34th Year of Publication

November 2004—Issue #172 PUBLISHED BY AMERICANS FOR A SAFE ISRAEL

his books are landmarks in their own way. Days of Fire remains the best book about the . Battle- AFSI Honors Shmuel Katz ground is the best single history of the Arab-Israel Herbert Zweibon conflict over Palestine. Less well known but equally trenchant, The Hollow Peace is a devastating account Shmuel Katz, who celebrates his 90th birthday in of how Begin, beginning with his unaccountable deci- December, was the inspiration for the establishment of sion to install Labor leader Moshe Dayan (whose fail- Americans for a Safe Israel thirty-three years ago. ures in 1973 had discredited him with the Israeli pub- Underground leader, member of the first Knes- lic) as his Foreign Minister, squandered the opportu- set, publisher, historian, biographer, essayist, Shmuel nity to implement Jabotinsky's vision. Lone Wolf is the Katz is above all the most trenchant political thinker definitive biography of Jabotinsky. modern Israel has produced. His career But above all Shmuel Katz is a has also been marked by a selfless politi- prophet in his own time. When Katz was cal integrity. Indifferent to person advan- only 22, Jabotinsky said of his articles: "I tage, Katz has sought only the good of must very earnestly congratulate you on Israel and the Jewish people. the perfect clarity, the forcible simplicity, In 1936, at the age of 22, Katz the sachlichkeit [matter of fact, to the came to Palestine from South Africa, and point] with which you present the most retains to this day the accent of his native complicated situations." To this day, Katz land. A disciple (as he would remain in his essays has continued to lay out, with throughout his life) of Zionist leader Ze'ev that same perfect clarity, the situation con- Jabotinsky, at his request Katz went to fronting Israel, the consequences of the London in 1940 to start and edit a Zionist actions her leaders take, and the alterna- weekly. After the war he returned to Palestine where tive path that should be taken. Katz saw the opportu- he rejoined the underground Irgun Zvai Leumi, becom- nities her victory in the Six Day War opened for Israel. ing a member of its high command under Menachem He became a leader of the Land of Israel Movement Begin. With Israel's independence, Katz became a which recognized that Israel could be a geopolitical member for Begin's Party, but left after factor in the region, with the historic heartland of a single term, unhappy with Begin's failure, as he saw Judea and Samaria restored to the Jewish people, it, to reach out beyond his narrow constituency. Katz strategic depth and oil from the Sinai, the high ground abandoned party politics to run a publishing house for on the Golan Heights a deterrent to Syria. many years. Like prophets generally, Katz has been ignored, In 1977 when Begin finally upset the Labor sidelined, heard by many, hearkened to by few. His- Party's long monopoly on power, Katz returned briefly tory will pay tribute to his prescience. We, his disci- to public life, initially as Begin's personal representa- ples in Americans for a Safe Israel, are proud to pay tive to the United States. When Begin disavowed his tribute to him now. commitment to put Katz in charge of Israeli information abroad (Katz had seized on the opportunity to trans- form Israel's miserable efforts in this area) and threw In This Issue aside his ideological principles to achieve a paper Something is Rotten in the State of Europe: peace with Anwar Sadat, Katz resigned. To the aston- An Interview with Robert Wistrich ...3 ishment of Begin, who tried to buy him off with an offer Le Chambon by Pierre Sauvage ...5 he was convinced could not be refused -- the high A Proud Israeli Bedouin by Ishmael Khaldi ...7 prestige post of UN ambassador -- Katz refused. Déjà vu in Spades by N. Berdichevsky ...8 Katz is best known as a writer and almost all The Hebron Market by E. Haetzni ..10

From the Editor Monitoring Anti-Semitism President Bush has signed into law the Global Presbyterians for Terror Anti-Semitism Awareness Act which requires the State Fresh from their General Assembly’s calling for Department annually to rate countries on their treat- divestment from Israel, a delegation of 24 leaders of ment of Jews. Introduced by Democrat Tom Lantos, the U.S. Presbyterian Church met with Hezbollah the only Holocaust survivor in the U.S. Congress, the leaders in Lebanon (the meeting was broadcast Oct. bill was supported by more than 100 prominent Ameri- 17 on Al Manar, Hezbollah's television network). Pres- cans, including former Republican Vice-Presidential byterian elder Ronald Stone, who identified himself as nominee Jack Kemp and former UN Ambassador representing the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Jeane Kirkpatrick, who wrote in a letter to the State Pittsburgh, declared: "As an elder of our church, I'd Department: "The fight against anti-Semitism deserves like to say that according to my recent experience, specific, focused attention." The State Department relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a had objected that the legislation was unnecessary lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish lead- since the department already compiles annual reports ers." He went on to praise Hezbollah: "We treasure the on human rights and religious freedom. Given that precious words of Hezbollah and your expression of this is the first year the State Department has so much goodwill toward the American people." as noticed that there is a problem with religious free- Since the "precious words of Hezbollah" consist dom in Saudi Arabia, this objection is laughable. of non-stop anti-Semitic and anti-U.S. incitement, one Under terms of the law, the State Department is can only wonder at the moral miasma into which some not only to document physical violence against Jews of our mainline religious denominations have sunk. but anti-Jewish propaganda. The State Department can start with a nakedly anti-Semitic film broadcast in October on both French and German television by the Poisoning the Medical Well Franco-German (taxpayer funded) channel Arte. Ar- HonestReporting.com notes that the demoniza- mand Laferrere, a Protestant former adviser to the tion of Israel is seeping into mainstream medical jour- French Interior Ministry, wrote a blistering report on nals. In its Oct. 16 issue, The British Medical Journal, the film: "After watching the whole abomination, I described by the Financial Times as "one of the wrote to Mr. Clement [the TV executive who broadcast world's top four general medical journals," ran an arti- it] to tell him that, had Hitler won the war, the French cle "Palestine: The Assault on Health and Other War would have enjoyed exactly the kind of television that Crimes" which likens the Israel Defense Forces to the he had provided us....I apologize to the Jewish people. 9/11 terror hijackers. There is not a hint that Palestin- I feel hurt in my flesh by the despicable Jerome Clem- ian Arab terror and corruption have contributed to the ent, by the French ministries of Culture and of Foreign parlous condition of the health system in the PA- Affairs who made me pay for this cloaca of a movie, controlled areas. and for the general apathy that surrounded this scan- Also, the June 2004 issue of Diabetes Voice, a dal. I am deeply sorry about the behaviour of my publication of the International Diabetes Federation, country, France -- my only country, which I have al- ran a vicious anti-Israel screed that had little or noth- ways loved dearly and cannot support today." ing to do with diabetes. Meanwhile, at Duke... The New WMD The State Department, alas, need go no farther London-based Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al- than some of our elite campuses to document vicious Masri urges Muslim women to become weapons of anti-Jewish propaganda. Duke University played host mass destruction by breeding children to become sui- in October to a conference of the Palestine Solidarity cide bombers. In his new book Terror Tracker, British (continued on page 12) investigative journalist Neil Doyle, who penetrated the Finsbury mosque, reports on the dozens of recordings he obtained and turned over to the British authorities Outpost (who have finally arrested the cleric). In one lecture Editor: Rael Jean Isaac Abu Hamza praised a suicide-bomber mother who had Editorial Board: Herbert Zweibon, Ruth King made a video with her son prior to his blowing himself (and Israeli civilians) up and in it urges other mothers Outpost is distributed free to to follow her example in urging their sons to be suicide Members of Americans For a Safe Israel bombers. Said Abu Hamza to his flock: "These are the Annual membership: $50. women of mass destruction to the kuffar [unbelievers]....This kind of woman, when they miss Americans For a Safe Israel their killed children...become more happy...they want 1623 Third Ave. (at 92nd St.) - Suite 205 to sacrifice even more.” New York, NY 10128 tel (212) 828-2424 / fax (212) 828-1717 Outpost 2 November 2004

