Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Thursday, April 26, 2007

Dear Friends,

The truth about Jewish National Fund perfidy can no longer be hidden. Disloyal Jews and disloyal Israeli leaders have sold our Jewish Birthright!

Please review the following articles carefully. You will be appalled by the betrayal of Israel by Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, who were apparently influenced by radical leftist ideology and self-interest. No price or human sacrifice was too high for them to achieve an illusionary peace with the Arab enemy, including wholesale abandonment of Jewish Biblical Land.

*ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED? by Ruth Matar, October 26, 2006 (the October 18, 2006 article by Helen Freedman: ARABS GRABBING JNF LANDS IN JERUSALEM, is included.)

*ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED? (continued) by Ruth Matar, November 2, 2006

*JNF NOT DENYING IT FORFEITED LAND TO ARABS by Gil Ronen, Arutz Sheva, April 17, 2007

* * * *

ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED?
by Ruth Matar, October 26, 2006

Dear Friends,

The Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth Leisrael) is the land purchase and development fund of the Zionist Organization. The JNF is a one hundred and three year-old international environmental organization with more than fifty offices around the globe.

It was founded in December 1901, at the Fifth Zionist Congress at Basle, which resolved: “The JNF shall be the eternal possession of the Jewish People. Its funds shall not be used except for the purchase of lands in Palestine and Syria.” The idea of public ownership of land is based on the Biblical injunction “The Land shall not be sold forever, for the Land is Mine.” (Leviticus 25:23). The JNF protocol specifically prohibits selling land ownership and selling any rights to non-Jews.

It was tradition in many Jewish homes to have a Blue Box, a small tin collection box, in a prominent place. I remember, as a child, my parents encouraging me to put part of my small allowance into this Blue Box to help to purchase land, to plant trees there and to generally build up the Promised Land.

Jews all over the world donate millions of dollars to the Jewish National Fund (JNF). We learn from an article by Helen Freedman, posted on October 18, 2006, that in Jerusalem important strategic portions of that land ends up in Arab hands.

I am reproducing her article in its entirety.

ARABS GRABBING JNF LAND IN JERUSALEM
By Helen Freedman

Generous Jews donated many millions of dollars to the Jewish National Fund/JNF for the purchase of land. What they may not know is that in Jerusalem, a portion of that land ends up in Arab hands. These are some of the very same Arabs that celebrate Israel’s defeats and Arab suicide bombings, and refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Documented facts, supplied by Aryeh King, resident of East Jerusalem, were submitted to Avinoam Binder, Chief Israel Representative for Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, the Hebrew version of JNF, at his New York office.

Mr. Binder confirmed that large scale give-away of JNF lands to Arabs has been occurring through government decisions, and the failure of JNF to oppose those decisions. Four plots, which make up 772 dunams (approximately 193 acres) near Bethlehem, which had been purchased by JNF, are now unavailable to Jews. Mr. Binder explains that the military status of the area makes this problematic.

In north Jerusalem, the JNF owns an area that is known as Shoafat. Arieh King tells us that the plots were registered as belonging to the State, but they really belong to JNF and were purchased by JNF. Today, the area is the site of hundreds of buildings occupied by Arabs whose Orange ID’s theoretically keep them from entering Jerusalem, however, they live inside Jerusalem. The JNF does nothing to remove the Arab squatters from the land. There is also a “refugee” camp on the site, housing about 10,000 persons. When asked why they are not removed, Avinoam Binder replied,”How could so many be removed and relocated?” I pointed out to him that the government had no problem removing 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gush Katif and setting them down wherever they might land. He smiled at the impossibility of the thought that Israel would try to do the same thing to Arabs. He agreed that scant attention is paid to the Jewish Gush Katif refugees.

In northern Jerusalem, near the Atarot airport, to which Jews dare not travel today, there are thousands of dunams (calculate approx. 4 per acre) that are owned by the JNF. This land exists between the airport, in the top of the finger of Jerusalem, and the borders of the Jerusalem municipality. Avinoam Binder shrugs his shoulders helplessly when questioned as to why this land is being sold to Arabs.

The ghastly wall that scars its way through Jerusalem is also leaving huge tracts of JNF land on the “Arab” side. Once again, JNF looks at this as a decision by the government of Israel, and one they refuse to appeal.

JNF donors, who were under the impression they were reclaiming holy Jewish land through their generosity, will be dismayed to learn that NO land was purchased by JNF in Jewish east Jerusalem in the past twenty years. And with the above information as evidence, land that was purchased for Jewish use has been released into Arab hands.

JNF donors should be outraged by this situation. Questions should be asked whether similar situations are occurring throughout Israel. Is JNF land in the Galilee and the Negev falling into Arab hands? If you are a donor operating on the premise that JNF money is going into Jewish projects protected by that organization, you should immediately request an accounting.

