Analysis: President Kerry on Israel
By Gadi Dechter
United Press International
Published 7/9/2004 7:52 PM
WA****NGTON, July 9 (UPI) -- A leaked draft of the Democratic Party
platform
and recent statements by John Kerry suggest that a Democratic White House
would continue the Bush administration's enthusiastic sup****t for Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
However, the decidedly circumspect wording of these documents do hint at
subtle, but potentially significant, differences in a Kerry
administration's
likely policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Last month, Kerry released a position paper titled, "John Kerry:
Strengthening Israel's Security and Bolstering the U.S.-Israel Special
Relation****p." The paper was designed to assuage concerns of pro-Israel
voters still rankled by Kerry's comments during the primaries, in which he
harshly criticized the Israeli construction of the barrier in the West
Bank.
"I know how disheartened Palestinians are by the Israeli government's
decision to build a barrier off the 'Green Line,' cutting deeply into
Palestinian areas," Kerry told members of the Arab-American Institute in
October 2003, a month after he had announced his candidacy. "We do not
need
another barrier to peace." He went on to say that the barrier was a
"provocative and counterproductive measure" that was not in Israel's
interest.
Assured of the nomination, Kerry appears to have reversed his position on
the West Bank barrier, which was ruled illegal Friday by the International
Court of Justice. "John Kerry sup****ts the construction of Israel's
security
fence to stop terrorists from entering Israel," the June statement reads.
"The security fence is a legitimate act of self-defense erected in
response
to the wave of terror attacks against Israeli citizens. He believes the
security fence is not a matter for the International Court of Justice."
In a statement released Friday evening after the court's ruling, Kerry
reiterated his sup****t for the barrier, and said he was "deeply
disappointed
by today's International Court of Justice ruling."
Pro-Israel groups have been quick to seize on Kerry's apparent
capitulation
on the barrier as a victory for Israel. The Web site of the American
Israel
Public Affairs Committee, the powerful lobby group, described Kerry as
expressing "sup****t for the security fence that Israel is erecting along
the
West Bank."
Well, not exactly. The security barrier is being constructed inside -- at
some points, deep inside -- the West Bank, not "along" it, and in his
statement Kerry is careful to legitimize the barrier only as a preventive
measure that will stop terrorists from "entering Israel," not as de facto
political border designed to annex territory, as many critics of Israel
suspect. A future President Kerry could very well demand that Israel
re-route the barrier closer to the 1967 borders without contradicting
himself.
The AIPAC Web site goes on to re****t that Kerry, in his June statement,
"describes Yasser Arafat as 'a failed leader and unfit partner for
peace,'"
and calls for "his total isolation."
This is also an inaccurate paraphrasing of the senator's position. In the
June statement, Kerry merely points out -- using the ambiguous present
perfect tense -- that he "has sup****ted (Arafat's) total isolation," but
does not explicitly call for a continuation of the Palestinian Authority
chairman's restriction to his Ramallah compound by Israel.
Ironically, the left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz also misquoted
Kerry's statement, re****ting that Kerry "promises not to negotiate with
Yasser Arafat." Kerry has made no such promise. He has merely called for a
"new, responsible Palestinian leader****p," a statement which hardly
precludes Arafat from remaining at the helm, especially given his
remarkable
talent for political reincarnation.
A working draft of the Democratic national platform obtained by United
Press
International, which will be debated and finalized in Miami next week,
offers more insight into how a Kerry administration might depart from Bush
foreign policy toward Israel.
Far from disavowing future negotiation with Arafat, the platform promises
to
"demonstrate the kind of resolve to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
that President Clinton showed." Clinton, of course, was the only American
president to honor the former guerilla leader with a state visit and to
welcome him to the White House.
The platform draft does includes a demand for Palestinian reform -- "We
will
work to transform the Palestinian Authority to promote new and responsible
leader****p" -- though the wording is so vague as to invite any number of
interpretations. The Palestinian Authority could certainly say that it has
always promoted new and responsible leader****p -- particularly in the
Knesset.
It's certainly possible that the party platform will undergo radical
revision before the Boston convention later this month, but as it stands
there is no mention of the barrier, the Gaza disengagement plan or the
status of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. (In his June
statement, Kerry does acknowledge, without endorsing, "that in light of
demographic realities, a number of settlement blocks will likely become a
part of Israel.")
Contrast this relatively tepid language with the bluntly partisan rhetoric
of candidate Bush in 2000 -- "America's special relation****p with Israel
precedes the peace process. And Israel's adversaries should know that in
my
administration, the special relation****p will continue, even if they
cannot
bring themselves to make true peace with the Jewish state" -- and it's
easy
to understand the 23 standing ovations the president received at last
May's
AIPAC policy convention in Wa****ngton.
Still, despite differences of nuance and omission, Bush and Kerry do
appear
to be in accord on the most bitterly contended Israeli-Palestinian
disagreements: the Palestinian call for Arab refugees and their
descendents
be allowed to return to their former homes inside Israel, and the
Palestinian demand that Israel retreat to its 1967 borders. Both
candidates
are on the record as rejecting the "right of return," and both say that
some
Jewish settlement blocks in the territories will almost certainly be
annexed
to Israel as part of a peace deal.
Copyright © 2001-2004 United Press International
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Let the name calling begin!!! (its all you libs have)
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