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Questions

1.  An editorial cartoonist often uses humor to make light of a serious situation. How does this cartoonist take a lighthearted approach to a serious situation?

2.  Ask a parent how confident he/she is that the Israelis and Palestinians will come to a permanent peace agreement this year and to explain why.  Ask a grandparent the same question.


Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.

Answers

1.  The cartoonist is making light of the situation by saying that the Palestinian and Israel leaders both attended peace talks but refused to speak to each other.

BACKGROUND ON ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE TALKS:

  • The latest round of peace talks this week between the Israelis and Palestinians started off much like similar endeavors in the past.
  • The Israelis and Palestinians have conducted many peace talks over the years since the Six Days War in 1967.
  • Many U.S. presidents believed that the U.S. could negotiate a lasting peace between the two groups, but have never succeeded in doing so.
  • The Obama administration hopes that this time, the outcome will be different.
  • The first face-to-face peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two years (that were held this week) were modest – and acknowledged as such by all sides.
  • There was no detailed negotiation on any substantive issue, according to George Mitchell, the administration’s special envoy for Mideast peace, who held months of preparatory talks and was a participant in most of the day’s discussions.
  • The outcome of the 9/2/10 meeting was that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas have agreed to a series of talks in the coming weeks and months.

2.  Answers vary.