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Volume 48.2 Publisher: Murray Kahl A 15, 1996

Table of Contents
51-page secret document
Israel to Retain Security over Hevron
Syria Rejects Peace Overture
Six Muslim Terrorists Confess
Israel Cracks Down on Illegal Housing
Israel an Asian Tiger says US Government Official
Egyptian Group Prepares for War With Israel
New Terror Groups Formed
Sabotage Suspected in TWA 800
Argentinian Conclusion Unacceptable
Middle East Cameos
Republican Platform on the Middle East
US Government Release
OpEds

51-page secret document
A 51 page secret document by Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan, the West Bank
army commander was revealed, Israel radio reported today.
The document reveals that Israel has plans for 3000 miles of new
roads and some of the roadways may involve Israel using the rights of
eminent domain to gain the needed property.
The plan began under the previous government and estimates are
that the costs would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to Israel radio the plan was submitted to Defense
Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and the army command for review.
The army plan calls for the immediate construction of three road
sections around Jerusalem that would link Jewish West Bank
settlements, including Givat Zeev and Mishor Adumim, with Jerusalem.
Also included in the plan are 28 roads involving a total of 85
miles that are presently completed or under construction.
In addition, 15 new settler bypass roads for a total length of 32
miles. In the longer term, Israel should
Israel Radio also reported that the Dayan plan recommends
building about 175 miles of strategic roads covering the length and
width of the West Bank for security reasons.

Israel to Retain Security over Hevron
Reports are that a plan eagerly awaited by the residents of
Hevron is said to contain provisions for Israel to assume complete
responsibility for the Jewish population.
The plan requires a renegotiation of the present accords as
events prompting the administration to take these steps are terror
activities arising from within Hevron.
The largest concentration of Hamas terrorists are know to live in
Hevron and now that they are reaching for a position of primacy within
the Palestinian population, they pose an ever increasing threat.
Curiously enough, the Clinton administration is strongly
supporting an accommodation with Yasir Arafat's government while
Arafat is losing power due to dictatorial approaches used by his
government that involve the use of torture/murder to achieve political
goals. This strengthens terror groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad
that threaten the Jewish residents and increase their need for
security.
Michael Eitan, head of the ruling Likud Party faction in
parliament, said Israel planned to settle many more Jews in the
West Bank and Gaza. "There will be new neighborhoods and many Jews
will come and live there."

Settlements an Obstacle to Peace says US State Department
Yasir Arafat knowing of the support given him by the Clinton
Administration asked President Clinton in a much publicized letter to
halt Jewish settlement expansion. Arafat said the Netanyahu government
had adopted irresponsible positions that "create an atmosphere of
distrust and lack of confidence in the peace process."
This prompted State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns to tell
reporters in Geneva during a visit by Secretary of State Warren
Christopher that the United States continued to believe that
settlements were an obstacle to the Middle East peace process and was
questioning Israel over reports that Israel planned to settle a large
number of Jews in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Burns said, "What the United States is now doing, having heard
all these public pronouncements, is we're going back to the Israelis
saying: "What is the Prime Minister's point of view and is this an
official decision of the government, or are these just public
suggestions? Obviously our position remains unchanged. We think
settlements are complicating and unhelpful to the peace process."
The issue should be discussed in Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations, Burns added.
These statements by the Clinton administration angers many
Americans and particularly Congress as they strongly supported P.M.
Netanyahu when he spoke before them and explained that Jews have the
democratic right to live anywhere in Israel.
Especially damaging to the Democratic Party is the de facto anti-
Israel stance of the Clinton administration, as the Republican
platform makes note of Clinton's recalcitrance and many members of
Congress remember well President Clinton strongly supporting Yasir
Arafat as Clinton stated that the PLO is complying with its agreements
in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Many members of Congress are concerned that the traditional
Jewish vote is in jeopardy and well as a large Christian vote due to
Clinton pressuring Israel to reach an accommodation with Syria in the
northern areas. This approach agreed to with the previous government
places in jeopardy thousands of Christian Maronites who are fighting
ethnic cleansing in Lebanon.

