David Horovitz, editor of The Jerusalem Report, a newsmagazine covering Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world and a frequent commentator on National Public Radio, CNN and the BBC, will speak at Hillel, 611 Langdon St., Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The Daily Cardinal conducted the following interview with Horovitz while he was in Jerusalem.
Daily Cardinal: The space shuttle Columbia marked the first Israeli astronaut in space. How do you think its tragic ending has affected the mood in Israel?
David Horovitz: I think it's incredible the extent to which people have been affected by it, moved by it, shocked and saddened and depressed. When he went up it was already very big news, and there was a tremendous sense of partnership with America. There was a sense of achievement of being along with America on the cutting edge of technology and space, and the more people were exposed to him as a person, they realized what a fine, warm and good man he is, was... This has pushed aside the conflict with the Palestinians, it's pushed aside the political maneuvering, it's been the only thing people have talked about, written about. The newspapers have been dealing with this story not only on page one and two and three, but on page one all the way through to page 17.
DC: The right wing recently won a big victory in the election, but when you look at public opinion polls in Israel it seems that people would still like to support a compromise with the Palestinians to reach peace. Do you see this as a conflict?
DH: The main reason is simply Yasser Arafat. Israelis don't believe that [he] wants to make peace ... In July 2000 [Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak] went off to Camp David with Arafat hosted by Clinton and, as far as most Israelis are concerned, tried to make peace. In fact ... everything short of national suicide for Israel [was offered] ... [and the negotiation process] didn't break down over territory, but over Arafat's demand for a right of return for 4 million refugees ... to Israel. Israel had a population of only 6 million people, 5 million Jews, [over one million] Arabs. If you are demanding the right to bring 4 million people into the country next door you are, in fact, as most Israelis were concerned, effectively demanding the demographic overwhelming of Israel.
DC: How do you think people in Israel view the potential war with Iraq?
DH: There's nothing of the debate here that there is in Europe and in the United States, across the spectrum really, left and right. Israelis remember just 11 years ago when 39 scuds were fired by Saddam at Israel, which had done nothing to provoke him. This is a man that, as far as Israelis are concerned, the longer he is in power, the more dangerous he becomes, and the quicker he is removed the better. Also the subtleties of whether Bush could have gone about this a different way, they get lost in the distance.
