CAFI Newsletter #83
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Fri, 17 May 2002 20:08:09 -0400
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* CHRISTIAN ACTION FOR ISRAEL NEWSLETTER #83 *
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"ON YOUR WALLS, O JERUSALEM, I HAVE APPOINTED WATCHMEN"
Isaiah 62:6
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We wish everyone a blessed Shavuot holiday, which marks
the giving of the Torah to Moses and the birth of the
Church on the Day of Pentecost.
Friday, May 17, 2002
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. I AM A ZIONIST
2. OF SILENCE AND SCORN
3. ARAFAT IS FAR FROM OUT
4. HELP THE ISRAELI VICTIMS OF TERROR
5. A PALESTINIAN STATE ? NEW SECTION ON-SITE
6. QUOTES TO NOTE
7. HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES
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1. I AM A ZIONIST
By Reuven Koret May 13, 2002 Israelinsider.com
I belong to a people who brought the Bible to the
world, transmitting the tradition of the Torah, the
Ten Commandments, and the idea of One God from
generation to generation. I am part of an ancient
nation that reclaimed its homeland two thousand years
after being expelled from it, rising up like a phoenix
from the ashes and impotence of the Holocaust.
I am a citizen of a country that has gathered in her
scattered people, taking in refugees from one hundred
nations, rescuing the persecuted and the impoverished,
welcoming idealists and adventurers and restless
wanderers who chose to join her, like me.
I am defended by the IDF, the finest small fighting
force in the world, a citizens' army with high moral
standards and purity of arms second to no other nation.
I am grateful to merit Jerusalem as my capital, the
place to which our people have always turned, the
city that our soldiers reunited and redeemed from
desecration after our enemies destroyed her synagogues
and sacred sites, using her shrines as garbage dumps
and the tombstones of our ancestors to line their
sewers.
I am grateful to walk the streets in a land where a
Jew can wear a skullcap or a Star of David or a black
robe without fearing ridicule or persecution or even
looks askance.
I speak and understand Hebrew, the sacred tongue of
Holy Writ, a "dead language" revived by our people so
that our nation would have a common basis for
communication. I am proud that every child can read
the Torah in its original form.
I raise my children in schools where the victories
and tragedies of our people are remembered, where the
holidays celebrate our God and our traditions.
I participate in the only democracy in a region of the
world where freedom of expression and human rights are
otherwise absent.
I live in a land where I can speak of our national
flaws, our social failings, our fallible leaders -
and there are many, many of each -- without fear of
being censored, imprisoned or executed.
I am proud that our country is hated by some of the
most vicious, cruel, backward, repressive,
terror-supporting dictatorships in the world.
I am proud that the morally vapid governments of
Europe, Africa, and Asia, along with the UN in which
their majorities rule, have nothing better to do
than to condemn us.
I am proud that our strongest ally is the greatest
nation in the world, and proud that its people and
its elected representatives stand by us and prevent
us from isolation and condemnation by lesser nations
with weaker moral fiber.
I am proud of our entrepreneurial accomplishments, our
research, our technologies, our innovative products.
I am proud of our artists, our musicians, our authors,
our athletes, and our pilots. I'm proud of our
national airline, and its legendary security checks,
and I'm proud that by now they let me pass with a
few perfunctory questions.
I am proud of my fellow citizens, who have shown such
grace and courage under fire, refusing to allow their
love of life and their passion for freedom to be
sapped by death-seeking, freedom-hating terrorists.
I am proud of our compassionate leftists, and our
patriotic rightists. I'm proud of our unbending
ultra-Orthodox and our ultra-rational secularists.
I'm proud of our pioneering settlers and our
peace-seeking activists. I am proud that we are
a stiff-necked people.
I belong to a people who dwell alone, yet shine a
light unto the world. We may not always be right,
but we're never as wrong as our enemies claim. And
even when we are wrong, we are a nation that seeks
to make things right.
Our people holds the birthright to the land on which
we live, inscribed in the Bible, proven by
archaeological excavations, and verified by the
investment of agricultural, industrial, and financial
investments we have made, sealed by our sweat and by
our blood, by our tears of sorrow and of joy,
to develop and defend our country.
We stretch out our hands in peace to our Arab
neighbors, in full knowledge that they rejected the
UN Partition in 1947, invaded our fledgling state in
1948, tried to strangle us in 1967, surprised us
on Yom Kippur in 1973.
