More Jews Saying "NO" to the Occupation
The Peace Movement Revives

A plan worthy of study

The principles formulated by Peres and Abu Ala are essentially no different from those formulated many times in the past. The basic elements for the most part are agreed on - a full cease-fire under American auspices, implementation of the Tenet and Mitchell documents, the disarming of Palestinian militants, a freeze on settlement activity, the transfer of funds owed to the Palestinian Authority, and the establishment of a centralized Palestinian security authority. The second stage would include Israel's recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the lands included in Areas A and B, and Palestinian recognition of the State of Israel on the basis of UN resolutions 242 and 338. The third stage would be negotiations on a final-status agreement, which would deal with borders, the future of the settlements, Jerusalem and other issues. All of these stages would implemented according to a detailed timetable, with the entire agreement to be fully implemented within 18 to 24 months.
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The obvious conclusion

The proportion of Jews living in Israel and the territories is today 53 percent, but it will be between 43 to 48 percent in 2020. This forecast is included in an extensive study published this week by Professor Sergio DellaPergola, chairperson of the Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The conclusion to be drawn from this forecast is clear to anyone who wants to live in Israel as a democratic state with a Jewish majority - an end must be put to the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and there must be a return to borders based on the 1967 lines (with agreed-upon adjustments). In the area between the Jordan River and the sea two states must live side by side - Israel and Palestine. Only those who dream immoral and impracticable dreams of transfer, or those who cling to the anachronistic and dangerous vision of a bi-national state, can question something so obvious.
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Sharon’s dilemma
Palestinian “Kassam” rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Sunday have left Ariel Sharon, Israel’s prime minister, in a quandary. He is caught between his own repeated threats to react drastically against the use of these rockets and America’s anxiety to avoid a big escalation of the Palestinian uprising

Keep him covered so he doesn't catch cold

Remember the famous Hungarian joke about the soldier who wrote to his mother from the battlefront saying: "I captured a Turkish soldier, but he won't let me go"?

That's more or less what is happening today with Arafat. Since we imposed a siege on him, or locked him up in Ramallah, to be more precise, and he goes to sleep at night and wakes up in the morning with the barrel of an Israeli tank staring him in the eye, it's hard to say who is holding whom.
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During Sharon's visit to Washington, the U.S. administration did not make the special attempts it has made in the past to demonstrate "how much it is with us." Nor did it imply that Sharon, who arrived without any new initiative or plan for political dialogue, is an easier client to deal with than Arafat. What was made clear to the prime minister, in no uncertain terms, was that he has no green light - direct, indirect, or implicit in any way - to harm Arafat or take military steps that would shake the stability of the region and spoil the sheriff's fearless fight against the forces of evil across the globe.

The bottom line is that we have set a trap for ourselves. Aside from the fact that all our military options are gone, we have created a tragic-comic situation in which no matter what happens to Arafat - whether he dies of pneumonia or slips on the stairs - we will be held responsible. Better keep him covered so he won't catch cold.
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