Jewish Current Issues

Letter from Prague: Every Day a Miracle

Norm Eisen, the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, on the Jewish aspects of the experience, posted this week on the White House blog:

My mother, who passed away earlier this year, was born in then-Czechoslovakia, survived the Holocaust, and later fled Communism and immigrated to the US.  She was very proud that I had returned to the Czech Republic representing the mightiest nation on earth.  She liked to tell people that “the Nazis deported me and my family to Auschwitz in a cattle car, and my son flew back on Air Force One!” …

… returning to a place where my mom, the rest of my family, and so many other Czechs and Slovaks were oppressed by the Nazis and the Communists, was not without its challenges.  I felt the weight of that history particularly during the first weeks of living in my residence – a home built by a Czech Jewish family that was commandeered by the Nazi General Staff before being purchased by the US after World War II.  Not long after moving in I discovered a swastika and a Nazi inventory number affixed underneath a beautiful antique table in my foyer—seeing that was a stab in the heart.

Of course, intellectually I recognized that my return represented a triumph over evil, but it took a little while to feel that triumph emotionally as well. … That really hit home at the end of my first year in Prague, when my family and I celebrated Hanukkah in the house.  The Hanukkah story is, of course, about re-consecrating what was made unholy by oppressors.  We felt that by celebrating in the former home of a Czech Jewish family and the Nazi General Staff we re-consecrated the house and were living the message of the holiday -- freedom from oppression. … 

Since arriving in Prague over a year ago I have done my best to become a member of the authentic life of the city, including the small but dynamic Jewish community.  Given my roots, it is incredibly powerful to worship every Shabbat in Prague’s Old-New Synagogue.  It is a place where Jews have been praying more or less continuously since about 1270.  It is one of the oldest operating synagogues in the world, and my ancestors certainly prayed here when travelling through Prague--although as far as I know I am the first in the family to earn an assigned seat!  In the terrible pogroms of 1389, the walls of the synagogue were splashed in blood and were left that way for about two centuries.  Finally painted over in the sixteenth century, it has left an indelible memory in my consciousness and that of Prague.  We are fortunate to be part of this community that has so many important links with the Jewish community in the United States and around the world.   

From the time I was a child, my mother told me about growing up in the newly-independent Czechoslovakia led by President Masaryk, about the horror of the Nazi occupation, and about the hopes for a new beginning after the war, only to have the Communists take over.  Never did I imagine then that I would one day have the privilege to represent my country as Ambassador in her former homeland, what is now the Czech Republic.  It is miraculous. 

Also miraculous on a larger scale is the rebirth of freedom here in the Central Europe after so many years of totalitarian oppression.  The Czech people are among our closest allies in the world today.  Their soldiers have served with us in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Czechs have stood up for freedom around the world, from Cuba to Libya.  I strive daily to justify the trust that President Obama placed in me by further strengthening the ties of friendship between our two countries.  My mom would accept nothing less. 

Thank You

Thank you to Anne Lieberman at Boker tov, Boulder! for her extraordinarily generous post and Mannie Sherberg for his equally kind comment regarding my recent articles at PJ Media (“Restoring the Record: European Jews on the Eve of the Holocaust”) and American Thinker (“Jews, Jewish Leftists, and Anti-Semitism”), and my post at Commentary’s Contentions (“Today in Jerusalem, Israel”).

The compliments are all the more appreciated because Anne and Mannie’s knowledge of Judaism and Jewish history far exceeds my own, as does their ability to come up with posts and comments six days a week of such extraordinary quality and importance. Their efforts dwarf mine, and they and their work are an inspiration, for which I am every day grateful.

Jerusalem Day 2012

Israel will celebrate the 45th Jerusalem Day on Saturday night and Sunday, on the Hebrew date of the 28th of Iyar, the anniversary of the Six Day War, when Israeli soldiers liberated the eastern part of the city from the Jordanian occupation.

More than 40,000 people are expected to march toward the Western Wall on Sunday during the annual Dance of Flags.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs has produced an informative four-minute video demonstrating a re-division of Jerusalem today is technically impossible, unnecessary and dangerous, and opposed by a majority of all the city’s residents -- both Jews and Arabs.

 

The JCPA notes a re-division is no longer possible in a city that has dramatically grown and changed over the half-century since the war. Today, nearly half a million Arabs and Jews (270,000 Arabs and 200,000 Jews) live in a mosaic of neighborhoods called “East Jerusalem,” intermingled not only in terms of neighborhoods but vital infrastructures.

This might also be a good time to re-read Anne Lieberman’s extraordinary article “Six Days Remembered,” her chilling day-by-day summary of the Arab movements preparing to extinguish the 19-year old Jewish state in the lead-up to the war, which resulted instead in the re-unification of Israel’s capital.

Its eternal, undivided capital. An inter-active panoramic view of Jerusalem is here.

Just Published: Wasserstein, "On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before the Second World War,"

"On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before the Second World War" by Bernard Wasserstein. Simon & Shuster, 552 pages (May 2012).

Here is the publisher’s description of the book, followed by the opening of the book: “On the Eve is the portrait of a world on the brink of annihilation. In this provocative book, Bernard Wasserstein presents a new and disturbing interpretation of the collapse of European Jewish civilization even before the Nazi onslaught.”

A specter haunted Europe in the 1930s -- the specter of the Jew. Simultaneously feared and despised as a Christ-killer, a devil with horns, subversive revolutionary and capitalist exploiter, obdurate upholder of an outmoded religion and devious exponent of cultural modernism, the Jew was widely regarded as an alien presence. Increasingly excluded from normal society and extruded from common human fellowship, the Jew was transmogrified from fellow citizen into bogey, a subhuman, at best an inconvenience, eventually almost everywhere a hunted beast. Even before the outbreak of the Second World War, this was true not just in those areas of Europe already directly ruled by the Nazis but over the greater part of the continent.

In the 1920s, European Jews had presented the appearance of a vibrant, dynamic, and flourishing people. For the first time in their history they were recognized as citizens in every country in which they lived. Especially in western Europe and the Soviet Union, an ambitious, meritocratic middle class was rapidly climbing the social ladder. The best-educated ethnic group in Europe, Jews shone in all fields of science, dazzled in the theater and literature, and constituted the beating heart of musical life.

Within the short space of two decades a dramatic change transformed the Jewish position. …

Benzion Netanyahu: 1910-2012

Today the Prime Minister’s office released a summary of the life of Benzion Netanyahu,
born in 1910. Here is what he accomplished between the ages of 18 and 38:

Following his graduation from the Beit Hakerem Seminar in Jerusalem, Netanyahu studied at the Hebrew University, graduating with an M.A. in history. During his studies, he was elected chairman of the Revisionist Students Group, and represented the group at party conferences. It was during that time that Netanyahu initiated (together with Joseph Or) the establishment of the "Beitar" literary monthly, whose chief editor was Prof. Joseph Klausner. Netanyahu was one of the editors and spiritual mentors of the monthly, which featured some of the greatest Hebrew poets and philosophers. …

In 1933, Netanyahu was appointed to serve as a member of the Israeli Center of Hatzohar (the Union of Revisionist Zionists, Jabotinsky's party). At the age of 23, he founded a daily newspaper, "Hayarden", … which was frequently shut down by the British authorities … [A]s a result of the sudden death of [his] father, Ben-Zion was forced to leave the paper and dedicate himself to taking care of his large family that found itself fatherless.

Between 1936-1939, Netanyahu was engaged in research of the history of Zionism and in the establishment and organizing of the "political library", which included works by the founders of political Zionism – Herzl, Nordau and Zangwill, which had not previously been published in Hebrew.

In March 1939, at the age of 29, Netanyahu traveled to London to meet with Jabotinsky in an attempt to persuade him to transfer the majority of his activities from Britain to the United States. Netanyahu understood that the United States would ultimately be the country to determine the international agenda and decide on the question of the establishment of a Jewish state, and believed that intensive, large-scale propaganda was needed there. Jabotinsky was convinced and in 1940, a Hatzohar delegation, headed by Jabotinsky, arrived in New York.

Several months later, following the death of Jabotinsky – at whose funeral Netanyahu served as pallbearer – Netanyahu became head of the delegation and head of the New Zionist Federation in America. For the next seven years, the movement, under his leadership, would become an active and influential factor in Jewish and general public opinion in America. The bulk of the delegation's activities, headed by Netanyahu, included: large assemblies, at which American statesmen and prominent public figures delivered speeches, huge advertisements in major newspapers, numerous propaganda articles and intensive negotiations with administration officials and Congress members from both parties.

