Journalist discusses Israeli peace potential

According to one journalist, Israel is farther from achieving peace with its neighbors than ever before.

Jerusalem Post reporter Herb Keinon spoke with students last night at Hillel about current affairs in Israel and the Middle East, emphasizing the upcoming Annapolis Summit, a U.S. initiative to promote cooperation among Israel and its neighbors.

Keinon was invited by the Penn Israel Coalition, a nonpartisan, pro-Israel student organization.

Keinon said Israel is threatened in three arenas: within the state by the Palestinians, at its borders by Syria and Lebanon and from a distance by Iran.

Most especially, Keinon said, Israel has been fundamentally changed by the terrorism that began around 2000.

The Intifada, which began in 2000, introduced "terrible, real threats felt by everybody," Keinon said. "Terrorism creeped into your life and shaped what you wanted from government."

Therefore, he said, "what Israeli people feel in their guts is a strong indicator of foreign policy."

For example, he explained that Israel initiated the Lebanon War after the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in the summer of 2006 because at that time there had been a number of kidnappings throughout Israel, "reminding us of our own vulnerability."

He also explained that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has worked to incite Iranian-Israeli conflict in order to deter countries like Saudi Arabia from coming to the forefront against Iran.

Keinon pointed to Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and the state of Israel as two such instigators, as well as his continued threats to develop nuclear technology.

Keinon quoted Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni, saying, "Iran's technological clock is working faster than the diplomatic clock against it."

He said the upcoming Annapolis summit is "not primarily about Israelis and Palestinians," but about forming "a moderate coalition of Arab states." He stressed that the summit will not be a peace conference, and that Israel wants to keep it "general and vague."

After his speech Keinon responded to questions from the audience, which he called, "educated, on the money and challenging."

College sophomore Sam Adelsberg said "It is exciting to hear a viewpoint from an insider of the Israeli political system. It's a first step for constructive dialogue between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups."

College sophomore Alex Leavy, president of the Penn Israel Coalition, said she was happy with student turnout.

"I want students to be aware of what is going on in the Middle East," Leavy said.

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