Jerusalem News-398
Note our last posting was titled "Jerusalem News-394"
whereas it should have been
"Jerusalem News-397".
Jerusalem News-398
Contents:
1. Gina: Appreciation
2. Netanyahu Praises Sharon
3. History: Germany, Japan, and the USA
4. Irish Iron Age Bog Bodies
5. An Irish Archaeologist Appraises theBog Bodies Find
1. Gina: Appreciation
From: Gina Philp
Subject: Re: Jerusalem News-394 (i.e. 397)
#5 Expulsion from Spain..... WOW!!!!! What a great read!!
2. Netanyahu Praises Sharon
Netanyahu Comes to Praise Sharon
By STEVEN ERLANGER The New York Times January 10, 2006
www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/international/middleeast/10israel.html
TEL AVIV, Jan. 9 - Benjamin Netanyahu is saying nice things about Ariel
Sharon as the prime minister, in critical condition after a stroke, starts
to fade into history. But their own history has been far from affectionate,
marked by rivalry and even contempt.
With talk of that rivalry unseemly now - Mr. Sharon's health bulletins are
followed obsessively - Mr. Netanyahu, who is hoping to win election as prime
minister in March as leader of the right-wing Likud party, focuses not on
their disagreements but on their shared past.
His fondest memory of Mr. Sharon, he said in an interview on Monday in his
Tel Aviv campaign office, is his first. During the Middle East war in 1973,
Mr. Netanyahu and another future prime minister, Ehud Barak, met Mr. Sharon
in a small armored personnel carrier as he planned his daring crossing of
the Suez Canal that turned the tide of the war.
"Here we were, three future prime ministers, though no one knew it then, in
this small A.P.C.," Mr. Netanyahu said. "The meeting lasted maybe 10
minutes, but it was enough to form an indelible impression of this man and
his invaluable contributions to Israel and its wars."
All that, he said, made Mr. Sharon "one of the great generals that the
Jewish people and state have put up in modern times."
Had it looked as though Mr. Sharon would be able to run for re-election in
March, Mr. Netanyahu would have run against him arguing that Mr. Sharon had
damaged Israel's security by pulling out of Gaza. Instead, he is now
positioning himself as Mr. Sharon's former partner and heir apparent.
Just months ago, Mr. Netanyahu was accusing Mr. Sharon of having failed his
party and its principles by pulling Israeli settlers and troops out of Gaza.
Mr. Sharon, he said in late August, "has abandoned the way of Likud and
chose another way, the way of the left."
Mr. Sharon was no kinder. In a television interview at the time, he said of
Mr. Netanyahu: "To run this country, to deal with the most complex and
difficult problems, you need judgment and nerves of steel. He has neither.
In a situation of pressure, he gets stressed immediately. He panics and
loses control. I've seen him like that more than once, many times."
On Monday, in the interview, Mr. Netanyahu focused on his work as Mr.
Sharon's finance minister and lieutenant.
"We transformed Israel's economy from a monopolistic, high-tax, statist
economy into a more vibrant, free market one, and we rescued Israel from an
Argentinian-style collapse," Mr. Netanyahu said, noting that they had
challenged the unions, raised the
retirement age, opened up the banking market and endured a series of
strikes.
"It was a very important passage for Israel," he added, "and it was a real
partnership" between Mr. Sharon and himself. "Without that partnership, it
never would have happened."
Mr. Netanyahu and his allies were, of course, the main reasons that Mr.
Sharon decided to break with Likud and form a new centrist party, Kadima,
bringing some of Likud's best ministers with him.
But with Mr. Sharon lying incapacitated, Mr. Netanyahu stands to gain
politically from Israelis worried about security and the rising power of the
radical Palestinian movement Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu wants to bring a lot of
Likud voters who were tempted by Kadima and Mr. Sharon back into the fold
before the election. If he can, he could find himself back in government
even, just possibly, as prime minister.
Mr. Netanyahu refused to speak on the record about political strategies and
battles, saying he wanted to keep a public moratorium on political debate
while the country's proper focus was on Mr. Sharon's "battle for life."
