Clear Skies for Modiin: 2009

Evaluation of the various flight paths to continue at least until November

Yesterday, Thursday 10.9.09, a delegation of Clear Skies members met for a brief meeting with Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz who was visiting Modiin Municipality.

We submitted to Minister Katz 5,000 signatures of the city residents on the petition against the flights over Modiin and a letter detailing seven reasons why this flight path should not be implemented.

After the minister left the Modiin Municipality, we continued the meeting for another half an hour with the senior management of the Israel Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority. In this meeting we learned that the evaluation of the three flight paths is expected to continue at least until the month of November.

The heads of the aviation authorities reiterated their commitment to not approve nor publish any new flight path without coordinating in advance with Modiin Mayor Haim Bibas.

For details and photos of the above meetings as well as information on the test flights conducted this week over the city please visit our Hebrew Web site: http://planes.modiin.us

Minister of Transportation visit to Modiin this Thursday Sep 10th

This Thursday September 10th the minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz will visit Modiin to discuss with mayor Haim Bibas the various transportation issues of the city.

Minister Katz heeded the request of Mayor Bibas to allocate time at the end of their meeting in order to meet a delegation of Clear Skies members.

In addition we would like to arrange for a resident protest at the entrance to the Municipality, with signs that will convey the message that Modiin residents will not allow Modiin to be turned into an airport. The relevant time frame for the protest is currently 11:45am to 1pm. Clear Skies HQ will take care of all the relevant police permits.

If you can participate in the protest during the above time frame please email us at planes@modiin.us and state your mobile phone number. The protest will take place only if 20-30 people sign up for it by Tuesday night.

We are also planning to hang up on Wednesday night protest signs around the city in the path of minister Katz visit. If you can help us with hanging signs please email us at planes@modiin.us and state your mobile phone number.

Please follow our Hebrew Website for updates

Our dedicated translator Nili is away for several weeks and during this period English updates will not be posted here. If you are willing and able to volunteer to fill in for Nili and to help with translating Clear Skies updates to English please email us at planes@modiin.us.

Those who can read Hebrew are welcome to follow our Hebrew website, which includes the following recent updates:

Letter to the Prime Minister who visited Modi'in this week to open the school year, with emphasis on the impact of planes noise on children's learning abilities with quotes from relevant studies.
Per complaint filed by Clear Skies activist, the state comptroller will examine the decision making process re the flight path over Modiin.
Minister of Environment Protection Gilad Erdan responds in a letter to the Clear Skies HQ to the numerous Modiin residents appeals.

Clear Skies Hebrew Website: http://planes.modiin.us

THE CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY CONTINUES TO EXAMINE ALTERNATIVES – MEANWHILE THE STATUS QUO PREVAILS

The following update was issued by the Modiin Municipality spokesperson regarding the meeting that took place Wednesday between Modiin Mayor Chaim Bibas and the CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority, Giyora Rom:

The mayor of Modiin, Chaim Bibas and his deputy Chanan Bernshtein, met with Giyora Rom, the CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority, last Wednesday. This was yet another meeting between the sides, as part of the struggle to change the proposed flight path over Modiin.

At this meeting Giyora Rom said that the alternatives that the city has proposed are being reviewed in simulation equipment by Continental Airlines, in the USA. The Americans had several questions and needed further clarification regarding some of the proposed landing paths presented to them by the Civil Aviation Authority, and an answer is expected within the next few weeks, as to whether these proposals are viable alternatives.

The alternatives include a number of options proposed by the Modiin municipality and the Civil Aviation Authority that would divert the flight paths to unpopulated areas of the city or change the altitude of the landing planes in a way that would limit the impact to the quality of life of the residents of Modiin.

It should be noted that the Modiin municipality hired Israeli as well as international aviation experts who are working with the Civil Aviation Authority with the goal of finding alternatives to the landing path originally proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Mayor Bibas demanded that in either case, after the results of the simulation are determined, that real test flights be conducted in order for the alternatives to be tested by pilots in coordination with representatives of the Civil Aviation Authority that will come to Modiin in order to see the impact.

Rom has promised the representatives of Modiin that they will kept up to date at every stage and development in the process, in the spirit of real cooperation between the parties, in order to try and resolve the issue. Rom assured that a situation in which the new flight paths will go into effect without the representatives of Modiin being informed about it will not happen.

The Modiin Municipality emphasized that the meeting was a positive one and in an atmosphere of real cooperation between the parties. It seems that as a result of the tenacious confrontation of the Irya and the citizens of Modiin, that the representatives of the Civil Aviation Authority have realized that they cannot ignore and disregard the city of Modiin and its residents.

These update meetings and examining of the alternatives will continue over the next few weeks. On September 10th, the Minister of Transportation, Yisrael Katz, who is the overseer of both the Civil Aviation Authority and the Israeli Airport Authority, is expected to visit Modiin.

The bottom line is that the Civil Aviation Authority is continuing to examine the alternatives for the landing paths in order to minimize the negative impact on the residents of Modiin. During this exploratory period the status quo will prevail and no flights will fly over the city and no new paths will be approved without coordination with the Modiin Municipality.

