Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Monday 28 February 2011


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Monday, Feb 28 '11, Adar 24, 5771
Today`s Email Stories:
Mubarak Banned from Fleeing
Video: Burning Photos of Gaddafi
Wisconsin Polarizes US Politics
Cttee: Shehadeh Killing 'Faulty'
Award for Anti-Semitism Study
'Obama Should Embrace Islam'
Yesha Jews Have Rights, Too
  More Website News:
Gaza to Export Cherry Tomatoes
Nof Tzion’s Problems – Not Over
Katif Products at Jerusalem Fair
Saudi King-Facebook Deal a Spoof
Tender for Aerial Fire-Fighting
  MP3 Radio Website News Briefs:
Talk: Axing the Axis
Natural Law or Revealed Law?
Music: Original Music
Songs of the 70-80s




1. Police Fire Rubber Bullets, Wound 15, in Outpost Destruction
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu 
15 Wounded at Outpost


Hundreds of security forces wounded 15 civilians, most of them by rubber bullets, early Monday morning after police pounced on the Gilad Farm (Chavat Gilad) outpost while using two bulldozers to destroy an ”illegal” home, a second home that was almost completely built and a third one under construction. A tent also was demolished. 

Residents of the community, located in Samaria near Kedumim, tried to resist the destruction, and clashes broke out, escalating to the point that special police forces used rubber bullets and tear gas, generally employed at mass riots. The police denied they used rubber bullets and claimed that they employed paintball guns to against stone throwers. 

The Women in Green and Committees for Judea Action issued a protest statement on the use of rubber bullets.  “Bibi, the injuries are your responsibility. Stop hiding behind Barak," they said, referring to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. 

The government has targeted Gilad Farm dozens of times the past several years, although it is on private property owned by the Zar family, who named the farm after their son Gilad, murdered by Arab terrorists in a shooting attack several years ago. 

Zar’s son Etai was among eight people who were arrested in Monday morning’s police raid. 

The community is considered illegal by the government “because Barak has not signed the papers approving construction,” David HaIvri, director of the Shomron (Samaria) Liaison Council, told Israel National News. 

He added he does not understand how authorities determine which home to destroy. Gilad Farm residents have pointed out several times that the government does not raze hundreds of illegally built Arab homes in the immediate area. 

The Israel Electric Company has not provided the community with a hook-up for electricity, and the farm’s 28 families depend on an expensive diesel-fueled generator - and are often forced to remain without electricity during the winter nights. 

Gilad Farm also has been the target of Arab terrorists, leftists and anarchists, who have torched the farm’s fields and attacked residents with firebombs.

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2. Mubarak Banned from Fleeing Egypt, Assets Frozen
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu 
Mubarak Banned from Fleeing


The new military regime in Egypt has banned deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from leaving the country and frozen his assets, according to military sources quoted by the Egyptian Ahram Online website.

His family faces criminal charges, and the military prevented his son from fleeing Egypt on a private jet. He was reported to have traveled with his mother to Britain after last month's uprising, but reports of his flight now appear to be untrue.

Mubarak's massive wealth, estimated to be valued at billions of dollars, is being investigated by authorities.

At the outset of the populist revolution against his regime, Mubarak, who is dying from cancer, vowed he would not leave the country. “I will die in Egypt,” he said. Some opponents have called for Mubarak to be sentenced to death.

He is believed to be living in seclusion in the Sharm El-Sheikh resort on the Red Sea.



3. Video: Libyan Protesters Burn Pictures of Gaddafi
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu 
Video: Burning Photos of Gaddafi


A new YouTube posting shows protesters in Libya burning photos of Muammar Gaddafi, who is desperately holding on to power from his sole power base in Tripoli as rebels form a transitional government. 



Foreigners and Libyan citizens are crossing the Egyptian and Tunisian borders to escape the savage onslaught from Gaddafi’s remaining loyal soldiers and paid mercenaries. More than 2,000 people are estimated to have been murdered in the uprising that began more than a week ago and has cost Gaddafi support from virtually the entire world, including the Arab League. 

Officers who have defected from the armed forces have set up a command station in the eastern part of the country, where most of the country’s oil resources are located and which is under control by opposition forces. The chaos has pushed up the price of oil on the world market to within 50 cents of $100 a barrel, the highest level since late 2008. 

The United States and Europe’s leading countries are discussing the possibility of military intervention to establish a no-fly zone in Libya to prevent Gaddafi from resuming aerial bombing of opponents to his regime. 

Establishing a no-fly zone would require approval by the United Nations Security Council, which last Saturday night imposed military and economic sanctions on Gaddafi. European countries and the United States have frozen his assets. 

