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1. Amb. Kurtzer promptly replied by
fax to CMEP’s letter of January 25 about Israel’s use of the absentee
property law to claim E. Jerusalem land. The letter, retyped by Julie,
follows.
Embassy of the United States of America
Tel Aviv, Israel
January 28, 2005
Corinne Whitlatch
J. Daryl Byler
Churches for Middle East Peace
110 Maryland Avenue NE, #311
Washington, D.C. 20002
Dear Ms. Whitlatch and Mr. Byler,
Thank you for your
thoughtful letter of January 25. The U.S. Government shares your concern
over the reported land seizures in E. Jerusalem. At this point we are
working very hard to understand precisely the elements of the Absentee
Property Law of 1950 and how the Israeli government intends to implement
it, if at all. We also continue to urge Israel to refrain from any
unilateral step that changes the status quo in Jerusalem. Mutual
agreement and direct negotiations between the parties are required for
final status issues, including the status of Jerusalem.
Similarly, our position on
the route of the barrier construction has not changed. We remain deeply
committed to a just two-state solution, and a durable Israeli-Palestinian
peace. I assure you the United States Government and I will do all we can
to seize the opportunities afforded by current circumstances to bring that
about.
Best regards.
Sincerely,
Daniel C. Kurtzer
Ambassador
2. Assistant Secretary of State
William Burns is in the region and met today with P.A. negotiator Saeb
Erekat to receive an analysis of the impact of the Absentee Property Law
application on Palestinian property in East Jerusalem. A copy of
this analysis can be found at:
http://www.nad-plo.org/prelease.php
Yesterday, Ambassador David
Satterfield spoke as a substitute for Burns at a United States Institute
of Peace conference on the US and the Middle East Peace Process. His
remarks were an interesting example of a freshly assertive expression of
policy by US diplomats that we hope will continue. Lara Friedman of
Americans for Peace Now provided excerpts from his remarks, which we have
made available at: http://www.cmep.org/SatterfieldRemarks.htm
3. Also speaking at the USIP
conference were public opinion experts Khalil Shikaki and Jacob Shamir
with reports on recent findings of Palestinian and Israeli views regarding
six basic elements of a permanent peace agreement. Similar questions were
asked in December 2003, then presented as elements of the Geneva Accords
initiative. The recent polling revisited the questions but made no mention
of “Geneva.” The findings indicate a significant increase in dovish views
among both Israelis and Palestinians. A press release detailing the
poll’s findings is available in .pdf format at:
http://www.peres-center.org/media/Upload/272.pdf
4. Speaking of the United States
Institute of Peace, Daniel Pipes was not re-nominated to the board
of the USIP. Pipes’ nomination in mid-2003 was opposed by CMEP and I, as
CMEP’s Director, took part in a press conference at Washington’s Press
Club and a briefing for Democratic members of the Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions which holds responsibility for the
USIP. The Senate committee purposely adjourned without a confirmation
vote, resulting in a controversial recess appointment by the President
which began in August 2003 and expired with the adjournment of the 108th
Congress in December 2004.
Opposition to Pipes’ nomination,
derived from his career of identifying and denouncing what he sees as
radical Muslim penetration of American institutions, included senators
Harkin, Kennedy and Dodd, Arab and Muslim groups and Middle East analysts
Judith Kipper and William Quandt. Pipes’ supporters included the Wall
Street Journal and several Jewish organizations, among them the
Zionist Organization of America and the American Jewish Committee. David
Harris of the AJC is reported in the January 14 issue of the Forward
as still holding hope that Bush will re-nominate Pipes, saying “We’re
eager to see him remain.”
5. The most surprising media response
to the ecumenical leaders’ letter, that was published in the January 21
issue of the New York Times, was on NFL.com, the website of the
National Football League! Gregg Easterbrook in his column posited
that “maybe the media likes bad news because it's profitable.…the worse
the condition of the world, the more issue ads may appear. Last Friday, to
cite a day chosen at random, the "A" section of the New York Times
contained three full-page issue ads….Christians for Middle East Peace, a
liberal ecumenical organization, bought a full-page ad urging a
"two-state" settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That issue,
sadly, may provide an endless source of issue-advertising revenue.”
6. Two members of CMEP’s Board – Tony
Kireopoulos of NCC and Jim Winker of the United Methodist General Board of
Church and Society – are with an NCC delegation to the region where they
will be spending about a week in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
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