by David Bedein
WASHINGTON - Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks has expressed opposition to President Obama’s appointment of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as co-chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.
In a strongly worded statement issued by the RJC, Mr. Brooks writes that “Chuck Hagel’s troubling record on critical foreign policy issues makes this appointment a matter for serious concern. There has been bipartisan criticism of his positions on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his record on Iran has been very worrisome as well.”
Mr. Brooks view of Mr. Hagel’s record over the years is Mr. Hagel’s record reflects “a fundamental misunderstanding of the region and of the nature of the threats to U.S. interests in the region.”
Brooks says that “Hagel does not seem to understand that the U.S. and Israel are fighting a war against terrorists whose agenda is an existential threat to our free and democratic system.”
Mr. Hagel wrote in a 2002 op-ed in the Washington Post that then-President George W. Bush erred in refusing to meet with Yasser Arafat and that Arafat and his support for terrorism against Israel were not the real issue. He wrote: “We cannot hold the Middle East peace process hostage by making Yasser Arafat the issue... Palestinian reformers cannot promote a democratic agenda for change while both the Israeli military occupation and settlement activity continue.”
Mr. Hagel’s record also includes some indications that he sees those who support a strong and safe Israel as having dual loyalties. In an interview quoted in Aaron David Miller’s book on the peace process called The Much Too Promised Land, Mr. Hagel said: “The political reality is that... the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here.”
Mr. Hagel once described a meeting he had in New York with a group of supporters of Israel, one of whom suggested Mr. Hagel wasn’t supportive enough of Israel.
Mr. Hagel responded: “Let me clear something up here, if there’s any doubt in your mind. I’m a United States Senator. I’m not an Israeli senator. I’m a United States Senator. I support Israel. But my first interest is, I took an oath of office to the constitution of the United States, not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel.”
In terms of Mr. Hagel’s record on Iran, in October 2008, he prevented action on a Senate bill - sponsored by then-Senator Barack Obama - proposing economic sanctions against Iran. Mr. Hagel has argued that, “Whether we like it or not, there will be no peace or stability in the Middle East without Iran’s participation,” and opposed this kind of U.S. pressure on Iran.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Vienna Agreement Has Israelis Uneasy
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - The talks at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna ended in a draft agreement according to which Iran would transfer most of the uranium in its possession for enrichment outside its borders.
The fact that this refers to “most of the uranium” and not all of it, leaves a breach for a thief to slip through. Who can know for certain and who in Iran can force the regime to adhere to the Vienna agreement? The “small quantity” of uranium can be moved from one nuclear site to another and, at most by an optimistic forecast, the implementation of the agreement can somewhat delay the production of the doomsday weapon.
The news that Iran would hand over most of the low-grade enriched uranium in its possession for enrichment outside its borders was received by Israel as another Iranian victory, which would bring Tehran another step closer to the bomb.
It has not been lost on all Middle Eastern observers that Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s strategic objective is to develop nuclear weapons in order to become a regional power that can dictate the course of events in the Middle East.
His regime is serious, determined and cunning and will not give up such a supreme objective just because the enlightened world demands that it honor a previous commitment, which was given when Iran joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Officially, Israel has refrained from commenting on reports about a possible agreement with Iran, but behind the scenes, Jerusalem is following developments with concern and suspicion.
Israeli officials consider such an agreement as no more than an Iranian tactical move to buy more time and relieve the pressure.
Israel does not believe that Iran will agree to the conditions that the U.S., Russia and France have set, and believes that it will continue its effort to become a nuclear superpower. Israelis have little trust in the chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, who is involved in the talks.
Evidence of this suspicion could be heard in the statements that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak made yesterday during their meeting with Ms. Susan Rice, the United States ambassador to the United Nations.
Mr. Barak claimed that the superpowers must continue to keep track of Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.
“The Iranians have misled the West in the past,” Barak said, pointing out preparations must continue for the imposition of severe sanctions on the Ayatollahs’ regime if it should turn out within several months that the Iranians are not cooperating fully with the international community.
Mr. Barak suggested to Ms. Rice that no alternative, including a military attack, could be ruled out, even if an agreement should be signed in the end, but it is found that Iran has tricked the West once again.
Israeli officials also remind the world that a uranium-enrichment compound, which was discovered in Qom. This stems from the belief, which the U.S. intelligence community shares, that these installations are only part of a more comprehensive network that the Iranians are hiding.
Barak added, in any case, Israel is not taking any option off the table.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - The talks at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna ended in a draft agreement according to which Iran would transfer most of the uranium in its possession for enrichment outside its borders.
The fact that this refers to “most of the uranium” and not all of it, leaves a breach for a thief to slip through. Who can know for certain and who in Iran can force the regime to adhere to the Vienna agreement? The “small quantity” of uranium can be moved from one nuclear site to another and, at most by an optimistic forecast, the implementation of the agreement can somewhat delay the production of the doomsday weapon.
The news that Iran would hand over most of the low-grade enriched uranium in its possession for enrichment outside its borders was received by Israel as another Iranian victory, which would bring Tehran another step closer to the bomb.
It has not been lost on all Middle Eastern observers that Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s strategic objective is to develop nuclear weapons in order to become a regional power that can dictate the course of events in the Middle East.
His regime is serious, determined and cunning and will not give up such a supreme objective just because the enlightened world demands that it honor a previous commitment, which was given when Iran joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Officially, Israel has refrained from commenting on reports about a possible agreement with Iran, but behind the scenes, Jerusalem is following developments with concern and suspicion.
Israeli officials consider such an agreement as no more than an Iranian tactical move to buy more time and relieve the pressure.
Israel does not believe that Iran will agree to the conditions that the U.S., Russia and France have set, and believes that it will continue its effort to become a nuclear superpower. Israelis have little trust in the chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, who is involved in the talks.
Evidence of this suspicion could be heard in the statements that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak made yesterday during their meeting with Ms. Susan Rice, the United States ambassador to the United Nations.
Mr. Barak claimed that the superpowers must continue to keep track of Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.
“The Iranians have misled the West in the past,” Barak said, pointing out preparations must continue for the imposition of severe sanctions on the Ayatollahs’ regime if it should turn out within several months that the Iranians are not cooperating fully with the international community.
Mr. Barak suggested to Ms. Rice that no alternative, including a military attack, could be ruled out, even if an agreement should be signed in the end, but it is found that Iran has tricked the West once again.
Israeli officials also remind the world that a uranium-enrichment compound, which was discovered in Qom. This stems from the belief, which the U.S. intelligence community shares, that these installations are only part of a more comprehensive network that the Iranians are hiding.
Barak added, in any case, Israel is not taking any option off the table.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Museum Receives Horrifying Offer from Nazi Relative
by David Bedein
JERUSALEM - The offices of Yad Vashem, the Israeli agency that memorializes the six million Jews murdered by their Nazis and their allies, received an extraordinary and even infuriating proposal recently. The grandson of Rudolf Hoess, the notorious commander of the Auschwitz death camp, offered to sell some of his grandfather’s personal effects to the museum.
The letter to the museum, which was sent several months ago and entitled “Rare objects, Auschwitz, Commander Hoess,” was short and succinct, saying: “These are several objects from the estate of Rudolf Hoess, the commander of Auschwitz: A massive, fireproof box with official insignia - a gift from Henrich Himmler, the commander of the SS, weighing 50 kilograms, a letter opener and folders, slides from Auschwitz that have never been seen publicly, letters from his period of imprisonment in Krakow. I would be very grateful for a brief answer. Sincerely, Reiner Hoess.”
The management of Yad Vashem responded with shock to the proposal and rejected it out of hand. The management of the museum expressed disgust over the desire of the criminal’s relative to profit from Holocaust memorabilia.
