Let American taxpayer pay

Every action, we are told, has a reaction...And all
this can result in a chain reaction. When Sharon
became PM of Israel, he had in mind a get tough
Jabotinskyish policy. He wanted to make the ground so
hot for Palestinians that they would have to
"voluntarily" leave the West Bank and Gaza to the
Israelis. In his attempt to slowly, patiently and
subtly round out Israel's jagged borders, he provoked
HAMAS and then insisted that "Arafat is the cause of
everything." So, he marshalled all the hardware he got
from the US, and after 9/11 gave him the break he
coveted, he went on a rampage against ALL Palestinians
for the suicide bombing that a FEW Palestinians did--
the perpetrators all voluntarily dying in the act!

Sharon's staff skillfully played on American
anti-terror American sympathy. Naturally, no one
considers the root cause of terror when seeing so many
innocent Israelis dead from it. And so, Sharon
literally got away with murder until a short time ago,
when to get a HAMAS big fish, he showed wanton
disregard for the lives of very many innocent
Palestinians-- men women children and, as Israeli
officials like to say: and innocent babies too (of
course they only refered to their own in their
indignation). Since a cease-fire was in the making,
the entire planet's governenments became suspisious
that maybe there is a lot more than coincidence in all
the events of this year-- perhaps some sort of
indirect coordination is going on between HAMAS, that
above all wants no peace, and the Sharon regime, that
needs the "security" issue in order to hide his
efforts to make the Palestinians disappear.

Still, at the very time when Sharon begins to see the
error of his ways, the chain reaction unfolds, proving
that God does not punish our sins while we are
sinning, but instead, while we are trying to change
our ways...thus testing the determination of our will
to reform. Now, the very Israelis who supported
Sharon's aggrandizement campaign are caught in a
dilemma. Their goal was to make Israel bigger so that
they could make room for two million "olims" (Jewish
immigrants from abroad) that, no doubt, do not exist.
Jews will march for Israel, even send cash. But to
move to Israel is another story. Already, Los Angeles
is becoming a little Tel Aviv because of all the
Israelis that gave up and moved there. If Diaspora
Jews are to come to Israel, argued KM Shransky (the
civil rights advocate for Russian Jews, but not for
Palestinians), they can't be expected to have their
life's fortunes fleeced by the government in taxes, as
so many retirees to Israel learned the hard way. So he
would extend tax-exemption to TEN years. But with no
new taxpayes, and so many of the old ones running away
to Los Angeles, how is Israel going to pay the bill
for the Israeli Defense Force's repeated reinactment
of the Normandy Invasion into the Palestinian
territories?

The answer is, of course, let the American tax-payer
pay for it. Afterall, there are a lot of Democrat
politicians ready to offer Jewish voters support for
Israel in the formula: give $1000 for my campaign and,
once in Congress, I'll vote $1,000.000.000 for
Israel's army!

But this disregards the question: how will the
American voters react once they realize that they are
being fleeced in this politics for cash campaign
instead of the olims? Will they consider the reasons
why America should support Israel, or will they react
to footing the bill for Israeli military operations
blindly out of rage, much as they reacted to footing
the bill for the war in Vietnam?

Please read the item below, produced by the official
Israeli "HASBARA" web page and ask yourself, how will
US taxpayers respond to the debate now going on in the
Kenesset, knowing that they are the fall-guys at the
end of the line?

Perhaps economic necessity is one more reason to think
in terms of land for peace so as to make a two
states-one economy future in which both the Israelis
and Palestinians can prosper...And the olims can "come
home" with the run-away Sabras, knowing that they will
no longer be fleeced out of their life's savings and
pensions, as so many people I know already were. 
 
*******************************************************
    
  YBA Newsletter  

  June 17, 2002 

Tax reform bill important update 

On June 16, after a stormy debate in which many
ministers attacked aspects of the tax reform (Housing
Minister Natan Sharansky led the assault for the
olim), the Cabinet passed the tax reform bill in
principle and appointed a Ministerial Committee to
decide on changes before it is presented to the
Knesset. 

Yair Rabinovitch and Tali Yaron Eldar, the Income Tax
Commissioner, were available outside the Cabinet Room
during the debate. Eli Kaszdan, Director General of
Yisrael B'Aliya, introduced the chairman of the Tax
Reform Committee, Yitzhak Heimowitz to Ms. Yaron Eldar
and he briefed her on the olim position. Ms. Yaron
Eldar asked Mr. Heimowitz to fax her the November 2000
letter and Knesset statement of Beige Shochat (former
Finance Minister) setting out what he had agreed to.
The letter was sent accordingly. 

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Heimowitz received a call to
come to the Prime Minister's office and hopefully work
out a deal with Rabinovitch and Yaron Eldar on the
spot. He arrived at 11:30 AM, but by that time the
cabinet debate had ended and both Mr. Rabinovitch and
Ms. Yaron Eldar had left. Mr. Heimowitz conferred with
Eli Kaszdan and briefly with Natan Sharansky, who is
on the Ministerial Committee, and Mr. Heimowitz and
his committee will present them with their proposals,
and, if necessary as it probably will be, in the
Knesset. 

In order to maximize the committee's effectiveness
they are limiting their demands to the two proposals,
which were argued for two years previously. 

Pensions and retirement income rights antedating
aliyah will be permanently exempt from income tax. 
A 10 year adjustment period before taxing passive
income of Olim, measured from date of aliyah or
effective date of the law, whichever is later. 
Adoption of these two proposals will make the tax
reform livable for Olim. 

The Tax Reform Committee, which is comprised of
lawyers and accountants from many of the immigrant
associations, was formed to act on behalf of the
immigrant federations. They are working very hard to
have a bill passed which will not adversely affect
Olim. 

The AACI is urging you to flood the Ministry of
Finance and Finance Minister Silvan Shalom, with phone
calls, faxes, and e-mail. Write him that this bill, as
written, will stop aliyah and force people living in
Israel to return to America or their country of
origin. If you are contemplating aliyah, let them know
that this law will affect your plans to come home. 

Even if you do not intend to make aliyah, at this
present time, it is in Israel's interest for you to
protest this pending taxation law. We have to help
Jews remain in Israel and ensure that others will not
be discouraged from coming on aliyah. 

E-mail Minister Silvan Shalom at sar@mof.gov.il 

Or phone 011-972-2-6753383/5630866 
Fax: 011-972-2-563-7891 

Send a copy of your letter to us at AACI:
info@aaci.org.il. It is important that they receive
all letters.