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Israel’s Declaration of Independence by Ari Bussel It was Friday, and the next day the British forces were due to leave Israel. An attack by the Arab countries was imminent. The United States has urged against any action, “Don’t proclaim the State – you could be destroyed.” David Ben Gurion decided otherwise. Invitations were sent, asking the dignitaries to arrive wearing dark dress clothes, at exactly 3:30 P.M. at Meir Dizingoff’s home. The Dizignoff’s home was then a museum bequeathed as a present to the City he helped create. Paintings of Jewish motifs were brought in, a stage erected and...

Some Milestones in Israel-Palestine1834 - 1886 - 1920 - 1922 - 1929 - 1938 - 1941 - 1948 - 1950s-1960s - 1970 1972 - 1973 - 1975 - 1976 - 1982 - 1987 - 1994 - 2000 - 2001 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2010 1834 First recorded attack on native Jews in Israel by Muslims, is the one in June 1834, Safed (the Plunder), the massacres and mass rapes went on for 33 days, (an inciter, Muhammed Damoor, a self-proclaimed prophet, ‘prophesied’ the attack for which he agitated). It was repeated in 1838. 1886 First...

Hear the Music By Ari Bussel Could you wait 11 years—feeling, knowing with all your being someone is looking for you—with nothing more than mere belief to sustain your dream? In the movie August Rush, a young child hears the music, and it eventually reunites him with the parents he had lost eleven years before. As if the world had conspired to make it happen, the sounds of everything around him created a melody that drove him forward, ensuring hope survived and did not diminish, until he became one with his parents. This happens in movies, but it also happens...

Sixty-two years ago this week,the Exodus, then called the USS President Warfield had its name changed for the last time as it embarked on what would be its last and most famous mission, bringing Holocaust survivors to the Holy Land. Back then the British were trying to curry favor with the Arab nations by preventing Jews from settling the holy land, today it is the President of the United States doing the same thing. As the world ramped up to WWII the British caved into Arab pressure and refused to allow any Jews to enter what was then called Palestine....

The historical record makes it nonsense to regard the formation of a Palestinian state as anything other than a collective, internationally-approved land grab in itself in an area mandated by the League of Nations as a Jewish homeland. For too much truth, at first sight, ne’er attracts. - George Gordon, Lord Byron, Don Juan, Canto XIV The Israeli government’s present intention of holding on to a sliver of the West Bank within the perimeter of the security fence is an issue of serious import and is widely regarded as an illegal land grab. Yet the issue is by no means...

NICE, France — At least 21 people have gone from France to Iraq to join the anti-coalition fighters since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, national police said Thursday. National Police Chief Michel Gaudin told The Associated Press that nine of them had been killed, and 10 were believed to be alive and still in Iraq. Five of those killed were French citizens, while the other four had traveled to Iraq from France. "We are working with international authorities to determine their identities," Gaudin said. Two more French people were in custody after having been detained by coalition forces operating in...

UNITED NATIONS -- In another jab at its closest ally, Britain criticized U.S. environmental policy again on Thursday, urging the Bush administration to place climate change high on its agenda. At a U.N. event marking the entry into force of the Kyoto accord on global warming, Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, said it was "important that climate change rises up the US agenda." He called for a "strong U.S. contribution" to international talks on cutting gas emissions beyond the targets set by the Kyoto agreement. "We need much more effort. The post-Kyoto regime will require...

To: President Bush Dear President Bush, We, the citizens of the United States of America, demand that the US Government fully recognize the legality of the Israeli communities situated in the West Bank and Gaza. The following declarations in support of the Jewish communities situated in the West Bank and must be made prior to the upcoming November elections. Settlements are Not Illegal! 1. The settlements are not located in "occupied territory." The last binding international legal instrument which divided the territory in the region of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza was the League of Nations Mandate, which explicitly...

On the eve of the 56th Independence Day, two veteran members of Kibbutz Lahavot Habashan in the Hula Valley have revealed a long-held secret – the site of a "slick," a hidden arms cache, from the days of the British Mandate. Police and sappers on Wednesday found a carefully concealed bunker under the floor of a warehouse, not far from the dining hall, some 12 meters deep and about 10 meters square with built-in steps leading down from the access hole, which was covered by a concrete slab. Inside they discovered around 40 rifles of various types, ammunition, a water-cooled...

Jordan marks Independence Day   AMMAN (JT) — Jordan marked on Saturday the 56th anniversary of its independence. Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania attended a reception at Al Hussein Youth City hosted by Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb to celebrate the occasion. Addressing the audience, Abul Ragheb highlighted the role of the Hashemite family in building a strong, modern Jordan and their determination to attain more progress and remain true to the Arab Muslim identity of Jordan. Abul Ragheb said King Abdullah has continued with the Hashemite mission “with confidence, ability and earnestness despite the difficult circumstances the...

How the British fought terror in Jenin By Rafael Medoff (April 18) 'Demolishing the homes of Arab civilians... Shooting handcuffed prisoners... Forcing local Arabs to test areas where mines may have been planted..." These sound like the sort of accusations made by British and other European officials concerning Israel's recent actions in Jenin. In fact, they are descriptions from official British documents concerning the methods used by the British authorities to combat Palestinian Arab terrorism in Jenin and elsewhere in 1938. The documents were declassified by London in 1989. They provide details of the British Mandatory government's response to the...