We pray for a just settlement with the Palestinian
people, even though from the inception of the PLO in
1964, before the conquests of the Six Day War, their
leadership has been dedicated to liberating Palestine,
which means eliminating Israel.
We have endured from the Palestinians unceasing
terror attacks ever since, and despite all political
agreements and diplomatic initiatives, we see that
the Palestinians continue to incite their people to
despise us and to aspire to destroying us. We have
offered to share our land with our neighbors, but we
will not give land to be used to drive us into the sea.
Even if hundreds of millions of people hate us, even
if some nations pray we did not exist, even if some
of our enemies won't rest till they kill us and many
in the rest of the world don't give a damn, I couldn't
be prouder. We have come home, and this is it.
I am an Israeli, a citizen of the one and only Jewish
homeland. I thank God that I was a born in a time when
I could fulfill the dream of two thousand years to
return to Zion.
I am a Zionist, a believer and supporter and
defender of our reborn nation.
And you who read these words, with compassion and
understanding and identification -whether you are
Jewish or not, Israeli or not -- you are a Zionist, too.
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2. OF SILENCE AND SCORN
David Parsons ICEJ NEWS - 05/16/2002 Jerusalem Post
Though relieved over the end to the long standoff at
Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, many Jews and
Christians share a lingering sense of outrage that more
Church leaders did not forcefully condemn the blatant
Muslim desecration of a major Christian shrine.
Here was a clear case of Islamic militiamen deliberately
taking their battle against Israel into a revered church
and taking clerics and youths as hostages. Yet most of
Christendom seemed mysteriously silent! And many
churches that did speak out chose to unfairly
criticize Israel for its “brutal siege.”
It is vital to understand the reasons behind this
moral imbalance of silence towards Islam and open scorn
towards Israel. In this regard, the Bethlehem standoff
provides an unusually crisp portal into present
Christian attitudes towards Israel and the enduring
plight of Arab Christian minorities under Muslim
domination.
First, not all Christians were silent. The Christian
Embassy, for one, published a statement early on that
strongly condemned “this transgression on the sanctity
of the Church of the Nativity,” deeming it “a
premeditated offense by militant Muslim outlaws.”
This was long before reports surfaced that one of the
most prominent Christian clergymen in Jerusalem had
previously met with the Abayat clan that heads the
Fatah Tanzim in Bethlehem, offered them keys to the
Nativity compound, and encouraged them to seek refuge
there if the need arose.
Yet much of the mainstream media refused to pick up
on such sober truth telling, since it did not fit
their spin on the story, and thus they bear partial
responsibility for the perceived Christian silence.
Otherwise, some of the imbalance can be chalked up
to classic Christian anti-Semitism – both patent and
latent. The standoff indeed unleashed a firestorm
of anti-Semitic diatribes from numerous Arab clerics
and some Western pulpits. But when USA Today reported
a sudden increase in sermons across America on the
Middle East conflict, it is likely that most were
either fairly balanced or pro-Israel.
This means there were other factors in play
– the foremost being self-preservation.
This concept is simple to grasp. Arab Christians in
Bethlehem and throughout the Middle East have
developed over time an ingrained survival mechanism
– never say anything bad in public about your
Muslim neighbors. It could cost you dearly. With
the rise of Palestinian nationalism, this penchant
for self-preservation prompted some indigent
Christians to wax more anti-Israel than the Muslim
majority. In his excellent work The Siege, former
Irish diplomat (and Catholic) Conor Cruise O’Brien
describes it as “waving the bloody shirt” higher than
the Muslims in order to show your loyalty to the cause.
Yet the price for demonstrating that loyalty is on
the rise. In the first intifada, Bethlehem’s
Christians were asked, “Why don’t your sons come
throw stones alongside our Muslim boys?” Many
Christian families packed up and left. In the
current, more deadly intifada, the question being
asked is, “Why aren’t you giving any of your sons
as shaheeds?” The silence has become deafening.
Many church leaders abroad understand the dangers
faced by local Christians and thus adhere to the
same code of silence to protect these precious
flocks. This was prominently on display in the
recent standoff, and may be a responsible move to
some extent, so long as you do not also unduly
blame the Israelis for every wrong.
In addition, as local Christian clerics keep silent
about their suffering under Islam, it limits their
ability to appeal for vital outside support to meet
real needs in their communities. Some respond by
trumpeting supposed sufferings under the “Israeli
occupation,” knowing Israel does not bite back.
Thus when the IDF first entered Beit Jala last
August to suppress Tanzim gunfire at Gilo, there
was a considerable outcry that Israeli forces were
holding some 45 “orphans” in a Lutheran compound as
“human shields.” Total nonsense, of course, and
nothing as egregious as Muslim gunmen invading the
Church of the Nativity. But such accounts have
been known to resonate with potential donors.
The same can be said about major elements of the
so-called human rights movement, who subtly compete
for funding by seeing who can scream the loudest
against Israel. It can be good for business.
On another note, many churches that minister in
the vast Arab/Islamic world make the mistake of
thinking they have to bash Israel in order to
“get in good” with the natives. This has
manifested even in Evangelical circles that
otherwise would be predisposed to favoring Israel.
Yet we can attest that it is possible to raise
monies and assist the brave Christians of
Bethlehem without compromising on the Bible’s
mandate to “bless” the Jewish people.
Be that as it may, there are some very positive
signs coming out of the Bethlehem standoff that
augur well for future relations between Israel
and the Christian world.
One Protestant source close to the Armenian,
Greek Orthodox and Vatican delegates involved
in the Nativity negotiations insists they were
“tremendously grateful to Israel for exercising
restraint,” but had “disgust beyond words” for
the Muslim gunmen and Palestinian officials they
had to deal with. Christian and Israeli officials
built a “trustful relationship” during the
stretched-out talks, although it remains
problematic to express this publicly. The outrage
against the Muslim actions is there, but it is
still outweighed by the fears of retribution.
The question is whether it is time for responsible
Church leaders to remove the gag, since it has
done little to relieve the plight of Christians
in Bethlehem and elsewhere under the Palestinian
Authority. The standoff may be over, but they are
still living with a Muslim gun to their heads.
And God forbid that the next standoff should
darken the door of the Holy Sepulchre.
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3. ARAFAT IS FAR FROM OUT
Tommy Schnurmacher - Montreal Gazette - May 12, 2002
"Arafat's out." That was the main front-page headline
in Thursday's New York Post, whose "Mideast bombshell"
story proclaimed "No peace talks until he loses all
power, Bush says."
Yasser Arafat is far from out. Not only did U.S.
President George W. Bush describe the Palestinian
Authority leader's denunciation of terrorism as an
"incredibly positive sign," but it was Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon who received a presidential
warning to retain a "vision of peace" and temper any
response to the mass murder of Israeli civilians by
Palestinian homicide bombers.
When quizzed by a reporter whether he would tell Sharon
to negotiate with Arafat, Bush replied, "I'm never
going to tell my friend the prime minister what to
do on how to handle his business."
This from the same man who vehemently and repeatedly
demanded that his friend withdraw immediately from
Palestinian territories.
Arafat still has plenty of power and international
support. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is adamant
that Israel must deal with him. Far from being sidelined,
Arafat is seeing all kinds of political figures tripping
over themselves to grovel before him.
A Norwegian MP has expressed unhappiness that his
government cannot take back the Nobel Peace Prize from
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, but he does not
question Arafat's commitment to peace.
No such massacre
Arafat spokesman Saeb Erekat told a gullible CNN that
the Israelis had "massacred" 500 civilians in Jenin.
Now that everyone has admitted there was no such
massacre, Erekat doesn't want to talk about numbers.
No need. The damage to Israel has been spectacular,
especially in Europe, where Sharon is routinely
depicted as a butcher while Arafat is lauded as hero.
The relentless vilification of Israel in the European
press has contributed to a rise of anti-Semitism unseen
on that continent since the 1930s and early 1940s.
In Britain, the cover of the New Statesman showed the
Star of David stabbing the Union Jack. The European
press corps has been positively apoplectic that the
Israeli government nixed the idea of a United Nations
kangaroo-court "investigation" of what happened in
the Jenin refugee camp.
No one has demanded an inquiry into the UN relief
agency running the place. No one has asked what those
UN officials knew about the countless bomb factories
set up in the heart of civilian areas. No one has
asked the UN to explain why it did nothing to
prevent attacks on Israeli citizens.
One doesn't have to be anti-Semitic to criticize
Israeli policy, but it does help.
Nothing but hatred
Take Tom Paulin, for example. Describing Jewish
settlers, he told an Egyptian reporter for Al-Ahram
Weekly, "They should be shot dead. I think they are
Nazis, racists, I feel nothing but hatred for them."
Is Paulin a deluded member of some fringe group on
the extreme right? Not at all. He's an intellectual,
a published poet and respected professor at Oxford
University.
Sometime after his interview, Paulin got his wish.
Several Jewish "settlers," including a 5-year-old
lying in bed, were shot dead by Palestinian gunmen.
Had Paulin advocated the deaths of members of any
other ethnic or religious group, he would have been
turfed out of Oxford, but as he was only calling
for the death of Jews, he keeps his job.
Canada's media also do their bit to isolate Israel.
The CBC's Peter Mansbridge recently interviewed a
kindly Palestinian doctor who complained that the
Israeli army had prevented him from helping the
wounded. He could not believe such a heartless
attitude and said that no Palestinian would have
prevented a wounded Israeli soldier from getting help.
Mansbridge nodded in agreement and said nothing.
Clearly, he and his army of researchers had forgotten
the incident in October 2000 when a Palestinian mob
had lynched two unarmed Israeli reservists. You would
think they might have remembered, because the CBC
as well as newspapers around the world had featured
images of a crowd cheering the sight of an excited
rioter who had appeared at a police-station window
to show off the fresh blood on his hands.
Strangely enough, there were no international demands
for an investigation.
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4. HELP THE ISRAELI VICTIMS OF TERROR
Gil Troy - The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2002
Last week's lethal suicide bombing at a billiard hall
in the working class Israeli town of Rishon LeTsion once
again shifted the focus in the Middle East from peace to
war. It should be clear to all Americans, and especially
to New Yorkers and Washingtonians, how to respond to this
unprecedented wave of serial terror unleashed against the
Jewish state. The time has come to set up the Israeli
equivalent of a Twin Towers Fund, for all the victims of
Palestinian terror. Yes, it is up to political leaders
and military experts to develop the most effective way
to squelch terrorism. But individuals of good conscience
donating time, skill, and money can also help repudiate
terrorism as a tactic.
The hundreds of millions of dollars that flowed into
the various funds established for the Sept. 11 victims did
nothing to defeat Osama Bin Laden. All the good will in
the world could not displace the Taliban from Afghanistan.
Still, the massive outpouring of good wishes and money
made two powerful statements that resonated throughout the
world. The message to the victims was: "You are not alone."
The message to the terrorists was: "Your tactics are so
barbaric, they obscure--and damage--whatever cause you
were trying to advance."
The civilized world must deliver two similar messages
to the Middle East. Israelis are feeling embattled and
abandoned. Over 50 Israelis were murdered during the
holiday of Passover itself, 127 were murdered in March,
and nearly 500 have been murdered since Yasser Arafat
rejected the Camp David offers and chose terrorism
rather than negotiations.
Last week's billiard club bombing adds 16 more names
to a long and depressing list of innocent lives snuffed
out. Nir Lobatin, 29, leaves behind a wife who, after
four years of trying, is on pregnancy bed rest expecting
twins. Anat Trumporush, 36, had just phoned her 10-,
seven-, and five-year old sons to wish them good night.
The next day, her husband Danny asked from his hospital
bed, "How do I tell my children they don't have a mother?"
Shoshana Magmari, 51, was celebrating, on her first night
out "with the girls," having just successfully completed
two years of breast cancer treatment. Pazit and Moshe
Korman were out celebrating their fifth wedding
anniversary. Pazit, 25, has undergone three surgeries
in 36 hours; Moshe is in a coma.
As we well know, each name represents a family
devastated, a world destroyed. The immediate survivors
must know that the world has not abandoned them. The 3,500
innocent bystanders who have been maimed or traumatized,
the hundreds of thousands who are living in fear,
must know that they are not alone.
Moreover, a worldwide embrace of the Israeli victims
would make it clear that bombings of Sbarro pizzerias and
Passover seders, of cafés and supermarkets, of restaurants
and discos, are illegitimate, no matter what the cause.
Support for the victims of these atrocities need not be
political. Donating to the Israeli victims' fund does not
have to constitute an endorsement of Ariel Sharon nor a
rejection of Palestinian nationalism. It is the
tactic—terrorism--and the idea--anti-Semitism--
that must be repudiated.
The truth is that a massive infusion of cash would
also do a world of good. Americans now understand the
deleterious ripple effect catastrophic terrorism has on
a society. Widows and orphans often need help making
ends meet. Those who "only" were injured often face
painful and expensive rehabilitation. Rescue workers
themselves are often traumatized and need counseling.
Equipment must be replaced. New ambulances and mobile
trauma units could shorten response times and save lives.
