More Threats From Iran

Iran is threatening all nations who support Jerusalem being in the hands of Israel. We're in deep trouble and support is a dangerous stand, as far as a former Iranian president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has just stated on Friday. He said our support would backfire. His words were accompanied with hundreds of thousands of people all across Iran in a rally in support of Muslim claims to Jerusalem. This dangerous man is still very active in Iranian politics. Friday was "Al-Quds Day," meaning Jerusalem Day.

This connection that Muslims have for Jerusalem is their story that Muhammad rose to heaven on a horse from there. That's it. It doesn't take much to rouse a people who believe their leaders without checking facts. All it takes is a pretty good orator who knows how to rouse his people. They'll swallow it all, hook, line and sinker.

Ahmadinejad has reported to his Iranian people that Israel doen't have the support of the ordinary Americans. I wonder where he got that idea?

In Tehran, groups chanted, "Death to America," and "Death to Israel." They also burned both country's flags. It was reported that even the Jewish community was participating. Now, you've got to know that if they didn't they'd probably be killed. My Jewish cousin's Iranian husband had to sneak out of the county on a camel. Several of his teen-age friends with him were killed in the process. It's not a country good for the Jews.

Iran wasn't the only country celebrating this holiday with protest rallies. Damascus, Syria saw 3,000 plus people rallying at the Yarmouk refugee camp with Palestinian flags and antii-Israeli banners. Officials attended along with Ahmed Jibril of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General-Command. Please note that though the Palestinians are in Syria, they are still living in refugee camps. This is a political ploy. They're not worked into the society, but kept simmering in hatred.

The Arabs and Islamic nations celebrate with anger. Ziad Nakhale of the Islamic Jihad group now is saying that Jerusalem is holy for Muslims and they are calling all Muslims around the world to liberate it. Even in Lebanon, the Hezsbollah terrorist group rallied near Beirut. Their Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is urging Palestinians to resist against Israel, as if they haven't. Nasrallah said on television, "No one has the right to give up a grain of soil...in the holy land. Jerusalem must return to its rightful owners and it will, God willing."

As I have said before, all indications were that the "Palestinians" will not be happy with part of Jerusalem as part of their state. They actually want the whole city. They don't want part of Israel. They actually want all of Israel.

This is a war of survival for Israel. I say we're not dealing with logic, here. Alice in Wonderland actually had it pretty good.

My concern at this point is who, of the presidential candidates in the USA will not have a meltdown when confronted with such lunacy. Who is unafraid to stand by his guns and not cave in to such terrorism. We have a people here who are believing their own lies and are using these lies to take over an established state, already given the seal of approval by the United Nations in 1948. Israel won't allow it to happen, but needs support from all the threatened free countries. What will happen will affect the world for all time to come.

Reference: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080927/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_jerusalem_day_4&printer

9/28/2008

Israel At Age 17

Israel in May 1965 saw many challenges. She looked about at her population of sad refugees living in an eroded and bleak land with hostile and threatening neighbors.

Long ago, it was prophesied that the desert would blossom like the rose, and the prophecy has been fulfilled.

The land had no lumber, so they imported timber from Africa and then proceeded to export plywood.

Devoid of diamond mines, she developed great centers of diamond polishing and exporting.

The surrounding Arab neighbors boycotted her, so Israel had to build a merchant marine which grew from 22,000 tons to over a million tons.

There was no water, so she built a huge national water carrier to irrigate the Negev. Her scientists developed desalination of sea water. So impressed was President Johnson, that he proposed a partnership of America and Israel in joint experiments in exploring the aid of nuclear energy in desalination.

Israel produced tires in the amount of about 15,000 tons in 1964, of which half were exported.

Israel was growing was more than 11% a year. She continued to deal with hostile neighbors, so prepared for the worst while developing the port of Ashdod, giving Israel its largest harbor.

They planned to develop the Negev with industry in the next decade.

Its Prime Minister Levi Eshkol said that while he was interested in the Arab-Israel peace plan proposed by Tunisia's President Bourguiba, he felt there was not much left for us to trade in his kind of peace plan. He went on to say that Israel paid in territory time and again and would not give up 1/3 of the territory for resettlement of the Arab refugees. Bourguiba wanted a readjustment of the boundaries and return of one million Arab refugees.

Golda Meir told that the Arab threat to divert the Jordan river was serious and that Israel cannot wait until the Arabs complete the diversion scheme. This river was the source of their life's blood.

