Armageddon, Straight Ahead "I see Jerusalem in flames"

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Written by Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman

Published: 03 December 2009 03 December 2009

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It is 1:30 am, and I just came back from Sheikh Jarakh –I see Jerusalem in flames, and know than my words will not succeed in conveying the horror of what I saw or the dread in my heart..   {josquote}I see a Palestinian anger burning so strong that, unlike what usually happens, neither the threat of arrest or the use of overwhelming force is a deterrent. That means a third intifada. That means that the fact that the world community forcing Israel into a settlement freeze (perhaps) may be too little too late. That means that the Obama administration remains a laughingstock at best, and in many quarters the U.S. is again the subject of scorn and derision.{/josquote}
 
Today the court ruled in favor of the settlers who had taken over part of yet another family's home in Sheikh Jarakh. Because a lawyer for some of the families in the 1980's recognized Jewish ownership in return for protected tenant's status, the addition the El-Kurd family made to their home was deemed illegal. They had to ask permission from the "owners" to do it. Did the court order the addition demolished or a fine paid? Of course not. Why, anybody should be able to understand that the only logical thing to do was to let settlers move in to the extension.
 
All day the tension was palpable, sometimes breaking into physical violence. People warily looked at me to determine if I was friend or foe, until I got close enough to be recognized and greeted in Arabic the newcomers who didn't recognize me., Palestinians backed by Israelis and internationals huddled around fires, keeping a watchful eye out, as Arab music reminded settlers huddled inside their new acquisition just where they were. Nasser Ghawi is closing in on his fourth month in a pitiful lean to across the street from where 6 settler families lived in his home, with a constant stream of visitors in and out. He asked me if there was any hope left. Usually full of optimism in even the most difficult situations, I could only mouth some meaningless platitudes about looking for new legal options. Yesterday Maya, our staff person who spends the most time in Sheikh Jarakh, asked me where justice was. I didn't have an answer for her either.
 
All of a sudden a group of settlers and their supporters comes to the Ghawi home amidst cat calls and insults hurled by Palestinians seeking an outlet for their seething anger and pain. The settler group moves closer and wants to come in to congratulate those within. Everybody jumps to their feet and the gate is slammed shut, but there are settlers already inside as well as outside. I am amazed that no fights break out. The taunts get louder and more vicious. Some spit at the settlers. In similar situations I have urged Palestinians to calm down, but here I felt that I had no right and that it would do no good. The only comment I responded to was when somebody said in Arabic that they wished Hitler had finished the job. I tried to think of what I could do if things escalated further, and didn't come up with any answers. The settlers keep staring at me and my kippah. They don't get it.
 
The most terrifying indication that we were at the brink of conflagration was that the police were did not wade violently into the Palestinians or arrest people for having the wrong look on their faces, as so often happens in Sheikh Jarakh. I even saw one of the officers trying to clear the way for settlers to come in and out snarl at one of the settlers and tell him that he dare not touch anybody. In other situations I would have been pleasantly surprised, but here this was an indication that the police also knew that they were sitting on top of a volcano about to blow.
 
Maya arrives. I say to her, "It will be a miracle if the night passes without an explosion."
 
Every few minutes a new group of settlers comes to look, to smile. At one point a settler inside comes demanding that the Palestinians turn off the blaring music. I have visions of what will happen if he pulls a plug or smashes something. I remind him of the Jewish teaching, "You don't rebuke somebody in the midst of their sorrow. "   He goes back in, as Palestinians shout and rattle the windows. One woman addresses at length the Druze officer guarding the door to the captured room.   I can only imagine what she is saying.  What is said in Hebrew again and again is, "This is your system of law?" I can only answer what I learned years ago, "Not everything that is "legal" is just."
 
The worst of it is that I don't know what to suggest. Israel's democracy has failed up until now. International pressure has failed up until now. The activist community has failed up until now.     
 
Although his worst predictions that their actions would cause the inhabitants of the land to rise up and destroy them never came true, our ancestor Jacob cursed his sons Simeon and Levi until his dying day for their violent and brutal act of revenge in this week's Torah portion, Their weapons are tools of lawlessness. Let not my prson be included in their council,, Let not my being be counted in their assembly. For when angry they slay men, and when pleased they maim oxen."(Genesis
 
I hope that I too am wrong. What is the big deal here? Be angry and upset, but why so worried about one more incident of helpless Palestinian fury directed at an Israeli injustice?   Why should activists spend a sleepless cold Jerusalem night huddling in front of a fire. Why should the political echelons and the courts shake themselves out of their torpor. Can't the international community feel satisfied with itself over it's "strong protest?"
 
