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Israel Resource Review |
4th June, 2002 |
Contents:
Israel's Peculiar Position
Eric Hoffer
1968 June
The Jews are a
peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.
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Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem.
Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it,
Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese-and no one says a word about refugees.
But in the case of Israel the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back
every single Arab
Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.
Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace. Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.
Other nations when they are defeated survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews. No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on.
There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Negroes are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him. The Swedes, who are ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in
Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.
The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely becauseof Jewish efforts.
And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally.
We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us.
This piece appeared in the LA Times on May 26, 1968
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CNN Statement Concerning the
Interview with the Keinan Family
June 04, 2002
CNN deeply
regrets any extra anguish the Keinan family has suffered as a
result of CNN's broadcast Friday night.
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The Keinan family did two interviews with CNN on Friday. The first
interview was broadcast live in the USA and was replayed later day. The
interview was soon posted on CNN.com for its worldwide audience.
Later Friday, CNN's Wolf Blitzer selected excerpts of the interview for the
basis of a report about the family that aired on CNN in the US and to the
international audience a number times on Saturday.
Our intention had been to use other excerpts from the second interview
Friday night and Saturday on the international service, however this did not
happen and we apologize for the error. This mistake was compounded by fact
that we were running a previously recorded package on the suspected
motivation of the suicide bombing.
We are airing extended excerpts from that interview on CNN International on
Wednesday. Also, the second interview contained a specific message from the
family to CNN's European viewers and that will be aired later this week as a
central part of a special CNN Q&A program about the European view of the
Mideast conflict.
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Chairman of US House Task Force
on Terrorism Calls for Inquiry of UNRWA
Congressman Eric Cantor,
Seventh District of Virginia
WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Eric Cantor, Chairman of the Congressional
Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, today released a
policy paper on the recent controversy surrounding the United Nations
Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA is a temporary United Nations
organization tasked with providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian
refugees. The organization was created more than 50 years ago with the
intention of bettering the lives of these refugees. Unfortunately, it
appears that camps under UNRWA's control have become launching pads for
terrorist activity against civilian populations.
"Buildings and warehouses under UNRWA's supervision are allegedly being
used as storage areas for Palestinian ammunition and counterfeit currency
factories," Congressman Cantor said. "It is disturbing that millions upon
millions of American taxpayer dollars are going to fund an organization
that has allegedly looked the other way when terrorists operate under
their supervision. The United States is currently engaged in a war
against terrorism, and I stand behind President Bush in his vow to root
out terrorists and the countries that harbor them. If terrorist activity
is thriving under UNRWA's control, all U.S. funding from that organization
must be withdrawn."
The full text of the paper is attached.
TASK FORCE ON TERRORISM & UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
ERIC CANTOR, Virginia
CHAIRMAN
May 22, 2002
The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) was founded in 1950 after
the first Arab-Israeli War to assist and coordinate the actions of
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) with the actions of Palestinian
refugees. The establishment of UNRWA was the result of the Arab world's
botched attempt to destroy the newborn state of Israel and was intended to
be a temporary solution to deal with displaced Palestinians in Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, over the
last 50 years, UNRWA's assistance has not improved the quality of life of
the Palestinian people. In fact, under UNRWA's control and supervision,
the Palestinians have created an active and deadly terrorist regime.
At the time of UNRWA's creation, the West Bank was under the control of
the Jordanians, and the Gaza Strip was under the control of the Egyptians.
It was not until 1967, when Israel fought a defensive war against its Arab
neighbors, that the Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip fell under Israeli control. While UNRWA claims to only assist
refugees who fled their homes to join Arab forces attacking Israel in
1948, it is evident by refugee rolls that this is not the case. Even
though UNRWA counts nearly four million Palestinians as refugees, it is
likely that many of their ancestors are not from the land that is now
Israel.