Netanyahu himself met with a series of key American figures, including Dean Acheson and General Eisenhower (who would later become President of the United States), to convince them that America must support the establishment of a Jewish state and press Britain to change its anti-Zionist policies. A researcher of that era, Dr. Rafael Madoff, said that "Netanyahu's (and his team's) success in introducing, for the first time, a clearly pro-Zionist platform at the 1944 Republican Convention would forever change the face of American politics", as it compelled the Democrats to
start competing for the Jewish vote, which prompted them to adopt a pro-Zionist platform of their own. In the years following Roosevelt's death, the Jewish vote became critical, as the Presidential race was tight and many estimated that Truman would lose the 1948 elections.

In the San Francisco meetings between representatives of nations which led to the establishment of the United Nations, Netanyahu represented the movement and, in addition to the comprehensive public campaign he conducted there, he met with numerous heads of delegations from around the world to persuade them to support the establishment of a Hebrew state.

During Netanyahu's intensive activities in the United States, he found time to write his doctorate on Don Isaac Abarbanel's philosophical writings. During his stay in the US, he married Tzila (née Segal). The two met years earlier at the Hebrew University and renewed their relationship when they met again in New York during World War II.

Following the establishment of the State of Israel, Netanyahu abandoned his political activity for good. … Shortly after his return to Israel in 1948, Netanyahu was appointed general editor and later Editor-in-Chief of the Hebrew Encyclopedia, and was responsible for ten of its initial volumes.

In 1995, the New York Times reviewed Benzion Netanyahu’s 1,384 page book, “The Origins of the Inquisition in 15^th Century Spain.”

This remarkable, lucid and very lengthy explanation of one of the central acts of malice in world history required a lifetime of scholarly devotion. … [T]he power of Mr. Netanyahu's intellect, the grandeur of his themes and his moral passion give "The Origins of the Inquisition" great narrative power. The voyage through the stormy centuries is long and slow, but it is always absorbing. You feel compelled to press on, to reach the distant shore where the answers to the many questions that Mr. Netanyahu raises can be found.

And Mr. Netanyahu always asks the fundamental why's. Why the hatred of the Jews? Why did the Spanish Kings, who relied on the Jews to fill top administrative posts, accede to pressures for the Inquisition? Why, if the Marranos were no longer Jews but had converted to Christianity and were recognized as Christians by both the King and the Pope, did they continue to be persecuted? As the answers emerge in Mr. Netanyahu's book, so, too, does a revisionist vision of the Inquisition that is both disturbing and eerily modern….

Mr. Netanyahu's racial explanation introduces the chilling notion of the Inquisition as a prototype of 20th-century persecutions by race, by group, by economic class. His conclusions will no doubt be challenged. But Mr. Netanyahu has produced the scholarly monument against which future works will be measured.

This Sunday -- A CJHS Panel on "The U.S., Iran, Israel and the Bomb" -- Luxe Hotel, Los Angeles

The U.S., Iran, Israel and the Bomb
Allies, Enemies, and the Point of No Return

An Expert Panel Discussion

            Presented by Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors

Luxe Hotel Sunset
11461 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA  90049

Sunday, April 22, 2012

6:30 p.m. registration and sign in
7:00 start of program

Our panelists – each an expert on a particular aspect of the situation – will discuss in turn the objectives and capabilities of the U.S., Iran, and Israel, how they relate to each other, what you can expect next, and how war might be averted.

PANELISTS

Professor Avi Bell will discuss how the conflict and the calculations look from the viewpoint of the Israelis.

Professor Avi Bell holds multiple degrees from Harvard and the University of Chicago, clerked for the Supreme Court of Israel, and has taught courses on the laws of war and the legal aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is a professor at Bar Ilan University Faculty of Law as well as the University of San Diego Law School.

Omri Ceren will discuss how the effects of this administration’s past Middle East diplomacy and the toll it has taken on the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

Omri Ceren writes for Commentary Magazine’s Contentions blog and his own blog Mere Rhetoric. His articles and posts have appeared in domestic and international outlets, and his investigative journalism has been cited by the Associated Press, Reuters, the New York Times, CNN, the BBC, and dozens of other outlets.

J.E. Dyer (Ret. Cmdr.) will discuss the military capabilities and political intentions of the Iranian
regime.

J.E. Dyer is a retired Naval officer living in the Inland Empire. She has written for Hot Air, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, and her own blog, The Optimistic Conservative. She is writing a book on the Reagan strategy in the Cold War.

Rick Richman will discuss the White House’s threat perceptions of, and diplomatic approach to, the Iran portfolio.

