Journalist Yeshayahu Ben Porat dies at 80

Tuesday I went to Shivaa of Sheike, Illa I discovered is his daughter and Lilo is the sweet grandaughter. They are my friends in Yaffo.
12:03 , 11.11.07 from Ynet:
Farewell Ben Porat. 1927-2007 Photo: Israel Sun

Journalist Yeshayahu Ben Porat dies at 80

A prominent figure in the Israeli media and one of Yedioth Ahronoth's senior commentators, Ben Porat succumbed to cancer at 80. 'He was an icon,' says Yossi Beilin
Merav Yudilovitch
Yeshayahu Ben Porat, one of the Israel's veteran journalists, died of cancer Saturday. He was 80-years-old.

Ben Porat was also a prominent figure in Yedioth Ahronoth, and one of the newspaper's senior commentators. "He wasn't just a well known figure in the paper, he was a one-man-establishment… he broke too many stories to count and was an outstanding journalist," said his long-time colleague Motti Kirschenbaum on Sunday.
Born in 1927 in Vienna, Ben Porat came to Israel in 1945 and started his journalistic career in the 1950s, when Yedioth Ahronoth sent him to be the paper's Paris corresponded. Ben Porat soon found himself working for Paris Match and Europe 1 Radio, and he became one of the leading media figures in Paris in those days.
"He was a broad-minded person of extreme journalistic integrity. His death is a serious loss to Israeli journalism and I am very saddened by it," MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al), who was interviewed by Ben Porat in the 1990s, told Ynet.
"Ben Porat's name was synonymous with the modern and bohemian Israel of the 1960s," said Meretz-Yahad Chairman MK Yossi Beilin, adding "he was a brilliant, curious intelligent man and a gifted interviewer. He was an icon."
Yeshayahu Ben Porat's funeral will be held in Kibbutz Einat on Monday.

Tel Aviv 4th November 1995

In 1995 I worked in Yachin Building on Kaplan street. Yossi Beilin's Ministry office was there. That Saturday evening I was at the Kikar. Rabin and Peres were happy that many thousands of people came to support Peace and against Violence.
I DID NOT LIKE The Demo as again it was that part of the public that I belong too
when the Other part are not there. I phoned my sister and said so.
When the demo was nearly finished I returned to Kaplan st. I saw Zalli Reshef of Shalom Achshav at "Mac David" Hamburger place and spoke to him.
Then the news on the radio said that Rabin was shot at. I went to nearby Ichilov Hospital and heard Eitan Haber announcing Rabin's murder. There were so many crazy people there that I left and went back to Kaplan.
This started a most Traumatic experience personally and publicly.
12 years later we have learnt little and the situation is worse.
I beleive that the weakness of Israeli Politics is behind this assasination and the cause that has to be changed is Proportional Representation.

THE DOORS- 40th Anniversary CD- Bought Today

The Doors is the self-titled debut album by the band The Doors, recorded in 1966 and released in 1967. It features the breakthrough single "Light My Fire", extended with a substantial instrumental section omitted on the single release, and the lengthy song "The End" with its Oedipal spoken-word section. The Doors credit the success of their first album to being able to work the songs out night after night at the Whisky A Go Go or the London Fog. "Alabama Song" was originally written and composed by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill for their opera Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny); "Back Door Man" was a Howlin' Wolf cover. "The End"'s Oedipal climax was first performed live at the Whisky A Go Go and The Doors were thrown out as a result of Jim screaming "kill the father and fuck the mother."Contents
1 Censored
2 Track listing
2.1 2007 CD re-issue bonus tracks

Censored
The songs "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" and "The End" were both released censored with the album. During "Break on Through" the part where Jim Morrison sings "She gets, she gets" was originally recorded as "She gets high." The interlude singing part near the end of "The End" was censored and taken out. It included Jim using the word fuck over and over. Subsequent releases of the album have both of the original parts intact, although 1980s compact disc reissues appear to keep the verses censored.

The album's dark tone and frontman Jim Morrison's sexual charisma and wild lifestyle influenced much of rock and roll to come.

The album is generally thought of as the band's best work, in addition to being one of the greatest debut albums by any band. It's also considered to be one of the quintessential albums of the counterculture movement/Social Revolution. In 1998 Q magazine readers voted The Doors the 93rd greatest album of all time; in 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 60. In 2003, the album was ranked number 42 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore, except where noted.
"Break on Through (To the Other Side)" – 2:30
"Soul Kitchen" – 3:35
"The Crystal Ship" – 2:34
"Twentieth Century Fox" – 2:33
"Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)" (Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) – 3:20
"Light My Fire" – 7:08
"Back Door Man" (Willie Dixon) – 3:34
"I Looked at You" – 2:22
"End of the Night" – 2:52
"Take It as It Comes" – 2:18
"The End" – 11:44

2007 CD re-issue bonus tracks
"Moonlight Drive" (recorded 1966, version 1)
"Moonlight Drive" (recorded 1966, version 2)
"Indian Summer" (recorded August 19, 1966, vocal, this track would later appear on the album Morrison Hotel)

Avalanche. Songs of Love and Hate. Leonard Cohen.

Got today thru amazon CD 2007 Remastered "SONGS OF LOVE LOVE AND HATE" Leonard Cohen 1971.
Avalanche. 1967
Well I stepped into an avalanche,
it covered up my soul;
when I am not this hunchback that you see,
I sleep beneath the golden hill.
You who wish to conquer pain,
you must learn, learn to serve me well.

You strike my side by accident
as you go down for your gold.
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
is neither starved nor cold;
he does not ask for your company,
not at the centre, the centre of the world.

When I am on a pedestal,
you did not raise me there.
Your laws do not compel me
to kneel grotesque and bare.
I myself am the pedestal
for this ugly hump at which you stare.

You who wish to conquer pain,
you must learn what makes me kind;
the crumbs of love that you offer me,
they're the crumbs I've left behind.
Your pain is no credential here,
it's just the shadow, shadow of my wound.

I have begun to long for you,
I who have no greed;
I have begun to ask for you,
I who have no need.
You say you've gone away from me,
but I can feel you when you breathe.

Do not dress in those rags for me,
I know you are not poor;
you don't love me quite so fiercely now
when you know that you are not sure,
it is your turn, beloved,
it is your flesh that I wear.

Redemption Song-These songs of freedom

18th August 2007 Saturday Evening "Leilot Yaffo - Jaffa Nights"
Artist: Bob Marley
Album: Uprising
Title: Redemption Song

Old pirates, yes, they rob i;
Sold i to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took i
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the 'and of the almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'cause all i ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
'cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? ooh!
Some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfil de book.

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'cause all i ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.
---
/guitar break/
---
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! have no fear for atomic energy,
'cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfil de book.
Won't you help to sing
Dese songs of freedom? -
'cause all i ever had:
Redemption songs -
All i ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.

Thanks to Yudit more News in Jaffa

Wednesday, August 15
Another Jaffa family facing eviction and demolition

The house itself was constructed sometime during de 19th century, in the style typical for that period: vaulted ceilings, 90 cm thick walls built from local limestone. Small windows high up in the walls, almost a fortress.
The H. family have lived here for ever, the great great grandfather was born in this house. The elderly grandmother, a widow who is still alive, was born here as well, long before 1948. All of the extended family have always lived here and they have ample proof.

Some years ago, one of the ceilings caved in, while grandmother Zeinab was in her room. Wounded, she was brought to the hospital and after a few days returned home. Her son and daughters repaired the roof and replaced it with brand new roof tiles. While at it, they also painted the old walls in a fresh bright pearly white.
That's when the first strange letters started arriving: the municipality claimed they had illegally added a room.
The family answered that they had merely replaced the roof which had caved in. The roof was new, but the room wasn't. The municipality sent over a guy to check, who was so impressed by the new paint, that he decided most of the house (compound really) had been newly constructed. The family showing him the high vaulted ceilings and thick walls constructed from huge limestone blocks in obvious original Ottoman style, weren't able to convince him.

Then something even weirder happened, the Amidar public housing company sent them a court notice to inform them they had to leave their home, as it wasn't theirs.

Now the H. family can easily prove they lived in the house way before 1948. Grandma was born their and registered. As was common in those days, poor people didn't have testaments, they simply lived in the same house, generation after generation and all of the community simply knew the compound as the "H compound".

But Amidar have strong lawyers, and the H family are poor and not all of the older generation are literate. So they are faced with a demolition order for part of the home and an eviction order for all of the compound.
The H family are one of the families from Jaffa, from Al Ajami faced with demolition and eviction orders. Needless to say, they are an Arab family. The naqbe goes on and on.
The H family are trying to fight back.

Jaffa, summer 2007

Posted by yudit at 3:51 PM

Yigal Alon 1980 First Publication from Haaretz

ושוב ויתרתי. אלא מה
ערב מותו ב-1980 סיפר יגאל אלון, מריר וכעוס, איך החמיצה ישראל את המנהיג שהיתה ראויה לו. בסדרת ראיונות מוקלטים שנועדו לגניזה, הביע המצביא הדגול של תש"ח את דעתו על כל מי שעמד בדרכו. במיוחד על יריבו הגדול, דיין. פרסום ראשון
מאת אמיר אורן

רגע גורלי אחד, ב-31 במאי 1967, מזקק את ההחמצה הגדולה של יגאל אלון. הרקע הכללי ידוע: אלון, שר העבודה בממשלת לוי אשכול, משתהה מדי בביקור בלנינגרד ומאחר לחזור ארצה בשיאו של המשבר שלפני המלחמה. תיק הביטחון עמד להילקח מאשכול ולהימסר למשה דיין. במאמץ לבלום את דיין מציעים בכירי מפא"י - זלמן ארן, גולדה מאיר ושאול אביגור - למנות את אלון לשר ביטחון.

אלון הוא, כתיאורו העצמי, מי שהיה הגנרל הצעיר של תש"ח, עם "שיא הגלורי" של מלחמת השחרור, החושש פן "יתקבל רושם שאשכול כבר אינו עומד על רגליו ויש כבר אלוף שחותר למשרה". הוא מתמהמה, ממתין להסכמת אשכול ולא לוחץ לפתוח במלחמה בהרכבה הקיים של הממשלה. לשמע מינויו הקרוב של אלון מביע הרמטכ"ל המתמוטט יצחק רבין שמחה ואלופים שאינם מאוהדי דיין, דוגמת אריאל שרון, מזדרזים להעביר לו מסרים. כפיצוי יוחזר ח"כ דיין לשירות צבאי פעיל, יהיה אלוף פיקוד הדרום ויגרום בכך לסילוק האלוף המכהן, ישעיהו גביש.

מתבזבזים יום ויומיים ואז הכל מתהפך: מזכירות מפא"י, "להקת אווזים, מאבדי עשתונות, בוגדים באשכול מבית", בלשונו של אלון, קורסת לנוכח הלחצים. דיין שר הביטחון, מנחם בגין בממשלה, הסדר הישן מזדעזע. על סף הזכייה הגדולה, אלון מפסיד. שוב, ולא בפעם האחרונה.

