Joe in Israel (Day 3)
It appears that Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has refused to participate in the indirect talks that brought Mr. Biden to the ME in the first place. Abbas demands that the Israelis cancel the building plans announced on Tuesday and that threw a monkey wrench into Biden’s visit and the whole unpeace process.
Nontheless, VP Biden slogged on with his “best friends forever” views in a speech at an Israeli university, even while having attacked the housing decision while visiting President Abbas in Ramallah. The report of his speech here: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155720.html
Juan Cole’s sober assessment: Thursday, March 11, 2010: “Obama’s Mideast policy lies in tatters this morning and US credibility as a broker of any future settlement was deeply wounded.
“Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, announced Wednesday that he had been informed by Palestine Authority president Mahmoud Abbas that the latter has pulled out of indirect talks with Israel. Late Wednesday, the Arab League itself reversed its earlier cautious endorsement of the proximity talks, recommending that that support be dropped.” http://www.juancole.com/
Jo Ann Mort offers this who, what, why of the housing announcement: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/11/building_for_ultra-orthodox_jews_in_jerusalem/#more
Netanyahu is a very skilled politician with a well-defined and unwavering agenda. He knows he’s dealing with a rookie U.S. president (and secretary of state) with little direct experience in the nuances of the Israeli/Palestinian chess game, and who have their attention diverted to more pressing issues in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran. Netanyahu’s also got a formidable pro-Israel lobbying apparatus in place in Washington, and he knows that the Obama administration could be facing difficult mid-term elections in November. Why wouldn’t Netanyahu think he could outfox Obama, Biden, and Clinton with near impunity?
WM: What you say appears to be true.
But why do we, citizens of the U.S., allow this to continue? Do we dread being labeled anti-Semites? Do we agree that Israel should take over the West Bank and deport or disenfranchise the resident Palestinians? Do we think we owe Israel this because of the Holocaust? Do we believe we’d do the same thing in similar circumstances? I no longer understand why we support Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank; I certainly support the claims of Israel within the 1967 borders.
I fully agree with Margaret.
I also agree (strongly) with Margartet, but, I fear many would answer her questions in the affirmative.
Attempting to achieve cooperation with Israel is as achievable as damning the Mississippi River. And why should they borther? With their second largest lobbying force in Washington and ability to sway the Jewish votes, they can thumb their nose at us with ease.
Armiger Jagoe, editor of The Joyful CAtholic
http://thejoyfulscatholic.wodpress.com/
More craziness noted by Jo Ann Mort:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/11/building_for_ultra-orthodox_jews_in_jerusalem/#more
“The announcement by Israeli Interior Minister that Israel is building 1600 more housing units in East Jerusalem made during VP Biden’s visit was probably not an accident–hard to imagine otherwise. But, not simply because Eli Yishai, the Minister, wanted to embarrass the VP; also because he honestly has little interest in listening to any elected official–from his own Prime Minister to our nation’s VP. That’s because, as a leader of Shas, the ultra-Orthodox party, he answers to a higher power. And, the building is for his constituents: ultra-Orthodox Jews who, ironically are not Zionists and don’t consider Israel a true state until the Messiah himself (it will be a him, in their mind; not a her for sure) lands on the holy ground himself.)
“That’s why Yishai will continue to build–and until he is stopped, Bibi will continue to support the building. He counts Shas as a critical core constituency of his coalition, as short sighted as it is. The ultra-Orthodox community in Israel is anti-democratic, anti-state (no matter who the leader is), and threatens Israel’s security and modernity as much as any external threat, if not perhaps more….”
More on her post