Arlene Peck is a remarkable and very talented journalist whose explicit and excellent articles are published on many internet, and other, media outlets.Following is just one example of her professionalism, candour and erudition! = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =The VAT website is www.victimsofarabterror.org. Victims of Arab Terrorism, by Arlene Peck, December 29, 2002 Every time I write one of my columns about Israel and the constant terrorism they must face from their Arab neighbors, the anti-Semites come out of the woodwork. Even worse are the Jewish leftists who feel this abnormal pathological compulsion to defend the 'rights of the Palestinians'. What is wrong with these people? Do they not read the same papers, watch the same television shows that I do and view the carnage done by the terrorist? I don't care. Truly. I want to lash out at these imbeciles and make them spend just one day in the hospital wards being made to 'feel' the pain of innocent victims. Especially since the Arabs are so good at calling in the press to their hospitals to bemoan their wounded. I remember when I was in Beirut in June of 1982 and covering the war there. The Israeli public relations were terrible, while the Arabs specialized in making mountains out of nothing. And this, folks, was way before they discovered that they could send out their stupid rejects and collect more than enough money to pay the mortgage and maybe even retire from the funds paid to them by Saddam Hussein, the Saudis and Yasser Arafat. All this for just blowing themselves up and maybe half a Jewish pizza joint or nursery school. Since the Oslo "Peace" agreement between Israel and the PLO hundreds and hundreds of Israelis have been murdered in stabbings, shootings, bombings and stonings by terrorists - not militants. It makes me want to gag when I read headlines in the Los Angeles Times about rabbis being fatally shot by "militants" (while his six children looked on). As usual, the LA Times resident anti-Semite reporter, Tracy Wilkinson deplores what "some see" as an Israeli campaign to harass the Arabs out of their homes. If that weren't enough, an editorial bemoaned the "Sad and Silent Night for Bethlehem Residents", caused, of course, by Ariel Sharon's government aggression toward the Palestinians. How can they overlook the reasons behind the sad situation? I remember being in Bethlehem seven years ago, before the tragedy of Oslo, and it was packed with people celebrating and hopeful for the future. It was Arafat who brought the terrorism to their front door. The Christians ought to be shouting from the rooftops how they have managed to 'de-Christianize' that city in such a short time. They also are victims, but it's the Jews who are filling the cemeteries and hospitals. While the media overlooks these savage atrocities perpetrated by these animals, those who have been affected must go on. Oslo - what a farce! How many of the killers of the innocent men, women and children are walking around free today and serving in Arafat's "Palestinian Police Force". The list of attacks against Jews has risen dramatically and the press too often depicts Israel as the "oppressor". It's been enough to make me vote Republican in the next election. Something I didn't think I'd ever do. Recently, I had a chance to meet with Shifra Hoffman. Shifra is the Executive Director of the Shuva (Return) Emergency Aliyah Movement and the spearhead of Victims of Arab Terror (VAT) International, which is the original support and consciousness-raising organization for the victims of Arab terrorism. Our paths crossed over twenty-five years ago when she had me on her radio show, which was based in New York. The woman is still a dynamo and she was in LA briefly to promote her organization. Thank G-d there are organizations such as hers, who speak out against the growing threat of Arab terrorism. Unfortunately, because the situation in Israel is so desperate, the organization has grown from a few hundred in 1986 to a collective voice of thousands of members worldwide. Long after the politicians and the Jane Fondas have had their press coverage, the Shifra Hoffmans are still there, visiting the hospitals, helping the families out with their bills. Most times, they are the first there to visit the hospitals, the memorials, and even the homes. Most importantly, they are raising the consciousness of the people so that they know what is happening with these victims, who seem to be ignored by the press and outside public. Shifra's philosophy is simple: "'Who is a Jew' is not a problem for Arafat. If we can't be united with the love of one Jew to another, then the hatred for the nation should compel us to be united. Bottom line, after Auschwitz, one victim is one too many." It's enough that we have to grieve for those murdered in everyday life in Israel's streets, we shouldn't have to experience the one-sided way that this conflict is being portrayed to the world, and the isolation and hostility that kind of coverage breeds. Jews have lived through pogroms before and the past few years of 'media pogrom' is as dangerous as the physical kind. Because, when the outrageousness of portraying Israel as the 'aggressor' and the terrorist groups such as Hamas and Fatah as 'activists' or 'militants' is ignored for long, then people become desensitized to the suffering of the real victims in the war. The leftist papers have abandoned Israel as not being a liberal cause, and, therefore, not fashionable. The Hollywood gang only chooses what is politically correct. Israel isn't politically correct now, nor has it ever been. As Edmund Burke has said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." The VAT website is www.victimsofarabterror.org. In the United States, VAT International's address is 1673 East l6st Street, Room 146, Brooklyn, New York 11229-29 (Tel/Fax 718-375-2532); in Israel: PO Box 32l03 Jerusalem (Tel/Fax 972-2-5821-106). -------------------------------------------------------- Arlene Peck is an internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess. She can be reached at bestredhead@earthlink.net. |
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