This week a young Israeli Jewish citizen, an immigrant from the United States, was forced out of the country. The man, Efraim Khantsis, a 22 year old graduate of Stony Brook University, recently immigrated to Israel. He was enrolled in the Machon Meir yeshiva in Jerusalem.
All seemed well for Efraim, who was beginning to live out his dream of putting his roots down in the Jewish state. Several months ago, however, he was suddenly detained by the Israeli Secret Police (or “Shabak” in Hebrew), on suspicion that he had made statements praising Baruch Goldstein and the recently arrested Yaakov Teitel, who is a leading suspect in the killing of two Arabs.
For this alleged crime Efraim received an administrative restraining order. The order, which was given without any trial for allegations against which he was not permitted to defend himself, barred Efraim from entry into the West Bank, including his home in Kfar Tapuah.
When Efraim violated this wholly undemocratic and baseless order to visit his home in Tapuah, he was arrested and detained for several days. Now the Shabak has a new administrative order, again obtained in secret without a trial, but this time it sentenced Efraim to 3 months in prison. Unable to defend himself in court or even hear the charges against him, Efraim was offered one way to avoid his prison term: get out of Israel.
This tactic of administrative arrests, that is, prison terms doled out by the Defense Ministry without giving the accused a benefit of a trial or even to hear the accusations against them, is not new. Neither is this the first time its been used to deport Jews. In 2005 when 4 Jews were given administrative arrest and sent to prison, one of them, Saadiah Hershkof, was ultimately sent to America.
It is high time to reveal and repeal this wholly undemocratic and fascistic tool – administrative orders – which is used by the fundamentally undemocratic Secret Police. How can a supposedly democratic country like Israel have a secret police that can imprison and deport citizens without trial? Maybe it’s time to rethink that moniker of “the only democracy in the Middle East”.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Civil Rights? Not for Jews in Israel
One of the leading abusers of Jewish civil rights and propagators of injustice in Israel has struck again. The deceptively named Association of Civil Rights in Israel is now leading a campaign against Jews wishing to build homes in the Land of Israel.
But this time it’s not what you think. The villains at the ACRI aren’t fighting some building project in “the illegal settlements” in the West Bank, but the construction of an apartment building inside the State of Israel, in the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo no less.
That’s right. The ACRI is actually fighting the construction of an Israeli project
IN ISRAEL, IN TEL AVIV. They argue that the neighborhood, which is largely Arab, should not have Jews moving in.
What about Arabs living in Jewish areas? The ACRI has fought over the years (and won) legal battles enabling Arabs to live in Jewish communities. So what we see here cannot possibly have anything to do with equality or civil rights.
Let’s be honest and call them out for what they really are. The ACRI is a fascistic anti-Semitic organization which is against the Jewish state per se. This is beyond any leftwing-rightwing argument over the future of the West Bank, or legal arguments over its ownership. This goes beyond any reasonable argument and places these dangerous characters in the same category as the terrorists who seek Israel’s demise.
The anarchists in the ACRI, while posing as protectors of civil rights, have time and time again taken actions which violate Jewish civil rights and safety, including the opening of the Israeli 443 highway to Palestinian Authority Arabs despite the danger to every person who uses the road; the violence against Jews living in homes they recovered from Arab squatters in east Jerusalem; and now by struggling to prevent Jews from living on their own legally purchased property in Tel Aviv.
If these people lived anywhere else but Israel and were of any other nationality besides Jewish, we could call them anti-Semites and Nazis. It is outrageous that such an organization is allowed to exist in our country.
But this time it’s not what you think. The villains at the ACRI aren’t fighting some building project in “the illegal settlements” in the West Bank, but the construction of an apartment building inside the State of Israel, in the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo no less.
That’s right. The ACRI is actually fighting the construction of an Israeli project
IN ISRAEL, IN TEL AVIV. They argue that the neighborhood, which is largely Arab, should not have Jews moving in.
What about Arabs living in Jewish areas? The ACRI has fought over the years (and won) legal battles enabling Arabs to live in Jewish communities. So what we see here cannot possibly have anything to do with equality or civil rights.
Let’s be honest and call them out for what they really are. The ACRI is a fascistic anti-Semitic organization which is against the Jewish state per se. This is beyond any leftwing-rightwing argument over the future of the West Bank, or legal arguments over its ownership. This goes beyond any reasonable argument and places these dangerous characters in the same category as the terrorists who seek Israel’s demise.
The anarchists in the ACRI, while posing as protectors of civil rights, have time and time again taken actions which violate Jewish civil rights and safety, including the opening of the Israeli 443 highway to Palestinian Authority Arabs despite the danger to every person who uses the road; the violence against Jews living in homes they recovered from Arab squatters in east Jerusalem; and now by struggling to prevent Jews from living on their own legally purchased property in Tel Aviv.
If these people lived anywhere else but Israel and were of any other nationality besides Jewish, we could call them anti-Semites and Nazis. It is outrageous that such an organization is allowed to exist in our country.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Murder From Beyond the Grave: Rabin’s Legacy Lives On
Today a once common event happened: an Israeli was murdered by an Arab terrorist in Israel. The terrorist, Mohammed Hattib, was a “security” officer in the Palestinian Authority’s “police” force, a force created by none other than Yitzhak Rabin in 1993 when he signed the Oslo Accords with the arch-murderer Yasser Arafat.
Of course this shouldn’t surprise us. There have been many incidents over the years of Palestinian Authority “security” officials turning their guns (most of which were provided by Israel of course) on Jews. Dozens if not hundreds of people have been murdered, and many more injured, by such “security” men.
How could it be that Israel was so foolish as to create and arm a terrorist group, you might ask? If you remember the early 1990s well, you might answer that then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin thought that the PLO would abstain from terror, that they had abandoned their evil ways and could be useful in relieving the security burden off of Israel by helping to contain Hamas.
But wait, how did Hamas get to Israel? In 1976 then-Prime Minister Rabin (in his first term), allowed the Islamic Brotherhood movement to establish a Gaza branch. Too bad no one told him that the movement is a fanatical terror group. In 1987 it renamed itself Hamas and has constantly grown in strength and audacity. Thanks Rabin.
So Rabin brings in Hamas to deal with the PLO, then the PLO to deal with Hamas, not to mention arming the PLO. Did this guy have a lobotomy? No one could possibly be this stupid. Go back a little farther in history. What was twinkle-toes doing in 1948, during the Israeli War of Independence when the tiny new Jewish state was invaded by 7 Arab armies? He was taking pot-shots at Menachem Begin, murdering 16 Jews in the process and sinking their ship, the Altalena, which was carrying badly needed supplies and weapons to the besieged Jewish state.
Now we have a complete picture. Rabin was not only a drunken bungler, he was a chronic murderer and terrorist. Today his legacy of murder (sometimes direct in the case of the Altalena, sometimes indirect as in the case of the PLO) continues with fresh killings.
Today at 2PM a soldier was gutted by a “security” officer in the “police” force Rabin created and armed. No one should forget who is responsible. Rabin, Israel’s arch-terrorist and murderer has a large share in all of these murders. His legacy of political violence and terror has killed again from beyond the grave.
Of course this shouldn’t surprise us. There have been many incidents over the years of Palestinian Authority “security” officials turning their guns (most of which were provided by Israel of course) on Jews. Dozens if not hundreds of people have been murdered, and many more injured, by such “security” men.
How could it be that Israel was so foolish as to create and arm a terrorist group, you might ask? If you remember the early 1990s well, you might answer that then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin thought that the PLO would abstain from terror, that they had abandoned their evil ways and could be useful in relieving the security burden off of Israel by helping to contain Hamas.
But wait, how did Hamas get to Israel? In 1976 then-Prime Minister Rabin (in his first term), allowed the Islamic Brotherhood movement to establish a Gaza branch. Too bad no one told him that the movement is a fanatical terror group. In 1987 it renamed itself Hamas and has constantly grown in strength and audacity. Thanks Rabin.
So Rabin brings in Hamas to deal with the PLO, then the PLO to deal with Hamas, not to mention arming the PLO. Did this guy have a lobotomy? No one could possibly be this stupid. Go back a little farther in history. What was twinkle-toes doing in 1948, during the Israeli War of Independence when the tiny new Jewish state was invaded by 7 Arab armies? He was taking pot-shots at Menachem Begin, murdering 16 Jews in the process and sinking their ship, the Altalena, which was carrying badly needed supplies and weapons to the besieged Jewish state.
Now we have a complete picture. Rabin was not only a drunken bungler, he was a chronic murderer and terrorist. Today his legacy of murder (sometimes direct in the case of the Altalena, sometimes indirect as in the case of the PLO) continues with fresh killings.
Today at 2PM a soldier was gutted by a “security” officer in the “police” force Rabin created and armed. No one should forget who is responsible. Rabin, Israel’s arch-terrorist and murderer has a large share in all of these murders. His legacy of political violence and terror has killed again from beyond the grave.
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Death of the Israeli Left
Ever since the historic defeat of the Labor party in 1977 and the rise of Menachem Begin’s Likud party, the Israeli left has been on the decline.
Now, however, it is more pronounced than ever. The far-left Meretz party, which once held 12 seats in the 120 member Knesset is now the smallest part with only 3; while once dominant Labor has sunk to fourth place with a mere 13 seats.
A telling sign of the trend to the right in Israel is a Dialogue poll conducted for Haaretz last week. According to the poll, Likud would rise from 27 seats to 35, while Labor and Kadima would drop from 13 to 9 and 28 to 25 respectively. The left-wing/Arab bloc as a whole would decline from its present 55 seats to 48, while the right-wing/religious parties would increase from 65 to 72.
More important in the poll, however, was the DISAPPROVAL of Netanyahu despite his party’s growing support. The primary reason given? His freezing of settlement construction in the West Bank.
Since his turn to the left, his numbers, which had stayed comfortably in the high-50s to low-60s, have for the first time sunk below 50% and are lower than his disapproval rating. This is a clear smack at the leftist policies of Netanyahu, who despite his party affiliation, is feeling the burn of his actions.
More importantly, however, is the coalition’s confirmation today that it will permit voting overseas. This seemingly innocuous bill, which was first proposed by Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu party and fixed as a basis of their coalition agreement, augurs major change for Israeli politics.
Israel, unlike the US, has hitherto prohibited all voting outside of the state, except for consular workers and other government positions overseas. This was a natural outgrowth of the feeling in the early days of the state that Israelis who leave the country were abandoning it and the Jewish people. Today, however, Lieberman and Netanyahu see it as an untapped source of electoral strength.
It is estimated that close to 1 million Israeli citizens live overseas, the overwhelming majority of them Jewish. These expatriates, who usually left for economic reasons, tend towards the right politically, and represent a potential voting bloc for Likud and Yisrael Beitenu.
Their inclusion in Israeli elections would go along way in nullifying the electoral power of Israeli Arabs, who constitute about 22% of the country but only a tiny percent of Israeli expatriates. Currently their vote is split roughly 50-50 between Arab parties and the left.
If and when this bill will pass, it will likely be the final death-null for the already battered Israeli left. Meretz, the furthest to the left, will probably be the first to go, and may not survive the next election cycle.
Now, however, it is more pronounced than ever. The far-left Meretz party, which once held 12 seats in the 120 member Knesset is now the smallest part with only 3; while once dominant Labor has sunk to fourth place with a mere 13 seats.
A telling sign of the trend to the right in Israel is a Dialogue poll conducted for Haaretz last week. According to the poll, Likud would rise from 27 seats to 35, while Labor and Kadima would drop from 13 to 9 and 28 to 25 respectively. The left-wing/Arab bloc as a whole would decline from its present 55 seats to 48, while the right-wing/religious parties would increase from 65 to 72.
More important in the poll, however, was the DISAPPROVAL of Netanyahu despite his party’s growing support. The primary reason given? His freezing of settlement construction in the West Bank.
Since his turn to the left, his numbers, which had stayed comfortably in the high-50s to low-60s, have for the first time sunk below 50% and are lower than his disapproval rating. This is a clear smack at the leftist policies of Netanyahu, who despite his party affiliation, is feeling the burn of his actions.
More importantly, however, is the coalition’s confirmation today that it will permit voting overseas. This seemingly innocuous bill, which was first proposed by Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu party and fixed as a basis of their coalition agreement, augurs major change for Israeli politics.
Israel, unlike the US, has hitherto prohibited all voting outside of the state, except for consular workers and other government positions overseas. This was a natural outgrowth of the feeling in the early days of the state that Israelis who leave the country were abandoning it and the Jewish people. Today, however, Lieberman and Netanyahu see it as an untapped source of electoral strength.
It is estimated that close to 1 million Israeli citizens live overseas, the overwhelming majority of them Jewish. These expatriates, who usually left for economic reasons, tend towards the right politically, and represent a potential voting bloc for Likud and Yisrael Beitenu.
Their inclusion in Israeli elections would go along way in nullifying the electoral power of Israeli Arabs, who constitute about 22% of the country but only a tiny percent of Israeli expatriates. Currently their vote is split roughly 50-50 between Arab parties and the left.
If and when this bill will pass, it will likely be the final death-null for the already battered Israeli left. Meretz, the furthest to the left, will probably be the first to go, and may not survive the next election cycle.
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