Featured this weekArizona Bar-Ilan Colgate Concordia Duke Georgetown Harvard Hebrew Hunter Irvine, UC King's College Manchester Michigan State Northwestern Pennsylvania Queen's Stanford Swarthmore College Tel Aviv Toronto UCLA Virginia York | Israel Arrests Palestinians in Jericho Jail as Western Monitors Slip Away
by Steven Erlanger and Greg Myre Israeli military forces besieged a Palestinian prison in Jericho for 10 hours on Tuesday before seizing six Palestinian inmates. The men - five of whom were wanted in the assassination of Rehavam Zeevi, the Israeli tourism minister, in 2001 - had been held for four years in an unusual arrangement that involved the U.S. and Britain. Palestinian leaders had hinted recently at freeing them. The raid unleashed a wave of anger among Palestinians. (New York Times)
Additional Headlines Israel Announces First Cases of Deadly Bird Flu Strain, in Turkeys Russian Expert: Iran Can Create Nuclear Bomb UN Approves New Human Rights Council Over U.S. and Israeli Opposition | | Hamas Ready to Form Government  Hamas said Saturday it has completed the formation of a government, two weeks ahead of deadline, but apparently without coalition partners that might have softened the Islamic group's image. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has to approve the Cabinet line up before it can be approved by parliament, is tentatively scheduled to meet Hamas leaders on Sunday, Hamas officials said. (Ynet News)
With Hamas Victory, a Changed Middle East
by Steven Erlanger The victory of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections has altered the Middle East. It is comparable to the revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran and brought the mullahs of Shia Islam to power. The Hamas victory is not just a little local difficulty. Hamas is the Palestinian part of the Muslim Brotherhood and the first to win an election. Its victory has enormous resonance for radical Islam everywhere. The "peace process" is effectively dead. The diplomatic assumptions of 40 years - a peace treaty after a negotiated territorial compromise between Israel and Palestine, or "land for peace" - are blown apart. (International Herald Tribune) |
AIPAC Honors Hillel Professionals, Students and Campuses at Annual Policy Conference  Several campus Hillels, Hillel professionals and Hillel student leaders were among the honorees at last week's AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Representing all 50 states, more than 1,100 students, faculty and campus professionals from 350 campuses participated in the conference, including 120 student government presidents. (Hillel)
Bar-Ilan's Anglos
by Ben Jacobson  Zahava Glanz, the assistant dean for Overseas Students' Programs at Bar-Ilan, estimates that there are more than 200 English speakers in the school's undergraduate- and graduate-level degree programs, with 50 new students matriculating this past fall. Several more English speakers are in the university's preparatory Mechina program for immigrants, in addition to the 75 participating in Bar-Ilan's One Year Program for freshmen from abroad. "A large portion of the students were here for a year, fell in love with Israel and decided to stay," explains Glanz. (Jerusalem Post)
| | Arizona: From Kiryat Malachi to Tucson: New Israel Fellow Boosts UA Hillel Program
by Renee Claire  If sister cities are established to promote better relations between peoples, then the appointment of Racheli Marom as the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation's first Israel Fellow demonstrates the value of such pairings. The 26-year-old graduate of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is from Kiryat Malachi, Israel, Tucson's Partnership 2000 city. As an Israel Fellow, Racheli is charged with implementing a program designed to better connect youth in the Diaspora to Israel and to inspire this next generation of Jews to become more engaged in their local communities. (Jewish Tucson)
Baruch & Hunter: Leaders in Any Language  This winter six students from the Hillels at Baruch and Hunter Colleges traveled to Israel to meet with six students from the Hillel at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, their partners in an Israeli-Diaspora leadership-development program. The American and Israeli students have formed a joint committee that grants funds provided by the United Jewish Communities' Partnership 2000 and Hillel's Bronfman Global Exchange Fund to projects on both sides of the ocean that focus on tzedek, arts and culture and Jewish learning. (Hillel)
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Point-Counterpoint - What Are the Ramifications of the Jericho Prison Operation?
Security and Defense: It's Showdown Time!
by Yaakov Katz - The invasion of Jericho and Israel's success at apprehending Saadat sent a threefold message to the Palestinians.
- Firstly, said OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh, it showed that "the blood of an Israeli minister will not be forfeited and the perpetrators will be hunted down."
- Secondly, the Jericho operation, dubbed "Bringing the Goods Home," served as a declaration to Hamas that even the run-up to the formation of the new Palestinian government would not prevent Israel from operating inside PA-controlled cities.
- Finally, according to officials, it served as a warning to Hamas leaders that if - after forming a government - they engaged in terror activity, they would not be immune to targeted killings or Jericho-like invasions. (Jerusalem Post)
Great Election Ploy. Now What?
by Ofer Shelah - Olmert took no particular risk by going to Jericho. He knew he would enjoy from both right- and left-wingers, and that it would be very easy to translate Hamas' arrogance about releasing Zeevi's killers into a national consensus about the need to arrest them.
- In this context, the move jells nicely with other ideas Olmert has put forth of late, and is a signal that the Kadima Party has once again taken the initiative.
- After being weaned from the "no mistakes" theory that has silenced him since he took over from Ariel Sharon in January, the acting prime minister is now the one to dictate the issues for debate, and he forces those who disagree with him to respond.
- Tuesday's IDF operation, along with signifying the desertion of a great many international factors, signifies the final crumbling of any appearance of self rule in the territories.
- Both Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas now have a perfect excuse not to take any responsibility -- the Palestinians have always been champions of such a path in any event. (Ynet News)
| | And the Wall Came Tumbling Down
by Amos Harel - The problem is that it is not exactly clear to whom the message was sent. Right now, the Palestinian Authority is an enigma, a two-headed creature in which the nature of relations between its two heads, the chairman of Fatah and the designated Hamas prime minister, has not yet been regulated.
- Even if the sight of the ruined Muqata in Jericho has been burned into the consciousness of the commander of the Palestinian brigade in the city, or of his own commanders in Ramallah, there is no certainty that other officers will not be taking their places two weeks from now.
- There is no doubt Abbas was humiliated by the Jericho affair. Other humiliations are liable to push the chairman, a serial threatener of resignation, to make good on his threats.
- The main positive development is the policy of restraint adopted by Hamas. This week, the organization passed a not-so-simple hurdle when its leaders rejected appeals by some activists to take revenge on Israel for the Jericho humiliation. (Ha'aretz)
Another Unilateral Move - Editorial - Israel's assault on a Palestinian prison this week will no doubt bolster Mr. Olmert's strongman credentials, but the Israeli army's incursion into Jericho shouldn't be viewed solely as a political power play.
- It's worrisome because it widens the chasm in Israeli-Palestinian relations since the militant group Hamas won control of the Palestinian parliament.
- The assault graphically shows how easily this conflict could return to a military-style confrontation, the fragile cease-fire of the last year overtaken by a barrage of attacks and counterattacks.
- Israel acted on its own because it won't deal with the new Hamas-led government, which has refused to recognize Israel's right to exist. As long as Hamas holds to its anti-Israel stance, it will suffer the consequences of Israel's unilateral actions. (Baltimore Sun)
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