Write to Avinoam Binder at Jewish National Fund, 42 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021; abinder@jnf.org; www.jnf.org to register your protest. RESOLVE NOT TO GIVE ANY MORE MONEY TO JNF UNLESS THERE CAN BE A GUARANTEE THAT ARABS WILL NOT PROFIT FROM YOUR GIFT. SEND THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO STATIONS. TAKE PART IN ALERTING GENEROUS JEWS TO THE DECEPTION PERPETRATED UPON THEM. Contact Arieh King in Jerusalem for more details - kingshir@bezeqint.net - 011-972-54-550-1182.

* * * *

Dear Friends, who made this Arab land-grab possible? There is evidence that points to the conclusion that Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert are responsible.

The Israel Land Administration (ILA) is the official government agency responsible for managing the land of Israel. (By the way, half the land used by Israeli Arab farmers is directly leased to them by the ILA).

During the premiership of Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert was Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor. On May 2, 2004, Olmert appointed the GADISH COMMITTEE to investigate essential ‘reforms’ to the ILA. There is no doubt that Sharon endorsed Olmert’s appointment of this committee. Why did Sharon and Olmert find it necessary to reform the Israel Land Administration?

ONE OF THE MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE GADISH COMMITTEE WAS THE EXCHANGE OF LANDS BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE JNF, ACCORDING TO WHICH THE JNF WOULD CONCEDE LANDS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF ISRAEL TO THE STATE, IN EXCHANGE FOR LANDS IN THE ‘NATIONAL PRIORITY AREAS’, SUCH AS THE GALILEE AND THE NEGEV.

Now it becomes clear to us that large scale give-away of JNF land in Jerusalem to Arabs has been occurring through government decisions, specifically inspired by the partnership of Sharon and Olmert. Unfortunately, the Jewish National Fund has not appealed these decisions, thereby failing to carry out the intentions of their contributors, that Jewish land be bought only for the Jewish People.

We have now arrived at an incredible situation where an Arab has been appointed to the board of directors of the Jewish National Fund (Haaretz News, July 14, 2006). The JNF board approved the appointment of Raadi Safuri, an Arab from the village of Kfar Kana. Safuri was Meretz chair Yossi Beilin’s candidate and had the backing of Yeheil Leket of the Labor Party.

World Likud Chairman, Danny Danon, called Safuri’s appointment “a disgrace to the Zionist movement”, and said that the “Jewish National Fund’s purpose is to redeem lands from Arab hands, not to appoint Arabs to its institutions”.

It is imperative that all of us who love Israel show our outrage at the perfidy of the Olmert government, which transfers ownership to Arabs of land purchased by contributions to the Jewish National Fund. Don’t fail to follow the suggestion of Helen Freedman in the last paragraph of her article. Alert donors to the Jewish National Fund to the deception perpetrated upon them!

* * * *

ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED? (Continued)
by Ruth Matar November 2, 2006

Dear Friends,

Last week’s Letter from Jerusalem, entitled “Are Donors to the Jewish National Fund Deceived?”, was written with a heavy heart. Heaven forbid, I do not want you to think that I accuse the current leaders of the Jewish National Fund of lining their own pockets with our contributions!

What I do believe is that the present JNF leadership has, unfortunately, been unduly influenced by radical leftist ideology, where no price or human sacrifice is too high to achieve an illusionary peace with the Arab enemy.

My friend, Helen Freedman, wrote a courageous article, entitled “Arabs grabbing JNF land in Jerusalem”, which was posted on October 15, 2006, claiming that in Jerusalem important strategic portions of that land ends up in Arab hands. Her article was part of my October 26, 2006, “Letter from Jerusalem” on the same subject.

Helen and I are not writing from the top of our heads. Our writing is based on documented information from Arieh King, a passionate Zionist who resides in East Jerusalem and who has literally made it his life’s mission to uncover the tragic giveaway of Jewish land to the Arabs.

Arieh King deals with documented facts only. Such facts were submitted to Avinoam Binder, Chief Representative for Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, the Hebrew version of JNF, at his New York office.

MR. BINDER HAS CONFIRMED THAT LARGE SCALE GIVEAWAY OF JNF LANDS TO ARABS HAS BEEN OCCURRING THROUGH ISRAELI GOVERNMENT DECISIONS AND THE FAILURE OF JNF TO OPPOSE THESE DECISIONS.

The most tragic and harmful failure of JNF in this regard is its failure to rigorously oppose huge tracts of land being left on the “Arab” side of the so-called “security wall,” which is again dividing Jerusalem. JNF considers this a decision by the Israeli government, which they refuse to appeal.

