“KISS SEALS ISRAEL’S BETRAYAL: One is tempted to compare the kiss offered by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s wife to the kiss that Judas gave Jesus when he betrayed him in the Garden of Gethsemane – but the analogy breaks down because both Hillary Clinton and Soha Arafat are betraying Israel.
“In a statement nearly as outrageous as those made by Holocaust deniers, Soha Arafat said: ‘Our people [the Palestinians] have been submitted to the daily and intensive use of poisonous gas by the Israeli forces which have led to an increase in cancer cases among women and children.’ She also asserted that Israel has contaminated water sources with ‘chemical materials.’ Those Israelis are so clever. They can poison air and water in ways that affect only Palestinians while Jews escape harm. After an outcry by Israeli Prime Minister Ebud Barak and some Jewish leaders in the United States, Mrs. Clinton belatedly issued an objection to Mrs. Arafat’s remarks. Too little, too late.
“At this point in the so‑called peace process, it wouldn’t matter if Yasser Arafat were captured on videotape acknowledging that he has no intention of living up to any agreement and that his ultimate objective is to use the negotiations to weaken Israel to the point at which it won’t be able to withstand a final assault from armed Palestinians and Israel’s Arab neighbors. Arafat, in fact, has made numerous statements in which he has strongly hinted at or openly stated these objectives, but the Europeans, Americans and the United Nations merely blink because they want the issue to go away. They don’t care if Israel disappears in the process. There are peace prizes to be awarded and legacies to be ensured.
“Facts no longer matter. Newsweek reported last week that the National Security Agency learned it was Yasser Arafat who supplied the weapons for the 1983 bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut in which 241 U.S. Marines died. No matter. President Clinton lobbies for $400 million in aid to the Palestine Liberation Organization on top of an initial $500 million that has never been properly accounted for, amid reports that it was misspent.
“Clergy appointed by Arafat at al‑Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem regularly preach sermons calling for the ‘liberation’ of all the land, pre‑1967 Israel included, in a ,jihad that is ‘the responsibility of all Muslims.’ Various communications media controlled by the PLO accuse Israel and the West of employing Nazi tactics against them, which is ironic given the Nazi‑like rhetoric of many PLO leaders and Arab states against Jews and the West.
“Terrorists responsible for the deaths of innocent Israelis and visiting Jewish civilians are praised on PLO TV as saints and heroes. This year’s Palestine Prize for Culture will go to Abu Daoud, mastermind of the 1972 Olympic bombing in Munich that Killed 11 Israeli athletes.
“This is not the behavior or language of people who want to make peace with their neighbors. This is the behavior and language of war, the objective of which is the complete annihilation of the Jews and eradication of the state of Israel. The only way ‘peace’ negotiators can continue with this sham is by ignoring the words and actions of those negotiating in bad faith. The PLO negotiators think that they are carrying out Allah’s will and that it is legitimate to lie about their intentions to the pagan and secular infidels on the Israeli and American side.
“Islamic extremists are taking advantage of secularists in the Israeli and American governments and pragmatists such as Bill Clinton, who wants a ‘legacy’ in foreign affairs that he hopes will cover up his notorious domestic affairs. If the Jews have to die, who cares? They’ve died before. We’ll just build them another museum.
“We see Israeli soldiers yanking fellow Jews from ‘settlements’ and hear Barak speaking of a ghetto‑type fence to keep Israel’s enemies out. But neither evictions of Jews from land nor fences will protect Israel. Fences, in fact, have been used in the past to contain Jews in order to kill them more efficiently.
“As for kissing the target for destruction, Judas wasn’t the only one to employ the tactic. Members of organized crime have long done the same, kissing the one selected for death. With Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Arafat smooching each other, we have a new scenario. The one who is about to die is not present. Her name is Israel.”(By Cal Thomas, The Orlando Sentinel, November 17, 1999)
“MIDEAST PEACE PACT MASKS INTENT OF ISRAEL’S ENEMIES: Put simply, the agreement signed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and witnessed by Egypt’s president and America’s secretary of state, is a piece of theater designed to mask the true intention of Israel’s enemies: complete domination of all the land they continue to regard as Palestine. Such an objective remains in their language, in the sermons of their clergy, in their television news, in classroom instruction aimed at creating a new generation of Jew haters, and in their hearts.
