Saturday, February 26, 2005

  • Saturday, February 26, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
So now we are back to 1994, when Arabs bombed Israel and killed hundreds of Jews, but Israel didn't respond because of a "peace process." But this time, there is a twist.

In the 90's, they blamed all the bombs on Hamas and Islamic Jihad, so the PA would be "off the hook" and world leaders could credibly lie that Arafat couldn't control the "militants." After all, the PA was a peace partner - they wouldn't sanction a bombing, right?

Four years of the Oslo war, of PA "policemen" turning into suicide bombers, of the PA-paid Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade later.....

And now suddenly Hamas and the (Gaza) Islamic Jihad is in the clear too..they are now also "peace partners"...and therefore suspicion cannot fall on them! Now we must find a new bogeyman, and he is right across the border in Syria.

Israel discounts Hizbollah's denial and Syria's denial, and accepts Hamas' and Islamic Jihad's denials. Why is this? Because of evidence and intelligence - or because of politics? Because hardly anyone ever blamed Hizbollah or Syria for the hundreds of terror attacks during the Oslo war - and now, magically, Hamas is clean and Syria is the culprit?

How blind can Israel's leadership be? When have Hamas, Fatah, IJ and Hezbollah NOT acted in concert? They might differ in their instruments but they are playing the same notes. And the symphony of "Destroy Israel" has not changed in 56 years.



JERUSALEM Feb 26, 2005 — Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Saturday blamed Syria and a Palestinian militant group based there for a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub and shattered an informal truce, prompting him to freeze plans to hand over security responsibilities in the West Bank. Syria denied the charges.

Abbas angrily accused a "third party" of orchestrating Friday's attack to sabotage the Mideast peace process, and his security officials said the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, was involved.

In Beirut, Hezbollah, denied the accusations, and Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group with members in Lebanon and Syria, claimed responsibility from the Lebanese capital, reversing initial denials by its members in the Palestinian territories.

If the bombing had been planned and inspired by militants in the Palestinian territory, Abbas would be under tremendous pressure to crack down. But since it looked as if the bombing was linked to Islamic Jihad in Syria, and perhaps inspired by Hezbollah, Israel was likely to give him more leeway.

from another article...
Meanwhile, Fatah and Islamic Jihad members fired shots in the air in celebration following the attack.


Sometimes one can get ill from deja vu.

Friday, February 25, 2005

  • Friday, February 25, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
Aaaaargh! How blind can Sharon's government be??? Optimism is a great thing, but to base a country's security policy on nothing more substantial than wishful thinking is foolhardy at best, gross negligence at worst.

It is deja vu - not too long ago, before the Oslo war, Arafat would institute cosmetic half-measures, just enough to get the international community off his back but nothing to change the status quo. Now we are treated to Abbas creating a temporary, artificial hudna that there is no real indication will stay in place one second longer than necessary to extract concessions from Israel.

And Israel's current government is believing him, based on his stellar record as a Holocaust-denier, I suppose.

The Palestinian security services have recently located and sealed 12 arms-smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi route, on the Gazan-Egyptian border, security sources say.
The Israel Defense Forces are pleased with the Palestinian efforts, which were ordered by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. At the same time, however, the Palestinian successes have strengthened the long-standing opinion in the defense establishment that the arms-smuggling tunnels depend for their existence on the PA's tacit cooperation.
...
The Egyptians could have posted similar successes against the tunnels on their side of the border, defense sources say, but in practice, their activity against the tunnels has been negligible. Israel and Egypt are still at odds over Cairo's proposal to man its side of the Gazan border with Border Police units, which are considered higher quality than the regular police forces stationed there now.

The Palestinians apparently stepped up their efforts against the smuggling tunnels in order to convince both Israel and the United States that the IDF should leave the Philadelphi route when it leaves the rest of Gaza. (In other words, as soon as Israel is gone, Gaza becomes a gigantic arms warehouse. -EoZ) Currently, the IDF is slated to remain on Philadelphi even after the disengagement from Gaza, to prevent arms smuggling into the Strip. The government has no objection to leaving Philadelphi if an end to the arms smuggling could be assured; the problem is that the current cease-fire is fragile, and should it collapse, the PA is liable to permit large-scale smuggling to resume.

In that case, moreover, the smugglers would probably to try to bring in more sophisticated weaponry, such as Katyusha rockets or shoulder-launched antiaircraft missiles, which could change the nature of the war.

