Dear LionPAC,

We first wanted to thank you all for a great year. LionPAC was truly enhanced by your involvement and we look forward to working with you next year. If, over the summer, you have any ideas or requests for events or a desire to get more involved, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Before revealing the LionPAC Board it is first important to mark the achievement of our outgoing President, Jacob Kriegel. His strong leadership through several tense situations has benefited the entire pro-Israel community and we owe him our thanks as he graduates.

It is with great pleasure that we announced the new LionPAC Board:

President - Jacob Shapiro
Vice President - Ron Gejman
Political Affairs Director - Jake Beckman
Campus Affairs Director - Allison Bernstein
Outreach Director - Lauren Steinberg
Cultural Affairs Director - Shiri Melumad
Public Relations Director - Shira Schindel
Academic Affairs Director - Leora Kanner
Secretary, Treasurer - Tamar Schiff

Deputy Political Affairs Director - Ben Cotton
Deputy Political Affairs Director - Sara Ashman
Deputy Academic Affairs Director - Debbie Goodman
Deputy Outreach Director - Ilana Arje

We hope to see you Wednesday night at the IndepenDANCE and Yom Hazikaron commemoration beginning at 7:30 at Hillel.

Have a great summer!

The LionPAC Board

Published in the Spectator An Open Letter to the Sponsors of Al-Nakba Week

Dear Arab Students Association, Turath, and Filasteen,

For the last eight years, Columbia has witnessed a contentious debate between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students, filled with emotion and anger. Putting aside questions of right and wrong, there can be no doubt that the debate itself has been acrimonious. Accusations have been traded, extravagant events have been held, and controversial speakers have been given platforms. Like the conflict itself, our own antagonisms have no foreseeable end.

LionPAC would like to present an opportunity for Columbians to heal the division we have suffered over the Middle East conflict. If we are prudent, responsible, sensitive, and truly willing to engage in the steps necessary to build trust, we can begin to bridge gaps, to meet each other as people, and to recognize that we all have legitimate points.

To enter such discussions, we must recognize that both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered. Remembering the past is important—but letting the past interfere with reality and block any prospect for the future is reckless. To achieve a solution, we must accept that compromise is necessary. LionPAC recognizes the Palestinian right to self-determination, and supports the creation of a Palestinian state. We only ask that you do the same for the Jewish right to self-determination.

The dialogue we propose requires diligent thought and planning, down to the smallest details. We do not offer this as a ploy or a political trick. We fully intend for this to take place, if you are willing to join us. As a first step, we propose a private meeting among representatives of our organizations to initiate discussions and talk about moving forward. While we fully understand the potential for failure, we believe that the time has come to challenge ourselves and search for solutions. Next semester we look forward to working together.

Our hand is extended. Will you meet us?

LionPAC

Hey everyone. We've produced a flyer with a response to al-Nakba week. You can print it out here. Please take a minute and put it outside your door or in your hallway.

Also check out last week's Spec article written by our very own Jordan Hirsch on Gaza.

Gaining Freedom in Gaza

Last night's excellent speaker, Khaled Abu Toameh, was covered by Spec. Here's the story.


Journalist Takes Even Handed Approach to Arab-Israeli Conflict

Dear LionPAC community,

We hope that you have had a great first week of classes and that you are all settled in. We just wanted to inform you of some exciting upcoming events:

Eat For Israel 2/04/08

Come relax and grab some free dinner at our first event of the semester. We will be introducing you to the executive board and informing you of some upcoming events and initiatives. The event will be from 8-9 on the 5th Floor of Kraft.


Annual D.C. Lobbying Mission 4/2/08

Come join with fellow activists as we take a road trip to Washington to lobby our members of Congress on the issues important to the U.S.-Israel relationship. The cost of the mission will be free. To sign up, go to http://www.lionpac.org/rsvp. If you have any questions, please contact Lauren Steinberg at ls2382@columbia.edu.

Get excited about other probable upcoming speakers including:

- Jonathan Adelman
- Yehuda HaKohen
- Congressman Steve Israel
- Khaled Abu Toameh

Thanks and we hope to see you next Monday!

The LionPAC Board

A couple of good announcements which all relate to FREE FOOD.
1. Eat for Israel
2. Hillel's Pluralistic Shabbat Meal
3. Political update by Jacob Beckman
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1. As the semester winds down, LionPAC wants to send you off to break with full stomachs.

So come to our end-of-the-semester Eat For Israel on Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 PM in Kraft 5th floor.

There will be free Israeli food and music so please take a break from finals and stop in.

2. LionPAC has a number of spots at tomorrow's Pluralistic shabbat meal. If you are interested in going to the free dinner please respond to this email with your name and uni so I can put you on the list. It's at 7:00 so please let me know if you can attend.

3. Brief Political update by Jacob Beckman

Iran's Nuclear Program?

A new report from US intelligence agencies suggests that Iran ended its nuclear program in 2003. Ahmadinejad is hailing this as a victory, while Israel remains unconvinced. Bush has gone on the defensive, still declaring that Iran is a threat.

Annapolis Peace Talks

Olmert and Abbas have agreed to negotiate a peace treaty that would end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The deadline for this treaty is the end of 2008.

Palestinian Prisoners Freed

On Monday, Israel freed 429 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of good will intended to help the Annapolis peace talks.


Also, please check out the Washington Post for an interesting article about being a civilian and a soldier in Israel.

We would like to take a minute to inform you of some breaking news that is occurring in Annapolis at the peace summit. Last night, President Bush met with both Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas. He announced to the media that he thought the time was ripe for peace. Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams worked late into the night on a joint agreement. This morning, Israel had agreed to the statement, but was awaiting the response of the Palestinian Authority. Less than an hour ago, the Palestinians agreed to the statement that calls for a final
peace agreement by the end of 2008. "We agreed to immediately launch good faith, bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues, including core issues, without exception," Bush said, quoting from the statement. President Bush is speaking now if any of you have access to a television or are able to watch coverage online.

While there are still many issues to deal with, this is hopeful step in what could end the conflict with the Palestinians. There are over 40 countries present at the conference including the likes of Syria and Saudi Arabia. Although some countries like Saudi Arabia have refused to shake hands with Israeli diplomats, the Israelis have stated their satisfaction knowing that they are present at the conference.

Please continue to monitor the media today. We will keep you up to date on any major occurrences throughout the duration of the conference which is set to end tomorrow night.

This week's political update was written by LionPAC Political Affairs Director Jacob Shapiro (GS/JTS '10). Each week, a different member of the political affairs committee will be contributing the update:

1. Peres in Turkey

Israeli President Shimon Peres became the first Israeli President to speak to the parliament of a Muslim country when he addressed the 550 seat Turkish Parliament yesterday. In his speech, Peres expressed hope that the upcoming Annapolis Peace Conference would yield results. "Israel is determined to end this conflict and peace is in the interest of Israel," said Peres. "A democratic Israel and an independent, prosperous and democratic Palestinian state will help end terrorism."

2. Iran Watch

Mohsen Yahyavi, an Iranian Minister became the highest ranking government official to admit that the Iranian regime believes in the death penalty for the crime of homosexuality. The comments occurred during a private meeting with members of the British Parliament this week.

Iran also handed over blueprints illustrating how to make nuclear weapons over to the IAEA this week possibly as a result of increased pressure from the world community on the potential hardening of sanctions.

3. Palestinian Infighting

Seven people were killed this week in Gaza when a Fatah rally commemorating the three-year anniversary of Yassir Arafat's death erupted into a street fight. The rally marked the largest gathering of Fatah since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and was dispersed when Hamas gunmen appeared and opened fire.

This week's political update was written by Natan Nussbaum (SEAS '09). Each week, a different member of the political affairs committee will be contributing the update. Thank you to Natan for this week's update:

1. Annapolis Summit

While Bush and Rice are very optomistic about what can be accomplished at the upcoming peace summit, both the Israelis and Palestinains are more hesitant. Rice said that Israel must divide Jerusalem as part of a compramise between Israel and the Palestinians. However, Over half of the Knesset has signed a petition demanding that Olmert not offer to relinquish control of any parts of Jerusalem.