The sad truth is that the NJF leadershiop has lost its way. At the present time, it does not
represent the desires of the majority of its contributors, nor the goals for which it was founded, that is to reclaim Jewish ownership of our biblical inheritance.

The CEO of the JNF, Russell F. Robinson, has written a scathing personal attack on my friend Helen Freedman, in the form of an “Open letter” to her.

An example from Mr. Robinson’s “Open letter” to Helen Freedman:

“By attacking the soul of the Jewish people, it puts you in some interesting company. You now join the ranks of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and others who attack us for our work as a Zionist organization. I ask you, Helen Freedman, what safe Israel are you talking about?”

WOW! That is a serious accusation! Helen Freedman is part of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign? You sure owe Helen Freedman an apology, Mr Robinson.

For his own organization, the JNF, Mr. Robinson has nothing but flowery platitudes, such as the following:

“We believe deeply and emotionally in our mission statement — that we are the caretakers of the land of Israel on behalf of its owners — Jewish people everywhere.”

If this were only true!

Further on his opinion of Helen Freedman:

“In your unfair representation of ‘facts’ your attack on JNF is an attack on the soil, which is the soul of the Jewish people. You, Helen Freedman, have attacked the soul of the Jewish people.”

My question for Mr. Robinson: If the SOIL is the SOUL of the Jewish People, why do you abandon our very SOUL to the Arab enemy?

We need to work to prevail on the leadership of the JNF to safeguard the principles of their founders to purchase the land solely for Jewish use. They must fight the decisions of a temporary Israeli government, which abandons these principles for an ideology which goes against the intent of the founders of the JNF at the Fifth Zionist Congress at Basel, Switzerland, in 1901:

“The JNF shall be the eternal possession of the Jewish People… The JNF protocol specifically prohibits selling land ownership and selling any rights to non-Jews.”

* * * *

JNF Not Denying It Forfeited Land to Arabs
By Gil Ronen, April 17, 2007

The Jewish National Fund is outraged at ­ but not denying ­ allegations that it has effectively forfeited land to the Arabs worth millions of dollars and done little to prevent squatters from building upon it.

The Jewish National Fund is scandalized by allegations that it has not booted Arabs who have constructed communities on some 320 acres (1,300 dunams) of Jewish-owned land in the Jerusalem area. WorldNetDaily’s Aaron Klein, who first reported the matter, found out that the land on which Arabs built dozens of apartment complexes and a United Nations school was entrusted to the JNF for settlement by Jews. Parts of the land, writes Klein, are cut off from the rest of Israel by the separation fence.

Why have Arabs and even the UN been allowed to illegally construct on JNF-owned property purchased with Jewish donors’ funds?

The JNF has not acted effectively against this land grab.

The land ­ in the communities of Kalandiya, Kfar Akev and Shuafat, in northern Jerusalem ­ was purchased by the JNF in the early 1900s from Jewish donor monies, for the sole purpose of serving as land where Jews could live. Housing Ministry officials quoted in the article said that illegal Arab construction on the land began after 1948 and has been ongoing, but that most of it was carried out in the last 15-20 years, with some apartment complexes added in 2004 and other construction still ongoing.

JNF’s Chief Executive Officer Russell F. Robinson responded to Klein’s claims saying that the article featured “unverified facts and figures.” But, Mr. Robinson cited no examples of such purported inaccuracies.

Journalist Aaron Klein told Arutz Sheva: “The information in my article is entirely accurate. It comes from my own investigating, information from the Israeli government and other sources and personal visits to the JNF sites in question. I also obtained and quoted from internal JNF documents outlining all the illegal Arab construction on the Jewish-owned lands in question. Two weeks prior to the publication of my article, I provided JNF’s Israel offices with all the information that would be outlined in the piece, including the internal JNF papers. The JNF office, quoted in my article, didn’t contradict a single piece of information.”

Continued Klein: “JNF’s official charter calls itself the ‘Jewish People’s trustee of the land,’ and says it is working to enable Jewish settlement,” he wrote. “Mr. Robinson, I challenge you to actually address the issue at hand: Why have Arabs and even the UN been allowed to illegally construct on JNF-owned property purchased with Jewish donors funds and what is the JNF going to do about it?”

Robinson sent a second letter which did not deny any facts in the initial report, but offered a defense of the JNF.

“Rest assured,” writes Robinson, “the JNF does not give away land to Arabs. In fact, today JNF owns about 17% of the land of Israel, far more than was actually purchased by the organization before the founding of the State.” He explains that Israel has a democratically-elected government and that JNF “works alongside… this government and its laws.”

