Isi Leibler
Alarm bells should be ringing in response to the findings of the recent survey of American Jewish attitudes toward Israel compiled by Professors Stephen M. Cohen and Ari Kelman on behalf of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Foundation Based on a questionnaire of 1,700 American Jews of all ages, the report excludes the Orthodox (who are today more positively inclined toward Israel than ever) but does include intermarried couples who traditionally display little resonance toward the Jewish state.
The findings are highly disconcerting. Only 54% of the under-35 category was "comfortable" with the concept of a Jewish state, in contrast to 81% of those over 65. More disturbingly, over half of those under 35 would not even be inclined to regard the destruction of Israel as a "personal tragedy." The findings demonstrate that non-Orthodox American Jews under the age of 35 are moving from indifference to outright alienation with respect to their attitude toward the Jewish state. The report challenges the viability of sustaining any meaningful long term Israel-Diaspora relationship.
In retrospect, some erosion was predictable. The memory of the Holocaust has receded from public consciousness and young Jews today simply lack any appreciation of the implications of the powerlessness which prevailed among Jews before the state was created.
Nor does the current generation share the emotional attachments to Israel of their parents who witnessed the Zionist struggle and battles for survival climaxing with the euphoria of the Six Day War and the trauma of the Yom Kippur War. In addition, the combination of media demonization and burgeoning anti-Semitism have influenced many youngsters to transfer their support for Israelis as noble underdogs, toward identifying with what is commonly referred to as the "anti Zionist chic."
WHILE WE were aware that this was the prevailing atmosphere in Europe, we had hoped that America, home of the largest, most affluent and influential Diaspora community in Jewish history, would be different. Besides, in contrast to the intensification of hatred against Israel in Europe, over the past decade, American public support for Israel has reached a higher level than ever before. The report also suggests that in the absence of birthright israel visits, the situation would have been considerably worse.
And yet, beyond religious observance, a connection to Israel remains to this day the most important element in Jewish identity. Thus, unless negative attitudes toward Israel are reversed, a further snowballing impact on assimilation is inevitable.
HOW SHOULD we endeavor to reverse these negative trends? First, the government of Israel must become more directly involved. From the onset of the Oslo Accords, successive Israeli governments had distanced themselves from the Diaspora, on the false grounds that with an "irreversible peace process" a reality, mobilizing on behalf of Israel by Diaspora Jews was superfluous and even counterproductive.
Despite subsequent efforts to reverse the situation by Rabbi Melchior and Natan Sharansky respectively as ministers of Diaspora Affairs, by and large, government leaders have taken little interest in overseas Jewish communities beyond lauding potential donors.
In fact today, hardly any Israeli or Jew in the Diaspora would even be aware that Yitzhak Herzog retains a Diaspora Affairs portfolio because all his resources and energies are directed toward his Social Welfare Ministry.
Likewise the World Zionist Organization which should have filled the vacuum, until recently was more concerned to promote the excessive remuneration of its senior Israeli executives than supporting Zionist organizations in the Diaspora. As a consequence, Zionist federations in most Jewish communities simply faded from Jewish life.
DIASPORA Jewish leaders themselves are also at fault. In recent years, many became increasingly passive in response to the activities of the Jewish defamers of Israel in their midst. Some, in the name of freedom of expression and pluralism, even provided communal platforms for Jews to delegitimize the Jewish state.
For example, in the United Kingdom, the organizers of the successful Limmud education program previously invited Jacqueline Rose, the Jewish author of a fiercely anti-Israeli tract, to present her viewpoint. This year their keynote speaker is former Knesset Speaker and former head of the Jewish Agency, Avrum Burg, who shocked even his left-wing associates by alleging that the Jewish state behaves like Nazi Germany and urging Israelis to obtain foreign passports.
Another example is the head of the principal think tank of Anglo Jewry, a Jew who unashamedly promotes a bi-national not a Jewish state.
In the United States, Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the radical journal Tikkun, which publishes vehement anti-Israeli propaganda, continues to receive invitations to address Jewish audiences in temples and community centers.
The New Israel Fund which raises over $25 million from American Jews has the gall to describe itself as a "Zionist" organization which "loves Israel." Yet the JTA reports that it recently hosted an Israeli Arab who stated publicly that the 60th anniversary of Israel represented a "Nakba" (disaster) and expressed regret that Israeli Arabs had "not fought the occupation seriously."
The same organization also promoted Michael Karayanni, an Arab-Israeli Hebrew University law professor who urged American Jewish audiences to support replacing the Israeli flag and anthem imposed on Arab Israelis in 1948. Yet the New Israel Fund still continues to receive funding from Jewish Federations.
And then there is the Israel Policy Forum, regarded as a part of the American Jewish establishment and supported by some Israeli ministers (Deputy Premier Haim Ramon will be speaking to the group next month). Yet it shamelessly lobbies the White House to pressure our government to provide further unilateral concessions to the Palestinians and continually attacks AIPAC for promoting pro-Israel policies.
THE EXTENT of the degradation of Zionist values was exemplified in controversies which recently raged on American campuses over whether it was appropriate for Hillel and other Jewish bodies to provide platforms for Israeli draft-dodgers to address American students in order to justify defiance of IDF orders to serve in the territories.
Jews against Zion are hardly a new phenomenon in Jewish history. They follow in the tradition of Jewish apostates who turned against their own people in the Middle Ages, of self-hating Jews such as Karl Marx, and more recently Jewish communists who applauded Stalin's crimes against the Jewish people and defended Soviet anti-Semitism. The difference is that in the past such people were marginalized from Jewish life and no reputable Jewish organization would conceivably have provided them with platforms in order to demonize their own people.
We must end this madness by launching global educational campaigns to endow our youngsters with an appreciation of what Jewish life was like before the rebirth of the Jewish state and provide them with an understanding of a genuine Israel narrative and the morality of our case.
Let there be no illusions. If the process of alienation from the Jewish state is not reversed, the Diaspora is doomed.
The writer is a former chairman of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress and a veteran international Jewish leader.
ileibler@netvision.net.il
Sending our youth the wrong signals
Isi Leibler , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 12, 2007
Alarm bells should be ringing in response to the findings of the recent survey of American Jewish attitudes toward Israel compiled by Professors Stephen M. Cohen and Ari Kelman on behalf of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Foundation. Based on a questionnaire of 1,700 American Jews of all ages, the report excludes the Orthodox (who are today more positively inclined toward Israel than ever) but does include intermarried couples who traditionally display little resonance toward the Jewish state.
The findings are highly disconcerting. Only 54% of the under-35 category was "comfortable" with the concept of a Jewish state, in contrast to 81% of those over 65. More disturbingly, over half of those under 35 would not even be inclined to regard the destruction of Israel as a "personal tragedy." The findings demonstrate that non-Orthodox American Jews under the age of 35 are moving from indifference to outright alienation with respect to their attitude toward the Jewish state. The report challenges the viability of sustaining any meaningful long term Israel-Diaspora relationship.
In retrospect, some erosion was predictable. The memory of the Holocaust has receded from public consciousness and young Jews today simply lack any appreciation of the implications of the powerlessness which prevailed among Jews before the state was created.
Nor does the current generation share the emotional attachments to Israel of their parents who witnessed the Zionist struggle and battles for survival climaxing with the euphoria of the Six Day War and the trauma of the Yom Kippur War. In addition, the combination of media demonization and burgeoning anti-Semitism have influenced many youngsters to transfer their support for Israelis as noble underdogs, toward identifying with what is commonly referred to as the "anti Zionist chic."
WHILE WE were aware that this was the prevailing atmosphere in Europe, we had hoped that America, home of the largest, most affluent and influential Diaspora community in Jewish history, would be different. Besides, in contrast to the intensification of hatred against Israel in Europe, over the past decade, American public support for Israel has reached a higher level than ever before. The report also suggests that in the absence of birthright israel visits, the situation would have been considerably worse.
And yet, beyond religious observance, a connection to Israel remains to this day the most important element in Jewish identity. Thus, unless negative attitudes toward Israel are reversed, a further snowballing impact on assimilation is inevitable.
HOW SHOULD we endeavor to reverse these negative trends? First, the government of Israel must become more directly involved. From the onset of the Oslo Accords, successive Israeli governments had distanced themselves from the Diaspora, on the false grounds that with an "irreversible peace process" a reality, mobilizing on behalf of Israel by Diaspora Jews was superfluous and even counterproductive.
Despite subsequent efforts to reverse the situation by Rabbi Melchior and Natan Sharansky respectively as ministers of Diaspora Affairs, by and large, government leaders have taken little interest in overseas Jewish communities beyond lauding potential donors.
In fact today, hardly any Israeli or Jew in the Diaspora would even be aware that Yitzhak Herzog retains a Diaspora Affairs portfolio because all his resources and energies are directed toward his Social Welfare Ministry.
Likewise the World Zionist Organization which should have filled the vacuum, until recently was more concerned to promote the excessive remuneration of its senior Israeli executives than supporting Zionist organizations in the Diaspora. As a consequence, Zionist federations in most Jewish communities simply faded from Jewish life.
DIASPORA Jewish leaders themselves are also at fault. In recent years, many became increasingly passive in response to the activities of the Jewish defamers of Israel in their midst. Some, in the name of freedom of expression and pluralism, even provided communal platforms for Jews to delegitimize the Jewish state.
For example, in the United Kingdom, the organizers of the successful Limmud education program previously invited Jacqueline Rose, the Jewish author of a fiercely anti-Israeli tract, to present her viewpoint. This year their keynote speaker is former Knesset Speaker and former head of the Jewish Agency, Avrum Burg, who shocked even his left-wing associates by alleging that the Jewish state behaves like Nazi Germany and urging Israelis to obtain foreign passports.
Another example is the head of the principal think tank of Anglo Jewry, a Jew who unashamedly promotes a bi-national not a Jewish state.
In the United States, Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the radical journal Tikkun, which publishes vehement anti-Israeli propaganda, continues to receive invitations to address Jewish audiences in temples and community centers.
The New Israel Fund which raises over $25 million from American Jews has the gall to describe itself as a "Zionist" organization which "loves Israel." Yet the JTA reports that it recently hosted an Israeli Arab who stated publicly that the 60th anniversary of Israel represented a "Nakba" (disaster) and expressed regret that Israeli Arabs had "not fought the occupation seriously."
The same organization also promoted Michael Karayanni, an Arab-Israeli Hebrew University law professor who urged American Jewish audiences to support replacing the Israeli flag and anthem imposed on Arab Israelis in 1948. Yet the New Israel Fund still continues to receive funding from Jewish Federations.
And then there is the Israel Policy Forum, regarded as a part of the American Jewish establishment and supported by some Israeli ministers (Deputy Premier Haim Ramon will be speaking to the group next month). Yet it shamelessly lobbies the White House to pressure our government to provide further unilateral concessions to the Palestinians and continually attacks AIPAC for promoting pro-Israel policies.
THE EXTENT of the degradation of Zionist values was exemplified in controversies which recently raged on American campuses over whether it was appropriate for Hillel and other Jewish bodies to provide platforms for Israeli draft-dodgers to address American students in order to justify defiance of IDF orders to serve in the territories.
Jews against Zion are hardly a new phenomenon in Jewish history. They follow in the tradition of Jewish apostates who turned against their own people in the Middle Ages, of self-hating Jews such as Karl Marx, and more recently Jewish communists who applauded Stalin's crimes against the Jewish people and defended Soviet anti-Semitism. The difference is that in the past such people were marginalized from Jewish life and no reputable Jewish organization would conceivably have provided them with platforms in order to demonize their own people.
We must end this madness by launching global educational campaigns to endow our youngsters with an appreciation of what Jewish life was like before the rebirth of the Jewish state and provide them with an understanding of a genuine Israel narrative and the morality of our case.
Let there be no illusions. If the process of alienation from the Jewish state is not reversed, the Diaspora is doomed.
