Mike Pouraryan
Biden's Walk-About in the Middle East (Update II)
Link: www.haaretz.com
My faith in Joe Biden was vindicated. As soon as he came out with his statement yesterday, it appeared clearly that lights went off in a major way in Israeli Government Circles. It was about time!!!Despite the continued concerns I have had about the Israeli Prime Minister and his total apparent lack of regard for the peace process, he seemed to get the gravity of the situation. My eyes nearly popped out when I read the Israeli Foreign Ministry Statement detailing what the Prime Minister did by summoning the Interior Minister and making it clear that what happened did not have to happen. It was a welcome development, although Haaretz subsequently reported that the plans are not just for 1600 homes--but 50,000!!!! When will this stop?
As I am beginning to know J Street, I also have gotten to know One Israel as well. I hope that the whole realizes that Israel is not the present Government. This also has to be understood by those who advocate the destruction of the State of Israel. What is clear is that the rhetoric coming out of Tehran is just that: hot air. The fact One Israel is as active as they are and J Street is beginning a concerted push to really bring the alternative perspective also is a very welcome development that warrants closer scrutiny. I was surprised to see that One Israel has some 650,000 members who are for a Two-State Solution. They are indeed a force to be reckoned with. I will be periodically writing about it throughout my daily "write-ups" here and in SP's sister sites to bring focus to this welcome development. Such activity is not featured at all in the so-called US "Main Stream" press because they'd rather listen to Mark Regeve and the rest of the hacks who maintain a rigid and inflexible standard that has held back final peace for far too long.
Although Joe Biden was able to overcome this "crisis", the challenge remains the thorny issues that I see no resolution at all because of the Israeli Prime Minister's insistence on the issues that the Palestinians will not compromise on. As Dr. King once said, "...We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope...". I will vote for hope because there is no other alternative.
