Received Wednesday, March 8, 2007

A demonstration took place this day, in one of the oldest and most respectable avenues of Tel Aviv. It was not a demonstration against the government, it was not a riot, it did not condemn this or that, nor was it one by the usual well known political figures: it was a demonstration by a section of the population seldom seen in the street or in public life. The participants were Arab women, from the villages, who were demanding agricultural work. That in itself is odd, since it is known that, by and large, workers shun work on the land, but in this case it was doubly odd because Arab women are seldom seen outside t
heir homes and they are not known for seeking work away from home.

The story then has many ramifications.

Until the early 1990's the hired labour working on the farms were mostly Palestinians, who were allowed into Israel to do all those menial jobs which are shunned by citizens of advanced countries. These labourers took over part of the services sections, working as waiters, dishwashers, building labourers and farm workers. The Intifada put a stop to all this. Terrorist acts, sabotage and occasional murder forced the Israelis to close the borders and now a limited, small number of labourers are allowed in daily, under strict scrutiny of their age and security status.

In agriculture, labourers from the far east are imported and they form the bulk of the farm workers on Israeli farms. On this day, International Women's day, a group of Arab women, organized in a union of sorts, demonstrated for the right to do agricultural work and against the policy of importing foreign labour, when they are ready to do a day's work in the fields.

The importance of this demonstration lies in the fact that such an event has not been seen in the past. The other important point to come out of this is that for once, a true picture is being seen of the domestic life of the Arab family. The women are not devoted to the concept of work, they have to go out and sell their labour in order to feed their children and keep the home going. It also brought out the change that is taking place in the traditional Arab society, in which the woman always had a subservient role, being confined to the kitchen and children. It is true too, that in the past, women toiled on the family farm, but very seldom outside that framework. Now they are projecting themselves as individuals, with rights to their bodies and dignity.

Let us hope that this small demonstration will be the harbinger of a larger movement for women's rights in Arab society.

Shimon Joffe is a retired member of staff of the Hebrew University Computer Centre in Jerusalem, where he is currently residing.

Letter from Israel

By Shimon Joffe Received Thursday February 15, 2007

I may have exaggerated my statement in previous letters that we live and feed on a daily crises but in general that is true, even if not quite daily. There were a number of items I planned to write about, but I shall begin with the latest fizzle, which like a lot of noise, is ending in a whimper. I am referring of course to the riots around the proposed bridge to the Mughrabi gate. First of all a little geography and history, to fill in the background and I am sure it will be useful to you now and in the future.

The Temple mount, in its present proportions, is one exlarged and defined by Herod the Great and completed just before the Christian era. It is in the shape of a rectangle, and has many entrances, one of them called the Mughrabi Gate, the gate of the Westerners. The Mughrab or Maghreb is the western part of North Africa.

After the 1967 war, the Israeli government decided to leave the actual control of the Temple area in the hands of the Moslem authorities, also known as the Wakf, which is their charitable foundation and it controls the Moslem sites. This leaves only the Mughrabio gate under Israeli control, to ensure free access to Israelis and tourists to the site. Paradoxically, the Rabbinic authorities forbid entry of Jews into the area, arguing that as the Holy of Holies was somewhere there, Jews are not permitted to set foot in the place. As no one knows where the temple originally stood, they decree that Jews should keep out completely.

Most of the Western wall surrounding the Temple area is not visible, though it still exists, as houses have been built next to, or actually abutting, it, except for a short stretch called The Wailing Wall and a further part within buildings north of this Wailing wall. South of the Wailing Wall, lies the gate in dispute, and after that, the area was excavated over a period of some decades and is now an archeological garden. Previously it was a huge mound of soil and debris. All that remains now is a ramp which provides the only free entry into the compound. The ramp is considered as not being safe, in danger of collapse and a new entry must be made.