A high-ranking official of Yad Vashem said, “Here we must ask: did you murder and profit as well?” (The reference is to 1 Kings 21:19-INT)
However, museum officials told Rudolf Hoess’s grandson, Reiner, that he may donate the original items to the museum in order to commemorate the Nazi horror.
In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth last night, Mr. Hoess, 44, said the idea of selling the items to Yad Vashem came up following a conversation that he had with a friend, the grandson of Baldur von Schirach, who was the leader of the Nazi youth movement, the Hitler Youth.
“These items were in the family’s possession,” Hoess said in a telephone conversation.
“We knew about them, people outside the family knew about them for a long time as well. Quite a few organizations wanted to buy them from us, including well-known media such as Der Spiegel and the Axel Springer publishing company. In the wake of Mr. von Schirach’s recommendation, I thought that it would be appropriate to sell the items to Yad Vashem. I do not want these items to get into the wrong hands.”
We asked Mr. Hoess: “Would you be willing to donate the items to Yad Vashem?”
He answered, “That is a good question. I can’t make a decision like that on my own. My tendency is to agree to donate the items, but I will need to consult the rest of the family. We want the items to go to a museum that deals with history.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
JERUSALEM - The offices of Yad Vashem, the Israeli agency that memorializes the six million Jews murdered by their Nazis and their allies, received an extraordinary and even infuriating proposal recently. The grandson of Rudolf Hoess, the notorious commander of the Auschwitz death camp, offered to sell some of his grandfather’s personal effects to the museum.
The letter to the museum, which was sent several months ago and entitled “Rare objects, Auschwitz, Commander Hoess,” was short and succinct, saying: “These are several objects from the estate of Rudolf Hoess, the commander of Auschwitz: A massive, fireproof box with official insignia - a gift from Henrich Himmler, the commander of the SS, weighing 50 kilograms, a letter opener and folders, slides from Auschwitz that have never been seen publicly, letters from his period of imprisonment in Krakow. I would be very grateful for a brief answer. Sincerely, Reiner Hoess.”
The management of Yad Vashem responded with shock to the proposal and rejected it out of hand. The management of the museum expressed disgust over the desire of the criminal’s relative to profit from Holocaust memorabilia.
A high-ranking official of Yad Vashem said, “Here we must ask: did you murder and profit as well?” (The reference is to 1 Kings 21:19-INT)
However, museum officials told Rudolf Hoess’s grandson, Reiner, that he may donate the original items to the museum in order to commemorate the Nazi horror.
In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth last night, Mr. Hoess, 44, said the idea of selling the items to Yad Vashem came up following a conversation that he had with a friend, the grandson of Baldur von Schirach, who was the leader of the Nazi youth movement, the Hitler Youth.
“These items were in the family’s possession,” Hoess said in a telephone conversation.
“We knew about them, people outside the family knew about them for a long time as well. Quite a few organizations wanted to buy them from us, including well-known media such as Der Spiegel and the Axel Springer publishing company. In the wake of Mr. von Schirach’s recommendation, I thought that it would be appropriate to sell the items to Yad Vashem. I do not want these items to get into the wrong hands.”
We asked Mr. Hoess: “Would you be willing to donate the items to Yad Vashem?”
He answered, “That is a good question. I can’t make a decision like that on my own. My tendency is to agree to donate the items, but I will need to consult the rest of the family. We want the items to go to a museum that deals with history.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Israel Kept Out of Egyptian Cancer Conference
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - This week, Egypt’s First Lady, Suzanne Mubarak, is hosting a major international conference on breast cancer.
The conference is to be held in Alexandria and great medical minds from all around the world are expected to take part in a march that is geared to raise public awareness about the deadly disease. But not all the great medical minds are welcome. The Egyptian health minister issued last-minute instructions not to include doctors from Israel in the conference.
The event is being organized by Dr. Susan G. Komen, an American doctor considered to be a leader in the war on breast cancer, who runs an agency that funds research, treatment and regional cooperative efforts.
Israeli physicians were supposed to attend the conference. They were to have shared with doctors from around the world Israel’s experience in coping with breast cancer.
But after all of the security arrangements had already been made and after they even had a meeting scheduled with Mrs. Mubarak, the cancellation came down.
Among the Israelis who were boycotted are members of the Tishkofet organization, which treats terminal patients. The organization is founded by Dr. Dvora Koren and her husband, Professor Ben Koren, an oncologist.
Dr. Dvora Koren told the Israeli media about the last-minute boycott.
“At the last minute we received a phone call from Egypt in which we were told that the Egyptian health minister had decided that we weren’t going to participate,” she said.
“It isn’t a security issue,” said Koren, “since the Egyptian authorities approved our arrival and the fact of the meeting at the conference with Suzanne Mubarak. At first, we’d planned on entering with foreign passports, but as soon as they realized that we were Israelis - along came the cancellation.”
What is ironic in this story is the attempt by senior Egyptian officials to praise the regional cooperation evinced in this conference, the boycott notwithstanding.
“This is an excellent example of cooperation among the various governments, survivors of the disease and the rest of the global community. This is proof of the world’s unity in the war on breast cancer,” said Dr. Muhammad Shaalem, who is the head of the Egyptian cancer association.
Israel, at least in the view of the people organizing the conference in Egypt, isn’t part of the global community.
Israeli Foreign Ministry officials are furious about the Egyptian decision.
“If the information is accurate,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry “then, at issue is, without doubt, a very grave refusal by the regime in Egypt to grant visas.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - This week, Egypt’s First Lady, Suzanne Mubarak, is hosting a major international conference on breast cancer.
The conference is to be held in Alexandria and great medical minds from all around the world are expected to take part in a march that is geared to raise public awareness about the deadly disease. But not all the great medical minds are welcome. The Egyptian health minister issued last-minute instructions not to include doctors from Israel in the conference.
The event is being organized by Dr. Susan G. Komen, an American doctor considered to be a leader in the war on breast cancer, who runs an agency that funds research, treatment and regional cooperative efforts.
Israeli physicians were supposed to attend the conference. They were to have shared with doctors from around the world Israel’s experience in coping with breast cancer.
But after all of the security arrangements had already been made and after they even had a meeting scheduled with Mrs. Mubarak, the cancellation came down.
Among the Israelis who were boycotted are members of the Tishkofet organization, which treats terminal patients. The organization is founded by Dr. Dvora Koren and her husband, Professor Ben Koren, an oncologist.
Dr. Dvora Koren told the Israeli media about the last-minute boycott.
“At the last minute we received a phone call from Egypt in which we were told that the Egyptian health minister had decided that we weren’t going to participate,” she said.
“It isn’t a security issue,” said Koren, “since the Egyptian authorities approved our arrival and the fact of the meeting at the conference with Suzanne Mubarak. At first, we’d planned on entering with foreign passports, but as soon as they realized that we were Israelis - along came the cancellation.”
What is ironic in this story is the attempt by senior Egyptian officials to praise the regional cooperation evinced in this conference, the boycott notwithstanding.
“This is an excellent example of cooperation among the various governments, survivors of the disease and the rest of the global community. This is proof of the world’s unity in the war on breast cancer,” said Dr. Muhammad Shaalem, who is the head of the Egyptian cancer association.
Israel, at least in the view of the people organizing the conference in Egypt, isn’t part of the global community.
Israeli Foreign Ministry officials are furious about the Egyptian decision.
“If the information is accurate,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry “then, at issue is, without doubt, a very grave refusal by the regime in Egypt to grant visas.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
The Philadelphia Bulletin: IAF Holds Joint Aerial Exercise with Italy
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - What did not work out with the Turks, worked out with the Italians: The Israeli Air Force (IAF) held a joint exercise last week with the Italian Air Force in the Sardinia area.