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4. Wisconsin as Ground Zero of the Budget War
by Dr. Amiel Ungar 
Wisconsin Polarizes US Politics


In the decade preceding the American Civil War, one of the battlegrounds between pro-slavery forces and the Abolitionists was the State of Kansas, where both sides sent in partisans to fight for their opinions. The violence that resulted gave the state the unenviable name of "Bleeding Kansas". 

Hopefully, the only violence that will occur in Wisconsin's capital of Madison after the deadline for clearing the demonstrators from the capital has passed will be verbal violence and passive resistance. Governor Scott Walker's plan to cut down the power of the state civil service unions has mobilized both parties and unified them in polarized form around the issue, with the Republican Party backing Walker and the Democratic Party backing the unions. 

If at first the Democratic National Committee tried to influence things behind the scenes in favor of the unions, the committee's winter meeting was an overt rally on behalf of the unions.  The Cabinet's Labor secretary Hilda Solis brought the DNC to its feet Saturday morning with a rousing pro-union speech at telling the assembled that the "fight it is on …We work together. We help those embattled states right now where public employees are under assault.” 

An American Secretary of Labor is traditionally the best friend of the unions, just as the Secretary of Commerce serves as business' voice in the cabinet. But in this case Solis is far from alone, as Democrats from Barack Obama on down have entered the fight. 

Rallying the Democratic base was the MoveOn.org, a group that managed to organize events at all 50 state capitals to support the anti-Walker protesters. It is worth recalling that this organization, representing the left wing of the Democratic Party, originated during the Monica Lewinsky affair when the Republicans tried to impeach Bill Clinton. The organization was not particularly known for its empathy towards the unions at the time. It seems that Wisconsin has united the Democratic Party. 

It has also done the same for the Republicans. The Republicans are just as focused on the battle, making it part of their campaign to trim the deficit and get the budget back under control. Wisconsin Republicans have become the face of the national Republican Party. Its heroes are Walker, Representative Paul Ryan and now former Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus, who just replaced the embattled Michael Steele as chairman of the Republican National Committee.  Priebus was quick to tap Rick Wiley as the RNC's political director. 

The RNC is using Wisconsin to kick start a fundraising drive. The party base is being solicited to provide the resources, advertising the need " so we can stand behind leaders on the hill and governors across the country who are leading on these issues instead of punting like the Democrats.” 

A another indicator of the fact that both sides are focused on Wisconsin and the budget issue came last week when President Barack Obama announced that the federal government would no longer defend the "Defense of Marriage Act" in the courts. Normally, this decision in favor of gay rights would have aroused cheers on the left and vigorous denunciations from conservatives. Currently it only aroused a yawn. Social and cultural issues have taken a definite back seat to the economic issue. 

A recent Gallup poll of US citizens who identified themselves as Republicans or Republican-leaning, taken in the midst of the current Mideast chaos,  showed that  care much less about the MIddle East and Israel than they do about the economic situation inside the USA. When asked which of four main issues interested them the most, 37% said government power and spending, 31% replied business and the economy, while only 17% said moral values and social issues and even less participants,  a mere15%, said foreign policy.



5. Cttee: Shehadeh Killing 'Faulty,' but Not Criminal
by Maayana Miskin 
Cttee: Shehadeh Killing 'Faulty'


A committee charged with investigating the 2002 assassination of arch-terrorist Salah Shehadeh has found that mistakes were made in the strike, but ruled that the operation was not criminal. None of the IDF personnel involved should be punished, according to the committee's report, which was turned in to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday.



Several innocent Gaza residents were killed in the blast that took out Shehadeh, a senior member of Hamas who had coordinated terrorist attacks in Israel and was planning additional mass-casualty attacks.



Committee members said the death of innocents was the result of faulty intelligence. The death of civilians was “disproportionate” when weighed against the need to contain Shehadeh, they said.



However, “the lesson was learned” by IDF commanders, and there is no need to take action against the individuals involved, they ruled.



The committee, led by retired judge Tova Strasberg Cohen, also determined that the use of assassination as a tool against terrorist networks remains legitimate. 

The IDF policy of pinpointed strikes against known terrorists succeeded in eliminating some of the most dangerous terrorist leaders and their followers, while attempting to avoid civilian casualties. The IDF often cancelled planned assassinations when civilians were in the vicinity, even though the terrorists are allowed to live with impunity among these same civilians.



Some of Israel's senior military and political leaders have been targeted by pro-Arab groups for legal action over the assassination. In 2009 a Spanish court agreed to conduct a probe of the incident at the request of a group of Gaza residents; however, Spain later moved to limit its jurisdiction, and the case was dropped.



