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by Ariel Natan Pasko |
February 3rd, 2006
The Israeli government intends to impose a scorched earth policy, violently expelling Jews from parts of the Land of Israel that the government calls "illegal outposts."
A brutal "Police Riot" has just occurred in Israel, storming protestors with horses and swinging batons, hurting whomever is in their way. There are reports of several hundred civilians injured, including three Knesset members, Effie Eitam (knocked unconscious), Aryeh Eldad (broken arm), and Rabbi Binyamin Elon. Nothing has been seen like this in the free world since the Police Riots during the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968.
After those violent events, Chicago's late Mayor Daley slipped and unapologetically blurted out, "The police aren't there to create disorder, they're there to preserve disorder," proving the protestors claims that the police came to the site, with the intension of breaking heads and inflicting massive casualties.
Daley's police rioters clubbed and maced not only "unruly protesters," but also members of the media, clergy, women, young, old, and anyone else who was within swinging distance.
And that's exactly what happened at Amona.
According to Amona spokesman, Ariel Kahane, "I have never seen police violence on the scale I saw today, especially when the police rammed through a line of civilian protestors."
IDF Central Command Major-General Yair Naveh claimed 65 members of the security forces were wounded, as he downplayed the number of injuries on the protestor's side. He estimated that about 70 "settlers" were also wounded. Yet, Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, said that 219 people had been treated for injuries and that 169 wounded were evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Close to 300 other injured protestors were treated in a giant first aid tent set up in Amona itself.
Trade & Infrastructure Minister Ronnie Bar-On (a close Kadima ally of Acting Prime Minister Olmert), let the cat out of the bag when he told the press, "The era of restraint in dealing with protesters is over."
Evidently the Israeli government intends to impose a scorched earth policy, violently expelling Jews from parts of the Land of Israel, what they call "illegal outposts," actually new neighborhoods within the municipal boundaries of existing towns in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
MK Effie Eitam (National Union), speaking later with Israel Army Radio, explained that he and other members of the Knesset were on the front lines when the security forces approached Amona. He said the MKs came, just as they had in Gush Katif, "to see and be seen," to try and mitigate violence from both sides. Eitam explained that they attempted to negotiate with the police, but no police negotiators were to be found, mounted police came in swinging, "Early on, I was hit, knocked down, and run over by a horse and lost consciousness." Eitam plans to file a complaint against the police violence with Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.
One injured protestor described the scene, "We were standing in the front line, with no intention of using violence or anything, and all of a sudden the police just rained down on us with horses and clubs…" Assia Grima, who barricaded himself in a house, was sent to the hospital with a broken hand. "There were many head injuries there; people were hit with clubs," he said. "I myself was struck by a police officer's club, but some of those on our side also acted inappropriately and threw stones, but most of the guys just barricaded themselves [nonviolently] in the homes. Some wanted to leave Amona, but were prevented from doing so [by the police] and were beaten. Anyone in the area was beaten indiscriminately."
A 15-year-old boy was hospitalized in "very serious condition" with a fractured skull. He was placed in a medically induced coma and is on a respirator. Describing the brutal police violence, Amona settlement leader Orit Caspi said, "They are fighting us, they are killing us, the state has declared war on its own citizens."
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) later analyzed the events, "From here, we go on to the next confrontation, which will be far more harsh. In the third confrontation, there will be shooting deaths and in the fourth confrontation, the government will fall. I do not think that Acting Prime Minister Olmert will want to stop before then, because he is sure that if he beats the settlers, then he will appear to be a strong prime minister and earn a few more seats in the [upcoming Israeli] elections."
MK Uzi Landau (Likud) commenting about the Police Riot at Amona, "There's no doubt that in this case we didn't see a level-headed approach by the prime minister. We saw someone who's looking for a confrontation, in light of an estimation it will help him in the elections. He did this on purpose. He refused to accept all compromise offers by the settlers." Landau said, "If Olmert had only the rule of law in mind, he would treat everyone equally. The Palestinians build more than 1,000 illegal homes in the Jerusalem region every year. But he [Olmert] takes care of nine homes in Amona."
