World Ca4ei"g Far Tko-sz WIA4) Cet-re, Catbratee eeta, titty Will peace talks be about appearance or substance? A Ski4,4A-g Eptya4taga4‘za, Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency Tuesday, September 14 6 pm — 9 pm Neiman Marcus Washington Somerset Collection South, Level One, Beauty Dept. Join us for Cocktails, Desserts & a look at Fall Beauty ...makeup consultations, hand treatments, skin care analysis, fashion & more! Event Chairpersons Lainie Lipschutz & Dana Loewenstein Raffle Prizes Tickets: 1/$5 or 6/$25 Beauty Basics by Neiman Marcus for you & 7 friends Destination: Beauty Sensation by Neiman Marcus custom spa package & lunch Wabeek Country Club Package 18 holes of golf & lunch for 4 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Tickets of your choice Much more! Proceeds to benefit the Dorothy & Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult Day Care Program for older adults with memory disorders RSVP by September 1st: Sharon Teweles at (248) 592-5028 cl ij wavy indet Of g 20 August 26 • 2010 Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit WE'RE PART OF THE TEAM At The Table dacJecanda rnicrorsow , cLDE • LIN Connecting Peopk & Servic I is a peace conference where nothing is off the table — or on it, for that matter. The Obama administration's invita- tion to Palestinian and Israeli leaders to launch direct talks on Sept. 2 attempts to reconcile Israeli demands for no pre- conditions with Palestinian demands that the talks address all the core issues: final borders, the fate of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. The administration does this by call- ing on the sides to "resolve final-status issues" without saying when and how these issues should come up, if at all. The vagueness of the invitation issued Aug. 20 underscored the distance between the two sides, as well as the immediate political and regional pressures that have lit a fire under U.S. efforts to restart the peace process. Whether or not the peace talks will be able to move from vague outlines to concrete resolutions remains to be seen. For now, merely having direct talks is an achievement, particularly for the United States and Israel. For the United States, having the talks gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a reason to con- tinue a partial settlement moratorium, thereby sustaining Arab support for U.S. policies. This support is seen as important as Washington attempts to juggle emerging crises in the region, including Iraq's vexed attempts to set up a government and Iran's accelerating nuclear ambitions. President Obama also wants a pro- cess under way before November, when his Democratic Party is likely to face a tough battle at the ballot box during midterm congressional elections. For Netanyahu, the talks are a way to demonstrate that his government is interested in pursuing peace with the Palestinians. Among the Palestinian leadership, however, there are deep concerns that Washington and Jerusalem are more interested in the appearance of talks than in getting down to the nitty-gritty of the final-status issues. Israel has resisted Palestinian demands to discuss final-status issues and opposes any deadline for a resolution. The discrepancies between the two sides were evident in the delicate way U.S. officials tried to treat the issue of preconditions to the talks. "Only the parties can determine terms of reference and basis for negotiations, and they will do so when they meet and dis- cuss these matters:' George Mitchell, the top U.S. envoy to George the region, said in Mitchell the news conference announcing the invitations. "As you know, both we and the Quartet have previously said that the negotiations should be without precon- ditions:' The Quartet is the grouping that guides the Middle East peace process: the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. Yet in launching the news conference, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seemed to say that both of the elements Israel is resisting indeed would be on the table: final-status issues and a deadline. "On behalf of the United States gov- ernment, I've invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Abbas to meet on Sept. 2 in Washington, D.C., to re- launch direct negotiations to resolve all final-status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year',' Clinton said. Was that a deadline, a reporter asked Mitchell? Not quite, he said, adding, "We believe it can be done within a year and that is our objective." Then there is the matter of U.S. involvement. Mitchell insisted that the talks would be bilateral, ostensibly diminishing the U.S. role. He said the United States was ready to offer "bridg- ing proposals" — the formulations that negotiating sides request from a mod- erator when talks hit a snag. But the way he put it suggested that the United States might offer such proposals even if the sides do not request them. "This is a direct bilateral negotiation with the active and sustained support of the United States',' he said.