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June 12, 2005
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 Israel-PA Pullout Cooperation Begins by Margot Dudkevitch
Israel and the Palestinian Authority have begun to discuss coordinating Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in earnest, officials from both sides said on Saturday. At a three-hour meeting with PA Civil Affairs Minister Muhammad Dahlan in Tel Aviv on Friday, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz stressed that coordination between the sides was not a condition to the evacuation of Gaza settlements, which would be carried out at the allotted time with or without the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)
Palestinian Authority "Won't Disarm Gunmen until Occupation Ends" by Khaled Abu Toameh
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa (pictured, right) declared on Saturday that the PA had no intention of disarming Palestinian militias as demanded by the road map. Kidwa, a nephew of Yasser Arafat, said the Palestinian groups had the right to keep their weapons as long as the occupation continued. "Using arms under occupation is legal," he explained. Kidwa's statements stand in sharp contrast to promises made by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to confiscate "illegal" weapons from Palestinian groups and individuals. (Jerusalem Post)
Activist Claims Golden Opportunity to Free Lebanese War MIAs Is Now by Uriel Heilman
In the campaign to bring home Israeli MIA Zachary Baumel (pictured), American activist Stuart Ditchek says there is a golden opportunity today to push Syrian President Bashar Assad to finally resolve this longstanding and tragic mystery. Baumel, along with fellow tank crewmen Yehuda Katz and Tzvi Feldman, was captured by Syrian forces during the battle of Sultan Yakoub in Lebanon on June 11, 1982. Click here for more information: www.ZacharyBaumel.org. (Jerusalem Post)
 Jerusalem Will Never Again Be in the Hands of Foreigners by Ariel Sharon
For us, there is only one Jerusalem, and no other. It will be ours forever, and will never again be in the hands of foreigners. We will honor and cherish all lovers of Jerusalem, of all faiths and religions. We will carefully guard all its sites of prayer, churches and mosques, and freedom of worship will be ensured, which was not the case when others ruled it. We will fearlessly face the entire world and will ensure the future of united Jerusalem. For Jerusalem is the anchor, root of life, and faith of the Jewish people and we will never again part with it. Whoever wishes to know this should open the Bible, read, and understand. (Prime Minister's Office)
Good Words for Israeli Electoral System by Einat Wilf
Israel has been a functioning, stable, constant democracy for all 57 years of its existence. The Israeli electoral system has proved itself remarkably stable and resilient in the face of unparalleled challenges. It has given voice to many groups in the country, long before other sectors did. It was even able to withstand the onslaught of social engineers who thought they could do better. There is much that needs fixing in Israel. The electoral system is probably not one of these things. (Ynet News)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.: A Battleground for Israel's Legitimacy by Joel Fishman
In spring 2004, a group of pro-Palestinian radicals initiated a proposal that would have twinned Rafah in Gaza with Madison, Wisconsin. This initiative was significant because only a few American cities have adopted Palestinian towns. Its acceptance would have meant a victory for the Palestinian Authority and its supporters by advancing their long-term objective of delegitimizing the State of Israel and by creating a climate congenial to politically correct anti-Semitism. Because the local Jewish community and unaffiliated Jews, some belonging to the "soft Left," acted effectively, the city council did not adopt the proposal. (Jewish Political Studies Review)
Metropolitan College - NY: The Perfect Classroom by Gabrielle Birkner
For the 17 students working toward advanced degrees in emergency and disaster management, an Israel trip only made sense. "Israel, for obvious reasons, has had [extensive] experience managing emergencies and disasters, especially terrorism," said Stephen Greenwald, president of the Metropolitan College of New York in Lower Manhattan, who accompanied the students. "In the post 9-11 world, Israel was a logical place for us to go." (New York Jewish Week)
Cornell: Birthright Youth Give Back to Community by Jordan Roth
In a casual ceremony in Jerusalem, American students on a Birthright trip to Israel presented a $10,000 donation to the Elem organization for Israeli youth in distress. The students from Cornell University, who raised the funds throughout the latter part of the academic year, said they wanted to create a deeper, more meaningful connection to Israeli society, building onto established Birthright Israel programming. (Jerusalem Post)
Students Hear Holocaust Survivor Say "Take Revenge"
