Burma eases restrictions on aid

1. Citation
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7406868.stm
BCC NEWS: Bush’s ‘Israel bias’ angers Abbas
Date Published: May 18, 2008
Date Chosen: May 26, 2008

2. Summary
This article discusses how Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, felt that President Bush in his recent visit to Israel to celebrate their 60th anniversary, was biased toward Israel in his speech to the Israeli Parliament. President Abbas went onto say how President Bush lavished praise on Israel, while foregoing any comment or mention of the Palestinian people. What the writer noted however, was that during an interview with President Abbas prior to his state dinner with President Bush, there was no mention or hint of anger toward President Bush or his comments. President Bush’s during his visit to the Middle East, continued to advocate the call for peace, with a true belief that a peace can ultimately be reached in this volatile region. In Contrast, to his comments on President Bush’s Israeli speech, President Abbas defended President Bush’s belief in a peaceful solution against those who doubt a peace deal can ever be reached.

3. Reactions
A) The AP world history theme that relates to this article is, Impact of interaction among and within major societies. This relates to this article because the Middle East conflict between the Palestinian and Israel Nations has been going on for over sixty years, with other Arab nations siding with the plight of the Palestinian people.
B) The history of the issue is that over the past decades, American Presidents have considered Israel, one of America’s closest allies, in the fight against terrorism, and also in the Middle East reason in general, Although, Past president have tried to broker a peace between Israel and Palestine, little or no progress has ever been made.
C) The point of view of this article is one most likely by an Arab writer because the article calls out the President of the United States as being biased toward Israel. The writer of the issue seemed to know his/her facts and was very well-informed, however he/or she did very little to make President Bush seem interested and concerned about the Palestinian people even though he attended a state dinner with president Abbas.
D) The article may show some bias of point of view that may be impacting how the issue is being reported by the author feeling sympathy for the Palestinians. It was shown that the writer cared little about the history of the American and Israeli relationship, and more about the current relationship and lack of respect of President Bush toward the Palestinian people.
E) The point of view missing from this article is one of understanding the long history between the United States and Israel. This relationship has grown very deep over the past 60 years, with each country supporting the other. By understanding the history of this relationship, the author could have Cleary set the context for the President’s remarks that were made to Israeli parliament.
F) My reaction and insight to this article, is that, I feel and understand the author’s view of bias, even though I do not feel President Bush in this instance was attempting to ignore the Palestine nation. There is a time and place for President Bush to have an open dialog of support for President Abbas, and the people of Palestine if their country truly wants a peaceful solution, and I do not believe that a speech to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel is the appropriate environment.