A groundswell in Israel for peace

[Classical_Liberal]

A groundswell in Israel for peace

Gideon Samet IHT
Saturday, December 6, 2003



Impatience with Sharon

NEW YORK Slowly but surely, Israelis are beginning to reappraise the way their government is dealing with the Palestinians. Loath to carry on living at war, many are reacting to calls for peace in a way that has no precedent in the past decade.

The Geneva initiative, the detailed, informal blueprint for Israeli-Palestinian peace signed last Monday, was preceded by other declarations that together are building a critical mass of public opposition to political foot-dragging by the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Four retired heads of Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, warned that the country might "collapse" if a peace agreement is not achieved. A group of air force combat pilots declared they would no longer participate in bombing sorties aimed at killing Palestinian terror leaders because such strikes had consistently caused civilian casualties. The military chief of staff, Yaakov Yaalon, in an unusual foray into politics, said that the living conditions of Palestinians in the occupied territories should be eased, and that an alternative to continued war was essential to avoid increasing tension.

Last weekend Haaretz magazine introduced to an increasingly bewildered public five reserve paratroop officers who stated that Israel should not remain in the Gaza Strip settlements enclave, where they had just served. The officers distanced themselves from the conscientious objections of the air force pilots, but expressed doubt as to whether they would want their children to serve in Gaza, in the absence of serious political negotiations.

http://www.iht.com/articles/120435.html

[Cha]

1. Kick!

:kick:

[brainshrub]

2. Another groundswell for peace?

Where have I heard that before? :eyes:

It's like deja-vu. Every few months we hear of a groundswell...at one time I even believed the hype.

At this point in history, both sides have hit the point of no return. Israels only options are "transfer", apartheid or genocide. Right now they are quibbling over what method to use.

[sushi]

3. Great news!

It's about time the citizens of Israel realize things are not going well with their current leader, who doesn't seem interested in peace, or he wants peace on his terms, which, obviously, won't be acceptable to the Palestinians. He knows it, and it seems to suit him just fine.

[seventhson]

4. please read

In This Issue: The Tikkun Ad in support of the Geneva Accord will run Friday, December 5, in the New York Times!


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The Tikkun Ad in support of the Geneva Accord will run Friday, December 5, in the New York Times!
Over the past month, we've been collecting donations to place a full-page advertisement in the New York Times in support the Geneva Accord. The ad is scheduled to appear in tomorrow's (Friday, December 5) edition, in the Main News section (unless there is a major news event within the next few hours). You can view the ad, as it will appear in the paper, here:
http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/pdf/Tikkun_GenevaAccordAd.pdf (714K PDF)

The timing couldn't be better. The Accord's chief architects, former Palestinian Minister of information, Yasser Abed Rabbo, and former Israeli Minister of Justice, Yossi Beilin, are currently in Washington, D.C. lobbying for support of the Accord, and will be meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell in the next few days, despite Israeli government protests. President Bush has been somewhat cautious in his reaction to the Geneva Accord, but said today in a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, that "we appreciate people discussing peace," and that he feels the Geneva Accord can only be "productive" if it stands by the principles of the Road Map. The Accord's designers intend to do just that. We had the opportunity to interview both Beilin and Abed Rabbo for the coming January/February 2004 issue of TIKKUN (which also includes the full text of the Geneva Accord), and Rabbo stated that he hoped the U.S. government would "adopt officially the Geneva Accord as a complimentary part to the Road Map."

Meanwhile, Rabbi Michael Lerner had the opportunity to meet with the Israeli and Palestinian delegations for the Geneva Accord in Washington, D.C. this week, and among the topics they discussed was how to be most effective in our support for the Accord at our Teach-In to Congress, April 24-27. We have renewed our request to Americans for Peace Now and Brit Tzedek v'Shalom to work with us co-operatively for the Teach-In, and are in the process of inviting Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Arab-American organizations to participate with us in shaping the Teach-In to Congress (at which Yasser Abed Rabbo will speak).

Also, tune into Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now" (http://www.democracynow.org/) tomorrow morning (Friday, December 5) on Pacifica radio. Rabbi Lerner is being interviewed about the Tikkun Community's strategy to support the Geneva Accord.

Thank you so much to all of you who have made this possible with your generous donations! We will continue to take advertisements out in national newspapers if donations continue to come in. If you are interested in supporting an ad, and would like to have your name listed as a supporter on the ad, send your donation to: Tikkun, Geneva Accord Ads, 2342 Shattuck Avenue #1200, Berkeley, CA 94704. (People who donate $250 or more are guaranteed to get their name on the ad—for those who donate less, it will depend on space. But we will try to squeeze in as many names as we can!). You can also donate online, and learn more about the Accord at http://www.tikkun.org/community/geneva/

Blessing,

Deborah Kory
Managing Editor
Tikkun Magazine