GAZA'S  HISTORY & THE JEWS

 

What is the history of Gaza? Who holds claim to Gaza?

 

Gaza, or in Hebrew Azzah, is a city on the southern coastal plain of Eretz Yisrael  (Land of Israel, today Medinat Yisrael, or modern nation State of Israel.).  In ancient biblical times G-d gave this Holy Land or Promised Land as a gift in a eternal covenant that can never ever be broken to the Children of Israel (descendants of Jacob).  This is clearly documented in the Deed of Trust to the land which is the Bible, Chumash, Five Books of Moses, Pentatuech or the Torah.  Two great gifts that can’t be given away or stolen away. A settlement about three miles from the Mediterranean coast, marking the southern border of ancient biblical Canaan. It’s original inhabitants were a group of people known as the Avvites (Deut. 2;23; Josh 13:3). This distinct group of people is now extinct. It was captured and conquered by the men of the tribe of Judah (Judg. 1:18) and was included in the allotment given to that tribe (Josh. 15:47).   It remained in the possession of the Canaanites until the beginning of the 12^th century B.C.E. when it became occupied by the Philistines. 

 

 It was part of the Philistine Pentapolis, the southern-most city in that league of five cities (Josh 13:3 1 Sam. 6:17; Jer. 25.20). As part of the Philistine Pentapolis, Gaza played an important place in the story of Samson (Judg. 13-16). Just to set the factual and historical record straight, the Philistines were a Mediterranean seafaring nation and people that are completely extinct today.  They are not one in the same people as the Arab nation and people calling themselves “Palestinians” today.  These Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael.  The name “Palestine” and “Palestinians” evolved from the name Philistia which was given to the area and Children of Israel when the Roman Conquerers came as an insult to the Jewish people (named for the tribe of Judah and area of Judea).  The name has been hijacked by the Arabs to lay a false claim to a land that does not belong to them biblically, historically, legally, morally nor rightfully. At Gaza, took place the famous saga and story of Samson who performed his miraculous feats of strength.  Samson perished in the Temple of Dagon while slaughtering his enemies (Judg. 16).  With the weakening of Egyptian support of the Philistines, the enemy finally submitted to David who slew the giant Goliath in battle (II Sam. 5:25). The Philistines, a distinct people, are also now extinct. Let us now return to recounting the historical facts regarding Gaza. It was the only city in its area to oppose Alexander the Great during 332 B.C.E. Later on it was an outpost of the Ptolemies, who were the ruling power in Egypt during the Hellenistic period, until its capture in 98 B.C.E. by Assyria’s Antiochus III, the Seuclid king in control of an empire. The city was subsequently attacked and reconquered by Jonathan the Hasmonean during 145 B.C.E. (1 Macc. 11:61-62)

 

 During the Hasmonean civil war, the city was taken by Alexander Janneaeus in 96  B.C. E. The Roman Pomey restored the city and Galbinus, also a Roman official, rebuilt the city (ca 57 B.C.E.). King Herod the Great held the city for a short time, but after his death it came under the authority of the Roman proconsul of Syria.  It flourished as a Roman city and remained a center for the Jewish community and emerging Christian community throughout the Roman era (963 B.C.E. through 324 C.E.) and continued into the Byzantine period 324 C.E. through 1453 C.E. According to the Karaite Sahl b. Mazli’ah, Gaza, Tiberias and Zoar were the three centers of pilgrimages in Eretz Yisrael during the Byzantine period. Gaza, a fertile rich plain in fruits, wheat and vineyards was the site of three main fairs in Roman occupied Palestine. In a great battle fought near Gaza in 635 C.E., the Arabs vanquished the Byzantines; the city itself fell soon afterward.  It remained the seat of the governor of the Negev, as is known from the Nessana Papyri. In the eighth century, R. Moses, one of the Masorites, lived there.   The Judean and Samarian communities of the Jewish people flourished under Arab rule. Again there were a succession of attackers, conquerors and occupiers of Jewish Gaza. King Baldwin I of Jerusalem occupied the city, which was known in Crusader occupation times as Gadres.  From the time of Baldwin III (1152 C.E.) it was a templar stronghold.  In 1170 it fell to Saladin.  Under Mamluk occupation and rule Gaza was capital of a district (mamlaka) embracing the whole coastal plain up to Athlit.  After the destruction of Gaza by the Crusaders, the Jewish community ceased to exist.

 

In the eleventh century, R. Ephraim of Gaza, was head of the community of Fostat (old Cairo).   Nothing more was heard until the 14^th century.  Meshullam of Volterra found 60 Jewish householders there during 1481 C.E.  All the wine of Gaza was produced by the Jews (A.M. Luncz, in Yerushalayim, 1918).  Obadaiah of Bentinoro records that when he was there in 1488, Gaza’s rabbi was a certain Moses of Prague who had come from Jerusalem (Zwei Briefe, ed. By A. Neubeuer, 1863). Gaza flourished under Ottoman rule.  The Jewish community was once again flourishing and prosperous during the 16^th and 17^th centuries.   The Kairite Samuel b. David found a Rabbanite synagogue there in 1641 (Ginzei Yisrael be-St. Petersburg, ed. By J. Gurland, 1865).  In the 16^th century there was a bet din and yeshivah in Gaza. Some of its rabbis wrote scholarly works.  Farmer owners were obliged to observe the laws of terumah, (“priestly tithe”), ma’aserot (“tithes’), and the sabbatical year. 

