Binyamin Netanyahu's enthusiastic support for the American war policy was based on the hope that Saddam Hussein would make the world forget the Oslo agreements, which are broken by the Netanyahu government in every aspect.

This hope was not fulfilled.

The enthusiastic support of the Palestinian masses for the Iraqi people, as well as the public burning of Israeli and American flags, were expressions of their profound despair. They realize that the Oslo agreements have brought them neither peace and independence nor economic prosperity, but only the continuation of the occupation by other means.

This is a warning.

The Palestinians understand now that Saddam will not redeem them, and that the Americans will not compel Netanyahu to fulfil the obligations which he himself has signed. All Palestinians are now convinced that Netanyahu "understands only the language of force".

The Iraqi affair is behind us. The bloody clash with the Palestinians is in front of us. It is for us to decide.

Gush Shalom, phone 03-5221732.
Support us by cheque to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033,

Web site: www.gush-shalom.org

Feb 20 1998 Here's something weird: Jerusalem Mayor Ehud "I'm not corrupt" Olmert gave a lecture on believe it or not, "How I promote tolerance in my city. Find out here what happened when the Bat Shalom peace organization attended.

Feb 19 1998 Perhaps one of the most dangerous issues facing Israel is the working conditions for both Palestinians and foreign workers (gastarbeiten) in the country; this, because as unem,ployment rises under the burden of the Netanyahu administration's amateurish, self-avowed "neo-Thatcherite" economic policies, large numbers of undereducated low-skilled Israelis are losing their jobs, with anger likely to be directed against even lower classes then them -- Arabs from the territories, and the estimated 250,000 foreign workers from Asia, latin America, and Eastern Europe, who have taken on low-paying jobs in Israel in the last decade. Here's a report on the situation from Kav LaOved a hot line service for workers with complaints about their treatment at the hands of sometimes ruthless employers.

Feb 19 1998 These are very difficult days in the Middle East. While the peace process has never been more stagnant, the threat of a military strike by the United States against Iraq lingers in the air. Both of these issues must be resolved for the region to flourish. Notwithstanding these political crises, in this Middle East Report, Leon Bijou describes modest, but promising, beginnings of Arab-Israeli economic cooperation by both the private sector and the public sector. The inherent logic of such cross border ventures holds great promise for the future. If you want to feel even a little optimistic, click here.

Feb 19 1998 On the other hand...

More on the implications of the Gulf Crisis: Palestinian TV Stations Shut Down by Order of Palestinian Authority More than anything, the peace process between Israel and Palestine should be about the propagation of democracy to the Arab world. From Zion shall come the Torah of democracy and freedom. But the current circumstances have resulted in something very different. Yes, some Palestinians like Saddam. But to deny Palestinian TV stations the ability to broadcast freely strikes to the heart of what has gone wrong in the peace process. Please check out this link.

Feb 19 1998 The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (better know by its Hebrew name: Adam, Teva V'Din) now has a web site in English. They're working on the English. They are the leading Green organization in israel and deserve everyone's support.

Feb 13 1998 Gush Shalom's Weekly Message:
Meanwhile... The Peace Process is frozen and it appears nothing's moving.

That's a dangerous illusion

While it appears that nothing's happening, settlements are expanding across the West Bank at a feverish pace. They're grabbing new land and capturing new hilltops. And all the tricks are kosher, as far as they and the govenrment is concerned. According to secret instructions handed down from senior officials, the settler movement has been given the green light to grab what they can. And the army stands by and does nothing.

The government and the settlers are working hand-in-hand to create "facts on the ground" that will make peace impossible. We're all going to pay the bloody price when the day comes. To the Gush Shalom Web Site

Feb 10 1998 Regarding The Impending Gulf Conflagration

Refrigerator Note By Rowena Silver

Saul:

I forgot to get olives
and people were lined up
at the bakery
and even though I had a number
an old yenta pushed ahead of me
and I left
sorry-my back hurt

I made a challah for Shabbat
a little lopsided but it should
taste good-

I picked up some tape
and the gas masks
one for you and me
but I didn’t know
if we need one for the baby
I’m thinking if she or he
arrives early
we might

More poetry from Rowena Silver at Ariga

Feb 10 1998 For another perspective on the impending conflagration: "Our TV sets have been filled with retros of the 1991 Gulf War, showing terrified Israelis hiding in shelters with gas masks. What's it all about? What do Palestinians think? Are those of us who live here expecting another war? See "Iraq, Palestine and chemical and biological war" at http://www.birzeit.edu/diary/pa/iraq.html by Nigel Parry

"I was very much moved by the essay by Yoram Sadeh, titled "A Cup of Tea in Old Jerusalem" (there is a link to it at http://www.JPost.co.il/com/Advertising/Ysadeh/). His basic premise is that the only lasting peace will be a warm peace, and that symmetry and equal respect between Israel and the future Palestinian state provide a fair solution. A corollary of this is the idea that Jewish settlers can remain in the Palestinian state as citizens of Israel who respect the local Palestinian laws, and conversely, Arabs in Israel could either have full Israeli citizenship, including serving in the army, or Palestinian citizenship."

B'Shalom
David (Grinstein)
davidg@kronos.com