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Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher / Executive Editor
ahorwitz@renmedia.us

Paris Summit Without Israel Spurs Questions

F. Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
kbrowett@renmedia.us

I

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin
edly would welcome Israel and the
Netanyahu opposes a gathering
P.A., presents “real opportunity”
of foreign ministers in Paris to
for the Israelis and Palestinians
consider how to reverse the nego-
and a chance for “real conciliation”
tiating impasse between Israel and
among Palestinian factions.
the Palestinian Authority (P.A.).
Israel has maintained a fragile
He’s leery of such high-level wran-
U.S-brokered peace treaty with
gling where neither government
Egypt since 1979. In response to
Robert Sklar
under discussion was invited to
Sisi backing the French peace ini-
Contributing Editor tiative, P.A. President Mahmoud
participate.
And he should be.
Abbas pronounced: “Egypt has
But that doesn’t mean the June
always been an anchor for the
3 confab should be summarily dismissed.
Palestinians.” While the West shouldn’t
It’s about to happen so why not urge as fair
bank on what Abbas, a chameleon-like
an appraisal as possible instead of hoping
leader, says to curry international favor, his
nobody notices a convening of representa-
pronouncement does underscore Egypt’s
tives of 20 countries, including key Arab
stature with Israel, the U.S. and the P.A.
world players Egypt, Jordan and Saudi
Netanyahu urged France to abort the
Arabia.
June 3 summit on the grounds it would
In a longshot, France envisions the
give the P.A., the governing authority for
meeting, without the protagonists, laying
Palestinian-controlled areas of the West
the groundwork for principles attractive
Bank, cause to sidestep direct, bilateral
enough to rekindle the peace process.
negotiations with Israel.
There’s also the vexing matter of France
voting in favor of an April 15 resolution by
UNESCO relating to the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem, a vote France now calls a “mis-
understanding.” The resolution played up
Arab ties while minimizing Jewish ties to
the holy site.

The June 3 confab is
about to happen so
why not urge as fair an
appraisal as possible.

THE BUILDUP
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s atten-
dance will give legitimacy to the proceed-
ings. So will Egypt’s support. Egyptian
President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi insists the
French peace initiative, which includes a
later Paris-hosted global forum that report-

OBSTACLE LADEN
Face-to-face negotiating between the Jewish
capital of Jerusalem and the Palestinian
capital of Ramallah, as Egypt reportedly is
trying to arrange, remains the best, most
effective way to resolve the longstanding
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s a compli-
cated conflict rooted in borders, security,
mutual recognition, incitement, settle-
ments, refugees, Jerusalem’s status, water

rights and holy sites — and a politically
charged history.
The looming political elephant is Hamas,
the terrorist organization controlling the
Gaza Strip, a presumed part of any future
Palestinian state. Hamas is beholden to
Israel’s destruction.
At least France has backed off its initial
threat to recognize Palestinian statehood
if its peace initiative fails to get Israel and
the P.A. talking again. While France has
lost some international luster, such a threat
would still command attention. It also
would boost Abbas’ bid to win statehood
via the United Nations.

CURTAIN’S RISING
As disconcerting as this week’s Paris sum-
mit stands to be without Israel and the P.A.,
their participation in the later forum hosted
by French President Francois Hollande
potentially could have a more compelling
impact on the dormant peace process. That
forum is bound to bear the imprimatur of
the U.N., hardly objective toward Israel.
With the P.A. distancing itself from a new
round of talks in the wake of Netanyahu’s
contentious, unsettling appointment of
ultranationalist Avigdor Liberman as
defense minister, Netanyahu is leveraging
news coverage to assure his commitment
to a two-state solution — a demilitarized
Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state,
coexisting with safe, secure borders. The
prime minister must not renege on that
commitment.
Time will reveal the merit of the June 3
summit in Paris in pursuit of the ultimate
prize — enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace,
a staggeringly tough quest between two dis-
parate peoples.

*

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commentary

continued from page 5

attack. Vice President Joe Biden’s recent
expressions of U.S. sympathy for the victims
and support for Israel have been especially
forceful and eloquent. But where is the
global sense of outrage?
Just as Israel is often deemed uniquely
qualified for criticism over exercising self-
defense, it also appears to be uniquely
unworthy of outrage in the face of terror
attacks. But no person or nation’s posi-
tion against terror can stand scrutiny if it
excludes one country — explicitly or by
omission.
The cruel irony is many countries have
been able to improve security — from air-
port screening to intelligence gathering to
the functioning of hospital trauma centers
— by relying on Israeli expertise.

6 June 2 • 2016

The people of Israel need our help. The
United States must lead the international
community, calling on political leaders of
all nations that purport to fight terrorism to
speak out loudly against attacks on its citi-
zens and to pressure Palestinian leaders to
do all they can to stop the targeting of Jews
for murder.
I urge all who read this message, in any
city or nation, to insist that your leaders and
local media give the same consideration to
Israeli terror victims that they would give to
victims in your own community or in any
country other than Israel.
I issue this call as someone who has seen
the carnage firsthand. Hadassah’s two hos-
pitals in Jerusalem — hospitals renowned
for treating all patients alike — have treated

more than 175 victims as well as many of
the perpetrators during the six-month wave
of brutal attacks from knives, guns, hatchets
and cars.
If our hospitals can practice nondis-
crimination toward people who seek to do
us harm, the world can act the same way to
support people in harm’s way. Discrimination
is odious when it denies people their right
to life — or the recognition of our common
humanity — based on race, nationality or
religion. It’s time for the world to understand
that Israeli lives matter.

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*

Ellen Hershkin is national president of Hadassah. Meet
her at an open house on Thursday, June 9, between
2-3:30 p.m. at Hadassah House, 5030 Orchard Lake Road
in West Bloomfield. All are welcome.

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