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December 5, 2004
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 Bush: "The Need for a Palestinian Democracy"
President Bush said Wednesday in Halifax, Nova Scotia: "We will stand with the Palestinian and Israeli peoples and help end the destructive conflict between them....We seek justice and dignity, and a viable independent and democratic state for the Palestinian people. We seek security and peace for the State of Israel....Achieving peace in the Holy Land is not just a matter of pressuring one side or the other on the shape of a border or the site of a settlement. This approach has been tried before, without success. As we negotiate the details of peace, we must look to the heart of the matter, which is the need for a Palestinian democracy." (White House)
See also Bush Decides to Focus on Palestinian Reform by Eli Lake
After the death of Arafat, the Bush administration intends to press the next Palestinian leader to make key structural changes to insure the rule of law, effective counterterrorism, and transparency before reviving final-status negotiations with Israel. (New York Sun)
London School to Host Conference on "Resisting Israeli Apartheid"
A decision by the London University School of Oriental and African Studies to host a conference on Sunday at which academics will launch a campaign to break links with Israeli universities has raised a stir among Jewish groups. Organizers are calling on the academic community to avoid cooperating with Israeli research institutes, to shun Israeli researchers by barring them from international conferences and by not awarding them any prizes. Gavin Gross, of the school's Jewish Society, said: "I see this conference as an out-and-out hate conference which is solely there to de-legitimize Israel and its people. It makes no pretence of balance." (Ha'aretz)
Israeli Venture Capital Funds Face Uphill Struggle to Woo U.S. Universities by Oded Hermon
The effect of anti-Israel activities on prestigious American campuses over the past two years is beginning to appear specifically in the Israeli venture capital and high-tech industries. One major source of capital for the Israeli high industry is the university endowment funds, which manage tens of billions of dollars. The administrators of universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, Stanford and Columbia are now facing a very broad spectrum of opposition to any thought of investing in Israel, despite the fact that some universities are expressing growing interest in the investment potential in Israel. (Ha'aretz)
See also below UC-Berkeley: Invest in Israel and Progress
Hawaii: Chanukah Begins Tuesday by Mary Admaski
Shaloha Hillel will sponsor a public party Tuesday at the University of Hawaii Campus Center courtyard. DJ Kee and Ken Aronowitz will provide music at the "ChanukkahPalooza 2004" event. Chabad of Hawaii invited Gov. Linda Lingle to light a public menorah Dec. 12 at Gateway Park. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
 After Arafat, Despair and Hope - Editorial
Abbas, who is the chairman of the PLO, says that he has ordered the government-controlled media to stop broadcasting material that could incite hatred against Israel. If Abbas's directive is actually followed, that means no more fiery broadcasts praising the killing of Jews. There's a lot more the Palestinians have to do to get serious about stopping the suicide bombings and other attacks, but that would be a start. (New York Times)
Abu Mazen: Leader or Figurehead by Ehud Ya'ari
Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has been as good as anointed as Yasser Arafat's successor. It is no secret that he too would like to overturn his predecessor's policies regarding both the Palestinian internal order and Israel. But it is not at all clear whether he has the inner strength. He has never stood out as an innovative or forceful leader, his rhetorical skills are mediocre and he hasn't got the personality to win the affection of the wider public. Israel has an interest in him emerging as a leader with something of the stature of the unforgettable Sadat, and not ending up as a nominal figurehead unable to take the really painful decisions. (Jerusalem Report)
Eival Gilady - Disengagement's Architect by David Horovitz
Brig.-Gen. Eival Gilady, until recently the head of the IDF's Strategic Planning Division, two years ago initiated what Ariel Sharon came to adopt as his disengagement plan. The logic behind the concept of separation is the reverse of the Oslo mind-set. Rather than peace bringing security, it aims for security to ultimately yield peace. "The whole vision of the security fence and disengagement is based on the premise that no final-status agreement is feasible," at least not in the foreseeable future. For now, "we'll separate." With Arafat gone, Gilady indicated that the disengagement plan would be carried out with greater coordination with the PA. (Jerusalem Post)
Misfit at the Mosque by Yoav Stern
Prof. Khaleel Mohammed is not a beloved figure among Muslim students in the United States. His visits to campuses to lecture are almost always accompanied by demonstrations of protesters condemning his opinions and his views. Mohammed's views are very unusual in the Arab world. His main thesis is that the Holy Land was given to the Jews. He takes this from the Koran itself. "I show Muslims who use religious arguments that they don't have a case," said Mohammed. "Even the Koran, the basis of our religion, states explicitly that this is land that belongs to the Jews." (Ha'aretz)
UC-Davis: Israel Fellow Spotlight: Ronen Weiss
While most Israel Fellows were new faces at their campus Hillels this year, students at the University of California, Davis and California State University, Sacramento welcomed back Israel Fellow Ronen Weiss, who was one of six Israelis to pilot the program last year. "Israel needs to speak louder. Whether we are right or wrong, people need to learn more about Israel," Weiss said. (Hillel)
UC-Davis: Student Sentenced for Stealing Flags
A student was sentenced to five days in jail and a year of probation for stealing Israeli flags from Hillel House on campus. Jowad Bassam Younis, 19, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor petty theft charge in Yolo County Superior Court. Police characterized the thefts last year as hate crimes and said Younis, of Palestinian origin, also left an anti-Israeli note at the Hillel House. (AP/San Jose Mercury)
UC- Irvine: Dean of Students Fosters Dialogue; Eases Tensions by Ben Goodman
In response to last spring's increased tensions between UC Irvine's various Arab, Jewish and Muslim student organizations, the administration has increased its efforts to foster a climate of greater understanding between the groups. As a result, there has been increased dialogue among the student leaders of these groups. "We're very much at the beginning stages of everything," said Merav Ceren, president of Anteaters for Israel. "[The] Society of Arab Students did decide to drop their no-dialogue policy, so that's a massive step." (New U)
UCLA: Member of Israeli Parliament Speaks on Campus by Sara Taylor
Once a political prisoner in the Soviet Union and now a member of the Israeli Parliament, Natan Sharansky came to UCLA last week to speak on human rights and democracy in the Middle East. Sharansky, the Israeli Minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, asserted that Israel's concern for human rights reaches beyond its own borders to include all people, Sharansky said. "Democracy is for all people in the world," he said. "Palestinians deserve to live in freedom and democracy, no less than we Jews." (Daily Bruin)
See also Text of Natan Sharansky on Human Rights and Democracy in the Middle East
This is my twenty-fifth campus speech in America in the last year and a half.... (UCLA International Institute)
See also Ohio State: Israeli Leader Speaks about Peace in the Middle East by Christy Amacker
Brad Bethel, events associate for the Ambassadors for Israel felt that Sharansky's message was important to be heard. "He is basically saying that peace can only be made when two free societies are working to make that happen. You just can't make peace with dictators," he said. (Lantern)
Central Florida: Israel the Chief Concern for Jewish Student Voters by Kate Howell
No matter how Jewish students vote or what party they belong to, their concern for Israel and America's relationship with it connects them. "Policies toward Israel affected my vote," said Rebecca Solomon, vice president of UCF's branch of Hillel. She said Judaism can be summed up in three words: God, Torah and Israel. Noah Saposnik, a Hillel student leader, agreed on Israel's importance. "The importance of Israel is ingrained in the Jewish psyche," he said. Ben Sack, Hillel's president, said the key issues of Israel and the war on terror decided his vote. (Future)
Harvard: Summers Revives Divestment Debate by Daniel J. Hemel
Rekindling a rancorous two-year-old campus debate, University President Lawrence H. Summers published an op-ed last month reiterating his stance that a faculty-led drive pushing Harvard to divest from Israel-linked companies was "anti-Semitic." Despite the torrent of criticism from divestment backers, Harvard Students for Israel President Sunny Yudkoff '06 offered support for Summers' remarks. "Larry Summers doesn't believe he has to hide his Jewish identity in the public sphere by accepting hatred so commonplace in academia," she said. "We are grateful for his being a voice of reason on this campus." (Crimson)
Illinois-Urbana: Paper Publishes Bogus Incendiary "Quotation" for 2nd Time
The University of Illinois newspaper, The Daily Illini, has once again flouted journalistic norms allowing a defamatory, bogus quotation allegedly made by Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to be published for the second time in two years. Guest writer Joseph Danavi asserted in a November 19 column that: "Ariel Sharon once [said]: 'I vow that I'll burn every Palestinian child (that) will be born in this area.'" (CAMERA)
NYU: New Israel Studies Center Hopes to Breed Objective Scholars by Gabrielle Birkner
Ronald Zweig, director of the recently opened Taub Center for Israel Studies at New York University, pledged his commitment to shaping a new generation of Israel scholars who are willing to look critically at the complex issues of the Jewish state. "We're committed to straight scholarship, not advocacy," Zweig, a historian of modern Zionism, said in an interview. "It's safe to predict that the study of Israel has entered a new and fruitful phase," he said. (JTA)
NC State: Keeping Kosher, Even with a Busy Schedule by Tyler Dukes
Sophomore Ilana Marks who follows the Laws of Kashrut says that doing so is one of the primary ways she observes her faith on a daily basis. According to Ilana, her faith grew to new levels with an eight-week study abroad session in Israel during high school.