Since the intifada began, the IDF has destroyed more than 100 arms-smuggling tunnels around Philadelphi. In the course of these operations, it also destroyed some 1,400 Palestinian houses and suffered many casualties.

While the army praises the PA's achievements on the smuggling tunnels, it says that the PA has been only partially successful in other areas. On one hand, it is trying to prevent Qassam rockets and mortars from being fired into Israel, and recently, there have been several reports of PA troops opening fire on Qassam-launching cells that refused orders to leave the launch zones.

In some cases, PA troops have even arrested cell members, who come mainly from Hamas. These moves are widely supported by the Palestinian public, which is sick of the fighting, and there have even been cases of Palestinian civilians calling the PA security services to report on Qassam cells in their area.

Hamas, understanding the public's desire for calm, has also significantly reduced its activity. The combination of Hamas' restraint and the PA's more aggressive measures has caused the number of attacks on Israeli targets in Gaza to drop by about 85 percent over the last two weeks from the former level of some 100 attacks a week.

Abbas has also ordered his troops to maintain internal law and order. Palestinian policemen have therefore destroyed many illegal buildings in Gaza recently; they have also started issuing traffic tickets.

Nevertheless, due to the PA's desire to refrain from open clashes with the terrorist organizations, it has not confiscated their weapons or taken any action against their other military activities. The organizations are therefore continuing to manufacture Qassam rockets undisturbed, and are also building more rocket and mortar manufactories. In addition, they are giving their members intensive military training.

Overall, however, Israel believes that the trend is positive and hopes that Abbas will expand his troops' operations and impose a genuine cease-fire. Therefore, the army is trying not to respond to any incidences of Palestinian violence, in order to give Abbas time to develop the PA's ability to impose law and order.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

  • Thursday, February 24, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
Too funny! Someone ought to tell them that Hummous is kosher!

HUNDREDS of Iraqi students have demonstrated to protest a government decision to extend the weekend to include Saturday, denouncing the scheme as a "Zionist plot".

Irate high school students marched through Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, denouncing outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's decision to extend the weekend from the traditional Islamic holy day of Friday to include Saturday.

"We don't want Saturday as it is a Jewish holiday," the crowd chanted.
  • Thursday, February 24, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
Sorry, I can't even quote the article, it is so sickening. The mamzerim of Neturei Karta held a press conference in Lebanon with Hizbollah.

Just keep in mind - the terrorists that the NK's support also did this, in a neighborhood that has no real Zionists - just Jews who look the same as NK.

Every single major Orthodox group, even the anti-Zionist ones, have condemned Neturei Karta.
  • Thursday, February 24, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
  • Last week the New York Times headlined an interview: "Abbas Declares War With Israel Effectively Over." What Abbas actually said was that the war with Israel would be over "when the Israelis declare that they will comply with the agreement I made in Sharm el-Sheik." In other words, at best it was a conditional termination of hostilities. Declaring the "end of conflict" is a Palestinian concession that they are keeping up their sleeves for permanent status negotiations.
  • The Roadmap for Peace, to which the Bush administration has committed itself, is explicit in demanding that the Palestinians offer an "unconditional" cease-fire - and not a truce that is dependent on how they interpret Israel's response. In Arabic, the truce Abbas is declaring is not even called a cease-fire but rather a "calm."
  • According to the road map, moreover, the Palestinian Authority is supposed to begin to "dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism." The Palestinian leadership has made clear that it is not intending to go this far. But for a Palestinian cease-fire offer to be more than just words, this minimal road map standard still needs to be met.
  • Everyone hopes that Abbas is able to lead to a new era of relations with Israel. But this will happen only if the world holds him to his agreements to implement what he still has to do and doesn't prematurely feed him with a public relations advantage that he does not deserve.
  • Thursday, February 24, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
The value of a human life is infinite, but any objective analysis would show that Palestinians regard the lives of their own people as quite cheap.

Dozens of examples are easy to find, but just in today's news:

A gunman celebrating the release of prisoners in the Jenin area accidentally shot and killed one person. Omar Saleh, 34, from Ejja village near Jenin, was killed when a local man fired into the air to celebrate the release of a prisoner from Israeli jail.

According to a preliminary investigation conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the incident occurred when Eyad Tawfiq, 30, arrived at his house in the village after he had been released from jail.

His brother-in-law, 28-year-old Haibat Taha, welcomed him by firing into the air from his M16 rifle. When he put the rifle back on his shoulder, a number of live bullets hit four men standing nearby. One of them, Salah, was killed by a live bullet in the abdomen.

This is not the first time things like this have happened. But have you ever heard a Palestinian call for the elimination of "celebratory" gun firings? It is laughable to even think about it.

Look at the lopsided prisoner swaps that Israel does periodically. Look at the measures Israel uses to protect its citizens versus the Palestinian propensity to put its children in harm's way. Look at the entire idea of suicide bombing, or "martyrdom." Look at the idea of naming streets and schools after murderers. One culture celebrates death and the other celebrates life.

Israel seems to care more about Palestinian lives than Palestinians do. If this is true, the inescapable conclusion is that Palestinian blood really is much cheaper than Jewish blood, by the Palestinians' own standards.

Perhaps when they act in such a way that they truly value human life as much as Israel does there could be a possibility of peace. Until then, it appears foolhardy to trust as a "peace" partner a people who belong to a cult of death.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

  • Wednesday, February 23, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
Terror organizations are planning strategic attacks if the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority breaks down, Military Intelligence research chief Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser warned the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday.
Kuperwasser said he believed that some attacks have already been planned down to the finest of details, and the groups are capable of launching the attacks almost immediately.

He also told the Knesset members that the organizations are continuing to build an infrastructure to carry out attacks, particularly in the Gaza Strip, despite the cease-fire and recent lull in violence. The panel heard that the militants are continuing to produce rockets and mortar shells, and are continuing to experiment with Qassam rockets and other weapons.


Also see " Militants hold key to Mideast peace"
  • Wednesday, February 23, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
[Ecumenical News International] The World Council of Churches (WCC) on February 21 urged its members to consider economic measures to oppose Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and praised the action of a U.S. denomination that has started a process of selective divestment from companies linked to the occupation.

'Multinational corporations have been involved in the demolition of Palestinian homes,' the WCC's main governing body said in a statement adopted during a February 15-22 meeting in Geneva. They 'are involved in the construction of settlements and settlement infrastructure on occupied territory, in building a dividing wall which is also largely inside occupied territory, and in other violations of international law.'

The WCC's central committee commended the action of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in initiating a process of phased, selective divestment from multinational corporations involved in the occupation.

'This action is commendable in both method and manner, uses criteria rooted in faith, and calls members to 'do the things that make for peace',' the WCC committee said, referring to a biblical text (Luke 19:42). It encouraged the WCC's 347 member churches 'to give serious consideration to economic measures that are equitable, transparent and non-violent.'


Wake me up when the WCC decides to divest from companies dealing with China, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar.....

It is particularly hilarious when they do these things in the name of "morality."




Tuesday, February 22, 2005

  • Tuesday, February 22, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon

Why can't Israel elect this guy as prime minister?


Few people can claim to have left as impressive, varied and indelible an imprint on postwar Jewish history as Natan Sharansky.

The man who won fame for having stood up to an evil superpower armed with nothing but conviction, poise and resolve has not only endured lengthy years in prison and solitary confinement, but has also become an icon of the West's victory over Soviet totalitarianism.

Sharansky's eventual arrival here seemed like a natural continuation of his life before making aliya. First as a private citizen, then as a journalist and finally as a politician, he became an advocate for universal freedom. Having been fortunate enough to see his salvation followed by that of the rest of Soviet Jewry, he set out to help the masses of newly arrived immigrants overcome the hardships that inevitably involved their absorption into Israel.

That is how in 1996 he entered politics by establishing an immigrant party, and that is how he became a cabinet minister, a position in which he has been, on and off, for the better part of a decade.

As a politician, Sharansky's main accomplishment has been giving Russian-speaking immigrants a sense of belonging and an address for their many grievances. As minister of trade and industry he fought for consumer rights, demanding that retailers display prices, and as minister of the interior he eased some measures that had been designed to mistreat people whose Jewishness was doubted by the Orthodox establishment.

And yet, as he himself now concedes to the Post, the ticket on which he ran originally has clearly run its course, and happily so. The so-called Russian electorate has joined the Israeli fray and made its own political choices according to national rather than ethnic priorities. That is what the 2003 election showed, when Sharansky won a mere two Knesset seats, which he quickly merged with the Likud.

Back when he entered politics, Sharansky carefully avoided making a choice between Right and Left. Now he has made a clear choice. Not only has he joined Likud, he has, in fact, outflanked from the Right Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose disengagement policy he flatly rejects.

For Sharansky the icon, this is perhaps a gamble, one that makes some wonder whether he is not risking carrying his hitherto heroic biography into an anti-climactic aftermath as a political anecdote, yet another victim of the tiringly familiar, intra-Israeli territorial debate.

However, for Sharansky the dissident this position is a natural one. And he clearly is not disturbed by the prospect that the political part of his career may indeed be close to its end.

Having just returned from yet another US tour, where he spoke at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and met with President George Bush for a discussion of his new book, The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror, Sharansky evidently knows that unlike most others, for him the possibly imminent end of his political career should not be the end of his journey. In fact, the political part of his life already seems to fill him with stoicism and humor rather than charge him with ambition.

"Without a sense of humor," he says, "you cannot survive in a Soviet prison, and without having the experience of surviving in a Soviet prison, it would have been very difficult for me to have survived the Knesset."

The Bush administration has made declarations about its desire to see states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia become more democratic. What concrete steps did you suggest to the president that the United States take to encourage those countries to democratize?
First, we discussed the principle that a dictatorship cannot be a lasting ally. They can be temporary allies - Stalin was a big ally of the West for four years, though before and after he was a big enemy - but they cannot be lasting allies. There is a whole theory about this that is discussed in my book and which the president accepts.

The problem is that with each country you have to build your own road map to democracy. In America, I was asked, "Pakistan is our ally now - do you expect us to start blockading it?"

Of course, a time of war is different. No one would have expected Roosevelt and Churchill in 1943 to say to Stalin, "You are not our ally because you have the gulag." But it was also not said in 1933. It was also not said in 1953, and it was not said in 1963. [There were those who] tried to prevent it from being said in 1973, when senator [Henry "Scoop"] Jackson was saying it. So there must be a differentiation between immediate cooperation and long-term cooperation.

The real problem is appeasement. Look at all the dictators in history you had to fight, whether it was Stalin, Hitler, or even Saddam Hussein... for us it was Yasser Arafat... there was a long period of appeasement, of a refusal to link the guarantee of human rights with the question of security.

I think, already back at the time of the first Gulf War in 1991, America should have linked [military help] for Saudi Arabia to the freedom of immigration. There are so many Americans from Saudi Arabia who are suffering from the lack of freedom of immigration. As the experience with the Soviet Union showed, something as seemingly small as the relative liberalization of the freedom of immigration immediately puts tremendous pressure on a totalitarian regime. In the case of Saudi Arabia, it could be something as small, but very popular in the United States now, as minimal rights for women. It could be permission from some opposition delegations to visit Saudi Arabia.

What approach did you suggest the US take on new PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas?
I told them that what really matters is what the position of the free world will be. If the US, Israel and Europe say, "We will embrace you only if you embrace democratic reforms" - then you have a unique chance. But if the message will be, "Give us stability and then we'll talk," then I think it will be very difficult for him to bring about reforms.

If he does [institute reforms], he will have to fight terror, because the terrorists will resist all of it. But if he delays reform in order to fight terror, then he can have a cease-fire one day and allow terror the next.

If the Palestinians were to create a liberal democracy, what concessions would you be willing to make?
I think we have to start [to make concessions] long before they become a completely liberal democracy. But as of today, I think it would be a big mistake to dismantle even one settlement. We gave them Arafat's autonomy for free. We gave them recognition of a Palestinian state for free. And now we are giving them the disengagement for free. If the disengagement were linked to democratization, I would be the first to support it, rather than vote against it, as I am going to do.

Why do you think Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is so devoted to the disengagement plan?
My theory is that he is desperate because of the fact that, for so many years, Israel has tried again and again to make peace, only to find again and again that we don't have a partner. (On the contrary, we have the main source of terrorist activity.) And that the world is against us. No matter what we do, no matter that the Palestinians keep trying to destroy us, more and more is always demanded. I think Sharon is trying to stop this cycle by saying, we'll make one dramatic step that will be very difficult for us, and we won't link it to any demands [on the Palestinians] because we don't believe that they would fulfill any demands. And then we will get some relief from the rest of the world.

However, I believe not only that we will not gain 10 years [of peace], but that we will not gain even one day. It will just be used as a pretext to say, "Fourteen settlements is not enough, you must dismantle 24," to say that we will have caused further terrorism by not having withdrawn from more land.

As I have said since 1995, the depth of our concessions should equal the depth of the Palestinians' democratic reforms. Not only have our concessions not been connected to democratic changes, but they have been connected to steps that only strengthened and unified the power of Arafat. One-sided concessions, no matter how sincere, cannot bring positive change.

You quit the Barak government over Camp David. What are your red lines for this government, which has disengagement as its goal?
I ask myself that question every morning. I quit the Barak government to stop a dangerous process by bringing down the government and supporting an alternative. This time, I can't go from a left-wing government to a right-wing government. This time the battle has to be fought from inside the government and the Likud. I hope the disengagement can be stopped and I will do everything possible to stop it.

So, there are some very serious things that concern me. But if I am looking for excuses to stay, I have them. This government is not just about the disengagement. This government has also made one of the most important economic reforms in the history of the state, frankly. It has also made the issue of anti-Semitism a very important part of its work.

Regarding anti-Semitism, do you think that the recent attempt in Russia to outlaw Jewish organizations is just an isolated incident, or do you think it's a phenomenon that will spread?
You're talking about this awful, disgusting letter [to Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov in January]... It's very symbolic that 20 members of Parliament felt that it was good for their political careers to sign it... But Jewish institutions are developing, schools and centers are opening; the government is not creating any problems about this.

Putin still thinks that the best thing for him and for his government is to allow the Jewish community to develop. He has problems with some specific Jews; in his fight against the oligarchs he is using the prejudice of the people and saying that most of them are Jewish. But to say that there is a major trend of trying to undermine Jewish organizations, I think, is not right. People who want to be part of the Jewish community have the opportunity to do so.

Does the Yukos case in Russia remind you of "the bad old days" that you knew?
Yukos is a very serious case, and I feel a very deep personal sympathy. I think it should play a part in the contacts that Russia has with the free world.

Remember that for 1,000 years, the Russian empire ruled the very mind of its people, each and every one. Millions worked for the KGB. If your child said the wrong thing in kindergarten, you could end up in prison. It was a country entirely ruled by fear.

Today, we see that Putin is limiting journalistic freedom somewhat, and competition for power, too... but people live without that fear. There's no more gulag. And there's no way that things will return to such a state.

What just happened in Ukraine shows that there's no going back - because there's no more control over people's minds. Once the germ of freedom gets out... you can no longer have Stalin murdering millions.

Of course, that doesn't ensure perfect democracy. Only 12 years after the French Revolution, Napoleon came to power. So, you have to have constant pressure.

As a former dissident and Prisoner of Zion, are you bothered by the increasing use of administrative detention in Israel?
I do think it's very undemocratic, and a big problem. The first time I was approached about this issue was only a few months after I had come to this country [in 1986]. Palestinians approached me and complained that a group of people had been denied trials. At the time they were talking about just 13 people. Now, that's a dream, to have so few.

The problem is, we're at war. And in war, democracy is always problematic... Administrative detention is a necessity, but we must use it carefully. It's important to have laws limiting its use, and to constantly inspect it, under a microscope, with checks and such... because, very easily, we can go from 13 [people in detention] to 30,000.

Is it good? No. Does it bother me? Very much. But do we have a choice? I don't think we do. Does it require constant supervision? Absolutely.

After almost 10 years in the Knesset, your influence is on the wane. Is your political career coming to a close?
It could be... but, you know, I have never viewed my political career as an end unto itself. I never saw the establishment of a political party [Yisrael B'Aliya] as an eternal thing. It's a tool that, for a given period of time, is useful. In 1998, when I founded the party, I said that if we were really successful, we wouldn't exist in five years - because new immigrants would integrate into Israeli society, feel more Israeli and vote for larger "Israeli" parties.

As for my views on a Palestinian state, I'm still saying what I've said all along... that I'm willing to give the Palestinians every right except for the right to destroy me. And what's the only way to ensure that that won't happen? To demand that their state will be a democratic state, a state whose leaders are subject to the will of its citizens. Since 1993, we've gone further and further from that dream by endorsing a [Palestinian] fear society.