Twelve IAF planes took part in the exercise, which was planned several months ago, including five F-15i planes, five F-16i planes, a Boeing 707 refueling plane and a Hercules that flew teams and technical equipment.
In the exercise, the Israeli and Italian Air Forces practiced dogfights between the two armies. The exercise was held at the Decimomannu Air Base on Sardinia, which has an advanced system for documenting and studying aerial combat exercises, making it possible to examine the effectiveness of one’s combat doctrine after the exercise.
Israeli Air Force sources said that the exercise was held as part of the IAF’s readiness for coping with long-range threats, as well as keeping the IAF planes operational. The cooperation between Italy and Israel began about a decade ago and, since then, joint training is carried out from time to time by the two air forces.
The tendency in the Israeli Air Force in the recent period has been to expand the IAF’s participation in international exercises. This is with the aim of practicing long-range flights and battles against pilots from other countries, who employ different combat doctrines than the IDF.
For example, three months ago the IAF participated in the Red Flag exercise in the U.S., in which long sorties, refueling and dogfights were practiced. The exercise was declared a success by Israeli officials, and that Israeli pilots usually achieve good results in exercises of this kind.
In addition, the French weekly L’Express reported this past May that the IAF carried out an exercise over Gibraltar, at a distance of 3,800 kilometers from Israel. The report stated this showed Israel was practicing the possibility of a strike on Iran.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - What did not work out with the Turks, worked out with the Italians: The Israeli Air Force (IAF) held a joint exercise last week with the Italian Air Force in the Sardinia area.
Twelve IAF planes took part in the exercise, which was planned several months ago, including five F-15i planes, five F-16i planes, a Boeing 707 refueling plane and a Hercules that flew teams and technical equipment.
In the exercise, the Israeli and Italian Air Forces practiced dogfights between the two armies. The exercise was held at the Decimomannu Air Base on Sardinia, which has an advanced system for documenting and studying aerial combat exercises, making it possible to examine the effectiveness of one’s combat doctrine after the exercise.
Israeli Air Force sources said that the exercise was held as part of the IAF’s readiness for coping with long-range threats, as well as keeping the IAF planes operational. The cooperation between Italy and Israel began about a decade ago and, since then, joint training is carried out from time to time by the two air forces.
The tendency in the Israeli Air Force in the recent period has been to expand the IAF’s participation in international exercises. This is with the aim of practicing long-range flights and battles against pilots from other countries, who employ different combat doctrines than the IDF.
For example, three months ago the IAF participated in the Red Flag exercise in the U.S., in which long sorties, refueling and dogfights were practiced. The exercise was declared a success by Israeli officials, and that Israeli pilots usually achieve good results in exercises of this kind.
In addition, the French weekly L’Express reported this past May that the IAF carried out an exercise over Gibraltar, at a distance of 3,800 kilometers from Israel. The report stated this showed Israel was practicing the possibility of a strike on Iran.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Secrets of Beit Hanina: Salam Fayyad’s residence and former Hebrew University land
by Rhonda Spivak
In exploring East Jerusalem recently, I come upon a house watched over by a tall Palestinian security guard dressed in black, who would only say that he was guarding the house of someone ‘very important.’
It turns out that the house belongs to none other than Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who travels from there to his office in Ramallah everyday. Fayyad’s wife is a resident of Jerusalem. According to Ha’ aretz, neighbors reported that Fayyad has been living there full time only since last year after becoming the PA’s Prime Minister.
I contacted Danny Ben-Simon, director of the Israeli government press office to ask him whether Fayyad’s living in Beit Hanina undermines Israel’s claim of sovereignty over all of Jerusalem. He responded, “It is quite understood within the context of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, that there are going to be small ironies and this is one of them....in negotiations, everyone has opening positions. We [the Israelis] have our opening positions. We don’t expect all of our opening positions are ones that will be finally agreed upon...”
When contacted, Kadima Knesset member, Otniel Schneller, an orthodox Jew, said, “When there will be negotiations over Jerusalem...if [Beit Hanina] becomes a Palestinian state, then Fayyad will continue to live there, and if not, he can live under Israeli sovereignty and be the Prime Minister of a Palestinian state. On our side [Israel’s], there is no apartheid.”
Prior to 1948, many Jews owned property in Beit Hanina. As Aryeh King, director of the Israel Land Fund, said, “Hundreds of dunams of land in Beit Hanina belonged to Shmuel Salant, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and when the Jordanians had control over it [between 1948-1967], they built on it. Since ‘67, the land has been controlled by the Israeli government, and it has let Arabs build homes on it, many without permits...Today there is only one apartment building with Jews living in Beit Hanina”
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus once also owned land in Beit Hanina. But, in 2004, Hebrew University sold almost 96 dunams (24 acres) of land in Beit Hanina and the neighboring Shuafat to a Palestinian company owned by a Palestinian bank.
Schneller added that the fact that Fayyad lives in Beit Hanina, and Hebrew University sold its land there, “may in fact influence the final status of Beit Hanina.”
Schneller, who is a former secretary general of the Yesha Council of Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria, also said, “Beit Hanina is not part of the heart of Jewish historical Jerusalem.” Theoretically, he noted, one day it could become part of Al Quds, a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.
“Over Beit Hanina, I am willing to compromise,” Shneller said.
Schneller differentiated between Beit Hanina and neighborhoods in the holy basin, such as the Old City, and Sheikk Jarrah. “The neighborhoods in the holy basin must always be under Israeli sovereignty, even if there are special municipal and other jurisdictional arrangements made for Arabs living in the holy basin,” he said.
However, Schneller doesn’t see any chance of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians in the near future as “Israel will insist on sovereignty over the holy basin in Jerusalem,” and, additionally, there are legitimate concerns “that a Palestinian state would become a terrorist state.”
In an interview, Robert Ilatov, Knesset member for Israel Beiteinu, said it was a mistake for Hebrew University to sell its land in Beit Hanina to Palestinians, not Jews. “We have made a lot of mistakes around Hebrew University. We should have been building all around it.”
He added, “the fact that Israel lets Salam Fayyad live in Beit Hanina only shows how liberal we Israelis are.”
Of course, if Beit Hanina ever fell under Palestinian sovereignty and became a terrorist base, the Hebrew University would become just like Sderot.
View the article at Israel Behind the News
In exploring East Jerusalem recently, I come upon a house watched over by a tall Palestinian security guard dressed in black, who would only say that he was guarding the house of someone ‘very important.’
It turns out that the house belongs to none other than Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who travels from there to his office in Ramallah everyday. Fayyad’s wife is a resident of Jerusalem. According to Ha’ aretz, neighbors reported that Fayyad has been living there full time only since last year after becoming the PA’s Prime Minister.
I contacted Danny Ben-Simon, director of the Israeli government press office to ask him whether Fayyad’s living in Beit Hanina undermines Israel’s claim of sovereignty over all of Jerusalem. He responded, “It is quite understood within the context of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, that there are going to be small ironies and this is one of them....in negotiations, everyone has opening positions. We [the Israelis] have our opening positions. We don’t expect all of our opening positions are ones that will be finally agreed upon...”
When contacted, Kadima Knesset member, Otniel Schneller, an orthodox Jew, said, “When there will be negotiations over Jerusalem...if [Beit Hanina] becomes a Palestinian state, then Fayyad will continue to live there, and if not, he can live under Israeli sovereignty and be the Prime Minister of a Palestinian state. On our side [Israel’s], there is no apartheid.”
