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May. 28, 2006 0:43 Updated May. 28, 2006 7:46
US newspapers slam Olmert's
By HERB KEINON

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will brief Kadima ministers on his US trip Sunday, as editorial comment in some US papers indicated that despite the portrayal of the visit as highly successful by the Prime Minister's Office, there is a great deal of skepticism about the "realignment" plan.
For instance, in an editorial entitled "A viable Palestinian state," The New York Times on Thursday wrote, "It's long been clear that getting a workable, feasible Palestinian state out of two geographically separate masses of land in the desert will be an uphill battle. Now, because of two culprits and one enabler, Hamas, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and President [George W.] Bush, that hill is becoming a mountain."
Saying that Olmert "wants to go ahead with Ariel Sharon's misbegotten plan to unilaterally redraw the borders of what could eventually be Palestine," the Times wrote that Bush "should not punish the Palestinian people by endorsing any unilateral proposal - doing that would punish them for exercising their democratic right to vote."
"Mr. Olmert's proposal has two parts, and the first one is fine: to withdraw Israeli settlers and troops from vast areas of the occupied West Bank. That's a worthy goal, and one that has been way too long in coming," the paper editorialized. "The problem is with the second part of the proposal: to retain several large settlement blocs in the Palestinian West Bank. That's a recipe for disaster."
The Washington Post was no more supportive of Olmert's plan. "Though they paid lip service to continued Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in effect inaugurated an entirely different process at their White House meeting Tuesday - one in which Israel will parley with the United States about the new borders it intends to draw for itself," the paper wrote Friday.
The Post editorialized that Olmert made clear that "he doesn't believe Israel will be able to work with the Palestinian Authority anytime soon. Even if a credible partner appeared, Mr. Olmert might prove reluctant. Like his predecessor, Ariel Sharon, he opposes some of the compromises Israel would have to make to achieve a peace settlement."
Bush, the paper wrote, will "have the opportunity to encourage an Israeli redeployment that would open the way toward the Palestinian state he called for four years ago. But he could also cripple the prospects for that settlement if he provides a US imprimatur for a realignment that disregards essential Palestinian interests. Left to his own calculations, Mr. Olmert probably would settle on such a strategy."
The Boston Globe wrote Thursday that "in its public phases, the Washington debut of Ehud Olmert as Israeli prime minister seemed a success. His address to a joint meeting of Congress yesterday was received warmly. His press conference Tuesday with President Bush suggested an affinity between the two leaders. Olmert's domestic audience could assume that his plan to withdraw from outlying West Bank settlements and unilaterally establish permanent borders for Israel had not met with an outright rebuff."
But, the paper continued, the heavy lifting was done in private talks Olmert held with Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and their top aides and that the information about those meetings points "to a cooperative atmosphere but also a healthy administration skepticism about Olmert's still-preliminary proposal to draw Israel's final borders unilaterally."
The Globe wrote that even in his public pronouncements, Bush politely warned Israel that although it may not have a Palestinian negotiating partner at present, and even if the US president "eventually accepts a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from select West Bank settlements, the unchanging US position is that a final-status peace agreement must be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians. A sound corollary of this stance is that Israel must not undertake any unilateral measure that could bar a negotiated agreement on permanent two-state borders."
The US trip will also likely come up during a meeting Olmert is scheduled to hold Sunday morning with Defense Minister Amir Peretz to discuss the health-basket crisis. The two are expected to hammer out a compromise regarding the amount the Defense Ministry's budget will be cut in 2007 to fund an increase in the health budget and other social issues. The numbers bandied about in recent weeks ranged from between NIS 2 billion and NIS 4b.
Because of these two meetings, and other scheduling issues, the weekly cabinet meeting this week will not be held on Sunday, but rather on Tuesday.

בס"ד
Hi!

Nechama was fantastic in her school performance last night! While Nechama was great the dance routines paled in comparison to those of her Neve Dekalim elementary school. And this school hired a choreographer whereas the teachers of the Neve Dekalim did more professional and enjoyable choreography. Naot Katif truly had talented staff! Shifra agrees.

I found myself tearful but not with happiness. Rather, tears freely flowed as the religious popular music played on. I've come to associate such music with Neve Dekalim happenings. I sat there watching the program but simultaneously recalling Neve Dekalim places and moments and the marvelous school assemblies and happenings with same music. I still can't play my clarinet. Last time I tried I just broke down and cried as I tried to play along with similar music that I so enjoy. I think it's like a post traumatic stress syndrome for me.

Ehud and Meir and their classmates are learning how to take care of horses and ride them. It's a special program unique to the re-established Naot Katif elementary school to help the 7th and 8th graders deal better with trauma of Disengagement. Pretty exciting!

Ehud, who is very artistic, had stopped drawing since Disengagement saying there wasn't anything to draw. The other day he returned home from the horses and immediately sat down and drew a horse with such precision and detail. I'm thrilled! I hope no more drawing-block.

All the best,
Sara Layah
Nitzan

The horses were drawn by Ehud.

Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin - May 24, 2006


Contact details here View this bulletin online here

Hamas newspaper boasts:
Hitler called Palestinians model revolutionaries
Overview:
The admiration of Hitler among Palestinians
By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

The Hamas newspaper this week chronicled with pride the ways in which different foreign leaders singled out the Palestinians as examples of ideal revolutionaries. The first leader cited by the Hamas weekly, Al-Rissala, for praising the Palestinians was Adolf Hitler:

"Adolf Hitler, while exciting the Germans of the Sudetenland - the Sudetenland is a German province that the Allies had annexed to Czechoslovakia after the First World War - told them in his broadcasts: Look at what the Palestinian revolutionaries are doing to Great Britain!!"
[Al-Rissala (Hamas Weekly), May 18, 2006]

Overview: Admiration of Hitler in the Palestinian Authority:

It may be surprising to Western observers to see Palestinians taking pride in having been praised by Hitler. But it is important to understand that the utter revulsion of Hitler expected in the West is not true in Palestinian society. Palestinians can be found who are named "Hitler" as a first name: Hitler Salah [Al Hayat Al Jadida, Sept. 28, 2005], Hitler Abu-Alrab [Al Hayat Al Jadida, Jan. 27, 2005], Hitler Mahmud Abu-Libda [Al Hayat Al Jadida, Dec.18, 2000].

This phenomenon of Palestinians being named after Hitler was explained in an article in the official PA daily praising the rewriting of history and the doing of "justice" to Hitler:

"Even Adolf Hitler, who after the fall of Nazi Germany turned into a political horror for most of the writers and artists, during the last decades has started to return himself to his part of the picture. There are some in Britain who defended Hitler and tried to do justice for him. There are elderly people, among them Arabs, who still carry the name Hitler since their fathers, who were charmed by him, linked them [their children] with his name."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 13, 2000]

One article explained the phenomenon of naming Palestinians after admired foreign leaders - such as Napoleon and the Nazi General Rommel:

"Sometimes parents name their children with foreign names, due to the father's admiration to a foreign personality. This is the source of the names: Rommel [famous Nazi General] and Napoleon."
[Al-Ayyam, November 15, 2001 "Woman's Voice" supplement].

The admiration for Hitler is consistent with the status of Mein Kampf, which a PA daily cited as a book on the best sellers' list.
[Al Hayat Al Jadida, Sept. 2, 1999].



A contributing factor to this admiration may be the history of the Hitler - Arab alliance during World War 2. The Arab leader in British Palestine, the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, was actively allied with Hitler. The numerous meetings between the Mufti and Hitler are well documented.

Finally, the PA daily published an interview with an elderly Lebanese which described the man's professed friendship with Hitler, as well as his pride in fighting for Hitler: And whereas this is a personal account whose historical accuracy is not important, what is significant is the positive, even proud attitude about his friendship with Hitler, that is being expressed so routinely.

Interview with Sheikh Ali Hussain Abu-Ibrahim, a Palestinian resident of Lebanon who claims he is 116 years old:

"Question: What are the important events in your life that left the biggest impression?
Answer: The first was the Hitler event. I met him in Jerusalem in one of the Turkish Army camps, and the friendship between us was very tight. At the time I was a sergeant while Hitler was a simple private. The relationship between us tightened even more once Turkey entered the war together with Germany. The second event was when I participated [with the Nazi army] in entering France and conquering it. I was in charge of the cannon that shelled Paris, which had an active influence on the fall of the French capital and its conquest without any notable resistance. Hitler congratulated me on this shelling and its consequences… As an artillery officer I took part in many operations against the English and France, until the end of the Second World-War …"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 12, 2003]

Clearly, the name Hitler does not have the stigma in PA society that it has in the West. Indeed, not only the Hamas daily, but the Fatah controlled PA dailies as well, have written in favorable tones about Hitler. Clearly, to some Palestinians the man and his name are sources of admiration.


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Address by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Joint Session of US Congress
May 24, 2006
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Vice President,
Distinguished Members of the US Congress,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the people and the State of Israel,
I wish to express my
profound gratitude to you for the privilege of
addressing this Joint Meeting
of the US Congress. This building, this chamber,
and all of you stand as a
testament to the enduring principles of liberty
and democracy.

More than 30 years ago, I came to Washington as a
young legislator, thanks
to a program sponsored by the State Department.
I had a chance to tour this
building, and I saw then what I believe today -
that this institution, the
United States Congress, is the greatest
deliberative body in the world. I
did not imagine then, that a day would actually
come, when I would have the
honor of addressing this forum as the Prime
Minister of my nation, the State
of Israel. Thank you.

The United States is a superpower whose influence
reaches across oceans and
beyond borders. Your continued support, which, I
am happy to say,
transcends partisan affiliations, is of paramount
importance to us. We
revere the principles and values represented by
your great country, and are
grateful for the unwavering support and
friendship we have received from the
US Congress, from President George W. Bush and
from the American people.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "I am a success today
because I had a friend who
believed in me, and I didn't have the heart to
let him down."

Israel is grateful that America believes in us.
Let me assure you that we
will NOT let you down.

The similarities in our economic, social and
cultural identities are
obvious, but there’s something much deeper and
everlasting. The unbreakable
ties between our two nations extend far beyond
mutual interests. They are
based on our shared goals and values stemming
from the very essence of our
mutual foundations.

This coming Monday, the 29th of May, you
commemorate Memorial Day for
America's fallen. The graves of brave American
soldiers are scattered
throughout the world: in Asia and in the Pacific,
throughout Europe and
Africa, in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.
The pain of the families
never heals, and the void they leave is never
filled.

It is impossible to think of a world in which
America was not there, in the
honorable service of humanity. On Monday, when
the Stars and the Stripes are
lowered to half-mast, we, the people of Israel,
will bow our heads for you.

Our two great nations share a profound belief in
the importance of freedom
and a common pioneering spirit deeply rooted in
optimism. It was the
energetic spirit of our pioneers that enabled our
two countries to implement
the impossible. To build cities where swamps once
existed and to make the
desert bloom.

My parents Bella and Mordechai Olmert were lucky…
They escaped the
persecution in the Ukraine and Russia and found
sanctuary in Harbin, China.
They immigrated to Israel to fulfill their dream
of building a Jewish and
democratic state living in peace in the land of
our ancestors.

My parents came to the Holy Land following a
verse in the Old Testament in
the book of second Samuel "I will appoint a place
for my people Israel and I
will plant them in their land and they will dwell
in their own place and be
disturbed no more".

Distinguished members of Congress, I come here -
to this home of liberty and
democracy - to tell you that my parents' dream,
our dream, has only been
partly fulfilled. We have succeeded in building a
Jewish democratic
homeland. We have succeeded in creating an oasis
of hope and opportunity in
a troubled region. But there has not been one
year… one week… even one day…
of peace in our tortured land.

Our Israeli pioneers suffered, and their struggle
was long and hard. Yet
even today, almost 60 years after our
independence, that struggle still
endures. Since the birth of the state of Israel
and until this very moment,
we have been continually at war and amidst
confrontation. The confrontation
has become even more violent, the enemy turned
even more inhumane due to the
scourge of suicide terrorism. But we are not
alone. Today, Israel, America,
Europe, and democracies across the globe,
unfortunately, face this enemy.

Over the past six years more than 20,000
attempted terrorist attacks have
been initiated against the people of Israel.
Most, thankfully, have been
foiled by our security forces. But those which
have succeeded have resulted
in the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians…
and the injury of
thousands - many of them children guilty ONLY of
being in what proved to be
the wrong place at the wrong time.

These are not statistics…. These are real people
with beautiful souls that
have left this earth far too soon.

In the decade I served as mayor of my beloved
City, Jerusalem, we faced the
lion's share of the seemingly endless wave of
terrorism.

I remember Galila, a twelve year old Ethiopian
immigrant, whose parents
worked in the King David Hotel. On one particular
morning, her parents,
overwhelmed by the fear of her riding a bus in
the city of Jerusalem, told
her: “Galila, pehaps this morning, just this
morning, we will take you in
the family car to your school?” And Galila said
to her parents: "Oh, come
on, don’t be silly! I know where to sit in the
bus. I will be safe in the
bus. Don’t worry for me". And it so happened
that on that same day a
suicide attacker ascended that same bus and chose
to sit just next to her.

When I visited her grieving parents, her mother
came to me sobbing and said:
"You are the mayor. You have so much influence
in this city. Will you do
us just one last favor: please try to find out
something, just one item of
remembrance that we will be able to take with us
for the rest of our lives,
maybe just a shoelace of Galila’s...” And I did
everything a mayor could
do, I summoned the police, I summoned the
security forces, I instructed the
municipal workers. I told them: “Go look out
everywhere you can”. And then
they came back, and they said to me: “Mr. Mayor,
nothing. Nothing. Not
even a shoelace.”

Among the victims of this brutal and unremitting
terror, I am sorry to tell
you, are also American citizens. Only last week,
Daniel Cantor Wultz, a 16
year old high school student from Weston,
Florida, who came to spend the
Passover holiday with his parents in Israel,
succumbed to his sever
injuries, incurred in Israel's most recent
suicide attack.

I asked Daniel's parents and sister, Yekutiel,
Sheryl and Amanda Wultz, who
only finished the traditional period of mourning
two days ago, to be with us
here today. Daniel was a relative of Congressman
Eric Cantor of Virginia, an
honorable member of this house. Our thoughts and
prayers are with you.

I bring Galila's memory, Daniel's memory, and the
loss of so many others,
with me to my new post as Prime Minister. I also
bring with me the horrific
scenes I saw with my own eyes when I visited New
York just a few days after
the devastating attacks on September 11th. A
tragedy that transcends any
other terrorist attack that has ever occurred.

As I told my good friend Rudy Giuliani, on that
dreadful day, our hearts
went out to you. Not only because of the
friendship between us, but because,
tragically and personally, we both know what it
is to confront the evil of
terrorism at home.

Our countries do not just share the experience
and pain of terrorism. We
share the commitment and resolve to confront the
brutal terrorists that took
these innocent people from us. We share the
commitment to extract from our
grief a renewed dedication to providing our
people with a better future.

Let me state this as clearly as I can: we will
NOT yield to terror… we will
NOT surrender to terror….. and we WILL WIN the
war on terror and restore
peace to our societies.

The Palestinian Authority is ruled by Hamas - an
organization committed to
vehement anti-Semitism, the glorification of
terror and the total
destruction of Israel. As long as these are
their guiding principles, they
can never be a partner.

Therefore, while Israel works to ensure that the
humanitarian needs of the
Palestinian population are met, we can never
capitulate to terrorists or
terrorism. I pay tribute to the firmness and the
clarity with which the
President and this Congress uphold this crucial
principle which we both
firmly share.

Israel commends this Congress for initiating the
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism
Act which sends a firm clear message that the
United States of America will
not tolerate terrorism in any form.

Like America, Israel seeks to rid itself of the
horrors of terrorism. Israel
yearns for peace and security. Israel is
determined to take responsibility
for its own future and take concrete steps to
turn its dreams into reality.
The painful but necessary process of
Disengagement from the Gaza Strip and
Northern Samaria was an essential step.

At this moment, my thoughts turn especially to
the great leader, who, in
normal circumstances, should have stood here.
Ariel Sharon, the legendary
statesman and visionary, my friend and colleague,
could not be here with us
but I am emboldened by the promise of continuing
his mission. I pray, as I
am sure you all do too, for his recovery.

Ariel Sharon is a man of few words and great
principles. His vision and
dream of peace and security transcended time,
philosophy and politics.
Israel must still meet the momentous challenge of
guaranteeing the future of
Israel as a democratic state with a Jewish
majority, within permanent and
defensible borders and a united Jerusalem as its
capital - that is open and
accessible for the worship of all religions.

This was the dream to which Ariel Sharon was
loyally committed. This was the
mission he began to fulfill. It is the goal and
the purpose of the Kadima
party that he founded and to which I was the
first to join. And it is this
legacy of liberty, identity and security that I
embrace. It is what I am
working towards. It is what I am so passionately
hoping for.

Although our government has changed, Israel's
goal remains the same. As
Prime Minister Sharon clearly stated: "The
Palestinians will forever be our
neighbors. They are an inseparable part of this
land, as are we. Israel has
no desire to rule over them, nor to oppress them.
They too have a right for
freedom and national aspirations."

With the vision of Ariel Sharon guiding my
actions, from this podium today,
I extend my hand in peace to Mahmoud Abbas,
elected President of the
Palestinian Authority. On behalf of the State of
Israel, we are willing to
negotiate with a Palestinian Authority. This
authority must renounce
terrorism, dismantle the terrorist
infrastructure, accept previous
agreements and commitments, and recognize the
right of Israel to exist.

Let us be clear: peace, without security, will
bring neither peace nor
security.

We will not, we cannot, compromise on these basic
tests of partnership.

With a genuine Palestinian partner for peace, I
believe we can reach an
agreement on all the issues that divide us. Our
past experience shows us it
is possible to bridge the differences between our
two peoples. I believe
this - I KNOW THIS - because we have done it
before, in our peace treaties
with Egypt and with Jordan. These treaties
involved painful and difficult
compromises. It required Israel to take real
risks.

But if there is to be a just, fair and lasting
peace, we need a partner who
rejects violence and who values life more than
death. We need a partner
that affirms in action, not just in words, the
rejection, prevention and
elimination of terror.

Peace with Egypt became possible only after
President Anwar Sadat came to
our Knesset and declared: "No more war, no more
bloodshed." And peace with
Jordan became possible only after the late King
Hussein, here in Washington,
declared the end of the state of belligerency,
signed a peace treaty with
us, and wholeheartedly acknowledged Israel's
right to exist.

The lesson for the Palestinian people is clear.
In a few years they could be
living in a Palestinian state, side by side in
peace and security with
Israel. A Palestinian State which Israel and the
international community
would help thrive.

But no one can make this happen for them if they
refuse to make it happen
for themselves.

For thousands of years, we Jews have been
nourished and sustained by a
yearning for our historic land. I, like many
others, was raised with a deep
conviction that the day would never come when we
would have to relinquish
parts of the land of our forefathers. I believed,
and to this day still
believe, in our people's eternal and historic
right to this entire land.

But I also believe that dreams alone will not
quiet the guns that have fired
unceasingly for nearly a hundred years. Dreams
alone will not enable us to
preserve a secure democratic Jewish state.

Jews all around the world read in this week's
Torah portion: "And you will
dwell in your land safely and I will give you
peace in the land, and there
shall be no cause for fear neither shall the
sword cross through the
Promised Land”.

Painfully, we the people of Israel have learned
to change our perspective.
We have to compromise in the name of peace, to
give up parts of our promised
land in which every hill and every valley is
saturated with Jewish history
and in which our heroes are buried. We have to
relinquish part of our dream
to leave room for the dream of others, so that
all of us can enjoy a better
future. For this painful but necessary task my
government was elected. And
to this I am fully committed.

We hope and pray that our Palestinian neighbors
will also awaken. We hope
they will make the crucial distinction between
implementing visions that can
inspire us to build a better reality, and mirages
that will only lead us
further into the darkness. We hope and pray for
this, because no peace is
more stable than one reached out of mutual
understanding not just for the
past but for the future.

We owe a quiet and normal life to ourselves, our
children and our
grandchildren. After defending ourselves for
almost 60 years against
attacks, all our children should be allowed to
live free of fear and terror.

And so I ask of the Palestinians: How can a child
growing up in a Culture of
Hate dream of the possibility of peace? It is so
important that all schools
and all educational institutions in the region
teach our children to be
hate-free.

The key to a true lasting peace in the Middle
East is in the education of
the next generation.

So let us today call out to all peoples of the
Middle East: replace the
Culture of Hate with an outlook of hope.

It is three years since the Road Map for Peace
was presented. The Road Map
was and remains the right plan. A Palestinian
leadership that fulfils its
commitments and obligations will find us a
willing partner in peace. But if
they refuse, we will not give a terrorist regime
a veto over progress, or
allow it to take hope hostage.

We cannot wait for the Palestinians forever. Our
deepest wish is to build a
better future for our region, hand in hand with a
Palestinian partner, but
if not, we will move forward, but not alone.

We could never have implemented the Disengagement
plan without your firm
support. The Disengagement could never have
happened without the commitments
set out by President Bush in his letter of April
14, 2004, endorsed by both
houses of Congress in unprecedented majorities.
In the name of the People of
Israel, I thank President Bush for his commitment
and for his support and
friendship.

The next step is even more vital to our future
and to the prospects of
finally bringing peace to the Middle East.
Success will only be possible
with America as an active participant, leading
the support of our friends in
Europe and across the world.

Should we realize that the bilateral track with
the Palestinians is of no
consequence, should the Palestinians ignore our
outstretched hand for peace,
Israel will seek other alternatives to promote
our future and the prospects
of hope in the Middle East. At that juncture, the
time for realignment will
occur.

Realignment would be a process to allow Israel to
build its future without
being held hostage to Palestinian terrorist
activities. Realignment would
significantly reduce the friction between
Israelis and Palestinians and
prevent much of the conflict between our two
battered nations.

The goal is to break the chains that have tangled
our two peoples in
unrelenting violence for far too many
generations. With our futures unbound
peace and stability might finally find its way to
the doorsteps of this
troubled region.

Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Vice President,

Allow me to turn to another dark and gathering
storm casting its shadow over
the world….

Every generation is confronted with a moment of
truth and trial. From the
savagery of slavery, to the horrors of World War
Two, to the gulags of the
Communist Bloc. That which is right and good in
this world has always been
at war with the horrific evil permitted by human
indifference.

Iran, the world's leading sponsor of terror, and
a notorious violator of
fundamental human rights, stands on the verge of
acquiring nuclear weapons.
With these weapons, the security of the entire
world is put in jeopardy.

We deeply appreciate America's leadership on this
issue and the strong
bipartisan conviction that a nuclear-armed Iran
is an intolerable threat to
the peace and security of the world. It cannot be
permitted to materialize.
This Congress has proven its conviction by
initiating the Iran Freedom and
Support Act. We applaud these efforts.

A nuclear Iran means a terrorist state could
achieve the primary mission for
which terrorists live and die: the mass
destruction of innocent human life.
This challenge, which I believe is The Test of
Our Time, is one the West
cannot afford to fail.

The radical Iranian regime has declared the
United States its enemy. Their
President believes it is his religious duty and
his destiny to lead his
country in a violent conflict against the
infidels. With pride he denies the
Jewish Holocaust and speaks brazenly, calling to
wipe Israel off the map.

For us, this is an existential threat. A threat
to which we cannot consent.
But it is not Israel's threat alone. It is a
threat to all those committed
to stability in the Middle East and the well
being of the world at large.

Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Vice President,

Our moment is NOW. History will judge our
generation by the actions we take
NOW…by our willingness to stand up for peace and
security and freedom, and
by our courage to do what is right.

The international community will be measured not
by its intentions but by
its results. The international community will be
judged by its ability to
convince nations and peoples to turn their backs
on hatred and zealotry.

If we don't take Iran's bellicose rhetoric
seriously now, we will be forced
to take its nuclear aggression seriously later.

Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Vice President,

The true Israel is not one you can understand
through the tragic experiences
of the complex geopolitical realities. Israel has
impressive credentials in
the realms of science, technology, high-tech and
the arts and many Israelis
are Nobel Prizes laureates in various fields.

A land with limited resources, eager to
facilitate cooperation with the
United States, Israel devotes its best and
brightest scientists to Research
and Development for new generations of safe,
reliable, efficient and
environmentally friendly sources of energy. Both
our countries share a
desire for energy security and prevention of
global warming. Therefore,
through the United States - Israel energy
cooperation act and other joint
frameworks, in collaboration with our US
counterparts, Israel will increase
its efforts to find advanced scientific and
technological solutions,
designed to develop new energy sources and
encourage conservation.

Just one example of Israel's remarkable
achievements is the recent 4 billion
dollar purchase by an American company of
Israel's industrial giant Iscar.
This is an important endorsement of the Israeli
economy, which has more
companies listed on NASDAQ than any country other
than the United States and
Canada. It is also a vote of confidence in
Israel's strategic initiative to
enhance the economic and social development of
our Negev and Galilee
regions.

But above all, it is recognition that what unites
us, Israel and America, is
a commitment to tap the greatest resource of all
- the human mind and the
human spirit.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We believe in the moral principles shared by our
two nations and they guide
our political decisions.

We believe that life is sacred and fanaticism is
not.

We believe that every democracy has the right and
the duty to defend its
citizens and its values against all enemies.

We believe that terrorism not only leads to war
but that terrorism is war. A
war that must be won every day. A war in which
all men and women of goodwill
must be allies.

We believe that peace amongst nations remains not
just the noblest ideal but
a genuine reality.
We believe that peace, based on mutual respect,
must be and is attainable in
the near future.

We, as Jews and citizens of Israel, believe that
our Palestinian neighbors
want to live in peace. We believe that they have
the desire, and hopefully
the courage, to reject violence and hatred as
means to attain national
independence.

The Bible tells us that as Joshua stood on the
verge of the Promised Land,
he was given one exhortation: 'Chazak Ve'ematz'
'Be strong and of good
courage”.

Strength, without courage, will lead only to
brutality. Courage, without
strength, will lead only to futility. Only
genuine courage and commitment to
our values, backed by the will and the power to
defend them, will lead us
forward in the service of humanity.

To the Congress of the United States and to the
great people of America, on
behalf of the people of Israel I want to say
'Chazak Ve'ematz' be strong and
of good courage, and we, and all peoples who
cherish freedom, will be with
you.

"השם עוז לעמו ייתן. השם יברך את עמו בשלום."
God bless you and God bless America
Thank you.

TOUGH LOVE FROM ISRAEL'S FRIENDS
By Jeff Jacoby
The Boston Globe
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/24/tough_love_from_israels_friends/

Ehud Olmert's first visit to Washington as Israel's Prime Minister was nothing if not eventful. What with meeting President Bush at the
White House, addressing a joint session of Congress, and taking part in all the other social and substantive activities that get packed into a Washington summit, Olmert probably didn't have much time to hang out and watch TV. So he may not have seen a new television ad that takes aim directly at Israel's ongoing campaign of territorial surrender. The ad pulls no punches. Israeli withdrawals from south Lebanon and Gaza, it says, have played into Al Qaeda's hands and increased the terror threat "for Israel and for us." Olmert's proposed "convergence" program in the West Bank -- a follow-up to last year's unilateral retreat from the Gaza Strip, when 21 communities were destroyed and 9,000 Israelis were expelled -- will only intensify that threat.

"Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results," the ad bitingly observes. "We cannot afford any more of this insanity."

Condemnation of the Jewish state by its detractors is nothing new,
But this TV spot isn't the work of an Israel-basher.

It is part of a campaign launched by the Center for Security Policy, a Washington think tank committed to pursuing international peace through American strength. For years, the center has staunchly supported Israel's right to defend itself against its enemies. Why is such a longtime ally so publicly opposing the new prime minister and his signature policy?

The same question might be asked of Joseph Farah, the editor of World Net Daily and one of Israel's most outspoken Christian defenders. In a recent column headlined "I give up on Israel," Farah said he was appalled by Olmert's determination to hand over more than 90 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority, describing it as a "national retreat" and "appeasement of the global jihad."

Last summer's evacuation from Gaza, he wrote, was an "unmitigated disaster." Hamas, an Islamist terror organization, now controls the territory and is turning it into a Taliban-style haven to be used as a staging ground for further attacks.

To replicate such a debacle on an even larger scale in the West Bank is not statesmanship, but stupidity.

"I'm through making excuses for Israel," a disillusioned Farah declared. "I'm through trying to understand the incomprehensible moves of a self-flagellating nation." It isn't only in TV spots and on the Internet that Israel's plans for another destabilizing self-expulsion are being blasted.

Protesters descended on Capitol Hill yesterday, some traveling hundreds of miles to urge the Bush administration to refuse its support for another Israeli retreat. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, former CIA director James Woolsey pointed out that a
"West Bank terrorist state" -- the foreseeable result of the
Olmert plan -- would mortally threaten not only Israel but its moderate Arab neighbor, Jordan, as well.

"Israeli concessions will also make the US look weak," Woolsey warned. Washington's approval of yet another territorial surrender to Hamas and its allies will signal that we are "reverting to earlier behavior patterns -- fleeing Lebanon in 1983,acquiescing in Saddam Hussein's destruction of the Kurdish and Shi'ite rebels in 1991, fleeing Somalia in 1993." Those behavior patterns eventually led to 9/11.

In a democracy, it is said, people get the leaders they deserve. Israeli voters chose Olmert in a free and fair election, knowing
full well that he intended to "disengage" from the enemy by giving up more land. If that enemy threatened only the Israel, perhaps a case could be made for letting Israelis lie in the bed they themselves have made. But Israel's enemy -- a murderous Palestinian regime and theinternational terror network of which it is a part -- is our enemy, too. "By Allah," proclaimed Sheik Ibrahim Mudayris in a sermon
broadcast on Palestinian TV, "the day will come and we will rule America. . . . We shall rule the entire world."

When Florida teenager Daniel Wultz was horribly wounded in a recent suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, terrorist leaders rejoiced that an
American was among the casualties. After Daniel died of his injuries last week, Abu Nasser of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades cheered the news as "a gift from Allah" and promised Americans "more Daniel
Wultzes and more pain and sorrow."

Israel cannot afford to succumb once again to the delusion that retreating in the face of terror will bring safety and peace of mind. "Wars are not won by evacuations," as Winston Churchill told his British country men after the rescue from Dunkirk in 1940. Israelis, weary after so many years under siege, wish to pretend otherwise? Then it is up to their friends to tell them the truth.
Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe.


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Game Theory Nobel Laureate Says Israel’s
Leaders Are Not Playing the Game Correctly
Sharon Hes and Susan L. Rosenbluth

The Jewish Voice and Opinion - May 01, 2006

When Prof Robert (Yisrael) Aumann says the Palestinian Arabs are not irrational when they send their young men and women to kill themselves—and as many Israelis as possible—in suicide bombings, he is relying on game theory, a discipline he knows something about. In December 2005, the professor of mathematics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem was awarded the Nobel Prize for his expertise in the field, which examines how individuals and groups act when they have different, and often opposing, goals.

“The definition of rationality is to do the best you can to advance your interests. The ‘martyrs’ know where they are going, and to blow yourself up for ‘the public good’ is not irrational when you see you can achieve your goals by doing it. And they are achieving them. When the Israeli government expels Jews from their homes, we are allowing the Palestinian-Arab ‘martyrs’ to achieve their goals. The Palestinian Arabs are playing the game rationally and we better understand that if we in Israel respond to acts of terror as we have been, we are encouraging those acts of terror and we will see more of
them,” he said.

Dr. Aumann, 75, made his remarks last month at the One Israel Fund dinner in Manhattan. Established in 1993, the One Israel Fund provides humanitarian and security assistance to Jews living in Yesha, the communities of Judea and Samaria as well as the former residents of the Jewish communities of Gaza.

Most Traumatic

Dr. Aumann said the evacuation of all Jewish communities in Gush Katif, Gaza, and four sites in Northern Samaria, made last summer “the most traumatic” of his 50 years in Israel.

His game theory analysis of the expulsion, he said, was the strategic side of the error made by the Sharon government, but equally severe, he said, was the moral side, “which has nothing to do with game theory.”

“It is morally repugnant to throw anyone—even Jews— from their homes,” he said.

Yeshiva Trained

Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Dr. Aumann fled to the US with his family in 1938, two weeks before Kristall-nacht. After graduating from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshivain NYC (where he did so poorly in math, his teachers advised him to consider auto mechanics) and City College, he received his master’s and doctorate in mathematics
from MIT.

His 1955 doctorate on the then-mathematically esoteric subject of knots has, to his surprise, evolved into an issue that is now of interest to scientists studying the way DNA gets tangled in a cell, sometimes leading to cancer.

After leaving MIT, he joined a small group at the Forrestal Research Center, attached to Princeton University, where he realized that a strategically important issue, concerning a squadron of aircraft, a few of which were armed with nuclear weapons, could be addressed with game theory.

“The rest is history,” he said.

Honored in Israel

He made aliyah 50 years ago, in 1956, and joined the faculty of Hebrew University.

In 1991, he and some colleagues established the Center for Rationality at the Hebrew University, a unique academic venture in which scholars from 13 different university departments meet every other Friday. The group’s published “Discussion Papers” include “Scoring and Keying Multiple Choice Tests, “The Israeli Constitutional Process” and Dr. Aumann’s own “Musings on Information
and Knowledge.”

In 1994, Dr. Aumann won the Israel Prize for Economics.

Personal Tragedies

Although he did not elaborate at the One Israel Fund dinner, he noted that while the disengagement from Gaza was traumatic, he has suffered other personal traumas since making aliyah.

In 1982, his son, Shlomo, was killed in Lebanon while serving in the IDF’s Operation Peace for Galilee. In his son’s memory, Dr. Aumann published an article in which he utilized game theory to analyze a Talmudic “division problem” dilemma, explaining the rationale for dividing the estate of a late husband to his three wives depending on the worth of the estate as compared to its original value.

At the One Israel Fund dinner, he commented that the date of the event, April 26, was his 57th wedding anniversary, not to his new wife, Batya, but to her sister,
Esther, who died in 1998.

Bringing the Family

In addition to Mrs. Aumann, Dr. Aumann’s remaining four children, 19 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren accompanied him to Stockholm when he received the Nobel Prize together with Prof. Thomas C. Schelling of the University of Maryland.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Drs. Aumann and Schelling had won “for having enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game theory analysis.”

To prepare for the trip, two of Dr. Aumann’s relatives traveled to Stockholm a week before the ceremony to arrange for kosher food and rooms on the lowest floor of the hotel, located within walking distance of the synagogue. The hotel had to provide room keys that superceded the electronic doors, which the Aumanns would not use on Shabbat.

Because the Nobel Prize banquet has a stringent men’s dress code—black tailcoat with silk facings, sharply cut away at the front; black trousers with two rows of braid down each leg; a white stiff wing collar attached to the shirt with collar studs; white bow tie; and a white low-cut waistcoat—a Swedish rabbi had to bring the mandatory tails to Israel so it could be tested for sha’atnez, the biblically forbidden combination of wool and linen. There are no sha’atnez labs in Sweden.

Tests in Israel found that the tails did contain sha’atnez, and a whole new set had to be ordered from a tailor in Tel Aviv.

Protests

Although many Jews have received the Nobel Prize over the years, including seven other Israelis, members of the Orthodox community felt special pride watching on television as Dr. Aumann, wearing a white knitted kippa to match his white beard and starched formal shirt, accepted the honor in economics.

Not all Israelis were happy about the honor bestowed on Dr. Aumann. Approximately 1,000 self-styled Israeli “intellectuals” signed a petition demanding that the Nobel committee withdraw its prize to Dr. Aumann on the grounds that, as a member of the religious- Zionist camp, he is “a warmonger” whose theory supports the communities in Judea, Samaria, and even the now-destroyed settlements in Gaza. They charged he is using game theory to “justify the Israeli occupation and the oppression of the Palestinians.”

The effort was led by Shraga Elam, an Israeli expatriate living in Zurich who has long been known for anti-Israel positions.

Enormous Mistake

Dr. Aumann has never retreated from his position that Israel made an enormous mistake in expelling Jewish residents from Gaza and northern Samaria.

“From a game theory point of view, it was a very bad move. But if I didn’t study game theory, I would also say the same thing,” he said. “It was a bad move theoretically because it sends a signal to the other side that if you apply enough pressure, then we will respond.”

He did not see his theory as being useful to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, which, he noted “has been going on for at least 80 years and, as far as I can see, it is going to go on for at least another 80 years.”

“I don’t see any end to this one, I’m sorry to say,” he said.

