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1. Jewish Groups Geared to Fight 'Apartheid Week'
by Maayana Miskin
Jewish and human rights groups are gearing up to counter “Israel Apartheid Week” events next week. “Apartheid Week” is an annual event organized on college campuses in the United States, Canada and elsewhere by extreme anti-Israel groups.
The week-long event includes lectures and exhibits aimed at convincing students that Israel is a racist, colonial state. Participants are asked to sign a document opposing Zionism while supporting the creation of a state for Palestinian Authority Arabs.
One of the groups fighting Apartheid Week is Bnei Brith Canada, which called this week to ban “Apartheid Week” events completely. The group praised MPP Peter Shurman for proposing a resolution to condemn Israel Apartheid Week. The resolution was passed by the Ontario legislature.
"Today's resolution is an important first step towards what must be an outright ban of 'Israel Apartheid Week' and other similar events on campus whose raison d'etre to promote hatred, and whose activities invariably encourage harassment and intimidation of Jewish students,” Bnei Brith stated in a press release.
The organization Stand With Us took a different approach, urging students to “Use the Apartheid weeks ahead as a wonderful opportunity to teach the campus and local community about apartheid that exists today, in a majority of Middle Eastern countries where human rights abuses are commonplace... Simultaneously, encourage students and community leadership to stand up to misinformation about Israel.”
Stand With Us has produced a booklet titled “Middle East Apartheid Today” to counter Apartheid Week criticism of Israel. The booklet describes the oppression of black citizens of South Africa under apartheid and compares it to the situation of women, homosexuals, religious minorities, and reformists in countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The booklet is available on the Stand With Us website. Also on the site are “Israel 101” booklets, available in several languages, and a booklet explaining the Cast Lead counterterror operation in Gaza in early 2009.
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) has also put materials online to assist those interested in countering anti-Israel rhetoric. The site, www.israeliapartheidweek.com, includes information on the radical nature of Apartheid Week, the double standard implicit in criticizing Jewish self-determination and not that of other national groups, and genuine oppression elsewhere in the Middle East.
2. 'Terror Trio' Meets to Talk Shop
by Maayana Miskin
Syrian President Bashar Assad hosted Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah as well as Iranian leader Ahmadinajad for dinner in Damascus on Thursday night. The trio of terror-supporting leaders denounced Israel and America and discussed ways to aid “resistance groups.”
Prior to the three-way meeting, Nasrallah met with Ahmadinajad to discuss “the Israel threat to Lebanon and Syria,” according to the Hizbullah news service Al-Nahar. Hizbullah, the Shi'ite Muslim terrorist group based in southern Lebanon, who launched rockets into Israel and kidnapped Israeli soldiers Regev and Goldasser that resulted in the July 2006 Second Lebanon War, receives much of its financial and military support from Iran. This continues despite UN resolution 1701 calling for the disarmament of Hizbullah that ended the war in August 2006. Iran has been making up for arms used by Hizbullah during that war and Hizbullah's military might, according to Lt. Col. David Benjamin, who spoke at the Begin Center this week, is now stronger than that of most small nations.
Assad sat down with Ahmadinejad and Nasrallah just one day after United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Syria to distance itself from Iran. Ahmedinejad accused the U.S. of attempting to sever Iran-Syria ties in order to “dominate the region,” and said American diplomats should “pack their things and leave.”
Iran and Syria “have the same goals, same interests, and same enemies,” the Iranian president declared.
Ahmadinajad and Assad agreed to cancel visa restrictions between their countries. Assad told journalists that the trio discussed “Israeli crimes and how to deal with them, and how to assist the resistance forces.” “Resistance” is often used by Arab leaders as a euphemism for terrorism.
3. Elkin: PA's Outcry on Heritage Sites Proves Our Claim
by Maayana Miskin
MK Zev Elkin (Likud) is not worried by the Palestinian Authority's angry reaction to Israel's decision to include the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Cave of Machpelah) in Hevron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem to a list of national heritage sites. On the contrary, Elkin says, “It's evidence that they are nervous, which proves that we were right to fight for this.”
In an interview with Arutz Sheva's Hebrew site Monday, Elkin explained that the PA's reaction shows that the struggle is over more than just two holy sites. The PA is angry because the inclusion of the two tombs as Jewish heritage site is proof of the Jewish connection to Judea and to the entire land of Israel, he said.
“The Palestinians are trying to give a different narrative, a totally different story, to say that we're new here, we came at the end of the 19th century... That's where the anger is coming from,” said Elkin.
When asked if he believes PA Arabs will riot over Israel's recognition of the two tombs as Jewish sites, Elkin said it depends on the PA leadership. “If the leadership wants riots, they'll find an excuse,” he said.
Israel can prevent riots by showing determination in face of threats, he continued. “In the end it all depends on our leadership, like we saw with the riots over the Kotel tunnels. They rioted, we threatened to send tanks into Ramallah, the 'spontaneous anger' disappeared as quickly as it sprang up.”
