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Friday, Jul 3 '09, Tammuz 11, 5769
Today`s Email Stories:
PA Arabs Say No to Obama's Call
Obama Easing Up on Israel?
Attias: Coexistence Not Working
Lieberman: No More Concessions
PM Netanyahu at July 4th Party
IDF, Gaza Terrorists Trade Fire
  More Website News:
IDF Responds to Amnesty Report
Judge Selection C'tee Deadlocked
Rabbi Beaten in Moldova
Israeli Firms Bid for ID Project
Keeping Strategic Site Jewish
  Video: "Green Trend is An Industry"
  MP3 Radio Website News Briefs:
Talk: The Bible's Oldest Book Explored
'Not a Single Jewish Home'
Music: Erev Niggunim
Vocal Selection


   


1. Iranian Expert: Obama Leading to Calamity
by Hillel Fendel 'Obama Leads to Iran Tragedy'

Uri Lubrani, a former Israeli Ambassador to Iran and considered one of Israel’s top experts on Iran, says United States policies are leading inexorably to a tragedy.

Speaking with the Makor Rishon newspaper, Lubrani said, “Obama says he wants to reach an arrangement with the Iranians regarding a halt to the enrichment of uranium. In my best judgment, there is no chance of this happening. Iran of today is not the Iran of a month ago, before the riots, and the conditions in which the Americans had prepared for talks after the elections are no longer the same.”

“I fear that the Americans don’t know what to do,” Lubrani said, “but have don’t yet realize that they don’t know what to do. A tragedy is unfolding in front of our eyes. The tragedy is that the American administration actually will come to the conclusion, at the end, that negotiations have no chance – but they will reach this conclusion a year or two too late, and in the meanwhile, the nuclear clock is ticking.”

Obama to AP

Obama himself has noted that the situation in Iran has changed in recent weeks, but he has not mentioned any changes in his own policy. In response to a question from an Associated Press interviewer on Thursday, he said his is “not reconciled with [having to live with a nuclear-armed Ira, and I don't think the international community is reconciled with that. Now, how we get from what we know is required for international security — which is a nuclear-free Iran — how we get from here to there is a big challenge. And it's gotten more difficult in light of what's happened post-election in Iran.”



Iran and Peres

During President Shimon Peres’s recent trip to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Iran recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan in protest, and the leaders of Kazakhstan told Peres that they would not sell uranium to Iran.
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2. PA Arabs in Late Response to Obama Speech: No, We Can't
by Maayana Miskin PA Arabs Say No to Obama's Call

A poll released this week showed that PA Arabs are reluctant to grant rights to Jews or Christians within areas demanded for a PA state. A survey conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development among 1,200 Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza found that did not feel Jerusalem should be shared with Jews and Christians.

When asked to what extent they agreed with a statement made by United States President Barack Obama that Jerusalem should be “a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims,” less than 17 percent said they agree, while 20 percent said they “somewhat agree.” More than 42 percent said they disagree with the statement, while 17 percent “somewhat disagree.”





Arabs in easterm Jerusalem watch Obama's Cairo speech, June 4 (Israel news photo: Flash 90)

Reject violence? No thanks

More than 45 percent of those surveyed disagreed with a second statement of Obama's in which the president called on the Arab world to reject violence and killing as a means of struggle. Twenty-two percent did not give an answer, while the remainder said they “agree” or “somewhat agree” with the statement.

The poll showed that PA Arabs were pessimistic regarding Obama's speech to the Arab world in early June. More believed that Obama's visit to the region would strengthen Israel, increase restrictions on Gaza, and do nothing to promote negotiations than believed the opposite. Only 14.2 percent said they fully agreed that Obama is serious when he calls for the creation of a PA state.

Jews want rights as minority in PA

Another new poll showed that most Israeli Jews believe that any future Palestinian Authority-led Arab state in Judea and Samaria should provide Jews with equal rights, including the right to live freely in its territory. The statistic was revealed Thursday by a Maagar Mochot poll published by the Independent Media Review and Analysis.

Fifty-eight percent of the 506 Israeli Jews surveyed said they believed Israel should insist that any future PA state respect the right of Jews to live in its territory. Thirty-one percent believed Israel should not insist that Jews be allowed to live in a PA state.

Roughly 300,000 Jews reside in Judea and Samaria, and approximately 250,000 more live in Jerusalem neighborhoods demanded by the PA. The views exposed by the Maagar Mochot poll are at odds with government policy, which has been to forcibly remove Jews from PA areas in line with PA demands that any future Arab state in Judea and Samaria be rid of the current Jewish minority.

An even larger majority of those polled believed that Israel should insist that the PA commit to allowing Jews full access to Jewish holy sites in Judea and Samaria, including those considered holy by Muslims as well. Eighty-two percent said Israel should insist on access to holy sites, while only 11 percent said Israel should not make such a demand.

