IbnEzra, an Israeli peace activist in the West Bank, writes about moving to Tel Aviv a couple of years ago and pledging to stay for three years, in exchange for generous financial gifts from Israel and an American pro-immigration outfit:
I moved to Israel with my girlfriend at the time and she [and I each were] awarded
four thousand dollars. I had two friends that were studying with me and
also moving to Israel at the same time. They were younger but had just
gotten married. [The American group] Nefesh B'Nefesh awarded the married couple thirty thousand dollars.
My girlfriend and I, although not married, were awarded a total of
eight thousand dollars and they got thirty. Why? They were moving to
the settlements. Shiloh, if I remember correctly. This got me thinking.
What were the real motives behind this NBN operation anyway? According to their website,
one of the founders is a conservative rabbi who came up with the idea
of NBN after a relative was killed in a terror attack. The other
founder and chairman is the vice chairman of the Republican Jewish
Coalition in the United States. The pieces started to fall into place.
These people were giving extra money to immigrants from the United
States in order to move to the settlements. Their goals are to put
Americans in the West Bank and pay them handsomely to stay there.
A basic look at the NBN community guide
gives the impression that they are realtors for the West Bank. Look at
what is written about Tel Aviv and you see, “Tel Aviv is the city that
never sleeps. It is Israel’s center of the arts, finance, law, and
business, and it offers a wide variety of lifestyles, cultures and
around- the-clock places of interest to visit.” It is interesting that
they choose the word visit. If one is too read about Eftra, “Nestled in
the Judean Hills, with a commanding view of Gush Etzion and the
Jerusalem environs, Efrat has long been a popular destination for
English-speaking Olim. The reasons are clear to all who are familiar
with Efrat’s qualities. It boasts excellent schools, proximity to
Jerusalem, a supportive community, and a wide range of services.”
Sounds like a wonderland for new religious families. Sign me up!
Isn't this the free market in its purist form. Wealthy Jews in the US paying other Jews to move to the West Bank. 30 K is not peanuts. The Palestinians can't raise this kind of money. It only stands to reason, Israel wins the West Bank through the generosity of their American backers. Now all that is needed is for these donors to give the same amount of funds to WB Palestinian families to move somewhere else. Maybe that would solve this infernal problem once and for all. Quite frankly I don't care, what I would like to see is for the US government to stop spending our dwindling resources fighting Israel's stupid wars.
This sort of expedition against a foreign nation (no state) is against the law. I wonder if NY District Attorney Robert Morganthau is writing up indictments this very moment…. ******************************************************************************************************************************** TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 45 > § 960 § 960. Expedition against friendly nation Whoever, within the United States, knowingly begins or sets on foot or provides or prepares a means for or furnishes the money for, or takes part in, any military or naval expedition or enterprise to be carried on from thence against the territory or dominion of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people with whom the United States is at peace, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. *****************************************************************************************************************************
The US Government is spending less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the budget. A drop in the bucket. Your contribution was 50 cents. Why can't the Palestinians raise this kind of money? The Saudis have trillions. But nothing to spare the poor Palestinians. Ever wonder why?
Too bad you have no idea what you are talking about. It is perfectly legal.
Cause the Lizard People will defund the Saudi police.
Yeah right, and our leaders are so law abiding aren't they?
No, but what does that have to do with the legality of the previous whine?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM6wm5K5WS0&eu...
How rich. Considering that the budget for 2008 was $2,978,440,000,000, then 1 percent is $29,784,400,000. and 1/10 is $2, 978,440,000, or $3 billion. [The budget for the first four months of 2009 is $2,058,360,000,000. Want to use that extrapolated figure?] A drop in the bucket? For 6 million Israelis? That's $500 each year for each Israeli. It's also half of our foreign aid budget. Israelis are free-loaders. And we have US taxpayers living in tents. $3 billion could help them. We have Katrina victims who are about to lose their trailers at the end of May. $3 billion could help them. So dont give me this bullshit about a drop in the bucket. These are my tax dollars. I object to it. Charity begins at home. We can deal with dishing out the surplus later.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
Nuremburg Laws. Perfectly legal.
RE: "Too bad you have no idea what you are talking about. It is perfectly legal." – Jacobwolfen ARTICLE: "Israeli Nuclear Arsenal Prohibits US Foreign Aid Under Symington Amendment." WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) are heavily lobbying Congress for $2.775 billion in military aid to Israel. However credible reports from the US Army and a former president confirm the existence of an Israeli nuclear weapons arsenal. This could prohibit US taxpayer funded fiscal year 2010 foreign aid. The declassified US Army report titled "The Joint Operating Environment 2008" identifies Israel as a nuclear weapons power. Specifically the US Army highlights "a growing arc of nuclear powers running from Israel in the west through an emerging Iran to Pakistan, India, and on to China, North Korea, and Russia in the east." (snip) The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 as amended by the Symington Amendment of 1976 and the Glenn Amendment of 1977 prohibit US military assistance to countries that acquire or transfer nuclear reprocessing technology outside of international nonproliferation regimes. Israel, unlike Iran, is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. If Congress wishes to provide US taxpayer funded foreign aid to Israel in compliance with US law, it may do so only under a special waiver from the office of the President as in the case for Pakistan. ENTIRE ARTICLE – http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS2...