Something is Rotten in the State of Europe Excerpts from an interview with Robert Wistrich by Manfred Gerstenfeld

Robert Wistrich: "The media, politicians, and society in general "The growth of the European Union and the systematically castigate, reproach, heavily criticize, extension of a democratic consensus based on anti- and even demonize Israel. They paint a negative and fascism and antiracism should have created the best stereotypical picture of the Jewish state, especially on of all possible worlds for Jews….What more could television and in the press. So, too, in academic insti- Jews have asked for than a fully democratic tutions, the churches, the trade unions, and among the Europe?— especially those Jews interested in inte- so-called chattering classes. All these sectors transmit grating into a peaceful, prosperous, and cosmopolitan anti-Israeli hostility on a daily basis. civilization with special concern for its minorities.... "There is an obstinate and willful European "The reality in the first four years of the new refusal to put the Israeli responses to acts of terrorism millennium, however, turned out to be much more in proper context. If these attacks occurred systemati- complex. Anti-Semitism, under the cally in Europe, they would produce far mask of anti- and in its own more draconian responses as a result right, resurfaced with a vengeance in Anti-Semitism, of public pressure. But at the present a supranational, multicultural, plural- under the mask of time, Europe has barely had a glimpse istic, antiracist Europe. There is a of the kind of merciless terror against general consensus among research- anti-Zionism and innocent civilians that Israel has had to ers that not since 1945 has there in its own right, face for years. Madrid was the excep- been such a level of concern, anxiety, tion and it produced a knee-jerk reac- even depression among Europe's resurfaced with a tion of appeasing the terrorists. But Jews and communities as we witness that would not work in the long run. For today. The dream-Europe of the new vengeance in a now, Europe prefers to single out Is- millennium is already beginning to supranational, rael, to pretend that if only the Israeli- look like a fading mirage.... Palestinian conflict was resolved on "Today we see that the Jews' multicultural, plu- Arab terms, terror would fade away…. situation in many European countries ralistic, anti- "This is not merely double has worsened. In France this has standards, hypocrisy, or blindness to happened despite the legal appara- racist Europe. the real problems that face Europe in tus, and more recently the govern- terms of its own declining population ment's publicly stated 'zero tolerance' and creeping weakness. It is a deep for anti-Semitic acts and its readiness to crack down pathology - a suicidal syndrome. on them. The authorities no longer deny the reality of "Part of the intense European hostility toward anti-Semitism as they did two years ago. The first six Israel is related to the EU's difficult relationship with months of 2004 show the situation has worsened sub- the U.S. in recent years. The antagonism has become stantially compared to 2003. Three-quarters of all rac- increasingly clear since the beginning of the second ist acts in France are, in fact, directed against Jews. intifada, followed by 9/11 and, above all, the war in "Thus even when state officials become more Iraq. determined to be proactive in the fight against anti- Semitism, the results on the ground are questionable. here is a growing gulf between Europe and In France the anti-Semitic demon is out of the bottle. It "T escaped some time ago, and the government cannot America on major issues of international policy. Israel put it back again. Something similar is happening in is very much at its center as an important bone of con- Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden, tention between the two major constituents of the and even in Britain the mood is ugly.... West. Europe has been making a geopolitical strategic choice that its undeclared alliance with the Arab world necessitates an anti-American, pro-Palestinian, anti- "Anti-Semitism is a primary symptom of so- Israeli position. This is accompanied by a general ten- cial pathology. Every society that becomes seriously dency, domestically, to favor Muslim over Jewish com- infected by it is receiving a wakeup call about its so- munities wherever electoral and political considera- cial, cultural, and political health. tions are involved. The different American position is "However, one of the problems is that in to- viewed as an obstacle to Europe's ambitions and day's Europe there is no agreement, neither among plans as a would-be Great Power. American support the political elites, the media, or the academy about for Israel, deplored by so many Europeans, is often what constitutes anti-Semitism. This makes it much blamed on Zionist machinations. harder, even for well-intentioned people, to come to "This leads to anti-Semitic claims that the Zi- grips with its root causes. onist/Jewish lobby has a fatal grip over American for-