In 1996, Israel opened tunnels leading along the edge of the Temple Mount to allow visitors to see the ruins of historic Jerusalem. The PA accused Israel of attempting to topple the mosques on the Temple Mount, and widespread violence ensued. 17 IDF soldiers and dozens of Arabs were killed.
Rioting in Hevron: photos by Flash 90
4. Aharonovich on Hevron: We're Not Frightened by Threats
by Maayana Miskin
Interior Minister Yitzchak Aharonovich responded Thursday to the decision to include the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Cave of Machpelah) in a list of national heritage sites. Aharonovich dismissed threats from terrorist groups following the decision, saying “We aren't afraid of anything.”
"Whoever is threatening us – they can keep threatening. I can tell you as a government minister, we have enough strength that those who are threatening us can do nothing but threaten.” The minister added that he supported Netanyahu's decision regarding the Tomb, “and I still support it.”
Aharonovich's statements were made in his first-ever press conference with Arab journalists, both foreign and Israeli. A source close to the minister explained that the conference was held in order to fight a trend of disinformation in the Arab media. “There is a vacuum in the Arab media that is filled by political interest groups that consistently give inaccurate information in order to serve their own interests,” he said.
Aharonovich, who oversees the Israel Police, also spoke of his efforts to recruit more Arab police officers. The police force and Prison Services currently employ thousands of non-Jewish officers, but most hail from the Druze sector and not the much larger Arab Muslim sector.
In order to bring Arab officers into the force, the government has funded a preparatory program to help more Arabs pass the test to join police training, he said. The program is already running, and currently has 40 students.
Aharonovich said he is also working with Arab community leaders to help increase the number of Arab policemen.
On Wednesday, the Knesset discussed data gathered in 2009 which revealed that crime had risen by 8.4 percent the Arab sector, while falling in the rest of the country, and that 60% of all murders took place in the Arab sector even though the Arabs are only 22% of the population. Knesset members called on police to do more to fight crime in Arab communities.
5. Secret Adar Gathering in Sa-Nur
by Maayana Miskin
Dozens of people traveled to northern Samaria this week, avoiding police along the way, in order to attend a festive gathering with Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsberg. The gathering was held in Sa-Nur, one of the cities demolished in the 2005 Disengagement.
Those who reached Sa-Nur were not only veteran Land of Israel activists, but also citizens from across the country. The group met with Rabbi Ginsberg in an ancient structure that, prior to the destruction of Sa-Nur, served as an artisans' gallery.
The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Homesh, another community that was torn down in 2005. However, as would-be celebrants approached Homesh, they saw that Border Police had gathered there in hopes of preventing Israelis from congregating at the site. Instead of clashing with the police officers, the group simply changed its destination and continued to Sa-Nur.
Participants reported that the gathering was emotionally charged, with feelings of joy mingling with sadness over the destruction of the once thriving community and hope that it would soon be rebuilt.
6. NY Congressman Engel: US – Israel Ties as Strong as Always
by Israel National Radio
NY Congressman Eliot Engel, chairman of the Western Hemisphere sub-committee and member of the Foreign Affairs committee, spoke with INR's Yishai Fleisher about American-Israel relations and have how they have changed since Barack Obama took charge. Engel said, "Presidents come and go, and the US-Israel relationship has always remained strong. It is as strong as it was."
There are occasional disagreements between Israel and America, Engel agreed. He compared the situation to a marriage, "There may be some disagreements, but it doesn't mean the relationship is ruptured."
The Obama administration is doing a lot for Israel "behind the scenes," congressman Engel added.
7. Graves Vandalized on Mount of Olives
by Maayana Miskin
Lalov chassidim were dismayed Thursday to discover that the tomb of the Rebbe of Lalov had been desecrated. The grave site on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives (Har Hazeitim) was vandalized, and the vandals even set fire to a space inside the tomb.
The incident was not the first of its kind. Approximately three months earlier, Lalov chassidim who came to visit the rebbe's grave found that the tombstone had been smashed with sledgehammers.
Other graves in the ancient cemetery have been vandalized as well. In November, relatives of the deceased were horrified to find that dozens of graves were methodically broken and stray dogs had taken up residence in the ruins.
At a November Knesset meeting, representatives of various government offices agreed to work together to restore security to the site.
Chaim Miller of the Movement for the Citizens of Jerusalem informed Jerusalem police chief Ilan Franko of the incident and asked him to take immediate action. “The Jerusalem Police must find the criminals who did this and ensure that Jews can visit the Mount of Olives safely,” they said.
The working assumption is that Arabs from the neighborhood were responsible for the vandalism, Miller said. The Lalov Rebbe's tomb has apparently been targeted due to the large number of visitors, he said. Arab attackers see that the tomb belongs to that of a great Jewish leader and choose it as their target in order to demoralize as many people as possible, he said.
