International Policy

In his State of the Union address Wednesday night, President Obama assured the American people that he would continue to aggressively pursue his domestic agenda in 2010. He summed up his determination at the end of the speech with a rousing, "I don't quit" guarantee.

But does the same tenacity and steely resolve apply to his Middle East peace initiative? Is the President still in it for the long haul? Or is Mr. Obama getting ready to let Israelis and Palestinians "stew in their own juices", as Israeli political analysts are fond of saying? Will he throw them off like excess baggage, weighing down an Administration already saddled with challenges enough for the next 3 years?

The first month of 2010 has provided several alarming signals.

Embassy of Israel

His Excellency Michael B. Oren, Ambassador of Israel to the United States

Your Excellency,

Meretz USA for Israeli Civil Rights and Peace, a longstanding affiliate of the American Zionist Movement, wishes to express our deep disappointment and great alarm over your recent remarks with regard to the J Street organization, delivered at the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's biennial convention.

The Meretz party has called on the Israeli government to set up an independent commission of inquiry that would investigate possible human rights violations committed during "Operation Cast Lead" - the Gaza War.

The chair of Meretz's board, former MK Mossi Raz, explained: "The government needs to correct its mistake and swiftly establish an independent inquiry commission, in accordance with the timetable laid out in the Goldstone Report. It is entirely in Israel's interests to investigate the events of ‘Cast Lead'."

In this period between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the rhythm of the Jewish calendar obliges us to become especially reflective and self-critical. As we try to make atonement (Kippur), we turn our attention to our own humanity, which is synonymous with our fallibility - as we are reminded by the Latin phrase, "erratum humanum est" (to err is human).

In traditional Jewish practice, our reflection on our fallibility, and our need to make atonement for it, is divided into two separate, though interrelated, spheres: The interactions that are "bein adam La-Makom" - commonly translated as "between man and God"; and those interactions which are "bein adam l'chaveiro" - between a person and other human beings.

Non-religious Jews draw on this important tradition as well, often modernizing their reflections by replacing the image of a Supreme Being with that of our "conscience" or "superego", our "inner God" or "divine self".

But regardless of one's particular religious beliefs, Yom Kippur is a crucial time for the Jewish people - individually and collectively - to own up to, and publicly admit, the errors we have made, so that we can become less imperfect human beings in the year to come.

I arose early yesterday to watch Barack Obama's much-awaited speech in Cairo. Unsurprisingly, I was impressed by the dexterity of the writing and the superb quality of the oratory. And, by and large, I found myself in agreement with everything the President had to say.

And yet, I came away feeling a vague sense of discomfort as well, a slight queasiness that at first defied explanation. After all, wasn't Barack Obama's clear enunciation of the illegitimacy of West Bank settlements and the non-negotiability of the two-state principle the best news since penicillin?

Meretz USA is proud to take part in this gathering of "Jews Uniting to End the War & Heal America." The US misadventure in Iraq has not only been a bloody disaster for the Iraqi people; it's also been bad for the US, bad for Israel and bad for the Jews. As a progressive Zionist organization, Meretz USA wishes to address how bad the war has been for Israel and the American Jewish community.

The five-year US occupation of Iraq has harmed Israeli interests - emboldening the enemies of Israeli-Arab peace and impeding the progress of peace talks between Israel and its neighbors. With America bogged down in Iraq, the war has expanded the influence of Iran in the region, as well as its rejectionist allies within Lebanon and Palestine. Additionally, the occupation has created new US-Syria antagonisms that have prevented Washington from taking any positive role in the reemerging peace process between Damascus and Jerusalem.

Meretz USA warmly congratulates President-elect Barack Obama on his electoral victory, and wishes him every success in what will literally be an effort at tikkun olam - the need to repair the many ills that are having a deleterious effect on both the United States and the entire world.

When it comes to the question of the Middle East, one must not only hope, but also demand, that the Obama administration will learn from the tragic mistakes of his predecessor, who left Israeli-Arab diplomacy to atrophy for almost seven full years.

There is ample reason for optimism. Standing before an AIPAC audience in June, Mr. Obama clearly committed himself to reversing President Bush's head-in-the-sand approach and being a proactive President when it comes to the Middle East: