Four thousand rally at U.N. for kidnapped Israelis

NEW YORK (Press Release) —Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, members of Congress, religious and communal leaders joined four thousand demonstrators from as far as Toronto and Washington DC across from the United Nations to demand action from the international community to free the three Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah and Hamas as well as other Israeli MIAs. Among the featured speakers were Karnit and Miki Goldwasser, wife and mother of Ehud Goldwasser, held hostage by Hezbollah.

Wiesel said, "Those who kidnapped [the soldiers] are cowards and criminals … What they are doing is an insult not only to Jews, but to all civilized people … In choosing kidnapping, Hezbollah and Hamas have excluded themselves from the code of the family of nations, and they deserve universal disdain, condemnation and punishment."

Miki Goldwasser said, "This is a humanitarian issue. For me, as a mother, knowing that my son is kidnapped and wounded, maybe without any medical care, and no sign of life, it is misery. You need to fight against it. I ask for your help and thank you for your support.”

June Walker, Chairperson of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said, “Liberating captives is an obligation that we bear as Jews, as supporters of the State of Israel, and for humanitarian reasons. One year ago we stood together, here in front of the UN, to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, and all of Israel’s missing soldiers.

“Since then, we have raised their plight, and that of Israel’s other MIAs at the highest levels, in meetings with the leaders of our government, of foreign governments, and of the United Nations. Today, we have returned to this spot to show that we have not forgotten. We will not forget. And we will continue to demand their freedom, in the halls of power and in the streets, until the hostages are released.”

Janice Shorenstein, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York said, "Although a year has passed, we cry out for their freedom again. These are not only three soldiers that were guarding the borders of Israel. They are three young men with names … If Hamas, Hezbollah and their patron, Iran, think we have forgotten these men, they are wrong. The heartwarming presence and participation at this rally of leaders of other faiths and groups speaks to the plight of the Israeli hostages and MIAs as a humanitarian, universal cause."

Rep. Gregory Meeks (Democrat, New York) said, "When evil and bad things happen, sometimes voices are silent. We need to have people speak out and to stand together to denounce what is wrong … We will push in Washington DC and continue the fight until justice is done."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, New York) said, "We must persevere for as long as necessary and we must turn the spigot on Iran. That is the only way we will free these prisoners, to deny Iran gasoline, to deny them any economic intercourse with the rest of the world, to divest from corporations doing business with Iran."

Rep. Christopher Shays(Republican, Connecticut) said, "It is cruel, it is torture to not let families know about condition of their loved ones. These are three men who were trying to protect their country, and there is silence. There is something amazing about the silence of the world. They are quick to criticize Israel, but there is silence from the world."

Rep. Anthony Wiener (Democrat, New York) said, "We are not asking the United Nations to solve all of the problems of the world. We are asking them to look at one of the resolutions they passed that said that the kidnapping victims had to be returned. And what has the United Nations done? Absolutely nothing."

The "Free the Soldiers!" rally was sponsored by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York in cooperation with United Jewish Communities, UJA-Federation of New York, American Zionist Movement, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

The preceding story was provided by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

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Hamas leader calls Holocaust an exaggeration

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)--On same the day that US President George W. Bush announced a new push for Middle East Peace and directly urged Hamas to renounce violence and recognize Israel, Khaled Mashaal, the terrorist group’s Damascus-based leader, took a page from Iranian President Ahmadinejad by declaring that the Nazi Holocaust was “exaggerated” and charged “what Israel did to the Palestinians was many, many times worse than what the Nazis did to the Jews”.

“President Bush and other worlds leaders are trying to jump start the Middle East peace process and has invited the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan to take a leading role. Now, is the time for those leaders to step forward and publicly disavow Mashaal’s hatred and Holocaust revisionism,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, founder and dean and associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish human rights group. 

Mashaal made his comments about the Holocaust before an audience of 150 people at the Qaradawi Forum in Doha, Qatar. Responding to a question from a German participant at a Seminar in Qatar, Mashaal said in part, that “Germany is being blackmailed over the Holocaust,” adding that “I do not want to deny the facts of the Holocaust,” but, “we do not want to give in to the exaggeration… [of the Holocaust] being inflated and blown out of proportion…What Israel did to the Palestinians is many, many times worse than what the Nazis did to the Jews”. 

The Forum’s sponsor, Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi, is the top authority of the Muslim Brotherhood and has issued fatwas in the past validating Palestinian suicide bombings--including by women-- as “martyrdom” operations. During his speech, Mashaal thanked Qaradawi for remaining resolute in his support for Palestinian terrorist operations even after September 11th..

The preceding story was provided by the Simon Wiesenthal Center

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Children of Survivors seek German-paid therapy

TEL AVIV (Press Release)—Children of Holocaust survivors in Israel are suing Germany to pay for their psychotherapy. The lawsuit, involving some 4,000 plaintiffs, was filed on 16 July in a Tel Aviv court. The children of survivors argue that they have been scarred being raised by parents who experienced the Holocaust, and as a result Germany should pay for their psychotherapy.

Baruch Mazor, director of the Fisher Fund which filed the lawsuit, said that thousands of people raised by survivor parents suffered from depression and anxiety and could not function normally at work or home. He estimated that some 5 percent of Israel’s 400,000 children of survivors are in need of therapy.

The lawsuit seeks the establishment of a German-financed fund to pay for three years of biweekly therapy sessions for some 15,000 to 20,000 people, at a cost of about $10 million, according to the ‘Associated Press’ news agency. Israeli and international law may hinder such a suit from being brought in a Tel Aviv court against a foreign government.

The preceding story was provided by World Jewish Congress

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Europe

 
Austria offers reward for capture of Nazis Heim and Brunner

VIENNA (Press Release)—Austria is offering rewards for the capture of two war criminals believed to be alive and at large. The state is offering nearly US$ 70,000 for information leading to the arrest and capture of Aribert Heim, an SS doctor who killed concentration camp inmates with injections in the heart, and of Alois Brunner, an aide of Adolf Eichmann who organized deportations of Jews to death camps.

“Austria is often blamed for having done too little,” Austrian justice minister Maria Berger told the ‘Reuters’ news agency. “I do not want to judge previous governments; I want to do now what we still can do.” Berger, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, was appointed six months ago.

Austria has been accused for decades of dragging its feet over prosecuting Nazi war criminals and for being too lenient when they were brought to court. Even though Austrians pervaded the ranks of the Nazi Party and the army, the country for decades portrayed itself as ‘Hitler's first victim’ because it was occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. Heim, who was known as ‘Dr. Death’ in the Mauthausen Nazi camp, was born in 1914 and is presumed to be living in Spain or Latin America.

  The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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  ADL finds increases in anti-Semitism in 6 nations
 
  Austria, Belgium, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom surveyed

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—In a companion survey to one fielded several months ago in five European countries, a new survey of an additional six countries shows similarly that millions of Europeans believe the classical anti-Semitic canards that have persistently pursued Jews through the centuries.

The findings released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today revealed that half of the Europeans surveyed believe Jews are not loyal to their country and more than one third believe that they have too much power in business and finance.

Attitudes Toward Jews and the Middle East in Six European Countries, an opinion survey of 3,000 adults – 500 in each of the six European countries --Austria, Belgium, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom -- conducted May 29 – June 18, 2007, found an increase in negative attitudes toward Jews and a decrease in a very few instances from its 2005 findings.

As to attitudes regarding Israel and the Middle East, the poll showed mixed findings, as was true in the earlier poll.  For example, while favorable views of Israel increased, there was more sympathy for the Palestinians than Israel. The survey also found strong attitudes against Iran and Hamas.

Asked about Iran's nuclear development, a majority believe Iran is developing a nuclear weapon and strongly support sanctions against Iran. (jump to continuation)

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Latin America

AJC urges Latin America to unite against terror

NEW YORK (Press Release)—The American Jewish Committee recalls the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires 13 years ago tomorrow, and is pressing Latin American nations, led by Argentina, to adopt comprehensive anti-terror legislation to prevent and stem the activity of terrorist groups, many sponsored by Iran, in the region.

