Free Republic

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, at the beginning of a cabinet meeting Sunday morning, “A few minutes ago I spoke with Dr. Yehuda David, an Israeli hero,” referring to the Israeli orthopedist who emerged victorious from court on Wednesday after the French Supreme Court overturned a judgment against Dr. David, who was sued for slander by the father of Muhammed al-Dura. Video "The Muhammed al-Dura incident of September 30, 2000, has come to symbolize the ongoing propaganda against the State of Israel. While this war does not involve bullets and missiles, it is, nonetheless, as vicious and as destructive. This...

Arafat's Perfect Formula By: Barry Rubin Understanding what is happening on the Israeli-Palestinian front depends on one's assessment of why things are happening. The idea that Israel has "won" the war initiated by the Palestinians in the year 2000 seems a reasonable conclusion, but one that must be quickly qualified. Clearly, Yasser Arafat and his colleagues believed mistakenly then - as he had so often done before - that massive violence would advance their cause. They hoped to gain victory by wearing Israelis down through terrorism and by mustering international intervention. These efforts failed completely. In addition, the Palestinians suffered...

PCPO Poll: 40.5% support Abu Mazen, 19.6% comply w/Tanzim disarmament, 23.9% serious reformation of PA PCPO Poll of Palestinians: 40.5% support Abu Mazen, 19.6% comply w/Tanzim disarmament, 23.9% serious reformation of PA PCPO Poll no. 111. Date: 23, April 2003 A poll carried out by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) and Prepared by President Dr. Nabil Kukali. (55.3%) Support to varying degrees the President Arafat (40.5%) Support, to varying degrees Mahmoud Abbas "Abu Mazen" as a Palestinian Prime Minister. Majd Kokaly-Information Department: A poll recently conducted by the PCPO and prepared by Dr.Nabil Kukali included a random sample...

Diplomatic source: Arafat underminig independence of PA prime minister The Associated Press Mar. 16, 2003 Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Sunday suggested to the Palestinian Legislative Council several changes to a Palestinian basic law approved last Monday that a diplomatic source said constituted a significant decrease in the powers vested in the PA's prime minister. US President George W. Bush on Friday said that a long-awaited "road map" for peace would be put back on the table once Arafat appointed a prime minister with real power. The displomatic sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Arafat's suggestions could...

The Trauma Of Exile: A Meditation On Tisha B'av By: Avi Davis Among my many travels in the 1980s, I found myself in Istanbul, Turkey on Tisha B'Av eve in August, 1988. Fortunate to have the address of some Jewish friends, I was guided by them to a synagogue in the enclave of Nishantaj on the west bank of the Bosphorus. Access to the synagogue at that time proved difficult. Without my passport ( which I didn't think to bring to a synagogue) or any other form of identification, the guards, barricaded behind double-paned bullet proof glass, at least three...

War-weary Palestinians losing faith in Arafat's leadership As the West Bank counts its dead, the President's jaded rhetoric is wearing thin, reports Graham Usher in Ramallah Observer Worldview Sunday May 5, 2002The Observer For 35 days, Marwan Swaiti was one of 10 Palestinian guards left alone to defend a three-storey block in Yasser Arafat's presidential headquarters in Ramallah. His orders were simple: 'To defend the presidential office until the last man, including the death of the president himself.' The president, says Swaiti, stayed mostly in his office. He would usually appear twice a day - once in the morning, issuing...

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Amos Oz, who was born in Jerusalem in 1939, has published 18 books and hundreds of essays in Israeli and in international magazines and newspapers. His most recent novel, The Same Sea, was published in United States last year. Oz's works have been translated into 30 languages in over 35 countries. Since 1967, he has also been involved with various groups within the Israeli peace movement. Amos Oz, thanks for being with us. AMOS OZ: It's good to be with you. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You once said that you hoped that the tragedy of the relationship between Israel and...

MARGARET WARNER: Now, some perspective from two men who've been deeply involved in MidEast diplomacy. Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State and National Security Adviser for Presidents Nixon and Ford. And Zbigniew Brzezinski was National Security Adviser to President Carter. Welcome to you both. Mr. Brzezinski, beginning with you, the reports from the region are pretty horrific. How dangerous do you think this situation is? Assessing the situationZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: It's pretty abysmal and quite dangerous. First of all, Mr. Arafat may be killed. In the report we just heard talk about the possibility of people being extracted from his office,...

RAY SUAREZ: Joining us is Alon Pinkas, the Israeli Consul General in New York. Mr. Pinkas, what is the objective of the current Israeli military move in the territories?ALON PINKAS: The objective, sir, is to do what Yasser Arafat took upon himself in the various commitments he has made and the vows he has taken and to rout out the terrorists, to dismantle, obliterate and destroy the terrorist infrastructure that Mr. Arafat himself has, for the last year and a half at least, been harboring and directly and deeply supporting, and to possibly get to the-- to as much ammunitions...

Ambulances Enlisted For PLO War Effort Chief of IDF Planning Branch Maj.-Gen. Giora Eiland revealed yesterday an incident in which Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulances were exploited by the Arabs for non-emergency purposes. Following a gun battle between IDF forces and Arab troops within Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, PLO officials requested that Israel allow a Red Crescent Ambulance to enter the compound in order to evacuate two wounded gunmen to a nearby hospital. Israel agreed to this demand on humanitarian grounds. Upon the vehicle's exit, Israeli forces inspected it. Inside they found fourteen healthy Arabs along with the two...

48 Hours of Bloodshed - 31 Killed, Over 150 Wounded (29 March – 15:31) Since the beginning of the Passover holiday on Wednesday night, 31 people have been killed in Oslo War battles and terrorist attacks, and over 150 wounded. On Wednesday night at about 7:30pm, a bomber detonated an explosive device in the dining hall of the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya. 22 persons were killed and over 130 wounded. Many remain in serious condition at this time. On Thursday night, a terrorist succeeded in infiltrating into the Shomron community of Elon Moreh. He murdered...

60,000 people attend right-wing rally in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square By Mazal Mualam and Yam Yehoshua, Ha'aretz Correspondets A mass rally attended by tens of thousands of right-wing demonstrators at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Monday night ended peacefully. Police estimate that the rally, held under the slogan quot;A strong nation will defeat terror,quot; and causing traffic jams in central Tel Aviv, was attended by 50,000 to 60,000. Present at the rally were leading figures from the right of the Israeli spectrum, but organizers decided not to invite politicians to address protestors. Among those speaking at the rally were...