We thank the 460 residents of Modiin-Macabim-Reut who flooded the decision makers both in the offices of the aviation authorities and in the government offices in Jerusalem, with emails, and faxes expressing their strong opposition to the flight path that was proposed by the Israel Airport Authority, who reminded the powers that be, that behind the Mayor of Modiin stands a large and determined public that will not allow Modiin to be turned into an airport.

Our impression is that the public and political pressure has had an effect and that the aviation authorities and the Minister of Transportation are now making an earnest effort to find an alternate solution for the decent path for runway #30. We expect the Civil Aviation Authority to continue to fully examine all alternatives and to leave no stone unturned until they find the proper alternative for the descending flight paths which will not impact negatively on the quality of life and safety of the citizens of Modiin.

We will continue to follow up and keep you updated of the developments.

Together We'll Stop the Foolish idea to turn Modiin into an Airport!

This coming Wednesday, August 12th, Mayor Haim Bibas is scheduled to meet Giora Rom, the CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority. Rom is expected to update Mayor Bibas on the status of the evaluation of the alternative landing paths for runway 30.

We ask the Modiin-Maccabim-Reut public to bombard the decision makers with emails in order to remind the decision makers in the Government offices in Jerusalem and in the Aviation Authorities that behind Mayor Bibas stands a large and resolute public of Modiiin-Maccabim-Reut who will not allow to turn Modiin into an Airport!

Method: Overflowing the decision makers via emails & faxes today Monday August 10th and tomorrow Tuesday August 11th.

Each of us will forward on this message to fellow residents and call them to do the same.

Operational Instructions:

1. Send Email to Decision Makers

a. Create the header and recipients

1) Outlook users:

Click here to create an email automatically populated with the recipients and header (seven email addresses of the national media are cc'd on the above email).

2) Gmail, Walla, Hotmail and other webmail users:

Compose an email and copy-paste the following recipients and header (or compose your own header as you please):

Recipient list:

sar@sviva.gov.il; sar@mot.gov.il; yiskatz@knesset.gov.il; pniot@sviva.gov.il; KobiMo@iaa.gov.il; gerdan@knesset.gov.il; lplanes@modiin.us; ganoty@mot.gov.il; yanivb@moin.gov.il; shamayas@moin.gov.il; eyishay@knesset.gov.il; news@y-i.co.il; letters@haaretz.co.il; cotvim@maariv.co.il; letters@yedioth.co.il; letters@themarker.com; editor@globes.co.il; hayom@israelhayom.co.il

[The last seven email addresses above belong to the national media].

Proposed header: Stop the Foolish idea to turn Modiin into an Airport!

b. Fill the email body, Sign it and click Send

Write a few words in the email body or copy into it the following sample text, sign it with your name and address, and click send.

Sample email body text:

TO:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Eli Yishay
Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz
Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan
General Manager of the Ministry of Transportation Yaakov Ganot
General Manager of Civil Aviation Authority Giora Rom
General Manager of Israel Airport Authority Kobi Mor
Manager of the Population Administration Shamay Asif

Dear Sirs,

I vehemently oppose the intention of the aviation authorities to convert Modiin-Maccabim-Reut into part of Ben Gurion Airport and to bring planes down, in their landing path, at a height of 300 meters above our heads, every 10 minutes in the afternoon hours.

With this plan you will impose on us and our children unacceptable and untenable hardships of noise and air pollution. But most of all a life threatening danger, every 10 minutes in the event of human or mechanical failure that might cause a crash into one of our tall buildings, which are built on hills, and cause an unfathomable human catastrophe.

We chose to live in Modiin as a quiet and green city and a good place to raise our children. In order to achieve this we took on upon ourselves longer commutes to our places of employment. If we were interested in living in one of the existing residential communities surrounding Ben Gurion airport , we would have chosen to do so.

It is unacceptable that the residents of Modiin-Macabim-Reut should be expected to pay the price due to the failure and omissions of the aviation planning authorities for the past years upon years to address flight safety issues. This is an outright arbitrary maltreatment by the authorities, of the citizens.

The city of Modiin is a national project of the Government of Israel, and it will be the height of stupidity on behalf of the Government of Israel to invest a huge fortune in developing this city and attracting to it 73,000 residents from all over the country as well as from abroad, only to strike it a severe blow, by offhandedly turning it into an Airport.

We demand implementing one of the alternative landing paths that pass over the uninhabited areas of the city or its surroundings, rather than directly over the populated area as proposed by the IAA.

Two weeks ago we set out in our masses via a long car convoy and demonstrated with our children in front of the IAA offices in Ben Gurion Airport. We conducted ourselves in exemplary orderly fashion. We did not throw stones nor dirty diapers, we did not burn trash cans nor did we insult the dedicated police officers who keep the law and order. We are law abiding citizens who contribute to the economy, pay out taxes, serve in the IDF in regular and reserve capacity, and the recruitment rates of our children are amongst the highest in the country.

We are law abiding citizens, but we are also very determined to preserve the green and serene nature of our lovely city, which we resurrected by our sweat in the middle of nowhere. If necessary we will come in our masses to demonstrate in front of the government offices in Jerusalem or in the Supreme Court of Justice .

Justice, justice shall ye seek - and we shall do so decisively and forcefully until wisdom returns to dwell in Jerusalem.