Prior to 1948, many Jews owned property in Beit Hanina. As Aryeh King, director of the Israel Land Fund, said, “Hundreds of dunams of land in Beit Hanina belonged to Shmuel Salant, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and when the Jordanians had control over it [between 1948-1967], they built on it. Since ‘67, the land has been controlled by the Israeli government, and it has let Arabs build homes on it, many without permits...Today there is only one apartment building with Jews living in Beit Hanina”
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus once also owned land in Beit Hanina. But, in 2004, Hebrew University sold almost 96 dunams (24 acres) of land in Beit Hanina and the neighboring Shuafat to a Palestinian company owned by a Palestinian bank.
Schneller added that the fact that Fayyad lives in Beit Hanina, and Hebrew University sold its land there, “may in fact influence the final status of Beit Hanina.”
Schneller, who is a former secretary general of the Yesha Council of Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria, also said, “Beit Hanina is not part of the heart of Jewish historical Jerusalem.” Theoretically, he noted, one day it could become part of Al Quds, a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.
“Over Beit Hanina, I am willing to compromise,” Shneller said.
Schneller differentiated between Beit Hanina and neighborhoods in the holy basin, such as the Old City, and Sheikk Jarrah. “The neighborhoods in the holy basin must always be under Israeli sovereignty, even if there are special municipal and other jurisdictional arrangements made for Arabs living in the holy basin,” he said.
However, Schneller doesn’t see any chance of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians in the near future as “Israel will insist on sovereignty over the holy basin in Jerusalem,” and, additionally, there are legitimate concerns “that a Palestinian state would become a terrorist state.”
In an interview, Robert Ilatov, Knesset member for Israel Beiteinu, said it was a mistake for Hebrew University to sell its land in Beit Hanina to Palestinians, not Jews. “We have made a lot of mistakes around Hebrew University. We should have been building all around it.”
He added, “the fact that Israel lets Salam Fayyad live in Beit Hanina only shows how liberal we Israelis are.”
Of course, if Beit Hanina ever fell under Palestinian sovereignty and became a terrorist base, the Hebrew University would become just like Sderot.
View the article at Israel Behind the News
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Report Charges Israel with War Crimes
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - The Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of war crimes in the course of Operation Cast Lead, was raised Thursday for discussion at the UN Human Rights Council, at the request of the Palestinian Authority.
Ahead of the discussion and the subsequent vote that will decide if the report will be adopted by the UN, Israel is getting into high gear.
Despite the low chances of obtaining a majority in Israel’s favor in the vote, politicians and diplomats are trying to influence a few countries in order to recruit them to Israel’s side.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said last week that the Israeli battle against the report is very difficult because of the majority against Israel in the UN and in a number of UN committees.
He says that this battle will preoccupy Israel in the coming years.
High-ranking government sources said that as of now, the chances of the Goldstone report not being adopted are very low and it appears that the Palestinians will succeed in obtaining a majority.
At the moment, Israel is focusing its public relations activity in the countries belonging to the European Union, the African states, Asia and South America.
As part of the Israeli PR campaign, the work was divided between four people: President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Each of them received a list with a number of heads of state with whom they will talk and ask them not to support the report.
Israel will warn that adopting the Goldstone report means ending the peace process, because Israel will not agree to wage a legal-diplomatic battle along with conducting a peace process.
“The Goldstone report will be part of the international discourse for a long time yet and will be a heavy burden on Israel in the international arena,” said a high-ranking Israeli source.
“We can cope with its ramifications but the problem is that it turns Israel into the defendant and makes the state into a leper. It’s not good for Israel when it is spoken about as if it is a country that commits war crimes.”
What particularly irks Israel is that Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are now aligned. The UN secretary general expressed his support for discussing the report at the U.N. Human Rights Council.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - The Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of war crimes in the course of Operation Cast Lead, was raised Thursday for discussion at the UN Human Rights Council, at the request of the Palestinian Authority.
Ahead of the discussion and the subsequent vote that will decide if the report will be adopted by the UN, Israel is getting into high gear.
Despite the low chances of obtaining a majority in Israel’s favor in the vote, politicians and diplomats are trying to influence a few countries in order to recruit them to Israel’s side.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said last week that the Israeli battle against the report is very difficult because of the majority against Israel in the UN and in a number of UN committees.
He says that this battle will preoccupy Israel in the coming years.
High-ranking government sources said that as of now, the chances of the Goldstone report not being adopted are very low and it appears that the Palestinians will succeed in obtaining a majority.
At the moment, Israel is focusing its public relations activity in the countries belonging to the European Union, the African states, Asia and South America.
As part of the Israeli PR campaign, the work was divided between four people: President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Each of them received a list with a number of heads of state with whom they will talk and ask them not to support the report.
Israel will warn that adopting the Goldstone report means ending the peace process, because Israel will not agree to wage a legal-diplomatic battle along with conducting a peace process.
“The Goldstone report will be part of the international discourse for a long time yet and will be a heavy burden on Israel in the international arena,” said a high-ranking Israeli source.
“We can cope with its ramifications but the problem is that it turns Israel into the defendant and makes the state into a leper. It’s not good for Israel when it is spoken about as if it is a country that commits war crimes.”
What particularly irks Israel is that Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are now aligned. The UN secretary general expressed his support for discussing the report at the U.N. Human Rights Council.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
The Philadelphia Bulletin: NATO Approves Israeli Inclusion in Naval Maneuvers
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - This week, NATO approved the Israel Navy’s active inclusion in a NATO force patrolling the Mediterranean Sea in the framework of the global war on terror. This is the first open inclusion of its kind between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and NATO on an operational basis and its timing is particularly important at present, after Turkey canceled the largest aerial exercise of the alliance, which was to have included the participation of the Israel Air Force.
NATO’s Operation Active Endeavour has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. The force is comprised of 10 vessels of different kinds, backed by submarines and aircraft, which work to prevent naval acts of terrorism and arms smuggling. The naval force monitors suspicious ships and, when necessary, raids them. NATO also escorts ships of the alliance until they leave the Mediterranean Sea at the Straits of Gibraltar as there is intelligence information that the ships are at risk. The majority of the ships that make up the force are from the navies of the members of NATO who have a shore on the Mediterranean Sea - Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey, but are also helped by more major navies of NATO in the region.
Israel relayed a request to have an Israeli ship join the force over two years ago, but approval was delayed time after time, and Israel remained outside the multi-national force. The Israeli security establishment believed that the reason, among other things, was the diplomatic sensitivity created in wake of criticism of Israeli’s actions in the Second Lebanon War and in Operation Cast Lead.
The news about the approval to join the special naval force was relayed to Israel Navy Commander Maj. Gen. Eliezer (Cheney) Marom in the course of his visit to the U.S. last week. Maj. Gen. Marom was there to take part in a global meeting of navy commanders.
Sources in the Israeli security establishment affirm that the approval, given at this time, reflects NATO’s esteem for the Israel Navy’s capabilities under Marom’s command, to help prevent international acts of terror. In the framework of this cooperation, an Israeli Navy officer was also stationed in the position of liaison at NATO’s naval headquarters in Naples, Italy. The decision to include a vessel, one of the Israel Navy’s most advanced missile boats that will join NATO’s active task force, is expected to be made soon.
Mark of Esteem
The idea of having Israel join NATO had been raised occasionally in recent decades as part of the thinking about security guarantees for Israel - and no less, in order to acquire a sense of security and belonging to the world of its citizens - in the framework of a comprehensive arrangement in the Middle East. Today, this idea seems distant, as does a comprehensive arrangement. In Israel’s international situation today, with legitimacy for its military actions shrinking, the inclusion of an Israeli ship in the alliance’s naval police force is greeted as big news in Israel
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - This week, NATO approved the Israel Navy’s active inclusion in a NATO force patrolling the Mediterranean Sea in the framework of the global war on terror. This is the first open inclusion of its kind between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and NATO on an operational basis and its timing is particularly important at present, after Turkey canceled the largest aerial exercise of the alliance, which was to have included the participation of the Israel Air Force.
