Last week, Israeli officials reportedly asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about pursuing exploratory talks with Syria. Her answer, according to press accounts, was, "don't even think about it."

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But this week, the Bush Administration announced that it will participate in talks with Syria and Iran in an effort to stabilize the situation in Iraq. The Bush Administration's willingness to talk to Syria and Iran is good news. Hopefully it marks a new approach from the Bush Administration - one marked by a broader policy of U.S. regional engagement as long advocated by Americans for Peace Now.

However, the announcement raises the question of why the Bush Administration continues to prevent Israel from pursuing the possibility of an Israel-Syria peace treaty.

Clearly, when the Bush Administration is engaging Syria politically, it has no business keeping Israel from testing Syrian President Bashar Assad's offers to resume peace talks without preconditions. Pressuring Israel not to even talk with Syria was unjustified all along. Continuing this pressure now is plain hypocrisy.

Please write to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Tell her that if the Bush Administration wants to be a real friend of Israel, it should facilitate Israel-Syria talks, not prevent them.

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