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What the U.S. President Needs to Hear

[Jerusalem Post] Editorial - Whenever American Jewish leaders are invited to the White House to talk about Israel - as 16 were on Monday - the prime purpose of the invitation is not to give them an opportunity to sway the leader of the free world, though their views may be genuinely sought, but for the administration to diminish the prospect of them lobbying against the president's policies. We're not suggesting that Obama is substantively less pro-Israel than most of his predecessors. But we are concerned over his refusal to embrace the 1967-plus strategy enunciated by his predecessor, at a time when his administration is demanding a freeze even to Israeli construction in Jerusalem areas captured in 1967. If the administration feels it faces no countervailing pressure, it will go on deepening the erroneous perception that settlements are the obstacle to peace. This alienates Israel's majority, which is willing to make painful territorial concessions, yet believes that ill-tempered calls for an unconditional freeze everywhere only encourage Palestinian intransigence. Pro-Israel Americans should caution Obama not to lose the Israeli "street" as he seeks favor with the Arab one.
2009-07-15 06:00:00
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