1. So let us see if we can sum up the Sharon administration for you so far. Sharon, like Bibi Netanyahu, is of the opinion that if Israel acts as the only country on earth practicing pure Christianity as its foreign policy (turn the other cheek to terrorism), the world will like him and approve of him.

   So Sharon adopts unilateral ceasefire, sits back for the back pats and hoorahs to roll in. And no sooner does he do so than the BBC launches a jihad against him personally, based on the claim that Sharon is a "war criminal".

   What makes Sharon a war criminal in the eyes of the BBC? Well, you see, when the Arab Christians massacred some Arab Palestinians in Sabra and Shatilla in 1982, Sharon did not have the prescience to see what they would do and so failed to intervene to stop them. It is a well-known rule that when gentiles murder gentiles, it is all somehow the fault of Jews. It is noteworthy that among those OTHER people who failed to see that a massacre of Palestinians by Christian Arabs was in the making in 1982 were the BBC itself, the Israeli leftist press, and the Israeli leftist politicians. Darned if any of THEM had the prescience to see it coming, the same "war crime" they accuse Sharon of.

   But has Sharon learned anything from his unilateral ceasefire being greeted with screams that he is a war criminal? Or, to ask this differently, since Sharon and all other Jews will always be denounced as war criminals no matter what they do, maybe there is no public relations reason not to demolish the Palestinian Authority and ship Arafat’s carcass back to Tunis?

2. The weekend Maariv reported that a lot of Israeli politicians are upset with the "settlers". They say the "settlers" are encouraging Palestinian terror. How?

   Well, as you know, the Israeli government has pretty much decided it is unwilling to defend the "settlers" nor extract revenge for them when they are attacked by the PLO. (for this reason we have earlier called for the settlers being allowed to form their own air force, tank squads, and be armed with neutron bombs.) They are pretty much living in a PLO-run free-fire zone. Now most of these "settlers" are staying put and keeping a stiff upper chin, what with God having given the Land of Israel to the Jews and all.

   But among these, there is a small minority who are unwilling to put up with it any longer, especially when they have been abandoned completely by the government, and so have packed up and moved out of the "territories". I suggest that those of us who do NOT live under the same conditions abstain from passing judgement.

   But some Israeli politicians, according to Maariv, are upset because they say these settlers moving out are "rewarding Palestinian terror" by their giving up.

   Got that?

   For the past decade, the raison d’etre of all Israeli governments of both the Labor Party and its Likud branch, including that of Mister Unilateral Ceasefire Ariel Sharon, has been to reward Palestinian violence and react to PLO violations of its commitments with more appeasements. And THESE are the same people who dare to criticize those unwilling to risk their children any longer in areas where they have been abandoned by the Israeli government as "rewarding terror"!!

3. Headline in Meir Uziel’s column in weekend Maariv:

   "Scientists have succeeded in using genetic engineering to create a human who believes Arafat will comply with his commitments."

   Also:

   "Under careful laboratory conditions a ceasefire with the PLO was created with a halflife of 37 seconds."

4. Remember the Labor Party token Druse backbencher Sharon agreed to make cabinet Minister, and then hours later the press discovered a tape of a nasty interview Salah Tarif gave to PLO TV in which he denounced Sharon and called for victory for the intifada? Well the same Tarif is suddenly in deep doodoo and under investigation by the police for corruption and bribery.

   See where appeasement gets you, Arik?

5. The German state TV station ARD reports that Arafat sent a personal congratulatory letter to the family of the suicide bomber who murdered the school girls at the Tel Aviv dolphinarium.

6. Oh Arafat finally got serious about his obligations under the Mitchell report and arrested one person from the Jihad, then released him a few hours later. He was the spokesman for the group and had just given a speech criticizing Arafat himself and so had to be arrested for peace and goodwill among men.

   Yossi Beilin is no doubt convinced Arafat has now lived up to all his obligations and so Israel should get on with the serious peace business of abandoning the Old City of Jerusalem to PLO rule.

7. Asad junior gave a speech in which he offered "normalization" in exchange for relinquishing the Golan Heights. I think this is a great opportunity and Israel should agree to grant Syria normalization in exchange for Syria relinquishing its claims on the Golan Heights.

