Media Releases – June 1998
June 1998
June 3, 1998 Rachel’s Children
June 8, 1998 Incitement to Murder – Chapter Two
June 15, 1998 Awaken, People, Awaken!
June 17, 1998 Tisha B’Av Is Proof of Israel’s Right
To Its Biblical Homeland
June 23, 1998 A Different Spirit
June 28, 1998 From: Arutz-7
June 29, 1998 Tennis Anyone?
June 30, 1998 The Theory of Relativity
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Jerusalem, June 3, 1998
Rachel’s Children
Press Release. Evelyn Haies, President Rachel’s Children Reclamation
Foundation 718-648-2610
Fax 516-872-5756, haze@interport.net….
Celebrate 3500 years as a Nation
The Rachel’s Children Reclamation Foundation and the Minister of Holy Sites
cordially invite the public to share the simcha of a Torah Dedication at Kever
Rachel.
Celebrate the dedication of a new Sefer Torah written by Jews from across the
globe. The Sefer Torah was begun by Rabbi Sofer Tzvi Chaim Pincus on January
2, 1997 Parasha Shemos, 5757 in Brooklyn, New York. It will be dedicated at the Tomb
of Rachel on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 5758, Thursday June 25, 1998. Kavod HaTorah will
commence with an early day reading and shofar blowing at the Kotel.
A procession will gather between 4 and five pm at Gilo. Busses will also be
directed to army approved parking near the Tomb of Rachel complex.
A tehillim ceremony for women will begin at 5:30PM. Rabbanit Tzfia Goren,
wife of HaRav Shlomo Goren z’tl will be presented with “A Special Connection Award”
At 6:00 pm men and women will participate in a joyous Torah Dedication
Ceremony outside Kever Rachel. Festivities and Refreshments will be enjoyed
by all.
The Guests of Honor at this momentous event celebrating a Matriarch of
Israel who has been the Jewish heart and soul for 3500 years will be Rabbanit Tzfia
Goren, wife of HaRav Shlomo Goren z’tl’ who after reclaiming our Holy Kotel
marched to Kever Rachel and on to the Tomb of the Patriarchs liberating the
three holiest Jewish places. Rabbi Benji Levene, grandson of HaRav Aryeh
Levin z’tl will receive an award because his grandfather, “A Tzaddik in our
Time”, visited the women prisoners in BeisLechem under the British
occupation. HaRav Schlessinger, Chief Rabbi of Gilo faithfully leads his
congregation to pray mincha at our holy kever each erev Shabbos. HaRav
Yehoshua Magnus is the Rosh Yeshivot Nechamat Rachel and we pray that this
extension of Merkaz HaRav Kook at Kever Rachel will grow to make our
Matriarch Rachel smile because her children are within her borders
physically and spiritually.
No reservations are necessary to partake in the festivities. However,
indication of participation will help in the preparation for this gala event.
Reservations are necessary for a Catered Seuda that will continue the simcha
at about eight o’clock that evening.
Please contact the Rachel’sChildren Reclamation Foundation, PO Box 220
Valley Stream NY to indicate interest, to volunteer, to reserve dinner
admittance. If you are unable to attend, all sponsorships are welcome. All donations
will help support activities at Kever Rachel and for the education about Ima Rachel
and of her Jewish children and grandchildren. In America call Evelyn 718-648-2610.
In Israel call Yisroel, 08-974-1157. E-mail Evelyn for information
Remember that in the future you may participate in a minyan at the Beis
Medrash at the Kever Rachel and read from this Torah written by Jews united across
the globe who celebrated 3500 years of connection. This is a proud event for Klal
Yisroel.
B”H For the sake of Ima Rachel, share in her simcha
Celebrate 3500 years as a Nation
Sefer Torah Dedication
at KEVER RACHEL
Thursday, June 25, 1998,
Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
In Coordination with the Minister of Holy Sites
Read the “Sefer Torah for Rachel Imeinu” inscribed by Jews across
the globe at the Kotel
And hear the Shofar blown at the Kotel
4pm Procession gathers at Gilo..
5:30 pm Tehillim Ceremony at Kever Rachel
Award Presentation to Rabbanit Tzfia Goren
6:00 pm Torah Dedication Ceremony at Kever Rachel
Simcha ….Seuda by Nathans (glatt kosher) …..Souvenirs
Free food tickets to volunteers
Free deserts for all
100 free souvenirs
Entertainment by Ephraim Mendelsohn and others
Guests of Honor:
Rabbanit Tzfia Goren, wife of HaRav Shlomo Goren z’tl’
Rabbi Benji Levene, grandson of HaRav Aryeh Levin z’tl
HaRav Yehoshua Magnus, Rosh Yeshivot Nechamat Rachel
HaRav Schlessinger, Chief Rabbi of Gilo
Watch for further announcements….
Evelyn, 718-648-2610 Yisroel 08-974-1157
RACHEL’S CHILDREN RECLAMATION FOUNDATION INC,
PO BOX 220
VALLEY STREAM NY 11582
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Jerusalem, June 8, 1998
Incitement to Murder – Chapter Two
The following is the text of Sunday’s program by Nadia Matar, the
chairperson of Women for Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green), on Arutz
7. Nadia speaks every Sunday after the 12:00 noon newscast.
Shalom to all our listeners!
This is Nadia Matar speaking –
About a month ago, on Iyar 12 (May 8), the journalist Yehonatan
Gefen, Aviv Gefen’s father, wrote the following in an article in the
“Maariv” weekend magazine “Sofshavua”:
“They stole the state from me. […] We will not celebrate and we will
not be independent until we liberate the country from the rule of
religion. Secular Israel is the occupied territories of the police of
the religious parties. If the secular want to continue living here,
they have no choice but to begin an intifada. Yes, I am ready to throw
the first rock.”
I was shocked by his atrocious statements, and I therefore filed a
complaint with the police against Yehonatan Gefen personally, for
incitement to murder religious Jews, and against the “Maariv” newspaper
for publishing such inflammatory material. I wrote, inter alia, that
“all of us (especially those who personally experienced the intifada)
know that the meaning of the word intifada is the murder of Jews, the
throwing of rocks and Molotov cocktails in order to kill. Not only is
Yehonatan Gefen imparting legitimacy to the intifada of the Arabs and
their murder of Jews, he himself calls for the murder of religious
Jews by his ‘willingness to throw the first rock.'”
I sent a copy of my complaint to the media, government ministers,
MKs, and public figures.
A few days ago I received a reply from Mrs. Talia Sasson, the
Director of the Department for Special Assignments in the State
Attorney’s Office (she is the woman responsible for the
implementation of the special and discriminatory directives regarding
the treatment of settlers. Actually, she is the special attorney for
surveillance against settlers, their harassment, and their
persecution).
This is what she writes:
1) After I studied your complaint on this matter and the specific
article by Yehonatan Gefen in the “Maariv” newspaper magazine, I reached
the conclusion that the statements that he published do not constitute
a criminal offense.
2) A reading of the published statements in their overall context
attests that it is doubtful if their intent was to call for a violent
and illegal struggle, but rather to adhere to values in which the
author believes as an artist. With all [my] reservations against the
strong language and the manner in which matters were expressed, they
are not sufficient to serve as the basis of a criminal offense.
3) Consequently, with the concurrence of the State Attorney, we have
seen fit to order the police to close the investigation for lack of
charge.
The conclusion, my listeners, is unequivocal: if your name is Tatiana
Suskin, and you draw a provocative picture that only a few saw at all,
then you receive two years’ imprisonment. But if your name is
Yehonatan Gefen, and you incite to murder religious Jews, in one of
the major newspapers in the country, then you “adhere to values in
which the author believes as an artist”!!!
My listeners, it is my opinion that we cannot remain silent. It is
true that what Yehonatan Gefen wrote is only one small example of the
incitement waged against the religious public. But it is specifically
because our public is silent most of the time, and actually becomes
accustomed to these attacks – and does not protest as it should –
that only increases their appetite to attack and to incite against
us.
Accordingly, I personally will clarify how I can advance these
matters, and you, my listeners, are invited to express your protest
against the State Attorney’s Office generally, and especially against
Mrs. Talia Sason at the address:
State Attorney’s Office, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah A-Din St., POB
1087, Jerusalem 91010. Fax: 02-6288065
My listeners, today’s talk is shorter than usual because, be-sha’ah
tovah and with God’s help, I gave birth to a baby girl ten days ago,
and she simple didn’t let me write more!!
Have a good week, and let us not forget – what have we done today for
the release of Jonathan Pollard and for the return of our POW’s and
MIA’s: Ron Arad, Zechariah Baumel, Yehudah Katz, and Tzvi Feldman?
