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Israfax
Another, different saying, this one Hebrew, is similarly laden with history, and also applicable in this case: Ein brera, there is no alternative. Israel, the center of the Jewish people, represents, as Emil Fackenheim has written, "The Jewish return to history", after 2,000 years of exile and oppression, capped by the long night of the Shoa. Israel, after over half a century, and despite unending surrounding enmity, has flourished and is home to stay: Ein brera. Let us, despite the current struggle, celebrate our Jewish miracle: the historically unparalleled return of a people to its homeland after two millennia; the unexpected triumph of a tiny population over five Arab armies in the War of Independence; the absorption of wave after wave of survivors and refugees; the greening of arid desert; the building of a modern, high-technology Western society; the creation of one of the world's most vibrant democracies. Israel represents a novum, a new fact, in modern general, and Jewish, history, the Jewish people's revival as a sovereign, democratic state, as an active subject making its own history, instead of a largely passive object suffering the history imposed on it by others. It is not, however, a novum in Jewish history generally, for Judaism was never merely a "religion", but a civilization, a Covenanted People sovereign on its own Land, a fact commemorated, and prophetically guaranteed, in its Tanakh, or Bible. Miraculously, this consciousness of being a People, surviving Exile and dispersion, provided the foundation on which the Zionist "return to history" was built. Arafat & Co. may do what they can to destroy
this "new-old" state; they may reject proferred peace, blow
up buses, attack Jerusalem suburbs and murder 10-month-old infants; and
the world and the U.N. will, as usual, turn a largely blind eye to this
viciousness, and even blame those nasty Jewish victims for their own suffering.
But Jewish history generally, and Israel's remarkable half-century of
restored independence, indicate that they cannot, and in the end will
not, prevail. (Prof. Krantz, the Editor of ISRAFAX, is also Director of the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research) FOCUS: DEEPENING CRISIS AND ESCALATING PALESTINIAN VIOLENCE Security Cabinet Communiqué 2. Regrettably, there are elements within the P.A. who are intensively involved in terrorism, violence and incitement. Israel holds the P.A. responsible for the current wave of attacks and calls on the international community to use its influence on the P.A. and its leader...In the absence of preventive actions by the P.A., Israel has and will continue to exercise its right to self-defense. 3. The principle guiding the government is constant and consistent action against the terrorists, as well as against those who both dispatch and assist them...Measures to ease the living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have and will continue to be taken, subject to security considerations. Israel is not interested in a confrontation with the Palestinian people. Rather, it wants peace and co-existence. However, these goals can only be achieved through dialogue and by peaceful means... (Jerusalem, March 28, 2001) Sharon Updates Bush and Powell P.M. Sharon expressed his opposition to any international involvement in the conflict on the grounds that this would be a reward for terrorism. The Prime Minister emphasized that those who perpetrate acts of terrorism...as well as those who both dispatch and assist the perpetrators...will not escape punishment and added that Arafat and the P.A. will bear the consequences. The UN Security Council Vote Israel wishes to express its appreciation for the American decision...to exercise its veto and thus to prevent the adoption of a resolution which would only have had the effect of aggravating the crisis in our region. Israel also appreciates the Ukrainian decision not to take part in the vote. Israel is disappointed at the surprising change in Russia's position and at the support given... It is ironic that the members of the Security Council put forward an unbalanced proposal regarding the protection of Palestinian civilians precisely at this time, when Israeli citizens, victims of Palestinian terrorism, are being killed and injured.. The Arab Summit: Response of Foreign
Minister Peres Israel does not wish to rule over another people and its government has ruled out the use of collective punishment. Currently, Israel is in the process of easing many restrictions previously placed on the Palestinian civilian population. Even though faced with a wave of terrorism, Israel remains faithful to its desire to bring peace to the entire region. Palestinians Pledge More Suicide Bombings "Whoever thinks that the Intifada broke out because of the despised Sharon's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is wrong...This Intifada was planned in advance, ever since President Arafat's return from the Camp David negotiations..." -- P.A. Communications Minister, Imad Al-Falouji, at the Ein Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon (Al-Safir, March 3, Trans. by MEMRI) "There is a difference between the strategic goal of the Palestinian people, who are not willing to give up even one grain of Palestinian soil and the political [tactical] effort...We may lose or win [tactically] but our eyes will continue to aspire to the strategic goal, namely, to Palestine from the river to the sea." -- P.A. Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Faysal Al-Husseini (Al-Safir, March 21, Trans. by MEMRI) "The U.S. is really missing a very important point, namely that what we are facing is an Israeli occupation that is deepening...When you talk about the responsibility for violence you first start talking about the responsibility of the occupying [power] and then you talk about the responsibility of the occupied...I wish the U.S. would...take the side of the victims for a change." -- P.A. Int'l Cooperation Minister Nabil Sha'ath (Reuters, March 30) "In contrast [to the Israelis] we've seen absolutely no response from Arafat to our urgings to him to now bring the violence to a stop. He has made no statements that would indicate that he even wants to see it stopped. In fact he has called for the continuation of the intifada. He has not given any orders secret or otherwise to his forces which would bring some measure of control to the situation. His forces are prepared to do what he wants them to do. So we're perplexed." -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Edward Walker (Jer. Post, April 1) "If there is any message encoded in the Palestinian struggle, and in the record of Islamic militancy over 20 years, it is that nothing now on the horizon is likely to end such fanaticism. Indeed, many who study Islamic martyrdom predict more such attacks, and even deadlier ones if the militants master a new generation of chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons...Prophet Muhammad led his followers in battle, teaching them, according to a verse from the Koran, to wage aggressive war against infidels: 'When the sacred months are past, then kill the idolaters wherever you find them.' Thus [Arab armies] were inspired...by their faith, which promised those falling in battle instant transport to Paradise...The rewards of martyrdom make anything the Romans envisaged in their Elysian fields seem tame." -- Columnist John F. Burns (N.Y.T., April 1) YOM HA'ATZMAUT, REFLECTIONS ON ISRAEL AT 53 PROF. HAROLD WALLER (CIJR Fellow,
McGill University) Difficult as it may be for Israelis to endure the reality that terror may be just around the corner, Israel's independence signifies that its people are no longer helpless victims. Their state has assumed the responsibility for their personal and collective security and for the destiny of the Jewish people. That was the promise of 1948. It is still imperfectly fulfilled today but Israel has the human and material resources to achieve that goal. That is why despair, despite the cascade of tragic news, is not warranted. PROF. GIL TROY (CIJR Fellow,
McGill University) Amid our pain, our anger, our fear, we must vow
not only to continue to support a strong and safe Israel, but we must
vow to learn how to view Israel in proper perspective. My problem with
the media this year is not only that too many reports are distorted and
simplistic, trying to fit a complicated conflict into a facile black and
white paradigm. My problem with the media is not only that the loudest
and most polarizing voices drown out the more tempered and subtler tones.
My problem is that all of us are too dependent on the media, we only see
Israel through the lens of CNN or CBC. The true miracle of this year is
that, despite all the trauma, Israel remains overwhelming safe and sound.
Most Israelis continue to go about their daily lives. Contrary to the
impression even of most of its supporters, Israel is not a war zone. PROF. JEAN OUELLETTE (CIJR Fellow,
Université de Montréal)
Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres, the septuagenarian "odd couple," both demonized by their respective legions of haters within and outside of Israel, have a shared responsibility. They must present a national, strategic plan, and prepare Israel's next generation of leaders, who will succeed where Netanyahu and Barak failed. BARUCH COHEN (CIJR Research
Chairman) As "the heavens" opened widely, a poor and starving Yishuv, together some six hundred thousand people, surrounded on all sides by fierce enemies, succeeded in creating a prosperous, strong, and beautiful nation of six million Israelis. Few nations have endured such constant warfare and so much turmoil. Today, Jewish Israel is more than a country. It is an idea that continues to inspire millions of Jews around the world. From the ruins of a devastated Europe, from Russia, Ethiopia, America and other places around the world, our people created a new, modern country reflecting an ancient, and glorious faith. Today, fifty-three years later, and despite current travails, there is much for us all to be thankful for, and to celebrate. Am Yisrael Chai! HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE Why I Was Not
in Transnistria The day after that nightmare, Vera Svirchevsky, a neighbour, heard cries from our yard. She came in and found me, covered in blood, lying on my mother's body. Vera took me to her house, gave me a bath, and tended my wounds. Shortly after, she took me to the village church where I was baptized and given the name Minodora. Vera and Ion, her husband, treated me as a servant and I had to do very hard chores. After a while, some neighbours informed the police that I was Jewish and I was taken to the ghetto, where I endured terrible suffering. Vera used to come to the ghetto to see me occasionally.
One day, her girlfriend, Simcha Rothstein, from Beltz, came to see me.
She told me of a childless couple, the Herschovitzes, in Bucharest, who
wanted to adopt me. She offered Vera money to smuggle me out of the ghetto. After a while, I moved in with the Herschovitz family. Because of these dangerous times, it was decided that I officially register as Minodora Svirchevsky, and as such I was sent to a Christian school. Shortly after Passover 1945, an official request came from the Kishinev authorities that I must be returned to my birthplace (now under the Russians), since I represented a "danger" to the Romanian State. I was 10 years old! Subsequently, I was kept for many days at the Romanian police station. Finally, in exchange for a large sum of money handed over by Mr. Herschovitz to "my uncle" Ion Svirchevsky, the latter managed to liberate me from the clutches of the police. At the end of 1946, Rosa and Yaacov Herschovitz adopted me. They surrounded me with sincere, warm love and care. They enrolled me in the best Jewish school and after graduation I went into nursing. In 1950, our family immigrated to Israel and settled in Haifa, where we built a new life. In 1955, I got married and now I am the proud mother of three children and two grandchildren. (Miriam Taylor and Baruch Cohen edited the above memoir by Miriam Shvili.) Polish Face Truth
of Jedwabne But the Polish words etched into the small grey stone belie an even more horrible truth. Communist officials who had it erected surely knew. So did most of the villagers, though they rarely spoke of it. Now all Poland is being jolted awake to the awful
reality: The Jews of Jedwabne were locked in a barn and burned to death
on July 10, 1941, not by Nazis, but by their neighbors--fellow Poles.
The nation's president is offering an apology, and the head of its Roman Catholic Church plans special joint prayers of Catholics and Jews. Jedwabne (pronounced Yed-VAB-neh) was not the only wartime pogrom by Poles, but it was the biggest--and perhaps now the best documented. Poland's reluctance to confront the truth has nurtured among many Jews an image of Polish complicity in Nazi horrors, in stark contrast to a national memory that emphasizes heroic resistance... Gross writes that when Nazi commanders moved into the eastern Polish village, they "easily reached agreement" with town officials on what do about the Jews. Hundreds, including women and children, were soon brought to the town square. They were beaten with clubs and stones, then herded into a barn, which was locked and set ablaze... Uproar over Neighbors has been building steadily since a few thousand copies were published last spring and the issue is now being aired abroad. Gross published a long account of the massacre in...New Yorker magazine, and an English-language version of his book is being released in April by Princeton University Press... President Aleksander Kwasniewski, an ex-communist, said last week he will issue a formal apology for Jedwabne on the 60th anniversary of the massacre in July, and change the inscription on the 1963 monument. But he rejects any notion that Poland accept collective responsibility... (Associated Press, March 12, 2001) |
     
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ISRAFAX
EDITORIAL