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1. Abbas Ditches Roadmap, No Talks Unless Israeli Withdraws
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Palestinian Authority PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in effect ditched the American Roadmap plan Tuesday and issued an ultimatum to Israel that there will be no talks unless Israel agrees ahead of time to surrender all of the land restored in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Abbas’ new position is a severe escalation in his conditions for talks, which previously called for a halt to all building for Jews in eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed to a 10-month building freeze except for eastern Jerusalem.
Abbas' announcement in a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday leaves the American Roadmap plan at a dead end. The plan, launched seven years ago by former U.S. President George W. Bush, calls for the PA and Israel to negotiate for an agreement on a new PA state.
Its longevity has been in question since Hamas ousted Abbas’ Fatah party from Gaza nearly three years ago. Former U.S. Secretary of State also Condoleezza Rice also placed a detour at the Roadmap by pressuring Israel to skip over the clause that calls for interim PA borders, to be followed by talks on final status issues. These points refer to status of Jerusalem and the demand from the Arab world that Israel allow several million foreign Arabs to immigrate into the country.
The Obama administration has not yet commented on Abbas’ latest conditions, and the State Department probably will be asked to make a statement during its daily media briefing Tuesday morning in Washington.
While placing new conditions for the resumption of talks, Abbas blamed Israel for the suspension in diplomatic discussions, arguing that Israel did not comply with the demand to halt building in eastern Jerusalem. Approximately 300,000 Jews live in the area, including the Old City where the Temple Mount and Western Wall (Kotel) are located.
Abbas also reiterated his policy of trying to convince the United Nations Security Council to recognize the 1949-1967 borders as those of a PA state.
"Why are we doing this? Because the negotiations have stopped. Why have they stopped?” he said. “Because Israel cannot stop the settlements or recognize international law.”
The PLO meeting was called to discuss the PA political dilemma of facing elections next month. Hamas has threatened to boycott a vote, and the PLO is likely to extend the term of Abbas, who previously said he would step down. His term of office already has been extended by one year.
2. R. Eliezer Melamed: 'Malevolent' Defense Min. Libeling Yeshivas
by Gil Ronen
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed of the Har Bracha Yeshiva lambasted Defense Minister Ehud Barak Monday for “libeling” yeshiva students.
“Unfortunately I have become a focus of public interest and of an act of malevolence by the Defense Minister,” he said. “They attack us and say that a soldier must have a commander and that the commander cannot be his rabbi. The Defense Minister accuses us of destabilizing the foundations of democracy and inciting the students to refusal, and of damaging the spirit of the IDF.”
"There are deep disagreements in Israeli society but this is a libel against us and against our Torah, whose words are good and true," he continued. "The public is being incited to believe that the rabbis are endangering the existence of the army. But this is not true. A defense establishment which makes it possible to drag the army into political disputes is the one endangering the army, because there is no conflict between the commander and the rabbi on security matters. The Halacha [Jewish La says that a soldier must obey his commander in both training and battle.”
He recounted that during the Second Lebanon War, then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, “in an unfortunate choice of words,” that the war would make it possible to carry out the Convergence plan [for expelling Jews from parts of Judea and Sama.
“I wrote in my weekly column Revivim that it is still a mitzvah [commandmen to go out to battle because, as bad as things are in the IDF, our situation would be infinitely worse if we did not have the IDF,” he said. “And women called me and asked for rabbinical permission to exempt their husbands from service. And I told them that according to Halacha, their husbands should go and fight. And so they were able to sleep more soundly, but I was not able to sleep soundly.
“I wrote that it would be better not to [launch a ground invasio, but that if an order were given they should follow it and added prayers that they would make it through the war unharmed.”
He was speaking at a special conference convened “for encouragement and solidarity” with Rabbi Melamed and the Har Bracha Yeshiva at Orot HaTorah synagogue in Bat Yam.
Hebrew Video: Rabbi Melamed speaks at Bat Yam synagogue:
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3. Rabbi Waldman: 'We Are All Har Bracha'
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, head of the Nir Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba, told Arutz Sheva on Monday that the Defense Minister's removal of the Har Bracha Yeshiva from the Hesder program has essentially united all factions among religious-Zionist rabbis.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak's behavior towards the Har Bracha Yeshiva and its dean, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, is "extremely grave," in Rabbi Waldman's words. "It was an action taken in opposition to all the agreements and relations between Hesder yeshiva heads and the Defense Ministry," he added.
Rabbi Waldman explained that the rule of thumb that guided relations between the ministry and the yeshivas until now was that "nothing be done unilaterally, rather through agreement and with mutual respect." As opposed to that understanding, the rabbi continued, "the Defense Minister took an egregious unilateral step which he had no right to make. In my opinion, he has caused a situation in which, even if we have differences of opinion, we are all now Har Bracha."
No fear
The rabbi is not fearful that such a unified position taken by Hesder yeshiva heads in support of Rabbi Melamed would lead to Defense Ministry sanctions on the entire Hesder program. "We are not afraid of the punishment of the Defense Minister," he said. "I hope that he will recover and return to a responsible path in relation to the IDF and the state." In fact, all of the nation must review its relation to Rabbi Melamed, Rabbi Waldman added, asking, "What is he -- a criminal?"
As for the issue of soldiers waving protest signs in the army against expelling Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria, Rabbi Waldman said that the issue was blown out of proportion. "The Defense Minister himself is aware that the Hesder yeshiva heads, including Rabbi Melamed, oppose demonstrations within the army. It is unreasonable to force a particular verbal formulation on a yeshiva dean. It would have been possible to make a simple inquiry and Rabbi Melamed's views would have been made clear," he said.
Rabbi Waldman does not rule out the possibility that the decision to treat Rabbi Melamed in such an extreme fashion is intended as a threat against the rest of the Hesder yeshiva deans. The rabbis leading the nation's Hesder yeshivas are slated to meet in coming days to discuss the appropriate reaction to Defense Minister Barak's actions regarding the Har Bracha Yeshiva.
"The independence of yeshiva deans must not be infringed," Rabbi Waldman concluded.
4. Police Can’t Back Up 2008 'Peace House' Libel against Jews
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Police last year accused Jews of wounding them with acid in the sudden expulsion of Peace House residents in Hevron, but no charges have been filed and no evidence has been displayed. Nationalists denied the charges at the time, but the police insisted their forces suffered wounds from acid.
A police spokesman admitted to the Jerusalem Post Tuesday that after the expulsion, police did not investigate the reports of a police medic and officer that they suffered acid burns from Jews who threw the alleged substance at them.
The charges were communicated to the media, who headlined the alleged attack after Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the police to carry out the expulsion. The residents had been told that no action would be taken while discussions were going on to reach a peaceful solution to their right to live in the building, which was paid for in cash by an American Jew.
The former Hevron owner of the property, after being threatened with death, said that he had not received the money and that the video of the purchase was faked. The courts decided the building may be owned by Jews but nevertheless ordered them to leave.
Police frequently accuse Jews of crimes that often are not followed up by indictments and usually charge Jews with assault when police carry out expulsions, often violent.
Arutz 7 journalist Chezki Ezra has sued a Border Police spokesman for spreading false information during a Jewish demonstration at Rachel’s Tomb last year. A policeman hit Ezra’s camera and struck him in the face after he noticed the journalist photographing him striking a demonstrator.
The policeman refused to identify himself to Ezra and then took the journalist into custody for allegedly participating in the protest.
Susie Dym, a spokeswoman for the nationalist organization Mattot Arim (Group of Cities) told the Post that nationalists “have not committed one-thousandth of the [crime of which they have been accused.”
5. National Religious Jews' Birth Rate Ignores Child Support Cuts
by Hana Levi Julian
Changes in the child allowances during the years 1994 to 2007 negatively affected the birth rate among hareidi-religious Jews and Arabs, but did not affect the rate among national religious and secular Jews and Druze, according to a new study released this week.
The research was conducted jointly by Dr. Daniel Gottlieb and Esther Tolidano of the Research and Planning Division of the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) and Noam Zussman and Roni Frish of the Bank of Israel's Research Department.
The findings of the study showed that stipends granted for the fourth through seventh child at a rate of NIS 500-560 ($130-$150) per month, which was the average amount from 1994 to 2004, appeared to increase the fertility rate of Arab women from six to seven percent. It also appeared to increase the birth rate of hareidi-religious women by three percent, compared with prior statistics from a point at which the women were not receiving any stipends. In the general population, granting child stipends increased the birth rates across the board by some two percent.
The research also showed that full cancellation of benefits for children would drop the total birth rate by about 0.2 percent in the hareidi-religious population, approximately one child in every five families. The birth rate among the Bedouin Arab population in the south would also decline, by about 0.4 percent, or less than two children out of every five families, if child stipends were to be eliminated. The birth rate among the Druze population, however, would remain unchanged.
During the study a downward trend in the birthrate was recorded in all populations except among non-hareidi-religious Jews. Cuts in the child stipends in 2004 and 2007 explain a significant reduction in the number of births among Arab women, and a smaller decline in births among hareidi-religious women, the researchers said.
The authors of the study noted a number of caveats, including the fact that there were limited controls for educational level, social, cultural and religious factors. Moreover, the study was conducted soon after a cut in child allowances, making it difficult to assess whether the data reflected a permanent or temporary change.
