Watch Biden's speech live from Tel Aviv University
If this works, you should be able to see Jumpin' Joe Biden's speech via livestream from Tel Aviv University.Let's go to the
Watch live video from U.S. Embassy on Justin.tv
UPDATE 11:20 AM
Speech is starting late. Maybe Biden has to rewrite his condemnation of Israel over Ramat Shlomo.
UPDATE 11:34 AM
We seem to be about to start. I can't watch the livestream on the blog. It shows up when I preview the post, but when I publish it, all you get is a line with a link to the Justin.tv site. So I'm watching on that. If you're able to watch, please let me know.
UPDATE 11:40 AM
No speech yet and now the sound seems to be gone.
UPDATE 11:52 AM
Why Biden's late:
What had originally been intended as “the big ‘show them the love’ speech," as one member of the American Jewish community in touch with the Obama administration put it, will now emphasize as well that Israel has to take more tangible steps toward peace.No great shock there.
“The speech was reworked yesterday,” an administration source said. While it’s mostly about the strength of the U.S.- Israeli relationship, he said, “it also has the ‘but you have to do things yourselves for peace’ part – which is now stronger than it was before yesterday.”
While Biden will not let the Obama administration be dragged back into a public row with Israel’s right-wing government over Jewish settlements, sources in and out of the administration say, there is no doubt that the Israeli government’s announcement Tuesday of plans to build another 1,600 Jewish housing units in East Jerusalem was an embarrassing start to Biden’s visit.
By the way, the 'proximity talks' are back on. More on that later.
UPDATE 12:13 PM
If you can't view the livestream, go here. He's starting now.
UPDATE 12:14 PM
Biden starts with warm words. Note how he keeps saying how Obama loves us. Right....
UPDATE 12:17 PM
Still rambling on. If he keeps this up, people here will be pleased. But I don't think he will continue it.
UPDATE 12:32 PM
Same nonsense about terrorists being recruited because of poverty.
And now he gets to Iran, which he says flat out is developing nuclear weapons. He says that the US is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He says that he understands that it's an existential threat to Israel.
But does Obama agree? Will he take action to stop it?
UPDATE 12:35 PM
Note nothing from Biden about preventing war with Iran. The problem is that Obama keeps talking about preventing war.
Calls on Arab states to support 'peace' between Israel and the 'Palestinians' and to take their own steps. Good luck with that.
Note Biden doesn't use the word 'contiguous' regarding the 'Palestinian state.' He did use that term yesterday.
UPDATE 12:37 PM
Progress only made when there is no space between US and Israel when it comes to security. That's not what Obama told 'Jewish leaders' last summer. Does Obama agree with Biden now?
UPDATE 12:38 PM
Says status quo not sustainable. Repeats demographic lie (I will try to add links later, but it's a lie).
And here we go on the 'settlements'....
UPDATE 12:42 PM
Talks about breaking 'cycle of violence' - please....
He says no one suggested two-state solution in 1970's. He's wrong. What was the partition resolution if not a two-state solution. It's just that there were no 'Palestinians' then.
It almost sounds like he's trying to pump Netanyahu up. Netanyahu doesn't need it.
(Sorry - I had to reboot the browser here).
UPDATE 12:54 PM
He's finished. Much shorter than Obama. I could still hear him most of the time that my browser was jammed. He was saying that it takes a friend to tell us that building in Jerusalem was a bad idea. There was no threatening. He was much more diplomatic than I think Obama would have been.
He's taking questions.
He says that until the parties can sit down and talk together there is no real process. He says it's very difficult. But he's an optimist.
He thinks sanctions most likely to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and he says that we have to move forward on sanctions.
He says that 'Palestinians' see what Israel has done and would like to emulate it (in substance). If only.... He believes that Arabs will eventually reconcile themselves to Israel. He's dreaming. He says that it's 'just reality' that countries that have hated us will need to take actions other than war to accommodate their future, because the alternative is 'unthinkable.' He doesn't get ethnic conflict. He reminds me of the Israeli dreamers of the 90's who said that we have to have peace with the 'Palestinians' because there's no alternative and the 'Palestinians' will recognize that too. Well, guess what: They didn't.
Biden is an American Shimon Peres.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:12 AM
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