The writer is a former chairman of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress and a veteran international Jewish leader.
ileibler@netvision.net.il
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Most Israelis think Knesset should remove prime minister
A majority of Israelis believe that the Knesset should suspend or topple Prime Minister Ehud Olmert due to the criminal investigations against him, according to a recent poll conducted by Ma'agar Mohot. The poll was sponsored by the Israel Policy Center for Promoting Parliamentary Democracy and Jewish Values in Israeli Public Life. The Jerusalem-based center is headed by Prof. Yitzhak Klein, who also advises the Knesset Law Committee.
In the poll of more than 1,000 people representing a sample of the Israeli adult population, some 55 percent of respondents said the Knesset should remove Olmert because of the investigations. Israelis were divided on the question on mostly political lines, with Likud supporters overwhelmingly in favor and Kadima and Labor backers against. Among recent immigrants, 78% were in favor of removing Olmert and only 22% were opposed.
A majority (53%) agreed with the statement that the main reason Olmert was seeking an agreement with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was because he was worried about his personal and political future, and not about Israel's national interest. Some 57% of Kadima and Labor supporters disagreed with the statement.
The poll's numbers regarding support for concessions to the Palestinians were bad news for Olmert as well. Some 65% of respondents said that due to the lessons of 2005's disengagement from the Gaza Strip, they opposed a large withdrawal in the West Bank.
Some 61% said they opposed removing IDF soldiers from most of the West Bank and giving control over the territory to the Palestinians.
If Israel did withdraw, some 55% believe the territory would be used to fire rockets at Israelis and 65% believe there is a high or very high chance that Hamas would take control of the area. Some 77% said Abbas lacked the power to prevent attacks from the West Bank.
In the poll of more than 1,000 people representing a sample of the Israeli adult population, some 55 percent of respondents said the Knesset should remove Olmert because of the investigations. Israelis were divided on the question on mostly political lines, with Likud supporters overwhelmingly in favor and Kadima and Labor backers against. Among recent immigrants, 78% were in favor of removing Olmert and only 22% were opposed.
A majority (53%) agreed with the statement that the main reason Olmert was seeking an agreement with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was because he was worried about his personal and political future, and not about Israel's national interest. Some 57% of Kadima and Labor supporters disagreed with the statement.
The poll's numbers regarding support for concessions to the Palestinians were bad news for Olmert as well. Some 65% of respondents said that due to the lessons of 2005's disengagement from the Gaza Strip, they opposed a large withdrawal in the West Bank.
Some 61% said they opposed removing IDF soldiers from most of the West Bank and giving control over the territory to the Palestinians.
If Israel did withdraw, some 55% believe the territory would be used to fire rockets at Israelis and 65% believe there is a high or very high chance that Hamas would take control of the area. Some 77% said Abbas lacked the power to prevent attacks from the West Bank.
Leaflets at Haifa U call for Arabs to reoccupy Jerusalem
Arab students distribute pamphlets calling for the reoccupation of capital; material not sanctioned by university. 'They are guilty of incitement,' says MK Miller Arab students attending the Haifa University distributed on Tuesday a leaflet titles "The Palestinian Student's Journal," which featured texts regarding the reoccupying of Jerusalem.
The leaflet was distributed, they said, to mark both the anniversary of Former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's death, as well as the Arab Keffiyeh Day.
The flyers – unlike the university's Arab Students' Union's leaflets – were not sanctioned by the university and campus security was able to seize and confiscate a portion of them.
MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu) told Ynet that he had the material reviewed by a legal counsel and that he intended to file a police report against its distributors.
"The students distributing this material are guilty of incitement and are not worthy to be neither the university's students nor citizens of Israel," said Miller.
"I intend to demand President Shimon Peres' involvement in denouncing the leaflets' writers and distributors," he added.
Haifa University told Ynet that "when any such material is found on campus grounds it is immediately confiscate by our security guards."
The leaflet was distributed, they said, to mark both the anniversary of Former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's death, as well as the Arab Keffiyeh Day.
The flyers – unlike the university's Arab Students' Union's leaflets – were not sanctioned by the university and campus security was able to seize and confiscate a portion of them.
MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu) told Ynet that he had the material reviewed by a legal counsel and that he intended to file a police report against its distributors.
"The students distributing this material are guilty of incitement and are not worthy to be neither the university's students nor citizens of Israel," said Miller.
"I intend to demand President Shimon Peres' involvement in denouncing the leaflets' writers and distributors," he added.
Haifa University told Ynet that "when any such material is found on campus grounds it is immediately confiscate by our security guards."
Erekat: Palestinians will not accept Israel as a Jewish state
Alright, then. What were the negotiations to be about again? "Erekat: We won't accept Jewish Israel," Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday rejected Israel's demand that the Palestinians acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state.
You'll want to read this next part sitting down.
"There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined," Erekat told Radio Palestine.
Just ask all those secular republics in the Islamic world.
Additionally, Erekat said, when agreements are signed, the Palestinians would demand that Israel make a commitment in writing to releasing all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office said in response that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insists that the Palestinians recognize Israel's Jewish identity, as a condition for Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.
Posted by Marisol at November 13, 2007 12:42 AM
Print this entry | Email this entry | Digg this | del.icio.us
Comments
(Note: Comments on articles are unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jihad Watch or Robert Spencer. Comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying may be summarily deleted. However, the fact that particular comments remain on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Robert Spencer of the views expressed therein.)
The negotiations are to be about Israels total and unconditional surrender.What else?
Have there ever been any other negotiations?
Posted by: Dar al-harb at November 13, 2007 1:13 AM
"'There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined,'" Erekat told Radio Palestine."
-- from the article above
Muslims in every one of the Muslim-majority countries that belong to the Organization of the Islamic Conference will beg to differ.
A phrase comes to mind from a play by Griboyedov: "Vri, da znaj meru." Which is to say: "Lie, but know when to stop."
Clearly, Saeb Erekat is used to lying. It's his modus operandi and his hobby and his passion. But he needs to know when to stop.
As for Griboyedov, the celebrated Russian playwright who wrote "Woe From Wit," which contains the phrase I borrowed above, while on a Russian diplomatic mission in Teheran, and attempting (I recall) to help rescue some Christian women who had sought the assistance of the Russian diplomats, he was beaten to death by a Muslim mob.
Those who were part of the excitable mob, one more "vostochnij narod" or "Eastern people" whom the Russians had always found unpredictable, excitable, frothing-at-the-mouthable, were, of course, Muslims, "Basurmany."
Possibly those who make Russian policy for Iran will realize that in the attitudes toward non-Muslims, and the hysteria of reactions, today's Iranian leaders do not differ significantly from those in that Persian mob who beat Griboyedov to death.
Posted by: Hugh at November 13, 2007 1:47 AM
The Jihaad is real.
The trillionair sheiks pay the mullas to run the brainwashing Madrassahs to teach as many lower class and poorer middle class moslem males that to die for allah is the greatest accomplishment. They are trained from as young an age as possible...and sent out to suicide bomb for allah all over the world ...and to fight the jihaad which the trillionaire sheiks want to eliminate as many young moslem males as possible ...in order to create the greatest number of single moslem women to fill their huge harems and the huge harems of their many sons and grandsons.....a gigantic number.
The sheiks send out harem recruiters to scout for the most and best moslem females for their vast harems. These recruiters are paid well if they succeed. Also sometimes the women are drugged and brainwashed to believe they should be in harems.
That is the root cause of the jihaad.
The question is...how do we shut down all the hate-kill brainwashing Madrassahs?
Perhaps only a one world government would have such power to do that...eh?
New world order?
But one with a good and careing true democracy government which benefits everyone.
Can humanity accomplish that?
I like to think so.
Or else...maybe if this message goes all around this planet..somehow it could get real loud to the extent that it might possibly reach the ears and eyes of the unfortunate madrassah boys...maybe opening their eyes to what how and why they are being destroyed...so that the wealthy sheiks can put their potential brides into their huge harems.
Then perhaps they will opt out of jihaadism...just perhaps.
You'll want to read this next part sitting down.
"There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined," Erekat told Radio Palestine.
Just ask all those secular republics in the Islamic world.
Additionally, Erekat said, when agreements are signed, the Palestinians would demand that Israel make a commitment in writing to releasing all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office said in response that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insists that the Palestinians recognize Israel's Jewish identity, as a condition for Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.
Posted by Marisol at November 13, 2007 12:42 AM
Print this entry | Email this entry | Digg this | del.icio.us
Comments
(Note: Comments on articles are unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jihad Watch or Robert Spencer. Comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying may be summarily deleted. However, the fact that particular comments remain on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Robert Spencer of the views expressed therein.)
The negotiations are to be about Israels total and unconditional surrender.What else?
Have there ever been any other negotiations?
Posted by: Dar al-harb at November 13, 2007 1:13 AM
"'There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined,'" Erekat told Radio Palestine."
-- from the article above
Muslims in every one of the Muslim-majority countries that belong to the Organization of the Islamic Conference will beg to differ.
A phrase comes to mind from a play by Griboyedov: "Vri, da znaj meru." Which is to say: "Lie, but know when to stop."
Clearly, Saeb Erekat is used to lying. It's his modus operandi and his hobby and his passion. But he needs to know when to stop.
As for Griboyedov, the celebrated Russian playwright who wrote "Woe From Wit," which contains the phrase I borrowed above, while on a Russian diplomatic mission in Teheran, and attempting (I recall) to help rescue some Christian women who had sought the assistance of the Russian diplomats, he was beaten to death by a Muslim mob.
Those who were part of the excitable mob, one more "vostochnij narod" or "Eastern people" whom the Russians had always found unpredictable, excitable, frothing-at-the-mouthable, were, of course, Muslims, "Basurmany."
Possibly those who make Russian policy for Iran will realize that in the attitudes toward non-Muslims, and the hysteria of reactions, today's Iranian leaders do not differ significantly from those in that Persian mob who beat Griboyedov to death.
Posted by: Hugh at November 13, 2007 1:47 AM
The Jihaad is real.
The trillionair sheiks pay the mullas to run the brainwashing Madrassahs to teach as many lower class and poorer middle class moslem males that to die for allah is the greatest accomplishment. They are trained from as young an age as possible...and sent out to suicide bomb for allah all over the world ...and to fight the jihaad which the trillionaire sheiks want to eliminate as many young moslem males as possible ...in order to create the greatest number of single moslem women to fill their huge harems and the huge harems of their many sons and grandsons.....a gigantic number.
The sheiks send out harem recruiters to scout for the most and best moslem females for their vast harems. These recruiters are paid well if they succeed. Also sometimes the women are drugged and brainwashed to believe they should be in harems.
That is the root cause of the jihaad.
The question is...how do we shut down all the hate-kill brainwashing Madrassahs?
Perhaps only a one world government would have such power to do that...eh?
New world order?
But one with a good and careing true democracy government which benefits everyone.
Can humanity accomplish that?
I like to think so.
Or else...maybe if this message goes all around this planet..somehow it could get real loud to the extent that it might possibly reach the ears and eyes of the unfortunate madrassah boys...maybe opening their eyes to what how and why they are being destroyed...so that the wealthy sheiks can put their potential brides into their huge harems.
Then perhaps they will opt out of jihaadism...just perhaps.
Former IDF Galilee Formation Commander Opens Old Wounds
Former IDF Galilee Formation Commander Gal Hirsch, 42, spoke publicly about the Second Lebanon War for the first time in a year on Sunday night - and ripped sharply into his former superiors. "The senior military echelons hid behind and deserted the fighters during the war," said Hirsch, who quit a promising career and resigned from the IDF last year following sharp criticism of his performance. He added that his superiors refused to accept responsibility and left lower-level commanders on their own.
"I pronounce that deplorable political norms have penetrated into parts of the army, which is afflicted by dangerous politicization that is likely to undermine its very foundations," the ex-Brig.-Gen. said.