Plea for Patience

He told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the “disengagement” from Gaza and Northern Samaria was “a disaster” and he argued for a show of patience on Israel’s part. Continued withdrawals, he said, would lead only to bloodshed because they signal that Israel does not know how to proceed and is “merely taking action for the sake of doing something.”

“The current drive for peace now, not tomorrow, is liable to bring about the opposite,” he told the Knesset.

Calling the Palestinians Arabs “our cousins,” he said they “must be convinced, not that we are desperate for peace, but that we are willing to be patient and live with the current situation.”

Shabbat in Stockholm

Dr. Aumann received his Nobel Prize on Saturday night, December 10, after he and his family had spent Shabbat in the Swedish capital, where they were hosted by the local community. They did not leave for the Nobel Prize ceremony until after the Sabbath had ended. When three stars were visible, vans and cars sent by the King Gustave of Sweden picked up the family and delivered them to the hall.

The Aumann family—men in white knitted kippoth and women in modest evening gowns and head coverings—took up two full rows in the ceremonial auditorium.

For the banquet itself, the Nobel Prize committee had ordered kosher meals for the Aumanns.

At the ceremony that evening, awards were handed out to prize winners in medicine (Australians Barry Marshall and Robin Warren for proving that ulcers were caused by bacteria rather than stress), physics, chemistry, and literature (British-Jewish playwright Harold Pinter, who, ill with cancer, was unable to attend, but sent a prerecorded speech in which he attacked US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for their roles in the war in Iraq).

Understood Theory

Asked to discuss the issues for which he won the Nobel Prize, Dr. Aumann said that although the mathematical formula behind game theory is complex, the theory is well understood by many people in the course of every day living.

“I do it all the time,” he said. “When I want information from someone official, I always ask their name. I usually forget it immediately, but I want the person to feel responsible for what he is doing.”

At the ceremony, the judges credited Drs. Aumann and Schelling with having shown that when a particular situation repeats itself, the very fact that it does so provides opportunities for cooperation, even between parties to a conflict.

“War is not irrational,” said Dr. Aumann, explaining that military preparedness is the best way to prevent conflict. “During the long, dark days of the Cold War, peace was maintained because airplanes carrying nuclear weapons were in the air 24 hours a day,” he said.

Understanding Incentives

He noted that wars have always been part of the human condition and that his and Dr. Schelling’s ideas represented not a way to deal with the problem, but, rather, “an approach to avoid confronting it.”

“Our research focuses on war and peace. Through game theory, we try to understand a problem and only after we understand it is it possible to try and find a solution to it,” he said.

He said his work was tied to economics because the latter can be summed up in one word: incentives. That, he said, “is the connection between my work and economics.”

Most Moving Moment

Asked at the One Israel Fund dinner to describe the moving part of his Nobel Prize experience, Dr. Aumann said that while he enjoyed receiving the prize from King Gustave, the most emotional moment was when he stepped in front of the Grand Hotel with all the other Nobel winners and looked up. There were seven flags waving, representing Sweden and the six nations of the ten Nobel Prize winners.

“Right in the middle, next to the Swedish flag, the Israeli flag was fluttering in the breeze. That was the most moving moment for me,” he said.

Flag in Danger

But now, he said, that flag “is in danger as never before.” Although he did not dismiss the dangers posed by Iran and other Arab countries and groups, the greater threat, he said, comes from within.

“We can take care of ourselves against the outside enemies, but we do not know what to do from the danger that comes from within our own ranks,” he said.

He refrained from calling Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his supporters, who seek to relinquish most of Judea and Samaria, “enemies.” Rather, he said, they are “well-meaning patriots who think they are doing the right thing, but they are not doing the right thing.”

Dangerous Agenda Shift

The key reason for their decision to withdraw from land, he said, was summed up recently by a former Israeli security chief who spoke at a conference to which Dr. Aumann was also invited. According to Dr. Aumann, the security official told the gathering that the “Israeli agenda has changed from a public agenda that involved sticking together and working to advance the general good of the whole country, to a new agenda which apes that of most Western countries.”

The Western agenda, which Dr. Aumann said the former security chief greatly admired, “is built on individual incentives and looking out for number one.”

“This may be okay for the United States, Britain, and even many underdeveloped countries, but for a country facing existential threats, such as Israel, this is terribly wrong. The security chief applauded this shift, but it is actually something to be very depressed about,” said Dr. Aumann.

Dangerous Fatigue

According to Dr. Aumann, the results of Israel’s recent election, which saw Mr. Olmert become prime minister, is a reflection of this change in Israel’s agenda. “Israelis voted as they did because, as Olmert says, they are tired of serving in the reserves and tired of being killed by terrorists, and they think they can make things better for themselves by expelling Jews from their homes and contracting the amount of land controlled by Israel,” he said.

This fatigue, he said, is “the exhaustion experienced by a mountain climber or a skier who has become stuck in the snow all night; all he wants to do is sleep, but it is the sleep of death.”

“A mountain climber in that position must resist the urge to sleep. He cannot give in to that fatigue, because if he does, he will die. We in Israel are in mortal danger because of that tiredness,” he said.

Praying for Survival

He saw in the supporters of the One Israel Fund the Jewish state’s hope for survival and, he said, for that reason he had agreed to speak at the dinner.

“I made my living from game theory, and was never very involved in communal affairs. I gave tzedaka, went to shul, and was involved with my neighbors, but the One Israel Fund supporters not only give tzedaka, they give of themselves,” he said.

The One Israel Fund honored a number of its supporters at the dinner, but the leaders of the organization managed to surprise Zahava Englard, a long-time trustee who, this year, has been serving as interim executive director. Mrs. Englard, who is making aliyah to the Yesha community of Efrat this summer with her husband, Dr. Arthur Englard, and their four children, was given the One Israel Fund’s Maaleh Yisrael award. In Israel, she will serve as liaison to the trustees from the One Israel Fund’s new women’s division.

Hope and Prayer

Knowing that there is that kind of support in the US is important to Israelis, said Dr. Aumann. “In Israel, we don’t just hear about terror attacks on TV or in the newspapers. In Israel, everyone knows people who have been affected by terror. We all know someone whose children, parents, brothers, sisters, or neighbors have been killed, wounded, or maimed. No one in Israel is exempt,” he said.

Once again reflecting on the danger currently faced by the Jewish state, he said he hoped the Israeli flag would continue to fly “for years and years.”

“But I am not as sure as I once was that this will happen. It is my hope and prayer, but not my prediction,” he said.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who We Are: Unity Coalition for Israel
Founded in 1991, we are the largest worldwide coalition of Jewish and Christian organizations, with more than 200 groups representing millions of people dedicated to Israel. Though we have many different backgrounds, we have one common goal: A Safe and Secure Israel.

Israel is not just a Jewish issue. Millions of Christians resolutely endorse the principle of peace with security for the state of Israel. Because we work closely together and speak with a united voice, our message is being heard!

Israeli Plan Divides U.S. Conservatives
WASHINGTON, May. 20, 2006
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/20/ap/politics/mainD8HNL0M80.shtml#top

(AP) Jewish organizations and leaders in the U.S.
are divided over Israel's
plan to redraw the country's borders on its own
if it cannot quickly
negotiate peace with the Palestinians, and are
giving the White House
conflicting advice about whether to support or
fund the effort.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wanted a public pledge
of support from President
Bush when he visited Washington this week. The
White House, however, has
indicated an endorsement is premature. Olmert,
who meets with Bush on
Tuesday and addresses a joint session of Congress
on Wednesday, reportedly
has dropped plans to ask during this trip for
additional U.S. aid for the
border plan.

The proposal presents Bush with a foreign policy
headache abroad and a
political dilemma at home.

In the United States, the realignment is widely
opposed by conservative
Jewish voters whom Bush has courted with strong
support for Israeli
security. Conservative Christian leaders,
including television evangelist
Pat Robertson, who back Bush have endorsed the
expansion and defense of
Jewish settlements.

If Olmert presses ahead, his plan would violate a
main principle of the
U.S.-backed plan for peace and the eventual
creation of an independent
Palestinian state. Under the plan Bush helped to
produce, neither the
Israelis nor the Palestinians are supposed to
take unilateral steps that
prejudge final decisions about disputed
territory.

Olmert's approach would complicate the U.S.
relationship with the
Palestinians, now at a low point because of the
election victory of militant
Islamic leaders in January. Many Arab states
oppose the plan, including
important U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Jordan;
European nations are wary.

The United States has avoided taking a public
position. The Bush
administration views Olmert's visit as a chance
to assess the prime
minister's resolve and preparation, White House
and State Department
officials said. They said the U.S. does not
consider the plan to be
completed.

Bush also wants to urge Olmert to try to
negotiate with the Palestinian's
moderate president, Mahmoud Abbas. Olmert says he
cannot do that.

The nuclear threat posed by Iran will also be a
main topic.

Olmert won elections in March with a promise to
pull tens of thousands of
Jewish settlers from the West Bank while
fortifying major Jewish settlement
blocs.

Olmert says Israel prefers to negotiate, but will
stake out its final
borders with the West Bank if the Hamas-led
Palestinian government does not
recognize Israel and disarm. His program
continues the policy of his
predecessor and strong Bush ally Ariel Sharon,
who has not recovered from a
stroke in January.

Rabbi Pesach Lerner, executive vice president of
the National Council of
Young Israel, said he is a strong supporter of
the president and would be
disappointed if Bush backed a plan that, Lerner
said, would intensify the
threat against Israel and others and strengthen
Hamas. Hamas has claimed
responsibility for dozens of suicide attacks on
Israel and is classified by
Israel and the United States as a terrorist
group.
"We're not for giving away land, especially when
you get nothing for it,"
Lerner said. "You don't get peace, you don't get
security."

Dov Hikind, a New York assemblyman, is urging
supporters to tell the
administration that Olmert's plan is a sop to
Hamas and will prove too
expensive. Hikind, a Brooklyn Democrat, was in
Israel on Friday to visit
Jewish settlements that the border plan would
threaten.

"I am seeing with my own eyes what Ehud Olmert
plans to do, which would be
absolutely horrible, unconscionable," Hikind said
by telephone. "I don't
want to see American tax dollars going for the
purpose of expelling Jews
from their homes."Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. foreign
aid at more than $2 billion
a year. A full-scale withdrawal from the West
Bank could cost $10 billion or
more, and Olmert is expected to ask for U.S. help
at some point.

Hikind led a group of 40 American Jews and
evangelical Christians who camped
with Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip last
summer, before Israel
unilaterally withdrew its soldiers and dismantled
its settlements there.
Gaza was seen as a step toward Sharon's eventual
goal of withdrawal from
parts of the West Bank that he saw as
indefensible and a long-term liability
for Israel.

Several large, mainstream U.S. Jewish
organizations support Olmert's plan.

"We believe it is in the interest of the United
States and Israel to try to
resolve some of the dilemmas that occur in the
area by giving greater
certainty to Israel's borders and making it
easier for Israel to defend
itself," said Neil Goldstein, executive director
of the 50,000-member
American Jewish Congress.



--------------------------------------------

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RALLY TODAY IN DC!!!
Unity Coalition for Israel - May 23, 2006

DC RALLY!!!
Protest Unilateral Expulsions During Olmert's Visit
Stand up for the Israeli People!!!
NO MORE LAND FOR TERROR!!!

Tuesday, May 23rd12 noon
U.S. Capitol Building in Taft Park(near Senate Russell Bldg)
50 Constitution Avenue N.W. (at 1st Street)Washington DC
Metro Stop: Union Station on the Red Line, 4 block walk
Any questions, comments, suggestions -
contact Jonathan Silverman at jonsilverman2002@yahoo.com
or call Jonathan at 718-304-3193
Who We Are: Unity Coalition for Israel
Founded in 1991, we are the largest worldwide coalition of Jewish and Christian organizations, with more than 200 groups representing millions of people dedicated to Israel. Though we have many different backgrounds, we have one common goal: A Safe and Secure Israel. Israel is not just a Jewish issue. Millions of Christians resolutely endorse the principle of peace with security for the state of Israel. Because we work closely together and speak with a united voice, our message is being heard!
Click here to manage your subscription.

Tonight Tonight Tonight Tonight on The Tamar Yonah Show! Tonight Tonight Tonight




Former Terrorist: Walid Shoebat
Does He Do It For The $ Money?

After a speaking tour, my kids are just happy that 'father has come home alive".
Walid: You cannot imagine how many times Jews tell me "I am afraid for my children, I have a family, I am afraid" as we ourselves do not have any children, and our children do not count? So far my wife had not received a single email of encouragement from Jews, and my children have to review in their minds how their father will get beheaded if the Muslims ever caught him.
Walid Shoebat was a Moslem Terrorist from Bethlehem, who turned away from his beliefs after being sent to America by his mother. Today he lectures all over America about the perils of Islam, the Arab threat against Israel and how to stop it. Some people say that Walid is 'doing it for the money'. Please read the article (below) that he just penned and decide for yourself. He will be interviewed by Tamar tonight (America, eastern time), and you can ask him your own questions as well.



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TO WIN OR TO BELLY-ACHE?
THAT IS THE QUESTION
By Walid Shoebat


Dear Jewish friends:-

Quit your belly aching complaints, shape up, stand up and fight, or get out of the way.

Jews love to talk about Kristal-Nacht, yet forget about Joseph-Nacht when Joseph's Tomb was burned, defecated in it, and while G-d's evil enemies used the Torah Scrolls to wipe their behinds after doing their filthy deeds. How could Jews be silent on this?

If I was a Jew I would be ashamed to call myself one.

This issue alone needs to be vocalized so much, yet instead we only think of the dead and we say "never again" while the "never again" happens right in front of our eyes.

It's a dead heart that thinks only of the dead and forgets the living.

Here are my honest findings after studying Jews for the last two years, and I wish to make this public:

- Most Jews act as they see other Jews react around them. They seem to seek more to be accepted in order to get respect, instead of gaining respect by strength and honor.

They seek Arab love like a farmer who plants seeds on rocks and daily pours water on stones leaving the good soil untouched. They keep trying to plant seeds of peace where there is no peace and forget that peace can only come by fighting for their G-d given right to survive.

Jewish students at Princeton got scared and blamed the messengers, when I was speaking at George Washington University Jewish students gladly stood up and stated "We the Jewish students stand with our Palestinians friends", and the only Jewish student with guts at San Diego State University got hell from every other Jewish student for bringing me to speak. Yet after the victory in which the turn up was historical, all his friends sent him cards of “thank you”.

Why is it that they objected at first, then thanked him later?

It’s because as usual, it’s one person who stand against the tide and makes all the difference to help change the Jews.

In fact, I started to think in reverse - let Palestinians and Islamists cause hell in Irvine, Harvard, Brandise…. Let them harass the Jewish students and put their noses in the mud, it’s a good thing. Maybe only when they cannot take it any more, then they might wake up and smell that stinky lousy hummus. After all, it was Nazism that forced Jews to work hard to create Israel. It was Arab attacks which forced Jews to take their G-d given rights over Jerusalem. It’s only after they get so much intimidation then Islamists will finally recognize that Jews are not rats, but lions.

Yet what Jews are famous in doing is to respond - respond to what Muslims do at the universities instead of ignoring it and making events of their own. Where is the miniature Joseph’s Tomb in flames at the university campuses? Your “Mecca” went up in flames and you coward and said nothing.

Yet they only object when they see a minature “Apartheid Wall?”

Most Jews trust the wrong guys and reject the ones who truly want to help. I get continual accusations for doing this for money, an accusation I already get from my enemies, but also from my Jewish friends? They ask me for my terror credentials as this is the only thing needed to be accepted as true and genuine. Arafat never had to show his terrorist credentials. Why should he? His finger prints where on every crime seen, yet he got the red carpet and was given a homeland. When he wanted a homeland in Jordan and acted like a brat, king Hussein expelled him immediately. Yet it was the “Jews” who welcomed him in Israel and gave him land for “peace.“

No one asked one of the world's leading Jew killer for credentials, it wasn't necessary. Not even the very people whose children he murdered even ask. Why? Because Jews think that the only road to peace is to beg Arabs to love them. Jews only want to welcome me if I had terrorist credentials, that my confessions alone is not enough. Jews want to accept us only if we indeed have done damage to them in the past like Arafat did.

It's disgusting.

I met with a prominent Jewish scholar and speaker yesterday who stated to some of my colleagues that what I do “makes a good living”, so I flew thousands of miles and met with him and presented all the evidence to him - documents and articles to prove that my American family were well connected with Winston Churchill, articles to show that my Arab family were connected with terror, my name, my exit visa, the land I lost for the sake of standing for Israel, and all other documents, yet he still asked me "how do I know that you were a terrorist?"

It's like I had to remember to take a picture of me with a bomb in my hand, that my confession is not enough, and even if I did it won't make a bit of difference. I made this very long trip flying from distant land to get 45 minutes with a Jew who still asked the same question.

Indeed, we, Arabs who speak for Israel are getting tired, yet no one really even cares.

Not only I am tired, but every Arab who I speak to who defends Israel is tired as well. Joseph Farah stated “I'm through trying to understand the incomprehensible moves of a self-flagellating nation. I'm through trying to point out the moral rightness of a state and a people who themselves fail to discern right from wrong.”

Yet while I read Farah’s comments that he is giving up, I doubt that he is, and neither will any one of us Arabs give up on the Jews and Israel regardless to how tired we get or to how much they give up on us and on their people and their land.

I myself have given up on the little piece of land I purchased from my own father after presenting the bill of sale he stated “we do not honor agreements with unbelievers”, yet I hate to see Jews loose their land to a people who never once honored an agreement.

Yet we hope to provoke you Jews to jealousy for your G-d given right.

Brigitte Gabriel has similar experiences. She deals with Jews who accuse her of being extremist for calling terrorists barbaric, yet when I speak to her she reminds me “Walid, we each have a bullet with our name written on it”.

Yet Jews always ask me as to "why Arabs do not speak out" "how come we don't have many Arabs speak like you do?"

The answer is simple - they do not get the full support from Jews who live in a world of Tekun Olam and Kumbayah. The “Tekun Olam” spirit is not only amongst the Jewish leftist waccos, but amongst the so called “right wingers” as well.

From that school, I still get accused of trying to convert Jews to Christianity when all the evidence is that I am converting Christians to see that their salvation in this world and the hereafter is connected to aiding Israel. Just look at my Christian promo to the church and every church speech that I do and one can see what I honestly do.

I get criticized for criticizing Islam in a world that openly criticizes Christianity and Judaism, with a people who consider critiquing Islam as the unpardonable sin. When was the freedom to critique a religion considered racist? Yet Jews were the best defenders of Islam to the point that you would rarely ever see in a Holocaust museum photos of the Fuehrer of the Arab world - Haj Amin Al-Husseini. Jews do not want to pick a bone with Islamic fundamentalism.

I get criticized for speaking to Jews as to why they need to get back to faith. I continually speak to faithless Jews who don't even know the basics of their faith, heritage, and history. I continually get harangued as to how to angle myself, and position myself to be accepted politically as to please the Jewish left instead of converting the left to get back on track to their Jewish pride and heritage.

People who judge and do not stand in the front line have no clue how we feel or what we are talking about.

You cannot imagine how many times Jews tell me "I am afraid for my children, I have a family, I am afraid" as we ourselves do not have any children, and our children do not count? So far my wife had not received a single email of encouragement from Jews, and my children have to review in their minds how their father will get beheaded if the Muslims ever caught him. My colleague Ibrahim Abdullah had over 400 phone calls of threats from his “peace loving” Muslim community and not a single call of support for speaking on terror.

Yet, almost all Jewish intellectuals say that “only 15% of Muslims are fundamentalists” I caught myself making this lie as well. We do not want to offend Islam.

Almost always, the first question that comes from Jewish audience is "are you not afraid for your life?". People who usually ask this question are themselves afraid for their life but are afraid to fight to preserve it. It’s only by attempting to loose our lives that we preserve it, that vigilance is the price for freedom. The only thing they can express is their fear instead of their voice, that voice which got numbed by Jewish love for peace.

I asked my youngest son as what should I do when Jews ask me the question “are you afraid for your life?” What he told me was astonishing. He said, tell them this “In life we all have two choices - die for something, or of something.”

Out of the mouth of kids.

I leave these speaking events to sit in a hotel room sobbing my eyes out, not for a world that doesn't give a damn about us, but for a world that doesn’t give a damn for themselves.

We act as we have so many friends, yet the only friend we have is G-d who I sit and speak to continually. We don't sleep a single second before these events worried about the crowds and what will they say and object about. Then I leave the events thinking about all the pathetic questions Jews ask "how can we make Arabs love us" "Giving land to the Palestinians is the only solution" "are you afraid for your life" "how do we know that you were truly a terrorist" "thank you for telling your story" bla bla bla...

Yet Jews forget about telling their story. It's their story that needs to be told and not ours. Why are they not telling their story all over the American Universities? The soft soil that is willing to be planted with truth is ignored, while they focus so much on the haters, writing to object to the editors of news papers, and belly-aching over what goes on universities.

They react and forget to act.

It’s by acting and not reacting is the only way to victory.

A victory that will never happen until they smell more rotten hummus.

Yes, even the Jewish "right" is infected with maddness. I go to events organized by religious Jews who insist not to quote the Prophets while Muslims freely quote their prophet with all the beheadings and murder. They accept us “strange” Christians as the only friend, but expect us not to even share G-d’s promises to possess the land? I refuse to cow-tow to belly aching Jews and risk the wrath of an angry G-d.

Jews are ashamed to quote the truth but object when Muslims quote lies, yet refuse to quote verses from The Good Book?

What Jews lack is holiness and a little pride of being Jewish.

What Jews need is some sort of “Teshuva.”

Most Jews tell me that they are not religious, yet when I ask them do they put up a Menorah they always say yes, and when I ask them that this is a religious symbol they do not know what to say.

If I ask them how is it that Israel won against all odds they always say “it was a miracle”, yet when I ask them “do you believe that the Bible predicted these miracles?” they always pause and show no emotion.

Even many of the “religious” Rabbis object. One Rabbi in Florida said that he liked my speech but I lost his support the moment that I objected on giving land for peace. Why I asked? He said that giving land to the Arabs is the most logical solution. I asked him if he kept Kosher in which he said "of course, I am a Rabbi", then I asked him "Rabbi is it logical to keep Kosher in today's world" and he said "no", then I asked him, why do you observe this "illogical" commandment and refuse to observe the other? The land was given to you to posses forever, why do you always pray as a Rabbi "If I forget thee oh Jerusalem, let my right hand...., yet you want to give up East Jerusalem? Why not cut your hand Rabbi?”

He got speechless of course, but instead would object on the messenger instead of viewing his inner heart.

He prays things he doesn’t really mean and hates the messenger for stating what he supposedly believes in.

It's like speaking to a dead branch with no fruit. The only thing that grows on it is thorns from the past, and every time you touch it, it pricks you and causes you to bleed - inside.

How long will it take me to have them see their folly? Reacting to the enemy is a total waste of time. Reacting to self hating Jews is a waste of time. Projecting a positive position on Israel is a waste of time. People are not interested in the inventions, scientific progress Jews/Israel provides.

Objecting to divestment of Israel is a waist of time also. As a matter of fact, we should protest with our enemies by doing reverse psychology - go ahead, and divest, but stop using cell phones, insulin, computers…...Jews had their hands in all of these. The world will see how stupid this is, then they will see how stupid Jew haters are.

The Media are only interested in reporting stories that get ratings. Unfortunately the latest cure for cancer might get page 30 of a newspaper or the tail end of a news bulletin. If the American company put up the money for the research they would get the credit and not Israeli scientists. Israel might get a brief mention if we are lucky.

The Media are interested in the latest headline. HEADLINES that attack the enemy and project truth is the ONLY WAY. Watching the enemy react in anger only helps us. Yet we help them by reacting to them.

The battle requires a plan and huge financial resources to accomplish. The Jews are not up to the task and no matter what we say, and instead, all the money is spent to continue to fight Brit Zedak, Norman Finklestein and Naom Chomsky et al.

My feet were soar walking the streets of Washington and New York, going from one Jewish organization to another and amazed at the rejection from every Jewish organization.

What we need is the support of a handful of people, and not the majority belly-achers.

JEWS - STOP WASTING YOUR TIME.

We have to drown out the message of the enemy with our own message. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY. It does not matter what I say only a few will listen. Again, we are looking for these few Jewish gems.

There is ONLY ONE WAY and that is to attack. I repeat ATTACK. The preemptive strikes used in the Six Day war was the only way Israel won, but this time the Phantom F4s and Mirage airplanes at the universities are the Arab speakers for Israel.

We need to grab hearts and not only present intellectual arguments. Passion is what we need - a loud Brigitte Gabriel style speech and not your politically angled, low toned, ostrich style speaking. The Palestinians do this all the time. There refugee problem is all Israel's fault yah de yah. The only people interested in intellectual arguments are JEWS. Why don’t you step aside and let us do this for you our way, our style, and let our voices thunder on your behalf, and quit shooting us down every time we speak out. We will win Jews to fight by enthusiasm and not only by information. It's one thing to reach to minds, and it's another to win souls.

When we put a dent in the enemy, the very same people who object about us speaking will be our biggest fans. Just look at what happened in San Diego State University. It’s the best example.

In history, it’s always the few who made all the difference, and not the belly-aching crowds. It took my great grand father’s best friend Winston Churchill years to finally be recognized, and it took Martin Luther years to be accepted, but the best investments are the long-term commitments.

Are you one of these few gems? Are you willing to act instead of react?

If so, sign us up. If not, step aside and give your belly aching complaints to someone else. We Arabs are sick of belly-aching Jews.

Walid Shoebat

The Old Man and the Boy

By Shifra Shomron
15 Iyar 5766/ 14th of May 2006
Nitzan Caravilla site
(19 years old)

A parody of "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from Alice in Wonderland.

The sun was shining on the Wall,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The big stones strong and bright ?
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.

The Wall was old as old could be,
The hills were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No doves were flying overhead ?
There were no doves to fly.

The Old Man and the Boy
Were walking close at hand:
They wept like anything to see
The Arabs in the land:
'If they were only moved away,'
They said, 'it would be grand!'

'If seven planes and seven ships
Moved them for half a year,
Do you suppose,' the Boy said,
We would still know fear?'
'I doubt it,' said the Old Man,
And shed a happy tear.

'The time has come,' the Old Man said,
'To talk of many things:
Of foes ? and woes ? and destroyed homes ?
Of redemption ? and kings ?
And why the leadership is bad ?
And how the Levites sing.

'O Jews, come and walk with us!'
The Old Man did call.
'An urgent walk, an urgent talk,
Along the ancient Wall:
We cannot do it by ourselves;
I'm old and he is small.'

Then many Jews looked at him,
But never a word they said:
They slowly closed their eyes,
And shook their weary heads ?
Meaning to say they did not choose
To leave their comfy beds.

But some young Jews hurried up,
All eager for the feat:
Their peyot were long, their faith was strong,
They danced to the beat ?
And this was odd, because, you know,
They faced the burning heat.

Some more Jews followed them,
And yet another four,
And quick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more ?
To rebuild the Temple behind the Wall,
The prophecy of yore.

