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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:
Dramatic Drop in Terror Fatalities in 2007 - Amos Harel (Ha'aretz)
U.S. Company Fined for Complying with Arab Boycott of Israel - Michael Freund (Jerusalem Post)
Hamas TV Host Sings: "We Liberated Gaza by Force" (MEMRI-TV)
Dissident Saudi Blogger Arrested - Faiza Saleh Ambah
(Washington Post)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Egypt's foreign minister warned Israel against trying to undermine Cairo's ties to Washington, the state news agency MENA said. "If they continue to push and try to affect Egypt's relationship with the U.S. and harm Egyptian interests, Egypt will certainly respond and will try to damage their interests," Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Sunday. "We have capabilities in every direction...which may inflict profound damage," he added. Israel last month sent a videotape to Washington that Israeli officials said showed Egyptian security men helping Hamas militants smuggle arms across the border to Gaza. Egyptian President Mubarak accused Israel of fabricating evidence to implicate Egyptian security men in arms smuggling. (Reuters) Some 700 Palestinians in Halhoul in the West Bank observed a minute's silence on Monday as they marked the first anniversary of the hanging of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, one of the most popular Arab leaders among Palestinians. Holding Saddam portraits and gripping Iraqi and Palestinian flags, rally participants recited poems praising the dictator and burned Israeli and American flags. (AFP/Yahoo) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Hamas terror operatives in the West Bank have recently increased efforts to develop Kassam rockets that could be fired into central Israeli cities, the Israel Security Agency revealed Monday. The agency's year-end report also warned of global Jihad and al-Qaeda attempts to bolster their presence in the West Bank and Gaza. (Jerusalem Post) In December alone, at least 40 armed terrorists were killed in IDF air attacks. In all the attacks of recent weeks, only gunmen were hurt, as confirmed by Palestinians. The rate of civilians hurt in these attacks in 2007 was 2-3%. (Ha'aretz) Israeli diplomats are quietly working to convince the U.S. and the EU to boycott - and defund - a follow-up to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism conference in Durban, South Africa. The Israeli move comes after the Dec. 22 passage of the UN budget for 2008-2009, which includes funding for "Durban II." (Jerusalem Post) Eight Palestinians were killed and 30 others were wounded as Hamas and Fatah exchanged fire Monday and Tuesday at Fatah anniversary celebrations. (Ynet News) See also Hamas Raids Fatah Institutions in Gaza According to PCHR investigations, on Saturday the Palestinian police raided an office of Fatah in al-Remal in Gaza City where they arrested six people. Later on the same day, the police, accompanied by masked militants in civilian clothes, raided Fatah offices in al-Daraj in Gaza City. On Sunday, police accompanied by masked militants raided the Fatah office near Ansar, as well as the office of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, confiscating equipment. On Friday, Palestinian police raided the campus of al-Azhar University in Gaza City and arrested 35 students who were preparing for the celebration of the anniversary of the Fatah movement. (Palestinian Center for Human Rights) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
We all know the Israel of wars and precarious security, but what about Israel of the humming economy with 90 Israel-related companies on NASDAQ? What about Israeli films garnishing honors around the world: "Jellyfish" and "The Band's Visit" at Cannes, "Beaufort" in Berlin, "My Father My Lord" in Tribeca, "Sweet Mud" at Sundance, and "Aviva, My Love" in Shanghai? What of Israeli solar power in California that has been saving 2 million barrels of oil annually for nearly 20 years? What of Arava Valley high-tech agriculture, with exports exceeding $100 million? Natafim, the drip irrigation system patented by Kibbutz Hatzerim, is now a multinational conglomerate selling millions of systems throughout the world. What of the Israel that is taking in Darfur refugees, and what of the first Israeli-initiated UN resolution, calling upon countries to share agricultural technology with developing countries, adopted overwhelmingly in December? It's this other Israel that's underreported. (Boston Globe) See also Economic Growth Rate in Israel Is Double the OECD Average - Zeev Klein Israel's economic growth reached 5.3% in 2007, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported. Growth has exceeded 5% in four of the last five years. Israel's economic growth rate is double that of OECD countries and almost three times that of the U.S. Per capita growth reached 3.5%, the highest of all Western countries. (Globes) "Pistol-toting" Israeli settlers who allegedly "covet" (note the biblical reference) and steal Palestinian land are described by Richard Boudreaux of the Los Angeles Times in a Dec. 27 front-page story, "A West Bank Struggle Rooted in Land." Boudreaux includes all the usual dreary cliches: the Palestinian protagonist, Daoud Nassar, is described as "a square-jawed man of 37 with a calm, hopeful disposition." Boudreaux cites as credible claims made by the group Taayush, which he describes as "a Tel Aviv-based organization that advocates Israeli-Palestinian cooperation." Yet according to the Taayush website, the only "Israeli-Palestinian cooperation" the group would support is the dismantling of Israel. Quoting Taayush, and affording them credibility, is like quoting the KKK on race relations. (CAMERA) Nicolas Sarkozy is a brave president who says publicly what he sincerely thinks and feels. His pragmatic policy is a good lesson for conservative French diplomacy. Sarkozy said clearly that Syria's Bashar Assad must prove he is a statesman with whom one can deal, and that Assad must stop his double game toward Lebanon and Israel. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs-Hebrew) Lebanon is a unique amalgam of 18 officially recognized religious sects. Lebanon's weak state, acute socioeconomic and political inequities, and experience of pervasive external intervention converged to create an unusually permissive environment for Islamists. There is a code of understanding among Salafists in Lebanon that accepts the formation of underground armed networks so long as they do not antagonize the authorities. Persuading them otherwise will be virtually impossible so long as Hizbullah remains armed, which clearly will be the case for the foreseeable future. (MERIA Journal/GLORIA Center/IDC-Herzliya) Observations: The Powers of Petrocracy - Fouad Ajami (U.S. News)
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