A delegation of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations got a glimpse this week of the implementation of the Israeli- Palestinian peace accords – as well as a first-hand experience of the aftershocks of the worst acts of terrorism since the 1993 Declaration of Principles were signed.
Visiting an area near the West Bank town of Kalkilya, which is located next to the Israeli town of Kfar Saba, the delegation observed how Israeli-Palestinian relations are faring along the Green Line, the pre-June 1967 border.
The American Jewish leaders were briefed by Lt. Col. Doron and Col. Fuaz – only first names are made public – the Israeli and palestinian officers who head the region’s joint patrols.
A major test of the joint patrols’ effectiveness came two weeks ago, Doron said, when an Israeli jeep was surrounded by an angry mob in Kalkilya.
“The Palestinian police surrounded the vehicle, shot into the air and defended our soldiers as if they were their soldiers,” Doron said.
But he acknowledged that there were some problems, saying, “Last week, some Palestinian police participated in a well-publicized Hamas demonstration where a model of an Israeli bus was burned. Sometimes we have contradictory interests.”
Fuaz said that “the agreement deals with many issues and is very complex. The fact that we serve together is a sign of the agreement’s success.”
In meeting with Israeli government officials and policy-makers, question about security took center stage, particularly after Sunday’s deadly terrorist attacks in Jerusalem and Ashkelon, which claimed 25 victims and injured dozens.
The delegations, which visited some of the injured at Hadassah Hospital and attended one of the funerals, issued a statement calling on the U.S. Congress to act immediately to pass anti-terrorism legislation.
The legislation – which includes a ban on fund raising in the United States for terrorist organizations – was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate, but is stalled in the House of Representatives.
“We know that in 38 states in the United States, different Islamic extremist groups are raising funds, recruiting people and training people. We want it to stop,” Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents executive vice chairman, told Israel Radio.
The group also discussed terrorism with the mayors of Kfar Saba and Kalkilya.
Kfar Saba Mayor Yitzhak Wald said the self-rule accords had “brought us into another era, and although we are not too worried about the present situation, we do worry about the future.”
While acknowledging that “peace cannot be fulfilled in one day,” Wald said, “the latest terrorist attacks gave us the feeling once again that we are not secure.”
Kalkilya Mayor Zahran Maruf strongly condemned the Jerusalem and Ashkelon attacks and said that “we have radicals in Palestine – sorry, I mean the West Bank. Peace is our only choice. Whatever differences we have, we must go on.”
While not all of the conference participants support the Israeli government’s peace policies, virtually all agreed that the sessions were extremely instructive.
“Being here on the ground provides new perspectives,” said Hoenlein. “Out here you see the proximity between Kalkilya and Kfar Saba. Israelis are living only 800 meters from Arab residents. There’s a sense of vulnerability, but you also see the cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians during joint patrols.”
Kenneth Bialkin, chairman of the America-Israel Friendship League, said he found the trip “extremely encouraging.”
“I can see that the complexities of implementing the various stages of the agreement have been addressed with great care,” he said.
Bialkin added that he “has felt that the peace process, if anything, had been moving too fast.”
Julius Berman, a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents, said the trip had “reinforced my confusion.” “I envy those on either pole,” he said.
Berman said, “On the one hand, there are those who see the peace process coming to an eventual, total success. On the other hand, I keep hearing people say that the peace process is leading to a catastrophe for the State of Israel. I’m as perplexed as ever.”
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