Well, After All, Maybe - Maybe Not

Given due consideration. What a difference a day makes. Twenty-four troublesome hours. And while it's true that I mean what I say and I say what I mean, it can sometimes be downright inconvenient to do that scene. Know what I mean?

So, it's oops! retract that pledge. This can happen to anyone, after all. You get carried away, right? I mean, speaking before all these people who aren't quite sure they trust me, I've got to carry the day. So I got carried away by the passion of that empowering rhetoric.

It happens. Shit happens to anyone, everyone, sometimes. Yep, I've been stepping in these cowpies lately. You ever try to clean that stuff off your shoes? Just trying to bridge the divide of a misunderstanding.

So what happens? More misunderstandings. Those twitchy, touchy Jews. Don't get me wrong, I love those people, what's not to admire about them? They've got guts. And lots of investments in this country, and plenty of political clout, too.

So I kind of forgot about the other side of the ledger, those twitchy, touchy Arabs. I mean, really, they've got a point, right? They're under occupation, an unfortunate but sad reality. So sure, I said some things that were obviously misunderstood, about the indivisibility of Jerusalem, about the Jewish character of Israel, about the refugee right of return, that kind of thing.

Hey, give a guy a break. This is a side issue after all. No harm meant. Sure, I made a solemn pledge. No harm meant, folks, no harm done, right? We can work this one out together. That's what friends are for. To cut a little slack. A vow, impassioned or sober, a pledge, a commitment; we just got carried away with the momentum of moving forward.

Look: I didn't mean to shut the Palestinians out. I understand completely why the Palestinian Authority people, Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas are pissed off. Hey, I maybe went a little too far...?

That's what happens when your back's to the wall of public opinion; Jewish censure in this case. So I said it and I thought I was being fair, fellas. Sensitive, you know, to both sides, just trying to give assurances, you know?

"Let me be clear, Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive and that allows them to prosper. But any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish State, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided."

Hey, did I say that? Pretty good speech, if I say so myself. Clearly, it impressed the folks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington. I'm not quite certain why it didn't entirely impress Mahmoud Abbas who said "this statement is totally rejected. The whole world knows that holy Jerusalem was occupied in 1967 and we will not accept a Palestinian state without having Jerusalem as the capital."

I mean, who knew? The Israelis said they were fighting Egypt and Jordan, Syria and Lebanon because they attacked them first. And when they took over east Jerusalem in that (holy cow!) 6-day war of defence, they were able, for the first time to have access to their holy sites. Israel says that under her control, all religions have enjoyed access to their holy sites; Christians, Muslims and Jews. But here's the Palestinians telling me that's not the case.

So sure, I've got to set the record straight: "Obviously it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations... As a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute [a policy of the capital remaining undivided.]" So, I've just changed my attitude toward this complex and bedevilling problem, a teeny, weeny bit.

Okay, guys? Friends?