| |  | | | October 23, 2005 | 
|  President Bush Welcomes Palestinian President Abbas to the White House
After meeting with Mahmoud Abbas at the White House Thursday, President Bush said: "Israeli withdrawal creates new opportunities, creates responsibilities for the Palestinian people. The way forward must begin by confronting the threat that armed gangs pose to a genuinely democratic Palestine. And those armed gangs must confront the threat that armed gangs pose to lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians." (White House) Read More. | |  Since Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza, Palestinians Now Give Top Priority to Improving Living Standard, Not End to Occupation by Bernard Gwertzman
Khalil Shikaki, director of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, says there has been a profound shift in the attitudes of Palestinians since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in August. Prior to the withdrawal, Palestinians overwhelmingly gave the "end to the occupation" as their top priority. Now, he says, the priority is for an improvement in the economic life in the Palestinian areas, with an end to political corruption, and an end to the occupation falling far behind. (Council on Foreign Relations) Read More. | |  Israel Tightens Restrictions after Attacks Kill Three by Greg Myre
Israel imposed new travel restrictions last week on Palestinians in the West Bank and suspended contacts with the Palestinian Authority in response to two drive-by shootings that killed three young Israelis and wounded five. "When you have these attacks you can't go on with business as usual," said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry. The three were Matat Adler, a 21 year-old newlywed (pictured left), her cousin Kinneret Mandel, 23 (c), and Oz Ben-Meir, 15 (r). (New York Times) Read More. | |  Palestinian Woman Found with Hand Grenade while Holding One-Month-Old Baby
A Palestinian woman was found Saturday hiding a hand grenade under her baby during a West Bank arrest raid, an Israeli army officer said. The woman, Aziza Jawabra, admitted the grenade was near her one-month-old son, but said she did not know it was in the pocket of the jacket she was wearing. Lt.-Col. Arik Chen said his troops finally searched Jawabra after they became suspicious of the way she was carrying the baby. The soldiers found she was holding the grenade just under the baby's backside. (AP/CBC) Read More. |
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|  For Mr. Abbas: Time to Act - Editorial
We were encouraged to see President Bush use Mr. Abbas's trip to Washington this week to ratchet up pressure on both the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Bush administration was right to press Mr. Abbas to require that candidates in the coming legislative elections renounce violence. Mr. Abbas himself must begin to match his words about eschewing violence with actions because that's the only way the Palestinians will ever get the state they so crave. (New York Times) Read More.
See also Abbas Must Act by Mortimer B. Zuckerman (U. S. News) | |  A History of Violence by Bret Stephens
Many explanations have been given to account for the almost matchless barbarism into which Palestinian society has descended in recent years. The Palestinian president leads a society in which dignity and violence have long been entwined, in which the absence of the latter risks the loss of the former. This is not to say that Mr. Abbas himself is a violent man. But his fate as a politician rests in the hands of violent men, and so far he has shown no appetite for confronting them. (Wall Street Journal) Read More. | |  Hamas, A Political Party? by P. R. Kumaraswamy
Without moderation and the willingness to compromise, enlisting Hamas in the electoral process would only complicate matters for Abbas. If it is to compete with and perhaps replace the PLO, Hamas needs to present itself as a political party guided by compromise rather than a militant group driven by ideological militancy. It is far from certain whether Hamas has the ability to make that transformation. (Indian Express - India) Read More. | |  Pretoria Calling by Dennis Ross
The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has a credibility problem that his visit with President Bush is unlikely to help: how to convince his people that violence against Israel will not lead to an independent Palestinian state. Arafat loved to equate the Palestinian struggle for statehood with the struggle of South Africans against apartheid, but his was always a false analogy. The international community supports a two-state solution because it recognizes that there are two national movements with populations in rough equality. That was never the case in South Africa. (New York Times) Read More. |
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|   UCLA: Reaching for Middle East Peace by Saba Riazati
