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Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: [email protected] In-Depth Issues:
IDF: Palestinians May Tunnel Under West Bank Security Fence - Hanan Greenberg (Yediot Ahronot-Hebrew)
New Radar System to be Tested Against Kassam Rockets - Arieh O'Sullivan (Jerusalem Post)
Ukraine's Yushchenko to Have Plastic Surgery in Israel for Dioxin Poisoning (MoscowNews-Russia)
Germany Set to End Unlimited Immigration for Ex-Soviet Jews (Reuters/Ha'aretz)
Syrian Official Turned Away at Dulles International Airport (New York Times)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
President Bush on Monday threatened Syria with new diplomatic or economic measures to pressure the country over its suspected interference in Iraqi politics. "We have sent messages to the Syrians in the past and we will continue to do so. We have tools at our disposal - a variety of tools, ranging from diplomatic tools to economic pressure. Nothing's taken off the table," Bush said. "We ought to be working with the Syrian government to prevent them from either sending money and/or support of any kind" to the insurgents in Iraq, Bush added. (Reuters) See also Bush Discusses Palestinian Democracy President Bush responded to a question at a press conference Monday: "I gave the speech June 24, 2002, in the Rose Garden that laid out the vision about how to achieve...a peaceful solution, and something that I hope happens. But I'm realistic about how to achieve peace. And it starts with my understanding that there will never be peace until a true democratic state emerges in the Palestinian territory....The Palestinians...will have elections, which is the beginning of the process toward the development of a state. It is not the sign that democracy has arrived." "I subscribe to this theory that the only way to achieve peace is for there to be democracies living side-by-side. Democracies don't fight each other. And the last system didn't work, which was the hope that a Palestinian authority, run by a singular head, who on some days would say we're for peace and some days would say now is the time to attack; hope that everything would be fine. It just didn't work." (White House) British Prime Minister Blair's Mideast peace push suffered a setback on the eve of his visit when Israel said it would not attend the Mideast conference he's proposing. Prime Minister Sharon said Monday that Israel won't send a delegation. He felt Israel's presence would automatically turn the meeting into a political conference about the outstanding negotiating issues. (AP/Washington Post) See also Bush on Blair's Mideast Peace Conference President Bush said Monday: "I appreciate the fact that Prime Minister Tony Blair is willing to help...by holding a conference with Palestinians that will help develop the state." (White House) Al-Qaeda forces in Saudi Arabia have shifted their strategy and are now almost exclusively searching for U.S. and other Western targets in the kingdom while avoiding attacks on domestic institutions in a bid to strengthen their flagging network. While al-Qaeda retains its primary goal of eventually toppling the Saudi royal family, an 18-month campaign of car bombings, gun battles, and kidnappings in which more than 80 people have died - the majority of them Saudis or non-Western immigrant workers - has so far failed to generate many new recruits and has resulted in a backlash among many Saudis. (Washington Post) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Palestinians fired anti-tank missiles that hit a synagogue in the Gaza settlement of Netzarim Tuesday morning. Ten worshipers were treated for shock and damage was caused to the structure. (Maariv International) PLO chief Mahmud Abbas said Monday in Amman, "If Israel pulls out from Gaza, we must accept the withdrawal in any form or kind...and bid them farewell....We will assume responsibility for every parcel of land the Israelis will evacuate." (AFP/Khaleej Times-UAE) On Sunday it seemed as though the war in Ramallah had ended. When IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon's convoy traveled through the city, it elicited nothing but a big yawn. Not a single stone was thrown. Ya'alon could not conceal his amazement - at the relative order, at the cleanliness of the streets, at the spate of construction. It seems that Arafat's death absolved the city of its sense of obligation to the war effort. Tanzim militants, who used to periodically force the stores in Manara Square to shut down, have been forcibly expelled by the merchants. Similar scenes can be seen in the West Bank cities of Jericho, Kalkilya, and Bethlehem, where the volume of terrorist activity has dropped significantly. There has also been a change for the better in Hebron. However, Gaza continues to take a deadly toll on Israelis and Palestinians alike, and terrorists in Nablus continue to try to send suicide bombers into Israel. (Ha'aretz) See also Bethlehem Heartened as Christian Tours Return - Matthew Kalman (New York Daily News) See also Bethlehem's Paradise Hotel Reopens (AP/Telus-Canada) Information about Israel's contribution to Egypt's economy appears to be a closely guarded secret in that country. No amount of economic growth will produce improved Egyptian attitudes toward Israel unless the ordinary Egyptian knows about Israel's role in it. Most Egyptians, for instance, were completely unaware that Israelis account for a major share of the Sinai tourist trade before October's terrorist attacks. In addition, the average Egyptian is completely unaware of the almost $2 billion a year Egypt receives from America. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Bush deduced that Sharon could grasp the demographic reality and lead Israel toward a two-state solution; that Arafat would never make peace, but was a retardant to peace; that Israel has a right to fight terrorism; and that Sharon would never feel safe enough to take risks unless the U.S. supported him when he fought back. Bush concluded that peace would never come as long as Palestine was an undemocratic tyranny, and that the Palestinians needed to see their intifada would never bring triumph. (New York Times) Along with its cultural and sporting activities, the Ibdaa "cultural center" in Bethlehem is dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel. Far away, in a remote galaxy, sits Abu Mazen, demanding that the "rejection of the occupation" be expressed without weapons, and here...well, let me describe the brightly-colored paintings that line the entire stairwell. We pass a middle-aged, traditionally dressed Palestinian mother poised to hurl the rock in her outstretched hand, as well as panels naming dozens of villages inside pre-1967 Israel that the thousands of children who use this center are told they will one day rebuild. At the top of the stairs is a life-sized portrait of a young Palestinian man, lighted petrol bomb in hand. (Jerusalem Post) The Palestinians' misfortune has rendered the Middle East virtually impotent in the past half-century, as it has been used as justification for just about any effort to protect the ambient stalemate and perpetuate the rule of autocratic regimes. There is little doubt that resolving the Palestinians' foul plight would generate greater confidence in the U.S., but that still doesn't explain why regional reform must be made hostage to a conflict a majority of Arabs have no control over. Nor does it explain why the Arabs must accept being set upon by their own oppressive regimes. The unfortunate reality, however, is that this unreasonable approach holds sway in the region. The writer is opinion editor at the Beirut Daily Star. (Reason) Observations: The Incitement Yardstick - Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook (Jerusalem Post)
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