BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

by David Harris Throughout his life, one of Yasser Arafat's favorite themes was that there was no historical Jewish connection to Israel. He would assert that there never was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, that the Western Wall has no Jewish significance, and even that Abraham himself wasn't a Jew. Indeed, he went so far as to reject the Jewish link to Jerusalem in the presence of US President Bill Clinton during the Camp David talks, evoking outrage from the American leader and offering insight into why the negotiations were doomed to fail . Arafat's views, unsurprisingly, were echoed relentlessly by Palestinian media outlets and textbooks, not to mention Muslim clergy. Generations of Palestinians were "educated" to believe that the Jews were interlopers, not a people indigenous to the Middle East. This had nothing to do with history, since there was abundant evidence of the intimate Jewish tie to the land dating back well over 3500 years, not to mention the spiri...

by Aaron Klein Jerusalem Bureau Chief World Net Daily Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas personally interceded to urge the release of the terrorist who in 1985 infamously led the hijacking of an Italian cruise ship and the murder of an American Jewish passenger, according to two diplomatic sources with direct knowledge of the release negotiations. The two sources were working to petition against the release of Youssef Magied al-Molqui, who led the hijacking of the Italian cruiser Achille Lauro. The sources claimed to WND they were made aware from Italian officials that Abbas personally asked Italy to release al-Molqui. A spokesman for the PA denied Abbas had any involvement with al-Molqui’s release. Al-Molqui was the leader of a cell from the Palestinian Liberation Front, which splintered from Abbas’ PLO. The PLO at the time was led by Yasser Arafat. U.S. and Israeli policy considers Abbas’ PA to be moderate. Al-Molqui was released yesterday from a prison in Palermo, Italy, having ser...