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Is the Obama Administration Simply Apathetic or Antagonistic?
By Susannah Kopecky / November 24, 2009
Is the leftist Obama administration simply naive and apathetic when it comes to Israel, or antagonistic? Let actions (or lack thereof) speak for themselves. Let us investigate the strategies used by administration members both before and after Obama’s election, which included deception, using uneven moral equivalences and ignoring the big picture.
Even before his election, then-Senator Obama referred to the ‘question’ of Israel and the Palestinian statehood a one of a "constant wound," a "constant sore" which does "infect all of our foreign policy" in a May 2008 interview with Atlantic writer Jeffrey Goldberg. Obama aides and associates were quick to reshape the context in which the statement was made, but the damage was done: even by slipping, Obama showed the world that in his mind, the issue of Israel protecting itself from hostile and terror-embracing neighbors, was somehow akin to a festering wound. This was also an example of the president’s tendency to present two uneven groups or ideas as being inherently equal: Israel is on a significantly higher moral footing than Hamas or the nations which sponsor Hamas and other anti-Semitic Islamic militant groups. Wit can be defined as the successful comparison of two apparently different things or ideas, showing how they are in fact, similar. If the former senator was aiming for wit in his statements, he missed.
It’s no surprise that an administration would mislead the public: it’s been done many times before. The surprise this time around was that deception played a key role in the president’s agenda, considering his repeated calls for transparency and his mantra of uber-awesome "change." The background of presidential Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a former Illinois congressman, was trumped to appeal to pro-Israel voters. Emanuel had gone to Israel to volunteer in factories during the first Gulf War, and this was relayed in a way to appeal to those voters who perhaps were unsure of Obama’s already nebulous committment to Israel. Emanuel has reportedly been a harsher voice on Israel than voters were swayed to believe he would be, and according to Politico, many Israelis have also become "increasingly disenchanted" with the man who should have been a strong pro-Israel voice in what is shaping up to be a hard-line left administration.
By throwing their weight behind no one in particular, the Obama administration commits the greatest mistake of all: forgetting who its real friends are. Israel is the one nation which can be counted on, thick or thin, for total support in an hour of need. Israel has never declared war on the United States, and Israel is the one functional democracy in the entire Middle East: that’s the truth, and even the most virulent anti-Semite cannot deny that (assuming they follow any form of logic). In the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Harrison Ford (as the title character) responds to a Nazi sympathizer who claims she only sides with the Nazis in an effort to get ahead, not out of genuine political alignment. "You stood up to be counted with the enemies of everything the Grail stands for, who gives a damn what you think!" If the Obama administration fails to see the bigger picture of the moral underdog surrounded by bloodthirsty tyrants, then the administration dooms itself to be counted among the morally weak, those remembered in history books only for their wavering when the hour of need came upon their friends.
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That was an intelligent case against Obama’s Israel policy, at least comared to the bland Likud talking points trying to pass as an article here. Of course, because it was intelligent, the criticism was much more specific and controlled (ie: Obama should have given a speech in Israel, rather than Obama is "antagonistic" to the whole country). Â
I think I still disagree, because IMO Israel needs to stop expecting the undivided attention of the US (not to mention the EU and Russia), and start expecting to be treated in line with a country of its population. It seems the world pays more attention to Israel than to say, Brazil or Indonesia, countries with about 40 times Israel’s population. And btw, I don’t think less attention in necessarily bad for Israel–there are two kinds of attention, after all. Â
–Z
There’s little question that Obama’s vision of peace between Israel and the Palestinians is to the left of Netanyahu’s. There is also little question that the political center in Israel is shifting rightward (even as we speak). If Obama’s only concern were currying favor with the Arabs and Muslims then his visit to Cairo and his speech there might have sufficed. But eventually President Obama will wish for a move leftward in Israel and even if the odds are against that, those odds were not helped by the aftermath of Obama’s visit to Cairo, which was a visit to Buchenwald. If instead Obama had visited the Knesset and laid out his vision then Israelis would not feel that he is antagonistic and the left would not feel abandoned to fend for itself. Sadat’s visit to the Knesset showed that as long as you show up, your mere presence is more important than what you say. And although Israelis may have been "spoiled" by the pro Israel rhetoric of George Bush the second, Obama could have clearly stated his Meretz position and received a warm welcome from the Knesset and not left the impression that he only cares about the Islamic world and not the Jewish state.
I’d welcome a rational, conservative viewpoint too, if only to be able to argue with it. Ditto Ismail and I’m chanting to Yoda as I type.
I’ve no doubt that Israel is under threat but Ms. Kopecky’s rhetoric is that of an apologist, arm chair Zionist, who cheerfully confuses ordinary Palestinians with terrorists.
Israeli democracy now, is at best, a shadow of an actual democracy. Israel is a theocratic state, with a coalition government that often rises and falls on who can best cater to the religious extremists and hawkish wing nuts (somewhere a Republican angel is getting his wings). What we are stuck with today, is a hollow shell of the dream envisioned by early Zionists. It’s time to reinvent the wheel Ms. Kopecky, not go down with the ship.
Jakes, I appreciate your attempt to approach this article with an open mind, but it clearly was not written for the open-minded. Â
 To take this article seriously you’d have to believe that the term "pro-Israel" only includes positions to the right of Ariel Sharon, and that no Palestinians exist except Hamas and other "terror-embracing neighbors."  Notice that the word "palestinian" is not even used in reference to an actual person, lest the reader remember that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are populated by women, children, and other non-Hamas, non-"terror embracers". Â
 So I second Ismail’s call for an intelligent pro-Israel (or pro-Likud?) case against Obama, if there is one.Â
–Z
Your article explains, briefly, why Israel is important to American interests. Fair enough. But don’t forget that the US is probably even more important to Israel than Israel is the US.
More importantly, you don’t explain why the Obama administration is apathetic or antagonistic, as you say, with respect to Israel. I came to read your article with an open mind. I wanted to see why you were critical of Obama’s position on Israel but, aside from the Atlantic example which hardly makes a case for it, you failed to provide any evidence for your opinion.
May I suggest that Ms. Kopecky’s little piece doesn’t really meet the
minimal standard of originality, well-formed argument, historical
literacy or keen analysis that one would expect from this site.
Unadulterated boilerplate hasbara. Surely there is someone in the
Jewcy universe who can present the pro-Israeli case against Obama with
a smidgeon of novelty or wit. Isn’t there?
Quoting Indiana Jones? Are you f*cking kidding me?Â
Tell Ms. Kopecky that I have it on very good authority that Yoda is
a strong supporter of boycott, divestment and sanction against Israel.
Yoda trumps Indy any day.
Q.E.D.
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