THIS is what our nation is responding to

THIS is what our nation is responding to
This is why we are at a heightened state of alert.

Please remember that in the difficult times ahead.

Smooth Stone wishes all of our readers a very Happy and Healthy New Year.

GE returns to Paul Harvey after Muslim flap

GE returns to Paul Harvey after Muslim flap
Yee-ha! Score one for all of us! General Electric has decided to resume advertising on Paul Harvey's radio program after having pulled its spots due to complaints from the whiney Muslim lobby, CAIR, about a comment the radio newsman made about Islam.

Smooth Stone wrote about CAIR's assault on Paul Harvey last week and we, along with thousands of others motivated by the righteousness of right-thinking American leaders like Daniel Pipes and visionary institutions like World Net Daily, participated in the call to boycott General Electric.

See, boycotts can work both ways, Ibrahim Hooper, and it will be a cold day in hell before we, as Americans, will lay down and submit to free-speech offenders like your cesspool organization CAIR.

The Tenth of Tevet

Siege of Jerusalem
Sunday, January 4, 2004 is The Tenth of Tevet , a Jewish fast day commemorating Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem 2,500 years ago. In Jewish consciousness, a fast day is a time of reckoning, a time to correct a previous mistake.

During Nebuchadnezzar's siege, there was little damage on that first day and no Jews were killed. So why is this day so tragic? Because the siege was a message, to get the Jewish people to wake up and fix their problems. They failed, and the siege ultimately led to the destruction of the King Solomon's Temple.

Today we are also under siege. Much of the Jewish world is ignorant of our precious heritage. The results are catastrophic: a blurring of our national goals in Israel and for some, shame and self-loathing for being Jewish.

If the Jewish problem today is a lack of appreciation of our heritage, then the solution is clear: increased love of Torah, love of Jews, and love of Israel and Jerusalem.

The siege will not be lifted until we correct the mistakes.

Access | Middle East: a new, must-visit site

Access | Middle East (AME)
We here at Smooth Stone are excited by a brand new must-visit website, Access | Middle East (AME), a new and powerful information portal that, hopefully, will help ensure that journalists from around the globe, will once and for all get their facts right and by doing so, will benefit Israel by changing the tone of Middle East reporting.

AME is non-partisan; not left, right or middle. AME's philosophy is that the truth will benefit Israel -- even information we personally may not like.

AME features state-of-the-art software that translates, in real time, 400 newspapers from around the world. It's a one-stop shop for journalists. AME has headlines from 10 major newspapers in the world, any of which you can click on to get the full story. The user is also able to track responses from around the world to different statements made by prominent people regarding Middle East issues. AME has links to over 50 prestigious think tanks and institutions. Everything you could want to know about the Middle East is on AME's site.

While AME and its founders are supporters of Israel, AME believes that accurate information leads to a perspective that is supported by the facts and that in the final analysis objective reporting is in everyone's best interest.

AME encourages private individuals, Jewish community leadership, teachers, students and policy makers to log on.

Click here for a fascinating interview with Merv Adelson , the creator and founder.

Israel on the chopping block. It's heartbreaking.

Four outposts to be removed
The outposts Ginot Aryeh near Ofrah, Havat Shaked in Yitzhar, Magen David in south Mt. Hebron and Bat Ayin between Bethlehem and Hebron are to be removed by an order signed Sunday [Dec. 27, 2003] by PM Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.

Boycott General Electric

On Wednesday, Dec 24, Smooth Stone linked to an article on the terrorist-fronted, pro-Muslim lobby, CAIR, and its assault on Paul Harvey, 84, an ABC radio personality whose "News and Comment" program appears on 1,600 radio stations.

Since then, General Electric sent out the following message to CAIR and promised them: "We have received your E-mail about the comments of Paul Harvey on December 4, 2003. GE certainly doesn't endorse the comment and regrets any offense that it may have caused. While we look into the matter further, we have pulled GE's advertisements from Mr. Harvey's show."

Smooth Stone's opinion regarding General Electric's cave-in to the radical Muslims is that all persons can e-mail or write to G.E. and register their complaint, as well. Boycotting is a two-way street.

As one reader of WorldNetDailly wrote, "Anyone truly familiar with the tenets of Islam can't fault Paul Harvey's truthful statement that resulted in G.E. pulling their advertising support of him. Besides, there are many more Paul Harvey listeners than there are CAIR members. And there are plenty of other choices in the marketplace for appliances and light bulbs."

To protest GE's decision, please call or write:

Gary Sheffer
General Manager, Public Affairs and Employee Communications
(203) 373-3476
gary.sheffer@corporate.ge.com

Want Israel to remove her fence? You remove yours first.

To our big surprise we discovered that there exist some fences and barriers in the world, outside of Israel. Some of them even can be found in major UN member nations. Please help the world get rid of the fences and write to the heads of state and representatives to the United Nations.

First, we start with the fence between Mexico and the USA. There is really no need for this fence since the millions of illegal Mexicans in the United States do not commit suicide bomb attacks in American restaurants.

Write to Mr. Bush and Mr. Powell today. Nobody told them about this fence.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Fax : (202) 456 - 2883
E-mail : president@whitehouse.gov

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Fax : (202) 647 - 1533
E-mail : secretary@state.gov

=====

Then we continue with the fence between North and South Korea. A totally useless fence since the regimes of both countries share the same democratic values. Remind their representatives about this:

Permanent Representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the UN
820 Second Avenue
13th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 972-3105/3106/3128, Telefax: (212) 972-3154

Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN
335 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 439-4000, Telefax: (212) 986-1083

=====

A fence in Europe. Could it be? But those people live in peace. The fence between Cyprus and the Turkish occupied territory should be removed at once, not only opened during daytime.

Write about this to:
Permanent Representative of Turkey to the UN
821 United Nations Plaza
10th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 949-0150, Telefax: (212) 949-0086

Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN
13 East 40th Street
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (212) 481-6023/6024/6025, Telefax: (212) 685-7316

=====

Another fence in Europe:
In Northern Ireland this time, where thanks to wise British policy, Catholics and Protestants live in peace together for centuries. Let's get rid of this fence!

Write to Mr. Blair. He does not know of these fences in Belfast.

Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
Fax : 0207 925 0918

=====

This is a good fence, as friendly Dutch people know how to build. It is only meant to keep illegal immigrants from leaving the harbor area of Hoek van Holland. But the purpose is like any other fence: keep the wrong people out of your country.

Write to:
Minister President, J.P. Balkenende
Ministerie van Algemene Zaken
Postbus 20001
2500 EA Den Haag
Nederland
Fax +31-70 - 356 46 83

=====

Now, this is really bad, a fence between two major United Nations members, India and Pakistan. Look what is says at the website of Tribune: A farmer with his bullock cart moves along the Indo-Pak border fence near Amritsar on Monday. He has agricultural land beyond the fence.

Write your letter to :
Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN
Pakistan House
8 East 65thStreet
New York, NY 10021
Telephone: (212) 879-8600
Telefax: (212) 744-7348

Permanent Representative of India to the UN
235 East 43rd Street
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 490-9660, Telefax: (212) 490-9656

=====

Another one in Europe: Is it possible? In Solana's own country! Spain erected a barbed wired fence, guarded by soldiers, in Ceuta, on the border with Morocco, in order to keep illegal workers (without bombs) out of Spain.

Write to:
Presidente del Gobierno de Espanaa, Jos×™ Mara Aznar Lopez
Complejo de La Moncloa
28071 Madrid
fax 91-335-32-15

=====

And another:
Just to let you know that there is now a fence between Botswana and Zimbabwe - to stop the Zimbabweans from entering.

Only after we get rid of all these fences, one could ask Israel not to build a fence that protects her citizens from "Palestinian" terrorists.

=====

Smooth Stone gratefully acknowledges Naomi Ragen for this information.

A Smooth Stone "Note the hypocrisy, folks" post

Syria maintains about 25,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord.

Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing the continued weakness of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) , Beirut's requests, and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord.

Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well.

Why are there no UN resolutions and dramatic protests by other member nations of the Arab Leaque demanding Syria cease its occupation of Lebanon?

A Smooth Stone "By the way, in case anyone asks" rebuke

The Jewish concept of the Chosen People has nothing to do with the relations between Jews and other nations. Its essence is the relations between the Jews and God Who has chosen them to live according to a special code that He envisaged for them and embodied in the Torah. Such a status is a constant test rather than a privilege and does not make the Jews superior to any other nation, as is clearly emphasized by prophets such as Amos (see Amos 3:2; 9:7).

Conversation in Europe by Solly Ganor

Conversation in Europe by Solly Ganor
Solly Ganor, an Israeli author and Holocaust survivor, has lectured extensively throughout Germany. Click here to read about his brilliant defense of Israel against two Germans during a recent visit to Germany.

Smooth Stone gratefully acknowledges Radio Rote for this article.

Israel, Iran and the Diversion of Death

Israel, Iran and the Diversion of Death
While Iran rejects Israel's offer to assist in rescue efforts as Iran buries its dead, this commentary by Louis Rene Beres, written in 1998, demands to be re-read:

"Iran may be a state like no other. Founded upon the particular Islamic promise of conquering death -- a promise bestowing the ultimate form of power upon those who "submit" -- it may ultimately do whatever it must to divert death in other directions. As an object for this existentially critical diversion, Israel, the Jewish State, is assuredly the perfect doctrinal choice.

