Temple Israel
Israel Action Committee
Newsletter - Issue 2
May 27, 2002

This newsletter is brought to you by the Israel Action Committee of Temple Israel.  In this newsletter we will bring you articles about Israel and the conflict in the Mideast that we believe are particularly insightful or that have important information, as well as suggestions for how to help support Israel in a variety of ways. Please read, think about, and act on the information in this message. In addition,  we encourage you to send this newsletter, or any individual item in this newsletter, on to your friends and acquaintances.

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Israel Violates the Geneva Convention - Again

       Once again the International Committee of the Red Cross has accused Israel of violating the Geneva Convention. According to a spokesman for the ICRC, the "deportation" of the 13 "senior terrorists" (according to Israel) who had been part of the group that took over the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to European countries violates the Geneva Convention's proscription on "forcible transfers" of persons from occupied territory to other countries and separation of families. 
       The 13 were sent to Europe as part of the deal that ended the 5-week Israeli siege of the Church after the takeover.  Rather than storm the Church (which would have likely resulted in damage to the Church) to end the takeover, Israel offered a deal: those inside could go free, except for the 13 -- who are accused by Israel of participating in terrorist activities. Those 13 were given a choice between going on trial for their crimes, or leaving the West Bank and Gaza. They chose to leave, and a variety of European countries offered them asylum on "humanitarian" grounds, including inviting their families to join them.   That is what the ICRC complains is a violation of the Geneva Convention by Israel.

       Click here: Independent News

       http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=297948

       By the way, the ICRC refuses to recognize the Israeli Magen David Adom symbol or admit the Magen David Adom to its Federation, although it recognizes and admits the Red Crescent Society, the Islamic countries' equivalent of the Red Cross.  It is important not to confuse the American Red Cross with the ICRC. The American Red Cross has been fighting for years to get the ICRC to recognize and admit the Magen David Adom. To learn more about the background of this issue, read the American Red Cross'  position paper at

       Click here: http://www.redcross.org/services/intl/global/mda/symbols.pdf

       http://www.redcross.org/services/intl/global/mda/symbols.pdf

       If you want to protest the European countries' welcoming of these terrorists, go here:

       Click here: Social Action Archive

       http://www.wiesenthal.com/social/press/pr_item.cfm?ItemId=5761

       If you want to make a donation to Magen David Adom to help it in responding to and treating victims of terrorism in Israel, such as the victims of today's attack in Petah Tikvah, go here:

       Click here: ARMDI | American Red Magen David for Israel

       http://www.magendavidadom.com/index_armdi_wide.html

or call toll free

1.866.632.2763

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The Unequal "Kill Ratio"

       It is common for anti-Israeli spokespersons to say, and the media to report, that 3 times as many Palestinians have been killed in the current intifada as Israelis, as proof that the Palestinians are suffering more.  This article from the Jerusalem Post gets behind those figures, as well as some other omissions and subtleties that tend to color people's perceptions of what is really happening:

       Click here: Israel News : Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

       http://www.jpost.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/Full&cid=1021813233710

       And this article from the Jerusalem Post analyzes NPR's disparate treatment of the humanity of Israeli and Palestinian victims of the conflict:

       Click here: Israel News : Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

       http://www.jpost.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/Full&cid=1021813214334

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The Massacre That Never Was

       United Press International (UPI) last week circulated a 4-part analysis of how the media, particularly the European media, bought the Palestinian story about the "massacre" at Jenin -- a story that has since been revealed to be completely false. Among UPI's conclusions:

- the credibility of the Palestinians as news sources has diminished

- the wave of anti-Semitism unleashed by the false story, and the lack of any effective response by European governments, may embolden the anti-Semites in the future

- the Israeli military may be restrained in its military responses to terrorism in the future, to the detriment of Israel.

       Read the stories at

       Click here: United Press International: Part One: Documenting the Myth

       http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20052002-032952-3644r

       Click here: United Press International: Analysis: Why Europeans bought Jenin myth

       http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=21052002-123835-3473r

       Click here: United Press International: How Europe's media lost out

       http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=22052002-085307-9694r

       Click here: United Press International: Analysis: Winners and losers in Jenin

       http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=17052002-081534-5162r

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That Dennis Miller Piece

       Have you read the Dennis Miller routine about the Mideast conflict -- the sarcastic look at the history of the Palestinians and the Israel-Arab dispute? Well, Dennis Miller didn't write or say it. It was written by Larry Miller, a columnist for the Weekly Standard. And the piece being widely circulated by e-mail is about one-half of the actual article, the middle part.
       The whole article is worth reading.  It was inspired when Miller watched Greta van Susteren interview a Hamas spokesman, and Stanley Cohen, a Jewish American attorney who represents the head of Hamas (as well as numerous other terrorist-types), on Fox News Network.  The real point of the diatribe is the ludicrousness of an American Jew representing murderers of Jews, and the ludicrousness of the respect with which van Susteren treated her guests.

       Click here: Whosoever Blesses Them

       http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/161yaihr.asp

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Buy Israel

       One very practical way we can help Israel is to purchase Israeli products, to help keep the devastated Israeli economy alive. Many Israeli products are available in local stores. The Israel Action Committee is checking out local stores to see where products are available, and will bring them to your attention. Enclosed with this newsletter as an attachment is the beginning of our list -- mostly food and grocery items available in local stores.  Please print out the one-page list and hold onto it for when you go shopping, and remember to buy Israeli!
       We will be updating this list as we learn of new products. If you are aware of Israeli products being sold in our area, please send an e-mail to IsraelActionComm@aol.com.
       This list will also be posted at Click here: Temple Israel - Home Page www.synagogue.org (click on the Israel Action Committee link from the home page).

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Teach Your Children the Tzdakah Habit

       Now is the time to get your children involved in giving tzdakah.  The need is as great now as it can be.  The money given will go to help people in dire need, in a society under attack.

       Start with a JNF blue box, the time-honored way of supporting Israel by depositing your change at the end of the day, or on Friday evening before Shabbat, in a tzdakah box in the kitchen.  Boxes are available from the Temple Israel office.

       If you have a child -- whether a teenager or a high school student -- who will be working and earning money this summer, encourage him or her to contribute to the Israel Emergency Solidarity Fund through Project One Percent.  High school and college students with summer jobs are pledging one per cent (or more) of their summer earnings to the Fund; for any one person the amount of money being donated is small, but together the contributions can do a lot to help victims of terrorism in Israel.

       Learn more about Project One Percent, and make a pledge, at Click here: Welcome to Project One Percent , http://www.pledge4israel.com.  This is a great way to get your children into the charitable giving habit.

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