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Monday, November 14, 2005
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Bush signs foreign aid bill
President Bush signed the foreign-assistance bill, including more than $2.5 billion in aid to Israel and $150 million for the Palestinians.
The bill Bush signed Monday covers the period from Oct. 31, 2005, to Oct. 31, 2006. It comes after Congress had talked of imposing an across-the-board percentage cut to make up for budget strains due to hurricane season costs. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbied hard for the package, including tough congressional oversight on the $150 million for the Palestinians.
Congress acceded to Bush’s request to double funds for the Palestinians to smooth the period following Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip.
Canadian: We stand with Israel
“Israel’s values are Canada’s values,” Canada’s prime minister told some 4,000 Jews in Toronto for the United Jewish Communities’ annual conference.
Calling Canada’s Jewish community “an integral part of our social fabric,” Paul Martin told the General Assembly’s opening plenary Sunday night that “the vitality of Jewish life in Canada is reflected in our link with Israel.” The North American Jewish federation movement’s three-day conference focuses on policy and fund-raising issues.
Martin praised democracy, the rule of law and defense of human rights in Israel, and said Canada will continue to press for reforms at the United Nations intended to reduce politically motivated attacks against the Jewish state. He also condemned the “reprehensible posturing of the president of Iran,” who recently called for Israel’s destruction, and called Iran’s nuclear policy a destabilizing factor in the Middle East.
Martin expressed strong support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and called for “two states living side by side in security.”
Rice, Saudi spar on Israel
Condoleezza Rice differed with her Saudi counterpart on the role of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in fomenting terrorism. In an otherwise friendly joint appearance Sunday in Jeddah, the U.S. secretary of state and Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, exchanged words over what creates terrorism. “The continuation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict helps in allowing the terrorists to justify their actions in the eyes of some young people who are not of full knowledge of the situation and who are still in the formative years of their development,” Al-Faisal said. “Terrorism of that sort cannot be condoned under any circumstances, but it does give justification and it allows their recruitment.” Rice said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved on its own terms and not because of any relation to terrorism. “It ought to be resolved because Palestinians deserve a better life and Israelis deserve a better life,” she said. “The Middle East will most certainly be a much better place when there is a Palestinian state, a democratic Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with Israel.” Rice also chided the Saudis for not reining in incitement against Israel. “We also have made clear that we would hope that the Saudi government will do more on issues of incitement, issues of the way that there is a portrayal of countries around the world, sometimes a portrayal of the United States, sometimes a portrayal of Israel,” she said.
Peretz: Settlers should evacuate
The new head of Israel’s Labor Party proposed offering West Bank settlers compensation to leave. Under
Knesset legislation submitted Monday by Amir Peretz, West Bank settlers who voluntarily move to Israel proper can expect the same government compensation given to settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip in August and September.
The bill must pass several readings before being ratified, but it had significant symbolic value in pitting Peretz against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has vowed that Israel will keep certain West Bank settlement blocs close to the pre-1967 boundaries. Peretz has made clear that unlike his predecessor, Shimon Peres, he does not want Labor to stay in Sharon’s coalition government.
http://jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 10:18 PM Permanent Link
 
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