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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: click here In-Depth Issues:
Russia Having Second Thoughts on Nuclear Aid to Iran - Yossi Melman (Ha'aretz)
Judge: Sudan Liable for USS Cole Bombing (AP/CBS News)
How Many Jews Did Mama Kill? (MEMRI)
Monument to Ethiopians Who Died En Route to Israel Dedicated in Jerusalem - Ayanawo Farada Sanbetu (Ha'aretz)
Israel's Eurovision Song Contest Entry Accepted (STT-Finland)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, long said to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to them at a military hearing held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Saturday, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon Wednesday. Mohammed described himself as the "military operational commander for all foreign operations around the world" for al-Qaeda, and took responsibility for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 2002 bombing of a nightclub in Bali. He also outlined a vast series of plots that were not completed. Among his targets were office buildings in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York; suspension bridges in New York; the New York Stock Exchange; the Panama Canal; British landmarks including Big Ben; buildings in Israel; American embassies in Indonesia, Australia and Japan; Israeli embassies in India, Azerbaijan, the Philippines and Australia; airliners around the world; and nuclear power plants in the U.S.; as well as assassination plots against former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II. (New York Times) See also Transcript of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's Confession (U.S. Defense Department) After meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni in Washington, Secretary of State Rice said: "In terms of the Arab initiative, I hope that this speaks to the clear need for an Israeli-Arab reconciliation to accompany the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict....We think it's a very good thing that this initiative was put forward....Obviously, the Israelis would have their own ideas about how an Israeli-Arab reconciliation could take place. But I always think that it's a favorable matter when people are talking about resolution of longstanding conflicts....The Arab initiative is not a negotiating document...but rather a framework, a vision for how Israel and the Arabs might reconcile." (U.S. State Department) See also Analysts Skeptical of Saudi Plan - Arshad Mohammed Aaron Miller, a former State Department Middle East negotiator, questioned whether the renewed talk of the Saudi proposal would lead to anything, given its call for Israel to return to the 1967 borders and for Palestinian refugees to have a right of return. "The Saudi initiative is not an initiative. It is a set of principles which I am persuaded neither the Arabs nor the Israelis can adhere to. The Israelis can't do what (it) calls for and the Arabs are not prepared to reciprocate," said Miller. "I don't take a whole lot of this seriously." (Reuters) The EU supports Syria's goal of regaining the Golan Heights from Israel, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after meeting President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday. "We would like to work as much as possible to see your country Syria recuperate the territory taken in 1967," he said. (Reuters/Washington Post) See also Israeli Officials Slam Solana Remarks - Herb Keinon Israeli officials expressed disappointment Wednesday that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana backed a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights following talks in Damascus with Syrian leaders, rather than publicly calling Syria to task for supporting terrorism. "This is not the message that Syria needed to hear at this time. Syria needed to hear that it must stop supporting terrorism, stop trying to undermine the government in Lebanon, stop supporting Hizbullah and Iran," one official said. (Jerusalem Post) The platform of the new Palestinian government is a major "step backward" for peace prospects, and Israel will lobby the international community not to work with the coalition, a senior Israeli official said Thursday. "Anyone who looks carefully at the document will see that there is a regression on a number of important issues," the official said, noting the platform's call for the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel and its affirmation of the Palestinian right of "resistance." "This is not a step forward. It's a step backward," he said. (AP/USA Today) Defense lawyers and media organizations, which include the Washington Post, are objecting to what they say is a government effort to bar the public from the upcoming trial of two pro-Israel lobbyists charged with violating U.S. espionage laws. Last week defense lawyers filed a motion seeking "to strike the government's request to close the trial." (Washington Post) See also A Clash Looms on Secrecy in AIPAC Spy Case - Josh Gerstein (New York Sun) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
The Palestinian refugees must return to their original homes inside Israel and not to the West Bank and Gaza, Hamas minister Atef Udwan said Wednesday in response to reports that Israel and the U.S. had demanded certain changes in the 2002 Saudi initiative. Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, also said, "We are opposed to making any changes in the Arab plan." (Jerusalem Post) Israel, the PA, and Jordan agreed on a plan Wednesday to build an agro-industrial park near Jericho in the West Bank, part of efforts backed by Japan to promote economic cooperation and development in the Middle East. Much of the funding for the park would come from Japanese development assistance. (AP/Ha'aretz) Palestinians in Gaza fired a Kassam rocket that landed near a kibbutz in Israel's Negev region Wednesday night. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
With violence across the Middle East fixing Islam smack at the center of the American political debate, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an organization partly financed by donors closely identified with wealthy Persian Gulf governments, has emerged as the most vocal advocate for American Muslims - and an object of wide suspicion. Critics accuse CAIR of pursuing an extreme Islamist political agenda and say at least five figures with ties to the group or its leadership have either been convicted or deported for links to terrorist groups. CAIR has raised some suspicion by accepting large donations from individuals or foundations closely identified with Arab governments. Some Muslims, particularly the secular, find CAIR overly influenced by Saudi religious interpretations, criticizing it for stating in news releases, for example, that all Muslim women are required to veil their hair. (New York Times) The rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the revival of the 2002 Saudi-Arab League initiative, is not the result of a sudden outbreak of mutual understanding or the dedicated work of special Middle East peace envoys. Rather, the cause is rational self-interest. The Saudi monarchy, in concert with Egypt, Jordan and other Sunni Arab regimes, views Shi'ite power, led by the triumphant revolutionary government in Iran attempting to acquire nuclear weapons, as the greatest threat to its survival. Under these circumstances, a strengthened strategic relationship with the U.S. and a tacit alliance with Israel against Iran are vital for the Saudi and "moderate" Arab regimes. Beyond shared strategic concerns regarding Iran, the time is long overdue for Saudi leaders - political and religious - to end support for incitement and anti-Semitism. (Jerusalem Post) The editor-in-chief of the Palestinian daily Al Hayat, Hafiz Barghouthi, on Wednesday accused the Palestinian factions of abusing democracy. Barghouthi said that what is delaying the formation of the Palestinian unity government was not political differences but the absence of internal democracy within the factions. He accused the factions of "turning the national project into a project for employment and posts." (Maan News-PA) Observations: America and Israel Are at War with a Common Enemy - Pastor John Hagee (Jerusalem Online) Pastor John Hagee, who founded Christians United for Israel, told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy forum in Washington on Sunday:
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