Prof. Alan Dershowitz, visiting in Israel, says 'rule of law' must adapt itself to fight the terror threat. He bemoans American Jewry's lack of connection with Israel, and calls on U.S. Jews to visit Israel.

Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University and an outspoken advocate for Israel in books, articles, lectures and debates, has set two goals for his current visit to Israel: He's here to show support for the residents of Sderot and Ashkelon, and to teach classes and give lectures on how to fight the war against terrorism within a revamped rule of law.
The rules currently favor the terrorists over the democracies, and the rules have to change.

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Speaking with IsraelNationalRadio's Yishai Fleisher, Dershowitz said, "I will be teaching how the rule of law has to change, to adapt to the new realities of suicide terrorists who use human shields and thus place democracies in a difficult situation. They take advantage of our higher morality, forcing democracies to choose between doing nothing or inevitably killing civilians.  The rules currently favor the terrorists over the democracies, and the rules have to change."

On-Line Rally for Sderot
Dershowitz said he will be participating in a large American Jewish Congress conference this week at which these issues will be discussed. "Some of the world's most important and influential jurists will be there, such as Irwin Kotler, who was Attorney General and Minister of Justice in Canada, former Israeli Supreme Court justices, and Americans as well.  It will be an interesting attempt to redefine jurisprudence."

Prof. Dershowitz will also be visiting Sderot later this week, taking part in what organizers expect will be the largest-ever on-line rally.  The rally will begin at 5 PM New York time (11 PM in Israel) this Thursday night, at www.togetherforisrael.org, and will switch back and forth between Israel, New York, Los Angeles and other sites around the world.  Those involved, including Dershowitz, are hoping to have a million people click and sign on during the rally.

A Target on His Back
"I'll be under the rockets in Sderot myself, with a big target on my back," Dershowitz said, "just like all the other citizens of Sderot. I want to feel what it's like to be in Sderot and Ashkelon at these times, with the terrorists playing Russian rocket roulette with the lives of Israeli citizens.  Israel should adopt a zero tolerance policy for rockets. I have written that every rocket that flies from Gaza into Israel is a violation of UN Charter Article 51 - an armed attack giving Israel the full and complete right to proportional self-defense."

"Why must it be proportional?" Fleisher interjected, to which Dershowitz responded, "Proportional doesn't mean equating lives; it just means that if they fire a rifle at you, you can't nuke them.  It also doesn't mean that for every life taken, you can take one life, as the international community absurdly believes. It simply means that you don't react totally out of proportion, and neither do you look at the actual damage caused, but rather, you look at the risks of an attack. If each rocket can potentially kill 100 people, then just because they missed, it doesn't remove the risk that had been there. Israel doesn't have to wait until inevitably a rocket hits a school bus or a kindergarten or an ambulance; it can look at the risks, not just the actual consequences."
Israel doesn't have to wait until inevitably a rocket hits a school bus or a kindergarten or an ambulance.

Though he supports a strong Israeli response against terrorism, he is not politically right-wing.  Dershowitz has stated that his book The Case for Israel "is a pro-Palestinian as well as pro-Israel book, because it favors an economically viable Palestinian democratic state, with good health care, education, opportunity, and freedom for the Palestinian people.”

Hizbullah Wants More Civilian Deaths
Dershowitz noted that while Israel has built a shelter system in Sderot in order to protect lives, "Hizbullah did exactly the opposite in Lebanon in 2006 - because Hizbullah wanted to increase the amount of its civilian deaths. That's because our culture is one of ubacharta bachaim [the Biblical prescription to 'choose life'], while the Imams encourage them to look at their children as martyrs.  This is what makes it so difficult for the democracies, because the terrorists are trying to get us to kill their children."

US Jewry Growing More Disconnected with Israel
Fleisher asked Prof. Dershowitz about the lack of connection of American Jews with Israel, noting that 70% of them have never been to Israel. "It's getting much worse," Dershowitz agreed. "My generation had a high level of connection to Israel, but my children and grandchildren's generations are much less so. Jews in their 20's are sometimes embarrassed by Israel; they're fair-weather friends.  They're happy when Israel succeeds, but they ignore Israel when international support goes down.  But core support for Israel is still pretty strong."