“Israel’s enemies can be likened to a wild animal. The flaw in Western thinking has always been that such a beast will be satisfied with a small piece of meat and will not want the rest. In fact, the animal will continue to demand more and threaten you if you don’t give it to him. Finally, when you refuse to give any more, he will forcibly take the rest and then eat you.
“There is a cycle in the Middle East, of which the scenario in Sharm E1 Sheik last weekend is a part. Middle East commentator Clarence Wagner Jr. of the organization Bridges for Peace describes it this way: (1) The Arabs make great peace overtures that get Israel and the West excited; (2) Israel and the Arabs negotiate an accord that promises certain concessions from the Arabs in exchange for land given to them by Israel; (3) Israel gives them land, but the Arabs do not reciprocate; (4) the peace process stalls; (5) Israel is blamed; (6) the West pressures Israel to get on with the process; (7) efforts to jump‑start the process are made by Israel with input from the West; (8) nothing happens, the Israeli leader is ousted in election and his successor promises to do better; (9) go back to (1) and begin again, which is where Barak is.
“Palestinian negotiators promise minuscule things in exchange for the land that Israel pledges to give them. Who thinks Arafat is more likely to live up to these promises than previous ones he has consistently broken? Within hours after the signing ceremony, car bombs in Haifa and Tiberias exploded in what appeared to be a terrorist attack gone awry. Three people, apparently the perpetrators, were killed. An Arafat spokesman predictably denied responsibility, but Hamas and the terrorism network won’t be stopped by ink stains dried upon some line.
“While PLO negotiators claim to want peace, they are making preparations for war. According to an Israeli military spokesman, a new tunnel has recently been discovered running between the Palestinian and Egyptian sections of the Gazan border town of Rafiah (there are many other tunnels in territory relinquished by Israel). Inside the tunnel authorities discovered digging tools, ropes and other devices.
“Israeli military officials believe terror organizations are using the tunnels to bring arms, explosives and other dangerous items into the autonomous areas. Israel says all of the tunnels started from the Palestinian side. Why would a people supposedly desiring peaceful coexistence with Israel be engaged in activities one could properly discern as warlike?
“Once the latest land grab is finished, watch for Arafat to demand more land and, when he doesn’t get it, the West will put new pressure on Israel to give it to him.
“On May 15, 1965, Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser declared: ‘Our aim is... the creation of a unified and contiguous Arab region from which Israel will be eliminated.’ There is no reason to believe this objective has been abandoned. There is reason to believe that the latest ‘peace’ accord will assist Israel’s enemies in reaching it.” (By Cal Thomas, Los Angeles Times Syndicate)
“ARAFAT HIDING BILLIONS IN AID MONEY: RAMALLAH – Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat has concealed billions of dollars of funds in secret foreign bank accounts and investments, according to dissidents who said they hacked the computer system of the PLO headquarters in Tunis.
“Palestinian sources said the dissidents made the disclosure as part of a campaign against corruption by Arafat’s PA and in an effort to stop the European Union from honoring pledges to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to the PA. Last Sunday, the London based Telegraph quoted Palestinian sources in the West Bank as saying that Arafat has bought property in London as part of an effort to conceal PLO funds.
“The Telegraph said the hackers discovered that the PLO maintains about u5 billion [$8 billion] in numbered bank accounts in Zurich, Geneva and New York.
“The PLO also holds accounts in North Africa, Europe and Asia. They are not registered in the PLO’s name, but in the names of private individuals.
“The hackers also obtained records that the PLO owns shares on the Frankfurt, Paris and Tokyo stock exchanges, including stock in the German car giant Mercedes Benz, and property in prestigious areas of European capitals.
“The newspaper quoted a Palestinian as saying, ‘Why is he sitting on a mountain of gold, while there is a desperate lack of jobs and medical supplies here?’
“In 1994, the General Accounting Office of the U.S. Congress launched an investigation into Arafat’s finances. The report was never released because of pressure from the Clinton administration, but congressional sources said the report contains a ‘goldmine’ of information on where Arafat keeps his money.
“The network of concealed PLO money is known only to Arafat and two trusted aides. The Telegraph said the bulk of the funds are comprised of taxes levied on Palestinians working in Kuwait and other Gulf states and donations from Saudi Arabia.