Sincerely,

Name
Address

2. Send Fax to Decision Makers

Print the mail you just sent and fax it to the following numbers:

Minister of Transportation: 02-6663004
Minister of Environmental Protection : 02-6535958
Minister of the Interior: 02-5666376
General Manager of Civil Aviation Authority : 03-9774599
General Manager of Israel Airport Authority : 03-9712436

You can fax all five numbers at once free via the internet on the FreeFax website. Copy paste the email you sent into MS-Word, save it as a document and upload it to the FreeFax website.

3. Forward this message to your mailing lists

Forward this message via email to all the city residents in your mailing lists - school, kindergarten, synagogue, etc.

_________________________________________________

We will post updates on the Hebrew campaign web site throughout today and tomorrow as to the number of mails sent by the residents (one of the email addresses belongs to our campaign and we will use it to monitor the progress).

The Hebrew version of this message is available here.

קראו כאן את הגרסה העברית של הודעה זו

UPDATES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR CLEAR SKIES OVER MODIIN

In this update you will find:

Status of the evaluation of the alternative landing paths

Asking for the public's help in widening the number of signatures on the Clear Skies petition

Wanted: residents with contacts in the national media

Senior manager in the Israeli Aviation Industry: "A major aviation disaster in Israel is only a matter of time"

Status of the evaluation of the alternative landing paths

The airport authorities are currently evaluating alternative landing paths and that is the reason for the trial flights which are taking place in our area, these days. The Minister of Transportation has instructed the general manager of the Civil Aviation Authority, Giora Rom, to refrain from publishing and implementing the new flight path over Modiin, the same flight path that per our meeting with Giora Rom was supposed to be approved a few weeks ago.

It seems that the pressure that the public has exerted on the aviation authorities, with our demonstrations, and the ceaseless political pressure that is being exerted on the decision makers in Jerusalem by our mayor, is having an effect, at least for now.

On August 12, 2009, our mayor Haim Bibas is scheduled to meet with Giora Rom, at which time he is to receive answers regarding the alternatives that are being examined including the Irya’s suggested alternative which was done in a simulator by the FAA in the USA. This meeting will take place several days after the 60 days timeout issued by the Supreme court will expire (August 9, 2009).

We will be planning our next steps based on the results of the meeting that the mayor will have with Giora Rom. In the event that the aviation authorities will inform us that they have rejected the various alternatives that have been proposed, we will be forced to intensify our campaign in order to avoid the implementation of the new flight paths.

Campaign “knock on the door”

We are appealing for your help in the coming days in order to greatly expand the number of signatories to the petition “clear skies for Modiin”. To this date approximately 5,000 out of approximately 35,000 adult residents have signed the petition. Signing the petition with a valid email address enables residents to receive our updates on new developments and various campaign activities. Additionally we are preparing to submit the petition to the Minister of Transportation. With that in mind we need many, many, more signatures.

What we are now asking each one of you is to knock on your neighbors’ doors and and get additional signatures. We are asking each one of you to commit to signing at least five more of your neighbors to sign the petition.

You are invited to copy-paste the English text here and to email it to your contacts in Modiin-Maccabim-Reut (neighbors, friends, members in your shul, parents in your kids' class/kindergarten), while personally emphasizing to them the importance of signing the petition. Similar text in Hebrew is available here.

You can also print up the petition and hang it in the elevators of your buildings, in the staircases, parking garage, possibly at your doctors’ offices, at restaurants that you frequent, or any business establishment where you are a customer. Remove the signed page after a week or so and forward the signatures to us in the following manner:

We ask you to enter the signature data you collected to the excel spreadsheet you can download here, and to email the filled spreadsheet together with the scanned signature page to planes@modiin.us. If you do not have Excel or a scanner you can simply fax the signature page to 073-2406874.

If each one of us will take it upon ourselves to do this, we have a good chance of getting a much greater representation of Modiin residents on the petition.

Wanted: Residents with connections to the National Media

We received national media coverage of our protest convoy to the airport by channels such as Galei Zahal, Reshet Bet, Arutz 1, Maariv newspaper, and its internet site NRG, Hot Local News, IBA English news and Globes. However some of the national media ignored our protest rally claiming that it is a local struggle and not of national interest. From our experience we have found that it is very helpful if you know someone at a TV station, radio station or newspaper that can connect us to the right people in order to get our message publicized. If anyone has any connections whatsoever in any of the above mentioned media formats, please contact us at planes@modiin.us.

A major Aviation disaster in Israel is only a matter of time

From a myriad of press reports it is understood that the chaos which exists in the civil aviation in Israel continues to exist and expand. Two planes almost had a fatal collision without the control towers noticing it and alerting the pilots. In another instance a passenger plane belonging to the Turkish airline Sky, with 180 passengers on board, approached the ground in a dangerous manner during its landing at Ben Gurion Airport. The state auditor (Mevaker Ha'medina) is about to publicize a first of its kind report regarding the dangerous conditions existing in the Israeli civil aviation. A senior official at the aviation industry has declared that a major aviation disaster in Israel is bound to happen and is only a matter of time. For more details see here.

We are not waiting for the disaster to happen and we are not waiting for the pulic inquiry committee to be appointed.

We, the citizens of Modiin-Macabim-Reut, cannot and will not allow this chaos of the civil aviation to take place 300 meters above our heads and the heads of our children!

