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Hezbollah’s Destiny – Koran and War                                                                                                                                              The Hamas – Israeli Gaza War Preceded the Israeli-Hezbollah War

Koran_pistolSummer 2006 – Prelude to the Israeli-Hezbollah War

The Globalization of Israel and the Nations Surrounding Israel

robertmock@biblesearchers.com

July –August, 2006

 

 

 

 

 

Topics

Ahmadinejad sets the Stage to Expel the Jews

Disengagement, Treason, Pogroms and War

The Kassam Seige

The “Impurade” Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade heralds Israel’s Tribulation

Colonel Shalit and the Gaza Kassam Confrontation

1976-2006 – Thirty Years since the Israeli Entebbe Rescue in Uganda

 

Ahmadinejad sets the Stage to Expel the Jews

 

Ahmadinejad: Conditions for Removal of Israel Are at Hand- July 10, 2006

Lekarev Report - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, clearing up any ambiguity in previous calls to “wipe Israel off the map,” uses an Arabic word for the removal of body hair to describe his plans for Israel. “All the conditions for the removal of the Zionist regime are at hand,” Ahmadinejad told an Arab Conference of Iraqi Neighbors meeting on Saturday. For the first time, he employed the Arabic word ezaleh, which is used to describe the irreversible removal of body hairs.

 

“Nations in the region will be more furious every day. It won’t take long before the wrath of the people turns into a terrible explosion that will wipe the Zionist entity off the map,” Ahmadinejad told the foreign ministers of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Bahrain and Egypt. The heads of the Arab League and the Islamic Conference were also present, in addition to a special United Nations representative.

 

NOTE: None of the foreign ministers present, including Jordan, Egypt or Turkey - commonly regarded as Israel’s friends in the Arab/Muslim world - objected to the call for annihilation. Instead, the following statement was issued: “The Arab foreign ministers participating in today's Tehran meeting expressed their strong condemnation of this continuing and increasing aggression against the Palestinian people."

 

Ahmadinejad: Conditions for Removal of Israel Are at Hand  - July 10, 2006

President Mahmoud AhmadinejadIsrael National News - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, clearing up any ambiguity in previous calls to “wipe Israel off the map,” uses an Arabic word for the removal of body hair to describe his plans for Israel. “All the conditions for the removal of the Zionist regime are at hand,” Ahmadinejad told an Arab Conference of Iraqi Neighbors meeting on Saturday. For the first time, he employed the Arabic word ezaleh, which is used to describe the irreversible removal of body hairs. “Nations in the region will be more furious every day. It won’t take long before the wrath of the people turns into a terrible explosion that will wipe the Zionist entity off the map,” Ahmadinejad told the foreign ministers of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Bahrain and Egypt. The heads of the Arab League and the Islamic Conference were also present, in addition to a special United Nations representative.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

 None of the foreign ministers present, including Jordan, Egypt or Turkey - commonly regarded as Israel’s friends in the Arab/Muslim world - objected to the call for annihilation. Instead, the following statement was issued: “The Arab foreign ministers participating in today's Tehran meeting expressed their strong condemnation of this continuing and increasing aggression against the Palestinian people."

The Iranian president went on to blame all of the region’s troubles on the Jewish state:
"The basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must mobilize to remove this problem. It is a usurper that our enemies made and imposed on the Muslim world, a regime that prevented the progress of the region’s nations, a regime that all Muslims must join hands in isolating worldwide.”

He ended with a call on all nations to cease their support of Israel:
“[All nations] should realize that their support for the illegitimate, usurper, Zionist regime is a mistake. The waves of fury of Muslim nations will not be confined within the boundaries of the region, and the people who close their ears to the cries of the Palestinians and blindly support this regime will be responsible for the consequences... I tell them to dissociate themselves or face the terrible consequences.”

Since Ahmadinejad’s call to “wipe Israel off the map” last October, some academics have claimed the Iranian leader was mistranslated or misunderstood. "Ahmadinejad did not say he was going to wipe Israel off the map, because no such idiom exists in Persian," left-wing University of Michigan professor Juan Cole told the New York Times. "He did say he hoped its regime, i.e., a Jewish-Zionist state occupying Jerusalem, would collapse… Since Iran has not attacked another country aggressively for over a century, I smell the whiff of war propaganda."

Jonathan Steele of the British Guardian newspaper also told the Times:
"The Iranian president was quoting an ancient statement by Iran's first Islamist leader, the late Ayatollah Khomeini, that 'this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time,' just as the Shah's regime in Iran had vanished. He was not making a military threat. He was calling for an end to the occupation of Jerusalem at some point in the future. The 'page of time' phrase suggests he did not expect it to happen soon." Neither of the two have responded to Ahmadinejad’s latest clarification and call to action, which were translated and distributed by the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency. The Iranian leader's threats are particularly significant as the Islamic Republic continues to pursue nuclear technology and world bodies continue to pursue diplomatic means of inducing Iran to give up its nuclear aspirations. By Ezra HaLevi

Disengagement, Treason, Pogroms and War

 

Top Hamas Terrorist Injured in IDF Strike  - July 12, 2006

Lekarev Report - During the night, the Israel Defense Forces tried to assassinate its most wanted Palestinian terror suspect Muhammad Deif, head of Hamas' military wing. The condition of the 40-year-old man, who already escaped three assassination attempts, was still unclear this (Wednesday) morning.

 

The Israel Air Force struck a two-story building in the Gaza City neighborhood of Sheikh Raduan. The building collapsed. Six bodies were recovered from the wreckage and it is reported that some 36 people were injured. According to the defense establishment, the building was being used as a hiding place for Hamas members. A senior Hamas member involved in the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit was killed in another strike. According to reports, Dr. Nabli Abu Saleimeh, a lecturer at the Islamic University and a well known Hamas activist in the city, was killed along with his wife, daughter, two sons and neighbor. IDF officials said that the aerial strike was carried out after discovering that senior Hamas terror activists were in the building, apparently hiding in a room. The IDF added that the activists initiated and carried out acts of terror and fired Qassam rockets. There was also intelligence information on terror attacks and "serious" acts of terror they had planned to carry out in the near future.

 

Muhammad Deif is responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide attacks he planned. In 1992, he went into hiding and has escaped at least three assassination attempts. Deif inherited the command on Hamas' military wing from Yehya Ayash, known as "the engineer," who was assassinated in 1996. Deif was behind a series of severe terror attacks which were carried out in revenge for Ayash's assassination. He was responsible for sending terrorists to carry out suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon, and was behind the groups that kidnapped and murdered IDF soldiers Nachson Waxman and Shahar Simani. Deif, who knew he was being targeted by Israel, did everything to escape and slip away. At the end of 1996, he apparently escaped to Egypt, but he later returned to plan more terror attacks. The more prominent terror activists were assassinated by Israel, the more Deif became involved in planning attacks, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is clear that he was injured in the attack last night but there has been no official word as to whether he is still alive.

 

Israel: PA Claims of Hunger are a Lie  - July 11, 2005

Israel National News - Contrary to Palestinian Authority claims, the IDF is allowing food and medicines into Gaza, food supplies are ample, and some crossings are open. IDF: "PA terrorism is the source of the problem." The IDF opened the Erez Crossing into Gaza both yesterday and today (Tuesday), despite difficulties imposed by the Palestinian Authority itself. In addition, despite warnings of terrorist plans to commit an attack, the Karni Crossing has been opened for days at a time. Huge amounts of food supplies and medicines are being transported to Gaza. The goods that passed through the crossing since Monday included basic foodstuffs, thousands of liters of benzine, 75 tons of cooking gas, medical equipment. IDF forces continue to search for terrorist tunnels in the Karni area.

Col. Nir Fares, head of the IDF liaison office in Gaza, told Arutz-7 that though the situation "is not easy," it is "far from a humanitarian crisis or hunger. However, the reason for this has nothing to do with Israel - but rather with the ongoing terrorism against Israel and the Hamas government that supports it." Fares explained that the Karni Crossing, the main throughpoint through which most of the goods enter Gaza, is and has been the site of terrorist activity. "Our interest is not to harm the civilian population that does not promote terrorism," Fares said. "We do not use our power to pressure the population to pressure its government. I don't think that would be right. But if the people in Gaza wake up and realize that it is their own terrorism that is causing them to suffer, then perhaps the situation will improve." Fares said that officials in the Palestinian Authority themselves have refused to allow goods into Gaza. "They are trying to create a crisis or make it look like a crisis," Fares told AP.  Fares mentioned five truckloads of dairy products headed for the Gaza coastal area that were blocked by PA officials on Tuesday, until he personally intervened. "We also proposed an alternative crossing for goods at Kerem Shalom, but the PA didn't cooperate."

Arab sources in Gaza say that because of Israel's strike of the main electricity plant, water is being supplied on a partial basis. Fares told Arutz-7, "We continue to supply them with water on a regular basis." The PA also claims that flour and fuel are running out; Israel says this is a lie. The security establishment, which monitors the crossings, has precise data regarding supplies in Gaza. Israel thus reports with certainty that the amount of flour is sufficient to last for more than a month, and that supplies of benzine total over a million liters.

"There is no shortage," Fares is quoted as saying on an IDF report, "and certainly not supplies of just a few days. The supplies are decreasing - sometimes there is only 2-3-4 weeks' worth of wheat or rice or whatever, so we make sure that those supplies are brought in. The current supplies, together with the supplemental deliveries, will ensure that there will be no shortages in the coming weeks, even if the IDF continues with Operation Summer Rains." Just last week, Fares said, "Karni was open for three days, during which 250 trucks filled with all sorts of food arrived, carrying rice, wheat, beans, meat, fruit, oil, milk, medicine, salt, and more."

