Ehud Olmert is right, Binyamin Netanyahu is wrong.....

The limits of rhetoric - JPost - Opinion - Columnists

Putting Netanyahu’s speech into perspective, Olmert correctly argued that, first of all, US President Barack Obama’s recent Middle East speeches did not represent any change in American policy: Any peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would have to be based on the 1967 borders plus agreed-upon land swaps, and this is also the view of the rest of the Western world.

Netanyahu’s shriek of gevalt at the very mention of 1967 borders shows just how far he really is from any serious discussion with the Palestinians. And while the prime minister’s remarks on Jerusalem – “Jerusalem must never again be divided. Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel” – garnered a rousing round of applause in the House and played well with the Likud central committee members at home, more sober observers realize this is a non-starter.

As Olmert writes: “All the countries of the enlightened world, as well as the overwhelming majority of the American public, support the separation of the Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem from Israeli sovereignty.

This is inevitable, and it’s also the right move for those who wish to maintain Israel’s capital as a Jewish city. There is no escaping it.

As Jerusalem’s former mayor, I know this well, and it’s possible. Those who refuse to discuss it terminate the chances for a peace process. One can speak nicely, stir up rightist radicals and draw applause from the settlers, yet this will not bring peace, genuine negotiations or global understanding [of Israel’s position].”

INDEED, NETANYAHU’S remarks on Jerusalem slammed the door shut on any hope that his government had the slightest intention of entering into negotiations with the Palestinians. His stirring phrases might have boosted his standing in the opinion polls, but opinion polls do not change reality.

And the reality is bleak. Come September, the majority of the international community will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations, leaving Israel isolated. Instead of using his Washington platform to signal that Israel is ready to enter meaningful negotiations with the Palestinians, and thus disarm the Palestinian threat of a unilateral move toward independence, Netanyahu chose to highlight those issues – Jerusalem and a long-term Israeli military presence along the Jordan River, for example – which deepen the rifts between us and our neighbors.