It is unclear, they said, whether the decline in the birthrate will continue in the long term, thus reflecting a general reduction in the fertility rate in these populations, or whether the data reflect, at least in part, a gap in births between 2004 and 2007, rather than a reduction in the birth rate.
The authors noted in their summary that child allowances directly reduced poverty in the short term, and therefore increased the future ability of children in poverty-stricken families to earn a living for themselves. However, they wondered whether such stipends might also reduce the supply of working mothers in society, and increase the birthrate among the poorest populations, possibly causing less family income per capita, and perhaps damaging future earning capacity of the children.
The research indicated that the impact of cuts in child allowances on long-term poverty, through its reductions in the birth rate, was minimal to moderate at best, and that its influence in other areas required further study.
6. Hizbullah Entrenches in Lebanon; Obama Says ‘Honor Ceasefire’
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
As Hizbullah tightens its hold on the Lebanese government, which formally has allowed it to remain armed in violation of United Nations resolutions, U.S. President Barack Obama calls on Beirut and Israel to honor U.N. declarations.
President Obama told visiting Lebanese President Michel Sleiman that arms smuggling threatens Israel’s security but agreed that Israel must honor the resolution that ended the Second Lebanon War three years ago.
"We also discussed the Israeli threats against Lebanon which are taking place and place obstacles to the economic growth of the country," Sleiman said. President Obama agreed with his request to put "pressure on Israel to implement Resolution 1701."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has denounced the resolution, which calls on disarming Hizbullah in southern Lebanon but which commanders of the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said at the outset they could not enforce. Prime Minister Netanyahu last month asserted that Hizbullah is "the real Lebanese army, not a sideline militia as in the past."
Pro-Syrian Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri declared on Monday, “We bet on forcing Israel to implement U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 425. We say with all pride that we are not incapable of forcing the implementation of 425 through resistance.” The 1978 resolution calls on Israel to withdraw forces from all Lebanese territory. Beirut is trying to pressure Israel to surrender the Ghajar village, which straddles the northern border.
Various intelligence report from Israel and elsewhere have estimated that Hizbullah has stockpiled between 60,000 and 80,000 rockets that can strike Israel, nearly three times the number it possessed at the beginning of the 34-day-old war.
"I want to be clear, I emphasized to him our concerns about the extensive arms that are smuggled into Lebanon that potentially serve as a threat to Israel,” President Obama said.
Last month, Israel intercepted as ship carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran and destined for Hizbullah terrorists.
7. MKs Want 'Anti-IDF' Gay Activist Out of IDF Telethon
by Gil Ronen
MKs Moshe Motz Matalon (Israel Our Home) and Robert Tibayev (Kadima) demanded Monday that leftist media personality Gal Uchovsky be removed from the roster of presenters at the annual 'Shirutrom' – an annual telethon held by IDF Radio to raise money for the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers (AWIS) and the LIBI Fund.
Uchovsky, a self-proclaimed leader of Israeli homosexuals, is a journalist, filmmaker and media personality. Arutz Sheva's Hebrew service noted in an exposé Monday that immediately after the Cast Lead campaign in Gaza, he appeared as a signatory on a petition by ultra-leftist group Breaking the Silence which demanded an investigation into allegations of war crimes by IDF soldiers.
The petition cited testimony by IDF soldiers who alleged that “innocent civilians were hurt when there was no danger to IDF soldiers' lives, that the army made use of phosphorus shells in inhabited areas, that the policy regarding opening fire was permissive and that innocent civilians served as 'human shields.'” It cast aspersions at the IDF's inquiry into the allegations, which found that they were unfounded.
Honoring Libel
In addition, Uchovsky attended an event at the Tel Aviv political club “The Left Bank” honoring Arab actor and filmmaker Muhammad Bakri, after Bakri was sued by IDF soldiers who participated in the counter-terror campaign Defensive Shield in 2002. Bakri made a film, Jenin, Jenin, which portrayed the IDF action as an act of intentional genocide. A court found that he had libeled the IDF, but ruled that the soldiers who sued him were not eligible for compensation as individuals.
"I was shocked to see that on the day in which we salute our beloved ones, the soldiers of the IDF, one of the presenters of the broadcasts will be Mr. Gal Uchovsky, who has come out openly against the IDF and its soldiers,” MK Matalon wrote in a letter to IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and to IDF Radio Commander Yitzchak Tunik. “I ask that you take him out of the programming schedule.”
MK Robert Tibayev sent Tunik a similar letter. “Uchovsky has a long record of action against the IDF,” he wrote. “People like Uchovsky should have pariah status in the IDF and its units, and they should not be invited to participate in an event for the IDF and its soldiers.”
Arutz Sheva has not been able to get Uchovsky's response.
