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| Week ending Shabbat, February 3, 2007 |
15 Shevat, 5767 |
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Aumann: Post-Zionism Greater Threat Than Nukes
Nobel Prize Laureate Professor Israel (Robert) J. Aumann was a noted speaker at the Herzliya Conference last week. Professor Aumann, of the Center for the Study of Rationality at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, began his address by addressing the Iranian threat, but shifted his focus midway to what he said poses an even more serious threat to the Jewish nation: post-Zionism. After outlining the threat of Iranian nuclear attack, and the greater threat of Iranian proliferation of nuclear weapons among Islamic terror groups, Aumann continued:
"And now a few words about a third threat, which is perhaps the greatest of all. It does not come from Iran, nor from terrorist groups, nor from any external source. It comes from within us. 'We have met the enemy, and it is us.' Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, your humble servant makes his living from game theory - among other things, very serious games: games of life and death and of existence and annihilation. The name of the game in game theory is motivation, incentives. Earlier, we discussed the motivations of those standing on the opposite side. Motivating ourselves is the most important thing, and the thing we are losing the most. Without motivation, we will not endure. What are we doing here? Why are we here? What are we aspiring to here? We are here because we are Jewish, we are Zionist, because of our ancient bond to this land; we aspire to realize our 2,000-year-old hope of becoming a free nation in our land, the Land of Zion and Jerusalem. Without this profound understanding, we will not endure. We will simply no longer be here; post-Zionism will finish us off."
Aumann, who was an outspoken opponent of the Disengagement, then addressed the prime minister: "About half a year ago in Petra, Jordan, the prime minister said that we are tired. He was right. He was elected by the nation, and he expresses the sentiments of the nation. We are like a mountain-climber that gets caught in a snowstorm; the night falls, he is cold and tired, and he wants to sleep. If he falls asleep, he will freeze to death. We are in terminal danger because we are tired. I will allow myself to say a few unpopular, unfashionable words: our panicked lunging for peace is working against us. It brings us farther away from peace, and endangers our very existence. I think it was Churchill who said, 'If you want peace, prepare for war.' The preparation includes material preparation, a fantastic army, effective tools of war, but above all, we are talking about spiritual preparation, about spiritual readiness to go to war. Roadmaps, capitulation, gestures, disengagements, convergences, deportations, and so forth do not bring peace. On the contrary, they bring war, just as we saw last summer. These things send a clear signal to our 'cousins' [the Arabs] that we are tired, that we no longer have spiritual strength, that we have no time, that we are calling for a time-out. They only whet their appetites. It only encourages them to pressure us more, to demand more, and not to give up on anything. These things stem from simple theoretical considerations and also from straight thinking. But it's not just theory: it has been proven and re-proven in the field over thousands of years. I returned today from a trip to India, where we heard about historical stories that illustrate the same. Capitulations bring about war; determination and readiness bring about peace. Ladies and gentlemen, we must tell our 'cousins' that we are staying here. We are not moving. We have time; we have patience; we have stamina. Understand this and internalize it. And we must not simply say it to our cousins but feel it within ourselves. This and only this will bring peace. We can really live in peace and unity and cooperation with our cousins. But only after they understand and internalize that the Zionist state will be here forever."
IAF Strikes Terror Tunnel
In a response to the suicide bombing that killed three in Eilat, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed a terror tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip near the Karni Crossing on Tuesday. The Israeli army said "Palestinian" terrorists intended to use the tunnel to carry out an attack against Israeli citizens "in the immediate future." According to security officials there were secondary explosions after the strike indicating that there were explosives in the tunnel. "The terrorist organizations continue to act against the interest of the Palestinian population and make cynical use of the area of the Karni crossing, which serves as one of the main lifelines of the Palestinian population - allowing the passage of merchandise and medical supplies in and out of the Gaza Strip," the army statement said. "The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) will continue to use all resources at its disposal to strike at the terror infrastructure within the Gaza Strip in order to ensure the security of Israeli citizens." Terrorists have attempted to carry out attacks through the Karni crossing in the past. Just last August the Israeli army uncovered a tunnel leading from the Gaza Strip to the Karni crossing.
Wanted Terrorists Killed
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers operating in Shechem overnight Wednesday and early Thursday killed several wanted terrorists from the Islamic Jihad and Fatah organizations. Several others were arrested. There were no injuries to Israeli forces. IDF soldiers shot and killed two wanted Fatah terrorists in Shechem (Nablus) early Thursday. Three others were arrested. Golani Brigade troops spotted the armed men about three hours before dawn in the area of the casbah (open-air market) in Shechem, where counterterror operations were underway, prompting the soldiers to open fire at them. At the scene of the confrontation, IDF forces uncovered a hidden enemy explosives laboratory. Among the equipment confiscated was a five-kilogram device that was ready for deployment and detonation. The killed and captured terrorists are from the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades of the Fatah organization, headed by "Palestinian" Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Iranians Captured in Gaza
"Palestinian" news reports identified Friday morning that five Iranian weapons experts were captured in a raid carried out by Fatah loyalists late Thursday night in Gaza. One Iranian committed suicide during the operation. Among those captured in the raid at the Islamic University of Gaza City was an Iranian General. In a raid at the university on Thursday, some 1,400 guns and missiles were found and confiscated.
Fierce battles between Hamas and Fatah continued through Friday and at least another seven Gaza men were reported killed. Hamas operatives first killed two Fatah intelligence officers, and shortly afterwards, several more were wounded. Hamas fired mortar shells on Fatah positions throughout Gaza early this afternoon. Some twenty-five "Palestinian" Authority (PA) residents were wounded overnight as Fatah and Hamas warred for control of the government, destroying the fragile ceasefire that had been declared between the warring groups. Fatah officials said Ahmad Ja'abri, a Hamas commander believed to have planned the raid in which IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped last June, was seriously wounded during the raid. Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said Friday morning that Iran has been "very intensely involved [in] upgrading the professional capacity of the terrorist groups" in Gaza.
The Iranian general who was captured was in charge of Hamas' weapons and explosive production program. The Iranian general was in charge of several chemistry laboratories in the university, where he supervised Hamas students employed in the production of explosives. At least twenty female students were arrested in the raid. The Iranian general was also involved in developing shells and rockets. He is currently being interrogated by Fatah men and it is not clear what his fate will be.
Tu B'Shvat
This Sabbath (Shabbat) is the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month Shvat, also known as the Jewish Arbor Day. On this holiday, it is customary to eat fruits of the land, including especially the Seven Species "for which the Land of Israel is praised." They are wheat, barley, grapes/wine, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Tu B'Shvat is considered a day of joy, as well as a day of planting. The date was designated by the Sages as the cut-off date between one agricultural year and the next. A growing tradition in Israel in recent years is a 'Tu B'Shvat seder', or festive meal. Originally started in sixteenth-century Tzfat, it is modeled after the Passover seder, but concentrates on concepts such as national and personal renewal, charity, and the sanctity of the Land of Israel and its fruits.
Tree-planting ceremonies marking the day have been held this past week all over the country. In the religious Nir Etzion school near Haifa, Noam Shalit - father of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit - planted citrus saplings together with hundreds of pupils. The planting ground is to be called the "Forest of Hope."
New Tour of Israel Planned
The Tzemach Institute is joining forces with the Christian Friends Of Israeli Communities (CFOIC) in planning a special tour of the heartland of biblical Israel. 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 with Sondra Baras of CFOIC and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein [pictured left].
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