Last week’s events in New York and Jerusalem took me back six years to an isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford, England. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Sept. 29 UN declaration referred to
"new opportunities" for regional peace. His government promoted construction plans in Givat Hamatos, a Jerusalem neighborhood across the Green Line, while the Jewish settlement in the East Jerusalem Arab neighborhood Silwan expanded. The combination reminded me of an Israeli-Arab meeting held in Oxford in October 2008.

That event can illustrate the extent to which the talk of peace in New York contradicts the settlement activity on the ground. The Oxford Research Group, a UK think tank, brought together the former director of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal, Egyptian diplomat and future Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi, chef de cabinet of the Arab League Secretary-General Hesham Youssef, senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub, the former director of the Israeli prime minister’s office and foreign ministry Avi Gil, Maj. Gen. (res.) Danny Rothschild, Brig. Gen. Israela Oron, former Shin Bet adviser Dr. Matti Steinberg, Middle East scholar Eli Podeh and yours truly.

For three days, the conference participants debated how to introduce the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative into the political discourse in Israel. The atmosphere was friendly, yet businesslike. The Israelis suggested that the Arab states propose a series of goodwill gestures to Israeli civil society, such as mutual visits by businessmen and journalists in Riyadh and Jerusalem. In other words, give us an advance on the future normalization of relations and we will sell your initiative to the Israeli consumer.

“Interesting idea,” responded one of the Arab representatives, “but we have a modest request: Promise us that when we come to visit you, you will not humiliate us in front of our public by announcing a new settlement in East Jerusalem.” His colleagues nodded in agreement.