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Can Obama Win Back Israel?
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Ron Edmonds / AP Photo
After years of Bush love, Israelis are offended by Obama’s cool approach—and he is losing the support of an important ally, critics warn. Former ambassador Martin Indyk tells The Daily Beast’s Benjamin Sarlin how Obama can get back on track.
President Obama, facing attacks at home over his health-care overhaul, is coming under fresh criticism from abroad this week—for failing to reach out to Israel. A series of op-eds taking on his Israel policy has forced a hasty response from the White House and put supporters of the administration’s approach on the defensive.
But soothing Israeli anxiety may require special attention from Obama, thanks to the legacy of the previous administration, said Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and current director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
Obama “gave Israelis generally the impression that they were no longer in favor in Washington.”
“It’s important to understand that the Israelis love to be loved, and they received a great deal of love from George Bush—indeed, it was a blank check of love—and they got used to it,” Indyk said. “Obama came in, and instead of showering them with the affection they had become accustomed to, started going after ‘the other woman’ that is the Arab and Muslim world. In the process, he gave Israelis generally the impression that they were no longer in favor in Washington.”
Writing in The New York Times on Tuesday, Aluf Benn, editor at large for the left-leaning Israeli paper Haaretz, warned that Obama had alienated the Israeli mainstream with his focus on the Muslim world.
“The Arabs got the Cairo speech; we got silence,” Benn wrote. The policy, he argued, has allowed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to argue persuasively that Israel is being pressured unfairly.
Obama must take his “campaign directly to the Israeli people, and soon,” wrote Bradley Burston in Haaretz the same day.
The White House responded quickly to the op-eds, with senior officials telling The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg that Obama spoke of America’s “unbreakable” bond with Israel in Cairo and criticized Arab leaders for using the Jewish state as a scapegoat for their own problems. By the end of the day, Time’s Joe Klein was reporting that Obama planned on doing television interviews with Israeli news media in the near future.
Despite the administration’s struggle to win over the Israeli public, Indyk suggested that turning things around was far from impossible, given the relatively short distance between the two groups over policy issues. The Israeli settlements that have been the primary source of tension between the two countries in recent weeks, for example, are unpopular with the Israeli public, despite the governing coalition’s hard-line stance.
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overtimegoal
The US's allegiance to the state of Israel is the root cause of its greatest security threats. Once the Israelis get serious about setting up conditions for a two state solution (ie. not building any more settlements), then the behavior of Obama's White House will change.
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n--Y--mblipsHawnzz
AMEN!
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n--Y--genomegkGDriver
Estimated worldwide nuclear stockpiles, 2009
Country: Total Warheads: Population
Russia:13,000 / 142,000,000
United States:9,400 / 307,000,000
*Israel (undeclared):100 - 400 max / 7,400,000
France:300 / 65,000,000
China:240 / 1,332,000,000
United Kingdom:185 / 62,000,000
India:60 / 1,167,000,000
Pakistan:60 / 167,000,000
North Korea:10 / 24,000,000
Dependent on the true number of undeclared nuclear warheads, Israel could be the 3rd most powerful nuclear state in the world if possessing the maximum estimated number of WMD. In that event she would be twice as powerful as the UK with a demographic just over only 1/10th the size of Britain's.
Undeclared nuclear states (from Wikipedia)
Nuclear weapons and Israel
Israel is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and refuses to officially confirm or deny having a nuclear arsenal, or having developed nuclear weapons, or even having a nuclear weapons program. Israel has pledged not to be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons into the region, but is also pursuing a policy of strategic ambiguity with regard to their possession. In the late 1960s, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yitzhak Rabin informed the United States State Department, that its understanding of "introducing" such weapons meant that they would be tested and publicly declared, while merely possessing the weapons did not constitute "introducing" them. Although Israel claims that the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona is a "research reactor", or, as was originally claimed, a "textile factory," no scientific reports based on work done there have ever been published. Extensive information about the program in Dimona was also disclosed by technician Mordechai Vanunu in 1986.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Federation of American Scientists, Israel possesses around 75-200 weapons. Imagery analysts can identify weapon bunkers, mobile missile launchers, and launch sites in satellite photographs. Israel may have tested a nuclear weapon along with South Africa in 1979, but this has never been confirmed (see Vela Incident).
On May 26, 2008, former US president Jimmy Carter stated that Israel has "150 or more nuclear warheads" at a press conference at the annual literary Hay festival in Wales.
CDR
tarryh
So the Israelis are in a pout about not being the center of attention. Too damn bad! They got carte blanche during the Bush years. Not they are getting some push back from Obama and they are shocked. What do you expect when you ignore international agreements and publicly threaten to bomb Iran and thereby draw the American people into another war. The bombing of Gaza was a real eye opener for many Americans. And now the far right rules in Israel. Benjamin brought in the cold.