But he portrayed himself as Mr. Sharon's most direct inheritor, especially
in the single issue that Israelis care most about: security and dealings
with the Palestinians.
Mr. Netanyahu broke with Mr. Sharon last summer. At the last minute, after
having led the rebels in Mr. Sharon's Likud Party who opposed the pullout,
Mr. Netanyahu suddenly quit the cabinet and his job as finance minister.
It was too late to stop the pullout, and Mr. Netanyahu was roundly
criticized for bad timing, poor judgment and even petulance, reminding
people of his decision in late 2000 not to challenge Mr. Sharon and to
forfeit the race for prime minister when Mr. Barak finally resigned, on the
theory that the coalition was too unstable.
After he quit the cabinet this summer, Mr. Netanyahu challenged Mr. Sharon
for leadership of Likud and lost. But then Mr. Sharon abandoned the party
anyway, forming Kadima and leaving Mr. Netanyahu the head of a right-wing
rump that looked in the polls to fall from 40 of Parliament's 120 seats to
barely 10 or 11.
But presuming Mr. Sharon is no longer a political factor, Mr. Netanyahu's
chances look improved in what has become a paler universe. Just 56, he is
still the most seasoned of the party leaders, and with Mr. Sharon absent,
the only one who has been prime minister. And he is widely regarded, even by
those who detest him, as one of Israel's best campaigners, with a quick,
articulate tongue and an even quicker counterpunch.
Mr. Netanyahu will emphasize that when he was prime minister, from May 1996
until May 1999, the number of terrorist attacks and suicide bombings was
quite low. He was elected in 1996 on a promise of security in the face of
suicide bombings that hurt the chances of the former Labor Party leader
Shimon Peres.
Mr. Netanyahu will repeat his mantra that the Palestinians will receive land
from Israel only in return for tangible acts, like the dismantling of
terrorist organizations and infrastructure, as called for under the first
stage of the peace plan known as the road map. He will remind voters that he
is willing to use disproportionate force if necessary as a deterrent to
attacks on Israelis, and he will use the expected strong showing of Hamas in
the Palestinian elections this month, and the spread of Islamic-based
terrorism to regional countries like Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, as a
key part of his campaign.
Mr. Netanyahu has purged his Likud of an extreme right-wing group and says
he is eliminating the criminal elements from the party.
Asked if he must move Likud to the center, where Mr. Sharon wanted to bring
it, he said, "My job is not so much to move Likud as to articulate where
Likud is, where it's already moved."
His objection to the Gaza pullout, he insists today, was not to leaving Gaza
but to the manner in which it was done. "It's not a fundamental error to
leave Gaza, and I never said that," he said. "I said it's the way you leave
that counts, so that you leave and yet you take something when you go, so
you don't allow Hamas to claim a victory."
Already, initial polls show Likud getting not 10 or 11 but 17 seats, though
still behind Labor.
Mr. Netanyahu says he has learned much from Mr. Sharon. "I learned how to
wait - Sharon is very patient - and how to hold back from the media and the
importance of taking care of people," he said. "Sharon paid attention to
them; he spent an enormous amount of his time smoothing feathers. He could
drop you - he tasted revenge cold - but he was very patient and didn't move
until he had to."
Mr. Netanyahu, in his way, seemed to be savoring his memories. "He was a
master tactician," he said with some awe. "He took that from the
battlefield."
--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
3. History: Germany, Japan, and the USA
An URL about German Nazis and American Finance with links to notes about
Japan etc. Good information some of which should perhaps be treated with
reservation, e.g. before WW11 investment in Germany by investment firms
did not necessarily mean support for what later became the Government programs.
http://www.spitfirelist.com/Books/INTRODUCTION.html
4. Irish Iron Age Bog Bodies
BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4589638.stm
Iron Age 'bog bodies' unveiled
Archaeologists have unveiled two Iron Age "bog bodies" which were found in the Republic of Ireland.
The bodies, which are both male and have been dated to more than 2,000 years old, probably belong to the victims of a ritual sacrifice.
In common with other bog bodies, they show signs of having been tortured before their deaths.
Details of the finds are outlined in a BBC Timewatch documentary to be screened on 20 January.
My belief is that these burials are offerings to the gods of fertility by kings to ensure a successful reign
Ned Kelly, National Museum of Ireland
The first body dropped off a peat cutting machine in February 2003 in Clonycavan, near Dublin. The forearms, hands and lower abdomen are missing, believed to have been hacked off by the machine.
The second was found in May the same year in Croghan, just 25 miles (40km) from Clonycavan.
Old Croghan Man, as it has become known, was missing a head and lower limbs. It was discovered by workmen clearing a drainage ditch through a peat bog.
Although the police were initially called in, an inspection by the state pathologist confirmed that this was an archaeological case.
Both bodies were subsequently taken to the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
A team of experts from the UK and Ireland has been examining the bodies to learn how they lived and died.
Radiocarbon dating, for example, would show that both had died at similar times - around 2,300 years ago.
One of the experts is Don Brothwell, the York University archaeologist who led the scientific investigation of Lindow Man, the bog body found in Cheshire in 1984.
Hundreds of bodies have been recovered from peat wetlands across Northern Europe. The earliest accounts date back to the 18th Century. The unique chemistry of peat bogs essentially mummifies bodies.
Summer death
The peat-building sphagnum moss embeds remains in cold, acid and oxygen-free conditions that immobilise bacteria.
"The way peat wetlands preserve bodies has been described as a process of 'slow-cooking' which tans them dark brown," Timewatch producer John Hayes-Fisher told the BBC News website.
Clonycavan man was a young male no more than 5ft 2in tall (1.6m). Beneath his hair, which retains its unusual "raised" style, was a massive wound caused by heavy cutting object that smashed open his skull.
Chemical analysis of the hair showed that Clonycavan man's diet was rich in vegetables in the months leading up to his death, suggesting he died in summer.
It also revealed that he had been using a type of Iron Age hair gel; a vegetable plant oil mixed with a resin that had probably come from south-western France or Spain.
Dismembered body
Old Croghan man was also young - probably in his early to mid 20s - but much taller than his counterpart from 25 miles away. Scientists worked out from the length of his arms that he would have stood around 6ft 6in tall (2.0m).
He had been horrifically tortured before death. His nipples had been cut and he had been stabbed in the ribs. A cut on his arm suggested he had tried to defend himself during the attack that ended his life.
The young man was later beheaded and dismembered. Hazel ropes were passed through his arms before he was buried in the bog.
Food remains in his stomach show that Old Croghan man had eaten milk and cereals before he died. But chemical analysis of his nails showed that he had more meat in his diet than Clonycavan man.
This suggests that he died in a colder season than Clonycavan man, when vegetables were more scarce. It may also explain why his remains are better preserved.
Hopeful offering
The researchers used digital technology to reconstruct the distorted face of Clonycavan man.
From his studies on these bog bodies and others, Ned Kelly, keeper of Irish antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland, has developed a new theory which explains why so many remains are buried on important political or royal boundaries.
"My belief is that these burials are offerings to the gods of fertility by kings to ensure a successful reign," Mr Kelly told the BBC's Timewatch programme.
"Bodies are placed in the borders immediately surrounding royal land or on tribal boundaries to ensure a good yield of corn and milk throughout the reign of the king."
5. An Irish Archaeologist Appraises theBog Bodies Find
Stiof MacAmhalghaidh (Iron-Age-Ireland@yahoogroups.com) Commentary:
The biggest curiosity is the use of resin from Maritime Pine, apparently from
Iberia [Spanish and Portuguese Peninsula], to hold up the hair of one of the bodies.
No way that this could have
arrived in Ireland by any sensible route other than northwards by sea direct
from western Iberia. That this individual was recovered from a bog in the Irish
midlands is equally intriguing. He was not dumped in a bog in the south or west
of the island, where we might expect trade ships to make landfall. By what route
did this material travel through Ireland? Up into the Irish sea to the east
coast perhaps? Or up the Shannon into the heart of Ireland? It also raises the
presence of the skull of a Barbary ape at Emain Macha, coming from even further
south, but the same general direction, and dating to (approximately) the same era
of Ireland's iron age.
