Media Releases – June1997
June 1997
June 2, 1997 A Tree Grows On Yitzhar!
June 2, 1997 The Zionist Response to Murder
June 5, 1997 So Speaks An Arafat-Prompted Mukhtar in Jerusalem
June 8, 1997 Foreign “Chutzpah” Has No Bounds
June 9, 1997 Ne’eman to Justice Ministry
June 13, 1997 “Out Of Zion Shall Come Forth”…Fair and Impartial News?
June 16, 1997 “Women In Green” Appeals To The High Court
June 17, 1997 Promote Jewish-Zionist Culture
June 17, 1997 Arafat is On His Way To Jerusalem
June 20, 1997 Please Help Ruth Hevroni
June 20, 1997 An “Unjust” Decision from A High Court Of “Justice”
June 22, 1997 The Battle For Jerusalem Instensifies
June 23, 1997 A Case of Religious Coercion
June 26, 1997 Morag, Mordechai’s Waterloo
June 29, 1997 Zionism Revisited
June 29, 1997 Yitzhak Mordechai is Good for the Arabs
*************************************
Jerusalem, June 2, 1997
A Tree Grows On Yitzhar!
This past week, on the high slopes of Yitzhar
in the Shomron, a tree was planted by the Women In
Green on the very hill where the Government, through
Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, had destroyed
several structures. The Netanyahu Government claimed
that the reason for the forceful demolition of these
structures was that they were built without a building
license. This contrived reason given for such
destructive action, made a mockery of the Government’s
claimed Zionist ideology. Furthermore, this explanation
flew in the face of the contradictory gross inaction and
apparent disregard by the Government with regard to
wholesale and widespread illegal building by the Arabs
throughout this region.
The almost barren hill on which the tree was
planted is immediately adjacent to the Jewish community
of Yitzhar, and is an inseparable part thereof. This
hill affords a glorious view of the Shomron below, but
it also has important strategic advantages. The Arabs
have, by and large, settled in the valleys, and the
Jews in the highlands. Access to this settlement is
gained only by passing through areas where Arabs reside
below. From a strategic vantage point, it would appear
that to have such a hill controlled by our People would
be militarily advantageous, aside from “mere” Zionist
considerations.
The indomitable spirit of the residents of
Yitzhar, and their love of Biblical Zion, was readily
apparent to the three busloads of visitors brought by
the Women In Green to the site. These isolated
pioneers are starved for Jewish camaraderie. They
cannot understand why Jews throughout Israel, and
abroad, do not visit them more often; they do not
understand why it is not readily apparent that their
living at this site, and other pioneers living at similar
locations is in behalf of all the Jewish People. The
Jewish claim to the land of their forefathers becomes
real and meaningful only with the existence of places
such as Yitzhar, where Jews once again are living on the
ancient land of their forefathers, rebuilding
communities where their ancestors once lived.
In keeping with the indomitable spirit of
the community of Yitzhar, the tree which the Women In
Green planted on this hilltop was given the name
of “Yitzhak Mordechai!” It is only appropriate that
the General who attempted to uproot the buildings of Yitzhar,
have a tree bearing his name, which will grow and flourish
here in our ancient Shomron! The return of the Jewish
People to all parts of Zion cannot be halted. Temporary
setbacks only delay the inevitable.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
*********************************
Jerusalem, June 2, 1997
The Zionist Response to Murder
The following is a translation of Nadia Matar’s talk on Arutz 7
from Sunday, 1 June 1997.
Nadia has a weekly spot every Sunday after the 12:00 noon news.
Shalom to all our listeners!
This is Nadia Matar speaking —
One year ago the precious youth David Boim, may God avenge him,
was murdered as he waited for a bus that would take him home from
school in Beit El. This afternoon, in Beit El, David’s parents,
relatives, friends, and acquaintances are installing a new Torah
scroll in his memory, with the President of Israel and the Chief
Rabbi of Israel in attendance.
Arab terror is not something new — what is new is the response
of the Israeli government to this phenomenon.
There were times when it was clear to us and to the entire world
that the State of Israel never surrendered to Arab terror; to the
contrary, the Zionist response to the murder of Jews was the
establishment of new settlements. Our message was: “You are
murdering our children because we Jews want to live here, in the
Land of Israel; we will show you that you will not succeed. We
will found more and more settlements! There is no force that
will drive us from here!”
The Oslo accords gave an official stamp of approval to a 180
degree turn from this traditional stance. They not only broadcast
a message of weakness and capitulation to terror, but even
rewarded it: “You Arabs murder us because you want to cause us to
flee from the Land of Israel and take it for yourselves — ok, we
will make an agreement with you that will give you, in stages,
exactly what you want — Jericho, Gaza, Hebron. We will also
release murderers for you, and give them guns. You continue to
murder us — our victims will be called victims of “peace,”
while we will continue to hand over to you the Land of Israel.”
God in heaven! Who ever heard of something like this? I can’t
bear the hypocrisy of those who champion the handing over of
parts of the Land of Israel to murderers, who, when they see
Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) children burning the Israeli flag, cry
“gevalt!” as if their whole world collapsed. And I ask, when
they agree to hand over Bethlehem, Hebron, and most of Judea,
Samaria and Gaza to foreign rule — this isn’t considered burning
the Israeli flag ?
Yes, dear listeners, whoever took down the flag of Israel from
the Temple Mount in ’67, or whoever withdrew from Hebron in ’97,
or whoever agrees to a permanent agreement based on the Third Way
map of settlement blocs, that gives Arafat “only” 50 percent of
the territory, and “only” the small settlements, like Tekoa or
Itamar, he too, in practice, is burning the Israeli flag — and he
is no different from the Haredi youth who did such an horrendous
act.
Even Ben-Gurion knew that no Jew has the right to surrender a
single centimeter of the Land of Israel, because all of the Land
of Israel belongs to the People of Israel — to the past, present
and future generations.
So what do we do, we the ordinary people who want to keep all of
Judea, Samaria and Gaza? Unfortunately, we do not have the
ability at present to establish new settlements on our own. But
we CAN do something. In our movement, the Women in Green, for
example, we began something which, with God’s help, we will do
once a week: tours throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Last
Wednesday we went in three buses to Samaria — first to
Yitzhar, where we planted a large tree, and then to Itamar and on
to Ma’aleh Levonah. We came to strengthen, and we came away
strengthened. We met today’s true Zionists — selfless,
warmhearted people, with love for their people and their land.
This was so emotional and so important.
The time has come for everyone to take the initiative and
organize solidarity trips to all the settlements in Judea,
Samaria and Gaza. A few families get together, order a bus from
one of the bus companies in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and go.
Every settlement has its own beauty, and in each settlement you
will find the historical link with our forefathers and our roots
in this land. And you will also be surprised by the new
initiatives in many settlements: did you know that organic eggs
are produced in Itamar? Did you know that oyster mushrooms are
grown in Tekoa, or that Adanim herb tea comes from Ofrah? Come
see for yourselves, and enjoy your purchases of Judea, Samaria
and Gaza products.
Your children are getting married, and they can’t afford to buy
an apartment in Tel Aviv? Great! Send them to the offices of
Amanah, where they’ll be matched to a settlement in Judea,
Samaria or Gaza and find out the prices of apartments there.
For example, in Ma’aleh Levona, a small house with a yard on a
half-dunam plot can be bought for NIS 135,000; in Eli a 120 sq.m.
house can be bought for $78,000 , and in Itamar a 72 sq.m house
on half a dunam is going for NIS 128,000.
My listeners, now when there is talk of drawing maps for the
final agreement, now is the time to come to Judea, Samaria and
Gaza. Believe me, the government receives a complete report of
the number of visitors and supporters in each of the settlements,
and takes these figures into account when it draws the maps.