1,000 Modiin Protestors Send a Powerful Message

Three hundred and fifty (350) cars (!!!) - we counted them one by one and that's also the official police data - and an estimated 1,000 Modiin residents (!!!) protested yesterday (Friday) via a car convoy and demonstration in front of the Israeli Aircraft Authorities in Ben Gurion, to express their outrage against the IAA intent to turn Modiin into an Airport.

The car convoy stretched for several kilometers along route 443 and highway 1 and blocked for a period of time the entrance to Ben Gurion Airport.

It was heartwarming to see the impressive turnout by Modiin residents (unprecedented in Modiin history) who conducted themselves patiently and orderly in the long convoy to the Airport which lasted over an hour, and stood in the sun and heat in front of the IAA offices, to express their protest, along with their children who received an important lesson in Democracy.

Credit for most photos: Eli Gal

A public in a democracy has power, and what differentiates between cities that are trampled on and between cities whose needs are brought into account is the mobilization of the public and its ability to express forcefulness and resolve.

The public of Modiin-Maccabim-Reut sent a clear message yesterday to the decision makers in Israel that we are not going to quietly accept the arbitrary decision of the Aviation Authorities, and that we will mobilize to fight this in any way available us, making the Modiin public a force to be reckoned with.

The change in tune by the IAA CEO Kobi Mor who spoke to the demonstrators was evident.

A complicated battle still lies ahead, and we are likely to need similar protests in the upcoming weeks. We are hopeful that the Modiin public will have the wisdom to mobilize to the future protests in similar masses.

The following excellent video coverage of the protest by the GO443 shows the heart and spirit of the Modiin residents:
http://www.go443.co.il/Go443/Video/Video.asp?ID=327#

Links to more media coverage and photo album of the protest are available on our Hebrew website: http://planes.modiin.us

Kudos to all the Modiin-Maccabim-Residents residents who took part in the rally yesterday and made it into the impressive event that it was!

Chaos in Aviation - Not over our Children's Heads!

Dear residents of Modiin-Macabim-Reut,

Last week, I along with other members of the Clear Skies campaign committee, met with the General Manager of the Civil Aviation Association, Giora Rom. On his desk were two eye opening signs that read “The chaos in aviation is over”.

Giora Rom was appointed to his position after the Lapidot comission turned in its findings regarding the serious safety failures of the aviation industry for the past many years which make the failures of the second Lebanon War pale in comparison.

Unfortunately the chaos in the Israeli civil aviation authorities is still going strong! Only last month, we read in an article in “Haaretz” that as a result of lack of supervision and management by the airport administration a corn field was allowed to grow wild and caused a mishap in the automatic mechanized descent of two planes which flew low over a dangerous mountainous area and only the pilots’ alertness saved the planes from crashing.

This same mechanized system is what the airport authorities want to put into action to land jets every 10 minutes during the afternoon hours at a height of 300 meters above the heads of the residents of Modiin.

How can we entrust those who cannot even supervise the maintenance of his facilities, with landing 747 aircraft at a low altitude above the heads of our children and hold us hostage to any mechanical mishap or human error?

The Minister of Transportation has remained silent, as well as the Minister for the Protection of the Environment.

The lives of the residents of Or Yehuda have become pure hell, as a result of the takeoff pathway going right over their heads. This will also be our fate if we sit by and keep silent and not protest and generate a loud public outcry that will create shock waves all the way to Jerusalem.

Tomorrow, Friday July 24^th, 2009 at 9:30 AM we are all gathering at the parking lot opposite the Iriya, and we drive together to Ben Gurion airport in one long convoy of protest led by our mayor Haim Bibas and the members of the city council, in order to send a clear and precise message to the ministers of the Israeli government:

We will not agree to turn Modiin-Macabim-Reut into part of Ben Gurion Airport!

We will not allow the chaos and irresponsibility of the aviation authorities to celebrate above our children’s heads!

Sincerely,

Yaki Beja
Spokesperson for Clear Skies for Modiin

Please register for the convoy by emailing planes@modiin.us and state your cell phone number so we can keep you posted on last minute updates.

PROTEST CONVOY TO BEN GURION AIRPORT ON FRIDAY LED BY THE MAYOR

The protest convoy will take place this coming Friday July 24th. We will gather at the parking lot across from the Iriya at 9:30 AM and will leave for the airport at 10:00 AM sharp, via route 443 to route 1. The convoy is with the police approval and escort. Mayor Haim Bibas will lead this convoy.

Please register for the convoy by emailing planes@modiin.us and state your cell phone number so we can keep you posted on last minute updates.

In a meeting last week with Giyora Rom, the chief operations manager of the Civil Aviation Administration, he stated clearly that he will be approving within a few days the new landing path over Modiin (see details here). Thus we are intensifying our struggle and are launching a FIERCE PROTEST CONVOY of civilian vehicles, from Modiin to Ben Gurion airport. Police permits have been secured, and there will be a police escort.

The convoy will leave Modiin via the Shilat junction onto Route 443 into route 1 and straight into the airport and will conclude with a demonstration across from the offices of the Civil Aviation Administration at the airport. It is imperative that this demonstration be forceful and we expect that the residents of Modiin will come out in full force to express their rejection of the authority’s intention of converting Modiin to a part of Ben Gurion airport.

We demand from the Minister of Transportation to implement the recommendations of the economics committee of the Knesset to establish a committee of independent experts that will examine the alternatives for the proposed landing paths and it’s negative repercussions for Modiin-Macabim-Reut and its residents.