"I think we have to increase the case for Israel, that's why I write so much - I've written The Case for Israel, and now I'm writing The Case Against Israel's Enemies, where I take on people like Jimmy Carter, and Ahmedinajad, and Mearsheimer and Walt and other professors who devote their lives to their hatred of Israel. They have to know that they will be answered..."

"And in order to increase a sense of passion for Israel," Dershowitz concluded, "we have to bring more Jews to Israel; there's no better way to get a passion for Israel than to be here." 

Hamas terrorist organization has put out feelers to arrange a ceasefire with Israel in the wake of an intensified counterterrorism campaign by the IDF in Gaza two weeks ago.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza region, has said it will halt its rocket attacks on western Negev communities, but only on condition that the government orders the IDF to halt all counterterrorist operations in Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza.

Israel previously has totally rejected the proposal.

Hamas spokesman Iman Tara told the London-based Arabic language newspaper Asharq al-Alawsat that the proposed ceasefire also is conditioned on Israel's re-opening Gaza crossings, which Israel closed following the terror group’s takeover of the region.

The government has allowed humanitarian shipments to pass through the crossings. Tara also charged that the Olmert administration's refusal to compromise is delaying a deal to free IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped almost two years ago in a cross-border terrorist attack.

Hamas has periodically blamed its refusal to release Shalit on various actions by Israel. Numerous deals brokered by Egyptian security officials and allegedly “agreed to” by the terrorists since Shalit’s abduction in June 2006 were torpedoed at the last minute by the group.

Numerous attempts by International Red Cross representatives and other foreign officials to visit Shalit and ascertain his condition have failed. Although Hamas released a video of the 20-year-old soldier last year and prior to that, an audio recording, Shalit’s whereabouts and condition remain unknown.

Terror Bomb Factories Active in Judea and Samaria 
PA Arab terrorists are also increasing their efforts to smuggle dangerous materials into Fatah-controlled Judea and Samaria, many of which can be used for manufacturing rockets and other weapons, according to IDF spokesmen.

IDF soldiers confiscated a truck carrying 12.5 tons of fertilizer at a Samaria checkpoint on Monday morning.  The fertilizer in question is often used to prepare bombs. The truck was stopped following a joint operation involving the IDF, the Border Police, and the Civilian Administration.

Security forces have thwarted 14 attempts in the past several days to smuggle that substance and other dangerous materials as well as others in containers of merchandise hidden in five trucks.

Authorities have detected more that 1,600 attempts to transfer prohibited material, and police are investigating nine different incidents. The United States has insisted that Israel remove dozens of checkpoints in Judea and Samaria.

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu contributed to this report.

Over 20 Jews were arrested Sunday in Jabel Mukaber, in southern Jerusalem, after protesters entered the village to try and destroy the home of the terrorist who murdered eight yeshiva boys 10 days ago. Some time after 8:00 p.m., the police declared the demonstration illegal and dispersed the protesters.

One police officer was very lightly hurt.  Damage was caused to Arab property inside the village, including cars and houses.  Some of the Jewish protestors were released Monday morning, but police are requesting an extended remand for several others.

The protest organizers said they never expected to actually be allowed to come close to the house of the terrorist and try to destroy it, even though this was one of their stated goals. "We want to raise public consciousness about the increasing danger of the Israeli-Arab fifth column," said Moshe Musa Cohen.  Nadia Matar, of Women in Green, emphasized the need to boycott the enemy, and to hire only Jewish workers.

In fact, on Monday morning, popular Army Radio host Razi Barkai interviewed a youth leader from the Galilee, who explained that Israeli-Arab attacks on local Jews have increased significantly over the past two years. "I take boys on bicycle trips," the man explained, "and there are definitely places that we now have to avoid - including the main Hadera-Afua highway [known as Wadi Ara]... There was one trip when we were attacked with rocks and stones and the like no fewer than four times!... It is a sad feeling that a new generation of Arabs are growing up in Israel with such hatred towards us."

