My activism goes back to my childhood, when I started as a supporter of the Vietnam anti-war movement and an advocate for civil rights. I was inspired by Sen. Eugene McCarthy and New York Congressman Allard Lowenstein. As a teen I joined and rose to leadership roles in Young Judea, the Zionist Youth Movement of Hadassah. All the while, I felt a deep need to integrate my involvement in progressive causes here in the states with my heartfelt connection to Israel and belief in Zionism.

Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. The connection of the Jewish people to its holy city is undisputable. Every place you dig, you touch Jewish roots. Our prayers and scriptures are filled with yearnings for Jerusalem, and reinforce our historic and religious links to the city. We turn to Jerusalem in prayer three times a day and recall it during our most important rites of passage.

Too much of what is commonly known about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is generated by the constant repetition of truisms that fit the justifications of one side’s explanations. Too few of us bother to weigh the possibility that there might be another interpretation of reality. If so, it might also suggest that our own may not be the exclusive version of truth.

am writing from a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain to Amman after attending a conference on nuclear energy run by the Gulf Cooperation Council for Foreign Relations. Ironically, my in-flight reading is Thomas Friedman’s award-winning book The Lexus and the Olive Tree – a brilliant explanation of the meaning of globalization and its impacts on the world.

The settlement issue will continue to be the major point of contention between Israel and the PLO in the coming months of negotiations – whether through proximity talks or through direct face-to-face negotiations.

The crisis in relations between Washington and Jerusalem is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of being able to move a peace process forward. There is no doubt that the crisis poses one of the most serious challenges to the Obama administration in its foreign policy agenda in general and potentially could shape and influence the policy of the US in the region for years to come.

It was never really about the timing. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology to US Vice President Joseph Biden enabled the Tel Aviv University speech to conclude the visit on an up note. The ice-cold water from Washington came only after the prime minister thought that he had successfully passed through the storm.

With the Netanyahu right-wing religious government in power in Jerusalem it is clearer than ever that there is no partner for peace in Israel. The amazing thing about this statement is that the world believes that there is no partner in Ramallah.

Palestinians have an opportunity to play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation ignited by Netanyahu’s thoughtless words on the heritage sites.

Netanyahu as a statesman needs to reshuffle his cabinet. He needs to approach Livni and propose to her that Kadima replace Israel Beiteinu.