“The newspaper published the story a day after Arafat launched millennium celebrations in Bethlehem, a project in which the EU and other donors have invested $180 million. Arafat has invited Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic to Bethlehem, a move criticized by American officials.” (By Steve Rodan, The Jewish Press, December 10, 1999)
“ALIYA: A CHALLENGE TO AMERICAN ZIONISTS: I then went on to propose, among other things: ‘Zionist organizations should publicly commit themselves to the goal of a Jewish State. To this end they should promote the aliya of influential Jewish leaders NOW.’ Publicizing this manifesto – its rationale and objectives – would facilitate the development of what is now lacking in Israel: a serious opposition to the Government’s surrender to the Clinton‑Arafat alliance.
“But now I must go further. I am duty‑bound to say, with a tearful heart, that you, the leaders and supporters of American Zionist organizations, can no longer enjoy the luxury of criticizing Israel’s death march from afar. I know your agonizing frustration. I know of your ceaseless efforts to arouse Israel from its paralysis. But all this can no longer justify your remaining on the sidelines as pain‑filled spectators of Israel’s dismemberment.
“You must make every effort to come here and plant your feet where your heart is. You must come here and fight the battle on the battlefield, else you will never be true to your own convictions about Israel’s mortal danger. Instead, you will live a smug lie, content from afar to believe the lies of those leading Israel toward the abyss.
So come here and join me and let us fight the good fight for our people, our land, our heritage, and our G‑d. (By Professor Paul Eidelberg, The Jewish Press, December 10, 1999)
“FROM THE EDITOR:
As long as deep in the heart
The soul of a Jew yearns,
And towards the East
An eye looks to Zion,
Our hope is not yet lost:
The hope of two thousand years
To be free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Hatikvah (The Hope)
“Anthem of the Zionist movement, and national anthem of the State of Israel.
“SUNG AT THE First Zionist Congress in Basle 100 years ago, and on the occasion of the declaration of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv half a century later, these eight simple lines written by Naphtali Herz Imber in 1878 say it all.
“For if Israel’s 50th anniversary celebrates anything, it is the triumph of hope. Like an eternal flame, ignited by God and kept alive by the prophets through centuries of hate, this hope burning in the breast of the Jew kept him going, kept him clinging to the special identity assigned his people.
“In 1897, Theodore Herzl spread that hope like wildfire across Asia and Europe when he exhorted scattered Israel that, if they willed it, the return of their homeland need not be a dream.
“Fifty years of ferocious opposition worked to keep that desire a dream. But in 1948 the Jews, and the world, awoke to a new reality – Israel had been reborn.
“The physical resurrection of Israel did not make Hatikvah passe. For where the declaration of statehood sounded the victory of hope over 2000 years of despair, so has the celebration of the first 50 years marked the triumph of that continued hope over the enormous efforts – both military and diplomatic – that have been made to turn back the clock.
“Our hope, inspired by the same God and His ancient prophets, is to see the restoration of Israel completed in our lifetime, so that finally, when every Jew can spend his days in safety, beneath his vine and his fig tree, peace will have come to the Middle East, and the heart‑cry of Hatikvah will have been fulfilled. (Middle East Digest, 1999)
“DID YOU KNOW THAT...: A Jew invented the telephone – and exhibited it publicly 15 years before Bell patented his invention? Johann Philipp Reis exhibited his telephone to scientists in Europe in 1861.
“Almost 200 years before Columbus, a rabbi wrote that the world is round. Moses de Leon (1250‑1305) wrote that the earth is round and that it rotates. ‘The earth revolves like a ball...”’ (The Jewish Press, August 27, 1999)
“THE FINAL STATUS OF JERUSALEM: The final and only status of Jerusalem was affirmed by the Highest Court, 3000 years ago. Now, in supreme arrogance and blasphemy, a corrupt U.S. President, in support of an unrepentant killer, tells Israel that she must negotiate the division of that Holy City, Israel’s capital. Interesting, two immoral men dividing up G‑d’s City.
“Arafat and the Arabs have found that making claims of a wildly absurd nature plays well with Clinton, the EU (European Nation) and the UN (United Nations). Well documented history, supported by the hard facts of archeology make no difference to these nations and individuals who tell the Jews that everything will be all right if they abandon a small part of their Capital City, as they once again make ready to betray the gullible Jews. Even the Bible with its extraordinary historical detail of the relationship the Jews have with Jerusalem makes no difference to this gathering of all that is evil and venal.