Ilana said it was also a great way to learn hands-on about 4,000 years of history not taught in normal high schools. "It was a really unique learning experience because you would learn about something that happened in history and then you would actually go see where it happened," she said. (Technician)
Oregon: Professor Sues after Called an Anti-Semite
Douglas Card, an adjunct sociology professor at the University of Oregon, has settled a defamation lawsuit against the writers of an op-ed piece in the New York Post that labeled him an anti-Semite. Card filed suit in 2003 against Daniel Pipes, a Middle East scholar, and Pipes' research assistant, Jonathan Schanzer, a specialist in radical Islamist movements. In a joint statement issued by both parties, Pipes and Schanzer said they "are now convinced that Card does not condone extremism in the classroom." (AP/KGW.com)
Sarah Lawrence: Students Celebrate Middle Eastern Culture
More than 100 students at Sarah Lawrence College gathered recently to celebrate Israeli-Arabic culture and to raise awareness about the Israeli-Palestinian situation. The successful event was organized by the group Students for Peace and Israel, which raises awareness of the Middle Eastern conflict and brings students from both sides of the argument to better understand one another. (Hillel)
UC-Berkeley: Invest in Israel and Progress by Josh Klaristenfeld and Monica Wulff
The University of California's investments in Israel recognize the importance of supporting the only true technologically innovative, forward-thinking democracy in a region replete with dictatorship and fundamentalism. Depicting the conditions of black South Africans as comparable to those of Palestinians is both historically inaccurate and displays an un-nuanced understanding of both situations. To make these false comparisons is morally repugnant, academically dishonest, and does not serve to advance the cause of peace or a greater campus dialogue. The authors are co-chairs of Israel Action Committee. (Daily Californian)
Georgetown: Israel's Identity Not Confined to Conflict by Salomon Kalach
Israel, like other countries, is more than a particular conflict. It is a democracy where Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze flourish, where women are respected, where homosexuals can serve freely in the army without a policy of "don't ask, don't tell", where people like Christopher Reeve found medical research that extended his hopes of fighting for a better life, where young people designed the Intel chips and the instant messenger programs that many of us use and where pluralism finds a small refuge in a region full of intolerance. This, and much more, is what Israel is about. (Hoya)
Johns Hopkins: An Analytic Approach to Campus Pro-Israeli Activism - Case Study by Yonit Golub
Anti-Israeli campus groups have made inroads at American universities by using the campus media, creating strategic partnerships with mainstream left-wing groups, and supporting certain members of the faculty and staff. Pro-Israeli activists who wish to combat this threat must respond to all three of these avenues by getting organized, utilizing the media, and maintaining relationships with organizations, campus influentials, and the Jewish community. The Coalition of Hopkins Activists for Israel (CHAI) was created in September 2000 to enact these steps in seeking to preempt potential anti-Israelism on campus. (Jewish Political Studies Review)
Minnesota: Aid to the Palestinian Authority by Brett J. Willner
The U.S. must weigh several factors before reinstating any aid to the new Palestinian Authority and the new leader. First, absolutely no additional aid should be given to the Palestinian Authority before the election and a new elected leader is in charge of the Palestinian Authority. Second, the four sponsors of the "road map" peace plan must make sure the elections are closely watched to prevent corruption. Finally, the newly elected leader must, unlike Arafat, make true reforms in the Palestinian Authority. The author is campus liaison of Gopher Public Affairs Committee (Minnesota Daily)
Mississippi: Arafat's Life Shows Who He Was by James Kutkowski
Arafat perhaps, early in life, felt remorse for the people he hurt in what he believed was a war, but in the end was indifferent to the suffering he caused. To paint Arafat as a freedom fighter without pointing out that his means were evil is dishonest, to call him a blood-thirsty tyrant is an incomplete description. To mourn for him is silly, because sadly, Arafat's only real improvement to planet earth came when he left it. (Daily Mississippian)
Northwestern: Speaking with "Noa" by Lisa Frydman
Achinoam Nini, known internationally as "Noa," is a human tornado in concert. Nini will be performing at Northwestern University on Saturday night. Born in Israel and raised in New York, Nini, 35, studied at the High School for the Performing Arts in New York City. She chose to return to Israel when she was 17 to serve in the army, singing for the soldiers in the Northern Command Ensemble. (Chicago Sun Times)
Listen to a clip of Noa's latest album, Now.
