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The following item appeared by reporter Hadas Stiff published in the 9 March edition of the weekly "Sharon Times" - a regional publication of the Ma'ariv newspaper chain:

"This week at a preparatory meeting by the police of the Sharon region run by the head of the intelligence branch in the police, commander Danny Ronen, various scenarios for an [Arab] attack against Israel were considered.

Among the scenarios was the possibility that the [Arabs] would fire Katyusha rockets from Kalkiliya and Tulkarem at the cities in the Sharon.

Sound like a fear campaign by the extreme right? Not any more.

Information reaching one of the officers in the Sharon region is that the imaginary scenario raised today may easily turn into the daily reality in Netzarim. A security source in Kalkiliya even related that recently a line from one of the steel factories in Kalkiliya was directed towards the nearby ills that have a view of Kfar Sava. He says that the [Arabs] paved a special path so that Katyushas can be fired at communities in the Sharon, if it is decided to increase the struggle against Israel."

(IMRA)

Water shortages throughout the West Bank are expected this summer, National Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday. Areas affected will include Hebron and nearby Kiryat Arba and the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Lieberman said.

A tender will be published next month for importing water from Turkey, Lieberman revealed in a meeting held yesterday at the ministry. The tender will enable Israel to import 50 million cubic meters of water. The meeting focused on the growing water shortage, Israel Radio reported.

BELGIUM (March 18) - Last month a diplomatic crisis nearly erupted with Belgium, when diplomatic emissary Ovadia Sofer, sent by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Brussels to meet with Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel. Michel reportedly gave Sofer a thorough dressing-down on Israel's policies toward the [Arabs]. Belgium also threatened to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv.

Moreover, 44 members of Belgium's parliament had called for a Belgian Commission of Inquiry on the "plight of the [PLO-Arab] people," and for sanctions against Israel, namely the suspension of the association agreement with the European Union (EU). Belgium, which assumes the European Union presidency on July 1, has emerged as a severe critic of Israel since the start of [Arab] violence last September.

AMMAN (March 27) - Both Arafat and Assad addressed the conference today, competing as to who could speak most harshly against Israel. Assad told the Arab leaders that Israel is more racist than the Nazis, adding, "Israel's extremism and racism are the most constant things in the Middle East." Arafat told the international conference that Israel is bombing the [Arabs] with uranium bombs. He also said that the [Arab] nation "is against terrorism."

DENMARK (March 28) - Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft blasted Israel in a newspaper interview published yesterday, saying that the EU should institute economic sanctions against Israel because of its settlement policy.

"Israel's establishment of new settlements in the occupied territories and expansion of existing settlements is one of the most serious barriers to peace in the Middle East," Lykketoft told the Berlingkse Tidende newspaper. "Israel's new settlement activity is in breach of the Geneva conventions and will only lead to a further escalation of violence."

NORWAY (March 29) - Norway announced today that it recognized the [Arabs=92] right to throw rocks and open fire against Israeli forces in Judea and Samaria. The Yesha Council calls on Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to recall Israel's Ambassador in Oslo immediately, as they render the blood of Israeli soldiers and residents in Yesha "worthless."

CANADA (March 30) - JTA reports that Canadian officials have confirmed that their government financed a booklet calling for [Arabs] to realize their "right of return" to Israel. The pamphlet says that Arabs should take back homes and property they lost inside Israel when they ran away during the 1948 War of Independence.

JERUSALEM (March 20) - To students, teachers, and parents at the Frenkel Elementary School in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood, murdered Efrat resident Baruch Cohen, 59, was more than just a janitor. He was a friend.

Cohen, mortally wounded in yesterday's drive-by shooting attack, was on his way to the school where he had worked for over eight years when terrorists gunned him down.

"We are still in shock," school principal Barbara Levin said. "We try to build bridges between the children here and [Arab children] in Beit Hanina. We are trying to create a positive attitude, and then this happens... and the children ask us whether it's really worth it. "Baruch was really part of the family here," she added.

Students at the Tali school, which serves a high percentage of English-speaking children, were informed of the murder yesterday morning, and given the opportunity to draw pictures and write letters that will be given to the Cohen family. Students had also been offered the services of the school psychologist, Levin noted, pointing out that some of the children at the school had already suffered losses as a result of recent terrorist attacks.

At the entrance to the school building, children crowded around a board where photos of Cohen had been pinned up, and wrote messages to their slain janitor and friend.

"I don't know how we'll get along without you," one student wrote.

"It doesn't matter what work you do, if you do it with love and respect, that's what you get back," were the words that Cohen had used to describe his job at the school, said Alyssa Friedland, whose children attend the school.

"He was a very special man, and we loved him very much - it's very hard to say good-bye," she said. Friedland arrived at the school to comfort her nine-year-old daughter, Rebecca. "It's hard to imagine, I just wish that all this was a dream, because yesterday he was here, and then all of a sudden, it's like he's still here but he's not - it's very weird," Rebecca said, as she wrote a letter to Cohen's family.

"I knew something was wrong when I arrived in the morning and the gate was still locked - then I heard the news on the radio," said Pavel, a guard at the school, with a resigned look on his face. "You should just write he was a good person trying to get to work," another staff member said.

NOTE: Each person murdered or wounded is linked to tens or hundreds more of family, friends and acquaintances, many of whom are children such as these and most of them are living in Yesha. They live with the constant thought that the next victim could be their own fathers or mothers or even themselves. How does a child cope with months of violence around his home and on the roads he must travel to school? That is what professional counselors are dealing with thanks to your help!

This morning, Baruch Cohen went to minyan in Efrat at his usual Vatikin time. The father of 6, grandfather of 11, aged 59 did his usual morning ritual of blessing the Jews of Efrat via his lineage of Birkat Kohanim. Baruch is the first word of our blessings and this Baruch gave blessings daily. As he left Efrat in the early daylight hour enroute to his work in Jerusalem, he did not realize that his last bracha and priestly blessing had just been recited.

As he passed the Neveh Daniel junction on the Gush-Jerusalem road, a car of Arab animal murderers drove by and sprayed his car with 12 bullets. Baruch was hit, lost control and drove into the oncoming semi-trailer, dying instantly. Baruch Cohen Z"L was the recipient of the latest Jewish guilt trip of re-opening their (Arab) roads, cities, and villages. Only last night did the new Minister of Defense Ben Eliezer re open the access to and from the 'unfortunate' sieged Arab cities. For 2 weeks, we had some 'peace' and quiet, now we had pieces of Baruch's body and another funeral to plan in Efrat. The terrorists escaped to Bethlehem, passing the PLO (police) sic? checkpoint which allowed more murderers to escape into their protective areas after the killing of a Jew.

Amnon Cohen, Baruch's son is an IDF lieutenant general in charge of the Hebron area security. His beeper went off and was told of a drive by shooting on the Gush road. He instructed his troops to seal off the area and he drove to the shooting area. From a distance he saw the familiar Hyundai vehicle where a father years ago had taught him how to drive. Upon seeing the car and his dead father, the IDF lieutenant general, Amnon did kriyah of his uniform instead of reporting the incident. He handed over the investigation to the next in command and began to weep on the road, not what his soldiers ever expected to see in their commanding officer.

The roads were closed, the city of Efrat turned into a morning of mourning. The Cohen house 1 block away from me was packed with IDF, police, the rabbis, and outside the pregnant daughter of Baruch Z"L was placed into a wheelchair as she nears her 8th month of pregnancy. The latest survivor of a drive by shooting, Ronnie Diament of Efrat who was shot at and survived last month was just awoken after last night's seudat hodaya, dinner of gratitude to G-d, where he was toasted in a lechayim by Baruch at the synagogue.

Ronnie was interviewed on Israel radio for most part of the afternoon and in a breaking and haltering voice tried to repeat the blessing and the words of his friend Baruch last night as they sang and rejoiced together for Ronnie's discharge from Hadassah only 24 hours ago. Today Ronnie was a pallbearer for Baruch.

As we watched the thousands line the street of the synagogue where Baruch gave his blessings daily and then the car procession down the same road of the Gush to Jerusalem and the hundreds of cars enroute to Har Menuchot where Baruch would receive the kaddish blessings of his sons instead of the birkat kohanim, the noises of tears and silence could be heard. The entire procession stopped on the highway where only hours before Baruch and his blessings were extinguished by the animal murderers of the PLO.

Friends, our collective guilt and worries about the well being of the masses of PLO residents outweighs the worries for our own fellow Jewish survival in our land of Israel. The politicians gave their advice and the best one perhaps, is that the IDF be allowed to use its helicopters not to bomb the innocent but to drop food and medicines daily with CNN filming it live over the Arab villages while continuing the siege and blockades for months on our neighbors, the Arab 'peace'? partners.

