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November 28, 2004
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 Sharon and Abu Mazen Say They Are Prepared to Meet
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) each told Newsweek in separate interviews released on Sunday that they are prepared to meet each other. When asked if he is ready to meet with Abbas, the prime minister answered: "When they would like to meet, we will meet." Abbas, who said Palestinian elections will be held on January 9, said "after the elections, I'm ready to meet at any time with Sharon." (Ha'aretz)
Click here for Sharon and Abu Mazen interviews (Newsweek)
Abbas: I Won't Give Up Demand for Right of Return of Refugees
PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas told the Palestinian parliament last week that he would follow in Arafat's footsteps and demand that Israel recognize the right of return of Palestinian refugees to Israel. Abbas' ideas about a peace deal with Israel have always been close to those of Arafat: a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with east Jerusalem as a capital, and Israeli recognition of the right of return of some four million refugees and their descendants.
(AP/Ha'aretz)
See also Abbas: I Can Stop Attacks on Israel by Donald Macintyre (Independent-UK)
Barghouti Decides Not to Run in PA Election by Khaled Abu Toameh
The Fatah revolutionary council last week endorsed PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas as its official candidate in the upcoming election for the chairmanship of the PA, putting an end to jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti's (pictured, left) ambition to run as a Fatah candidate in the election. 16 Palestinians have thus far announced or signaled their intention to run to replace Arafat, reflecting the Palestinians' first real taste of democracy. (Jerusalem Post)
See also Point-Counterpoint below.
Militants Still Holed Up in Arafat's Compound by Ron Allen
Inside the crumbling walls of Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters is Khaled Shaweesh, a Palestinian militant who is among the most wanted men by Israel in the West Bank. While Arafat himself was holed up in the compound, he denied that any other wanted men were inside. Arafat sheltered him along with perhaps 20 other militants. Shaweesh said, almost bragging about it, that he was among the fighters who came up with the idea of using female suicide bombers. (MSNBC)
 Measure Palestinian Freedom, Not Summits by Natan Sharansky
Ten years ago, policymakers believed that peace could be made with a dictatorship. Today, we must instead embrace a peace process that is anchored in the expansion of freedom within Palestinian society. A non-democratic Palestinian regime will, by its nature, always threaten Israel. Non-democratic regimes always need to mobilize their people against external enemies to maintain internal stability. That is why the Palestinian Authority used all the resources, not to improve the lives of Palestinians but rather to strengthen hatred toward Israel. (Jerusalem Post)
My Nation of Heroes, My Chosen People by Julie Burchill
Israel was a country founded on socialist principles, by idealists and intellectuals, which could shape-shift at the merest whiff of cordite into a lean, mean, fighting machine that did not allow soldiers to salute their "superiors" yet was deadly effective. In having one human rights rule for democratic Israel - which can be summed up as "Be perfect or we'll come down on you like a ton of bricks" - and another for the dictatorships which surround it - "Do what you like to your people, it's your culture!" - Whitey displays an interestingly sly bit of anti-Semitism which is also rather insulting to the said dictatorships and the people they lord it over. [The Jews] dared to turn from victim into victor - and that is Israel's ultimate crime. (Times-UK)
Ethical Dilemmas in Fighting Terrorism by Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin
In August 2002 we had all the leadership of Hamas in one room and we knew we needed a 2,000-pound bomb to eliminate all of them. Think about having Osama bin Laden and all the top leadership of al-Qaeda in one house. However, use of a 2,000-pound bomb was not approved, we used a much smaller bomb, and they all got up and ran away. The bottom line is that Israel has to fight terror because terror declared war on us. In the current war Israel has lost over 1,000 people - equivalent to the U.S. suffering 45,000 dead and 300,000 wounded. We can win, but we must do it ethically as the Jewish people, as a democratic state, and as IDF officers who respect our ethical profession. Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin headed the IDF team that outlined the principles of the war against terror. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
Columbia President Vows Swift Action on Anti-Israel Professors by Shlomo Shamir
Columbia University president Lee Bollinger plans "specific steps" soon in response to allegations that professors and lecturers at the Ivy League university made vitriolic and malicious comments against Israel in classes. Bollinger made the pledge in a phone call to the ADL last week. Bollinger didn't detail the character of the steps, but emphasized "the matter will be handled immediately." Jewish sources in New York reported that major Jewish donors to the university were considering severing ties with the prestigious institution in response to the "corrupt behavior" by academic staff. (Ha'aretz)
Columbia: Students Rip Columbia 'Zionists' by Douglas Feieden
"The Zionist perspective dominates campus life and is represented in dozens of classes at Columbia," claimed a group of students last week in a bid to mobilize support for the embattled Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures department. Meanwhile, a pro-Israel professor has publicly come forward to say that students are not the only people at Columbia to feel the lash of intimidation. "Some faculty members are afraid to come out and express support for Israel's right to exist, and some feel they've been penalized and isolated for doing so," said Dr. Judith Jacobson, assistant professor of clinical epidemiology. (NY Daily News)
Columbia: More Voices About the Middle East Seek Balance and Solutions, but Find Controversy by Danielle Slutzky
Over 200 people attended the nine hour conference "Impasse? Alternative Voices in the Middle East." The conference criticized Israel.... The right of return of Palestinians was encouraged, along with a continued campaign to divest from Israel. Keynote speaker Yossi Beilin presented a left-wing analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Disagreeing with previous speakers who refused to cooperate with the leaders of the U.S. and Israel, Beilin said that "we have to use every opportunity in front of us, even if it is with Sharon, Bush, and Abu Mazen." Beilin encouraged optimism, emphasizing that the death of Arafat meant new opportunities for peace. (Spectator)
Florida: Basketball Star Speaks at Israel Rally by Megan Seery
LaVon Mercer, former University of Georgia basketball player and former Israeli basketball star, spoke at the Israel Awareness Week pro-Israel rally. Stephanie Fraiman, co-director of the week, said the rally was meant to show a side of Israel often overlooked in politics and the media. "Israel really needs a lot of support," she said. "We try to get everyone interested in the culture and customs - it's not just a Jewish issue." (Alligator)
Florida State: Young Israelis Chat With Students by Sonia Fonticiella
Four young Israeli citizens visited Florida State University last week in an attempt to showcase Israel through the eyes of its youth without debating politics and the conflicts that are shown in the media. The four Israelis came to the United States as representatives of the Jewish Agency for Israel to tell students at various college campuses that Israel is not just about the fighting that is shown on the news, but that it is a country made up of real people. (FS Nws)
Michigan: SAFE Urges University to Divest from Israel by Jamell Naqvi
SAFE, a pro-Palestinian group, held a forum last week to discuss ways to persuade the University to divest. American Movement for Israel vice-chair Jennifer Gonik said SAFE's campaign unfairly places all the blame for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the Jewish state. "I think the goal is to have real dialogue to eventually work out a peaceful solution," she said. "I think if you want real dialogue, you wouldn't be promoting a divestment campaign, which is a one-sided attempt to demonize Israel," she said. (Michian Daily)
Minnesota: Study Abroad Causes Conflict by Jerret Raffety
Craig Ancier, a Carlson School of Management sophomore, attends Hebrew University in Jerusalem, even though the University of Minnesota doesn't offer study abroad programs in Israel. Ancier had to withdraw from the University of Minnesota with a leave of absence. He must apply for transfer credit from the University of Minnesota once he returns for spring semester. Ancier said that he is experiencing things in Jerusalem that are impossible to experience anywhere else. (Minnesota Daily)
Yeshiva: New Focal Point in French Debate by Gabrielle Birkner
Amid growing anti-Semitism in France, where Arabs outnumber Jews 10 to 1, French undergraduate enrollment at Yeshiva has doubled to 40 students in the past year. With an additional 10 to 15 French students expected to matriculate in January, and many Jewish high school seniors in France cramming to pass English proficiency exams, Modern Orthodoxy's flagship institution - some 3,500 miles from Paris - has become an unlikely focal point in the debate over the future of French Jewry. (New York Jewish Week)
York: Professor Denounced for York U Charges by Carolyn Blackman
The director of Israel affairs for Hillel of Toronto, Tilly Shames, praised both her organization and Canadian Jewish Congress for responding quickly last week after a York University professor distributed what she described as offensive literature on campus. After a film presentation sponsored by Solidarity for Palestinian Rights, a student group, David Noble, a history professor, handed out literature that alleged the York University Foundation, the school's fundraising arm, is "biased by the presence and influence of staunch pro-Israel lobbyists, activities and fundraising agencies." (Canadian Jewish News)
Rutgers: Palestine Needs New Leadership by Daniel Feinberg
Perhaps the biggest evil of Arafat's leadership is the educational tactics used under him during his rule. Kids in schools are taught violence at a very young age and are taught to hate Israel. Negotiation cannot take place if one side is so bent on the destruction of the other. In order for peace to ensue in the Middle East, it is time for new leadership to emerge for the Palestinians - leaders who are ready to stop the spread of violence and to compromise instead of kill. (Daily Targum)
USC: Shoebat Has Unique Perspective by Tal Zavlodaver, Gilat Weiman, Devin Stambler, Miriam Coleman, letter to the editor
Walid Shoebat came to us because he has an important message: suicide bombing is not the right method for achieving peace in the Middle East. Shoebat was once a member of the PLO who lived a life committed to the pursuit of death. He had a mission and a goal - to terrorize the lives of innocent Jews living in Israel. We need to open our eyes and just realize that terrorism should not be what determines peace, but a change of political climate and the possibility of peace negotiations. (Daily Trojan)
Involved in a Story of this Nature by Roger Kolb
Does anybody seriously believe that students would be so enraged against Israel if their professors had explained both sides of the debate fairly? Looking at the larger picture, why do so many professors, seething with prejudice, feel they have to teach students not how, but what, to think? Why the chip on the shoulder? To be around a highly educated person is always delightful, but to reject one form of authority - the government - and replace it with another - the professor - is merely to exchange one colonial master for another. (Somerville Journal)
Yale: Time for the Palestinian "Liberals" to Come Out by Yaakov Sadan
A talk about gay rights-or lack thereof-in the Palestinian Authority last week turned into a showdown between one true liberal Palestinian and a handful of wavering ones. "Eli" is a gay Palestinians who found himself at risk because of his sexuality. Leading the illiberal "liberal" camp was Hala Nassar, a Palestinian professor. This camp exemplified the fearful, paralyzed nature of Palestinian liberals. I was furious that these Palestinians had the nerve the nerve to shout at Eli, they had the nerve to criticize him for fleeing for his life, and they had the nerve to blame him for the fact that their society now sees him as a traitor. (Yale Herald)
Arizona: Tucson High-Tech Delegation Visits Israel by Teya Vitu
A Tucson university/business delegation led by Mayor Bob Walkup spent a week in Israel meeting with the who's who of technology experts there earlier this month. "The objective is to build high-tech partnerships with Israel," said Bruce Wright, chief operating officer at the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park. "Israel is one of the most successful nations in the world with high-tech start-up companies." (Tucson Citizen)
Trinity: Prints by Modern Israeli Artists on Display by Tracy Sullivan
To offer its students the chance to see modern Israeli art, Trinity College is exhibiting a selection of prints and artists' books from the Jerusalem Print Workshop. The exhibit is sponsored by the Department of Fine Arts at Trinity College with support from the Jewish Studies Program at Trinity College, Trinity College Hillel, and Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Jewish Ledger)
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 - Who Is Marwan Barghouti and What Should Israel Do About Him? | Release Marwan Barghouti by James Baker, former secretary of state
- There is now in an Israeli -- in an Israeli prison a man named Marwan Barghouti, who is one of the young guard of Palestinians. And if the Palestinians are going to make this work against the really hard-line elements, the Islamists and some of the people of Hamas, they're going to have to have a coalition of the young guard and the old guard.
- And it would be really a very positive step in the right direction if Israel would release Marwan Barghouti so that he could participate in bringing about this transition. (CNN)
See also A Charismatic Voice that Speaks for a Younger Generation by Stephen Farrell
- Scruffy, diminutive and languishing in a brown Israeli prison-issue boiler suit, Marwan Barghouti, the 45-year-old West Bank activist exuded infinitely more dynamism and populist appeal than Mahmoud Abbas, his nominal Fatah boss, who has struggled to emerge from the shadow of Yassir Arafat. Mr. Abbas and Barghouti are polar opposites: charisma without rank, against rank without charisma.
- Barghouti would be the standard-bearer of the younger Palestinians - born, raised and hardened under Israeli occupation only to be pushed aside by the "Abu" generation of PLO veterans who returned from exile in Tunisia with Arafat in 1994. It is the younger generation of Fatah, particularly its militant offshoot, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, that would push hardest for a coup against the "Tunisians," for whom they can barely conceal their contempt and against whom they have already threatened violence.
- Supporters on the Israeli Left and Palestinian moderates sell him as the classic missed opportunity for Israel - a young, secular Palestinian committed to the principle of Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side. (Times-UK)
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The Trouble with Barghouti - Editorial
- If there is anyone more responsible than Yasser Arafat for the needless terror war that has cost thousands of Israelis and Palestinians their lives, it is Barghouti, who proudly claims to be that war's architect. As Barghouti explained in a interview with the London-based Al-Hayat exactly one year after the attacks began: "I knew that the end of the month of September [2000] would be the last opportunity before the explosion, but when [opposition leader Ariel] Sharon arrived at Al-Aksa Mosque it was the most suitable moment for the breakout of the intifada....The meaning of this [was an opportunity for] setting fire to the entire region, since the issue of Al-Aksa inflames and ignites the sensibilities of the masses."
- "After Sharon left, I stayed in the area for two hours with other well-known people and we spoke...of how people should react in all the towns and villages and not only in Jerusalem. We made contact with all the factions."
- Barghouti's indictment before an Israeli civilian court accused him of direct involvement in 33 separate attacks, including suicide bombings, roadside shootings, and other attempted murders. The court found sufficient evidence to convict him of five murders in three separate attacks, for which he was sentenced to five consecutive life terms in prison. Indeed, Barghouti accepted responsibility in court for at least some of the attacks.
- If a majority of Palestinians want Barghouti to lead them, why should Israelis, particularly those who believe in democracy, stand in the way? Why should Israel insist on keeping him in jail? The reason is a matter of both national dignity and the rule of law.
- If Palestinians want to elect terrorist leaders from Hamas or Fatah, it is their right to do so. But it is quite another matter for Israel to actively facilitate such a choice by ignoring the judgment of its own legal system and any elementary notion of justice. Barghouti's "legitimacy" is based mainly on slaughtering Israelis. Should our highest aspiration for the post-Arafat era be someone who tried to out-Arafat Arafat? (Jerusalem Post)
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