PrintJune 5, 2009
Obama's speech to the Muslim world
President Obama promised that he wanted his Cairo speech to be the start of an "honest" dialogue with the Muslim world. When it comes to how he handled the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he fell short.He began his remarks on this issue by recalling a long history of anti-Semitism and persecution of Jews, culminating in the Holocaust. He denounced Holocaust deniers and those who would threaten Israel "with destruction" -- but without mentioning Iran or Ahmadinejad.Seeking to sound even-handed, he then immediately drew an equivalence between historical Jewish suffering and the lot of Palestinians. "On the other hand," he remarked, "it is also undeniable that Palestinians have suffered in their pursuit of a homeland -- for more than 60 years they've endured the pain of dislocation." He pointed to Palestinians still waiting in refugee camps and Palestinians who have to "endure the daily humiliations --...(Read Full Article)