The army's mediocre performance during the war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006 led to strong public criticism and several investigations, which in turn led to the resignations of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, and a few top commanders, including Hirsch. It was widely felt that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, too, would be forced to resign, but that has not yet happened.
The primary failure during the war belonged to the senior military command, according to Hirsch, "which did not trust existing plans and, when the situation became too complex, forgot all the core values of camaraderie and mutual support upon which the IDF has based itself since its inception."
"As the war proceeded and then came to an end," Hirsch lamented, "I learned just how far the slander had penetrated, just how distorted was the information delivered to the public, just how alone we commanders were, and, personally, just how alone I was in those days."
"The war was not investigated properly," Hirsch charged, "and if another war occurs, it could end up looking just like this past one. The kidnapping, too, was not investigated properly; it was tendentious, distorted, and lacking; it sought whom to blame, and did not deal with the complicated situation that existed then on the northern border."
The Kidnapping
On July 12, 2006, two reserve soldiers - Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - were taken prisoner when Hizbullah terrorists attacked their vehicle at an IDF outpost near Moshav Zar'it on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Four other soldiers were killed in the attack, and four others were killed shortly afterwards when they took off in pursuit of the kidnapped soldiers and their tank was blown up by a Hizbullah-placed bomb. Not a sign of life has been had from the hostage soldiers since their abduction, and it is widely - though not publicly - felt that at least one of them may be dead.
The Investigations
A military investigative commission headed by Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Doron Almog sharply criticized Hirsch for the kidnapping, saying that the lessons learned from Hizbullah's kidnapping of three soldiers in 2000 had not been learned. The Almog report recommended that Hirsch be relieved of his position and not be promoted further in the IDF; Hirsch did not wait and offered his resignation immediately.
Though it noted that several kidnapping attempts were thwarted between 2000 and 2006, the commission blamed Hirsch for failing to verify that his directives were being carried out; the troops did not practice a kidnapping scenario beforehand. The report stated that the patrols along the border set out "as if going on a day trip" instead of patrolling a particularly dangerous border zone. Hirsch should have placed his troops on heightened alert automatically after IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped on the Gaza border two weeks earlier, the report found.
Another IDF investigation - not of the kidnapping, but of the war that followed - found fault in the way Hirsch and other commanders functioned during the war.
Responses
Former IDF Intelligence Chief Gen. (ret.) Uri Saguy, asked by Voice of Israel Radio to respond to Hirsch's remarks, said he did not wish to interpret or comment. When pressed, he said only that everyone should look at his own actions, and that now was not the time for such sweeping statements. "From what I understand, I know the army is training very energetically, and is working hard to learn the lessons of the past war."
Gen. Almog said in response that he regretted that Hirsch had chosen to "put himself in the center, before the State, before the army, and even before the bereaved families and the wounded."
"I pronounce that deplorable political norms have penetrated into parts of the army, which is afflicted by dangerous politicization that is likely to undermine its very foundations," the ex-Brig.-Gen. said.
The army's mediocre performance during the war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006 led to strong public criticism and several investigations, which in turn led to the resignations of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, and a few top commanders, including Hirsch. It was widely felt that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, too, would be forced to resign, but that has not yet happened.
The primary failure during the war belonged to the senior military command, according to Hirsch, "which did not trust existing plans and, when the situation became too complex, forgot all the core values of camaraderie and mutual support upon which the IDF has based itself since its inception."
"As the war proceeded and then came to an end," Hirsch lamented, "I learned just how far the slander had penetrated, just how distorted was the information delivered to the public, just how alone we commanders were, and, personally, just how alone I was in those days."
"The war was not investigated properly," Hirsch charged, "and if another war occurs, it could end up looking just like this past one. The kidnapping, too, was not investigated properly; it was tendentious, distorted, and lacking; it sought whom to blame, and did not deal with the complicated situation that existed then on the northern border."
The Kidnapping
On July 12, 2006, two reserve soldiers - Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - were taken prisoner when Hizbullah terrorists attacked their vehicle at an IDF outpost near Moshav Zar'it on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Four other soldiers were killed in the attack, and four others were killed shortly afterwards when they took off in pursuit of the kidnapped soldiers and their tank was blown up by a Hizbullah-placed bomb. Not a sign of life has been had from the hostage soldiers since their abduction, and it is widely - though not publicly - felt that at least one of them may be dead.
The Investigations
A military investigative commission headed by Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Doron Almog sharply criticized Hirsch for the kidnapping, saying that the lessons learned from Hizbullah's kidnapping of three soldiers in 2000 had not been learned. The Almog report recommended that Hirsch be relieved of his position and not be promoted further in the IDF; Hirsch did not wait and offered his resignation immediately.
Though it noted that several kidnapping attempts were thwarted between 2000 and 2006, the commission blamed Hirsch for failing to verify that his directives were being carried out; the troops did not practice a kidnapping scenario beforehand. The report stated that the patrols along the border set out "as if going on a day trip" instead of patrolling a particularly dangerous border zone. Hirsch should have placed his troops on heightened alert automatically after IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped on the Gaza border two weeks earlier, the report found.
Another IDF investigation - not of the kidnapping, but of the war that followed - found fault in the way Hirsch and other commanders functioned during the war.
Responses
Former IDF Intelligence Chief Gen. (ret.) Uri Saguy, asked by Voice of Israel Radio to respond to Hirsch's remarks, said he did not wish to interpret or comment. When pressed, he said only that everyone should look at his own actions, and that now was not the time for such sweeping statements. "From what I understand, I know the army is training very energetically, and is working hard to learn the lessons of the past war."
Gen. Almog said in response that he regretted that Hirsch had chosen to "put himself in the center, before the State, before the army, and even before the bereaved families and the wounded."
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Obituary -- Common Sense
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year- old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Author unknown
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year- old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Author unknown
IDF believes in Assad
Bush, Olmert may disagree, but army believes Syria ready for peace, Palestinians aren’t The recent cooling off in the relationship between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak is merely the tip of the iceberg; the one that enjoys wide coverage but is less important.
The mutual public insults they have traded, just like the disagreement over the procedural aspects of their meetings with top security officials, reflect not only the preparations they are making ahead of the competition for the premiership. They also attest to a deep and fundamental strategic disagreement over the question of the track Israel should be focusing its diplomatic efforts on in the coming year.
After IDF strike
IAEA examines Syria bombing site photos / AP and Yitzhak Benhorin
Diplomatic sources say UN experts scrutinizing satellite photos of site attacked by Israeli Air force jets in September; no conclusive results yet. Earlier, Washington Post reported Syria eliminating evidence at site of attack
Full story
Olmert, with the support of the Mossad, National security Council, and also the American Administration, prefers to focus on an attempt to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. The prime minister is willing to put out feelers on the Syrian track, but he is unwilling to enter substantial and binding negotiations.
On the other hand, Barak, who enjoys the firm support of the IDF General Staff and assistance from the Shin Bet internal security service, believes that the gist of the diplomatic effort must be directed to the Syrian track, while the Palestinian channel should be handled cautiously and be kept on the backburner.
According to the security establishment’s assessment, at this time there is a good chance and substantial need to reach a binding peace agreement with Bashar Assad. According to this approach, the latter would be able to deliver the goods in exchange for the territorial and other concessions he’ll be receiving from Israel. On the other hand, according to Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet, even if Mahmoud Abbas signs an agreement, he would not be able to provide Israel with the level of security it requires. Any fundamental Israeli concessions in an agreement signed with him will constitute an opening position for the next round of negotiations – and a source for more international pressure.
“In the 60th year of its existence, the State of Israel finally has to produce permanent borders that come with a clear return address that we can reach understandings with and finalize binding agreements with,” says a very senior security official. “We can reach this state of affairs with Syria at this time; with the Palestinians, not yet.” According to the same source, a peace agreement with Syria will indirectly affect the Israeli-Palestinian arena as well, because it will disconnect Damascus from Iran, Hizbullah, and Hamas.
“If we don’t at least try to reach an agreement with Syria, we’ll be doing ourselves a disservice,” the security official warned. “All of us know what Syria wants and what previous Israeli governments agreed to give it. It’s clear to me that if we have another war today, we’ll win. But this war will cause terrible destruction and victims on both sides, and when it’s over we’ll sit down at the negotiation table with the Syrians and reach an agreement. So why should we join this march of folly?” he wondered, while alluding to Barbara Tuchman’s well-known book, which among other things addresses bloody wars that could have been prevented.
“Why don’t we try to enter negotiations at this point already in order to reach the same result we would be achieving after the war? In my estimate, today Syria is ready for such talks,” the security official said.
Lessons from the bombing
This approach, which as noted contradicts the views of the prime minister, was formulated in the IDF for many months, but received a boost mostly after the aerial assault in Syria. Early this year, Military Intelligence already estimated that Assad means what he says. The question that remained open was whether the Syrian president wanted peace talks with Israel in order to reach a binding peace deal, or whether his only intention was to embark on talks for the sake of talks.
The Mossad, for example, argued that Bashar is interested in dialogue in order to end his isolation and so that the international community ease the pressure on him over matters such as the flow of terrorists from Syria to Iraq and the assassination of former Lebanese PM Hariri. The Mossad estimated that Assad is not ready for genuine peace moves in exchange for an Israeli willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights. He only wants to talk. However, officials in the IDF’s intelligence branch recently reached the conclusion that Bashar is ready and willing to deliver the goods. This was a result of information that points to the following trends:
1. Syria is uncomfortable with the Iranian bear hug, which manifests itself in all areas of life, including security and economics. Assad is unhappy to serve as a pawn on Tehran’s chessboard on its way to a nuclear bomb.
2. Assad wants to see continued economic development in his country. This growth, which constitutes the main motive for the popular support for his regime vis-à-vis Islamic radicals, has been based to a large extent on revenues from oil fields in northeastern Syria. However, output is declining. Assad needs European and American investments in order to survive economically and politically – and he will only be seeing this should he disengage from the “axis of evil.” Peace with Israel may also grant him the Golan, and also free him from the status of a pariah state that is dangerous to invest in and maintain ties with.
3. The successful bombing of the Syrian nuclear site, according to foreign reports at least, made it clear to Assad that his attempts to acquire such weapons in the aims of reaching strategic equality with Israel are doomed for failure. The bombing also exposed Syria to additional criticism on the part of the international community and further deepened its isolation. Military intelligence officials estimate that this could lead Bashar to follow in the footsteps of Libyan leader Gaddafi. The latter, in a complete turnaround, abandoned his nuclear program upon its exposure and embarked on moves of reconciliation that brought Libya back into the family of nations. The senior security official referred to this by saying: “We must treat Bashar in a manner that would turn him into a repenting Gaddafi, or alternately, present him as a pariah and a danger to regional peace just like Saddam Hussein. In any case, we’ll gain from such move.”
4. The bombing of the site made it clear to the Syrian regime that a confrontation with Israel could be destructive. The regime realized how transparent Syria is to the Israeli intelligence establishment, and how vulnerable its national infrastructure and missile arsenals can be in the face of the Israeli Air Force. At this time Bashar understands that despite the arms deals and military preparations, he is still far from the day where he would be able to force Israel, through missile and rocket barrages, to withdraw from the Golan. On the other hand, a harsh Israeli response could cause him and the Alawite sect to lose their grip on power. Military intelligence officials believe that Bashar has recently sobered up from the belligerent enthusiasm that overcame him in the wake of the Second Lebanon War. At this time he realizes that Syria as a state, as opposed to Hizbullah, cannot afford to get entangled in an all-out confrontation with Israel.
