Posted By James Besser
In Mideast capitals and in American Jewish boardrooms, optimism about Tuesday’s Mideast summit in Annapolis, Md. is hard to come by.
But local leaders in Annapolis – with its trendy waterfront district, old state capitol building and the sprawling U.S. Naval Academy, where the talks will take place – are hoping the city’s name will enter the political lexicon as a positive landmark in the quest for Mideast peace.
This week Mayor Ellen Moyer issued a proclamation welcoming the upcoming talks.
The city is “honored” to be the venue for “these important talks,” she said.
The city, she said, “offers attendees…its best wishes and urges them to find the courage, strength, commitment, determination and humility necessary to achieve success in this important endeavor.” She proclaimed Tuesday “Annapolis Conference Day” in the city.
The statement won praise from Americans for Peace Now (APN).
“This proclamation demonstrates the depth of American support for negotiations to achieve Arab-Israeli peace and the widespread recognition of the importance of this issue to American interests,” said Debra DeLee, the group’s president. “We join Mayor Ellen Moyer and the City of Annapolis in rolling out the red carpet to the delegates.”
The proclamation might also reflect plain old boosterism.
In 2000, the mountain hamlet of Shepherdstown, West Virginia hosted Syrian-Israeli peace talks. Stores along the city’s main street posted signs welcoming delegates; pictures of doves appeared everywhere. Local church ladies set up money-making concession stands for the army of reporters who descended on the small town; entrepreneurs produced T-shirts and other souvenirs.
But ultimately Shepherdstown, like Camp David, Wye River, Taba and Oslo, became just another name associated with missed opportunities.
APN and other pro-peace process groups are awaiting permits for a Monday afternoon rally supporting the talks. Other participants include Ameinu, Meretz USA, the Union of Progressive Zionists and Brit Tzedek v’Shalom.
Americans for a Safe Israel and other Jewish and Christian Zionist groups that oppose Palestinian statehood and Israeli concessions are planning rallies on Monday and Tuesday at the Naval Academy; some groups also plan a Sunday demonstration at the White House and march to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Their theme: “Stop Munich II.”