Minister of Infrastructure and former Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) is the latest senior politician to admit that the 2005 Disengagement was a mistake. 

Speaking in an interview with Radio L’lo Hafsaka, a regional radio station, Ben-Eliezer dropped the bombshell: "I admit and I confess that I was among those who strongly supported [former PM] Ariel Sharon [and the Disengagement]. Today I say, with my head held high, ‘We erred, we made a very big mistake.’”

Ben Eliezer did not say it was the withdrawal itself and abandonment of parts of the Land of Israel that was the problem, but rather the nature of the recipients of the territory. "Withdrawals can only work when the areas are handed over to responsible hands and rotted in agreements and international guarantees,” he explained. “Here we have a precedent - a territory we left turns into a base for terror - period."

Ben Eliezer also called for a wide scale counter-terror offensive in Gaza, complaining that Israel’s fear of harming civilians was harming its own populace instead. "Israel continues to say we bind ourselves to these ethical obligations that no other country in the world is bound by. We are facing a conflict here between two disciplines. One nation is prepared to commit suicide and sees it as a religious imperative and an honor, the other wants to spare every ounce of blood." 

MK Reuven Rivlin, an opponent of the withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria from the outset, responded to MK Ben Eliezer’s about-face with alarm. “It is horrifying that someone who pushed for the Disengagement and saw in it a ‘window of opportunity’ can now simply say such a thing while his colleagues in the government are signaling that they once again see it as proper to give up the essential interests of the State of Israel,” Rivlin said.

Ben Eliezer is but the latest in a parade of Disengagement-regretting politicians and public figures, including:

• Maj.-Gen (ret.) Yiftah Ron-Tal, IDF ground forces commander at the time of the Disengagement
• Left-wing journalist Ilana Dayan
• Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland, Chairman of the National Security Council and one of the Disengagement’s chief architects
• Avri Gilad, broadcaster and TV personality who supported Disengagement
• Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Moshe Ya’alon, IDF Chief of Staff at the time the government decided to carry out the Disengagement
• Yoel Marcus, left-wing commentator for Haaretz and ardent Disengagement supporter
• Yehoshua Sobol, author and prominent left-wing spokesperson and proponent of left-wing refusal to serve in the IDF
• IDF Central Commander Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh
• Yair Lapid, popular TV personality and commentator
• Senior TV news anchor Dan Margalit, a strong supporter of Disengagement
• Maj.-Gen. Gershon HaCohen, who commanded the Disengagement and expressed his public agreement with it prior to implementation
• Several others

Journalists and left-wing politicians kept the "Rabin festival" going for yet another day, ganging up against the Israeli Soccer Association for meting out "too light" of a punishment to fans who jeered during a "moment of silence" for Rabin.

At the Sunday night soccer game between Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Haifa, hundreds of fans jeered, booed and sang songs of support for Yigal Amir during what was supposed to be a "minute of silence" for Yitzchak Rabin on the 12th anniversary of his murder.  MK Ophir Pines (Labor) was the first to jump, saying the Soccer League must condemn and punish the team for its fans' actions.

Monday and Tuesday saw many politicians and journalists condemning the incident, lamenting the lack of supervision over the fans, and demanding measures to punish the fans who thus expressed their opinion.

Some fans later explained that they simply do not remember Rabin fondly, blaming him for giving weapons to terrorists and initiating the Oslo process.  "It offends me when they remember Rabin for two weeks each year," one fan said, "but never remember the 1,400 people who were murdered or 20,000 who were wounded because of the Olso process."

On Wednesday night, three judges of the Israel Soccer League court convened, and on Thursday they handed down the decision: Beitar must play two home games with no fans allowed, and pay an as-yet unspecified fine.  In addition, it will have to play two additional fan-less home games if the offense is repeated.

The decision was taken by a vote of 2-1; the dissenting judge ruled that the approach to take should not be punitive, but rather by employing educational measures and encouraging public denunciation.

Outside the court hearing, some fans held signs noting that when the fans of the Arab team from Sakhnin once booed and hissed and held Hamas flags during the singing of Israel's national anthem, it was considered "freedom of speech" and no sanctions were imposed.

Education Minister Yuli Tamir said she was "disappointed and infuriated," saying, "It is scandalous to let Beitar Jerusalem off with such a light punishment.  Of course, every problem of behavior has an educational aspect, but here the real response should have been a punishment that will really deter. There also should have been an appropriate response by the team, which has evaded its responsibility... With such light punishments, no one should be surprised when these incidents repeat themselves."

Team owner Arcadi Gaydamak refused to take responsibility for the fans' actions.

