views
essay
A Political Swerve
letters
Abbas flailing in bid for Palestinian statehood without directly engaging Israel.
Another Jewish Hero
I
n the process of appealing
broker: the U.S., an Arab state
once more to the United
(Egypt, Jordan or Saudi Arabia),
Nations for Palestinian
the European Union or an
statehood via international
unlikely prospect (Russia, China
channels, Palestinian leader
or the U.N.).
Mahmoud Abbas offered two
notable concessions.
MIXED BAG
He didn’t rule out “land
The U.N. speech provided a slight
swaps” to set borders, and he
change in direction from the
Robert Sklar
didn’t say “no deal” if the U.S.
utter vitriol of previous weeks
Contributing Editor
were part of an international
when Abbas bathed PLO and
forum convened to resolve the
Fatah leaders in tirades suggest-
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
ing complete disengagement
Addressing the U.N. Security
from Israel. One of those earlier
Council, Abbas didn’t quell his anger
rants declared the Jewish state was
for Israeli and U.S. policy toward the
formed as a European “colonial project
Palestinian cause for statehood. But
that has nothing to do with Judaism.”
he did serve up just enough of an olive
Despite such malarkey, security coopera-
branch to spur faint
tion, tenuous but clearly essential, con-
hope that Israeli-
tinues between the P.A. and Israel.
Palestinian peace
The U.N. speech wasn’t short on fan-
could arise.
tasy. Abbas, born in Tzafat in Israel’s
Slowing, belea-
Galilee, wildly claimed not only that
guered, defiant and
the Palestinians are “descendants of
trying to stay relevant, the Canaanites who lived in the land
Abbas, 82, is president of Palestine 5,000 years ago’’ and have
of the Palestinian
“continuously remained there to this
Authority
(P.A.),
whose
day,” but also that “6 million Palestinian
Mahmoud Abbas
Ramallah-based Fatah refugees,” himself included, seek return
faction governs much
to Israel.
of the West Bank.
The Boston-based Committee for
He also chairs the Palestine Liberation
Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in
Organization (PLO), official representa-
America maintains that the number of
tive of the Palestinian people.
Palestinian refugees still alive today is “in
His U.N. concessions pulsate because
the low tens of thousands.”
Abbas has eyed statehood along the pre-
Beyond rallying for a peace forum,
1967 Six-Day War borders, and he has
Abbas plans to lobby the U.N. for full
condemned the Trump administration
membership for the P.A. — in hopes of
for formally recognizing Jerusalem as
brazenly elevating P.A. leverage in any
Israel’s capital.
future talks with Israel.
Abbas talked about only “acceptance
of minimal land swaps, in equal value
SHIFTING SANDS
and ratio,” but that’s a breakthrough for
Thirteen years into what was supposed
further discussion.
to be a four-year presidential term when
elected in January 2005, Abbas, now
PARLEY SOUGHT
fragile in health and power, gave what
came off as his legacy speech before
In a Feb. 20 speech at the U.N., Abbas
called for an international peace confer- the U.N., Grant Rumley, a Washington-
based research fel-
ence this summer, “based on interna-
low and authority on
tional law and relevant U.N. resolutions,
Palestinian politics
with broad international participation,
at the Foundation
including the two concerned parties,
for Defense of
and the regional and international stake-
Democracies, told
holders.” He didn’t suggest excluding the
Jewish News Service.
U.S., a bow to U.S. importance should a
“Abbas wanted to
“multilateral international mechanism”
put down his final
toward peace spring from such a confab.
positions and then,
Peace will remain elusive if Abbas
Grant Rumley
when they’re inevita-
clings to the illusion a peace conference
bly not met, he can
is the end step to the decades-old con-
walk away without
flict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Such a conference could be a purposeful being viewed as compromising too
much. At this point, I think he cares
first step. It alone is not a practical strat-
more about what his presidency doesn’t
egy for achieving statehood.
create — i.e., compromises on issues like
A two-state solution will only result
Jerusalem — than what it does,” Rumley
from direct, bilateral talks between
told JNS.
Jerusalem and Ramallah no matter the
While the international community
may respond to Abbas’ call for a coming
together to advance Israeli-Palestinian
relations, “the U.S. will still be the prima-
ry driver of peace negotiations,” Rumley
predicted.