USA sent Israel Hawk missles. Israeli crews to use them were trained in the states. Eshkol said that they would increase the Israeli army's deterrent force. Other branches of the army had to be strengthened.

Today, Israel has reached her 60th birthday, and still has the problem of hostile neighbors to deal with. Like a miracle, she has been able to continue her growth and development despite this handicap. To Life! L'chaim!

Reference: Portland Jewish Review, May 1965

Mixed Messages About Iran's Nuclear Goals

Nadene Goldfoot

David Bedein, my old friend from my Safed, Israel days, who was a community organizer and now is an important journalist based in Jerusalem, has reported that on Sunday, September 21st, the head of Israel's Military Intelligence turned in the first official report to the Israeli cabinet about Iran. They had come to the conclusion that all diplomatic efforts to curb their development of nuclear weapons had failed. Iran was well on the way to producing its first nuclear weapon.

JTA, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, didn't report this despite the fact that it is most important. Instead, they featured an article by the head of "Americans for Peace Now". It was titled, "Engaging in diplomacy with Iran is a sensible, responsible policy." This gives people the idea that diplomatic negotiations with Iran is possible.

"Peace Now" is funded by six European governments, including Germany, which has been very generous towards Israel. Germany's stand is that diplomatic and trade relations with Iran must continue.

Timing is of the essence. This article came out in time for the Jewish New Year deadlines of Jewish newspapers in North America. Equal time is not being given about the actual report to Israel's cabinet. People deserve to know what's going on, and they're not receiving all the information.

Reference: Israel Resource News Agency: media@actcom.co.il Ethical Indiscrection and Non Reportage of Lethal Threat to Israel

http://tinyurl.com/4c6np9 Iran has enough material to make a nuclear weapon; Philadelphia Bulletin 09/22/2008. (Didn't come up: see the address below.)

http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=20131721&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

Israel's Future and the 23rd Arab State

by Nadene Goldfoot

After the 1967 war, Israel rightly came into including Judea and Samaria in Israel as it was attacked by all the Arab nations, and surprisingly Israel won that bout. Our history goes way back and gives us biblical rights to the land west of the Jordan River. Many religious Jews moved there. It is our biblical heartland. Not only do we have a divine right, but historical as well to this land.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced on his way out of office that Jews there will have to leave Judea and Samaria to make room for the 23rd Arab State to be called "Palestine."

To me this is so unfair. Palestinians thought nothing of the land. There were very few in the land since most Jews were captured in 70AD by the Romans and hauled off as slaves or killed, though they did miss a few. This was the land referred to by Moses in the bible, and is so important in Jewish theology. It really has very little meaning to Arabs. The land has remained untouched since Jews were not there. With the re-creation of Israel, Arabs came into the country looking for work. Joan Peters has shown in her book, "From Time Immemorial", that these Arabs came from many countries. There was no desire for any national unity, only a desire to better themselves. On the contrary, Jews had had a nation, two, in fact. Judea and Israel. Now we have one after a 2,000 year hiatus, one of the smallest states in the world surrounded by people who hate us because we are Jewish and not Muslims. We have come back to our empty home and are being attacked because we have remodeled and our home is an example of great modern living. Our democracy is a threat to the tribal family of Arab kings who stem from King Hussain. The only thing we have in common is the belief in one G-d and the belief in not eating pork! Though we have but one G-d, our belief in what that G-d expects of us seems to be totally different. Even our dna has shown to be different. So much for the cousin idea. Our real cousins are probably the Kurds of Iraq whose dna is very similar to ours, who are also going through a tough time.

If Olmert is correct, we will have a 23rd state surrounding our tiny piece of land; Gaza on the west and the West Bank on the East. No wonder Ahmadinejad of Iran said that Israel will be finished.

The Palestinian refugee problem was created by Arab leaders who must have played more chess than our American leaders, as they saw that by doing so, they had a leverage in the world to beat over the Jews' heads. This was an unforseen event to our Israeli leaders that they could not overcome. Some displaced Palestinians have moved onto better places like the other 22 Arab states or even the USA, but many remained in camps and with nothing to activate their minds, have had enormous families. Money has not been a problem since UNRA of the United Nations have pitched in, and they have received special attention. They receive a salary and huge donations of food, even though they are not working.

There are over 100 countries in the world whose situation is worse than the Palestinians. In Indonesia, where Obama's stepfather moved his family to, there are 120 million people who earn less than a dollar a day. I have heard that Obama's half brother in Africa lives on $12 dollars a year, with no help from Obama.

