Volume 3 * Issue 109 June 18, 2004

The Week’s News in Review

June 8: The diplomatic "Quartet" seeking Israeli-Palestinian peace drafted an action plan for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Lebanon lodged a U.N. protest at Israel's bombing of a suspected Palestinian terrorist camp near Beirut. Israel shut down Islamist charities linked to West Bank terrorism. Israel played down Turkey's decision to recall its ambassador for consultations. Hezbollah shelled Israeli forces on the Lebanese-Syrian frontier. June 9: Ariel Sharon is expected to hold coalition talks with the main opposition party in coming weeks. Israeli helicopter gunships hit a Hamas weapons arsenal. Israel hinted that it could attack Syria if tensions continue on the Lebanon border. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked Israeli officials to speed up plans for implementing his Gaza withdrawal plan. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who sparked an outcry last year by suggesting that Jewish influence led to the Iraq war, easily won a primary challenge. June 10: Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip will be encouraged to relocate voluntarily as of August, Israeli sources said. Fifteen people were hurt when a protest against Israel's West Bank security fence turned violent. June 11: An Israeli Cabinet minister said settlers who will be evacuated from their homes could receive compensation in the next few weeks. Likud members are courting the Orthodox Shas party in an attempt to shore up the government. U.N. crews stopped a Palestinian reconstruction project after they were threatened by gunmen. The Palestinian Authority's prime minister is advocating a prisoner exchange between Israel and Egypt. Magen David Adom and the International Committee of The Red Cross extended their partnership for two more years. June 14: Israel's Labor Party will abstain from no-confidence votes against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Israel removed 30 roadblocks in the West Bank and loosened restrictions on traffic out of Nablus.

Security, Peace, and Israel's Strategy of Disengagement

Insightful comments from Maj. Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland, Israel's national security advisor, writing in the Washington Institute for Near East Policy: (1) Arafat's policy is to avoid reaching a peace agreement with Israel. This policy is based on four pillars: first, promoting a diplomatic "peace process" because the process itself is something that most everyone supports; second, retaining the terrorism option; third, sustaining the notion that Palestinian victimhood is so terrible that it requires the attention of the entire international community; and fourth, biding time until Palestinians constitute a large majority in the historic land of Palestine. (2) If all of these efforts are pursued simultaneously, then - in Arafat's view - the State of Israel will not survive. (3) Hizballah has succeeded in transforming itself into an organization with substantial military capacity, including 12,000 rockets in reach of approximately half of Israel. This situation - developed by a Lebanese organization after Israel was certified to have ended its occupation of Lebanese territory - poses a real military threat to the existence of the state. (4) Is there any reason to believe that the situation will differ in the West Bank and Gaza after an Israeli withdrawal? Will Hamas not follow in Hizballah's path? Will the Palestinian Authority behave differently than the government of Lebanon? (5) Can one seriously conclude that the extreme poverty in Egypt, the utter lack of human rights in Saudi Arabia, or the many other fundamental problems holding back development in Arab societies are the result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? (6) Much more likely, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict provides an easy excuse not to address these problems and to divert pressure from within those societies onto an outside problem..

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 this Sunday June 20th in the CBI Library at 9:45. Make a difference for Israel! Questions? Ideas? Contact A Team Chairmen Jay Epstein (jhe@tampabay.rr.com) or Sheldon Scheinert (Sheldo123@aol.com). Check out our Mizrach-Israel Board in the hallway leading to the Atrium, near the Bridal Suite. Get involved!

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