So much for Obama’s speech constituting “nothing new.” Israeli members of the Knesset are calling Obama the “new Arafat,” and Bibi’s rage continues to boil.
“Israel appreciates President Obama’s commitment to peace,” the response began, curtly. “Israel believes that for peace to endure between Israelis and Palestinians, the viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of the viability of the one and only Jewish state.”
“That is why Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress.”
“Among other things,” Netanyahu reminded Obama, “those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines which are both indefensible and which would leave major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria beyond those lines.”
Netanyahu is set to address Congress May 24. That’s just next Tuesday, a short enough timeline for the Obama speech to remain front and center, yet plenty of time for Netanyahu to hammer out an epic thrashing.
Obama has not only hinged Israel’s future on a single word — “contiguous” — he has put the Democrats on a knife’s edge as Jewish donors have already started voicing disapproval of his MidEast policies. And that was before this speech hit the streets.
I’m curious about the timing of all this. The Middle East is a boiling mess, with elections coming up in Egypt this fall that will tell the world a great deal about where the region is headed. Why not wait to see how that turns out before launching this retro 1967 borders effort? The allegedly moderate PLO has already hitched itself to Hamas, which is if anything a shift away from civilized behavior and toward genocidal terrorism aimed squarely at the Jews. Why reward them with this call to give them a state? They haven’t earned it; their choice should have set their cause back. The Syrians, in the midst of a campaign of shelling against their own people for daring to rise up against Assad, get rewarded if Israel actually retreats to its 1967 borders, by getting the Golan back. Again, why do this now? The Libya mess shows no sign of abating even as the War Power Act deadline turns that non-war into an illegal war tomorrow. Stroke of midnight tonight, Barack Obama the anti-war candidate is Barack Obama the illegal warmongering president. And Obama chooses this moment in time to turn all of the focus back on Israel?
Either Obama has no idea what he’s doing, or he does know what he’s doing. I’m not sure which possibility is the more disturbing.
May be it’s time to get that Obama/Khalidi tape from the Los Angeles Times?
Exactly.
Great idea!
Just have to figure out “how” to do it!
Couldn’t agree more!
Could it also be that he’s attempting to suck up to the Saudis since he pissed tehm off so badly in reference to Mubarek overthrow?
Maybe he can send Robert Malley in to smooth things over.
No man who sits at Jeremiah Wright’s side for 20 years, calls him a dear friend and mentor, breaks bread with Rashid Khalidi, fetes Edward Said…is having an “oops” moment when it comes to Israel.
This is someone who has been seeped in Marxism AND black liberation theology…neither of which has historically had any great love of Jews.
(staggeringly, Jews have had a fatal attraction to Marxism in numbers that remain illogical and inexplicable in the face of outright hatred aimed at them)
When a shocking or jarring act of Marxism or destruction of Israel crops up…it’s hard to erase every page of Stanley Kurtz’ book Radical-in-Chief. Make no mistake, this was no mistake.
CF, the original attraction of JEws to Marxism is quite explicable. It promised a world of equality without prejudice. In reality, it created the reverse. But a horrific number of my fellow Jews haven’t gotten the message.
They got the message, they’re just strenuously ignoring it.
Roger, I wholly understand the initial attraction, what I cannot comprehend is the continuing attraction.
When I say that they remain enthralled with this vicious, hateful, destructive ideology and that baffles me…it is precisely because that is not the Jewish people I know and love.
They are smarter than that. They are more loyal than that. They are better than this despicable and indefensible crime wave called Marxism.
There is an unquenchable element in the Jewish soul that urges Jews to work for the perfection of the world.
To really perfect the world humans have to struggle to listen to a higher power, a fierce battle since humans were created with free will and an ego. Each person has to fix themselves, their families, their communities first. This is a long and arduous task.
Marxism promised that humans themselves can create perfection without needing the higher power, without the internal struggle. Hence the appeal.
He had to know how Israel and Netanyahu would respond to what he said today. Of course, he’d have taken their response into account before he spoke. Clearly, he knew how much trouble it would cause. Clearly, he knew Israel would not — could not — “follow” his “instructions.” So what then? Why, then?
He wanted to give support to the Palestinians … to encourage them. Period. He “disapproved” of their taking their “Statehood” to the UN … a useless symbolic Gen Assy Resolution (He wouldn’t-can’t vote against Israel in the Security Council before the 2012 election) … but … if the P’s/Egypt/Lebanese/Syrians — would join the “Arab Spring” for “Democracy” … and are just — encouraged — to “march” into Israel in the many more thousands than they did on “Nakba day” … a “peaceful protest” — Israel will defend herself and there will be war from all sides. And he’d be “innocent” wouldn’t he?
He knows what he’s doing.
The speech was breathtakingly traitorous to our only true friend and ally in the region. Bibi is quite properly outraged. I never thought I would see a more hapless president than Jimmy Carter, but Obama has far surpassed Carter’s ineptitude. Profoundly lacking in experience, this president nonetheless pursues his radical agenda for the mideast with no discernible or logical sense of direction or purpose. He ignores our enemies in Iran and Syria as they turn on and murder dissidents, undercuts our friend Mubarak in Egypt, opening the door to the Muslim Brotherhood, and attacks Libya with no apparent rhyme or reason or plan. We also have relatively friendly types in Bahrain and Yemen, which we seemingly ignore. What a time to have an academic ideologue in the White House.
The new Arafat?
That Nobel is starting to make sense…
Check the spelling on the medallion. I bet it says Piece Prize. Piece of what, I leave to your imagination…
Obama has a thing about borders. He wants to ignore
the US borders and move Israels.
Israel is not the 51st state. This is a positive development only in the sense that perhaps Israel will finally give up on the US as the final arbiter of their problems and negotiate something once and fopr all.
Or not. But I fail to see why the US has to place itself in harm’s way for a tiny speck of desert with a population less than that of NYC. It is obvious that Israel has no intention of changing anything. It’s time to stop pandering to them and cut them loose.
For the same reason we didn’t simply cut West Germany loose. For the same reason you don’t cut ANY ally loose.
Israel is an island of democracy in a sea of tyranny, it’s our one friend in a region full of enemies. And it’s a country that just wants to exist surrounded by bloodthirsty savages that exult in murdering their children.
If you want to let those savages dictate with whom we can be friends you’re a demented coward, not to put too fine a point on it.
People have overreacted and perhaps are overreaching, sure Obama is over a barrel as he needs to get reelected. So due to Congress, the lobby and GOP Presidential hopefuls Netanyahu has leverage at this stage. But is Obama picking a fight I do not believe he is. Is the 1967 new not it is not. Does Netanyahu have to embarrass and humiliate Obama and make him look weak over this speech, no he doesn’t. There is no need to call him Arafat, detached from reality, etc. There is no need to make it personal.
Will there be an agreement before his second term not there will not.
Facts are Obama is going to get reelected and there is a reason that 42 and 43 take on the peace process in their final term, because they do not need to get reelected and the current leverage is not present. At that stage he can do what 41 did with no repercussions.
Matt, Israel is complaining because when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 they were promised that the US would not make the pre-67 ceasefire lines the basis of the peace plan.
The Israelis agreed to expel thousands of Jews from their homes, and leave military bases that prevented terror attacks, which led to terrorists launching missiles into Israel. In exchange we promised them they would not be forced to do the same again in the west bank.
Obama ripped up that promise. Obama just proved that US allies cannot trust promises from the US government.
So why should they withdraw again now in exchange for more empty promises?
“Obama just proved that US allies cannot trust promises from the US government.”
I think Poland and the Czech Republic can already give you an earful on that observation
Bryan, you had me at “epic thrashing.”
Ahhh. Ain’t being allies great. Go, Bibi.
OTH, it appears Obamatron has thrown down the golf glove (gauntlets being in short supply this season). Sing along now: “Oh, how I want you, dear old pal-e-stine…”
“Either Obama has no idea what he’s doing, or he does know what he’s doing. I’m not sure which possibility is the more disturbing.”
Knave or fool? The result is the same.
Yes, even American Jews who are typically Liberal Democrats are figuring it out, finally. The Conservative Jews need to seize upon this and get the word out to their fellows who are still clueless. If this is not a getting-mugged moment, I don’t know what is.
Someone must have given Barack a shiny nickle. He wants the US and its Allies to give concessions without anything in return. Neville Chamberlain would be smiling. Hitler, Himmler, Saddam, Osama and Arafat would all be smiling too. I’ll bet that nice dictator in Syria likes it too. Yeah, having Tel Aviv in easy artillery range is the gift that keeps on giving.
“Contiguous” jumped out at me too, Roger as utterly incongruous with past policy. Coupled with “’67 borders” and “swaps” it all but legitimizes the position taken by some Palestinians calling for a corridor connecting Gaza and the West Bank; thereby cutting Israel in two. Until now, this was considered a fringe position. By inference bringing these people to the table will only further encourage the extreme elements among the Palestinians. You have to wonder what the actual policy debate is in the upper echelons of the foreign policy establishment and what Obama’s role is in it. For example, who, if anyone, vetted this speech at State?
Walter Russel Mead noted that continuity did exist in this speech with past policy in that neither Jerusalem nor the issue of refugees was mentioned. Of course, this is why the Obama administration will be no more successful than prior administrations. Until the US and Europe take a public and unambiguous stand on the “right of return” sufficient to obtain Israeli buy-in and expend concrete and political capital to impose their view on the Palestinians, nothing will change except the negotiators. This is an existential issue that can not be conceded by either side. And since an imposed solution that leads to the extinction of Israel seems unlikely, a solution imposed on the Palestinians on this issue is the one course that offers, however slim, the hope of a stable settlement to the war that began in ’48. Most wars end with winners and losers. It’s long past time to get on with identifying the losers in this conflict.