VOA标准英语2013--Obama to Prod Israelis, Palestinians on Peace Efforts

 

Obama to Prod¹ Israelis, Palestinians on Peace Efforts

Obama last visited Israel in 2008 as a senator and presidential candidate. Now, he returns as a two-term president, but has been unsuccessful in overcoming obstacles to Middle East peace.

He will carry no new peace initiative, but will deliver a message.

"That peace between the Israelis and Palestinians remains² a priority of the president," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest. "That's something that he is - that the United States is - ready to strongly support if that dialogue is ready to take off."

The United States supports two states, Israel and Palestine, living peacefully alongside each other. But Obama's relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been strained, especially over Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. 

Obama will reassure³ both sides that he supports their rights, and their security, says Neil Kritz of the U.S. Institute for Peace. The stakes are high.

"For this president, one of the key challenges will be at what point does a two-state solution become more difficult to achieve. He does not want to have as his legacy⁴, being in his term the two-state solution was lost as an option," he said.

Obama was re-elected in November with 69 percent of the Jewish vote, despite Mitt⁵ Romney - his opponent - questioning his commitment to Israel.

"This president, as was shown in election after election, has been a true friend of the Jewish people, and American Jewish voters have shown him that," said Aaron Keyak, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, which was invited to a recent discussion with the president.

Eric Fusfield of B’nai Brith International calls Obama's Mideast visit an opportunity to see what is really happening on the ground.

"There is really no substitute for face-to-face contact, people at the grassroots level, seeing and feeling what's happening in Israel today," he said.

Several Arab-American groups also came to the White House, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Its president, Warren David, says Arab Americans told Obama they're disappointed in the lack of progress toward a Palestinian state.

"I said point blank, I am hoping that you are going to leave a legacy, and that this is something that you will accomplish as president. And I would have to tell you that in the beginning I was very, very pessimistic, but I left being a little more optimistic because of what the president said, what his advisers⁶ said," he said.

David says Arab Americans told Obama they hope there will finally be peace between Israel and the Palestinians. 

1 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。