Is Lebanon another ''Amona'' for Olmert to show how tough he is? The illogical frenzy to support the attack on Lebanon

Zionsake Editor July 20, 2006


I fail to comprehend the logic of the present frenzy to support the Olmert government's attack on Lebanon as if they know what they are doing, as we clearly saw they don't, from their failure to deal with the rocket attacks from Gaza. The government is known to consist of schemers and opportunists who do things for other reasons than for the good of Israel, so why not stop for a moment to assess whether the way they tackled the Hizb'Allah problem is actually going to achieve anything!

From the start PM-by-default Olmert correctly pointed out that Syria is actually the root of the problem, but that it is up to the international community to deal with the Assad regime. Which international entity would actually have an interest in dealing with Damascus, even though the Assad regime needs to be dealt with? It is yet again a manifestation of the lame Israeli policy to entrust others who don't have Israel's best interest at heart, to take care of security on her behalf, like the PA and Egypt.

To now destroy Lebanon in an effort to get at Hizb'Allah because the Lebanese government failed to disarmed them, is rediculous! How could they have done it with Syria controlling Lebanon with an iron fist the last twenty years? Hizb'Allah flourished with Syria being their link for support from Iran, which is even more reason to deal with Syria to cut off their support to Hizb'Allah before dealing with the latter. The reason for Olmert not to deal with Syria is simply cowardice; fearing what Iran would do and what Washington would say. Meanwhile the IDF has for a long time been ready to deal with Iran - especially to make sure that they don't acquire nuclear capability.

Prophetically, however, there is a rationale in this attack on Lebanon in that it might prepare the way for Israel to extend her kingdom northwards as in the days of kings David and SolomON:
...Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses-whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled. NIV 1 Kings 9:17-19

Also posted at Zionsake Blog

Is Lebanon another ''Amona'' for Olmert to show how tough he is? The illogical frenzy to support the attack on Lebanon

Zionsake Editor July 20, 2006


I fail to comprehend the logic of the present frenzy to support the Olmert government's attack on Lebanon as if they know what they are doing, as we clearly saw they don't, from their failure to deal with the rocket attacks from Gaza. The government is known to consist of schemers and opportunists who do things for other reasons than for the good of Israel, so why not stop for a moment to assess whether the way they tackled the Hizb'Allah problem is actually going to achieve anything!

From the start PM-by-default Olmert correctly pointed out that Syria is actually the root of the problem, but that it is up to the international community to deal with the Assad regime. Which international entity would actually have an interest in dealing with Damascus, even though the Assad regime needs to be dealt with? It is yet again a manifestation of the lame Israeli policy to entrust others who don't have Israel's best interest at heart, to take care of security on her behalf, like the PA and Egypt.

To now destroy Lebanon in an effort to get at Hizb'Allah because the Lebanese government failed to disarmed them, is rediculous! How could they have done it with Syria controlling Lebanon with an iron fist the last twenty years? Hizb'Allah flourished with Syria being their link for support from Iran, which is even more reason to deal with Syria to cut off their support to Hizb'Allah before dealing with the latter. The reason for Olmert not to deal with Syria is simply cowardice; fearing what Iran would do and what Washington would say. Meanwhile the IDF has for a long time been ready to deal with Iran - especially to make sure that they don't acquire nuclear capability.

Prophetically, however, there is a rationale in this attack on Lebanon in that it might prepare the way for Israel to extend her kingdom northwards as in the days of kings David and SolomON:
...Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses-whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled. NIV 1 Kings 9:17-19

Also posted at Zionsake Blog

Had demographics been a reason, why block aliyah?
How Olmert justifies failure
Filed undER: Front Page
Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 6, 2006

...LEAVING aside the military consequences of the government's plans for Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, the question arisES: Is the government working to enhance Israel's demographic stature and strengthen its democratic system?
The Olmert government bases its claim that Israel's demographic standing is in need of immediate enhancement on a census carried out by the Palestinian Authority in 1997. That census claims there is near numerical parity between the Arab and Jewish populations west of the Jordan River.

Yet a study published in January 2005 by a group of independent American and Israeli researchers who examined the PA population data proved that that data was fraudulent. The researchers, who presented their findings to the government and the Knesset, showed that the PA's numbers were inflated by some 50 percent, or up to 1.5 million people.

After the study was published, Prof. Arnon Sofer - Israel's loudest demographic alarmist - quietly reduced his Palestinian population data by one million. Last month, in an interview with Hadassah magazine, Prof. Sergio Della Pergula, Sofer's colleague, reduced his Palestinian population estimate by some 900,000.

So today, Israel's two most prominent demographic sirens admit that, far from approaching numerical parity, Jews make up approximately two-thirds of the population of Israel, Judea and Samaria.

The government may well believe that a two-thirds majority is not enough. But expelling up to 100,000 Jews from Judea and Samaria and partitioning Jerusalem will not add one Jew or detract one Arab from Israel's population rolls.

The fact of the matter is that if the government was truly concerned about Israel's demographic balance, it would be working tirelessly to bring every possible Jew to Israel. Yet, not only is the government not doing this, it is subverting the rule of law to prevent Jews
from coming here.

Last month, Immigration Minister Ze'ev Boim broke the law in order to block the aliya of 218 Jews from India who have been waiting, suitcases packed, for nine months to come. These Jews, members of the Bnei Menashe community, underwent conversion under the auspices of
Israel's Rabbinate nine months ago. As Michael Freund related in Thursday's Post, the community's more than 7,000 members were recognized as "descendents of the Jewish people" by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar in March 2005.

One thousand community members, fully converted, are already living in Israel. All the rest, including the 218 who have completed the conversion process, want to come. But rather than helping to facilitate the aliya of the members of one of the 10 Lost Tribes who after nearly 2,800 years miraculously found their way back to their people, the government of Israel
prefers to make a mockery of the rule of law.

Boim claims that he decided to violate the Law of Return and block the aliya of the 218, whose status as Jews is not in dispute, in order to consider how to best deal with the Bnei Menashe as a group. And how is the government now dealing with Bnei Menashe as a group? By freezing all of their conversion activities until further notice.