I can assure you that NBN is not doing that at all. We made Aliyah to the West Bank with children and didn't get a red cent from them.
To tell the truth settlers can do a lot better than IbnEzra describes with the qualification that connections can make a big difference in financial outcome:
Total subsidies to Israel from the USA total more than $30 billion/year. Foreign aid is just one item within the sum. Please note that the more relevant number is the total cost of Israel to the USA. That amount is closer to $7 trillion and following current trends I expect it to reach 7/8 of the US national debt by the end of Obama's first term. Also note that in addition to the Symington issue, not only is the State of Israel by any reasonable standard far more of a terrorist state than Iran but it has been committing genocide since its founding. Leaders of Zionist groups and of the entire organized Jewish community as well as major Jewish donors to Zionist entities or to the organized Jewish community must be arrested, charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for decades. All their assets must be seized. YICK WO v. HOPKINS, 118 U.S. 356 (1886) requires that Jews be treated under the law as Arab and Muslim Americans like al-Arian or the directors of the Holy Land Foundation were. There is a one big difference. The Arab and Muslim Americans who have been victimized were loyal and patriotic citizens committed to American ideals while Jewish Zionists both in and out of government are engaged in vast criminality including conspiracy against rights and seditious conspiracy.
The pattern is actually a good deal more sinister than you indicate: Introduction: The Virtual Colonial Motherland as Political Innovation.
Happy to see the discussion. The reason I wrote something about this NBN thing is to further the discussion about American organizations that are changing the facts on the ground in the West Bank. If you forget about the money aspect for a second and simply look at the literature about communities in Israel on the NBN website it is clear that they appear to be an agent for West Bank communities. This is not illegal but very telling considering they handle all the immigrants from North America which bring with them incredible political sway both in Israel and United States. I have been working on accessing the exact statics of where NBN alum end up in Israel and it has proved to be difficult. I think that a basic look at where NBN alum settle in Israel would support my claim that the underlying goal of the NBN operation is moving more people to the West Bank. all the best
Joachim, html tags for links don't work anymore here, but every http-address you type into this box is rendered as a clickable link. A democratic solution, since every link pasted is clickable now. Although, admittedly, I am a bit sad too, we can't use the link tags anymore.
I found your posting interesting and not entirely factual. I did some research on the NBN site myself.I think it’s funny that you base your findings on what you see or don’t see on the NBN web site. You seem to have missed the NBN Go North! Project encouraging people to move to Northern Israel. There is NO NBN Go West Bank program. I’m tired of people looking for things to be controversial for the sake of being controvertial. I think more actual research – maybe even talking to NBN – would give you a more well balanced perspective on what these people are trying to do.
RE: "That's $500 each year for each Israeli." Actually it's much more per capita for each Israeli Jews because Israeli Arabs get much less governmental benefits in any form.
EMML:Thanks for the comment. I am not claiming to be a journalist. I am reporting from my own experience with NBN and that of friends who have moved with them. Of course they do not have a NBN go West Bank program because that would be to blatant and difficult to get away with. Try and get there records of where NBN alum move. Something very difficult to obtain without a freedom of information deed. I am aware of their program for the north and think that it is a good thing. I am not claiming them to be a bad organization, just one that we should look at with more detail. If you have the time, talk with them yourself and see what you find. I would love to hear about it. I have spoke with many of their officials and have experienced the process from the inside as it were. This is my recount of that experience. There is a very real problem of American-Israelis living in the West Bank. It did not happen overnight. I am interested in how they got there. Who helped them and why they are there. I do not think that is controversial for the sake of being controversial. all the best
Yeah, because the Saud clan doesn't even give their fellow arab citizens but a pittance. Saud clan is like the Madoff clan. We should give Israel one cent, the rest of the world the balance of 49 cents. This would show the proper proportionate balance in disbursement of our foreign aid in our own interest.
why either donors, recipients called american? they arent. both are traitors, criminals, monsters, thugs.
Sorry, I should have told you how to enter hyperlinks instead of URLs when I noticed you were having problems. Just enter your hyperlink in the standard html format, post your comment, and then immediately edit it. Now you can replace the broken URL within the html with the correct one. When you save the edited version of the comment, the script does not apply the rewrite rule that is applied when the comment is initially posted. Later, Joachim
RE: "I am aware of their program for the north and think that it is a good thing. " Ibnezra I'm a little surprised you support programs to Judaize the Galilee. Any other areas where the jewish presence needs strengthened?
Only in the minds of your people.
"If Congress wishes to provide US taxpayer funded foreign aid to Israel in compliance with US law, it may do so only under a special waiver from the office of the President" And I understand the President has issued that waver, repeatedly. Perfectly legal.
The most bigoted, racist thugs I came across when I visited the West Bank recently were American. Followed by the Russians. What do they teach these monsters in their yeshivas in Brooklyn and Los Angeles?
They teach them the usual, that is, they are chosen, the others are, well Other, and to milk their USA citizenship in behalf the chosen people every chance they get. And to always sell their proposal or claim by conflating American interest with Israeli interest.