tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70550117775621297842024-03-13T09:41:21.498-07:00Begin Center DiaryThis blog is a support for the main Menachem Begin Heritage Center site.YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comBlogger823125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-62801440337952427792024-03-10T00:26:00.000-08:002024-03-10T04:03:29.085-07:00Begin and Biden - Round Two<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Begin-Biden conversation has been covered <a href="https://begincenterdiary.blogspot.com/2008/09/begin-vs-biden-by-harry-hurwitz.html">here</a> and <a href="https://begincenterdiary.blogspot.com/2008/08/moshe-zak-article.html">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This now has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/08/why-joe-biden-support-israel-relationship-history">appeared in The Guardian</a>, composed by non-sympathetic-to-Israel correspondent Chris McGreal:</span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>"Anyone attempting to understand why Joe Biden is so unswerving in support of Israel’s right to attack Gaza might look back four decades to a meeting between the then US senator and the Jewish state’s rightwing prime minister at the time, Menachem Begin.</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was 1982, and Begin began an official visit to Washington days after Israel invaded Lebanon after cross-border attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The Tel Aviv newspaper <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V4tUzg_yHOT171725owgXX_iOnQUxW46/view">Yedioth Ahronoth reported</a> that when Begin addressed the Senate foreign relations committee no one was more enthusiastic than Biden in support of the Israeli attack.</span><br /><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">“If attacks were launched from Canada into the US everyone here would have said, ‘Attack all the cities of Canada, and we don’t care if all the civilians get killed,’” Biden told the meeting, according to a quote uncovered <a href="https://jacobin.com/2023/10/joe-biden-menachem-begin-israel-lebanon-war-civilian-casualties-canada-gaza">by Jacobin magazine</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Begin later expressed surprise at the vehemence of Biden’s support, particularly the senator’s attempts to justify the killing of women and children.</span><br /><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">“I disassociated myself from these remarks,” <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-a-longtime-friend-israel-critic-of-settlements-may-be-at-odds-over-iran/">Begin told Israeli reporters</a>. “I said to him: ‘No, sir, attention must be paid. According to our values, it is forbidden to hurt women and children, even in war’.”"</span></i></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">What is left out of that version is that Biden expressed firm opposition to Israel's resettlement activities in Judea and Samaria.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here is part of the Hebrew section from the Yedioth article:<br /></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9RCNjSTUNlPipL1xjUhMyPmxm1NFWEuvPJYIuJT3GUPhlN9kh0RvLVRNbAiGA_hD7rFWg3JugoKMr2hfSzTHSpdpKvRxyvGNb1YLbQ8ycruMNXS9Fkz0ebSSYmTpTPV6E1-lFJQKxVHA721zyjy7kclmceTLsjNx6B_FnlDkkhtyvcEci9DuSvWzHcGVo/s671/B%20B.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="321" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9RCNjSTUNlPipL1xjUhMyPmxm1NFWEuvPJYIuJT3GUPhlN9kh0RvLVRNbAiGA_hD7rFWg3JugoKMr2hfSzTHSpdpKvRxyvGNb1YLbQ8ycruMNXS9Fkz0ebSSYmTpTPV6E1-lFJQKxVHA721zyjy7kclmceTLsjNx6B_FnlDkkhtyvcEci9DuSvWzHcGVo/w191-h400/B%20B.png" width="191" /></a></div><br /><p>^</p>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-6438874066210417162021-12-08T23:51:00.003-08:002021-12-08T23:51:47.992-08:00"Mieczysław Biegun" - Who?<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://wpolityce.pl/historia/577175-steele-niesamowita-kariera-fake-newsa-o-menachemie-beginie"> Source</a>:</span></p><p></p><blockquote><p>Mieczysław Biegun - an amazing fake news career about Menachem Begin</p><p>Here in Poland, even the smallest mention of Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel in 1977-1983 born in Poland in 1913, it is always remembered that his original name was "Mieczysław Biegun".</p><p>The problem is that it was not so!</p><p>Nobody knows who invented Mieczysław the Pole - or when, although suspicions are such that it could have been during the presence of the Anders Army in British Palestine in 1942-43. One can only guess what was behind the invented name. A nickname that makes him one of ours? April Fools Reverse Engineering of the Name Menachem Begin?</p><p>I don't remember any Israeli prime minister before him, but the 14-year-old stuck in his memory when Begin took the helm. From then on, he was a character I followed regularly and sometimes even closely - for example during Camp David and the First Lebanon War - until his resignation in 1983. Begin caught my attention again when I came to Poland, because his roots here are often emphasized: growing up in Brest, studying law at the University of Warsaw, epic wandering with Anders' Army from the Soviet Union to the Holy Land - and his supposedly proper name.</p><p>Just like almost everyone - from Norman Davies and President Duda to POLIN and the "Millionaires" jurors from September this year ("Mieczysław Biegun won the Nobel Peace Prize for 1978 together with the president of: A. Poland B. Israel C. Egypt D. Czech ") - I have never doubted the truth of Mieczysław Begin. But why? Suffice that this surname is mentioned wherever Begin is mentioned. Moreover, it is known that many Jews adopted Hebrew surnames when they started a new life in Eretz Israel. David Grün became David Ben-Gurion; Golda Meyerson became Golda Meir; Ariel Scheinermann became Ariel Sharon.</p><p>Recently, while getting ready to write a series about the fathers of contemporary Israel coming from the lands of today's Poland, I immersed myself in reading about Begin's life - I focused especially on his life in Poland. I noticed right away that none of his numerous biographers (Eric Silver, Ned Temko, Avi Shilon, Yehuda Avner, Ofer Grosbard, Daniel Gordis) writes anything about any "Mieczysław". On the contrary: I found a lot in these works about giving him the name "Menachem". Further searches quickly revealed Begin's university documents, in which he has been listed - from 1931, that is from the very beginning of his legal studies - as Menachem Begin. Then I came across an interview on Polish Radio with Dr. Piotr Gontarczyk, a leading expert in revisionist Zionism in Poland, of which Begin was an outstanding figure. In this interview, Gontarczyk was dismayed, as I thought when he was asked about Mieczysław the Pole. After a while he replied, “I heard such versions, but always in the documents of revisionists, in the press, before the war as [some interferences on the part of the interviewer]. I have a copy of his file and he uses the name Menachem Begin all the time ”.</p><p>What about the years Begin spent in the Gymnasium Romuald Traugutt in Brześć nad Bugiem? Maybe the name of Begin there was Mieczysław Biegun? Soon I found several dozen-page-long publications drawn up by school administrators. And here is the information that sixteen-year-old Menachem Begin was one of the top students in his class and that he participated in a German-speaking group with his brother Herzl Begin. This solved the matter so much that in the article I wrote a week ago for Plus Minus about Begin, I considered "Mieczysław Bieguna" a myth. After all, since his name was Menachem Begin in the state high school, what were the chances that in the two private Jewish schools he had attended before, his name was Mieczysław? I decided that it was less than none.</p><p>In the next steps, I managed to enlist the support of my friend, attorney Bartłomiej Kachniarz, who knows the Belarusian archivist in Brest (Nikolai Aleksandrów), who examined the files of Begin preserved there. The archivist explained that no, he had never seen the name "Mieczysław Biegun" on any documents related to Menachem Begin. Kachniarz also contacted Dr. Gontarczyk, who wrote back to him: "In my opinion, he never used this name [Mieczysław Biegun]."</p><p>The full solution to the puzzle came only from the Menachem Begin in Jerusalem. In response to my question to the Center, I received the following reply:</p><p><i>Dear Mr. Steele, In response to your inquiry regarding the name of "Mieczysław Biegun", I can inform you that the Menachem Begin reviewed all documents relating to Menachem Begin's early life and we contacted the archivist of the Jewish Community in Brest. There is not a single document bearing this name. Moreover, on all of them there is a proper name "Menachem". Indeed, it is a myth and a forgery.</i></p><p>It remains a mystery, however, how it is possible that the name "Mieczysław Biegun" has become ubiquitous in Poland. I think that the simplest explanation is the one I shared with my Israeli friends - firstly, that "Mieczysław Biegun" has no pejorative connotation in Poland at all. After all, it appears literally everywhere, regardless of politics or other sympathies. Makes it ours. After all, Begin (which was often emphasized by both supporters and opponents) was genuinely very Polish. So much so that it is easy for Poles to exaggerate his Polishness. For example, with the story that in 1978 at Camp David spoke to Brzeziński in Polish at chess. Not true, but you wish it were!</p><p>Nevertheless, when I recall that in 2017 President Duda spoke about "Mieczysław Pole" not only in Jerusalem, but also at the Menachem Begin, I am a little surprised that the matter was not cleared up then.</p><p>Philip Earl Steele</p><p>* Philip Earl Steele - American historian and editor, former lecturer at the University of Warsaw. The author of the book "The conversion and baptism of Mieszko I" and many texts, especially religious studies, published both in Poland, Israel, the Czech Republic, the USA and Great Britain. His book will be published soon. Israel and Evangelical Christians: "An Alliance by God's Sent".</p></blockquote><p>^ </p><p></p>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-39320534270005440922021-11-25T02:09:00.007-08:002021-11-25T02:09:53.030-08:00A State Memorial Day for Menachem Begin<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As published:</span></p><p><a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/knesset-approves-1st-reading-of-bill-for-menachem-begin-memorial-day-686860"></a></p><blockquote><p><a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/knesset-approves-1st-reading-of-bill-for-menachem-begin-memorial-day-686860">Knesset approves 1st reading of bill for Menachem Begin memorial day</a></p><p>NOVEMBER 24, 2021</p><p>The Knesset approved a preliminary reading of a bill to create a national memorial day in memory of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin.</p><p>The bill, proposed by Likud faction chairman MK Yariv Levin, passed with support from the coalition.</p><p>"This is the least that should be done for Menachem Begin, a great leader who himself designed important elements in Israel's identity," Levin said.</p></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And from<a href="https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/News/PressReleases/Pages/press241121v.aspx"> the Knesset site</a>:</span></p><p></p><blockquote><p>November 24, 2021</p><p>Knesset Plenum passes in preliminary reading bill for state memorial day for Menachem Begin</p><p>In its sitting on Wednesday, the Knesset Plenum voted to approve in its preliminary reading the Bill for Commemorating Menachem Begin (Amendment—State Memorial Day), 2021, sponsored by MK Yariv Levin (Likud). In the vote, 41 MKs supported the bill versus one opposing vote. The bill will be turned over to the Education, Culture, and Sports Committee.</p><p>The bill proposes to dedicate a state memorial day to the memory and works of Menachem Begin. On this day, events will be held for commemorating Menachem Begin, a state memorial ceremony will be conducted, and IDF camps and schools will devote time to commemoration events and teaching about his accomplishments. As the 4th of the Hebrew month of Adar is Menachem Begin's date of death, it is proposed that this day serve as the state memorial day for Begin.</p><p>The explanatory notes state: “Menachem Begin's name is inscribed in the nation's history as one of the great leaders of the Jewish people in the twentieth century. Begin took part in the struggle for the state's independence, contributed to the democratic foundations of the State of Israel and strengthened them. He established the principle that there would be no civil war, eliminated social barriers, strengthened the unity of the people, made the first peace accord and more.</p><p>“In the past, the Knesset has affixed state memorial days for prime ministers, and there is no doubt that the influence, work and contribution of Menachem Begin are worthy of being memorialized in a similar fashion. The purpose of the bill is to inculcate the legacy and the values espoused by Begin and bring them closer to the next generations."</p><p>MK Levin: “This is the least we can do for Menachem Begin, an illustrious leader who shaped with his own hands important elements in the identity and the very existence of the State of Israel. I am convinced that teaching his legacy in schools, as proposed by the bill, will contribute greatly to the education of our future generation."</p><p>Minister Zeev Elkin responded on behalf of the Government, saying: “One cannot help but point at the famous sentence said by Begin in the context of an extended term of office, that 'a prolonged stay in power is a danger to the nation's freedom and the morality of its members, and it begets corruption.'"</p></blockquote><p>^ </p><p></p>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-40279369958953539302021-02-07T05:23:00.006-08:002021-02-07T10:15:06.919-08:00Menachem Begin's Arrest in 1937<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In 1937, responding to the policy of the British Mandate power in Palestine to continue to restrict Jewish immigration into the country, Betar Poland conducted a demonstration outside the British Embassy in Warsaw.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As explained <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4284201?seq=1">here</a>,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The British created a system of criteria for determining the distribution of immigration certificates. The High Commissioner for Palestine was given the authority to determine immigration policy, the implementation of which was placed in the hands of the Immigration Department of the Mandatory Government. The certificates were to be distributed to four types of immigrant, according to defined criteria for each group...The group on which immigration limitations were imposed was the workers, people who had a chance of integrating into the labour market in the country [in other words, penniless halutzim - YM]...Most serious however was the situation of the Jews in Poland, the country with the largest population of Jews in Europe, about three and a half million people. Anti-Semitism in Poland had increased following the death of Pilsudski (1935), and the discrimination undermined the Jewish population's status and economic position. Desperate calls were made to organize youth groups...The year 1936 saw a drastic reduction in the number of certificates given by the British. The Arab Revolt which broke out in April 1936 further intensified British fears of losing Arab support. With London's decision to dispatch a Royal Commission to Palestine to examine the causes of the disturbances, [High Commissioner <span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" style="background-color: white;">Arthur Grenfell] </span>Wauchope proposed suspending Jewish immigration for the duration of the Commission's activities, in order to pacify the Arabs. The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir William Ormsby-Gore agreed with Wauchope and told him that the Secretary of State shared his view that there should be a suspension of all permanent immigration into Palestine during the period of the Royal Commission's work, and until the government had dealt with its report.'...The decision to reduce immigration continued into the spring of 1937. The Jewish Agency Executive demanded 11,250 certificates from the government in the April-September 1937 schedule. The government only authorized 770 certificates of which 150 were kept in reserve...</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">With the situation for Betarim in Poland critical as not only were they discriminated against by the "certificate" system but by the Zionist Organization which severely limited their access due to political bias, it became a matter of life or death, and so they decided to demonstrate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here is <a href="http://pdfs.jta.org/1937/1937-04-05_201.pdf?_ga=2.27229876.869809273.1612701435-44317314.1594059583">the JTA report</a>:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEPilTapDXc/YB_hktZed7I/AAAAAAABWsc/B72fxX6mNVE1mfbbA9M2SBs0TRz6b2TNACLcBGAsYHQ/s626/jta.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="626" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEPilTapDXc/YB_hktZed7I/AAAAAAABWsc/B72fxX6mNVE1mfbbA9M2SBs0TRz6b2TNACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/jta.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Of course, that should be Menachem Begin (or Beigin).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was <a href="https://www.jta.org/1933/12/31/archive/polish-revisionists-demonstrate-against-barrier-to-palestine">not the first time</a> such a demonstration was conducted.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">^</span></p>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-64697047041308148812020-11-16T07:21:00.004-08:002020-11-16T07:29:14.728-08:00Retracing the Route of Anders' Army<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Menachem Begin enlisted in <a href="https://www.pap.pl/en/news/news%2C289107%2Chow-anders-army-co-helped-create-israel.html">Anders' Army </a>in the late fall of 1941 and arived in then Mandate Palestine in April 1942.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The route:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Started at Jangijul (now Yangiyol), Uzbekistan, south of Tashkent, the headquarters of the Anders’ Army; From there to</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Samarkand, then to Kermine (now Navoiy), on to Bukhara, Turkmenabat, Merv (now Mary), Tejen, Ashgabat, Krasnovodsk (now Turkmanbashi), from where the Army was shipped to Pahlevi, Persia (now Bandar-e Anzali, Iran).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">From Bandar Anzali to Tehran, then to Ahvaz; from Ahvaz to Basra; from Basra to Baghdad. From Baghdad to Jerusalem.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2nJmq0xho8/X7KTrPQ8KzI/AAAAAAABV6Q/gvL7vn2ly1QSwW3LIa9uPpcE9-LwvVSiACLcBGAsYHQ/s878/anders%2Brmy%2Broute1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="878" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2nJmq0xho8/X7KTrPQ8KzI/AAAAAAABV6Q/gvL7vn2ly1QSwW3LIa9uPpcE9-LwvVSiACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h240/anders%2Brmy%2Broute1.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://kresy-siberia.org/hom/files/Map-2-Evacuation-of-Anders-Army-7Sept12.pdf" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Credit</a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UHQ-jZd8Gr4/X7KX8nQDbuI/AAAAAAABV6c/9OUM1M5q3Ko5X89CcEkLM43fwoty0D57gCLcBGAsYHQ/s904/anders%2Barmy%2Broute2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="904" height="245" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UHQ-jZd8Gr4/X7KX8nQDbuI/AAAAAAABV6c/9OUM1M5q3Ko5X89CcEkLM43fwoty0D57gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h245/anders%2Barmy%2Broute2.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ttibzbbFkb4/X7KYDWvJWEI/AAAAAAABV6g/CUy_xRtRNPIYQ1JUj7OA72nJb5vit2auwCLcBGAsYHQ/s811/anders%2Barmy%2Broute.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="811" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ttibzbbFkb4/X7KYDWvJWEI/AAAAAAABV6g/CUy_xRtRNPIYQ1JUj7OA72nJb5vit2auwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h240/anders%2Barmy%2Broute.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/general-w%C5%82adys%C5%82aw-anders-difficult-choices-polish-history-museum/LgJyA445wKN0JA?hl=en">Credit</a></span></div><p><br /></p><p>^</p><p><br /></p>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-50590428334346319212020-08-03T23:38:00.000-07:002020-08-04T01:45:38.334-07:00A Bit of a Sarcastic Provocation<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Begin Center received this email:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zFxNVlUbUNc/Xyj87G01wrI/AAAAAAABVII/cB48XMvFnFwKIqfo5B4QAlDbD1rVlzBiQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/5d985c33-290e-4361-af84-8fdc5e9bb68e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="1350" height="108" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zFxNVlUbUNc/Xyj87G01wrI/AAAAAAABVII/cB48XMvFnFwKIqfo5B4QAlDbD1rVlzBiQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/5d985c33-290e-4361-af84-8fdc5e9bb68e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Could this be a real person?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, back in 2008</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, one "<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px;">Neal Wohlmuth", writing in the North California <a href="https://www.jweekly.com/2008/02/08/letters-213/">Jewish News</a> on February 1, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px;">advocated genocide as a “solution” to the “Palestinian problem”. He also stated that Israel should ex</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">pel the Arabs from Gaza and finished in a flourish:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">“Those who refuse to leave should be annihilated. Start the carpet bombings.”</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">He seems to have <a href="http://www.sentinelnews.net/article/10-8-2018/updates-organizations-government-agencies-advertise-various-artists-1#.Xyj-nygzbIU">left a comment here</a>, realating to a 2018 JPost article on the King David Hotel bombing.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">I am going to make an educated guess that indeed, this is an anti-Zionist Jew who has adopted a line of tongue-in-the-cheek provocation black propaganda to harm Israel's interests. A Jew because of the familiarity with Judaism displayed in his email.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">There <a href="http://adathisraelsf.org/images/stories/PDF_files/newsletters/Newsletter_FALL_5775.pdf">is/was a Neal Wholmuth in San Francisco</a> (p. 9) but I doubt he is our Neal, even if he <a href="http://www.adathisraelsf.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79%3Ashabbos-parshas-toldos-cheshvan-28-29-5771-november-5-6-2010&catid=3%3Anews-a-schmooz&Itemid=12">sponsored a kiddush</a>. But who knows?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">In Septemeber 2017, <a href="http://www.sentinelnews.net/article/10-8-2018/updates-organizations-government-agencies-advertise-various-artists-1#.XykBqygzbIU">he left a comment</a> regarding a Jerualem Post article on the King David Hotel bombing.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">But to respond to his quips, three Jewish freedom fighters, engaged in resistance actions against a repressive mandatory regime which had reneged on its commitments and responsibilities as per the 1922 League of Nations decision to reconstitute a Jewish national homeland </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">were hanged the previous day.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">Moreover, in standing by its 1939 White Paper after the Holocaust which kept Jews languishing in Europe, it had lost all moral authority, Prisoners of war are not to be treated as criminals. Menachem Begin ordered that the British soldiers be hanged and that put an end to the gallows in the Land of Israel.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "droid serif" , serif; font-size: 17px;">And thanks to Begin and the Irgun and the other Hebrew undergrounds, we can eat cake in a free Israel today.</span><br />
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<br />YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-28081814946787106772020-06-17T03:00:00.004-07:002020-06-17T03:00:45.977-07:00Menachem Begin and Arabs 1944<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SkqRPXI6I">an article by Shelomo Nakdimon</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a document penned in 1944, titled "To our Arab neighbors," which was also presented to the UNSCOP officials in 1947, then-Etzel leader Menachem Begin portrayed a different possibility. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the letter, the future prime minister explained that the ongoing conflict is a war for the liberation of the land from the British. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"This war is not against you," he explained to the Arabs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"We do not see you as an enemy. We want to see you as good neighbors. We did not come to destroy you or expel you from the lands you live on. The land of Israel has enough room for you, your sons and your grandsons and the millions of Jews that have no life but in this land. The Hebrew government will grant you full civil rights. Hebrew and Arabic will be the languages of the land. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There will be no discrimination between Arabs and Jews for governmental or public work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"The Muslim holy sites will be overseen by your representatives. The Hebrew government will grant education to all and no more will there be illiteracy in the land of the Bible," Begin wrote. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"No more will there be epidemics in our towns and villages. Work pay will be lifted to European standards. Agriculture will be developed. House will be built instead of tents. Water and electricity will reach every household. The Hebrew state will be a shared home for all, and peace and understanding will be between it and all independent Arab nations." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This dramatic plea ends on a collective call. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"It depends on you and your wisdom," wrote the man who would eventually sign a peace treaty with Israel's greatest foe, Egypt. "If you want, and do not give your ears to agitators, peace and friendship between our two people can be eternal. Together we shall build this holy land. Together we shall gain from its fruits and treasures. Together we will develop its agriculture and industry. Together we will forward our sovereign people into a world of justice, freedom, wealth and dignity. To our Arab neighbors, we reach our hand out to you in peace and fraternity, do not reject it!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">^</span>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-56407504433902825222020-05-14T09:02:00.000-07:002020-05-14T09:02:20.703-07:00Begin’s Speech on Brisk<a href="https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/israel-zionism/2020/05/we-were-all-born-in-jerusalem-a-never-before-translated-speech-by-menachem-begin/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“We Were All Born in Jerusalem”: A Never-Before-Translated Speech by Menachem Begin</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What the future prime minister of Israel had to say about his past and present homelands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Neil Rogachevsky with <span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Michael Weiner</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Before World II, <a href="https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Brest">Brisk (a/k/a Brest or Brest-Litovsk)</a>, a city of 300,000 in what is now Belarus, had been for centuries one of the most vibrant centers of Jewish life in the world, known especially for its rabbis and scholars, and, by the early 20th century, also for being an important hub of Zionist politics and activism. All this activity ended swiftly with the war, when the city was one of the first to fall to the Third Reich during its 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. The Nazis not only put an end to Jewish activity in Brisk, they sought to erase the Jews themselves. Over the course of a few days in October 1942, most of the remaining Jews of Brisk—nearly 20,000 in number—were murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Thirty years later, in 1972, an association of former residents of Brisk by then living in Israel held a commemorative event for the martyred Jews of their home. The keynote address was given by the then-leader of Israel’s political opposition, Menachem Begin, who would five years later become the country’s prime minister.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Born in Brisk in 1913, Begin had lost both of his parents and a brother in the Holocaust. His speech pays tribute to and commemorates not only family and friends, but the community as a whole. Through extensive personal recollection and poetic imagery, Begin evokes a lost world not only of Brisk but of prewar East European Jewry more generally.