Syria Rejects Peace Overture
Lebanese Foreign Faris Bweiz said at a joint news conference with
his Syrian counterpart, Farouk al-Sharaa that, "The Lebanon First
formula so far is propaganda ... a maneuver more than a practical,
serious and sound option."

Six Muslim Terrorists Confess
A dissident Saudi group representative, said Saad al-Fagih, head
of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, said from his exile base
in London that six Muslim militant suspects for the June 25 blast at a
U.S. military housing complex in eastern Saudi Arabia near Dhahran
were imprisoned in Jubail, a port city 50 miles northwest of Dhahran.
The Saudis are known to have arrested hundreds of suspects and
Fagih claimed that these six were among those arrested.
Neither U.S. nor Saudi officials would comment on the report and
there is some degree of skepticism as the Saudis are known to use
torture to elicit confessions.

Israel Cracks Down on Illegal Housing
Despite the lack of building permits, Arabs have started
construction of homes in Jerusalem's eastern portion in an attempt to
establish the area as the future capital of an independent Palestine.
The new Israeli government is having none of this and began
tearing down the illegal housing bringing bitter complaints from the
Palestinians affected.
Two homes were demolished yesterday initiating complaints from
the Arabist human rights group Betzelem who does not distinguish
between illegal and legal construction.
More than 300 illegal homes have been demolished in the past
eight years bringing a strong statement from Interior Minister Eliahu
Suissa, who complained of violations by Arabs of building codes in
East Jerusalem in the past, and has said he would strictly enforce the
law. "Our Achilles heel is the illegal building of the Arabs, which is
planned and funded by hostile sources."
Twenty eight percent of Jerusalem's population is Arab with most
concentrated in the eastern section.

Israel an Asian Tiger says US Government Official
U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Stuart E. Eizenstat told the
Israel-American Chamber of Commerce August 6 that Israel needs to
continue to exercise fiscal and monetary discipline and complete "the
restructuring and liberalization of its economy."
Excerpts from his speech are:
"Over the years, the U.S. has provided billions in military and
economic assistance to Israel, and those aid levels represent
significant amounts of our total annual foreign aid As in past
years, we remain committed to maintaining our economic and
military assistance to Israel. At the same time, we are
committed to helping Israel stand on its own feet economically.
On the issue of closure, we recognize the importance of Israel's
security. The paramount obligation of every government in every
nation -- whether Israel or the U.S. -- is the protection of its
own citizens from attack, as each of our countries has painfully
recognized over the past few months."

Egyptian Group Prepares for War With Israel
Veterans of Egyptian wars with Israel are forming a political
party whose priority is to prepare for war with Israel.
Mohammed Muawad Gad el-Mawalla, a founder of the October Party,
said today, "Who said the October war will be the last war in the
Arab-Israeli conflict? We should be always fully ready and on
guard."
Egypt regards the 1973 war with Israel as a success and
celebrates their "victory" as they feel they proved that Israel was
not impregnable due to the more than 3,000 lives Israel suffered. The
war ended with Israeli General Arik Sharon crossing the Suez canal and
capturing the Egyptian Third Army with more than 10,000 soldiers.

New Terror Groups Formed
Reports from the NY Times are that businessmen in Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are among a number of wealthy
sources that financed Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who is accused of being the
brains behind the World Trade Center bombing in New York City in 1993
and a plot to blow up 11 U.S. jets.
The Times said that Osama Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi businessman,
financed for terrorism in Europe, Africa and the Middle East against
Americans and other Westerners. Additional information on Laden's
activities are documented below in today's US Government Releases.

Sabotage Suspected in TWA 800
Examination of the central fuel tank suggests that the major
explosion that downed the jet occurred after an initial blast.
This explains in a theory expected to be confirmed by officials
is that a bomb exploded in the jet's cabin and caused it to fall
apart. The second large explosion probably happened later on while the
plane was falling.
The fuel tank's appearance proves that it was affected by a low
energy fuel explosion rather than a violent blast expected by
explosives.
The first explosion may have been from a small bomb near the
front of the right wing and hidden in overhead luggage. The location
is not crucial to the damage as enough damage to down the aircraft was
possible from any location within the jet.