Hawnzz
AMEN!
dlc1550
" The bombing of Gaza was a real eye opener for many Americans. "
Here's to the expectation that we will KEEP our eys open. We have let then get away with far too much bloodshed. The Israeli army has far to many 'accidents' when it comes to Palestinians.
When they boast of their 'surgical strikes' it makes their so called accidents look deliberate.
Ozone69
The Israelis are skeptical of Obama. His embracing the Arab states and apologies to them on behalf of the US makes him appear Carter-like. That should frighten any ally of the US.
tarryh
No, I am much more frightened by public threats of bombing Iran. Trying to suck us into another war. And watching Israeli settlers scream that god wants them to have the West Bank. And Israeli soldiers wearing tea shirts that show a pregnant Palestinian woman with the words "one bullet, two kills!" And Benjamin playing word games in order to avoid real discussions. Pigeons are coming home to roost. It is not just Obama. It is the UN. It is Europe. It is non Moslem countries around the word. In another decade Jews within the current borders will be a minority. Then what!
Ozone69
Then the first democracy in the Middle East may be no more. That would be a shame.At least there's Iraq's democracy. May it grow and spread. Are you listening mullahs of Iran? Syria's dictator? King Abdullah?
mystic
What about the murder of young Palestinian men and the plundering of their corpses for organs to be harvested for a profit on the black market? This has been going on since the 1970s according to a recent article and there are photographs to prove it.
sonofloud
Oh please, every president kisses Israel's ass, Obama is no different.
There is no change to believe in here.
Pupster
Why should Obama "win back Israel"? If Israel can't see that its survival is tied to some sort of detente with its neighbors and that a viable two-state solution is the way to any sort of peace, then let them go their own way. If those in Tel Aviv can't see that the nutjob fringe who are expanding settlements outside Jerusalem are threatening their own families, why should we give a damn?
Israel is either serious about peace or it isn't. These days with Bibi and Lieberman at the helm, it's clear Israel isn't.
imac1025
why hasnt anyone mentioned that the Palestinians dont want a two state solution? They want it all
Potomac-Will
Can Obama win back Israel? What if he cannot? This article makes it seem as though the U.S. were an Israeli client state, depending on Israel for billions in foreign aid, military assistence, and diplomatic support. Insulting--examine the other reaction statements here if you doubt that.
President Obama already has enough on his plate to make winning back Israel a relatively low priority right now. Although our forebears have warned us to stay out of foreign entanglements, events have dragged us into that Israeli/Palestine mess.
Now, it remains for us to find an honorable and humane way to untangle ourselves. It's quite a Tar Baby and best treated as such if one has more to do. I know that is not easily accepted, but what I have said is an accurate estimate of the scene.
fk4711
He does not need to win back Israel. He lays everthing out there already (no more construction of new settlement etc) and it's up to Israel to make the next move. If Israel think they can tell US to do whatever they want, well, those days are over. Jewish lobby is still strong, but Obama's base is much broader, so he does not have to kiss up to it's ass as much. The title of this article shoud not be "How Obama can win back Israel" but rather "How Israel can win back US"
penscott
Yes, US favoring Israel is the prime cause of Arab hatred of us, and yes, the Israeli lobby here has a dangerous amount of influence on US politics.
No, the Muslims do not belong in Palestine or especially Jerusalem, historically Jewish territory. They got there by naked conquest and have no right to it.
Hawnzz
That I don't agree with. It was Israel long before it was Palestine.
penscott
Please re-read what I said. Muslims got there by naked conquest and have no right to it.
Maverick
Good point. Please return to Europe and give your property back to the Native Americans.
Hawnzz
Oops... sorry, misread.
Hawnzz
Israel needs some serious tough love. Obama's approach is absolutely correct. They have behaved badly for decades. We have protected them to our own peril. I believe we should support Israel. But we should NOT support their bad behavior. We have a RIGHT to expect more from them. They would not exist without us. That is not arrogance, it is a fact.
When the U.S. asks for something that is reasonable, Israel shouldn't balk. If Bibi doesn't like it, (I mean this with all Christian, loving and kindness.) he can suck it.
innocentcitizen
mr hawnzz, your anti israeli bias is showing in all your comments. israel would exist with or w/o us because god loves israel and those who oppose israel will face his wrath according to the holy bible. i mean that with all christian loving and kindness. obama sees israel from a muslim perspective. i think its interesting that the arab gulf states are more worried about iran than israel right now. obama wants to feel the love from iran but they realize he is a weak community organizer who is in way over his head. god help us
Hawnzz
Sorry, but it would not exist. The U.S. gives it millions in military aid every year. It protects it from every action of the U.N. Security Council. It is sheltered by our considerable military abilities.