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>No English translation can do justice to the speech, which is rich with references that would have been easily understood by his audience but are more obscure to the contemporary Israeli or American reader. First and foremost Begin invokes the Jewish religious tradition. Not only are there overt citations of Jeremiah and the Yom Kippur liturgy, but also more subtle allusions, like the phrase “strike them with a mighty blow,” borrowed loosely from Judges 15:8. Present too is modern Jewish literature, including the work of the poet and novelist Zalman Shneour (1886–1959), who wrote in both Hebrew and Yiddish, and Ahad Ha’am (1856–1927), the theorist of cultural Zionism.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Begin also conveys the texture of his hometown’s history, relating a famous legend that the Padua-born rabbi and communal leader Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen (1514–1617) was made king of Poland for a day. Then he weaves together the city’s disparate and often competing strands of Zionist activism, mentioning fondly the secular Zionist Tarbut school, its religious-Zionist counterpart Taḥk’moni, and the socialist-Zionist youth group Ha-Shomer Ha-Tsa’ir (the Young Watchman). The last of these Begin had belonged to early in his life, before embracing its right-wing competitor Betar; at the time of his speech former members of Ha-Shomer Ha-Tsa’ir dominated the political and military elite, and included Begin’s bitterest political enemies.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>In this way the speech is deeply political and points toward many of the central themes that typified Begin’s life and politics. These themes include: a) reverence for the Jewish past and for the rituals, beliefs, and world of Judaism, b) the unity of the Jewish people above and beyond partisan divisions, and c) the Zionist idea that only by rediscovering a form of inner courage could Jews begin to defend themselves and their way of life. These themes come together through the invocation—adapted from the great Hebrew writer S.Y. Agnon’s speech at the 1966 Nobel banquet—of the city and metaphor of Jerusalem. It is therefore fitting that we present this translation on the occasion of Yom Yerushalayim—the anniversary of the liberation of Israel’s capital from Jordanian occupation.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A copy of the Hebrew version of the speech—virtually unknown until its significance was uncovered by my colleague Meir Soloveichik—is preserved in the Menachem Begin Center archives. Yet it deserves the attention of English-language readers as well. I am thus pleased to present the first English-language translation of this remarkable oration.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>—Neil Rogachevsky</i></span><br />
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Shrouded by the awe of the day, by the purity of the holy ones and the holiness of the pure ones and the love of its lovers, the city of our birth appears before my eyes. The city of our youth, in which we were born and bred, learned and suffered, and dreamed the dreams of our youth: about its streets and its alleys, about its sands in summer and its swamps in winter, about its gardens and its two rivers; about its Jews and its Gentiles, about the love that dwelt there, and the trauma inflicted on its Jews, about all the good that was there and all that was the opposite—the city of our birth.<br />
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Many Jews lived there, and Gentiles too. And the Jews had the custom of calling such a city “a city and mother of Israel.” The city was Brisk—not one of the largest cities in the world, but perhaps it was a mother, or a stepmother, to its Jews. We were all proud that this Brisk had a history: the legendary king chosen to rule for a day or two, and the towering geniuses of Torah, cedars of Lebanon. Who among us did not see ourselves as companions to Rabbi Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik [1820–1892], to [his son] Rabbi Chaimke [1853–1918], as if we had been with them all the days of our lives? Who among us did not take pride in the fact that great and righteous scholars sprouted from this city? Who among us did not recount how Trotsky, [at the Brest-Litovsk treaty that ended Russia’s participation in World War I], had spoken the words that have echoed through the world until this very day: “no peace, no war.” And who among us does not remember the invasions and the changing of regimes and the fires and the rebuilding, the suffering of the compulsory evacuations [during World War I], and the return to the city.<br />
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Verily, an important city. In every encyclopedia you will find her, primarily in reference to the famous agreement between the Bolsheviks and the Germans in 1918. And this city also played a role in the growth of Zionism: early Zionists, followers of Herzl, participants in the first Zionist congresses, and the famous weeping of the first Zionist congresses.<br />
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In this city there were Zionist pioneers who left [for Palestine] before World War I and others who followed in their footsteps. The city also played a role in the pioneering wave of the early 1920s, when we were all still immigrants-to-be, passing under flags of azure and white, in the same wonderful youth movement, whose name in those days was Ha-Shomer Ha-Tsa’ir, under the command of Meir Friedman, of blessed memory.<br />
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Jewish eyes flow with tears seeing the renewal of the Jewish youth, his pride, standing tall, singing [the popular pioneer song]—still with Ashkenazi pronunciation—“service is our lives, from all troubles it will save us.” The wonderful schools Tarbut, Ḥayyim, and Taḥk’moni. And the splendid yeshivahs, in which the melodious sound of the teaching and study of Torah is heard well past midnight, the music flowing through the students, who wear out the study bench, who never leave it, despite desperate poverty, despite living on bread and water—and yet they keep on studying.<br />
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Such was the city of our youth. She is no longer. We will never again return to her. Her houses stand, her gardens are green, her trees still turn in fall. Even the school where we studied still stands on the hill. But it is our city no more. Our world is destroyed; it will not rise again. We will never again go to the streets of Brisk, where there are no Jews. There is nothing for us there—only the memory of the ashes that have scattered we know not where.<br />
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But there are still days or nights, I believe, when every one of us is still in the city of our youth. I will tell some of my own experiences. It was nearly 50 years ago that we invited a cantor to the great synagogue, and for him we created a community choir, with him at its center; it was called ha-m’shor’rim, [The Singers].<br />
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In those days we had a ritual slaughterer named Prager. During my youth I would go to the middle of the city to bring him birds to slaughter for kapparot [the ritual killing of chickens, which are then fed to the poor, on the eve of Yom Kippur]. He had a son, a friend from class; Berele was his name. And he was one of ha-m’shor’rim.<br />
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He had a voice that would be called alt [old] in Yiddish. Indeed, we heard the voice of a nightingale. On the night of Kol Nidrei, nearly 50 years ago, he sang with his fellow singers. I still remember today the sound, what we called in the old tongue the Ya’alot of Kol Nidrei, [a liturgical poem recited near the end of the Yom Kippur evening service].<br />
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The Hebrew of this prayer is ungrammatical, and we have no explanation as to why the gender of the nouns and verbs do not agree, but for many generations we and our forefathers have sung it thus. And Berele sang the words “Let our petition ascend from the evening, and let our outcry arrive in the morning, and let our joy arrive by evening.” To this day I can hear his voice.<br />
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And in the special holiday prayer on Rosh Hashanah, Berele would sing solo: “Is Ephraim not my dear son? A pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord” [Jeremiah 31:20]. Until today I hear his voice in this prayer, or the prayer in his voice.<br />
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And on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, when all were fasting and in prayer shawls, not many remained within the walls of the synagogue. But those who stayed studied intensely the avodah [the liturgical poem that describes the Yom Kippur service of the Jerusalem Temple in intricate detail]. And my father would insist that especially during the recitation of the avodah one should stay and pray, since perhaps the holiness of this prayer equaled the holiness of all the holy prayers of the rest of the year. And the voice of the cantor blended with those of the singers: “and the priests and the people standing in the courtyard, when they heard the ineffable name leave the lips of the high priest in holiness and purity, would prostrate themselves and fall on their faces and say: ‘blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and forever!’”<br />
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Fifty years have passed. And what events have taken place since then! Where have we not been? In towns and metropolises, in prisons and concentration camps, in underground organizations—both in the homeland and the far reaches of the Diaspora—we have been there. But on that night, on that day, you stand in the great synagogue of Brisk, every man in every location, and you see before your eyes the illuminated synagogue, and the small house of study, the wide doors and the stairs leading down [to the holy ark], to accord with the verse “out of the depths I call to you, Lord” (Psalm 130), as was customary for many synagogues in the Diaspora. And my father would stand beneath the ark, and next to him an assimilated Jew who worked in the city, speaking only the non-Jewish language [i.e., Polish]. And though the latter never once came to the synagogue during the rest of the year, on Yom Kippur he would stand on his feet all day, and would not leave the synagogue during the breaks between prayers, to prove that not only did he pray, but that he fasted all day, despite being assimilated.<br />
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And the aged beadle, who would ascend the stage, ceaselessly tapping his large open prayer book, but hushing the crowd, so that the [final line of the liturgy, that marks the holiday’s end]—“may His name be blessed forever and ever”—not be said before the appointed time. And the eastern wall and the special door—locked on the rest of the year—behind the holy ark, designated for the rabbi, so that if he wanted to come to pray without having to cross through the courtyard and the entire synagogue, he could instead come in through this special entrance.<br />
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And the working men, standing from left to right, near the entrance and amidst the whole congregation—the innocent, the pure, the holy. He who struggles to make a living and lives in difficulty, who built a small house where there was love for the mother and honor for the father and great desire for enlightenment, for learning, for progress. Hatred of Israel surrounded us. But the light was so bright in this synagogue. There from a great height and distance, from the women’s balcony, separated by an aperture, mother watched—all of our mothers—and, their eyes full of tears, they prayed; they prayed with all their hearts for the sake of their husbands and for the children and for everyone to be healthy so that there would be no sickness nor grief nor distress at home.<br />
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On that day, the day of Yom Kippur, and that night, the night of Kol Nidrei, wherever you may be, you find yourself in the synagogue of Brisk. And you still hear, as Berele sang, ya’ale v’yavo, just as the nightingale sang to us, and that majestic prayer: “and the priests and the people, standing in the courtyard of the Temple.”<br />
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All of thishas been destroyed, disappeared, erased, consumed, burned. Thirty years ago. Thirty years ago [we lost] our loved ones, along with the millions of other Jews. Many generations previously a poet had, without knowing it, described them [in the aforementioned avodah prayer]:<br />
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Like those who are lost with none to find them, like the hungry with none to feed them, like slaves with none to buy them, like the thirsty with none to give them drink, like prisoners who cannot be freed, like the hated with none to love them, like the bent with none to straighten them, like orphans without fathers, like the impure without means of purification, like the forgotten with none to remember them, like the mourners with none to comfort them, like the despised with none to honor them, like the captured with no escape.<br />
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When I was a child, a Jew hater, a Pole, shot 36 Jews in [nearby] Pinsk. They were Zionists. But the Jew hater thought they were Bolsheviks and shot them against a wall. For many years after you could see the blood on the wall of the synagogue where they were shot.<br />
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And I was taught a song of that sacrifice, that bitter sacrifice, that sacrifice of tears for the holy martyrs of Pinsk. Back then, in 1920, 30 Jews were killed. That shook our entire world. Twenty years later: 360,000 Jews killed, 3,600,000 Jews killed, six million Jews killed. We were no longer shocked. They were put to death, and none among the powerful nations, those which had the means to destroy the death camps and wreck the train tracks, to slow if not prevent the extermination—did a thing to try to save them.<br />
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And so it was as if the ground swallowed up an entire nation—and our loved ones amongst them. But until then, until then—there was something in Brisk, just as in Pinsk. In all these cities and towns, there was a love of Israel across the generations; there was faith in the God of Israel, in desperate poverty but in spiritual wealth, and faith in the study of Torah; there was religious brilliance and Enlightenment, Zionism, [the Revisionist youth group] Beitar as well as Ha-Shomer Ha-Tsa’ir and all the other movements—until then there was something special.<br />
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When Ahad Ha’am wrote about Judaism in the West, he ascertained with an eagle’s gaze and profound insight that despite their external freedom—the ghetto had fallen, emancipation had arrived, everyone was equal—despite that freedom, there was enslavement.<br />