Argentinian Conclusion Unacceptable
Findings by Argentina's Supreme Court that said the Israeli
Embassy in Buenos Aires that was destroyed in 1992 occurred from a
bomb within the embassy was severely criticized by Israel.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said, "We categorically reject the
evaluations published by the Supreme Court in Argentina," and accused
the Argentine Supreme Court of conducting the investigation "in a
tardy fashion." And, citing an inquiry by Israeli and Argentine
investigators, said the blast was caused by a car bomb on the sidewalk
outside the building.
Yitzhak Aviran, The Israeli ambassador in Buenos Aires,
questioned the seriousness of the investigation. He said "In four
years the court did nothing to investigate, Now they need to
prove they are working on the case, so they come up with this
report."
Middle East Cameos
** Egypt and the and the International Monetary Fund have reached a
tentative agreement for monetary reform. The proposed agreement asks
the Western nations to forgive $4 billion of Egypt's $32.5 billion
foreign debt.
** Iran and India threaten to veto sending the nuclear test ban treaty
to the general Assembly for approval, as they oppose Israel's
inclusion in the 51-member executive council as part of the Middle
East group rather than as a Western nation.
** Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai Wednesday warned Lebanon against
allowing any deterioration in the security situation along its border
with Israel.
** Unconfirmed reports are that Hizbullah had acquired 240mm. Katyusha
rockets with a range of 40 kilometers prompting concern in Israel's
northern cities.
** The USS Enterprise, The World's First Nuclear-powered Aircraft
Carrier, to Visit Haifa Port August 16, to the 22nd. Embarked aboard
Enterprise and commanding the 13-ship Enterprise battle group is Rear
Admiral Martin J. Mayer. Also embarked aboard Enterprise is Carrier
Air Wing Seventeen and its more than 70 aircraft. The USS Enterprise
Carrier Air Wing Seventeen team numbers in excess of 5,000 sailors and
Marines.

Republican Platform on the Middle East
Peace through strength continues to be central in the Middle
East. Saddam Hussein reminded us just five years ago of the potential
for aggression by radical states in this region.
Republicans understand the importance of maintaining a robust
U.S. military capability in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Persian
Gulf, cooperating with our allies to ensure regional stability.
Republicans also understand the need to be willing to use force to
deter aggression and, where deterrence fails, to defeat it. That is
why Republicans were the bedrock of support for the congressional vote
to authorize the use of force against Iraq's aggression in 1991, while
most Democrats voted against Operation Desert Storm.
The Middle East remains a region vital to American security. Our
enduring goals there are to promote freedom and stability, secure
access to oil resources, and maintain the security of
Israel, our one democratic ally in the region with whom we share moral
bonds and common strategic interests. Most of the world's oil exports
flow from the Middle East, and thus its strategic significance
remains. But it is still the most volatile region in the world.
Islamic radicalism, increasing terrorism, and rogue states like Iran,
Iraq, Syria, and Libya threaten regional and international stability.
In this environment, Israel's demonstrated strategic importance
to the U.S. as our most reliable and capable ally in this part of the
world is more critical than ever. That is why Israel's security is
central to U.S. interests in the region. That is why Republican
Administrations initiated efforts with Israel to pre-position military
equipment, to conduct joint contingency planning and joint military
exercises. That is why we advocate continuing cooperation on the Arrow
Missile, boost phase intercept, and the Nautilus programs. That is why
we look toward the greater integration of Israel into our regional
defense planning and wish to explore ways to enhance our strategic
cooperation. That is why we have continued to support full funding
for aid to Israel despite cuts in the foreign assistance budget, and
why we applaud the country's commitment toward economic self
sufficiency.
We reaffirm that Republican commitment to maintain Israel's
qualitative military advantage over any adversary or group of
adversaries. While we fully support Israel's efforts to find peace
and security with its neighbors, we will judge the peace process by
the security it generates both for Israel and for the United States.
In that context, we support Israel's right to make its own decisions
regarding security and boundaries. We strongly oppose the Clinton
Administration's attempts to interfere in Israel's democratic process.
We applaud the Republican Congress for enacting legislation to
recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. A Republican
administration will ensure that the U.S. Embassy is moved to Jerusalem
by May 1999.
We honor the memory of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and
express our support for the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. We applaud those leaders in the Arab world, President
Mubarak and King Hussein, who have spoken courageously and acted
boldly for the cause of peace. We endorse continued assistance and
support for countries which have made peace with Israel - led by Egypt
and later joined by Jordan. Republican leadership will support others
who follow their example, while isolating terrorist states until they
are fit to rejoin the community of nations.

