Time for Movement

We have skewed priorities. This realization struck us when, today, we realized we were more perplexed by the question of whether cheerleading qualifies as a sport than by the question of what should be done in the Middle East peace process.

Tensions flared after President Obama explicitly stated that any comprehensive peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians must use Israel's 1967 borders as a starting point. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others took exception. What has gotten lost in the uproar over the President's remarks, however, are the facts that (a) Obama proposed this as a starting point for negotiations, not a goal; (b) he emphasized that the 1967 borders will need to be adjusted with mutually-agreed upon land swaps to account for modern reality; and, most importantly, (c) President Obama merely made explicit what everybody, American and Israeli (and Arab and European and Russian and so on), has implicitly understood for the last 40 years. Only those fundamentally opposed to a peace deal see things otherwise.

For what it's worth, we think Israel must make some grand gesture along the lines Obama and others have outlined. We understand and sympathize with Israeli fears that a large portion of the Arab world is hostile to the very idea of Israel's existence, and we worry, too, that these parties are less than reliable peace partners. But what choice is there? Ultimately, Israel is surrounded by enemies. Her only hope for long-term survival is to build and maintain as much international support as possible. By showing willingness to embrace serious peace proposals, Israel maintains the moral high ground she has as the only truly functioning democracy in the Middle East. If and when Israel is still met only with terrorism and other hostilities, she can legitimately claim she has tried everything and been met with nothing but recalcitrant violence.

Some will say this is too risky a strategy, but they should remember that Israel still has the most sophisticated military in the region and, yes, the explicit backing of the most powerful country in the world. Israel needs to take some risks, and now is the time to do so.

OK, we'll get to the cheerleading thing tomorrow.