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Jerusalem, June 15, 1998
Awaken, People, Awaken!
The following is the translation into English of Sunday’s Hebrew
program by Nadia Matar, the chairperson of Women for Israel’s
Tomorrow (Women in Green), on Arutz 7. Nadia speaks every Sunday
after the 12:00 noon newscast.
Shalom to all our listeners!
This is Nadia Matar speaking –
Every Tisha be-Av eve during the time of the previous regime, the
Rabin-Peres government -we, the Women in Green movement, together
with our members and friends, organized a mass reading of Eikhah
(the Book of Lamentations) and then a march around the walls of the
Old City.
I recall that the first time we organized this event, we were forced
to appeal to the High Court of Justice because the police refused to
grant us a permit to walk about through what it defined as the
“non-Jewish” parts of the city. We argued in the High Court of
Justice that Jerusalem is a unified city and that the position of the
police is ridiculous and surprising. We won in the High Court of
Justice, and since then the event has been held each year. About
25,000 marchers participated in the last march.
We have decided that this year it is essential to once again conduct
this event. Details will, of course, be provided in the coming weeks.
There is no doubt that not only Judea, Samaria, and Gaza and their
settlements are in danger, but also Jerusalem. We are not speaking
only of the fact that Har Homah is not being built, but also of the
fact that the Arabs are slowly turning Jerusalem into the capital
city of Palestine, and the government turns a blind eye. You will
hear about this only on the news on Arutz 7, and only in the Hatzofeh
and Mekor Rishon newspapers will you read about this. For example,
this Shabbat there was a bloodcurdling report in Mekor Rishon about
what is actually happening in Jerusalem. Amnon Shomron writes, and I
quote: “Hundreds of dunams of areas that are already in Jewish
ownership are waiting for building permits and are held in abeyance
by Binyamin Netanyahu. Although he accused Peres of dividing the
city, in practice Netanyahu turns a blind eye to the Palestinian
activity in the city, halts Jewish construction, and divides
Jerusalem.” End of quote.
And so, in practice, we have a situation in which Netanyahu both
divides Jerusalem and, with his own hands, establishes the
Palestinian state. For this is the meaning of the next withdrawal:
the creation of territorial continuity between the isolated islands
by the PLO, which will make possible, Heaven forbid, the
establishment of the state of Palestine.
The problem, my listeners, is that many people within our public
still have not awakened, and find themselves trapped in the
psychological state of” wishful thinking” – the hope that all these
facts are only a bad dream, and that it is not possible that a Prime
Minister who is “one of ours,” “one of our camp,” will implement such
a terrible thing.
We generally hear the following responses in our camp:
Some say that Netanyahu TALKS about a withdrawal, but does not
intend to actually implement it, and we have nothing to worry
about…. I turn to these people and remind them of the precedent of
Yamit with Menachem Begin or the precedent of Hebron of Netanyahu
himself. Stop living in illusions!!
Others, including to my surprise Emunah Elon, adopt the following
line of thought: I quote from an interview with Emunah Elon on Arutz
7 a week ago: “We regard every withdrawal from Eretz Israel as an act
that is forbidden from every aspect and that is very dangerous.
Nonetheless, if that is what the public at large thinks should be
done now, all that can be done is to stand on the side… because
what I fear will happen,” Elon says, “is that if and when the armed
struggle with the Palestinians will begin, the people are liable to be
unready for war, the people might be so divided, so certain
that this is a war of choice that could have been prevented, that,
Heaven forbid, our strength to withstand the enemy is liable to be
harmed.” The end of the quote by Emunah Elon.
In other words: we all know that there will be a war, but if PM
Netanyahu will not carry out the additional withdrawal, then he, his
government, and the entire national camp will be held responsible for
this war. And so, those people say, it is better for him to
implement the withdrawal, and our task will be to at least “minimize
the damage.”
Still others have raised another proposal, namely, the conducting of
a national referendum.
My listeners, all these ideas are unrealistic and even dangerous.
To say that we must withdraw lest we be charged with responsibility
for the war is simply absurd. We know that even if the government
will implement a withdrawal of 20 percent, the Arabs then plan to
start an armed struggle over Jerusalem, the right of return, and so
on…. And then Netanyahu and the national camp will NOT be accused?
Will we give in then, too, for fear of what will be said on the Mabat
newscast? Since when does a government betray its constituency, for
fear of what will be said by those who did not vote for this
government?
The idea of a referendum also is erroneous, because (1) most of the
people did not receive the correct explanation of the significance
of the withdrawal and thus do not understand its meaning, and (2)
the question will undoubtedly be presented in a distorted manner. It
will be presented as if this is a choice between peace and war; they
will attempt to persuade us that if there will be a withdrawal then
presumably there will be no bloodshed, which is a complete falsehood.
But, in my opinion, the most dangerous, and even most wicked idea of
all is what we even hear from NRP leaders who have undergone a “Third
Way” metamorphosis and say that we must remain in the government, and
at least minimize the damage. I ask: “What is this, to “minimize the
damage?” To hand over to the enemy 15 settlements, and not 20? This
is a victory? This is moral? I learned that Jewish law says that if
the enemy comes to a city and demands that the Jewish community
surrender to it ONE Jew who will then be hanged, otherwise the
entire community will be murdered, the law expressly states that this
individual Jew may not be handed over, regardless of the
consequences.
Who are these Jews who think that they are permitted to
choose between blood and blood, between the settlements that will be
surrendered and those that will not??? This is simply
unbelievable!!
The only response, my listeners, is LEADERSHIP and HASBARA
(information campaign).
Netanyahu must not cave in to the dictates of the United States or
the left, he rather must look the people in the eyes and state the
simple truth: the Oslo accords never constituted an option for peace,
but rather the contrary, they only whet the appetite of the
Arabs. We are on the way to an armed conflict with them, because they
have not changed, and they will not cease to fight us until they
receive Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
A withdrawal of even one percent is national, Zionist, historical,
and defense suicide, and therefore our representatives in the Knesset
must not remain in a government that will decide upon a withdrawal.
Have a good week, and let us not forget to continue our struggle for
the release of Jonathan Pollard and for the return of our MIA’s: Ron
Arad, Zechariah Baumel, Yehudah Katz, and Tzvi Feldman.
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Jerusalem, June 17, 1998
Tisha B’Av Is Proof of Israel’s Right To Its
Biblical Homeland
Women In Green, together with their members,
friends and supporters will observe “Tisha B’Av,” the
ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which is
equivalent this year to Saturday night, August 1, 1998,
by reading the Biblical Book of Lamenatations (Eicha)
on Agron Street in Jerusalem.
Tisha B’Av notes the tragic day in Jewish
history when both the First and later the Second
Temples were destroyed on the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem. Traditionally, on that day of Jewish
mourning the Biblical Book of Lamentations (Eicha) is
read in synagogues throughout the world.
We will remind America, the world, and yes,
even our own People that we have experienced previous
catastrophes in this our ancient homeland when we did
not adhere to the Lord’s Commandments; that the one-
sided Oslo Process which America is forcing upon us,
and with which heretofore the Netanyahu Government
incomprehensibly has complied, is leading to another
such catastrophe for our People; that we were around
in this Biblical Land long before there was an America,
a Muslim religion, or even an Arab People; and that the
essential guidelines are not to be dictated by oil
considerations, but rather by the basic universal and
eternal moral values expressed in our Bible.
Following the reading of the Biblical Book of
Lamentations and some short speeches, we shall begin
our traditional march on Tisha B’Av evening around the
Walls of the Old City. Some years ago, Women In Green
re-initiated this ancient custom of the Jewish People
here in Jerusalem. Our last similar walk attracted
over 30,000 marchers and we expect to surpass that
figure this Tisha B’Av. It is the best answer to
Jerusalem remaining united. Only by such acts, rather
than by mere assertions alone, will Jerusalem remain
undivided eternally. With widespread public
participation and a fair coverage of the event by the
media, Tisha B’Av could be an effective reminder to
everyone of the basic rights of our People to its
Promised Land.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, June 23, 1998
A Different Spirit
The following is the English translation of Sunday’s Hebrew
program by Nadia Matar, the chairperson of Women for Israel’s
Tomorrow (Women in Green), on Arutz 7. Nadia speaks every Sunday
after the 12:00 noon newscast.
Shalom to all our listeners!
