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Hold The Steak

Sharon won't give Arafat concessions while Palestinians violence rages: diplomat.

JACOB SCHREIBER

Jewish Renaissance Media

Atlanta

T

he genesis of the current
Palestinian intifada (upris-
ing) was not Ariel Sharon's
visit to the Temple Mount
in September, says Meir Rosenne, a
former Israeli ambassador to the
United States. It started in June when
the IDF high-tailed it out of Lebanon.
In Atlanta last week for speaking
engagements at Emory University and
for Israel Bonds, Rosenne claimed that
the poorly executed withdrawal from
Lebanon — the Israel Defense Forces
basically "ran away" under fire instead of
withdrawing as part of an orderly agree-
ment with Lebanon, as Barak had prom-
ised — gave the Palestinians the impres-
sion that all Israel understands is force.
"Palestinian violence was encouraged
by the way we withdrew from
Lebanon under a barrage of terror-
ism," said Rosenne. "The Palestinians
believe that all they have to do is fol-
low Hezbollah's example: terrorize the
Jews and they'll run away."

Images of Jews as "cowards" are now
being propagated in the territories,
says Rosenne, a far cry from the image
Palestinians once held of Israel as a
monster superpower.

Steeped In History

Rosenne seemed relaxed, but troubled.
His disarming and occasionally self-
deprecating humor belies the fire that
still burns within the seasoned diplo-
mat, who turns 70 on Sunday. The
former CEO of Israel Bonds and now
an attorney with Dunn & Bradstreet
in Jerusalem, Rosenne has served the
Jewish state in various capacities for
50 years, including as legal and politi-
cal advisor to Menachem Begin, a
peace negotiator and a fundraiser.
He is a walking encyclopedia of Israel
history, part of the generation formed
when the British mandate ended. An
early opponent of Oslo, his politics
remain right of center. He currently serves
as an advisor to Prime Minister-elect Ariel
Sharon on international affairs.
Rosenne insists that the Palestinian
intifada had nothing to do with

Sharon, and everything to do with
Yasser Arafat's desire to "win a
Palestinian state through blood,"
rather than have Israel "hand it to
him" at the negotiating table.
As proof, he says the Palestinians
were preparing for the intifada
"months" before the violence actually
broke out — even as negotiators were
at Camp David. •
He claimsIsraeli intelligence report-
ed that the Palestinian Authority was
"preparing for battle by stocking up
on reserves of munitions and food
within the PA-controlled territories."
Rosenne says the Palestinian belief
that the best tool to force Israeli conces-
sions, if not virtual surrender to its
demands, was bolstered by the way
Barak continud to negotiate with Arafat
while Israelis were being killed by
Palestinians almost every day. Sure, Israel
would halt talks for a day or so, but then
its negotiators would be right back at
the table — in Gaza, Washington or
Taba — sweetening an old offer.
"If you feed a tiger with steaks every
day," warns Rosenne, "he does not
HOLD THE STEAK on page 26

Shooting Star

Barak's term, though short, recast Israel s political debate.

MICHAEL S. ARNOLD

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

New York

E

hud Barak's term as Israeli
prime minister was among
the shortest in Israeli history,
but in just 19 months he
succeeded in altering the strategic land-
scape of the Middle East and recasting
the terms of Israeli political debate.
Barak's most recognized accomplish-
ment was the withdrawal of Israeli forces
from southern Lebanon after a bloody
18-year engagement.
In that sense, Barak and the man who
defeated him last week, Likud Party
leader Ariel Sharon, stand as bookends
in Israeli history Sharon was the man
who led Israeli forces into Lebanon,
Barak the one who took them out.
The ultimate verdict on the withdraw-

al is still out, however, as Hezbollah mil-
itants continue to harass Israel along its
northern border and many Palestinians
consider Hezbollah's war tactics a model
for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Barak's bold move ended the slow
bloodletting of Israeli youth in southern
Lebanon, removed a strategic card from
the Syrian arsenal and erased a major
stain on Israel's international reputation.
Domestically, however, many still fault
him for failing to carry out a promised
retaliation against Hezbollah for the kid-
napping of three soldiers on the border.
On the peace process, Bar-ak is scorned
by many Israelis for his willingness to
consider extraordinary' concessions even,
in the face of Palestinian violence.
However, by going further than any
other Israeli leader in his pursuit of final
peace agreements with the Palestinians
and Syrians — only to be met with

intransigence and rejection — Barak's
greatest achievement may have been to
pull, the masks off Israel's "peace part-
ners" as no right winger ever could.

Finding End Game

Criticized for "zigzagging" on important
policies in office, Barak displayed a
remarkable consistency in his attitude
toward the peace process.,
Despite his courage in touching what
he called the "living heart" of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, he always was skep-
tical of the Oslo process and never really
trusted Palestinian intentions.
From his days as army chief of staff
when the 1993 Oslo accord was negoti-
ated under Prime Minster Yitzhak
Rabin, Barak objected to what he con-

SHOOTING STAR on page 26

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