"Iran's destructive reach is global, from the furtherance of its nuclear program at home, to its key involvement, along with its proxy Hezbollah, in the AMIA bombing," said Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute. "The impact of this event extends well beyond Argentinean society and the Jewish world. Its repercussions are felt throughout the Americas, Europe and the Middle East."

AJC has repeatedly noted the increasing influence of Iran. Through Iran's strategic relations with Venezuela and growing ties with Bolivia and Nicaragua, Islamic radical groups have allegedly found a haven in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) shared by Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, from which the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Buenos Aires hailed.

"The AMIA attack underscored how terror does not respect borders and makes us all potential victims. It is imperative that we successfully confront these forces and thwart their dangerous plans," said Siegel Vann, urging Latin American nations to consider the adoption of a list of terrorist organizations that mirrors the lists maintained by the European Union, Australia, the United States and Canada.

AMIA is an international partner of AJC, which has been engaged with Argentina for five decades. From the first moments of the attack, AJC has stood with AMIA, with Memoria Activa representing families and friends of the victims, with the local Jewish community and with the Argentinean nation. 

AJC has taken a leadership role in keeping the memory of the attack, and the 85 who died, alive in the court of public opinion and in urging successive Argentine governments to advance the cause of justice.

"Interpol's issuance of seven arrest warrants for Iranian leaders and Hezbollah operatives involved in the AMIA attack could not have been possible without the strong political will of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, and the dedication of AMIA Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman and Argentine Federal Judge Rodolfo Canicoba-Corral," said Siegel Vann. 

Siegel Vann expressed hope that the ongoing AMIA investigations will reveal more on the attack as well as on reasons for the long delays in the delivery of justice and closure for the families of the victims and for Argentina's Jewish community.

The preceding story was provided by the American Jewish Committee 

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Dear Readers, Along with my husband Don, I co-publish San Diego Jewish World. As a couple we have gone to many places.  Cruising ranks at the top of our list of favorite ways to travel. Watch this ad for a different cruising photo each day. A similar adventure can be yours! Anderson Travel, with which I'm affiliated, is a multi-branched travel agency that is able to provide you both good prices and good service.  Before you book anywhere else, please ask me for a price comparison. Please call me at (619) 265-0808 for information about booking a cruise from San Diego or anywhere. Or email me at sdheritage@cox.net Thank you!   Nancy Harrison

Adventures in Cruising Aboard Holland America Ryndam San Diego  to Mexico cruising Other crusie ships at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Thanks to Abe & Bea Goldberg of San Diego and Ruth Kropveld of Cincinnati for sharing their family cruise photos!

 

United States of America

AJC urges Federal Bureau of Prisons to revise policy that limits number of religious books in prison libraries

NEW YORK (Press Release) – The American Jewish Committee is urging the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to reconsider its policy of limiting access to religious texts. The BOP recently issued approved reading lists limited to 150 published works per religion.

 

“To arbitrarily cap the number of books available to inmates unjustifiably punishes those seeking both religious inspiration and texts that are essential for the proper observance of their faith,” wrote AJC General Counsel Jeffrey Sinensky in a letter to Harley G. Lappin, director of the Bureau of Prisons.

 

The bureau’s efforts to eliminate from prisons materials that promote hate and violence have effectively banned access to thousands of texts that would serve prisoners well on their path to rehabilitation, AJC wrote.

 

For example, absent from the Jewish list of approved texts is Maimonides’ Code of Jewish Law, which has served for more then a millennia as the authoritative text for the daily observance of Jewish law, as well as the Zohar, the primary text of Jewish mysticism.

 

Rather than arbitrarily denying access to religious texts, AJC is recommending as a practical alternative that the prisons bureau set up a system to screen each publication in the religious library, as well as any new materials that are requested, to determine whether they are suitable for the prisons.

 

“We are eager to work with you and other organizations to devise more prudent procedures that would keep hate and violence out of prisons but continue to allow prisoners access to all appropriate religious works,” Sinensky wrote to BOP Director Lappin.

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  Lieberman delivers half political speech, half
 Torah lesson to Christian Zionist group

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) on Sunday, July 15, delivered the following remarks to the Christians United for Israel Conference:

"Thank you for that kind introduction and that warm welcome. May I in turn greet you with the ancient words of welcome offered to pilgrims in Jerusalem - "Bruchim Habaim B'Shem Hashem" - blessed be those who come in the name of the Lord.

That greeting is especially fitting for you because you have come to Washington not just as men or women, Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals. You are here as Christians United for Israel. You represent a powerful force of people of faith in America who have pledged to never forget thee, O Jerusalem.

And I know, as a Christian friend likes to remind me, that there are a lot more Christian Zionists in America than Jewish Zionists. And, I know the support of Christian Zionists today is critical to Israel's security and strength, and to America's security and strength.

So I am honored by your invitation to speak tonight, to thank you for what you are doing, to exhort you to continue to do more -- which is God's work, and to pray with you that you are successful.

I begin by thanking your founder, Pastor John Hagee. I would describe Pastor Hagee with the words the Torah uses to describe Moses, he is an "Eesh Elo Kim," a man of God because those words fit him; and, like Moses he has become the leader of a mighty multitude in pursuit of and defense of Israel.

You know his story - almost sixty years ago, a young John Hagee sat at his family's kitchen table in Channelview, Texas, heard the news about Israel's Declaration of Independence, and saw how moved his family was by it. Since then, he has been devoted to the defense of Israel, and to its vitality. He has done so because Israel's fight is his fight. Israel's values are his values. And Israel's hopes and dreams are his hopes and dreams.

Pastor Hagee, I pray that God will bless you with all that you pray for, and I do so with great confidence because I know what the Lord said to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. If ever there was a man who will be blessed because he has blessed Israel, Pastor Hagee, it is you.

And the same is true of all of you here tonight. You are a family of Americans who deeply believe that our nation and the nation of Israel share common origins, values, and bonds. You are a family of Americans who understand that today the same fanatics that shout death to America, also shout death to Israel. And you are a family that will not bend with the political winds because your support is rooted in your faith, which is steadfast, unwavering, and eternal.

You reject the temptation of moral relativism. You understand that there is a difference between good and evil, between eternal and temporal, between Israel and other nations.

Your values are rooted in the same history, ideals, and dreams that bind together Israel and America, and that form the foundation of these two great nations - both "faith-based initiatives."  (jump to continuation)

Commentary Your letters to sdheritage@cox.net, or to San Diego Jewish World, PO Box 19363, San Diego, CA, (USA) 92119. Please include the name of the city where you live.

Bush far too trusting of Palestinian leadership

By Shoshana Bryen

WASHINGTON, D.C (JINSA)—President Bush’s determination to reassert American support for Abu Mazen and Palestinian independence is a mistake for Israel, the Palestinians and America at almost every political and security level. It is worth parsing the main points. The President said:

• This is a moment of clarity for all Palestinians and a moment of choice.

• Choosing Hamas, Palestinians would "surrender to Hamas's foreign sponsors in Syria and Iran and crush the possibility of a Palestinian State."

• They can choose the "hopeful option" of Abu Mazen and Salaam Fayyad.

• Only the Palestinians can decide which of these courses to pursue.

This is entirely false.

This moment is no clearer for Palestinians than 24 June 2002, when the President told them they had to choose and said that only if they chose well and followed through would the U.S. support Palestinian independence. Nor is it clearer than the day Israel withdrew from Gaza, leaving intact the valuable and profitable greenhouses they created. That day the Palestinians might have chosen coexistence, cooperation and economic enhancement. Yesterday was just another day.

And the Palestinians do not choose freely. The President's remarks entirely skipped over the fact that Palestinians in Gaza are living under the gun - literally - of a victorious terrorist organization that threw the weaker terrorist organization out of town. How exactly would the President like the people of Gaza to express their choice? Last time we encouraged them, they voted for Hamas. If the Palestinians in Gaza want to choose Fatah now, Hamas isn't likely to care much.

