BBC Omits Jerusalem in Olympic Game Listing

Nadene Goldfoot                         Jerusalem, capital of Israel
Of course, the BBC omitted Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel in their list of Olympic games website.  They are using Tel Aviv as the address instead.  Facebook has a campaign going on to let people know that Jerusalem is its capital.  Israel's Knesset, the parliament building is located in Jerusalem, created in 1949.  Their permanent building was built in 1966.  BBC had the chutzpa to list East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian Arabs Olympic team.  After a complaint from Israel, they merely wrote that Jerusalem was the seat of Israel's government.

Situated in the center of the Judean mountains is the capital of Israel.  The land area was occupied by ancient Judah and by the old city of Jerusalem.  An ancient shekel found from 68 CE is made of silver with the inscription, "Holy Jerusalem" along with 3 pomegranates.  King David captured the city in 1010 BCE and made it his capital.  We know that Joshua had captured the land of Canaan by 1320 BCE and defeated Adoni-zedek, king,  but his city had remained an independent enclave between the tribal areas of Benjamin and Judah.  It had maintained its independence with some Philistine help until then.  David dealt leniently with the Jebusites, and then  established himself in the city. King David's son was the very wise King Solomon.

King David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and made it the religious center of Israel. His empire reached from the Red Sea to the Euphrates.  The Olympic games had started in neighboring Greece in 776 BCE.  Since 70 CE Jews have prayed to return  and have promised not to forget Jerusalem lest they lose the use of their right hand. 

The Jerusalem Law of 1980 extended Israel sovereignty over the entire city.  The city had been divided in 1948 into two parts between Jews and Arabs due to Jordanian takeover of the eastern part, and it was liberated in the June 1967 War by Israel and made one city again.  It seems that the international community didn't bother to condemn Jordan for the takeover of what was to be the Jewish National Homeland, the land Jordan is sitting on, and is not willing to accept Jerusalem as Israel's capital, either.

Israel has participated in the Olympics since 1952.  They won a medal finally in 1992 in Barcelona.
The Olympic games of 1972 will be remembered as the time 11 Israeli athletes were murdered in what was called the Munich massacre.  The team was taken hostage and then killed by the Palestinian terrorists, Black September, who then demanded 234 terrorists be freed out of Israeli jails.

Resource: Facebook
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4258329,00.html
http://www.olympic.org/
http://www.olympic.one.co.il/  all in Hebrew
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/sports.html
http://www.nostos.com/olympics/ history of Olymics
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/Olympic_Silence.html

Jerusalem, the Most Special City in the World and International Law

Nadene Goldfoot
Judaism is a religion regarding the living.  It does not focus on when we die.  To live, we have rules and regulations regarding ourselves and our fellow man.  We have not only the ten commandments but 613 to follow as well.  Because of this, we have produced a lot of lawyers.  You can say that we are very interested in laws.  One lawyer I admire the most is Alan Dershowitz who has written many books defending Israel and her rights.

Right now the biggest concern is over Jerusalem and international law.  Israel has been very sincere and has found itself in the position to defend itself over having Jerusalem as its capital, which is pretty silly in itself being King David of Israel back in 1000-960 BCE established Jerusalem as the capital.  Remember him?  He was a fighter against the Philistines, son in law of King Saul, first king of Israel.

It was the capital in 586 BCE and again between 516 BCE and 70 CE.  The only people it has ever been a capital for has been for the Jews.   The Jews today are the people with the longest unbroken historical connection with Jerusalem starting from nearly 3,000 years ago.  Jerusalem is the focus of national and religious aspirations.  It is today the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government, the Supreme Court, the Chief Rabbinate, the Hebrew University and the Israel Museum and Boys Town just for starters.  It is where the Western Wall (Wailing Wall)  is, which is the holiest shrine of the Jews.  It dates back from the time of the 2nd Temple.  It is part of the wall that enclosed Herod's Temple and still stands in the Old City of Jerusalem.  It was very close to the Holy of Holies section of our temple which was at the Western end of the Temple, so is regarded as sacred and this goes back to the Talmudic Period in the 10th Century where regular services were held before it.

For Christians, Jerusalem is the link that begins with Jesus of Nazareth and the places with the story of his life and death.  For them, their holy place is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

For Moslems, Jerusalem rates 3rd in holiness after Mecca and Medina.  The mosque of Al Aqsa on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem which stands over our original Temple is one of the holiest shrines of Islam.  All these religious Holy places are administered by the religious bodies to which they belong under Israeli law.

Israel, the rebirth of which was May 14, 1948, lost East Jerusalem to Jordan in the fight who grabbed it.  That meant that for 19 years between 1948 and 1967, Jerusalem was divided in two parts between Israel and Jordan.  There was a wall of barbed wire and concrete separating the two parts.  The Jordanians forbid movement of people from one part to another.

A paragraph in the Israel-Jordan 1949 Armistice Agreement affirmed the Jewish right of access to the Wall. However,  it wasn't until 1967 that Jews could again go to the wall which now came under Jewish sovereignty for the first time since the 2nd Temple period.  It was on Shavuot 1967 that the public could visit the wall.  200,000 people went there.  Since then it has been the focal point for Jews from all parts of the world.  Lots of work has gone into landscaping the vicinity.  After 1968 excavations in the area uncovered many remains dating from Temple times.

After the 67 War, Israel liberated Jerusalem and it was reunified.  Today is is experiencing coexistence between Jews and Arabs, between the 3 faiths and between the religious and secular ways of life.

There is a 2 day conference in Jerusalem ending Wednesday (today) being held for international legal officials this week focusing on the status of Jerusalem.  The international Alliance for Justice in Jerusalem, a Toronto-based not -for-profit-organization with branches in many cities around the world,  is hosting this event at the King David Hotel.  This is where I met my cousin, Stanley Goldfoot back in 1981. The keynote address was from the Mayor, Nir Barkat, in the opening session.  They had sessions on the political, judicial and diplomatic issues facing the city dealing with the status of Jerusalem under international law.  The rest of the world does not see it as our capital and refuses to agree with Israel including the USA.

On July 30, 1980, the Knesset passed a basic law making "Jerusalem, complete and united…the capital of Israel."
"Under international law Israel has a legal right to its capital Jerusalem, " agreed Jacques Gauthier,   international jurist and human rights advocate who founded the organization that hosted this conference.  .


"Israel has filed strenuous protests  against this policy of not accepting Jerusalem as the capital, asserting that:

• There is no basis in international law for denying Israel's establishing its capital in Jerusalem, because there is no binding treaty that makes the city a Corpus separatum.
• The 1980 Basic Law is not a legal innovation and only affirms Israel's long-standing position on Jerusalem.
• Israel has the sovereign right to establish its capital at the most meaningful place for its people, and its claim is unique.
• Objections to Jerusalem as Israel's capital are political in nature, and not legal.

In its 2004 advisory opinion on the legality of the Israeli West Bank barrier, the International Court of Justice concluded that the lands captured by Israel in the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem, are occupied territory."


Jerusalem, that city that has been referred to as:
1. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth (Bible, Zechariah, 8,3)
2. Jerusalem which is bound firmly together (bible, Psalms, 122, 3)
3. Eternity means Jerusalem (Talmud, Berakhot, 58)
4. There is no beauty like the beauty of Jerusalem (Avot Derabbi Nathan, Talmudic Commentary)

Jerusalem was a city with a population of 300,000 people in 1973 enjoying the fruits of unification.  By 2011 there were 497,000 Jews, 281,000 Muslims, 14,000 Christians and 9,000 irreligious making up the city's population which meant that 64% were Jewish and 36% were Arabs.


Resource: Arkutz Sheva: news@israelnationalnews.com  Gathering Focuses on Legal Status of Jerusalem by Chana Ya'ar
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Facts About Israel, Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_law_and_the_Arab-Israeli_conflict
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/155939
Myths and Facts by Mitchell G. Bard, Joel Himelfarb, pages 220-233 Ch 18 Jerusalem

The Capital of Israel is Jerusalem

Nadene Goldfoot
The United States has not been perceiving Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, though Israel says it is.  Since May 15, 1948, the USA has not recognized passports with Jerusalem being part of Israel. The population of Jerusalem was then 84,000.   Congress doesn't go along with this policy.  It's the Executive Branch's State Dept. that has been the holdout.

The fact that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel has been in Israel's Basic Law since July 30, 1980.  In that it is written that Jerusalem is the seat of the President, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.  I say that other countries in the world  not accepting this fact is their problem, not Israel's.  Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish state since King David 1000 BCE to 960 BCE.  It has been known as the "City of David." It remained the Jewish capital until 70CE when Rome attacked.  135CE was the last attempt to hold onto it with Bar Kokhba leading to assault on the Romans.  For 1,000 years it was the Jewish capital.   This means that the world has known of Jerusalem being the capital of the Jews for the past 3,000 years.  It's the city Jews have  prayed to  every day since 70 CE to return to "next year." 

On June 29, 1967, Israel formally united the two sections of the city and the barriers that divided them were removed. 

The population of the Eastern portion of Jerusalem including 139,600 Moslems and Christians are now a part of the total population of 493,500 as of 1990.  On December 2011 the population rose to 933,113.  It is expected to reach 1 million by the end of 2012.  Right now Jeruslaem has 3/4 of a million population with 2/3 being Jewish and 1/3 Arabs.  The total population of Israel today is 7,836,000 with 28% under the age of 14.

Today the USA Supreme Court allows judicial review of this contention in an 8 to 1 decision.  Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the majority and rejected the Obama Administrations assertion that the Executive Branch has exclusive power to make all foreign policy decisions. This came about due to  many complaints, but there is a case of a young man born to American parents in Jerusalem that has a passport issued in Jerusalem and the USA won't include the word Israel as to the country following the name, "Jerusalem."  For 63 years the USA has been a holdout to accepting that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.  To me, if they voted to create Israel, surely they would expect Jerusalem to be the automatic capital. 

May 15, 1948 was the birth of Israel which included all of Jerusalem except East Jerusalem, which was still filled with Jordanians shooting at the rest of the Jerusalemite population.  In 1967 Israel liberated East Jerusalem when they won the 6 day attack from all the surrounding Muslim nations.  They then united all of Jerusalem and it has been under one mayor. 

1840 listed Jews as the largest single religious group in Jerusalem.  Again in 1880 it was listed as the majority religion.  That included all of Jerusalem.  In 1937 during the British Mandate  the first Jewish mayor was chosen.

Teddy Kollek served from 1965 to 1967 and then on till 1993.   Ehud Olmert followed him serving from  1993 to 2003.  Nir Barkat has served from 2008 to the present.  He is a 53 year old secular politician who has attended schools in Pasadena, California and Ithica, New York.  Nir has the responsibility of approving construction permits in all of Jerusalem.  He feels that Jews ought to be able to build in all parts of the city.  This former Major who was in the paratroopers, and son of a physicist is very zionistic, having family that died in the Holocaust who knows the importance of Jerusalem and what it stands for.   He has done a tremendous job as probably the most challenging  mayor position in the world. 

Resource: http://www.onejerusalem.org/2012/03/supreme-court-sets-back-obama.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nir_Barkat
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/09/18/batman-in-jerusalem.html
http://www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basic10_eng.htm
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/newpop.html
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/233448

Jerusalem, Undivided

Nadene Goldfoot                                                           

East Jerusalem and West Bank barrier 

"Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and annexed it later in a move never recognised by the international community. It considers the entire city its "eternal, indivisible capital."  
(AFP-European Union says Israeli settlements are "worrying."-reference below.)

After being attacked by all the surrounding Arab states, Israel miraculously won the  battle and in doing so, gained back east Jerusalem, which had been held by Jordan in an illegal move of occupation without permission.  Now Jerusalem is one again and enjoying the fruits of unification.

The European Union, forever not wanting to affront their Arab pals, is saying that Israeli "settlements", which are now becoming old villages, towns and cities, are   a "worrying" development.  At least they are for a 2 state solution.   They also state that the legitimacy of Israel must never be called into question.  

Where I question is "the right of Palestinians to achieve statehood".  Why?  I ask.  They were never a state of their own.  Jews have had to wait since 70CE to regain their own land, and at that they have but a drop in the bucket compared to their original land tract.  The Arabs have been given the opportunity to have their own state ever since 1948 when Israel was pronounced a state among the nations and they have refused, wanting the whole piece instead of their slice of the pie.  Instead, they answer Israel's pleas with bombing and killing.  So what is their right in getting their own state which is more demanding than other entities in the world who seem to be more deserving. 

Where does it say that Jerusalem is so important to the Arabs?  It's not a religious center at all.  At best, east Jerusalem does have many Arabs living there, but this is not reason to take it over as the capital of "Palestine."  The Koran does not address Jerusalem.  East Jerusalem contains Arabs because  Jordan had taken it in the War of Independence illegally; thus there are still Arabs living there.  Israel did not force them out.  Israel is trying to get along with its neighbors, and has hired them for work, not attacked them. 

Israel has been begging the Palestinians to "demonstrate their commitment to a peaceful solution" but instead, Fatah has joined Hamas; a terrorist group connecting with an even more evil terrorist group.  That's how they have demonstrated their "right to a state."

The EU accuses Israel of "systematically undermining the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem through the continued expansion of settlements."  Israel has dismantled cities that had developed with the results of having the areas become Muslim centers for attack.  Look at Gaza.  If the "Palestinians won't come to the peace talks and be serious about making friends with Israel, then why should Israel hold back in building needed homes for its people.  When they get serious about their attitude, decisions can be made about building. 

Right now there are several fatwas out to kill all Jews everywhere and destroy Israel from Hamas itself as well as Qaradawi, the religious leader who has gained prominence through Qatar's Emir.  He had been thrown out of Egypt by Mubarak for his outlandish attitude, but he has gained prominence and just spoke in Egypt to over a million Islamists.  This is not the climate that creates peace between Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinians. 

