Straight Platform Politics

The Dalai Lama Snub And Israel

President Obama decided not to meet with the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan leader visited Washington earlier this month. What does that mean for Israel?  See previous post

Dennis Prager wrote, “According to the Jerusalem Post, as recently as six weeks ago, just 4 percent of the Jews of Israel regarded President Obama as pro-Israel. Even if exaggerated, it is likely the most negative Israeli view of an American president since Israel’s creation.” (Jewish World Review 10/20/09)

The snubbing of the Dali Lama “is particularly troubling to Israelis because it means that an American president is placing appeasement of strong dictators above America’s traditional defense of embattled small countries….The line between selling out Tibetans and selling out Israelis is a direct one.”

“Those who worry about good and evil know that if America decides that the world’s approval is important, evil will increase exponentially. Only an America willing to be disliked, even hated, will consistently support the smaller good guys against the bigger bad guys.”

“And if America now values getting along well with everyone above moral considerations, the days of strong American support for Israel are numbered.” And the Israelis know it.

Is this the change that the Obama campaign was talking about?

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American Jews – Part 4

In A Quandary

Almost 80% of American Jews voted for Barack Obama and they do not want to admit that they helped elect an enemy of Israel. But they might have to.

Melanie Phillips, a British journalist and author See Part 3, has written, “For most American Jews, the horror of even entertaining the hypothetical possibility that they might ever in a million years have to vote for a Republican is so great they simply cannot see what is staring them in the face – that this Democratic President is lethal for both Israel and the free world.” (7/6/09)

She has explained why she thinks President Obama is no friend to Israel. She notes his words and his actions See Part 1 not only toward Israel but also toward Arabs and Muslims. The comparison is telling.

No wonder American Jews are in a quandary. The handwriting is there on the wall for all to read. How long do they think they can ignore it?

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American Jews – Part 3

The Jitters

Some American Jews are not getting jittery - they are already jittery. Almost 80% of American Jews voted for Barack Obama and they do not want to admit that they helped put an enemy of Israel into the White House.

People like Alan Dershowitz desperately try to sooth the uneasiness and anxiety by either ignoring facts or twisting truth – but it is not working. See Part 1 Non-American Jews have studied President Obama’s attitude toward Israel and are willing to tell the world the truth.

One example is Melanie Phillips, a British journalist and author. In her article Dershowitz doesn’t get it (7/6/09) , she tells her readers, “Many if not most American Jews have a highly sentimentalized view of Israel. They never go there, are deeply ignorant of its history and current realities, and are infinitely more concerned with their own view of themselves as social liberals See Part 2 , a view reflected back at themselves through voting for a Democrat President.” A president she describes as being lethal to Israel and to the free world.

No wonder American Jews have the jitters. The man they overwhelmingly helped put in the White House has been observed and his words and actions toward the people and state of Israel have been found wanting.

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American Jews – Part 2

Out of Touch with Reality

Too many American Jews think that giving Israeli territory to the Arabs will bring peace to the Middle East. They should know better.

American Jews should have learned a lesson in 2005 when they contributed $14 million to buy greenhouses for the Arabs in the Gaza Strip. Jewish settlers owned these greenhouses and had turned a desert project into a thriving international business. But they were forced off their land and out of Gaza as part of the 2005 Mideast peace plan.

The $14 million was collected within 48 hours. Save the greenhouse. Turn them over to the Arabs. Improve the living standard of the poor Arabs. Peace.

Didn’t happen. Within hours of the evacuation, mobs of Arabs started destroying most of the greenhouses. Parts of Gaza became piles of rubble – millions upon millions of dollars worth of rubble. Then the Hamas did what it said it would do: started firing rockets into Israel from Gaza.

Clinging to fanciful ideas cost these Jewish philanthropists $14 million. But ignoring reality when it comes to future peace accords will cost much more. Israeli security and Israeli lives are at stake.

See Part 1

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American Jews – Part 1

Having Second Thoughts

Many American Jews are having second thoughts about voting for Barack Obama. His current harsh approach toward Israel as President of the United States does not jive with his endearing rhetoric when he was Candidate Obama.

Alan Dershowitz defends the President in his articles, Has Obama Turned on Israel? (07/03/09) and It Takes Two (07/09/09). But he shows an unusual lack of understanding of the Israeli-Arab situation when he alludes to an Arab recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and an Arab acceptance of a demilitarized Palestinian state.

Such thinking is fantasy. Arab hatred for Jews and for Israel has never been hidden, disguised, or denied. And it has never weakened.

In the latter article, Dershowitz says twice that he takes the President at his word. But then later in the same article, when he mentions President Obama’s pro-Arab Cairo speech, Dershowitz states that he judges administrations by their actions more than by their words.

So, which is it? His words or his actions?

Either way, many American Jews are listening and watching the President and are having second thoughts.

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