QUESTIONABLE page 1 and the West Bank is a prereq- uisite for long-lasting peace," he says. Mr. Lis maintains that the "most tangible way for the Palestinians to feel that peace is benefiting them is for economic improvement to come about. They need to see a real change in their standard of living." Israel receives $3 billion an- nually in U.S. foreign aid, while Egypt gets $2.1 billion. Mr. Lis considers aid to Egypt pivotal in preserving peace be- tween the two Middle East na- tions and sees a correlation with the PLO. "American foreign aid to Egypt was definitely a catalyst to Egyptian acceptance of the Camp David Accords," he says. As for MEPFA money: "We just have to be careful on how the U.S. invests and monitors it." Dan Polisar serves as director of the Jerusalem-based Peace Watch, an independent Israeli group monitoring all the parties' compliance with the Middle East peace accords. Mr. Polisar says Israel's government favors the U.S. aid, but Israeli citizens are less optimistic. "What interests people here is not so much the question of how much money the U.S. Congress gives the PLO, but rather how the United States, as a reasonably fair judge, views PLO compliance with the accords," Mr. Polisar says. "I think regular Israelis wish the State Department report were true, that Arafat actually were as committed to peace as the State Department says he is." Peace Watch's critique of the State Department says that the U.S. has made several mistakes in its analysis of the PLO. For ex- ample, Peace Watch refers to a portion of the report commending the PLO for punishing political criminals through its legal sys- tem. Mr. Polisar claims the court proceedings did not try terrorists, but rather political operatives, journalists and preachers. Another point of contention Mr. Polisar has with the State Department's report is its claim that the PLO has extradited pris- oners to Israel. That has not hap- pened according to guidelines in the DOP, he contends. But government representa- tives in the United States and Israel's ruling Labor Party agree with Mr. Lis. They believe the aid E NTE RTA 1 ry Nei Weird lo know about happenings in your community and your neighborhood? About local Jewish events and issues that have an impact on you and your children? Want to know who's getting married? Or promoted. How about where to dine and shop? The latest sales. The money-saving coupons. And so much more. There's only one place you can get all this and more. All for as little as 750 a week! The Jewish News. Where else? THE JEWISH NEWS mwm mmm .1mm mmm omeo tamm wpm Save 31% if the newsstand price by responcing today. Receive 52 issues of The Jewish News plus five issues of Style magazine for only $39 ($54 out4-state). 1MM NNW MMM OMM MMM MAW MIM WOM Yes, I'd like my own subscription to The Jewish News. 1, ❑ Please bill me. ❑ Charge to my ❑ Payment enclosed. ❑ MasterCard ❑ I'd like to send a subscription as a gift to: ❑ Visa Name Card # Exp. Address Signature (required) City My Name Zp Gift Card Message State Zip New subcribers only Phone Please send all payments along with this coupon to: The Jewish News, P.O. Box 2267, Southfield, MI 48037-2267. Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. '13* For faster service call 810-354-6620 and charge it to your Visa or MasterCard between the hours of 8:30 an and 5:00 pm ii .. mmm mmm mmm mom mom mom mom mmm mom mmo mom their standard of living, which will lead, ultimately, to more peaceful relations for everyone. Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres reflected this sen- timent in May, when he spoke to 866 metro Detroiters who trav- eled on the Michigan Miracle Mission. Addressing the crowd in Jerusalem, Mr. Peres referred to more than 1 million people in Gaza as "desperate and starving." "What the Palestinians need," he said "is support, not protest. It would be foolish on our part to re- main an island of prosperity in a sea of poverty. The waves of poverty will always endanger the shores of prosperity." Mr. Drissman and the Zionist Organization of America's Ezekiel Leikin don't buy it. "It would be foolish to remain an island of prosperity in a sea of poverty." — Shimon Peres "The Jews should help Jews and the Arabs should help Arabs," Mr. Drissman says. Says Mr. Leikin, "We firmly be- lieve that Arab hostility to Israel is not based on economic factors in the territories. It's based on Islamic fundamentalism and is basically anti-Israel." Supporters of the aid argue that U.S. dollars will create a pos- itive dependency among Palestinians. Instead of relying on their Arab neighbors, they will switch allegiances to America. Meanwhile, a U.S. public opin- ion poll, conducted by Luntz Research Companies, shows that the majority of Americans — 78 percent — believes the PLO should be held accountable for its commitments to the peace accord as a precondition for reautho- rization of the measure. According to the same survey, 78 percent of those polled also agree that U.S. funds should be halted until the PLO guarantees that terrorist groups like Hamas no longer operate from Gaza and Jericho. Seventy-three percent say the PLO should not receive funds until it removes from its charter statements calling for the destruction of Israel. ❑ Publicity Deadlines Phone My Address I City State will help Palestinians increase AD595 FJ The normal deadline for local news and publicity items is noon Thursday, eight days prior to issue date. The deadline for birth announcements is 10 a.m. Monday, four days prior to issue date; out-of-town obituaries, 10 a.m. Tuesday, three days prior to issue date. 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