Dear Friends and Supporters,

This week marks the end to the first hundred days of the Netanyahu Government, the first one in many years which has not based itself on the Oslo process. The climax of these days was marked by Netanyahu’s Bar Ilan speech which we wrote about at length in the last newsletter. His speech did not signify a turn in Israeli policy, and even seemingly adopted the two-state idea, yet it left room for a more national zionistic agenda.

Netanyahu emphasized Israel’s historic right to Judea and Samaria, clarified that any resettlement of refugees will be outside of Israel’s borders, and of utmost importance – demanded that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish State.

The speech was received positively around in the world, except in the Arab world. This is no coincidence. The Israel Initiative has continually stated that Palestinian nationality is sustained through perpetuating the conflict while continuing to de-legitimize Israel. Generous concessions made by Ehud Barak in May 2000 were rejected by Arafat, who was unwilling to agree that the following resolution would signify an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abu Mazen and co. will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state because it contrasts the narrative of Palestinian nationality, which has been instilled for years among Palestinians in refugee camps and around the world.

This week, in a meeting with officials close to the Prime Minister, we were happy to discover that behind Netanyahu’s speech is an outlook that is similar to that of The Israel Initiative, or at least critical parts of it. We spoke about the importance of relating to the refugee issue on a humanitarian level as opposed to a political one. We have basis to believe that in the future we will see Israel actively seeking to rehabilitate refugees and abandoning the never ending cycle that led to the establishment of UNRWA. Yet this time the efforts will not be despite the Israeli government, as has been in the past, rather with their support.

In the meantime, the illusion of a two-state solution continues to be at the forefront as the path to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are many in Europe who believe that if Israel will give the Palestinians a state, the conflict will be resolved. The Israel Initiative has started a series of meeting with European diplomats who work with UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority, with the purpose of giving them a different viewpoint on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. These meetings have proved to be of extreme importance as the diplomats we have met are not in communication with members of the Israeli Government. Their exposure to the conflict has been from the Palestinian standpoint.

In an article published on a blog for the Jerusalem Center for Public Policy, Yonatan D. Halevi explains that there is no difference between Fatah, who rule in Judea and Samaria, and Hamas, who rule in Gaza. In the international community, Hamas is seen as a terrorist organization, while Fatah is an enlightened organization interested in making peace, giving hope for a peaceful Middle East. However, there is no difference between the two organizations, whether they wear a kafiye or are clean shaven.

Why is the refugee issue such a critical part of our initiative? The answer is simple: the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian problem, which as time goes on seems to be more difficult to fix, its only aspect which Israel has the room to initiate change is the refugee issue. Many Israelis are unaware that perpetuation of the refugee issue serves as a source of strength for the Palestinian national movement. They use the refugee humanitarian crisis as a springboard for achieving political goals. These goals only serve to intensify the problem, which in turn jeopardize the region’s stability. As the columnist Ben Dror Yemini noted, “this continues to be the decisive weapon of Palestinian propaganda.”

Once the rehabilitation of the refugees is initiated, even if only among a minority, the Palestinian problem will decrease in its enormity and the catalyst behind the right of return will become severely weakened. It is noteworthy to mention, in one of the Knesset committee’s, a high ranking member of the Left explained that it is forbidden for Israel to settle the refugee problem, since that would pull the rug out from under Abu Mazen, who needs the refugee crisis as a basis for demanding a Palestinian state. Two weeks ago, the Palestinian Statistics Bureau publicized that the number of refugees reached 4.7 million. The bureau’s numbers are not very reliable, as they and UNRWA have been known to exaggerate in their statistics. However, the numbers are unimportant. Rather the refugee problem exists and continues to be a driving force for the establishment of a Palestinian State. According to these statistics, refugees account for 44% of the total Palestinian population in Judea, Samaria and Gaza: 30.2% in Judea and Samaria and 69.2% in Gaza.

At a conference held in Jerusalem, National Infrastructure Minister, Uzi Landau, responded to the Prime Minister’s assertion that he had obtained a broad consensus on the right solution to the current conflict. He asserted that a Palestinian state will not solve the current conflict and “hiding behind the title ‘Palestinian State’ is an Iranian regime.”

While writing this newsletter it had been published in American media that the US government intends to absorb 1350 Palestinian refugees in the coming fall. This is a great opportunity to illustrate the fact that there is an alternative to ongoing conflict and misery, and that the West can take part in rehabilitation programs. Sure - these are not UNRWA-treated refugees (they are not as lucky) but Palestinians from Iraq, which are being treated as refugees are supposed to be. We hurried to spread this news item in Israel, accompanied by our interpretation:
http://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/191694

In the Jewish tradition, the 17th of Tammuz marks the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls and begins the mourning process for the Temple that was destroyed. The Talmud relates that even though there was a siege around Jerusalem, the daily sacrifices in the Temple continued as usual. Each day a basket was lowered from the wall and an animal was placed in it to fulfill the daily sacrifices. The Jerusalem Talmud tells of an incident where the besiegers of the city decided to contaminate the daily Temple services. Instead of placing a lamb in the basket, a pig was placed inside. As the pig was being raised up in the basket, it decided to dig its paws into the wall and caused the land of Israel to shake 400 parsot. This story illustrates that Jerusalem was not destroyed because of a siege, rather it was the outcome of a war between brothers and losing a sense for the holiness of Jerusalem.

The Israel Initiative offices are located in Jerusalem, not far from the Damascus gate. Here we can feel the unity of Jerusalem, something that we have merited for the past generation. An important package was put under our guard, shame on us if the walls of Jerusalem fall again.

It seems that many of our subscribers did not receive newsletter #17. You are welcome to read the newsletter on our website:
http://www.hayozma.org/App_Themes/NewsLetter/news_17.html

All the Best,
Yoav Sorek
Director, Israeli Initiative
www.Israelinitiative.com