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Jerusalem News-752
Jerusalem News-751
Date 2nd April 2008, 26th Adar-2 5768
Contents:
1. Settler who killed terrorist:
Government policy foolish
2. The Danish Cartoons that all the Fuss is About
3. U.S. Government Recognizes Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries
1. Settler who killed terrorist:
Government policy foolish
by Efrat Weiss
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3526052,00.html
Erez Bar-On of Ofra tells Ynet how he shot Palestinian who tried to stab him
at West Bank hitchhikers' station, criticizes government over decision to remove
roadblocks, supply Palestinian Authority with armored vehicles
Erez Bar-On, 30, of the West Bank settlement of Ofra, became a hero Monday after
shooting a terrorist to death as the latter attempted to stab him and a teenager
at a hitchhikers' station near the settlement of Shilo.
Talking to Ynet, Bar-On slammed the government's roadblock removal policy and
its decision to supply the Palestinians with armored vehicles.
After reenacting the incident before police officers, Bar-On said that what was
important to him at the moment was that the lessons would be learned.
According to him, the central and important message from the incident was that
"the Palestinians cannot be allowed to roam freely. If the situation had been
slightly different, and I wouldn?t have kept cool, it could have ended with the
death of two citizens, rather than the terrorist."
Recounting the dramatic incident, Bar-On said, "I got off a car with another guy
and stood at the hitchhikers' station at the direction of Jerusalem. A few
second after we arrived, someone crossed the road towards us. We could tell that
he was not Jewish.
"He tried to shake our hands, but something was suspicious. He asked us in
broken English where he could catch a bus to the Birzeit University. I told him
in English, 'No, and waved at him with my hand to move away. I was afraid, and
so was the student who was with me.
"The terrorist said that he was from America, and kept his hand inside his
shirt. Suddenly, he pulled out a knife and shouted, 'Allah Akbar' (God is
great). I took two steps backwards and shot him."
According to Bar-On, the terrorist stood about a meter and a half away from him.
"I didn't think twice. My life was in clear danger, and so was the life of the
student standing next to me."
2. The Danish Cartoons that all the Fuss
is About
http://www.britam.org/jerusalem/jerusalemCartoons.html
3. U.S. Government Recognizes Jewish
Refugees from Arab Countries
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?p=un&v=001_D6q8SmIH1r6dYotnehhPq50QV9PQDFD6HNaNhoyyr7wCb0DkP0FSw==
U.S. Government Recognizes Palestinians Not
the Only Middle East Refugees
Congress Passes First Ever Resolution
on Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shelomo Alfassa 917-606-8262
WASHINGTON, DC (April 1, 2008) - In what may be the beginning of a dramatic
shift in United States policy, the U.S. Congress passed House Resolution 185,
which grants first-time-ever recognition to Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
Prior to the adoption of H.Res.185, all Resolutions on Middle East refugees
referred only to Palestinians. This Resolution affirms that the U.S. government
will now recognize that all victims of the Arab-Israeli conflict must be treated
equally. It further urges that the President and U.S. officials participating in
Middle East discussions to ensure that any reference to Palestinian refugees
must: "also include a similarly explicit reference to the resolution of the
issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries."
The Resolution was introduced by Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Mike Ferguson (R-NJ). With the
passing of this Resolution, Rep. Nadler stated, "We believe that as a member of
the Quartet, and in light of the U.S. central and indispensable role in
promoting Middle East 'just peace', the U.S. must reaffirm that it embraces a
just and comprehensive approach to the issue of Middle East refugees."
Rep. Joseph Crowley said, "The world needs to understand that it is not just the
Arabs and it's not just the Palestinians in the Middle East, but also Jewish
people who themselves were dispossessed of their possessions and their homes,
and were victims of terrorist acts. These are people who lived in Middle Eastern
communities not for decades, but for thousands of years." Rep. Crowley added
that the Resolution will, "bring light upon an issue that has been swept under
the carpet."
"Discussions of Middle Eastern refugees invariably focus exclusively-and
shortsightedly-on the plight of those of Palestinian descent," said Rep.
Ros-Lehtinen. "Far fewer people are aware of the injustice faced by Jewish
refugees from Arab lands and Iran. Many Jews saw their communities, which had
existed vibrantly for centuries systematically dismantled. They lost their
resources, their homes, and their heritage sites, fleeing in the face of
persecution, pogroms, revolutions and brutal dictatorships."
Rep. Mike Ferguson said that there was very strong bi-partisan support for this
issue which recognizes, "the plight of hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees
who were displaced from countries in the Middle East, Northern Africa and all
around the Persian Gulf." Congressmen Ferguson acknowledged that the U.N. has
never recognized Jewish refugees, and that this,"is completely unacceptable and
long over due, and this is one of the things this Resolution seeks to address."
Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice-President of the Conference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish Organizations commented, "the failure during all these
years to recognize other refugees, compounded the indignation and the suffering
and the deprivation of Jews in Arab countries. There was a systematic process of
expulsion which the Arab governments engaged in." He added that the Resolution
is not an obstacle to peace. "It is a distortion to talk only of one refugee
population, as that would undermine the ultimate outcome of any negotiations.
The Congressional action will educate a generation that know too little about
the other refugees."
The passing of this Resolution is the strongest U.S. declaration on the rights
of Jewish refugees that were displaced from Arab countries. H.Res.185
underscores the fact that Jews living in Arab countries suffered human rights
violations, were uprooted from their homes, and were made refugees.
Stanley Urman, Executive Director of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries stated
that, "Congress has restored truth to the Middle East narrative, by recommending
equitable treatment of all Middle East refugees. Only in this fashion can there
be movement from truth to justice, from justice to reconciliation, and from
reconciliation to peace - between and among all peoples and states in the
region."
Underscoring the importance of the Resolution, Rep. Nadler added, "When the
Middle East peace process is discussed, Palestinian refugees are often
addressed. However, Jewish refugees outnumbered Palestinian refugees, and their
forced exile from Arab lands must not be omitted from public discussion on the
peace process. It is simply not right to recognize the rights of Palestinian
refugees without recognizing the rights of Jewish refugees."
Media Kit is available at
www.justiceforjews.com/mediakit2.html.
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