HHMI Newsgroup Archives
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Sunday, January 9, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.ArutzSheva.org>
Sunday, January 9, 2000 / Sh'vat 2, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NEW PALESTINIAN DEMANDS
2. A FRAGILE PROCESS
3. SURPRISING SUPPORT FOR GOLAN
4. RAIN RAISES KINNERET
1. NEW PALESTINIAN DEMANDS
The Palestinian Authority has completed the construction of what
is to
serve as its parliament in Abu Dis, just east of Jerusalem.
A small
portion of the building is located within Israeli sovereign
territory. The
Palestinians claim that Israel has already agreed to include Abu
Dis in the
next withdrawal, scheduled for eleven days from now.
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that another
Palestinian
demand in the final-status talks is that Israel rid itself of its
nuclear
capabilities. Israeli sources did not deny this, but claim
that the demand
is an Egyptian initiative, as Egypt has been waging a struggle
against
Israeli nuclear capabilities for years. In addition, the
government is
conducting "advanced negotiations" with the PA on the
entry of 2000 Fatah
terrorists from Lebanon to PA areas.
2. A FRAGILE PROCESS
If peace between Israel and Syria means that American troops will
be
stationed on the Golan Heights, some Americans want no part of
it. Harold
Cosner, whose son David was one of the 241 U.S. marines murdered
in the
1983 terrorist bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, wrote a letter last
week to U.S.
President Clinton, explaining his objections. The letter, a
copy of which
Cosner sent to AFSI [Americans for a Safe Israel], states,
"Please, as the
Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces, do not send our fine
young men into
harm's way unnecessarily. The Israeli army has been doing
an excellent job
securing its own borders. It is its place to continue doing
so."
Another fragile element of the peace process with Syria is
Assad's health.
Middle East Newsline journalist Steve Rodan, reporting in the
Israel
Resource Review, states that Assad's various illnesses -
including a heart
ailment and diabetes - have severely curtailed his ability to
function, and
that the two hours of work he puts in daily are basically
dedicated toward
securing the Presidency for his son Bashar. These efforts
have not borne
fruit, though, as Rodan notes, "Bashar has not been approved
for a
leadership post in the Ba'ath Party . and family infighting has
prolonged
delays. [Highly-placed government] sources said that should
the President
die soon, a fight over succession will erupt."
Rodan writes that the above explains why Foreign Minister Farouk
A-Shara,
and not Bashar, has been enlisted to lobby Ba'ath party officials
to openly
support the latest diplomatic initiative with Israel.
European Union envoy
Miguel Mauritinus told Israeli officials in late December that
A-Shara
spent five hours trying to persuade the Ba'ath Party's central
committee to
support the negotiations.
3. SURPRISING SUPPORT FOR GOLAN
Polls and surveys on the positions of different sectors of the
public on
various formulations of the Golan withdrawal question continue to
be
conducted and publicized. One poll shows that some 20% of
One Israel
(Labor party) voters, and 25% of those who voted for Meretz,
object to a
full withdrawal from the Golan. Some 60% of new immigrants
object. Among
Shas voters, pollster Dr. Yaakov Katz of Bar Ilan University
found that 63%
object to an agreement involving the evacuation of any Golan
settlements,
and 54% object to an agreement involving the evacuation of any
Yesha
settlements. Only 5 and 7% of these, respectively, would
change their
minds if Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef would announce that it is permitted
to uproot
settlements in exchange for a peace treaty.
4. RAIN RAISES KINNERET
The level of the Kinneret stands today at 213.12 meters below sea
level,
ten centimeters higher than it was a week ago. This is
still 12
centimeters below the official "red line," and some
five meters below the
optimal level. Each centimeter represents 1.7 million cubic
meters of
water. The heavy rains of last week have ceased, although
more rain is
expected early this week.
The Agricultural Center has called on farmers not to adhere to
the orders
of the Ministry of Agriculture to cut their water use by
40%. According to
the Center, the Ministry has no legal right to order such
cuts. A
spokesman added that the government issued similar demands last
year, but
partially rescinded them due to the strong opposition of Israeli
farmers.
*************************************************************************
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Monday, January 10, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.ArutzSheva.org>
Monday, January 10, 2000 / Sh'vat 3, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. WHO'S PAYING, AND HOW MUCH?
