Thursday, April 26, 2012

There is Something Deeply Wrong with the Obama Administration

Mike L.

Two recent events illustrate that there is something deeply wrong with the Obama administration in terms of its relationship with the state of Israel, if not with Jewish people, more generally.

I am thinking specifically of Hillary Clinton's recent remarks in Tunisia and the fact that Obama has appointed Samantha Power as chair of the newly created Atrocities Prevention Board.

Let's start with Power because her example is the more straight-forward. In the quote below, we have her on video quite literally calling for a U.S. invasion of Israel:

What we need is an actual willingness to put something on the line in service of helping the situation. And putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import. It may more crucially mean sacrificing, or investing I think, more than sacrificing, literally billions of dollars not in servicing Israel’s military, but actually investing in the new state of Palestine. In investing billions of dollars, it would probably take also to support what I think will have to be a mammoth protection force, not of the old Sebrenica kind or Rwanda kind, but a meaningful military presence, because it seems to me…you have to go in as if you’re serious, you have to put something on the line and, unfortunately imposition of a solution on unwilling parties is dreadful, I mean it’s a terrible thing to do, it’s fundamentally undemocratic. But…it’s essential that some set of principles becomes the benchmark, rather than a deference to people who are fundamentally, politically destined to destroy the lives of their own people.

How in this world can Jewish supporters of Barack Obama reconcile that support with the fact that he is promoting the career, within his administration, of a woman that is literally calling for an American war against the Jews of the Middle East?

How ideologically blinkered must pro-Obama Jews be that they will simply ignore this act of betrayal by this administration? Jews who are not devoted to Obama, and even those who (wrongheadedly) are, should be screaming from the hillsides about this appointment.

Now, with Hillary in Tunisia we have something more ambiguous, but still clear enough that it tells us something about the mind-set of this administration when it comes to Israel and to its American Jewish constituency. Early last month Hillary fielded a question from a Tunisian gentleman who asked this:

After the electoral campaign start[ed] in the United States…we noticed here in Tunisia that most of the candidates from the both sides run towards the Zionist lobbies to get their support in the States. And afterwards, once they are elected, they come to show their support for countries like Tunisia and Egypt for a common Tunisian or a common Arab citizen. How would you reassure and gain his trust again once given the fact that you are supporting his enemy as well at the same time?

Hillary responded, in part, with this:

Well, first, let me say you will learn as your democracy develops that a lot of things are said in political campaigns that should not bear a lot of attention. There are comments made that certainly don’t reflect the United States, don’t reflect our foreign policy, don’t reflect who we are as a people.

The implication of Hillary's words seem to be that Obama lies during elections and is really not pro-Israel, so don't worry.  It's hard to know her exact meaning, but that seems to be the implications of her words.

Taken together, along with all the other tensions that Obama has had with Israel, and his demand that Jews not be allowed to build housing for themselves in Judea and Samaria, and the public fights with Netanyahu, and his support for the genocidal Muslim Brotherhood... among other things... it should be pretty obvious that this administration, however they may portray themselves in cooing speeches to American Jews, are not really friendly toward the Jewish state, nor the Jewish people.

It seems to me clear that pro-Obama American Jews are deeply in denial.

Let us hope that more and more of them will snap out of it before November.

2 comments:

  1. Pro-Obama American Jews should be speaking out more when the Administration deserves it.

    The problem is that many interpret speaking out as tantamount to opposing Obama. They expect ideological conformity irrespective of issue. Otherwise, risk being an apostate and deserving of their animus.

    As to Obama, if it was just on this issue it would be easy. But it's about more. Republicans raise legitimate issues and concerns, but their solutions and politically based actions have been problematic at best.

    When it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict, I think Obama marginalizes himself from the pro-Israel consensus here and in Israel, and kids himself if he believes that his dalliances with the MB and OIC will be a net positive.

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  2. I would think that demanding ideological conformity is not particularly "liberal."

    But, as we've discussed before, there is a distinction, growing clearer and clearer, between liberalism and "progressivism."

    I did not used to recognize that distinction and now, in fact, I am beginning to wonder if they're even compatible as practiced.

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