"To my great sorrow," said MK Eitan Cabel (Labor), "the problem of incitement and racism at the soccer fields is not really being dealt with.  Without a firm and systematic plan of action, Israeli society will continue to be harmed by a vocal riffraff, and being present in the stands at a soccer game will be unsuitable for a proper society."

The Chairman of the Knesset Education Committee, MK Rabbi Michael Melchior (Labor) said, "The phenomenon that we saw was disgusting and revolting, but I am not sure that punishment without educational activity will work."

Long-time fan Nissim Shalem said, "The team does not deserve a punishment, which was designed merely to appease the left-wing and the media."  He said that politics and sports should not have been mixed: "Rabin was a great leader, but memorials should be done in other places, and not on soccer fields where people come to scream and let it all out."

Anat Davidov's Campaign
Government-owned Voice of Israel Radio's news channel took an overtly one-sided approach, practically demanding that the punishment be increased.  Afternoon newsmagazine anchor Anat Davidov was outspoken in her tone and words against the lightness of the punishment. 

Introducing her interview with Beitar Director-General Itzik Kornfein, she said twice that Beitar had "gotten off very lightly from this disgrace."  She later asked him, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?", in the sarcastic tone of one who has caught someone lying or stealing.  He countered, "Aren’t you ashamed? They are citizens of Israel."  Davidov, raising her voice, said, "I'm ashamed in general of their behavior, but I'm asking you as an intelligent man about these fans who are disgracing most of your fans." 

Kornfein said, "To act as if the owners of Beitar Jerusalem are in charge of educating the citizens of Israel - because that's what they are - is simply not dealing with the problem... Why doesn't the press talk about other incidents of wild behavior of fans?..."

Kornfein said he would appeal the League's ruling, and the sports correspondent later interrupted to confirm that though individual players cannot appeal decisions, a team can appeal.  At that point, Davidov said, "Let them appeal; maybe they'll get a stronger punishment."

When Kornfein said there was no reason to have placed his team on trial, Davidov interrupted to say sarcastically, "No reason at all, truly nothing."

Kornfein said, "You are all ignoring the main problem, which is education.  We don't have contact with these people all day long; we see them for an hour and a half every week or two..."

The next interviewee was left-wing MK Avshalom Vilan (Meretz), with whom Davidov continued to take a mocking tone regarding Kornfein's position.  Vilan, who heads a task force against sports violence, complained that the punishment was a poor joke, while admitting that there was no legal basis for any punishment at all.

"The problem is that there is no law addressing idiotic and rude behavior such as that of the Beitar fans," Vilan said. "That is, legally, there is no basis to obligate standing in silence at memorials and the like... But I'm truly surprised at the management of Beitar, which has not strongly condemned this act and is not giving their fans a course in education...  They have a responsibility, and I'm surprised at people like Kornfein and others who are acting so innocently and even brazenly... There should be, an hour before the game, a series of lectures explaining to the fans what racism is, and what violence is, and how harmful it is to everyone and to themselves. And whoever doesn't want to hear, should not be allowed in to the game."

A complaint has been submitted to the Complaints Commissioner of the Israel Broadcasting Authority regarding Davidov's performance.

As a strike by secondary-school teachers stretches on to almost a month, National Labor Court President Judge Steve Adler has summoned representatives from the Education
Government officials and teachers' representatives gave differing accounts of ongoing negotiations.
Ministry, Finance Ministry and Secondary School Teachers Association to meet with him at 10:00 am on Friday morning. The court, at its own request, has been receiving daily updates as to the progress in negotiations to end the strike.

The sides were summoned to Adler's chambers following accusations by teachers' representatives that the government was making "a disgraceful attempt to mislead the public" through media reports. Government officials and teachers' representatives gave differing accounts of ongoing negotiations, with Ministry spokesmen reporting progress and teachers saying that the situation was getting worse.

While the government has responded to teachers' demands and offered a salary increase, they said, teachers would receive only a four percent increase this year, while the rest - a total of six million shekels - would be added over the course of the next three years. Teachers supportive of the ongoing strike say that the government offer is a numbers game that actually amounts to a cut in pay in exchange for more working hours.

Avi Pascal, a member of the Teacher's Union, said that the government is not prepared to raise salaries at all. "The state is waiting for court injunctions (against the strike) and hopes that it will not have to accommodate the teachers," charges Pascal. "The only progress is our progress on the road to the courthouse."

In Pascal's estimation, an agreement could be reached in direct talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. However, he added, that is not likely to happen in coming days. In the meantime, Pascal said, the Teachers' Union hopes that the Labor Court will not "become the government's arm" and order teachers back to work. In a previous decision, on Tuesday, the National Labor Court decided not to issue an order against the strike.

