Word: israelism
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Ironically, several of the President's most important initiatives - in Israel, Iran and Afghanistan - have been mugged by democracy (or the pretense of democracy, in the latter two cases). In Israel, democracy is very real, but the elections resulted in a right-wing coalition that has refused to freeze illegal settlements in Palestinian territories. This intransigence has led to a diplomatic stall across the region. The Palestinians seem as inept as ever, unable to present a united front for negotiations. The Syrians, who always seem almost-ready to make peace, seem less almost-ready than they did a few months...
...possible that the only ways to break these various logjams are unpleasant ones: withholding some U.S. aid to Israel so long as the settlement-building continues (as the first Bush Administration did) and imposing stricter sanctions against Iran. Neither path is likely. American Jews are among the Democratic Party's most loyal supporters, and Barack Hussein Obama probably won't want to encourage the fears, stoked by neoconservatives, that he is not a friend of Israel. The rigor of the Iran sanctions will be determined by the Russians and Chinese, who have not been willing to exert much pressure...
Obama is still talking tough, then, but having watched him climb down from his settlement-freeze demand - and the rebuff from moderate Arab states to the President's call for them to make tangible gestures toward normalization of ties with Israel - most analysts are waiting to see what actions back his words. Reports from the talks suggest the Administration will summon the two parties to Washington next month for talks under U.S. auspices on the full gamut of final-status issues. But Netanyahu may have his own ideas and may be buoyed by his success in resisting the settlement-freeze...
...even the relatively hawkish Israeli commentator Shmuel Rosner warns that "Israel should restrain itself from declaring victory just yet. True, Obama had to draw down his overeager demands from Israel. But it is also true that Netanyahu, not long ago, had to reverse his opposition to a two-state solution and publicly declare that his goal is similar to the one espoused today by Obama. True, Abbas was dragged to the summit only days after insisting that he will not come to any meeting unless settlement construction is frozen first. But it is also true that Netanyahu, the head...
...pictures of 60 years of Israel...