It is incomprehensible that the entire procedure of implementing new decisions by the government rests entirely on the recommendation of one planner at the Israeli Airport Authority who is determined to convert Modiin to be part of Ben Gurion Airport and who categorically rejects every other proposed alternative.

Yesterday we unveiled the details of the trial flights that were performed above the city as well as additional information that casts grave doubts about the credibility of the information presented by the airport authorities to the Knesset Members (see details here).

Meeting with Mayor Haim Bibas

The Clear Skies activists met with Mayor Haim Bibas on Monday night. The mayor reinforced the activists' resolve and outlined his ongoing discussions and negotiations with the various authorities and government offices. He promised anticipated interesting developments in the near future. Mayor Haim Bibas will lead the protest convoy to the airport and he has sent a letter to the members of the city council urging them to personally join this convoy and to recruit other residents to the cause.

The following is an excerpt from Haim Bibas's letter - please see this as a personal request from mayor Bibas to each and every one of you:

"We are arriving at the critical decisive moments of this long campaign that has taken place during the past few months. The public’s outcry of protest is a crucial and an influential ingredient in this campaign and therefore each person’s participation is of great significance for all of us."

WE ARE CALLING UPON EVERY RESIDENT OF MODIIN-MACABIM-REUT TO TURN OUT IN GREAT NUMBERS FOR THIS PROTEST CONVOY TO THE AIRPORT ON FRIDAY JULY 24TH, 9:30 IN FRONT OF THE IRIYA.

Please help us spread the importance of this action to all of the town’s residents

The campaign has printed up thousand of flyers regarding this protest convoy and we need your help in distributing them. They need to be distributed at shopping centers around town, the train station, at synagogues, restaurants, etc. Please give of your limited time by volunteering to pass out these flyers. Call Orli at 052-8555019 to volunteer and receive the flyers. You can also post a flyer in the staircase, elevator, storage area, parking area of your buildings.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACTS LIST AND EMPHASIZE TO THEM THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE OF EVERYONE’S PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROTEST CONVOY SO AS TO CONVEY A POWERFUL MESSAGE TO THE DECISION MAKERS IN JERUSALEM.

SEE YOU AT 9:30 am THIS COMING FRIDAY IN THE PARKING LOT ACROSS FROM THE IRIYA!

The Civil Aviation Authority is about to approve the landing path over Modiin

The leaders of Clear Skies Over Modiin met at the end of last week with Giora Rom who heads the Civil Aviation Authority. In this meeting there was a fruitful dialogue of a positive nature, however, the meeting demonstrated that there were no results yet from the simulation of the municipality proposed alternative, and there has been no advancement in exploring the alternatives to the route that goes right by the separation fence.

Giora Rom did not address the fears of the residents regarding a possible accident that could occur at a very low altitude above the homes of the town’s residents. He determined that there is no danger to security in the proposed landing approach, despite the fact that only several hours prior to this meeting a plane which crashed in Iran and all 150 passengers on board perished, and a similar catastrophe happened less than a month ago in Yemen.

Giora Rom made it clear that he intends to authorize in the next few days the proposed new landing path which will bring the planes in right over Modiin, and to publicize them to all the international carriers. This is the final stage before the new landing path goes into operation. This is despite the fact that the civil aviation authority has not yet properly checked out the alternatives that they committed to examine when they met with the mayor of Modiin on June 21st.

The following is the Clear Skies response to this meeting:

We thank Giyora Rom and the civil aviation administration for agreeing to meet with us, listen to our concerns and laid out for us the constraints that they face. This is in sharp contrast to the Minister of Transportation, Yisrael Katz, who disregards our requests for a meeting despite the fact that he is an elected public official.

We expect the aviation planning authorities in the Ministry of Transportation to exhaust all possibilities and alternatives, and to leave no stone unturned before they decide arbitrarily to land planes, passing over Modiin at very low altitudes. We demand the authorities not to set facts on the ground and not to authorize or publicize the landing paths that the Israeli Airport Authority has proposed until after all the alternatives are thoroughly checked out.

We chose to build our homes in Modiin because it is a green and calm city. Because of our desire to live in this type of atmosphere we are willing to accept long commutes to our places of employment. If we were willing to live in a community adjacent to the airport , we would have done so. It is unacceptable that the residents of Modiin-Macabim-Reut should have to pay the price for the negligence of the Aviation and Planning Authorites of the Transportation Authority for the past many years, as was described in the Lapidot report.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Please help with the campaign. Even an hour of your time can be productive. To volunteer call Orli at 052-8555019 or Sharon 054-6474026 or send an email to planes@modiin.us More volunteers are needed. Even if you can only give an hour, we can use your help, to sign up people to the petition, hand out flyers at the train station or in shopping centers, sign up people for the car convoy next Friday July 24th. All cars will meet at the parking lot accross from the Irya at 9:30 AM and will leave at 10:00 AM sharp via Shilat junction onto 443 to Route 1 into Ben Gurion airport. If we are not successful with this campaign we will all pay the price so lets all come together for this most important cause.

