I think we need to thank President Barack Obama. He’s managed, in the short time he’s been president, to bust a whole lot of myths about Israel and Jews.
Myth Number One: Israel runs American foreign policy. Is there seriously anyone out there who can still hold by this myth after seeing the Obama administration slap down Bibi Netanyahu like he was an errant child? Name the last time you heard about a Secretary of State giving a 43-minute dressing-down to the country that is the boss of her?
Myth Number Two: Going against Israel is the kiss of death for American politicians. Obama is not suffering widespread ill effects from trying to bully Israel into doing what he wants. Hell, most American Jews apparently still think his Israel policy is just fine, in spite of what’s been going on recently.
Myth Number Three: You can’t beat the Israel Lobby. AIPAC and Jewish groups have been noticeably quiet, so much so that even Ed Koch is wondering why. The exception to date: The World Jewish Congress. If the Israel Lobby is so strong, how is it that it won’t go up against The One on Israel?
Myth Number Four: You can’t criticize Israel. You will be silenced. I love this one. The loudest proclaimers of this myth to date have been Jimmy Carter and the enduring duo of Walt & Mearsheimer. All three of them have penned anti-Israel best sellers, and Walt & Mearsheimer managed to turn their anti-Israelism into lucrative careers after the book tour.
And then there’s my favorite:
Myth Number Five: Barack Obama is a friend to Israel. That’s the real knee-slapper. Rashid Khalidi’s bestest bud turns out to be not such a great friend to Israel after all, one who seems pretty willing to throw Israel under the bus to appease the Arab and Muslim world. He’s come a long way from the man who said this:
… my strong commitment to make sure that the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable today, unbreakable tomorrow–unbreakable forever. … And as President I will work with you to insure that it is this bond that is strengthened.
That was then. This is now:
When Mr. Obama declared that resolving the long-running Middle East dispute was a “vital national security interest of the United States,†he was highlighting a change that has resulted from a lengthy debate among his top officials over how best to balance support for Israel against other American interests.
This shift, described by administration officials who did not want to be quoted by name when discussing internal discussions, is driving the White House’s urgency to help broker a Middle East peace deal. It increases the likelihood that Mr. Obama, frustrated by the inability of the Israelis and the Palestinians to come to terms, will offer his own proposed parameters for an eventual Palestinian state.
Obama and Israel: Myth BUSTED.
You take that back. How dare you call Obama a Mythbuster? The Mythbusters I know are brilliant, funny, multi-talented problem solvers with an amazingly diverse and enviable array of real-world skills.
Actually the myths that he is busting are the ones that he and his cronies are attempting to propagate. He is busting those myths against his will and inadvertently. He is a prime example of the statement that Chico Marx (dressed as Groucho) said in Duck Soup
Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?
Please tell Mrs. Obama that I finally understand the statement she uttered last year. after observing her husband’s betrayals and strong arm tactics, I can say, for the first time in my adult life, I am ashamed of my country.
I hope this is not a surprise to anyone. Everything in Obama’s history–his advisers, his associates, the political tendencies he showed, his ideology-indicated he would be hostile to Israel. J Street, of course, says he isn’t, but J Street supports a policy towards Israel that within the margin for error no Israeli supports.
But there was nothing in his background to indicate anything other than that he would not be friendly to Israel and would see the Arabs and Palestinians through the lens of what has been called transational progressivism, and that the Palestinians in particular would be seen as an approved victim group. Note the administration’s relative silence on the constant and vicious Palestinian provocations and propaganda.
I probably would have voted for McCain anyway, breaking a lifetime habit, but certainly with regard to Israel I’ve seen nothing to cause me any regrets, especially since his stance on Israel is of a piece with his foreign policy generally: Sympathy and the open hand for our foes and the back of his hand at best for our allies.
1) Obama – tool of Pat Buchanan and his ilk – intends to cut off loan guarantees to Israel.
2) Obama’s Justice(?) Dept. is setting the stage to prosecute American Irving Moskowitz for his efforts to create living space for Jews in Jerusalem.
3) Obama will turn a cold shoulder to the House of Saud so as to ingratiate himself with his friends in Tehran.
ALL of these things will come to pass – sooner rather than later – and will show that the current President represents a radical departure from George W. Bush !
No Alex, this comes as no surprise at all to most of us who haunt Meryl’s blog. It does come as a surprise to the 76 per cent of American Jews who voted for Obama. Like so many American voters in 2008 they neglected to inform themselves about the actual views and backgrounds of the candidates, which also accounts for the irrational and hysterical animus against Sarah Palin.
Israel should not be the only consideration for American Jews in voting, although it ought to be high up on the list. But to vote for a man who consorts with antisemites and appears to be copacetic with the Palestinian Arabs who seek the destructioon of Israel and the genocide of its Jewish inhabitants is inexcusable.