If you were to read this without knowing the source, where would you suspect it originated? The Arab News? Al-Ahram? Palestinian propaganda rags?
Among the long list of problems that cloud American relations with the Islamic world, none is more troubling in the Muslim streets and halls of power than U.S. ties to Israel and massive support for the Jewish state in the heart of the Arab Middle East.
On that, Obama gave no ground, declaring U.S. bonds with Israel “unbreakable.”
But as he presses Netanyahu for concessions, Obama has to be looking over his shoulder toward the powerful Israeli lobby in the United States and the many deeply conservative Christian organizations that back Israeli policy without question. Both can make big political trouble for an American president who tips too far from Israel.
Obama appears willing to gamble that pressure on Netanyahu will not produce damaging blowback, especially with more than three years left before the next U.S. presidential election.
Try again. It’s the AP anaylsis by Steven Hurst. And it’s become increasingly mainstream to blame The Israel Lobby for the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Walt and Mearsheimer, Jimmy Carter, and their team of anti-Israel crybabies have done their job, and done it well. They constantly hammered on the theme that they’re the ones being victimized by The Israel Lobby™, all the while getting their views in op-eds in all of the major news media, and their anti-Israel treatises published and widely distributed. They’ve shifted the blame from Muslim rejectionism to—Israeli settlements.
It’s not the terrorism that prevents peace. It’s not the incitement that goes on daily. It’s not the refusal of the Palestinians, or indeed, any of the Middle East Muslims, to negotiate rather than to make demands (cf: Saudi peace plan, Abbas’ refusal to talk to Netanyahu, Amr Moussa, etc., etc, etc.). It’s not the Palestinian refusal to acknowledge the Jewish origins of Israel (and particularly Jerusalem and the Temple Mount). It’s not the Palestinian refusal to accept a Jewish state as a Jewish state.
No, it’s the settlements. And the Israel Lobby. And the Obama team has apparently completely bought into the settlements argument.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
So what’s Hurst’s analysis on this point?
An Israeli government statement issued after Obama spoke ignored his calls for a settlement freeze and the creation of an independent Palestinian state – demands that the hawkish Netanyahu continues to reject.
“We share President Obama’s hope that the American effort heralds the beginning of a new era that will bring about an end to the conflict,” the statement said, noting that Israel’s security must be guaranteed.
Do you see the narrative here? Bibi put out a positive statement about an end to the Palestinian conflict, and the AP slams Israel for wanting security guarantees—as if Israel didn’t have a constant threat of terrorism and attacks hanging over her head on a daily basis. But since he didn’t immediately line up behind Obama to agree that Jerusalem should be an international city (read between the lines), that “hawkish” Netanyahu “ignored” Obama and “rejects” the creation of a Palestinian state.
But Obama dwelled most heavily on an Arab-Israeli peace. He spoke 6,000 words in Thursday’s speech, 1,000 about the Mideast conflict.
Yeah, funny how that happens to the best of us. It’s almost like the AP article concentrated entirely on the Israeli side of the problem, and not at all on the Palestinian side.
And the last word? Well. It’s that scary Israel Lobby meme:
“It is easy to point fingers,” the president said. “But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.”
Easy to say. Harder is overcoming six decades of hatred and bloodshed, and the entrenched interests that eventually will face Obama at home.
The hatred and bloodshed is coming from mostly one side. Granted, Israel is not a nation of saints. But the Muslim nations surrounding Israel went to war five times since 1948 to try to destroy her.
Yes, it’s very easy to point fingers. That’s exactly what the anti-Israel media is doing.