Now, we have a golden opportunity to bring about democratic reform because the one man who believes in that just happens to be the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. So I say, let's seize that opportunity.



Sunday, February 20, 2005

  • Sunday, February 20, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
Might as well call a spade a spade. This isn't "disengagement"; this is the destruction of Jewish communities. This is Israel doing what generations of Arabs failed to do, not for lack of trying. This is a plan that is based on nothing but wishful thinking.This is possibly the biggest disaster to befall Israel since the 1973 war.

This is not Yamit. Abbas is not Sadat. Hamas and Hizbollah are not going to be fought against by the PA or PLO. This is an irreversible and disastrous move that has no real benefit.

If there was any indication that Israel would never have to give up any land beyond Gaza, I could understand this. If there was any indication that Abbas declares Hamas and Islamic Jihad an enemy, I could almost understand this. If there was any reason to think that Kassam rockets will not be raining down on Jewish communities within the Green Line in a year or two, there may be something to talk about.

But this is unilateral surrender of historic Jewish land. This is a unilateral reward for terrorism. This is exactly the wrong message to send to the Arab world, which has historically used any Israeli concessions as reason to redouble efforts to destroy her.

There may be a very short term reduction in terror. Is this worth the upheaval of thousands of the most loyal Zionists?

This is a very, very sad day in Israel's history. This is a day where Israel says it cares more about what the other nations think than what is best for Israel. And when that happens, Israel is at the mercy of the world community.

And we know how much the world cares about Israel.
  • Sunday, February 20, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
So what else is new? Another US "ally."
Television show aired in Persian Gulf country replete with anti-Israel sentiments, Holocaust denial

TEL AVIV - A Qatari television show currently airing in the Persian Gulf state features virulent anti-Israel sentiments and Holocaust denial.

The show, which is based on a book by late Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani, was slated to air in Syria and on Hizbullah's television channel, but in light of international pressure aimed at the terror group's TV station the show only airs in Qatar for the time being.

In one scene, a holocaust survivor who appears in the show, and later resorts to prostitution, claims the Nazis did no wrong.
"I didn't see any gas chambers," she is seen saying.

The show, which includes scenes in Hebrew, also depicts supposed massacres of Arabs by Jews, and claims the Zionist plan was to push Arabs into the sea.

At one point, an actor depicting former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin calls on Jews to murder Arab civilians.

"We should kill civilians during the war for the establishment of Israel…in order to scare them," he says.

The show represents the common Arab narrative regarding events surrounding Israel's establishment in 1948, says Yotam Feldner from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which has been following the show.

"Nothing is surprising about the show's content," he told Ynet. "The same themes of Holocaust denial and massacres of Arabs."

Friday, February 18, 2005

  • Friday, February 18, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
There is an organization that is trying to do exactly this. The only people that would be against this idea are those for whom destroying Israel is more important than helping Palestinians. It is a nice litmus test to ask people who claim to love the Palestinians - would you be for or against Palestinians voluntarily relocating to any other country?

An interesting sidenote: The latest estimate of the cost to evacuate Gaza stands at NIS 4.3 billion, or almost $1B. According to Emigrations.net, the cost to move a Palestinian farmer to a Venezuela is about $1500. So for the same cost, Israel could instead voluntarily transfer over a half-million Palestinians to other countries where they can live in lives of peace and prosperity. Which is more humane?


THERE IS A SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT

by Martin Sherman

Some time ago, at the Jerusalem Summit, a survey of prevalent attitudes among the Palestinians was made public; it was carried out among a representative sample of the adult population of Judea and Samaria by a well-known Israel institute in collaboration with a respected Palestinian institute. The poll results point to respondents' dissatisfaction with their quality of life, with the performance of their leadership, and with the chances to improve their situation in the foreseeable future.

The survey also showed that more than 40% of the respondents had considered emigrating to another country; only 15% answered that nothing could make them permanently leave their homes. About 70% pointed to some material factor (housing, education, generous financing, etc.) that could bring them to decide to move their permanent place of residency to another land.