 

At the end of the 16^th century, the Najara family supplied some of its Rabbis.  Israel Najara, son of the Damascus Rabbi Moses Najara, author of the “Zemirot Yisrael” was Chief Rabbi of Gaza and president of the Bet Din in the mid 17^th Century.   In 1665, on the occasion of Shabbatai Zevi’s visit to Gaza,the city became a center of the messianic movement.  One of his principle disciples was Nathan of Gaza.   The city of Gaza was briefly occupied once again this time by Napoleon in 1799. In the 19^th century the city of Gaza declined.  The Jews that were concentrated there were mostly barley merchants.  They bartered with the Bedouins for barley which they exported to the beer breweries of Europe. Gaza was a Turkish stronghold during World War I.  Two British attacks made on Gaza during 1916-17 failed and it was finally taken during a flanking movement by Allenby.  Under British Mandatory occupation and rule, Gaza developed slowly.  The last Jews living in Gaza left the town as result of the Arab anti-Jewish disturbances and massacres which took place during 1929. In 1946, Gaza’s population was estimated at 19,500, all Muslim except for 720 Christians. 

 

During Israel’s defensive “War of Independence” when five Arab armies invaded the re-established Jewish homeland with the intent of its annihilation, the invading Egyptian army attacked, conquered, and occupied Gaza, from May 1948 through June 1967 when it again attacked Israel with the intent to annihilate the only Jewish homeland in the world from the map, and Israel defeated its attackers and reconquered its rightful land. The town together with the newly created Gaza Strip, was put under Egyptian administration by the armistice agreement of 1949.  The influx of Arab refugees, who were told by the Arab aggressors and attackers they could soon return after the Jews “were driven into the sea” later swelled the city’s population at least fourfold. 

 

Bear in mind that most of the Arabs living in Eretz Yisrael only came in the middle to late 1920’s to escape economic hardship and political persecution by their own people for better opportunity. The 1967 census showed that 87,793 Arab inhabitants and settlers lived in Gaza City proper, while only 30,479 lived in the refugee camp created by the Arabs call for the annihilation of the only Jewish nation state in the entire world.  These lived within the municipal boundaries.  Of this number 1,649 were Christians and the rest were Muslims. Now we can compare this with the number of Egypt’s Jews who were forcibly expelled in the “Forgotten Exodus” whose properties were confiscated, who were brutally beaten, robbed, tortured and sometimes murdered. More ancient biblical evidence to consider…In 1965, a mosaic pavement was discovered by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities.  This mosaic dated 508/9 was uncovered on the seashore of Gaza’s harbor.  Its figures include one of King David as Orpheus, dressed in Byzantine royal garments and playing the harp.  The name “David” in Hebrew letters appears above it.  A Greek inscription at the center of the floor, which mentions the names of two donors (Menahem and Jesse) of the mosaic to the “holy place” and the name David testify that a synagogue stood there. In 1967, A. Ovadiah excavated the area and discovered a synagogue from the sixth century C.E.

 

Archaeology evidence supports the biblical premise of a continuous Jewish presence from the Late bronze period until the Byzantine period (ca. 1500 B.C.E. through 632 C.E. Evidence of a considerable Jewish presence during the Talmudic period in Gaza is provided also by a relief of a menorah, a shofar, a lulav, and an etrog, which appear on a pillar of the Great Mosque of Gaza with various Hebrew and Greek inscriptions. Despite the fact that there have been many foreign occupations of Gaza the territory belongs to the Jewish people. There can be no honest dispute who this land belongs to biblically, historically, legally, morally, and rightfully.  The Children of Israel.

 

 

AMERICANS SAY NEVER AGAIN!

 

 Never Again to indifference.
Never Again to silence.
Never Again to deportation.

Dear Friend of Israel:

The Sharon Government plans to deport close to 10,000 Jews from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron later this summer. Jewish lives are at risk both there as well as in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and other major population centers. Even PM Sharon's own newly appointed head of the Shin Bet Yuval Diskin paints a bleak picture of Israel's security situation after the expulsion. According to Diskin, "Northern Samaria and Gaza without the IDF means terror and the firing of missiles at Israeli targets all over the Land. It would leave the IDF without an effective method of fighting terror." Our brothers and sisters in Israel have pleaded for us to do something to prevent this crime against humanity and violation of G-d's commandment to the Jewish people. They are counting on us. We will not let them down. We must raise our voices. We must write to our President and Congress.  We must educate them with facts, reality and truth.    We must write to members of the media. We must join and organize against the disgraceful, dishonest, disastrous so-called “disengagement” plan which should be renamed the “destruction” plan. One can call. One can email. One can donate funds to the cause. One can write. Gaza belongs to the Jewish people, biblically, historically, legally, morally, and righttfully. 

 

The same Sharon who supported the so-called “settlers” and “settlements” has now gone sour in his support of his Jewish brethren. In late 2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided that it would be in Israel's best interest to unilaterally "disengage" from Gush Katif and four communities in Northern Samaria by expelling the Jews living in those communities. By making what he considered a bold political move, Sharon thought he could win over the Israeli public, catch the Palestinians off guard and reap long-term public relations benefits that would silence the international community's unremitting critique of Israel and Israeli policy.

Sharon was wrong. In hoisting the disengagement plan upon Israel, Ariel Sharon unfairly betrayed voters who overwhelmingly rejected Labor's disengagement platform in the January 2003 elections and brought Sharon and the Likud to power in the biggest landslide in Israeli electoral history. As the article excerpt above clearly illustrates, Prime Minister Sharon grossly misjudged the reaction of the Palestinians and the international community to the plan and his expected public relations bonanza will never materialize. In fact, the opposite is true - disengagement will foster additional pressure and criticism because the world already expects Israel to follow up disengagement with more unilateral withdrawals. Perhaps Sharon's misjudgments should not come as a surprise, for the plan underwent a "rigorous" one-man analysis as Sharon shockingly divulged in a conversation with New York Times columnist William Safire on April 16, 2004: "Back in November [2003], so many plans were around," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told me yesterday just before heading back to Israel, "from the Saudis, from Geneva, from the Arab League, and I saw we could not resist those pressures without a plan of our own....I discussed this between me and myself and came up with a new initiative." Thus, by his own admission, disengagement is the direct result of a "discussion" which excluded all other voices and Sharon's inability to withstand the pressure created by "peace plans" other than the "Roadmap" that had been universally adopted just six months earlier. Although demonized by the media and vociferous supporters of Sharon's plan, the Israelis living in Gush Katif and Northern Samaria are like any other ordinary Israelis: Zionist in nature, proud to serve in the IDF and loyal to their country. Many residents of these communities are religious, but a sizable number are secular. Above all, these people are Israelis and simply want to continue living their lives as they have for decades in the place they love most: home.

What have any of these proud Israelis done to warrant their expulsion and in many cases the destruction of their livelihoods? They have faithfully carried out the vision of successive Israeli governments who set out to populate these areas for national, historic, moral and security reasons. They have volunteered to live on Israel's frontiers, braving thousands of mortar and missile attacks perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists. Now, against all logic, Sharon intends to reverse the national, communal and commercial progress made by Israeli governments and these brave pioneers over the past 38 years. Sharon's plan will only benefit the Palestinian terrorists who will inherit the homes of their victims who will be forced to seek refuge elsewhere. Disengagement's impact on Israeli security is one of the most disconcerting issues associated with the plan. The terror war from which Israel is emerging is widely believed to have been encouraged by Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon in June 2000 under premier Ehud Barak. Nearly five years and thousands of Israeli casualties later, Israel has painstakingly re-established an element of deterrence and weathered a crushing blow to its economy. Exactly at the moment when Israel could reap the benefits of its victory and focus the international community on Palestinian terror and corruption, Sharon introduced disengagement. Although proponents of disengagement claim that the plan will somehow provide "the most efficiently security line possible" between Palestinians and Israelis, it is readily evident that it leaves Israel vastly more vulnerable to external threats as well as internally divided and traumatized than even Barak's poorly executed Lebanon withdrawal. The perception of Israeli weakness is not lost on Palestinian terrorist organizations. No matter how Sharon's spin doctors try to re-position disengagement and regardless of statements that Israel will never leave Jerusalem or other areas, terror groups understand one dangerous truth that paves the way to future bloodshed: TERRORISM PAYS.

Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's outgoing chief of staff and architect of the victory over Palestinian terror summed up disengagement's major security weaknesses in June 2005 stating: "If Israel doesn't follow up the disengagement with more 'action' [unilateral withdrawals], there will be another outburst of violence. Terrorism will return in all its forms - shooting attacks, car bombs, suicide attacks, mortars, and Kassam rockets...Tel Aviv will be [under rocket fire] like Sderot." Another troubling security issue is arms smuggling over the porous Egyptian-Gaza border. Astoundingly, Sharon expects the ill-equipped Egyptian army to prevent the digging of smuggling tunnels and the trafficking of advance weaponry into Palestinian-controlled areas along the Philadelphi Corridor. Such pro-active patrolling has proven a monumental challenge even for the technology-laden Israeli Defense Forces who have an obvious motivation in preventing arms from reaching Palestinian terrorists. Relying upon a foreign army to patrol a vital and volatile border region is irresponsible and a recipe for disaster.

Americans must loudly say NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!

 

 

AMERICA’S ENEMY: THE PA/PLO

 

 

America recently voted to fund the terrorist organization Palestinian Authority/Palestine Liberation Organization with $50 million of U.S. taxpayer money.  This terrorist organization born long before Al Qaeda sets the standard of terrorism for all others to follow.  The PA/PLO they espouse venomous and vitriolic hatred in their state controlled and dominated media, public institutions and religious institutions against Israel their wage of war against America goes largely unnoticed or unpublicized. Waging war on international terrorism begins first with the PA/PLO and also with its sister terrorist organizations Hamas, Hizbullah, and Islamic Jihad.  All are working in conjunction with one another towards Israel’s annihilation.   When the Oslo Accords were signed many were optimistic that the Palestinian Authority, which underwent only a very minor cosmetic change of name, would become a responsible partner for peace as well as to become an ally and friend to the United States of America. Towards that end , U.S. financial aid has totaled more than one billion dollars. We have all seen reports of Arabs who call themselves fraudulently “Palestinians” dancing in the streets when Al Qaeda attacked America on 9/11.  We have seen them dancing on the rooftops of their home and workplaces when America was at war with Iraq.  A large number of the babies were named Saddam after the first invasion of Iraq.

 

Arab “Palestinian” enmity toward the U.S. is no secret yet we continue to whitewash this terrorist organization as a possible peace partner with Israel and allow there infrastructure to flourish and grow. Anti-Americanism is not a phenomenon of the Arab “Palestinian street but one that trickles right straight down from their rulers and tyrants that brainwash the public from birth through the cradle, through the awkward adolescent and teenage years through adulthood.  Through a bloody, carefully calculated campaign of hatred, incitement, terrorism and violence designed to exact and extract political concessions. The two partners in Murder & Mayhem Inc., Yassir Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, or as he is more affectionately called by most of the immoral world, Abu Mazen or today Mr. Moderate, created the terrorist organization for the sole purpose to steal the land away from its rightful owners as well as to profit personally from the billions of humanitarian aid money designated to improve the lives of the people – for food, clothing, shelter – but were diverted to bank accounts and the funding of criminal activities.  The “Chairman of Terror’ and his successor in interest have not changed the PA/PLO charter and its objectives. Make no mistake about this fact, reality and truth.

 

Is the PA/PLO America’s friend or enemy?

 

Let’s explore further with some very clear examples from the “moderate” terrorist organization’s own media resources and sources.  This information should not be ignored. We will focus on the support for anti-American violence in Iraq and support for Saddam Hussein, support for Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, anti-American  incitement by leaders of the PA/PLO media, and murders of Americans murdered by Arab “Palestinian” terrorists.

 

Anti-American violence in Iraq and support for Saddam Hussein:

 

A cartoon in the PA/PLO daily Al-Hayat Al Jadidah on November 9, 2003, mocked the American soldiers who have died in Iraq.  The cartoon was based on a memorial that was established in Iraq to the fallen GI’s, showing the rifles and helmets of fifteen soldiers killed in a helicopter attack.  The PA/ cartoon shows the memorial site with these slogans on the helmets: We will imprison Saddam soon”; “casualties are relatively low”; The uprising is weak and desperate”; and “International forces are needed.” PA/PLO Legislative Council Member Nahidh Muneer Al-Ris, in an article published by the PA?PLO daily Al-Hayat Al Jadidah on November 3, 2003 wrote: Bush, Sharon and their counterparts like Rumsfeld and Mofaz…are human beings whose ambitions have turned them into bloodthirsty beasts.”  Ironic and moronic.  He also accused the U.S. of overthrowing the legitimate government of Iraq. An article in the PA/PLO newspaper Al Hayyam on November 1, 2003, called President Bush “The Great Liar” and accused America of “imperialistic illusions.” Many more could fill volumes regarding America, Bush I, Bush II, Gulf War I, and Gulf War II.  Too many.  These three give only a mild flavor of the Arab “Palestinian” animosity towards America.

 

Anti-American support for Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden:

 

Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and Al Quds, on each anniversary of 9/11 mock the victims of the terrible tragedy.  On September 12, 2003, the PA/PLO dailies both published a carton showing the twin towers labeled “Iraq” and “Palestine” with the caption stating “The true twin towers are Iraq and the ‘Palestinians.’”  On September 11, 2002, they published two cartoons mocking the victims of the terrorist attacks.  One showed a fearful Uncle Sam running in terror, being chased by the date “September 11.”  The second one showed the Twin Towers standing above a mass of dead bodies, labeled “Victims of American hegemony.”  That very same day was one showing two smoldering towers with “Arabs” written on one and “Muslims” on the other.  On September 13, 2002, both Arab dailies published a cartoon showing the Arab or Muslim world being attacked by the twin towers in the form of a hammer, with a caption reading “September 11 – the day of the greatest conspiracy against the Arabs and Muslims.” An article in the PA/PLO daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida ON May 28, 2002, declared that the United States has been “concealing” evidence concerning the September 11 attacks because “she may be tried with war crimes in the events of September 11.”

 

Anti-American  incitement by leaders of the PA/PLO’s media:

 

In an article in the PA/PLO daily Al-Hayat Al Jadida published on June 3, 2003, it called President Bush “the head of the snake” and said he is “building and American empire, with imperialistic goals disguised as a war on terrorism.” Fuad Abu Hajleh, senior columnist for Al-Hayat Al Jadida wrote on October 29, 2002 that the CIA masterminded the Muslim Chechyan terrorist siege of a Moscow theatre – which resulted in the deaths of 118 hostages – in response to Russia’s opposition in the U.N. to American policy in Iraq.

 

Here is a quote from the article:

 

President Putin’s ambassador to the Security Council is threatening to vote against the American’s proposed resolution to attack Iraq.  This is how we view the operation in the Moscow theatre; we are of the opinion that the sympathy and friendship that bond Washington to several Islamic movements in Europe, among them the Cehchens, cannot possibly be one-sided and there has been some sort of repayment for the American freidnship by the Mujahedin of Chechnya, Bosnia, Hercegovina and Kosovo.  The CIA will never acknowledge its responsibility for this operation which claimed over 17o lives, including those of the perpetrators….However the American message reached Moscow and was ,perhaps, read the same way by the decision makers in France, who oppose the American presence in the Security Council…we fear a recurrence of a bloody scne in the capitol of [our] friends, the French.  We hope they are preparing for such an eventuality, lest it be Moscow first and Paris next.”

 

Americans murdered by Arab “Palestinian” terrorists:

 

At least fifty-one American citizens have been murdered by Arab “Palestinian” terrorists since the signing of the Olso Accords in 1993.  Of this number 38 since the current campaign called the “Al Aqsa Intifada” commencing in September 2000.  In addition, 69 Americans have been wounded since 1993, 43 of which were murdered since September 2000.   A total of at least 112 Americans have been murdered by Arab “Palestinian” terrorists and 120 wounded since 1968. There are countless and numerous excerpts from PA/PLO state controlled media against America.  There are countless and numerous murders of American citizens by Arab “Palestinians” The Fatah contolled and dominated PA/PLO coordinates, funds, plans, supports terrorism through its infrastructure and network of terrorism.  Its own Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and so-called preventative “security forces” namely Force 17 and Tanzim have been responsible for supporting terrorism against allies America and Israel and ultimately Western civilization as a whole.  

