PEACE TALKS COULD RESUME IN WEEKS

Below is a portion of an article written by Herb Keinon that was published in the Jerusalem Post on February 4, 2010 about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s proclamation that Israel could resume the peace process with the Palestinians, without preconditions in the next few weeks. To read the entire article, click on the title above.

Seven years after then-prime minister Ariel Sharon unveiled his Gaza disengagement plan at the Herzliya Conference, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took the same podium Wednesday evening and delivered what he said was a call for the engagement of the country with Jewish heritage, Zionism and history.

“Here in the land of our fathers, which is also the land of our children and grandchildren, in order to determine our fate we need to strengthen our collective efforts in three primary spheres: security, economy and education,” Netanyahu said.

But before turning to those matters, especially education and linking the youth to Israel’s history, he addressed diplomatic matters, perhaps feeling an obligation to do so because that is generally the subject discussed by prime ministers at the final session of the Herzliya Conference. “I have reason to hope, realistically, that in the next few weeks we will renew the peace process with the Palestinians, without preconditions,” Netanyahu said.

“I have been saying now for a long time that among the international community there is recognition that Israel wants and is prepared to renew the diplomatic process. And once this recognition emerged among the central players in the international community, the practical preparations for this step are also ripening.”

'HAMAS RECRUITED 2 STUDENTS TO CARRY OUT ATTACKS'

ynetnews.com published the following article written by Hanan Greenberg on February 1, 2010 about a pair of students charged with contact with foreign agent, espionage, membership in terror organization, aiding enemy during wartime. To read it in its entirety, click on the title above.

The Shin Bet arrested two east Jerusalem residents suspected of being recruited by Hamas during their time in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and gathering information on potential terror targets in Israel, it was cleared for publication.

An indictment was filed against the pair with the Jerusalem District Court on Monday. The two were charged with espionage, membership in a terror organization, contact with a foreign agent and aiding the enemy during wartime.

The two are suspected to have collected the videos, photographs, charts and information on a USB flash drive which they transferred to their handlers in Saudi Arabia. They were then meant to receive explosives. They also prepared a cave near Sataf, in the Judean Hills, and expanded it to use as a hiding place for weapons.

Murad Kamal, 24, from Wadi Joz in Jerusalem, and Murad Nimer, 24 from Tzur Baher, also in the capital, both carry Israeli IDs. They were arrested on January 3 at the central bus station in Beersheba. A third person was arrested with them, but suspicion that he was aware of their activity was refuted.

ISRAEL'S TOP TEN WATER TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES THAT HELP KEEP THE WORLD LIQUID

The following is a portion of an article written by Karin Kloosterman that was published on ISRAEL21c.org on February 4, 2010 about Israel’s top 10 water technology companies. To read the entire policy analysis, click on the title above.

It makes you think of the famous line from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink." - Israel is bordered by the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea; is home to the freshwater Sea of Galilee and the saltiest sea on earth, the Dead Sea. Rivers and springs run through the country.

And yet, despite all this water, Israel has been battling a severe shortage of potable water since its inception in 1948. To survive, policy and government incentives have contributed to the creation of a new and flourishing industry of water technologies.

From drip irrigation, to water recycling, reclamation, wastewater reuse and desalination, Israel has become a pioneering force worldwide, nicknamed by some as the 'Silicon Valley' of water technologies. As more and more countries around the world face similar water shortages, Israel's expertise and industry are growing fast.

ISRAEL AND PACIFIC REPUBLICS, UNITED BY AN ISLAND MENTALITY

The Washington Post published the following Op-Ed written by Howard Schneider on February 1, 2010 about Israel’s alliance with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Pacific island nation Nauru. A portion of the Op-Ed is below, to read it in its entirety, click on the title above.

As Israeli diplomacy goes, it was a smooth affair, unblemished by any of the policy disputes or disagreements that often follow diplomats or officials here. The visiting heads of state were eager to tour the country and soak up information in briefings by Israeli officials without breaking stride for the typical trip to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah or, as some do, a request to go to the Gaza Strip.

But then relations between Israel and the Federated States of Micronesia and the Pacific island nation Nauru have developed a special logic -- an alliance that has given Israel a couple of dependable votes in the United Nations and given the two small nations a source of technical aid on agriculture, health and other issues.

