O, Annapolis Part 1: two cousins cover the Conference from inside and out
November 27th, 2007
It’s 9:30 am and I am sitting in Union Station en route to Annapolis, cursing my cousin Ben for telling me to bring a raincoat. It is a balmy 60 degrees and there’s even some sun today; perhaps Someone would like to make our visiting Middle Eastern Heads of State feel at home.
Not likely, though, because every analyst of Annapolis seems to agree on one thing: this conference is an exercise in futility. I’m reminded of a boy I went to elementary school with who was slow and a bit of a bully and therefore not well-liked by the other kids. One year, his mom threw a big party for him. Everyone came and patted him on the back and told him how great he was…and the next day, everyone went back to shunning him and his bellicose ways in the schoolyard.
Sound familiar? Our Great Leader Bush along with Momma Condi has sent out an invitation no one wants, but no one can refuse. So Syria sends a deputy foreign minister (his picture ran in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz’s online edition under the headline, “the Foreign Minister, it is not”) and Abbas and Olmert and Erakat and Livni muster their negotiating teams to maybe craft a statement that will sort of hint at the possibility of resuming negotiations at some unspecified time in the future.
What a great use of our taxpayer dollars, almost as good as our pet wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So…should Annapolis have been cancelled?
In a talkback after the play MASKED on November 20th, Urgent Conversations Curator Mari Brown asked Meretz USA head Charney Bromberg, Egyptian journalist Mona Al-Tawahy, author Deborah Kanafani and Ofer Gutman of the World Zionist Organization this very question. Here are their responses:
DK: Although I think Hamas should have been included I would not. I was in Gaza when Clinton came and Gaza was full of Palestinians waving American flags, and now they burn our flags. They go where there is hope. And I hope GB doesn’t get to take credit.
Mona: I would cancel it. Today is the 30th anniversary of Sadat visiting the Knesset. Then he was called a traitor for breaking rank with Arab unity. Over the past 30 years all the current leaders lack the vision that Sadat had. Olmert does not have a mandate to agree to anything bold or visionary. If I could hold peace talks, I would hold it between the Palestinians. Two of my uncles fought in 1973. Then there was the tragic civil war in Gaza this summer. I would sit Abbas and Haniyah together and make them sign a treaty. Bush is one of the weakest presidents in a long time. On a positive note, I did a couple of stories to mark the 20th anniversary of Sadat’s visit, and I spoke to Jihan Sadat. “Do you realize it is your life?” she asked her husband when we was on his way to be the first Arab leader to address the Israeli Knesset. “Yes, but it is my duty to do it.” Upon his return and before his assassination at the hands of a military coup, Sadat said “I saw Israeli mothers holding up their babies and crying and I could imagine them saying, please make peace because I don’t want to lose my child.” At the Knesset, Sadat felt that his gesture was not met with reciprocity and felt insulted. He turned his back to Begin and wouldn’t talk to him. They then held a night of emergency whisky diplomacy. Thank god it worked. Whether it’s going to work in Annapolis or not, I don’t know.
Ofer: Too bad most Muslims don’t drink…as an Israeli I am looking forward to this summit. I don’t think Hamas should be there, I don’t think they want peace. The fact that Palestinians killed each other in a civil war, that I really can’t understand where it’s coming from. The fact is that Kassam rockets are falling every day on children in Sderot, that people there live in fear even though Israelis left Gaza strip totally. As Israelis we don’t have any other choice. We have to try, even if Olmert and Abbas are not the strongest leaders, we have to take this opportunity because we saw what the alternative is.
Charney: You asked us, “Will you go?” I am going on the 27th. A whole group of organizations are going to welcome the leaders to do the work that they are going to do. I believe that the disaster of the last 7 years has robbed the conflict of the center of gravity, weight and influence through which we could have reached a solution and without which we will never reach a solution. The role of US is crucial, it must be serious about what it has started. There is now strong communication between Olmert and Abbas. There is agreement on all basic issues, each side knows each other’s red lines. At stake is the support necessary for a solution that each leader can take back to his constituency. [In response to a question about Hamas not being invited:] Israel over the years has negotiated with entities that have not acknowledged right to exist through third parties, and it has been in Israel’s interest. A continuation of the situation in Gaza is in threat to everything that might come out of Annapolis. Hamas doesn’t belong at the negotiating table and doesn’t want to be at the table.
Mona: I disagree. It is naïve to think that Abbas can sign something on behalf of all Palestinians. Someone should be there to be the interlocutor between Annapolis and Hamas. Perhaps this is where Egypt can take a role, it has been diminished and no longer plays a constructive role and hasn’t succeeded. Perhaps the Saudis as well. Unless you involve that, Hamas has a mandate. You might not agree with their policies, but how can Abbas sign anything and pretend to represent all Palestinians. There has to be a way to be realistic and acknowledge that!
My cousin Ben and I will post again after the day’s end. He calls Annapolis Naptown. Let’s hope that nickname doesn’t prove prophetic.
Loading ...
Loading...
Thank you, Miriam.