Because this is Jerusalem. As I wrote a week and a half ago, I see a Palestinian anger burning so strong that, unlike what usually happens, neither the threat of arrest or the use of overwhelming force is a deterrent. That means a third intifada. That means that the fact that the world community forcing Israel into a settlement freeze (perhaps) may be too little too late. That means that the Obama administration remains a laughingstock at best, and in many quarters the U.S. is again the subject of scorn and derision.   
 
I see Jerusalem in flames – I see Armageddon straight ahead. I see everywhere complacent alarm. I know that tens will answer our call to demonstrate today (see previous email below or call Maya at 054-7423044), but we need hundreds and thousands. The diplomats will write urgent reports, but we need effective pressure. The peace and human rights community will say that this is terrible, but we need them to come out of their homes. The politicians will say that it is a matter for the courts and that they can't interfere, while the courts will say that the law takes precedence over their personal conscience. The police will prepare emergency plans. If nothing changes (olam c'minhago noheg), Jerusalem will burn.  
 

Shulamit Aloni: We are a nefarious people

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Written by Naama Lanir Naama Lanir

Published: 01 December 2009 01 December 2009

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Former Meretz leader tells Ynet on 81st birthday that 'what we do in West Bank is worse than all pogroms'

Former Meretz leader Shulamit Aloni told Ynet on her 81st birthday Sunday that she was dissatisfied with the condition of the State of Israel.
 
"It's hard for me to say a kind word about the state today," she said. "We are in great distress morally and socially, as well as in the realms of politics and law."

Aloni specified by saying that she was disappointed with the right-wing government doing most of the Left's work, and gave an example of the recent decision to freeze construction in settlements for 10 months.
 
"The Right has two left hands, but the Left doesn't even exist today," she said.
 
She also condemned those opposed to a prisoner swap deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
 
"No one should be speaking this nonsense about 'blood on the hands'. Since 2000, with the launching of the second intifada, we have murdered thousands. We too have blood on our hands," she remarked.
 
"We need to release those demanded (by Hamas) immediately," she went on. "After we release them, Israel can keep tabs on them."
 
Aloni also lashed out at settlers who torch Palestinian olive groves in the West Bank. "It is against all morals, and even the halacha," she said. "The halacha says: Thou shalt not destroy fruit-bearing trees."
 
The former prominent politician added, "We are a nefarious people. What we are doing in the West Bank is worse than all the pogroms done to the Jews." But she qualified her statement by saying she was "not referring to the Nazis, but the Cossacks".
 
Aloni also condemned Israel for its attitude towards the Obama administration. "They give us support, weapons, and donations," she said.

"The US administration does not want to say how it perceives us, but we are lucky there is such a large Jewish lobby there that maintains support for us. Everyone wants to come out all right with the Jews because no one wants to be accused of anti-Semitism."

Aloni added criticism of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, calling him "the most dangerous man" and "pompous". However she had a kind word for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "He still thinks over things sometimes," she said.

 

Israeli army to fight Facebook enemies

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Written by JTA JTA

Published: 01 December 2009 01 December 2009

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JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The Israel Defense Forces will draft recruits to fight the enemy on Facebook and Twitter.

The IDF is set to begin drafting computer experts in order to start a new media department unit, an army spokesman said Monday at the Eilat Journalists Conference, Ha'aretz reported.

The new unit would be part of the Army Spokesman's Office.

The IDF posted videos on You Tube showing attacks on Gaza targets during the Gaza war last winter to show how careful the IDF is to avoid harming civilians. 

The program to face hostile entities on the Web is set to be operational in a few months, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu told Ha'aretz.

Columbia Sportswear markets to the active settler on the go

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Written by Adam Horowitz Adam Horowitz

Published: 30 November 2009 30 November 2009

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[UPDATE: Columbia Sportswear has agreed to immediately and permanently discontinue this ad! See their response HERE.

 

From Didi Remez’s invaluable website Coteret:

 

The Israeli franchisee of Columbia Sportswear, a large Portland-based manufacturer of outdoor clothing, with an impressive Corporate Social Responsibility portfolio and what appears to be a rather progressive domestic client base, rather the following ad in the November 27 edition of the Jerusalem Post’s Friday Magazine.

Note the description at the bottom “for active work in various regions, including outposts.” If we have any doubt what “outposts” the ad is referring to, see the same ad in Hebrew, which ran on the same day in the Friday Political Supplement of Makor Rishon, a right-wing weekly. The Hebrew translation of “outposts” there is “gvaot” (hills) a euphemism for the illegal outposts populated by the “hilltop youth”, notorious for their violence against Palestinian civilians.

Visit Coteret for translated "news, analysis and opinion from the Israeli Hebrew print and electronic media."