AFSI on Israeli TV

I was happy and excited to see Helen Freedman and other AFSI members on Israeli television, but then I realized that the program wasn't exactly pro-AFSI.  I only caught a few minutes of it. Apparently, it was about foreign influence here in Israel, and they lumped all sorts of things into an inaccurate misleading mess.

Did anyone catch the entire show and know more? Is it on youtube?

Who Speaks for US Jewry? Should We Care?

Just a quick couple of related pre-Shabbat questions for you. Who Speaks for US Jewry? Should We Care?

If you're an American Jew, do you agree with the policies agenda of the newby extreme Left J Street? It is getting all the publicity and media coverage. It promotes policies that are the exact opposite of AFSI Americans for a Secure Israel, the very underfunded and ignored veteran group. Or is there an organization you like which falls more in the Center?

I'm curious and would seriously like to hear your opinion in the comments, thanks.

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Shabbat Shalom uMevorach

Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

As Promised!

I promised that I'd post some of the pictures I took when touring the Shomron, north of Shiloh, with Helen Freedman of AFSI. Finally, I got them on a CD to post.

It was a real privilege to have been able to accompany Helen. Even though I live in the same general area, I don't get to nearby Jewish villages. It may sound peculiar to some of you, but I had a real reason for calling my Arutz 7 blog, The Eye of The Storm. In some ways, living here is just living. We're busy with ordinary things. There's a calm, like the eye of the storm, while all sorts of dangerous things are swirling around us. I'm not oblivious to the dangers, but regardless of Olmert's threats, we go on with our lives in defiance and with confidence that we will survive. Olmert will just be one of the sorrier figures in Jewish History, while our contributions will be admired.

The tour was led by David Haivri of Tapuach. Our first stop was Rechallim. That's the location of the Arab terror attack when terrorists shot up a bus from Shiloh going to the Tel Aviv demonstration on the eve of the Madrid Conference. Two people were murdered, the driver, Yitzchak Harofeh and my neighbor and close frriend, Rachella Druk. In response to her murder, she was buried in Shiloh, which inaugurated our cemetery, and two communities were established. Shvut Rachel, just to the east of my home was given approval almost immediately, but Rechallim, where her murder actually took place is still struggling for official recognition.










Yitzchak Shamir's government fought all of the groups which tried to live there. It took a long time for any buildings to be built. As of today, almost twenty years later, conditions are horrendous, but young families still want to live there. For me it was very emotional seeing all of the young children. Rachella loved children and had seven at the time of her murder.






Then we went to an outpost where all of Shechem lay before us. The view was totally breathtaking. We could see every building including Kever Yosef, abandoned by Ehud Barak's reign of terror government. His short lived regime was the worst time in Israeli history. How can he dare to consider himself a candidate for Prime Minister after what he did? And how is it that the Israeli public has forgotten the rampant terrorism under his rule?











From there we went to Barkan, to the office of the Governor of the Shomron Regional Council. We had to wait a few minutes until he was available, since it was mincha (the afternoon) prayer time. The synagogue was overflowing.




Gershon Masika, gave us more details about the difficulties he faces finding ways to support the small unrecognized communities. He began his talk by showing us a map which makes the dangers of a terror state in the heart of Eretz Yisrael so obvious. The breadth of land Olmert is offering the Arabs is much larger than what he proposes remain in Israel's hands.






Afterwards we drove further into the heartland of our Biblical History, to Itamar and further, to Avri Ran's farm. We were invited to lunch and feasted on the goat yogurt and cheese they produce there. His very talented son-in-law told us the history of the farm and showed us his very impressive art, including the synagogue, like none I've ever seen before.












It was definitely a beautiful and inspiring day.

Important 1967 Documents

These documents have been distributed by AFSI.

Following the Six Day War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported to the Secretary of Defense on the subject of the lands liberated by Israel in the war.

It was their conclusion that the high ground of Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights are essential to Israel’s defense.

The complete report is to be found below. The copies aren't very clear, but it is worth making an effort to read them.

It is important to disseminate this report in our arguments against any give away of these lands.

AFSI, TV Appearance

A few weeks ago, an AFSI delegation visited me in Shiloh. They recorded the talks for their TV show. Here are the broadcast details:

It'll be shown in Manhattan on Monday evening, Dec. 3,at 7 PM on Ch. 57 Time Warner and Channel 84 RCN.

AFSI, Israel's Best Friend!

A delegation of AFSI activists, led by Helen Freedman, is in Israel. Today they visited me in Shiloh. We were joined by my neighbor Moshe Belogorodsky and his daughter Chaya, who was one of the young teens jailed during the pre-Disengagement government crack-down on dissidents and even those who just tried to defend those attacked by the police.

Among those in the delegation was Glenn Richter, who my husband and I knew over forty years ago, when were were actively involved in his Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the first mass protest movement to pressure the USSR to allow its Jewish population to leave.

One of the important leaders of the organization wasn't with the group. That's Herb Zweibon. To know more about him, read the excellent interview by Ruthie Blum in the Jerusalem Post.

The Bergson Group, A Letter by Helen Freedman

Many of you must know Helen from her excellent work with AFSI. I feel privileged to be posting this excellent and informative letter.

Helen Freedman
June 18, 2007
ghfree@aol.com

Letter to the Editor
The New York Sun
Re: The Bergson Group

The Sun is to be commended for the attention it has paid, through editorials (April 16, June 14) on the Bergson Group and the lessons learned from Holocaust history, as well as reporting on the June 17 Fordham University Conference on “Jewish Activists Who Shook the World,” (Gary Shapiro – June 18, 2007).
I attended the Conference, and was struck by the overriding theme which was repeated by many of the speakers. It was the failure of leadership in the mainstream Jewish organizations during WWII that betrayed and abandoned European Jewry. In addition, it was the failure of the Roosevelt administration to come to the aid of the Jews, and the failure of the mainstream press, specifically The New York Times, to adequately publicize the horrors of the death camps.
Elie Wiesel spoke hauntingly of the fact that there were only two Nazis in Sighet, his hometown in Hungary, in May 1944, when Hungarian Jews were sent to ghettos, prior to being put on the death trains to take them to the death camps. He said there were Hungarian scouts supervising the ghettos, and it would have been easy to escape to the mountains and hide out there. But the Hungarian Jews trusted their leaders and boarded the trains, not knowing where they were going, because they had never heard of Auschwitz and Buchenwald.
Here in the U.S., the Bergson group was trying desperately to awaken the American public to Hitler’s atrocities. They were stopped at almost every point by people like Rabbi Stephen Wise. The result is that although some Jews were saved, the number was pitifully small compared to what was needed. What have we learned?
We should have learned NOT to trust leaders who lie to us and try to beguile the public with pacifier words like “negotiations” and “diplomacy.” Youssef Ibrahim, (Annexation of Gaza Must Be Contained- June 18, 2007) is exactly right when he says, “It will be a farce if President Bush and Prime Minister Olmert spend their meeting tomorrow discussing a two-state solution or how many millions of dollars are needed to shore up the nonexistent authority of Fatah.”
Neville Chamberlain moaned that everything would have been alright if only Hitler hadn’t lied to him. That “mistake” led to the indescribable catastrophe of WWII. If America and Israel now believe that Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat’s chief terrorist, can be negotiated with, and a two-state solution is possible, history will be repeating itself, and we will have proven that we have learned nothing.
Helen Freedman