Jibril Rajoub is a member of the PA (Palestinian Authority) old guard. During the era of Yasser Arafat he commanded the PA’s Preventative Security Force. Today he heads the Palestinian Olympic Committee.
Speaking with Kikar Shabbat in Ramallah, Rajoub expresses his fondness for Shas, citing the party supported the Oslo Agreement back in 1993 and he hopes that today, in his later years, Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef Shlita will support the renewed diplomatic talks between Israel and the PA. Rajoub, who is very close to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), feels that from a historical perspective, the Jews and Muslims didn’t view the other as an enemy and he hopes Rav Ovadia will become involved towards bringing peace to the region.
He admits the PA is not a big believer in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, pointing out that at present, the PA is speaking with the United States which is acting as intermediary. “Netanyahu finds himself in a compromised diplomatic position vis-à-vis the United States and European Union, realizing he really hasn’t other options” Rajoub explains.
He blames Israel for delays to date since “we know what we want – two nations for two peoples, a state with defined safe borders”.
“Don’t forget there were two brave leaders that started the process, Yitzchak Rabin and Yasser Arafat” he added “and Israel finished them both and with that, delivered a blow to the peace process. Regarding statements made by Bayit Yehudi leader Minister Naftali Bennett and Deputy Defense Minister (Likud) Danny Danon, he called their words “shameful”. Rajoub insists the PA is a willing partner and it is up to Israel to make the move.
When asked if the PA would prefer a coalition with the chareidim instead of Bayit Yehudi, Rajoub responded “while this is an internal matter, the government and people must realize the settlers are crazy. A government together with them is national suicide.”
Rajoub continued, citing Rav Ovadia’s psak permitting giving away land in exchange for peace. He added that Aryeh Deri is a reasonable person and he brought Shas on board back in 1993.
He concluded with a call to the chareidim to support the process towards Palestinian self-rule and reiterated his hope that Maran Rav Ovadia becomes involved in this process.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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11 Responses
thats out of the picture as long as shas is out of the govt and the people in the govt hate him
They appear to have noticed that the Israeli right has turned on the hareidim, and groups that were fairly supportive of the war may now be quite open to new approaches. What is interesting, is that a “two state” solution doesn’t benefit the hareidim, whereas a “one state” solution that includes constituitonal guarantees of autonomy for religious minorities would. The preference for peace over land is well known, but now that the issue is survival of yeshiovos and a haredi lifestyle, one can suspect that the Arabs may be about to discover a peace partner willing to deal on terms they find acceptable.
SHAS, DONT DO IT AGAIN (vote for Oslo).
Are you prepare to exacuate Jews from Beitar, Ramat Shlomo, Nvei Yakov, Ir Haatika, ………Ramat Eshkol and French Hill. Do not raise your hand against the holy kehillos of Eretz Yisroel outside of the imaginary Arab invented ‘Green Line’. The Arabs believe that HAR NOF is beyond the green line TOO.
But zionflag, you are demanding that we evacuate Mir, and Ponevezh! If the only ways Jews can live in Medinant Yisrael is to give up learning Torah and cut back of doing mitsvos, that is too high a price to pay. If you tell us that the only way to live in Eretz Yisrael as a Ben Torah is to replace the zionist regime, consider what that means.
A one state solution eliminates the greatest threat to Jewish survival – which comes from the current regime in Israel. Hareidim and Arabs would outvote the anti-Torah alliance not in power.
#2
Problem with your thinking is; are the Charedim ready to sell out their people in Beitar, Nvei Yakov, Ramat Shlomo, etc. etc. to align with the leftist peace mongers who will then expellee all their voters from their homes –
#4 There is no demand to evacuate Mir and Ponevezh, especially since 50% of the talmidim are past Army Conscription age…
“If the only ways Jews can live in Medinant Yisrael is to give up learning Torah and cut back of doing mitsvos, that is too high a price to pay”
#4- How come no one is asking MY family members to give up learning Torah and cut back on doing mitzvos? Oh, I forgot. Learning in a Hesder Yeshiva is not considered learning Torah.
And I still have to chuckle at how you are so concerned about Torah in E”Y. Why don’t you start learning some Torah in chu”l first?
I met with this man(Rajoub)last week on this topic near Ramallah.He is a convicted terrorist who has been involved in terrorist activity since age of 15!!!In 1994, Rajoub was allowed to return to the West Bank following the signing of the Oslo Accords.He(one of the 1000 terrorists released in the oslow accord)has one goal and that is more terrorists like himself are released and more land.
#5 zionflag: if you start grabbing every frum teenager for three long years and force him to give up learning for those three years, you will end up destroying the yeshivos — someone spoke kindly of the hesder program, but the truth is the same movement to “crack down” on the hareidi yeshivos also wants to “crack down” on hesder.
You are telling us to choose between zionism and Torah, and don’t be shocked that we won’t choose to reject the medinah.
#8 Glad that you read what you want to read especially in my comments..
“You are telling us…” do you rewrite all scripts given to you.
Learning, learning, learning. What an obsession. In Tanach EY, ONLY shevat Yissachar , levvim and some Kohanim learned and learned. Everybody else worked, worked and worked ,the land— planting, plowing,growing, OR shoemaking, smithing, tanning, farming.. etc. There are Mishnayos’s that deal with Shikche, peyah, trumah, farming, oxen, An entire Bava tractate dedicated to court cases involving Poalim, workers and bosses- Why? Because everybody else did these things. No Bes Hamikdash was destroyed because of lack of learning. No even one. So please, enough already of this mantra : learning-learning-learning.
#2. You keep deluding yourself. Just look what the Muslims do to every religious minority in any of their countries. You thing they’ll be kind to you fool?
Of course they would go to Shas. Traitors are always helpful to those that want to do you harm. Shas either has learned nothing from the Oslo debacle, or worse doesn’t care how many more Jews will die or be misplaced in return for NOTHING.