World Briefs
Ignorance
Is Not Bliss
New Palestinian guidebook
ignores Jewish presence
in historical Israel.
NECHEMIAH MEYERS
Israel Correspondent
Rehovot, Israel
ourists now streaming into Bethlehem,
Jericho and other towns controlled by the
Palestinian Authority are being handed a
most extraordinary guidebook. Titled West
Bank and Gaza Strip Palestine, it is prepared by peo-
ple clearly guided by ideological considerations.
That's because it manages to overlook the reality
that Jews have had something to do with much of
what has happened in this land during the past few
thousands of years.
T
Orthodox Schools
Double Enrollment
New York (JTA) — Enrollment in
non-Orthodox Jewish high schools in
the United States doubled during the
past decade, according to a new cen-
sus by the New York-based Avi Chai
Foundation.
The census also reports that 80 per-
cent of the current total of 185,000
day school students attend Orthodox
institutions. It also finds that more
day school students are choosing to
remain through eighth grade and that
the New York metropolitan area
accounts for two-thirds of the nation's
day school enrollment.
JNF Owns
Syrian Land
Jerusalem (JTA) — The Jewish
National Fund said it owns 19 square
miles of land in Syria.
JNF Chairman Shlomo Gravetz
said Israeli officials should use the
land as a bargaining chip so that Israel
could retain portions of the Golan
Heights as part of a peace deal with
Syria.
The land, purchased by Jews in the
d
1/14
2000
26
For example, consider this passage from the book:
"This small piece of land was involved in almost every
event of importance in the history of the world. It has
been influenced by many civilizations, from Pharonic
Egypt down to the Moslem and Christian Arabs and
the Israeli Jews of today. The Babylonians, Persians,
Greeks and Romans have all had an impact. Ruins of
Canaanite temples, Byzantine monasteries and church-
es, and Moslem mosques and minarets stand witness to
this rich past."
The text will seem rather puzzling to Bible-read-
ing tourists. After all, they are well aware that long
before there were "Israeli Jews", the ancestors of that
people inhabited this land and, among other things,
wrote the Hebrew Bible, built two Temples, numer-
ous synagogues and thriving civilizations. But the
authors of West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestine appar-
ently didn't feel such details were worthy of mention.
The matter is not trivial. The country's future
will not be determined solely by military and eco-
nomic factors; collective memory, what people
remember about their past, will be no less decisive.
In that last sphere, the Palestinians have a distinct
advantage. For while Israelis have "new historians" who
constantly question what they term "Zionist myths,"
our neighbors seem united in belief that both the past
and future of this land is theirs. To them, Jews are for-
eigners who, for lack of an alternative, must be tolerat-
ed in the meantime.
Of course, while that "meantime" continues, the
Palestinians are anxious to have economic ties with
the Israelis. In Jericho last week, for example, the
casino had hundreds of Israeli cars parked outside
and a nearby shopping center was crammed with
free-spending Jerusalemites and Tel Avivians.
Likewise, contributing to the Palestinian econo-
my are the shekels earned by Arabs who work in the
West Bank's Jewish settlements, even though the set-
tlers — according to the aforementioned guidebook
— are "thugs and criminals."
While the Palestinian Authority seems to have dif-
ficulty recognizing the history and current relation-
ship between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs, at
least part of the Palestinian economic world does not.
That view is expressed by Hashem Ortani in the
course "Palestinians in the 20th Century," which he is
teaching at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem under
the auspices of the Hebrew University and the Center
for the Study of Arab Society in Israel. Participants,
drawn from the Israeli media and universities, have
heard a great deal not only about the Palestinian
economy, but also about the culture, politics, social
services and religious life of Israel's neighbors.
But what still needs to be heard from Palestinian
political leaders is a straightforward statement that
the Jews and their state have a rightful place in the
Middle East. Such a proclamation would go a long
way toward settling even the concerns of the many
Israelis who still favor the promise this peace process
offers. ❑
late 19th and early 20th centuries, was
transferred to the JNF's possession
after Israel was created.
Holocaust Tops
`Worst' List
Rabbis Ban
Internet Use
New York (JTA) — The Holocaust
defeated a 1917 British document that
favored the creation of the Jewish state
in Palestine as the worst idea of the
millennium, according to an Internet
poll.
The Holocaust's overwhelming vic-
tory in the MSNBC.com poll came
after the Balfour Declaration had
jumped to an early lead. "It's important
to keep in mind that the Worst Ideas
of the Millennium was intended to be
a light-hearted survey," said the editor
in chief of MSNBC, Merrill Brown.
Jerusalem (JTA) — Rabbinical leaders
of several fervently Orthodox groups
in Israel recently banned their follow-
ers from using the Internet.
The rabbis cited access to pornog-
raphy on the Internet as the reason for
the ban.
Weizman Denies
He Will Resign
Jerusalem (JTA) — Israeli President
Ezer Weizman denied reports he
intends to resign in the wake of the
disclosure that he received nearly
$500,000 from a French millionaire
friend.
Weizman told Israel Radio he was
awaiting the conclusions of a probe by
State Attorney Edna Arbel.
Weizman has not denied receiving
money from French businessman
Edouard Seroussi, but said he did
nothing illegal.
Medical Relief
Resolution Passed
Miami (JTA) — A group representing
women from more than 600 U.S.
Reform temples is calling for a study
of whether marijuana can provide
relief for certain medical conditions.
In a resolution passed at its 42nd
biennial assembly in Orlando, Fla.,
Women of Reform Judaism also
urged elected officials to support
legislation to reclassify marijuana as
a "prescribed controlled substance"
so that it can be used for research
and given to critically ill patients.
Sweden Probes
Nazi Links
New York (JTA) — Sweden's prime
minister vowed to investigate his coun-
try's wartime links to Nazi Germany.
Goran Persson's promise came after
a television documentary revealed that
at least 260 Swedes were members of
Hider's SS. Five of the nation's political
parties have called for a probe to
uncover neutral Sweden's ties with Nazi
Germany before the country hosts an
international conference on the
Holocaust on Jan. 26-28 in Stockholm.
Israel Rejects
Refugees' Return
Jerusalem (JTA) — Israel rejected a
Palestinian demand that the Jewish
state permit the return of millions of
Palestinian refugees and compensate
them for their lost property and suf-
fering.
The exchange took place during
the latest round of final-status talks,
held in the West Bank town of
Ramallah.