JERUSALEM—Suddenly, my city feels again like a war zone. Since the suicide bombings ended in 2005, life in Jerusalem has been for the most part relatively calm. The worst disruptions have been the traffic jams resulting from construction of a light rail, just like in a normal city. But now, again, there are clusters of helmeted border police near the gates of the Old City, black smoke from burning tires in the Arab village across from my porch, young men marching with green Islamist flags toward my neighborhood, ambulances parked at strategic places ready for this city's ultimate nightmare.
The return of menace to Jerusalem is not because a mid-level bureaucrat announced stage four of a seven-stage process in the eventual construction of 1,600 apartments in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem. Such announcements and building projects have become so routine over the years that Palestinians have scarcely responded, let alone violently. In negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, the permanence of Ramat Shlomo, and other Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, has been a given. Ramat Shlomo, located between the Jewish neighborhoods of French Hill and Ramot, will remain within the boundaries of Israeli Jerusalem according to every peace plan. Unlike the small Jewish enclaves inserted into Arab neighborhoods, on which Israelis are strongly divided, building in the established Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem defines the national consensus.
Why, then, the outbreak of violence now? Why Hamas's "day of rage" over Jerusalem and the Palestinian Authority's call to gather on the Temple Mount to "save" the Dome of the Rock from non-existent plans to build the Third Temple? Why the sudden outrage over rebuilding a synagogue, destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948, in the Old City's Jewish Quarter, when dozens of synagogues and yeshivas have been built in the quarter without incident?
The answer lies not in Jerusalem but in Washington. By placing the issue of building in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem at the center of the peace process, President Obama has inadvertently challenged the Palestinians to do no less.
Astonishingly, Obama is repeating the key tactical mistake of his failed efforts to restart Middle East peace talks over the last year. Though Obama's insistence on a settlement freeze to help restart negotiations was legitimate, he went a step too far by including building in East Jerusalem. Every Israeli government over the last four decades has built in the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem; no government, let alone one headed by the Likud, could possibly agree to a freeze there. Obama made resumption of negotiations hostage to a demand that could not be met. The result was that Palestinian leaders were forced to adjust their demands accordingly.
Obama is directly responsible for one of the most absurd turns in the history of Middle East negotiations. Though Palestinian leaders negotiated with Israeli governments that built extensively in the West Bank, they now refused to sit down with the first Israeli government to actually agree to a suspension of building. Obama's demand for a building freeze in Jerusalem led to a freeze in negotiations.
Finally, after intensive efforts, the administration produced the pathetic achievement of "proximity talks"—setting Palestinian-Israeli negotiations back a generation, to the time when Palestinian leaders refused to sit at the same table with Israelis.
That Obama could be guilty of such amateurishness was perhaps forgivable because he was, after all, an amateur. But he has now taken his failed policy and intensified it. By demanding that Israel stop building in Ramat Shlomo and elsewhere in East Jerusalem—and placing that demand at the center of American-Israeli relations—he's ensured that the Palestinians won't show up even to proximity talks. This is no longer amateurishness; it is pique disguised as policy.
Initially, when the announcement about building in Ramat Shlomo was made, Israelis shared Vice President Biden's humiliation and were outraged at their government's incompetence. The widespread sense here was that Netanyahu deserved the administration's condemnation, not because of what he did but because of what he didn't do: He failed to convey to all parts of his government the need for caution during Biden's visit, symptomatic of his chaotic style of governing generally.
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Hmm. Let's see. It is inherently unreasonable for Palestinians to cling to the issue of right of return and they should give it up right away. It is inherently reasonable that Isreal will continue settlement expansion and building, status talks be damned. To ask Israel to exercise self-restraint and implement a temporary stop across the board is inherently unreasonable. Blame Obama. There is a disconnect here sir. As Tom Friedman said, Israel is driving drunk right now. Actually, the behavior is more like that of a junkie. Expansion is your heroin.
Hmm. Let's see. It is inherently unreasonable for Palestinians to cling to the issue of right of return and they should give it up right away. It is inherently reasonable that Isreal will continue settlement expansion and building, status talks be damned. To ask Israel to exercise self-restraint and implement a temporary stop across the board is inherently unreasonable. Blame Obama. There is a disconnect here sir. As Tom Friedman said, Israel is driving drunk right now. Actually, the behavior is more like that of a junkie. Expansion is your heroin.
Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, and a contributing editor of The New Republic.
Arg. This reads and has the appearance of an article written on tobacco regulation by an employee of R.J. Reynolds.
Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, and a contributing editor of The New Republic.
Arg. This reads and has the appearance of an article written on tobacco regulation by an employee of R.J. Reynolds.
drofnats1 -- God forbid somebody in Jerusalem writes about Jerusalem. Expertise is highly overrated these days, after all. Why not have commentators who know nothing about the Middle East talk to us about these issues?
drofnats1 -- God forbid somebody in Jerusalem writes about Jerusalem. Expertise is highly overrated these days, after all. Why not have commentators who know nothing about the Middle East talk to us about these issues?
Halevi is no hack, and he's right that Washington's response to this incident has passed from an appropriately sharp but short pique to, well, let's say not helpful. But "premeditated"? Ridiculous. And as for Palestinian violence? Not America's fault. Israel and the PA were about to enter a new round of talks (first via third parties, but the point of that was to get to direct talks). At such moments, Palestinian factions always seek to escalate rhetoric and violence. "Moderates" do so to better their bargaining position and to cover their asses with their publics, while Hamas et al do so to sabotage peace talks. (And they surely remember that Netanyahu was happy to allow extremists to scutt ... view full comment
Halevi is no hack, and he's right that Washington's response to this incident has passed from an appropriately sharp but short pique to, well, let's say not helpful. But "premeditated"? Ridiculous. And as for Palestinian violence? Not America's fault. Israel and the PA were about to enter a new round of talks (first via third parties, but the point of that was to get to direct talks). At such moments, Palestinian factions always seek to escalate rhetoric and violence. "Moderates" do so to better their bargaining position and to cover their asses with their publics, while Hamas et al do so to sabotage peace talks. (And they surely remember that Netanyahu was happy to allow extremists to scuttle negotiations last time he was PM.) So the Palestinians would have seized on the latest announcement just as they have even without Secretary Clinton throwing her tantrum.
Right - Shas is not a nationalist party and just wants to build houses for its constituents. This characterization of Shas tells you everything you need to know about Halevi's intellectual merits.
Right - Shas is not a nationalist party and just wants to build houses for its constituents. This characterization of Shas tells you everything you need to know about Halevi's intellectual merits.
With this article, Halevi has shined some light on this subject. Ramot Shlomo is well within the boundaries of Jewish Jerusalem. It looks like the Obama administration unfairly abused Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has shown enormous patience. At Obama's behest, he explicitly endorsed the two-state solution favored by predecessors Barak, Olmert, and Rabin, and refrained from direct action against Iran.
Obama, for his part, has not justified Netanyahu's forebearance. He has not succeeded in containing the Islamist regime in Teheran, which continues to build and harden its nuclear facilities, repeatedly threaten Israel with genocide, and wage proxy wars against Israel and the United States. Ira ... view full comment
With this article, Halevi has shined some light on this subject. Ramot Shlomo is well within the boundaries of Jewish Jerusalem. It looks like the Obama administration unfairly abused Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has shown enormous patience. At Obama's behest, he explicitly endorsed the two-state solution favored by predecessors Barak, Olmert, and Rabin, and refrained from direct action against Iran.
Obama, for his part, has not justified Netanyahu's forebearance. He has not succeeded in containing the Islamist regime in Teheran, which continues to build and harden its nuclear facilities, repeatedly threaten Israel with genocide, and wage proxy wars against Israel and the United States. Iran has further enabled North Korea and Chavista Venezuela, mortal enemies of the United States. It's agents are all over the world. They bombed a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Obama vainly hopes that Iran will not sabotage US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in return for an ineffectual sanctions regime.
It is time for the United States and Israel to take more decisive action against the Iranian regime. The potential benefits far outweigh the potential dangers. The longer we wait, the more dangerous and powerful Iran becomes.
The notion that Obama planned this well ahead of time seems pretty absurd. If the Prime Minister of Israel claims to have known nothing, how could the President of the United States have known? It's silly.
