|
The political posting was sent to the list by
mistake and I apologize.
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2002 4:38
PM
Subject: Re: Only one economic program
can save us
I had thought that this list was for scholarship, not politics.
But to all
those who want a ballanced source of information of the Middle
East:
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) is a new
e-discussion group
for such information. Faculty, students and independent
scholars are
welcome with the understanding that civility must prevail. It
is hoped that
SPME will emerge to form an international organization of
academics working
hand-in-hand with other groups to provide academics and
students on campus
with solid understandings of the complicated issues of
the Middle East.
To date there are 20 schools represented including
Harvard, Princeton,
Columbia, NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, University of
Pennsylvania, University
of Massachusetts, Penn State, UC-Davis, SFSU,
American U, Universities of
North Dakota, Tennessee and New Mexico among
others. All subscribers must
identify their academic status and institution
before being allowed to post
messages. All posts must be on topic. This
listserv will be uncensored
routinely, although individual posters may be
moderated. Netiquette is
required at all times and grammar and spelling
count.
To find out more and to subscribe go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spme/.
At
10:53 AM 8/2/2002 +0200, Jonathan D. Safren wrote:
>Ha'aretz -
Article
>
>Ha'aretz Daily Newspaper
>Friday, August 02, 2002
Av 24, 5762Israel Time: 10:41 (GMT+3)
>
>Only one
economic program can save us
>
>By Nehemia
Strasler
>
>
>
>
>"What is needed is a
conservative, responsible policy that can increase
>growth and
employment in 2003," senior Finance Ministry officials told
>cabinet
members this past week in a campaign to convince the government
to
>support the treasury's new cutback program. The program deserved
support,
>and the government did the right thing in approving it, since
it is a rescue
>plan designed to prevent the economy from sliding into
an Argentine-style
>financial crisis. At the same time, the program is
not a plan capable of
>shifting the Israeli economy from its current
crisis to a rosy horizon of
>growth and a lower unemployment
rate.
>
>It should be pointed out that there is no economic
program on earth that
>could prevent the deep economic crisis toward
which Israel is heading. The
>economic situation is steadily worsening.
The hotels are miraculously
>holding on, the building contractors are
recycling their debts with the
>banks without any clear idea as to how
they will ever repay those loans, the
>self-employed are facing the
prospect of a deep credit freeze that might
>force them either to
downsize their economic activities or to shut down
>their businesses
altogether, and the country's major companies are reducing
>operations
and laying off staff. Given this situation, the unemployment rate
>is
steadily climbing.
>
>If we took a close look at the press
releases received by a single
>journalist during a single working day,
we would discover an entire series
>of doomsday messages: the Israel
Export Institute reports a 20-percent drop
>in the export of
manufactured goods to the European Union; the Israeli
>Association of
Plastic and Rubber Manufacturers announces that the first
>half of 2002
was the worst first-half period in a decade, with 400 layoffs,
>a
four-percent dip in sales and an eight-percent slump in exports;
the
>Central Bureau of Statistics reports that hotel accommodations in
the first
>half of the year dropped by 13 percent compared to the first
half of 2001
>and by 37 percent compared to the same period in
2000.
>
>Our international stature has never been worse. The
Israel Philharmonic
>Orchestra was forced to cancel a concert tour in
the United States and, a
>month ago, 360 members of youth orchestras and
dance troupes had to unpack
>their bags because the organizers of a
festival in Cyprus told them that
>they were not welcome. Israeli
physicians and scientists are given icy
>receptions at international
conferences. Cyprus was unwilling to host the
>Maccabi Haifa soccer club
and only massive pressure led to a reversal of
>that decision. The
response of Moshe Teomim, owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv: "The
>problem is
only going to get worse. We are losing a large portion of the
>moral
justification that we used to have, and we are slowly becoming a
>pariah
that the world wants to distance itself from."
>
>This situation
generates fear and gloomy projections, which will mean that
>the level
of the economy's activities will continue to drop over the next
>few
months. Similarly, revenue from taxation will continue to shrink.
Which
>will, in turn, mean that the Finance Ministry will have no
alternative but
>to present an additional program of cutbacks in early
2003 to meet the
>target of a three-percent deficit in the state budget
- a precondition that
>must be in place in order to prevent an immediate
financial crisis - and the
>next program of cutbacks will be tougher
than the present one.
>
>This inevitable process can be stopped
only if we place our finger on the
>real problem: The war in the
territories and Palestinian terrorism. Israel's
>economy can never hope
to recover as long as Palestinian terrorism hits deep
>in the heart of
the country. This terrorism leads us to "keep our heads
>down" and
causes a slump in business activity, generating yet a further
>slump in
our standard of living and a further increase in the unemployment
>rate.
However, the Israeli government is feeding the flames. Its answer
to
>terrorism is to use more force and more bombs, to eliminate more
key
>Palestinian figures, to impose more closures and to deport
more
>Palestinians. In carrying out these actions, Israel is not
reducing
>Palestinian terrorism; quite the contrary, Israel is merely
intensifying it.
>
>Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is not interested
in political negotiations with
>the Palestinians. He is not prepared to
adopt the Clinton plan, or the Saudi
>plan, or even the latest plan
formulated by U.S. President George W. Bush.
>Instead, Sharon is saying
he will accept these plans only if certain
>conditions are met -
conditions that will only prevent any form of peace
>negotiations. When
the other side has no political horizon to look forward
>to, when it has
no hope, and when it sees more and more poverty and
>humiliation on its
turf, the terrorism will only increase and intensify.
>
>As long
as the Israeli public fails to understand - and to internalize -
the
>direct link between peace and economics, it will continue to seek
miracle
>cures in the wrong places. The impressive economic growth of
the mid-90s was
>generated primarily thanks to the Oslo agreement of
September 1993, which
>restored hope in our daily lives and channeled to
Israel billions of dollars
>from foreign investors - dollars that
enabled the economy to enjoy a rapid
>pace of growth and which caused
our standard of living to rise and our
>unemployment rate to plunge
dramatically.
>
>Thus, the economic program that is really needed,
the only economic program
>capable of extricating us from the present
crisis, is a political program
>that will restore hope to both nations.
This program is possible even today,
>despite the grave security
situation. The only problem is that this
>country's leadership lacks the
courage to take the risks needed and to
>navigate a new
course.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>---
>You
are currently subscribed to b-hebrew as: [Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu]
>To
unsubscribe, forward this message to
leave-b-hebrew-144306C AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
>To
subscribe, send an email to join-b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu.
>
>
Dr.
Yigal Levin
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion
University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga TN
37403-2598
U.S.A.
|
