Why Isn’t Obama Visiting Israel?
By now it’s clear that President Barack Obama isn’t going to visit Israel in his term of office. And yet that’s pretty curious, isn’t it? After all, American politicians who seek Jewish support usually find a trip to Israel a pretty good way to claim pro-Israel credentials. And Obama has been desperate to do so, especially this year.
Why, then, isn’t Obama going to visit Israel? Of course, we cannot definitively answer that question but here are some thoughts:
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1–His personal distaste for Israel is so great that he doesn’t want to come here. Of course, he did do so once as a senator but now Obama may feel he can give freer rein to his feelings. While it is silly to say that Obama hates Israel and wants to destroy it, if you believe that he has a single warm feeling toward the Jewish state I have a bridge in Brooklyn you might want to buy. Certainly, Obama has an extreme personal dislike for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu–as he revealed to a microphone he didn’t know was on when meeting with French President Sarkozy. And while some of Obama’s best friends were Jewish they were also anti-Israel or, at best, in the we-know-better-than-those-dumb-Israelis camp.
2–He fears being booed and rejected by Israelis. Let’s be clear, Israelis can behave like star-struck provincials ogling celebrities. There would be a certain amount of drooling worship of that type. Still, Obama is very unpopular here, too. There could be some nasty scenes of booing and anti-Obama signs that might persuade American Jews that all is not well.
3–A visit to Israel is counter to Obama’s effort to distance himself from Israel and act as if he’s the buddy of Muslims, especially those who hate Israel. Of course he could go to Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq again since he’s been to all of those places.
For the last forty years American presidents have stood with Israel and urged Arab states to make peace with that country. Think of President Bill Clinton, for example. Their policies have been based on the principle that the United States can have excellent relations with both sides. And guess what? That policy worked as well as was possible. The radical Arabs would have opposed America under any conditions; the moderates worked closely with Washington. But no matter how much lip service Obama gives such a strategy–most of the time in front of Jewish groups–this is not Obama’s approach.
Of course, on such a trip Obama could drop in on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to show his passionate desire for a Palestinian state and love of that people. Yet this might not be enough in his mind to counter the cooties picked up in Israel that would supposedly horrify Muslims and Arabs. Moreover, it would be embarrassing to go and hang out with a PA leadership that is now in partnership with Hamas.
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4–The failure of his “peace process” policy to make any progress at all might make him want to stay away from reminding people of that fact. If anything, Obama set back Israel-Palestinian dealings. Obama cannot come and take credit for some breakthrough.
I suspect that all of the above reasons are factors in his staying away. As with so many other subjects, it’s amazing that this issue is not being discussed and analyzed at all
Unfortunately liberal Jews would prefer just that. They are more comfortable with the image of pitiful victim rather than strong and powerful “oppressor”, so to speak. Of course as long as it is not themselves and their families who are the actual victims. In their social circles, using military force automatically makes Israel the “bad guy”, which they don’t want to be associated with.
@ Robert Gay:
bahmi is not in agreement with you. Go take a look at his comment again.
I agree with you. Obama would only visit Israel perhaps if he liked Netanyahu. The fact that he hasn’t does go in Netanyahu’s favor- that he must be doing something right. If Obama liked him it means we’re probably being screwed. Remember, despite the freeze and all the two-state solution talk in the last three years Netanyahu still hasn’t made a bad deal.
@ SHmuel HaLevi:
dear shmuel,
i have asked this very same question several times, addressed at different commentators on this blog.
i agree with you 1000%.
the problem is, we are all in agreement, but TACKHLESS, how does that change the facts on the ground? and speciffically, what must be done to make it happen???
since no government will vote itself out, since no supreme court judges will resign, since EVERYBODY seems to just reshuffle the deck chairs on the titanic, (and not have any problem with that)…it seems to me that the ONLY way would be some kind of ‘forceful change’. a coup d’etat, if you will.
i am trying to feel the pulse, and even here, in this blog, not everybody shares this concrete idea. extrapolating this to the population at large and the sad sad divide, that the israeli society is in…i don’t think we are getting anywhere.
the outcome MUST be defined BEFORE you tackle the task at hand otherwise is spinning wheels time and just nebulous posts…full of sound and fury…a la macbeth.
@ the phoenix:
There is a coup d’etat and it’s embodied in one man, Moshe Feiglin. If only the Jews who want a Jewish Israel would get behind him and forget their self-serving, petty politics, it can happen and happen soon. Likud claims Feiglin won 31% of the vote against Netanyahu. Take away the corruption of Likud’s executive and Feiglin’s votes may actually have outnumbered Bibi’s. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.
@ emmess:
dear emmess,
you are definitely speaking my language.
i have the same thoughts and feelings regarding feiglin. his 10 point platform why israel needs authentic jewish leadership, is something that i can totally agree with and furthermore, i believe that WITHOUT these ’10 points’ all is lost for there is no REAL STRONG FOUNDATION to build anything on it.
i have discussed this VERY subject with another commenter here, whose opinion about feiglin was ‘rather negative’ but i never found out why.
for whatever it’s worth, like you, i believe feiglin to be DA MAN!
@ the phoenix:
Feiglin is a good man but as we say in America, he could not be elected dogcatcher.
@ emmess:
Who is Feiglin??????
steven belsky Said:
http://jewishisrael.org/
@ andrew morris:
And Obama?
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
@ andrew morris:
Cheap shot.
I have followed his career since his trial for sedition and watched him fight his way up through Likud only to be impeded by Bibi’s dirty tricks. The man now has the majority of Likud MKs on his side and after the next election, if he can get around Bibi’s nefarious manipulations, he will be calling the shots on the direction of the government even if he is not Prime Minister.
At the risk of sounding like a religious nut, I see him as the warrior (albeit political)”everyman” foretold in prophesy. No one else has worked harder on behalf of the Jewish people and Judaism, itself, and he deserves respect, not contemptuous, cheap shots.
emmess Said:
agreed on all accounts (and i am SECULAR…). i TOTALLY identify with the man and his ideology.
in a video presentation, shmuel sackett explained that what most people are afraid about the religious being in power, is that the state would become a ‘jewish taliban’. he lays to rest this notion, as he encourages all jews to feel comfortable at the level (of observing and practising judaism) they see fit.
this is a very BIG welcome sign to all jews to be nationalistic and proudly trace their ancestors to the heroes of the bible.
it is indeed a huge turnoff when a proud jew gets a door slammed in his face because there are such narrow minded people that even here on this blog, believe that “If a “Zionist” has no kippah and no beard, he is worthless.”
@ the phoenix:
If you were at the Manhigut Yehudit dinner last week, I’m sorry we didn’t meet. I, too, am “non-observant” and nothing about Feiglin makes me think that his version of Israel is not also mine.
@ emmess:
alas emmess, i was (and am) some 5500miles from the location of the manhigut yehudit…nonetheless there will be more to be exchanged on israpundit’s threads.