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Finger-Tapping on the Way to Annapolis
by Liat Collins
 Everybody in Israel, it seems, fears that Ehud Olmert will come back from Annapolis empty-handed: Half the country is worried he will return from the summit with no real achievements and the other half is scared he'll come back having handed over at least part of Jerusalem. You can't exactly put your finger on it, but there is an uneasy feeling about the summit. When you pray for something and then find it wasn't what you thought it would be the feeling is worse than not having your prayers answered. There is no doubt that the Bush administration wants - or more precisely, needs - the summit meeting to succeed. What was initially a lending hand is turning into a hand that shoves. (Jerualem Post)
A Victorious Chapter in Jewish History
by David Harris
 Who among the intrepid Soviet Jews and their supporters could have imagined at the outset that they were launching one of the most inspiring and successful struggles in modern history? Who could have foreseen that, 24 years later, the obituary of the Soviet Union itself - the world’s mightiest totalitarian nation - would be written and that a reawakened Jewish community would be among those to dance on its grave? Who might have predicted that small numbers of Jews, putting their lives on the line, would spawn a mass movement that led to over one million emigrants to Israel, providing the Jewish state with untold new possibilities? (Jerusalem Post)
Winston Chrchill Spins in his Grave as Anti-Israel Campaign Intensifies
by Suzanne Fields
 Winston Churchill, America's favorite British prime minister, couldn't understand why the Arabs refused to learn agricultural techniques from the Jews of Palestine eight decades ago. He couldn't understand why the presence of Jews was considered an injustice to Arabs, nor why certain Englishmen thought they had more to gain from the Arab occupation of the unworked arid land than the Jews who transformed the desert into a vast oasis. "Why is there harsh injustice done if people come and make a livelihood for more and make the desert into palm groves and orange groves?" Churchill asked. "There is no injustice. The injustice is when those who live in the country leave it to be a desert for a thousand years." (GoErie)
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The Annapolis Trap
by Zalman Shoval
 Experience shows that the Arab side approaches any proposal on Israel’s part, whether it is referred to as “principle,” “understandings,” or “declaration of intent” as an obligation and a starting point. This is how the imprudent pledge made by Rabin regarding the Golan Heights makes it more difficult to engage in talks with the Syrians. Just recently, the Palestinians reminded us that they are still holding a letter from Shimon Peres, the foreign minister in Rabin’s government, promising to allow them to maintain PLO institutions in Jerusalem. There is no doubt that whatever Olmert says in Annapolis, and what he possibly already told Abbas, would make it difficult for Israel in the future when genuine peace talks are launched. This is just a part of the problem, as any concession offered to Abbas may be later cashed in by Hamas. (Ynet News)
Reclaiming Balfour
by Lorna Fitzsimons
 Friends of Israel, inside the country and out, need to become loud supporters of those who advance the creation of an independent Palestinian state, alongside a secure Israel, with equal rights for minorities. As Zionists and pro-Israel advocates, we also need to be honest about Israel. We must challenge the idea that it's acceptable to expect more of the Jews than of anyone else. It's a terrible idea, one that only hurts Israel. We must be confident in explaining that Israel is trying to do the best it can. That its people are reacting just like anyone else would when facing daily attacks. And that vigorous debate is a sign of a healthy democracy. (Ha'aretz)
See also The Government Marked the 90th Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Iran Wants the Bomb So It Can Use It
by David Hannan
 I was the only editorial writer on this newspaper who argued against the Iraq war, because I didn't believe that Saddam had a weapons program. When it comes to Iran, though, there can be no doubt that the regime is developing a nuclear capability, and that it has the delivery mechanism: Shahab-3 missiles, with a range of 1,500 miles. Nor can there be much doubt that the reason the ayatollahs want the Bomb is so that they can use it. Look at what they are already doing. They have armed militias as far afield as the Balkans, the Caucasus and the old Silk Road Khanates. They have supplied their Lebanese proxy, Hizbullah, with rockets. They have been implicated in the bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina. What possible strategic interest can the mullahs have had in Argentina? The answer, surely, is that Teheran was flaunting its ability to strike wherever it wanted. That is what makes an Iranian bomb so frightening: we are not dealing, as we were in the Cold War, with a regime pursuing rational aims. The ayatollahs play by different rules. They advertised this with the very first act of their revolution: the seizure of the U.S. embassy. (Telegraph-UK)
See also Peace Process Is Really About Iran - David Brooks (New York Times)
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