voa标准英语2008年-Palestinians Welcome Obama Election, Israelis S

Many Palestinians in the West Bank are praising Barack Obama's election as the next U.S. president, saying he brings new hope for the stalled peace process. Israelis, on the other hand, received the news with disappointment, expressing concerns that Mr. Obama may pressure Israel to concede too much in the peace negotiations¹. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Jerusalem.

A Palestinian woman says she woke up to the news that Barack Obama had been elected, and she says it was news she welcomed.

She says that as a Palestinian woman, she sends her congratulations to Mr. Obama. All of the past U.S. presidents, she says, have been the same and not one has supported the Palestinians. But she says she hopes Mr. Obama will be better, and will be a leader who takes the Palestinian people's lives into account.
　

Palestinian painter Waleed Ayyoub adds the last touches on a painting he drew of Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, in the center of the West Bank city of Ramallah, 04 Nov 2008

People in the West Bank have long felt alienated² by U.S. policy, which has always supported Israel. Many Israelis and Palestinians say the Bush administration's approach has been no exception.

Weighing on many is the frustration³ about the year-old U.S.-mediated peace negotiations that have made little visible progress.

At a hotel in Ramallah, Maha Ibrahim, a 20-year-old university student, watches the election returns on a television screen at an election party hosted by the U.S. Consulate⁴. She says she hopes that Mr. Obama, as a black minority in a predominantly white country and as the son of a Muslim father, will be more sympathetic to the Palestinians. But, she says, his spoken commitment to peace, and his calls for a pullout from Iraq, are what give her the most hope.

Ibrahim says Mr. Obama has stated clearly that he is against war and seeks peace. She says this is crucial to her as a Palestinian. In this respect, Mr. Obama will be more beneficial than the Republicans have been.

Political scientist Mohammed Dajani, of Al Quds University in Arab East Jerusalem, hosted Mr. Obama during a visit and was impressed by his charisma⁵.

"He was able to actually inspire Palestinians who walked in as anti-Americans, yet he was able to keep the message that he had [and] he was able to win them over," he said. "So I feel he is someone who could inspire both antagonists⁶ or both conflicting parties, to be able to find a solutions, within his term, for the Arab-Israeli conflict."

Reaction to the news of Mr. Obama's victory was not so positive in Jewish West Jerusalem, where many Israelis saw John McCain as a stronger supporter of Israel. This 67-year-old Israeli woman says she was born in Israel and has lived through several wars with Arabs. She says Obama's willingness to engage Iran and his outreach to Palestinians makes her feel unsafe.

She says Mr. Obama's election presents a danger for Israel and a danger for America.

Not everyone in West Jerusalem is as pessimistic. This Israeli man who asked not to be identified, says he is concerned about Mr. Obama's lack for foreign policy experience and his attitude toward Israel, but he says there is room for hope.

"There are a lot of questions," he said. "A lot of questions. We will have to see. If he is like any other politician, we should be a little bit scared, and a little bit hopeful for the future. I was informed this morning that Bush at his inauguration⁷ was also known to be not a supporter of Israel and he came to be very good for Israel. He stood up in many respects for Israel. So, hopefully, Barack Obama will follow that."

A statement from Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel expects that close cooperation with the new U.S. administration will continue, along with the strengthening of what she described as the special and unshakable relationship that exists between the two countries.

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

5 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

6 antagonists   

对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药

参考例句：

• The cavalier defeated all the antagonists. 那位骑士打败了所有的敌手。
• The result was the entire reconstruction of the navies of both the antagonists. 双方的海军就从这场斗争里获得了根本的改造。

7 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。