 | | IDF "Restraint" as Some Galilee Residents Still in Shelters
The military reaction to Monday's Hizbullah offensive will remain restrained, barring any further escalation by the Lebanese terrorists.
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More Details |  | | Editor: Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
20 Cheshvan 5766
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| | | 1. IDF "Restraint" as Some Galilee Residents Still in Shelters
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
The military reaction to Monday's Hizbullah offensive will remain restrained, barring any further escalation by the Lebanese terrorists.
| As of Tuesday afternoon, most upper Galilee residents had been allowed to leave their bomb shelters, with the exception of those in towns east of Ma'ayan Baruch, in the Galilee panhandle. The Israeli civilians were sent into their bomb shelters yesterday in the wake of a large-scale, multi-pronged Hizbullah attack across Israel's northern border, which included the shelling of civilian centers, infiltration and an attempted kidnapping. Eleven soldiers were injured in the clashes, two of them seriously, and four terrorists were killed.
The IDF subsequently launched an air strike against a Hizbullah command post and surrounding roads used by the terrorists in southern Lebanon. Security officials have decided against further retaliatory measures, preferring to "act with restraint", provided the Hizbullah carries out no further offensives.
Following the cross-border attacks, American State Department officials called upon Lebanon to take control of the situation and bring a halt to the terror attacks launched against Israel from southern Lebanon. America used the opportunity, however, to call upon Israel to exercise restraint in her response to the attacks.
In a press conference, Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz called the Hizbullah attacks "acts of war by Lebanon."
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora attempted to restore calm, the Albawaba news web site reported. On Monday night, Siniora met with representatives of the Hizbullah, with UN observers in southern Lebanon, and with US and French ambassadors.
The UN Security Council attempted and failed to draft a condemnation of the Hizbullah offensive Monday. A statement drafted by France condemned "military exchanges initiated by Hizbullah" and "Israeli violations of Lebanese air space." However, the United States sought to have the reference to Israel deleted, while Algeria objected to charging the Hizbullah with initiating the clashes, according to the Reuters news agency.
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| | 2. PM Sharon: We Are Committed to the Road Map
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Sounding confident and upbeat, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon addressed the nation Monday night, laying out the main planks of his new party's platform.
| Addressing a nationally televised press conference, Mr. Sharon once again spoke of the need to make "painful concessions" to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in talks surrounding the final status borders. The only plan under consideration to reach that stage, he said, is the US-brokered Road Map to Middle East Peace, which Sharon praised for its reciprocal structure, with each step "contingent upon the successful completion of the previous one."
Sharon said that while he is opposed to further unilateral withdrawals by Israel, in the context of the Road Map, additional Jewish communities would have to be uprooted in Judea and Samaria in the final stages of a negotiated agreement. When asked by reporters about his position regarding the unauthorized "outposts" currently existing in Judea and Samaria, the prime minister said that there are "a specific number of unauthorized outposts in Judea and Samaria" that will be removed. However, he said that he could not give a specific timetable at present.
With the backdrop of the escalation of Hizbullah attacks on the northern border, Sharon declared that Israel will determine its own security needs, and "on this there will be no compromise."
The second priority of his new political framework, stated the prime minister, is addressing poverty. In a moment of preemptive campaigning, Mr. Sharon said that what is needed is action and not words, obliquely referring to charges by left-wing leaders over his government's social welfare policies.
Regarding his break with the Likud, Prime Minister Sharon said, "Remaining in the Likud at present is a waste of time" that "would occupy me with internal political controversy instead of focusing on the needs of the nation." In Sharon's view, the Likud party's present makeup renders it incapable of addressing the national agenda. Therefore, he left the party that he credited himself with founding nearly 30 years ago, even though, he claimed, he would "almost certainly have been victorious in the party primaries" and the national elections. He explained that his desire to push forward his national agenda led him to opt for the more difficult route of launching a new party.
Speaking of his past accomplishments, the prime minister noted that he has been serving the country for 60 years and hopes to continue doing so as long as he is able.
The newly minted National Responsibility (since renamed "Kadima") party, stated Mr. Sharon, is a "liberal centrist party". The new path he is promoting, Sharon said, "will provide Israel with genuine hope for stability, national responsibility, personal security, stable government, economic prosperity, tranquility and peace." In the coming days, he will be meeting with lawmakers to recruit new members to the party. At present, Sharon has 14 MKs and ministers who have committed to join the Kadima party. Among those Likud members attending the first factional meeting were Ministers Tzippi Livni, Ehud Olmert and Gideon Ezra, along with MKs Ruchama Avraham, Eli Aflalo, Roni Bar-On and others.
Mr. Sharon's new party now claims one-third of the Likud party Knesset members, giving it official status as a "breakaway faction". Such a designation allows the new faction to lay claim to a portion of Likud party finances.
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Click Here! | | 3. Knesset Dispersal: Going to the People
|  | | By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
The Israeli parliament voted to dissolve itself Monday evening. The final vote was 84 in favor of a motion to dissolve the 16th Knesset, with zero opposed.
| The vote spares President Moshe Katsav the task of deciding to declare the Knesset disbanded as a result of a request from the acting prime minister, Ariel Sharon.
New national elections will take place in the month of March, 2006.
Following the vote, Knesset Member Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party), one of the parliamentarians who put forward the motion to dissolve the current Knesset, said that a circle is now completed "for me and for the NRP, along the lines of 'a sinner must not benefit' from his sin." Orlev was referring to a principle of Jewish Law that prevents a legal benefit achieved through illegal means. The "sinner" Orlev referred to is apparently the prime minister.
MK Orlev went on to say, "It is appropriate to go to the people and to ask for their trust, and the people will know how to distance those who are evil, corrupt and immoral when it comes to education, social justice, Jewish identity and the Land of Israel. The people will know how to select those who are good, and who are loyal to the Torah of Israel, the People of Israel and the Land of Israel."
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| | 4. Reactions, Right and Left, to PM Sharon´s Speech
|  | | Prime Minister Ariel Sharon officially introduced his new political party and its platform on Monday; Labor party leader Amir Peretz and National Union party leader Tzvi Hendel react.
| Speaking with television reporters shortly after Sharon's news conference, newly elected Labor party leader Peretz charged that the prime minister's claim to be a champion of social welfare was ridiculous, calling him the "head of the government of poverty". In what can only be understood as a campaign statement - as Sharon did not explicitly mention the Labor chairman - Peretz declared that the nation knows his record fighting for issues of social welfare and against poverty. Peretz is head of the national labor union, the Histadrut.
Candidly chiding, Peretz said Sharon's claim to be the man for social welfare action "is like me saying I am 'Mr. Security' [an appellation given variously to Sharon and the late Yitzchak Rabin - ed.]. Everyone would say, 'Why? What happened?'"
Tzvi Hendel, chairman of the right-wing National Union party's Knesset faction, charged that Mr. Sharon's motivations in taking his new path are only those of personal interest.
"The very last thing that interests him is the state," MK Hendel said. "This man is dangerous. He entangled us in Lebanon, expelled the pioneers of Gush Katif and almost dragged Israel into civil war, and now he wants to return to the 1967 borders. I have no doubt that the people of Israel will put an end to this dangerous destruction at the ballot box."
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Click Here! | | 5. Likud in Post-Sharon Maneuver: Throw Omri Out of the Knesset
|  | | By Scott Shiloh
Likud MKs have initiated a move to oust Omri Sharon, son of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from the Knesset. The maneuver might cost Sharon's party the right to government campaign financing.
| If Omri is forced to vacate his seat, Ariel Sharon’s new party, Kadima, might fall short of the minimum number of mandates required to attain government funding for its upcoming election campaign.
Grounds for Omri’s ouster could be raised in a Knesset committee that deals with ethical issues. Omri was convicted last week of violating the campaign finance law, and of lying under oath, in a plea bargain arrangement.
The initiative to expel the younger Sharon from the Knesset is expected, however, to run into difficulty in the relevant committee (the Committee of the Knesset). That committee is chaired by MK Roni Bar-on, a Sharon loyalist who has already joined the prime minister’s new party.
The possibility of Omri vacating his seat also raises the issue of his successor. By law, the next person on the Likud’s 2000 electoral list would fill Omri’s seat. That person is Pnina Rosenblum, a former model who put her name on a successful line of women’s make-up.
Rosenblum’s loyalty to the Likud is unclear, and if she decides to run on Sharon’s new list, the entire maneuver could be foiled.
Despite uncertainty over Rosenblum, the possibility of denying Sharon’s new party government campaign funding, worth millions of shekels, might be worth the gambit.
Under Israeli law, Sharon’s party needs to carry a third of the mother party’s MKs, in this case, 14 MKs from the Likud, in order to be eligible for funding.
If Omri succeeds in retaining his Knesset seat, he may be barred from running on his father’s new Knesset list, if a court determines that he committed crimes involving moral turpitude. A judge is expected to rule on that issue before the next elections.
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| | 6. Fearing More Jews in Negev, El-Sana Calls for United Arab List
|  | | By Scott Shiloh
MK Talab El-Sana says that by unifying Arab parties into one list, the Arabs could thwart plans to build more Jewish communities in the Galilee and Negev regions.
| MK Talab El-Sana (whose party is called the United Arab List) is calling upon Israel’s Arab parties to unite under one electoral list. El-Sana says that by unifying into one list, the Arabs could thwart plans to build more Jewish communities in the Galilee and Negev regions.
