Other Voices

"It was encouraging to hear that [Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud] Barak was willing to
accept the notion of granting the
Palestinians administrative control over some
parts of Jerusalem. I think that was a coura-
geous decision. I've spoken with high-level
leaders in the [Palestinian Authority] who
said they understood any peace agreement
must leave both the Israelis and the
Palestinians able to say that Jerusalem is
theirs, and that includes the Old City and
the Temple Mount. I'm disappointed that
that position did not prevail within the PA
negotiators and that they insisted on com-
plete sovereignty over parts of the Old City.

— Jeremy Salino-er, president,
Labor Zionist Alliance Metropolitan Detroit

An orthodox Jew blows a shofar during a mass prayer at the Western Wall on Aug. I. The mass prayer was

held in protest against the territorial concessions that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was willing to make
to - the Palestinians during the Camp David summit.

fixed time, which is Sept. 13, God willing, regardless
of those who agree- or disagree."
Arafat was signaling to his Arab hosts that he had
emerged from Camp David a no less determined
Palestinian leader than when he first joined U.S.
President Bill Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak at the Maryland presidential retreat.
Arafat could have come home from Camp David
with a seemingly attractive package: an independent
Palestinian state in most of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip, a measure of Palestinian sovereignty over por-
tions of Jerusalem, a state recognized by Israel and
enjoying worldwide support.
However, in the sometimes strange way of Arab
politics, his stubbornness and his refusal to make any
concessions to the Israelis boosted his image as a
great Arab leader.

Pleasing The People

Arafat's people received him like a hero.
"Had he come back with an agreement, we
would have condemned him as a traitor," said
Ahmad Buri, who fixes flat tires near the vegetable
market in Gaza City.
The residents of Gazds refugee camps were partic-
ularly concerned over whether Arafat would bargain
away their right to return to the homes in Israel they
abandoned during the 1948 War of Independence.
"If Arafat wants to sell to the Israelis his own fam-
ily assets, he's welcome," said Ahmad Abdullah, a

school principal at the Jabalya refugee camp. But no
one has authorized him to make concessions over my
home in Askelan," the Arab name for the Israeli
town of Ashkelon.
Reacting to reports that Palestinian refugees
would get reparations but forego their right of return
to their homes, Abdullah added bitterly: "Yes, we are
entitled to reparations — reparations for 50 years of
suffering. But reparations for my home? Never.
Nothing will replace my home."
As lower-level negotiations with Israel continue,
Arafat has given instructions to prevent violent
demonstrations in the self-rule areas.
Just the same, the mood in those areas has become
decidedly militant — especially after Clinton granted
Israel Television an interview July 28.
During that 28-minute interview, the longest he
had ever given an Israeli journalist, Clinton criticized
Arafat's inflexibility, warned that Washington would
review its relationship with the Palestinians if Arafat
makes a unilateral declaration of statehood and said
he was considering moving the U.S. embassy from
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
This was a major coup for the embattled Barak, who
had three parties defect from his coalition on the eve of
the Camp David summit. But the Clinton interview
did not make life any easier for Arab moderates.
Led by a group of armed masked men, some 300
Arafat loyalists marched Saturday through the streets
of Nablus, where they burned a poster of Clinton
labeled "Hypocrite Zionist."

❑

"In a way, it might turn into a fortunate thing
that the peace talks did break down. Because it
allows the delegation and Barak to come back
and reestablish the extent of their mandate to
do the things that he's suggesting might bring
about peace with the Palestinians.
"By coming back, [Barak] can make his case
for what he wants to do and the Israeli people
can respond to what he has done in negotiat-
ing with the Palestinians."

— Joseph Savin, president,
Zionist Organization of America
Metro Detroit District

"Clearly, it's disappointing. We had all hoped
for a dramatic step forward, but on the other
hand, what I witnessed in Israel was a great
deal of internal dissonance on the compromis-
es that would be necessary. Even if Arafat had
agreed to the terms Barak was willing to agree
to, there was going to be a great deal of tension
within Israeli society.
"My hope is that having placed these issues
on the table, Prime Minister Barak will be able
ro now consolidate public opinion behind what
type of a peace they are willing to negotiate."

— Rabbi Daniel Nevins,
Adat Shalom Synagogue

"I'm pleased that our president made the effort
to bring together both sides of this very diffi-
cult issue. I am disappointed that a conclusion
was not arrived at that satisfied both sides. But
I hope there will be a continuing effort to
resolve this complex issue of Jerusalem and all
the other issues and concerns.
"It's not surprising that it was not resolved
in one summit, and it's our responsibility to
maintain a sense of optimism that a peaceful
solution to this long-standing issue can be
accomplished."

— Rabbi Harold Loss, Temple Israel

Compiled by Harry Kirsbaum, staff writer

8/4
2000

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