Landau also explained that Olmert was seeking to divert the public's attention from Hamas' election victory by turning the settlers into enemies. "Instead of holding a discussion about matters related to Hamas…all the cameras and media are focusing on the settlers in Amona. Why did he do this now? We saw that in Hebron it was possible to reach a deal. In Amona they [the government] didn't want a compromise."
There are several reasons why Olmert & Co. have decided to attack the Jews instead of Hamas, carrying out this expulsion:
1. The world doesn't cry out when anti-Semites attack Jews around the world, or when the Israeli government attacks Jews.
2. Related to the first reason, Olmert can get away with it. Jewish "settlers" don't shoot to kill, "Palestinians" do. If they attacked Hamas, "Palestinian" supporters around the world would scream out, European states and the UN would probably condemn Israel, and there would be the fear of reprisal bombings from Hamas, and the other terrorist groups.
3. There is a difference between Hebron and Amona. The government lists Amona as an "illegal outpost;" the Shuk area of Hebron known as the Shalhevet neighborhood, is not. Under the Roadmap, Ariel Sharon committed Israel to dismantle "illegal outposts," such as Amona. The then Fatah-led PA committed itself to disarming and criminalizing terror groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc. In spite of Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to carry out what he agreed to, and after Sharon's unilateral expulsion of Jews from Gaza brought Hamas to power in the PA, the Olmert government is intent on keeping its expulsion plans going. It proves to the Quartet (US, EU, UN, Russia) he can be counted on as their new Israeli quisling, after Sharon's departure.
4. It serves Olmert's election needs. Sad to say, but brutalizing "settlers" is the biggest "chic fashion trend" amongst the sick Israeli Left. It plays well in Tel-Aviv and the Arab villages of the Galilee, and it's their votes he's after. "Be nice to Arabs, be tough on Jews" could be Kadima's election slogan.
5. And most frightening of all, it is a "dry run" of the many more expulsions (from both "illegal outposts" and legal settlements, Jewish towns and villages in Judea and Samaria), a Kadima-led Olmert-Peres government plan to carry out after their election victory in March.
"Many are the plans of man, but it is G-D's will that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21).
We shall see…
ariel@columnist.com
Visit their website at: http://www.geocities.com/ariel_natan_pasko
Responses to "A Brutal Police Riot in Israel"
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OLMERT'S WAR AGAINST THE SETTLERS
BY: FERN SIDMAN
It was recently reported that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert directed Israeli forces to use extreme violence against Jewish protestors during last week's televised evacuation and demolition of Jewish homes in Amona. According to WorldNetDaily.com a top official in Olmert's Kadima party divulged this information.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, routinely serves as an Olmert advisor on international issues, has charged that Olmert ordered the violence as a tactic to win votes from leftist Israelis by demonstrating that he is capable of withdrawing Jews from Judea and Samaria.
"The extreme television images last week of settlers being brutalized was what Olmert needed. He knows he lost the right-wing voters to Likud and the nationalist parties. He has the center voters. Now he is trying to attract votes from Israelis on the left who strongly oppose the settlements," the unnamed official said.
MK Benny Elon said, "Olmert is not a military man. He doesn't have a strong defense background like Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who everyone knows can get tough. So Olmert's public relations people told him he needs to act macho against the settlers ahead of the elections to prove to them he can push through what the extreme leftists want, a West Bank evacuation."
It was also recently reported that the Yassamniks and Israeli police sexually abused young Jewish settler girls. According to direct testimony, the girls said the police called them prostitutes, threatened to rape them and touched their private parts. Older women as well have said that police groped their bodies. "Police officers rubbed up against us and touched our chest and intimate body parts. They used dirty words while doing it. One policeman said: 'Come, I'll screw you'… We felt like we were being raped." (The testimony of a girl in Amona)
It is clear that Mr. Olmert was clearly responsible for the approval of this heinous brutality and humilation of the settlers. It is clear that in order to ensure a political victory for himself, he is willing to destroy the entire settler movement. He has referred to the settlers as the "Jewish Hamas". He is willing to use the blood of Jewish children in order to capture votes. The actions of the Olmert government are an egregious usurption of the basic civil rights of the settlers. It is not surprising that Olmert has refused to open up an investigation into the police brutality in Amona. If all the facts were to surface it would clearly indict him of government sponsored violence of a segment of the population.
It is also clear that many agree with Olmert's policy of making further territorial concessions to the Arab enemy. It is also clear that the Olmert government possesses a self-destructive predilection to hand over $55 million in excise tax revenues to the PA, which will be controlled by Hamas. Olmert's vitriolic rhetoric and actions against the settler movement is going to escalate. His vituperative should be a clarion call for Jews to wake up and voice their outrage and indignation at this latest attack on righteous Jews.
The demonstration in Jerusalem in which over 100,000 people attended, testifies to the strength of the settler movement. There must be many, many more demonstrations of this kind. We must put relentless pressure on the Olmert government to proceed with this investigation into the police brutality at Amona. We must demand that those responsible for this despicable abuse be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This must include government officials as well, Mr. Olmert notwithstanding.
We must encourage our Jewish youth to learn to defend themselves against this Nazi style police violence, for surely such incidents of this kind are bound to happen again. We must display our support and succor to those who refuse to acquiesce to the totalitarian rule of the Israeli government.
Mr. Olmert has drawn up the battle lines. It is a battle between good and evil, between the holy and the profane. May the G-d of Israel protect us, shield us and strengthen us for the protracted battles that lie ahead.
Comment by FERN SIDMAN | March 22, 2006
TODAY WE ARE ALL WITNESSES
BY: FERN SIDMAN
Today, February 1, 2006, the 3rd day of Shvat, will be a day that will be remembered in Jewish history. It is not a day like all days. This day has the dubious distinction of being a day when the battle for Eretz Yisroel has started. We witnessed a day that the genesis of a Jewish revolution began. We witnessed a day that will mark one of the darkest chapters in Jewish history.
Today we witnessed Jews being evacuated from their homes in the hilltop village of Amona, near the settlement of Ofra in the Shromron. Today we witnessed Jewish police and soldiers in the State of Israel brutalize, beat and dehumanize their fellow Jews. Today we witnessed Israeli police on riot horses and equipped with riot batons facing off with their fellow Jews. Today, brave and courageous Jews from the settlement of Amona and other settlements in Judea and Samaria, stood tall and resisted orders from the Israeli government to leave their homes. The Israeli government has ordained that nine "illegal" houses were built on the outskirts of Amona and therefore had to be evacuated and demolished.
The Jews in Israel are no strangers to evacuations. In the summer of 2005 the world witnessed the Israeli government evacuate 9000 Jews from their homes in Gush Katif. The world witnessed the burning and demolition of synagogues and yeshivos. Today we are witness to the Israeli government's callous treatment of the Gush Katif refugees. Today we witness the homelessness and poverty of these same people who had lovingly built an economically and spiritually prosperous community.
And the evacuations did not stop there. Just a few days ago we witnessed the evacuation of 12 Jewish families from their homes in the holy city of Hevron. We witnessed Israeli police and soldiers facing off with youngsters from Hevron who were protesting the actions of the Israeli government. The neighborhood in question was "the shuk" region of Hevvron, located in the Shalhevet Pass neighborhood, near the Avraham Avinu synagogue. Just a few feet away from the Ma"aras HaMachpela, the ancient burial ground of our forefathers and foremothers. Of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and of Sara, Rivka and Leah. Once again, the Israeli government had ruled that the homes that these Jews were living in were "illegal" and must be removed. Yes, the Israeli government is still making territorial concessions to the Arab enemy.
Concerning the decision of the Israeli government to evacuate Jewish residents living in "the shuk" of the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hevron, it is imperative that the record should be clear on whose property this belongs to.