A-7: "There are claims that there is a sugar shortage."Fares: "On Tuesday, seven trailerloads of sugar arrived, for a grand total of close to 300 tons. Just today, another 120 tons arrived via Erez.""The Palestinians' terrorism hurts, first and foremost, themselves," Fares emphasized. By Hillel Fendel

 

Olmert 'Absolutely Determined' to Carry Out Withdrawals – July 10, 2006

Lekarev Report - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today said he is "absolutely determined" to carry out his planned West Bank withdrawal, despite heavy fighting with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Olmert also ruled out negotiations or a prisoner swap with the Hamas- led Palestinian government to win the release of a captured Israeli soldier, calling the Islamic militant group a "terrorist bloody organization."

 

Speaking to foreign reporters, Olmert said separation between Israelis and Palestinians is "inevitable," adding the current round of violence in Gaza won't prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Olmert wants to withdraw from most of the West Bank by 2010 to allow the Palestinians to gain independence and to enable Israel to finalize secure borders. "I haven't changed my basic commitment to the realignment plan," he said, referring to the pullout. "I am absolutely determined to carry out the separation from the Palestinians and establish secure borders." If peace efforts remain stalled, he said, he will carry out the withdrawal unilaterally, just as Israel carried out a unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip last year. As a first step, Olmert said he expects to begin uprooting unauthorized outposts in the West Bank in the near future.

 

Continued rocket fire out of Gaza, along with Israel's recent invasion of the area, has raised questions about whether Olmert can carry out the West Bank pullout. The withdrawal could put more major Israeli population centers well within the range of Palestinian rockets.

 

ARAB MK: I ADVISED PA TO KIDNAP SOLDIER – July 9, 2006

TREASON by any other name is still TREASON! An Arab member of Israel's Knesset has admitted that he advised the Palestinian Authority to kidnap an IDF soldier.

 

Lekarev Report - Knesset Member Wasal Taha, corresponding publicly with internet surfers on the Arabic-language IslamOnline site, said he repeatedly advised PA terrorists to battle and kidnap Israeli soldiers. MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party), who last week submitted a bill to negate Knesset membership to MKs who support terrorists, said that Taha's "traitorous" remarks are further proof that Israeli democracy must protect itself. According to a report in Maariv today, Taha told surfers on Thursday that he repeatedly advised the Palestinians to stop shooting and targeting civilians, and to concentrate on IDF targets.

 

An English translation of Maariv's Hebrew translation of Taha's Arabic words: "We told them more than once that the Palestinians, who are subjected to murder and ongoing crimes on the part of the Israeli army, have two options: One is to explode and kill civilians - and these are much easier operations. The second option is the military option, in the framework of which a military unit from the resistance [i.e., terrorist infrastructures - ed.] is established in order to break into a military camp, clash with the soldiers and battle them and take them and the conquest into captivity."

 

Poland Remembers Last European Pogrom of WW II – July 9, 2006

Lekarev Report - Poland's President Lech Kaczynski denounced anti- Semitism on the 60th anniversary of a pogrom in the town of Kielce that left 42 people dead, saying democratic Poland had "no room for racism and anti- Semitism." But he added in prepared remarks Tuesday that Poles should not be tarred as anti- Jewish, saying he rejected "the stereotype of the Polish anti-Semite."

 

"As the president of Poland, I want to say it loud and clear: what happened in Kielce 60 years ago was a crime," he said. "This is a great shame and tragedy for the Poles and the Jews, so few of whom survived Hitler's Holocaust." In Kielce, townspeople and security officers - spurred by a false rumor that Jews living at 7 Planty Street had kidnapped a Catholic boy - attacked Jewish Holocaust survivors living in the building on July 4, 1946.

 

They killed 42 people, almost all Jews, over several hours, and about 30 more were also killed in a violent frenzy that spread across the area. The violence led set off a mass emigration of many of Poland's estimated 250,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors - what was left of the prewar Jewish population of 3.5 million.

 

War Talk in Damascus – July 9 2006

Lekarev Report - Following the recent Israel Air Force flyby over the palace of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Syrian officials are hinting at a possible escalation of hostilities along the Golan Heights border.

 

Fighter planes buzzed al-Assad’s palace to send a warning message to him, with Jerusalem holding the Syrian leader directly responsible for ongoing Hamas terror. The incident caused significant embarrassment to Damascus, despite Syrian reports that anti-aircraft fire was directed at the Israeli planes.

 

Syrian Member of Parliament Muhammad Habash stated in a Syrian TV interview that a repeat occurrence would result in a response, stating the Golan Heights would not remain as it is. The Syrian official went on to mention a “liberation war” and “resistance” in his reference to the Golan Heights

 

Cabinet United on Gaza Offensive – July 9, 2006

Lekarev Report - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the defense establishment should be given full backing to carry on with military activities in the Gaza Strip, a majority of the ministers said before entering this morning's weekly cabinet meeting. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to brief the ministers on the wide support Israel was receiving from the international community for its operations in Gaza, considered as Israel's right to defend itself.

 

Most western countries, headed by the United States, Britain and Germany, back Israel and will not call on it to cease its military activities at this point. Livni will also update the ministers on the Arab League's call for a condemnation of Israel over the Gaza operation. The cabinet will also hear initial reports of the IDF's intelligence unit and deputy head of the Shin Bet regarding the occurrences inside the Strip, and assessments pertaining to the possible release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

 

The Kassam Seige

 

PA Forces Do Nothing to Stop Kassams – July 7, 2006

Lekarev Report - Palestinian national security forces did not interfere when Jihad Islami fired the first Hamas Qassam missile into Ashkelon’s town center Tuesday from their vicinity near the Erez Crossing. The missile attack, ordered by Hamas, damaged the Ort school, but caused no casualties among the parents and children who were registering for the next school year.

 

DEBKAfile adds: It took the Palestinian missile squads nine months of trying to hit the southern Israel port town of 120,000 to calculate the precise angle of fire for hitting the town center, 10km away. From northern Gaza, Hamas is able now to mount a massive missile assault on Ashkelon, an urban location more densely populated than Sderot and home to strategic facilities - the Ashkelon-Eilat oil pipeline, oil port and main power station.

 

The Israel prime minister Ehud Olmert called the attack on Ashkelon an unprecedented escalation in the terrorist war and a criminal attempt to harm Israeli civilians. He warned that Hamas would be the first to suffer. At the same time, the Israeli prime minister had due warning of what Hamas had in store. Forty-hours earlier, the government was warned by intelligence that Ashkelon was targeted by Hamas. Yet no attempt was made to beat Hamas to the draw or even make a swift response. Instead a security cabinet session was called for the next day. Israel’s delayed response leaves Hamas free to carrying on shooting at Ashkelon until Israeli civilians are hurt, in the same way as the Islamist terror group ruling the Palestinians continues to hold onto Gilead Shalit. The prime minister is facing bitter complaints against long government neglect of the security needs of Sderot and Ashkelon.

 

Israel Radio Legal Commentator: PA Has Declared War on Israel – July 7, 2006

Israel National News - The Hamas interior minister's order to "shoot at Israeli forces" is a declaration of war on Israel - or at least a nullification of the Oslo Accords. So says left-wing legal commentator Moshe Negbi. The Hamas Authority minister, Said Siyam, ordered his security forces last night to fight back against the Israeli invasion.

Moshe Negbi, who is generally known for his extreme left-wing views, said that this may be considered as a declaration of war against Israel. Speaking on Israel Radio this afternoon, Negbi agreed that PA Chairman Abu Mazen (Fatah), and even Hamas prime minister Abu Haniyeh, had distanced themselves from the order, "but this is not enough. They must fully rescind the order in order for it to be nullified." The interior ministry spokesman, Abu Hilal, announced last night that PA policemen and security forces had been ordered to open fire against IDF soldiers in Gaza. This was the first time PA officials had openly ordered official PA forces to shoot at IDF soldiers. At the very least, Negbi said, the declaration - which was later denied by the PA - can be viewed as having nullified the Oslo Agreements of 1993.

Minister Eitan Cabel (Labor), who was interviewed on Israel Radio following Negbi, attempted to skirt the issue. Asked if he agreed that Hamas had declared war or nullified Oslo, Cabel said, "Look, Oslo and the other agreements are not on the agenda right now. We're dealing only with Gilad Shalit and stopping Kassams..." Israel's invasion itself, it should be noted, is not a declaration of war. Israeli officials repeat time and again that the operation is aimed only against terrorists. The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 was similarly not accompanied by a declaration of war. By Hillel Fendel

 

Time to Say Who Was Right – July 7, 2006

Israel National News -Nationalist camp leaders warn that the right-wing had better not make the same mistake twice. "This time," they declare, "we have to say, 'We told you so.'" Nationalist camp commentator and journalist Haggai Segal and the Rabbi of Ofrah, Avi Gisser, are the first to send out the message.

 

Segal, broadcasting on his Knesset Channel TV show and writing in his weekly column in B'Sheva, says the right-wing must not be as modest as it was when the PA broke out the Oslo War in late 2000.  "The right-wing at the time," Segal writes in B'Sheva, "criminally decreed upon itself a form of modesty. It felt that it would be better to show 'gallantry of victors' (woe unto such victories), and let the new reality speak for itself. There was a naive belief that the Minister of History would assume responsibility for sweeping all the false peace prophets into his garbage bin. The right-wingers were innocent enough to believe that those false prophets would hide out in shame. That's why not one official or important source outside of Yesha said the little words, 'We told you so.' If someone ever tried to say this, he would immediately receive a kick under the table." "This nobility cost the right-wing dearly," Segal continues. "After a few months of shock, the leftists again reared their heads. Instead of cowering apologetically in their corners in mourning and shame, they started pointing an accusatory finger at Yesha. Their publicists began brazenly rewriting history, formulating strange theories in which the Oslo War was actually Israel's fault. Just this past week, one of the main Oslo champions, Ben Caspit of Maariv, wrote, 'I'm not certain that Oslo would have been so catastrophic, had we not helped the agreement to collapse by building more settlements.'" "Now, with another left-wing initiative, the insane Disengagement plan, going up in flames, we see again a left-wing trend to evade responsibility," Segal writes, noting a host of left-wing figures who have been saying that they always opposed a unilateral move and warned that it would strengthen Hamas, etc. "We're beginning to think that at least a third of the Kfar Maimon protestors [tens of thousands of people who came to protest and possibly even to physically stop the withdrawal from Gaza - ed.] were left-wingers..."