In the world there are from 15-25 million refugees not living their own country with no food or home, conditions far worse than the Palestinians.

Including the Kurds, there are about 200 national-ethnic people without freedom and statehood who are not opting for statehood at the cost of ruining another nation.

In many places including Muslim nations there are 240 million slave-children, but not in Israel.

Africa has the worst conditions. Asia is 2nd. 30% of the world populations have no toilets and use holes in a field. All the attention, however, probably because of the heavy control of the UN by the Arab countries, have devoted all their attention to the plight of the "Palestinians," and like a chess game, have gained control over Israeli land by doing so.

Olmert is leaving office in shame. He had high hopes a few years ago for Israel's future, but said that after a long and tortured process, he has concluded that we must share the land in this way if we don't want to be a bi-national state. The two choices are both poor. Perhaps new elections will find another choice outside of the box. I hope so.

Reference: UCI voices@israelunitycoalition.org

My readings and experience living in Israel

No Palestinian Independence Promised by British

by Nadene Goldfoot

In the beginning, the few Arabs living in Palestine had no thought of having their own state of Palestine. The few who came there from other regions simply were looking for work with the Jews who were arriving on the 1st and 2nd Aliyahs.

During World War I, the area was under the control of Turkey. Hussein ibn Ali ( b: 1854 in Istanbul, Turkey -d: June 4, 1931in Amman, Jordan) was appointed by Turkey as the Sherif of Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 1908. His job was to take care of the shrines in the Hejaz there. It was the site of Islam's holy places, and he was a Muslim spiritual leader. By July 1915, he sent a letter to the British Sir Henry MacMahon, the High Commissioner for Egypt, telling him of how the Arabs would fight in the war against the Turks. He was a turncoat against the country that appointed him his job. By 1916 he was influential in an Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire of Turkey.

The letters between these two people did not mention Palestine. They did talk about other places that Britain would cede to the Arabs. Hussein declared himself King of the Hejaz and king over all the Arabs. He aligned himself with Germany in WWI.

Sir Henry McMahon stated: "I feel it my duty to state, and I do so definitely and emphatically, that it was not intended by me in giving this pledge to King Hussein to include Palestine in the area in which Arab independence was promised. I also had every reason to believe at the time that the fact that Palestine was not included in my pledge was well understood by King Hussein."

The Palestinians have tried to say that the letters were a promise of independence for the Arabs.

He finally went to live with his son Abdullah, who was declared King of Jordan. His son Faisal was King of Syria and Iraq. In the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, Alec Guinness portrayed Prince Faisal.

The reason that Palestine was left out of the equation was that in 1915, the Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France was signed. It provided for an international administration in Palestine.

Then in 1917, the British government published the Balfour Declaration for the establishment of the Jewish National Home in Palestine. To get this promise from the British, the Jews made significant contributions to the British war effort. The British intention was to establish a Jewish state as soon as the Jews became a majority in the nearly empty country which held 90,000 Jews. They had already created the Arab states in Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia, semi independent with British mentors and advisers in Jedda, Damascus and Baghdad. The British controlled the administration in Cairo and Khartoum. Britain now felt they had control of the whole Middle East from the Mediterranean to the borders of India. The French then waived their claims in Palestine. The Times on September 19, 1919 wrote: "The Jordan will not do as Palestine's eastern boundary. Our duty as the Mandatory is to make Jewish Palestine not a struggling State but one that is capable of a vigorous and independent national life."

Lord Robert Cecil said in a London public meeting, "The keynote of our meeting this afternoon is liberation. Our wish is that the Arabian countries shall be for the Arabs, Armenia for the Armenians and Judea for the Jews."

Later, Jews helped the Arabs in this endeavor politically. The Emir Faisal wrote on March 3, 1919to Felix Frankfurter: ""Dr. Weizmann has been a great helper of our cause, and I hope the Arabs may soon be in a position to make the Jews some return for their kindness."

Their return was to lop off 3/4 of the area promised to the Jewish people. The British then threatened to decline the mandate and take back their protection from the Jewish restoration. Therefore Transjordan was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. So much for promises from friends.

Reference: Wikipedia

Myths and Facts by Mitchell Bard

Battleground: fact and fantasy in Palestine by Samuel Katz

Oslo Accords Didn't Work;

15 Years of Wasted Hope

On the 20th of August, 1993, the Oslo Accords were finalized in Oslo, Norway. This was meant to bring peace to Israel and the Palestinians who were represented by the PLO and Yasser Arafat. They were signed at the White House on Sept 13, 1993 with Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin of Israel, Warren Christopher and Andrie Kazyrev of Russia. This was 15 years ago.

