Today I'm going to start with the
good stuff I never wrote about yesterday, because I was too heavy-hearted about
the terror attack. What we must keep in mind -- why my sharing that good
stuff is important -- is that in spite of the obscenities and the horrors, we
are also making progress in some very positive ways.
Those who are devoted to Jewish
rights in the Land saw this as a significant victory this week:
The Judea and Samaria Council for
Higher Education voted on Tuesday that Ariel University Center be accorded
full accredited status as a university. It will be the first institute of
higher learning to be accorded this status beyond the Green Line.
Credit:Israelnationalnews
~~~~~~~~~~
Certain criteria had to be met
before this status could be achieved and the institute has been working towards
this goal since the 2004-2005 academic year. It boasts 26 departments in three
schools, and serves over 14,000 students -- many of whom live within the Green
Line and a percentage of whom are Arab. All of the degrees it confers
are recognized by the Council for Higher Education.
In the main, objections
voiced to creating Ariel University were not based on objective claims
of academic inadequacy. Rather, the fight that was fought was
political in nature.
Consider this statement
by Zahava Gal-On of the far left Meretz party, who
objected that granting university status to this academic center would
"bring about academic boycotts of Israel."
"The Judea and Samaria Council for
Higher Education, which excels in 'occupation studies,' has brought Israel to a
moral low point by establishing an institution on stolen land."
Ah well...
~~~~~~~~~~
The accreditation vote passed in
spite of the fact that the planning and budget committee of
Israel's Council for Higher Education had recommended against it. But then,
that Council had previously demonstrated a reluctance to discuss academic issues
beyond the Green Line, which is what had brought into creation the Judea
and Samaria Council.
Minister of Education Gideon Sa'ar
(Likud) wholeheartedly endorsed the accreditation of the school as a
university. And Yuvel Steinitz (Likud), Finance Minister announced on
Sunday that he would "pave the way" by allocating 50 million shekels in
special funds to be utilized over the next two years.
Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), Coalition
Chair, who heads the Knesset Lobby for Higher Education, declared that
"...justice has been done in a historic process that transformed Ariel into an
Israeli university.”
The commander of the IDF Central
Command must still sign off on this, but, according to my information,
there is not expected to be a problem.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ariel, which is where the
university is located, is a city of substantial proportions in Samaria.
Founded in 1978, it now boasts a population of 18,000 plus. The
fourth largest city beyond the Green Line, and the largest in Samaria, it
was dubbed the Capital of Samaria by PM Netanyahu.
Credit:
ivarfjeld
Not infrequently over
recent years, Ariel has been discussed with regard to whether it would be
retained, were there to be an agreement with the Palestinian Arabs.
And this, my friends, is at the heart of the matter.
~~~~~~~~~~
In another sphere, we are seeing
progress as well:
A letter that Attorney General
Yehuda Weinstein wrote a few weeks ago has just come to light; it had been sent
to the Jerusalem municipality, the Jerusalem police, and the Antiquities
Authority.
Credit:israelhayom
The thrust of his message, which
went to legal advisers: The Temple Mount is under Israeli
law.
Well, of course, you might
think. After all, Israel has sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, and, last
we looked, that's where the Temple Mount is. But the Wakf is forever attempting
to assert its authority on the Mount and frequently makes comments regarding the
fact that Israel has no jurisdiction there.
Simply stating this principle,
which drew an angry response from the PA, is hugely important.
~~~~~~~~~~
However, we've got a way to go
yet. as Weinstein also wrote that authorities must be "extra
sensitive" in applying Israeli laws to the site. This gives altogether too
much leeway to those who would prefer to back off from the subject or accede to
Arab demands:
For, while Weinstein indicated
that all laws -- or stipulations -- of the Planning and Building Committee
and the Antiquities Authority are applicable to the Mount and must be adhered
to, he also said that any time authorities need to "test the application of
law in the Temple Mount complex," they should be pragmatic and take the area’s
unique status into consideration.
There are claims being made by
Jerusalem police that a presence is maintained on the Mount at all times so that
the Antiquities Authority has full access to what is going on. The issue
at present is repair work being done at the Dome of the Rock.
But it cannot possibly be that the
Antiquities Authority signed off on all the damage that was done to priceless
archeological artifacts on the Mount in recent years. Could it be that
there is more stringency applied to supervision now than was the case
previously? I would love to think so, but do not yet know.
~~~~~~~~~~
An update with regard to the
terror attack in Bulgaria:
Authorities are now convinced that
the attack was perpetrated by a suicide bomber. There are airport security
videos of a man pacing around back and forth for an hour before the attack, and
there is one body among those on the bus that was more severely
injured than the others -- suggesting the bomb originated at this
source.
The presumed bomber was carrying a
US passport and other identification, but it has all proved to be
counterfeit. American authorities are working along with Israeli and
Bulgarian security on this issue.
Identification of those Israelis
who were killed is still on-going. Israeli authorities have brought home
33 injured Israelis and all
those who were not hurt in the attack.
Bulgarian authorities are saying
that the Mossad didn't warn them there might be an attack. I am sure the
Mossad didn't -- it has already been announced that there was no
intelligence on this.
~~~~~~~~~~
In a press conference this
afternoon, Prime Minister Netanyahu pointed out that women and children on
vacation have been targeted for no other reason than that they are
Jewish.
He thanked the Bulgarians for
their assistance, saying that "Bulgaria is a true friend of the State of
Israel."
"It's time that all the world's
countries speak the truth clearly and say that Iran is behind the wave of
terror. A terror state should not have nuclear weapons. The most
dangerous country in the world will have the most dangerous weapon on the face
of the earth. (Emphasis added)
"We'll continue to chase after the
culprits and exact a heavy price from them. Israel is a strong country."
We're waiting...
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be
reproduced only
with
proper attribution.
This material
is transmitted by Arlene only to persons who have requested it or agreed to
receive it. If you are on the list and wish to be removed, contact Arlene and
include your name in the text of the message.
No comments:
Post a Comment