The stature of one of the bodies (given at 6'6") is also remarkable, showing
clearly that this was either an exceptionally tall individual (and perhaps used
for the killing for this reason, though what the significance of his height here
would be is a matter for debate).
We can also consider the point made that these were clearly members of some
elite group or a specially pampered group as shown by the condition of their
bodies (young, very healthy and well-fed, hands and nails showing no signs of
wear at all). Were they pampered because they were in line for such a
sacrificial role, or because they were royalty who did not do any physical work?
That latter option raises questions too... would a royal not be expected to lead
forces into battle & thus have to gain military skills, risk injuries etc?
Apparently not.
Both bodies, it was also noted (in the Irish Times articles at least), were
deposited on what are known to have been important boundary areas in later
periods (like 1000+ years later... wow). The strong suggestion is that these
boundaries applied at this period also. It is also noted that the majority of
other such bodies in Ireland and many 'ritual deposits' in watery places, eg
gold, etc were also in such 'boundary areas', raising the distinct possibility
that, if this observation is valid (and I think it does need strenuous
testing... how about it, folks?), deposits of precious items, be they artefacts
or sacrificed people, were made at border areas, probably to signify the
sacredness of those borderlands, or to give them some sort of protection.
Stiof
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:15:29 +0200
Jerusalem News-399
Contents:
1. ISRAELI GOAT FIGHTS TERROR
2. Historical and Archaeological Interest
3. New Compass Points to Jerusalem
4. Cats, dogs flee Palestinian rockets
5. Bob Davis: Jews in England
1. ISRAELI GOAT FIGHTS TERROR
Anti-terror goat: It may sound like a prank, but 29-year-old dog trainer Geva Zin from Kibbutz Lahav in the south is in fact training a goat to detect explosives, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday [Jan 8].
Zin is trying to solve a problem that has been troubling IDF soldiers and American fighters in Iraq: How to detect explosive materials hidden on one's body, as in the case when dealing with suicide bombers.
Explosive-sniffing dogs may be the obvious solution, yet using a dog in Muslim societies would be problematic and offensive to the local population.
Zin, who runs a kennel in Kibbutz Lahav, has already trained dogs and even pigs to sniff out explosive materials and uncover mines. Following reports on Zin's success in training pigs for such mission, military officials turned to him with a request to train animals that would be less problematic in the eyes of Muslims.
According to Zin, the problem is critical in countries that suffer from increasing Islamic terrorism, such as Iraq, Chechnya, and some Middle Eastern nations.
"When I served as a dog trainer in the army, there was a problem of getting dogs into certain vehicles due to the presence of Islamic holy books in the car. The placing of dogs in homes also provoked fury and anger among people who were not involved in terrorism and were merely screened. Compared to that, a goat is a very friendly animal and it is accepted in the Muslim world," Zin said.
His breakthrough came with a young goat he was raising, Lalosha, who is able to sniff out explosives. The minute she identifies explosive material, she sits down, giving a signal to a soldier next to her that the individual in question must be carefully checked.
(By Zvi Alush. Ynet. January 9., 2006)
2. Historical and Archaeological Interest
An article in "BeSheva" (12.1.06) with Professor Mordecai Keslo
who specializes in Archaeological Botany. He said that findings
of grain from the Middle Bronze Period (approximate time of the
Patriarchs) showed a connection with the Greek Aegean area.
Professor Keslo also identified the zebu with the animal known in the
Mishna as a "KO" and he said that from this name the English word "cow"
is derived.
3. New Compass Points to Jerusalem
Religious Jews and many Christians endeavor to face Jerusalem when praying.
Within Jerusalem they try to face in the direction of the Temple Mount.