But Klein insists in a written reply that the JNF has defacto given the Jerusalem suburbia land away by virtue of its inaction. He writes: “Certainly the JNF hasn’t legally forfeited its right to the lands, so it is accurate, albeit misleading, to state it didn’t technically give the land away. In practice, the JNF has done just that. The JNF’s inaction during years of illegal construction on its properties has ensured the Jerusalem areas in question will likely remain Arab. There are now entire developed Arab communities and U.N. facilities for Arabs built upon the JNF-owned lands in Jerusalem purchased by Jews, for Jews.”
The route of Israel’s separation fence was moved several times in the wake of appeals submitted by Arabs to the Supreme Court. To date, no appeal has been submitted by the JNF to demand removal of the illegal Arab squatters from its land, restoration of the land to its rightful owners and rerouting of the separation fence to protect the JNF property.

* * * *

Dear Friends,

It is imperative that all of us who love Israel show our outrage at the perfidy of the Olmert Government, which transfers ownership to Arabs of land purchased by contributions to the Jewish National Fund.

Write to the Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish National Fund, Russell F. Robinson, and express your outrage at this betrayal of the Jewish People.

Jewish National Fund
42 East 69th Street,
New York, NY 10021
USA

RESOLVE NOT TO GIVE ANY MORE MONEY TO JNF UNLESS THERE CAN BE A GUARANTEE THAT ARABS WILL NOT PROFIT FROM YOUR GIFT!

Also alert your friends who are donors to the Jewish National Fund to the deception perpetrated upon them!

With Blessings and Love for Israel,

Ruth Matar

=============================================
Women For Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380
mailto:wfit2@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org

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MORE ON ISRAEL’S MORAL DILEMMA

Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Tuesday, April 17, 2007

I was pleased to receive a very large number of replies to last Thursday’s Letter from Jerusalem. I’m writing an additional letter this week in order to share some of these opinions with you.

We would like to have the time to answer your letters individually, but the current political situation demands our constant and undivided time and attention to try to prevent the next government- planned disaster.

Women in Green are often asked: “Do you think that your work is in any way successful?” Our reply to this is that the great number of our political enemies on the Left and in the current Olmert government is ample proof of the success of our work.

The following is a small sample of your replies to last week’s Letter from Jerusalem.

Ruth,
COMMENT ­ ISRAEL SHOULD APPLY THE MANDATORY LAWS TO THE TERRORISTS ­ CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. LET’S NOT FORGET THAT OLMERT UTILISES THE MANDATORY “ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION” AGAINST HIS OWN PEOPLE.
Shalom
Colin

****

Ruth,
Israel used to have a policy of NOT negotiating with terrorists.
That policy was correct and sensible.
Under Rabin and Peres all of this changed.
Negotiating with terrorists doesn’t work.
It only leads to more terrorism and lopsided hostage demands.
The people of Israel should know this better than anyone.
Don’t waste time and money imprisoning terrorists, execute them instead.

****

Dear Ruth Matar,
I read your letters with great interest, since your spirit and love for the land of Israel indicate that all is not lost. The government of Israel is as Olmert stated “tired of fighting”. They seek appeasement as a means of gaining approval from the leaders of the United States and European countries, who have their own needs. These leaders are willing to sacrifice the State of Israel as long as they can continue business as usual.

I enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942, and after graduating from college was called to active duty Feb. 1943. I, and 26 of my friends from college enlisted together, but I was the only one that survived World War II. I know the pain of losing close friends. However, I would not release one Terrorist to gain the release of the Israeli captives. This tactic only encourages further attempts to kidnap Israelis to use as barter for their imprisoned Terrorists and murderers. I did not discuss my service in the war because I felt guilty and ashamed I was never in combat. I was assigned to 3rd Air Force Headquarters in Tampa, Florida as a Classification Specialist. I selected men to comprise combat crews for B-17s that based on test results and studies would be compatible in combat. It was only after attending the World War II Memorial dedication in Washington, DC that some guilt feelings were lifted. A veteran tapped me on the shoulder, as I signed my name, and said “you’re the one who assigned me to my crew on a B 17. We had the best crew, and we are still all friends. We finished our 25 missions, and were one of the few in the squadron to survive”.

War brings forth many emotions, such as fear, despair, guilt and anger. Leaving a comrade behind, while you escape to safety is traumatic. How does one integrate this experience into our self concept? Your ideas as to what the Israeli government can do requires action. This is the best method to overcome trauma. Doing something in an attempt to remedy the situation. Make life miserable for the so called “Palestinians”. Do not supply power and electricity to Gaza. Check-points galore. Arabs who visit Iran, Iraq, Lebanon,etc. are not able to re-enter Israel, and lose Israeli citizenship. No talks of peace until Israelis are freed. No Arabs released from jail until Israelis are freed. When rockets are fired from Gaza, immediate massive attacks launched by IDF at the area, without worry of collateral damage to civilians. If civilians permit the firing of rockets from their neighborhood, they are collaborators, and not civilians. Only when punishment for the act is so painful that the act will cease. The world response will be swift in condemning Israel. Israel is condemned anyway, when it gives Tit for tat.