The attempt to build a new bridge to provide a safe passage provided an excuse to the Moslem and nationalist elements to start an anti -Israeli campaign using the religious theme and evoking fears of harm to what is called the third most important shrine in the Moslem world. Of course, this is complete nonsense. The El Aksa mosque lies within the temple area and the proposed bridge would be outside the temple walls, at least fifty meters away. But who needs geography or facts when prejudice and misinformation would do instead?

The Mayor of Jerusalem has acted with good sense in ordering the work to be stopped, thus removing any further excuse for rioting and incidentally, getting the government of the hook and is putting the whole matter through the full building permit process, which routinely takes months and has public transparency throughout. Anything to do with the Old City and the Temple area has to be handled with great sensitivity, since almost any action can provide an excuse for misinformation and lies, arousing religious sentiments and fears.

Now for some more cheerful news:
Newsweek published a list of the one hundred best universities in the world, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has made the list, taking 82nd place. Not the highest, it is true, but still eminent. Not to be outdone , the London Times Higher Education Supplement graded the Hebrew University as the best one in Israel, and in 43rd place amongst one hundred best universities in the Humanities. It placed the HUJ in 44th place in the Social Sciences, in 52nd place in the Exact Sciences and 63rd place in Bio-medicine.

Ghaleb Majadele is the first Arab, Muslim, minister to be appointed to the Israeli cabinet. He is a member of the Labour Party.

Scientists at the Weitzman Institute have developed new antibiotics which are more effective than the ones in current use. See Ha'Aretz, page 4, January 11.

Israeli fish farms flourish in the semi- desert on brackish water pumped up from the depths. The water with the organic waste produced by the fish can then be used to irrigate and fertilize the crops. This is the result of research being done at the Ben Gurion University of Beer Sheba and is of great value to arid countries, where farmers struggle to produce crops under conditions where there is a lack of a regular water supply.

Shimon Joffe is a retired member of staff of the Hebrew University Computer Centre in Jerusalem, where he is currently residing.

Letter from Israel

By Shimon Joffe Received Friday December 29, 2006

This evenings news totaled the number of Kassam rockets rained upon the western part of Israel. total by this evening, 70. Ten of these fell in Sderot or the immediate vicinity today. Most of these rockets did little damage and caused few casualties. Except for the one that fell in Sderot on Wednesday December 27^th, two teens, 13 and 14 years old were wounded, one so severely that there was a question of whether he will survive , This evening it was announced that his life is no longer in danger. The other boy is still in hospital but he suffered lesser wounds.

After the Palestinians declared a cease fire, a month ago, and it was accepted unreservedly by the Israeli

government, the rocket attacks did not cease. The Israeli policy remained constant; No fire at the terrorists , even if they are spotted transporting the equipment, setting up the rockets for firing or when withdrawing. No Israeli fire was to be directed at the rocket firing terrorists. This policy was adhered to until two days ago when the near fatal wounding of the two youngsters took place.

The army was then instructed to act, under very severe limitations. Army action may only be taken when the terrorists are actually in action, and then only if they are positioned away from populated areas. In short, the army may act with one hand tied behind the back and the other tied in front. The Israeli government is determined to give the cease fire every opportunity to succeed.

Shimon Joffe is a retired member of staff of the Hebrew University Computer Centre in Jerusalem, where he is currently residing.

Letter from Israel

By Shimon Joffe Received Friday December 27, 2006

If there was any doubt about the existence of an atomic bomb arsenal in Israel before, this has been laid to rest by the recent statement by the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Olmert. What is now a hot topic of debate is whether Mr Olmert made that statement deliberately or it was a slip of the tongue. Some journalists are positively glowing with schadenfreude: they have been censured, threatened and bullied to prevent them even breathinga a word about the two relatively small atomic reactors in the country and now the prime minister himself has let the cat out of the bag. The question has arisen: what of Vannunu, who was jailed for eighteen years for informing the world that Israel has a stack of atomic bombs, when he was only telling the truth?

Following on from this revelation, we now hear that Sadat certainly believed Israel had the atomic bomb. He agreed on peace with Israel because he believed that with the atomic bomb, Israel could not be eliminated and if in real danger, would use it against its enemies.

