From cafi-list@christianactionforisrael.org Sat May 17 00:15:53 2003 From: cafi-list@christianactionforisrael.org (cafi-list@christianactionforisrael.org) Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 19:15:53 -0400 Subject: CAFI Newsletter #134 Message-ID: <004d01c31c01$196c9f80$2ad02b18@hnsn.phub.net.cable.rogers.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0049_01C31BDF.91DDE040 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_001_004A_01C31BDF.91DDE040" ------=_NextPart_001_004A_01C31BDF.91DDE040 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable CAFI Newsletter Newsletter #134 Friday, May 16, 2003=20 Anti-Incitement Petition The Palestinian authority must be accountable for ending incitement against Israel. Sign the Petition=20 1.. Special - NOT 'PAINFUL CONCESSIONS' BUT SUICIDE=20 2.. A MAP FOR SHIFTING SANDS=20 3.. CODDLING HEZBOLLAH -- AGAIN=20 4.. CONCRETE SEPARATION, NOT ROAD MAPS=20 5.. BUSH'S ROAD MAP TO BITBURG=20 6.. QUOTES AND QUICK NOTES=20 7.. HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES=20 Please help us by making a donation... and if you wish select a Free "Thank You" Gift. This Newsletter also available on our site=20 =20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - NOT 'PAINFUL CONCESSIONS'.. BUT SUICIDE By Stan Goodenough - JNW Editorial - Jerusalem - May 16, 2003=20 Israel lives in the real world in which, if the nation is to = survive, it must call a spade a spade.=20 Let's take a closer look at what it is being called.=20 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon talks about Israel's willingness to = make "painful concessions" in order to try (note try) and make peace = with the Palestinians.=20 Colin Powell calls them "compromises."=20 Other world leaders call them "risks for peace."=20 It's not clear what risks, compromises or painful concessions the = Palestinians have made or are being asked to make in order for them to = reap the benefits of living in peace with their Jewish neighbors.=20 People who never comprised a nation and thus never had a national = home are being given a national home all of their own. In order to = acquire this home, they don't have to pay any money, and when they take = possession of it they will not only get the keys to its doors, but will = get immunity from prosecution for all the pain, suffering, terror and = death they have sowed in their quest to receive it.=20 The compromises/concessions Israel is expected to make comprise a = short but devastating list:=20 Israel, who has lost nearly 1000 of its people to acts of Arab = terror in the past two-and-a-half years alone, and who has seen many = thousands more wounded, must agree to pull its forces out of the = terrorist breeding grounds, thereby radically increasing the risk of = renewed widespread attacks on its people.=20 In actual fact, not only will Israel's withdrawal increase that = risk, it will without question lead directly to more violence resulting = in the loss of more Jewish lives and the dismemberment of more Jewish = families.=20 So the "compromises" Israel must make will include payment in = Jewish blood. Bottom line here: Israel is being asked to accept the = sacrificing of Jewish lives to appease Arab hatred. That the deaths will = do nothing of the kind is really almost academic.=20 That's painful concession number 1.=20 Next, the Arabs insist that their new state will be judenrein - = free of Jews.=20 Israel, who, in wars of self defense took Judea, Samaria and Gaza = from the hands of occupying Arab states who had no right to be there, = and who has since poured billions of dollars into founding beautiful = modern towns and cities with homes for hundreds of thousands of its = people on state-controlled and not privately owned lands, will have to = agree to pull those people out of their homes, transfer them to behind = the 1967 borders, probably in many instances by force. And Israel will = have to find the enormous amounts of money needed to compensate them for = the homes and lands they have had to lose.=20 So, Israel has to give away billions of dollars worth of = cultivated lands and physical structures together with power grids and = water supplies and gardens and roads to Arabs who have not spent a cent = on any of that infrastructure and who insist that it is their right to = inherit it, and that it is Israel's obligation to relinquish those = rights to these communities and to foot the bill for doing so.=20 This is painful concession number 2, another risk Israel must take = for peace. Needless to say, if that risk is not rewarded with peace (as = it won't be) Israel will not be able to walk in and reclaim what is = rightfully hers.=20 And then Israel, whose national identity was forged in Shechem and = Hebron and Bethlehem and Shiloh and Bethel; Israel, the founders of = whose faith lie buried in those Judean hills, and whose ancestors ruled = and reigned over those lands before being driven from them by their = Roman occupiers; the Jewish people, who for millennia, scattered = everywhere across the globe, faithfully prayed every single day to = return to these lands - Israel is being told to close the door on the = 4000 years of its history and kiss those lands goodbye.=20 It matters not how many reams and volumes have been written = claiming the Arabs have national rights to these lands, they have no = such rights simply because they have never possessed these lands. They = are not Arab lands - that is one of the most bald-faced lies of all = time. They are Jewish lands, and the Jewish people are being asked to = surrender them, to give them away, to turn their backs on them and let a = people that has never been a nation take permanent possession of them = for themselves.=20 And to add vinegar to gall, the precious land Israel is expected = to relinquish so painfully will be received as a reward for their hatred = and mass murder by the Arabs who will STILL see the Jews as sons of pigs = and monkeys and who will STILL believe that eventually their Allah will = give the rest of the Jews' lands into their hands.=20 This is concession number three.=20 It's not a misnomer to call these painful concessions. It's a = deception.=20 For what Israel is being asked to "pay for peace" (a peace that = will not come even if the payments are made) are excruciating, agonizing = sacrifices - economic sacrifices when its economy is on the rocks, the = sacrifice of its patrimony, its historical lands and the remains of its = forefathers, and the sacrifice of the lives of its own people.