Obama to visit Israel, West Bank next week: officials

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas next week, officials said on Monday.

Senior Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erakat confirmed that Obama would visit Abbas in the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah on July 23.

"President Abbas welcomes this important visit and considers it evidence of the importance of the Palestinian issue in American foreign policy," he said.

Obama will also meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert either on the same day or the previous evening, according to an Israeli official.

Both meetings will come after a stopover in Jordan, where Obama will meet King Abdullah II.

Obama is also expected to visit Germany, France and Britain before the end of July in his first international tour since effectively securing the Democratic Party nomination."

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[LeftishBrit]

1. Good; hope something comes of it all.

[More_liberal_than_mo]

2. They didn't mention

that he is also scheduled to go to both Iraq and Afghanistan on the same trip. I'm expecting that he'll have to spend his first year in office making a round-the-world trip to apologize for all the mistakes and bad will brought on by the Bush administration.

[azurnoir]

3. it will be"interesting" to see what kind

of reception he gets in Israel, especially after his Jerusalem statements.

[Scurrilous]

4. Obama Picks the Right Baggage for Visiting Israel

<snip>

"At the airport, before his takeoff for the Middle East, no one will ask Barack Obama if he packed his bags himself. It would be rude, and besides he has a full-time handler for that. He never has the lurching feeling as the cab leaves his house that he left the tickets on the kitchen table and a prescription in the medicine cabinet. Just writing those words, I finally understand the attraction of running for president.

He has, however, made his political baggage himself. Mostly he's done a good job -- better, in fact, than one could expect.

First, he's meeting with Palestinians as well as Israelis. At least according to the Palestinian side, Obama has put a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on his schedule for next Wednesday. When I wrote about his trip a couple of weeks ago, before the requisite leaks of the itinerary, I was afraid he'd decide it was politically inexpedient to make that stop, essential as it is. Symbolically, the Ramallah visit shows that he intends as president to talk to both Israelis and Palestinians, and that he's serious about working for peace. Practically, it gives him the chance to see how Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayad respond to tough questions about the compromises they'll need to make.

It would have been easy to skip Ramallah for fearing of losing Jewish votes, especially in swing states like Florida. The common mistake among candidates is to believe the rightwing minority in the U.S. Jewish community that purports to speak for the community as a whole, and that regards any contact with Palestinians as betraying Israel. The incident that Connie Bruck reported in his recent New Yorker piece on zillionaire ideologue Sheldon Adelson is typical:

Adelson berated (former ambassador to Israel Martin) Indyk for hosting "terrorists" like Fayyad, who he said was a founder of Fatah. Indyk (now director of the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy) is said to have replied that Fayyad was never involved in terrorism and was not a member of Fatah, and that Adelson's problem was really with Olmert, because he dealt with Fayyad. Adelson stood his ground, and declared that the Olmert government was an illegitimate government and should be thrown out.

As a point of principle, Obama's refusal to give into that political reflex shows that he really is committed to peacemaking. Practically, it also makes sense. As James Baker might have advised Obama, "Adelson and his ilk, they'll never vote for you anyway."

On the other hand, as shown by J Street's new poll of American Jewish political views, released yesterday, most Jews are on Obama's side on this as on other issues. Not only do US Jews believe overwhelmingly (90 percent to 10) that America is on the wrong track, not only do they believe (79-21%) that George W. Bush has mishandled Iraq, they believe (71-29%) that Bush has mishandled the Arab-Israeli conflict. Overwhelmingly, they want the U.S. to play a strong role in reaching peace, even if it means publicly stating disagreements with both the Arabs and Israel. By 59-41 percent they favor giving most of the West Bank and dismantling "many" settlements for peace. Obama isn't going to drive away the Jews by showing he's willing to get involved in making peace."

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[Vegasaurus]

6. Yes.

"Most of the West Bank and dismantling MANY settlements".

That has been the view of all past peace agreements too, but the Palestinians have never agreed.

What makes anyone think that the Israelis are giving back ALL of the West Bank or dismantling ALL of the settlements, as the Palestinians demand?

Not even Obama will negotiate such a demand.

His viewpoint is what has been offered before, and denied.

[Scurrilous]

5. Ross to accompany Obama to Mideast

"Former Mideast peace negotiator Dennis Ross will accompany Barack Obama to Israel.

Time Magazine reported Tuesday that Ross, a career foreign service officer and lead peace negotiator on Israel-Palestinian issues for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will accompany Obama on his visit next week to Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan -- a sign that the presumptive Democratic candidate for president plans to actively pursue the peace process.

Ross began unofficially advising the campaign some 15 months ago, according to Time, while also helping other candidates. Since Obama clinched the nomination in June, the Illinois senator's campaign has been working with Ross more officially and publicly.

The magazine called Ross' return "a reassuring message to many in the U.S. foreign policy establishment who see him as an experienced hand."

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/109501.html