Looking for a fun
mitzvah project

Although hundreds of Arab youths
took to the streets in the worst violence
since 1948, hundreds of thousands
remained at home, waiting for the trou-
ble to end.
Most Israeli Arabs, although support-
ive of the Palestinian cause, had no
interest in severing ties to the Jewish
state, which they have made their home.
This was not the first breach of trust
between the Palestinian Authority its
police forces and Israelis.
It began with disturbances at an arche-
ological tunnel in Jerusalem in 1996,
when Palestinian police officers opened
fire on Israeli officers, and it has deterio-
rated ever since.
But the incident with the joint patrols
is sure to do serious damage, raising
questions whether Israeli and
Palestinians can share security arrange-
ments in the future.

Spending Political Capital

"They don't like the joint patrols," Lt.
Roi Nahmias said of the Palestinians.
Nahmias, who served in Hebron, one
of the most fragile points in the 10
regions where joint Palestinian and
Israeli patrols operate, said the
Palestinians don't like the image of Israeli
police Jeeps deep inside Palestinian terri-
tory.
Thus, Palestinians sometimes refused
to cooperate. Whenever they could stop
Israeli vehicles, they did so, he said, if
only to show the Israelis how they had

Jewish groups were generally unit-
ed in criticizing press coverage that
they said laid all of the blame for the
crisis on Sharon and overzealous
Israeli troops, none on the
Palestinian leaders who were report-
edly encouraging the violence even
after promises of a cease fire.
"Right now people are dismayed
because they don't see a lot they can
do," said Malcolm Hoenlein, execu-
tive vice chair of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations. "But people will start
reacting — in part because of the
one-sided media coverage of what's
been happening."
But even more likely to leave an
impression with the American public
are the graphic images of the vio-
lence, including the tragic picture of
the death of a young Palestinian boy.
"That one picture will be seared in
the minds of millions of Americans,"
said a leading pro-Israel activist. "It will
undo so much of the effective work
we've done in telling people just how

felt when they were stopped by Israeli
patrols — a frequent sight between the
territories and Israel proper.
"We used to be told to be fair to
them, so that it will pay off in times of
trouble," recalled Nahmias.
The problem of trust extends to the
political arena — and knowing who's
calling the shots for the Palestinians, say
some Israeli officials.
"We have a strong problem of trust,"
said Meretz Knesset member Avshalom
Vilan,. "partly because the Palestinians do
not talk in one voice."
That was evident in this week's riots.
They were instigated, to a large extent,
by the Tanzim, a local body of Fatah,
which is the military wing of the
Palestine Liberation Organization.
The Tanzim represent the younger
guard of the Fatah. Its members aspire
to operate independently, but in practice
would not dare to act contrary to the
specific instructions of Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
Thus, the Israelis found themselves in
a situation more complex than in the
past: They were facing Arafat, whom
they did not trust, and they were facing
the Tanzim, whom Arafat could not
trust completely.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
complained Oct. 3 that on one hand
Arafat was sending the Tanzim to con-
front the Israelis in the streets, but on
the other hand he was sending the head
of his West Bank security service to try
to work out a deal with Israel. ❑

seriously and how responsibly Israel has
traveled down the road to peace."
Jewish groups on the left were dis-
mayed by the evidence that Yasser
Arafat encouraged the disorders as
well as by the heavy Israeli response.
"We still support the peace process,
but making the case is harder when
you see Palestinian police shooting
at Israelis and when Arafat seems to
encourage the violence," said a lead-
ing peace process supporter.
Some Jews on the right were silent
because they couldn't express their
real reaction — grim satisfaction
that Ehud Barak's peace policies
could come crashing down in flames,
said Gilbert Kahn, a Kean University
political scientist. Kahn also is a
consultant for Shalom Achshav, a
pro-peace process Orthodox group.
"In a way, this week's events are a
tremendous relief to them," he said.
"Now they are convinced that what
they feared the most — that Barak
would cede part of the Old City of
DIGGING IN on page 23

Sunday, November 5, 2000

*An annual JFS Volunteer program serving homebound
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Dr. Steven Dunn

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21