“I am mindful of the Christian belief that a Great Evil will appear to lead all of us into a terrible period of war. I think that this creature has already sent out its advance men to pave the way. Never has the world seen such a broad coalition of pure evil as they ready themselves to challenge the authority of the Supreme Being.
“Regrettably, Jewish leaders in Israel and America have fallen prey to the Jewish habit of being willing to talk about anything – even their own deaths. Leaders of Israel and self‑anointed, dovish, Jewish American leaders respond to Arafat/Clinton’s claims to Jerusalem with, ‘OK. Let’s talk.’ No sane people with a shred of pride would willingly accept the partition of their Capital as a subject open for discussion.
“What should have been said is: ‘No discussions; no acceptance of advisory teams of Clinton’s Leftist Jews with plans to negotiate the final status of Jerusalem. There is nothing to discuss; nothing to negotiate. We reject any and all claims on Jerusalem. From this time on we will not speak of final status [or ‘final solution’] or any creative plans to divide the City by covering the words with political trickery so cleverly crafted by Arafat and the U.S. State Department.
“The G‑d of the Jewish people gave Jerusalem to the Jewish people in perpetuity. Who would dare challenge the decision of the All‑Seeing/All‑Knowing Highest Court in the Universe?
“The corrupt nations who make up the United Nations and European Union would laugh and reject without another thought any claims to their capitals. But Jews, being so reasonable, intellectual and dedicated to talk‑talk, are willing to discuss their own ‘right to live’ and their own ‘right to their only capital: Jerusalem.’ Moreover, the Arabs, refusing to live in peace with the Jews, declared a permanent state of war and attacked Israel in six wars – pledging to drive the Jews into the sea. Jerusalem was retaken, but not until King Hussein of Jordan razed 58 synagogues and used Jewish tombstones as splash plates for urinals. Jews – have you no pride, no shame?
“Christians and Jews must let this President know that he will not be allowed to betray Israel in lock‑step with a terrorist chief who has killed and ordered the killing of many Americans and Israelis. Let your Congressmen and women (including the President’s Democratic Party), know that he and they are defying G‑d and will suffer the consequence of defying His Will. Let them know they are shaping their own curse for the audacity of challenging His Far‑Seeing Judgement.” (By Emanuel Winston, Middle East Analyst and Commentator, The Jewish Press, May 21, 1999)
“THE LATEST CLINTON CON JOB! Yes, we at AFSI too were fooled by cunning Clinton’s latest con job. When Bill Clinton exercised the waiver attached to the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, we assumed that what we had been told is true – that the President had the right to stall on the building of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem if he felt that U.S. security would be endangered. NOT TRUE! The waiver only applied to the use of money for ‘acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad.’ It has nothing to do with stopping the relocation of the embassy from Tel‑Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal, indivisible capital. Clinton is in violation of U.S. law – and 84 U.S. Senators wrote him a letter telling him so. It’s time the American public did the same.
“As for Hillary, now is the time to prove to her New York public that she isn’t merely mouthing statements in support of ‘indivisible Jerusalem.’ Let her use her influence with her husband and tell him to stop conning the American people and to follow through on U.S. law. As Bill Clinton pretends that what he’s doing is legal, Mrs. Clinton unashamedly panders to the public. Let her actions, not mere words, disprove AFSI’s claim that ‘Hillary Clinton is no friend of Israel.’
“Herbert Zweibon, Chairman of Americans For a Safe Israel, quote Arieh Stav, author of The Israeli Death Wish: ‘In case anyone has forgotten, Israel, and not the PLO, is Washington’s ally. Israel has five strategic agreements with the U.S., signed in 1975, 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987... As a result, Israel is supposed to be, at least formally, Washington’s ally. On the other hand, Arafat and many of the heads of his organization are, under American law, habitual criminals, leaders of terrorist gangs...’ Zweibon asks, ‘Why, then, does Clinton continue to raise Arab expectations on Jerusalem by refusing to move the embassy? It is the Jewish capital of the Jewish State, and will never be anything else. The U.S. embassy should be moved there immediately.,” (The Jewish Press, August 20, 1999)
“THEOLOGY, WHITE HOUSE STYLE: Those who heard U.S. Vice President A1 Gore’s remarkable address on the occasion of Israel’s 50th anniversary could have been forgiven for thinking the American president‑in‑waiting an ardent Christian Zionist. Indeed, his speech at the Jubilee Bells celebration had all the ingredients of a pro‑Israel sermon.
