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sdohasntsc  05/17/2007 07:45:43 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  APR07 Archive

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UNCLAS        DOHA 00433

SIPDIS
CXDOHA:
    ACTION: P/E
    INFO:   AMB PAO DCM RAO FCS

DISSEMINATION: P/E /2
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: DCM:MRATNEY
DRAFTED: P/E:SELHABASH
CLEARED: P/E:RPYOTT

VZCZCDOI469
RR RUEHC RUEHXK
DE RUEHDO #0433 1190434
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290434Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6532
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS DOHA 000433 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL IS KPAL QA
SUBJECT: FORMER ARAB KNESSET MEMBER BISHARA SPEAKS AT DOHA DEMOCRACY 
CONFERENCE 
 
 
¶1. (U) Former Arab member of the Israeli Knesset Azmi Bishara was a 
featured speaker on the "Political Reform: National Programs and 
External Projects" panel of the Doha Forum on Democracy, Development 
and Free Trade on April 24. Speaking without notes, Bishara asked 
how a state could be built on the ruins of another state. He 
wondered rhetorically why it was acceptable to build a nation from 
different ethnic groups in order to build a religious state. Israeli 
democracy is based on religion and is exclusively for Jews, he 
claimed. Bishara could not complete his talk as the panel had run 
out of time. 
 
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Bishara's Resignation Final 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Interviewed by the Qatari English-language daily "The 
Peninsula," Bishara said that his decision to resign was final and 
had the effect of cutting short internal procedures against him in 
the Knesset. He said that the Knesset committee's preparation of a 
series of charges and plans to prosecute was directed at trying to 
wipe out the Arab national movement.  (Note: Bishara is allegedly 
accused of aiding the enemy -- Lebanon -- in wartime, violating 
money-laundering laws, and other security-related crimes.) He did 
not believe there were any attempts by the government of Israel to 
assassinate him, but Jewish extremists might attempt such a thing. 
He asserted that such threats would not deter him from continuing 
his work or changing his positions. 
 
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Supports the Arab Initiative 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) On the Arab Peace Initiative with Israel, Bishara told the 
newspaper that it would not work unless Israel took it without 
modification or delay. He supports the initiative in its present 
shape, reminding that he was the most prominent person inside Israel 
to call for its implementation.  Bishara added that democracy as 
promoted by the West has lost credibility, the most noteworthy 
example being the international response to the election of Hamas in 
the Palestinian National Assembly. 
 
---------------------------- 
Will Visit Other Arab States 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Bishara announced that he will not return imminently to 
Israel and will go on moving between a number of Arab states. He 
said that he has received so far a number of invitations from Arab 
countries offering him residence. Neither Bishara nor Qatar's 
official agency confirmed that he would reside in Qatar. 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Bishara was well-received by Qatari and other Arab 
participants in the forum. When the panel was over, many were exited 
to greet Bishara personally. He was seen by the Qatari public as one 
of the most respected Arab thinkers and was seen with a number of 
local intellectuals. There is a good possibility that Bishara will 
choose Doha as his place of exile; his brother Marwan, a news 
analyst for Al Jazeera International (the English channel), resides 
here also. 
UNTERMEYER