The Jerusalem Post (13.1.06) reports that
<<a New Jersey-born Yeshiva student who goes only by the name "Moshe">>
has invented the world's first and only "Jerusalem Compass" "that points to Jerusalem
and the Temple Mount from anywhere on earth".
4. Cats, dogs flee Palestinian rockets
Southern communitiy's security chief says pets frightened by Qassam attacks
Shmulik Hadad YNET 17 January 2006
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3201399,00.html
A Qassam rocket landed Monday evening in an Israeli community north of Gaza.
According to the community's security chief, dogs and many cats have escaped
the area because "they hear the explosion in a much louder way and it
frightens them. They're simply getting out of here."
The "Red Dawn" rocket alert system identified the rocket launch and an
explosion was heard in the area shortly thereafter. On Sunday night, in
almost precisely the same spot, two rockets landed close to the same
community. One landed near the community's greenhouses.
The security chief added the atmosphere in the small community was
depressed.
"One of the recent phenomena is the behavior of the pets, cats and dogs that
have fled. There are many notices about cats and dogs that have disappeared.
I remember my dog, which to my sorrow was run over, used to panic every time
a Qassam rocket landed. I had to hold him almost forcefully so that he
wouldn't go outside," he said.
The security chief added that "the truth has to be told. People here are
simply scared. Nobody goes out in the evening, and I think we'll start to
see families leaving this summer already. Everyone who rents here and can
leave is already planning on doing so. There is a feeling of helplessness,
it's clear to us that nothing is being done to solve the problem.We feel
like we are the country's sieve."
The last round of Qassam rocket attacks took place at the end of the week,
when four rockets landed last Friday in the Yad Mordecahi and Zikim region.
There were no injuries or damage reported, and the IDF fired back artillery
rounds at rocket launching sites.
In Sderot, residents said that once again, locals were unable to tell
whether the explosions they heard were caused by Qassams or IDF fire.
5. Bob Davis: Jews in England
From: Bob Davis <bdavis@paxkom.net>
Subject: RE: Readmission of Jews to England. 350 year aniversary.
Dear Yair
For interest, 2006 is the 350th anniversary of the readmission of the
Jews to England. "Jews were welcomed by Cromwell in 1656," reads a new
guide to Jewish cultural events in London.
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/culture/jewish_london/index.jsp
"Throughout 2006, we pay special tribute to their heritage, presence and
future in Britain."
The celebrations in London include two public conferences will debate
the question "Why Did Cromwell Take Us Back?". The Arts Council has
funded a new play; the Greater London authority is considering an autumn
event in Trafalgar Square in the centre of London, complete with giant
menorah; and Tate Modern art gallery plans to host an anniversary
concert.
Note: some dispute exists among historians about the paperwork
surrounding this event 350 years ago, but we are celebrating it anyway!
Kind regards
Bob Davis
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:37:44 +0200
> Virtually every "question" raised by the conspiracists about the RabinVisit David Ben-Ariel's blog!
> assassination has by now been fully explained away and answered:
Yair:
That's a DAMN LIE and shame on you for aiding and abetting those who would continue what is clearly a cover-up. Are you going to dismiss the prosecutor of the case who came foreward this year and publicly expressed her concerns about "new" evidence that proves Rabin was shot at point blank range and in the front - something the Kempler video proves Amir didn't do.
The ballistics expert at the trial said there was NO GUN RESIDUE on Yigal Amir - something impossible if he shot real bullets.
David Rutstein and Barry Chamish both publicly charge Shimon Peres with being involved in the murder and haven't been sued, whereas others have sued for less and won.
Whether or not you want to believe it, Shimon Peres came to power over Rabin's dead body and you're not helping pursue justice ...
Most sincerely,
David Ben-Ariel
Shimon Peres Came to Power Over Rabin's Dead Body
[News-and-Society:Politics] Who really murdered Yitzhak Rabin? Does the Kempler video prove the official government version is bogus? Was Shimon Peres an accomplice in Rabin's death? Will Barry Chamish be vindicated, after all?
Dear Yair;
I read your conspiracy email. I've been meaning to ask you about what Barry Chamish says, and since you brought it up. I've been wondering if any of what he says about the Shabatian Jews has any basis in fact.
