—Voices from the Sensible Center—

Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans—
Interpreting North America for the Middle East

The U.S. and the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

6-12 Whither the Oslo Accords and Land-for-Peace? Five Views

6  What’s Important Is Concession Not Made at Wye—Richard H. Curtiss

8 Despite the “Peace Agreement,” It’s Too Soon to Count on Peace—Rachelle Marshall

10 Palestinians Question and Criticize Wye Agreement—Maureen Meehan

11 Alliance of Israeli Rightists and Ultra-Orthodox Paralyzed Israeli Negotiators—Neve Gordon

12 Twenty Years Late: From Camp David to Wye—Eugene Bird

15 Words to Remember: What Participants and Observers Said About the Wye Document Signed at the White House Oct. 23, 1998—Compiled by Richard H. Curtiss

18 A Clear-Eyed Look at the Claims That Israel Is America’s Strategic Ally—Andrew I. Killgore

19 Crash of Cargo Plane in Holland Revealed Existence of Israeli Chemical and Biological Weapons Plant—Victor Ostrovsky

23 Palestinian Islamist Azzam Tamimi Defines Hamas, PLO Differences and Calls for Dialogue With Both—Grace Halsell

25 Israeli Forces Open Fire on Arab Citizens of Israel Protesting Land Confiscations Inside Israeli Borders—Maureen Meehan

36 Palestinian Cameramen Covering Hebron Are Targeted by Israeli Soldiers and Settlers—Maureen Meehan

43 In Addition to $3 Billion in Foreign Aid, Israel Receiving $104 Million From Pentagon for Arrow Missile—Shawn L. Twing

48 Israeli Finger on the Nuclear Trigger Could Turn the Next Israeli-Arab War Into a Conflagration—Victor Ostrovsky

49 Insider Clark Clifford’s Death Recalls Two Mideast Scandals: Premature Recognition of Israel and BCCI—Richard H. Curtiss

56 Jewish Congress Says World Jewish Population Shrinking—Richard H. Curtiss

57 Secret Israeli Units Lived Among Palestinians for Years—Maureen Meehan

58 Finally—Israelis Are Confronting the Myths of the Country’s Founders—Allan C. Brownfeld

70 As Prospects for Regional Political Settlements Fade, Israel Still Party to Valuable Water-Sharing Agreements—Mohammed AL-Kattan

CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN ELECTORAL PROCESS

21 Congressional Concerns Conflict Over Events in Iraq—Shirl McArthur

30 Israel Seeking to Cultivate George W. Bush and Other Republican Presidential Hopefuls—Tim Kennedy

33 A U.S. Election Strategy for Muslim Americans and Christian Arab Americans for the Year 2000—Richard H. Curtiss

45 Congress Passes Modified Religious Freedom Bill—Shirl McArthur

51 Cluttered Omnibus Appropriations Bill Finally Passes—Shirl McArthur

76 Rep. David Bonior: Raising Awareness of Islam

Special Reports

26 What’s Behind the Turkish-Syrian Crisis? Two Views From Turkey

—James M. Dorsey

—Jon P. Gorvett

29 Bosnian Elections Did Nothing to Repatriate Refugees Displaced by “Ethnic Cleansing”—Peter Lippman

35 Menacing Nuclear Presence in Subcontinent Forces Kashmir Issue to Top of Global Political Elections—M.M. Ali

46 Sudanese American Seeks to Halt Sudan’s 15-Year Civil War With Model Peace Village There—Joshua Azriel

52 Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif Leaves U.S. Empty-Handed But Successfully Faces Down Military Commander at Home—M.M. Ali

53 Gen. Emile Lahoud, Who Reunited Shattered Lebanese Armed Forces, Elected Lebanon’s 11th President—Carole Dagher

61 Israeli and Palestinian Young People Share “The Positive and the Negative” in Photography Exhibit—Delinda C. Hanley

71 “Meet Your Brother With a Welcoming Smile”—Refugees In America—Anne Marie Weiss-Armush

74 Most of Arab World Scores Low in U.N. Human Development Report for FY 1998—Peter Kiernan

Departments

3 Letters to the Editor

31 People Watch: Negotiations End at Wye, But Hawks and Doves Battle On—Lucille Barnes

38 Issues in the News—Compiled by Delinda C. Hanley

44 United Nations Report: This Year’s U.N. Resolution on Palestinians Will Include Their Right to Self-Determination and “Statehood”—Ian Williams

54 Trade and Finance: U.S. Trade With the Middle East Is Up (For Now)—Colin MacKinnon

64 Northeast News: Scholars Help Bosnia Rebuild Destroyed Libraries—David P. Johnson Jr.

66 Public Opinion: Poll Shows Americans Support Independent Palestinian State by Better Than 3-to-1 Margin—Richard H. Curtiss

67 California Chronicle: Muslim Women’s League Audience Demands Encore From Islamic Feminist Poet Mohja Kahf—Pat and Samir Twair

75 Christianity and the Middle East: Bethlehem University Celebrates Silver Jubilee—Sr. Elaine Kelley

79 Mahjabeen’s Musings: Clowning With the Constitution in Pakistan—Mahjabeen Islam-Husain

80 Islam in America: Clinton Invitations to White House Interfaith Prayer Breakfast a Dilemma for U.S. Muslim Leaders—Abdullah Khayat

81 Islam in America: Praying or Preying? What Happens When Islam Becomes Ritual Divorced From Conduct—Saleem Ahmed

82 Other People’s Mail

87 Education: AMIDEAST Releases New Video for K-12 Classes—Betsy Barlow

104 Muslim-American Activism: “Vision” Examined at AMA’s Third Annual Convention

108 Waging Peace: Dan Connell Discusses Eritrea-Ethiopia Conflict

115 Human Rights: Friends of Albania Conduct All-Night Vigil at White House

118 Arab-American Activism: Chicago Arab Americans Hold Candidates Forum (coming soon)

121 Facts for Your Files: September 1998 Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations—Compiled by Janet McMahon

123 Book Review: The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict—Reviewed by Richard H. Curtiss

135 Bulletin Board

138 Publishers’ Page