Thursday, June 28, 2007

 
Dear Friends,
 
This Monday, June 25th was the last day of the four-way Sharm-El-Sheikh Summit. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was the host of the summit, which was also attended by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the Palestinian Authority Chairman, Abu Mazen, and Ehud Olmert who is, unfortunately, the current Prime Minister of Israel.
 
Ehud Olmert, thus, was not only outnumbered by the Arab Enemy, but was definitely outclassed as well.
 
Arab leaders at the four-way Sharm-El-Sheikh Summit reiterated their support for Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), in light of the recent takeover of Gaza by Hamas.
 
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the host of the Summit, spoke first at the closing ceremony, Monday night. Noting that Sharm-El-Sheikh has become a symbol of peace, he gave his blessings for success to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas.
 
“I called for this summit in order to renew the hope for peace, as it is the desire of all the region’s peoples,” Mubarak said. He added that the leaders in attendance recognized “the need to assist and support the Chairman of the Authority, Abu Mazen, and to strengthen the unity of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and in the West Bank.”
 
Mubarak characterized the meeting at the summit as “forthright conversations” that focused on promoting continued negotiations between Israel and the PA, as well as ending the suffering of PA residents.
(R.M.: What about JEWISH suffering at the hands of Arab terrorists?)
 
In his parting address, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said that the events in Gaza in recent weeks “compel us to continue forward along the path that we wish for our peoples, the path of peace and security”. Abdullah added that he sees that path as leading to “a Palestinian state in Gaza and in the West Bank in peaceful existence alongside the State of Israel. To that end he emphasized, “Palestinian legality, and PA Chairman Abu Mazen must be strengthened.”
 
For his part, Abu Mazen said that the diplomatic opportunity that has been created must be taken full advantage of. According to the PA leader, with “all eyes on Sharm-El-Sheikh” the momentum must be transformed into action. Abu Mazen urged Prime Minister Olmert to resume what he described as “serious talks” towards a future Palestinian State. The region, he said, is “at a crossroads between peace and violence.” (R.M.: Is that a threat, Abu Mazen?)
 
Prime Minister Olmert said that he and Abu Mazen agreed to hold meetings every two weeks. “We agreed to continue talks that will bring about as soon as possible, the advent of a Palestinian State alongside the State of Israel” he said. In his closing speech, Olmert announced that he would propose to his Cabinet that Israel release 250 Fatah-affiliated terrorists from Israeli jails. As further gestures of goodwill, Olmert said he would release withheld tax revenues belonging to the PA and ease some restrictions on Arab travel in Judea and Samaria. However, Israeli military authorities have said that the easing of travel restrictions pose a great security risk!
 
THE REACTION OF KNESSET MEMBERS TO THE SHARM-EL-SHEIKH SUMMIT:
 
MK TZVI HENDEL representing the National Union Party on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said that Olmert continues charging down a path that leads to a weakening of Israel. “If the released terrorists were arrested after the Oslo Accords” Hendel asks, then what has changed? Then, too, we said that Fatah members want peace and we have to caress and hug them, and they committed crimes against Israeli citizens nonetheless. And now, reality will bite again under Olmert’s auspices. Hendel warned: “Every extra minute that Olmert remains in office increases the threat to Israel.”
 
MK YULI EDELSTEIN of the Likud Party said that Prime Minister Olmert’s speech showed that Olmert “has forgotten which state he heads and which people’s interests he is supposed to preserve.” According to Edelstein, Olmert gave “precedence to the Palestinian’s suffering instead of making it clear to Abu Mazen that in order to receive gestures from Israel, he needs to act towards a true eradication of terror.”
 
MK RABBI YITZCHAK LEVI (National Union Party) said in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that the only way to release Arab terrorists from prison is by throwing them out of Israel totally.  (Rabbi Levi’s daughter, Ayelet Hashachar, was murdered in a terror attack in November of 2000).
 
