Israel

One of the most interesting things I have read about the situation in Israel and Palestine is a positive observation. The observation is that for the first time in many, many years, the leader of Israel and the leader of Palestine trust each other.

The problem is, perhaps, that their own people may not trust them.

Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel, is under investigation for corruption, has been blamed for the loss of the second Lebanon war, and according to some polls, only 8% of Israeli's support his government.

Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, is in a constant fight to keep the Palestinian populace loyal to his Fatah party as opposed to Hamas.

And President Bush, who is meant to help usher these men and their nations towards peace, is generally disliked in the Arab world and due to leave office in a years time.

Is there any hope?

Join us at Noon today to discuss. We're going to talk with Aron Raskas, a Baltimore attorney who is national vice-president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and a director of www.onejerusalem.org, and with Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian columnist/journalist and currently a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, as well as William Kern, Managing Editor of WORLDMEETS.US, a website that provides articles translated into English from an array of international media.

Poll: Do you think this latest push for peace will result in any lasting agreements?

-Jessica

Seems like this week's Middle East peace conference in Annapolis has come back from the dead.  Everyone was saying that the conference had become irrelevant--that no one was coming, it would only be one day, and it wouldn't make a dent in the enormous amount of work and negotiation that needs to occur between Palestine and Israel.

But things seem to be looking up.  As President Bush emphasizes his desire to make peace in the Middle East part of his legacy, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and other nations of the Arab League have agreed to attend. 

So looks like we're going to have a bona fide conference.  Today at Noon we're going to discuss what issues are going to be at the top of the heap.  What are the likely sticking points?  What is a reasonable set of things we can hope to see accomplished?

We'll talk with our friend Ali Zaghab, a Palestinian-born local businessman who has joined us many times in the past to discuss these issues, and Dr. Elli Lieberman, a retired Israeli Army major, a PhD in Middle East studies, and a local businessman.  We're also going to here an essay on peace and interfaith understanding and love from John Oliver Smith.

So join us.  What do you want to see accomplished?  Do you feel optimistic?

-Jessica