Help ZOA’s Israel Office Fight Out of Control Violence in Eastern Jerusalem, Promote Stronger Legislation, Elicit Condemnations
Action Alerts
November 12, 2014

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL ACTION ALERT INSTRUCTIONS

 

You need to act now especially . . .

Because the violence in Jerusalem is spiraling out of control. Because the Jewish People’s holiest
sites, the Temple Mount and Mt. of Olives Cemetery, are under renewed attack.

Because sovereignty in Jerusalem is at its greatest level of risk since reunification.

Insist that safety and security, not to mention rights, for Jews in Israel’s eternal capital city must be
restored. Speak up as a concerned diaspora Jew or as a resident of Israel. Either way you have
the right to demand a policy of zero-tolerance toward antisemitic terror attacks in eastern
Jerusalem.

Help us help Jerusalem as we . . .

– Promote stronger action and legislation together with our allies in the Knesset and Congress
(click here), in particular stalwart MK Miri Regev (click here) along with her Interior Committee.

– Encourage Israeli cabinet efforts underway to protect the rights of mourners, pilgrims, tourists
and of course residents in eastern parts of Jerusalem (click here).

– Bring American victim stories to the attention of U.S. Consul General Ratney and State
Department officials (click here), and supportive members of Congress (click here).

– Elicit condemnations from the U.S. administration (click here), and from Palestinian and local
Arab leaders in Arabic, with U.S. funding meanwhile reconsidered (click here) in light of
Palestinian culpability.


ACTION

STEP ONE. Catch up on lots of BACKGROUND material describing ZOA ISRAEL’s agenda in
Jerusalem (click links above, more information starting on page 3). Also review the news highlights
diligently covered by media outlets such as Arutz 7.

STEP TWO. In your own words, much more effective than a boilerplate, concisely and
respectfully compose one of three letter types:

a. [Thank You] ‘I appreciate what is being done to protect Jerusalem…’

b. [Complaint] ‘I am distressed about what is/is not happening in Jerusalem…’

c. [U.S. Request] ‘I am counting on the U.S. government to issue and demand
condemnations, revise reporting to accurately describe Jerusalem attacks as antisemitism
and terrorism, attend to American victims…’

STEP THREE. Set up your email to look like this:

To: Jeff Daube < zoaisraeloffice@gmail.com >
Subject: (choose only one of three) Thank You, Complaint, or U.S. Request

Dear Mr. Daube,

Please deliver the following message to the appropriate government authorities and

agencies.

To Whom it May Concern:

[Your message here.]

Close with your name, citizenship, and U.S. state (current or last residence). Also, email
contact information for letter recipients to respond — helpful but not required.

STEP FOUR. This is where ZOA’s Israel Office comes in. We will sort your letters by type, and
aggregate them to present personally to the relevant government officials (listed in next section).


GOVERNMENT PLAYERS

If the Israel Office were to deliver your letter today, these are the principals whom we would
approach in your name and how they would divide. While not everyone on this list or the more
expansive version has the power to effect change directly, such names are included because they
can persuade and even pressure those who do.

Note that positions and actions taken are in continual flux. So, for example, when Mayor Barkat
stated earlier that we should keep the news quiet because it was frightening away Jerusalem
visitors, we might have delivered complaints to his address. Then he started acting tougher, for
which a more encouraging thank you has become more appropriate.

THANK YOU – ISRAEL ADDRESSEES

• Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel, 8th generation Yerushalmi
• Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem (“the terror will only toughen us up”)
• MK Miri Regev, Chair of Knesset Interior Committee, leading ZOA ally on Jerusalem violence
• MK Danny Danon, former Deputy Minister of Defense (“demands greater security on Mt. of Olives”)
• MK Moshe Feiglin, Deputy Knesset Speaker, risking personal safety to defend Israeli sovereignty
• MK Naftali Bennett, Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs (“need new Operation Defensive Shield”)
• MK Uzi Landau, Minister of Tourism (“hoping war-weary tourists will return to Israel”)
David Azoulay, Moti Yogev, Yoni Chetboun, Tzipi Hotoveley, Nissim Ze’ev, Hilik Bar, Orit Struk et al —
more Knesset leaders working closely with Israel Office on eastern Jerusalem matters

COMPLAINT – ISRAEL ADDRESSEES

• Aharonovich, Minister of Internal Security (“denies terror in Jerusalem”)
• Yohanan Danino, Police Commissioner (“violence is not spiraling out of control”)
• Moshe (Chico) Edri, Jerusalem District Police Commander

REQUEST – U.S. ADDRESSEES

• Michael A. Ratney, U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem (“violence of any sort is absolutely unacceptable”)
• Daniel Shapiro, U.S. Ambassador to the State of Israel (“highest priority is protection of U.S. citizens”)
• Ira Forman, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, State Department
• Heather Cartwright, Director of Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism, Justice Department
• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), ranking member of House Foreign Affairs, Mt. of Olives rock-throwing target
• Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), sponsor of successful Protect Cemeteries Act
• Sen.Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), sponsors of
successful legislation seeking justice for Americans attacked by Palestinian Arabs
• Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), Rep. Tom Marino (D-PA), Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL),
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) et al — on rewarding PA terror and incitement with unconditional U.S. aid

BACKGROUND

Follow the links in this section to round out your understanding of ZOA ISRAEL’s role in the local
picture. Cogently articulated parts of a UN address by Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor follow.

Arab aggression meant to wrest Jerusalem control away from Israel is getting bolder. The level
and types of violence throughout eastern Jerusalem, especially in the vicinity of the Mount of
Olives and the City of David, is worse than Israel has seen in more than a decade.

Arab youths stoning car in near lynch of Jewish passengers
(Photo shared by Meir Tal, Ateret Cohanim security officer)

Many say this is leading to a de facto division of Israel’s capital. Others are calling it a third, but
‘silent,’ Jerusalem intifada. (Note ZOA prediction after Kerry remarks a year ago.)

‘Silent’ refers only to the underreporting. Not the sounds of daily rioting, rock-throwing and
firebombings, some resulting in serious injury; or the cries of traumatized children, with daycare
centers and school buses also under attack.

You already know about some American victims — Tova Richler, Yoeli Harfenes and Nechama
Meir — reported by us previously, for example here. Among the more recent American casualties
now there is Temple Mount activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick, student counselor Chanan Kupietzky, and
3-month-old Chaya Zissel Braun — the last a most devastating fatality.

ZOA’s Israel director Jeff Daube himself was a recent target on the Mount of Olives while
accompanying MK Yisrael Eichler.

Word is slowly getting out, with ZOA’s Israel Office and partners contributing their part.

Anyway it’s hard to ignore 5,000 violent incidents monthly — up from the already disturbing 200 of
a few months ago, before the excuse of Operation Protective Edge — or the PA’s official role in
instigating the violence.

‘Israel is Raping Al-Aqsa’ posted by the National Security Forces of
the Palestinian Authority. Click here for more examples of the PA’s
inciting violence in Jerusalem, collected by Palestinian Media Watch
and disseminated by ZOA’s Israel Office.

Learn more about ZOA’s Jerusalem agenda, which this year has
included…

-working with the Cabinet Secretary and Director General in the Prime Minister’s office to
halt and disincentivize violence

-promoting a more robust response to the violence in coordination with the Knesset Interior
Committee, for example punitive legislation modeled on U.S. statutes

-informing U.S. Consul General Michael Ratney about attacks on American citizens;
appealing for help to elicit condemnations and better State Department reporting; and
providing an on-site private briefing for him and Jerusalem Consulate staff

-requesting help from a number of congressional offices to investigate American dollars
funding terrorism, both incited and incentivized by the PA, especially when convicted
terrorists released prematurely from Israeli jail are the perpetrators

ZOA ISRAEL’s recent activities for Jerusalem also has included…

-facilitating public responses by victims of recent attacks, for examples Mt. of Olives
spokesperson and resident Miriam Schwab (Hebrew video)

-publicizing desecrations of Jewish cemetery graves of dozens of Hasidic leaders, smashed
and defaced in repeated incidents from Rosh Hashana to the present
(Photo credit: Jeff Daube)

-opposing, with Legal Grounds co-chair Arlene Kushner, discriminating words and policies
when it comes to Jews building legally and legitimately in their capital

-highlighting Arab MK incitement against the State of Israel, now focused on Jerusalem

-depicting outrageous discrimination against non-Muslims on the Temple Mount, and coorganizing
Haliba Movement conference (Yehuda Glick a colleague of ours on Israel
sovereignty issues) to restore Jewish freedoms there

-reinforcing Israel’s claim to Mount Zion and its environs, believed to contain the burial
remains of King David, by mobilizing four MKS into action (Yoni Chetboun, Moshe Feiglin,
Meir Porush and Nissim Zeev) starting with a tour in advance of the Pope’s arrival

-talking up the Jerusalem Birthplace Act and Zivotofsky case, now being re-decided in the
U.S. Supreme Court

-providing radio interviews for the Hebrew and English media, for example:

TLV-1/So Much to Say, How to Bring Calm to Jerusalem, 11/06

KERI/ Denice Gary-Pandol Show, Assassination Attempt in Jerusalem, 11/01

Voice of Israel/Judy Balint Show, One Man Who Cannot Stay Silent, 10/02

Voice of Israel/Josh Hasten Show, Is There a Silent Intifada in Jerusalem? 10/01

“It’s hard to ignore 5,000 violent incidents monthly — up from the
already disturbing 200 of a few months ago — or the PA’s official ;
role in instigating the violence.”

The powers that be need to hear from you NOW. That you want to visit and feel
safe and secure. That you no longer will accept business as usual: Arab violence
and incitement, holy site desecrations, and denying religious rights for Jews in
Jerusalem.

Tell them you care most deeply — because Jerusalem belongs to you.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? IDEAS?

