When President Obama occassions peace talks next week, you can bet that it probably won’t lead to peace. For starters, Hamas isn’t involved, and that means only half of Palestine is in on the deal. We’re not even talking about Gaza.
But when Bibi and Mahmoud Abbas meet to chat, chances are it will be civil, and there will be focus. As the Economist points out, that’s more than what W. was able to do, since he was more preoccupied with Iraq than Israel.
The Ground Zero Mosque fiasco is not helping Muslims in America, but it may help Jews. Israel recognizes that we’re still best buds, and that we won’t turn on them. That said, they’re hoping that we can support an anti-Iranian bomb coalition, and in return they can get along with their peaceful Palestinian neighbors.
Problems:
When Bush tried, Olmert was more willing than Bibi – who is likely going to side with the pressure from the orthodox right. He said that the building moratorium won’t end on Sept. 26, but that Hillary’s ideas for peace in a year are possible.
Hamas’ extremism is a continual threat, but maybe if peace were magically reached, Palestine and Israel could team up to isolate and eradicate Hamas (I hope that isn’t as laughable as I wish it weren’t).
History.
But who knows, maybe, just maybe there will be resolution, and the emergence of a new world order. And maybe Netanyahu will have a full head of hair.
A new study appearing in last Thursdays’s Nature magazine, shows that Jews share many of the same genes. Duh, but really, we all have more in common than you think – especially among Ashkenazic and Sephardic groups of Jews, a genetic pool which shares about 30% European ancestry and the rest Middle Eastern. It appears that Iraqi and Iranian Jews separated from each other about 2500 years ago, probably after the fall of the first temple.
Apparently, any two Jews are about as closely related as fourth or fifth cousins, which is ten times closer than the average two people taken off of a New York street. There is speculation that Ashkenazim arrived in Europe via Italy, where they intermarried with many locals. Italy was likely the bridge between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Language was hardly a barrier – when Ancient and medieval Jews met, they always spoke Hebrew.
In other Middle Eastern news, sanctions on Iran have been approved, which can allow Israel to breathe a sigh of relief. Turkey continues to play their eastward game, but the new sanctions show that even countries in a seat of power – Brazil and Turkey – do not have the authority vested in them to make global decisions.
In a recent comment made by Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., relations between the two countries are worse than they have been in more than 35 years. Although Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that there is no harm that comes to Arab Palestinians from the building of these 1600 new homes, Hillary Clinton and EU foreign policy head Baroness Ashton have expressed disapproval of the move as endangering any peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
In the meanwhile, tensions have flared in East Jerusalem. Arab protestors hurled rocks and blocked roads while Israeli police donned riot gear.
The Obama administration, besides dealing with a bank reform proposal and a health care bill in the Senate, is struggling with China to lower its currency rate and to censure Iran’s development of a nuclear program. The new power, confident in its veto ability in the U.N., refuses to take action and as events continue, the American President may have to draw lines that previously he has been vacillating over.
While some argue that peace in the Middle East can never be achieved due to existential differences, the prospect of compromise that President Obama is so renowned for has yet to be offered. Perhaps if he can come down on Iran the way he has proposed, and work with the Israelis to deal directly with Palestinians, the relationship between the U.S. and Israel will resume its natural course.
Last month, the Shekel rose to its highest official rate since October 2008 with the central banks fixing operation putting it at 3.6830 against the dollar. In 2010, the Shekel has gained 2.5 percent versus the U.S. dollar. Exceptions were the pound sterling, which increased .279 percent to NIS 5.8551, the Canadian dollar, and the Egyptian lira.
All in all, the Shekel is strong, but if a peace agreement is signed, it could be even stronger. According to Bank of Israel Chief, Stanley Gordon, the economy could experience growth in the likes of 7 percent if Palestinian peace agreement and conditions are formalized.
At the recent Herzliya Conference, Gordon told delegates that the difference would be seen in the amount of money Israel is investing in security. National Security Adviser Uzi Arad blames the stalled peace negotiations on the Palestinian Authority’s “policy of refusal”.
“The reasons may change but the Palestinian policy of refusal continues, refusal to negotiate. It’s very disappointing,” said Arad, warning that such reluctance “will become a problem for the Palestinians.”
Nevertheless, Arad said such a deadlock could be overcome and negotiations have a chance of resuming.
