Mideast
Peace Process' Biggest Myth - Benny Morris (National Interest)
Did the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin on Nov. 4,
1995, reverse the course of history and definitively halt the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process? In September 1993, Israel & the PLO exchanged
letters of mutual recognition, with Arafat stating that the PLO
"recognize[s] the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and
security" and committing to renunciation of terrorism and "a peaceful
resolution of the conflict." He added that the clauses of the PLO Charter
denying Israel's right to exist were "now inoperative."
But a week
later, Arafat, unaware that he was being recorded, told a Muslim audience in
Johannesburg that the agreements the PLO had just signed were like the pact
Mohammed had signed with a Jewish tribe in Hijaz in the year 628, a tactical
move the Muslims abrogated unilaterally a few years later. Arafat also called
for "Jihad" (holy war) to recover Jerusalem. He seemed to be saying
that he would renege upon the agreements as soon as it suited his purposes.
In July
2000 at Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Arafat a sovereign,
albeit largely demilitarized, Palestinian state in 91% of the West Bank and
100% of Gaza, with administrative control over parts of Jerusalem - and Arafat
said "no."
In
December 2000, President Clinton upped the ante, offering Arafat - in the
so-called "Clinton Parameters" - 94-96% of the West Bank, Gaza, and
sovereignty over the Arab-speaking neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, including
the bulk of the Old City, and Palestinian sovereignty over the surface area of
the Temple Mount. The Palestinians not only said "no," but proceeded
to launch the Second Intifada. Some 1,400 Israelis were blown up, knifed and
shot to death, and many more were wounded, during the following three years.
In 2005, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally pulled
Israel's troops and settlements out of the Gaza Strip. In 2008, Ehud Olmert
offered Mahmoud Abbas 97% of the West Bank and 100% of Gaza, with a Palestinian
capital in east Jerusalem. But Abbas rejected the offer.
If one believes that the Palestinian national movement, represented
by Hamas and Fatah respectively, has never reconciled itself to sharing
Palestine with a Jewish state, whatever the exact territorial configuration,
then the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin probably made very little difference.
As they had rejected a two-state solution back in 1937 and 1947, so they would
have rejected such solutions after 1995. There was nothing that Rabin could conceivably
have done or offered that would have persuaded Arafat or his successors to
acquiesce in a two-state solution and to sharing Palestine with a Jewish state.
Netanyahu Blasts Ariel Sharon At Memorial
Marking Former PM’s Death: Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu attacked former prime minister Ariel Sharon’s 2005 withdrawal from
the Gaza Strip at a memorial ceremony marking two years since Sharon’s death on
Mon. 29 Feb. 2016, at the Knesset. Netanyahu, who quit Sharon’s government to
protest the withdrawal, said leaving the Gaza Strip did not achieve Sharon’s
goals of bringing about security and peace. “In Gaza, we received a base for
Hamas terrorism adjacent to our territory,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately,
transferring control over and responsibility for Gaza to the Palestinians not
only did not set us on the path to peace, it enhanced the arming of terrorist
organizations. Our obligation is to at least learn the necessary lessons from
this episode.” Netanyahu said one of the lessons was that any land Israel
leaves in the future must be demilitarized. (Jerusalem Post) info@jnnnews.com
The
Gaza Strip Withdrawal: A Brief Review: Former Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon decided to test the hypothesis that Israelis could trade "land for
peace." In August 2005, he ordered the evacuation of all Israelis from
Gaza - forcibly removing those who refused to quietly leave homes, businesses,
community hubs and synagogues. He hoped Gaza would become a peaceful place for
the Palestinians to focus on economic development. If that had happened, the
argument for Israeli withdrawal from the Judea & Samaria would have become
compelling. Instead it led to wars between Gaza and Israel in 2008, 2012, and
2014. Gaza became a base for terrorist groups and to this day, Israel’s
southern and coastal communities remain victims of terrorist rocket fire and
terrorist tunnel threats. Based on this experience, most Israelis rightfully
fear that withdrawal from Judea & Samaria would be disastrous. From Judea
& Samaria, all of Israel's major population centers could be targeted.
Many residents of Jewish communities expelled during the 2005
Gaza Disengagement are still unemployed and living with their families in
cramped caravans or small crowed apartments. Jewish refugees dispelled from
their land by the Sharon Administration left behind empty houses and mature
enterprises for Gaza Arabs to take over. Thousands of Palestinians had years of
experience working for Jewish employers. With innovation and work from Arab
farmers, what the Jews left behind could have been a paradise of industry and
financial support for Gazans. Instead they broke up greenhouses and sold the
parts, neglected the agriculture and destroyed the houses. A few former Jewish
worship centers – those that were left standing, continue to be used as
terrorist training camps in which kidnapping and urban warfare is
practiced. (Ynet)
Reserve Soldier Attacked Outside Home: Roi Harel stepped outside his home in the settlement of Eli, in Judea & Samaria, on his way to reserve duty, on Wed. 2 March, 2016 and encountered two terrorists. He recounted the incident to media sources: "I was stepping out of the house, going to reserve duty, at around 5:00am," Harel said. "I opened the door, and saw two terrorists with hatred and anger in their eyes. They attacked me with clubs and axes, and entered my home. After a couple of seconds I came to, and I ran after them as they had almost reached my children's bedrooms. I managed to push them outside the house and I locked my door." Harel was lightly wounded in the attack, later being evacuated to a hospital in Jerusalem, to receive treatment for cuts to his head.
"I was very shaken," he said,
"It's not a simple feeling, especially because my wife and five children
were inside the house. I'm OK, and being treated." The two terrorists were
17-year-olds from a village near Nablus. They are the 12th pair of
terrorists to carry out attacks since the beginning of the current terror wave.
The two assailants
later hid in a yard. When they saw soldiers, they came out and attempted to
stab them. The soldiers then shot and killed the two. (Jerusalem Post) Praise be to God for an entire family’s narrow escape from
another terrorist bloodbath! Please continue to pray according to scripture that
terrorist attacks will be averted in Jerusalem and Judea & Samaria. “Our
God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.” Ps
68:20
Source for above item: info@jnnnews.com
Jerusalem News Service - Barry & Batya Segal
Hamas Is to Blame for Gaza's Terrible State, Not Israel - Ben-Dror Yemini
Gaza has a 40% unemployment rate, no electricity during most of the
daylight hours, and polluted water that does not always flow. The only relief
comes in the form of hundreds of supply trucks that arrive daily from Israel.
This is the last barrier that prevents hunger. Don't say it's Israel's fault.
The day Israel left Gaza was supposed to be a turning point. For the first time
in history, the Palestinians got independence and sovereignty over territory.
Egypt and Jordan, which controlled Gaza and the West Bank, respectively, from 1949 to 1967, never dreamed of giving the Palestinians independence. An independent Gaza could have become a model of welfare and prosperity. They could have sent a message to the whole world - and particularly Israel - that they can be trusted. This did not happen. They chose the industry of death and hate.
Anywhere an Islamic organization takes over, the result is destruction and ruin. It has nothing to do with Israel. It has to do with the essence of political Islam. It does not know how to build. It knows how to destroy. The same is happening in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, the Sinai, and Libya. (Ynet News)
A Muslim IDF Officer
Defends Israel
Israel
Today Staff, www.IsraelToday.co.il
Like most local Arab Muslims, Alaa
Waheeb was brought up to believe the Jews living around him were his implacable
foes, a blood-thirsty enemy that desired nothing but ruin for his own people.
“I
was raised to believe the worst things about Jews, and, had I not eventually
met and worked alongside them, I might still believe those things today,”
Waheeb wrote in an op-ed for the UK’s
Jewish News.
Fortunately, Major Waheeb did get the
chance to dispel those myths, and today proudly serves as the highest ranking
Muslim in the Israel Defense Forces. He was in the UK in March to speak to
students on local campuses during the annual hate-fest known as Israel
Apartheid Week.
Maj.
Waheeb noted that during his campus lectures, he was joined by a fellow IDF soldier,
a Jewish “medic who has treated both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian
terrorists without distinction.” The two were billed as “the Muslim who
protects Jewish lives, and the Jew who saves Muslim lives.”
Very
astutely, Waheeb insisted that “there’s only one country in the Middle East
that could produce a pair like that – and it sure as hell isn’t an apartheid
state.”
Churches
are bleeding to death because of their refusal to love and support the Jewish
people.
|
by Charles Gardner |
An internal report from the Presbyterian
Church USA, noted for its anti-Israel stance, pre-dicts that it stands to lose
400,000 members over the next five years.1
Methodists in the UK, whose leaders passed a resolution boycotting Israel some
years ago, have also seen a dramatic decline in numbers, and are now making
things worse by advocating a boycott of Cadbury 2
– an insult to the memory and considerable legacy of the chocolate family’s
Christian ethos and significant contribution to Britain’s wealth.
Not only that, but one of their number,
Richard Cadbury, was a man dedicated to the cause of Jewish mission. After
being taken ill with diphtheria during a tour of Egypt in 1899, he was cared
for at a Jerusalem hospital (now a school) run by the Church’s Mission among
Jewish people where, sadly, he died. But out of gratitude for the kindness with
which he was treated, he left them a tidy sum of money. This enabled them to
extend the facility to include a new ward for the treatment of infectious
diseases and employ an extra nurse, thereafter known as the Cadbury nurse.3
Best-selling author Bill Bryson, in his latest book The
Road to Little Dribbling4,
says he hadn’t realized how Quakers 5
in 18th century Britain were a bullied and downtrodden minority excluded from
politics and academia. But they made their mark in industry and commerce,
particularly in banking (Barclays and Lloyds) and the manufacture of chocolate
(Cadbury, Fry, and Rowntree).
“They and many others made Britain a more
dynamic and wealthy place entirely as a consequence of being treated shabbily
by it,” he writes with his usual penetrating wit. And in that respect they had
much in common with Jewish communities of the era. At any rate, Richard Cadbury
loved the Jews because of his devotion to Jesus.
Scripture is quite clear that those who
bless the seed of Abraham will themselves be blessed, but those who curse them
will be judged (Genesis 12:3). It is perfectly evident that both Methodists and
Presbyterians, tragically now more influenced by worldly wisdom than biblical
values, are under a curse of their own making. The worldwide blessing brought
about by Methodist founder John Wesley’s bold proclamation of the gospel (along
with his support for Israel) has been lost.
In his notes on Romans, Wes-ley wrote: “So
many prophecies refer to this grand event (of the restoration of Israel) that
it is surprising that any Christian can doubt of it. And these are greatly
confirmed by the wonderful preservation of the Jews as a distinct people to
this day. When it is accomplished, it will be so strong a demonstration, both
of the Old and New Testament revelation, as will doubtless convince many
thousand Deists in countries nominally Christian.” 6
Remember that he was writing this in the
latter part of the 18th century, almost a quarter of a millennium ago, without
the benefit of witnessing these very things taking place before his eyes. Yet
in our generation we have been immensely privileged to watch God’s chosen
people, after nearly 2,000 years of dispersion, returning home to their ancient
land from every corner of the world.
The biblical prophets foretold all this –
in fact half of all Old Testament prophecies relate to Israel’s restoration. Followers
of Jesus the Jew ought to rejoice that, in fulfillment of ancient prophecies,
his brothers in the flesh are back in the land. For the Scripture also makes
clear that once they have all returned (which is still to happen), Jesus will
reveal himself to the entire nation as the Messiah for whom they have long been
waiting. And then he will return to rule and reign with all believers – both
Jew and Gentile – who have bowed the knee before him.
Israel is not perfect, nor should we expect
her to be. For the most part, Israelis are not yet following their Messiah, but
Christians who claim to be disciples of Jesus should know better. We must love
those whom God loves, including our enemies (Matthew 5.44). You who would boycott
Israeli goods (which adversely affects Palestinians too, as many rely on Israel
for their employment), do you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Bible
commands? (Psalm 122.6)
Survey: Israel is 11th Most Happy Nation on
Earth
March 18, 2016 | www.IsraelToday.co.il
Israel is caught in an intractable conflict and situated in a region
that is crumbling amidst religious extremist violence. And yet, Israelis are
amongst the happiest people on earth, according to the annual World Happiness
Report.
This year’s iteration of the
global survey had Israel once again ranked as the 11th most happy
nation, a position the Jewish state has held for the past three years. The 10
countries that ranked ahead of Israel were, in order: Denmark, Switzerland,
Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Holland, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden.
The most unhappy nations were:
Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria
and Burundi.
The United States ranked at
number 13, Germany came in at 15, England took the number 23 spot and France
was only the 32nd most happy nation.
By way of regional comparison,
Israel’s closest geographical neighbors were ranked 80 (Jordan), 93 (Lebanon), and 120 (Egypt).
ZOA Supports Call to
Halt Islamic Immigration
The Zionist Organization of America
labeled the Anti-Defamation League “troubling and perplexing”
for opposing Trump’s call to halt Syrian immigration, “when FBI director James
Comey testifies that we can’t vet them and that 2 percent of them are members
of ISIS and 30% of them sympathize with ISIS, while Pew polls show over 75% of
them are anti-Semites. The ADL should be fighting anti-Semites and
Israel-haters, not helping to bring them to America to join the anti-Israel
lobby. Does the ADL enjoy seeing horrific Muslim activities in Europe against
women and others?” asked ZOA President Morton Klein.
17 Yemenite Jews Secretly
Airlifted to Israel in End to 'Historic Mission'
Ilan
Ben Zion, timesofisrael.com, 3-21-16
Only 50 community members
remain in war-torn Arab state after covert operation involving Jewish Agency,
State Department. The final group of Jewish immigrants from Yemen arrived
in Israel accompanied by an ancient Torah scroll, March 20, 2016.
The Jewish Agency on Monday brought a group
of some of the last remaining Yemenite Jews to Israel in a covert operation,
hailing the end of a decades-long “historic mission” to “rescue” the Jews of
the country.
The 17 members of the dwindling community
were flown in following a year-long secret operation involving the Jewish
Agency for Israel and the US State Department.
The group comprised the final batch of
approximately 200 Yemenite Jews brought to Israel by the Jewish Agency in
recent years, the organization said....
Koran Says Israel Belongs
to Jews
In Sura (chapter) 5:20-21, we read,
"And when Musa (Moses) said to his people, 'O my people! Remember the
favor of Allah upon you, when He raised prophets among you and made you kings
and gave you what He had not given to any other among the nations. O my people!
Enter the holy land which Allah has prescribed for you and turn not your backs,
for then you will turn back losers.' " Then in Sura 17:104, Allah tells the
Jews to go to Israel: "And We [1] said to the Israelites, Dwell in the
land." The Koran (Quran) also has negative comments about the Jewish
people, along with positive comments. Most of the very negative teachings in
Islam about Jews is found not in the Koran, but in the Hadith. The Hadith was
written many years after Mohammed died. Since it was not authored by Mohammed,
it is less authoritative. It supposedly contains the words, actions, and habits
of Mohammed.
Poland’s Hidden Jews
Celebrate Purim in the Holy Land
By www.breakingisraelnews.com
“And
it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing
and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt bethink thyself
among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And thou
shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all
that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul; that then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have
compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples,
whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.” Deut. 30:1-3 (The Israel Bible™)
In an especially powerful ingathering of the exiles, 15 young Polish Jews arrived in
Israel on March 21, just in time to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. This
inspiring feat was accomplished through Shavei Israel, an organization
dedicated to finding lost Jews all over the world and helping them to
rediscover their roots. This special group only recently discovered their
Jewish identity and their first contact with the Holy Land will be a powerful
part of their journey home.
Before
World War II, Poland boasted over three million Jews, the largest
Jewish population in the world at that time. With a 700 year history, it was
the center of Ashkenazi Judaism. Sadly, 90% of Poland’s Jews perished in the
Holocaust and subsequent communist oppression forced most of the remaining Jews
to flee for their lives.
Many
Jews placed their children in Christian orphanages or with sympathetic neighbors in
order to save them from Nazi persecution. The majority of these children grew
up with no knowledge of their true families. Meanwhile, the few remaining Jews
often had to hide or deny their Jewish roots.
Today,
there are approximately 4,000 Jews registered as living in Poland, but experts
suggest there may be tens of thousands of others throughout the country. Since
the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of democracy in Poland, many have begun
to investigate their family’s Jewish origins.
Shavei Israel has held two-week summer
semi-nars for the “Hidden Jews of Poland,” but this is the first time the
participants get a taste of Purim in Israel. It was timed so the participants
can celebrate two days of the joyous holiday, since an additional day is celebrated in
Jerusalem, known as Shushan Purim. This is a uniquely Israeli aspect of the
holiday, only celebrated in Jerusalem.
“The story of Purim revolves around the heroism of the Biblical Queen
Esther, who was forced to conceal her Jewish identity for many years before
proudly reasserting it,” said Shavei Israel Founder and Chairman Michael
Freund, adding that, “This makes Purim especially meaningful to these young
Poles, who have shown great courage and determination in embracing their
Jewishness publicly and reaffirming their connection with Israel and the Jewish
people.”
The trip is led by Shavei Israel’s former
emissary to Poland Rabbi Yitzchak Rapoport, who is also a licensed tour guide
in Israel. The group will visit all the highlights Israel has to offer,
including Haifa, Rosh Hanikra and Acre, and will spend Purim in Tel Aviv with
Chabad and at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.
Dubai Security Chief: Independent Palestinian State Would Be Another Failed Arab State - Maayan Groisman
The Head of General Security for the Dubai Emirate, Lt.-Gen. Dahi
Khalfan Tamim, stated on Twitter on Monday that a Palestinian state led by
Arabs would join the list of failed states in the Arab world. In light of what
he described as Arab incompetence in running a state and the distinguished
economic talents of Jews, Tamim claimed that a joint Jewish-Palestinian state
will only prosper under Israeli leadership. He added, "We should not treat
Jews as our enemies. We should treat them as cousins with whom we have a
controversy over land inheritance." (Jerusalem Post)
Foreign
Investment In Israel Up 90% In 2015: Foreign
direct investment in Israel totaled $11.6 billion in 2015, a 90% increase over
2014. Some 270 multinational companies have set up shop in Israel, establishing
over 320 world-class R&D centers. Israel's workforce has the highest
concentration of PhDs and engineers per capita in the world, and Israel invests
more than any other country in R&D as a percentage of GDP - 4.2%. (Times of
Israel) “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you
power to get wealth.” Deut. 8:18
Sulton
Sidi Mohammed V, King of Morocco, Friend of the Jews
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mohammed
V (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961) (Arabic:
محمد الخامس) was Sultan
of Morocco
from 1927–53, exiled from 1953–55, where he was again recognized as Sultan upon
his return, and King from 1957 to 1961. His full name was Sidi
Mohammed ben Yusef, or Son of (Sultan) Yusef,
upon whose death he succeeded to the throne. He was a member of the Alaouite Dynasty.
On 20 August 1953, the French
who were occupying Morocco at the time forced Mohammed V and his family into
exile on Corsica.
His uncle, Mohammed Ben Aarafa, was placed on the throne.
Mohammed V and his family were then transferred to Madagascar
in January 1954. Mohammed V returned from exile on 16 November 1955, and was
again recognized as Sultan after active opposition to the French protectorate.
In February 1956 he successfully negotiated with France
for the independence of Morocco, and in 1957 took the title of King.
During the Holocaust, the pro-Nazi Vichy Government of France controlled Morocco.
In 1941, they attempted to enact laws that would discriminate against Moroccan
Jews, setting quotas on the number of Jewish doctors and lawyers, ejecting
students from French schools and forcing many Jews living in the European
quarters to move to “Jewish areas”.
Mohammed V told Jewish leaders that Vichy
laws singling out the Jews were inconsistent with Moroccan law. He believed
that Jews should be treated equally with Muslims. He emphasized that the
property and lives of the Moroccan Jews remained under his protection. “There
are no Jews in Morocco. There are only subjects,” the King was reported to have
said. In a blatant show of defiance the King insisted on inviting all the
rabbis of Morocco to the 1941 throne celebrations. Due to his strong stance,
Vichy administrators were unable to implement their discriminatory laws and the
Jewish community was saved.
Later on, in response to anti-Jewish
rhetoric in the wake of the creation of the State of Israel,
Mohammed V warned Muslims not to hurt Moroccan Jews,
reminding them that Jews had always been protected in Morocco.
Editor's Note: In stark contrast to most Arab
nations, Morocco did not persecute its Jewish minority. King Mohammed V even
gave sanctuary to European Jews who made it to Morocco during the Holocaust,
when other nations (including the USA) had their borders virtually sealed to
Jews trying to escape almost certain death. Also, most Arab nations expelled
most of their Jewish populations after World War II, and particularly after the
reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948. Mohammed V refused to do so,
protecting his Jewish subjects from persecution and expulsion. RAC
~ New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms