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Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs | ||||
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009 | ||
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In-Depth Issues:
Turkish Forces Foil Hizbullah Attack on Israeli Target - Avi Issacharoff (Ha'aretz)
Israel's Activity in Turkish Airspace Disturbed Iran (Today's Zaman-Turkey)
Iraq Blames Baghdad Car Bombs on Syria and Islamists - Martin Chulov
(Guardian-UK)
Israelis Urged to Avoid Jewish Sites, Tourist Spots in India - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday softened their call for a division of Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinians, saying that the city should be shared but that the two sides should negotiate the details. The statement, issued in Brussels, marks a diplomatic victory for Israel in a contest with the Palestinians for international support. (Washington Post) See also EU Urges Israel to Share Jerusalem The European Union on Tuesday urged Israel to share Jerusalem with the Palestinians as part of a Middle East peace agreement and make the holy city the capital of two states. (Reuters) See also Protests Force EU to Drop Jerusalem Plan - Tony Barber The EU position was a compromise between Sweden and several other countries that wanted to make a firm commitment to the Palestinians on east Jerusalem, and other countries, such as the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy, that preferred a less overtly anti-Israeli stance. (Financial Times-UK) See also U.S.: Status of Jerusalem Should Be Negotiated by Parties The U.S. Tuesday noted the EU statement welcoming the idea of Jerusalem becoming the future capital of two states, saying the U.S. view was that the parties should decide that in final status negotiations. "We are aware of the EU statement, but our position on Jerusalem is clear and we believe that as a final status issue, this is best addressed inside a formal negotiation among the parties directly," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley. The text adopted fell short of an earlier draft proposed by the Swedish EU presidency which infuriated Israel for stating outright that east Jerusalem should become the Palestinian capital. (AFP) Iran's broadest and most violent protest in months spilled over into a second day on Tuesday, as bloody clashes broke out on university campuses between students chanting anti-government slogans and the police and Basij militia members. As the scale of Monday's demonstrations became clearer, Tehran's police chief announced that 204 people had been arrested in the capital, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. Clashes took place on campuses across the country. During Monday's demonstrations there were more chants aimed directly at Ayatollah Khamenei. In addition to the now common chants of "death to the dictator," some protesters chanted, "Khamenei knows his time is up." (New York Times) President Obama rebuked Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan for belligerent anti-Israel rhetoric when they met in Washington on Monday. "In the president's meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan...the president told the prime minister that his anti-Israel rhetoric was eroding his nation's ability to effectively lead...as it had in the past," said a statement relayed Tuesday by a U.S. official. "The president pressed the prime minister to make rebuilding Turkey's ties with Israel a priority." (JTA) Iran accused Saudi Arabia on Tuesday of handing over to the U.S. an Iranian nuclear scientist missing since June, the Mehr news agency said. Shahram Amiri, a university researcher working for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, disappeared during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June. "Riyadh has handed over Iran's nuclear scientist Amiri to America," Mehr quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying. Mehmanparast said Amiri "is among 11 jailed Iranians in America." (Reuters) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Israeli diplomatic officials privately heaved a sigh of relief Tuesday when the EU adopted a statement on the Middle East that stopped short of recognizing east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. (Jerusalem Post) See also Israel Dodges EU Bullet - Herb Keinon Israel was incensed that the statement, for the first time, referred to the Palestinian Authority as "Palestine," and that it did not give Prime Minister Netanyahu even the slightest credit for a moratorium on housing starts in the settlements. Those issues were dealt with satisfactorily in the final statement. (Jerusalem Post) See also Israel's Response to the EU Foreign Ministers Statement The statement by the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU ignores the primary obstacle to achieving a resolution between Israel and the Palestinians - the Palestinian refusal to return to the negotiating table. In light of the extreme draft originally presented by the Swedish presidency at the start of discussions, Israel does welcome the fact that in the end the voices of the responsible and reasonable EU states prevailed, balancing and improving the text. We also welcome the recognition given to the measures and efforts taken by Israel to enable the resumption of negotiations;...to the recognition of the severity of the problem posed by Hamas' armaments; and to the EU's expression of commitment to the security of Israel and its full integration in the area. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Egypt has begun the construction of a massive iron wall along its border with Gaza in a bid to shut down smuggling tunnels. The wall will be 9-10 km. long, and will go 20-30 meters into the ground, Egyptian sources said. (Ha'aretz) Five Palestinians from Gaza were evacuated to Israeli hospitals on Monday out of fear that they had contracted swine flu. The IDF's Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration has coordinated the transfer of 10,000 vaccinations to Gaza. More than 8,500 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Israel. So far, 67 Israeli deaths have been linked to the virus. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Where are all the American, European and local non-governmental organizations that are supposed to use U.S. and EU taxpayers' money to promote peace, moderation and coexistence? When the Strings of Freedom Orchestra returned home to the refugee camp of Jenin in the northern West Bank, the musical director, Wafa Yunis, was fired and her studio apartment in the camp was sealed. The Palestinian Authority, whose leaders have been talking to Israel for more than fifteen years, accused Yunis of "exploiting the children for the purpose of normalizing ties with Israel." Those who are passionate about the Israeli-Arab conflict and would like to see an end to the violence and hatred should start searching for ways to encourage the emergence of a serious peace camp in the West Bank and Gaza - one whose leaders and members would be able to stand up to both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. (Hudson Institute New York) As the Iranian regime has teetered these past months, many in the U.S. (and especially at the highest rungs of government) have held their tongues. There has been a reluctance to voice solidarity with the green movement or to loudly protest regime abuses. Obama, for his part, has voiced his support for the protestors in passive language. "The world continues to bear witness to their powerful calls for justice" is his strange formulation - a description that places the U.S. in the role of bystander. Will the U.S. stand on the side of Iranian democracy now? The worry one hears most often in Washington is that such a stand will backfire; it will bolster the mullahs by annoying the innate nationalism of the Iranian people. But this misunderstands the regime. No matter what the U.S. does - even if it maintains a studied silence - the regime will describe its opponents as U.S. tools. This accusation is a political necessity for the mullahs and deeply embedded in their worldview. Besides, no matter how much the regime denounces the Great Satan, Iranians, on the whole, remain positively disposed to the U.S., at least relative to the rest of the Muslim world. The writer is Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford, where he is the co-director of the Iran Democracy Project. (New Republic) Observations: Iran Sanctions Likely to Pass - Thanks to Iran - Ron Kampeas (JTA)
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