ࡱ> UV  !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefRoot Entry FDR)CompObjnWordDocument`ObjectPoolDR)DR)  FMicrosoft Word 6.0 Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q_Oh+'0D    <` *C:\MSOFFICE\WINWORD\TEMPLATE\DAVNEWS2.DOTNEWS FROM ISRAEL 23-AUG-07&Israel Information Office in Scotland&Israܥe- e`:::::::ԲDԲ(8"Բ%FZ^"׸ٸٸٸ.kT%:QS%::Z::׸N2T::::׸WNews FROM ISRAEL 8-May-08 'There is no nation like Israel' by Jerusalem Post and Associated Press Remembrance Day for the Fallen, a somber 24 hours of visits to cemeteries, tales of survivors and sad recollections of wartime losses, gave way Wednesday evening to the celebration of Israel's 60th Independence Day. Addressing soldiers, officials, and honored guests at the start of the state ceremony at Mount Herzl, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik first praised Israelis who had lost their lives in defense of the nation. "Friends, you are not, and you will never be alone," she said, speaking of the 22,437 soldiers and citizens who were killed since 1860. "We will never be able to pay off our debt to them." "I believe with a full heart and with full faith that if you asked those first Israelis and Israeli citizens today if this is the state that you dreamt of, and spilt your blood over, their answer, and mine, would be divided in two," Iztik continued. "There are nations that are richer than the state of Israel, there are nations that are quieter than the State of Israel, and there are nations that are bigger than the State of Israel, but there is no nation in the world like the State of Israel," the speaker said, but added that huge societal dilemmas remain to be solved. "We are witnesses to terrible manifestations of violence, bad relations between friends, between one ethnic group and another, our treatment of minorities, the Arabs, the Druse, the Beduin, the Circassians, and the relationship between political parties. "Yes, there are flaws, there is still a lot to do," the speaker said. "But behind the flaws a wonderful country is hidden." "I say to all terrorists, we want peace, we are chasing after peace for the sake of our children and we also want peace for your children," she continued, but added that "our children know full well acts of war if the need arises." Twelve huge torches were kindled during the evening to signify the start of the holiday. Fireworks and entertainment were set to take place throughout the country, with outdoor stages and fairs set up in cities and town from Eilat to Rosh Pina. Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, the first Jewish crew member on the International Space Station, on Wednesday sent a greeting from space to the people of Israel. "Every time the Station flies over the State of Israel, I try to find a window, and it never fails to move me when I see the familiar outline of Israel coming toward us from over the horizon," he said. Later Wednesday, Jewish communities around the world were joining Israelis in a rendition of the Israeli national anthemHatikva, or "The Hope." Their goal: to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people singing a national anthem at the same time. Independence Day celebrations took place under heavy security Wednesday night and Thursday, in light of numerous terror threats made by Hizbullah and other terror organizations. As a result, the IDF at midnight Monday imposed a full closure on the West Bank. The measure is set to be lifted at midnight on Thursday. Peres: Israel can be 'daring laboratory' by News Agencies President Shimon Peres marveled at Israel's advancements in science and technology on the eve of the country's 60th anniversary celebrations which commenced with a thunderous ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl on Wednesday night. "We are small in size, small in numbers, so we cannot become a big market or a big industry," Peres recently told The Associated Press. "But Israel can become a daring laboratory." U.S. President George W. Bush will attend a conference in Jerusalem next week marking the anniversary, along with Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Rupert Murdoch and numerous others, including the founders of Google and Facebook. Peres, Israel's 84-year-old president, is hosting the conference, along with a party for 60-year-old Israelis born on the day Israel declared its independence, re-establishing Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik officially launched Independence Day celebrations at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl on Wednesday night. Before a boisterous crowd, Itzik reached out to Arab leaders, saying "we seek peace and we desire peace for your children as well, but bewareour children know very well the art of war if it is required." Amid tight security, Israel kicked off 24 hours of celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of its foundation in May 1948. Overseen by Itzik, officers raised the Israeli flag from half to full mast, opening a one-hour ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl, which was followed by fireworks