If it were not for the U.S. and a small number of other countries after WWII, the Jews would not even have a homeland. I am not biased. You are biased. I believe that all people deserve to be treated as such. (Even the Palestinians) I know too much about Israeli behavior towards the Palestinians to blindly put the conflict on their shoulders.
Why is it that when people cannot rationalize their point of view they always fall back on the Bible or other holy text? (Of which can be viewed in so many ways by who happens to be reading it.)
It is good to see "reason" finally returning to the White House. Thank God indeed!
bcaldwell
I'm not sure that any of you truly understand what that part of the world is like unless you have lived there for any length of time. Emmanuel might, but Obama, Gates,or even Clinton do not understand the psychology and the pathologies of the region and until they do all efforts for peace will be in vein.
We come at this from too much of a post modern Western standpoint. The people of the Middle East do not have that luxury. The only reason we speak to the butchers in the region...and trust me they are butchers (even Abdullah of Jordan)...is because of oil in the Arabian Peninsula. We support Israel because we helped set the place up in 1947. We basically told the British that Israel was going to exist and since we occupied Britain with our bombers and supported them economically they had to acquiesce.
Israel does what it has to do in order to survive. Everytime there has been a peace accord and the agreements thereof, the Palestinians push for more. Look at the mid 1990's after Oslo, the Palestinians started a run of terror in Israel proper. Rabin showed restraint and the bombings began. Rabin paid for that with his life. Netanyahu came in and rsponded to Palestinian terror with force...then came Wye River and then Ehud Barak...terror came back and Barak suffered. Then came Olmert who decided to take the fight to Hezbollah after terror attacks from Lebanon...terror attacks stopped for the most part. Then came Livni and rocket attacks from Gaza.
Here's the thing, the Palestinians whether it be Abbas and his bunch or Hamas simply do not want Israel to exist any longer than it has to. Hezbollah does not want it and neither does Syria...the Egyptians would not mind Israel's destruction either. Incentives from the Arabs to Israel only plays into the hands of the Arabs because it includes major concessions from the Israelis. It's incentivizing the Israelis to help participate in its own destruction.
Unfortunately the only way to slve this problem is to let them fight it out. The Iranians are only opportunists. They threaten Israel for posturing purposes only..what they really want is Iraq and the fresh water from the rivers there( a little talked about problem). The problem is, Israel being so small and attacked so many times takes every threat seriously that comes to it within 1000 miles. That means if the Algerians spoke about it, they would take it seriously. Anyway the Iranians have a small problem in attacking the Israelis and that is the US. Any missle has to fly over Iraq and who owns Iraqi airspace...the USAF and Patriot missles.
Bibi knows this, his major concern is not an attack from Iran proper, his big concern is an attack from Lebanon via Hezbollah. Sooner or later that problem will have to be resolved. Iran is the side show
penscott
You have a lot to say that's true, but Iran is a medium-sized power with intense hostility to Israel, and at least some leaders who truly believe they have divine guidance. Israel would be foolish not to fear Iran.
Hawnzz
Iran would never start a conflict with Israel. There is a large titan behind that little country with long arms and big fists. Iran would cease to exist if Israel were seriously attacked. And Iran knows it...
mystic
"Israel does what it has to do in order to survive"
Yeah, ,like plundering the copses of Palestinian men they have murdered in order to steal their organs to be sold for profit? No, there is no excuse. As a conservative Jew, I can vouch for the fact that the Torah does not permit such abominations. Israel's eternal cry of "victim" rings hollow when one sees this and the slaughter of Palestinian babies with white phosphorus. You don't survive by committing infanticide or genocide. The government of Sweden investigated these atrocities at the request of the UN. It has proof and refused to apologise to Netanyahu's pathetic call for an "apology". Who is the victim here?
http://www.kawther.info/wpr/2009/09/06/palestinian-organs-for-sale-and-e xperiments
mredder4
Israel is no "ally" of the United States. An ally can be relied upon in hard times to help a friend. An ally can provide assistance when it is necessary. Israel is a sponge of American dollars and a miser on issues of assistance. The Israeli military has spent so much time pissing off their neighbors that they can't spare any troops for international relief efforts.
I mean, I wish I had more allies that I could take money from and expect to cover my ass when I go around poking people's eyes out. Then, like Israel, I wouldn't have to do anything.
Hawnzz
Truth hurts doesn't it...
sonofloud
lol
mystic
Lavon, USS Liberty, dancing on pristine blue mornings.
Thank you.
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