 

Should we support Arab “Palestinian” terrorism or find ways to sanction terrorism?

 

U.S. taxpayers should be outraged with the show of support of terrorism. Appeasement of these Arabs with U.S. taxpayers money is not the answer to solving the conflict.  Allowing Israel to fight its war on terrorism in its own back yard is the answer. Honesty is always the best policy especially when it comes to ones real true blue allies and foreign policy.

 

Desecration Of The Holy Koran

 

There is talk that those people guarding suspected terrorists flushed the Holy Koran town the toilet and thereby desecrated the book. First and foremost, those deaf, dumb and blind Imams, Mullahs, and Sheikhs who pervert the faith of Islam (purportedly a religion of peace) and inspire its followers to commit mass murder and mayhem in the name of G-d, is a hijacking and theft of a monotheistic religion for dangerous and evil purposes. This bloody campaign of hatred, incitement, terrorism and violence in a so-called Holy War or Jihad against so-called Infidels is a blasphemous use of G-d and a religion to cover up and justify ethnic genocide against any one not of their belief and faith, i.e., the Judeo-Christians. Have you ever tried flushing any book down a toilet? Have you ever tried flushing the Quran? Those so-called "leaders" professing Islam today are flushing it down the toilet by not teaching those peaceful tenants of the true faith and belief in one G-d. Flushing any book down the toilet is impossible. It does not matter the size or the title. So these fictitious allegations are absolutely ludicrous. Another excuse to create riots against Western Civilization (otherwise known to Arab/Islamists as “Infidels”). Soon after this allegation is another upsetting the release of photographs of Saddam Hussein in his underwear? Arab/Islamists claim that this is a completely disreputable to someone who was once a “leader” of a nation. Has anyone even bothered to ask if the photographs are legitimate photos or those contrived by tabloids that thrive on profits rather than truth? It is always a possibility, especially with computers and modern technology. Saddam Hussein Insane was nothing less or more than a corrupt dictator, human rights violator controlling and dominating a ruthless repressive regime, state of terror and tyranny. Nothing more. Nothing less. He was never ever a leader of a nation. Even if this maniac and murderer has suffered the distinction of embarrassment of being caught with his drawers down, it can never ever be compared to the humiliation he has caused Iranians, Kurds and his own nation and people. Arabs blame everything and everyone as an excuse for facing facts, reality and truth that they and there so-called leaders are to blame for all of their problems. Until they stop their animalistic barbarian behavior and stop spreading vicious lies, myths and propaganda to their people they will not only face desecration but destruction of their own fate. Hopefully, they will recognize and change what they are doing before it is much too late.  This includes stopping their religious “leaders” from leading them down a path of blind ambition and destruction. One good place to start would be teaching the Golden Rule “Do Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You” followed by the Ten Commandments. Once they learn these basics, they can proceed from there. Arab/Islamists desecrate and destroy their own Holy Koran and Islam daily. These people need to take an honest look in the mirror before accusing others of being Infidels. In other words, those who live in glass houses should not cast stones.
 

GIVING UP GAZA & GUSH KATIF

 

Will Israel be safer if it leaves Gaza and Gush Katif?

Let’s be honest.  The answer is clearly and definitively No.

 

In an interview, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the lion-hearted of late and mastermind behind Israel’s “disengagement” plan or “withdrawal” boldly and coldly told NBC’s David Gregory “My Gaza pullout will lead to violence” yet he continues down the path of destruction and fate of a “final solution to the Jewish problem” to proceed forth at risk to the safety and security of those he has taken an oath to protect.  A plan that allows Arab/Islamist political pressure and succumbing to terrorism to have victory. 

 

Most military and security experts agree about surrender to terrorism. We have been warned wisely. 

 

According to former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon, “Immediately after the disengagement, we cam expect a burst of terrorism.”  Ya’alon warned very bluntly, clearly, and honestly “The Gaza disengagement plan will blow up in our faces.”  Ya’alon’s warning can be taken figuratively and literally.  By coincidence Ya’alon was forced into early retirement for expressing his concerns and views publicly. His term could have been extended easily, especially during a period of extreme need for safety and security. Major General Aharon Ze’evi Farkash, Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence, said the expulsion plan would promote much more violence because it will be seen as rewarding terrorism. Former Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Yaacov Amidor, wrote a paper for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, which said the expulsions, evacuation, and eviction plan will turn Gaza into a Hamas terror state. An IDF Report noted that Arab Terror groups, who view the plan as a victory, plan to launch a major terror offensive the day after “disengagement” is complete. 

 

Ahmed Al-Bahar, a spokesman for Hamas, proclaimed the plan “a victory for resistance” adding “The painful and qualitative blows which the ‘Palestinian’ resistance dealt to the Jews and their soldiers over the past four and a half years led to the [Israeli] decision to [unilaterally] withdraw from Gaza. We believe that the resistance [terrorism] is the only way to pressure the Jews.”

 

Avi Dichter, former Director of the Shin Bet security service stated “In the Gaza Strip, an army of thousands of people, who belong to Hamas, are building on the model of Hizbullah in Lebanon.”  Dichter also was forced into early retirement by the bulldozer Sharon. Former Defense Minister Moshe Ahrens and Former Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nathan Shrank, who resigned to Sharon’s surrender to terrorism, also echoed this assessment and sentiments.

