ZOA OpEd - Are President Obama's Actions Hostile to Jews and Israel?

ZOA OpEd – Contact Morton A. Klein at: 212-481-1500

Are President Obama’s Actions Hostile to Jews and Israel?

By

Morton A. Klein, National President

Dr. Daniel Mandel, Director, Center for Middle East Policy

Zionist Organization of America

Is President Obama hostile to Jews and Israel? Let’s look at the evidence.
Last week, the Obama Administration issued talking points for the 10th
anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, where it referred to those struck
by terrorism “whether in New York or Nairobi, Bali or Belfast, Mumbai or
Manila, or Lahore or London.” Conspicuously absent was the name of Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem or Sderot, which have been hit by terrorists, not once, but
numerous times.

As a single instance, this omission might be unremarkable. In fact, however,
omitting mention of Israel fits a pattern. When running for President,
then-Senator Obama referred in his July 2008 Berlin speech to the need to
“dismantle the [terrorist] networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in
London and Bali; in Washington and New York.” Again, no Israel.

It seems hard to believe that these omissions could be anything other than
intentional. After all, Israel has been a primary target of terrorists
throughout the past decade. Almost 2,000 Israelis have been murdered by
terrorists in this period and over 10,000 maimed or disfigured. In per
capita terms, far more Israelis have been murdered by terrorists than
Americans were murdered in 9/11.

Obama also omits Israel in other contexts. Thus, when Haiti was struck by a
calamitous earthquake in January 2010, Israel’s relief efforts were
exceptional, only matched by those of the United States, and were singled
out for praise by former President Clinton. However, in praising these
relief efforts, Obama omitted any mention of Israel, saying only that “help
continues to flow in, not just from the United States but from Brazil,
Mexico, Canada, France, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, among others.”

While Obama has more or less consistently failed to hold accountable or
penalize the PA for incitement to violence against Israel, he has been
emphatic and repetitive attacking Jewish housing projects in eastern
Jerusalem as an obstacle to peace. His Administration has used the terms
“condemn,” an “insult” and an “affront” when expressing disagreement with
Israel on this issue, terms never used about other allies.

That Obama blames Israel, not the Palestinians, for the absence of peace is
obvious. In a January 2010 interview, despite Israel’s acceptance
in-principle of a Palestinian state, readiness to negotiate and instituting
an unprecedented 10-month Jewish construction freeze in Judea and Samaria,
Obama said Israel had made no “bold gestures.”

In a March 2011 meeting with Jewish leaders (attended by Mort Klein), Obama
contended that “Israel’s [Palestinian] partner is sincere in wanting a
peaceful settlement,” while asking his Jewish interlocutors to “speak to
your Israeli friends and relatives and search your souls to determine how
badly do you really want peace … Israelis think this peace process is
overrated.”

Note also the contrast between his holiday messages to Jews and to Muslims.
In his Rosh Hashanah message last year, Obama only once referred to ‘Jews,’
not once to ‘Judaism,’ promoted a Palestinian state, and never mentioned the
extraordinary contributions of Jews to the U.S.

In contrast, in his August 2010 Ramadan Message, Obama referred to ‘Muslims’
six times and to ‘Islam’ twice, stated that “American Muslims have made
extraordinary contributions to our country,” and praised “Islam’s role in
advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human
beings … a faith known for great diversity and racial equality.” Here,
Obama, made no reference to what Muslims must do to achieve peace with
Israel.

There are many other indicators of Obama evincing discomfort around Jewish
matters. When, in May 2010, Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act,
he did not mention that Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter, was
beheaded by Islamist terrorists because he was a Jew and that he was forced
to state in the video recorded of his gruesome murder that he was an
American Jew. Instead, Obama merely referred to Pearl’s “loss.”

And let’s not forget Obama’s June 2009 Cairo speech, in which he compared
the circumstances of Palestinians under Israeli rule to Jews under the Nazis
and blacks under Apartheid. Nor his September 2009 UN speech, in which Obama
“couple[d] unwavering commitment to Israel” with Israel “respecting the
legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians.”

These incidents, some important, some less so, have assumed a troubling
pattern. They suggest that President Obama has a distaste or even hostility
towards Jews and Israel. But should we be surprised? He spent twenty years
absorbing the anti-Israel sermons of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, whom Obama has
called a “great man,” his “friend” and “mentor.”

Morton A. Klein is National President of the Zionist Organization of America
(ZOA). Dr. Daniel Mandel is Director of the ZOA’s Center for Middle East
Policy.