Rick Richman edits “Jewish Current Issues.” His articles and posts have appeared in American Thinker, Commentary Magazine, Contentions, The Jewish Journal, The Jewish Press, The New York Sun, and Pajamas Media.

You can register here.

Baseball Springs Eternal

The best parts of my article at The New York Sun today are probably the title -- The Day Derek Jeter Tipped Off President Bush on How To Throw a Perfect Pitch — And Other Stories of the Damn Yankees -- and the video embedded in the text.

In other words, the parts I didn’t write. But I think it will be worth your time to go there for the video alone.

I can’t quite connect the article to a Jewish current issue. But one of the themes of the article -- that baseball captures some insights into life -- is perhaps borne out by some prior JCI baseball-related posts that may be worth re-reading, as yet another season begins:

Baseball and Redemption

A Baseball Story (Unfinished)

Tee Ball at the White House

Recent Books in the Mail Worth Considering

Jarrod Tanny, “City of Rogues and Schnorrers: Russia’s Jews and the Myth of Old Odessa” (Indiana University Press). Tanny is Assistant Professor of History and Block Distinguished Fellow of Jewish History at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. This is an absolutely fascinating book on a quintessential Jewish city, and the “retreat of its golden age into the realm of collective memory." Highly Recommended.

Bernard Lewis, “The End of Modern History in the Middle East” (Hoover Institution Press). The three factors that could most help transform the Middle East, according to Lewis, are Turkey, Israel, and women. If freedom fails and terror triumphs, he warns, the peoples of Islam will be the first and greatest victims. With a Forward and Introduction by Fouad Ajami.

A.J. Jacobs, “Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection” (Simon & Schuster). An entertaining and informative book on just about every health fad out there, some of which are worthwhile, such as “mindful eating.” Worth perusing.

Allen H. Loughry II, “Don’t Buy Another Vote, I Won’t Pay for a Landslide” (McClain Printing Co.).
The subtitle is “The Sordid and Continuing History of Political Corruption in West Virginia.” The author holds four law degrees: a J.D., two LL.Ms, and an S.J.D. from American University, the University of London, and Capital University. 623 pages! Dedicated to the people of West Virginia -- but of interest to all Americans.

The Rabbinic Doorman and the Sacred Gift of Greetings

Rabbi Jason Fruithandler -- who graduated from the Joint Program between the Jewish Theological Seminary's List College and Columbia University with a B.A. in Talmud and Rabbinics and a second B.A. in Sociology, holds an M.A. in Jewish Education from JTS, and ordination from the JTS rabbinical school -- was installed last Shabbat as one of the rabbis at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.

He gave a memorable installation sermon. Here is the text, which does not fully capture how beautifully it was delivered. The audio is at the Sinai Temple website:

Shabbat Shalom. 

It is a great honor and privilege for me to be standing in front of you this morning and officially be installed as Rabbi at Sinai Temple. It is also a pleasure to have my installation coincide with the beautiful voice and music of Cantor Marcus Feldman. As I look out at our extraordinary congregation, I'm reminded of this morning. I was practicing my big installation sermon for my favorite audience -- my 18 month old daughter. Her response, at about 30 seconds in, was “no no no no no.” 

This morning I want to share with you my vision for who I am as a rabbi. I will share with you three Jewish leaders I admire and what I learn from them.  I will take a look at the ancient Israelite Priests, the commentator Rashi, and the founder of modern Zionism, Theodore Herzl.  

We begin 3000 years ago with the ancient Israelite priests, Aaron and his sons.  Our first religious leaders. This week, in particular, we learn about all of the different kind of sacrifices. There was the sin offering, the burnt offering, the wheat offering, and several others.  One of these sacrifices was the zevach shelamim.  Translated into English, the zevach shlamim is the Sacred Gift of Greetings. An Israelite would bring an animal for sacrifice; the priests would offer a small portion to God; and then the family who brought the sacrifice and the priest would sit down and have a meal together.  More than that -- the implication is that they are sitting with God as well. This image is foundational for Jewish life throughout history.   

I am not advocating slaughtering an animal, burning some incense and sprinkling some blood. But I can think of no better way to be a rabbi than to sit with each of you and share zevach shelamim, the sacred gift of greetings.   

