To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Tzemach News items (1/22/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 09:35:22 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

EU MAKES OFFER TO SYRIA; NONE TO ISRAEL: The European
Union (EU) has offered Syria security, economic and technical support
after it reaches a peace deal with Israel, Portuguese Foreign Minister
Jaime Gama said Monday. "We are prepared to cooperate with Syria
and Israel in various fields after the signing of a peace deal, including
security, water, and regional development," Gama told reporters. No
mention was made of aid to Israel.

RAMON SAYS 'NO'; BARAK GETS MAP: Haim Ramon, a close aide to
Prime Minister Ehud Barak, rejected outright Wednesday Syrian
demands that Israel make a concrete commitment to hand back the
occupied Golan Heights plateau before Damascus agrees to return to
the negotiating table. "Any dictation by the Syrians will not be accepted
by us," said Ramon, who is a minister without portfolio in Barak's office,
adding that Israel was still insisting on security guarantees and a
normalization of ties.

Meanwhile, the chiefs of staff have recently completed a map drawn at
Barak's request of the 4 June 1967 border on the Golan Heights. The
June 4 lines are those to which Syria demands Israel withdraw. Using
aerial photographs, field surveying and eyewitness testimony, the
intelligence branch of the Chiefs of Staff recently completed the highly
classified map. Only a few officials have seen the final version. Due to
Israel's refusal to acknowledged the 4 June lines as official borders,
there had been no detailed map showing the lines. The IDF was
originally reluctant to furnish the 4 June map, assuming that there was
no chance of Israel consenting to a withdrawal to those lines. In his
capacity as defense minister, Barak gave the order to draw the map.
Now various IDF officers are wondering whether the cartographic
exercise bears a political message. Is it possible, they are asking, that
Israel will ultimately assent to Syria's territorial demands?

MEANWHILE, ON THE PA/PLO TRACK: With Israeli-Syrian talks on an
unexpectedly drawn-out recess, PA/PLO chairman Yasser Arafat
received the undivided attention of US President Bill Clinton and his
administration on Thursday, as he sought American intervention in the
Oslo peace process and support for Palestinian statehood. The
Palestinians are complaining that Barak has been absorbed in revived
Syrian talks and has not given a mandate for making compromises to
his representatives in either formal or informal discussions on final-
status issues including Jerusalem, refugees and settlements. The time
schedule for completing the framework agreement is by February 13.

Palestinian leaders say they are preparing to declare statehood,
perhaps as early as next month, a sign of their unhappiness with the
pace of peace talks with Israel. A number of nations, including EU
members, Russia and Japan, have committed to Arafat to recognize
such a decision at once. Clinton has voiced support for the right of the
Palestinians "to decide their own fate on their own land." Barak has not
expressly objected to Palestinian statehood. Arafat promised Saturday
to declare a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital on
13 September, the deadline according to the Sharm el-Sheikh
Memorandum for the completion of final-status negotiations. Arafat had
originally planned to declare independence last 4 May but delayed the
declaration so as not to influence the Israeli elections.

In another report, Edward Abington, former US consul-general of
Jerusalem, has been hired by Arafat to serve as a Palestinian lobbyist
in Washington. The PA/PLO and Abington have reportedly signed a
$2.25 million contract. (Even terrorist organization have lobbyists in
Washington-ed) Former US President Carter was also previously an
advisor to Arafat.

PA/PLO INCITEMENT AND THE CONFERENCE IN SWEDEN ON
ANTISEMITISM: "In only five days [from Friday], Prime Minister Ehud Barak
and his Minister without Portfolio, Rabbi Michael Melchior will travel to
Sweden to participate in an international conference on antisemitism. The
program there will focus on how to prevent another catastrophe from
happening to the Jewish people, and discuss the lessons of WWII. Today
[Friday], the Arafat-appointed Mufti of Jerusalem delivered yet another of his
Friday sermons on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in which he called for the
extermination of the Jewish state. Our news agency called one of the foreign
TV networks with whom our news agency works to check out if there was
interest. The response that we got was that this network would indeed
feature the Mufti's address and would run a feature on the official incitement
that appears daily on Palestinian Authority TV and radio and schools, if the
Prime Minister of Israel would say that this is a matter that disturbs the state
of Israel. Our agency immediately placed a call to the Prime Minister's office.
Apparently catching one of Barak's spokeswomen off- guard, she blurted out
that "we don't care about such things". We persisted and called the PM
office more than a dozen times, asking for the Prime Minister's media advisor
if they would at least issue a statement in this regard. We also called to
Rabbi Melchior's office and he was also unavailable for comment, as he has
been unavaiable for comment on such matters since he entered office back
in July, 1999. Indeed, the Sharm El Sheikh accords signed on September 4,
1999 by Barak and Arafat in the presence of US Secretary of State Albright
made no mention of the need for a cessation of Arafat's incitement against
the state of Israel. Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League have
asked the Palestinian Authority to stop its incitement, yet such calls have
been ignored. However, the man who most ignores the call to cease
Palestinian Authority incitement is none other than Ehud Barak, a decorated
military officer who may not realize that the tongue can be just as lethal as
the sword. That is one of the lessons of the tragedy that befell the Jewish
people a generation ago, when many Jews did not take the incitement of
Adolf Hitler with the seriousness that they could have. Barak does not have
to travel to Stockholm to learn the lessons of what happened to the Jews in
WWII. All he has to do is to turn on to the VOICE OF PALESTINE and to
listen. And Rabbi Michael Melchior, who is also the Rabbi of Norway, could
translate Arafat's official message into every Scandinavian language for
everyone in Stockholm to understand the nature of Moslem antisemitism that
Israel must now cope with." DAVID BEDEIN, Media Research Analyst, Beit
Agron International Press Center

THE TOR FAMILY OF MAON RESPONDS: "The terrible pogrom that
the government of Israel conducted against our homes in order to
appease the murderer Arafat and his partners is not finished. After
everything was destroyed, the fragments of the ancient stones from
which we built our home, the pleasant corner called the "Maon Farm,"
were collected and cast into the Yatta [nearby Arab town] garbage
dump so that we would not return and build once again. The Farm was
utterly devastated and the contents of our houses were thrown into a
shelter in the adjoining settlement.

The army left a number of soldiers on the site in order to show that
military activity is being conducted near the firing range at the edge of
which the Maon Farm was located. (There was no live fire in this part of
the range and exercises were never conducted there). The farm's
location was the reason given by the government for destroying it. The
only shots that were ever fired there were those fired by the murderers of Dov
Dribben of blessed memory.

Of course, the Arabs live in this area undisturbed - as is fitting for a
government of law in which the law applies only to citizens of the
Mosaic faith. Arabs build everywhere, with no permit or interference at
all, and certainly not wild destruction.

Last Tuesday rain fell, thank God, and the army quickly turned tail, as is
fitting for an army that has recently been well trained in caving in (in
preparation for the great mission on the Golan Heights, Heaven forbid). The
Arab rioters, who have been trying to drive us out of the Farm ever since we
settled there almost three years ago by means of incessant attacks that
culminated in the murder of Dov, were not successful in breaking us and in
severing us from our land. On the contrary, we set down deep roots and
expanded. But the government of Israel completed the act of Dov's murder,
the "coup de grace," and expelled us on their behalf.

When the Arabs saw that the army had turned tail, they arrived to
continue the destruction of the remnants left by the government. They
uprooted, destroyed, smashed, stole fences, poles, plantings, and
pipes. They destroyed the memorial at the place where Dov Dribben
was murdered; they stole the flag that flew there since the murder; and
they uprooted the trees which Dov's sons had planted near the place of
the murder.

Our congratulations to Barak, the "friend of settlement." Go on -
demean yourself - beg for a handshake from the Syrian war criminal,
and run to devastate the Golan. Spit on our land for a fistful of dollars. At
Maon you have finished . . . for now." Yehoshafat and Shira Tor

FAITH AND ACTION: "G-d does answer prayers. Two weeks ago, Israel went
from severe drought to flood conditions in certain cities, in a matter of several
days "with the greatest recorded rainfall for one day in fifteen years. Although
the Sea of Galilee is still four meters below the danger line, and much more
rain would still be required to insure Israel's immediate and longer term water
needs, these torrential rains were still viewed by the religious community as
an answer to our prayers. The unusual amounts of torrential rain reminded us
of an incident recorded in the Talmud (Ta'anit 23:A). Once, when the Land
suffered from a prolonged draught, the sages sent for the great, renowned
tzaddik (righteous man) known as 'Choni the Circle-Maker' to pray on the
community's behalf. He traced a circle on the ground and stood inside the
middle, as the prophet Habbakuk did before him (Habbakuk 2). He declared
'Master of the Universe! Your children are depending on me! I swear by Your
great Name that I will not budge from here until You have mercy on them!"
The rains came down in such abundance that all the people were forced to
go up to the Temple Mount to seek refuge.'

Yes, up to the Temple Mount. Now, in our own generation, we also 'seek
refuge on the Temple Mount' we seek out our aspirations for the rebuilding of
the Holy Temple. But long-gone is the day when Israeli forces liberated the
Temple Mount in 1967, and the country stood spellbound, as if in a dream,
listening on the radio to the emotion- choked voice of paratrooper
commander Motta Gur declare 'The Temple Mount is in our hands!' Today, 33
years later, we can no longer afford to be lulled by the luxurious illusion that
the Temple Mount is in our hands. In the meantime, the illegal archaeological
destruction on the Temple Mount continues. It was reported that Moslem
Waqf workers have begun to fashion concrete frames for the underground
openings that they made. They have also poured concrete for a supporting
wall on the eastern side of the Temple Mount. In the course of their
destruction- disguised-as-construction binge, several structures that had
been preserved underground in their entirety for nearly two millennia had
been unearthed, including a water aqueduct from the Holy Temple. These
were then completely demolished by the Moslems with exacting precision. In
our newsletter of January 2nd, we reported about a visit that we made,
recorded on film, to the site where the Wakf has discarded the remnants
from the Temple. We received many inquiries about the availability of this
film. We hereby inform our readers that at this moment, the Temple Institute
and a group of dedicated friends are working feverishly on the production of
an informative film about the current situation on the Temple Mount. This film
will include unusual interviews and footage concerning all of the details that
we have been reporting, including the visit mentioned above; as well as the
inspiring 'Unveiling Ceremony' of the famed Golden Menorah constructed by
the Temple Institute for the future Holy Temple. With G-d's help, the Institute
will make this film available shortly. Watch for announcements.

