Religion, Nationalism, and Terror

Breaking News - JTA, Jewish & Israel News, June 19, 2008

A swastika and cross were drawn on the home of a leading Jewish critic of Christian activity in the U.S. military.

The vandalism was committed Sunday night on the Albuquerque home of Mikey Weinstein, the founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, according to news reports.

Weinstein, an alumnus of the U.S. Air Force Academy, has been a vocal critic of Christian proselytizing within the ranks of the military. He says he has been the target of regular harassment since filing a lawsuit charging that the military has violated the religious liberties of its members.

“This is the first time I think I’ve ever felt outrage, humiliation and embarrassment at the same time,” Weinstein told the Albuquerque television station KOAT.

Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research Unit

PSR - Survey Research Unit: Public Opinion Poll # 28, 12 June 2008

These are the results of the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 5 and 7 June 2008. This period witnessed the declaration by the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmud Abbas of his desire to renew dialogue with Hamas. It also witnessed continued closure of the Rafah border crossing despite Hamas’s attempt to open it. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel on a ceasefire failed to produce agreement while the threat of a possible Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip escalated further. Total size of the sample is 1270 adults interviewed face to face in 127 randomly selected locations. Margin of error is 3%.

2) Ceasefire, the One-State Solution, and the Peace Process

* An overwhelming majority supports a ceasefire with Israel, but a similar majority opposes the ceasefire if it does not include the West Bank or does not stipulate the immediate opening of the Rafah crossing to Egypt.
* In a comparison between the one-state solution and the two-state solution, 58% prefer the two-state solution and 27% prefer the one-state solution.
* Stability in the position of Palestinians regarding a permanent settlement along the lines of the Clinton Parameters and the Geneva Initiative; 46% support it and 52% oppose it.
* 56% support and 43% oppose mutual recognition of Israel and the state for the Jewish people and Palestine as the state for the Palestinian people after reaching a permanent settlement.
* 67% support and 28% oppose the Saudi peace initiative.
* 50% support the Roadmap and 47% oppose it.
* An overwhelming majority prefers a permanent settlement and only 15% prefers an interim one.
* 66% believe that the chances for the establishment of a Palestinian state during the next five years are either low or non existent.
* 76% believe that the negotiations launched by the Annapolis conference will fail.
* 68% believe that Olmert-Abbas meetings are not useful and should be stopped while only 27% believe they are useful and should continue.
* Support for armed attacks against Israelis drops from 67% to 55% during three months; similarly, support for launching rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip drops from 64% to 57% during the same period.
* Two thirds believe that success in the Syrian-Israeli track will not have a negative impact on the Palestinian-Israeli track.

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF, Strengthening Extremists, NYTimes.com, June 19, 2008

The yearlong siege of Gaza may soon end with the new cease-fire there, marking the eclipse of one more American-backed Israeli policy that backfired by strengthening extremists.

Here in Gaza, sulfurous with fumes from cars burning cooking grease because the siege has made gasoline scarce, the entire last year of the blockade feels not only morally bankrupt — a case of collective punishment — but also counterproductive. The fragile new truce between Hamas and Israel just might create a new opportunity to stabilize the Palestinian territories, but only if we absorb the lessons of what has gone wrong.

Consider Adham Sharif, a 26-year-old man whose only child, a baby girl named Mariam, had a tiny hole in her heart and needed surgery to repair it. Gaza hospitals were unable to perform such an operation, but doctors said that surgeons in Israel or in neighboring countries could save her.