EMET NEWS SERVICE WEEKLY UPDATE
[ http://www.shamar.org/emet/ ]
Summary of the Week Ending: March 19, 2005/8 Adar II 5765
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A weekly summary of news and events concerning Israel and the Jewish people."This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the L-rd your G-d is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:8-9
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=====================================================================[+] UPDATED ARTICLES/COMMENTARIES ON OUR WEB SITE:
:: THE SLOGAN 'LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE' IS A RETURN TO THE SIN OF THE SPIES
http://www.shamar.org/emet/analysis/people_decide.htmAccording to Women in Green spokesperson Nadia Matar, the campaign for a referendum is actually spreading calumny about the Land, and is a return to the Biblical account of the sin of the spies.
[+] THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
:: 12,000 DEMONSTRATE IN GUSH KATIF
:: RELOCATION OF RESIDENTS INTO THE GAZA STRIP PROHIBITED
:: IDF MOVES TO CONTROL MEDIA DURING RELOCATION
:: TERRORIST GROUPS DECLARE 'TRUCE'
:: CONGRESS DENIES PRESIDENT'S FUNDING OF PA/PLO
:: ABBAS TO VISIT BUSH'S RANCH
:: JEWS PURCHASE MORE LAND IN JERUSALEM
:: CRAZY SETTLERS
:: ISRAEL HANDS OVER JERICHO ... AGAIN
:: ISRAELI CABINET AUTHORIZES DESTRUCTION OF 24 'ILLEGAL' OUTPOSTS=====================================================================
** 122 DAYS UNTIL THE GAZA/N. SAMARIA RELOCATION PLAN GOES INTO EFFECT
:: 12,000 DEMONSTRATE IN GUSH KATIF: The call of prominent Rabbis to hold a special fast and prayer in favor of Gush Katif was answered by hundred of thousands of people in Israel and around the world. They read Tehilim [Psalms] and a special prayer which was written in favor of Gush Katif and the integrity of the Land of Israel. The climax of the day was this afternoon when more than 12,000 people came from all over Israel to fill the town of Neve Dekalim in Gush Katif. This special gathering brought leading Rabbis including former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, Rabbi Dov Lior and political figures such as Knesset Member Rabbi Benny Eilon and Rabbi Yitzhak Levy in a mass show of support and solidarity for the fight against Sharon's Gaza relocation plan. The streets all around the main synagogue where the event took place were overflowing with people from all over Israel to pray for Gush Katif and let the residents of Gush Katif know that they are not alone. People
wearing orange shirts, banners, and flags filled all the streets as busloads from all over the country along with cars loads full of people packed every street. [Dror Vanunu/Katif Region Development Fund]
.....................................................................:: RELOCATION OF RESIDENTS INTO THE GAZA STRIP PROHIBITED: The Head of the Southern Command, Lt. Gen. Dan Harel, signed a decree Thursday, March 17, 2005, prohibiting the relocation of Israeli citizens into the Gaza Strip. The decree was signed in accordance to the decision made by the political echelon and as part of the preparations to implement the government decision to carry out the evacuation plan. According to the Head of the Southern Command decree, effective immediately, Israeli citizens are prohibited from relocating their residence into the Gaza Strip. The decree is effective immediately, the army said, although a military official said on condition of anonymity that there may be no effective way of knowing whether someone who enters the coastal strip leaves at the end of the day. At the beginning of May, after Passover, the IDF plans to declare the Gaza Strip a closed military zone. The army will then be able to prevent people who do not have proof of residence in
the Strip from entering it. The move is meant to prevent those who oppose the relocation plan from entering the area to prevent the evacuation of Jewish settlements. The number of people attempting to change their registered address to one of the settlements slated for evacuation has risen sharply in recent months.Meanwhile, despite the decree, MK [Member of Knesset] Effi Eitam and his family announced Shabbat that they would be moving from the Golan Heights to the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip. Eitam and his family requested last week that the Interior Ministry approve the change of address. [IDF Spokesperson/IMRA, The Canadian Press, Ha'aretz]
.....................................................................:: IDF MOVES TO CONTROL MEDIA DURING RELOCATION: Bracing for a huge media blitz for the July disengagement, Israeli military and government officials will impose curbs on press coverage, declaring the area around the settlements a closed military zone and "embedding" news crews with IDF units [this would allow the government to better control the media--ed]. IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Ruth Yaron estimates that some 4,000 members of the foreign press from all around the world will be here in July to cover the disengagement, almost doubling the number that usually come here to cover dramatic events, such as the Gulf War. For the purpose of the disengagement's media coverage, the IDF has decided to adopt a similar approach taken by the U.S. Army in Iraq, where members of the press tagged along with the fighting forces. At the same time, two media centers will be set up close to the Gaza Strip. One will be managed by the Government Press Office, which will issue foreign j