It's obvious to me that there are people who are advancing an agenda which includes sexual immorality and an all powerful government, the nanny state. In America 80+% of us who are in favor of protecting the unborn, yet the people who control the legal establishment have created a constitutional right of a woman to abort her child. Ditto for homosexual marriage. We watch very few movies because of vulgar language and sexual immorality. The T V is full of the above plus impotent fathers. The situation continues to deteriorate because people who have their hands on the levers of power are promoting the same agenda. This agenda dovetails exactly with the program being promoted by the fallen archangel Lucifer. The Midrash for Genesis 3 calls him Samhail.
They have created a fictitious history about America. As you know, the legal systems of America, the British Common Wealth countries, and Israel are based on Torah. The fiction has the founding fathers of America portrayed as secularists, as opposed to the Hebrew Roots Christians that they were. They have created an educational system which brain washes the children. Their mantra is "give us more money and the educational achievements of the students will improve." This in spite of the over whelming evidence to the contrary.
What I want you to understand that I don't agree with everything that Barry says. His writings are proof of conspiracy theories causing people to go off the deep end. I have also seen his writings used by holocaust deniers, which is never a good idea. The hardest thing to separate is a mixture of falsehood and truth. However it's not a good idea to throw the baby out with the bath water either.
Dear Yair;
I wrote;
And you replied
<<People who abandon Biblical Values obviously want to impose their own values or lack of them>>
The question is are they their values, or is their a nexus of evil?
<<on the rest of society. There are no vacuums. The best and possibly only solution is for those
who believe to strengthen their connection to the Bible.>>
No argument there.
<<It happens that we get the feeling that control of our surroundings is being hijacked by others>>
None of which changes the fact that the legal, educational and media elite are all promoting this agenda.
<<and maybe it is but this is an outcome of an unspoken consensus amongst those
who are active in public life. We must not seek to compensate ourselves for our imagined
"impotence" by believing in fantasies about conspiracy etc.>>
Is a conspiracy, or does it just look like one?
<<We should seek the truth, believe in the Bible, and strengthen our Brit-Am consciousness.>>
I agree.
You didn't answer my main question, are the Shabitians real, or did Chamish make them up? `
1. Arutz Sheva News Service - Tuesday,
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
February 07, 2006, 9 Shevat 5766
Editor: Ezra HaLevi
ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE DISCOVERED IN RAMALLAH AREA
By Scott Shiloh
Three weeks ago, Israeli police found a mosaic floor in an Arab car.
The Antiquities Authority has confirmed that the floor be belongs to a
previously undiscovered synagogue in the Ramallah area.
Researchers from the Israeli Antiquities Authority believe that the
mosaic formed part of an ancient synagogue floor because it contained
depictions of Jewish symbols, such as the base of a menorah (a seven
branched candelabrum), a lulav (palm branch), and dates.
Another, no less interesting feature of the mosaic, are the words
“Shalom (peace) on Israel” which are inscribed on it. At first,
researchers thought the thieves had stolen the mosaic floor of an
ancient Jericho synagogue, known as the “Shalom on Israel” synagogue,
because if has the same inscription.
But after some checking, the researchers learned that the Jericho
synagogue, located in an area subject to the jurisdiction of the PA,
was intact and in place. The inevitable conclusion was that the newly
discovered mosaic was from an as yet undiscovered ancient synagogue.
Researchers surmise that the synagogue is located somewhere in the
Ramallah area, because the two suspects in the car where the mosaic
was found, are from Shuafat, a north Jerusalem neighborhood bordering
Ramallah.
The precise location of the synagogue can only be guessed at, because
areas, such as Ramallah, which are controlled by Palestinian Authority
security forces, are off-limits to Jews. Jews who attempt to visit or
do research in those areas are at risk of being kidnapped or killed.
Ironically, the “Shalom on Israel” synagogue in Jericho is also
off-limits to Jews, despite a specific provision of the Oslo accords
that guarantees Jewish access to the site.