If they do repent their vote, why should we be thrilled? Fatah was known by the people to be so corrupt that even many secular Palestinians couldn't stand the idea of casting a ballot for Abu Mazen's party. They chose religious fanatics supported by Iran instead of secular criminals supported by the West. Hobson's Choice was presented as their choice and it remains that the people with the guns make the decisions.

In any event, while the short term implications of choosing may differ, the long range ones do not. Hamas will not engage Israel at all; Fatah will talk about security and economic progress. But to extrapolate that Fatah then agrees that Israel is legitimate and Jews are entitled to sovereignty in the Middle East would be wrong. President Bush misuses the language - Israel does not need the Palestinians to "accept Israel's 'right to exist.'" That right was posited by the United Nations in 1948 and not subject to review. The Palestinians - and the Arab states - need to provide demonstrable acceptance of UN Resolution 242 with its requirement for acceptance of the "legitimacy of all the states in the region and their right to secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."  

The preceding commentary was provided by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs

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Features

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The Jewish Grapevine

AROUND THE TOWN—Leon Natker, general director of the Lyric Opera San Diego, gets out of the office and onto the stage as Don Quixote in the upcoming production of Man of La Mancha, which will open the season Sept. 28 at the Stephen and Mary Birch North Park Theatre.

BELL RINGERS—In Diane Bell's column this morning in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Natasha Josefowitz, whose "Doing It Better" column is carried by San Diego Jewish World is quoted as remembering that when she was among the first five women inducted 20 years ago by the San Diego Rotary Club "I was a spring chicken...now I am an old hen."  And la belle Bell had another item of interest to our community in the same column.  County Tax Assessor/Recorder/ Clerk Greg Smith happened to see Curtis Cornell, an assessment clerk, waiting to be married at the clerk's office.  Smith performed the ceremony.

CYBER-REFERRALS—Bruce Kesler liked the review by Kelly Vance in the East Bay Express of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival program, "Jewish Boxers: Shtarkers and the Sweet Science."  Here's the link. ... Hillel Mazansky forwards to us for your enjoyment a power point presentation on the three religions of Jerusalem: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

ISRAEL NEWS SUMMARIES—The European Jewish Congress writes summaries of the stories appearing in Israel's Hebrew language dailies, which we will pass on in this column.  On Monday, it carried entertaining accounts of Shimon Peres' inauguration, the discussions between Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas, and a report by France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, quoting Hizbollah sources, that kidnapped Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, are alive. ... Today, its stories focused on President Bush's Middle East speech on Monday, and Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting in Jerusalem with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.



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Greater San Diego Region

PHILANTHROPISTS—Charles and Tanya Brandes have announced a major commitment to San Diego
Jewish Academy for merit scholarships.  (SDJA photo)

 
 Brandes Foundation to fund SDJA scholarships
 

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – What may be the largest commitment ever made for private school merit scholarships in San Diego was announced today by San Diego Jewish  Academy and the Tanya and Charles Brandes Foundation.

Starting with the 2007-2008 school year, the Brandes Foundation will donate to San Diego Jewish Academy the necessary funds to provide half the yearly tuition for up to 10 meritorious students for up to four years per student. 

Each year, the Brandes Foundation will add another group of 10 scholars until potentially 40 students are receiving the scholarships.  Thereafter, the Brandes Foundation will continue to fund up to 40 scholarships on an ongoing basis, making the total contribution of over $365,000 per year.

“This generous commitment from the Brandes Foundation will enable additional bright and accomplished students to receive the best possible Jewish and general education. The ongoing commitment is the equivalent of a large endowment,” said SDJA Executive Director Larry Acheatel.  “This amounts to the Brandes Foundation depositing  $7 million into a bank account and contributing 5 percent per year, after interest earnings,  to this exceptional program.”

“The objectives of this open-ended commitment are to recognize outstanding students, increase enrollment, promote academic excellence and enable the continued growth of a wide array of educational opportunities for all students.”

Acheatel said that SDJA plans to utilize “scouts” who will identify junior high school students who have distinguished themselves in competitions such as; math and science fairs, athletic events, music recitals and other areas of excellence; and then invite them to apply for the scholarships. Unsolicited applications will not be accepted, Acheatel said.  “We are going to recruit, ‘keeping our eyes and ears open’ for the best and the brightest students.”

In making their gift, Tanya and Charles Brandes said:  "We are honored to partner with San Diego Jewish Academy. Through this gift, we hope to assist SDJA in recruiting and retaining exceptional students.  With the skills and values learned, in an environment of academic excellence, these students will be prepared to become exceptional leaders in their communities and professions."

San Diego Jewish Academy is one of the country’s premier Jewish day schools.  Serving children from kindergarten through grade 12, SDJA challenges its students to achieve their full academic potential and become individuals of strong moral and ethical character, while inspiring them to make Judaism a vital and relevant aspect of their lives.  For information, please contact Judith Gross, Admissions Director, at jgross@sdja.com or 858-704-3716.

The preceding article was provided by San Diego Jewish Academy
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The Well, a Christian church, schedules three
survivors of the Shoah in evening lecture series

POWAY (Press Release)—In conjunction with its series, “The Secret Codes of God,” The Well of Poway, an orthodox Christian church, is presenting “Voices of the Holocaust” on three consecutive Wednesday evenings beginning tonight at 6:30pm.  Special guest speakers are Lou Dunst (July 18), Mr. Horst Cahn (July 25) and Mr. Abraham Secemski (August 1).

Lou Dunst is an Auschwitz survivor and San Diegan who speaks extensively on the Holocaust and related topics.  When he was a teenager imprisoned in a series of Nazi concentration camps, he begged God:  “Please let me live – if nothing else than to tell my story.”  His is a gripping tale of heartache and suspense.

Horst Cahn is a lecturer and  author of the autobiography, Loss, Liberty and Love:  My Journey from Essen to Auschwitz to the United States.  Cahn was shot, beaten, tortured and nearly starved during his Nazi concentration camp nightmare.  His entire immediate family (father, mother, sister, brother-in-law and infant niece) was murdered in the Nazi death camps.

Abraham Secemski is a San Diegan who survived five different death camps in Poland, Germany, including Auschwitz, and Czechoslovakia.  He survived a death march from Poland to Germany; he, his brother and sister are the only 3 survivors out of the 95 family members encamped.  He was summoned in 1991 to testify against a former Nazi labor-camp commander and recall his terrifying memories.

Their stories, both individually and combined, are ones that need to be told – and heard – time and time again.  They were just teenagers during their imprisonment in various Nazi concentration camps.  As the years go by and the number of these survivors dwindles, their stories of inhumanity, survival, faith and hope become ever more necessary to tell, as unpleasant as some may deem it to be.  The Well of Poway is hosting these special speaking engagements to revere, honor and remember their struggle and share their message with the local community.  All are welcome.

Service begins promptly at 6:30 PM on Wednesday evenings at The Well, located at 13604 Midland Road.  For more information, please call The Well at (858) 748-3940 or log onto www.thewellpoway.org.

The preceding story was provided by The Well.
 

Sports

The Jewish Sports Fan

Unless otherwise indicated, source for these stories is today's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, to which we gratefully provide the links below. We do not apply halacha to determine if a player is Jewish; rather, if he or she has a Jewish parent or has converted to the faith, we count him or her as a member of our community.

Youkilis drops off AL's list of top ten batters

BASEBALL—Yikes!  Kevin Youkilis has fallen off the top ten list for American League batters....Youkilis went 0-3 during his Boston Red Sox 4-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals, dropping his average to .317.   That's one percentage point below tenth-place Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles.      Reserve catcher Mike Lieberthal got some late inning work Monday behind the plate, but none as a batter, during his Los Angeles Dodgers 10-3 victory over the  Philadelphia Phillies. .. Brad Ausmus batted 0-4 Monday as his Houston Astros dropped a 4-3 decision to the Houston Astros. But there was a silver lining—sort of—he didn't make any fielding errors.  He had been charged with an error in each of the two previous games.

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{Marc Kligman, who combines being a sports agent with his life as an observant Jew, invites you to listen. Click on the ad above for more information}
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News from the       Israel Baseball League

Home run balls dropping all over central Israel


Yarkon Field at the Baptist Village, where the Miracle defeated Pioneers, 3-2

PETACH TIKVAH , Israel (Press Release)— It took a homerun at Yarkon Field today for the Modi'in Miracle to defeat the Petach Pioneers 3-2.  After tying the game with his ninth homer of the season in the top of the seventh inning, Dominican Eladio Rodriguez came up big again in the homerun derby to decide the tie.

After both teams sent up three batters each and ended up tied at 2-2, it took a final round for a winner to be named.  After hitting all of Modi'in's homeruns in the first three rounds, Rodriguez crushed five balls over the wall in the final round to give the Miracle the 7-2 derby win and the overall victory.

The Pioneers are protesting the game because their second baseman, Willis Bumphus, was not allowed to enter the homerun derby as a hitter because he was being used as a pitcher.  The umpires ruled that a homerun derby pitcher is not permitted to bat as well.  While manager Ken Holzman does not agree, his team falls 10.5 games out of first place unless Commissioner Daniel Kurtzer rules otherwise.


Gezer Field, where the Blue Sox defeated the Tigers, 17-3 and 8-7

The Bet Shemesh Blue Sox and the Netanya Tigers played a doubleheader on Tuesday with the Sox easily winning the first game 17-3.  Johnny Lopez, Jason Rees, and David Kramer all homered for Bet Shemesh, but the Blue Sox only collected five hits as Netanya pitcher Mike Kerfeld walked seven batters and allowed ten runs before being removed with one out in the first inning.

The second game of the doubleheader was far more competitive as the Tigers continuously took the lead, but the Blue Sox kept doing just enough to pull even and finally win 8-7.  Lopez, Bet Shemesh's first baseman from Florida, hit his ninth and tenth homers of the year while Gregg Raymundo also added two of his own.

After third baseman Eric Holtz laced a two-run double to center in the fifth inning to give the Sox their first lead of the game, Miami-native Ray Rodriguez tied it up in the sixth with his second homerun of the season, going 2-for-3 on the game.  But in the bottom of the seventh Holtz played the hero and capped off his 2-for-4 night with a walk-off homerun to drop Netanya 7.5 games out of first place.


Sportek Field, where the Lightning defeated the Express, 12-2

It was a wild game in Tel Aviv as the Ra'anana Express gave up ten runs in the third inning to eventually lose to the Tel Aviv Lighting 12-2.  The win means manager Steve Hertz's clubs remains two games behind the first-place Blue Sox.

Lightning designated hitter Matt Brill continued his impressive season with a 3-for-4 night and three RBI to give him a .410 average. Tel Aviv's Dominican first baseman Stuart Brito also went 3-for-4 while knocking in two runs.

The loss drops the Express eight games behind the Blue Sox.

Summaries:

                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   HR   R   H   E
Modi'in              0   1   0   0   0   0   1     7     3    3   2
Petach Tikva      0   0   1   0   1   0   0     2     2    6    0
HR: Adalberto Paulino (4), Eladio Rodriguez (9)
                         1   2   3   4   5   6   7    R  H   E
Netanya             0    0   2   0   0   0   1    3   8   1
Bet Shemesh     13   1   0   2   1   0   x   17  5   2
W: Jason Benson (3-0); L: Mike Kerfeld (0-2); HR: Johnny Lopez (8),
Jason Rees (11), David Kramer (1)

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7    R  H  E
Netanya              3   0   0   1   2   1   0    7  10  0
Bet Shemesh      3   0   0   1   3   0    1    8  11  6
W: Scott Jarmakowicz (1-0); L: Ramon Rodriguez (0-1); HR: Gregg
Raymundo (5), Johnny Lopez (10), Ramon Rodriguez (2), Eric Holtz (1)

                        1   2    3   4   5   6   7    R   H   E
Ra'anana          0   2    0   0   0   0   0     2   2    3
Tel Aviv           0   1  10  0   0   1   x    12  12  2
W: Joey Sherman (1-0); L: John Thew (2-1); HR: None


Standings:
Team                             W    L     %     GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox   14    4    .778      –
Tel Aviv Lightning            11    5    .688    2.0
Modi'in Miracle               11    5    .688    2.0
Netanya Tigers                5    10    .333   7.5
Ra'anana Express           6    12    .333    8.0
Petach Tikva Pioneers     3    14    .168    10.5

Wednesday the Modi'in Miracle and Tel Aviv Lightning play a doubleheader at Gezer Field with the first game starting at 1 pm and the second at 5 pm.  Meanwhile at 5 pm the Netanya Tigers host the Ra'anana Express at Sportek Field and at 7 pm the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox visit the Petach Tikva Pioneers at Yarkon Field at the Baptist Village.

The preceding article was provided by the Israel Baseball League
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Arts & Entertainment

 

    

Top Row: Dr. Mari Lyn Salvador, director of the Museum of Man, sits outside the main building of the
Museum of Man, across the street from the building housing the Copper Age exhibit.  Display photographs of the 6,000-year-old skeleton and artifacts found at the Cave of the Warrior. Below: some of the ceramics on
loan from the Israel Museum at the Museum of Man.  (Photos by Donald H. Harrison and Dan Schaffer)

Journey to a time that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
would have considered to be in the far-off past

By Dan Schaffer

SAN DIEGO—My friend Don Harrison phoned me about previewing a Copper Age exhibit connected to the Dead Sea Scrolls in Balboa Park.  Don said that this one was one of two collections lent by the Israel Museum to the Natural History Museum (NHM) and to the Museum of Man (MOM). The NHM has the scrolls; the MOM has the copper.  We met at the MOM with the Executive Director, Dr. Mari Lyn Salvador, and walked across the street to the low building next to the Alcazar Gardens, facing the California Tower.  

This collection of original objects, timelines, diagrams, written explanations, and large color photos tells of a time 6,000 years ago in and near the Negev within a 100-mile radius of Beersheba. In those days the northern Negev was greener with more rainfall and a year-round flowing river. Global cooling?

That was 2000 years before Abraham, over 2500 years in advance of the Exodus, and 4,000 years predating any of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  There was as much time between the Scrolls and the Copper Age artifacts as there is between us and Abraham.  Up to that time, I had never heard of the Copper Age. In the next hour, I got a brief and fascinating glimpse of it.                                                                                                                 
Many things were new to me. First, there’s a technical word for the Copper Age:  Chalcolithic, which is pronounced, KAL-kuh-LITH-ic, comes from Greek for “copper-stone.”  This period, ca. 4500 to 3600 B.C.E., was the transition time between the Stone and Bronze Ages and the start of widespread metal working.  Our post-Exodus ancestors came to this area much later, near the dawn of the Iron Age around 1200 B.C.E.  

Copper Age objects were found near the Dead Sea in 1961 in what came to called the Treasure Cave. An Israeli team led by Yigael Yadin (war hero, cabinet minister, archeologist) was looking for more Dead Sea Scrolls. Team members pried a large rock from the cave mouth and found a store of over 400 copper pieces: mace heads, scepters, crowns,  drinking vessels, with bird and ibex designs, and other “prestige” ornaments. These were not playthings for ordinary folk, who used stone or baked clay.

All were in perfect or near-perfect shape, items whose craftsmanship and artistic sensibility would fit well in any contemporary collection.  We don’t know who left the horde in this Treasure Cave, or when they deposited them, but the consensus is that they were stored there soon after they were made.

What an exciting feeling to  be within inches of just a few of the ancient, copper castings  from the Treasure Cave. And these precious and unique creations in their display cases are only a part of  what is contained in that long, welcoming room. Every artifact, chart and photo is accompanied by clear, concise, and easily readable explanations.

The photos cover a 1997 expedition led by UCSD’s Dr. Thomas Levy.  He is a professor of anthropological archeology and the author of the fully illustrated color catalog, Journey to the Copper Age-Archeology in the Holy Land,  which supplements the exhibit.  Dr. Salvador, MOM Executive Director, wrote the forward.  Dr. Levy’s team of American, German, Israeli and Jordanian archeologists went to the copper mine at Faynan, Jordan-south of the Dead Sea, where the green copper ore used in the Treasure Cave artifacts likely originated.  

Dr. Levy’s small team wanted to recreate the mining methods, travel route, and smelting procedures used no later than the Copper Age.  The team’s donkeys carried the ore back to Shiqmim, near Beersheva. This was the Chalcolithic “industrial” area where the ore may have been refined.   There they smelted small amounts of the green earth into metallic, shiny copper.  Kenneth Garrett of the National Geographic Society took the pictures of the entire journey.  The large, clear and engaging photos look down on us at the MOM.  Those photographs alone were worth the price of admission.


Pregnant woman with churn                                                 Ossuary   (Dan Schaffer photos)

Two other sections in the Copper Age room caught my eye.  One was a group of ceramic and basalt cult objects unearthed at Gilat near Shiqmim.  A pottery statue of a naked woman, probably a goddess, 6 inches tall, sits on a big upside-down bowl. She’s stylized, with long, seemingly boneless arms and hands and a round face with a beaked nose. Beaked nose figures were common then in the area.

Her shapeless, rounded body is covered with red, painted stripes; her painted eyes look like a pair of archery bull’s-eyes.  She has a handled milk churn   on her head and holds a cup under her arm.  An almost exact, full-sized ceramic duplicate jar from the same area and period is on exhibit near the lady.  The milk was churned into butter, yogurt or cheese by sloshing the liquid back and forth until it gelled.

A baked, clay ossuary (a bone holder) from farther north in Israel is part of this grouping as well.  After death, bodies were exposed till only bones were left. The bones were then placed in these ossuaries.  This one is a 15-inch-high oblong box with a peaked top and a large nearly rectangular opening, like a gaping mouth.  Above the mouth are the same eyes and the same beaked nose as the woman’s statue. The ossuary is highly decorated with color designs and scalloped edges.  

A third cave highlighted in the exhibit is the Warrior Cave near Jericho.  We see a Garrett photo of a full-sized male skeleton, buried with a bow, fiber wrappings, and a carnelian bead necklace.   

These people could weave from animal fur and decorate the textile edges, integrating craft skills with a sense of the aesthetic.  They could produce food that would last, like yogurt and cheese. They worked metal. They farmed, worshipped, and had an idea of an afterlife. The metal objects for the favored few showed the existence of a privileged class—no more  egalitarian hunting and gathering. Their age of inventions was as momentous them as is our silicon chip era to us 6,000 years later.

I’ll be back a few times before the last day of the exhibit, February 4, 2008. Tickets are reasonably priced, and there’s ample parking in Balboa Park with shuttle service to the Museum door.  Check out the MOM’s web site or call (619) 239-2001 for a lecture series that ties in with the Copper Age exhibit.

I came, I saw, I learned enough to know how little I knew about this amazing slice of time.  I am grateful to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for trusting our two local museums with these legacies and especially to Dr. Osnat Misch-Brandl, the Israel Museum’s curator of Chalcolithic and Canaanite Periods and the MOM’s liaison for the project in Israel.  Dr. Salvador says that Misch-Brandl has given to us “with a happy heart.” It doesn’t get any better than that.

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Story Continuations

ZOA—Bush
(Continued from above)

• Abbas has also described Hamas terrorist chieftain Sheikh Ahmad Yasin as a 'martyr.' Abbas' Fatah, especially the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, are just as much involved in suicide bombing and other acts of terrorism as Hamas, the Popular Front, the Popular Resistance Committees and other Palestinian Arab terrorism groups.
  
  Both Fatah and Hamas have each murdered nearly 500 Israelis in nearly 7 years of suicide bombing and terrorism. It also should be understood that, to this day, Fatah's own Charter, like that of Hamas, labels Zionism racist (Article 7) and calls for the destruction of Israel (Article 12) and the use of terrorism as an essential element in the struggle to achieve that goal (Article 19). The previous agreements signed with the PA, Oslo I, Oslo II, Hebron, Wye River, the Roadmap and so on all failed. Why would President Bush assume that it will be any different this time?
   

• "[Abbas and Fatah are] working to strengthen the Palestinian security services, so they can confront the terrorists and protect the innocent." The facts: It is Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades that carries out much of the terrorism perpetrated against Israelis. Abbas has explicitly refused in the past to disband this internationally recognized terrorist group. Nor has he arrested, or called for the arrest of, any terrorists, whether as prime minister or president of the PA. To the contrary, he wants to incorporate its personnel into the PA security forces. How exactly does this idea amount to fighting terrorism and protecting the innocent? How also does his call for the release of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli jails and removing their names from Israel's wanted list assist the fight against terror?
   

• "Palestinians have held free elections, and chosen a president committed to peace ... the United States is taking a series of steps to strengthen the forces of moderation and peace among the Palestinian people." The facts: President Bush ignores the fact that in January 2006, Palestinians elected Hamas in legislative elections, whose Charter calls for Israel's destruction (Article 15) and the murder of Jews (Article 7). The President also asserts, as he has in the past, that Palestinian terrorism is the work of fringe elements who want to derail peace efforts. But this only shows that he has still not understood that rejection of Israel's legitimacy as a Jewish state is the majority, not the minority, position of Palestinian Arabs. Successive Palestinian polls show that most Palestinians support terrorism against Israelis and reject a final peace settlement with Israel even if it means no Palestinian state.
  
  A February 2006 Near East Consulting poll found that 75 percent of Palestinians oppose its existence. A September 2006 poll indicated that more than two-thirds of Palestinian Arabs (67 percent) opposed Hamas recognizing Israel. Another September 2006 poll found that 61 percent of Palestinians supported terrorist attacks upon Israeli civilians. Also, a July 2006 poll found that 60 percent of Palestinians support the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks upon Israel from northern Gaza, and 68 percent approve of the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.
  
  These figures and others like them suggest that hatred, incitement to murder and religious extremism fostered unremittingly by the Palestinian Authority's media, mosques, schools and youth camps determine Palestinian attitudes toward Israel, not the absence of a Palestinian state, something the Palestinians have turned down on each occasion – 1937, 1947, 2000 – it has been offered. President Bush is acting as though these facts simply did not exist.

• "Arab states have put forward a plan that recognizes Israel's place in the Middle East… Re-launching the Arab League initiative was a welcome first step." The facts: By welcoming the 2002 so-called Arab Peace Initiative, President Bush did something no other U.S. president has done before – departed from American support for United Nations Security Council Resolution   (UNSC) 242 as the framework for peace-making by praising and welcoming the 2002 so-called Arab Peace Initiative, which contradicts UNSC 242 in vital aspects.
  
  UNSC 242 calls only for ' Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict' not 'full Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories' as demanded by the Arab Initiative. Further, the Arab Initiative demands the so-called 'right of return' which would inundate Israel with tens of thousands of Palestinian Arab refugees and their millions of descendents and which is therefore incompatible with Israel's continued existence as Jewish state. Furthermore, this Plan demands irreversible Israeli concessions before the Arab states will even consider taking steps to end hostilities with Israel.
   

• "We will work with Congress and partners around the world to provide additional resources once a plan to build Palestinian institutions is in place. With all of this assistance, we are showing the Palestinian people that a commitment to peace leads to the generous support of the United States."
  
  The facts: The U.S. has already donated approximately $1 billion to the PA over the years, without this producing peace or a reduction in terror and bloodshed. Why exactly is President Bush now rewarding this terrible record by giving further money to Abbas' PA, before a single one of the Palestinian commitments under the signed Oslo agreements and the 2003 Roadmap peace plan have been fulfilled? President Bush should stop talking of Palestinian commitment to peace and instead focus on Palestinian fulfillment of obligations under Oslo and the Roadmap.
   

• "This year, we will provide the Palestinians with more than $190 million in American assistance ... To build on this support, I recently authorized the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to join in a program that will help generate $228 million in lending to Palestinian businesses. Today, I announce our intention to make a direct contribution of $80 million to help Palestinians reform their security services -- a vital effort they're undertaking with the guidance of American General Keith Dayton."
  
  The facts: By promising Abbas $190 million in aid, plus over $200 million in loan guarantees, President Bush is repeating the terrible mistake made by both Israel and the U.S. when they falsely stated that Yasser Arafat was a moderate peacemaker, and on that false premise made concessions to his Fatah regime which resulted in a surge of terrorism, the loss of thousands of innocent lives and placed Israel in greater danger.
  
  The U.S. has expended nearly $1 billion on the PA only to see terrorism and extremism flourish. One cannot buy love, nor can one buy peace and moderation. Now the President wants to continue the flow of money to the PA despite its non-fulfillment of all its commitments whereas any further Israeli concessions should be contingent upon Palestinian fulfillment of their 14-year old commitments.
   

•  "The conflict in Gaza and the West Bank today is a struggle between extremists and moderates." The facts: To base policy on the idea that Abbas and Fatah are moderates is a prescription for frustration and failure in the last 18 months of the Bush presidency.
  
  By presenting the issues involved as if the choice between Fatah and Hamas were one between moderation and extremism, President Bush shows that he does not understand the nature of Palestinian politics and society. Fatah and Hamas are simply struggling for power. It is not a struggle about competing visions of peace and war. All Palestinian parties are committed to Israel's elimination and to the use of violence.
  
  It is notable that on the occasions when Abbas has criticized Palestinian acts of terrorism against Israelis, it has always been in terms of the harm done to Palestinian interests, not because the acts are inherently barbaric and evil. That is why Abbas has insisted that he will never launch an offensive against terrorist groups, whose goals he shares.
  
   

•  "We will continue to deliver a firm message to Hamas: You must stop Gaza from being a safe haven for attacks against Israel. You must accept the legitimate Palestinian government, permit humanitarian aid in Gaza, and dismantle militias. And you must reject violence, and recognize Israel's right to exist, and commit to all previous agreements between the parties."
  
  The facts: No-one can expect that the President uttering some strong words about Hamas will induce that terrorist organization to change its policy and conduct. In this policy speech, there is no 'or else,' no statement of what the consequences will be if Palestinian Arabs do not abandon the path of terror and extremism. The emphasis should be on fulfillment of signed commitments, not simply 'committing' to them.
   

• "The Palestinian people must decide that they want a future of decency and hope -- not a future of terror and death. They must match their words denouncing terror with action to combat terror. The Palestinian government must arrest terrorists, dismantle their infrastructure, and confiscate illegal weapons -- as the road map requires. They must work to stop attacks on Israel, and to free the Israeli soldier held hostage by extremists. And they must enforce the law without corruption, so they can earn the trust of their people, and of the world."
  
  The facts: For 14 years, the U.S. has said that the PA must end terrorism and even occasionally incitement to hatred and murder, then simply continued supporting the PA with aid and diplomacy no matter what it did. No consequences followed their non-fulfillment. Why then would Abbas and the PA this time take seriously this U.S. statement which carries no 'or else' clause and therefore, like all previous statement on the subject, is doomed to produced no change?

• "More than five years ago, I became the first American President to call for the creation of a Palestinian state… I will call together an international meeting this fall of representatives from nations that support a two-state solution."
  
  The facts: Under current conditions, a Palestinian state would only be another terrorist regime. Giving the PA sovereignty would merely facilitate its goals to continue the fight against Israel's existence, not bring peace. Iran, North Korea and Syria are all states, but that has not made them peaceful and law-abiding. It is noteworthy that distinguished figures like former Israel Defense Forces Chief-of-Staff, Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon, former CIA Director   R. James Woosley and the doyen of Middle East historians, Professor Bernard Lewis, have all come out publicly in recent months against the formation of a Palestinian state because establishing one under current conditions is a recipe for more war, instability and bloodshed, not peace.
   

• "All the steps I've outlined are designed to lay the foundation for a successful Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza." The facts: Hamas has completely taken over Gaza. How is Gaza supposed to be part of the President's 'successful Palestinian state' under the control of Abbas' Fatah?
   

• "[Negotiations] could lead to a final peace in the Middle East -- a permanent end to the conflict, and an agreement on all the issues, including refugees." The facts: In his May 2004 letter to then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Bush stipulated that any future peace settlement would involve resettlement of Palestinian Arabs in a state of their own, not in Israel. Why then has he now left this issue open, instead of reaffirming this important commitment that he made to Prime Minister Sharon? By doing this, Bush has re-opened the door to the Arab so-called 'right of return,' demanding that Israel take in tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants.

 

• "Israel has a clear path. Prime Minister Olmert must continue to release Palestinian tax revenues to the government of Prime Minster Fayyad. Prime Minister Olmert has also made clear that Israel's future lies in developing areas like the Negev and Galilee – not in continuing occupation of the West Bank … So unauthorized outposts should be removed and settlement expansion ended."
  
  The facts: Until 1967, neither Judea and Samaria nor Gaza were under Israeli control, but under the control of  Egypt and Jordan. Yet there was no peace and much terrorism and the Palestinian movement did not speak of liberating these territories to create a Palestinian state but of destroying Israel instead.
  
  Both Egypt and Jordan were illegal occupiers of these lands, whereas these areas had been part of the larger territory earmarked for a Jewish state by the League of Nations, making them unallocated territories under international law. Yet instead of referring to them as disputed territories, President Bush calls them occupied. He also opposes the development and expansion of growing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, thereby in effect calling for their stifling, as though preventing Jews from living and thriving there was essential to peace.
  
  Moreover, Israel has already conceded to the PA half of Judea and Samaria and all of Gaza, with the result that 98% of Palestinian Arabs live on territory controlled by the PA, yet President Bush still speaks about the need to end Israel's occupation. Lastly, he demands major Israeli concessions upfront before any Palestinian concessions have been made. Why is the President asking for more Israeli concessions before Palestinians have fulfilled any of theirs? Should not any Israeli concession be contingent upon Palestinian fulfillment of their 14-year old commitments?
   

•   "Confronted with the prospect of peace, extremists have responded with acts of aggression and terror."
  
  The facts: Terrorism against Israel has been a feature of Israeli life since its establishment in 1948. The terrorism described by President Bush did not originate because of the prospect of peace supposedly opening up with the Oslo peace process or any diplomatic process that has followed it. President Bush's statement implies that terrorism would cease if peace efforts were non-existent.
   

• "We can help them show the world what a Palestinian state would look like – and act like." The facts:
  
  The PA has had 14 years to show the world how it uses the highest per capita international aid in the world. It has not created a modern, thriving society, but a deeply corrupt, terrorist entity. The PA has had more years than that given to most governments to build up its economy and society and has not done so. In these circumstances, it is clear that President Bush will be wasting taxpayer money on an unreformed PA, which will remain a beggar nation for years to come.
   

• "After the wave of killing by Hamas last month, a 16-year-old girl in Gaza City told a reporter, "The gunmen want to destroy the culture of our fathers and grandfathers. We will not allow them to do it." She went on, "I'm saying it's enough killing. Enough." That young woman speaks for millions -- in Gaza, the West Bank, in Israel, in Arab nations, and in every nation."
  
  The facts: President Bush is misleading himself and other in arguing that the words of 16 year old Gazan girl, following the bloody fighting between Fatah and Hamas, has anything to do with Palestinian moderation or yearning for peace with Israel. The girl in question spoke clearly about Gazan Palestinians being weary of the bloodshed in their own cities and towns, not about recognizing Israel, abhorring terrorism or wanting peace with Israel. This is but a further example of basing policies on groundless notions of Palestinian Arab moderation.
   

• "Now Arab nations should build on this initiative -- by ending the fiction that Israel does not exist, stopping the incitement of hatred in their official media, and sending cabinet-level visitors to Israel."
  
  The facts: The ZOA commends the President for raising the issue of Palestinian terrorism and incitement to hatred and murder, which together doom all peace efforts, and for arguing that these steps and others are essential to peace-making.
  
  The President is undoubtedly correct in this, which causes us only further doubt about the wisdom of an overall plan that rewards Palestinian Arabs with U.S. taxpayer funds and major concessions even before the PA has done anything to merit such support, not least ending terror and incitement to hatred and murder.

Klein added, "Unfortunately President Bush has shown by this major address on the Middle East that he continues to succumb to the illusion that Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah are moderate peace partners and has decided to have another throw of the dice on securing peace by outlining a program of massive rewards and preemptive concessions to Abbas and international negotiations aimed at leading to the creation of a Palestinian state.

"By insisting that Palestinians face a choice between moderation as represented by Fatah and extremism as represented by Hamas, Bush has given Abbas and Fatah a free pass despite years of on-going terrorism   and incitement to hatred and murder. If Abbas is to be praised as a peacemaker and lavished with funds and concessions, then why would he make the hard choices to fulfill vital steps like fighting terrorism and ending incitement to hatred and murder within the PA? There is simply no accountability expected of Abbas. Surely, if funds and concessions are to be given to him, shouldn't these follow only after he has taken these steps?

"This announcement of strong and almost unqualified support for Abbas and Fatah simply ensures that, as in the past, they will not fulfill their commitments to peace-making and will therefore doom the President's policy. The President is making same mistake as Bill Clinton & Yitzhak Rabin when they accepted the false premise that Yasser Arafat was peaceful moderate and that major Israeli concessions would bring peace.

Now President Bush is promoting the false premise that Abbas is a peaceful moderate, despite Fatah's Charter, its on-going major role in terror, and Abbas' call in January for Palestinians to aim all their guns at Israel.

"President Bush would appear to be pursuing this misconceived policy simply for the purpose of trying to appease Arab regimes and international anti-American sentiment by appearing to be doing something to further negotiations and the making of Israeli concessions that so many believe are the key to their success.

It follows that, as so often before, pressure will fall on Israel to make more one-sided, unilateral and perhaps irreversible concessions to the terrorist- sponsoring PA. Former Prime Minister Sharon was right to remark of this trend back in 2001 that, 'We can only rely on ourselves and from now on we will only rely on ourselves … I turn to the United States and say don't go back on the same mistakes as the democracies made in 1938. That is when Czechoslovakia was sacrificed for a convenient, temporary solution. Do not appease the Arabs on our account. Israel will not be Czechoslovakia. We will defend ourselves.'

That statement was correct then and is correct now. This is truly a speech of folly. As a policy it will fail and will cast a cloud over the last year and half of the Bush presidency."

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Lieberman-Christian Zionists
(Continued from above)

In a literal sense, Christians United for Israel was founded a little more than a year ago, in February 2006. But in a larger sense, it began more than 4,000 years ago with the first words God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12:1: "Now get thee unto the land that I will show thee, and I will make thee a great nation."

That was the covenantal promise God repeated to Isaac and Jacob and then to Moses, who, with God's help, delivered the children of Israel out of bondage to Mount Sinai where they received the Ten Commandments - their statement of national values and purpose - and then, 40 years later, brought them to the land that was promised to them, to the land of Israel.

There, more than 3,000 years ago, King David entered Jerusalem and declared it to be the capital of Israel. He brought the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments to the City where his son, Solomon, built the Holy Temple to house them and to honor God's creation and God's law. Thus, in one place was established both the political capital of a people and the religious center of that people's faith.

Almost 2,600 years ago, on a dark day in history, the Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The Jewish people went into a brief exile, returning 48 years later to rebuild it. It was during that time that Jesus of Nazareth preached, taught, and healed in Israel. But the Temple was to be destroyed once more, a little more than 1,930 years ago, by Titus. And again, most - though not all - Jews were forced to flee Jerusalem and Israel.

For nearly 1,900 years, Jews in the Diaspora prayed every day that they be allowed to rejoin their brothers and sisters who had remained in the Promised Land and to reestablish a Jewish nation there. And countless Christians prayed those same prayers, particularly here in America.

That collective yearning gave rise to a new political movement at the end of the 19th century - the modern Zionist movement. It was led by Theodor Herzl and a small band of allies - Christian and Jewish - throughout the world, who recognized the threat from the pervasive anti-Semitism that infected Europe and began the work to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Israel.

Many people said the Zionists were naïve dreamers, but as Herzl responded, "If you will it, it is no dream." And will it they did. And work for it they did. In 1948, their dream was realized with the birth of the modern State of Israel.

This is the long odyssey that has brought us here tonight. By standing with Israel today, each of you has joined that journey and taken up the torch that was lit in God's promise to Abraham 4,000 years ago, and carrying it forward to spread that light.

I believe that Israel's rebirth in 1948 was divinely inspired by God, but I know that it was realized by the men and women here on earth who worked so hard to make it happen. Israel will be sustained by the work of men and women like you here on Earth. And I know you know how truly American is your support of Israel.

Long before the miracle of 1948, the Nation of Israel was kept alive in the hopes and prayers and hard work of Christian Americans. In fact, from the very earliest days of our own nation's history, there has been an inseparable link between the promise of America and the promise of Zion.

When William Bradford stepped off of the Mayflower onto Plymouth Rock in 1620, his first words were from Jeremiah, "Come let us declare in Zion the word of God." The first American missionaries to the Middle East sailed from Boston in the fall of 1819 with the goal of restoring Palestine to Jewish sovereignty. These brave Christian Zionists and their followers were not peripheral figures on the fringes of American history. They were mainstream Christian Americans.

In the first half of the 19th century, the proposition that the United States should actively assist the Jews in returning to Palestine was widely held.

As you know, many of our nation's founding fathers were Christian Zionists. The president of the Continental Congress, Elias Boudinot, predicted that "the mighty power of God" would return the Jews "to their beloved land of Palestine."

John Adams wrote in 1819, "I really wish to see the Jews again in Judea an independent nation."

And in 1844, a distinguished Christian professor of Hebrew at New York University became a national leader in the ingathering of Zionists. Jewish statehood, he wrote, would benefit all of mankind, forming a "link of communication" between humanity and God.

That distinguished professor, as you may know, happened to share a name with one of his distinguished descendants, who also happens to be a great Christian Zionist today. The name: George Bush. And, when the modern state of Israel declared its independence on May 15, 1948, it was officially recognized eleven minutes later by another great Christian Zionist, President Harry S. Truman for the United States of America.

These bonds for that purpose explain why America and Israel have stood together and will continue to stand together. Americans and Israelis are the children of freedom, freedom based on our shared faith in God, as our Declaration of Independence makes clear. We share democratic ideals, a culture of economic opportunity, and our political pluralism. These are the values we cherish—the principles that define not just who we are but who we hope to be. They are also, unfortunately, the values that are under attack today.

Israel and the United States now confront a common enemy in the forces of radical Islam. For many years, Israelis have been on the front lines as targets of this extremist and perverse theology that will brazenly and unapologetically attack innocent humans, children of God.

We say we are in a war against terrorism, but terrorism is only our enemies' methods, not their end. Radical Islam is—a totalitarian theology every bit as hateful, violent and expansionist as the fascism and communism we fought and defeated in the last century. And we must unite again as we did then - as Americans, regardless of party, faith, race, or nationality to defeat the evil that seeks to kill us and our families and destroy the civilized ideals that we cherish.

You have come to Washington at a critical time for the future of our country. The war in Iraq is the defining issue for this Congress—but the decisions we will make in the days, weeks, and months ahead about Iraq will have consequences that reach far beyond the terms of anyone now in office.

It is my deeply held conviction those who crave for a hasty retreat from Iraq are not only wrong, they are dangerously wrong—for the withdrawal they demand would be a moral and security catastrophe for the United States, for Iraq, and for the entire Middle East, including Israel.

Let there be no doubt—an American defeat in Iraq would be a victory for Al Qaeda and Iran... the two most threatening enemies America and Israel face in the world today

The fact of the matter is, you cannot claim to be tough on terrorism while demanding that our military withdraw from Iraq, because it is the terrorists—Al Qaeda—that our military is fighting in Iraq.

You cannot claim to be committed to defeating Al Qaeda, while demanding that we abandon the heart of the Middle East to Al Qaeda. And you cannot claim to be tough on Iran, while demanding the very thing that the mullahs in Teheran want most of all and why they are engaged in the cold blooded murder through proxies of our troops in Iraq—the retreat of the American military from the Middle East in defeat, leaving a vacuum that Iran will rush to fill, and asserting its dominance over the entire region.

My friends, as President Reagan once said, now is the time for choosing.

If we stand united through the months ahead, if we stand firm against the terrorists who want to drive us to retreat, the war in Iraq can be won and the lives of millions of people can be saved. But if we surrender to the barbarism of suicide bombers and yield the Middle East to fanatics and killers, to Al Qaeda and Iran, then all that our men and women in uniform have fought, and died for, will be lost, we will be left a much less secure and free nation, and our Middle East allies - including Israel - will be endangered.

Fortunately, you here tonight know that evil will not prevail if good people act. And I know you will not allow Iran and Al Qaeda to triumph over America and Israel.

I also know that you are familiar with the Book of Esther. I am particularly fond of this story because its heroine is Esther, which in Hebrew is Hadassah. And Hadassah is the name of my beloved, my wife - so it is special to me.

The Book of Esther tells us about the cruel Persian leader who sought to exterminate the Jews. But, a Jewish woman named Queen Esther bravely stepped forward and convinced the king to save her people.

Remember, when she first expressed her reluctance to advocate the cause of her people before the King, her uncle Mordechai said to her, "Think not with thy self that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will relief arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether have not been brought to the king's house for such a time as this?"

Dear friends, brothers and sisters in faith, you have heard Mordechai's call "for such a time as this." You are in this time like Joshua and Caleb in their time.

Let me explain how I mean that you are like Joshua and Caleb, which grows out of this day in the Jewish religious calendar. This is the first day of the Hebrew month of Av. The celebration of the new month is usually festive, but this day begins a somber day period of reflection and ever mourning concluding in the fast day of Tisha B'av, the ninth day of Av, corresponding this year to July 24, which is the day on which the first and second Temples were destroyed.

Jewish tradition teaches that another event occurred on the ninth day of Av that speaks to us today and instructs us how to avoid the destruction that occurred on Av ninth, and that the story told in chapter 13 of the Book of Numbers where Moses selects out leaders of the Israelites—"men of distinction"—to explore The Promised Land and report back, and all of them but Joshua, son of Nun and Caleb, son of Yephunneh, bring back a report that is cowardly because it lacks faith.

After they acknowledged that the land they had seen was indeed "flowing with milk and honey," they described the land was populated by giants. As they were quoted in Numbers 13:33, "We appeared as grasshoppers to them, and that is how we appeared to ourselves."

But Joshua and Caleb disagreed, "We can surely ascend and conquer the land, we can surely do it," because they trusted in the promise God had made to Israel. Of that group, only Joshua and Caleb made it to the Promised Land of Israel.

Dear friends, you Christians United for Israel clearly follow in the footsteps of Joshua and Caleb. Your faith is strong, and so is your confidence. And so great will be your effect.

I thank you and pray that God will bless you and all that you do."

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ADL Europe Survey...
(Continued from above)

A majority identified Hamas as a terrorist organization and supports the European decision not to provide foreign aid to the Palestinian government until Hamas renounces terrorism, and agrees to recognize Israel and agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Asked about boycotts against Israel by UK-based organizations, 43% of British respondents said they opposed them while 37% expressed support for them.
 
"Millions of Europeans continue to accept a wide range of traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories, including the charge that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their home country. Despite the fact that individual governments and the EU have condemned anti-Semitism and sought ways to counteract it, these attitudes die hard and help incite and legitimize anti-Semitic acts, including violence against Jews," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

"The increase and high percentage of respondents in Hungary who hold negative views of Jews are disturbing" Foxman added.  "More than a decade after the fall of Communism, we hoped that such anti-Jewish attitudes would have begun to diminish rather than increase. On the other hand, respondents in The Netherlands demonstrated their tradition of tolerance by holding the least anti-Semitic attitudes."

Foxman said he was, "especially concerned that the survey found a large percentage of all respondents, and a majority in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, believe that American Jews control U.S. policy on the Middle East, an old canard that has been resurrected in mainstream America and bolsters existing European attitudes."

Respondents across the continent were asked a series of indicator questions representing the most pernicious notions of anti-Semitism and whether or not they thought the following four statements were "probably true" or "probably false."

• Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country.
• Jews have too much power in the business world.
• Jews have too much power in international financial markets.
• Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust

Respondents were also asked whether they agree or disagree with the following statement

• The Jews are responsible for the death of Christ

Finally, respondents were asked

• If their opinion of Jews was influenced by actions taken by the State of Israel and whether they believed the violence directed against European Jews was a result of anti-Jewish feelings or anti-Israel sentiment.

Findings Summary

Attitudes Toward Jews

•  Overall, half of those surveyed in the six countries believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their own country, with a majority of respondents in Austria, Belgium, Hungary and the United Kingdom saying they believe that this statement is "probably true."

•  High levels of those surveyed across Europe still believe in the traditional anti-Jewish canard that "Jews have too much power in the business world." Overall, nearly 35% of all respondents believe this stereotype to be true; in Hungary it is 60%.

•  Similarly, European respondents still adhere to the notion that "Jews have too much power in international financial markets." Overall, 35% of those surveyed cling to the traditional stereotype, in Hungary it is 61%.

•  Large portions of the European public continue to believe that Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust. Overall, 44% of those surveyed believe it is "probably true." A majority of respondents in Austria, and Hungary believe it to be true.

•  Overall, 20% of those surveyed continue to blame Jews for the death of Jesus.

•  Overall, 23% of respondents say that their opinion of Jews is influenced by the actions taken by the State of Israel. Of those whose opinions are so influenced, nearly two-thirds -- 64% -- say that their opinion of Jews is worse as a result of the actions taken by Israel.

Attitudes Toward Israel

•Overall, attitudes toward Israel have changed only slightly since 2005.  Respondents in Belgium (35% up from 26%), The Netherlands (39% up from 28%), Switzerland (33% up from 27%) and the United Kingdom  (30% up from 27%) now view Israel more favorably,  while Israel's favorability rating has dropped in Austria (20% down from 31%) and Hungary ( 17% down from 22%).

•When asked to think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict levels of sympathy for the Israelis have increased in every country. Sympathy for the Palestinians has decreased in every country, except Belgium (31% up from 28%) and the United Kingdom (32% up from 27%).

Country by Country Findings on Anti-Semitic Attitudes

In responding "probably true" to the statement, "Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country," the 2007 survey found:
                    
Austria – 54% up from 38% in 2005
Belgium – 54% up from 41%
Hungary – 50% up from 37%
The Netherlands – 46% up from 36%
Switzerland – 44% up from 38%
The United Kingdom – 50% up from 39%
                                    
In responding "probably true" to the statement, "Jews have too much power in the business world," the 2007 survey found:

Austria – 37%, up from 24% in 2005
Belgium – 36%, up from 33%
Hungary – 60% up from 55%
The Netherlands – 11% down from 18%
Switzerland – 41%, up from 26%
The United Kingdom – 22% up from 14%
               
In responding "probably true" to the statement "Jews have too much power in international financial markets," the 2007 survey found:
 
Austria – 43%, up from 33% in 2005
Belgium – 40%, up from 33%
Hungary – 61% up from 55%
The Netherlands – 14% down from 19%
Switzerland – 40%, up 30%
The United Kingdom –21% up from 16%
                                  
In responding "probably true" to the statement "Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust," the 2007 survey found:

Austria – 54%, up from 46% in 2005
Belgium – 43%, up from 41%
Hungary – 58% up from 46%
The Netherlands – 31%, down from 34%
Switzerland – 45%, down from 48%
The United Kingdom – 28% no change

ADL commissioned First International Resources to conduct the survey. Fielded in Europe by Taylor Nelson Sofres, it was conducted in the native language of each of the countries among the general population. The margin of error for each country is +/-4.5% at 95% level of confidence.

The preceding article was provided by the Anti-Defamation League

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