Let’s exchange the “YESHA ZE KAN” (Yesha is here) sticker for one
much more suitable: “THE PEOPLE ARE WITH YESHA” — positive
actions like these are the minimum that we can do in memory of
David Boim and the other victims of terror, may God avenge them,
who were murdered because they were Jews who wanted to live in
the Land of Israel. We will show the world that the People of
Israel will never give up the Land of Israel.
Have a good week.
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********************************
Jerusalem, June 5, 1997
So Speaks An Arafat-Prompted Mukhtar in Jerusalem
For the past 30 years, Jews and Christians
throughout the world have celebrated the re-unification
of Jerusalem, which occurred 30 years ago on the 28th day
of Iyar in the year 5727. As a result of the miracles
which transpired in the “Six-Day War” of 1967, the
Jordanian occupation of parts of ancient Jerusalem
ended. Jews were once again able to pray at their
Western Wall,” a 2,000 year old remnant of a wall of
the Courtyard of the Second Temple. Typically, Jews
had not been allowed to pray or even come to this
Jewish holy site throughout the Jordanian control of
sectors of Jerusalem. The Arabs, even today,
continue to similarly ban Jews and Christians from
praying at the holy historic ancient Temple Mount
site of the Jewish First and Second Temples.
“Jerusalem Day” is the name given to
this virtual holiday. Each year, particularly in
Jewish educational institutions, where there is a
fuller cognizance of what Jerusalem has always meant
historically and spiritually to the Jewish People,
such celebrations are widespread. Hesder Yeshiva Beit
Orot, located at the crossroads of the Mount of Olives
and Mount Scopus in historic Jerusalem, is such an
educational institution of higher learning, and has
been a focal point of such a celebration during each
of the five years it has been in existence. On the
eve of “Jerusalem Day,” tens of thousands of young people
from all parts of Israel gather to sing and dance
throughout the night in celebration of this glorious
restoration. It is truly a religious experience, a
thanksgiving to the Almighty for his kindness from a
grateful People.
Unfortunately, all was not sweetness
and light on this day. Arafat and his PLO henchmen
were busy trying to throw a monkey wrench into the holding
of this celebration. Each year, on a large adjacent
vacant lot owned by the Lutheran Church, this Jewish
school has been permitted to park their cars and mount
a stage for the evening’s activities. This year such
permissionwas applied for once again and orally granted.
On the eve of the celebration the Lutherans suddenly informed
the Jewish school that the permission had been
withdrawn. It seems the PLO had visited with the
Lutheran head and he was “persuaded” to see the light.
As he poignantly explained: “my life was clearly placed
in jeopardy.”
The Mukhtar, or Arab village head of the nearby
community, A-Tur, had come to the site with his PLO “enforcer”,
and the Lutheran head got the message Hence: “Permission
withdrawn”. The police, when called to the scene, said they
were “helpless.” The owner of the property has the right
to determine whether he wants to permit anyone to come on to
his property.
No attempts were made by the police to
question the ” PLO enforcer,” and to conduct an
inquiry into death threats, or the threat of violence
being employed to keep people “in line.” Without
authorization from their superiors, it was not in the
cards for them to initiate an investigation into still
another clear indication of PLO and Arafat unlawful
intervention into the life of Jerusalem, contrary to
the specific terms of the “Oslo Accords.”
Arafat, no doubt about it, continues such
activity within Jerusalem, encouraged by the fact that
up to now he has gotten away with it. There is no
question that it is he who determines the biased, and
hostile attitude to the Jews that is taught in the
Arab schools in Jerusalem, hardly conducive to a
“peace process” with the Jewish People. It is a PLO
and Arafat oriented and controlled educational curriculum
that exists in such schools. Arafat’s complete dominion
over this vital area of education within the jurisdiction of
Israel, inexplicably goes unchallenged.
Added to this inexplicable lack of
enforcement to prevent Arafat’s activity in Jerusalem
specifically forbidden in the Oslo Accords, is the
Netanyahu Government’s unwillingness to take a firm
stand with regard to the PLO’s refusal to amend its
Charter calling for the destruction of Israel.
Similarly, Netanyahu virtually overlooks Arafat’s
unwillingness to extradite known Arab murderers of
Jews since Oslo, who he defiantly allows to escape
deserved punishment; the utter disregard by Arafat of
each and every obligation he undertook under the Oslo
Accords is looked upon by Netanyahu in the same
manner of helplessness. What can you expect from the
police then, with regard to these recent PLO and Arafat
violations of Oslo?
Perhaps the situation in Jerusalem and the
Arab attitude towards peace can be summed up in no better
fashion than by the words of the Arab Mukhtar involved in
this incident. He blithely informed the executive
representing the Jewish school in this matter, that his
Mukhtarship of the nearby Arab Community includes
jurisdiction over this Yeshiva; accordingly, this Jewish
school would have to bow to his decision in the matter to
cease having such a celebration.
One thing is abundantly clear from this
preposterous claim: There is no recognition by this
Mukhtar, or by Arafat, of Jewish sovereignty, neither
in Jerusalem or in any other part of Israel. Moreover,
“democracy,” “civil rights,” and “religious freedom” are
all meaningless and rejected concepts by the Arabs. This
failure to understand and to come to grips with the reality
of the Arab mind, is perhaps the reason why everyone
concerned has failed, up to now to bring peace to the
Middle East.
The Mukhtar of A-Tur, prodded by Arafat,
has shown how he would solve problems or disputes. The
Lutherans got the message. A weighing of self-interest, and
the “will to live” triumphed. Force, and the threat of force,
are weapons the Arabs will use indiscriminately when they
feel they can get away with it, even in Jerusalem. The
world of Arab make believe, and disregard of written
commitments, continues unabated.
The Mukhtar of A-Tur has surfaced to be the frontman
in the latest blatant attempt by the PLO and Arafat to thwart
the natural growth and development, and the religious life of
Jews in the Mount of Olives sector of Jerusalem. It is merely
an extension of the PLO-Arafat action of opposing natural Jewish
growth at Har Homa, in the southern sector of Jerusalem. Or
Arafat’s opposition to the re-opening of the 2,000 year old
Hasmonean Tunnel by the Netanyahu Government, alongside the
Western Wall.
The realities are, as the recently produced
Women In Green video accurately depicts: “Arafat is on
his way to Jerusalem.” Arafat is bent on an Arab
conquest of historical Jerusalem, the ancient Jewish
Capital, by means of a series of attacks by his
agents living within and outside of the City. The time
has come to firmly and forcefully react to such
provocations, to prevent such a wrongful takeover.
Arafat will not bring peace to Jerusalem, but violence
and destruction. No one who truly desires peace for
Jerusalem, can support Arafat in his latest crafty
endeavor to bully the Lutheran Christians.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
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*****************************************
Jerusalem, June 8, 1997
Foreign “Chutzpah” Has No Bounds
It was enough to blow one’s mind. How could
something like this be allowed to happen in Jerusalem,
the Capital of the Jewish State? The Jerusalem Post
reported on its front page on Friday, June 6, 1997,
that a purported rock concert at Sultan’s Pool in
Jerusalem is scheduled to be held on June 21, 1997.
The innocuous headline for the news item was that a
second “rock star” Sting was to join in the
festivities that evening. A closer reading disclosed,
however, that this was no ordinary rock concert.
Rather the concert was meant to be a
direct challenge to, confrontation with, and frontal
attack on the previously announced Netanyahu
Government’s red line policy that Jerusalem remain
exclusively the Capital of this Jewish State, and that
there would be no Palestinian State in the biblically
historic areas of Judea, Sameria and the Gaza strip.
The Jerusalem Post’s news report went on to say that
the concert was funded by “the European Community, the
Ford Foundation, the Danish Embassy, and the French,
Belgian, Swedish and Spanish Consulates.”
How audacious and insolent is this affront
to Israel’s existence as a Jewish State, and for that
matter to Israel’s very existence! One can understand
the Ford Foundation carrying on in the tradition of its
founder, Henry Ford, a renowned and blatant Jew hater.
As to the European Community and the Danish Embassy, and
the French, Belgian, Swedish and Spanish Consulates, these
entities have repeatedly demonstrated how they make their
decisions: they act solely on the basis of their own
self-interest, which is that their Arab oil suppliers will
be pleased with them. These selfish, groveling and
immoral nations should be condemned by their host country,
Israel, and all fair-minded people.
The sponsors of the evening’s concert have
proclaimed that the “aim of…its project is “two capitals
for two states.” What is outrageous is that Government
property is being rented for this concert to sponsor an
attack both on Netanyahu’s policies, and the consensus by all
Jews concerning Jerusalem, that it remain the undivided
Eternal Capital of Israel. This undisguised and blatant
foreign attempt to threaten Israel’s very existence should
be condemned, and the concert canceled forthwith.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
**********************************
Jerusalem, June 9, 1997
Ne’eman to Justice Ministry
The following is a translation of the June 8th program by Nadia Matar,
co-chair of Women for Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green), on Arutz-7.
Nadia speaks every Sunday after the 12:00 noon newscast.
“JUSTICE HAS ONLY ONE FORM, WHILE INJUSTICE HAS MANY”(Moshe Ben Ezra)
Shalom to all our listeners!
I am speaking to you today from the Jerusalem Magistrates Court, where
I’m spending most of the morning listening to false testimony by the
policemen who are testifying against me. During the four years of the
previous government, criminal charges were brought against me
personnally in five indictments (in two of these cases, charges were
also brought against other women from Women in Green).
All of these charges against us are obviously fabrications, and the
indictments were delivered in similar circumstances:
we demonstrated legally somewhere; the police received orders to
disperse the demonstration, despite its being legal; the police used
excessive force, brutally hitting us (I even had some ribs broken); they
throw us into jail illegally…and then, a few months later, a criminal
indictment is brought against us, in which WE are charged with
assaulting policemen, disorderly conduct, hindering policemen in the
discharge of their duty, illegal assembly, and so on. This is how
I have already spent several years, every few weeks, with an
entire morning in court. One indictment has already been dropped
because, as luck would have it, I had a videotape which clearly shows
the policeman – Micky Levi, Deputy Commander of the Jerusalem District –
attacking and beating me, and not the opposite.
My case, of course, is not an isolated incident. Similar false charges
were brought by the previous regime against hundreds, if not thousands
of citizens. What really happened is that the judicial system was used
for political purposes. The District Attorney’s Office has always been
a leftist bastion, but in the four years of the Rabin-Peres regime, all
restraints were removed, and it unabashedly used the judicial system as
a weapon against the national camp, starting with the issuing of false
charges, and even including the fabrication of testimony and evidence.
In this manner they hoped to intimidate and break the spirit of the
hundreds of thousands of demonstrators from the right, by exhausting
them and causing them to waste their time and money in protracted and
costly trials. The District’s Attorney’s Office made a simple, cold
calculation: IT had nothing to loose – if they were in luck, the judge
would believe the false claims, and then their political enemy would be
punished with a fine or imprisonment; and if not, then they lost
nothing, they just wasted tremendous amounts of public funds, without
harming their personal salaries or staus. And, at the very least, as I
mentioned, they succeeded in harassing the poor defendant and causing
him untold anguish.
Those who suffered from this method of political action – or who still
suffer to this very day – are not only the average citizen like me or
like all those who participated in the various demonstrations, those by
Zu Artzeinu and others, or like the majority of the Jews living in
Hebron who are persecuted on a DAILY basis by the police and the
District’s Attorney’s Office who seek to crush them; government
ministers and public figures in the national camp also suffer from
attempts by the District Attorney’s Office to destroy their political
career; to mention only a few – the charges brought by Michael Ben Yair
against Raful (Rafael Eitan), Ehud Olmert, Professor Ne’eman, Likud
mayors – and the list goes on and on.
My friends! THIS HAS TO STOP!
Not for me or for all the specific indictees, but for the continued
existence of the Jewish People in Eretz Israel. One of the central
concepts in the books of our Prophets is that a society without just
laws, a society with a corrupt system of justice, cannot exist, and
indeed has no right to exist. In the words of the Prophet Amos:”For
three trangressions of Israel, for four, I will not revoke it; but
because they have sold for silver those whose cause was just, and
the needy for a pair of sandals.” In these words, the prophet declares
that there are crimes for which there can be no atonement or pardon,
first and foremost the perversion of justice for a monetary bribe, or
even for political gain.
THE TIME HAS COME TO CLEANSE AND PURIFY THE ISRAELI JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
The only individual capable of carrying out this difficult task is Prof.
Yaakov Ne’eman. Only he, as Justice Minister, will be able to put an
end to these despicable actions. He will have to uproot the
politization of the judicial system.
The best proof that Yaakov Ne’eman is the right person in the right
place is that both the District Attorney’s Office and the media made
every attempt to torpedo his appointment…and now they advise him not
to return to the Justice Ministry.
And so, my listeners, now that we have a few more weeks until the Prime
Minister’s decision regarding the appointment of the Justice Minister,
now is the time to flood the PM’s office with thousands of letters
demanding that the Prime Minister keep his pledge: as we all remember,
he promised that if Yaakov Ne’eman would be acquitted, he would serve as
Justice minister. Also write to Yaakov Ne’eman, and encourage him to
once again accept this historic mission.
Dear listeners, one of the keys to the redemption of the Jewish People
in Eretz Israel is the restoration of credibility (it is coincidental
that in Hebrew the word is NE’EMANut) to the Justice system. In the
words of the prophet Isaiah: “Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and
those who return to her with righteousness”.
Have a good week.
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**************************************
Jerusalem, June 13, 1997
“Out Of Zion Shall Come Forth”…
Fair and Impartial News?
To paraphrase Shakespeare: “There’s something rotten
in Jerusalem.” It is the phenomenon of having an
antagonistic secular media in Israel, distorting the news
coming out of Jerusalem. Take for example the Jerusalem
Post, which harbors and practices subtle and not so subtle
prejudices and negative attitudes towards a traditionally
historical religious Jewish State.
Haim Shapiro, its “religious editor,” wrote the lead
article on the front page of that paper, the day after the
major Jewish Holiday of Shvuot, celebrating the giving and
acceptance of the Law of the Torah by the Jewish People at
Mount Sinai. The writer, under a banner headline which
read “Haredim Attack Non-Orthodox at Western Wall,”
reported on a repeat of a premeditated confrontation with
ultra-religious Jews by certain groups who were bent on
innovations to religious rituals not heretofore “accepted”
by most practicing Jews. These women donned prayer shawls
(taleisim) during the Holiday Prayer Service at the
Western Wall and its adjacent plaza, well knowing that the
act would provoke some of the people who would witness it.
And so it apparently did. I was present, but did not hear
about the incident until the following day when the item
was given prominence on the front page of the Jerusalem
Post.
Tens of thousands of fellow worshippers were there at
the Western Wall in the early morning hours of the Shvuot
Holiday. I had risen up in the middle of the night to
join with many others in what has become an annual
pilgrimage to pray at the Kotel (Western Wall) at the
break of dawn, following a traditional night of religious
study and contemplation. This year there was, as always,
an awesome and impressive turnout of the Jewish People at
the Wall. Conservatively, there were over 60,000 Jews who
crowded together at the break of dawn, from all parts of
Jerusalem, to participate at this prayer service which
proved to be an exhilarating religious experience for all
concerned.
Now this magnificent montage of Jewish unity,
identity, and involvement, was entirely ignored by
Shapiro. His article did not consider the important
conclusions to be drawn from the size of the turnout; nor
that it demonstrated an underlying unity of the Jewish
People, based on a common religious heritage and history;
nor did it consider the fact that many who were there,
surprisingly, were part of the secular community. The
reporter rather selected as “newsworthy” only those aspects
of the event which supported his views.
Would that those in control of the media be exchanged
for people who understand the beauty and magnificence of
the Jewish Heritage. The news coming “Out of Zion” cannot
continue to be blurred and distorted. And when the “Word
of the Lord” finally comes forth out of Jerusalem, it
should be reported as it is, and not as presently,
carefully sifted and edited.
Ruth Matar
*************************************
Jerusalem, June 16, 1997
“Women In Green” Appeals To The High Court
In a petition filed late Sunday afternoon, Women In
Green asked the Supreme Court to pierce the veil of
deceit and fraud whereby foreign powers are directly
intervening in the domestic affairs of the Israeli
government. Israel’s Basic Law that Jerusalem is its
eternal and united Capital was under attack.
A “peace concert” to be held on Israeli government
property, at Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem, on
Saturday evening, June 21, 1997, was being used as a
clever ploy to mask a frontal assault on the existence
of Israel. Large and expensive advertisements
unashamedly calling for sharing historical Jewish
Jerusalem (in effect with Arafat) were inexplicably
accepted by and appeared in Israel’s leading newspapers,
HaAretz, Maariv and the Jerusalem Post. The organizer’s
overall plan included a March through the streets of
Jerusalem during the Sabbath, ending up at the place of
the planned concert. Palestinian flags were to be used
in the March, in this flagrant desecration of a day holy
to most Jerusalem residents.
Shortly after our petition was filed, a cancellation of
the concert was announced. The pretext for calling off
the concert was varied and contradictory. The main
claim was that the rock singer O’Connor’s life had
been threatened by an anonymous phone call received
ten days ago. That reason did not make sense, since the
massive amount of advertisements continued unabated long
after the so-called threat had been received. The Women
In Green petition, naming O’Connor as one of the respondents,
along with some of the named sponsors, was the more likely
reason for the cancellation. These respondents apparently
were not prepared to be probed by the Court under oath
concerning the principal players involved in this plot.
However, there has been no mention of the March being
cancelled.
Therefore, our petition will go forward. It is to be heard
before the Supreme Court on Thursday morning, June 19,
1997, unless notification in writing before then is received
that the march, just as the concert, also has been cancelled.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
***************************************
Jerusalem, June 17, 1997
Promote Jewish-Zionist Culture
The following is the text of the Sunday, June 15th 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.
“Those Who Ravaged and Ruined You Shall Leave You…” (Isaiah
49:17)
Shalom to all our listeners! This is Nadia Matar speaking!
Get a pen and paper to write down the details I will give in
a few moments.
I remember that a few years ago I read an interesting
article in which it was written that the main mistake of the
members of Gush Emunim and the religious-national camp was that
they concentrated solely on the establishment of settlements in
Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, without “settling in the hearts” by
transmitting their message through the creative media: culture
and art, literature, movies, and the theater.
It is a fact that since the establishment of the state, the
intellectuals of the left have succeeded in enrooting their
political conceptions in a ramified literature. Their message is
delivered on every stage. Thousands of plays, books, and records,
all of which represent the same leftist political direction,
flooded the state, and have thereby transformed yesterday’s
extremist fringe into today’s mainstream.
The national camp has awakened only lately, and here and
there we begin to hear of new artists, from our ranks, who try to
smash the left’s monopoly on culture in the country. My friends,
we must help them!
The women of Gush Katif, for example, have founded a theater
company, and they will appear before the women of Jerusalem with
the play Tehilot in the Gerard Behar Hall next week, on Monday,
18 Sivan (June 23). It is important that the women of Jerusalem
come to the performance in solidarity with Gush Katif. For
tickets, call (02) 652-1722. This, of course, is only one example
of the new art we must nurture.
And, on the other hand, we must also struggle against
hostile art. This week there will be a performance I want to talk
about in detail, and I hope that you will cooperate with me to do
everything possible so that this performance will be canceled.
My listeners, on Saturday night, June 21, the Irish singer
Sinead O’Conner will come, as a guest of the extreme left, to
sing at Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem, under the banner: “Sharing
Jerusalem: Two Capitals for Two States.”
The concert is subsidized by European countries such as
France, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, and Spain. The performance is
under the auspices of the Bat Shalom organization, which is a
movement of Palestinians and Israel-hating Israelis. In addition
to this abomination, in the middle of the Sabbath, at 5:30 p.m.,
with massive Sabbath desecration by the police, a “peace” march
will be held, from Damascus Gate to the Sultan’s Pool, led by MK
Naomi Chazan, Faisal Husseini, and other enemies.
And now, my listeners, if this concert were to be held in
Ramallah, OK, then we wouldn’t be able to do anything. But the
concert is being held in the most prestigious location in
Jerusalem! In the Sultan’s Pool – which, as we know, is
government property.
It didn’t take much effort to discover that the Culture
Department of the Jerusalem Municipality granted a permit for
this concert, that challenges the State of Israel and Jerusalem
as its united capital!!
Who ever heard of a sovereign country permitting its enemies
to spread their propaganda in the capital city? Would the English
provide a forum in London for the IRA? Or would the Spanish
provide a forum in Madrid for the Basques? God in Heaven! They
spit in our faces and we call this rain!
After we understood that Mayor Olmert does not plan to
cancel the concert “for fear of an international scandal,” we in
our movement decided to file a petition to the High Court of
Justice, in order to attempt to stop the concert from being held
in Jerusalem, in a venue that is government property. If the
petition to the High Court of Justice is not accepted, we will be
forced, of course, to demonstrate our protest during the concert.
In the meantime, all of you are invited to call in by the
thousands to the Jerusalem Municipality, to express your protest
at the holding of an anti-Semitic concert in Jerusalem – the
Municipality’s telephone number is (02) 629-7997.
[The concert, but not the march, has since been cancelled.]
What is most disappointing about this entire unfortunate
episode is the weakness and silence of Mayor Ehud Olmert and of
Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, who permit a performance by our
enemies, supporters and members of the PLO – a performance whose
declared purpose is to undermine one of Israel’s fundamental
principles, that Jerusalem will remain united as the capital of
Israel. What a pity that you don’t have the faith and the courage
to stand against our foes as Nehemiah did, more than two thousand
years ago, when he rejected the claims of the enemies of Israel
who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem, in these words (2:20):
“The God of Heaven will grant us success, and we, His servants,
will start building. But you have no share or claim or stake in
Jerusalem!”
Dear listeners, our true war is with ourselves. The State of
Israel can exist as a Jewish state only when we will, at last,
have a believing, courageous, and strong leadership that will
nurture and promote Jewish-Zionist culture, Jewish-Zionist art,
and Jewish-Zionist education that will give voice to the eternal
bond between the People of Israel, the Land of Israel, and the
Torah of Israel.
Have a good week.
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Jerusalem, June 17, 1997
Arafat is On His Way To Jerusalem
The battle lines have been drawn. In the Israeli
Press, there appeared this week ads for a purported “rock
concert.” Incongruously, however, prominently displayed
in these ads was an introductory jarring statement which
read “Sharing Jerusalem, Two Capitals for Two States.”