Segal, a resident of Ofrah, then continues, "In light of the danger that this chutzpah-like narrative will begin to attract attention, and mainly because of the danger that the lessons of the Disengagement might not prevent a further withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, Rabbi Avi Gisser of Ofrah declared this week the opening of the 'We Told You So' campaign. He is not one of the most vocal or raucous spokesmen in the right-wing, but he has reached the conclusion that there is no other choice. He feels that the right-wing must not again fall for the sweet illusion that the left-wingers will recognize their folly and not repeat it. He took out a large ad in Haaretz this week, declaring, 'We told you so - Whoever runs away from Gaza, Gaza will run after him. Whoever disengages and converges, terrorism will find a way to re-engage with him.'

"Part 2 of the ad will be published this coming Sunday. But it's not so clear why this is a one-man initiative. Instead of waiting for the last minute to protest and run to the streets, it would be better to actualize now the bitter fruits of the Disengagement and wage a strong attack on the intention to Realign or Converge or Withdraw any further. It is incumbent upon us now to scream out publicly wherever possible, 'We Told You So!' Only in this way can we arouse a genuine public debate over which camp is right - the right or the left, the orange or the blue."

 

The late Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin ridiculing (in Hebrew) those who warned that rockets would be fired from Gaza. "The scare-stories of the Likud are well-known," Rabin said in 1995 in the above recording. "Why, they also promised us Katyushas from Gaza. It's already a year that the Gaza Strip is mostly under the control of the Palestinian Authority - and there wasn't a Katyusha and there won't be any..."

 

11 Months Later, IDF Re-enters Former Jewish Towns in Gaza – July 6, 2006

Israel National News - IDF forces penetrated into Gaza, taking up positions in and near the three former Jewish communities of northern Gaza: Dugit, Nisanit, and Elei Sinai - from where Kassams have been fired at Israel. The offensive has a new name - Bashan Oaks - but it is a continuation of the few-days old Summer Rains offensive. Officials say it is open-ended in time, and in fact no one can say with certainty whether the forces will remain in Gaza for days, weeks, or even longer. MK Tzachi HaNegbi, head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that it could be "years." Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor), on the other hand, said that Israel would go in and go out at will.

 

An Israeli military tank and armored vehicles advance towards the abandoned airport near the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah from a gathering point near kibbutz Kerem Shalom, just outside the Gaza Strip, July 9, 2006. [AP Photo]

 

The immediate objective of the mission is to stop the Kassam attacks by taking over the areas from which the rockets are fired. However, Kassams continued to be fired througout the day - one towards the IDF forces in Gaza, another one towards Sderot, and a third that landed near Netiv HaAsarah, just north of Gaza.

Ashkelon, which suffered its first direct Kassam hit on Tuesday night, was the target of two more Kassams last night. One of them hit the city, sending eight people into a state of shock, and the other one fell short, landing near Kibbutz Zikim and causing no damage. Ashkelon is Israel's 5th-largest city. Some 16 Arabs have been killed in the fighting so far. Arabs in Gaza fired at least seven anti-tank missiles at the IDF forces. One soldier was lightly hurt, but another one was taken to Barzilai Hospital in very critical condition. At the same time, the Karni Crossing has been re-opened for the passage of goods into Gaza. It has not been announced how long the crossing - which has been closed because of warnings of terrorist attacks originating there - will remain open.

The IDF's Golani Brigade entered northern Gaza after 2 AM, and continues to advance. Some of the units have already reached their destinations, such as in El Atatra, just south of Dugit, from where Kassams were fired at Ashkelon, a crowded built up area. Over the past few days, the forces have penetrated only as deep as 600-1000 meters into Gaza, but they have now already gone as far as 5-6 kilometers. The forces have a non-offensive demeanor, in that they are very carefully protected from explosives and mines - which may have been placed there over the months that Israel was not in the area. In addition, the soldiers have been warned not to harm civilians. "Our top priority is to protect and assure our soldiers' safety," Golani Brigade Commander Col. Tamir Yadai said. "Our second goal is to exact a price from the other side, and third, we want to make sure not to hurt civilians." The IDF also attacked terror cells, buildings and access roads in northern Gaza last night. By Hillel Fendel

 

Former Chief of Staff: Sharon´s Disengagement a Disaster – July 6, 2006

Israel National News -Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon, IDF Chief of Staff until the implementation of the Gaza withdrawal, says that the entire Disengagement was conceived to save PM Sharon from legal troubles. “The Disengagement was not the result of thorough strategic analysis, but the result of [then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s] political distress," Yaalon said in an interview to be published in full in Haaretz this weekend. “It was a disengagement from reality and a disengagement from the truth." Though such a claim has been made in the past, including by two prominent journalists Ofer Shelah and Raviv Drucker in their book Boomerang, this is the first time an official who was privy to the Sharon regime from the inside has cited such motives. "The process created an illusionary hope," Yaalon said, "which was not planned strategically and practically. The disengagement was mainly a media spin. Those who initiated it and lead it lacked the strategic, security, political and historical background. They were image counselors and spin doctors. These people put Israel into a virtual spin, disconnected from reality, using a media spin campaign which is imploding before our eyes."

"There is no doubt that the Disengagement failed,” Yaalon said. The entire withdrawal and expulsion of 10,000 Jewish residents from Gaza and northern Samaria “was an internal Israeli game that ignored what's going on outside Israel.” The former Chief of Staff does not accept the argument that because polls have shown a broad section of the Israeli public wanted to leave Gaza, it was the right thing to do. "The Israeli public backed the disengagement because it was blinded and drugged and because it really wanted to free itself from the burden of the conflict and divide the land. But we have to understand that although we are trying to shake the Palestinians off our backs, they refuse to get off our backs and stab us instead. We shouldn't fool ourselves. We live in the Middle East. We cannot barricade ourselves behind walls and fences. There is no such thing as unilateralism. Even when we refuse to talk with our neighbors there is interaction with them.”

Strategic Mistake of the First Order
Yaalon has harsh criticism for those in the IDF and defense establishment that bought into the withdrawal as a viable strategic move. "The Disengagement was a strategic mistake of the first order,” Yaalon said. “It brought about the Hamas victory. It emboldened terror groups. It has fueled the Palestinian struggle for years. It created a feeling among the Iranians, the Muslim Brotherhood, and al-Qaeda that Israel can be beaten, that Israel is a society of spider webs as Nasrallah said or a rotten tree as Ahmadinejad said. And therefore the disengagement not only harmed us badly, but also harmed America's strategic war on terror in the region. It created a feeling among Muslim extremists that as it defeated the Soviets in Afghanistan, it defeated us in Gaza and it will defeat us in Tel Aviv. As such, as they destabilized a super power, they will destabilize the west by defeating Israel."

 

"The intellectual failure of the disengagement is this,” Yaalon said. “The fact that there is no one to speak to on the other side doesn't mean that we can ignore the other side and the effects of its actions upon us. The fact that even the Fatah leadership is not ready to recognize the State of Israel as a Jewish state, while it says it is committed to the Road Map peace plan, doesn’t mean we can ignore the fact that pulling out under fire is perceived as surrender and encourages terror."

The former Chief of Staff says that Gaza has been allowed to become a staging ground for the worst of the terror groups taking part in the Global Jihad. "At the moment, our situation in Gaza is similar to southern Lebanon,” he said. “Plenty of arms have been smuggled into Gaza: explosives, Katyusha rockets, anti-aircraft rockets, anti-tank rockets, Grad rockets. As a result of the manner in which the pullout was carried out, there are Hizbullah, Al-Qaeda and Iranian elements in the Gaza Strip.”

“When the steps are withdrawal after withdrawal after withdrawal, we convey weakness,” Ya’alon concludes. “And he who conveys weakness in the Middle East is like a weak animal in nature: he comes under attack." By Ezra HaLevi

 

Under Seige  - July 6, 2006

Gushkatif2The Melitzer Rebbe knows what he's talking about. I have loads of angry emails asking me why I'm being such an alarmist, or why don't I call for improved modesty and purity in a nice way. That reminds me of an infantry platoon pinned down in a crossfire, and the sergeant yells at the machine gunner to reload faster. "Why aren't you polite, sarge?" Under fire, you don't ask others to be polite. Over here, we're under fire. Amir Oren in this morning's (very liberal and far from right-wing) HaAretz writes that Israel is under siege and the Qassam rockets, "independent capabilities have shown that they can hit the center of Ashkelon, and their ambition will be to strike at the Hatzor air base or at Ashdod and the hundreds of thousands living in nearby cities. The explosive warhead may be replaced by basic chemical or biological agents, which will cause panic. And if yesterday it was Gaza, tomorrow may be the West Bank." LazerBeams has been making you crazy lately with calls for help, writing letters and faxes, etc. That's because Moshiach is almost here, and we're fighting spiritual wars on all fronts. The Gay Parade, the Qassams from Gaza, and the war against Jewish settlements is all the same enemy - the Yetzer Hara. We have to fight him on every front, with no compromises. Cherished daughters of Israel, your modesty willl protect the south of Israel. We need your help

 

North Gaza Revisited – It is Time for Tsuva – July 6, 2006

It doesn't help us much to tell the Government, "We told you so!" Anybody in Israel with any sense at all is now bemoaning disengagement. The Army has returned to Dugit, Nitzanit, and Elei Sinai - 3 strategic settlements so critical to Israel's security. People's year-old wounds are being torn wide open again. If the Government would admit their mistake and make tshuva, Hashem would surely help them succeed. Two types of people never learn from their mistakes - the fools and the haughty. That's what scares me about the politicians over here. May Hashem stop the insanity of giving any more Jewish territory and homes to murderers, or to anyone else for that matter. The Land of Israel belongs to Hashem and to His chosen People of Israe

 

The “Impurade” Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade heralds Israel’s Tribulation

 

Stormy Knesset Committee Meeting on the "Pride" Parade – July 4, 2006

La Knesset à JérusalemIsrael National News -Efforts are continuing, inside the Knesset and out, to disallow the international homosexual parade scheduled for next month in Jerusalem. The Shas Party has some leverage. The Knesset Interior Committee held a raucous meeting on the topic today. MK Yitzchak Levy (National Union/NRP) presented a survey showing that a large majority of the public - including a full 63% of the secular public - is against holding the gay pride parade in Jerusalem.

The Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem


Among the public defining itself as traditional, the number was 81%, and among the religious, 99-100%.  "Don't force yourselves upon a city that clearly doesn't want you," Levy said.

MK Shelly Yechimovitch (Labor) said that precisely for this reason the parade must be held: "Majority groups don't have to demand their rights; only minorities do." Arutz-7 noted, via the MK's spokesman, that the parade was not designed to demand rights, but rather to exhibit "pride" in their personal inclinations. The spokesman was unsuccessful in obtaining her response to this point before her presence was required in the afternoon Knesset session.

Arab MK Ibrahim Tzartzur came out against the parade, and added that in the Moslem sector, "we have no such problem." This, as opposed to the common perception that homosexuality in Moslem countries is a prevalent phenomenon. At a pan-Arab conference held at Oxford University back in 2000, for instance, a widely-quoted researcher said, "In prison, same-sex sex is the norm. Saudi Arabia is just a large prison."

Jerusalem councilman David Hadari (NRP), speaking on Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine today, said, "The municipality of Jerusalem has been prevented by the legal system from trying to stop the homosexual parade. This is a mark of shame for the court system, but that is the situation... At present, only the police can stop the parade, based on considerations of public peace and safety. The police have not yet issued a permit, and we are trying to arouse public pressure so that the permit will not be issued.""It is ironic," Hadari noted, "that we're working with Moslems and Christians against the parade. At one point, I suggested facetiously that if there is to be a parade in Jerusalem, let it be in eastern Jerusalem - and immediately the Arabs refused, saying that they would kill the participants... The Knesset is also trying to apply pressure, and I'm still optimistic that it can be stopped."

One sensitive issue is that those fighting against the Jerusalem venue might agree to have the march in Tel Aviv - even though the same considerations of "not defiling the Holy Land" would still apply. Asked about this, Hadari did not give a categorical answer: "I don't think it should be held anywhere in this Jewish state; but it's even more unacceptable to have it in the Holy City of Jerusalem. If the gay parade was canceled in Tel Aviv, as it was a while back, then certainly it shouldn't be held in the Holy City!"

Rabbi Yehuda Levin of New York, who is leading a campaign to stop the World Pride event from being held anywhere in Israel, is very wary that religious Knesset Members might agree to such a compromise. "From hearing the way some of them have been talking," Levin told Arutz-7, "I smell a compromise that will allow the homosexuals to hold their parade in Tel Aviv, and then to creep into Jerusalem as well, with all their spiritual filth, and causing the same Arab outrage. So we have to stop it not only in Jerusalem, but all over the Land; we have to defend the spirituality of the entire Land." He reminded listeners that photographs of previous parades held around the world show participants barely clad and engaging in suggestive behavior. Rabbi Levin encourages the religious public to warn the religious MKs that they will not receive its support in future elections if they go along with this compromise:
"G-d forbid they should betray the Jewish people internationally. They have to know that they will pay a political price for it."

He also warned the religious-Zionist public in general:
"This is a 'measure for measure' affair: If we allow the land to be raped, so to speak, by perverted sexual messages, then, as the Torah says, such Canaanite acts will be punished by having the Land 'vomit you out,' Heaven forbid."


Councilman Hadari had some criticism of the Shas hareidi-religious party for not including this issue in its coalition demands:
"Shas should inform Olmert right now that if the parade is held, it will quit the government. It's not unheard-of - just like the NRP once [in the 1970s] quit the coalition when F-16 jets from the U.S. landed in Israel an hour after the Sabbath started..."
Shas government ministers can be faxed at (+9722) 666-2923 (Eli Yishai), 670-6157 (Yitzchak Cohen), 649-6447 (Meshulam Nahari), and 670-6372 (Ariel Atias).

By Hillel Fendel

A message from Ben Goldin – The Rebbe of the Autistics - 9 Tammuz 5766

All over the Western World fear reigns. The fear of an unknown army of terrorists who have no real identity, an unknown enemy with no face, only one face known to the world - Bin Laden. But how can a whole army fight against one man? How could the whole Western World be afraid of one man? So what have we really learned from all of this? I will explain what you should be learning from all of this: HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One, blessed be He) is destroying the lie, the false world we've been living in, the excessive, decadent gashmius (reliance on physical things for pleasure and security) that has become our god.

 

 God is destroying the false beliefs that security lies in the army, social security, the great insurance companies, a steady job and a big bank account. ...So, my dear Am Yisrael, if you want to save yourselves and the world, renounce the Egel Hazahav [golden calf - LB], its lies, its illusion, and come back wholly to your Father in Heaven. Destroy your false gods and come back! When will you learn? You're not frightened enough. Your hearts are not broken enough. A great selection has already begun.

 

Each Jew, each Gentile, each living thing, will choose a side. Either with man, trusting in man himself, or with God, trusting only in Him. It will be a terrible battle, a very, very torturous fight, but those who hold on to their trust, their love and their belief in God will, with God's help, greet Moshiach (the Messiah). This letter is for every Jew, religious or not. This is the message. This is the truth. A letter from Heaven to tell you explicitly what is expected of you. I bless you all, every single Jew alive today, man, woman, of every age, that all of us together will merit to greet the Moshiach, speedily in our days. Amen. I want to reiterate: there is no time, no time. The world as you know it, the materialistic world as you know it, is crumbling...".

 

September, 2001

The above is a message from Binyomin (Ben) Goldin, an autistic student who's 34 today. Ben communicates by way of FC, or facilitated communication. Both the Amshinover Rebbe shlit'a and the Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a have told me that Ben's message is an actual revelation from above designed to counterbalance the formidable forces of evil in this generation. Ben has been silent for nearly four years, except for a brief message he said last April, calling again for tshuva. I hope he speaks again, soon. This is no joke. With Hashem's help, Ben and I will be meeting later today (Wed., 9 Tammuz) in Jerusalem.

 

Ben_goldenBen Golden breaks his silence - an exclusive FC interview with Lazer – July 7, 2006

Lazer Beams expresses sincerest gratitude to Mrs. Chaya Tova Solomon, Rav Dovid Gross, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Golden (Ben's parents), Ms. Yocheved Yehuda, and Facilitated Communicator Mrs. Zalmanov, all of whom made important contributions in arranging Lazer's FC session with Ben Golden.

 

Introduction: Ben Golden is a 34-yr. old autistic. Beneath his veneer of mental retardation lies a soul of enormous spiritual stature. Thanks to Facilitated Communication (FC), Ben is able to express himself. Several years ago, other autistics, such as Galia, revealed that Ben is the "Rebbe" of the autistics. Ben himself revealed eye-opening messages that called for tshuva - especially among the religious community itself - before the impending redemption of our people. He pulled no punches. His messages ignited a worldwide debate as to the reliability of FC; the debate also threw the autistics into the international limelight. Ben clammed up for nearly five years, except for a brief and very general message last April.

 

These are difficult times everywhere. Many are disheartened because of the continuation of the diaspora and the tarrying of Moshiach. Many of the gains of Jewish Outreach are offset by the spiritually weak within the religious community that fall by the wayside. Within Israel, we're fighting our own government to preserve our spiritual lives and fighting our neighbors to preserve our physical lives. Through a number of go-betweens, I sent a message to Ben Golden that said, "Ben, you can't afford the luxury of silence any more. I'm in the front-line trenches of the battle for tshuva, emuna, and Geula (penitence, faith, and redemption) and I need your help.”

 

Nothing happened for several weeks. Suddenly, I received a message from a go-between that Ben is willing to talk to me. But, as a prerequisite, Ben wanted me to review Rebbe Nachman's Tale #5, "The Prince that was made of precious stones," and learn it with him. That's exactly what I did. No one ever told Ben that I was a Breslever chossid…

 

Ben and I met on Wednesday afternoon at Jerusalem. His father and Mrs. Zalmanov were present. First, Ben and I learned alone for an hour. The whole time, he held both my hands; I could literally feel him conveying all kinds of messages through his hands. Twice, his messages were so strong that tears were streaming dowbn my eyes like on Yom Kippur. He let me know that the Prince made of  precious stones was him - Ben Golden - and that Rebbe Nachman was alluding to the autistics that would be revealing Hashem's word right before the Geula. (Image below, Ben and Lazer learning with clasped hands)

 

Our FC session was in two parts: First, Ben's introduction, and then, my questions and answers. Ben's father transcribed the intro, while I transcribed the Q & A. Two types of material have been edited out - first, things that Ben ordered not to publicize; and second, things of a personal nature that Ben said to me.I have made a painstaking effort to make every syllable completely accurate, and beg Ben's forgiveness for any mistake. May this post be a sanctification of Hashem's holy name, amen.

 

Ben_golden_and_lazer_brodyPart 1: Ben's Introduction (Mr. Golden, facilitator Mrs. Zalmanov, and Lazer present):I want to say that I enjoyed very much learning with you. I have been silent for several years and only opened up B'Ezrat Hashem in order to give two messages that are really one.  Why at this point in history did I consent to write such essays because the Hester Panim (concealment of Hashem - LB) is so great and the suffering and confusion is so great that I received permission to write something that would focus on Truth in order to give some Jews a way to focus on the Truth.

 

The two essays are really one.  Now unfortunately, some people have received chizuk (reinforcement of faith - LB) from them but most are still slumbering in a fitful delusion.  Lo olanu (It shouldn't happen to us - LB). Now why exactly you want to speak to me?  You know the truth so well, so well. 

 

You also know that putting us the autistics back on center stage will cause a lot of controversy.  Also we are not dybbukim (evil spirits - LB) or anything so high.  We are not able to express ourselves without a kli sheni (2nd-hand agent - LB); which makes us not believed by everyone; which makes our messages real only to those who understand truth.  So I don't mind writing to you about any subject but to go public - no. One more thing, I do not decide myself.  I am only a servant of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He is now showing his might stronger and more obviously than ever before and those who do not wish to see the truth will be swallowed up by the truth as was Korach.  So really today you do not need the words of the autistics.

 

Part 2: Lazer's question's, Ben's answers (with Mrs. Zalmanov and Lazer; Ben's father left the room.)

 

LB: Ben, you can't sit back because you don't like the heat. I'll match you for flak and humiliation any day of the week; if I backed down, I couldn't function in my task for a day.

Ben: You can't back down - you're a shaliach (messenger) of Hashem and doing what you're supposed to do.

 

LB: So are you! I'm not ashamed to trouble you, because if today's message helps even one soul get closer to Hashem, then it's necessary for you to speak up. I often feel that the Tshuva movement is taking a step forward, and the religious community as a whole is taking a step backward. Please tell me, why are we losing ground? What's wrong?

Ben: It's the Golden Calf. People must put aside their love of the material and transfer it to love of Hashem; there's little time left to do this. Also, there's a lack of tznius (modesty - LB) that tears our people from within. The third problem is of education - people lack emuna at heart. They serve Hashem like robots. Hashem wants their hearts.

 

LB: Rav Shalom Arush and I talk about emuna day and night. Isn't that having an effect?

Ben: Yes, it's very good, but not enough. Anybody can interpret emuna whatever way they want. You must also instruct people in fulfilling Hashem's mitzvas.

 

LB: What's the most important thing to instruct them?

Ben: Everything is important, but first - modesty and family purity. The opposite is the biggest threat to Am Yisroel today.

 

LB: How so?

Ben: The Gay Parade planned for Yerushalayim. This is the real reason I'm allowed to speak, because the evil has become so great and so brazen that Hashem has to allow a small revelation from the pure side. If this tragedy is allowed to take place, and if those people - the lowest and most dangerous order of Amalekites - are allowed to reach the Wall, then no army will be able to prevent the disaster that awaits Am Yisroel, heaven forbid.

 

LB: We've been doing everything to stop this. What else must we do?

Ben: 900,000 Jews - religious and non-religious - must block the way to the Kotel with their bodies. This must be stopped, Hashem won't forgive such a blatant desecration of His courtyard...

 

LB: May we cooperate with the other religions, who are also against the gay parade?

Ben: Yes, if the poskim (rabbinical authorities - LB) allow it. Just be careful - they're attempting to reach the Wall. Don't let that happen under any circumstances. Hashem demands mesiras nefesh (total dedication) on this matter.

 

LB: With Hashem's help. I have wars on all sides with this issue. Ben, I want to ask you about something else I get constant bombardments about - Breslev. You said that I know the truth; can you give me a chizuk on this?

Ben: Rebbe Nachman of Breslev is a highest echelon tzaddik whose word carries tremendous weight in shamayim (heavens - LB). His true talmidim (disciples - LB) are also firmly on the path of truth. Hashem disdains those that disparage either the tzaddik or the true talmidim. But, the fringe groups that have attached themselves to Breslev are erev rav (riff-raff - LB); one must stay away from them. (Ben pauses, then adds...)Rebbe Nachman is a sam'eman (harbinger - LB) of the Geula.

 

LB: How so?

Ben: When thousands of people come to his grave on Rosh Hashanna, this is the end of the old world and the beginning of the new world.

 

LB: Ben, you mean the Geula has started?

Ben waved his hind decisively to Mrs. Zalmanov and indicated that the FC was over. He invited me to come again and learn with him. I blessed him, kissed his forehead, and the session was over

 

"Qassam rockets in Ashkelon are a sword of vengeance against immodesty and promiscuity." – July 5, 2006

Melitzer

11:14 PM, 10 Tammuz, 5766, Wednesday night, Israel time. An hour and a half ago, another upgraded Qassam rocket slammed an Ashkelon street. Although with Hashem's loving grace no one has been wounded, eight citizens have been rushed to the hospital to be treated for shock. I've just been informed that a second upgraded rocket has fallen in Ashkelon, making it the third in less than 36 hours.

 

 As soon as I finished speaking to my contact from Ashkelon, I briefed the Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a on the latest barrages, only a few miles down the road from here in Ashdod. The Melitzer Rebbe's face turned a bright crimson then paled. With a trembling voice, he quoted the Torah's curse in Parshas Bechukosai of the licentious who break the holy covenant with lewdness and lack of modesty, "I will bring upon you an avenging sword, vengeance of the covenant (Lev. 26:25)".

 

The Rebbe then told me with fire in his voice, "The immodest and unclad women are bringing this catastrophe on our heads. A woman should know that every tephach (approx. 4 inches - LB) of insufficiently clad flesh creates an angel of destruction. The Hamas and the rockets are the physical manifestations of the spiritual imurity created by Israel's immodest women." 

 

The Rebbe then quoted the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Oruch, Orach Chaim 75:A) that's based on the Gemorra (tractate Berachos 24a) that tephach b'isha erva, or a tephach of unclad flesh is considered nakedness and therefore strictly forbidden. With fire in his eyes the Rebbe said that  tephach - spelled in Hebrew טפח - stands for טילים פיגועים חרבות - the three Hebrew letters of tephach stand for "t'illim, p'iguim, charavot", in other words rockets, terrorist attacks, and swords (of vengeance).

 

The Rebbe then said that no army in the world can stop Qassam rockets as long as Israeli women continue to disdain the laws of modesty. The recent upgraded Qassam rockets have been fired from the North of Gaza, despite the fact that thousands of Israeli troops and tanks have poured into Gaza, showing just how correct the Melitzer Rebbe is. If the Israeli government would listen to the Melitzer Rebbe, they could save a lot of time, trouble, and tens of millions of dollars. Although I periodically update the Rebbe on what I write on Lazer Beams, the Rebbe never tells me what to write; this time is an exception - the Rebbe shlit'a said that people must know the root cause of the Qassam rockets.Melitzer Rebbe: "Qassam rockets in Ashkelon are a sword of vengeance against immodesty and promiscuity

 

A Message from Ben Goldin – July 5, 2006

Ben_golden9 Tammuz 5766

"All over the Western World fear reigns. The fear of an unknown army of terrorists who have no real identity, an unknown enemy with no face, only one face known to the world - Bin Laden. But how can a whole army fight against one man? How could the whole Western World be afraid of one man? So what have we really learned from all of this? I will explain what you should be learning from all of this: HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One, blessed be He) is destroying the lie, the false world we've been living in, the excessive, decadent gashmius (reliance on physical things for pleasure and security) that has become our god.

 

God is destroying the false beliefs that security lies in the army, social security, the great insurance companies, a steady job and a big bank account. ...So, my dear Am Yisrael, if you want to save yourselves and the world, renounce the Egel Hazahav [golden calf - LB], its lies, its illusion, and come back wholly to your Father in Heaven. Destroy your false gods and come back! When will you learn? You're not frightened enough. Your hearts are not broken enough. A great selection has already begun. Each Jew, each Gentile, each living thing, will choose a side. Either with man, trusting in man himself, or with God, trusting only in Him.

 

 It will be a terrible battle, a very, very torturous fight, but those who hold on to their trust, their love and their belief in God will, with God's help, greet Moshiach (the Messiah). This letter is for every Jew, religious or not. This is the message. This is the truth. A letter from Heaven to tell you explicitly what is expected of you. I bless you all, every single Jew alive today, man, woman, of every age, that all of us together will merit to greet the Moshiach, speedily in our days. Amen. I want to reiterate: there is no time, no time. The world as you know it, the materialistic world as you know it, is crumbling...".    September, 2001

 

The above is a message from Binyomin (Ben) Goldin, an autistic student who's 34 today. Ben communicates by way of FC, or facilitated communication. Both the Amshinover Rebbe shlit'a and the Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a have told me that Ben's message is an actual revelation from above designed to counterbalance the formidable forces of evil in this generation. Ben has been silent for nearly four years, except for a brief message he said last April, calling again for tshuva. I hope he speaks again, soon. This is no joke. With Hashem's help, Ben and I will be meeting later today (Wed., 9 Tammuz) in Jerusalem

 

100,000 Signatures Against Homosexual (World Gay) Parade in Jerusalem – July 2, 2006

Israel National News - Over 100,000 people have signed a petition against the large gay-pride parade scheduled in Jerusalem next month. The petition is being organized by Jerusalem City Council member Mina Fenton (NRP). The petition states that the "holding of such a parade in Jerusalem, of all places, is a great blow at the ages-old Jewish character of the city and its holy values, for the Jewish and non-Jewish public in Israel and around the world. To hold it in Jerusalem is a provocation and a declared mockery of all that is precious and sacred in the Holy city of Jerusalem in the eyes of the entire world."

