Anti-Semitism Once Again in Europe

Nadene Goldfoot
Europe never changes, as Victor Davis Hanson put it today in his article, Face it, Europe never changes.  He points out some interesting facts about Jews, who have always been discriminated against there.  People thought we were too clannish in our creed.  We didn't have any ancestral land-holding lineages or any aristocratic status.  Europeans seem to have forgotten that it was they who kept us from being able to own land in the first place.  Clannish?  Well, we didn't attend their churches, if that's what they meant.  We attended our synagogues.  As for our creed, it is shared with everyone in what Gentiles call "The Old Testament."  Russia kept us in the  area known as "The Pale of Settlement."  We weren't allowed in Russia proper unless we had a special pass, but our children were old enough at about 12 to serve in their army for life.  Europe kept us clannish, as they did in the USA till about the 1960's by not allowing us into their fraternal organizations or country clubs.  So it's been an uphill battle for us wherever we have lived.

Hanson points out that Jews are beginning to feel as unwelcome in Europe as they did in the 1930's.  That's when Hitler rose in power and started his campaign against Jews.  My uncle was the only one in his family that was able to get out of Boppard, Germany in May 1939.  The Germans then closed the door and the rest of his family was trapped and eventually sentenced to the gas chambers. 

The writer also mentioned what happened to Jews in 1543 when Martin Luther wrote his "On the Jews and Their Lies."  That was a time when Luther was courting Jews, thinking he could easily convert us to Christianity, and we did not comply to his wishes.  That made him so angry that he turned on us all,  condemming us to the trash heap, so to speak.  Suddenly we were liars among other things to him.  Actually, the same thing happened to us with Muhammed around 622 CE.  He thought he could convert us as well, and turned on us violently when we didn't.  That's where the part in their Koran comes up with kill Jews when you find them.  However, in Muhammed's case, he did manage to convert whole Jewish tribes by using his sword.  It was die or convert and the Jews living there  chose life. 

Today Jewish academics  in Europe are sometimes shunned at international conferences.  Some suburbs in Paris or Rotterdam are no longer safe for Jews to walk about.  Europe is largely anti-Israel and probably always will be.  I know that there is a city in Sweden that had been populated by some Jewish refugees from WWII, but have been driven out by recent Muslims who settled there today. 

This may soon be 2012, but we still have to be wary of Europe's value system.  Jews are not a high priority of worth there.  Beware.  It's the 1930's once again throughout much of Europe.

Resource: Oregonian Newspaper, 12/30/11  page B9 Victor Davis Hanson's European Union Essay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_in_Europe

Is Appeasement Really the Way to Peace? Ron Paul Thinks So.

Nadene Goldfoot
Autumn, 1938, when Germany was busy getting rid of Jews with Kristallnacht pogroms in November, the British and French governments agreed to Hitler's seizure of the German-speaking Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. The world must have been aware of the Nazi's "Final solution of the Jewish Problem" and not trusted them.   By 1935 they were busy stripping Jews of any citizenship rights as well as their economic and political rights.  It should have been shocking and a warning to all of the Nazi intention towards all of mankind.  Here they were acting also against Czechoslovakia.   This was done at the Munich Conference on September 29-30, 1938.  Hitler then signed a brief paper prepared by Neville Chamberlain agreeing to Germany and Britain's desire...never to go to war with one another again.  This was the famous "peace for our time" communique from Neville.  So much for an evil entity's promise. 

Hoover wasn't 100% sure it would last but concluded that some strains have been appeased and that war is today more remote.  If war should come, he explained, the US should not join in.  He wanted a free economic life that wasn't built on war.  He thought that would turn the country into a Fascist govenment with restraints on our personal liberties that couldn't be lifted for generations.  I wonder how he thought a good economic life could be carried on without getting involved in a major war or how they were going to keep it away from their shores.  That's an isolationist for you.

A few months later Chamberlain had to eat his words and tried to block Hitler's "Drang nach Osten".  On March 15, 1939, the armies of Nazi Germany invaded what remained of Czechoslovakia after they seized Sudetenland in October.  Czechs did not resist as they were stunned; not prepared for the inevitable.  Did they think they were immune to the Nazi hatred of Jews and that it couldn't happen to them?   Old Hoover just said, oh, it's a shameless and immoral action!  Someday it would be righted and the Czech "race" would emerge again from bondage.  He certainly didn't want to be the one to help them at any time.

He might have thought; Let the French do it.  Hitler then turned against Poland, since this had been so easy, but Britain and France felt bound to help them.  They pledged to go to war against Germany if Germany attacked Poland.  Hoover's thoughts were "If the world is to keep the peace, then we must keep peace with dictatorships as well as with popular government.  The forms of government which other people pass through in working out their destinies is not our business.  We can never herd the world into the paths of righteousness with the dogs of war." 

Hoover was shocked.  He thought they would let Hitler go East if he wanted to.    He thought that a European "debacle" was happening and thought that Britain's skills could keep the USA out of it all.  However, Roosevelt, a Democrat  was now president and on January 4, 1939, talked of the coming storm signals and said,"  the "God-fearing democracies of the world cannot forever let pass, without effective protest, acts of aggression against sister nations--acts which automatically undermine all of us." 

Of course, none of Roosevelt's good thoughts helped the Jews of the world  Six million perished in the Holocaust which, it looks like, Hoover didn't give a hoot about.  The world gave the Nazis an inch and they took far more than a foot.  Is this going to happen today with Iran? 

Ron Paul was asked what he would have done  in the 2nd WW if he were president, and he replied that "he wouldn't risk American lives to end the Holocaust", said like a true follower of Hoover.   
Hoover was the "I don't mix in" man.  He could be standing next to an an attack on a woman and probably wouldn't have interferred.  There was nothing in his philosophy of helping a neighbor, only taking care of himself.  It's something that is not commendable to me at all.  How can such a person hope for help if they were ever in need?  It goes back to the "Golden Rule".  Fate helped us out with somebody much better, Roosevelt.  He wasn't perfect, but he was a step in a better direction. 

Resource: Book: "Freedom Betrayed"-Herbert Hoover's Secret History of the 2nd WW and its Aftermath, George H. Nash, edited and introduced by. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~baustin/emigrate.html
http://biggovernment.com/jsshapiro/2011/12/26/exclusive-ron-paul-in-2009-i-wouldnt-risk-american-lives-to-end-the-holocaust/
http://blog.standforisrael.org/articles/ron-paul-gaza-is-like-a-concentration-camp?s_src=SFIEN&s_subsrc=EN11201XXEXXA

Iran's Plan to Drive Israel Into the Sea

Nadene Goldfoot
Israel and the USA and its allies feel that Iran is using its civilian nuclear program of peaceful and medical goals as a cover to develop nuclear weapons that they will use on Israel first.  This is because of the threats it has already made on Israel by Ahmedinejad. He frequently tells his people that Israel must be wiped off the map.   Isn't it rather worrisome that the huge country of Iran, almost drowning itself with its oil wells, needs nuclear energy as well? Needless to say,  what a combination of oil and atomic energy that could be if something goes wrong like it did in Japan with their atomic plant.  It could be as dangerous as a meth operation that blows itself up. 

The US congress has passed a bill banning dealing with the Iran Central Bank, and President Barack Obama hasn't signed it yet but is set to sign it. 

Netanyahu of Israel said that he didn't know whether such "crippling" sanctions would stop Iran's nuclear program, but thought that they would make things difficult enough for the Iranian government that it would have to reconsider its actions.

If these sanctions are not imposed, it would be interpreted by the Iranians as a sign that the West did not have the will or intent to stop Iran.  If Iran gets the bomb, we will be living in a completely different world.  I think most people can understand this, except Ron Paul, who is running for president of the USA, as he would just like to leave Iran alone to do what they wish. 

Yesterday the USA warned Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz if the USA imposes sanctions targeting the country's crude oil exports.  This waterway carries 1/6 of the world's oil supply.  It would affect the oil prices to levels that could hurt the global economy.  This was Iran's 2nd warning in the past 2 days.  George Little, Pentagon news secretary said that interference with ships through the Strait will not be tolerated. 

What can the USA do if it is closed?  We have the 5th Fleet in Bahrain, and they are ready to ensure freedom of navigation.  They are there to safeguard the vital links to the international community.  Iran is the 4th largest oil producer in the world.  Right now Iran's navy is in the Sea of Oman in the midst of a 10-day exercise in international waters near the strategic oil route through the Strait of Hormuz.  No wonder they are so brave.  The situation is like a boil ready to pop.  Right now just before New Year's Eve we are on a precipice; the brink of disaster.  If we back down we are giving into Iran in more than this one challenge, and it's not a rational country to deal with.   