Also, the description of Shas alone, wildly inaccurate by even the most generous of standards, throws the entire piece into disrepute. Just hire Elliot Abrams next time. He can churn this stuff out in 15 minutes.
The notion that Obama planned this well ahead of time seems pretty absurd. If the Prime Minister of Israel claims to have known nothing, how could the President of the United States have known? It's silly.
Also, the description of Shas alone, wildly inaccurate by even the most generous of standards, throws the entire piece into disrepute. Just hire Elliot Abrams next time. He can churn this stuff out in 15 minutes.
Obama is to blame for the fact that Iran has agents "all over the world" and bombed a Jewish center in Argentina in 1994?
It's rather amusing how some people can take any article about the Middle East and turn it into something about how Iran MUST BE STOPPED NOW and it's Obama's fault if it doesn't happen. [Remind me what the Bush admin did for 8 years to stop Iran -- it seems to have slipped my mind.] If Israel wants to bomb Iran Israel can bomb Iran. The U.S. can even stop the Israelis from building settlements all over the West Bank -- we certainly can't stop Israel from bombing Iran.
Go for it, Israel! Bomb Iran. Nobody's going to stop you. And if you do, maybe we won't have to hear cons ... view full comment
Obama is to blame for the fact that Iran has agents "all over the world" and bombed a Jewish center in Argentina in 1994?
It's rather amusing how some people can take any article about the Middle East and turn it into something about how Iran MUST BE STOPPED NOW and it's Obama's fault if it doesn't happen. [Remind me what the Bush admin did for 8 years to stop Iran -- it seems to have slipped my mind.] If Israel wants to bomb Iran Israel can bomb Iran. The U.S. can even stop the Israelis from building settlements all over the West Bank -- we certainly can't stop Israel from bombing Iran.
Go for it, Israel! Bomb Iran. Nobody's going to stop you. And if you do, maybe we won't have to hear constantly about how it has to happen. Stop yakking and do something already.
Shas, founded in 1984 as a Sephardic-Mizrahi religious party, is rooted in the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Agudat Yisrael. It joined the World Zionist Organization in 2010. See Wikipedia article on "Shas" for details. Halevi is correct in a historical sense.
Shas, founded in 1984 as a Sephardic-Mizrahi religious party, is rooted in the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Agudat Yisrael. It joined the World Zionist Organization in 2010. See Wikipedia article on "Shas" for details. Halevi is correct in a historical sense.
DC Spence: The Israelis are not "building settlements all over the West Bank". Even though they have every legal and moral right to do so. Netanyahu froze all new construction outside of the Jerusalem area for 10 months. Doesn't look like he scored any points with either you or Obama for doing so.
Why such disdain for a thoughtful, well-written article? It doesn't seem far-fetched to see Erdogan's rage over Gaza and his insulting behavior toward Shimon Peres at Davos as scripted. Is it really absurd to assume that Obama's wild over-reaction was a stiff-armed response waiting for an appropriate excuse?
DC Spence: The Israelis are not "building settlements all over the West Bank". Even though they have every legal and moral right to do so. Netanyahu froze all new construction outside of the Jerusalem area for 10 months. Doesn't look like he scored any points with either you or Obama for doing so.
Why such disdain for a thoughtful, well-written article? It doesn't seem far-fetched to see Erdogan's rage over Gaza and his insulting behavior toward Shimon Peres at Davos as scripted. Is it really absurd to assume that Obama's wild over-reaction was a stiff-armed response waiting for an appropriate excuse?
Excellent article.
Excellent article.
"[N]o government, let alone one headed by the Likud, could possibly agree to a freeze there"?
Too flippin' bad.
I used to give to JNF. Used to. Mideast peace is a paramount American strategic interest. This is the last straw. Some friend we have over there.
"[N]o government, let alone one headed by the Likud, could possibly agree to a freeze there"?
Too flippin' bad.
I used to give to JNF. Used to. Mideast peace is a paramount American strategic interest. This is the last straw. Some friend we have over there.
It is an excellent article, lawyer Mike's flippant comment notwithstanding.
It is an excellent article, lawyer Mike's flippant comment notwithstanding.