This is Nadia Matar speaking –
When those opposed to the Oslo accords dared to compare Yitzhak Rabin
and Shimon Peres to the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, a
media firestorm resulted, and these people were even charged with
incitement. Ironically, the comparison was not accurate – Rabin and
Peres were WORSE than Chamberlain. In 1938 Chamberlain signed an
agreement with Hitler, may his name be blotted out, but he did not
hand over London and half of England to Hitler, but rather the
Sudetenland in distant Czechoslovakia. In the Oslo accords, in
contrast, Rabin and Peres signed an agreement with the archmurderer
Arafat and gave over to him the heart of the Promised Land and
Jerusalem.
This week another tempest arose after posters compared the Prime
Minister’s bureau chief Uri Elitzur to Josephus. I don’t understand
all those who denounced the comparison. The comparison is legitimate,
but in this case as well it is inaccurate. Uri Elitzur is worse than
Josephus. The journalist Uri Dan wrote an excellent article about
that this week in the “Maariv” newspaper, entitled “The Lost Honor of
Josephus,” in which Josephus, as it were, holds a press conference in
which he complains of being compared to Elitzur. Josephus says in Uri
Dan’s article: “Don’t compare me with Uri Elitzur. I didn’t have any
choice when I was here with the legions of Titus besieging Jerusalem
– but who is besieging you? Dennis Ross? Martin Indyk? the legions of
the United States? the Arabs? By yourselves, you are destroying the
wall that protects you in Jerusalem, and you, with your own hands,
are undermining your wall of settlement in Judea and Samaria. I did
not see in all my annals a Jewish government in Jerusalem that
destroys the people’s power to resist, the remnants of its will to
defend itself like the present one, and you dare to compare me to the
bureau chief?”
The more accurate and realistic comparison is, of course, that with
the ten spies about whom we read in the weekly Torah portion on
Shabbat. I am not referring solely to Uri Elitzur, he is only an
example of the phenomenon about which I spoke on the program last
week as well. This is a phenomenon of people in the national camp who
have despaired and decided “albeit with a heavy heart” that the
withdrawal is to be supported, in order to attempt to at least
“minimize the damage,” in their words. It is ironic that specifically
because of these individuals who have given up hope, such as Elitzur
and Shaul Yahalom, as if we are incapable of fighting the withdrawal,
it is specifically because of them that the struggle against the
withdrawal has become much more difficult. They are the ones who have
caused a division of forces in the national camp. They are the ones
who have fallen into the trap of “divide and rule” that Netanyahu set
for them.
They behave exactly like the ten despairing spies acted. The latter
too were distinguished, pragmatic individuals, even without personal
political interest, but what was the difference between them, on the
one hand, and Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun, on the
other? Faith, of course! The twelve spies returned from scouting the
land: they all saw the same facts on the ground, but the conclusions
they reached were different. The ten spies who lost their faith in
the Lord fell into despair, and they eradicated the people’s fighting
spirit, the spirit of faith, and the willpower to live.
Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun, in contrast, attempted
to persuade the people that the task was not so difficult: “Let us by
all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it.” The Holy One,
blessed be He, says in this Torah portion: “But My servant Caleb,
because he was imbued with a different spirit and remained loyal to
Me – him will I bring into the land.”
The question, my readers, is: what is the balance of forces today?
Will we let the Uri Elitzurs cause us to despair, to divide us, to
depress us, to remove from each of us the willpower, or will we unite
around those with a “different spirit,” those who have not lost their
faith, those who believe in our power to struggle against the
withdrawal – and to win! – such as the rabbis of the “Judea, Samaria,
and Gaza Council of Rabbis,” the heads of the Tekumah movement, and
so on.
May it be His will that the episode of the spies teach us not to
repeat the same mistake, not to be drawn after the despairing ones,
rather, we must unite around the positive forces in the people, and
together proclaim “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us
into that land, a land that flows with milk and honey, and give it to
us.”
Have a good week, and don’t forget –
1) to continue to send faxes to the State Attorney and the Prime
Minister and express our outrage over the raid of the Arutz 7
offices.State Attorney: 02/6708511(fax)
Prime Minister:02/5664838(fax)
02/6705511(tel)
2) to write in your calendar that on the eve of Tisha be-Av
this year (Motzei Shabbat, August 1st) we will read Megillat Eikhah
(the Book of Lamentations) on Agron Street in Jerusalem, setting out
from there on a mass march around the walls of the Old City.