For me, an ordinary citizen, it is horrifying to know that Israel has such a weapon but on the other hand, now that we are in danger of being threatened with the same weapon by Iran, I have to agree it would be reckless of our government not to have pursued that line of defence.

Notwithstanding this, as an ordinary citizen, I do not see any future in a purely military policy, unaccompanied by any political attempt, however futile it may seem at any one moment , to come to some understanding with the Palestinians, or the Arabs as I like to call them. I use the term most advisedly, as I am convinced, and there is much evidence to support this , that the Arabs in Israel are linked to the Arabs/Palestinians, of the West Bank , politically, religiously and socially. These are interlinked families whose bonds had been re-established after the short - 20 - years break. And every day that the oppression of the Palestinians continues, it fuels the nationalist political tendencies in the Israeli Arabs. In short, a fifth column should be envisaged, if no breakthrough in the political situation takes place. This attitude of course permeates my thinking and analysis of the day to day happenings.

Almost unnoticed, are the rockets which fall daily in the Western Negev, on villages and Sderot. Havlaga is the Israeli answer. It is a Hebrew word which can be translated as meaning 'restraint', and practically it means no action on the part of the army against the terrorists firing these rockets, even when they are detected setting up the equipment. So far over forty rockets have been fired, most of them falling in empty spaces, but a few did hit Sderot, and caused some damage as well as light casualties, and others hit a number of Kibbutzim in the area.

The latest meeting between Olmert and Abu Mazen produced quite a lot of what is also called smoke and mirrors. There are well over 400 checkpoints and barriers in the West Bank, and they were promised that 27 will be removed or made easier. Not a very high proportion. The army objects to even that small number, claiming that this will impair the ability to catch terrorists. It boggles the mind to work out how a load of sand and stones closing a road out of a village to another village can be considered an obstacle to terrorists. And a goodly number of these are to be found all over the West Bank.

The High Court is often criticized for accepting, almost uncritically, arguments offered by the military in matters dealing with what is loosely defined as security. It came as a nasty surprise to some people recently when the High Court decided that civilians who are not involved in any hostile acts and are innocent sufferers of army actions can sue the State for compensation. Equally notable is that fact that, while targeted killings have not been made illegal, the High Court demands that the army justify every killing and prove it was legal. On the other hand, the High Court found against the appellants in the mater of the fence/wall being build in Aram, the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem. In this case, they decided that the demands for security outweighed the inconvenience suffered by the inhabitants.

Shimon Joffe is a retired member of staff of the Hebrew University Computer Centre in Jerusalem, where he is currently residing.

Letter from Israel

By Shimon Joffe Received December 18, 2006

Israel is a country of conflicts, right and left. There is the greater Israel movement, a.k.a. the settlers, the anti settlers, a.k.a. the peaceniks, the religious of all shades and the non or anti-religious and they are all "at war" with each other. We can't ignore the shades of colour, ethnic origins and the two major divisions in the Jewish traditional camp, the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim. Then of course there are the Jews and Arabs. So you see, whichever way you cut the cake, it becomes two polarized opposite camps.

A great deal of these internal battles are fought on seemingly ideological grounds, but interspersed in these are also personal motives and ambitions. All these are given expression in seemingly ideological and national fights.
In dealing with this week's news I expect I will touch on these aspects.

But first the 'bad' news. The so-called cease fire is on paper only.The Israeli forces are observing it on the Gaza front, but not a day or night passes without a rocket or two falling somewhere in the Negev. So long as they explode in some empty field, a sigh of relief is heard, but comes the day when a rocket explodes in Sderot, or any of the villages which dot the Gaza border and causes casualties, the battle cry will be heard again and no doubt the army will take action and a repeat of the past will be visited upon these hapless people. Some ten rockets were fired within hours of the cease fire declaration.
At first the Hamas claimed that the ceasefire applies to both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, but that was not accepted by Israel and has not been heard about again.

The 'good' news, is that comparative statistics show that in 2002, 452 Israelis were killed by terrorist actions, and in 2005 'only' 52 died. So it can be claimed that the army activity did bear fruit over the long period and that terrorism has largely been curbed.

Tuesday, 28/11
If there is no crisis, then there is a surprise, but no day occurs without some excitement. This time it was a speech by the Prime (minister, Mr. Olmert, who won the headlines by stating at a ceremony dedicated to the memory of Ben Gurion, that Israel is more than willing to come to the negotiating table and would make great concessions, it would free many Palestinian prisoners and Reduce the number of checkpoints on the roads in the West Bank, also known as Samaria and Judea (also known as the conquered territories). In addition settlements would be dismantled, To quote a Hebrew saying, he promised Harim VeGvaot: mountains and hills. Provided of course, there would be someone to negotiate with, terrorism would be halted, and the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip, would be stopped. The Road Map and the Saudi initiative were also thrown in for good measure. Of course. there can be no right of return into Israel of the refugees. The reaction in the media was cool, not critical, just disbelieving that anything will come of the latest speech. The Palestinians on the one hand demanded the immediate cessation of military activity on the West Bank, and on the other hand, declared there is someone to talk to, namely Abu Mazen, and are prepared to start talking immediately. The speech stirred up a hornet's nest of fierce debate, declarations of support and condemnation. There were lame explanations why Lieberman, the arch right winger, hasn't resigned from the government, seeing as how the Olmert speech runs counter to everything Lieberman has advocated until now.

The most important part of the speech was a short one, where the Prime Minister declared that no military action will take place in the Gaza Strip.Today, this was counteRed by the Minister of Defense, who stated that Israel will not tolerate terrorist activity no matter where it comes from. In other words, the firing of rockets from Gaza will result in an Israeli reaction.

Meshal, the titular head of Hamas, declared in Cairo that he is giving Israel a half-year in which to solve the Palestinian problem including the right of return of the refugees, otherwise Israel will face a third Intifada. His counting is not very good: by my count, Israel has had any number of Intifadas beginning, say, with 1970.

Thursday, 7/12 Rockets still fall on Sderot daily. An average of two a day.

Sunday, 10/12.
Rather muted headlines all week (except for the ones dealing with the escaped rapist, who has since been caught). They are the sort of headlines found in the inner pages of the newspapers, or on the radio or TV, after the first three four minutes of the news. But it would be a mistake to ignore these items, they often carry significance well beyond the one line seen in print or heard at the end of a TV news report. As one example, the minister of education, has asked to revise the school books and include maps showing the 'green line'.
The 'green line' is the cease fire line which existed in the period 1948-1967., and gradually disappeared from Israeli maps as settlements were established in the newly conqueRed territory. This decision provoked a storm of protest and criticism, mostly based on the premise that it was not an actual border, but only a demarcation line, and until a final settlement is achieve, there is no reason to trace it. Any number of maps exist showing the dimensions of ancient Israel, of the Herodian areas, the Crusader kingdom, the British ruled area of Palestine, but to show the actual size of the country as it was for some twenty years, has now become a sin as far as the settlers and their apologists are concerned. A second example of an item which got but a cursory mention was a statement by an Israeli Arab group, called Mosawa, which demanded that the state become a bi national state. The Israeli Arabs, they claimed, should have cultural autonomy, independent local rule, the Jewish content of the state should be taken out, like doing away with the anthem and the Jewish symbols, etc. In short, a rehashing of the old demand for doing away with the Jewish state as such. Not willing to make such a blunt demand, this committee puts up demands which on the face of it are very rational and reasonable, except for the fact that they don't need to be implemented, they in fact exist. It is only the nationalist content that is missing. Arab education is separate and autonomous, the curriculum and language of instruction are in Arabic, Hebrew is a second language, the Arab towns and villages are run by local councils, separate from their Israeli Jewish neighbors. And as far as I know, there is only one joint council for an Arab and a Jewish village in the Galilee. It is claimed that this one joint council is a success story. The Arab local bodies are organized in The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, which represents the Arab population, particularly in matters of local and national interests.
So once again a nationalist body revives the nationalist struggle under a false flag, with the hope that other bodies will raise the issues in their ignorance and wave the nationalist flag too, and once again portray Israel as an oppressive regime, with the underlying message that Israel as a Jewish state has to disappear.

Shimon Joffe is a retired member of staff of the Hebrew University Computer Centre in Jerusalem, where he is currently residing.

Letter from Israel

By Shimon Joffe Received December 3, 2006

Tuesday, 21.11.06 : Horrifying pictures have been shown on TV of a rocket falling on an industrial plant and the fatal injury of a worker. The security camera recorded the workers, after the alarm was sounded, running for shelter and then the explosion which killed the one who did not manage to reach safety in time. Altogether, six rockets fell on Sderot and aside from the one fatality, four people were hospitalized for shock. Thursday: six rockets fell on Sderot, with no casualties reported.Saturday: a rocket hit a house in Sderot causing much damage, but no casualties were reported.

In Gaza, two days ago, an elderly Palestinian woman blew herself up near some soldiers, causing injuries. Over the years a small number of women have become suicide bombers, mostly ineffective, but this is the first time an elderly woman, a grandmother, has joined the ranks.

This week, two issues have occupied the Israeli public eye and debate.

• Gaydamak, the wealthy philanthropist who paid for a week's holiday for hundreds of Sderot's residents: should he be praised as a savior of Sderot welfare or should he be condemned for what is defined by some as a political publicity stunt, albeit an extremely expensive one? While the official bodies and the press are heaping sulphur and brimstone over him for daring to deliver some of the suffering population from their agony, albeit for a short while, that does not appear to be the view of the suffering inhabitants. According to the press, it all began with an appeal from the chairperson of the parents committee, asking him to help to relieve the tension under which the children were living. In response to this, free transport was provided to Eilat where six hundred rooms were reserved for the children and their parents of Sderot. No amount of condemnation and debate over whether we can countenance evacuation of towns under threat will convince parents in Sderot that there is something wrong with accepting a week's holiday in Eilat, away from the terror and strain of living with the endless threat of a rocket exploding near them, or worse yet, in or near their child's school. It appears that over the past six years, the time Sderot has been under rocket attacks, all that the government has done is provide extra security for kindergartens and for a few of the primary schools while nothing has been done for the high schools. Is it any wonder that the people of Sderot see in Gaydamak a latter day savior?

• The future of Peretz, the Minister of Defense. He has managed to turn almost everybody against him, both in his party and in the media. There appears to be a well orchestrated campaign, both in the electronic media and the press to force Peretz, the Minister of Defense, to resign his post. His conversation with Abu Mazen, the Palestinian president, was reported to have resulted in a clash with the Prime Minister, firstly because he acted without the PM's permission and secondly because he claimed at first that he did not initiate the conversation. It has been rumoured that the Prime Minister was seriously considering firing Peretz from his post or demoting him to a minor ministry. In his defense, Peretz stated that his task is not only to approve military actions but also to look for ways of avoiding such actions; in other words to search for peaceful ways of resolving hostilities. However, the various pundits on TV have pointed out that Peretz's experience lies in running the Histradut, the Federation of Labour, and not in military affairs. The Ministry of Defence should be run by an ex-general and there is no shortage of candidates within the large parties for that post. One point should be borne in mind however: Peretz's home is in Sderot and like everyone else he has had to flee for shelter from the rockets.

Other matters which have transpired this week:

• The assassination of Gamail in Lebanon did not create great waves in the country and the tenor of opinion is wait and see what transpires. No official comment has been given.

