My snowstorm-delayed return to Brookline from Israel and the West Bank ended a week ago. I had hoped to quickly begin sorting through my thoughts and my photos, but the press of catching-up activity and a coincidental office move (still not finished) made it impossible to even think much about my month away. Only yesterday did I have time to write something — my column for this Thursday’s Brookline TAB, in which I respond to letters to the editor critical of the TAB column I wrote last month from Jerusalem. I’ll post it here when it appears in the newspaper.
The seven letters to the newspaper varied in tone and purpose, but on the whole they illustrate the difficulty of working on this issue within the American Jewish community. The overwhelming commitment to Israel drowns out other voices. Even the most reasonable pro-Israel voices typically begin from an acceptance of Israeli needs and interests that’s hard to shake. They want peace, yes, but on Israel’s terms.
The current de facto truce leading up to next week’s Sharon-Abbas meeting may hold for a bit, but I suspect it will deteriorate as others have in the past. Although some see Abbas as an Israeli lackey expected to compromise everything away, during the election campaign he often sounded firmer in his resolve to stick to the Palestinian bottom line on borders, Jerusalem, and refugees. If Abbas sticks to his campaign promises, Sharon will likely refuse to go further than the inadequate positions Israel has advanced in the past. If instead Abbas complies with the current Israeli position, many Palestinians who hoped Abbas would move things forward will turn, disillusioned, to more militant forces. Either way, my pessimism remains.