I am not trying to be politically correct, but to solve behavior. Parents have a much deeper motive to seek their child’s release, and I understand their dilemma. However, until Israeli intelligence locates the site in which they are held, rescue is not possible. Prisoner exchange will not bring a desired result, especially when it signifies capitulation.

Julius Romanoff
Newtown, PA USA

****

I agree with you, Ruth. This would be a horrible thing for Israel to do-to release terrorists that brutally murder and mutilate our Jews. I like the turning off the water in Gaza idea. Let them go thirsty. They say out loud that Israel is a pushover. Olmert certainly must go-he is a Chamberlain-like appeaser who does not appear to value Jewish life.

With love for our people,
Anne Siegel Ball

****

Dear Ruth:

I know you may not expect an answer to your questions in your article. However, I wish to express an answer.

In looking at history, and at the present situation, I could not make such a trade. I do feel for Cpl. Shalit’s family. However, a trade does not guarantee his release.

To “exchange” Cpl. Shalit for criminals and murderers would be admitting that Shalit is some sort of criminal himself. Instead Shalit is a prisoner, kidnapped in an attack. There is a difference.

If an “exchange” is made, it would in all probability be Israel releasing criminals. Hamas would hold out for more concessions before releasing Shalit. Have we not seen this happen in other situations?

If an exchange is made, these terrorists would murder again and again. This would encourage others to murder again and again. Israel would see itself under attack in a very unprescidented way. Have we not seen this repeated in history?

While I have to distance my emotions from this, the facts are IF Shalit were released, it would be saving one life to lose hundreds to terrorists. That is, if Shallit IS alive…has that be confirmed recently?

Finally, the moral dilemna comes down to this: Israel needs to solidify it’s army, and go in and get Shalit, regardless of UN outcry. Did not Joshua go after those kidnapped? Did not Abraham go after those who kidnapped Lot? Forget the PR war, for the double standard continues no matter what Israel does.

Those are my feelings. I pray the governments of the world regain their sanity and moral compass. In a world where evil is good and good is evil, only G-d can help us!

Sincerely,
Delta Vines

****

Another solution: Try something new; it certainly will set the Arabs back on their heals: Tell the Arabs the trade-off will become a deal ONLY if they simultaneously remove 400,000 Arabs from Israel and its territories. And tell the new Israeli government (sorely needed) to stop referring to the Arabs as “Palestinians” (most are illegals shunted out of Egypt and the Sudan) and then couple this new demand to a loud demand for “the right of return” of the JEWISH Palestinians to THEIR lands in Gaza, West Bank, Golan Heights AND Medina.

We are darn tired of watching decent Israelis getting jerked around by their jerk-leadership.

Viva to the Patriots of Israel from the NON-evangelical Christians for Zion.

****

Dear Ruth Matar, I would resolve the moral dilemma by changing Israeli policies versus terrorists. Every terrorist captured by Israel should be immediately executed, after extracting as much information from them as possible in order to prevent further terrorist attacks. Our guiding principle should be that our people have the right to live. Terrorists do not.
Strong leadership prevents terrorism. As soon as Ronal Reagan won the election, Iran released every American hostage. Iran had mockingly held them for almost two years during the Carter presidency. Iran feared Reagan, because Reagan was strong. Carter was weak. Israel should not ransom hostages. Israel should inflict so much punishment on Hamas, Fatah etc. that they will fear kidnapping our people

Kenny

****

A Letter to the Editor, Jerusalem Post, Monday, April 16, 2007
My Heart goes out

Sir, -Re “Prisoner deal: Let’s be forceful” (letters, April 12) my heart goes out:
*to the Israelis who, like me, lost family, friends, heroes and loved ones at the hands of terrorists who may soon be freed;
*to the intelligence teams who worked day and night, week-ends and festivals, to identify and find these murderers;
*to the police and soldiers who risked their lives arresting this cold-hearted, bloodthirsty rabble;
*to the judges who, in impeccable trials, handed down multiple life sentences, only to be made fun of later by politicians;
*to proud Jews who stand by in disbelief at having leaders without standards, shame or backbone, and a system that gives them free rein.
*to the average Palestinian, who has leaders who are accessories to murder, and often more.
For the record: if I am ever kidnapped, I would rather die in captivity than have one murderer set free to redeem me.
M.M. Hagenauer, Jerusalem

What can YOU do? One of my correspondents asked me for Ehud Olmert’s e-mail address. It might actually be very effective if you wrote Prime Minister Olmert how you feel about his planned release of terrorists with blood on their hands, (as well as about other issues as they arise).