Beyond the physical and psychic wounds is tremendous
economic damage. Shopkeepers in central Jerusalem are
begging the municipality for tax relief, because people
are afraid to shop downtown. Some restauranteurs and
café owners have started adding security charges, beyond
tax and tip, to help pay for the armed guards posted at
the door. Beyond that, the loss of tourism, the skittish
investors, the distracted workers, all contribute
to a recession.
After dithering for too long, the organized Jewish
community is beginning to mobilize and raise funds. For
months, a small grassroots initiative, the Israel
Emergency Solidarity Fund-One Family, has spearheaded
the drive to support the victims, raising over
$2.5 million. Last month the United Jewish Communities
umbrella group of Jewish federations announced a
multimillion dollar campaign to raise money for Israel,
including some earmarked for victims.
These Jewish initiatives, while salutary, will lack
the universality of a broad-based fund supported by all
concerned citizens. To drive home the message as well
as raise the money, a prominent figure should take the
lead, be it ex-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, ex-President
George H.W. Bush, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, or
Rev. Billy Graham.
Democracies such as the United States and Israel
are particularly vulnerable to terrorism. Terrorists
know how to abuse the openness essential to democratic
societies, while democratic individualism magnifies the
impact of each death, of each casualty. But democracies
also have vast resources that can be mobilized in the
fight against terror.
After Sept. 11, good people throughout the world
enveloped grieving Americans in a massive and welcome
group hug. It is time for Americans-and the rest of
the world-to do the same for grieving Israelis.
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5. A PALESTINIAN STATE ?
NEW SPECIAL SECTION ON OUR SITE
A Palestinian State seems to be a foregone conclusion,
accepted as inevitable by a large majority of observers,
from President George W. Bush to even (with qualifications)
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Recently we're
hearing that "reforms" are necessary in the Palestinian
Authority before such a state would or should be created.
Or that it's premature. What sort of country will that
Palestinian state be?
Is It Inevitable? - Or Is It A Disastrous Idea?
http://christianactionforisrael.org/palstate.html
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6. QUOTES TO NOTE
“The biggest mistake we can make is to reward terror
by giving it a state of its own. A Palestinian state
can sign defence agreements with Iraq, Syria or Libya.
A Palestinian state will control our water supply.
When you give them a state you give them all of this.
We have been afraid of the world’s disapproval.
Saying no to a Palestinian state means saying yes to
a Jewish state and that we’ll do.”
—Former P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu, urging fellow Likud
members to call for the immediate deportation of Yasser
Arafat and to reject forever the notion of a Palestinian
state. [Netanyahu’s motion was passed by the Likud Central
Committee, despite Sharon’s opposition to this policy.]
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7. HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES
RETHINKING THE UNITED NATIONS
Sorry, but I've just about had my fill of the United Nations
and the warped values it promotes. It is increasingly
difficult to understand why the United States must continue
to placate and support this misguided organization. How can
we tolerate lectures on civil rights from this body of
largely freedom-repressing Third World nations whose
anti-Semitism alone disqualifies them from casting verbal
stones at us? I often see the U.N. as little more than an
enormous leech of anti-Western prejudice seeking to suck
the lifeblood out of this country.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/un/rethinking.html
THE PA'S ROTTEN CORE
It is ridiculous to speak of creating a Palestinian nation
at present. A would-be nation should contain, at the very
least, politically independent civic institutions, leaders
committed to the rule of law, and a unified police command.
But even before the Israeli invasion, the Palestinian
Authority had degenerated into a loose confederacy of
terrorist and quasi-terrorist organizations -- Hamas,
Islamic Jihad and Fatah -- competing to shake cash out
of Mr. Arafat.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/may02/rotten.html
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For more great reading, visit our new EDITORIAL ARCHIVE
http://christianactionforisrael.org/previous.html
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Become a WITNESS TO THE NATIONS and let them know what great things
our Lord is doing for Israel and what great things He will continue to
do for her, His firstborn.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/witness/home1.html
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GREAT BOOK OFFER - THE MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL
Is the ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT CONFUSING?
WHERE ARE THE TERRITORIES that everyone
is talking about?
WHAT IS THE "WEST BANK"?
WHAT IS GOD'S POINT OF VIEW?
Nothing can stop God from performing what He has promised
to do (not even the bad press Israel receives).
The Mountains of Israel is an exciting and refreshing new
perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict, clearly outlining
how God is fulfilling His Word in modern-day Israel.
t is highly suitable for the beginning reader on Israel
and for those who have studied Israel from a Scriptural
perspective for many years.
http://christianactionforisrael.org/mountains.html
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