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Obama's Betrayal of Israel at the UN Must Not Stand
(Bloomberg) Editorial - President Obama's ill-advised decision to order the U.S. to abstain on a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements breaks with past U.S. policy, undermines a vital ally and sets back the cause of Middle East peace. As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) correctly noted in condemning the administration's decision, the "fervently anti-Israel" UN is "the wrong forum" for Israel and the Palestinians to settle their differences. If the Palestinians want a lasting peace based on a two-state solution, they must accept that Israel, not the UN or the "international community," is their negotiating partner. That means negotiating in good faith, not embracing empty resolutions that ignore agreements they have already reached to redraw Israel's borders. It also means ending the "stabbing intifada," condemning and fighting terrorism, and upholding their security obligations. It is ill-advised for the U.S. to walk away from an ally critical both to U.S. security and to that of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. To abandon a friend - a lawful, stable democracy with a dynamic, innovative, outward-looking economy - is inconceivable. Fortunately, the bipartisan uproar sparked by Obama's UN decision provides an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to rally around a more constructive policy. They should start by agreeing to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That would provide a powerful reaffirmation to Israel of the U.S.' enduring commitment. In the choice between terror and peace, and democracy and repression, there can be no room for impartiality, let alone abstention.