Land for Peace

I just read a blog post by someone I consider a scholar in my field, even an expert in regards to my area of study. I had asked this person to offer me some advise, and I essentially was shrugged off. I assumed that this meant they were a very busy person - I took no offense to this - and instead went to read their blog to see if they were posting notes from their research. What I found instead was a criticism of Jimmy Carter's new book that I found a bit surprising. I will admit that I have not read the book, and I have stayed away from it due to time constraints, but I thought the topic explored in the book - the Arab-Israeli conflict - was a bold move by such a public figure. Many have accused Jimmy Carter of being an anti-Semite. I take exception to this; Robert Fisk, a journalist I have come to respect, wrote that there are too many real anti-Semites to go around accusing those with a different viewpoint of being anti-Semitic. I highly doubt that Jimmy Carter says (or thinks) that there is something very wrong with the Jewish character. It seems that if you merely state the facts of the situation, you could stand to be accused of Antisemitism. Then again, perhaps he did, and he is not the man we all think he is. But I doubt it.

I saw some promising news the past few days. It appears Hamas may be willing to negotiate a type of "land-for-peace" deal with Israel. I think it is very much at a point in that conflict where both sides need to calm down considerably before talks can be scheduled. I think the tensions are very high, and that only adds to the stalemate. If Hezbollah would back off a little bit, perhaps Israeli politicians could relax a little and go off the defensive. Then again, I think Hezbollah may use this moment to its advantage and try to push Israel over the edge again. My other fear is that Fatah and Hamas will start a full blown civil war, and the influx of funds from Israel to Abbas (not to the government, but specifically to Abbas) will only create problems.