Public Support for Striking Teachers
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is in agreement with Avi Pascal in calling for a direct negotiation between the teachers' organizations and Prime Minister Olmert. Speaking at a meeting of government ministers from the Labor party on Thursday, Barak praised Education Minister Yuli Tamir, National Labor Union head Oder Eini and the Teachers' Association for agreeing on a framework for the continuation of negotiations. He called on Olmert and on Finance Minister Roni Bar-On to immediately adopt the framework and begin direct negotiations with the striking teachers. 

In addition to the Defense Minister, more than two-thirds of the public support high school
More than two-thirds of the public support high school teachers in their strike.
teachers in their strike, according to a survey carried out for Channel 10 television. Another survey carried out for Voice of Israel government radio showed that most of the public is not demanding the resignations of either Education Minister Tamir or the Teachers' Union chairman. Less than one-third of the respondents wanted the Education Minister to quit and slightly more than one-third think that union boss Ran Erez should step down.

Members of the Airport Workers Union showed their solidarity with the striking teachers at a protest on Thursday night. Several dozen teachers and airport employees demonstrated outside Ben-Gurion International Airport. Students and parents in Haifa also took to the streets in support of teachers on Thursday. The group held communal prayers for the education system.

Women in Green activist Nadia Matar found herself back in court Thursday, with the state appealing its suit against her for a strongly-worded letter sent to Disengagement Authority chief Yonatan Bassi.

Prior to the 2005 Disengagement, Matar dispatched a letter to Bassi, a member of the religious Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, comparing the wording of the letter he sent to residents of Gush Katif to that sent by the Judenrat (“Jewish Council”) in 1942 Germany, which oversaw the “relocation” of Jews from Germany.

Matar’s trial revolves around the passage in her letter: “Yonatan. The truth is that you are a modern-day version of the Judenrat - in reality, a much worse version, because in the Holocaust, the Jewish leaders were forced to act by the Nazis and today it's very hard for us to judge them. Today, no one is standing with a gun to your head and forcing you to participate in the deportation of the Jews of Gush Katif and northern Samaria."

The Jerusalem Magistrates Court dismissed the indictment against Matar, ruling that the law had been applied selectively after hearing examples of incendiary statements by left-wing activists and politicians who were not prosecuted.

The state prosecutor appealed to the District Court, which accepted the appeal on the condition that the prosecution provide examples countering the lower court’s conclusion that the laws was applied selectively to right and left-wing activists.

Attorney Yoram Sheftel is confident that Matar will once again prevail. He says there are ample cases of selective application of the “insulting a public servant” law. “If a left-wing personality, extremist or traitorous says the most outrageous thing about a judge, minister, senior police officer or other civil servant, he will never be put on trial,” Sheftel told Israel National TV. “But the most minor statement by a right-winger – even a fourteen-year-old, like the girl who held a sign outside Supreme Court Justice Ayala Procaccia’s house reading ‘Provocaccia’ (provocation, in Hebrew)  – they will find themselves both arrested and prosecuted.”

Asked if she had any regrets, Matar said: “I regret only that I didn’t write even stronger words. What I wrote was too moderate when compared with the results of this expulsion. Our brothers were not only expelled from their homes, our land abandoned to murderous terrorists, but further destruction is now planned and I fear nobody is using strong enough language. My regret is that we were all too reserved in our protest of this crime and I promise that this time it will be different.”

At the first trial, Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Yisrael Aumann joined a protest outside the courthouse. "It is scandalous.- that freedom of speech is being attacked, just like in the cases of the soldier Hananel [Dayan – who refused to shake hands with the Chief of Staff due to his role in the Disengagement –ed.], the closing of Arutz-7, and the hearing that was held for [Disengagement opponent] Rabbi Druckman. Individuals are being singled out for expressing their views," he lamented.

Why “Judenrat”?
Matar, during the early days of media condemnations that resulted in the determined government effort to have her prosecuted, explained her use of the term “Judenrat,” which many critics claimed implied the Israeli government were Nazis. Note that the words were written prior to the implementation of the Disengagement:

“The Jewish public in Israel and the world, from the left and the right, is divided on the question of the permissibility of the use of Holocaust terminology. Is it legitimate to compare then and now? Doesn't the use of terms from, and comparisons with, the Holocaust diminish the horrors of the destruction of European Jewry? Some say that the entire subject of the Holocaust is untouchable. It is sacred, and we are not allowed to use any word that recalls the Holocaust, because there is no situation today that can be comparable to what was then. I respect those who hold such an opinion, and I know that I cannot convince them to think otherwise. Since, however, they do not have a monopoly on the Holocaust, I am entitled to disagree with them and maintain that it is very important to make comparisons, to draw conclusions, and to act so that there will not be another Holocaust.