=20 From such sacrifices no nation could recover; if Israel makes = them, it will likely not survive. Certainly no other people has ever = been asked, much less told, to do anything comparable at all.=20 Painful concessions, risks for peace, compromises - these all mean = the same thing: In this instance they all spell "spade." The spade that = would dig Israel's grav=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - 1. A MAP FOR SHIFTING SANDS By Moshe Arens - Ha'aretzDaily.com - May 16, 2003=20 Give a map to a traveler who is in a hostile environment, trying = to find his way through shifting sands, and it isn't likely to be of = much use to him. If, in addition, he is traversing earthquake country, = he might as well throw the map away. Under such circumstances, he should = concentrate on staying alive and using his common sense.=20 Unfortunately, the Middle East now resembles an area of shifting = sands, with an occasional earthquake, more than an area of fixed = topography in which a road map might come in handy.=20 Israelis remember another road map, drawn up at Oslo a few years = ago, designating routes, milestones and dates of arrival. Its architects = received the Nobel Peace Prize for that masterpiece but it has ended up = in history's dustbin. It was overtaken by shifting sands and local = earthquakes before it could become a useful navigational aid.=20 It is difficult to blame Israelis if some of the promoters of the = latest road map arouse a certain degree of suspicion regarding their = intentions and good judgment. The reference is, of course, to three in = the quartet: the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations.=20 The abject behavior of the two leading members of the European = Union - France and Germany - in the months leading up to the U.S. = operation in Iraq will not be quickly forgotten. The mixture of narrow = domestic political interests and just plain poor judgment hardly = qualifies them as Middle East peacemakers. Russia's Putin followed in = their footsteps for reasons best known to himself and Kofi Annan, the UN = secretary-general, also did not distinguish himself during the past few = months.=20 All of them have their own ax to grind and seem to believe that = imposing a road map on Israel will permit them to stage a comeback to = international respectability. That kind of a road map we certainly do = not need.=20 The fact is, the region is unstable and, therefore, unpredictable. = Will Yasser Arafat control his newly anointed Prime Minister Mahmoud = Abbas or will Abbas succeed in breaking loose from Arafat's control? Are = Abbas and his security aide, Mohammed Dahlan, intent on taking on Hamas, = Islamic Jihad, and the Al Aqsa Brigades, and are they capable of = overpowering them? One thing is sure: There will be no progress toward = stability and peace until Palestinian terrorism ends.=20 During the past year, the Israel Defense Forces has proven it is = capable of bringing about a very substantial reduction in acts of = terrorism. Letting the Palestinians complete the job may at first sight = seem like an attractive option, until we remember that this has been = tried before with disastrous results. Now that the IDF is close to = scoring a decisive victory over Palestinian terror, we should not permit = defeat to be pulled from the jaws of victory.=20 Those who do not delude themselves into thinking that a detailed = future can be mapped out for the Middle East might try to gaze over the = horizon and examine some of the possible alternatives. A Palestinian = state is not the only alternative, and may not even be the best for = Israelis and Palestinians alike. For Israelis, it raises the fear of a = terrorist state on Israel's doorstep, a springboard for acts of violence = against Israel's civilian population. For Palestinians, it may mean a = continuation of the disasters that Arafat's terror campaign has foisted = on them these past few years.=20 Although the thought may cause heartburn in Amman, it should be = remembered that Jordan is a Palestinian state in everything but name; = that Judea and Samaria were annexed by Jordan after 1948 and remained an = integral part of Jordan until the Six-Day War; and that Jordanian = citizenship was bestowed on the population there.=20 Establishing a second Palestinian state may not be the only = alternative regional future. At present, there is justified concern that = the inclusion of additional Palestinians in Jordan might destabilize the = Hashemite regime, which has been determined and effective in stamping = out terrorism and maintaining peaceful relations with Israel. But that = risk may decrease in time. It would certainly be easier to resolve some = of the outstanding problems at issue between Israel and the = Palestinians, such as border location and the status of Jerusalem, if = Jordan were to be the partner for negotiations.=20 That does not appear on the road map being marketed at present, = but may in time be more constructive and realistic.=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - 2. CODDLING HEZBOLLAH -- AGAIN Editorial - National Post - Friday, May 16, 2003=20 L National Post Canadian political and media elites have a soft = spot for Hezbollah. Last December, recall, our Foreign Ministry sought = to block the murderous Lebanese outfit from being branded a terrorist = organization because -- notwithstanding its long list of bomb attacks = against Western targets -- the group's non-military wing engages in = various humanitarian and political activities. When Hezbollah was banned = anyway, the CBC tried to impugn the decision. TV reporter Neil = Macdonald, for instance, wondered aloud whether the group was not a = "national liberation movement" unfairly smeared by "supporters" of the = Jewish state (whoever those might be). CBC Radio reporter Evan Dyer, = meanwhile, called Hezbollah part of the "Lebanese establishment." When = later questioned whether it was not also a terrorist group, Mr. Dyer = demurred that the T-word has "[no] place in journalism."=20 Fortunately, such Hezbollah apologism has died away in recent = months -- in part thanks to the group's militant posturing. On March 13, = Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, declared his = organization's slogan "was and will remain 'death to America.' " The = same month, Hezbollah's television network began running music videos = urging suicide attacks against U.S. forces in the region, and an = Argentine court declared there was evidence that Hezbollah had helped = orchestrate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos = Aires that left 85 people dead. (Jeffrey Goldberg had already reported = much the same thing in The New Yorker. But as late as last December, Mr. = Dyer was still insisting on CBC that he was in Buenos Aires when the = bombing occurred, and it "had not been pinned on Hezbollah.")