Doc's Talk: Address by PM Netanyahu at Birthright

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Address by PM Netanyahu at Birthright

http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/MediaCenter/Speeches/Pages/speechtaglit240614.aspx This is like the Jewish Mondial. From Argentina, did you see that goal? It was Messi, wasn't it? And Brazil and France and the UK. Is Canada there? Well, in the hockey Mondial. And of course the USA. So we have wonderful friends here who've supported Birthright all along and some who are supporting it now, among them our friend from the USA, Governor Mike Huckabee, a personal friend, a strong friend of Israel. Many years ago, you'd be too young to remember, Dr. Yossi Beilin who's sitting here with us, came to me, I remember, with evidently a crazy idea, and the idea was to bring thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Jewish young men and women to the State of Israel. Now, the idea was so far-fetched that I thought: well, if he's crazy, I'm crazy too, but I could put in so much, I did, as the Prime Minister of Israel, but he found other crazy partners, and two of the most distinguished ones who are putting their hearts, not only putting their hands in their pockets, putting their hearts into this are Dr. Miri and Sheldon Adelson – two pioneers and visionaries. And Sheldon and Miri, I want to salute you for doing the impossible, along with so many others who are here, and I want to congratulate all of you. I'm sure I'm going to miss out names, I know there are people here from Spain, I know there are people here from Los Angeles. Yohai Schneider, David Hatchwell, Meir Shamir in Israel and so many others, I want to thank you personally for what you've done, and to you, Gidi Mark, for what you are doing in moving this program forward.

I just met, with my wife Sara, we just met Ryan Hunter. Ryan Hunter comes from the USA, he's number 400,000. And with him was Ma'ayan, a soldier from the Oketz Unit. She's the 70,000 Israeli who's participated in this program. Together, that's almost half a million youngsters who have been in this Taglit-Birthright program. And I want to welcome you to our homeland. This is your homeland. See, I don’t care wherever you're coming from, you have to understand, it all started here, you all came from here. Now we're sitting in an amphitheater, it's a Roman amphitheater, in the city of Caesarea, who was actually built by a semi Jewish king called Herod, but it was the Roman seat of power. I think that in this amphitheater they didn’t feed us to the lions. There's another one buried in the sand where they did. They were sitting there, we were maybe sitting here or standing here or crawling here, but they vanquished us, they exiled us, we were dispersed to the four corners of the earth, we were finished. A great historian, or so he thought, by the name of Arnold Toynbee, he said, early on in the previous century, he said: the Jewish people, there's no such thing, the Jewish people are a fossil. Did you hear that? Some fossil. We've come back, we're here, you're sitting here, Israel is standing here. We've preformed a remarkable restoration and rebirth and there's been nothing like it in history. There is a force within our people that has allowed us to turn our country into an amazing success story. You're looking at Israel today, but 66 years ago, when we gained our independence, our population was a lot smaller. It increased tenfold, our economy has grown a hundred fold, and Israel has become a world center of technology, of innovation, of…you know this word? Seichel? I don’t know how you say that in Spanish, but you know what it is, and because of this we can take this country and make it the number one recycler of wastewater in the world. We can take our innovation, our ingenuity, and I'll ask you a question – do you know which cow produces most milk in the world? You think it's a Dutch cow? Maybe it's a French cow? No, it's an Israeli cow. Every moo is computerized, everything. You have cell phones in your pockets. There's a piece of Israel in there. You have medicines that you take, there's a piece of Israel there. You eat a salad, you know those round tomatoes? That's a piece of Israel. Israel is contributing to the entire world, but Israel is reshaping the Jewish world, and there's an amazing energy here which you can see. You're now in the shores of the Mediterranean, you can go to the Sea of Galilee or to the Dead Sea or to the Red Sea, and you'll see, as you travel this country, you'll see the amazing rebirth of our people. And the most important thing that I want to communicate to you is to tell you that this is your land, this is where it all started and this is where it all continues. And I know that not everyone in the world can accept this marvelous transformation. There are those who wish to extinguish the Jewish present and the Jewish future. There is rampant anti-Semitism still around. It's an age-old disease that doesn’t stop. What has changed with the rebirth of Israel is our ability to confront our vilification, our ability to defend ourselves against our enemies, and we do that with the proud soldiers, the brave soldiers of the IDF. Now we're engaged in many many challenges. There's no lack of challenges. We have three teenagers, they're probably more or less your age, and we will not rest, we will not let up until we find those boys and bring them home, and we will also find their kidnappers. And the vilification of Israel is there, it's in Europe. The violence is not only directed here, you saw it in Toulouse, you saw it in Brussels in these horrific attacks. We have to fight them. We have to fight not only a physical fight, but a moral fight, we have to fight the slander. The only way you can fight slander is with the truth. And I think it's important to tell the truth. You know, I heard, Governor Huckabee, I heard that a Presbyterian association in the United States decided to join the divestment campaign against Israel. Did you hear that? So I suggested to them that they should come to Israel, tour the country as you're doing and then take a bus tour to the Middle East. They should go to Libya, Syria, Iraq. They'll see Christians persecuted, churches burnt, minorities butchered, majorities butchered. And I have only two suggestions to them. One, make sure that it's an armored-plated bus, and two, don’t say that you're Christian. But there is no such problem in Israel. It's a vibrant, free, prosperous democracy. It respects human rights, it respects every religion. We are firmly anchored in the past, but we also enthusiastically seize the future, and this is your future. I want you to go back to your countries and I want you to tell everyone what you saw there. Tell your families obviously, tell your friends, tell our friends and tell those who are not our friends. Tell them the truth about Israel. Tell them that you had visited your homeland, that this is your birthright. Tell them the truth, stand up for Israel and then I want you to come back on Aliyah and help us build this country. Thank you very much, thank you, all of you. Congratulations. ________________________________________ IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations Website: www.imra.org.il

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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