Contact Jeff Daube, ZOA’s Israel Director

By email: jdaube@zoa.org

By phone: (in Israel) 058-538-0840; (from the US) 011-972-58-538-0840

Excerpted remarks on Jerusalem by Israeli UN Ambassador Prosor

Distributed by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The
following is excerpted from remarks to the Security Council by
Ambassador Ron Prosor, UN Permanent Representative of Israel,
during the Emergency Session on Jerusalem (October 29).

Full video here.

I am here to convey one simple truth. The people of Israel are not occupiers andwe are not settlers. Israel is our home and Jerusalem is the eternal capital of oursovereign state.

There are many threats in the Middle East, but the presence of Jewish homes inthe Jewish homeland has never been one of them.

It says a great deal that the international community is outraged when Jews buildhomes in Jerusalem, but doesn’t say a word when Jews are murdered for living inJerusalem. The hypocrisy is appalling.

Throughout history, Jerusalem has been the capital for one people and only one people – the Jewish people.

Jerusalem is central to our identity and our tradition. The holy city is named more than 900 times in the Bible. On holidays we sing “Next year
in Jerusalem.”

For thousands of years, through persecution and massacres, expulsions andcrusades, blood libels and pogroms, Jews turned their hearts in prayer towardsJerusalem. The connection between the Jewish people and our capital cannot bedenied.

The Palestinians and others have had the audacity to accuse us of trying to alterthe historic Jewish character of our ancient city. Really? The truth of the matter isthat Jerusalem had a Jewish character long before most cities in the world had anycharacter. It was the capital of the Jewish people long before Homer composed theIliad, before Romulus and Remus founded Rome, and before the armies ofAlexander the Great swept across the Middle East. Jerusalem is steeped in Jewishhistory.

Earlier this month, he [Palestinian President Abbas] called on Palestinians toprevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount using (quote) “all means” necessary.
Are these the words of a leader committed to making peace?

The video of his hateful remarks was broadcast on official Palestinian Authoritytelevision 19 times in three days -19 times in three days. The results of theseinflammatory remarks were almost immediate. Hundreds of Arabs rioted inJerusalem damaging the light rail system and a Hamas terrorist deliberately drovefull speed onto a Jerusalem train platform and killed two people. Did President Abbas express outrage or remorse over the senseless killings? Of course not. Hecouldn’t even muster the courage to denounce an attack that left a three-month old baby dead.
Rather than trying to extinguish the flames of conflict, the Palestinianleadership is adding fuel to the fire. First they incite violence on the TempleMount and then they run to the Security Council to complain about theconsequences. If this isn’t manufacturing a crisis, I don’t know what is.

Following Israel’s victory in 1967, Israel reunited Jerusalem. Since then, all people
– and I mean all people – regardless of religion and nationality can visit the city’s holy sites.
And while we were victorious and assumed control over all of Jerusalem, Israelextended a hand in peace to the Muslim world. According to the status quobrokered between Israel and the Waqf [the Islamic religious authority], Muslimswould enjoy access to pray at their holy sites, while all other religions would beallowed access to the Temple Mount.

Israel went one step further and decided that Jews would not be allowed topray on the site. I want to make sure you understand this. The Temple Mount
is Judaism’s holiest place, but we were willing to restrict our own freedoms forthe sake of peace. Can you think of another nation that would make thiscompromise? Can you think of another religion that would make this sacrifice?

Today, Jerusalem under Israeli authority is united for Muslims, united forChristians, and united for Jews. As Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated thisweek (and I quote), “We are maintaining the status quo and allowing everyoneaccess to the holy places, and we will continue to do so.”

Israel is doing everything in its power to minimize tensions. Even when riotsbreak out, Israeli security forces, acting in coordination with the Jordaniangovernment, refrain from entering the mosque and its courtyard unless thereis an imminent threat to the site and its visitors.

The Palestinians, on the other hand, are doing everything in their power toinflame tensions. The Waqf has violated the status quo agreement byrestricting access to Judaism’s holiest place – the place where we believe that
God began the act of creation, where Abraham brought his son Isaac, andwhere Jacob fell asleep and dreamed of angels.

Today a Jew who wishes to visit this sacred site is threatened with violence. Butyou don’t have to take my word for it. Earlier this month, Hanan Ashrawi, aprominent member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that allowing Jews tovisit the Temple Mount is a (quote) “declaration of war against Islam.”

There are the irresponsible words of a person trying to ignite a religious war.
You don’t have to be a Catholic to visit the Vatican. You don’t have to be a Jew
to visit the Western Wall. But the Palestinians would like to see the day whenthe Temple Mount is only open to Muslims – and that will not take place

It is time for the Palestinians to realize that the children of Abraham -all the
children of Abraham -Jews, Christians and Muslims alike -are not doomed to livetogether in war, but rather destined to live together in peace.

And so today I issue this promise from the people of the Promised Land -underour watch, Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, will remain a freeand open city for all people and for all time.

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