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Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Polls: Support up for disengagement
A vast majority of American opinion elites and Europeans support Israel’s upcoming Gaza withdrawal, according to new polls.
A series of polls released Tuesday by The Israel Project show that 89 percent of educated, well-off Americans are in favor of Israel’s upcoming withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, and 88 percent favor the establishment of a Palestinian state under present conditions. When asked about their views regarding Israel’s plans to “close settlements and withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank,” 56 percent of the 500 U.S. respondents said they strongly support the move and 33 percent said they somewhat support it, as opposed to 5 percent who oppose the plan.
In France and the United Kingdom, the planned disengagement was cited as the factor that most inspired favorable views of Israel. The disengagement will cause “a profound paradigm shift in how Europeans look at Israel,” Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of The Israel Project, told JTA on Tuesday. “This is tremendously positive news for Israel and for the Jews who live in Europe, because there’s a close link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.” The polls, conducted by Stanley Greenberg, also showed a marked drop since 2002 in the number of Europeans saying their governments should favor the Palestinians.
U.N. official urged to condemn colleague
The Anti-Defamation League asked the U.N. human rights commissioner to condemn a colleague’s statements against Israel.
Speaking to a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Geneva on July 5, Jean Ziegler, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, reportedly referred to the Gaza Strip as an “immense concentration camp” and to Israeli soldiers as its guards, adding that only an unconditional withdrawal of “colonists” from the West Bank would bring peace and justice. The ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman, said Monday that he is disappointed by the response to the incident from Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, suggesting that Arbour’s letter last Friday distancing herself from Ziegler’s remarks was not enough.
“Given her esteemed reputation and the respect she deservedly enjoys within the human-rights community, we strongly believe that a public statement from Ms. Arbour making clear that Mr. Ziegler’s vicious statements about the State of Israel severely compromise his post, would encourage him to choose the honorable option, and resign,” Foxman said..
Church group ‘appreciates’ Gaza exit
A liberal U.S. church coalition that in the past has criticized Israel expressed appreciation for its planned Gaza withdrawal and compassion for settlers.
Churches for Middle East Peace, comprising 21 Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, wrote Monday to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that it “appreciates your decision to withdraw Israeli settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. We feel compassion for the people who must move from their homes and for the whole of Israeli society during this difficult time that has generated many strong feelings.”
The letter also appealed to Sharon “to stop expanding settlements and building the separation barrier on land in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.”
Bush wants another $50 million for Palestinians
The Bush administration is seeking another $50 million in assistance to the Palestinians.
David Welch, the top State Department envoy to the region, told the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that the money is needed for water infrastructure in the wake of Israel’s planned departure next month from the Gaza Strip and a portion of the West Bank. Welch said the Bush administration wants Congress’ approval to draw the $50 million from funds approved in 1999 but yet to be disbursed because of the Palestinian Authority’s past corruption and ties to terrorism.
The Bush administration has separately sought a total of $350 million for the Palestinians, but Congress approved only $300 million, diverting $50 million of that money to Israel to build transit stations. In other testimony Tuesday, Gen. William Ward, the top U.S. security envoy to the region, said there is increased Palestinian-Israeli security cooperation, and praised Israel for its restraint following recent terrorist attacks.
James Wolfensohn, the envoy of the “Quartet” — the group comprised of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia that is guiding the peace process — said the Palestinians need greater freedom of movement.
http://jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 10:09 PM Permanent Link
 
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