This Week
Summit At Camp David
Preparing For Failure
Israel, Palestinians prepare for violence
should the summit fail.
Simulating Siege
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A
Jerusalem
s their leaders are talking peace, many
Israelis and Palestinians are preparing for
war.
They include not only militant Jewish
settlers and members of the fundamentalist
Palestinian Hamas movement, but also the Israeli
army and the troops of Palestinian Authority
President Yasser Arafat's Fatah group.
In recent weeks, Israeli intelligence officials and
Palestinian activists have reached the same conclu-
sion: If the talks fail, all hell could break loose —
and now is the time to prepare for it.
In a surprising gesture last week, U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright warned that a summit fail-
ure could lead to a renewal of the violence of a
decade ago.
"It's not a matter of pushing a button," said
Hassan Ayoub, director general of the PLO's Land
Protection Office in the West Bank town of Nablus.
"The explosion will not necessarily be immediate,
but the explosives" are already in place.
Various Palestinian organizations, includ-
ing Fatah, have already declared an offi-
cial state of emergency. Meanwhile,
Jewish settlements in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip have also gone on alert.
Activists from the 25 settlements in
the Gush Etzion bloc south of
Jerusalem recently met with residents of Judith Dasberg, from Alonshut, Israel, lays out photos of victims who
died in terrorist attacks in Israel on July 17, in Thurmont, Md., at
the northern community of Kiryat
a park near the Mideast summit press center.
Shemona — which repeatedly suffered
Hezbollah rocket attacks before Israel
Goldstein, mayor of the Etzion bloc.
withdrew from Lebanon in May — to learn how to
Even though he and other settler leaders have said
conduct life under siege.
that
"the worst" will not necessarily happen, Goldstein
Last winter, snow crippled the settlement of Karmei
said,
"the level of panic has risen" among settlers.
Tzur in the Hebron region for two days. Residents
used the situation to launch a simulation drill — again
"Feel The Tension" -
dealing with how to survive under a possible siege.
During the past few days, Palestinian youths at seem-
The opportunity for yet another drill was provided
ingly innocent summer camps have .been undergoing
by the Mekorot water company, which cut off the
military-style training. They crawled under barbed
water supply of some settlements during a recent
wire, took over hilltops, practiced sniper attacks and
strike. The settlers coped with the challenge by ship-
Chanted slogans that ended with the all-too-familiar
ping water in tankers from one settlement to another.
"death to Israel" declaration.
"We are telling our people to get ready, to stock
All of this might make one feel that the Camp
up on food and prepare for the worst," said Shaul
Talking Peace
Reform Movement
head Eric Yoffie offers
a quick take on the
summit outlook.
IR
#IN
7/21
2000
10
abbi Eric Yoffie, the head of
the Reform Movement in the
United States, has been an
active and influential player in the
search for a lastingpeaeein the
Mideast. While standing up for the
righ,ts of non-Orthodox Jews in
Israel's internal debate over Jewish
identity, he has also encouraged his
movement — the largest branch of
Judaism in North America — to rally
behind the Israeli government in its
negotiations with the Palestinian
Authority.
Earlier this week, the Detroit Jewish
News asked him for his assessment of
the talks at Camp David and the role
details. If the agreement is a reasonable
one, it will win substantial support.
DIN. What voice should American
Jews have in shaping or approving any
deal now being struck?
RY American Jews can express their
opinions, which Israelis may or may
not listen to, but fundamental deci-
sions about the security of Israel must
be made by the citizens of Israel.
that diaspora Jewry can play in the
peace process:
Detroit Jewish News What do you
think would be the best result possible
from the Camp David summit?
Rabbi Yoffie An agreement that would
put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict once and for all, and that
would win the support of the Israeli
and Palestinian peoples.
DJN What would be the worst result?
RY Failure to reach an agreement,
with expressions of sympathy by the
American government for the
Palestinian position.
DJN What do you think is the most
likely result?
RY I simply do not know.
DJN Given the apparently deep divi-
sions within Israel on both religious
and secular matters, how likely is it
that any accord will be acceptable to a
Rabbi Eric Yoffie
substantial majority of the country?
RY Since Oslo and the days of the
Netanyahu government, it has been
clear that a large majority of Israelis
accept the need for a division of the
Land of Israel in return for a stable
peace. The argument now is about
DJN Are American Jews prepared to
accept Palestinian control over some
parts of Jerusalem? Should they be?
RY Jerusalem is precious to all Jews,
but in this matter, as in all others, the
ultimate determination must be made
by Israelis. In the final analysis, any
arrangements on Jerusalem that are
endorsed by the Israeli people,
through a referendum or elections,
should be acceptable to American
Jews.
DJN Should American Jews support
giving tens of billions of dollars in aid
to a new Palestinian state?
RY A reasonable and fair agreement
endorsed by both sides that promises