Obama mesmerizes Israelis and irritates Palestinians
Il Giornale, March 22nd, 2013
To young Israelis: “A just peace is possible”. The issue of settlements is erased from his list
Jerusalem. On one side Palestinians were disappointed with the removal of the settlements from the agenda, on the other Israelis were mesmerized by Obama’s warmth. For his two-fold daily mission, the visit to Abu Mazen in Ramallah first, the speech delivered to the crowd of Israeli students later he adopted two apparently diverging approaches, i.e. a slow-down regarding the topic of settlements in Ramallah in the morning, and a hug with a river of young Israeli students in the afternoon. Obama stands out brilliantly, and he even performs a narcissistic pirouette in which he has ensure the US assistance which at its turn backs up his world view.
Obama mastered his role as a dreamer yesterday night. The path he chose for his journey clearly stands out : in such a critical time, which in the Middle East assumes the guise of nuclear Iran, of Syria, of chemical weapons, of Hezbollah, Hamas and the rise to power of the Muslim Brothers, it's time to stop fighting with Israel. In Ramallah, Obama angered Abu Mazen even though he did use the customary cordial formalities. After reiterating he right of Palestinians to an independent State, Obama said he would not look for temporary solutions, he would only strive for a definitive peace, and that Palestinians should not set too many preventive conditions to resume negotiations:“what’s the purpose of negotiations otherwise?” In other words, Abu Mazen should not expect a preventive freeze of settlements. Which reverses the previous course, given that Obama’s personal road map was based on a total freeze: this time settlements have been mentioned, but almost incidentally. So Abu Mazen, irritated after Obama's refusal to visit Arafat’s tomb and his new acquaintance to Netanyahu, took the floor: without a commitment on the settlements the resumption of negotiations is not possible, he said bluntly. Obama kept a straight face: he kept praising Abu Mazen’s good intentions, pledging US support (the Palestinian Authority is on the verge of bankruptcy), and showing Abu Mazen his closeness. He know Abu Mazen needs it against Hamas on the internal scenario as well as in order to play a role in the Arab world. Settlements however are no longer first on the list. No matter that Palestinians took it to the street spoiling Obama’s banners and throwing him shoes.
Then Black Hawk helicopters took off, Jerusalem is again jammed by a countless river of cars, and Obama makes his double pirouette in Binyanei Hauma. Obama seduces, he mentions all possible prophets, Yoshua, Moshe, Herzl, Martin Luther King, Truman, Rabin, Begin, Sharon, the last three as peace leaders. With affection he tells the story of Zionism: you made the miracle to come back to the land of your fathers, to make the desert and democracy bloom, you won the first 10 Nobel prizes for science, like us you are a nation of immigrants, and you live amidst dreadful dangers, and the Arab world rejects you while you want peace. We stand by you, he reiterates, we will never let you down: that’s the key concept. He describes with utter empathy all the dangers endured by a boy among terror attacks, Hezbollah, and the Iranian threat. And here you have the Obamian leap: “Peace with Palestinians and with the whole Arab world is not an option, it is the very same condition of your own security, it s a duty towards your future and your children. Peace must be pursued because it is just … Push your leaders for peace! From this moment onwards, Obama engaged in a fantastic description of all common things that Israeli, Palestinian, Syrian, and Egyptian youth share.
That is, he depicted his policy where hatred fades away in a better world, in the games his daughters play, whom he repeatedly mentions, who play in the garden of the While House. Obama is going back to them, after another morning spent in Israel, and a visit paid to Jordan, threatened by revolution.
Obama is smart and cunning. To the audience of virtually hand-picked Left-Wing and Arab students, he presented the apparently sad plight of Palestinians. He talked about their inability to get an education etc. etc.He omitted the gross indoctrination of Palestinians, very much geared to Palestinian youth, by official Palestinian Authority Television programs, to ERADICATE the State of Israel, and to martyr themselves as suicide-bomber terrorists.