In our Purim Journal of 2007 there are some excellent informative lists such as:

*The list of all current Israeli Ministers and Members of Knesset, their phone numbers, faxes and e-mail
addresses.
*A Link to the organizations that assist our brothers and sisters expelled from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron.
*Information as to who to contact in Israel and the United States to continue and intensify our struggle for the release of Jonathan Pollard.
*The names of US Government officials who need to be continually kept up to date regarding the true nature of Israel’s struggle for survival in the hostile Arab environment.

We will be glad to send you a copy of the Journal if you send us a $12. check to cover the total costs of printing and postage. Please make sure to write your address clearly.

With Blessings and Love for Israel,

Ruth Matar

=============================================
Women For Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380
mailto:wfit2@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org

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A DIFFICULT MORAL DILEMMA

Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Thursday, April 12, 2007

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is seriously considering Hamas’ demand to release jailed Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti, along with 449 other Palestinian prisoners involved in terrorist attacks, in exchange for the return of Cpl. Gilad Schalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas on the Gaza border in June 2006.

Barghouti is serving five life sentences for his involvement in terror attacks that killed numerous Israelis. Other top terrorists, among them the following six listed below from yesterday’s Jerusalem Post, are also on the list of prisoners to be freed.

*Hamas terrorist Hassan Salameh is serving 48 life sentences for his
part in three suicide bombings in 1996 in which 46 people were killed
and 90 wounded; the planning of a 1995 suicide bombing; and killing a
Palestinian suspected of collaborating with Israel.

*Abdullah Barghouti, a senior Hamas member and master bomb maker
dubbed ‘the mechanic,’ was sentenced to 67 consecutive life sentences
for preparing the bombs used in a string of suicide bombings in 2001
and 2002. In the attacks in Jerusalem, Rishon Lezion and Tel Aviv, 66
Israelis were killed and 500 wounded. The attacks included the August
2001 Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem, in which 15 Israelis were killed;
the triple bombing at Jerusalem’s Zion Square in December 2001, in
which 10 Israelis were killed; the blast at the Moment Cafe in
Jerusalem in March 2002, in which 11 Israelis were killed; and the
Sheffield Club attack in Rishon Lezion in May 2002, in which 15
Israelis were killed. Barghouti also supplied the bomb for the attack
in a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in July 2002, in
which nine Israeli and foreign students were killed, and provided the
explosives belt used in the attack on a No. 4 bus in Tel Aviv in July
2002, in which nine Israelis were killed.

*Yahya Sinwar, one of the founders of Hamas’s military wing. Sinwar
has been in jail for over 20 years.

*Fuad Shubaki is considered the Karine A weapons ship paymaster. The
ship was en route to the Palestinian Authority in the Red Sea when it
was seized by Israeli naval commandos in January 2002.

*Ahmed Sa’adat is accused by Israel of plotting the assassination of
former minister Rehavam Ze’evi.

*Hassan Yussuf is considered one of the most prominent Hamas leaders
in the West Bank.

There is a very difficult moral dilemma involved here. On one hand, our hearts break for the Schalit family, on the other hand, it has been proven, over and over again, that the release of Palestinian prisoners only leads to more kidnappings and Israeli death.

A bereaved father, Zion Swery, wanted vengeance for the death of his two children and son-in-law in a drive-by terrorist shooting on highway 443 in 2001.

“After my children were murdered I wanted to kill the terrorists!” he said.

Swery recalled how, at the funeral, Ehud Olmert (then Mayor of Jerusalem) promised to pursue those who were responsible for the attack. It is upsetting, Swery said, that Olmert, now the Prime Minister, is considering going back on his word.

The Almagor Terror Victims Association has long been concerned with this dilemma. On Tuesday the group held a press conference in Jerusalem, in which members of the group lit Yartzheit candles in front of a poster of terror victims.

Almagor Director, Meir Indor, says his research shows that in the past five years 177 Israelis were killed in terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians released in prisoner exchange deals. “When you release prisoners, you create a new wave of terrorism”, he said.

He and a number of terror victims said that while they empathized with the Schalit family, there were other ways to free Gilad that did not involve risking Israeli lives.

Speaking at the press conference, Yifat Alon, whose mother, Noa, and niece Gal Eisenman, were killed in a 2002 terror attack in Jerusalem’s French Hill, warned that more Israeli deaths were the only possible outcome of a prisoner release.

“We have tried this before, we have set prisoners free and what we got was that people were murdered. I want the government to be honest. We are going to pay with other people’s lives”, she said.

I, myself feel a very personal involvement in this moral dilemma. A very good friend of mine, an American immigrant from New York, like myself, Joyce Boim, lost her 17 year old son, David, in a drive-by terrorist shooting in 1996. My friend Joyce wants the government to keep the terrorists in jail. “We do not want any more widows or widowers or parents without children. The terrorists were jailed for a reason”, says Boim.

