Israel and Middle Eastern Damage Control
I have been watching the press for the last few days and boy has Israel been taking a beating. First there was the release of Jimmy Carter's new book pointing fingers at Israel for not working out the expansion issue with the Palestinians, then there was the nuclear slip of the tongue by Prime Minister Olmert, and then there were pictures of a Jewish Rabbi speaking at the Iranian Holocaust conference. When you talk about sound bites, the overall picture has not been flattering. Now to be fair, when you scratch the surface of many of these topics Israel is not the only one put in an unflattering light, there are others, but the Press has jumped on Israel.
Israel has long been strong friends of the United States, Great Britain, and numerous European countries as well, but the test of friendship will now be in loyalty to Israel. Will these powers stand by and watch their friend be bashed, will they graciously and tactfully encourage Israel to take a redirection on certain policies as a good friend would speak honestly and encouragingly, will they flee from Israel so as not to be smeared by the bad Press?
Only time will tell. I for one feel that the United States must remain loyal to Israel, but now is the time for top-level frank discussions about redirection of policies and renewed work on important yet thorny topics. The nuclear issue must be dealt with and Israel must sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and openly enter the nuclear club. Negotiations must be moved forward with the Palestinians with the help of the United Nations, and Israel must make efforts to engage in friendly discussions the other Middle Eastern states including Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. I think that there is too much bad blood to expect them to open talks with Iran and Syria, but maybe in time there can at least be a detente of some sort.
We all need to move forward and openly discuss some of these important issues that have come to light and be the "true" friend that Israel needs right now.
Israel has long been strong friends of the United States, Great Britain, and numerous European countries as well, but the test of friendship will now be in loyalty to Israel. Will these powers stand by and watch their friend be bashed, will they graciously and tactfully encourage Israel to take a redirection on certain policies as a good friend would speak honestly and encouragingly, will they flee from Israel so as not to be smeared by the bad Press?
Only time will tell. I for one feel that the United States must remain loyal to Israel, but now is the time for top-level frank discussions about redirection of policies and renewed work on important yet thorny topics. The nuclear issue must be dealt with and Israel must sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and openly enter the nuclear club. Negotiations must be moved forward with the Palestinians with the help of the United Nations, and Israel must make efforts to engage in friendly discussions the other Middle Eastern states including Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. I think that there is too much bad blood to expect them to open talks with Iran and Syria, but maybe in time there can at least be a detente of some sort.
We all need to move forward and openly discuss some of these important issues that have come to light and be the "true" friend that Israel needs right now.
