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QUESTION: About Iran, there’s an Iranian press report that the Obama Administration has sent now a second letter to the regime in Tehran. Can you confirm that?
MR. KELLY: No, I don’t have any knowledge of a letter that --
QUESTION: Okay. And then can you – do you have any readout of the P-5+1 meeting?
MR. KELLY: I do, yeah.
QUESTION: And there’s reports from – quoting a German official saying that they expect Iran to meet --
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- with the reps before the UN General Assembly.
MR. KELLY: Yeah. I was able to talk to Bill Burns. He said that it was a constructive meeting and most of the focus was on ways to get Iran back to the table. They took note of the latest report of the IAEA director general and again called on Iran to engage in direct talks based on mutual respect. They reaffirmed their political goal and underlined the necessity to achieve results in the diplomatic track. They stressed that a negotiated solution is still open to Iran.
With reference to Dr. Jalili’s statement this week that Iran is ready to resume talks, they stressed that Iran should respond to the offer by agreeing to – I’m sorry, let me start that over again. They expected Iran to offer – to respond to the offer of talks in April by agreeing to meet before the UN General Assembly meeting.
They underlined the right of Iran to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but that Iran should be aware of the urgent need to restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program through full cooperation with the international community.
QUESTION: Can you say --
QUESTION: So is there a deadline when you say that you expect them to respond by --
MR. KELLY: I don’t know if I’d call it a deadline, but it certainly is giving them a timeframe.
QUESTION: Can you say – this is one of these times where we have to parse the word “expect.” I’m sorry to say, but does that mean that there is reason to expect that the Iranians will meet with them before --
MR. KELLY: No, I think --
QUESTION: -- the UN --
MR. KELLY: -- a more --
QUESTION: -- or they – are you saying that you want them to or they should --
MR. KELLY: They should.
QUESTION: -- respond?
MR. KELLY: They should respond.
QUESTION: So there is no expectation right now that there will be such a meeting?
MR. KELLY: No, I --
QUESTION: It is --
MR. KELLY: I used the wrong word.
QUESTION: No, no. Oftentimes --
MR. KELLY: They --
QUESTION: Oftentimes, it’s just you have to be clear as to what – if it’s a statement of intent --
MR. KELLY: Thank you for keeping me honest.
QUESTION: -- or if it’s just a “we hope.”
MR. KELLY: No, it’s we urge – we urge Iran to respond to the offer of talks.
QUESTION: And if they don’t respond, then you’re going to start discussing sanctions? Was that part of the talks today?
MR. KELLY: I’m not going to predict what we’re going to do. But right now, that offer’s still on the table and we are urging Iran to respond.
QUESTION: Can I ask you one more?
QUESTION: Do you now recognize their statements that they want to have – the statements that came out yesterday that they want to have a meeting? Do you now recognize that? Yesterday, you would not.
MR. KELLY: We are waiting for an official response to Javier Solana’s offer of talks. No response has arrived.
QUESTION: Do you have a reaction to the director general of the IAEA saying that the threat of a nuclear weapons program in Iran has been exaggerated?
MR. KELLY: I haven’t seen those remarks, so I don’t have a response to that.
QUESTION: Ian, just one other thing. The German official who was quoted out of Koenigstein said, or was quoted as saying, that they agreed to meet on the margins of the UN General Assembly. Does that the mean the political directors, or does that mean the foreign ministers plan to meet up in New York on the margins of UNGA?
MR. KELLY: I would expect a P-5+1 meeting in UNGA, but what the level --
QUESTION: You don’t know the level. Okay.
MR. KELLY: -- will be, I’m not sure.
QUESTION: Ian, on another subject, the Egyptian culture minister Farouk Hosni is a candidate to be head of UNESCO, and I’m wondering if – does the U.S. support this or oppose his nomination?
MR. KELLY: I’ll have to find out for you. We’ll take that question.
**
QUESTION: Any update on Senator Mitchell’s meeting in New York?
MR. KELLY: Yeah, as I said yesterday, it’s going to be late this afternoon – 5 o’clock up in New York. And as I pledged to you yesterday, I’ll get you a readout.
QUESTION: Any specific place for the meeting?
MR. KELLY: I believe it’s at the U.S. Mission to the UN.
QUESTION: How do you assess the overall atmosphere and progress and efforts to revive these talks as they prepare for the meeting?
MR. KELLY: I don’t want to step on anything that may be a subject for talks. You saw their statement last week that they thought that progress had been made. And we are very much looking forward to moving to the next phase, which, of course, is direct talks between the two parties.
QUESTION: Are you --
MR. KELLY: Thanks.
QUESTION: You sure it’s USUN?
MR. KELLY: I’m not a hundred percent sure.
QUESTION: Okay.
On Tuesday, U.S. awaited formal nuclear statement from Iran; would not comment on reports
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—Following are Middle East excerpts from a press briefing conducted by U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly on Tuesday, Sept. 1:
QUESTION: On Iran?
MR. KELLY: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: Iran says that it has prepared a counter-offer to your offer. I’m wondering if you’ve heard – if anyone in the P-5+1 has heard from the Iranians. Will this offer be discussed tomorrow at the political directors meeting, and will there be an Iranian representative there?
MR. KELLY: Well --
QUESTION: Were you expecting one?
MR. KELLY: First of all, we’re not expecting any Iranian representative tomorrow in Frankfurt. There is a – as you know, this is a meeting of the six political directors from the P-5+1 countries. And of course, the main item on the agenda is Iran’s nuclear program.
We’ve seen these press reports that they’re developing a new proposal. We have not received any proposal. We would review any proposal that they give us seriously, and in the spirit of mutual respect we would welcome the Iranian Government’s constructive response to the P-5+1 to their April 2009 invitation to meet face-to-face.
Moving forward with these discussions could begin to bring Iran into compliance with its international obligations and create confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programs.
QUESTION: But just to be clear, you haven’t seen an offer or --
MR. KELLY: No, we have not.
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION: And none of the other members of the P-5+1 --
MR. KELLY: Not to my knowledge.
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION: Can I ask you about al-Megrahi’s return to Libya?
MR. KELLY: Any other on Iran?
QUESTION: Yeah.
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: What is your sense about – from their – what they’ve said? Are they willing to meet, or it’s just that they’re saying that they have a package to offer? Because --
MR. KELLY: We don’t have any understanding of that. I mean, all we’ve seen is what you’ve seen, is that there is one Iranian press report that purported to quote their Iranian – the Iranian nuclear negotiator that there was a new proposal. But we haven’t seen any new proposal and we haven’t received any answer to our proposals, the P-5+1 – the issues outlined in their declaration of April and our proposal to engage with them and talk about these issues, the nuclear issues.
QUESTION: When Jalili made his announcement, he blamed --
MR. KELLY: I don’t think he – did he make an announcement, though? I --
QUESTION: To the press in Iran.
MR. KELLY: Okay. Okay.
QUESTION: He blamed the West for the talks when they stopped last year, saying that the West did not want to go further because of what was going on in the world, the financial crisis, the Georgian war, and so on and so forth. So they basically put the blame on the suspension of the talks on the West.
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: Would you agree with that?
MR. KELLY: No. Look, I mean, we’re prepared to respond to some kind of meaningful response. We’re not going to respond to something that’s made through the media. The offer of the P-5+1 remains on the table, and we’re – we can respond to that when they respond officially. In the meantime, as we saw in the most recent IAEA report, they are not complying with their obligations to the international community and their behavior remains a matter of deep concern to us. And I’ll just say what I’ve said before, that we provided a path whereby they can become a full and respected member of the international community, and it’s up to them as to whether or not they want to choose that path.
QUESTION: One last one --
QUESTION: This is Iran-related. Have you – are you going to be on the nuclear issue?
QUESTION: Yeah. Still on the nuclear stuff, yeah.
QUESTION: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you. Look, Ian, why shouldn’t one regard these reports of a new proposal that just happened to surface on the eve of a P-5+1 meeting and about three weeks in advance of the UN General Assembly when this is going to be a major subject of --
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- topic of conversation, why shouldn’t one regard this as something other than an effort by the Iranians to blunt the U.S. push to consider additional sanctions?
MR. KELLY: It may well be, but it’s just nothing that we can respond to because it’s not done – they still haven’t officially responded to our various initiatives.
QUESTION: And they haven’t given you anything, just not – not just they haven’t responded officially?
MR. KELLY: Well, to the best of my knowledge --
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR. KELLY: -- we have not received a response.