"The concept is that we reach out to every nation, whether it is small or big, remote or close," said Michael Ronen, Israel's ambassador to several Pacific island countries. The countries are among the smallest in the world -- Micronesia has about 108,000 people and Nauru about 15,000 -- but their votes count the same in an organization that routinely considers resolutions and issues related to the Arab-Israeli dispute.

(top)

SOCIAL ACTION/PUBLIC POLICY

HUNGER'S A GROWING PROBLEM IN NORTH TEXAS, STUDY SHOWS

The Dallas Morning News published the following article written by Kim Horner on February 3, 2010 about how hunger is an increasing concern here, in North Texas. To read the entire article, click on the title above.

A growing number of area residents are going hungry because of the economy, according to a national study released Tuesday by the North Texas Food Bank.

The number of North Texans seeking help from food pantries or soup kitchens each week has risen 80 percent, to 64,600 a week, since 2006, according to the study, "Hunger in America 2010." The study was conducted by Feeding America, a hunger-relief organization.

The North Texas Food Bank serves 345,600 people through its programs and by supplying food pantries in a 13-county region – what the food bank estimates as one in 12 residents. Many of those being served and counted in the study are repeat visitors to food pantries.

Nearly half in the study were children, and 13 percent were elderly, said Jan Pruitt, president and chief executive officer of the food bank.

WIND POWER GROWS 39% FOR THE YEAR

The following is a portion of an article written by Jad Mouawad that was published in The New York Times on January 26, 2010 about how the wind power industry grew at a blistering pace in 2009, adding 39 percent more capacity. To read the entire article, click on the title above.

Despite a crippling recession and tight credit markets, the American wind power industry grew at a blistering pace in 2009, adding 39 percent more capacity. The country is close to the point where 2 percent of its electricity will come from wind turbines.

While that is still a small share, it is up from virtually nothing a few years ago. Continued growth at such a fast pace could help the nation lower its emissions of the gases that cause global warming.

The American Wind Energy Association, in its annual report to be released on Tuesday, said the amount of capacity added last year, 9,900 megawatts, was the largest on record, and was 18 percent above the capacity added in 2008, also a banner year.

The group said the growth of wind power was helped by the federal stimulus package that passed a year ago, which extended a tax credit and provided other investment incentives for the industry.

A BITTER GUEST WORKER STORY

On February 4, 2010, The New York Times published the following Editorial about the investigation into illegal behavior by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency. A portion of the Editorial can be found below. To read it in its entirety, click on the title above.

A federal agency appears to have collaborated in an effort to silence foreign workers who claimed they were lured here under false pretenses and abused by the company they worked for. The role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — reported in The Times by Julia Preston — is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department.

This is the latest twist in a sad tale of human trafficking and another reason why Congress, as part of its immigration reform efforts, must solve a problem that dates back to the Mexican bracero program: how to accept guest workers in this country while preventing their exploitation.

In 2006, a company called Signal International hired 500 skilled metalworkers from India, under the H-2B temporary guest worker program, to repair oil rigs after Hurricane Katrina. The workers say they were promised green cards for themselves and their families. Some paid recruiters as much as $20,000 to make the trip to Mississippi, often taking on crushing debt or selling their homes.

The workers quickly learned that they had no hope of green cards. They could not work for anyone else and were told they would be fired and deported if they left their isolated labor camps. They were trapped as surely as if they were shackled.

DITCHING HEALTH REFORM WILL ONLY DIG US INTO A DEEPER DEFICIT

Below is a portion of an Op-Ed written by David S. Broder that was published in The Washington Post on February 4, 2010 about why he disagrees with completely dropping health care reform legislation in Congress. To read the entire Op-Ed, click on the title above.

The economic collapse of 2008 and 2009 did so much damage to the United States that only now can we begin to measure the devastation.

A sentence buried in the budget that President Obama submitted to Congress this week screamed for attention. "Household net worth fell from the third quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2009," it said, "by $17.5 trillion or 26.5 percent, which is the equivalent to more than one year's GDP."

Translated from economic jargon, that sentence means that America lost the benefits of an entire year of work -- of all that the brains and labor of American enterprise can produce, in the calamitous near-failure of Wall Street and the banking system.

The casualties of that upheaval are all around us, most notably in the 10 percent of Americans who are officially unemployed -- a figure that increases to 17 percent when you consider part-time workers and those who have become discouraged.

(top)

THE IRAN REPORT

September 2007, the JCRC began a special section entitled “The Iran Report”.  Due to the looming serious nature of Iran and its politics within the global world, JCRCs across the country are providing community leaders with updated materials and articles concerning Iran, which will include political matters, divestment information, etc.  Both the United Jewish Communities (UJC) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) have issued joint statements indicating that the subject of Iran should be on the top of the agenda for local Jewish communities. 

The JCRC will continue to bring the community updates on the situation with Iran and its implications throughout the Middle East and the world.

JCPA RESOLUTION ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM

Adopted by the Board of Directors of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) on March 27, 2007.

IRAN, AFTER THE DEADLINE

The following is a portion of an Editorial published in The New York Times January 29, 2010 about what the U.S. should do if Iran keeps stalling on demands to get rid of their nuclear program. To read the entire Editorial, click on the title above.

Iran has again proved to be a master at playing for time. Six months after a new diplomatic overture from Washington and its partners, Tehran has shown no interest in resolving the dispute over its nuclear program. It is time for President Obama and other leaders to ratchet up the pressure with tougher sanctions.

Mr. Obama, who offered a new relationship with Iran, gave its government until the end of 2009 to come to the table. In his State of the Union address this week, he warned Iran’s leaders that they face “growing consequences” if they continue to ignore their obligations.

Four years after the United Nations Security Council first demanded that Iran stop enriching uranium (usable for nuclear fuel or a bomb), Tehran has thousands of centrifuges spinning. Washington plans to soon circulate a new sanctions resolution — the fourth in four years.

Britain, France and Germany share Mr. Obama’s concerns. Russia and China — which have veto power on the Security Council and strong economic ties with Iran — have previously insisted on watering down penalties. That has made the Council look feckless and made it far too easy for Iran to press ahead. On Friday, we were glad to see Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly warn China, which seems especially intractable, that it faces diplomatic isolation if it fails to back new sanctions.

AMERICA AND THE IRANIAN POLITICAL REFORM MOVEMENT: FIRST, DO NO HARM

The following is a portion of the transcript of testimony given by Mehdi Khalaji and J. Scott Carpenter to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on February 3, 2010 about ways the United States can best support the movement for political reform in Iran. To read the entire transcript, click on the title above.

The current democratic movement in Iran, which began after the rigged presidential election in June 2009, is a nonviolent movement that aims to rely on itself without asking for foreign help. The people involved in this movement believe that democracy is not a gift that can be received by others, but rather an internal effort of a people to emancipate itself from tyranny and realize its dream of justice, freedom and national sovereignty. The Iranian people appreciate President Barak Obama's policy of not intervening in Iranian political affairs and allowing them to manage their way toward democracy. Therefore, any policy toward Iran should be chosen in a prudent and cautious way that would not affect the democratic movement in a negative manner.

My experience with political activists who are involved in the Green movement is that they do not expect any direct help from the United States or any other foreign power. But a close look at the Iranian situation reveals that in this specific historical moment the interest of the international community and the democratic interests of Iranians are in confluence. To be sure, the focus of the international community is on the Iranian nuclear program, while the main preoccupation of the Iranian people is securing basic political and human rights and integrating the country into the international community. However, peace in the region and democracy in Iran now seem to be inseparable, because the same forces that threaten the peace are the same powers in Iran who threaten democracy and run the repressive machinery against the Iranian people.

IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM GAINING GROUND

The Washington Post published the following news release published by Reuters on February 2, 2010 about a report on the number of centrifuges installed at Iran's enrichment plant at Natanz has grown from about 3,000 centrifuges in late 2007 to over 8,000. A portion of the news release can be found below. To read it in its entirety, click on the title above.

Iran is keeping open the option of developing nuclear weapons but it remains unclear whether Tehran has the "political will" to do so, the U.S. director of national intelligence said on Tuesday.

In written testimony to Congress, intelligence chief Dennis Blair said Iranian advancements in enriching uranium and other areas backed up judgments in a 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE, that Iran is "technically capable" of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a weapon in the "next few years, if it chooses to do so."

"Iran's technical advancement, particularly in uranium enrichment, strengthens our 2007 NIE assessment that Iran has the scientific, technical and industrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons, making the central issue its political will to do so," Blair said.

"We continue to assess Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that bring it closer to being able to produce such weapons, should it choose to do so. We do not know, however, if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons."

(top)

CRISIS IN DARFUR

February 2009 marked the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the violence in Darfur, Sudan.  For six years a government-backed militia known as Janjaweed (which in Arabic means, “evil men on horseback”) has continued to engage in a systematic program of expulsion, rape and murderous violence in Darfur, Sudan.  Millions of people now live in displacement camps lacking adequate food, water, shelter, healthcare, and sanitation. Attacks on \civilians continue.  As Jews, we have a particular moral responsibility to speak out and take action against genocide.  

The JCRC remains committed in its fight to end this battle and will continue to bring you facts and articles about this ongoing genocide. (For further information on Darfur, visit the JCRC web site “International” section at www.jcrcdallas.org.)

SUDAN IN CRISIS

Explore the history, people and politics behind one of the world's bloodiest conflicts in this interactive web site by The Washington Post.  Click the title above to be connected to this site.

GROUPS WELCOME APPEAL OF GENOCIDE CHARGES AGAINST SUDAN’S BASHIR

Savedarfur.org published the following news release published by VOA News on February 4, 2010 about reactions to last Wednesday’s International Criminal Court (ICC) appeal of genocide charges against Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. To read the entire article, click the title above.

Reactions to Wednesday’s International Criminal Court (ICC) appeal of genocide charges against Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir range from a broadside against the U.S. government by Sudan’s foreign ministry, to measured comments from members of the American anti-genocide community.

In Khartoum, foreign ministry spokesman Ambassador Mu’awiya Uthman Khalid blamed Washington for slowing the peace process by sending “negative signals at all times.” He singled out the Save Darfur alliance of American anti-genocide organizations, which he accused of directly hampering the peace process.

In Washington, the president of the largest organization in the alliance, Jerry Fowler of the Save Darfur Coalition, said that Wednesday’s ruling rectifies legal errors that will provide hope to Darfur victims and rebel groups, but will not likely alter the pace of current peace talks in Doha, Qatar or influence the conduct of April presidential elections in Sudan

A FINAL MOVE TO EXTERMINATE THE PEOPLE OF DARFUR

Below is a portion of an Op-Ed written by Anne Bartlett that was published in The Sudan Tribune on February 3, 2010 about the recent flares in violence in Sudan in advance of the upcoming elections. To read the entire news release, click on the title above.

Recent months have witnessed an attempt to shift attention away from Darfur, yet the situation in the West of Sudan is anything but quiet. What is going on today in Darfur is nothing short of a systematic attempt to wipe all traces of traditional Darfuri life from the map. Not only is wholesale fraud is being perpetrated by the Sudanese government in advance of the forthcoming elections in an attempt to re-engineer land ownership in the region, but those who are still on their land in Jebel Marra are being subjected to fresh attacks by the Janjawiid. All this while the international community looks the other way; all this while Scott Gration promotes the disingenuous argument that everything is fine in Darfur.

In the last few days there have been some dangerous developments in Darfur. Pushing hard into Jebel Marra as far as Quila, the Janjawiid have been able to penetrate through the defenses of the mountain and deep into rebel held territory. This action has had disastrous results. For local people, the Marra Mountains were the last bastion of self defense from the onslaught of the Sudanese government. They were a place where people in the lower territories could flee when subjected to attacks by the Sudanese government and its militias. As of today however, those high in the mountains have been driven down to the Nertete area which is now the site of huge camps of refugees round Estraina and Gaar Jebel. In this area there is next to no food, medical supplies or assistance in any form. Those who have been forced to flee are now hungry and without any shelter whatsoever because the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) has refused to cooperate with the few aid organizations that can provide help.

(top)

*Click Here to Support the Activities of the JCRC*

The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas does not necessarily endorse any political viewpoints expressed in any advertised programs, articles or editorial pieces that appear in this weekly update.

 

JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL
Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas
7800 Northaven Rd., Dallas, TX 75230
(214) 615-5254
JCRCDallas@jfgd.org
www.jcrcdallas.org