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Wednesday, August 13, 2003
JTA: Bronfman suggested Palestinians murder "only" settlers

JTA: Bronfman suggested Palestinians murder "only" settlers

"If the Palestinian suicide bombers only went to the settlements and told
the whole world they were wrong, then the whole world would have had a case
against Israel and there would be a two-state solution by now," he said.
"Instead, they sent them into Israel proper, which is ghastly."

BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Bronfman letter on fence revives
debate on Jewish criticism of Israel
By Joe Berkofsky
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=13083&intcategoryid=4

NEW YORK, Aug. 12 (JTA) - An uproar over Israel´s security fence is
provoking an unusual public scuffle in a major Jewish organization and
reviving the longtime Diaspora debate on the propriety of publicly
challenging Israeli policy.
The spat between the World Jewish Congress´ president, Edgar Bronfman, and
the group´s senior vice president, Isi Leibler, erupted last week when
Leibler wrote a newspaper column demanding that Bronfman apologize or resign
for urging President Bush to pressure Israel and the Palestinians to follow
the "road map" peace plan.

Bronfman also called the security fence Israel is building to keep out
terrorists - which Palestinians describe as a land grab - "potentially
problematic."

After a flurry of letters and news articles, Bronfman told JTA that he will
ask the WJC leadership to oust Leibler, setting up a battle of wills between
two of world Jewry´s wealthiest public figures.

While many Jewish leaders say most American Jews care little about the WJC
dispute and largely support Israel´s anti-terror moves, the conflict has
revived a larger debate about whether Diaspora Jews should come out publicly
against Israeli policy, especially on security issues.

"This kind of McCarthyism in Jewish life is not something I will stand for,"
said the WJC´s chairman, Rabbi Israel Singer, who backed Bronfman. "Freedom
of speech and freedom of expression in the Jewish community has been the
issue."

Controversies about the right of Diaspora Jews to openly criticize or
question Israeli policy have raged since the 1967 Six-Day War, said Rabbi
Eric Yoffie, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the
Reform synagogue group.

While almost all believe in open debate, most Jewish organizations and
American Jews support Israeli government decisions when it comes to the
country´s security, according to Martin Raffel, associate executive director
of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the national umbrella for Jewish
community relations councils.

"I think that applies to the fence" as well, Raffel said.

In Yoffie´s view, many Jews do not have a detailed understanding of the
fence´s political and literal twists and turns, so they are not paying close
attention to the issue.

In addition, the way the fence plan has evolved, from its genesis on the
Israeli left to its slightly different implementation by the Israeli right,
has both broadened its appeal and obscured some of the issue´s nuances.

"It doesn´t lend itself to sound bites," Yoffie said.

The real issue, Raffel added, "is the location of the fence, not the
existence of the fence."

At the center of the fence dispute is the question of whether it should hew
to the "Green Line" that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War - an armistice
line between Israel and Jordan that was never accepted as an international
border - or whether it should cut slightly into the West Bank to protect
major Jewish settlements close to the Green Line.

The fight broke out when Leibler wrote an "open letter" to the Jerusalem
Post on Aug. 6 urging Bronfman to apologize or resign for the letter he sent
Bush on the eve of a White House summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon.

Leibler said Bronfman - who has a history of taking maverick stands - did
not reflect the opinion of most WJC members on the issue and should have
presented his opinions to Sharon, not Bush.

In the wake of Leibler´s article, Singer said more than 150 WJC members had
backed Bronfman´s letter, which he co-wrote with Lawrence Eagleburger, who
was secretary of state in the administration of George H.W. Bush and today
is chairman of the International Commission on Holocaust-Era Insurance
Claims.

Among Bronfman´s supporters is former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

"Clearly, issues that are open for debate in Israel, are also open for
discussion in the Jewish world," Peres wrote to Bronfman and Eagleburger.
"The Jewish people should never be taken for a rubber stamp. Such a role
would enfeeble the Jewish people and undermine the people of Israel."

Eagleburger, a longtime friend and neighbor of Bronfman´s, did not return
calls seeking comment. Bronfman continued to defend his letter, saying he
did not write on WJC stationery or use his WJC title.

"I retain my right to speak as a human being," Bronfman said. "I do intend
to support my president as much as I can in his efforts to keep the road map
going."

Leibler, however, said that "it is out of place for someone living in New
York or anywhere in the Diaspora to interfere in such matters, particularly
on the eve of the visit" by Sharon.

"In this case, it was not just a letter, but it was canvassing the president
of the United States to take up a position contrary to that of the
government of Israel on a security-related issue that could affect the lives
and deaths" of Israelis.

Bronfman said he would ask the WJC executive committee to strip Leibler of
his title at the group´s next meeting. The leadership meets twice yearly,
but the next meeting has not been set.

"His title is honorary. It´s a title we´ve given to a lot of people who are
old and have done a good job," Bronfman said. But now Leibler "is abusing
it."

Leibler, who founded a chain of Australian travel agencies before moving to
Israel, vowed to continue challenging Bronfman, the former owner of
Seagrams.

The struggle is largely to establish clear rules in the WJC, Leibler said.

"Nobody wants to take on Edgar Bronfman; he´s an extremely powerful
personality," Leibler said. "But I will take on this battle if it means we
have a man who has the title of World Jewish Congress president and who
lobbies against the security interests of Israel."

The dispute threatened to get messier when Bronfman began discussing
Palestinian political aims and his longtime opposition to Jewish settlements
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

While "murder is murder and mayhem is mayhem, no matter where," Bronfman
said, he felt a "more effective" Palestinian tactic would have been to
launch attacks only against settlements, which do not enjoy international
support, rather than inside pre-1967 Israel.

"If the Palestinian suicide bombers only went to the settlements and told
the whole world they were wrong, then the whole world would have had a case
against Israel and there would be a two-state solution by now," he said.
"Instead, they sent them into Israel proper, which is ghastly."

Leibler called the statement "outrageous" and "obscene."

"There seems to me an implicit suggestion that there is a difference between
Jews over the Green Line and behind the Green Line," he said.

"Are you telling me that the president of the World Jewish Congress said to
you that had the Palestinians concentrated on Jews over the Green Line, that
would have been more acceptable?"

Bronfman said his point was different.

"It would not have been more acceptable," he said, "it would have been
smarter on their part."

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