This meant that Israel had to withdraw its troops from Gaza and the West Bank, but it has turned out to be a total disaster. "We gave up land and in its place got war," stated Yuval Steinitz in the Jerusalem Post.

In 2006 Hamas, a terrorist organization, replacing the PLO, continued to not recognize Israel. They also continue to renounce the Oslo Accords. Why we went ahead with the wishes of Clinton in this atmosphere is not understandable to me. I think that first the Palestinians should have recognized Israel and accepted the accords.

Soon after we had withdrawn, the terrorists were armed on the West Bank. Israel has had to live with suicide bombers sneaking into the country, and continued rocketing into the country.

It sounded great on paper. Yuval had high hopes for its workability. It was pie in the sky. The situation calls for more realism. Partnership has to be a two-way street and the partners have to be honest, or its just not workable.

Reference: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Accords

Jerusalem Post article by Tovah Lazaroff in www.israelunitycoalition.org

Radar System in Israel

The IDF is not happy with the conditions of installing a radar system in Israel which is from the USA. Israel has traditionally insisted that no foreign troops could be stationed permanently in its territory. An exception was made for the first time when the US army sent Patriot missile batteries with their crews on temporary deployment during Operation Desert Storm. In this case they were joined by IDF officers operating side-by-side with the American troops.

Another exception is that Israel has provided storage facilities for US military hardware for over a decade.

It was discovered about three weeks ago that the powerful US FBX-T radar system to enhance its early warning resources against incoming missiles will be installed at a US base in the southern Israeli Negev but be off-limits to Israelis. This unprecedented strict "hands off" proviso was reluctantly accepted by Israeli politicians.

Under these conditions, Israel will have no direct access to the data gathered by the X-band system and can only hope the American operators will pass on the information when Israel needs it. The system not only can spy on Iran's missiles but Israel as well, so that Israel cannot make any moves without this system detecting it.

Of course senior Israel Army personnel are not happy with the judgement of Israeli leaders and army chiefs for accepting this proviso. Even in Poland, they commented, Polish crews were trained to man US missile interceptors to be installed on its Baltic coast.

This new system is to allow Israel about a five minute additional warning time to shoot down Iranian missiles.

I note that the Bush policy is to let Israel have the right to protect itself, and people have asked about what Palin would do if Israel attacked Iran's atomic weapon site. Commentators have said that what Israel does affects America, and they have communications going on all the time. The USA wants to know what Israel is about to do. With this wonderful installation that the US is doing to link Israel to the FBX-T radar system, they will now know immediately whatever Israel does. There will be no need for a telephone call at 3am in the morning.

Southern Israel is being hit again. The people there have about a minute or two of warning. Today another missile struck outside of Sderot and burned a field. Five minutes doesn't allow you to get very far in seeking protection. Let's hope that since Israel cannot have a pre-emptive strike, that Iran will think twice before they strike with anything like atomic warfare. That's all we can now do, just hope and pray.

Resource: Debka files

US to FBX-T radar installed in Israel-U.S. Army, World http://beltwayblips.com/story/us_to_control_fbx_t_radar_installed_in_israel/

Infidel Bloggers Alliance: US to control FBX-T radar installed in Israel http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2008/08/us-to-control-fbx-t-radar-installed-in.html

Israel Loan and American Economy

"Strategic cooperation with Israel remains a cornerstone of American defense policy."--Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney.

Hundreds of contracts are signed between Israel and U.S. firms. The largest orders are worth $100,00 or more. In four years between 1988-1992, 1,000 companies in 47 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico have signed contracts worth more than $4.2 billion.

This is because Israel had received $41.8 billion in foreign Military Financing (FMF)from the United States as of 1992. 80% of the money was spent in the United States to generate profits and jobs. Oregon received $6,119,409. Maryland received $89,957,587 up to 1992.

This is the way that the US government program for financing through grants or loans enables friends and allies to improve their defense capabilities. FMS is available under the authority of the Arms Export Control Act. Congress appropriates FMF funds in the the International Affairs Budget and the Dept. of State allocates the funds for eligible friends and allies. The Dept. of Defense executes the program. Monies are to be used to purchase US military equipment and training. This benefits both America's armed forces and American workers.