=20 And yet, here we are again. Yesterday, the National Post reported = that an asylum applicant who had helped Israel fight Hezbollah in = southern Lebanon has been branded a "war criminal" by Canadian = immigration authorities. The Lebanese man, identified only as "Mr. X" by = the Immigration and Refugee Board, is not accused of harming Hezbollah = members directly. But he did supply Israeli intelligence with names and = other information about Hezbollah during the period when the Israeli = army occupied part of Lebanon to prevent attacks on northern Israel. = According to a lawyer from Canada's Immigration Ministry, this means Mr. = X was complicit in "crimes against humanity" perpetrated against = Hezbollah members by Israel and an allied militia -- including torture = and murder. The IRB agreed, and Mr. X was denied asylum.=20 For all we know, Mr. X has already been deported to Lebanon. = (Indeed, he may have already been set upon by the Hezbollah thugs = Canadian refugee law was supposed to protect him from.) But if he is = still on Canadian shores, we hope Mr. X appeals the IRB's decision to = the Federal Court. We are not usually a fan of dilatory refugee = proceedings. But this is an exception. Hezbollah is a terrorist group: = Our government has already officially declared as much. Mr. X should not = be barred from Canada for assisting in the fight against it.=20 Indeed, Mr. X is doing exactly what we would expect any Canadian = citizen to do under the circumstances -- provide information to the = authorities about the activities of terrorists. Rather than condemning = him to a life of imprisonment, or worse, in a Lebanese jail, perhaps we = should put him on the payroll of our own intelligence service.=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - 3. CONCRETE SEPARATION, NOT ROAD MAPS By Gerald M. Steinberg - May. 15, 2003=20 After every new terror bombing or drive-by murder committed by = Yasser Arafat's thugs, few Israelis look to Washington and the latest = peace plan for answers.=20 Instead, the immediate response is to check the progress of the = concrete barrier being built along the seam line separating the = Palestinian and Israeli populations in Judea and Samaria.=20 After the catastrophic failure of the Oslo "peace process" three = years ago, the Israeli public has shown increasing support for a = unilateral divorce, heralded by the construction of a fence extending = from Afula to Jerusalem.=20 The government has moved slowly in grasping that this is the best, = and probably the only realistic option. Discussions began five years ago = during the Ehud Barak government, but construction only started last = year, following public demands generated by the inhumanly brutal suicide = attacks. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was and remains less than = enthusiastic about unilateral separation, and funding problems have = slowed the building process.=20 But continued public attention has kept the barrier at the top of = the national agenda. The first 11-kilometer stretch from Jenin to = Mei-Ami and Wadi Ara has been completed, with segments enclosing = Jerusalem to be finished soon.=20 The rest, approximately 600 km., is in various stages of = construction, but should be ready within the year. When complete, the = combination of a concrete wall, trenches, electronic sensors and patrol = roads will certainly impede terrorist access to Israeli cities. While = the attention of diplomats and journalists is focused obsessively and = mistakenly on peace plans and road maps, the reality on the ground is = centered on unilateral divorce through the construction of the = separation barrier. And while Sharon and other officials try to = distinguish between security separation and a political division, once = the barrier is built it will constitute a de-facto border.=20 Just like other borders around the world, whether negotiated or = the result of war, this seam line will have a number of official = crossings for the exchange of goods and, if conditions allow, the = movement of workers, tourists, and other visitors. Instead of merely = walking across from Kalkilya to Kfar Saba, or Ramallah and Modi'in, = Palestinians will require passports and visas, or their equivalent.=20 SINCE NO barrier is impermeable, and some terrorists may still get = through, under or over (using missiles), the IDF is also developing = appropriate security measures. To prevent the manufacture of explosives = and missiles, Israeli military forces will continue to operate as = necessary on the Palestinian side of the barrier. Beyond the reduction = in the terrorist threat, unilateral separation provides a credible = response to the demographic threat, and the centrality of preserving the = Jewish and democratic nature of Israeli society.=20 Without borders, the majority population in a single political = entity between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River will soon be = Palestinian, and eventually, Jews would become a minority in an Arab and = Islamic state. This situation would reverse the historic accomplishments = of the Zionist movement and the reestablishment of Jewish = self-determination. Indeed, some Palestinians see the combination of = perpetual negotiations and terrorism as a way to keep Israel in a = demographic trap.=20 In contrast, unilateral separation will undermine the Palestinian = rejectionist position by visibly demonstrating that the goal of = reversing the 1947 UN Partition Resolution legitimizing the creation of = a Jewish state is unattainable.=20 To disengage politically and socially from most of the Palestinian = population, it will also be necessary to remove isolated settlements on = the other side of the security barrier that are difficult or costly to = defend. Such marginal settlements make poor bargaining chips for = permanent-status negotiations that are unlikely to ever take place. And = at this stage in the conflict, unilateral disengagement and withdrawal = from settlements would not become a reward for terrorism, as some = officials fear.=20 In Arafat's 32-month terror campaign, the Palestinians have = learned that Israel is not on the verge of collapse, and that the = withdrawal from Lebanon actually strengthened Israel's position. The = same is true for closing the isolated settlements and reducing the = highways and roads that the IDF must defend against terror attacks.=20 At the same time, such extensive unilateral disengagement will = reduce the daily friction between the populations, and allow for the = removal of many of the IDF checkpoints between Palestinian villages and = cities.=20 Politically, disengagement will not be easy for any government, = and any effort to close even very small settlements with no security = role will be very difficult for Ariel Sharon, despite the broad support = for such policies nationally. And the Palestinians and their proponents = will continue their propaganda campaign, using terms like apartheid and = racism to demonize the policy of separation. This rhetoric will have to = be countered by demonstrating that disengagement is the only realistic = way to end the hatred and violence that has propelled the conflict for = generations.=20 The process of unilateral disengagement is being ignored by = officials, particularly from Europe, whose sense of self-importance = through pilgrimages to Arafat will be further deflated. However, given = that the status quo is intolerable and the road map is dead in the = water, separation, warts and all, becomes the only remaining realistic = option. The quicker we get on with it, the better for all.=20 The writer is director of the Program on Conflict Management and = Negotiation at Bar-Ilan University. -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - 4. BUSH'S ROAD MAP TO BITBURG by Jack Engelhard - May 15, 2003=20 Ronald Reagan was a beloved president, deservedly, but he made one = huge mistake.=20 "That place, Mr. President, is not your place," warned Elie = Wiesel.=20 But Reagan would not listen. On May 5, 1985, to appease West = German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Reagan visited Bitburg's Kolmeshohe = Cemetery, where some 2,000 German servicemen were buried - among them, = 49 members of Hitler's Waffen SS. The President of the United States = spent eight haunting minutes there in Bitburg, and laid a wreath on that = place.=20 Those eight minutes were costly.=20 According to the Wisdom of Our Fathers: "Do not fraternize with = the wicked, and do not abandon belief in divine retribution."=20 Wiesel, a spiritual man, was not idling when he voiced poetic = emphasis on the word "place." We do not know the "place" where holiness = resides, but we should know where evil dwells.=20 Reagan's tragic mistake is coming around again with a new = president and a new Bitburg, now called the Road Map, the main sponsors = of which are the Europeans (the movers within the Quartet) and the main = purpose of which is to destroy the Land of Israel. This current = president seems as motivated to appease Tony Blair as Reagan was = motivated to appease Helmut Kohl. Just the other day, George W. Bush = said, "America will work without tiring" for the creation of a = Palestinian state.=20 We can only hope this is temporary blindness. Once again a = European booby-trap has been set to ensnare an American president. The = Road Map is to Bush what Bitburg was to Reagan. Reagan had to choose, = and he chose, and now Bush must choose. The blood of Six Million cry out = again for an understanding heart.=20 A vibrant Israel waits. Will Bush extend his arm to that company = of scorners, or will he seek the Bible that he professes to embrace? As = a man of faith, he knows what is above him =C8=CE "an eye sees, an ear = hears, and all our deeds are recorded in a Book." Whichever way he = chooses, it will be remembered, it will be recorded.=20 Only George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, = has the power to hold off the European and Arab stampede to wipe Israel = off the map. Only Bush can say =A1=A7yes=A1=A8 to Israel, =A1=A7no=A1=A8 = to Powell, Blair, Kofi and Abu. To Bush we can only say, echoing Wiesel, = "This Road Map, Mr. President, is not your Road Map." Sharon's spokesman = Ranaan Gissin said: "Don't mess with us." A Higher Voice said it = differently: "Do not touch My anointed ones."=20 This can only be a warning. Let the Europeans trifle with it, and = learn divine retribution, but not our president, whose mighty prestige = should not be up for sale in the marketplace of treachery. There's still = time to turn this around, away, far from "the gathering of evil-doers."=20 To date, this president has been a success, and the prayers of = Christians and Jews are with him. We may even guess that the prayers of = God are with him, for we have it from tradition that God Himself dons = holy garments and "prays." Surely, then, He prays that our president = will serve as His surrogate and "break the yoke of the nations from our = neck, and speedily lead us upright to our land."=20 As Harry S. Truman, of loving memory, held Israel in the palm of = his hand, so does Bush. This is his chance to prosper or wither.=20 There are questions for Bush to answer. But let him not answer for = the sake of America, nor even for the sake of Israel. A Higher Power = sits in judgment, even above the Oval Office.=20 Jack Engelhard is the author of the international bestseller = Indecent Proposal and is a former radio and newspaper editor covering = the Mideast, as well as a former American volunteer in the Israeli = Defense Forces. His columns can be read online at = http://www.comteqcom.com/jackcolumn.php and he can be reached at = JackEngelhard@ComteQcom.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - Get A Free Gift With Your Donation! -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - 5. QUOTES AND QUICK NOTES =93They [the Israeli government] have some comments on the road = map and we will listen to their comments but we do not plan to rewrite = or renegotiate the road map. We believe the best way to [work out = differences] is through the road map.=94 =97U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell during his visit to = Israel, insisting that the road map was the =93only path=94 to peace. = (Reuters, May 13)=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - 6. HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES a.. The Meaning of "Painful Concessions"=20 b.. Appease Process=20 c.. Who Needs the Quartet?=20 d.. Where is Jerusalem?=20 e.. Freeing the Middle East=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - NOTICE: We make EVERY effort to insure our newsletter is not = received unsolicited. If you don't wish to receive this newsletter, = please send an email to newsletter@christianactionforisrael.org with = "REMOVE" in either the subject or body of your message. Please ensure = the email is sent from the address receiving the newsletter! Thank you. We depend ENTIRELY on viewer/reader donations. PLEASE HELP US get = the truth out about Israel and God's chosen people. All needed info at: = http://christianactionforisrael.org/donations.html=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER !=20 Send Comments/Suggestions to = newsletter@christianactionforisrael.org=20 TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE visit = http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/cafi-list=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - =20 ------=_NextPart_001_004A_01C31BDF.91DDE040 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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NOT = 'PAINFUL=20 CONCESSIONS'.. BUT SUICIDEBy Stan Goodenough - JNW Editorial - = Jerusalem -=20 May 16, 2003=20Israel lives in the real = world in=20 which, if the nation is to survive, it must call a spade a spade.=20 Let's take a closer look at what it is being called.=20 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon talks about Israel's willingness to = make=20 "painful concessions" in order to try (note try) and make peace = with the=20 Palestinians.=20 Colin Powell calls them "compromises."=20 Other world leaders call them "risks for peace."=20 It's not clear what risks, compromises or painful concessions = the=20 Palestinians have made or are being asked to make in order for = them to=20 reap the benefits of living in peace with their Jewish neighbors.=20 People who never comprised a nation and thus never had a = national home=20 are being given a national home all of their own. In order to = acquire this=20 home, they don't have to pay any money, and when they take = possession of=20 it they will not only get the keys to its doors, but will get = immunity=20 from prosecution for all the pain, suffering, terror and death = they have=20 sowed in their quest to receive it.=20 The compromises/concessions Israel is expected to make comprise = a short=20 but devastating list:=20 Israel, who has lost nearly 1000 of its people to acts of Arab = terror=20 in the past two-and-a-half years alone, and who has seen many = thousands=20 more wounded, must agree to pull its forces out of the terrorist = breeding=20 grounds, thereby radically increasing the risk of renewed = widespread=20 attacks on its people.=20 In actual fact, not only will Israel's withdrawal increase that = risk,=20 it will without question lead directly to more violence resulting = in the=20 loss of more Jewish lives and the dismemberment of more Jewish = families.=20 So the "compromises" Israel must make will include payment in = Jewish=20 blood. Bottom line here: Israel is being asked to accept the = sacrificing=20 of Jewish lives to appease Arab hatred. That the deaths will do = nothing of=20 the kind is really almost academic.=20 That's painful concession number 1.=20 Next, the Arabs insist that their new state will be judenrein - = free of=20 Jews.=20 Israel, who, in wars of self defense took Judea, Samaria and = Gaza from=20 the hands of occupying Arab states who had no right to be there, = and who=20 has since poured billions of dollars into founding beautiful = modern towns=20 and cities with homes for hundreds of thousands of its people on=20 state-controlled and not privately owned lands, will have to agree = to pull=20 those people out of their homes, transfer them to behind the 1967 = borders,=20 probably in many instances by force. And Israel will have to find = the=20 enormous amounts of money needed to compensate them for the homes = and=20 lands they have had to lose.=20 So, Israel has to give away billions of dollars worth of = cultivated=20 lands and physical structures together with power grids and water = supplies=20 and gardens and roads to Arabs who have not spent a cent on any of = that=20 infrastructure and who insist that it is their right to inherit = it, and=20 that it is Israel's obligation to relinquish those rights to these = communities and to foot the bill for doing so.=20 This is painful concession number 2, another risk Israel = must=20 take for peace. Needless to say, if that risk is not rewarded with = peace=20 (as it won't be) Israel will not be able to walk in and reclaim = what is=20 rightfully hers.=20 And then Israel, whose national identity was forged in Shechem = and=20 Hebron and Bethlehem and Shiloh and Bethel; Israel, the founders = of whose=20 faith lie buried in those Judean hills, and whose ancestors ruled = and=20 reigned over those lands before being driven from them by their = Roman=20 occupiers; the Jewish people, who for millennia, scattered = everywhere=20 across the globe, faithfully prayed every single day to return to = these=20 lands - Israel is being told to close the door on the 4000 years = of its=20 history and kiss those lands goodbye.=20 It matters not how many reams and volumes have been written = claiming=20 the Arabs have national rights to these lands, they have no such = rights=20 simply because they have never possessed these lands. They are not = Arab=20 lands - that is one of the most bald-faced lies of all time. They = are=20 Jewish lands, and the Jewish people are being asked to surrender = them, to=20 give them away, to turn their backs on them and let a people that = has=20 never been a nation take permanent possession of them for = themselves.=20 And to add vinegar to gall, the precious land Israel is = expected to=20 relinquish so painfully will be received as a reward for their = hatred and=20 mass murder by the Arabs who will STILL see the Jews as sons of = pigs and=20 monkeys and who will STILL believe that eventually their Allah = will give=20 the rest of the Jews' lands into their hands.=20 This is concession number three.=20 It's not a misnomer to call these painful concessions. It's = a=20 deception.=20 For what Israel is being asked to "pay for peace" (a peace that = will=20 not come even if the payments are made) are excruciating, = agonizing=20 sacrifices - economic sacrifices when its economy is on the rocks, = the=20 sacrifice of its patrimony, its historical lands and the remains = of its=20 forefathers, and the sacrifice of the lives of its own people.=20 From such sacrifices no nation could recover; if Israel makes = them, it=20 will likely not survive. Certainly no other people has ever been = asked,=20 much less told, to do anything comparable at all.=20 Painful concessions, risks for peace, compromises - these all = mean the=20 same thing: In this instance they all spell "spade." The spade = that would=20 dig Israel's grav=20 1. A MAP FOR SHIFTING SANDSBy = Moshe=20 Arens - Ha'aretzDaily.com - May 16, 2003=20Give a = map to a=20 traveler who is in a hostile environment, trying to find his way = through=20 shifting sands, and it isn't likely to be of much use to him. If, = in=20 addition, he is traversing earthquake country, he might as well = throw the=20 map away. Under such circumstances, he should concentrate on = staying alive=20 and using his common sense.=20 Unfortunately, the Middle East now resembles an area of = shifting sands,=20 with an occasional earthquake, more than an area of fixed = topography in=20 which a road map might come in handy.=20 Israelis remember another road map, drawn up at Oslo a few = years ago,=20 designating routes, milestones and dates of arrival. Its = architects=20 received the Nobel Peace Prize for that masterpiece but it has = ended up in=20 history's dustbin. It was overtaken by shifting sands and local=20 earthquakes before it could become a useful navigational aid.=20 It is difficult to blame Israelis if some of the promoters of = the=20 latest road map arouse a certain degree of suspicion regarding = their=20 intentions and good judgment. The reference is, of course, to = three in the=20 quartet: the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations.=20 The abject behavior of the two leading members of the European = Union -=20 France and Germany - in the months leading up to the U.S. = operation in=20 Iraq will not be quickly forgotten. The mixture of narrow domestic = political interests and just plain poor judgment hardly qualifies = them as=20 Middle East peacemakers. Russia's Putin followed in their = footsteps for=20 reasons best known to himself and Kofi Annan, the UN = secretary-general,=20 also did not distinguish himself during the past few months.=20 All of them have their own ax to grind and seem to believe that = imposing a road map on Israel will permit them to stage a comeback = to=20 international respectability. That kind of a road map we certainly = do not=20 need.=20 The fact is, the region is unstable and, therefore, = unpredictable. Will=20 Yasser Arafat control his newly anointed Prime Minister Mahmoud = Abbas or=20 will Abbas succeed in breaking loose from Arafat's control? Are = Abbas and=20 his security aide, Mohammed Dahlan, intent on taking on Hamas, = Islamic=20 Jihad, and the Al Aqsa Brigades, and are they capable of = overpowering=20 them? One thing is sure: There will be no progress toward = stability and=20 peace until Palestinian terrorism ends.=20 During the past year, the Israel Defense Forces has proven it = is=20 capable of bringing about a very substantial reduction in acts of=20 terrorism. Letting the Palestinians complete the job may at first = sight=20 seem like an attractive option, until we remember that this has = been tried=20 before with disastrous results. Now that the IDF is close to = scoring a=20 decisive victory over Palestinian terror, we should not permit = defeat to=20 be pulled from the jaws of victory.=20 Those who do not delude themselves into thinking that a = detailed future=20 can be mapped out for the Middle East might try to gaze over the = horizon=20 and examine some of the possible alternatives. A Palestinian state = is not=20 the only alternative, and may not even be the best for Israelis = and=20 Palestinians alike. For Israelis, it raises the fear of a = terrorist state=20 on Israel's doorstep, a springboard for acts of violence against = Israel's=20 civilian population. For Palestinians, it may mean a continuation = of the=20 disasters that Arafat's terror campaign has foisted on them these = past few=20 years.=20 Although the thought may cause heartburn in Amman, it should be = remembered that Jordan is a Palestinian state in everything but = name; that=20 Judea and Samaria were annexed by Jordan after 1948 and remained = an=20 integral part of Jordan until the Six-Day War; and that Jordanian=20 citizenship was bestowed on the population there.=20 Establishing a second Palestinian state may not be the only = alternative=20 regional future. At present, there is justified concern that the = inclusion=20 of additional Palestinians in Jordan might destabilize the = Hashemite=20 regime, which has been determined and effective in stamping out = terrorism=20 and maintaining peaceful relations with Israel. But that risk may = decrease=20 in time. It would certainly be easier to resolve some of the = outstanding=20 problems at issue between Israel and the Palestinians, such as = border=20 location and the status of Jerusalem, if Jordan were to be the = partner for=20 negotiations.=20 That does not appear on the road map being marketed at present, = but may=20 in time be more constructive and realistic.=20 2. CODDLING HEZBOLLAH -- = AGAINEditorial=20 - National Post - Friday, May 16, 2003=20L National Post Canadian = political=20 and media elites have a soft spot for Hezbollah. Last December, = recall,=20 our Foreign Ministry sought to block the murderous Lebanese outfit = from=20 being branded a terrorist organization because -- notwithstanding = its long=20 list of bomb attacks against Western targets -- the group's = non-military=20 wing engages in various humanitarian and political activities. = When=20 Hezbollah was banned anyway, the CBC tried to impugn the decision. = TV=20 reporter Neil Macdonald, for instance, wondered aloud whether the = group=20 was not a "national liberation movement" unfairly smeared by = "supporters"=20 of the Jewish state (whoever those might be). CBC Radio reporter = Evan=20 Dyer, meanwhile, called Hezbollah part of the "Lebanese = establishment."=20 When later questioned whether it was not also a terrorist group, = Mr. Dyer=20 demurred that the T-word has "[no] place in journalism."=20 Fortunately, such Hezbollah apologism has died away in recent = months --=20 in part thanks to the group's militant posturing. On March 13, = Hezbollah's=20 Secretary-General, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, declared his = organization's=20 slogan "was and will remain 'death to America.' " The same month,=20 Hezbollah's television network began running music videos urging = suicide=20 attacks against U.S. forces in the region, and an Argentine court = declared=20 there was evidence that Hezbollah had helped orchestrate the 1994 = bombing=20 of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that left 85 people = dead.=20 (Jeffrey Goldberg had already reported much the same thing in The = New=20 Yorker. But as late as last December, Mr. Dyer was still insisting = on CBC=20 that he was in Buenos Aires when the bombing occurred, and it "had = not=20 been pinned on Hezbollah.")=20 And yet, here we are again. Yesterday, the National Post = reported that=20 an asylum applicant who had helped Israel fight Hezbollah in = southern=20 Lebanon has been branded a "war criminal" by Canadian immigration=20 authorities. The Lebanese man, identified only as "Mr. X" by the=20 Immigration and Refugee Board, is not accused of harming Hezbollah = members=20 directly. But he did supply Israeli intelligence with names and = other=20 information about Hezbollah during the period when the Israeli = army=20 occupied part of Lebanon to prevent attacks on northern Israel. = According=20 to a lawyer from Canada's Immigration Ministry, this means Mr. X = was=20 complicit in "crimes against humanity" perpetrated against = Hezbollah=20 members by Israel and an allied militia -- including torture and = murder.=20 The IRB agreed, and Mr. X was denied asylum.=20 For all we know, Mr. X has already been deported to Lebanon. = (Indeed,=20 he may have already been set upon by the Hezbollah thugs Canadian = refugee=20 law was supposed to protect him from.) But if he is still on = Canadian=20 shores, we hope Mr. X appeals the IRB's decision to the Federal = Court. We=20 are not usually a fan of dilatory refugee proceedings. But this is = an=20 exception. Hezbollah is a terrorist group: Our government has = already=20 officially declared as much. Mr. X should not be barred from = Canada for=20 assisting in the fight against it.=20 Indeed, Mr. X is doing exactly what we would expect any = Canadian=20 citizen to do under the circumstances -- provide information to = the=20 authorities about the activities of terrorists. Rather than = condemning him=20 to a life of imprisonment, or worse, in a Lebanese jail, perhaps = we should=20 put him on the payroll of our own intelligence service.=20 3. CONCRETE SEPARATION, NOT ROAD = MAPSBy=20 Gerald M. Steinberg - May. 15, 2003=20After = every new=20 terror bombing or drive-by murder committed by Yasser Arafat's = thugs, few=20 Israelis look to Washington and the latest peace plan for answers. = Instead, the immediate response is to check the progress of the = concrete barrier being built along the seam line separating the=20 Palestinian and Israeli populations in Judea and Samaria.=20 After the catastrophic failure of the Oslo "peace process" = three years=20 ago, the Israeli public has shown increasing support for a = unilateral=20 divorce, heralded by the construction of a fence extending from = Afula to=20 Jerusalem.=20 The government has moved slowly in grasping that this is the = best, and=20 probably the only realistic option. Discussions began five years = ago=20 during the Ehud Barak government, but construction only started = last year,=20 following public demands generated by the inhumanly brutal suicide = attacks. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was and remains less than=20 enthusiastic about unilateral separation, and funding problems = have slowed=20 the building process.=20 But continued public attention has kept the barrier at the top = of the=20 national agenda. The first 11-kilometer stretch from Jenin to = Mei-Ami and=20 Wadi Ara has been completed, with segments enclosing Jerusalem to = be=20 finished soon.=20 The rest, approximately 600 km., is in various stages of = construction,=20 but should be ready within the year. When complete, the = combination of a=20 concrete wall, trenches, electronic sensors and patrol roads will=20 certainly impede terrorist access to Israeli cities. While the = attention=20 of diplomats and journalists is focused obsessively and mistakenly = on=20 peace plans and road maps, the reality on the ground is centered = on=20 unilateral divorce through the construction of the separation = barrier. And=20 while Sharon and other officials try to distinguish between = security=20 separation and a political division, once the barrier is built it = will=20 constitute a de-facto border.=20 Just like other borders around the world, whether negotiated or = the=20 result of war, this seam line will have a number of official = crossings for=20 the exchange of goods and, if conditions allow, the movement of = workers,=20 tourists, and other visitors. Instead of merely walking across = from=20 Kalkilya to Kfar Saba, or Ramallah and Modi'in, Palestinians will = require=20 passports and visas, or their equivalent.=20 SINCE NO barrier is impermeable, and some terrorists may still = get=20 through, under or over (using missiles), the IDF is also = developing=20 appropriate security measures. To prevent the manufacture of = explosives=20 and missiles, Israeli military forces will continue to operate as=20 necessary on the Palestinian side of the barrier. Beyond the = reduction in=20 the terrorist threat, unilateral separation provides a credible = response=20 to the demographic threat, and the centrality of preserving the = Jewish and=20 democratic nature of Israeli society.=20 Without borders, the majority population in a single political = entity=20 between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River will soon be = Palestinian,=20 and eventually, Jews would become a minority in an Arab and = Islamic state.=20 This situation would reverse the historic accomplishments of the = Zionist=20 movement and the reestablishment of Jewish self-determination. = Indeed,=20 some Palestinians see the combination of perpetual negotiations = and=20 terrorism as a way to keep Israel in a demographic trap.=20 In contrast, unilateral separation will undermine the = Palestinian=20 rejectionist position by visibly demonstrating that the goal of = reversing=20 the 1947 UN Partition Resolution legitimizing the creation of a = Jewish=20 state is unattainable.=20 To disengage politically and socially from most of the = Palestinian=20 population, it will also be necessary to remove isolated = settlements on=20 the other side of the security barrier that are difficult or = costly to=20 defend. Such marginal settlements make poor bargaining chips for=20 permanent-status negotiations that are unlikely to ever take = place. And at=20 this stage in the conflict, unilateral disengagement and = withdrawal from=20 settlements would not become a reward for terrorism, as some = officials=20 fear.=20 In Arafat's 32-month terror campaign, the Palestinians have = learned=20 that Israel is not on the verge of collapse, and that the = withdrawal from=20 Lebanon actually strengthened Israel's position. The same is true = for=20 closing the isolated settlements and reducing the highways and = roads that=20 the IDF must defend against terror attacks.=20 At the same time, such extensive unilateral disengagement will = reduce=20 the daily friction between the populations, and allow for the = removal of=20 many of the IDF checkpoints between Palestinian villages and = cities.=20 Politically, disengagement will not be easy for any government, = and any=20 effort to close even very small settlements with no security role = will be=20 very difficult for Ariel Sharon, despite the broad support for = such=20 policies nationally. And the Palestinians and their proponents = will=20 continue their propaganda campaign, using terms like apartheid and = racism=20 to demonize the policy of separation. This rhetoric will have to = be=20 countered by demonstrating that disengagement is the only = realistic way to=20 end the hatred and violence that has propelled the conflict for=20 generations.=20 The process of unilateral disengagement is being ignored by = officials,=20 particularly from Europe, whose sense of self-importance through=20 pilgrimages to Arafat will be further deflated. However, given = that the=20 status quo is intolerable and the road map is dead in the water,=20 separation, warts and all, becomes the only remaining realistic = option.=20 The quicker we get on with it, the better for all.=20 The writer is director of the = Program=20 on Conflict Management and Negotiation at Bar-Ilan=20 University. 4. BUSH'S ROAD MAP TO = BITBURGby Jack=20 Engelhard - May 15, 2003=20Ronald Reagan was a = beloved=20 president, deservedly, but he made one huge mistake.=20 "That place, Mr. President, is not your place," warned Elie = Wiesel.=20 But Reagan would not listen. On May 5, 1985, to appease West = German=20 Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Reagan visited Bitburg's Kolmeshohe = Cemetery,=20 where some 2,000 German servicemen were buried - among them, 49 = members of=20 Hitler's Waffen SS. The President of the United States spent eight = haunting minutes there in Bitburg, and laid a wreath on that = place.=20 Those eight minutes were costly.=20 According to the Wisdom of Our Fathers: "Do not fraternize with = the=20 wicked, and do not abandon belief in divine retribution."=20 Wiesel, a spiritual man, was not idling when he voiced poetic = emphasis=20 on the word "place." We do not know the "place" where holiness = resides,=20 but we should know where evil dwells.=20 Reagan's tragic mistake is coming around again with a new = president and=20 a new Bitburg, now called the Road Map, the main sponsors of which = are the=20 Europeans (the movers within the Quartet) and the main purpose of = which is=20 to destroy the Land of Israel. This current president seems as = motivated=20 to appease Tony Blair as Reagan was motivated to appease Helmut = Kohl. Just=20 the other day, George W. Bush said, "America will work without = tiring" for=20 the creation of a Palestinian state.=20 We can only hope this is temporary blindness. Once again a = European=20 booby-trap has been set to ensnare an American president. The Road = Map is=20 to Bush what Bitburg was to Reagan. Reagan had to choose, and he = chose,=20 and now Bush must choose. The blood of Six Million cry out again = for an=20 understanding heart.=20 A vibrant Israel waits. Will Bush extend his arm to that = company of=20 scorners, or will he seek the Bible that he professes to embrace? = As a man=20 of faith, he knows what is above him =C8=CE "an eye sees, an ear = hears, and=20 all our deeds are recorded in a Book." Whichever way he chooses, = it will=20 be remembered, it will be recorded.=20 Only George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, = has the=20 power to hold off the European and Arab stampede to wipe Israel = off the=20 map. Only Bush can say =A1=A7yes=A1=A8 to Israel, =A1=A7no=A1=A8 = to Powell, Blair, Kofi=20 and Abu. To Bush we can only say, echoing Wiesel, "This Road Map, = Mr.=20 President, is not your Road Map." Sharon's spokesman Ranaan Gissin = said:=20 "Don't mess with us." A Higher Voice said it differently: "Do not = touch My=20 anointed ones."=20 This can only be a warning. Let the Europeans trifle with it, = and learn=20 divine retribution, but not our president, whose mighty prestige = should=20 not be up for sale in the marketplace of treachery. There's still = time to=20 turn this around, away, far from "the gathering of evil-doers."=20 To date, this president has been a success, and the prayers of=20 Christians and Jews are with him. We may even guess that the = prayers of=20 God are with him, for we have it from tradition that God Himself = dons holy=20 garments and "prays." Surely, then, He prays that our president = will serve=20 as His surrogate and "break the yoke of the nations from our neck, = and=20 speedily lead us upright to our land."=20 As Harry S. Truman, of loving memory, held Israel in the palm = of his=20 hand, so does Bush. This is his chance to prosper or wither.=20 There are questions for Bush to answer. But let him not answer = for the=20 sake of America, nor even for the sake of Israel. A Higher Power = sits in=20 judgment, even above the Oval Office.=20 Jack Engelhard is the author = of the=20 international bestseller Indecent Proposal and is a = former radio=20 and newspaper editor covering the Mideast, as well as a former = American=20 volunteer in the Israeli Defense Forces. His columns can be read = online=20 at http://www.comteqcom.com= /jackcolumn.php=20 and he can be reached at JackEngelhard@ComteQcom.com= A>. 5. QUOTES AND QUICK NOTES=93They [the Israeli government] have some = comments on=20 the road map and we will listen to their comments but we do not = plan to=20 rewrite or renegotiate the road map. We believe the best way to = [work=20 out differences] is through the road = map.=94=97U.S.=20 Secretary of State Colin Powell during his visit to Israel, = insisting that=20 the road map was the =93only path=94 to peace. (Reuters, May 13)=20 6. HIGHLIGHT ARTICLES
NOTICE: We make EVERY effort = to insure=20 our newsletter is not received unsolicited. If you don't wish to = receive=20 this newsletter, please send an email to newsletter@christ= ianactionforisrael.org=20 with "REMOVE" in either the subject or body of your message. = Please ensure the email is sent from the address = receiving=20 the newsletter! Thank = you.We=20 depend ENTIRELY on viewer/reader donations. PLEASE HELP US get the = truth=20 out about Israel and God's chosen people. All needed info at: http://christ= ianactionforisrael.org/donations.html=20 PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER !=20 Send Comments/Suggestions to newsletter@christ= ianactionforisrael.org=20 TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE visit http://www.pa= irlist.net/mailman/listinfo/cafi-list=20 |