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1. Netanyahu Unmoved By Abbas Saying He'll Talk
by Gavriel Queenann
Israel's forum of seven senior ministers formally decided Thursday not to hold peace talks with the Palestinian Authority in light of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation announced in Cairo on Wednesday.
"If the situation changes and Hamas alters its ways and recognizes Israel, then we'll see," a senior political source was quoted as saying. "In the meantime there will be no talks or negotiations with the Palestinians until the picture becomes clearer."
PA president Mahmoud Abbas has blithely insisted the PA will negotiate with Israel despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's outrage over the Fatah-Hamas deal.
"It's either peace with us or peace with Hamas," Netanyahu said, issuing an ultimatum to the PA through the media on Wednesday.
But Abbas dismissed Netanyahu's stand on Thursday.
"The new government [with Hamas] and the peace talks are two different things," he said.
Senior Israeli officials aren't impressed with Abbas' sudden about-face on talks, however, and accuse the PA chairman of posturing.
"We put out a very strong statement yesterday," Mark Regev, Netanyahu's spokesperson, told Israel National News. "We stand by that statement. It says everything it needs to say. It is perfectly clear."
"This is obviously nonsensical," a foreign ministry official told INN on condition of anonymity. "Abbas has refused to sit down with Israel for two years. He could have sat down with Israel, but instead chose to sit down with Hamas."
"He's chosen his path," the official concluded. "Hamas has a genocidal agenda and wants to wipe Israel off the map. Abbas is obviously aware of how the international community will see this and is trying stave off criticism."
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni, who has been highly critical of the Netanyahu government for not doing more to jump-start the long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the PA over the past two years, expressed doubt over talking with the PA now that Hamas is being returned to the fold.
"It is still unclear what the terms of this agreement will be,” she told reporters. “But the test of the Palestinian government will be the acceptance of the international community's conditions. A Palestinian government will have to accept the Quartet's conditions if it intends to keep peace with Israel."
The Quarter's conditions for admittance of Hamas to the PA government are the renunciation of terrorism, formal recognition of Israel's right to exist, and upholding previous agreements between Israel and the PA.
Hamas has rejected all three criteria.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Israel's forum of seven senior ministers formally decided Thursday not to hold peace talks with the Palestinian Authority in light of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation announced in Cairo on Wednesday.
"If the situation changes and Hamas alters its ways and recognizes Israel, then we'll see," a senior political source was quoted as saying. "In the meantime there will be no talks or negotiations with the Palestinians until the picture becomes clearer."
PA president Mahmoud Abbas has blithely insisted the PA will negotiate with Israel despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's outrage over the Fatah-Hamas deal.
"It's either peace with us or peace with Hamas," Netanyahu said, issuing an ultimatum to the PA through the media on Wednesday.
But Abbas dismissed Netanyahu's stand on Thursday.
"The new government [with Hamas] and the peace talks are two different things," he said.
Senior Israeli officials aren't impressed with Abbas' sudden about-face on talks, however, and accuse the PA chairman of posturing.
"We put out a very strong statement yesterday," Mark Regev, Netanyahu's spokesperson, told Israel National News. "We stand by that statement. It says everything it needs to say. It is perfectly clear."
"This is obviously nonsensical," a foreign ministry official told INN on condition of anonymity. "Abbas has refused to sit down with Israel for two years. He could have sat down with Israel, but instead chose to sit down with Hamas."
"He's chosen his path," the official concluded. "Hamas has a genocidal agenda and wants to wipe Israel off the map. Abbas is obviously aware of how the international community will see this and is trying stave off criticism."
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni, who has been highly critical of the Netanyahu government for not doing more to jump-start the long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the PA over the past two years, expressed doubt over talking with the PA now that Hamas is being returned to the fold.
"It is still unclear what the terms of this agreement will be,” she told reporters. “But the test of the Palestinian government will be the acceptance of the international community's conditions. A Palestinian government will have to accept the Quartet's conditions if it intends to keep peace with Israel."
The Quarter's conditions for admittance of Hamas to the PA government are the renunciation of terrorism, formal recognition of Israel's right to exist, and upholding previous agreements between Israel and the PA.
Hamas has rejected all three criteria.