Speaking on a kibbutz in the Western Galilee, Miriam Harel kept a roomful of birthright israel participants in rapt attention as she shared her memories of being a teenager caught up in the horror of the Holocaust. She recalled a message she found scrawled on a wall in a Polish ghetto where she hid more than 60 years before: "Take revenge." "You are our revenge," she told the students, explaining that by remembering the victims of the Holocaust and celebrating their Jewish heritage they were helping to defeat of Hitler's "Final Solution." (Hillel)
UCLA: Syrian Ambassador Calls for Comprehensive Peace Settlement in the Middle East
Dr. Imad Moustapha addressed a UCLA undergraduate class last week: "Yes, we do want our occupied Golan back. But no, we are not going to war with Israel to recapture the Golan. What we want to do is reach a peace treaty with Israel based on the principle of land for peace by which Israel will give us back our occupied Golan and we will sign a comprehensive peace treaty with Israel with normalized relations." "We entered Lebanon for the noblest of reasons. We entered Lebanon to end a civil war....I can tell you today that Syria has no presence whatsoever in Lebanon." (UCLA International Institute)
See also U.S. Says Syria Has Agents in Lebanon
Syria has not fully withdrawn its intelligence forces from neighboring Lebanon and is interfering with elections there, perhaps even organizing political assassinations, the Bush administration alleged Friday. (AP/Los Angeles Times)
Western Ontario: Student Recognized for Darfur Work by Frances Kraft
Ben Fine, who has just completed his final year of chemical engineering at the University of Western Ontario and is headed for graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), recently became the first student to receive London Jewish Campus Services Righteous Hand Award and Scholarship. Fine, 22 (pictured), co-founded STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur) earlier this year with McGill University student Meredith Herman, and headed up a campaign and fundraiser to help people in Darfur. (Canadian Jewish News)
For Students, Dog Days of Summer Give Way to Israel Advocacy Training by Rachel Pomerance
Summer for students once meant lazy days for swimming, reading, or playing sports. But for many of today's Jewish youth, summer is a key time for rigorous training in Israel advocacy and Jewish leadership. Since the start of the Palestinian intifada nearly five years ago, scores of Jewish groups rolled out or beefed up programs for Jewish students to promote Israel on college campuses, the site of the most heated debate in the United States on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of the increased programming, summer has become an increasingly popular time for groups to hold workshops and missions to Israel. (JTA News)
UC Irvine: Respecting Free Speech in Our Community by Manuel N. Gomez, Chancellor of Student Affairs
Recently I attended several programs at UC Irvine. One was a Muslim Student Union-sponsored talk entitled "The World Without Israel." During the talk, some students dressed in black and white Palestinian scarves, walked up behind the speaker and, in opposition to the speech, unfurled banners advertising the MSU event as an "Al-Qaeda Training Camp." These student-sponsored events were sandwiched between the "Daniel Pearl Dialogues for Muslim-Jewish Understanding," a presentation by Iranian human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, and the UCI Model United Nations High School Conference. I bring up these different events in part to emphasize that the free right to free speech remains intact for everyone at UCI. (New University)
See also UC-Irvine: MSU Fails to Educate Others about Islam by Alex Chazen
Last week was the Muslim Student Union's "Israel Awareness Week," but they might have called it "Let's All Gang Up and Discredit Zionists, Jews and Anybody Else Who Has Ever Thought About Supporting Israel." It was interesting walking around campus and seeing a poster for a lecture about "The World Without Israel" and how "Zionism Infects Judaism." It made me wonder why a group that represents a religion that is so often misconstrued in America to mean "terrorist" would spew nothing but hate. (New University)
Bar-Ilan: "Brain Helmet" Promises Higher IQ by Dudi Goldman
The difference between success and failure is sometimes just a matter of a few IQ points, so why not boost your intelligence with a nifty little invention made in Israel? Dr. David Passig, futurist and head of Bar-Ilan University's virtual reality lab, is the man behind a helmet, which he says can improve the intelligence of the user. Passig also says that the helmet allows men to develop what, until now, only women had: a connection between the left and right lobe of the brain. (Ynet News)
Hebrew U: Dr. Chef Helps with Restrictive Diets
Rani Polak, a fourth-year medical student at Hebrew University-Hadassah, who is also a Cordon Bleu chef, won an award last week for helping patients with digestive problems. Polak (pictured) helped develop a cooking workshop for patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, who must follow a difficult diet that is low in fiber content. Patients were taught how to tailor a diet to their special needs. (Washington Times)
Israel Driving Europe Crazy by Ofer Ronen-Abels
Israel's national soccer team returned from Dublin following its impressive 2-2 draw against Ireland last week in a 2006 World Cup qualifier. "This team is driving Europe crazy with what it manages to achieve," coach Avraham Grant said during a press conference at London's Heathrow Airport. "Everywhere I go, even in Ireland both before and after the match, people still can't believe what we are doing. But this is not the peak, because each time we reach a new one." Unbeaten in its seven matches, Israel is in second place in Group Four with 11 points. (Jerusalem Post)
After a 2,000-Year Rest, a Seed Sprouts in Jerusalem by Steven Erlanger
Israeli doctors and scientists have succeeded in germinating a date seed nearly 2,000 years old. The seed, nicknamed Methuselah, was taken from an excavation at Masada, the cliff fortress where, in A.D. 73, 960 Jewish zealots died by their own hand, rather than surrender to a Roman assault. The point is to find out what was so exceptional about the original date palm of Judea, much praised in the Bible and the Koran for its shade, food, beauty and medicinal qualities, but long ago destroyed by the crusaders. (New York Times)
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 - The 1949 Lines or the 1967 Lines |
Inquiries have failed to produce an authoritative answer to the question why U.S. President George W. Bush, in his remarks in the Rose Garden on May 26 alongside PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, opened up a Pandora's box of mysterious distinctions between the 1949 lines and the 1967 lines. Is there a difference? |
Far from the Heart of the Problem
by Yossi Alpher
- At the end of the day there is almost no difference between the two lines as the basis for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians - negotiations that in any case are not on the agenda.
- The 1949 and 1967 lines are essentially the same armistice line, in sharp contrast with the status of an international border.
- Staunch defenders of Israel's position who fear that Bush's mention of the 1949 lines will somehow legitimate extreme Palestinian territorial and other demands going back to UNGA resolutions 181 and 194 from the 1947-1949 period can relax. Surely we all understand by now that Bush's periodic rhetorical gestures to the parties are just that - attempts to postpone any really meaningful entry by the administration into the process.
- If all goes well, Israel will soon embark on a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Because this is by definition a one-sided act, Israel alone will determine the borders of its disengagement.
- Israel cannot set Gaza adrift politically and economically without attaching it to the outside world and to the West Bank. In other words, the issues at this point are political and not geographic. Whether Sharon likes it or not, Gaza will remain on the agenda of eventual final status talks between Israel and the PLO/PA. Whether the Palestinians like it or not, Bush's periodic official remarks about the conflict and its resolution, including those that ostensibly contradict one another - like mention of the 1949 lines alongside mention of UNSCR 242, which enshrines the 1967 lines - are far from engaging the heart of the issue. (Bitterlemons)
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Neither Significant Nor Helpful
by Ruth Lapidot
- There is a huge difference between an armistice line and an international border. An armistice line by definition is only a military line and is supposed to be provisional. The 1949 armistice agreements insist they do not create a political border but a military line that the armed forces should not cross. Our armistice lines are more stable than usual because they were instituted in pursuance of Security Council resolutions of November 4 and 16, 1948.
- The problem with Israel is we have a valid international border with Jordan and Egypt, whereas with Syria and Lebanon only an armistice line was agreed. With Lebanon the two coincide - international border and armistice line. With Syria they do not coincide. With Palestine there has never been an international border but only armistice lines agreed by Israel and Jordan and Egypt.
- As far as I know there is no other difference between the lines of 1949 and June 4, 1967.
- In the areas of Gaza and the West Bank I don't see any reason [why Bus mentioned 1949 lines]. In the case of Syria it gives us an advantage, since we claim the 1949 lines and they claim 1967. Bush may have mentioned 1949 due to the influence of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice [which uses the 1949 line as a point of reference].
- I really don't know why [some Palestinians expressed a preference for the 1949 lines as a basis for negotiations]. The 1949 line doesn't give them an advantage in negotiations. The Palestinians were not a party to the armistice agreements, so this weakens their position. Don't forget that with regard to 1949 all four agreements state clearly these are only military lines and they have no political validity whatsoever. (Bitterlemons)
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