“The tall and handsome Gore quoted from the psalm that for millennia nourished the hope of Israel’s second return to their land. He recalled the account of Jacob’s struggle with the Angel of the Lord. He paralleled Israel’s mistreatment at gentile hands with
Joseph’s cruel abuse by his brothers. He unabashedly propounded his belief that Israel’s restoration in 1948 was the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision about the valley of dry bones. And he closed with a traditional blessing to the God of Israel: ‘Blessed be Thou our God, ruler of the Universe, Who has kept us alive and has sustained us and brought us to this time.’
“Apart from the scriptures, Gore unhesitatingly recalled the suffering of the Jewish people through ‘the bitter centuries of your wondering and dispersion, your persecution and despair.’ Nor did he make any bones about the fact that, from the day of its birth to the present, Israel has had to struggle to survive in an extremely hostile world. He had Israelis eating out of his hand.
“Like Gore, President Bill Clinton often refers to the Bible in his speeches too, and about, Israel. Of course, it is hardly surprising that in relating to Israel people will frequently invoke scripture or references to God to support their actions or words. It was Israel, after all, who gave the Bible to mankind. And it is with Israel, more than with any other nation, that the Bible is ultimately concerned. But, as often as not, these spiritual elements have been used to deceive and disarm those who would otherwise have been on their guard. ‘Oh it’s all right,’ they say, ‘President so‑and‑so goes to church/is a Christian/has prayed with Billy Graham/believes in God so, clearly, we can trust him.’
“On a number of occasions, including in his address to the Israeli Knesset in 1994, and most recently to The Jerusalem Report (May 25, 1998), Clinton has recounted his old pastor’s warning: ‘If you abandon Israel, God will never forgive you.’ In the Report article Clinton makes a play on the words of the biblical Ruth when he tells Israelis: ‘Your struggle has become our struggle,’ and according to a close Jewish friend (also quoted in the Report), the Southern Baptist from Arkansas ‘knows the Jewish Bible and the New Testament practically by heart.’
“If this is true, Bill Clinton’s memory has lapsed on a few important occasions: On October 6, 1994, as he presided over the signing of peace between Israel and Jordan, the president exhorted the parties with what he claimed were the words of a world‑renowned Jewish Rabbi: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will inherit the earth.’
“In choosing to misquote Jesus, (who said the peace‑makers ‘shall be called sons of God’) Clinton either slipped up, or else purposefully twisted the scripture to substantiate what he was doing: assisting in the division of Israel’s land. Apiece, the size of the Gaza Strip, had been carved out of Israel and given to Jordan.
“On April 27, in a speech congratulating Israel on its 50th anniversary, President Clinton said: ‘As a Christian, I do not know how God, if He were to come to Earth, would divide the land over which there is dispute now... But I know that if we all pray for the wisdom to do God’s will, chances are we will find a way to close the gap in the next couple of years between what might be and what is.’
“Actually, any Christian with a knowledge of what the Bible says knows exactly how God would divide up the land – He wouldn’t.
“It is the Bible that states – without apology – that God gave the land of Israel, encompassing all of ancient Canaan, as an eternal possession to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. (See Numbers 34:2 and Psalm 105:8‑11)
“And it is the God of Israel who warns that He will judge the gentile nations for scattering His people and dividing up their land. (See Joel 3:2)
“No matter how fervently they proclaim their faith, the bottom line is that unless the U.S. administration changes its land‑for‑peace policy towards Israel, the very Bible Clinton and Gore use so liberally in speeches to win the trust of the Jews ultimately will show them up to be enemies when it really counts.” (By Stan Goodenough, Middle East Digest, 1999)
“HITLER’S POPE: Jewish groups have renewed calls for the Vatican to open its secret archives to scholars in the wake of the publication of Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Plus XII, a new book by British journalist John Cornwall.
“The book portrays the Pope as an anti‑Semite who helped Hitler consolidate power through the Vatican’s 1933 Concordat with the Third Reich ‑underscoring Jewish objections to the proposed beatification of Pius XII.” (World Jewry, October 1999)
“POPE PIUS’S 1943 LETTER AGAINST JEWISH STATEHOOD REVEALED: At the height of the Holocaust, Pope Pius XII made known to President Franklin D. Roosevelt his opposition to Palestine becoming a Jewish homeland, according to a letter from the U.S. Archives obtained by The Jerusalem Post from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
“Dated June 22, 1943, the letter sent by A. G. Ciognani, the pope’s special representative to the U.S., to Ambassador Myron Taylor, Roosevelt’s special emissary to Pius XII, is believed to be the first explicit expression of Pius’s policy against Zionism conveyed to the American government.