During the First and Second Temple periods, the Ramallah area was at
the heart of the Jewish commonwealth, so the possibility of an
undiscovered synagogue in the area came as no surprise to antiquities
researchers.
Like many archeological discoveries, this one was revealed entirely by
accident, when border police stopped and searched a suspicious
vehicle. When they saw the mosaic, police knew they were on to
something unusual, and immediately called in a special unit, whose job
is to investigate the theft of antiquities. That unit turned the
mosaic over to the Antiquities Authority.
Despite the security obstacles, the Antiquities Authority said it will
attempt to use undercover means to discover the exact location of the
synagogue.
YESHA'S JEWISH POPULATION SWELLS DESPITE EXPULSION
By Ezra HaLevi
Despite the forced removal of 10,000 residents, the construction of
the Partition Wall and ongoing terror attacks, the number of Jews
living in Yesha (Judea and Samaria) increased in 2005.
According to figures released by the Peace Now group and confirmed by
the Central Bureau of Statistics, 12,000 new residents moved into
Judea and Samaria, resulting in a net population growth following the
expulsion of close to 10,000 people from communities in Gaza and
northern Samaria. The number of Jews living in Judea and Samaria, not
counting eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods, is 250,000.
The report also says that the natural growth of the Jewish population
in Judea and Samaria continues at a far greater rate than that of
those residing within the pre-1967 Green Line. Residents of Yesha have
an average annual growth rate of 5.5 percent, whereas the rest of
Israel has a 1.8 growth rate.
Additionally, despite the destruction of permanent structures in
several outlying neighborhoods, 33 of the 120 long-standing
communities Peace Now defines as "illegal outposts" have built
permanent structures on their land, including synagogues, mikvaot
(ritual baths) and community social halls.
The Peace Now report also laments the continued construction in Jewish
towns located on the eastern side of the Partition Wall. Though the
government has largely frozen funding to towns located outside the
fence-route, private contractors and individuals have continued to
build in places like Tekoa, Beit El, Itamar, Yitzhar, Hevron and Ofra.
IDF ELIMINATES THREE TERRORISTS
By Ezra HaLevi
The IDF's counter-terror operations continued Tuesday, with the
killing of three senior terrorists in two separate incidents.
Senior Islamic Jihad terrorist Ahmed Ridad was killed Tuesday morning
in Shechem during an IDF operation. Ridad headed the Islamic Jihad's
Al-Kuds Brigade and was from the village of Ilar.
The operation began with a dozen IDF jeeps and transport vehicles
entering the terrorist hotbed before sunrise and surrounding the house
where Ridad and several other terrrorists were hiding. When the forces
called upon Ridad to give himself up, they began shooting from inside
the house.
Two IDF soldiers were wounded in the mission one lightly and one
moderately, according to Israel Radio.
Two terrorists from the outgoing Fatah group's Al-Aksa Brigades, on
their way to launch Kassam rockets at western Negev towns, were killed
in a targeted IDF attack on their vehicle Monday night. The
terrorists, Raami Hanoun and Yassir Asfour, were killed by two
missiles fired at their vehicle as it drove through the Jabalya slums.
Earlier Monday, two Islamic Jihad terrorists were also killed in
another targeted killing.
Monday evening, Arab terrorists hurled firebombs at Israeli vehicles
traveling in Samaria, between the communities of Nili and Naale in the
Binyamin region. No injuries were reported.
2. Daniel Pipes: Cartoons and Islamic Imperialism
From: "D. Pipes Mailing List" <dplist@danielpipes.org>
Subject: #646: Pipes calls for standing with Denmark in NY Sun
Reply-to: "D. Pipes Mailing List" <meqmef@aol.com>
Cartoons and Islamic Imperialism
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
February 7, 2006
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3360
Extracts Only
The key issue at stake in the battle over the twelve Danish cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad is this: Will the West stand up for its customs and mores, including freedom of speech, or will Muslims impose their way of life on the West? Ultimately, there is no compromise: Westerners will either retain their civilization, including the right to insult and blaspheme, or not.