In March 1992, following its bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Islamic Jihad, the Iranian-backed terrorist group, declared: "The war is open until Israel ceases to exist and until the last JEW in the world is eliminated....Israel is all evil and should be wiped out of existence." This view, which is also the view of the terror group's patron state, stems from alleged and irremediable historical misdeeds of Jews against Islam, the revival of blood libel by Muslims, Islamic denunciations of the Talmud and the carefully contrived demonic image of a ruthless Jewish State. Now promulgated daily by Iran, this hatred makes no distinctions between Jews and Israel. All are seen as part of a vast global conspiracy to create an insufferably alien presence in the heart of dar al-Islam, the Muslim world.

For Iran, Israel is a "cancer" not because of its particular policies on land, the Palestinians, etc., but because it is a Jewish State. Short of promising not to exist, there is nothing Israel can possibly do now to make peace with Iran. Israel's "crime" is simply that it refuses to disappear. For the leaders in Teheran, policy toward Israel must always be determined by Mohammed's linkage of salvation, that is, freedom from death, to war against the Jews: "The hour (salvation) will not come until you fight against the Jews; and the stone would say, `O Muslim! There is a Jew behind me: come and kill him.'"

Smooth Stone's opinion is this: Israel, save your energy and your money. Use it to bury your dead, because with Islamic Death States like Iran, surrounding and loathing you, waiting to kill you, you will need all that you have to bury your own.

For the entire commentary by Professor Beres, click here.

When Arafat Met Jesus

When Arafat Met Jesus by Mike Evans, author and founder of christianactionforisrael.org

"Two years ago, in the weeks before Christmas, the PA chairman declared Jesus to be a Palestinian Muslim and staged a media spectacle over being forbidden to attend the Catholic Christmas mass by Israel. Arafat, a Muslim, would have gone to represent the governing power, since the town was now under Palestinian Authority control. But in response to his ongoing sponsorship of terrorism, Israel denied him the opportunity.

A year later, just to show the world who's boss, Arafat decided to punish Israel – for reoccupying Bethlehem in response to yet another wave of terrorist attacks – by canceling Christmas. As he told reporters in Ramallah, the IDF's decision to declare Bethlehem a closed military zone until the end of the year was a "crime." Accordingly, Arafat decided to punish the Jewish state by canceling celebrations in honor of the birth of Jesus.

Palestinian terrorists have taken hostages many times before – and murdered them in cold blood – but this was the first time Arafat held the birthplace of Christianity hostage. And I'm ashamed to say, for the most part Christians were silent."

Click here to read Mike Evan's entire article on Bethlehem, a town Arafat has done everything to rid of its Christian population.

The unevolved publish a new issue of an Al-Qaeda publication

The unevolved publish a new issue of an Al-Qaeda publication

The seventh issue of the al-Qaeda magazine Sawt al-Jihad (The Voice of Jihad) was posted to the internet yesterday. The magazine is published by sympathizers of the al-Qaeda author and webmaster Yousef al-Ayeeri, who was killed by Saudi security forces in June 2003. Ayeeri’s death inspired his media disciples to begin publishing the magazine. Some of the authors of articles in Sawt al-Jihad are al-Qaeda leaders who write under pseudonyms.

On the first page of the seventh issue is an editorial entitled, “Signs of Victory,” written by an al-Qaeda leader under the pseudonym Suleiman Al-Dosary. The piece expresses the al-Qaeda members’ happiness for the latest Ayman al-Zawahiri’s audiotape, released last Friday. Demonstrating the importance to al-Qaeda’s supporters of these propaganda tapes, Al-Dosary wrote the following:

“We have rejoiced much due to the good word that was delivered by the Jihad leader Ayman al-Zawahiri that reminded Muslims of the blessings of God upon them, and how God disgraced the Americans and humiliated them since the Tora Bora battles two years ago, and we hope that these words are an incentive to the Mujahid, and an instigator to the continuation of the Jihad against the Crusaders.”

Invoking the language of assassinated al-Qaeda ideologue Abdullah Azzam, the editorial also calls upon Muslims to “join the caravan” in their fight against the “Crusaders,” driving them out of Muslim countries everywhere, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Arabian peninsula, by promising them with tremendous victories.

The magazine also published the second part of an interview with one of the Saudi al-Qaeda ideological leaders Louis Attiyah Allah, who seems to be the successor to Yousuf al-Ayeeri. In his interview, Attiyah explains the great role that Ayeeri played within the al-Qaeda organization and calls for the continuation of suicide operations. He also asks Muslims to bless Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and the rest of the Mujahideen in their war against the U.S., and then promises them, “Your fights against the Americans are coming to an end, for America is falling, and the question is just a matter of time.” Attiyah also indicates that it is the al-Qaeda victories against the American troops in Iraq that motivated al-Zawahiri to announce his new commitment.

The latest issue also contains a detailed biography of Turki bin Nasser Mash’al Al-Dandani, one of the al-Qaeda members who participated in the Riyadh bombings this past May. Al-Dandani was killed on July 3 when cornered by Saudi security forces storming his hideout, the al-Khashim mosque in the Jawf province. Three other suicide bombers exploded themselves during the same clash, which also led to the death of Abdul Rahman Jabarah, a Canadian whose brother Mohamed Jabarah is in U.S. custody and stands accused of organizing terrorist activities in Southeast Asia.

The phenomenom - and the prophecy - of Jew vs. Jew

"And Yehuda also will fight against Jerusalem"

This chilling article was written by Binyamin Zev Kahane for Chanukah, 1996. Today, with the proliferation of Jews undermining the State of Israel, slandering the army, and overtly taking sides and collaborating with the cruelest of enemies while we are engaged in a war for survival (the "Geneva Initiative"), this article takes on even greater significance.

=====

The war between the Hashmona'im and the Greeks was characterized by the active collaboration between many Jews with the Greeks. It was not that these Jews were dragged along against their will out of fear of the harsh decrees; nor was it a matter of falling prey to Greek propaganda and aspiring to emulate Greek culture. Indeed, all this happened. But when we speak of the phenomenon of the "Hellenists", we speak of something more serious -- and that is the active and eager collaboration of Jewish Hellenists against Jews of faith. The "Book of The Macabees", which documents the events of the Hasmonian wars, relates how the "Jewish criminals and sinners", were a major factor, often provoking the Greeks in their war against the Jews.

In Those Days, At This Time

For the first time since Chanukah, we again see this active and eager cooperation between the Jews and the enemies of Israel against the Jewish People. It is the first time ever that such cooperation and treachery has manifested itself in an organized movement, initiated by the Jews themselves. The modern-day Hellenists have simply reached the conclusion that barriers between Israel and the nations is an outdated and primitive concept, only creating problems. In short, they want to wipe out the existence of the Jewish People.

The prophet Zechariah (Chapter 14) prophesizes about the era before the final redemption, and speaks of the final war where all the nations will gather against Jerusalem. We then see a terrifying verse: "And Yehuda also will fight against Jerusalem". In other words, parts of the Jewish People will be on the side of the gentiles during this war. While Rashi softens the blow by interpreting that "against their wills they will fight Israel", the Radak explains the verse according to its simple understanding: "Yehuda who came with the gentiles and fought with them against Jerusalem". Similarly, in the midrash "Psikta Rabbati" (Ch. 15), it says: Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzchak said: Even those from my congregation (Jews) will cling to your congregation (Gog and Magog), and they too will fall on the day of your defeat"!

This means that this curse first seen under Greek rule, when Jews switched their loyalties to the enemy side, was not eliminated with the victory of the Macabees over the Greeks and Hellenists. Despite the great victory of the wiping out of the Greeks and Hellenists and the return to Jewish sovereignty over Israel and the purification of the Temple -- even still, the Hellenists continue to raise their heads in this generation.

Where Do You Stand?

And so we see in this generation, which is the beginning of the redemption process, that two camps are emerging: The camp of the loyal Jews, and the camp of the Hellenists. The Hellenist camp has great inner-conflict as to where its loyalties lie. They find it increasingly difficult to discern why one should stand separate as Jews, rather than simply as "human beings". And so, as a very natural process, a common interest and growing partnership emerges between
these Hellenists and the enemies of the Jewish nation. In the meantime, these Hellenists have less and less in common with the Jews. Thus, the following saying becomes quite true: "This area is divided up differently now: It is not Israelis and the rest, but rather the 'peace camp' (Jews and Arabs) versus all the rest" (The words of a Peace Now leader)

In such a situation, the struggle between the two camps intensifies, as more and more people are forced to decide where they stand. And so every Jew, whether he likes it or not, must decide once and for all where he stands -- on the side of the Jews or on the side of the Hellenists. And when he does, even after years of ignoring the issue, he will then have decided once and for all time: Who is he?

========================

Matityahu's Last request

As the days of Mattityahu were drawing to a close, he said to his sons, "arrogance and outrage are now in the ascendant; it is a period of turmoil and bitter hatred. This is the time, my children, for you to have a burning fervor for the Torah and to give your lives for the covenant of our ancestor's. Here is your brother Shimon, I know he is a man of sound judgement. Listen to him all your lives; let him take your father's place. Yehuda Maccabee, strong and brave from his youth -- let him be your general and conduct the war against the pagans. The rest of you are to enroll in your ranks all those who keep the Torah, and to exact vengeance for your people. Pay back the pagans to the full, and hold fast to the ordinance of the Torah." Then he blessed them and was laid with his ancestors. He died in the year 146 BCE and was buried in his ancestral tomb at Modi'in, and all Israel mourned him deeply. [The First Book of the Macabees]

URGENT: U.S. Ambassador to Israel says, "Divide Jerusalem

Has the recently introduced Geneva Initiative already given fuel to those who want see Israel knuckle under to terrorists, and who want to see Jerusalem divided?

Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert strongly denounced US Ambassador Indyk's comments last week that there is no solution to the impasse over Jerusalem but to divide the city.

For the first time ever, a U.S. government official, Ambassador Martin Indyk, said the city of Jerusalem, "is not, and cannot be, the exclusive preserve of one religion."

Sign the letter and let President Bush know that any division of Jerusalem is unacceptable.

Computers, new archives reuniting Holocaust survivors

Computers, new archives reuniting Holocaust survivors By The Associated Press

SEATTLE - Nearly 60 years after World War II and the Holocaust, survivors who had once despaired of finding long-lost loved ones are being reunited with the help of computer databases and the opening of Soviet bloc archives.

In just the past four months, the Red Cross Holocaust and World War II Tracing Center in Baltimore has reconnected at least 40 people with loved ones missing since the war.

George Gordon, 77, was one of them. Gordon, a Catholic from Poland, had been told long ago that his parents, sister and baby brother died in the Warsaw uprising of 1944. This fall, Gordon learned that his mother lived until 1986 and that his sister was still alive in Poland.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

THE TRIUMPH OF CHANUKAH By Jeff Jacoby

"...Chanukah ... dates back nearly 22 centuries, to the successful Jewish revolt against Antiochus IV, one of the line of Syrian-Greek monarchs who ruled the northern branch of Alexander the Great's collapsed empire. Alexander had been respectful of the Jews' monotheistic religion, but Antiochus was determined to impose Hellenism, with its pagan gods and its cult of the body, throughout his domains. When he met resistance in Judea, he made Judaism illegal.

Sabbath observance, circumcision, and the study of Torah were banned on pain of death. A statue of Zeus was installed in the Temple in Jerusalem, and swine were sacrificed before it. Some Jews embraced the new order and willingly abandoned the God and faith of their ancestors. Those who wouldn't were cruelly punished. Ancient writings tell the story of Hannah and her seven sons, who were captured by Antiochus's troops and commanded to bow to an idol. One by one, each boy refused -- and was tortured to death before his mother's eyes."

Click here to read the rest of Jeff's keen insight on Chanukah.

Chanukah scroll: Megillat Antiochus

While it isn't widely known, there is a "Megillah" (scroll) for Chanukah. The history and authorship of Megillat Antiochus, the Scroll of Antiochus, are uncertain, which may account for it not having become part of the Canon or the Chanukah liturgy.

However, its account of the struggle against Greek oppression, and the miracle of the oil burning for eight days, closely parallels other historic accounts. There is an English translation of a Hebrew text which appears in the famed Siddur Otzar haTfilos, where the editor cites an old Italian prayer book printed in Salonica as his source. He notes that the Hebrew text is a translation from the original Aramaic text, which was lost until a 19th century scholar found a manuscript copy in the British Museum. The Scroll of Antiochus was read publicly in Italian synagogues during the 13th century, and it is read in some congregations to this day.

Tonight, this last night of Chanukah, remember this:

From THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE

Chanukah, the holiday of the purification and re-dedication of the Holy Temple from the hands of the Greek invaders, is a time of spiritual illumination. The lights we have been kindling over the past week, at the entrance to our homes and in our windows, shine deeply into the collective Jewish soul, reminding us of the fact that many years ago, G-d made miracles happen for a small group of Jewish men who believed in Him and in their own destiny.

For this is what it really means to be a Jew, in those days as well as today: to make miracles happen. These men believed that G-d gave them the Land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, and the Holy Temple, and that no foreign power had a right to usurp these things much less dictate policy to them. They were hopelessly outnumbered, they were militarily inferior, they were politically incorrect, and they naively believed in the righteousness of their cause that good must triumph over evil. Perhaps this is one reason why Chanukah candles are lit the world over, even by Jews whose level of observance is ordinarily less than nominal. It's one of those rare occasions that imbues a sense of Jewish identity even to those on the edge.

Like all of Israel's enemies, King Antiochus was waging a war against the G-d of Israel. By defiling the Temple and enacting decrees that forbade Israel to serve G-d, he sought to banish His presence from the world. Chanukah is all about bringing the world's hidden light, the light of G-d's Divine Presence, back into the world. When we gaze into the candles, and recall the light emanating from the Menorah in the Holy Temple, we get a little inkling of that light.

Recently, a noted Greek composer observed that "the Jews are root of all evil." Of course, this is more than mere failure to notice what Jews have contributed throughout the course of history…it is an attempt to de-legitimatize Jews as human beings. This would certainly be one way to solve the Palestinian problem. Thousands of years after the story of Chanukah, we still seem to be the only people in the world whose right to exist is subject to debate.

Greek wisdom taught that only that which can be proven physically is real. They reasoned that if something cannot be demonstrated or understood, it is not true. They did not consider the possibility that there is wisdom beyond comprehension. The Torah of Israel emphasizes that the greatest truths of all are above the realm of human understanding.

In the Chanukah story, the war that was waged between the Israel and her Greek enemies was a war between cultures, between the idolatrous Grecian world-view and that of Israel, centered around serving the one G-d, who created heaven and earth, in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Today, Israel is still fighting that war of culture. It rages within herself as she searches for her own identity, and grapples with the meaning of being Jewish. The book of Maccabees teaches that King Antiochus was aided by "those from within Israel, who threw off the yoke of Heaven, and caused many to go astray, saying 'let us go and make a covenant with the nations who are all around us'…they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem according to the rules of the nations…they hid the sign of their circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, and attached themselves to the nations, growing accustomed to doing evil…".

The Holy Temple is still the center of the battle, as it was in the days of King Antiochus. Those amongst us today "from within Israel, who threw off the yoke of Heaven," such as the architects of the Geneva initiative, are poised and ready to abandon the Temple Mount, symbol of all that is sacred for Israel. To them, the mountain is nothing but an albatross, a liability. They have abandoned the Holy Temple for a gymnasium.

Last week, at Israel's prestigious Hertzelia conference on security, the head of Israel's General Security Service stated that those Jews who speak about changing the reality of the Temple Mount (and thus enrage the world's Muslims) are endangering Israel's security and the security of Jews all over the world. Thus, in the view of the man who is entrusted by the government of Israel with the security of the Jewish people, to merely speak of the fact that the Holy Temple is supposed to be rebuilt one day is endangering Jewish survival! The very key and secret of Jewish survival thus becomes the danger, rather than the focal point and hope, in this ironically twisted mentality. Casting the lessons and light of Chanukah aside, he opts to "make a covenant with the nations who are all around us."

Yet the light of Chanukah that we shall light today, on the last day of the festival, reminds us that the hidden light is never extinguished. Our sages of blessed memory teach us that all of the holiday's redemptive power is concentrated in a crescendo of holiness on this, the final day of Chanukah. We can latch on to this light, as individuals and as a nation, and realign ourselves with the purpose of our existence…to be a holy nation that brings the Divine Presence back into this world.

The battle is far from over.

Chilling New Web Threats

Rita Katz, Director of the SITE Institute, was quoted in today’s NY Post discussing the latest propaganda efforts of al-Qaeda and its supporters. The SITE Institute provided much of the research for the article.
------
CHILLING NEW WEB THREATS By NILES LATHEM

December 24, 2003 -- WASHINGTON - Alarming messages published on known al Qaeda Web sites are claiming the terror network is about to launch its biggest strikes ever - and are warning Muslims to leave the cities of New York, Washington and Los Angeles.

The statements monitored by U.S. government agencies, as well as by a Washington-based terrorist research group, are part of the alarming increase in "chatter" among terrorist operatives in recent weeks that played a role in the Bush administration's decision to raise the nation's threat alert to high (orange).

Counterterrorism expert Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, said her organization has recently found and translated statements on al Qaeda Web site Al-Lewa - Arabic for "The Banner" - that are promising new attacks on U.S. soil in the coming weeks.

Katz said a posting two weeks ago quoted an al Qaeda spokesman identified as Abu Issam al-Yamani as saying, "The next al Qaeda attacks will be most violent and will target the U.S." and urged Muslims "to leave the country if they don't wish to die as a result of a Jihadist operation."

A second message was posted on the same Web site last Thursday, from a group calling itself the Islamic Bayan Movement.

"Our Muslim brothers in America, this is our final warning. We ask you, as fast as you can, to leave the following cities immediately: Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles," the message said.

Katz said she noticed al Qaeda's stepped-up cyber propaganda began Nov. 15 after the terror bombings in Istanbul, Turkey when a known al Qaeda group warned in a communiqué that the "death cars will not stop."

Katz said the electronic vitriol has continued almost daily, and just last night a message was published in which al Qaeda's mouthpiece, the Global Islamic Media Society, took delight that Americans are now "living in a state of anxiety and constant fear."

It ended with, "You will forget about Manhattan events. Be prepared."

U.S. government officials say it is impossible to determine whether the message writers may be involved in plotting attacks

But these officials told The Post last night that the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency consider the messages "pieces of the overall puzzle."
-------------------

CAIR's assault on Paul Harvey by Daniel Pipes

CAIR's assault on Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey, 84, is an ABC radio personality whose "News and Comment" program appears on 1,600 radio stations. His radio career goes back 60 years and he is known as "the most listened-to voice in the history of radio" and is "generally considered the greatest salesman in the history of radio." His recent run-in with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, militant Islam's most powerful institution in North American, provides a textbook example of Islamist aggression.

