US support for Israel must remain bipartisan
Melanie Phillips has written a critique of me because I remain a Democrat and continue to support President Barack Obama, despite his recent statements regarding expansion of Israeli settlements and other matters relating to the Middle East conflict. Other conservative supporters of Israel have joined her in attacking me as well. See e.g., Jonathan Tobin. This is how she put it: But just like the majority of American Jews, getting on for 80 per cent of whom voted for Obama, he is a Democrat supporter who is incapable of acknowledging the truth about this President. For most American Jews, the horror of even entertaining the hypothetical possibility that they might ever in a million years have to vote for a Republican is so great they simply cannot see what is staring them in the face -- that this Democratic President is lethal for both Israel and the free world." She accuses me of being "blind" and says "he doesn't get it." Obama's got it exactly backwards
Although President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu got along quite well at their White House meeting last week, each has made demands that the other seems unwilling or unable to meet. Peace seems no closer, even after the warm encounter. The 800 pound gorilla at the Oval Office meeting was Iran's nuclear program. That became self-evidently clear when, within days of the meeting, Iran deliberately fired a solid fuel rocket and challenged the United States and Israel to do something about it. Ahmadinejad linked the rocket-launching to Iran's nuclear program, as if to allay any doubts that Iran intends to place nuclear payloads on these hard-to-detect rockets. No linkage between Iran and Palestinians
Rahm Emanuel is a good man and a good friend of Israel, but in a highly publicized recent statement he linked American efforts to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons to Israeli efforts toward establishing a Palestinian state. This is a dangerous linkage. I have long favored the two-state solution, as do most Israelis and American supporters of Israel. I have also long opposed civilian settlements deep into the West Bank. I hope that Israel does make efforts, as it has in the past, to establish a Palestinian state as part of an overall peace between the Jewish state and its Arab and Muslim neighbors. What we need now: an ungrateful president
Barack Obama won an overwhelming electoral college and popular victory. He, more than any other president in recent history, has a clear mandate. More important, he owes his election to no particular individual, no group, no specific constituency, or no ideology. He won the election because he was an overwhelmingly superior candidate who ran an extraordinary campaign. Now he faces one of the most difficult and challenging environments ever faced by an incoming president. He needs the very best people at his side. He should pick them based entirely on their merits. Only the most qualified individuals should be appointed to the most important positions, without regard to who they supported in the primaries, the amount of money they contributed to the campaign or the constituency they claim to represent. Choosing the best people to get us out of the difficulties we face should be like choosing a heart surgeon or an oncologist. Why I support Israel and Obama
I am a strong supporter of Israel (though sometimes critical of specific policies). I am also a strong supporter of Barack Obama (though I favored Hillary Clinton during the primaries). I am now getting dozens of emails asking me how as a supporter of Israel I can vote for Barack Obama. Let me explain. I think that on the important issues relating to Israel, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama score very high. During the debates each candidate has gone out of his and her way to emphasize strong support for Israel as an American ally and a bastion of democracy in a dangerous neighborhood. They have also expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself against the nuclear threat posed by Iran which has sworn to wipe Israel off the map and the need to prevent another Holocaust. |
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