Israel Matzav

Defending Obama on Israel

No, of course I'm not going to defend President Obama's policies on Israel. But Representative Steve Rothman (D-NJ) has come up with six 'positive developments' for Israel under Obama. I am giving them to you with Shmuel Rosner's comments and with some of my own interspersed.

1. New sanctions against Iran - well, yes. Maybe this one he did get right. Although he should have mentioned that we do not yet know if the sanctions will actually work. If not, they contribute nothing to Israel's security. [No. The sanctions are so little and so late as to have no effect. If strong US sanctions are eventually passed (which is doubtful), they will be passed over Obama's objections, so he cannot take credit for them. CiJ].

2. "Saudi Arabia agreed to permit Israel to fly over a portion of its territory" - here we have a problem, because all Rothman has is a newspaper report, and the Saudis deny. Can he assure the readers this report was accurate? I doubt it. [And in any event Obama cannot take credit for it. In fact, the necessity for Israel to fly over Saudi Arabia - and for Israel to attack Iran at all - is solely attributable to Obama's fecklessness. CiJ].

3. "Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas publicly stated that Israel should not be forced to end its blockade of Gaza" - here we have another problem: Rothman doesn't read well. Try reading the news report he relies on, and look for the place where Abbas "publicly stated" what the Congressman claims he had stated. You won't find it. True, Abbas doesn't want the blockade to be lifted, but the public statements of the Palestinian Authority reflect the opposite opinion. [And again, Obama's connection to this is? If anything, Obama wants the 'blockade' ended more than Abu Mazen does. It's Obama who wants to deal with the 'extremists.' CiJ]

4. "Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas publicly declared in Washington that he and the Palestinians were ready to recognize that the Jewish people have a right to some portion of Israel and the territories".Not exactly. what he had said, according to several reports is: "I would never deny [the] Jewish right to the land of Israel". That isn't the same. [And the statement is meaningless because he made it in English and not in Arabic. CiJ]

5. "Israel was admitted, unanimously, to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development". that is, indeed, good news that has nothing to do with "the direct, powerful, and demanding insistence of President Barack Obama".

6. "President Barack Obama announced his intention to give the state of Israel $205 million so that Israel might purchase additional Iron Dome anti-missile defense batteries". OK, here Rothman is right. One out of six. Maybe that's not bad statistic. For Congressman. [Let's see the money first. CiJ].

Clutching at straws Mr. Rothman?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:55 AM