Israel events response

[Jake]

I will post all the recent emails I received on this subject as responses to this topic. Everyone is encouraged to do the same.

I have received an overwhelming number of letters asking me to do
something to support Israel. Since my own imagination is limited,
I have decided to simply summarize the ways in which we can help:

1. Write, email or FAX your letters of support to the White House.
2. Go to your local Israel support rallies.
3. Fill out high profile Israel-related opinion surveys.
4. Sign your name on anti-terror petitions.
5. Show your unwavering support for Israel in all conversations.
6. Send money to victims of terror in Israel.

I have sorted through your various suggestions and posted them on

----------> http://www.baraban.com/israel <----------

Please allow this resource to give us more power and reduce SPAM!

Sincerely,
Jake Berzon

========================================
Jake Berzon - IQSP, LLC

Tel: (415)305-3456 (California)
(303)669-1526 (Colorado)
FAX: (603)698-5547; ICQ: 75572301

jake@baraban.com, http://www.baraban.com
========================================

[Anna Ryabkin]

Please sign and send to every honest person you know.

http://www.revoketheprize.org

[Public Relations]

This is the most tragic aspect of the entire conflict...these pictures should be made public knowledge, as they show rather than tell about the conflict, and where it originates, and why it will not go away without a social and educational revolution...among the Palestinians...and maybe the whole arab world....
Hag Sameach
Daphna

[Editor comment: The actual PowerPoint presentation is almost 700kb and is very powerful,. It shows small Palestinian kids being tought how to use weapons and encouraging violence towards Jews. If you have not seen it yet, please email jake@baraban.com and I will send it to you by email.]

[Hannah Staroselsky]

Dear friends,
I encourage you to use UAHC Israel Relief Fund
http://uahc.org/israelrelief/ to make donations now. Our friends and
families in Israel are in critical need for help.

Please distribute this message among your friends.
Hannah

[Z K]

Please publicize

www.helpingisrael.com

every way you can.

=====
CHANGE THE WORLD - ONE MITZVAH AT A TIME
For my favorite music go to:
http://www.thinkjewish.com/fried_music.html
Israel is in Danger! GOTO http://www.truepeace.org
AND for Photos: http://www.projectonesoul.com
news from Israel: http://www.israelnationalnews.org

[ANATOLY YUROVSKY]

>Guys,
>Our historical "fatherland" is in danger. If they win in Israel - they will

>come to us. We have to stop them right there. Make your move and sign a
>petition to Bush. He is our the only hope. Europeans are "prostitutki".
>they kiss arabs ass. The world is against us. Bush is the only one who
>cares. He needs to feel and to hear our concerns and our approval of his
>policy. Click below. I have done so.
>
>http://www.wiesenthal.com/social/press/pet1.cfm?petid=23
>
>Vlad

[Mila Babichenko]

> Subject: REVOKE THE PRIZE
>
> Subj: Fwd: Important!
>
> REVOKE THE PRIZE
>
> Nobel Prize Judge of the Peace Prize is trying to get enough names on a
> petition (through e-mail it counts) to revoke the Nobel Peace prize that
> was given to Arafat in 1993. They need at least a million signatures.
>
> If you are troubled by the fact that Yasser Arafat shares the company of
> Martin
> Luther King and Mother Teresa as a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, please go
> to the
> following web site and add your name:
>
> <http://www.revoketheprize.org>
>
> Please send this mail to all your friends.
>
> This is not about politics its about morality Together we can TAKE BACK
> THE
> PRIZE

[Yefim]

These are fighting officers and sergeants who risk their lives to defend
Israel. The list started with 50 signatures last month, currently 398,
keeps growing:

http://www.seruv.org.il/defaulteng.asp

best,
Yefim

[Public Relations]

>Dear friends,
>
>Thank you so much for showing up at the rally today, Friday April 5th,
>in front of the Israeli consulate here in San Francisco.
>
>We cannot find words to express our gratitude to you, who took the time
>and energy to show your support of the good guys, the right cause. Toda
>for filling the street with blue & white flags, and with some truth,
>that managed to balance the waves of hate which marched here from civic
>center,bringing messages which are carried from further, darker times
>and places.
>
>Israel, in her time of horror and despair, cannot do without the
>encouragement given by our real friends. It can be a word, a
>contribution,showing up at rallies, writing letters and e-mails, and
>standing up to what we all believe in.
>
>Your admirable spirit will probably be called for again and again in the
>near future, and we have no doubt that we can rely on you in support of
>Israel.
>
>Only with support of the really good cause will we finally achieve a
>peaceful solution in the Middle East!
>Please forward this message to all your friends who participated in the
>rally.
>
> Shabbat Shalom,
>
> Yossi Amrani
>
> Consul General of Israel

[LeGrandFun@cs.com]

Please vote!

[Hannah Staroselsky]

Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the petition:
URGE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO DECLARE THE PLO A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION
http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/966988412
Please take a moment and help by signing this petition urging Pres. Bush to
declare the PLO a terrorist organization.

Thank you
Hannah

[Ilya Tsenter]

The forwarded article was written by Yuri Shtivelman.

Yuri, a graduate from Moscow University, immigrated to
Israel, and then came to California.
Yuri was VP at Nortel Santa Clara and then a founder
of several successful start-ups. He is well known
among Silicon Valley bossiness community.
Yuri,s wife Emma is a ELI Leadership Institute
participant.

Ilya Tsenter
ELI Leadership Institute
Advisory Committie

Note: forwarded message attached.

Recent events in Judaea and Samaria


An old joke from the times of Soviet Union:
A pessimist says – things are so bad, surely they can’t get any worse;
an optimist says – they can, they can…

This pretty much sums the current situation in Israel. Suicide bombings that once used make the world shudder are now daily occurrences. Scores of Palestinians are killed or wounded every day. Millions live under yoke of occupation. A peace that seemed within reach is now further than ever. Anti-Semitism is on the rise all over the world. Even the continuing existence of Israel as an independent state, something that generations have taken for granted, is being questioned. Is there a solution?

No, there isn’t. As sad and tragic as it is, one has to admit that there is no solution. Not every problem has one. The notion of humankind progressing towards eternal peace on earth is a naïve lie. One should look no further for proof than to recent events in Yugoslavia, India or Rwanda. There are problems than cannot be solved. The best one can hope for is that they can be contained.

The root of the conflict is very simple. Two people want the same piece of land. The majority of Palestinians want the Jews to be thrown into the sea. The Jews, not surprisingly, have a different opinion on the subject. This conflict cannot be reconciled. Israelis and Palestinians cannot ‘talk things out’ or ‘agree to disagree.’

The current uprising or Intifada started several months before Camp David, long before infamous and reckless Sharon’s visit to Al-Asqa mosque. It started in May 2000 with Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon. Arabs interpreted this event not as a sign of reconciliation, but as a sign of weakness. The Camp David Peace Summit was doomed from the very beginning. Arafat was offered more than 90% of the disputed land with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestinian State. He refused the offer without proposing anything in return because he was not driven by sense of history, logic, or concern for his own people. He was driven by fear. He knew perfectly well that if he signs the Camp David accord, no matter what it says, his chances of physical survival are slim to none. He’d be shot as Sadat was shot 20 years before, as Rabin was assassinated by a religious zealot. He did not want to be martyr for peace; he preferred others to be martyrs for war. Palestine was pregnant with Intifada. Arafat was too little a man to prevent it.

This time around Palestinians found an effective weapon – suicide bombings. It is something no army, no matter how strong, can protect against. No security measures can stop a single individual from using their body as a weapon. Terrorism tears the country from inside out, it changes the meaning of everyday life. These are not actions of people who do not have alternatives. As Thomas Friedman rightfully noted, a non-violent resistance would have delivered a Palestinian statehood much faster than any other tactics. This is a deliberate campaign to achieve the ultimate goal – annihilation of Israel. The goal is to undermine the spirit of Israeli people and send them packing.

What is, however, most interesting is the reaction of the West. Western media is full of words like ‘circle of violence’, ‘eye for eye’, ‘tit for tat’. What these words imply is that the killings of civilians are somehow morally justified, that if Israel just pulls out from the occupied territories, the suicide bombings will stop; that Israelis have brought this upon themselves. Well, if there is indeed global Jewish conspiracy that controls all media, it is not being very effective.

Each death, Palestinian or Israeli is a tragedy. But there is a huge difference between being killed BECAUSE OF WHO YOU ARE, and being killed BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DO. This is not a subtle point, but somehow it escapes almost everyone. Surely, there were terrorist acts perpetrated by Israelis. But, contrary to what Arab propaganda will let you to believe, terror is not the policy of the Israeli government and it is not the policy of Israeli Defence Forces. There are rare attacks by Israeli vigilante groups but these are isolated incidents, and the people responsible are tracked down and punished to the full extent of the law. Israel is engaged in a war against terror, in a war of self-defence.

In order to understand how Israel can cope with the threat of suicide bombers, it is important to examine how this phenomenon came into being. The idea of martyrdom is deeply rooted in Arab psyche and history (see the side bar). The recipe has not changed much over the centuries. Firstly, demonize the enemy. Secondly, redefine the notions of good and evil. It’s the same recipe that was successfully applied by Nazis to brainwash a nation into behaving like savage beasts.

Arab propaganda is immensely successful in achieving the first objective. Jews are constantly portrayed as blood sucking scum that controls world finances and media. Old libels like Protocols of Elders of Zion and stories about the use of human blood in religious ceremonies are freely circulating in government sponsored publications. The schoolbooks of Palestinian children are full of depiction of Jews borrowed from 1930’s Nazi propaganda. The Palestinian idea of a summer camp for children is a military training for anyone who is old enough to hold a gun or throw a stone. Arafat has done nothing to change that.

The second step, redefining the notions of good and evil, absolving from the commandment DO NOT KILL, pushing dozens of young men and even some women to a point where they are willing to sacrifice their lives, is much more difficult. Arafat and his followers, and leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad are fully responsible for creating and exploiting an atmosphere of religious and nationalistic frenzy. Being wounded has become a status symbol; being killed makes one a martyr. It’s not a secret that more than two thirds of Palestinians approve of suicide bombings as a legitimate means of resistance. The Iraqi government pays $25,000 to the family of every ‘martyr’. Should we wonder that so many young men who were raised on a steady diet of hating Jews, who first hand experienced the humiliation of occupation, who were told that there is no other alternative but to sacrifice one’s life, are lured by the opportunity to be hailed as heroes throughout the Muslim world, by the ultimate daredevil? The seventy virgins awaiting them as the reward for martyrdom is just an icing on the cake. (By the way, according to some critical readings of Quran, in itself an occupation not without perils, the promise of seventy virgins is just a result of an early mis-translation. What Quran promises is seventy crystals. Whether it’s true or not, the suicide bombers might be in for a surprise as they reach the final destination).

What can Israel do to contain the campaign of terror? Barak tried to fast forward to peace; it didn’t work. Now Sharon is trying to solve the problem through military means. I doubt this strategy will work either. Armies rarely win against people. Any action leads to more violence, to more condemnation by Western governments, to further isolation from outside and depression within. The only way forward is the total, unilateral physical separation. Israel needs to retreat to defensible borders and build a fence as high as the sky.