Resource: Embassy of Israel paffairs!@washington.mfa.gov.il
Oregonian newspaper,  page A5, Iran threatens to block oil passage12/29/2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Dec-29/158272-mossad-hints-nuclear-iran-not-existential-threat-to-israel-report.ashx#axzz1hxNvwqI9
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=251348
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/29/opinion/nasr-iran-oil-hormuz/index.html
http://www.jewishjournal.com/iranianamericanjews/item/obama_refuses_to_sign_tougher_sanctions_on_irans_central_bank/
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20111215-716586.html
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45806878

Arabs' Plot to Squash Israel Since 1967

Nadene Goldfoot
In 1967, all the Arab countries surrounding Israel attacked her and lost, much to their shock.  After all, the odds were that they would win for sure.  How could this tiny Jewish state win such an attack as theirs?  To add insult to their injury, Israel won the war in 6 days! 

On May 15, 1967, Israel's Independence Day, Egyptian troops had begun moving into the Sinai and massed near the Israeli border.  By May 18th, Syrian troops were prepared for battle along the Golan Heights.  Then Nasser ordered the UN Emergency Force to withdraw on May 16th and they did.  It was Secretary-General U  Thant that obeyed Nasser without bringing the situation to the attention of the General Assembly as his predecessor had promised.  On May 22, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to all Israelis and to ships bound for Eilat, Israel.  He was ready for war against Israel, he thought.  He challenged Israel daily.  "Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel." he was quoted.  In 1956 the USA gave Israel assurances that it recognized Israel's right to the Straits of Tiran's access.  In 1957, 17 maritime powers said at the UN that Israel had a right to use the Strait.  The blockade violated the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, adopted by the UN on the Law of the Sea on April 27, 1958.  This closure was the casus belli in 1967.  Israel's attack was a reaction to this Egyptian first strike.  President Johnson acknowledged this after the war on June 19, 1967. 

The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon were poised on the borders of Israel...to face the challenge, and standing behind them were the armies of Iraq, Algeria,  Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation.   President Abdur Rahman Aref of Iraq joined in the war of words:  "The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified.  This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948.  Our goal is clear:  to wipe Israel off the map."  On June 4, Iraq joined the alliance with Egypt, Jordan and Syria.  Approximately 250,000 troops (nearly half in Sinai), more than 2,000 tanks and 700 aircraft ringed Israel. 

Israel was prepared and had been on alert for 2 weeks.  The country was mobilized.  June 5th, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt.  Israel asked King Hussein of Jordan not to attack saying Israel would not unless he did first, but he went ahead anyway and ordered the shelling of West Jerusalem. 

At the end of the 6 days, Israel conquered enough territory to triple the size of the area it controlled, from 8,000 to 26,000 square miles.  Israel won the Sinai, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and allowed Israel to unify Jerusalem.  It cost Israel the lives of 777 young men  with 2,586 wounded.  This was like the USA's  loss in 8 years of fighting in Vietnam by proportion. 

In August 1967, the Arab leaders met in Khartoum at their Summit Conference and produced four goals to rid themselves of Israel.
  1.  No peace with Israel.
  2.  No negotiations with Israel.
  3.  No recognition of Israel.
  4.  Insistence on rights of "Palestinian people in their own country." 

Since then they have had the goal of causing Israel to:
  1. Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines without negotitating with Israel
  2. Get Great Powers to pressure Israel.
  3. Use UN security Council resolution 242 (from 22 Nov 1967) to impose a settlement.
       a. Resolution calls for "a just and lasting peace, in which every state in the area can live in security."
       b. Calls for "the withdrawal of IDF from territories occupied in the recent conflict."
          ("withdrawal from all the territories" had been deliberately omitted from the resolution by its sponsors.  Interpreted by Arabs as though it required a complete Israeli withdrawal.)

Israel has had to insist that it makes no prior conditions, and that everything will be open for discussion in the negotiations.  It is obvious that Israel has a few positions on where the secure borders ought to be.  In fact, Israel has returned most of the Sinai to Egypt but must remain in control of Sharm el -Sheikh so as to prevent Egypt from closing the Gulf of Eilat for a 3rd time and that it also be linked territorially to Israel.  Sinai must be demilitarized.  Since February 2011 Israel has had to sign an agreement for a limited period with Egypt to allow two Egyptian battalians (hundreds of soldiers and officers) there to guard the gas pipe lines which bring gas to Israel and Jordan which have been attacked 8 times already by Beduins.

  Israel left Gaza completely, lock, stock and barrel only to see it turn into an aggressor's dream-the staging ground for attacking Israel constantly with missiles, mortars and rockets.  Where it could make peace with Egypt before the Arab Spring, it did not happen with the Arabs. 

Israel needs peace within secure borders that are defensible.  The pre-1967 lines seemed to constitute a temptation to a potential aggressor.  Israel has offered to negotiate with the Arab Governments a true peace.
 
This is why Netanyahu took time to explain to Obama why going back to 1967 lines was going against Israel's acceptance.  There has been much deviance against Israel using this type of rhetoric.  He needed to understand the past problems that it invoked.  Also, one can see that the goals of the Arab nations have not changed since 1967 or before that period.  In fact, with the Muslim Brotherhood's muscles, they have become worse.  The fatwa (religious edict) out by their leader, Qaradawi, an Egyptian Islamic theologian now living in Qatar,  is to kill all Jews.  What gives him credence is that he is one of the Islamic world's leading Sunni clerics.  In other words, he is no "small potatoes."  He has the ability to instill manic behavior in his followers. 

Resource: Myths and Facts-a concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Dr. Mitchell G. Bard and Joel Himelfarb
Facts About Israel  from Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/02/16/Egyptian-army-to-guard-Sinai-gas-line/UPI-86321297864236/

Judea-Samaria Planned Attacks and Syrian Hot Spots

Nadene Goldfoot
The Emir of Qatar had been involved in the overthrow of Libya's Muammar Qaddafi, and saw that that endeavor was a success, so now he's involved in another section of Muslim uprising.

He has established an army called the Sunni Arab Intervention Force which is training in Turkey.  It is made up of what they call the Free Syrian Army of 20,000 islamist terrorists and is all funded by the Emir.  They are to drive out the Syrian President Bashar Assad. 

Being that Syria is next door to Israel, this is frightening as they can just jump over the border and attack Israelis as well. 

This along with Abbas giving into Hamas's Khaled Meshaal  in a situation that can bring Hamas into Judea and Samaria is also alarming.  Nidal Dokhan, Military Intelligence Chief Major General ,  is replacing a fired former Fatah personnel who will help carry out an anti-Israel resistance campaign.  They plan mass demonstrations and will try to smash through any barriers, and thus break into Jewish towns and villages in Judea and Samaria.  Of course Abbas has not informed the USA of his new plans. 
I believe they are striving for a 3rd Intifada. 
Resource: http://www.debka.com/article/21602/
http://www.debka.com/

Jews & Qatar: That Small Fishing Village and What Oil Has Done For It

Nadene Goldfoot
Qatar and its Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, has made the news in Portland by supplying Lincoln High with a teacher of Arabic.  It's one of only 5 schools in the USA thus endowed.  One of the important facts is that the Emir of Qatar has established many educational sites throughout the USA.  His religious leader, Qaradawi,  is a major leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.  With that in mind, I personally hope that the textbooks used to learn reading stick to bland subjects and do not bring in political issues.   

Qatar was just a little fishing and pearling village and sea port at Doha after WWI.   At the end of WWI it was ruled by the al-Thani family. When oil was discovered in 1950 , this shaykhdom  changed dramatically. At that time their population was about 30,000.  Of those people, at least 20,000 were related to, or in the service of the al-Thani family.   With this discovery, the population increased eightfold.  By 1981 it was 250,000 with a per capita income of $29,000.  Their oil revenues accounted for 90% of its GNP.  Food must be imported.  Trading partners have been Britain, Japan, Western Europe and the USA.  It is not a part of the United Arab Emirates.  That's because its geographical position and their history is with Bahrayn, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.  A large number of immigrant workers are mostly from Iran and Pakistan. 

In February 1972, Shaykh Khalifa, deputy ruler and prime minister, deposed his cousin, Shaykh Ahmad and took the throne.  Qatar had announced that by 1970, a Basic Law that included a bill of rights.  It has not gone very far as yet.  Shaykh Kalifa's reign has used the oil revenues in petroleum and gas-related industries, infrastructure projects, building, social services and light industry. 

By 1977 it set up the Qatar General Petroleum Corporation to regulate and control the oil industry.  They went into a number of joint ventures with foreign firms and expanded the port at Doha and industrial and port facilities of Umm Said.  It also bought into the Gulf Aluminum Rolling Mill Company in 1982 as a 10% shareholder. 

