November 2, 2010

Even before the bombs mailed from Yemen dominated the non-election news, talk around the coffee table was inevitably coming around to the Middle East. The phenomenon united news-savvy citizens sitting in a souk in Turkey; a hotel in Bethlehem or east Jerusalem; and even a trendy LA restaurant. Initially phrased in terms like, “Is there going to be peace in the Middle East…in my lifetime?,” the parameters quickly narrow and more often than not “the Middle East” becomes rightly defined as “the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Typically, the questions then become more in-line with, “Will there be a Palestinian state in a year?” or “Will the Palestinians bolt the U.S.-brokered talks and take their chances at the U.N.?” or for the better-informed, “Can Israel maintain its security if it swaps land?” or even “Are the Palestinians sure they want statehood now given all it implies?” Yet, most recently, we’re hearing conversations beginning with Israel and Palestine quickly turn to Iran, its region and finally global threat.\n