Friday, September 01, 2006

Heard of Daniel Levy?

Daniel Levy, a joint senior fellow at the New America Foundation (*) and The Century Foundation, (**)served as an official negotiator at the Oslo II and Taba peace talks and was the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative.

The lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative?

Not Yossi Beilin? Oh, well.

Anyway, here's his main thesis:-

The idea that current American policy advances Israeli security and national interests is thoroughly discredited — something that is now openly aired in the Israeli media, and raised, albeit in more discreet circles, by Israeli Cabinet ministers. Iran has been emboldened and regionally strengthened, the growing Israeli debate on possible dialogue with Syria is cut short by “Washington will say no” reminders, and the much-needed international encouragement for renewing a political process with the Palestinians to replace the unappealing options of unilateralism and stagnation lacks American leadership.


But, along the way, he notes:-

Unilateralism has failed
.

So, we're back to a variation on George Bernard Shaw's observation, we know what the character of this policy is (that it fails) and now, we're just quibbling about the price of implementing it.

Unfortunately, Levy is insistent that Israel weaken its security and existence by giving in to the silly idea that the conflict is solvable and the solution is territorial retreat (not to mention the national-psychological element of yielding on the essence of what it means to be an Israeli - to live in the Land of Israel).

So, previous US administrations demanded compromise of territory and so does he. It's the same prostitution of Israel's future and its Zionist ideals.

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(*) Read this.

(**) Read this.

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