Kerrys talks arent working Olmert 11/07/2013

Dr. Josef Olmert, Adjunct Professor, University of South Carolina. Kerry, sraelis and Palestinians! "he "al#s to $o %here.& Huffington Post. 'htt(!))***.huffin+ton(ost.com)dr,josef,olmert)#erry,israel, (alestinians,tal#s-.-/011023.html4 John Kerry is (rovin+ himself to .e a tireless, fre5uent flyer to the 6iddle 7ast. 8e is ta#in+ seriously his role as the chief American di(lomat .ehind the sraeli,Palestinian tal#s, the ranian nuclear tal#s, *hich are resumin+ today 9: $ovem.er;, and the dismantlin+ of Syria<s chemical arsenal.= 8e does *hat a Secretary of State is su((osed to .e doin+> or does he? t is almost an intuitive action for American Secretaries of State to tar+et the 67 as the .i+ (ri@e, the (lace *here they may (urchase their tic#et to the $o.le Peace Pri@e, at least to historical immortality, .y .ein+ those *ho ma#e the final (eace .et*een sraelis and Palestinians. 8illary Clinton did not follo* this (ath, so no $o.el Pri@e, .ut also no association *ith any rin+in+ failure. John Kerry is still at the stage where there is no achievement or failure attached to him !ut the moment of failure may !e close"# $ccording to unconfirmed %ress re%orts the latest round of the &sraeli'(alestinian talks ended with a round of yells and screams" )ot e*actly a sign of good will and %rogress" +here are re%orts a!out frictions within the (alestinian and &sraeli negotiating teams and some talk a!out an $merican %lan in the making to !e made %u!lic in January 201, if !y then no meaningful %rogress is registered" -et us start with this unconfirmed re%ort which if correct may indicate that even the indefatiga!le .ecretary is starting to lose his %atience" /asing ourselves on %ast e*%erience this is a !ad omen" /y January 201, there will !e no dramatic %rogress to write home a!out and then what0 $ny $merican %lan will !e in for strong criticism %ro!a!ly more so from &srael than from the (alestinians as it is taken for granted that on some of the core issues the $merican %osition now as it has traditionally !een is closer to the (alestinian demands than to &srael1s stated %olicies"# Kerry just reiterated traditional American (osition ne+atin+ settlements, definin+ them as ille+itimate 9thou+h refrainin+ from the ille+al definition; and unhel(ful. A statement *hich came in the aftermath of the release of 0A notorious Palestinian terrorists *ith a lot of sraeli .lood on their hands, and the $etanyahu +overnment (lan to advance .uildin+ (rojects in 7ast Jerusalem. $etanyahu too# the (lun+e *hen a+reein+ to release notorious terrorists, a hi+hly un(o(ular decision in srael, (articularly amon+ his (olitical .ase, so more .uildin+ in 7ast Jerusalem is al*ays an attractive +oody to his current ri+ht,*in+ (artners and (otential future adversaries, somethin+ that ena.les them to s*allo* the .itter (ill of the release, and *ith that he .uys more time.= 6ahmoud A..as, on his side, .uys his time *ith his internal critics .y shar(enin+ the tone to*ards srael, issuin+ threats and allo*in+ the continuation of the unacce(ta.le anti,Je*ish inflammation in his official media or+ans.= So, there may .e a cynical *ay to vie* all that, .y acce(tin+ the Bemenite dance element, of a ste( for*ard and t*o .ac#*ard, or the o((osite, allo*in+ the rejectionists on .oth sides to raise the deci.els of their criticisms, *hile the convoy of tal#s moves on. %ell , for one, do not share this sense. t fits into the *ell,esta.lished 6iddle 7astern cons(iratorial mold of thin#in+, .ut in reality, thin+s do not *or# that *ay.= f $etanyahu needs to (romise more .uildin+ in return for 0A freed murderers, *hat *ill he offer his .ase in return to any tan+i.le (olitical concession, once re5uired to do it, .y either an American (eace (lan in January, or .y the Palestinians throu+hout the ne+otiations. "he same +oes to A..as, and his need to (lacate his .ase .y an on+oin+ demoni@ation cam(ai+n a+ainst srael.= $etanyahu *ould have done .etter in terms of srael<s real interests, *ere he to +radually release hundreds of Palestinian inmates, all from Catah, and not 8amas, and not as a result of (ressure on him, eD(ectin+ to +et reci(rocal and simultaneous Palestinian +estures, .ut in reality, the o((osite is ha((enin+. Eelease of (risoners is ta#en to .e a unilateral +esture, a si+n of *ea#ness, *hen there is no Palestinian re*ard, and the sraeli ri+ht,*in+ is +oin+ cra@y. Seen in this conteDt, the tal#s offer not much ho(e, and the fact that they continue, sometimes even three times a *ee#, a fact hailed .y Kerry as a si+n of (ro+ress, is not

really such a si+n.= n the .ac#+round of all that, there are the ran nuclear tal#s, the one event *hich is "87 event to *atch so lon+ as srael is concerned. Some commentators su++est that *ith these tal#s the Americans hold +ood, effective s*ay over srael. Fehave nice and fleDi.le *ith the Palestinians, and *e shall deliver the ranians. %ell, it may .e a +ood (olitical science teDt.oo# (loy, .ut +o and sell it to such sus(icious (eo(le as $etanyahu and Gie.erman, and for that matter, the sraeli (eo(le at lar+e. Get alone the ranians, *ho are not eDactly (assive onloo#ers, and are not in favor of any sraeli,Palestinian (ro+ress.= +he &ranian connection e*ists and this is acknowledged !y all so why not reverse the order of things first !end the &ranians which is not 2ust &srael1s %aramount interest !ut also that of the 3. and its allies and then claim the reward from )etanyahu" &n a situation like that he may finally find the %olitical stamina and leadershi% re4uired to confront his right'wing %artners with the reality that with no e*istential &ranian threat &sraeli fle*i!ility with regard to the (alestinians is a must" 5ere again it is easier said than done" 6elivering the &ranians under any circumstance is difficult %erha%s im%ossi!le" 6elivering the &sraelis without $)7 %rogress with &ran is a fantasy" &t will not ha%%en"# .o with the &ranian situation in the !ackground we have another reason for %essimism some will say realism a!out the &sraeli'(alestinian talks" +hey go on !ut where to0#

8c9arthy a :e%u!lican leader says immigration reform wont %ass in 2013 9assata, Donna, Associated Press. 11/;/13 HOP 8ouse leaders *onIt allo* vote on
immi+ration&. The Columbian. 'htt(!))***.colum.ian.com)ne*s)0J21)nov)J3)+o(,house,leaders, *ont,allo*,vote,on,immi+ration)4 %AS8 $H"O$ K +he third'ranking 5ouse :e%u!lican told immigration advocates that lawmakers won1t vote this year on the issue confirming what many had long assumed" = California Ee(. Kevin 8c9arthy, the majority *hi(, said in a meetin+ *ith immi+ration (ro(onents that there weren1t enough days left for the 5ouse to act !ut that he was committed to overhauling the nation1s immigration system ne*t year" "he con+ressman<s office confirmed *hat he said.= An+elica Salas, the .oard chair*oman for the Coalition for 8umane mmi+rant Ei+hts of Gos An+eles, descri.ed the conversation.= <=hat he said was there1s 13 >working? days left@ it1s very hard to do anything in 13 days < .alas said of 8c9arthy" +he 5ouse returns ne*t week after a weeklong !reak !ut has more !reaks scheduled"= "he Senate (assed a com(rehensive .ill in June that *ould .oth (rovide a (ath to citi@enshi( for the 22 million immi+rants in the country ille+ally and ti+hten .order security, .ut %iecemeal !ills in the 5ouse have languished since the summer"= Salas and a.out a do@en *omen occu(ied 6cCarthy<s Fa#ersfield, Calif., office on "hursday to (ress the Ee(u.lican to move ahead on immi+ration le+islation. Around 22 (.m. that ni+ht, 6cCarthy and his *ife, Judy, met *ith them.= L8e said, <Gadies, hear you *ant to tal# to me. "his is just not the *ay to do it,<L Salas recalled. She said 6cCarthy and the +rou( s(o#e for a.out an hour, and the *omen eD(lained that *hile they a((reciated his su((ort for immi+ration reform, it *as im(erative for the 8ouse to act as soon as (ossi.le.= 8ost 5ouse :e%u!licans re2ect any com%rehensive a%%roach including the .enate !ill with many 4uestioning the offer of citiAenshi% to %eo%le who !roke 3"." immigration laws to !e in this country" +he 5ouse Judiciary 9ommittee has moved individual single'issue immigration !ills"# 7rica 7lliott, a s(o#es*oman for 6cCarthy, said Criday that he Lsu((orts fiDin+ our .ro#en immi+ration system. 5e also !elieves that it is incum!ent u%on all %artici%ants in the de!ate to work together to address immigration reform on an issue'!y'issue !asis rather than demanding that any reform only ha%%en in the conte*t of a massive !ill that fails to a%%ro%riately address the underlying %ro!lems %laguing the current %rocess"<# $lthough 5ouse :e%u!lican leaders say they want to resolve the issue a %olitical drag for their %arty many rank'and'file 5ouse :e%u!licans

