From Arutz Sheva: The Israeli Initiative Calls Upon Officials to Close Jerusalem Refugee Camps

(IsraelNN.com) 'The Israeli Initiative,' an Israeli non-governmental organization, called this week to close down refugee camps in Jerusalem. A recent decision regarding refugees living in South Africa sets a precedent allowing cities to shut down camps whose residents refuse to resettle, the group argues.

City officials in Cape Town plan to clear out the local Blue Waters Refugee Camp this week and force its 340 residents to find new accommodations. A Cape Town court ruled that the city could evict refugees from the camp after the refugees rejected the municipality's offers to help them relocate.

The Cape Town verdict demonstrates that cities are not obligated to provide endless support to refugees who refuse to resettle, said the Israeli Initiative. Once refugees are given the option of rebuilding their lives, they can no longer use the “refugee” label to continue living off of aid, they argued.

Ending the saga
The organization turned to Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and asked them to shut down the Arab refugee camps currently operating within Jerusalem municipal limits. “Rivlin recently said it is disgraceful that there are refugee camps in Jerusalem,” said Israeli Initiative director and former minister Benny Elon. “He's right, of course. Now we need to turn that understanding into action.”

Closing the camps will be beneficial even beyond the Jerusalem city limit, said members of the organization. “The benefit to the city of Jerusalem and to the Palestinian refugees from the end of this sixty-year-long saga will be enormous,” the group said. “And equally importantly, we will create a model here that reminds the world that the refugee problem is a humanitarian problem that can be solved, and there's no need to wait for a diplomatic solution, which apparently is not going to happen in the near future.”

Israeli Initiative manager Yoav Sorek accused the United Nations agency UNWRA, which was tasked with helping Arabs who fled pre-state Israel and their descendants, for the continued existence of refugee camps more than 60 years after the original “Palestinian refugees” left during the War of Independence. UNWRA “sees its goal as keeping the refugees in their current situation,” he charged.

The Cape Town model
The Cape Town case, in which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) worked to resettle the refugees outside their camp, demonstrates how the refugee issue should be tackled, he said. “The way the UNHCR handled the issue was correct. It was characteristic of an organization that seeks to rehabilitate refugees, an organization that works toward a humanitarian goal and does not serve political agendas,” he said.

The Israeli Initiative seeks to create a new approach to the Israel-Arab conflict. It proposes extending Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and reaching a peaceful settlement with Palestinian Authority Arabs in cooperation with Jordan. Arabs from the refugee camps would be resettled in various countries and those who remain in Judea and Samaria would have Jordanian citizenship.

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136263

Links Roundup

• MK Orlev of Jewish Home (formerly National Religious Party) evokes The Israeli Initiative in an interview with Arutz Sheva: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135933
• A Palestinian journalist talks about "the good old days" before the peace process: http://www.hudsonny.org/2010/01/the-good-old-days-beofre-peace.php
• A Palestinian refugee camp in Iraq run by UNHCR is closed: http://news.brunei.fm/2010/02/02/unhcr-end-of-long-ordeal-for-palestinian-refugees-as-desert-camp-closes/

United States Giving $40 million to UNRWA

The United States announced on Thursday that its pledge to UNRWA for 2010: $10 million for food and creation of jobs, and another $30 million for "UNRWA's core services," as a press release from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem stated. Filippo Grandi, the new Commissioner General of UNRWA called this "an example of American commitment to supporting UNRWA and improving the daily lives of Palestinians throughout the region."

Arutz Sheva's coverage of the donation put things in perspective:

"The American funding comes despite a report commissioned by the European parliament, which showed that Hamas terrorists have been chosen by the agency's labor union to oversee its Gaza facilities, which was part of a Canadian decision last month to stop its UNRWA funding."

We at the Israeli Initiative hope that the United States will wake up and stop funding an agency that has been infiltrated by terrorists, and serves to perpetuate conflict in the region, rather than solve it.

Sources:

http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/pr020410.html

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/180003

Is a Two-State Solution "Delusional"?

Is a two-state solution "delusional?" We at the Israeli Initiative think so, and, to our surprise, MK Daniel Ben-Simon of the Labor party seems to agree!

Ben-Simon, a former writer for Ha'aretz, formerly served as head of the Labor's Knesset faction. Yesterday, he attended a meeting of the Knesset's Education Committee, where he heard about the growth of towns in Judea and Samaria. According to Arutz Sheva, Ben-Simon asked how can the State of Israel discuss establishing a Palestinian State, while the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria continues to grow.

The following is a translation of Ben-Simon's remarks, as reported by Arutz Sheva:

"Is our political path, talking about two states for two nations, delusional? Judea and Samaria are developing! We are delusional! I am sitting here in this meeting, and feel like I'm in a movie. My question is - Is there any coordination between policies and what is happening on the ground in Judea and Samaria?"

Our answer to Ben-Simon is no, there is no coordination between policies and facts on the ground when it comes to Judea and Samaria. Building is frozen for an expanding population of Israeli citizens. What is coordinated about that? Our government talks about a two-state solution, while ignoring the reality: The towns in Judea and Samaria are here to stay; they are filled with families, schools, offices and other institutions. We are not talking about evacuating a few caravans on a hill.

The Israeli Initiative encourages Ben-Simon and all other Knesset members to face the truth, and vote for the Bill to annex all Jewish municipalities in Judea and Samaria. This will help us take the first major step towards granting all citizens of Israel equal rights, and toward a realistic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Source: http://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/200056

The Lobby for Greater Israel

Last night, the inaugural meeting of The Lobby for Greater Israel was held in the Knesset. The new lobby is made up of Knesset members from a variety of coalition and opposition members, and many ministers attended the meeting, in support of the lobby.

Yoav Sorek and Moriya Taassan represented The Israeli Initiative in the meeting. Moriya said: "We hope that this important lobby will grow to support Eretz Yisrael and help stop the discrimination against Israeli citizens living in Judea and Samaria."

For more information, read: http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=167656

The Israeli Initiative is Looking For Volunteers!

The Israeli Initiative is looking for volunteers who would like to help spread the word and share the Initiative's ideas. If you're interested, send an e-mail to: israelinitiative1@gmail.com

Please write your full name, phone number, e-mail address and languages you speak\read, and we will get back to you with the ways you can spread the news about the Initiative.

Canada Reallocates UNRWA Funds, As Recommended by "The Israeli Initiative"

Dear readers,

We know we've been slacking in our blog posts lately, but now we're back with a bang! It looks like someone in Canada has been reading The Israeli Initiative's booklet on refugees, since the Canadian Treasure has pulled money out of UNRWA. Here's a release we sent out to the foreign press:

PRESS RELEASE: ISRAELI THINK TANK PRAISES CANADA'S WORK TOWARDS PEACE

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT REALLOCATES UNRWA FUNDS, AS RECOMMENDED BY "THE ISRAELI INITIATVE"

Recently, it was reported that Canada, which until now provided UNRWA (the agency dedicated to providing services to Palestinian refugees) with 11% of its budget, has reallocated some of its usual donation from UNRWA to the Palestinian Authority justice system.

Victor Toews, president of Canada's Treasury Board told the Jerusalem Post that this move will help "ensure accountability and foster democracy," as well as make sure that government funds will only go to "programs that are consistent with Canadian values."

The Israeli Initiative, a Jerusalem-based think tank, commends Canada's bravery in going against the UNRWA-supporting herd.

"Canada is setting an example for the nations of the world," said Lahav Harkov, spokesperson for The Israeli Initiative. "The Canadian Treasury Board is right in saying that UNRWA programs are inconsistent with its values; in fact, UNRWA is run in a way that contradicts many countries' values. For example, the agency UNRWA employs members of terrorist groups, as former Commissioner-General Peter Hansen has admitted. Despite this, many nations send millions of dollars each year to UNRWA."

"Many UNRWA camps are essentially run by Hamas, a terrorist group voted in by the refugees to manage URNWA activites," explained Yoav Sorek, manager of the Israeli Initiative. "Hamas inserts inflammatory material against the West and Israel into the curricula of UNRWA schools, and is even thought to have shot missiles from UNRWA schools in Gaza. It seems that Canada has finally taken a stand against this injustice "

While The Israeli Initiative does not agree with supporting the Palestinian Authority, it sees dismantling UNRWA as the first step towards a lasting, stable peace in the region. "UNRWA does not have a mandate to resettle refugees, which is the real way to solve any refugee problem," said Sorek. "Once a different, more effective agency takes care of the Palestinian refugees, it will be easier to work towards peace. Canada has done the morally correct thing in cutting its donations to UNRWA."

For more information: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147877187&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull