Political and Legal Assault by NGOs.

by Gerald M. Stenberg

Almost six months after the combat ended in Gaza, the political and legal assault against Israel has just begun.

…three superpowers (NGO - non-governmental organizations): the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Amnesty International - published reports condemning Israel for "war crimes" and for the suffering of Gaza's population. In parallel, Richard Goldstone's UN inquiry was in Gaza taking testimony from anti-Israel NGOs and from Palestinian "victims."

…This onslaught highlights the difficulties that Israel faces in responding to efforts to criminalize legitimate defense in asymmetric warfare. In contrast, the answers provided by government officials are generally vague and defensive. The IDF, the Foreign and Defense ministries and the Prime Minister's Office still have not developed a coherent strategy or allocated the resources necessary to defeat this attack. Examination of these NGO publications highlights the façade of research without any substance. While frequently invoking the language of human rights and international law, reports by Amnesty and HRW demonstrate the absence of research expertise in this area.

…The three reports published and publicized two weeks ago, like dozens that have come before, combine pseudo-legal rhetoric, technical allegations regarding Israel's defense against terror attacks, automatic sympathy for Palestinian victims, and condemnation of Israel. (Non-Jewish NGOs do dirty jobs on behalf of foreign governments, allowing them to put unfair political pressure on Israel. At the same time the Jewish NGOs have been silent, due to the stupidity of the fake political correctness or the Gallut - slave's mentality, or have been paralysed by bogus accusations and court proceedings, like AIPAC – the US Jewish lobby group!)

Food for Thought. by Steven Shamrak

After Obama’s speech in Cairo, what is next? Have the king of the Saudi Arabia come to Washington and apologize for the September 11 terror attack in order to gain the trust of the West, as 15 Saudi citizens were among the perpetrators, and other Islamic atrocities, committed around the world which were sponsored by his country?

Rear Admission of the Truth. Speaking with Al-Palestinia TV a week ago, Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas admitted that his well-to-do family was not expelled or driven out by Jews during War of Independence in 1948 from city of Tzfat, but rather left for fear that the Jews might take revenge for the slaughter of 20 Jews in the city during the Arab pogroms of 19 years earlier. The Abbas family moved back to Damascus, as that is likely the place where it had originated less than 90 years earlier (Similarly to Arafat’s family which came to Gaza from Egypt). In addition to those killed in Tzfat, nearly 70 Jews were slaughtered in their homes in Hevron, 17 in Jerusalem, and others were murdered in Motza, Kfar Uriah and Tel Aviv.

Legal War Waged Against Israel. The defense establishment is concerned at intensifying legal campaigns in foreign courts that aim to deter Israel from using force against Hamas and Hizbullah. "There is a war being waged against us in the legal sphere. Its aim is to delegitimize Israel and to create deterrence against a possible use of force in Gaza and Lebanon again." There is also a certain level of frustration within the defense establishment at the disconnect between what is believed here to have been a carefully thought-out operation, where huge efforts were invested in minimizing harm to Palestinian civilians, and the growing tide of international accusations of war crimes.

They Love to Hate. In the PA controlled village of Silwan, outside East Jerusalem, clashes between two feuding hamulas or clans have left at least one person dead and three others injured. Witnesses say there may be up to four dead. Israeli police were on the scene to calm things down.

Quote of the Week: "Whoever reads and follows the printed media in Israel these days could get the mistaken impression that the central columnists are not Israeli-Zionist journalists, but foreigners ‘planted’ in the media by U.S. President Hussein (Barack) Obama’s men… Those newspapers serve as a de-facto opposition to both the government of Israel and the citizens of Israel." - Independent journalist Yoav Yitzchak, owner and editor-in-chief of the Hebrew-language news website News1. – Unfortunately, the Israeli media, as the most of government bureaucracy, is heavily infested by people who are ideologically or psychologically blinded or opportunistically self-serving.

