Obama's Comments on Israel Stir Criticism in U.S.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/us/politics/07obama.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=rohter&st=nyt&oref=slogin

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>Date: Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 5:56 PMSubject: Obama's Comments on Israel Stir Criticism in U.S.To: letters@nytimes.com

To the Editor: Six years ago, Sari Nusseibeh (chancellor of Bir Zeit University) and Ami Ayalon (retired head of Israel's Shin Bet) issued jointly a sketch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People%27s_Voice)of an eventual peace settlement between Israel and a new Palestinian state. Although the U.S. media disdained to print or mention it (except to cover Yasir Arafat's rejection of it), it remains a likely model for the eventual peace. What remains unsolved is the path to that peace. That Ayalon/Nusseibeh document posits that there will be two states, and each will claim the open city of Jerusalem as its capital. While it would be unconventional, it is a solution that must be considered. Surely this is a problem that has cried out in vain for innovative thinking for too long. If Mahmoud Abbas rejects senator Obama's speech for endorsing an undivided Jerusalem, he sets himself against the best prospect for peace in the region.Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549