Jerusalem and the Saudi Peace Plan

Hosted by
Saudi Arabia's peace plan has brought warm reaction from Egypt, the European Union and even President Bush. Yet, the plan does not mention, much less resolve, the issue of the holy city of Jerusalem. All sides agree that no peace plan can ever succeed without deciding its status. Sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and they've been fighting for almost 1000 years to control Jerusalem. In 1949, the United Nations designated it as an international city. But in 1967, it fell under Israeli control. Now, in 2002, it remains one of the major stumbling blocks to Middle East peace. As the Saudi peace plan gains momentum, we hear from Jews, Christians, Muslims and Palestinians about competing claims, both religious and political, to the holy city of Jerusalem.

Correction: On this program, Charles Sennott of The Boston Globe said the Vatican supports the United Nations' plan for Jerusalem to be an international city. After a call from the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington, Sennott contacted us to say that he was wrong. The Holy See has not supported that plan since 1968, but does advocate a "special statute" which would protect the rights of the three religious communities in Jerusalem.

  • Newsmaker: Doctors Protest Soaring Malpractice Premiums
    In New Jersey, 10 out of 83 brain surgeons have quit their practices. In Las Vegas, 10 percent of all doctors are planning to quit or move out of state. Mark Hagland, former executive editor of Hospitals and Health Networks magazine, says doctors across the US are in trouble because of skyrocketing increases in malpractice insurance.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Democratic Governor Spends Millions Trying to 'Hijack' Republican Primary
    The biggest state in the US has become a graveyard for Republican political candidates, including the President who was just too conservative for its voters. This year's gubernatorial race was seen as a historic opportunity to remodel California's Grand Old Party. But Carla Marinucci, political writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, says moderate Republicans failed to count on one thing - the Democrats.

Hospitals and Health Networks

Los Angeles Times

St. Paul Insurance Co.

At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden

The Body and the Blood

The Jerusalem Report

Saudi Arabian Information Resource

San Francisco Chronicle

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney