Rabbi Avraham Feld

  "Mohammed Wept"  
 A Response to Islam 

Chapter Sixteen:
APPENDIX: Some After-thoughts

Disengaging reason; building Palestine upon the ruins of Israel

“Nail in Brain; Nail in heart.” Such labels attached to x-rays in Israeli hospitals have become routine. A recent victim of terror, arrived at the hospital with nearly 15 nails and metal fragments throughout his body. With severe burns he required 5 types of surgery. After regaining consciousness, he had to slowly be taken off of a ventilator, and now faces for the rest of his life painful rehabilitation. This fellow was reported in the news as being "merely wounded" (cited by professor Louis Rene Beres who presented project Daniels report, Israel’s strategic future, to PM Sharon. The professor is a Strategic and Military Affairs columnist for the Israeli Press)

Demographics

The distorted presentation in the media of the demographic situation has clouded the picture we receive, giving an image of many stateless people, who once had this fairy tale Palestinian community but were uprooted by the evil Israelis strong but small in numbers while the people recently coined Palestinians (to match the fairy tale place) are multiplying in numbers and urgently need their fairly tale state back.

So, here are some actual facts about demographics…..

Many of the Arabs is this area have passports from a surprising assortment of countries. If you will remember, the Hashmonite Kingdom of Palestine gave everyone citizenship in 1954. Besides often having Egyptian, Lebanese , Turkish, Iraqi, Syrian etc. citizenship, many Arab people carry second or even third passports. Therefore, true population experts insist that there is absolutely no problem in allowing these people to be relocated to any of these possible Arab countries. They may also remain living in Israel as permanent foreign residents – with no need for Israeli citizenship. In a 117 page report for example, (see www.pademopraphics.com) PLO statistics on demographics have been proven false, invalid and unreliable. Unfortunately, the ruling Israeli coalition had based policies on fraudulent data (which passed by unchecked and accepted uncritically) whose purpose was to demoralize Israel into capitulating to her enemies.

The American Demographic team is comprised by such luminaries and distinguished individuals such as: General David Shahaf, Prof Ezra Zohar, Dr. Y. Faitelson, Dr. A. Shvout. Dr. D. Passig, Yorum Ettinger, Michael Wise, Roberta Seid and Bennet Simmerman. Since the publication of their study, the PCBS (Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics) have removed some of their unrealistic assumptions collapsing its own depictions of future growth. The PCBS and others have built a democratic House of cards until those projecting the future bother to fix the present, their stats are invalid. The PCBS was forced to publicly admit the inclusion of 325,000 overseas Palestinians in its overseas census base. They also included 374,000 non residents who have been living abroad for years. Double counting amounted to a further reduction of over 200,000. Instead of 236,000 immigrants moving into the territories since 1997, as the PCBS figured, 74,000 left the territories creating an additional reduction of 310,000 against the false PCBS stats. We could go on and on.

Bear with me for a moment while I bring in a metaphor; as you will see it is not really a digression at all. I asked several friends living in Israel what they thought about the ethical and moral concepts which serve as a basis for the rules concerning nature reserves. Living in such reserves are all types of wildlife such lizards, birds, turtles and flowers. Inside the reserves this wildlife is protected to such an extent that the rules of the Society for the Protection of Nature dictate the killing of dogs and cats who haplessly wander into these reserves. Patience fraying and holding back their ridicule my knowledgeable friends explained to me again that it is important to save endangered species, that these species hold vital places in the larger ecosystem, and that any break along this delicate line has ripple effects which can wreak havoc in that corner of the ecosystem. The consequences can be surprisingly far-reaching. The rules therefore are not extreme. It is morally justified to have different rules for the cats and dogs who exist heartily and in abundance. This does result in a lack of equality and in a prejudice against dogs/cats in a nature reserve, but it is well justified by extenuating circumstances! Now, back to the Jews. The Jews are also an endangered species and her only nature reserve is Israel . Do the Jews not deserve the same protections afforded by society to the turtles and owls and the smallest of lizards?

We are a democracy – a sparkling island of democracy surrounded by a sea of dictatorships. Yet we live among predators, and first we must survive in order to be a democratic nation, in order to be any nation . As Americans recently learned the tragically hard way, a nation under attack, is a nation under stress; the stress of continuing threats of attack from enemies within, from enemies outside, from enemies in disguise. Priorities are suddenly highlighted: survival before personal freedom, effective immediacy of counter defense and counter attack before the luxury of votes and majority-determined decisions. We, like America , are a democracy, but we live among predators. We cannot always be the exact same type of democracy as exists in Luxemburg, Swede, Iceland , etc. We hold the dubious honor of being an endangered species. We are a valuable endangered species. Right now, our type of democracy must make room for our protection, for our survival as a delicate fledgling population surrounded by predators.

American Aid

Another topic that I thought might be of interest to you is “the myth of American aid.” As you and I both know, the distortions of the media have clouded so many peoples thinking, opinions and viewpoints. We are trying to devise strategies and solve problems here. Creating fairy tale nations and historical myths, presenting skewed statistics and manipulated documentation of demographics; all this as described above has thrown a wrench in the process of achieving a lasting solution. Another serious problem is that the media has greatly exaggerated the amount of aid given to Israel and likewise has disproportionately reported Israel ’s level of dependence on the US . (The Doormat Doctrine by Arieh Stav Nativ '91) Suffice to say, these distortions have created a less then flattering picture of Israel , and once again have thrown a monkey wrench in Israel ’s attempts to solve problems and achieve security. (Organski, A.F.K. The $36 Billion Bargain: Strategies and Politics in US Assistance to Israel , Columbia University Press, 1990, Laufer L. ""US Aid to Israel : Problems and Perspectives, Hebrew University Policy Oriented Publication

Now let us wade past the confusion and begin to examine some actual facts about what America has done for Israel, and then what Israel has done for America. The US contributes and lends to many countries. As we will see, the sum actually given to Israel is relatively quite small. The US contribution to NATO’s budget is 170 billion dollars per annum. Another 70 billion dollars goes to countries in the Far East . Let us compare that with what Israel receives from the US . Israel receives less then one-half of a percent of the two sums mentioned above. This means that in the 50 years of Israeli statehood, the accumulation of the sums given to Israel each year over these 50 years, equals less then just one year of aid given to NATO (it equals actually less then 29% of this annual contribution.) plus just one year of the budget allocated to the Far East. These comparisons are quite dramatic, yet unlike Israel, never once have the Europeans or the Asians be made to feel weak, humiliated and dependent. Israel has been subject to all this and more. This is a media trick designed to place Israel in an artificially contrived position of owing and cowing.

Jesse Helms: "Israel is America 's battleship in the Middle East"

Now, let us look at another media trick. This trick adds to the distorted view of how much Israel actually receives, by also vastly underreporting how much Israel does for America. Again, lets head straight for the facts. In 1989 Under-Secretary of state Joseph Sisco stated that had the US not been receiving in return the equivalent (in different forms and shapes) of the full amount lent to Israel then the US would not have been giving Israel a cent. This comment sets the stage by admitting in a circular fashion that America had been getting enormous payback from Israel . What was Israel in a position to give to the US? Intelligence. Intelligence of vast economic and strategic value - with an emphasis on weaponry intelligence. As stated by Ronald Reagan in 1982, "Were it not for American aid to Israel, the Soviets would be sitting at the Persian Gulf" ( Middle East Policy Survey, July '82)

President Reagan was referring to a dramatic chain of events that occurred as a consequence of aid given to Israel, when Israel began paying back its debt tenfold with intelligence of great financial and strategic value. Ultimately this information was powerful enough to be a factor in the shifting of Cold war powers to the favor of the US

First let us look at the financial value of Israel 's intelligence (Rabi M. Politics and Foreign Aid, Prager: 1998). Many experts believe that the intelligence alone on Soviet arms was worth billions (such as Head of Air Force Intelligence General Keegan, and other Generals and admirals). Weapons systems such as the MiG 19,MiG25 MiG 21 MiG 23 and the accompanying electronics saved the US billions in research and development costs. The info on the MiG 21 alone, was worth 2 billion.