Some corrections on Shas:
a) It grew out of the non-zionist not anti-zionist Ashkenazi ultra-orthodox parties.
b) Shas is less non-Zionist than the Ashkenazi ultra-orthodox parties. Many Shas voters serve in the IDF. There are even a fair number of secular Shas voters too who vote for it as a "social oriented" (read welfare state) oriented party. There are other aspects of it which make it quasi-zionistic. I believe they just joined the World Zionist Organization.
c) Shas spiritual mentor & decisor Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled (based on his reading of Halachic sources) many years ago that Israel could and should give up land for peace. But only for a real peace, not a pretend one. Shas ... view full comment
Some corrections on Shas:
a) It grew out of the non-zionist not anti-zionist Ashkenazi ultra-orthodox parties.
b) Shas is less non-Zionist than the Ashkenazi ultra-orthodox parties. Many Shas voters serve in the IDF. There are even a fair number of secular Shas voters too who vote for it as a "social oriented" (read welfare state) oriented party. There are other aspects of it which make it quasi-zionistic. I believe they just joined the World Zionist Organization.
c) Shas spiritual mentor & decisor Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled (based on his reading of Halachic sources) many years ago that Israel could and should give up land for peace. But only for a real peace, not a pretend one. Shas was part of the Rabin government that signed the Oslo Accords; they abstained during the vote because of doubt (prescient as it turns out) that Arafat was serious about peace. Rav Yosef also supported the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon which also turned out to be disastrous in the long run for Israel.
I know it is fashionable to knock Shas and there are many reasons to knock them (I could write a long article on them). But calling them a far right wing maximalist party is simply incorrect.
Hershel Ginsburg
Jerusalem / Efrata
I don't think the Obamanaughts' onslaught against was premeditated. Rather it was more an outgrowth of Rahm Emmanuel's principle that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Israel handed the Obamanaughts some excellent raw material from which to manufacture a crisis which they then used to extract concessions from Bibi they didn't succeed in extracting during the negotiations over the partial, 10 month freeze, in particular to get a freeze in post-'67 J'lem.
hg
I don't think the Obamanaughts' onslaught against was premeditated. Rather it was more an outgrowth of Rahm Emmanuel's principle that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Israel handed the Obamanaughts some excellent raw material from which to manufacture a crisis which they then used to extract concessions from Bibi they didn't succeed in extracting during the negotiations over the partial, 10 month freeze, in particular to get a freeze in post-'67 J'lem.
hg
"I don't think the Obamanaughts' onslaught against was premeditated. Rather it was more an outgrowth of Rahm Emmanuel's principle that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste"
This view subscribes to a thesis I have formed during Obama's campaign about how errors, gaffes and other misdemeanors will be explained by the Obamatti: It's not him, it's them....
Hard to believe this coming from ginzy.
And anyway, according to Clinton's logic as applies to Netanyahu's culpability, even if it's Emanuel's doing, Obama is the CEO and the buck stops with him. (Or whatever it is they say about assuming the final responsibility)
"I don't think the Obamanaughts' onslaught against was premeditated. Rather it was more an outgrowth of Rahm Emmanuel's principle that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste"
This view subscribes to a thesis I have formed during Obama's campaign about how errors, gaffes and other misdemeanors will be explained by the Obamatti: It's not him, it's them....
Hard to believe this coming from ginzy.
And anyway, according to Clinton's logic as applies to Netanyahu's culpability, even if it's Emanuel's doing, Obama is the CEO and the buck stops with him. (Or whatever it is they say about assuming the final responsibility)
Ginzy - do you think Eli Yishai is some kind of moderate? I find the idea that he is just trying to find houses for Israelis laughable.
Ginzy - do you think Eli Yishai is some kind of moderate? I find the idea that he is just trying to find houses for Israelis laughable.
I agree with those who found this article to be very good.
I agree with those who found this article to be very good.
Benberger,
Eli Yishai is definitely more on the right wing side of Shas. By contrast the housing minister Atias, a rising star in the Shas hierarchy, is considered more dovish. But neither makes policy. Rav Ovadia does & they carry it out.
As far as the housing goes that district zoning & building committee does meet every week or two and does issue its decisions on about the same basis (I have a close friend who is a senior city & regional planner in the Interior Ministry and this is how they work). The Ramat Shlomo neighborhood is a large thriving ultra-orthodox area in **NORTHERN** J'lem built on what was no man's land from '49-'67. One of the reasons that Shas likes to cla ... view full comment
Benberger,
Eli Yishai is definitely more on the right wing side of Shas. By contrast the housing minister Atias, a rising star in the Shas hierarchy, is considered more dovish. But neither makes policy. Rav Ovadia does & they carry it out.
As far as the housing goes that district zoning & building committee does meet every week or two and does issue its decisions on about the same basis (I have a close friend who is a senior city & regional planner in the Interior Ministry and this is how they work). The Ramat Shlomo neighborhood is a large thriving ultra-orthodox area in **NORTHERN** J'lem built on what was no man's land from '49-'67. One of the reasons that Shas likes to claim the Interior ministry as well as the Housing ministry is to make sure that enough housing is built to meet the increasing demands of the growing Hareidi sector.
As YKH noted, this particular decision was but the fourth stage in a 7 stage process that won't end for a good several years. It is about as routine as they come. Yishai himself was not and is not involved. It's just the ministry under his aegis (the Interior ministry in Israel is one of the largest and most diverse ministries in the government).
BTW, these sorts of decisions, including many relating to post '67 are issued all the time including during the visits of all sorts of dignitaries. No big deal was ever made. Under any proposed peace plan, these neighborhoods will remain under Israeli sovereignty. And keep in mind that the freeze to which Netanyahu agreed did NOT cover J'lem. I think there is a lot of self-righteous ignorance driving a lot of the criticism.
Noga,
I don't think it was an error or gaffe on the Obamanaughts' part. I just think they had their antennas up to detect any Israeli fashla that they could seize upon and exploit. they were looking for something and when Israel provided an opening they jumped on it and acted. Does that count as premeditated? It depends on how you define it. Biden originally accepted Bibi's explanation so it appears he was not in on the scheme.
hg
Noga, let me make it perfectly clear (to quote an ex-president) Obama is responsible. Period. Assuming my analysis is correct, that it was Rahm Emmanuel's idea (who is known to despise Netanyahu from his stint in the Clinton White House), Obama still made the decision and carried out the plan. So I am not exculpating him. Indeed I generally view Obama and the Emaxelrod familiars as a single unit. Its just that this style of thinking, of creating and using a false crisis to extort a concession from Bibi and / or bring down his gov't is quintessentially RH's style & modus operandi ("a crisis is a terrible thing to waste"). But all three are quite machievellian for all of Obama's hope ... view full comment
Noga, let me make it perfectly clear (to quote an ex-president) Obama is responsible. Period. Assuming my analysis is correct, that it was Rahm Emmanuel's idea (who is known to despise Netanyahu from his stint in the Clinton White House), Obama still made the decision and carried out the plan. So I am not exculpating him. Indeed I generally view Obama and the Emaxelrod familiars as a single unit. Its just that this style of thinking, of creating and using a false crisis to extort a concession from Bibi and / or bring down his gov't is quintessentially RH's style & modus operandi ("a crisis is a terrible thing to waste"). But all three are quite machievellian for all of Obama's hopey changey mantras.
hg
My secretary of defense just dropped a bomb on so-and-so. I didn't know anything about it so don't blame me. This is the idiotic argument being used by the Prime Minister of Israel. If the prime minister did not know about the planned apartments the country desperately needs a better leader than this
Within 10 years small precision guided missiles will become available to many of the wrong people. It behooves Israel to start forming alliances in the Middle East to prevent and assist them against them against enemies even if it has to be the Palestinians. Time is running out for Israel. They along with the entire Middle East are headed toward a truly devastating confrontation. I can't i ... view full comment
My secretary of defense just dropped a bomb on so-and-so. I didn't know anything about it so don't blame me. This is the idiotic argument being used by the Prime Minister of Israel. If the prime minister did not know about the planned apartments the country desperately needs a better leader than this
Within 10 years small precision guided missiles will become available to many of the wrong people. It behooves Israel to start forming alliances in the Middle East to prevent and assist them against them against enemies even if it has to be the Palestinians. Time is running out for Israel. They along with the entire Middle East are headed toward a truly devastating confrontation. I can't imagine what the end result would be should the situation become so serious for Israel that they start unleashing their nuclear weapons. The Jews who have the best of and the worst of continued to be dominated by the worst of politically. The United States is committed to Israel's defense but their actions and perceived slights are wearing on Americans.
Jumbo shrimp. Military intelligence. Jewish East Jerusalem.
I've heard Yossi bleat this song before. Continuous expansion of "Jewish neighborhoods" is an attempt to make those ungovernable by Palestinian governments, to force a reshaping of the natural boundaries squatted by Israel.
Jumbo shrimp. Military intelligence. Jewish East Jerusalem.
I've heard Yossi bleat this song before. Continuous expansion of "Jewish neighborhoods" is an attempt to make those ungovernable by Palestinian governments, to force a reshaping of the natural boundaries squatted by Israel.
Tedious, tiresome, both ingenuous and disingenuous at the same time (a real achievement), and completely irrelevant. Otherwise, quite fine.
Tedious, tiresome, both ingenuous and disingenuous at the same time (a real achievement), and completely irrelevant. Otherwise, quite fine.
"extorting a concession from Bibi and/or bring down his gov't is quintessentially RH's style."
Gee, I hope that is the case. I loved all the "hopey changey mantras" as campaign rhetoric because I thought they were effective. It always worried me, however, that Obama was taking his own campaign rhetoric seriously. If ginzy is reassuring me that Obama is in reality Machiavellian, I am quite relieved. Just think how useful it would be for any Israeli government to believe that if it fucks the US around, it may just end up gone. Why, Isreali officials might actually think it was in their interest to understand exactly the US point of view and seek creatively to align Israel's own interests w ... view full comment
"extorting a concession from Bibi and/or bring down his gov't is quintessentially RH's style."
Gee, I hope that is the case. I loved all the "hopey changey mantras" as campaign rhetoric because I thought they were effective. It always worried me, however, that Obama was taking his own campaign rhetoric seriously. If ginzy is reassuring me that Obama is in reality Machiavellian, I am quite relieved. Just think how useful it would be for any Israeli government to believe that if it fucks the US around, it may just end up gone. Why, Isreali officials might actually think it was in their interest to understand exactly the US point of view and seek creatively to align Israel's own interests with those of the US instead of lazily relying on the Israel lobby to schlep Congress around.
That's right Roid, as Ralph Nader once said, Israel controls the U.S. Government like a puppeteer his puppets.
That's right Roid, as Ralph Nader once said, Israel controls the U.S. Government like a puppeteer his puppets.
Did it ever occur to anyone that the Obama Administration thinks (rightly or wrongly) that it has been very accommodating to the current Israeli government, and has not gotten all that much in return? Given the history between Bibi Netenyahu and the Clinton Administration, it was obvious to all that relations between the US and a Netenyahu-led Israel would be complicated by mistrust and conflicted constituencies. But the incoming Obama Administration never publicly criticized Netenyahu or expressed an opinion as to the stated makeup of his coalition government. Even more importantly, they never criticized the Gaza War or Israel's conduct of that War, even in the face of widespread outcrie ... view full comment
Did it ever occur to anyone that the Obama Administration thinks (rightly or wrongly) that it has been very accommodating to the current Israeli government, and has not gotten all that much in return? Given the history between Bibi Netenyahu and the Clinton Administration, it was obvious to all that relations between the US and a Netenyahu-led Israel would be complicated by mistrust and conflicted constituencies. But the incoming Obama Administration never publicly criticized Netenyahu or expressed an opinion as to the stated makeup of his coalition government. Even more importantly, they never criticized the Gaza War or Israel's conduct of that War, even in the face of widespread outcries from the Muslim world and the Europeans. And they have made a show of taking Israel's interests into account in dealing with Iran, even if they have not proceeded as quickly or as forcefully as Israel has liked. On the issue of settlement freezes, they backed off their initial public demand for a full-scale settlement freeze and effective accepted Israel's characterization of verbal agreements on natural growth and East Jerusalem housing while the Arabs seethed. Given those self-perceptions (again, whether justified or not), why is everyone so surprised that Obama and Hillary reacted so violently to the Ramat Shlomo news? It seems like the timber was pretty dry already and it would not have been hard to provide a spark.