Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Israel’s future unclear, say students, faculty

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s debilitating stroke will test the viability of peace in the Middle East, Northwestern students and professors said.

Peace between Israelis and Palestinians will depend largely on the actions of the remaining members of Sharon’s centrist Kadima party and might be delayed further, they said.

“It puts a temporary question mark on the direction of how things will go,” said Medill Prof. Marda Dunsky, an expert on media coverage of the Middle East.

A serious hemorrhagic stroke – the prime minister’s second in three weeks – caused extensive bleeding in Sharon’s brain Wednesday. Doctors performed three emergency surgeries, kept him in a medically induced coma for several days and woke him Monday morning.

Sharon’s illness comes at a crucial time in Israeli-Palestinian relations. After withdrawing Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip last August, Sharon left the right-wing Likud party to form the centrist Kadima party, taking several other Likud members with him. A coalition of Kadima and several other parties stands to win the majority in the Israeli government this March and continue movement toward ceding territory to the Palestinians, Dunsky said.

To continue the peace process, Dunsky said, the Israeli government, no matter who heads it, must be more flexible than Sharon. She added that she thinks they must withdraw settlers from other settlements along the West Bank.

Sharon vacated 9,000 settlers from Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank, Dunsky said. But there are almost 450,000 elsewhere in the West Bank and in areas of Jerusalem built on land Israel occupied in 1967.

“His intent was that the vast majority of those would remain in place,” she said. For Palestinians to accept the presence of these remaining settlers, “that’s not peace. That’s capitulation.”

Medill junior Ramah Kudaimi said changes in the composition of Israeli political parties could influence negotiations. Not having Sharon in the Kadima party could mean that some members abandon the new party, potentially allowing a right-wing coalition and prime minister to come to power.

“If Israelis decide to go back to the Likud party, that could put an end to any further plan,” said Kudaimi, co-founder of Peace of Mind, NU’s Muslim-Jewish dialogue group.

SESP senior Shira Bergstein, who studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem last year, said party supporters needed time to evaluate the situation. She said Sharon is an irreplaceable figure in Israel’s history.

“To no longer have that kind of experienced person leading the state is a dramatic change in the way Israel will be run,” she said. “The party was him.”

Even amid speculation about party actions, some students remained optimistic.

McCormick freshman Nathan Caro, a member of Hillel, said he thought Israelis would stay committed to the precedents Sharon set.

“It seems that Sharon had changed his hard-nosed policy from just fighting against the Arabs to actually trying to work with them,” he said. “I think the people of Israel have seen this and will continue to follow the Kadima party.”

Kudaimi said she thought withdrawal from the West Bank was certain but might take slightly longer than anticipated. She speculated that Israelis might become more supportive of the Kadima party.

She said she is looking forward to having two new leaders to help Israel and Palestine reach peace negotiations. Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in November 2004, and was replaced by Mahmoud Abbas .

“For me, this is a chance for someone new to come into the leadership,” she said. “Hopefully, a new face on both sides will bring this peace process.”

Reach Lauren Pond at [email protected].

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Israel’s future unclear, say students, faculty