MK ZEVULUN ORLEV, Chairman of the National Religious Party, (NRP), said that the Prime Minister has again displayed a lack of thoughtfulness, irresponsibility, and impulsiveness in his decision-making. “The only consideration in exchange for release of the prisoners is Olmert’s political survival and, as on previous occasions, the citizens of Israel will be forced to suffer the attacks of those released terrorists.”
 
MK ARYEH ELDAD, of the National Union faction said that, despite the Sharm-El-Sheikh Summit’s failure, Olmert demonstrated a “Pavlovian” reaction by releasing prisoners and rewarding terrorism.  Referring to future victims of terror acts by the released terrorists, Eldad said, “The blood of the murdered innocents will be on the head of the person who releases murderers for the sake of his political survival.”
 
ARE WE SUCKERS FOR PUNISHMENT?
 
The Arabs are trying to kill us in every way possible. They are trying to carve out yet another Arab State from our Biblical Inheritance, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
Are you surprised that I include Gaza as part of what G-d promised the Jews?
Sadly, even a large part of the Bible-believing community seems to have forgotten that after the Exodus from Egypt, upon the arrival at the Holy Land, G-d apportioned Gaza to the tribe of Judah.
(Joshua 15:20-47)
 
As Israelis absorb the news out of Sharm-El-Sheikh of the proposed release of hundreds of convicted terrorists, Sderot and other western Negev communities are under continual Kassam rocket attacks from the Arabs. Despite the continued violence from the Arabs, Israel continues humanitarian aid! At least 80 trucks filled with food crossed into Gaza via the Sufa crossing.
 
The most outrageous and ironic part of this “humanitarian aid” to the Arabs is Olmert’s shipment of 600,000 young plants for Gaza’s greenhouse farmers!
Not only did Olmert have a hand in uprooting the Jews from Gaza, and destroying their homes, farms and agriculture, but he now goes out of his way to rebuild the same for the Arab enemy!
 
Dear Friends,
 
Olmert said at the Sharm-El-Sheikh Summit that he is “by nature, optimistic, and precisely in these days I see an opportunity, a way to promote the region’s diplomatic processes.”
 
Actually, most of us agree with MK Zevulun Orlev that Olmert’s capitulation to the Arabs makes him (Olmert) more optimistic, first and foremost, about HIS OWN POLITICAL SURVIVAL.
 
In the words of MK Tzvi Hendel:
 
“EVERY EXTRA MINUTE THAT OLMERT REMAINS IN OFFICE INCREASES THE THREAT TO ISRAEL”
 

With Blessings and Love for Israel,
 
Ruth Matar

=============================================
Women For Israel’s Tomorrow  (Women in Green)
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Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Thursday, June 21, 2007

The affirmative answer seems obvious to most of us. However, many worldwide organizations vociferously disagree. Even some governments, and not only those of Arab Moslem countries, do not acknowledge that Jerusalem is Israel’s one and only capital.

In an Arutz Sheva News article, published on June 15, 2007, Ze’ev Orenstein writes about the worldwide failure to accept Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital.

****

BBC REJECTS JERUSALEM AS CAPITAL OF ISRAEL

The reference to Jerusalem that drew the complaints occurred on March 24th, when a presenter on BBC’s Football Focus program mentioned that Jerusalem was, in fact, the capital of Israel, as well as her “historic soul.”

The BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit issued an official response to the complaint, stating, “The reference was a passing one in a context where the focus was on sport, not politics. While recognizing the sensitivity of the issue of the status of Jerusalem, the ECU took the view that the program-makers had taken sufficient action by acknowledging the error and rectifying the website.”
The BBC took an additional step in their efforts to appease the four Muslim-British organizations that issued the complaints. Fraser Steel, head of editorial complaints at the BBC, sent each organization a letter in which he stated: “We, of course, accept that the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and that the BBC should not describe it as such. I was therefore pleased to see that Katherine Tsang [BBC Information adviser], when she wrote to you in April, acknowledged the error and apologized for it. [Presenter] Steve Boulton and other senior managers in BBC Sport told us they very much regret the mistake and apologize for it.”

“Senior managers will try to ensure, as you suggest, that the mistake is not repeated. Because it appears on the website, there will be a public acknowledgement of the error, and the action taken in consequence.”

