Free Republic

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, TIKRIT, IRAQ – Officials in Salah Ad Din Province prepared for the October 15 Iraqi national referendum with a large scale rehearsal September 26 thru 28. The mission readiness exercise was held at the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Tikrit, Iraq. The MRX included representatives from provincial Iraqi government, Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police, emergency services, and Coalition Forces. The MRX rehearsed responses to various emergencies that could arise during the referendum. This scenario-driven exercise included responses to insurgent activity such as IEDs, VBIEDs, fires, traffic accidents, demonstrations among other emergency situations. A large part of the...

Feb. 10, 2005 22:54 US Reform leader: Referendum would lead to crisis with US By MATI WAGNER Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of America's Union for Reform Judaism, warned Thursday that foot dragging on disengagement in the form of a referendum would cause a crisis with the US. "The US is a true friend of Israel," said Yoffie in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post during a visit here. "But the notion that the US will sit by and be accepting as Israel decides to dump the disengagement plan or to delay it indefinitely is a serious mistake." "It will...

Feb. 10, 2005 22:55 | Updated Feb. 10, 2005 23:07 Envoy to US: Referendum may erode American support By HERB KEINON Israel may lose ground in Washington if it carriers out a disengagement referendum that will delay implementation of the plan, Israel's ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon indicated Thursday, just two days after Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom came out full force in favor of the referendum. "In my view I don't think anything that will postpone, or interfere, with the timetable or orderly manner of carrying out disengagement would be viewed favorably in Washington," Ayalon told The Jerusalem Post....

Rabbi Yosef Explains His Opposition to a Referendum 06:35 Feb 10, '05 / 1 Adar 5765 (IsraelNN.com) Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef remains opposed to a national referendum on the Gaza Disengagement Plan issue, explaining the people do not have the tools to make such a decision. Rabbi Yosef explains that the decision must be based on security considerations – weighing if the implementation of the plan will save Jewish lives or contribute to increased warfare. Rabbi Yosef explains that nothing else comes into play regarding his decision-making process. “What do the people understand about security?” he questions, adding...

Feb. 7, 2005 12:38 | Updated Feb. 7, 2005 18:40 Elyashiv, Barak support referendum By GIL HOFFMAN, NINA GILBERT, YAAKOV KATZ Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Photo: Hatzolah Jerusalem Degel Hatorah's preeminent halachic authority Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv said Monday that he would support the Disengagement Implementation Bill if it includes a national referendum. Elyashiv's statement comes a day after the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee spent a day heatedly debating making the bill contingent upon the results of a national referendum, as long it goes hand in hand with a new basic law limiting such a referendum to relinquishing...