If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Obama no longer has the luxury of non-engagement in the Middle East. Without firm and decisive action to reignite a meaningful peace process and to push for a swift deal, the two-state option may disappear forever, leaving Israelis and Palestinians alike facing a future of endless conflict.
As American policy, as well as that of the European Union, continues to be based on the two-state solution, Netanyahu will have to confront this issue head on, and very early in his second term.
While the hatred on both sides of the conflict, can, at times, be compared to the hatred the Nazis had for the Jews, the actions and reality are worlds apart.
Contemporary political Zionism, in Butler's view, has constructed a very slanted narrative of Jewish history ā- one that glorifies the kingdom of David, the Maccabees, Masada and Bar Kochba, all equated with the type of bellicose masculinity embraced by some early Zionist activists.
There is ample data about what American presidents did, said and wrote about Jews, Zionism and Israel, which clearly shows a long line of uninterrupted history of empathy towards Jewish national aspirations otherwise known as Zionism.
Israelis can no longer remain complacent in the face of their country's growing isolation and the mounting danger of forsaking the prospect of a two-state solution, which remains the only viable option to save Israel as a democratic Jewish state.
A dangerous confluence of circumstances has developed in recent years. The pro-Israel community has lost its moral compass. It has done so by valencing "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?" to the exclusion of "And if I am only for myself, then what am I?"
Israel, Iran, and gay rights are being evoked here as hot button issues that can be used to whip constituents up into a frenzy -- politics before policy, as usual.
On January 3 Mahmoud Abbas, acting in his capacities as President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, signed "Decree No. 1 for the year 2013."
The Obama administration's reaction to November's Israeli onslaught on Gaza is emblematic of the contradictions in its foreign policy. Though the administration deserves credit for preventing greater carnage, why did it apparently give Israeli the green light during the first week of fighting?
Here is a news flash -- nothing is going to change after the Israeli elections in a few weeks. Spoiler alert: The right wing parties will stay in powe...
Instead of acting as spectators, enablers, or waiting for the United Nations or the United States to provide solutions, there are practical steps through collective Arab action that might make a real difference.
As we begin the annual reading of the book of Exodus, we call on our political leaders in Israel to carefully reread this time-honored narrative, seeing themselves as modern-day figures like Moses and Miriam, who have the great opportunity and responsibility to help shape a diverse and promising Jewish and democratic society in our ancestral homeland.
Prime Minister Netanyahu may well form the next Israeli government; yet the Netanyahu of 2013 will not enjoy the same political sway he commanded in 2009.
Perhaps a new strategy is needed to address the changing regional dynamics. If the two-state solution is no longer feasible, it might be time to explore a three-state solution which resembles the pre-1967 scenario returning greater responsibility to Egypt and Jordan.
As President Obama prepares to launch his second term in the White House, he can take some comfort in the fact that positive attitudes toward the United States have once again risen sharply in several Arab countries.
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