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Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
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Orthodox Union.
3700 Henry Hudson Parkway
Bronx, New York 10463
(718) 796-4730
* ISRAEL NEEDS YOUR HELP NOW *
Close Down the PLO Mission
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News posted August 22, 2002, August 22, 2002, Why is Sheldon Silver Protecting the PLO "Why is Sheldon Silver Protecting the PLO" On Thursday, August, 15, the New York City Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution seeking the closure of the PLO offices in New York City. This resolution first proposed by Bronx council member, Oliver Koppel, argued that the PLO's presence in New York constitutes a great danger for the safety of New Yorker's. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz introduced a similar resolution into the State Assembly nearly eight months ago. Thus far the resolution has more than fifty cosponsors. Yet, Speaker Sheldon Silver, who rules the Assembly like a dictatorship, has not allowed this resolution even to come to a vote. Silver is identifiably Jewish and, no doubt, has strong feelings towards the State of Israel. So why is he blocking the progress of this resolution? Sources close to Silver speculate that he is afraid that the Assembly will become immersed in foreign policy resolutions, which would detract from the important work of the Assembly. If that is his reason (and I can think of no other logical reason), then it is greatly disappointing. First, the Assembly has spoken out on foreign policy matters in the past. When it came to apartheid, the Assembly spoke out. It should do no less when it comes to terrorism. Secondly, the point of the Dinowitz and Koppel resolutions is that they are not foreign policy resolutions; they are resolutions that affect the current safety of New Yorkers. In the past year, Arafat's henchmen have killed Americans and openly called for the Intifada to come to the streets of America. In the past, diplomatic offices have been used to coordinate terrorist attacks. Thus, it is logical that a place to be significantly concerned about is the PLO's office. For the safety of New Yorker's, the PLO office must be shut down. Yet, Sheldon Silver blocks the resolution from coming to a vote. When Gifford Miller temporarily blocked the Koppel resolution in the City Council, Jewish leaders were quick to condemn him. For example, following Miller's actions, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a close friend of Silver, called Miller, "a spineless jellyfish." Why is Hikind quiet now? The Assembly is currently in recess and so Silver has succeeded in blocking the Dinowitz Resolution for at least an entire year. However, he can end all speculation on this matter by immediately issuing a clear statement on the Dinowitz Resolution. Speaker Silver, the Jewish community and the people of New York want to know: Do you support the Dinowitz Resolution? Why are you protecting the PLO? Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, Vice-President of the Coalition for Jewish Concerns--AMCHA www.rabbishmuel.com ************************************ Contact Speaker Silver and voice your concerns: EMAIL ADDRESS speaker@ assembly.state.ny.us DISTRICT OFFICE 250 Broadway Suite 2307 New York, NY 10007 212-312-1420 ALBANY OFFICE LOB 932 Albany, NY 12248 518-455-3791 Contact Assemblyman Dov Hikind with your inquiries: EMAIL ADDRESS hikindd@ assembly.state.ny.us DISTRICT OFFICE 1310 48th St. Brooklyn, NY 11219 718-853-9616 News posted August 12, 2002, August 12, 2002, Appearing as an Op-ed piece in the New York Sun today Friends, After nearly 8 months of delays, the New York City Council is finally scheduled to vote tomorrow on a resolution seeking the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization offices in New York City. This resolution, first proposed by Bronx council member Oliver Koppel, calls upon the federal government to label the Palestinian Authority as a terrorist organization, and to close the PLO's Park Avenue offices. Most recently, the resolution was endorsed by Council Speaker, Gifford Miller, virtually ensuring its passage. Yet others, including Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, have criticized this resolution. Mr. Bloomberg contends that as host city to the United Nations, New Yorkers must allow diplomats residence in their backyard, even if they do not like their politics. So too, Mr. Armitage phoned Mr. Miller months ago and pressed him not to support the resolution ?until negotiations between the warring parties have come to some sort of fruition.? Even some supporters of this resolution have dismissed it as merely symbolic and outside the City Councils mandate. As strong supporters of this resolution, we disagree. When the Koppel resolution was first proposed this past January, we argued that the PLO office was a threat to the lives of all New Yorkers, especially Jews. The PLO office could conceivably be plotting and coordinating terrorist activities at this very moment. Furthermore, the office stands as a symbol of terrorist activity and its very presence inspires future terrorist acts. Over the past eight months, there have been so many terrorist acts sponsored by Yasser Arafat that President Bush has declared that Mr. Arafat's regime is compromised by terror. After September 11, 2001, there is only one international leader whose regime claims responsibility for terrorist acts with great impunity and on an ongoing basis, and that is Mr. Arafat through his murderous Al Aksa brigade. Subsequent to Mr. Bush's remarks condemning Mr. Arafat's regime, the Al Aksa brigade released a statement suggesting that there would be future terrorist attacks upon Jewish and American establishments. Even more ominous were words heard at a pro-Palestinian Arab rally held in March at Washington where speakers spoke of Mr. Bush as a murderer, and declared that it is time for the Intifada to be brought to the White House. We know that terrorist regimes will not hesitate to use their political offices as a cover for terrorist activities. On July 18, 1994, the AMIA building in Argentina was bombed and eighty-six people were killed. It is widely believed that the Iranian embassy in Argentina was directly involved in coordinating that attack. Just recently ABC news reported that two Iranian diplomats were expelled from New York for extensive video taping of sensitive locations. The recent shooting at LAX of innocent Jews shows what happens when symbols that inspire terrorism are allowed to remain standing. Mr. Koppell's resolution allows our local elected officials to go on the record denouncing terrorism and symbols of terrorism. The threat of terrorism is not only from Osama bin Laden but also from Mr. Arafat. Especially after September 11, 2001, New Yorkers have the moral authority and responsibility to speak out loudly against terrorism. Even more significantly, Mr. Koppell's resolution explains why this matter is very much the business of the New York City Council. The latest version of the resolution states: ?As a government entity that shelters terrorist groups, the offices of the Palestinian Authority may pose a danger to New Yorkers, and it is the responsibility of the Council of the City of New York to protect the safety of New Yorkers. As long as the PLO has an office on 65th and Park, New Yorkers are not safe from the threat of terror. We therefore urge the Council to overwhelmingly pass this resolution.? New Yorkers have the right to declare that the PLO office is not welcome in our city. Rabbi Avi Weiss, Senior Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and National President of the Coalition for Jewish Concerns-Amcha Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, Associate Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale The following was posted in mid-summer News posted before the August 2002, May. 16, 2002 Effort to close PA's New York office moves ahead By MELISSA RADLER ,JERUSALEM POST Good Afternoon Friends, We wanted to take a moment to update you on the status of the NY City Council NEW YORK Efforts to designate the Palestinian Authority a terrorist entity and shutter its Park Avenue office gained ground in the City Council and State Assembly this week, as officials pledged renewed efforts to pass resolutions that would kick Palestinian representatives out of the city. The resolutions, which call on the Bush administration to declare the PA and PLO terrorist organizations and close the PLO mission to the UN, were announced nearly four months ago. Since then, the State Department has expressed its displeasure with the non-binding text being circulated on the city level, the wording of which is the same in the state resolution. Three weeks ago, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage asked City Council Speaker Gifford Miller to hold off on a hearing scheduled for the resolution on the grounds that it would complicate peace talks in the Middle East. But on Tuesday Israel's 54th anniversary, according to the Gregorian calendar Miller announced plans to reschedule the hearing for mid-June, and State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) held a press conference in Albany aimed at garnering support for the assembly resolution, which has nearly 50 co-sponsors, or about one third of the assembly members. Comparing Israel's actions against Palestinian terror to the US war against al-Qaida, Dinowitz called on Bush to apply the same standard on fighting terrorism to Israel and the US, and to close the PLO office here on the grounds that an al-Qaida office would not be allowed to operate on US soil. "US policy should be consistent," he said. "We can't hold Israel to a different standard that we hold ourselves to." At the press conference, State Sen. Seymour Lachman, president of the National Association of Jewish Legislators, condemned the PLO's encouragement of children to become suicide bombers as an affront to human rights. "Any group that condones imperiling its children is not only a terrorist organization, it actually practices barbarism against its people especially its very own children," he said. At City Hall, Miller announced plans to reschedule a hearing on the resolution in mid-June just before the council's annual "Celebration of Jewish Life and Culture and the State of Israel." Miller's decision followed on the heels of protests lead by Rabbi Avi Weiss, president of the Coalition for Jewish Concerns-Amcha. Drafted by Councilman Oliver Koppell, the resolution will go to a public hearing after the council passes the budget in early June, said Bernice Spitzer, a spokeswoman for Miller. Weiss and a group of 10 rabbis, who were protesting Miller's decision to postpone the hearing outside City Hall on Tuesday evening, welcomed Miller's about-face and before joining the celebration inside. Pre-May 10, 2002 Miller Blocked the Hearing: Before: (May 10, 2002) We wanted to take a moment to update you on the status of the NY City Council hearing on Councilman Oliver Koppell's resolution calling for the Federal Government to close down the PLO Mission in New York. After waiting months for the scheduled April 22nd hearing on the Koppell resolution, the Speaker of the City Council, Gifford Miller has stated this resolution will not be debated by the City Council. Gifford Miller writes, "I must rely on the advice and consul of Federal officials who have personally asked me to delay a hearing on Resolution 7, until negotiations between the warring parties have come to fruition." Rabbi Weiss pointed out in a meeting with the Speaker this past Friday, that in the past the City Council has always been the voice of the people speaking truth to power, even to the Federal Government. As you know, this is the most difficult time Israel has ever faced. Arafat's Al Aksa Martyr's Brigade has announced that they will be coming here, and at the pro-Palestinian rally in Washington DC this past weekend, speakers openly announced that the Intifada should be brought to the White House. The threat is very real. We have let Speaker Miller know how strongly we feel about this and that until the Council has debated this issue, CJC-Amcha will be sponsoring rallies, raising a voice of moral conscience in support of the Koppell resolution. We will be gathering on Monday, April 29th, at 12 Noon in front of the steps of City Hall in lower Manhattan. We hope that you will be able to join us on your lunch hour in order to send a strong message to Speaker Miller. It would help our efforts if you could please notify friends, colleagues, students and family members about this gathering on Monday. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I can be reached at (718) 796-4730 or at mw812@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on Monday at noon. Sincerely, Meredith Weiss National Director, Coalition for Jewish Concerns-Amcha ***************************************** ******************** ALL ARE URGED TO COME OUT AND STAND WITH US TO RAISE A VOICE OF MORAL CONSCIENCE MONDAY, APRIL 29, AT 12 NOON AT THE STEPS OF CITY HALL IN LOWER MANHATTAN SPEAKER GIFFORD MILLER NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE OUTRAGED OVER HIS CANCELLATION OF THE HEARING ON THE KOPPELL RESOLUTION WON'T YOU PLEASE TAKE ONE LUNCH HOUR OUT OF YOUR WEEK TO STAND WITH US ON SUCH AN IMPORTANT ISSUE? OUR COMMUNITY SHOULD NOT BE SHUT OUT OUR CONCERNS SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED |
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