In a similar vein, today some 20,000 members of the Falash Mura community in Ethiopia are living in a refugee camp in Addis Ababa, waiting to make aliya. The conditions in their camp are reportedly unspeakable. These same Falash Mura have relatives in Israel who have been waiting for 15 years to be reunited with them.

In January 2005, the government decided to double the monthly quota of Falash Mura allowed to enter Israel, from 300 to 600. It then proceeded to do nothing. In September 2005, camp residents opened a hunger strike in hopes of forcing the government to implement its own decision, but to no avail.

Last month, the ministerial committee charged with handling the Falash Mura canceled the 2005 decision. Committee chairman Interior Minister Roni Bar-On justified the move by claiming that Israel lacked the money to bring them and that even if Israel had the funds, the Falash Mura would cause social problems once here.

No one seems to have thought of asking the Falash Mura whether they would prefer to come to Israel and forgo welfare assistance or remain in the camp in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, Diaspora Jewry has already raised the money to bring 600 Falash Mura a month to Israel. The government simply refuses to use it.

Then there is the government's discriminatory policy towards New York's Yeshiva University. A year ago, it came to light that the government does not recognize bachelors degrees from YU. As a result, graduates of the Orthodox university's undergraduate program who live in Israel and work in government jobs are paid as if they only graduated from high school, even if they went on to receive advanced degrees and now work as heart surgeons in government hospitals.

A year ago, the Education Ministry promised to end this discriminatory practice. Yet the government has done nothing. As Richard Joel, president of YU, put it to New York's Jewish Week, "On the one hand, Israel is saying we want everybody to make aliya and build the
state, and on the other hand it is actively discouraging people from thinking that way by engaging in outrageous minutia. We all spend such energies encouraging people to make aliya, we can't have the State of Israel fighting us."

THE GOVERNMENT'S behavior indicates that it does not give a hoot about demography. But what about strengthening Israeli democracy? Is strengthening Israeli democracy an aim of the Olmert government?

Israelis only free to do what the government permits
How Olmert justifies failure
Filed undER: Front Page
Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 6, 2006

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's secret visit to Sderot Tuesday morning was met with snorts of disgusted laughter. When the prime minister of Israel treats a visit to a city in Israel as a military secret on the order of an American presidential visit to Baghdad, the message he sends is cleAR: Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last summer was a national security disaster - and he knows it.

... Last month the government submitted to the Knesset a bill to change the sections of the criminal code relating to the crime of incitement. In the bill's explanatory notes, the government claims that there is a need to broaden the scope of the statute to "prevent the 'pollution' of the public debate." The government also claims that freedom of speech must be constricted "to prevent an atmosphere that threatens the members of society and its leaders [and so prevents] them from forming their views and expressing them freely."

Dr. Avi Bell, a constitutional law expert from Bar-Ilan University's Law School, explains that the explanatory note reveals the amendment's anti-liberal intentions. "Rather than adopting the liberal assumption that people should be free to do whatever they want unless there is a compelling reason for the government to abridge their freedom, it adopts the anti-liberal assumption that people are free only to do what the government permits them to do, and, in this case, the government should not permit them to speak in a way that produces a 'violent' and 'polluted' public discourse."

The same anti-liberal tendencies are evident in a bill the government pushed through a first reading in Knesset on Wednesday that would make it illegal to publish opinion polls in the three weeks leading up to national elections. Here too, the government's claim to champion democracy is undermined by its actions. Indeed, its actions empty the term "democracy" of
all meaningful content.

The government's illiberal tendencies were similarly exposed by its decision this past month to restrict the freedom of movement of more than 20 citizens in Judea and Samaria. According to the Attorney General's Office, although none of these people have been indicted on any charges, they are all "dangerous."

All these citizens live and work in Judea and Samaria, and so the consequence of the restraining orders issued against them is that they are prohibited from living in their homes, seeing their families or going to their jobs. While the government does not have enough evidence to arrest any of these supposedly dangerous people for any crime, by issuing the restraining orders, the police are free to arrest them if they dare to enter their own homes.

No self-respecting liberal democracy would accept this sort of behavior, yet in Israel, the government justifies its trampling of democratic norms in the name of democracy.

An Israeli government that was interested in strengthening Israel's Jewish majority and its democratic system would be making use of the ample and readily available opportunities for doing both. Rather than doing so, the Olmert government is ignoring and indeed undermining these opportunities while, in the name of democracy and demographic stability, it is advancing a policy that will turn Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanya, Ra'anana, Kfar Saba, Afula, Hadera and Tiberias into frontline communities just like Sderot and Ashkelon.

Reasons for expelling settlers altogether false!
How Olmert justifies failure
Filed undER: Front Page
Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 6, 2006

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's secret visit to Sderot Tuesday morning was met with snorts of disgusted laughter. When the prime minister of Israel treats a visit to a city in Israel as a military secret on the order of an American presidential visit to Baghdad, the message he sends is cleAR: Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last summer was a national security disaster - and he knows it.

Olmert said he hid his plan to visit Sderot because he didn't want to give the Palestinian Authority a special reason to launch rockets against the city. That statement, like the government's decision to retake the destroyed communities of Dugit, Elei Sinai and Nisanit in a bid to halt the Palestinian rocket offensive, is a clear admission that the IDF is incapable of defending southern Israel from outside the Gaza Strip.

That is, it is a clear admission that the government lied last year when it said the IDF was in Gaza just to "protect the settlers." If anything, the Gaza settlers, by providing a friendly base of operations, protected the IDF. And just as opponents of the retreat warned, the removal of both endangered Israel's national security.

So now that the consequences of last year's retreat are clear, how is the Olmert government defending its goal of compounding the failure 20-fold in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem?

The government's line is that the withdrawal from Gaza wasn't supposed to make Israel more secure, and therefore the deterioration of the security situation in the South doesn't mean that the withdrawal was a strategic blunder.

As Yonatan Bassi, the outgoing head of the government's so-called Disengagement Authority, explained, "From a security point of view, I never thought things were going to be better" after Israel left Gaza. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, Bassi claimed that the retreat was important for strengthening Israeli democracy, which is "better. now than it was a year ago."