In 1995 the present Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani deposed his own father in a bloodless palace coup.  He is all for the Muslim Brotherhood which has exerted a profound influence on the conservative Bedouin society of Qatar.  That's because the Emir is so impresssed by their piety and morality so that he gave them his trust and let them carry out a wide range of religious and cultural activities.  (One of their goals is to kill all Jews and drive Israel into the sea.)  They helped to set up the Ministry of Education and Culture as well as an institute of religious studies;  two institutions that the emirate lacked. 

Qatar is active on the Gulf cooperation council, the Arab League, OAPEC, OPEC, and the UN. today they have a population of 547,761  of which are 100% Muslims.  It wound up sharing many of the economic and political problems of Bahrayn as well.  It is worth mentioning that Bahrayn has been under the control of the al-Khalifa family since the late 18th century.  Bahrayn or Bahrain has 590,042 population and they are also 100% Muslims. 

With the typical Muslim attitude toward Jews, they present us  with their anti-semitic stereotypes in their newspapers.  The ADL has protested.  The USA has an air force base in Qatar, and of course we have Jews in the air force.  During Passover two seders were served there for the Jewish servicemen. 

Strangely, on January 10, 2004, a US-Islamic Forum was held in Doha sponsosred by a Project on US Policy Towards Islamic World  which is funded by the Saban Center. Haim  Saban is an Egyptian born American Israeli entertainment mogul.  He  attended as a USA representative.  One Israeli  attended, Martin Kramer, the editor of the Middle East Quarterly.  

By 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Qatar's Education City and was introduced by Sheikh Abdallah al-Thani, who commented that there are now 6  universities from the USA that have branches in Qatar.  Their Education City is just a short walk from the Al-Qaradawi Center for Research in Moderate Thought, named for Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi who is barred from entering the US as he has called for the destruction of America and for the annihilation of the Jews.  I wonder what they consider as "moderate thought." 

Resource:  http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&...
Textbook:  MiddleEast  Past &I Present by Yahya Armajani, Thomas M. Ricks 1970, 2nd edition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Qatar
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/billionaire-israeli-donor-obama-is-not-anti-israel/2011/03/03/AG8k2DMH_blog.html
MEMRI  Sheikh al-Qaradawi & Qatar's Education City HOsting American University Branches

A Light to the Nations Lives On: The Chanukah Lights

Nadene Goldfoot                                                              

The Jewish people know that they are an eternal people. Right now they are fighting to exist against odds that would stop other people in their tracks.  Israel is giving Panetta a headache, most likely.  Panetta's gruff order of "Just get to the damned table" should have been addressed to Fatah, but now it is too late.  Fatah and Hamas are reuniting again.  The melding of two terrorist groups' plans has started. 

"Jews are a people whose message of values was destined to last forever and have a world-shaping impact. A tiny and ill-equipped people was prepared to take on the superpower of its day, all because they believed in the potential of Jewish destiny. They believed that no matter how dire things looked, there exists within the Jewish soul, the ability to vanquish the mightiest of foes and fulfill their own mission of being "A light unto the nations.""

Israel has to repeat that task of taking on the superpowers of this day  by taking on Hamas and Fatah and all the Middle East factions who are against them.  Not only that, but at times they also have to take on their ally, the USA, when expectations get out of hand and push comes to shove. 
                                                      

On Kislev 25-Tevet 3 or 168 BCE  , a Jew named Judah the Maccabee, son of Mattathias and Hannah,  had had it with Antiochus IV Epiphanes and this man who started guerilla fighting, and was also called the "Hammerer", dared to attack the whole occupying Greek army in his revolt against Syria in 168 BCE. 

Starting around  311 BCE  there were 13 Greek kings of the House of Seleucus who ruled Syria in the Hellenistic Period by the name of Antiochus.  Antiochus IV, ruler between 175-163 BCE, was turned back by Rome on his 2nd expedition against Egypt, and occupied Jerusalem in 168 BCE.  There he plundered the Temple treasure and endeavored to hellenize Judea by force because he wanted to change it into a reliable frontier-province.  The Jews didn't like it and rose up against it.  His army was very cruel in the suppression and thousands of Jews were killed and many sold into slavery.  Then Antiochus brought in genile settlers into Jerusalem and fortified Acra as a stronghold of the Hellenizers to dominate the city.  The Seleucids ruled until 65 BCE. 

A religious persecution began against the remaining Jews, forbidding circumcision and observing the Sabbath as well as desecrating the Temple altar.  He even set up pagan altars in the towns on the outskirts and compelled Jews to participate in pagan ceremonies.  His excesses caused the Hasmonean uprising of Judas Maccabee and his family.  This has turned out to be a lesson for all religions.  Judaism was almost stamped out, but for one man, who kept it alive.  We see that Christianity might have developed differently if Judaism did not continue to exist. 
                                                

 

There were 13 Greek kings by the name of Antiochus from the House of Seleucus who ruled Syria in the Hellenistic Period. Antiochus III(223-187 BCE) transferred 2,000 Jewish families from Babylon to Lydia and Phrygia.  He captured Jerusalem in 198 BCE.  He actually treated Jews with understanding.  

 

Antiochus IV  Epiphanes (175-163 BCE) was turned back by Rome  on his 2nd expeition against Egypt in 168 BCE.  He occupied Jerusalem, plundered the Temple treasure, and tried to hellenizse Judea by force in order to convert it into a reliable frontier-province.  This brought about a rising which he suppressed with great cruely:  thousands of Jews were killed and many sold into slavery. Then he brought in gentile settlers into Jerusalem and fortified the ACRA as a stronghold of the Hellenizers to dominate the city.  He now began a fierce religious persecution of the Jews, forbidding all sacred to them, and set up pagan altars in the surrounding towns and forced Jews to participate in pagan ceremonies.  He caused the Hasmonean uprising.   

The story that continues is not that everyone lived happily forever afterwards.  Antiochus IV had a son, Antiochus V, reigning from 164-162 BCE who continued the war against the Jews till 163BCE when he granted them religious and some political autonomy in return for the accepting his rule.  Then Antiochus VII Sidetes reigned from 138-128 BCE and reasserted the Seleucid claims on Judea.  He then invaded Judea and took Jerusalem in 135-4 BCE. 

John Hyureanus surrendered, destroyed the walls of Jerusalem and ceded his conquests outside Judea and paid tribute.  Antiochus VII died in 129 BCE.  Antiochus IX Cyzicenkus reigned from 125-95 BCE and was defeated in 107 BCE when assisting Samaria which was under siege by a Jewish army.  (Judea and Samaria are now called "The West Bank", named by the Jordanians who had seized it illegally).  The Arabs like this naming as it erases the reference to the land having been in the hands of the Jews.  I'm afraid that the rest of the world just goes along with this "easier to read" name, not caring about its political implications. 

The puzzle is why the Jews and the Greeks just couldn't get along.  The Greeks were such great universalists, open to new ideas from wherever.  They were spreading knowledge and understanding all through the Mediterranean.  They could have taken Jewish values to the world, but it seemed that accepting one G-d was something they just could not tolerate.  

UPdated 12/16/2020

Resource: http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/blogs.php?Itemid=5480
                http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/blogs.php?Itemid=5551
               The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia-Dr. Geoffrey Wigoder, D. Phil, Editor in Chief
               https://www.google.com/search?q=seleucid+definition&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucid_Empire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucid_dynasty

Kiss Peace Talks Goodbye: Fatah and Hamas are Uniting Again

Nadene Goldfoot
Fatah is the modern PLO, which had been run by Arafat.  Hamas was an outgrowth of that before 1987, and  had taken on the Muslim Brotherhood goals of never accepting Israel or Jews into the Middle East.  They are the extreme terrorists of the terrorists.  They had even driven Abbas out to Judaea and Samaria (West Bank). 

Thursday while in Cairo, Egypt, the two groups had a reconciliation where they announced plans for Hamas to join the umbrella group.  For twenty years Fatah has had on-and-off talks with Israel about possible peace.  Fatah has accomplished less terrorism than Hamas due to this leadership. 

The problem with this joint effort is that Hamas opposes peace talks vehemently  and rejects Israel's right to exist.  Actually, this is where the peace effort has been sitting anyway, since at least the year 2000.  There has been no hope with the raining of rockets, missiles and mortars coming into southern Israel all this time.  It's not a show of the intention of peaceful cohabitation.  What this actually means is that Hamas will be listened to more, as they will have a stronger voice in the group, which may also mean a stronger leadership.

According to this new agreement, Khaled Mashaal of Hamas will join a committee that will prepare for elections of the PLO's parliament in exile and will serve right along with Abbas.  As Fatah negotiator, Azzam al-Ahmed has said, this reconciliation has started but might take some time.  An election might be years away as the PLO group speaks for all Palestinians.  They intend to include so called Palestinians who live all over the world, including refugees in camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. 

Being there never was a state of Palestine, only the re-naming of the land that Jews had lived in, Arabs had come from all 4 corners of the Middle East to find work from the Jews who were re-building the land.  Therefore, I wonder if it isn't possible for any Arab to call themself a "Palestinian" if they have proof of living there before 1948 even for a few months. 

The goal of Hamas and Fatah is to gain a "Law of Return" for all Palestinians and thus drive all the Jews out. 
This is one of the points that Netanyahu has to be strong about not allowing to happen.  By going through with this uniting of terrorist factions, I see that there is no possible hope of ever coming to a peaceful accord between the terrorists and the Jews.  No wonder Israel has reacted with alarm to this agreement. 

Reference:  Oregonian 12/23/11 Rivals move toward reconciliation page A7.  AP
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/22/palestinian-factions-agree-unified-government
http://www.adl.org/main_israel/hamas_facts.htm

Judaea-Samaria's Turn to Terrorism with Arafat

Nadene Goldfoot

Jews always lived in 'Palestine".  In the 1920's and 30's there was an Arab who hated Jews.  He was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini, who was the one who instigated and led the massacre of Jews.  He was a collaborator with Adolph Hitler.  Arabs attacked Jews in 1947 when the British were getting ready to leave and turn the country over to the Jews in 1948. 

Judaea and Samaria (West Bank of the Jordan) was a territory until 1948 and also part of the British Mandate of Palestine.  Between 1948 and 1967 it was ruled by Jordan, which annexed it in 1950 illegally.  They just took it over.  It was not a British decision. 

I:n 1967 the massed Arab armies that menaced Israel's frontiers attacked but again lost the war. The territories came under Israel's administration because of this defeat, and were in 4 different areas.


By 1972 almot 640,600 Arabs lived in Judaea and Samaria which covered 2,270 Sq mi.  Until a peace settlement was attained, Israel's policy tried to achieve certain objectives which were:
   1. Have security for both Israelis and Arabs
   2. Inhabitants to live normal lives without losing contact with Arabs in other countries
   3. Rapid economic development
  4.  Encourage co-existence and cooperation between Arabs of the areas and Israelis as an example for relations to come between the two peoples. 

At the time the administered areas were tranquil and thriving.  Local affairs were administered by local population.  There were open bridges on the Jordan to allow movement in either direction between the areas and the Arab states.  Arabs and Israelis up to 1967 lived in mutual separation and estrangement, but were then enjoying the beginnings of a peacful and fruitful co-existence.  The hope was that this would transform Arab-Israeli relations from conflict into cooperation. 

There were 23 municipalities and 31 rural councils in Judaea and Samaria.  Israeli laison officers from the Ministry of Interior approved their budgets, arranged to lend them funds at low interest, and audit their finances and administration. 

Municipal elections were held in 1972 according to Jordanian law.  They had a lively election campaign and candidates were on TV.  75% of the voters turned out to vote.  The result was that about 1/2 the mayors were replaced with new ones. 

Since 1967 Israel instituted an Open Bridges policy allowing movement of people and goods between the areas and Arab countries.  From having a stagnanat economy with high unemployment, they were transformed into one of growing prosperity as they had been suffering 11% unemployment.  By 1972 less than 2% were unemployed of a force of 134,000.  At first work came from schemes of public undertakings like road building and afforestation.  Later, they found employment in Israel and labour exchanges were opened. 

517,500 acres were under cultivation in Judaea and Samaria with only 4% irrigated.  In September 1967 over 40% of homes, half of the total population, were engaged in farming which meant that an average of 30,000 men and 13,000 women.  In March 1971Israel brought in a staff to improve yields which did improve from 50% yields to 100%. 

In all, life was improving from 1967-1972 after Israel  became the administrators instead of Jordan. The PLO changed the people's attitudes. 

After 1967's defeat, the Arabs turned to Yasser Arafat.  This man became chairman of the PLO terrorists, who was born in Egypt but did live in Jerusalem with his uncle.  Yasser's real name was Abd al-Rahman abd al-Rauf Arafat al-Qud al-Husseini.  He was a close kinsman of that hateful man, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem ! 

He managed to increase membership of the PLO and wreck havoc on the Israelis.  All that Israel was trying to accomplish seemed to go by the wayside because of this group.  The PLO today are Fatah, run by Abbas.  They are still a group of terrorists. 

Resource: Facts about Israel-book, Division of information, ministry for foreign affairs, Jerusalem
http://www.scottishfriendsofisrael.org/arafat_plo.htm

Newt Gingrich Echos Golda Meier's Words on so called "Palestinians"

BY VICTOR SHARPE—

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Nothing could attest to that fact more than the Israel-Arab conflict, which in reality is the Israel-Islamist conflict.

This is not a territorial dispute between Israel and those Arabs who call themselves Palestinians, though it is framed as such. No, the stark reality of the Muslim war against the Jewish state is rooted in one fundamental fact; namely the unchangeable refusal by Muslims to ever accept a non-Islamic nation in territory once conquered in the name of Allah, even if that nation – the Jewish nation – precedes Islam by millennia.

Peace overtures and endless territorial concessions by tiny Israel to the giant Muslim and Arab world have been, and are, as worthless as a thirsty soul in the desert staggering towards an inviting but delusional mirage.

Back in 1976, Prime Minister Golda Meir visited Britain and was asked what needed most to be done for her country in combatting the relentless challenge to Israel’ survival by a hostile media. Her answer was: “Tell the people the basic facts about Israel and Israel’s case over and over again.” She also said, “There are no such people as Palestinian Arabs.”

Speaker Newton “Newt” Gingrich bravely and forthrightly echoed Golda Meir’s words, albeit 35 years later; but better late than never. It was crucial in Golda Meir’s time to pronounce the truth about the invented Arab people who call themselves Palestinians, but even more vital today. The world must be told the facts – not the myths – for it is fast succumbing to a veritable anti-Israel propaganda blitzkrieg, believed in by legions of the confused and gullible who worship at the false altar of moral equivalence and liberal kumbaya.

Those who see clearly accept that Israel’s Muslim neighbors will never be able to reconcile themselves with a non-Muslim state unless Islam reforms itself, and it cannot do that without self-imploding.

Since 1973, when the same Muslim-Arab world attacked Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, members of the “religion of peace” have sensed a growing opportunity to destroy Israel, root and branch. Even now, Iran’s mullahs and the devil-clown, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, call not only for the destruction of the embattled Jewish state but for the extermination of Jews worldwide.

In this they echo the same call by Gaza’s Hamas rulers; the junior partner of the Muslim Brotherhood. For such words not to be condemned utterly by nation states reveal the moral decay so prevalent in the world today; just 66 years since the Holocaust ended.

Entire books have been written about the basic facts of Israel’s place in the family of nations as both a state and a people. Their purpose has been to explain why Israel and its people claim the right to an independent state in a small corner of the Middle East; roughly one quarter of the geographical area known as Palestine and a territory that has never been an independent state by that name in all of recorded history; certainly never an Arab state.

Newt Gingrich finally and bravely set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons when he showed that historical correctness trumps the world’s pathetic obsession with so-called political correctness. He said it right: “The Palestinians are an invented people.”

It is Judea and Samaria (known by its Jordanian Arab name, the West Bank) which now a hostile world wishes to snatch from Israel and give to those Arabs who fraudulently call themselves Palestinians. This will create an anti-Israel terror state within the ancient Jewish patrimony and biblical heartland.

It is passing strange that the world calls the tiny territory by its Jordanian Arab name, the West Bank, even though the Jordanian Arab Legion illegally occupied it for a mere 19 years from 1948 until 1967. And the same world now ignores that immense Jewish history stretching over millennia when it was known as Judea and Samaria, preferring to use an artificial Arab description of the western bank of the River Jordan. This is clearly an anti-Jewish bias by a sick world.

If a terror entity called Palestine emerges, Israel will be reduced to less than 10,000 square miles – much less than one hundredth of the surrounding Arab world which enjoys a land mass of some 5,000,000 square miles – and that does not include the vast territory of the non-Arab Muslim world, including Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

The basic facts, which should be self-evident, need to be repeated again and again as Golda Meir urged nearly 40 years ago. Perhaps the following is the most basic and pernicious falsehood leveled at the reconstituted Jewish state. It is predictably made by a hostile Muslim and Arab world but it is echoed by their useful idiot supporters in the West.

The charge is this:

After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, the Jews lost their country and forfeited any right to it by going into exile for nearly 2,000 years.

The answer:

Indeed, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple ended with appalling loss of life. But the Jews maintained a continuous presence in their homeland and it is this continuity which gives them an absolute, inalienable right of self-determination, historically, spiritually and politically in the reconstituted Jewish state.