November 2004 3 Outpost

eign policy that precludes a common Western position. problematic, as if Europeans had to renounce their In Europe, a softer version of the Muslim-Arab conspir- own core identity out of some misplaced idea of politi- acy theory that the Jews control America—also an old cal correctness.... Nazi slogan—is now widespread. "In the West, educated Arabs who live with all "European policy toward the Arab world is de the accoutrements of freedom of expression are reluc- facto appeasement. In some respects it reminds one tant to call into question the flawed assumptions about of the 1930s. European Jews find themselves again Israel. They will privately acknowledge the grave faults caught in a very sensitive and potentially dangerous of Arab regimes, for instance, the lack of freedom and situation. If they support Israel in this constellation of democracy. But greater fairness and objectivity about European appeasement of the Arab world--and Mus- Israel is lacking even among more sophisticated Arab lims in general—they are increasingly treated as and Muslim intellectuals in the West. There is a dead- 'warmongers' going against the political consensus. ening conformity and lack of courage to break with the These are not only far-Left and far-Right accusations majority when it comes to Zionism and Israel. but also mainstream ones. They revive the old, seem- "The main sources of Islamist anti-Semitism in ingly unresolved question mark about Germany are different from those in the 'dual loyalties' of Jews. France. The majority of the Muslims in "Some of the more articulate [In Germany] We the Federal Republic are from Turkey. European Jewish intellectuals and have seen a sharp One Turkish fundamentalist organiza- journalists, who care about Israel, tion, Mili Gürüs, is, however, becoming openly refer to a sense of isolation shift in the last increasingly infected by anti- that they did not feel five years ago. It Westernism, fundamentalism, and is transparently evident in many public four years, to- anti-Semitism. Since far-Right radical- debates that if one takes a position ward the proposi- ism in Germany is still quite a signifi- even mildly supportive of Israel's right cant factor, the balance of anti- to exist as an independent state, one tion that the Ger- Semitism is different…. is seen—even by some mainstream mans themselves "A new German nationalism European media—as morally beyond and national consciousness have been the pale. That is a rather shocking were the victims emerging since reunification. This development.... seems to involve playing down the "In most European countries, of World War II. concept of Germans as major perpe- serious discussion of Islamic Judeo- trators of genocide, and pushing away phobia is rare and risks the instant the constant reminder that Jews were countercharge of 'Islamophobia.' All researchers know prime victims of the Germans. We have seen a sharp that in several West European countries, young radi- shift in the last four years toward the proposition that calized Muslims are the major perpetrators of anti- the Germans themselves were the victims of World Semitic acts. This is the case not only in France but War II. I believe that this concept has a great future also in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, and in- before it. Its long-term implications extend far beyond creasingly in Great Britain. In the UK there is open and the Jews. All of Europe should ponder this shift. often violently expressed anti-Semitism in parts of the Asian-Muslim community—mainly among those from ne serious problem for Jews and Israelis Pakistan….Muslim anger creates a climate of hostile "O anti-Israel opinion that is backed by the very influential is that part of the slowly gestating European identity is liberal mainstream and left-wing media. There is, being forged against the United States. This is accom- moreover, much sympathy for the Palestinians who panied by defamation of Israel, which is a convenient are presented as the ’absolute victims’ of Israeli injus- and relatively easy target for unanimous condemna- tice. Irrespective of the facts, the liberal mainstream's tion. It is also a cheap and cowardly way of gaining response to events in the Middle East will be in accor- favor in the Arab world, which Europe sees, economi- dance with that a priori determination. cally and politically, as a major strategic partner for the future. Such a Euroarabian identity is dangerous for the Jewish people. Here I agree with Bat Ye'or's argu- "Europeans are not entirely blind to the dan- ment that Europe has been engaged in a self-inflicted gers emanating from the radical Muslim world—for capitulation to Islamist demands in the name of a mis- example, Iran's feverish program for nuclear arma- conceived multiculturalism. ment. After a lot of prompting and pressure, they have "All this reflects the denial by Europe of the outlawed some terrorist organizations. They do crack core values of its own civilization. Despite the prob- down on terror cells linked to Al-Qaeda. There are lim- lematic nature of the term, these are 'Judeo-Christian' its to the convergence between Europe and the Arab values, based on the Ten Commandments, a Cove- world. Europe, however, still believes that a forceful nantal concept of democracy, the rule of law, human policy toward Islamic radicalism is mistaken. Even the equality, and the central importance of freedom. These reassertion of its own cultural values has become values, rooted in biblical morality, are being drowned November 2004 4 Outpost

in a morass of relativism, nihilistic trendiness, and self- metro, and in schools. Jews in Europe now face an abasing masochism when faced by Islamist totalitari- unprecedented level of personal and communal inse- anism…. curity. That represents an ugly stain on Europe's re- "Europe prides itself on having learned the cord only sixty years after the greatest crime in human lessons of fascism, Nazism, the Holocaust, totalitarian history was perpetrated on its soil by millions of willing Communism, and white-settler colonialism, which Europeans." were all products of its civilization. It also claims to have overcome the anti-Semitic virus, but unfortu- Robert S. Wistrich is professor of Modern European nately, this is not true. That ancient plague has come and Jewish History at the Hebrew University. Manfred back to haunt all of us. Gerstenfeld will be publishing an extended version of "In today's Europe a Jew wearing any visible this interview in a forthcoming book. A longer version manifestation of his Jewish identity such as a caftan, a of the above interview was published by the skullcap, or even a Star of David becomes a potential Center for Public Affairs. target for vilification or aggression in the street, in the

