Hasbarah, (haz-ba-rah) n. information; L’hasbir, v. to inform.
The publication of the Advocacy for Israel Committee ("A-Team") of Congregation B’nai Israel
Volume 2 * Issue 99 April 1, 2004
March 24:
Israeli helicopter gunships killed two members of a Lebanese rocket crew before they could fire over the border. Two Palestinian terrorists were killed en route to a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon voiced hope for regional peace as Israel marked 25 years since the Camp David peace accords with Egypt. Britain froze the assets of five Hamas leaders. Incoming flights reportedly are being rerouted at Ben-Gurion Airport amid fears that Palestinians may try to shoot them down. March 25: Six West Bank settlements reportedly are slated for removal under Israel's plan to disengage from the Palestinians. The U.N. Security Council will debate a resolution condemning Israel's assassination of Hamas' leader. Israeli forces arrested two schoolmates of a 14-year-old Palestinian would-be suicide bomber. A group of Palestinian intellectuals urged their countrymen not to resort to violence to avenge the killing of Hamas' founder. Israel reportedly has frozen new settlement construction. March 26: Israeli forces killed two Hamas members who tried to infiltrate a Gaza Strip settlement by sea. The Bush administration reportedly has decided to delay new sanctions against Syria because of tensions in the region. The United States blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution denouncing Israel's assassination of Hamas' leader. More than 40 senators said they supported Israel's assassination of Hamas' leader, a Jewish official said. March 29:Israel's Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son to hand over papers in a corruption investigation. March 30: The Sharon corruption scandal reportedly disrupted secret government coalition talks in Israel. Ariel Sharon is expected to seek Likud Party approval for a Gaza withdrawal.MYTH: "Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians is blocking reform in the Middle East." FACTS: The old saw that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the source of all evil in the Middle East is being trotted out again to justify the failure of the Arab states to embrace President Bush’s democracy initiative or to reform their authoritarian societies. If the conflict was resolved tomorrow, or if Israel ceased to exist, however, the Arab world’s despots would be no more interested in reform than they are today. The divisions among the Arabs were on display again in mid-April when Tunisia abruptly cancelled a planned Arab League summit. While some of the Arab officials suggested that Israel was to blame, the Tunisians themselves made clear the problem was the unwillingness of the Arab states to agree on any reforms, or even to endorse the principal of democracy and reject extremism and terrorism. At least seven Arab leaders had bowed out of the meeting and several countries, led by Syria, made clear their disinterest in committing the Arabs to institutional reform. And no Arab nation would support Libya’s suggestion that other governments follow its example and give up programs to develop weapons of mass destruction . None of these tyrants have any interest in implementing reforms that would permit the people to choose their leaders in a democratic way because they know they would be swept from power. They will therefore continue to use Israel’s existence as an excuse for avoiding any meaningful changes to their totalitarian societies. Source: Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict, by Mitchell G. Bard
The Advocacy for Israel Committee was formed in September of 2001 to organize pro-Israeli activities and to rally support in the form of Hasbara. Join us for what we are sure will be an interesting night with Chief Deputy James Coats of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on April 28th. Deputy Coats recently visited Israel and will share his unique perspective. The next A Team meeting is Sunday May 16 in the CBI Library at 9:45. Make a difference for Israel! For more information, email A Team Chairmen Jay Epstein
(jhe@tampabay.rr.com) or Sheldon Scheinert (Sheldo123@aol.com). Get involved!The ISRAEL ADVOCACY TEAM of Congregation B’nai Israel
300 58th Street North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33710 727-381-4900