Those plans are being promoted by Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres (Labor), as an alternative for settling Jews in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
In a letter to Arab politicians and community leaders, El-Sana, a bedouin from the Negev, is calling for a meeting to discuss the issue of Arab unity in the face of the upcoming elections.
Much like some of his Jewish counterparts (particularly on the right), El-Sana claims that competition among various smaller parties reduces the number of Arab MK’s who get elected to the Knesset.
El-Sana says that a unified list would raise Arab participation in Israeli elections to 90%. Roughly 60% of Arabs eligible to vote participate in elections, a rate much lower that that for Jews.
If Arabs voted according to their percentage of the general population (20%), they could elect up to 24 Knesset representatives. In the last elections, Arab parties succeeded in electing eight candidates. Arabs, however, are often represented in other, Zionist parties.
El-Sana said that unity was necessary “in light of new political developments and their expected ramifications on Arab citizens.” He specifically cited Peres’ plan to expand Jewish settlement in the Galilee and the Negev. He said that a unified Arab list could “push that plan and its dangers for Arab citizens” off the public agenda.
El-Sana also claims that a unified Arab list “could become the third biggest Knesset faction and give Arab MK’s an opportunity to impact on the political situation and change the social and economic reality to the benefit of Arab citizens who suffer from unemployment and poverty.”
El-Sana warned fellow Arabs against voting for Zionist parties, especially since MK Amir Peretz was elected to head the Labor party. A large portion of Labor party members are from the Arab sector.
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| |
| 7. Remembering ´Reb Shlomo´ and Healing the Nation
|  | | By Ezra HaLevi
Thousands of people packed Jerusalem’s National Convention Center Saturday night to remember Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, giving over his melodies together with his Torah lessons.
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The yearly concert has always been a gathering point for the students of the late rabbi, who come from all walks of life and know their beloved teacher as simply “Shlomo.” The first such concert was held for Reb Shlomo’s shloshim - the memorial thirty days after his passing – at Jerusalem’s Heichal Shlomo hall. From then on, it was held on Shlomo’s birthday for a few years. Emphasis began to shift to the yahrtzeit (anniversary of his passing) as spontaneous musical prayer-filled pilgrimages to the rabbi’s Har HaMenuchot grave became a yearly occurrence and the concert took place first at the Yeshurun Synagogue – and then outgrew the venue in favor of Binyanei HaUmah - the largest hall in Jerusalem.
Memorial events are also held in New York, where Reb Shlomo’s synagogue – which he inherited from his father, Rabbi Naftali Carlebach - is located, but the Jerusalem concert is where the part of the rabbi’s legacy that led him to move to Israel and found Moshav Meor Modi’in is most apparent. The concert showcases the living nature of the rabbi’s teachings, which continue to move forward, develop, and affect the Jewish people and bring them home to Israel – “to the Land of their soul,” as one English mainstay melody played at the annual concert terms it.
“So many people are living in Israel because of Shlomo,” said Yehuda Katz, the musical director of the concert and redemption rock-band Reva L’Sheva front-man. “I know that I am one of them.”
Katz said that he recently heard “an awesome Torah (teaching)” from a student of the Vilna Gaon. “When one returns to the Land of Israel they must sing. Song is what is going to bring achdut (unity) to the Land of Israel.”
A video clip of Shlomo performing for an audience soon after the Six Day War on Israeli television was shown between performers at the concert. The tone and instructive nature of the video set the stage for an emotional evening – one many audience members described as being a very healing experience following the trauma of the summer’s Gaza and northern Shomron expulsion. “Believing in the coming of the Messiah is a belief of every Jew, the Rambam says,” Shlomo said, “but what does that really mean? I’ll tell you. According to our holy rabbis, it means that one must believe with complete faith that the nation of Israel has the ability to bring the messiah and the redemption.”
This year’s concert, in particular, embodied the sort of radical unity that Shlomo’s melodies continue to bring about.
Hundreds of young people, many still wearing orange ribbons tied to their wrists and bags - battle-worn from opposing the eviction of Jews from parts of the Land of Israel, sang their hearts out for shalom - peace – a concept and word that the Israeli political lexicon has assigned to a left-wing political viewpoint, but which remains a desire across political lines.
Hareidi-religious performers and audience members, some of whom were openly hostile to Reb Shlomo during his lifetime for his stance on women’s issues and outreach, paid homage to the late rabbi in a way that left some former students of Shlomo’s with mixed feelings, while others saw it as a continuation of the humble rabbi’s way.
Rabbi Yoel Rackovsky of the Old City’s Netiv Aryeh yeshiva recalls walking to a wedding on Mt. Zion with Reb Shlomo and witnessing a teacher of his approach Shlomo and scream at him, saying that he was despicable and that everything he did was wrong. “Reb Shlomo just stood there patiently listening, and when the rabbi stormed off, he went back to talking with us like nothing happened.” Rackovsky added that he later approached Reb Shlomo, asking him what he was thinking about while he was being verbally accosted. “He told me, ‘I was just thanking the Holy One Blessed be He that I was not in his shoes - that I was not that angry at another Jew.’” Rackovsky relates.
Another hallmark of the concert is the performance of rare songs from among Shlomo Carlebach’s thousands of compositions – launching them once again into the public consciousness. From there, such melodies – some that exist on only one audio tape or that were sung only once on someone’s wedding video - enter the roster of tunes used to sing the Psalms at the Friday evening Shlomo-minyans, attended by young and old alike in nearly every town in Israel.
One such song at this year’s concert was Utzu Eitza V’Tufar (“They will plot and nothing will come of it…because G-d is with us”). “It is a song some people know, but which I think has been lost and it was an honor to bring it out,” said Katz, whose band, Reva L’Sheva performed the song and recorded it on their recent album. “I know it was a theme song for a lot of people during the Disengagement. We just happened to record it before that. I think that if we want everyone to come together it has to be under the banner of G-d.”
Another song, a tune, called “Niggun Neshama,” (Soul Melody) was already being sung by the audience when its performer took the stage. The tune was rediscovered by Shlomo Katz, a student of Reb Shlomo who never knew him. Katz found the song while listening to an old audio tape from a class Shlomo gave in 1985.
After playing several other tunes, before launching into “the niggun,” Katz said: “Physically the higher you fly, the further you are from every person – but spiritually, the higher you fly, the closer you are to every person. It’s such a gift from G-d that such a soul was given to us after the Holocaust - to open our hearts again and to wipe away all our anger and tears.” He then offered a prayer that the tune act as a prayer for G-d to once again send such goodness and inspiration to the world, “because we can’t continue like this.”
He then launched into the melody, which is unique in that the energetic high-part is perfectly in harmony with the introductory low-part – allowing for harmony among those singing different tunes. It will be available on Katz’s upcoming album, to be released on Chanukah.
Other performers included Ahron and Yonatan Rahzel, the Witt Family, Chaim Dovid Saracek, Naftali Abramson and Josh Laufer – who, together with his students from the Neve Michael youth village, performed a hip-hop version of a Shlomo classic.
Organizers of the annual event are calling upon the Jerusalem Municipality, which sponsors many cultural events throughout the year, to pitch in to recognize the connection between Reb Shlomo and the holy city.
“Shlomo was the great suspension bridge between various communities within our country and indeed the world,” said Shlomo Carlebach Foundation founder Joe Schonwald. “Shlomo criss-crossed the globe bringing the message of Jerusalem to everybody. He did more for Jerusalem and Aliyah than a lot of other organizations that have that in their mission statement and receive funding from the State of Israel and the Jerusalem Municipality. The city has three cultural departments: religious, secular and hareidi. It is a shame that the three never meet and it is high time to recognize Shlomo’s legacy of contribution to Jerusalem’s culture through unity and diversity.”
Schonwald attributes the emotionally-charged nature of this year’s concert to the political events of the past year. “We are so hungry for a spiritually-charged event beyond all politics and beyond slogans - something that transcends the usual denominational lines,” he said. “This was it - people from various walks of life where all there and it could be felt.”
Schonwald also added that each year more and more of Shlomo’s contributions to Jewish life are recognized. “We are talking about someone who probably hugged more people than King David. I have seen Carlebach concerts by Sephardi performers, secular performers, hareidi-religious performers - at the reception for the Pope when he visited New York they played Shlomo’s Lema’an Achai V’Reyai (“Because of my Brothers and Friends”).
“We owe the renewal of Jewish prayer and worship to the liturgy that Shlomo wrote. He was the singing rabbi, but he was also the father of Jewish music. Before that we had songs that came out of our European or geographic experiences, but that wasn’t Jewish music per se. Shlomo invented Jewish music for our generation.”
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| |  | | Kever Rachel is distinguished from all other major Jewish Holy places in that it has always been accessible to Jewish worshipers. They were even the guardians of the precious keys to the holy tomb.
| From early on, Jews from all neighboring Arab countries and of course, the local Jews would come on a "Ziara", a pilgrimage, to the holy places, particularly in the months of Elul and on Yud-Alef Cheshvan, Rachel Imeinu’s Yahrzeit. Whole families would camp out around the ancient domed tomb, with musical instruments, and a festive spirit. The learned men would recite Psalms or study Zohar.
To read the rest of this article, courtesy of Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority, see Arutz-7's Travel Page
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