As the antitank missiles hit last night at Nachal Oz beyond the green line and as Baruch Cohen's fresh grave remind us that it was only yesterday that rocks and stones shattered our lives, we now realize that this CNN labeled 'intifada' has been replaced by the warzone. To all of the other Kohanim out there, the big blessing of Yevarchecha and Yishmerach etc....only ends with the word of Shalom when we realize that the death of another Kohen today in Israel will strengthen our resolve and with G-d's intervention, the birkat kohanim of Baruch Cohen shall once again be recited very soon.

By Margot Dudkevitch (Courtesy of Jerusalem Post)

JERUSALEM (March 27) - The Pass and Zarbiv families of Hebron are no strangers to terror. Yesterday's murder of 10-month-old Shalhevet Tehiya Pass and the wounding of her father Yitzhak were in addition to three other terror attacks involving family members over the past eight years. Until yesterday's attack none were fatal.

In November 1993, two axe-wielding [Arabs] attacked Yitzhak's father-in-law, Avraham Zarbiv, as he was on his way to morning prayers near the Machpela Cave, causing serious skull, face, and hand wounds. After undergoing intensive surgery, he recovered.

In January 1996, one of Zarbiv's daughters, Orital, then 14, was stabbed in the back by an [Arab] near the Hebron market.

On March 10, Yitzhak Pass's brother Elad, 19, who was spending Shabbat with his brother in Hebron, was shot in the leg near Kikar Gross.

Yitzhak studies in the Menuha Rahel kollel, and married Uriya, 20, two years ago. They live in Beit Kastel near Beit Hadassah, and Shalhevet was their first child.

Yesterday, shocked by Shalhevet's death, residents recalled that a day earlier she had danced in her father's arms as the community celebrated the marriage of one of Hebron Jewish community spokesman Noam Arnon's children.

(NOTE: Shalhevet Pas hy"d was buried on Sunday, April 1, 2001 without the Abu Sneineh hills being secured.)

Additional Note: It was later learned that three other little girls were miraculously saved during the same shooting attack. A bullet passed between two sisters, aged 4 and 6, as they were playing in the sandbox; one of them came home with a huge hole in her shirt, made by the sniper's bullet. Another little girl, shortly before the fatal shot to Shalhevet was fired, heard a shot and told her mother, who was standing next to her; only later at night did the girl's mother discover that the bullet had scratched one of her daughter's fingers.

YDF: And let us not forget the trusted Egged bus driver....

EXCERPTS FROM A LETTER BY A LABOR PARTY ELECTION OBSERVER

A man named Yahav Katzir, of Kibbutz Sdot Yam near Hadera, was sent by the Labor Party to be an election observer in Gush Katif last month. In a letter to the residents of Gadid, where he was stationed, he explained that he was originally very apprehensive about his job:

"I was first of all afraid of Arab terrorist attacks, and second of all I was afraid of you. I thought that you are extremists and unpleasant, because this is how the media describe you. I didn't understand at the time that this could be one big fabrication of the reality."

Katzir's letter to the residents of Gadid continues,

"I got on the bulletproof bus [that morning], and my stomach started churning. I asked myself, 'Why do I need this? It's so dangerous! I have a family, why should I endanger myself?' And so on and so forth for the rest of the trip... The army escort left us at the Gefen checkpoint. This scared me... I looked outside and saw that it was [safer than I thought]. As we traveled, I saw a stunningly beautiful area, with a pristine landscape. I became excited. But I kept on worrying about the meeting with you, the residents. Then we reached N'vei Dekalim, and I saw warm and friendly people around me. I began to feel a sense of security... At this point, my opinion about you, the residents, changed from one extreme to the other: I understood that in this area live people who are warm and pleasant, who would love to change the stigma which others have unjustifiably stuck to them. I was amazed that you even thanked us for coming... I am very happy about the decision to send me to you...

"As a kibbutznik and a farmer... I understood that your connection to the land is so strong, and for this you struggle so hard to remain in the Gush even beyond Zionism and politics. I very much admire people like you. As the day passed, I realized that your social lives are very developed, and everyone knows everyone else and supports everyone else. It is very moving to see such interaction.

