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Meretz MK Yossi Beilin on Thursday called on European countries to declare how many Palestinian refugees and their descendants they would be willing to absorb as part of any future peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. "It is important that we know now how many Palestinian refugees [third] countries are willing to absorb, so that when we get to the critical moment [of a peace agreement] we will be prepared for such an eventuality, and be able to carry it out," Beilin said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. The dovish lawmaker made the remarks one day after...

American Jewry is not about to disappear. Those who make that argument base themselves on an unimaginatively conventional definition of Judaism. They fail to understand that we live in the 21st century where centripetal forces work alongside centrifugal ones. The attempt to present the diminishing numbers of American Jews linearly stems from a willingness on the part of the non-Orthodox, as well as the secular American Jewish majority, to accept the criteria on the eternal question of who is a Jew set by the Orthodox minority. The Orthodox definition is just one entry gate into the Jewish people. There must...

Whole Land of Israel question debate between Zionist realists, post-Zionist dreamers If we stick to the idea of the complete Land of Israel, we will soon be left with no State of Israel, and if we are left with no State of Israel, we will be left with no Land of Israel. In the best case scenario, we will become beholden to the good graces of a Palestinian state that will include the Whole Land of Israel. That's the whole story. It is also the reason that Ariel Sjharon changed his mind, and Ehud Olmert changed his mind, as did...

Beilin: Israel Must Enter into Talks With the PA 00:40 Feb 19, '06 / 21 Shevat 5766 (IsraelNN.com) Meretz-Yahad Party leader Dr. Yossi Beilin called on the Government of Israel to enter into negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), adding PA leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is a peace partner. Beilin mentioned Abu Mazen’s address before the Palestine Legislative Council on Saturday, calling on Hamas to enter into talks with Israel and recognize and adhere to agreements signed between the PA and Jerusalem. Beilin added Israel made a major error by weakening the PA government and Abu Mazen during recent...

Meretz youths meet in Tel Aviv pub, where movement Chairman Yossi Beilin says: 'It's better to have a weak partner than no partner' Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin said his party will seek to open a dialogue with Hamas without any preconditions. "We won't place conditions for speaking with Hamas. If it wants to talk to us – we'll talk with it," said Beilin at the Shoshana Johnson pub in Tel Aviv. The meeting was also attended by former Knesset Member Ilan Gilon. According to Beilin, "true to now, Hamas has not completely decided either. I hear three yearnings coming from...

In special interview with Ynetnews, Meretz-Yahad chairman says Palestinian leader unquestionably committed to peace. Beilin: Not up to us to deal with Iran Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s decision to sever ties with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the wake of ongoing terror attacks was a ‘stupid mistake,’ Meretz-Yahad Chairman Yossi Beilin told Ynetnews in a special interview Sunday. “I believe we should strengthen him,” Beilin said in reference to the PA chairman, adding that Israel is currently not doing enough to boost Abbas. “There is no question about the commitment of Mahmoud Abbas to peace,” Beilin added. “He was the...

14/03/2005 Palestine Media Center – PMC Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei reiterated his rejection of unilateral approaches to solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, urging peace camps on both sides to accelerate their efforts because “danger is greater than hope.” “The hope of our people is fading away because of the Israeli policies,” Qurei said. Qurei was speaking in a meeting held at the Palestine Media Center (PMC) on Sunday, chaired by Palestinian co-author of the Geneva Initiative Yaser Abed Rabbo and his Israeli counterpart Yossi Beilin and attended by representatives of the Palestinian and Israeli peace camps in the West Bank...

The election of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) in Palestinian voting Sunday came as no surprise. The organized election process, the lively campaign and the openness to the media have all proved once again that if a Palestinian state is established it will be the first Arab democracy. But the state has not yet been established, and the system now headed by Abbas is not much more than a stage set. The real question is not whether Abbas is genuinely ready for peace and will start combating terrorism tomorrow, but whether the United States, Europe and Israel are prepared to seize...

After defeating opponent Ran Cohen by a 9% margin in Tuesday's vote for the hegemony over the newly formed Yahad party, chairman Yossi Beilin made an impassioned plea Wednesday morning to Shimon Peres to spawn overtures by the Likud aimed at creating a national unity government. Instead, he said, the Labor Party should join forces with him in creating an opposition custodian whose mission is "shortening the days of Sharon's government." Labor party officials dismissed Beilin's call for unity and rejected his claim that they were seeking admittance into the cabinet. "While we were busy working in the Knesset," they...

Geneva Initiative architects Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo met US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington Friday in spite of growing resistance to their plan. The meeting lasted 40 minutes, and before continuing to their meeting with UN Gen.-Sec. Kofi Annan, the two met with the President's adviser on Middle Eastern affairs Elliot Abrams, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns and his assistant David Sutherfield. Powell told Beilin and Abed Rabbo that their initiative did not affect the Road Map timetable, which envisions a Palestinian State by 2005, and the two said after the meeting that Powell regarded...

