Today’s Times has a piece by Mark Landler on the fact that the U.S., led by Israel lobbyist-cum-Obama-policymaker Dennis Ross, wants to give Israel the store in exchange for a two-month extension of the settlement freeze. Good piece. The money:
the United States is offering military hardware, support for a long-term Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley, help with enforcing a ban on the smuggling of weapons through a Palestinian state, a promise to veto Security Council resolutions critical of Israel during the talks and a pledge to forge a regional security agreement for the Middle East.
For all this, people briefed on the details said, the United States is seeking a single 60-day, nonrenewable extension.
“It’s an extraordinary package for essentially nothing,” said Daniel C. Kurtzer, who also served as American ambassador to Israel and was a negotiator in the Clinton administration. “Given what’s already happened, who thinks that a two-month extension is enough?”
I would just like to point out that the five experts the story quotes are: Martin Indyk, Daniel Kurtzer, David Makovsky, Rob Malley and Daniel Levy. Five Jews. Is this fair?
Yes I know Rob Malley and Dan Levy are enlightened dudes. They balance Indyk and Makovsky. Kurtzer is a fair person.
Still: Shouldn’t the Times at least quote someone who is not Jewish? Shouldn’t it quote a Palestinian or Arab about a matter that deeply affects Palestinian aspirations?
I say this imbalance reflects a Jewish vanity. We have been in the leadership of the American discourse on countless issues over the last 50 years– civil rights, feminism, gay rights, Vietnam. On this issue we are not leaders. Jon Stewart is not a leader and Barney Frank is not a leader. The Palestinian-American community understands this issue too, and has a more progressive stance on it. Can’t their leaders also be quoted in Times analyses?
Oh you say: but this is an analysis of power politics. We need to quote people who are looking over the shoulder of the croupier, Dennis Ross. The Palestinian Americans are simply too far away from the table to supply insight into the process. Right. What does that tell you?
