Blog 6:In U.N. Speech, Abbas Conceded Little to Jews Over Jerusalem

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met a smaller number of so-called American Jewish leaders days before his U.N. speech. It wasn't the first time he tried to meet with a group that associated with both American and Israeli audiences. It was awkward because man leaders of the major American Jewish organizations declined to attend. They thought negotiating with them was no substitute for negotiating with the government of Israel. Abbas has refused to resume peace talks with Israel for four years now. Two months ago the Palestinian president’ office declared that the city “will forever be Arabic, Islamic, and Christian.” Other Palestinian officials said that Jerusalem was Palestinian “throughout history” and question whether there was ever a Jewish temple on Temple Mount. Abbas made a pledge to show more sensitivity and invited the group to watch his address to the U.N. General Assembly. The speech was a disappointment. Abbas supposedly made good with his pledge by saying that the “land of peace” was “the birthplace of Jesus, and ascension of the Prophet Muhammad, and the final resting place of Abraham- the land of the three monotheistic religions.” That notion was a bit subtle for most Jews. In Abbas’ statement he used the correct characters for the Christian icon and Muslim icon but when it came to the Jewish icon he used Abraham as a safer pick than Moses or King David. The issue is still not settled and Abbas meek acknowledgement of their ties to Israel may only have made things worse regarding his sensitivity.

                This issue is over land and it has been an issue for a long time. This is a social problem because you have two religions fighting over land. Enough people know about the issue going on to try to make a solution. It is affecting two religions! The issue has caused many physical solutions that haven’t helped but made things worse. Although it may seem ridiculous to most it means a lot to the Jewish claims. Their difference in religious beliefs make things worse because one religion thinks that the land belongs to them and the other the same. The journey to gain peace between the American Jewish groups and the Palestinians will be long because Abbas attempt of sensitivity to their Jewish claims are small. There will continue to be arguing and misunderstanding over the land because both groups believe their people were there first. It was hard to analyze this article because it’s obvious what’s going on. It’s possible that this could be a religious conflict but it’s mostly a conflict of beliefs. 

/http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/in-u-n-speech-abbas-conceded-little-to-jews-over-jerusalem/