Spanish Bigotry is Shut Down. A Spanish court shelved a judge’s investigation of an Israeli air force bombing in Gaza in 2002 that killed a suspected Hamas militant and some civilians, siding with prosecutors who said Spain lacks jurisdiction. A panel of 18 judges at the National Court decided by a wide majority to support prosecutors who opposed the probe on the ground that Israel already was investigating the attack. Another Bigot (IRC) is still Active. Israel rejected as "scandalous" a highly critical report released by the International Committee of the Red Cross marking six months since Operation Cast Lead, which chastise Israel for the situation in Gaza while ignoring the continued detention of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit or the "intransigent belligerence" of Hamas.

Answer to Jewish National Fund.

The following is my for clarification of a following statement I made two weeks ago: “Over 100,000 Arabs Live Illegally on Jewish-Owned Land in Jerusalem and Israeli government and JNF do nothing about it!” It was requested by Isaac Blachor, a Vice President of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in the US, who insisted that I apologised or clarify my statement.

Dear Steven, I am Isaac Blachor and I am the Vice President of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in the US. My title is VP for Israel Relations. Your statement in a recent web posting seemed to indicate that JNF was doing nothing about Arab squatters living on JNF land... JNF purchased hundreds of individual parcels of land in and around Jerusalem, during the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's etc. In 1948, on one of these parcels that was under the control of Jordan, the UN built the Kalandia refugee camp. The UN took this land without permission from the owner, JNF... After 1968, when Israel was able to assert control over this parcel... when JNF brought the matter to the Israeli government, it was told that this was a political matter and the government would not act on the complaint of JNF... JNF is powerless in this situation, although it does file an annual document, which continues to assert its rights over this land, although the net effect is that there is no change in the status quo. As for illegal building on this parcel, again, it is up to the government to assert its authority, and JNF cannot answer for the actions or lack of action on behalf of the government. So, for you to say that JNF does nothing, is not accurate. For you to indicate that JNF is not concerned or that it does not wish to act, is simply not true. JNF can only go to the courts in Israel for redress and the courts have constantly refused to grant its petition. I would respectfully suggest that you print a correction about your statement.

Answer: Dear Mr. Blachor, I appreciate the importance of the projects the JNF has been involved in Israel and I admire the dedication of volunteers who collect donations toward these projects. But our goal is much bigger than just collection funds or planting trees in Israel. The comment in question was short but heavily loaded with many ideas. Mainly, it was about apathy that the Israeli governments and the JNF, as well as other Jewish organizations, which are still calling themselves Zionist ones, have developed toward the original Jewish goal – the creation of Eretz-Israel, the Land of Israel.

The Jewish National Fund was created in 1901 as a political and financial organization in order to help Jewish people to realise their Zionist dream, the Jewish National homeland! That is the reason why for over the century Jews all over the world have been making their donations to the JNF.

How many of the JNF donors or general population know about the fact that the UN illegally used Jewish land and the Israeli government have been doing nothing to free it from Arab occupation? How many Zionist group or organizations, those that are still on the front line of battle for Eretz-Israel in spite of a hostile attitude and actions from successive Israeli governments, have been receiving support from your organization, financial or moral? The JNF is Zionist organization and it must return to its original purpose and provide true Zionist leadership!

We hear a lot about Syrian demands for the return of the Golan Heights. Have the JNF made any effort to inform the public, Jews and others, about the land it owns in the area, Syria and other neighbouring countries? Has the JNF made any public protest about recent suggestions of the swap of the land owned by your organization on behalf of Jewish people in order to accommodate the creation of an Arab terrorist entity on Jewish land – Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem, where your organization holds the ownership of many parcels of land?

Jews have always been pressed by anti-Semitic international hypocrisy. It is only when we took matters into our own hands and with determination pursued our dreams that our goals were realized! Unfortunately, the Israeli government, due to various political reasons, is unable to fight the political pressure and the Media war that is waged against Israel. This has put the Zionist NGOs like the JNF and other Jewish organizations into the perfect position to actively, vigorously and proudly promote the right of Jewish people to live in peace on all the land of our ancestors. Why don’t they?

The main questions that must be asked are: How and why has the JNF transformed itself from the champion of the Zionist dream of Jewish people into a quiet appeaser and a cash cow of the inept political leadership in Israel and the Diaspora and what can be done to reverse this? It is too early to become complacent - the original goal of Zionism has not been completed yet!