Some personal musings about the Bush visit to Jerusalem by the DA-Israel Vice Chair, Hillel Schenker, on his way to a TV discussion on the topic.

BUSH COMES TO JERUSALEM  - May 2008

It's time to head off in a taxi from the Palestine-Israel Journal  (of which Hillel is the co-editor) office in the Wadi Joz neighborhood of

East Jerusalem to the Channel 1 studios in Romema at the entrance to

West Jerusalem to comment as Vice Chair of Democrats Abroad-Israel on the meaning of Bush's arrival. 

The driver is Hisham, the Palestinian owner of the taxi stand near the office.  "What again," he says, remembering that he took me to the same place just four months ago.  "Did you tell them last time?" he asks.  Remind me.  "Tell the people at the TV Hisham's plan for whenever Bush comes.  Instead of bringing him to

Jerusalem to mess up everyone's life, they should build a huge hall at the airport, receive him there, have all the meetings there, and then send him on his way.  That way Jerusalemites, we taxi drivers, can work without all this interruption."  I promised I'd tell them, and really did tell the security people at the entrance to the studio, who heartily agreed with Hisham's idea.

Waiting inside and drinking coffee are Mark Zell, a right-wing religious lawyer settler who chairs Republicans Abroad–

Israel and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Zalman Shuval, now head of the Likud's political committee.  So you represent the Republicans I said to Zell, and you are the Likud.  "No, I'm here as an Israeli" claims Shuval. He was busy ranking all of the American Jews who have been involved in the peace process.  "Dennis (Ross) is the best of the lot (though he didn't like him very much), former Ambassadors to Israel (Martin) Indyk is next, and then (Dan) Kurtzer," who he defined as "Meretz (left of center Israeli party) with a yarmulka, he even wants to divide

Jerusalem ," though he granted that he was a "warm Jew and a Zionist."  Off the list was Aaron David Miller, who is "criticizing everything and insistent on saying the opposite of what Ross says". Zell seems to heartedly agree with him.

After the usual make-up ritual, they shuffle us into the studio.  Everything was late because Bush was 15 minutes late. Watching all of this on a huge screen which made everyone look as if they had gained 30 pounds, we see the plane land; Bush, Laura, Condi and company step-out, and the national anthems.  "That's an impossible song to sing" Shuval says about the "Star Spangled Banner."  "Hatikva" is much better, chimes in Zell.  And I say I rather like the American anthem.

Eventually, after commentator Oren Nahari does a yeoman job of simultaneously translating all of the greetings by Bush, Olmert and Peres, we are brought up to face veteran anchorman Ya'acov Achimeir.  The studio hands aren't happy that I wanted to bring up some props, but I insist on bringing some newspaper clippings, and they relent.

Achimeir begins by asking Zell what role the Republicans Abroad play in

Israel.  He launches into a description of the potential importance of the over l00,000 American citizens living in

Israel for any American election campaign.  I add that, unlike the Republicans, the Democrats in

Israel have a primary process along with all the other Democrats Abroad country committees around the world, and Democrats Abroad as the official overseas arm of the Democratic Party has 22 delegates at the national convention and we also have input on the party platform.

Achimeir asks me what I thought of Bush's visit.  Well, it's always interesting to see a lame duck arrive, granted a lame duck that is also head of the most powerful country in the world.  Unfortunately, he wasted 7 years before he decided to come to try to move the peace process forward.

"Do you have any concerns about Obama?" asks Achimeir?  Ahha, I was ready for that.  I pick up my prop, an op-ed piece published by Obama in the mass-circulation Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot on Independence Day.  A greeting to the people of

Israel on their national holiday, filled with praise for

Israel's achievements, and commitment to its security and other needs, plus I say a very important phrase - "The best gift that an American leader can give to the Israeli people is to help them to move forward towards peace with their neighbors."

"Did McCain write an op-ed piece in Yediot Achronot?" asks Achimeir with a twinkle in his eye.  "No" says Zell, "but he visited the Kotel  (Western Wall), and also Sderot."  Unfortunately  I don't have time to respond that I was sure that both Obama and Hillary will visit

Israel after the Democratic nomination process is completed.

There was no time to quote from my other prop, an editorial from the New York Times which said that all McCain seemed to be offering was more of Bush's failed policy on

Iraq, the economy, etc.

Achimeir concludes, "We'll all know the outcome in July."  "November" corrects Zell. Yes November I say, when the Democratic nominee will be elected president.

Outside Zell continues the exchange.  He says he didn't want to say so on TV, but he thinks that Bush shouldn't have come at all.  "He's falling into the same trap as

Clinton at the end of his term when he tried to push the peace process forward."

We discuss the disengagement, and both agree that it would have been better to negotiate it with Abbas, and not to leave unilaterally. I then say that it was precisely Bush's naïve attempt to impose a democratization of the

Middle East that enabled a strengthening of the fundamentalist Hamas and the Shiite domination of

Iraq in alliance with

Iran, increasing the Iranian influence in the region.  Both Abbas and the Israeli government had reservations about holding Palestinian elections with Hamas participation, but Bush insisted.  And Bush Senior and his associates knew that it was wiser not to topple Sadam Hussein. 

 Zell claims that "it is too early to say that

Iraq was a failure."  He should know he says, since he goes there to do business in

Baghdad and the Kurdish area of

Iraq.  And his pal, the neo-con Douglas Feith, one of the primary advocates in the Administration for unilateral regime change, told him so. Zell wants to continue the discussion, but I say next time and grab a cab back to the office.