Israel Matzav

Obama exposed

Okay, it's the Wall Street Journal and not the New York Times, but I still never thought I'd arrive in the US and find a mainstream media outlet referring to Barack Hussein Obama as an Anti-Israel President (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

But Mr. Obama's problem isn't, as he supposes, that people aren't paying close enough attention to him. On the contrary, they've noticed that on Thursday Mr. Obama called for Israel to make territorial concessions to some approximation of the '67 lines before an agreement is reached on the existential issues of refugees and Jerusalem. "Moving forward now on the basis of territory and security," he said, "provides a foundation to resolve these two issues in a way that is just and fair, and that respects the rights and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians."

Mr. Obama neglected to mention these points on Sunday, hence the telling omission. But the essence of his proposal is that Israel should cede territory, put itself into a weaker position, and then hope for the best. This doesn't even amount to a land-for-peace formula.

That's not all. Mr. Obama got some applause Sunday by calling for a "non-militarized" Palestinian state. But how does that square with his comment, presumably applicable to a future Palestine, that "every state has a right to self-defense"? Mr. Obama was also cheered for his references to Israel as a "Jewish state." But why then obfuscate on the question of Palestinian refugees, whose political purpose over 63 years has been to destroy Israel as a Jewish state?

And then there was that line that "we will hold the Palestinians accountable for their actions and their rhetoric." Applause! But can Mr. Obama offer a single example of having done that as president, except perhaps at the level of a State Department press release?

What, then, would a pro-Israel president do? He would tell Palestinians that there is no right of return. He would make the reform of the Arab mindset toward Israel the centerpiece of his peace efforts. He would outline hard and specific consequences should Hamas join the government.

Such a vision could lay the groundwork for peace. What Mr. Obama offered is a formula for war, one that he will pursue in a second term. Assuming, of course, that he gets one.

Well, yeah, but some of us warned a long time ago that someone who spent 20 years listening to Jeremiah Wright's sermons and finding nothing wrong with them could very easily abandon Israel. And others kept fooling themselves that Obama loves Israel.

Here's hoping that Bret Stephens (who has been pushing the 'two-state solution' until now as if it were realistic) saying it out loud leads to a lot of other people in the American Jewish community saying what too many of us have been afraid to say: Barack Hussein Obama is anti-Israel.

Perhaps we should all use his middle name to remind those who are still hesitant.

Labels: anti-Israel obsession, Barack Hussein Obama, Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:17 PM