NATO’s Operation Active Endeavour has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. The force is comprised of 10 vessels of different kinds, backed by submarines and aircraft, which work to prevent naval acts of terrorism and arms smuggling. The naval force monitors suspicious ships and, when necessary, raids them. NATO also escorts ships of the alliance until they leave the Mediterranean Sea at the Straits of Gibraltar as there is intelligence information that the ships are at risk. The majority of the ships that make up the force are from the navies of the members of NATO who have a shore on the Mediterranean Sea - Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey, but are also helped by more major navies of NATO in the region.
Israel relayed a request to have an Israeli ship join the force over two years ago, but approval was delayed time after time, and Israel remained outside the multi-national force. The Israeli security establishment believed that the reason, among other things, was the diplomatic sensitivity created in wake of criticism of Israeli’s actions in the Second Lebanon War and in Operation Cast Lead.
The news about the approval to join the special naval force was relayed to Israel Navy Commander Maj. Gen. Eliezer (Cheney) Marom in the course of his visit to the U.S. last week. Maj. Gen. Marom was there to take part in a global meeting of navy commanders.
Sources in the Israeli security establishment affirm that the approval, given at this time, reflects NATO’s esteem for the Israel Navy’s capabilities under Marom’s command, to help prevent international acts of terror. In the framework of this cooperation, an Israeli Navy officer was also stationed in the position of liaison at NATO’s naval headquarters in Naples, Italy. The decision to include a vessel, one of the Israel Navy’s most advanced missile boats that will join NATO’s active task force, is expected to be made soon.
Mark of Esteem
The idea of having Israel join NATO had been raised occasionally in recent decades as part of the thinking about security guarantees for Israel - and no less, in order to acquire a sense of security and belonging to the world of its citizens - in the framework of a comprehensive arrangement in the Middle East. Today, this idea seems distant, as does a comprehensive arrangement. In Israel’s international situation today, with legitimacy for its military actions shrinking, the inclusion of an Israeli ship in the alliance’s naval police force is greeted as big news in Israel
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Fatah Party Reaches out to Hamas Terror Group
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - This week, Jamal Muheisin, a member of the Fatah’s Central Committee, told Ma’an, the Palestinian news agency, that the Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, has signed an Egyptian-backed deal for reconciliation with Hamas. Hamas is defined by Israel, the U.S., the European Union, Canada, Russia and Australia as an illegal terrorist organization.
Hamas spokespeople said the party’s senior leadership has also approved the document, although they have not yet declared this publicly.
Other Palestinian factions are expected to respond by Oct. 20, and a formal signing ceremony will take place after the Islamic Eid Al-Adha holiday at the end of November. Hamas confirmed this schedule. Fatah leader Azzam Al-Ahmad will depart for Egypt at the beginning of the week to hand over the document, which he said was signed by Fatah’s supreme leader, President Mahmoud Abbas.
A Hamas official told the Ma’an news agency that the movement’s leaders have decided to sign the Egyptian proposal.
Ismail Al-Ashkar, a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) confirmed to Ma’an that Egypt set out a timeline calling on other factions to sign the deal by Oct. 20, with a signing ceremony after Eid Al-Adha.
In a statement, Mr. Al-Ashkar also shed light on the details of the Egyptian plan. He confirmed that the document calls for a Joint National Committee in lieu of a unity government. The committee would include 16 members and would represent Fatah, Hamas, and the other factions, the official said. He said the committee’s role is to implement a national unity agreement, and does not have any “political obligations” outside of this goal.
A U.S. government spokesperson said, in response to the new Fatah-Hamas accord, it would support the next Palestinian government if it follows certain conditions.
“We certainly favor an effective Palestinian government, and we are certainly supportive of a reconciliation process,” State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley said in a Washington press briefing.
“If you have a unity government that operates... on the basis of the principles that we’ve laid out, then we will be supportive of it,” Mr. Crowley stressed.
“We’ll be happy to work with whoever is in a Palestinian government that supports the principles,” he added.
Mr. Crowley was referring to the conditions of the international Quartet (the U.S., E.U., UN, and Russia), which stipulate that any Palestinian government must recognize Israel and renounce armed struggle.
That was the basis of the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord, which were hammered out between Israeli and Palestinian Fatah negotiators in Oslo, Norway on August 20, 1993 and signed on September 13, 1993 on the White House lawn by the two Fatah chieftains - Yassir Arafat and his protégé, Mahmoud Abbas, who has run the Palestinian Authority since Arafat died in November 2004.
Arafat and Mr. Abbas signed the agreement in the presence of President Clinton, the late Yitzhak Rabin and then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
However, the American government has consistently ignored the fact that the Fatah never ratified the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord. The Fatah executive committee met in special session on Oct. 6, 1993 to consider ratification of the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord. However, the Fatah would not ratify it, “for lack of a quorum” and has never ratified the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord.
Meanwhile, meeting in special session on April 24, 1996, the Palestine National Council considered cancellation of the PLO covenant, which defines the PLO purpose to destroy the state of Israel. Instead of canceling the PLO covenant, the PNC created a committee to consider changes in the PLO covenant. However, that committee has never met and the PLO covenant remains part and parcel of the Palestinian political reality. Yet, the American government acts as if the PLO cancelled its covenant, despite evidence to the contrary.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - This week, Jamal Muheisin, a member of the Fatah’s Central Committee, told Ma’an, the Palestinian news agency, that the Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, has signed an Egyptian-backed deal for reconciliation with Hamas. Hamas is defined by Israel, the U.S., the European Union, Canada, Russia and Australia as an illegal terrorist organization.
Hamas spokespeople said the party’s senior leadership has also approved the document, although they have not yet declared this publicly.
Other Palestinian factions are expected to respond by Oct. 20, and a formal signing ceremony will take place after the Islamic Eid Al-Adha holiday at the end of November. Hamas confirmed this schedule. Fatah leader Azzam Al-Ahmad will depart for Egypt at the beginning of the week to hand over the document, which he said was signed by Fatah’s supreme leader, President Mahmoud Abbas.
A Hamas official told the Ma’an news agency that the movement’s leaders have decided to sign the Egyptian proposal.
Ismail Al-Ashkar, a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) confirmed to Ma’an that Egypt set out a timeline calling on other factions to sign the deal by Oct. 20, with a signing ceremony after Eid Al-Adha.
In a statement, Mr. Al-Ashkar also shed light on the details of the Egyptian plan. He confirmed that the document calls for a Joint National Committee in lieu of a unity government. The committee would include 16 members and would represent Fatah, Hamas, and the other factions, the official said. He said the committee’s role is to implement a national unity agreement, and does not have any “political obligations” outside of this goal.
A U.S. government spokesperson said, in response to the new Fatah-Hamas accord, it would support the next Palestinian government if it follows certain conditions.
“We certainly favor an effective Palestinian government, and we are certainly supportive of a reconciliation process,” State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley said in a Washington press briefing.
“If you have a unity government that operates... on the basis of the principles that we’ve laid out, then we will be supportive of it,” Mr. Crowley stressed.
“We’ll be happy to work with whoever is in a Palestinian government that supports the principles,” he added.
Mr. Crowley was referring to the conditions of the international Quartet (the U.S., E.U., UN, and Russia), which stipulate that any Palestinian government must recognize Israel and renounce armed struggle.
That was the basis of the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord, which were hammered out between Israeli and Palestinian Fatah negotiators in Oslo, Norway on August 20, 1993 and signed on September 13, 1993 on the White House lawn by the two Fatah chieftains - Yassir Arafat and his protégé, Mahmoud Abbas, who has run the Palestinian Authority since Arafat died in November 2004.
Arafat and Mr. Abbas signed the agreement in the presence of President Clinton, the late Yitzhak Rabin and then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
However, the American government has consistently ignored the fact that the Fatah never ratified the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord. The Fatah executive committee met in special session on Oct. 6, 1993 to consider ratification of the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord. However, the Fatah would not ratify it, “for lack of a quorum” and has never ratified the Declaration of Principles of the 1993 Oslo accord.
Meanwhile, meeting in special session on April 24, 1996, the Palestine National Council considered cancellation of the PLO covenant, which defines the PLO purpose to destroy the state of Israel. Instead of canceling the PLO covenant, the PNC created a committee to consider changes in the PLO covenant. However, that committee has never met and the PLO covenant remains part and parcel of the Palestinian political reality. Yet, the American government acts as if the PLO cancelled its covenant, despite evidence to the contrary.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Underground Sensor tohelp Israel Fight Terrorists
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - The communal nightmare of the kibbutz and moshav agricultural villages near Gaza is that bands of terrorists will dig under their communities and conduct surprise infiltrations from underground.
To cope with that deadly scenario, Israel has developed an underground sensor designed to detect tunnel construction and operation.
Israel’s Spider Technologies Security has produced and delivered sensors designed to detect and track underground activity. Executives said the Israeli military as well as the U.S. government have been testing the system for underground and above-ground use.
“The most recent tests in the U.S. involve tunneling detection,” SpiderTech marketing director Elkana Pressler said. “The demonstrations have shown that the SpiderTech sensor can accurately identify underground activity even with intense surface noise, like car and truck traffic.”
SpiderTech, based in Lod, near Israel’s International Ben Gurion Airport, was also commencing field trials of its sensor network in Europe and South America.
One of the sensor systems, Tarantula, was said to comprise a network of SpiderTech’s proprietary seismic sensors based on novel seismic measurement components along with signal specially designed processing technology that could detect and classify the approach of people above ground as well as underground activity. The network horizontal architecture allows coverage of tens of kilometers over regular PC base control station.
In prototype testing, Tarantula, said to have a false alarm rate of below 10 percent, detected people at a distance of 20 feet and light vehicles at 80 feet.
The ranges of the cylindrical three-dimensional sensor -- each measuring 120 inches high x 80 inches in diameter and with a target positioning accuracy of up to five meters -- were about twice that of existing sensor technology systems.
“Since the system is designed as a multi-layer decision maker, the sensors have a very low rate of false alarms, thus, being extremely difficult to bypass and enhance any existing perimeter security solution,” SpiderTech said on Sept. 29.
SpiderTech has signed a collaboration agreement with Israel’s Rada Electronic Industries for the producing and marketing of Tarantula - an effort that could result in contracts in 2010. Executives said Rada would focus on Western governments and militaries, particularly the United States. The system, which does not require a line of sight with targets, is within an on-going feasibility classified program by the U.S. Homeland Security and defense parties.
“We are currently focused on the high-end government market segment where our solution is urgently needed,” Pressler said. “We also intend to expand our offering and introduce a commercial product line, tailored for mini sites, portable stand alone solutions, home and residential protection.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - The communal nightmare of the kibbutz and moshav agricultural villages near Gaza is that bands of terrorists will dig under their communities and conduct surprise infiltrations from underground.
To cope with that deadly scenario, Israel has developed an underground sensor designed to detect tunnel construction and operation.
Israel’s Spider Technologies Security has produced and delivered sensors designed to detect and track underground activity. Executives said the Israeli military as well as the U.S. government have been testing the system for underground and above-ground use.
“The most recent tests in the U.S. involve tunneling detection,” SpiderTech marketing director Elkana Pressler said. “The demonstrations have shown that the SpiderTech sensor can accurately identify underground activity even with intense surface noise, like car and truck traffic.”
SpiderTech, based in Lod, near Israel’s International Ben Gurion Airport, was also commencing field trials of its sensor network in Europe and South America.
One of the sensor systems, Tarantula, was said to comprise a network of SpiderTech’s proprietary seismic sensors based on novel seismic measurement components along with signal specially designed processing technology that could detect and classify the approach of people above ground as well as underground activity. The network horizontal architecture allows coverage of tens of kilometers over regular PC base control station.
In prototype testing, Tarantula, said to have a false alarm rate of below 10 percent, detected people at a distance of 20 feet and light vehicles at 80 feet.
The ranges of the cylindrical three-dimensional sensor -- each measuring 120 inches high x 80 inches in diameter and with a target positioning accuracy of up to five meters -- were about twice that of existing sensor technology systems.
“Since the system is designed as a multi-layer decision maker, the sensors have a very low rate of false alarms, thus, being extremely difficult to bypass and enhance any existing perimeter security solution,” SpiderTech said on Sept. 29.
SpiderTech has signed a collaboration agreement with Israel’s Rada Electronic Industries for the producing and marketing of Tarantula - an effort that could result in contracts in 2010. Executives said Rada would focus on Western governments and militaries, particularly the United States. The system, which does not require a line of sight with targets, is within an on-going feasibility classified program by the U.S. Homeland Security and defense parties.
“We are currently focused on the high-end government market segment where our solution is urgently needed,” Pressler said. “We also intend to expand our offering and introduce a commercial product line, tailored for mini sites, portable stand alone solutions, home and residential protection.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Take the Fayyad Plan for What It Is
Take the Fayyad Plan for What It is
by David Bedein
In a Jerusalem Post article “In the land of miracles, let’s get real (Sept. 29),” Gershon Baskin describes Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayad’s plan as “one of the most positive and optimistic developments of recent times.”
However, a reading of Fayad’s plan, entitled “Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State: Program of the Thirteenth Government (August 2009)” would seem to belie Baskin’s postulation.
While the preface to Mr. Fayad’s paper introduces a Palestinian state that would strive for “peace, security and stability in our region on the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, with east Jerusalem as its capital,” Mr. Fayad’s 38-page position paper reads like a declaration of war, not of peace.
Mr. Fayad asserts that “Jerusalem” will be the Palestinian capital of the Palestinian state - not east Jerusalem.
In case anyone was wondering if Mr. Fayad had made a typographical error by not mentioning “east” Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, he repeats - 10 times - that he means Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem. He leaves nothing to the imagination, and writes that the Palestinian state will “protect Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Palestinian state,” because he asserts that, “Jerusalem is our people’s religious, cultural, economic and political center. It is the Flower of Cities and Capital of Capitals. It cannot be anything but the eternal capital of the future Palestinian state. Jerusalem.”
Mr. Fayad goes on to claim that Jerusalem “is under threat” and that “the occupying authority is implementing a systematic plan to alter the city’s landmarks and its geographical and demographic character in order to forcibly create facts on the ground, ultimately separating it from its Palestinian surroundings and eradicating its Arab Palestinian heritage.” Mr. Fayad further claims that “Palestinian life in Jerusalem is under daily attack through systematic violations perpetrated by the occupation regime” and that “it is the right and the duty of all Palestinians to protect their land, reject the occupation and defy its measures,” adding that the Palestinian state “bears special responsibility for nurturing our people’s ability to persevere and protect their homeland.”
He adds that the Palestinian government will maintain its “unreserved commitment to defending the Arab character and status of Jerusalem.... The government will continue to do all that is possible to achieve this goal. The government will work with all organizations to preserve the landmarks of Jerusalem and its Arab Palestinian heritage, develop the city, and secure its contiguity with its Palestinian surroundings.”
