Israel Matzav

Stop the 'peace process,' I want to get off

Writing in the New York Times, Tom Friedman (Tom Friedman!) urges the Obama administration to dust off an old line from the Bush 41 administration, fold up its tent and go home.

This peace process movie is not going to end differently just because we keep playing the same reel. It is time for a radically new approach. And I mean radical. I mean something no U.S. administration has ever dared to do: Take down our “Peace-Processing-Is-Us” sign and just go home.

Right now we want it more than the parties. They all have other priorities today. And by constantly injecting ourselves we’ve become their Novocain. We relieve all the political pain from the Arab and Israeli decision-makers by creating the impression in the minds of their publics that something serious is happening. “Look, the U.S. secretary of state is here. Look, she’s standing by my side. Look, I’m doing something important! Take our picture. Put it on the news. We’re on the verge of something really big and I am indispensable to it.” This enables the respective leaders to continue with their real priorities — which are all about holding power or pursuing ideological obsessions — while pretending to advance peace, without paying any political price.

Let’s just get out of the picture. Let all these leaders stand in front of their own people and tell them the truth: “My fellow citizens: Nothing is happening; nothing is going to happen. It’s just you and me and the problem we own.”

Indeed, it’s time for us to dust off James Baker’s line: “When you’re serious, give us a call: 202-456-1414. Ask for Barack. Otherwise, stay out of our lives. We have our own country to fix.”

Of course, when Baker uttered that line, it was directed only at one side (Israel), whereas Friedman would direct it at both sides.

Meryl Yourish thinks Friedman is advocating going back to the Bush 43 policy of ignoring the problem until the parties are ready to deal with it, and perhaps she's correct.

That sounds to me like an endorsement of George W. Bush’s refusal to repeat the Clinton administration’s mistakes. And coming from the guy who threw the Saudi peace plan on the world and pushed it for years as the only real move forward in negotiations—well, let’s just say I’m having a major schadenfreude moment.

I don't agree with Meryl's conclusion that Israel would give up all of Judea and Samaria if only the 'Palestinians' would agree to make peace. At this point, very few of us trust the 'Palestinians' intentions. But since the 'Palestinians' aren't willing to live with a State of Israel of any size, that argument is moot.

I'd be happy to see the Obama administration lower the focus on Israel and let both of our countries go back to building our economies. We do that pretty well together. Maybe Baker (pictured) was almost onto something for once.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:25 PM