There are no “honest brokers” in Middle East peace. The UN is clearly on the side of the Palestinians. It’s not just Palestinian Solidarity Day (or whatever it’s called) held each year. It’s not just the UN bodies voting for anti-Israel resolution after anti-Israel resolution. It’s not just Ban Ki-moon’s visits to Gaza, which he said was to “express my solidarity with the plight of the Palestinian people.”
The EU is clearly on the side of the Palestinians. They send billions of dollars to the Palestinians, manage to have a plethora of anti-Israel representatives (not to mention the leadership), and send representatives to Gaza to “investigate” the situation. Who then write things like this, proving the Palestinian propaganda machine runs the EU line as well:
Throughout the region, from Egypt to Syria, from Lebanon to Jordan, I heard the same message from presidents, prime ministers and a king, and from ordinary people, too — they want their economies to grow, their people to prosper, their children to be educated. To achieve that, we need peace in the Middle East.
We know what needs to be done — proximity talks now, leading quickly to real negotiations. The international community must offer its full backing. We cannot impose peace but we can offer support and incentives to the parties to make the difficult compromises.
If peace is so vital, why is the international community putting its strength behind proximity talks—talks in which Palestinian negotiators will sit in one room, Israelis in another, and mediators will shuttle in between with attempts to make a deal—instead of face-to-face talks? Why not push the Palestinians to, at the very least, sit down with Israel and discuss terms?
Because that is not what the Palestinians wish, and the Palestinians are the ones driving this process. The U.S. State Department pushes proximity talks. The President of the United States pushes proximity talks. The UN Secretary-General pushes proximity talks. Not a single player in this drama, with the exception of Israel, is suggesting that the Palestinians sit down face to face and talk with Israel, like they have done for the past seventeen years except for this one.
What’s different about this year? Barack Obama became president. He believes the Palestinian propaganda that they want peace, but that they can’t possibly begin to even discuss peace until Israel stops building settlements. (This came about, of course, after Barack Obama stated in his Cairo speech that all Israeli settlements were illegal.) Blaming this on Netanyahu, when no one else is saying the Palestinians have any obligation to sit down to actual discussions with Israel like grownups, is also part of the Palestinian propaganda effort. And it has worked. Superbly. We are on the cusp of seeing how far Barack Obama is willing to go to bully an ally to get him to toe the Palestinian line.
This will not end happily.
No it won’t… and the administration is already preparing its scapegoats in anticipation. First up? Dennie Ross: http://slavetomybulldog.blogspot.com/2010/03/when-they-open-door-for-elijah-prophet.html
Sorry, I meant Dennis…
What makes you think the Obama administration regards Israel as an ally? They’ve made it clear that they don’t particularly regard the British as allies and that we have no special relationship with the UK. If the British aren’t our allies we have no allies, certainly not some troublesome little country at the east end of the Mediterranean whose obstinacy is all that is preventing peace from breaking out across the Middle East.
Precisely Alex. Israel was an American ally up to Jan. 20, 2009, but no longer, just like Britain.
America’s friends and allies are not Obama’s friends and allies. Obama’s friends are America’s enemies and adversaries. They are, not coincidentally, Israel’s enemies as well.
This could end happily if Israel has the courage to follow Nancy Reagan’s advice and just say “no” to this administration. Mentioning that Jew-hating is as surely a major part of the Obama/State Department antics as it is of the EU “anti-Zionist” nonsense would be helpful, too.
Netanyahu isn’t the only one who has to stand elections and the US is looking at elections this November that could geld the Obama administration come January next.
Seeing that the Stupid Party is what we have for an opposition here in the US, having a helpfully honest and sensible foreign leader oppose the Obamistas would be helpful.
The world hates the Jews as much today as it did in 1935.
There can be no forgiveness for saying “no” to the people who imagine themselves your rulers.
Everyone here – make that every American Jew – should read Jonathan’s link. It is absolutely chilling that this administration is tossing out the dual loyalty canard in order to promote its anti-Israel foreign policy. Unfortunately it is not nearly as surprising as it is chilling.
Remember the dust-up last week when it was insinuated that Gen. Petraeus thought Israeli policy was endangering American soldiers? This has now been refuted by none other than Gen. Petraeus himself:
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/03/25/petraeus-sets-the-record-strai/
Read also the links to Max Boot’s original posts on this in Commentary – significantly, Petraeus cited Boot. I am more convinced than ever that the Obama administration made selective leaks in this case for the purpose of undermining Israel with the American public. Friends of Israel better think long and hard if any of them want to continue to support the current administration.