and outdoor celebrations throughout the country. Twelve adults, accompanied by 12 children representing the future generation of Israel, lit twelve torches to honor Israel's anniversary. The fireworks lit up the skies from Eilat in the south, to Nahariya in the north. Throughout the evening and night, hundreds of thousands attended performances by local artists and musicians on outdoor stages erected on central squares across Israel. Laser and light shows were also held in a number of major cities. On Wednesday during the day, the Israel Air Force performed off the shores of Tel Aviv and elsewhere, while dozens of naval vessels sailed from the port city of Haifa in the north to that of Ashdod in the south. Israelis also flocked to nature reserves and museums, which are open to the public gratis in celebration of the occasion. Thousands of police, including special units, secured the events. Roadblocks were set up at city entrances and beefed up forces patrolled the border with the West Bank and Gaza, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The police raised their alert to the second-highest level, amid warnings that Arab militants might try to mar the festivities with a major attack. Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948, a day before the expiry of Britain's United Nations-mandate over historic Palestine. It traditionally celebrates Independence Day according to the Jewish calendar, which this year falls almost a week before May 14. Israel's 60th Independence Day began with a great sense of pride but also uncertainty about its future and doubts about prospects for peace with the Palestinians. Six decades after rising from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish state is still plagued by existential threats from abroad and an identity crisis at home. Israel at 60 is a paradox of exuberance and despaira country enduring near daily rocket attacks from Gaza militants while producing scientists who have pioneered Wi-Fi and instant messaging. Independence Day began just as Memorial Day for fallen soldiers endeda jarring contrast between solemnity and joy that underlines the link Israelis see between their military and the existence of their state. In Israel's early days, Peres worked for the country's founding father, David Ben Gurion. Peres went on to become prime minister three times, in addition to winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Now he spends time promoting Israel as a green country and a high-tech powerhouseincluding a government plan to install the world's first electric car network here by 2011, with recharging stations all over the country. Israeli venture capitalists in Jerusalem are setting up an online multimedia encyclopedia generated by users, and a product called Pop Tok that sends video clips from movies and TV shows as instant messages. Yet Israel is also home to Sderot, a little town near the border with Hamas-ruled Gaza where people huddle in bomb shelters almost every day to escape militants' rockets. Israelis strive to live normal lives, but they live in an abnormal neighborhood, threatened by Iranian-backed militants on both their northern and southern flanks. They see Iran as their greatest existential threat, with its nuclear program they fear will soon be used to make weapons and its president's public calls for their destruction. Yet Israel's conflict with the Palestinians is the biggest obstacle to its quest for normalcy. The fighting has only intensified since the Jewish state's creation resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Arabs, and has become a rallying point for Muslim extremists throughout the world. Palestinians refer to Israel's creation as 'al-Naqba', or the catastrophe Haredim attack man hanging Israeli flag by Jerusalem Post A 50-year-old man who hung an Israeli flag in Mea She'arim was attacked Wednesday by dozens of haredim. The incident occurred in the Jerusalem neighborhood's Shabbat Square. The man was rescued from the scene unharmed. Sections of the haredi community are vehemently anti-Zionist and they see Israel's Independence Day as void of religious meaning. Anti-Zionist haredim believe Jews have no right to self determination in Israel until the coming of the Messiah. Jewish-Iranian lawmaker: Israel's behaviour is 'anti-human' by Reuters An Iranian Jewish leader on Wednesday said his community would not mark this week's 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, which he accused of "killing innocent" Palestinians. "We are in complete disagreement with the behavior of Israel," Siamak Morsadegh, the incoming Jewish member of the Iranian parliament following a March election, told Reuters. "It is not related to us," he said about Thursday's celebrations in Israel to commemorate six decades of statehood. "We are Iranians. We have no relations with Israel." Iran's ancient Jewish community has dwindled by roughly 75 percent since the 1979 Islamic revolution but is still believed to be the biggest in the Middle East outside Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognize. Like many people in Iran, members of minorities which also include Christians and other faiths can be reluctant publicly to criticize its ruling establishment and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who regularly predicts the demise of Israel. A group of 40 Iranian Jews landed in Israel last December, the largest since the fall of the Shah and Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979. The United States, another arch-foe of Iran, accuses it of discriminating against its religious and ethnic minorities. Iran denies the charge and often responds to such allegations by referring to what it sees as abuses in the West. Morsadegh said Jews in Iran enjoyed freedom of religion and other rights: "There are no specific problems for Jews in this country," he said by phone. He declined to comment on remarks by Ahmadinejad, who sparked international outrage with his call for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and for questioning the Holocaust, when six million Jews were murdered by Nazi Germany in World War II. But the Jewish community leader criticized Israel's policies towards Palestinians, especially in Gaza, saying it showed "anti-human behavior ... they kill innocent people." Judaism is one of three recognized minority religions in Iran. The community has a member in the 290-seat legislature and its own schools. Four other seats are reserved for Christians and Zoroastrians, who adhere to a pre-Islamic religion. The U.S. State Department said in its 2007 human rights report in March: "All religious minorities suffered varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in employment, education and housing." The Iranian government's anti-Israel stance "created a threatening atmosphere for the [Jewish] community", it said. The Jewish population in Iran has declined to about 25,000 from some 100,000 three decades ago. Their numbers have fallen almost to zero in Arab countries since the 1948 war at Israel's creation, which hardened Arab attitudes to deep-rooted Jewish minorities. U.S.: Bush won't hold three-way meet during Mideast visit by Associated Press President Bush's second trip to the Mideast this year, designed in part to make progress toward a peace deal before the end of his presidency, will not see him hosting a joint session with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the White House said Wednesday. "This did not seem the time for a big, high-level, three-way event," Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser, told reporters. "It just doesn't feel right as the best way to advance the negotiation." Bush has set a goal of shepherding an Israeli-Palestinian accord before he leaves office in January and has stepped into Mideast peacemaking at a level not previously seen in his presidency. But after launching in November the first substantive peace talks between the two sides in more than seven years, hopes that started out moderately high have dimmed considerably. Even Bush's once-unfailingly optimistic language on the peace process has become more tempered of late. And the lack of a three-way meeting between him, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbasafter on-again, off-again talk that one might be in the offing for this tripseemed an ominous sign. The primary purpose of the president's five-day trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, a follow-up to his trip to the same three countries and others in the region in January, is ceremonial. He is marking the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation and 75 years of U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia. Bush also has plenty of official business on his plate. He delivers speeches before the Knesset, and at the World Economic Forum in the Middle East, a gathering of hundreds of global policymakers and business leaders being held in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Also while in the Red Sea resort for two days, Bush is meeting with a string of leaders key to U.S. goals in the region: Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as well as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and Iraqi leaders. "It's both symbolic and substantive," Hadley said of Bush's trip, which starts Tuesday. While in Jerusalem, Bush will hold talks with Olmert and Israeli President Shimon Peres in addition to attending a conference marking the Israeli anniversary and throwing a reception in honor of it. The White House decision for the president to see Abbas only while in Egypt, and not on another visit to the Palestinian territories, raised eyebrows with Palestiniansespecially given the lavish attention being paid to Israel's celebration. "We are, in some sense, all over this process, both in Israel and in terms of the West Bank," Hadley said. "And I think it just made sense in terms of the president's scheduling and given the messages and the themes we wanted to strike, this seemed to be a good way to accomplish what we are trying to accomplish with the trip." Both sides in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian dispute have failed to take basic trust-building steps considered necessary for successful negotiations to move forward on the stickiest matters: the borders of a Palestinian state, the future of Jerusalem and the fate of refugees with claims to Jewish land. The seizure of control of the Gaza Strip by the militant group Hamas and from Abbas is a particularly difficult factor in talks. But Hadley said it doesn't preclude an agreement. "The door has been opened to Hamas to become part of this process. They have refused to do so," he said. "The Palestinian Authority has decided to go forward and negotiate with Israel." 