The story begins on Dec. 4, 2003, when Harvey described the vicious nature of cock fighting in Iraq, then commented: "Add to the [Iraqi] thirst for blood, a religion which encourages killing, and it is entirely understandable if Americans came to this bloody party unprepared." CAIR responded a day later with a demand for "an on-air apology."

Comment: I have been documenting since 1999 CAIR's use of such censorious tactics against anyone who dares criticize Islam, militant Islam or Muslims. This reflects the militant Islamic ambition to privilege Islam, which implies, in part, a prohibition on free discussion about it.

CAIR upped the ante on Dec. 8 by calling on its minions to contact a different sponsor of Harvey's each day to press it to drop its advertising on his program "until Harvey responds to Muslim concerns."

Comment: CAIR here rejects the American principle of free speech and the belief that differences in opinion should be dealt with through reasoned discourse – it wants to close down debate. I can think of no U.S. organizations – except militant Islamic ones – that deploy comparable tactics.

Harvey immediately capitulated to CAIR, announcing on Dec. 9 (through an on-air substitute) that he received letters from "dear friends" who "reminded all of us that Islam is a religion of peace, that terrorists do not represent Islam." This statement dismayed some observers ("Harvey shouldn't have apologized," responded Rich Tucker of the Heritage Foundation).

CAIR responded in a press release that same day by noting Harvey's "conciliatory statement" and thanking "all those who took the time to speak out in defense of Islam." As for Harvey, it offered him no gratitude for toeing its line, only the chance to further his re-education by meeting with "American Muslim leaders to begin a dialogue on issues related to Islam."

Comment: Calling for Harvey to meet for "dialogue" points to CAIR's intent not to move on, but to exploit each opportunity to promote its agenda.

Still, CAIR has not relented. In an e-mail on Dec. 22, under a headline "GE Pulls Ads from Paul Harvey's Program," it reports that General Electric sent out the following message: "We have received your E-mail about the comments of Paul Harvey on December 4, 2003. GE certainly doesn't endorse the comment and regrets any offense that it may have caused. While we look into the matter further, we have pulled GE's advertisements from Mr. Harvey's show."

Comment: This effort to crush an opponent – get his apology and then deprive him of his livelihood – typifies CAIR's illiberal approach. As Stephen Schwartz notes, "CAIR needs to find and defeat enemies, for this most effectively mobilizes followers."

A Smooth Stone question

Smooth Stone
If Islam is so tolerant of other religions, how come the Islamofascists are threatening to attack us over Chanukah and Christmas?

Smooth Stone protests the removal of all religiosity from our society

Smooth Stone
The Smooth Stone team wants to take the time to protest the new directive of some people to remove all religiosity from our society.

Do we really need to remove flowers and crosses - artifacts from roadside memorials - from the side of the road where someone died during a car accident? Ellen Johnson, of National Atheists, says that not picking up these artifacts by the state highway patrols, is a nationwide problem. When roadside memorials are removed, replacing them is usually denied by the state highway patrol authorities.

Folks, the athiests are winning.

Is it really a priority to remove these memorials? Didn't we see so many memorials right after 9-11? Didn't we all NEED to see these memorials?

The quest for the desire to have No God is really the voice of an extremely small minority. There is no constitutional amendment that protects atheists from having to look at roadside memorials. In other words, tough freakin' luck to all the Madalyn Murray O'Hairs out there.

The Smooth Stone team also protests the residents controlling the neighborhood of an 80-year-old Floridian who have ordered her to remove a three-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary from her front yard.

We also protest that a charity Christmas CD has been banned from distribution because it mentions the baby Jesus.

A new website has been launched to combat what the creators see as a growing intolerance for the term "Christmas" in American culture. "Christmas is an endangered holiday in public spaces," said GrinchList.com co-founder Kirk McElwain. "The site lists companies and organizations that engage in egregious revisionism and promotes awareness of this growing phenomenon known as Christmas intolerance."

The Smooth Stone team wants to remind our readers that Islamofascists also want to remove our religious symbols and icons. Let's not help them along.

Remembering The Victims Of Pan Am 103

Relatives of people killed in the terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 gathered at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday to mark the 15th anniversary of the plane's downing.

Flight Pan Am 103, bound from London to New York, blew up in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. Eleven people on the ground and 259 people on the plane were killed.

Pan Am 103 - yet another Islamofascist terrorist act.

Egyptian Official Attacked at Jerusalem Mosque

Egyptian Official Attacked at Jerusalem Mosque
Muslim extremists lunged and threw shoes at Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher as he tried to pray at Islam's "third-holiest site" [Smooth Stone: It's only the "third-holiest" because in order to have a "Palestinian" kleptocracy, one must usurp synagogues and churches, buildings, icons and symbols from other cultures.] Monday during a trip to Israel to urge resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians. He was rushed to a hospital, clearly shaken but not injured.

###

That's right folks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, a Muslim, was attacked by fellow Muslims because he was going to talk to Jews about peace. "Nuff said.

Bibliography on Islam and the Middle East

Bibliography on Islam and the Middle East
Here is a bibliography that might help readers better understand the current crisis. Here are some English-language suggestions.

Government raises terror threat level

Government raises terror threat level
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, in a press statement issued before his news conference, said: "Information indicates that extremists abroad are anticipating near-term attacks that they believe will rival or exceed the scope and impact of those we experienced in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania more than two years ago."

###

"Extremists". Even our Homeland Security Secretary is too afraid to say who the "extremists" are: In a word, they are Islamofascists. I. S. L. A. M. O. F. A. S. C. I. S. T. S. That's the name of the enemy of civilization, folks.

So even as Israel's Prime Minister Sharon, under heavy American pressure, has made the decision to destroy Migron, home to 43 young Torah-observant Jewish families with over 60 young children and a community in the Judean Hills near Jerusalem, to only hand it over to Palestinian fascists, "extremists", like the blood thirsty predators that the Islamofascists are, won't be satisfied until Islam is the world religion.

Convert or die. With this new raising of the terror alert status, it is yet another prime indicator that Islam has not evolved in 1400+ years.

Jacko converts to Islam...

...where he can enjoy the company of other Muslims like rapist/ear-biter Mike Tyson, accused sniper John Malvo and John Allen Williams, um, we mean John Allen Muhammad (the media and Muslim "activists" wanted us to believe that the D.C. serial killings had absolutely nothing to do with Islamic terrorism, in spite of the evidence found among Malvo's jailhouse artwork), suspected murderer (of Malcom X) Louis Farrakhan, Mohammed Atta and the others pictured here.

What a charming group of predators.

Our condolences to Joseph Farah, on the loss of his father

WorldNetDaily: Song for my father
Smooth Stone expresses our condolences to Joseph Farah, chief editor of World Net Daily, on the loss of his father. May God comfort the Farah family during this time.

Penis Hysteria

You're not going to believe this one, folks:
During September 2003, mass hysteria spread through Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, which was ultimately quelled by police intervention and statements made by the health minister. The panic was caused by rumors of foreigners roaming the city and shaking men's hands, making their penises disappear. The rumors were spread rapidly by text messages on cellular phones, and diverted the public's attention from a breakthrough in negotiations in Kenya between Sudanese Vice President Ali Othman and SPLA leader John Garang. [1]

Several versions of the story circulated and not all involved foreigners: Initially, it was claimed that the perpetrators belonged to a Sudanese tribe; according to another version, one West African man was responsible; later, the one man was replaced in the rumor with a group of West Africans.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi correspondent Kamal Hassan Bakhit, who was the first to report on the affair outside Sudan, wrote that "the source of the horror is a foreign citizen from a West African country who is roaming through the city marketplace and draining men's virility via a handshake" and that "people are refusing to shake hands with anyone they don't know." Bakhit reported that police had received numerous complaints about someone called 'Satan's Friend,' and that they had launched an investigation and arrested a foreigner who had in his possession scarves, books on sorcery, and two million Sudanese pounds (about $1,500). [2] The following are excerpts from articles which discussed the issue:

Victims Tell Their Stories
Two of the "victims" agreed to tell their story to the London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi. One of them, fabric merchant S. K. A., said that a man from a West African tribe came into his shop to buy fabric, but an argument quickly developed between the two. Then the West African shook the store owner's hand powerfully until the owner felt his penis melt into his body. The store owner became hysterical, and was taken to the hospital. [3]

While the majority of accounts involved handshaking, another victim, who refused to give his name, said that while he was at the market, a man approached him, gave him a comb, and asked him to comb his hair. When he did so, within seconds, he said, he felt a strange sensation and discovered that he had lost his penis. It was also claimed that once "'Satan's Friend' drains a man's virility," he demands that his victim pay him over four million Sudanese pounds (about $3,000) to get it back. [4]

Police Investigate, Government Steps In
The Sudanese, unsure how to handle the affair, arrested 40 people who filed complaints along with some 50 other people on suspicion of sorcery and fraud. Many West Africans were brought into police stations for questioning, amid attempts by groups of people to assault them. The police were forced to devote a great deal of effort to dispersing rioters.

