazi. Barak's spokesmen said he also spoke with other rabbis of Hesder yeshivas.
The organization of Hesder yeshivas said they made it clear last week to Defense Minister Barak that they opposed excluding Har Bracha from the Hesder program.
Barak said the order will not go into effect immediately in order to allow Har Bracha students to join another Hesder yeshiva.
Former High Court Justice Yaakov Turkel said on Voice of Israel government radio Sunday night said that Barak is wrong in punishing yeshiva students for the rabbi’s statements.
2. Rabbi Melamed Puts the Facts on the Table
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Har Brachah Hesder yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Melamed told Arutz 7 that he did not accept Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s summons to a “hearing” Sunday evening because discussions cannot be conducted under “tyrannical” pressure. He also said he never advised students to protest expulsion orders from within the IDF.
The Defense Minister announced Sunday night he is tossing the yeshiva out of the Hesder program, that combines Torah study with army service, because Rabbi Melamed refused to sign a letter condemning protests by soldiers against IDF orders that they be involved in police actions to expel Jews from their homes.
Defense Minister Barak issued the summons Sunday morning after Rabbi Melamed did not meet his deadline to sign a letter condemning protests by soldiers. The letter was drafted by national religious Rabbi Chaim Druckman.
Rabbi Melamed explained that he agrees in principle with the letter but did not sign it because of its tone. “I understand and respect the protestors…but think they should limit their demonstrations to civilian actions and not within the IDF,” the rabbi said.
He also refused to sign the letter because of the manner in which Barak acted. “One must not sit does in discussion under government pressure, and a rabbi must be able to express his inner truth. What would happen if a rabbi reasoned that soldiers have an obligation to protest in public ceremonies? Would the rabbi have to remain quiet and hide his opinion, which he has an obligation to express?
“I will not surrender to Barak’s tyrannical pressure and that is why did not agree to attend a 'hearing” under an ultimatum, expressions that that show no respect towards those who deserve the freedom of thought and expression.”
Rabbi Melamed reiterated that he never advised students to raise protest signs against expulsions and specifically stated after the first protest several weeks ago that “there is no obligation to demonstrate specifically at a swearing-in ceremony.”
He was referring to combat soldiers from a Hesder yeshiva who raised a sign that their unit “does not expel Jews from Homesh,” the site of the destroyed town in northern Samaria where the IDF recently participated in expelling Jews, often desecrating the Sabbath. Jews have established a yeshiva the site and have maintained a presence there for three years.
“If they [the soldiers} had asked me, I would have advised against" the protest action, he said, adding that after the fact, "I respect their acts and recognize the positive side that results from public protests.”
Rabbi Melamed added that in order to make sure his position was clear, he asked approximately 50 students to express their understanding of his opinion. “Everyone, except for one student, replied that I am not encouraging them to demonstrate.”
The dispute with the military establishment began when the IDF Manpower commander demanded that Hesder yeshiva rabbis totally disassociate themselves from protests and refusal to obey orders to expel Jews from their homes, according to Rabbi Melamed.
“Rabbi Druckman agreed with their [the IDF’ position and wrote a letter that Defense Minister Barak and his deputy Matan Vilnai demanded that I sign,” Rabbi Melamed said.
See related stories: 'All Rabbis Must Oppose Barak'
3. Chief Rabbi of Tzfat: All Rabbis Must Oppose Barak's Decision
by Hillel Fendel
The Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, plans to initiate an urgent session of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, in light of the decision by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to remove the Har Brachah yeshiva from the Hesder arrangement with the army.
Rabbi Eliyahu said he will work to recruit all the rabbis of the country against Barak's decision. The Yesha Rabbis Council of Judea and Samaria, co-headed by Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba and Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beit El, has already announced its support of Yeshivat Har Brachah and its dean's right and obligation to teach Torah without the army telling him what not to say.
Rabbi Eliyahu similarly said that Barak has no right to attempt to undermine the independence of the yeshivot. "The Torah sages throughout the generations were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to maintain the independence of those who hand down Halakhic [Jewish lega rulings," he said. "We expect the Chief Rabbinate to call upon all rabbis, from all camps, to stand in a united front against the Defense Minister's intentions."
One for All and All for One
Though not all rabbis in the Hesder Yeshivot Union agree with the strong stance presented by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed of Har Brachah against adhering to orders to demolish Jewish homes and expel Jews from the Land of Israel, the organization says Barak's decision is a "very grave precedent." The Union says in a statement that it will hold an emergency meeting in the coming days to discuss its response, "and we will work to make sure the decision is revoked."
One rabbi said it is expected that the rabbis will tell Barak, "We are all for one and one for all," and will not accept Barak's decision to remove the yeshiva from the Hesder arrangement.
Hesder Union rabbis also said that it appears that Barak's decision was "made in advance," and that it will act as a boomerang against him. This, because it was learned that Rabbi Melamed had drafted a response that could have been acceptable to the Defense Ministry, but it was turned down just before Barak announced his decision. Rabbi Melamed's response reiterated his previously expressed stance against public protests by soldiers-in-uniform regarding the demolitions - but Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, to whom it was addressed, told Rabbi Melamed, "It's too late; it's out of my hands."
Just hours later, on Sunday evening, Barak announced his decision removing Har Brachah from the Hesder arrangement.
It is also thought that the increasing popularity of Yeshivat Har Brachah among potential students that has been noted since the beginning of the current clash between Rabbi Melamed and the Defense Ministry will continue. In addition, it is likely that many students who under normal circumstances would have chosen the Hesder path of combining army service and Torah studies, will now choose full-time Torah learning - thus costing the army some of its best soldiers.
4. National Camp Enraged by Barak's Decision to Oust Har Bracha
by Avi Yellin
Leaders of the national camp warned Sunday evening that the decision by Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) to oust Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s Har Bracha yeshiva from the Hesder program will cause a rift among the entire Jewish nation. The Hesder program combines military service with Jewish studies, and soldiers from Hesder yeshivas make up a disproportionately high percentage of combat fighters in the IDF.
Barak ousted Har Bracha from the Hesder program due to Rabbi Melamed’s refusal to back down to the defense establishment or send mixed messages to his students regarding the morality of obeying orders to expel Jewish families from their homes.
Knesset Member Yariv Levin (Likud) sharply criticized Defense Minister Barak’s decision and praised the contribution of soldiers from Har Bracha. He warned that Barak’s attempts to use his ministry to score points for himself among Labor party MKs and members could cause harm to the IDF and to the country’s defense. “Barak is engaging in politics at the expense of military recruits… I call on the Defense Minister to reconsider his decision before it causes irreversible damage,” he added.
Science Minister Daniel Hershkowitz (Jewish Home) said that the lack of dialogue between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Rabbi Melamed has the potential to bring Israel towards disaster. Herskowitz, who also is an ordained rabbi, added that he would try to talk with Defense Minister Barak in an attempt to influence him to reconsider his decision.
MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said that Barak, “in his aggressive way,” was harming the security of the State of Israel. He added, "Annulling the arrangement with the heroes of Har Bracha is a criminal act aimed at bolstering the ego of a politician who is about to end his career.”
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) pointed out the hypocrisy between how Barak threatens the rabbis from Hesder yeshivas compared with his treatment of lecturers from Tel Aviv University who openly preach disobedience to IDF recruits.
Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council which oversees the Har Bracha municipality, echoed Eldad’s statements and further accused Barak of “sucking up to the social milieu of universities whose professors incite against the existence of the State of Israel and against IDF service.” He also praised Rabbi Melamed and the Har Bracha yeshiva, saying the Defense Minister was “persecuting an educational establishment of the first order which has yielded hundreds of the best combat officers.”
Nochi Eyal, director of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, called Barak’s actions “anti-democratic.” The forum said in a statement that “the minister could not care less about the law when it relates to him [bu is strict when it relates to political opponents. The Defense Minister must not use his authority to impose political opinions on rabbis.” According to the statement, the defense minister’s move will lead to disputes among the Jewish people and harm the IDF’s ability to defend the country.
The Union of Hesder Yeshivas announced that heads of the schools would hold an emergency hearing in the next few days to discuss Barak’s decision. In a statement which followed the decision, the union noted that it expressed its opposition to such a move when it met with Barak last week. “The decision constitutes a serious precedent of harming a yeshiva which is entitled to enjoy academic and Torah freedom,” the Hesder group said.
5. Hebrew U. Leftists Link Nationalists with KKK and Hitler
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Zionist activists on the Hebrew University campuses in Jerusalem face daily harassment from leftists, some of whom label them as being like Hitler and the American racist Ku Klux Klan group, according to student Amit Barak.
Deputy chairman of the nationalist Im Tirztu [If you Wish I group, Barak told Arutz 7 that leftist students on both of the university’s campuses in the capital use Nazi symbols and catcalls of ‘fascists” against his group.
“Several days ago, one of our activists who was walking with our newspaper was met by a student raising his hand” in a manner similar to the Hitler salute, he continued. The student was identified as a Meretz supporter. Barak said he complained to the three MKs of the Meretz party about the slurs, but MK Chaim Oron was the only who deplored the behavior. Party chairman MK Ilan Gil'on and MK Nitzan Horowitz ignored him.
Barak has appealed to Knesset Education Committee chairman Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) to hold a special hearing on the harassment, He also has complained to the university administration, but no reply has been received.
The student nationalists cited another example of a student newspaper caricature comparing Im Tirtzu with the Ku Klux Klan.
Barak said that at the end of one university media lecture, Im Tirtzu leader Erez Tadmor’s stand on the expulsion of Jews from their homes was met by one student who suggested that he add “Heil Hitler” to his statements. When Tadmor replied, the lecturer admonished him while ignoring the other student’s comment.
One student cell that is identified with the Labor party published a satire linking Im Tirtzu with the Nazi Sieg Heil victory slogan.
6. Arab MK to be Indicted in Connection with Trip to Syria
by Hana Levi Julian
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has decided to indict Arab-party Knesset Member Sa’id Naffaa in connection with his trip to Syria in October 2007.
Naffaa will be indicted in the Nazareth District Court on charges of illegal exit to visit an enemy state, rendering assistance for illegal exit to visit an enemy state, and contact with a foreign agent.
Naffaa, a member of the Druze community, is being charged with leaving to visit Syria in October 2007, for the purpose of meeting with Talal Naj’I, the deputy secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and
Khaled Mashal, political bureau chief of the Hamas terrorist organization, who lives in Damascus.
He allegedly also met with Syrian Vice President Farouk a-Shara as well as another Syrian government official.
Assistant Attorney General Raz Nisri notified Naffaa’s attorney in writing that despite the arguments raised at the hearing before the Attorney General, Mazuz had decided to submit an indictment.
Naffaa is being indicted due to the fact that he organized a trip for 280 religious Druze to Syria, traveling through Jordan, despite a specific prohibition by the Interior Ministry against doing so. Naffaa had requested permission to take the group to an enemy state and was denied government permission by then-Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit.
The Arab MK was aided in arranging the trip with the Syrian embassy while in Jordan, according to the indictment, by former Balad MK Azmi Bishara, who acted as middleman. Bishara fled Israel in 2006 to avoid facing charges of espionage, and aiding and abetting the enemy – Hizbullah terrorists – during the Second Lebanon War.
7. Secret Documents Reveal Iran’s Smoking Gun’ for Nuclear Bomb
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Secret documents obtained and translated by the Times of London reveal that Iran has been working for two years on a plan to test a nuclear bomb component that triggers an explosion.
American intelligence experts previously had denied Israeli reports on Iran’s nearing nuclear capability. They claimed that Tehran in 2003 had halted preparations to make nuclear weapons and would not resume work on the project before mid-2007. The United States earlier this year admitted its information was incorrect.
Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, told the Times, "The most shattering conclusion is that... this was an effort that began in 2007…. If Iran is working on weapons, it means there is no diplomatic solution.
“Is this the smoking gun? That’s the question people should be asking. It looks like the smoking gun. This is smoking uranium.”
The technical document describes the use of a neutron that independent experts say have no use other than for a nuclear weapon, according to the Times.
The documents have been transferred to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog arm of the United Nations.
The revelation is one of a series of reports the past two years that indicate Iran’s progress in manufacturing a nuclear weapon. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly has said that Israel is a "cancer” that should be “wiped off the face of the map.”
The U.S. Congress is pressing for tougher sanctions on Iran in a bid to cripple its economy as a way to force it to allow United Nations officials to inspect its nuclear facilities. U.S. President Barack Obama has pursued a strategy of diplomatic pressure.