Mr. Fayad frames Jerusalem as an illegal settlement, postulating that, “the occupying authority is pursuing its intensive settlement policy in and around Jerusalem.... The occupation regime has shut down our national institutions, neglected the development of Palestinian life, continued to demolish and evacuate Palestinian homes, and restricted access to sacred Christian and Islamic sites.”
He goes so far as to present a practical plan to Arabize Jerusalem: Maintaining Jerusalem as a top priority on the government’s agenda and “highlighting its predicament in the media. Launching programs to promote the steadfastness of Jerusalemites, including: Strengthen Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, providing financial support to help them deliver services to citizens.”
He reassures his readers that a future Palestinian state would not be satisfied with Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza as the national home for Palestinians, and says that the Palestinian government will continue to advocate for “Palestinian refugees in accordance with relevant international resolutions, and UN General Assembly Resolution 194 in particular,” which mandates that Palestinian refugees and their descendants have a right to return to the homes and villages that Palestinians left during the 1948 war and its aftermath.
Mr. Fayad reminds Palestinians that, “the refugee issue will remain under the jurisdiction of the PLO through its Department of Refugees’ Affairs... in a manner that does not exempt the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from its responsibilities.” In Mr. Fayad’s view, UNRWA will therefore continue to confine Palestinian refugees and their descendants to the indignity of refugee camps under the premise and promise of the “right of return.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Fayad expresses full support for Palestinians who have been convicted of murder and attempted murder, saying that, “the state also has an enduring obligation to care and provide for the martyrs, prisoners, orphans and all those harmed in the Palestinian struggle for independence.” He simply cannot understand why Palestinians convicted of capital crimes should be jailed.
He proclaims that “the continued detention of thousands of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention camps in violation of international law and basic human rights is of great concern to all Palestinians,” and declares that “securing the freedom of all these heroic prisoners is an utmost Palestinian priority and it is a fundamental duty all Palestinians feel to honor their great sacrifices and end their suffering,” and demands the “freedom of all Palestinian detainees and prisoners and will continue to strive to secure their liberty.”
He further declares that the Palestinian state will be an Islamic state and will “promote awareness and understanding of the Islamic religion and culture and disseminate the concept of tolerance in the religion through developing and implementing programs of Shari’a education as derived from the science of the Holy Koran and Prophet’s heritage.”
In sum, the Palestinian prime minister concludes with a demand for a Palestinian state in the next two years, along the parameters that he has outlined - Jerusalem as the capital of an Islamic Shari’a state that will campaign for all convicts to be freed, for all refugees to return to the homes and villages that they left in 1948.
It would be instructive to know whether Baskin even bothered to read the plan before calling it a “positive development.”
by David Bedein
In a Jerusalem Post article “In the land of miracles, let’s get real (Sept. 29),” Gershon Baskin describes Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayad’s plan as “one of the most positive and optimistic developments of recent times.”
However, a reading of Fayad’s plan, entitled “Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State: Program of the Thirteenth Government (August 2009)” would seem to belie Baskin’s postulation.
While the preface to Mr. Fayad’s paper introduces a Palestinian state that would strive for “peace, security and stability in our region on the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, with east Jerusalem as its capital,” Mr. Fayad’s 38-page position paper reads like a declaration of war, not of peace.
Mr. Fayad asserts that “Jerusalem” will be the Palestinian capital of the Palestinian state - not east Jerusalem.
In case anyone was wondering if Mr. Fayad had made a typographical error by not mentioning “east” Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, he repeats - 10 times - that he means Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem. He leaves nothing to the imagination, and writes that the Palestinian state will “protect Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Palestinian state,” because he asserts that, “Jerusalem is our people’s religious, cultural, economic and political center. It is the Flower of Cities and Capital of Capitals. It cannot be anything but the eternal capital of the future Palestinian state. Jerusalem.”
Mr. Fayad goes on to claim that Jerusalem “is under threat” and that “the occupying authority is implementing a systematic plan to alter the city’s landmarks and its geographical and demographic character in order to forcibly create facts on the ground, ultimately separating it from its Palestinian surroundings and eradicating its Arab Palestinian heritage.” Mr. Fayad further claims that “Palestinian life in Jerusalem is under daily attack through systematic violations perpetrated by the occupation regime” and that “it is the right and the duty of all Palestinians to protect their land, reject the occupation and defy its measures,” adding that the Palestinian state “bears special responsibility for nurturing our people’s ability to persevere and protect their homeland.”
He adds that the Palestinian government will maintain its “unreserved commitment to defending the Arab character and status of Jerusalem.... The government will continue to do all that is possible to achieve this goal. The government will work with all organizations to preserve the landmarks of Jerusalem and its Arab Palestinian heritage, develop the city, and secure its contiguity with its Palestinian surroundings.”
Mr. Fayad frames Jerusalem as an illegal settlement, postulating that, “the occupying authority is pursuing its intensive settlement policy in and around Jerusalem.... The occupation regime has shut down our national institutions, neglected the development of Palestinian life, continued to demolish and evacuate Palestinian homes, and restricted access to sacred Christian and Islamic sites.”
He goes so far as to present a practical plan to Arabize Jerusalem: Maintaining Jerusalem as a top priority on the government’s agenda and “highlighting its predicament in the media. Launching programs to promote the steadfastness of Jerusalemites, including: Strengthen Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, providing financial support to help them deliver services to citizens.”
He reassures his readers that a future Palestinian state would not be satisfied with Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza as the national home for Palestinians, and says that the Palestinian government will continue to advocate for “Palestinian refugees in accordance with relevant international resolutions, and UN General Assembly Resolution 194 in particular,” which mandates that Palestinian refugees and their descendants have a right to return to the homes and villages that Palestinians left during the 1948 war and its aftermath.
Mr. Fayad reminds Palestinians that, “the refugee issue will remain under the jurisdiction of the PLO through its Department of Refugees’ Affairs... in a manner that does not exempt the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from its responsibilities.” In Mr. Fayad’s view, UNRWA will therefore continue to confine Palestinian refugees and their descendants to the indignity of refugee camps under the premise and promise of the “right of return.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Fayad expresses full support for Palestinians who have been convicted of murder and attempted murder, saying that, “the state also has an enduring obligation to care and provide for the martyrs, prisoners, orphans and all those harmed in the Palestinian struggle for independence.” He simply cannot understand why Palestinians convicted of capital crimes should be jailed.
He proclaims that “the continued detention of thousands of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention camps in violation of international law and basic human rights is of great concern to all Palestinians,” and declares that “securing the freedom of all these heroic prisoners is an utmost Palestinian priority and it is a fundamental duty all Palestinians feel to honor their great sacrifices and end their suffering,” and demands the “freedom of all Palestinian detainees and prisoners and will continue to strive to secure their liberty.”
He further declares that the Palestinian state will be an Islamic state and will “promote awareness and understanding of the Islamic religion and culture and disseminate the concept of tolerance in the religion through developing and implementing programs of Shari’a education as derived from the science of the Holy Koran and Prophet’s heritage.”
In sum, the Palestinian prime minister concludes with a demand for a Palestinian state in the next two years, along the parameters that he has outlined - Jerusalem as the capital of an Islamic Shari’a state that will campaign for all convicts to be freed, for all refugees to return to the homes and villages that they left in 1948.
It would be instructive to know whether Baskin even bothered to read the plan before calling it a “positive development.”
Sunday, October 11, 2009
INCITEMENT WINS OVER THE ECONOMY AMONG THE PALESTINIANS AT THE END OF THE DAY
Originally published in Maariv
by Ben Dror Yemini
There have been numerous reports in the past number of months about the flourishing economy under the leadership of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Various data demonstrate a significant rise in the GDP and the quality of life. Ramallah, the reports inform us, has Tel Aviv-style pubs. Cool. And Jenin, the city that achieved infamy because of the massacre that never occurred, has put on a new face with a new commercial center. Just like the Azrieli mall. And Zakariya Zubeidi, the guy who once used to be a wanted man, has changed his vocation.