ournalists (those who arrive there directly from the airport) with press cards. The second media center will be set up at a distance of some 10 minutes' drive from Gush Katif and will be manned by representatives of the IDF, the Foreign Ministry, the Prime Minister's Office and the Israel Police. [Ha'aretz]
.....................................................................:: TERRORIST GROUPS DECLARE 'TRUCE': Israel welcomed a temporary truce declared by 'Palestinian' terrorists and promised to hold its fire, but demanded that the Palestinian Authority eventually dismantle the armed groups. The 13 main 'Palestinian' groups announced in Cairo Thursday that they would halt attacks on Israel for the rest of the year, in an important boost for 'Palestinian' leader Mahmoud Abbas as he tries to resume peace talks. If the truce holds, it would be the longest period of calm since fighting erupted in late 2000. Under Thursday's declaration, Hamas and Islamic Jihad - the main terrorist groups - preserved a loophole allowing them to end the ceasefire if Israel doesn't reciprocate. The declaration conditions the truce on Israel stopping all military operations against 'Palestinians' and releasing the 8,000 'Palestinian' prisoners it holds. Abbas has refused to confront the terrorists. He hopes that offering them a role in 'Palestinian' decision making will
lead them to disarm. [AP]
.....................................................................:: CONGRESS DENIES PRESIDENT'S FUNDING OF PA/PLO: The U.S. Congress approved a foreign-aid package this week forbidding any direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA/PLO) and denying the president the authority to waive restrictions in the interest of national security. (However, a Republican congressional aide told the FORWARD that the waiver would likely be restored during negotiations between House and Senate members. Bush can still apply his waiver discretion to the remaining $55 million [of the original $75 million] that is still available in the 2005 fiscal year budget for PA/PLO aid. President Bush has used his waiver to provide assistance to the PA/PLO twice in the past year and a half.) The legislation was approved 388-to-44 in the House of Representatives and is expected to sail through the Senate. The House approved $200 million in aid, to be channeled to nongovernmental projects outside the control of the P.A., as part of an $81 billion in emergency spend
ing bill to help pay the costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sources also said that the driving force behind the rejection of direct aid was House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, who at one point threatened to cut all aid to the 'Palestinian' territories out of the bill. As a result of DeLay's efforts, the U.S's financial assistance to the 'Palestinians' will continue to be funneled - as it was in the past decade - through the U.S. Agency for International Development to contractors hired by the American government, to underwrite a list of development projects in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza prepared by the State Department. [What about the billions that were stolen by Yasir Arafat? Why is the U.S. government not going after that money?--ed][The Forward]
.....................................................................:: ABBAS TO VISIT BUSH'S RANCH: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been invited to U.S. President George W Bush's Texas ranch on April 11, the White House has announced. They will discuss the Middle East peace process and the war on terrorism, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. Bush normally uses his ranch for top level diplomatic meetings and to reward important allies. [BBC]
.....................................................................:: JEWS PURCHASE MORE LAND IN JERUSALEM: Two Jewish groups have bought up a block in an Arab-populated section of the Old City of Jerusalem, MAARIV reports. The properties were purchased from the cash-strapped Greek Orthodox Church. The area in question is located at and near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City. The Greek Orthodox Church has been facing legal, financial and political difficulties of late. Though the Church owns many valuable properties in Jerusalem, its financial state has deteriorated over the past year. Among its holdings are the land on which the Knesset was built, the Prime Minister's and the President's official residences, and locations in the Old City, Har Homa and prominent western Jerusalem neighborhoods. [Arutz Sheva]
.....................................................................:: CRAZY SETTLERS: We're crazy settlers.
At least, that's what everyone tells us. That's what the newspaper says. That's what the new "security fence map" shows. That's even what relatives say when we invite them to visit us.
But it's strange, because I don't feel like a crazy settler. I do believe there are crazy settlers. I just don't think I'm one of them. Nevertheless, I figured you would be interested to know what the average day of a crazy settler is like.
I wake up in the morning, go to shul, come home and help Gilla (a little) get the kids ready for school. Then I drive to work. The kids walk to school.
Is that crazy?
When I get to work, I make myself a cup of coffee, check my e-mails and conduct the business of the day. Sometimes, I have the privilege of driving to Tel Aviv for a meeting, in which case I get to enjoy the unbelievable views that Israel affords me.
Is that crazy?
If I'm in the office, I eat lunch (sometimes) and daven Mincha. Every once in a while, someone knocks on my office door and walks into my office while I'm praying. When they see what I'm doing, they just close the door again.
After Mincha, I continue working, often until 8:00 or 9:00pm. Maybe that's a little crazy, but not in a "settler" kind of way.
Then, I turn off my computer, put on my coat and leave. I get in my car and drive home. When I get home, I spend some time with Gilla (and the kids, if they're still awake). Then, I daven Maariv, lock the front door and go to sleep.
I mean, what's crazy about that day? What's settler-like about that day?
I'm just living the life of someone who takes seriously the words of our prayers and of our Torah. I believe that this is the land promised to our forefathers, and that it is where all Jews should be living. Isn't that what we read in our prayers? In our Tanach (Bible)?
So, I don't really consider myself a crazy settler, even though you might. But, as I said before, I do believe there are crazy settlers.
I'll tell you what's crazy. Crazy is having to remove your kipah when you get to the office, or not even feeling comfortable enough to wear one around your own town. Crazy is having to pack an extra suitcase filled with canned food for any vacation you take. Crazy is raising millions of dollars for new synagogue buildings outside Eretz Yisrael, yet complaining about not having enough money to make Aliyah. Crazy is having a problem with the lower job salaries in Israel, and then spending $40,000 (or more) of your American salary on education for your kids.
To me, crazy settlers are people who call themselves Zionists, yet spend $250,000 redoing a house in some town outside Eretz Yisrael. A crazy settler is someone who toils away cultivating their yard even when there's no religious significance to doing so. A crazy settler is someone who spends an hour (or more) each morning and an hour (or more) each afternoon sitting in his or her car, driving kids to and from school.
Perhaps that crazy settler is closer than you think. [Go'el Jasper]
.....................................................................:: ISRAEL HANDS OVER JERICHO ... AGAIN: Israeli troops took down their Star of David flag, removed a roadblock and handed the town of Jericho to 'Palestinian' control Wednesday. A last-minute argument over formal handover documents reflected the distrust that has built up during four years of conflict. [AP]
.....................................................................:: ISRAELI CABINET AUTHORIZES DESTRUCTION OF 24 'ILLEGAL' OUTPOSTS: The Israeli cabinet has authorized the destruction of 24 illegal outposts in Judea and Samaria. The disposition of 81 others will be decided by a committee headed by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. What divides the two sets of outposts is the date upon which each was established. In accepting the Road Map peace plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed that any outpost created after he began his term of office in March 2001 is to be deemed 'illegal.' [The Media Line]
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"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the L-rd, take no rest for yourselves." Isaiah 62:6
Emet News Service (ENS) is a weekly review and analysis of news and events relating to Israel and the Jewish people. "Emet" is the Hebrew word for "truth". As the nations gather against Israel and the Jewish people, ENS is dedicated to bringing forth the truth of what is happening in the world today.