"Hasbara" Goes Prime Time by Gary Rosenblatt
A new prime-time TV program on Israel's Channel Two has taken the format of NBC's highly popular reality show "The Apprentice" and given it a timely and edgy theme. On "The Ambassador," which had a Nov. 24 premiere, 14 Israelis aged 25 to 30 are competing to make the best case for Israel in a largely hostile world. One contestant is fired at the end of each show. The winner will receive a one-year post in New York as a communications expert for Israel At Heart, an advocacy group launched two years ago. (New York Jewish Week)
Over 40 Women in KEDMA Medical Clown Training
Over 40 young women from New York are learning to be professional medical clowns through a very successful project sponsored by KEDMA, an International Student Organization devoted to social activism and "chesed." KEDMA is funded by Partnership 2000 Jerusalem-New York and promotes volunteerism among college age New Yorkers who are studying in Israel. Medical clowns are volunteers who visit hospital wards and are trained to help patients laugh in order to help them heal. (Jewish Agency for Israel)
Visit Kedma's website - www.kedma.org.
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 - How Will the New Bush Administration Act in the Middle East? | Itamar Rabinovich: No Radical Change
- In the first Bush administration there was tension between the mainstream--the White House and the Pentagon--and the State Department, which was somewhat sidelined. Powell was not a member of the inner core; State represented a more pragmatic line. This is likely to change now. The State Department is likely to be better integrated into the administration's foreign policy system.
- US policy in the Middle East will change, not because of Powell's absence, but rather, first and foremost, due to the need to reduce the damage in Iraq and deal with the challenge of the Iranian nuclear option and Iran as a major sponsor of terrorism. There is a perception that in order to do that the US must address or at least appear to address the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Both in terms of Iraq and in order to impose effective sanctions on Iran, there will have to be some mending of fences in Europe. Arafat's death is another important reason for a change of US policy in the Middle East.
- In the early summer of 2003, after the war in Iraq, Abu Mazen became prime minister. Bush came to Sharm al-Sheikh and Aqaba, the war in Iraq was still considered a success and Arafat was still in the picture. Now the urgency is greater, and Arafat is not in the picture. The pressures on the administration and the temptation to engage a new Palestinian government will be greater. At the same time this need not necessarily lead to a head-on collision with the Sharon government. Sharon has anticipated this. Unilateral withdrawal without Arafat around is a good beginning to return to a negotiating mode.
- Incidentally, there have always been tensions between the US administration and Israeli prime ministers on peace issues, even with Rabin and Barak. There will certainly be with Sharon, who has a modest view of Israeli-Palestinian relations. I expect disagreements rather than head-on collisions.
- Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue is an awesome task that may not be within reach. There may not be a stable Palestinian leadership; Israel may be in an election campaign. This may not be realistic in the near future.
- Professor Itamar Rabinovich is president of Tel Aviv University and a former Israeli ambassador to the United States. (Bitterlemons-international.org)
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Ray Hanania: Little Will Change
- President George W. Bush is a modern-day John Wayne. They both wage war against evil "isms." For John Wayne, it was "communism" on the big screen. For Bush it is "terrorism" in a real world.
- Incapable of grasping the intricacies of Middle East history, culture and politics, Bush naturally embraces broad-stroke alternatives and jingoistic solutions. When you see the world in stark black and white terms, there is no room for "gray matter", nor can one grasp the intricacies of the Middle East conflict itself.
- His evangelical Christian inclination drives his allegiance to Israel and prevents him from becoming something he is not. Bush is inclined to see dark shadows more starkly in the Middle East than anywhere else in the world.
- Don't expect his vision to change as he enters his second term in office. On the contrary, post-election changes in his administration suggest more difficult days ahead for the Middle East.
- The internal battles of the first Bush term have ended and the hawks led by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have prevailed. Their most notable victory is the resignation of Secretary of State Colin Powell to be replaced by Condoleezza Rice.
- No Cabinet post will have more impact on the Middle East than that of secretary of state. Rice's appointment forebodes a bleak future for Palestinian-Israeli relations. In any case, it is unlikely Bush will put more effort into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as long as the Iraq war remains volatile and Iran and Syria remain in the "Axis of Evil" column.
- Palestinians and Israelis have only two choices for their future. Either they take the initiative themselves and find their own way out of their violent quagmire or they start watching John Wayne movies.
- Ray Hanania is a nationally syndicated Palestinian American columnist based in Chicago (Bitterlemons-international.org)
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