Tuesday 18 November 2008

Gideon Levy: Bush was Israel,s Friend who is an Enemy of Israel

Gideon Levy / Let's hope Obama won't be a 'friend of Israel'

The march of parochialism started right away. The tears of excitement invoked by U.S. president-elect Barack Obama's wonderful speech had not yet dried, and back here people were already delving into the only real question they could think to ask: Is this good or bad for Israel? One after another, the analysts and politicians got up - all of them representing one single school of thought, of course  and began prophesizing. They spoke with the caution that the situation required, gritting their teeth as though their mouths were full of pebbles, trying to soothe all the fears and concerns.
They searched and found signs in Obama: The promising appointment of the Israeli ex-patriots' son, whose father belonged to the Irgun, and maybe also Dennis Ross and Dan Kurtzer and Martin Indyk, who may, God willing, be included in the new administration.

But in the background, a dark cloud hovered above. Careful, danger. The black man, who had associated with Palestinian expats, who speaks of human rights, who favors diplomacy over war, who even wants to engage Iran in dialogue, who will allocate more funding for America's social needs than to weapons exports. He may not be the sort of "friend of Israel" that we have come to love in Washington, the kind of friend we have grown accustomed to.

What's the panic all about? The truth needs to be said: At the base of all of these fears is the angst that this president will push Israel to end the occupation and move toward peace.

Well, maybe Obama will not be a "friend of Israel." May the great change he is promising not omit his country's Mideast policy. May Obama herald not only a new America, but also a new Middle East.

When we say that someone is a "friend of Israel" we mean a friend of the occupation, a believer in Israel's self-armament, a fan of its language of strength and a supporter of all its regional delusions.
When we say someone is a "friend of Israel" we mean someone who will give Israel a carte blanche for any violent adventure it desires, for rejecting peace and for building in the territories.

Israel's greatest friend in the White House, outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush, was someone like that. There is no other country where this man, who brought a string of disasters down upon his own nation and the world, would receive any degree of prestige and respect. Only in Israel.

Only in Israel does the prime minister place George Bush's portrait in his den, in his private home. Only in Israel does the prime minister travel to visit him in the White House.

That's because Bush was a friend of Israel. Israel's greatest friend. Bush let it embark on an unnecessary war in Lebanon. He did not prevent the construction of a single outpost. He may have encouraged Israel, in secret, to bomb Iran. He did not pressure Israel to move ahead with peace talks, he even held up negotiations with Syria, and he did not reproach Israel for its policy of targeted killings.

Bush also supported the siege on Gaza and participated in the boycott of Hamas, which was elected in a democratic election initiated by his own administration.
That's just how we like U.S. presidents. They give us a green light to do as we please. They fund, equip and arm us, and sit tight. Such is the classic friend of Israel, a friend who is an enemy,
and enemy of peace and an enemy to Israel.


Let us now hope that Obama will not be like them.
That he will reveal himself to be a true friend of Israel.

That he will put his whole weight behind a deep American involvement in the Middle East, that he will try to solve the Iranian issue through negotiation - the only effective means. That he will help end the siege on Gaza and the boycott of Hamas, that he will push Israel and Syria to make peace, that he will spur Israel and the Palestinians to reach a settlement.

We should hope Obama will help Israel help itself, because that is how friendship is measured. That he will criticize its policy when he must, because that, too, is a test of true friendship. Let him use his clout to end the occupation and dismantle the settlement project.

Let him remember that human and civil rights also apply to the Palestinians, not only to black Americans. And apropos world peace, he needs to start with peace in the Middle East, home to the most dangerous of conflicts, which has been threatening the world for a century now, and is feeding international terrorism. A true friend of Israel needs to remember that Israel may be "the only democracy in the Middle East," but not in its own backyard. That next to Sderot, which he visited, is Gaza. That "common values" must not include a cruel occupation. That friendship does not mean blind and automatic support. Let him speak with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, as often as he can and with whomever is willing to talk. And let him do it before the next war, not after it. Let him remember that he has the power to do all that. Changing the Middle East was in the power of each and every U.S. president, who could have pressured Israel and put an end to the occupation.
Most of them kept their hands off as if it were a hot potato, all in the name of a wonderful friendship. So bring us an American president who is not another dreadful "friend of Israel," an Obama who won't blindly follow the positions of the Jewish lobby and the Israeli government. You did promise change, did you not? http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1035415.html

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Americans are friends of Israel:

POLL: ONLY 6% OF AMERICANS THINK U.S. SHOULD BACK PALESTINIANS IN PEACE TALKS

Only 6 percent of Americans think the United States should stand behind the Palestinians in Middle East peace talks, according to a recent poll of voters conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and commissioned by The Israel Project.

Comparatively, 66 percent of those polled said the U.S. should support Israel in the peace process. Some 80 percent of GOP voters and 59 percent of Democratic were among those backing U.S. support for Israel.

Despite "all the problems America now faces at home," 58 percent of those polled agreed more with the statement that "America needs to stand with Israel" than with "Israel needs to take care of itself."

Of those polled, only 19 percent think "making peace between Israel and the Palestinians" should be among President-elect Barack Obama's top foreign policy priorities.

Almost two-thirds of Americans said they were more concerned about the nuclear standoff with Iran; some 72 percent of those polled agreed with the statement that "even with all the problems that America faces at home now, we must still work hard to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons."

Michael said...

I've always found the term "Christian Zionist" to be a little odd. Zionism and Judaism is all about destroying Christianity, and as you say, the USA has been under Jewish control for some time. When that ends, and it will, I'm afraid you had better watch out, you may well get that holocaust you've always hankered for.

Anonymous said...

You clearly can't read English. It has nothing to do with Christian Zionists.

Right and left, republican and Democrat, Americans support Israel. They like Israel and hate you barbaric jihadis.

Americans like Israel (71% favorable)- and don’t like the Philistines (14% favorable):

Altogether, 10 countries rated in the Feb. 11-14, 2008, poll are viewed favorably by a majority of Americans. Following the top four, Israel receives a 71% favorable rating…

Ten countries are viewed unfavorably by at least half of Americans. Of these, Iran, North Korea, the Palestinian Authority, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Cuba are viewed more negatively than positively by a greater than 2-to-1 margin.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/104734/Americans-Most-Least-Favored-Nations.aspx

Though similar to the highly favorable attitudes toward Israel in 2005 and 2006, the 71% of Americans viewing Israel favorably today is eight points higher than the 63% recorded last year, and is the highest favorable score for Israel since the 79% recorded during the 1991 Gulf War.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/104719/China-Down-France-Americans-Ratings.aspx

POLL: MORE AMERICANS ARE PRO-ISRAELI

NEW GALLUP SURVEY REVEALS ISRAEL IS ONE OF FIVE COUNTRIES AMERICANS FEEL MOST FAVORABLY ABOUT; PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY RANKS NEAR BOTTOM ALONG WITH IRAN, NORTH KOREA

Fad said...

....# there has never been a Gallup poll showing more Americans sympathizing with the Arabs or the Palestinians than with the Israelis..#

This is why the Amricans comprise the only mis-informed nation on the Earth.

They forgot the warning issued by heir Founders
So, they are walking into their unavidable fate with a smile

Starting with the economic downfall and not ending with being the United States of Israel

Michael said...

Well here's a poll for you twat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/nov/03/eu.israel

A European commission opinion poll that claims 60% of Europeans see Israel as the greatest threat to world peace has drawn outraged denunciations of anti-semitism.
The poll surveyed 7,500 people in 15 EU countries who said Israel was a bigger threat to world peace than Iran, North Korea and the US

Fad said...

# You clearly can't read English
It has nothing to do with Christian Zionists????

What kind of English??
It has everything to do with the NeoZionist Evanglists who obeyed the Jewish state in every reckless move

They invaded Iraq to please the poor little threatended state

And they supported all kinds of assaults and airstrikes and demolitions nd siege run by he little state against Palestinians

And they were about to hit Iran before the economic crisis stopped them and the bigotic Evanglist hawks had to leave the office