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From:
AFSI <afsi@rcn.com>Date: Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Subject: Grasshoppers in America - Giants in Israel
To:
faigerayzel@gmail.com | | | | | | Americans for a Safe Israel |
Americans For a Safe Israel 1751 Second Avenue (91st Street) New York, NY 10128 Contact: Helen Freedman, Executive Director July 17, 2012 |
| GRASSHOPPERS IN OUR MIDST - BUT WE APPLAUD THE GIANTS AFSI has been celebrating the Edmond Levy report declaring all of Judea and Samaria legal, and the people of Israel who live on that land are not "occupiers" but merely fulfilling the biblical prophecy. On July 7, we put out a statement applauding MK Tzipi Hotovely for submitting a bill adopting the principles of the Levy report. She has followed that up with a call for annexation of Judea and Samaria. See below excerpts from that statement: Likud MK: Annex All Yesha, Not Just 'C Areas'
By Gil Ronen in Arutz Sheva
MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) called on the nationalist camp to work for full annexation of Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron) and not just "Areas C," as has been suggested by Jewish Home candidate Naftali Bennett.
We must take care "not to fall into the trap of 'Areas C,' because that means accepting the heritage of [the] Oslo [Accords] that divided the territory thus," she added.
"We have already carried out the struggle of 'turn away from evil' because it is clear to every Israeli that the mistake of expulsion must not be repeated," she explained. "The problem is with the 'do good.' People say that a Palestinian state is bad but they are afraid to annex. The right wing is afraid of its own shadow."
Hotovely added that the report filed by the Edmund Levy Commission creates "a revolution in perception." The report, she said, "ends the occupation of the territory by the Minister of Defense." In contrast to the courageous position of MK Hotovely, we have the "grasshopper" approach of the Israel Policy Forum. Read excerpts from Arlene Kushner's comments: While Gershon Mesika asked, "Do we see ourselves as grasshoppers [as the spies coming out of Canaan did]"? (see Numbers:13 - Only Caleb & Joshua, of the 12 spies sent to spy out the land, came back with a positive report. The other ten saw themselves as grasshoppers.)
And lo and behold! I've encountered a whole community of grasshoppers.
They're in the US, and not Israel, it's true. But never mind. They are part of the Jewish people, or were the last time I looked.
And what are these grasshoppers doing? They are working against acceptance of the Levy Committee findings on the legality of settlements and our right to be in Judea andSamaria.
A letter has been promoted by the Israel Policy Forum and signed by some 40 individuals with some presumed claim to prominence or leadership within the Jewish community. It has been sent to PM Netanyahu, imploring him not to accept the findings of the Levy Committee. See the report below from Haaretz on the Israel Policy Forum and their grasshopper letter:
U.S. Jews to Netanyahu: Report urging state to legalize settlements will aid those seeking to delegitimize Israel
40 U.S. Jewish leaders sign Israel Policy Forum letter urging prime minister to reject document produced by panel headed by former Supreme Court justice Edmond Levy.
By Chemi Shalev | 19:07 15.07.12 | 43
More than 40 American Jewish leaders and philanthropists have sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressing their concern about the recent Levy Committee report on the legality of settlements in the territories and urging him to make sure that the government does not adopt it.
"Securing Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state requires diplomatic and political leadership, not legal maneuverings," the letter says. The report submitted last week by retired Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy - which found that Israel is not legally "occupying" the territories and that settlements are therefore legal - will "add fuel to those who seek to delegitimize Israel's right to exist," the letter states.
One of the more prominent and perhaps surprising signatures on the letter is that of Rabbi Daniel Gordis, President of the conservative-leaning Shalem Center in Jerusalem. Other prominent signatories include philanthropists and businessmen Charles Bronfman, Stanley Gold and Lester Crown, former AIPAC head Tom Dine, Hebrew Union College president David Ellenson, renowned Holocaust scholar Professor Deborah Lipstadt, former Jewish Agency Chairman Richard Pearlstone former Reform leader Eric Yoffie and New York UJA Federation Campaign co-chair, Marcia Riklis.
"We fear that if approved, this report will place the two-state solution and the prestige of Israel as a democratic member of the international community, in peril," the signatories wrote to Netanyahu. "We are confident that that with your deep understanding of the gravity of this situation, and your unprecedented political strength, you will ensure that the adoption of this letter does not take place."
The letter was initiated and organized by the Israel Policy Forum (IPF), a centrist U.S. group that was formed in 1993 with the encouragement of the late Yitzhak Rabin to support the peace process with the Palestinians. After several years in which the organization virtually disappeared from the public eye, it has been undergoing a "rebirth" in recent months in support of a two-state solution.
"With the increasing polarization in the Jewish dialogue and the inability for people to talk to each other, we want to be a centrist, pragmatic voice and to attract different voices," IPF Chairman Peter Joseph told Haaretz on Sunday. We wish to be a forum for discussing new ideas, in a rational and nuanced manner, and we have received very strong and positive reactions to our goals. Our common denominator is our commitment to a Jewish and democratic Israel." If this was not such a life and death matter, one could laugh at the cowardice and ignorance of the IPF and its supporters. Their idea of 'discussing new ideas' is to revive the 'two-state solution.' How do normal, logical, thinking individuals continue to follow the definition for insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? We have to pray that the Giants in our midst, like MK Tzipi Hotovely, will prevail. Write to PM Netanyahu telling him to support the Levy report and denounce the IPF letter:
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Sincerely,
Robin Ticker
Activist emails sent to my list are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) a great activist and lover of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichrono Baruch.
Most of these emails are posted on
Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com
Personal emails to individuals will not be posted to my blog.
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