Comment on this story
2. Morocco Victims Identified as Masoud and Michal Zikri
by Maayana Miskin
The two Jewish victims of Thursday's terrorist attack at a cafe in Marrakesh, Morocco have been identified as Israeli citizen Michal Weitzmann Zikri and her husband Masoud Zikri, a native of Morocco. The two were in the country to celebrate Passover with Masoud's family.
They were survived by their two-year-old son David, who was with his grandparents at the time of the attack. Michal was six months pregnant when she was killed.
The Zikris had lived in Shanghai, China for four years, and were active in the small Jewish community in the city. Michal Zikri, born in Israel, had also lived for several years in Montreal, where her family had moved when she was a child.
Rabbi Shalom Greenberg, Shanghai's Chabad rabbi, expressed shock at the murders, and recalled Masoud and Michal as “special people, generous, with pure souls.”
“There aren't many Jews in Shanghai, so we are all one big family... We heard about the tragedy and we were all horrified,” he said.
The attack in Marrakesh killed 16 people and wounded 20 more. Terrorist organizations have not yet claimed credit for the bombing.
The attack is the first major bombing in Morocco since 2003, when terrorists killed more than 45 people in Casablanca.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
The two Jewish victims of Thursday's terrorist attack at a cafe in Marrakesh, Morocco have been identified as Israeli citizen Michal Weitzmann Zikri and her husband Masoud Zikri, a native of Morocco. The two were in the country to celebrate Passover with Masoud's family.
They were survived by their two-year-old son David, who was with his grandparents at the time of the attack. Michal was six months pregnant when she was killed.
The Zikris had lived in Shanghai, China for four years, and were active in the small Jewish community in the city. Michal Zikri, born in Israel, had also lived for several years in Montreal, where her family had moved when she was a child.
Rabbi Shalom Greenberg, Shanghai's Chabad rabbi, expressed shock at the murders, and recalled Masoud and Michal as “special people, generous, with pure souls.”
“There aren't many Jews in Shanghai, so we are all one big family... We heard about the tragedy and we were all horrified,” he said.
The attack in Marrakesh killed 16 people and wounded 20 more. Terrorist organizations have not yet claimed credit for the bombing.
The attack is the first major bombing in Morocco since 2003, when terrorists killed more than 45 people in Casablanca.
Comment on this story
3. A Record 15,000 Mark Joshua's Memorial Eve
by Maayana Miskin
A record 15,000 people visited Joshua's Tomb on Thursday night to mark the anniversary of his passing. The Biblical leader Joshua was Moses' successor and led the Jewish people into the land of Israel upon their return from exile in Egypt.
He is buried in Heres, in Samaria, a village dating back to Biblical times which is now a Palestinian Authority-controlled town. His tomb lies next to those of Nun, his father, and Calev ben Yefuneh, another Biblical leader from the same time period.
Thursday night's visitors included Jews from across the religious spectrum, both men and women, of all ages, both Israelis and tourists.
The event was the first to be made an official state celebration. Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger was present, as were Minister of Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein and four Members of Knesset, Danny Danon (Likud), Uri Ariel (Ichud Leumi), Aryeh Eldad (Ichud Leumi) and Michael Ben-Ari (Ichud Leumi).
It was organized by several groups, among them the Samaria Regional Council, Shechem Echad, the Samaria Religious Council, and Yesod Olam.
At midnight, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, the chief rabbi of Samaria, led the many thousands of worshipers in the prayer “Aleinu L'shabeyach.”
Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika called on Israel's current leaders to learn from Joshua son of Nun. Joshua provided an example of how to lead, “with faith, strength, and national honor,” he said.
“When he had to conquer the land, he did not hesitate and think 'What will they say,'” Mesika added.
Rabbi Metzger spoke of Joshua and Calev's greatness as the only two of the 12 spies sent to Israel by Moses who remained faithful to their task and confident in G-d's ability to bring them into the land. He also called on the government to provide more regular access to Joshua's Tomb and to Joseph's Tomb which, he noted, was supposed to be under Israeli control under the Oslo Accords.
MK Danny Danon said, “We are standing by the tomb of Joshua son of Nun, conqueror of the land. We do not need to fear the word 'conquer' – there is no shame in conquering the land.”
