| Week ending Shabbat, August 26, 2006 |
2 Elul, 5766 |
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IDF Strike Warns U.N. To Get Tough:
A bold weekend Israeli Defense Force [IDF] commando strike aimed at Hezbollah leaders and Syrian weapons has put the U.N. on notice that Israel will not allow the ceasefire resolution to serve as a tool for terrorists. As expected, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused Israel of violating the United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution while vaguely referring to the violation made by Hezbollah in smuggling weapons from Syria. The lack of a significant number of troops from European nations for the proposed international force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), along with Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm, may bring about an end to the erosion of the Israeli diplomatic position. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said, "If the Syrians and Iran continue to arm Hezbollah in violation of the resolution, Israel is entitled to act to defend the principle of the arms embargo."
Israel Captures PA Deputy Prime Minister:
"Palestinian" Authority [PA] deputy Prime Minister, Nasser A-Din Ahmed Shaer, who is also a senior Hamas terrorist, was extracted from his Ramallah home in a joint IDF-Shabak (GSS) operation. Shaer was apprehended when IDF soldiers surprised him in his home early Saturday morning. According to his wife the Israelis broke in, searched the house, took her husband into custody and left. IDF Spokesman's Office released a statement saying, "Shaer is not immune despite his seniority, and the IDF will continue to act against various terrorist activists." An IDF spokesman later told the press the capture of Shaer is "part of our fight against the radical Hamas movement."
Shaer, who also serves as the PA education minister, was a key figure in the formulation of the policies of the current Hamas-led PA government. He is considered to be the most senior terrorist in Judea and Samaria ever since widespread Israeli arrests of Hamas leaders in June. In the 1980's Shaer was active in the Muslim Brotherhood and quickly became a leader in the Hamas student organization. More recently, he was religion department head at An-Najah University in Shechem.
Calls Intensify for Olmert Government Resignation:
A group of 500 reserve soldiers who recently fought in Lebanon along with other supporters set off a protest march Tuesday evening, calling on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz to resign. The soldiers say that Olmert and Peretz failed in managing the just-ended war in Lebanon. The march began at the Kastel - an Independence War battle site near Mevaseret Zion - and ended at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem [~4.5-miles]. The soldiers explain that the confused and contradictory orders handed down to them during the course of the war indicate an unclear strategy and set of objectives. They also claim that severe problems in logistics manifest in outdated equipment and lack of food strongly contributed to their loosing some battles.
Two Thursdays prior, some fifty people gathered in Rabin Square to demand "personal responsibility" from the government ministers, and their consequent resignation. This past Thursday, the number grew to one hundred fifty. This coming Thursday, the organizers expect even more. "Among them will be at least one busload of new immigrants from Russia," said Ariella, one of the chief organizers. "This is apparently the first time they are really taking to the streets for a political cause." Ariella stated that the people represented at the Thursday rallies are from all parts of the political spectrum.
A daily demonstration by a group from Haifa is slated to begin Wednesday near the central bus station in Jerusalem under the banner, "Olmert must resign immediately." Supporters are being handed petitions to sign demanding the Prime Minister's resignation. Another protest is scheduled for this coming Friday and is to be led by the family of Sergeant Refanael Muskal who was killed in southern Lebanon a month ago. Marchers will present Olmert with a letter demanding his resignation at the end of the demonstration.
 In a poll published Friday in the Yedioth Ahrnonoth Daily shows that 63 percent of Israelis feel that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert failed in managing the war in Lebanon and should resign. About 74 percent of those polled said Defense Minister Amir Peretz mishandled the war and should also resign his post.
Columnist Uzi Benziman of Haaretz wrote, towards the end of the war: "Whichever way you look at it, if the prime minister opposed the broadening of the war, why did he succumb to the pressure of the military establishment? And, if he did approve it, how dare his aides attempt to clear him, in retrospect, of the responsibility for its painful results...? "Furthermore, how does the decision to rush toward the Litani River fit with the frenzied disposition at the IDF, as the flames are dying, to withdraw 'quickly and carefully' most of the troops from Lebanese soil? And, if Olmert indeed did not intend to broaden the war and was more inclined toward a ceasefire, why did he agree to the dismissal of the head of the Northern Command a day earlier? After all, if the war is about to end, why is it necessary to humiliate the commander of the war front during the last day of the fighting?"
The Jerusalem Post's Caroline Glick has written that there is no need for an official commission of inquiry to investigate the war - simply because it is obvious that "the Olmert government has failed on every level. The Olmert government must go." If the Knesset does not topple the government, "the people of Israel must take to the streets in mass demonstrations" to demand this.
Editor's note: Please notice [in the above left photo] who is seated next to Prime Minister Olmert. We would submit that no government having any influence from Shimon Perez can function in reality.
Tour Israel for Hanukkah:
Join us as we explore Israel from a genuine Biblical Zionists perspective. Meet the people who are continuing the Biblical narrative in the Land today. See for yourself how ancient prophesies are being fulfilled. Discover how you too can participate in the ongoing process of Biblical Redemption. Join us for an opportunity of a lifetime, to see the real Israel from the viewpoint of those who are living the Bible today. The experience will change your life.
The tour has been coordinated and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein [pictured left].
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