12.27.2004 - by Barry Chamish

      A few days ago I signed the Wallerstein Proclamation which commits foreigners to coming to Israel to participate in non-violent protest against the withdrawal from Gush Katif. There were fewer than 500 signatories and I thought I'd try to beef up the numbers a bit, despite being Israeli.
          
http://www.petitiononline.com/eretzyis/

        Tonight I joined a group of people to hear Pinchas Wallerstein, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, in Talmon. One of the topics of discussion on the way was why the proclamation wasn't in Hebrew. Why was Wallerstein aiming only at outside support? By the time the meeting was over, I knew why.
         For the past few years, I've been receiving information about the heads of councils in Yesha. The following is not atypical:

          Shalom Mr. Chamish,
I've been living for nearly 10 yrs. in Itamar and some very strange things have been going on since Benzi Lieberman was elected. In the elections before his first term there was a suspicious incident with one of the ballot boxes 'disappearing'. Since the wave of terror in Itamar after the assassination of Gilad Zar, the regional council has cut the number of hours for Ambulatory help in the Gav-Hahar region (Bracha, Elon more, Itamar, Yitzhar) - no Ambulance is available on Shabbat and in the evenings; the ambulance in Itamar was removed under the pretext that there's nobody in Itamar who is a qualified paramedic. And last but not least just when the security officer Shlomo Miller was assassinated he was involved in a great dispute with the councill concerning the money which the Ministry of Security transferred to install electronic security equipment in Itamar and which the council is refusing to hand over to the Yishuv.
This is only the tip of an iceberg and should be invested.

        It should be noted that the same Benzi Lieberman publicly supported the Wallerstein petition.
        One person who made a very open complaint against Wallerstein was Moshe Feiglin. In Chapter 5 of his book, Where There Are No Men, Feiglin revealed that after every act of protest by his Zo Artzeinu movement, Wallerstein, then Yesha Council head, would inform government officials that he denounced the protesters.
         Which is precisely what he did this evening in Talmon. He denounced soldiers who would refuse orders to evacuate Jews from their homes, declaring that, "It's futile anyway. All regular army soldiers are in favor of the evacuation anyway." A patently false claim.
          Next came his revolutionary program: a protest vigil outside the Knesset.
          I chimed in: "Do you mean to say your goal is to influence the Knesset? Do you even know who  you are fighting?"
          To which he gave numbers and figures in the Likud Central Committee who could be swayed by the vigil.
          The authorities could not have devised a plan better suited to their purposes. Many in the audience of about 100 protested against the flimsy plan and Wallerstein told them to shut up because they were weakening unity. He then ended the meeting quickly.
           I said to my companions, "You're finished. He's misguiding you on purpose. He's working against you."
           Then we understood why the petition is only in English. Anyone who signs the petition will find his name entered in the passport control computers. As the day of disengagement nears, anyone who signed that petition will be returned home as a radical troublemaker. Already, over 1600 committed Jews and lovers of Israel have been identified. They are now lost to the cause.
           DO NOT SIGN THE PETITION. IT'S A TRAP!
           Come to Israel and join the fight. Just don't announce it or you'll never see the outside of the airport.

end

        On Thursday, Dec. 30 at 7 PM, I will be speaking at the Israel Center, 22 Keren Hayesod, Jerusalem. Call 02 566 7787  or write rb@rb.org.il for details.
         My topic is the murders of Raful Eitan and Judge Adi Azar. But let's expand the focus.
         Wallerstein's plan is to vent outrage into futile, controllable protest. Maybe we can out-think the leaders foisted on us. I have enough documentary evidence of high crimes by high politicians to bring the regime to its knees if we work together. We'll need attorneys in attendance. Bring one along with you.
 
    http://www.barrychamish.com