“‘It is true that at one time Palestine was inhabited by the Hebrew Race, but there is no axiom in history to substantiate the necessity of a people returning to a country they left nineteen centuries before,’ the letter reads.
“‘If a Hebrew Home is desired, it would not be too difficult to find a more fitting territory than Palestine. With an increase in the Jewish population there, grave, new international problems would arise.’
“Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said the letter ‘is an indictment of Pius XII, because it basically says that when the pope wanted a point of view expressed about how he clearly felt, he said it clearly. Where is a similar letter to Adolf Hitler, telling Hitler that the Vatican finds his policies against the Jews repugnant? But at the height of the Holocaust, the Vatican knew how to oppose the State of Israel.’
“Rabbi David Rosen, head of the Israel office of the Anti‑Defamation League and an expert on Catholic Jewish relations, said that ‘it has been well known for a long time of the shameful policy the Holy See maintained during that period, and this is just but one confirmation of that fact.’
“Rosen said Pius’s anti‑Zionism was a continuation of long‑standing Vatican policy, which all changed with the issuing of Nostra Aetate.
“Hier said the letter, which was found last month in research being conducted on Pope Pius, further spotlights the issue of the church’s moving forward his candidacy for sainthood.
“‘Many people have asked me, what is it our business who the Catholics appoint a saint?’ Hier said. ‘Normally I would agree with that. But in the presence of survivors, tens of thousands of whom are still alive in their last few years, that they should live out their lives knowing that the person whom they heard nothing from, nothing but silence, has been designated as a saint – many people around the world will say a saint was alive in the Vatican during the Holocaust. That is an insult to the memory of the Holocaust, and is an insult to the survivors.”’ (The Jerusalem Post, July 9, 1999)
Comment: No human can appoint anyone a saint, only God can do that.
“HIER WARNS AGAINST ELEVATING POPE PIUS XII TO SAINTHOOD: According to Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, it would indeed be a terrible mistake in judgment for Pope John II to designate Pope Pius XII, the Pope during the Holocaust, to sainthood as Vatican experts are predicting that Pope Paul will do. Rabbi Hier reacted to the prediction by Vatican observers in his ‘State of World Jewry Address’ at the 92nd Street Y.
“Hier said that, ‘Normally, it would not be the business of Jews to tell Catholics who their saints are. But Pius XII is surely an exception to that rule, because elevating him to sainthood desecrates the memory of all Holocaust victims.’ The rabbi noted that, ‘Pius XII sat on the throne of Saint Peter in stony silence, without ever lifting a finger, as each day thousands of Jews from all over Europe were sent to the gas chambers, with his full knowledge.’
“While many Catholic leaders refuse to acknowledge the truth about the role of Pius XII during the Holocaust and distort his role by accentuating the positive, Hier firmly stated that ‘this was the same Pope who refused to issue the unsigned encyclical that his predecessor, Pope Pius XI, ordered that would have condemned racism and anti‑Semitism.’ Hier said that the encyclical that Pius XII chose to disregard ‘was written by an American Jesuit Priest, Father John LaFarge, and was on Pius XII’s desk unsigned when he died.’
“Hier pointed out that the unissued encyclical that contained strong language. of condemnation of racism and anti‑Semitism was a lost opportunity in response to Hitler’s war against the Jews. The Orthodox leader stressed that not only did Pius XII fail morally and spiritually by not issuing the encyclical, but, ‘in fact, Mother Pascalina, who served with Pius XII as chief of his household since his days as Papal Nuncio in Munich, reported that the Pope, following Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, said novenas for the swift victory of the Fuehrer’s armies. He continued to do this after he knew very well what Hitler had done to the Jews of Poland. Although he understood that a victory against the Soviet Union would mean instant murder of the millions of Jews living there, he prayed for a Nazi victory.’
