Friday, April 17, 2009
I hope we see them articulating Israel's positions and standing by them like this:
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman each met with American Special Middle East Envoy George Mitchell on Thursday. Netanyahu threw Mitchell a curveball: He said that Israel would be willing to talk about a two-state solution after the 'Palestinians' accept Israel as a Jewish state. That's a step that the 'Palestinians' are thus far unwilling to take.
Some of you may recall that Ehud Olmert made the same demand at Annapolis (albeit not as a precondition to discussing a 'two-state solution'), but the 'Palestinians' rejected it, because it would mean giving up their hopes of either recovering all of the land 'from the River to the Sea' and of flooding what remains of Israel after a 'two-state solution' with 'refugees' who would overwhelm Israel demographically...
Quite right. There have been too many one-way concessions. A 'two-state solution,' if it happens, should be an end point, not just step one on the way to the one state solution -- something it's clearly been up to this point.
Yes. Though less a curve ball than a fast ball aimed and thrown successfully directly over the plate. That's the top-half of the inning with Netanyahu on the pitcher's mound, throwing while Mitchell is at the plate.
Then, in the bottom half of the inning, it's Mitchell and the current admin. who are throwing the curve balls, throwing them nowhere near the plate, yet nonetheless demanding the umpire to call strikes and likewise expecting Israel and Netanyahu to swing at all such efforts.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Good one, Michael B!