By Schmoel Yitzhak
When it comes to understanding Israel, some people just don't get it.
Topping the list on any given day, month or year are members of that most overrated, most over-esteemed group of deceivers called academics.
Add to the name of Noam Chomsky and his band of Jewish Quislings the name of Alon Ben-Meir.
His academic title is professor of international relations at New York University's Center for Global Affairs.
And if that doesn't knock you for a cerebral loop, he also boasts of being a teaching "international negotiation and Middle East studies. at NYU.
Talk about a guy who just doesn't get it, Ben-Meir provides an abject lesson in deception.
Desperately trying to put a happy face on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Ben-Meir authored a guest column in -- you guessed it! -- Haaretz
Any reasonable historian who has studied Arab-Israeli relations, from the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem -- before and during World War II -- to Yassar Arafat will attest to one irrefutable fact.
Arab and peace is an oxymoron.
But Ben-Meir disagrees.
"Israel," Ben-Meir insists, "cannot allow the trauma of the past to distract it from its obligation to its people to seek ways to safeguard the security of the Jewish state which can be attained only through peace."
Bibi Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he (Israel) is prepared to make painful sacrifices to attain peace. All he has asked is that the rivals meet face-to-face without any pre-conditions.
Bibi's counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed to do so and that set the first, Washington-based talks in motion.
No sooner had the exchanges concluded Abbas jetted back to the Middle East and immediately held a number of press conferences with Arab reporters.
Among other things, he stated unequivocally that he would not recognize Israel as a Jewish State and that he would break all existing speed records, ending the meetings if Israel ends its construction moratorium.
Oh, yeah, and he also is adamant about "the right of return" as a pre-requisite, as if Bibi will capitulate on that most sacred of all Israeli issues.
Abbas made a few other demands that clearly indicate that he has no more interest in talking peace than his mentor, Arafat.
In short, the Palestinians want their political cake and eat it as well.
"Israel has a golden opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to peace by agreeing to negotiate substantive issues," says Ben-Meir, "with the intention of finalizing peace with the Palestinians before the end of 2011."
Netanyahu agrees.
The problem is that Bibi does not have a negotiating partner.
Abbas proves over and over again with pre-condition after pre-condition.
"The Arab world," Ben-Meir insists, "has dramatically changed since 1967, and the time has come for Israelis to recognize it."
What I recognized is the Ben-Meir and his dreamers simply do not get it.
If they ever manage to extract their academic heads from the sand they'll realize that anyone -- namely Abbas -- who has to be dragged, kicking and screaming to the negotiating table really doesn't want to negotiate.
Yes, Abbas agreed to enter into direct negotiations with Israel, but only if he got his way on every substantive issue.
Abbas doesn't get it and Ben-Meir -- like so many of his academic cronies -- certainly is missing the point by a mere 180-degrees!
Dead-ender.
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