A grassroots coalition representing Christian and Jewish views about the legality of West Bank settlements has been formed here. Calling itself the Ad Hoc Committee for Settlement in the Land of Israel, the organization claims that “strong, thriving and secure Jewish settlements are the only deterrent to other claims on our land.”
Rabbi David Hill, honorary president of the Young Israel Movement and the chairman of the coalition, told the founding meeting here at the Summit Hotel that the press has not played an objective role in regard to the issue of settlements in Judaea and Samaria and stressed the need for an on-going political action coalition to spotlight the view in favor of settlements which he said are held by a significant number of Christians and Jews.
SAYS LEGALITY VALIDATED UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Prof. Paul Riebenfeld a visiting scholar in political science and international law at Columbia University who was a Zionist delegate to the League of Nations Mandates Commission from 1937-1939, said Israel’s legal rights to settle the entire area west of the Jordan River were set forth in the British Mandate. This, he said, is not acknowledged by the press which only refers to Judaea and Samaria as the Biblical names applied by Premier Menachem Begin or the Gush Emunim, thus suggesting that these names are not currently applicable.
Riebenfeld noted that Samaria was called Samaria under the British Mandate, that Gaza was called the District of Gaza, and Judaea, of which Jerusalem is a part, was called the District of Jerusalem. Thus, he said, not only were the names Judaea and Samaria validated by the Mandate, in addition to Biblical claims, but the Mandate “translated Jewish historical rights into rights under international law.”
URGE VATICAN RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL
Shifra Hoffman, executive director of the Shuva aliya movement, presented a statement on behalf of the National Christian Leadership Conference, a coalition of Catholic and other American Christian leaders, calling upon the Vatican to recognize Israel “within secure boundaries” and cited a statement by the International Council of Christian Churches contending that “the territories secured by Israel in the Six-Day War were liberated” and that Israel simply secured “that which is properly hers.”
Dr. Heskel Haddad, president of the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries, who was forced to flee Iraq 26 years ago because of anti-Semitic persecution by the Iraqi government deplored the fact that there is little world recognition of the plight of those Jews who were forced to flee Arab countries and whose land and property was confiscated by Arab regimes. Noting that these refugees are now living in Israel, he stressed that any peace negotiations must recognize their right to receive compensation for their lands and property.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
