FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו

What possible reason, for example, could there be for the Palestinian Authority, together with UNRWA and the Arab world, to maintain “refugee camps” in the Gaza Strip? Israel, after all, has withdrawn completely from Gaza, including dismantling settlements and even moving cemeteries. — Editorial in today’s Jerusalem Post

And why is the West paying for a special support system for Palestinian ‘refugees’, entirely different from that of any other refugees, which actively prevents their resettlement and promotes poverty, terrorism, and war?

Read the editorial here.

By Murray Farber

Murray Farber is a retired reporter and editor living in Fresno.

Reading Arthur Frommer’s online tour guide of Israel, you will find a reference to “the beautiful horticultural community of Nes Ammim, populated by Christians from many nations.” Say what? Christians?

Yes! And it is a wonderful story, as I learned when I visited there in 1974 and met Christine Pilon; but the community may now have a cloudy future in today’s troubled times. I still remember Mrs. Pilon’s deeply religious outlook as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church and her benevolent smile, as well as a lean attractive appearance that made her look less than her actual fifties. As we walked the grounds of this 275-acre collective community, (similar to a kibbutz) 15 miles north of Haifa, we were surrounded by magnificent flowers.

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Here’s what the Biblical Archaeology Society says:

…in the early 1990s, Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat took over control of the Waqf, and a systematic destruction of any vestige of Jewish presence on the Mount was begun. Arafat claimed that there never was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, an opinion often referred to as “Temple Denial.”

During the ten-year “reign” of Arafat on the Temple Mount, and in the years since his death, numerous unauthorized and archaeologically unsupervised construction projects have been carried out.

In 1996 the Waqf began converting the underground area of the Mount popularly known as Solomon’s Stables into a large mosque. It has bulldozed parts of the top of the mount to make way for “open” mosques, cleaned ancient cisterns, paved over ancient areas, damaged an ancient wall, dug a trench for a utility line, and removed thousands of tons of “debris,” from the site, dumping it in the Kidron valley.

They’ve also employed a huge electric saw to cut up ancient stones from the Temple Mount, destroying any historical evidence the stones may have offered. An analysis in the early 1990s found that the Waqf had committed more than 35 violations of Israeli antiquities law on the site.

Despite the fact that religious Jews as well as archaeologists have complained, the Israeli government has done nothing to stop the desecration of Judaism’s holiest site, out of fear of arousing Arab passions.

Read the article by Hershel Shanks of the BAS here. It’s infuriating.

Technorati Tags: Temple Mount, Waqf, Archaeology

No recognition, no end to terrorism, and no peace.

GAZA (Reuters) – The Palestinian unity government which will be formed under an agreement reached in Saudi Arabia will not recognize Israel, a political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday.

“The issue of recognition was not addressed at all (in Mecca),” Ahmed Youssef said. “In the platform of the new government there will be no sign of recognition (of Israel), regardless of the pressures the United States and the Quartet would exert,” he said.

The rain of Kassam missiles from Gaza hasn’t abated either.