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Obama administration’s unprecedented outburst against Israel
by Isi LeiblerOctober 8, 2014
http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=5253
The exceptionally vicious U.S.
condemnation of Israel with regard to housing construction in the
Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem is not merely misguided, but also
reflects irrational bias. Incidentally, this behavior also has many
ominous parallels to the inhumane incarceration of Jonathan Pollard,
despite pleas for his commutation from all sectors of American society.
The harsh outburst relates to a
2,600-unit housing project planned as an extension of an exclusively
Jewish neighborhood adjacent to the suburb of Talpiot and Kibbutz Ramat
Rahel both within the Green Line. It incorporates primarily barren land
on which Ethiopian and Russian immigrants had been housed temporarily in
mobile homes. Highly significant – but a fact that is ignored - is that
nearly half of the construction was designated to provide housing for
Arabs. Construction permits were approved two years ago but it was the
far left-wing group, Peace Now that saw fit to highlight the issue in a
press release on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting
with U.S. President Barack Obama in a calculated effort to embarrass the
prime minister and provoke tensions.
The successive statements by
both the White House and State Department spokesmen must be considered
among the most bitterly prejudiced and unbalanced condemnations of
Israel ever expressed by the U.S. They make a mockery of repeated claims
by the Obama administration that it considers Israel to be a close
ally.
White House spokesman Josh
Earnest stated, “This development will only draw condemnation from the
international community, distance Israel from even its closest allies,
poison the atmosphere, not only with the Palestinians, but also with the
very Arab governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he
wanted to build relations.”
U.S. State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki took it even a step further and said that these
construction plans would “call into question Israel’s ultimate
commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.”
This outrageous remark will be seen as an attempt by Obama to reassure
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he would still stand
by the Palestinians, despite condemnation of Abbas’ disgusting U.N.
speech, which was also a slap in the face of the U.S.
This was clearly a crafted
position. The U.S. is fully aware that the location for this
construction is in the heart of Jerusalem’s Jewish neighborhoods and
will always remain under Jewish sovereignty. They also conveniently
overlooked the fact that this particular project was to include Arab
housing.
To compound matters, the
administration also condemned the legitimate purchase of seven
residential homes by Jews in the Silwan Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.
In so doing the Obama administration is endorsing the PA’s policy of
preventing Jews from buying homes in Arab-populated areas of Jerusalem.
This, despite the fact that Arabs live freely among Jews in west
Jerusalem and throughout Israel. The U.S. is therefore validating the
“Judenrein” ethnic cleansing policies of Abbas, who had the gall to
accuse Israel of being an apartheid state in his recent belligerent U.N.
address.
The U.S. statements
unequivocally exhort other countries – including Israel’s “closest
allies” - to condemn Israel over this routine municipal construction
which contrary to utterly uninformed allegations, in no way undermines a
two state solution. Not surprisingly, they have already been echoed by
individual European countries and the European Union, which also called
“into question Israel’s commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement.”
They went so far as to convey
the message to moderate Arab states that Israel is “poisoning the
atmosphere,” discouraging them from reciprocating Netanyahu’s efforts to
reach out and develop a new relationship with them.
The bitter attack on Israel
for construction in the Jewish neighborhoods of its own capital is
unique not only because of the disproportionate ferocity of this public
condemnation of an ally, but also when viewed in the broader context.
Setting aside the Gaza war and the histrionic attacks against Israel by
Abbas at the U.N. General Assembly, it is impossible to comprehend such a
reaction against the backdrop of regional events. Entire countries --
Iraq and Syria -- are imploding; literally millions have been displaced
from their homes and become refugees; over 200,000 were murdered in
Syria alone; barbaric decapitations of innocent people which are
publicly circulated on the Internet. Yet, it is against the background
of this maelstrom that the U.S. sees fit to condemn and isolate its most
devoted ally, the sole democratic state in the region and the only
place where chaos does not prevail. Why? Because two years ago, the
municipality of its capital, Jerusalem, approved a housing project in a
Jewish neighborhood (which would also provide housing for Arab
residents).
The irrationality and severity
of these rebukes of Israel, encouraging other “friends” to join in the
condemnation, suggests that Obama remains obsessively determined to
force Israel to adopt his approach. And this, despite the events of
recent months and his own admission in his U.N. speech that he had
hitherto erred in asserting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a
major impediment to regional stability.
No responsible Israeli
government could ever contemplate acquiescing to such demands. We must
never apologize for building homes in Jewish Jerusalem and there is an
element of insanity in the U.S. condemning us for doing so.
Netanyahu speaks on this
matter on behalf of the entire nation. This is not the approach of a
particular government. It reflects the consensus -- other than the
extreme left-wing Meretz and marginal post-Zionist groups. This is a
time for us to stand up and be counted. Opposition Leader MK Isaac
Herzog should speak up as a genuine Labor Zionist leader and state that
his party is at one with the government regarding construction in
Jerusalem. Should he fail to do so, he will be turning his back on the
Labor Zionist ideals of Israel’s founders and his Labor party will
become a discredited delusional left-wing marginal group.
The response of the American
Jewish leadership is also crucial. They have until now displayed a
reticence to respond publicly to biased statements on Israel expressed
by Obama. But this will put them to the test. If the leaders fail to
speak out against such a vicious attack which effectively encourages
other countries to join in exerting pressure on Israel, it will be
perceived as dramatic erosion of their political influence and their
community standing. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee should
now actively launch a public information campaign, speak out robustly
about Israel’s rights in Jerusalem and make a concerted effort to
canvass support from members of Congress.
If Obama can behave in such a
contemptuous manner towards Israel five weeks before congressional
elections, one is left with a chilling feeling that we may see even more
unfortunate initiatives during the remaining term of office of this
president who seeks to distance himself from Israel as he simultaneously
engages with rogue states and appears determined to rehabilitate Iran.
Isi Leibler’s website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com.He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com.
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom
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Duplicitous Abbas comes out of the closet (October 1, 2014)
Rosh Hashanah: Challenges and Optimism (September 22, 2014)
Israel Must Put Security First (September 10, 2014)
Facing Realities in the wake of Operation Protective Edge (September 10, 2014)
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