WHY STAY

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS,

Netanyahu over the Israeli leader's tac-
tics — and a deepening of the rela-
tionship between Clinton and Arafat.
That's what we're seeing with this trip.
Arafat is doing everything possible to
lay the groundwork for a Palestinian
state; he will use the visit as a de facto
U.S. endorsement of the idea."
That explains the fierce reaction by
Netanyahu and his government —
and the unease expressed by many
Jewish leaders, Freedman said.
Despite that discomfort, most
Jewish leaders were unwilling to criti-
cize Clinton or try to limit his travel
plans.
That was evident at a contentious
meeting of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish
organizations last week. Prodded by
Dore Gold, Israel's United Nations
ambassador, several participants urged
the group to write a strong letter
emphasizing the community's concern
about Arafat's continued incitement of
violence and his renewed threats to
declare a Palestinian state on May 4
with Jerusalem as its capital.
But others expressed a reluctance to
take on the administration before the
trip.
"There was agreement about
Palestinian incitement," said one par-
ticipant, but there was also concern
about seeming to support what seems
like the prime minister's unilateral sus-
pension of the Wye agreement. Many
of us felt it was inappropriate for us to
be publicly raising concerns with the
administration when they were doing
e:activ what the Israeli government
had previously called for — and when
they were doing everything possible to
keep this peace process alive, despite
the deterioration of the last 10 days."
Although the trip was originally
planned as a largely ceremonial cele-
bration of the Wye agreement,
Clinton will now have to resume
intensive personal diplomacy to over-
come the latest obstacles to the peace
process, said Stephen Cohen, an ana-
lyst for the Center for Middle East
Peace and Economic Cooperation.
"What the actions of both parties
have set up is a continuation of Wye,"
he said. "This will be 'Wye in the
Desert,' because each side is exploiting
the unclear areas of the Wye agree-
ment to the fullest.
He warned that "opponents of the
agreement on both sides will try to
make this upcoming trip very unpleas-
ant. That's something the administra-
tion has to be prepared for."

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12/11
1998

Detroit Jewish News

37