|
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
| |||||
|
To contact the Presidents Conference: click here In-Depth Issues:
Military Intelligence: Iran Aims to Destroy Israel - Gideon Alon (Ha'aretz)
Hamas Admits Receiving Support from Hizballah - Ali Waked (Ynet News)
Shin Bet: Family Reunifications Prove to Be Terror Threat - Margot Dudkevitch (Jerusalem Post)
Iraqi General: WMD Went to Syria - Ryan Mauro (Global Politician)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
|
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
American and Israeli officials warned again Tuesday that they would cut off aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government if it did not renounce violence and recognize Israel, but said they had no plans to oust such a government, as had been reported in the New York Times. "There is no U.S.-Israeli plan, project, plot, conspiracy to destabilize or undermine a future Palestinian government," said Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman. (New York Times) "There's no plot," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "We have the same conversations with the government of Israel that we have with Arab governments and European governments and others." "There is a free and fair election that took place. The Palestinian people spoke very clearly," McClellan said. "Palestinian officials, for years, have recognized Israel's right to exist and worked in negotiation toward peace. If the Palestinians were to change that decade-old policy, then their relations with the international community would change as well," he said. (Xinhuanet-China) Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said, "Israel doesn't make or break Palestinian governments - that is not our job." (Jerusalem Post) Iran announced Tuesday that it had resumed uranium enrichment efforts in defiance of international pressure to curb its nuclear program and said it will no longer comply with voluntary measures designed to enhance international inspectors' access to its nuclear facilities. "The order to resume uranium enrichment has been issued," said Javad Vaeidi, deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. This was confirmed by monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency during inspections Tuesday. (Washington Post) The Egyptian parliament Tuesday postponed local elections for two years despite opposition from the U.S. and the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Gomhuria newspaper reported Wednesday. The Brotherhood made a strong showing in legislative elections last year, and some saw the new law as an effort to block the group's ascendance. (AP/Washington Post) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Palestinians in Gaza launched a rocket Tuesday that landed near a strategic facility in the Ashkelon industrial area, causing light damage. Military officials did not identify the installation, but said several power plants exist in the area. Another rocket hit a Carlsberg beer production factory. Earlier Tuesday, two other rockets were launched at Israel but landed inside the Gaza Strip. (Ynet News/Ha'aretz) Speaking before the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Acting Prime Minister Olmert said, "the day Abbas will appoint a Hamas representative to head a government, we will review all contacts" with the authority. "We will not negotiate and we will not deal with a PA that will be dominated wholly or partly by a terrorist organization," he said. (Ha'aretz) The head of Hamas in Gaza, Mahmoud A-Zahar, revealed at a meeting with University of Cairo faculty the true intentions of his movement toward Israel and a permanent solution. According to A-Zahar, Hamas policy denies any possibility of coexistence with a Jewish state on Palestinian land. He emphasized that Hamas recognizes Israel's existence as an existing fact, but Hamas would never accept Israel's right to exist. (NewsFirstClass-Hebrew) Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, slammed the U.S. and Europe Tuesday for not doing more to back Iranian reformers. "If we want to see change in Iran, we have to support the people in Iran who will bring about change. And what we have done is everything possible to dissuade them," said Hoenlein. He singled out the need to highlight Iran's human rights abuses, pointing to hundreds of public executions on "spurious charges" each year. "The West as a whole has failed to stand up to the murder of Christians, Baha'is, and Muslims." "The world makes a mistake to dismiss [Iranian President] Ahmadinejad's comments about Israel and the Holocaust as the rantings of a madman. They are not. They are part of his nuclear program. This is a deliberate, well-thought-out strategy to mobilize the Muslim world," he said. To help encourage moderate Muslims to reject Holocaust denial, the Conference is working with Yad Vashem on a new program to bring Muslim teachers to Israel to learn about the Holocaust. (Jerusalem Post) The Chinese Consul in Israel, Lu Chin, said on Wednesday that China requested that the Israel Foreign Ministry prevent the Dalai Lama's planned visit. Although official Israeli state representatives would not meet with him, the consul said that was not enough. (Jerusalem Post) See also Israeli Aid Group Greets Dalai Lama in Israel The non-government group Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People is coordinating the Dalai Lama's visit to Israel starting Wednesday. He was invited by Avishay Braverman, former president of Ben-Gurion University, as part of celebrations marking the centennial of David Ben-Gurion's birth. (IsraAID) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
I went to the West Bank to report on and interview Palestinian Arabs before, during, and after the elections. In the market of Hebron, a pretty woman, Raeda, 22, with a veil down to her eyebrows, told me she prefers Hamas because it's a religious party that will reestablish Islamic rule on all the land occupied by the Jews. With a lovely smile she also told me that she wouldn't mind if her son becomes a martyr. A group of children told me, almost singing, that: "Religion says that there is no peace with the infidels." Where did they learn that? At school. What do they think about martyrs? All of them want to be one. It's a pathetic joke to try to launder the Hamas victory as if the Palestinian Arabs simply wanted to vote against PA corruption. From what I saw and heard, it was an Islamist and violent vote, with deep cultural roots in the Palestinian education system and in the messages of the Palestinian Arab leadership during the intifada. The reality is that secularism has declined since the 1970s. No statement renouncing violence or terror or acknowledging Israel's right to exist can cancel out the religious and violence-oriented education of the past decade that culminated in the election. (New York Sun) Maybe the blazes and bloodshed of this week were spontaneous outrage. Or maybe they were a calculated response. Either way, they are an ugly reminder of extremism too often practiced in the name of one of the world's great religions. What has done more harm to Islam this week: a bunch of cartoons? Or the rioters who burned embassies in retaliation for the cartoons? (Chicago Tribune) Observations: Friends of Hamas - Editorial (Wall Street Journal, 15Feb06)
To subscribe to the Daily Alert, send a blank email message to: [email protected] To unsubscribe, send a blank email message to: [email protected] |
||||