sloughi
26-01-2009, 09:32 PM
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1058776.html
Last update - 02:43 26/01/2009
Arab initiative, Israeli choice
By Akiva Eldar
Tags: Palestinians
For the third time since the Arab League unanimously voted in favor of the peace plan with Israel, the people here are being called upon to vote for a new Knesset. In a normal country, the various parties' positions on this important initiative would be on full display. In Israel, for the third time, the Saudi initiative is being pushed to the margins. It is far easier to sell fear of the Iranians to the voters and to promise "a strong Israel." What does a peace plan made in Saudi Arabia have in common with an Iranian-produced bomb? Plenty, it would appear.
At the height of the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, a rare missive from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was delivered to the royal palace in Riyadh. The Shi'ite leader displayed reverence toward Saudi Arabia, his sworn enemy, by bestowing on it the title "the leader of the Arab and Muslim world." And he called on King Abdullah to take a more strident stance against "the horror and the killing of your children in Gaza." Prince Turki al-Faisal, who revealed the existence of the letter in an article for The Financial Times, cautions that answering the "call for Saudi Arabia to lead a jihad against Israel would, if pursued, create unprecedented chaos and bloodshed in the region."
These harsh words were penned by an Arab who in the last year helped to lead the public relations campaign for a reconciliation between the Muslim world and Israel and ending the Arab conflict with the Jewish state. Al-Faisal, who was once chief of Saudi intelligence and served as the country's ambassador in Washington and London, lectures and writes unceasingly about the benefits of the Saudi peace initiative. In touting the plan, the prince is not deterred from publicly meeting with Israelis (including this author). Common sense tells us he is not doing this on his own volition.
Last update - 02:43 26/01/2009
Arab initiative, Israeli choice
By Akiva Eldar
Tags: Palestinians
For the third time since the Arab League unanimously voted in favor of the peace plan with Israel, the people here are being called upon to vote for a new Knesset. In a normal country, the various parties' positions on this important initiative would be on full display. In Israel, for the third time, the Saudi initiative is being pushed to the margins. It is far easier to sell fear of the Iranians to the voters and to promise "a strong Israel." What does a peace plan made in Saudi Arabia have in common with an Iranian-produced bomb? Plenty, it would appear.
At the height of the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, a rare missive from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was delivered to the royal palace in Riyadh. The Shi'ite leader displayed reverence toward Saudi Arabia, his sworn enemy, by bestowing on it the title "the leader of the Arab and Muslim world." And he called on King Abdullah to take a more strident stance against "the horror and the killing of your children in Gaza." Prince Turki al-Faisal, who revealed the existence of the letter in an article for The Financial Times, cautions that answering the "call for Saudi Arabia to lead a jihad against Israel would, if pursued, create unprecedented chaos and bloodshed in the region."
These harsh words were penned by an Arab who in the last year helped to lead the public relations campaign for a reconciliation between the Muslim world and Israel and ending the Arab conflict with the Jewish state. Al-Faisal, who was once chief of Saudi intelligence and served as the country's ambassador in Washington and London, lectures and writes unceasingly about the benefits of the Saudi peace initiative. In touting the plan, the prince is not deterred from publicly meeting with Israelis (including this author). Common sense tells us he is not doing this on his own volition.