Unfinished Business Fouryears after it set out to garner U.S. investments to strengthen the peace process, Builders for Peace is shutting its doors. B TOM TUGEND SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS Ask us about commercial website design, hosting g connectivity solutions. Call now for FREE Consultation. itPutituit*Nlithittitti::4$34: ■•■ 6.10% 610% 3.00% 7: a Ciassic Account* MO. Minimum $500 Minimum $5,000 'Unlimited Checking! The Michigan heritage Bank CD by Mail TRW Call today for an application, drop it In the mail with a check. Then Just sit back and waft for delivery. 1-800-914-3524 I: 0 FDIC MICHIGAN HERITAGE 21211 Haggerty Road at 8 Mile, Next to the Novi Hilton. IENDER Insured 77 Annual Percentage Yield is effective as of July 20,1997. Penalty for early withdrawal. Business or brokered accounts not eligible. For your best price, selection and personalized service COVERINGS —•—•— • —• —•— •-- SCHLUSSEL VISIT OUR NEW STORE Mon., Thurs., Fri. 9-9 Tues., Wed. 9-6 Sat. 9-5 Before accepting, Levine phoned another old friend, Prime Minister Rabin, who approved of the idea and reiterated his sup- port during a private meeting in New York. Builders for Peace was formal- ly launched in November 1993, with an operating grant of $350,000 for the first year by the U.S. Agency for International De- velopment (AID). As co-president of Builders for Peace, the choice was James Zog- by, head of the Arab-American In- stitute in Washington. Levine had come to respect Zog- by as a skilled adversary during many debates on the Middle East and considers him "the most ar- ticulate Arab spokesman in the United States." The late Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown signaled his enthusi- astic support and later proved to be true to his word. Another strong backer was then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who de- clared that $1 invested in the Palestinian economy would be worth $2 spent on Israeli securi- ty. Financial cooperation was pledged by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an independent federal agency. The really heavy lifting in build- ing up the infrastructure of Gaza and, to a lesser extent the West Bank, was to be the job of an in- ternational consortium of donor countries which, in the afterglow of Oslo, pledged $2.4 billion. From the beginning, the task facing Builders for Peace proved a lot more frustrating than antic- ipated, despite intensive efforts by Zogby and Levine. During 1994, Levine traveled to Israel seven UNFINISHED page 62 PHO TO BY A P/ RO N ED MUNDS 248-334-5492 CALL NOW ! Offer Expires Aug. 31 udders for Peace, the noble experiment in advancing the political peace process by boosting the Palestinian economy through private Ameri- can investments and business pal tnerships, is shutting down. "We're winding up our opera- tions and terminating our relationship with the U.S. gov- ernment," acknowledged Joseph DeSutter, executivedirector of the Washington-based organization. "For all intents and purposes, we're out of business." Builders for Peace was born in the wake of the Yitzhak Rabin - Yassir Arafat handshake on the White House lawn on Sept. 13, 1993. Its demise sadly illustrates the contrast between the eupho- ria of that historic day and the harsh realities that have dashed so many high hopes. Within days of the White House ceremony, Vice President Al Gore phoned attorney Mel Levine, a for- mer congressman from West Los Angeles with impeccable creden- tials in the American Jewish com- munity. Gore put it to his old friend that the peace process would fail if it did not improve the economic lot of the Palestinian masses at the same time. The vice president suggested that the Jewish and Arab com- munities in the United States ap- ply their business acumen and capital to jump-start business ven- tures with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, with initial support from the U.S. govern- ment. Gore assumed that the joint projects would stand on their own feet within a year, at which time Levine would have fulfilled his vol- unteer assignment. Mill Floor CINDY SHUIIIIAA (810) 738-6554 2380 Orchard Lake Road 669-2010 just E. of Loading Dock Plaza, Sylvan Lake Next time you feed your face, think about your heart. Go easy on your heart and start cutting back on foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The change'II do you good. V American Heart Association WERE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE The historic handshake that paved the way for the birth of Builders for Peace.