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| Week ending Shabbat, March 10, 2007 |
20 Adar, 5767 |
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US Congress Puts Hold On PA Money
Key members of the United States Congress are stepping up pressure against the Bush administration's plan to give 86 million US dollars to the "Palestinian" Authority (PA) for training and equipping forces loyal to Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. They argue that the plan may violate the law forbidding the US government to use tax revenues to finance outlawed terrorist organizations. The list of illegal terror groups includes Hamas, with which Abbas's Fatah party has agreed in principle to form a coalition government. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, "Our intention is to move forward with the program. Now whether or not that includes the full eighty-six million will depend upon the answers to the questions that we have and... that the Congress has."
New York Democratic Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who chairs the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees the State Department budget, has placed a hold on providing the money. California Democrat Tom Lantos, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehthien, a senior member of the committee, wrote U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, "The fact that Fatah will now join a government led by Hamas terrorists - and will do so with Abbas's blessing - raises serious questions about the commitments and loyalties of the Palestinian security forces we have undertaken to assist...
Questions arise as to whether these forces will be strictly under Abbas's control and whether Abbas, in line with our long-time belief, is truly committed to peace and non-violence."
The funds in question were put up by the Bush administration in an effort to strengthen Abbas against the Hamas militia. They include $35.5 million for riot gear and communications equipment for PA security forces and $25.9 million for Abbas's Presidential Guard. The PA unity government still has not been formed, and it is not yet clear who will oversee the security forces. PA security forces have on numerous occasions attacked Israeli soldiers and civilians with guns Israel itself provided them, ever since Israel embarked on the policy of arming the PA, in the early 1990s. Often, PA "policemen" turn out to be affiliated with a terror organization as well. Many of the worst terror attacks against Israel have been carried out by Fatah, the organization headed by Mahmoud Abbas. In response to reports that hundreds of thousands of US foreign-aid dollars have reached organizations with explicit ties to Hamas, Congressmen expressed outrage, but the State Department has concluded that none of the recipient organizations are engaged in terror activities.
IDF Raids Intelligence Offices in Ramallah
Israeli troops raided the "Palestinian" intelligence headquarters in Ramallah on Tuesday night and arrested 18 gunmen. Witnesses said that soldiers surrounded the building where they believed a number of Fatah and al-Aksa Brigades operatives were hiding. According to the Israeli army, the fugitives were responsible for perpetrating dozens of shooting attacks against Israelis. During the raid, bulldozers accompanied by some thirty military jeeps approached the compound and surrounded the building. Troops began firing stun grenades and shooting in the air, calling on the fugitives to surrender before arresting the gunmen. A "Palestinian" security source said that senior officials were arrested, suspected of involvement in perpetrating terror attacks against Israel, including Khalil Shilo of the al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades who had been on the run since 2000. Another thirteen wanted "Palestinian" suspects were arrested across Judea and Samaria on Tuesday night.
Announcing the 'Empowering Women through Judeo-Christian Values' Conference
The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women's Council has announced this first-of-its kind conference to be held May 20-21, 2007 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Jerusalem. Participants will join hundreds of women from all over the globe who will come together to discuss issues of concern to women the world over. Judeo-Christian values provide the basis for freedom and dignity for all human beings - when society clings to these values, women are accorded the respect and dignity they deserve. When these values are absent or ignored, women suffer enormously. The Women's Summit 2007 will provide updated information regarding the abuse of women, and will educate participants to become effective defenders of women in their own communities. Speakers will include Kay Arthur (Precept Ministries), Sondra Oster Baras (Christian Friends of Israeli Communities), Rebecca Brimmer (Bridges for Peace), Jane Hansen (AGLOW International), Charmaine Hedding (International Christian Embassy Jerusalem), Dr. Petra Heldt (Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel), Sharon Sanders (Christian Friends of Israel). Click here for more information and/or registration.
NY State Assemblyman Plans to Buy Home in Samaria
The Amanah Settlement Organization, helping to keep Israel's Biblical heartland Jewish, held a fair in a Teaneck (New Jersey) synagogue recently. No fewer than twelve homes were sold at the one-day event, mostly in Karnei Shomron and Kiryat Arba. In addition, New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind also announced that he plans to buy. The houses have been promoted as a way of "keeping the Zionist dream alive" and "leaving your thumbprint on the destiny of Israel." Another fair held in a Queens (New York) synagogue the same day yielded two more sales - one in Kokhav HaShachar and another in Kiryat Arba. Other potential purchasers have shown interest, and are in contact with the organizers. More such fairs are planned for Chicago and elsewhere in the U.S.
Hikind, an active and outspoken state legislator, has often shown his support for Israel in general and the residents Judea, Samaria and Gaza in particular. Before the Disengagement/expulsion from Gaza in 2005, he organized and led two solidarity missions to Gaza, explaining, "It's my obligation to support the Jews of Gaza. Israel is extremely important to me, as it should be for every Jew. No one would be concerned if a Puerto Rican congressman was involved in humanitarian matters in Puerto Rico, or if an African-American leader was concerned about Africa." An assemblyman from Brooklyn for twenty-five years, Hikind has been involved in causes such as reverse discrimination, Syrian and Soviet Jewry, fighting Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic literature, subway safety, US Coast Guard policies regarding wearing yarmulkes, and more.
Tour the Biblical Heartland of Israel
The Tzemach Institute has joined 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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