“I was born and raised in Belgium. A considerable portion of my family was destroyed in the Holocaust. Throughout my childhood I heard from my grandparents about the stories and about the horrors. Already at a young age I made a promise to myself to do everything so that it would not happen again, that I would act so that the murder of my family would not have been for nothing, that I would do everything not to forget, and not to forgive.

In my humble opinion, the Holocaust is an event that could recur, in some form or other, if we do not open our eyes and understand that the Nazi monster is still breathing, and attempting to continue what Hitler, may his memory be blotted out, did not have time to finish. I am speaking of the Arabs around us, who have been trying, even from before the establishment of the State of Israel, to eliminate any Jewish existence in Eretz Israel, regardless of our borders. The Arabs have been murdering us on a daily basis from the days of the pogroms in 1929 (when it could not be claimed that we were "occupiers"). They slaughter Jews at every opportunity, whether in war or in terror attack, cold-bloodedly firing at the heads of Jewish infants. Muslim suicide bombers explode buses, pizza parlors, and discotheques full of Jews. It is they who are the modern version of the Nazis. Every thinking person knows, or should know, that Hitler's legacy plays a starring role in the Muslim world. Hitler's book Mein Kampf is a bestseller in all the Arab countries. Everyone knows, or should know, that the hero of the Arabs, Haj Amin el-Husseini, was Hitler's close friend, and together they planned the Holocaust of the Jews of Eretz Israel. Every intelligent person knows, or should know, that all the wars and terror attacks by the Arabs against us have the same goal: the total destruction of the State of Israel, and the elimination of all its Jewish inhabitants. Every intelligent person knows, or should know, that every sign of weakness, submission, or retreat by Israel will encourage the Nazi-Arab enemy and incite him to engage in more and more terror.

“Consequently, every political plan that will merely play into the hands of the Nazi-Arab enemy and bring him closer to his final goal, that is, the removal of the Jews from Israel and the elimination of the Jewish state, is a dangerous plan against which we must sound the alarm. While, during the Holocaust, the Jews of the Judenrat played into the hands of the Nazi foe when they (unwillingly) collaborated and aided in the deportation of the Jews (without knowing the destination of the transports); today, Sharon's deportation plan also plays into the hands of the Nazi-Arab enemy, incites him to murder more and more Jews, and is liable - if, Heaven forbid, it were to be realized - to result in tens of thousands of murdered Jews, by Katushas and rockets fired from Gaza and northern Samaria to the densely populated centers in Gush Dan. In addition, Sharon's plan would give fuel to the antisemites in the world. They would rightfully say: "If a Jewish government can uproot Jews and deport them from their historic homeland; we in Europe can do the same and deport our Jews far away from here". Thus, in my eyes, the comparison between Yonatan Bassi (and Ariel Sharon) and the Judenrat is definitely appropriate. With the proviso that Bassi and Sharon constitute a much more horrible version, since, unlike the Judenrat of then, today, there is no one holding a gun to Sharon and Bassi's forehead and demanding that they commit the deportation crime.”

American Jewish support is becoming increasingly critical for Presidential hopefuls as the United States' Middle East policy tries to shape Israel's future, according to a senior Democratic party leader.

The candidates know that "they cannot be a serious contender for the Presidency if they do not stand strong on Israel," declared Hillel Schenker, Vice Chairman of Democrats Abroad, an organization for American citizens in countries outside the United States.

Democratic candidate Senator Hillary Clinton has, by far, the most experience dealing with the Middle East of all the likely presidential candidates, according to Schenker.

However, history tells us that "a candidate who becomes President changes his policy once in office," observed Steve Goldberg, a Los Angeles lawyer who serves as the National Vice President of the Zionist Organization of America. "Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were unequivocal in their support of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem when they were running for President, but neither kept his promise. Pro-Israel advocates in the United States expect that a President will not keep all of his or her promises once elected."

He pointed out that although "she [Senator Clinton] wants Jerusalem to stay the indivisible capital, there is a prevailing view that she would actively broker an agreement with the Palestinians, even if it included sharing the sovereignty of Jerusalem."

Senator Clinton "has been very active in Israel for a very long time," Schenker claimed. "Her time as First Lady [married to former President Bill Clinton] gave her a lot of experience in the Middle East. She has visited there many times and has been active in promoting the peace process, along with her husband. Senator Clinton does the most important thing to help: she promotes the peace process," he added.