“Hier criticized those who defend the actions of Pius XII even to this very day. The rabbi said, ‘Pius, defenders often point to the fact that former Chief Rabbi Herzog and Golda Meir praised the Pope’s efforts regarding the Jews.’ But the rabbi explained that they ‘did not see the many documents now available. In addition, they were thanking him for his efforts on behalf of the Jews of Rome whom Pius had, in fact, helped in 1943 and early 1944. But by then, the Vatican had surely concluded that Hitler would lose the war.’
“Rabbi Hier insisted that the time has come for the Vatican to come clean and open its files, so that the whole world can judge for itself how the Vatican conducted itself as six million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazi machine.” (By Marvin Greisman, The Jewish Press, May 28, 1999)
“ARAFAT HASN’T REPAID U.S. FOR ITS HELP: The writer of the October 1 letter ‘U.S.‑ Palestinian ties are hardly special’ shows his anti‑Israel mind‑set by complaining about the ‘special ties’ between the U.S. and Israel. He is dead wrong when he says the United States did not or has not intervened in the farce called the Middle East peace process on the Palestinian side.
“After all, even Israel‑bashers such as this letter‑writer have to admit that Israel has been pushed by the U.S. to continue to give up land while the Palestinians have not been pressured to stop their terrorism against the Jewish state. And while Israel has received billions in foreign aid over the years, the writer forgot to mention that it is the only democracy in the region and has voted with the U.S. in the United Nations more than any Middle East nation – many of which whom hate us.
“The writer also forgot to mention that most of the $39 million the U.S. has given Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians is missing – stolen – and unaccounted for. No wonder we have held up giving these thieves any more.” (Palm Beach Post, October 13, 1999)
“HANDSHAKE ANNIVERSARY: Historic moment in Mideast peace occurred six years ago: Six years after the historic Rabin‑Arafat handshake on the White House lawn, the Palestinians can point to a mixed bag of results from the Oslo peace process.
“Of perhaps most importance to them, the Palestinian people are closer than ever before to achieving their goal of statehood.
“During the past six years, the Palestinian Authority has received worldwide backing for the creation of a state.
“Arguably the most important support has come from President Clinton, who while not explicitly saying he backs statehood, spoke during a visit to the Gaza Strip last December of the Palestinians’ having ‘a chance to determine their own destiny on their own land.’
“And while some Israeli officials still have trouble uttering the words, it is commonly believed that the final‑status negotiation will be concluded with an agreement on an independent Palestinian state.
“The negotiation, which began last Monday, the sixth anniversary of the Rabin‑Arafat handshake, will deal with what the newly born state will look like, not about whether it should be created. Most observers agree that Israel, first and foremost, will be looking for a demilitarized state.
“The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, has during the past six years created the ruling apparatus for an eventual state.
“The self‑rule government has a Cabinet, legislative council and government ministries that provide basic services like health and education. In addition, there is a considerable police force – far larger, according to Israeli critics, than what was agreed to in the Oslo accords – as well as a wide network of often competing security forces.
“While Israeli officials have charged that the Palestinians are in possession of illegal weapon supplies, the Palestinian Authority has no army.
“Not least of all, the Palestinians have in Yasser Arafat a leader who, despite being the target of frequent criticism, ‘still enjoys uncontested popularity,’ according to Brig. Gen. Amos Malka, the chief of Israel Defense Force intelligence.
“Despite the gains achieved since the historic September 13, 1993, handshake, the Palestinians still have numerous obstacles to overcome.
“As human rights groups have frequently charged, the Palestinians have no real democracy.
“Despite the existence of a legislature, most all important decisions are made by Arafat and his closest aides – who are frequent targets of corruption charges. Members of the legislative council have repeatedly called for a larger hand in government, to no avail.
“While there are dozens of newspapers, they are subject to close governmental scrutiny. Several editors have found themselves over the years under pressure from the self‑rule authority of the secret services, which often take over the role supposed to be handled by the Palestinian legal system.
“The self‑rule government also has a powerful internal threat in the form of the Hamas fundamentalists, who reject the Oslo process altogether. While the Hamas opposition is more or less under control of the Palestinian Authority, it hangs like a constant threat over the future of the government, particularly in a post‑Arafat era.
“On the economic level, the Palestinians are confronting many of the same woes they did six years ago.
“Unemployment is still widespread, hovering around 30 percent in most of the self-rule areas.
“Despite a massive infusion of international aid, there has been no meaningful economic revival. And given the lack of a meaningful economic infrastructure, the prospects for a turnaround anytime soon are fairly bleak.” (By Gil Sedan, Palm Beach North Jewish Journal, September 21, 1999)
“MISSIONARIES SAID TO BE BRIBING IMMIGRANTS WITH MATERIAL BENEFITS, TICKETS ABROAD: Charges that hundreds of Christian missionaries are exploiting the difficult social and economic situation of new immigrants were voiced last week by Adi Eldar, chairman of the Union of Local Authorities.
“Eldar made his charges in a letter to Internal Security Minister Shlomo Ben‑Ami, asking that he direct the police to deal with the issue. A spokesman for Ben‑ami said that the minister has not had time to consider the issue.
“However, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau said that the law which forbids anyone from encouraging another to change his or her religion for material gain is not being enforced...
“Lau said that the missionaries work in deprived neighborhoods and offer material benefits, including air tickets abroad, so that those who convert can leave the country. He stressed that the issue of missionary activity abroad is one which should concern not just the rabbis, but all levels of society...
“According to Eldar, there are hundreds of missionaries active in local groups, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and messianic Jewish congregations, as well as dozens of missionaries sent by groups in Europe and the U.S. He said that their activity is concentrated in localities in which there are many new immigrants, such as Upper Nazareth, Karniel, Haifa, Jerusalem, Ashdod and Beersheba.” (The Jerusalem Post, November 26, 1999)
“MISSIONARY MONEY: British based missionary organizations have an income of well in excess of $1.5 million to fund the conversion of Jews, according to a report in a British Jewish newspaper.
“According to the latest available accounts, the three major missionary groups, the Church’s Ministry Among the Jewish People, Jews for Jesus, and Christian Witness to Israel are all officially registered charities.” (World Jewry, November 1999)
“DELICACIES: An Israeli food festival held recently in Tel Aviv featured new fruit and vegetable species developed with the help of the Israeli Agriculture Ministry at the Volcanic Agricultural Institute.
“Among the new produce scheduled to be grown for export are a tiny sweet watermelon, a crossbred cucumber melon, tomatoes and peppers of all sizes and colors, as well as pears and apples which resemble oranges and melons.” (World Jewry, July 1999)
IN MEMORY OF JOSEPH ELISHA SCHMIDT
Joseph Elisha was born in Czechoslovakia in 1949. He came to Israel in 1972 and has worked for Israel and its settlers ever since. He helped Herman Bezner lay out the beautiful farm Emek Ha Shalom. He knew English and learned Hebrew to translate Bezner’s lectures from German to Hebrew.
The article The Premature End of Brother Joseph in the Jewish newspaper Yedyot Ahoronot, November 12, 1999, does not give the correct idea of Bezner’s and Joseph’s work at Emek Ha Shalom. The current theme for Bezner’s lectures was the future Israel according to the Bible. He and Joseph wanted to show how beautiful Israel could be if it was cultivated with love and care.
Bezner’s lectures reminded the many visitors to Emek Ha Shalom of Jeremiah 31:31,32: “Behold the days will come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband to them, saith the Lord.”
Herman and Joseph did not teach the end of the world – the earth – but the end of “THIS PRESENT EVIL WORLD” – and epoch. They spoke of “THE WORLD TO COME” – another epoch. They knew Ecclesiastes 1:4: “the earth abideth for ever.”
The New Covenant means that you have to believe in Messiah, who gave His perfect human vital energy to mankind, and obey two great commandments. The first is: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” The second is: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22:37‑39)
You must not judge Joseph for his suicide. He was very overworked and couldn’t eat or sleep. He worked at the farm, he wrote letters to many friends of the true word of God according to Charles T. Russell, An early American Christian Zionist; he wrote even to us his friends in Sweden, and he took care of Herman. It was too much.
We shall remember Joseph with gratitude and honour his memory.
Anders Karlen and Leif Malmkvist Stockholm, December 4th, 1999.
We join with Anders Karlen and Leif Malmkvist in their love and appreciation of Joseph Elisha Schmidt. We are sure that God in His tender mercy for Joseph will reward him according to his faithfulness.
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Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the many beautiful Christmas cards expressing love and prayers. Be assured that our warm Christian love and prayers are ever with you. We wish for all our readers that they will grow in Grace and Knowledge of the Lord for a blessed New Year, as “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Prov. 4:18)
ANNOUNCEMENT: The Memorial for 2000 is on Monday, April 17, after six p.m.