What A Jackass
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has dedicated the next year of his life to "finding a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This will require creativity and delicacy in order to gain the trust of both sides. He's off to a really good start:
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw laid a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah on Thursday, initiating a new diplomatic rite certain to vex many Israelis...
"When you lay a wreath at someone's grave, you are identifying with what the person believed in," a senior Israeli diplomatic official said. "It is infuriating that foreign leaders will now want to identify with Arafat's legacy."
This is going to go well. But the British are nothing if not polite:
A British Embassy official said the gesture was discussed beforehand, and the embassy was aware there would be negative Israeli reaction.
You think so?!?! Of course, Israeli sensibilities aren't really a concern for world leaders. They're used to the game whereby Israeli leaders talk tough but buckle under the slightest international pressure - the Clinton years had, if nothing else, acclimated them to this situation. That's why there was such shock - not to mention confusion - in the early days of the Sharon government when he swore that Israel would not make concessions under fire. The Europeans had originally thought that this was more of the same tough talk, which helps to explain the burst of hatred that erupted when it began to emerge that Sharon was actually serious. Now it looks like we're back in the same old situation where the Palestinians are treated with kid gloves while the Israelis are expected to tolerate humiliation "for the sake of peace":
But, he said, the feeling was that if it was not done, "the Palestinians would have taken it as a deliberate snub." He said it is likely that all foreign dignitaries who visit Ramallah in the next few months – and quite a number are lined up to do so – will visit Arafat's tomb.
The official said thought was given to Israeli reaction and sensibilities, but "we thought the government would understand this is a formality. We are not paying homage to Arafat, but showing that we understand this is something very important for the Palestinians."
If the Palestinians are going to refuse an Israeli peace deal and land swap because their tender little feelings have been hurt by European leaders refusing to celebrate terrorism, then maybe this isn't such a great deal for Israel in the first place.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw laid a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah on Thursday, initiating a new diplomatic rite certain to vex many Israelis...
"When you lay a wreath at someone's grave, you are identifying with what the person believed in," a senior Israeli diplomatic official said. "It is infuriating that foreign leaders will now want to identify with Arafat's legacy."
This is going to go well. But the British are nothing if not polite:
A British Embassy official said the gesture was discussed beforehand, and the embassy was aware there would be negative Israeli reaction.
You think so?!?! Of course, Israeli sensibilities aren't really a concern for world leaders. They're used to the game whereby Israeli leaders talk tough but buckle under the slightest international pressure - the Clinton years had, if nothing else, acclimated them to this situation. That's why there was such shock - not to mention confusion - in the early days of the Sharon government when he swore that Israel would not make concessions under fire. The Europeans had originally thought that this was more of the same tough talk, which helps to explain the burst of hatred that erupted when it began to emerge that Sharon was actually serious. Now it looks like we're back in the same old situation where the Palestinians are treated with kid gloves while the Israelis are expected to tolerate humiliation "for the sake of peace":
But, he said, the feeling was that if it was not done, "the Palestinians would have taken it as a deliberate snub." He said it is likely that all foreign dignitaries who visit Ramallah in the next few months – and quite a number are lined up to do so – will visit Arafat's tomb.
The official said thought was given to Israeli reaction and sensibilities, but "we thought the government would understand this is a formality. We are not paying homage to Arafat, but showing that we understand this is something very important for the Palestinians."
If the Palestinians are going to refuse an Israeli peace deal and land swap because their tender little feelings have been hurt by European leaders refusing to celebrate terrorism, then maybe this isn't such a great deal for Israel in the first place.