"לרגע אחד התלבטתי", סיפר אלון, "אם להתפטר מהממשלה וללכת לחזית. אשכול היה מוכן למנות אותי לאלוף פיקוד הדרום. ראיתי לנגד עיני את שייקה גביש, תלמידי, היה אצלי מג"ד בפלמ"ח. חשבתי לעצמי מדוע לנהוג כעדת ציפורים שאינם בונים קן, מתנחלים בקן שבונה ציפור אחרת. בשבילי התהילה שלי, ידעתי שזה ניצחון נוסף, אבל הכל היה ערוך, מתוכנן, כל מסלולי ההתקדמות, פקודות מבצע, לבוא ולדחוק אותו הצדה מפני שהוא קורבן של תככים פוליטיים וליטול ממנו את הפיקוד, אמרתי לאשכול, ?אני לא אעשה את זה לשייקה'".

וההיסטוריה, שהמשיכה במירוצה, עשתה את זה לו. לא נעים, לא נאה, לא הוגן. "בחורים נחמדים מגיעים אחרונים", אומרים האמריקאים. לא רק שהם נדחקים לאחור, אלא שהלא-נחמדים חולפים על פניהם בגיחוך פרחחי, נטול עכבות.

בפברואר 1980 מת אלון והוא בן 61 וכמה חודשים. בשנה שקדמה למותו הקליט סדרה ארוכה וחסויה של ראיונות עם ראודור מנור ממכון דייוויס, בנוכחות עוזרו יוסי קוצ'יק (לימים מנכ"ל משרד ראש הממשלה). התמלילים נגנזו. רק עתה, לאחר צנזור של קטעים גרעיניים, צבאיים ומודיעיניים מסוימים, נפתחו לעיון.

ד"ר יגאל קיפניס ממעלה גמלא נתקל בחומר במרוצת מחקריו ואיסוף נתונים לספר. הכותרת המתבקשת "זיכרונות אלון" אינה מדויקת. בתדירות מביכה חומקים ממנו שמות אנשים, מקומות ואירועים. תיאורים חדים נמוגים לתוך ערפל, חשכת שכחה מוארת בהבהקי זיכרון. "לא זוכר", מתנצל אלון, "השנים עושות את שלהן. אנחנו מזדקנים, שוכחים".

סיוט ושמו דיין

הגיבור האפל של גרסת אלון הוא דיין. "חבר לנשק מימי נעורי ויריב מדיני, אגב יריבות שאינה מפריעה ליחסים חבריים בינינו", הערה מתחסדת שאינה מאזנת את ביקורתו החריפה על דיין "כאדם וכאיש צבא". גם לרבין ולשמעון פרס, הזוטרים ממנו שחלפו על פניו, תפקידים בולטים בעלילה, אבל דיין הוא הסיוט של אלון, אסונו.

"מינוי דיין יצר ציפייה גדולה, היות ויש לו מוניטין של איש אופנסיווה מעבר למה שמגיע לו. על מהלך המלחמה דיין לא השפיע. המהלכים שננקטו בסיני היו אלה שהעליתי לפני כן בשיחה עם האלופים מוטי הוד, אהרן יריב וחיים בר-לב. אני יודע שגם גביש חשב באותם מונחים".

ב-7 באוקטובר 1973, למחרת יום הכיפורים, נכח אלון בחדרה של מאיר "כאשר דיין בא אליה עם בשורת איוב. פניו היו נפולים מאוד. בעצם, הוא דיבר בטון ובתוכן של ?נצטרך להתחיל הכל מחדש', ?חורבן'. תיאר מצב דרמטי מאוד. היא לא נשברה. היא ביקשה מספיר להיכנס, נדמה לי גם מגלילי, משה חזר על הסיפור באותה נימה של דאגה עמוקה. הוא בעצם דיבר על תבוסה, על כך שצריך להודות בעובדה שהובסנו. בסיני רצה נסיגה עמוקה מאוד ולא הביא הצעה אופרטיווית כוללת. אני כבר ראיתי אנשים במצבים שנראו להם נואשים בדרגות שונות. לא ראיתי זאת אף פעם בדרגה גבוהה כל כך. של תבוסה, של שר ביטחון, של ראש ממשלה, של דאגות נוראות. פנים חמורי סבר ראיתי. ודאי גם פני שלי היו לא פעם חמורי סבר במצבים קשים, אבל כאן היתה איזה התבטאות שאי אפשר לטעות בה".

אלון המליץ למאיר לכנס את הממשלה ואמר לה שהוא מתרשם, מהדיווחים שהוא מקבל, שהמצב אמנם קשה אך אינו נואש. כאשר התכנסה הישיבה "דיין הציג את המצב באור שונה ממה שהציג בפני גולדה. הוא הספיק להתאושש". דיין, הוסיף אלון, "הוא אדם פסימי מיסודו. פסימיות מוליכה לטעויות בשיקול הדעת. הוא פסימי מטבעו, פרט לרגעי אופוריה כתוצאה מהצלחות, והיו גם כאלה. בניגוד לדימוי שיש לו בציבור, הוא אדם שאינו מסוגל לעמוד בלחצים קשים. הוא נוטה לייאוש. זה בלט באופן מוחלט במלחמת יום הכיפורים, ולדעתי בקרבות קטנים יותר ב-48', לא היתה אז סיבה מדוע לא נכבוש את מזרח ירושלים. גם לי היו כישלונות. הבעיה היא לא להישבר. מי נשבר ראשון, אתה או האויב".

לדעת אלון, זה גם ההסבר לקריאת דיין לעבור מעמימות גרעינית למאזן אימה גלוי. "הוא נתפס לנשק הגרעיני כנשק הצלה, מתוך ייאוש". על פרס ובעיקר דיין אמר, "לקדם את התהליך, זה שיקול דעת מדיני אסטרטגי אינפנטילי עד כדי פסילת האנשים האלה לעמוד בראש פירמידת ההכרעות המדיניות והאסטרטגיות. בעיני מספיקה תפישה כזאת כדי לפסול אדם. אין לי ספק שכוונותיו טובות. העצבים שלי טובים משלו".

גרעין כן, שריר לא

בתוך מפלגתו, אחדות העבודה, השתייך אלון בסוף שנות ה-50 ותחילת שנות ה-60, יחד עם ישראל גלילי והאלוף במילואים משה כרמל, לקבוצה שתמכה בהקמת הכור בדימונה, "בעד כושר ייצור על מנת שלא להשתמש בו". הוא גם התנגד לפיקוח, אמריקאי או של הסוכנות הבינלאומית לאנרגיה אטומית, על דימונה, שאותו הגדיר "קאזוס בלי". הסכמה לפיקוח על הכור אפשרית רק אם "יבוא יום ונמצה את הפוטנציאל שמצפים ממנו".

כעדותו, "חייבתי את יצירת האופציה הגרעינית, איני מתעלם מהצורך להרתיע, אבל גם אם נגיע למצב כה חמור ולמצוקה כה גדולה, שנרצה להפגין שריר גרעיני על מנת להרתיע, דיה לצרה בשעתה, ויכולות לחלוף שנים רבות, עשרות שנים, בלא צורך זה". אחד השותפים לדעתו, לדברי אלון, היה שרון.

במקום לאיים בנשק מיוחד נגד מטרות רגילות, העדיף אלון הרתעה שתבוסס על איום בנשק רגיל נגד מטרות מיוחדות: "לאיים בטילים ארוכי טווח על מערכות סכרים ותעלות מים במצרים, בעיראק או בסוריה. זה עשוי להרתיע אותם יותר מאשר פצצה גרעינית. אוי ואבוי אם היינו צריכים לעשות זאת, אבל תיאורטית, אם אתה יכול להרוס את סכר אסואן, אתה יכול להמיט אסון על מצרים".

אלון מייחס לעצמו תפקיד מרכזי בשלוש החלטות במלחמת ששת הימים: כיבוש מזרח ירושלים, בעקבות ההפגזה הירדנית על מערבה; כיבוש הגדה המערבית ולא רק אזור ג'נין; וכיבוש רמת הגולן.

מעולם לא סלח לדוד בן-גוריון על סירובו לכבוש את הגדה ב-1949. "בן-גוריון היה הרבה יותר מפלגתי ממה שאתה חושב. במסווה הממלכתיות נעשו המעשים המפלגתיים הנוראים ביותר, גם בצבא". וגם, ברמז לפרס, "מאחורי גבו של בן-גוריון פעלו כוחות אנוכיים, פחות אחראיים, עם מגמות אישיות. בן-גוריון איבד הרבה מעירנותו ויכולתו לשקול דברים, מפאת גילו והתפנקותו. הוא היה מוקף באנשים לא תמיד מהימנים די הצורך".

למלחמת ששת הימים נכנס אלון כחסיד ארץ-ישראל השלמה. הוא יצא ממנה, למראה הפלשתינאים בגדה והצפיפות בעזה, כמתנגד לסיפוח שטחים מאוכלסים. חבריו נדהמו; אז נחשבה "תוכנית אלון" להחזקת בקעת הירדן, מדבר יהודה ו"טריז קטן מהים עד הקו הירוק ולכן תקעתי שם את יישובי גוש קטיף", לפשרנות מרחיקת לכת. מ"אנטי-האשמי" מושבע, שקיווה למפלת המלך חוסיין, נהפך לתומך נלהב בחוסיין ולשותף לתקוותו כי בית המלוכה בעמאן ישתלט בבוא היום גם על עיראק וסעודיה. לאש"ף, "הצפע", התנגד.

דיין, כשליט השטחים והממשל הצבאי, היה המשפיע במנהיגי ישראל החדשה. אלון, כהגדרתו בתחום המדיני, היה "לוויין" - לא ניתנה לו גישה ישירה לקצינים ולמודיעין הגולמי. תרומתו, לחיוב או לשלילה, ניתנה בעקיפין. את הגרעין הראשון להתנחלות ברמת הגולן אירגן אלון, בסיוע אלוף פיקוד הצפון, דוד אלעזר.

אלון התגאה בחלקו בהחלטה על הלחימה בגזרה הסורית, אך לא כדי לספח את הגולן. הוא תיווך בין משלחת נציגי היישובים בגליל לאשכול ודירבן את אלעזר להרחיק הרבה מעבר לקו הרכסים הראשון. "לא השתוקקתי ללכת לכיוון דמשק, אלא דרומה... לעצור במקום ההגיוני הראשון שמבטיח מערך כלשהו. כשצעקתי על דדו, מסכן, ?למה אתה לא תופס את שרשרת התלים', הוא אמר, ?שמע, אני כבר תפסתי מעבר למה שהתירו לי'. אילו הייתי שר הביטחון או אולי הייתי רמטכ"ל או אולי אלוף פיקוד הצפון, היינו גומרים בסויידא, אני מבטיח לך".

סווידא היא בירת חבל הדרוזים, ג'בל דרוז, אחד המחוזות שמהם הרכיבו הצרפתים את סוריה. אלון, ששנת 1942 עברה עליו בסוריה ובלבנון כמפקד כוח מסתערב שהניח תשתית חבלה, קשר ומודיעין להתנגדות לכיבוש גרמני, היה השתדלן הראשי של רעיון הפרדת ג'בל דרוז מסוריה והקמת מדינת חיץ, נתמכת צה"ל, בין ירדן, ישראל וסוריה. הוא ראה בעצמו מעין לורנס איש ערב - "היה נחוץ דמיון לורנסי".

אלון ניסה להשפיע "על דיין, בשיחה פרטית, על רבין ועל אשכול, כל אחד לחוד, להתקרב עד לג'בל דרוז. לא הגענו לדיונים מסודרים, אבל לא הנחתי לזה. דיברתי על זה עם דדו, הייתי בחפ"ק שלו ודיברתי עם בר-לב וגלילי. עוד יום, מקסימום יום וחצי, אנחנו בג'בל דרוז, כדי לעודד את הדרוזים שיש להם הכרה לאומית. ביקרתי בסויידא כמה פעמים וחלמתי את חלום הרפובליקה הדרוזית שתשתרע על פני דרום סוריה, כולל הגולן, בברית צבאית עם ישראל. בניתי הרבה גם על העדה הדרוזית בארץ, שהיתה מאורגנת כבר בצה"ל, שהם יכולים לשמש גשר בינינו לבין הדרוזים האחרים. השגעון הדרוזי הזה לא הרפה ממני גם אחרי המלחמה", אך מגעיו עם משפחת מנהיג הדרוזים אל-אטרש, בעזרת המוסד, לא העלו דבר.

בפעם הבאה זה אתה

לאחר מות אשכול נהג אלון, שר האוצר פנחס ספיר לידו, מירושלים לתל אביב. בדרך הסביר ספיר כי אמנם הגיעה שעת אלון, לפי הבכירות והניסיון, "אבל יש סכנה שבחירתי תביא לפילוג, בגלל פרישה אפשרית של רפ"י. הוא מציע לי להשלים עם כך שמישהו ממפא"י יהיה ראש ממשלה, והוא, ספיר, רואה לנכון להודיע לי שראש הממשלה הבא זה אני".

ספיר, ניחש אלון, יציע את גולדה. "אמרתי שאין לי ספק שיש לה הניסיון הדרוש והחוכמה, בתנאי שמצב בריאותה מאפשר לה... הוא אמר שהוא בדק את זה עם רופאים. לדעתם, היא מסוגלת, זה אפילו יעזור לה".

חמש שנים חלפו, גולדה התפטרה, ו"ספיר אמר שוב, אתה המועמד הטבעי לרשת את גולדה, אבל הצגת מועמדותך פירושה הצגת מועמדותו של דיין או של פרס. אני פחות מתיירא מדיין עכשיו, זה לא אותו דיין, אבל המחנה שעומד סביבו ניתן לנטרול יחסי אם נתלכד סביב מועמד שאתה יכול להיות שלם אתו ומפא"י יכולה להיות שלמה אתו, וגם אז יהיה מאבק קשה, ובכוחות משותפים נביס את פרס".

אלון ויתר. "אחרי ההצבעה גלילי ואני הלכנו לאכול ארוחת ערב, ככה בהרגשת רווחה. הוא אומר לי, נו, בכל זאת השגנו דבר גדול הערב. אמרתי לו, ישראל, הערב בחרנו בפרס. אינך מכיר אותו. ממחר מתחדש המאבק". רבין הציע לאלון, מפקדו לשעבר, את תיק הביטחון, אך נסוג מחשש שפרס יוביל לפילוג. כתחליף הבטיח לאלון את תיק החוץ יחד עם תואר סגן ראש הממשלה, והפציר בו לא לוותר על אחד מהשניים למען אבא אבן.

אלון, לשעבר בעל בריתו של אבן, נענה לבקשה - "אבן כבר ניהל פלירטים עם פרס" - ומצא את עצמו ממולכד. "רבין לא נחלץ להגנתי, ויצא כאילו אני נאבק על איזה עמדה. אילו הייתי רוצה להיאבק, הייתי נאבק על ראשות הממשלה ולא על סגנות. נוצר מצב מביך מאוד. אתעקש - יהיה רע, יגידו נדבקתי בכסא נוסף, לא אתעקש - יגידו, שוב ויתר".

9th Av Lamentations איכה

Lamentations Chapter 1
א אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד, הָעִיר רַבָּתִי עָם--הָיְתָה, כְּאַלְמָנָה; רַבָּתִי בַגּוֹיִם, שָׂרָתִי בַּמְּדִינוֹת--הָיְתָה, לָמַס. {ס} 1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! {S}
ב בָּכוֹ תִבְכֶּה בַּלַּיְלָה, וְדִמְעָתָהּ עַל לֶחֱיָהּ--אֵין-לָהּ מְנַחֵם, מִכָּל-אֹהֲבֶיהָ: כָּל-רֵעֶיהָ בָּגְדוּ בָהּ, הָיוּ לָהּ לְאֹיְבִים. {ס} 2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; she hath none to comfort her among all her lovers; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. {S}
ג גָּלְתָה יְהוּדָה מֵעֹנִי, וּמֵרֹב עֲבֹדָה--הִיא יָשְׁבָה בַגּוֹיִם, לֹא מָצְאָה מָנוֹחַ; כָּל-רֹדְפֶיהָ הִשִּׂיגוּהָ, בֵּין הַמְּצָרִים. {ס} 3 Judah is gone into exile because of affliction, and because of great servitude; she dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest; all her pursuers overtook her within the straits. {S}
ד דַּרְכֵי צִיּוֹן אֲבֵלוֹת, מִבְּלִי בָּאֵי מוֹעֵד--כָּל-שְׁעָרֶיהָ שׁוֹמֵמִין, כֹּהֲנֶיהָ נֶאֱנָחִים; בְּתוּלֹתֶיהָ נּוּגוֹת, וְהִיא מַר-לָהּ. {ס} 4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly; all her gates are desolate, her priests sigh; her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness. {S}
ה הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְרֹאשׁ אֹיְבֶיהָ שָׁלוּ, כִּי-יְהוָה הוֹגָהּ עַל רֹב-פְּשָׁעֶיהָ; עוֹלָלֶיהָ הָלְכוּ שְׁבִי, לִפְנֵי-צָר. {ס} 5 Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies are at ease; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary. {S}
ו וַיֵּצֵא מן בת- (מִבַּת-) צִיּוֹן, כָּל-הֲדָרָהּ; הָיוּ שָׂרֶיהָ, כְּאַיָּלִים לֹא-מָצְאוּ מִרְעֶה, וַיֵּלְכוּ בְלֹא-כֹחַ, לִפְנֵי רוֹדֵף. {ס} 6 And gone is from the daughter of Zion all her splendour; her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. {S}
ז זָכְרָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם, יְמֵי עָנְיָהּ וּמְרוּדֶיהָ--כֹּל מַחֲמֻדֶיהָ, אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ מִימֵי קֶדֶם; בִּנְפֹל עַמָּהּ בְּיַד-צָר, וְאֵין עוֹזֵר לָהּ--רָאוּהָ צָרִים, שָׂחֲקוּ עַל מִשְׁבַּתֶּהָ. {ס} 7 Jerusalem remembereth in the days of her affliction and of her anguish all her treasures that she had from the days of old; now that her people fall by the hand of the adversary, and none doth help her, the adversaries have seen her, they have mocked at her desolations. {S}
ח חֵטְא חָטְאָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם, עַל-כֵּן לְנִידָה הָיָתָה; כָּל-מְכַבְּדֶיהָ הִזִּילוּהָ כִּי-רָאוּ עֶרְוָתָהּ, גַּם-הִיא נֶאֶנְחָה וַתָּשָׁב אָחוֹר. {ס} 8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore she is become as one unclean; all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness; she herself also sigheth, and turneth backward. {S}
ט טֻמְאָתָהּ בְּשׁוּלֶיהָ, לֹא זָכְרָה אַחֲרִיתָהּ, וַתֵּרֶד פְּלָאִים, אֵין מְנַחֵם לָהּ; רְאֵה יְהוָה אֶת-עָנְיִי, כִּי הִגְדִּיל אוֹיֵב. {ס} 9 Her filthiness was in her skirts, she was not mindful of her end; therefore is she come down wonderfully, she hath no comforter. 'Behold, O LORD, my affliction, for the enemy hath magnified himself.' {S}
י יָדוֹ פָּרַשׂ צָר, עַל כָּל-מַחֲמַדֶּיהָ: כִּי-רָאֲתָה גוֹיִם, בָּאוּ מִקְדָּשָׁהּ--אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָה, לֹא-יָבֹאוּ בַקָּהָל לָךְ. {ס} 10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her treasures; for she hath seen that the heathen are entered into her sanctuary, concerning whom Thou didst command that they should not enter into Thy congregation. {S}
יא כָּל-עַמָּהּ נֶאֱנָחִים מְבַקְּשִׁים לֶחֶם, נָתְנוּ מחמודיהם (מַחֲמַדֵּיהֶם) בְּאֹכֶל לְהָשִׁיב נָפֶשׁ; רְאֵה יְהוָה וְהַבִּיטָה, כִּי הָיִיתִי זוֹלֵלָה. {ס} 11 All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul. 'See, O LORD, and behold, how abject I am become.' {S}
יב לוֹא אֲלֵיכֶם, כָּל-עֹבְרֵי דֶרֶךְ--הַבִּיטוּ וּרְאוּ, אִם-יֵשׁ מַכְאוֹב כְּמַכְאֹבִי אֲשֶׁר עוֹלַל לִי: אֲשֶׁר הוֹגָה יְהוָה, בְּיוֹם חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ. {ס} 12 'Let it not come unto you, all ye that pass by! Behold, and see if there be any pain like unto my pain, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of His fierce anger. {S}
יג מִמָּרוֹם שָׁלַח-אֵשׁ בְּעַצְמֹתַי, וַיִּרְדֶּנָּה; פָּרַשׂ רֶשֶׁת לְרַגְלַי, הֱשִׁיבַנִי אָחוֹר--נְתָנַנִי שֹׁמֵמָה, כָּל-הַיּוֹם דָּוָה. {ס} 13 From on high hath He sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, He hath turned me back; He hath made me desolate and faint all the day. {S}
יד נִשְׂקַד עֹל פְּשָׁעַי בְּיָדוֹ, יִשְׂתָּרְגוּ עָלוּ עַל-צַוָּארִי--הִכְשִׁיל כֹּחִי; נְתָנַנִי אֲדֹנָי, בִּידֵי לֹא-אוּכַל קוּם. {ס} 14 The yoke of my transgressions is impressed by His hand; they are knit together, they are come up upon my neck; He hath made my strength to fail; the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand. {S}
טו סִלָּה כָל-אַבִּירַי אֲדֹנָי בְּקִרְבִּי, קָרָא עָלַי מוֹעֵד לִשְׁבֹּר בַּחוּרָי; גַּת דָּרַךְ אֲדֹנָי, לִבְתוּלַת בַּת-יְהוּדָה. {ס} 15 The Lord hath set at nought all my mighty men in the midst of me; He hath called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord hath trodden as in a winepress the virgin the daughter of Judah.' {S}
טז עַל-אֵלֶּה אֲנִי בוֹכִיָּה, עֵינִי עֵינִי יֹרְדָה מַּיִם--כִּי-רָחַק מִמֶּנִּי מְנַחֵם, מֵשִׁיב נַפְשִׁי; הָיוּ בָנַי שׁוֹמֵמִים, כִּי גָבַר אוֹיֵב. {ס} 16 'For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water; because the comforter is far from me, even he that should refresh my soul; my children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.' {S}
יז פֵּרְשָׂה צִיּוֹן בְּיָדֶיהָ, אֵין מְנַחֵם לָהּ--צִוָּה יְהוָה לְיַעֲקֹב, סְבִיבָיו צָרָיו; הָיְתָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם לְנִדָּה, בֵּינֵיהֶם. {ס} 17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands; there is none to comfort her; the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that they that are round about him should be his adversaries; Jerusalem is among them as one unclean. {S}
יח צַדִּיק הוּא יְהוָה, כִּי פִיהוּ מָרִיתִי; שִׁמְעוּ-נָא כָל-עמים (הָעַמִּים), וּרְאוּ מַכְאֹבִי--בְּתוּלֹתַי וּבַחוּרַי, הָלְכוּ בַשֶּׁבִי. {ס} 18 'The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against His word; hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and behold my pain: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. {S}
יט קָרָאתִי לַמְאַהֲבַי הֵמָּה רִמּוּנִי, כֹּהֲנַי וּזְקֵנַי בָּעִיר גָּוָעוּ: כִּי-בִקְשׁוּ אֹכֶל לָמוֹ, וְיָשִׁיבוּ אֶת-נַפְשָׁם. {ס} 19 I called for my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and mine elders perished in the city, while they sought them food to refresh their souls. {S}
כ רְאֵה יְהוָה כִּי-צַר-לִי, מֵעַי חֳמַרְמָרוּ--נֶהְפַּךְ לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי, כִּי מָרוֹ מָרִיתִי; מִחוּץ שִׁכְּלָה-חֶרֶב, בַּבַּיִת כַּמָּוֶת. {ס} 20 Behold, O LORD, for I am in distress, mine inwards burn; my heart is turned within me, for I have grievously rebelled. Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is the like of death. {S}
כא שָׁמְעוּ כִּי נֶאֱנָחָה אָנִי, אֵין מְנַחֵם לִי--כָּל-אֹיְבַי שָׁמְעוּ רָעָתִי שָׂשׂוּ, כִּי אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ; הֵבֵאתָ יוֹם-קָרָאתָ, וְיִהְיוּ כָמֹנִי. {ס} 21 They have heard that I sigh, there is none to comfort me; all mine enemies have heard of my trouble, and are glad, for Thou hast done it; Thou wilt bring the day that Thou hast proclaimed, and they shall be like unto me. {S}
כב תָּבֹא כָל-רָעָתָם לְפָנֶיךָ וְעוֹלֵל לָמוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר עוֹלַלְתָּ לִי עַל כָּל-פְּשָׁעָי: כִּי-רַבּוֹת אַנְחֹתַי, וְלִבִּי דַוָּי. {פ} 22 Let all their wickedness come before Thee; and do unto them, as Thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions; for my sighs are many and my heart is faint.' {P}