Steel added: “I’d like to add my apologies for this most regrettable, but I’m sure accidental, factual mistake. I appreciate that the status of Jerusalem is of particular concern to Palestinians, and it is important that it is not misrepresented. I am confident that lessons have already been learned, and they will be emphasized as a result of my decision.”

The apology over the reference to Jerusalem being the capital of the Israel is, in fact, consistent with BBC policy. Under the heading, ‘Israel and the Palestinians: Key Terms’, the BBC outlines its official position towards Jerusalem: “The status of Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive and complex issues of the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its status is dependent on a final agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. Between 1949 and 1967, the city was divided into Israeli-controlled West Jerusalem, and Jordanian-controlled East Jerusalem. Israel currently claims sovereignty over the entire city, and claims it as its capital, after capturing East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war. That claim is not recognized internationally and East Jerusalem is considered to be occupied territory.”
VISA CREDIT CARD COMPANY REJECTS ISRAEL’S CLAIM TO JERUSALEM

The BBC is not the only one who has recently called into question the status of Jerusalem serving as the capital of the State of Israel.

Recently, a Visa credit card customer noticed that his bill listed items he bought in Jerusalem’s Old City as purchases made outside the country of Israel.

The customer, whom the Hebrew newspaper Ma’ariv identified as “A,” said the credit card company told him that according to its list, the store in the Old City is located in “Palestine” and not in Israel.

A company executive stated, “The firm has no control over definitions in Visa’s international system.”

JERUSALEM NO LONGER HOME TO WORLD’S EMBASSIES

Late in 2006, both Costa Rica and El Salvador relocated their embassies from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. The move was considered significant, as, with the move, there are no longer any countries whose official embassies are located in the nation’s capital.

Traditionally, an embassy is located in the capital city of the host country.

EVEN THE UNITED STATES HAS NOT YET ESTABLISHED ITS EMBASSY IN JERUSALEM

On October 23, 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act into United States law. The Jerusalem Embassy Act states, “Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital. Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel… Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999.

However, within the Jerusalem Embassy Act there is a provision that enables the President of the United States to issue a presidential waiver, delaying the move of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, “if he determines and reports to Congress in advance that such suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.”

Since the passing of the Jerusalem Embassy Act, each U.S. President, Bill Clinton and George Bush has taken advantage of this provision every six months.

Despite failing to implement the Jerusalem Embassy Act, United States President George Bush stated that, “My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.”

****

THEY WERE ALL INVITED TO THE PARTY, BUT NOBODY CAME!
May 13, 2007
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Diplomacy/11352.htm

Ambassadors from both the US and the EU have declined Israel’s invitation to its celebrations this week commemorating the 40th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.

The German ambassador to Israel, Dr. Harald Kindermann, spoke for all EU countries when he declined the invitation, citing the controversial status of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital.

“We believe that Jerusalem’s future should be part of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians,” German Embassy sources told Ynetnews Sunday. “Our point of view is not new and Germany must take this stance in accordance with the rest of the countries.”

“We cannot force other European Union countries to accept our opinion, but we can definitely decide for ourselves. Germany cannot take part in an official event of the Israeli government, if this implies that we recognize these borders of Jerusalem,” the sources stated.

Shortly after Germany’s rejection, it was reported by Israel Radio that the US ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, would follow suit. Sources close to the ambassador said he would not be attending the Monday Jerusalem Day ceremony at the Knesset, though it is not known if the ambassadors decision was due to political reasons.

Jerusalem’s mayor, Uri Lupolianski, was infuriated by the boycott, and slammed the ambassadors’ decision.

“Anyone who doesn’t recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel does not recognize the state of Israel,” he said in a statement.

“Israel is the only country in the world that allows other countries to boycott its capital and not [locate] their embassies in the city,” he said.

The Foreign Ministery expressed regret over the boycott but still expected many attendees.

“Jerusalem is Israel’s united capital. This week we will mark 40 years of reunification. Many guests were invited to take part in the events, including diplomats. We expect them to attend,” said the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson.

Despite Jerusalem being Israel’s capital, no foreign embassy’s reside in the city, and are instead located in Tel Aviv, due to Jerusalem’s disputed status as capital.

The city was reunited, with the inclusion of East Jerusalem, where the Old City is located, as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War, and the reunification is celebrated each year on Jerusalem Day.

****

Dear Friends,

As an American Citizen, I am very disappointed in President Bush. He voices support for Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but continues to take advantage of the provision of the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which enables the President of the United States to issue a presidential waiver, delaying the move of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The act states that the President can do this “IF THIS IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS OF THE UNITED STATES”. (The U.S. Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act into United States law on October 23, 1995, TWELVE YEARS AGO!)
As quoted above, George Bush has stated that, “My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.”

Dear President Bush,
What National Security interests of the United States prevent you from moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? Could you enlighten us as to what exactly prevents you from fulfilling your promise?

Dear fellow Americans,

E-mail, telephone, fax and write President Bush, and demand that he fulfill his promises, before he goes down in history as the President who personally prevented America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

With Blessings and Love for Israel,

Ruth Matar

P.S. For your information:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washingdon DC 20500
USA
E-mail: comments@whitehouse.gov
Fax: 202-456-2461
Phone numbers:
Office of President Bush: 202-456-1414
US Capital Switchboard: 202-224-3121
White House Chief of Staff, Andrew H. Card, Jr.: 202-456-6798

=============================================
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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Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Thursday, June 7, 2007

Dear Friends,

The above is a purely rhetorical question on my part. I believe the Olmert Government may well harbor evil intent.

It is EXTREMELY important that you carefully read the following article by Greer Fay Cashman, and the Editorial, published in the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, June 6th.

IBA cuts may force English TV, radio news off the air
By Greer Fay Cashman

Although English is the most universal language in the world, it may very well disappear from Israel’s air waves – at least on a temporary basis.

The Israel Broadcasting Authority’s Management Committee is due to vote next Monday on a cost-cutting emergency plan that would close down most Channel 1 and Israel Radio programs, including the IBA News in English and the English radio news.

Steve Leibowitz, editor of Channel 1’s English IBA News, was informed by senior management on Tuesday that all programming with the exception of Hebrew language news will be suspended for an indefinite period of time to save on costs.

Employees on collective wage agreements and personal contracts will continue to be paid their basic salaries, but will have to take leave. Freelancers would be the most hard-hit by the plan.

The absence of staff at the IBA premises will have an immediate cost-saving effect on regular expenses such as maintenance, electricity and telephone as well as the extras involved in program production costs.

IBA spokesperson Linda Bar confirmed that at its meeting last Monday, the IBA Management Committee decided to postpone its vote on the administration’s drastic proposal until heads of all IBA departments had been consulted.

“It’s a dire situation,” she said. “The IBA has never faced a crisis of such proportions.”

Bar told The Jerusalem Post that in the event the proposal is accepted, the only remaining programs on Channel One would be Mabat, Seeing the World and Politika.

Radio stations Reshet Bet, Reshet Gimmel and Radio 88FM would remain operational because they bring in revenue, Bar said, but foreign language and culture programs are likely to disappear.

Leibowitz, who has mounted an intensive lobby within the IBA and beyond, said that while he understood that the IBA was facing a crisis, there were at least two important reasons for not axing the IBA News. One is that outside sources have contracted to broadcast the programs abroad, which means the news broadcasts bring in income, and the other is that IBA News provides the world with a window on Israel and is an important hasbara (advocacy) resource.

On IBA News, Israeli spokespeople can rebut charges made by people who misunderstand or are opposed to Israel’s policies. To close down IBA News, however temporarily, “is like shooting yourself in the foot,” Leibowitz said.

A radio broadcaster suggested that closing down broadcasts was not only outrageous, but possibly illegal, as the IBA Law mandates broadcasts for immigrants.

Furthermore, broadcasts in a language they speak are essential for foreign diplomats and other international representatives in Israel.

IBA staff who could be seriously affected by the implementation of a partial blackout on public broadcasting have very little recourse. Since the resignation of former MK Eitan Cabel (Labor), the IBA has been left without a caretaker. Cabel’s portfolio has reverted to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – a conflict of interest, as Olmert is also acting finance minister.

Nonetheless, Leibowitz and news anchor Leah Zinder have lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and the office of Acting President and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik.

As a member of the IBA Management Committee 17 years ago, Itzik was instrumental in pushing through the creation of an English-language news department at Israel Television.

Olmert’s spokeswoman Miri Eisin told The Jerusalem Post that she was still familiarizing herself with the matter and would bring it to Olmert’s attention.

A senior staffer at the Foreign Ministry told the Post that he was gravely concerned over the possibility that English radio and television broadcasts would be taken off the air waves.

“Israelis like to complain about hasbara. They say not enough is being done,” he said. “But when something is being done, they don’t follow through.”

Meanwhile, Leibowitz and his colleagues are getting the message out and are meeting many outraged responses from native English speakers.

The Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, the British Olim Society and Telfed, the Association of South African Immigrants, have a mounted an e-mail protest campaign. Leibowitz said he had no doubt that other English-speaking groups would follow suit.

Leibowitz was a founding member of the IBA News team along with the late Steve Edwards, who died exactly two years ago. On Friday, a memorial service will be held for Edwards at Kibbutz Ma’aleh Hahamisha, in which friends and colleagues will not only eulogize him, but – fearing the worst – will begin advance eulogies for English-language news programs or, on a broader scale, for public radio and television.

****

Editorial, Jerusalem Post, Wednesday June 6, 2007

Losing our voice

There soon may be no Israeli-generated English news broadcasts on the air – not on the radio and not on television. This would be the upshot of an expected adoption of a package of emergency measures by the management committee of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) next week.

The IBA has grown increasingly insolvent over the years, as successive governments slashed their contributions to its budget, while the fee-paying public has been covering diminishing portions of the costs of keeping public broadcasting afloat and functioning.

The threat to Israel’s only English-language broadcasts didn’t arise from specific insensitivity to this one branch of IBA operations, but from an overall near-collapse.

In fact, the IBA may all but shut down. Gone, at least temporarily but possibly indefinitely, will be all of its radio stations apart from 88FM, Reshet Gimmel and Reshet Bet, the popular and money-making advertising powerhouse.

All foreign language broadcasts, however, will be suspended, with the striking exception of news in Arabic.

On TV, the debacle is no less significant. Channel 1 will discontinue all original programming. Only the news will survive, padded by reruns and imports. Even the weekend news magazines will disappear. And as mentioned, so will the entire English news broadcasting division.

IBA’s full-blown crisis is a matter of grave concern and one which involves the controversial issue of public broadcasting. Israeli governments’ attitudes have been too extreme – either maintaining a monopoly or starving public broadcasting by denying it commercial income and/or budgetary sustenance. At the same time it’s disingenuous to ignore the featherbedding and other forms of waste that gradually destabilized the IBA. Whatever the cause, however, the IBA teeters today on the brink of outright collapse.

That acknowledged, an exception for English news broadcasts is nonetheless no less sensible and necessary than for Arabic news.

Like Arabic, English news serves a special purpose. Moreover, English news most likely influences greater audiences than the Arabic. Keeping Israel’s voice in Arabic on the airwaves remains indisputably rational, but the need for Israeli news in the language that most of the world, not to mention much of the Jewish world, speaks is no less vital.

These are the broadcasts to which diplomats, visiting business people, foreign correspondents and tourists listen to and watch.

Unlike many other IBA enterprises, English news also generate income through rebroadcasts, for payment, by a host of Christian channels abroad (including METV) as well as Internet sites. This offers yet another avenue for the Israeli viewpoint to be heard in a world that otherwise is exceedingly unsympathetic, if not altogether hostile.

Israel gets too few opportunities to present its perspective overseas. For Israel to thus undercut its own obvious interest boggles the mind.