In AD 132, the charismatic Jewish hero, Simon Bar Kochba, rallied his countrymen against continued Roman persecution and another war of liberation – the second Jewish uprising – was launched against Rome. His Jewish warriors freed large areas of the homeland from the Roman yoke, just as Jewish fighters under Judah Maccabee had similarly freed the homeland from Greco-Syrian occupation in 165 BC, liberating Jerusalem and the Holy Temple and giving the world the festival of lights, Hanukah, which every year falls on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev.

Bar Kochba (known as Son of the Star) also liberated Jerusalem but the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, who wanted to build a giant temple to the god, Jupiter, in place of the Holy Temple, sent an army of 35,000 soldiers against the Jewish warriors. After a three year desperate struggle, the Jewish resistance ended at the fortress of Betar. It is estimated that in the ensuing Roman repression some 500,000 Jews were either killed or sent into slavery throughout the Empire.

Even after this second catastrophe, the Jews nevertheless remained an absolute majority in the land up until the 5th century AD and they were the most important single community up until the Arab conquest under the new banner of Islam in the 7th century.

In 1099 the Crusaders arrived outside Jerusalem, having massacred thousands of Jews along their way from Flanders, through the Rhineland, and on to the Holy Land where both Jews and Muslims were killed. They had come to wrest control of Jerusalem from the Muslims. On July 15th, 1099, after enduring a six week siege, the “Franks” broke into the city and the entire Jewish population of Jerusalem was forced into the chief synagogue, the building set on fire, while the Crusaders marched around it singing, “Christ we adore thee,” in a diabolical accompaniment to the screams of the men, women and children burning alive. The bloodbath temporarily ended when Emperor Henry 1V protested to Pope Clement 111 at the abhorrent behavior of those irregular bands of crusaders who had committed the atrocities.

In the ensuing centuries, during which the land was invaded by successive alien conquerors, the Jews maintained themselves in whatever numbers they could sustain. In fact they re-founded the holy Jewish city of Tiberius in Galilee three separate times. In the 16th century, some 15,000 Jews lived in another holy Jewish city, Safed, in Upper Galilee; a center of Jewish mysticism known as kabbalah.

Throughout the dark centuries of exile, Jewish pilgrims and refugees returned again and again to restore the ancestral Jewish homeland. Jewish prayers and festivals recited and celebrated in synagogues throughout the Diaspora, then as now, are based in large part upon the agricultural cycle of ancient Israel: Another testament to the inextricable links to the Land of Israel within the Jewish faith.

In the 1850s the first Jewish agricultural villages were established in what was then largely barren, neglected and empty territory under Turkish Ottoman occupation. By 1844 the Jews constituted the largest community in their eternal Jewish capital, Jerusalem.

In that year, according to the Prussian Consul, there were 7,120 Jews, 5,000 Muslims, and 3,390 Christians in Jerusalem. Even before the State of Israel was re-established in 1948, Jerusalem was primarily a Jewish city with 100,000 Jews out of a total population of 165,000. Many of the non-Jews were not Arabs at all but Europeans, Americans, Ethiopians and other Christians.

The assertion that Jewish ties to the ancestral homeland came to an end in 70 AD is utterly without foundation. It has remained unbroken since Abraham, the first Jew, came to Hebron, the other Jewish holy city, and purchased a burial plot for his wife, Sarah and for his son, Isaac, his grandson, Jacob and their wives: the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish people, most of whom are buried in Hebron.

The truth then is that Jews always maintained a continuous presence in their own land despite the depredations of a succession of alien occupiers. There is an absolute continuity between the Israel of the Bible and the Israel of today.

It is the same land, the same people, the same language, the same God, the same prophets, the same holy Book. There has never been a time in the last 35 centuries when there haven’t been Jews living in Israel, sometimes as a sovereign nation, sometimes as isolated enclaves occupied by an enemy power.

And when Jews have been few in number inside Israel itself, they have nevertheless continued to pray for its welfare daily, to pray daily for their return to nationhood, to recount the Biblical promises, and to pray for a quick return.

This is continuity par excellence. This is a basic fact and Newt Gingrich, to his credit, articulated it for all to hear. Why is this important? Because part of the Big Lie of today is to deny Jewish continuity in its ancestral, aboriginal, and biblical homeland and to falsely consider the Jews illegitimate newcomers to the land who can legitimately be pushed out.

Victor Sharpe is a freelance writer and author of the trilogy, Politicide: The attempted murder of the Jewish state.
http://www.lulu.com/

Palestinians: Guilty of Identity Theft

Nadene Goldfoot
“How can you grant the Palestinians full membership without protesting the remarks of their President before the General Assembly when he said, ‘I come before you today from the Holy Land, the land of Palestine, the land of divine messages, ascension of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and the birthplace of Jesus Christ peace be upon him, to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people…’?”

Excluding any connection of the Jews to the Land of Israel? No Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, no Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. I told them that, “Usually identity theft takes place without the victim’s knowledge, but Abbas robbed Jews of their heritage before millions in broad daylight -- and no one protested!”

All people have to do is come to Israel to see what archaeology has uncovered.  Finds at Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, Jerusalem, Beersheba, Ashdod and Dan have uncovered the settlement of the Israelites on their return from Egypt towards the end of the 2nd millennium BC, and particularly after the establishemts of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, providing many details about the daily life, architecture, arts and forms of religious worship.

 Fantastic remains from the time of the 2nd Temple in the Hasmonaean period through the Jewish revolt against the Romans in the 1st century CE were unearthed in Jerusalem, Caesarea, Beit-She'an, Tiberias and Jaffa.  Relics of fortresses in the Judean Desert like Masada and Herodion, bases for a revolt in 70CE are of major importance and are in use today.  From this time  the history ended with the devastation of the land being void of many Jewish citizens and its conversion into a Roman province. 

I just read this UN announcement on the Simon Wiesenthal website and am sickened.  This is what is happening today in the textbooks used by the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria as well.  I know that they used to read in a most terrible way, such as-if there are 6 Jews and 3 are shot, how many are left?  Today they simply leave out any mention of Israel, or if they do it is done in a very negative way, such as not mentioning the historic Jewish presence in the region.  They rarely ever mention "Peace." Texts for religious school openly glorify martyrdom, which means giving up one's life to kill Jews.  Their books give the impression of implicit denial of Israel's legitimacy. 

Israel is not listed in the countries of the Levant.  Hebrew writing was removed in a picture of a stamp from the British Mandate rule of Palestine.  Their books tell of hardships of life under occupation and a Palestinian Authority  official explained to researchers that this is just a difference in views. 

The same thing has been happening in Judea and Samaria at Jewish holy places.  The Jewish identity is being erased as well as preventing Jews from being there to visit.  Israel felt back in 1973 that it is impossible to disregard the attachment of Jews to their holy shrines in areas beyond the bounds of pre-1967 Israel.  No Israelis, even those who would give up land in the administeered areas, would not accept any arrangement that banned Jews from living in places that are of religious and historical significance.  4,200 Jews had settled in the administered areas since 1967 to 1973.  (Facts About Israel) a government book.) 

Chanukah is the time to set out our Chanukiah in a window to show that we are still around after 3,000 years.  We have not been swept under the rugs of Ali Baba.  We're here and proud of it.  The Syrian Greeks tried to get rid of us, and it didn't work.  Abbas would like to pretend to the UN that we not around, but he still has to contend with us.  Too bad he hasn't heard of the saying we have: "What is hateful to you, do not do unto another."   From the moment Israel was declared a state, the Palestinians have been attacking with the goal to drive us into the sea.  It looks like that goal hasn't changed in 63 years.

Between 1967 and 1972, Israel, in an administration position, established only 6 towns in Judaea and Samaria.  There are 3 types of communities. 
1. Nahal villages were established by the IDF where military training is combined with farm work.  They are military points.  If Israel wasn't attacked by the Palestinians, it wouldn't be necessary.
2. Civilian villages are in areas that Israel hopes to be in its jurisdiction through peace treaties, but Israel has felt that in peace talks, everything will be negotiable. 
3.  Communities where the political future is not covered by Israel's position.  We have Arab communities right in Israel.  Why couldn't the Arabs in a peace agreement accept a Jewish community? 

For our distant semitic cousins who hate us so, it sure is amazing that they covet everything of ours that is so Jewish. 

Reference:  Oregonian newspaper, Sunday, December 18, 2011 GOP debate draws focus to Palestinian textbooks,  page A20
Simon Wiesenthal Center, Insidious Revisionism Against the Jewish People by Rabbi Marvin Hier
Facts About Israel page 158, Archaeology in Israel; main themes.  page 180 Israeli Settlement in the Administered Areas. 

Gingrich Is Not Zany-But Has Chutzpah!

Nadene Goldfoot
Romney and Gingrich are running for the presidency as Republicans and it's getting very competitive between these two  sharp men.  Romney is now calling Gingrich his "zany" rival. 

Zany's definition is: fantastically or irrationally ludicrous, a traditional masked clown, a subordinate clown or acrobat in old comedies who mimics ludicrously the tricks of his principal, a slavish follower, toady, one who acts the buffoon to amuse others. That's not Gingrich at all!


I would say that Gingrich has chutzpah!  We need a leader with chutzpah, and he uses it in the right places.  He comes back from an attack with a zinger that others might blanch at saying.  His latest was in speaking about the fact that the Palestinians were an "invented people".  Finally, someone in a high place had the chutzpah to come out and tell others what he knew about the history of these Arab people who had been living in "Palestine."  He also said the peace process was delusional.  Yoram Ettinger, former ambassador, also has come out with a detailed article on the history of the people that Israel has been trying to make peace with.  My friends and I have also been reading these same facts and writing about them. 

Let's face it.  Newt Gingrich knows how to get attention when he needs it.  He was fairly quiet in the beginning of the debates, listening to what others had to say and learning about the depth of their knowledge.  Now, the history professor in him is speaking out.  He's even advocating that the entire city of Jerusalem be recognized as the capital of Israel, and I bet that he will act on that statement which none of the other past presidents have done if elected. 

During the previous election, I had figured Mitt Romney to be weakest of the contenders on Israel.  Others made lots of statements and promises and I see that none have been fulfilled.  Promises can be made just to get votes.  Who has the audacity to carry out such promises?  The chutzpadik-Gingrich, is my bet today. 

Someone mentioned on Fox TV news that he can come up with more ideas than anyone.  His mind is going a mile a minute. That might be worrisome to a few people.   Along with that fantastic memory of his, the man is just brilliant and I think others are just plain jealous of his knowledge.  He has a clear vision of history.  With his chutzpah, he'll go where other presidents didn't dare, not wanting to rock the boat, but he'll steer us straight into the type of America that we all want and need.

You can tell that I'm impressed.  He actually knows the history of Israel and its struggles.  I bet he's even read a book on my desk, "From Time Immemorial" by Joan Peters. 

Reference: Oregonian 12/15/11 page A3: Romney readies for slog against resurgent Gingrich by Jeff Zeleny, Michael Barbaro and Ashley Parker-NY Times
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/gingrich-calls-palestinians-an-invented-people/
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2011/12/true-facts-who-palestinians-are-by.html by Yoram Ettinger

True Facts: Who the Palestinians Are-by Ambassador Yoram Ettinger

"Israel Hayom” Newsletter, December 14, 2011 Who are the Palestinians?  Ambassador (ret.) Yoram ettinger, "Second Thought"

Contrary to political correctness, Palestinian Arabs have not been in the
area west of the Jordan River from time immemorial; no Palestinian state
ever existed, no Palestinian People was ever robbed of its land and there is
no basis for the Palestinian "claim of return.”

Most Palestinian Arabs are descendants of the 1845-1947 Muslim migrants from
the Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, as well as from Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Morocco, Bosnia, the Caucasus, Turkmenistan,
Kurdistan, India, Afghanistan and Balochistan.

Arab migrant workers were imported by the Ottoman Empire and by the British
Mandate (which defeated the Ottomans in 1917) for infrastructure projects:
The port of Haifa, the Haifa-Qantara, Haifa-Edrei, Haifa-Nablus and
Jerusalem-Jaffa railroads, military installations, roads, quarries,
reclamation of wetlands, etc. Illegal Arab laborers were also attracted by
the relative economic boom, stimulated by Jewish immigration.

According to a 1937 report by the British Peel Commission (Palestine
Betrayed, Prof. Efraim Karsh, Yale University Press, 2010, p. 12), "The
increase in the Arab population is most marked in urban areas, affected by
Jewish development. A comparison of the census returns in 1922 and 1931
shows that, six years ago, the increase percent in Haifa was 86, in Jaffa
62, in Jerusalem 37, while in purely Arab towns such as Nablus and Hebron it
was only 7, and at Gaza there was a decrease of 2 percent.”

As a result of the substantial 1880-1947Arab immigration – and despite Arab
emigration caused by domestic chaos and intra-Arab violence - the Arab
population of Jaffa, Haifa and Ramla grew 17, 12 and 5 times.

The (1831-1840) conquest, by Egypt's Mohammed Ali, was solidified by a flow
of Egyptian migrants settling empty spaces between Gaza and Tul-Karem up to
the Hula Valley. They followed in the footsteps of thousands of Egyptian
draft dodgers, who fled Egypt before 1831 and settled in Acre. The British
traveler, H.B. Tristram, identified, in his 1865 The Land of Israel: a
journal of travels in Palestine (p. 495), Egyptian migrants in the
Beit-Shean Valley, Acre, Hadera, Netanya and Jaffa.

The British Palestine Exploration Fund documented that Egyptian
neighborhoods proliferated in the Jaffa area: Saknet el-Mussariya, Abu
Kebir, Abu Derwish, Sumeil, Sheikh Muwanis, Salame', Fejja, etc. In 1917,
the Arabs of Jaffa represented at least 25 nationalities, including
Persians, Afghanis, Hindus and Balochis. Hundreds of Egyptian families
settled in Ara' Arara', Kafer Qassem, Taiyiba and Qalansawa.

Many of the Arabs who fled in 1948, reunited with their families in Egypt
and other neighboring countries.

"30,000-36,000 Syrian migrants (Huranis) entered Palestine during the last
few months alone" reported "La Syrie" daily on August 12, 1934. Az-ed-Din
el-Qassam, the role-model of Hamas terrorism, which terrorized Jews in
British Mandate Palestine, was Syrian, as were Said el-A'az, a leader of the
1936-38 anti-Jewish pogroms and Kaukji, the commander-in-chief of the Arab
mercenaries terrorizing Jews in the 1930s and 1940s.

Libyan migrants settled in Gedera, south of Tel Aviv. Algerian refugees
(Mugrabis) escaped the French conquest of 1830 and settled in Safed
(alongside Syrians and Jordanian Bedouins), Tiberias and other parts of the
Galilee. Circassian refugees, fleeing Russian oppression (1878) and Moslems
from Bosnia, Turkmenistan, and Yemen (1908) diversified the Arab demography
west of the Jordan River.

Mark Twain wrote in Innocents Abroad (American Publishing Company, 1969):
"Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, Palestine must be the
prince…. Palestine is desolate and unlovely.” Analyzing Mark Twain's book,
John Haynes Holmes, the pacifist Unitarian priest, the co-founder of the
American Civil Liberties Union and the author of Palestine Today and
Tomorrow – a Gentile's Survey of Zionism (McMillan, 1929) wrote: "This is
the country to which the Jews have come to rebuild their ancient homeland….
On all the surface of this earth there is no home for the Jew save in the
mountains and the well-springs of his ancient kingdom…. Everywhere else the
Jews is in exile…. But, Palestine is his…. Scratch Palestine anywhere and
you'll find Israel…. There is not a spot which is not stamped with the
footprint of some ancient [Jewish] tribesman…. Not a road, a spring, a
mountain, a village, which does not awaken the name of some great [Jewish]
king, or echo with the voice of some great [Jewish] prophet…. [The Jew] has
a higher, nobler motive in Palestine than the economic…. This mission is to
restore Zion; and Zion is Palestine.”

The Arab attempt to gain the moral high ground and to delegitimize the
Jewish State - by employing the immoral reinvention of history and
recreation of identity - was exposed by Arieh Avneri's The Claim of
Dispossession (Herzl Press, 1982) and Joan Peters' From Time Immemorial
(Harper & Row, 1986), which provide the aforementioned – and much more –
data.

Reference: Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought: US-Israel Initiative"
http://www.theettingerreport.com/
You may disseminate as widely as possible.

Judea Samaria Frustrations Over Demolition of Communities

Nadene Goldfoot
300,000 Jewish settlers live in Judea Samaria (West Bank) along with 2.5 million Arabs.  200,000 Jews also live in east Jerusalem.  Both places came into Israel's hands in 1967's war when Israel was attacked by all the surrounding Arab states.  With such a large force, the Arabs were sure they would win, but they lost.

Jordan had illegally occupied Judea Samaria in the first place, so lost that land in the 1967 war.  This was a very special area as it was the orginal homeland of the Jewish nation of biblical days.  Jews were from Judea and Samaria.  Israeli citizens who were very religious moved to this area as it held so many places of our religious holy sites that had been unattainable before 1967.  Jewish people who live there are peace loving, wanting to live a religious life.

However, though Israel gained back Jerusalem, the rest of the world is still unable to be moved by our 2,000 year old plight and has been unmoved by our reclaiming it as our capital once again or our taking back Judea and Samaria, which was in the original plan created by Britain in the Balfour Doctrine.  So we have had a difference of opinion as to what should be accepted as a part of Israel. 