QUESTION: What would you consider a meaningful response?
MR. KELLY: A response that said we understand that we have certain obligations that we have to adhere to, and that they welcome a reengagement with us in the P-5+1 context to try and address some of these concerns that we have.
QUESTION: Have you heard anything from the Russians and the Chinese yet about what they --
MR. KELLY: Regarding the most recent press reports, you mean?
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR. KELLY: I’m not aware that we have received anything from the Russians (inaudible).
QUESTION: Because, related to Arshad’s question, it seems that, you know, oftentimes in the past on the cusp of big meetings or events, the Iranians have come out with statements like this talking about proposals which appear to be designed entirely to isolate the Russians and the China – or to keep the Chinese and the Russians from getting – from getting on board with the rest of the group on sanctions.
MR. KELLY: Yeah, yeah.
QUESTION: You don’t see that this --
MR. KELLY: You’re asking me to speculate on what their motives might be for this one statement being made to the media. It may well be, but it would be just speculation on my part.
QUESTION: Why do you keep – why do you keep referring to this as, you know, made to the media or press reports or some kind of --
MR. KELLY: Because we’re still waiting for an official response. They’re not talking to us. They’re talking to the media.
QUESTION: Well, you don’t think when Jalili gets up there as the chief negotiator and makes it – like what you’re doing right now, what you’re – you’ve given us the official --
MR. KELLY: I’m not a negotiator.
QUESTION: You gave the official U.S. – you gave the official State Department response to us about these allegations of the Afghan Embassy.
MR. KELLY: That’s my job.
QUESTION: Why isn’t Jalili?
MR. KELLY: Well, Mr. Jalili is their representative?
QUESTION: He’s a representative of the Iranian Government.
MR. KELLY: Right.
QUESTION: He’s a spokesman for the government.
MR. KELLY: Yeah, but I’m a spokesman. This is what I do. I talk to you guys. We’re waiting for him to respond officially to our --
QUESTION: Fair enough. Well, fair enough. But you get Bill Burns down here and tell us something, we’re going to report it as you said this, and the Iranians aren’t going to say, “Well, that’s just a press report.” They’ll take it as coming from – it’s coming from the government.
QUESTION: You said – you said from this podium – or not you, but previous spokesmen have said from the podium that we’ve present – we’re getting ready to present an offer to the Iranians. I mean, how do we know?
MR. KELLY: Yeah. We have made an offer to the Iranians and we made them --
QUESTION: I know, but – but before you did it, you told – you announced that you were doing it.
MR. KELLY: All right, look. This is very simple. They – all they need to do is respond to our proposal in some serious and official way.
QUESTION: Through what channel would you expect that to come through?
MR. KELLY: The – we don’t have an embassy in Tehran, but our partners in the P-5+1 have embassies.
QUESTION: Another one on Iran, if --
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: The Iranian president has apparently decided to come to the UNGA, participate there. Has he applied for a visa? And if so, is it anywhere close?
MR. KELLY: Actually, I’m not aware that he has. I understand that he does plan to come. He’s come in years past. I mean, I would have every expectation that he would receive a visa under our obligations, under our agreement with the UN.
QUESTION: On Iran again.
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: Anything new on the three Americans held there?
MR. KELLY: No, I’m afraid I don’t. I’m sorry to say I don’t have any --
QUESTION: This was – nothing from the --
MR. KELLY: -- further information on consular access or information on their welfare or whereabouts, which is, of course, very distressing to their families and of great concern to us.
QUESTION: Can we go back to powerful world leaders who plan to come to the UN? (Laughter.) Is there any movement on Qadhafi yet?
MR. KELLY: Not that I’m aware of, Matt.
QUESTION: All right. And then the segue into that is what do you make of these – the release of these letters in Britain about al-Megrahi --
MR. KELLY: Well, this is – as I said --
QUESTION: -- release?
MR. KELLY: As I said yesterday, this is a – this has been a matter for the UK Government and the Scottish authorities to make. They consulted with us with respect to the release of certain documents relating to the U.S. view. And our views, of course, are well known. I mean, the – those views are that we strongly oppose any outcome that would result in the transfer of Mr. Megrahi to Libya.
QUESTION: Did the U.S. Government believe that the – they had – it had a commitment from the British Government that Megrahi would not be released?
