The Week’s News in Review

May 14:. Israel bulldozed at least 20 houses in the Gaza Strip near where Israeli soldiers were killed in a Palestinian attack. Syria's president said he would not expel Palestinian terrorist groups. Colin Powell will meet with the Palestinian Authority's prime minister. May 15: 150,000 Israelis demonstrate in favor of a Gaza withdrawal in a rally in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. May 17: Israeli forces killed six Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Republican and Democratic leaders said they would seek Congress' support for an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Sen. Joseph Lieberman urged pro-Israel lobbyists to push for the U.S. Embassy in Israel to be moved to Jerusalem. May 18: Israeli forces killed at least 15 Palestinians in counterterrorist operations in a Gaza Strip refugee camp. Israel is committed to withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, an Israeli Cabinet minister told pro-Israel lobbyists.

Myths and Facts in The Israeli-Arab Conflict

MYTH: "UN Resolution 242 requires Israel to return to its pre-1967 boundaries." FACTS: The most controversial clause in Resolution 242 is the call for the "Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict." This is linked to the second unambiguous clause calling for "termination of all claims or states of belligerency" and the recognition that "every State in the area" has the "right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." Other points to consider: (1) The resolution does not make Israeli withdrawal a prerequisite for Arab action. Moreover, it does not specify how much territory Israel is required to give up. The Security Council did not say Israel must withdraw from "all the" territories occupied after the Six-Day War. This was quite deliberate. The Soviet delegate wanted the inclusion of those words and said that their exclusion meant "that part of these territories can remain in Israeli hands." The Arab states pushed for the word "all" to be included, but this was rejected. They nevertheless asserted that they would read the resolution as if it included the word "all." This literal interpretation, without the implied "all," was repeatedly declared to be the correct one by those involved in drafting the resolution. (2) The resolutions clearly call on the Arab states to make peace with Israel. The principal condition is that Israel withdraw from "territories occupied" in 1967. Since Israel withdrew from approximately 93 percent of the territories when it gave up the Sinai and portions of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, it has already partially, if not wholly, fulfilled its obligation under 242. (3) The Arab states also objected to the call for "secure and recognized boundaries" because they feared this implied negotiations with Israel. The question, then, is whether Israel has to give up any additional territory. Now that peace agreements have been signed with Egypt and Jordan, and Israel has withdrawn to the international border with Lebanon, the only remaining territorial disputes are with the Palestinians (who are not even mentioned in 242) and Syria. (4) The dispute with Syria is over the Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin expressed a willingness to negotiate a compromise in exchange for peace; however, then-President Hafez Assad refused to consider even a limited peace treaty unless Israel first agreed to a complete withdrawal. Under 242, Israel has no obligation to withdraw from any part of the Golan in the absence of a peace accord with Syria. Source: Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard, http://www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org. 

Advocacy for Israel Committee Information

The Advocacy for Israel Committee was formed in September of 2001 to organize pro-Israeli activities and to rally support in the form of Hasbara. The next A Team meeting is Sunday May 16 in the CBI Library at 9:45. Make a difference for Israel! Please join us on Monday May 24 as local physician Dr. Robert Entel shares fascinating highlights of his unexpected tour into Palestinian areas as he discusses "Beyond the Security Fence: Medicine in the Palestinian Territories". See reverse for more information. Questions? Ideas? Contact A Team Chairmen Jay Epstein (jhe@tampabay.rr.com) or Sheldon Scheinert (Sheldo123@aol.com). Get involved!

Speaking out for Israel so that "Never Again" shall Jewish silence lead to an indifferent world