Because of this united world pressure, Israel has had to decide which parts of Judea Samaria must be given up to fall into Arab hands as they protest loudly that they also want a state of their own.  After all, there are only 48 Muslim majority countries in the world!    They think it only fair to chip off a nice chunk off the tiny piece that as become the world's only Jewish state and call it theirs.

The land has been demarked as part A, B and C by Israel.  I believe it is the C parts that are considered to be given to the Arabs.  Naturally, people who have built up these towns are fighting for survival and do not wish to be removed from their land they have been on since 1967 or thereabouts.  With the Arab Spring protests as well as the USA protesters have come the Israeli Judea Samaria protesters. 

The Oregonian's article, without naming names of towns, tell of protesters who have taken over an abandoned building near the Jordan border that was in a closed military zone, and another group who had gone into an army base on Tuesday and lit fires, damaged vehicles and threw stones at a senior officer who was not hurt.  They of course were protesting the planned evacuations.

The Israeli news mentioned Migron in the Binyamin region was one slated for destruction.  Kesha residents were protesting.  Those residents went to the knesset to protest the demolition of their town.   I fear that Itamar is also slated for destruction.  This is the site of the slaughter of the Fogel family of 5 by Arab terrorists in March 2011. Itamar has found a special place in our hearts due to the bravery of these people to overcome adversity and to live peacefully with Torah as their guide.  It was started in 1984 and has 1,032 residents.  It sits 28 km (17 miles and 701.1 yds) from the Green Line in the Samarian mountains and is only 5 km (3 miles 188 yds) SE of the city of Nablus.  (The Green Line is not an international law or permanent border.)  Being in part C, they are under the full Israel civil and security control, but this didn't help to stop the butchery of the Fogel family while in their beds.  The residents grow organic crops, raise sheep and goats and make and sell cheese and olive oil. 

The Arabs have been stirred up as well by world wide protesters but were also backed by Israeli leftists called "Peace Now."  Their unchecked theory has been that these homes were built on private lands, but that isn't turning out to be the case.  Lawyers have looked into this claim and are finidng that those Arabs calling for this in fact have no proof of ownership.  Also, these homes in Jewish neighborhoods were built in good faith, and that is a clause that may save them from destruction by the IDF. 

I remember when PM Begin was all for homesteading in Judea Samaria and encouraged it.  After all, it was wrong in the first place for Arabs to attack Jews in 1948 when Israel was declared an official state in the eyes of the world.  They kept attacking in successive wars and losing to Israel and never coming to any peaceful conclusion.  All the time they were offered their own state and refused it, wishing only to attack and kill Israelis and wanting to take over all of the land, not parts of it.  The 1967 war was an important one in that Israel was able to receive Judea and Samaria, original  important Jewish sites. 

We've given back all of Gaza to the Arabs, which was also in Israel's hands from wars only to find it is being used as a staging ground to attack Israel with missiles, mortars and rockets.  Of course, Israel sits right on the border with Gaza.  Judea and Samaria, a mixture of Jews and Arab communities is a cushion between Israel and Jordan.  From the north, Israel is right on the border with Lebanon.  It would be deplorable if all the Jews living in Judea Samaria were forced out.  You can imagine what that area would become; another staging ground for attacks on Israel. 

Being American as well as Israeli, it's hard for me to imagine an area that is not settled by a fair mix of people, but the future Palestine is to be devoid of all Jews.  My understanding is that this carries over to their neighbors also being devoid of Jews as well.  They just don't want any Jews in the total Middle East!

Israel has to bend to some demands but is holding out against demolishing the larger Jewish communities in Judea Samaria.  That's what politics is all about, conceding, demanding, etc, trying to keep the majority happy.  Also, they have the problem of defense, and can't spread the army over all the hot spots, and there are many. 

I understand the Judeans and Samarians frustrations and am proud of them for not taking lives, but showing their frustrations in other ways.  Perhaps the way to help will be the lawyers working on the legalities of their cases.  After all, Israel is a very legalistic and fair country, but its cup runneth over with problems right now.  Also, it couldn't hurt to add lots of prayers for these people.  They need all the help they can get. 

Resource: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150723 Judea Samaria demolition
Oregonian newspaper, 12/14/11- page A8 settlers clash with Israeli protectors in West Bank by Matti Friedman AP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itamar_attack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_(Israel)
http://www.friendsofitamar.org/news.html#link

Declaration of War from Hamas over Fixing Mughrabi Bridge

Nadene Goldfoot
The Muslim Brotherhood's main leader, Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, is a Theologian against Jews.  He can't wait to take over "Al Aqsa" in Jerusalem.  This is the mosque that Muslims have built over the Temple Mount which was an important part of our Jewish history.  This has happened in other parts of the world as well.  They build over some aspect of the conquered culture to say that it now belongs to them.

There is a temporary wooden walkway called the Mughrabi Bridge that Israel has wanted to close temporarily to repair it, or there are going to be injuries involved.  Hamas is having a fit over it.  They have warned that if Israel closes this to the Temple Mount it is tantamount to a "declaration of war" on all Muslim holy sites.  They neglect to tell whoever is listening that they have already been doing just such a thing to Jewish holy sites that I have been writing about. 

"This is a serious step that shows the Zionist scheme of aggression against al-Aksa mosque," Fawzi Barhum of Hamas said.  Israel closed it on Sunday for these safety issues.  The original ramp was made of earth which led to the Mughrabi Gate.  It collapsed in 2004 in a snowstorm, which is fairly rare in Jerusalem.  The bridge is also highly flammable.  This situation is bringing protests from Egypt.  I guess they'd rather see it collapse with people on it.  Netanyahu has postponed this decision but cannot any longer.  It's imperative that it be fixed now. 

"The dispute over the bridge has now become a key issue in Egypt's elections. The Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, called last week on Jordanian King Abdullah to dissuade Israel from replacing the ramp."

Update: 7pm Yahoo added that it will be repaired in a few days time.  It's the only access for non-Muslims, which would be Jews and tourists.  The ramp starts at the plaza by the Western Wall.  There are other ways to enter besides this one.  "Amman has frequently spoken out against removal of the ramp, which is one of the 15 gates leading into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, 10 of which are in use.  Amman, Jordan, who has the responsibility for Muslim holy sites' upkeep, has often spoken out about this gate's removal.  It is one of 15 gates, 10 of which are in use.  I don't know why all the ballyhoo about this particular one. 

Update: 12/14/11 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150708 by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu-Chelm or Jerusalem?  Read it and laugh: A Fire Truck deicision 

Resource: dailyalert@list-dailyalert.org from Jerusalem Post. 
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/jerusalem-closes-mughrabi-bridge-leading-to-temple-mount-1.400975
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-reinforce-reopen-al-aqsa-access-ramp-214435874.html

Islam: Religion of Peace? Why This American is Concerned

Nadene Goldfoot
Our government tells us that Islam is a religion of peace, but after reading the Koran, I had my doubts, especially after reading about their attitude towards Jews, of which I am.  Jews do have a problem thinking ill of others' religions since we have been persecuted for maintaining our faith for over 2,000 years under a lot of pressure, but it's time to face the facts here in the states that I believe Israel has been facing.  We're facing a possible religious war. 

What makes Islam different from other religions?  Granted, there are good parts, borrowed and altered from Judaism and Christianity as well, but there are bad parts which do not teach the same fundamental goals of peaceful living that are found in Judaism and Christianity, Buddaism and other religions.  The ones that scare me are the parts that say to kill Jews even if they are under a rock or behind something.  There is a mad-on towards Jews, no doubt added on when Mohammed found out that Jews were not ready to convert willingly.  Jews that lived in Muslim countries were not treated as full citizens ever, but as 2nd class ones with penalties attached called a dhimmini status.  They were barely tolerated. 

Since 9/11, many Americans are wary of Muslims since it was Saudi Arabians who flew into the Twin Towers and killed 2,998 civilian people of 90 countries.  The USA had been involved in the Gulf War, and had been backers of Israel, so I think we all figured that there was something here that ticked these Saudi pilots off.

When the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, it put us in the "we have to join the world war club" and we found ourselves declaring WWII.  We were attacked by planes then as well, and lost 3,581 military people and 103 civilians in that attack.  That definitely wasn't a religious war.  It was very political.  We had interferred with Japan's oil resources and they felt threatened. 

Our president Bush reacted pretty much the same way when we were attacked in 2001 and with the help of our intelligence service, attacked Iraq, which happened to be another Muslim country.  That was  touchy business being Saudi Arabia's king was a good friend of Pres. Bush, so it had to be an Iraq inspired attack. 

All the surrounding Muslim Arab states of Israel had attacked her in 1948 and had been doing so in successive wars; 1947-1949, 1956, 1967, 1968-1970, 1973, 1982, and then there was the Gulf War of 1991 which was a real threat of destruction to Israel as well as the 2nd Lebanon war of 2006.  It was in 91 that all Israeli citizens had to be issued gas masks because of the threat. 

