Can’t Rest on Our Laurels

Ah, the Middle East – cradle of civilization, birthplace of three of the world’s largest religions, the originator of modern mathematics (yeah, they call them Arabic numerals – the Roman kind didn’t work so well in math class – and that very Arab word “algebra”) and purveyor of hummus and baba ganoush – why, oh why, have you fomented so much chaos in the World? It can be little things, like Iran’s recent confiscation of Shirin Ebadi's 2003 Nobel Peace Prize medal, or big things, like the struggle between Palestinians and Israelis over the former’s national identity. Is there no good news in the region?

Palestinians have been thinking about carrying their quest for “independence” directly to the United Nations, mimicking the path that created Israel in 1948. They feel that hardliners, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, have rejected the advances of past Israeli administrations and authorized the construction of even more Jewish settlements on the West Bank, land that the Palestinians believe should be their autonomous and very separate nation. Every new settlement, with passionate Zionist settlers, is salt in their wounds… what the Palestinians see as the honorable quest for independence.

Many Israelis wonder why, when they were attacked by their surrounding neighbors with annihilation in mind, they should release the land they extracted in self-defense and forego the buffer between themselves and a whole bunch of unfriendly nations in the region, letting slide a perpetual bargaining chip in a world of perpetual threats. Why should they “be nice” to Arabs who still want to destroy the Jewish state? Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, whose control is really only over the West Bank and not the Hamas-controlled Gaza region, has threatened to resign in frustration at the stalemate. President Obama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner himself, has pressured Israel to step back from their policy of allowing more Jewish settlements on the West Bank and to return to the bargaining table with a real agenda of Palestinian statehood.

As Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton, continued to press the Netanyahu administration for a permanent freeze on such Jewish settlements and to consider the Palestinian proposal of returning Israel’s borders to the “pre-1967 line,” it’s clear that the Israelis are wary of… everything. “‘We would prefer language that does not predetermine the outcome before negotiations start,’ said Michael B. Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States. ‘One of our objections is that we do not believe that ’67 borders are defensible.’” November 26^th New York Times.

For Israel, having U.S. support is critical. This tiny country, surrounded by hostile forces throughout the Middle East and stretching into Africa and Central Asia, needs our military and diplomatic support just to survive. The U.S. has risked global opprobrium on more than one occasion as it exercised its U.N. Security Council veto right on behalf of Israel. Likewise, despite a few ups and downs, Israel has remained our steadfast and reliable ally in a very difficult part of the world.

In what appeared to be a glimmer of hope, on Wednesday, November 25, Netanyahu announced his intension to place a 10 month moratorium on new Jewish settlements on the West Bank as a gesture to get the stalled peace talks started again, something the U.S. has been pressuring both sides to resume. On closer examination, the gesture offered less than many had hoped: “Israel’s security cabinet approved the freeze on [November 25^th]. It will apply to the West Bank, but will not include Jerusalem. And it will apply to new residential building, so existing construction — nearly 3,000 housing units — will continue, and public structures like schools and community centers will be unaffected.” The Times. Netanyahu described this concession as a difficult and painful step.

The Obama administration, anxious to see any progress in the region, reacted positively: “The administration’s special envoy for the Middle East, George J. Mitchell, said in a briefing that the steps announced by the prime minister are significant and could have substantial impact on the ground.’ … He added: ‘For the first time ever, an Israeli government will stop housing approvals and all new construction of housing units and related infrastructure in West Bank settlements. That’s a positive development.’” The Times. The Palestinian reaction was hardly what the U.S. President wanted to hear. Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad who had previously rejected any such moratorium because it did not include Jerusalem, indicated that the gesture was insufficient to bring the Palestinians back to the bargaining table.

Indeed, the Israeli government did not seem to be catering to the Palestinians at all but was instead trying to provide support towards its relationship with the U.S. Ambassador Oren, echoed with strong resonance from the Israeli press, made that very apparent by noting that the announcement of the moratorium was “a gesture, first of all, to the president of the United States. I can’t stress that enough.” America is mired in the Middle East with no really good options but to keep the pressure on all the factions to resolve the seemingly irresolvable. The Islamic nations eye us with distrust, and now even Israel’s hardliner government is seeking olive branches to the American government, sensing the recent strain on our mutual relations.

These are long, distorted journeys, mired with hate and mistrust solidified over time, fermented with doses of extremism and “ultra-violence” from all sides and incubated under the glaring sun of political opportunism and irreconcilable agendas. Perhaps that a gesture was made at all, for whatever reason, is something to be appreciated and not scorned.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I approve this message.