All the Communist learned ploys and deceit were used in
these ads. The named sponsors of the event were a
purported peace group “Bat Shalom,” and its Palestinian
counterpart, the “Jerusalem Center for Women.” Hiding
behind this deception were Arafat and the PLO; it was
they who were to benefit directly from this sordid
manipulation.
Deliberately left out of the ad were the names of
those who are doing the massive funding to promote this
heinous scheme of interference in the internal laws of
Israel. The Ford Foundation, the European Community,
France, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark and Spain all cooperated
in this game of dirty tricks. They are behind this
frontal attack on Israel, in the deceitful charade of
propagandizing that their goal is “peace.”
The ad further disclosed that a “Peace March” was to
be held during the Jewish Sabbath to Sultan’s Pool where
the concert was to be held that evening, on property
belonging to the Israeli Government. This blatant
desecration of the Sabbath, somehow gained sanction from
the Jerusalem police, which must issue a permit for such
a march to take place. Such a sacrilegious violation of
the rights of Jewish residents to observe a peaceful and
quiet Sabbath in their holy Jerusalem is just another
indication of what would take place if the Arabs ever
got control of any part of this holy city. This
disrespect of our Shabbat is reminiscent of the Arab’s
tactical but ghoulish choice of attacking us on Yom
Kippur.
The most disappointing aspect of this whole affair
is the behavior of Mayor Olmert and Prime Minister
Netanyahu. They have been silent since they learned
that their underlings in the government have leased its
property to promote the contravention of the basic law
of this country, which holds that Jerusalem must remain
unshared and undivided. We, who have supported the
candidacies of both these men in the past, cannot do so
in the future. We will urge our many members, friends
and supporters to take into account their weak and
indecisive behavior on such a crucial issue as
Jerusalem; they lack the faith and courage to stand up
to Israel’s adversaries. They fall short of following
in the footsteps of their forefather, the Prophet
Nehemiah, who replied, over two thousand years ago to
objections by opponents to the Jews rebuilding in
Jerusalem: “The God of heaven, He will prosper us;
therefore we His servants will arise and build; but ye
have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem”
( Nehemiah 2: 20).
Ruth and Nadia Matar
********************************************
Hebron, June 20, 1997
Please Help Ruth Hevroni
The Jewish community in Hebron, Israel has a critical need
to raise immediate funds for a family there that now has before
them a serious medical emergency. Mrs. Ruth Hevroni (Hebrew
name: Ruth bat Sarah Imeinu), 47, has recently been scheduled for
surgery in America to remove a large tumor on the temporal bone
behind her left ear. Doctors at Hadassah Hospital in Israel
determined that the life-threatening tumor is growing and
pressing against her brain. The procedure will be performed in
the United States, in Nashville, Tennessee and Mrs. Hevroni is
scheduled to arrive there on July 2. A cost estimate from the
Otology Center in Nashville reports that fees for the hospital,
intensive care unit, anesthesia and doctor will run about
$60,000.00. This amount, however, does not include extensive
follow-up care such as physical therapy, rehabilitation and
doctor visits. Also, some meals and two airline tickets from
Tel-Aviv, Israel to Nashville, Tennessee in the United
States and back to Tel-Aviv are needed.
Mrs. Hevroni and her husband Abraham came to Hebron from
Belgium 18 years ago. She is a housekeeper, while her husband is
a welder. Both work hard and earn very humble wages. The
Hevroni’s have four children, three of whom are still living at
home. The family does not have financial resources to draw upon
and Israeli insurance is able to pay only $3,000.00 toward the
operation.
For anyone whose heart is willing, a charity fund has been
established and donations should be made out to the RUTH HEVRONI
FUND at the following address: Citizens Bank of Oviedo
Post Office Box 620729
Oviedo, Florida 32762-0729
United States
*If you are located WITHIN the United States: Mail
personal or company checks, travelers’ checks or money orders.
If you wish to charge your contribution, request from your bank a
cash advance against your credit card; then send a check or money
order to the above address. You may also wire money (**see wire
transfer instructions below.)
*If you are located OUTSIDE the United States: Mail
travelers’ checks or money orders in U.S. funds. You may also
wire money (**see wire transfer instructions below).
**Wire transfer instructions: Wire to Independent Bankers,
Bank of Florida. located in Orlando, Florida, United States, ABA
#063111596 to credit Citizens Bank of Oviedo, ABA #063105544;
final credit to RUTH HEVRONI FUND, account #284174.
To obtain detailed medical information, please contact Celia
Ofer at Yeshivat Nir Kiryat Arba, Israel: fax #02-9961778. Other
inquiries may be directed to Edward or Sandra Warmoth in the
United States at 407-366-0834 and their toll-free business phone
number for the United States is 1-888-466-3498. They can also be
reached by E-mail at crnrston@digital.net .
Please circulate copies of this notice to your family,
friends, synagogues, community publications and businesses. All
donations go entirely to the Hevroni family.
May G-d bless you for your prayers and support in our hour
of need.
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*******************************************
Jerusalem, June 20, 1997
An “Unjust” Decision
from A High Court Of “Justice”
Women In Green were limited to half-a-victory
by the High Court, which rejected to hear the second
half of their Petition seeking to cancel a scheduled
March in Jerusalem connected to a heretofore canceled
Concert. The Concert which had as its theme the
dividing of Jerusalem with the PLO, was canceled
thanks to our Petition, and thanks to the mammoth
grassroots protest of Jews in Israel, and abroad, led
by Women In Green.
Only that part of the Petition seeking to
cancel the illegal March to be conducted on the Jewish
Sabbath by a front made up of people of Meretz, the
PLO, and Peace Now (with Foreign Powers lurking in the
background) was now before the Court. The judges
unfortunately chose not to relate to the remaining
crucial questions raised by the Petition. Rather they
resorted to a legal technicality in the filing of the
brief, and dismissed the Petition.
Woe to a country whose judges rely on such
technicalities to escape facing up to our country’s
enemies, who, under a false “peace” facade, seek to
destroy our Jewish State of Israel, and take from us
our precious Jerusalem. These judges, by such a
refusal to face up to the hard questions, have given a
platform to the enemies of the Jewish People to spew
their hatred and violence. They, in effect gave the
use of the public streets of Jerusalem to propagandize
for sharing Jerusalem with Arafat and the PLO, despite
the existing Basic Law of Israel declaring Jerusalem
to be the eternal and exclusive Capital of Israel.
The decision of the Supreme Court is a severe
blow. By default, the Court has permitted a March
which directly aids and abets those who seek the
destruction of a Jewish State with Jerusalem as its
Capital. It is a sad day. However, with hard work we
will eventually prevail, despite such judicial
rulings. We are all in the hands of a higher Judge,
to whom we can appeal. That Judge will not avoid the
issues. That Judge will surely come to the aid of His
People, as He has promised.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
*************************************
Jerusalem, June 22, 1997
The Battle For Jerusalem Instensifies
This year’s Bet Orot Yeshiva annual dinner was held
at its premises on the Mount of Olives, where outside
its windows an impressive panoramic view of the eastern
part of Jerusalem could be seen. It was a tremendously
successful and inspiring event. This unique Hesder
Yeshiva has brought vibrant new life to the historical
Mount of Olives. Formerly it was looked upon as a
renowned burial area for prominent Jews in Israel, and
from abroad. Zechariah’s prophecy that the Messiah
would be coming from the Mount of Olives, is being
fulfilled by Bet Orot Yeshiva in their actions to
provide the leadership for Jews taking up residence once
again in this historical Jewish area.
The large banquet hall was filled to capacity at
this event, which had as its theme “the 30th year of the
re-unification of Jerusalem.” Member of Knesset R.