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For us it was the opposite. Despite the slavery, we had freedom. Certainly we had our share of slavery. We saw the drunks, heard their cries, the makeshift bombs, houses destroyed, Jewish students chased and beaten just because they were Jews. All of this we lived through, saw, and heard, but deep within us, in the midst of slavery, there was freedom. The Jews of Brisk were noble Jews.<br />
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[Zalman] Shneour could have written about the Jews of Brisk what he wrote about the Jews of his native Shklov. We did not bow our heads before the wicked masses. We stood facing them. Even when we were small and weak, we fought back in children’s ways. To every insult we knew how to respond. And the teamsters, who greeted you as you crossed the street, and the stagecoach drivers and the butchers and all the other working men could stand up against the pogromists and “strike them with a mighty blow.”<br />
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Of course,this was a people that lived this way and in this way defended its human dignity—so long as it was permitted to live. But they saw accurately that the situation of Jews in the West was slavery in the midst of freedom, while there [in Brisk] it was freedom in the midst of slavery.<br />
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And yet there too the innocence of Jewish existence found its expression. Even after all that has happened to us, we are still unable today to grasp the innocence that characterized our fathers, in all of the lands of the Diaspora, although particularly in that Diaspora.<br />
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Every Sunday, a sermon, saturated with hate for Jews, would be preached in the church. Sometime in the Middle Ages, it was ordained by the church that one had to pray for the good of the perfidious Jew—perfidis Judaeis. The truth is that in ancient Latin, “perfidious” merely means a non-believer, what the Muslims call a <a href="https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/dictionary-of-quranic-usage/ghyr-SIM_001250">ghyr</a>. But every linguistic expression from olden days, or many of them, has adopted a particular meaning, usage, and connotation with the passing of time. So for example the word “cynic,” which, at the time of its creation, signified a philosophic school, later took on a new meaning. So too “perfidious”: not just an infidel—an unbeliever—but a hypocrite and a cheat. And this is how all the nations understood this prayer, and this word, and it’s as if they prayed for the “dastardly” Jew.<br />
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Then came John XXIII—not just a pope, but a great man—who ordered that this prayer be removed, apparently for the first time. But for generations, hundreds of millions of people heard the sermon and had been called to pray, every Sunday, for the perfidious Jew. What hatred that prayer had instilled in the hearts of these worshippers! And it’s as if we didn’t hear them. They were armed. They all carried weapons—both blunt objects and firearms. All of them hated the Jew, all of them awaited our downfall, all prepared their sacks, just in case, for looting.<br />
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And who were the police? Who were our defenders? They too heard the prayer on Sundays. So in the East, and from the West, came “anti-Semitism”—that artificial word. They didn’t want to say “anti-Jewish,” so they said “anti-Semitic,” as if we were the only Semites in the world, thus camouflaging their special hatred for Jews, hatred that had become scientific and philosophic, expressed by writers and priests—priests that took confession from the Kaiser [an apparent reference to the German court preacher Adolf Stoecker]—and from great historians [probably Heinrich von Treitschke]. All of them taught hatred of the Jews. Martin Luther, the man of progress, creator of the Reformation, called to burn synagogues, to make Jews live in stables, to take their money, and to make them weep over their bitter fate.<br />
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Hundreds of years later, a Protestant writer said: “Luther essentially taught the Germans to mark the Jews out as the prince of demons.” And the Jews did not pay attention. It was not just oppression. This innocence characterized Jewish existence. [We believed] that somehow, someone would protect us. And what do we say, not indeed on Yom Kippur but on the night of the Passover seder: “in every generation, they rise against us to destroy us, but God saved us from their hands.” But he saved only the “surviving remnant” of the Jewish people. Our existence continued, yes, and there was great longing for the Land of Israel. But the innocence of exilic existence did not cease.<br />
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On this night,when we remember those dear to us, we must say what the lesson is, because even today we are but the surviving remnant, and those who seek to destroy us have not moved on from the world. Not here and not there.<br />
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This is the lesson.<br />
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First: the Jew and his fear. This is not only a question of feeling. It’s a matter of logical analysis and rationality. During the years of exile, the Jew got used to being afraid, since he was persecuted up to his neck. But here we learned what the fearful Jew leads to: humiliation, persecution, exile, beating, subjugation, and finally the gates of Auschwitz.<br />
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One the other hand: courage. When the Jew woke up and rediscovered his inner courage, what was given to him? A flag, a homeland, an army, sovereignty, human dignity.<br />
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In the midst of their innocence, our fathers, in their faith, loved the Land of Israel. We still remember how they prayed for rain in the Land of Israel. Not rain for the land on which they lived, and from whose soil they lived, but rain for the Land of Israel. They pleaded for the Land of Israel, cleaved to it. They would say, “the Land of Israel,” in holiness and purity. And when they recited the grace after meals, coming to the words “and rebuild Jerusalem”—their eyes would flow with tears. How they would articulate the name “Jerusalem.” They loved the Land of Israel.<br />
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We will remember their love and sanctify it just as we merited to free the Land of Israel and redeem Jerusalem. “And the priests and the people, standing in the courtyard of the Temple”—this was they prayer they recited. And the day came that we redeemed Jerusalem, and we have dug into its dirt, and we have walked the path and so we have seen the Gates of Ḥuldah [that lead into the Temple]. They are still locked. And behold the mighty stones the Roman legions threw downward, covering the gates for 1,800 years. But they are there before our eyes. Recalling your prayers in the synagogue, over 50 years ago: standing there [on the Temple Mount], by the southern wall, you can see in your mind’s eye the Gates of Ḥuldah, and the masses of people flocking through them. “No one in Jerusalem [who had arrived for the pilgrimage festivals] ever said, ‘I don’t have enough room’” [Pirkei Avot 5:5]. That is: it was not said! It was tightly packed, but no one complained that it was too crowded in Jerusalem. The masses, thousands of them, came to Jerusalem—a city of 600,000 souls in the time of David. They ascended to the Gates of Ḥuldah through the courtyard and the woman’s courtyard—and you can see it, as if it were just yesterday.<br />
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S.Y. Agnon said [of his own East European hometown]: “Buchach. From there I came. But I was born in Jerusalem.”<br />
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Brisk. From there we came. But we were born in Jerusalem.<br />
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“And the priests and the people, standing in the courtyard of the Temple,” as if it were the day before yesterday. It’s in our spirit.<br />
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Gratitude to our fathers, gratitude for their love of the Land of Israel, gratitude for their prayers, gratitude for their faith in the coming of the messiah. [As the traditional statement of faith has it:] “And even though he may tarry, I nevertheless await him.” Our parents did not have the opportunity, but their children after them conquered the “beginning of redemption.” And so with love of Israel, with love for the Land of Israel and for Jerusalem, we will sanctify their scattered ashes, elevate their souls in holiness and purity, and carry in our hearts the memory of their love from generation to generation.<br />
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^YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-37584317041119244722020-04-06T05:07:00.001-07:002020-04-06T05:07:38.991-07:00A Passover Seder in Prison, 1941<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From an article by Menachem Begin published in Herut, April 11, 1960 on the Seder Evening he spent in Lukashki Prison, Vilna, 1941</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We conducted a Seder even in the prison. It was quite disorganized.* There were no matzot, no wine. Bitter herbs we had plenty, of course.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5aDvkwces8Y/XosbEFcHeFI/AAAAAAABUM4/QDNliI6y03EDi4ortzuO7jVgw84NPUIjACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/%25D7%2591%25D7%2592%25D7%2599%25D7%259F%2B%25D7%2595%25D7%2599%25D7%259C%25D7%25A0%25D7%2594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="300" height="269" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5aDvkwces8Y/XosbEFcHeFI/AAAAAAABUM4/QDNliI6y03EDi4ortzuO7jVgw84NPUIjACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/%25D7%2591%25D7%2592%25D7%2599%25D7%259F%2B%25D7%2595%25D7%2599%25D7%259C%25D7%25A0%25D7%2594.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the bread of affliction. Bread not quite bread. But very afflicted. We drank for cups as instructed but not according to the rule. We drank the bitter liquid which in the revolutionary jail is called `coffee`. We left it from the evening until the morn. As if it was a Paschal sacrifice, sort of.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did not invite all who wish to come. How would they get in? More importantly, how would they get out?</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did not say that none will question and none will reply. Queries, more than four, we asked and attempted to respond to. What we recalled of the Haggadah text we said.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we believed in the Haggadah. Today a slave, next year a free human. Now here, we are here. Next year in Jerusalem, in Jerusalem.</span></blockquote>
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* A play on the meaning of Seder - Order.</div>
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YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-62145212326560874572019-05-23T07:53:00.003-07:002019-05-23T08:01:17.586-07:00The Murdered of Brisk Reburied<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/remains-of-holocaust-victims-laid-to-rest-in-belarus/2019/05/22/86bf1528-7c8d-11e9-b1f3-b233fe5811ef_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.48628c1669b8"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remains of Holocaust victims laid to rest in Belarus </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">MINSK, Belarus — Remains of more than 1,000 Holocaust victims were laid to rest on Wednesday in a Belarusian city on the border with Poland after a mass grave was discovered on a building site earlier this year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Belarus was home to a large, vibrant Jewish community before World War II, and the discovery of remains of at least 1,214 people in January shocked many still scarred by memories of the Holocaust.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To the dismay of some Jewish leaders, officials stopped short of canceling the building permit on the site where remains of other victims might still be found, instead offering to bury the bones that were initially discovered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The remains were buried in 120 coffins emblazoned with the Star of David in a ceremony at a cemetery outside town attended by city officials, Jewish community leaders and diplomats.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Among famous Brest natives is late Israeli Prime Minister <b>Menachem Begin</b>, who won a Nobel Peace Prize with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1978. His father was among those rounded up and killed</u>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Regina Simonenko, head of the local Jewish community Brisk, criticized authorities for rushing to bury the remains and continue with the building project instead of running DNA tests to establish identities. “We were told that DNA tests are expensive and take a long time,” Simonenko told The Associated Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“We’re talking about a large ghetto,” she said. “We’re not sure that there won’t be other burial sites discovered there.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/world/europe/belarus-holocaust-mass-grave.html">New York Times story</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-bones-of-brisk/">Commentary by Rabbi Meir Soloveitchik</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">^</span>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-43267148174355309542018-03-10T23:46:00.004-08:002018-03-10T23:46:44.577-08:00The Dreary Dreadful Independent<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some British newspapers cannot forgive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For example, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/saudi-arabia-mohammad-bin-salman-theresa-may-downing-street-reform-war-yemen-a8246656.html">The Independent</a>:</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #281e1e;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is a dreary inevitability to the way in which the most dreadful creatures turn up at Downing Street or Buckingham Palace. Archbishop Makarios, Jomo Kenyatta, <b><u>Menachem Begin</u></b>, Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, Robert Mugabe, Nicolae Ceaucescu and Vladimir Putin to name a few. </span></span></blockquote>