3) to continue our struggle for the release of Jonathan Pollard and
for the return of our POW’s and MIA’s: Ron Arad, Zechariah Baumel,
Yehudah Katz, and Tzvi Feldman.
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Jerusalem, June 28, 1998
From: Arutz-7
Ever since the beginning of the police actions against Arutz-7, we have
been inundated with letters of support and thanks. It has been difficult
to answer and thank each of you individually, but please know that we are
grateful and encouraged by your outpouring of support.
To assist in safeguarding freedom of expression in Israel, and so that our
view on matters of national public debate may continue to be heard, Arutz-7
asks that you please send e-mails to the following, where we feel that they
could be most effective:
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu:
Israel Embassy in Washington:
E-mail addresses of Israel’s Embassies and Consulates can be found at:
The Gov’t Ministers listed below are specifically dealing with the question
of Arutz-7’s continued broadcasts. Please send faxes to:
1. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: 972-2-651-2631
2. Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein: 972-2-627-4481
3. Communications Minister Limor Livnat: 972-2-670-6372
4. Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai: 972-3-691-6940
5. Education Minister Yitzchak Levy: 972-2-560-2752
6. Public Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani: 972-2-584-7872
7. Israel Embassy in Washington: (202) 364-5607
For Tel/Fax numbers and postal addresses of all Israel’s Embassies and
Consulates:
We call upon major organizations to send official statements to the above
(and copies thereof to us). Thank you again. “Let us be strong and be
strengthened, for the sake of our nation and the Lord’s cities.”
Arutz-7
on the web at: www.a7.org
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Jerusalem, June 29, 1998
Tennis Anyone?
In a famous line from his classic play “Death of A
Salesman,” Arthur Miller, has the young son of a Jewish
salesman ask this rhetorical question. It is a poignant
summation of the generation gap between a hard working
salesman near the end of a meaningless life, and his
sports loving son, to whom he was not able to pass on
his work ethic.
That line in Miller’s play came to mind when viewers
were told by Channel 1 Television at the end of the
widely listened to, and exceedingly popular weekly
Program of Rabbi Mordechai Elon, discussing the Biblical
Portion of the Week. It was announced that Channel 1
decided to cancel Rabbi Elon’s program for a couple of
weeks, in order that the station could broadcast the
later stages of Wimbledon Tennis, just at it had
similarly cancelled the Rabbi’s program previously, in
order to broadcast a soccer match of France 98.
Now it doesn’t take the Wizard of Oz to figure out
that in the opinion of the management of Channel 1
Television, Torah (religious) learning is not of any
great interest or value. It does not have a very high
priority for them, in this purportedly Jewish State.
Their decision in this matter, highlights the fact that
a small minority of secularists whose salaries are paid
by the public in the form of Television fees, determine
in the last analysis what its listening audience should
hear. Deplorably, they are in fact responsible to no
one.
The fact is that many of this Station’s listeners
are indeed sport fans. However, many of them would
prefer listening to a program concerning Torah just
before the Sabbath than a sports match, no matter how
“crucial” a particular game of sports might be.
Unfortunately, the dearth of Jewish content in
practically all of Channel 1 Television’s programming is
indisputable. It is a sad reflection of the basic
ignorance the staff of this Government Station has of
their rich Jewish Heritage. This situation also
reflects the low esteem of Judaism as a way of life,
that those who manage and control this network have.
Their alacrity is therefore quite understandable, to
substitute “sport” for basic Jewish values.
They do not hesitate to shunt aside a long standing
Jewish practice: to discuss the weekly Biblical portion
of the week before the Sabbath.
We need someone like an Arthur Miller to write about
the emptiness and shallowness in a good deal of Israeli
life. Perhaps then there would be laid bare the pathos
of blindly copying the cultures of other nations, and
making “sport” a religion in its own right, when in
their own backyard is their own irreplaceable treasure,
the living springs of Torah.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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Jerusalem, June 30, 1998
The Theory of Relativity
The following is the translation of Sunday’s Hebrew program by Nadia
Matar, the chairperson of Women for Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in
Green), on Arutz 7. Nadia speaks every Sunday after the 12:00 noon
newscast.
Shalom to all our listeners!