 

Nathan Shrank, dissident and human rights activist under the Soviet totalitarian regime resigned under Sharon.  His message and statement clear.  More terror is what we fear for giving up Gaza and Gush Katif. “A tragic mistake will exacerbate the conflict, increase terrorism, and dim the prospects of genuine peace,” Shrank warned.  Clearly a case for democracy. Here are a few startling and unsettling facts about the so-called “settlements” (a term falsely used in a negative context by the media and others) in Gaza and Gush Katif. The world believes falsely that Israel’s choice is due to demographics.  Either give up all of Gaza and its Jews, the rightful residents, or keep it with approximately one million Arabs living there.

 

In fact 88% of Gaza, where virtually all of the Arabs live, was given completely over to the control, domination and occupation of the Palestinian Authority/Palestine Liberation Organization in 1994 by then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Since Oslo, only 12% of Gaza remains under Israel’s control, this 12% is the Jewish section of Gaza, a beachside community where 9,000 Israeli citizens and Jews reside together with 2,000 Arabs.  In this section from which Israel is planning to withdraw, 82% of the residents are Jewish.

 

The so-called “settlers” in the so-called ‘settlements” are not gypsies or “wandering Jews” living in caravans, covered wagons, tents, trailers, or other temporary housing and shelter but are firmly entrenched in cities and towns. The 9,000 Jews of Gaza reside in a beautiful beachside community development with modern homes and gardens, schools and libraries – not to mention beautiful synagogues and schools as well as libraries, organic farms, plant nurseries and manufacturing plants.

 

Let’s take Gush Katif for example.  An exemplary place in the Promised Land. The pioneer families of Gush Katif comprise 21 beautiful towns, 36 elegant synagogues, 70% of the entire organically grown  agriculture for the whole State of Israel, 60% of all herbs grown in Israel, and most importantly a crucial defense system and security buffer zone against Arab attacks in southern Israel. Gush Katif miraculously has withstood, by the grace of G-d Almighty, almost 6,000 rocket attacks in five years without any devastating damage. Although one can remind the world that G-d gave the gift of the Holy Land, Promised Land, Eretz Yisrael, Zion, or today, Medinat Yisrael or the modern State of Israel to the Children of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, in eternal covenant that can never ever be broken or given away by anyone, we will focus on other reasons why Israel and the Jewish people can not and should not be forced to give away their gift this very precious gift.  The Deed of Trust to the land is set forth in the Bible, Chumash, Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch or Torah.  G-d also gave the Children of Israel this precious gift as well.  One can not deny this fact genuinely or honestly.

 

What does the uprooting of so-called “settlements” mean for Israel and its Jewish citizens? Clearly defined “disengagement” means denial, destruction, disaster for Israel and the Jewish people.  We are in complete denial of facts, reality, and truth if we believe “disengagement is the answers to our problems and prayers.  Another more apropos name for the pan might be the Railroad Plan. “Disengagement” or “Withdrawal simply stated is really first chapter the “Beginning of the End” of the story of Israel and the Jewish people and its fall from finally standing tall. Call it what it truly is. Ethnic cleansing and genocide. Evacuation & Eviction. Self Suicide. Surrender to Terrorism. Transfer of Jews by Jews.  Let’s be honest and not hide from the facts, reality and truth.

 

God Help Us!!!

 

If American President George W. Bush is a true believer and born-again Christian, he can not allow the clear moral choice to be forgotten or ignored.  If he truly believes in freedom and democracy, he will never allow the dismantling of not only the so-called “settlements” but all of Israel under political pressure from the entire world.  Bush can not morally choose to dismantle the only true blue ally and beacon of freedom of democracy and freedom the Americans have amongst the 22 Arab/Islamist corrupt dictatorships, human rights violators, ruthless repressive regimes, state sponsors of terrorism, and tyrannies that comprise the very bad neighborhood known as the Medieval Middle East.

 

Is giving up Gaza and Gush Katif a fait accompli?  Anything is possible.  The Lord works sometimes in mysterious ways. We have witnessed Arafat turn his back and walk away from a “land for peace” deal which would have given him the eastern portion of the Holy City of Jerusalem as capital, 100% of Gaza, and 97% of Judea & Samaria, without even a counter offer, without the necessity and prior to the bloody campaign of hatred, incitement, terrorism and violence launched against the State of Israel. At the end of the day “disengagement” means the beginning of the end of Israel and the Jewish people’s downfall and destruction forever and ever.

 

There is absolutely no honest or moral “disengagement” plan.  The Arab Final Solution. One can not allow Israel to fall to a perpetual political propaganda ploy of a fictitious Arab “Palestine” nation and “Palestinian” people fostered by the entire Arab League of .Nations as a fifth column designed to destroy the only Jewish State of Israel in the entire world.  Arabs could not defeat the tiny little sovereign state with all of its aggressive attacks to annihilate it with all their numbers and might militarily.  One can not negotiate with or reward terrorists and terrorism and place one’s citizens at risk for their safety and security. We simply need not create another hostile State of Terrorism. One right in our very back yard. Nearly 10,000 Jews live and stand on the frontlines in Gaza and Gush Katif for Israel’s security. Let’s stand together united with them in Israel’s war for survival against succumbing to terrorism. 

 

Let our people stay.  The Jewish people

 

There are three simple and smart reasons to stop the reward of terrorism otherwise known as the “disengagement” plan.

 

First and foremost…

Because the Land belongs to Israel & Jewish people. Our Right to the Land of Israel.

