Editorial: Daniel Pipes as Peacemaker?

May 26, 2003

Source: Mother Jones

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2003/22/we_420_01.html

On May 26, 2003 Mother Jones printed an editorial by Michael Scherer stating that "like many other Middle East scholars, Daniel Pipes sees a way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But unlike most of his peers, Pipes sees no room for negotiation, no hope for compromise and no use for diplomacy. 'What war had achieved for Israel,' Pipes explained at a recent Zionist conference in Washington DC, 'diplomacy has undone...' Obviously, such extreme views put Pipes at odds with the stated policies of the Bush Administration, and even Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has indicated he will accept the 'road map' for peace. So it took many by surprise last month when President Bush nominated Pipes to the board of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally sponsored think tank dedicated to 'the peaceful resolution of international conflicts...' The nomination has angered American Muslim groups and liberal Jewish leaders, who see Pipes as a poor choice for a peace institute. 'Daniel Pipes is not a peacemaker,' says Susannah Heschel, a professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth and co-chair of the liberal Jewish group Tikkun."