This is Nadia Matar speaking –
A few days ago I was playing a game with dolls and soldiers with my
five-year-old son Benzi. He wanted to play “War” between two groups
of dolls, and I said, “OK, let’s play, just tell me who are the ‘good
guys’ and who are the ‘bad guys.'” He responded with an answer quite
unexpected for his age: “That depends, Mommy, since everyone thinks
that he belongs to the good guys, and that he is right, and that the
other group – they are the bad guys.” In other words, my son
discovered the theory of relativity: everything is relative, it
depends from which viewpoint you look at the problem….
After the initial shock that we are raising a child with leftist
thinking, heaven forbid, I explained to him that not everything is
relative in the world, because Judaism, our faith, does not believe
in the concept of relativity and that the Torah establishes for us,
in an absolute manner, what is good and bad, who is right and
who is wrong.
I recalled this dialogue with my son when I read last Friday an
article by the journalist Yaron London that appeared in Yedioth
Ahronoth, and which was faxed home to me by a dear listener from
Kokhav Hashahar. In the article, entitled “We Would Deal Differently
with Collaborators,” Yaron London completely identifies with the call
by MK Salah Salim to murder the land dealers. MK Salim had said: “I
call to kill them and to chop them up.” And Yaron London understands
him and says that we would do the same thing if Jews were to sell
lands to Arabs. And this is what Yaron London writes, and I quote:
“MK Salim is a Palestinian who experiences the historical tragedy of
his people. The call to wipe out land dealers is not nice, but it
must be stated in all honesty that if the situation of the Jews were
as that of the Palestinians, the members of a people struggling for
the remnants of its land, and if Jewish effendis were pulling the
carpet from under the feet of their people, young patriots such as
Udi (Barak), Bibi (Netanyahu), and Hanan (Porat) would be foremost
among those volunteering to shoot them like mad dogs after a drumhead
court-martial, or without one. The Lehi [Lohamei Herut Yisrael], the
Etzel [Irgun Zevai Le’ummi] and the Haganah executed Jewish
collaborators who caused lesser damage to the Jewish cause. But MK
Salim is asked to show restraint…. The point is that the
Palestinians live under a colonial rule much worse than that under
which we Jews lived in the period of the Mandate. The fact that the
Palestinian Authority has stopped eliminating collaborators is
surprising and proof for great respect.” The end of the quote from
the article by Yaron London.
In other words, in Yaron London’s view everything is relative: the
Palestinians can be understood, there are two equivalent positions
here, with even an advantage to the Arab position; there is no
difference between the Lehi, the Etzel, or the Palestinian terror –
all are patriots….
This, of course, is the well-known position not only of Yaron London,
but of the left as a whole: the moment that you do not believe in our
absolute right to this land, that this land was given to us by the
Holy One, blessed be He, and that for this reason it belongs to the
Jewish people and only to the Jewish people – as soon as you do not
believe in this, then everything becomes relative.
The tragedy is that this line of thought has led, not only to the
total identification by the left with the position of our Arab
enemies, rather the identification with the Arabs has, at the same
time, led to an unfathomable hatred of all the Jews who represent
this absolute truth – that the Land of Israel belongs to the people
of Israel.
And so, my listeners, this satanic and malicious attack against Arutz
7 and its directors. Arutz 7 does not just broadcast love for the
Torah of Israel and the people of Israel for no good reason. There
are many radio stations that attempt to do this. But the success of
Arutz 7 is due to its being a station that takes a stand and
fearlessly dares to tell the simple truth: that the people of Israel,
the Torah of Israel, and the Land of Israel are all as one, that
there are good guys and bad guys, and – unbelievably – we Jews, we
are the good guys. We are the good ones and we have nothing to be
ashamed of on this account. We don’t have to apologize to anyone. In
plain language:
Arutz 7 represents the pride and honor to be a Jew in Eretz Israel,
and for this reason the public is so enamored of Arutz 7, and the
left so hates it, and even fears it.
But, my listeners, it is not enough to love. We must demonstrate this
love in a practical manner, and so this Thursday and Friday, the
annual Arutz 7 two-day telethon, we are all called upon to contribute
generously to enable the channel to keep flowing!!
Have a good week.
And let us not forget:
* On Tisha be-Av night, after Shabbat, we will read Megillat Eikhah
(the Book of Lamentations) on Agron Street, proceeding from there to
march around the walls of the Old City.
* We will continue to struggle for the release of Jonathan Pollard
and for the return of our POW’s and MIA’s: Ron Arad, Zechariah Baumel,
Yehudah Katz, and Tzvi Feldman.