Face it, European Union.  The "Palestinians want east Jerusalem simply because it means so much to Jews.  If they ever picked up the "Old Testament" and read it, they'd see how Jerusalem plays a prominent role to us.  It goes back to Kings David and Solomon.  Hamas's own leader, Khaled Meshal, who chooses to live in Damascus, Syria instead of Gaza, is resigning but may do another term anyway as he is in demand.  This man has Jordanian citizenship and could return there if he gives up all political aspirations.  He will only be 56 in May, and is quite too young to retire. 

Israel was led to believe that they would receive  a fair size of their old land back in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.  Their high aspirations dwindled before their eyes but they accepted the token piece they were offered in the end.  If Hamas is serious about wanting their own state, they could easily choose another site for their capital being that they have a great deal of land already.  East Jerusalem is a subject that was to be discussed in peace talks that the EU seems to want decided before the discussion.  Can it be that Hamas knows they can't come up with rational answers?  The international community favors their Arab friends, owners of oil wells.  What sort of community is it that cannot see the logic of east Jerusalem remaining a united section of the rest of Jerusalem? 

Resource: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-says-israeli-settlements-worrying-192124301.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_Mashal
Oregonian newspaper, 1/22/12; page A10, Hamas leader won't seek re-election by Fares Akram NY Times

One Jerusalem Undivided: Good For All

Nadene Goldfoot

Jerusalem, Israel's capital,  is an undivided city that is most important to Judaism.  It is also a very coveted city that the Muslims have their eyes on right now and expect to be able to seize the Eastern part for their capital.  They have chutzpah to the nth degree to plan on asking the UN to grant them statehood and East Jerusalem when they reject Israel's right to exist.  All this time they not only will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state but have been bombing it for over 7 years with missiles and rockets and sneaky attacks. 

The question arises as to why our USA government spends four times as much money on Israel's enemies as on Israel.  Ron Paul, Republican presidential candidate mentioned that the USA gave $3 billion dollars to Israel while giving $12 billion to her enemies. "Giving" is not quite accurate for Israel as Israel receives loans that they pay back, or with stipulations that they spend money in the USA only which gives jobs to Americans.  As Israel is the only Democratic state in the Middle East with the same values as the USA, one would think that they would have better treatment.

Obama, when speaking to AIPAC when he was running for President promised that Jerusalem would not be divided and here he is going along with the Arabs in their plan to take part of Jerusalem now.  Of course with their statements of destroying Israel as their goal, they no doubt plan to take all of Jerusalem for themselves after taking East Jerusalem.  Under Israel's umbrella, Jerusalem is open for all religions.  Everyone is treated fairly.  It wasn't so when it was under Jordanian rule.  Christians and Jews were not permitted in.   

The mayor of Jerusalem is doing an excellent job for a city with so many diverse problems and people.  He feels it will not run as smoothly as it is now if it becomes divided, which it was before 1967.  It was horrible that Israel had been attacked and outnumbered then and a miracle that they won against inhuman odds, but that event enabled Israel to free and open up all of Jerusalem.  It took a terrible war to unite Jerusalem as one city.  Will there have to be another disasterous war in trying to take away East Jerusalem?  There is no reason why Jerusalem is important to Muslims.  They are doing well in Ramallah which is acting as their capital.  It is only 6 miles north of Jerusalem in Samaria.  Ramallah was historically a Christian town and now has a population of 25,500 Muslims and  some Christians.  Of course if they are granted statehood the Christians will have to leave, too, for they plan to be 100% Muslim. 

Never forget that the Palestinian plan is to have their state free of Jews and that includes East Jerusalem.  Is the UN going to allow such a state to exist in this day and age?  Part of the Palestinian warfare is brainwashing the world into believing that Israel is practicing apartheid!  It is they who plan to do just that.  Facts are that over one million Arabs are citizens of Israel and have more rights now than they ever had with Jordan or Egypt.  Jerusalem had a population of 84,000 in 1948 at the time of Israel's UN acceptance.  In 2009 the population grew to 773,800.  Jerusalem is a little smaller in population than San Francisco which has 805,235 people. 

The United Nations was brave and rightous to accept the first Jewish state into the world of statehoods in 1948.  That rightousness has not continued in recognizing their right to exist, however but has cowered  when faced with the anti-semitism of the many.  An example is not allowing passports to show that a person was born in Israel.  A case is that of a person born in Jerusalem and the USA refuses to write Jerusalem, Israel.  The USA does not even recognize that Jerusalem is Israel's capital after these past 44 years.  Both Jews and Christians believe in the Messiah coming and he will of course be in Jerusalem, but the way things are going, even he may not be able to enter as it will be a stronghold for Islam only.

Below is a 5 minute video on Jerusalem that is well worth watching.  Pictures say so  much.  Jerusalem must stay undivided. 

Resource:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mR2W43t6tI&feature=related

Liberty Counsel; Mathew Staver

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/newpop.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_California_cities_by_population

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramallah

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-usa-israel-passport-idUSTRE7415IX20110502 passport