In his featured speech to the crowd assembled for the Yom HaShoah program at Sinai Temple, Ambassador Dennis Ross, the diplomatic point man for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process during previous administrations of George Bush and Bill Clinton, acknowledged his disappointment in the current violence and outlined what he views as the likely possibilities for the conflict.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has launched a Crisis Fund campaign designed to raise $12 million in emergency relief to address the deteriorating situations in Israel and Argentina. The announcement came just as Federation President John Fishel and Chairman Jake Farber returned from a two-day visit to Israel, as part of an emergency 40-member delegation assembled by The Federation\’s parent organization, United Jewish Communities (UJC).
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When Ariel Sharon decided to isolate Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, he realized he would be accused of deliberately blocking diplomatic channels if he didn\’t find an alternative form of dialogue with the Palestinians. Sharon\’s answer: A regional conference of Israel, moderate Arab states and Palestinians — but not Arafat — to be convened under American auspices.
\”Jane White Is Sick & Twisted,\” which opens the Hollywood Underground Film Festival May 9, began when director David Michael Latt was feeling sick and, well, twisted at another festival in 1997. Latt, 35, had aspired to direct since his movie-themed bar mitzvah at Congregation Kol Tikvah, but many of his indie films were stuck in straight-to-video hell. Meanwhile, the festival darlings were being touted for shlocky flicks about incest or necrophilia. \”It was like, exploit a sensational topic, and it doesn\’t matter if your movie is any good,\” he says. There\’s a sheepish pause. \”Of course, I was jealous.\”\n
Secretary of State Colin Powell spent a week in the Middle East and managed to extract from Israeli and Arab leaders concessions that were promising and far-reaching — for 1991.
These battleground spoils cannot explode or kill, but Israel considers them important benefits of its military operation in the West Bank: Thousands of documents, pamphlets and posters that provide written evidence of the Palestinian Authority\’s massive involvement in terrorism. The documents were captured at places like Yasser Arafat\’s headquarters in Ramallah and other P.A. offices, offices of the P.A.\’s Preventive Security Service and Arafat\’s Tanzim militia, Palestinian organizations throughout the West Bank and the Palestinian Liberation Organization\’s (PLO) Jerusalem headquarters at Orient House.
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