2. ARENS: NO SALE OF HOMELAND
==== SPECIAL INSERT: GOLAN HISTORY ====
1. WHO'S PAYING, AND HOW MUCH?
The Shepherdstown summit ends tonight with the departure of Ehud
Barak
and Farouk A-Shara. The Americans hope that their document
detailing
the issues of agreement and of disagreement will be the basis of
understandings for the next round of talks, scheduled for two
months
from now. The London paper Al Hayat claims that Israel has
agreed to
withdraw from Mt. Hermon and the entire Golan, up to a few meters
from
the Kinneret Sea. Prime Minister Barak and State Department
spokesman
James Rubin denied the Al Hayat report.
Estimated costs of the withdrawal and related matters are now
nearing
$100 billion. Respected military analyst Ze'ev Schiff,
writing in
Ha'aretz last week, said that the sum of $17.4 billion that had
been
previously quoted would be needed only for the relocation of IDF
bases
and the enhancement of Israel's intelligence and offensive
capabilities. Another sum of over $50 billion would be
required for
the removal of settlements and the relocation of the residents,
more
intensive security arrangements, and desalination costs to cover
the
loss of Israel's water sources. Neither of these sums
include aid
promised to Syria, and then to Jordan and the Palestinians.
Journalist
David Bedein, covering the Shepherdstown talks, reported today
that
the Americans have entered into negotiations with the World Bank
and
with Saudi Arabia to cover these costs.
Bedein also dismissed reports that President Clinton had arrived
in
Shepherdstown to "solve crises in the talks - for there were
no
crises. This is all Carville ice cream... [a reference to
American
public relations advisor James Carville]. He arrived simply
for his
own prestige." His interview with Arutz-7's Ron Meir
can be heard at www.a7.org/engclips/100100/bedein-talks.ram.
2. ARENS: NO SALE OF HOMELAND
Moshe Arens, who served as Israel's Defense Minister three
different
times, is outspokenly against a withdrawal from the Golan
Heights.
Asked today about his opinion of the Shepherdstown summit, Arens
said,
"The important things happened well before
Shepherdstown. Assad sent
his Foreign Minister, A-Shara, to meet with Barak only after he
received a clear promise that Israel had agreed to withdraw from
the
Golan - and all the denials by Israeli officials won't help
them."
Arens lamented what he called a "surrealistic aspect"
of the talks:
"Barak appears to be representing the defeated country, and
A-Shara
and the Syrians appear to be the victors, when in fact it's the
opposite, both militarily and economically. Yet somehow the
Syrians
are dictating the terms to us."
Arens put in a plug for tonight's giant rally in Tel Aviv:
"We will
wage a stubborn, unyielding campaign, and we will reach every
home,
and explain to them the catastrophe involved in abandoning the
Golan.
This campaign is not political - it crosses all political
lines. The
participation of hundreds of thousands may deter not only Barak,
but
may even deter Assad [from negotiating an agreement that may not
earn
Israeli public support]." Regarding the costs of the
withdrawal, Arens
said, "It would be pretty nervy of us to ask the U.S. for
such a high
sum, and we don't have much chances of getting it - but what's
worse
is that it creates the impression that we are willing to sell
parts of
our homeland for money."
==== SPECIAL INSERT: GOLAN HISTORY ====
* The Bashan Region, of which the Golan is a part, was
promised to
the Patriarch Abraham and the people of Israel on the occasion of
the
"Covenant Between the Parts," recounted in Genesis
15. Half of the
tribe of Menasheh settled in the area after the Jews returned to
the
Land, and the city of Golan in Bashan served as a city of refuge
(Deut. 4, 43).
* In the period of the Kings, the Golan was the site of the
battle
between King Ahab of Israel and the army of Aram. Israel's
victory
over Aram was achieved at the present site of Kibbutz Afik, only
a few
miles east of the Kinneret in the southern Golan.
* In the Second Temple period, the Jews who had been exiled
to
Babylonia returned to their homes in the Golan. Jewish
communities in
the Golan were attacked by their gentile neighbors, and Judah
Maccabee
launched a rescue expedition on their behalf.