MR. KELLY: I think we’ve said all along that we understood that this was a matter for the Scottish executive to decide. The – our interlocutors in London made it clear that this was a matter for their justice officials to --
QUESTION: Did you seek such a commitment?
MR. KELLY: Well, we’ve told you that we – on many different occasions --
QUESTION: Well, you said you didn’t want him released.
MR. KELLY: -- on many different occasions at very high levels have made our views known to the Scottish authorities, including Secretary Clinton.
QUESTION: We understand that there was, if not a written, then at least a reasonably solemn, informal agreement between the then-Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and the then-Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder that he would not be released.
MR. KELLY: That I’m not sure about. I’m not sure of any kind of agreement in the past between our Department of Justice and the British authorities.
QUESTION: We understand that there was such an agreement. If we can accept that there is no written document --
MR. KELLY: I think there was an understanding that he would serve out his sentence in Scotland. But --
QUESTION: Is the Department --
MR. KELLY: -- I don’t know if I would characterize that as an agreement. If you’re talking about some specific agreement relating to a previous attorney general, I think you have to ask the Department of Justice.
QUESTION: A previous deputy attorney general who is now the attorney general, by coincidence. But is the Department comfortable with the fact that even if a – there is no written agreement that has been broken, nonetheless, a significant agreement between two close allies has been broken?
MR. KELLY: Well, we’ve said many times that we disagreed strenuously with the decision of the Scottish authorities to release him and allow him to return to Libya. And it won’t be the first disagreement we’ve had with a close ally and it won’t be the last. But this is – but whether or not it’s – I don’t know if I’d characterize it as an agreement. There was an understanding that we had that he would serve out his sentence. But the British Government has also let us know that because of their policy of devolution and allowing Scotland to be responsible for its own home affairs, that it was a decision for the Scottish Executive to make. So there’s been complete transparency throughout.
QUESTION: Well, it was their decision to make. I mean, yes it was a Scottish decision to make, but as we’ve seen from all these documents that are coming out, that the British intervene to the Scots to --
MR. KELLY: I have to refer you to the British authorities.
QUESTION: You don’t feel like the Brits sold you out?
MR. KELLY: No, I don’t feel like the Brits sold me out.
QUESTION: Even though it’s (inaudible) that under the terms of the devolution that foreign policy remains a matter for the UK Government as opposed to the Scottish authorities?
MR. KELLY: I just have to refer you to the Government of Britain for issues like that.
QUESTION: Of course, it’s up to them in the end how they play this. But how does the Department feel?
MR. KELLY: Well, it’s been very clear how we feel. We – this was a – we just think it was the wrong decision. I mean, that – nobody’s trying to hide that.
Yeah, go ahead, Michel.
QUESTION: Different subject. Do you have any time and date for Senator Mitchell’s meeting with the Israeli delegation?
MR. KELLY: Yes, I do. Just a moment. All right. I know what – I know what the answer is. It’s not in here. But the answer is that they’re going to meet tomorrow in New York. The Israeli side will be represented by the deputy chief – is it the deputy chief?
STAFF: Defense ministry chief of staff.
MR. KELLY: Defense ministry chief of staff, Michael Herzog. And we hope to have further details on the meeting and whatever media arrangements there are, I hope, later today.
QUESTION: Is Molcho, Zitzhas Molcho, who is Prime Minister Netanyahu – one of his key aides, coming as well?
MR. KELLY: That I don’t know, Arshad. You’ll have to ask --
QUESTION: You don’t have the time and place?
MR. KELLY: The place is – well, the place is in New York. But the exact --
QUESTION: It’s a big state, Ian.
MR. KELLY: Yeah, I know it is. New York City.
QUESTION: That’s a big city – (laughter) – I hear.
MR. KELLY: It’s a great city, too.
QUESTION: Near the UN?
MR. KELLY: Not as good as Chicago, but it’s a great city.
QUESTION: Is it going to be at USUN?
MR. KELLY: That I don’t know. But we’ll find out. You know in the past that they have had a camera spray and statements
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afterwards, so I would expect that – that model to be followed.
QUESTION: You expect they will have statements afterwards?
MR. KELLY: I do expect that.
QUESTION: You expect that to be coming from here or coming from them up there?
MR. KELLY: Both.
