A scant 10 months later,since my last visit to Israel, I went from Hope to: THERE IS NO HOPE. Not BiBi’s fault according to Gershon Baskin ( http.//gershonbaskin.com) , who I respect. The Israeli’s have come to believe they have no partner in this Peace process.
While individual Palestinians blame the Palestinian Authority for being fractious , corrupt and constantly moving the goal post for Peace? I don’t know what’s the hold up, it would seem when there is 80% agreement on the Oslo Accords there should be a road map for Peace. The people on both sides of this equation feel betrayed. 65% of The people want Peace but they’re not part of the negotiations. Wouldn’t it be simpler to leave the planning and oversight to the people’s representatives, ombudsmen , who care about the people more then the monuments?
The Israeli’s are disheartened. They would like Peace, since they are tired of supporting the War effort. They want to concentrate their impressive energy on resolving trauma issues that date back to the Third Reich and continue 3 generations forward.
The Israeli’s are opening the Technion to Arab children from Arab States and East Jerusalem or any Arab coming from within the State of Israel. The Palestinian Territories are excluded,a pity. The Technion under the leadership of Paretz Lavie, the President of Technion, is committed to education , offering remedial studies, one to one tutoring, for 18 months to qualified students, showing intellectual promise, but lacking formal skills. Education is of primary importance to Israel and their entrepreneurs give back trying to create a more responsive Social Structure. They have not obviously resolved their Social problems, but they are aware!
Israel has a high cost of living, and similar to America and the rest of the Planet, the middle class and the ultra Orthodox are part of the working poor.
You bet the Israeli’s want Peace, a lasting Peace, negotiated with real partners. They need and want to concentrate on improving the human Israeli condition as well as the global Community they serve.