G-d gave a very precious gift to the Children of Israel in an eternal covenant that can never ever be broken of the Holy Land, Promised Land, Eretz Yisrael, or today Medinat Yisrael, or modern nation State of Israel as documented in the other precious gift, the Bible, Chumash, Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch, or Torah which is the Deed of Trust to the Land.  These two greatest gifts can not be given away nor stolen away.

There is a fundamental argument that must be dealt with. At the bottom of all the Arab rhetoric lies one basic claim: “You are intruders. This is our land. We had been living here for centuries and then you decided to take it from us.” Once it is established that the Jews have a valid right to the Land of Israel, then the violence, hatred, and disregard for life that has characterized the Arab position can be judged for what it is. Unless that right is established, the Arabs will always claim that they have a valid goal: reclaiming a land that is rightfully theirs. And once validity is granted to their goal, the debate whether all means are acceptable to attain it or not is one of philosophy.

What is our claim to the land? G-d’s promise in the Torah. G-d told Abraham: “I have given this land to your descendants.” For one-and-a-half thousand years the Land of Israel was our home, and ever since then, Jews everywhere have longed to come home to their eternal heritage to Jerusalem, the site of the Holy Temple;to Hebron, the burial place of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and to Bethlehem, where Rachel weeps for her dispersed children and awaits their return. Even throughout the two thousand years during which our people wandered from country to country, Israel has remained the national home of every Jew. From the beginning of the exile until this day, no matter how farflung his current host country might be, every Jew has turned to face the Holy Land in his thrice-daily prayers. So central is this principle to our faith, that Rashi, the foremost of the traditional commentators on the Torah, begins his commentary by stating: Rabbi Yitzchak said: The Torah should have begun with the verse, “This month shall be for you the first of the months…,” for this introduces the first commandment given to Israel.

Why then does it begin with the narrative of creation?…

So that if the nations of the world say to Israel, “You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nations [of Canaan],” Israel will reply to them: “The entire world belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whomever He pleased. Of His own will He gave it to them, and of His own will He took it from them and gave it to us.”

From this perspective the entire Land of Israel not only the coastal region, Jerusalem, and the Galilee, but also Judea, Samaria, and indeed every tiny portion of the land is part of an organic whole, an indivisible and sanctified unity. In this spirit, the Kneisiyah HaGedolah of Agudas Yisrael, an assembly of Jewry’s foremost sages in the pre-Holocaust era, declared in 1937: The Holy Land, whose boundaries were prescribed by the Holy One, blessed be He, in His holy Torah, was granted to the nation of Israel, the eternal people. Any sacrifice of the Holy Land that was granted to us by G-d is of absolutely no validity. This explanation is, moreover, the only rationale that cannot be refuted by the Arabs or the Americans. They also accept the Bible and believe in the truth of its prophecies. The Koran does not dispute the Jews’ right to the Land of Israel. And can you conceive of an American president telling his people that G-d’s promise to Abraham is not relevant? Indeed, the connection between the land and our people is so well established that everywhere it is referred to as “the Land of Israel.” For this reason, it is important to emphasize that this connection is rooted in the Bible’s prophecies. It would not be desirable to base our claim to the Land of Israel on the Balfour Declaration or international agreements of the present century, for these agreements could be countermanded by other ones. After all, how favorable is the United Nations to Israel today? Nor is the fact that our people once lived in the land sufficient in and of itself to establish our claim to it today. If the American Indians would lodge a claim to all of America, would it be granted them?  These were actually indigenous native people unlike those Arabs who claim they are the “Palestinians” descended from the “Philistines” because the former are descendants of Ishmael while the later are an extinct people of a Mediterranean sea-faring people who lived in Gaza When the Bible’s prophecies serve as the basis for our claim, then many other arguments are effective in reinforcing the position. But when that foundation is lacking, we have difficulty refuting the gentiles’ claim: “You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the… nations.” After thousands of years of exile, our people have returned to our land. Every portion of the land over which Jewish authority is exercised was won in defensive wars in which   G-d showed overt miracles. Now when G-d grants His people land in such ways, should it be returned? Is it proper to spurn a Divine gift?

Safety and Security

 

Gaza is Israel’s buffer and security zone and its strategic importance should not be denied, forgotten or ignored by those sworn to safety and security of Israel’s citizens. All of them.  Those in the disputed territory as well. Smuggling operations continue daily from Egypt’s underground tunnels and beachside coastal operations such as the Karine A weapons of mass destruction operation financed by Iran on a ship with 50 tons of weapons intended to be used against the only beacon of democracy and freedom and tiny Jewish nation state in the entire world as opposed to the 22 Arab/Islamist corrupt dictatorships, human rights violators, ruthless repressive regimes, state supporters of terrorism, and tyrannies that comprise the very bad neighborhood known as the Medieval Middle East.

 

Why create another Arab/Islamist and  23^rd State of Terrorism that will be called Palestine?

 

Economic Stability and Success

 

Love of the Land has turned this area from desert yellow to leafy green. A desert of wandering dunes has become the flagship of Israel’s agricultural exports.

 

In Gush Katif Bloc’s unique hothouses, using the most advanced technology, leafy vegetables and herbs are grown, all bug-free, answering to the strictest health, aesthetic and religious requirements. Most of the chemical-free organic agricultural products are exported to Europe. In addition, the community of Atzmona has Israel’s largest plant nursery, and the Katif barns with 800 cows are the second largest in Israel. 

 

Conclusive Case Against Disengagement

 

A conclusive case against the “disengagement” can be easily made.

 

“Disengagement will advance terrorism rather than peace.  If the PA/PLO gets territory in return for terrorism it sets a shining example for other Arab/Islamist nations to exact and extract political concessions through terrorism rather than via a peaceful negotiation process with Israel and sets a very dangerous precedent.   The plan for unilateral “disengagement” or “withdrawal” fuels political pressure through violence.  A reward for the support of terrorism will transform Jerusalem, Tel Aviv (including Ben-Gurion Airport) Haifa, Netanya, Afula, Ashdod, Ashekelon, and other major places into targets for a future state of terrorism and its missile range. Already, the “disengagement” of southern Lebanon has proven disastrous as Hizbollah know has a launching point for missiles that can destroy major population centers in Israel. The July 2000 “disengagement” from Israel’s security buffer zone in occupied southern Lebanon has propelled Hizbollah from a local to a regional stature.  The proximity of this terrorist organization plagues U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq with Arab/Islamist terrorism.

 The Oslo driven “disengagements” have ignited an unprecedented wave of Arab terrorism. Each and every square inch added to the PA/PLO since 1994 has become the largest terrorist base in the world, a safe haven for Arab/Islamist terrorists under the control and domination of the Iran-Syrian axis of evil and support of terrorism.

 

Israel has not controlled the Arabs living in Gaza since the “disengagement” 1994 Oslo Accord. The PA/PLO controls and dominates the territory together with its sister terrorist organizations Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad, working hand in hand in towards the annihilation and complete destruction of the only Jewish  nation state in the entire world. “Disengagement” therefore would not impact Israel’s demography. “Disengagement” of Gaza and Gush Katif has similar symptoms of the failed Oslo Accord and failed peace process. Land for Terrorism. Nothing less. Nothing more. Israel is getting nothing in return in its unholy alliance and agreement at suicidal self-destruction otherwise erroneously and falsely called withdrawal.  The withdrawal symptoms re weakness and willingness to self-destruct as seen through the eyes of the Arab/Islamists. 

 

“Disengagement” is a complete setback for deterrence, intelligence gathering and pursuit of peace.  In other words the plan is a bottomless keg, militarily diplomatically and economically.

 “Disengagement” would not be financed by the U.S.  It will increase the budget deficit, avert economic recovery, worsen unemployment, increase taxes, impose government bonds, cut human services and infrastructure expenditures and much much more. Israel and the Jewish people better beware of Bush’s call for a total freeze of all so-called “settlements” (derisively used as gypsies living in tents) and Condaleeza’s call for a contiguous Arab “Palestine” (according to the Balfour Declaration all Palestine was to be a Jewish homeland and the British Mandate gave away 80% to the Arabs in the created Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, formerly Transjordan.   Bush’s comment is deceptive and fraudulent “that any final status agreement [including the “right of return”] will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes.”

 

On the one hand...

 

Bush’s refusal to finance the disengagement” confirms that disengagement” will not produce any benefit to America as well as Israel.  His friendly statements were not legislated and ratified by Congress, which merely passed a non-binding resolution.

 

On the other hand...

 

Bush’s recent offer to fund the PA/PLO with $50 million U.S. taxpayer money also sends a mixed message to the Medieval Middle East comprised already of 22 Arab/Islamist corrupt dictatorships, human rights violators, ruthless repressive regimes, state sponsors of terrorism as compared to the only Jewish nation state in the entire world and only beacon of freedom and democracy and true blue American ally in the entire region.  Why create a second Arab “Palestine” and twenty-third state sponsor of terrorism and tyranny? Is a terrorist a terrorist?  What about Mahmoud Abbas, “Chief of Terrorism” elect of the PA/PLO and “Mr. Moderate”? As Arafat’s partner in organized crime for over forty years the holocaust denier and financier of the Munich Olympic massacre has not changed spots.  Only into a more palatable image with a better barber and more stylish suit.  Make no mistake.  Mahmoud is a cold-blooded murderer and terrorist. While Middle East peace has been driven by deterrence, “disengagement” guarantees destruction and undermines deterrence. 

 

Disengagement is destructive. Disengagement is dishonest.  Disengagement is disastrous.

The Arabs of Ramat Eshkol don't exactly understand what Haddad is upset about. They are proud of the coexistence in the neighborhood. Yatim Seif, 20, says "Haddad's plan is sheer racism. Instead of investing so much energy in such an approach, let him nurture the neighborhood a little. Clean up the playgrounds that are full of garbage, put up a fence around the basketball court near our homes, trim the bushes that block the sidewalks." Shabtai Katash, from the independent religious list in the city council, also opposes the plan, and has offered one of his own instead. "A Torah-oriented group should move in, settle there and at the same time the police presence in the neighborhood should be strengthened." Katash and nine other city councilors want to hear an explanation form Haddad. "If he means what he says, we will lead a move to have him removed from office," said Deputy Mayor Rafi Krichli, a Yisrael Beitenu politician. "He simply wants to transfer Jews in the heart of the country. Escape? Run away? Give the neighborhood to the Arabs? We want the neighborhood to remain Jewish." If the Arabs don’t grab land by bombing Jewish citizens to destroy and eliminate the population, Israel’s leaders will give it away to the Arabs who are stealing our great gift given to us by G-d. Are we willing to give up the gift? Apparently so. Why? There are presently 22 Arab/Islamist nations. Most of them have expelled forcibly the nearly one million Arab Jews that lived in those places for hundreds and thousands of years. There is only a miniscule number of Jews left anywhere in any Arab nation.

VOICE OF HISTORY BY GARY FITLEBERG