Susannah shaves her head for Tibet

In the latest installment of my political cartoon “Running Gags,” Susannah gets her head shaved as a sign of solidarity with the Tibetan protestors of the China Summer Olympics. Others who did this in real life include over 40 people in Harvard Square on Wednesday.

What’s next after Annapolis?

Like his predecessor, Bill Clinton, President George Bush has miraculously discovered that the Israeli-Palestinian crisis needs a resolution. As Clinton tried to cram a compromise between Israel and the Palestinian Authority within a year, so is Dubya seeking closure with one year to go before the end of his second and final term in office.

Regardless of such simplistic thinking, there is a new impetus toward peace of some sort in the Middle East. What should the terms be?

The best resolution would create two states that respect each other’s existence. No settlements in the West Bank, no deletions of Israel from Palestinian textbooks. This pragmatism could bring peace, but hawks on both sides would not approve. After all, Hebron, in the West Bank, contains the Cave of Machpelah, where the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried. Meanwhile, the Palestinians whose ancestors fled the British Mandate in the 1948 War of Independence — or whose ancestors fell under Israeli occupation after the 1967 Six-Day War — would have to relinquish their long-sought Right of Return.

What right does an outsider like me have to suggest to Israelis and Palestinians what to do? It all sounds so easy here in Malden, Massachusetts. Still, at what cost do both sides wish to continue their mutually-destructive goals? More military and civilian deaths, and an unending sense of tension? That seems good enough for some. “Israel’s use of land for settlements conforms to all rules and norms of international law,” blathers a release from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. This, after an unending rain of Katyusha rockets causes panic in the border city of Sderot.

I’m not calling for Eretz Yisrael to go on a “land-for-peace” surrendering spree. But as the more militarily and politically powerful of the two sides in this conflict, Israel could do much for peace by halting the construction of settlements and strengthening its borders (the security wall, when legally constructed, has been a good idea in this case). If Israel stays strong, and Palestine responds in good faith as the Egyptians did under Anwar el-Sadat after Menachem Begin gave back the Sinai Peninsula, perhaps this last dream of Dubya’s will result in success.

Peace problems in Middle East

How can Israel and the Palestinian Authority settle their differences and live in a peaceful partnership?

If President Bush wants to assist in this endeavor, Tuesday’s meeting in Annapolis between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was an encouraging start; the sides agreed to continue talks on Dec. 12.

Abbas has lasted in power for over two years, but it is unclear how much authority will stand behind anything he agrees to. The influence of Hamas cannot be ignored in these deliberations, and its absence at the talks suggests that Abbas’ ability to speak for the people he represents is limited at best. Hamas leaders, the AP reported, ”labeled Abbas a traitor for coming to the meeting, and vowed to reject any decisions to come out of the conference.”

It is also unclear what — if anything — he will agree to. “In his talk,” the AP reported, ”Abbas gave no indication that the Palestinians were willing to concede on any of the flashpoint issues that have derailed previous peace efforts: the status of disputed Jerusalem, refugees, the borders of an independent Palestine and Israeli settlements. “

 We’ll see if President Bush can succeed in resolving these thus-far intractable issues.

Yoga for Bush

President George W. Bush sure has a lot to feel stressed out about lately — the Iraq War, the US economy, and his plummeting poll numbers, for example. What can he do about it? Take up yoga, of course! Susannah has the details for Bob in the latest episode of “Running Gags”!