Containment in Gaza, peace with Assad
As a result of these assessments, the security establishment has formulated a strategy that argues for “containment in the Palestinian arena and diplomatic initiative on the Syrian track.” The practical implication of such “containment” is a continued military effort aimed at curbing Palestinian terrorism, alongside economic and diplomatic moves aimed at boosting Mahmoud Abbas’ status. Should sanctions and military activities in Gaza fail to curb the Qassam fire, the IDF will embark on a wide-scale operation in the Strip aimed at destroying terror infrastructure and achieving intelligence supremacy. However, as a condition to such operation, the IDF demands large forces to be used for a lengthy period of time. Otherwise, according to estimates by top military officials, it would be impossible to achieve substantial accomplishments.
Barak and the defense establishment understand that Israel cannot afford to stay away from the Annapolis conference. However, they demand that Israel insist on implementation of the Road Map initiative in all matters pertaining to the dismantling of Palestinian terror infrastructure as a pre-requisite to any diplomatic progress. They also demand that understandings reached at the conference be general and non-binding. The time for a deal with the Palestinians will come after Israel will possess a reliable system for intercepting rockets and missiles, after Hamastan will cease to exist in Gaza, and when Abbas enjoys effective control on the ground.
But before all that, based on the same school of thought, Israel must embark on negotiations with the Syrians. Initially this should be done surreptitiously, through mediators (such as Turkey, for example,) and later openly. Following the Annapolis summit, say those who back talks with Syria, it might be worthwhile to convene a special international summit that would be dedicated to this track. This will provide the international framework and Arab legitimacy for a possible peace agreement between Jerusalem and Damascus. According to foreign media reports, initial contacts are already underway, in preparation for convening such conference in Moscow. For the time being, this approach is getting the cold shoulder from the prime minister and US Administration.
The mutual public insults they have traded, just like the disagreement over the procedural aspects of their meetings with top security officials, reflect not only the preparations they are making ahead of the competition for the premiership. They also attest to a deep and fundamental strategic disagreement over the question of the track Israel should be focusing its diplomatic efforts on in the coming year.
After IDF strike
IAEA examines Syria bombing site photos / AP and Yitzhak Benhorin
Diplomatic sources say UN experts scrutinizing satellite photos of site attacked by Israeli Air force jets in September; no conclusive results yet. Earlier, Washington Post reported Syria eliminating evidence at site of attack
Full story
Olmert, with the support of the Mossad, National security Council, and also the American Administration, prefers to focus on an attempt to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. The prime minister is willing to put out feelers on the Syrian track, but he is unwilling to enter substantial and binding negotiations.
On the other hand, Barak, who enjoys the firm support of the IDF General Staff and assistance from the Shin Bet internal security service, believes that the gist of the diplomatic effort must be directed to the Syrian track, while the Palestinian channel should be handled cautiously and be kept on the backburner.
According to the security establishment’s assessment, at this time there is a good chance and substantial need to reach a binding peace agreement with Bashar Assad. According to this approach, the latter would be able to deliver the goods in exchange for the territorial and other concessions he’ll be receiving from Israel. On the other hand, according to Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet, even if Mahmoud Abbas signs an agreement, he would not be able to provide Israel with the level of security it requires. Any fundamental Israeli concessions in an agreement signed with him will constitute an opening position for the next round of negotiations – and a source for more international pressure.
“In the 60th year of its existence, the State of Israel finally has to produce permanent borders that come with a clear return address that we can reach understandings with and finalize binding agreements with,” says a very senior security official. “We can reach this state of affairs with Syria at this time; with the Palestinians, not yet.” According to the same source, a peace agreement with Syria will indirectly affect the Israeli-Palestinian arena as well, because it will disconnect Damascus from Iran, Hizbullah, and Hamas.
“If we don’t at least try to reach an agreement with Syria, we’ll be doing ourselves a disservice,” the security official warned. “All of us know what Syria wants and what previous Israeli governments agreed to give it. It’s clear to me that if we have another war today, we’ll win. But this war will cause terrible destruction and victims on both sides, and when it’s over we’ll sit down at the negotiation table with the Syrians and reach an agreement. So why should we join this march of folly?” he wondered, while alluding to Barbara Tuchman’s well-known book, which among other things addresses bloody wars that could have been prevented.
“Why don’t we try to enter negotiations at this point already in order to reach the same result we would be achieving after the war? In my estimate, today Syria is ready for such talks,” the security official said.
Lessons from the bombing
This approach, which as noted contradicts the views of the prime minister, was formulated in the IDF for many months, but received a boost mostly after the aerial assault in Syria. Early this year, Military Intelligence already estimated that Assad means what he says. The question that remained open was whether the Syrian president wanted peace talks with Israel in order to reach a binding peace deal, or whether his only intention was to embark on talks for the sake of talks.
The Mossad, for example, argued that Bashar is interested in dialogue in order to end his isolation and so that the international community ease the pressure on him over matters such as the flow of terrorists from Syria to Iraq and the assassination of former Lebanese PM Hariri. The Mossad estimated that Assad is not ready for genuine peace moves in exchange for an Israeli willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights. He only wants to talk. However, officials in the IDF’s intelligence branch recently reached the conclusion that Bashar is ready and willing to deliver the goods. This was a result of information that points to the following trends:
1. Syria is uncomfortable with the Iranian bear hug, which manifests itself in all areas of life, including security and economics. Assad is unhappy to serve as a pawn on Tehran’s chessboard on its way to a nuclear bomb.
2. Assad wants to see continued economic development in his country. This growth, which constitutes the main motive for the popular support for his regime vis-à-vis Islamic radicals, has been based to a large extent on revenues from oil fields in northeastern Syria. However, output is declining. Assad needs European and American investments in order to survive economically and politically – and he will only be seeing this should he disengage from the “axis of evil.” Peace with Israel may also grant him the Golan, and also free him from the status of a pariah state that is dangerous to invest in and maintain ties with.
3. The successful bombing of the Syrian nuclear site, according to foreign reports at least, made it clear to Assad that his attempts to acquire such weapons in the aims of reaching strategic equality with Israel are doomed for failure. The bombing also exposed Syria to additional criticism on the part of the international community and further deepened its isolation. Military intelligence officials estimate that this could lead Bashar to follow in the footsteps of Libyan leader Gaddafi. The latter, in a complete turnaround, abandoned his nuclear program upon its exposure and embarked on moves of reconciliation that brought Libya back into the family of nations. The senior security official referred to this by saying: “We must treat Bashar in a manner that would turn him into a repenting Gaddafi, or alternately, present him as a pariah and a danger to regional peace just like Saddam Hussein. In any case, we’ll gain from such move.”
4. The bombing of the site made it clear to the Syrian regime that a confrontation with Israel could be destructive. The regime realized how transparent Syria is to the Israeli intelligence establishment, and how vulnerable its national infrastructure and missile arsenals can be in the face of the Israeli Air Force. At this time Bashar understands that despite the arms deals and military preparations, he is still far from the day where he would be able to force Israel, through missile and rocket barrages, to withdraw from the Golan. On the other hand, a harsh Israeli response could cause him and the Alawite sect to lose their grip on power. Military intelligence officials believe that Bashar has recently sobered up from the belligerent enthusiasm that overcame him in the wake of the Second Lebanon War. At this time he realizes that Syria as a state, as opposed to Hizbullah, cannot afford to get entangled in an all-out confrontation with Israel.
Containment in Gaza, peace with Assad
As a result of these assessments, the security establishment has formulated a strategy that argues for “containment in the Palestinian arena and diplomatic initiative on the Syrian track.” The practical implication of such “containment” is a continued military effort aimed at curbing Palestinian terrorism, alongside economic and diplomatic moves aimed at boosting Mahmoud Abbas’ status. Should sanctions and military activities in Gaza fail to curb the Qassam fire, the IDF will embark on a wide-scale operation in the Strip aimed at destroying terror infrastructure and achieving intelligence supremacy. However, as a condition to such operation, the IDF demands large forces to be used for a lengthy period of time. Otherwise, according to estimates by top military officials, it would be impossible to achieve substantial accomplishments.
Barak and the defense establishment understand that Israel cannot afford to stay away from the Annapolis conference. However, they demand that Israel insist on implementation of the Road Map initiative in all matters pertaining to the dismantling of Palestinian terror infrastructure as a pre-requisite to any diplomatic progress. They also demand that understandings reached at the conference be general and non-binding. The time for a deal with the Palestinians will come after Israel will possess a reliable system for intercepting rockets and missiles, after Hamastan will cease to exist in Gaza, and when Abbas enjoys effective control on the ground.
But before all that, based on the same school of thought, Israel must embark on negotiations with the Syrians. Initially this should be done surreptitiously, through mediators (such as Turkey, for example,) and later openly. Following the Annapolis summit, say those who back talks with Syria, it might be worthwhile to convene a special international summit that would be dedicated to this track. This will provide the international framework and Arab legitimacy for a possible peace agreement between Jerusalem and Damascus. According to foreign media reports, initial contacts are already underway, in preparation for convening such conference in Moscow. For the time being, this approach is getting the cold shoulder from the prime minister and US Administration.
Barak: Israel should launch its own peace initiative
Defense minister supports comprehensive peace initiative that would include deal with Syria, believes this may stop other initiatives from being forced on Israel: 'With Syria the price is known and the outcome important' Defense Minister Ehud Barak supports a comprehensive peace initiative that would include promoting a peace agreement with Syria, Ynet learned Monday evening.
This initiative would determine Israel's needs and demands and what it would need to give in return in its talks with the Palestinians after the US-sponsored Mideast peace conference scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Maryland at the end of the month.
Barak has told his associates in recent days that only such an initiative could stop other peace plans, like the Arab peace initiative, from being forced on Israel.
According to the defense minister, the issue of talks with the Syrians should be reexamined, and a change of policy may lead to positive results. "Such a change may lead to good and unexpected results for Israel," Barak told his associates.
"We must conduct extensive work which would determine all of Israel's crucial interests in the region. We must examine this opposite Syria, opposite the Palestinians, opposite the Jordanians and opposite any other Arab country. Israel must push for its own initiative and not be dragged by initiatives from the other side," the defense minister said in closed talks.
He stressed that with Syria, "the price is known and the outcome important."
According to Barak, in the negotiations with the Palestinians "we have been talking with the same people for 15 years, and the demands from Israel only change depending on their interests."
The defense minister estimated that the situation in which Israel only responds to initiatives such as the Arab peace plan – which includes a return to the 1967 borders, a recognition of the right of return and conceding the Golan Heights – harms crucial Israeli interests.
"Why not have an Israeli initiative?" Barak asked his aides. "Why shouldn't we stipulate out interests, what we want, what we are willing to give, and then launch our own peace plan as a starting point for negotiations?" he added.
Part of the defense minister's stance was presented a week ago at the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Barak said at the meeting that "there is room for Syria to take part in the Annapolis conference. We can find a formula which will lead to Syria's participation in this conference."
Barak estimated that Damascus' participation could, under certain conditions, lead to the resumption of the negotiations with Israel.
The defense minister seeks an Israeli initiative due to the difficulties in the negotiations with the Palestinians. He believes that only a comprehensive Israeli outlook on its needs opposite the Palestinians, the Syrians and the Arab world may lead to a creative solution for the ongoing conflicts in the region.
Israeli team leaves for Washington
Meanwhile, the preparations for the Annapolis peace conference continue in full speed. On Monday night, three members of the Israeli negotiating team left for Washington in order to coordinate expectations with the Americans ahead of the summit.
The three senior representatives are Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's chief of staff Yoram Turbowicz, Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovich, and the prime minister's diplomatic advisor Shalom Turgeman.
Simultaneously, the negotiation teams from both sides have met again in order to exchange ideas on the joint statement for the Annapolis conference.
According to the Palestinians, the meeting was difficult, but Israeli officials rejected this claim.
"Presenting the negotiations as difficult is a Palestinian interest, which does not necessarily reflect reality. The talks inside the room are being held in a calm and positive atmosphere," a senior Israeli official said.
This initiative would determine Israel's needs and demands and what it would need to give in return in its talks with the Palestinians after the US-sponsored Mideast peace conference scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Maryland at the end of the month.
Barak has told his associates in recent days that only such an initiative could stop other peace plans, like the Arab peace initiative, from being forced on Israel.
According to the defense minister, the issue of talks with the Syrians should be reexamined, and a change of policy may lead to positive results. "Such a change may lead to good and unexpected results for Israel," Barak told his associates.
"We must conduct extensive work which would determine all of Israel's crucial interests in the region. We must examine this opposite Syria, opposite the Palestinians, opposite the Jordanians and opposite any other Arab country. Israel must push for its own initiative and not be dragged by initiatives from the other side," the defense minister said in closed talks.
He stressed that with Syria, "the price is known and the outcome important."
According to Barak, in the negotiations with the Palestinians "we have been talking with the same people for 15 years, and the demands from Israel only change depending on their interests."
The defense minister estimated that the situation in which Israel only responds to initiatives such as the Arab peace plan – which includes a return to the 1967 borders, a recognition of the right of return and conceding the Golan Heights – harms crucial Israeli interests.
"Why not have an Israeli initiative?" Barak asked his aides. "Why shouldn't we stipulate out interests, what we want, what we are willing to give, and then launch our own peace plan as a starting point for negotiations?" he added.
Part of the defense minister's stance was presented a week ago at the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Barak said at the meeting that "there is room for Syria to take part in the Annapolis conference. We can find a formula which will lead to Syria's participation in this conference."
Barak estimated that Damascus' participation could, under certain conditions, lead to the resumption of the negotiations with Israel.
The defense minister seeks an Israeli initiative due to the difficulties in the negotiations with the Palestinians. He believes that only a comprehensive Israeli outlook on its needs opposite the Palestinians, the Syrians and the Arab world may lead to a creative solution for the ongoing conflicts in the region.
Israeli team leaves for Washington
Meanwhile, the preparations for the Annapolis peace conference continue in full speed. On Monday night, three members of the Israeli negotiating team left for Washington in order to coordinate expectations with the Americans ahead of the summit.
The three senior representatives are Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's chief of staff Yoram Turbowicz, Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovich, and the prime minister's diplomatic advisor Shalom Turgeman.
Simultaneously, the negotiation teams from both sides have met again in order to exchange ideas on the joint statement for the Annapolis conference.
According to the Palestinians, the meeting was difficult, but Israeli officials rejected this claim.
"Presenting the negotiations as difficult is a Palestinian interest, which does not necessarily reflect reality. The talks inside the room are being held in a calm and positive atmosphere," a senior Israeli official said.
Palestinians Israelis resume talks but clash over Jewishness of Jewish state
Compiled by Daily Star staff (Arab news site)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Israeli and Palestinian officials resumed preparatory talks on Monday for a US-hosted conference, a day after Palestinian negotiators were stopped at an Israeli checkpoint and a session was called off. Meanwhile, Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert said he would release 400 Palestinian prisoners, but he also warned the US-sponsored conference might last "a few hours." Israeli President Shimon Peres said peace was attainable, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit hinted that Egypt might not even attend the gathering.
An Israeli government official gave no details of the talks with Palestinian negotiators, other than to say that they had ended for the day.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the session as "difficult" and said the officials had yet to begin drafting a joint document expected to be presented at the conference on Palestinian statehood in Annapolis, Maryland in late November.
"The problem over the content of the document has not yet been resolved," Erekat told Reuters, adding that the negotiating teams planned to meet again on Tuesday.
Deepening diplomatic disagreement ahead of the conference, Erekat publicly rebuffed Israel's demand that it be recognized as a Jewish state.
While recognizing the right of Israel to exist, Erekat said: "The Palestinians won't accept Israel as a Jewish state."
Olmert, in a broadcast appearance before his parliamentary faction, reaffirmed his vision of mutual Israeli-Palestinian recognition but indicated it may not come up at Annapolis.
Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin declined to comment directly on Erekat's remarks, but said recognition of Israel's identity was key to any peace process. "This is not something that is up for discussion. It is a basic creed of the state of Israel," she added. "Our country is a Jewish democratic state. We expect to be recognized as such by any country that would expect to have a peace treaty with us."
A meeting scheduled for Sunday was scrapped after chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Qoreia and other members of his team, traveling from the occupied West Bank, were stopped at an Israeli checkpoint on their way to the venue inside Israel.
The negotiators have been meeting regularly ahead of the conference in Annapolis in the last week of November, but have been struggling to narrow differences over the joint document. Both sides have said they want talks on Palestinian statehood and peace to follow the event.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Olmert pledged Monday to release over 400 Palestinian prisoners and predicted Israelis and Palestinians would be able to hammer out a peace accord.
But Olmert lowered expectations for the conference, saying it would "only be for a few hours." Negotiators will need a year or longer after the talks to work out a final deal, he said.
Israel has released about 340 prisoners since July, even as it continues to round up suspected militants in frequent raids in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians recently asked Olmert to release 2,000 more before the summit.
Olmert told the committee the Annapolis summit would be "a few hours, maybe a day," and it would be a formal launching of intense negotiations.
"I hope these negotiations won't take more than a year, but we won't be committed to any target date," he told the committee, according to meeting participants.
Olmert expressed confidence he could reach a peace accord with the Palestinians.
"It is not impossible to bridge the gaps," he was quoted as saying by participants who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Peres promised on Monday that his country would work for a tangible result at the Annapolis conference, saying that the Jewish state is ready to make peace with the Palestinians.
"Israel has decided to make Annapolis a success, to bring an end to the conflict, to finally make peace between the Palestinians and ourselves," Peres said in Ankara. "It takes time
to make peace ... but I believe we can make peace now with the Palestinians."
Abu al-Gheit, meanwhile, hinted that Egypt may not even attend the Annapolis gathering.
His remarks came after talks between President Hosni Mubarak and Abbas as diplomatic efforts to convene the conference have moved into high gear.
Abu al-Gheit said the conference should launch peace negotiations that end with "fulfilling the dream of a Palestinian state."
"If the meeting in Annapolis will achieve that goal, let us all go to achieve that Palestinian goal," he said. "But if [it] ... will not achieve that goal, then I think Egypt and other Arab countries will have reservations about participating." - Reuters, AP
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Israeli and Palestinian officials resumed preparatory talks on Monday for a US-hosted conference, a day after Palestinian negotiators were stopped at an Israeli checkpoint and a session was called off. Meanwhile, Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert said he would release 400 Palestinian prisoners, but he also warned the US-sponsored conference might last "a few hours." Israeli President Shimon Peres said peace was attainable, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit hinted that Egypt might not even attend the gathering.
An Israeli government official gave no details of the talks with Palestinian negotiators, other than to say that they had ended for the day.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the session as "difficult" and said the officials had yet to begin drafting a joint document expected to be presented at the conference on Palestinian statehood in Annapolis, Maryland in late November.
"The problem over the content of the document has not yet been resolved," Erekat told Reuters, adding that the negotiating teams planned to meet again on Tuesday.
Deepening diplomatic disagreement ahead of the conference, Erekat publicly rebuffed Israel's demand that it be recognized as a Jewish state.
While recognizing the right of Israel to exist, Erekat said: "The Palestinians won't accept Israel as a Jewish state."
Olmert, in a broadcast appearance before his parliamentary faction, reaffirmed his vision of mutual Israeli-Palestinian recognition but indicated it may not come up at Annapolis.
Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin declined to comment directly on Erekat's remarks, but said recognition of Israel's identity was key to any peace process. "This is not something that is up for discussion. It is a basic creed of the state of Israel," she added. "Our country is a Jewish democratic state. We expect to be recognized as such by any country that would expect to have a peace treaty with us."
A meeting scheduled for Sunday was scrapped after chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Qoreia and other members of his team, traveling from the occupied West Bank, were stopped at an Israeli checkpoint on their way to the venue inside Israel.
The negotiators have been meeting regularly ahead of the conference in Annapolis in the last week of November, but have been struggling to narrow differences over the joint document. Both sides have said they want talks on Palestinian statehood and peace to follow the event.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Olmert pledged Monday to release over 400 Palestinian prisoners and predicted Israelis and Palestinians would be able to hammer out a peace accord.
But Olmert lowered expectations for the conference, saying it would "only be for a few hours." Negotiators will need a year or longer after the talks to work out a final deal, he said.
Israel has released about 340 prisoners since July, even as it continues to round up suspected militants in frequent raids in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians recently asked Olmert to release 2,000 more before the summit.
Olmert told the committee the Annapolis summit would be "a few hours, maybe a day," and it would be a formal launching of intense negotiations.
"I hope these negotiations won't take more than a year, but we won't be committed to any target date," he told the committee, according to meeting participants.
Olmert expressed confidence he could reach a peace accord with the Palestinians.
"It is not impossible to bridge the gaps," he was quoted as saying by participants who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Peres promised on Monday that his country would work for a tangible result at the Annapolis conference, saying that the Jewish state is ready to make peace with the Palestinians.
"Israel has decided to make Annapolis a success, to bring an end to the conflict, to finally make peace between the Palestinians and ourselves," Peres said in Ankara. "It takes time
to make peace ... but I believe we can make peace now with the Palestinians."
Abu al-Gheit, meanwhile, hinted that Egypt may not even attend the Annapolis gathering.
His remarks came after talks between President Hosni Mubarak and Abbas as diplomatic efforts to convene the conference have moved into high gear.
Abu al-Gheit said the conference should launch peace negotiations that end with "fulfilling the dream of a Palestinian state."
"If the meeting in Annapolis will achieve that goal, let us all go to achieve that Palestinian goal," he said. "But if [it] ... will not achieve that goal, then I think Egypt and other Arab countries will have reservations about participating." - Reuters, AP
Monday, November 12, 2007
PA 'police' caught in pre-Annapolis lie
The PA/PLO's so-called police force was caught in a lie late last week as it sort to again fool the world into believing it was serious about combating terrorism ahead of the US-sponsored "peace" conference planned for later this month. According to Israeli defense officials cited in The Jerusalem Post Sunday, the terrorists recruited into the PA's "police force" made a big deal out of nothing after mounting a purported anti-terrorism raid in Shechem (Arab-named Nablus) during which they claim to have confiscated 40 bombs meant for use against Israelis.
The IDF sources said seven pipe bombs had been discovered in the "raid" which was carried out in cooperation with "gunmen who belong to a violent offshoot of Palestinian Authority President [sic] Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement," as the Post reported it.
Abbas' "police" had not demanded that Abbas' terrorists disarm, a Fatah leader stressed.
It is understood to be in the PA/PLO's interest to be seen, before the scheduled Annapolis conference, to be clamping down on lawlessness and terrorism in the areas it is supposed to control.
In trademark "Palestinian" fashion, however, while paying lip service to its commitments, and even acting out its compliance, the PA/PLO is steering well clear of actually keeping to its agreement.
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The IDF sources said seven pipe bombs had been discovered in the "raid" which was carried out in cooperation with "gunmen who belong to a violent offshoot of Palestinian Authority President [sic] Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement," as the Post reported it.
Abbas' "police" had not demanded that Abbas' terrorists disarm, a Fatah leader stressed.
It is understood to be in the PA/PLO's interest to be seen, before the scheduled Annapolis conference, to be clamping down on lawlessness and terrorism in the areas it is supposed to control.
In trademark "Palestinian" fashion, however, while paying lip service to its commitments, and even acting out its compliance, the PA/PLO is steering well clear of actually keeping to its agreement.
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No justice, only political games
Another 'Goodwill' Terrorist Release on the Horizon Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is planning to release hundreds of terrorists from Israeli jails in another "good will" gesture to prop up the government of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Some 300 to 400 terrorists are reportedly set to be released prior to the upcoming U.S.-sponsored Middle East summit to be held November 26 in Annapolis. PA leaders have demanded that Israel free 2,000 terrorist prisoners prior to the conference.
