The unique character of the revolt in Iran has been the power of the fast SMS/Twitter tools and the younger age group that used it. Those who grew up using their thumb as a main tool of communication  also know that they are breaking new grounds. There are no rules for this political game, and the modes of expression and their strategic models are written while hitting the ground.

The Iranian crowds are living through the "largest increase in expressive capability in human history," as defined by Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody.

Iranian youth know that the authorities can try to follow them, but they also know that fast and furious is the way to go. The authorities will always be a step behind.

The greatest effect of the whole phenomenon is that Iran has gained a new face. Instead of relating to Ahmadinejad as the only face of Iran, we now see a multitude of younger people. We have human rights movements that will make a difference for the future. The USA and Israel, which have often held a one-dimensional view of Iran, will have a new challenging set of questions to answer.

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.

The reaction to the recent nationalist trend in the Israeli parliament has been very negative. As a result, the initiative to make life harder for the Palestinian–Israeli citizens was canceled.

See this YNetnews update for more details.

Still, the undercurrent of total polarization between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Israeli citizens will get stronger. Unless President Obama will signal a new beginning in his speech on the 4th of June, the peace process is frozen.

Polarization will get worse.

Israel cabinet decided to pass a legal initiative that would give a 3 year prison sentence to anyone who treats the Nakba of 1948 as a special event. This is an outrageous idea: it is the sum of the hopes of the Israeli Nationalists that the Palestinian minority in Israel will somehow disappear. It expresses a total denial of Palestinian history.

This compliments the denial of the Holocaust, which Israel has fought for the last 60 years. Denial of your history means that either you are an inventor of gas ovens, or you are just a victim of your own victimization complex. Denial of the right to express your mourning over events that happened to your family and many other people is a cruel and unusual punishment.

This is such a debasing ministerial call that Israelis of all walks of life should be ashamed of. It takes away the right of Jews to fight against Holocaust denial. The Turks have tried it against the Armenian minority: no mention was allowed of any massacre of Armenians by Turks. Of course the ban collapsed, and the Turks look worse for it. This is a bankruptcy of any moral standing by the present Israeli cabinet, and will make it easier for all the enemies of Israel to justify that another war as the only way. If your existence and history is denied, what do you have to lose?

Visit www.haaretz.com for more on this.

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...

Hi Souheila,

I read carefully your friend's advice and I am not surprised. As a guy who lived for 55 years in polarizied Jerusalem this is an understandable and regular reaction. We Palestinian and Israelis have for too long been in a deadly embrace. As for myself I have demonstrated against occupation and specifically against the settlements since 1968! So after 40 years of active opposition in Jeruslaem I moved to SF to have a break. For me, the Palestinian issue is very central to any dialog, and for me the eye to eye level is key to any real understanding.

In Jeruslaem I worked a  lot with Palestinian journalists and started the web site www.amin.org. I also started a dialog of the deaf project that was supposed to connect Palestinian and Israeli deaf children through the internet. Hopefully your friend knows that 99% of the people in the Middle East can hear, but only 5% are listening...

Palestinian issue is definitely central to any attempt to  solve and change Mid East-USA relations. However if you read the  recent reports about the way Israeli soldiers relate to Palestinians as moving targets,you must realize the challenges facing OBAMA. Palestinians also distrust American emissaries,and despise Israeli double talk.

The level of distrust and hate between the warring people on the ground has increased many fold in the last 9 years. There is so much work that needs to be done, to get to any real understanding. So even if Obama would declare that Palestine is his priority, he would have to take many preparatory steps.

The President would have to start in DC/Congress to get them out of the AIPAC agenda. How many partners does he have for this? So it is a long road towards the first REAL peace intitaitive.

While I agree that Obama seems to be taking a multi-pronged approach to the Muslim world, which may help his efforts in Palestine-Israel, he still needs to tackle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict full force from the start. All problems stem from this long lasting conflict that seems to have no end. But is Obama willing to challenge Israel on its unfair policies towards the Palestinians? Like many Presidents before him, probably not.

Israel has had many hard-lined right wing governments in the past, but this fact alone did not stop Tel Aviv from making peace with some of its Arab and Muslim neighbors.

The wait continues and unfortunately, this will mean more bloodshed on both sides, more confiscated lands, demolished homes and dashed dreams.

There is a shift in policy in different Obama initiatives that might make the BUSH era finally look like bygone. 5 main changes already happened. Envoys were sent to Syria, Iran invited to an Afghanistan conference, strengthening Turkey role as Mediator, support UK initiative to talk to Hezbollah, trying to talk to moderate Taliban. All these are connected to an Engagement trend,that will bear fruits sometime.

For Israel the challenge is how to answer these developments, as the new government is really a pro Bush in its mentality. Obama has a very hard partner in Israel and its AIPAC friends in DC. But by doing all this outreach to the Arab world, Obama is first trying to change the non Palestinian -Israeli world. Then he will deal with the hardcore issues that so many presidents before him failed at

Although Syria boasts that it has always wanted a comprehensive peace with Israel that includes the Palestinians, I think that Damascus is more than willing to go the route that Jordan and Egypt took, which means that the Palestinians will again be left out of the peace loop. I do think that it takes right-wing Israeli  governments to make peace with the Arabs, which unfortunately comes at the cost of Palestinian lives and misery.

Do you think that Obama will be able to broker a peace between Netanyahu and Assad? Where do you think Netanyahu will take Israel?