LEAFLETS TO BE PRINTED UP

By following this link http://groups.google.com/group/eplanesmodiin/files?hl=en
you can get to two leaflets written in English and Hebrew that can be printed up on a regular home printer. If everyone is willing to print up as many of these leaflets as possible and put them into the mailboxes in your building/neighborhood, and ask others to do the same, we will have an opportunity to reach many more people. It is essential that we get many many more signatures onto the petition. We are running out of time and must do our very best to reach more people.

Thank you, in advance to all who have answered and will answer the call.

Clear Skies Updates

Summary of Operation Clear Skies

The residents of Modiin, Macabim,Reut answered the call of the steering committee for clear skies over Modiin and flooded the offices of the government and the aviation authorities with incensed emails, in which they expressed their opposition and outrage at turning Modiin into part of Ben Gurion airport. During the two days of this campaign, 665 emails were sent out to people with decision making capabilities.

We thank those who rose up to the challenge and answered our call to action. Democracy is defined by power of the public, and we will use all means available to us in order to convey our message to the decision makers that the residents of Modiin, Macabim, Reut will wage a fierce battle against turning our city into part of the airport.

Our city’s residents chose to settle in this city and raise their children in a quiet and green city. In order to do so Modiin’s residents are willing to put up with long commutes to their places of employment. Had we wanted to live in one of the communities immediately surrounding the airport we would have done so.

It is unacceptable that the residents of Modiin, Macabim, Reut, and our children will be required to pay the price for the lack of planning of the aviation authorities for the past many years. We will continue our struggle of opposition and will intensify it, if it becomes necessary, until we succeed in reversing the proposed new flight paths.

The car convoy protest from Modiin to Ben Gurion Airport rescheduled to July 24, 2009

We are happy to report that the public has expressed an interest in this action and as of Tuesday morning 51 cars have signed up for this protest. In order to accommodate as many as possible we pushed the convoy date by a week to Friday July 24th. We will meet at the parking lot opposite the Modiin Municipality at 9:30 AM, mark the vehicles and will leave Modiin at 10:00 as an organized convoy via the Shilat junction to route 443 and onto route 1 straight into Ben Gurion Airport.

The steering committee is calling upon all residents of Modiin to support the campaign and join this convoy in full force. Please register by email at planes@modiin.us

Reach out to new residents to Sign our Petition

The steering committee is calling upon all those who have not yet signed the petition, to please do so. Click here for the English translation of the Clear Skies Hebrew petition. Currently there are 4,378 signatures, and we should be able to reach to many more residents. Time is running out. We aim to submit the petition to the Minister of Transportation within a very short time. We call upon every adult resident of Modiin-Macabim-Reut to sign the petition.

Campaign actions this week to educate and alert the public:

Tuesday July 14,2009 An activists convoy within the city. We will gather at 7:15PM at the lot across from the Iriya. They convoy will exit the lot at 7:30 PM via the following route: Emek Ha-ela, Yechezkiel Hanavi, Emek Beit Shean, Emek Zvulun, Azrielli, Emek Hachula, Reut commercial center. The convoy will use a sound system to announce and explain the campaign issues.

Wednesday July 15,2009 There will be a booth at the balloon festival that will be taking place at the end of Emek Ayalon at the park behind Modiin Center. 6:00 PM-9:00PM

Thursday July 16,2009 A stand for explanation and clarification of the issues will be set up at the Emek Zevulum commercial center where the children’s activities are from 6:00-9:00 PM

Friday July 17,2009 An all day protest vigil starting at 10:00 AM including a booth for explanation and clarification of the issues will take place outside the Azrielli Mall

Please join us for any and all of the above activities. There is strength in numbers and every voice makes a difference.

We need your help to organize the above actions – to volunteer please email planes@modiin.us .

Operation Clear Skies is Underway

Purpose: Overflowing the decision makers in the Israeli Government and the Aviation Authorities with the objections of Modiin-Maccabim-Reut residents to their plan to turn Modiin into Ben Gurion Airport.

Method: Overflowing the decision makers via mail, fax & phone today Sunday July 12th and tomorrow Monday July 13th.

Each of us will forward on this message to fellow residents and call them to do the same.

Operational Instructions:

1. Send Email to Decision Makers

a. Create the header and recipients

1) Outlook users:

Click here to create an email automatically populated with the recipients and header.

2) Gmail, Walla, Hotmail and other webmail users:

Compose an email and copy-paste the following recipients and header (or compose your own header as you please):

Recipient list:

sar@mot.gov.il; yiskatz@knesset.gov.il; pniot@sviva.gov.il; pmo.heb@it.pmo.gov.il; KobiMo@iaa.gov.il; gerdan@knesset.gov.il; lplanes@modiin.us; bnetanyahu@knesset.gov.il

Proposed header: We will not allow Modiin to be turned into an airport!

b. Fill the email body, Sign it and click Send

Write a few words in the email body or copy into it the following sample text, sign it with your name and address, and click send.

Sample email body text:

TO:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz
Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan
General Manager of Civil Aviation Authority Giora Rom
General Manager of Israel Airport Authority Kobi Mor

Dear Sirs,

We demand the implementation of the recommendation issued by the Knesset Economic Committee to establish a committee of independent experts that will examine the alternative landing paths while taking into consideration the impact on the safety and quality of life of the residents of Modiin-Macabim-Reut.

