President Obama with President Mahmoud
Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, King Abdullah II of Jordan and President
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt at the White House
A week before I and Jews around the world say
goodbye to 5770 and await 5771, we wonder if the latest imitative being undertaken by President Obama will finally succeed
in bringing a just and lasting peace to the Middle East.
Too many times, we have seen our hopes
dashed by groups like Islamic Jihad and Hamas come in and sabotage talks. The leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud
Abbas is a leader who like Margaret Thatcher once said of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbechov, we can do business with.
At the opening of the talks at the White House, President Obama stated that the world has been waiting for this for
a long time. Ever since Israel has come into existence, conflicts, wars, and threats to its very existence have been a way
of life for the Israelis.
The Arab League once a thorn in Israel's side, has endorsed the talks.
Saudi Arabia has pressed for talks. This is a good thing. Perhaps this will lead the Arab states to allow Israel to use their
airspace for trade purposes. Unfortunately this was recently rejected.
President Hosni Mubarak
of Egypt is 82 and in frail health. This is another reason for getting these talks started. Nobody knows what will occur once
Mubarak has left the scene. Jordan, Israel's other neighbor with diplomatic relations is also eager to see peace. Jordan is
home to many Palestinian's who have been rumbling about their status. This has caused King Abdullah II to also want peace.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu is said to be the key. Netanyahu has always
been a supporter of expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Last Wednesday when he addressed the assembled,
he didn't say whether to freeze or not to freeze settlements was on the table.
The only question
now remaining is will we finally see a true peace between Israel and its neighbors or will all this simply be another photo
op.
Iran is gearing up to have nuclear weapons in its arsenal.
Israel
is the only power in the region who can stop them.
Pedro Baez is an Associate Host &
Producer of the "Hutchinson Report" Heard each Saturday @ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Pacific on KPFK 90.7 FM L:os Angeles
and streaming worldwide on the web @www.kpfk.org.
