by Daniel S. Mariaschin, executive vice president of B'nai B'rith International
The European Union seems to be going out of its way to shed any pretext of neutrality on the Israel-Palestinian peace process. The latest affront is new guidelines from the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU. The measure would restrict funding, grants and overall cooperation by the EU with any Israeli institutions that operate in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that are beyond the lines established in the Six-Day War in 1967. This ban impacts territories that should be discussed at negotiations between the two sides and is an attempt by the EU to pressure Israel to keep the Jewish state within its pre-1967 borders. Why now? Why would the EU go to such lengths to undermine recent movement in the peace talks? US Secretary of State John Kerry has been back and forth to the region six times in the last few months trying to restart the stalled process. On July 19, the two sides agreed to meet to talk about the parameters for resuming actual peace talks. Though incremental, the attention greeting this step demonstrates the fundamental element in the entire peace process — two sides sitting down together. If Kerry’s efforts are to succeed, then prejudging the outcome by the EU can only stiffen the backs of the Palestinians or lead them to believe they can talk to Kerry but always go to what has effectively become an “EU court of appeals” to make their case and change the outcome. Even if Kerry is able to bring the Palestinians to the actual negotiating table, is the EU capable of an objective role, given its track record? This EU effort undercuts his work, and leaves Israel out of the conversation entirely. The EU’s guidelines punish Israel and reward the Palestinians. We’ve seen a similar approach at the United Nations, where the international community continually holds Israel up to opprobrium and is not really interested in giving it a say in its future security, borders or other points that should be the subject of negotiation and compromise. When the Palestinians know others will do the heavy lifting for them, they are much less likely to talk seriously with Israel. The EU and United Nations’ efforts provide a way for the Palestinians to continue to avoid confronting the notion of compromise with Israel. If they feel they can get what they want, without having to negotiate over it, it lessens their commitment to cooperate with Israel. Seemingly, the EU and the United Nations have become spokesmen for the Palestinians—often representing their cause at the expense of pressing them to negotiate and compromise. This EU involvement raises Palestinian expectations to unreasonable and impossible levels—leaving them to believe that their demands will simply be endorsed in the court of global public opinion. If the narrative is being laid out by the EU and the Palestinians, where does that leave Israel? This new ruling defining how the Europeans are favoring the Palestinians will surely lessen Israeli confidence at a time when Israel’s neighborhood is torn by chaos, disarray and uncertainty. This is precisely the wrong impression to leave with Israel, which now faces increasing instability on its borders and is being asked to take ever-greater risks as a result of it. If the EU is serious about its responsibilities as a member of the Quartet - together with the United States, Russia and the United Nations - it would be encouraging the Palestinians to move to the negotiating table, compromise and reach an agreement, rather than exacerbating the effort to get there. On July 21, the EU designated the “military wing” of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, but determined that Hezbollah has a separate “political” section. This revelation underscored the unevenness of the EU’s efforts and approach when dealing with the Middle East situation. Though acknowledging Hezbollah’s terrorist activities is a significant step, any talk of a distinction between Hezbollah’s “military” and “political” sides is contrived. With this dual—and misguided—designation, Hezbollah will continue its terror business as usual. The EU should be willing to do more. The Venice Declaration of 1980 was an early expression of European preferences in this contentious dispute. Nine European nations concluded they needed to elevate the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—known for its terrorist activity—as a legitimate entity, while suggesting limits be placed on Israel’s security needs. This declaration took place at the height of the PLO’s central role in the control of a terrorist state-within-a-state in Lebanon. The new EU guidelines continue in that tradition. Brussels tips its hand to its true agenda by singling out for boycott specific non-governmental organizations, and also describing Gaza on a list of “territories occupied by Israel since June 1967,” despite the fact that Israel withdrew all presence from Gaza in 2005. These aspects of the document add evidence to the folly that the guidelines are balanced. The EU bias is clear. A two-state solution can only be achieved when Israel and the Palestinians sit together to negotiate it, without preconditions. This move by the EU effectively eliminates that step and, in the process, annuls Israel’s right to have a say in its own future. The EU should step back and re-evaluate its approach. It needs to decide whether it wants to be a mouthpiece for one side or a body which supports a peace process that has any chance of succeeding...more. La situación de la educación secundaria pública preocupa a muchos uruguayos, pero no todo es negativo y existen muchos esfuerzos serios para superar los problemas. Desde 2009, un grupo de profesionales y empresas reunidos por la organización B’Nai B’Rith llevan adelante un programa que ha logrado que más de 60 estudiantes de bachillerato, provenientes de estratos socioculturales medio o bajo, culminaran sus estudios de manera exitosa. El programa se llama "Salir Adelante" y ya tiene cuatro años de trabajo casi silencioso. El doctor Carlos Kierszenbaum, director asistente de la B’Nai B’Rith y coorganizador del programa y la maestra Adriana Stainfeld, directora del programa, conversaron con En Perspectiva para conocer de cerca esta iniciativa. Macarena Guggeri, una de las alumnas que ya pasó por el ciclo completo de este programa, también nos dio su testimonio...more.
B'nai B'rith International is cited in the July 24, 2013, Shalom TV report: La representación política de la comunidad judía argentina recibió con agrado la determinación de la UE por la inclusión del grupo libanés a la lista de organizaciones extremistas.
La DAIA sostuvo que “para la comunidad judía y la sociedad argentina en su conjunto lo acordado por los veintiocho países de la Unión Europea adquiere decisiva significación, ya que como es de público conocimiento la mencionada organización terrorista está acusada por la justicia de nuestro país de haber sido el brazo ejecutor de la masacre perpetrada el 18 de julio de 1994 contra la sede de AMIA-DAIA”. “Los terroristas de Hezbolá, financiados y dirigidos por el régimen teocrático iraní, son responsables de múltiples atentados criminales cometidos en diversos países. La resolución de la Unión Europea señala sin ambigüedades el compromiso de no tolerar el accionar terrorista así como el de combatir su financiación y reclutamiento en territorio europeo”, expresaron en un comunicado el presidente de la DAIA, Julio Schlosser, y el secretario general de la entidad, Jorge Knoblovits. Asimismo, B'nai B'rith Internacional felicitó a la Unión Europea por designar al "ala militar" de Hezbollah como una organización terrorista, pero sostiene que la totalidad de Hezbollah, incluyendo su "brazo político" - necesita también ser incluidos en la lista negra...more. B'nai B'rith International is referenced in the Shalom TV story about the European Union's decision to classify the "military arm" of Hezbollah on the terrorist watch list. JNS: Hezbollah ‘military wing’ placed on EU terrorist list, Jewish groups say move not enough7/22/2013 After resisting the requests of Israel and the United States for more than a year after the Burgas bus bombing for which Hezbollah has been implicated as the perpetrator, the 28-member European Union (EU) has agreed to place the “military wing” of the Lebanese group on the EU’s list of terrorist organizations, Reuters reported.
The move will freeze assets Hezbollah may hold within the EU, but falls short of blacklisting the entire organization of Hezbollah as one entity. The EU’s designation means the body still considers the parliamentary faction of Hezbollah, which was not blacklisted, to be a separate political wing and not part of a terrorist organization. “The EU decision to ban Hezbollah’s ‘military wing’ is an important first step, but it is not nearly enough,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “The distinction between Hezbollah’s ‘military’ and ‘political wing’ has been contrived—it’s a distinction unrecognized by Hezbollah itself. Without an across-the-board designation blacklisting the entirety of Hezbollah, this could prove to be only little more than a symbolic move without the power to significantly curtail the operations of the terrorist organization...more. El próximo 25 de julio la cantante Malena Muyala se presentará en el Teatro Metro, donde ofrecerá un concierto a beneficio del programa Salir Adelante de B'nai B'rith Uruguay, que apoya a jóvenes liceales de buen desempeño académico y comprometida situación económica.
No sólo es una gran oportunidad para ayudar a una buena causa sino también un muy buen momento para ver a Malena, multipremiada, Ciudadana Ilustre de Montevideo y todos sus trabajos discográficos premiados con Oro y Platino por su volumen de ventas...more. Daniel S. Mariaschin, executive vice president of B'nai B'rith International, is quoted in the Shalom TV story about the 19th anniversary of the AMIA bombing in Argentina. by Michael Wilner
The State Department declined to issue a rebuke of the European Union for its new regulations barring member nations from cooperating with Israeli organizations and businesses operating in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The US instead reinforced its position on settlement building in the territories... B’nai B’rith International expressed “outrage” in a statement to journalists. “These guidelines clearly display the longstanding EU double standard and obsession with Israel to the point of outright discrimination,” president Allan J. Jacobs said...more. by Eduardo Kohn, director of Latin American affairs at B'nai B'rith International
Este 18 de julio de 2013 las víctimas del atentado contra la AMIA serán asesinadas otra vez. Sus familiares sentirán la gelidez invernal y padecerán la fría realidad del proceso de acuerdos entre Argentina e Irán, que han logrado borrar la remota ilusión de derrotar la falta de justicia. Cuando el año pasado, en el día más sagrado para el pueblo judío, el Día del Perdón (Iom Kipur), el canciller de Argentina y su par iraní anunciaban en Nueva York que habían llegado a un acuerdo para "investigar conjuntamente" el ataque a AMIA, comenzaba el proceso para matar nuevamente a las víctimas. Dicho proceso encontró otra fecha emblemática para profundizar la perversidad: el 27 de enero de 2013, Día Mundial de Recordación del Holocausto (fecha aprobada por Naciones Unidas), Irán y Argentina firmaban públicamente el "acuerdo". Innumerables observadores se han hecho decenas de preguntas respecto al "acuerdo" y no han encontrado respuestas claras. Es propicio entonces exponer algunos hechos recientes:
En una democracia, los gobernantes se deben a todos, a quienes los votaron y a quienes son oposición. Cuando la mitad de un país le dice que no a sus gobernantes, éstos podrán ejercer con legitimidad jurídica el derecho de las mayorías, aunque ella sea muy pequeña. Pero, a la larga, también deberán responder por sus actos y decisiones al resto. Y eso sucede en Argentina donde se aprobó el "acuerdo" por una mayoría ínfima. El 18 de julio, los perpetradores y sus cómplices mirarán por televisión, gozando de su impunidad, los rostros de las familias de las víctimas que recordarán el atentado junto al edificio de AMIA. Verán dolor, lágrimas, rabia, impotencia. Y estarán satisfechos por estar cometiendo el crimen otra vez. Source: http://semanario.busqueda.com.uy/ |
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