M.A.T.C.K.H. - Local Palestinians, Jews have doubts

Local Palestinians, Jews have doubts

Metro Detroiters stress enforcement, education concerns.

George Bullard - The Detroit News

The new Middle East peace deal is a source of hope, but Metro Detroiters had doubts after seeing details.

"I need to know what would happen if there is no action" on the agreement, said Terry Ahwal, a Palestinian-American and board member of Ramallah of Detroit.

What are the ramifications, the consequences?

Ahwal said it is common to have enforcement clauses. "We do it with other countries," she said. "When they don't abide by a resolution that is signed, we put on sanctions."

Molly Resnick said the pact should have addressed education practices in Palestine. She cites a TV program for children there that extols becoming a "suicide bomber."

"You can't believe it," said Resnick, a leader of an Oakland County group called Mothers Against Teaching Children to Kill and Hate (MATCKH).

"Little children looking gorgeous and quaint and these words coming out of their mouths. The signing of an agreement that does not bring this up is crippled."

Ahwal said that unless she sees action, she sees no celebration.

"What they have done is resign what they have already signed," she said.

Meanwhile in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, unemployment is as high as 65 percent. Parents cannot get sick children to a hospital and relatives cannot visit each other because of rules for border crossings, Ahwal said.

The Metro Detroit comments echoed some responses Saturday from the Middle East, where skeptics doubted the agreement amounted to much progress.

On the other side, Rabbi Ron Kronish, said he hadn't seen all the details, but he's optimistic. The rabbi, from Israel, spoke this weekend at Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield.

"It seems like there is a lot to this one; that they worked out a lot of ideas for implementation, which is good." said Kronish, director of the Inter-religion Coordinating Council in Israel.

"If Yasser Arafat gets up and says he's going to fight terror, that's good. This is a win-win situation."