in Le Chambon dedicated to the area’s conspiracy of France and Anti-Semitism: Le goodness. I was thus gratified by a French president’s Chambon’s Challenge Today belated tribute to Le Chambon. But I was also dis- Pierre Sauvage turbed by it: it now seems like the challenge of Le Chambon’s history to France risks being buried under As the Holocaust loomed, a few Jews made praise instead of neglect. their way to the area of Le Chambon- sur-Lignon in the mountains of south- The road toward public recog- central France, 350 miles south of In this one nition has been a long one. It took more Paris. And the peasants and villagers speck of France than thirty years for a handful of former took in the Jews who came. And the refugees from the area to place a Jews kept coming. And the people kept that never plaque, opposite the village’s Protestant taking them in. In this one speck of ceased to be temple, proclaiming that “the memory of France that never ceased to be free, the righteous shall be everlasting.” It 5,000 Jews found shelter, at one time free, 5,000 Jews was in 1979 that the late American phi- or another—among 5,000 Christians. found shelter, at losophy professor Philip Hallie pub- It was thus in Le Chambon that lished his pioneering study of Le Cham- French president Jacques Chirac one time or an- bon, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed. It chose recently to deliver a major ad- was in 1982 that I myself returned to Le dress calling upon the French to react other—among Chambon to gather the last testimony of against the rising anti-Semitism and 5,000 Chris- the village’s "righteous" in what became intolerance in their country. His starting in 1989 my feature documentary film point was this “place steeped in history tians . Weapons of the Spirit, first broadcast and emotion.” on PBS in 1990 but aired on French "Here," Chirac said, "in adver- television only in 1998—in the middle of sity, the soul of the nation manifested itself. Here was the night. the embodiment of our country's conscience. Le Indeed, less than a month prior to Chirac’s Chambon-sur-Lignon is a place of memory. A place of visit, without evoking much national interest in France, resistance. A place symbolizing a France true to her there were a hundred of us former refugees who re- principles, faithful to her heritage, true to her genius. sponded to the joint invitation of the Chambon Foun- "On this high plateau, with its harsh winters, in dation and the mayor of the village to make a pilgrim- solitude, sometimes in poverty, often in adversity, age for a sometimes emotional “Liberation Reunion.” women and men have long upheld the values that The event also included a well-attended conference unite us. In what was one of the most deprived areas featuring major participants from those times and lead- of our country, standing up to all the dangers, they ing historians of the war years in France. I had sought chose courage, generosity and dignity. They chose a videotaped message of greeting from President tolerance, solidarity and fraternity. They chose the hu- Chirac, but he decided instead to come in person manist principles that unite our national community shortly after our gathering. and serve as the basis of our collective destiny—the The area of Le Chambon was an old Hugue- principles that make France what she is.” not stronghold in historically Catholic (and now largely I am a Jew born and sheltered in Le Chambon secular) France. Once, Protestant temples had been during the Nazi occupation. As the president of the destroyed, the people's rights abolished, men de- Los Angeles-based Chambon Foundation, I have long ported to slave on galleys, women interned in towers been seeking French support to establish a museum where they scraped messages for future generations:

Outpost 5 November 2004

“Resist.” Once, itinerant preachers had risked their regard to the risks they had taken in sheltering Jews, lives reading psalms from the Old Testament and Madame Héritier would provide only a short, definitive identifying with the biblical jour- response coupled with an elo- ney to the Promised Land. quent shrug of her shoulder: “We During World War II, the were used to it.” Georgette Bar- collaborationist Vichy govern- raud had mainly this to say: “It ment willingly joined in Nazi happened so naturally. We can’t policies, ultimately contributing understand the fuss.” to the Final Solution more than As I recounted to Bill 75,000 Jews, including 10,000 Moyers in an interview that fol- children. For the people of Le lowed the broadcasts of Weap- Chambon, nothing that occurred ons of the Spirit on PBS, I was then seemed had seemed en- once visiting Le Chambon with tirely unfamiliar; in every chal- an American cousin when we lenge there had been an echo ran into Marie Brottes, who for of their forefathers' struggle and her part had helped the Jews in faith in the face of religious intol- large measure because they erance. were “the people of God.” Barely after being intro- In France today, it is “humanist principles” and duced, the two women hugged each other like sisters “the values of the Republic” that are nearly sanctified. meeting after years of separation. My cousin later ex- Communautarisme—which roughly translates as eth- plained why the tears had come to her eyes: “It was nocentrism—is widely viewed as challenging the very like hugging a tree.” essence of French national identity. French officials What gave these people such solidity? What focus on upholding the militant French-style secular- was it specifically that these peasants were so used ism known as laïcité, responding to the Islamic threat to? And how could their actions have seemed so natu- by banning conspicuous religious symbols in French ral to them when the area of Le Chambon is one of public schools. only two communities in all of Nazi-occupied Europe In his speech in Le Chambon, Chirac made no to have been honored collectively as Righteous reference to the Hebrew Bible or to the New Testa- Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, the Israeli memo- ment, to faith or the power of religious convictions. He rial to the Holocaust? touched only lightly on the “Protestant Mountain’s” Given the very purpose of Chirac’s call to once determined particularism. He urged his compatri- arms against intolerance, why wasn’t it imperative to ots “always to carry [their national] heritage with begin acknowledging—especially in Le Chambon—the pride.” But had the people of Le Chambon not been good that can be derived too from religious faith and motivated to resist the Holocaust by more than mere identity? Couldn’t a better understanding of religion’s Frenchness? successes help in confronting its excesses? As para- If this issue matters to me, it’s in part because doxical as it may seem to some, might there not be I was raised without any “narrow” sense of community. buried in Europe’s Christian roots a needed antidote to My parents, ardent secularists, went so far as to hide contemporary antisemitism? If we are to become like from me until I was 18 that they were Jewish—that I trees ourselves, do we not need roots? Even if we are was Jewish. Instead, although my mother was in real- no longer religious, is it not a source of strength to ity a Polish Jew and my father had been born of immi- identify and accept what remains in us of our ances- grant Jews, they successfully transmitted to me their tors? love of French culture and, for a long time, their deeply It may be understandable that on the eve of anti-communautariste and vigorously anti-religious Bastille Day, Chirac chose to end his address in Le sentiments. Chambon by recalling that France has inscribed on Everything changed when I returned to Le the front of her public edifices the historic call to Lib- Chambon in 1982 with a film crew to gather the last erty, Equality, Fraternity. But it was not the motto of testimony of the village’s righteous in what became my the Republic that the President could read on the Prot- documentary film, Weapons of the Spirit. Until then, I estant temple, across the street, that he declined to had viewed religion as a source of conflict and igno- visit. It was a religious admonition: “Love One An- rance, religious people as by definition bigoted and other.” fundamentally stupid. It was only in editing my foot- age, as a result of watching the rescuers’ testimony Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Pierre Sau- again and again, that I began to decipher the explo- vage is president of the Los Angeles-based Chambon sive content of what they had to say. It did not make Foundation (www.chambon.org). This article was pub- me religious, but it made my children Jews. lished (with variations) in the Paris daily Le Figaro and When I pressed Henri and Emma Héritier with in the Jewish newspaper the Forward.