In the Jerusalem Post of April 9, 2007, there is an excellent article by Caroline Glick, entitled:

Our World: The next grand bargain

Shoshana Amos, Aviel Atash, Vitaly Brodsky, Tamara Dibrashvilli, Raisa Forer, Larisa Gomanenko, Denise Hadad, Tatiana Kortchenko, Rosita Lehman, Karine Malka, Nargiz Ostrovsky, Maria Sokolov, Roman Sokolovsky, Tiroayent Takala, Eliyahu Uzan, Emmanuel Yosef (Yosefov).

All the above were murdered on August 31, 2004, in twin bus bombings in Beersheba. The attack was planned and commanded by Matzeb Hasalmon, Hamas terror commander in Hebron.

The massacre in Beersheba was far from inevitable. Hasalmon, who recruited the bombers, trained them for their mission and sent them on their way, had previously been taken out of commission. He was arrested and convicted for the felony crime of membership in Hamas.

Since Hasalmon was not convicted of murder, when the Sharon government released him from prison together with another 460 terrorists on January 29, 2004, no one raised a fuss. The massive release, and the simultaneous release of the bodies of 59 dead terrorists was carried out in exchange for the return of Elhanan Tenenbaum, who was kidnapped in Dubai and brought to Lebanon by Hizbullah in 2000. Israel also received the bodies of IDF soldiers Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Suwaid, who were kidnapped and murdered by Hizbullah terrorists in October 2000.

Today the Olmert-Livni-Peretz government is in advanced stages of negotiations towards the exchange of Cpl. Gilad Schalit for up to 1,400 terrorists. Schalit was kidnapped from his base near Gaza in late June by a joint Fatah-Hamas terror cell. He has been illegally held incommunicado ever since.

Speaking Sunday of the impending deal, Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said Israelis should be prepared to see not only small-fry terrorists like Hasalmon, but also convicted murderers set free. As Herzog put it, we should use “original thinking” regarding who we should let out of prison.

During the heyday of the peace process in the 1990s, in repeated “confidence building measures,” Israel released 6,912 terrorists from prison. As time went by, it became increasingly difficult to limit the releases to those who had not actually murdered. So the governments thought “originally” and released killers whose victims were not Israelis. So it was that killers like Iyad Suwalha were sent packing.

Suwalha was arrested in 1992 for murdering a fellow Palestinian who he suspected of assisting Israel in its counterterror operations. He was released in 1999.

Senior Warrant Officer Haim Alfasi, Chief Warrant Officer Yaakov Ben-Shabbat, Cpl. Mazi Grego, Capt. Yael Kfir, Cpl. Felix Nikolaichuk, Sgt. Yonatan Peleg, Sgt. Efrat Schwartzman, Prosper Twito, Sgt. Liron Siboni, Dr. David Appelbaum, Nava Appelbaum, David Shimon Avizadris, Shafik Kerem, Alon Mizrahi, Gila Moshe and Yehiel (Emil) Tubol.

All of the above were murdered in two suicide bombings on September 9, 2003. The first took place outside Tzrifin military base; the second inside Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem. Suwalha commanded both attacks.

In July, in response to the abduction of IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took the nation to war in Lebanon. Olmert enjoyed massive public support when he pledged to fight to gain their release and to destroy Hizbullah, Iran’s proxy army in Lebanon that had kidnapped them.

Yet Olmert lost interest in fighting and gave up on winning when he saw how hard it was. Due in large part to the premier’s personal incompetence, Israel lost the war. Not only was Hizbullah not destroyed, and not only have Iran and Syria already rebuilt its arsenal to pre-war levels, Regev and Goldwasser - like Schalit - remain in captivity.

Since the ignominious cease-fire last August, the public has demanded an accounting from Olmert. At almost every single non-scripted public gathering where Olmert appears, he is hounded by angry citizens who demand he explain how he dared to abandon the field of battle and leave our soldiers behind.

Last September in one such incident, Olmert was confronted by Elipaz Baeloha, whose son Nadav was killed in battle in the war. When Baeloha demanded an accounting, as is his wont, Olmert refused.

Rather than accept the responsibilities of the office to which he stubbornly clings, Olmert deflected Baeloha’s criticism by saying the public is at fault. We are to blame, he explained, because we were stupid enough to believe him when he said he would fight to bring the men home.

As he put it, “From the beginning I knew we would have to negotiate to secure the release of the hostages. To rescue them we would have to pay a very heavy price. How many more children would you want to die like your son died to rescue them? Did anyone seriously think that I would get to some place, which I don’t know where it is, and would try to rescue them?”

