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http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
BY EARLY OCTOBER, the plan by United Jewish Communities (UJC) officials to award Yasir Arafat an award named after the Prophet, the Isaiah peace prize, was set. The award had
already been purchased, Arafat’s office had been notified, and the
presentation ceremony was scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Palestinian
Authority’s office in Ramallah. The ceremony would take place before 120
members of the UJC’s Prime Minister’s Mission, 78 of whom had contributed at
least $100,000 to be on the trip. A draft of the presentation statement was
prepared for Joel Tauber, a Detroit businessman and chairman of the UJC’s
executive committee.
On Oct. 5, just two days before the mission would leave for an eight day trip
to France and Israel, senior UJC staffers were making final arrangements for
the tour, which would include participants meeting with Arafat after the
award ceremony.
The award to Arafat would signal a new policy direction for
the UJC, and would have marked the first major award to Arafat
by a mainstream American Jewish organization. Arafat would have joined such
past Isaiah recipients as President Bill Clinton, the late Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin and former President Nelson Mandela.
In the early afternoon of Oct. 5, the dreams of UJC executives to present
Arafat with the award slowly began to unravel. The plans changed slightly
when the UJC was informed that Arafat would be in Tokyo and could not accept
the award in person. However, senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials
would be on hand to accept the award for Arafat.
As detailed in last week’s Boston Jewish Advocate, a high ranking Jewish Agency official in
Israel provided written documentation to the paper — an internal memo
from the UJC to the Jewish Agency in Israel in early October — that the award
had already been purchased and that Arafat knew about the award. On Oct. 5,
newly appointed UJC President Stephen Solender was asked to comment on the
report. He replied, “Let me check on it, and I’ll call you back. I may be out
of the loop.” Shortly afterwards, a UJC communications assistant contacted
the Advocate and confirmed that Arafat, indeed, would receive the award
during the Prime Minister’s Mission. “It’s in recognition of his
participation in the peace process,” said the UJC worker. “We are concerned
about peace and the welfare of the Jews in the world and Mr. Arafat is a
partner with Israel in the peace process.
Later in the day, however, the same communications assistant called the
Advocate and said that the UJC had decided not to give Arafat the award
“because he will be in Tokyo” and would not be able to receive it. Solender
and UJC spokeswoman Gail Hyman then went one step further and denied that
Arafat was ever to be the recipient.
When reached for comment in Jerusalem, Dotan referred all questions to
Menachem Ravivi, the head of Israel’s UIO office (which serves as UJC’s
internal department). Ravivi then referred all comments to UJC’s New York
office.
Norman Eisenberg, a spokesman for UJC in New York confirmed that Ronit Dotan
is, in fact, a staff worker in the UIO Jerusalem office. “I don’t have the
letter in front of me so I can’t respond to it,” Eisenberg said on Wednesday.
“I can only tell you that what the facts are as we are stating it. That is,
the award is not going to be presented this year, period. Yasir Arafat’s name
was floated; it was decided not to give the award this year to any
individual. And that’s where the situation stands as of now.”
Despite the continued denial, the Advocate has received additional
documentation this week about the award from a high-level Jewish Agency
official — a draft of the planned presentation statement to be presented by
Joel Tauber. The document reads: “My name is Joel Tauber. Ladies and
gentlemen, in the few short years since the Oslo agreements of 1993, Yasser
Arafat has become a partner for peace. He is president of the Palestinian
National Authority, centered here in Ramallah. He is accompanied at this
luncheon by senior Palestinian officials. President Arafat, this is an
historic moment in terms of the relations between the American Jewish
community and the Palestinian National Authority. Please join me at the
podium. (Pause) Today, the Prime Minister’s Mission will present Yasser
Arafat with the Isaiah Award, ‘For Efforts To Hasten The Prophet Isaiah’s
Vision For All People.’ Prior winners of the Isaiah Award include President
Bill Clinton and former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa.”
When reached in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Tauber denied that he wrote the
document. He also said he was unaware of plans to give the award to Arafat.
