Israeli Outlaws in America: The Case of Rafi Eitan
CounterPunch 8/25/2003
Is Rafi Eitan in the United States and if so why hasn't the FBI arrested him?
Eitan is the former chief of Mossad operations in Europe and the man who recruited the U.S. Navy counter-intelligence specialist Jonathan Pollard to spy on the United States. As well, Eitan once headed the top-secret science and technology spy unit known as Leshkat Kesher Madao, or Lekem (supposedly dismantled following Pollard's bust).
According to Richard Sale (Pollard Recruiter Resurfaces in U.S., UPI, July 31, 2003) and federal law enforcement officials, "Eitan has, for the last year or so, been traveling to the United States on an Israeli passport, but using an alias."
Eitan apparently landed at Columbus, Ohio, and then moved around the Midwest on a prolonged road trip. Eitan "the stinker" has been photographed in the company of "known dealers who belong to a ring dealing in the drug ecstasy," one federal law enforcement official told Sale.
Last year two major Israeli Ecstasy traffickers were extradited to the United Sates, much to the displeasure of the Israeli government. The DEA claims "Israeli organized crime figures" control around 70 percent of the worldwide market in Ecstasy. "The FBI is looking for evidence that Eitan is, or has been engaging, in questionable activities related to this ring," a federal law enforcement official told UPI.
For his part in the Pollard spy scandal, Rafi Eitan was promoted to a senior position with the largest state-owned business enterprise in Israel -- the Israel Chemicals Company. He received the job based on the recommendation of Ariel Sharon. "It's generally agreed that Eitan was to take the brunt of blame for the [Pollard] mess," a former official close to confidential details of the case told UPI. "In return for his silence, Sharon would make sure he got a good job." In 1987, Eitan boasted to an Israeli newspaper that all of his actions had been undertaken with the knowledge of his Israeli superiors.
‘Rachel Corrie Mural’ Threatened
By Christine Gauvreau, Palestine Media Center 8/26/2003
The US-based Labor Art and Mural Project's delegation to Palestine is facing a grave challenge. On August 22, the Israeli authorities — the Israel Defence Force, the Civil Administration and the police department — arrived at the group's work camp in East Jerusalem. LAMP activists are helping to construct a peace centre, complete with a mural, in memory of the solidarity activist Rachel Corrie, who was murdered by the Israeli military in March.
The authorities issued a “stop work” order and confiscated building materials. They announced that the building and mural — scheduled for completion on August 28 — would shortly be demolished.
Israeli and Palestinian activists are massing in the building in an attempt to stall or prevent the demolition. Some activists will carry out civil disobedience.
The Beit Arabia Peace Centre is a project of the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions. As an act of resistance to the Israeli occupation, ICAHD is rebuilding on the site of the home of Arabia and Salim Shawamreh. Israeli authorities have demolished the Shawamreh home four times.
In Abbas’ Court
By Zuheir Kseibati, Al-Hayat 8/26/2003
Jibril Rajoub, once again, stands to the left of President Yasser Arafat. This time, as General. Between the President and the General there is a reconciliation, which scores a shot in the goal of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Minister of Security Affairs Mohamad Dahlan. Back to the situation of polarization then, in what appears to be a conflict over appointing a Minister of Interior who would have control over all the Palestinian security forces in order to control the street, "restrain" or suppress the operations of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. As well as disarming the resistance in order to implement the Roadmap, which would require depriving Israel of all the pretexts it uses to pursue its sabotages, maneuvers and assassinations. This would also impose disarming Israel of the 'resistance card,' which it uses to hold the Palestinian Authority hostage.
It is obvious that the unchanging vision of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and even of that of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, will remain unchanged after the failed experience of the truce. This vision is based on the assumption that Sharon's government doesn't need any excuses to pursue its assassinations and maintain its pressure on the Palestinian Authority, to which Israel deceitfully implied it gave a chance; especially to Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in order for him to start dismantling the armed factions under the banner of saving the chance of peace.
Now, after the collapse of the truce, which Sharon destroyed by assassinating Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab, Arafat is back to the decision-making position - in spite of his siege - with Rajoub as his Security Affairs Advisor. It is as if the Palestinian President got the message when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell "called for his help" to save Abbas from Sharon's pressures on the one hand, to launch a war against the resistance factions, and the pressure of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades on the other hand to force him to resist the Israeli-American objectives.
Netanyahu’s nightmare
By Avi Temkin, Globes 8/26/2003
Those familiar with the view of the Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, which he expressed frequently on the Knesset podium, know that he does not consider taxes an effective way of solving economic problems. He will not readily accept the implementation of many of the Ben-Bassat committee recommendations for reducing the mushrooming budget deficit. The proposals for taxes on inheritances and advanced training funds therefore reflect, more than anything else, the disputes among the Ministry of Finance senior officials on the design of the 2004 budget. Opposite those advocating higher taxes, who include Minister without portfolio Meir Sheetrit, is Netanyahu himself, who will be willing to consider it only as a last resort. Netanyahu will probably find more palatable the proposals of Ministry of Finance budget director Uri Yogev, who for a long time has been speaking openly of further streamlining in the public sector, closing units, merging ministries, and further extensive cuts in government spending.
Above everything else, the main question in the budget will be how to renew Israel’s economic growth, while avoiding the need to submit a plan for more cutbacks in another six months. NIS 5 billion will be cut from the defense budget this time, and it is an open secret that the Ministry of Finance has already decided the matter.
Israel vs Hamas
By Jihad Al Khazen, Al-Hayat 8/26/2003
When will Israel carry out its next strike against a Hamas leader? Some Palestinian officials view the situation as a war between Israel and Hamas, with U.S. assistance and support to Israel's measures.
I spoke to Palestinian officials in and outside the Palestinian territories, trying to understand what was really going on. I realized that some viewed the assassination of Ismail Abu Shanab as the beginning of the conflict and not its end, knowing that the Israeli security government has already decided to kill all the Hamas leaders, regardless of whether they are political or military. The decision gives the security bodies free reign to carry out operations without referring to the government, which means giving a free hand to these bodies, on the inside and outside.
There actually were Israeli violations, and I heard Hamas members say they reached more than 500 in a matter of 50 days. There were also Palestinian violations, such as obviously carrying weapons and sending archaic missiles on settlements. However, the suicide operation in Jerusalem crossed the red line and drove Israel to take the decision to kill each and every Hamas leader.
Some Palestinian leaders say that each death is a tragedy, but that of a party member in a suicide operation is always compensated with ten others joining the faction. However, the death of a leader creates a vacuum, because it is much harder to find a person of the same caliber to replace him.
Human misery comes from human mistakes
Daily Star interview 8/26/2003
Spiritual leader of hamas shares views on religion, politics -- The following is an interview with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the Palestinian group Hamas where he discussed the impact of religion on the situation in the Middle East in solving the region’s problems.
Q: How important is religion in providing justice and solving the political problems of the Arab world?
Yassin: “The basic difficulty here is a misunderstanding of the true meaning of the word “religion.” In the Islamic belief, religion refers to every system on earth that human beings abide by to run their lives. In general, religion might come from God or be manmade by humans to run their own lives. Life can’t continue without religion to protect and maintain the human existence.
“In Islam in particular, religion is made by God to protect and maintain itself as religion and maintain property, thought, humanity, and progeny. Islam is an ideal and practical system that was implemented and applied for hundreds of years through Prophet Mohammed, his caliphs (Prophet Mohammed’s successors), the Umayyad Islamic state, and then the Abbasid Islamic state. History has proven Islam as a successful system at building and maintaining good societies. The system that succeeds once can succeed many more times.
Q: How does Islam explain Palestinian misery and unhappiness? Is this the work of God or man?
Yassin: First of all, (in the Western world) there is some ignorance toward the true Islamic doctrine. When God sent his messengers and holy books, it was to solve the problems of human beings, but not to end them, because these problems are basic. Periodically, God sent his messengers and holy books to resolve and find solutions for these problems.
"The misery that occurs in the lives of humans is a result of their behavior and their mistakes. But the welfare that human beings are offered comes from God. Allah said in his Holy Koran, “And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought.
"Therefore, the misery that inflicts human beings is due to their noncommitment to the system that God sketched for them, and the result is a life of misery and unhappiness."
Roadmap To Resignation
By Ghassan Charbel, Al-Hayat 8/26/2003
Mahmoud Abbas' government seems to be trapped in a position where it is exposed to every explosion's shrapnel, or every explosive statement. If Ariel Sharon's government assassinates a Hamas official, Abbas' government gets hit with shrapnel, over and above the targeted party. If Hamas blows up a bus in Jerusalem, Abbas' government also gets hit with shrapnel, along with the targeted ones. In the first case, some Palestinians wonder what use is a government that cannot restrain Israel's assassinations policy. In the second case, some Israelis ask what use is a Palestinian government that cannot stop suicide operations.
It is a government prone to be hit with every explosion. If George Bush makes a harsh statement against Hamas and "terrorist organizations," Abbas' government is hit. If Al Rantissi makes threats, the government itself has to expect some shrapnel. Not to forget wounds inflicted by the knives of the "family." Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian president, swallowed Abbas' government as one who is forced to take 'bitter' medicine, and dreams of stopping it the first chance he gets. The meetings of Fatah Central Committee have tended, since the birth of this government, to settle accounts, whilst hiding the daggers under glimmering slogans.
Who wants Abbas' government to succeed? In light of what he/she sees or hears, any observer could ask this question. Sharon has no interest in its success, since this option completely eliminates the option of engaging in a civil war. He has no interest in the resumption of U.S.-Palestinian relations through Abbas' government, and in Washington's support of this government. Even if this support lacks the necessary minimum level of pressure on Sharon's government.