6. Heb. U. Prof. Wistrich Awarded for Anti-Semitism Study
by Hillel Fendel 
Award for Anti-Semitism Study


Prof. Robert Wistrich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his lifelong contributions to the study of anti-Semitism. 

The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism (SICSA) at Hebrew U announced today that Wistrich, the Center’s director, is to receive the award from the Journal for the Study of Antisemitism (JSA). At the same time, JSA named his magnum opus A Lethal Obsession the “Best Book of 2010” on anti-Semitism. 

A Lethal Obsession, an encyclopedic work spanning over 2,000 years of world history, provides a definitive look at the various streams of anti-Semitism through the ages, and explores the connections between the resurgence of global anti-Semitism and contemporary social and political issues.  

“Because of his commitment to investigating anti-Semitism and fighting it in all its emerging forms, the JSA is proud to acknowledge Prof. Wistrich as the leading scholar in the field and present him with this Lifetime Achievement Award,” the publication’s editors, Steven K. Baum, Neal E. Rosenberg, Lesley Klaff and Steven L. Jacobs, said in a written statement. 

“We are appreciative of Prof. Wistrich’s scholarly efforts in the ongoing struggle against anti-Semitism and believe such acknowledgment is long overdue.” 

Prof. Wistrich holds the Neuberger chair for Modern European History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is the author and editor of 24 books, several of which have won international awards.  These include Socialism and the Jews, The Jews of Vienna in the Age of Franz Joseph (winner of the Austrian State Prize for Danubian History and Antisemitism), and The Longest Hatred (recipient of the H.H. Wingate Prize for non-fiction in the U.K.). 

“His numerous books and articles and invaluable contributions to landmark film projects set the standard for other scholars and have paved the way for graduate students to continue his work in the study of anti-Semitism,” the statement concludes. 

For an INN interview with Prof. Wistrich, click here.



7. Obama Should Embrace Islam, Says Muslim Cleric
by Elad Benari 
'Obama Should Embrace Islam'


The British radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary said on Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama must embrace Islam as a way of life or face the consequences of a trial under the Shariah Islamic court system. 

Choudary, who spoke with investigative reporter Aaron Klein during his radio program on New York’s WABC Radio, claimed during the interview that Obama is waging a war against Islam. 

“[Obama] has promised all Muslims to be released from Guantanamo Bay. They are still languishing there even though he knows they are completely innocent,” said Choudary. “On top of that, he’s increased the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, so he is a war mongerer just as his predecessor was. And thirdly and more importantly, you know, the Muslims don’t want democracy and freedom. Democracy and freedom are anathema to Islam and the Sharia.” 

Choudary also said that he is planning a protest in front of the White House on Thursday in which he will call on American Muslims to revolt against the country and implement Sharia law. 

He added that during the protest he will also call on Obama and all Americans to “embrace Islam, not only as a religion but as a way of life.” 

Choudary added: “At the same time, we will be issuing a warning that the presence of U.S. forces and U.S. personnel in Muslim countries, looking out for their interests, at the moment is very, very insecure. I think the Muslims are boiling angry around the world. This is something they (Americans) should take very seriously.” 

Choudary also claimed that Obama was committing “crimes” against Muslims in Iraq and in Afghanistan. “I do believe that the only way for him to save himself in this life and in the hereafter is to embrace Islam,” he said. “Islam will eradicate all his sins, he will be like the day his mother gave birth to him. Otherwise, when we do implement the Shariah, obviously he will face the consequences of a trial under the Sharia court.” 

Choudary founded two Muslim groups in Britain that were banned by the British government as being terrorist organizations. He has threatened British Jews who support Israel, stating that it is an “Islamic obligation upon Muslims everywhere to support the Jihad against those who fight Muslims anywhere in the world or who occupy Muslim land.” 

He has often praised Muslim terrorists, referring to the September 11 terrorists as “magnificent martyrs.” In 2003 he endorsed terrorist attacks by British Muslims and said that al-Muhajiroun, one of the groups he founded, would “encourage people to fulfill their Islamic duties and responsibilities.” He praised the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai and has called for stoning homosexuals and for assassinating the Pope. 

Choudary has also previously called for prosecuting Queen Elizabeth for genocide because “she is the one who applauds her sons and daughters to go out and massacre hundreds and thousands of innocent people.” He also declared that the Queen should be tried for “the extermination of a nation.” 

During Sunday’s interview with Klein, Choudary repeated his contention that the flag of Islam will fly over the White House. 

“I do believe that as a Muslim every part of the world will be governed by the Sharia,” he said. “So symbolically the flag of Islam will fly from every single country, every single nation.”



