Conference back40::soapbox

    I hope that the fact it was an Iraeli idiot rather than a Palestinian
    idiot will keep the peace process on track. I fear that were the
    opposite to be the case, the peace process would have been irreparably
    harmed.

    I wondered who would go first after the famous handshake...
    Rabin or Arafat.  I figured it would be Arafat.
    
    Another tragic development.  I hope that some good comes out
    of it.  I hope that Rabin's committment to peace is carried on.

	The consequences would have been severe had it been an Islamic militant
group..!

	.. or may be not.. they would be hastening their path to extinction a
bit sooner

    a right wing Isreali extremist (can't remember the name of the group
    he from but it's the large one) called the assassin a courageous and
    great man.
    
    methinks the Jews have big inside problems. these guys are talking
    civil war.

    >    methinks the Jews have big inside problems. these guys are talking
    
    yeah and the Arabs celebrating the murder of Rabin don't have any
    problems.

    
    I think this may actually help the cause of peace by providing a 
    martyr for the cause and by forcing Israel to recognize and deal
    with it's extremists...
    
    -D
    

    Caught part of an interview on Today Show where one of the hosts
    was questioning how anyone could have gotten into that rally or
    close enough to Rabin without being tripped up by security folks.
    
    The respondent said security forces are well-trained to protect
    against Islamic and other outside extremists; said up until now
    no one had ever thought that one Israeli would need protection from
    another :-(  On the other hand, comments attributed to Rabin in the
    last few months to those closest to him seem to indicate that Rabin
    had felt the rhetoric had gotten out of hand and he seemed resigned
    to the notion that his life could well be in danger.
    
    I hope you're wrong about the civil war Chip, but I've heard that
    same possibility mentioned a number of times since the news hit Saturday.
    
    What's really unfortunate, there are groups of extremists in this
    country (followers of Kahane) who seemed to think this will happen
    again.  One young leader went thru the usual posturing, i.e. "we
    don't condone this type of activity", but he wouldn't condemn the
    action either.
    
    Someone commented on Arafat's absence from the funeral; my guess
    he's trying to beef up his own security to make certain his is not
    the next funeral to occur.
    
    
    

    Flags at my university were at half-mast today in honor of Rabin.

    
    
         Rabin went to extraordinary lengths to work out an agreement
         with a perennial enemy,.........and then he's killed by an
         enemy from within.
    
    
         Ed

     The Song of Peace

     Boston Globe , 11/06

     Before he was gunned down at a rally in Tel Aviv Saturday night, Prime
     Minister Yitzhak Rabin joined a huge crowd in singing The Song of
     Peace. The song, a hit in the 1970s that is one of Israel's most
     popular melodies, was being sung by schoolchildren in the country
     yesterday.

	[It was reported by Shimon Peres that the bullet pierced a leaflet
	 in Rabin's pocket on which this song was printed.  The popularity
	 of this grim song escapes me.  --jrc]

     Let the sun rise
     And give the morning light,
     The purest prayer
     Will not bring us back

     He whose candle was snuffed out
     And was buried in the dust
     A better cry won't wake him
     Won't bring him back

     Nobody will return us
     From the dead dark pit.
     Here neither the victory cheer
     Nor songs of praise will help

     So, sing only a song for peace
     Do not whisper a prayer
     Better sing a song for peace
     With a strong shout.

     Let the sun penetrate
     Through the flowers
     Don't look backward
     Leave those who departed

     Lift your eyes with hope
     Not through rifle sights
     Sing a song for love
     And not for wars

     Don't say the day will come
     Bring the day because it is not a dream
     And within all the city's squares
     Cheer only peace

     This story ran on page 1 of the Boston Globe on 11/06.

>	[It was reported by Shimon Peres that the bullet pierced a leaflet
>	 in Rabin's pocket on which this song was printed.  The popularity
>	 of this grim song escapes me.  --jrc]

	the blood-stained document was read from at the funeral.  quite
	the sobering vision it was.

    
    I don't ever recall see Henry Kissinger so visibly upset on
    tv. Even back in the 70's when he was dealing with Viet Nam.
    
    Dave
    

       News reports about Israelis' numbness, disbelief, and inability to
       ingest Saturday's events bring back suddenly vivid recollections
       of November, 1963.
       
       --Mr Topaz

The Peace-Loving Bishop, by Andrew Carey

Lasting impressions for any foreigner leaving Israel are the queues at
Ben Gurion.  The security checks are bad enough for a British citizen,
but if your name is Hussain rather than Weizman they must be tortuous
and intimidating.

Archdeacon Riah Abu el-Assal of Nazareth, Bishop-elect of Jerusalem, tells
many stories about his confrontations with airport security.  The best is
this: "When they asked whether I was carrying any weapons, the rebel in
me awoke.  `Yes' I said.

"I was ordered to walk a few steps away and, at what they thought was a
safe distance, they directed me to take out this `weapon' -- slowly.  I
bent to my case, opened it slowly and removed my Bible, which I held up
for them to see.

"It is the only weapon I have ever carried; the only one I have ever
needed," he said.

My own frustration at leaving Israel is nothing to what he and other
Israeli citizens -- those for whom the only reason for suspicion is
that they are Arabs as well -- feel.  But watching young men and women
throwing their prepared questions at foreigners, while a queue of Jewish
Israelis were nodded through, jarred.

"Have you been to Israel before?  Why did you come?  Did anyone give you
anything to take out of the country?  What have you done each day in
Israel?.....Each day?".  And so on, until I unpacked my luggage on an
inadequate desk and a paper written by Canon Riah in 1987 slipped into
view entitled "Torture of Child Prisoners Under Military Occupation."
I knew I was in for the third degree.

"You interviewed this priest?  Why did you come all the way to Israel
to do that?  What does he speak about when he goes to the West?"

My reply was simple: "He is an Israeli citizen and also an Arab Christian.
He has always believed in peace between Jew and Arab and has worked to
make that possible.  He has also struggled for the rights of Israeli
citizens who are Arabs."

It is less than two weeks since the last Hamas suicide bomber struck on
a crowded bus, and you cannot blame the Israeli government for these
measures.  For all of its short reconstituted history, Israel has been
surrounded by hostile powers which have questioned its very existence.
Now it is on the slow, fragile route to peace in the Middle East -- a
prospect welcomed by all but the fanatics on both sides of the divide.

Archdeacon Riah's eyes glow with pleasure as he talks about peace.  He
shares the new confidence that his people feel now that Yassar Arafat
leads the Palestinians in the peace process and now that the agreements
are being hammered out -- slowly but surely.

Recently, the issue of `Water Rights' was almost settled.  For the Arabs
in the West Bank and Gaza, the situation will improve, but for Arab
citizens of Israel their water is often in short supply.

Archdeacon Riah will in a few years' time have to leave Nazareth, his
birth-place, and the community in which he is held in such high regard.
In Nazareth he is a proud patriarch, taking pleasure in the increasing
accomplisments of his people.  He spends much of his life writing letters
in support of his people -- Muslim or Christian.  He takes a particular
interest in education.  The Anglican Church has the best school in the
town.

But he is also trying to raise the status of Arab Israelis through further
education.  He showed me a file of letters he had written to gain entrance
and grants for Arab young people to universities throughout the world.
Poorer families often get funded by 100 per cent, as a result of his
tireless letter writing.

At Christ Church, Nazareth, I meet Yusuf, who is studying International
Law in London.  With typical kindness, Yusuf offers to take me to the
airport.  His funding, gained by Archdeacon Riah's efforts, is beginning
to run out and he needs to find other sources.  Yusuf speaks with fierce
pride about Archdeacon Riah.  He tells a story of how the Israeli
authorities were looking at ways of deporting the crusading priest.
Margaret Thatcher personally intervened, he says with a smile.

[Anglican World, Michaelmas 1995]

Archdeacon Riah will soon be ordained Bishop-Coadjutor of the Diocese of
Jerusalem, and will succeed Bishop Samir Kafity upon his retirement in 1998.
The Diocese of Jerusalem includes Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jerusalem,
The West Bank, and Gaza.  The diocese has 28 parishes with 8500 communicants,
95% of whom are Arab Christians.  It operates 13 schools, 1 seminary, 5
hostels, 2 orphanages (in Ramallah), 3 institutes for the deaf, 2 major
hospitals (in Gaza and Nablus), 1 nursing school, 1 vocational school (in
Amman), 1 youth ministry center, 1 home for the elderly, and 1 home for
mentally impaired children.

The Bishop of Jerusalem also serves as President Bishop of the Episcopal
Church of Jerusalem and The Middle East, which includes three other dioceses:
Iran, Cyprus and the Gulf, and Egypt and North Africa.

/john

    
    I read yesterday that, the fact Rabin died in office will force the
    formation of a new government.  Given that this is true, I believe the
    time frame to set up the new government could be detrimental to the
    peace process.  We shall see.