On Wednesday, Tauber and the Prime Minister’s Mission traveled to Ramallah
and met with PA officials.
Also on Tuesday, a cabinet minister closely aligned with Prime Minister Barak
told the Advocate that he was aware of the planned award but applauded the
decision by the UJC not to go through with it. “It is too soon to give the
award now — perhaps in two years when reality is different,” he said.
In America and in Israel, news of the planned UJC award has been met with
nearly unanimous condemnation.
In Boston, Consul General of Israel to New England Itzhak Levanon said Arafat
is not yet eligible for awards. “Prizes and awards go to those who speak the
language of peace and follow through in their acts and deeds. Peace is about
education and respect. The sponsorship of anti-Israel resolutions in the
United Nations and the use of dual language, at home and abroad, is
incompatible with current peace process efforts,” he stated.
Larry Lowenthal, the director of the American Jewish Committee in New England
was also critical of Arafat, specifically questioning his true desire to make
peace. Said Lowenthal, “I would find it surprising that the UJC would
consider a peace award to Arafat at this particular time. Quite Simply, the
truly arduous ‘final status’ negotiations have not even begun. Jews should be
aware that Arafat and the Palestinian Authority have taken incredibly
inflexible positions on the most sensitive issues: final borders, return of
Palestinian refugees to Israel, Jerusalem, settlements, and water, to name
the most obvious.”
In New York, Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League,
said of Arafat “he hasn’t earned it yet. We haven’t made peace yet. The Arabs
and the Palestinian Authority threaten boycotts. Where is the spirit of
Isaiah?” Added Foxman, “Certainly, his last speech at the U.N. is testament
that he has a way to earn the title of an Isaiah prophet.”
On Saturday, Likud leader Ariel Sharon denounced the planned award during an
interview in New York with Kol Yisrael Radio. “[Sharon] gave that as an
example of the confusion and the lack of coherence in the stand taken by the
Jewish community,” added Sharon’s spokesman Dr. Rannan Gissin from
Jerusalem. Gissim said that the award may have been conceived because of the
perceived policy toward the Palestinians by the present Israeli government.
“When the leaders offered this prize to Arafat they probably thought that
they would be in line with certain positions by some members of the Israeli
government. I think the minute it was publicized and they realized there
might be an outcry, they withdrew.”
Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America
called the award out of step with American public opinion. He referred to
recent polls by Mideast Quarterly and the American Jewish Committee which
have found that by a 3 to 1 margin, American Jews believe that Arafat still
seeks to destroy Israel. “For a Jewish organization to give an award to
Arafat is wrong,” said Klein.
When asked about the policy of selecting the Isaiah Award winner, the UJC’s
Hyman said that protocols were being reviewed, and that a new policy for
selecting a winner may be created in the future. “New protocols need to be
established for UJC. We’re working on developing those now,” said Hyman.
To express your opinions or question the UJC stance, call either Gail Hyman at 212-284-6568 or Norman Eisenberg, 212-284-6736.
Formed in April after the merger of the United Jewish Appeal, the
Council of Jewish Federations and the United Israel Appeal, the charity
represents 189 Jewish federations across North America and allocates $313.8
million overseas. Its prime overseas beneficiaries are the Jewish Agency for
Israel and the Joint Distribution Committee. Currently, the UJC has an annual
budget of $37 million.
Despite the denial by the UJC, the Advocate received further confirmation on
Wednesday that Arafat was slated to receive the award this week. In an
interview, Dr. Anis Al-Qaq, the head of the PA’s department of international
cooperation stated that he had been informed by a United Israel Office (UIO)
staff member in Jerusalem, Ronit Dotan, that press reports of the
cancellation of the award to Arafat were wrong and that the UJC still planned
to give Arafat the award at a later date. According to Al-Qaq, Dotan said the
only reason UJC did not give the award to Arafat was because he was in Tokyo,
and they wanted to present it to him in person.
JWR contributor Steven Rosenberg is managing editor of Boston's
Jewish Advocate. Comment on this article by clicking here.
