Friday, August 14, 2009

Katz vs. Netanyahu, Ben-Ari vs. Ministers

Excerpts from the letter:

“You were elected by loyalists and lovers of the Land of Israel on the basis of your promises that you will protect it and expand its construction. However, ever since you took office, you and your men – chiefly [Defense Minister] Ehud Barak – harass and torment the Jewish of Judea and Samaria simply because they are Jewish. Your decision to freeze only Jewish construction in our capital of Jerusalem, and in Judea, Binyamin, the Jordan Valley and Shomron, is joined by very frequent persecution campaigns and destruction operations against Jewish housing. Every morning we hear of an initiative to destroy yet another Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.
Ben-Ari cites Barak’s 50% increase to the number of construction inspectors in the Yesha Civil Administration - designed to fight Jewish violations, not Arab ones.


“Instead of trying to find solutions, you are preventing these pioneers from growing and expanding. I beg you to stop this campaign of destruction and oppression.

“None of the ministers that you appointed to your government are able to explain your strange actions, and the large majority of them stand ashamed and humiliated when they are asked to look their voters in the eye and explain to them. None of them know how it happened that your approach towards the pioneers is much more extremist than your predecessors, Sharon and Olmert. None can explain how it is that you are fulfilling the same policies that you vowed during the election campaign to fight against.

“I wish to warn you that if you continue along this path, it will, without a doubt, lead to your political downfall.

“The public that you are constantly persecuting – they, their parents and relatives – should be the first ones to feel your warm embrace and support. Instead, they receive only empty words and constant persecution and humiliation.

“As in the past, you are unable to identify the true will of the people, and its absolute love for this land, and its disgust with those who destroy it.

“As in the past, you will blame us, the ‘extreme right-wing,’ for the your downfall. But this doesn’t change the facts; you, with your own two hands, are leading to your government’s fall, by acting in opposition to your own platform.

“We, for our part, will not break, and will continue to build, expand and multiply, even if you continue to torment us. There is a G-d in heaven. You act as if there is no law and no judge – but you should must take to heart what your grandfather knew but you have forgotten: The Nation of Israel is the nation of holiness, the Land of Israel is the land of sanctity, and the Torah of Israel is the Torah of holiness. G-d keeps an account, and He will make an accounting with those who humiliate His people, just as he did with you 13 years ago. In the end, He will remove you from your seat of power, and replace you with the worthy leaders that Israel so deserves.

“I make this call from the depths of my heart and from the depths of the pain of the nation that you are mocking and disgracing: Return from your evil path, and return to the original path you promised to follow and for which you were elected.”

Ben-Ari: Barak Acts, Ministers are Silent
Katz’s party colleague, MK Michael Ben-Ari, says that Barak and the other Cabinet ministers share the blame with Netanyahu. Speaking with Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine on Friday, Ben-Ari said, “The residents of Israel should know that at present, we don’t have a Defense Minister. Ehud Barak is busy with political matters; that’s what interests him.”

As evidence, Ben-Ari cites Barak’s decision to approve a 50% addition to the number of construction inspectors in the Yesha Civil Administration. “Unfortunately, the unit that he has just enlarged is not charged with dealing with illegal Palestinian construction – only with Jewish building.”

Ben-Ari said, “We have established a special subcommittee of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that will expose the selectivity of the enforcement, how Jews are picked on and not Arabs. Everyone knows that there are dozens of illegal Arab neighborhoods built without permission and licenses, yet no one says a word. The Maoz Esther outpost has been razed four times in the past few weeks – yet right next to it a large Palestinian neighborhood has been built illegally; why is that not being torn down? Apparently, the IDF is afraid to deal with the Arabs; it’s much easier to go into Eli or other Jewish site and destroy some structures.”

“Up to now, Barak and his left-wingers have been destroying the new outpost neighborhoods and the new homes there, but now they’re beginning to come into the existing towns in order to ‘enforce the law’ on building violations there. They want to come in and harass everyone who wants to build a fence or a sidewalk; we won’t be able to open a new nursery or to bang a nail into a wall. Barak is doing Netanyahu’s dirty work; this shows the extent of Netanyahu’s leadership and his ability to withstand pressure, which are about zero.”

“Netanyahu has some 30 silent sheep [Cabinet ministers – ed.] in his government who don’t open their mouths. Where are Moshe Yaalon, and Benny Begin, and Daniel Herskowith, Moshe Kachlon, and Gilad Erdan? Where are they all? They’re not doing a thing! Lieberman, the Foreign Minister, says he can’t get involved in the matter of settlements because of a ‘conflict of interest’ [Lieberman resides in the settlement of Nokdim in eastern Gush Etzion – ed.] What kind of excuse is that? We all have a conflict of interest in this matter!”

Ben-Ari decried the lack of public protest: “It’s an absurd situation, no one is protesting, and we don’t know where it will end. But I hope that with the passage of the Mofaz Law [making it easier for MKs to split off from an existing party – ed.], some MKs from Kadima and the Likud will quit and will join us instead. I am building on the MKs’ straight thinking and national responsibility; it won’t hurt if seven or so Likud rebels join us in the true nationalist party.”