President George W. Bush kicked off the week by reaffirming his vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it was widely seen as an attempt to divert attention from his debacle in Iraq rather than a commitment to sustained diplomacy.
Moreover, now that Hamas is recognized as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, Hamas\’ official stance toward Israel has given Western observers a crisp and reliable thermometer to gauge the Palestinian vision of peace, many times more reliable than the ambiguous polls and speeches we have been reading about in the past.
This summer, as Israel was under fire, the Jews of the world spoke together and stood together. It is well known that as Jews we band together in times of hardship. Never was that more true than during this past summer. Jews in Israel and around the world understood the stakes and made standing with Israel their first priority.
On May 30, the United States Postal Service issued a series of new stamps honoring six career State Department diplomats who earned the gratitude of this nation for taking \”risks to advance humanitarianism…[and] peace,\” even if their actions put themselves \”in harm\’s way.\”
There is much skepticism about what will transpire in the coming weeks and months, with fears that Israel will be forced to make too many concessions or that Palestinians will get a state without first cracking down on terrorism.
Ask any rabbi or community relations professional; in Jewish communities across the nation, there is support for the Bush administration\’s Iraq policy laced with healthy doses of skepticism and outright opposition — the whole range of reactions of a worried nation.
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