Opinion A 1\4 0 F D P- A Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us . George Cantor's Reality Check column will return next week. Greenberg's View Editorial Are Talks Hope-Filled? e're skeptical of U.S.-medi- ated proximity talks between Palestinian and Israeli lead- ers; neither of the embattled governments trusts the other. But who's to say indirect negotiations won't spark a glimmer of hope in the elusive search for Palestinian and Jewish states living side by side in peace. Such hope would be encouraging given that negotiating has been caught in a political briar patch from the instant the ill fated — and misdirected — 1993 Oslo Accords were signed. Unquestionably, President Barack Obama sees Israeli-Palestinian peace in America's best interest. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has intoned that lack of peace threatens Israel, curbs the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and destabilizes the region and beyond. The U.S. implication that both "peace partners" must enter talks with equal foot- ing is troubling. Consider a recent message of the Palestinian Authority, the official government of the West Bank: A cleric warned Palestinian parents on P.A. TV, the West Bank's official television station, they shouldn't instill fear in their kids by frightening them with such evils as mon- sters, thieves, demons and Jews. That's no gateway to productive negotiating. It doesn't help that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unabash- edly hawkish, and P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas, a political chameleon, dislike each other. It will take a miracle for the Obama administration's special envoy for Middle East peace, George Mitchell, to succeed with American bridging proposals. Mitchell vows that Obama won't hesitate to apply significant diplomacy on which- ever side it felt was stalling progress. The administration envisions the proximity talks opening a four-month window to direct negotiations come September. Time will tell if this strategy works. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that come fall, Obama will reconsider his options: If talks are progressing, Washington will try persuading the Israelis to extend their building freeze in West Bank settlements and the Palestinians to buy into direct negotia- tions. If talks are foundering, Washington may opt for an American peace plan that calls for a Quartet-monitored international peace conference to convince the parties to move forward. The popular belief is that the Palestinians entered the proximity talks in hopes of maintaining U.S. pressure on Israel; Israel is confident a continued show of peacemak- ing will keep that pressure in check. HOW THE "ONE STATE SOLUTION" PLAYS OUT It makes sense that Netanyahu is striv- ing to convince Americans of his good faith. By putting all core issues — like borders, Jerusalem, refugees, security and water — on the table during the proxim- ity phase, he is showing a willingness to change his course in the pursuit of peace. Before compromising on permanent borders, Netanyahu rightly wants clar- ity on issues that will drive the talks: Palestinian demilitarization, Israeli rights in Palestinian air space, the functioning of border crossing points, deployment of Israeli forces along the Palestinians' border with Jordan to prevent arms smuggling. Netanyahu could well give up more West Bank land to Palestinian political and security control in a goodwill gesture intended to affirm Israel's willingness to further pull back from the West Bank. Abbas, meanwhile, is on record seeking to coax an Obama-imposed solution, with international support, that would lead to a sovereign Palestinian state. Abbas also could tap Washington for an endorsement if he elects to seek a U.N. binding resolu- tion recognizing Palestinian statehood and delineated borders. If President Obama chooses to create a blueprint of parameters for a final peace deal that likely would win U.N. approval, and possibly force Israel's negotiating hand, we trust that his desire for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict doesn't undermine the Jewish state as our only unequivocal Middle East ally. E What To Do About Jewish Teens New York/JTA 0 bservers of Jewish educa- tion for teens are increasingly concerned about a disparity between the participation of boys and girls. Lamenting the absence of boys in youth programs, Jewish educators and philanthropists have turned their atten- tion more and more to enticing boys to become involved. I wonder, however, whether the con- cern over boys masks a deeper issue that is more difficult to confront: Jewish teen participation rates are abysmal in gen- eral, regardless of gender. Rather than lament the misguided notion that we have disenfranchised boys in the Jewish community, let's focus on how to empower all Jewish teens. Admittedly, most rational people fear teens. We fear their hormones and mood swings. We fear their experimentation 42 May 20 • 2010 with substances and sexual- Change The Baseline ity. We fear their penchant In contrast, options for Jewish for argument. We don't know high school students haven't how to approach them or changed much since the 1950s, curry favor with them. Most and despite impressive initia- professionals steer clear. tives in Jewish camping and in This seems to be true particular Jewish communities, for many funders as well. day school tuition and syna- Everyone is interested in pri- gogue-based programs remain mary Jewish education, with prohibitively expensive. Adam G aynor its crown jewel of bar/bat Nor do researchers take much Spec i a I mitzvah, and recently, major interest in Jewish teens. The Comme ntary initiatives such as the reinvig- study that everyone cites on oration of Hillel, the explosive teen participation rates, "Being growth of Chabad and the founding of a Jewish Teenager in America: Trying Birthright Israel and Repair the World, to Make It," already is 10 years old. I am which have targeted 18- to 26-year-olds. hard-pressed to identify any rigorous, Clearly, to be a young adult is hip. They large-scale studies that have been con- get to dig ditches in Guatemala for spring ducted since. break, fly to Israel for free and choose So what do we know about teens? a myriad of free activities at campus Anyone who has taken Psychology 101 Jewish centers and Moishe Houses. is aware that a defining aspect of teen development is a process of identity "I wonder, however, whether the concern over boys masks a deeper issue that is more difficult to confront: Jewish teen participation rates are abysmal." exploration, individuation and inde- pendence from parents, much of which occurs through the medium of a tightly knit peer group. Jewish Teens on page 43