So, this celebrity who got the part of POTUS decided to head over to Israel, and instead of talking to the Knesset, the elected official body of Israel, he took his neverending campaign to a school to talk to young folks. It was, as Allahpundit put it, “as florid a valentine to Israel and Zionism as a U.S. president has ever delivered.” Why? So he could build up to this (transcript from Weekly Standard)
Second, peace is just. There is no question that Israel has faced Palestinian factions who turned to terror, and leaders who missed historic opportunities. That is why security must be at the center of any agreement. And there is no question that the only path to peace is through negotiation. That is why, despite the criticism we’ve received, the United States will oppose unilateral efforts to bypass negotiations through the United Nations.
But the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and justice must also be recognized. Put yourself in their shoes – look at the world through their eyes. It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of her own, and lives with the presence of a foreign army that controls the movements of her parents every single day. It is not just when settler violence against Palestinians goes unpunished. It is not right to prevent Palestinians from farming their lands; to restrict a student’s ability to move around the West Bank; or to displace Palestinian families from their home. Neither occupation nor expulsion is the answer. Just as Israelis built a state in their homeland, Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their own land.
So, Israel has constantly been attacked by Palestinian thugs and terrorists who care nothing for peace (except for the peace where Israel and her people are wiped out), but, hey, put yourselves in their shoes. This reminds me of Obama’s written missive just 8 days after September 11th, where he called for empathizing and understand the animals who attacked and killed 2,996 people that day along with those around the world who danced in the street as the Towers fell.
Perhaps he should tell Palestinians to put themselves in the shoes of the parents of Adele Biton, who was critically injured after Palestinians threw rocks at the car carrying her, her sisters, and mother, causing it to swerve and hit a truck. That’s what one Israeli lawmaker thinks
(The Blaze) Moshe Feiglin, a hawkish Likud lawmaker, said Obama’s speech contained “a lot of filth in the middle.â€
Though he praised Obama for acknowledging the connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, he suggested Obama’s call for peace was naïve, saying this: “When Obama talked about forcing us to make peace, all I could think about was baby Adele, who was injured by stone-throwing near Ariel last week.â€
Here’s Elliot Abrams
Obama was most persuasive when discussing American-Israeli bonds, and least persuasive in his descriptions of the Arab Middle East. In his remarks today he pictured an Arab world, and a Palestinian political system, yearning for peace with Israel through negotiated compromises. This ignores the vast ocean of anti-Semitism in the Arab world, and the inculcation of hatred of Jews and Israel in generation after generation of Arabs—including Palestinians. And it ignores the rising tide of Islamism in the region, which threatens to engulf all those political figures who would really like a compromise peace. The Arab world Obama described is a place far more desirous of, and far closer to, peace with Israel than the one Israelis actually see around them.
Of course, Obama’s base thinks that Israel is the problem, and would like to see the nation gone.
Obama urged Israelis to push their own government toward peace: “Speaking as a politician, I can promise you this: political leaders will not take risks if the people do not demand that they do. You must create the change that you want to see.†This may be taken as a swipe at the new Israeli government or at Netanyahu, but even if it is not he is again addressing it to the wrong audience. Israelis cannot “create the change they want to see†in the hearts of Palestinians, Egyptians, and other Arabs. “Now is the time for the Arab World to take steps toward normalized relations with Israel,†Obama said. And he is right, but does anyone want to take bets on how likely that is? At his press conference in Ramallah, Obama said, “Secretary of State John Kerry intends to spend significant time, effort, and energy in trying to bring about a closing of the gap between the parties.†Note who is missing in that sentence: Obama himself, who is apparently not promising to “spend significant time, effort, and energy†on this—because he has quietly made a judgment about the chances that is far more realistic than his speech.
I have to disagree with Elliot: it’s surely not because Obama understands the situation, but because this is Obama’s pattern: he swoops in, makes a big speech, and believes that his job is done, that things will simply work out because of the speech. He himself rarely follows up with the work necessary to get the job done. This is why he pivots towards the US economy every so often.
Israelis would love peace: peace to not be attacked by Palestinians and other Islamists. Those who are attacked only want peace through the destruction of Israel.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
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