	Some caller made an interesting observation in NPR yesterday. He said,
there are lot of similarities between this and Mahathma Gandhi's assasination.

- Both worked for peace with Muslim neighbours

- Both were shot by someone from their own religion, because the assasin
  was angry and feared about concessions and making peace with Muslims.

- Both were shot after (during?) a peace prayer.

/Jay	

    Marvelous.  I *knew* this felt familiar, and NOT familiar like JFK's
    assassination.  Now I know what echoes I was hearing.  Tnx for passing
    that on.  :-(
    

News reports also show little children walking by and kissing the tomb of
Baruch Goldstein, buried in a glorious marble tomb worthy of a king.

re .14:

>            -< West Bank Israeli Settlers Cheered at Rabin's Death >-

The vast majority of settlers and others opposed to the current peace process
were aghast at the assassination of Rabin.

   .19 yes, but that makes for a lousy sound bite.

Yes, but apparently at least one entire settlement cheered, causing the
soldiers protecting them to leave in disgust.

/john

    Check out http://www.netking.com/ for a cool tribute to Rabin.  Someone
    in DECnotesland posted this, but I can't remember in which file.  He
    was from DEC/Israel, as I recall.
    

>Yes, but apparently at least one entire settlement cheered, causing the
>soldiers protecting them to leave in disgust.

So what?  The fact remains that the vast majority of Jews who are opposed
to the current peace process (_not_ opposed to peace!) are saddened by
Rabin's assassination.

     Religious `obligation' is claim in court

     By Barton Gellman, Washington Post , 11/07

     JERUSALEM - Yigal Amir, a 25-year-old law student, declared in a
     raucous court hearing yesterday that he gunned down Prime Minister
     Yitzhak Rabin as an obligation under religious law.

     ``I acted alone,'' he said, ``but maybe with God.''

     Asked by Tel Aviv magistrate Dan Arbel whether he was acquainted with
     the Ten Commandments, Amir replied scornfully, ``If this is what you
     know of the Bible, it is very sad.''

     Speaking loudly and rapidly over angry interjections by Israeli
     reporters, Amir gave a brief self-portrait of a man infused with
     certitude that Rabin's government had taken a divinely forbidden path
     in relinquishing holy Jewish land. That view is not uncommon on the
     Israeli national religious right.

     ``I did not commit the act to stop the peace process, because there is
     no such thing,'' Amir said. ``It is a process of war, and the murder
     was my obligation according to `halacha.'''

     Very few religious authorities, even on the hard political right, agree
     with that interpretation of religious law. Former Chief Rabbi Avraham
     Shapirasaid yesterday that the assassin was a murderer without
     conscience or Jewish morality.

     Yesterday's hearing in Tel Aviv covered only a police request to extend
     Amir's remand in custody for 15 days while murder charges are prepared.
     The court granted the request. Amir faces a maximum sentence of life in
     prison.

     Police told the magistrate that they wished to investigate whether Amir
     received assistance from an extremist group. Published interviews here
     have suggested possible links to three groups, including a little-known
     group called Eyal.

     The leader of Eyal, Avishai Raviv, denied Saturday that Amir was a
     member of his group, but said ``we knew him through our activity.''
     Yesterday, Raviv publicly praised Amir and refused to condemn the
     assassination.

     ``We admire this lad for his sincerity, for standing behind his
     words,'' Raviv told Israeli Army Radio. Rabin, he added, ``is
     responsible for the murder of hundreds of Jews and is another victim of
     peace.''

     Reporters, camera crews and bystanders pushed and shouted at Amir as he
     entered the courtroom yesterday, clad in the same jeans, blue T-shirt
     and black skullcap in which he shot the 73-year-old prime minister
     twice Saturday night.

     Several new details emerged yesterday on the shooting that struck down
     Rabin as he prepared to leave a joyful rally for peace. The murder
     weapon was a 9mm Beretta semiautomatic pistol with custom ammunition,
     and police now say that two shots - not three - struck Rabin. The third
     round wounded one of his bodyguards.

     Amir, a former Israeli army paratrooper and private security guard,
     apparently managed to approach Rabin as he walked toward his official
     car in Tel Aviv's Kings of Israel Square because the prime minister's
     bodyguards mistook him for a limousine driver.

     Rabin was shot at a rally in Tel Aviv at 9:30 p.m. (2:30 EST). Menachem
     Damati, Rabin's chauffeur, said that Rabin was conscious as his
     security detail pushed him into his car for the brief ride to a
     hospital.

     ```I hurt, but not terribly,''' were Rabin's last words, Damati said.
     He arrived at the hospital without a pulse, and efforts to resuscitate
     him over 90 minutes were unsuccessful.

     The court yesterday also extended police authority to hold Hagai Amir,
     the accused assassin's brother, on suspicion that he aided in the deed.

     Hagai Amir told Arbel, the magistrate, that he had modified 20 rounds
     of 9mm ammunition to increase their lethality and had given the
     ammunition to his brother. Citing police sources, Israel Radio reported
     that one of the bullets removed from Rabin's body had been so modified.

     This story ran on page 3 of the Boston Globe on 11/07.

    .17  Jay,
    
    Interesting observation.  Last night I watched a show with Arafat's
    nephew who is also the PLO representative to the U.N.  He said he
    and other members of Arafat's family (and friends) are concerned that
    a Muslin fanatic might attempt to kill Arafat also, thus almost
    assuring that the peace process will get derailed for a long time, if
    not forever.
    
    .19 Gerald,
    
    Colette Avital (sp) Israeli consul to the U.N. said much the same
    thing.  She was sitting next to Arafat's nephew; they both agreed
    that Muslims and Jews had to tone down the rhetoric because there
    were lunatic fanatics to the extreme within both camps.  The diffi-
    cult task will be to keep the fanatics from committing acts of
    terrorism over and over again.
    
    It will be interesting to see if the peace agreement does get de-
    railed.  Rabin's murderer has stated outright that he hoped to
    stop the peace movement; his action could be the deciding factor
    in moving forward with the peace agreement.  It was fairly common
    knowledge that LBJ didn't exactly love some of the bills he steam-
    rolled through Congress after JFK's assassination, but he did it
    just the same because most of them were pet projects of JFK.  The
    big difference here is that we have a fairly smooth process of
    transition should we lose our head of state; it will be interesting
    to see if the same thing can be accomplished even though the Israeli
    government has to be disbanded and a new government seated.
    

    
    Last mon or Tue in the SJ MErcury there was an article on the security
    breach at the rally. Someplace in there are 2 comments that for me
    stood out:
    
    	1- Someone in security said that Israeli security does NOT
           prepare for anything like this simply because there is NO
          way a Jew would kill another! Of course they are prepared to
    	   the ying yang for that horrible Arab terrorist, y'know...
    
    	2- rabin's widow when asked about the lack of bulletproof vest
    	   pretty much said something like "Don't be ridiculous, why should
           he wear one? There was no need."
    
    I think the Israelis have long been so blinded and side-tracked that
    only the outsider could inflict such harm, that even Security people
    did not even think of this scenario, let alone prepare for it.
    
    I guess we learned one too --- remember the initial speculation about
    the bad, bad arabs doing the oklahoma deed? turned out it was that american
    boy next-door!
    
    The murderer was in the same black T-shirt and pants (jeans?) when he
    was shown in court on TV. How could such a scruffy looking guy be
    mistaken for a VIP limo driver?? Something stinks!
    
    I cried for Rabin, just as I shed tears for Anwar Sadat.
    
    Lastly, a personal note to Jayakumar... you've been very virulent in
    your attack against Islam and Muslims in this and other topics. It 
    appears that you've painted all Muslims with one broad prejudicial brush. 
    What's your problem, guy?
    
    Been personally hurt by one? What's the justification for the bile???

    
    
>Note 576.26                           Rabin                             26 of 26
>AXPBIZ::WANNOOR                                      34 lines   7-NOV-1995 20:10
>                         -< The good one go first... >-
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>    
>    I guess we learned one too --- remember the initial speculation about
>    the bad, bad arabs doing the oklahoma deed? turned out it was that american
>    boy next-door!
    
    Correction!  NO ONE has been convicted yet! Timmy is STILL innocent
    
    Steve
    
    

>    The murderer was in the same black T-shirt and pants (jeans?) when he
>    was shown in court on TV. How could such a scruffy looking guy be
>    mistaken for a VIP limo driver?? Something stinks!

Israelis tend to dress casually.  I suspect that Israeli limo drivers look
more like NY cabbies than like NY limo drivers.

>>    Lastly, a personal note to Jayakumar... you've been very virulent in
>>    your attack against Islam and Muslims in this and other topics. It 
>>    appears that you've painted all Muslims with one broad prejudicial brush. 
>>    What's your problem, guy?
  
