Samaria Leader: ‘Netanyahu Knows He’s Lying’

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144495

Benny Katzover, chairman of the grassroots Samaria Residents’ Council, is unimpressed by Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, despite all of the standing ovations. Katzover – a respected member of the pioneer generation of Samaria settler leaders – admitted that Netanyahu’s oration “was impressive and received great respect.”
 
“But this respect was given to him because he pretended to represent authentic Jewish values,” he went on. “In fact, however, he filled up the bucket and then proceeded to empty it of water.”
 
“He is continuing down the slippery slope of ‘two states for two nations’ from the Bar Ilan speech,” Katzover told Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew-language news magazine. “Every child knows that leaving only the [dense] settlement blocs [in Israeli hands] means giving over 90% of the territory and marking more than 100,000 Jews for eviction.”
 
Netanyahu is following in the footsteps of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, Katzover said. “He keeps selling out another bit and another one, and in this way makes everything crumble. He knows he’s lying and that there will be many more communities outside the blocs. He spoke yesterday of a dramatic demographic change near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. These are precisely the classic blocs of Sharon and Olmert, and all those who wanted to sell out Judea and Samaria.”
 
“I am sorry to say that he keeps on loosening the wall. He cannot declare that this is the Land of our Forefathers and continue to trade it away. There is damage on the consciousness level, even if his speech is not practical at this point. He basically gave a message that what we established will not necessarily survive, as if there is no choice but to accommodate the Palestinians.” 

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=222233&R=R1


W. Bank dropped from JAFI site promoting aliya


Info about Absorption Ministry program encouraging aliya includes J'lem, Haifa and Modi’in, but removes Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel.

 
A community-aliya program aimed at new immigrants from English-speaking countries has sparked controversy in recent weeks as the Jewish Agency has pulled back from promoting two of the towns involved because they are beyond the pre-1967 lines, The Jerusalem Post learned on Wednesday.

The five year-old program is funded by the Immigrant Absorption Ministry, and aims to settle English-speaking olim in Jerusalem, Haifa, Modi’in, Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel.

Until last month, all five cities were listed on the Jewish Agency’s website and agency emissaries representing Israel in communities worldwide would offer potential immigrants information on the program.

But three weeks ago, two of the towns, Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel – both of which are situated over the Green Line – were removed from the information on the website.

Sources told the Post that in an internal meeting held last week between the Absorption Ministry and Jewish Agency officials, coordinators for the two towns were informed that their segment of the program would no longer be promoted.

A spokesman for the agency pointed out that the program is fully funded and operated by the government, and not by the aliya organization – which is responsible for bringing Jews to Israel, but not for where they live once they arrive.

“JAFI [the Jewish Agency for Israel] does not tell people where to live, but it will also not hide the options that are available to new immigrants,” said the spokesman, adding that the page on the website was in the process of being updated for 2011.

He denied that this was a new policy of the agency, adding that the quasi-government organization, headed by former deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky, does not fund programs over the Green Line – even though the information is available if potential immigrants request it.

However, Ma’aleh Adumim’s Deputy Mayor Boris Grossman criticized the agency for removing the town from its promotional material, saying “there was never a problem before. People love living in this city. It is a great place to live, and we have won many prizes.” Grossman holds the immigration portfolio in the town of 39,000 residents.

He said that over the past five years some 25 families a year have immigrated to Ma’aleh Adumim from North America, as well as 17 families from the former Soviet Union.

“I do not understand why Sharansky is doing this, we have been working very well on this program and we plan to continue,” Grossman said.

This is not the first time that the Absorption Ministry’s community-aliya program for English-speakers has faced problems. Last year, budget cuts meant that immigrant families from North America – who make up the bulk of English-speaking immigrants to Israel – were removed from the program, leaving it open only to those arriving from Britain, South Africa and Australia.

While most of those moving to Ma’aleh Adumim under the program are from North America, the other city over the Green Line, Ariel, is more popular with immigrants from Britain and South Africa, with some 10 families opting to move there each year.

A spokesman for the Absorption Ministry responded that it is “a partner to the community-aliya program,” but that it does not take any part in marketing the program abroad.

“That part belongs to the Jewish Agency and the relevant municipal authority,” he s

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4073896,00.html

Settlers: We won't live in Palestinian state

Jewish residents of West Bank concerned over Netanyahu's Congress address. 'We were sent here by state, if they abandon us to Palestinians' mercy we'll resist,' says settler, slamming 'talk of ceding ancestral Jewish land'.

Jewish settlers living beyond the 1967 lines expressed concern Wednesday after hearing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say Israel "will be required to give up parts of the ancestral Jewish homeland" during his speech before Congress.

The possibility of Jewish settlements becoming a part of a Palestinian state aroused their anger. "It's mass suicide, they'll just destroy us," a settler claimed. "Such talk of abandonment is very grave."

 
"If they evict us forcefully, we'll resist," said Eli Rosenbaum, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Ateret. "But if they abandon us to the mercy of the Palestinians – of course we'll resist. I suppose a majority of the Jewish population will object to it."

 
"Just two days ago I returned from my reserve service. We must remember we were sent here by the state and our rights and lives are no less important than those of other citizens," he added.

 
Rosenbaum was upset by Netanyahu's speech. "In the book of Psalms it says not to trust people, and we didn't trust in Netanyahu to bring salvation. His speech was very predictable and very disappointing. His final message allows the ceding of ancestral Jewish land, and it's a very grave message in our eyes. I hope this plan won't be carried out," he said.

 
According to Rosenbaum he would not give up his home for anything, claiming: "This isn't just about my home. It's about a country that belonged to past generations and belongs to future generations, and no one has the right to give it up.

 

"I don't believe even the pleasant things that Netanyahu said, like that Jerusalem would not be divided," Rosenbaum said. "I don't believe he really means he won't divide Jerusalem. It's a shame Netanyahu didn't speak with more force and worried about Israel's interests."

 
'Less painful to be evicted for real peace'

"The probability of us staying here under Palestinian rule isn't realistic. It's futureless, even if we're talking about actual peace," claimed Limor Zarbiv, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Neveh Tzuf.

 

For Zarbiv, Netanyahu's speech did not come as a surprise. "He said what everyone thought he would say. All of his flattery towards the Americans was unnecessary in my opinion, but it was clearly part of the game. I'm not naïve but it's not east to hear a leader of the Likud say he's willing to make painful concessions, knowing full well we're part of that sentence," she said.

 

Zarbiv said that given past experiences, "those who give up territory are usually the rightists".

 

"Our hope is that it just won't happen… We all want peace but we don't believe it'll happen. We believe the other side just won't allow it," she said.

 

"If I get evicted from my home for real peace, it will be a lot less painful," admitted Zarbiv. "I'm not talking about a withdrawal like the one done in Gaza, when they evicted (people) so they could keep shooting, but for actual peace that would put an end to the conflict once and for all. I wouldn't like it, but I would be able to handle it."

 
'Arabs have state in Jordan'

Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika also responded to the prime minister's speech. "Netanyahu is on a slippery slop he initially created for himself with his Bar Ilan speech. This stalling tactic doesn't justify the vow to swap ancestral homeland, an irrational vow," he said.

 

"The idea of waving the sword of deportation over the heads of more than 100,000 settlers is delusional, irrelevant, and impractical. The Israeli government should begin a massive settlement movement to close the book on the dangerous delusion of a Palestinian state."

 

Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan believes the support shown to Netanyahu in the US Congress centered on Israel's security and the right of Jews to Israel, not withdrawal from land. "The Congress became silent just as he discussed geographical generosity and the abandoning of settlements," claimed Dayan.

 

"Even the Americans have a hard time understanding his insistence on supporting the Palestinian state. This is the time to leverage that sympathy to nationality and Zionism and translate it into Jewish sovereignty in Israeli settlements across the West Bank."

 

Chairman of the Binyamin Settlers Committee Itzik Shadmi also criticized Netanyahu, saying he would "give up our ancestral Jewish homeland for the benefit of our Arab enemies, who will establish an Arab state in addition to the one they already have in Jordan."
      

MK Uri Ariel (National Union), meanwhile, claimed "the PM volunteered to recognize a Palestinian state even before the Palestinians renounced their killing policy."

 

MK Yaakov Katz (National Union) added, "I congratulate Netanyahu for speaking candidly about the change of the Likud's platform. The National Union is the only political party left that is still true to the platform of the State of Israel."