Three shaky ‘regime changes’ … and counting?
Editorial, Daily Star 8/26/2003
In the past two years, the United States has used its military and political power to bring about some form of “regime change” in three places Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq. The Afghanistan and Iraq changes involved wholesale removal of former regimes and their replacement with US-approved locals. The Palestinians experienced partial regime change engineered by both the USA and Israel, with the elected president, Yasser Arafat, partially replaced by the appointed prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas. What is the situation in these three lands today, and what lessons can the world draw from this novel American form of projecting its power around the world? The signs are not very good in all three places.
In Palestine, the warfare on the ground has resumed in several dimensions, with bombs and bulldozers alike inflicting terrible reciprocal violence. The government of Mahmoud Abbas has not been able to respond to the demands of either the Israeli or Palestinian people and has been losing credibility. It will lose more due to the latest Israeli work on the Apartheid-vintage separation barrier dividing the West Bank and Israel because Israeli bulldozers started clearing land east of Jerusalem Monday for construction of a new segment of the wall in the Abu Dis area. The Palestinian regime that was “changed” by the American and Israeli governments looks rather shaky.
Thwarting the Rivlin initiative
Editorial, Ha'aretz 8/26/2003
The legislative initiative of Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who wishes to amend the custom of appointing the longest-serving justice to the post of Supreme Court president, is not coincidental. It comes three months after Rivlin labeled the legal system "the source of the danger to Israeli democracy" and accused it of "educating generations of jurists to carry out a putsch in Israel."
Rivlin should be taken seriously; he has a structured theory about the desired reciprocal relationship, in his opinion, between the Knesset and the court; and his status gives his positions special weight.
Rivlin believes that under the leadership of Aharon Barak, the Supreme Court amassed too much power, which, as far he is concerned, undermines the desired balance between the three authorities. His views are catchy, and they are being voiced in a political climate charged with hostility toward the legal system and ripe for steps designed to clip its wings.
In brief, Rivlin argues that through a process of consistent rulings, and not as a result of explicit legislation, the Supreme Court as adopted excessive powers that allow it to intervene, in an exaggerated manner, in managing the affairs of state. As a result, he is striving, by means of legislation, to impose limitations on the excessive authority he attributes to the court.
"No peace without Justice - No Justice without Forgiveness”
By H.B. Michel Sabbah, Nonviolence 8/1/2003
[Michel Sabbahis the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and President of Pax Christi International]
...The notion of reconciliation lies at the heart of Pax Christi’s peace work. Conflict resolution can only be successful if it also involves a healing process, for victims as well as perpetrators of violence, and if it takes steps together towards truth and justice. Members of the same family, who have fought one other in times of war, must eventually be reunited at the family table. This does not mean that the past is forgotten or ignored. In the movement toward reconciliation, whether in South Africa, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Haiti, El Salvador, Northern Ireland, in Israel and Palestine or the former Yugoslavia, the call is always for truth, justice and forgiveness and not for amnesia. What are needed in all these situations are sincere acts of justice, repentance and mutual forgiveness, both on the personal and the community level. In the end we, each, are required to face God, to face one another and indeed the whole of humankind.
This process, however, is not an easy one. It may be easy to dream and to talk about a world without weapons, but what is needed today are people who are prepared to commit themselves in very practical ways to achieving that goal. The industry of war has grown to enormous proportions. Now it is the task for all of us to dismantle it.
Pax Christi International will continue to promote dialogue and harmony both at the ecumenical and inter-faith level, recognizing and respecting the search for truth and wisdom that goes on outside our own religious tradition. We will also continue to listen to the cries of the oppressed and, in the spirit of Pacem et Terris, (or “Peace on Earth,”), work with all people of good will in creating a more just and harmonious world. We know that the foundation for all our work must be based on mutual tolerance and respect for religious freedom everywhere.
It's natural that an Arab theater will close first
Ha'aretz 8/26/2003
...if unfortunately the theater should close, this will be the symbolic and resonant closing of one of the few cultural institutions that the Palestinian Arabs have in this country. Arab culture will be put behind lock and key, in every sense. -- About three weeks ago Makram Khoury, the director-general of Haifa's Arab Theater in Israel - Al-Midan, submitted his resignation. The reason: the mortal economic state of the theater for quite a few years now, which was expressed recently in the suspension of all the plays under production, the nonpayment of salaries to the actors and staff for more than two months and the disconnection of the electricity in the theater halls. For its part, the theater management is helpless and has called a general meeting for September 5, at which it also will submit its resignation.
Throughout the years of its existence, Al-Midan has experienced many reversals but it succeeded in establishing its status - despite all the possible criticism of it, and there is indeed room for criticism - as one of the most important cultural symbols in the eyes of the Arab citizens of this country and in the eyes of others as well. Al-Midan has worked hard to instill theatrical activity among the Arabs of this country and has represented the Arab minority in Arab states and in Europe. It has also been a home for the new generation of theater people that has arisen in this country.
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