Table’s Shape Is Settled, at Least
When Israeli and Arab negotiators finally sit down together at this week’s Mideast peace conference in Madrid, they are to sit at a rectangular table.
But details about the table’s size and substance have yet to become known.
The table is just another detail in a conference where even the smallest nuance is being negotiated beforehand in an effort to avoid offense.
No flags will be flown around the conference table, for example, a decision made to avoid a display of the Palestinian flag Israel has outlawed.
Only delegates’ names will be written on the plaques, avoiding the thorny issue of how to refer to the Palestinians, who do not have a country.
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