MERIP Media Resource List, October 22, 2004

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS on the following topics:
- Bush and Kerry rhetoric on Iran
- Why Bush and Kerry ignore Israel/Palestine issues
- Israeli vote on Gaza withdrawal plan

CHRIS TOENSING
Chris Toensing is editor of Middle East Report and executive director of the Middle East Research and Information Project. Commenting on the presidential candidates' positions on Iran, he said today: "Whoever wins the US presidential election, Iran's apparent nuclear ambitions will be near the top of the foreign policy agenda. The Bush team, if given a second term, would likely push for UN sanctions on Iran, but would also be tempted by military options for knocking out Iranian nuclear facilities. In part because of his hawkish campaign rhetoric, and in part because of Republican hectoring, Kerry would likely be pushed onto the same confrontational track. Neither candidate has mentioned the far saner options: learning to live with a nuclear-armed Iran or, much better, pursuing a policy of de-proliferation rather than non-proliferation in the Middle East and worldwide."

CHARLES D. SMITH
Charles D. Smith is the author of Palestine And The Arab-Israeli Conflict , now in its 5th edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004). Smith is professor of Middle East history in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Arizona. He was the invited commentator for the panel on the USS Liberty at the State Department conference on the 1967 War in January 2004. Commenting on why the presidential candidates are ignoring the issue of Israel and Palestine in the campaign, Smith said today: "Neither presidential candidate wants to be seen as being too hard on Israel and defying the conventional wisdom that Arafat is responsible for the current impasse. They avoid the question by blanket backing of Sharon when he is actually seeking to undermine the 'road map' via his disengagement plan. President Bush supports this plan despite the fact that it contradicts the 'road map' and precludes the possibility of a Palestinian state."

YOAV PELED
Yoav Peled is professor of political science at Tel Aviv University. His book, co-authored with Gershon Shafir, Being Israeli: The Dynamics of Multiple Citizenship (Cambridge University Press, 2002), won the Albert Hourani Prize of the Middle East Studies Association of North America for the best book on the Middle East in 2002. Commenting on Sharon's attempts to get approval of the Gaza plan, Peled said today: "Sharon has out smarted himself and painted himself into a corner where he has to fight for a plan that he never meant to implement. None of his explanations for the plan make any sense. Instead, he is attempting to legitimize the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip. Politically, he can't afford to lose the battle over the plan, which would signal the beginning of his downfall. By now it may be too late for him to extricate himself from this mess and he may end up calling for new elections." 

SERGIO YAHNI
Sergio Yahni has worked for peace, justice and accurate reporting of human rights abuses in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. In 2000 Yahni was executive director of the Alternative Information Center, a joint Palestinian-Israeli organization. He has published widely on the obstacles to achieving peace and human rights in the region. Commenting on Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan, Yahni said today: "The unilateral disengagement plan of Ariel Sharon is designed to avoid pressure on Israel to engage in direct negotiations with the Palestinians and Israeli concessions in the West Bank. On the internal political front, Sharon has managed to absorb the moderate opposition, forcing Meretz leader Yossi Beilin to pledge support for the disengagement plan and, indirectly, for the government. By distancing himself from the radical right and their objection to redeployment, Sharon creates the illusion of residing in the middle. In effect, Sharon has created a government coalition that has no need to negotiate concessions to the moderate opposition."

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For more information, contact Michelle Woodward, MERIP Media Coordinator, at (202) 223-3677, or merip.media@merip.org.  Media Resource Lists are an initiative of the MERIP Media Outreach Program.

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