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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/13649/full/13649/u-s-jewish-support-critical-barak-aide-says-in-visit-here/ <br /><br /> <b>U.S. Jewish support critical, Barak aide says in visit here</b> <br /> Friday, July 21, 2000 | by <p>ALEXANDRA J. WALL </p> <br /><br /><p>Regardless of the outcome at Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak believes it was important to "inform the Jewish community, engage it and seek its support for holding the summit," according to a special adviser to Barak.<br /><br /> Yossi Alpher said Jewish community support is critical for "the American role that will follow" the peace talks.<br /><br /> Alpher was visiting the United States concurrently with the peace talks and stopped in San Francisco last week to meet with Jewish groups.<br /><br /> While American support will be crucial to the success of any final settlement, he hopes the European Union and Japan will follow suit, especially when it comes to offering financial backing to help resolve the Palestinian refugee issue.<br /><br /> Because of the news blackout imposed on the Camp David negotiations as they were in progress, Alpher would not comment on whether he had spoken with any members of the Israeli delegation since the talks started. However, he did say that the absence of leaks to the media from either side last week was a positive sign because leaks were often a sign of frustration.<br /><br /> Alpher outlined the prime minister's positions on the key issues and offered additional analysis, saying that if any leaders were going to bring about peace, those at Camp David were the three who could succeed.<br /><br /> "President Clinton has been devoted to the peace process for the last seven and a half years," he said. "Chairman [Yasser] Arafat is not getting any younger, and there is no other Palestinian leader who can deliver the support of the Palestinian people while making the necessary compromises. And Barak has shown he's prepared to go the extra mile for peace. His positions are more far-reaching than any of his predecessors."<br /><br /> While Alpher refused to offer any predictions, he did say that the longer the stalemate lasted, conditions in one the most embattled regions in the world would get even worse.<br /><br /> Both the advent of extreme Islamic fundamentalism in some Arab countries and the development of nuclear weapons in Iran, Iraq or both, are severe existential threats not only to Israel, but to its neighbors, he said.<br /><br /> The only comment he would offer about Barak's coalition difficulties was that entering into a unity government with the Likud Party was not an option; Barak would rather call for new elections if necessary, to prove he still had the Israeli public on his side.<br /><br /> "A unity government doesn't correspond with the kind of final-status map he is contemplating," Alpher said. But he felt confident that Barak enjoys the support of the majority of the Israeli public as well as American Jews.<br /><br /> Advertisements like the one placed by the Israel Policy Forum in the July 12 New York Times, expressing American Jewish support for the peace process, were "very gratifying," Alpher said.<br /><br /> "It's very important for the American public as well as the media, Congress and everyone to see that American Jews are in support of [Barak] at this summit," Alpher said.<br /><br /> When asked about Israel's abrupt cancellation of a $250 million sale of Phalcon, an Israeli-developed early-warning radar plane system to China, Alpher said it became evident that it was "imperative" for Israel to rethink its decision, if it expected to continue its special relationship with the United States.<br /><br /> "The deal with China had become a major sticking point, and it was clear that [Barak] must resolve it before we approach Congress to accept any agreement," he added.<br /><br /> Alpher chose not to answer questions about Israel's relationship with Syria since the death of President Hafez Assad, or any Israeli position on the upcoming elections in the United States.</p> <p> </p>

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