Now let us look at the strategic value of intelligence that, as will be shown caused shifts and switches and changes world wide. The defeat of the soviet Syrian air defense system in the '82 Operation Peace for the Galilee left Warsaw Pact countries defenseless in the air. Israel was then able to send documents pertaining to soviet war planes, and the US could further advance and develop appropriate air tactics and combat moves. Advanced information pertaining to Soviet tanks (T61) and Israeli methods of penetrating their armor was another gift handed from Israel to the US These two massive accomplishments generously shared with the US, together brought about profound changes in the balance of power between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

Israel's payment in return for its small loan included other goodies. Israel gave the US a Soviet radar system, another intelligence bonanza worth 6 million dollars and priceless amounts of time and manpower. Everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask about the SAM 6 missiles was now in the hands of the US .

The chain of consequences continued…..Soviet weapons were discredited and sales faltered. Meanwhile American arms sales skyrocketed. Israel 's public acquisition of a weapon would send out signals to countries across the globe and a sudden increase in sales would be triggered. As Jesse Helms said, Israel is America 's battleship in the Middle East . It would have cost America untold billions to insert and support permanent expeditionary forces in the Middle East. The average cost of fielding one NATO soldier is $160,000 per annum.

After all of these gifts, remember too that much of US aid to Israel was in the form of high-interest loans. All in all, the US has never cut a better deal. For me, the blessings America has received for helping Israel simply fulfills the Torah's verses: "Those who bless you.. I will bless." "And through you will be blessed all the families of the earth."

HaModia (9 Iyar 5765) Enlightens Us

Yediot Achronot’s Nachmum Barneah considered a top journalist, wrote that the media supported disengagement more then they supported democracy. Leading army radio journalist Kaveh Shafranconfessed with other correspondents that the media has supported disengagement at the price of democracy. The media kept silent when Sharon lied saying he would accept the results of the Likud referendum. The medias conspiracy of silence protected Sharon when he fired cabinet ministers, when allegations of family corruption came out, when he pressured threatened and bribed MKs with jobs, when Sharon formed government policies with an Arab majority, when Weissglass and his law firm were revealed to be partners in casinos involved in black markets, terrorist and big business dealings, and Weissglasses own financial scandals. They continued to confess that the media was irresponsible in not asking the questions that needed to be asked about the plans of Sharon . For example, who will rule in Gaza, why are the dire warnings of the military experts being completely ignored, why no demand is made of Sharon or left wing leaders regarding their own contradictory statements made regarding the plan of unilateral withdrawal, why the media never points out the simple fact that the drastic budget cuts are really being made to access the cash needed for the implementation of their withdrawal plan. Shafran also explained the media and senior government officials have become part of the Sharon family who fly together, dine together, and do not protest for fear of being demoted. Amnon Abromovitz one of the states leading investigative reporters said “we need to protect Sharon like an Etrog” ( precious citron used in a holiday ritual.) He said, “We must protect him, not only from political obstacles, but from legal ones as well.” He also confirmed Shafrans analysis of the situation.

Parting Thought

I have heard Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians say that the Torah should have started with the first command given to the Israelites (Exodus 12-2.) Why then, does the Torah begin with the narrative of creation? So that if the nations will say to Israel , “you are thieves, you have taken the land of Canaan by force,” Israel will reply to them “The whole world belongs to G-d. He created it. He gave it to whomever He pleased. Of His own will he gave it to them (Canaanites.) And of His own will He took it from them and gave it to us.”

Our sages teach that every Jew possesses a portion of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. The converse is also true. The land possesses a portion of every Jew. (From Responsa of Rabbeinu Meir ben Baruch, Responsum 536 (in Otzar HA Geonim on Tractate Kiddushin, sec. 146).
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And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit,
and the earth shall yield her increase,
and they shall be safe in their land.
Ezekiel 34:27