have resisted giving (resident /arack O!ama an immigration overhaul the to% item on his second'term domestic agenda"# 8any 5ouse :e%u!licans also are wary of %assing any legislation that would set u% a conference with the 6emocratic'controlled .enate fearing the 5ouse could lose out in negotiations"= "he Senate .ill, stron+ly .ac#ed .y the %hite 8ouse, includes .illions for .order security, a re*or#ed le+al immi+ration system to allo* tens of thousands of hi+h, and lo*,s#illed *or#ers into the country and a 21,year (ath to citi@enshi( for those livin+ here ille+ally.= "he U.S. Conference of Catholic Fisho(s has ste((ed u( (ressure on the 8ouse to act on immi+ration le+islation .efore the end of the year, callin+ it La matter of +reat moral ur+ency.L= Cardinal "imothy Dolan, the arch.isho( of $e* Bor#, said in a letter to 8ouse S(ea#er John Foehner, E,Ohio, on "hursday that he *as trou.led .y re(orts that immi+ration reform is delayed in the 8ouse, and that la*ma#ers have a res(onsi.ility to resolve the issue. On .ehalf of the /MJ,(lus U.S. cardinals and .isho(s, Dolan res(ectfully re5uested that the 8ouse address immi+ration as soon as (ossi.le.= LAs a moral matter N our nation cannot continue to receive the .enefits of the *or# and contri.utions of undocumented immi+rants *ithout eDtendin+ to them the (rotection of the la*,L Dolan *rote. LKee(in+ these human .ein+s as a (ermanent underclass of *or#ers *ho are una.le to assert their ri+hts or enjoy the fruits of their la.or is a stain on the soul of the nation.L=

Kerrys &srael'(alestine talks wont work Chris 8itchell, CF$ $e*s 6iddle 7ast Fureau Chief. 11/7/13. %hy Some Say Kerry %onIt
Succeed Jerusalem Dateline. '8tt(!)).lo+s.c.n.com)jerusalemdateline)archive)0J21)22)J:)*hy, some,say,#erry,*ont,succeed.as(D4

Secretary of State John Kerry shuttled between Bethlehem, Amman, and Jerusalem over the past few days. Hes intent on brokerin a peace deal between !sraelis and "alestinians. His entoura e sped throu h the streets of Jerusalem, clo in traffic and racin between !sraels presidents home, the prime ministers residence, and the #avid $itadel Hotel.% #espite all his best efforts will he succeed&% For those who have followed the peace process for years, the statements of the latest U.S. secretary of state ring hollow. Not because of any lack of sincerity on erry!s part, but the phrases seem reminiscent of the last secretary of state and the one before that " and so on. '$onfidence buildin measures( ) 'historic opportunities( ) 'painful concessions for peace( ).% Heres one of Kerrys latest statements*% '!+m convinced from my conversations today with "rime ,inister -Ben.amin/ 0etanyahu, as well as "resident -,ahmoud/ Abbas, that this is not mission impossible, this can happen. !t will re1uire both leaders to make big historic difficult decisions, but !+m also convinced that those are decisions that are absolutely totally in the interest of their country, !srael, and their country#to#be, $alestine.% %ut does erry know what the " country to#be, $alestine means for many $alestinians&' 2or e3ample, had he read a recent speech by (ahmoud )bbas*' +)ll our holy places are still under occupation, and so far we have not liberated one inch of $alestinian land. )ll $alestinian land is occupied ## ,a-a is occupied, the .est