'Details on PM probe to be released' by Jerusalem Post The police and the attorney's office are holding a meeting of senior officials today (Thursday) to decide whether to lift the comprehensive gag-order on publicity regarding the new inquiry into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's conduct. The session will also decide what information could be released to the public. The new information will be publicized Thursday night, at the end of Independence Day, Army Radio reported. The meeting comes after two Israeli news agencies appealed Tel Aviv's District Court's Wednesday decision not to remove the gag-order. The news agencies argued that there is no reason to continue the publicity ban in light of extensive coverage of the issue by Israeli and foreign press. National prosecutor Moshe Lador said Wednesday that "the issue is still under investigation. In the last few days untrue and incorrect information has been publicized." Scenarios in Olmert's legal troubles by Avida Landau, Reuters A police investigation covered by a sweeping media gag order has sparked intense speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert might have to leave office. Following are some possible scenarios: Olmert has weathered other investigations, none of which has led to indictment. Next election not due until 2010, though Olmert faces opposition, including within his own coalition, to steps he might take to make peace with the Palestinians by a target date of end-2008 set by U.S. President George W. Bush. If indicted, Olmert would face even stronger calls to resign. He could refuse and could also step aside temporarily for up to 100 days while his deputy, Tzipi Livni, took over. Olmert's centrist Kadima party has no mechanism by which to unseat him as leader. If he lost the confidence of his coalition cabinet, however, they could drive a parliamentary no confidence vote that would bring down the government and give President Shimon Peres a chance to appoint a new prime minister. If Olmert chose to resign, Peres could name a replacement after consultation with leaders of parliamentary parties. The likely frontrunner is Livni, the foreign minister. Ehud Barak, leader of Kadima's main coalition partner Labour, is not a member of parliament and cannot therefore be prime minister. If the present coalition breaks up, Peres could turn to a leader willing to forge a different line-up of alliances among the 12 groups in parliament. Of 120 seats, Kadima has 29, Labour 19 and the right-wing opposition Likud 12. However, if no leader could secure a parliamentary majority an election would follow. An election must be held within five months of the Knesset voting to dissolve itself. In practice, that gap is shorter. Polls show Likud would emerge strongest if a vote were held now. IDF kills gunman in Gaza by Associated Press A gunman was killed and at least 14 Palestinians, one a civilian, were wounded in fighting with the IDF on Wednesday, according to witnesses and medical officials. Palestinian witnesses said a total of 25 tanks and armored bulldozers entered Abassan, an area east of Khan Yunis, setting off battles with local gunmen. The IAF carried out at least four air strikes, including one attack that struck a group of Palestinians who were using abandoned houses as cover, witnesses said. An Islamic Jihad gunman was killed and another group member was wounded, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry. An earlier strike hit six Hamas members. Three of the men were in critical condition, Hassanain said. The IDF said it carried out two air strikes to target gunmen near the troops. Seven other Palestinians, all gunmen except one civilian, were wounded in two other air strikes, medical officials said. The army said the operation was aimed at terrorists in southern Gaza, and confirmed hitting a group of gunmen in an earlier air strike. Two Israelis still among missing in Myanmar by Jerusalem Post Two Israelis who were in Myanmar at the time of the devastating cyclone hit earlier this week have still not contacted their families in Israel. According to Israel Radio, the Foreign Ministry said that the silence from the two could be due to the fact that telephone lines in Myanmar were still not fully operational. Possibly 100,000 people may be dead or missing following the disaster. Roi Mandel, Ynet, reports: Two Israeli families are desperately waiting to hear from family members who were traveling in Myanmar when Burma was struck by the deadly Cyclone Nargis. Batya Ka'alo last spoke with 23-year old Maayan on April 28th via email. She told Ynet on Wednesday the family was nervously awaiting any sign of life from their son. Immediately after word of the storm reached them, the Ka'alo family contacted the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their son's insurance company to see if it was possible to dispatch a rescue mission to the region. A ministry spokesman, Arieh Mekel, said that communication to Myanmar authorities was patchy due to the extent of the damage caused by the cyclone. In the meantime, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Joint Distribution Committee have sent medicine and medical equipment worth $100,000. Gene trawl shows Druze are living "gene sanctuary" by Maggie Fox, Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters)The Druze people of Israel are a genetic sanctuary of ancient lineages of DNA, researchers reported on Wednesday. Not only does the exclusive religious community offer a snapshot into the history of the Middle East, but their well-preserved diversity may provide opportunities for medical research, the team at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology said. The researchers looked at mitochondrial DNA, a type of genetic material that is passed down virtually unchanged from mother to daughter. It can provide a kind of snapshot of the ancestry of a person. "Altogether we sampled 311 different paternal households from 20 Druze villages in Northern Israel, and 208 surnames were identified," Karl Skorecki and colleagues wrote in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE. The mitochondrial DNA backed up the legendary origin of this close-knit religious group, believed to number 1 million or fewer. For instance, Skorecki's team discovered an unusually high frequency of a haplogroup, or a distinct collection of genetic markers, called haplogroup X. Haplogroup X is rare but is found around the world among diverse groups. This fits in with the known history of the Druze, who mostly live in mountainous regions of Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan, and provides "a sample snapshot of the genetic landscape of the Near East prior to the modern age," the researchers wrote. Marriage outside the group is discouraged, first cousins often marry, and it is impossible to convert to the religion, an offshoot of Islam. The Druze religion was founded in the year 1017 by what were believed to have been an ethnically diverse group of people and Skorecki's team's findings support this. "The populations with the smallest genetic distances to the Druze were: Turks, Armenians, Iranians and Egyptians," they wrote. This diversity offers a unique opportunity for researchers to study whether people who have different types of mitochondrial DNA are predisposed to different kinds of diseases. "You can look at 150 kinds of mitochondrial DNA within one group with a similar environment, and be able to see the specific contribution of these variations," Skorecki said in a statement. And the different populations may offer interesting insights. "Since they are comprised of so many distinct lineages, genetic disease may vary from clan to clan and village to village," said Skorecki, who found genetic evidence that modern-day Jewish priests, called Kohanim, are descendants of a single common male ancestor. This would be consistent with legend that the Kohanim are the descendants of the Biblical high priest Aaron. Skorecki also led a team that found evidence that 40 percent of Ashkenazi or European-origin Jews are descended from four "founding mothers," who lived in Europe 1,000 years ago. Focus: Why I am a Zionist by GIL TROY, Jerusalem Post Today, too many friends and foes define Israel, and Zionism, by the Arab world's hostility. Doing so misses Israel's everyday miracles, the millions who live and learn, laugh and play, in the Middle East's only functional democracy. Doing so ignores the achievements of Zionism, a gutsy, visionary movement which rescued a shattered people by reuniting a scattered people. Doing so neglects the transformative potential of Zionism, which could inspire new generations of Israeli and Diaspora Jews to find personal redemption by redeeming their old-new communal homeland. Tragically, Zionism is embattled. Arabs have demonized Zionism as the modern bogeyman, and many have clumped Zionists, along with Americans and most Westerners, as the Great Satans. In Israel, trendy post-Zionists denigrate the state which showers them with privilege, while in the Diaspora a few Jewish anti-Zionists loudly curry favor with the Jewish state's enemies. Jews should reaffirm their faith in Zionism; the world should appreciate its many accomplishments. Zionists must not allow their enemies to define and slander the movement. No nationalism is pure, no movement is perfect, no state ideal. But today Zionism remains legitimate, inspiring, and relevant, to me and most Jews. Zionism offers an identity anchor in a world of dizzying choicesand a road map toward national renewal. A century ago, Zionism revived pride in the label "Jew"; today, Jews must revive pride in the label "Zionist." I am a Zionist because I am a Jewand without recognizing Judaism's national component, I cannot explain its unique character. Judaism is a world religion bound to one homeland, shaping a people whose holy days revolve around the Israeli agricultural calendar, ritualize theological concepts, and relive historic events. Only in Israel can a Jew fully live in Jewish space and by Jewish time. I am a Zionist because I share the past, present, and future of my people, the Jewish people. Our nerve endings are uniquely intertwined. When one of us suffers, we share the pain; when many of us advance communal ideals together, weand the worldbenefit. I am a Zionist because I know my historyand after being exiled from their homeland more than 1900 years ago, the defenseless, wandering Jews endured repeated persecutions from both Christians and Muslimscenturies before this anti-Semitism culminated in the Holocaust. I am a Zionist because Jews never forgot their ties to their homeland, their love for Jerusalem. Even when they established autonomous self-governing structures in Babylonia, in Europe, in North Africa, these governments in exile yearned to return home. I am a Zionist because those ideological ties nourished and were nurtured by the plucky minority of Jews who remained in the land of Israel, sustaining continued Jewish settlement throughout the exile. I am a Zionist because in modern times the promise of Emancipation and Enlightenment was a double-edged sword, often only offering acceptance for Jews in Europe after they assimilated, yet never fully respecting them if they did assimilate. I am a Zionist because in establishing the sovereign state of Israel in 1948, the Jews reconstituted in modern Western terms a relationship with a land they had been attached to for millennia, since Biblical timesjust as Japan or India established modern states from ancient civilizations. I am a Zionist because in building that state, the Jews returned to history and embraced normalcy, a condition which gave them power, with all its benefits, responsibilities, and dilemmas. I am a Zionist because I celebrate Israel's existence. Like any thoughtful patriot, though I might criticize particular government policies I dislikeI do not delegitimize the state itself. I am a Zionist because I live in the real world of nation-states. I see that Zionism is no more or less "racist" than any other nationalism, be it American, Armenian, Canadian, or Czech. All express the eternal human need for some internal cohesion, some tribalism, some solidarity among some historic grouping of individuals, and not others. I am a Zionist because we have learned from North American multiculturalism that pride in one's heritage as a Jew, an Italian, a Greek, can provide essential, time-tested anchors in our me-me-me, my-my-my, more-more-more, now-now-now world. I am a Zionist because in Israel we have learned that a country without a vision is like a person without a soul; a big-tent Zionism can inculcate values, fight corruption, reaffirm national unity, and restore a sense of mission. I am a Zionist because in our world of post-modern multi-dimensional identities, we don't have to be "either-ors", we can be "ands and buts"a Zionist and an American patriot; a secular Jew BUT also a Zionist. Just as some people living in Israel reject Zionism, meaning Jewish nationalism, Jews in the Diaspora can embrace it. To those who ask "How can you be a Zionist if you don't make aliya," I reply, "How will anyone make aliya without first being a Zionist?" I am a Zionist because I am a democrat. The marriage of democracy and nationalism has produced great liberal democracies, including Israel, despite its democracy being tested under severe conditions. I am a Zionist because I am an idealist. Just as a century ago, the notion of a viable, independent, sovereign Jewish state was an impossible dreamyet worth fighting forso, too, today, the notion of a thriving, independent, sovereign Jewish state living in true peace with its neighbors appears to be an impossible dreamyet worth seeking. I am a Zionist because I am a romantic. The story of the Jews rebuilding their homeland, reclaiming the desert, renewing themselves, was one of the 20th century's greatest epics, just as the narrative of the Jews maintaining their homeland, reconciling with the Arab world, renewing themselves, and serving as a light to others, a model nation state, could be one of this century's marvels. Yes, it sometimes sounds far-fetched. But, as Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, said in an idle boast that has become a cliche: "If you will it, it is no dream." The writer is Professor of History at McGill University. This is an updated version of an essay he first wrote for Independence Day in 2001. Analysis: How to survive in a sea of rejection? by AMNON RUBINSTEIN, Jerusalem Post Sixty years have passed since those crucial days of 1948, but in many aspects