Schenker also revealed that if elected, Senator Clinton plans to appoint a senior ambassador to the Middle East to work specifically on Israeli-Arab peace. He stated that the other Democratic candidates share similar positions on the Middle East, although most of them have not taken specific positions beyond maintaining they are friends of the Jewish state.

Senators Clinton and Barack Obama are slotted to appear next week at the United Jewish Communities General Assembly, where four thousand Jewish leaders from around the world come together for an annual conference. Senator Obama has taken a more dovish stand than his front-running opponent on Iran while not defining specific positions toward the shape and size of a proposed new Arab state within Israel's current borders. 

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the most open of the Presidential candidates on Israel. He "most forcefully advocates the neo-conservative position about the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism and has the most support among Jewish foreign policy makers," according to Goldberg.

Giuliani is no stranger to dealing with terrorists. His city became the international symbol for the fight against terrorism on September 11, 2001, when radical Islam brought down the city's World Trade Center and changed the New York City skyline forever. This unfortunate experience is fuel for Mayor Giuliani's intolerance for radical Islam. He has stated on many occasions that he will not negotiate with terrorists and will defend Israel's right to be an independent state.

"Giuliani has stated that there should be no negotiations with the Palestinians until terrorism has stopped and the incitement of anti-Jewish hatred in mosques, schools, and media has been halted," Goldberg said. "Giuliani has also indicated that he will not be shy to use military force to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons."

Goldberg said that it is likely that the other major Republican candidates hold positions similar to Giuliani's regarding the Middle East. Senator John McCain has tried to focus on a victory in Iraq as being beneficial to Israel, while expressing fierce opposition to negotiating with Hamas. The Arizona Republican also has called for step-by-step negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) but has not detailed how he envisions the future borders of Israel.

Although traditionally Democratic, a sizeable and growing minority of Jews are beginning to vote Republican because of the party's general opposition to negotiating with terrorists. Democrats generally easily win the ballot of residents in foreign countries, except for Israel, where expatriate Americans tend to show stronger favoritism towards Republican candidates.

The tense recount of Florida votes in the 2004 presidential elections emphasized the importance of every vote. Only 573 votes separated American President George W. Bush and challenger Al Gore. With an estimated 3,000-4,000 Florida Democrats in Israel, the Jewish state's absentee ballots were pivotal. There are more than seven million American voters living outside the United States, but Israel has the highest percentage of U.S. citizens voting in the American elections compared to any other country in the world. In the European bloc, including England and France, where many expatriate Americans reside, the percentage is between 40-45%. In Israel it is 60-65%.

Belgian Parliament Member Frederique Ries this week protested the seeming willingness of the European Union to cave into Arab anti-Israel restrictions.

Ries slammed an email that she received from the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee requesting that its legislators present passports without Israeli visas during a November 14 visit to Syria and Lebanon.

Both Syria and Lebanon are officially enemies of Israel and continue to collude with Iran in sponsoring attacks on citizens of the Jewish State by Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon and the Hamas terrorist organization which controls Gaza. While Syrian troops left Lebanon in a high profile withdrawal two and a half years ago, the Damascus government is believed to be pulling the strings in Beirut and is suspected of assassinating leading anti-Syrian figures such as former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and more recently, Parliament Member Antoine Ghanem. The question of continued Syrian influence is at the heart of Lebanon's choice of its next president.

Reis, a six-term lawmaker, acknowledged that the directive may have been a "purely administrative" matter. She nonetheless called for a response "at the highest level" asking the countries concerned to abandon the discriminatory practice.

"These requirements are contrary to our practices and values,” Ries wrote in a letter to European Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering quoted by the European Jewish News. "It is unacceptable that we allow that member countries of the Euro-Mediterranean association with which we have signed agreements specify that passports of MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) traveling within an official UN (United Nations) delegation cannot bear an Israeli stamp." She added, "We should not let them decide how we want to lead our foreign policy. Our freedom of movement and freedom of thought must be respected."

The Belgian lawmaker, who presently serves as a substitute on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and as a member of the Delegation for relations with Israel, spent 17 years as a broadcast journalist and producer. She also served five years as Vice Chairwoman of the Hebrew State Inter-group.

Ernie Singer contributed to this story.

A7 Radio's "Yishai Fleisher Show"

The people of Israel are saying a simple thing: booo to policies that lead to arming our enemies, dividing our land, and rushing headlong into suicide. Also: Malkah joins to discuss positive demographics, including a higher birthrate and more settlements. PLUS: hear baby Leah BatTzion for the first time.

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Yishai and Malkah Fleisher host a talk show on Jewish current events and Middle East politics from a neo-Zionist point of view every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00PM – 5:00PM Israel time on Israel National Radio.