Local Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem in 2002


"I have received positive feedback from all over the world," Fenton said, "as well as within Israel... We are sure that these first 100,000 signatures will clarify to the Supreme Court the majority opinion, as well as the dangers and degradation involved in holding the parade. I call upon every citizen in Israel and abroad to help out in gathering signatures and to do whatever is necessary to reach the ultimate goal, which is the cancellation of the parade."

Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the New York-based Jews for Morality organization (JewsforMorality.org.), is now in Israel - for the sixth time of late - solely to fight against the parade. He says that he has been hearing talk of a "compromise," which worries him greatly. "If they think that we will be silent if the parade is moved from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv," he told IsraelNationalRadio's Tamar Yonah, "they do not understand our entire struggle. The Holy Land in its entirety must not be defiled; the basis for our continued presence in this land is that it remain pure." Rabbi Levin also said that the newly appointed mufti of Jerusalem, as well as other leading Moslem clerics, has shown great support for his cause.

The international gay event is scheduled to be a week-long affair, featuring visits all over Israel, including planting a tree in Pride Forest and a meeting with like-minded individuals in Kibbutz Tuval in the Galilee; Tzfat; the ancient synagogue at Katzrin; night-life in Tel Aviv; and more. In Jerusalem, the participants will be welcomed in a ceremony with members of the Jerusalem Open House, the hosts of World Pride. The internet site states the group will tour the Ol
d City, including King David's Tomb, the room of the Last Supper, the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter, and more.

First Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem in 2002


The organization has also scheduled a tour of the Knesset, which several MKs have asked to cancel. The event is billed on the World Pride internet site as "Bringing Order to the Knesset: National and International Summit Meeting for Youth." The promotional literature states, "Youth on the map! After this day, it will be impossible to ignore us. Everyone will understand and remember for a long, long time that the proud [Hebrew gaieh] youth has what to be proud of... Ages 15-25 - boys, girls, lesbian, homo, trans, bi, those who are hesitating, and friends - come to take part in this exciting youth day, a joint production of the Open House and the Israeli Gay Youth Organization, which will be held in the Knesset... Two-way transportation from all over the country... We will meet lots of pals from all over Israel and the world, and we'll sit together to work out important subject that are very relevant to our daily lives as students, soldiers... youth with ideals and values. After lunch, we will meet with elected representatives of all stripes, and we will present them with our 'I Believe' about the life of gaieh youth in Israel. And at the end of the day: 'Good Jerusalem Children' -- the greatest youth party in Israel..."

MK Otniel Shneller (Kadima), as well as several MKs from the National Union/National Religious Party, have asked Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to cancel the event. Shneller said he supports "teaching towards democracy and liberalism, but a visit like this will turn the legislature into Sodom and Gomorra." MK Eli Gabbai (NRP) told Arutz-7, "Our original plan was to try to legislate a law that would allow a municipality to ban a parade for various reasons. But then we realized that the Supreme Court might disallow such a law because of civil rights considerations. So we are now turning once again to the municipality and the police, because all three religions agree that this parade should not be held in Jerusalem, and it could easily become a danger to the public welfare, in this special city that is recognized as such by the whole world." By Hillel Fendel

 

Will the Guela (Redemption) be Be’tah (Catastrophic) or Ahishena (Quick and Miraculous)

 

Columbus Set Sail over the Ocean Blue on Tisha B’Av in 1492 – July 4, 2006

Mystical Paths - July 4th the Fast Day- - - - by Akiva  

On Purim, 1492 (CE), the Edict of Expulsion was issued to the Jews of Spain, set with an execution date of Tisha B'Av. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He left Spain on the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, briefly before the Edict was carried out. While there's current historical debate over whether Christopher Columbus should be credited with discovering the 'New World', he is certainly credited with opening access to the Americas.

 

Christopher Columbus – Left Spain 17th Tammuz - Arrived in America on Hoshana Rabba, 7th day of Succot (October 12, 1492)

 

Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas on October 12, 1492 (CE), Hoshana Rabba! While the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry came to a brutal horrific close, the scene was set for a future golden age via the financing of those who destroyed the previous. On July 4th, 1776, the fast of the 17th of Tammuz the United States declared Independence from Great Britian. As the joke goes, on the day of American independence, the Vilna Gaon was fasting. Hashgacha Pratit, Divine Providence, dates are not accidental. Yet, while there have been and are incidents of anti-semitism in America, comparatively speaking (and certainly in our time) the U.S. has been a wonderful haven for the Jewish people. What about the U.S. is worth fasting over? For this I have only 3 thoughts:

  1. Massive assimilation.
  2. Past and current indirect actions seriously hurting the Jewish people, always hidden, always behind the scenes.
  3. The future, Gog.

(Year 1492 dates adjusted to find Jewish dates per Gregorian calendar to Julian calendar conversion rules. Accuracy not guaranteed.

 

Suddenly or In Its Time – Will it be Redemption by Be’itah or Ahishena? – July 4, 2006

Yaak continues translating the Hashem1.Net geulah summary. Here's an interesting excerpt:

 

Redemption "Be'itah" or "Ahishena"

There are 2 types of redemption that could exist according to our sources: a redemption that is "Be'itah" - i.e. one that is set at a predetermined time. (Rabbi Ovadia Yosef holds that this is the Redemption with which we will be redeemed, even though he holds, on the other hand, that the generation is "זכאי" ["meritorious"]) and a redemption that is "Ahishena" - i.e. one that will come earlier than its set time.

 

The main differences between the 2 types of Redemption, besides the time that it will take place, is the amount of suffering the Jewish people and the whole world in general will endure until the Redemption takes place and the manner in which the Redemption occurs:*

 

 

 

The type of Redemption that we will receive is dependant on us and on our deeds. An "Ahishena" Redemption is dependant on repentance that the Jewish nation will do. The righteous among our generation say that it's not referring to [a repentance] of all of Israel - just the majority of it - everyone according to his ability. In this scenario - that repentance will work for Israel - then, the "Be'itah" process, which we are currently in the middle of, will stop suddenly, and the Redemption will come immediately. However, in the scenario that it will not occur, then the difficult "Be'itah" process will need to continue until it reaches its harsh ending, and only then will the Redemption take place, and not for all Jews, and definitely not for the whole world.-- The whole thing, here. By Rabbi Akiva

 

Colonel Shalit and the Gaza Kassam Confrontation

 

Hamas Scrambles to Rework Cabinet – July 4, 2006

Israel National News -One week after an Israeli security sweep netted eight Hamas cabinet ministers, Palestinian Authority prime minister Ismail Haniyeh is scrambling to fill the holes in his Hamas government. Israeli authorities picked up 64 Hamas government officials last week in an operation designed to further pressure the terrorists to return IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit. Hamas terrorists kidnapped the IDF soldier one week ago in a raid on an IDF outpost near the  Gaza border and are holding him hostage.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh with his Cabinet


All eight of the ministers picked up by Israeli security forces were located in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. The suddenly-vacated ministerial posts were not filled by new appointees, however. Haniyeh transferred the portfolios to existing ministers, all of whom are located in Gaza. The remaining cabinet members have essentially doubled their duties. They have gone into hiding and are not available by phone, fearing arrest or assassination by Israeli forces.

Haaretz reports that PA deputy prime minister Nasser Shaer hid for most of last week, and did not respond to phone calls. On Monday he was back at work in his Ramallah office, but continued to avoid the phone and refused requests for news interviews. The situation has made it difficult for the PA government to function, although one official said it was not unusual for ministers to be missing for long periods of time. Ziad Abu Ayin, responsible for prisoner affairs in the PA, told an interviewer, “The functioning of the government has been severely undermined, and it will take some time for us to learn to cope with this crisis.”

The Israel Air Force’s weekend strike on Haniyeh’s office did not make the situation any easier, Abu Ayin added: “The problem is expected to worsen now, in the wake of the strike on the prime minister’s office. Everyone will now be afraid to go to their offices, and ministerial and governmental decisions are required – even when it comes to the matter of repairing a bridge in Gaza.”The IAF destroyed three bridges in Gaza on the first day of “Operation Summer Rains,” the military operation to rescue Shalit and put an end to the Kassam rocket attacks on Sderot. By Hana Levi Julian

 

Ultimatum Expires; Kidnappers Say 'No More Information’- July 4, 2006

Lekarev Report - Palestinian groups involved in the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit said today that they will not kill the IDF corporal, despite the expiration of an ultimatum issued Monday. "Some think that the groups who conducted the operation (kidnapped Shalit) can kill him, but our Islamic principles stipulate that prisoners should be respected," said Abu al-Muthana, spokesman for the Islamic Army, small group involved in the operation.

 

The Islamic Army said earlier that no further information would be given on the captive's fate after Israel refused to meet a deadline on Tuesday to free prisoners."Discussion is closed," Said Abu al- Muthana. "Whether he will be killed or not killed, we will not disclose any information about the fate of the soldier."

 

There was no immediate comment from the other two groups that were involved in capturing Corporal Gilad Shalit on June 25, the Popular Resistance Committees and Hamas.

 

Eliyahu's Killers Surrender to IDF – July 4, 2006

Lekarev Report - Palestinian sources said early today that the three al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members suspected of kidnapping and murdering Israeli teen Eliyahu Asheri have given themselves up to IDF forces in Ramallah after a three-hour standoff. Palestinian sources told Ynet that several dozen soldiers, about 30 military jeeps, as well as tanks and bulldozers took part in the operation, which began about midnight. Sporadic exchanges of fire were reported at the scene, and IDF snipers took up positions on nearby rooftops. The Fatah members were trapped in the station after being arrested by Palestinian police.

 

The activists were arrested by Palestinian police a few days after Asheri's kidnapping due to suspicions that they were involved in the abduction. They escaped and were re-arrested again three days ago. The three who were apprehended are Bassam Artiya, 34, from the Omeri neighborhood near Ramallah; Hamsa Taktouk, 22; and Ayham Kamamji, 20 - both from Ramallah. Taktouk, according to the Shabak, attempted to carry out a suicide bombing in March 2006, and Artiya was responsible for the smuggling of weapons from Gaza to Judea and Samaria - in addition to their involvement in the kidnapping.

 

Kidnappers Issue Ultimatum; Limited IDF Offensive Begins – July 3, 2006

Israeli military vehicle drives along the border with the northern Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Measlim, Israel, Wednesday July 5, 2006. Israel's Security Cabinet approved Wednesday a deeper military incursion into the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired a rocket at a major Israeli city, an official at the meeting said. The Israeli army will take over parts of northern Gaza and create a 'security zone' in the area, a government official said Wednesday.Israel National News - An announcement issued by three terror organizations gives Israel until 6 AM Tuesday to release 1,000 terrorists, in addition to women and young terrorists - or else. The announcement was signed by the Hamas-affiliated Popular Resistance Committees, the Izaddin Al-Kassam Brigades, and the Islamic Army."If our demands are not met by 6 AM Tuesday," the declaration states, "we will view this stage of our operation as being over, and the Zionist enemy will be the one to bear the responsibility for the consequences." Israeli officials say they will study the announcement and then decide on their next steps. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has emphasized several times, including yesterday, that Israel will not negotiate with the kidnappers nor give in to their demands. Taking the offensive, he further said that "no one will be immune" to Israel's long arm.

Israeli military vehicle drives along the border with the northern Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Measlim, Israel, Wednesday July 5, 2006.


IDF forces entered northern Gaza in several places this morning, after having been deployed on the border since Wednesday night. The stated goal of the operation, which is still described as "limited," is to find underground tunnels and enemy-planted explosive devices. As of now, the forces - tanks, armed personnel carriers and bulldozers - are not going further than several hundred meters into Gaza. One bulldozer cleared away concrete barriers from one of the roads.

An analyst for Army Radio, which first broke the story at around 9:20 this morning, said that the ultimatum could be the terrorists' reaction to the news that Israel might be planning to take "weeks or months" in its attempts to obtain the release of the kidnapped soldier. "The terrorists don't have that much time," said commentator Shimrit Meir, "as food has to be brought in, and they fear that the Israelis are closing in on them, etc. That's why they want to close this and go to the next stage right away."

Knesset Member Ruby Rivlin (Likud) said, "We must not give in, and there must be no blackmail; blackmailers exist only where there are blackmailees."
MK Uri Ariel (National Union) said, "To give in now is a direct recipe for another kidnapping of another soldier."
Unsurprisingly, Arab MK Ahmed Tibi said, "I call for the immediate beginning of negotiations for the release of prisoners [held in Israeli jails]."

Eight days after Corp. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped in a military-style operation by Hamas Authority terrorists -
two soldiers were killed in the attack - there is still no concrete news as to his condition. The Arabic-language London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reports today that an Egyptian delegation visited Shalit, and that a PA doctor treated him. Similar recent reports of observers having seen the abducted soldier have turned out to be false. The Egyptians threaten to end their attempts to mediate a negotiated solution if Hamas does not respond to the latest proposals by tonight.

 

Israeli Mortar Land in Gaza Region

 

Overnight, Israel Air Force aircraft bombed a warehouse used to manufacture and store Kassams and other war materiel. The building serves as a jump-off base for Kassam launching cells. Three Palestinian Hamas terrorists were killed during the night, while trying to attack the IDF forces that have been in the southern Gaza Dahaniye airport area for several days. The Israelis noticed the three approaching them, and opened fire. One of them managed to return fire, while another one blew himself up with the explosive suicide vest he was wearing. The third terrorist was also found to be wearing an explosive suicide vest.

 

Construction Freeze in Yesha? Not in Beitar Illit – July 3, 2006

Israel National News - Over 500 housing units in the western Gush Etzion community are set to be filled in the coming weeks.  The Tamar neighborhood in the hareidi-religious city is set to absorb over 2,000 people in the coming weeks - and the city of Beitar Illit is doing all it can to make sure it happens smoothly. For the first time, reports

Figure 1

Ladaat.net, Mayor Yitzchak Pindrus has established a "Planning Team for Population Solutions." The objectives of this group are to coordinate all the various bodies in order to smoothly ease the new residents into their new apartments. Among the services to be ensured for the new residents are: a high-standard Sabbath eruv [incorporating and enclosing the public domain, in a Halakhic [Jewish-legal] manner, to enable the carrying of objects from one area to another]; preparations for temporary synagogues; early link-ups to phone, electric and water infrastructures; postal services; bus stops; and more. With over 27,000 residents, Beitar Illit is already the third-largest city in Judea and Samaria, following Maaleh Adumim and Modiin Illit.

In other housing news, a Geocartographic Institute survey shows that Jerusalem is the most popular city in the country among those looking to purchase apartments. In addition, the Jerusalem Municipality has released statistics showing that requests for building permits in the capital have increased 72% over the past three years. Mayor Uri Lupoliansky says he has set himself a goal of encouraging young couples to move to Jerusalem, and is working with many government offices to this end.

 

KIDNAPPERS ISSUE ULTIMATUM TO ISRAEL – July 3, 2006

Lekarev Report - The Palestinian terror groups that abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit have issued an ultimatum to Israel saying that Israel has until 6 a.m. Tuesday to meet their demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners and threatening unspecified consequences if it refuses.

 

In previous statements, the groups demanded that Israel, as a first stage, release Palestinian women and youths in its prisons in exchange for information (NOTICE: it's NOT in exchange for his release!!!) about Corporal Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by gunmen in a cross-border raid on June 25. The groups—Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees and the previously unknown Islamic Army—have also called on Israel to free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

 

Unless their demands were met, the factions said, "the enemy will bear full responsibility for future consequences". Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he would not bend to "extortionist" demands to release prisoners.

 

IDF ON THE MOVE – July 3, 2006

Lekarev Report -Israel Defense Forces tanks and armored bulldozers moved inside the northern Gaza Strip just after dawn today but a military source said the operation did not mark the start of a threatened large-scale incursion against Palestinian terrorists. "This is not a massive ground entrance. This is a pin-point operation to locate tunnels and explosives near the border fence," said the army source.

 

The Israel Air Force resumed strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip late Sunday night, hitting a building in Gaza City and a house in Beit Hanun, Palestinian witnesses and the military said. The IDF said the air strike in Gaza City targeted a building used by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. There was no immediate word of casualties. Hamas has an office in the same building, witnesses said.

 

 

PA TV: "Children's Heaven’ – July 3, 2006 

Lekarev Report - After a three year absence, Palestinian television re- aired a clip featuring Palestinian child Mohammed a- Dura, calling to other children to join him in a shaheed heaven for children. The dramatic heart- wrenching footage of a-Dura, shot dead in crossfire in a clash between Israeli and Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip in the beginning of the intifada in September 2000, was broadcast around the world. The clip, which caused much controversy when it first aired, was taken off the air in the fall of 2003, after Palestinian Media Watch director Itamar Marcus, presented the clip at a U.S. Senate hearing. Following the hearing, senators slammed the clip and criticized it as "horrifying abuse of children."

 

In the clip, a child portraying a-Dura is peacefully playing in heaven, and calls to other children, "follow me." The popular singer Aida performs the song in the clip, which describes how the earth longs for the deaths of children, saying, "How pleasant is the smell of the earth whose thirst is quenched by blood pouring out of young bodies." Another clip that aired this week after a long absence depicts a young girl witnessing her mother's murder and then singing about how she misses her mother. She sings, "If you can't come to me, I can come to you."

 

Palestinian Media Watch reported that the 2000- 2003 Palestinian television campaign to recruit young children was so effective, that 70 to 80 percent of Palestinian children during that time wanted to die as shaheeds, according to three separate polls.

 

IDF Air Strike Hits Hamas Prime Minister´s Office – July 2, 2006

Israel National News - The Israel Air Force fired two missiles at the office of Hamas Authority prime minister Ismail Haniyeh late Saturday night. Haniyeh’s Gaza City offices went up in flames after an IAF helicopter attacked the building, which was empty at the time. “They have targeted a symbol for the Palestinian people,” said Haniyeh as he gazed at the smoking ruins. The PA security militia created by Hamas was also struck, as well as another building used and occupied by armed terrorists. IAF fire killed one terrorist and injured a second. A car carrying four Islamic Jihad operatives in Gaza City was also targeted, but the four terrorists escaped the vehicle, which was not directly hit by the missile. Arab sources reported two bystanders wounded by the explosion.

IDF troops continued artillery fire at targets in both northern and southern
Gaza over the weekend. Some 350 shells were fired at Kassam launch sites in northern Gaza overnight Friday. Troops moved into the northern town of Abasan on Saturday afternoon. IAF air strikes hit seven main roads in central Gaza, for two reasons: to further hamper the movement of Shalit’s abductors, and to disrupt the ability of terrorists to supply and launch Kassam rockets from northern Gaza.

Israeli Tanks sets Eyes on Gaza City


Shelling in the south in particular was aimed at preventing terrorists from transporting kidnapped hostage 19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was captured by terrorists during a raid on an IDF outpost a week ago. Despite media reports that Shalit is alive and in good condition, Israel has not received any evidence that this is so. Shalit was reportedly treated for three wounds, including a shoulder injury and a stomach wound.  PA deputy minister of prisoner affairs Ziad Abu Zen told reporters at a news conference in Ramallah on Saturday that Shalit “has three wounds… I guess shrapnel wounds.” Abu Zen refused to provide further details.By Hana Levi Julian

1976-2006 – Thirty Years since the Israeli Entebbe Rescue in Uganda


Mossad took photos, Entebbe Operation was on its way – July 1, 2006

Even after 30 years, Muki Betser and Alik Ron haven’t forgotten even a single detail. Talking to Ynet, two former Matkal elite commando unit fighters, who took part in operation that became a legend, recount the chain of events of the summer of 1976
Sharon Roffe-Ofir

 

Saturday afternoon, July 1976: A few hours remain before one of the most dangerous and complex operations ever performed by the Matkal commando unit. The fighters, following endless briefings, are huddled at the Air Force base next to Lod, ready for take off. But the commander of the assault force, Muki Betser, is missing one piece of the intelligence puzzle. He knows that the success of the operation in Entebbe lies in getting an up-to-date aerial photo of the airport terminal in Uganda. But the photos he holds in his hand are five years old. The risk of encountering surprises on the ground, 1,400 kilometers from Israel, is ever present. Only now, 30 years after the operation, Betser reveals for the first time in an interview with Ynet, the details of an aerial photo shoot that preceded the Entebbe Operation. The job in this case was done by the Mossad operatives. “On our team, there was a Mossad official called Shlomo Gal,” says Betser. “I asked him: Shlomo, can you get a plane over there to take some photos? And he tells me – yes.”

 

The defense establishment was getting ready to carry out an “operation inside an operation”. Betser recounts: “We took a Mossad operative, a pilot, whose job was to carry out different photo shoots for them in all kinds of places. He flew from London to Nairobi in Kenya. At Nairobi, he rented a light airplane, flew to Entebbe – and then informed the control tower he had a technical malfunction and had to perform some aerial roundabouts in the air.”  The Ugandans did not suspect a thing, despite the hijack drama that was unfolding at the airport. “The Mossad operative made a couple of rounds and photographed the old terminal. Afterwards he told the control tower that he could not land, went back to Nairobi and sent the photos to Israel,” says Betser. Eventually, the photos arrived at the last minute, on Saturday afternoon, only a few hours before the Matkal fighters were on their way.

 

The 30 years that have passed since the Entebbe Operation did not blur the memories. Muki Betser, the commander of the assault team and one of the operation planners, and Alik Ron, who was a reserve officer at the unit and took part in the operation, remember to this day every minute from the moment the plane hijack was announced until the moment they landed back in Israel with the passengers – but without their friend, the commander of the elite unit, Yoni Netanyahu. They say today that they do not view the Entebbe Operation as a mark of exceptional bravery and they do not like the myth that has become associated with it. For them, it is an operation that exemplifies the essence of Zionism.

 

And then, a young officer barged into the room

 Sunday, June 27, 1976. Major Muki Betser, reserve commander of Matkal commando unit is on call as duty commander. Four commanders in the unit were qualified for the position, including Betser and Yoni Netanyahu. The essence of the role is to command an expeditionary force in case of terrorist attacks and negotiations. Alik Ron, then a captain, serves as a reserve platoon commander in the unit and is called to take part in the exercise. It is quiet that morning. Betser arrives, verifies that the expeditionary force is properly briefed and drives to a staff meeting at the government campus in Tel Aviv. At 1:00 p.m., the door opens suddenly. A young officer barges into the conference room and informs Betser that a plane with Israeli passengers has been hijacked. “The team is sent immediately to Ben-Gurion airport and I race there from the Kirya,” says Betser. “In effect, we start preparing for the possibility that the plane will land at the airport – and we will perform a takeover. Ironically enough, just a month earlier we had conducted a similar exercise.”

 

Intelligence starts to flow in, but the big picture is still not clear. The fog clears up only after information is received that one of the passengers, an Israeli called Patricia with a British passport, was released after she wounded herself in the groin and made up a story about being in the initial months of a pregnancy. “We send men from the Mossad to London,” says Betser. “They meet her, and the scene she describes is such: The plane made an interim landing in Athens, which was not planned. It is an Air France plane, an Airbus, with 220 or so passengers, half of them are Jewish and Israeli. In Greece, about 30 passengers disembark, and 50 others get on board, including the four terrorists. Minutes after the plane takes off, just when the direction that safety belts can be unbuckled is given, the four terrorists burst to the passageways. Two run towards the cockpit and two head towards the passengers, while threatening with grenades, pistols and a machine gun. They hijack the plane and change its call name on the radio to “Haifa One.”

 

The State of Israel undergoes almost two full days of stress. And then Betser gets a phone call from someone he knows well: Ehud Barak, then Colonel and assistant to the head of intelligence for research and special operations. Barak, who commanded the elite unit three years prior, calls Betser to come in urgently. “A planning team is being formed to consider what to do with the plane that landed in Entebbe, at the international airport of Uganda. Ehud knew that I stayed four months in Uganda. At the beginning of the discussion he asks me: What is the quality level of the Ugandan soldiers? I reply: If I would have stayed longer than four months, they would have been much better.” The participants burst in laughter, and the planning begins. Betser, who had trained the Ugandans as part of an IDF mission, reveals to those present that the airport was built by the Israeli construction company “Solel Boneh,” and the blueprints are in Israel. On that same night, the Entebbe intelligence file starts to take shape, in deep secrecy. Besides the eight people that take part in the planning, no one else is made aware of the operation. The file is classified at the highest level.

 

Choosing the operation plan

Out of the ideas that are raised by the team members, operation plans are being formulated. At the same time, a diplomatic effort is underway to release the passengers. The kidnappers transfer a list of prisoners imprisoned in Israel, which they demand to be released. The former head of the military mission to Uganda, Baruch (Burka) Bar Lev, who up until the expulsion of the Israeli mission from Uganda was best friends with the ruler Idi Amin, talks to him and “assures” that should he lead to the release of the passengers, he will win a Nobel prize. Amin, on his behalf, calms him down, and claims that he is guarding the hostages, and as long as Israel negotiates through him everything will be alright.

 

Based on the intelligence and the conversation Bar Lev holds with Amin, plans are taking shape:

Plan number one proposed to get to Entebbe in an Air Force Boeing airplane, in which soldiers will be disguised as terrorists released from the Israeli jail. The plane will take off to Entebbe, following the “success” of the diplomatic negotiations. At the airport the soldiers will rush from the airplane, take over the terminal and free the hostages.

 

Plan number two proposed parachuting boats to the immense Lake Victoria. From there a force of Israeli Navy Seals, supported by a small Matkal commando team, will sail to the beach. The distance from the beach to the outskirts of the airport is only one kilometer. After the arrival, the force would infiltrate the terminal, hit the terrorists and free the hostages.

 

According to the third plan, the force would fly to Nairobi in Kenya, and from there sail in a yacht (rented ahead of time by Mossad agents) in Lake Victoria. The beach landing by the airport would take place at night.

 

The fourth plan, which at first seemed the least practical, proposed to transport a large force in four airplanes. An initial team would reach the terminal in a Mercedes escorted by two Landrovers. The soldiers would drive to the terminal, confuse and surprise the terrorists and free the hostages.

 

Betser tells how the final plan was chosen: “The hijackers made a grave mistake – and separated the Israelis and the gentiles that were released. Among the hostages that were released there was also a Jewish French officer, with a phenomenal memory, who provided us with the complete picture. We showed him the blueprints of the airport, and from him we learned where the hostages were being kept, how many terrorists were on the ground, if they were worried by the prospects of a military operation, and what was the ratio between them and the Ugandans. We realized that they were not concerned at all by a military operation, since negotiations were underway by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Yigal Alon. We understood from him that the terrorists were relaxed and confident in their success. We learned that everything was planned in advance and Idi Amin was kept informed. The general picture made it clear that we had to get there in full force – and full force means the fourth plan.”

 

The planning of the operation is assigned to Chief of operations, Colonel Shai Tamari. Betser plans the terminal takeover, where 32 fighters are supposed to participate. This is the Achilles’ Heal of the operation. One should note that only two years had passed since the Matkal commando unit's failed operation to release hostages in Maalot, in which 22 students were killed and 60 wounded. Betser verifies time and again that this time everything will work according to the plan, and that the element of surprise will not slip away. He knows that the Ugandans are accustomed to senior officials driving in Mercedes cars, so he estimates that the fighters will not arouse any suspicion at first. As an added precautionary, the pilot selected to flying the Hercules plane with the first group of fighters is Amnon Halibai, an El Al captain and a former Air Force pilot that has landed dozens of times in Entebbe and knows the airport well. The plans are sent for the necessary approval. Chief of Staff Major General Mota Gur raises doubts about the operation’s chances of success.

 

That entire week, the commander of the Matkal unit, Yoni Netanyahu, is in the Sinai, commanding an extensive operational exercise at Um Hashiba. Throughout the week, Betser keeps Yoni briefed on the developments. “There was a division of duties between us,” he says. “Although he was the commander of the unit, I was still the senior officer in the unit as far as age and experience – so he was not concerned despite what was going on, and remained in the Sinai.” In hindsight, Betser and Alik Ron, who served as captain platoon commander and reserve officer in the unit, claim that the fact that Netanyahu did not take part in the planning led to the mistake that eventually ended in his death in Entebbe.

 

Message from BibleSearchers

 

BibleSearchers scans the world for information that has relevance on the time of the end.  It is our prayer that this will allow the believers in the Almighty One of Israel to “watch and be ready”.  Our readiness has nothing to do trying to halt the progression of evil on our planet earth.  In our readiness, we seek to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah of Israel so that goodness and evil will be manifested in its fullest.  Our preparation is a pathway of spiritual readiness for a world of peace.  Our defender is the Lord of hosts. The time of the end suggests that the Eternal One of Israel’s intent is to close out this chapter of earth’s history so that the perpetrators of evil, those that seek power, greed and control, will be eliminated from this planet earth.  The wars of the heavens are being played out on this planet earth and humans will live through it to testify of the might, power, justice and the love of the God of Israel.  In a world of corruption and disinformation, we cannot always know what the historical truth is and who is promoting evil or mis-information.  We cannot guarantee our sources but we will always seek to portray trends that can be validated in the Torah and the testimony of the prophets of the Old and the New Testament.

 

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