Israel is in the process of formulating its response to the International Court of Justice on the question of the security fence. A special team, led by former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Meir Rosen, is leading the team, which will present its recommendations to the inner security cabinet. The team is being advised by senior experts on international law. Sources confirm that they met last week with Professor Alan Dershowitz, during the latter’s visit to Israel.

It is speculated that Israel will reject the authority of the court in deciding on this matter. In making its response, Israel is likely to nevertheless include substantive security arguments justifying construction. The ICJ is due to discuss this matter on February 23 2004. The Israeli response will be sent in writing, and it is not yet clear if Israeli officials will be dispatched to appear in person before the hearing.

Comment and Opinion:

Edgar M. Bronfman and Cobi Benatoff (Financial Times, 05/01): “Anti-Semitism can be expressed in two ways: by action and inaction. Remarkably, the European Commission is guilty of both. First, the Commission released a flawed and dangerously inflammatory poll, which purported to name Israel as the greatest threat to world peace. Then, it censored a study commissioned by its own Monitoring Centre that reported on the involvement of Muslim minorities in incidents of mounting European anti-Semitism.

Inaction must be countered by action, and transparency must be the hallmark of democratic institutions, which is why we made public the Monitoring Centre report. The Talmud teaches that silence implies agreement and that is why we will not rest until every European parliamentarian, member state and inter-governmental body has a copy of this report in their hands. The significance of this study is clear to anyone who reads it. Just consider its most fundamental finding, that "one cannot deny that there exists a close link between the increase of anti-Semitism and the escalation of the Middle East conflict". The report explains that Israel's policies toward the Palestinians provide an excuse to "denounce Jews generally" throughout Europe.

These findings are not theoretical. In 2002, the World Jewish Congress's annual study of anti-Semitism worldwide found that prior to the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, physical violence had been directed mainly at institutions, principally cemeteries and synagogues. Throughout 2002, however, the pattern changed dramatically and the number of physical assaults on Jewish individuals, or people who resembled Jews, almost doubled. In France, as the debate continues over the display of religious clothing and accessories in schools, France's chief rabbi has had to suggest that Jewish men wear baseball caps instead of traditional yarmulkes for reasons of personal security.

Outside Israel, the majority of the world's violent anti-Semitic attacks took place in western Europe. For the EU to hide these facts reeks of intellectual dishonesty and moral treachery. The war on anti-Semitism, the world's oldest form of racism, suffered a tremendous defeat at the hands of European censors. Europe perfected anti-Semitism last century and those who wish to see the continent free from that evil cannot allow a few thugs, be they on the street or in parliament, to sully a people that needs no lesson in the history of appeasement and inaction.”

Peter Beaumont (The Observer, 04/01): “Crucially, however, the figures show that despite financial incentives for couples who have more children, the population rose last year by 116,000, or 1.7 per cent - its lowest increase since 1990.

In the Nineties, annual immigration ranged from 70,000 to 200,000 as around a million Jews from the former Soviet Union - many of them more loosely defined as Jewish than some religious authorities would prefer - flocked to Israel.

At the heart of all this is simple mathematics. Forecasts from the United States' Population Reference Bureau show Israel's population doubling in 45 years, that of the West Bank in 21 years and that of Gaza in 15 years. In other words, Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and Israeli Arabs will outnumber the Jewish population by 2020.

This has led commentators such as David Landau, editor of the English-language edition of the newspaper Ha'aretz, to warn of a 'cataclysmic' demographic challenge if Israel is to retain its identity as a Jewish democratic state. Landau told a symposium in San Francisco that he feared Palestinians would abandon calls for a two-state solution and insist on equal voting rights within a wider Israel - which would end the Zionist dream.”

“Without massive immigration, Israel's survival in the way it was envisaged by its founders must rely ultimately on a two-state solution. For all its military might, it is the birth rate that is wounding Israel.”

Headlines:

• 'Bin Laden' urges uprising (The Guardian);
• David Perlov (The Guardian);
• Sharon tells army to move settlers (The Guardian);
• Jewish women fight holy war (The Guardian);
• Hunt for UK terror cell (The Observer, 04/01);
• Babies who threaten to topple Israel (The Observer, 04/01);
• Corrections and clarifications (The Guardian, 03/01);
• Airline groundings linked to al-Qa'eda shoe-bomb threat (Daily Telegraph);
• Potential terrorists may be UK citizens (The Times);
• The Andrew Davidson Interview: Paratrooper swoops to conquer in IT (The Sunday Times, 04/01);
• Plum post turns sour for Israel’s diplomatic jobseekers (The Times, 03/01);
• Fadwa Tuqan (The Times, 03/01);
• Extreme peace: enemies go to the ends of the earth to forge future for a land divided by hatred (Independent on Sunday, 04/01);
• Mr Bush has one priority for 2004 (Independent on Sunday, 04/01);
• Europe's moral treachery over anti-Semitism (Financial Times);
• Osama calls for uprising  (The Sun Online);
• Extremist hatred (Letters, The Scotsman);
• Israel prepares for international arms scrutiny (Scotsman on Sunday, 04/01);
• Israel pledges removal of 2 more settlements (International Herald Tribune);
• Justice Minister Wants Israeli Barrier Re-Routed (Reuters);
• Israel army jails five conscientious objectors (Reuters);
• Israel wants jailed nuke whistleblower to keep mum (Reuters);
• Israel says two more West Bank outposts to go (Reuters);
• Israel-Palestinians  (Associated Press);
• Bin Laden-Tape  (Associated Press);
• BBC News - Israelis face 'barrier boycott' (BBC Online);
• New tape is Bin Laden (Sky News Online);
• Israel to reject the Hague court's authority on separation fence  (Haaretz);
• Right-wing extremists dedicate Kahane seminary in illegal West Bank outpost  (Haaretz);
• IDF troops said to be operating and carrying out raids in Jenin camp  (Haaretz);
• Edgar Bronfman: EU is encouraging anti-Semitism for political reasons  (Haaretz);
• Sharon orders four additional outposts removed (Jerusalem Post);
• Arafat commends Israeli mutineers (Jerusalem Post);
• Bin Laden blasts Geneva initiative (Jerusalem Post)

Israel Briefing supplied by BICOM