"Don't worry, the Geneva document does not cede the Arabs' 'right of return.'" This was the gist of an article written by Jamal Zakot, a high-ranking PA official who took part in the negotiations for the agreement. Zakot wrote this on Sunday in the PA daily Al Hayat al Jadida, Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports. "Those who state that the document cedes our right of return [for the Arab 'refugees' of 1948 and their descendants] do not base themselves on knowledge and precise reading of the text," Zakot wrote. "It could even be that they have fallen into the trap of...

Nov. 26, 2003Who backs Beilin? By URI DAN Billionaire George Soros recently announced that he would spend money like water to prevent President George W. Bush's re-election. He explained that he opposes Bush's foreign policy, especially the war against Saddam Hussein. This doesn't surprise me. Soros has also long adopted a pro-Palestinian posture in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike many Jewish millionaires, Soros hasn't learned the lessons of the Holocaust, despite being one of the few survivors of Hungarian Jewry. Bush made a stand against extremist Muslim fanaticism which threatens the free world. Israel is fortunate that Bush created a common...

Nov. 26, 2003 Katzav hosts Geneva Initiative architects By GIL HOFFMAN President Moshe Katzav hosted the Palestinian signatories to the Geneva Initiative at Beit Ha-Nassi (the President's residence) Wednesday. At the start of the meeting, former Palestinian minister Yasser Abed Rabo said that his delegation is "extending the hand of peace to Israel." "We are looking for the support of all Israelis who want peace in this land to help create a bridge to peace," Abed Rabo said. "Both sides have suffered a lot. We hope to put an end to the suffering and start a new era of friendship,...

There are now in fact not one, but two, treasonous private "peace initiatives" being promoted by the Israeli fundamentalist Left, somewhat comically competing against one another. There is the Beilin Geneva Misunderstandings, which is being bulk mailed to Israeli households this week in defiance of a proposal last week by the Consumers Union to prohibit junk mail. And then there is the "initiative" by ex-spook Ami Ayalon, who once headed Israeli intelligence services (never mind the oxymoron in that term) and before that was Navy Commandant, together with a PLO terrorist. This past weekend, Yediot Acharonot, the largest Israeli daily,...

Oct. 27, 2003 The fine print By EVELYN GORDON Yossi Beilin When the "Geneva Initiative" was first unveiled two weeks ago, it was immediately clear that it constituted a gross violation of democratic norms: A small band of opposition figures, acting without the elected government's knowledge or consent, had negotiated a draft "peace agreement" with an enemy, with the explicit aim of generating international pressure on future governments to endorse the concessions contained therein.The full extent of the damage, however, became evident only last Friday, with publication of the document's full text – because a close reading makes it clear...

Why They Don´t Like the Geneva Initiative 11:44 Oct 27, '03 / 1 Cheshvan 5764 Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA has studied the Geneva initiative in depth, has interviewed several of its promoters, and has found many points that are likely to prove harmful to Israeli interests. Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA ("www.imra.org.il") has studied the Geneva initiative in depth and has interviewed several of its promoters. He spoke with Tzvia Greenfield, for instance, whom he described as "an ultra-orthodox public figure active in support of withdrawal... [who] has been interviewing with the media as part of the promotion campaign...

Oct. 26, 2003 Shalom: France, Belgium giving $7 million to 'Geneva' group By HERB KEINON France and Belgium have pledged $7 million to the developers of the "Geneva Initiative" freelance peace plan drawn up by Israeli and Palestinian former government officials and politicians, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Sunday. Shalom told the weekly Cabinet meeting that the government has registered protests with the two countries for their support of this unofficial, non-government venture. He did not elaborate at the meeting on the nature of the protest. The initiative's developers, led by Yossi Beilin, were in Europe last week seeking support....

Yossi Beilin, undeterred by harsh government criticism, will take his Geneva Initiative to Paris Wednesday and meet with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel in an effort to gain international support. Former Palestinian Authority information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, who headed the Palestinian side in drawing up the initiative, will also take part in the meeting. A spokesman for Marc Otte, the European Union's newly appointed special Middle East envoy, said the EU is not involved in the meeting in any way. The meeting with de Villepin and Michel in Paris is just one...

Oct. 15, 2003 Israel angered by Swiss sponsorship of "Geneva Initiative" By ASSOCIATED PRESS Israel's government is angered by Swiss sponsorship of an unofficial peace plan worked out between former Israeli and Palestinian politicians and veteran peace negotiators, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday. The still-unreleased 50-page document, worked out primarily under the sponsorship of Switzerland, has no official standing, but outlines a solution to generations of conflict and includes a map of a future Palestinian state alongside Israel. On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said the government was peeved at the Swiss, who helped fund the...

Oct. 15, 2003 Straw commends "courage" of Geneva Initiative negotiators By DOUGLAS DAVIS LONDON Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Photo: AP British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw yesterday praised the "courage" of Israeli and Palestinian "negotiators" who were involved in the Geneva Initiative. According to some media reports, British officials played a central behind-the-scenes role in drafting the "agreement," which would give Palestinians sovereignty over the Temple Mount while nullifying the Palestinians' right to return. Addressing parliament, Straw did not refer to Britain's involvement, but he said: "I commend the courage of all of those involved, especially Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed...