Soccer Dad

The town hall meeting will be over soon

The conviction of Chaim Ramon and the ongoing legal and political problems of PM Ehud Olmert remind me that the town hall meeting is nearing its end.

In April 1988, Ted Koppel of Nightline arranged a Town Hall meeting between Israeli and Palestinians. The Israelis were Ramon, Olmert, Dedi Zucker and the late Eliahu Ben-Elissar. The Palestinians were Saeb Erakat, Hanan Ashrawi and Dr. Haider Abdul-Shafi. When you think about it, it seems that ABC did a good job of picking up and comers. Ramon and Olmert both ran to be heads of their respective parties. Ashrawi and Erakat have been prominent spokepeople for the PA, though only Erakat seems to have actually reached the heights of any political power.

It's interesting to read the Washington Post's account of the spectacle. ("DIPLOMACY, KOPPEL STYLE IN JERUSALEM, 'NIGHTLINE'S' ISRAELI- PALESTINIAN PANEL," Glenn Frankel, April 28, 1988)

The Palestinians . . . insisted that they were speaking to Koppel and the viewing audience, not to the Israelis. To hammer home that point, they insisted that "Nightline" erect a small symbolic wall between them and the other panel. Koppel, the diplomat-showman, straddled it, sometimes sitting facing one group, sometimes facing the other.

The dehumanization of the Israelis by the Palestinians was quite apparent though Frankel apparently didn't see it that way. He did see insults going the other way though.

But the best television moments probably were the nastiest. The two Likudniks continually baited the Palestinians, and Ben-Elissar struck a particularly vicious note when he accused Palestinian men of "hiding behind kids and behind women" because "you are afraid to come out to the streets to cope with Israeli soldiers yourselves."

And he only got half of the most telling episode.

Erakat launched his own emotional tirade, comparing Israel's occupation with the Nazi occupation of Europe, while Jews in the audience booed lustily.

It's a shame that Frankel left out Zucker's reaction. After that tirade Zucker (a child of Holocaust survivors) was visibly shaken, his faith in Israel's ability to make peace with the Palestinians shaken. He said in an agitated voice (this is from memory) "I can deal with your friend. I can't deal with you." (Erakat's tirade wasn't characterized as "particularly vicious.")

Eliahu ben Elissar passed away in 2000 after a long diplmatic career. Dedi Zucker left politics after showing a bit of intellectual honesty and getting booted from his party. (I forget the exact details.) Chaim Ramon's political career is over. And Ehud Olmert's is in jeopardy. (I expect him to hold on for awhile. No one in the governing coalition wants the government to fall as each knows that his/her position of power will disappear with the government.

I don't know what happened with Abdul-Shefi. Ashrawi always used to seem available for comment but she was always limited because she's Christian. Erakat ended up heading the Palestinian's negotiating team.

Nearly 19 years later it looks like the participants of the town hall meeting are leaving the building.

Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Blogdigger tags: Eliahu ben Elissar, Chaim Ramon, Ehud Olmert, Dedi Zucker, Hanan Ashrawi, Saeb Erakat, Haider Abdul-Shafi, Ted Koppel, Nightline, Town Hall Meeting.