QUESTION: You mean a written statement?
MR. KELLY: Yeah. Maybe I should stop right there and say that we’ll get you further information.
QUESTION: That leaves me – I’m a little concerned about that, because from what I understand, this meeting is not going to be on the early side; it’s going to be on the late side. And that means --
MR. KELLY: That’s probably right.
QUESTION: Yeah. And that means that – are we going to be waiting around until 2 o’clock in the morning for it?
MR. KELLY: No, you won’t, Matt.
QUESTION: And is it --
MR. KELLY: I will call you personally when I have --
QUESTION: Before 2 o’clock?
QUESTION: If you would --
MR. KELLY: I’m not staying up that late.
QUESTION: You can call me and I’ll call Matt. (Laughter.) I promise. But --
MR. KELLY: That’s one of the better lines I’ve heard. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: I’m not sure you’re on camera here. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Listen, what do – when you said statements, you meant a written statement. You don’t expect anybody to come out and talk in front of a camera?
MR. KELLY: No, I don’t. I --
QUESTION: Okay.
MR. KELLY: And again, these are my personal expectations. I don’t know this for a fact. But we’ll get you --
QUESTION: Okay. And this meeting’s in preparation for another Mitchell trip to Jerusalem and a meeting with Ehud Barak. Is that right?
MR. KELLY: We’ll have more information about regional travel very soon.
QUESTION: Thank you.
**
QUESTION: One on Syria/Iraq. How do you view the escalation in tension between the two countries after August 19th bombs in Baghdad?
MR. KELLY: You’re asking about Syria?
QUESTION: Syria and Iraq, yeah.
MR. KELLY: Yeah, okay. And this will be the last one, okay, and then we can talk – we can talk afterwards.
QUESTION: Can I have one more, please?
MR. KELLY: Sorry?
QUESTION: Can I have one more, please?
MR. KELLY: I am such a softie.
QUESTION: There’s a lot going on.
MR. KELLY: I know there’s a lot going on. Uh-oh. Yeah, I’m afraid I don’t have that information on Syria.
Okay, go ahead. We’ll get you the information. I know I have it. It’s just not --
Iran's negotiator says Iran now ready for nuclear talks
TEHRAN (WJC)—Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has said that Tehran had prepared an “updated” proposal and was ready to resume talks with the West on its nuclear program, "in order to ease common concerns in the international arena." Tougher sanctions against Iran are due to be considered at a meeting of the Six Nations in Germany on Wednesday. A German Foreign Office spokesman said on Wednesday: "So far we have not received any such communication from the Iranian government through official channels. Consequently, from our point of view nothing has changed."
Meanwhile, Iran’s new Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was confirmed by the Iranian parliament in Tehran by acclamation, with chants of “Death to Israel." Vahidi is the suspected mastermind of Argentina's worst terrorist attack and wanted there in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing. Some opposition legislators also voted for him, expressly giving the international arrest warrant (Interpol ‘red notice’) as a reason. Later, Vahidi said he would do his utmost to increase logistical capabilities of the Iran’s armed forces based in the face of the growing threats from hostile countries, particularly Israel.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who appointed Vahid, announced that he will attend the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly later this month in New York, as he did in previous years.
Ceremonies in Poland mark 70th anniversary of World War II
GDANSK, Poland (WJC)—Poland is marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II with a ceremony in the city of Gdansk (Danzig). Leaders from 20 countries including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister François Fillon, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfelt are attending. However, many EU and US heads of state and government have declined the invitation by the Polish government, which has led to criticism in Poland.
The first ceremony took place at 4:45 am Tuesday on the Westerplatte peninsula near Gdansk, where a German battleship fired the first shots on a Polish fort on 1 September 1939. At the same hour in 1939, the German Wehrmacht invaded Poland from east, west and south. The attacks triggered Britain and France's declaration of war against Germany two days later. In an address, Prime Minister Tusk said the lessons of history should not be forgotten. "We remember because we know well that he who forgets, or he who falsifies history, and has power or will assume power will bring unhappiness again like 70 years ago," he said.
Around six million Poles were killed in the War, half of them Jews, while its main cities were left in ruins. In proportion to its size, Poland suffered more damage and casualties than any other country involved.
Historic synagogue building returned to Polish Jews
GDANSK, Poland (WJC)—The only remaining synagogue in the Polish port city of Gdansk was fully returned to the local Jewish community, on the eve of ceremonies marking 70 years since the beginning of World War II on Tuesday. While ownership of the building was officially transferred to the Jewish community in 2001, a Polish music school situated at the site had continued to use most of the structure, which left just a small wing available for Jewish prayer services and other communal activities.
But the music academy relocated at the start of this week, in advance of the new school year, paving the way for the Jewish community to reclaim the remainder of the building, which includes the hall where the original main sanctuary once stood. Built in 1927 in the Wrzeszcz district of Gdansk (formerly Danzig), just 2 miles from the city center, it became known as the New Synagogue.
It was partially destroyed by the Germans in 1938, and after the war Poland's Communist authorities used it as a warehouse to store furniture. Approximately 100 people are currently registered as members of the local Jewish community though many more are believed to live in the area, either unaware of their heritage or afraid to reveal it.
Sharansky, back in the (former) USSR, opens Jewish school year
MOSCOW (Press Release)—Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky opened the school year for students in the former Soviet Union Tuesday (Sept. 1) with a class called “the Zionist struggle in the Soviet Union.”
Speaking before high school students at the Lipman Jewish Day School in Moscow, Sharansky spoke of his personal story and of the struggle he and other went through with the Communist regime to allow them move to Israel. The class was broadcast live to Jewish schools in St. Petersburg, Vilnius in Lithuania, and Kiev in the Ukraine.
These schools are part of the Hefziba school system, a network of 44 Jewish schools in the former Soviet Union supported by the Jewish Agency and the Government of Israel. Sharansky acknowledged funding the Jewish Agency receives from North American Federations and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews for the Hefziba school program. In all, there are some 100 Jewish schools in the FSU with some 13,000 students.
Proper Jewish burials planned
for Nazi victims in mass graves
MOSCOW (WJC)—An international initiative to give Holocaust victims buried in mass graves a proper Jewish burial has been launched. The ‘Dignity Return’ project is being organized by Yuri Kanner, president of the Russian Jewish Congress, in cooperation with Rabbi Marc Schneier, chairman of the World Jewish Congress United States.
The project's mission is to bury the remains of victims of mass execution from Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine in a manner acceptable under Jewish law. Kanner and Schneier expect the initiative to inspire thousands of volunteers from around the world, according to a joint news release.
“As we move further away from the Shoah, the number of those who can share a personal experience from this atrocity grows smaller," Schneier declared. "As a result, it is increasingly up to those who were born after the Holocaust to preserve and protect their stories and these sites so that Holocaust revisionists will be unable to change history, and our call of ‘Never again’ will continue to resonate from one generation to the next.”
The details of the Dignity Return initiative will be presented on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2010.
Italian-built highway marks 40th year of Qadhafi dictatorship
TRIPOLIS (WJC)—Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has visited Libya and, together with Libyan ruler Muammar al Qadhafi, opened the first section of an Italian-funded highway demanded by Libya as compensation for Rome's occupation and colonial rule over the north African country from 1911 until World War II. The visit was part of celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Colonel Qadhafi taking power in Libya in a coup in 1969. African leaders are attending a summit of the African Union in the capital Tripolis, at whose opening QadHafi accused Israel of being "behind all of Africa's conflicts.” He called for the ousting of all Israeli embassies from the African continent.
Libya is also staging public celebrations on the release of the Libyan mastermind of the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, from a British jail last week. In 2001, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was convicted of involvement in the bombing and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Scottish government had released Megrahi on compassionate grounds to return to Libya as he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer and had a life expectancy of less than 3 months. In the terrorist attack for which Libya accepted responsibility, all 243 passengers and 16 crew members were killed.
Weiner says Yankees vs. Red Sox game should not be rescheduled to be played on Erev Yom Kippur
NEW YORK (Press Release)- Representative Anthony Weiner (D - Brooklyn and Queens) today called on ESPN and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball to honor the holiest day on the Jewish calendar by returning the New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game to the afternoon from the evening of September 27th, which is the beginning of the most holy Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
The September 27th game between the Yankees and the Red Sox was originally scheduled to take place at 1 p.m., but was moved to 8 p.m. at the request of ESPN, who planned on broadcasting the game during Sunday Night Baseball.
New York City is home to the country’s largest Jewish population and Yom Kippur is one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. By rescheduling the game to take place after sundown, observant Jews who purchased tickets will not be able to attend the game or watch it on television.
Palestinian handicrafts companies exhibit at Tel Aviv trade show
TEL AVIV (Press Release)—Sixteen Palestinian handicrafts companies presented their products in Israel’s leading houseware gifts exhibition recently, providing them invaluable exposure and access to the Israeli market, with a potential for generating millions of shekels in new sales.
The Palestinian exhibition, called “Artesana – Authentic Handicrafts," is an initiative of the Israel based Peres Center for Peace, together with PalTrade, a private, non-governmental Palestinian organization promoting Palestinian commerce, trade and export.
The Palestinian companies, based in the towns of Bethlehem and Hebron, displayed and sold their wares at the Giftec Exhibition, a major household gifts trade fair held in the Tel Aviv Exhibition Center each year in advance of the Jewish high holidays. This is the busiest and most important time of year for the gift and handicraft businesses in Israel.
According to Mr. Adi Ashkenazi, director of the Peres Center’s Business and Economics Department, the timing and scope of the exhibition maximizes the exposure of the Palestinian companies to Israeli corporate buyers and individual consumers. “Many Palestinian firms produce outstanding and competitive products, but are typically cut off from the large and profitable Israeli market. Artesana provides them with a platform to do large-scale business with Israelis.”
Mr. Amjad Al-Qasas, PalTrades’ trade development manager, emphasizes the importance of the Israeli market for the Palestinian economy, noting that some 85% of Palestinian exports – about $450 million a year -- are to Israel. But there is a huge trade imbalance, he says, with Israel exporting $3.5 billion to the Palestinian market – nearly eight times as much. Initiatives such as Artesana help close that gap. “We expect Artesana to be a big success, and hope to duplicate it in other sectors as well, such as the furniture industry, and others,” said Al-Qasas.
Dr. Ron Pundak, director general of the Peres Center, stresses that business ties between Israelis and Palestinians are a critical part of the peace process. “They create personal connections and help ‘humanize’ the other side. And, of course, they create jobs and income for Palestinians and Israelis.”
This is the second year that Palestinian companies have taken part in the Giftec Exhibition, which was held this year between August 10 – 12. Last year’s exhibition led to millions of shekels in new business for the participating Palestinian companies.
Artesana is generously supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Israel and the Norwegian Representative Office to the Palestinian Authority.
Gilboa-Jenin relations across Israel-Palestinian border seen
as model for cooperation
NEW YORK (Press Release)— At a special press conference on Mondayabout Israeli Jewish and Arab Palestinian relations hosted by theConference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and theInter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues, Daniel Attar, the Israeli Jewish Mayor and Ead Saleem, the Israeli Arab Deputy Mayor ofthe Gilboa region, and Qaddoura M. Qaddoura, the Palestinian Governor of Jenin in the Palestinian Authority, addressed their accomplishments from working together, the challenges they face, and their plans for the future.
Mayor Attar asserted "The election of Governor Qaddoura and many of his partners in the recent Fatah elections proves that the agenda of co-existence in the region is secure." "Both sides need support from the American and international community in strengthening their economic and political stability," added Governor Qaddoura. The Gilboa region is a rural area with a population of 30,000 that is 40 percent Arab and 60
percent Jewish.
"These two communities have overcome their differences to recognize their common needs and create an unprecedented partnership that can lead the way for future cooperation between other Israeli and Arab communities. This partnership is a model for grassroots collaborative projects that can help bring the communities within Israel together andlay the foundation for peaceful relations with the Palestinians," said Conference
Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein.
AJCongress criticizes UNRWA position on teaching Holocaust
NEW YORK—Following is a statement by the American Jewish Congress concerning Hamas' unwillingness to accept history textbooks which include material on the Holocaust:
"It is bad enough that Hamas dismisses the Holocaust as a “lie invented by the Zionists.” What is far more discouraging is that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) did not criticize Hamas for denying the children of Gaza knowledge of one of the central events of the twentieth century. Instead, it rushed to deny that the Holocaust was being taught in its schools or that it was contemplating teaching it in the future.
