[Occupymendocino] Sign the campaign of Rabbis for Human Rights to stop transfer of 40, 000 Bedouins in the Negev

Mon Jun 24 09:18:59 PDT 2013

*From:* Rabbi Arik Ascherman
[mailto:rhr at itnewsletter.co.il<rhr at itnewsletter.co.il>
]
*Sent:* Monday, June 24, 2013 5:47 AM*
Subject:* "Tevye" Angers Israeli Government: Less Than 24 Hours to Stop The
Transfer of 40,000 Israeli Bedouin

If you have trouble reading this newsletter, view the web version
here<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2fitnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il%2fsending%2fwebpage.aspx%3fd%3d10328469874866734987648065739279693275%26w%3d1%26ar%3d0%26isDe%3dTrue%26rfl%3dFalse%26pl%3d0%26l%3d1812285%26sll%3d0%26mlt%3dTrue&l=1812285&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>

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[image: Image removed by sender.]****

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Dear Friends and Supporters,****

 It is late, time is short, and there is very little to add to what I have
already written. ****

The first vote on demolishing villages, expelling some 40,000 Israeli
Bedouin from their homes and dispossessing them of most of their land is*today
(Monday)*, at approximately 5:00 pm, Israel time.****

This bill can be stopped, but *we need your help*:****

1.* Please click here to send urgently needed
letters<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2frhr.nationbuilder.com%2fstop_the_dispossession_of_negev_bedouin&l=1812286&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
* to stop this *Khilul HaShem*, this desecration of God's Name. *Even if
you have already signed letters, we now need you to ask everybody you know
to do the same*.
<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2frhr.nationbuilder.com%2fstop_the_dispossession_of_negev_bedouin&l=1812287&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
 British rabbinic leadership from Orthodox to Reform have spoken
out.<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2fhe.scribd.com%2fdoc%2f146653947%2fLetter-to-Minister-Prime-Minister-Netanyahu.&l=1812288&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
 In
the U.S., the Reform<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2frac.org%2fArticles%2findex.cfm%3fid%3d23200%26pge_prg_id%3d16390%26pge_id%3d2541&l=1812289&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
 and Renewal<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2fohalah.org%2fresolution-on-bedouin-settlement-in-the-negev%2f&l=1812290&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
Movements
have taken a stand, and a Reconstructionist statement is pending.  The
Israeli government has taken notice. Now we need you. ****

2. Please spread our video clip far and
wide<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dfLeWQ470G6o%26feature%3dyoutu.be&l=1812291&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
.****

3. Please make a black flag with "40,000" written on it your facebook
profile picture.<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=https%3a%2f%2ffbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net%2fhphotos-ak-frc1%2f944127_619635088048247_1274655960_n.jpg&l=1812292&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
And
yes, ask everybody you know to do the same.****

These three steps are the entire Torah on one foot, and now here is the
commentary:****

In the Knesset last week, Benny Begin, a driving force behind this
legislation, expressed his fury with Rabbis For Human Rights and "That
Tevye" (Theodore Bikel) expressing his pain that the descendents of those
expelled from the real Anatevkas are about to transfer their fellow
citizens to a new Bedouin pale of settlement.
<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dfLeWQ470G6o%26feature%3dyoutu.be&l=1812293&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
****

Part of that anger seems to have been because it is somehow anti-Israel to
tell our fellow Israelis the truth. Government representatives have done
everything to lull concerned MK's, acknowledging that the Bedouin will need
to give up their land claims, but saying "Not so many villages will be
destroyed, and only a few people will be displaced." They have avoided
answering when asked, "Give us your numbers, and how you arrive at them."
Of course, the numbers are there for all to see if one reads the bill and
the Begin Plan<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2fwww.acri.org.il%2fen%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f01%2fBegin-Report-English-January-2013.pdf&l=1812294&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
it
is based on. ****

This last Shabbat we read the Torah portion Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9).  The
Midrashic commentary acknowledges that prophecy is not limited to the
Jewish people alone, but says that while so many prophets sought only to
sooth and lull their people, while attacking others, the prophets of Israel
warned their own people of potential wrongdoing.  They did so out of
compassion both for their fellow Jews, and for non-Jews. (BaMidbar Rabbah
20:1).****

The obfuscators know what our soon to be released public opinion poll shows
– when Israelis know the facts, the majority think that it is perfectly
fair that the Bedouin be allowed to hold on to the mere 5.4% of the Negev
they claim to own.  A few weeks ago, the radical right wing group
"Regavim," that argues that even the current bill is "Giving away Jewish
land," took Israeli media personality Avri Gilad for a one sided tour of
the Negev. On his return, he too was convinced "The Bedouin are taking over
the Negev."  This last week he had the decency to come and see the other
side.  After meeting with the Bedouin and seeing pre Israel aerial
photographs of a Negev cultivated by the Bedouin, he publicly acknowledged
that he had judged too quickly, and expressed the belief that a fair
solution could be worked out if the Government would sit down with the
Bedouin as equal fellow citizens. ****

We Israelis have all too often committed unjust acts when they happen in
the shadows.  When we know the truth, we do not wish to uproot and
dispossess our fellow citizens. ****

Simply put, we are better than that.  That is not who we are as a people.***
*

We are asking you to be "Pro-Israel" by holding up the prophetic mirror
helping us Israelis to be who we really wish to be.  We have less than 24
hours. Please act
now.<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2frhr.nationbuilder.com%2fstop_the_dispossession_of_negev_bedouin&l=1812295&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
  ****

B'Vrakha,****

Arik****

P.S. If you click to send
letters<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2frhr.nationbuilder.com%2fstop_the_dispossession_of_negev_bedouin&l=1812296&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>,
you will have your choice of sending one letter to 5 key Government
ministers, or to write individualized letters to one or all of them. You
will also see links to all the background information you might care to
read.  (There are a few bugs, but our high tech person is on vacation, and
we need those letters now. Supposedly you can edit the letters, but that
doesn't seem to work yet.  Be sure to choose one letter or individualized
letters only from the links at the top of the webpage, because some of the
links further down lead you to old petitions.)

P.S.S.  We know that many of you are still confused as to how to donate to
RHR in North America after our fiscal split with Truah.  Please click here
for current donation information.
<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2frhr.org.il%2feng%2flinks%2f&l=1812297&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>

(We are pleased that Truah is one of our North American partners in this
Bedouin campaign, along with Partners for Progressive Israel, Jewish
Alliance For Change, British Friends of RHR, Canadian Friends of RHR.  In
Israel, our partners/organizations we coordinate with include The
Recognition Forum,  The Council of Unrecognized Villages, SHATIL, ACRI,
Adallah, Bimkom, etc.)

P.S.S.S.  Please join RHR's Jewish Leadership Human Rights Study Tour
October 2nd-9th.<http://itnewsletter.itnewsletter.co.il/r.ashx?h=http%3a%2f%2frhr.org.il%2feng%2f2013%2f06%2fthree-days-left-to-register-at-this-price-join-our-human-rights-tour-for-jewish-leadership-october-2nd-9th%2f&l=1812298&d=10328469874866734987648065739279693275>
For
more information, write to me or to Ayala Levy,ayala at rhr.israel.net.

P.S.S.S.S.  I will be in Ireland in August and in the U.S. in December,
including Berkely on December 8th and Cleveland on December 20th.  For more
information, or to arrange for me or another RHR speaker to come to your
community, please write to Ela Greenberg,ela at rhr.israel.net****

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