Month: October 2006
Axiomatic: Third Parties Simply Cannot Be Relied Upon for Jewish State’s Security…
Wake Up Call: Dumbo Crashes In Gaza, by Aaron Lerner (Independent Media Research and Analysis)
For context, click here.
Full Text;
It just doesn’t work.
Years of working papers, conferences, arrangements and photo ops have failed to obviate Israel’s need to keep the Gaza Strip and West Bank within the Jewish State’s security envelope. As developments in the Gaza Strip prove once again, third parties simply cannot be relied upon to take Israel’s place in this critical matter.
IDF Officials Offer Lame Excuses for Immodestly Clad Female Vocalist at Assembly That Included Nachal Chareidi…
Religious Insensitivity Compels Soldiers to Leave Ceremony
Full Text;
Soldiers attending Thursday’s ceremony launching the IDF’s new combat infantry Brigade, Kfir, left during the assembly due to the immodest dress of a female performer.
A number of members of the Netzach Yehuda Battalion, more commonly known as Nahal Hareidi, left the event when a female vocalist got on stage to perform, due to religious prohibitions on listening to a woman sing.
They explained they were upset as well as surprised, citing the lack of religious sensitivities of the event organizers since a sizable number of participants in the event are Sabbath-observant soldiers. The singer’s immodest dress was also found offensive to the religious soldiers.
Friday War News…
Justice Barak on Involuntary Displacement of a Person From His Home: “Seriously Harms His Dignity, His Liberty” — Applies for Arabs but Not for Jews…
Excerpted From; Sodom in the Outposts, Elyakim Haetzni (October 13, 2006 No URL)
(Translated from the Hebrew as a public service by Women in Green)
For context, click on New Persecutions in Yehuda and the Shomron…
Excerpts;
A barometer for measuring the full dimensions of the human and legal scandal inherent in the system of persecution of the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria is provided by the decision by Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, in HCJ Ajuri (7015/02).
The Commander of IDF Forces in Judea and Samaria issued an “order assigning place of residence” against the Arab appellants, residents of the area, in which they were ordered to move to the Gaza Strip for a period of two years. In his decision the justice portrayed the harsh security circumstances: the terrorists “are supported by part of the civilian population, and by their families and relatives.” The State of Israel was faced with “a new and difficult reality,” and, on this background, the decision spoke of the transfer of the family members of suiciders or those conducting severe terror attacks, and their dispatch to Gaza.
Rice Wants Barghouti Freed; Israeli Government: Not a Peep About Pollard…
Report: Rice Backs Freeing Barghouti
Full Text;
A Saudi Arabian newspaper has reported that American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to release convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti is the founder of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the terrorist arm of the Fatah movement headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas.
The Saudi newspaper Okaz reported Wednesday that Rice told Prime Minister Olmert that freeing Barghouti, who is widely popular among the Arab population, would help strengthen Abbas and weaken the Hamas terrorist organization, which controls the PA legislature.
Should Israel Strike NOW in Gaza?
Officials Warning of Growing Dangers in Gaza
Full text;
“Security and intelligence officials continue to warn of the growing dangers in Gaza, citing Hamas and other terrorists are arming themselves with anti-tank rockets and other weapons.
There is a growing sentiment among senior military commanders that the IDF may soon be compelled to order a major ground incursion into Gaza, one that may escalate to a full war.”
Getting Ready for the Next Gaza War, by Michael Freund (Israel National News)
Preparing for the Next War: Now, Not Later…
The Coming Middle East War, by Michael Freund (Jerusalem Post)
“The government needs to begin seriously contemplating the possibility of launching preemptive and wide-ranging military strikes. Our foes are openly preparing for war, so why should we allow them the luxury to choose when it starts?
Passivity and indecisiveness cost us dearly in the past, and especially in Lebanon this summer. We can not allow ourselves to play by the enemy’s rules, or even by his schedule.”
Excerpts;
Lack of Emphasis on Public Relations in War: Defunct Paradigm in West and in Israel…
A Defunct Paradigm That’s Got to Change, by Daniel Pipes (Jerusalem Post)
“Western governments ‘need to see public relations as part of their strategy.’
The West is fortunate to predominate in the military and economic arenas, but these no longer suffice. Along with its enemies, it needs to give due attention to the public relations of war.”
Excerpts;
Soldiers, sailors, and airmen once determined the outcome of warfare, but no longer. Today, television producers, columnists, preachers, and politicians have the pivotal role in deciding how well the West fights. This shift has deep implications.
Governmental Reform: Functional System of Checks and Balances a Must for True Reform…
Do It Right, by Evelyn Gordon (Jerusalem Post)
“Our current system of government is undeniably problematic, and in principle, changing it would be a good idea. But any reform must include a functional system of checks and balances among the three branches of government. Otherwise, the new system is liable to wind up being even worse than the current one.”
Avigdor Lieberman has focused media attention on Israel’s system of government by conditioning his entry into the coalition on radical changes. Yet Lieberman is far from the only person advocating governmental reform. Various citizen lobby groups are pushing this issue, and a few organizations have even prepared draft constitutions. The Knesset Constitution Committee was working on a constitution before the March elections, and planned in this context to consider changing the system of government. And President Moshe Katsav appointed a blue-ribbon commission to examine this issue; its recommendations will be submitted soon.