THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION Promoting Classical Judaism
July 2013
Vol. 26 • No. 10
Av 5773
The US, PA, and Netanyahu Want Two States, But Many Israelis Say It Can’t Work—and the PM and Kerry Know It According to reports and
polls in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Secretary of State John Kerry’s quest to restart negotiations between the Jewish state and the PA is doomed. Some Israeli officials say no one is more aware of this than the Secretary of State himself, despite his remarks upon leaving Israel on June 30 in which he seemed brimming with “cautious optimism.” While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly offered to restart negotiations with no precon-
ditions, the PA has insisted it will not sit down with Israel unless the Jewish state agrees in advance to a full building freeze in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem; the release of many terrorists, including murderers, from Israeli prisons; recognition that the Palestinian state will be based on the 1949 Armistice Line as a designated border, with Jerusalem divided; and acquiescence to the Palestinian “right of return,” a policy that all Arabs who fled Israel—and their descendants—have the right to reclaim property and flood
back into Israel proper, thus demographically destroying the Jewish state. More Demands In addition, the PA is now demanding that before talks even start, there must be a concluding date. PA leaders say this is to avoid “wasting time.” Israelis say that, if met, the Palestinian demands would constitute a de facto agreement, largely negating the necessity for negotiations. Israelis say the demands would force the abandonment of Judaism’s holiest sites and create an existential threat to the Jewish state.
“It turns out that Kerry, too, understands that there is no chance of establishing a Palestinian state,” said Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) MK Yoni Chetboun. “Real Progress” It would be hard to come to that conclusion based on Mr. Kerry’s remarks upon leaving Israel. At a press conference at Ben Gurion Airport, he told reporters there has been “real progress.” Asked what that meant, he said he could not go into details. “The hardest part is to jumpstart the process,” he said.
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In the “Seething, Noisy, and Very Explosive” New Middle East, Israel Watches & Waits Recent tumultuous events
in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey should have nothing to do with Israel. But the very proximity of these countries and their intertwined relations with the Jewish state make what is happening very much an Israeli issue. Israel’s foremost concern is its security. To that end, Israeli and US military personnel have been coordinating ways to target
At Ziv Medical Center in Safed, Israeli physicians tend to a wounded Syrian rebel
and destroy Syrian President Bashar Assad’s arsenal of unconventional weapons, which could be used—intentionally or not—against Israel by any group that possesses them. In the Syrian civil war, Mr. Assad, an Alawite Muslim allied with Shiites, is supported by Iran, Russia, and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. Against Mr. Assad is a rebel coalition of loosely allied Sunni groups
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Inside the Voice Holy Name & Israeli Technology...... 5 Kol Ami: Same-Sex Marriage?........... 6 The Current Crisis............................... 7 Antisemitism in the UK..................... 8 Aly Raisman in Livingston.............13 Water Packs for Israeli Troups.............16
Not This Year, But Soon?........................20 Busy Month for OHEL.............................22 Kosher French Riviera.............................23 The Log..........................................................24 New Classes........................................31 Mazel Tov.............................................31
Cheses Ops.........................................32 Ess Gezint: Pasta & Smoothies......38 Index of Advertisers ........................41 Honor the Professional...................43 Letters to the Editor ........................44 Walk To Shul.......................................47