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A few years ago, Ami Ayalon, former head of Israel's tough internal security organization turned peace advocate, explained that in order for peace to come to the Middle East, both Israelis and Palestinians would have to give up part of their historical narratives.
Speaking in St. Paul, Ayalon said for Israelis that would mean conceding what many West Bank settlers consider their "right" to the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria. And for Palestinians, it would mean giving up the "right of return" to their pre-1948 homes in what is now Israel and recognizing the Jewish state's right to exist on part of historical Palestine. In other words, these two peoples, who have been fighting over the same small parcel of land for 60 years, will have to forgo at least part of their dreams so that each people can claim a homeland and live in peace.
And now comes an American president, intent on reaching out to the Muslim world and serious about forging an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord as a key component of his overall Middle East strategy. In his speech June 4 in Cairo, President Barack Obama said that he means to push the two sides and that he does not intend to wait another 60 years for peace to come to the Holy Land.
As an American Jew and a supporter of Israel, I find his remarks refreshing. I have found it increasingly difficult in recent years to watch the never-ending violence, the suffering of innocents on both sides and the toll that occupation has taken on both the Palestinians and Israelis. I find it intolerable for Jews who have suffered so much in history to rule another people. Obama recognized that in the Mideast all discussions begin in the past with one side or the other highlighting a historical wrong that was committed.
He said: "For decades, then, there has been a stalemate. Two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It's easy to point fingers. For Palestinians to point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history, from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth. The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security."
Obama said that "this is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest and the world's interest."
He laid out for the world what he believed each side must do. For the Palestinians: abandon violence and build up their society. "It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered."
For the Israelis: stop building settlements on the West Bank, he said. "The construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace," he said as bluntly as an American president has talked about the controversial settlements. The current Israeli government leaders disagree with the President, but I think they are picking a losing issue no matter what winks and nods they think they might have received from the Bush administration about continuing to build the settlements. I can't see the American Jewish community taking up that cause on Israel's behalf. Obama also urged Israel to work to make life better for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
For the Arab states: recognize Israel, help the Palestinian people develop their institutions and stop using the conflict as a distraction from other problems.
And for America's responsibilities: "We cannot impose peace. But privately many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true."
None of what Obama said was that new. The parameters of an Israeli-Palestinian settlement have been known and discussed for years. And words alone will not solve this conflict. But the image of a young American president who supports Israel, but also understands the national hopes of Palestinians, speaking from the heart of the Muslim world, brings at least a ray of hope to a seemingly intractable problem. To not take risks for peace is no longer an option.
"Too many tears have flowed," Obama said. "Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; where the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace God intended it to be."