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 3 * Issue 113 July 16, 2004
The Week’s News in Review
July 9:
The International Court of Justice said Israel's West Bank security barrier is illegal and should be dismantled. Israeli officials said they would not abide by the Court’s opinion that the West Bank security fence must be dismantled. The White House said the International Court of Justice is the wrong place to debate Israel's West Bank security fence. Palestinian officials said they would follow up the U.N. court ruling against Israel's security fence with a diplomatic barrage against the Jewish state. The brother of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will visit Israel next week and meet with top leaders, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Hamas rejected a Palestinian Authority request to stop firing rockets against Israel. July 11: A 19-year-old Israel Defense Forces Sergeant of Bat Yam was killed and 33 people were wounded when a bomb exploded on at a bus stop on Sderot Har Zion Street in Tel Aviv. July 12: Ariel Sharon opened coalition talks with Israeli Labor Party leader Shimon Peres. Israel's attorney general will set up a team of experts to examine the International Court of Justice opinion against the West Bank security barrier. July 14: The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill denouncing the International Court of Justice ruling against Israel's security fence. Israel said ties with Turkey are strong despite diplomatic differences. Strong consumer confidence, higher tax revenues and restrained government spending are helping Israel's economic growth. Ariel Sharon assured top U.S. envoys that Israel would crack down on illegal West Bank settlements.Fact Finding
Question:
At the core of every Arab/Muslim claim is that Jewish settlement in ‘Palestine’ is illegal and illegitimate. What are the facts? Response: The following six points clearly demonstrate the basis for Israel’s legitimacy: (1) The biblical Land of Israel was the homeland of the Jewish People. It was from this land that Judaism developed. Most Jews today are direct descendants of the indigenous Jews who originally lived here. Both Christianity and Islam have their roots in Judaism. (2) Large numbers of Jews did not leave the Land of Israel of their own free will. In ancient times, the Romans expelled so many Jews to Rome as slaves that the slave market there was over-supplied and the price of slaves declined. (3) Throughout the ages, the Land of Israel was never empty of Jews. There were always small communities of mostly impoverished Jews who lived in the land. When the Arabs conquered Israel in the 7th Century, the largest Jewish community was in Gaza. (4) During modern times, land in Israel or Palestine was purchased, or more accurately redeemed, by private individuals and by the Jewish National Fund. (5) During the last 100 years a barren, neglected and derelict land, a land that no one wanted, was rejuvenated with private Jewish capital. Many Arab migrant workers were employed by Jewish organizations to develop projects. (6) Other lands in the Jewish Homeland that Israel acquired were done so by right of self-defense in wars of Arab aggression. It was the League of Nations (the forerunner of the United Nations) that recognized the unique relationship between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.Courtesy of the Israel Hasbara Committee - http://www.infoisrael.net
Advocacy for Israel Committee Information
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. The next A Team meeting is Sunday August 8 in the CBI Library at 9:45. Make a difference for Israel! Questions? Ideas? Contact A Team Chairmen Jay Epstein (
jhe@tampabay.rr.com) or Sheldon Scheinert (Sheldo123@aol.com). Check out our Mizrach-Israel Board in the hallway leading to the Atrium, near the Bridal Suite. Get involved!The ISRAEL ADVOCACY TEAM of Congregation B’nai Israel
300 58th Street North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33710 727.381.4900
Speaking out for Israel so that "Never Again" shall Jewish silence lead to an indifferent world