Cairo

Dr. Stephen Cohen: Obama may set deadline

I sat down yesterday with Dr. Stephen P. Cohen, a longtime advisor to Israel Policy Forum who serves as President of the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development. In the 1970's, Dr. Cohen was able to become one of the first to lecture in Egypt on the potential for peace with Israel and to serve as a behind-the-scenes confidant of Israel's Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and President Sadat in the launching of the peace process.

Khaled Mashal's Response Speech

INSS Insight No. 117, July 1, 2009

Adopting the current fashion inaugurated by President Obama with his June 4 Cairo address, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashal joined the list of political leaders delivering major policy speeches in the Middle East. On June 25, Mashal delivered a response to the speeches of Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. His address presents Hamas' comprehensive, updated political approach, thus also deciding the internal debate within Hamas between the so-called moderates and the so-called radicals - in favor of the moderates.

An Israeli View: Less of a preoccupation

As a wave of ramifications and reverberations from Tehran washes across the Middle East, it is intriguing to consider how it may affect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Precisely because we don't know when and how the unrest in Iran will end, these thoughts must be understood at this point as little more than informed speculation. Note that the protests in Iran remain within rather than against the regime itself. Hence no major change in Iran's orientation toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears likely.

The Holocaust Syndrome

After more than sixty-one years, the Jewish people have still not wrested themselves free from the trauma of the greatest catastrophe caused by one nation to another: the Holocaust.   This is especially true today when we hear Iran's declarations about its desire to destroy Israel. While we must not ignore the dangers and risks that still threaten us, the time has come to shake off the Holocaust syndrome.

From Cairo to Tehran... to Jerusalem

I was unable to hear President Obama' deliver his speech in Cairo, but I have now read the full text (click here for the full text).   I agree with the many pundits who have lauded both the content and the rhetorical style.  I am confident that my young children will study this speech when they are in college and will come to appreciate the radical shift in US relations with the Moslem world that Obama sought to set in motion. 

Having just completed teaching a course on the right of political participation under international law, I was pleased by the President's emphatic commitment "to governments that reflect the will of the people."  At the same time, he properly noted that

no matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

To read more, click here.

An Israeli View: Walking between the raindrops

There is something pathetic about the evolution of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's policy speech at Bar Ilan University on Sunday. He and his advisers apparently decided they had to reply to US President Barack Obama's Cairo University speech earlier this month using the very same format of an address at an academic institution. Worse, they obviously first decided that the prime minister must make a major policy speech to address Obama's demands, and only afterwards began to discuss the policy innovations Netanyahu would present.

The Settlements: Obama's Demands and Netanyahu's Options

Amidst the whirlwind of activity surrounding President Obama's diplomatic efforts to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict, one issue has stood out among others as particularly contentious. The renewed statements by President Obama, Secretary Clinton and the rest of the US administration on ending Israeli settlement activity has caused considerable discord on how to find common ground in this controversial issue.

A Palestinian View: Waiting expectantly

The speech delivered by US President Barack Obama in Cairo last week was impressive in intent, taking on the great rift that now divides the United States and the Arab and Islamic world. Its main impact, however, was to generate cautious optimism. Too many times burned, most observers received the speech with a wait-and-see attitude, hoping for practical implementation of these expansive new ideas.

An Israeli View: A level US-Arab playing field

US President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo last week devoted unusual emphasis to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this respect, the message was quantitative. Obama never mentioned the prospect of an Israeli-Syrian peace process and he devoted barely a sentence to the Arab Peace Initiative and little more to key issues like democratization and women's rights. But the Israeli-Palestinian issue got huge play, clearly reflecting the US administration's recognition of its centrality to the Arab discourse and decision to concentrate on it in the months ahead.

The Best Hope–Still?

Despite large obstacles, Obama is right to push the two-state solution 

A core element of President Barack Obama's much-anticipated speech in Cairo was an old idea: a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As expected, he argued strongly on its behalf, saying it "is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest." He pledged to "personally pursue this outcome with all the patience and dedication that the task requires."