Sincerely

Name
Address

2. Send Fax to Decision Makers

Print the mail you just sent and fax it to the following numbers:

Minister of Transportation: 02-6663004
Minister of Environmental Protection : 02-6535958
Prime Minister Office: 02-5664838
General Manager of Civil Aviation Authority : 03-9774599
General Manager of Israel Airport Authority : 03-9712436

3. Call the Offices of the Decision Makers

Call the following phone numbers and ask to leave a brief message expressing strong objection to turning Modiin into an airport:

Minister of Transportation: 02-6663005
Minister of Environmental Protection : 02-6553701/2
Prime Minister Office: 02-6705555
General Manager of Israel Airport Authority : 03-750000

4. Forward this message to your mailing lists

Forward this message via email to all the city residents in your mailing lists - school, kindergarten, synagogue, etc.

5. Get your neighbors to act too

Print this message in several copies, knock on your neighbors doors, hand them a copy and ask them to visit our website today and join the campaign: http://planes.modiin.us

_________________________________________________

We ask the residents to cease fire on Tuesday, and we will act to leverage the operation results for a media effect. Afterwards we will assess the situation and we may ask the residents several days later to overflow again the decision makers.

Register for our protest convoy!

On Friday morning July 24th we are organizing a convoy of cars from Modiin to Ben Gurion Airport to join the proposed landing paths. We will convene at 10:30AM in the parking lot in front of the Municipality and embark together on our journey to Ben Gurion Airport at 11:00AM.

If you are able to attend the convoy please email your name and mobile phone number to planes@modiin.us so we can update you on the exact time and place.

The Hebrew version of this message is available here.

קראו כאן את הגרסה העברית של הודעה זו

Don't let Modiin become Ben Gurion Airport!

From the facts that we have gathered a very dire picture of the consequences of the planned landing route for Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut and its residents:

The Airport Authority provided data that indicates that 190 planes will land each week (150 flights on weekdays and 40 on Friday night-Saturday) between the hours of 13:00 to 18:00. The implications: Every 10 minutes a low-flying plane will fly over on a weekday, and on Shabbat there will be one every 15 minutes.

Each year the volume of incoming traffic increases by 5-10%. If so, in five years, an incoming plane will fly over the city every 6 minutes on weekdays, and every 9 minutes on Shabbat.

These are not the planes flying at great heights (as the present night flights to the east), but rather part of the last leg of the landing which means decreasing altitude to only 300-400 meters above residents' homes.

The Airport Authority confirms that these flights will cause significant noise to the city residents. Air pollution in the city is also expected to get worse.

The danger to security is even more serious – any technical difficulty or human error at this low level of flight above densely populated areas could cause a terrible tragedy.

The Lapidot report presented a year and a half ago evidenced faults in systems and serious failures by the airport authorities and planners in the Ministry of Transportation over many years. They never succeeded in internalizing the need to upgrade the airway aspect of B.G., and are now attempting to do this in a haphazard manner to the detriment of the residents of Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut.

According to Ha'aretz newspaper (June 24, 2009), the Airport Authority also demonstrated negligence in operating the computerized landing system (similar to the one they are now trying to operate over Modiin), and several weeks ago the system sent the wrong instructions to airplanes which might have crashed if not for the alertness of the pilots. The findings of the investigation showed that the backup system did not discover the problem and did not warn of the error in real time because there were no procedures relating to a dangerous situation of this kind. In addition, in the wake of the fact that the Airport Authority was negligent in inspecting the clean-up of the area of the runway, high and thick vegetation in the area of the navigational support apparatus at B.G. interfered with the signal ray that is used by passenger airplanes in descending for landing.

In the Airport Authority's response to this serious incident, it related to it as a 'minor problem'. If this is the way the Authority operates, how can it be depended on to direct planes flying low over the city's densely populated neighborhoods?

In our opinion, the Israeli Airport Authority's operation has been scandalous and irresponsible during this entire period, and was characterized by hidden action behind the back of the Modiin municipality, dismissing the alternatives proposed without examining them properly. In the light of the scandalous operation of the Airport Authority and the serious determinations of the Lapidot Report regarding the failings of the Aviation Planning Authorities and the the inability of the Civil Aviation Authority (the regulator) to fulfill its tasks, we have lost faith in the decision-making processes of these authorities.

It is also important to emphasize that the Israeli Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority relate to the alternatives with only the safety of the flight in mind; they do not relate to the consequences of the flight descent paths on the residents on the ground.

We demand that two alternatives be examined: The alternative proposed by an expert hired by the municipality of Modiin to begin the descent arc a kilometer earlier, above the unpopulated area of the city (and Ligad Center). The second alternative is to examine solutions with the Defense Department for an optimally secure air lane a kilometer close to the separation fence.

Members of the Knesset economics committee who participated in the discussion arrived at the conclusion that the process has not been proper and does not deserve the public's confidence, and the committee recommended the establishment of an independent committee of experts that would take into account all the various factors in determining the alternatives for the landing lane, including the implications of the alternatives for the residents of Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut.

We demand that the government of Israel implement the recommendation of the Knesset economics committee to establish an independent committee of experts to examine these alternatives, and call upon the residents of Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut to awaken from their apathy, to understand the consequences of what is about to happen above our heads and to join the struggle.

Your joining the struggle is essential for its success in protecting our homes – please join the team and let us know how you can help.

