Appendix Q
 

Allotments of large amounts of money to Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, the “foreign minister” of the ultra-orthodox, virulently anti-Zionist Jewish sect known as Neturei Karta. Two extraordinary payments of $25,000 ( January 13, 2002) and $30,000 ( February 14, 2002), show that Arafat often gave payoffs to Hirsch.
  Arafat uses Rabbi Moshe Hirsch as a tool for propaganda
  Among the hundreds of documents (captured from the Muqata during Operation Defensive Shield) dealing with money allotted by Arafat, two were found which related to large sums paid to Rabbi Hirsch for “expenses for activities.” The payments in question, one after an other, were unusually large ($25,000 on January 13, 2002, and $30,000 on February 14, 2002) and may indicate that Arafat paid him monthly. It should be noted that the amounts are significantly larger than those given to other cronies, which varied between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars.
 

A meeting between Araf at and Rabbi Moshe Hirsch in Ramallah, December 17, 2001
  For several years Arafat has had regular meetings with Rabbi Hirsch, who is known as Neturei Karta’s “foreign minister.” For Arafat Hirsch serves as an indoctrination and propaganda tool which he uses to demonstrate the cooperation between Palestinians and ultra-Orthodox Jews who hold the same anti-Zionist world view. Thus his readiness to “invest” unusually large sums of money in him.
  In 1988, when the establishment of a Palestinian state was declared in Algeria, Palestinian sources stated that Moshe Hirsch would become a minister in the government in the future state. In a Palestinian Authority document dated 1995, Rabbi Hirsch was described as “the Minister of Jewish Affairs.” In a speech given by Arafat in the Ramallah-Al Bireh district on January 28, 2002, he noted the depth of the historical ties between all the Semitic religions and gave as an example the fact that Rabbi Moshe Hirsch was a member of the PLO’s National Palestinian Council.
  Document 1 – Translation
  A payment of $25,000 to Rabbi Moshe Hirsch authorized by Arafat ( January 13, 2002)
 

[Palestinian seal]

The Palestinian Liberation Organization

Office of the President

Ramallah

January 13, 2002

 Receipt

 I received the sum of $25,000 (twenty-five thousand dollars) exactly for expenses for the activities of Rabbi Hirsch. [“Expenses for activities” was added in Arafat’s own hand, following the example of other documents.] Done in accordance with the instructions of [our] brother the president and commander general.

Name and signature of the recipient

________________________________
[Written by Arafat:]
To be paid
[Signature of Arafat]
January 13, 2002

 
A payment of $25,000 to Rabbi Moshe Hirsch authorized by Arafat ( January 13, 2002)
 
Document 1 – Original
 
 
Document 2 – Translation
  A payment of $30,000 to Rabbi Moshe Hirsch authorized by Arafat ( February 14, 2002)
 

[Palestinian seal]

The Palestinian Liberation Organization
Office of the President
Ramallah
February 14, 2002

 Receipt

 I received the sum of $30,000 (thirty thousand dollars) exactly for expenses for the activities of Rabbi Hirsch. [The Rabbi’s name was written in by hand.]

Done in accordance with the instructions of [our] brother the president and commander general.

Name and signature of the recipient

________________________________
[Written by Arafat:]
To be paid
[Signature of Arafat]
February 14, 2002

 
A payment of $30,000 to Rabbi Moshe Hirsch authorized by Arafat ( February 14, 2002)
 
Document 2 -- Original
 
  Document 3 – Translation
  A note from Rabbi Moshe Hirsch addressed to “Abu ‘Amar, may he have a long and happy life, amen!” in which he requests a meeting and reminds Arafat of “something,” apparently a reference to the receipt of money1
 
1. The letter was among the documents captured in Operation Defensive Shield
 

The Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestinian National Authority
Office of the President

 To brother president Abu ‘Amar
(Salutations)

Attached: [A letter for] his honor from Rabbi Hirsch

In re: Request for a meeting with his honor

Contents :

[Rabbi Hirsch] congratulates his honor on [the anniversary of] the declaration of the founding of the independent state and [on] the month of Ramadan, and also requests a meeting with his honor.

[Regards]

Gaza , November 18, 2001

The administration for political affairs

[Handwritten note in margin:]
The brothers in public relations
The brothers in the ceremonies (department)
The brothers in security
To be taken care of accordingly
[Three names appear,
two which are illegible and]
Dr. Ramzi

Note : Enclosed within the attached letter was a note written by Rabbi Hirsch on November 15, 2001, addressed to “Abu ‘Amar, may he have a long and happy life, amen.” In it he congratulates Arafat and the Palestinian people on the first anniversary of the declaration of the Palestinian state and asks to meet with him at the earliest possible opportunity [which in fact took place on December 17, 2001, see the picture at the beginning of this posting]. He also mentions something about a messenger who brought him “something” from Arafat a short time before. It was apparently a reference to payments brought to him by messenger.

 
Document 3 – Original (Attached letter)
 
 
Document 4 – Original (Congratulatory note)
 
Arafat addressed as “Abu ‘Amar, may he have a long and happy life” in Rabbi Hirsch’s note.
 
 
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