The Attempt to Reach Jabel Mukaber
The anti-terrorist protest events began around 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, when hundreds of Jews gathered at the Armon HaNatziv promenade in Jerusalem.  They announced that they were headed to raze the house of the terrorist who murdered the Merkaz Harav yeshiva students.

'The Arab Enemy in Our Midst'
The placards announcing the protest were directed against "Israeli-Arabs" and stated: "The Arab enemy within us, in Lod, Akko and Wadi Ara, and in Jerusalem, supports and encourages murder of Jews... In the face of the state authorities' inaction, we shall come ourselves and do what needs
Several dozen Jews managed to go around the police roadblocks and enter the village.
to be done as representatives of the People of Israel." They ended with an allusion to the upcoming Purim holiday: "The opposite shall happen: the Jews shall rule over their haters."

Meir Indor, who heads the Almagor terror victims' group, was among those arrested at Jabel Mukaber. He said, "Tonight's activities showed that if the government of Israel refuses to strike back at the enemy after terrorist attacks, the people of Israel will. The ongoing policy of surrender and concessions is what invites these terrorist attacks against us."

Youths Smashed Windshields
Before the protest, hundreds of police took up positions within Jabel Mukaber and outside it, in the hope of preventing the demonstrators from entering the village. They also blocked the entrance to the adjacent Jewish neighborhood of Nof Tzion. They later said they were "surprised" by the strength of the protestors, however.

Several dozen Jews managed to circumvent the police roadblocks and enter the village. They did not reach the home of the terrorist, Ala Abu Dheim, but they did reach some houses on the outskirts of the village. Video aired on Channel 2 TV showed a group of about a dozen youths throwing rocks at cars and at a home, and smashing car windshields. Arabs threw rocks at them as well. 

'The State Must Destroy His House'
Among the protesters were Samaria (Shomron) Rabbis Elyakim Levanon of Elon Moreh and Dudi Dudkevich of Yitzhar. Holding a megaphone, Dudkevich told the gathered: "These Arabs [who are Israeli citizens] are supposedly 'our' Arabs, but they are no less dangerous [than those in Judea and Samaria]. The Arabs in this village celebrated the murder, and the State of Israel must destroy the terrorist's house."
"The Arabs in this village celebrated the murder and the State of Israel must destroy the terrorist's house."

A Magen David Adom paramedic by the name of Yosef told Arutz7 reporter Ezra HaLevi that Arabs were throwing rocks at Jews on a massive scale, and the police were not doing anything against the Arabs.  HaLevi said that plainclothes police were on the scene in large numbers and making arrests.

Police on horseback were also deployed against the Jewish protesters. The police donned full riot gear, confronted the Jews with force and made arrests. Police also said some of the Jews threw detonators at them.

In the end, at approximately 9:00 p.m., the Jews who were not shoved into police vans prayed, sang Purim songs and dispersed.

People across the country will participate in a drill next month that will help them prepare for a possible attack on the State of Israel. 

The five-day drill, to be conducted by the National Emergency Authority, will commence on Sunday April 6 and simulate mass casualty events and other attacks throughout Israel.

Air raid sirens will scream throughout the country; citizens will be instructed to locate and head to the nearest public bomb shelter, while government offices and hospitals go into action, implementing their various emergency plans.

Every level of government, all rescue services, hospitals, police, IDF and security services will participate in the drill, which is designed to help the country prepare for possible future attacks from hostile nations in the region.

Ashkelon, a GRAD Target is First
The city of Ashkelon isn’t waiting.

On Tuesday, Barzilai Medical Center will hold a full-scale emergency exercise from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that will simulate a direct hit by a GRAD missile on the hospital.  In the drill, a five-story hospital building, plus an outpatient-clinic laboratory containing toxic chemicals will be hit. Teams will evacuate “patients” from the “blazing” five-story building, including by lowering them from the roof.