we are still back therefacing existential dangers to the very existence of a Jewish state in an Arab-Moslem Middle-East. The same questions pervade the two Israelsone, a poor fledgling state of 600,000 Jews, menaced by the invasion of five well-armed Arab statesand the older, six-million-Jew strong, prosperous, well-armed Israel of today. The chances of the fledgling state to survive the Arab onslaught were very slim, and Ben Gurion had to convince his colleagues in the provisional government to disregard dire warnings from friends overseas, declare the establishment of Israeland face the invasion. Israel went on to win the war, albeit at tremendous human cost. Indeed, had there been insurance policies dealing with the viability of states, the emerging Israel would not have been able to find an insurer. Its eventual success defied all odds and testifies to the extraordinary readiness of Israelis to fight for their independence as well as to the amazing degree of Jewish solidarity, which have characterized these past 60 years. Things are different nowfor better and worse: betteras Israel is not as helpless as it was in 1948 and it has an unwritten, informal but powerful pact, with the US; betteras it is richer and more populous; betteras it has peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. But things are also worse. In 1948, the new state enjoyed the universal support of progressive public opinion in the West. Now, bash-Israel is the obligatory fashion of the European Left, soon to be paraded in the Durban circus, aided and abetted by the post-Zionist Israeli clowns. Worst of all is the dimming of hope that there will be an end to the ongoing war and suffering. In 1948, many Israelis believed that a decisive victory would convince Arab leaders and rulers to accept the idea of a predominantly Jewish state in their midst. Nowadays, with the Islamization of the conflict, only a handful still cling to this belief. As years go by, the hatred of Israeleven in Egypt, ostensibly at peace with the Jewish state after regaining all its previously occupied landsgrows exponentially. There is no modern equivalent to the hate-Israel propaganda barrage, and the closest thing to its venom is found in the anti-Jewish Nazi incitement-to-murder of the 1930's. Joining the two Israelsyesteryear's and today'sis the big question: can Israel survive as a minuscule islandnot much more then a sliver of Mediterranean coastin an Arab-Moslem ocean of rejection and hatred? Since 1948, Israel has managed to ward off war, terror, boycott and siege. This is a unique achievement, and sometimes it seems that this very success exacerbates the hatred against it (including the home-grown one). In recent years, Israel's position has been weakened by two factors: First, the growing Islamist influence over the conflict has both widened the scope of enmityuniting Arab states with powerful non-Arab Moslem states in an anti-Israeli axisand deepened it. It is much more difficult to reach a compromise with a fundamentalist God-ordained movement than with a nationalist one. Secondly, the Middle East is on the verge of going nuclear. If Iran gets its nuclear capacity, so will the Sunni states. Even if this process is delayed by international pressure or military action, it may eventually take place. The Arab world is richer than ever and the international community is seemingly helpless to prevent it from getting nuclear armaments. The emergence of Iran, a regional superpower, demonstrates both factors. Its brazen threats to wipe Israel off the map are no mere verbiagejust as Hitler's threat before the War to annihilate European Jewry was not. What can Israel do? Can it recreate the 1948 miracle in this lethal environment? Can it rely upon its own deterrent? It is this writer's belief that Israel's strategic aim should be to do its utmost so as not to be left alone against this widening front of Islamist enmity. It should strive to be incorporated, together with willing Arab states, in defense pacts with the US, preferably within NATO. This is the bestadmittedly not the perfectdeterrent to the new menace. It is within this context that the Palestinian issue should be seen. Its solution, if feasible without giving in to the suicidal "right of return," is required, among other things, to facilitate such a defense pact. In its 60 years, Israel can boast of unprecedented achievements. In comparison with the Jewish Yishuv of Palestine, it is a giant and its record is much better than that of other democracies at warincluding those who deliver daily homilies to the Jewish state. But all these achievements now face the dangers of obliteration by the mighty force of a powerful, rich and brutal Islamist front. Israel cannot face this front alone. It must find its place, together with non-fundamentalist Arab states, under the ambit of a defense pact. The fact that Turkey and Greece are both NATO members has had a beneficial and calming effect on their relations. One may hope that a similar process will be ushered in by extending NATO membership to Israel and at least