For the past several months, I’ve been telling everyone I could here in Washington that Jerusalem is THE issue at the moment. There is a concerted effort, especially in the wake of the “settlement freeze,” by the settlers, with key government support, to change the facts in the ground in the disputed holy city to pre-empt agreements to share it with the Palestinians. But the efforts are so relatively low-scale that it is unlikely to provoke a serious response from Washington.
Danny Seidemann and Lara Friedman of Peace Now give a detailed and crucial analysis, detailing what is hype and what is not, what is a threat and what is really happening on the ground, and why it’s important for the Obama administration to act on Jerusalem but why none of us should overplay the threat. One can only hope that policymakers and those concerned about Israel, the Palestinians and the hope for eventual peace will read it.
Please read that article and send it on to as many of your friends as you can.