US Government Release
Saudi Arabia Sponsors Terror
TEXT: STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES FACTSHEET ON BIN LADIN
(Sponsor of Islamic extremist activities described)
August 14, 1996
Washington -- The State Department issued the following fact
sheet on Usama bin Muhammad bin Awad Bin Ladin on August 14, calling
him a financier of Islamic extremist activities.
(begin text)
Usama Bin Ladin: Islamic Extremist Financier
Usama bin Muhammad bin Awad Bin Ladin is one of the most
significant financial sponsors of Islamic extremist activities in the
world today. One of some 20 sons of wealthy Saudi construction
magnate Muhammad Bin Ladin -- founder of the Kingdom's Bin Ladin Group
business empire -- Usama joined the Afghan resistance movement
following the 26 December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. "I was
enraged and went there at once," he claimed in a 1993 interview. "I
arrived within days, before the end of 1979."
Bin Ladin gained prominence during the Afghan war for his role in
financing the recruitment, transportation, and training of Arab
nationals who volunteered to fight alongside the Afghan mujahedin. By
1985, Bin Ladin had drawn on his family's wealth, plus donations
received from sympathetic merchant families in the Gulf region, to
organize the Islamic Salvation Foundation, or al-Qaida, for this
purpose.
-- A network of al-Qaida recruitment centers and guesthouses in
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan has enlisted and sheltered thousands
of Arab recruits. This network remains active.
-- Working in conjunction with extremist groups like the Egyptian
al-Gama'at al-Islamiyyah, also know as the Islamic Group, al-Qaida
organized and funded camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan that provided
new recruits paramilitary training in preparation for the fighting in
Afghanistan.
-- Under al-Qaida auspices, Bin Ladin imported bulldozers and
other heavy equipment to cut roads, tunnels, hospitals, and storage
depots through Afghanistan's mountainous terrain to move and shelter
fighters and supplies.
After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, Bin Ladin
returned to work in the family's Jeddah-based construction business.
However, he continued to support militant Islamic groups that had
begun targeting moderate Islamic governments in the region. Saudi
officials held Bin Ladin's passport during 1989-1991 in a bid to
prevent him from solidifying contacts with extremists whom he had
befriended during the Afghan war.
Bin Ladin relocated to Sudan in 1991, where he was welcomed by
National Islamic Front (NIF) leader Hasan al-Turabi. In a 1994
interview, Bin Ladin claimed to have surveyed business and
agricultural investment opportunities in Sudan as early as 1983. He
embarked on several business ventures in Sudan in 1990, which began to
thrive following his move to Kh~artoum. Bin Ladin also formed
symbiotic business relationships with wealthy NIF members by
undertaking civil infrastructure development projects on the re~gime's
behalf:
-- Bin Ladin's company, Al-Hijrah for Construction and
Development, Ltd., built the Tahaddi (challenge) road linking Khartoum
with Port Sudan, as well as a modern international airport near Port
Sudan.
-- Bin Ladin's import-export firm, Wadi al-Aqiq Company, Ltd., in
conjunction with his Taba Investment Company, Ltd., secured a near
monopoly over Sudan's major agricultural exports of gum, corn,
sunflower, and sesame products in cooperation with prominent NIF
members. At the same time, Bin Ladin's Al-Themar al-Mubarak~ah
Agriculture Company, Ltd. grew to encompass large tracts of land near
Khartoum and in eastern Sudan.
-- Bin Ladin and wealthy NIF members capitalized Al-Shamal
Islamic Bank in Khartoum. Bin Ladin invested $50 million in the bank.
Bin Ladin's work force grew to include militant Afghan war veterans
seeking to avoid a return to their own countries, where many stood
accused of subversive and terrorist activities. In May 1993, for
example, Bin Ladin financed the travel of 300 to 480 Afghan war
veterans to Sudan after Islamabad launched a crackdown against
extremists lingering in Pakistan. In addition to safehaven in Sudan,
Bin Ladin has provided financial support to militants actively opposed
to moderate Islamic governments and the West:
-- Islamic extremists who perpetrated the December 1992 attempted
bombings against some 100 U.S. servicemen in Aden (billeted there to
support U.N. relief operations in Somalia) claimed that Bin Ladin
financed their group.
-- A joint Egyptian-Saudi investigation revealed in May 1993 that
Bin Ladin business interests helped funnel money to Egyptian
extremists, who used the cash to buy unspecified equipment, printing
presses, and weapons.
-- By January 1994, Bin Ladin had begun financing at least three
terrorist training camps in northern Sudan (camp residents included
Egyptian, Algerian, Tunisian and Palestinian extremists) in
cooperation with the NIF. Bin Ladin's Al-Hijrah for Construction and
Development works directly with Sudanese military officials to
transport and provision terrorists training in such camps.
-- Pakistani investigators have said that Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the
alleged mastermind of the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing,
resided at the Bin Ladin-funded Bayt Ashuhada (house of martyrs)
guesthouse in Peshawar during most of the three years before his
apprehension in February 1995.
-- A leading member of the Egyptian extremist group al-Jihad
claimed in a July 1995 interview that Bin Ladin helped fund the group
and was at times witting of specific terrorist operations mounted by
the group against Egyptian interests.
-- Bin Ladin remains the key financier behind the "Kunar' camp in
Afghanistan, which provides terrorist training to al-Jihad and
al-Gama'at al-Islamiyyah members, according to suspect terrorists
captured recently by Egyptian authorities.
Bin Ladin's support for extremist causes continues despite
criticisms from regional governments and his family. Algeria, Egypt,
and Yemen have accused Bin Ladin of financing militant Islamic groups
on their soil (Yemen reportedly sought INTERPOL's assistance to
apprehend Bin Ladin during 1994). In February 1994, Riyadh revoked Bin
Ladin's Saudi citizenship for behavior that "contradicts the Kingdom's
interests and risks harming its relations with fraternal countries."
The move prompted Bin Ladin to form the Advisory and Reformation
Committee, a London-based dissident organization that by July 1995 had
issued over 350 pamphlets critical of the Saudi Government. Bin Ladin
has not responded to condemnation leveled against him in March 1994 by
his eldest brother, Bakr Bin Ladin, who expressed, through the Saudi
media, his family's "regret, denunciation, and condemnation" of Bin
Ladin's extremist activities.
(end text)
**********************************************************************
***AD***
Re:Clinton's Future Influence on Israel's Internal Affairs