For some reason, the survey was received with astonishment. Certain elements, primarily on the Left, tried to cast aspersions on it and even to discount its credibility; it is not difficult to guess why. The findings seriously damage their political philosophy, which is greatly dependent on a myth of the Palestinians' uncompromising attachment to the land. Furthermore, the survey results undermine the argument - currently widespread even among certain segments of the Right - that there is no solution to the demographic problem except retreat from the lands of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

A finding is taking shape, therefore, that points to the fact that the Palestinians are not so different from other people. When their situation is bad, they are interested in finding their future in a different place. That fact has far-reaching political consequences. In effect, the stubborn persistence of the Palestinian problem can be, to a large degree, attributed to the special status accorded the Palestinians as opposed to the rest of humanity.

Take, for example, the matter of the refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is responsible for all the refugees in the world - except the Palestinian refugees. For them, there is a separate and unique body: UNRWA. Each of these bodies has a different definition of "refugee". According to the definition of the High Commissioner, the number of refugees decreases over time; while according to UNRWA's definition, their number continually grows with each passing year.

If the definition accepted for the rest of the world was applied to the Palestinian case, the number of Palestinian refugees would be about 200,000 - less than five percent of the number according to the unique definition of UNRWA, which counts 4,250,000 refugees. As it turns out, the ongoing existence of the Palestinian refugees is in large part the bureaucratic product of an organization whose entire existence is dependent on the perpetuation of the problem it was meant to solve.

It should be pointed out that also in the Arab world, the Palestinians suffer discrimination. For example, about two months ago, Saudi authorities announced the easing of restrictions on citizenship for foreigners living in the country - with the exception of the approximately half-a-million Palestinians who live there. The reasoning given by the Riyadh authorities was their desire to prevent the "destruction of the Palestinian national identity."

The spokesman for the Arab League also explained the discrimination against the Palestinians in the Arab world by reference to the need "to maintain their national identity," adding that "if every Palestinian living in a particular country would be absorbed in that state, he would have no reason to return to Palestine." It appears, therefore, that the non-Palestinian Arabs are much more determined than the Palestinians themselves to perpetuate the Palestinian national identity.

The ongoing failure in facing the Palestinian issue demands unconventional thinking in an attempt to settle it, and the conclusions from the foregoing are obvious. First of all, the Palestinian problem is very much an artificial product of the evilness of Arab states (and the foolishness of the state of Israel). Secondly, it appears that by the combination of two factors would make it possible to bring about a dramatic decrease, by non-violent means, in the size of the "Palestinian problem", perhaps even its solution:

1. Pressure must be exercised by the democratic world on the leaders of the Arab states to desist from the gross discrimination against the Palestinians living in their countries, and to absorb those who so wish.

2. Generous financial assistance must be given to those living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza to facilitate their emigration and the building of a new life for themselves and their families in other places in the world.

What could be more liberal and humanistic than the demand to put an end to discrimination against a person because of his background, and giving freedom of choice to an individual - including a Palestinian individual - in deciding the his fate and that of his family?

Martin Sherman was the Academic Director of the Jerusalem Summit, November 2004, and lecturer in Political Science at Tel Aviv University.
  • Friday, February 18, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
  • Friday, February 18, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
Sigh.

Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- After three new attempts on his life, including a firefight in front of his house Wednesday, outspoken Mithal al-Alusi, a Sunni Muslim, is sure insurgents are still out to get him for his views on peace and tolerance.

Al-Alusi's sons were gunned down one week ago in a car in which he decided not to get in at the last minute. Since then, he said his house has been attacked three times, including a fierce firefight Wednesday -- apparently between insurgents and private guards protecting him.

Police were very slow to respond because they don't support his views on peace with Israel, al-Alusi said. The leader of the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation has been outspoken in his belief that Iraq must align with other democratic countries in the Middle East, possibly Turkey and others, to accept the current situation and make peace with Israel.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

  • Thursday, February 17, 2005
  • Elder of Ziyon
Let's release 500 more!

An IDF force yesterday spotted two armed terrorists approaching the Jewish community of Bracha, overlooking Shechem in the Shomron. The soldiers opened fire, killing both terrorists.

One of the two would-be murderers was Atzam Mantzur, 29. He was apprehended by Israel in October 2001, but was later freed from prison in January 2004 by the Sharon government as part of an exchange for captured Israeli Elchanan Tenenbaum and the bodies of three IDF soldiers murdered by Hizbullah.

The other terrorist was 24-year-old Mahyub Yusef Kiny. Both terrorists were members of the PLO’s Tanzim terror group.

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