The country's top politicians and health officials stepped in to try to calm things down. Attorney-General Salah Abu Zayed said that all complaints had been brought before a special investigative committee and that the first claimant would be tried for disturbing the peace since doctors had determined that he was perfectly healthy. [5] However, another report said that those who filed complaints were suffering from "neurosis" and "suggestion." [6]

High-ranking policewoman Dr. Nour Al-Huda said: "We met with the suspects and discovered that they were in fact the victims. They were accused of something they knew nothing about... One of the accused had been informed by his wife that his daughter was suffering from sharp pains and that she was going to be operated on. He rushed to the hospital, but on the way stopped to ask a man where the operating room was – and was surprised to discover that this man was accusing him of being one of those who were causing impotence via handshakes. He found himself under suspicion at a time when he was hurrying to reach his daughter in the operating room…

"In our opinion, what is at issue is not sorcery or magic. The many young men who complained were under the influence of suggestion. Since they were prepared [mentally] for this to happen, they honestly felt that they were ill."

Prominent Sudanese psychiatrist Prof. Taha Ba'asher said that the phenomenon was similar to cases of women who imagined themselves to be pregnant. [7]

Dispelling the Rumors
Chief Criminal Attorney-General Yasser Ahmad Muhammad told the Sudanese daily Al-Rai Al-A'am that "the rumor broke out when one merchant went to another merchant to buy some Karkady [a Sudanese beverage]. Suddenly, the seller felt his penis shriveling as a result of sorcery. It was the first complaint regarding the matter. Afterwards, the matter reached the media and this caused sensitivity among many." He added that all the persons who filed complaints were sent to the hospital. In all cases, the medical reports said that their penises were normal and that they suffered no atrophy or pain.

"Twenty percent came the next day to court and withdrew their complaints, claiming that they had recuperated. But some of them persisted with the charges."

Sudanese Health Minister Ahmad Bilal Othman said that the hospital directors had reported to him, in an emergency session on September 23, that no cases of impotence with the aforementioned background had been admitted to the hospitals. He said that the phenomenon was "scientifically" groundless, and that it was sorcery, magic, or an emotional problem. [8]

The pundits paid a great deal of attention to the issue. Al-Rai Al-A'am published cartoons on the subject; one showed a man extending a prosthetic hand to shake hands with another man and saying, "Prevention is better than cure," [9] and another one showing a man with both hands amputated telling a friend, "Thank God, I don't shake anyone's hand and no one shakes mine." [10]

In the Press
Dr. Abd Al-Latif Al-Buni wrote in the Sudanese newspaper Al-Sahafa that the lessons of the affair could be extrapolated to Sudanese politics: "The situation has reached the point where a wife accompanying her husband to the front door at home bids him farewell by saying, 'Be careful not to shake hands with men, but you can shake the girls' hands as much as you want.'… Out of fear of losing him, she has agreed to share [her husband with other women], even if this is a forced partnership. The same goes for the peace [negotiations] underway in Kenya. There must be concessions so that we do not lose Sudan altogether. If the wife conceded to her husband and allowed him to approach others of her gender, then the politicians can forgo political gain." [11 ]

Ja'far Abbas, a Sudanese columnist living abroad, expounded further on the matter in two articles, one in the Saudi daily Al-Watan and the other in Al-Rai Al-A'am. In his Al-Watan article, Abbas wrote: "Even though what I write today will harm 'tourism' in Sudan, I consider it my duty to warn anyone who wants to come to Sudan to refrain from shaking hands with a dark-skinned man. Since most Sudanese are dark-skinned, he had better avoid shaking hands with anyone he doesn't know…"

Focusing on the report of the Sudanese man who lost his penis after contact with a comb, Abbas wrote: "No doubt, this comb was a laser-controlled surgical robot that penetrates the skull [and passes] to the lower body and emasculates a man!!

"I wanted to tell that man who fell victim to the electronic comb: 'You jackass, how can you put a comb from a man you don't know to your head, while even relatives avoid using the same comb?!'"

It Is a Zionist Plot
In conclusion Abbas wrote: "That man, who, as it is claimed, is from West Africa, is an imperialist Zionist agent that was sent to prevent our people from procreating and multiplying…" [12]

In his Al-Rai Al-A'am article, Abbas wrote: "I had planned to visit Sudan over the Id Al-Fitr holiday, and I saved as many dollars as I could for this purpose… But I heard and read about 'Satan's Friend' who shakes your hand and then you discover suddenly that you're 'not a man.' Is it conceivable that a reasonable man would choose to visit a city gripped by the horror of castration?!…

"I pay [taxes] to the government, I bring money to my family [from abroad], and then I also need to pay a man who robs me of the thing I hold most dear and demands that I buy my stolen goods [back from] him?...

"…Our women dominate in public services and university classes. [In my opinion], men in Sudan today have a right to found an Association for the Rights of Sudanese Men; all that remains of our masculinity are our most prominent biological features, and now someone wants to rob us of them!"

Abbas wrote about the "comb incident" in this article as well: "What will probably lead me, nevertheless, to proceed with my daring plan to visit Sudan is that one of the men whose 'equipment' was confiscated said that the confiscation occurred when one of them gave him a comb and asked him to comb his hair… That is, we are not speaking of coercion. The victim could have refused to comb his hair.

"If I ever meet this beast, I will ask him how he could put someone else's comb to his head!!! It is true that we are a crazy people, [and] 10 of us use the same towel, and every home has several combs. But, alas, [the combs] are all disappearing, and all that remains is one comb, dripping grease, used by all. But this usually happens within the family. That is, we do not usually use the combs of people we do not know, except at the barber!

"Let none of you claim that you can guard against emasculation by avoiding shaking hands with anyone whose appearance indicates he is West African – since it has transpired that the ones who perform these wonders and miracles are West Africans! What does a West African look like? Black? Is there even a single white Sudanese?…" [13]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), September 24, 2003.

[2] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), September 22, 2003.

[3] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), September 22, 2003.

[4] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), September 22, 2003.

[5] Al-Rai Al-A'am (Sudan), September 23, 2003.

[6] Al-Rai Al-A'am (Sudan), September 24, 2003.

[7] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), October 9, 2003.

[8] Al-Rai Al-A'am (Sudan), September 24, 2003.

[9] Al-Rai Al-A'am (Sudan), October 1, 2003.

[10] Al-Rai Al-A'am (Sudan), September 26, 2003.

[11] Al-Sahafa (Sudan), September 23, 2003.

[12] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), September 24, 2003.

[13] Al-Rai Al-A'am (Sudan), September 29, 2003.

Happy Chanukah

The God Factor Part IThe prayer to God we add during the eight days of Chanukah emphasizes the unlikelihood of the Jewish victory: 'You delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few . . ..'

Chanukah celebrates the victory of the unlikely, the improbable, the virtually impossible. It is the antithesis of the still-prevailing Greek worldview which adulates logic and the laws of nature as absolute. Chanukah proves that in a world run by God, miracles can happen.

Judaism forbids relying on miracles. A Jew must always exert maximum effort according to reason to effect desired results. The Maccabees did not sit back and wait for a miracle to happen. But neither were they cowed by the odds nor discouraged by daunting prospects.

The time has come to wage a spiritual war against our enemies. Every mitzvah is an infinitely more powerful weapon than anything Bin Laden has in his arsenal.

So, when you go to light your Chanukah candles, instead of thinking you are enacting a quaint custom of Jewish tradition, realize that you are fulfilling a mitzvah, and mitzvot are the spiritual antidote to whatever chemicals the bio-terrorists are brewing in their nefarious laboratories. God, who runs the world, expects us to exert maximum effort in doing mitzvot. The victory in this war, as in the Maccabean war we are commemorating, will come from Him.

Using Sabra and Shatilla as a party line

Palestinians tar and feather Sharon with Sabra and Shatilla while ignoring the fact that it was Christian Phalange units which entered Sabra and Shatilla camps and murdered 800 people in revenge for the assassination of Lebanon's president-elect Bashir Jemayel, by Habib Tanios Shartuni, who himself was a secret member of the pro-Syrian anti-Kataeb Party. Bashir Gemayel was the popular Lebanese Christian slated to be President of the new Lebanon, now that Israel had freed it of the PLO terrorists.

Incidentally, the Kahan Commission accused Sharon of failing to stop the Sabra and Shatilla massacre. Big difference between "failing to stop" and "causing".

I wonder if most pro-Palestinians even know why Israel was in Lebanon in the first place. It had to do with a devastatingly deadly terrorist attack on May 30, 1972 at Israel's international airport at Lod by three Japanese Red Army members, in a joint Japanese Red Army(JRA)/Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) operation, who carried out a machine gun and grenade attack in the arrivals terminal that killed 25 people--most of them Christian pilgrims--and injured another 80. These JRA members fled to Bekaa Valley, in Lebanon. Several Japanese Red Army leaders were given safe haven in Lebanon because they were seen as heroes for the Israeli airport attack and for their support of the "Palestinian" cause. Japan and Israel and three other countries went looking for the JRA murderers for years - one member, a female, Fusako Shigenobu, 55, was finally caught a couple of years ago.

The fact that Sharon won his libel suit against TIME Magazine should prove that Sharon was not and could not be smeared ever again over Sabra and Shatilla.

Some evidence as to why it was so hard to intercede the Sabra and Shatilla massacre and that it was Christian Phalange units who committed the murders, and why Israelis who were close by and near enough to have heard a possible massacre, but did not hear it, was revealed in a tenth anniversary broadcast by NPR, National Public Radio.

Shocking, considering NPR would produce such a broadcast. Nonetheless, the massacre was called the "Night of the Long Knives" because knives were the weapons the Christian Phalangist murderers chose because they could not be heard. No shots were fired. The massacres were committed by Phalange units carrying knives.

Yosef Dar's book "Phalange Justice" exposes the Israel government annex which entirely exonerates Arik Sharon of any culpability for this massacre and condemns others of malfeasance of office, conflict of interest, not taking responsibility, etc. Sharon was NOT culpable.

In yet another book, "From Israel to Damascus: Lebanon, the Mystery of the Unknown" (if you want to read the book for free, it's on the web - do a search on it because this book was officially banned by order of the minister of information Anwar El Khalil) by Robert Maroun Hatem, known as Cobra, he describes how Elie Hobeika, known as H.K. planned to destroy Lebanon so he could become a minister in the Pro-Syrian Lebanese structure.

Hobeika was responsible for killing Gemayel, ordering his men to "totally annihilate" everyone in the camps, and was instrumental in the fall of the Likud Government. He was protected from revenge reprisals by Hafez Assad.

Cobra describes in detail the tragedy of the Sabra and Shatilla massacres and the Syrian responsibility for the deaths as well as the innocence of Gen. Ariel Sharon and the Christians of the South Lebanese Army.

Hobeika said there were about 2000 terrorists still hiding in Sabra and Shatilla. Hobeika had a key elite force of 200 men high on regular and immoderate use of heroine and cocaine. Sharon ordered him to behave like a regular army, round up the terrorists left behind after the Israelis forced the evacuation of the PLO in August, 1982 to Tunisia.

This book is a complete eye-witness testimony and description of exactly what happened. Syria was behind it. It was discovered later and proven that Bashir Gemayel's actual assassin, Habib Tanios Shartuni, was a secret member of the pro-Syrian anti-Kataeb Party.

Sharon's visit to the Holy Mount in 2000 was only an excuse for anarchist Palestinians to start an indefensible war - which was planned by the anarchist Palestinian's own weakest link himself - the Egyptian born, Arafat - as early as June 2000, three months before Sharon legally, rightfully, and legitimately walked near his Temple in his own legal and legitimate country, Israel.

Considering the fact that Arafat called upon his anarchist Palestinian followers to war while Barak was still leading Israel in the "peace" talks proves that anarchist Palestinians do not and never did want to live in peace with any Jew, ever.

There you have it. Oh Unevolved, thy name is Palestinian.

The "Occupied Territories": A Primer

The "Occupied Territories": A Primer
"Occupied" or "disputed" territories? The difference is enormous. Here's everything you need to know.

New Blog Buddies have been added to Smooth Stone.

Smooth Stone is pleased to add the following links to our Blog Buddies section, which can be found at the right sidebar:

Allah Is In The House
Jihad Watch
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
the dissident frogman
The Israeli Blogs and Journals Index
Dhimmis and Dhimmitude The Status of Minorities Under Islamic Rule

Reuters gets 'award' for bias

Reuters gets 'award' for bias
Kudos to Honest Reporting for nailing the Reuters news agency for the most dishonest reporting and coverage in 2003 of the Israeli-palestinian conflict.

Folks, in May 2002, the Israeli army arrested Reuters photographer Suhaib Jadallah Salem in the Gaza Strip, after a hand grenade was found in his car. Also, a Reuters' cameraman was arrested in the West Bank, after Israel said he was "directly connected to enemy terrorist activities."

Additionally, in a dispatch entitled "Israel Rejects U.N. Jenin Probe," Reuters used a photo showing a body being dragged through the street. There's no caption, so readers would naturally assume the photo is from Jenin -- but in fact it is from Hebron, and depicts an Arab "collaborator" lynched by his fellow Arabs. See it at http://honestreporting.com/a/r/217.asp.

A Smooth Stone History Lesson

As Smooth Stone has previously written, Arafat is not a "Palestinian". He was born in Egypt. (Born? Hatched, is more like it.) But his family does have some history in the area although he won't acknowledge it on CNN or Al-Jazeera.

You see, it was Arafat's uncle who served as the grand mufti of Jerusalem in the 1920s and 1930s. It was his uncle who concluded, for the first time, that Mohammed had ascended into heaven from the site known as the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount.

That's right, folks; the vicious lie that there is no Wailing Wall, only Al-Buraq, was a MYTH created by the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Arafat's uncle.

See how it all fits together like one big ugly mudpie?

And it was Arafat's uncle who, in an alliance with Adolf Hitler, condemned the Jews and their dreams about their eternal capital city.

The truth is that Jerusalem is revered to Jews. It has always been a place described and cherished in Jewish law. The word "Jerusalem" is mentioned more than 600 times in the Torah - not ONCE in the Koran.

For centuries, Jews have prayed toward Jerusalem in their synagogues, mourned the destruction of their Holy Temple in Jerusalem and pray tearfully, "Next year in Jerusalem."

Again, we say, until the Palestinian Arabs and their supporters in the Middle East and around the world acknowledge basic history and archaeology, there is little point in pretending that a Palestinian state will ever bring peace.

Click here for more facts: Who was the Grand Mufti, Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini?

Arafat's Mufti: No such thing as a 'Wailing Wall'

Arafat's Mufti: No such thing as a 'Wailing Wall'
Arafat's mufti, (sounds like a new species of dog), Ikremah Sabri, said on Friday that there is no such thing as a "Wailing Wall."

Looks like Arafat and his thugs just make crap up as they go along.

Read the rest of the article here.

Miracles

Click here to see a beautiful and inspiring one minute Chanukah movie, Miracles.

Welcome to Falasha

Welcome to Falasha
Here is a new web site dedicated to the preservation of Ethiopian Jewish religion and traditions:

Falasha.org
http://www.falasha.org/

Lessons From Nuremberg by George Will

Lessons From Nuremberg
A great article by George Will in today's Washington Post, favoring an Iraqi tribunal for Saddam Hussein:

"...In addition, an Iraqi tribunal would be a dramatic opportunity to demonstrate progress toward something even more crucial than the reliable production of electricity -- competence at governing. It is axiomatic that hard cases make bad law, but this is not a hard case. There is no doubt that the person to be tried committed criminal enormities..."

Click here to read the rest of this article.

Palestinians Mark 'Black Day' of Saddam Capture. Boo-hoo and pass the Kleenex.

"Friends,

After years of coddling terrorism, Reuters had no choice but to report the Palestinans love affair with Saddam, which sheds a rather darker light on them than Reuters is wont to do. And Brian on BBC was worrying if Saddam would "get a fair trial" if the court is run by Iraqis and backed by Americans. Brian prefers the U.N. (I'm trying to imagine someone so cluelessly immoral that he is worrying about justice for a man who tortured and murdered millions. What does Brian think he deserves?) And then there was CNN who chimed in with it's usual theme of "yes, but you aren't doing enough for the wonderful Iraqi people...I mean, do they have jobs, color tv, etc?."

May God Bless America for freeing the world of this horrible evil. And may all the enemies of America squirm at this great victory.

Naomi Ragen
www.naomiragen.com"
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Palestinians Mark 'Black Day' of Saddam Capture by Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH (Reuters) - Disbelief and gloom seized many Palestinians on Sunday at news of Saddam Hussein's capture while Israel, which came under Iraqi Scud missile attack in the 1991 Gulf War, hailed the United States for capturing Saddam.

The former Iraqi ruler was a hero to many Palestinians for his stand against Israel and its U.S. ally, as well as for giving financial aid to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers and others who died in a three-year-old uprising.

For Israel, he was a menace over the horizon who long bankrolled the enemy and the Iraqi leader rained at least 30 Scud missiles on Israeli cities during the1991 Gulf War.

"It's a black day in history," said Sadiq Husam, 33, a taxi driver in Ramallah, West Bank seat of the Palestinian Authority.

"I am saying so not because Saddam is an Arab, but because he is the only man who said 'no' to American injustice in the Middle East," he said.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and his government made no comment. But Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, a senior leader of the militant Hamas group, said the United States would "pay a very high price for the mistake" of capturing Saddam.

"What the United States did is ugly and despicable. It is an insult to all Arabs and an insult to Muslims," he told Reuters.

Islamic factions sworn to Israel's destruction have taken strength from Iraqi resistance and cautioned on Sunday that Saddam's capture would not end attacks on U.S. forces.

As Palestinians lamented Saddam's capture, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon telephoned President Bush to congratulate him on "a great day for the democratic world."

"I believe that dictatorships in general and those who support terror in particular learned a historic lesson today," Sharon told Bush in the telephone call.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, currently visiting Washington, said Saddam's capture proved persistence paid off in the "uncompromising battle against terrorism and totalitarian regimes" and it would promote regional stability.

Saddam paid over $35 million to the kin of Palestinian suicide bombers, militants and bystanders who died in an uprising that began in 2000.

Although far from all Palestinians supported him, militants marched to back Saddam ahead of the U.S.-led invasion in March and Palestinian protesters were often heard chanting: "Oh, Saddam. Oh, Saddam. Bomb, bomb Tel Aviv."

During the 1991 Gulf War, Palestinians cheered as Iraqi Scud missiles crashed into Israeli cities.

Some did not believe news of Saddam's capture even when images of the bearded figure flashed across television screens.

"Maybe they captured someone who looks like him," said Laila Abusharigh, 55, in the Gaza Strip. "Saddam is a real man and all of us are with him."

(Additional reporting by Shahdi al-Kashif in Gaza and Dan Williams in Jerusalem Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited.)
=======================================
Naomi Ragen
Please visit my Web page at:
http://www.NaomiRagen.com

Saudi Osama backers plan Christmas in U.S.

Terror apologists, diplomats to attend Houston conference
Two Saudi Arabian Muslim extremists – both backers of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network – are planning to visit the United States this Christmas and are scheduled to speak at a conference in Houston.

According to the Saudi Information Agency (SIA), an independent news service critical of the Riyadh regime, at least two Saudi diplomats will join Sheikh Abdallah Ibn Jebreeen and Sheikh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajid, Wahhabi clerics who praise bin Laden.

SIA said Ibn Jebreen issued at least two fatwas in support of the Taliban and encouraged young people to enlist in al-Qaida. He issued another fatwa calling on Saudis to aid Iraqis fighting U.S. forces.

Al-Munajid owns a website that preaches hatred for Christians, Jews and Shiite Muslims.

###

Gee, we wonder if Peter Jennings will attend the conference. He seemed so sad today, now that one of his favorite protagonists has been captured. We guess he and Hanan Ashwari, the palestinian spokeswoman who is also rumored to be his ex-lover, will have a good cry in their beer and will discuss how the violence of the intifada really emanates from the "occupation" and he will giggle as she snarls for the Israelis to "return to their origin countries", and he will nod in agreement when she rhetorically spouts that on the official maps of the P.A. there is no Israel, only "occupied palestine".

There is no "occupation" unless you're a liar.

A Little More To The Right: Humor AND Opinion

The three talking heads

Palestinian violations of peace accords

Palestinian violations of peace accords

Nothing spontaneous about it - May 16, 2000

Arafat again threatens violence against Israel - March 22, 1999

Update, ongoing violations of the Wye accord:
Palestinian Authority anti-semitism and Holocaust denial - March 3, 1999

Palestinian UN initiative is twofold violation of Oslo accords - February 11, 1999

Palestinian non-compliance with the Wye River Memorandum - February 2, 1999

Wye River Memorandum status of implementation - January 10, 1999

Palestinian leaders advocate unilateral steps to declare an independent state - December 29, 1998

Anti-Tank guns are violation of the Accords - December 16, 1998

Palestinian Authority is not fighting terror - December 16, 1998

Twelve wanted terrorists currently serve in the Palestinian police - November 5, 1998

Palestinian commitments versus pronouncements - November 8, 1998

"Jews are the seed of Satan": PA TV continues to incite despite Wye commitment - November 5, 1998

PNC Will Not Convene to Amend the Covenant - October 28, 1998

20 Palestinian institutions continue to operate illegally in Jerusalem, September 9, 1998

Latest Palestinian violations of religious rights - August 20, 1998

Arafat Invitation to Hamas to Join PA Cabinet violates Accords - June 15, 1998

Palestinian initiative to convene special UN General Assembly session violates the Oslo accords - 13 November 1997

Unilateral measures taken by the PA in violation of Oslo - October 1997

Amending the PLO Convenant, an unfulfilled commitment - September 1997

Requests for extradition - 22 September 1997

Palestinian anti-semitism - 12 September 1997

Palestinian security commitments - 9 September 1997

Palestinian incitement to violence since Oslo - August 1997

Palestinian Authority has failed its commitments under the Hebron Accord - July 1997

Assaults on holy sites by the Palestinian Authority - 5 July 1997

Palestinian Authority failure to quell the riots in Hebron violates the accord - June 1997

Abduction and murder of real estate agents - June 1997

Statements by senior Palestinian officials concerning the sale of land to jews - 21 May 1997

With Saddam's Capture Will Israelis Still Have To Die To Please?

With news of Saddam Hussein's capture, it remains unclear if the White House will continue to pressure Israel to jeopardize its security.

Until the arrest the argument was made that Israel had to sacrifice its own national security and interests in order to help bolster President Bush's position.

Israel's "contribution" to the "efforts" have included swallowing the Bush initiative and the Road Map - both programs aimed at ultimately leading to the creation of a sovereign independent Palestinian state, an entity that the Oslo experience demonstrates would ultimately be used as a deadly effective platform for the continuation of the Palestinian program for the destruction of Israel in stages.

Israel also has repeatedly "contributed" to Mr. Bush by reducing security measures to make it easier for Palestinian terrorists to complete their missions.

Put bluntly, since the time the idea of a campaign against Hussein first developed, literally hundreds of Israelis have "died to please Washington" in terrorist attacks that exploited reduced security measures.

With the capture of Hussein Mr. Bush no longer needs a Palestinian-Israeli photo op for his re-election campaign. The capture may also change America's need to sacrifice Israel to Arab "allies".

14 December 2003 marks a milestone in the liberation of Iraq. It remains to be seen if it will also may the end of the subordination of Israel's security and future to Washington's perceived temporary political and regional needs.

IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)

STUNNED ARAB MEDIA REPORT SADDAM'S ARREST, WHILE PALESTINIANS TRY TO AVOID THE NEWS by Michael Widlanski

Arab language media reacted quickly, though sometimes in a somewhat stunned fashion, to American reports that U.S. forces had captured former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, touching off celebrations in Baghdad.

But the broadcast media of the Palestinian National Authority which has been very friendly to Saddam, tried to ignore the news, treating it as a marginal news item ttributed to rumors linked to a scheduled American press conference in Iraq.

"An American military spokesman said there would be a special press conference soon, and American reports say it is linked to reports of the arrest of former president Saddam Hussein," declared a one ayem news bulletin by Voice of Palestine radio, controlled by Yasser Arafat.

The Palestinian broadcasts, which featured the news as the fourth news item, made no mention of Iraqi crowds celebrating the capture of Saddam, a big supporter of Arafat and a financial supporter of Palestinian "martyrs" who have blown themselves up attacking Israelis.

The Palestinian Authority's television station broadcasting from Gaza ignored the news entirely for several hours, but other Arab media quickly broadcast details of popular glee at the news of Saddam's arrest.

"There are signs of rejoicing in the streets, where people are parading and we hear celebratory shooting in the air," declared Baghdad-based Rafah Sa'ad, reporter for Abu-Dhabi satellite television.

Similar reports were carried by Al-Jazeera satellite television, which broadcast its news along with biographical sketches of Saddam Hussein and his family.

Al-Arabiyya satellite television also featured family pictures and newsreel footage of Saddam inspecting troops and petting children, while underneath it showed captions detailing Saddam's reported arrest in his home town of Tikrit.

The Arab satellite stations aired interviews with Arab security experts who said they felt the arrest of Saddam, if true, would aid American efforts inside Iraq.

Even the strongly anti-American Al-Manar tv station, controlled by the pro-Iranian Hiaballah terror group, opened its news shows with intensive coverage of the American capture of Saddam.

"Throngs of Iraqi people have rushed to the streets, and there are signs of joyful shooting in the air inside the Iraqi capital," declared Diah Nasry, the Al-Manar correspondent in Baghdad.

[Michael Widlanski is an expert in the Arab media and a lecturer at the Rothberg School of the Hebrew University]
(c) 2003 Michael Widlanski

THE RAT HAS BEEN CAUGHT IN A HOLE

Well, folks, by now you have all heard the good news! The tyrant is now a prisoner. U.S. troops have caught Saddam Hussein hidden in a rathole under an adobe hut in the middle of a farm compound in his home town of Tikrit. The once mighty dictator murderer has been brought down - the man who is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and for the deaths of thousands of Jews in Israel. The rat has been taken away and will be handed over to the Iraqi people for a public trial.

We are saying here at Smooth Stone, Baruch HaShem. Baruch HaShem. May HaShem Bless all of our U.S. troops, may HaShem Bless America, and may HaShem Bless Israel.

Read what Job 34 has to say about "mighty" leaders like Hussein. Perhaps Saddam should have read Job 34:1-32:1, instead of building a monument with an inner sanctum of 650 pages of the Koran, said to be penned in his own blood.

Job 34:1-35:1
34:1 Furthermore Elihu answered and said,
2 Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
3 For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
4 Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
6 Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
7 What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
8 Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men.
9 For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.
10 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
11 For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
12 Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
13 Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
14 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.
17 Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?
18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.
20 In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
24 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.
25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
26 He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
27 Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:
28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
30 That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
32 That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
33 Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.
34 Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me.
35 Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.
36 My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men.
37 For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.

From Naomi Ragen: Iraqis for the "Occupation" by Dr. Walid Phares

Now, if only the Palestinians would wake up and throw off the leadership that has stolen their money and sent their children to commit murder/suicide. If only they would march in the thousands against terrorism and for peace and democracy...

Peter Jennings, are you reading this? CNN?

Naomi Ragen
=========

Iraqis for the "Occupation"
By Dr. Walid Phares
FrontPageMagazine.com | December 11, 2003

Yesterday's demonstrations in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities were a benchmark:

Iraq's resistance to terrorism has begun. Ironically, the first TV station to report such a revolutionary development was none other than al-Jazeera, the jihad channel across the Arab world. But the exclusive airing of such footages was not so innocent. The Qatar-based media understood much faster than Western networks the real dimensions of these marches. Therefore it decided to report it first, and, through condescending coverage, demean it in the eyes of Iraqi and Arab viewers, a traditional-yet-efficient subversive tactic. But whatever were the desperate attempts to pre-empt the unfolding realities, the latter rolled on.

Almost 20,000 men and women - twice the number reported by al-Jazeera - marched across central Baghdad, while others repeated the move in different cities of Mesopotamia yesterday. The demonstrators, from all walks of life and from all religions and ethnicities of Iraq, shouted one slogan in Arabic: "La' la' lil irhab. Na'am, na'am lil dimucratiya." That is: "No, no to terrorism. Yes, yes to Democracy!"

Taking the streets of the former capital of the Ba'athist prison, Iraqi Shiite, Sunni, Kurds and Christians bonded together against the "enemies of peace." Responding to the call of the newly formed "Popular Committee against Terrorism," tens of thousands of citizens slapped Saddam and his former regime in the face. Speakers at a central square declared clearly:

"We will resist the return of the dictatorship to power. With or without the Americans, we are now a resistance against the Baath and the foreign Terrorists."

The masses, finally taking their courage in their hands, have exposed their deepest feelings. Many intellectuals, writers, women activists, students were seen in the front lines of the demonstration. "We will not allow the remnant of the intelligence service of Saddam destroy this new experiment of democracy and freedom," said one leader live on al-Jazeera television. The scene was more reminiscent of Prague and Budapest than any other recent battlefield.

More significant yet was the open participation of labor unions. Unexpectedly, Iraqi workers were the most excited participants in the march against Wahabi and Baathist Terror. "We need factories, we need peace, no fascists, no fanatics," sang the laborites, as though they were in Manchester or Detroit. But there was even a more significant element in the marches. Cadres from the "Hizb al-Dawa al Islamiya" - a rather conservative Islamic "movement" whose members were walking under the same banners of resistance to terrorism. Why? Well, we need to understand the Shi'a drama. By the day, mass graves are being uncovered with thousands of bodies of men, women and children, all massacred by the Saddam security. How on Earth would the Shiite majority ever accept the return to power of the Sunni-controlled Ba'ath Party?

Let's note two matters about these demonstrations. First, they were almost not reported in much of the Western media. Until late last night in Europe and the Western Hemisphere, news focused on the operations against Coalition forces. But the Iraqi people's genuine calls for democracy were not heard, not seen, and not factored in the game. The BBC and CNN downplayed the events, while al-Jazeera mislead the Arab world about them. The jihad network spent more editorial energy undermining the objectives and the credibility of the event than reporting it.

The anchors, to the disbelief of many viewers in the Arab world, said the marchers were "expressing views against what they call terrorism" (emphasis added). Al-Jazeera evidently reserves to itself the definition of terrorism. Since September 11, the network has systematically added "what they call terrorism" to each sentence reporting terror attacks by al-Qaeda, other jihadist factions and the Saddam. In sum, that is not terrorism, but a Western view of what is legitimate violence. But al-Jazeera's sour surprise with the first steps of popular resistance to jihadism in Baghdad took the network by surprise. As it was airing the segment, its anchors lost linguistic balance and added this time:

"The demonstrators are criticizing what they call violence!" Hence, the editors in Qatar were trapped ideologically. They couldn't even accept the idea that Arabs could be marching against violence, so they described tens of massacres and bombings as "alleged violence," (ma yusamma bil unf). The al-Jazeera debacle was probably the most important victory of the demonstration. But two others ironies were also hanging over Baghdad last night. One was the link between President Bush's drive to push for democracy in Iraq and the region, and the other was the silence of those who were supposed to drive that wagon around the world. Observers drew my attention to the fact that yesterday's march came after another smaller one, which took place the day after the U.S. President visited their city.

They also noted that many of the banners were pasted from Bush's speeches to the Arab world last month. I was invited to make a link. Eventually I saw it. The workers, women and students in Iraq didn't mention the name of the Presidential visitor, but they heavily quoted his words. What's the message here? You can read it on the mushrooming underground websites in the region. People want freedom and democracy, even at the hands of aliens (what the Left calls "occupation" and the Iraqis call "liberation").

This leads us to the second irony. While the underdogs are barking freely in the streets of Baghdad, challenging the Ba'athist shadows and the jihadist terrorists, human rights and democracy groups in the West lack the courage to come to the rescue of their fellow progressive forces in the Middle East. As a group of Iraqi students told me, "Isn't it terrible to see that Western elites came here to demonstrate in support of Saddam against the Coalition, and when we took the streets to demonstrate against the Saddam war crimes, they didn't show up?"

Yesterday was a benchmark in Iraq. Maybe a small step in the long journey toward human dignity, but all genuine marches for freedom are of eternal value.
=======================================
Naomi Ragen
Please visit my Web page at http://www.NaomiRagen.com

The Palestinian Authority's refusal to allow worshippers into Joseph's Tomb violates the Oslo Accords

The Palestinian Authority has failed to respect the sanctity of Holy Sites

The Agreement

Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is obligated to safeguard holy sites and ensure free access to them.

According to Annex III, Appendix I, Article 32 of the 28 September 1995 Oslo 2 accord:

"2. Both sides shall respect and protect the listed below religious rights of Jews, Christians, Moslems and Samaritans:

a. protection of the Holy Sites;
b. free access to the Holy Sites; and
c. freedom of worship and practice."

In addition to this general obligation, the Oslo 2 accord (Article V(2b) of Annex I) spells out specific arrangements concerning the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus and the Shalom al Yisrael Synagogue in Jericho. These arrangements are designed "to ensure free, unimpeded and secure access to the relevant Jewish holy site."The Violations Preventing Access to Joseph's Tomb - Located in Nablus, the Tomb is the burial site of the Biblical figure Joseph, son of Jacob the patriarch. Shortly after the recent murder of two Israelis in Yitzhar, the Israeli army agreed to allow the victims' friends and families to stay overnight in the Tomb compound to mark the traditional seven-day mourning period. There is nothing in the Oslo Accords which forbids Jews from staying at the site overnight and they have been allowed to do so on numerous previous occasions.

On the night of August 13-14, 1998, Palestinian policemen prevented a number of Jewish worshippers from leaving the Tomb compound, insisting on the removal of all Jewish worshippers who had been sleeping at the site. On August 16, 1998, Palestinian policemen refused to allow a bus load of Jewish worshippers to enter the site to pray, again demanding the removal of all worshippers still inside the Tomb's compound. Since then, the Palestinians have continued to prevent Jewish worshippers from entering the site. Some 30 Jewish worshippers remain trapped inside the compound.

Assaults on Holy Sites by the PA

1) Abraham's Oak Russian Monastery - located in the Palestinian-controlled part of Hebron, the monastery belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. On July 5, 1997, Palestinian policemen arrived at the monastery and ordered the monks and nuns to vacate the premises. The PA officers physically removed all of the monks and nuns, and took over the site.

2) Rachel's Tomb - The Tomb, located on the outskirts of Bethlehem, is the burial site of the Biblical matriarch Rachel and is under Israeli control. During the September 1996 riots, the PA orchestrated riots near the Tomb in which a Palestinian mob assaulted the site and hurled rocks and firebombs at it, causing damage to the outer part of the structure. Palestinian policemen on the scene shot and wounded Israeli soldiers guarding the Tomb.

3) Joseph's Tomb - During the September 1996 riots, a Palestinian mob led by Palestinian policemen assaulted the Tomb. Palestinian security agents opened fire on Israeli troops at the site, killing 6 Israeli soldiers. After the Israeli forces temporarily withdrew, the Palestinian mob entered the site and set fire to it. They burned the Jewish prayer books, Bibles and religious articles inside the structure and caused extensive damage.

Palestinian Disparagement of Jewish Holy Sites
* "If the Jews really want peace, they must absolutely forget about having any rights over the Temple Mount or Al-Aksa Mosque... the Western Wall also belongs to Moslems, and was given to the Jews as a place of prayer only because the British asked and the Moslems agreed
out of the goodness of their hearts. The Western Wall is just a fence belonging to a Moslem holy site."

--- Sheikh Ikrama Sabri, the official PA Mufti (senior Muslim cleric) who was appointed to his position by Yasser Arafat, in an interview with the Israeli weekly Makor Rishon, May 22, 1998. [Note: PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has made similar claims in the past. Arafat said, "That is not the Western Wall at all, but a Moslem shrine." (Ma'ariv, 11 October 1996)].

* "Any extremist who enters the Temple Mount compound will not leave it alive."

--- Hatam Abdel Kader, member of the PA's Legislative Council, in an interview with the official PA radio station the Voice of Palestine, when asked about the possibility of Jews praying on the Temple Mount. (Voice of Palestine, 24 May 1998).

* "The archeology of Jerusalem is diverse - excavations in the Old City and the areas surrounding it revealed Umayyad Islamic palaces, Roman ruins, Armenian ruins and others, but nothing Jewish. Outside of what is mentioned/ written in the Old and New Testaments, there is no tangible evidence of any Jewish traces/ remains in the old city of Jerusalem and its immediate vicinity."

--- PA Information Ministry Press Release, 10 December 1997.

* "Be alert and treat Joseph's Tomb and Rachel's Tomb as parcels of Palestinian land which must be liberated, and treat Joseph and Rachel as two people who died, like anyone else."

--- excerpt from an article in the official PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, 1 December 1997, concerning Jewish holy sites in Nablus and Bethlehem.

* "The 'Al-Buraq' Wall [the Western Wall] is a part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jews have no relation to it, whether or not a decision to expropriate it was made."

--- PA Mufti Ikrama Sabri in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, 22 November 1997.