Clinton will lose the upcoming Presidential Election on three counts:

Terrorism: 1) As a supporter of Mid-East Terrorism that has returned
to haunt the U.S.

Drugs: 2) The White House has become a "Nest for Drug Users."

Character: 3) Character - Liars, Crooks, Scam Perpetrators don't
belong in the White House.

The President's Chief role is to establish an ethical, moral, and
religious leadership role for the people. (That of a Prime Minister as
well)

Clinton - like Former Prime Minister of Israel Peres - is a moral
rebrobate.

Kemp and Dole, especially Kemp, are appropriate, if not outstanding
role models. This will overcome, over time, Clinton's fictitious
campaign promises.
**********************************************************************

OpEds
WHAT IS THE FBI LOOKING FOR IN TEL AVIV?
(By Chaim Shibi, "Yediot Ahronot" Aug 7, 1996, p. B6)
Opening Of An FBI Office In Tel Aviv, Say American Experts, Is
Part Of A New Dogma In The Fight Against Terror That Demands Going Out
Into The Field # "The Americans Understand That It Is Impossible To
Work By Remote Control," Says Prof. Yonah Alexander, From George
Washington University. "The Decision To Establish An FBI Branch In
Israel Sends A Message To The Terrorists: "You Cannot Escape - We Are
Following You Everywhere."
The offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that will open
in Tel Aviv, are essentially an indirect American admission about
their lack of knowledge of the new enemy - blind terror that strikes
it now without mercy. For years, America has been using espionage on
its information gathering targets through advanced technology,
essentially through satellites. Now - the Americans have decided to
descend into the territory. And their approach to the boiling pot of
the Mideast will be done with the Israeli Mossad.
Retired Marine Col. Ed Badalato, who was the American military
attache in Beirut and Damascus, and who also served in Israel with the
UN forces in Tiberias, is considered an American expert with
experience in all aspects of intelligence and counter-intelligence.
Badalato explains that there is a great advantage to work attached to
Tel Aviv, as opposed to telephone contact, or sending experts at time
of need. "Israel is a very active place for follow-up, and activity in
a number of spheres, including matters tied to individuals in the
Russian Mafia. The FBI's going out is part of the new dogma of the
fight against terror, that dictates going into the field. The head of
the FBI, Louis Frieh is developing this dogma now. I can say that
already today 30 FBI men are operating around the world, under the
auspices of various Embassies with the title "legal attache".
Badalato sees in Tel Aviv "a central and outstanding location for
intelligence and investigation activity, and a center from which it is
possible to keep track in a number of spheres. It's enough for one or
two men within the Embassy or in a small office nearby who can develop
a system of contacts and go out to investigate with the consent of the
Israelis, without the need to request special approval, every time
anew, and to fly men in. In every respect, it is good that there will
be men in Tel Aviv who know everyone they need to know, and everyone
knows them.
Prof. Yonah Alexander, of George Washington University, is an
expert in the war against terror: "The FBI in Tel Aviv means daily and
very close contact with the security branches in Israel. This way
there won't be telephone problems between the intelligence agents of
both countries. The Americans understand that it is not possible to
work by remote control."
Alexander adds: "Opening of a branch of the FBI sends a message
to the terrorists and to countries that sponsor terror: 'you cannot
escape - we are following you everywhere.' They will smell the aroma
of the Mideast from up close."
Richard Lugar, a Republican Senator with long experience,
described what is happening today with the American secret service as
a new awareness of the need for "creative" intelligence. and the need
for changes in approach in the war against terror.
The CIA is paying the price: for years a traditional division of
work was preserved between the CIA and the FBI. The CIA spied abroad,
the FBI inside the country.
The feeling of a new war being conducted against the USA, outside
its borders and within, is breaking the division of work between the
two intelligence agencies and giving the FBI a foothold also in
investigations conducted outside US borders.
Investigation of the attack on TWA flight 800 is being conducted
today by the liaison offices of the FBI spread around the world. The
new offices in Tel Aviv and Cairo will be the most forward American
positions for integrating everything possible on extremist Islam and
its disciples. " We will work more closely with the Israeli Mossad,"
sources in the FBI told the Washington Post yesterday.
In order to understand the madness of the terror passing over
America now, it is possible to observe the case of Susan Cohen, a
Jewish American woman, who lost her daughter Andrea in the Lybian
terror attack on the Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland.
For three years I have seen Susan Cohen become the dread of all
the clerks and officials in the White House and in the State
Department in Washington. She wrote harsh letters to Tony Lake, head
of the National Security Council, in which she demanded action against
Lybia and against Syria for granting refuge to terror. Cohen lived her
grief and demanded revenge. She even reprimanded the families of the
victims, who were ready to accept damages from Lybia, in a tempting
legal settlement.
This week, Cohen switched from being an unwanted pest, to a
sought after preacher in the gates of the city. The weekly magazine
"TIME" gave her a full page in which she wrote about the hatred that
gave her strength. The TV networks are pursuing her for interviews.
Yesterday Cohen was called to the White House in order to stand behind
President Clinton's chair, while he signed the law imposing sanctions
on companies that trade with Lybia and Iran, in sums greater than $40
million. Cohen received the pen with which Clinton signed the bill as
a gesture of appreciation.
Susan Cohen, a bereaved mother, once a woman consumed by pain who
would not let the Washington officials finish their day in peace and
go home - is today a symbol of the uncompromising struggle against
terror.

Labor still rules
by RUTH MATAR
(August 14) - It is very difficult for Jews in the Diaspora to
fully comprehend the extent of power and control which the Labor
Party, even when out of power, exercises over the day to day life
here.
Economically, the Labor Party, through its supporters and its
alter-ego, the Histadrut, maintains a tight-fisted control of the
Israeli economy, and vigorously opposes all efforts of privatization
that would threaten its virtual monopolistic hold on Israel's industry
and commerce. At the same time, buttressed by their old socialistic
credo it is very hard, particularly in the public sector, to fire any
worker here. Unfortunately, the judiciary, whose members for the most
part got their jobs through loyalty to the Labor Establishment, is
supportive of such an unhealthy and short-sighted protective policy.
Thus, the normal changeover and housecleaning in public personnel that
occurs after an election bringing a new party to power, does not
happen in Israel. The old guard loyalists stay on, even in important
governmental posts, making it extremely difficult for a new
administration to work effectively.
The Labor government was busy to the last day filling
ambassadorial posts with its own Party loyalists, who could not be
replaced by the new Netanyahu government. But even on the more
important level of key foreign service employees, and in the vital
area of communications, the judiciary, and even in the army itself,
there are scores of irreplaceable employees who owe their loyalties
elsewhere.
The recent post office scandal where Likud election literature
was proven to have been jettisoned and not delivered by Labor Party
members who held high positions in the Post Office, is just another
example of the malady.
Just an inkling of what is involved came to the fore indirectly
by a strong but objective statement made by Uzi Landau, the newly
appointed Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee. He accused some former and present IDF officers of being
yes-men to the previous Labor government, particularly concerning the
Oslo accords as they affect Hebron and other areas in Judea and
Samaria.
The uproar that followed was typical standard Labor character
assassination of an opponent who dares reveal its improprieties. The
defamation of Landau by Labor lackeys was given widespread coverage by
the media, still controlled by Labor. Typically, the media gave most
of its time and space to the Labor and Meretz opposition on the issues
raised. That stalwart, non-partisan defender of the faith, Meretz
Leader Yossi Sarid was called upon to observe that the present
relationship between the the political and military echelons had
"never been so bad."
Unintentionally, he proved what Landau was saying had merit; that
indeed the situation was bad because some in the military leadership
were continuing to justify and promote the former Labor objectives,
despite the new mandate given to Netanyahu in the elections.
What is important to observe from this whole falsely created
hullabaloo, is that forces seeking to change the Labor-Histadrut
stranglehold on the economy, and Labor's control of every aspect of
national life, have an immense and difficult hurdle to overcome.
Today, it is the IDF-Labor relationship that has been exposed.
Tomorrow it may be the investigation into why there is an invisible
quota to the Labor controlled appointments to the Supreme Court, where
Labor sees to it that not more than one religious Jew is allowed to be
appointed to the court at any one time. Certainly, any attack on
Labor's improper use of the Histadrut to disrupt the operation of the
new government by the sudden emerging pattern of calling frequent
strikes in an attempt to paralyze and disrupt the functioning of day
to day life, will evoke similar vicious attacks by the Labor
Establishment. Similar attacks will be made on those critics who dare
point out Labor's improper financing of its alter ego, the Histadrut,
and some of its wealthy kibbutzim from taxpayers' monies. So will
unrestrained attacks be forthcoming on critics of Labor's artificial
control of the economy and its labyrinth of administrative and other
roadblocks in order to prevent the privatization of industry, and the
competitiveness of a free economy. In the face of all of the above
realities, it was truly a miracle that brought about the defeat of the
powerful and mighty Labor giant. The results of that election give
meaning and hope to all believing Jews. Despite the powerful Labor
forces led by Shimon Peres, there is, as shown by the elections, a
majority of Jews who still believe in a Jewish state. The battle for
Jewish survival goes on. It is a battle, however, by new Jewish
forces, made up in no small part by immigrants from the US and
elsewhere who are providing the ideology and faith that are needed to
assure victory.
The writer is a founder of Women in Green.