Saturday, January 19, 2008

Bush policy shift: Israel in "tighter spot"

Reading America right -Barbara Sofer

Largely brushed aside was the president's call to end "the occupation" that began in 1967. [T]his word choice by an American president instead of "disputed territories" was anything but casual. "Occupation," ambassador Dore Gold, now president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, has often pointed out, is an accusation.

The term creates a political context to justify Palestinian violence and delegitimizes the Jewish historical attachment to the land. This not-so-subtle hardening of American policy is a call for greater flexibility from Israel. We're in a tighter spot than we were before the visit.
[Jerusalem Post]

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