in the area. This hero nearly sacri-
ficed himself helping Israel.

Making An Impact

For centuries, Israel has been a home to
Jews. It has been a safe haven from per-
secution as well as home for our holiest
sites. Despite the depressed morale,
despite the empty streets, despite the
feeling of hopelessness lingering in the
air, it was still the same beautiful,
breath-taking, captivating Israel it has
always been. And for this, the pain was
great. The urge to stand up and help
was, and still is, overwhelming.
This solidarity mission was the first
time that I had truly felt my impact on
Israeli society, as I could see the eyes of
all those around us light up when they
saw a group of 43 teenagers walking
proudly through Jerusalem. Everyone we
met with on our trip, from the mayor of

selves, so they've sent an SOS to
Washington.,
"Save us from ourselves," they
pleaded. "You've got to force the
Israelis to stop because we might not
be able to control our own people."
Bush was persuaded by his own
diplomats, by the Europeans and by
the Arab leaders themselves that only
he could rescue the regimes, and that
meant pressuring the Israel to abandon
its anti-terror campaign.

Josh Berman,
at the Western
Wall in Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv to the doctors at Hadassah
Hospital, thanked us endlessly for our
support. For the first time in a long
time, I truly felt like I was helping.
When I returned to the United
States, I couldn't help but feel the
need to support Israel in any way pos-
sible. As I sit at home now, watching
CNN, and watching the violence, I
once again feel helpless. But now I
know I'm not. The desire to help
Israel has only increased, and now it is
up to me, it's up to all of us, to sup-
port Israel in whatever way we can.
We cannot stop our support, not
now, not ever. We must find ways,
whether by going on a solidarity mis-
sion, by sending money, or just send-
ing a postcard saying, "We're here for
you" — we must do something. We
cannot forget, we cannot ignore.
Because the second we turn our backs
on Israel is the second we lose it.

denounced Saddam's rewards to the
families of suicide bombers and other
"martyrs," it ignored reports that Saudi
Arabia was doing much the same.
So George W. Bush is willing to
sacrifice Israeli security to protect
this band of brothers while shelving
his own declaration that the

Palestinians — and presumably all
other Arabs — "deserve a govern-
ment that respects human rights and
a government that focuses on their
needs — education and health care
— rather than feeding their resent-
ments."
Bush calls himself a friend of

Israel, and I have no doubt he is sin-
cere. But it is understandable if some
of Israel's supporters find his zigzag-
ging policy very disturbing.
By rescuing Arafat and corrupt
Arab leaders from their own traps,
Bush is not hastening peace, but
sowing the seeds of war.

❑

Perspectives on Israel: a continuing series

Deja Vu?

There is a certain irony in this, since it
meant Bush was demanding Sharon
make the same mistake his father had
in the Gulf War — halting military
operations prematurely.
-
The first President Bush, nonethe-
less, rescued the Arabs from Saddam,
and now they're demanding Bush II
rescue them from themselves, even if
they're not willing to help him finish
the job of eliminating Saddam.
There is no sign that Bush will get
anything in return, especially not his
demand that Arab leaders "join us" in
fighting terrorism, denouncing suicide
bombings and cutting off financing
for the terrorists.
Instead, the Arab League summit
recently justified suicide bombings,
endorsed the Palestinian-led intifada
(uprising) and rehabilitated Saddam
Hussein.
While the Bush Administration

PRESSURE ARAFAT

Does

Yassir Arafat deserve respect from Israel as an
elected leader?

The Palestinians certainly have the right to choose their leader,
but they also must accept the consequences of their choice.
The disaster that has befallen the Palestinians is a direct result
of Arafat's action and inaction.

Arafat's failures and duplicity has forced Israel to military
action. Israel well knows that the army cannot bring peace, but
they also know that the army can reduce terrorism. In fact,
90% of suicide bombers are intercepted before they reach their
targets, saving hundreds of lives.

So the world should direct lectures about the uselessness of
violence, not to the Israelis, but to the Palestinians. It was
Arafat, after all, who turned to violence to advance political
goals.

Pressure on Arafat, not appeasement, is needed to stop the vio-
lence.

Take action to make Arafat accountable
Contact President Bush in support of a policy that keeps the
pressure on Arafat and supports Israel's right to defend her citi-
zens.

1 – Call! : 202-456-1414 (between•9 and 5 PM)
2 — Email: president@whitehouse.gov
3 – Fax: 202-456-2461
4 – Write: The White House, Washington D.C., 20500

Support federal legislation (S. 1409, H.R. 1795) to impose sanc-
tions against the PLO or the Palestinian Authority if the President
determines that those entities have failed to substantially comply
with commitments made to the State of Israel.

*-
Jewish .
Community
Councilygotaa=cgtet•

To learn more about how you can become an effective Israel advocate, visit www.jewishcommunitycouncil.orq