the Sept. 11 terror attacks on America,
Arafat ordered that demonstrations of
support for bin Laden not be filmed.
The Palestinian Authority tried to
ban Monday's protest in Gaza and,
when that failed, to suppress it. Two
protesters were killed in clashes with
Palestinian police, and 10 policemen
reportedly were injured.
Like the rest of the western world,
Israelis feared possible terror retaliation
for Sunday's strikes — but then, terror-
ism has become part of the daily routine.
"There is perhaps no other country
in the world which is so well-prepared
for terrorism like Israel," Defense
Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said.
The fact that initial reaction was
subdued did not mean that trouble
would not flare up later on. It general-
ly was assumed that as long as
America did not attack targets like
Iraq or Hezbollah, there was no imme-
diate danger of a local escalation.
However, Ze'ev Schiff, military ana-
lyst for the Israeli daily Hdaretz, sug-
gested that it was quite possible that
organizations such as Hamas, Islamic
Jihad and Hezbollah might try to
open "a second front" to make life dif-
ficult for the Americans.
The Palestinian leadership and the
Palestinian street were totally divided.
The Palestinian cabinet met Sunday
for an emergency session, but whereas
Arafat is keen on remaining part of
the American coalition, hatred against
America runs deep in the Arab world
in general and among Palestinians in
particular.
"There is no other people that has
suffered so much from terrorism like
the Palestinian people," said Abdul
Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader in Gaza.
"America has always stood by Zionist
terrorism."
Israeli Arabs expressed similar feel-
ings, and Israeli Arab Knesset members
condemned the American-led attacks.
Knesset member Ahmed Tibi
backed bin Laden's comments, calling
his use of the Palestinian issue "sophis-
ticated and emotional" and predicting
that Arab and Muslim pressure on
Israel would grow as Afghani casualties
mounted.
"Moderate" Arab regimes were con-
cerned about a possible domino effect,
fearing that the offensive against
Afghanistan could cause instability in
countries like Pakistan and Indonesia
— I,vhich in turn might stir up spirits
among radical Islamic elements in
countries like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi
Arabia.
Egypt supported Sunday's attack on
condition that it be limited in scope. ❑
OUTSIDE from page 15
terrorists did not do what they set out
to do — kill me.
Borrowing the tone from President
George W. Bush, Sukenik said, "Make
no mistake, Israel will do whatever
necessary to defend our country.
Everybody is willing to compromise,
but when we fight, we fight to win."
After the dinner, Sukenik said that
America cannot speak with two voices.
"We know, and the American people
know, exactly who the countries are that
harbor terror and support them. Sooner
or later, it will all come out. We under-
stand that it's very important to have a
strong coalition, but with terror, you
can't compromise. When you start to
compromise, it will come back at you."
A few days after the dinner,
Berkovitz said he's always been in close
contact with Israelis, in the U.S. and
Israel.
Support for Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon has crossed political lines in
much the same way as Democrats
have swung their support to President
Bush, he said.
They feel they're "being sold" by
Bush, he said. Israel and Israelis are
feeling isolated and pushed into the
corner. And lately they feel betrayed
by the policy of United States.
In an e-mail to the Jewish News,
Israeli diplomat Alan Baker said that
Sharon's statement that the United
States should not appease the Arabs at
the expense of Israel may be justified.
"Sharon's words regarding Munich
were certainly hard on Bush," said
Baker, whose latest diplomatic func-
tion was representing Israel at the
U.N. racism conference at Durban,
South Africa. "One cannot ignore the
fact that Arab terror against Israel is
continuing and is even being justified
in some quarters, while Israel is being
pressed to keep quiet and not upset
the coalition.
"This doesn't help those Israelis who
are getting killed," he said. "From our
point of view nothing has changed."
Dinner co-chair Alon Kaufman of
West Bloomfield said Sharon's com-
ment mirrored what the Israeli people
have been feeling all alone.
Security-wise, he said that Israel is in
no greater danger now than before the
U.S. and British invasion began.
"Israel knew that it was coming, was
prepared for the uprising, and the mil-
itary knows how to handle things," he
said. "They do the best they can. Now
it's mostly the psychological element
more so than the physical threat."
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