Although as the months have passed the plight of our hostages being held in Gaza and Lebanon has been mostly out of the headlines, no one has forgotten them. And the frustration at the government’s failure to secure their release came to the forefront of the public agenda since the 15 British sailors and marines were kidnapped by Iran last month.

The contrast between the British, who were paraded seemingly continuously before the television cameras from the day of their capture, and the Israelis, who haven’t been seen or heard from since their abductions, was a cause for deep frustration. “Those lucky Brits,” the thinking went, “At least they get to see their guys.”

The manner in which the Blair government secured the release of the hostages has been roundly praised by the Israeli Left. Led by the Haaretz newspaper, the Left, which castigates as warmongers all who call for Israel to defeat its enemies, immediately pointed a finger at the government for not having yet capitulated to all the terror-masters’ ever-escalating terms for a deal on the soldiers.

As Zvi Barel of Haaretz put it, “Britain… understands what Israel refuses to understand: The captives and prisoners of a country perhaps ‘disturb’ its prestige, but negotiating their release does not damage the state’s power. Their release sometimes requires a high price, but in the case of Israel vis-a-vis Hizbullah or the Palestinian Authority, the price is in identical coinage: captives in exchange for prisoners and detainees… Only the exchange of people. And a bit of prestige.”

Like the British, the Haaretz-led Israeli Left ignores inconvenient truths. In the media age, prestige is power. Loss of prestige leads directly to a loss of national power and, inevitably, to the loss of life. The families of the four British soldiers who were killed by Iranian-sponsored terrorists in Basra the same day their navy and marine counterparts were released in shame by Iran can attest to this fact.

Avraham (Albert) Balhasan, Rose Boneh, Hava Hannah (Anya) Bonder, Anat Darom, Viorel Octavian Florescu, Natalia Gamril, Yechezkel Isser Goldberg, Baruch (Roman) Hondiashvili, Dana Itach, Mehbere Kifile and Eli Zfira.

The families of the 11 Israelis listed above can also attest to this fact. They were murdered in a bus bombing in Jerusalem on January 29, 2004. The attack occurred just as Israel was releasing 461 terrorists from prison and transferring the bodies of 59 dead terrorists to their masters in the PA and Lebanon for burial in the Tenenbaum deal.

Another 50 Israelis were wounded in the attack.

That day, then-science minister Eliezer Sandberg stated, “There is no connection and it is forbidden to make a connection between the bombing and the deal for the prisoner swap.”

Sandberg’s statement, far-fetched under any circumstances, was rendered farcical when Fatah declared responsibility for the massacre on Hizbullah’s television network.

All told, the Almagor Terror Victims Association has counted 177 Israelis who were murdered by terrorists who Israel released in prisoner swaps with terrorists.

The Olmert-Livni-Peretz government acts as though there is no way other than releasing terrorists, and so signing the death warrants of hundreds more Israelis, to bring about Schalit’s release. But this is simply untrue. What is true is that since the government embraced defeat last summer, it has had no policy other than capitulation.

But there are many, many other options. Schalit was kidnapped by a joint Hamas-Fatah force. The government could place sanctions such as travel bans on PA Chairman and Fatah terror chief Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister and Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh and their associates. So too, the government could order the Prisons Service to prevent jailed terrorists from talking to reporters, politicians and European diplomats and so end the anomalous state of affairs whereby convicted murderers like arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti are allowed to engage in psychological warfare against Israeli society and serve as power brokers in Palestinian society from prison.

Since last summer, the Olmert-Livni-Peretz government has taken no steps that would lead either the Palestinians or Hizbullah to view Schalit, Regev and Goldwasser’s illegal captivity as a burden. Rather, like their bosses in Teheran, the terrorists have all benefited from their criminal behavior.

Because of the fecklessness of our leaders, we lost a war we should have won and our hostages, who soldiers like Nadav Baeloha heroically gave their lives to free, have remained in captivity.
As Hizbullah, Iran, Syria, and the Palestinians show daily with their escalating saber-rattling, our leaders’ continued incompetence since the war has brought us ever closer to a new war.

Now, through their cowardly and unnecessary genuflections to our enemies, made under the preening cover of feigned concern for the lives of our hostages they have done nothing to free, Olmert and his associates place the lives of every one of us in danger.

* * *

Dear friends, if you were in a position to trade 450 terrorist killers for Cpl. Gilad Schalit, what would your decision be?

I, myself would not even consider freeing any terrorists who are responsible for the deaths of our loved ones. Rather, I would indefinitely turn off the water and electricity, which Israel still (often without getting paid), supplies to the Arabs in Gaza, until the return of ALL hostages, including the British BBC reporter, Alan Johnston.

How would YOU resolve this very difficult moral dilemma?

With Blessings and Love for Israel,

Ruth Matar

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