%ank is occupied, the /012 lands 3i.e., 4srael5 are occupied and 6erusalem is occupied.' 7oes he know that $alestinians over and over have stated ## in )rabic ## that their struggle with 4srael is not a territorial issue, but religious doctrine& % Heres an e8cerpt from Dateline Jerusalem 44 a new book by this author 44 that e8plains why erry may never succeed*' One of the PAs messages is that the whole of Israel, not just the West Bank, is Palestine. For exam le, a PA! ro"u#e" "o#umentar$ shows that A##o, the %ea of &alilee, 'aifa, an" Jaffa are Palestinian lan"s, all #urrentl$ art of mo"ern!"a$ Israel. (his message )uttresses the Islami# )elief that lan" on#e un"er the #ontrol of Islam #an ne*er )e relin+uishe" to the ,infi"el.- (his )elief uts .uslims un"er a religious o)ligation to win )a#k that lan". (he fa#t that Jews hol" swa$ in Palestine makes the affront that mu#h more injurious. With this kin" of in"o#trination, /Itamar0 .ar#us /of Palestinian .e"ia Wat#h0 "es airs of a true ea#e )etween Israelis an" Palestinians. When the PA raises a whole new generation of Palestinian children with the idea Jews stole their land, that all of Israel is theirs, and they have a religious obligation to take back the land, peace will be virtually impossible to achieve.% Marcus says, It!s part of the great deception. "o the world they say it!s a territorial war. "o their own people they say it!s a religious war for Allah. If it!s a territorial war, you can compromise on territory. #ut if it!s a religious war, you!re prohibited from compromising.$ % )nd if there are no conse9uences or change within the $), (arcus believes peace will remain elusive .% 4f that doesn!t happen, there is no peace process, even if they!re meeting in 6ordan or meeting any place else, it!s not a real peace process. )s our book title says, it!s :ust a deception process.$% But does Kerry know about this 'deception process&(% 5iven Abbass statements and the pervasive incitement in official "alestinian media, its hard to ima ine a scenario in which Abbas can a ree to reco ni6e a Jewish state, cease to demand all the 'settlements( in the 7est Bank be dismantled and si n a final a reement with !srael.

9&: doesnt solveBtoo small Jaco!y 13 O "amar Jaco.y is a fello* at the $e* America Coundation and (resident of

mmi+ration%or#s USA, a national federation of small .usiness o*ners *or#in+ for .etter immi+ration la*. PHuest %or#ers Are the Fest Forder Security&, June 22, 0J21, htt(!))online.*sj.com)article)SF2JJJ2/0/20:33:10/A1/1J/M:3M1M301J/M31AQMA.html, CallahanR "he one area *here the .enate %ro%osal falls short! &t1s almost surely too small to address the country1s

future la!or needs. &n the early 2000s, *hen the economy *as .oomin+, more than 3C0 000 unauthoriAed 8e*icans entered the 3"." every year to fill low'skilled 2o!s for *hich there *ere not enou+h Americans. "he do*nturn eased this demand some*hat, .ut it<s no* (ic#in+ u( a+ain. f the trends of recent decades resume, the .enate %ro%osal won1t !e !ig enough to divert future illegal immigration" n its first year, the .enate1s guest'worker %rogram will !e ca%%ed at 20 000 visas" &t will grow over time in res%onse to market demand !ut is ca%%ed at 200 000 workers annually. "he dan+er is that if there aren1t enough visas to meet 3"." la!or needs the %rogram won1t %revent illegal immigration in years ahead. "he .est antidote to ille+al immi+ration is a le+al immi+ration system that *or#s. "he Senate<s visa (ro+ram is a +ood start. +he challenge now, for the 8ouse or the Senate, is to scale u% the .enate model so it can work in years to come. 9&: doesnt solve' %olicy flaws )owrasteh 13 >$le* immigration %olicy analyst at the 9ato &nstitute &mmigration /illD /etter

)ot /est htt(!))***.cato.or+).lo+)immi+ration,.ill,.etter,not,.est E/27/13? +his afternoon the .enate voted E;'32 to %ass its swee%ing immigration reform !ill" "he .ill is a solid
im(rovement over the current immi+ration system. t le+ali@es most of the unla*ful immi+rants here and (rovides lar+er (ath*ays for le+al immi+ration in the future. +he !ill does have flaws O many of *hich Ive *ritten a.out in detail" &t doesnt increase

lawful immigration enough" +he guest worker visa %rograms for lower skilled workers are too small restricted to certain sectors of the economy and governed !y confusing !ureaucracy" 3nder todays immigration rules very few of our ancestors would have !een a!le to immigrate here legally" +he .enates immigration !ill takes us a small ste% closer to our traditionally more o%en immigration %olicy" &t shovels gargantuan amounts of security resources toward the southern !order in an attem%t to halt future unlawful immigration that could otherwise chea%ly !e halted with an e*%anded guest worker visa %rogram. "he .order sur+e,& as many are callin+ it, is truly
em.arrassin+, es(ecially for a country *ith such (roud immi+rant traditions. "here are certainly le+itimate security concerns, .ut the eDtra enforcement *ill just drive u( the (rice of smu++lin+ and mar+inally decrease unla*ful immi+ration of (eaceful *or#ers at enormous cost.