VOA常速英语2007年-Jerusalem Issue Looms Large at Annapolis Peace

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
25 November 2007

Israeli and Palestinian leaders and delegates from around the world are gathering² for this week's Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. One of the most difficult issues on the agenda is the status of Jerusalem, a city that is holy to Jews, Christians³, and Muslims. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

Israeli right-wing activists⁵ have launched the "One Jerusalem" campaign, demanding that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not make concessions⁶ on the Holy City at this week's peace conference in the United States. Activists are passing out half a million gold ribbons at intersections⁷, urging Israelis to tie them to their cars in solidarity⁸ with a united Jerusalem.

One activist⁴, Baruch Segal, told VOA that negotiating for Jerusalem is a catastrophic mistake.

"It breaks my heart to see what the government is doing, that they think this can bring peace by dividing up Jerusalem," said Segal. "It is a disaster."

Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the sacred Old City, from Jordan during the Six Day War in 1967. Since then, it has been an Israeli slogan that Jerusalem would remain the united capital of the State of Israel forever.

But in a major policy shift, Prime Minister Olmert has said that he is prepared to hand over many of the Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem to Palestinian control.

Polls show that a majority of Israeli Jews oppose the plan, but less predictably, it has also aroused mixed feelings among Arab residents of Jerusalem.

An Arab shopkeeper, who identified himself as Marwan, prefers to remain under Israeli rule. He says the Palestinian Authority has not established a stable government since it began to rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1994.

"And everything went downhill after this," said Marwan. "You ask me, 'You want to live under Palestinian government?' I say, 'There is no Pal¹ government yet.'"

Another Arab resident, Younes Matouk, believes Israelis and Palestinians must share Jerusalem in order to bring peace.

"We must to finish it, not for me and for you and for him," said Younes Matouk. "We must to finish it for the future of our children."

The thorniest⁹ issue with regard to Jerusalem is the fate of the Old City, which is home to the Mosque¹⁰ of al Aksa, the third holiest place in Islam. For Jews, it is the Temple Mount, the site of the biblical Temples, and the holiest place in Judaism. The Palestinians and Arab world have long demanded that Israel withdraw to the 1967 borders, which would include relinquishing¹¹ the Old City, but Israel says that will never happen.

1 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

7 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

8 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

9 thorniest   

adj.多刺的( thorny的最高级 )；有刺的；棘手的；多障碍的

参考例句：

• Paradoxically, the thorniest outstanding issue involves Bolivia. 而荒谬可笑的是，最棘手的国家要事却牵涉到了玻利维亚。 来自互联网

10 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

11 relinquishing   

交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• The international relinquishing of sovereignty would have to spring from the people. 在国际间放弃主权一举要由人民提出要求。
• We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. 我们很明白，没有人会为了废除权力而夺取权力。 来自英汉文学