Ze’evy of Moledet, former General in the IDF, and former
paratrooper, now Member of Knesset, Chanan Porat, of the
National Religious Party, were participants in the
successful battle for Jerusalem during the 1967 war, and
were therefore Honorees of awards from the Yeshiva for
their respective heroic efforts in that war in behalf of
the Jewish People. Also honored as “Guardians of
Jerusalem” were Dr. Sidney Finkelstein and his wonderful
wife Gaby, who are prominent and tireless fighters in
behalf of Jerusalem.
Among the other Honorees that evening were Ruth and
Nadia Matar. They are leaders of the well-known
grassroots movement Women In Green, which is engaged in
the battle to insure that Jerusalem remains the
undivided and the exclusive Capital of the Jewish State
of Israel. The status of Jerusalem has been put in
jeopardy by the former governments of Rabin and Peres, by
reason of the so-called “Oslo Peace Process.” Women In
Green has worked around the clock since its inception
four years ago, in behalf of the Jewish People’s ancient
capital. Ruth and Nadia accepted the award in behalf of
all the Women In Green.
Both Ruth and Nadia spoke briefly, but eloquently.
Nadia captivated her audience by recounting to them how
our women had fought alongside of Rav Benny Elon, former
head of Bet Orot. He is on temporary leave from
that school in order to serve the Jewish People as a
Member of the Knesset. He, and the late Shmuel Meir,
former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, who died in a tragic
traffic accident several months ago, led the fight
outside Orient House to erase that threat to Jerusalem’s
indivisibility. Nadia, who was violently attacked by
the police on one such demonstration, and was nearly
choked to death, was rescued by one of the husbands of a
Woman In Green. For his loyalty, that man was beaten by
the police and arrested; the Women In Green in gratitude
for his valiant efforts in Nadia’s behalf, are picking
up the tab for his legal costs, and he will be defended
by the attorneys who usually represent the Women In
Green.
Nadia ended her brief comments at the dinner by
lighting a candle, and then pointed to the flame as
symbolic of the Jewish light that the Bet Orot Yeshiva
was and is bringing to this vital eastern sector of
Jerusalem. The location of the Yeshiva is also adjacent
to the Hebrew University Campus on Mount Scopus, and it
is indicative of how impractical it is to attempt to
divide Jerusalem, and have its sovereignty shared.
Moreover, the area which the Arabs are claiming as East
Jerusalem includes the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter,
and much of ancient and historic Jerusalem where Jews
have formerly lived, and where relics of their past are
often found in the earth throughout such areas.
Ruth spoke next, and described the recent success
of Women In Green in preventing the holding of a rock
concert, whose main purpose was to promote that
Jerusalem should be shared with the PLO and Arafat,
under the theme ” Two Capitals for two States.” Certain
officials in Mayor Olmert’s office had been duped by the
Meretz organizers, who had leased the Government
amphitheater, called Sultan’s Pool, for the Rock Concert.
The leased premises are located in the Yemin Moshe area of
western Jerusalem. The organizers were from Bat
Shalom, a peace front of Meretz, who deliberately did
not reveal to the City that their intent was to use the
concert as a propaganda tool to promote dividing
Jerusalem. Nor did they reveal that major funding was
being provided by the Ford Foundation and the European
Community. The sponsors of such an objective were many
nations including France, Great Britian, Austria, Spain,
Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, South Africa and
Slovania. It was a frontal attack by these foreign
countries on Israel’s Basic Law on Jerusalem, which
declared that city to be Israel’s capital eternally and
exclusively. These nations moreover, were wrongfully
interfering in the internal affairs of Israel.
Ruth recounted how Women In Green, as soon as it
learned of the proposed event scheduled to take place on
June 21, 1997, had mounted a massive protest by having
its members, friends, and supporters, both in Israel and
abroad, call and fax Mayor Olmert’s office protesting
the holding of this event on government property.
Despite the thousands of calls the Mayor later admitted
his office received as a result of our efforts, Olmert
was indecisive and did not act to cancel the concert.
He told some of our women who called him directly that
he did not want to be the one who initiated the
cancellation because of the fear of his office receiving
negative media and world reaction. After waiting
patiently for about ten days for the Mayor to act to
cancel the concert, when he did not do so, Women In
Green on June 15, 1997 petitioned the High Court of
Justice to cancel the Concert and an accompanying
announced planned March. In the Petition, the star
singer Sinead O’Connor was a party defendant, along with
Mayor Olmert, the sponsors of the Concert, as well as
the Police Department who would be giving the permit for
the March on the Sabbath.
Ruth went on to tell the dinner audience that the
next day the Mayor appeared on television to announce
that O’Connor herself, having been served as a defendant
in our Petition, cancelled her scheduled appearance.
She gave as an excuse that a death threat had been
received. However, that anonymous phone call death
threat had been received ten days previously, which had
been reported to her at the time. In the interim,
massive ads were placed in newspapers for the concert,
but until she was named in our Petition as a party
defendant, she had not canceled her appearance. Mayor
Olmert in revealing her withdrawal, at the same time
stressed the deceit and fraud of the organizers of the
Concert practiced by them on his office. He said he was
delighted with the cancelation.
Ruth pointed out that although the Concert was
canceled, Peace Now and Meretz organizers, in
cooperation with Arab friends, and other foreign
nations, did not call off the scheduled Sabbath March.
On June 16, 1997, after the cancelation of the concert
was announced, Women In Green called a high ranking
officer of the Police Department to urge that no permit
for such an illegal Shabbat March be issued by the
Police Department. Furthermore, it was pointed out to
the police that such a March along public streets was in
contradiction to the Basic Law of the Land concerning
Jerusalem’s eternal undivided status. Despite our
protest, the police issued the permit the following day.
Our Petition was set down to be heard by the Court
on the morning of the 19th of June. Three Labor
appointed secular judges of that Court decided on
technical grounds not to hear the remaining part of the
Petition concerning the March. They apparently
preferred not to face up to the issue of the issuance of
a permit by the police for a March on Shabbat, which had
included the use of loud speakers, and as it turned out
flying Palestinian Flags through the streets of this
Jewish Capital. The Judges held that since we had filed
the Petition on the 15th of June, we had not prior
thereto contacted the Police Department, to try to
pursuade them not to issue the permit to the Marchers,
which had to be done before coming to the High Court.
The fact that we had contacted the Police before the
Police issued the permit on the 17th of June, was held
by the Court to be irrelevant. Moreover, in dismissing
the Petition on the issue of the March, the
unsympathetic and anti-religious Court imposed
extraordinary high legal costs on Women In Green, as if
to deter them from resorting to the Courts to uphold the
law.
As a postscript to that Court decision, our
attorneys sent an urgent fax to the chief of police
telling him that they, the police, were acting illegally in
granting a permit for such a March in Jerusalem during
the Sabbath. In addition, the claim was made that the
issuance of the permit was an attack on the Basic Law of
the Land concerning Jerusalem. The March was held
notwithstanding the receipt of such a communication. A
bad precedent had been established. The Media in Israel
in general, and the judges of our High Court in
particular, are apparently unwilling to face up to the
open warfare being conducted against us by Arafat and
the PLO; they are being joined by some disloyal people
from Meretz and Peace Now; lurking in the background,
ready to render any necessary assistance, are the
foreign nations aforementioned. All of them apparently
are ready, willing and able to join any fight against
the historical exclusive right of Israel to Jerusalem.
Michael Matar
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Jerusalem, June 23, 1997
A Case of Religious Coercion
The following is the translation 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 –
First of all, I want to congratulate you for the victory. Yes, my
listeners, you and thousands of Jews from Israel and abroad, who
called the Jerusalem Municipality in order to express your protest
against the concert by the singer O’Connor, which was supposed to
have been held in Jerusalem at the Sultan’s Pool, under the banner:
“Sharing Jerusalem: Two Capitals for Two States” – YOU brought about
the cancellation of the concert. Don’t believe the excuse that she
cancelled her appearance because of a threat against her life – this
singer is known as one who loves to be provocative. A while ago, for
example, she appeared on TV in the United States and tore to shreds a
picture of the Pope. It is common knowledge that following this, she
received a wave of death threats – did this ever lead to the
cancellation of a performance ? No! The excuse that they didn’t sell
enough tickets also is ridiculous, since the entire event was funded
in advance by the Ford Foundation and European embassies. No, dear
listeners, the petition to the High Court of Justice against the
concert that we filed the day before its cancellation, together
with thousands of calls by the Jewish People to the Municipality-
THEY caused the organizers to recommend the cancellation of the
concert. This is a victory for the Jewish People!
Unfortunately, we were not victorious in the second part of our
petition, namely: the petition against the march on the same Sabbath
day. The High Court of Justice sat last Thursday. Instead of the
judges discussing the merits of the case, that is, “How could the
Israel Police have granted a permit for the holding of a march in
Jerusalem, on the Sabbath, with torches and with loudspeakers, and
furthermore, with a message challenging our sovereignty in the city”
– the judges preferred to evade this matter of principle and to find
a faulty technical detail in our petition, in order to reject the
entire petition, and even ordered us to pay expenses in the sum of
5000 NIS to the other side.
Woe to the State of Israel, whose judicial system relies on some
technical detail or other, and thereby in effect legitimizes the
supporters and members of the PLO, by granting a platform for
spreading their murderous propaganda in Jerusalem – and on the Holy
Sabbath!
Let’s think about this, a bit more in depth: the Israel Police grants
a permit for a hostile march on the Sabbath; the District
Attorney’s Office defends them, and writes that freedom of speech is
more important than the Basic Law of Jerusalem; the judicial system
rejects a petition to the High Court of Justice seeking to defend
united Jerusalem and the sanctity of Sabbath. Is this the behavior
we would expect from government institutions in the Jewish State?
And who knows what happens in other governmental bodies?
Recnetly I learned about another horrifying instance that I must tell
you about, and together we will try to put things right.
A family in Ra’anana sends their child to the Ra’anana municipal
choir. The choir is intended for small children in the first through
fifth grades. One day a few weeks ago, the child returned home and
told his parents that that day they had learned a new song named “AVE
MARIA.” The child explained to his shocked parents that this is a
Catholic religious song about “Saint Mary.” The song is in Latin,
but the children were given a Hebrew translation. Dear listeners,
these are the words that the little children of Ra’anana sing in the
municipal choir:
Be most blessed among women, Saint Mary
And be blessed the fruit of your womb Jesus
In your prayers, you will save us sinners
Today and when we die – Amen.
A group of parents, secular and religious, organized and demanded an
explanation from the conductor of the municipal choir. The conductor
told them that she does not understand their opposition to the song,
since this is education for “universality!” She also insisted that
they sing the song with the original text because, in her opinion,
the children must express the meaning of the words through the music.
The bottom line – she led the parents to understand that she would
leave the choir if they would force her to cancel this song.
The parents addressed the mayor of Ra’anana, Mr Ze’ev Bielsky, but he
has not yet responded. Dear listeners, we must intervene to provide
the Jewish response. This is RELIGIOUS COERCION by the conductor of
the Ra’anana municipal choir. This song is not art. This song is a
hymn of a foreign religion that Jewish children should not be forced
to sing.
Call the Ra’anana Municipality, telephone number 09-761-0200, and
demand that they not let small children sing Christian religious
songs in the municipal choir.
It also transpires that there is a festival for church music in
Israel. Municipal choirs from all different cities in Israel, with
high school children, come to sing Christian prayers in churches,
three times a year. Do you know when? You guessed it: Pessach,
Shavuot and Sukkoth!
Dear listeners, this reminds me of the joke about a new Rabbi in a
Jewish community abroad. He is preparing his first sermon, when the
head of the community comes and asks him, “What is the sermon
about?” The Rabbi replies, “Family Purity.” The community head
says, “No, no, no! this won’t go over in our community.” Then the
Rabbi says, “All right, I”ll talk about observing the Sabbath.”
“No, no,” the community head says. “this too is a sensitive subject.”
Then the Rabbi says “I’ll talk about kashrut.” “That isn’t good
either,” he responds. After all manner of subjects are not accepted,
the rabbi asks: “I don’t understand, what do you want me to talk
about?” The head of the community answers: “Talk about YIDDISHKEIT,
about Judaism!”
Dear listeners, the Jewish People established the State of Israel as
the State of the Jews, which means that there also has to be Jewish
CONTENT here. This does not mean government pressure on every
citizen to observe the 613 commandments; but the State’s
institutions, the police, the District Attorney’s office, the
municipalities and their choirs, the courts, etc., must, in
the final analysis, express what is unique in our tradition, instead
of copying the universal culture of the non-Jewish nations. To the
contrary only by fostering the special status of the Jewish People as
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation will we be capable of exerting
a beneficial influence upon the entire world.
This Jewish revolution is underway: the religious public grows from
day to day, and there are more and more traditional Jews from among
the secular. Only Jewish – Zionist – faithful education to our
children and grandchildren will ensure that the State of Israel will
not merely be the “state of the Jews,” but also a JEWISH state with
Yiddishkeit. With God’s help we will be successful.
Have a good week.
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*************************************
Jerusalem, June 26, 1997
Morag, Mordechai’s Waterloo
It is reported that when a PA official was recently
asked who he thought was the ideal Defense Minister
that Israel could have, he did not hesitate a moment in
his answer. ” Yitzhak Mordechai,” he replied
enthusiastically.
Whether or not this conversation was reported
accurately, does not lessen the import of such a
message. The fact is that the appeasement policies and
deeds of Yitzhak Mordechai with regard to the
multitudinous Arab provocations that are occurring
unabated throughout Judea, Samaria and Gush Katif on a
daily basis, lead us to a no win situation, accompanied
by a sense of hopelessness. Not only that, it is
causing a serious deterioration of army morale and a
loss of Jewish pride. The situation has also fostered
shame and humiliation to our image both here and
abroad.
Mordechai’s “Peace Now” orientation allows,
without a serious response on the ground, daily Arab
firebomb and stone throwing attacks on our soldiers,
and Jewish residents of Hebron, accompanied by oral
cursing and other abuses to Jewish women and children;
all this and more, is openly “tolerated” by Mordechai.
In the Nablus (Shchem) area, he periodically closes down
the Jewish holy site of Joseph’s Tomb because of
perpetual Arab disturbances in the area, and their
threats of violence. And in Morag, he allows the Arabs
to tear down legal fences, and permits illegal Arab
squatting on Jewish property, and the threat of the use
of Arab firearms against Jewish residents, in a daily
intimidation of the Jewish community by the neighboring
Arab populace, aided and abetted by the PA police.
Women In Green as an act of solidarity, and in
protest of Mordechai’s failed policies of appeasement,
will travel to Morag in Gush Katif on Friday, June 27,
1997. In a ceremony commencing at 10:45 A.M. we will
plant a tree on the Jewish land of the courageous
pioneers of Morag, as a symbol of their permenance in
the area. Women In Green will also read Psalms at the
Gush Katif junction, the site of a Memorial for Sgt.
Yehuda Levy who was murdered by Arabs during the
September 1996 riots. Defense Minister Mordechai has
admitted at the Knesset yesterday, that he is
negotiating with the Arabs concerning their demand to
have the Memorial removed. Is there no limit
to the shame he is bringing upon our People?