But we’ve seen all this before.
In the 1990s a veritable fortune flowed into the Palestinians’ coffers. Every Palestinian received USD 1,330, as opposed to the Marshall Plan for the rehabilitation of Europe after World War II, which granted every European USD 272. In other words, four times as much. Yes, that much. That aid also contributed to an average growth rate of six percent between the years 1994-1999. Even Israel failed to achieve a growth rate of that sort in those years. What followed afterwards is well known. A particularly violent Intifada, which caused thousands of casualties and an economic breakdown. The Palestinians are still 30% away from the GDP per capita that they had a decade ago.
We all know the theory. “It’s the economy, stupid.” That might be a theory that applies to the West. But here in the East the story is a little different. Here the rules are different. In the competition between economic rationalism and religious incitement-the incitement wins. That didn’t begin this week. Nor did it begin nine years ago. That’s our history.
The Economy is of No Interest to Them
Jewish settlement brought in its wake economic prosperity. Cooperation would have led to shared prosperity. That isn’t what happened. Prosperity was an option. Incitement prevailed. Hajj Amin al-Husseini, Hitler’s friend and protégé, turned the Zionist plot to seize control over the Temple Mount into the focal point of his incitement. This very same Husseini also joined forces with the Muslim Brotherhood while they were building their influence and strength in Egypt.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the mother movement of both Hamas and the northern chapter of the Islamic Movement in Israel, headed by Sheikh Raed Salah. So that it is no coincidence that everyone, Husseini, Haniya and Salah, are all focused on el-Aksa Mosque.
They take no interest in the economy. They’re interested in incitement. They know that el-Aksa Mosque was once a focal point of rioting, just as it is a focal point of friction at present. That is where the masses throng to. Setting the fire is relatively easy. And when you pump the masses time and time again, as Sheikh Salah does, that the Zionists are seizing control of el-Aksa Mosque, the message gets through.
Israel Will be the First to Fall, Then Paris, Rome and London
Salah, say security officials, treads the line. He does not engage in hostile terrorist activity. He isn’t the one who established the terror cells. But he is the one who lays the emotional groundwork. He incites. He encourages. He inflames the passions. Ideologically, he is a Hamas man in every sense and form. He too advocates the establishment of an Islamic caliphate that will gradually seize control of the entire world. He wrote a series of articles about the revolution he yearns for. Israel, in its capacity as a Crusader castle, will be the first to fall. Then Paris, Rome and London will follow in its wake.
The prevailing discourse of rights has turned Salah into a person who enjoys immunity. In some Arab states he is a persona non grata. His requests to enter have been denied. After all, they don’t need another provocateur. But here he operates freely. Abets and incites. Lays the groundwork for subversive activity. Salah is a living reminder of the fact that democracy is not only the rule of rights, which are geared to protect minorities. Democracy is supposed to defend sometimes, only sometimes, the majority as well. Salah is protected. The majority has been left vulnerable. Democracy, and not only Israeli democracy, needs to do some soul-searching. Unless, that is, Salah and his ilk succeed in doing away with it before it manages to defend itself.
So that anyone who thinks that economic prosperity will ensure calm is deluding himself. All that is needed in order to bring about a renewed outburst is bitterness, incitement-which there is no lack of-as well as “continued construction” in the heart of Arab neighborhoods, or the seizure of more land, which is never evacuated, deep in the Arab population centers. That lethal combination of incitement, bitterness, provocateurs-mainly from the Palestinian side-exist at present as well.
We oughtn’t to be surprised if it explodes in our face.
by Ben Dror Yemini
There have been numerous reports in the past number of months about the flourishing economy under the leadership of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Various data demonstrate a significant rise in the GDP and the quality of life. Ramallah, the reports inform us, has Tel Aviv-style pubs. Cool. And Jenin, the city that achieved infamy because of the massacre that never occurred, has put on a new face with a new commercial center. Just like the Azrieli mall. And Zakariya Zubeidi, the guy who once used to be a wanted man, has changed his vocation.
But we’ve seen all this before.
In the 1990s a veritable fortune flowed into the Palestinians’ coffers. Every Palestinian received USD 1,330, as opposed to the Marshall Plan for the rehabilitation of Europe after World War II, which granted every European USD 272. In other words, four times as much. Yes, that much. That aid also contributed to an average growth rate of six percent between the years 1994-1999. Even Israel failed to achieve a growth rate of that sort in those years. What followed afterwards is well known. A particularly violent Intifada, which caused thousands of casualties and an economic breakdown. The Palestinians are still 30% away from the GDP per capita that they had a decade ago.
We all know the theory. “It’s the economy, stupid.” That might be a theory that applies to the West. But here in the East the story is a little different. Here the rules are different. In the competition between economic rationalism and religious incitement-the incitement wins. That didn’t begin this week. Nor did it begin nine years ago. That’s our history.
The Economy is of No Interest to Them
Jewish settlement brought in its wake economic prosperity. Cooperation would have led to shared prosperity. That isn’t what happened. Prosperity was an option. Incitement prevailed. Hajj Amin al-Husseini, Hitler’s friend and protégé, turned the Zionist plot to seize control over the Temple Mount into the focal point of his incitement. This very same Husseini also joined forces with the Muslim Brotherhood while they were building their influence and strength in Egypt.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the mother movement of both Hamas and the northern chapter of the Islamic Movement in Israel, headed by Sheikh Raed Salah. So that it is no coincidence that everyone, Husseini, Haniya and Salah, are all focused on el-Aksa Mosque.
They take no interest in the economy. They’re interested in incitement. They know that el-Aksa Mosque was once a focal point of rioting, just as it is a focal point of friction at present. That is where the masses throng to. Setting the fire is relatively easy. And when you pump the masses time and time again, as Sheikh Salah does, that the Zionists are seizing control of el-Aksa Mosque, the message gets through.
Israel Will be the First to Fall, Then Paris, Rome and London
Salah, say security officials, treads the line. He does not engage in hostile terrorist activity. He isn’t the one who established the terror cells. But he is the one who lays the emotional groundwork. He incites. He encourages. He inflames the passions. Ideologically, he is a Hamas man in every sense and form. He too advocates the establishment of an Islamic caliphate that will gradually seize control of the entire world. He wrote a series of articles about the revolution he yearns for. Israel, in its capacity as a Crusader castle, will be the first to fall. Then Paris, Rome and London will follow in its wake.
The prevailing discourse of rights has turned Salah into a person who enjoys immunity. In some Arab states he is a persona non grata. His requests to enter have been denied. After all, they don’t need another provocateur. But here he operates freely. Abets and incites. Lays the groundwork for subversive activity. Salah is a living reminder of the fact that democracy is not only the rule of rights, which are geared to protect minorities. Democracy is supposed to defend sometimes, only sometimes, the majority as well. Salah is protected. The majority has been left vulnerable. Democracy, and not only Israeli democracy, needs to do some soul-searching. Unless, that is, Salah and his ilk succeed in doing away with it before it manages to defend itself.
So that anyone who thinks that economic prosperity will ensure calm is deluding himself. All that is needed in order to bring about a renewed outburst is bitterness, incitement-which there is no lack of-as well as “continued construction” in the heart of Arab neighborhoods, or the seizure of more land, which is never evacuated, deep in the Arab population centers. That lethal combination of incitement, bitterness, provocateurs-mainly from the Palestinian side-exist at present as well.
We oughtn’t to be surprised if it explodes in our face.
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