Obama has crossed the line

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The bureaucratic fashla [blunder] of our dysfunctional government to forestall the announcement of a new housing project in Jerusalem during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden provided a pretext for the Obama administration to launch one of the harshest condemnations ever leveled against us by a US government. But while the timing of the announcement was appalling, it involved no breach of undertaking.

In fact, the Obama administration had previously publicly praised the Israeli government for making a “major concession” by imposing a settlement freeze which explicitly excluded Jerusalem.

The campaign was personally orchestrated by President Barack Obama. His Vice President Biden accused us of “endangering US lives in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.” Despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s abject apology, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused him of “insulting” the US. Obama’s chief political adviser David Axelrod even claimed that the Israeli government was deliberately undermining peace talks.

These hostile outbursts must be viewed in the context of the fact that despite strong ongoing support for Israel by the American people, the US-Israel relationship has been on a downward spiral since the election of the new administration. Former Mossad head Ephraim Halevy attributes this to Obama’s determination to rehabilitate Islam’s global tarnished image.

Yet his strategy of “engaging” Islamic rogue states has been disastrous. The effort to prevent the nuclearization of Iran by appeasing the Iranian tyrants backfired with the ayatollahs literally mocking the US. The response of Syrian President Bashar Assad to US groveling and the appointment of an ambassador to Damascus, was to host a summit with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hizbullah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah and ridicule the US demand that he curtail his relationship with Iran. President Obama did not consider this “insulting,” prompting the editor of the Lebanese The Daily Star to say that “the Obama administration these days provokes little confidence in its allies and even less fear in its adversaries.”

The Arab League refuses to modify its hard-line against Israel. It insists that Israel unconditionally accept the Saudi peace plan, a full retreat to the ‘67 borders and the implementation of the Arab right of return which would signal an end to Jewish sovereignty in the region.

THERE ARE now ominous signals that to obviate their failures, White House strategists are cynically distancing themselves from us in order to curry popularity by capitalizing on the anti-Israeli hatred which has engulfed the world.

Despite continuously incanting the mantra that it remains committed to the alliance with Israel, the White House is not behaving in an even-handed manner. Obama does not disguise his animosity and repeatedly humiliates our prime minister. The administration “condemns” us for building homes, not in densely Arab populated areas of Jerusalem but in Jewish suburbs like Gilo and most recently Ramat Shlomo which most of us regard as Israel no less than Tel Aviv.

Instead of condemning the brutal Palestinian murderer of an Israeli civilian in December, the US requested “clarification” after Israel apprehended the killers who the PA extolled as heroes. They failed to block a UN Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli police for protecting worshippers at the Temple Mount from Arabs hurling stones at them. They even condemned us for authorizing repairs on Jewish heritage sites over the Green Line.

In stark contrast, the US has not publicly reprimanded the PA on a single issue over the past twelve months. It is unconscionable that neither the White House nor the State Department conveyed a word of protest concerning the ongoing incitement and spate of ceremonies sanctifying the memory of the most degenerate suicide killers and mass murderers. Not even when our peace partners President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad personally partook in these ghoulish ceremonies. In fact, during Biden’s visit, the PA announced that they would postpone a ceremony to name a public square in Ramallah to honor Dalal Mughrabi, the female monster responsible for the abominable 1978 massacre in which 37 Israelis including 13 children were butchered. Nevertheless the ceremony took place and the PA TV interviewed Mughrabi’s sister who stated: “This is a day of glory and pride for the Palestinian people. We must unite, and our rifles must unite, against the enemy who steals our land.” The US failed to register a protest.

NETANYAHU HAS extended more concessions than any other Israeli leader. His government immediately agreed to negotiations with the Palestinians. In contrast, Abbas told The Washington Post that being confident that the US would ensure that the Palestinians obtained whatever they sought, he saw no benefit in negotiating with the Israelis. This scenario is now being realized.

Netanyahu also overcame Likud resistance to a two-state solution and acceded to a temporary settlement freeze which no previous Israeli government was willing to consider. He authorized the release of prisoners and reduced checkpoints, even compromising the security of Israeli civilians.

Yet, far from acting as an honest broker, the US effectively endorsed most of the Palestinian positions and is poised to pressure Israel into making further unilateral concessions.

In a recent chilling document, reiterated by Biden in the course of his condemnation of construction in Jerusalem, the US assured the PA that the principal objective of the “indirect” negotiations was not peace, but the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and that parties who adopted negative positions would be dealt with “in order to overcome that obstacle.”

Our relations with the US will now be further tested.

Obama is surely aware that recent statements by his administration will only embolden the Palestinians and Jihadists to be more extreme in their demands, making it inevitable that the talks will almost certainly fail. Some may infer that this is precisely his intention. We will then be blamed for the breakdown and the US, with the backing of the Quartet and others, will then seek to impose a solution upon us.

There are certain red lines which no government of Israel may cross. Netanyahu, on this occasion, must stand firm. The current crisis transcends political or ideological differences between Likud, Labor and Kadima. All mainstream parties should unite and convey to President Obama that Israel is a sovereign state and will not automatically bow to diktats of the US administration. They need to make the US administration and public understand that no government of Israel will agree to freeze construction in Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the Jewish people.

We may not be a superpower but the Obama administration will hesitate to pursue a path which rejects the consensus of the nation. A demonstration of unity against the unprecedented attacks on Israel’s sovereignty by the Obama administration will also encourage the American people and Congress to publicly support and assist us to reaffirm the traditional alliance and bonds of friendship between our two nations.

It will hopefully also encourage the Obama administration to relate to us with at least the same level of courtesy and respect it extends to rogue states.

ileibler@netvision.net.il

# reads: 294

Original piece is http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=171110

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The Australian should be reported for their misleading headline.As for Obama , he is at best a professional amateur .

Posted by Ron on 2010-03-17 11:41:33 GMT

President Obama"s bleatings prompted Biden"s "Israel is endangering US lives in Iraq,Afganistan and Pakistan..." which prompted Richard Beeston of The Times,reproduced in The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/leadership-needs-to-take-care-of-ally/story-e6frg6so-1225841572144) which perpetrated a historically false recounting of the "Suez Crisis" 1956 for those who were around. The following link gives a somewhat more accurate picture of the real facts with collusion by Britain France and of the US"s part in this affair with which not many are familiar. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis). The situation in the Middle East is complicated, and an additional intrusion of Obamas hysteria Biden"s stupidity blatant lies and fabrication of facts does not bode well for a peaceful settlement.

Posted by Danny on 2010-03-17 09:21:26 GMT

The Australian should be reported for their misleading headline.As for Obama , he is at best a professional amateur .

Posted by ron on 2010-03-17 08:37:47 GMT

Oh yes they are...suicidal, short-sighted and anti semitic. Anyway, within fifty years, demographics alone will render Europe an Islamic caliphate, Canada won"t be far behind and the US, only by virtue of it"s Hispanic population will survive longer...that is of course unless the Islamists create an unprecedented catastrophe ..? Time for a miracle?

Posted by Ronit on 2010-03-17 07:54:00 GMT

ISRAEL’S RIGHTS ARE NOT NEGOTIABLE By Moshe Sheskin I was born and raised in La Belle Province, formerly just known as Quebec. During the 30’s and 40’s, anti-Semitism was rampant. The provincial government under the premiership of Maurice Duplessis played a huge part in stroking the flames of hate supported in many ways by Montreal’s mayor, Cammilion Houde, who in turn was interred due to his active opposition to World War Two and his positive attitude towards Nazi Germany. Perhaps in all fairness to Houde, one can argue that his opposition was directed mainly against England (Les Anglais). His re-election, once he was released from internment, after the war, was assured because of his popularity amongst the French Canadian population. This is no reflection on the French Canadian soldiers who fought side by side as part of a Canadian contingent. As I entered the adult world of reality, what struck me, as far as Jews were concerned, was that there was a difference between the anti-Semitism of the French Canadian and that of home grown English Canadian. The former, if they didn’t like you would tell you outright while the latter would use niceties while stroking your back with a knife. The above came to mind while reading the multitude of criticisms and comments about the proposed 1600 units to be built in Jerusalem. And what may you ask does this have to do with anti-Semitism? Well, Obama and his administration are using the very same tactics used by traditional anti-Semites in Quebec, the English speaking community. Obama’s anti-Semitism is of the subliminal kind, the ones you hear but don’t feel immediately. It’s the ‘some of my best friends are Jews’ or “go back where you came from” group. The rock throwers are the Arabs, some of them are in the open and others hind behind their mother’s skirts but generally, we know that they hate Jews and do nothing to alleviate your concern. They tell you ‘as it is’ and you don’t have to look hard to see your enemy. It is the kind of anti-Semitism recently displayed by the participants of “Israel is apartheid” week. Surely, Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, would have been beside himself with joy in having so many able assistants. Why is it that Obama has surrounded himself with Israeli and Jew haters? Why has he chosen his friends from among virulently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish types like Edward Said, Rashid Khalidi, William Ayres, Jeremiah Wright, Samantha Power and Susan Rice — among others — to radically post-Zionists like Arnie Wolf, Rahm Emmanuel and David Axelrod not to mention Joe Biden. Is it any wonder that Obama appointed an anti-Israel lobbyist, by the name of Hannah Rosenthal of J Street to be the czar of anti-Semitism in his administration? She is on the advisory council of J Street, not enamored by Israel and has advanced a position, which can be seen as totally dangerous to the safety and security of Israel. Israeli pundit Caroline Glick noted that ever since Barack came into office, every single Middle East policy the Obama administration has announced has been antithetical to Israel’s national security interests.” Obama in April 2009 asked Congress to revise American laws preventing financial aid to terrorist organizations so that the United States could keep funding the Palestinian Authority even with Hamas as part of the government. Then in May 2009 came the revelation that the United States and allied military, under the command of Lt. Keith Dayton, was training 1,500 Palestinian troops. Would American-trained Palestinian troops one day go into battle against the forces of American ally Israel Obama foreign policy adviser, Samantha Power, who, in a 2002 interview with Harry Kreisler of the Institute for International Studies at Berkeley, called for military action against Israel to secure the creation of a Palestinian state. The anti-Israel statements of Robert Malley, whom Obama tabbed for an important mission right after he was elected President, were even worse than Power’s. Early on in his campaign, Obama named Robert Malley one of his primary foreign policy advisers – to the immediate consternation of Israeli officials. One Israeli security official noted in February 2008: “We are noting with concern some of Obama’s picks as advisers, particularly Robert Malley, who has expressed sympathy to Hamas and Hizbullah and offered accounts of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that don’t jibe with the facts.” Once Obama was elected President, he sent Malley to Egypt and Syria. “The tenor of the messages,” explained an aide to Malley, “was that the Obama administration would take into greater account Egyptian and Syrian interests.” Malley had nothing on Zbigniew Brzezinski, the National Security Adviser during the Carter Administration. Obama consulted Brzezinski for advice during his campaign, calling the octogenarian Brzezinski “one of our most outstanding scholars and thinkers” and saying that he was “someone I have learned an immense amount from.” Brzezinski called for the United States to protect Iran from an Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. “We are not exactly impotent little babies,” he declared in a September 2009 interview. If the Israelis struck Iran, he said, “They have to fly over our airspace in Iraq. Are we just going to sit there and watch?” Brzezinski advocated military action against Israel to stop it from striking Iran: “If they fly over, you go up and confront them. They have the choice of turning back or not.” Rosa Brooks is an advisor to the undersecretary of Defense for policy. Brooks is venomously anti-Israel. During Israel’s defensive action in Gaza in January 2009, Brooks wrote an op-ed in the Times entitled, “Israel can’t bomb its way to peace.” Stephen A. Silver of the media watchdog Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America pointed out that while Brooks gave the number of Palestinian casualties in this conflict, she didn’t mention that most of these were combatants, not innocent civilians. “She also takes no interest,” noted Silver, “in the fact that Hamas fires missiles at Israeli civilians from the midst of Palestinian population centres — a double war crime specifically intended by Hamas to manufacture Palestinian civilian casualties for public relations purposes whenever Israel tries to defend itself from Hamas terror.” These are some of Barak Hussein Obama’s advisers and we can see how it reacts with his policy concerning the Middle East. It is easy to understand the underlining reasons for Obama’s position, his reasons why he surround himself with anti-Semites. Pamela Geller of the Atlas shrugs blog answers the question. Geller: Obama’s anti-Semitic associations go all the way back to the beginning of his career: the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who worked with Louis Farrakhan and gave him an award from Trinity United Church of Christ; Bill Ayers, whose Communist rhetoric from the 1960s – the Weather Underground manifesto Prairie Fire — was full of anti-Semitic attacks on Israel; and others. Israel has always been an ally of the United States and was an enemy of the Soviet Union and socialist internationalists. Barack Obama is a socialist internationalist, as are the people he has surrounded himself with. It’s no surprise in light of that that his administration would be so anti-Israel. Little attention is paid to Obama’s childhood study of Islam and his Koranic studies in Indonesia. Knowing what we know about Islamic anti-Semitism and Jew-hatred in the Koran, it may have been a powerful influence on Obama’s attitudes towards the Jewish homeland. So now we speak again of the 1600 units to be erected by the Planning and Building Board. The dwellings are not in Ramat but in No Man’s land. The condemnation by the American administration has been vile and uncalled for. According to the Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, the United States has issued Israel with three key demands. 1. Cancel the construction: Secretary Hillary Clinton has demanded a reversal of the decision to build in Ramat Shlomo. 2. A peace talks pledge: that peace talks would focus on core issues, such as the future of Jerusalem, the borders of a Palestinian state and the fate of Palestinian refugees. 3. A confidence-building gesture: In a call to Netanyahu, she suggested this could take the form of prisoner releases, and easing of the blockade of Gaza and the transfer of greater territory in the West Bank to Palestinian control. It is quite obvious that one of the two main players in this drama is out of his or her rocker. Acceptance of these demands means the end of Netanyahu as Prime Minister, a complete end to any so-called peace process and the eventual annihilation of Israel. If the announcement had said that 1600 homes were to built for Arabs, you wouldn’t hear a murmur Refusing Hillary’s (Obama’s) ultimatum may mean that Israel will have to forego American guarantees, economic hardships and a possible war. Israel had to overcome her enemies before and will do so again. Israel must not relinquish her rights nor depend on anyone else to guarantee her security.

Posted by moshes80@gmail.com on 2010-03-17 04:26:10 GMT

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Obama has crossed the line

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