In the Media

Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to enter direct negotiations (yet again) in Washington on September 2. The Obama administration is sure to hail this as a significant breakthrough. Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, and borders will all be on the table. But substantive Palestinian economic growth must also be addressed with guarantees that the Palestinian economy won’t be choked off as is currently the case.

Despite Israel's siege of Gaza, and the escalating displacement in the Negev and East Jerusalem, Palestinians have some reason to celebrate. In Washington a food co-op has passed a resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli products, confirming that the boycott movement – five years old last month – has finally crossed the Atlantic.

President Obama’s capitulation last month to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was disheartening. But it was not surprising. Most American presidents, Dwight Eisenhower aside, wilt under the pressure of the Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in particular.