Annapolis

This poster certainly caught my attention as I was walking to work this week:

This depiction of Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert pretty much sums up the level of optimism here regarding the meeting to take place in Annapolis later this month. This poster was put up around the city by a right wing political party, which strongly opposes any concessions to the Palestinian government, but even moderates I have spoken with are unenthusiastic about the prospects for peace in Annapolis.

The key problem is that all three of the key players -- Olmert, Bush and Mahmoud Abbas -- are very weak, and this meeting, which has been steadily downgraded from a "summit" to a "conference" to now a mere "meeting," is seen among Israelis as a last ditch effort for all three to bolster their foreign policy record. The more cynically-minded also argue that the three are using this peace effort to distract from their resepctive failings at home and abroad. (Take your pick.)

No one here is expecting anything good to come out of the Annapolis meeting, but people are keenly aware of its potential to disrupt the peace process even further. There's a good chance it could do more harm than good, and at this point, most would be happy if the meeting came and went quietly. I just hope they can get their hands on some Berger cookies while they're in Maryland.

And speaking of coming and going quietly, I took a picture of this poster on Sunday, and it was gone by Tuesday morning.