The USA has had a very busy year. So far, they have had these arm sales to many countries besides Israel. They have done business under the FMF funding with Turkey, U.K, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Canada, Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, Jordan, Australia, Germany, Italy, Iraq, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, India, and Finland. Black Hawk Helicopters were sold to the United Arab Emirates and to Egypt.

9/14/08: 60 countries get annual military aid from the USA. This is $4.5 billion a year which helps them to buy US weapons. Israel and Egypt receive more than 80% of this aid. The USA has also give Iraq and Afghanistan large amounts of weapons and other equipment and is training military units at no charge. Most arms exports are paid for by the purchasers without US financing.

Israelis are among the most highly taxed people in the world with income taxes ranging up to 48%. The average gross annual income for a family of four was $16,800 as of 1992. This is due mostly to the country's defense burden. Not only have they taken in the Ethiopians, when they accepted their claims of being Jewish, but they had previously taken in 400,000 Russians, causing financial claims on their treasury.

Israel gave up oil fields it developed in the Sinai as part of a peace agreement with Egypt. By doing that, they lost their chance to become energy-dependant. Like us, Israel suffers from oil price swings and is working on solar power, even creating a solar powered car.

By the time I left Israel in 1985, they had just implemented a stabilization program. The New York Times described the program as "Everybody takes a step backward-together." It worked, but I didn't get to see it. Inflation fell sharply, the shekel stabilized, foreign-currency reserves recovered, exports increased and the budget deficit contracted.

In September 1990 a new economic program was implemented to help pay for the absorption of Soviet Jews. It raised taxes and liberalized capital and foreign-currency markets to stimulate private investment and job creation.

Since then we have had the attack from Lebanon which shelled my city of Safed where I lived for 5 years. Certainly this has had an effect on the economy.

We see that though Israel has been helped financially by the USA, almost all the money is spent in the USA giving jobs to Americans.

Lately, Israel has been helping American airports in their security problems. Sadly, they've had lots of experience in this.

Reference: Myths and Facts: a concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Mitchell G Bard and Joel Himelfarb

http://www.dsca.mil/home/foreign_military_financing%20_program.htm

(added 9/14/08)Oregonian Newspaper A10 US arms foreign nations at an increasingly fast clip by Eric Lipton of NY Times, 9/14/08

Israel, a Country of Science Innovation

by Nadene Goldfoot

Israel does not have any oil. It is surrounded by Arab countries who do. It seems strange that this particular small piece of land is devoid of such a commodity. Many probably think it's not worth fighting over.

The most important resource in Israel are its people. It's the people of Israel who are making it worthwhile for Americans to support it financially. The USA felt it was important to help Russian Jews come to Israel and helped Israel finance this by helping Israel obtain loans from American banks. It has paid off.

The flood of Russians who came to Israel included many scientists, engineers and programmers. Many of them excelled in math, physics, and material sciences and medical electronics. They found others in Israel with the same interests. Close cooperation developed between medical research and industry. Now Israel is a leading country in innovations in medical technology. Religion was not allowed in Russia. If they were found to attend a synagogue, they were put in prison.

"There is no area of medicine to which Israeli devices have not made significant contributions." Considering that Israel has had to waste time fighting in about 6 wars makes me wonder how all this thinking can go on when some of the scientists were on the front fighting terrorists. Think what could have happened if they could remain in their labs.

They have contributed to areas that the United States is able to take advantage of and use, which is benefiting Americans. Cardiology, genetics, neurology and ophthalmology are just a few of the sciences that benefit from advanced Israeli technology. They are working in neonatology to gerontology (from the babies to the old people) to the latest in telemedicine. Israeli scientists, universities and companies work to benefit the entire health system. They even work on medical administrators and insurers to help the physicians and patients and try to improve all of these areas.

ESC and Laser Technologies merged into one company valued at $1 billion. Medinols cardiac stent was purchased by agreement with Boston Scientific Corp.; and Biosense Ltd. was purchased by Johnson and Johnson, each in deals closing at about $400 million.

Other medical devices and equipment pioneered in Israel are different aesthetic medicine like electro-optic medical devices that work on skin cancer, benign lesions, varicose veins, skin rejuvenation, and hair removal from ESC Medical Systems Ltd., autoclaves from Tuttnauer Co. Ltd in Jerusalem which is a world leader in steam and gas autoclaves to sterilize medical instruments, cardiology stents that are implanted in blood vessels during angioplasty. InStent with American partner, Medtroic/beStent line and the crimper, Medinol with American partner, Boston Scientific/Nir cardiac stent ine market leader, etc. Dental medicine, diagnostic cardiology, diagnostic genetics, and mammographay and neurology. The list is too long.