Ruth and Nadia Matar
***********************************
Jerusalem, June 29, 1997
Zionism Revisited
To All Our Members, Friends and Supporters:
Women In Green are pleased to announce
that their next scheduled Tiyul is on Wednesday, July
9, 1997. Once again it will be to the Shomron, with
experienced guides; this time we will visit Joseph’s
Tomb near Shchem, Elon Moreh, and ancient Shilo.
However, on this trip there will only be two chartered
buses, instead of our usual three full busloads, so that
reservations will be at a premium — first come, first
served, and must be paid in advance. All our trips are
under an IDF umbrella of security.
The buses will leave from the LaRomme
Hotel in Jerusalem, at 8:15 A.M that morning, and we
are expected to return at about 5:00 P.M. The all-
inclusive cost per person, which includes lunch, and
fees for archeological sites, is 85 shekels for
members, and 100 shekels for non-members. Checks
should be sent to Women In Green, P.O.B. 7352,
Jerusalem, Israel.
Those who participated in our last
month’s tiyul have not stopped singing our praises for
the lovely and inspiring time had by one and all.
It is part of Women In Green’s educational program
to tour various parts of our historical ancient homeland
to identify with, and give encouragement to those who
are reviving Jewish life in these old-new Jewish communities.
Such a visit is mutually beneficial, since it allows
you to personally experience and witness the realization
of Zionist dreams and aspirations.
For your information and guidance, please
note on your calendar our two next trips following the
one on July 9, for which you can reserve places by
sending in your payment at this time. We will be visiting
the Gush Katif area on July 30, and the southern
Hebron hills on August 27, 1997. The cost per person
for each trip is as listed above.
Join in these ventures of camaraderie,
learn about the inheritance of your forefathers, and
identify with the present day pioneers who are
rebuilding and defending the Jewish People’s historical
rights to its Biblical homeland.
Ruth and Nadia Matar
*************************************
Jerusalem, June 29,1997
Yitzhak Mordechai is Good for the Arabs
The following is the text of today’s Arutz 7 program by Nadia Matar, the
chairperson of Women for Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green). Nadia speaks
every Sunday after the 12:00 noon newscast.
Shalom to all our listeners!
This is Nadia Matar speaking.
Yesterday, in the synagogue, we heard the well-known verse pronounced by
the ten spies: “The land through which we passed to spy it out, is a
land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof….and we were in our own
sight as grasshoppers; and so we were in their sight.” The question that
Amora Rav Mesharishya in Tractate Sotah 35a asks is well known: Perhaps
the spies felt like grasshoppers – but how did they know what the
Canaanites thought of them? The explanation is quite simple: He who sees
himself as an insect and behaves as such will be perceived so by others.
When the Peres-Meretz government was in power I always used this verse
in order to describe the similarity of the Leftists to the spies. I
never imagined that a day would come that I would use the same
similitude in order to describe a minister of a so-called
“National-Zionist” government.
An interview with a senior member of the PLO Authority has been reported
wherein he was asked who was their ideal Defense Minister. The PLO man
answered without any hesitation: “Yitzhak Mordechai!” I haven’t verified
how reliable this report is but there can be no doubt about it: Yitzhak
Mordechai is Good For The Arabs!
The Israeli Defense Minister behaves with incomparable conciliation to
the murderous provocations by the Arabs: Tying the hands of our soldiers
strikes at their morale, raises that of the enemy, seriously impairs
Israel’s image in Israel and abroad and weakens our stance in this
struggle.
Yitzhak Mordechai actually behaves like a member of Peace Now – he
restrains any response to the throwing of stones and fire-bombs upon our
soldiers and upon our brethren in Hevron; he has ignored the massive,
illegal Arab construction throughout all of Judea-Samaria and Gaza but
insisted upon the destruction of two small houses in Yitzhar; he has
locked out the Jews from the Tomb of Joseph compound with its seminary,
as a reward for the rioting carried out by the Arabs and now he will not
lift a finger against the invasive trespass by Arabs on the property of
the Morag settlement.
My listeners, on Friday, a big demonstration was to have taken place in
Gush Katif against the invasion by Arab terrorists on Morag’s land. To
our sorrow, and in my opinion, mistakenly, the demonstration was
cancelled because the Defence Minister promised that the Palestinian
“protest camp” would be removed within the week. Even if this
announcement was accurate, and I doubt it is so, the Arabs won’t simply
take their tents down out of their own good will. No! There is a price that
the government is to pay to these murderers. And what is to be the
price? This we heard over the radio just two hours after the
announcement that the demonstration was cancelled: the Defense Minister
declared that he has accepted the Arab position regarding the monument
to the soldier Yehuda Levi, (May the Lord revenge his blood!) who was
murdered at the entrance to Gush Katif in the September riots – and
which was erected on Jewish-owned soil – is to be removed.
So this, my listeners, is the routine: The PLO Authority organizes a
murderous riot or erects a tent camp within the boundaries of a
settlement or carries out a demonstration with gun-fire upon our forces.
The Defense Minister, instead of ordering our soldiers to immediately
deal with the rioters, prefers to handle the problem “through discussion
and bargaining.” The Arabs promise to cease some certain sabotage activity
of theirs on condition that Israel relinquishes something that is extremely
vital or important to them such as the memorial monument at Yehuda Junction
or the earth embankment at Kfar Yam. And the Defense Minister agrees because
of “fear of rioting!!!” This is an enormous victory for the Arabs. And this
phenomenon re-appears again and again.
So I ask: Is there no limit to the shame heaped upon the Jewish people
by the Defense Minister of a so-called “National-Zionist” government?
In response to this conciliatory behavior on the part of the Defense
Minister, and in demonstrating our support for our fellow Jews, the 25
families living in Morag, “Women in Green” did NOT cancel its trip to
Morag last Friday. We came with a full busload of people and planted
a tree on the contested land of Morag. We came to strengthen but my
listeners, we ourselves were strengthened!
I don’t know when was the last time you visited Gush Katif. But if you
don’t see it for yourselves you can’t begin to understand under what
conditions these heroes live. Despite the fact that they live as
isolated islands in a sea of hostile Arabs, we found there people with
ideals, optimism and strength; proud Jews living in beautiful
settlements; Jews whose main source of livelihood was working the land,
the Land of Israel. These Jews are on the front-lines, protecting the
rest of the country and it behooves us to help them.
If there should be a demonstration next week in Gush Katif we must come
by the legion. We will protect that monument with our very bodies and
not allow anybody to remove it. Until such a demonstration is announced,
we must, even this very day, show the Defense Minister that it matters
very much to us what happens in Gush Katif in general and in Morag in
particular. We must now bombard the Defense Minister with thousands of
telephone calls and faxes against the removal of the memorial monument;
demand the immediate and unconditional dispersal of the PLO
demonstration encampment on Morag’s land. Mordechai’s telephone number
is: 03-697-5144 and his fax is: 03-696-2757.
We must also assist Gush Katif in other ways: go and live there or at
least visit. Our army will protect anybody who comes. There is a
beautiful hotel in Gush Katif and we, the listeners to Arutz 7 are bound
to help the hotel owners to make a go of it. Believe me, you will have a
wonderful experience among really wonderful people.
When I criticize the present government there are people who say to me:
“Nadia, don’t forget that if the Left was in power it would have been
much worse.” My listeners, that is true but that does not excuse our
silence when our leaders act like grasshoppers. If we keep silent they
will do as they please. We must shout and protest and remind them that
they were elected to behave as Caleb Ben Yefuneh and as Joshua Ben Nun
who said: “If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us unto this
land and give it unto us – a land flowing with milk and honey.” With
trust and certainty in the Rock of Israel we declare just as Caleb and
Joshua did: “We should go up at once and possess it for we are well
able to overcome it.”
Have a good week.