November 2004 6 Outpost

A Proud Israeli Bedouin Questions American-Jewish Apathy Ishmael Khaldi Two years ago, a few proud Bedouin Israeli students who had the audacity to compare me to Jo- citizens like myself asked: what is our position and seph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, making status in the State of Israel in the midst of its current false claims that I was doing the same for Israel. situation? After all, Bedouins are part of Israel's suc- The United States has always been described cess story. During current times, when Israel is being as being the 'land of the free' and a home for free attacked and accused of being a racist state, an speech. How can New Hampshire's slogan read, "live 'aggressor and an oppressor', we decided that the free or die" if the student union is allowed to ban me smallest and probably most effective thing we could do from telling a cultural story? I can't believe that the is to spread our story as part of Israeli society. hatred for Israel is so strong that student governments I, Ishmael Khaldi, am Israeli. I served with the are able to defy their own dignity as free American IDF, with the Israel police, and with the Israeli Defense citizens, in order that the truth about Israel should re- Ministry. In the last year, I have lost two Bedouin main a secret. friends on army duty (God bless their The deep-seated hatred mani- memory) defending the State of Israel. fested itself clearly throughout the My friends and family feel that we have I was not as country with the many loaded questions a common destiny with the Jewish peo- asked by anti-Israel students. For ex- ple in Israel: our grandparents created shocked by the ample, a Muslim student at Rutgers this land with Jewish immigrants who Arab question- University completely ignored the fact arrived during the 1920s, '30s and '40s that Israel is a free state and asked, to build a democracy. ers as I was "how could you support a Hebrew state Because of this connection to with the per- if you're not Jewish?" Another ques- the State of Israel, I cannot stand on tioner asked, "don't you think that if Is- the sidelines during Israel's time of sonal threats rael didn't exist, then the Palestinians need. I feel that I must speak up and and the severe wouldn't have any problems?" be heard. In Milwaukee, I was asked I recently returned from a two- apathy of the "how many Palestinian old men and month campus speaking tour in North women have you humiliated while serv- America, mostly organized by Hasbara majority of Jew- ing in the Israeli police?" How can such Fellowships. This was the fourth tour I ish students. a question be asked? If the truth were had done over the past year. I've trav- only known, Israeli soldiers have on eled the United States coast to coast many occasions helped Palestinians. (of course, being a Bedouin nomad, I mainly took The situation I encountered on many of the Greyhound!) and flew for a ten day tour across Can- campuses in North America and Canada was horrify- ada. ing. I was not as shocked by the Arab questioners as I The tour was certainly miraculous—a Bedouin was with the personal threats, and the severe apathy shepherd who had never been to any major city be- of the majority of Jewish students. fore, all of a sudden found himself in downtown Man- In my years of speaking to people, I've never hattan! It proved to be one of the most adventurous, received threats or personal attacks like I did speaking challenging and enriching experiences of my life. on campuses. There were threatening incidents at I came to the U.S. and Canada to speak on both the University of Florida and at California State college campuses about Israel, as one who certainly University. Both were chilling. The crowd in Florida holds a perspective that is rarely heard—a proud Is- was full of anger and hatred, yet I had to stand before raeli that is not Jewish. I came to share one man's tale them unsure of the enemy who had sent threats earlier of Israel's culture, society and politics from the per- that day. In California I spoke facing a young student spective of a Bedouin minority in the Jewish State. who wore a T-shirt with a swastika on it, chewing on a Arriving in North America, committed to de- piece of paper as some sort of protest against my talk. fending Israel from the poisonous venom of hatred and Even more upsetting, I expected to see many attacks that I had heard much about, I expected to see more Jewish students aware of the situation in Israel, the same commitment on campuses among the Jew- but that wasn't the case. I expected the Jewish stu- ish students. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. dents to realize that the situation was not only affect- I had heard much about the struggle of pro- ing Israel and Israelis, but Jews all over the world. Israel student activists, attempting to counter the un- On the other hand, the Arab students and their balanced, biased and false accusations made against supporters knew almost all the last minute news clips Israel. I had not come to North America to preach that from the Middle East. How can Israel's voice be heard Israel was perfect. As all Israelis know, Israel has if the Jewish students don't have the facts or the problems like all nations of the world. Still, many stu- knowledge to speak up? I don't take the mass of Jew- dents tried to stop me from speaking. There were even ish students to task for not agreeing with all of Israel's

