President Bush has travelled to Israel to celebrate the nation's 60th anniversary. He met with both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (above, the full text of their remarks can be read here) and the President Shimon Peres. He addressed the Knesset(the Israeli Parliament) and a large conference with celebrity guests Henry Kissinger and Elie Wiesel.
Every step of the way Bush has emphasized America's unwavering friendship with Israel.
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Meanwhile, for the Palestinians this day marks the 60th anniversary of the “nabka,” or “catastrophe,” as Irsael's creation forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee Israel. President Bush was criticised for his failure to directly address to the Palestinian side of the Middle East peace equation.
The Christian Science Monitor published an interesting analysis of what some commentators consider a lack of vision for resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The Associated Press, in an article titled “Bush leaves it to Olmert to push Mideast peace,” reported:
“President Bush gently urged Mideast leaders to “make the hard choices necessary for peace,” leaving it to embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to stand before a divided parliament Thursday and forcefully declare that this war-weary nation is ready for a historic agreement with Palestinians.”
To give a historical vantage point, Public Radio International's news program The Worldinterviewed former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke about President Harry Truman's decision to recognize Israel back in 1948.
He talks about how the entire foreign policy establishment of that time advised Truman against recognizing Israel. It's an interesting to listen: http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/18058.