* At the end of the Hasmonean period, King Alexander Yannai
conquered
the Golan and settled it with Jews. Jewish settlement in
the central
Golan existed continuously since then for a period of 700 years.
Major
cities were Banias and Susita. The district capital was
Gamla, which
fought with supreme heroism in the Great Revolt, losing 10,000
residents in battle in defense of the Golan. Second Temple
period
coins were found there after the Six-Day War inscribed with the
words
"For the Redemption of Holy Jerusalem."
* In the Talmudic period, Jewish settlement in the Golan
flourished
and expanded. Among the wealth of archaeological findings
in the
Golan Heights were remnants of 34 synagogues.
* In the Byzantine Period, Jewish settlements existed beside
Christian
communities, until the defeat of the Byzantine army, and nomads
took
over the area.
* In the 19th century, the heads of the Zionist movement and the
people of the old settlements of Tsfat and Tiberias made every
effort
to settle the Golan. In 1886, the Bnei Yehuda society of
Tsfat
purchased a plot of land in the Ramataniya village in central
Golan,
and settled there for about a year. In 1887, they purchased
the lands
of the Bedouin village Bir Ashkum, between Bnei Yehuda and Ein
Gev.
The Bnei Yehuda members held on to the land with determination,
until
two of the last settlers were murdered in the Arab riots of 1920,
thus
bringing an end to the settlement. In 1891, Baron
Rothschild
purchased some 18,000 acres in eastern Golan (approx. 15 km. east
of
present-day Ramat Magshimim).
* At the beginning of the 20th century, the settlers of the First
Aliyah struck roots in the Horan lands (just east of the Golan),
establishing five settlements, but were evicted by the Turks in
1898.
Following the eviction, the land was managed as a farm by PICA
until
the land was seized by the Syrian government. In light of
the Golan's
Jewish history, the Zionist organizations demanded that the Golan
be
included within the borders of the Jewish National Home.
The Golan
Heights were liberated on June 10, 1967, the last day of the Six
Day
War. (Much of this information can be found at <www.golan.org.il>.)
************************************************************************
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Tuesday, January 11, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000 / Shevat 4, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. LARGEST RALLY EVER
2. LIKUD DEMANDS BARAK PRESENTATION
3. IN THE PROTEST'S AFTERMATH
4. COURT FEARS BLOODSHED, REJECTS PETITION
1. LARGEST RALLY EVER
Between a quarter and a half of a million people - depending on
which
estimate is used - took part in what was probably the largest
demonstration in Israeli history last night, calling on Prime
Minister
Barak not to sign an agreement involving an Israeli withdrawal
from
the Golan Heights. The main boulevard leading to the rally
was
blocked with people up to a kilometer away. Speakers
representing
many different public sectors told Barak that the tremendous
costs of
the withdrawal would come at the expense of the lower and middle
classes, told Clinton not to intervene, and announced that they
would
not allow the glorious settlement enterprise in the Golan to be
destroyed. A Russian immigrant, speaking in Russian,
emotionally told
the crowds that the Golan is "everything" for him, and
repeated
several times, "Ya ne oydu z'Golan" - "I am not
leaving the Golan!"
Yehuda Harel, termed the "father of Golan settlement,"
looked out at
the giant cheering audience and said, "Today, we have
stopped the
withdrawal from the Golan!"
Katzrin Mayor Sammy Bar-Lev, the evening's M.C., was delighted
with
demonstration. Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Bar-Lev noted
the "rich
cross-section of Israeli society [that was] represented there:
religious and secular, old and young, native Israelis and
immigrants."
He said that he hopes Prime Minister Barak will stop and re-think
the
negotiations with Syria: "Destroying a community of
7,000 citizens
[Katzrin] is no small matter. And what is Barak being
offered in
return? Not even real peace - only 'security arrangements'
with a
dictatorial regime! We have had fine security arrangements in the
Golan for 33 years now."
Following are some excerpts from last night's speeches:
*Gen (res.) Meir Dagan:
"They tell us that if we vote 'no' in a referendum, Israel
will face a
war. I can think of a worse scenario: that we return the Golan,
and there
will still be a war - this time, with the Golan in our enemy's
hands! The
price we will have to pay in blood in such a case will be
unparalleled
in the history of the State."
*Activist Moti Ashenazi:
"While I was driving here, I heard the radio announcer say
that the
'right wing' was hosting a protest against leaving the Golan
Heights.
This is a lie. I stand before you tonight, and hereby
declare: I am
the Left! I am the true Left - and I am joining you
here!"
*Rabbi Mordechai Elon, Dean of the Horev Yeshiva High
School,
Jerusalem:
"We have one question only, and it bursting forth from our
hearts:
You, our brothers, you are our emissaries - is there a greater
peace
than the peace between us? Are you willing to sell this for
peace
with a dictator? What kind of peace do we want? We
long for peace,
and pray for it daily, but in our daily prayers we say: 'L'ma'an
achai
v're'ai' -For the benefit of my brothers and friends, - 'Adabra
na
Shalom bach' - I speak to you of peace. Friends, peace must be
achieved for the benefit of our people, not at their
expense!"
A video clip of the demonstration can be seen at
www.a7.org/engclips/110100/golan-demo-28.ram.
2. LIKUD DEMANDS BARAK PRESENTATION
Prime Minister Barak will return from Shepherdstown today,
without
concrete results in the talks with A-Shara. U.S. President
Clinton
has scheduled another meeting between the Israelis and Syrians
for as
early as next week.
White House sources said that Clinton is determined to
achieve a
withdrawal agreement within two months, as the presidential
campaign
will already be in high gear after that. The Likud demands
that Barak
report to the Knesset tomorrow on the talks in Shepherdstown. The
opposition party claims that reports emanating from the West
negate
Barak's claims regarding his withdrawal plans.
Meanwhile, Likud leader Ariel Sharon, MK Silvan Shalom (Likud)
and
other MKs opposed to a Golan giveaway met this afternoon with
advisors
experienced in the conducting of national referendums.
Tomorrow,
contingents of the Likud and One Israel are slated to meet in an
effort to reach a compromise on the details of a Knesset
referendum
bill. At present, the main point of disagreement is whether
a special
majority will be required to approve a withdrawal. Other
issues in
dispute are the funding of referendum-related advertisements and
the
gap in time between the vote in the Knesset on the withdrawal
and, if
necessary, the subsequent referendum.
3. IN THE PROTEST'S AFTERMATH
Although it downplayed the size of last night's crowd, Israel's
written media could not ignore the sheer power of the event.
Self-proclaimed left-leaning journalist Nachum Barnea writes in
today's Yediot Acharonot: "There is no purpose to nit-pick
about the
numbers [that attended] - this was simply one of the most
impressive
demonstrations in the history of Rabin Square."
Describing the crowd
that participated, Barnea writes, "[In addition to the
right-wingers,]
there were others who were identifiable as Barak supporters:
secular
Jews, residents of agricultural communities, Labor and Centrist
party
voters. These were the type of people who joined the masses
in the
Square on election night to celebrate Barak's victory and
Netanyahu's
defeat." How should Ehud Barak respond to the protest?
Barnea: "He
must not ignore the facts. The renewing of negotiations
with Syria
has not inspired the type of joy that overtook the country with
the
initiative of Egypt's Anwar Sadat [in 1977]... From the
beginning,
support for the talks with Syria was restrained, and in the last
few
weeks, it has only decreased... The problem is not only
Barak's. All
of the participants in the Shepherdstown day-camp must take the
situation into account, from Clinton to A-Shara."
Middle East analyst Dr. Guy Bechor agrees. Speaking with
Arutz-7
today, Bechor noted that President Clinton had no choice but to
take a
break and call an urgent meeting next week of the Israeli and
Syrian
delegations. "There is a crisis of authority here,"
Bechor said. "It
is quite clear that A-Shara is merely a clerk, a messenger of
Assad.
A-Shara has no real power to strike an agreement. This
stands in
sharp contrast to previous negotiations between Begin and Sadat,
Rabin
and Hussein, and the like - who were real leaders with the
authority
to make independent decisions. Barak, too, faces a crisis
of
authority. He left the country when the 'street' was
docile, but of
late, things have changed course with the formation of new public
and
political pro-Golan coalitions. For Barak, this is a new,
somewhat
overwhelming phenomenon, and he is limited in that even if he
does
sign a deal, he is dependent on the Knesset and the public for
approval."
Regarding Assad's reaction to last night's rally, Bechor said,
"He
certainly saw the clips of last night's demonstration.
Assad has a
real business mind. He knows that signing a deal with
Israel would be
interpreted as the formal cessation of the conflict between Syria
and
Israel. But he is well aware that Barak may not win the
referendum, in
which case Assad may conclude that he could experience a double
defeat
after all is said and done: he will fail to get control of
the Golan,
yet his entire raison d'etre - namely, Syria's state of hostility
with
Israel - will have been shattered."
In related news, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
says
that a peace deal between Israel and Syria will not lead to peace
throughout the Middle East. According to Kissinger, peace
deals only
affect the state of hostility between nations after an extended
period
of time. So reports journalist Danny Ben-Israel, who heard
Kissinger's speech at a New York farewell party for the outgoing
Israeli ambassador to the United States, Zalman Shoval.
4. COURT FEARS BLOODSHED, REJECTS PETITION
The Supreme court this morning rejected an appeal by the Temple
Mount
Faithful organization regarding the illegal excavation works by
the
Moslem Waqf on the Temple Mount. The judges ruled that
although the
Waqf is indeed transgressing the law, the court will not order
the
necessary law enforcement agencies to halt the works, since such
a
move "is liable to disturb the public peace and cause
bloodshed," and
that such "matters should be dealt with on the governmental
level."
The justices added a caveat, however: Since the courts are
refraining
from issuing judgements on issues related to the Temple Mount, it
is
incumbent on the government to directly address the matter.
**********************************************************************
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Wednesday, January 12, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Wednesday, January 12, 2000 / Sh'vat 5, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NEW ELECTIONS TO BYPASS REFERENDUM?
2. PREVENTING THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM
3. N.Y. TIMES ON ISRAELI-SYRIAN TALKS
1. NEW ELECTIONS TO BYPASS REFERENDUM?
The Prime Minister's Office is considering the option of calling
new
general elections, instead of holding a referendum on the
Golan. A
victory in the election would give Barak a mandate to withdraw
from
the Golan, writes Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman in
today's
HaTzofeh [and allow him to pass a new law rescinding the
requirement
for a popular referendum - ed. note]. A committee has been
established to look into this option, in light of surveys show
decreasing support for a Golan withdrawal. "General
elections have
some significant advantages for Barak," writes Huberman.
"Quite
notably, there is no one heading the opposition camp at present
who
will be able to run against Barak. Ariel Sharon,
unfortunately, is
considered a 'beaten willow' who is no longer able to garner
massive
support."
Despite the decrease in public support, Ehud Barak has been
waging an
informational offensive ever since his return from
Shepherdstown. He
says that cracks in Syria's stubbornness have begun to appear,
and
notes that his predecessor Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to a full
withdrawal from the Golan. Netanyahu, in response, denied
today ever
having doing so.
2. PREVENTING THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM
A forum of Jerusalem-area municipal leaders convened last night
in
Ma'aleh Adumim, kicking off the struggle against an Israeli
withdrawal
from areas north and east of Jerusalem. The Israeli
delegation to the
final-status talks with the Palestinians has reportedly agreed to
transfer Arab-populated suburbs of Jerusalem to the PA.
Ma'aleh
Adumim Mayor Benny Kashriel, Yesha Council Chairman and founder
of the
forum, declared last night that Ehud Barak would not be able to
ignore
the objections of 65,000 Jewish residents of the Jerusalem
periphery,
not to mention those of the residents of Jerusalem itself:
"If we
don't work together, we will lose the battle, and we will regret
it
for a long time to come. But if we work together - and we
only have
less than two months to act - we can win!" The
members, including the
mayors of Givat Ze'ev, Gush Etzion, Beitar, Adam, and others,
plan to
involve the entire nation in the struggle against the division of
Jerusalem.
Efrat Regional Council Chairman Yinon Achiman talked about the
complete freeze on new building plans in Jewish communities
surrounding Jerusalem: "We have never known such terrible
decrees...
All expansion plans been frozen - residents of communities like
Ma'aleh Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, Efrat, and Beitar are permitted to
build
only balconies!" Anatot secretary Shimon Shimon
told Arutz-7 today
that he thought "that Barak, as a security-minded person,
would attend
to the needs of Israelis - and now I'm not sure whether I acted
correctly in voting for him."
Active concern about Palestinian infiltration into Jerusalem is
shared
in hareidi circles, as well. Ramat Shlomo, a mostly-hareidi
neighborhood in northern Jerusalem, borders two of the Arab
neighborhoods to be handed over to the PA - Shu'afat and Beit
Hanina.
Ramat Shlomo administration head Chaim Mordechai Weiner said that
his
community is only "a stone's throw" away from, and
practically
adjoins, what are scheduled to be the new PA-controlled
neighborhoods.
Weiner noted that the Jerusalem neighborhoods of French
Hill, Ramat
Eshkol, Ramot and N'vei Yaakov will also find themselves
"uncomfortably close to localities controlled by the PA
military - and
that's only in the north. In the south, the handing-over of
Abu Dis
to the PA will harm the Jewish presence in the Old City, Talpiot,
Armon HaNetziv, Gilo, Katamon, and more. "Simply put,
we are against
the division of Jerusalem and the return to the 1967
borders. This
time, Israel is in a worse position than before the Six-Day War -
facing a heavily-armed Palestinian entity with its eyes set on a
state
with Jerusalem as its capital! The situation is very
dangerous, and
could lead to the eventual dismantling of the State."
What does Weiner plan to do about the matter? "First
of all, I spent
a whole week just trying to convince public figures, media
personalities and the like, of the gravity of what is about to
happen.
They scoffed at me, thought I was crazy - until mainstream
journalists began writing about it."
Weiner also said, without elaborating on the details, that
he has
received the blessing of prominent hareidi rabbis to begin
"drastic
measures,
both collectively and individually - all within the law" to
fight the
abandonment of Jerusalem suburbs to the Arabs.
3. N.Y. TIMES ON ISRAELI-SYRIAN TALKS
Two recent opinion articles in The New York Times display a
measure of
impatience with the roles played by Syrian President Assad and
American President Clinton in the Israeli-Syrian talks.
Respected
columnist William Safire, in a piece entitled, "Don't Butt
In," writes
that Clinton has a great temptation "to try to force a deal
by making
promises on which he will not be around to deliver."
Specifically,
Safire believes that for three reasons - the traditional American
peacemaking role, Clinton's yearning for a 'legacy' with which to
leave office, and his desire to boost his wife's senatorial
chances
with a White House signing ceremony - he may be led to promise an
American peace-keeping force as well as additional tens of
billions of
dollars in aid, on neither of which he is likely to be able to
deliver. Safire concludes, "Clinton should facilitate,
not intervene
with fast-souring sweeteners. He should press Syria and
Israel to
make peace with each other and not with him."
Veteran Middle East analyst Thomas Friedman, not ordinarily known
for
his pro-Israel stance, sharply attacked Syrian President Hafez
Assad
in an article entitled "Dear Hafez." Written in
the form of a letter
Friedman hopes Clinton will write to Assad, the article
states:
"...Anyway, Hafez... the substance [at the talks] lagged.
I'm still
not sure you guys really get it... I hate to say this, but
your
economy can barely make a light bulb and your Soviet backers are
gone.
You're in a rather weak position... Anwar el-Sadat also had
a weak
hand when he initiated the Camp David peace, but he compensated
for it
by [reaching] out to the Israeli people in such a sincere,
compelling
way... You seem to believe that your mere negotiating with Israel
is a
concession, and now Israel must reciprocate by agreeing to your
every
demand... Right now -- forget about the Israeli hawks --
most Israeli
doves don't trust you. Did you see what the Israeli
novelist and
peacenik Amos Oz said last week? 'The Syrians think they can get
the
Golan and send us a receipt by fax.' Not a chance... You
want peace
with Israel to get just enough goodies out of the West to sustain
your
regime, so you won't have to change much internally... You
want to
keep Syria's door closed, but you're willing to open the window a
crack so we can pass the goodies in that way... I suggest
you use
this timeout to consider a new strategy. Best wishes,
Bill."
***********************************************************************
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