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Palestinians Express
Despair, Indifference
GIL SEDAN
Special to The Jewish News
D
espair and indif-
ference. They seemed
to sum up the at-
titude of Palestinians in the
ancient town of Hebron
while talks that could direct-
ly affect their lives were
taking place in Cairo.
The talks Monday were
between Defense Minister
Yitzhak Rabin, the second
ranking Labor Party
member of the government,
and Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak.
They met to discuss the
Israeli proposal for Palesti-
nian elections in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip. Egypt
is prepared to play a key role
in bringing Israelis and
Palestinians together.
But the elderly men loung-
ing on straw chairs in an
alley near the Tomb of the
Patriarchs saw nothing new
under the sun. "Forget
about Sadat, Mubarak or
any other Arab leader. None
of them will bring about
peace because Israel does not
want peace," one of them
said.
Another agreed that "as
long as Shamir does not
want peace, there will be no
peace."
"Rabin cannot do much," a
third man observed.
"Shamir and Likud run the
government," referring to
Israeli Prime Minister Yit-
zhak Shamir and his Likud
bloc, the senior partner in
the coalition government.
A younger man, clean
shaven in his early 40s,
foreswore political solutions.
"It says in our Koran that
peace on earth will only
prevail once the state of
Islam is erected. Therefore,
as long as this does not ma-
terialize, forget about
peace," he said.
If Hebron is a political
backwater, it is in the center
of the intifada.
Right now the town is
quiet, the streets almost
deserted by the general
strike called to observe the
seventh anniversary of the
massacre of Palestinians in
the Sabra and Shatila refu-
gee camps in West Beirut.
In Ramallah, north of
Jerusalem, Jamal Tarifi, a
successful Arab busi-
nessman, analyzed the
situation differently than
his Hebron fellows, but
whether he did so with more
political realism is doubtful.
"If Rabin is clever, he
should use the opportunity
and declare that he is ready
to sit with (Palestine Libera-
tion Organization chairman
Yasir) Arafat and reach a
deal," Tarifi said.
He predicted "an im-
mediate breakthrough"
from such scenario.
Perhaps the clearest
thinker in the West Bank is
one of its oldest politicians,
Elias Freij, who has been
mayor of Bethlehem since
1967.
He has just returned from
Tunis, where he urged the
If Hebron is a
political
backwater, it is in
the center of the
intifada.
PLO leadership to accept the
Israeli election plan with
Mubarak's conditions and toy-
give local residents the
green light to negotiate with
Israelis over the elections.
Freij said it was too early
to tell whether he had suc-
ceeded. "The PLO is looking
into the idea of the elections
in the territories," he said.
"As far as Mubarak's 10-
point plan, Arafat had told
me that this subject is being
discussed with Egypt, and so
far there is no definite deci-
sion."
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Health Plan
For Boston
Boston — A two-year study
of the financial and physical
risks facing elderly persons
who need long-term care ser-
vices — conducted by the
Combined Jewish Philan-
thropies of Greater Boston
(CJP) — has resulted in a uni-
que nursing home and home
health care contract option
for the area's Jewish
community.
John Hancock Financial
Services has been selected to
market, underwrite and ad-
minister the group long-term
care plan, which will be of-
fered to members of CJP bet-
ween the ages of 40 and 79.
A "care management" ser-
vice will be set up through
CJP's Jewish Family and
Children's Service. Available
at no additional cost, it pro-
vides counselling and support
to individuals receiving long-
term care benefits and their
families, and assists plan par-
ticipants in devising and
monitoring the best plan of
care and coping with family
crises.