Places My Birthday Jaffa

Places

Red Marbles. Matot Masaey Numbers 30

My Cousin Yizhak sent me this today. Also it is Matot Masaey Numbers 30 Bamidbar 30 What I read on my Bar Mizva as it is my Birthday on the 22nd of July, 25th of Tamuz.
RED MARBLES
I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes.
I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean,
hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my
potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a
pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.

Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr.

Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me. "Hello Barry, how
are you today?"

"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure
look good."

"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"

"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."

"Good. Anything I can help you with?" "No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."

"Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.

"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."

"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"

"All I got's my prize marble here."

"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.

"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go
for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.

"Not zackley but almost."

"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way
let me look at that red marble" . Mr. Miller told the boy.

"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a
smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all
three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them
for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their
red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all
and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange

one, when they come on their next trip to the store."

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time
later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the
boys, and their bartering for marbles. Several years went by, each more
rapid than the previous one.

Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho
community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They
were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go,

I agreed to accompany them.

Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the
deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could Ahead of us in line

were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore
nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's
casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke
briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes
followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his
own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary

awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller.

I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago

and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With
her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket. "Those three

young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me
how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them.

Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size....they

came to pay their debt." "We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this

world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the
richest man in Idaho ." With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless
fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely

shined red marbles.

The Moral : We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.

Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take
our breath.

Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~ A fresh pot of coffee you
didn't make yourself.

An unexpected phone call from an old friend.

Green stoplights on your way to work.

The fastest line at the grocery store.

A good sing-along song on the radio.

Your keys found right where you left them.

Send this to the people you'll never forget. I just Did... If you don't send

it to anyone, it means you are in way too much of a hurry to even notice the

ordinary miracles when they occur.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GATHER, BUT WHAT YOU SCATTER THAT TELLS WHAT KIND OF LIFE
YOU HAVE LIVED!

4th July 2007, The Good and Bad News.

Naama 4th July 1974 -2007 33 Years Old The Winemaker of Dalton Winery. I am Naama Moalem's Uncle.
31 years to Entebbe: USA 231 years old. Naama was two years Old and USA 200 in 1976.
from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entebbe_raid
The Entebbe raid in Uganda: 4th July 2007.
On the July 1 deadline[3], the government of Israel offered to negotiate with the hijackers in order to extend the deadline to July 4. On July 3, the Israeli cabinet approved a rescue mission[4], Operation Entebbe, under the command of Brigadier General Dan Shomron. After days of collecting intelligence and planning by Netanyahu's deputy Moshe "Muki" Betser, four Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew secretly to Entebbe Airport, by cover of night, without aid of ground control. They were followed by an air force jet with medical facilities, which landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.

The assault on Entebbe Airport, where the hostages were held, was made up of a team of 29 IDF troops [5] and members of the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces commando unit.

Israeli Colonel Yoni Netanyahu, ground commander during Operation Entebbe

The Israeli forces landed at Entebbe an hour before midnight, with their cargo bay doors already open. A black Mercedes with accompanying Land Rovers was taken along to give the impression that the Israeli troops driving from the landed aircraft to the terminal building were an escort for Idi Amin or another high-ranking official. The Mercedes car was borrowed from an Israeli civilian and apparently spray-painted black for the raid, on the understanding that it would be returned to the owner in its original color.

The Mercedes and its escort vehicles were quickly driven by the Israeli assault team members to the airport terminal in the same fashion as Amin. However, along the way, two Ugandan sentries, who were aware that Idi Amin had recently purchased a white Mercedes to replace his black one, ordered this procession of vehicles to stop. Both of these sentries were immediately shot dead by the Israeli commandos. Fearing premature alerting of associates to the hijackers, the Israeli assault team were quickly sent into action.

The hostages were in the main hall of the airport building, directly adjacent to the runway. The Israelis sprang from their vehicles and burst into the terminal yelling, "Get down! Get down!" in both Hebrew and English. A 19-year-old French Jew named Jean-Jacques Maimoni (who chose to identify himself as an Israeli Jew to the hijackers even though he had a French passport), stood up, however. He was killed by the Israeli commandos, who mistook him for a hijacker. Another hostage, Pasko Cohen, a 52-year-old manager of an Israeli medical insurance fund, was also fatally wounded by gunfire, either from the hijackers or accidentally by the Israeli commandos. A third hostage, 56-year-old Ida Borochovitch, a Russian Jew who had immigrated to Israel, was also killed in the crossfire between the hijackers and the Israeli commandos. [6] At one point, an Israeli commando called out in Hebrew, "Where are the rest of them?" He was apparently referring to the hijackers. The hostages pointed to a connecting door of the airport's main hall, into which the Israeli commandos threw several hand grenades. They then entered the room and shot dead the three remaining hijackers, thus completing their assault.

Meanwhile, the other three C-130 Hercules had landed and unloaded armoured personnel carriers, which were to be used for defense during the anticipated hour of refueling, for the destruction of grounded Ugandan jet fighters so as to prevent them from pursuing the Israelis after their departure of Entebbe Airport, and for intelligence-gathering.

After the raid, the Israeli assault team returned to their aircraft and began loading the hostages on board. Ugandan soldiers shot at them in the process. Without suffering any fatalities of their own, the Israeli commandos returned fire, finished the loading, and then departed Entebbe Airport.

The entire assault lasted less than 30 minutes and all six of the hijackers were killed. Yonatan Netanyahu was the only Israeli commando who died during the operation. He was killed near the airport entrance, apparently by a Ugandan sniper who fired at the Israeli commandos from the nearby control tower. At least five other Israeli commandos were wounded. Out of the 103 hostages, three were killed and approximately 10 were wounded. A total of 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed during the raid, and about 11 Ugandan Army Air Force MiG-17 grounded fighter planes at Entebbe Airport were destroyed. The rescued hostages were flown out to Israel via Nairobi shortly after the fighting.

Dora Bloch[7], a 75-year-old hostage who was recovering from a much-earlier choking episode, died at Mulago hospital in Kampala after the Israelis struck. In April 1987, Henry Kyemba, who was Uganda's Attorney General and Minister of Justice at the time, told the Uganda Human Rights Commission that Dora Bloch had been dragged from her hospital bed and murdered by two army officers on Idi Amin's orders. Bloch's remains were recovered near a sugar plantation 32 km (20 miles) east of Kampala in 1979[8] after the Uganda-Tanzania War led to the end of Amin's rule.

The Bad News:
House Demolished 6am in Ajami near where I live, Found out about it Thursday.
Thanks to Yudit: http://yuditilany.blogspot.com
Zeinab and Omar Adasi woke up to the sound of a huge bulldozer today. Some 500 policemen, many of them from special units ('yasam"), surrounded their small 3-room home at 6 o'clock this morning.
The bulldozer started working before they were able to take all their things from the house which had been their home for the last 26 years. Zeinab was still in bed and barely got out of the house before its walls caved in into what only half a minute before had been her bedroom.
Zeinab and Omar have four children. the youngest of them (a 12 year old boy) is severely handicapped.
Omar used to be a construction worker, but today he lives of social security payments, due to an illness he suffers from. Zeinab spends most of her time taking care of their youngest handicapped son, who needs much attention.
All around the small family home close to the harbour new luxury buildings are being erected for the very wealthy. For 26 years Omar and Zeinab lived in the house which Zeinab's father had bought for them from its previous owner.Over time Omar added a small room, as his family became larger. They also developed a small garden next to their house. The garden land, so Omar admits, didn't belong to him.
A few months ago they were served with a demolition order. Apparently Zeinab's father had not bought all of the house or sold a room of it. The demolition order however, was taken out on all of the home.
Zeinab and Omar don't know how to read Hebrew very well and they tried to do what they could, to no avail.
This mornng they tried to convince the police to give them an hour, in order to run to the court and take out a prevention order. Their request was refused. The house was destroyed in a few hours and except for the mountain of rubble, it almost seems it never was there.

The older son was upset and screamed at the police, tried to stop them, and as a result was arrested Later today he was released.
The story is typical of what is happening in Ajami.
Many families live in what now it prime development land, close to the sea, with a lovely view. It's easy to remove poor people from their homes, especially when their reading skills aren't too developed. When they don't know their way around the bureaucracy.

The family members have nowhere to go. The handicapped child was place in foster care, the mother went to an uncle and the other three children each to another relative.
And Omar? Omar walks around in circles, crazed, in what once was his home.
I think there were tears in his eyes.

Jaffa, summer 2007

"The Opsimist" Emil Habibi, Soon Road in his name.

I have Emil Habibi's Book the "Opsimist", he wrote it in the seventies describing Israeli Arab who can not be Optimist or Pessimist, so he is a OPSIMIST, this was shown on stage too.
Ten Years after his death a Road in Jaffa will be named in his memory.

Burg: Defining Israel as a Jewish state is the key to its end

From Haaretz:
Last update - 06:41 07/06/2007
Burg: Defining Israel as a Jewish state is the key to its end
By Ari Shavit, Haaretz Correspondent

Avraham Burg, former Knesset speaker and former head of the Jewish Agency says "to define the State of Israel as a Jewish state is the key to its end. A Jewish state is explosive. It's dynamite." In an interview in Haaretz Weekend Magazine, he said that he is in favor of abrogating the Law of Return and calls on everyone who can to obtain a foreign passport.

Burg, who was interviewed on the occasion of the publication of his book "Defeating Hitler" said "the strategic mistake of Zionism was to annul the alternatives. Israeliness has only body; it doesn't have soul."

"Judaism always prepared alternatives," says Burg, who three years after leaving Israeli politics is now a citizen of France and a successful businessman.

"Just as there was something astonishing about German Jewry, in America, too, they created the potential for something astonishing. They created a situation in which the goy can be my father and my mother and my son and my partner," Burg says.

His book ruminates about Israel and Zionism, compares Israel and Germany, harshly criticizes Eichmann's hanging, reflects on Judaism in the age of globalization and remembers his father's house.

Burg said he started his book in mourning for the loss of Israel. "During most of the writing the book's title was 'Hitler Won.' But slowly I discovered the layer of not everything being lost. And I discovered my father as a representative of German Jewry that was ahead of its time. These two themes nourished the book from beginning to end."

40 Years Six Day War. (Also Naksa)

So many Events, 40 years, In a week we will be tired of it. Just like in November so many Politicians say they will continue in Rabin's Way and a week later it is forgotten.
I am planning to be at Rabin Square Saturday.

From Wikipedia Naksa Day:
Naksa Day (6 June) commemorates the Naksa ("setback"), the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during and after the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The first mass displacement, known as the Nakba, took place during and after the 1947-1949 Palestinian Civil War and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. This exodus is marked on Nakba Day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naksa_Day

O C C U P I E D: Shooting in "GanTamar", Jaffa

O C C U P I E D: Shooting in "GanTamar", Jaffa
Wednesday, May 30
Shooting in "GanTamar", Jaffa

A young man, apparently from the Ashur family (although not from THE famous Ashur clan, who apparently have been involved in a bloody vengeance war over the last several years), was shot this afternoon in Yefet Street, close to the junction with HaLotus street. While leaving a small store on Yefet street, the man was shot twice from a Renault car passing by. His wounds are said to be not severe. He's hospitalized in nearby Wolfson hospital.
The incident happened on once of Jaffa's busiest junctions at 16.15 o'clock.
It was witnessed by the police (!) who managed to arrest the driver and the shooter in Kedem street after a chase. During the chase the gun was thrown from the car and recovered by the police.

A few words from the bystanders: "i hope he dies, he's a violent creep, the victim". "Enough, those idiots, we've had enough violence. Let them all rot in jail" and other similar statements.
There was very little sympathy and much anger. The young guys hanging around on my street's corner are conversing among themselves. The women are worried, sitting outside on the porch and discussing the case amongst themselves, afraid for their sons. Only the small children run around with their kites and bicycles. Unaware and not yet involved.




Posted by yudit at 6:24 PM

Labels: crime, Jaffa, police, violence

4 comments:

Tsedek said...

Afraid of their sons??

I don't understand....
10:43 PM
J.P. said...

The Honoured Society by Norman Lewis shows where vengeance leads to, first it's the adults and when the most are burried they go for the youngsters.
11:15 PM
yudit said...

Not of, but afraid FOR their sons, as they may be hurt to, in the ongoing gang wars and Ashur-Hamada blood vengeance in Jaffa. Indeed in so,e of the families ALL sons have been killed, and now it appears to be the even younger generation is getting involved, although i'm not sure it is this case/
11:56 PM
samc said...

Yudit Thanks for "item"
I did not know anything untill I read it
here,
Just a Block from me!!!
By the way the awfull murderer from france lived a block away from where I used to live in Kerem Hteimanim!!
5:51 AM

Pardes Daka Sunday 27 May 2007

חברות וחברים שוב שלום-
מחר, יום ראשון – 27.5, עתיד להתבצע פינוי ומיד לאחריו הריסה של בית משפחת ד'קה בשכונת פרדס ד'קה, יפו. המשפחה מתכננת להתבצר בביתה על מנת למנוע את הפינוי וההריסה, ואנו עימם.



נפגש בשעה 08:30 בצומת הרחובות יפת והבעל שם טוב.

(פעילים שהגיעו לבית ביום חמישי האחרון וכבר מכירים את הדרך מוזמנים להגיע גם ישירות לשם!)



כפי שנמסר גם בעבר, נראה כי מוצו כל הדרכים המשפטיות לביטול/דחיית ההריסה, כך שפעולה ישירה משותפת לסיכול הביצוע היא הדרך היחידה העומדת בפנינו כרגע- אנא בואו בהמוניכם!


Activists of the Jaffa struggle again Salam,

The evacuation and demolition of Daka's family house that were postponed last Thursday are set for Tomorrow, Sunday – 27/5.



We will meet tomorrow at 8:30am at the cross of "Yeffet" and "Haba'al Shem- Tov" streets.

(Activists that were there last Thursday and know the way are welcome to arrive directly to the Daka's Family house!)



There seems to be no legal way to prevent the warrant from being executed, and therefore, we will join the family in trying to stop it from happening.
English Follows

פעילות ופעילי מאבק יפו שלומות,



למיטב הבנתנו (ממידע שנמסר למשפחה ע"י המשטרה) בעקבות ההתארגנות המוצלחת של משפחת ד'קה והפעילים אתמול, להתנגדות לפינוי וההריסה שתוכננו, הוחלט ע"י המשטרה לדחות את "המבצע".

הפינוי וההריסה נקבעו ליום ראשון הקרוב (ה- 27.5). פרטים מדויקים על מקום ושעת מפגש ימסרו בהקדם האפשרי.



פרטי המקרה הידועים לנו עד כה:

משפחת ד'קה מתגוררת על גבול שכונות ע'גמי וג'בלייה בשכונה המכונה– פרדס ד'קה. בידי המשפחה 22 דונם אדמה הרשומים בטאבו עוד מלפני 48', ובית המשפחה המיועד להריסה בנוי על אדמה המצויה כולה בבעלות המשפחה. עם זאת, ביתם הוכרז בחלקו כ"בנייה בלתי- חוקית", על ידי המנהל, שכן השטח כולו מוקפא זה שנים ולא ניתן להוציא היתרי בנייה. המבנה הנוכחי המיועד להריסה בשל "בניה לא חוקית" הינו הקומה השנייה בביתו של טאלב ד'קה, בה מתגורר בנו מוסא, ומשפחתו. הבן ומשפחתו מוגדרים כ"פולשים" על ידי המנהל. צו ההריסה שהוצא לביתו של הבן, צפוי ללא ספק לפגוע גם בקומה הראשונה, ולמעשה, במבנה כולו, בו מתגוררות ארבע משפחות.



ההליך המשפטי נגד בניית הקומה השנייה, ביתו של מוסא ומשפחתו, נמשך כבר כ-7 שנים. ההליך הסתיים בחודשים האחרונים, בצו פינוי והריסה סופי שנקבע לאתמול (חמישי, 24.5). ניסיונות המשפחה עד הרגע האחרון לפנות לבית המשפט ולעיריית תל-אביב על- מנת למנוע או לדחות את ההריסה, כשלו כולם.



כפי שדווח לאחרונה בעיתונות, פלאטו שרון נמצא במגעים מתקדמים לרכישת שטחי אדמה נרחבים באזור זה, להקמת שכונת מגדלי דירות למגורים במקום. משפחת ד'קה המורחבת, כמו גם משפחה נוספת המתגוררת במקום, חתמו על זיכרון דברים עם עורכי דינו של פלאטו שרון, ממ"י, חלמיש ועיריית ת"א. בהסכם נכתב כי האזור כולו יפונה מדייריו הנוכחיים בהסכמה, במסגרת מכירת הקרקע לפלאטו שרון, על בסיס פיצויים וקניית הקרקע כפי שיוסכם בין הצדדים. לפיכך מבקשת המשפחה להתחשב בפינוי- העתיד להתקיים בעוד כשנה וחצי- ולהקפיא את הצווים הנוכחיים לפינוי והריסה. טענה זו הועלתה בפני שופט בימ"ש מחוזי ושופט בג"צ, אך בשני המקרים נדחתה ולא הושג צו הדחייה.

הועדה העממית של יפו קיבלה אמש מן המשפחה עותק של הסכם זה, ותלמד אותו לפרטיו ועל כל משמעויותיו בהקדם. אין ספק שלהסכם השלכות מרחיקות לכת על אופי ועתיד האזור, ועל המאבק העממי ביפו.



Activists of the Jaffa struggle Salam,



To the best of our knowledge (according to information given to us by the police) and following the successful organization of the Thakka family and the activists yesterday to resist the planned evacuation and demolition, the police have decided to postpone the "operation".



The evacuation and demolition are set for this coming Sunday (May 27 th). Specific details about place and time of meeting will be given as soon as possible.



Here is the information we have gathered so far on the case



The Thakka family lives on the border of Ajami and Jabalia neighborhoods, in a place called "Orchard Thakka". The family owns 22 dunam of land, registered in the "tabo" before 48', and the family's house, designated for demolition, is built completely on their private land. Even so, their house is partially declared as "illegal construction" by the "Minhal", since the whole area has been "frozen" for years, and as such, doesn't allow issuing construction licenses for further building. The part of the house that is designated for demolition is the second floor, where the family's son, Mussa, and his family are currently living. Mussa and his family are defined by the "Minhal" as "intruders" or "trespassers". The demolition warrant issued for the second floor will undoubtedly harm the entire house, occupied by four families.

The Legal proceedings against the building of the second floor has been ongoing for 7 years, and ended recently with an evacuation and demolition warrant, dated yesterday (May 24 th). The family's efforts, made until the very last minute, to prevent or postpone the execution of the warrant, all failed.



As reported recently in the newspapers, Plato Sharon is currently in advanced contact status to acquire wide scale land in the area, in order to build apartment buildings there. The extended Thakka family, as well as another family living in the area, had signed a letter of agreement with Plato Sharon's lawyers, the Minhal, Halamish Company, and Tel Aviv municipality. The agreement stated that the area will be evacuated of its tenants with their consent, on the basis of a compensation settlement made between the sides. Therefore, the family is asking to consider the coming evacuation, set to start within a year and a half, and to freeze the warrants that were issued for the house demolition. That claim was presented to a judge in county court, as well as the Supreme Court, and was declined by both. The Popular Committee of Jaffa had received the agreement's draft yesterday, and will study its various ramifications thoroughly as soon as possible. There is no doubt that this agreement could have far reaching implications on the character and future of the whole area, as well as the popular struggle in Jaffa.

Second Congo War - Wikipedia- Band Aid-

Second Congo War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

17th May 1977 and Netanyahu's Mistakes Today

Just like last year, Netanyahu Automaticly Supports Going to War and He continues to lie to us and himself:
In May 1977 they did not say "Only Not Begin" as Netanyahu incorrectly said twice Today on Galey Zahal and Reshet Bet. They Did say "Rak Lo Maarach" "Only Not Maarach" Labour and voted DASH
and as a result got Begin. Begin led the largest Party but Did not win the Elections!

More important:
Begin as Leader of Opposition did not tell Golda Why are you not speaking to Saadat in 1972.
Thus avoiding 1973 War.
Bibi in 2006 and Now Supports Violence and War.
Does not criticize Government for not having a Policy, And not Setting Long Range Aims.

My NAKBA What we have to Fight Against, Disgusting!

15th May is Nakba day for the Palestinians. This is Disgusting News. I lived near Yonah Hanavi st. near Carmel Market. I was near there yesterday. I hope I do not know this French Jew.
Jerusalem mayor seeks terror victim status for murdered Arab
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Jonathan Lis and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents
Last Update from Haaretz 14:42 15th May 2007
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski urged the state on Tuesday to grant the family of East Jerusalem taxi driver Taysir Karaki, who was murdered Monday, the benefits reserved for families of terror victims. Lupolianski instructed the city's social welfare department to aid the family.

On Monday, 26-year-old Tel Aviv resident Julian Soufir, who is suspected of having committed the murder, told police "I decided to murder an Arab."

The police was preparing for a possible retaliation Monday, fearing a reciprocal murder in a mixed Arab-Jewish town, or a Jewish city situated in close proximity to an Arab population.

Police said their initial investigation revealed that the suspect, an immigrant from France whose family lives in Netanya, went to Jerusalem on Monday morning to find a taxi driver to murder.

They discovered the murder of Taysir Karaki, 35, from Beit Haninah north of the capital, almost by chance after they stopped two young men walking down the middle of a Tel Aviv street at around 4:00 P.M., near Yonah Hanavi Street.

The police approached them with a routine request for identification. One of the men told the police that he had "done something in the apartment," and asked the police to accompany him to the nearby dwelling, where they found the victim lying dead inside. "I turned around and immediately handcuffed him," said Avrahali Vanda, one of the arresting officers.

Police said the victim's throat had been slit a few hours before the body was found. His taxi was parked outside.

The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court extended Soufir's remand by 10 days Tuesday, and the remand of his 21-year-old brother, whom they believe reached the apartment shortly after the murder and remained with the killer until the two were apprehended, by two days. However, the police do not believe the brother took part in the crime.

At the remand hearing, Soufir's attorney argued that the suspect is not fit to stand trial. "As far as we understand, he can't differentiate between good and bad, makes things up and speaks to ghosts and goblins that dictate his life," Soufir's attorney said. Apparently, the police were called to Soufir's Tel Aviv apartment about a month ago after his wife complained that he had attacked her. The suspect's mental stability was questioned during that incident as well and he was sent to Abarbanel mental hospital for an evaluation, but he was released shortly after.

In contrast, the police claim that it seemed to them that the suspect "knew exactly what he was talking about when he described the event, and his memory was good. He also supplied a logical explanation for his actions."

Soufir is scheduled to unergo a psychiatric evaluation prior to standing trial.

Police say the suspect, who is newly religious, seems to have had no prior acquaintance with the victim. "Therefore, at the crime scene itself we began to suspect that this might be a case of murder stemming from nationalistic motives," said Chief Superintendent Avi Neuman, a Yarkon region detective.

The suspect said he went to Jerusalem because he thought he would be able to find an Arab victim more easily there. "We don't know whether he planned it two hours before or two weeks before, but there are certainly signs he planned it," Brigadier General Hagai Dotan, the commander of the Yarkon region police, told Haaretz.

The suspect entered the victim's taxi in Jerusalem and asked to be driven to Tel Aviv. They apparently made one stop along the way at the suspect's request. "When they arrived, the suspect persuaded the victim to come up to the apartment," apparently with an offer to use the bathroom before going home, Neuman said. The suspect then allegedly attacked the victim with a knife he had prepared ahead of time.

The suspect rented the apartment with his wife two months ago, but they are apparently now separated. Neighbors said they did not know the couple, except that they were French. One neighbor said she saw the suspect arrive for prayers daily at the neighborhood synagogue.

Karaki's father, Yasser Karaki, told Haaretz his son, who was married and the father of four children ages six to 12, had driven the children to school and set off for work at 8:30 A.M. "He was a good guy, he was not involved in politics; all he wanted to do was make a living for his children," the elder Karaki said.

The few dozen friends and relatives who gathered on Monday at the Karaki house seemed shocked at the idea Karaki was murdered for nationalistic reasons. A neighbor, Wahib Liftawi, said the police called his nearby grocery store.

"They told us Taysir had had an accident and we should go to the police station in Neve Yaakov," Liftawi said. "Khaled, Taysir's brother, went there and then to Tel Aviv to identify the body. We heard on the news that French people took him to Tel Aviv. They asked him to help them to the apartment with their luggage and then they stabbed him. Allah will not forgive them; he was a good boy."

Edith Piaf- Non, je ne regrette rien

I saw the Movie Alone Today. La Mome -La Vie En Rose very painfull Movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Môme
La Vie En Rose is the US title for La Môme (French for "The Kid") a 2007 French language movie directed by Olivier Dahan about singer Édith Piaf, starring Marion Cotillard as Piaf.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Édith_Piaf wikipedia
Edith Piaf
NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN
Paroles: Michel Vaucaire, musique: Charles Dumont, enr. 10 novembre 1960


Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé

Avec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux
Balayés mes amours
Avec leurs trémolos
Balayés pour toujours
Je repars à zéro

Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie
Car mes joies
Aujourd'hui
Ça commence avec toi...

Edith Piaf
NO REGRETS

No! No regrets
No! I will have no regrets
All the things
That went wrong
For at last I have learned to be strong

No! No regrets
No! I will have no regrets
For the grief doesn't last
It is gone
I've forgotten the past

And the memories I had
I no longer desire
Both the good and the bad
I have flung in a fire
And I feel in my heart
That the seed has been sown
It is something quite new
It's like nothing I've known

No! No regrets
No! I will have no regrets
All the things that went wrong
For at last I have learned to be strong

No! No regrets
No! I will have no regrets
For the seed that is new
It's the love that is growing for you

The Demo I did not go to: Politics without Politics. The Haj.

I did not go to the Demo Last Night as it was "Politics without Politics"

I Bought The Haj by Leon Uris First Edition 1984 Hard Cover.
an Amazon Reviewer: Maximillian Ben Hanan
"The Haj" by Leon Uris is an important book (in print or audio form) for understanding the negative aspects of Arab culture and little known aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict that the great majority of the media won't share with us. Specifically, "The Haj" is historical fiction about a Palestinian-Arab family before and after the 1948 War for Israeli independence (From about 1922 to sometime around the 1960's or 1970's).

Leon Uris wrote this about the book (in the beginning of "The Haj"):

"Many of the events in The Haj are a matter of history and public record. Many of the scenes were created around historical incidents and used as a backdrop for the purpose of fiction. There may be persons alive who took part in events similar to those described in the book. It is possible therefore, that some may be mistaken for characters in the novel. Let me emphasize that all of the characters in the Haj are the complete creation of the author, and entirely fictional. The exceptions, of course, are the recognizable public figures who were associated historically with this period, such as David Ben-Gurion, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Abdullah, Yigal Allon, and others."

There is no question that this book is fiction regarding the details its' story tells, but the story itself is a real one. Arab refugees did stream out of Israel during the 1948 war and Arab leaders telling them to do so (there are taped broadcasts of these calls) was definitely one of the major causes of the plight of the Palestinian-Arab refugees. There was also very definitely a very active terrorist movement among the Arabs in the Middle East, which survives to the present day (witness groups like Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hizbollah, the PLO / Palestinian authority, and others). The Palestinian-Arabs continue to suffer under poor leadership that represses their rights (witness many human rights organizations' reports of extrajudicial killings by the Palestinian Authority, the same autocratic leader, Yassir Arafat, who refuses to transfer the reins of power, and other facts). It is also a well-documented fact that the Mufti of Jerusalem was an ally and guest of Hitler during WWII. These things are facts and are indisputable. "The Haj" tells a story using the device of historical fiction to relay the often-ugly facts of life for the regular "fellah" (sometimes translated as peasant) in the land the British called Palestine and is now known again as Israel.

The book is well written (good grammar, punctuation, style, etc.) and the story flows. I enjoyed reading about the characters of the story, but often wanted to cry for them. Some of the most poignant moments of "The Haj" occur during the flight of the Haj's (the main character is Haj Ibrahim and the book is the story of him and his family) family during the 1948 war and in refugee camps in Jordan. It was very sad to see how members of the same culture (the Arab culture) and most of the time the same religion (Islam) can be so cruel to each other. This is still an endemic problem in the Arab world (witness how the Arab governments squabble among each other and often fight and kill one another). Some of the depictions of the relations between the largely city-dwelling Palestinian-Arabs and the nomadic Bedouin are among the saddest. There is still a strong hatred between these groups to the present day.

Why read "The Haj?"

Read "The Haj" because this is real information presented in a novel format that you can no longer get from most university classes about the Middle East. Read it to learn what AP and Reuters news services constantly gloss over in their writings used by newspapers around the world. Most of all, read "The Haj" to understand that one of the fundamental truths about problems in the Middle East is that the problems have less to do with Israel and Jews than cultural, political, and even religious problems and divisions in the Arab world. Israel is really a side issue at best (and excuse used by the Arab governments to cover their faults). Autocratic tyrannies (or gangster governments like Yassir Arafat's Palestinian Authority) are the true source of unhappiness in the Arab world. It's easy to understand that truth after reading "The Haj."

You can get this same information from a pile full of academic texts (and I do recommend reading more research about the Middle East after reading "The Haj"), but this is the easiest and quickest way to introduce yourself to the bitter realities of politics in the Middle East.

I highly recommend "The Haj."

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

Basic Issues- Vinograd Initial Report

The Media has allready played down the Basic Issues that Vinograd said apart from Personal Responsibilty of Olmert, Peretz and Halutz.
21. We believe that - beyond the important need to examine the failures of conducting the war and the preparation for it, beyond the need to identify the weaknesses (and strengths) in the decisions made in the war - these are the main questions raised by the Second Lebanon war. These are questions that go far beyond the mandate of this or that commission of inquiry; they are the questions that stand at the center of our existence here as a Jewish and democratic state. It would be a grave mistake to concentrate only on the flaws revealed in the war and not to address these basic issues.
We hope that our findings and conclusions in the interim report and in the final report will not only impel taking care of the serious governmental flaws and failures we examine and expose, but will also lead towards a renewed process in which Israeli society, and its political and spiritual leaders will take up and explore Israel's long-term aspirations and the ways to advance them.

Jaffa Demo I took part 27th April 2007

Protestors rally in Jaffa against move to evict local Arab families
By Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondent

Hundreds of Jaffa residents on Friday participated in a march to protest measures that the Israel Lands Authority and the Amidar housing company have taken in the past year to evict Arab families from Jaffa.

The Israel Lands Authority and Amidar claim the families invaded the properties and built on them illegally.

The march was organized by The Popular Committee to Defend the Land and the Right to Residency, which was established by the Arab residents of Jaffa several weeks ago.

According to the committee's leaders, the Authority and Amidar in the past year issued 500 eviction notices to Arab families from the Al Ajami and Givat Aliya neighborhoods, and some of the notices have evolved into eviction lawsuits.

The organizers of the march questioned why the Authority and Amidar have taken a sudden interest in the matter in the past year, when the families have been living in their homes for several decades. They say the families have held a status of protected tenants who pay rent.

The residents' representatives say the authority and Amidar are attempting to Judaize Jaffa while also making a profit from selling the properties, which are near the seafront, to an affluent Jewish population.

The protesters in the march shouted various slogans such as "Jews and Arabs against house demolitions" and "The transfer won?t happen."

According to the "This is a tsunami of evictions and demolitions," said Al Ajami neighborhood chairman, Camel Agbaria. "The struggle for a roof over one's head should be the ultimate struggle. Instead of firing bullets, they fire dollar bills here."

March participants included Meretz MKs Yossi Beilin and Ran Cohen and Hadash MKs Dov Khenin and Hanna Swaid.


Throughoutt the past week, the Popular Committee handed out flyers to Jaffa residents, calling on them to join the protest. The flyer, entitled "The residents of Jaffa are at risk of being evicted and expelled again," presented a picture from 1948 of an Arab family reluctantly leaving its Jaffa home along side a picture from 2005 of a tractor demolishing the home of an Arab family in Jaffa.

"500 families are at risk of being expelled," the flyer read. "Thousands of people remain with no roofs over their heads for the benefit of the wealthy and rich entrepreneurs."

The Housing Authority and Amidar reject the accusations. A statement issued by the Housing Authority said, "The documents in question are warning letters issued by the Amidar company, which manages the Authorities properties and deals with invaders." Only several dozens of letters have been issued."

"If anyone has any complaints, they are welcome to visit the Amidar offices and prove they have a legal claim to the property," the statement read. "The claims that this is a transfer are demagoguery. No person will be evicted without a court order."

According to the head of the Amidar directorate, Doron Cohen, Amidar rejects "with scorn the demagogic attempt by the 'Popular Committee' to use the events of the War of Independence to protect those who break the law. Amidar works to protect the State's property rights regardless of the tenants' character, religion or nationality."

My Young Brother Yehuda. Ehud Manor.

אחי הצעיר יהודה

ביצוע: אהוד מנור
מילים: אהוד מנור
לחן: יוחנן זראי

אחי הצעיר יהודה,
האם אתה שומע?
האם אתה יודע?
השמש עוד עולה כל בוקר
ואורה לבן,
ולעת ערב רוח מפזרת
את עלי הגן.
הגשם הראשון
ירד לפני יומיים,
בערב יום שלישי,
ושוב אפשר לראות שמיים
בשלולית על הכביש הראשי.

אחי הצעיר יהודה
האם אתה שומע?
האם אתה יודע?
בגן הילדים שלך
לומדים כבר שיר חדש,
ובתיכון התלמידים
שוב מתעמלים על המגרש.
רוחות ערבית
מייללות על המרפסת
את כל שירי הסתיו,
ואמא מחכה בסתר,
שאולי עוד יגיע מכתב.

אחי הצעיר יהודה
האם אתה שומע?
האם אתה יודע?
כל חבריך הטובים
נושאים דמותך עמם,
ובכל הטנקים על קווי הגבול
אתה נמצא איתם
אחי הטוב,
אני זוכר את שתי עיניך,
והן פותרות חידה.
ובני הרך יפה כמוך
בשמך לו אקרא - יהודה.

Atlantic City Bruce Springsteen

Well, they blew up the chicken man in philly last night
Now, they blew up his house, too
Down on the boardwalk theyre gettin ready for a fight
Gonna see what them racket boys can do

Now, theres trouble bustin in from outta state
And the d.a. cant get no relief
Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade
And the gamblin commissions hangin on by the skin of his teeth

Well now, evrything dies, baby, thats a fact
But maybe evrything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in atlantic city

Well, I got a job and tried to put my money away
But I got debts that no honest man can pay
So I drew what I had from the central trust
And I bought us two tickets on that coast city bus

Now, baby, evrything dies, honey, thats a fact...

Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
But with you forever Ill stay
Were goin out where the sands turnin to gold
Put on your stockins baby, `cause the nights getting cold
And maybe evrything dies, baby, thats a fact
But maybe evrything that dies someday comes back

Now, I been lookin for a job, but its hard to find
Down here its just winners and losers and dont
Get caught on the wrong side of that line
Well, Im tired of comin out on the losin end
So, honey, last night I met this guy and Im gonna
Do a little favor for him

Well, I guess everything dies, baby, thats a fact...

חנה סנש- אלי אלי - יום השואה 2007

אלי אלי ביצוע: עופרה חזה מילים: חנה סנש לחן: דוד זהבי

אלי, אלי שלא יגמר לעולם החול והים, רשרוש של המים, ברק השמיים, תפילת האדם. החול והים, רשרוש של המים, ברק השמיים, תפילת האדם.

אלי אלי ביצוע: עופרה חזה מילים: חנה סנש לחן: דוד זהבי

אלי, אלי שלא יגמר לעולם החול והים, רשרוש של המים, ברק השמיים, תפילת האדם. החול והים, רשרוש של המים, ברק השמיים, תפילת האדם.

Wye Wye Wye- Why Pollard?

The Wye Double-Cross Page
Time for America to Honor Its Commitment to Free Jonathan Pollard
FROM THE KNESSET RECORD, February 28, 2001:

"...The former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, made an explicit commitment to the then-Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu, to release Jonathan Pollard.

This promise was made prior to the Wye Summit and [again] during the course of the negotiations at Wye... This was not a personal promise made to a particular prime minister... This was a promise made to the State of Israel and to the People of Israel..." Dani Naveh, Minister without Portfolio
The Wye Double-Cross Page
Time for America to Honor Its Commitment to Free Jonathan Pollard
FROM THE KNESSET RECORD, February 28, 2001:

"...The former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, made an explicit commitment to the then-Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu, to release Jonathan Pollard.

This promise was made prior to the Wye Summit and [again] during the course of the negotiations at Wye... This was not a personal promise made to a particular prime minister... This was a promise made to the State of Israel and to the People of Israel..." Dani Naveh, Minister without Portfolio

How to stay ON TOP in an Emerging Market Economy in Israel?

From Jaffa in Israel Pesach and Easter.

The cover of the Economist this week.
 

Israel is an emerging Market in a World where there is a lot of money floating around looking for Investments. But this is making the Rich Richer and does not Help the poor very much as they stay under-payed or unemployed

Partach

Kishon was buried in Tel-Aviv recently.

So Olmert and Peretz did not invent Partachia!

Kishon 1924-2005

Ephraim Kishon, one of Israel's greatest writers and satirists died in 2005 at the age of 80. In the course of his career, Kishon was a successful playwright, the author of several novels and a highly popular weekly newspaper column, and the writer-director of a number of classic Israeli films like Salah Shabati, Ta'alat Blaumilch ("The Blaumilch Canal" also known as "The Big Dig"), and HaShoter Azulay ("The Policeman"), which won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Picture in 1971.

About Partachia:

With his early satirical essays, Kishon became a master at lampooning the foibles of Israeli society: the high taxes and overarching government bureaucracy, the rudeness of the inhabitants, and especially the rampant Israeli tendency to do everything half-assed, a trait he called partatch. In one of his most famous books, Kishon elaborated on the theme of partach by describing the inhabitants of a country called Upper Partatchia, located "on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Basin, in the vicinity of Dizengoff Street." It is a wonderful land with high levels of humidity and taxation, which have combined to form the unique character of the partachi, the natives of this land:

One common characteristic of the average partatchi is his hostility to instructions. If he sees a box labeled "This way up", he turns it upside down. If the box has a big red warning "Fragile!", he tosses it up to the top shelves, puts his fingers in his ears, and steps aside. If the label says "Store in a cool, dry place", he places the thingie on top of the boiler. Nothing will happen, since the boiler doesn't work anyway. He rang up Stokes two months ago, but the plumber never came. So he gave the boiler a new coat of paint.

The purebreed partachi loves fresh paint. If something is dirty, he paints it. If it is rusted, another coat. For repairs that call for welding, he prefers white glue and uses scotch tape instead of bolts. If he does decide to use bolts then only one, two maximum. It will hold.

The partachi eats noisily, walks noisily, talks noisily. Complains about the noise. If his television set squeaks, he calls the technician. The technician tells him to try and raise one side up. He raises the side and the noise stops. He places a matchbox underneath the left side. If the noise starts up again, he replaces the matchbox. Or hits the television. On the side and on top, a couple of smacks with the palm of the hand. In general, if something breaks, the partatchi hits it. If it doesn't work, he waits a couple of days and hits it again.