Headquarters of the residents' struggle for clear skies in Modiin-Maccabbeam-Reut:

Cellphone: 054-6474026

Email: planes@modiin.us

Website: http://planes.modiin.us

English Website: http://eplanes.modiin.us

Sign the Clear Skies Petition!

Please sign the Clear Skies Hebrew petition (Click here). The following is a translation of the petition text:

We the residents of Modiin-Macabim-Reut, are vehemently opposed to the new planned changes in the landing paths for Ben Gurion airport which will result in the planes passing at a very low altitude over our city's airspace. This proposed change will have a definite negative effect on the health and security to the citizens of our city, in addition to a negative impact on air pollution and the quality of the area. This plan will immediately cause noise pollution and will damage our quality of life. The plan, which calls for multiple flights per day, passing over our roofs at a very low altitude will negatively impact our quality of life and our children's calm existence and therefore destroy the attractiveness and special character of our city. It will put an end to the development plans for the city and cause a sharp decline in Real Estate values, thereby causing great financial damage to every resident in Modiin-Macabim-Reut.

Haim Bibas, our mayor, and his administration decided to act in a most aggressive manner against the proposed changes and have joined forces with the citizens' struggle against the office of transportation. This petition is meant to represent all the city's residents. We reserve the right to fight by any legal means in order to protect the quality of our lives and preserve the value of our real estate. We intend to not allow Modiin, Macabim and Reut to become Israel's neglected back yard.

We are herewith launching a citizen's campaign to collectively express our adamant objection and rejection to having planes flying over our heads at very low altitudes on their landing approach to Ben Gurion Airport.

In order to sign the petition you have to enter:

your name, first and last (in English or Hebrew) on line 1

your city of residence on line 2

your email address on line 3

your phone number on line 4

your cell number on line 5

Then you click on the word CHATIMA which means signature and is printed in red and outlined in red. This is what actually saves your signature onto the petition.

CLICK HERE to sign the petition.

Sign up for Clear Skies for Modiin

The Israeli supreme court announced on June 10th that it will not intervene in the process of determining the landing path to Ben Gurion Airport, that will be flying low over Modiin's residential areas for all parts of the day when they are Western winds (estimate is 60 flights per day over Modiin). Consequently the Modiin municipality withdrew its petition to Bagatz, in exchange for a 60 day extension until the new landing path goes into effect.

As of today there are only 50 days left until the new flight path goes into effect.

As the legal battle has failed, our only recourse is to exert public pressure on the Israeli government to change the decision. The public battle was launched last week in a meeting of the Knesset Economic committee, which endorsed the position of the Modiin municipality: Setting up an independent professional committee to examine alternatives to the proposed landing path. The Knesset members criticized the process led by the Airport Authority, which chose the landing path secretly, behind Modiin's back, without bringing into consideration the impact of the new path on the residents of the city. Unfortunately the Knesset committee decision has "no teeth" and it's a recommendation which the airport authority can and is ignoring. The protocol of the discussion of the committee is available here (in Hebrew):
http://www.knesset.gov.il/protocols/data/html/kalkala/2009-06-08.html

The new flight path will cause noise, pollution as well as well safety concerns (read the comments by Adv. Eyal Karni voiced in the above protocol) - which may impact the attractiveness of Modiin and consequently the value of our real estate.

To understand the safety issues involved with commercial jets in landing paths flying low over Modiin, read the following Haaretz article (in English) about a near crash with the ground of two jets just two weeks ago due to a malfunction in the automatic landing system (ILS) which is part of the new proposed landing paths over Modiin:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093054.html

Mayor Haim Bibas is leading the campaign to lobby and exert pressure on the Israeli government, on the minister of Transportation in particular and the on airport authorities. In order for the public campaign to be effective it is imperative that the public - i.e. Modiin residents - become engaged at large.

We have formed a residents HQ "Clear Skies for Modiin" to assist the municipality in the public battle, and we received the municipality's blessings.

We call upon Modiin residents to sign up and volunteer in whatever capacity you can in order to lend a hand:

1. Participating in demonstrations and protests.
2. Preparing and putting up signboards.
3. Sending letters to government ministers, members of Knesset and to the press.
4. Writing talkbacks to Internet news articles and blogs.
5. Participating in radio talk shows.
6. Recruiting support of residents within your kindergarten, school and neighbors.
7. Manning campaign booths in shopping centers on Friday.
8. Disseminating campaign material to friends and relatives inside and outside Modiin.
9. Assistance to the campaign HQ (making phone calls, coordinating volunteers, etc.)
10. Financial contributions.
11. Logistics assistance (allocating office space, phones, transportation, photocopies, etc.)
12. Access to decision makers in government offices and airport authority.
13. Translation of campaign materials to English.
14. Other (please specify).

Please write us at planes@modiin.us and specify how you can assist in any of the above.

For phone enquiries call 054-6474026

We have setup a web site and mailing list to which you can sign up, which will be used to keep you up to date:
http://planes.modiin.us

English version of the web site: http://eplanes.modiin.us

Please pass on this information to friends and neighbors and ask them to join us in this important cause.

We are facing strong powers that be and only if we exhibit unity, resolve and determination we will be able to overturn this decision.

If we'll remain indifferent - we will all pay the price.

Sincerely,

The Clear Skies for Modiin campaign HQ

Clear Skies for Modiin