Olmert's Other Envelope or, The Real Tragedy

The envelope that announces the support, love and backing of Israel's leading cultural and media elite, that is.

Here, Ethan Bronner explains in today's NYTImes:-

But it turns out that there are others who deeply regret Mr. Olmert’s departure: many in the nation’s peace camp. Never mind, they say, that Mr. Olmert came from the hawkish right and that they despised him for decades; he now embraces the need for a negotiated peace accord with the Palestinians, and indeed the entire Arab world, as a practical necessity and possibility, in a way that no other Israeli leader ever has. And now, having allowed himself to be dragged down by money, he will not be able to bring his efforts to fruition. This, they say, is the Greek tragedy of Ehud Olmert.

“I never voted for Olmert in my life but this year I really grew to like and respect him,” remarked Ron Pundak, who runs the Peres Peace Center and has been active in coexistence efforts for years. “He developed empathy for the other side, for its past tragedy and its present tragedy. And he understood that it is in Israel’s long-term interest to end that tragedy with a two-state solution.”

Oh, and how does the NYT entitle this piece?

Yep, just like an Israeli journalist would:

Israel’s Demi-Greek Tragedy

And that's the real tragedy.

Why?

Lack of logic.
Lack of learning from your mistakes.
Lack of learning from your enemy's mistakes.
And lack of response/rebuttal from his political opponents. There's no balance here.


Like here:-

Mr. Olmert, he said, is part of a group of one-time rightists who now seek a negotiated two-state solution largely because of a change in Palestinian attitudes. “He would say that today there is a real partner that seeks reconciliation and peace,” the aide said of Mr. Olmert. “It’s not just I who has changed, but the Palestinians as well.”

In truth, Mr. Olmert’s public statements over the past year show a worldview almost indistinguishable from that of Israel’s left - those who have long favored a return of all or nearly all of the territory Israel won in the 1967 war in exchange for promises of peace from Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world.

So discerning.
Actually, it is good to read newspapers.

You can learn a lot.


P.S.

And there is hope -

Nahum Barnea...said in an interview that...since most Israelis have little faith in the current Palestinian leadership or the likelihood of a peace deal being enforced by it, Mr. Olmert’s embrace of negotiations has been largely dismissed as inconsequential.

P.P.S. Remember this piece?