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Israel News
by Bridges for Peace
TO: Friends (and friends of friends) of Bridges for Peace
FROM: Clarence H. Wagner, Jr., International Director - Jerusalem
DATE: October 12, 2001
Weekly News Update and Prayer Focus from Israel
Week Ending: October 12, 2001
Notice: The Bridges for Peace newly designed website is located at
www.bridgesforpeace.com. Tell your friends to check it out. We are your
Israel Connection.
1) SYRIA ELECTED TO SECURITY COUNCIL
2) PA ROCKED BY BIN LADEN SUPPORT
3) ISRAEL'S RESPONSE TO US ATTACKS ON AFGHANISTAN
4) P.A. PAPER: "HOW TO ATTACK JEWS"
5) RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS COPE WITH TRAGEDY
6) CRASH VICTIMS REMEMBERED
7) SHARON'S REMARKS DRAW SHARP CRITICISM FROM AMERICANS
8) STAND BY FOR A WETTER WINTER
9) LIST OF TERROR ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDES PALESTINIAN GROUPS
10) SYRIA'S POSITION ON TERRORISM
11) MEMBERS OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PROTEST MONEY TO PA
1) SYRIA ELECTED TO SECURITY COUNCIL
Despite its designation by the US as a state sponsor of
terrorism, Syria was elected to the United Nations Security Council on
October 8 with an overwhelming majority of international support and lone
opposition from Israel.
Syria ran unopposed by the US, and garnered 160 out of a possible
177 secret ballot votes for its place on the 15-member council.
"It is really a sheer absurdity and a sheer nonsense to have
Syria as a member of the Security Council," said Israeli Ambassador to the
UN Yehuda Lancry after the vote.
Calling Syria's election a violation of the Article 23 of the UN
Charter, which states that states are to be voted onto the council based on
their "contribution to international peace and security," Lancry said that
Syria "indeed backs terrorist groups inside Syria and outside Syria."
In Jerusalem, a senior official in the Prime Minister's Office
termed the election of Syria to the council a "poor" and "untimely"
decision.
The official said that Israel now must press the US - which did
not actively oppose the election - and the international community, to
demand that Syria stop backing and supporting terror organizations.
According to this official, nearly a dozen terror organizations
are housed in Damascus.
Syrian Ambassador to the UN Mikhail Wehbe expressed satisfaction
with his country's election and refused to answer questions on its status
in the US as a terrorist-sponsoring nation.
Among Syria's faults cited by experts are its hosting of Nazi war
criminals and Palestinian rejectionist groups intent on destroying Israel
and US targets, its military occupation of Lebanon, and oppression of its
own citizens.
During last week's General Assembly debate on international
terrorism, Wehbe asked delegates to differentiate between the September 11
terror attacks on New York and Washington and Palestinian terror against
Israelis. "Resistance against the Israeli occupation is legitimate," he
said.
Voted in for a two-year term as one of 10 rotating members of the
Security Council, Syria will have a say in international peace and security
matters, peacekeeping operations and sanctions. (Melissa Radler, Herb
Keinon and Janine Zacharia, excerpted from The Jerusalem Post, October 10,
2001)
2) PA ROCKED BY BIN LADEN SUPPORT
The Palestinian Authority has been rocked by bloody student
demonstrations in support of Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden.
Demonstrations in support of Bin Laden were reported in many areas of the
Gaza Strip on October 8. Two people were killed during attempts by PA
police to disperse the demonstrators.
The bloodiest protests came in Gaza City. Hundreds of university
students, including armed members of the Islamic opposition, clashed with
police. At least two civilians were killed and a dozen wounded.
Police sources said Islamic gunmen opened fire on officers
outside Al Azhar University and the Islamic University in Gaza City.
Islamic sources countered that police opened fire when they failed to
disperse the demonstrators with tear gas.
PA authorities then ordered the closure of universities in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. Authorities also banned any television news
coverage of pro-Bin Laden demonstrations.
The PA has refused to adopt a position on the U.S.-led military
offensive on Afghanistan. PA Information Minister Yasser Abbed Rabbo said
officials first wanted to determine the position of the Arab League.
(Middle East News Line, October 8, 2001)
PRAYER FOCUS: The Palestinian people's desire to follow a
perceived strong leader is shaking Arafat's regime of terror. Pray that
God will turn the confusion of leadership among Israel's avowed enemies to
His own purposes.
SCRIPTURE: "The Lord works out everything for His own ends - even
the wicked for a day of disaster" (Prov. 16:4).
3) ISRAEL'S RESPONSE TO US ATTACKS ON AFGHANISTAN
The United States has begun its offensive against the bases of
Osama
Bin-Laden's terrorist organization in Afghanistan tonight [October 7].
This offensive comes in the wake of the terrible terrorist attacks on the
United States on September 11, 2001.
Over the past three days, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has
kept Prime Minister Ariel Sharon apprised as to the timing of the American
offensive, and the appropriate coordination took place.
President George W. Bush called Prime Minister Sharon this
afternoon to update him on the offensive. President Bush noted that the
offensive was part of an overall campaign against terrorism. Prime
Minister Sharon wished President Bush, the American People and the forces
in the field the best of luck, and offered any assistance that might be
required in addition to the assistance already given.
It is important to remember this evening that the war against
terrorism was, and continues to be, the State of Israel's war. Israel has
provided, and will continue to provide, assistance to the nations of the
free world in any way they may require in the struggle against terrorism.
Israel has provided, and will continue to provide, assistance,
but Israel is not participating in the offensive.
Israel has taken all the necessary steps to maintain the security
of its citizens. (Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser,
October 7, 2001)
4) P.A. PAPER: HOW TO ATTACK JEWS
The Palestinian Authority's official newspaper, Al Hayat Al
Jadida, published an article two days ago about a Fatah ceremony in Gaza
where participants were given a demonstration of how to ambush and kill
Israeli civilians. Palestinian Media Watch <<www.pmw.org>>, which monitors
the Palestinian Authority media daily, distributed a copy of the article.
A photograph accompanying the article shows two Arabs with weapons standing
aside a man lying face down on the ground with his shirt half-filled with
blood, with many other Arabs looking on. (Arutz 7, October 8, 2001)
PRAYER FOCUS: Pray that God would give the Jewish people wisdom,
keen insight, and supernatural awareness of danger, and would protect them
from the schemes of murderers.
SCRIPTURE: "He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he
murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims.But You, O God, do
see trouble and grief; You consider it to take it in hand. The victim
commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless" (Psalm 10:8,
14).
5) RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS COPE WITH TRAGEDY
Sarah Kamcha, 76, was on her way to visit her sick 81-year-old
sister in Siberia for the first time in a decade when Sibir Airlines Flight
1812 crashed into the Black Sea in a ball of flames.
Kamcha moved to Israel from Siberia 10 years ago and lived in
Jerusalem. Of the 66 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the ill-fated
flight on October 4, more than 50 were immigrants from the former Soviet
Union who had lived in Israel for a few years.
"She was very excited to visit her sister," Sarah Kamcha's
daughter, Olga, told Reuters on October 5. "My five-year-old son knows,
but he doesn't believe that Grandma isn't coming back," she said, her voice
cracking. "He refuses to watch television. He doesn't want to know."
The former Soviet community in Israel, some one million strong,
watched in shock on October 4 as families gathered at Lod's Ben-Gurion
Airport to look over a passenger list, the contents of which were already
known.
Still recovering from a Palestinian suicide bombing at a Tel Aviv
dance club in June in which 21 people, most of them Russian-immigrant
teenagers, were killed, the community prepared to face a second tragedy in
just three months.
"The dreams and the hopes erupted in one shot" and "Flight of
death" read banner headlines in Israeli newspapers on October 5.
Pictures of those killed on the flight from Tel Aviv to Siberia
filled front pages, alongside shots of weeping families.
The newspapers told stories of a woman on the way to her wedding,
of a man who wasn't allowed to leave the country because of debts but whose
wife and infant son were on the plane.
"It's really difficult to describe. It's a harsh blow to people
who have been in Israel for just a few years.and finally started to get
absorbed in society, finally started to get accustomed to their new life,"
Construction and Housing Minister Natan Sharansky told Reuters.
"One after the other, the Dolphinarium [disco] attack.and now
with the plane. It doesn't even matter if it's a terrorist attack or a
missile that erred - it's two blows, one after the other," said Sharansky,
who immigrated to Israel in 1986 after spending more than nine years in a
Soviet prison.
Avraham Berkowitz, the Moscow-based executive director of the
Federation of Jewish Communities in the former Soviet Union, happened to be
in Israel when the plane crashed. Now he is busy caring for the families
and has already arranged for more than 30 people to fly to Siberia.
There is a "deep numbness" in the Russian community in Israel
because of the fear that not all the bodies will be retrieved, Berkowitz
told Reuters. People have been told remains are buried in one kilometer of
Black Sea water.
"It ripped a hole in the heart of the Russian Jewish community
here, especially just after the Dolphinarium [bombing]," Berkowitz said.
(Ramit Plushnick-Masti, The Jerusalem Post, October 7, 2001)
6) CRASH VICTIMS REMEMBERED
October 11 was a national day of mourning in the wake of the
Siber Air plane crash seven days ago in which 51 Israelis - mostly new
immigrants from Russia - lost their lives. The Knesset convened for an
official memorial session, at which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon paid
tribute to the Russian Jewish community in Israel. "From 1990 until the
beginning of the current violence over a year ago," Sharon said, "46 new
immigrants [olim], including soldiers, were killed. Many olim serve as
officers... Since the beginning of this year's fighting, 48 new immigrants
have been killed, including 37 from Russia..."
The Prime Minister, who lost a son and is twice a widower,
continued, "I know that there is no remedy for the loss of a son or
daughter, mother or father, brother or sister. This is a pain that does
not go away, that hits us again and again... and it is true both for those
who are born here and live in their natural habitat, as well as for those
who have recently arrived. True, pain and loss exist in all the sectors of
the public, and all the fallen are equal; but today we chose to concentrate
on the pain of the new immigrants from Russia, who have suffered so greatly
in the past. There are those who ask where we will find the strength. The
[answer is that the] Jewish nation has strength..."
Opposition leader MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz) and Knesset Speaker
Avraham Burg also spoke, as did MK Victor Breilovsky, himself a new
immigrant from Russia, who said, "It is very important that on this day,
the olim not feel alone, not have to face this tragedy alone. They must
feel that they are an intrinsic part of Am Yisrael, that everyone... is
doing everything they can to ease their sorrow." President Moshe Katzav,
Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, and Russia's Ambassador to Israel attended
the session.
Seven victims whose bodies were recovered and identified were
buried today, while seven others will be buried in Russia, at the request
of their families. The other families began sitting the traditional
seven-day shiva mourning period, according to the Chief Rabbi's ruling,
when officials gave up all hope of finding additional bodies. (Arutz 7,
October 11, 2001)
PRAYER FOCUS: The Russian immigrants to Israel have suffered
devastating sorrows during the past few months. Pray that God will comfort
them with His love, and will replace their sorrow with hope and renewed
gladness.
SCRIPTURE: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those
who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).
7) SHARON'S REMARKS DRAW SHARP CRITICISM FROM AMERICANS
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's public statement in which he said,
"I call on the Western democracies, and primarily the leader of the free
world, the United States: Do not repeat the dreadful mistake of 1938, when
enlightened European democracies decided to sacrifice Czechoslovakia for 'a
convenient temporary solution.' Do not try to appease the Arabs at our
expense - this is unacceptable to us. Israel will not be Czechoslovakia.
Israel will fight terrorism," drew sharp criticism from the Americans.
"President Bush believes that these remarks are unacceptable," White House
spokesman Ari Fleischer said the next day. "Israel can have no better or
stronger a friend than the United States." In addition, both U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell and Ambassador Dan Kurtzer personally told Sharon of
Bush's displeasure.
It is important to note that the Prime Minister was speaking only
hours after the downing of a Russian plane with over 50 Israelis on board,
the deadly Arab terrorist attack in Afula that claimed the lives of three
Israelis, and the Arab shootings in Hebron. Prime Minister Sharon's
remarks must also be understood in light of the ongoing terror Israel has
been facing for the past year.
In responding to the US displeasure, the Prime Minister said that
he "regrets" if his Czechoslovakia metaphor was not properly understood. He
praised Bush and the special Israeli-U.S. relationship, emphasizing that
Israel's main responsibility, and his as Prime Minister, is to protect its
citizens. The Americans accepted the explanations and have returned to
diplomatic routine. In fact, U.S. officials, in a series of phone calls
with their Israeli counterparts over the past few days, have briefed them
on the state of the American plans to attack targets in its anti-terrorism
war.
The aftermath seems to show that Israel has come out of the
incident stronger. The U.S. apparently acceded to one of Sharon's main
demands on October 7 when the State Department published its bi-annual list
of foreign terrorist organizations and included the Israel-based Arab
terrorist organizations Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, as well as the Lebanese-based Hizbullah. These
were blatantly absent from a list of 27 Bin Laden-associated organizations
published by the White House two weeks ago. U.S. law bans American citizens
from joining these groups or from transferring funds to them. Furthermore,
banks are instructed to freeze the terrorist organizations' financial
assets in the U.S., and persons connected to these groups can be denied
admission to the United States.
Another achievement, according to senior Jerusalem officials, is
that in the wake of Sharon's tough talk, the Administration exerted strong
pressure on Arafat to stop his violence against Israel, threatening to
"change its policy" towards the Palestinian Authority if the violence does
not stop. (Staff reports, Arutz 7, October 8, 2001)
8) STAND BY FOR A WETTER WINTER
The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting is
expecting above-average rainfall this winter.
In the meantime, however, the center expects that temperatures
during October, November, and December will also be higher than average.
This was recently relayed to the Israel Meteorological Service
which is in the process of formulating its own forecast for the winter
which will be issued, as usual, at the beginning of November.
The last three winters saw below average precipitation - almost a
drought.
The level in Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is continuing to drop
daily and is at its lowest-ever recorded mark, while the Coastal and
Mountain aquifers are similarly depleted.
Seawater desalination units approved by the government will only
start to become operational in three or four years. In the interim, the
amount of water available for drinking, industry, and agriculture will be
entirely dependent on the weather. (David Rudge, The Jerusalem Post,
October 7, 2001)
PRAYER FOCUS: October marks the beginning of the rainy season in
Israel. The water situation is critical and getting worse daily. Pray
that God sends abundant and repeated rains to replenish the Sea of Galilee
and aquifers.
SCRIPTURE: "He covers the sky with clouds; He supplies the earth
with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the
cattle and for the young ravens when they call" (Psalm 147:8-9).
9) LIST OF TERROR ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDES PALESTINIAN GROUPS
The U.S. State Department published its biannual list of foreign
terrorist organizations on October 6. The list remains almost unchanged
from the previous one and includes al Qaida, the organization thought to be
responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States; the
Palestinian organizations, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine; and the Lebanese organization, Hezbollah.
Kahane Chai and Kach were listed as one organization - Kahane Chai.
Two weeks ago, the White House published a list of 27
organizations, funds and individuals connected to Osama bin Laden and froze
their U.S. assets.
Israel claimed at the time that Palestinian terrorist organizations should
also be added to the White House list, but the United States said that they
already appeared on the State Department list and were, therefore, subject
to the same restrictions.
According to U.S. law, American citizens are prohibited from
joining groups appearing on the list of foreign terrorist organizations;
they are also forbidden from transferring funds to or supporting these
organizations in anyway. Banks are instructed to freeze the financial
assets of these organizations in the United States and anybody connected to
terrorist groups named on the list can be denied admission to the United
States.
Israel argues that adding Palestinian terrorist organizations to
the White
House list would enable sanctions to be imposed on countries and
institutions with connections to these organizations, such as Syria and the
Palestinian Authority.
Two organizations have been removed from the State Department
list because they no longer engage in terrorism - Tupac Amaru from Peru and
the Japanese Red Army. Two new organizations on the list are The Real IRA
from Northern Ireland and the United Self Defense Forces of Columbia. (By
Nathan Guttman, Ha'aretz, October 7, 2001)
10) SYRIA'S POSITION ON TERRORISM
Following are a number of principles underpinning Syria's
position in the fight against terrorism and its attitude towards the
coalition now being formed:
An International Offensive, not an American-Led Offensive: One of
Syria's conditions for cooperating with the U.S. is that the fight against
terrorism be carried out within an international framework - more
precisely, by the United
Nations - instead of being led by the U.S. (1)
Another pre-condition set by Syria is that terrorism be defined -
also by the U.N., or alternatively, by an international conference. An
editorial in Al-Ba'ath,
Syria's ruling party's newspaper, said, "It should be mentioned that Syria,
through its late leader Hafez Assad, was the first to call for such a
conference, in 1986."
Syria's dictates regarding the content of such a definition is clear:
Israel is to head the list. (2)
Endnote: (1) Al-Hayat (London), September 29, 2001; (2)
Al-Ba'ath (Syria), October 1, 2001. (MEMRI, October 9, 2001)
PRAYER FOCUS: A sworn enemy of Israel, Syria's words label
Israel with the terrorism Syria itself employs. Pray that the world sees
through this attempt to blacklist Israel, and that people and national
leaders will recognize Syria as the state supporting and abetting
terrorism.
SCRIPTURE: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who
put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and
sweet for bitter" (Isa. 5:20).
11) MEMBERS OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PROTEST MONEY TO PA
Demanding that funding to the Palestinian Authority be
reassessed, five members of the European Parliament last week protested
against the PA's "blatantly anti-Semitic propaganda" and incitement to
racial hatred.
"The financing of the Palestinian Authority was approved by the
European
Assembly as long as it was within the framework of the Oslo agreements,
committing the parties to an education of tolerance," said the MEP's, led
by the senior vice president of the EP's delegation to Israel, Francois
Zimeray, "It seems then that . . . important sums were spent in violation
of these rules and of basic principles of EC law." (Michel Zlotowski, The
Jerusalem Post, October 7, 2001)
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Co-Editors: Becky Brimmer and Clarence Wagner
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Lura (and Eddie),
I just called Taisa and she is so happy for you! She wants me to extend her best wishes for both of you. I can't wait to meet Eddie when you come back over to the States.
Keep us in your prayers now. Our country is undergoing lots of soul-searching, not a bad thing, and is turning their hearts to G-d in a big way. Israel is safer by comparison. Thank G-d for George W. Bush, a true man of G-d, who told a minister recently he would never stop talking about G-d!
In His love and mine,
Lana
P.S. I love the site, especially the spell check option and the "Huh?"
How many of us have heard that question "Where was GOD
when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was attacked?"
Well, I know where GOD was the morning of September
11, 2001, and He was very busy. He was trying to discourage anyone from taking these flights. Those 4 flights together held over 1000 passengers and there were only 266 aboard. He was on 4 commercial flights giving terrified passengers the ability to stay
calm.
Not one of the family members who were called by a
loved one on one of the hijacked planes said that
passengers were screaming in the background. On one of the flights he was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the hijackers. He was busy trying to create obstacles for employees at the World Trade Center. After all, only around 20,000 people were at the towers when the first jet hit. Since the buildings
held over 50,000 workers, this was a Miracle in itself. How many of the people who were employed at the World Trade Center told the media that they were late for work or they had traffic delays. He was
holding up two 110 story buildings so that 2/3 of the
workers could get out. I was so amazed that the top of the towers didn't topple when the jets impacted. And when they did fall, they fell inward. GOD didn't allow them to topple over, as many more lives would have been lost. And when the buildings went down, GOD picked up almost 6,000 of His children and carried
them home with him. Reassuring His frightened children that the worst was over and the best was yet to come. He sat down and cried that 19 of His children could have some much hate in their hearts. That they didn't choose Him, but another god that doesn't
exist, and now they are lost forever. He sent His
children that are best trained for this disaster and had them save the few that were still alive, but unable to help themselves.
And then sent many others to help in anyway they were
needed. He still isn't finished though, He held the loved ones that were left behind in his arms. He comforts them daily. His other children are
given the strength to reach out to them and help them
in any way they can. And I believe He will continue to help us in what is to come. He will give the people in charge of this great nation the strength and the wisdom to do the right thing. He would never
leave us in our time of need. So when anyone asks, "Where was GOD on September 11", you can say "everywhere"!
And yes, although this is, without a doubt the worst thing I have seen in my life, I see God's miracles in every bit of it. I keep praying for those who don't believe in GOD, every chance I have.
I can't imagine going through such a difficult time and not believing in GOD. Life would be hopeless.
I really hope that Islam is not the one-world government! I don't see it in Scripture. I believe that Islam is about to be broken - they have declared war on the one true G-d and they are going to lose, but any conflict needs to be approached in great humility before the L-rd.
I believe that when the Muslims realize they have been following a false god, they will be very disheartened and will be ready to turn their lives over to the L-rd. We are already seeing some of that attitude here as Muslims are beginning to come to the Messiah.
The Bible talks of Israel dwelling securely when the northern invasion happens (Ezekiel 38 & 39). There is no real security here as long as the Muslims are demanding the non-existence of Israel and shooting at us on the roads and blowing themselves up. That northern invasion will be short-lived since the L-rd Himself will intervene in a supernatural way to protect Israel. I believe that will trigger a revival in Israel among Jews and Muslims. I think all this is going to happen in the very near future & I hope to see it with my own eyes!
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move on his people --all of Abraham's children!
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
(Philippians 4:13, NAS)
Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the
other wasn't. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he
put
it in his ice chest to keep it fresh.
Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it
back.
The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got
tired of seeing this man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back
all
the big fish you catch?" he asked.
The experienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan."
Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big
dreams, big jobs, or big opportunities that God gives us.
Our faith is too small. We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure
out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to
increase the size of our faith?
Whether it's a problem or a possibility, God will never give you
anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk
into
anything God brings our way.
You can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13).
Nothing is too big for God. Stop telling God you've got big
problems. Tell your problems you've got a BIG GOD!
September 11th, Through One Child's Eyes
Written by: Tina Rowan
Assisted by and based on thoughts from: DJ Pinter, Age
8
I saw the planes, like silver birds, make the
buildings burn. I even
saw them tumbling down on every channel you turned.
I saw you crying without a sound, as you watched the
news. When you
told me all those people were gone, it made me cry too.
On tv there were people crying and saying now we
should pray. But you
know what Mommy, I really think, we should do that every day.
Mommy, I ask you to tell me why the bad men came that
day. My brother
ask if we were safe or if they would come our way.
Why do people hate us, even though we have never met.
I guess I just
don't understand, see I am not a grown up yet.
You said it is because we are different and not
everyone agrees. And
some people get mad about what other people believe.
But I have friends at my school and they are all
different than me.
And maybe when we grow up we can make everyone see,
That no matter who we are or what color we may be, we
all belong on
this earth. We are one big family.
So I think you should tell everyone that they really
shouldn't cry.
Cause my teacher says there are strength in numbers and that faith is running high.
I know God will protect us and he will lead the way,
and it makes it
even better cause the whole world stopped to pray.
Yesterday I heard a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the
Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio allowed that this would mean
killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this
atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage," and
he asked, "What else can we do? What is your suggestion?" Minutes later
I heard a TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what
must be done."
And I thought about these issues especially hard because I am from
Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here (in America) for 35 years I've never
lost track of what's been going on over there. So I want to share a few
thoughts with anyone who will listen.
I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no
doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in
New York. I fervently wish to see those monsters punished. But the
Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the
government of Afghanistan.
The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who captured Afghanistan
in 1997 and have been holding the country in bondage ever since. Bin
Laden is a political criminal with a master plan. When you think
Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when
you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the
concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing
to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the
perpetrators. They would love for someone to eliminate the Taliban and
clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their
country. I guarantee it.
Some say, if that's the case, why don't the Afghans rise up and
overthrow the Taliban themselves? The answer is, they're starved,
exhausted, damaged, and incapacitated. A few years ago, the United
Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in
Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. Millions of Afghans are
widows of the approximately two million men killed during the war with
the Soviets. And the Taliban has been executing these women for being
women and have buried some of their opponents alive in mass graves. The
soil of Afghanistan is littered with land mines and almost all the farms
have been destroyed.
The Afghan people have tried to overthrow the Taliban. They haven't
been able to.
We now come to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone
Age. Trouble with that scheme is, it's already been done. The Soviets
took care of it. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering.
Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done.
Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? There is
no infrastructure. Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late.
Someone already did all that.
New bombs would only land in the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at
least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the
Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip away
and hide. (They have already, I hear.) Maybe the bombs would get some of
those disabled orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even have
wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be
a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it
would be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the
people they've been raping all this time.
So what else can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and
trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground
troops. I think that when people speak of "having the belly to do what
needs to be done" many of them are thinking in terms of having the belly
to kill as many as needed. They are thinking about overcoming moral
qualms about killing innocent people. But it's the belly to die not kill
that's actually on the table. Americans will die in a land war to get
Bin Laden. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their
way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than
that, folks. To get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through
Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would
have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where
I'm going. The invasion approach is a flirtation with global war between
Islam and the West.
And that is Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants and why
he did this thing. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right
there. At the moment, of course, "Islam" as such does not exist. There
are Muslims and there are Muslim countries, but no such political entity
as Islam. Bin Laden believes that if he can get a war started, he can
constitute this entity and he'd be running it. He really believes Islam
would beat the west. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can
polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers.
If the West wreaks a holocaust in Muslim lands, that's a billion people
with nothing left to lose, even better from Bin Laden's point of view.
He's probably wrong about winning, in the end the west would probably
overcome--whatever that would mean in such a war; but the war would
last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has
the belly for that? Bin Laden yes, but anyone else? I don't have a
solution. But I do believe that suffering and poverty are the soil in
which terrorism grows. Bin Laden and his cohorts want to bait us into
creating more such soil, so they and their kind can flourish. We can't
let him do that. That's my humble opinion.
Listening via television to evangelist Billy Graham’s stirring words of spiritual comfort and encouragement at the national prayer and memorial service in Washington DC on Friday, I recalled that the last time I saw the towering World Trade Center was the same day I spoke at his ministry headquarters in Minneapolis. It was a great honor to address his staff of over 300 dedicated workers last August 6 just before boarding a plane to Newark airport on my way back to my home at the center of the world, Jerusalem Israel.
After going through tight Israeli security (I never complain) during my El Al check in, I sat for a couple hours at the airport watching the reflected sunset over nearby New York City. The golden summer rays illuminated the western sides of the glass and steel towers that dominated the skyline in the southwest corner of Manhattan Island; the sides I was gazing at across the Hudson River. Now the shimmering towers are gone, and America--and through it the world--is at war.
Some have written to ask for my reaction to the prayer of the Dean of the Washington Cathedral, invoking “the God of Abraham, Muhammad, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This brings up a related question I have been asked during several US radio interviews this weekend: Can we trust the Muslims living in our midst if we go to war against Islamic extremists and their supporters?
The answer to that important query is a definite yes and no (well, nothing is certain in times like these). I will explain that shortly.
As for the God of Muhammad being the God of Israel, it is true that Islam’s unique prophet was formed by the same Supreme Being that created all of us. But the “god” who speaks in the Islamic holy book, the Koran, is quoted as calling for “holy struggle” against the infidels until Islam reigns supreme. Since the infidels are mainly said to be Christians and Jews, there are two possibilities: Either this is indeed the same God of Israel who spoke in the Bible, and He has suddenly decided to wage holy war against His biblical covenant people, both Christians and Jews, or it is not the same deity. With all due respect to my Muslim friends, as an observant Christian I think the second alternative is the obvious one.
ISLAMIC SECTS
Islam resembles Christianity in that there are various sects and divisions inside of it. Indeed, bitter wars have been fought over the centuries between some of these rival groups. The Muslims living in your city or town are most likely to be members of the mainstream Sunni wing of Islam. However some may be from the smaller Wahabi subgroup whose members rule Saudi Arabia--the sect that Osama Bin Laden belongs to. If they hail from Iraq or Iran, they are likely to be from the Shiite wing that rules Iran and sponsors the radical Hizbullah militia in Lebanon.
The Wahabis are the most fanatic and puritanical sect within mainstream Sunni Islam. This explains why extreme fundamentalists like Bin Laden have become totally disillusioned with the ruling royal family in Saudi Arabia, whose corruption, gambling and womanizing is notorious in the Muslim world. Bin Laden and his ilk blame this corruption on the massive oil wealth that has flooded the desert country in recent decades; money that mostly comes from the West. They believe that the Islamic holy land has been desecrated by its association with Western governments and oil companies, and indeed they have substantial reason for thinking so. Unfortunately they have chosen to focus their anger on the West as a whole, and especially on the United States, the "Great Satan."
The Islamic Wahabi fanatics have found natural bedfellows in the fundamentalists who rule Sudan and Afghanistan. They have supported Sudan-based efforts to topple the pro-Western Mubarak government in Egypt. Bin Laden and his followers are less connected to the extremist Iranian regime. However, they are thought to have developed close associations with Shiite groups in recent years, especially Iranian-backed Hizbullah jihad warriors stationed in southern Lebanon. The pattern for such cooperation was set by Syria, a non-Shiite Muslim state that has close ties to Iran. They also have Palestinian contacts and agents. There is credible evidence that Bin Laden has grown close to Saddam Hussein in recent years, who cleverly portrays himself as the chief Muslim victim of the Great Satan and the man who will liberate Jerusalem from detested Zionist rule. Israeli intelligence officials suspect that Saddam was the ultimate sponsor of last week's attacks upon America.
OUR ENEMIES?
The Wahabi’s puritanical Islamic worldview is undoubtedly shared by many of the Muslims who live in the West. Indeed, as difficult as it is to say in the midst of the immediate aftermath of the horrendous suicide attacks in New York and Washington, such Muslims are not far off the mark when they point to the USA as being the main source of moral corruption and filth spread around the globe via many television programs, movies, the internet, music videos and publications. Some Muslims living in the West have fled for shelter from extremist regimes. Almost all believe that America is wrong to support Israel, but most are probably not willing to commit acts of violence to buttress that view. The problem is, a few will be, and it is often hard to tell who they are.
Still, we must resist the temptation to label all Muslims as fanatics who will potentially plunge a knife into our backs at the slightest provocation. Yet we have learned the hard way here in Israel that Islam is an extremely powerful force that can sometimes turn an apparent longtime friend into a vicious opponent. The fact that over 80% of Palestinians tell pollsters they support suicide attacks upon Israeli civilians is a shocking revelation that reflects very negatively on their faith (over 95% are Muslims), even if their grievances are widely perceived as justifying “violent resistance” against Israel. After all, Israel already handed over nearly half of the disputed territories to Palestinian control as part of the Oslo peace accords, and was in the process of turning over most of the rest when Yasser Arafat nixed Israeli compromise proposals and reverted to the path of war one year ago. The Palestinian leader has done virtually nothing since then to arrest terrorist leaders who boldly proclaimed that they were behind the slaughter of teenage girls, restaurant patrons and bus passengers.
Does militant Islam represent a threat to our way of life? Several Australian parliament members asked me that crucial question when I was invited to speak to them in Canberra last June. The sad answer is clearly yes, and the US and its allies have no choice but to forcefully stand up to its obvious desire to destroy Western democracies. It was not the United States that declared war last week, but the demonized terrorists and their sponsors who determined to kill thousands of innocent people. Still, we must do everything possible not to label all practicing Muslims as potential suicide bombers or violent attackers. It is simply not the case. Many are genuinely shocked and horrified by the terrorist atrocities. And Western nations, built on Judeo-Christian values, must also examine more closely the manifold things that they export to the rest of the world, and repent of those which hardly reflect well on the God of Israel that they generally profess to believe in.
DAVID DOLAN.
Jerusalem
Mr. Dolan's latest book, ISRAEL IN CRISIS: WHAT LIES AHEAD? along with his end time novel, THE END OF DAYS and his first book, an acclaimed history of Israel titled ISRAEL AT THE CROSSROADS, may be ordered by phoning 888-890-6938 in North America, or by e mail at: resources@yourisraelconnection.org, or by visiting his web site at www.ddolan.com
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The nation of France was built over several centuries by the mutual absorption of two different people . There were the invading Franks taking advantage of the decline of Rome . They established a barbaric rule over the keltic-gaullic- roman inhabitants living in roughly the area of present day France. Gradually the two different elements melted into each other. For a long time the Franks enjoyed a number of previledges which only were gradually surrendered, the last ones during the French Revolution. The conquerers acquired the religion and language of the subjected people.
In essence the same process happened in Spain , were the Visigoth did in a more diluted manner, what the Franks did to the north of them . Also England was created in this manner , even though the process is more diffuse by several norman invasions .
Why should it all be different in Israel. Here we have a contemporary but analog process of nation building in the aftermath of the collapse of a large cosmopolitan empire (Turkish). There is though a difference in terms of religion. The German tribes had soft religions which were unable to survive great revolutionary changes and displacements.
Islam is a religion which does not tolerate other religions. They teach their children that the Jews are responsible for all the ills of the world. They teach them to hate.
The Jews are not fighting the Muslims - this is a one-sided war which will not end til one side changes their religion.
If the Palestinians lay down their arms, there will be no war. If the Jews lay down their arms, there will be no more Jews. Simple as that.
We need the Peace of Messiah in every man's heart -- that is the only solution.
Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones in the tragedy. Our prayers are with those families and friends who are facing the future without them. The loss of life and jobs is overwhelming, but with the L-rd's help, He can make sense and turn things around to the point that we can all grow stronger through this!
This Islamic attempt to use force to subjugate others is one more rung of Satan's demonic plan. The L-rd has already conquered him at the tree and by His Blood!
He is a defeated being in His death throes and he is mad -- Don't let him defeat you by allowing bitterness and hatred to cloud your outlook. Instead, rely on the L-rd & on the fact that He has a PLAN and is working it out. Keep your eyes on HIM, not on the enemy.
Pray for Israel -- we have been dealing with this enemy for a long time & facing these attacks on a daily basis.
To our brothers and sisters in Israel: The Church in America has had a huge wakeup call. Prayer is going forth in all denominations. We have a new purpose and focus. Life in the natural and in the spirit, will never be the same. Please pray to hear G-d's guidance
in all things, for His people and for the leaders of both our countries. Your Sister In Christ, Lynn
HERE'S THE BRIEF FACTS ON THE ISRAELI CONFLICT TODAY....
This takes takes just a few minutes to read!!!! It makes sense and it's not slanted.
1. Nationhood and Jerusalem: Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E., two thousand years before the rise of Islam.
2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel.
3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 B.C.E., the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.
4. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 C.E. lasted no more than 22 years.
5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital,and Arab leaders did not come to visit.
6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran.
7. King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.
8. Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem.
9. Arab and Jewish Refugees In 1948: The Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.
10. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.
11. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated to be the same.
12. Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than the state of New Jersey.
13. The Arab -Israeli Conflict: The Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians.There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won.
14. The P.L.O.'s Charter still calls for the destruction of the Stateof Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them with weapons.
15. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths.
16. The U.N. Record on Israel and the Arabs of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel.
17. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.
18. The U.N was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians.
19. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
20. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
These are incredible times. We have to ask what our role should be. What will we tell our grandchildren we did when there was a turning point in Jewish destiny, an opportunity to make a difference?
START NOW...... Send this to 20 other people you know and ask them to send it to twenty others.
The truth and the cause of peace are universal values we all share, and everyone must know.