Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., October 22, 2009 Cheshvan 4, 5770 | | Israel Time: 02:50 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Ex-U.S. official lauds Lieberman for 'narrowing gap' with developing world
By Cnaan Liphshiz, Haaretz Correpondent
Tags: developing world, israel news 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's recent efforts to shift diplomatic attention away from the United States in favor of bolstering ties with developing nations Tuesday received the emphatic approval of an unlikely supporter - former U.S. under secretary of state Stuart Eizenstat, a one-time advisor to former president Jimmy Carter.

"I do strongly support Lieberman's policy of strengthening ties with developing countries," Eizenstat told Haaretz Tuesday in Jerusalem, ahead of his speech Wednesday on the subject at the President's Conference.

"We are in a rare period of a dramatic shift of power from the U.S. and Europe to countries in Asia and Latin America," added Eizenstat. In a recent policy paper he authored, Eizenstat ranks this as the most important trend, listing five "mega-trends" Israel is currently facing.
Advertisement
Eizenstat wrote the paper for the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute - a Jerusalem-based think tank which, as of this month, he has been appointed to chair.

"This historic demarcation means the narrowing of the gap between Israel's chief and most dependable ally and countries like China, Brazil and India, that do not have a history of close ties with Israel, and countries which in some cases have stronger ties with Iran," said Eizenstat.

In his southern drawl, the Atlanta-born Jewish diplomat added that "Lieberman may be doing what he's doing because he has his own difficult relationship with the U.S. because of his own policies."

However, according to Eizenstat, who was responsible for the economic dimension of the peace process during the administration of Bill Clinton, criticism leveled at Lieberman for investing efforts in developing ties with African and Latin American countries at a time of discord with the United States "is not fair or appropriate." "Far from being ridiculed, his policy should be [recognized] as a diversification of relations, which keeps the U.S. in the center while forging closer ties with other partners," says Eizenstat, who will be soon be publishing a book on this trend and others.

If Israel forms "special relations" with other countries, it will serve to improve U.S.-Israeli relations, he explains. "That way the U.S. will not have to be the only one defending Israel in UN votes and putting its finger in the dyke."

Other mega-trends which Eizenstat lists as crucial elements requiring the attention of Israeli policy makers include - in order of importance - globalization, Islamic extremism, nuclear proliferation, demography and "the rise of a new form of anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment."

In concluding his 46-page document on mega-trends which formed the basis for the new book, due to appear in 2010, Eizenstat writes that "while making peace with the Palestinians is the major part" of certain problems, "Israelis must make peace with themselves over the peace process."

This, according to Eizenstat, includes accepting the legitimacy of voices like that of J Street - a controversial body critical of Israel's policies, which describes itself as a "pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby" and which calls on the United States and Israel to "find ways to engage Hamas."

But Avinoam Bar-Yosef, founding director-general of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute - which was established by the Jewish Agency in 2003 - is unconvinced. "As long as J Street continues to push views that run contrary to those of the majority of American and Israeli Jews, I can understand Israeli officials' reluctance to meet with them," Bar-Yosef said.

"Of course I would accept an invitation to speak with J Street people, and I have in the past," Eizenstat said when asked about the unanswered invitation J Street extended to Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, ahead of a conference planned for next week.

"J Streets provides a legitimate outlet for more liberal-minded Jews," added Eizenstat. "I do not agree with all of their policies, but theirs is a legitimate voice among the plethora of Jewish voices which does not merit any negative treatment."

While "it is up to the Israeli government to decide" whether to attend the conference, "it could be useful if Israeli officials could educate people who have taken the positions held by some of J Street's supporters," he added.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Hamas war crimes
International human rights group urges Hamas to probe attacks on Israeli civilians.
Fighting anti-Semitism
ADL slams two U.S. Republicans for calling Jews penny-pinchers.
  1.   Ex-U.S. official lauds Lieberman for `narrowing gap` with develop 06:46  |  Colin Wright 21/10/09
  2.   Eizenstat is Right 13:52  |  Stephen 21/10/09
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
23:09 American UN envoy to Israel: Relaunch Mideast talks now
18:48 Clinton: Iran must quickly implement uranium deal
19:49 'U.S. to stand by Israel in the fight against Goldstone report'
17:16 International rights group: Hamas must probe attacks on Israeli civilians
00:26 'London broker owed $20m to Israeli sports exec who killed himself'
15:32 ADL slams two U.S. Republicans for calling Jews penny-pinchers
23:10 Egypt airline: Hijacker tries to divert Cairo-bound plane to Jerusalem
00:11 TV ROUND-UP: Iran uranium deal presented; Barak fined for poor Knesset attendance
22:20 'If you want to save the planet, the planet doesn't need you'
12:22 How the Muslim world deals with the rise of Islamism
15:56 Bukharian Jews protect their culture in a N.Y. enclave
21:42 Interior Minister skips immigration debate attended by foreign workers' children
13:06 Deputy PM to Haaretz: Israel must probe Gaza war
21:43 Solana: EU has closer ties to Israel than potential member Croatia
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved