01/8/15

Jews cope with Egypt’s hysteria and revision of Jewish-Egyptian history

By: Dr. Ashraf Ramelah
Voice of the Copts

Abu Hasira

At the end of last month, the Egyptian courts of Alexandria delivered a verdict to ban annual visits to the historic mausoleum of Moroccan Rabbi Yacoub Abu Hasira in the nearby village of Demto. After thirteen years in the court system, the Administrative Court of Alexandria issued a definitive verdict to abolish the annual celebrations of the Rabbi’s birth on the merit of evidence that Jewish visitors “violate public order and morality and use the opportunity to desecrate the land of Egypt.” In response to the verdict, Israelis requested to have the tomb of Abu Hasira transferred to East Jerusalem. Egyptian authorities denied their request.

The Jewish tradition to journey to the Demto Abu Hasira tomb began in 1907. Jews from around the world — in particular, France, Morocco and Tunisia — made the week-long pilgrimage each year to the Demto tomb to celebrate the Rabbi’s birth (December 26 through January 2). The new ruling now forbids this. Until now, Egypt has always allowed foreign Jews (except for Israeli Jews) to visit the Jewish historical landmark despite the fact that virtually all Jewish-Egyptian citizens have been expelled from Egypt since the Nasser regime – only twenty Jews reside in Egypt today.

Israeli Jews were only allowed visits into Egypt after the signing of the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. Special permission was sought from the Sadat government to allow organizing celebration tours (pilgrimages) to the Abu Hasira mausoleum and shrine. This current ruling has put an end to these tours.

Who was Yacoub Abu Hasira, and why is his birthday celebrated? His original name was Jacob Ben Massoud, and he was born in 1805 in southern Morocco. Jewish narrative depicts him as an aged rabbi leaving Morocco by ship on a journey to the Holy Land. During his trip the ship sank, and he clung to a mat (hasira) until he safely reached the shores of Syria. Upon his return from the Holy Land he chose to travel by land. While transiting through Egypt he died, but the miracle of his journey to the Holy Land has been kept alive.

Critically, last month’s court ruling also includes an order for Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities to remove the Rabbi Yacoub Abu Hasira mausoleum from the records of Egyptian Antiquities where it is officially designated a historic monument. The tombs physical conversion into a mausoleum and simultaneous entry into the records of Egyptian Antiquities can only be considered a second miracle in the Abu Hasira story. Egypt, with its climate of relentless racial bias and paranoia against Jews, is more likely to disavow Jewish-Egyptian history than to embrace it.

But the reason for the tomb’s designation has more to do with a political decision made by the ambitious former Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, in preparing for his bid for the head of UNESCO and the favor he sought for that upcoming election. This occurred shortly before Egyptians and their courts began to stir up the issue of prohibiting visitors to the Abu Hasira tomb. Today, Hosni denies that the tomb conversion and upgrade in 2001 was his doing, citing a committee’s responsibility for it.

However, as Culture Minister, committee decisions came through him, and now his response to distance himself

Abu Hasira’s Tomb

His efforts to seal Egypt’s Jewish heritage only serves to highlight his bigotry. At the time, advocating for the rabbi’s tomb had been politically useful for Hosni in mitigating the impact of one of his previous ideas, publicly declared, to burn all Hebrew books found on the shelves of Egyptian libraries. He was widely known for this anti-Semitic initiative (never materialized) both inside and outside of Egypt which ultimately deprived him of the UNESCO position.

Grievances from Egyptians concerning the Abu Hasira mausoleum and Jewish celebrants began as early as Sadat’s 1977 visit to Israel as a form of indirect opposition to Sadat’s show of friendliness toward the Jewish state. Years later, during Mubarak’s presidency, a heated debate began in 2001. Poor villagers expressed gratitude for the increase in local business during the week-long visits. Although they claimed the Jews were harmless, and no harm would come to them by allowing the festivities, the opposition expressed the standard complaint that Jews in Egypt were a national security problem.

Brainwashed by mosque indoctrination and the public school system, Egyptians tend to believe that Jews coming to Egypt from Israel are spies for the Israeli government. Town’s people backed by Muslim Brotherhood members in the Egyptian Parliament began a case in the Alexandria courts and won an injunction against the Jewish celebrants. A ruling was issued prohibiting the pilgrimage. But this verdict was appealed and reversed within the same year.

