accept the Arab position tomorrow."
After meeting with Arafat last week-
Barak frankly discussed the diffi-
culties that lie ahead in the peace talks.
/-:--)
"We are going into tough negotia-
tions with many ups and downs,"
Barak said, referring specifically to
talks with the Palestinians.
And these potential difficulties
leave many wondering how the
Clinton administration will handle the
peace process when pomp and circum-
stance gives way to substance.
Will Clinton articulate positions
supporting Israel's negotiating partners
as the Jewish state embarks on an
aggressive push for comprehensive
peace with Syria, Lebanon and the
Palestinians? Or will the president hold
his tongue if he and Barak, as expected,
develop a warm relationship?
These are the questions
many pro-Israel activists are
asking as the Clinton adminis-
tration readies a major offensive
to support Barak's efforts to
restart Middle East peace talks.
"The atmosphere at this stage
\vill be very important and will
affect substance," said Malcolm
Hoenlein, executive vice chair-
man of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American
Jewish Organizations, whose
group is scheduled to meet with
Barak on Sunday in New York.
In the run-up to his first meeting
with Barak since the Israeli election,
Clinton went out of his way to heap
praise on the Israeli premier.
Barak is a much more open and
heartfelt supporter of the Oslo peace
process than his predecessor, Clinton
said at a news conference earlier this
month. The goal now is to "form a
common strategy," Clinton said.
The remarks hearken back to the
last time a Labor Party leader served as
Israel's prime minister.
From 1992 until Netanyahu's election
in 1996, when Israel was led first by the
late Yitzhak Rabin and then by Shimon
Peres, disagreements, for the most part,
were worked out privately and did not
spill over into the peace talks.
But when Netanyahu took office,
the Clinton administration changed its
strategy and adopted what has come to
be known as a policy of "snub diploma-
cy." Clinton repeatedly refused to meet
with Netanyahu and it took presiden-
tial arm-twisting during marathon talks,
last October to convince Netanyahu to
sign the Wye peace accords.
That Wye agreement, which con-
tinues to form the U.S. road map for
the peace process, produced a I 2-week
timetable that married specific
Palestinian steps to crack down on ter-
rorism with further Israeli redeploy-
ments from the West Bank.
The Palestinians agreed, among other
things, to clamp down on terrorists, seize
illegal weapons, move to stop incitement
and amend the Palestinian Covenant,
which called for Israel's destruction.
In exchange, Israel agreed, among
other things, to withdraw from 13
from Barak's stated views.
In public comments and a letter to
Arafat, Clinton has outlined his posi-
tions on key issues:
• Settlements: Clinton has called
them "provocative actions" and has
said, "The United States knows how
destructive settlement activities, land
confiscation and house demolitions
are to the pursuit of Palestinian-Israeli
peace." Barak told Arafat last weekend
that while his government would not
build any new settlements, it would
not dismantle any existing ones and
would allow for their natural growth.
• Palestinian statehood: "We sup-
port the aspirations of the Palestinian
people to determine their own future
on their own land." Barak's Labor
Party has dropped its opposition to
Palestinian statehood, but
maintains statehood is an
issue for negotiations.
Of MilvP -* y.,
• Palestinian refugees: "I
would like it if the Palestinian
At The (jok'O-
people felt free and were free
to live wherever they liked,
wherever they want to live,
Barak is talking to everyone. But the
Clinton said in a news con-
stubborn realities — what the Palestinians
ference earlier this month.
Israeli officials have repeat-
and the Syrians want and what the
edly made clear that they
settlers demand remain unchanged.
would not accept the so-called
Palestinian right of return.
After an uproar, Clinton
percent of the West Bank in three
backed down from his statement, say-
stages and to open a safe-passage route
ing in a July 5 letter to the Conference
for Palestinians traveling between the
of Presidents, "Let me assure you that
West Bank and Gaza Strip.
there has been no change in U.S. policy
Implementation of the three-phase
on this matter." Clinton added that the
accord froze after the first four weeks
"issue of Palestinian refugees must be
when Netanyahu accused the
dealt with and resolved by the parties
Palestinians of not complying with its
themselves." Many pro-Israel activists
commitments.
are privately expressing concern that
Barak reiterated to the Times that,
Clinton has undermined Israel's negoti-
pending final-status negotiations, he
ating position by .supporting the
will implement parts of the agreement
-Palestinian positions outright.
as a sign that his administration is dif-
They also say Clinton's desire to
ferent from Netanyahu's. But, he said,
secure a quick agreement before he leaves
"Full implementation now is too risky.
office in 17 months could run counter to
It would reduce our chances of achiev-
Barak's careful and calculated style.
ing a permanent peace."
U.S. officials have tried to lower
Despite repeated assurances that it is
expectations of an immediate break-
up to Israel to set the parameters for a
through. But Clinton is still pressing for
settlement with the Palestinians, Clinton
a deal within a year. And while this may
has begun to lay out his vision of how a
seem ambitious, activists say progress is
final-status agreement will look.
possible now that Barak has begun
In many cases, the vision diverges
direct talks with the Palestinians. fl
"
That poll found three out of
four respondents convinced that
Barak would do better than his
predecessor in "improving Israel's
image in the world." Nearly 60
percent of those polled favored
Barak to get the Israeli army out
of southern Lebanon and to
reduce tensions between secular
and religious groups in Israel.
In the poll, which has a margin
of error of 4 percentage points,
more than 80 percent said they
were "hopeful" that the Barak vic-
tory would lead to progress in
reducing Mideast tensions — a
view echoed in interviews here.
David Kam, 30, of
Farmington Hills, for example,
said that Barak's strategy of hold-
ing early meetings with Arab
leaders, including Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat, Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak and Jordan's King
Abdullah, was a correct strategy.
The important step, Kam said,
is opening the lines of communi-
cation. Most of the problems
that we have in that area are due
to a lack of communication."
Alan Kaplan, 48, of West
Bloomfield agreed strongly.
"I think it s a positive step. I
think he's got to talk to everyone.
And as long as they have secure
borders I think it's the right move."
We have to have some work-
ing togetherness of the people in
Israel, Jordan, Syria and all the
those other countries," noted
Morris Kimmel of West
Bloomfield. "There should be
some way of working together for
the betterment of mankind."
As they bustled to and from their
tennis games, swimming and social-
izing at the Center on a bright and
beautiful Sunday, people also talked
about Barak as a trustworthy leader.
"I definitely feel that Mr. Barak is
the right person for Israel," said Al
Gutman, 91, of West Bloomfield. "I
think we're going to have peace now
for a change. We have chosen a
good man — he's young and he is
powerful. I'm happy with him."
The important thing to
remember, said Isaac Pann, 73, of
West Bloomfield, is that Israel
"cannot make the Arab a slave.
We've got to make him a partner.
"Either we live together or we
die together," Pann said. "It's bet-
ter to live together."
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