Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
in association with the Fairness Project
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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DAILY ALERT

 June 19, 2002
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In-Depth Issue:

Iraq Smuggling Nuclear Arms Parts on Syrian Aid Flights
    Baghdad recently sent 24 planeloads of humanitarian aid to Syria in the wake of a dam collapse on June 4. Intelligence agencies believe that the Iraqis took advantage of the disaster to smuggle banned equipment back on the return flights.
    One of the planes was filled with spare parts for sensitive "flow-forming machines" used to produce components for uranium-enrichment systems.
    Other equipment flown back to Baghdad was believed to include tank parts and spares for the Iraqi Air Force. (Times - UK)

PA Police Chief's Gold Jewelry
    During Operation Defensive Shield, the IDF searched the home of PA Police Chief Razi Jabali in Ramallah and by chance found a trove of jewelry and watches valued at some 1.3 million shekels. The valuables were transferred to a safe at an army base.
    Nearly all of the jewelry is made of gold and some contains diamonds and precious stones. One gold watch has Arafat's picture on its face.
    Jabali has made no complaint about the missing jewelry, leading to suspicions about the way in which he acquired the treasure. Sources within the PA report that Jabali has been accused of corruption in the past.
    Israel has issued an arrest warrant for Jabali for his responsibility in terrorist attacks against Jewish villages. (Yediot Ahronot)


Useful Reference:

547 people have been murdered by Palestinian terrorists since September 2000
List of names by date
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Key Links

Media Contact Information

Back Issues


News Resources - USA and Europe:

  • Bush to Propose Palestinian State Soon
    President Bush plans to propose the establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional boundaries, most likely in September, with negotiations over permanent borders to be completed within three years, U.S. and diplomatic sources said. The Jerusalem bus attack not only delayed Bush's speech, but also reopened discussions within the administration over whether the president should be "rewarding" the Palestinians with a state as long as the bombings continue. (Washington Post)
  • EU Expands Terror List
    Five Palestinian groups, including the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, have been put on an expanded EU list of terrorist organizations. Also added were the Palestine Liberation Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Nidal Organization, and the Holy Land Foundation -- a U.S.-based charity that channels funds to Hamas. (CNN)
  • Renewed Arab Boycott Targets U.S. Firms
    A new Arab boycott of American companies with ties to Israel is being launched, with Starbucks coffee shops, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and Burger King heading the list. Other boycott targets include AOL Time Warner, Disney, Estee Lauder, Nokia, Revlon, Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, and IBM. (Independent - UK)
  • Bomb-Making 101
    A chilling 3-hour videotape confiscated by the IDF in Nablus last April features what the Israelis call "Bomb-making 101" for Palestinian militants. A masked member of the Islamic militant group Hamas begins with a lecture on the importance of waging holy war against the Israelis, and the heavenly rewards awaiting those who make and explode bombs. Almost all the necessary material, he says, is easily acquired at local stores. (ABC News)
    • News Resources - Israel and Mideast:
  • A Moment of Silence and Then the Screams
    Shlomi Kalderon was driving behind the bus in Jerusalem when it exploded, leaving 19 dead. "The sight was horrific. Body parts flew in the air and the head and arms of a person landed on my windshield." Ambulance driver Nir Shani said, "When we arrived, there wasn't much to do inside the bus. The bodies were lying on the seats." (Ha'aretz)
        Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau called the bombing "a crime against humanity."
  • Israel to Retake Palestinian Territory
    In the wake of the latest terrorist murders in Jerusalem, the Israeli Cabinet decided to respond by capturing PA territory. These areas will be held by Israel as long as terror continues. Additional acts of terror will lead to the taking of additional areas. (Prime Minister's Office)
  • Bomber's Mother Praises Son's Death
    "Because I love my son, I encouraged him to die a martyr's death for the sake of Allah. I prayed for him when he left the house and asked Allah to make his operation a success and give him martyrdom," said Umm Nidal, mother of homicide bomber Muhammad Farhat. (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/MEMRI)
        Israeli political figures have proposed to expel the families of homicide bombers from the country, and prevent their receiving thousands of dollars in compensation from Arab states. (Israel Radio)

    • Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):

  • Recognizing Jewish Self-Determination - Jack Kemp
    Until the Palestinians -- and the Arab world in general -- are prepared finally to acknowledge Israel's right to exist, there will be no Palestinian state and no peace. (Jewish World Review)
  • A Brief History of Yasser Arafat - David Brooks
    Yasser Arafat claims that he was born in Jerusalem, but he was actually born in Cairo. He claims to belong to the prominent Jerusalem family of Husseini, but he is at best only distantly related to it. "Obviously, Arafat is a congenital liar." (Atlantic Monthly)
  • A Marshall Plan for the Palestinians - Charles A. Radin
    A $1.8 billion plan drawn up in March by the IDF would ease the economic distress of the Palestinians and help them build an independent economy. (Boston Globe)
  • Saudi Broadcasts Promote Anti-Semitism, Martyrdom
    Recent broadcasts on Iqraa Television, one of the global satellite channels packaged by the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART), a Saudi-based company, feature an anti-Semitic interview with a 3-year-old girl who does not like Jews "because...they're apes and pigs." Allah says this "in the Quran." A major backer of ART is Prince Alaweed of the Saudi royal family, who has claimed that U.S. support for Israel prompted the Sept. 11 attacks. (FOX News)
  • Quintuplets in the IDF - Catherine Saint Louis
    At 19, the five Glasel brothers all serve in the Israel Defense Forces: Ron and Oz are in rescue units, Shay and Ziv are in military intelligence, and Dor is in artillery. (New York Times)
    • Talking Points:

    Understanding Arafat's Motives - Dennis Ross (Foreign Policy)

    • Every agreement Arafat made was limited and contained nothing he regarded as irrevocable. He was not, in his eyes, required to surrender any claims. Worse, notwithstanding his commitment to renounce violence, he has never relinquished the terror card.
    • During the Oslo peace process, he never prepared his public for compromise. Instead, he led the Palestinians to believe the peace process would produce everything they ever wanted
    • To this day, Arafat has never honestly admitted what was offered to the Palestinians: a deal that would have resulted in a Palestinian state, with territory in over 97 percent of the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem; with Arab East Jerusalem as the capital of that state; with an international presence in place of the Israeli Defense Force in the Jordan Valley; and with the unlimited right of return for Palestinian refugees to their state but not to Israel.
    • I have never met an Arab leader who trusts Arafat or has anything good to say about him in private. Almost all Arab leaders have stories about how he has misled or betrayed them. But no Arab leader is prepared to challenge him.
    • No one but the Palestinians can choose the Palestinian leader. But the rest of the world can choose not to deal with a leader who fails to fulfill obligations.
    • Arafat can control the militants in the Palestinian Authority, but he won�t. From the beginning of the peace process, Arafat made clear he prefers to co-opt, not confront, extremist groups.
    • Arafat never gave unequivocal orders to arrest, much less stop, those who were planning, organizing, recruiting, financing, or implementing terror attacks against Israelis.

      Dennis Ross was the lead negotiator on the Middle East peace process in the first Bush and both Clinton administrations.

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