8. Interview: Yesha Jews Have Rights, Too, Says Orit Strook
by David Lev 
Yesha Jews Have Rights, Too


If police, the Knesset, and the justice system have more respect than they used to for residents of Judea and Samaria – or, at least, more willingness to treat them like other Israelis with rights, instead of “second-class settlers” – it's largely thanks to the efforts of the Yesha Human Rights Organization, headed by attorney Orit Strook. The group has filed hundreds of complaints against police officers who tended to release their frustrations on Jewish youth in places like Amona and Gush Katif, and it has also pursued criminal and civil cases against dozens of police officers guilty of police brutality. In addition, it has lobbied for and successfully pushed through important legislation that protects the rights of residents of Judea and Samaria. 

“The government, the Knesset, the media and the left understand that the Jews of Yesha have someone supporting them,” Strook told Arutz Sheva. “We have made them sit up and take notice, ensuring that offenses against Yesha residents will be dealt with thoroughly.” 

The work is not limited to Yesha residents. A good example of what Strook means came last week, when the organization filed an NIS 100,000 lawsuit against a police officer who was convicted – thanks to Strook – for beating up an innocent bystander at the 2010 “Pride Parade” in Jerusalem. An Orthodox man was filming a demonstration in the Geulah neighborhood – far away from the parade – and recorded provocations by police against some of the demonstrators from a rooftop. A policeman noticed the man filming, and demanded that he hand his camera over. The man refused to do so, and the policeman made his way to the roof and beat up the man, grabbing the camera. After supplying evidence, testimony and legal assistance, Strook got the officer convicted of police brutality – and filed a civil suit against him as well. 

“Tracking down police officers who mistreat citizens is one of the activities on which we spend a great deal of time” says Strook. “Theoretically, cases like these are supposed to be dealt with by the police internal affairs unit (Machash), but they often suffer from a lack of motivation – and even if the motivation is there, the resources are not.” 

The effectiveness of Strook's group is evident in the numbers, she says. “About 2% of cases filed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs end up generating an indictment, while about a third of the complaints we file do. We end up doing a lot of the work Internal Affairs is supposed to do, but cannot or will not do.” When the organization takes a case, Strook says, they stick with it from beginning to end, ensuring that justice is done – and that corrupt cops pay the penalty. “Once we're done with a criminal case, we almost always proceed to a civil lawsuit, in order to ensure that the policeman pays a stiff settlement out of his own pocket.” That, says Strook, is how police learn that crime – in their case, police brutality – doesn't pay. 

One of the major projects taken on by the organization – dealing with the police brutality at Amona in 2006 – is nearing completion. “As is well known, policed treated the protesters with extreme violence, and hid their identities by taking off their badges,” Strook says. At first, it appeared as if the subterfuge by police had succeeded; nearly all the complaints of brutality were dismissed because the specific officers that beat protesters could not be identified. “We got involved and produced evidence and witnesses, eventually identifying nearly all the offending officers. Our evidence was accepted by the courts, and they have begun meting out punishments.” 

Besides working police brutality cases, the also works in the legislative arena. “Nowadays we are invited to all Knesset deliberations on human rights.” The organization was also instrumental in passing a law that expunges all charges against  youths who were arrested in protests during the Disengagement. The law has been challenged by leftist groups in the High Court, and the organization has defended it – successfully – numerous times. 

One of the most important projects the organization has taken on, says Strook, is helping to establish the Land of Israel Lobby in the Knesset. “We worked with numerous MKs to develop the Lobby, which was recently named by Yediot Acharonot as the most effective lobby in the Knesset,” Strook says. Her latest project is ensuring equal rights and justice for farmers in Judea and Samaria. “The farmers there have long suffered from both Arabs and police, who are very quick to blame them for Arab provocations,” Strook says. That situation actually follows the pattern set by the Justice Ministry, which, after much research by the organization, was proved to be singling out Yesha residents for harassment – at the order, it turned out, of Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan. “We exposed the Nitzan situation, and we are doing the same thing in order to protect the farmers,” Strook said. 

The Yesha Human Rights organization subsists mainly on donations, and volunteer work by attorneys the group works with. “At any one time, we have about 100 cases going, so this is a fairly complicated operation. There are many projects we'd like to take on that we cannot, because of the lack of resources and time.” But difficult as the work may be, it's necessary – and it's had an important impact on Israeli society. “Today police, the courts, and the Knesset have learned that the residents of Yesha are Israelis with rights. That's a big change from just a few years ago,” says Strook. “That new attitude has made Israel more democratic for everyone.”



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