Last week, close to 30 senior archaeologists protested at the Kidron
Valley site where the Moslem Waqf has been dumping the artifacts that
it excavated from below the Temple Mount. The archaeologists
emphasized that in addition to the desecration of holy Jewish artifacts,
the Waqf is also violating Israel's Antiquities Law. They called upon
Atty.-Gen. Elyakim Rubenstein to act to stop the illegal excavations on
the Temple Mount. Of course, according to the Islamic authorities,
Jerusalem was never a Jewish city and there never was a Temple on the
Temple Mount. This lie is being reinforced by the current flurry of
destruction on the Temple Mount. If all evidence is destroyed, it will be
that much easier, come the "final status negotiations" that will
determine Jerusalem's future, for these insidious powers to attempt to
tear out the heart of the Jewish people. Thus, the HAMAS NEWS
SERVICE carried the following item on January 14th:

'Mufti of Palestine: Aqsa Mosque is none of Israel's business: Occupied
Jerusalem The Mufti of Palestine and Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrema Sabri, has
warned the Zionist regime against "tampering with the issue of al Masjidul
Aqsa," saying "this is an exclusive Muslim affair and Israel has no right to
have any say in it." Sabri described Islamic holy places in Alquds
(Jerusalem) as "absolute red lines." "Israeli extremists are advised to keep
off this issue because al Masjidul Aqsa is the ultimate red line for Muslims
here and everywhere." Sabri's remarks came after Israeli extremists
petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to stop renovation works at al Masjidul
Aqsa being carried out by Wakf authorities. Sabri said the Haram al Sharif
(the Temple Mount) was and would continue to be outside the confines of the
jurisdiction of Israeli courts.'

End Quoted Section

Perhaps the greatest challenge we face is to prevent the cycle of
unrepentant history from repeating itself. Ours is the generation on the
cutting edge, and it is up to us to learn from history and make a difference for
the future. If our sages stated that 'Every generation that does not merit the
rebuilding of the Holy Temple, is reckoned as having destroyed it,' then what
of our generation? After receiving the gift of the Temple Mount in return, we
have allowed it 'to become desolate; foxes prowl there' (Lamentation 5:18)
And now, our own history is violated before our very eyes, by those who hope
that it will be erased forever. Once again we have come to the fateful 'day of
Jerusalem' wherein we hear the cry of 'Raze it, raze it, to its very
foundations!' (Psalms 137:7)

G-d does answer prayers. But He also looks to us to accomplish everything
in our power. This is why seeking refuge from the torrential onslaught of our
enemies, by our aspirations alone, is not sufficient. The true merit of this
generation is that it is one not only of strong desire for what is right, but for
action as well. This combination of prayerful desire tempered by action, is
exemplified by the work of the Temple Institute. For the Institute's goal is
twofold. The first aspect is to bring the concept of the Holy Temple back to
the forefront of consciousness. The second is to begin the process of
rebuilding the Holy Temple itself. Through its creation of sacred Temple
vessels, ready to be used in the Divine service, and ongoing research of
every detail of Temple-related commandments, the Temple Institute has truly
begun the process which will lead, with G-d's help, to the rebuilding of the
Holy Temple.

The Institute is now in a period of intense growth. At this moment, the
last of the three major Temple vessels—the golden Table of the
Showbread—has been completed. Together with the Menorah and the
golden Incense Altar, the Table of the Showbread can now be seen at
the Institute, and is ready to take its proper place within the Sanctuary
of the Holy Temple.

As the Jewish heritage of Jerusalem is challenged before our very eyes, this
is the traditional Jewish answer to those that would rise up against Israel in
every generation: "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied
and grew" (Ex. 1:12). We will not disappear, but go further, accomplish
more, and be strengthened in our faith—and above all, we will act. Faith
must lead to action. The Institute has acted in this faith by completing these
major vessels as a positive response to the challenges of the times we live
in. The golden Table was completed despite the fact that the necessary
funds were not in hand. Now, the Temple Institute invites you to participate in
this great work, and presents you, its friends and well-wishers, with the
opportunity to become an active partner in the restoration of the Holy
Temple, by contributing towards the golden Table of the Showbread. Please
consider supporting these efforts. The creation of these vessels, ready for
use in the Temple, is the beginning of the process of rebuilding the Holy
Temple itself- and thus, your part in the Temple Institute's work can make a
significant difference. With blessings from Jerusalem, Rabbi Chaim Richman
THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE <http://www.temple.org.il/index.html>

TZEMACH NEWS SERVICE
Week Ending: 22 January 2000 / 15 Shevat 5760
http://www.tzemach.org/fyi

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