US Secretary of State John Kerry’s team is looking here in Israel for a university to host the secretary’s possible address to the nation. The idea that the secretary would address the Israeli public directly to convince it of the necessity of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been in the making for the past few months and was first unveiled Jan. 30.
While a final decision has yet to be made, its necessity is nevertheless unquestionable. Polls in Israel indicate that Israelis have lost trust in the United States as the one that would safeguard the interests of the Jewish state in times of trouble. Some 70% of Israelis believe that the United States is not an honest broker. Incidentally, if similar polls had been conducted among the Palestinians, I would venture to say that an even larger Palestinian majority would have also said that Kerry was not an honest broker. If Israelis and Palestinians alike are convinced that the United States is leaning toward the other side, it's a sure sign that Kerry is in a good position. He apparently is doing something right. But would that cut the mustard? History and statistics suggest that it will not. In the Middle East, you will always come up short when trying to achieve something positive. But Kerry nevertheless remains adamant.