Currently, 50 years after the temporary organization was created, UNRWA is
still involved in the Middle East by wholly funding and largely
administrating the West Bank refugee camps that are under Yasser Arafat's
control. At the center of controversy today is the UNRWA-run camp of
Jenin. This camp was the focal point of the latest Israeli attempt to
destroy the terrorism infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. The
Israeli military has provided ample evidence that the Jenin camp is the
central command for suicide bombers. The Palestinians seem to agree, as
they refer to the Jenin camp as the "suicide capital" and continue to
launch many attacks against Israeli civilians from the location.
This continued assault from the Jenin camp against the only democracy in
the Middle East forces us to question the manner in which UNRWA is running
its refugee camps. Many allegations of abuse by UNRWA staff and of UNRWA
resources have surfaced around the Jenin refugee camp. In UNRWA-funded
and staffed schools, Palestinian children are taught that "Palestine's"
borders run from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. By failing to
acknowledge the existence of Israel, UNWRA fosters hatred in children
toward the people of Israel and the belief that Israel has no right to
exist. Furthermore, UNRWA hosts summer school training camps where young
students are taught tactics that further the cause of the Intifada and the
supposed honor of Martyrdom. Buildings and warehouses under UNRWA's
supervision are allegedly being used as storage areas for Palestinian
ammunition and counterfeit currency factories. It is even alleged that
the extreme terrorist organization, Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, openly controls the UNRWA workers' union. UNRWA denies that
this occurs, but has not provided satisfactory evidence to the contrary.
In Jenin, and especially inside the refugee camp, an extensive
infrastructure of terrorist organizations exists. All of these terrorist
organizations are allegedly under the supervision of UNRWA. These
terrorist organizations include Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah
and are responsible for launching homicide attacks into Israel. Internal
Fatah documents are available which demonstrate that even among the
Palestinians, Jenin is considered the suicide capital.
For example, a letter to a Fatah official contains the following
statement:
"(Jenin refugee camp) is characterized by an
exceptional presence of
fighting men who take the initiative (on behalf of) the national activity.
Nothing will beat them and nothing worries them. Therefore, they are ready
for self-sacrifice with all the means. And therefore, it is not strange,
that Jenin (has been termed) the suicide capital" (A'simat Al-Istashidin,
in Arabic).
Furthermore, while UNWRA claims to be a humanitarian organization,
it allows terrorist organizations in Jenin to use local civilians as human
shields. While terrorists launch attacks against the Israeli army out of
occupied houses and apartment buildings, UNWRA turns its head. When
innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire, UNRWA allows the
terrorists to create sympathy for the Palestinian cause, thus swaying the
Israelis from responding to attacks. The terrorists have also rigged
civilian houses in Jenin so that Israeli troops would be killed while
hunting for terrorists. This despicable lack of consideration for human
life, which UNWRA seems to condone by not stepping in, is only one of the
weapons that the terrorist groups use against their own people and Israeli
civilians. Where is UNRWA while this is taking place?
Even more disturbing is the amount of American taxpayer dollars that funds
UNRWA and the fact that the State Department has requested $30 million in
additional aid for UNRWA this year. For Fiscal Year 2001, the United
States voluntarily contributed an outrageous $101 million above UN dues.
Though a finalized amount has not yet been determined for UNWRA funding in
Fiscal Year 2002, there have already been calls to further increase that
funding.
UNRWA has one underlying failure that will continue to prevent it from
ever truly assisting the Palestinian refugees. UNRWA believes that its
mandate is not to assist the refugees out of these camps, but rather to
assist their living in the camps. This faulty logic, similar to that of
the welfare system in the United States before 1996, leads to generations
after generations of refugees remaining in camps. This means that the
little or no movement out of the camps prevents the refugees from ever
bettering their lives. Part of the Palestinian's problems stem from their
refugee status, so U.S. policy should enhance their lives and teach them
skills so that they can abandon refugee life and live a normal life
contributing to a peaceful society. Maintaining this "welfare" status quo
is not helping anyone. Rather than continuing to fund this poorly
mandated and misguided United Nations' program, Congress should begin a
thorough review of UNRWA's practices. The American taxpayers deserve
more responsible government actions.
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