More specifically, will Westerners accede to a double standard by which Muslims are free to insult Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, while Muhammad, Islam, and Muslims enjoy immunity from insults? Muslims routinely publish cartoons far more offensive than the Danish ones . Are they entitled to dish it out while being insulated from similar indignities?
Germany's Die Welt newspaper hinted at this issue in an editorial: "The protests from Muslims would be taken more seriously if they were less hypocritical. When Syrian television showed drama documentaries in prime time depicting rabbis as cannibals, the imams were quiet." Nor, by the way, have imams protested the stomping on the Christian cross embedded in the Danish flag.
Precisely. Robert Spencer rightly called on the free world to stand "resolutely with Denmark." The informative Brussels Journal asserts, "We are all Danes now." Some governments get it:
Norway: "We will not apologize because in a country like Norway, which guarantees freedom of expression, we cannot apologize for what the newspapers print," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg commented.
Germany: "Why should the German government apologize [for German papers publishing the cartoons]? This is an expression of press freedom," Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble said.
France: "Political cartoons are by nature excessive. And I prefer an excess of caricature to an excess of censorship," Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy commented.
Other governments wrongly apologized:
Poland: "The bounds of properly conceived freedom of expression have been overstepped," Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz stated.
United Kingdom: "The republication of these cartoons has been unnecessary, it has been insensitive, it has been disrespectful and it has been wrong," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.
New Zealand: "Gratuitously offensive," is how Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton described the cartoons.
United States: "Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," a State Department press officer, Janelle Hironimus, said.
Even worse, in 1997 when an Israeli woman distributed a poster of Muhammad as a pig, the American government shamefully abandoned its protection of free speech. On behalf of President Bill Clinton, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns called the woman in question "either sick or … evil" and stated that "She deserves to be put on trial for these outrageous attacks on Islam." The State Department endorses a criminal trial for protected speech? Stranger yet was the context of this outburst. As I noted at the time, having combed through weeks of State Department briefings, I "found nothing approaching this vituperative language in reference to the horrors that took place in Rwanda, where hundreds of thousands lost their lives. To the contrary, Mr. Burns was throughout cautious and diplomatic."
Western governments should take a crash course on Islamic law and the historically-abiding Muslim imperative to subjugate non-Muslim peoples. They might start by reading the forthcoming book by Efraim Karsh, Islamic Imperialism: A History (Yale).
Peoples who would stay free must stand unreservedly with Denmark.
3. Shaun D Hansen: "The time has come for Israel to be an
Independent nation"
Subject: Re: Jerusalem News-407
item #5. Prof. Paul Eidelberg: "The Myth of Israel's Dependence on the United
States"
Response to #5: More money has gone from the US to Israel than Mr.
Eidelberg indicates, and Mr. Eidelberg's calculations are based on guesses
and estimates. My information shows that the U.S. has given Israel well
over $100 billion in outright grants since 1949, and that the U.S. still
provides $6 billion per year to Israel- more than any other country,
despite the fact that Israel is now one of the more wealthy nations in the
world. Don't get me wrong- I support this- Israel has needed the help of
the U.S. However, and I think Paul Eidelberg will agree, the time has
come for Israel to achieve its financial independence and to stop
receiving money from the U.S. for not only financial reasons, but
political/strategic ones. Israel is now facing the largest threat it ever
has. Iran has both the will and the power to threaten Israeli existence.
The UN, the U.S., and Europe all despise Iran's overtures, but only Israel
is Iran's current target. Will the U.S. or Europe come to Israeli aid in
time. No. The responsibility is shifting to Israel. Only Israel can
appreciate fully the danger posed by Iran. The President of Iran
threatened to "wipe Israel from the map." He didn't threaten to wipe
France from the map. Yes, the time has come for Israel to be an
independent nation, to make decisions unilaterally, and to sever the
umbilical cord (though not the friendship) it has had with America.
While I dont know anything about IFMJ, the idea of calling all "messianics" a stealth approach to proselytizing for evangelical christians, is absurd...C.