US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer angered many government officials yesterday when he told students at the radical left Givat Haviva Center that they should pressure their government to make more compromise and reconciliation with the Palestinians. Exceprts from the speech:
\"You\'re the people, you are the ones who choose your government, and you\'re the ones who define who rules and who doesn\'t rule … They need to hear from you that you want peace, that you want reconciliation, that you want reasonable compromise.” Kurtzer offered the students a plan for how to pressure the Israeli government. He suggested, \"letting elected officials know what we thin [by organizing] social action - such as demonstrations, public rallies, public indications through letter writing, newspaper ads, and political action to let people know you are here, that you are on the map.\"
Commenting on the US Ambassador’s unwelcome interference, Knesset Member Eliezer Zandberg of the Shinui party said, \"Instead of trying to get the Israeli people to revolt against their government, Kurtzer would be better off calling on the Palestinian people to overthrow Arafat, who is an obstacle to peace.\"
According to reports from Washington, the US administration is reevaluating its position vis-?-vis the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat in light of Arafat’s failure to arrest terrorists and bring an end to terror attacks. The US Administration is also waiting for Arafat to provide an acceptable explanation regarding the Karin-A freighter which was caught trying to smuggle in rockets, missiles and other weaponry into the |Palestinian authority.
\"You\'re the people, you are the ones who choose your government, and you\'re the ones who define who rules and who doesn\'t rule … They need to hear from you that you want peace, that you want reconciliation, that you want reasonable compromise.” Kurtzer offered the students a plan for how to pressure the Israeli government. He suggested, \"letting elected officials know what we thin [by organizing] social action - such as demonstrations, public rallies, public indications through letter writing, newspaper ads, and political action to let people know you are here, that you are on the map.\"
Commenting on the US Ambassador’s unwelcome interference, Knesset Member Eliezer Zandberg of the Shinui party said, \"Instead of trying to get the Israeli people to revolt against their government, Kurtzer would be better off calling on the Palestinian people to overthrow Arafat, who is an obstacle to peace.\"
According to reports from Washington, the US administration is reevaluating its position vis-?-vis the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat in light of Arafat’s failure to arrest terrorists and bring an end to terror attacks. The US Administration is also waiting for Arafat to provide an acceptable explanation regarding the Karin-A freighter which was caught trying to smuggle in rockets, missiles and other weaponry into the |Palestinian authority.