Indeed.
Without a rekindling of direct, bilat-
eral talks with Israel, President Abbas
will be a peace proponent only in his
own mind.
Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the
U.N., ripped the Security Council for
giving Abbas the podium yet again to
rehash largely dusty ideas with no hint
of an action plan for
“doing the hard work
and making the nec-
essary compromises”
to achieve negotiated
peace.
She reiterated that
the U.S., busily honing
a Middle East peace
Nikki Haley
plan, “stands ready”
to broker new talks.
“Our negotiators are
sitting behind me,” she said to Abbas
following his address. “But we will not
chase after you.”
FORMIDABLE PATH
Abbas remains the X factor among U.S.
President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the
terrorist organization Hamas, which
rules the Gaza Strip and presumably
would be part of a Palestinian state.
Only time will tell whether Abbas has
the physical and political vigor to outlast
Trump or Netanyahu, both perceived
arch enemies, or Hamas, an impervious
barrier to Palestinian unity.
Abbas’ leadership is one of incitement,
hatred and typically turning a blind eye
toward terror. So unless he undergoes
some sort of transformation, real nego-
tiation will have to wait for a dramatic
changing of the guard in Ramallah.
In the crosshairs of Mahmoud Abbas’
lurching efforts to salvage his presiden-
cy, there’s the vexing reality that the P.A.,
under his stewardship, promotes hate
education as government policy.
In textbooks, sermons, speeches,
articles, TV shows, public square names,
sports events, music videos, youth
camps, prisoner payouts and official
pronouncements, the Palestinian
Authority openly denigrates Zionism,
undermines Israel and pushes destruc-
tion and death for anything and anyone
Zionist.
Such indoctrination of Palestinian
youth well may be the single strongest
detriment to achieving a lasting, fulfill-
ing peace between the P.A. and Israel. •
I would like to acknowledge a local brilliant
researcher to add to the Jan. 25, 2018, Jewish
Contribution to Humanity #3 in a series
(How Jewish Medical Researchers Saved
Millions of Lives).
In the late 1960s, I had the honor to
work at the Michigan Cancer Foundation
in Detroit. Jerome P. Horwitz, Ph.D., is the
unsung hero in AIDS treatment. His cancer
research at the Foundation led to the cre-
ation of AZT in 1964. This lifesaving drug
prevents HIV from replicating.
I distinctly remember that when he was
asked about being interviewed to be rec-
ognized for his research, he said, “I would
rather be known as a good grandfather.”
What an honor it was for me to have met
this kind and humble scientist.
— Carol R. Wiseman
West Bloomfield
What Position?
I disagree with Berl Falbaum (March 1, page
8) regarding Trump’s shifting positions on
Israel — not regarding his shifting but that he
has a position.
Trump has minimal knowledge or sense
of history and proclaims his disdain for its
value whenever reminded of historical facts
that he frequently gets wrong. Where he
stands at any instant in time is not a position
in the sense of something reached through a
thought process. A capricious response is not
a position but merely an emotional outburst.
He will promise you anything that feels like it
bolsters his standing in the moment, but that
will be meaningless tomorrow when yester-
day is history and irrelevant to him. Just ask
any DACA recipient.
He has yet to take time from golfing and
watching TV, mainly his cheerleaders on
FOX, to formulate a plan, let alone read his
briefings to gain the information needed to
make a plan. Actually, he delegated the peace
plan to Jared, who lost his security access,
and it’s reported that he’s busy making peace
with his creditors, not in the Middle East.
While Falbaum hopefully waits for Trump’s
completed peace plan, he will have the com-
pany of those waiting for Godot.
If we do find peace during this administra-
tion, it will be solely by chance. I suppose
Trump’s random chaos provides better odds
than Obama’s feckless attempt to tame geno-
cidal psychopaths on Israel’s border by mak-
ing nice; but as we watch Trump dismantling
all the agencies of government, including the
State Department, why should we expect this
neo-anarchist to take a structured approach
to peace?
Trump lit a fire under the Palestinians,
but it remains to be seen if the heat will
make them move in the direction of peace or
greater hostility. With nobody in State trying
to steer them, chances are slim for them to
choose a positive direction.
— Dennis L. Green
Farmington Hills
8
March 15 • 2018
jn