When I find time I will start a topic title 

	"Islam and religious intolerence : Bread and Butter", 

quoting facts from history - several centuries ago, this century, this year, 
this week - pointing out how Islam has *never-ever* co-existed in peace with 
any non-islamic faith, and, violence and religious persecution has always been 
their primary mechanism of spreading their religion (and has been quite 
successful also). 

	My problem? Most of the westerners  (or I believe so) don't see a 
threat or a problem here, until it hits their door steps... America still 
doesn't have a town or city with a major Islamic population and pretty soon 
one day there will be one, and that by itself is not a problem but - what 
follows later for folks with non-islamic faith in that area will be. Again
I have no problems with individuals, but have a big problem with the collective
attitude of Muslims masses towards other faiths.

Questions to ponder:

- Name some Islamic country or state or city which lived in peace with it's
  non-islamic neighbours, in this century/decade

- Name some regions in the world which has a majority of Muslims, and has not
  declared itself an Islamic state?

	You can probably name one or two, but exceptions don't make a rule.

>>    Been personally hurt by one? What's the justification for the bile???

	Nope! but have lived and seen this religious madness first hand.

>quoting facts from history - several centuries ago, this century, this year, 
>this week - pointing out how Islam has *never-ever* co-existed in peace with 
>any non-islamic faith

Until the last century or so, Jews have generally fared better in Islamic
countries than in Christian countries.

>- Name some regions in the world which has a majority of Muslims, and has not
>  declared itself an Islamic state?

Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco.  That's off the top of my head.  I suspect the
secular states outnumber the Islamic states.

    Just think what a wonderful world this would be if this
    concept of religion was never created.
    
    How many millions of people have been killed fighting for
    gods? 
    
    I would venture a guess that more people have been killed
    haggling over religion than anything else this world has
    ever known.  

Unless you consider Fascism and Communism religions, I doubt it.

The millions killed in just the major wars and the communist purges in
the Soviet Union and China this century alone probably surpass all people
killed in all wars in the previous 4000 years.

/john

    Granted Natzism is not a religion - but how many million were
    slaughtered in the concentratiion camps and what was the primary
    reason they were slaughtered? 
    
    Who were the people purged by Stalin?

>                   -< PAGANs have nothing to fight about... >-

Your ancestors who painted their faces blue lived in peace and harmony, right?

    Your ancestors who painted their faces blue lived in peace and harmony,
    right?
    
    I don't believe I had ancestors who did this besides they were
    Lutherans...
    
	

    re: .33
    
    Are you asking rhetorical questions, or do you really want to be
    enlightened???
    
    

    .37 how many millions of Jews were killed in concentration camps
    - I think we can agree why they were killed cant we?
    
    

>    Your ancestors who painted their faces blue lived in peace and harmony,
>    right?
>    
>    I don't believe I had ancestors who did this besides they were
>    Lutherans...
    
Go back a few more years.

    back a few years?

    .37
    
    > I think we can agree why they were killed cant we?
    
    Probably not.
    
    They were not killed for a religious reason. They were killed because
    Adolf Hitler, a mad demagogue, made Jews the scapegoats for the evils
    of the world - most immediately and specifically the economic woes of
    post-WWI Germany.

    
    
    Here's a project for you...
    
    Go look up how many Jews were killed by the nazis
    
    Go look up how many Poles were killed by the nazis
    
    Go look up how many Gypsies were killed by the nazis
    
    Go look up how many Russians were killed by the nazis
    
    Go look up how many <pick your own> were killed by the nazis
    
    
     Report back when you're done...
    

    They were killed because of their religion.   Hilter was a crazy 
    nutter who used religion as an excuse to murder millions of people.
    He targeted people of Jewish faith did he?
    
    Religions have caused some much hatred in this world it's sickening
    
    

Hitler intended to kill all the Jews and all the Gypsies (not all the Poles,
not all the Russians).  He considered Jews and Gypsies subhuman.  Religion
had little to do with it -- if you were a good Christian whose grandfather
happened to be Jewish, you were to be killed.  What religion were the Gypsies?

    .42
    
    > He targeted people of Jewish faith did he?
    
    Not entirely, not by any means.  You need a history lesson.
    
    Historically, Jews had been banned from owning property and from being
    citizens.  Because they were not permitted to engage in most of the
    "good" occupations, Jews tended to specialize in business, mostly in
    banking and jewelry.  These two professions are where tremendous wealth
    is.  Hitler saw these wealthy FOREIGNERS as the root of Germany's sick
    economy.
    
    Hitler had laws constructed so that Christians, even those who had
    three Christian grandparents and one Jewish grandparent, were to be
    liquidated.  People of Jewish heritage, even as little as that quarter,
    were believed to be readily identifiable by physical characteristics,
    and Hitler had a raft of pseudo-science to draw on.  Jewishness was
    determined, for a nontrivial portion of the Holocaust victims, by such
    things as eye color, hair color and thickness, skull shape, nose
    length, and so on.  Their religion had NOTHING to do with it.
    
    This is only a little of what you ought to know if you want to take on
    Nazism as a religiously oriented fanaticism.  It wasn't.  The Nazis did
    their work on FOREIGNERS, of whom Jews were only about half.

    I think the difference here is killing people in a "religious" war (our
    religion is better than yours, your religion threatens our religion, or
    some religion vs. religion issue) vs. killing people "for their
    religion".  Hitler did not kill Jews in a "religious" war.  He killed
    them for their "religion" and more importantly for their "cultural"
    differences.  I have several Jewish friends who I do not think to be
    very religious (they don't talk much about God, sin, prayer, faith, and
    don't go to the synagogue very much), but are very cultural (want to
    marry a Jew, celebrate Jewish holidays, raise their children in the
    Jewish faith, spend a lot of time with their Jewish friends).  Hitler
    probably felt the need to eliminate any group that would not
    inter-marry or breed with the German people.  Jews and Gypsies tend to
    inter-marry.  Any group that he felt would not assimilate into his
    vision of cultural utopia was eliminated.  Of course he had other
    reasons to kill them, but I think this is one.
    
    I think a "religious war" could be defined as one having the backing of
    the respective religious institutions in each camp.  I do not think the
    German religious institutions backed what Hitler was doing and
    therefore this was not a religious war.

    Like Bosnia?
    
    Like Northern Ireland?
    
    Like the crusades?
    
    Like the Inquisition?
    
    Like Pakistan, Bangladesh and India?  (30's-50's?)
    
    Like Iran?
    
    Like Iraq?
    
    Like parts of India today?  (Sihks, hindues and Moslems)
    
    Like tibet?
    
    meg

I wish I had better memory retention... but I vaguely recall that the
India-Pakistan wars were based solely on religion... now I'm gonna have
to go dig up some of my University texts and read about it again.  It
was a very interesting course - dealt with 5 major wars (WW1, WW2, 
VietNam, Korea and India-Pakistan) and the cause and effect of the
same. I had to take a Poli-Sci elective and was amazed that I actually
looked forward to these lectures.

    
    What it really boils down to is "Us" and "Them". Each little
    enclave of "Us" always has a "Them" they wish didn't exist.
    Sometimes, the "Us" gains sufficient strength to take on the
    "Them". Human nature takes over and "Us" decides to clobber
    "Them". Religion is but one of many mechanisms for separating
    "Us" from "Them". Skin color, land, money, language and
    sometimes just plain old good/bad luck play a part.
    
    By placing an inordinate amount of blame on religion, what
    you effectively do is create another division of "Us" and
    "Them". Those "Religious" nuts. Those "Gun" Nuts. Those "Pro
    Life" nuts. Those "Pro Choice" nuts. Those "Canadian" nuts.
    Whatever. It's THEM.
    
    -b

>>>      Those "Canadian" nuts.

Excuse me Brian, but I thought I'd point out that we are us and you
are them!  8*)

    the I-Thou thing as it were.

>>>      Those "Canadian" nuts.

  >Excuse me Brian, but I thought I'd point out that we are us and you
  >are them!  8*)
    
    Oh, you're no fun anymore! :-)
    
    -b

     .48   Whatever. It's THEM.
    
    .48 I agree with alot of your observations re us/them stuff but its 
     only the people who look beyond this like Rabin who can make the 
     difference for the good.  Rabin was starting to see in terms of
     WE  instead of Us/THEM.   
    
    Rabin understood that the zeal the right wingers felt regarding the
    land needed to be balanced out and compromised for peace.
    
    He was a good man. 
	             
    
                        
    
    
    \
    
    
    
    

    the basic premise... if you had Jewish blood you were less than an
    animal in the Nazi's eyes. you were dead regardless of whether
    you practiced or even denounced the religious aspect of your
    race.

  
 ^^ When I find time I will start a topic title 
 ^^	"Islam and religious intolerence : Bread and Butter", 

	Better stick with your day job because you a looong way to go
	for theological, polical science and religious history education!	


