In the run-up to President Obama’s Cairo speech, the Arab position was clear.
As the New York Times reported Tuesday, “The Arab countries … believe they have already made their best offer.”
That offer is what’s known as the Arab Peace Initiative. Promoted by Saudi Arabia, and adopted by 22 countries at the Arab League Summit in 2002, the initiative offers full recognition for Israel by the Arab world, in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to its 1967 borders and a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee issue.
Israel initially rejected the initiative outright, though more recently, leaders like President Shimon Peres have hailed it as a “profound change” in Arab thinking about Israel. Part of the problem with the document is that it presumes a unilateral Israeli withdrawal, a political third rail in Israel, given the results of the Gaza disengagement. Another is that it specifically invokes UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which Palestinians have always interpreted as a “right of return” to land inside the Green Line — a non-solution that would swamp Israel with refugees and their descendants, effectively eliminating the Jewish state.
By falling back on the Arab Peace Initiative, Arab leaders were essentially saying: We’ve taken the first step. Your move, Israel. Ball’s in your court.
That’s why I think one of the most important sequences in Obama’s speech today was this one:
The Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel’s legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.
It’s not just incumbent upon Israel to stop settlements, the Palestinians to abandon violence, and Hamas to “put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel’s right to exist,” as Obama said. The broader Arab world has an obligation too — a vital one — and it starts with recognizing Israel’s legitimacy.
There are concrete steps Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the rest of the Arab world must take. And, no, those steps do not end with the Arab Peace Initiative.
For Obama to say this in Cairo, with millions watching throughout the Arab world, only gives it more power and credibility.
(Crossposted at National Jewish Democratic Council’s blog.)