And not only in Ukraine, where the Russian Federation, is in breach of its solemn undertakings in the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances to, among other things, "respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine," and "refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine[.]" Rather, I refer to hopes for peace between Israel and Palestine, and President Obama's recent interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, entitled "Obama to Israel -- Time Is Running Out."
President Obama meets today with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to Goldberg,
President Barack Obama will tell him that his country could face a bleak future -- one of international isolation and demographic disaster -- if he refuses to endorse a U.S.-drafted framework agreement for peace with the Palestinians. Obama will warn Netanyahu that time is running out for Israel as a Jewish-majority democracy. And the president will make the case that Netanyahu, alone among Israelis, has the strength and political credibility to lead his people away from the precipice.
But if Prime Minister Netanyahu "does not believe that a peace deal with the Palestinians is the right thing to do for Israel, then he needs to articulate an alternative approach." And, President Obama rightly noted, ""It’s hard to come up with one that’s plausible.”
Mark Tracy, at The New Republic, characterized President Obama as "speak[ing] of Israel’s interests and the end of the settlements as though he were a typical American Jewish 'liberal Zionist'—an Israel supporter, a settlements opponent, constantly trying to calibrate his mind and his heart (or his kishke)—kibitzing on some progressive listserv." In this connection, Tracy quoted this part of Goldberg's interview with President Obama:
"I have not yet heard, however, a persuasive vision of how Israel survives as a democracy and a Jewish state at peace with its neighbors in the absence of a peace deal with the Palestinians and a two-state solution. Nobody has presented me a credible scenario.
"The only thing that I’ve heard is, 'We’ll just keep on doing what we’re doing, and deal with problems as they arise. And we'll build settlements where we can. And where there are problems in the West Bank, we will deal with them forcefully. We’ll cooperate or co-opt the Palestinian Authority.' And yet, at no point do you ever see an actual resolution to the problem."
President Obama also made what Goldberg describes as "a veiled threat: The U.S., though willing to defend an isolated Israel at the United Nations and in other international bodies, might soon be unable to do so effectively."
“If you see no peace deal and continued aggressive settlement construction -- and we have seen more aggressive settlement construction over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time,” Obama said. “If Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited.”
Additionally, President Obama fully-endorsed Secretary of State Kerry's activism in promoting a peace settlement:
"John Kerry [is] engaging in some of the most vigorous, active diplomacy that we’ve seen on this issue in many years. And John is not doing that by accident. He’s doing it because as an administration we think that it is in the interest of the Israelis and the Palestinians, but also in the interest of the United States and the world to arrive at a framework for negotiations that can actually bring about a two-state solution that provides Israel the security it needs -- peace with its neighbors -- at a time when the neighborhood has gotten more volatile, and gives Palestinians the dignity of a state."
Asked by Goldberg about Palestinian intentions, the President began his answer with a question: "Look, I think it has to be tested. The question is: What is lost by testing it?"
"If in fact a framework for negotiations is arrived at, the core principles around which the negotiations are going to proceed is arrived at, I have no doubt that there are going to be factions within the Palestinian community that will vigorously object in the same way that there are going to be those within Israel who are going to vigorously object.
"But here’s what I know from my visits to the region: That for all that we’ve seen over the last several decades, all the mistrust that’s been built up, the Palestinians would still prefer peace. They would still prefer a country of their own that allows them to find a job, send their kids to school, travel overseas, go back and forth to work without feeling as if they are restricted or constrained as a people. And they recognize that Israel is not going anywhere. So I actually think that the voices for peace within the Palestinian community will be stronger with a framework agreement and that Abu Mazen’s position will be strengthened with a framework for negotiations.
"There would still be huge questions about what happens in Gaza, but I actually think Hamas would be greatly damaged by the prospect of real peace. And the key question, the legitimate question for Israel, would be making sure that their core security needs are still met as a framework for negotiations led to an actual peace deal.
"And part of what John Kerry has done has been to dig into Israel’s security needs with the help of General John Allen, the former commander in Afghanistan. And they have developed, based on conversations with the Israeli Defense Forces about their defense needs, they’ve come up with a plan for how you would deal with the Jordan Valley, how you would deal with potential threats to Israel that are unprecedented in detail, unprecedented in scope. And as long as those security needs were met, then testing Abbas ends up being the right thing to do."
In a few weeks, President Obama is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Let's hope Mr. Obama succeeds with both leaders in keeping hope of a two-states-for-two-peoples peace settlement alive and that Secretary of State Kerry obtains agreement from both sides to a framework for such a peace settlement. Our part, small but not unimportant, is to build support for the President and the Secretary in their efforts.