Now let’s flash forward 2000 years -- to the great 11th century French Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, better known as Rashi. Rashi changed the face of the Jewish world. He is among the first rabbis to change the nature of commentary. Rashi was not only a scholar; he also managed his family vineyard; he was a business man. Imagine that! One of the greatest scholars in Jewish history was a also a businessman. Rashi was able to bridge the gap between scholarship and everyday life, because he was still involved with everyday life. 

As a young rabbi, I am committed to continuing to a vibrant 21st century Judaism, and I believe to do that I need to stay involved in the secular world. I hope you'll see me at the movies, reading books, and watching TV. I hope to use these experiences to tip toe in Rashi's footsteps and bring a pathway to Jewish engagement. 

Flash forward another 1800 years -- to Theodore Herzl.  Herzl is a sensational Jewish leader. I am a Zionist and a dreamer, so I love Herzl. But I look up to him as a rabbi, because he was an agent for change. He took his own convictions, used his own resources, and his gift with words, and began a movement. He traveled all over Europe; he spoke to political leaders. He convinced the Jewish world that a Jewish state was not only a necessity but a real, viable possibility. Herzl was able to recognize a need of the Jewish people. He was able to articulate that need in a way that made sense to Jews everywhere, in all walks of life.  He was able to inspire them with an impossible dream.     

Now I don’t suppose that I’ll be creating any new nations, but if I could see you, see what your needs are, and help you dream of a way to meet those needs, and be a part of your process of meeting them -- well, that would be a magnificent accomplishment. 

Fast forward another 150 years -- Rabbi Jason Paul Fruithandler. I come from suburban New York, a small town called Mount Kisco. I am the son of Neil and Sheryl Fruithandler. I have a wonderful wife, Jessie, who is also a Jewish educator, and an amazing 18 month old daughter named Liba, who smiles and screams “Abba!” every time I walk in the door. I am a lucky man.

As a rabbi, I stand with the ancient Israelite priests, the great Rashi and Theodore Herzl as my spiritual guides. With them I see myself as a rabbinic doorman.  It might seem odd that my great ambition is to be a rabbinic doorman, of all things. But I think the doorman is just the right mixture of the mundane and the majestic. A good doorman knows everyone in his building. He pays attention and sees when they might need a little help. Finally, and most importantly, he looks and sees when people in his building are ready to go through the next door, and then he holds that door open and guides them through. So I ask for your help.  Stop me in the hallways, tell me about yourself, give me the chance to open some doors for you. 

Everyday I come to work and feel blessed and amazed that I am really here at Sinai Temple.  I hope to bring to you all the zevach shelamim, the sacred gift of greetings, I hope to emulate Rashi's plain speech, and capture just a fraction of  Herzl’s inspirational power. 

As I stand here and humbly accept the duties and responsibilities as your rabbi, please know that I will hold that door open, help lead the way to the next door, and hopefully, the one after that. Guiding us together, as we journey and grow.  I am immensely grateful for this opportunity.

Thank you, and shabbat shalom.

Response to Peter Beinart's Response

In “Rick Richman’s Mis-State-Ment,” Peter Beinart responded to my Commentary post this week, “Beinart’s Backwards History,” in which I challenged his assertion that Benjamin Netanyahu came to Washington in May 2009 with a “lack of interest in negotiations.”

Beinart argues “[t]here’s just one problem” with the narrative that Netanyahu was interested in negotiations:  

When Netanyahu came to Washington in May 2009, he had still not endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state (an idea he had opposed his entire career). He would not do so until his Bar-Ilan University speech on June 14. (And even then, Netanyahu’s father, Benzion, told Israel’s Channel 2 that his son “doesn’t support [a Palestinian state]. He supports the sorts of conditions that they [the Palestinians] will never accept.”)

So to believe that Bibi was serious about negotiations in May 2009, you have to believe that more than fifteen years after the Oslo process began and almost a decade after the negotiations at Camp David and Taba, it was possible to be serious about peace talks without supporting a Palestinian state.

There is more than one problem with Peter’s response.

First, he did not deal with my description of the formal presentation on May 3, 2009 by Netanyahu’s top aide, who outlined a three-track approach of security, economic development and political negotiations (the video of the presentation is here and here), nor Netanyahu’s own statement on May 18, 2009 at the White House calling for negotiations “immediately.”

Second, he does not explain why Netanyahu’s willingness to publicly declare his acceptance of a Palestinian state -- which Obama demanded and Netanyahu did on June14 at Bar-Ilan -- was not a confirmation that Netanyahu was serious. Netanyahu undoubtedly wanted to trade Israeli acceptance of a Palestinian state for Palestinian acceptance of a Jewish one. He was pressured to make an unreciprocated, pre-negotiation concession in order for negotiations to begin, and he did so. How does this indicate he wasn't serious about negotiations?

Third, he does not indicate why Netanyahu’s “conditions” set forth on both May 18 and June 14 -- (1) Palestinian recognition of a Jewish state, and (2) adequate arrangements for Israeli defense -- were unreasonable; nor does he acknowledge they were not set forth as preconditions to negotiations, but as Israel's view of what was necessary for negotiations eventually to succeed. For their part, the Palestinians made an increasing list of pre-negotiation demands -- Israeli concessions on issues that were supposed to be the subject of negotiations.

But let’s not simply debate. Let’s turn to the historical record and see who was serious about starting negotiations and who was proposing non-starter preconditions to them. The following is an excerpt from the “Meeting Minutes” of the January 15, 2010 meeting between Palestinian “chief negotiator” Saeb Erekat ("SE") and David Hale ("DH"), George Mitchell’s top aide. In the excerpt, “AM” is Abu Mazen, the nom de guerre of Mahmoud Abbas: 

DH: We wanted to get a sense of what is possible. Our desire is to get into talks right away, but want to do that in a way that honors your positions, and your dignity. We realize that the outcome may not resolve all issues. We now have 67 lines and swaps on the table, which wasn’t there before. … So your approach is either an un-announced freeze in Jerusalem, or adoption of the principles. Neither of these is feasible. They won’t happen. You know about Netanyahu’s position on the freeze. And the [Palestinian paper] describes the end of the negotiations not the start. But there are ideas, as we discussed with the Egyptians, that we can build on. They’ve talked with Netanyahu and think he is serious. We should look at what more will Israel do beyond what it has done already. However a freeze in Jerusalem is beyond reach. …

SE: Thanks for the briefing … First, you don’t need to convince us of the need for negotiations. We know the devastating impact of a stalemate -- vis a vis Hamas, Iran, relation with Israel on the ground. Keep this in mind: our cardinal interest is to resume negotiations. But (and I’m telling you the truth as AM sees it -- he is not a tactician) AM has assessed the impact of Netanyahu’s conditions. If he goes into negotiations with these conditions, it will destroy him.

DH: Conditions?

SE: Netanyahu says East Jerusalem is just a neighborhood, like Tel Aviv, so it’s building as usual, tenders … it will finish AM off. The problem with all US administrations is they underestimate the significance of Jerusalem to the Palestinians -- for internal Palestinian politics. … You give me goals. You got the Israeli goal right: Jewish state, secure borders, security arrangements, and subsequent developments. You said my goal is a viable and independent state based on the 67 border with agreed swaps. That is not my goal. Swaps are a Palestinian concession in the interest of peace and reaching an agreement. My goal is a sovereign state on the 67 border.

DH: Noted.

SE:  … So we said 67 borders with agreed swaps. That’s your position, so say it! If you put down such a paper we will call an emergency Arab summit and get it accepted. Netanyahu will reject. Either he will change his coalition or there will be new elections. Israelis want the two state solution but they don’t trust. They want it more than you think, sometimes more than Palestinians. …

DH: I would still like to get back to the paper. If you still ask us to adopt this paper we might as well talk about something else entirely: This administration will not be in any way directive about the outcome of negotiations. Almost every line of the second section is a topic for negotiation. …

SE: Tell him what I said about AM’s state of mind, about Netanyahu’s conditions. Tell him AM will not negotiate under Netanyahu’s conditions: Jerusalem excluded, no resumption from where we left off …

DH: These are your conditions, not the Israelis …

Perhaps Netanyahu’s father was correct that the Palestinians would never accept his son's criteria: more than 18 years after Oslo and more than 11 years after the failed 2000-01 negotiations, they still haven’t.

They pledge never to recognize a Jewish state, will not agree to defensible borders, demand a state but will not sign an end-of-claims agreement, want recognition of a "right of return" for refugees from the wars the Arabs started. They still have not made a Bir Zeit speech to match Netanyahu's Bar-Ilan one.

Over the past decade, they have rejected the offer of a state three times, each of which would have given them a state on substantially all the West Bank and Gaza and a capital in East Jerusalem. They still refuse to address the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict; until they do, they cannot be said to have a serious interest in negotiations.