By Moshe Kempinski   September 7, 2005
The people of Israel have been wounded both physically and spiritually. They want to cry out in pain, but the cry comes out in a bewildered whisper. They travel from funeral to funeral to honor those Jews evicted from their final resting place. They wander from hotel to hotel to aid the Jews evicted from their homes into an uncertain future by an indifferent and callous government. They shake their heads trying to determine what went wrong and how we could have done things differently.
They begin the very dangerous process, so common to mourners, of self-blame. This process has begun to include blame directed at any group or individual who had the courage to attempt to show leadership during these tumultuous times.

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By Elyakim Ha'etzni   September 5, 2005
Many Jews are soul-searching, a process that always ends the same way: Beating the chest and confessing our sins.
This time, goes the argument, the settlers' sin was failing to "settle" in the hearts of ordinary Israelis. As a result of neglecting the general public, we were left alone when the pullout tragedy struck. But is it really true?
Let's say the Sycamore Ranch Forum decides one day that in order to save Ariel Sharon's skin, Israel must remove itself from the "Galilee finger," that small parcel of land in the north, heavily populated by Arabs and located between two Arab countries -- namely, Jordan and the Palestinians -- that has become too big a security burden for the IDF.

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A New York Times report on the exodus of Christians from Bethlehem and other historically Christian towns in the West Bank (A Sad New Carol: Go Ye From Bethlehem, Dec 23) omitted a major reason for this demographic change – official and unofficial Muslim discrimination against Arab Christians, amid a rising tide of Islamism in the Palestinian territories.
The Times cited instead:
Four years of violence, an economic free fall and the Israeli separation barrier have all contributed to the hardships facing Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, one of the largest concentrations of Christians in the region.
While there’s no doubt that these are contributing factors, they are unlikely to be the major reason for the Christian exodus, which is clear if one stops to think that the Christian population is also dwindling in the rest of the Arab world. Obviously this pan-Arab phenomena has nothing to do with Israel, and everything to do with the fact that Arab Christians are made to feel unwelcome, or worse, in the Muslim countries of the Middle East.

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by Ran Shapira/Teresa Neumann Reporting : Sep 9, 2005 : Haaretz
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/622357.html

 
Haaretz reports that a recent excavation in Jerusalem, which some archaeologists believe have unearthed King David's biblical palace built after conquering Jerusalem from the Jebusites, have been nothing short of "sensational." It has also unearthed a religious debate between Palestinians and Jews over biblical accuracy and the greatness of King David himself.

Lead archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, says the large structure they have discovered may be a palace, a temple, or a fortress, but according to the report, analysis of the finds in her possession has led her to conclude that it is the palace referred to in II Samuel, Chapter 5. "For years, there have been those who contended there was no evidence of public construction in 10th century BCE Jerusalem," says Mazar. "Based on this, they claim that David and Solomon were not important rulers, as described in the Bible. Now there is evidence of such construction, and those who minimize the importance of David and Solomon have to deal with the facts. Because in an out-of-the-way and remote settlement you would not find a structure like this, the construction of which required abundant resources and a great capacity to plan and execute."
 
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By Ryan Jones
September 4th, 2005
Far from freezing the defunct “Oslo” peace process as originally hoped by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria appears to have accelerated the birth of the State of Palestine.
Sharon has long been a proponent of a protracted process, affording Israel the opportunity to amply evaluate the Palestinian Arabs’ compliance with their peace commitments.
When he first introduced his “disengagement” plan, the prime minister asserted it would grant Israel the ability to play the game by its own rules and stave off what had been a wild rush to establish the region’s 22nd Arab state.
But the aim of the Bush Administration, the force that most strongly drives the land-for-peace process, remains the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state with at least provisional borders by the end of the American president’s second term.

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Were it not for the fact that U.S. currency unequivocally states "In GOD we Trust" -- the only country on earth to make this claim -- I would probably not be writing this article. But it does, so I am.
Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi wrote 900 years ago: "Israel among the Nations is akin to the heart among the organs of the body" (Kuzari -- 12th century text of Jewish philosophy). In other words, the heart, being more sensitive than the other organs, is often the first to show signs of distress.
In mid-August the government of Israel -- in response to American and international pressure -- forcibly exiled Jews from their ancestral lands in Gush Katif (Gaza) and Samaria, turning 10,000 of its own citizens into homeless refugees. Their homes, businesses and lives were destroyed before their eyes. Their crime? I cannot tell you because I do not know. The result? A colossal injustice against victims of Islamic terror and an unheard of incentive for Islamic terrorists world-wide.

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IDF forces have blown up two command and control structures in Gaza's Erez industrial zone, demolished a military courthouse, and several factories. But acceding to a request by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed Thursday at midnight to delay the order to blow up Gaza's remaining synagogues until after a Cabinet meeting Sunday.
Israel's High Court voted 4-3 earlier Thursday to permit the destruction of the synagogues, giving the government a green light to demolish any houses of worship that could not be dismantled. "The specialness of the synagogues continues to exist even after they are abandoned," wrote the majority group of justices. "This principle is part of the international concept regarding the protection of holy sites, holy buildings and holy places wherever they are. Alongside these considerations, there are various diplomatic considerations which effect the decision about how to deal with the synagogues remaining in the
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The western media corps largely ignores Muslim violence against Christians in the Holy Land
For years, media outlets have largely refused to report one of the most troubling aspects of the Mideast conflict ― Muslim intimidation and violence against Christians in Palestinian-controlled areas.
The latest shocking episode again made its way to very few news consumers: Late Saturday night (Sept. 3), hundreds of armed Palestinian Muslims crying 'Allahu Akbar' descended on the West Bank Christian city of Taibe. For the next few hours, the mob terrorized the community, setting sixteen homes and multiple businesses on fire, looting valuables from both, and destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Said one eyewitness: 'It was like a war, they arrived in groups, and many of them were holding clubs.'
The mob's 'provocation'? A Muslim woman from their neighboring village had had a relationship with a Christian man from Taibe. The woman was poisoned to death by her own family in an 'honor killing', and soon after, the pogrom against Taibe commenced.
Something tells us this incident would have made international headlines had Jews been responsible for this type of violence.

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