If anything, IBA’s English broadcasts ought to be expanded, not cancelled. Yet the IBA is hardly all Israel needs to get its word out. We need look no further for evidence of this than to last summer’s Second Lebanon War.

The Winograd Committee has exhaustively documented flaws in military and civilian leadership and decision making, yet it ignored one critical arena: the war of ideas. While the committee did clearly criticize the government’s failure to include the Foreign Ministry, from Tzipi Livni on down, in its decision making, it did not take the next logical step and document the complete lack of a media strategy during the war.

This egregious oversight in its own investigation should be corrected by the committee before releasing its final report. If it does so, we expect that they will conclude that, while tremendous attention is paid to shaping coverage in the domestic media, both the IDF and the government had, and have, no serious and systematic efforts to shape real-time international coverage of Israel’s actions.

Military contests are only one facet of the challenges Israel faces. Waging a convincing battle for hearts and minds overseas is essential. In this inherently crucial conflict, Israel must not lose any outlet for its voice, especially not the IBA’s voice in English.

****

Dear Friends,

My Co-Chair (and daughter-in-law), Nadia Matar, and I have discussed Olmert’s possible intentions, and reached the following worrisome conclusion:

Olmert is trying to do exactly as his mentor, Ariel Sharon, did with regard to Arutz Sheva. (Arutz Sheva is the broadcasting station which tries to cater to hundreds of thousands of both secular and religious nationalistic populations.)

In 2003, Ariel Sharon, who then was the Prime Minister of Israel, shut down all radio broadcasts from Arutz Sheva. Now you can only get Arutz Sheva through the Internet.

The reason that Ariel Sharon shut down Arutz Sheva was to deprive a large part of both the Israeli and world-wide populations of information regarding his plan to “disengage” from Biblical Gaza and Samaria communities, and to expel Jews from their homes there. Unfortunately, Sharon was able to execute his disengagement and expulsion plan in August of 2005.

Olmert is more than happy to follow Sharon’s example. As I revealed in a previous article of mine, it was he who had convinced Ariel Sharon to disengage from Gush Katif and Samaria! http://181818.org/green/blog/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=156&PHPSESSID=31e9c6128affcd-55k
Olmert and his orientation have proven to be a tragedy for the Jewish People.

As you can deduce from Cashman’s article, the Israel Broadcasting Authority staff could be seriously affected by the implementation of a general blackout on public broadcasting. However they have very little recourse. “SINCE THE RESIGNATION OF FORMER MEMBER OF KNESSET EITAN CABEL (LABOR), THE IBA HAS BEEN LEFT WITHOUT A CARETAKER. CABEL’S PORTFOLIO HAS REVERTED TO PRIME MINISTER EHUD OLMERT- A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, AS OLMERT IS ALSO ACTING FINANCE MINISTER”!

Closing down Broadcasts is not only outrageous, but possibly even illegal, as the IBA Law mandates broadcasts for immigrants. Also, Broadcasts in the language they speak are essential for foreign diplomats and other international representatives in Israel.

The IBA staff is lobbying the Prime Minister’s office, the Foreign Ministry and the Office of Acting President and Knesset Speaker, Dalia Itzik.

The Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, the British Olim Society, and Telfed, the association of South African immigrants, have already mounted an e-mail protest campaign.

It is vitally important that all of us who believe in Freedom of Speech, and are aghast at Olmert’s continually expressed desire and intention to disengage from additional parts of Judea and Samaria, join in this battle.

Please contact Government officials:

*Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister
eulmert@knesset.gov.il

*Tzipi Livni, Foreign Minister:
zlivni@knesset.gov.il

*Shimon Peres, Vice Prime Minister:
shimonP@knesset.gov.il

*Dalia Itzik, Acting President and Knesset Speaker:
yor@knesset.gov.il

You should also send an e-mail to the Jerusalem Post Letters:
letters@jpost.com

Look at the record of Ehud Olmert, and you will surely hasten to take the time to send an e-mail to the above people. Let them know immediately, before it is too late, how strongly you feel about this very important issue!

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
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