On the occasion of International Holocaust Victims Remembrance Day earlier this year, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said: “We must continue to teach our children the lessons of history’s darkest chapters. That will help them do a better job than their elders in building a world of peaceful coexistence. We must combat Holocaust denial, and speak out in the face of bigotry and hatred.”
Perhaps the place to begin this solemn task is in the Secretary General’s own backyard: UNRWA. The Secretary General should immediately direct UNRWA to include the Holocaust at appropriate places in the curriculum in the schools it operates. This latest failure on UNRWA’s part makes it too plain for argument that it is time for new leadership at UNWRA, one that fosters peace and understanding, not nurtures “bigotry and hatred.”
NEW YORK (Press Release)—The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has praised the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman Howard Berman (Democrat, California) for his incisive criticism of the Obama Administration for demanding that Israel completely freeze Jewish construction in Judea, Samaria and the eastern half of Jerusalem.
In a recent meeting with Jewish leaders in Los Angeles, Berman, who is in close touch with Middle East envoy George Mitchell, said that the disagreement between Israel and the U.S. over the issue will be resolved but was highly critical of the conduct of the Obama administration, saying the demand for absolute cessation of construction in the settlements was “mistaken.”
Berman blamed the stance of the Administration on the settlements for having hardened the Palestinian position, saying, “Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is waiting for the U.S. to present him Israel on a platter.” Berman also said that the PA has yet to fulfill its commitments under signed agreements such as preventing terrorism against Israel (Barak Ravid, ‘Democratic Congressman: Obama demand for settlement freeze “mistaken”,’ Haaretz, August 23, 2009).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “We applaud Congressman Berman’s criticism of the Obama Administration policy towards Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). It is both factually wrong and a moral travesty to argue that people, simply because they are Jews, should not be allowed to move into Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. It would be a strategic error for Israel to agree to a construction freeze, because it would lend credence to the utterly false notion that Jews living in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem pose an obstacle to a peace agreement with the Palestinians while achieving nothing for the cause of peace.
“The efforts to stop Jews from living in or moving to these territories assists Palestinian and Arab propaganda efforts to distract focus from the real issue of Palestinian extremism and non-acceptance of Israel which are the root of the conflict. It disseminates the idea that Jews have no right to live in these areas, the historical and religious heartland of the Jewish people. And it lends credence to the false notion that peace can be built by making these territories judenrein.
“Peace has not been achieved because the Palestinians have not fulfilled their nearly 16-year old obligations under the Oslo agreements and 2003 Roadmap peace plan to arrest anti-Israel terrorists; outlaw terrorist groups and end incitement to hatred and murder against Jews and Israel in their media, mosques, schools and youth camps. Instead, they continue to glorify terrorists by naming schools, streets, sports teams and colleges after them; disseminate heroic posters of suicide bombers throughout Arab towns and exclude Israel from their maps, atlases and school texts. Abbas’ Fatah party’s new emblem shows all of Israel covered with an Arab headdress, next to a large rifle, with Arafat in the middle. Above all, they have not educated their public for peace and acceptance of Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish state.
“We also must recall that there were no Jews in these territories when they were under illegal Jordanian occupation (1948-67), yet there was no peace and no Arab acceptance of Israel.
“Jewish growth in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem has a fundamental legitimacy and poses no obstacle to a true peace if Palestinians are ready for one, so the Obama Administration’s insistence on a construction freeze would remain inappropriate even if the prospect of genuine peace negotiations with a truly peaceful Palestinian partner were possible.
“President Obama has made a big error in presuming that Israelis and American Jews would take his side in making an essentially racist demand that Jews, because they are Jews, be prevented from building in or moving into homes in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. As recent polls indicate, Israelis do not believe Jewish communities in these territories are obstacles to peace and oppose the demands that President Obama is making on Israel. Similarly, a Global Marketing Research Services July 2009 poll shows that a 55% majority of American Jewish Democrats believe that ‘President Obama is naïve in thinking that the Palestinians would make peace, whatever they say. They will just use the new land as a base to attack Israel like they did in Gaza.’ Only 27% think that ‘President Obama is right that Israel should agree to let the Palestinians form their own country and return the West Bank to them. This would defuse the hatred in the Middle East, reduce terrorism and help America, the Palestinians, and Israel live in peace.’ It is safe to assume that the overall proportion of American Jews who think the Obama Administration’s policy is mistaken is even higher.”
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