Around the Jewish World

By JTA

article created on: 2009-02-01T00:00:00

Carter’s new peace book out

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Jimmy Carter published a new book on how to bring about Israeli-Palestinian peace.

“We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work,” by the former president responsible for brokering the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace accords, was published last month by Simon and Schuster.

According to reviews, the book is less confrontational than his 2006 book, “Palestine: Peace not Apartheid,” and instead outlines how the sides might bring about a two-state solution more or less along the lines of the June 4, 1967, borders. The earlier book earned opprobrium from Jewish groups for likening Israel’s settlement practices to apartheid and for alleging that backers of Israel silenced criticism of the Jewish state in the United States.

In his new book, Carter advocates involving Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip, although he is sharply critical of its tactics.

Gadhafi argues for one-state solution in New York Times

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi made his case for a one-state solution in a New York Times op-ed.

Gadhafi, a longtime supporter of the Palestine Liberation Organization who became leader of Libya in a 1969 coup, said in a column published Jan. 22 that since both Israelis and Palestinians have long histories on the land, they should inhabit it together.

“The Palestinians believe that what is now called Israel forms part of their nation, even were they to secure the West Bank and Gaza,” he wrote. “And the Jews believe that the West Bank is Samaria and Judea, part of their homeland, even if a Palestinian state were established there. Now, as Gaza still smolders, calls for a two-state solution or partition persist. But neither will work.”

Gadhafi said a two-state solution would be an “unacceptable security risk” for Israel and that areas set aside for a Palestinian state would not accommodate all of the displaced Palestinians that want to return.

He called the Israelis and Palestinians “cousins” who have “faced cruel persecution.”

Gadhafi concludes, “If the present interdependence and the historical fact of Jewish-Palestinian coexistence guide their leaders, and if they can see beyond the horizon of the recent violence and thirst for revenge toward a long-term solution, then these two peoples will come to realize, I hope sooner rather than later, that living under one roof is the only option for a lasting peace.”

At a lecture via videoconference to Georgetown University students on Jan. 21, Gadhafi called for the establishment of a democratic state called Isratine. He added that to preserve the Jews as an ethnic group, “Take them to Alaska or Honolulu or the Hawaiian islands or the Pacific islands and they can live peacefully in an isolated setting.”

Shalit alive, Sarkozy tells father

PARIS (JTA)—The father of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, after speaking with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said he has hope for the release of his son.

Noam Shalit made the remarks Jan. 27 after being urgently summoned to a meeting with Sarkozy. Shalit told reporters at the steps of the Elysee Palace that the president assured him his son was alive and that the French government was “using every means available” to free him.

For Sarkozy, “this is a personal, strong commitment,” Shalit said.

“Today we have hope,” he added, without being able to offer details of negotiations for a possible release or proof that Gilad Shalit is alive. Hamas kidnapped Gilad Shalit in 2006.

Shalit was making his third visit to France related to his son’s kidnapping. The soldier has dual French-Israeli citizenship.

On visits to the Middle East, Sarkozy repeatedly has urged for Gilad Shalit’s release with leaders in the region, such as Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has close ties to Hamas.E.U. aid chief: Hamas responsible for Gaza

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The European Union aid chief said that Hamas bears an “enormous responsibility” for what happened in the Gaza Strip.

Louis Michel, the European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, added during his visit Jan. 26 to Gaza that “Hamas is a terror movement and needs to be treated as such and held responsible for its actions.”

While in Gaza, Michel announced more than $75 million in aid to vulnerable Palestinian populations through the European Commission’s 2009 Global Plan. Approximately $41.5 million will be earmarked to respond to the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza, and about $26 million will be for assistance to the West Bank. The rest will go to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, according to a statement from the European Commission.

Michel was scheduled to visit Sderot and meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

He condemned Israel’s bombardment of the economic infrastructure of Gaza and called on Israel to open its border crossings to food and medicine, as well as building materials.

More anti-Semitism expected

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A new wave of anti-Semitism is expected due to Israel’s operation in Gaza and the global financial crisis.

The expected surge in anti-Semitism for 2009 was predicted in a report released Jan. 25 by the Coordination

Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism, the official Israeli forum against anti-Semitism. The forum is sponsored by the Jewish Agency, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs.

The 250 anti-Semitic attacks reported throughout the world during the three weeks of Israel’s military operation in Gaza represented a more than 300 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Most of the attacks have been concentrated in Western Europe and were led by Muslims, according to the report.

The rise in incidents comes after a year that showed a 15 percent decline in anti-Semitic incidents throughout the world as compared to the previous year.

Many of January’s incidents compared Israeli actions in Gaza to Nazis during the Holocaust.

The annual report is released in the days leading up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was Jan. 26.

Sea of Galilee level very low

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel has halted pumping water from the Sea of Galilee.

Pumping from Israel’s main water source stopped Jan. 26 when the water level reached about 16 inches from the “black line,” beyond which pumping is strictly prohibited.

Water instead is being pumped from Israel’s underground aquifers, which are also at dangerously low levels.

Rainfall in Israel this year has been at about half of its annual average. This month is on track to be the driest in the history of such records, according to Ha’aretz.

Water sources that flow into the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Kinneret, are also at their lowest level ever.

Israel is in the midst of its fifth consecutive year of drought.

Gaza death toll questioned

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israeli officials denied a report in an Italian newspaper that said the number of Gazans killed in the military operation was not more than 500 to 600.

The Israel Defense Forces is sticking to its original estimates that about 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the three-week Operation Cast Lead, and that at least two-thirds were terrorists. At least 500 are said to be members of Hamas’ military wing, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The report in Corriere della sera claimed that the number of wounded was also far below the 5,000 that Hamas claims.

Most Hamas gunmen were dressed as civilians, which has contributed to the high estimate of civilian casualties by international organizations.

U.N. official praises Israel

WASHINGTON (JTA)—A U.N. official commended Israel for its “good will” following the Gaza Strip war.

“We have had good cooperation from the Israeli authorities in the last few weeks, actually paradoxically better than we had before the hostilities started,” John Holmes, the U.N. humanitarian aid chief, said Jan. 23 in an interview with Reuters. “I’ve detected a spirit of good will on the Israeli side” to facilitate the transfer of medical supplies and food.

Israel shut down access to the Gaza Strip in 2007 because of rocket attacks on southern Israel from the territory, controlled by the Hamas terrorist group. It agreed to open passages as part of a fragile cease-fire last June, but reneged once it became clear Hamas was using the lull to smuggle in advanced weapons.

Hamas suspended the cease-fire around Dec. 19 with a massive intensification of rocket attacks; Israel launched major operations on Dec. 27. Both sides declared a unilateral cease-fire last week.

U.N. official villifies Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA)—There is evidence that Israel committed war crimes during its operation in the Gaza Strip, a United Nations official said.

U.N. investigator Richard Falk, whose official title is U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, called for an independent inquiry into the issue on Jan. 22, Reuters reported.

Falk, who is Jewish, compared Israel’s operation in civilian areas and its sealing of Gaza’s borders to the Warsaw Ghetto.

“To lock people into a war zone is something that evokes the worst kind of international memories of the Warsaw Ghetto and sieges that occur unintentionally during a period of wartime,” he said.

Falk added that the entire civilian population has likely been scarred for life by the operation and that all the residents of Gaza can be considered casualties of the Israeli assault.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appointed Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann to look into issues relating to potential legal suits against Israel or Israeli officials over strikes against civilians in Gaza.