(click here to view the original Meretz USA weblog posting on the topic)
The brazen murder of eight yeshiva students, mostly teenagers, in a landmark mainstream Orthodox institution in Jerusalem, has convulsed Israel in sadness and outrage. That this has occurred within a week of the massive operation in the Gaza Strip, killing about 120 Palestinians, is no accident. About half, if not more, of this latter toll were of fighters of the terrorist factions, but dozens were non-combatant civilians, including children.
The
Board of Directors of Meretz USA , an American not-for-profit organization
dedicated to the achievement of a full and just peace between Israel and all
its neighbors, and most particularly, the Palestinian people, extends its
warmest congratulation and support to President George Bush, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, the leaders of
Israel and the PLO, and all the participants in the recently held meeting at
Annapolis convened with the objective of launching intensive negotiations
toward the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the creation of a
viable, peaceful Palestinian state.
New York, NY...Meretz USA President Larry Lerner has expressed regret over Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s order to begin cutting the fuel and electricity supply to the Gaza Strip. Lerner termed the order, “an unfortunate decision that will only bring greater suffering to Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
New York, NY…. Meretz USA President Larry Lerner and Chairman Theodore Bikel
have denounced the Israel government’s agreement with Egypt, which allows it to
turn back illegal immigrants – including those from the Darfur region of Sudan –
without first ascertaining their refugee status.
The article appeared, in slightly amended form, in the June 26 edition of
New York Resident
magazine.
Israel and
Palestine Need Negotiations, not Machinations
By Ron Skolnik
Once again, confusion reigns supreme in the Middle
East. Last week, in a military offensive in the Palestinian Gaza Strip
that seemed to surprise everyone, but should have surprised no one, the forces
of the fundamentalist Hamas party overpowered the troops of Fatah, Hamas’
long-time rival for power.
The Executive Board of Meretz USA adopted a resolution on Sunday, June 10,
opposing a recently passed resolution of Great Britain's University and College
Union (UCU) promoting the boycott of Israeli academics and academic
institutions.
New York, NY… Meretz USA President Larry Lerner and
Chairman Theodore Bikel today announced that Meretz USA, “supports the recent
demonstration staged by the Bedouin Sheep Growers Committee.” Meretz USA,
they said, “joins in the protest of the Bedouin’s unequal treatment by the Israeli
government, as well as the Israeli government’s reluctance to engage that
community in efforts to address its needs.”
Your report about West Bank settlers’ efforts to hawk
real estate to investors in New Jersey (“Seeking New Israeli Settlers, Synagogue
Draws Protesters”, Feb. 25) demonstrates, in a few brief paragraphs, the
essential folly of the Israeli settlement enterprise. Whether motivated by
religious or economic factors, the settlers became, not guardians of Israel’s
security, but security impediments, extracting an enormous cost in Israeli
resources and lives over the now forty years of this ill-begotten policy.
New York, NY…. Meretz USA President Larry Lerner called the announcement of
the Mecca Accord reached today by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas
leader, Khaled Mash’al, establishing a Palestinian unity government, “a
potential step forward upon which all sides must build if progress toward ending
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to be resumed.”
The brazen murder of eight yeshiva students, mostly teenagers, in a landmark mainstream Orthodox institution in Jerusalem, has convulsed Israel in sadness and outrage. That this has occurred within a week of the massive operation in the Gaza Strip, killing about 120 Palestinians, is no accident. About half, if not more, of this latter toll were of fighters of the terrorist factions, but dozens were non-combatant civilians, including children.
Meretz USA President Larry Lerner and Chairman Theodore Bikel have sent greetings to all the participants in the meeting 