Both MK Eldad and MK Ben-Ari noted that conquering the land is something that must be done “with action, not words.”
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
A record 15,000 people visited Joshua's Tomb on Thursday night to mark the anniversary of his passing. The Biblical leader Joshua was Moses' successor and led the Jewish people into the land of Israel upon their return from exile in Egypt.
He is buried in Heres, in Samaria, a village dating back to Biblical times which is now a Palestinian Authority-controlled town. His tomb lies next to those of Nun, his father, and Calev ben Yefuneh, another Biblical leader from the same time period.
Thursday night's visitors included Jews from across the religious spectrum, both men and women, of all ages, both Israelis and tourists.
The event was the first to be made an official state celebration. Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger was present, as were Minister of Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein and four Members of Knesset, Danny Danon (Likud), Uri Ariel (Ichud Leumi), Aryeh Eldad (Ichud Leumi) and Michael Ben-Ari (Ichud Leumi).
It was organized by several groups, among them the Samaria Regional Council, Shechem Echad, the Samaria Religious Council, and Yesod Olam.
At midnight, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, the chief rabbi of Samaria, led the many thousands of worshipers in the prayer “Aleinu L'shabeyach.”
Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika called on Israel's current leaders to learn from Joshua son of Nun. Joshua provided an example of how to lead, “with faith, strength, and national honor,” he said.
“When he had to conquer the land, he did not hesitate and think 'What will they say,'” Mesika added.
Rabbi Metzger spoke of Joshua and Calev's greatness as the only two of the 12 spies sent to Israel by Moses who remained faithful to their task and confident in G-d's ability to bring them into the land. He also called on the government to provide more regular access to Joshua's Tomb and to Joseph's Tomb which, he noted, was supposed to be under Israeli control under the Oslo Accords.
MK Danny Danon said, “We are standing by the tomb of Joshua son of Nun, conqueror of the land. We do not need to fear the word 'conquer' – there is no shame in conquering the land.”
Both MK Eldad and MK Ben-Ari noted that conquering the land is something that must be done “with action, not words.”
Comment on this story
4. PLC Member Puts The Lie to Abbas' Vow to Talk
by Gavriel Queenann
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member and Fatah party member Fuad Kokali put the lie to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' claims he will negotiate with Israel Thursday.
In an interview with the pro-'Palestinian' Alternative Information Center, Kokali said "it is a must to have this reconciliation because we need the world to recognize a PA... a Palestinian state and without Gaza this will... this weakens our position."
"And now they are building a new policy to stop the Palestinian state in September," Kokali said about opposition to unilateral PA efforts outside the Oslo framework to gain a declaration of statehood by the United Nations in September.
"And they justify their actions [saying] that still the region is not ready, the Palestinians are not ready. So they took the position of Israel. And so that means we have to negotiate another 20 years. And I think this will be refused by the Palestinians," Kokali said.
Kokali also admitted Hamas had not agreed to pursue peace with Israel - one of the Quartet's key conditions for the admission of Hamas to the Palestinian Authority if it wishes to retain legitimacy.
"For Hamas there is no other choice so they will go for this," Kokali said. "But, if we are talking about principles, for example what will be the position with Hamas toward the peace process, or Fatah, this we will continue to negotiate later."
"We will continue to negotiate with Hamas about the peace process, about the peace with Israel, about the resistance, and what kind of resistance we need if peace fails and... this needs more negotiation," Kokali said.
Kokali's admission Hamas only agreed to unity because it had no choice and that Hamas' position vis-a-vis Fatah remained ambigous underscores the tenuous nature of the agreement.
It also buttresses concerns the inclusion of Hamas in the PA may lead to a Hamas takeover of PA areas in Judea and Samaria.
"Unity is one of our goals as Palestinians," Kokali said.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member and Fatah party member Fuad Kokali put the lie to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' claims he will negotiate with Israel Thursday.
In an interview with the pro-'Palestinian' Alternative Information Center, Kokali said "it is a must to have this reconciliation because we need the world to recognize a PA... a Palestinian state and without Gaza this will... this weakens our position."
"And now they are building a new policy to stop the Palestinian state in September," Kokali said about opposition to unilateral PA efforts outside the Oslo framework to gain a declaration of statehood by the United Nations in September.
"And they justify their actions [saying] that still the region is not ready, the Palestinians are not ready. So they took the position of Israel. And so that means we have to negotiate another 20 years. And I think this will be refused by the Palestinians," Kokali said.
Kokali also admitted Hamas had not agreed to pursue peace with Israel - one of the Quartet's key conditions for the admission of Hamas to the Palestinian Authority if it wishes to retain legitimacy.
"For Hamas there is no other choice so they will go for this," Kokali said. "But, if we are talking about principles, for example what will be the position with Hamas toward the peace process, or Fatah, this we will continue to negotiate later."
"We will continue to negotiate with Hamas about the peace process, about the peace with Israel, about the resistance, and what kind of resistance we need if peace fails and... this needs more negotiation," Kokali said.
Kokali's admission Hamas only agreed to unity because it had no choice and that Hamas' position vis-a-vis Fatah remained ambigous underscores the tenuous nature of the agreement.
It also buttresses concerns the inclusion of Hamas in the PA may lead to a Hamas takeover of PA areas in Judea and Samaria.
"Unity is one of our goals as Palestinians," Kokali said.
Comment on this story
5. Egypt to Permanently Open Rafah
by Gavriel Queenann
The Rafah crossing will be permanently opened in 7-10 days Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elarby told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
The move comes as relations between post-Mubarak Egypt and Israel appear to be taking a dangerous turn.
The Egyptian pipeline carrying gas to Israel was blown up early Wednesday by terrorists leaving Israel, who gets 40% of its natural gas from Egypt, is scrambling to replace shortfalls even as Egyptian interior officials seek to retroactively hike the price the Jewish state pays for its gas.
Gas exports to Israel have long been controversial among Egyptians who overwhelming view Israelis negatively. A recent poll conducted by a research center in the US indicates 54 percent of Egyptians want to cancel the treaty with Israel.
Protests to that effect were staged in Egypt on Wednesday.
And now Egypt plans to open the Rafah crossing immediately after having knowingly brokered a deal between Hamas and Fatah its new leaders knew would be unacceptable to Israel.
The Rafah crossing was closed by Egypt under Mubarak following the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza as a means of isolating the terrorist organization.
Smuggling munitions from Sinai to Gaza via smuggling tunnels, and the smuggling of prospective terrorists to Iran and Hizbullah for paramilitary training, has been a pervasive problem since the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza.
Nabil did not address how (or if) Egypt's ruling junta planned to address these concerns once the crossing is reopened.
The Rafah border was temporarily opened during riots that erupted throughout Egypt in February, which led to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak.
"Egypt has decided to reopen the border and it will allow up to 300 people from the Gaza Strip to exit each day," Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said at the time.
A significant portion of those allowed into Egypt were Hamas terrorists going to stoke the fires of violence in Egypt's revolution.
Israel has not yet responded to Egypt's announcement.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
The Rafah crossing will be permanently opened in 7-10 days Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elarby told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
The move comes as relations between post-Mubarak Egypt and Israel appear to be taking a dangerous turn.
The Egyptian pipeline carrying gas to Israel was blown up early Wednesday by terrorists leaving Israel, who gets 40% of its natural gas from Egypt, is scrambling to replace shortfalls even as Egyptian interior officials seek to retroactively hike the price the Jewish state pays for its gas.
Gas exports to Israel have long been controversial among Egyptians who overwhelming view Israelis negatively. A recent poll conducted by a research center in the US indicates 54 percent of Egyptians want to cancel the treaty with Israel.
Protests to that effect were staged in Egypt on Wednesday.
And now Egypt plans to open the Rafah crossing immediately after having knowingly brokered a deal between Hamas and Fatah its new leaders knew would be unacceptable to Israel.
The Rafah crossing was closed by Egypt under Mubarak following the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza as a means of isolating the terrorist organization.
Smuggling munitions from Sinai to Gaza via smuggling tunnels, and the smuggling of prospective terrorists to Iran and Hizbullah for paramilitary training, has been a pervasive problem since the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza.
Nabil did not address how (or if) Egypt's ruling junta planned to address these concerns once the crossing is reopened.
The Rafah border was temporarily opened during riots that erupted throughout Egypt in February, which led to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak.
"Egypt has decided to reopen the border and it will allow up to 300 people from the Gaza Strip to exit each day," Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said at the time.
A significant portion of those allowed into Egypt were Hamas terrorists going to stoke the fires of violence in Egypt's revolution.
Israel has not yet responded to Egypt's announcement.
Comment on this story
6. Cairo Invites Fatah, Hamas For Signing Ceremony
by Gavriel Queenann
Cairo sent invitations Thursday to Fatah and Hamas for the signing of the reconciliation agreement announced Wednesday, the Maan news agency reports.
The deal comes after 18 months of failed unity talks between the bitter rivals.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Khaled Mashal are expected to be on hand at Teusday's signing ceremony to formalize the agreement.
Walid Al-Awad, politburo member of the leftist Palestine’s People’s Party, said the quick ratifications was needed to stave off attempts at "“cutting off the road to any attempt to obstruct it or to backtrack on it.”
It was widely reported in 'Palestinian' news services over the past several months that the Hamas rank-and-file is opposed to reconciliation with Fatah.
Israeli observers have suggested the reconciliation may be short lived.
Secretary General of the National Reconciliation Committee Iyad As-Sarraj said ratifying the agreement will “open the door for political partnership."
As-Sarraj said his committee has made “intensive contacts between all of the parties over the past two years to achieve reconciliation."
Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said Thursday the deal would be ratified in the presence of party leaders as a "practical response" to Israeli threats attempting to derail the process.
"We can best deal with the threats by signing and implementing the agreement," Radwan said in a statement.
The invitation to the signing ceremony comes amid what appears to be a dangerous crossroads in Egyptian-Israeli relations.
Officials in Cairo, when brokering the deal, where aware its terms would be unacceptable to Israel and likely represents an implicit backing of unilateral PA moves outside the Oslo-framework to secure a declaration of statehood from the United Nations.
Israel's prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has consistently maintained the exclusion of Hamas from the PA is one of his conditions for the creation of a PA state on Jewish land.
Cairo recently announced it would be pursuing policies "more acceptable to public opinion." A recent survey by a US research institute revealed 54% of Egyptians want to annul Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, which they believe is a negative aspect of the Mubarak-era.
Anti Israel-Egypt peace protests were held this week.
Egypt has said it will be sending "advisers" to Gaza to aid in implementing the reconcilliation agreement.
Israeli officials have made it clear there will be no talks with a PA government that includes Hamas.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Cairo sent invitations Thursday to Fatah and Hamas for the signing of the reconciliation agreement announced Wednesday, the Maan news agency reports.
The deal comes after 18 months of failed unity talks between the bitter rivals.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Khaled Mashal are expected to be on hand at Teusday's signing ceremony to formalize the agreement.
Walid Al-Awad, politburo member of the leftist Palestine’s People’s Party, said the quick ratifications was needed to stave off attempts at "“cutting off the road to any attempt to obstruct it or to backtrack on it.”
It was widely reported in 'Palestinian' news services over the past several months that the Hamas rank-and-file is opposed to reconciliation with Fatah.
Israeli observers have suggested the reconciliation may be short lived.
Secretary General of the National Reconciliation Committee Iyad As-Sarraj said ratifying the agreement will “open the door for political partnership."
As-Sarraj said his committee has made “intensive contacts between all of the parties over the past two years to achieve reconciliation."
Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said Thursday the deal would be ratified in the presence of party leaders as a "practical response" to Israeli threats attempting to derail the process.
"We can best deal with the threats by signing and implementing the agreement," Radwan said in a statement.
The invitation to the signing ceremony comes amid what appears to be a dangerous crossroads in Egyptian-Israeli relations.
Officials in Cairo, when brokering the deal, where aware its terms would be unacceptable to Israel and likely represents an implicit backing of unilateral PA moves outside the Oslo-framework to secure a declaration of statehood from the United Nations.
Israel's prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has consistently maintained the exclusion of Hamas from the PA is one of his conditions for the creation of a PA state on Jewish land.