Outpost 7 November 2004

policies, but I do take them to task for not caring about Where are the Jewish students fighting back? My Israel or what happens there. It is the apathy which commitment in these crucial days, while Israel is strug- allows the anti-Israel propaganda to strengthen itself gling for its right to exist, is to continue the heritage of more and more over time. my grandparents and to stand together to fight for the As a personal aside, sixty years State of Israel. after the horrors of the Holocaust, Israel is History will not tolerate us if we going through one of the most critical times keep our voice silent. We must roll up our in its history. More than 60 years after my sleeves once again to build a better future grandparents joined their destiny to that of for Israel and all of its loyal citizens. Israel's the Jews coming to the Land of Israel, I right to exist is my right and my people's feel that history is somehow moving back- right, just as Israel's destiny is our destiny. wards. Anti-Semitism and hatred towards But just as history demands for me Israel is soaring. Comparing me, a Muslim to fight for Israel, history also will not toler- Bedouin who supports Israel, to the Nazis ate a generation of Jews who don't care. is just another clear piece of evidence. And yet, 60 years after the horrors of the Holo- Ishmael Khaldi is a Bedouin citizen of Israel. This arti- caust, I felt that on campus, the Jewish voice is silent. cle appeared in web.israelinsider.com

caust survivors at celebrations of Israel's Independ- Déjà vu in Spades ence Day. Norman Berdichevsky Yet as I grew older I began to feel outrage at the deafening silence to the key question "Why the I was born and grew up in the Melrose- Holocaust?" Feelings of helplessness burned within Morrisania and Grand Concourse section of the Bronx me. I could not escape the conclusion that somehow that in my post-World War II childhood was among the my parents and indeed their entire generation had most densely populated Jewish neighborhoods of the been tested and failed miserably in confronting the largest Jewish city in the world. A look at the school worldwide horror of anti-Semitism. How could they photographs taken at graduation from P.S. 90 and have remained so passive? In my mind, only two of Junior High School 22 reveals more than 90 per cent my relatives stood out as exceptions: my Uncle Max, and 80 per cent Jewish names respectively. I went on who came back from participation in the Battle of the to Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan where per- Bulge and General Patton’s Third Army with a cap- haps “only 65 per cent” were Jewish. tured German helmet and a distant cousin Aaron who Being Jewish in the most Jewish neighbor- was among the founders of Kibbutz Yagur and had hood in the most Jewish city in the world, I spent a helped bring refugees to Palestine from the displaced young childhood free from the complexes, persecu- persons camps in Germany. I became convinced that tions and humiliations of three thousand years agoniz- the success of Zionism had been achieved by the ing over Jewish identity. Unlimited opportunity beck- dedication of a gifted minority of idealists who had re- oned whether we chose college or started our working fused to listen to conventional wisdom. They had life after graduation. My friend Ralph (whose grandfa- achieved their goal through a total renunciation of the ther had been a rabbi in Greece) even became a hero Diaspora mode of existence that had set the scene for in the New York Police Department, first by becoming the Holocaust. the youngest Captain and then by winning the highest But I now stand in the shoes of my parents. award for valor. No anti-Semitic ghosts, specters or For thirty years I have witnessed the growing ostra- evil demons from the European past threatened our cism and return to pariah status of “The Jews,” as sleep. defined by Hitler and Goebbels, abandoned by all Although my father never preached Zionism, those who at one time embraced the Jews as “allies” he had a deep admiration for Israel. A memory that in all sorts of “progressive causes”. stands out is attending a soccer match at the Polo A considerable number of academics and me- Grounds in Manhattan in 1956 on Israel’s eighth anni- dia pundits would like to rewrite history, much as Sta- versary to see a top Israeli club play a major European lin’s staff of photographers who skillfully subtracted team. I will never forget the expression on my father's purged Bolshevik leaders. The biggest myth of all is face on hearing both the Star Spangled Banner and that Israel is the product of “Western Imperialism.” The Hatikva played. It was the one occasion when I re- major Arab armies who invaded the nascent Jewish member him--a henpecked husband who had fought in state were British led, equipped, trained and supplied. the Red Army in 1920 against the Polish invasion, a The Syrian army was French-equipped. The Israelis foreign war with no meaning for him, and who was too depended on smuggled weapons from the West and old for World War II—standing proud and tall. His look Soviet and Czech weapons. On January 7, 1949, the was one I would later see again on the faces of Holo- Israeli air-force consisting of former Luftwaffe Messer-

November 2004 8 Outpost

schmidt fighters (transferred secretly from Czech ovation when he warned leaders of dozens of Muslim bases to Israel) shot down five British-piloted Spitfires states of a Jewish plot to control the world. He even flying for the Egyptian air-force over the Sinai desert held the Jews responsible for the [to him, corrupt] no- causing a major diplomatic embarrassment for the tions of democracy and human rights. In the 1950s British government. Mad Magazine would have rejected such a scenario What is so shocking is that hardly any as too absurd for the pages of Mad. "progressive" critic of Israel is even aware that in Deja vu? Déjà vu in spades! Have we re- 1947-49 Israel’s struggle was endorsed by the entirety gressed to 1933? George Orwell wrote in 1944: of what was then called “enlightened public opinion,” "However true the scapegoat theory may be in general above all by the political far left. The most famous and terms, it does not explain why the Jews rather than colorful personality of the Spanish Republic, the some other minority group are picked on, nor does it Basque delegate to the Cortes (Spanish Parliament), make clear what they are the scapegoat for." Mark Dolores Ibarruri, who had gone into exile in the Soviet Twain had put it succinctly almost a hundred years Union, issued a proclamation in 1948 saluting the new earlier when he said that the worst thing that could be State of Israel and comparing the in- said about the Jews is that they too vading Arab armies to the Fascist are part of the human race. I used to uprising that had destroyed the Re- At the Islamic think that such aphorisms had entered public. Just a few months earlier, the conference in Oc- into the general psyche after 1945. I hero of the American Left, the great now know that this was too optimistic. Afro-American folk singer, Paul Robe- tober 2003 in Ma- It long ago dawned on me son had sung in a gala concert in how unfair I had been towards my par- Moscow and electrified the crowd with laysia, Prime Min- ents. I now marvel at their courage for his rendition of the Yiddish Partisan ister Matathir having carried on and had children in Fighters Song. Andrei Gromyko, at hopes of a better world. If there is any- the UN, asserted the right of “the held the Jews re- thing to be learned or gained by their Jews of the whole world to the crea- sponsible for the trauma, it is a better understanding of tion of a state of their own.” Taking their dilemma. What then can we do? (as always) their lead from Moscow, [to him, corrupt] We must carry a torch and illuminate the (hitherto anti-Zionist) Palestinian our surroundings with the same zeal communist organizations merged notions of democ- as Zola, the defenders of the Warsaw their separate Arab and Jewish divi- racy and human Ghetto, the judges at Nuremberg, the sions in October, 1948 giving uncon- rescuers at Entebbe, and politicians ditional support to the war effort and rights. who will not play political games to urging the Israel Defense Forces to excuse or “explain” anti-Semites by “drive on toward the Suez Canal and cloaking their hatred under the guise of hand British Imperialism a stinging defeat”! progressive causes. This is the vow I made last Yom In the vote on partition in the UN, apart from Kippur. It is a vow I cannot break. the states with large Muslim minorities (like Yugoslavia and Ethiopia), the Arabs managed only to wheedle a Norman Berdichevsky is a geographer, writer, and few abstentions out of the most corrupt non-Muslim translator. states. These included Cuba and Mexico eager to demonstrate their independence of U.S. influence and Now Available from Americans Latin American countries whose regimes had been For A Safe Israel: pro-Axis until the final days of World War II such as

Argentina and Chile. Lone Wolf: A Two-Volume Biography of Vladimir Jabotinsky—by Shmuel Katz—$50.00 And where are we today? Today we have (new members—membership dues plus $25) pseudo-sophisticated media, especially in Europe, We will send a free copy to any library that wishes to pandering to old repressed envy and hatred, countless acquire it. U.N. votes damning Israel (while that same U.N. ig- nores gruesome atrocities in Africa and elsewhere) Dubious Allies: The Arab Media’s War of and notorious conferences spouting resolutions con- Words Against America demning Jews or Israel for the evils of our time: all this compiled by Jeff Daube and Rael Jean Isaac -$5.95 makes the “genteel” prejudices of “polite society” that had been the target of Elia Kazan’s 1947 film against Order from: anti-Semitism, A Gentlemen’s Agreement, appear pre- Americans For a Safe Israel historic by comparison. 1623 Third Ave., #205 At the Islamic conference in October 2003 in Malaysia, Prime Minister Matathir received a standing New York, N.Y. 10128 Outpost 9 November 2004

The Hebron Market Elyakim Haetzni

Editor’s Note: Hebron is the burial place of the patri- Other murders, including the Baruch Goldstein car- archs and the first capital of the Davidic Kingdom. nage [of Arabs], forced the government to close the market. The Israeli custodian did not renew the lease Member of the Knesset for Meretz Zahava with the city and the wholesalers found another loca- Galon asked why Jewish trespassers have not been tion, much more appropriate. Two intifadas left scars, expelled from the Arab wholesale market in Hebron. and most terribly, the murder of infant Shalhevet Pass, The deputy defense minister answered that the pre- next to the wall of the wholesale market. sent sensitive situation in Hebron does not permit it, This is the key to much friction between Heb- for the moment. ron’s Jews and the Israeli government, which has To those who are upset at the fact that Arabs been afraid to “openly and rightfully” claim, as Herzl have been displaced from their property, I say: said, that which was stolen from them, fearing what The market was part of the Avraham Avinu the world and the left would say. So it was that Heb- [Our Father Abraham] Quarter until the 1929 pogrom. I ron’s Jewish community, which just as any other living, took a blood sample from this event, in the form of a healthy organism expects to grow and develop, was memorandum presented to the British high commis- left to act for itself, by itself. sioner by Hebron’s community. The Rabbis Meir So it was that the ruins of the Avraham Avinu Kastel, 68 years old, and Tzvi Drabkin, 70 years old, synagogue (originally built by Spanish exiles) were and five young men were robbed, castrated, tortured renovated only after demonstrations; so it was that the and murdered; the baker, Noah Immerman was ancient Jewish cemetery was restored to the commu- roasted alive in an oven; Rabbi Yaâkov nity only after scandals; so too did Orlanski HaCohen was found pray- Jews return to pray at the Maarat ing—they took his brain from his skull HaMachpela only after sit-down and crushed his wife’s intestines; the strikes; so too was the return to Beit pharmacist Ben-Tzion Gershon, lame, Hadassah achieved only after women unable to move, who served in Hebron stole into the basement, followed by a for 40 years, kindly assisting many Ar- terror gang’s murder of six men who abs, was killed, his nose and fingers had come on Sabbath eve to say Kid- cut off while his daughter was raped, dush for the besieged women. then murdered with awful torture. The After Arab rights to the empty teacher Dubkinov and Yitzhak Abush- wholesale market expired, families did were strangled with a rope; six who had waited much too long due to synagogues, including 64 Torah government refusal to allow new con- scrolls, many of them ancient, from the struction, transformed the buildings Spanish exile, were stolen and desecrated. into livable apartments. During a Supreme Court hear- In response, the remainder of the community ing, initiated by the Hebron municipality, the State ar- was expelled "for their own safety," and the murderers gued that the Hebron municipality had no rights to the inherited from them. After the Jordanian occupation, site and that the only title-holder was the Israeli Custo- King Hussein built a vegetable market on part of the dian for Abandoned Property, which issued an eviction quarter and rented it to the Hebron municipality which order against the Jewish residents of the market! The then rented it to wholesalers. When Israel liberated order was appealed to a committee which, by majority Hebron, it was discovered that the Jewish property, vote, upheld the decision to expel the Jews. One of including the market, was still registered in the name the judges accepted the settlers’ claims and another of its Jewish owners. It was transferred to the Custo- recommended that the custodian rent the property to dian for Enemy Property (Israel). But the Israeli mili- its present inhabitants. A request was forwarded, but tary government did not return the property to its own- is still pending. Where is the logic and justice in this? ers, continuing to rent it to Arabs. Two questions remain: To the Arabs: When The Jews who returned to the old Jewish you transformed the Jewish Quarter with blood and quarter were forced to pass through the crowded fire into an Arab market, there wasn’t a conqueror, wholesale market, leading to many incidents. In any refugees, or a Jewish state. So, why did you do this? case, as the city grew, the area was no longer appro- And to Knesset member Galon: Thousands of priate for a market and the wholesalers turned to the eviction orders against Arabs in Yesha and Israel have mayor to find a more suitable site. However, he re- been issued and not implemented. Why does only the fused, in order to prevent Jewish return to the area. wholesale market keep you awake at night? In the meantime, Hebron Arabs went back to murdering Jews. Yeshiva student Aharon Gross was Elyakim Haetzni is an attorney living in Kiryat Arba. stabbed to death opposite the wholesale market. This appeared in Yediot Achronot on October 16, 2004

November 2004 10 Outpost

In Memoriam—Edward McAteer

Ed McAteer played a leading role in founding the Religious Right movement and the Moral Ma- jority during the 1970s, took a key role in introducing evangelicals to Ronald Reagan in 1980 and re- mained a leading figure in the Religious Right over the years.

McAteer, who was 78, died Oct. 5 in Memphis, Tenn. He was one of the strongest and most resolute supporters of the state of Israel. Throughout his life, in sickness and and in health, he never veered from his advocacy of Jewish historical and religious rights in the land of Israel.

He was featured in a 60 Minutes segment on Zion's Christian Soldiers and, in 2001, was men- tioned for the post of U.S. ambassador to Israel.

AFSI, Israel, and the Jewish people of the whole world have lost a noble friend. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Faye, and family. R.I.P.

Questions For The President 5. Do you see Israel as our most loyal ally in the war Ruth King against global terrorism?

By the time this goes to print, voters will have 6. If your answer to the above is yes, will you continue chosen a president but some things will not change. to share intelligence and technology with Israel, and We will still be at war against Islamic terror. We will veto all United Nations resolutions designed to still be confronting international anti-Semitism. We will weaken and discourage Israel? still be threatened by enemies within our borders. We will still remain Israel’s only friend in the Diaspora. 7. Do you recognize that all plans which call for territo- The Europeans will still try to appease the Arabs by rial concessions by Israel have only escalated ten- harassing Israel. Iran and Syria will sions and terrorism in the area? If rattle sabers and provide safe ha- so, are you willing to scuttle the vens for terrorists. The UN will con- "road map" or any plans which call tinue to blame Israel. for territorial concessions by Israel in exchange for meaningless prom- Here are a dozen questions that con- ises by Arab adversaries? cerned Americans should ask of the incoming administration: 8. Will you consider the outlines of the Palestine Mandate to formulate 1. How forcefully do you expect to future policy for a solution to the enforce immigration laws so that our borders are Jewish Palestine-Arab Palestine conflict? sealed to terrorists? 9. Are you willing to concede that a two state solution 2. Will you restructure the Department of Transporta- in Palestine is not strategically or geographically viable tion and its guidelines so that realistic profiling protects and will only hasten the destruction of Israel and em- citizens who travel? bolden terrorists?

3. Will you enforce the Patriot Act and continue to 10. Do you believe that the root cause of the Israel- monitor charities, fraternal organizations and religious Arab conflict is Jewish control of an area of roughly institutions which fund and abet terrorism? 2200 square miles, or that the real cause is the ongo- ing Jihad against Israel? 4. How actively will you enforce the Global Anti- Semitism Review Act of 2004 requiring the State De- 11. How would you define a Jihad? (see the October partment to monitor global anti-Semitism and rate Outpost for John Quincy Adam's definition) countries annually on their treatment of Jews? Will you include those states which use the word Israel rather 12. What are your concrete plans to achieve energy than Jew in their racist incitements to violence? States independence from OPEC? such as Saudi Arabia and ?

November 2004 11 Outpost

Reserve the date: December 5th AFSI National Conference Islam’s War Against Israel and America Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City

(Continued from page 2) Ministry of Justice. I read it and was disgusted. Movement. A graduate of Duke, a long time contribu- "No one should delude himself: this is only the tor, wrote to Duke President Richard Brodhead beginning. "Palestine Solidarity is nothing but a euphemism for "This disengagement law will one day apply 'let's support the murder of Jews and the destruction of (even if not by the government but instead by the State of Israel'....[M]ore important than the silliness the government that will come in its place, and will rely of your talk about 'suppression' of speech is the actual, on the precedent) to the expanses of Judea, the Land and scary, 'notion' most likely to be created by your of Benjamin, the entire Shomron, and yes--also Jeru- willingness to host the conference (even with your salem. wink wink, assertion that you 'deplore violence in the "Those who proclaim themselves 'occupier' of Middle East'), viz., the notion that it is a 'legitimate the Katif Bloc will not be able to stop the retreat there. function of the university' to supply a platform for, and "It is hard to believe, but all this is about to be to support, the proponents of terrorism/murder... I ob- carried out by the Likud, by the national movement... viously cannot stop you, but I will not support you. I will "What will we tell the public next time we seek contribute no more to Duke." their trust? “Will we tell them...that we erred the entire Rivlin Breaks with Sharon way? Following are excerpts from a letter Knesset “That we are 'occupiers' in our land? Speaker Reuven Rivlin, long a stalwart supporter of "What is the national camp without loyalty to Ariel Sharon, sent to all members of the Likud Central the Land of Israel? Committee urging them to take the party’s leadership "We must search our souls. away from him. "The time has come to take charge. "This week I received a copy of the "The time has come to return to the path we 'disengagement law’ that is being prepared to us in the were taught..."

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Outpost 12 November 2004