The drill, in which some 100 firefighters, 10 fire service vehicles,  other firefighting equipment, doctors and nurses will take part, is meant to assess the hospital’s ability to cope with such a situation.

Since the recent GRAD attacks, in which more than two dozen missiles struck various neighborhoods and other areas in the port city, the Home Front Command announced it would adjust the incoming-rocket alert siren to sound 30 seconds before the rockets hit. The system, slated to be changed the day of the drill, had provided only a 15-second window within which people could reach safe rooms, shelters or other places in which to take refuge from the rockets..

Hamas terrorists in Gaza have rapidly graduated from a relatively primitive terror gang to becoming a military organization with improved attack capabilities.

Seven years of constant, lethal attacks on the western Negev using homemade short-range Kassam rockets have indeed terrorized Israeli civilians in the south, but the relatively primitive missile is gradually giving way to more sophisticated rockets.

Generous support in the form of funds, specialized terror training abroad and gifts of advanced weaponry and munitions from Iran smuggled into Gaza through Egypt have transformed Hamas into what defense sources have said is a true army.

Preparing for Iran
The mass casualty event drills are also meant to prepare the country for a possible attack using nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons from Iran, Syria and other Muslim enemies.

Although there is no imminent sign of such an attack, increasing reports on Iran’s relentless drive to develop nuclear capability are ratcheting up the pressure to prepare for the possibility.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad frequently trumpets bits of progress in the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment program, taunting the international community each time with its inability to halt the process. Uranium enrichment is a key component in the process used to create nuclear energy, be it for domestic purposes as Iran claims to be doing, or for development of a nuclear weapon.

Economic sanctions imposed against Iran by the United Nations Security Council have been largely ineffective in the attempt to persuade Ahmadinejad to suspend, if not entirely end the program.

Israel and the US, as well as a number of other Western nations are convinced that Iran is hurtling toward completion of a nuclear warhead, which it intends to eventually aim at Israel.

Moshe Feiglin, head of the Likud’s Jewish Leadership faction, has been banned from visiting Britain.

British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith recently sent Feiglin a letter informing him that his presence in the country “would not be conducive to the public good,” due to statements he made in the past calling for harsh measures against terrorists and Arabs who support them.

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Feiglin responded with a letter informing Smith that he had not intended to visit Britain in any case.  He expressed pride in being included on the list of Israelis banned from Britain along with former Prime Minister Menachem Begin and senior IDF officers.

Given that Britain recently allowed senior Hizbullah leader Ibrahim Mousawwi to visit, he said, “I understand that your policy is aimed at encouraging and supporting terror.”

Feiglin, who came in second place after Binyamin Netanyahu in the last race to lead the Likud, said that an investigation should be launched to “determine the reasons for this strange initiative against a political figure in Israel. This initiative constitutes yet another example of European interference in Israel’s internal affairs.”

The most bizarre aspect of the ban was the fact that one of the “objectionable” quotes from Feiglin’s past article -  "The Arab is not the son of the desert, but rather, its father" - was taken directly from the book "The Desert Yesterday and Today," written by British High Commissioner of Sinai, Sir Claude Jarvis in 1938.

Click here for an interview with Moshe Feiglin on the matter on Israel National Radio’s Yishai Fleisher show.

As of today (March 16), the State will fund an ambulance trip to the closest hospital for every woman about to give birth, no matter what the distance.

Until now, the National Insurance Institute (NII) funded ambulance trips for birthing mothers only under certain circumstances.  The NII and Magen David Adom have now reached an agreement that will cover an ambulance to the closest hospital for every birthing mother.

NII Director-General Esther Dominsini said it was only natural for NII, which already funds other birth costs, to also pay for the ambulance trip.  "It is inconceivable that when a woman is feeling labor pangs, she or her family will hesitate to call an ambulance just because of financial considerations," Dominsini said.

The most recent statistics indicate that out of 147,000 annual births, some 6,000 women used Magen David Adom ambulances to reach the hospital.  This number is now expected to rise steeply.

The mayor of Tel Aviv has accepted an invitation from Copenhagen to send representatives of Tel Aviv to an upcoming international homosexual event in the Danish capital.
 
Mayor Ron Huldai is hoping to promote homosexual tourism to Tel Aviv – and to the rest of Israel by setting up a compound at the "World Outgames" homosexual competitions scheduled for July and August 2008 in Copenhagen.

Israeli musicians, dancers, filmmakers and other cultural figures will participate in the event. “This is an opportunity to put Tel Aviv on the world map of gay tourism,” said City Councilmember Itai Pinkas, who was tapped by the mayor to organize the project.

Pinkas recruited Tel Aviv homosexual “pride parade” coordinator Adir Steiner to assist in the effort.

Battle Against “Pride” Parade in Jerusalem Continues 
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, Shas Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai and others filed lawsuits last June in a last-ditch attempt to stop the “pride parade” from marching down the streets of the capital, to no avail. The Supreme Court rejected the petitions, ruling that “freedom of expression” overrides the offense caused to public sensibilities.

Lawmakers subsequently proposed an amendment that would allow Jerusalem city officials to prohibit homosexual or any other parades and rallies in the capital considered offensive to the public’s sensibilities. The bill, sponsored by National Union Knesset Member Eliyahu Gabbia, passed its first Knesset reading in June 2007 but was not sent back to the Knesset plenum for its second and third readings. 

In another attempt to address the issue less than two months ago, members of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee decided to bring Jerusalem’s religious leaders together with homosexual activities to discuss the bill that would change the Basic Law. There has been no further mention of such a meeting having taken place, however.

Homosexual activists who attended the committee meeting expressed anger at the proposed legislation, with one insisting, “The right to march in the capital city isn’t a local ‘Jerusalemite’ issue. This is a culture war in which politicians are trying to make Jerusalem their personal property.”

Tourism Ministry ‘Gay’ Campaign Eliminated
A Tourism Ministry campaign to attract homosexual tourism to Israel last year drew fierce criticism from right-wing and religious lawmakers and numerous activist groups.

The “pink Jerusalem” part of the campaign encouraged homosexuals to visit Jerusalem and featured a poster showing two homosexuals kissing against a backdrop of the Old City. The campaign was produced by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Homosexuals and Lesbians organization, together with the Tourism Ministry, according to reports by Ynet.

National Union-National Religious Party Knesset Member Yitzchak Levy pointedly questioned Tourism Minister Ytzchak Aharonovich in July during a Knesset session on the issue, saying international Jewish congregations had expressed outrage at the campaign and the photos.

Aharonovich vehemently denied the Tourism Ministry was involved in the campaign, adding that he is opposed to holding the ‘pride parade’ in the Holy City. He did not explain why the “Gay Jerusalem” posters included a Tourism Ministry logo. He claimed the campaign had been initiated by his predecessor, Avraham Hirchson.

Arutz-7 Coverage Revealed Tourism Ministry Involvement
Arutz-7 found that the poster was not the only outreach vehicle to international homosexual tourists. The entire tourism section of the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (IGLBT) community website last summer displayed credits at the bottom of every page thanking the Tourism Ministry for providing the texts and photos.

Tourist recommendations on the site included bits on all parts of Israel, with the Jerusalem section featuring the “Open House” organization, which sponsors the “pride parade” in the capital.

Another page on the website was entitled “Gay in the Land of Sodom” and provided a history of the homosexual movement in Israel and how it was able to advance to its current “golden age.”

The IGLBT English-language website site has since been removed and a search of the Ministry of Tourism "Go Israel" website this week found no references to “gay, homosexual, lesbian, bisexual or transgender on the site.

A7 Radio's "Weekend Edition" with Tamar Yonah

18 year old Tzvia who is sitting in an Israeli jail was released to attend a trial held by a court of rabbis. What does this mean for Israeli justice? An amazing story. Plus: Rabbi Lazer Brody joins Tamar for the 'Emuna Update', and Ray Pettersen of the Worldwide Noahide movement gives a free gift, this week only at: Noahidenations.com.

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