A town hall meeting was held last week to discuss OneVoice's steps toward conflict resolution in the Middle East. OneVoice is an organization that seeks compromise between Palestinians and Israelis through educational campaigns aiming to depolarize extremist groups from both backgrounds in hopes of reaching peace. Among the speakers was actor Jason Alexander from the sitcom "Seinfeld." "This crisis alone is going to determine the quality of life in the 21st century," Alexander said. (Daily Bruin) Read More. | |   MIT: Program Offers Youth Connection to Israel
When Joshua Sklarsky was offered a chance to spend 10 months in Israel, he didn't hesitate to say yes. He joined the Masa program - Hebrew for "journey." Jews ages 18 to 30 can select from more than 100 secular and religious classes and volunteer opportunities for a semester or one academic year. Sklarsky, of Voorhees, N.J., speaks fluent Hebrew. He returned from Israel in June to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Gannet News) Read More. | |  Penn State: Big Ten Opens Up Travel to Israel; PSU Continues Ban by Cynthia Rathinasamy
Four years ago, heightened security issues in Israel resonated as far as Penn State, shutting down all study abroad programs to the country. Those programs are still suspended at Penn State, but other Big Ten universities, including Michigan State, Ohio State and Indiana University, are permitting students to travel to the Middle East despite federal travel warnings. (Digital Collegian) Read More. | |  Stanford: Editorial Questions Beinin's Political Stance by Bob Borek
History Prof. Joel Beinin was harshly criticized in The Stanford Review last week for a supposed pro-Palestinian bias in teaching his courses. The editorial, entitled "Joel Beinin Does Not Deserve Tenure," was written by Daniel J. Jacobs, a professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida and a member of the Stanford Class of 1982. Last spring, Jacobs took Beinin's online course, "Palestine, Zionism and the Arab-Israeli Conflict," which is sponsored by a consortium composed of Stanford, Yale and Oxford. Jacob's editorial focused mainly on points of misinformation in lecture and in a video narrative distributed to the class. (Stanford Daily) Read More. | |   Towson: Ronen Weiss' Campus Mission by Andrew Scherr
Born and raised in Ashkelon, Ronen Weiss joined the Israeli army when he was 18 and served as an air force intelligence officer for four years. At age 23 he set out to share his passion for his homeland with young adults in the U.S. by becoming one of the Hillel organization's first "Israel fellows." After spending the past two years working on the UC-Davis and Sacramento State campuses, Mr. Weiss came to Baltimore this past August. Headquartered on the Towson University campus, Mr. Weiss splits his time between the Hillel sites at Towson, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. (Baltimore Jewish Times) Read More. | |  Tufts: From Different Camps, Student Activists Arrive at Same End by Amanda McDavid
Two students from opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide agree on the causes of the conflict, and they came to Tufts last week to tell students how to help solve the problem. Khulood Badawi, the former president of the Association of Arab Students in Israeli Universities, joined Yuval Adam, the leader of the Student Coalition at Tel Aviv University, in Cabot 205 for a discussion hosted by the New Initiative for Middle East Peace and the Fletcher School's Med Club. (Tufts Daily) Read More.
See also UMass: Unheard Voices Working Together by Asif Khan (Daily Collegian) | |  ICC, Israeli Ministries Aim to "Re-Brand" Israel
Directors of Israel's three most powerful ministries have agreed on a new plan to improve the country's image abroad - by downplaying religion and avoiding any discussion of the conflict with the Palestinians. Among other recent converts to this idea is Hillel, the international campus organization. Hillel's Israel on Campus Coalition unveiled a sweeping campaign at the beginning of this school year, titled "Israel Starts With I." (Hillel) Read More. | | PSM Seeks Conference Site by Will Horning
A location has not yet been chosen for this year's conference of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, but officials maintain that a conference will be held in spring 2006. Last year Duke hosted the event in October. The PSM - an umbrella organization of several pro-Palestinian groups across the country-promotes university divestment from Israel, the right of return for Palestinian refugees and an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The controversy and protest seen at previous conferences makes coordinating the events a difficult and time-consuming process, PSM officials said. (Duke Chronicle) Read More. | |  Rupert Murdoch Sells Lunch Date to Raise Funds for Jerusalem College
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is selling himself on eBay to raise money for a Jerusalem hi-tech college. Murdoch has set a reserve price of $25,000 per ticket for the lunch date with him, and all profits will go to the Jerusalem College of Technology, praised by the News Corporation boss as an institute "producing top-notch graduates." (Ha'aretz) Read More. | | Scholarships Help Students Get to Israel by Sheri Shefa
Jeff Seidel has helped send 466 Jewish students to study in Israel so far this year, and he says he won't stop until he reaches his goal of sending 1,000. His Old City Center and the Jewish Student Information Centers near Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University offer $500 scholarships to North American students who want to visit Israel and learn about their Jewish heritage. Seidel, originally from Chicago but now living in Jerusalem, has been running the information centers for 20 years. (Canadian Jewish News) Read More. |
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|  Duke Reflects on PSM One Year Later by Saidi Chen
A year after the Palestine Solidarity Movement set off a storm of controversy and dialogue by holding its annual conference at Duke, the waters have calmed, but people are still assessing the conference's impact on the University. Orit Ramler, executive director of the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation, said she is aware of donors who had stopped giving to Duke in response to the conference. "There are lots of people who are still very unhappy with Duke," she said. "At the same time, I think the way that Duke worked with the Jewish community was great." (Duke Chronicle) Read More. | |  George Washington: Hizballah Not So Nice by Scott Liftman
I was a little disappointed with Geoff Bendeck's column, "GW Expat: Face to Face with Hizballah." Bendeck asserts that, "Other than being hell-bent on the destruction of Israel, Hizballah members seem pretty nice." In that case, I will make sure to invite some Hizballah members to Shabbat dinner at my parents' house where they can regale us with heartfelt tales of embassy bombings and kidnappings. Good times. (Hatchet, letter to the editor) Read More. | |  Harvard Law: Amicus Curiae: Justice for Palestine or Jew-Baiting? - Editorial
We recently learned that Harvard Law School's student organization Justice for Palestine has invited Norman Finkelstein to speak on campus on November 3. We urge the group to reconsider. Finkelstein makes a point of attacking the personal and academic integrity of just about every prominent Jew who dares speak out in favor of the rather mild propositions that (1) the Holocaust ought be remembered or (2) that Israel has as much a right to exist as any other country. Among the more famous and noteworthy Jews whom Finkelstein has called "fakes," "frauds," "plagiarists," "clowns," "hoaxers," and "hucksters" are Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, author Leon Uris, author Joan Peters, filmmaker Steven Spielberg...and former Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban. (Harvard Law Record) Read More. |
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|  The Fools Rush In by Liel Leibovitz
The newest ambassadors from Israel at Heart are a bit more casual than last year's business suit-clad contestants. They are the members of Shotey Hanevuah (The Fools of Prophecy) - Click to listen - Israel's hottest band. Starting next week, they will tour campuses from Columbia University to University of California at Berkeley, trying to win over minds and hearts with their music and to show students that there's more to Israel than the grim images on cable news networks. (New York Jewish Week) Read More. | | Israelis Sing It in Fluent English by Harry Rubenstein
In hopes of reaching larger audiences and getting noticed on the international scene, Israeli musicians are increasingly turning to English for musical expression. In addition to infiltrating the airwaves, clubs and music video channels in Israel, they're also making inroads in the U.S. and Europe by launching tours and finding loyal audiences who find it perfectly natural to hear Israelis with a natural grasp of rock & roll singing in English. (Israel21c) Read More. |
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|   Maryland: Terp Women Have Israeli Help in the Pool
Last year vs. the Seminoles, Hokies and Yellow Jackets the women's swimming and diving team broke four records at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, home of the 1996 Olympic Games. Sophomore Maya Finkler (Rishon LeZion, Israel) came in third in the 200-free and senior Inbal Levavi (pictured, Kibbutz Givat Haim, Israel) took third in the 200-back. (CSTV) Read More. | |  Maccabi TA Beats NBA's Toronto Raptors 105-103 in Exhibition Game
The Toronto Raptors became the first NBA team to lose to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 27 years when Anthony Parker's jumper with 0.8 seconds left lifted the Israeli club over Toronto 105-103 on Sunday. Parker, who played in the NBA for Philadelphia and Orlando, had 24 points. Croatia's Nikola Vujcic added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Maccabi, the Euroleague champion. (Ha'aretz) Read More.
See also Orlando Magic Downs Relentless Maccabi 93-79 (St. Petersburg Times) |
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|  Bar-Ilan: First Libeskind Building in Israel to Open
The Wohl Center at Bar-Ilan University, the first building in Israel to be designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, is set to open its doors later this month at a gala dedication ceremony marking its completion. The Center will serve as venue for gatherings, and national and international conferences, and will also provide cultural venue for university and community events. Libeskind: '"Voices and their Echoes stand at the central point, which brings together two essential components of Bar-Ilan: secular and sacred." (Ynet News) Read More. | |   Cornell: Jericho's Echo, Punk Rock in the Holy Land by Mark Rice
The world of "punk," ranging from clothing and hairstyles to the actual music, is often though of as intense, or at the very least, a little unorthodox. That being said, it is even more difficult to imagine punk existing in the political and cultural pressure cooker of Israel and the Middle East. Yet this is the subject of documentary maker Liz Nord's film, Jericho's Echo. (Cornell Daily Sun) Read More. | |  Ushpizin - Unorthodox Meeting of Israel's Secular, Religious Jews by Bob Strauss
One of the best character-based comedies of the year, "Ushpizin" (that's Aramaic for "Holy Guests") comes to us from a most unexpected source. Shuli Rand was a popular Israeli actor before he became Orthodox and dropped out of the business. Years later, he reconnected with a secular director friend, Giddi Dar, and they decided to make a movie that might bridge the wide gap between the nation's ultra-Orthodox and less-observant Jews. (SBSUN) Read More. | |  "Blues by the Beach" Documentary this Month
All this month, "Blues by the Beach," the story of Mike's Place, a bar on the Tel Aviv beach hit by a suicide bomber, will be shown at various venues in an effort to have it qualify for an Academy Award nomination as Best Documentary of 2005. After showing in New York and Denver, the film will open in San Francisco and Boston later this week. Click for schedule and details. (Our Jerusalem) Read More. |
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A United Nations investigation has concluded that senior Syrian officials planned the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Israelis Debate What Should Be Done about Syria
| Pressing Syria
by Ron Ben-Yishai
Opinion about Assad is unanimous: he lacks leadership qualities, is easily swayed, lacks strategic vision and is indecisive. In effect, he's not a leader, but rather a puppet spokesman for his father's old stalwarts in the Baath Party. That's why no-one was surprised when it became public that Washington, in conjunction with France and the United Nations, would try to bring about his removal. Many in Israel hope this report is accurate. But the celebrations are premature and even unjustified. It is important to remember that Syria contains ethnic, religious and political groups most of whom are hostile to one another and have historical blood feuds on the go. The situation is not as extreme as that in Iraq or Lebanon, but it is fragile enough. The one element preventing complete anarchy is the brutal Baath regime and the security mechanisms. The impeachment of Bashar could cause a violent outbreak that would disturb the stability of the entire region. Aside from an ethnic and religious bloodbath inside Syria itself (between the Alawis and the Sunnis), the Lebanese terror group Hizballah, whom Assad restrains by means of controlling the pipeline of Iranian aid, will act more freely under the direct control of Tehran. Instead of sacking Bashar, it would be better to invest technology and intelligence to seal the Iraq-Syria border. But the main tactic must be heavy, sustained economic and diplomatic pressure. (Ynet News) Read More. | | Don't Touch Assad by Assaf Shmueli
Dear George, I've noticed lately you've decided to re-adopt your hard-nosed cowboy image, imposing order on the Wild West. No Arab country, including the Syria whose leaders you are already passing judgment on, was here 100 years ago. They are all young countries, with borders established over bridge games between the leaders of Britain and France. In every Arab country there are dozens of competing fundamentalist groups, of the type that sprouts the roots of terror, in central authority, in which they see the hand of the West, and rebel. They, too, can't stand Assad or the successors to the Hashemite Prince Faisal, and they, too, would like to topple them. Listen to me, Bush. In light of your success in maintaining quiet in Afghanistan and Iraq, I am asking you - no, I'm pleading with you - don't raise your hand against the Assad family. I also don't like them; I also think they are trouble-makers. But in light of your rich experience, I would prefer Assad's stable dictatorship to the chaos of Islamic radicals who would use the chance to further their dream of a huge Islamic state. (Ynet News) Read More.
Don't Save Assad by Guy Ronen
At this moment, Israel absolutely must not throw Syria a life-saving rope. And not even - perhaps especially not because - the Syrian president is weaker than ever. From the time he came to power, Bashar Assad has made every possible mistake. It appears at the moment that following the publication of the international investigation into the Hariri murder, the international community will rise up with one voice against Damascus, with a long list of demands. What should Israel do with all this? Nothing. We cannot pay the price of peace with Syria at the moment. To the contrary, attempts to do so at the present time will lead to nothing - and will only go to serve the moribund dictatorship in Damascus. In theory, it should be easy to get Assad to agree to a good deal because he is weak. But a contract with a weak and isolated leader, who has hit a dead end in every possible area, and whose country is weaker than Israel in every measure of strength, could well not be worth the paper it's printed on. (Ynet News) Read More. |
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