Speeches, speeches

"Words, words, words, I'm sick of words..." In the past week we have had five major speeches on the Middle East, two by Pres. Obama and three by PM Netanyahu, the last one to the joint session of Congress on Monday. These speeches have been subjected to talmudic analysis to ascertain whether or not there is any divergence of interests between the USA and Israel. Enough already! It is a word-fest that has little practical outcome if negotiations can't proceed because the Palestinians have included the terrorist group Hamas in their government.

I must say that I approved of PM Netanyahu's speech to the joint session of Congress. He was clear and firm. He offered peace to the Palestinians, as long as they accept the Jewish State of Israel. He pointed out that "Jews are not interlopers in Judea and Samaria" but are there by right. He also admitted that "some settlements will end up beyond Israel's borders." And he promised that any Palestinian State would be large enough to be "viable, independent and prosperous." What was impressive was the amazing approval of the members of Congress for Netanyahu and Israel. It was clear that Congress and by extension the American people support Israel more than the Obama Administration does. But, the differences are ones of detail, not principle, on the main issues there is unanimity, namely:

- prevention of Iran achieving nuclear weapons
- continuation of the peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt
- support for democracy in the Arab world
- opposition to a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian State at the UN
- borders will not be those of pre-June 1967
- incorporation of major Jewish settlement blocs into Israel
- establishment of a Palestinian State as a result of negotiations
- demilitarization of a Palestinian State
- stopping of teaching hatred and violence in PA schools and media
- Jerusalem will remain the indivisible capital of Israel
- the Palestinian "refugee" problem will be solved "outside Israel"

There were some other points, but these cover the most important issues, and few if any members of Congress would quarrel with any of these. Of course, the PA immediately rejected Netanyahu's speech. However, as I said, talk is cheap, but reality can be unpredictable. It may be that all these carefully chosen words will be pointless as events supersede them.