 ^^quoting facts from history - several centuries ago, this century, this year, 
 ^^this week - pointing out how Islam has *never-ever* co-existed in peace with 
 ^^any non-islamic faith, and, violence and religious persecution has always 
 ^^been their primary mechanism of spreading their religion (and has been quite 
 ^^successful also). 

	Better re-check those facts again, sport. Your over-generalization
	only illuminates your ignorance of the subject. Jews and Muslims
	lived peacefully during Mohammad's time (now that's centuries ago,
	right?). In today's time, the Bosnian Muslim government and people
	has had no problem coexisting with the Christians; of course Belgrade
	and Pale changed all that. In Egypt, there is a huge non-Muslim
	population, last reported they are not killing one another. In Turkey
	Muslims co-exist quite OK with others.

	Now change your sights to South East Asian countries: Malaysia,
	Indonesia, Thailand, Indo-Chinese countries have multi-religious
	population. As far I know there hasn't been Muslims killing non-
	Muslims there yet.

^^ Religious persecution has always been their primary mechanism of spreading
^^ their religion...

	Uh? You know, the usage of "ALWAYS" is one the common causes of
	marital breakup? e.g You ALWAYS do this/that... but I digress

	How about the famous spice trade in th 14th, 15th century
	where Arab traders ventured out to Asia? How about Mohammad's
	tactic of alliance-by-marriage?

	Another thing... is this a Muslim monopoly? How about the
	Spanish Inquisition, how about the Crusades, how about the 
	missionaries persecuting the "natives" for non-conversion?

	I think the Spanish/Portuguese religion-driven conquests were
	probably the most successful in history!


^^	My problem? Most of the westerners  (or I believe so) don't see a 
^^threat or a problem here, until it hits their door steps... America still 
^^doesn't have a town or city with a major Islamic population and pretty soon 
^^one day there will be one, and that by itself is not a problem but - what 
^^follows later for folks with non-islamic faith in that area will be. Again
^^I have no problems with individuals, but have a big problem with the collective
^^attitude of Muslims masses towards other faiths.

	Gee, you really HAVE a big problem. I dare say, you share about
	the same sentiments of the radical Jewish settlers, with all their
	hate mongering.

^^ Questions to ponder:
^^ - Name some Islamic country or state or city which lived in peace with it's
  non-islamic neighbours, in this century/decade

	Done. See above.

^^ Name some regions in the world which has a majority of Muslims, and has not
^^ declared itself an Islamic state?

	How about China, Russia, Thailand, Bosnia, Nigeria, Algeria,
        just to start, maybe not a majority but a large % of their
	population? BTW Do you know that until the Gulf War which
	forced Saddam to adopt a more "fundamentalist" posture, Iraq was
	one of the more secular Muslim countries?

>>    Been personally hurt by one? What's the justification for the bile???

^^	Nope! but have lived and seen this religious madness first hand.


	Oh?? In case you are unaware, we Muslims are not all terrorists and 
	fundamentalists. In fact I dare say, there more of us secular 
	folks around. If you care to remove your blinders, you might see
	us and better still, get to know us a bit, but since we do not
	yell religious epithets or wear the purdah, or carry guns, it may be
	difficult for you to sort us out.

	Problem is, there are a lot of others who are just as narrow minded 
	and bigoted as you, and until that changes, religious-instigated 
	hatred will continue.

	
	If you are a Hindu, how do you justify religious persecution carried
	out via the caste system in India?
                         

>	How about China, Russia, Thailand, Bosnia, Nigeria, Algeria,

Just a nit-pick, but China's is almost 100% buddist...

/scott

       re .55:
       
       Happy Friday!
       
       p.s.: And, oh, by the way, Montana is almost 100% Taoist.

Anheuser Busch is Buddist.

    
    
    Isn't Tahoe someplace other than Montana???
    

    I went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia recently.  Between the airport and
    hotel were two breweries (Carlsburg, Anchor).  Malaysia is 55% Muslim. 
    No problem having a brewskie here.
    
    Another point, the majority of the world's Muslims do not leave in the
    Mideast, they live in Southeast Asia.
    
    Another point, Iranians are Muslims, but not Arabs.
    
    My point in all of this is that you CANNOT stereotype the Moslem world. 
    You cannot make blanket statements about the Moslem world.  The word
    "ALL" does not apply.  They are a varied group of people that represent
    vastly different cultures.  
    
    On the last page of this weeks BusinessWeek magazine is an information
    ad on Indonesia (mostly Muslim).  The facts:
    
    Fourth largest nation in the world (200 million).
    Market equal in size to that of Germany, the UK and France combined.
    World Bank estimate tht Indonesia will be the world's sixth largest
    economy by the year 2010.  You don't get to that by having your head in
    the sand.

    
    scott,
    
    	actually, not true! Taiwan, yes, China, no, but Northern China
    has a substantial Muslim population.
    

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, 1995 NOV 9 (NB) -- An Israeli University has
expelled a student after he sent a message publicly supporting the
recent assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The student
studied at Bar Ilan University, the same university that confessed
killer Yigal Amir, and Rabin's injured bodyguard studied.

The university also awarded Yitzhak Rabin an honorary doctorate two
years ago.

The first-year mass communications student, Yitzhak Newman, sent a
message on Monday that read "Chag sameach everyone!!! The witch is
dead, the wicked witch is dead!!!!" Chag sameach is "happy holidays"
in Hebrew, said university spokeswoman Elana Oberlander, who
confirmed to Newsbytes that, "he has been expelled."

Oberlander continued, "It was brought to the attention of one of our
professors. His electronic-mail account was immediately blocked and
we sent him into a disciplinary committee with the strong
recommendation that he be expelled."

Did the university have any problems weighing free speech against the
emotions expressed in the message? "Not at all. The decision was
taken immediately," said Oberlander.

She explained, "We have freedom of speech, but we try not to allow
extreme political groups on campus. We allow expression of opinion, but
when we feel if it is to an extreme or it looks like the university
condones the acts of Yigal Amir, we draw the line."

She concluded, "The university in no way condones the acts of Yigal Amir."

The university has also opened formal proceedings to expel forever, law
student Yigal Amir, it announced earlier this week. Bar Ilan professor
Moshe Kaveh noted in a statement, "While, at this point, expulsion is
only a formality, it is importantly symbolic."

Oberlander also told Newsbytes that confessed killer Amir had not used
the Internet at Bar Ilan as far as the university can tell.

Internet users can find Bar Ilan University on the World Wide Web at
http://www.biu.ac.il/ , or via Gopher at gopher://vm.biu.ac.il:70/ .

(Martyn Williams/19951109/Press contact: David Weinberg, Bar Ilan
University, tel +972-3-531-8121, fax +972-3-535-4918)

    .59 sander_j
    
    I'm delighted to read your note. Coming from an American visitor
    carries more weight than if I, a Muslim Malaysian, were to do it
    instead.
    
    I remember growing up in Malaysia enjoying multiethnic celebrations.
    We have public holidays for Hari Raya Puasa and Haji (Muslim xmas
    equivalent), Chinese New Year, Deepavali (Hindu), Thaipusam (Hindu),
    and Christmas, Good Friday too, I think. Far less segregation there
    too, compared to here.
    
    Compare that in the US, only Christian and Jewish holidays are
    official; nothing more.
    
    re .27 steve keith... no corrections needed (on my part) since
    in my note, I did not accuse what's his name guilty on the Okie
    bombing, only that the initial speculation (more like accusation)
    that some Arabs did it was absolutely untrue.
     

    re-read your note.
    
    You said it was that american boy next door.
    
    Steve

    
    keith ---
    
    what a rathole! yes, he happens to an american boy next door.
    and would you argue that right now, even though the court system
    is still to find him innocent/guilty, he is the alleged perp?
    
    chill out, have a great weekend!
    

     Report: Blind Cleric Says Allah Sent a Jew to Kill Rabin

     Associated Press, 11/11

     NEW YORK (AP) - Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman told the Daily News that "Allah
     sent a Jew" to kill Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

     ``Muslims were not able to get him killed for what he did, due to
     strict security,'' said Abdel-Rahman. ``Allah (the Arabic name for God)
     sent a Jew to do that.''

     Abdel-Rahman, 57, a blind Egyptian cleric, spoke with the News from the
     Springfield, Mo., federal prison where he is awaiting sentencing for
     leading a group of Muslim extremists who planned a wave of terror in
     the United States.

     He and nine others were convicted Oct. 2 of seditious conspiracy.
     Prosecutors said the planned attacks included the United Nations, FBI
     headquarters, two tunnels and a bridge.

     Abdel-Rahman also denounced Arab leaders for attending Rabin's funeral
     and burial in Jerusalem.

     He suggested that Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak should share Rabin's
     fate for the praise he heaped on the Israeli leader at the funeral a
     week ago.

     ``The Koran says, if you take them as allies, then you are like them. I
     ask the Almighty to put them together,'' Abdel-Rahman said.

     Many Islamic militants continue to object to Palestinian recognition of
     Israel, in hopes of eventually supplanting the Jewish state with their
     own religious nation.

     Abdel-Rahman faces a maximum life in prison when he is sentenced in
     January.

     AP-DS-11-11-95 2302EST

>Note 576.64                         Rabin                             64 of 65
>AXPBIZ::WANNOOR                                     9 lines  10-NOV-1995 16:34
    
>    keith ---
>    
>    what a rathole! yes, he happens to an american boy next door.
>    and would you argue that right now, even though the court system
>    is still to find him innocent/guilty, 
    >
    >
    >he is the alleged perp?
    
    
Alleged. Thank you. 
    
    His guilt or innocence IS YET TO BE DETERMINED. You would wnt the
    same...

>    Compare that in the US, only Christian and Jewish holidays are
>    official; nothing more.

Jewish holidays are not official in the U.S.  I believe Christmas is the
only without-a-doubt-religious holiday that's a national holiday.

Jewish holidays are official in some towns and/or school systems.

Acton, Massachusetts, closes its schools for Jewish holidays.

I believe the American Jewish Congress is opposed to such policies, however.

/john

Is that because there's a large number of teachers who'd take the day off?

Probably more students than teachers.

An Illinois case earlier this year brought by a Jewish student
ended the Good Friday holiday in the schools there.

/john

            Ein Treibhaus f�r M�rder

            Das Attentat auf Jizchak Rabin hat den Israelis den Blick in
            einen Abgrund von Ha� und Gewalt freigegeben. Der Widerstand
            gegen den Friedensproze� radikalisierte das nationalreligi�se
            Lager. Im rechtsradikalen Sumpf tummeln sich fanatische
            Verschw�rer, die vor politischem Mord an ihren j�dischen
            Br�dern nicht mehr zur�ckschrecken.

            An d�steren Vorzeichen hatte es nicht gefehlt. Wer wollte,
            konnte sie sehen, die Schrift an der Wand.

            Anfang Oktober versammelten sich vor dem Wohnhaus des
            israelischen Regierungschefs einige schwarzgekleidete M�nner,
            um das "Pulsa Denura" zu beten, die biblische Verw�nschung.

            Gott m�ge "den Verfluchten" doch endlich sterben lassen, flehte
            Rabbi Awigdor Askin vor Jizchak Rabins T�rschwelle in der
            Raw-Aschei-Stra�e von Tel Aviv. Die fanatischen Frommen nahmen
            dabei gem�� dem orthodoxen Ritus in Kauf, da� auch einer von
            ihnen - gewisserma�en als ausgleichende Gerechtigkeit - sein
            Leben lassen m�sse, sollte Gott ihr Gebet erh�ren.

            Fast zur gleichen Zeit trugen auf einer Demonstration in
            Jerusalem rechtsradikale Siedler ein Transparent mit der
            unheilverk�ndenden Inschrift: "Rabin - h�rst du die Stimmen
            deiner Br�der aus den Gr�bern?" Kurz danach, am Morgen nach dem
            j�dischen Fest Jom Kippur am 4. Oktober, tauchten in den
            Synagogen Flugbl�tter mit einem Gebet auf, in dem "die Engel
            des Todes" aufgefordert wurden, Rabin von dannen zu nehmen,
            "weil er das Gelobte Land seinen Feinden ausliefert".

            Die meisten Israelis taten die verbalen Exzesse achselzuckend
            ab und bagatellisierten die Gefahr. Die paar "Meschuggenen",
            durchgedrehte religi�se Fanatiker, die sich verzweifelt gegen
            den Friedensproze� und den Ausgleich mit den Pal�stinensern
            aufb�umten, w�rden sich schon von selbst wieder beruhigen. Wie
            kaum ein anderer Staat sah sich dieser auch als eine Familie -
            rauhbeinig, streitlustig und manchmal bis zur Beleidigung
            brutal im Umgang miteinander, aber letztlich vereint. Blutiger
            Terror kam ja doch immer von den anderen: von den radikalen
            Pal�stinensern, den Hamas- und Dschihad-Aktivisten.

            Doch auch Juden k�nnen auf dem rechten Auge blind sein. Erst
            nach den t�dlichen Sch�ssen auf ihren Ministerpr�sidenten
            Rabin, 73, wurde den Israelis schlagartig und schmerzvoll klar,
            wie falsch sie die Lage eingesch�tzt hatten.

            Untersuchungsrichter Dan Arbel hielt dem Attent�ter Jigal Amir,
            25, bei seiner ersten Vernehmung vor, "das abscheulichste
            Verbrechen in der Geschichte des Staates Israel" begangen zu
            haben. "Sind wir etwa in Sodom?" fragte der einflu�reiche Rabbi
            Jehuda Amital, "wie kann so etwas in einer kultivierten Nation
            passieren?" Michael Ben-Jair, dem Rechtsberater der Regierung,
            war nach dem Attentat "nun ganz klar: Die israelische
            Gesellschaft ist krank". Er habe Angst vor weiteren Morden,
            bekannte Ben-Jair.

            Vor aller Augen - und doch verdr�ngt und deswegen nahezu
            unbeachtet - hat sich in Israel, dem einzigen demokratischen
            Rechtsstaat des Nahen Ostens, eine extreme Rechte organisiert,
            deren Anhang ein Polizeioffizier auf "100 000 bis 150 000
            K�pfe" sch�tzt - nicht wenig in einer Bev�lkerung von 4,5
            Millionen Juden.

            Die Radikalen schufen ein Klima, das in vielem an das der
            Weimarer Republik erinnert. "Schlagt tot den Walter Rathenau,
            die gottverdammte Judensau", hetzten damals deutsche
            Rechtsextremisten gegen den angeblichen Erf�llungspolitiker.
            Genauso unverhohlen riefen ihre israelischen Br�der im Geiste
            zum Mord an Rabin und seinem Au�enminister Schimon Peres auf,
            den vermeintlichen Ausverk�ufern j�dischen Landes. Mosche
            Zimmermann, Professor f�r Deutsche Geschichte in Jerusalem,
            urteilte etwa �ber den radikalen Siedlernachwuchs in Hebron:
            "Wie die Hitlerjugend."

            Doch selbst Israels vielger�hmter Sicherheitsdienst
            untersch�tzte das Ha�potential - auch ihm verstellte der in
            Israel st�ndig wiederholte Glaubenssatz den Blick: "Kein Jude
            wird es wagen, einen anderen Juden zu t�ten."

            Die �berzeugung, zusammenhalten zu m�ssen, um als Volk zu
            �berleben, geht viel weiter zur�ck als die Staatsgr�ndung.
            Jeder Sch�ler in Israel lernt, da� die R�mer im Jahr 70 den
            Zweiten Tempel leichter zerst�ren konnten, weil im belagerten
            Jerusalem Juden einander bek�mpften - Anfang ihrer Zerstreuung
            in alle Welt. Abscheu vor Gewalt pr�gte auch die ersten
            modernen Zionisten, die in Pal�stina eintrafen, mehr noch die
            Holocaust-�berlebenden.

            Nun ist das Tabu des Brudermords gebrochen. Der Mord an Rabin,
            dem ersten Regierungschef Israels, der im Lande selbst geboren
            wurde, hat den Staat in seine bisher schwerste innere Krise
            gest�rzt. Das Attentat zeigt dramatisch auf, da� Israel an
            einem Wendepunkt seiner Geschichte angelangt ist. Religi�ser
            Fanatismus, rassistischer �berlegenheitswahn und der Anspruch
            auf gottgegebenen Lebensraum vereinigten sich zu einem Sumpf,
            in dem sich faschistische Elemente tummelten - etwa die
            rechtsextreme Ejal-Gruppe, zu der auch der Attent�ter geh�rte.

            Noch ist unklar, ob Jigal Amir, bei dem man ein ganzes
            Waffenlager mit Sprengstoff und Granaten fand, im Auftrag oder
            mit Wissen von Ejal handelte. Israels Polizeiminister Mosche
            Schachal ging am vergangenen Freitag "ganz sicher" davon aus,
            da� der T�ter nicht allein operierte. Sicher ist, da� sich
            au�er Amir noch weitere Ejal-Mitglieder am Tatort aufhielten.
            Als Ejal-Chef Awischai Rawiw nach dem Anschlag festgenommen
            wurde, erkl�rte er: "Gegen Rabin bestand eine Art Todesurteil -
            aufgrund des religi�sen Rechts." Und: "Wir bewundern diesen
            Burschen f�r seine Konsequenz."

            Die Polizei beschuldigte neben dem gest�ndigen Jigal Amir zwei
            seiner Freunde, am Mordplan beteiligt gewesen zu sein: Dror
            Edni, 26, und Ohad Skornik, 23, der gemeinsam mit Amir
            j�disches Recht an der religi�sen Bar-Ilan-Universit�t
            studierte. Dringend verd�chtig der Mitwisserschaft ist auch
            Jigals Bruder Hagai, der zugab, die Kugeln aufgebohrt und
            "durchschlagskr�ftiger" gemacht zu haben.

            Da� junge Juden aus gutem Haus zu einer Verschw�rung gegen die
            eigene Regierung imstande sind, konnten Israels
            Fernsehzuschauer erstmals Ende September geschockt zur Kenntnis
            nehmen. Ein TV-Team hatte ein Vereidigungsritual von Ejal
            gefilmt, einer damals noch weitgehend unbekannten Vereinigung
            religi�ser junger M�nner. In einer gespenstischen Szene auf dem
            Herzl-Berg (siehe Titelbild) befragten vermummte Aktivisten
            �ber den Gr�bern j�discher Widerstandsk�mpfer die mit
            Wollm�tzen maskierten Novizen: "Bist du bereit, auf Juden zu
            schie�en?" Ja, beteuerte der Terroristennachwuchs stramm, "wenn
            es Juden sind, die ich nicht als Juden anerkenne, dann tue ich
            es".

            Gruselbilder fast wie aus der deutschen Neonazi-Szene -
            feierlich gelobte ein neues Mitglied, gerade 18 Jahre alt: "Ich
            schw�re bei allem, was mir heilig ist, und bei der Ehre des
            j�dischen Volkes, da� ich gegen die teuflische Regierung und
            ihre Verb�ndeten k�mpfen werde bis zum Tod, da� ich k�mpfen
            werde gegen die schlimmsten Feinde des j�dischen Volkes bis zum
            allerletzten Atemzug." Viele Israelis hatten M�he, den
            n�chtlichen Friedhofsspuk nicht f�r die v�llig �berzogene
            Phantasterei eines Fernsehreporters zu halten.

            Obwohl einige Knesset- Abgeordnete der Arbeitspartei die
            Sicherheitsbeh�rden sofort aufforderten, schleunigst gegen die
            Friedensfeinde vorzugehen, lie�en die Beh�rden Ejal erst einmal
            rechts liegen. Mittlerweile wei� die Polizei, da� Ejal zu den
            h�rtesten gewaltbereiten j�dischen Gruppen in Israels schwer
            �berschaubarer rechtsradikaler Szene geh�rt. Der Name bedeutet
            soviel wie "Kraft" und leitet sich von einer j�dischen
            Widerstandsgruppe im Warschauer Ghetto 1943 ab.

            Bis Ende letzter Woche wurden sechs Mitglieder festgenommen,
            darunter etliche, die nach dem Rabin-Attentat abgetaucht waren.
            Ein anderer Ejal-Mann, Natan Lewi, wollte sich am Wochenende
            der Polizei stellen; der Gesuchte war in den vergangenen drei
            Jahren nicht weniger als 300mal wegen Aufruhr festgenommen
            worden.

            Der harte Kern der im Untergrund operierenden Truppe bestand
            aus etwa 50 Mitgliedern, denen rund 200 aktive Gefolgsleute,
            �berwiegend junge, gebildete M�nner, aufs Wort folgten. Die
            Zentrale der Organisation befand sich in der Wehrsiedlung
            Kirjat Arba, einer Hochburg rechtsradikaler Siedler im
            Westjordanland.

            In Flugschriften propagierte Ejal "den Kampf gegen Nazis,
            Araber und alle j�dischen Kollaborateure". Die
            Untergrundk�mpfer gaben sich Decknamen wie Malachai oder Jair,
            alle zwei Monate wurde ein neuer Code ausgegeben. S�mtliche
            Aktivisten wurden regelm��ig milit�risch geschult: Sie lernten
            den Umgang mit Pistole, Uzi und Sprengstoff; die Ausbildung
            schlo� auch den H�userkampf, die unbemerkte Verfolgung von
            Personen und das Verhalten bei Verh�ren durch den israelischen
            Inlandsgeheimdienst Schabak ein.

            Von �hnlichem Kaliber wie Ejal ist die rechtsradikale
            Organisation Kahane Chai (Kahane lebt), deren Mitglieder
            vorzugsweise in der Siedlung Tapuach im Westjordanland leben.
            Sie wird von Benjamin Zeev Kahane geleitet, dem Sohn des
            fr�heren Parlamentsabgeordneten und Gr�nders der rassistischen
            Kach-Bewegung Meir Kahane, der 1990 in New York von einem
            Araber ermordet wurde.

            Viele Mitglieder der Organisation stammen aus den USA, sind
            Vietnam-Veteranen und ehemalige Aktivisten von Meir Kahanes
            "Jewish Defense League". Ihre Anh�nger propagieren den Aufbau
            einer "unabh�ngigen Armee" im Westjordanland; im Sommer
            bildeten sie am See Genezareth jugendliche Rekruten an scharfen
            Waffen aus. So wollen sie sich auf einen "neuen
            Unabh�ngigkeitskrieg" gegen die Pal�stinenser vorbereiten, wenn
            die Armee sich v�llig aus den besetzten Gebieten zur�ckziehen
            sollte.

            Benjamin Kahane zeigte sich "sehr zufrieden" mit dem
            Mordanschlag auf den Regierungschef, und die junge Aktivistin
            Gila, 15, pflichtete ihrem Chef bei: "Rabins Tod ist gut f�r
            das israelische Volk, weil er Unkraut war." F�r die Siedler von
            Tapuach hat der Name des Attent�ters einen guten Klang - Jigal
            hei�t auf deutsch: "Er wird erl�sen."

            Vor einem Jahr bereits hatte der Geheimdienst eine andere,
            schattenhafte Gruppe j�discher Untergrundk�mpfer ausgehoben,
            die sich "Davids Schwert" nannte. Ihre Mitglieder, die offenbar
            einen Sprengstoffanschlag auf das pal�stinensische Orient-Haus
            in Ost-Jerusalem planten, hatten in einem Flugblatt das
            Attentat auf den Regierungschef gedanklich bereits
            vorweggenommen: Rabin sei "ein Verr�ter", der "seiner gerechten
            Strafe nicht entgehen kann, dem Tod".

            Gruppen wie Ejal, Kahane Chai oder auch Davids Schwert bewegten
            sich unbehelligt in einem Strom des Widerstandes gegen die
            Regierung der Friedensnobelpreistr�ger Peres und Rabin - und
            auch wie Fische im Wasser des oppositionellen Likud-Blocks,
            der, selbst b�rgerlich und respektabel, die Radikalinskis bei
            seinen Veranstaltungen als Sto�trupp tolerierte.

            "Die Atmosph�re, in der Rabins M�rder aktiv geworden ist, wurde
            in den Siedlungen des Westjordanlandes geschaffen", sagt Ehud
            Sprinzak, Experte f�r Rechtsextremismus an der Hebr�ischen
            Universit�t Jerusalem. "Dort wurde Rabin zum Freiwild erkl�rt."

            Ausgerechnet Israels Sieg unter Rabins Kommando im
            Sechstagekrieg 1967, vielleicht die gl�cklichste Stunde in der
            Geschichte des jungen, ewig bedr�ngten Staats, machte die
            Ultranationalisten zu einer gef�hrlichen Kraft, die am Ende die
            Grundlagen des Staats in Frage stellt.

            Mit der Besetzung des Westjordanlandes schien der Weg frei f�r
            die R�ckkehr des j�dischen Volkes in seine Urheimat - nach
            Jud�a und Samaria. Nicht nur orthodoxe Rabbiner beschworen den
            grandiosen milit�rischen Erfolg als "Fingerzeig Gottes" und
            feierten die Eroberung Ost-Jerusalems als "Heimkehr zu den
            Heiligen H�hen". Eine rasch gebildete Bewegung f�r das ganze
            Gro�israel verlangte den Anschlu� aller gerade besetzten
            Gebiete - eines Territoriums mehr als dreimal so gro� wie der
            urspr�ngliche Kernstaat: "Nie wieder", so der Appell, "darf das
            Land Israel geteilt werden."

            Die biblisch begr�ndete Landnahme begann zun�chst gegen den
            erkl�rten Widerstand der Regierung. Als Siedler nach 1967 in
            illegalen Nacht-und-Nebel-Aktionen versuchten, an historischen
            Orten Fu� zu fassen, vertrieb das Milit�r die Zeloten. Doch mit
            jedem neuen Versuch erhielten die religi�sen Pioniere
            (Kennzeichen: geh�keltes Gebetsk�ppchen und umgeh�ngtes
            Sturmgewehr) Zulauf - vor allem aus dem rechtsnationalen Lager.

            Die regierende Arbeitspartei, entnervt durch die st�ndigen
            Konflikte, reagierte mit Zugest�ndnissen: Zun�chst in Hebron,
            dann bei Nablus trieben die j�dischen Siedler - Teil ihres
            messianischen Traums - Br�ckenk�pfe in die pal�stinensischen
            Gebiete.

            Den Kern bildeten die Aktivisten des Gusch Emunim (Block der
            Getreuen), die sich von einer losen Truppe zur perfekt
            organisierten Lobby wandelten: Mit Hilfe der religi�sen
            Splitterparteien in der Regierungskoalition wuchs ihr
            politischer Einflu�; als 1977 der rechtskonservative
            Likud-Block die Macht �bernahm, erhielten sie die erkl�rte
            Unterst�tzung von Premier Menachem Begin. Viele
            Quadratkilometer Land wurden konfisziert, Stra�en gebaut,
            Strom-, Wasser- und Telefonleitungen gelegt.

            Gro�z�gige Kredite und Steuerverg�nstigungen zum Bau von
            Eigenheimen lockten bald nicht nur �berzeugte Verfechter eines
            Gro�israel an: Die Zahl der Siedler stieg bis 1984 auf 50 000
            Menschen.

            Das Gift der Besatzung und die j�dische Zuwanderung
            versch�rften die Spannung in den besetzten Gebieten. Unter
            Pal�stinensern und Juden wuchs die Bereitschaft zur blutigen
            Konfrontation. Die j�dischen Wehrd�rfer wurden zu
            waffenstarrenden Festungen hochger�stet, mit Stacheldraht,
            Wacht�rmen und Suchscheinwerfern. Auf pal�stinensische
            �bergriffe antworteten die Siedler mit systematischen
            Vergeltungsschl�gen.

            Die j�dischen Gewaltt�ter brauchten sich kaum vor der Justiz zu
            f�rchten. Als Rabbi Mosche Levinger, ein Prediger aus Hebron,
            einen Pal�stinenser niederscho�, verurteilte ein israelisches
            Gericht den notorischen Rassisten ("Araber sind Hunde") zu
            einer Haftstrafe von f�nf Monaten - Levinger sa� davon ganze
            zehn Wochen ab und wurde nach der Freilassung von
            Gesinnungsgenossen umjubelt.

            Die Intifada, der pal�stinensische Aufstand gegen die
            israelische Besatzungsmacht, best�rkte die rabiaten
            "Westbank-Cowboys" noch in ihrem Sendungsbewu�tsein: "Wo immer
            j�disches Blut vergossen wird", gelobten sie, "werden wir eine
            neue Siedlung bauen."

            Tats�chlich verdoppelte sich bis 1990 die j�dische Bev�lkerung
            im Westjordanland und im Gazastreifen. Dank ihrer Beziehungen
            zum Landwirtschaftsministerium, zur Milit�rverwaltung und zur
            Zionistischen Weltorganisation schufen die Siedler in den
            besetzten Gebieten ein dichtes Netz von 144 Ortschaften. In den
            schmucken Villen-Ghettos, komplett mit Schulen, Superm�rkten
            und Synagogen, leben heute rund 140 000 Menschen.

            Erst das israelisch-pal�stinensische Autonomieabkommen von 1993
            ersch�tterte das Selbstvertrauen der j�dischen Kolonialisten;
            der Zuzug in die besetzten Gebiete brach ab, die Preise f�r
            Wohnungen und H�user fielen drastisch. Existenzangst griff um
            sich. Mit dem historischen Handschlag zwischen PLO-Chef Arafat
            und Premier Rabin sei der Ausverkauf Jud�as und Samarias
            besiegelt worden, wettern seither die Siedlerf�hrer. Politiker
            aus dem Friedenslager beschimpften sie als Verr�ter und
            verglichen sie mit Nazi-Schergen: "Jud�a und Samaria", so ihr
            Schwur, "werden nie wieder judenrein."

            W�hrend manche Siedlerfamilie schon in aller Stille die
            R�ckkehr ins israelische Kernland erwog, organisierten sich die
            orthodoxen Fundamentalisten in zunehmend militanteren
            Wehrverb�nden. F�r die radikale Minderheit im Siedlerblock ist
            die Aufgabe auch nur eines Fu�breits Gelobten Landes ein Frevel
            gegen Gottes Gebot. Der Anschlag auf Rabin, urteilt daher der
            Friedensaktivist und strenggl�ubige Avraham Burg, "war kein
            politischer Mord - er war ein religi�ser Mord".

            Rabin war in den Wochen vor der Tat vom Geheimdienst Schabak
            mehrmals unterrichtet worden, da� es Ger�chte �ber geplante
            Attacken von Juden auf seine Person gebe. Er lebe nicht in
            Angst, als altgedienter Soldat sei er "Granateneinschlag,
            Kugelhagel und solche Sachen gew�hnt", erkl�rte er. Auch
            glaubte er im Ernst wohl nicht daran, da� ein Jude auf ihn, den
            Kriegshelden, anlegen k�nnte. Immerhin war er bereit, ein
            gepanzertes Auto zu benutzen. Eine kugelsichere Weste zu tragen
            lehnte er ab.

            Politisch allerdings nahm der Regierungschef die zusehends
            bedrohlicher klingenden Stimmen ernst. Am 12. Oktober griff er
            im Rundfunksender der Armee den Oppositionsblock in der Knesset
            an: "Der Likud stachelt die Extremisten auf, er schafft den
            Hintergrund f�r rechtsradikale verbale Gewalt. Mir reicht
            allm�hlich diese Sorte Reden in der Knesset und auf
            Versammlungen. Ich habe genug davon, diese Plakate und
            Spruchb�nder auf ihren Demonstrationen zu sehen."

            Den ganzen Sommer �ber hatten rechtsradikale Aktivisten gegen
            die Friedenspolitik Front gemacht. Mit aller Gewalt versuchten
            sie, das Zustandekommen von "Oslo B" zu verhindern, dem
            j�ngsten Interimsabkommen mit der PLO, das schlie�lich
            feierlich am 28. September in Washington unterzeichnet wurde.

            Wochenlang riefen Anh�nger der au�erparlamentarischen Bewegung
            So Arzenu (Dies ist unser Land) zu systematischen St�raktionen
            auf. Stra�enkreuzungen im ganzen Land wurden blockiert, die
            Amtssitze von Regierungsmitgliedern belagert, einmal versuchten
            Demonstranten gar, Rabins Wohnhaus in Jerusalem zu st�rmen.

            In Sprechch�ren riefen sie "Rabin M�rder" und "Rabin Verr�ter",
            �berall klebten Plakate, die Rabin mit einer Kufija, dem
            pal�stinensischen Kopftuch, zeigten. Karikaturen zeigten den
            Regierungschef, wie er sich von der Schlange Arafat verf�hren
            lie�. In einer anderen wusch er seine H�nde in Judenblut.

            "Ich werde alles tun, um diese kriminelle Regierung
            loszuwerden, diese verr�ckte Sekte, die uns unseren Staat
            kosten wird", versprach Mosche Feiglin, der F�hrer von So
            Arzenu. Zu einer gro�en Demonstration seiner Organisation
            str�mten Anfang Oktober rund 40 000 Menschen in Jerusalem
            zusammen. Niemand schritt ein, als einige Plakate hochhielten,
            die Rabin in SS-Uniform zeigten.

            "Keine Regierung hat das Recht, Erez Israel aufzugeben",
            emp�rte sich Uri Ariel, der Vorsitzende des Siedlerrats Jescha.
            Weil der Regierung mit demokratischem Widerstand und legalen
            Mitteln nicht beizukommen war, erhoben die Friedensgegner den
            gezielten Gesetzesbruch zur legitimen politischen Methode.
            Ziviler Ungehorsam sei kein Verrat am Staat, sondern "ein
            Stiefsohn des Gesetzes", verlautbarte der So-Arzenu-Rabbi Benni
            Elon. "Wenn die Regierenden Kriminelle sind", erkl�rte sein
            Kampfgef�hrte Feiglin die Bereitschaft zum Gesetzesbruch, "dann
            ist das Gef�ngnis die einzige Zuflucht f�r ehrenhafte
            Personen."

            Der demokratische Zusammenhalt der israelischen Gesellschaft
            geriet ins Wanken. Oppositionsf�hrer Benjamin Netanjahu
            bestritt pl�tzlich sogar, da� der gew�hlte Ministerpr�sident
            noch die Legitimation f�r seine Politik besitze, und verglich
            das Rabin-Kabinett mit der Junta des rum�nischen Diktators
            Ceausescu. "Unsere Regierung ist in Panik und rauscht wie
            verr�ckt durch die Friedensverhandlungen, um ihren Traum von
            einem pal�stinensischen Staat zu erf�llen", erkl�rte Netanjahu,
            auf Stimmenfang auch bei der Ultrarechten.

            Damit ging der Likud einen Teufelspakt mit den militanten
            Radikalen ein: Netanjahu wollte sie als Speerspitze benutzen,
            um die Regierung zu Fall zu bringen. Doch der Zauberlehrling
            konnte die einmal geweckten Kr�fte nicht bannen.

            Nun ist das Erschrecken gro�. Schockiert �ber die Ermordung
            Rabins, versammelten sich in Jerusalem f�hrende religi�se
            Zionisten zu einer "Seelenfindung". "Wir m�ssen nach unserer
            Verantwortung fragen", rief der einflu�reiche Rabbi Joel
            Ben-Nun seinen Zuh�rern zu, "einen weiteren Anschlag w�rde der
            Staat nicht �berleben."

            Tats�chlich ist un�bersehbar, da� die rechtsradikale Szene
            �berwiegend tiefreligi�s ist und ihren Glauben immer mehr in
            Gegensatz zur weltlichen Macht setzt. In ihrem Israel k�nnen
            die vom Parlament verabschiedeten Gesetze nur gelten, wenn sie
            Gottes Gesetz entsprechen.

            "Ich habe einen Befehl von Gott erhalten", erkl�rte
            bezeichnenderweise der Rabin-Attent�ter Jigal Amir gleich nach
            seiner Festnahme. Als der Untersuchungsrichter ihn fragte, ob
            er denn nicht die Zehn Gebote kenne, die Mord ausdr�cklich
            verbieten, belehrte der Attent�ter ihn �berheblich: Es w�re
            "traurig, wenn dies das ganze Wissen" des Richters �ber die
            Tora, die F�nf B�cher Mose, sei. Dann holte er zu einer
            weitschweifigen theologischen Erkl�rung �ber das Tora-Recht zum
            T�ten aus, indem er Rabin zum "Malschin" erkl�rte, zu einem
            Juden, der sein Judentum verwirkt hat, weil er sein Volk an
            Nichtjuden auslieferte. Kernsatz: "Nach dem religi�sen Gesetz
            mu� einer wie er um sein Leben gebracht werden."

            Amir pr�sentierte sich vor dem Richter als geschliffen
            argumentierender und kenntnisreicher gl�ubiger Jude. Er wuchs
            in einer religi�sen Familie auf, die aus dem Jemen eingewandert
            war. Sein Vater, ein orthodoxer Mann, verdient sein Geld als
            Tora-Schreiber, seine Mutter arbeitet als Kinderg�rtnerin.

            Statt drei Jahre in der Armee zu dienen, wie die meisten
            wehrpflichtigen jungen M�nner, schlo� sich Amir freiwillig
            einer Hesder-Jeschiwa an - in diesen Talmudschulen k�nnen
            orthodoxe Soldaten ihren Wehrdienst mit dem Studium von Tora
            und Talmud verbinden. Mehrmals w�hrend dieser Zeit legen sie
            die Uniform ab, um mit gelehrten Rabbis �ber die Auslegung der
            Heiligen Schrift zu diskutieren.

            Wom�glich in dieser Talmudschule, die er f�nf Jahre lang
            besuchte, erhielt Amir seinen rechtsradikalen Schliff. Deren
            Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg bestreitet das zwar energisch, aber
            auff�llig ist, da� einige der Verd�chtigen aus dem
            Freundeskreis des Attent�ters dieselbe Jeschiwa besuchten.

            Amir ist erkennbar ein �berzeugungst�ter, seine Ideologie der
            Fundamentalismus der Ultraorthodoxen. "Wir haben uns schuldig
            gemacht, weil wir eine ganze Generation in Klischees erzogen
            haben", erkannte nun Rabbi Jehuda Amital in Jerusalem.

            Immer wieder hatten sich Rabbis mit religi�sen Richtspr�chen in
            die aktuelle politische Debatte um den Friedensproze�
            eingemischt. So forderten manche Gottesm�nner die Soldaten dazu
            auf, den Befehl zu verweigern, falls sie gegen Siedler vorgehen
            sollten.

            Gegenw�rtig pr�ft der Schabak, ob Amir wom�glich eine
            "Hechscher", einen religi�sen Freibrief, f�r die Mordtat
            bekommen hat. Der radikale Rabbi Avraham Hecht aus Brooklyn
            jedenfalls ging so weit, Rabin mit den Worten des Maimonides zu
            bedrohen: Der ber�hmte j�dische Rechtsgelehrte hatte im
            zw�lften Jahrhundert festgestellt, ein Verr�ter in den eigenen
            Reihen m�sse get�tet werden. Hecht rief zum Mord am Premier
            auf: "Ich sage mit Maimonides: Wer ihn t�tet, tut eine gute
            Tat."

            Religionsminister Schimon Schitrit hat angek�ndigt, allen
            �ffentlichen religi�sen Einrichtungen in Israel sofort die
            Zuwendungen zu sperren, die sich der Anstiftung zu Straftaten
            schuldig gemacht haben. "Es gibt unter uns Personen, die
            glauben, Rabin habe seine gerechte Strafe bekommen", erboste
            sich Rabbi Joel Ben-Nun vor einer Versammlung zionistischer
            Rabbis, "wenn sie bis zum Ende der Trauerzeit nicht freiwillig
            ihre Posten ger�umt haben, werde ich ihre Namen bekanntgeben."

            Eine geistige Hochburg des religi�sen Fanatismus ist das
            Institut f�r fortgeschrittene Tora-Studien auf dem Campus der
            Bar-Ilan-Universit�t in Tel Aviv. Hier studierte der Attent�ter
            morgens die Tora und den Talmud, bevor er seine Seminare an der
            Juristischen Fakult�t besuchte. "Die Jeschiwa ist ein Treibhaus
            f�r M�rder", so ein Kommilitone Amirs, der ausschied, weil ihm
            die ultrarechten Lehren dort nicht geheuer waren.

            Auf den rund 13 000 Studenten lastet religi�ser Gruppendruck;
            Mitglieder des Lehrk�rpers beklagen sich, da� von ihnen stets
            das Tragen der Kipa, der Kopfbedeckung religi�ser Juden,
            erwartet wird. Das Niveau der Hochschule ist fragw�rdig, zu
            h�ufig wird Wissenschaft mit religi�ser �berzeugung verwechselt
            - vor allem in den geisteswissenschaftlichen F�chern.

            Hier fanden die rechtsradikalen Studenten ein w�rmendes und
            sch�tzendes Nest. "Man kann die Verbindung, die wir zu dem
            M�rder hatten, nicht �bersehen", stellt selbstkritisch Jedidja
            Stern fest, Dekan der Juristischen Fakult�t.

            Sieben Tage lang wird nach j�dischem Brauch um Rabin getrauert.
            Noch sitzt der Schock zu tief, noch wagt keiner die gro�e
            Abrechnung - doch in aller Stille werden die politischen Folgen
            des Attentats kalkuliert. Rabins Nachfolger Schimon Peres, der
            Architekt der Osloer Abkommen, m��te die Gelegenheit nutzen, um
            jene Splittergruppen zu verbieten, die gegen den Frieden und
            gegen die Demokratie agitieren - und so Israels Zukunft als
            modernen Staat mehr gef�hrden als die Pal�stinenser.

            Zun�chst aber werden am 20. Januar die Wahlen zum
            Pal�stinenserrat stattfinden. Die islamistische
            Widerstandsbewegung Hamas hat vergangene Woche beschlossen,
            daran teilzunehmen. Daf�r will sie fortan auf jeden Terror
            gegen Israel verzichten.

            So weit sind die j�dischen Fundamentalisten noch nicht. Die
            entscheidende Schlacht, sagt der israelische Schriftsteller
            Amos Oz, "wird im Nahen Osten nicht mehr zwischen Juden und
            Arabern ausgefochten. Statt dessen geht es jetzt um den Kampf
            gegen die gewaltt�tigen Eiferer auf beiden Seiten".

            Lea Rabin, die Witwe, empfing jedenfalls den ehemaligen
            Erzfeind und neuen Friedensfreund, PLO-Chef Jassir Arafat, drei
            Tage nach der Beerdigung zu Hause - eine Geste, die sie dem
            israelischen Oppositionschef verweigerte.

            DER SPIEGEL 46/1995 - Vervielf�ltigung nur mit Genehmigung des
            SPIEGEL-Verlags

    
    John, that was simply beautiful, {sniff}. Now if only I could read,
    write, and speak German I would be set.

    
    Yes, that note is so useful to most people here.  Translation, please.
    
    

    Don't encourage him, elsewise he'll break into a rendition of
    Danke Schoen.

Come to think of it, /john does bear an uncanny resemblance to Wayne Newton.