One thing that Israel has developed is Copaxone, which is used to alleviate M.S. symptoms.
There are people who are against Israel's successes and have websites telling people not to buy Israeli products. I wonder if among these haters, there aren't sick people who are using Israeli-developed products that are helping them to get well. Then again, there are people who keep saying, "we shouldn't be supporting Israel in any financial way." I wonder how long it will take for them to realize that investing in Israel is paying off.

Research: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Innovations in Medical Technology 1999
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfaarchive/1990_1999/1999/8/focus%20on%20israel%20-%20innovations%20in%20medical%20technolog

Israel and USA-Business Partners

Some people have claimed that about 8 billion dollars per year are going to Israel. Some people think that the USA has always given Israel billions of dollars without expecting repayment. The United States and Israel are not stupid business partners.

US was giving Israel economic grants, but they ended in 1959. From then till 1984, the U.S. loaned money, which Israel repaid. The USA also had surplus commodities that Israel bought.

Israel began buying arms from the USA in 1962. They didn't receive any grant military assistance until after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. That war caused Israel to be in great debt to finance its economic development and in buying arms.

In 1972 Israel received a $50 million grant of economic assistance. Aid to Israel became grants in 1985. The amount of this economic assistance is about equal to the interest Israel has to repay on loans from earlier years (more than $1 billion annually).

The 1985 decision to become grants was based on Congress's decision that to have a strong Israel was important and war in the Middle East would happen faster without Israel's strong presence. They decided that the U.S. would have to spend more money if Israel was not strong.

In 1989 more than 400,000 Jews from Russia were allowed to emigrate. Actually, it was starting in 1980 when I made aliyah. Israel had to provide these new immigrants, including myself, food, shelter, employment and training such as schooling in Hebrew. The United States helped secure freedom for these Russian Jews. Since 1972, Congress helped with appropriated funds. Israel had figured it would cost them $50 billion. In 1990 US approved $400 million in loan guarantees. Guarantees are not grants. Not one penny of US government funds were transferred to Israel. The US just cosigned loans for Israel that allowed it to get better financing from private American banks. They have no impact on US taxpayers unless Israel were to default on its loans, something that has never happened. One has to remember that much of the money Israel borrows is spent in the United States to purchase American goods.

No US foreign assistance to Israel can be used beyond Israel's pre-1967 borders. Israel adheres strictly to these guidlines and each year give a full, detailed report on the expenditure of all US assistance.

Israel gives the US written assurances that it would not direct or settle Soviet Jews in the territories. According to a 1991 State Department report, only 1.2% of Soviet Jews chose to live there. I met a lot of these Russian Jews. Most were from large cities like Moscow and wanted the advantages of living in large cities because of music and the arts. Many that I knew decided to remain in absorption centers, which were like tiny closets to live in, to be able to find a position in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. I had gone to Israel to live and to teach English. These Russians that I met were also English teachers in Russia. Sadly, I couldn[t understand them, though they may have thought they were speaking English. They had a lot to learn.

Israel has developed many things that are now being shared with the United States. I hope that Americans can see the value of helping the fledgling state of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, if not for moral reasons, at least for monetary ones. The investment has been paying off in many ways.

Reference: Myths and Facts: a concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Mitchell G. Bard and Joel Himelfarb 1992.

Elections in Israel

Olmert will be stepping down soon, so primary elections are scheduled for September 17th. No doubt, Tzipi Livni of the same Kadima party will be elected in his place. If she wins, she would be the 2nd woman prime minister of Israel since Golda Meir since 1969. Golda is still my hero.

I believe that Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party will be running against her. That's who I am rooting for. He had been prime minister before. I'm looking for another Begin. This will be a very close race.

Olmert has not stood up under pressure. Begin told Joe Bidan not to threaten him and that he had 3,000 years of culture behind him. He was not afraid. It looks to me like Olmert would give away the baby with the bath water. He just allowed the Palestinians a shipment of 1,000 rifles to be used by their policemen. That's great. I believe they should be able to act officious and have something to back up their pronouncements, as long as they aren't going to be used against innocent Israelis like the tractor affair was. One would think a tractor is an innocent tool, but with an enraged Palestinian, it was used as a deadly weapon and did kill people. After all, so many of the Palestinians are not happy with Israel. I would have rather given out honey cakes first and have them get to know us in a better frame of mind.

Reference: news.yahoo.com, article by Amy Teibel.