Amplifying Bassi's line are government ministers who claim that what is happening in Gaza is irrelevant to the government's plan to retreat from Judea and Samaria and to partition Jerusalem. Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter explains that the failure of the withdrawal from Gaza is immaterial to Judea and Samaria because there the IDF will remain in place.

According to Dichter, all the government wants to do is to orchestrate mass expulsions of Israeli citizens from their homes and to destroy their communities. The IDF, he promised in an interview Thursday with Ha'aretz, will stay where it is. The removal of the Israelis, Dichter says, will be undertaken to strengthen Israel's demographic balance and to enhance Israeli
democracy. Dichter's assumption that it is possible to expel tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes and to destroy their communities while leaving the IDF deployments in the areas untouched is delusional. The Israeli Left, on whose support the government depends for survival, and the Europeans, on whom the Israeli Left depends for survival, will not back the retention of IDF forces in Judea and Samaria in the wake of the planned mass expulsions.

BUT LEAVING aside the military consequences of the government's plans for Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, the question arisES: Is the government working to enhance Israel's demographic stature and strengthen its democratic system?

The Olmert government bases its claim that Israel's demographic standing is in need of immediate enhancement on a census carried out by the Palestinian Authority in 1997. That census claims there is near numerical parity between the Arab and Jewish populations west of the Jordan River.

Yet a study published in January 2005 by a group of independent American and Israeli researchers who examined the PA population data proved that that data was fraudulent. The researchers, who presented their findings to the government and the Knesset, showed that the PA's numbers were inflated by some 50 percent, or up to 1.5 million people.

After the study was published, Prof. Arnon Sofer - Israel's loudest demographic alarmist - quietly reduced his Palestinian population data by one million. Last month, in an interview with Hadassah magazine, Prof. Sergio Della Pergula, Sofer's colleague, reduced his Palestinian population estimate by some 900,000.

So today, Israel's two most prominent demographic sirens admit that, far from approaching numerical parity, Jews make up approximately two-thirds of the population of Israel, Judea and Samaria.

The government may well believe that a two-thirds majority is not enough. But expelling up to 100,000 Jews from Judea and Samaria and partitioning Jerusalem will not add one Jew or detract one Arab from Israel's population rolls.

Bombing Hamas out of Damascus and Syria the only answer


Zionsake EditOR: PM-by-default Olmert keeps on saying that the Hamas leadership in Damascus is really behind the kidnapping of the IDF soldier in Gaza. Instead of going after them in Damascus, however, the IDF keeps on hitting easy targets in Gaza (from the government's target bank as Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA.org.il likes to explain). That is cowardly and doesn't take care of the problem. Just overflying Pres. Assad of Syria's holiday home on the coast with fighter jets to send him a message, is still not very brave. The brave thing to do would be to bomb Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other (so-called) Palestinian Arab Moslems terrorists out of Damascus and Syria. Only that will give the message that Israel is not be messed with and that she cares for the lives of her Jews and others sojourning in her land - including Arabs!

It might force Syria to unleash its missiles on Israel, but that will also be a good thing since it would give Israel the excuse to take out Damascus (as is prophesied in Isaiah17). It will immediately break Iran's connection via Syria to Hisb'allah, Palestinian terrorists, Iran's frontline along the Golan, etc. Hisb'allah will, of course, also enter into the battle, but it won't be too difficult to deal with them in their vulnerable deployment along Israel's (temporary) northern border - that PM Ehud Barak has enabled them to do.

Only such bold action will bring peace because it will make Israel too strong to be messed with - also by the State Department, the E.U. and whoever else tries to side with the Moslems against Israel.

Olmert's plan crowds Arabs, other foreigners into Jerusalem
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: Israeli Politicians
Column One: Olmert's plan for Jerusalem
Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 15, 2006
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150355504853&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

During his tour this week of European capitals, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
announced that in addition to Judea and Samaria, he plans to transfer a
number of neighborhoods in Jerusalem to Hamas. In his words, "Not all the
Arab neighborhoods will be part of the city in the future."
Olmert claims that taking these Arab neighborhoods out of Jerusalem's
municipal boundaries will strengthen the city. From a security perspective
this makes no sense since transferring Tzur Baher, Jebl Mukaber and Isawiya
to the Hamas-Fatah-Islamic Jihad-al-Qaida-Hizbullah-led Palestinian
Authority will place all the remaining neighborhoods in the city within
enemy rocket, mortar and even rifle range.

Olmert apparently thinks that partitioning the city will secure the Jewish
majority of the city. Yet, taking these neighborhoods out of the city will
actually endanger that majority.

Over the past few months, a team of American and Israeli researchers
conducted a demographic study of Jerusalem and its environs. Last year the
same researchers - Bennett Zimmerman, Roberta Seid, Michael Weiss and Yoram
Ettinger - conducted the first independent study of the Palestinian
population data published by the PA's Central Bureau of Statistics in 1997.
Their study exposed that the PA had inflated the number of Palestinians in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza by some 1.5 million or 50 percent. Olmert and his
colleagues in Kadima and the Labor Party have justified their plan to
surrender Judea and Samaria to Hamas on the basis of these inflated numbers
which falsely project that by 2015 there will be more Arabs than Jews
between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

The team's research methods and their findings were reviewed by the leading
American demographer Nicholas Eberstadt from the American Enterprise
Institute in Washington, DC. At the Herzliya Conference in January,
Eberstadt praised the team's research methods and stated that their
conclusions were "not only plausible but quite persuasive."

Their study showed that today Jews comprise 59 percent of the overall
population of the areas that include sovereign Israel, Judea and Samaria and
Gaza and 67 percent of the population of Judea, Samaria and sovereign
Israel. Far from becoming the minority by 2015, the group's projections show
that in 2025, Jews will comprise between 56-71 percent of the overall
population of Judea, Samaria and sovereign Israel. In other words, the team
showed that there is no demographic threat to Israel's Jewish majority.

The team began examining the demographic situation in Jerusalem and its
environs after Olmert first expressed his plan to partition the city as part
of his unilateral retreat policy. The team noted at the outset that Olmert's
claim - that by placing Arab neighborhoods outside the municipal boundaries
he would be reducing the Arab population of the capital by tens of
thousands - ignores the fact that Arabs can move. As legal residents of
Jerusalem these Arabs are under no obligation to remain in the neighborhoods
slotted for transfer to Hamas.

Indeed, since the government's intention to partition the city was made
clear by the route of the security fence, thousands of Arabs with Jerusalem
ID cards who had previously lived in Judea and in neighborhoods set to be
placed outside the city's boundaries started converging on the city.
Residents of Pisgat Ze'ev and Neveh Ya'acov relate that Arabs are moving
into their neighborhoods in droves. This is also the case in the city's Arab
neighborhoods not set for transfer to Hamas such as Beit Tzafafa, Wadi Joz
and Abu Tor. Rather than reduce the number of Arabs in the city, Olmert's
plan is just crowding the city's population into shrunken boundaries. At the
same time, by giving up all the reserve open lands around the city, he is
blocking all chance of municipal growth.
As Zimmerman and his team members note, in Jerusalem's current municipal
boundaries, 487,000 Jews make up 68% of the population and 231,000 Arabs
make up 32%. Fertility rates of the two populations are nearly identical,
with a Jewish fertility rate of 3.8 and an Arab fertility rate of 4.1 per
woman.

The team checked what would happen if, rather than partitioning the city,
Israel were to expand the boundaries of the city. They found that if Israel
were to extend the borders of the capital to include the Adumim bloc, the
Etzion bloc, the Adam bloc, the Givon bloc, Mevasseret Zion and its
satellite neighborhoods, the Tekoa area, Abu Dis and Bir Naballah and
incorporate all these communities' Jewish and Arab residents into the city,
Jerusalem's demographic balance would remain the same. The enlarged city
would have 704,000 or 68% Jewish residents and 335,000 or 32% Arab
residents.

The enlarged capital would have plenty of land reserves on which to build
new housing for both its Jewish and Arab residents. Retaining Israeli
control over the areas around Jerusalem's current boundaries would also
protect Bethlehem's status as a Christian city while Olmert's plan, which
places these areas under terrorist control, guarantees that Jesus's birth
city will become a Muslim majority city with all the religious and political
consequences that such a religious transformation would involve for the
Christian world. The study shows that the number of Arabs that would be
incorporated into the city if it were to expand its borders is smaller than
the number of Arabs incorporated into the city with its unification in 1967.
And it goes without saying that an enlarged Jerusalem would be safer than a
partitioned city with its removed sections under terrorist control.
In light of the study's findings, and given the deterioration of Israel's
national security situation in the wake of its retreat from Gaza last summer
and the recent reports of al-Qaida cells operating in Jerusalem, it is
impossible to avoid the conclusion that in configuring his retreat and
partition plan for the country's capital city, Olmert did not consider its
devastating repercussions on Jerusalem itself.
SO IF Olmert's planned retreat harms Jerusalem, what purpose does it serve?
The sole goal that Olmert's partition plan advances is that of attempting to
appease racist, anti-Jewish radical Islamic forces that claim that Jews have
no rights in Jerusalem. Indeed, at its core, Olmert's plan internalizes this
jihadist view by completely ignoring the security, municipal and demographic
concerns of the city's Jews and non-jihadist Arabs.

This Israeli internalization of the jihadist view of Jews in Jerusalem also
pervades the government's treatment of Jewish land purchases in eastern
Jerusalem. Last week Ha'aretz reported that a month ago the State's
Attorney, Eran Shendar, asked Police Inspector Yohanan Danino to undertake a
covert investigation of Ateret Cohanim - a non-profit organization that
works to bypass the Palestinian Authority's policy of defining land sales to
Jews as a capital offense for which dozens of Arabs have been murdered since
1994.

Shendar's instructions came after an Arab Jerusalemite named Muhammad
Marageh, who in the past worked for Ateret Cohanim, offered to attempt to
criminally implicate the organization in exchange for receiving state's
witness protection and, perhaps, money from the state. The Ha'aretz report
makes clear that Israel's chief prosecutor is so convinced that there is
something wrong with willing Arab sellers selling land to willing Jewish
buyers that apparently, without being presented with any evidence of
wrongdoing, he ordered the police to begin a secret criminal investigation
of the Jews.

This anti-Jewish view is similarly manifested in the police's indifference
to the fates of Arab land sellers. On April 12, the eve of Passover,
Jerusalem resident Muhammad Abu Al Hawa was tortured and murdered in Jericho
for the "crime" of selling a building in Abu Tor to Jews. The week before
his murder Israel's Channel 10 led prime time news broadcasts, on two
consecutive nights, with hysterical reports about the land sale. The reports
were precipitated by a court order for the police to evict illegal squatters
from the building to enable the legal owners to take possession of their
property - an eviction which Channel 10 filmed.

As I reported at the time, sources in Abu Tor stated that after the Channel
10 expose, it was only a question of time before Hawa was murdered. Those
sources also said that far from protecting Hawa, the police were suspected
of tipping off Channel 10's reporter on the scheduled eviction. This week,
the spokesman for the police's Samaria and Judea District responsible for
investigating Hawa's murder did not respond to repeated requests for
information on the status of the investigation.

THE GOVERNMENT'S treatment of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate similarly
exposes its internalization of the anti-Semitic view that Jews have no
rights in eastern Jerusalem. Today there are two Patriarchs of the Greek
Orthodox Church: the legal Patriarch Irineos and the illegal de facto
Patriarch Theophilos. Last summer Ma'ariv reported that Irineos leased two
hotels near the Old City's Jaffa Gate to Jews. The story caused an uproar in
the Church, the PA and among Israeli Arabs. In its wake, Irineos was
illegally ejected from his position and his life has been under constant
threat.

The Church, together with Jordan's King Abdullah and PA Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas, selected Theophilos to replace him. Ahead of his appointment,
Theophilos promised Abdullah that he would operate in accordance with
Jordanian rather than Israeli law, meaning that he would uphold the
Jordanian legal prohibition of conducting land deals with Jews. Attorneys
and others involved in this issue claim that Theophilis also pledged to
Abbas that he would cancel the lease agreement for the hotels at the Jaffa
Gate.

In an interview with Al Quds newspaper on May 18, Theophilos said that he
was unable today to fulfill his pledges because the Israeli government has
yet to approve his appointment.

To force Israel's hand, Theophilos filed a petition with the Supreme Court
demanding that the government approve his appointment. The Supreme Court is
scheduled to hear the petition on July 19. The Jews involved in the Jaffa
Gate lease agreement and in other land agreements with the Greek Orthodox
Church, which owns vast landholdings in Jerusalem and throughout the
country, are deeply concerned about the government's likely response to the
petition. The government did nothing when Irineos was sacked although it is
legally bound to protect him and his position. Indeed, Israel has allowed
Theophilos to act as the de facto Patriarch.

The government's acceptance of the jihadist view that denies all Jewish
rights to Jerusalem is nowhere more evident than on the Temple Mount, which
since 1995 Israel has abandoned to the control of the PA's Mufti Ikrameh
Sabri. Sabri preaches the "rights" of Arabs to eradicate the Jews whom he
refers to as "pigs and monkeys." And with the backing of the Israeli
government, he ensures that the police enforces his ban on Jewish and
Christian worship on the Temple Mount.

Moreover, under the impotent eye of the government, for the past decade
Sabri has overseen the commission of one of the most heinous archaeological
crimes in human history. While denying the Judeo-Christian sanctity of the
site, since the mid-1990s the Islamic Wakf on the Temple Mount has been
systematically destroying Jewish and Christian relics hidden inside the
mountain that date back to the time of Solomon's Temple, in an attempt to
erase the historical record. Sabri and his colleagues further exploit their
control of the Temple Mount to incite Muslims to attack Jews for imagined
crimes relating to the so-called "Judaization" of Jerusalem.

In answer to reporters' queries, this week Olmert repeatedly stated that he
would never give up the Temple Mount. But his statements are meaningless.
You cannot give up what you already surrendered. No, Olmert is not giving up
the Temple Mount. Olmert is giving up all of Jerusalem.
Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)

Israel's Remarkable Economy
Zionsake EditorZionsake Editor: Israel's incredible economy that allows her leaders to "buy" coalition partners to help them to execute their destructive policies - like using more than 50,000 soldiers and policeman to remove around 8,000 settlers from Gaza and recently 10,000 to block all of the Westbank to remove three families from a house (legally owned by Jews) in Hebron. This remarkable economy, compared to that of the to be established, so-called, Palestinian State that has no economy.

PS. A re-settlement program wasn't provided for in the unilateral eviction of Jews from Gaza and northern Shomron. Consequently, to date, 10 months later, 111 families are not yet living even in the temporary "caravilla" pre-fab structures and of the 1,860 people who became unemployed, 1,350 are still not working.
=============
"Arutz 7 Editor" Israel National News Wed, 31 May 2006
Israel Investment News - May, 2006
By IsraelNN Staff

As a public service, Arutz Sheva provides below the May newsletter from the Finance Ministry's Investment Promotion Center.

ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST INVESTORS WARREN BUFFETT IN HIS LARGEST INVESTMENT OUTSIDE U.S., BUYS 80% OF ISCAR FOR $4 BILLION

Buffett: "Iscar is an amazing company run by amazing people. I don't get many opportunities to invest in companies like that."

Warren Buffett, labeled the biggest investment guru of all time and his investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced an agreement to buy 80% of Israeli company Iscar Ltd. for $4 billion.

Iscar Metalworking Companies (IMC) is an industry leader in the metal cutting tools business through its Iscar, TaeguTec, Ingersoll and other IMC group companies. It is owned by the Wertheimer family with operations worldwide. The deal is the largest acquisition ever by Buffett outside the U.S. and the third largest investment ever made by Berkshire.

Buffett said that his investment in Iscar and its management would prove to be one of the most significant things Berkshire had ever done. Talking about Israel, Buffett said that Israel has "amazing people. We are investing $4 billion in an amazing group of people from Israel – and we are investing it at an astounding speed."

The company will continue to be managed by its current management team, headed by Chairman Eitan Wertheimer and President and CEO Jacob Harpaz with headquarters remaining in Tefen, Israel.

Expressing interest in investing in additional Israeli companies, Buffett commented that he is waiting for calls from Israeli companies that meet his criteria.

MORGAN STANLEY LABELS ISRAELI ECONOMY "ALMOST PERFECT"

Investment bank releases glowing report on Israeli economy

In a review on the Israeli economy entitled "Israel, Almost Perfect", U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted the Bank of Israel's key rate will rise to 5.75% in 2006. The report said that "Israel's new government is good news from the economy and financial markets. The formation of a 'grand' coalition…in the Knesset is a positive development and will help maintain economic stability."

6.6% GROWTH IN ECONOMY IN FIRST QUARTER

Citigroup sees average growth exceeding 4%

A report showed the economy grew 6.6% in the first quarter of 2006, compared with 5.2% in the same period of 2005. The results exceeded previous forecasts. Investments in fixed assets grew by an annualized 16.3%, business product rose by an annualized 10.6% and investments in machinery and equipment rose by 20%. In response to the first quarter figures, Citigroup analysts predict that the average growth for 2006 will be higher than its 4% previously predicted.

NASDAQ TO LAUNCH INDEX OF ISRAELI COMPANIES

Israeli stock index to be the first foreign index on Nasdaq

Nasdaq International Vice President for EMEA, Charlotte Crosswell said that the Nasdaq will launch an Israeli stock index within the next few months. The companies on the index will be weighed on the basis of their market capitalization. This will be the first ever foreign index on the Nasdaq, with Israel boasting more companies listed than any country outside North America.

RED HERRING'S TOP 100 EUROPEAN LIST INCLUDES 17 ISRAELI COMPANIES

Israel ties 2nd place for the largest number of companies on the list

Israel tied with France in the second largest number of companies, after Britain to be listed on Red Herring's top European 100 private technology companies. The companies, judged on innovation and entrepreneurial activities, include D-Pharm, BiolineRX, BitBand, Genova, Altair Semiconductor, Axerra Networks, cVidya Networks, Discretix Technologies, Double Fusion, Gteko Technologies, Negevtech, Power Paper, Siano Mobile Silicon, SpeedBit, Targetize Innovative Solutions, Xeround and Voltaire.

MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES BUYS ISRAELI WHALE COMMUNICATIONS

Microsoft Israel's VP R&D: Microsoft plans to turn the start-up into another Israeli R&D center

Microsoft announced plans to acquire secure sockets layer (SSL) and virtual private networks (VPN) vendor Whale Communications. Whale was listed in international accountancy firm Deloitte Touche’s “Europe Fast 500” list of top companies in 2005. Whale marks Microsoft's first acquisition of an Israeli company since 2001.

BMC SOFTWARE INTERESTED IN FURTHER INVESTING IN ISRAEL

The company's investments in Israel are considered its largest outside the U.S

On a visit to Israel, BMC President and CEO Bob Beauchamp announced that BMC Software would continue investing in Israel on top of the billion dollars it had already spent. Beauchamp was in Israel with other company executives celebrating the company's recent acquisition of Identify Group for $150 million. Jim Grant, the Vice President of BMC Software Service Management Business Unit said that the company's investments in Israel are its largest outside the U.S.

"Our Tel Aviv facility is particularly important because the mainframe talent and technology that we have there is not easily found around the world… We have had tremendous success here and (with) the products they produce and the great technology environment that exists in Israel," he said.

CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT GROUP TO ENTER ISRAELI MARKET

Company establishes fund with Pekan Plus Mutual Funds

Capital International, an investment group with over $300 billion under management, announced it would establish a mutual fund in Israel. This marks the company's first entry into the Israeli market. Capital International signed an agreement with Tel Aviv based Pekan Plus Mutual Funds. The fund will specialize in investments in the US share markets for its Israeli clientele.

IBM ACQUIRES ISRAELI UNICORN SOLUTIONS

Company listed on Red Herring's 100 leading start-ups for 2005

Unicorn Solutions, developers of software for metadata management is being acquired by IBM. The company is based in Jerusalem with a presence in New York.

Unicorn is included in Gartner Group's "visionary quadrant" within its high-level evaluation criteria "Magic Quadrant" and was listed on Red Herring's 100 leading start-ups in 2005. Its employees will join the IBM R&D laboratory in Israel.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT REACHES $1.72 BILLION IN MARCH-APRIL

Hi-tech , industry and real estate benefit from investment

The Bank of Israel reported that total direct foreign investment and investment in Israeli securities totaled $1.72 billion for the months of March and April. The hi-tech, industry and real estate sectors benefited most from the investment.

STANDARD AND POORS AND MOODY'S CAST CONFIDENT VOTE ON ISRAELI ECONOMY

"Israeli society and its political and economic decision-makers have shown remarkable resiliency," reported Moody's

Both Moody's Investor Services and credit rating company Standard & Poors (S&P) granted a vote of confidence in the Israeli economy. Moody's Investor Services upgraded its outlook for its international market rating for Israel to "positive". "Israel is exhibiting considerable growth of GDP per capita, moving towards a level more often associated with advanced economies than with developing ones," said the report.

In addition, announcing its credit ratings, S&P retained its A- rating for Israel. It reaffirmed the outlook remains stable.

WARREN BUFFETT INVESTS FURTHER IN ISRAEL

AgroLogic and Cellulogic acquired by Berkshire Hathaway

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Group announced its subsidiary CTB International Corp. had signed an agreement to buy the controlling interest of Israeli company AgroLogic. The company designs and manufactures integrated systems for cultural use including climate controllers, feed and poultry weighing systems. Cellulogic, AgroLogic's subsidiary which makes warning and control systems was also acquired by CTB International.

Kadima Party:Believes nothing, does nothing for Israel's goodimra-owner@imra.org.il
Tue Mar 14 2006 Volume 2 : Issue 1349 Our worLD: Seinfeld vs. Churchill
[Kadima has no ideology]
Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 13, 2006
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395596710&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowF

Israel's election campaign presents an unparalleled challenge to Israelis
on
both the Right and the Left who care about the issues challenging the
country. Today, not only do they have to defend what they believe, they
also
have to defend their right to believe anything.

Last Friday, Makor Rishon published an in-depth report on the growing
isolation and demonization of the religious Zionist camp. Hebrew
University
sociologist Tamar Elor explained that the front running Kadima Party
presents an impossible challenge for the religious Zionist sector,
represented most prominently by the settlers in Judea and Samaria.

"The settlers are an ideological sector. Kadima, as a party devoid of an
identity, a face, a name or a path, is their polar opposite," she
asserted.

While it has made expelling Israelis from their homes in Judea and
Samaria
its flagship policy, Kadima has no ideology with which religious Zionists
can clash. As a result, Elor maintains that religious Zionists "cannot do
anything against it. They prefer [former far-Left Meretz party leader]
Yossi
Sarid the idealist, ten times more than Kadima which lacks any identity."

For his part, Sarid bemoaned the superficiality of the political climate
cultivated by Kadima in a column in Haaretz on Friday. Sarid exhorted
Israel's intellectuals to make their voices heard arguing, "With men of
letters consistently involved, it will be impossible for a reality to
emerge
where PR men's cannon shells roar out while the muses and their servants
are
silent and silenced."

Kadima's basic sales strategy is to be a party unfettered by content.
Being
a party that stands for nothing means that it can stand for anything any
voter wishes to believe it stands for. An empty shell can be filled with
anything and so can be all things to all people.

LIKUD AND Labor, like the smaller parties across the political spectrum,
are
at a disadvantage in campaigning against Kadima because they all stand
for
something. And since Kadima is not bothered by principle, it has based
its
campaign plan on mocking its rivals for having ideological, political,
religious or social essences around which their policies are based.

The fact that Kadima, which seeks to represent itself as a party of
grown-ups has more in common with Jerry Seinfeld than David Ben-Gurion
was
made fairly clear in a series of interviews and profiles of its prominent
leaders published in the weekend newspapers. Three such articles were
published in Ma'ariv.

First there was a rather creepy interview with Kadima's Deputy Minister
of
the Interior Ruhama Avraham who first rose to prominence in the late
1990s
as then prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's secretary. As the interview
noted, the most consistent characteristic of Avraham's career has been
her
willingness to exploit, betray and undermine anyone in order to advance
her
career. Avraham makes no bones about her blind ambition. In her words,
"No
one who can't push me ahead is allowed to play to game."

Avraham abandoned her supporters in the Likud Central Committee in favor
of
Sharon's withdrawal and expulsion plan from Gaza. Sharon rewarded her by
appointing her Deputy Minister of the Interior. Avraham recognized that
her
support for Sharon meant that "I wouldn't have a chance [of reelection]
in
the Likud" and so she bolted the party and joined Kadima last November.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Avraham, is that in a four page
interview - where she spoke at length about her decision to change her
hair
color from platinum blond to honey, and about her fashion sense which she
says inspired her fellow legislators to pay more attention to their
appearances, and always come to her for a final check before they go
before
the cameras - she never once mentioned any guiding philosophy regarding
the
greater good.

She never mentioned why Israel is worth serving. She never discussed the
dangers Israel must defend against. She only talked about herself. While
admitting that when she became a mother she made a conscious decision to
prefer her career to her family, "knowing my children would suffer for
it,"
Avraham, proudly and eerily announced that she considers herself "the
mother
of the People of Israel."

ASIDE FROM the interview with our dear mother with honey colored hair,
Ma'ariv published a profile of the founder of Kadima, advertising
executive
Reuven Adler. Adler, a graphic artist by training, served as one of
Sharon's
closest political advisors. His competitors denounce him, noting that
during
Sharon's premiership, Adler's PR firm, Adler-Homsky, won the advertising
contracts of such plumb state-owned companies as the Electric Company,
Israel Railroad and Bezeq Telecommunications (before it was privatized).
His
main rival, Ilan Shiloah, was quoted stating, "In the world of
advertising
there is no parallel to the phenomenon of moral corruption called
Adler-Homsky."

As the profile notes, "Adler is credited with the transformation of
Sharon's
image from an extremist, aggressive right winger," (is there any other
kind?), "to a warm and doting grandfather who extends his hand in peace."
His advertising partner Eyal Homsky brags that Adler "created Kadima -
the
name, the logo, the slogan.. It's his baby."

Ma'ariv provided a fairly comprehensive picture of Adler the ad man - who
tells us both what cellular telephone to buy and what party to vote for.
But
while the reader came away from the story knowing about his professional
development and his attitude towards his work, one thing was
conspicuously
absent from the accouNT: what he stands for. Not a word was devoted to
what,
if anything, Adler believes in other than Adler himself.

Finally, Ma'ariv - like every other newspaper in the country, led its
Friday
edition with its "exclusive" interview with Kadima leader and Acting
Prime
Minister Ehud
Olmert. Although Olmert told Ma'ariv, as he told every other newspaper in
the country, that he is planning to destroy many, many Israeli
communities
in Judea and Samaria if he becomes elected and surrender the vast
majority
of the areas, as well as a number of neighborhoods in Jerusalem, to the
Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, he did not once explain how doing so
would
advance Israel's national interests or thwart the global campaign of
jihad.

Olmert said nothing about what Israel represents to him or how he came to
believe what he says he believes in today. Indeed, one of the main
qualities
that he seems to want the public to value in him is his intellectual
shallowness. As he noted to an over-solicitous, pandering interviewer,
"There is no subject that justifies a three hour meeting."

Rather than contend with the serious issues that one would expect a prime
minister to concern himself with, Olmert's most heated, impassioned
comments
related not to policy, but to his rival, Netanyahu.

His criticism of the Likud leader again, did not relate to a policy
matter.
Olmert's attacks on Netanyahu were a page taken from his deputy Shimon
Peres's playbook. Netanyahu, he insinuated, was responsible for Yitzhak
Rabin's assassination because he spoke at an anti-Oslo accords rally.
Now,
by criticizing Olmert's decision to transfer tax revenues to the
Hamas-led
PA and his plan to destroy Israeli communities in order to give the land
they are sitting on the Hamas, Olmert alleged that Netanyahu is inciting
his
murder.

ISRAELIS ARE a people filled with contradictions. On the one hand, we are
one of the most ideologically and historically driven people in the
world.
Jews came here from over one hundred countries, inspired and awakened by
leaders of a different era who sent out the call to return to our ancient
homeland. We have built this country up from the ruins of millennia of
neglect and turned it into the most prosperous, advanced, open and free
society in the Middle East while defending it against acts of aggression
and
war that have continued without interruption for over 120 years. We could
never have accomplished any of these things if we didn't have a deep
seated
belief in ourselves and in our rights and responsibilities as a free
people
in our land.

On the other hand, we are driven by fads. Stars are elevated to the level
of
near deity one day, only to be forgotten the next. The same goes for
everything from fashion lines, hair colors, investment priorities,
marriages, politicians, nightclubs and professions. Since Sharon brought
ad
men like Adler in to run our politics, the same has held true for
ideologies
and values.

On March 28, some 3.5 million Israeli voters will be called upon to
determine what they value. Will they choose substance or will they choose
nothing? Will they demand leaders that model themselves after Winston
Churchill or will they settle for an Israeli Jerry Seinfeld? All we can
do
is wait and watch.

--

Best for Israeli Right is: vote for Likud
Manhigut Yehudit, The Jewish Leadership Movement

Weekly Email Update Mar 9 2006 Volume 66 Number 20

www.jewishisrael.org


Vote With Your Head and Not With Your Heart!

Israel's elections bring a tremendous amount of voter frustration to the
surface. After being ignored and trampled upon for the years between
elections, the average Israeli voter -- and certainly the voters of the
National Camp -- get the feeling that they finally have an opportunity to
express their opinion in a way that counts. Many people vote with their
hearts for the politician whose promises most align themselves with their
own aspirations -- even if those politicians have very little influence
on the Israeli political game. But the question that every voter should
ask himself is not "Which politician will make me feel better?" but
rather, "How can I use my vote to make my opinion political reality?" In
other words, what choice will most effectively influence the political
decisions being made in Israel?

To us, the answer to that question is very clear. It is important to
remember that we did not join the Likud just to garner political
influence. We joined the Likud because it was and remains the most
realistic leadership tool of the Jewish majority (what was once called
the National camp) in Israel. We reached the conclusion that it is
specifically in the Likud that we can steadily progress toward Jewish
leadership for Israel.

We did not sign up new members for the Likud so that we could acquire
members of the Likud Central Committee and political influence. We did it
so that our members could vote for Manhigut's candidate for the head of
the Likud and the leadership of the country. When we started out, we did
not realize the value of the Likud Central Committee. But the more
involved we became in Likud activities, the more we realized that the
Manhigut faction in the Likud and in its Central Committee had achieved
very significant political influence -- stronger than all the Right wing
parties in the Knesset.

Elections are once again approaching. It is imperative that we vote not
with our hearts, but with our heads so that we can acquire the maximum
possible political influence in the most effective place-- the Likud!

Why Vote for the Likud?
Our main emphasis right now is on reaching out to potential voters in the
settlements and convincing them to vote for the Likud. While in the
cities, every 300-400 Likud votes entitles the Likud branch in question
to another representative, in the settlements only 50 votes are needed.
The following is the script of a phone message that the voters in the
settlements will be receiving from Manhigut Yehudit in the approaching
daYS:

"Shalom, this is Moshe Feiglin speaking.

I am a settler, and I'm proud of it! I am calling you because you are
also settlers.

Where did Sharon have the most trouble in passing his Disengagement
plan? In the Knesset? Or in his own party, the Likud?

Who created more political hurdles for him? The Right wing parties?
Or the Likud Central Committee? Do you remember the Likud referendum
on Gush Katif? Do you remember the Likud "rebels"? Who did Sharon
fear more? Them ? Or the Right?

Our unequivocal experience shows that the Likud Central Committee is
a much more effective political tool than the Right wing parties in
the Knesset.

Did you know that every 50 votes for the Likud in the settlements
entitles you to an additional representative in the Likud Central
Committee?

You can vote with your heart and hope that your vote will join with
tens of thousands of votes to possibly put another Knesset member
into the arena that has been proven irrelevant.

Or you can vote Likud and unite your vote with another 49 votes to
put an additional representative into the political arena that counts
-- the Likud Central Committee.

Not only that, but the Right wing parties have a chance to be in the
coalition only if the Likud will form the next government.

Believe me, it's not easy for me, either.

But I vote from my head and not from my heart.

The only real choice is to vote for the Likud."

An additional point to pondER: When the yeshiva high schools, the apple
of the eye of Religious Zionism, needed political help who did they turn
to? The NRP? The National Union? Or to the Likud Central Committee
members? Their wise decision to enlist the help of the Likud Central
Committee members proved most effective.

Better Reasons than Ever to Become Likud Member
Yes, it is very important to become a member of the Likud now. The
important new law passed last week in the Likud Central Committee removes
the vote for the Knesset list from the Central Committee members and
gives it to all Likud members. The MKs will no longer be elected in
Central Committee "deals," but directly by the Likud members. The Likud
members will vote to ensure that people who represent their ideals become
Knesset members. Our chance to create a belief based revolution hinges on
our ability to sign up as many new members as possible to the Likud, so
that they can vote for belief based candidates.

It is important to note that the power of the Central Committee to vote
on ideological issues has been strengthened. The Central Committee will
continue to legislate Likud laws and to shape the ideals of the Likud.
Central Committee members who were in the Committee for its power and
perks (most of them identified with Kadimah) will likely lose interest in
a "perk-free" committee and will probably not even run for a spot on the
Committee in the elections in half a year. On the other hand, Manhigut
Yehudit will, with G-d's help, have a much stronger position in a much
more ideologically motivated Central Committee, where we will have the
ability to progress toward our belief based leadership goals with even
more effectiveness.

And what if the polls are right and the Likud does not form the next
government? It is reasonable to assume that in such a scenario primaries
for the leadership of the Likud will be held in about a year (Netanyahu
may resign, the Knesset may be dissolved, etc.). In the previous
primaries Moshe Feiglin received approximately a third of the votes that
Netanyahu received. Next time, with G-d's help, he will get many more.
Even if we would maintain the 13% of votes that Feiglin received in the
primaries, that would mean the ability to directly elect a number of
excellent people to the Knesset.

Those people who have not yet become members of the Likud are likely
tempted to put it off "until it is relevant." The problem with that is
that 16 months must pass from the time that a person becomes a member to
the time that he can actually vote. So putting off signing up means that
once again, they will be sidelined during critical votes that are coming
our way -- just as happened with the Likud referendum on Gush Katif.

What's it Worth if the Likud is not even in Government?
It is important to remember that Manhigut Yehudit joined the Likud when
it was in the opposition with just 19 Knesset seats. The Prime Minister
at the time was Ehud Barak. Manhigut's Likud Central Committee members
were elected while the Likud was still in the opposition. Not long after,
the political pendulum swung back in the direction of the Likud (after
the Israeli public experienced the tragic results of Oslo) the Likud got
38 Knesset seats and Manhigut found itself with a lot of influence in the
right place. True, it does not seem that the Likud is going to win the
upcoming elections. But experience shows that we can safely assume that
it will return to lead Israel within a reasonable amount of time. The
question is if we will then have the power to create a belief-based
revolution as part of the general political revolution that will take
place. Will we vote now for the Likud so that we can gain power in the
Likud Central Committee? Will we become members of the Likud and sign
others up as well so that we can determine who will be the next leader of
the Likud? The answer is in our hands.

But I Want a Strong and United National Front
Just make a simple calculation. Whoever wants a strong National Union
wants it in the government. Obviously, it will have no significance in
the opposition -- even if it has 15 mandates. The only chance for the
National Union to be in the coalition and to truly influence political
decisions will be if Netanyahu forms the coalition. In other words,
whoever wants a strong and influential National Union should vote for the
Likud.

You can turn the State of Jews into the Jewish State.
Now is the Time!

Join Manhigut Yehudit Today
--