8. The Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2001
   7 Ways You Can Help Israel

   by Michael Freund

   For many Jews around the world, one of the most frustrating aspects of the current violence in Israel is the seeming inability to do something about the situation. Dazed by daily reports of terror, concerned Jews are largely at a loss as to how they can help, even in some small way, during this difficult period.

   Such feelings are entirely understandable, for one often gets the sense that no matter what Israel seems to do, its predicament only grows worse. But such thinking is neither productive nor beneficial, because the last thing the Jewish people need right now is despair. Instead, we must all focus our energies on doing what we can to lift Israel’s spirits and help it contend with an increasingly volatile and uncertain situation.

   Though far from revolutionary, here are some simple and practical suggestions as to what you can do to help. They are what I refer to as the “Seven ‘P’s” of Jewish activism:

   1) Point and Click – The first task is to better educate ourselves and our communities about events in Israel. The Internet provides a range of useful sources for getting a more accurate picture of what is really happening in the Jewish state. A few useful sites are: the Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com), Arutz-7 (www.israelnationalnews.com) and IMRA (www.imra.org.il). Visit such sites and recommend them to friends – you will be amazed at how people’s eyes can be opened when they start to get the real picture about what is going on.

   2) Publish Your Views – Once you have a better grasp of the facts, don’t hesitate to speak out. No Jewish organization or Israeli consulate can fight the propaganda war on every front, so don’t assume that they will. Pick up your pen, or your keyboard, and start writing. Whether it is a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or an ongoing dialogue in a chat room, you never know how your contribution may affect someone else’s views. Share your success stories with others, and turn yourself and your friends into roving ambassadors on Israel’s behalf.

   3) Protest Media Bias – The mainstream media is replete with anti-Israel bias and sloppy reporting. Don’t let them get away with it. If you see something that offends you, let the editor know, tersely and politely. For resources and ideas on combating media bias, check out: Honest Reporting (www.honestreporting.com), CAMERA (www.camera.org) and CNN-Watch (www.cnnwatch.org).

   4) Provide Assistance – If you able to provide financial support, there are many worthwhile organizations working to address the problems caused by the intifada. The Israel Crisis Management Center, based in Tel Aviv (phone: 03-544-5161), assists new immigrants who have been victimized by terrorist attacks, including the families of those killed in the Tel Aviv disco bombing, with grants, loans and volunteer counseling. A group called Helping Israel (www.helpingisrael.com) has an extensive list of medical and security supplies required by Jewish communities that have borne the brunt of the Palestinian violence, such as those in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Sending money, even in small sums, is a tangible and meaningful way of demonstrating your support.

   5) Pressure Representatives – Wherever you live, your views as a citizen need to be heard by your elected representatives. In many instances, American congressional offices keep tabs on the quantity of mail they receive on particular issues as a way of measuring their relative importance to their constituency. Find out who your elected officials are and urge them to publicly express their support for Israel during these difficult times.

   6) Pay A Visit – The recent flap over the cancellation of Israel summer programs had a sharply negative impact on relations between Israel and the Diaspora. There is no better way to demonstrate your solidarity than by boarding a plane and paying a visit to the Holy Land. Yasser Arafat needs to know that he can not succeed in scaring Jews away, and your visit will help to send him that message.

   7) Pray for Help – The Jewish people have always turned to their Father in Heaven as a source of strength and support. No prayer goes to waste, and regardless of your level of observance, consider adding a request for Israel to your regular (or even irregular) prayer regimen. Whether in the privacy of your home or on the pews of your local synagogue, make the crisis in Israel the focus of your thoughts.

   While these suggestions may not offer a panacea to all of Israel’s ills, they do provide each of us with a practical means of fending off frustration and doing something concrete to improve the situation. Even if our actions do not appear to influence the overall outcome of events, by getting more involved on behalf of the Jewish people we do succeed in changing ourselves. And that, in and of itself, is already an important victory.

   ---

   The writer served as Deputy Director for Communications & Policy Planning in the Prime Minister’s Office from 1996 to 1999.

9. And from the editorial page of the New York Post: Terror’s Friends, In The White House

Copyright © 2001 by Steven Plaut.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission