The danger to the world is not that we are constructing neighborhoods in our capital, Jerusalem...or builds a university here in Ariel...We remain faithful to our homeland. We will continue to protect our citizens, to develop our state and to build in our land. With God's help, we'll bild and succeed.
...if the mainstream media is so profoundly against us, then why are we doing so well in the arena of American public opinion? If the image being conveyed of Israel is so consistently negative, then why do people there seem to like us so much?...the fact remains that we must be doing something right in how we explain ourselves if our public standing in America is so strong and resilient.True.
...If Israel is finding it “impossible” to explain settlement construction, that is simply because it makes little or no effort to do so in a compelling manner. After all, when was the last time you heard a government minister articulate and assert Israel’s legal right to these areas? How forceful have Israeli embassies and consulates abroad been in telling the story of Judea and Samaria?
IF YOU think I am exaggerating, try the following exercise.
Visit the websites of the Israeli embassies in Washington and London, and see if you can find something – anything! – which explains Israel’s rights to Judea and Samaria. Or check out the website of the Foreign Ministry, which refers to these areas as the “West Bank,” the terminology that is used by the Palestinians.
How many people abroad know that the Jewish presence in Hebron dates back more than 3,000 years? Or that “settlements” such as Neve Ya’akov and Kfar Etzion were created during the British Mandatory period even before the State of Israel was founded? Centuries before the invention of Islam, King David was born in Bethlehem, Amos prophesied in Tekoa and Judah the Maccabee fought at Beit Horon. And 1,800 years before the PLO was established, Jews at Beitar were battling the Romans.
Israel is a good countryRomney is a good manwho made the best argument ithecould, and nearly won. ItHewould have made a superb paragon of a statechief executive, but ithe(like the Arab propagandaClintonmachine) could not match them and their associates from the so-called progressive forcesBarack Obamain the darker arts of public persuasion.
The answer to Israel's hasbaraRomney’sfailure is not retreat, not aping the Arabs'Democrats’patchwork pandering. It is to make the case for restrained, rationalized and reformed government in stark contradistinction to the Arabs'Obama’sincreasingly unsustainable corrupt, negarious and terroristbig-spending, big-governmentpaternalism.
Speaking in Qatar on Feb. 26, at an Arab League conference, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas resumed the Palestinian attack on the historical Jewish connection to Jerusalem. This diplomatic strategy began with his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, who questioned whether the Temple ever existed at the end of the July 2000 Camp David summit...Arafat then asserted that Solomon’s Temple was in Nablus, not in Jerusalem. Two years later in leading pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat, Arafat continued: “They found not a single stone proving the Temple was there ...”
...Abbas himself continued with Arafat’s ideological position on the Temple in an Israeli-Arab weekly, adding: “... they claim that 2,000 years ago they had a temple. I challenge the claim that this is so.”...Nabil Shaath spoke to al-Ayyam and spoke about the Israeli claim that “its fictitious temple” once stood in Jerusalem.
Chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, also declared: “For Islam, there never was a Temple at al-Quds, but a ‘distant mosque.’” Yasser Abd Rabbo told Le Monde, in September 2000, “There was no archaeological evidence that the Temple ever existed on the Temple Mount.”...
Now, Abbas is once again renewing this line of attack...
...Since Arafat first told Clinton that there never was a Temple, there has been a full-scale effort over the last decade, on the part of the Palestinian leadership, to make this idea of Temple denial take root through programs on Palestinian television, articles in the official Palestinian Authority newspapers, and mosque sermons that aim to deny the historical Jewish connection to Jerusalem...The great irony of this new Palestinian version of Jerusalem’s history is that it contradicts the original Islamic tradition.
...the fact [is] that Umar himself allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, after the Romans and Byzantines kept them away for 500 years...what is going on here?...this is not a matter of establishing what is historical truth. Instead, the almost obsessive Palestinian preoccupation with denying Israel’s ties to Jerusalem is actually a new kind of political warfare they have decided to wage...The Palestinian Authority leaders have observed that most of the assertions they have made about Israel in recent years – like comparing it to apartheid South Africa – eventually get accepted without question or criticism. They have every reason to hope that the denial of the historical Jewish connection to Jerusalem will gain supporters worldwide.
Israel...needs to insist that its representatives understand and learn for themselves Israel’s historical rights...
...Netanyahu is blessed with an extraordinary gift of articulating Israel’s case. But unless he also ensures that the government employs competent people capable of expeditiously responding in the war of ideas, he must be held accountable for our failures in this area...Netanyahu must recognize that one of the highest priorities of his office is to provide effective liaison between the Israel Defense Forces, the Foreign Ministry and other divisions to ensure that Israel responds speedily and acts efficiently in the face of the ongoing defamatory campaigns being launched against us.
Only too often we remain the last to take action when it comes to damage control. By the time we respond to Palestinian lies and subterfuge, it is invariably too late and the initial falsehoods that dominated the media cannot be undone...Netanyahu’s direct obligation to ensure that his office is manned by the best available staff. Until now, notwithstanding a number of talented individuals serving in the PMO, overall the information services remain an abysmal failure...
Israeli soldiers raided a Palestinian television station in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday and seized broadcast equipment, computers and files, an employee said.
Ahmed Milhem said soldiers gave no reason for the raid on privately-owned Watan TV in Ramallah, which began at 0200 a.m. (1200 GMT) and lasted for three hours.
"They seized computers, broadcast equipment and administrative files," Milhem told Reuters by telephone. "The station is now off the air," he added.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she had no initial information but was checking for details.
The television station is owned by local non-governmental organizations and broadcasts local news and cultural and political programs over the Internet.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she had no initial information but was checking for details.
claim that the Judea and Samaria public relations effort, which is premised on our historical right in this land, is doomed for failure
we must not speak of the Bible and history, because it’s primitive; rather, we must only explain our security needs and point to the murderous behavior of the Palestinians
...there is no greater mistake...the Palestinians have been arguing for dozens of years now that this land is theirs, while we have been responding with “true, but we need security.”
...There is no wonder that the nations of the world would see us as robbers who pushed the Palestinian people out of their home. Regardless...we shall remain robbers.
As long as we keep on utilizing practical arguments while leaving the arena of justice to the Palestinians, we shall lose. The time has come for the Israeli government to go back to the simple truth: The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel.
Speaking just before the ambassador, MP Ivan Lewis praised the Big Tent's convenor, Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag, and noted that, "far too often, those who claim the mantle of leadership in our community would rather ignore some home truths. And the leaders who have the integrity to speak out in a very moderate and balanced way are sometimes vilified."
Mr Lewis said: "Let us respect our differences, free of some of the rancour and personal vitriol we have seen over the last few weeks."
...Douglas Murray of the Henry Jackson Society told 200 delegates that as an "outside observer" of the Jewish community, he noted that "pro-Israel groups spend more time attacking each other than they do their mutual enemies. "It's like the scene in the Life of Brian when no one remembers who their enemy is," Mr Murray said. The sentiment was echoed in more serious terms by many of the conference's 40 or more speakers.
...The Big Tent, living up to its name, included speakers from a wide range of political positions. [except me] Hannah Weisfeld, director of the left-wing Israel advocacy organisation Yachad, strenuously defended the right of pro-Israel groups to criticise the Israeli government. "I challenge the notion and strongly refute [the belief] that you cannot engage with critics of Israel by admitting Israel's flaws," she said.
But Douglas Murray, who admitted a cross-political effort for Israel was needed, countered: "If this argument for Israel is going to be won - and, let's face it, it is being lost - we need a tool-box approach to doing that. That tool-box will include people who are hammers, and there will be some spanners in it."
...Jewish PR guru Shimon Cohen...told Lorna Fitzsimons he did not agree with a word she had said on positive PR efforts by the Israeli government..."Israel's PR sucks," and urged the audience to try to focus the media on positive Israel stories rather than countering the negative. He also attacked Jewish communal leadership. "When we started Shechita UK, I was told we didn't need it; our leaders would have a quiet word at the top. That is utter rubbish. People matter, opinions matter, voices matter. Thanks to the great Jewish public, a voice got across and we won," he said, urging that the same PR effort should now be made for Israel.
Mr Wineman insisted: "There was no exclusion of pro-settler voices. Mr Unsdorfer and Mr [Eric] Graus [president of Likud-Herut] have been invited to speak, and they will be welcome if they come."
Mr Medad had been ruled out, he said, because he lacked the immediate local experience of the delegitimisation of Israel in the UK.
A prominent spokesman for Jewish settlers in the West Bank has complained of being excluded from Sunday's Big Tent for Israel conference in Manchester.
Yisrael Medad is a former emissary to the UK for the right-wing Betar youth movement, who now lives in the settlement of Shiloh.
On his blog My Right Word, Mr Medad questioned the apparent lack of any settler representative at the advocacy event. He also referred readers to other bloggers who had been critical of the Jewish Leadership Council and the chairman of its executive, Mick Davis, over Israel.
Mr Medad's name was then suggested as a possible speaker, to organisers finalising the programme.
But Mr Medad said: "I was informed that my participation was rejected and it was intimated to me that I had insulted the UK Jewish leadership."
A former chairman of British Friends of Peace Now has been elected president of the Board of Deputies for the next three years.
Vivian Wineman, 59, the Board’s senior vice-president, emerged victorious from a record four candidates...Mr Wineman, a commercial solicitor who represents Hampstead Garden Suburb United Synagogue [and educated at City of London School Yavneh Yeshivah (Rabbinical College) Gonville & Caius College]...while entertaining “strong views” on Israel...explained that at the Board: “I never make recommendations on what the government of Israel should do for its security. I am concerned that Israel should continue to be a democratic Jewish state...if we start going out on a limb, taking a line on Israeli politics, even a line we are sympathetic to, we risk the danger of alienating our own community and damaging the Board.”
A founder of the British branch of the New Israel Fund, who speaks fluent Hebrew and has studied at yeshivah, Mr Wineman stressed both a commitment to religious pluralism as well as an ability to make overtures to the Charedi community, which is almost entirely unrepresented at the Board...
chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council and Vice President of the European Jewish Congress.
the occupied Palestinian territories in a long question and answer session with Jonathan Freedland organized by the UK New Israel Fund and hosted by the New North London Synagogue...
Curiously, the NIF organizers decided they needed to ‘balance’ Naomi Chazan’s views with the responses of three leaders of the Jewish and pro-Israel establishments. This seemed an odd idea to say the least, given that Jonathan Freedland acted very effectively as devil’s advocate in his questioning, despite the fact that he freely admitted that his sympathies lay with Chazan and her views...Wineman was rambling and confused.
the Samaritan Peace and Humanitarian Medal
Mr Vivian Wineman, President of the Board of Deputies, has become the 2011 recipient of the Samaritan Medal for Peace, Humanitarian and Academic Achievements...[saying]...it is a matter of huge pride to me that we can conduct dialogue in an atmosphere of mutual respect. I would like to pay tribute to Benny Sedaka's indefatigable work in promoting knowledge of the Samaritan tradition and his wonderful idea of making them a bridge in the cause of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians."
(The Samaritan Medal Foundation was established in 2005 in Washington DC in order to highlight prominent activists in the world and the Middle East who foster peace between Israel and Palestinians)
We don’t support boycotts
raised his concerns over the past political activities
“We may be mistaken in our views, but we are not deluded and nor do we have our collective heads in the sand. Our critics should save their vitriol for those who attack Israel, not for those in the front line of its defence."
The Independent Committee tasked with selecting a list of speakers for The Big Tent event held a cordial and constructive meeting in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon (9 November) chaired by Vivian Wineman, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and Lucille Cohen, President of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region.
A list of diverse and exciting potential speakers representing a balanced range of views across the pro-Israel camp was agreed, with the input of the Organising Committee. Rabbi Guttentag, the convenor of The Big Tent event, who was present by Skype at the meeting, expressed his delight at the process and the outcome.
...the Tel Aviv-based Reut Institute identified the UK - in particular London - as a "global hub" for those intent on delegitimising the Jewish state. Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag, of the Orthodox Whitefield synagogue in Manchester, determined to do something about this. He began to contact sponsors and speakers with a view to holding a "Big Tent for Israel" conference in Manchester...It has been hijacked by those with a different agenda...
...a spiteful campaign against it [was triggered]...last month Davis sent Rabbi Guttentag a breathtaking letter, threatening that if he did not agree to this equality of status then the JLC, along with the UJIA, the Union of Jewish Students and the Board, would find it "very difficult" to participate in the conference. The threat built on one issued by Board president Vivian Wineman...
The committee now responsible for choosing speakers will be chaired by United Synagogue president Stephen Pack and is expected to include some Progressive representation.
“Better to have him inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in”
Davis, he wrote, “brazenly incites his fellow Jews to criticize Israel.” Leibler went on:
“While occupying the role of chairman of the UIJA resident in London, he had the chutzpa to berate the Israeli prime minister ‘for lacking the courage to take the steps’ to advance the peace process, arguing that ‘I don’t understand the lack of strategy in Israel.’ He also employed the terminology of our enemies, predicting an ‘apartheid state’ unless Israel was able to achieve a two-state solution – unashamedly blaming Israelis rather than Palestinians for being the obstacle to peace.
“His sheer arrogance was best demonstrated in his most outrageous remark: ‘I think the government of Israel has to recognize that their actions directly impact on me as a Jew living in London, UK When they do good things, it is good for me; when they do bad things, it is bad for me… I want them to recognize that.’”
Mick Davis referred to Isi Leibler as "that mad Australian who seems to be against everybody".
EVERYONE who believes in Israel is welcome inside THE BIG TENT FOR ISRAEL
The conflict is not about territory. It is an existential one. It is about Israel's existence not about how much land it possesses. The Arabs oppose Jewish political authority over 'their Palestine', anywhere, anytime.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry Is Now Part of the Settlement Movement
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