Bush at Israel's Birthday Party

A special treat awaits Bush in Israel. For the first time in 40 years, a fragment of the Dead Sea scroll will be on display for the president. Bush may pride himself on being low-brow, but as a reborn Christian, he can't help but be impressed by the 2,000 year old manuscript bearing the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares.”

How's that for irony? The last thing that Israelis want from the U.S.A. are plowshares. (They're probably all made in China, anyway.) Israelis want weapons. The faster, bigger, more lethal weapons the better. And they want Bush to do something about Iran. Pronto. That doesn't mean dropping pieces of agricultural machinery on Iran from B-52s. The Israelis want the Americans to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities to smithereens because they believe that President Ahmedinejad is certifiably loony and is likely to use whatever nasty toy he's building against Israel.

Bush and his entourage arrive Tuesday night. But this won't be a trip where much gets accomplished on the Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. It's Israel's 60th anniversary, and Bush is here to party.

Besides, there won't be any Palestinians around at these festivities. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is staying away. Israel's independence is hardly a celebratory matter for Palestinians who refer to the event as the Naqba, the disaster or catastrophe. And, even of there were one or two Bush fans among the Palestinians who might want to cross into Israel and wave a little flag as the Great Man's motorcade whizzes by, they can't. All entry points from the Palestinian territories into Israel are closed off. That means all the Palestinian laborers, teachers, and students, along with Time's own correspondent Jamil Hamad are all stuck on the other side of the security fence. The Israelis are fearful that Palestinian militants may want to wreck the birthday party. Even with the lock-down, the Israelis still aren't taking any chances. Over 14,000 police are on duty in Jerusalem during the president's visit, and everyone, Israelis and Palestinians alike, will breathe a collective sign of relief when the bash ends and Bush leaves. Me too.

---by Tim McGirk/Jerusalem