We were not mistaken in striving for peace, but only in the way we set out to achieve it.

I call on you to join me in a new way of thinking about the conflict, in learning from our mistakes, and in re-reading the regional map toward a revitalized and genuine quest to achieve The Right Road to Peace.

Please read, learn and share the insights of this site!

Sincerely, MK Benny Elon

By Rabbi Leiby Burnham 
Black Friday.
The day that dreams begin to come true. The most intense shopping day of the year. The day that stores open at 4 AM to long lines of people who have been waiting outside in the frigid cold for hours, with parking lots converted into campgrounds. The day on which hopes will be fulfilled or broken. Black Friday.
If you missed out on Black Friday, if you were not on line for hours in the cold and rain, don’t worry. Black Friday is not the greatest thrill of the shopping season. It pales in comparison to the Unobtainable Object of the Season (UOS). This is a phenomenon of such great proportion that not every year merits to have one. Only once every two or three years do they surface, quietly at first, but then gathering weight like a sumo wrestler on steroids until you can’t ignore them. Children become hypnotized by them, parents become panic stricken to get them, the media loves them, and most of America loves to hate them.
One of the UOS’s that I watched in full bloom was the Tickle Me Elmo. For those of you who don’t remember this ...   more »

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking after US President George Bush at the Annapolis peace summit, said Israel should end its occupation of all territories captured in the Six Day War, including east Jerusalem the Syrian Golan and certain parts of Lebanon.
Abbas commended the significant participation in the conference of countries from all over the world, including Arab countries and major industrial leaders, in what he called a unique conference in the history of conflict. This, he said, would provide impetus and encouragement for the negotiation process, ending occupation and bringing about the establishment of the state of Palestine side by side with the state of Israel.
"Our region stands at a crossroads that separate two historical phases," Abbas said, adding that such an opportunity might not be repeated. "Let us make peace of the brave, and protect it for the sake of our children and your children."
At the same time, the Palestinian leader gave no indication that his side was willing to concede on any of the flashpoint issues that have derailed previous peace efforts: the status of disputed Jerusalem, refugees, the borders of an independent Palestine and Israeli settlements.
"I have the right here to defend ...   more »

Israeli PM claims holy site not up for talks, but Palestinians say he has already agreed to forfeiture
Aaron Klein, WND
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statements on Wednesday that Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for negotiation are "false," according to a chief Palestinian negotiator, who told WND the Israeli leader already agreed to forfeit Judaism's holiest site to a coalition of Arab countries.
"What Olmert said (regarding the Mount) is absolutely false. I think he's not yet ready to tell the Israeli public and is waiting for the right time and he fears his coalition with religious extremists will fall apart if he announces it now," said a senior Palestinian negotiator Thursady on condition his name be withheld.
The chief Palestinian negotiator said in months leading up to Annapolis the Palestinian team was "surprised" by Olmert's willingness to give up the Mount.
"We had intense debates on many topics, which remain open and unsettled, but the Harem Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) is not a sticking point. The Israelis didn't argue with us. We were pleasantly surprised Olmert didn't debate about giving the lower section of the Mount either, which was a sticking point in the past."
According ...   more »

Etgar Lefkovits
One out of three new apartments in central Jerusalem were sold to foreigners this year, while 20 percent of all apartments in the downtown area lay empty most of the year, according to a new study released Thursday.
Thousands of Israelis leave Jerusalem every year for better quality of life after being squeezed out of the city, in part by a tight housing market that increasingly caters to affluent foreigners.
The findings are to be presented Sunday in Jerusalem at a conference entitled "The Right to Jerusalem: between a bustling city and a ghost town," organized by The Jerusalem Center for Ethics.
The Romema neighborhood has the most foreign-owned properties, with 30 percent of its flats owned by foreigners.
Talbiyeh, where Beit Hanassi and the Jerusalem Theater are located, is next at 20%, followed by Rehavia and the German Colony at 14%, according to the report. The price of flats in these areas has shot up from $5,000-$7,000 per square meter to $13,000.
The percentage of foreign-owned flats is dramatically lower in the periphery of the city. Former Jerusalem residents have cited better jobs and affordable housing as the primary reasons they left in recent years.
A new ...   more »