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October 17, 2004
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Redeploying In Gaza Strip, Israel Finishes Its Pullback by Steven Erlanger
Israeli troops and armor completed their pullback from built-up areas in the Gaza Strip early on Saturday, but many soldiers have remained in the territory, redeployed on the hills overlooking the Jabaliya and Beit Hanun refugee settlements. The redeployment was the effective end to Israel's 17-day offensive to repress the firing of Qassam rockets into Israeli settlements and towns from the northern Gaza strip. (New York Times)
Duke: Disputed Meeting Begins by Emily Vasquez
After weeks of controversy regarding Duke University's decision to allow the annual conference of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement on its campus, the conference opened Friday with little protest. (Charlotte Observer)
See also Jewish Students Hold Educational Meeting by Mindy Hagen
When Duke student Mollie Lurey learned her university had agreed to host a PSM conference, she knew Jewish students would need a way to combat the viewpoints being discussed. But the Duke junior decided to plan the counter-programming in a "respectful" way. The nonprofit Israel Project bought 50 to 60 advertising spots on CNN and MSNBC in the Duke area, said senior adviser Talton Gibson. The group decided to run the ads, which focus on Israel's democratic government and do not criticize Palestinians. See ad (Durham Herald Sun)
See also
Duke: Anti-Terror Concert Hits Political Note by Tracy Ke
Hundreds of students gathered Thursday night at the Students Against Terror concert and rally headlined by Sister Hazel. The event sought to bring together a broad coalition of student groups to raise awareness of international terrorist activity. (Chronicle)
See also Conference Equates Zionism, Apartheid by Janine Zacharia
Dianna Buttu, legal advisor in the PLO's Negotiations Affairs Department, told an audience of a few hundred, many dressed in "Free Palestine" tee-shirts and keffiyehs, that South African apartheid was no different than Israeli occupation. On Saturday, Yale professor Mazin Qumsiyeh referred to Zionism as a "disease" and said the media only reported on "resistance to colonization," not on the violence of "repression and ethnic cleansing" by Israel. He also rejected a two-state solution. "We ought to stop talking about these vague concepts about a two-state solution," he said. (Jerusalem Post)
 Bombings and Kassam Rockets Hurt Support for Palestinians by Khaled Abu Toameh
Palestinians are continuing to lose the sympathy and understanding of the international community. A senior Palestinian official said that when he contacted different governments to complain about the Israeli "massacres" in Gaza, he was surprised to hear almost full understanding for Israel's motives for the operation, which began two weeks ago after two infants were killed by Kassam rockets in the Israeli town of Sderot. (Access Middle East)
Rethinking the Intifada by Amir Taheri
The Palestinians need to ask whether four years of a violent struggle that has claimed the lives of thousands, and wrecked the lives of many more, have produced positive results for them. One little fact, forgotten by many, is that Arafat took the decision to walk out of the peace talks after long consultation with Saddam Hussein, then still in power in Baghdad. Did Saddam advise Arafat to make the move? (New York Post)
Israel's Commitment to Domestic and International Law in Times of War by Judge Amnon Straschnov, former IDF Military Advocate General
Israel has established four main principles for implementing the laws of war in the fight against terrorism: 1) Military necessity - the obligation to use force only in a situation which yields a direct military advantage. 2) Distinction between combatants - those who take part directly in hostilities - and noncombatants. 3) Humanity - the obligation to refrain from operations which cause unnecessary suffering. 4) Proportionality - the obligation to ensure that the action does not target in a manner disproportionate to the military advantage expected from the attack. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
Hizballah Involved in West Bank, Says Israel by Ewen MacAskill
The Iranian-backed Hizballah is increasingly involved in sending orders and money from its Beirut headquarters into the West Bank, according to a senior Israeli intelligence official. The group has 10 "controllers" in Beirut who are in daily contact with Palestinian groups in the West Bank, the official said. Hizballah is supported by Syria as well as Iran and controls 44 cells in the Palestinian territories. They have carried out 62 attacks in which 27 Israelis have been killed. (Guardian-UK)
GW: Israeli, Palestinian Officials Share Belief That Conflict Will Be Hard To Resolve by Riki Parikh
Yossi Alpher and Ziad Abu Zayaad presented their views on peace in the Middle East at an event sponsored by Hillel and the Student Alliance for Israel. The goal of the program was to provide insight into the conflict and possible solutions. But both men presented bleak views for the future. Freshman Jason Antin said he was enlightened by the discussion. "I learned a lot not only about the past but (about) what's gone on in the past four years and what happened at Camp David and prior peace accords," he said. (GW Hatchet)
Iowa: Lecture on Media, Mideast Provokes Debate by Tara Flockhart
A heated debate arose last week when several audience members at a speech on media coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict challenged the speaker, freelance journalist Elli Wohlgelernter. Shira Robinson, a UI instructor of Middle Eastern history, was one of the most vocal in challenging Wohlgelernter's presentation. The U.S. media seem to be remaining fairly consistent in their coverage, especially with media monitors such as www.camera.org and www.honestreporting.com, Wohlgelernter said. (Daily Iowan)
Rutgers: Hillel Hosts Debate on Foreign Policy, Middle East by Julie Compton
Jewish, political representatives gathered last week at the Rutgers Hillel House to debate the controversies of U.S. involvement in Israeli foreign policy and the Middle East. Representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties participated in the debate, answering questions and challenging one another on the current issues of American involvement in the Middle East, particularly Israel. (Daily Targum)
York: Student Protester Sues York for $800,000 by Colin Perkel
A Jewish, pro-Palestinian student suspended for three years for participating in two noisy campus protests is suing York University and its president for $800,000, even though the school withdrew the punishment. The student, Daniel Freeman-Maloy, alleges abuse of power, defamation and the relatively unusual claim of breach of academic freedom. In the letter of suspension, York accused the student of attending "an unauthorized demonstration" and of using a megaphone without permission. "You interfered with the proper functioning of university programs and activities," the letter stated. (National Post-Canada)
Michigan: Students Celebrate Israeli Culture at First "Balagan!" Carnival by Eve Lieberman
The American Movement for Israel drew thousands of interested students to its first annual "Balagan!" Carnival. The carnival highlighted many aspects of Israeli culture and society that are often overshadowed by regional conflict. "'Balagan!' was an enormous success," Berman Fellow Samara Kaplan said. "Thousands of UM students passed through and saw tons of information focusing on the culture of Israel, such as its technology triumphs, study-in-Israel programs and food, rather than the conflict." (Hillel)
UC-Santa Barbara: UC Ruling Stops Peacemaking by Adam Tartakovsky
The reasons for prohibiting students from studying in Israel are wrong and groundless. That terrorism already possesses such frightful influence in our world is bad enough. But allowing terrorism to shut down a world-class, multimillion-dollar international exchange program - an exchange of cultures and students that is perhaps the closest example of what peaceful coexistence looks like - is the wrong response. (Daily Nexus)
Concordia: Barak Denial Unjust by Tal Elharrar
Concordia's administration made a shocking decision last week, which affects all students. Ehud Barak was invited to speak here, and the University's administration failed to live by one of the defining principles of Canadian society - and of any academic institution. The practice of denying students free speech and freedom to learn is one that we as a student body cannot accept in silence. (The Link)
Duke: Divestment Not the Answer by Matt Gillum
To the best of my knowledge, no scholarly work exists suggesting how divestment was "successful" in South Africa or how divestment is "a peaceful way to put an end to the suffering of both peoples" or how divestment will end the "apartheid-like regime against the Palestinians." What we are faced with now is the prospect of a conference on our campus that advances a principal tool of political activism that may be entirely ineffective. If this is true, then we are wasting our time thinking about the PSM as a practical movement. (Chronicle)
Rutgers: Filing an Appeal to the UN by Yoni Rubin
Israel has shown it wants peace. It was willing to trade the Sinai Peninsula, which it won during the Six-Day War in 1967, to Egypt for peace. The only reason Israel is building a fence is because, though only a quarter of it has been built, the fence successfully stopped terrorist attacks. The terrorists now can only attack Israeli's when they vacation outside of Israel, like they did last week when they bombed a popular tourist resort in the Egyptian city of Taba. (Daily Targum)
Cornell: John Pilger Pillages Our Reputation by Jamie Weinstein
John Pilger will make his first trip to campus as a professor. Pilger is a man who deserves no honor. He is a man who is no academic. He is a man who should be shunned. Cornell chose to bestow honor upon not only Pilger, but the equally unqualified Cynthia McKinney. In May 2001 Pilger posited the insane delusion that Israel would use nuclear weapons against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. In that same May 2001 article he called Israel a "terrorist state" and said it had "a policy of state murder." (Daily Sun)
Michigan: Columnist Full of Factual Errors by David Golbahar
Right now, the Palestinians are fighting amongst themselves, and I see that as the major problem. The Palestinians need to get their act together before we can criticize Israel. I don't necessarily agree with all of the actions Israel has taken, but you should look at the people living in Israel - they are very torn themselves. (Michigan Daily)
Georgetown: No Excuses for Terrorists by Anath Hartman, letter to the editor
Last week students for a Free Palestine hosted Diana Buttu, the "legal advisor" to the PLO. This, in my book, is unacceptable from the get-go. The PLO has long been providing training, information, capital and weapons to terrorist movements worldwide. When I asked, at the end of Buttu's speech, why she had not mentioned terrorism, she got agitated. Mad. She spat that terrorism was the Palestinian peoples' way of fighting Israeli occupation and oppression. Terrorism is never justified. The fact that the Georgetown students in that room didn't have the guts to stand up to this woman and say so is appalling to me. (The Hoya)
How the Conflict Hurt Two Rappers' Relationship by George Robinson
Two rappers from Israel find themselves plunged into the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. Subliminal (Kobi Shimoni, pictured, left), is the seminal Israeli rap star, and his former friend and colleague, Tamer Nafer, an Israeli Arab occupies a similarly exalted place in Arab-language rap. When hostilities broke out, the relationship began to break down. Shimoni moved increasingly to the extreme right, while Tamer found himself becoming more active in support of the Palestinian cause. (New York Jewish Week)
Churches Installing Israeli-Made Cell Phone Jammers by Olga Rodriguez
Unable to call their editors while covering the weddings of the rich and famous, reporters asked the priest why their cell phones never worked at Sacred Heart. His reply: Israeli counterintelligence. In four Monterrey, Mexico, churches, Israeli-made cell phone jammers the size of paperbacks have been tucked unobtrusively among paintings of the Madonna and statues of the saints. (AP/Houma Courier)
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 - Should the "Two-State Solution" be Replaced with a "One-State Solution"? | Two Peoples, One State
by Michael Tarazi, legal adviser to the PLO
- As Christians and Muslims, the millions of Palestinians are increasingly questioning the most commonly accepted solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict - "two states living side by side in peace and security," and are being forced to consider a one-state solution.
- Many Palestinians are contemplating a one-state solution in which citizens of all faiths and ethnicities live together as equals. Recent polls indicate that a quarter of Palestinians favor the secular one-state solution.
- Support for one state is hardly a radical idea; it is simply the recognition of the uncomfortable reality that Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories already function as a single state.
- But in this de facto state, 3.5 million Palestinian Christians and Muslims are denied the same political and civil rights as Jews. These Palestinians, as non-Jews, neither qualify for Israeli citizenship nor have the right to vote in Israeli elections.
- Most Israelis recoil at the thought of giving Palestinians equal rights, understandably fearing that a possible Palestinian majority will treat Jews the way Jews have treated Palestinians. They fear the destruction of the never-defined "Jewish state." The one-state solution, however, neither destroys the Jewish character of the Holy Land nor negates the Jewish historical and religious attachment. Rather, it affirms that the Holy Land has an equal Christian and Muslim character.
- For those who believe in equality, this is a good thing. In theory, Zionism is the movement of Jewish national liberation. In practice, it has been a movement of Jewish supremacy.
- The struggle for Palestinian equality will not be easy. Power is never voluntarily shared by those who wield it. Palestinians will have to capture the world's imagination, organize the international community and refuse to be seduced into negotiating for their rights. (New York Times)
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The New Anti-Semitism
by Clifford D. May
- Genocidal anti-Semitism is taking a new form. Tarazi makes this audacious argument: Having failed to eradicate Israel with tanks and terrorism, Palestinian leaders are now "being forced to consider a one-state solution."
- Yes, "forced" to consider demanding a "right" to flood Israel with people who hate Israelis, people loyal to such terrorist organization such as Hamas, and who want to replace Israel with a radical Islamist state.
- As Mr. Tarazi well knows but neglects to mention, there is only one Jewish state on the planet. It's about the size of New Jersey. By contrast, there are 22 Arab nations and more than 50 predominantly Muslim countries.
- In these lands, Jews are, to varying degrees, conspicuously unwelcome. In Jordan, a relatively liberal country that has diplomatic relations with Israel, Jews are denied citizenship. In Saudi Arabia, no synagogue or church may be built.
- Mr. Tarazi forgets to note, too, that half of Israel's Jews have their roots in such places as Egypt, Yemen, Iraq and Iran - but that after intense persecution they fled what had been their families' homes for centuries. Similarly, Christians have fled Syrian-controlled Lebanon and from Bethlehem and Nazareth since those cities came under Arafat's control.
- Nor does Mr. Tarazi appear to recall that almost 15 percent of Israel's citizens are Muslims. They enjoy more rights and freedoms than Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East - including the right to free speech, to vote and to worship as they choose. Israeli Arabs have been elected to Israel's parliament and serve on its supreme court.
- But Mr. Tarazi believes he can convince "the international community" that if Israelis are unwilling to open their doors to millions of people who have been indoctrinated to believe butchering Jews is a form of "martyrdom," it is the Israelis who are the bigots and oppressors.
- Mr. Tarazi is not sincere. He wants Gaza and the West Bank judenrein. And eventually he wants what is now Israel to become "jew-free" as well. (Washington Times)
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