"Towards the end of the day, the desire to come and live with you came strongly over me, to join you despite all the fears I had at the beginning. The quiet, the people, the landscape - all this attracted me greatly.

"In short, you succeeded in making me realize that what I had thought was based on unreliable sources, and that my stubbornness "not to cross to the other side" was not justified... Despite my left-wing views, I believe that one day, if Gush Katif still exists, I will come and join you in order to live in this beautiful place, with the good people in the area.

YDF: Naming Peres as Foreign Minister was the first nail in the coffin of the Sharon government.

YDF: Out of the mouths of babes and terrorists.... And let us not hear foolish talk about recycling Bibi after Sharon. The country can't tolerate another lost cause of an election. There is no difference between Bibi, Barak, and Sharon! Every one of them stated publicly that they would allow the establishment of an enemy state on and within our borders!!

YDF: The Abu Sneineh hills remain in enemy hands---what do you foresee for the Jewish Community of Hevron?

... Meron Benvenisti, a former deputy mayor in Jerusalem, ... said a division might have been possible once had Israelis not been tempted to settle the West Bank and Gaza. Some 200,000 Jews now live in the territories, with a similar number in the disputed section of Jerusalem, which also was occupied in 1967.

"You cannot unscramble the egg," Benvenisti said. "This is a binational entity, a binational condition." What about the Zionist dream of a Jewish state? "Why is Israel not allowed to wake up from its dream?" he answered. "My dream is to live peacefully."

Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala), [PLO] Authority Minister of Planning and Cooperation has laid down four conditions for Israel to fulfill in order to end the wave of violence:

Removal of all closures and IDF encirclements of [Arab] cities and withdrawal of tanks and armor from firing positions

Unconditionally forward all money due to the PA without delay

Dismantling of settlements

An Israeli statement showing readiness to carry out the third withdrawal from [Arab] areas

[Arab] Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo this afternoon laid down three conditions for the cessation of violence by the [Arabs] against Israel.

A total moratorium on settlement activity, including Jerusalem

Honoring and fulfilling all agreements signed between Israel and the [PLO] Authority

A return to the Sharm e-Sheikh agreement

This is the first time [Arabs] have not predicated a return to negotiations at the point they ceased, according to a report on Army Radio.

...For the last 22 years, the Jewish enclave in Hebron has been proving the hollowness of its leaders' claims that they want to maintain peaceful relations with their [Arab] neighbors. The contrary is true. It's been proven beyond a shadow of doubt that tolerable coexistence is impossible between the two communities living so close to one another. Furthermore, the burden on the army in defending the Jewish residents of Hebron is becoming ever more difficult as the Israeli-[PLO] conflict intensifies....there's no choice but to frankly state the simple truth, and reach the inevitable conclusion that the Jewish settlement of Hebron should be evacuated because it is like a bone in the throat of the Arabs, ...

...For the last 53 years, the Jewish enclave in Israel has been proving the hollowness of its leaders' claims that they want to maintain peaceful relations with their [Arab] neighbors. The contrary is true. It's been proven beyond a shadow of doubt that tolerable coexistence is impossible between the two communities living so close to one another. Furthermore, the burden on the army in defending the Jewish residents of Israel is becoming ever more difficult as the Israeli-[PLO] conflict intensifies....there's no choice but to frankly state the simple truth, and reach the inevitable conclusion that the Jewish settlement of Israel should be evacuated because it is like a bone in the throat of the Arabs, ...

Dear friend--shalom,

We are planning our next trip to the U.S. and the tentative schedule is as follows:

1. Arrive in Miami on 20th of May at 8:40 am. and stay in the area till 30th of May at 4:00 pm. Please note that these dates include the Jerusalem Liberation Day (21.5) and Shavuot (28-29.5).
2. Arrive in N.Y. on 30th of May at 6:30 p.m. and stay till 14th of June at 3:00 p.m. including 2 shabbatot.

We ask all of our friends to make an effort and do the following, in order of priorities:

1. Make for yourselves a list of individual potential supporters of our ideas and projects for one-on-one meetings with them;
2. Make a list of people who will be willing to host a house party and invite their friends/relatives;
3. Make a list of shuls, radio stations, and other venues of public exposure where we can present our ideas and projects to wide audiences.

All these lists should include phone numbers, exact addresses, and names of contact people in your area.

Moshe