Cairo recently announced it would be pursuing policies "more acceptable to public opinion." A recent survey by a US research institute revealed 54% of Egyptians want to annul Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, which they believe is a negative aspect of the Mubarak-era.
Anti Israel-Egypt peace protests were held this week.
Egypt has said it will be sending "advisers" to Gaza to aid in implementing the reconcilliation agreement.
Israeli officials have made it clear there will be no talks with a PA government that includes Hamas.
Comment on this story
7. IDF Foils Terror Attack Near Gaza
by Elad Benari
IDF soldiers detected a group of PA terrorists late Thursday evening as they were attempting to place explosives on the border fence between Gaza and Israel, near the city of Deir al-Balah which is located in the central Gaza region.
The IDF reported that the soldiers fired tank shells at the terrorists, who likely fled the scene. Military officials said no damage was detected.
Medical sources in Gaza later reported that four civilians were wounded as a result of the IDF attack. Witnesses said that three tank shells fired by the IDF landed an agricultural area, while a spokesman for the local rescue services in Gaza said that ambulances took the four to a hospital in Deir al-Balah.
The IDF confirmed the attack and the wounding of the civilians. The IDF Spokesperson said that the IDF regrets both the wounding of innocent civilians during the attack as well as the use of civilians as human shields by terrorists as part of their attacks on Israel.
Hamas often uses innocent civilians as human shields when carrying out terror attacks on Israel. A 2009 study by the Terror and Intelligence Information Center showed that Israel’s notifications to civilians in Gaza to leave populated locations before they are bombed are cynically used by Hamas for organizing human shields
The study found that when the IDF warns Arab civilians of an impending attack in their neighborhood, Hamas uses the information in order to organize the civilians into human shields in the hope of protecting the targets from the IDF's wrath.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
IDF soldiers detected a group of PA terrorists late Thursday evening as they were attempting to place explosives on the border fence between Gaza and Israel, near the city of Deir al-Balah which is located in the central Gaza region.
The IDF reported that the soldiers fired tank shells at the terrorists, who likely fled the scene. Military officials said no damage was detected.
Medical sources in Gaza later reported that four civilians were wounded as a result of the IDF attack. Witnesses said that three tank shells fired by the IDF landed an agricultural area, while a spokesman for the local rescue services in Gaza said that ambulances took the four to a hospital in Deir al-Balah.
The IDF confirmed the attack and the wounding of the civilians. The IDF Spokesperson said that the IDF regrets both the wounding of innocent civilians during the attack as well as the use of civilians as human shields by terrorists as part of their attacks on Israel.
Hamas often uses innocent civilians as human shields when carrying out terror attacks on Israel. A 2009 study by the Terror and Intelligence Information Center showed that Israel’s notifications to civilians in Gaza to leave populated locations before they are bombed are cynically used by Hamas for organizing human shields
The study found that when the IDF warns Arab civilians of an impending attack in their neighborhood, Hamas uses the information in order to organize the civilians into human shields in the hope of protecting the targets from the IDF's wrath.
Comment on this story
8. Storm of Opposition to J-Street-PA Meetings on Memorial Days
by Hillel Fendel
Representatives of J-Street are planning to arrive in Israel early next week and meet – on Holocaust Memorial Day – with leaders of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. They plan to remain here for a week after that, closing their trip with a meeting with radical Israeli left-wing activists who speak out against IDF soldiers – on IDF Memorial Day.
J-Street is strongly in favor of a Palestinian state as the solution to the Arab threats Israel faces. It also supports placing Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem under PA sovereignty, an end to new Jewish construction in the eastern part of Jerusalem, and “sovereignty and management arrangements for the Old City and the Holy Basin that guarantees all Jews freedom of access and worship at the Wailing Wall.”
The Israeli government refuses to meet with J-Street, and the Israeli Embassy in Washington has imposed a boycott on the group. However, President Shimon Peres has scheduled a meeting with the group, and has received hundreds of requests – both on his Facebook page and via his office – to cancel it.
Among them is one from a group named “Officers in Reserves,” whose letter to Peres asks him to line up with Israel’s official boycott of the group. The letter states, inter alia: “During the course of the J-Street visit, its representatives plan to meet with organizations such as Yesh Din, B’Tselem [and others]. As is known, these groups work day and night to create de-legitimization of soldiers and officers of the IDF. As officers and commanders in reserves on the front lines in the war against the various terrorist organizations, [we know that] the claims by these [left-wing] groups are themselves illegitimate and should be condemned. We have often found ourselves attacked on the legal and media fronts for actions we have carried out on behalf of Israel’s security – [whereas] the IDF is known around the world for its high moral standards.
“A meeting between the large and influential J-Street and these organizations, on the eve of Memorial Day for IDF soldiers, is not appropriate, and it would be correct for them to realize this and cancel it… We, the undersigned officers and commanders in the reserves, demand and request that you cancel your planned meeting next week with J-Street, thus giving a clear message that every activity or expression against IDF soldiers is illegitimate and should be condemned by the Government of Israel.”
Ayelet Shaked, of the pro-active Zionist organization Yisrael Sheli (My Israel), which has galvanized much opposition to the Peres meeting, explained: “J-Street was involved in condemning Israel during Operation Cast Lead, asking the US Administration to cancel sanctions on Iran, and demanding that Obama not veto a UN condemnation of Israel – and now they arrive for a Holocaust Day meeting with PA leaders in Ramallah and a meeting with bodies that blacken IDF soldiers on the eve of IDF Memorial Day. Is there any limit to the cynicism and self-hatred…?"
"Its True and Dangerous Face"
The Im Tirtzu (If You Will It) organization expressed similar sentiments, saying J-Street’s planned itinerary “exposes its true and dangerous face.”
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
Representatives of J-Street are planning to arrive in Israel early next week and meet – on Holocaust Memorial Day – with leaders of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. They plan to remain here for a week after that, closing their trip with a meeting with radical Israeli left-wing activists who speak out against IDF soldiers – on IDF Memorial Day.
J-Street is strongly in favor of a Palestinian state as the solution to the Arab threats Israel faces. It also supports placing Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem under PA sovereignty, an end to new Jewish construction in the eastern part of Jerusalem, and “sovereignty and management arrangements for the Old City and the Holy Basin that guarantees all Jews freedom of access and worship at the Wailing Wall.”
The Israeli government refuses to meet with J-Street, and the Israeli Embassy in Washington has imposed a boycott on the group. However, President Shimon Peres has scheduled a meeting with the group, and has received hundreds of requests – both on his Facebook page and via his office – to cancel it.
Among them is one from a group named “Officers in Reserves,” whose letter to Peres asks him to line up with Israel’s official boycott of the group. The letter states, inter alia: “During the course of the J-Street visit, its representatives plan to meet with organizations such as Yesh Din, B’Tselem [and others]. As is known, these groups work day and night to create de-legitimization of soldiers and officers of the IDF. As officers and commanders in reserves on the front lines in the war against the various terrorist organizations, [we know that] the claims by these [left-wing] groups are themselves illegitimate and should be condemned. We have often found ourselves attacked on the legal and media fronts for actions we have carried out on behalf of Israel’s security – [whereas] the IDF is known around the world for its high moral standards.
“A meeting between the large and influential J-Street and these organizations, on the eve of Memorial Day for IDF soldiers, is not appropriate, and it would be correct for them to realize this and cancel it… We, the undersigned officers and commanders in the reserves, demand and request that you cancel your planned meeting next week with J-Street, thus giving a clear message that every activity or expression against IDF soldiers is illegitimate and should be condemned by the Government of Israel.”
Ayelet Shaked, of the pro-active Zionist organization Yisrael Sheli (My Israel), which has galvanized much opposition to the Peres meeting, explained: “J-Street was involved in condemning Israel during Operation Cast Lead, asking the US Administration to cancel sanctions on Iran, and demanding that Obama not veto a UN condemnation of Israel – and now they arrive for a Holocaust Day meeting with PA leaders in Ramallah and a meeting with bodies that blacken IDF soldiers on the eve of IDF Memorial Day. Is there any limit to the cynicism and self-hatred…?"
"Its True and Dangerous Face"
The Im Tirtzu (If You Will It) organization expressed similar sentiments, saying J-Street’s planned itinerary “exposes its true and dangerous face.”
Comment on this story
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