Before a packed Knesset in Jerusalem last weekend, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi delivered an impassioned speech defending Israel and its unbreakable bond with the United States.
That bond, said the San Francisco Democrat, “forms the foundation of our efforts for peace, for democracy, for human freedom” and “points the way to the future –– a democratic Israel at peace with her neighbors.”
Those words, coming just before Passover, can only bring comfort to the Jewish community. We applaud the speaker for her visit, and for becoming America’s highest-ranking woman politician to address the Israeli parliament.
While Pelosi and her delegation (which includes Jewish Reps. Tom Lantos [D-San Mateo] and Henry Waxman [D-Los Angeles) visited all the right places in Jerusalem, they are also traveling to some of the wrong places, including Ramallah, Beirut and Damascus.
But go there they must.
Despite protests from the Bush administration, we support Pelosi’s talks with Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian leaders. Since we have no doubt about the speaker’s pro-Israel credentials, we believe she will represent America’s pro-Israel policies in the Arab capitols.
Given that three Republican congressmen preceded Pelosi’s visit to Syria by two days, it would be disingenuous to criticize Pelosi for talking to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. We cannot count the number of times previous American officials from both parties held talks with Assad’s father, Hafez Assad, a man far more brutal than his son.
Moreover, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group had urged the U.S. to resume relations with Syria. As Rep. Lantos said this week, “We talked to the Soviet Union for over half a century… I believe in talking to people.”
He’s right. If America can talk to a communist empire with 10,000 nukes aimed at us, we can certainly talk to a rogue Arab nation that wields influence in the region.
Those of us who follow developments in the Middle East have noted the flurry of diplomatic activity in recent weeks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been racking up the frequent flier miles in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has warmed to a Saudi peace plan and called for a regional conference.
Everywhere, it seems, calls for a real regional solution have never been louder.
But it cannot happen without American involvement. With Democrats in control of Congress, the speaker has an important role to play. That’s why her shuttle diplomacy could speed progress in the region, despite any partisan grumbling.
Nancy Pelosi has Israel’s back. We stand with her as she stands with the Jewish state.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California