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November 17, 2000/Heshvan 19, 5761, Vol. 53, No.8
Paying attentionEditorialAs the U.S. presidential election drama plays itself out in Florida, and as Israel's prime minister struggles to preserve his power, Israelis and Palestinians continue to engage in armed conflict. People are dying.So if President Clinton's separate meetings this week with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat drew scant public notice, it was largely because the media have focused fixedly on the outcome of the ballot recounts in Florida's Dade and Broward counties. The subject of those high-level meetings was, of course, the escalating Middle East violence, fueled in part when Arafat told residents of Gaza: "We will continue on to Jerusalem, the capital of the independent Palestinian state. If Barak wants to, he will accept it. And if he doesn't accept it, he can go to hell." The United States is continuing to offer its good services in resolving this latest frightening episode in the Middle East. Clinton reportedly hopes to host an additional three-way summit before he leaves office in January. And the White House is asking Congress to back a $450 million aid package to Israel, which would be in addition to $3 billion in annual foreign aid Congress approved last month. The new U.S. president - be it Vice President Al Gore or Texas Gov. George W. Bush - will have no grace period when he takes office Jan. 20. He immediately must surround himself with knowledgeable, adept advisers on the Middle East; comprehend fully what is at stake there; and establish working relationships with the principals - friends and foes alike. He then must move forward with a strategy first to help reduce the level of violence, should it persist, and to resume the slow but essential task of creating a lasting peace. In the interim, it is incumbent on American Jews to assist Israel in word and action: paying attention to current news, staying in touch with Israeli friends and relatives, visiting Israel, participating in local community dialogue about problems and solutions in the Middle East, and educating Arizona's congressional delegation on the issues - urging their support. |
