Have you heard....

Poor old Red Ken sure knows how to win friends and influence people! Even with all the accusations of anti-Semitism recently thrown at him, his insulting manner towards Israel and friendship with the repulsive Yusef Qaradawi, there are still those who believe that he can be re-educated.

Barry Shaw of Netanya, whose work with traumatised victims of terrorism is to be commended, has openly invited London's Mayor, Ken Livingstone, to visit Israel and see things for himself.

Scottish Friends of Israel has sent Barry's invitation (reproduced below) to Mr Livingstone and will keep our supporters updated, should the Mayor accept.

SG

Invitation to Ken Livingstone.

I have been distressed to read the repeated outbursts of the current Mayor of London.
Ken Livingstone, known as 'Red Ken' for his radical left wing opinions, insulted a Jewish journalist by
comparing him to a concentration camp kappo. He branded our Prime Minister a 'war criminal'. He calls
any Jewish organisation that criticizes his outspoken views 'Zionist stooges'.
He nurtures Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi, the Islamic theologian of terror.

I think it is time to invite Mr. Livingstone on a brief educational trip to Israel.
He has been a willing advocate for the demonization and eradication of the Jewish state.
It is important that Mr. Livingstone is given a different perspective on life in our region.
As Mayor of London he has a very busy schedule. That is why I am condensing his itinerary to
three action-packed days.

From Ben Gurion Airport we will bring him to Netanya.
Netanya, on the clifftops of the Mediterranean, is as far from 'occupied territories as you can get without
falling into the sea.
Actually, it is only a ten minute car ride.

We will begin our tour at the Park Hotel, the scene of the infamous Passover massacre.
This is where, on one of our most holy nights, a selected, trained, armed, Palestinian homicide bomber
succeeded in fulfilling his religious and life's ambition to kill as many Jews as he could.

Limited time prevents us from stopping at the twelve other sites of Palestinian terror in Netanya that
claimed the lives of fifty of our local citizens and injured over four hundred.
Netanya only has a population of 180,000 so the terror toll is deeply felt. Yet the Netanya terror victims
remain the forgotten victims of terror. Have you, Mr. Livingstone, ever invited or received even one of
our sufferers to be your guest in London? Why then cuddle up to Qaradawi? Do you think this contributes
to peace or friction in our region?

We will leave Netanya and drive east. After seven minutes we will pass Kfar Yona where my daughter and
three of my grandchildren live. Three minutes after that we arrive at the outskirts of Tulkarm.
Tulkarm is where an army of gunmen and suicide bombers have departed on missions to kill innocent Israelis.
But that is not the reason I am bringing you here.

Here, on the outskirts of Tulkarm, is what you call the 'apartheid wall'. It is here that a section of the wall is
not chainlink fencing but a tall concrete barrier.
I make no apologies for adding this to your itinerary, Mr. Livingstone. I am sure you would have been anxious
to see it, anyway.
Let me explain to you why this section is a concrete wall, and not chain link fence. The reason is, as you will
see, the outskirts of Tulkarm borders the main north-south highway and, frequently, gunmen with high-powered
rifles shot at passing vehicles from the roofs of houses and from the minarets of the local mosques causing much
death and destruction to the drivers and passengers.
Now, people driving under the protective shadow of this section of the 'anti-terror barrier' continue their journey safe from attack.
Yes, I know that this barrier is ugly and expensive but if you could use your influential office to prevent Palestinians
from shooting at us, or blowing us up with their explosive belts, it will help us to eventually tear it down.
Would that you could perform a similar miracle and restore life and limb to the thousands of innocent Israelis who became
victims before the construction of this life saving barrier.

It's approaching midday and we should head to Tel Aviv along this highway. We will go to the Dolphinarium disco by the beach
to pay our respects to the twenty one teenagers blown up by yet another Palestinian terrorist.
Their crime, Mr. Livingstone, had nothing to do with occupying Palestinian land. Their only 'crime' was being at the wrong place
at the wrong time. They went out to have fun. And now they are dead
We will stop for lunch. A short stroll from this disco carnage is Mike's Place. It's a pleasant pub facing the sea. Relax with a beer and
a sandwich in the place that was blown up by two Muslims from your country. They were indoctrinated in one of your London mosques.
They made the one way trip from your City of London to Tel Aviv for the sole purpose of killing Jews.
They didn't perform their mission in the 'occupied territories'. They objected to Israeli presence on the beachfront of Tel Aviv.

Just around the corner from Mike's Place is the Stage night club, the scene of the latest carnage wrought by the murderers who
take encouragement in your hateful, inflammatory, rhetoric against Israel.
Your anti-Israeli slogans are not only wrong, they incite and encourage the murderers of my people.
The difference between Goebbels propaganda and your rhetoric is simply a matter or proportion.

Day two will take us to Beit Levenstein. I want you to see the miraculous work being done by our therapists in attempting to rehabilitate
the victims of Palestinian terror back into society.
You will also meet people the wounded victims of your venom. You may say that they are luckier than those who were killed. They would
not agree with you. They have to live with the trauma of the exploding glory that is your Palestinian homicide bomber, those praised by
your friend Qaradawi.
During the day they are taught to cope with their mangled bodies. At night they are given sedatives to cope with their mangled minds.
Like the survivors of the concentration camps, that you glibly joke about and insult, they must live with their private horror for the rest
of their lives.

We will head north to the port city of Haifa. On the way we will make a slight detour to Kibbutz Metzer. You should like the kibbutz way
of life. It reflects your socialist philosophy.
It was here that a Palestinian gunman broke into the small bungalow home of the Ohayon family. 34 year old Revital was home with her
two tiny children.
She tried to shelter her children from the Palestinian on a mission but was shot dead. The gunman approached to two little kids huddling
together in fear in their bed. He looked at five year old Matan and shot him. He then turned his gun on four year old Noam, now weeping
and sucking his pacifier, and shot him in the face.
Tell me, Mr. Livingstone. What are these little kids to you, or to any Palestinian who would find heroism or cause in their killing? Were
they your 'Zionist stooges' ? Were they your occupiers? Or were they simply, Israelis, Jews, that deserved death? Why are you not drawn
to defend these socialists, instead of sucking up to radical Muslim clerics?

And so, lunch of day two at the Maxim Restaurant in Haifa. Again, we are next to the beach. What can I do? Israelis are drawn to the outdoor
life, good food, sun, beaches, and the sea.
The Maxim restaurant is an interesting place. You will lunch with a mixture of Jews, Christians, Muslims. Coexistence is a given in Haifa.
Yes, this is yet another spot stricken by Palestinian terror. This time it was a woman homicide bomber. We can discuss the motivation of
women to Palestinian suicide attacks. Women in Palestinian society are subject to social stigmatisation and threats, honour killings, that
allow a few no option but to choose a death my 'martyrdom' rather than social murder.

Our third and final day must be spent in Jerusalem, the eternal capital and spiritual centre of the Jewish people.
Bus bombings, pizza parlour bombing, cafe bombings. Let's leave those aside and take you to our Knesset. Here you will see democracy in
action, as you will see nowhere else in the Middle East.
I am sure you will not want to meet Arik Sharon, our Prime Minister. You still consider him as a war criminal for Sabra and Shatilla in Lebanon.
Here we say when Christians kill Muslims you blame the Jew.
However, you will meet Communist Members of our Knesset (how many of those are there in your Parliament?), and also radical Arab representatives.

After an instructive tour of Jerusalem we will head to the airport.
This three day visit will take you to the centre, the heart of Israel. You will appreciate how small Israel really is.
Please note! None of the places on this itinerary are in what you call 'occupied territory'.
You will visit just a few places of Palestinian/Islamic terror that have taken the lives of innocent Israeli/Jewish/Christian lives. There were,
over twenty four thousand other attacks since September 2000.

Actually, Mr. Livingstone, when they tell you it is about 'occupied territory' I have to admit that they are telling you the truth.
From their perspective they want to occupy Netanya, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, all the places you will visit.

And you are their prominent advocate and influential spokesman.
That is why you desperately need this educational tour.

Barry Shaw
lnetre@matav.net.il

*Video Clip #497: London Mayor Ken Livingstone on MEMRI and
Sheik Al-Qaradhawi

An excerpt: "Almost all of these lies that distorted the sermons of Dr. Al-Qaradhawi originate from an organization called the Middle East Media Research Institute, which claims to be an objective research institute analyzing various Muslim scholars, from around the world. But what we discovered was that this institute is run by a former officer in the Israeli intelligence, the Mossad. And he systematically distorts the facts - not just what Dr. Al-Qaradhawi says but what many other Muslim scholars say. In most cases, the distortion is complete, and therefore I published this
dossier."

*Video Clip #495: Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: Islam Has No Problem with Judaism

An excerpt: "The Prophet Muhammad's attitude toward the Jews was of utmost generosity. The problem started because of the Jews. They were the ones who were treacherous and violated the pact. They even made an agreement with the raiders of Al-Madina, and attacked the Jews - I mean, attacked Al-Madina - with the Quraysh and Ghaftan tribes, and with the pagans. Unfortunately, the Jews supported them and deserted the Muslims at a time when they were most needed. The Jews wanted to take advantage of this opportunity in order to
annihilate the Muslims and totally eradicate them. Therefore, the problem with the Jews is not one of faith or religious laws. The problem is the covetous aspirations that have characterized their attitude since the days of the Prophet Muhammad..."