It is essential to pull out of occupied territories. For decades, we were lead to believe that the territories are necessary for military and economic reasons. From military perspective, an 8 miles corridor is not very defensible. But are Israeli cities defensible now?! At least, the corridor can be protected by the regular army, an army that is powerless in the face of the current threat. Yes, Arab missiles will be so much closer. But if they can reach Tel Aviv from Baghdad, surely giving up the territories will not make a big difference. The economic argument evaporated with the current Intifada. The only positive outcome of the last 18 months is that Israel no longer depends on Palestinian labor.

The true reasons that Israel is holding on to the territories are neither military nor economic; they are political. It’s a quirk of Israeli political structure that every government has to pander to religious right that still believes in the Greater Israel from Nile to Euphrates. It’s time to give up this dream.

Will this solve the problem? No, it won’t. It won’t address the demands of Palestinians for the rights to return the cities abandoned in 1948. Nor will this satisfy the territorial demands of those for whom the only acceptable border with Israel lies well off the coast of Tel Aviv. And it will not address the question of Jerusalem. But ending the occupation will enable Israel to regain its sanity, and it will make the threat of terror more manageable. Israel must accept the new reality, the reality of a smaller territory, but higher moral ground. A higher moral ground is easier to defend than the ground that burns under one’s feet.


Side bar 1:

Political assassinations have existed since the beginning of human history. The idea of systematic assassinations as a policy to achieve a group’s political or religious goals came from a small, powerful and much feared Sect of Assassins.

The sect of Assassins was founded in the 11th century by Hasan Ibn al-Sabbah, a man of great culture who was said to be a close friend of Omar Khayyam. Hasan Ibn al-Sabbah was a follower of Shi’i tradition of Islam. At the time of his youth, Middle East was overrun by Seljuks who imposed the Suni version of Islam on the people they conquered. Ibn al-Sabbah moved to Egypt where he built a base of followers and started a campaign of re-conquest. He was not very successful in achieving his military goals, but succeeded in a manner nobody could have predicted. In 1090 he managed to take the formidable fortress of Alamut in the Albruz Mountains of Northern Iran. There, in the area inaccessible to his foes, he established the religious sect that tormented Middle East for almost two centuries, until Mongols finally demolished it. The main tool of sect’s political power was murder. Hasan Ibn al-Sabbah was dispatching murderers throughout the region. The preferred method was to strike political figures in a bright daylight, in front of large crowds. Friday noon, mosque, was the favorite time and place. The murderers never ran away after striking the victim. They patiently waited to be caught and executed. In fact, they were so calm and fearless, that people suspected they were drugged with hashish, or ‘hashashun’ in Arabic. Whether this was true or not, we owe the word assassin to this legend.

Side bar 2:

It’s futile to discuss whose land it is or who was there first. Jews have lived in the land of Israel for thousands of years, and so have the Palestinians. Both peoples share the same forefather. Contrary to the popular belief, Palestinians are not descendents of Philistines, people who were displaced by Israeli tribes many centuries before the word Palestine was invented. Palestine is a creation of another great imperial power that ruled this land – Roman Empire. The Jews were always a problem for Romans. After the Bar-Kokhba revolt of 135 AD Romans decided to solve the problem once and for all. Jews were sent into slavery, the names of Judaea and Samaria were abolished, even Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina. The new name for the country was invented – Palestina – after Philistines, who were even then long forgotten. One only can marvel at the political acumen of Romans! This is indeed a long-lasting legacy.

[Gorin]

There are many web sites like this one, all anti-Israel in their content. Believe what you want, they do.

[Gorin]

nice try, arab!

[alla]

Only "predatel" can post something like that.

[Alex R]

You are not a Jew, you are liberal bustard.

[nyroma]

согласный

[Marina Ostrova]

Donate money is also one of the ways. S privetom, Marina Vitkovsky-Ostrova

[Jake Berzon]

"Terrorist pilot Mohammed Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him."

That statement turned out to be erroneous. While it was a Mohammed Atta, it was not the Mohammed Atta that we came to know as one of the terror masters in the 9/11 incident.

[Jake Berzon]

I only skimmed over it - way too much info to process right now!
What I saw made sense.