The Israel Broadcasting Authority has finally consented to air a radio ad for Gush Katif's Human Chain - with one major change.
Though the commercial had been approved on all levels within the IBA, IBA Chief Yosef Bar'el suddenly nullified it earlier this week, explaining that it was a politically controversial ad. The decision was made upon "orders from higher up," according to Gush Katif spokesman Eran Sternberg. These orders are suspected to have been issued either by the Prime Minister's Office or that of Communications Minister Ehud Olmert.
The chain organizers took the case to the Supreme Court, which ordered the two sides to "find a compromise." It was understood that the compromise should be along the lines of the solution found for a commercial for the left-wing Geneva Agreement, which stipulated that facts could be mentioned, but no controversial "additions." The IBA Appeals Committee, which had also been consulted, proposed that the phrase "Jerusalem, heart of the nation" be stricken of its last four words and that the ad mention only "Jerusalem." This, then, became the agreed-upon compromise version of the commercial.
Asked what could possibly be "controversial" about calling Israel's capital "heart of the nation," Avital Hecht, head of the Appeals Committee, told Arutz-7 today that this was the agreement made with the full consent of the Human Chain organizers. The latter said that the only reason they agreed is because otherwise the ad would not have been permitted for broadcast.
Ms. Hecht implied that had the Gush Katif people not turned to the Supreme Court, the committee would have approved the ad in its original format. The Human Chain organizers, for their part, said that they originally turned only to the committee, "which told us that they would not even convene until it would be almost too late."
The Human Chain is planned for this Sunday afternoon, with an expected 100,000 people holding hands from northern Gaza to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. They will show their solidarity with nearly 8,000 Jews of Gush Katif, as well as some 500 in northern Shomron, whom Prime Minister Sharon is threatening with expulsion from their homes and lands.
It was learned today that the Foreign Ministry of Thailand sent a special delegation to Gush Katif to convince the dozens of Thais working there to leave the area "for their own safety" - but were rebuffed by the workers themselves. A Thai citizen working for the Jewish farmers in Gush Katif was killed in a Palestinian terror attack one month ago, but this has not deterred his compatriots. Only three of them agreed to leave, while the others say they like it in Gush Katif and want to continue working there.
Though the commercial had been approved on all levels within the IBA, IBA Chief Yosef Bar'el suddenly nullified it earlier this week, explaining that it was a politically controversial ad. The decision was made upon "orders from higher up," according to Gush Katif spokesman Eran Sternberg. These orders are suspected to have been issued either by the Prime Minister's Office or that of Communications Minister Ehud Olmert.
The chain organizers took the case to the Supreme Court, which ordered the two sides to "find a compromise." It was understood that the compromise should be along the lines of the solution found for a commercial for the left-wing Geneva Agreement, which stipulated that facts could be mentioned, but no controversial "additions." The IBA Appeals Committee, which had also been consulted, proposed that the phrase "Jerusalem, heart of the nation" be stricken of its last four words and that the ad mention only "Jerusalem." This, then, became the agreed-upon compromise version of the commercial.
Asked what could possibly be "controversial" about calling Israel's capital "heart of the nation," Avital Hecht, head of the Appeals Committee, told Arutz-7 today that this was the agreement made with the full consent of the Human Chain organizers. The latter said that the only reason they agreed is because otherwise the ad would not have been permitted for broadcast.
Ms. Hecht implied that had the Gush Katif people not turned to the Supreme Court, the committee would have approved the ad in its original format. The Human Chain organizers, for their part, said that they originally turned only to the committee, "which told us that they would not even convene until it would be almost too late."
The Human Chain is planned for this Sunday afternoon, with an expected 100,000 people holding hands from northern Gaza to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. They will show their solidarity with nearly 8,000 Jews of Gush Katif, as well as some 500 in northern Shomron, whom Prime Minister Sharon is threatening with expulsion from their homes and lands.
It was learned today that the Foreign Ministry of Thailand sent a special delegation to Gush Katif to convince the dozens of Thais working there to leave the area "for their own safety" - but were rebuffed by the workers themselves. A Thai citizen working for the Jewish farmers in Gush Katif was killed in a Palestinian terror attack one month ago, but this has not deterred his compatriots. Only three of them agreed to leave, while the others say they like it in Gush Katif and want to continue working there.