ORANGE BULLETIN, MAY 21, 2006, IYAR 23, 5766
Items:
1. Protecting the Land of Israel
2. Orange Pro-Israel Rally, Washington, D.C.
3. Parallel Demonstration, Ma?ale Rechavam
4. Benefit Show for Gush Katif in Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem

1. Dear Friends,
Working together from within Israel and from outside in the diaspora, we can optimistically make some positive changes in this situation of absurdities. Where else in the entire world could this scenario occur; a kassam rocket bombs a classroom in Sderot, and an hour later the government hands over 50 MILLION more shekels to finance the Palestinian Authority, the ENEMY !???
WE JEWS AROUND THE WORLD CAN AND MUST MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY CLEAR THAT THE LAND OF ISRAEL BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL IN SPITE OF THE MISDIRECTION THAT THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT LEADERS MIGHT TAKE!
IF THE JEWS DON'T PROTECT THE LAND OF ISRAEL, WHO WILL???
FOR OUR SAKES AND THE SAKE OF ALL OF OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS, YOU MUST TAKE ACTION!!
How you can help:
* get two more friends to sign up to English Orange
*Donate to "Keren Acheinu BiYesha // My Brethren in Yesha Fund" :P.O.B. 542 , Elkana, Israel
for information, write to: israel.mate@gmail.com
2. Orange" (pro-Israel) Rally in DC, Tuesday 23 May We are delighted to notify the "orange" (pro-Israel) public that we have received word of a rally being organized in Washington DC to urge Mr. Bush not to champion Mr. Olmert's unilateral retreat plan. Please forward the following particulars to all of your friends in the United States: Rally in Washington D.C.To Prevent the Division of Jerusalem and Further Jewish Expulsions PM Olmert has publicly stated that he is ready to divide Jerusalem as well as expel up to 70,000 Jews from their homes. NOW IS THE TIME to Stand up for our Brothers & Sisters living on Jewish Land.
Tuesday May 23rd, 12:00 Noon Washington D.C. Taft Park at The Capitol Building If YOU are a supporter of AFSI, B'Nai Elim, Chabad, Manhigut Yehudit, Mattot Arim, Young Israel, or the relevant Synagogues (or Christian groups) associated therewith, please join us!
Bus Coordinators in NY, NJ, CT Rafael V. Rabinovich Cell phone (718) 514-4328 e-mail: rafvrab@att.net, rafvrab@gmail.com For Information and Coordination Across the United States: Jonathan Silverman (718) 304- 3193 e-mail: jonsilverman2002@yahoo.com In the words of Mr. Silverman: "For those who were involved in the fight for Gush Katif, congratulations on seeing past the lies and delusions that knocked out so many other Jews from fighting. Congratulations on not buying in to the claim that "Disengagement" will make Jews safer in Israel. Congratulations on not falling for the delusion that a pull-out like what happened in Gaza is a one-time thing. Which now brings us to the gut-wrenching present day... "The Israeli government is handing victory after victory to Hamas and their ilk. They withdraw, rewarding terrorists for their efforts; not just psychologically, but materially as well, as the historically Jewish land is given to them.This is a government that uses riot police, border police, and the army to evict and beat its own citizens from their homes with great fanfare, casting notions of rights and justice aside. And now, the Prime Minister seeks to secure the approval of President Bush to carry out more Jewish expulsions and giving over of land to Hamas (a Tehran-sponsored terrorist group), actions that totally undermine America's war on terror. "All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing": We cannot afford to remain silent!
"On Tuesday, we will be protesting Olmert's policy of expulsions ("unilateral withdrawals"), at the same time the Israeli Prime Minister is meeting with President Bush at the White House -- 12 Noon, Tuesday, May 23rd. Our demonstration will accomplish three important goals: "1) Get our cause into mainstream American media; 2) Give strength to the brave Jewish fighters resisting the expulsions in Israel; 3) Show that the voice of American Jewry will not be hijacked by leftist organizations who claim to speak in our name. "Bring your banners and posters with you."
Kindly forward this important information to all your friends. Thank you! Do not forget to call the White House and register your dismay that President Bush is willing to consider such as a disastrous plan. For particulars, see: http://mattot-arim.blogspot.com/ . Please call now (202-456-1111) ; Mr. Olmert's advisors are already in DC. Thank you. Sincerely, Susie Dym, spokespersonMattot Ariman Israeli grassroots organization working toward peace-for-peace since 1992
*******************************************President Bush (and Mrs. Bush) and Vice-President Cheney at The White House:Comments: 202-456-1111FAX: 202-456-2461E-mails: President@whitehouse.gov; comments@whitehouse.gov;Vice.President@whitehouse.gov; First.Lady@whitehouse.govSecretary of State Rice e-mail: Secretary@state.govThe information below is provided in the order:Name, Affiliation, D.C. Phone number, D.C. Fax number,available e-mail address from http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/SENATORS FROM CALIFORNIA:Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- CA) 202-224-3841 202-228-3954http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.htmlSenator Barbara Boxer (D- CA) 202-224-3553 202-228-2382http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfmHouse Representatives from San Diego County:Representative Susan A. Davis (D - 53) 202-225-2040 202-225-2948http://www.house.gov/susandavis/IMA/contact.html Representative Bob Filner (D - 51) 202-225-8045 202-225-9073http://www.house.gov/writerep/Representative Duncan Hunter (R - 52) 202-225-5672 202-225-0235http://www.house.gov/writerep/Representative Darrell Issa (R - 49) 202-225-3906 202-225-3303http://issa.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.ContactFormCALIFORNIA REPRESENTATIVES WHO SIGNED THE ATTACHED 2003 LETTER SUPPORTINGISRAELRepresentative Doris Matsui (D - 05) 202-225-7163 202-225-0566http://matsui.house.gov/email.aspRepresentative Tom Lantos (D - 12) 202-225-3531 202-226-4183http://lantos.house.gov/HoR/CA12/Contact+Tom/Contact+Tom+2.htmRepresentative Dennis Cardoza (D - 18) 202-225-6131 202-225-0819http://www.house.gov/writerep/Representative Wally Herger (R - 02) 202-225-3076 202-226-0852http://www.house.gov/writerep/Representative Henry A. Waxman (D - 30) 202-225-3976 202-225-4099http://www.house.gov/waxman/contact.htmRepresentative Richard W. Pombo (R - 11) 202-225-1947 202-226-0861rpombo@mail.house.govRepresentative Joe Baca (D - 43) 202-225-6161 202-225-8671http://www.house.gov/writerep/Representative Howard L. Berman (D - 28) 202-225-4695 202-225-3196http://www.house.gov/berman/contact/
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3. On the Day that PM Olmert will be in the U.S.
We will Strengthen Eretz Yisrael by Marching and Planting in Ma?ale Rechavam

In light of the evil intention of the Olmert administration - operating under the guidance of ?Peace Now? - to eradicate dozens of Jewish communities and yishuvim in Eretz Yisrael, falsely claiming that they are ?illegal outposts? ? among which is Ma?ale Rechavam (5 minutes from Tekoa) ?We are embarking on a campaign to familiarize and show solidarity.

WHEN? ON THE DAY OLMERT WILL BE IN THE U.S.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON, 5:30 pm, MAY 23, 2006, 25 IYAR 5766

Schedule:
5:30 pm Depart in a car convoy from the Southern gate of Efrat. A bus will be available for those without a car. 6:00 pm March from ?Kfar Eldad? to Ma?ale Rechavam ? approx. 15 minute walk with beautiful scenery/At Ma?ale Rechavam:* Planting campaign to assert Jewish ownership * Guided tour of the access roads* Torch-lighting ceremony at the summit above the yishuv, and at yishuvim all across Yesha as a sign of solidarity. Come Join Us!! Bring your family and friends ? bring picnic supplies. We must show support to our fellow pioneers! Hazak Hazak Ve?Nithazek!

Va?ad Peula Efrat-Gush Etzion-Kiryat Arba-Hevron , Ne?emanei Eretz Yisrael and Youth for Eretz Yisrael Tel: Nadia 050-5500834 Datya 0505246770 Anita 050-5777254 Timna 02-9938020

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4. Upcoming Gush Katif benefit show, "With an Outstretched Arm", the biggest single Anglo-Israel event to raise funds for GK refugees since last summer!

COME AND BE PART OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL!

Join the women of Bet Shemesh in the exciting new Musical Drama,
?With an Outstretched Arm?, to benefit Lema?an Achai** and their Gush Katif fund.

With a series of successful and inspiring musicals behind them, the team behind ?With an Outstretched Arm? will take you from the Exodus from Egypt to the Expulsion from Gush Katif on a journey of hope and unity. This original drama in English will uplift and inspire, presenting to you the very best aspects of the Jewish spirit with dance, song and even laughter.
The show will take place on June 14th and 15th at the Zinman Matnas in Bet Shemesh and in Jerusalem on June 22nd at the Gerard Behar Theater.
Look out for the impressive posters in your neighborhood, where you will find a list of your local ticket sellers. For our ticket coordinator, please call Elky Grossman on 02-9995271 or Batya Jerenberg on 9996078 for further information.


We look forward to seeing you and sharing our message of hope, joy and even a few tears!

**After last summer?s expulsion from Gush Katif, the brave families are still experiencing many hardships. Over 70 families still live in tents, cramped hotel rooms and guesthouses while the majority of the 9000 Jewish people wait for the crippling bureaucratic process to deliver their promised compensation.

Lema?an Achai is a tzedaka organization based in Ramat Bet Shemesh which responded to this crisis by setting up a unique fund to help many of the refugee families from Gush Katif. So far it has provided desperately needed supplies: clothes, furniture, gan supplies and a volunteer team that provides vital movers, handymen and psychological support for those traumatized by the expulsion. This year each Chatan and Kallah has been given a gift of 2000NIS to start their new life together. So far we have helped over 40 young couples begin their futures.