Harvard Professor Mixes Religion and Politics

Co-vigiller Hedy Epstein leaves a large wake in her path. After her speech in Stanford (Cal.) the group "Chabad at Standford" invited Harvard Professor Ruth Wisse to "counter" Hedy's experiences with myth: "This [Refugee Crisis] is not a creation of Israel, it is a creation of Arab rulers". Introduced by Rabbi Dov Greenberg as "the roaring intellectual jet of our time who has thundered the Jewish world", Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends wonders how this intellectual jet would fare in a debate with another professor, Norman Finkelstein.

The importance of the article however, is contained in the sentence before describing Wisse's introduction: "The evening began with opening prayers and the Kiddush". Here we have the beginning of the Sabbath holiday - erev Shabbat - with a typical conflation of religion and politics.

Many critics of JWP&F point out that the synagogue is the wrong place and wrong time for political speech. However, one must conclude from Chabad at Stanford, that if it's OK to combine Sabbath services and political speech praising Israel, then it is also OK for JWP&F to combine Sabbath services and political speech criticizing Israel. The goose and the gander couldn't be more proud.

JWP&F On The Air (local viewing only)

Four members of Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends taped a half hour segment about our weekly vigils on Ann Arbor's Community Television Network, on their show "Access Ann Arbor". The premiere viewing of this segment will be November 14th, with nine additional repetitions. Schedule information at http://www.a2ctn.org or phone 734-769-7422.

A Chill in The Air

We are not referring to last week's election, and are not kidding ourselves that John Kerry would have been any better for Palestinians than George W will be. We are referring, however, to the little bite of winter evident in the morning temperatures that greeted 13 vigillers this Saturday. The provocateur of August 14th returned in similar loud and insulting form, and was able to engage some of our newer members in conversation. But those of us who have experienced this man's attempts at shouting us down (his antics were recorded by our professional videotographer), chose to remain silent in the face of his insults.

Sunday's boycott at Hiller's maintained without the leadership from our guru, Larry H. who remains in and out of sick bed. 10 vigillers showed up in a brisk wind with cool temperatures, but backed by a warm sun. Traffic in and out of Arborland seemed thicker than usual; police surveillance only at the end of the vigil; no observation force from Hillers directly; guest appearance by Aaron H.

Bank One Needs to Be Held Responsible

Why are Bank One, Comerica, National City Bank, and Standard Federal supporting a foreign army? Readers are invited to call District Manager, Chicago, Warren Chapman 312-732-6948 and let him know what you think. See ad (it's a long download) at

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hersko/Flyers/banks%20of%20IDF.pdf

Yasser Arafat Should be Buried at Deir Yassin

Please read co-vigiller Dan McGowan's views on where Arafat should be buried. Dan is co-director of Deir Yassin Remembered, http://www.deiryassin.org/ and his persuasive letter follows signature.

From today's report, gangs of Israeli settlers from Kiryat Arba (illegal settlement near Hebron) attacked - again - residents in the Tal Al-Rmeida neighborhood of Hebron. Christian Peacemaker teams attempt to halt these attacks, while the Israeli "Defense" Forces do nothing.

Work for Peace,

Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hfc/mideast/vigil/index.htm

Yasser Arafat Should Be Buried At Deir Yassin

Israel should not deny the Palestinian wish to bury Yasser Arafat in Jerusalem, and certainly not under the racist excuse "Jerusalem is the city where Jewish kings are buried and not Arab terrorists."

Jerusalem is a unique city, a "corpus separatum," with strong claims by at least three monotheistic religions. Jews may control Jerusalem, but it is not all theirs to own. It is theirs to share.

The idea of burying Arafat near the Al Aqsa mosque is not unreasonable. While Zionists ranging from Alan Dershowitz to Pat Robertson may denounce Arafat as a terrorist, he has been the principal leader of the Palestinians for forty years. That alone makes him far more eligible to be buried in Jerusalem than, for example, the Englishman Robert Maxwell who was one of the biggest thieves in the 20th century and who was buried in 1991with great honor on the Mount of Olives. Indeed, another terrorist, Prime Minister Yitzak Shamir, eulogized Maxwell at the burial, saying "He had done more for Israel than can today be said," which was seen by many as a veiled reference to Maxwell's work with the Mossad.

But Al Aqsa is not the only suitable burial place in Jerusalem. The desecrated cemetery at Deir Yassin in West Jerusalem would be an ideal location. After all, it was the massacre of Arab men, women, and children by Jewish terrorists in April 1948 at Deir Yassin that marked the beginning of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine that continues today. It was from the ashes of Deir Yassin that Yasser Arafat arose.

The cemetery of Deir Yassin sits in the broken middle of Jerusalem. It is within sight of Yad Vashem and all the memories of the Holocaust we must all never forget. It is the ideal place for truth and reconciliation between Jews and non-Jews who claim a special relationship to Jerusalem and to the lands of historical Palestine.

To bury Yasser Arafat at Deir Yassin would be to also bury the racist myth that this was "a land without people for a people without land." Prior to the massacre, Arabs had inhabited Deir Yassin for hundreds of years. It would inspire foreign dignitaries who make an obligatory visit to Yad Vashem to also visit the other side of the valley which is equally important and equally symbolic of the history of the non-Jewish half of the population living between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

Daniel McGowan
Deir Yassin Remembered
315-781-3418