Preparing for Bush's Visit
January 7, 2007
U.S. President George Bush will arrive here in Jerusalem on Wednesday. You can see the intense preparations around town. American flags flying, police barricades around the city, and what goes with a VIP visit in Jerusalem, traffic jams!
The security will be unprecedented. More than 10,000 police, security personnel, army reservists and secret service will be protecting the president.
He's coming to help push forward the "peace process" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Olmert government is making enormous efforts to make Bush's visit a success. While there's almost universal respect for America's president, many people here are dismayed at the impact his policy might have on Israel.
Here's a sampling of their concerns:
Division of Jerusalem
"One Jerusalem," a group opposed to the re-division of the city, plans to form a human chain around the Jerusalem's Old City. This organization is deeply concerned that the current negotiations between Israel and the P.A. -- encouraged by the U.S -- may well eventually lead to the division of Jerusalem. This effort is led by former cabinet member and Soviet 'refusnik' Natan Sharansky.
A Two-State Solution
Another issue deals with President Bush's vision for a two-state solution. Benny Elon told The Associated Press that U.S. President George Bush is "disconnected from the reality." He believes Bush's vision "...is leading us to catastrophe." Elon believes it would violate Israel's biblical mandate to settle the land God gave to Abraham and his descendents. While Elon respects Bush's stance against Islamic terrorism, he disagrees with the president's plan to uproot Jewish communities anywhere in Israel, especially in Judea and Samaria, what many people refer to as the "West Bank."
The Danger of a Palestinian State
Jan Willem van der Hoeven, director of the International Christian Zionist Center, warned about the dangers of the Palestinian state President Bush is advocating:
"George W. Bush, by coming to the Middle East to pressurize prematurely the Palestinians to choose for their truly democratic peace loving independent state, will unwittingly be the cause for the erection of a Hamas ruled state, which will spell the end of the only true democracy in the Middle East, the only loyal ally America has in this part of the world. Let us not forget that through democratically forced elections Hitler came to power by the will of the people, also Hamas was chosen by the majority of the Palestinians. With the premature creation of a Muslim Palestinian state, George W. Bush has given the worst enemies of Israel and the U.S. the greatest gift they could have asked for.
"It will spell not only the end of Israel but the end of any hope for moderation in the more and more fanatic ISLAM controlled Middle East. Look what is happening today in Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and Iran. An Iran and Hamas controlled 'Palestine' will be a mortal danger not just to Israel but also to the vital well being and interest of the United States."
Bush will be here for three days, but the impact of his visit might last a lot longer.
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