Today we have the Emirs and heads of state of these Arab nations falling with the Arab Spring.  Our government is excited about that being they think that Democracy will step in, but  the best organized group is the Muslim Brotherhood which is able to change its goals to keep its popularity and stay in power for the time being.  Their goals are to kill all Jews everywhere and take over Israel. 
The religious leader in Qatar, Qaradawi,  who is a main man in the Muslim Brotherhood has put out a fatwa of just that.  He's the spiritual guide for Hamas, the main terrorist group of Gazans and supports suicide bombings against Israeli citizens.  This head of the "Union of Good", a group of charities-for terrorist organizations like Hamas, is free to do his thing as the US has not touched him.  He has protectia  from the Emir of Qatar, who with his Qatar Foundation, is one of the most influential people in the Muslim world.  They've already given out a lot of money to main USA Universities such as the Mellon Institute and have outreach centers in Qatar because of it. 

The Muslim Brotherhood is the heart of hatred for people that are not Muslims.  They've won in Egypt.  The Salafist group is even harsher and they received 20% of the vote, so the twosome will be the wheeler-dealers.  Their fundamental concepts is to establish an Islamic state and world domination under Islam.  They believe and carry out the personal religious duty of military Jihad and are working on its timing.  Qaradawi should be so happy to see what has happened to Egypt, where he had been ousted by Mubarak for his religious ideas.  Qaradawi can't wait to see this happen as well to Jerusalem with a conquered " Al Aqsa", where they have built a mosque over the Temple Mount of the Jews. 

Still and all, Muslims have been getting a bad rap in the states.  This is where Unity Production Foundation has stepped in.  Led by Bill McCarthy, Kenneth Pollack and Alexander Kronemer, Executive Producers, They have been creating films or videos to replace our negative perceptions of Muslims to positive ones.  There is even a program on TV showing the simple life of Muslim Americans to prove that they are just like us.  (from the producers mind to G-d's in that I only wish this is so.) 

Getting back to Qatar, they have given our Lincoln High school $70,000 and a teacher of Arabic studies to make this school special, as there are only 5 in the whole United States that have been thus rewarded with such a program.  Otherwise, the school could not have afforded this program.  The plan of Qatar is to increase this number 5 times over by 2020.    Soon many of our students will be studying from Qatar sources and reading and speaking Arabic.  This brings in the culture, such as DAM, a hip-hop trio of Palestinian Arab Israeli citizens who are now unfullfilled and presenting a program of their discontent which advocates the end of Israel, actually.  They've already turned a few students into Israel-haters at Lincoln.  This is the part of the program that many of us are upset about. 

I don't know about the necessity of learning Arabic, but Chinese would have been nice to incorporate in our public schools, being we owe so much money to China already.  Chinese students have had to be like Jewish students, go to their special schools after public school hours.  Jewish students need Hebrew to be bar-mitzvahed at age 13, so study that besides their daily studies. 

Muslims are not shy.  They are pushing their Sharia law wherever they go.  Since Jews were treated like pariahs, we have never been able to pull such a thing off, nor have we ever tried.  The problem is that Sharia law is not the same as our democratic values in many sections.  For instance, a head of Islam, Sec Gen Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu,  is meeting with Sec of State Hillary Clinton wanting to bring about suits against people who say something offensive to a Muslim.  This man wants to do away with Freedom of Speech by criminalizing criticism of Islam, which is something that makes the USA so special. 

I think Americans could just look at Europe and the Islamization that has been going on there to see where Sharia law could go.  These are great times when American are far more open-minded than they were in the 30's, and have the ability to incorporate many new social ideas, but must not become too naive.  The question is about how good are Muslims not to become enveloped into the Muslim Brotherhood philosophy?  We've already seen a few in our own states jump into that quagmire.  They weren't all poor, either.  Economic status is not the decisive factor; religious ideology is. 

Resource: http://www.historyguy.com/battle_of_pearl_harbor.html
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern+History/Israel+wars/
MEMRI  Sheikh Al-Qaradawi & Qatar's Education City Hosting American University Branches
http://www.adl.org/NR/exeres/788C5421-70E3-4E4D-BFF4-9BE14E4A2E58,DB7611A...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aqsa_Mosque
http://www.jewishmag.com/57mag/dhimmi/dhimmi.htm
http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&... on Al Jazeera and Qatar-The Muslim Brothers' Dark Empire? 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia

Hadassah's Chanukah Fair in Portland

Nadene Goldfoot
The Chanukah Fair put on by Hadassah was a big hit yesterday from 9am to 4pm at Neveh Shalom Synagogue.

Portland-Ashkelon Sister City Ass had a wine tasting event at their table with 5 red and 2 white kosher wines from Israel's Galilee region.  That was a big hit.

Very close to their table was Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon's table with books out to look up surnames, mainly from Russia and Poland to whet the appetite of many getting interested in their genealogy.  The group, which I  belong to, has wonderful monthly meetings involving great speakers that give us more information about the period our ancestors lived in as well as how to find more information about them.

Near the entrance and exit was the Hadassah bake sale with so many goodies that it was hard to decide which to buy.  I did settle on a dozen cookies in a bag that looked yummy.  Before I got out the door, Debby Korman's father had such an interesting jewlery display, similar to the pennant that she was wearing yesterday, that I bought a different one for my daughter, Debby to go with her red hair. 

There were many tables out with so many interesting items that it was hard to select things, but I did order 3 bottles of that wine.  Looking forward to picking those up. 

Wine Tasting with wines from the Galilee of Israel

James Autrey is telling an interested lady about Ashkelon



Richard Johnson telling Tani Zarelli about Israeli wines from Galilee




Michelle Suffian-Childton, Hadassah ladies happy about bake sales



Gingrich Tells Truth About "Palestinians: Shocks Everyone

Nadene Goldfoot
Newt Gingrich shocked news pundits when he was being interviewed with "The Jewish Channel."  He was describing the Middle East peace process, and being the historian he is, commented that Palestinians were an "invented" people.  He even had the chutzpa to comment that they were Arabs.  The news of his statement made it into Saturday night's Republican debate of 6 people. 

Palestinian officials reacted furiously to his assertions, accusing him of incitement and staging a "cheap stunt" to court the Jewish vote. What he said simply let them know that he was aware of their history and problem in attaining a peace accord with terrorists Hamas and Fatah (originally PLO). 

"Enough lying about the Middle East", said Gingrich emphatically on television!" which was just aired again.  "Remember there was no Palestine as a state.  It was part of the Ottoman Empire, and I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community," he had told the Jewish TV. 

Others in the debate jumped on him saying that it was really up to Israel to say such things.  I guess that they haven't noticed that many of us Israelis and Israeli supporters have been saying just that.  Gingrich is the first person I've noticed to have the gumption and daring to also say it.  I think it is because he's more of a historian than a politician so is more interested in the truth.  I cheered for him.

Even Ron Paul finally commented that this is a true fact when asked about it.  The Ottoman Empire lost the war and England had the mandate.  What they neglected to continue to say was that the Jews had formerly, albeit long ago, two states, as a matter of fact right where Israel lies today.  It was much much larger and included Jordan, among other places.  It was Judah and Israel, broken in two when King Solomon died.  Ever since 70 CE Jews have been homeless and have suffered because of that for over 2,000 years.  This is why England had decided to make the swampy mosquito filled wasteland that was treated like a pariah by all but the Jews the Jewish Home.  It was because of Chaim Weizman who invented dynamite which did the trick to win the 1st world war in the first place that the Jews were promised a homeland back in their old original home. 

Newt knows these facts, and others may also.  It's terrible that only he has brought these facts up finally.  It doesn't change the fact that both he and Israel agree on a 2 state solution, which means taking the fractional piece of land that is Israel and giving a goodly part of it to the Arabs that continue to call themselves Palestinians, swallowing the false story that it was they that once had a state, which they of course didn't. 

The way the facts lie today is that they are unwilling to even talk about forming their own state, wanting all of the land which is Israel.  This is something that our government has not considered,but instead has been  putting pressure on Israel to make peace.  Gingrich at least realizes how impossible this is.  They're put the onus on the wrong people.

The Arab were offered their own state back in 1947 when Israel was in the process of being formed.  They've been offered their own state over and over since then.  They always hold out for the whole section of land.  They've held out that long keeping "Palestinian" Arabs who followed their lead in detention camps, ever since then for the past almost 65 years now. 

Reference:  Oregonian 12/11/12 Gingrich says peace lies with Palestinians by Thomas Beaumont and Daniel Estrin-AP
Atlas Shrugs
Book: "From Time Immemorial" by Joan Peters