Newsletter #232     Friday, May 6, 2005

The Land of Israel Necklace consists of a crystal glass pendant filled with the entire Land of Israel including Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Nazareth, The Sea of Galilee, The Jordan River, The Dead Sea, as well as other locations. The earth inside has beautiful color variations creating a natural layered effect. By wearing the Land of Israel as a beautiful necklace, the land remains in one's consciousness and, literally, close to the heart. A Meaningful Gift!

Holocaust Remembrance Day The Evil of Banality The Holocaust fetish Falling on ceremony Memory Palace Reflections on Yom Hashoah Journalistic lessons of the Holocaust

• War of the words – let's begin fighting it
  By Michael Freund - Jerusalem Post - May 5, 2005  Glance at any major Western newspaper and it quickly becomes clear who is winning the linguistic tussle in the Middle East. The territories are "occupied," Jews living there are "settlers," their supporters are "extremists," while those trying to kill them are mere "activists" or "militants." On the whole, the language is clearly loaded, helping to shape public opinion against the Jewish state. And thanks to repeated use over the years, these terms have come to be accepted in nearly all public discourse regarding the Middle East.

• Hamas vs. the United States
  By Daniel Pipes - FrontPageMagazine.com - May 3, 2005  Before this whitewashing of Hamas proceeds too far ahead, it bears noting that the organization has not just murdered over four hundred Israelis but also prepared itself for war with the United States. Hamas, in short, can at will attack the United States, something that should not be forgotten. President Bush stated in June 2003 that “the free world, those who love freedom and peace, must deal harshly with Hamas” and that “Hamas must be dismantled.” That approach should remain U.S. policy.

• Wake up Washington!
  by Caroline Glick - Jerusalem Post - May 6, 2005  Unless one ignores reality, it is impossible to sustain an argument that as presently constituted, Israel's withdrawal from Gaza will do anything other than strengthen the cause of global jihad and Arab authoritarianism. Unfortunately, until the US abandons the contrived belief that what happens to Israel has no connection to what happens to the US, it will be unable to see – and thus thwart – the dangers that await it.

• Sharansky's message
  Jerusalem Post - May 3, 2005  Mysterious are the ways of Israeli politics. It might reasonably be expected that the policy critique that Natan Sharansky offered in resigning his cabinet post would have precipitated at least a ripple of discussion, even among those who disagree with his conclusion. That no such debate has taken place does not reflect well on our political culture.

• Destroy it all
  by Uri Dan - Jerusalem Post - May 6, 2005   Gush Katif settlers who want to destroy their homes prior to their eviction should be entitled to do so. No government official has the moral or legal right to tell them what to do with their private property, the splendid homes or flourishing greenhouses they have owned for 30 years.

• Back to basics
  By Ryan Jones - Jerusalem Newswire - May 6, 2005

  "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
  - George Santayana

  It is a well known and often used quote, but one that is rarely heeded.

  The failure of most Israelis and many in the international community to take Santayana's advice to heart vis-a-vis the Israeli-Arab conflict was again highlighted this week.

  Israel's Channel One News Wednesday evening broadcast members of the Israel Student Union demonstrating against the government's decision to grant university status to the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel.

  One young man stated emphatically before the cameras, "This is occupied territory. Ariel is not and never will be a part of Israel. We have paid a high price for the occupation."

  His comments underlined serious discrepancies in the memories of both Israelis and the nation's international critics.

  First, Israel did not come to be master of Judea, Samaria and Gaza by means of aggressive conquest. Rather, it was defensive action against an Arab foe bent on the annihilation of the Jewish state that liberated those ancient biblical lands from their Muslim overlords.

  Had the Arab world not mobilized with the intent of destroying Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973, the Jews would today control no more of the Middle East than those territories on which they declared independence some 57 years ago.

  Second, Israeli leftists and their ideological partners around the world claim it is this "occupation" that spawns the terrible scourge of anti-Jewish terrorism, while ignoring the fact that Arabs have been murdering Jews en masse since their return to the region well over a century ago - long before they controlled anything.

  Whether today's modern progressive liberals wants to admit it or not, the battle remains a religious one. Disputed sovereignty over this or that piece of land is merely the latest justification for murdering Jews.

  Last but not least, these people forget that the Arab world's series of efforts to eradicate the "Zionist entity" came dangerously close to success because of Israel's lack of strategic depth.

  Israel is today far more capable of repelling the existential threat facing it precisely because it controls the Golan Heights, Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

  Most leftists will argue that today's Middle East is different, a region where Israel's immediate neighbors are no longer interested in driving the Jews into the sea.

  This again demonstrates failure to remember the past.

  Middle East regimes can fall overnight, and have done so on numerous occasions, giving sudden unexpected rise to cruel, destructive and unpredictable tyrants.

  Hosni Mubarak, Bashar Assad and King Abdullah may have no interest in engaging Israel in open conflict, but what of those who come after them?

  Israel's "peace" camp sits comfortably in Tel Aviv and its environs believing the strategic value of Israel's control over Yesha to be obsolete, forgetting that the next Gammal Abdel Nasser, Hafez al-Assad or Saddam Hussein could be just around the corner.

  Far from extracting a "heavy price" from Israel, the so-called "occupation" has probably saved the nation from having to fight another full-scale war.

  As for terrorism - certainly today's attacks are no worse than the daily infiltrations by Arab "fedayeen" during Israel's first 20 years, or the horrible massacres that characterized the British Mandate period. "Occupation" or no, the Arabs seek to kill Israel's Jews.

  Fortunately, there are those in Israel who, clinging to both historical and biblical rights, sacrifice their blood, sweat and tears to ensure the past remains just that.

  These brave souls not only maintain control over strategic areas, but also cause them to flourish as they did thousands of years ago under Jewish sovereignty.

  The settlers, who are in the vanguard of fulfilling biblical prophecy and on the front lines of Israel's defense, deserve respect, prayers and support. The least their government can do is give them a university.

NOTICE: We make EVERY effort to insure our newsletter is not received unsolicited. If you don't wish to receive this newsletter, please send an email to newsletter@christianactionforisrael.org with "REMOVE" in either the subject or body of your message. Please ensure the email is sent from the address receiving the newsletter! Thank you.

TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE visit http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/cafi-list