Indicator of national dignity

Jewish holy sites in Judea and Samaria include the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Me'arat Hamachpelah) in Hevron, Joseph's Tomb in Shechem, and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem. Jews are currently allowed full access only to the latter site, while the Tomb of the Patriarchs is split into Jewish and Muslim sections, and Jews are allowed to visit Joseph's Tomb only intermittently.

While a narrow majority of respondents said Israel should negotiate with the PA without preconditions, most said Israel should insist on Jewish rights during the negotiation process.

More than 60 percent of those polled said that demanding Jewish rights under PA rule was an indicator of national dignity. Israeli leaders who fail to demand freedom of residence and access to holy sites for Jews lack self-respect, they said.
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3. Slight Shift in Obama Policies Detected
by Hillel Fendel Obama Easing Up on Israel?

Arab intransigence and the realization that Iran nukes might be more important than Jewish houses are leading the Obama administration to a slight shift in policy.

The San Francisco Sentinel reports that “the U.S. administration has not been successful in securing commitments from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel.” Similar reports, all based on “Jerusalem government sources,” appear in other news sources around the world.

The reports say that not only would Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, not move towards normalization with Israel while Israel continues with settlement construction, but they would also not do so even if Israel agrees to freeze building in Judea and Samaria.

“In such a situation,” the source is quoted as saying, “the Americans can’t continue demanding gestures only from Israel, such as the demand that Israel freeze settlement construction.”

Ex-Ambassador: There Were Bush-Sharon Understandings

In addition, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Zalman Shoval says he notices the first signs of a slight change in the Obama administration’s emphasis. 

“I have just returned from a series of important and interesting talks with leaders in Washington,” Shoval told Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine, “including heads of the previous administration, such as former National Security Council head Stephen Hadley and Elliott Abrams. They all confirmed what was publicized this week, that there were understandings between the Bush Administration and Ariel Sharon [that Israel could continue settlement construction after the Disengagement from Gush Katif – ed. They even drew the maps for me, and I am certain that the Obama administration knows these facts too.”

Shoval said that there is a willingness in Washington “to find solutions for the mini-crisis that has arisen on the matter of settlements. The Americans realize that this dispute has grown out of proportion, and that there are more important things than the settlements – for instance, the recent events in Iran.”

Question Mark About US Iran's Policy

Shoval says the Americans are beginning to rethink their policy vis-à-vis Iran: “They see a large question mark about their policy until now, because everyone now understands that Ahmadinajad and Khamenei have entrenched themselves into their regime once again, and the chance for dialogue with them is very slim. This regime has revealed itself to be extremist – not only towards the world, but even towards its own people – and American public opinion will no longer accept the concept of dialogue with such a government. Even the media there, which until now has supported Obama, have begun attacking the government. There is criticism not only about Iran, but even regarding statements by some Obama people that understandings were not reached in the past regarding the settlements.”
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4. Attias: Some Populations Shouldn't Live Together
by Maayana Miskin Attias: Coexistence Not Working

Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Attias raised a stir Thursday when he warned against a growing anti-Israel Arab population in the Galilee and stated that mixed Arab-Jewish cities were “unsuitable.” He also said that hareidi-religious and secular Jews should live separately.

Attias, a member of the hareidi-religious Shas party, spoke at a conference held by the Israel Bar Association in Tel Aviv.

Attias spoke about the planned hareidi-religious town of Harish in the part of north-central Israel known as Wadi Ara, or Nachal Eeron. Bringing a large Jewish hareidi population there would “stop the expansion from Wadi Ara of a population that does not love the state of Israel, to say the least,” he said, in a clear reference to Arabs.

Wadi Ara, a winding valley between Hadera and Afula, is an area of Israel that was not conquered by the IDF in 1948 but rather turned over to the state in 1949, as part of a ceasefire accord with Jordan. It is home to a largely Arab population.

A town almost lost to Arabs

Harish was planned as a Jewish city, and infrastructures for several neighborhoods were laid down there in the mid-1990s. However, only two neighborhoods were ever built. Development of the city came to a halt in 1998, when the government brought an Arab crime family -- the Karaja clan from Ramleh -- to live in the fledgling Jewish city. The crime family had become involved in an armed feud with another clan and the then-Minister of Public Security, Avigdor Kahalani, was under pressure to relocate them. Seeing as no other community, including Arab ones, would consent to take them in, he brought them to Harish. The small local population was largely made up of newly arrived Jewish immigrants from the Caucasian Mountains who were not able to put up an effective struggle against the Karajas.

Since then, no developers have been willing to invest in the city. At a certain point it seemed as though the town might turn into an Arab one. A religious-Zionist seed group saved the day, however, by moving in and preventing any further expansion of the Arab presence. The seed group now numbers over 60 families, but it is not clear whether these will still be wanted at Harish when the hareidi populace moves in.

Losing the Galilee?

"If things continue this way, we will lose the Galilee,” Attias continued. “Populations are expanding there that should not be mixed.” The government should provide land for Arab housing instead of creating a situation where Arabs move into Jewish cities, he suggested.

Attias said that Arabs and Jews were better off living separately. “We can be 'bleeding hearts' about it, but it's not suitable,” he said. “Look what happened in Akko,” he added, referring to major riots that broke out in late 2008 in the mixed city of Akko (Acre) in which Arabs and Jews fought for several nights in the streets of the city.

Continuing to refer to Akko, Attias said Akko mayor Shimon Lankry had told him to bring hareidi-religious Jews to the area in order to save the city, and said it was worth it to do so even if it meant that he, Lankry, would be voted out of office by the new population. Arab residents of the city are harassing Jews and driving them away, Attias quoted Lankry as saying.

Hareidi, Secular Populations should Separate

Not only should Jews and Arabs live separately, Attias said, but some separation should exist within the Jewish population as well. Hareidi-religious Jews should live in their own areas, instead of moving into areas where most are not religiously observant, in order to avoid friction, he said.

"As a hareidi man, I don't think that hareidi Jews should live in non-observant neighborhoods, so that there won't be friction,” he explained. Friction is caused “because in the hareidi population, 5,000 or 6,000 couples marry each year,” he continued, creating a housing squeeze that can lead non-hareidi residents to fear a hareidi takeover.

Government at Fault for Housing Crisis

The government bears responsibility for the housing crisis in the hareidi-religious community and other segments of Israeli society, Attias said. Few government-owned lands have been offered for housing in recent years despite a quickly growing population, due in part to the high turnover in the Housing Ministry and the Israeli Lands Authority, which prevented long-term planning, he said.

Attias listed some of his own ideas for solving the crisis, and said he planned to begin by releasing large tracts of land for development. Land will be designated for all populations, including Arabs, hareidi-religious Jews and other Jews, he said.

Gil Ronen contributed to this article.
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5. Lieberman: We Are Always Loved When We Make Concessions
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz Lieberman: No More Concessions

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday belittled the global focus on the growth of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, and said there would be no more unilateral concessions to the Palestinian Authority.

"It is not a coincidence that since [t Oslo [Accord we have not reached the end of the conflict," Lieberman said, addressing a gathering of Druze supporters in the Arab city of Shfaram. The meeting was held at the home of Hamad Amar, a Knesset Member representing Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu party. In the last Knesset elections, the mixed Druze, Christian and Muslim Shfaram gave Israel Beiteinu 14.4% of the vote.

The Foreign Minister said that the Netanyahu administration is prepared to take responsibility for negotiating an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, he said, "taking responsibility does not mean always making concessions." Past Israeli concessions in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority have not had positive results, Lieberman observed, "even though we are always loved when we make concessions."

According to Lieberman, the issue of Israeli-PA negotiations has been blown out of all proportion in the international community. He referred to comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier on Thursday calling for a complete halt to construction in Judea and Samaria.

"I am convinced that there must be a stop to this," Merkel told the Bundestag, "otherwise we will not reach the urgently needed two-state solution."

"North Korea is firing missiles and we are continuing to deal with that little house in Judea and Samaria?" Lieberman asked sharply. "Against the backdrop of events in Tehran, should this be the top priority of the global community?" He added that "Israel's true friends, in the United States and Germany," must be made to understand that the government is not going to smother the normal lives of Jews living in Judea and Samaria.

"Israel has no greater friend than the United States," Lieberman added, "which will remain Israel's most faithful and important ally, even when there are differences of opinion."
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6. PM Netanyahu Addresses 4th of July Party in Israel
by IsraelNN Staff PM Netanyahu at July 4th Party

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The American embassy held its annual party celebrating the birth of the United States. Israeli leaders from the military and political classes were in attendance along with the American staff of the embassy. From both the right and left, the participants sat together and were entertained by American music, food and fireworks. The Prime Minister of the Jewish state, Binyamin Netanyahu, addressed the gathering. (Video courtesy of Channel 10)

 
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7. IDF, Gaza Terrorists Trade Fire
by Maayana Miskin IDF, Gaza Terrorists Trade Fire

Gaza terrorists fired on IDF soldiers on Thursday evening along the security fence opposite central Gaza. IDF soldiers responded with guns and mortar fire. No soldiers were wounded.

Gaza sources reported that a 17-year-old young woman was killed and 11 others were wounded in the El-Burej and Johar Ad-Dayak area. Earlier reports stated that the deceased was a three-year-old child.

IDF officials said the incident is under investigation. Soldiers did not report hitting any persons, they said.

Relatively few attacks have been reported in the Gaza area since the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead, in which the IDF killed hundreds of Hamas terrorists and destroyed much of the organization's infrastructure in Gaza. However, intermittent attacks have taken place in recent months, including rocket and mortar shell attacks and a recent attempted kidnapping.

On Monday of this week terrorists attempted to plant a bomb near the Karni crossing in Gaza. Soldiers fired at the group.

Earlier on Monday terrorists in northern Gaza fired a mortar shell at Israeli communities in the western Negev. The shell did not cause injuries or damage.
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