The spirit of dialogue between opposing factions continues to take hold in Israel. This morning, Yesha Council spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef spoke at a Peace Now gathering of some 60-70 people, at the invitation of Peace Now chairman Yariv Oppenheimer. Asked to sum up his appearance, Mor-Yosef told Arutz-7 today, "We have to keep on talking to each other, otherwise the wall of hatred will simply grow higher and higher."
Mor-Yosef said he told the left-wing extremist organization that the goal of uprooting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria has turned into an "obsession" with them, and that they should focus their efforts in other directions. One worthy objective, he told the Peace Now members, "is for you to call the Palestinian Authority to task for not fighting terrorism. This would enhance your public image as well."
Though his speech sparked some argument, "some of them agreed with me that we should oppose the northern-Shomron/Gaza disengagement plan, because of its unilateral nature. I told them that the plan proves that there is absolutely no concept of a Palestinian partner with whom to make peace. [Former Prime Minister Ehud] Barak buried the idea of a Palestinian partner in Camp David, when Arafat showed the whole world that there was no such thing - but Sharon put the gravestone on the grave with his idea for a unilateral withdrawal. It shows that the entire idea of Oslo, based on a peace partner with the Palestinians, was wrong from the outset."
Asked what the next step would be, Mor-Yosef told Arutz-7 that he plans to invite a Peace Now representative or two to an upcoming Yesha Council gathering.
Mor-Yosef said he told the left-wing extremist organization that the goal of uprooting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria has turned into an "obsession" with them, and that they should focus their efforts in other directions. One worthy objective, he told the Peace Now members, "is for you to call the Palestinian Authority to task for not fighting terrorism. This would enhance your public image as well."
Though his speech sparked some argument, "some of them agreed with me that we should oppose the northern-Shomron/Gaza disengagement plan, because of its unilateral nature. I told them that the plan proves that there is absolutely no concept of a Palestinian partner with whom to make peace. [Former Prime Minister Ehud] Barak buried the idea of a Palestinian partner in Camp David, when Arafat showed the whole world that there was no such thing - but Sharon put the gravestone on the grave with his idea for a unilateral withdrawal. It shows that the entire idea of Oslo, based on a peace partner with the Palestinians, was wrong from the outset."
Asked what the next step would be, Mor-Yosef told Arutz-7 that he plans to invite a Peace Now representative or two to an upcoming Yesha Council gathering.