U.S. Scrambles to Repair Israel's Bridges

Washington's scramble to repair Israel's diplomatic bridges to the Arab world may be too little, too late. Defense Secretary William Cohen met Wednesday with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and implored him to reverse Cairo's decision to recall its ambassador from Israel. But having made the dramatic diplomatic gesture in protest against Israel's bombardment of Gaza Monday night in retaliation for the bombing of a school bus, the Egyptian leader can't very easily reverse it now — not even under pressure from the U.S., which pays Egypt some $2 billion a year to be Israel's friend. Egypt's move, which caused shock and consternation in Israeli political circles, was echoed Wednesday by Jordan, which announced that its new ambassador designate would not present his credentials in Israel until the "Israeli aggression" against Palestinians had ended.

The reasons for Washington's concern is obvious: Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel, plays an anchor role in the peace process, supported by Jordan. It's extremely unlikely that any new peace initiatives could get off the ground without their support, and by downgrading diplomatic ties they're sending a message to the Palestinian and Arab streets that there are no hopes of any short-term resumption of peace efforts. Yet it is those same streets, in combination with Israel's use of more aggressive tactics in recent weeks, that may have forced that decision on two of the region's key moderate leaders. Egypt and Jordan have seen intensifying street demonstrations and clashes with police since the current Palestinian uprising began, with ordinary citizens demanding that their governments take a tougher stand against the Jewish state. While neither state is entirely democratic, they are ultimately forced to take account of public sentiment — indeed, last week's Egyptian election saw candidates backed by an outlawed Islamist party gain 17 seats from the government, despite the government's best efforts to harass them and their supporters.

Washington appeared more mindful of the diplomatic danger following Monday's Israeli attacks on Gaza, publicly cautioning Israel against an "excessive" response and privately, but through the New York Times, castigating it for the same. The attempt to assume a more even-handed posture may reflect an attempt to shore up Washington's own diplomatic standing in a region where it is regarded as overwhelmingly partial to Israel. But the angry men and women on the Arab street make no distinction between Israel and the U.S., and that makes it even more difficult for Mubarak or Jordan's King Abdullah to be seen as doing Washington's bidding. In other words, despite Washington's efforts, don't expect to see those ambassadors returning before there's some gesture from Israel that Jordan and Egypt can sell to the streets.