I disagree with your assessment that Obama just talked. At least in Israel there are political ramifications, as his speech is seen as a signal of a new approach to USA-Israel relations. The government is already changing their tone about the two state solutions. The settlement movement declared Obama public enemy number one. They relate to him as "nigger" – "Koshon" in Hebrew.

His speech is seen as a marker of a new attitude that will be followed by action, including freezing of the settlements and giving a real chance for the Palestinians to voice their view on the solution. Obama found the soft belly of Bibi Netanyahu’s government. Most Jews in the USA, and the Obama administration, do not have any understanding of the messianic dreams of the settlers.

However, it could be that I am too optimistic, as I believe that you should watch what politicians do and not what they say. Still, I think that your judgment does not give a reasonable time span or perspective for a new policy to happen.

I think that not only are the settlers afraid of him, but so are Al Qaeda. They notice that Obama presents the Muslim world with new options. He ruins the one-dimensional Bush view of the "axis of evil." Bush made Al Qaeda's work very easy as a recruiting tool. Obama challenges all of us, Jews, Muslims and Christians, to listen to the "other" point of view.

During the recent visit, King Abdullah II of Jordan focused on one subject when talking with Obama: all the roads in the Middle East lead to Jerusalem and Palestine. As Bibi, Israel's new PM, is arriving soon in DC with an Iranian agenda and a timetable, it does not look to me like anyone is on the same page. Israel is organizing a major trial exercise of civil defense in July. Afterwards, all will be ready to attack Iran, unless Obama produces a new understanding with Tehran.

The rhetoric between the President of Iran and Israeli leaders have reached new heights of hate and disinformation. Many times leaders climb up high trees, only to have difficulty descending when the stakes are high. So then war breaks out as words are turned into action, and fighting seems unavoidable. It happened before in our region. The nuclear issue has become a focus for the Israeli goverment, in its relation with the USA. Obama is being tested, as his 'let us talk before we shoot' dialogue diplomacy is only in its infancy. A nuclear Middle East is a nightmare to everyone concerned, and Israel has sworn that Iran will NOT become such a power. There is a timetable of three months before the call will be made by Israeli leaders, and we find out if Obama is helpful, or if his diplomacy is a pie in the sky...

Read the www.forward.com article about the visit by Keith Allison, the only member of congress from the Muslim community. He made a video which shows the horror of Gaza daily life. But he does not use it as a weapon of propaganda. He is trying to make a point about the US Congress needing to be more open to other sources of information.

He is an example of a difficult balancing act, any Muslim American working inside the beltway-DC- of American power has to make do with. Maybe he is a bridge to other members of Congress who are not afraid of AIPAC. It could also be that GAZA has been a turning point, as it raised a lot of eyebrows even among American Jews. Obama in

Turkey repeated his 2 state solution emphasis, which contrasts with BIBI silence on the issue.

9/11 marked a historic shift in the way Muslims were related to in America. While a negative Islamophobic trend developed, a parallel process happened. Israeli and Palestinian relations went from bad to worse. This perfect storm of 9/11+ Intifada made Jewish-Muslim dialog impossible. Both sides found no common ground.

Within the Jewish community there have been other voices, espcially since Obama got elected. Theses voices finally won the day. Jewish leadership is now interested in dialog, using the different communities as a bridge.

The challenge is the politics of the Mid East, which we in our dialog have shown, can be part of an ongoing conversation. I have no doubt that many Jews might have realized that it is time to rebuild relations and stop listening to the Islamophobhic diatribe coming from weird think tanks.

What Muzzammil Hassan has done to his wife is reprehensible, sick and horrendous. But I would not be so quick to label this murder an honor killing. What is an honor killing anyway?  I would not be so quick to conclude that Islam or even Pakistani culture has anything to do with what this man has done. Perhaps he got in a fight with his wife and decided to kill his her then and there.  In America, this is murder, plain and simple.  So let us not blame the murderer’s or the victim’s culture or religion without knowing the facts behind this terrible killing. We should blame the murderer himself, who like other murderers  before him, have put aside all religious and ethical values in committing his crime.

All I can say is Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi rajiun “We come from God and to God we shall return.”

According to National Women Abuse Prevention Project,  34% percent of the women homicide victims over age 15 are killed by their husbands, ex-husbands or boyfriends.

Below are some more interesting statistics that put this case into perspective

The National Crime Victimization Survey found that in 2005:

• Intimate partner violence occurs across all populations, irrespective of social, economic, religious or cultural group. Young women and those below the poverty line are disproportionately affected.

• Nearly 5.3 million intimate partner victimizations occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older. This violence results in nearly 2 million injuries and 1,300 deaths.

• 44% of women murdered by their intimate partner had visited an emergency department within two years of the homicide. Of these women, 93% had at least one injury visit.

• Seventy-four percent of all murder-suicides involved an intimate partner. Of these, 96% were females killed by their intimate partners and 75% of those incidents occurred in the home.