Giuliani: Hamas or Abbas, makes no difference

Giuliani

This is from the New York Sun, quoting Andrew Sullivan, quoting the Jewish Voice and Opinion. Just in case, I asked someone about it, and since he was present at the event described here, he was able to confirm it as an accurate quote (not that I had many doubts).

The event was a fundraiser in late March at the home of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in New Jersey. And here's what the candidate said: "Hamas or Abbas, it makes no difference. The ball is in their court, and we just have to show patience and not push any peace process until they do what they have to do".

Giuliani also touched on Hamas' recognition of Israel: "They don't just have to say the words. Anyone can say the words. They have to show that they are ending terrorism; they have to show that they are doing what they have to do to end terrorism. I'm a strong proponent of the philosophy that we can trust, but we have to verify... no one should make any concessions to the Palestinians until they take those steps."

A Palestinian with whom I talked yesterday said repeatedly that "Hamas is politically very pragmatic," and that it is "not the Hamas" we knew before the election. It has already moderated, said the Palestinian (who spoke stricly off the record, and I whose name I cannot reveal).

Apparently, Giuliani isn't convinced. And it's interesting to compare Giuliani and Barak Obama - the two leading candidates according to some polls - talking about this subject. Obama said earlier this week that "the United States government and an Obama presidency cannot ask Israel to take risks with respect to its security. But it can ask Israel to say that it is still possible for us to allow more than just this status quo of fear, terror, division."

The policy isn't necessarily different - no contradiction between patience and hope - but the tone is quite revealing.

Latinos

Two interesting new studies of the American Hispanic community can teach us a lot about its relations with the Jewish community and with Israel.

One, from the AJC, contends that "Hispanics hold more negative views of Jews than non-Hispanics do, but the extent of that difference and its pattern are unclear."

The other, from the Pew Research Center explains that "the roles Latinos play in U.S. politics and public affairs are deeply influenced by the distinctive characteristics of their religious faith."

AIPAC

Next week's hearing in the AIPAC trial can become quite dramatic, as it will reveal how insistent is the prosecution in its intention not to reveal what it considers to be a sensitive material to the public. If it decides that this secrecy is the first priority, more important than the trial itself, it might reach a point in which it will have no choice but to drop the case.

In the meantime, what's already clear is that the trial will not start as scheduled on June 4. Here's what the judge and one of the prosection attorneys said in the hearing last week (taken from fas.org, as usual):

THE COURT: How much time do you think that would take, in addition to the two weeks you will already be getting?
ATTORNEY REILLY: I can't be too specific, because...
THE COURT: This would...
ATTORNEY REILLY: ...I need to consult...
THE COURT: ...knock the trial into a cocked hat, the trial date.
ATTORNEY REILLY: Your Honor, under either of these proposals, the trial date is going to be thrown off, in our view, because both of them require time to deal with?