Compiled by Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — While he was in Vietnam, U.S. Secretary of State met on Sunday with ABC news reporter Martha Raddatz to discuss a wide range of topics, including the talks he has been brokering between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Far from predicting ultimate peace, Kerry seemed to be lowering expectation about what might come out of these talks. His metaphor was “moving the ball forward,” which in American football means advancing the ball toward the goal line, but not necessarily getting to the goal.
Here’s a transcript of that brief portion of the interview, as provided by the U.S. State Department:
QUESTION: You’ve put so much effort in your first year into Mideast peace. You’ve got the parties talking, but has there been any real concrete progress on the really tough issues?
SECRETARY KERRY: Yes. Actually, there has been. But we’ve agreed not to be talking about what we’re doing, because it just creates great expectations, it creates pressure, it creates opposition in some cases. If this conflict was easy, Martha, this would have been done years ago. It’s confounded presidents and secretaries of state for 30 or 40 years. And it’s complicated.
QUESTION: And you feel this time its different?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, I think we’re in a different moment now. And hopefully the leaders will seize this moment and at least move the balls forward somewhat.
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The Jewish Federation of San Diego County is sending a Channel 10 news clip to its supporters trumpeting how it may receive a portion of the proceeds from an impressionistic painting by Camille Pissarro, which was confiscated from a Jewish family by the Nazis and later found its way to a Spanish museum. A federal court has ruled the family’s estate may sue for the recovery of the art piece which, Federation President Michael Sonduck said would bring a measure of justice to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
Claude Cassirer, the late grandson of the family that owned the painting, had named the Jewish Federation as one of the heirs to his estate. In addition, Cassirer left a wife, Beverly, who is a nonagenarian, and two children.
The case is explained and illustrated in this reportage by KGTV’s Michael Chen:
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Stand With Us, the pro-Israel citizen action organization, is backing a bipartisan congressional resolution that would specify what the United States must achieve in its nuclear talks with Iran.
Here is Stand With Us’s account:
“On Thursday (Dec. 12), a bipartisan group of legislators (Gene Green D-TX), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) Peter Roskam (R-IL), and Michael McCaul (R-TX), introduced legislation to verifiably prevent a nuclear Iran. Last month`s announcement of an interim agreement between the administration and Iran set a six-month window during which to negotiate a final deal over Iran`s nuclear program. The bipartisan resolution (H. Res. 445) states that any final nuclear agreement with Iran should fully dismantle Iran`s nuclear program, “including its production of a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles” and reduce or eliminate Iran`s support for terrorism, human rights violations, persecution of religious minorities, and unjust imprisonment of American citizens. Furthermore, this legislation reaffirms the need for additional economic sanctions against Iran should it fail to meet the negotiated terms of the interim agreement within six months of implementing the deal.
“The lawmakers released the following statement on the legislation: “Preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability is a moral and strategic imperative for the United States. We are deeply concerned that the interim agreement leaves Iran multiple paths to developing a nuclear weapon. However, we recognize a potential final, comprehensive agreement as an opportunity to once and for all verifiably prevent a nuclear Iran. But this isn`t just about nuclearization. Iran continues to develop long-range ballistic missiles, finance the world`s most dangerous terrorist organizations, commit heinous human rights abuses on its own citizens, persecute religious minorities, and hold innocent Americans captive. We are therefore pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation, which takes a resolute stand against the Iranian regime and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com