Rami Khouri, editor-at-large for The Daily Star
and director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs in Beirut, Lebanon, and David Makovsky, a senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process, now in Jordan, give the Middle Eastern perspective on the Annapolis Peace Accords.
Comments [12]
Thought this was a wonderful program today and like Brian - was so happy to hear a tone of calm rationality from both sides. Re Jerusalem - we should turn it all over to Disney. Can you imagine? Clean, organized and open to everyone with bucks. And everyone has access. Honestly, there must be some objective UN- like entity that everyone will trust to run the religious sites of Jerusalem. But they should be open to all.
Of course another issue is whether there should be the creation of a new Palestinian state - given that there already is a Palestinan state in jordan and which is one of the 22 member countries of the Arab league and 56 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Countries...
more importantly, does the world really need another terrorist state?
I don't think so. And given the Hamas/Fath daily shootings - I don't think getting a state will do anything but enable more terror internally + externally.
If the issue is about the size of Israel, then we have a straightforward border problem, like Alsace-Lorraine or Texas. That is to say, not easy, but possible to solve in the long run, and to live with in the meantime.
If, on the other hand, the issue is the existence of Israel, then clearly it is insoluble by negotiation. There is no compromise position between existing and not existing, and no conceivable government of Israel is going to negotiate on whether that country should or should not exist.
-- BL show responds:
We remove all comments that violate our posting guidelines. This comment was removed because it was offensive. http://www.wnyc.org/about/terms_comments.html
I find it odd that an earlier comment of mine appeared here and now is gone!!?
-- BL show responds:
We remove all comments that violate our posting guidelines. The previous comment was removed because it was offensive. http://www.wnyc.org/about/terms_comments.html
Feh. Because "God" is a factor in this whole mess, it will NEVER be resolved. Not in Oslo, not in Camp David, not in Anapolis, not in our lifetime. It is a war of religion. It is a war of what God said and who he said it to. Unless the clouds part and a giant finger points down and yells "Cut the s---!" this will never be settled.
Actually Makovsky isn't as extreme as I would have expected from his affiliation.
He's not giving much weight to the Settler view of "God told us that we must settle this land and not give up one inch."
Can the Temple Mount as it is important to many religions be declared a world heritage site and controlled by the UN?
I understand that one premise is a Jewish state. To what extent does the Bible control the Jewish position on the land.
I taught 12 Palestinian and 12 Jewish kids photography in Jerusalem's old city. They live a stone throws away from each other but know nothing of each others lives. I showed them, through their photos. They were fascinated. Tolerance starts with teaching the kids. Change starts from bottom up, not policy down.
www.kids-with-cameras.org/jerusalem
Yea, it seems recently the "right" is more interested in peace between the parties than
the "left"
weird huh
The Washington Institute is pretty right-wing. Their board of advisors include Richard Perle. Here's the whole list:
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=133
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.