Funerals make for strange occurrences

The Pope's recent funeral witnessed an impressive gathering of world leaders, but I don't think anyone quite expected this.

For the presidents of countries [Syria and Iran] so outspoken against the existence of Israel to shake hands with President Moshe Katsav is pretty unbelievable.

Fahed al-Fanek, an analyst and columnist for the Jordanian daily Al-Rai, told The Jerusalem Post that the act was a means of communicating a desire for back-channel talks with both Syria and Iran.

"It was an unconditional invitation," said Fanek. "It is a message to say, 'We are ready to talk, so send your people and start the connections.'"

Interesting. Either this guy al-Fanek really knows what he's talking about, or he completely missed the obscenities muttered under the presidents' breaths and the slowly-tightening-grip-before-finally-releasing-the-handshake manuever.

But in all seriousness, how should outside observers perceive this seemingly meaningful gesture?

Syria has said numerous times it wants to return to the negotiating table where the talks between the two countries left off in 2000. Israel has said it wants no preconditions. Iran has stated in the past its support for the destruction of Israel.

But, the internationally renowned Syria expert, Patrick Seale, told the Post that he "wouldn't put any meaning into [the handshakes]." According to Seale, the only reason the elder Assad did not shake an Israeli leader's hand was "because there was no opportunity." Both Zisser and Seale said that without a context for a change in the relationship between Damascus and Jerusalem the handshakes would change nothing.

How many times have we seen Arafat, Mubarak, and others shake hands with Israeli officials and heads of state over the years? And what exactly did they accomplish, other than good shots for the press? Pretty much nothing.

So please, let's not kid ourselves: the context for any real change in Middle East relationships has not yet been established in the least bit. Even if there were good intentions behind the handshakes, as long as Syria and Iran continue to maintain links to terrorist groups, I don't see how we can expect anything to change.