2. Olmert Assassination Attempt

There was an attempt by men inside Fatah to assassinate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on his way to a meeting with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in June. The attack was obviously foiled and men were taken into custody by the PA. However many suspects were released a few months after. Some were recently taken back in to custody by the request of the Israeli government.

3. Gaza Sanctions

In response to the Kassam rocket fire against Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak plans to approve a list of civilian sanctions against the Gaza Strip. One such sanction would be to cut off power to certain areas of the Gaza strip anytime a Kassam is fired.


4. Iranian Nuclear Negotiator Resigned

Iranian nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, resigned and will be replaced by Saeed Jalili. Larijani is considered moderate in Iran compared Ahmadinejad and others. The Iranian congress voted on a resolution recognizing his work as negotiator. This is seen as a protest to LarijaniÂ’s resignation and the appointment of the more radical Jalili.

5. Iran still meddling in Iraq

A senior State Department official, said on Tuesday that there was no doubt the top leaders in Tehran were directing Iranian forces and that the administration is holding them responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq. Among the charges are that Iran is supplying militants with sophisticated bombs and weapons training.

This week's political update was written by Danielle Childs (BC'10). Each week, a different member of the political affairs committee will be contributing the update. Thank you to Danielle for starting us off:

1. On Sunday Condoleezza Rice traveled to Israel and the Palestinian territories to engage in peace talks with political groups. These talks were not meant to provide an outcome, rather they were designed to further the discussion of what each group is willing to cooperate on in the upcoming peace conference.

2. Sunday night Defense Minister Ehud Barak flew to the United States to discuss joint anti-missile projects that are necessary for any future handover of the West Bank to the Palestinians. Israel and the United States have been working closely on many anti-missile projects to defend Israel from Hezbollah guerrilla attacks.

3. Also on Sunday, the New York Times reported that the Israeli air attack last month, which occurred on September 6th, against Syria was in fact an attack on a nuclear reactor. Israel has made it clear that it will not have any nuclear activity in neighboring countries with ties to terrorism. This air attack brings back memories of Israel's 1981 attack on Iraq's nuclear reactor at Osirak.

4. Last week, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law divesting all funds from California's pension funds (CalPERS and CalSTRS) from Iran. The California pension funds are the two largest in the world and with this bill, California becomes the third state to divest pension funds from Iran (after Florida and Illinois).

We think it was a mistake for our administration to invite such a despicable man to our campus and give him the respect of our podium. However, now that he has been invited, our only recourse is to challenge him in the free and open environment that has been afforded to us as students in the American university system. Along with many other student groups, we will be speaking out against him both in and outside the event on Monday.

Lionpac has just issued a statement to the Columbia Spectator regarding President Ahmadinejad's invitation to Columbia on Monday, September 24th:

President Ahmadinejad's intolerable worldview and repugnant policies are of great concern to us. Lionpac urges the Columbia community to challenge President Ahmadinejad and stand up for our values of religious tolerance, social equality, and peace.

Information about the event:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speaks On Campus

September 24, 2007 from 1:30 - 2:30 PM
Roone Arledge Auditorium, Alfred Lerner Hall


Registration is unfortunately closed, but there are still opportunities to take action. We will be collecting questions for the event, and we will be updating you on further developments regarding our response to this events.

Welcome to LionPAC! Please bear with us as we get our site up and running. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our RSS feed and getting notified of LionPAC news and events. In the meantime if you need to contact us, feel free to email us.

Thanks and Shanah Tovah,


Jacob Kriegel, President

Devora Aharon, Academic Affairs Director

Sarah Brafman, Outreach Director

Ron Gejman, Technological Affairs Director

Jordan Hirsch, Cultural Affairs Director

Amanda Lurie, Secretary and Treasurer

Jacob Shapiro, Political Affairs Director

Emily Steinberger, Public Relations Director