Contrary to a Jerusalem Post report, which stated that the Jews are resisting "the forcible evacuation of Jewish families living in 'Palestinian' homes," the land in question was never used for Arab homes. The truth is a Jew named Chaim Bajaio purchased it on behalf of the Jewish community around 1807. Jewish residents had lived there for 250 years before that. The purchase contract referred to the "Street of the Jews." In 1929, however, Arab residents massacred their Jewish neighbors, murdering sixty-seven. Survivors were hurriedly evacuated and the Jewish houses and synagogues were abandoned. An Israeli Supreme Court ruling did not deny that the land was Jewish-owned, but ordered the Jews to be moved out in order that "sinners not go unpunished." This statement was referring to the Jews having moved into the buildings without Israeli Defense Force [IDF] permission. Hevron spokesman Noam Arnon said at the time, "The Supreme Court recently decided that the land should be given to the Arabs, even though it is clearly Jewish land that was robbed from us… The Court simply ignored the fact that this is Jewish land."
The residents of Hevron left their homes after reaching an agreement with the government of Israel which stated that they and/or other Jewish families could move back in at a later date. Apparently, that "agreement" was abrogated by the Israeli government very soon after it had been made. According to news reports, the Assistant to the Attorney General, Shai Nitzan, told Army Radio that absolutely no agreement exists with Hevron residents allowing them to return to the Shalhevert neighborhood. "It seems that those who were squatting there preferred to leave amid rumors that they would be allowed back even though no such agreement exists," Nitzan told army Radio's Razi Barkai. He added that the area was now considered a closed military zone and promised that the homes in the Shalhevet neighborhood would not only be emptied, but would be demolished as well.
So much for the integrity of the government of Israel.
Taking this into account, it is understandable that the anger of the thousands of protestors at Amona would be intense. The Yesha Rabbis Council issued this statement: "We are shocked by the cruel and horrific abuse perpetrated by Israeli police upon Jews… 37,000 demolition orders are ready to be executedm and of all of them, the Supreme Court and the police chose precisely this one in Amona, with the goal of destroying the religious-Zionist public."
The Magen David Adom emergency medical service reported that over 250 protestors were injured by Israeli police. Most were head injuries sustained by the batons that the police used. Protestors were evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Hundreds of other wounded protestors were treated in Amona itself. It took the Israeli forces over six hours to demolish the nine houses in Amona. Two Israeli Knesset members were also injured to the mellee. MK Aryeh Eldad sustained a fractured hand and subsequently fainted. MK Effie Eitan sustained a serious head injury at the hands of Israeli police and was injured by a horse.
One girl who participated in the protest arrived home with bruises on her face and leg, saying, "I got out safely only by miracle." She went to tell her story. "We were outside the 5th house, with the goal of forming a line to stop the police from climbing into the windows. We had planned in advance, because of modesty and the like, that when the police would tell us to go, we would go right away. But they didn't let us. They just set upon us - all of them. I heard the police say, 'Smack them! Get them!' They hit me with a club on my leg, and then they pushed me to the ground and smashed me with clubs twice more - once on my face, right near my eye. I saw others right near me bleeding from their heads, unconscious - it was just terrible… It was just by miracle that nothing worse happened to me."
Some of the injuries were so severe that the injured had to be helicoptered out of Amona for emergency treatment at area hospitals.
The most seriously wounded was a child who sustained such serious head injuries that he is now in a coma and cannot breathe on his own. He is attached to a respirator. This indicates pressure in the brain, and potential brain damage, should this child-protestor survive. This might be a good time to say a special prayer for the recovery of this child, Yechiam ben Rachel, as well as all of the wounded defenders of the Land and Jewish Communities of Israel.
Let us bear witness to this barbaric and horrific day in Jewish history. Let us remember that this battle is not just about nine houses in Amona. Let us remember that this is a far greater battle. Let us remember that this battle is between the holy and the profane. This a battle between those who are willing to sacrifice life and limb for the holy land of Israel and those who are willing to give our land to the Arab enemy. This a battle between the forces of Hashem and His holy Torah and between the forces of secularization and liberalism. Let us remember that our only hope, our only savior is Hashem Yisborach. The Almighty G-d of Israel. It is our duty to cleave to Hashem, to ask for His help and to walk in His ways. We ask that Holy One, Blessed Be He, in His mercy grant us the strength and courage to gird our loins and to prepare to defend our faith. And let us bear witness to the beginning of the battle for our very existence as Jews and for the land of Israel.
Comment by FERN SIDMAN | March 22, 2006