Comments on Bernard Avishai Dot Com: Undivided Attention

Very nimbly presented and there within lies the ru...

2008-06-23T17:27:00.000-04:00

Very nimbly presented and there within lies the rub. Nimbleness is not an attribute of frightened, cynical people in Israel or the US. Obama is testing assumptions and calculations, if not actual policies. Pragmatism will prevail with a Obama victory but up to that moment I expect our weaknesses, fears, and prejudices to be exploited.

The common theme for effective conflict resolution...

2008-06-20T11:38:00.000-04:00

The common theme for effective conflict resolution, be it in South Africa, Ireland, or California, or Israel, is some variant of the word that frustrates everyone: AMNESTY.
The Arabs have to be forgiven for all their past crimes/insults/transgressions by the Jews, and vice-versa. And once that is done, no two-state solution is necessary or even desirable.
Prejudice and hatred of "the other" on spiritual grounds will never go away, but coexistence can occur. Every time some past wrong is "redressed", more resentment builds up.
So, one Berlin, one Ireland, one California (with immigrants granted amnesty and earning citizenship) and one Israel, with citizens of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.

cwf-Berlin is no longer under "multi-national rule...

2008-06-15T04:28:00.000-04:00

cwf-

Berlin is no longer under "multi-national rule". That is why it was reunited. Dr Avishai is calling for removing Jerusalem from being ruled by a single sovereign power and INTRODUCING multi-national rule. Do you see the difference?

Berlin was supposed to a "united city" under multi...

2008-06-13T13:56:00.000-04:00

Berlin was supposed to a "united city" under multi-national rule after the Second World War. How did that work out?

Been to Berlin lately, y. ben-david?

Your comments reflect your usual thoughtfulness an...

2008-06-13T13:41:00.000-04:00

Your comments reflect your usual thoughtfulness and insight. One sentence, however, concerns me. You said, "The most frightening question [for Israelis] is this: if democracy makes a black man a mainstream American, can it also make an Arab a mainstream Israeli?" The two situations are not analogous. In the Arab-Israeli conflict, many Arabs and Arab nations have sought for several generations to destroy the State of Israel as well as the people in it. That is not true of black Americans vis-a-vis America or its people.

There are two or more Obamas:1. In writing and rea...

2008-06-13T08:38:00.000-04:00

There are two or more Obamas:

1. In writing and reading from the teleprompter - civilized tone, good enlightened messages - while many will be retracted next morning
2. In verbal hesitating arguments - often displaying a total lack of honesty

and also

1. Decency and enlightenment in some messages
2. But also allied to brutal and sectarian organizations

In my view, he is not his own man. There are flashes of good spirit, and decency, and than again he becomes only a puppet of his handlers.

Not an solid philosopher, just the product of a crash course in civilization.

It is not Israeli election, it is an American problem.

I will still vote McCain!

All of these apprehensions are reasonable. Achiev...

2008-06-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

All of these apprehensions are reasonable. Achieving security in Jerusalem will require a great deal of thought and years of transition. Perhaps Israel will have to insist on maintaining security control for a sustained period, until the larger regional peace takes hold.

The point is to work toward security under conditions of an agreed settlement, with NATO forces and global investment, buttressing the plan at every step (and, say, Palestinians and Israelis jointly profiting from tourism). The alternative is in any case a time-bomb. Without a peace deal, Jerusalem could well become what Sarajevo was in the 1990s.

I can't anyone can seriously believe Jerusalem can...

2008-06-06T10:04:00.000-04:00

I can't anyone can seriously believe Jerusalem can be divided politically and that it would NOT lead to the physical separation of the city, the renewal of the mine fields, barbed wire anti-sniper walls and the such. Berlin was supposed to a "united city" under multi-national rule after the Second World War. How did that work out? (remember the Berlin wall?). Or that a "neutral multi-national force" will be able to keep the peace. This is basically the same as the British Mandate in which "neutral" British forces were supposed to keep the peace. How well did they succeed? Danzig was under international control before 1939. Did that keep the peace? Nicosia is under "multinational control" and it has all the barbed wire and minefields (although some attempt to open up things there have been attempted recently).
The "Geneva Initiative" plan for Jerusalem assumes maximum goodwill from the Arab and Jewish sides for it to work. What historical precedent is there for such cooperation? Once Israel hands it holiest places over to the Arabs, who would be strengthened, supposedly "moderate" Arabs who claim they want to cooperate with Israel, or extremists who would claim "we told you all along that they will collapse, if they give us their holiest places now, they will give us the rest in the future as long as we continue the pressure".
Now, it is possible that "realistic progressives" will say in whispers "You are right, pulling out of east Jerusalem will lead to gunmen taking over Arab neighborhoods bordering Jewish ones and firing into them, just like what happened to Gilo when Israel pulled out of Beit Lehem, but for diplomatic purposes it is worth it....the world will feel sorry for us and our greatest aspiration is for the world to feel pity for us instead of for the Arabs". But how many Israelis are willing to go back to such a situation?