Pre-Chanukah Message
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December 2, 2015; 20 Kislev 5776
Pre-Chanukah Appeal
Dear Friends, We are writing this email at a time when Baruch HaShem, Jonathan Pollard is no longer in prison. There was only one Jewish organization that Jonathan Pollard specifically thanked for their help upon his being informed of his release from prison. That organization is the National Council of Young Israel. We not only led the issue but we helped get others to join our efforts. I still remember more than fifteen years ago, when I was President of Young Israel of Phoenix, I spoke to former head of Senate Intelligence, Arizona Senator Dennis DeConcini, about changing his position and supporting Pollard's release. He asked me to send him information about Jonathan Pollard's remorse and I also sent information about the disparity in sentences. The Senator studied the information, I believe he discussed it with close Jewish friends Earl Katz z"l and Ron Ober, and he decided about a month later to do a letter to President Clinton calling for Pollard's release (I was the only one ccd on the letter). Senator DeConcini was the first person who had seen the classified information on Pollard to support his release. Pollard's attorneys' publicly thanked DeConcini for doing a recent Affidavit to the Parole Board that Pollard was no longer a security risk which helped in convincing the Parole Board to approve Pollard for Parole. Pollard is no longer in jail, but the disproportionate parole conditions of home confinement for Pollard are opposed by NCYI and we support the fight by Pollard's lawyers, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, to change these conditions. The Jonathan Pollard case shows the current importance of the National Council of Young Israel. However, NCYI is much more than Jonathan Pollard. When we met with the U.S. Administration a year ago last September we pushed on the issue of the unacceptable incitement to violence of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. Recently, after the murder of the Henkins and the failure of Abbas to condemn the murder, the Administration for the first time reduced aid to the Palestinian Authority due to their incitement to violence. On a recent Conference Call with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, we asked a major Israel official to close radio stations that are inciting to violence in the Palestinian Authority. We have no idea if our question made an impact but before our question no stations were closed and since our question three such stations have been closed. One of our issues we are pushing right now is calling for the U.S. Justice Department to comply with the Kobe Mandel Act and bring to U.S. Justice, Palestinian Arab terrorists who murdered Americans. In December of 1997, I asked Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on a Conference of President's Conference call as to why the U.S. was not going after leading Hamas terrorist Mohammed Deif for his role in the murder of Israeli American Nachshon Wachsman. I raised this issue because in the Spring of 1996 President Clinton promised the Wachsman family that the United States would work to bring Deif to Justice. Shortly thereafter, my friend Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon wrote the first Congressional letter on the issue to Secretary Albright signed by 31 Congressman and 4 Senators. A few weeks later, Secretary Albright and President Clinton for the first time raised the issue of Deif with Arafat. Eventually Salmon initiated and the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution that called on Palestinian Arab terrorists who murdered or wounded Americans to be brought to U.S. Justice.. Salmon personally delivered a copy of the resolution to Arafat in Gaza and Salmon met with Prime Minister Netanyahu to obtain his support for the initiative. Eventually, the Kobe Mandel Act was initiated and became law to create an office in the Justice Department to go after terrorists like Deif. Deif is the Hamas military leader and he needs to be brought to justice. Our goal is to bring Palestinian Arab terrorists to American justice which will deter terrorism and prevent talks of these terrorists being released in prisoner exchanges. The pain of the murder of Young Israel member Ezra Schwartz makes this issue even more personal to us. Please see my attached Jerusalem Post op-ed on the matter. http://cts.vresp.com/c/? NationalCouncilofYou/2fd5037ef0/TEST/fdb45277f3/NationalCouncilofYou/2fd5037ef0/TEST/fdb45277f3 Our voice is an important voice. Our goal is to speak up not for the purpose of speaking but in order to make a difference. We have made a difference. We speak without vitriol but with an effort to impact policy. Our voice is being heard. You have an opportunity to strengthen our voice to help us make a far greater impact. Please give so we can open a D.C. office. Please give so we can open up regional offices. Please give so that you can help impact the future for Klal Yisrael. You are welcome to contact me directly concerning any gift including any substantial gift and the chance for naming rights etc. Thank you and a Happy Chanukah. Farley Weiss, President, NCYI
president@youngisrael.org ; 212 929 1525 x101 For the past 104 years, the National Council of Young Israel has ably served the broader Jewish community. With more than 25,000 member families and nearly 200 branch synagogues throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel, the National Council of Young Israel is a multi-faceted organization that embraces Jewish communal needs and often takes a leading role in tackling the important issues that face the Jewish community in North America and Israel.  |
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