A guide to US pressure

Dear Friends,

Women in Green mourn, together with the rest of the nation, the death of Lt Assaf Ramon, son of the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, killed in a IAF (Israel Air Force) training accident. We pray that Hashem should give the Ramon family the strength to overcome this additional tragedy.

Assaf's father, Colonel Ilan Ramon was an Israeli hero and will be remembered for his heroism not only as the first Israeli astronaut in space but also for his patriotism, his IAF career and his Jewish pride. Col. Ramon brought with him into space: a Kiddush cup, a mezuzah, a Book of Psalms, a Chumash and a picture drawn by 14 year old Peter Ginz who was murdered in Auschwitz Death camp in 1944. He also ordered Kosher food. He told the Israeli public and the Jewish world it was "to emphasis unity of the Jewish people and Jewish communities abroad."

It is our duty to continue the legacy of Ilan and Assaf - a legacy of Jewish pride and love and devotion for Israel.

Reminder: Next week, Wednesday, September 23rd, WOMEN IN GREEN's CHIZUK TRIP to the Jewish outpost communities in Binyamin and Samaria.

A special Erets Israel day in which we come to strengthen and come back strengthened!!

Please register today by calling Elisheva at 052-300-3689.

Program: leaving the Inbal hotel at 9:00 am with famous tour guide Arye Klein from Kiryat Arba Hevron.
The tour is in Hebrew with English translation. We will visit Bnei Adam, Mitzpe Yossef, Chavat Ronen (area of har Bracha) and Charesha (Binyamin region). Approximate return around 3:30pm.

Fee: 30 nis to cover part of the expenses.

Jewish pride and love and devotion to Israel also means to be able to stand up for what is in Israel's interest, and not caving in to U.S. or European pressure.

As Prof. Yoram Ettinger points out in his excellent article below, leaders of Israel in the past have been able to withstand U.S. pressure. There's no reason our own Prime Minister shouldn't do the same.

With love for Israel,

Nadia Matar
Women in Green
--------------

A Guide to US Pressure
by Yoram Ettinger
September 14, 2009
(Israelnationalnews.com)


Fact: In 1950, the US Administration pressured Israel to refrain from Jewish construction in Jerusalem and from declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion built, relocated government agencies and thousands of immigrants to Jerusalem, and declared Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish State.

In 1967, the US Administration pressured against annexation of eastern Jerusalem. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol annexed, reunited Jerusalem, and built the formidable Ramat Eshkol neighborhood.

In 1970, the US Administration pressured Israel to relinquish control over parts of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Golda Meir constructed the neighborhoods of Gilo, Ramot and Neveh Yaakov (with a current population of over 100,000).

The US Administration pressured; Israel constructed, Jerusalem expanded and the Jewish State earned strategic respect.

Fact: In 1948, the US Department of State, the Pentagon and the CIA pressured Ben-Gurion to avoid a declaration of independence. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy pressured to stop the construction of Israel's nuclear reactor. In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson pressured against preempting the Egypt-Syria-Jordan military offensive.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pressured Prime Minister Menachem Begin to abstain from direct negotiations with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt. Instead, he wanted Begin to participate in an international conference focusing on the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan pressured Prime Minister Begin against bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor.

Defiance of pressure entails short-term cost, but enhances long-term national security. Submission to pressure exacerbates pressure. Fending off pressure is required in order to attain strategic goals; avoiding pressure - through concessions - leads to abandoning strategic goals.

Fact: US public and Congressional support of Israel is robust. The Rasmussen Report documents 70% support (August 10, 2009) and Gallup ranks Israel as the fourth-favored ally (March 3, 2009).

Seventy-one senators signed an August 10, 2009 letter calling upon President Barack Obama to shift pressure from Israel to the Arab countries. The Democratic Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Howard Berman, called upon Obama to end his preoccupation with settlements. The Democratic Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, resents Obama's opposition to Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem.

The strongest (Democratic) Senator, Daniel Inouye, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, is the most effective supporter of the US-Israel connection since 1948. Obama cannot get his legislative agenda passed without Inouye's support. While Congress has reservations about Israel's settlements policy, Congress also opposes sanctions against Israel.

Fact: Following the 1991 Gulf War, Israel asked for emergency assistance, which George H.W. Bush and James Baker rejected. Congress supported the request and Israel received $650 million in cash and $700 million in military systems. In 1990, Bush/Baker attempted to cut 5% of the foreign aid to Israel, on account of Israel's settlements activity. Congress opposed and the initiative was rescinded.

The American Legislature and the Executive branch of government are equal-in-power and fully independent of each other. The US Congress has been a systematic bastion of support for the Jewish State since before 1948.

Fact: President Obama has been transformed from a coattail president to an anchor-chained president, taking a dive from a 65% approval rating in January to less than 50% in September. It is the sharpest decline in recent decades, other than President Gerald Ford's (due to his pardon of Richard Nixon). Thus, Democratic House candidates and members are experiencing the lowest ebb in two years, while Republicans enjoy a systematic edge. Obama is confronted by an effective Blue-Dog Democratic opposition.

Fact: President Obama exercises psychological pressure against Israel. He cannot exert an effective tangible pressure. He was not elected to uproot Jewish settlements and prevent Jewish construction in Jerusalem. His political future - and that of Democratic legislators - does not depend on these issues.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is not among Obama's top priorities and his position on Israel is not compatible with that of most Democrats. Obama needs the support of Israel's friends on Capitol Hill in order to advance his primary domestic, national security and international agendas.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/9051

=============================================
Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380
mailto:wfit2@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org/