Eighty-six terrorist members of Abbas's Fatah gang were released last month in honor of the Muslim month of Ramadan. Of those, 29 were returned to Gaza despite objections by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.
The IDF Chief of Staff said in a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the release was problematic "in terms of moral values" as long as IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit remains in captivity in the Hamas terror-controlled region.
In response, the Prime Minister's Office retorted that Ashkenazi "is not the government's morality officer," although Barak upheld the IDF Chief of Staff's right to express his opinion.
Fifty-seven other jailed Fatah terrorists were allowed back into PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria a day earlier.
This past summer, the Prime Minister ordered the release of 256 terrorists from Israeli prisons, as well as amnesty for 178 wanted terrorists on the condition that they turn in their weapons and sign a document to change their violent ways.
Many of those were crossed off Israel's "wanted" list despite their not having actually signed their commitment signature, picked up new weapons and returned to work planning new attacks on Israeli civilians, according to a report in August by World Net Daily. They were also eligible to receive up to NIS 60,000 (approximately $15,000) from the PA government for turning in their weapons, depending on which type of gun it was.
The wanted men were given a three month "trial period" in which to avoid terrorist activities prior to being officially removed from the "fugitive" list. They later were to receive new weapons from the PA government after joining the PA security force, according to the report.
In July, Olmert released 255 Fatah prisoners from the Ketziot security prison where riots last month resulted in more than 100 people injured. The release was conditional upon the terrorists making a promise that they will not murder Israelis. Most of those had been convicted of attempted murder or placing bombs in hopes of murdering citizens of the Jewish State.
One terrorist in the July release declined to leave because he preferred to continue receiving free medication for his arthritis.
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Some 300 to 400 terrorists are reportedly set to be released prior to the upcoming U.S.-sponsored Middle East summit to be held November 26 in Annapolis. PA leaders have demanded that Israel free 2,000 terrorist prisoners prior to the conference.
Eighty-six terrorist members of Abbas's Fatah gang were released last month in honor of the Muslim month of Ramadan. Of those, 29 were returned to Gaza despite objections by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.
The IDF Chief of Staff said in a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the release was problematic "in terms of moral values" as long as IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit remains in captivity in the Hamas terror-controlled region.
In response, the Prime Minister's Office retorted that Ashkenazi "is not the government's morality officer," although Barak upheld the IDF Chief of Staff's right to express his opinion.
Fifty-seven other jailed Fatah terrorists were allowed back into PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria a day earlier.
This past summer, the Prime Minister ordered the release of 256 terrorists from Israeli prisons, as well as amnesty for 178 wanted terrorists on the condition that they turn in their weapons and sign a document to change their violent ways.
Many of those were crossed off Israel's "wanted" list despite their not having actually signed their commitment signature, picked up new weapons and returned to work planning new attacks on Israeli civilians, according to a report in August by World Net Daily. They were also eligible to receive up to NIS 60,000 (approximately $15,000) from the PA government for turning in their weapons, depending on which type of gun it was.
The wanted men were given a three month "trial period" in which to avoid terrorist activities prior to being officially removed from the "fugitive" list. They later were to receive new weapons from the PA government after joining the PA security force, according to the report.
In July, Olmert released 255 Fatah prisoners from the Ketziot security prison where riots last month resulted in more than 100 people injured. The release was conditional upon the terrorists making a promise that they will not murder Israelis. Most of those had been convicted of attempted murder or placing bombs in hopes of murdering citizens of the Jewish State.
One terrorist in the July release declined to leave because he preferred to continue receiving free medication for his arthritis.
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Thousands at Arafat memorial show support for Abbas
Tens of thousands of Palestinians packed a memorial service for the late Yasser Arafat on Sunday, providing a massive show of support for his successor, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as he prepares for peace talks with Israel. . Speaking under a giant mural of a smiling Arafat at the burial site of the longtime Palestinian leader, Abbas repeatedly invoked Arafat's memory to bolster his own leadership. He pledged to lead the Palestinians to independence and took aim at his rivals, the violent Islamic Hamas.
"Our strategic decision is peace," said Abbas, echoing one of Arafat's favorite slogans.
Abbas has been meeting regularly with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ahead of a peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, later this month. The conference is expected to kick off Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, which broke down in violence seven years ago.
The upcoming conference, Abbas said, is "a historic opportunity to make a new page in the history of the Middle East."
A new hitch developed Sunday when chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said his delegation, on its way to meet Israel's foreign minister about a pre-Annapolis document, was held up at an Israeli army roadblock for 25 minutes. An angry Qureia said he and the other negotiators returned home because of the humiliation. "We will propose never to conduct negotiations in Israel again," he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel regretted the incident and pledged it would be investigated. He said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni talked to Qureia, and he hoped their meeting could be rescheduled as soon as possible. "Important work needs to be done, gaps must be narrowed," Regev said.
A poll released Sunday by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed that 68 percent of Palestinians favor peace negotiations with Israel, but 62 percent predict failure for the Annapolis gathering. The poll questioned 1,200 people and quoted a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
At the event in Ramallah, Abbas called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on all lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, with east Jerusalem as its capital, and said a peace agreement would "achieve security and peace for us and for the Israelis."
Sunday's rally, marking the third anniversary of Arafat's death, was attended by tens of thousands of supporters of Fatah, the group Arafat founded in the 1960s and led until he died in 2004.
The turnout at the annual service was the largest since Arafat's death, in large part because of Fatah's concern about the rise of Hamas.
Hamas forces overran the Gaza Strip in June, defeating Fatah's loyalists in five days of fighting.
Abbas responded by expelling Hamas from the Palestinian government, and has moved to cement Fatah's grip on power in the West Bank since then. Many in the crowd at Sunday's rally held yellow Fatah flags, and public schools and government offices - both seen as Fatah strongholds - closed early to allow people to attend the memorial.
The crowd overflowed into the streets around the government compound in Ramallah where it was held.
During his 20-minute speech, Abbas credited Arafat with uniting his fractured people. Lacking Arafat's guerrilla-fighter charisma, the soft-spoken Abbas used the rally to emphasize his position as heir to Arafat's mantle.
Abbas also attacked his Hamas rivals, saying the group must "retract its black coup" in Gaza before there can be dialog between rival Palestinian factions.
Anan Abdeen, 27, said Arafat would have supported the peace moves by Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen.
"Fatah chose to enter the negotiations with Israel. That was Arafat's decision, and Abu Mazen is following this decision," Abdeen said.
In Gaza City on Sunday, Hamas police beat several students who tried to hold an Arafat memorial near their high school, a witness said. Hamas police arrested a teacher at a similar incident elsewhere in central Gaza, a school official said. Both witnesses asked not to be identified, fearing retribution from Hamas forces.
Hamas denied that report.
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"Our strategic decision is peace," said Abbas, echoing one of Arafat's favorite slogans.
Abbas has been meeting regularly with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ahead of a peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, later this month. The conference is expected to kick off Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, which broke down in violence seven years ago.
The upcoming conference, Abbas said, is "a historic opportunity to make a new page in the history of the Middle East."
A new hitch developed Sunday when chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said his delegation, on its way to meet Israel's foreign minister about a pre-Annapolis document, was held up at an Israeli army roadblock for 25 minutes. An angry Qureia said he and the other negotiators returned home because of the humiliation. "We will propose never to conduct negotiations in Israel again," he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel regretted the incident and pledged it would be investigated. He said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni talked to Qureia, and he hoped their meeting could be rescheduled as soon as possible. "Important work needs to be done, gaps must be narrowed," Regev said.
A poll released Sunday by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed that 68 percent of Palestinians favor peace negotiations with Israel, but 62 percent predict failure for the Annapolis gathering. The poll questioned 1,200 people and quoted a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
At the event in Ramallah, Abbas called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on all lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, with east Jerusalem as its capital, and said a peace agreement would "achieve security and peace for us and for the Israelis."
Sunday's rally, marking the third anniversary of Arafat's death, was attended by tens of thousands of supporters of Fatah, the group Arafat founded in the 1960s and led until he died in 2004.
The turnout at the annual service was the largest since Arafat's death, in large part because of Fatah's concern about the rise of Hamas.
Hamas forces overran the Gaza Strip in June, defeating Fatah's loyalists in five days of fighting.
Abbas responded by expelling Hamas from the Palestinian government, and has moved to cement Fatah's grip on power in the West Bank since then. Many in the crowd at Sunday's rally held yellow Fatah flags, and public schools and government offices - both seen as Fatah strongholds - closed early to allow people to attend the memorial.
The crowd overflowed into the streets around the government compound in Ramallah where it was held.
During his 20-minute speech, Abbas credited Arafat with uniting his fractured people. Lacking Arafat's guerrilla-fighter charisma, the soft-spoken Abbas used the rally to emphasize his position as heir to Arafat's mantle.
Abbas also attacked his Hamas rivals, saying the group must "retract its black coup" in Gaza before there can be dialog between rival Palestinian factions.
Anan Abdeen, 27, said Arafat would have supported the peace moves by Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen.
"Fatah chose to enter the negotiations with Israel. That was Arafat's decision, and Abu Mazen is following this decision," Abdeen said.
In Gaza City on Sunday, Hamas police beat several students who tried to hold an Arafat memorial near their high school, a witness said. Hamas police arrested a teacher at a similar incident elsewhere in central Gaza, a school official said. Both witnesses asked not to be identified, fearing retribution from Hamas forces.
Hamas denied that report.
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More rockets-you expect us to give more?
3 Qassam rockets located south of Ashkelon, near Sderot Three Qassam rockets were located in open fields south of Ashkelon and Sderot.
Earlier Monday, a rocket fired from northern Gaza landed south of Ashkelon. No injuries or damage were reported. The al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, claimed responsibility for launching the rocket. (Shmulik Hadad)
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Earlier Monday, a rocket fired from northern Gaza landed south of Ashkelon. No injuries or damage were reported. The al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, claimed responsibility for launching the rocket. (Shmulik Hadad)
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He is correct
Netanyahu on Annapolis: Israel is giving everything and receiving nothing Netanyahu on Annapolis: Israel is giving everything and receiving nothing
MK Binyamin Netanyahu, head of the Opposition, and MK Gideon Sa'ar, chairman of the Likud party, met with Rabbi and spiritual lead of Shas, Ovadia Yosef, at his residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday and discussed the upcoming Annapolis peace conference.
"The government is giving everything and is receiving terrorists and nothing concrete in return," Netanyahu said. The rabbi said he would consider Netanyahu's remarks. (Attila Somfalvi)
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MK Binyamin Netanyahu, head of the Opposition, and MK Gideon Sa'ar, chairman of the Likud party, met with Rabbi and spiritual lead of Shas, Ovadia Yosef, at his residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday and discussed the upcoming Annapolis peace conference.
"The government is giving everything and is receiving terrorists and nothing concrete in return," Netanyahu said. The rabbi said he would consider Netanyahu's remarks. (Attila Somfalvi)
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We need your help NOW
The outrage is increasing; it is time for those who have been silent to object to the undemocratic inter-ference and pressure that is being exerted on Israel in order to appease terrorists. We must remember the appeasement of the past lest we be forced to live through the same horrors again.
1. We must pressure Lieberman and Yishai to leave the government before Annapolis. Olmert is a disgrace to Israel; in addition to his moral corruption his government must be brought down before he gives away 'everything that is on the table'!! Livni can also not be trusted; she is 'honored' by her relationship with Rice and this is dangerous for Israel.
2. US citizens must contact the White House and let the President know that we will not allow him to lead Israel to commit suicide. No concessions to terrorism!! It is not in the US interest to weaken Israel. A terrorist state of Palestine would be dangerous for Jordan and Egypt as well as Israel. It would give Iran an opportunity to sweep across the Middle East and create a major haven for al Qaeda - a danger to Europe and the West.
3. Contact members of Congress - call and fax.
4. Contact talk shows and explain the danger to the US should there be another terrorist state created.
Both Fatah and Hamas are terrorist groups and they are in the Abbas government. Re Abbas: he financed the 1972 murders of the 11 Israelis Olympic athletes. He wrote his doctorate on Holocaust denial; he is no
different from Ahmadinejad!
5. Be activated and inspire others to do the same!
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1. We must pressure Lieberman and Yishai to leave the government before Annapolis. Olmert is a disgrace to Israel; in addition to his moral corruption his government must be brought down before he gives away 'everything that is on the table'!! Livni can also not be trusted; she is 'honored' by her relationship with Rice and this is dangerous for Israel.
2. US citizens must contact the White House and let the President know that we will not allow him to lead Israel to commit suicide. No concessions to terrorism!! It is not in the US interest to weaken Israel. A terrorist state of Palestine would be dangerous for Jordan and Egypt as well as Israel. It would give Iran an opportunity to sweep across the Middle East and create a major haven for al Qaeda - a danger to Europe and the West.
3. Contact members of Congress - call and fax.
4. Contact talk shows and explain the danger to the US should there be another terrorist state created.
Both Fatah and Hamas are terrorist groups and they are in the Abbas government. Re Abbas: he financed the 1972 murders of the 11 Israelis Olympic athletes. He wrote his doctorate on Holocaust denial; he is no
different from Ahmadinejad!
5. Be activated and inspire others to do the same!
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Sunday, November 11, 2007
IDF activity against terror - Weekly review
The IDF operated in the southern Gaza Strip in order to prevent the terror organizations, Hamas in particular, from approaching the security fence and to thwart the launching of rockets and mortar shells into Israel. On Friday, the IDF carried out an aerial attack against a Hamas post in the southern Gaza Strip. The attack followed numerous mortar shell launchings at Israeli communities in the Western Negev, Nativ Ha'asara in particular.
During the week IDF forces carried out, in three different incidents, attacks against rocket launching cells and armed launchers that were identified on different launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, forces discovered two explosive devices that Palestinians planted near the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. The explosives were intended to be discharged against IDF soldiers, and were detonated in a controlled environment by an IDF force.
On Tuesday, an IDF soldier, Staff Sergeant Yariv Amitai, was killed in a military vehicle accident during an IDF routine patrol near the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip
Dozens of Palestinians were taken for initial questioning in Israel by security forces.
During the past week, over 25 mortar shells and approximately 25 Kassam rockets were fired at Israeli communities in the western Negev and at soldiers operating within the Gaza Strip causing damage, power failures and a local fire.
Summary of activity in Judea and Samaria:
During the past week IDF forces operated in the Judea and Samaria region in order to thwart the extensive terrorist activity and to prevent terror attacks emanating from this region into Israel.
On Sunday, IDF forces discovered 2 pipe bombs near Beit Ummar, south of Bethlehem. The explosives were discovered during a routine search in an area from which Palestinians hurled two Molotov cocktails at passing Israeli vehicles shortly beforehand. The pipe bombs were detonated in a controlled environment.
On Monday, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl arrived at an IDF post near the neighborhood of Tel Rumeda in Hebron and pulled out a knife in an attempt to stab the soldiers at the post. She was taken for questioning by security forces.
On Wednesday, during IDF activity in Kufar Dan, northwest of Jenin, Palestinians hurled two explosive devices and opened fire several times at the force. The force identified a Palestinian gunman, fired at him and identified hitting him.
Two pipe bombs, bomb making materials, an M16 rifle, IDF equipment and ammunition were discovered during this week's IDF activity in Judea and Samaria. IDF forces arrested 76 Palestinians who were all taken for questioning by security forces.
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During the week IDF forces carried out, in three different incidents, attacks against rocket launching cells and armed launchers that were identified on different launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, forces discovered two explosive devices that Palestinians planted near the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. The explosives were intended to be discharged against IDF soldiers, and were detonated in a controlled environment by an IDF force.
On Tuesday, an IDF soldier, Staff Sergeant Yariv Amitai, was killed in a military vehicle accident during an IDF routine patrol near the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip
Dozens of Palestinians were taken for initial questioning in Israel by security forces.
During the past week, over 25 mortar shells and approximately 25 Kassam rockets were fired at Israeli communities in the western Negev and at soldiers operating within the Gaza Strip causing damage, power failures and a local fire.
Summary of activity in Judea and Samaria:
During the past week IDF forces operated in the Judea and Samaria region in order to thwart the extensive terrorist activity and to prevent terror attacks emanating from this region into Israel.
On Sunday, IDF forces discovered 2 pipe bombs near Beit Ummar, south of Bethlehem. The explosives were discovered during a routine search in an area from which Palestinians hurled two Molotov cocktails at passing Israeli vehicles shortly beforehand. The pipe bombs were detonated in a controlled environment.
On Monday, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl arrived at an IDF post near the neighborhood of Tel Rumeda in Hebron and pulled out a knife in an attempt to stab the soldiers at the post. She was taken for questioning by security forces.
On Wednesday, during IDF activity in Kufar Dan, northwest of Jenin, Palestinians hurled two explosive devices and opened fire several times at the force. The force identified a Palestinian gunman, fired at him and identified hitting him.
Two pipe bombs, bomb making materials, an M16 rifle, IDF equipment and ammunition were discovered during this week's IDF activity in Judea and Samaria. IDF forces arrested 76 Palestinians who were all taken for questioning by security forces.
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Mubarak: Egypt, Saudi Arabia support peace conference
Egyptian, Saudi leaders meet in Cairo to discuss upcoming US-sponsored peace conference. Egyptian presidential spokesman says two countries support summit, committed to ensuring its success Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah met in Cairo Saturday to discuss the upcoming US-sponsored Mideast peace conference, with Egypt saying both countries support the meeting.
After the two leaders met, Egypt's presidential spokesman, Suleiman Awaad, said the two countries were backing the conference because it could set the stage for a final agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
"Egypt and Saudi Arabia have a clear stance, that is to welcome the meeting because it comes after long years of a frozen peace process," Awaad told reporters. Saudi officials did not comment after the meeting. Arab countries, notably US allies Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have been reluctant to commit to attending the conference unless there are guarantees that it will yield firm results.
'Committed to ensuring conference's success'
Awaad said Saturday that Mubarak and Abdullah expected the meeting to "set up the final solutions (for peace) ... within serious negotiations and a timetable." However, Palestinian officials said Saturday that pre-conference talks with Israel have hit a rough patch as negotiators try to write a joint document that is to serve as a basis for the meeting.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the two sides haven't progressed beyond the preamble, and many disagreements remain.
Awaad said Saturday that Egypt and Saudi Arabia were committed to ensuring the conference's success. "Egypt and Saudi Arabia are serious, and Mubarak and King Abdullah are very keen to make this conference successful because its success will eventually lead to the benefit of the Palestinian people and the rest of the region."
After the two leaders met, Egypt's presidential spokesman, Suleiman Awaad, said the two countries were backing the conference because it could set the stage for a final agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
"Egypt and Saudi Arabia have a clear stance, that is to welcome the meeting because it comes after long years of a frozen peace process," Awaad told reporters. Saudi officials did not comment after the meeting. Arab countries, notably US allies Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have been reluctant to commit to attending the conference unless there are guarantees that it will yield firm results.
'Committed to ensuring conference's success'
Awaad said Saturday that Mubarak and Abdullah expected the meeting to "set up the final solutions (for peace) ... within serious negotiations and a timetable." However, Palestinian officials said Saturday that pre-conference talks with Israel have hit a rough patch as negotiators try to write a joint document that is to serve as a basis for the meeting.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the two sides haven't progressed beyond the preamble, and many disagreements remain.
Awaad said Saturday that Egypt and Saudi Arabia were committed to ensuring the conference's success. "Egypt and Saudi Arabia are serious, and Mubarak and King Abdullah are very keen to make this conference successful because its success will eventually lead to the benefit of the Palestinian people and the rest of the region."
UK paper: Dimona defenses on high alert
The defensive missile shield around Israel's nuclear facility at Dimona was placed on red alert 30 times last week out of concern over a possible Syrian air strike, the Sunday Times has reported. The British newspaper said that a battery of US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missiles had been moved to the Negev site following intelligence that Damascus may launch a raid in retaliation for the September 6 strike on a suspected nuclear installation in northern Syria.
The Times quoted the deputy commander of the battery as saying: "We're ready to launch the missiles in seconds, once we're on full alert.
"Every civilian aircraft en route from Cairo to Amman, or from Jeddah to Cairo and vice versa, which deviates even slightly from its route, sets off an alarm and risks a missile being fired."
The newspaper quoted a defense source as saying: "The fact that the Syrians didn't launch an immediate strike against Israel doesn't mean that they won't retaliate in due course, Dimona is on the top of their list."
The Times quoted the deputy commander of the battery as saying: "We're ready to launch the missiles in seconds, once we're on full alert.
"Every civilian aircraft en route from Cairo to Amman, or from Jeddah to Cairo and vice versa, which deviates even slightly from its route, sets off an alarm and risks a missile being fired."
The newspaper quoted a defense source as saying: "The fact that the Syrians didn't launch an immediate strike against Israel doesn't mean that they won't retaliate in due course, Dimona is on the top of their list."
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Arafat’s Tomb and Legacy
David Bedein
FrontPageMagazine.com
This Sunday, November 11th, 2007, after three years of planning and construction in the courtyard of Yasser Arafat's "mukataa" headquarters in Ramallah, a mausoleum in memory of the Godfather of Terror will be inaugurated with a full military ceremony.
It will launch the memorial day to mark the three years since his death.
Machmud Abbas, a.ka. Abu Mazen, Arafat's protégé and successor, will cut the ribbon, followed by the entire Palestinian and Fatah leadership that will enter the mausoleum. Also invited to the ceremony are ambassadors, diplomatic representatives and heads of international organizations. After the visit to the tomb, a prayer session will be held at a new mosque built next to the mausoleum.
Arafat's tomb is located within a huge spacious oblong building in the form of the Qaba at Mecca, painted white. On the building are inscribed quotations from the Koran.
Having covered Arafat for more than a decade, I am often asked what was it like to cover Arafat and to speak with him.
Indeed, the news agency that I work with in Jerusalem had become known as the "Arafat tape" agency, because of our editing and distribution of Arafat's numerous appearances on the official media of the PBC, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation TV, which belied any true hint of peace. These videos were also shown in Congress.
In November 1996, on the day that coincided with Thanksgiving eve in the US, this reporter covered a delegation of 10 Israeli residents from Judea and Samaria who met with Yasser Arafat at his domicile in Bethlehem.
To summarize the purpose of the meeting in two words, one participant described it as "reality testing." Arafat had maintained a consistent policy of saying one thing in English, advocating peace and co-existence, while conveying quite another message in Arabic, as he continued to incite the Palestinian Arab people to war with the Jewish state. Arafat had yet to deliver even one message that calls for peace with the state of Israel in the Arabic language.
What the delegation wanted to know was with whom they were dealing: a neighbor of peace or an antagonist at war?
This unofficial "settler delegation" asked Arafat very specific and pointed questions as to whether he would indeed embark on a policy of peace or war.
The idea was to look to the future, not to the past. Would Arafat finally make a speech in Arabic in which he would call for peace with the state of Israel? Would the PBC "Voice of Palestine" Radio, which was under the direct control of Arafat, stop its invective against Israelis, especially against the Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria (The West Bank)? Would Arafat encourage teachers and other officials of the Palestine Authority to participate in programs that encourage tolerance and co-existence?
Arafat was all smiles throughout our two-hour sessions delivering long-winded speeches in which he professed to be a man of tolerance and understanding, well deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.
I then asked Arafat a pointed question: Would he get on the airwaves of the Voice of Palestine and proclaim reconciliation with Israel in the Arabic language to his own people, and would Arafat denounce any and all murders of Jews on that same station, if future murders occur. Arafat nodded his head and said that he "speaks about peace all the time", to which I responded that we have no such record. "You will see," Arafat said and finished the meeting in a cordial manner.
What the participants thought and felt after the meeting was that Arafat would deliver his answer through actions, not with words.
Arafat's "answer" was not long in coming. Exactly two weeks later, on the seventh night of Chanukah, a dimly lit drizzly evening near the Israeli community of Beit El, three Palestinians shot up the car of the Tzur family of Beit El, killing a mother and child in the car. The killers' smoldering vehicle was found in one of the "safe havens" of the Palestinian Authority.
We called Arafat after the attack. So did all major media. He was nowhere to be found.
However, the next morning, Arafat's PBC radio newsreel broadcast that an "incident occurred on the settler road" where "two criminal settlers were killed."
The next day, our news agency dispatched a TV crew to Gaza to give Arafat the direct opportunity to say something about the attack. We had the opportunity to see Arafat once more.
Smiling widely again, Arafat greeted reporters and waved away the question about the murders in Beit El. A few hours later, Arafat then issued a public order that if the killers at Bait El are caught, they would not be turned over.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority confirmed that 10 recent killers of Israeli civilians had been hired as officers in the Palestinian Liberation Army police force.
Arafat had delivered his answer loud and clear to the delegation that came to see him.
In the topsy-turvy Orwellian world in which we live, Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, defined under Israeli law as a terrorist organization, was a Nobel Peace Laureate, while Israeli residents of Judea, Samaria and Katif (in Gaza) are often thought of portrayed as warmongers.
And when Arafat made his first visit to the UN in 1974, the PLO leader grasped an olive branch in one hand and a pistol in the other.
Epilogue One: Two years later, on December 1st, 1998, Arafat appeared at a US State Department briefing that I covered. US Secretary of State Madelyn Albright gave me the opportunity to ask a question of Arafat. I asked Arafat if he would stand by the commitment to preach reconciliation in the Arabic language that he had given two years before, and I presented Arafat with the records of his speeches from the previous few weeks, in which, among other things, Arafat had called the Jews "the Sons of Satan."
Arafat's response was to foam from the mouth and pound on the State Department platform and scream that "I love the Jews, I love the Jews!
Epilogue Two: As the United Jewish Communities meets in its annual General Assembly of Jewish Federations this Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee on the day that marks three years since Yasser Arafat's death, it should be recalled that in October 1999, the same United Jewish Communities (UJC), almost awarded Arafat the Isaiah Peace Prize.
After I was provided with written documentation of the prize, and after I published in the Jewish Advocate in Boston and the Forward in New York, the UJC peace prize to Arafat was cancelled, with no explanation as to why such an award was offered by a Jewish group to Arafat and as to why it was cancelled. What the UJC did, however, was to hire Kroll Associates, a private investigation firm, to determine how the news of this prize was leaked to this reporter. They never found out.
Learn the full story about the UJC/Isaiah Award for Peace that was to go to Arafat to appreciate where we are today.
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David Bedein is the bureau chief of the Israel Resource News Agency, located at the Beit Agron International Press Center in .
FrontPageMagazine.com
This Sunday, November 11th, 2007, after three years of planning and construction in the courtyard of Yasser Arafat's "mukataa" headquarters in Ramallah, a mausoleum in memory of the Godfather of Terror will be inaugurated with a full military ceremony.
It will launch the memorial day to mark the three years since his death.
Machmud Abbas, a.ka. Abu Mazen, Arafat's protégé and successor, will cut the ribbon, followed by the entire Palestinian and Fatah leadership that will enter the mausoleum. Also invited to the ceremony are ambassadors, diplomatic representatives and heads of international organizations. After the visit to the tomb, a prayer session will be held at a new mosque built next to the mausoleum.
Arafat's tomb is located within a huge spacious oblong building in the form of the Qaba at Mecca, painted white. On the building are inscribed quotations from the Koran.
Having covered Arafat for more than a decade, I am often asked what was it like to cover Arafat and to speak with him.
Indeed, the news agency that I work with in Jerusalem had become known as the "Arafat tape" agency, because of our editing and distribution of Arafat's numerous appearances on the official media of the PBC, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation TV, which belied any true hint of peace. These videos were also shown in Congress.
In November 1996, on the day that coincided with Thanksgiving eve in the US, this reporter covered a delegation of 10 Israeli residents from Judea and Samaria who met with Yasser Arafat at his domicile in Bethlehem.
To summarize the purpose of the meeting in two words, one participant described it as "reality testing." Arafat had maintained a consistent policy of saying one thing in English, advocating peace and co-existence, while conveying quite another message in Arabic, as he continued to incite the Palestinian Arab people to war with the Jewish state. Arafat had yet to deliver even one message that calls for peace with the state of Israel in the Arabic language.
What the delegation wanted to know was with whom they were dealing: a neighbor of peace or an antagonist at war?
This unofficial "settler delegation" asked Arafat very specific and pointed questions as to whether he would indeed embark on a policy of peace or war.
The idea was to look to the future, not to the past. Would Arafat finally make a speech in Arabic in which he would call for peace with the state of Israel? Would the PBC "Voice of Palestine" Radio, which was under the direct control of Arafat, stop its invective against Israelis, especially against the Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria (The West Bank)? Would Arafat encourage teachers and other officials of the Palestine Authority to participate in programs that encourage tolerance and co-existence?
Arafat was all smiles throughout our two-hour sessions delivering long-winded speeches in which he professed to be a man of tolerance and understanding, well deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.
I then asked Arafat a pointed question: Would he get on the airwaves of the Voice of Palestine and proclaim reconciliation with Israel in the Arabic language to his own people, and would Arafat denounce any and all murders of Jews on that same station, if future murders occur. Arafat nodded his head and said that he "speaks about peace all the time", to which I responded that we have no such record. "You will see," Arafat said and finished the meeting in a cordial manner.
What the participants thought and felt after the meeting was that Arafat would deliver his answer through actions, not with words.
Arafat's "answer" was not long in coming. Exactly two weeks later, on the seventh night of Chanukah, a dimly lit drizzly evening near the Israeli community of Beit El, three Palestinians shot up the car of the Tzur family of Beit El, killing a mother and child in the car. The killers' smoldering vehicle was found in one of the "safe havens" of the Palestinian Authority.
We called Arafat after the attack. So did all major media. He was nowhere to be found.
However, the next morning, Arafat's PBC radio newsreel broadcast that an "incident occurred on the settler road" where "two criminal settlers were killed."
The next day, our news agency dispatched a TV crew to Gaza to give Arafat the direct opportunity to say something about the attack. We had the opportunity to see Arafat once more.
Smiling widely again, Arafat greeted reporters and waved away the question about the murders in Beit El. A few hours later, Arafat then issued a public order that if the killers at Bait El are caught, they would not be turned over.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority confirmed that 10 recent killers of Israeli civilians had been hired as officers in the Palestinian Liberation Army police force.
Arafat had delivered his answer loud and clear to the delegation that came to see him.
In the topsy-turvy Orwellian world in which we live, Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, defined under Israeli law as a terrorist organization, was a Nobel Peace Laureate, while Israeli residents of Judea, Samaria and Katif (in Gaza) are often thought of portrayed as warmongers.
And when Arafat made his first visit to the UN in 1974, the PLO leader grasped an olive branch in one hand and a pistol in the other.
Epilogue One: Two years later, on December 1st, 1998, Arafat appeared at a US State Department briefing that I covered. US Secretary of State Madelyn Albright gave me the opportunity to ask a question of Arafat. I asked Arafat if he would stand by the commitment to preach reconciliation in the Arabic language that he had given two years before, and I presented Arafat with the records of his speeches from the previous few weeks, in which, among other things, Arafat had called the Jews "the Sons of Satan."
Arafat's response was to foam from the mouth and pound on the State Department platform and scream that "I love the Jews, I love the Jews!
Epilogue Two: As the United Jewish Communities meets in its annual General Assembly of Jewish Federations this Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee on the day that marks three years since Yasser Arafat's death, it should be recalled that in October 1999, the same United Jewish Communities (UJC), almost awarded Arafat the Isaiah Peace Prize.
After I was provided with written documentation of the prize, and after I published in the Jewish Advocate in Boston and the Forward in New York, the UJC peace prize to Arafat was cancelled, with no explanation as to why such an award was offered by a Jewish group to Arafat and as to why it was cancelled. What the UJC did, however, was to hire Kroll Associates, a private investigation firm, to determine how the news of this prize was leaked to this reporter. They never found out.
Learn the full story about the UJC/Isaiah Award for Peace that was to go to Arafat to appreciate where we are today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Bedein is the bureau chief of the Israel Resource News Agency, located at the Beit Agron International Press Center in .
US to purchase $700m worth of arms from Israel
Weapons and technological systems to be acquired from Jewish state's defense industries include navigation and attack sensor system for combat aircraft, UAV and advanced pilot helmets WASHINGTON – The US Congress on Friday approved the purchase of weapons and technological systems from Israel's defense industries for $700 million.
The advanced technological products will be acquired as part of the American security budget for the coming year to be used by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
United States offers Israel unprecedented $30-billion military aid package. ‘We look at this region and we see that a secure and strong Israel is in the interest of the United States,’ Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns says during signing ceremony in Jerusalem
Full story
The purchase of weapons from Israel is not part of Israel's annual defense aid from the United States, which amounts to $2.4 billion and is expected to grow in 2009 to an annual average of $ 3 billion for the following 10 years.
Only one part of the security budget – the production of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system and the research and development of other defense missiles, the cost of which is estimated at $155 million – is related to special US aid, with the American Boeing company involved in the manufacturing of parts of the Arrow missile.
The weapons and components to be purchased by the US include Lightning – a navigation and attack sensor system for combat aircraft produced by the RAFAEL Armament Development Authority.
This system replaces obsolete systems and enables US pilots in Iraq to operate both in the day and in the night under all weather conditions. The system's purchase price is estimated at $39.6 million.
The Israel Aerospace Industries' Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle will be bought for $36.5 million. The use of UAVs allows the US military to locate targets and then examine the results of the strike without putting pilots in danger.
Elbit's pilot helmet systems will be purchased for $37.5 and RAFAEL's Typhoon stabilized marine gun system will cost $16 million.
In May, the US Congress also approved the purchase of reactive Israeli defense systems placed on American Bradley fighting vehicles in Iraq. This systems helps the American APCs escape antitank missiles.
.
The advanced technological products will be acquired as part of the American security budget for the coming year to be used by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
United States offers Israel unprecedented $30-billion military aid package. ‘We look at this region and we see that a secure and strong Israel is in the interest of the United States,’ Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns says during signing ceremony in Jerusalem
Full story
The purchase of weapons from Israel is not part of Israel's annual defense aid from the United States, which amounts to $2.4 billion and is expected to grow in 2009 to an annual average of $ 3 billion for the following 10 years.
Only one part of the security budget – the production of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system and the research and development of other defense missiles, the cost of which is estimated at $155 million – is related to special US aid, with the American Boeing company involved in the manufacturing of parts of the Arrow missile.
The weapons and components to be purchased by the US include Lightning – a navigation and attack sensor system for combat aircraft produced by the RAFAEL Armament Development Authority.
This system replaces obsolete systems and enables US pilots in Iraq to operate both in the day and in the night under all weather conditions. The system's purchase price is estimated at $39.6 million.
The Israel Aerospace Industries' Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle will be bought for $36.5 million. The use of UAVs allows the US military to locate targets and then examine the results of the strike without putting pilots in danger.
Elbit's pilot helmet systems will be purchased for $37.5 and RAFAEL's Typhoon stabilized marine gun system will cost $16 million.
In May, the US Congress also approved the purchase of reactive Israeli defense systems placed on American Bradley fighting vehicles in Iraq. This systems helps the American APCs escape antitank missiles.
.
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