Our friends in Israel are apparently concerned that Obama will pressure Bibi to curtail settlements. Demonstrating outside chez Bibi, Israelis declare:
“People tell us that it is impossible to stand up against American pressure; there is no bigger lie,” yelled out Dani Dayan, who heads the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, which helped to organize the event. It was timed to coincide with US envoy George Mitchell’s visit to Israel.
Netanyahu’s government should be concerned with its election promises to support the settlements, rather than with its obligations to the US, Dayan said. This government has an obligation to return Israel to the Zionist path of settling the land, he said.
Prior to the rally Dayan told The Jerusalem Post he hoped “Netanyahu will learn lessons from those who preceded him.”
He added that “David Ben-Gurion founded Israel in spite of American pressure… Menachem Begin destroyed Osirak in spite of American opposition, and Yitzhak Shamir rejected American demands to stop construction.”
Demonstrators held signs that said, “Yes to Israeli Independence! No to American Demands!” Other signs read, “Israel will not fold.”
Holding aloft a banner bearing the legend “Stop Screwing Israel,” Zvi November of Ramat Eshkol in Jerusalem told the Post: “All of the land of Israel belongs to Am Yisrael… There are 22 Arab states comprising five and a quarter million square miles of land – they don’t need ours.”
Someone needs to remind them with whom they are dealing. It would save alot of drama. The American ‘Realists’ have gotten the message already. “Ch-ch-changes” is just an old Bowie tune. As our friends at TPMCafe note:
The venerable Landrum Bolling has produced a new video, New Hope for Peace: What America Must Do To End The Israel-Palestine Conflict, that looks aimed directly at the Obama White House. In it Bolling interviews Jimmy Carter, James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, all of whom offer their advice for the current Obama efforts. There seems to be tinge of concern that the administration isn’t willing to do what needs to be done.
Gee, ya think? People are policy after all, followed closely by campaign donations. We’d love to be there outside Bibi’s digs now. We’d offer some chill advice (for free), hand out the rave bracelets and get Oakenfold or someone to do some mixes. Bring it all down mellow easy. They missed the birther joyride, but if the Israeli Right plays their cards smartly, together with Dennis Ross they can look forward to the culmination of the Obama/Mitchell initiative — Bibi and Abbas hoisting a beverage at the White House. Naturally, after Gates and the po po clear out.
Dr Leo Strauss says
If the Administration can’t stand up to Max Baucus, this was a foregone conclusion . . .
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32691024/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
dilbert dogbert says
“Yes to Israeli Independence! No to American Demands!” Other signs read, “Israel will not fold.”
Take the money and run. Does anyone have an up to date number on how much the USA gives Israel and Egypt every year. I remember a 4 billion number from the WSJ from years ago.
Hunter says
Hmm… your lunch partner sounds like too much of an actual realist. Someone like that might not have spent quite so much time swimming in the meme-pool, and thus might not be able to see just how truly bizarre the society of global political actors has become. If we consider the situation from the perspective that Adorno took on WWII, and consider only ‘objective economic realities’ (from one of the essays in Minima Moralia; my copy’s out on loan) of course Israel should be our bitch right now. But those realities can be ignored for quite some time if everyone agrees not to see them. In the interim, ideology and force of will can control events to a degree that can easily inspire a reflexive realist to be incredulous.
The scales will be torn from everyone’s eyes only when someone is willing to do some tearing, and we certainly aren’t that actor just now (no, calling ineffectually for not expanding the settlements too much is not nearly enough). As long as we want to ‘solve the problem’ without actually engaging underlying issues, the torrent of meme-driven bs from all sides will drown any attempted resolution. We could pretty quickly dry up this torrent by forcing the objective realities to the fore, but that would probably be an even more terrible idea.
The most obvious way to do this would be to quit giving any material military aid to Israel. Then, they would either come to an agreement with their neighbors, or go to war in the hopes that a quick push could win them security before their current military broke down. This war would be a real war, no Six Days (and various Arabs want Israel well and truly gone, and Israel has nukes, and, and, and). And so I certainly don’t want to see this happen. But how else to get the leaders in the region to see what should be in front of their faces?
At least the Recent Comments thing is back for me.
Comment says
The Irish business was 800 years old – but oddly easier. Bizarre.
Dr Leo Strauss says
Yeah, Hunter, that the piece comes from Ha’aretz says alot. We had lunch today with an old acquaintance from the Sovs/Evil Empire days. This person is probably a small ‘r’ realist in that they don’t wear it on their sleeve. Surprising to us, our lunch partner was incredulous that Israel would be able to defy the U.S. at this late stage of the situation and their essentially losing strategic position vis-a-vis surrounding neighbors.
Still think George Mitchell is gonna come back with alot of ‘Sonny’ electronics and extended service plans coming out his ears. And thinking Ireland was a line dispute at Wavy Gravy’s Hog Farm by comparison.
Hunter says
What happened to the Comments Feed in the sidebar? That feature is indispensable to me, and seems to have disappeared!
Hunter says
Also relevant:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/opinion/28benn.html?em