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March 2, 2011

Our patronizing President lectures the Jews

Ed Lasky
President Obama just can't seem to be able to stop scratching that itch. At a meeting with Jewish leaders regarding his approach toward Israel he delivered a lecture, patronizing in tone and foolish in content.

From the JTA:
President Obama reportedly urged Jewish communal leaders to speak to their friends and colleagues in Israel and to "search your souls" over Israel's seriousness about making peace.

In an hour-long meeting Tuesday with about 50 representatives from the Jewish community's chief foreign policy umbrella group, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Obama reiterated the U.S. commitment to Israel, according to statements from both the White House and Conference of Presidents.

But several participants at the meeting told JTA that the president also implied that Israel bears primary responsibility for advancing the peace process. They interpreted the president's comments either as hostile, naive or unsurprising.

Obama said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is eager to secure his legacy by establishing a Palestinian state and would accept a decent offer if one were on the table, according to participants.

"The Palestinians don't feel confident that the Netanyahu government is serious about territorial concessions," the president reportedly said.

Obama reportedly said that the Jewish sections of Jerusalem would remain in Israeli hands as part of any peace deal, but that the Arab sections would not.

For the record, the Israelis have been the ones offering to meet for peace talks and have made numerous concessions. Israeli Prime minister Netanyahu is the first Israeli Prime Minister to agree to the establishment of a Palestinians state. Just in the last few days, he has again re-broadcast his willingness to advance the peace process.

Furthermore, the status of Jerusalem is supposed to be a final status issue to be decided in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. This has been the written understanding between past Presidents and Israel. This statement regarding Jerusalem being split in two (Solomon must be smiling, as are Arab extremists) by Barack Obama seems to be the beginning of the imposition of an American (let's call it an Obama) plan on Israel. This is something the Israelis have rightly feared would be coming from this President. Americans are well-familiar with how Obama likes to impose his plans and ideology on people.

The Palestinians, in contrast, have petulantly refused to engage in peace talks.

Aside from this (ignored) fact, the President's patronizing tone is graceless.  He urged Jewish leaders to speak to their friends and colleagues in Israel and to search their souls over Israel's seriousness about making peace.

The Israelis (and their supporters in America) have been very actively searching their souls over the prospects of peace.

Israel has given up vast swaths of land in search of peace, has done quite a bit of "soul-searching" regarding  the peace process, had paid a great price when it took risks for peace, etc. Israel has a very disputatious media and political culture-one that welcomes debate about a myriad of subjects. The desire for peace with its neighbors -- and the ways one can be achieved -- are of paramount concern and discussion.

The Palestinians...have they searched their souls ? That does not seem to have happened. Do they have blocs of people, NGOs, leading figures advocating that concessions be made, that hate speech in their media and mosques be stopped in order to prepare their people for the need to make concessions and the need for peace?

Just in the last day they have opposed UN efforts to teach Palestinian children about the Holocaust. Yes -- the UN actually proposed doing this (thank you Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairwoman of the House Foreign Relations Committee for your vocal opinions regarding funding and the United Nations).

Let us open up the time capsule to recall how Barack Obama has viewed Israel in the recent past (and, lest we forget,  his "moral compass"  Jeremiah Wright had an unhealthy obsession regarding Israel and Jews).

This is what Senator Obama said in 2007 regarding building the road to peace between Israel and the Palestinians:

Some of those stones will be heavy and tough for the United States to carry. Others with be heavy and tough for Israel to carry. And even more will be difficult for the world. But together, we will begin again.

(The Palestinians apparently had no stones that they would have to carry -- he did not mention any for them to carry)

This is what he said in 2008 in Cleveland:

Frankly some of the commentary that I've seen which suggests guilt by association or the notion that unless we are never ever going to ask any difficult questions about how we move peace forward or secure Israel that is non military or non belligerent or doesn't talk about just crushing the opposition that that somehow is being soft or anti-Israel, I think we're going to have problems moving forward.

Senator Obama apparently viewed Israel as a "belligerent."

Has much changed?

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