U.S. Jews laud Knesset vote
RACHEL POMERANCE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - The Knesset vote on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza with-drawal plan may have sparked controversy inside Israel, but on the other side of the Atlantic it met with broad support.
American Jewish organiza-tions rushed Oct. 26 to weigh in with statements of support for the Knesset, which voted 67-45, with seven abstentions, in favor of the withdrawal plan.
Sharon's initiative was "not an easy decision, but we fully share the Israeli government's view that it was the right decision to safeguard the future of the State of Israel," the American Jewish Com-mittee's executive director, David Harris, said in a statement.
"We salute Prime Minister Sharon's bold initiative and pledge our public support for the implementation of Israel's disengagement from Gaza," leaders of the Anti-Defamation League said.
In a more tepid statement, the chairman and executive vice chairman of the Confer-ence of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organiza-tions expressed "support for the Knesset vote approving the Gaza disengagement plan," noting that "further votes will be necessary for various stages of implementation."
Despite Sharon's Knesset victory, Ari Harow, executive director of American Friends of Likud, which advocates for Israel and Likud ideology in America, said that Oct. 26 was a difficult day.
"I think it was a tough day for everyone involved, as the prime minister said himself," Harow said. "It's such an explosive issue still amongst the nation, in the Knesset and definitely within the Likud party, we just hope that at some point in the near future it's resolved."
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, agreed that the Oct. 26 developments were tough.
"This policy not only rewards and appeases terrorists, but the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza will make it much easier for terrorists," Klein said.
Nearly all the Jewish groups issuing statements noted the impending anniversary of the assassination of Prime Mini-ster Yitzhak Rabin, urging Israeli leaders to summon courage for peace with the Palestinians - and urging opponents to eschew violence.
Applauding Israel for reaching a "historic milestone on its decades-long quest for peace and security," the Jewish Council for Public Affairs also recalled Rabin's memory.
In commemorating Rabin, the group said that "today's vote motivates us even more to do all we can to support his unfulfilled quest for two states living side-by-side in peace and security," JCPA chairwoman Marie Abrams said.
However, the Oct. 26 vote doesn't authorize the removal of any particular settlements. Withdrawal is to be carried out in stages beginning next year, with each step requiring a separate Cabinet approval.
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