Israel, Obama, and Us: Liberal Antisemitism
Anyone who has known me for any length of time will confirm the slightly more-than-obvious fact that I’m a staunch conservative, card-carrying member of the Republican party (though I’ve never been a blinded “party line” voter), and proud Jew by heritage and religion.
It’s no wonder then, that I’ve subscribed for some time to IsraelNationalNews.com – not the “official” Israeli news channel of Kol Israel, but certainly one of the more “orthodox” in terms of Judaism and the desire to see all Jews (hopefully of whatever stripe or “denomination”) emigrate to Israel (in Hebrew, “aliyah”).
Not-So-Subtle Hints
Over the last several months, I’ve seen a disturbing trend in the number of stories regarding the interference of the Obama administration into the affairs of the Jewish state. Beyond the typical “what we would expect” nagging of Israeli officials to come to the “peace table” by seemingly everyone in the Obama administration from Obama himself to minor assistant deputy secretaries, is the slightly more-than-occasional comment from Obama and his lap-dog Hillary Clinton regarding Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria.
These have taken the form of subtle-as-a-broken-leg “hints” that Israel needs to freeze building, to Obama’s so-called “promise” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to gain positive relations with the US president in exchange for specific commitments to stop further building in Israeli areas. Effectively, what has been said here is “stop building, and I’ll be your friend”… though this was most directly said from those wonderful “unnamed senior officials” – ostensibly so Obama himself can practice the time-honored tradition of “I didn’t say that”.
Obama’s Direct References
But what Obama did say more directly – in stark contrast to comments and denials during his election campaign – was “hey, guess what? I’m not only America’s first black president, I’m its first Muslim president.” What he can’t deny any further is his appearance at Cairo University in June 2009, where he finally admitted a Muslim heritage, and even quoted the Koran.
But beyond those seemingly mute references in his speech that appeared to give a subtle jab to Jews, came the most horrific correlation between Jews and so-called “Palestinians”: in that he in one breath mentions the suffering of six million European Jews at the hands of a Nazi regime, and in the next breath mentions the suffering of “Palestinians”.
For the record, comment number one, about the Jews:
Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and antisemitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed – more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction – or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews – is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.
– From President Obama’s remarks at Cairo University, 4 June 2009
Then, directly after that, comment number two, about the “Palestinians”:
On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people – Muslims and Christians – have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
– From President Obama’s remarks at Cairo University, 4 June 2009
“Palestinians”?
Let’s focus on that again. A Holocaust, suffering by six million Jews. INNOCENT Jews. People who were persecuted just because of what specific ethnicity they were born into. That, being made to sound as equally reprehensible as “suffering” by so-called “Palestinians”… a suffering which they brought upon themselves as a whole because they decided to declare and conduct an open war of aggression against the Jews, on the VERY DAY (May 15, 1948) that Israel was declared a nation.
In fact, going back further than that, this aggression on the part of Arabs in the area was begun “officially” in November 1947, when the UN voted in favor of the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine, and the creation of a state in the Middle East to be governed by Jews as their ancestral homeland. The Jewish contingent in the region voted in favor of the land-division plan that was drawn up by the UN. The Arab contingent in the region – as they weren’t officially claiming to be “Palestinians” in terms of a separate ethno-nationality back then – flatly rejected the plan.
Israel Drawing The Line
As if that wasn’t enough, July brought about the strongest criticism of Israel by Obama and Clinton, in the form of “demands” that Israel stop building in parts of Jerusalem, which mirrored earlier demands to halt “natural growth” building in areas of the country including Judea and Samaria.
Israeli PM Netanyahu, for his part, seemed (thankfully) to draw the line with Obama here, stating that Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem is “not up for debate,” clarifying that both Jews and Arabs are equally able to obtain building permission in any part of the capital city. Before a Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu implied that the U.S. demand was racist, and stated, “Imagine what would happen if Jews were forbidden to live or to buy apartments in certain parts of London, New York, Paris or Rome. There would be an international outcry.”
The concept that Barack Obama, a self-proclaimed Muslim by heritage, can tell Jews in their own country where they can and cannot live and build, is both racist and laughable. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, during a visit to Israel earlier this year, made an apt comparison in response to the administration’s demand, as reported by Israel National News.
“My question is how would the government of the United States feel if Prime Minister Netanyahu began to dictate which people could live in the Bronx, which ones could live in Manhattan, which could live in Queens, and say, ‘We only allow certain people to live in those neighborhoods,’” he said. “How would that go over? It wouldn’t go over very well… The position that our government has taken recently is far more harsh [than the previous administration], even halting peace talks until there is compliance with these demands,” he noted. “I’m not sure where we would get the authority to demand of the Israelis what they should do in their own country… We have no right to dictate and outright tell another country what it should or shouldn’t do. Heck, we don’t do that with North Korea!”
Blessing and Cursing
No wonder he’s touted as the leading Republican presidential candidate for 2012. At least he understands one principle that Obama wouldn’t seem to know as a long-time congregant (recently disavowed for publicity’s sake) of radical black and clearly antisemitic minister Jeremiah Wright; a principle outlined by G-d himself when speaking to Abraham, the father of the Jews:
“I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you…”
– Genesis 12:3, CJB
Outrage
Americans should be outraged by Obama’s demands to a traditional friend, and let us not forget, the only real democracy in the Middle East. Americans should be equally as outraged at Hillary Clinton, whose blatant statements and actions against Israel and her sovereignty culminated in the deliberate snub of Israel during the High Holiday season of Rosh HaShana, which occurs around the time of the Muslim holiday of Eid il-Fitr, or the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan.
The website for the US Consulate in Jerusalem featured Eid il-Fitr greetings from Clinton, as well as from Barack Obama and Consul General Daniel Rubinstein – but there were no greetings to Jews for their High Holiday season. At least Obama had publicized a short video greeting for Rosh HaShana (over whitehouse.gov, now on YouTube). But for a politician who spent so much political currency to become a senator from a state housing a very large and vocal Jewish presence, Clinton’s anti-Israel statements and actions are a clear sign of her antisemitism, even setting her at odds with her husband’s activities while he was president in the late 1990’s.
Will America wake up to the brow-beating and political antisemitic game-playing the White House is engaged in? Only time will tell… but if Obama and his cronies continue on this path, it won’t just be Israel that the Obama regime is toying with – it’ll be America’s physical, moral, and financial health, as well. Maybe that’ll be enough to make him a lame duck when 2012 rolls around.