The Nazi's Murdered Women and Men

International Women's Day Today


צעדת אסירים מדכאו בעיירה גרונוואלד בגרמניה, אפריל 1945.
בארכיון בבאד ארולסן משורטטים מסלולי 74 צעדות מוות
תצלום: אי-פי

צעדה שיצאה מדכאו באפריל 45'.
"יש לפנות את המחנה לאלתר, שום אסיר לא צריך ליפול חי בידי האויב",
כתב הימלר למפקדי המחנה  תצלום: אי-פי

From Haaretz Wednesday:

כך נראו צעדות המוות מהחלון
מאת ארתור מקס

אי-פי

באד ארולסן, גרמניה. ב-14 באפריל 1945, שבועיים לפני שכוחות בעלות הברית הגיעו למחנה דכאו, קיבלו מפקדי המחנה מזכר שנכתב בכתב יד. "יש לפנות את המחנה לאלתר, שום אסיר לא צריך ליפול חי בידי האויב", הורה מפקד הגסטאפו, היינריך הימלר. שבוע לפני כן קיבלו מפקדי מחנה בוכנוואלד הוראה דומה ממפקדת האס-אס. לקראת סוף המלחמה, כשהגרמנים הבינו שהם קרובים לנחול תבוסה, הם הגו את הזוועה האחרונה: צעדות המוות. הם נכנסו למחנות שעמדו לפני שחרור, והצעידו את האסירים בכפייה אל מרכז גרמניה.

אחרי המלחמה הועברה הוראתו של הימלר מארכיון מחנה הריכוז דכאו "לשירות האיתור הבינלאומי" של הצלב האדום, (ITS ,International Tracing Service), שהקים בעיר הנופש באד ארולסן ארכיון של מסמכים נאציים ושל עדויות שנאספו על ידי כוחות בעלות הברית.

המסמכים שנחשפו לראשונה מתעדים את צעדות המוות, ומתארים את הצעדות כפי שטרם נראו: אס-אס חלש ומבולבל, המוני אסירים שצועדים או נדחסים ברכבות וניזונים מפת לחם זעומה וכפריים מזועזעים הנחשפים - אולי בפעם הראשונה - לחוסר האנושיות של המשטר הנאצי.

ארכיון ה-ITS, המחזיק עשרות מיליוני עמודי מסמכים, נועד לסייע באיתור נעדרים וכדי לבסס תביעות פיצויים. במשך 60 הוא היה סגור לציבור, אך בשנה שעברה החליטו 11 המדינות הממונות עליו לפתוח אותו לחוקרים.

השבוע נפגשו נציגי המדינות בהאג, ודנו כיצד ייפתח הארכיון, המכיל מידע על 17.5 מיליון בני אדם שנהרגו ונרדפו על ידי הנאצים. ואולם, פתיחת הארכיון טעונה עדיין הליך אשרור ארוך, הגורם תסכול רב לניצולי שואה קשישים, המשתוקקים לדעת יותר על קורותיהם שלהם וקורות משפחותיהם.

הפקודה של הימלר מ-14 באפריל לנטוש את מחנה דכאו, באה שלושה ימים אחרי שמחנה בוכנוואלד - אחד ממחנות הריכוז הגדולים - שוחרר בידי כוחות ארה"ב. "האסירים פרצו לבתי ויימאר הסמוכה. האסירים התנהגו בצורה מחרידה כלפי האוכלוסייה האזרחית בבוכנוואלד", נאמר במסמך של הימלר.

אך עדויות הראייה שנמצאות בארכיון מספרות סיפור אחר לגמרי. תושבי העיירות בפולין, צ'כיה וגרמניה מעידים על עשרות טורי הצועדים - נשים וגברים רזים מאוד ועטויי מדים מפוספסים, שגררו את עצמם ברחובות העיירות והכפרים כאשר כלבים מאיימים עליהם ואנשי אס-אס יורים במי שאינו עומד בקצב.

באחת העדויות מספרת אשה על אסיר שהושיט לעברה ספל והתחנן בעיניו למעט מים. אבל כאשר הגישה לו את הספל, חטף אותו אחד השומרים והתיז את המים אל פניה. "המשכתי ללכת כי לא יכולתי להמשיך להסתכל על מה שקורה", ציינה.

בארכיון ניתן למצוא גם מאות שאלונים שחולקו בתום המלחמה על ידי כוחות בעלות הברית לראשי ערים הסמוכות למחנות, בניסיון להתחקות אחר השתלשלות האירועים. הם התבקשו לספר אם הצועדים עברו בעריהם וכמה מהם מתו בהן. רובם טענו שלא ראו דבר. ראש עיריית וולפראטשאוזן סיפר ששתי קבוצות מדכאו עברו בעיירה שלו ברגל וברכבת ב-27 ו-28 באפריל. שבע גופות הורדו מקרון ונקברו בבית העלמין המקומי, אולם לא היו עליהן תעודות מזהות, העיד הגורם הרשמי שהשיב על השאלון, אך לא חתם עליו בשמו.

רבע מיליון מתו בצעדות המוות

הגרמנים הנהיגו צעדות מוות - מונח שהיה שגור בפי האסירים, ואומץ על ידי ההיסטוריונים - כבר ב-1941, כאשר העבירו מאות אלפי חיילים סובייטים שנפלו לידיהם ממחנה למחנה. מטרת הצעדות של חורף 1944-1945 היתה שונה, אומר דניאל בלטמן מהאוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים, העומד לפרסם בקרוב מחקר בנושא.

לדברי בלטמן, הנאצים החלו לרוקן את מחנות הריכוז ולהשמיד מסמכים, בין היתר כדי לטייח את מעשיהם. כך, באחד ממבצעי הפינוי הגדולים ביותר, הוצעדו בחודש ינואר 60 אלף אסירים בקבוצות של אלף ממחנה ההשמדה אושוויץ. בנוסף, קיוו הנאצים שתבוסתם המוחלטת תימנע, ולכן רצו לשמר גרעין של עובדי כפייה, שיורחקו מהרחוב. "זה היה עניין אידיאולוגי, האסירים נחשבו לתת אנושיים ולא ראוים להתערבב בחברה", אמר בלטמן.

במוזיאון יד ושם מעריכים שבעשרת חודשי המלחמה האחרונים 200 אלף עד 250 אלף אסירים נרצחו או מתו ברעב, מקור או ממחלות בצעדות שנמשכו עד כניעתה של גרמניה, ב-8 במאי. ארכיון ארולסן מכיל שלושה כרכים של רשימות ומפות, שבהם משורטטים מסלולי 74 צעדות מוות והמרחק בין הכפרים. לצדם מצויינים ביובש אירועי הפצצה של אסירים או רכבות, בלי להבהיר אם נעשו בידי גרמנים או בעלות הברית.

אחד התיקים מתחקה אחר העברתם ב-18 בינואר 1945 של 3,000 אסירים, יהודים מהונגריה, צרפת, פולין וגרמניה - ממחנה בירקנאו עד גפרססדורף, עיירה הנמצאת כיום בתחום צ'כיה. הם חצו ברגל וברכבת מרחק של כ-500 ק"מ ועברו דרך 20 יישובים. מהתיק עולה ש-300 עד 400 מהם נהרגו במיקולאי, כ-50 ק"מ מבירקנאו - סיבת המוות אינה מצוינת. ב-21 בינואר, כאשר הם הגיעו לראטיבור, מספרם הצטמצם בחצי, וכעבור שלושה חודשים הגיעו רק 280 מכלל 3,000 האסירים ליעדם.

"ואז שמעתי צעקה: האמריקאים באים"

רופרט ס', אסיר פוליטי מאוסטריה, היה בין הצועדים שיצאו ממחנה סמוך לדכאו ועברו בוולפראטשאוזן. בעדות שמסר במאי 1945, שבועיים אחרי שחרורו, הוא סיפר שחולים רבים הושלכו לצדי הדרך והוצאו להורג בירייה בעורף או במכות קת של רובה. בעדותו סיפר שהאסירים נאבקו ביניהם על מנת אוכל זעומה ובנו מחסות מאולתרים מפני הגשם והשלג הבלתי פוסקים בכל מקום שעצרו. רבים מהם מתו והושלכו לערמות, אמר.

"בבוקר אחד, לאחר לילה שבו השומרים היו אכזריים במיוחד, הבנו שעומדים לחסל אותנו. אבל פתאום הגיעה פקודה להמשיך ללכת. כעבור זמן נודע לנו שקצין ששמו האופטמן הציל אותנו ממוות בטוח", אמר. "ואז, לילה אחד, אנשי האס-אס נעלמו. בשעה שלוש לפנות בוקר שמעתי רעש ועלה קול צעקה: האמריקאים באים". אשר להימלר, כוחות בריטניה עצרו אותו ב-22 במאי בצפון גרמניה והוא התאבד למחרת בבליעת ציאניד.

The Queen

http://imdb.com/user/ur0498043/comments
Read this and my other comments.

Not Funny

From Haaretz Today Similar to Haaretz Headline Friday.
They have not Learnt the Lesson of last July Lebanon War.

Hope Wikipedia Recovers!!!

Wikipedia's cash crunch
February 08, 2007
In a speech at the Lift 07 Conference in Geneva today, Florence Devouard, chairwoman of the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, made an appeal for funds to keep the online encyclopedia afloat. "At this point," she said, according to a report from Philippe Mottaz, "Wikipedia has the financial resources to run its servers for about three to four months. If we do not find additional funding, it is not impossible that Wikipedia might disappear.”
As Wikipedia has expanded, its computing costs have gone up substantially, putting the nonprofit in an apparent pinch. According to another report on the speech, from Bruno Giussani, Devouard said the encyclopedia is currently running 350 servers and needs about $5 million to sustain itself. It raised about $1 million in its recent fundraising drive, she said.
Mottaz says Devouard's warning was "certainly dire" and that "it is another illustration of how difficult it is to find the proper business model in the digital age, and more precisely in this case in what Florence called the 'gift economy.'" Not even gifts scale for free.
Wikipedia has made a pledge to remain free of advertising and sponsorships. That pledge, it seems, may soon be tested as never before.
UPDATE: Devouard also, according to Giussani, seems to have aligned herself with Wikipedia's Inclusionists (who don't want restrictions on what topics are covered in the encyclopedia): "We used to have this notion that information has boundaries, that it's possible to define what information is relevant (and belongs in an encyclopedia) and what is not. But what is relevant to you is different from what's relevant for me." That's interesting because, from my outside perspective, it appears that the Deletionsists, who very much want "to define what information is relevant (and belongs in an encyclopedia) and what is not," currently have the upper hand in guiding Wikipedia's policies.
UPDATE: In a comment on this post, Wikimedia's communications director, Sandy Ordonez, writes: "Ms. Devouard's comment was taken out of context. Wikipedia will not be closing any time soon. Ms. Devouard was simply referring to the ongoing, pressing needs for funds that Wikipedia, like most nonprofit organizations, face."
Posted by nick at February 8, 2007 01:58 PM