If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Israeli and Palestinian leaders have fallen victim to their own uncompromising public narratives. To facilitate the terms of an agreement, they need powerful and relentless pressure to provide them with political cover, which only the U.S. can exert.
If Netanyahu seizes the moment to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians, thanks to the initiative put forward by the Qataris and the Arab League, there is a chance that after generations of bitter conflict, Israelis will finally live in peace and security.
By attacking Syrian military targets, Israel has finally (if inadvertently) taken the conflict in the region to where it belongs -- to the doorstep of Assad's corrupt and bloody regime.
One way forward is to look again at what President Obama said in his recent speech in Jerusalem where he committed to support Israel while challenging Israelis to recognize and deal with Palestinian need for justice.
The clamor among the hawkish segment of Washington lawmakers to get the United States involved militarily in Syria gets louder by the day.
The majority of Israelis and Palestinians want to see a two-state solution between their two peoples. And with the United States energized to lead, now is the time for Americans to support John Kerry's fresh approach.
As usual, it seems, public discourse about the Palestinian situation tends to be much more vivid and vigorous in Israel itself than it ever seems allowed to become in the United States.
The good news is that Netanyahu has made everything so clear. He has no interest in peace, negotiations, any kind of territorial withdrawal or even freezing settlements. The only question left is what the Obama administration will do in response.
It is clear that if the Israelis and the Palestinians hold fast to their positions, it will be nearly impossible to allay distrust, leading to a continuing deadlock because distrust cannot be negotiated by simply agreeing to establish a new trusting relationship.
If Obama's observations in his Jerusalem speech are correct, then not only the Israeli public needs to heed his injunction "to see the world through their [Palestinian] eyes." U.S. policymakers need to do the same. This is especially important as Secretary of State John Kerry visits the region in a renewed effort at peacemaking.
The many Palestinians who criticized President Obama for showering the Israelis with lavish praise and for his unfettered commitment to Israel's security seem to miss the central point that he wanted to convey and expected to achieve.
This is the essence of persuasion. Obama's ability to project American hard power in the region might be fading, but that's not the case with American soft power.
The fact that the president linked Israel's ultimate national security to the establishment of a Palestinian state is not going to move Netanyahu to change course. He is fixated on grabbing more Palestinian land.
While the President of the United States cannot snap his fingers and bring about the two-state solution that is key to Israel's security and its future, President Obama reminded the young people of Israel that change is possible.
President Obama's visit in Israel was a resounding PR success, judging by various indicators of Israeli public opinion, but as the dust settles, it becomes very clear that the visit was also an impressive diplomatic achievement.
Obama is not a religious leader, and he did not enter Jerusalem as Jesus did. But he should have focused on brokering peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which would ease hostilities throughout the Middle East.