The warfare against Abu Hasira continued. In 2010, Jews around the world were warned by Israeli authorities and the Egyptian embassies that attending the pilgrimage might be dangerous in view of the Muslim Brotherhood rise to power and anti-Jewish graffiti smeared on the mausoleum walls. A national television talk show videotaped the Jewish Abu Hasira festivities and saw nothing wrong, but bystanders claimed they saw vicious acts. One witness recalled seeing “slaughtering of pigs in the streets.” A reporter from the Egyptian press described “hysteria and half-naked dancers, unethical behavior.” Chancellor Jaber Qasim, Deputy General of Sufis, ranted that, “the pilgrims are a plot and plan of Zionism to rape the nation by claiming that Jews have roots in Egypt …”

This frenzy — fabrications and hysteria — was the “evidence” used by the courts to decide last month’s verdict — ignorance and prejudice once again leading to the discrimination of minorities. This court ruling now sets a precedent whereby every non-Muslim religious monument, artifact and sacred place in the historic registry becomes vulnerable to the whims of Egypt’s biased courts. In the first place, Egypt’s courts do not have jurisdiction over the status of antiquities or the registry of monuments in the Ministry of Culture where its protection act has the absolute authority. It is not the job of the courts but rather for panels of experts to decide. Moreover, this case sets a precedent which directly contradicts Egypt’s constitution – Part 1, Article 4 and Chapter 3, Article 47-50, 64 – which declares freedom of religion and respect for all religions. Israeli authorities have now launched a complaint with UNESCO where the Abu Hasira mausoleum is recorded as a historic Egyptian monument.

01/4/15

The Israel Haters Club

12/31/14

We Must Hope

Arlene from Israel

I comment every year at this time about the difference between the way the secular new year and the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) are celebrated. In the Jewish tradition it is a time for prayer and introspection.

This year in particular, I think, the difference is marked. For the year 2014, in retrospect, does not leave much room for celebrating (except, of course, on a personal level).

Nor can we face the advent of 2015 filled with facile optimism. I, myself, don’t see this as a time for fireworks and champagne – although I am sure there will be much in the way of fireworks and champagne in various venues.

This said, we are forbidden to despair. There is always room for hope. We SHOULD hope for better times, and resolve to do all possible to bring them to fruition. And there is something about turning that calendar page, with a new year marked on it, that increases the sense of hope – makes hope feel more possible.

And so, I extend to my dear readers my heartfelt wishes that at a personal level you should find the year 2015 a very good one.

And for the larger world, I pray for the serious weakening of radical forces, (they should self-destruct) with strong and wise leadership in the democracies holding sway (I can dream). A diminution of disease and poverty and hatred. An increase in loving-kindness and acts of simple humanity, one to the other.

May we all be able to sleep easily and have much reason for laughter in the 12 months ahead.

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If not for the incoming year, I would not have written again today. For today is the Likud primary – a time when all those who are members of the party have the opportunity to select the candidates who will appear on the list for the elections. We will not have results for a day or two.

What we know, with almost a certainty, is that Binyamin Netanyahu will head the list, and is likely to emerge, once again, as prime minister. What also seems to be the case – we shall see – is that a number of right wing/nationalist candidates will be high up on the list, thus guaranteed seats in the Knesset.

Perhaps in the end, when the Israeli election is held, there will be cause for great hope. For Habayit Hayehudi seems to be growing stronger as well, while certain other parties, such as Livni’s, seem to be on the cusp of disappearing.

But right now, the political circus – when monitored carefully – tends to promote a headache. Or a stomach ache. I will examine some of the diverse parameters in an upcoming posting – at the same time that I report on the Likud primary results. I confess, the situation has been so fluid and frequently unpleasant that I’ve been reluctant to report on it in any detail.

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What I will report on here are the results of the vote on a Palestinian state held last night in the Security Council: It did not pass – there were eight votes for, and not the required nine, so that the US did not have to veto.

But here too we see a situation that was very fluid. At one point late yesterday, PA spokespersons said that they had the necessary majority of nine, as France – a big disappointment – and Luxembourg had decided they would vote in favor. But at the very last moment, Nigeria had second thoughts and decided to abstain instead because a negotiated settlement is required.

Along with France and Luxembourg, China, Jordan, Russia, Argentina, Chad and Chile voted for the resolution, while the UK, South Korea, Rwanda, and Lithuania abstained. The US and Australia voted against.

What will happen next is anyone’s guess, as PA representatives are prone to making a variety of threats.

~~~~~~~~~~

For the last post of 2014, a site that describes some of Israel’s innovations of the past year:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/10-israeli-tech-ideas-that-changed-the-world-in-2014/

My favorite is the ReWalk, which is an “Israeli-developed exoskeleton system that enables the paralyzed to walk…Using computers and motion sensors for the heavy lifting, ReWalk allows independent, controlled walking similar to that of an able-bodied person. The system controls movement using subtle changes in the center of gravity, mimics a natural gait and provides functional walking speed, enabling even paraplegics to move independently.”

Courtesy
Amazing. If things such as this are being done, there is definitely hope.

12/28/14

Same Old Script

Chris Muir at Day by Day Cartoon

12/16/14

Light the Lights

Arlene from Israel
Tonight we light the first light in the eight day Festival of Chanukah. A time for joy and hope.

Credit: ebay

Actually, there are two stories of Chanukah: One has to do with the miracle of the oil, which burned in the Temple for eight days although there was only enough oil for one day. In commemoration of this, we eat foods associated with oil – potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganiyot (donuts).

Credit: ourtastytravels

Credit: Jerusaleminsiders

In truth, if we are going to talk about miracles: the existence of modern Israel is a miracle. We should be ever mindful of this, and ever grateful.

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Then there is the historical Chanukah story of the Maccabees battle against the Greeks – which enabled them to regain and rededicate the Temple after it had been defiled. There are lessons here in terms of determination and bravery (for the war was very long and bitter) and dedication to our traditional practices and our faith. All very much lessons for today.

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A particular determination is required right now. For these are very tough times, no matter how you cut it.

I held off posting yesterday to see what would evolve with regard to the UN Security Council and anti-Israel resolutions to be brought forward. But there is nothing definitive to report yet.

Prime Minster Netanyahu, who met with Secretary of State Kerry yesterday, seems to be holding tough. He says he will not agree to any UN coercion.

Kerry himself is waffling, and this is very unsettling. Netanyahu put on a good front before meeting with Kerry, saying that there was no reason to believe that the US would diverge from its traditional position of vetoing Security Council measures that are anti-Israel. But that is not really the case. We know what a lame duck Obama is capable of.

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At a press conference today, Kerry said that the parties themselves must resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict – it cannot be done from the outside.

Nu? That means it cannot be resolved via UN attempts to force Israel to move back to the ‘67 line. No?

But in that same press conference he offered no assurances about his readiness to veto what might yet be proposed.

http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Kerry-A-solution-to-the-Israeli-Palestinian-conflict-cannot-be-imposed-from-the-outside-384833

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Of course, it is possible that the Kerry “indecision” is a tactic aimed at getting Netanyahu to cave on agreeing to negotiate. So far I have no indication that Netanyahu has agreed to anything.

One of the things I picked up today was a reference by Kerry about “the cycle of violence,” which invariably infuriates me. This is a false moral equivalency. There is no cycle of violence, only Arab terrorism and Israeli response.

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The PA may bring forward a proposal this week that would require Israel to return to its situation prior to the 1967 war by February 2016; it would acknowledge eastern Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, and would make provision for the “Palestinian refugees.” There is no precise wording of this proposal available in its entirety yet.

The French are working on a different proposal that would, as I understand it, require that negotiations between Israel and the PA be completed in two years. Somewhat less horrendous than the PA version, but neither viable nor acceptable.

Please, dear readers, do not panic about any of this. It’s a long way from a PA-proposed resolution in the Security Council, which has not yet materialized, to a real shift in Israel’s situation.

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Relevant to this, I believe, is the announcement by the PA that they would not be cancelling security cooperation with Israel over the death of Abi Ein, as had been threatened. A PA official now admits that they never intended to follow-through with the threats. They rely on Israel, said this official.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.631570

Hey, no surprise there. Abbas wouldn’t last a week if not for Israel’s control of Hamas in Judea and Samaria.

What we see then is that the PA leadership makes threats that it doesn’t necessarily intend to act upon. And that Israel has some leverage over the PA.

So…stay tuned.

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The PA says that if its proposal does not pass in the Security Council it will go to the International Criminal Court and level charges of war crimes against Israeli leaders. This may be yet another threat. Abbas has already been warned by our leaders that this path would work two ways. In any event, there is no guarantee that the ICC would accept “a Palestinian state” as a member.

But see what one very wonderful legal warrior in Israel, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, head of Shurat Ha-Din – the Israel Law Center, is doing: filing claims in the ICC against Abbas and Hamas leaders. She is taking the offensive and hopes to make Abbas think twice.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-best-defense-against-palestinian-lawfare-is-offense/

Credit: Wikipedia

~~~~~~~~~~

Let me turn here, then, to a brief update on the political circus:

Eli Yishai has made it official. He has broken with the Shas party and is forming a new party, Yahad – Together. It is being watched very closely, for it appears that it will not be just a duplicate of the haredi party, Shas, but will bring in national religious elements as well. It aims to be a party that, indeed, unifies people in their concern for religious values and political nationalism. Although it is early to make predictions, it carries genuine promise.

What we know so far is that Yoni Chetboun, who just left Habayit Hayehudi because of some deep discontents, will be joining Yishai. And now all eyes are on the relationship between Uri Ariel and Naftali Bennett. If Uriel walks out of Habyit Hayehudi with his Tekuma faction, he would very likely join Yishai.

There are very early predictions that when the dust settles this new party might bring in as much as seven mandates. Aryeh Deri, who now heads Shas, is having conniptions. But on Aryeh Deri, who is not exactly the model of an upright politician, it looks good. Apparently Yishai – who was pretty much shafted by Deri – will take a fair amount of support with him and has already received the endorsement of some significant rabbis.

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Finally…Chanukah, songs. First a medley of some traditional songs with a pleasing twist:

http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/taking-tradition-to-a-whole-knew-level/ (Yes, it should be a “new” level, but the singing is nice.)

And then, a very lovely new version of the classic Maoz Tzur, by much-loved Israeli entertainer and cantor Dudu Fisher:
https://soundcloud.com/algemeiner/maoz-tzur-dudu-fisher-mix

Enjoy, and Chag Chanukah Sameach!

12/11/14

Turmoil

Arlene from Israel

Tumult can be identified on several fronts right now, starting with the issue of the death of PA official and terrorist Zaid Abu Ein yesterday.

I had hoped that the autopsy, once it was done, would firmly put to rest the charge by the PA that we “killed” this man because our soldiers beat him with a rifle butt, etc. What actually happened after the autopsy, which was attended last night by an Israeli pathologist as well as Jordanian and Palestinian Arab medical personnel – and done under Jordanian auspices – was a bit more convoluted:

Reports earlier today seemed to indicate that the Israeli doctor, who said the cause of death was clearly a heart attack, was at odds with the Jordanian and Palestinian Arab officials who continued to maintain that Abu Ein had died from being struck, inhaling tear gas and not receiving prompt medical attention. But that assessment apparently came from one Palestinian official who shared this perspective with Reuters.

Now, it seems the various assessments are not so far apart. Abu Ein died of a heart attack. Not from a beating or being strangled or the like. That the heart attack was brought on by stress is a possibility.

This is the statement from the Israeli Ministry of Health:

Abu Ein’s death “was caused by a blockage of the coronary artery (one of the arteries that supplies blood to the heart) due to hemorrhaging underneath a layer of atherosclerotic plaque. The bleeding could have been caused by stress…

“Indications of light hemorrhaging and localized pressure were found in his neck. The deceased suffered from ischemic heart disease; blood vessels in his heart were found to be over 80% blocked by plaque. Old scars indicating that he suffered from previous myocardial infarctions were also found.

“The poor condition of the deceased’s heart caused him to be more sensitive to stress. It is necessary to wait for the medical treatment report before determining more incisive explanations on this matter.”

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/12/11/idf-soldiers-we-acted-with-restraint-at-protest-where-abu-ein-died-video/

The report on medical treatment is important because what is described as light hemorrhaging may have been caused not by anything IDF soldiers did, but rather by attempts by Arab medical personnel to resuscitate him.

~~~~~~~~~~

I would like to make two other points here, and would hope then, to turn to other matters. My guess is that in the end, after all the requisite grandstanding, the PA will not break off security cooperation with Israel in spite of threats to do so. Quite simply: the PA will suffer if it does so.

IDF soldiers have made it clear (Algemeiner source cited above) that they acted “moderately” and within the “official rules of engagement” when dealing with Abu Ein. I make the point again here that this was a hostile man, prone to violence. Abu Ein and his group of protesters had been told that they could not advance beyond a certain point, but they attempted to advance anyway and had to be stopped. According to the report of one officer, the protesters were attempting to move towards an IDF jeep, with intent of hanging a Palestinian flag on it.

The rules of engagement would have required the soldiers to fire on the protesters, at their legs. But the officers instead acted with restraint and did not fire – just pushing them back instead.

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Lastly, I would like to call my readers’ attention to something I learned after I wrote last night. I had indicated that an Israeli medic had offered medical assistance on the scene – assistance that might have saved him. But, according to reports, Abu Ein refused this assistance, requesting that he be taken to Ramallah instead.

As it turns out, it appears that it was not Abu Ein who made the decision to reject the assistance of the Israeli medic – it was the decision of his “associates” – those who were surrounding him.

See the video below. About 9 or 10 seconds into it, you see Abu Ein being lifted up by those around him and carried away. In that moment, there is a glimpse of someone with a blue glove. That is the Israel medic, who was standing right there, prepared to lend assistance. The actions of the Arabs surrounding Abu Ein, who had just had the heart attack, may have sealed his death. The charge of “lack of medical care” points the finger in the wrong direction.

http://www.skynewsarabia.com/web/video/708504/%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%AD%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%94%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86

(My thanks to Winkie and Barbara O. on this.)
~~~~~~~~~~

Briefly, now, I want to do a turn about and look at the political circus, which is filled with its own sort of ferment. Please understand that three months is a very long time in an Israeli campaign. Polls leaning in one direction may reflect something else in a matter of weeks. Thus, I prefer at this point to only paint a political picture in broad strokes.

The Likud Central Committee has approved Prime Minister Netanyahu’s proposal to move up the date of the primaries – which determine the order of candidates on the party list -until December 31. This is considered a major victory for Netanyahu. It is presumed that he sought this change in the primary date so that potential candidates who would challenge him as head of the list would not have time to put their campaigns in order.

“Potential candidates” = Gideon Sa’ar. And what do you know? Sa’ar has just announced he would not be running in the Likud primary after all. At least not this time around.

The scuttlebutt of the last few days has been that Netanyahu has gotten weak and is losing control in Likud. But this victory goes a long way to dispelling that impression. All the more is this so, as the proposal that has been approved also permits the chair of the party to select the candidates for the 11th and 24th spots on the Knesset list.

Credit: Flash 90

Danny Danon – who has been locking horns with Netanyahu for some time – will be challenging him in the primary. Danon has his eye on the premiership, certainly, but I do not believe that he or anyone else seriously considers that he will achieve the number one spot on the list now.

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On the left, Yitzhak “Bujie” Herzog (Labor) and Tzipi Livni (Hatenua) have decided to join forces and combine their lists, in order to successfully challenge Netanyahu. And right now the polls are looking good for them. From where I sit, this is the stuff of nightmares. They say they would take turns serving as prime minister.

Credit: Flash 90

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The big story, in the end, may rest with those parties that are relatively centrist, as they might swing in either direction.

There are rumors of all sorts of cooperative efforts or list mergers among the parties of Lapid (Yesh Atid – “there is a future”), Lieberman (Yisrael Beitenu – “Israel our home”), and Kahlon (the brand new Kulanu – “all of us”).

They deny these rumors, and I do not trust their denials. Anything is possible.

I expect nothing of Lapid and wish he would disappear from the political map with this election.

Kahlon, originally from Likud, seems to have a solid following, but he makes me mighty uneasy. He calls himself “centrist-right,” but declares that he knows when to give up land and is for negotiations with the PA. Centrist-right?

And Lieberman? His self-serving game-playing is a huge disappointment. Remember that he had a combined list with Likud the last time around. There is the possibility that he won’t go along with Lapid and Kahlon, but is lending the impression that he might in order to be better able to name his political price when going with Likud.

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It seems a reasonable certainty that the Ultra-Orthodox parties (Shas, Sephardi, and United Torah, Ashkenazi) will figure in the next coalition. Right now there is considerable tension within Shas itself, between Aryeh Deri and Eli Yishai. Something else to track.

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And today’s good news:

An Israeli start-up company called White Innovation has developed a machine – the “Genie” – that prepares food in pods that have a shelf life of up two years. We’re talking about healthy meals, without preservatives added. There are savory dishes and sweet; breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, gluten-free meals and other specialties – all of which are reconstituted by the “Genie.” A launch is planned for mid-January.

Credit: Israel21C

http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/get-ready-star-trek-capsule-meals-coming-your-way/

12/9/14

The World Keeps Turning

Arlene from Israel

It’s official. Last night the Knesset voted – 93 in favor, no votes against and no abstentions – to disband itself. We are in a campaign period. A huge amount of jockeying is now taking place with regard to possible mergers of parties, timing of the Likud primary (which Netanyahu hopes to push up to forestall challenges), and more.

But today I want to back away from the political circus and look at some of the issues that are paramount. Sometimes it feels as if everything not connected to Israeli politics fades into the background during an election period. But of course that is not the case: Things happen. Threats loom. Opportunities arise.

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A very good place to start is with the issue of Area C. This area, as you will recall, was accorded full Israel administrative control – civil and security – under the Oslo Accords, with Area A under full PA control and Area B under PA civilian control and Israeli security control.

Credit:Israel street
All Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are in Area C, and Oslo did not restrict development by Israel in that area. There are about 400,000 Jews in this area, and about 90,000 Arabs.

What is happening under our very noses is that illegal Arab construction is encroaching on this area. In 2014, according to testimony given recently to the Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, 16 times as many homes were erected illegally in the area by Arabs than by Jews, based per capita.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188349#.VIcUBJtxnIV

As Regavim explains it:

“…building initiatives specifically in Area C…[are done] with the intent of chipping away at this area bit by bit, and thus creating a strip of territory between the area of Hebron, Samaria, and Jericho. This strip would endanger the security of the State of Israel and its ability to defend itself within defensible borders.”

The Palestinian Authority has been advancing this illegal building “unilaterally since 2009, as part of its strategic plan to create a Palestinian state de facto, while avoiding the need for negotiations with Israel.” (Emphasis added)

This is a matter of considerable concern. In part, we have responsibility for what is going on, for the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria, which is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense, has not acted forcefully in responding to this threat.

But there is another major factor involved: The European Union has been blatantly underwriting this illegal building.

Now Regavim has released a position paper that is “the product of meticulous research, documentation and mapping of hundreds of residential structures which the European Union has built in a series of outposts in the Adumim area—the eastern corridor leading to Jerusalem from the Jordan Valley…it demonstrates clearly the purposeful change in the conduct of the European Union, as appears in their official documents, and analyses the significance of these illegal initiatives in the area.

“Between the lines, the hypocrisy of the European Union is exposed, blaming Israel for taking unilateral steps, whilst simultaneously being directly, deeply and heavily involved in illegal and unilateral activity to the benefit of the Palestinian Authority.” (Emphasis added)
http://regavim.org.il/en/eu-involvement-in-illegal-building-in-area-c-position-paper/

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For some time now, Minister Naftali Bennett (chair, Habayit Hayehudi) has been promoting a plan for the annexation of Area C of Judea and Samaria. Under this plan, the Arabs in area C would be offered full citizenship. All those beyond Area C would be given autonomy – an opportunity to control their own lives with regard to civil matters, which means running their own schools, electing their own mayors in their cities, etc. They would not have sovereignty – would not be given a full state.

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Just days ago, the Saban Forum was held in Washington DC. Run by the Saban Center for Near East Policy of the Brookings Institute. Bennett traveled to participate in the Forum in order to promote his Area C plan.

Before I speak further about what he said at the Forum, I want to take a short detour: The Brookings Institute is one of a handful of very influential Washington DC non-governmental think tanks that has taken foreign money without reporting it. Taking the money is not illegal, but failing to report it very well may be.

See: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/11/do_major_think_tanks_violate_us_law_.html

It has been revealed that Qatar gave Brookings $14 million, at a time when Martin Indyk was vice president and director of foreign policy for Brookings. He was, during that time, also serving as US envoy to Israel, presumably able to take a fair or neutral stance in dealings Israel has with Palestinian Arabs. But, as Jan Sokolovsky, author of the article cited here, wrote:

“To assume that the researchers and the think tanks are not influenced by the agenda of their donors belies common sense.”

This is important information to have in any event – lest inquiring individuals who are not privy to these facts take information coming from Brookings as “unbiased” research.

But here it is particularly relevant. For Bennett spoke for 80 minutes at the Saban Forum, during which time it was Indyk who interviewed him extensively and then moderated a question and answer segment. Professing great devotion to Israel, he is thoroughly and totally untrustworthy. This is a man who would throw us under the bus gladly.

Credit: Brookings
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Bennett’s full statement can be found here:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188315#.VIcoN5txnIV

It is instructive, spirited and encouraging. Several times, he comes back at Indyk with strength. I recommend taking the time to see it.

At the very least, see this four minute segment that has some marvelous retorts to Indyk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5haOuQJALAY&feature=youtu.be

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There have not been any ghastly terror events in the last several days, thank Heaven. But this, of course, does not mean that terror is a thing of the past. Knifings and other sorts of attacks that have not resulted in fatalities have taken a back seat to other news. Yet I feel it is important to mention here what continues to go on.

Less than a week ago, there two Israelis were stabbed in a supermarket in Mishor Adumim, just outside of Jerusalem. The attacker was shot dead.

Today, two terrorists – wanted by security forces because of reported intention to carry out attacks – were apprehended outside of Tekoa. One of those apprehended, Muhammed Abu Eisha, is the nephew of one of the terrorists believed to have kidnapped and then killed the three students this summer. We see again that terror often is a family affair.

Most hair-raising, however, was the report less than two weeks ago of an extensive Hamas terror plot that involved several locations. The largest intended site was Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem’s main stadium.

Credit: Josh Kalman

Over thirty terrorists were arrested; the network, which operated in Judea and Samaria, was directed by Hamas leadership that set up a command center in Turkey.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/shin-bet-busts-hamas-plot-to-attack-jerusalem-soccer-arena/

Not only is constant vigilance necessary. The fact of such a plot teaches us once again that our security personnel absolutely must have the freedom to operate across Judea and Samaria.

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Briefly here, I turn from the horrors of Hamas to the horrors of Fatah, as embodied by Mahmoud Abbas.

Two days ago he made the declaration once again that he cannot recognize Israel as a Jewish state because it would undermine the “national interests” of Arabs who are Israeli citizens, and would prevent “Palestinian refugees” from returning to their homes. “We cannot close the door to those who wish to return.”

Oh yes we can. He’s talking about six million “refugees,” and his logic is, in and of itself, a sufficient argument for passing the Jewish law legislation.

I mention here, as well, that Israeli Arabs don’t have “national” rights – only individual human and civil rights. What Abbas said was:

“We cannot recognize a Jewish state. We will stand against this enterprise, not out of obstinacy, but because it contradicts our interests. The first to suffer from this law would be the 1.5 million Arabs who would no longer belong to Israel, due to their religion.”

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/12/07/abbas-again-says-%e2%80%98we-cannot-recognize-a-jewish-state%e2%80%99/

Absolute and unmitigated nonsense. The status of Arabs would not be affected by this legislation.

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Abbas prefers to represent himself as a “refugee” now. But he’s on record as saying that his family left S’fat voluntarily:

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=568&fld_id=568&doc_id=9778

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He is making a great deal of his intentions to secure statehood unilaterally, via the Security Council, or to take one sort of drastic action or another if that fails.

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We close with a good news item:

The design for the National Library of Israel – done by the firm Herzog and de Meuron – has been revealed:

Credit: Dezeen

It will be built within the complex that houses the Israel Museum; construction is scheduled to begin in 2016. Four of the buildings six stories will be underground. It will encompass, in addition to the library itself, research laboratories and offices, educational facilities, a visitor center, a multipurpose hall and a climate-controlled archive.