some of its neighbors. At any rate, at 60, we must never walk alone. The writer is a professor of law at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, a former minister of education and MK as well as the recipient of the 2006 Israel Prize in Law Minority: Israel's Arabs caught in the middle by Associated Press KUFR QASSEM, Israel (AP) The highway leading to this Arab town in central Israel was lined with blue-and-white Israeli flags Wednesday to mark the Jewish state's 60th independence day. But Kufr Qassem itself was entirely bereft of banners. Israeli Arabs, who make up one-fifth of Israel's population of 7.25 million, aren't celebrating. Six decades after the founding of the Jewish state, they still feel like outsiders. They mix their Arabic with Hebrew and actively participate in Israel's democracy. But for the most part, they define themselves as Palestinians who live in Israel, and remain a distinct and largely disadvantaged minority. "It doesn't mean anything to me," Umm Ziad, owner of a small bookshop in Kufr Qassem, said of the festivities in the neighboring Jewish community of Rosh Haayin, just a few hundred meters (yards) away. "It's not our party," added the 32-year-old mother of three, dressed in a dark maroon robe and white veil. Many Israeli Arabs are torn between two loyalties. They have more freedoms than most in the Middle East even though they spent the first 18 years of Israel's history under military rule and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza tend to resent them for their more comfortable lives. Yet Israeli Arabs are distrusted by the Jewish majority and have been subjected to decades of official discrimination. "We are ready to build bridges with parts of the Jewish community, but coexistence can only happen when there are equal rights," said Ahmed Tibi, an Arab member of Israel's parliament and a long-time adviser to the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. Tibi said Israeli Arabs face unequal treatment in all walks of life, from land allocation to education, and noted that only 4% of Israel's development budget is spent in Arab communties. Kufr Qassem, with a population of 20,000, doesn't have an allocated industrial zone, although the mayor, Sami Issa, said he's lobbied for years for the Israeli government to invest in one. That would help earn tax money to fix the town's bumpy roads and shabby buildings, adorned with garish Arabic and Hebrew signs. Nearby Rosh Haayin, with 50,000 people, has smooth roads, chic coffee shops, a large industrial zone and gleaming buildings there host international companies. Over the past 60 years, Israel's Arab and Jewish communites have largely remained separate. Intermarriage is still taboo, and only a few towns, such as Haifa, Jaffa and Ramle, have mixed populations. Israeli Arabs are less educated, on average, and earn less than their Jewish counterparts. Arab women tend to be homemakers and in general, Arab families are larger than Jewish ones. Fueling the fears of Israeli Jews, government statistics show that Israeli Arabs have one of the highest birth rates in the region, ahead of neighboring Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. Kufr Qassem, a conservative Muslim town, is considered well off because of its proximity to Tel Aviv, Israel's business capital, which offers plenty of jobs. Residents freely admit that economic opportunity is one reason they want to stay in Israel. They don't like recent talk by hardline Israeli politicians who want Arab towns in Israel to become part of a future Palestine, in a swap for Jewish West Bank settlements. Ismail Issa, 39, a local barber and poet, said he'd like to see a bi-national state of Arabs and Jews between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, instead of separate Jewish and Palestinian states, the goal of current peace efforts. In the meantime, he said, "I carry an Israeli passport, and I have to respect it." A monument in Kufr Qassem's center commemorates the events of 1956 when nearly 50 villagers unaware that a curfew had been imposed on Israeli Arabs on the eve of Israel's Sinai Campaign were shot to death by Israeli border police as they returned home after the deadline. Every year, thousands of Arab Israelis gather at the monument, and local residents frequently refer to the massacre by way of emphasizing that they will stay in their village, regardless of what happens. The fate of Israel's rapidly growing Arab minority is seen as key to Israel's future. Further alienation could one day destabilize the Jewish state, while Arab citizens with a sense of belonging could build bridges to Israel's neighbors. For now, the future doesn't look bright, said the mayor, Sami Issa. "People here, generation after generation, don't have hope, and don't feel like they have a future. That's very dangerous," he said. "If you are full and live next to a hungry man, he might not hurt you today. But he'll hurt you tomorrow." Israel Information Office in Scotland, 222 Fenwick Road, Glasgow G46 6UE. 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