Clipmarks | abailart's 'annapolis' clips

Religious Right in Israel Pray for God to Oust 'foreigners'

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:05:27 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Another factor to be taken account of.

Thousands of people led by former chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu gathered on Monday night near the Western Wall and prayed. They did not pray to heal the sick, nor for the soldiers' safety. They did not beg forgiveness for their sins, nor did they take oaths. They gathered near the remnants of the Temple to ask for God's help in causing failure at the Annapolis summit.

In their prayers, those gathered sought help in countering any threat to divide the land, and their rabbis published a statement saying that "there is a strict religious ban on giving parts of the Land of Israel to foreigners,

It is one thing to bargain over security arrangements and the border, and an entirely different thing to fight for our forefathers' claims to the entire country based on religious texts. The approach of the people who met Monday near the Western Wall is a recipe for endless bloodletting

Tags: israel, annapolis, mideast peace, fundamentalist judaeism

Annapolis Agreement: full text

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 07:55:29 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

"We express our determination to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples; to usher in a new era of peace, based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect and mutual recognition; to propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence; to confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis.

"In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements.

"We agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations, and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008. For this purpose, a steering committee, led jointly by the head of the delegation of each party, will meet continuously, as agreed.

Tags: annapolis

Annapolis: Absurd, Surreal and Empty

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:08:11 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.opendemocracy.net

Annapolis thus represents - consciously or unconsciously - one of the great surreal signatures of postmodern politics: a world where images, language and symbols take preference over meaning, content and results. It is an example of how powerful modern states, in their presumptuous handling of the political issues of "others", abandon real politics and adopt what may be describes as postmodern (non-)politics.

Most manifestations of postmodernity - be they political, cultural, literary or social - are impelled by a temptation to escape from the strictures of sequence and logic that are foundational of modern thought. "If A follows B and then arrives at C" - all this can appear very tedious, restrictive of a human creativity which may want to arrive at C without having to pass through B, or may want to set out

Carried away by language and form, and with no regard to content and political realities, such political postmodernism leads to a constant and transparent denial of reality.

Tags: annapolis, pomo politics

Whose Road Map? US Dismissed UN242 in 2004

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:17:11 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.zmag.org

The missing piece, the crucial document that subverts any viable two-state solution, a factor in Israel's strategic considerations mentioned by Olmert as an aside only a few days ago, is Bush's letter of April, 2004, to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon. This little-noticed document fundamentally changed the parameters of what is to be discussed in any "peace process" and what Israel's obligations are under the road map.

The essence of the Bush letter, which was subsequently ratified by the House of Representatives by a vote of 407-9 and by the Senate by 95-1, is the following passage: "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949."

t Bush fatally but knowingly undermined UN Resolution 242, the very basis of the two-state solution since 1967 and of his own road map initiative,

Tags: un242, green kine, palstine, israel, annapolis

Israelis Will Discuss Core Issues

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 09:04:37 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.haaretz.com

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert intends to release more Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of good will to the Palestinian Authority prior to the Annapolis summit.

The prime minister is currently examining a request by the PA for freeing as many as 2,000 prisoners, according to sources in his bureau, but no decision has yet been made on the final number or the timing of the release.

Olmert has insisted that the joint declaration at Annapolis will not refer to the "core issues," nor to a fixed timetable for a solution to them. However, later Sunday, the prime minister did say that negotiations with the Palestinians after the summit will focus on the core issues.

"All the fundamental questions, the substantive issues, all the historical questions burdening our debate - are on the agenda," Olmert said during an address at the Saban Forum, an annual gathering of Israeli and U.S. political leaders.

Tags: annapolis, mideast, israel, palestine