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^YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-28339104529381530872018-01-24T02:21:00.001-08:002018-01-24T02:21:38.154-08:00Menachem Begin Recalled to VP Pence<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-mike-pence-president-reuven-rivlin-israel-bilateral-meeting/">the transcript of the conversation</a> conducted by President Reuven Rivlin with US Vice-President Mike Pence:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a Jerusalemite — and I am a Jerusalemite, son of Jerusalemite, son of the son of Jerusalemite — I am here born as seventh generation to my family. We have come to Jerusalem 210 years ago. One hundred years we have lived with our neighbors and our cousins, the Arab community in Jerusalem, in harmony. Unfortunately, we are now in a sort of tragedy for both of us. They are — most of them refuse even to recognize the very existence of the State of Israel.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But we are so very proud as Jerusalemites about the decision of President Trump, about recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You have to know, my tutor, former Prime Minister <b>Menachem Begin</b> at the time had said the obvious should be said from time to time, even be written down. And the obvious was said, and we appreciated very much. And we see it as a real gift for the 70th anniversary of the state of Israel.</span></blockquote>
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^<br />
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</span></span>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-36924208175051495382018-01-24T00:56:00.001-08:002018-01-24T00:56:06.259-08:00Comparing VP Mike Pence and PM Menachem Begin<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mr. Pence threaded his remarks with references to Scripture, a rhetorical technique Knesset audiences have rarely heard from a political leader since Menachem Begin resigned as prime minister in 1983.</span></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pence-visits-israels-capital-1516754820">Rabbi Meir Soloveitchik</a><br />
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^YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-382644490767571272018-01-24T00:46:00.001-08:002018-01-24T00:46:16.522-08:00When Begin Countermanded Sharon<div class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; max-width: 100%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a story by Ronen Bergman in the New York Times, detailing various attempts to eliminate PLO head Yasser Arafat, <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/magazine/how-arafat-eluded-israels-assassination-machine.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fworld&action=click&contentCollection=world&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront&referer=https://www.nytimes.com/section/world">you can read this on Menachem Begin</a>:</span></div>
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<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #222222; max-width: 100%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Aug. 5, 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin appointed Ariel Sharon as defense minister of Israel. Begin, a hero of the underground movement in Israel’s prestate era, had a deep admiration for the former general — “a glorious commander of armies,” he called him — but he was somewhat apprehensive about Sharon’s unwillingness to accept the authority of his superiors. “Sharon is liable to attack the Knesset with tanks,” one of Begin’s deputies half-joked two years earlier.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sharon quickly raised the stakes. He put a renewed focus on Arafat and gave the greenlight for Ben-Gal and Dagan to carry out an operation that, if it succeeded, would change the course of Middle East history. Operation Olympia called for Israeli agents to plant a massive set of bombs under a V.I.P. dais under construction in a Beirut stadium where, on Jan. 1, 1982, the P.L.O. was going to celebrate the anniversary of its first operation against Israel. With the push of one button, they would achieve the destruction of the entire Palestinian leadership.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everything was ready, including powerful explosive charges already secreted beneath the dais, as well as three vehicles loaded with explosives that were supposed to be parked on the streets around the stadium; these were to detonate about a minute after the dais exploded, when the panic was at its height and the survivors of the initial blast were trying to flee the scene. The resulting death and destruction were expected to be “of unprecedented proportions, even in terms of Lebanon,” in the words of a very senior officer of the Northern Command. But a group of worried AMAN officers, as well as the deputy defense minister, went to Begin and demanded that he order Dagan to call it off. “You can’t just kill a whole stadium,” one officer recalled telling Begin. “The whole world will be after us.” Begin shut down the operation.</span></blockquote>
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^YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-4508503629666598742017-12-03T13:29:00.001-08:002017-12-03T13:29:16.214-08:00Recalling Begin<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From <a href="http://books.openedition.org/obp/327">ECONOMIC FABLES by Ariel Rubinstein</a></span><br />
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I had already encountered Begin’s rhetorical style when I was a child. My father took me to a soccer game only once, but many times to election rallies. At Menorah Square in Jerusalem and at the entrance to the Mea She’arim neighborhood, I heard Begin speak vehemently against the ruling Mapai semi-socialist party. My father would make fun of Begin, but still admired him enough to take me to shake his hand at a barmitzvah celebration where Begin was among the guests. When I was a child, I thought Begin’s rhetoric made him look as if he were playing the fool or clowning. Fifteen years later, in 1977, I was amazed to watch him enthrall the masses. I felt helpless and frustrated by the reactions of many of my friends, who extolled Begin for his rhetorical prowess and in the same breath criticized the rhetorical poverty of our own forces. I, who believed in the power of level-headed argument, did not regard Begin as a role model.</div>
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<span class="paranumber" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: -3.8em; position: absolute; text-align: center; width: 5em; z-index: -1;">35</span>Begin often explained his decisions in terms of carrying out duties and honoring rights: ”We must all make an effort to… We have to… But we are also obliged…” He would start by saying ”We must make sure that…” and ask ”What should we have done?” In a meeting with President Carter on 19 July 1977, Begin reached new heights of rhetoric:</div>
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Mr. President, in your country there are many cities with biblical names. You have eleven places with the name Hebron; five with the name Shiloh and seven with the name Bethlehem. Can you imagine a governor in one of these states prohibiting Jews from living in these cities? The Israeli government also cannot prohibit Jews from living in Hebron, Bethlehem or Beit El. It is our duty to…</div>
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<span class="paranumber" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: -3.8em; position: absolute; text-align: center; width: 5em; z-index: -1;">36</span>Begin’s arguments were generally based on ”our rights” and ”our duty.” One could think that there is room for discussion and disagreement regarding rights and duties. Did our forefathers command us to settle in Beit El in 1977? Why are we bound by the wishes of our forefathers? Are there other obligatory commands that contradict this ”duty”? However, in Begin’s rhetorical realm, there was no room to examine the limits of the possible and to identify the desirable. The preferred status of an action derived from its being considered part of our rights and our duties and not from its being the best action in light of the limitations of the possible, according to our worldview...</div>
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...<span style="font-size: 14.004px;">As years went by, I realized that I think more like Begin than Rabin in regard to the occupation and the occupied territories. My unconditional opposition to ruling over another people did not derive from my formulation of the objectives that the State of Israel is supposed to achieve or from asking myself which possible policy would generate the best result in terms of these objectives. I simply feel an absolute </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.004px;">duty </strong><span style="font-size: 14.004px;">not to be on the side of the occupier and oppressor, even if the occupation is economically beneficial and brings peace closer. Nonetheless, I do not have a shred of sympathy for Begin. Even his signing of the peace treaty with Egypt and the fact that he was subject to periodic bouts of depression did not soften my anger over his demagogic antics. Like the times when I was a child and wanted to use a book of logic to prepare myself for asserting irrefutable arguments against evil, I still find myself looking for ways to understand rhetoric and long to defeat demagoguery.</span></div>
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YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-66579056668163923142017-12-03T12:04:00.000-08:002017-12-03T12:04:06.032-08:00The Steps Needed to be Narrow<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After many years of negotiations and planning, the Archaeological Garden above the Menachem Begin Heritage Center is taking shape.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One aspect was puzzling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The entrance is odd as it starts very wide and then narrows. It seems inadequate for the groups who will be coming to see ruins of a Byzantine church, Roman remains, Second Temple burial caves and Ottoman elements.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I asked and the reason is that to the left as one ascends in a portion of the wall of the church:</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r77BoTcDa7k/WiRXqrJ7hmI/AAAAAAABM1M/TauS6JvAqck2BvnOrlgbLKGVcWvO8ly_ACLcBGAs/s1600/20171203_161522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r77BoTcDa7k/WiRXqrJ7hmI/AAAAAAABM1M/TauS6JvAqck2BvnOrlgbLKGVcWvO8ly_ACLcBGAs/s400/20171203_161522.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and to the right is a pit or perhaps a cave (where the wood poles are):</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3gpd92AzECg/WiRX6B6T4EI/AAAAAAABM1Q/vgdB23-4eCkgAn6NSTE37yPF1G3IsYzXQCLcBGAs/s1600/20171203_161540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3gpd92AzECg/WiRX6B6T4EI/AAAAAAABM1Q/vgdB23-4eCkgAn6NSTE37yPF1G3IsYzXQCLcBGAs/s400/20171203_161540.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In other words, to preserve these remains, an adjustment need to be made to the design of the steps.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">^</span>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-72497319119473843952017-06-10T23:38:00.000-07:002017-06-10T23:38:37.189-07:00Begin and the NYTimes Crossword Puzzle<header class="story-header" id="story-header"><div class="story-meta " id="story-meta">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/09/crosswords/begin-at-the-beginning.html?_r=0">Begin at the Beginning</a></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By <span itemid="https://www.nytimes.com/by/deb-amlen" itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span class="byline-author " data-byline-name="Deb Amlen" itemprop="name">DEB AMLEN</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span itemid="https://www.nytimes.com/by/deb-amlen" itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"></span><time class="dateline" content="2017-06-10T01:48:24-04:00" datetime="2017-06-10T01:48:24-04:00" itemprop="dateModified">JUNE 9, 2017</time> </span></div>
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<div aria-label="tools" class="sharetools theme-classic sharetools-story-meta-footer " data-author="By DEB AMLEN" data-description="A tough Saturday puzzle by Mark Diehl." data-media="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/10/crosswords/10wordplay-sunflower/10wordplay-sunflower-jumbo.jpg" data-publish-date="June 9, 2017" data-share-tools-initialized="1" data-shares="facebook,twitter,pinterest,email,show-all,save" data-title="Begin at the Beginning" data-url="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/09/crosswords/begin-at-the-beginning.html" id="sharetools-story-meta-footer" role="group">
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<div aria-label="tools" class="sharetools theme-classic sharetools-story-meta-footer " data-author="By DEB AMLEN" data-description="A tough Saturday puzzle by Mark Diehl." data-media="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/10/crosswords/10wordplay-sunflower/10wordplay-sunflower-jumbo.jpg" data-publish-date="June 9, 2017" data-share-tools-initialized="1" data-shares="facebook,twitter,pinterest,email,show-all,save" data-title="Begin at the Beginning" data-url="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/09/crosswords/begin-at-the-beginning.html" id="sharetools-story-meta-footer" role="group">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SATURDAY PUZZLE — We happen to know that one of the most popular times to pick up The New York Times crossword for the first time and attempt to solve it is over a weekend and, on the surface, that makes perfect sense. Most people are off from work. They have downtime and seek to fill it. And what better time to take up a new hobby than when you have hours to devote to it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What most people eventually find out is that there is a “trickiness curve” to the solving week, and that their best bet for learning how to solve comes from starting with the Monday puzzles. I suspect this is why some people feel that they can’t solve a crossword puzzle; it boils down to when they first meet up with it. If they pick up a puzzle for the first time on a Saturday or Sunday and take a peek at what’s in store for them, I wouldn’t blame them one bit for placing it gently back down and tiptoeing away, never to try again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But you have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is at the beginning. Start with the Monday puzzles, and work your way through the week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll show you why that is: Take a look at the clue for 1A, “Begin at the beginning.” What a coincidence, and what a nicely written, misdirected, Saturday-level clue. On the surface, it sounds like my advice, doesn’t it? That’s not what it means at all, though, at least not on a Saturday. The answer is MENACHEM, as in the former prime minister of Israel MENACHEM Begin, and those of you who are just starting to solve are probably sitting there, wondering why Mr. Diehl and Will Shortz might do that to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Very tough, indeed. After spending a half hour on this puzzle late last night, it seemed hopeless, but things started to gel in the a.m. and...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The answer lies in understanding that this is very typical wordplay for a Saturday. They <em>want</em> you to rack your brains, and the trick to solving a clue like this lies in learning to understand what the clue is really asking you to do. It’s asking you to recognize that the word “Begin” is capitalized not just because it’s the beginning of a sentence; that’s an old crossword trick. It’s also capitalized because it’s someone’s name, and the “at the beginning” part of the clue is asking you to think of what might go before “Begin.” It’s an eight-letter entry, and the only Begin I know of whose first name contains eight letters is MENACHEM.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Quite a brain twister, isn’t it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, if you’re just starting out, Mondays are a great place to strengthen that solving muscle. In a Monday puzzle, that same entry might be clued with a much more straightforward, in-your-face clue, like “Former Israeli prime minister ___ Begin.” It might not be quite that easy, but you get the idea; the clue would supply you with more than enough basic information to solve it and your brain just loves filling in missing information.</span></div>
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YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-53465893615917126432017-05-21T04:55:00.002-07:002017-05-21T04:55:53.821-07:00Begin and Israel's Economy<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Shocking Election That Saved Israel's Economy</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It wasn't easy, but the capitalist reforms set in motion by Prime Minister Menachem Begin 40 years ago were transformative. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Zev Chafets, May 20, 2017 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Forty years ago this week, the dynamic, vibrant, entrepreneurial modern Israeli economy was born, though nobody knew it at the time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was May 17, 1977. Israelis crowded around their black-and-white television screens for the national election results. At exactly 10 p.m., the face of Haim Yavin, the normally unflappable anchorman of Israel’s lone TV channel, appeared, looking very flapped indeed. “Ma’hapach!” he intoned, a variation of the usual Hebrew word for “revolution.” It was a softer term Yavin had come up with on his way to the studio. He later explained that he hadn’t wanted to cause panic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The result was shocking. There had never been a change of governing party before in Israel. For the first time, Mapai, the socialist party founded by David Ben-Gurion and now led by his disciple Shimon Peres, was out of power.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even more shocking, Menachem Begin was in. Begin, who had lost eight straight elections. Begin, who had been called many terrible things by his political adversaries: “Fascist” (untrue), “rabble rousing street orator” (true), “enemy of democracy” (nonsense) and “former terrorist” (true, but with an explanation).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps the worst accusation they had leveled against Begin was that he was a capitalist. That was a bit ironic for a man who was born broke and stayed that way all his life. Even as prime minister, Begin bought his suits on a payment plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-20/the-shocking-election-that-saved-israel-s-economy">the rest of the article</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">^</span>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-31824124138790755572017-04-12T02:22:00.001-07:002017-04-12T02:22:09.240-07:00Begin Learns His Wife Is Going to Eretz-Yisrael<div class="MsoNormal tr_bq" dir="RTL">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nysun.com/new-york/how-masha-leon-and-her-mother-zelda-changed/89945/#.WOXTmBwC9YI.facebook">How a Girl Named Masha — And Her Mother Zelda —Changed History’s Course</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By SETH LIPSKY, Special to the Sun | April 5, 2017<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">…Then came word of the death early this morning of
Masha Leon. She was for decades the gossip columnist of the Jewish Forward...<br /><br />Little did any of them know that when Masha was a
girl, she and her mother caused to be sent one of the most consequential
messages in the history of the Jews...It’s a reminder that one just never knows what might be the reward of
an act of kindness. Masha herself didn’t learn the consequences until decades
after it happened.<br /><br />Masha was born in Warsaw, and survived, she once
wrote, by “a series of miracles.” She lived through the bombing of Warsaw, the
German occupation, and getting trapped in a noman’s land between hostile Nazis
and Russians. What strength Masha’s pluck must have given her mother, Zelda.
For a while they survived on potatoes, which is why Masha’s freelance resume
included, alongside such titles as McCall’s and Ladies Home Journal, the Idaho
Potato Journal.<br /><br />Eventually they got to Vilna, where, in August 1940, Russian
secret police threw Masha’s father, an anticommunist Polish journalist named
Matvey Bernstein, into Lukishki prison. One day Masha and her mother were
waiting outside hoping to get to him some warm clothing. They thought he’d
need it for the exile to Siberia that they assumed lay ahead. A young
newlywed woman next to them whispered that she was sending into the prison a
message to her husband on a piece of paper stuffed into a bar of soap.<br /><br />The newlywed was desperate to get word to her husband
that she was going to make aliyah to Eretz Israel. Masha’s mother whispered a
warning that the authorities might cut open the soap, discover the note, and
exact punishment. “My mother,” Masha would later relate, “suggested that
instead she should embroider a coded message on a handkerchief—no one would
suspect anything, since embroidery was commonplace.”<br /><br />At the time Masha and her mother had no idea who the
young woman was. Masha’s father was indeed sent to Siberia, while she and her
mother were among the lucky recipients of visas from the righteous Japanese
consul at Kovno, Chiune Sughihara. That enabled their escape to Canada, and, in
1945, arrival in America, where Masha would raise her own family. And,
eventually, discover the mystery of the young newlywed outside Lukishki prison.<br /><br />Masha was reading Menachem Begin’s 1977 memoir, “White
Nights,” when she came to the chapter about his imprisonment at Lukishki. Begin
related that he shared a cell with a prisoner named Bernstein. One day, Begin
received from his wife several handkerchiefs. They were embroidered with the
same word, “Ola,” which, at first, seemed an odd misspelling of, “Ala,” Aliza’s
Polish nickname. The two prisoners puzzled over it. It was Bernstein who
suddenly exclaimed that “Ola” in Hebrew can be transliterated as “aliyah.” She
was telling him that she was heading to Palestine. “It was all clear to me
now,” Begin wrote. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br />Begin told of how he’d considered divorcing his wife, so
that Aliza would be free to remarry if he were to die in prison or Siberia. But
after deciphering the coded handkerchief, he didn’t. My own theory is that the
knowledge that Aliza would be in Israel was one of the things that sustained
Begin in his epic journey from the Gulag to Palestine, where he led the revolt
against the British and set the stage for independence.<br /><br />Masha eventually told
the story to Aliza herself and, when he was in New York, to the Begins’ son
Benny. “Were it not for your father,” Benny told Masha, “I might never have
been born!” Nor might have been the state of Israel itself — save, one can
imagine, for the fact that one day outside Lukishki Prison, Zelda Bernstein was
tugged along to glory by her plucky young daughter named Masha.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another confirmation of Begin's memoirs and reminisces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">^ </span><br />
YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-4838992860580906212017-04-01T23:10:00.000-07:002017-04-01T23:11:44.903-07:00Menachem Begin vs. David Ben-Gurion 1960<br />
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<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.780805">Published in Haaretz</a>:<br />
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The Only Israeli Knesset Session That Was Top Secret<br />
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Why was a seemingly innocuous parliamentary meeting in December 1960 held behind closed doors?<br />
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A look at the classified minutes reveals a few surprises.<br />
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At first glance, the minutes of a Knesset session on December 26, 1960 look like nothing out of the ordinary. But then the heading “Top secret” jumps out at the reader – meaning this particular document is anything but mundane.<br />
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“The session in question was the first and only Knesset session that took place behind closed doors, and whose minutes were classified as confidential,” explains historian Lior Brichta of the University of Haifa.<br />
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A few months ago, Brichta contacted the Knesset Archives and asked to see the document. The Knesset forwarded the request to the Israel State Archives, and received a green light to release it. “Without this request, the minutes would have remained sealed in the Knesset Archives,” said archive director Inda Novominsky.<br />
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The minutes reveal that there was nothing in the session that needed to be kept from the public, and begs the question of how many other documents are deemed classified for no good reason.<br />
Dr. Nir Mann serves as historical adviser to the Knesset Museum, which is currently under construction. He says he wondered why the session was deemed so secret. The minutes reveal no new details about security matters or secret policies.<br />
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However, between the lines, another issue can be found that is very pertinent to our own times: strong accusations by the opposition –which at the time was right wing – against the conduct of the government under then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, which the opposition labeled “autocratic.”<br />
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“The opposition sensed Ben-Gurion’s outright contempt for it,” Mann relates.<br />
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The session took place behind closed doors mainly for technical reasons. Menachem Begin – head of the Herut Movement, which was later to merge into Likud – felt his questions to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about security matters were being ignored. To try to get around the panel, Begin attempted a parliamentary tactic – to have the committee meeting held in front of the entire Knesset. It was declared “a closed meeting to decide whether to hold the meeting behind closed doors,” according to the minutes.<br />
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The attempt actually failed, but its significance lay in the fact it was made at all – because by doing so, the opposition was given the opportunity to embarrass the coalition – “to flex its muscles,” as Mann puts it and make clear it was unhappy with Ben-Gurion’s bullying.<br />
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MK Aryeh Ben-Eliezer, Begin’s fellow party member and one of the founders of Herut, wasn’t sparing in his criticism of Ben-Gurion: “One’s man autocratic rule over the institutions of government, the security establishment and army – even if the individual is a civilian – is not civilian authority. It is autocracy,” Ben-Eliezer declared at the start of the session.<br />
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According to the law, the government must take responsibility for its actions and account for them in the Knesset, Ben-Eliezer told the legislature. But Ben-Gurion, the opposition MK said, was thumbing his nose at this. “Sometimes, the government presents no accounting at all for its actions, and sometimes it presents an accounting that does not conform to the truth and is opposed to the facts,” Ben-Eliezer alleged.<br />
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“The Knesset cannot, must not, waive its primary right to receive a report on the actions of the government, as the law requires,” he added.<br />
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There were a number of security-related issues on the agenda at the time, details of which the opposition demanded to hear about from the government.<br />
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First and foremost was the Lavon Affair, “a convoluted, complicated affair that rocked the political establishment” and marked the start of Ben-Gurion’s decline, according to Mann.<br />
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A day before the confidential Knesset session in December 1960, the government had decided to acquit Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon of accusations that he had given the order for what became known as “the rotten business” – a failed, covert terror operation carried out by Israel in Egypt in 1954.<br />
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Another affair at the time was the resignation of IDF Chief of Staff Haim Laskov. Arms deals between Israel and Germany also disturbed the opposition.<br />
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Referring to the government’s decision to conceal information from parliament, Ben-Eliezer said: “This system misleads Knesset members who are required to express their opinion by voting on known matters.” He said the government’s approach had helped create situations “like the Lavon Affair.”<br />
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The prime minister was unimpressed with the criticism. Speaking from the podium, Ben-Gurion said, “MK Ben-Eliezer should understand that he is neither the Knesset nor the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, but only one of its members. They can accept his opinion or reject it, and he [shouldn’t] come telling tales.”<br />
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Ben-Gurion said that if decisions made by the government and Knesset on various issues “were unpleasant to the gentlemen, that is their business.” He added: “The government does not report on everything, all details, all everyday actions, to the Knesset. The Knesset can demand that a minister reports on anything the Knesset wants.”<br />
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Finally, Ben-Gurion fired a barb in Begin’s direction: “Mr. Begin knows secrets about arguments between the deputy defense minister, or not the deputy defense minister. … I don’t know where he gets his information from … from the Mem Bet security service?” Ben-Gurion was making a pun based on Begin’s initials in Hebrew and the initials of the Shin Bet security service.<br />
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After reading the minutes, historian Mann says that although the opposition lost on points – it was unable to get the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee held in the presence of the entire Knesset – it did secure one victory: After that session, “neither Ben-Gurion nor anyone else dared cast aspersions on the honor of the [defense] committee and the status of Knesset committees.”<br />
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According to Mann, this singular event “left its mark as a clear democratic sign in the history of the Knesset.”<br />
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Mann’s colleague, Hadassah Greenberg-Yaakov, is heading the Knesset Museum project. She says that these hidden minutes will be part of the museum’s collection, which will be housed in the old Knesset building – Frumin House, in the center of Jerusalem. She adds that the museum will present the history of the Knesset during the first decades of the state, including some dilemmas that are still relevant to governments today.<br />
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Ofer Aderet<br />
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^YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-90719196826261783842017-02-22T00:52:00.001-08:002017-02-22T01:10:20.711-08:00Begin Center Archaeology<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With the beginning of work in the Menachem Begin Reich Archaeology Garden to create a pathway for visitors to better observe and study the finds from the Second Temple, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras, we recall the exemplary <a href="https://theosophical.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/biblical-archaeology-22-silver-amulet-scrolls-of-ketef-hinnom/">find</a> here in 1979 of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketef_Hinnom">silver amulets or pendants</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Dr. Gaby Barkay</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">which was later reported on in the New York Times:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/28/science/solving-a-riddle-written-in-silver.html?_r=0">Solving a Riddle Written in Silver</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By JOHN NOBLE WILFORDSEPT. 28, 2004</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The words are among the most familiar and ecumenical in the liturgies of Judaism and Christianity. At the close of a worship service, the rabbi, priest or pastor delivers, with only slight variations, the comforting and fortifying benediction:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you peace."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An archaeological discovery in 1979 revealed that the Priestly Benediction, as the verse from Numbers 6:24-26 is called, appeared to be the earliest biblical passage ever found in ancient artifacts. Two tiny strips of silver, each wound tightly like a miniature scroll and bearing the inscribed words, were uncovered in a tomb outside Jerusalem and initially dated from the late seventh or early sixth century B.C. -- some 400 years before the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But doubts persisted. The silver was cracked and corroded, and many words and not a few whole lines in the faintly scratched inscriptions were unreadable. Some critics contended that the artifacts were from the third or second century B.C., and thus of less importance in establishing the antiquity of religious concepts and language that became part of the Hebrew Bible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So researchers at the University of Southern California have now re-examined the inscriptions using new photographic and computer imaging techniques. The words still do not exactly leap off the silver. But the researchers said they could finally be "read fully and analyzed with far greater precision," and that they were indeed the earliest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Continue reading the main story</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a scholarly report published this month, the research team concluded that the improved reading of the inscriptions confirmed their greater antiquity. The script, the team wrote, is indeed from the period just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent exile of Israelites in Babylonia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The researchers further reaffirmed that the scrolls "preserve the earliest known citations of texts also found in the Hebrew Bible and that they provide us with the earliest examples of confessional statements concerning Yahweh."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of the previously unreadable lines seemed to remove any doubt about the purpose of the silver scrolls: they were amulets. Unrolled, one amulet is nearly four inches long and an inch wide and the other an inch and a half long and about half an inch wide. The inscribed words, the researchers said, were "intended to provide a blessing that will be used to protect the wearer from some manner of evil forces."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The report in The Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research was written by Dr. Gabriel Barkay, the archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel who discovered the artifacts, and collaborators associated with Southern California's West Semitic Research Project. The project leader is Dr. Bruce Zuckerman, a professor of Semitic languages at U.S.C., who worked with Dr. Marilyn J. Lundberg, a Hebrew Bible specialist with the project, and Dr. Andrew G. Vaughn, a biblical historian at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A companion article for next month's issue of the magazine Near Eastern Archaeology describes the new technology used in the research. The article is by the same authors, as well as Kenneth Zuckerman, Dr. Zuckerman's brother and a specialist in photographing ancient documents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other scholars not affiliated with the research but familiar with it agreed with the group's conclusions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They said it was a relief to have the antiquity and authenticity of the artifacts confirmed, considering that other inscriptions from biblical times have suffered from their uncertain provenance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Scholars also noted that early Hebrew inscriptions were a rarity, and called the work on the amulets a significant contribution to an understanding of the history of religion in ancient Israel, particularly the time of the Judean Monarchy 2,600 years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"These photographs are far superior to what you can see looking at the inscriptions with the naked eye," said Dr. Wayne Pitard, professor of the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern religions at the University of Illinois.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dr. Pitard said the evidence for the antiquity of the benediction was now compelling, although this did not necessarily mean that the Book of Numbers already existed at that time. Possibly it did, he added, but if not, at least some elements of the book were current before the Babylonian exile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A part of the sacred Torah of Judaism (the first five books of the Bible), Numbers includes a narrative of the Israelite wanderings from Mount Sinai to the east side of the Jordan River. Some scholars think the Torah was compiled in the time of the exile. A number of other scholars, the so-called minimalists, who are influential mainly in Europe, argue that the Bible was a relatively recent invention by those who took control of Judea in the late fourth century B.C. In this view, the early books of the Bible were largely fictional to give the new rulers a place in the country's history and thus a claim to the land.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The new research on the inscriptions suggests that that's not true," Dr. Pitard said. In fact, the research team noted in its journal report that the improved images showed the seventh-century lines of the benediction to be "actually closer to the biblical parallels than previously recognized."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dr. P. Kyle McCarter of Johns Hopkins University, a specialist in ancient Semitic scripts, said the research should "settle any controversy over these inscriptions."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A close study, Dr. McCarter said, showed that the handwriting is an early style of Hebrew script and the letters are from an old Hebrew alphabet, which had all but ceased to be used after the destruction of Jerusalem. Later Hebrew writing usually adopted the Aramaic alphabet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There was an exception in the time of Roman rule, around the first centuries B.C. and A.D. The archaic Hebrew script and letters were revived and used widely in documents. But Dr. McCarter noted telling attributes of the strokes of the letters and the spelling on the amulets that, he said, ruled out the more recent date for the inscriptions. Words in the revived Hebrew writing would have included letters indicating vowel sounds. The benediction, the scholar said, was written in words spelled entirely with consonants, the authentic archaic way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two silver scrolls were found in 1979 deep inside a burial cave in a hillside known as Ketef Hinnom, west of the Old City of Jerusalem. Dr. Barkay, documenting the context of the discovery, noted that the artifacts were at the back of the tomb embedded in pottery and other material from the seventh or sixth centuries B.C. Such caves were reused for burials over many centuries. Near this tomb's entrance were artifacts from the fourth century, but nothing so recent remains in the undisturbed recesses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It took Dr. Barkay another seven years before he felt sure enough of what he had to announce details of the discovery. Even then, for all their microscopic examination of the inscriptions at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, scholars remained frustrated by the many unreadable words and lines.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">About a decade ago, Dr. Barkay enlisted the help of Dr. Zuckerman, whose team had earned a reputation for achieving the near-impossible in photographing illegible ancient documents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Working with scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dr. Zuckerman's group used advanced infrared imagining systems enhanced by electronic cameras and computer image-processing technology to draw out previously invisible writing on a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The researchers also pioneered electronic techniques for reproducing missing pieces of letters on documents. By examining similar letters elsewhere in the text, they were able to recognize half of a letter and reconstruct the rest of it in a scribe's own peculiar style.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We learned a lot from work on the Dead Sea Scrolls," Dr. Zuckerman said. "But at first a processing job like this would send your computers into cardiac arrest. We had to wait for computer technology to catch up with our needs."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the researchers said in their magazine article, the only reasonably clear aspect of the inscriptions was the Priestly Benediction. Other lines preceding or following the prayer "could barely be seen."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To get higher-definition photographs of the inscriptions, Ken Zuckerman applied an old photographer's technique called "light painting," brought up to date by the use of fiber-optic technology. He used a hand-held light in an otherwise dark room to illuminate a spot on the artifact during a time exposure. In addition, he photographed the artifact at different angles, which made the scratched letters shine in stark relief.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next step was to convert the pictures to digital form, making possible computer processing that brought out "the subtleties of the surface almost at the micron level." This analysis was particularly successful in joining a partial letter stroke on one side of a crack with the rest of the stroke on the other side. It also enabled the researchers to restore fragments of letters to full legibility by matching them with clear letters from elsewhere in the text.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this way, the researchers filled in more of the letters and words of the benediction itself and for the first time deciphered meaningful words and phrases in the lines preceding the benediction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Scholars were particularly intrigued by a statement on the smaller artifact. It reads: "May h[e]/sh[e] be blessed by YHWH, the warrior/helper, and the rebuker of Evil."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Referring to God, Yahweh, as the "rebuker of Evil" is similar to language used in the Bible and in various Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars said. The phraseology is also found in later incantations and amulets associated with Israel, evidence that these artifacts were also amulets, researchers concluded.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In the ancient world, amulets were taken quite seriously," Dr. Zuckerman said. "There's evil out there, demons, and you need protection. Having this around your neck, you are involving God's presence and protection against harm."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dr. Esther Eshel, a professor of the Bible at Bar-Ilan and an authority on Hebrew inscriptions, said this was the earliest example of amulets from Israel. But she noted that the language of the benediction was similar to a blessing ("May he bless you and keep you") found on a jar from the eighth century B.C.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If the new findings are correct, the people who wore these amulets may have died before they had to face the limitations of their efficacy. They might then have asked in uncomprehending despair, "Where was Yahweh when the Babylonians swooped down on Jerusalem?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other scholars, including those previously skeptical, will soon be analyzing the improved images. In a departure from usual practices, the researchers not only published their findings in a standard print version in a journal but also as an accompanying "digital article," a CD version of the article and the images to allow scholars to examine and manipulate the data themselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The research group said, "As far as we are aware, this is the first article to be done in this fashion, but it certainly will not be the last."</span><br />
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YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-75387312355729174862016-08-30T23:36:00.001-07:002016-08-30T23:36:24.980-07:00The Daily Telegraph Redoes the Dov Gruner Tale<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Following a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/23/israel-sold-weapons-to-argentina-at-height-of-falklands-war-reve/">new reminder in the Daily Telegraph</a> that Israel had sold weapons to Argentina at the time of the Falklands War, and the repetition of the claim that Menachem Begin had done so to revenge the hanging of Dov Gruner by the British Mandatory regime in Palestine in 1947 (see below), this letter appeared:</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2016/08/29/letters-its-reliance-on-the-french-at-hinkley-point-that-should/">The Falklands secret</a><br /><br />SIR – However important the supply of Israeli weapons may have been to the Galtieri junta in the Falklands War, it was nothing to the boost Argentine capabilities would have been given, had another vendor – Britain – succeeded in concluding a massive arms sale just over a decade earlier.<br /><br />The deal that Denis Healey as defence secretary pushed so hard to achieve (beyond the limits of legality), would have rendered victory for the Falklands Task Force impossible.<br /><br />The package, put together in the mid-Sixties, would have supplied two Sea Dart frigates, nine Canberra bombers, two Oberon-class attack submarines, a nuclear reactor and, most significantly, given subsequent events, a dozen Harrier GR1 V/STOL fighter-bombers.<br /><br />Had the Argentine navy possessed the latter aircraft, neither the Royal Navy nor the RAF could have closed Stanley airport to fast jet operations. Confronted with air strikes from two directions, the Task Force’s position would have been tactically untenable.<br /><br />The deal was thwarted by pure chance. In 1967 a foot-and-mouth epidemic was triggered by a batch of Argentine lamb that infected livestock near Oswestry. Buenos Aires retaliated against the Ministry of Agriculture’s ban on Argentine meat imports by cancelling the arms contract.<br /><br />Despite Healey’s efforts to strong-arm the Cabinet into breaking British and international health legislation, Harold Wilson was persuaded (by Fred Peart, the agriculture minister, and Sir Solly Zuckerman, the Cabinet scientific adviser) to uphold the ban.<br /><br />As a result, although the sale of the Canberras went through and two Type 42 destroyers were eventually substituted for the frigates, the Task Force did not have to face aircraft as capable as its own, operating at close range rather than from the mainland.<br /><br />An Argentine pilot, shot down by a Sea Harrier, later lamented that things would have been different had his own air force had an aircraft like that, little realising that the big secret of the Falklands War was that they very nearly did.<br /><br />Hadrian Jeffs<br />Norwich</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Telegraph story by David Blair, Chief Foreign Correspondent reads, in part:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Israel sold weapons to Argentina at the height of the Falklands War in 1982, according to newly declassified Foreign Office files.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">British diplomats cited evidence that Israel had supplied the Argentine military junta with arms that were used against the Task Force during the campaign to liberate the islands.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Israeli military exports before the war included the Skyhawk jets that would later be used to bomb British warships, killing dozens of soldiers, sailors and marines. Four British warships were sunk by bombs dropped from Skyhawks, including RFA Sir Galahad, a troop carrier that was set ablaze while anchored in Bluff Cove, killing 48 sailors and soldiers. Simon Weston, the badly burned veteran, was among the survivors. Another four ships were damaged by Skyhawks.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A memorandum from C.W. Long, then head of the Near East and North Africa Department at the Foreign Office, states: “Israel was one of the few countries to supply Argentina with arms during the Falklands conflict and has continued to do so.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The document is filed alongside a copy of an article from a specialist journal stating that Israel had sold Skyhawk jets to Argentina’s air force before the Falklands War.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In his book, Operation Israel, the Argentine journalist Hernan Dobry writes that Israel provided the spare parts and long range fuel tanks needed to keep these aircraft in action against the Task Force. When British diplomats confronted their Israeli counterparts with evidence of arms sales, they were met with blanket denials. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The official history of the Falklands War, written by Lawrence Freedman, states: “British troops entering Port Stanley at the end of the war came across Israeli equipment.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Menachem Begin, then Israel’s prime minister, had begun his career as commander of the Irgun, the Jewish underground which fought the British in Palestine in the 1940s.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A fellow Irgun fighter, Dov Gruner, was hanged by the British in 1947. In Operation Israel, Mr Dobry suggests Begin saw arming Galtieri as a way of exacting revenge against Britain. After authorising the sale of weapons during the Falklands War, Begin reportedly said: “Dov up there is going to be happy with the decision.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In response, the following letter was sent but seems not to have been published:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sirs,<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Your story on
declassified Foreign Office files relating to Israel having sold weapons to
Argentina at height of Falklands War (<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/23/israel-sold-weapons-to-argentina-at-height-of-falklands-war-reve/">Aug.
24</a>) also includes an unsubstantiated ("reportedly said")
reference to Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin supposedly seeking to exact
revenge for the hanging by British Mandatory authorities in 1947 of an Irgun
fighter.</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Israel, like
France, an ally of England, indeed sold weapons to Argentina, and had done so
for some time prior to the Falklands hostilities, a policy initiated by a
previous Israel government, one not affiliated to the Irgun three decades
earlier. Incidentally, many would think France's Exocet did much more damage to
British forces. Some think Israel did sell arms at the suggestion of the United
States so as to avoid Argentina turning to Russia. Britain, it should be taken
into the historical perspective, had for many years sold weapons to Israel's
enemies among Arab states and also provided them with training.</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Prime
Minister Begin's response to this incident was that Israel had signed contracts
and would not renounce its obligations. In an interview on May 10, 1982,
Israel's Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir replied to a question on the Falkland
crisis and said, "</span><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;">Ever
since the crisis broke out, therefore, we have not gone through with any new
arms sales to Argentina. As you know, Israel…has sold weapons to Argentina. Now
we have no interest in getting involved in that crisis</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="line-height: 115%;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"<br /><o:p></o:p></span></span><span dir="LTR"><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="HE"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yisrael
Medad</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Director,
Information & Educational Resources</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Menachem
Begin Heritage Center</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6,
Nahon Street</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jerusalem
94110</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ISRAEL</span></blockquote>
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^<br />
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YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-89042987219400943672016-08-28T03:17:00.004-07:002016-08-28T05:31:45.606-07:00Israel's 1977 Elections CIA Intelligence Memo<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">A collection of more than 250 previously classified CIA documents, totaling over 1,400 pages, including some 150 that are being released for the first time, were uploaded recently. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">These documents cover the period from January 1977 through March 1979 and were produced by the CIA to support the Carter administration’s diplomatic efforts leading up to President Carter’s negotiations with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David in September 1978. The declassified documents detail diplomatic developments from the Arab peace offensive and President Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem through the regionwide aftermath of Camp David.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From a file <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/1977-02-01.pdf"> dated February 1977</a>:</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5AqL3eWwG4w/V8K5_QDB5DI/AAAAAAABH0I/oSSRv0ZTq98YQcNNJro1eT97FEETFvDqQCLcB/s1600/cia1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5AqL3eWwG4w/V8K5_QDB5DI/AAAAAAABH0I/oSSRv0ZTq98YQcNNJro1eT97FEETFvDqQCLcB/s320/cia1.png" width="298" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FwI_3HkzEis/V8K6CaZ5FhI/AAAAAAABH0M/2IyWZUHWPCsN-1sW1Gy9zwlhHhfVC22WQCLcB/s1600/cia2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FwI_3HkzEis/V8K6CaZ5FhI/AAAAAAABH0M/2IyWZUHWPCsN-1sW1Gy9zwlhHhfVC22WQCLcB/s320/cia2.png" width="201" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aB8Bq_MWnJQ/V8K6ET52nkI/AAAAAAABH0Q/xSB-FvcmLS4h5lBMb1-U-JlxW1PUlMLkACLcB/s1600/cia3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aB8Bq_MWnJQ/V8K6ET52nkI/AAAAAAABH0Q/xSB-FvcmLS4h5lBMb1-U-JlxW1PUlMLkACLcB/s320/cia3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In this CIA documents, an early February 1977 Intelligence
Memorandum analyses the upcoming election in Israel. Most of the document's
details are devoted to the Labor Alignment and the "key judgments"
include "a victory by the ruling Labor Alignment is by no means
ensured…the Labour Party will, at best, lose some seats". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most
interestingly, "a growing possibility" is a Labor and right-wing
Likud bloc "national unity government". Due to Yigal Yadin's
Democratic Movement for Change, the report identifies "serious inroads
into Labor's traditional strength". The result of this is that the Labor
Alignment "is at present running not better that even with, and may be
trailing" the Likud. As such, the final election "scenario" is a
"government of the right led by Likud with Begin as prime
minister". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If this occurs, the report sees that "at a minimum,
strong and sustained US pressure would be needed to extract concessions from a
Begin government."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">^</span></div>
^YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-72961131812162167672016-07-26T00:36:00.001-07:002018-07-23T22:09:35.425-07:00On the King David's 70th Anniversary: Was There A Warning?<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week marks the 70th anniversary of the attack on the offices of the Mandate for Palestine secretariat and the command post of the British Army in the country located in the southern wing of the King David Hotel, the five floors having been already requisitioned some seven years earlier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Going through papers, I found this letter, published in the early 1980s, attesting to the fact that, indeed, the hotel staff had been warned of the impending explosion:</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-90ui_QG_ShA/V5cSupAfYrI/AAAAAAABHgE/DRAxrmp8Z6INlt5A5imAnVi5mCUb_5UQwCLcB/s1600/King%2BDavid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-90ui_QG_ShA/V5cSupAfYrI/AAAAAAABHgE/DRAxrmp8Z6INlt5A5imAnVi5mCUb_5UQwCLcB/s640/King%2BDavid.JPG" width="203" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A <a href="http://myrightword.blogspot.co.il/2006/07/more-on-king-david-hotel.html">previous treatment</a>.</span><br />
^YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055011777562129784.post-6397677752158018742016-05-17T05:10:00.001-07:002016-05-17T05:10:27.318-07:00Who Is Blurring the Lines?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But were those orders not the result of B-G misleading his ministers and misrepresenting what had transpired the previous few months?</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: FreightSans-Book, Arial, sans-serif;">One of Yaari’s main concerns was that the sinking of the Altalena, when the Israel Defense Forces downed a ship belonging to the pre-state Irgun militia, was described alongside the murder of Yitzhak Rabin at the hands of a Jewish extremist as an example of political violence. </span><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Bennett-I-intend-to-approve-the-civics-book-quotes-presented-in-media-have-been-removed-442975" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0098db; font-family: FreightSans-Book, Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">According to The Jerusalem Post</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: FreightSans-Book, Arial, sans-serif;"> , Yaari contended that the comparison blurred “the lines between murder for political-ideological reasons and orders given by a government head.”</span></blockquote>
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" /><a href="http://forward.com/news/israel/340532/distressed-at-new-textbooks-right-wing-vision-of-israel-authors-pull-their/#ixzz48ujsKeuM">Read more</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">^</span></span>YMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.com