• Not all days are entitled to a crisis, sometimes the morning news can come as a surprise. This morning, Monday 27.11.06, the headline was that a deal has been struck with the Palestinians, and a cease fire is in force as of six o'clock this morning, local time. To celebrate this event, minutes later the Palestinians, whichever faction it is, fired a number of rockets, of which two were aimed at Sderot. One hit a kibbutz and the others appear to have fallen in an empty area. Further headlines stated that the Palestinian Authority ( note that it is never referred to as the Palestinian Government ) has sent security personnel into the areas from which rockets are fired with instructions to stop them. Israeli troops have left the Gaza strip and there has not been any retaliatory fire. Past history teaches us that this kind of arrangement does not hold. There are endless terrorist acts committed and the explanation ( cum excuse ) is that they are committed by rogue elements and the Authority is doing its best to stop them. The Israeli forces hold their fire until it becomes more than clear that action must be taken and then a wider conflict ensues. Now time will tell whether the Authority will enforce its authority or we will have a repetition of the past. The agreement is supposed to include a ban on smuggling of weapons, firing rockets and other terrorist acts from the Gaza strip. The solution to the freeing of the kidnapped soldier is to come separately. This is the first time that such an agreement, which must have come after many discussions and consultations, was concluded in total secrecy. Not a whisper, not a rumour, not a hint in the media. A real first in the country.

Shimon Joffe is a retired member of staff of the Hebrew University Computer Centre in Jerusalem, where he is currently residing.

Letter from Israel

By Shimon Joffe Received 21 November, 2006

Living in Israel is like being a junkie who needs his daily fix. There is no morning news without a crisis, scandal or something sensational. Some of it, it is true, is tragic but a lot can be defined as tragic-comedy, or better still, as farce. But without any of it, there is a feeling of something missing in life.

The Beit Hanoun incident is still dominant in the news in Isarel but competes for front page space in the papers with the daily attacks on the town of Sderot, just across the border from Gaza.

This weeks we had the following:

• Monday13th November: damage but no casualties
• Tuesday 14th: Two rockets in the vicinity
• Wednesday 15th: one killed, two wounded seriously. Of these two, one lost his legs, the other, a seventeen year old, had serious wounds.
• Thursday 16th: It was reported that buses would be provided to take residents of Sderot, who have been terribly traumatized by the constant attacks, to Eilat for a week's break. This was sponsored by a wealthy philanthropist by the name of Gedaymek. Once it was known there would be buses waiting to take people off for a vacation, there was a stampede and the demand was so great, more buses had to be laid on.
• In Sunday's (19th) news, it is reported that the classrooms are now half empty and the streets are almost deserted. Also reported, was another rocket attack. This time, eleven rockets were fired, of which two landed in Sderot and five people were wounded, of which two were serious.

There have been some reactions to Gedaymek's charitable assistance to Sderot's residents. An intense debate has mounted over the rights and wrongs of deserting the town. The city adminstrators, including the mayor, have protested that the town should not be evacuated at a time like this.

Even the Prime Minister called this humane activity of Gedaymek's a public relations ploy for political advantage, since Gaydamek has stated his intentions to stand for the Knesset in the next elections. The Ha'Aretz newspaper, however, has demanded to know why the government were not providing this type of relief for Sderot's inhabitants who are living under such intolerable tension and that perhaps Gedaymek should be made a minister of something related to welfare since he is acting more like leader in the field of welfare than the incumbent minister.

In fact, this is the second time Gedaymek has acted to save the day. During the war in Lebanon, he organized a tent city for families fleeing the constant bombardment which they had been suffering in the north. This and other good deeds will stand him in good stead when he stands for the Knesset in the next elections. Gaydamek is not very articulate in Hebrew but here is a case where actions have spoken louder than words.

Monday 20/11: twelve rockets fired at Sderot and vicinity. No serious injuries. However, some good news: an article in Ha'Aretz mentions that in the previous year, there were fifty suicide bombers who were detected in Israel, some of whom succeeded in killing Israelis, whereas this year, so far, there have been only two. One can conclude that the separation fence has certainly helped to achieve a reduction in suicide bombing.

Shimon Joffe is a retired head of the Computer Science department of Jerusalem University and lives in Jerusalem.