Seems like this week’s Middle East peace conference in Annapolis has come back from the dead. Everyone was saying that the conference had become irrelevant–that no one was coming, it would only be one day, and it wouldn’t make a dent in the enormous amount of work and negotiation that needs to occur between Palestine and Israel.
But things seem to be looking up. As President Bush emphasizes his desire to make peace in the Middle East part of his legacy, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and other nations of the Arab League have agreed to attend.
So looks like we’re going to have a bona fide conference. Today at Noon we’re going to discuss what issues are going to be at the top of the heap. What are the likely sticking points? What is a reasonable set of things we can hope to see accomplished?
We’ll talk with our friend Ali Zaghab, a Palestinian-born local businessman who has joined us many times in the past to discuss these issues, and Dr. Elli Lieberman, a retired Israeli Army major, a PhD in Middle East studies, and a local businessman. We’re also going to here an essay on peace and interfaith understanding and love from John Oliver Smith.
So join us. What do you want to see accomplished? Do you feel optimistic?
-Jessica
