Sunday, July 13, 2014

Obama misfires with Israel op-ed




Last week Israel launched an offensive against the Islamist terrorist state in Gaza governed by Hamas, a group dedicated to an international caliphate and the elimination of all Jews from the Middle East. This even though the Jewish people lived in Israel thousands of years before Islam existed.

Thing is, the Jews now have an army -- and a good one at that -- and when thousands of rockets are fired into the Jewish state by Islamist gangsters and when Israeli teenagers are kidnapped and slaughtered, Israel will respond.

But President Barack Obama, peace be upon him, is terribly upset about Israel’s actions because he seems to have limited affection for Israel and positively despises Benjamin Netanyahu. Of course, when Obama was a self-absorbed student, the Israeli prime minister was a special forces soldier putting his life on the line to defend democracy and freedom.

The American president has written a piece for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in which he says, “While walls and missile defense systems can help protect against some threats, true safety will only come with a comprehensive negotiated settlement...All parties must protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not vengeance and retribution."

This, remember, came only hours after Israel responded to the Gaza Hamas attacks upon its territory. Obama didn’t write anything when Israel was being showered with rockets, only when it responded to those rockets. The op-ed also calls Palestinian leader Abbas a partner for peace, but makes no similar mention of Netanyahu.

Haaretz sells only around 70,000 copies daily and its circulation is declining to such an extent that there have been huge staff layoffs. It’s fourth or even fifth in readership in Israel but is the paper of the liberal elite.

Mr. Obama, your country has been a good friend to Israel since the 1970s. In 1948 the Jews fought with whatever they could find, often weapons from Czechoslovakia, actually. In 1967 they had old British tanks and French Mirage jets. It was only in 1973 that the U.S. helped out, and that was because the Soviets were backing the Egyptians and, in particular, the Syrians.

So spare me this revisionism about America and Israel – of course the Americans help Israel, but they give far more to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, for example, who hate America and all for which it stands.

Israel has grown up. It has alliances with Russia, India, much of Latin America and Europe, parts of Africa, even China. The problem, of course, is not America the great but Obama the meagre. A Republican or an intelligent, moderate Democrat in the White House would lead to a different story.
But until and unless that happens, Israel will not allow its people to cower in fear or die like cattle. An Islamist blood cult is destroying much of the Middle East but will not triumph in Israel. The Jewish people, evincing the great liberal values of the west, will continue and will flourish.
I pray for and plead for peace and harmony and compromise, but not on any terms. For good to achieve victory, bad has to lose. There, write that in your leftist paper, Mr. President.

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